My gastronomic odyssey

Home made pasta with roasted vegetables, topped with oven-crisp bacon

2009-11-05T20:54:00.001+08:00

I've always loved the taste of fresh pasta. I find that it is more flavourful and has a better texture to it. And then it hit me - I should make my own pasta, and that's exactly what I did.

I found this link with a video to show you the step-by-step process of making fresh pasta.

Here's my dough after kneading it for a good 20 minutes.

After letting it sit for 15 minutes, I flattened it out and cut it into long strips.

Then, I rolled each strip into little pinwheels before cutting them up.

And finally, I unrolled each pinwheel and dust them with flour before keeping them in Ziploc bags.

You can freeze it for 2 months, and when you need to use it, just thaw them out.

Ingredients to make roasted vegetables:

1 cup string beans
1 cup red peppers
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A generous dash of Italian seasoning
A generous dash of dried parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 375 F. Line baking trays with foil.

2. Mix all ingredients into the vegetables. (I used string beans and red peppers because they were all I had, but zucchini and squash are good vegetables to roast too).

3. Place vegetables into baking tray and cover with foil.

4. Bake in the oven, covered, for 15 minutes, and uncovered for another 10 minutes.

To make oven-crisp bacon:

(This is a healthier alternative to frying the bacon up in a skillet)

1. Place 4 strips of bacon on a lined tray.

2. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

3. You can bake this together with the vegetables. That way, the vegetables will absorb the wonderful fragrance of the bacon.

4. Drain oil off the bacon strips. Tear them up into pieces, like this.

Ingredients for pasta:

1 lt of water
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A dash of roasted red peppers
A dash of Italian seasoning
A dash of dried parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Bring water to a boil. Season with a pinch of salt. Cook freshly made pasta for 3-5 minutes. Drain.

2. In a skillet, heat up extra virgin olive oil. Saute garlic.

3. Add in cooked pasta into the skillet. Give it a little toss. Add in roasted red peppers, Italian seasoning, dried parsley, salt and pepper.

4. When the herbs are all incorporated into the pasta, add in the roasted vegetables. Give it a quick stir. Turn heat off.

5. Dish up and top the pasta with oven-crisp bacon.

Beef stew with homemade garlic bread

2009-11-04T22:32:00.005+08:00

This is a fairly simple recipe that basically cooks on its own. A hot piping bowl of stew is all I need to combat the cold weather. And of course, hiding indoors!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb beef, chuck meat
Celery, quantities as desired
Carrots, quantities as desired
Potatoes, quantities as desired
2 bay leaves
A dash of Worchestershire sauce
A dash of Italian seasoning
A dash of dried parsley
1 can of peeled tomatoes, unsalted
1 1/2 cups of beef broth (or chicken broth if you prefer)
2 tbsps cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsps of water
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Cut all the vegetables into wedges and put them into a crockpot. Put all the beef into the crockpot as well.

2. Add in the can of peeled tomatoes. Add beef broth.

3. Season with Worchestershire sauce, bay leaves, Italian seasoning, dried parsley, salt and pepper.

4. Set crockpot on 'low' and cook for 8 hours.

5. Add in cornstarch and set crockpot to 'high' and cook for another 2 hours. Turn off crockpot.

6. Let the stew cool off. Then keep in the refrigerator. (I think it tastes better this way).

7. In a large pot, bring the stew to a boil before lowering the heat to a very slow simmer. Let it simmer for 2 hours.

8. Serve hot with garlic bread.

Ingredients:

6 slices of bread (I used whole grain, but you can also use white bread or even baguette)
Butter
Garlic powder
Salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Butter the bread and sprinkle some garlic powder and salt onto it.

3. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the breads are crispy.

4. Serve with stew.

Roast chicken with vegetables

2009-11-04T21:55:00.004+08:00

The weather has been getting colder and nothing beats cranking up the oven and warming the whole house up. I concocted this roast chicken recipe from the ingredients I have in the kitchen.

Marinades for the chicken:

4 chicken thighs
4 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
A few dashes of paprika
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp dried parsley
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

Ingredients for the vegetables:

1 eggplant, cut into wedges
1 zucchini, cut into wedges
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp dried parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven tot 400 F.

2. Clean and pat dry chicken. Rub the Worchestershire sauce onto the chicken, followed by the paprika, Italian seasoning, dried parsley, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Rub some under the skin as well.

3. Squeeze the lemon juice onto the chicken thighs. Put the chicken thighs into Ziplock bags with the lemon in it, and leave in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours (or more).

4. Line baking tray with aluminium foils. Season the vegetables with the extra virgin olive oil, Italian seasoning, dried parsley, salt and pepper. Cover with aluminium foil.

5. On a separate baking tray, line it with aluminium foils. Arrange the chicken thighs so that they don't overlap one another. Put the lemon onto the tray as well. Cover with aluminium foil.

6. Bake the chicken thighs and vegetables at 400 F for 45 minutes.

7. After 45 minutes, remove the aluminium foil covers from both the trays, and put them back into the oven at 375 F for another 30 minutes, or until the skin on the chicken thighs turn brown.

8. Serve hot.

Asia @ Cafe

2009-10-19T23:02:00.003+08:00

Don't expect Asia Cafe to be a fancy dining place because it is not. It's a tiny shop in South Philly owned by an Indonesian, so you will expect to see quite a few Indonesians here.

Thanks to the chilly weather, I had a craving for a clear broth and so I ordered this.

Fish ball soup $ 3.75

Nothing to shout about, really. The soup was slightly peppery in taste, probably made from one of those cubed seasonings. But what really made this soup absolutely delicious was this...

Sriracha HOT chili sauce!!! I tell you, this is one really spicy chili sauce. And I am one who eats jalapeno pepper like it's candy, so mark my words. It's VERY spicy! It sure did add oomph to my otherwise plain-tasting fish balls.

Here's another dish of soup.

House wonton soup deluxe $ 5.75

The soup base is the same as the fish ball soup. As for the wonton, I didn't taste it. This soup came generously with vegetables - broccoli, carrot, snow peas, cauliflower and cabbage -, some straw mushrooms, shrimps, char siew and wonton (of course).

And the dish that I've been waiting for...

Char kway teow $ 7.00

Taste wise, it still lacks the wok hei. But I like that they use the thicker kway teow compared to Penang's thin version. At first bite, it has a strong hint of the kicap manis (sweet soy sauce) that Indonesians often use in their cuisine. Then again, this is an Indonesian-owned restaurant so that pretty much explains it. It is still not spicy enough (at least to my liking) but it sure tasted better than Penang's version.

Chicken with cashew nuts $ 8.25

I frankly won't rave about this dish because first of all, the chicken slices weren't well-marinated at all. I do love all the beautiful colours bursting forth though, so that makes up for the lack of taste in this dish. I think I can do a better dish than this. *ahem*

So there, my hunt for the perfect plate of char kway teow in Philadelphia is still on. If you know of any great place, please, do let me know for my craving is getting stronger each day!

1030 8th Street
Tel: 215-627-7316

Villa di Roma

2009-10-15T03:32:00.003+08:00

This place is located in South Philly, in the heart of the Italian market. It is your genuine Italian ristorante, owned by the De Luca family. Nothing pretentious about this place, really. Its setting is akin to that of one's dining room, which makes Villa di Roma very homely and authentic. Most of the wait staffs are Italian, so naturally they are very gregarious and may I say, motherly.

We started off with a loaf of bread.

Nothing special about this bread, except that they are very generous with their butter. But, this same loaf of bread came in very handy towards the end of the meal.

For starters, we ordered the steamed clams in white sauce.

The clams were exceptionally fresh, with a good dose of oregano and garlic. The sauce was a little too oily for my liking but it was good sauce nonetheless. It's got a good hint of lemon in it.

I had the Pasta di Linguine.

It was perfect! I've never had a more delicious pasta dish than this. The linguine was done al dente. It was a huge portion, with clams, mussels, huge shrimps, crab meats and fish. Thanks to all these seafood, the sauce was so sweet and flavourful. Yes, I scooped the sauce out and licked my plate clean.

My partner had the Veal Bella Bucca.

The veal was done tenderly, with two pieces of veal sandwiching some cheese and ham in the middle, coated with bread crumbs, and deep fried. Then, it was basked in a delightful brown sauce with spinach and a hint of lemon. Remember the loaf of bread? Yup, it is useful to soak up all the delicious gravy to the last drop.

Villa di Roma is a cash-only restaurant but there is a bank nearby if you need to get cash. I've read reviews on their fried asparagus, so the next time I am there, I am definitely ordering that. I can't wait!

936 South 9th St,
(Between Christian & Carpenter St)
Philadelphia 19147
Tel: (215) 592-1295

Union Jack's Pub

2009-10-08T22:59:00.004+08:00

I never thought that food in a pub would be good, but boy, I've been proven so wrong since I got here!

Bar food can be absolutely, fantastically, finger lickin' good!!!

It's become a ritual to come here to Union Jack's every Monday. If you're a true-blooded American you'll know, but if you're not, let me tell you. Football is on every Sunday and Monday, and what do you associate it with? Hanging out with your mates with some beer and the good old Buffalo wings!!!

I've been having quite a bit of Buffalo wings around Philadelphia, and I must say that Union Jack's are THE best. They're done just right, with the perfect amount of hot sauce, and oh, blue cheese dipping! How could you not love blue cheese?

Buffalo wings in hot sauce

Blue cheese dipping

Don't expect a fancy place because Union Jack's is your typical bloke's hangout place. It's not loud and rowdy per se, but it's just your typical friendly neighbourhood pub with good food and sports playing all day long.

PS: This is a cash-only pub. But there's an ATM inside, if you needed to withdraw cash.

2750 Limekiln Pike
Glenside, PA 19038-2203

(215) 886-6014

Cravings for spicy food - satisfied!

2009-10-07T03:37:00.004+08:00

Gertrude has been amazing. She cooks up a storm for me and knows exactly what I want. Last week, she made me nasi lemak, with the most delicious beef rendang, and sambal ikan bilis. They were just perfect - the right flavour, and spicy! She also made a dish of stir-fried vegetables, not forgetting the rudiments of nasi lemak - cucumber and hard boiled eggs.

Behold the pictures!

Beef rendang

Sambal ikan bilis

Stir-fried vegetables

Sliced cucumber

Hard boiled eggs

I went to bed smiling that night! Thanks Gertrude!

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

2009-09-29T04:58:00.004+08:00

Olive Garden to the Americans is like Italiannies to Malaysians. I'm sure most Malaysians would love it here in Olive Garden though, due to their endless salads and soups! Yes, I kid you not!!! Basically the soups and salads are refilled automatically, no questions asked. You can have 10 bowls of soup, for all they care! I am, however, not Malaysian enough to do that, as I had only 1 bowl of soup. Then again, I was already full to the brim when my main course came.

For starters, we shared a bruschetta.

Bruschetta $6.95

The roasted ciabata bread has the perfect crispiness to it. But I must applaud the toppings though. The roma tomatoes were so sweet, with the right hint of basil and olive oil. I love it!

My soup soon came.

Zuppa Toscana $4.65

I couldn't decide if it was a cream-based soup, or a clear broth soup because it wasn't exactly very creamy, yet it wasn't clear either, but it was delicious! It has some bits of spicy sausage in it, with some cubed potatoes and some cavolo greens. It also came piping hot, which is very important because somehow, soups just don't taste as good when it's lukewarm or cold. The cavolo greens gave a good crunch to the soup. The perfect soup for the chilly weather we have right now.

Here's my dining partner's choice of soup.

Chicken & Gnocchi $4.65

It was creamier than mine, with bits of roasted chicken and homemade gnocchi in it. Another excellent soup.

At this point, after the bruschetta and the soup, I was full to my nose. But my main course came and it smelt so good.

Garlic-Herb Chicken con Broccoli $12.95

The wait staff generously shaved a ridiculous amount of Parmesan cheese onto my plate...well, not that I'm complaining anyway! The chicken breasts were seasoned with rosemary, and the broccoli cooked to perfection. The garlic cream sauce was heavenly. It went very well with the orecchiette pasta, which was cooked to al dente, by the way.

Pork Milanese $14.75

I didn't taste this, so I'm going to have to copy and paste what's written in their website. It is actually 'pan-seared pork scaloppini crusted with Italian herb breadcrumbs, served with asiago cheese-filled tortelloni pasta tossed in a garlic-butter sauce with fresh spinach.' My dining partner said it was good, but then again, he was also stuffed to the brim.

We both had to box our lunches home. I cannot imagine what would've happened if we had more than a serving of soup each.

Overall, I had a very pleasant dining experience here. The ambience was good. The decor was done old Italian style. The wait staff were all patient and attentive. Above all, the food was excellent. I am definitely coming back again.

Continental Restaurant and Minibar...AGAIN!

2009-09-22T03:48:00.004+08:00

I simply love this place! I was here two Sundays ago, and I couldn't resist another visit here. So, on a perfectly sunny Sunday, I hopped into Continental again for brunch.

I had a cup of tea and it came with a big teacup and a very big saucer. Then again, the Americans aren't big on tea, so I was the odd one out in the restaurant.

My dining partner ordered a cocktail. Continental has a wide array of cocktail drinks, by the way, and it is a pity that I don't drink because I see almost everyone ordering a cocktail, and they all came in many shades and colours.

This is the Champagne-O-Rama, which is Smirnoff Raspberry vodka and sparkling wine with a grenadine-sugar rimmed glass.

This time, I had the eggs benedict with spinach and it was delicious! The Hollandaise sauce was perfect - thick and creamy with a lemon zing. The spinach were fresh and done just right. The English muffin was soft and fluffy. My mouth is watering even as I am writing this.

My partner's Turkey Sausage, Spinach and Cheddar omelette. It came with a generous dose of spinach. I didn't taste it though, but I'm sure it was perfect.

Yes, we sat at the basket seats again. I have mastered the art of eating and swinging, and after a stomach-full of food, it was relaxing to gently rock back and forth while people-watching and waiting for the food to digest.

A beautiful Sunday indeed!

Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar
138 Market St Philadelphia,
PA 19106
Tel: 215 923-6069 Fax: 215 923-8818

Lee How Fook @ Philadelphia

2009-09-16T23:28:00.002+08:00

Last Sunday, my cravings for Chinese food hit again. Somehow, being a true-blooded Chinese, I need my rice (I never thought of myself as a rice junkie, until recently!) and off to Chinatown I went!

One of my friends have been singing praises about this place and that Sunday afternoon, I walked in, ate, and walked out a very contented woman.

I ordered 2 dishes.

Szechuan eggplant $ 7.95

Beef with ginger and scallion $9.25

The eggplant was average in taste. Perhaps I expected more. I am a huge fan of eggplants by the way, and no one cooks them better than my mom. The beef was really good though. It was tender and the gravy went very well with white rice.

One thing I really like about this place is that it is really cheap! The bill was about $18 for two, inclusive of tax, rice and a pot of Chinese tea. I can't wait to try out their other stuff. And the best part was, the lady owner speaks Cantonese! Yes, it's been a while since I last spoke to anyone in Cantonese, and I miss that.

Give this place a try if you're in the vicinity.

Lee How Fook Tea House
219 North 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Te: 215-925-7266

Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar

2009-09-16T03:02:00.006+08:00

This is a famous restaurant that specialises in brunch on weekends. It has a very swanky interior, with a 60s diner feel to it. They also have an extensive cocktail menu. I didn't order any though but my dining partner did, and it was good.

Here's where we sat - at the swing seats!

It was a little uncomfortable because you're actually hanging in mid-air, and it's a chore to stay still and eat but, after the meal's done, it felt good to relax in the swing seat and just swing away.

Here are the seats at the ground floor.

I ordered the Chicken Biscuit.

It came with a serving of hash brown, which was more of cubed potatoes deep fried until golden brown. The biscuits were good. It was served burger style, with a sunny side up egg, and some minced bacon and onion fry.

My partner had this:

Applewood bacon and cheddar omelette with 2 slices of brown bread toast. The omelette was really good with a generous serving of cheese.

I can't wait to come here on a weekday to try out their lunch, or even dinner. Until then, I will leave u to drool over these pictures. Yes, I know, they weren't so well taken but, we were really hungry and couldn't wait to eat!

Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar
138 Market St Philadelphia,
PA 19106
Tel: 215 923-6069 Fax: 215 923-8818

Curry mee

2009-09-12T04:05:00.006+08:00

Chef Extraordinaire Gertrude is a gem! She knew I have been craving for something Malaysian, and so she cooked me this: curry mee! Not only that, she made some fried wontons to go with the curry mee, and they were fabulous! I couldn't help munching on the wontons even as she was deep-frying them.

I tried to put myself to good use by folding the wontons. I don't know if I did a good job, but hey, at least I tried.

Here's the great chef hard at work.

I was somewhere in the corner, stuffing myself silly with the freshly-fried wontons.

Don't they look good?

I tell you, they were divine in taste!

Here's the pot of broth simmering on the stove.

They were very spicy too, which I loved!

And tadaa...my bowl of home-made curry mee!

Nothing beats a bowl of curry mee on a chilly day (it wasn't very chilly that day) but, when you've lived in Malaysia your whole life, 70F IS chilly for me. We had fun slurping up the noodles, and because it was so spicy, we had to have tissue in hand. But, it was worth it.

Another craving satisfied!

Penang Malaysian Cuisine @ Philadelphia

2009-09-10T03:21:00.006+08:00

This is a place that my friend has been raving about. It has received fabulous reviews namely in the New York magazine, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and has even made appearances on Food Network and Fox 5.

I surely had high hopes for this place. And I was looking forward to some good old Malaysian cuisine.

Hello disappointment!

Well, the interiors of this place is actually quite well done.

It has got a hawker feel to it, this I must admit.

However, that is all I am going to rave about them because their food sucked big time.

Here are what we ordered for appetizers.

Roti canai with chicken curry

This is actually one of their featured dishes. The roti wasn't too bad. It didn't have the flavour nor the texture, but it was all right. However, the chicken curry was a disappointment. It was a mix of curry and dhall and I thought that tasted horrible. How could you mix these two flavours together?

Our next appetizer:

Satay

This was a major disappointment. We had a mixture of chicken and beef satay. The chicken came in cubes on a skewer. That was Turn Off No.1. Also, it wasn't well marinated at all. Turn Off No.2. It was also dry! Turn Off No.3. The beef was overdone. Not marinated. Came in cubes. I thought satay meat was supposed to be in a long, thin piece of meat pierced together with a skewer? The peanut sauce was nothing to shout about. Not spicy, not sweet, not peanut-ish. I suddenly miss MAS' satay very, very much!

Here's what I had:

Char kueh teow

This was the worst CKT I've ever eaten in my entire life. I'm a big CKT fan, btw, and I usually like my CKT to be done extra spicy, with lots of beansprouts and semi-raw cockles. I asked for it to be extra spicy. It came with bits of cili padi. Also, if you take a good look at my picture, the kway teow isn't the fat flat kway teow that one usually uses to make CKT. Instead, the kway teow here is thin and all broken up. What a turn off! As for flavour, well, there is an obvious lack of 'wok hei' in this dish. There weren't enough beansprouts in this dish, and whatever beansprouts they have in it, they're overdone, so you don't get the crunch out of it. As you can see, there weren't many seafood in it. Don't even hope for a piece of cockle, because there isn't any. (I found out later that cockles are expensive here in the US). Maybe 4 shrimps and some tiny bits of squid. To think this was one of their featured dishes too! What a major disappointment.

Sweet and sour chicken

This is the dish my friend ordered, and when it arrived, it surprised me because it was just plain deep-fried chicken pieces with a sauce on the side. You call this sweet and sour chicken? The chicken were overcooked, and it hurt my throat when I swallowed. The sauce was nothing extraordinary. You know what? I think I make better sweet and sour chicken than them, and I'm not a fabulous cook to start with!

Overall, I would give this place a two thumbs down. I don't think I'll ever want to come back to this place again. It just traumatised me. (Yes, that's the Drama Queen talking!).

117 N. 10th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Tel: (215) 413-2531 & (215) 413-2532

KenShin Asian Diner

2009-09-08T06:38:00.005+08:00

It's been 3 weeks since I stepped foot in Philadelphia and last week, the food cravings finally caved in. After 2 weeks of sandwiches and salad and pasta, I had rice for the first time and that, my friend, was utterly satisfying!!!

We went to this Asian diner called KenShin and I must say that the food wasn't bad at all. Well, when you're in Rome, you do what the Romans do, and yes, the food was a little Americanised but hey, at least I satisfied my cravings!

KenShin has not one, nor two, but THREE Asian cuisines all under one roof. They have Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisines, and I must say they do have an impressive menu.

For appetisers, we had this:

Yakitori Chicken

Followed by the main dishes:

Kung Pao Chicken

Stir fried string beans in Szechuan sauce

The bill came up to about $35 plus a pot of green tea and taxes, tips not included. Frankly I have no idea if that is considered expensive here, but I know that I walked out of the restaurant a happy woman. I'm definitely coming back here again.

KenShin Asian Diner
301 Spring Garden St
Philadelphia PA
19123

Taco Bell

2009-08-31T23:10:00.007+08:00

I had my first Taco Bell a few days ago, and I must say I now understand why a lot of my friends rave about it.

It was absolutely delicious. Of course, you can't compare it with home-cooked Mexican food but, it was pretty amazing for a fast food joint.

Some pictures to get you salivating.

I had the tacos, crunchy style. I didn't want to get the supreme tacos yet because I wanted to try it without all the guacamole and sour cream. I did pile on the fire hot sauce though.

This is the Mexican pizza.

It is just melted cheese with some tomatoes and steak on a bed of tacos.

A close-up.

My verdict: I'm definitely going back to Taco Bell again.

Philly Cheesesteak

2009-08-21T03:37:00.006+08:00

Philadelphia is famous for her cheesesteak, and since I am here, I just got to try it out. It was not a disappointment at all.

The usual cheesesteak is with beef, but I had mine with chicken. What they do is that they pan fry the chicken pieces and top it with cheese, and then they take the bread and sort of 'glue' the chicken AND the cheese to the bread.

I added some yellow mustard and some honey dijon mustard, topped with some black pepper onto my cheesesteak. I think not everyone does that though. I was told people usually just put some ketchup and mayonaisse on it. Oh well...

The fries were pretty good too. Not your regular McDonald's kind of fries. More like the freshly made kind, with the skin on the fries.

My verdict? Yummy! I'm going to try the beef cheesesteak soon. I'll keep you posted!

Dim sum at Tai Zi Heen

2009-06-07T20:50:00.006+08:00

Hello dear neglected blog!

I've been pigging everywhere, but in my midst of enjoying the food, I totally forgot I had a food blog lying dormant for 2 months. And when I remembered to whip out my camera, the food's all gone. But I will work harder, I promise!

Today I finally satisfied my cravings for dim sum! I am quite picky when it comes to dim sum because, 1) I don't really eat pork, and 2) Ipoh, where I come from, has a few very good dim sum places and I feel that nowhere in KL matches them, except of course, hotels like Prince and Mandarin Oriental.

I managed to drag my sister and her boyfriend to Tai Zi Heen at Prince Hotel today for an All You Can Eat Dim Sum and it was so gooooooooooooood! I was there for their dim sum a few years ago and today, I haven't been disappointed. They maintained their standard all these years!

There were about 50+ items on the menu, and I think we ordered almost all of them. Yes, we could really eat. I didn't take any pictures though, because I was too busy stuffing myself silly. I love their lime dessert with aloe vera and jelly very, very much. It came in a deep dish, with a scoop of lime sorbet. Just the perfect dessert to have to aid the digestion!

Here's a screenshot from Prince Hotel. Be sure to snap pictures if you go, ok. I'll be less of a glutton the next time I go, and reward you with some glorious dim sum pictures.

The Olive @ Genting Highlands

2009-03-16T17:00:00.007+08:00

It was a beautiful restaurant, The Olive.

Nice lighting.

Beautiful ambience.

Great service.

And here's what we ordered for appetiser. I couldn't remember the names of all the food we ordered, so I am describing only what I remembered. Prices quoted are inclusive of tax and service charge.

Grilled snails in pesto sauce and olive oil (RM 40.25)

Portobello mushroom salad with eggplant and arugula (RM 28.75)

My main course:

Saffron angel hair pasta with scallops and radicchio (RM 59.80)

The other main course:

Grilled sirloin steak with mushrooms (RM 112.70)

The steak was done beautifully, and the meat was tender and melt-in-your-mouth kind. My pasta was slightly dry, but the scallops were very fresh. Overall, it was a great meal, which was very enjoyable thanks to a great company and wonderful surroundings.

A good place for special occasions.

The Olive
Lobby Floor, Genting Hotel
Genting Highlands,
Pahang.

Chocolate and Banana Muffins

2009-03-11T02:47:00.006+08:00

I baked these for our New Year's Eve party and they tasted great! I made enough to feed a party of 20, with leftovers too. Recipe found here.

Enjoy!

Ipoh's Big Tree Leg

2009-03-09T23:15:00.003+08:00

Direct translated from Cantonese, 'Dai Shu Geok' means 'Big Tree Leg', literally, under the tree. This place is very famous in Ipoh. Located in Pasir Pinji, it is one of my favourite places to have lunch.

I love ordering their various kinds of yong tau fu. I especially love it when they're just freshly fried.

Here's my favourite thing to order:

Assam laksa

I am salivating just thinking about it!

Four Seasons in KL!

2009-03-02T20:46:00.006+08:00

Each time I flew to London, it's become a routine to hop over to Four Seasons Restaurant in Bayswater just to have some of their world famous roast duck. I was so happy when I found out that Four Seasons decided to branch out, right here in KL!

A few friends and I hopped over to the newly-opened, swanky Capital Square for duck, and more gastronomic pleasure. I will let the pictures do the talking.

Four Season's special roast duck (Half portion for RM 32)

Two combination BBQ (RM 29)

Deep fried squid with salt and pepper (RM 30)

Black pepper chicken in hot stone bowl (RM 37)

Stir fried kailan with ginger (RM 20)

The duck was great! It didn't have that gamey taste at all. One bite into it, and all the herbs and juices oozed. I didn't try the siu yoke and char siu though (I don't eat pork, remember?) but my friends said they were nothing to shout about. I loved the squid - they were very fresh and topped generously with garlic. The chicken was a disappointment, though. Not only was it expensive, it was really nothing to shout about, except well, the hot stone bowl. The kailan was imported from Hong Kong (that's what the menu claimed!) but I think it was probably from our own backyard in Cameron Highlands.

Overall, I'm glad that Four Seasons is now here in KL. I've missed their duck so much, and their chilli oil too. I tell you, duck + chilli oil = the best combination in the world! I am going back again for more, that's for sure.

The bill for 5 people came up to RM 185.35, inclusive of rice, Chinese tea and 10% service charge.

Four Seasons Restaurant
Lot G16-17, Capital Square Center,
No.7, Persiaran Capital Square,
Capital Square,
50100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2698 9393

(The restaurant is just a few doors away from Coffee Bean).

Lorong Selamat char kway teow

2009-02-17T16:10:00.005+08:00

I was back in Ipoh last weekend, so I thought we should go down to Penang. It was not a regrettable trip, because I finally had my dose of Lorong Selamat char kway teow!

The last time I ate there was a year ago, and it was still the goggles-wearing aunty who fried it. But this time around, it was taken over by her son (I assume).

Taste wise, it's still quite all right, although I would prefer my beansprouts to be slightly more cooked. I ordered mine to be extra spicy, and extra spicy it came, as evident from the colour.

I can't wait to go back there for more! This time, I hope it's the aunty who fries it for me.

Chocolate Chip Cookies, part 2

2009-01-19T20:23:00.002+08:00

I've been appointed 'official baker' this coming Chinese New Year, so all I do is to bake, bake and bake. Yesterday I attempted another chocolate chip cookies recipe, this time from videojug. I must say the cookies turned out absolutely delicious! It was crunchy on the edges but slightly chewy in the middle. Give this a try!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-01-13T17:33:00.004+08:00

I was in the mood to bake today, and to bake I did!

I've always wanted to give Gertrude's chocolate chip cookies recipe a try, and it turned out so good. I like my cookies dark brown in colour, so I added 70g of cocoa powder. I also decreased the amount of sugar to 1 cup. And instead of white granulated sugar, I used brown sugar.

My chocolate chip cookies turned out a little bittersweet. I love it! :)

Win Soon Cafe

2008-12-18T14:24:00.009+08:00

I recently had one of the best fish head noodles ever, and I'd like to share my new discovery with you.

The restaurant is spacious, and each table is given a free packet of tissue, like this:

A very good way for free publicity, really, because inside the fold of the tissue pack, lies a picture of a map:

Is that clever marketing or what?

We ordered the deep fried fish paste for starters, and it was gone in seconds. It went really well with the sambal belacan.

This is the fish head noodles.

And this is the fish paste noodles.

It was really good! The broth was so sweet and the fragrance of the Chinese cooking wine really whetted my appetite. It also came with a generous amount of fried pork lard (which I don't eat) so lucky was the one who dined with me.

A bowl of fish head noodles cost RM 7.50. The fish paste noodles costs the same too. I can't remember the price of the deep fried fish paste, though. On my second visit, I tried the deep fried fish head and it was super delicious!

So delicious that I forgot to snap a picture of it, boo hoo! The fish head was fried to perfection - it was very crispy yet not overcooked. Their sambal belacan was really good too.

Give this place a try if you're in the area.

Win Soon Cafe
46, Jalan Kuchai Maju 9
Off Jalan Kuchai Lama
58200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-7981 9287