A bowl of goodness for dessert

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 If youre looking for the perfect dessert sweet, yet not too sweet, thick, yet not too gooey, delicious well, very delicious, cease your search immediately for you have found it!

Lek Tau Suan, Hokkien for Green Bean Pearl Dessert, is one that would definitely satisfy your craving for mouth-watering desserts. Pic by Elaine Ho

Lek Tau Suan, Hokkien for Green Bean Pearl Dessert, is one that would definitely satisfy your craving for mouth-watering desserts. They present quite a unique sight small, whole split mung beans suspended almost magically in a clear, thick liquid with a consistency similar to that of porridge perhaps not something you would consider a conventionally appetising sight, but Im sure you know better than to judge the flavour of this dish simply by its appearance.

To make this dish, youll have to purchase the mung beans (also known as green beans) without the skin, and slowly boil them. Patience is the key to obtaining perfectly boiled mung beans, as this has to be done at a slow pace to ensure the end result is beautifully soft, with just the right amount of bite in them.

Potato starch is an essential ingredient in this dish, its role being to produce that glassy smooth and thick texture of this dish. Pandan leaves, or screwpine leaves give an irresistible aroma to this dish, one that is bound to have your mouth watering before you even set your sights on this bowl of pleasure!

Youll be glad to know that the excellent flavours of this dish are not the only thing that makes it so hard to resist. The main ingredient, mung beans, happens to be loaded with health benefits! High in dietary fibre and vitamins such as Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Vitamin B complex like riboflavin, thiamine, niacin and Vitamin B6, they are also said to aid in increasing your metabolism, making it the perfect diet food!

If that cant con! vince yo u to give this a try, Im not sure what else will. Serve this dessert warm with some Chinese donuts for a brilliant mix of sweetness and saltiness, and be prepared to blow your taste buds away!

Lek Tau Suan

Preparation time: approximately 1 hour

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4

300g skinless mung beans, soaked in water for 1 hour

6 pandan leaves, knotted

150g sugar

1 litre water

80g sweet potato flour

1. Place soaked mung beans on a plate and steam over boiling water for 30 minutes.

2. Add pandan leaves, sugar and water into a medium size pot and place over high heat for 10 minutes.

3. Dissolve sweet potato flour with some water and slowly mix in together with ingredients in pot, stirring constantly.

4. Add in steamed mung beans and mix thoroughly with a ladle.

5. Serve warm.

For more recipes, go to www.chopstickdiner.com

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Menya Musashi @ P. Ramlee

And then there were two: After triumphing in 1 Utama, Menya Musashi launched another branch this week, but with a potentially polarizing twist.

Entry on Menya Musashi @ Eat Paradise Isetan 1 Utama: May 9, 2012.

Occupying substantial space on P. Ramlee Road, within a short stroll of KLCC, this outlet hopes to win more customers by steering clear of pork, using chicken instead to build its broths and top its noodles.

The result tastes much better than expected: every sip of the soup delivers deep nourishment, combining with sensuously lubricious noodles for the gastronomic equivalent of soulful elegance.

Menya's three signature big-bowled b! roths _ white onion oil, black-fried shallots with garlic, and homemade chili _ come with a variable number of super-succulent slices of chicken and seasoned eggs, costing between RM22 and RM32 before taxes.

Remember how the egg yolks at Menya's 1U venue seemed off-kilter? Fear not: the ones here are touched by a rich, savory softness that makes them peerless.

Tsukemen dipping ramen is available too. We rate everything a solid A (including the service, which warrants flying colors for its efficient friendliness).

Side dishes include mince-layered rice and hot gyoza, all executed in exemplary fashion.

Luscious for a late-night snack; last orders are at 10:30 p.m.

Asahi beer is the only booze offered for now, each bottle cutely wrapped.

The snaking queues that besieged Menya's 1U outlet are so far absent here, but that might not last long, so head here soon before the crowds learn of it.

Menya Musashi,
Jalan P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur.
Somewhere between Modesto's and Ozeki Tokyo, but much closer to the latter.

Piggy Bank Wine

Piggy Bank Wine

Its pretty much a given that wine in general and wine retailing specifically has not really grasped the social media aspects of the internet. Despite all the discussions and interest there seems surprisingly little in terms of innovation or attempts to harness the oft talked about potential. The traditional marketing channels lack the engagement that social media can provide instant feedback both praiseworthy and negative that not all enjoy or appreciate.

Guy Anderson Wines has dipped into the arena with the release of the Piggy Bank wine range. And the social media connection? Each bottle sold sees 50p donated to charity.

When our Piggy Bank is full, it holds 10,000, we will distribute the funds proportionally between the charities according to the votes of consumers.

Piggy Bank is different to other virtual campaigns because we are inviting people to not only spread the word about our fantastic wines, but also enabling them to support good causes that mean something to them personally.

There are six wines in the Piggy Bank wine range, all available now from Waitrose and Ocado, and all listed at 7.99. Tesco will be taking the Tempranillo only in September.

Customers vote for their preferred good cause on their mobile via an app or at the Piggy Bank facebook page. By becoming a fan you can read more about the wines and winemakers. Extra donations and suggestions for the next set of charities to be supported can also be made.

At the moment the charities are

• Bac! kup transforming lives after spinal chord injury
• JDRF funds research into Type 1 Diabetes
• Tusk supporting conservation and community development initiatives across Africa, using wildlife conservation as a tool to alleviate poverty, improve education and reduce conflict. [My choice as it happens]

From the range the wines Ive sampled (plus, and showing my full social media credentials here, notes sent to WineDemon!) are

Piggy Bank Grenache Syrah Ros, 2011, Vin de Pays dOc, France [Adegga / Snooth / WineDemon] Strawberry and fresh currant flavours. Medium weight, decent long lasting flavours.

Piggy Bank Verdejo, 2011, Castilla y Leon, Spain [Adegga / Snooth / WineDemon] Light aroma with gentle lime and orange pith flavours. Apple and a tinge of orange on the palate, some weight. Lighter dishes including seafood a must!

Piggy Bank Syrah, 2010, Elqui Valley, Chile [Adegga / Snooth / WineDemon] Jolly decent spicy rose-hip and black fruit nose. Generous fruity palate a little liveliness and peppery spicy finish

Spittoon.biz - A UK Wine Blog - We Spit... So You Can Swallow

Ikuzo Ramen, SS2 Petaling Jaya Affordable porky ramen in KL?

I went to Ikuzo Ramen about 1-2 weeks after it opened in SS2.
With only Marutama Ramen as a gauge (I have eaten ramen elsewhere of course but it wasnt at a pure ramen outlet), and without even stepping in the 4 main ramen joints in KL then, Ikuzo Ramen was already a flop in my books.

Its convenient location and rather budget- friendly prices were the main reasons I went. SS2 is a mere 15 minutes drive from TTDI and slurping on bowls of ramen for less than RM10 each was enticing enough.

Yes, Ikuzo Ramen offers value for money meals, thats without a doubt. Prices here are almost of the typical coffeeshop benchmark yet the outlet is cosy, clean and offers free WIFI!

Frankly, good ramen doesnt come cheap. Ramen are mostly handmade with quality flour and the accompanying broth packs a punch if prepared according to the strict procedure of the traditional ramen broth. ! Thus I h ad lowered my expectations when I made the decision to visit Ikuzo Ramen. It wasnt fair to expect hearty rich stock and handmade noodles for the price.

But I couldnt forgive soggy/mushy ramen in passable soup or the stringy slivers of meat either.

Below:Yakiniku Ramen. RM8.50. It would have been worth the price if I havent had to keep on pulling slivers of beef from my mouth because it was simply un-chewable due to the stringy .

Description:

Below:Tonkatsu Ramen. RM7.90.

Description:

I love a good tonkatsu and this one was quite passable. After I did get an acceptable size of pork katsu.

The soup however, wasnt even close to decent. I hardly ever add oil to my food, but in my attempt to salvage my ramen, I added drops of chilli oil.

The saving grace was the vanilla ice cream float in chocolate! *Thumbs up*

We swore off this place and went on to discover the ramen goodness of Menya Musashi and Gantetsu Hokkaido in Isetan Food Market, 1 Utama. Ikuzo Ramen became a distant memory, unpleasant and never broached upon again.

This was until I received an email from the good people of Izuko Ramen. Apparently, these teething issues are now behind them, and with better trained kitchen staff and SOP, they assured me that my next bowl of ramen (and all potential future ones) would be cooked properly. Do come over again, they said, and allow us to explain Ikuzos concept of ramen, which is dissimilar to the ones you have tasted.

Alright, I thought. Why not. Since my dining companion for the previous session remained scarred, I had to re-visit with different company in tow this round.

Ikuzo Ramen really pride themselves on their No MSG rule. This, I feel is indeed something worth blowing their trumpet for. Frankly, not many commercial establishments would be bothered with such quality control. The figures on the P & L sheet normally takes precedence.

The menu has been tweaked to reflect the changes as well. Some items remained while some are gone. Thankfully, the refreshingIkuzo Special:Ginger green tea fresh ginger (strong ginger taste) RM3.90 andGreen tea /Chocolate milk low-fat milk RM4.90 is still on the menu.

If youre a fan of ginger (even if youre not youre likely to fall in love with this too!) then theGinger green tea is a must!

A myriad of appetisers then appeared as we waited for the ramen to be ready. The cold cucumber whets the appetite while the carnivore in me chomped happily on the pan fried gyoza and the pork spring rolls. Both were crisp and scrumptious!

BELOW: I love the gyoza; porky, very thin crisp skin, non-greasy and tasty!

As we ate, the Ikuzo Ramen team explained the concept of their outlet. The outlet, they felt, ! has been unfavourably compared with other ramen outlets. Ikuzo does not intend to compete with the big guns like Menya Musashi, Santouka and etc. Their concept is more of MSG-free, slightly localised ramen and catered to the masses with its affordable pricing.

That, however doesnt mean that the quality of their ramen are inferior.

Ikuzos ramen is made from Rye Flour. Japanese ramen and Korean jajangmyeon all have their origin from Chinese-style noodles. They vary according to their region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and the manner of preparation.

In Ikuzo, the 2 types of ramen served are:

-Thick (Hokkaido)
-Thin (Tokyo)

And these ramen are usually matched with:

Tokyo Ramen Shoyu-based soup
Hokkaido Ramen Miso-based soup

The main ingredient of most of these noodles is wheat flour. In Ikuzo, they use rye flour for its obvious high nutritious values. Rye is rich in iron, protein, calcium, vitamin Bs & E and it is also high in fiber. Rye cereal has a very low Glycemic Index (GI) of only 34. Low-GI diet is associated with reduce risk of obesity.
The super high fiber content gives a different twist to the texture and feel of the ramen made from rye flour as compared to those made from wheat flour.

Heres what we sampled during our lunch.

Ramen (All IKUZO Ramens prices from RM5.90 RM10.90)

Cha-Shu Ramen RM8.9! 0 Shoyu paste

Curry Ramen RM7.90 curry paste

Hokkaido Ramen RM8.50 Miso paste

Curry Tan Tan Ramen RM6.90 with mala spices

Tokyo Ramen RM7.90 Shoyu paste

Yakiniku Ramen RM8.50 Shoyu paste

Condiments are on the table for you to gussy up your ramen if you wish.

Chili paste

Sliced garlic

Pickled chili

Shicimi

Ginger

Ponzu

Peanut

Fried shallots

White pepper

Chili Oil

So as you can see, Ikuzos ramen is slightly localised in term of flavour. I much prefer my Menya Musashi and Gantetsu Hokkaido Ramen if Im craving for hearty heavy ramen, but for everyday meals under RM10, Ill grab an Ikuzo Ramen anytime! Cheap, convenient and no MSG!

The packaging for take-away is very user-friendly too. The soups are packedseparatelyin sturdy tupperwares.

In a nutshell, Ikuzo Ramen has a different concept in comparison to other ramen joints so theres isnt a point for comparison. Hop in here if you want a light and relatively healthy meal with friendly prices to boot!
Last but not least, kudos to Ikuzo Ramen for stepping up their game. Its good to know that they value feedback and tookappropriate measures toimprove their menu.

Ikuzo Ramen

52, Jalan SS2/61, Petaling Jaya, MY.
03-7873 3110
10:30 am 11:00 pm