Dedicated to Thai Food

I am going to dedicate my blog write up this week to the "mother of all cuisine"( well at least for me it is)..the most favoured, delectable Thai cuisine. How can it not be one of the best..when it has some many flavours to play with..we have the fish sauce, palm sugar, lemongrass, kaffir lime and its leaves, coconut cream, birds eye chilies and the list goes on and on...

I pay tribute by starting of with a write up on what I prepared for my very own family...trying to be a Thai cook. This was my attempt for a full blown Thai meal.

Thai Green Curry Chicken

Steam Fish Thai Style

Minced Chicken with Basil Leaves

I was happy with the outcome of the dishes (you can find the recipes too in other post). The family was happy and therefore I was happy too.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my food adventure in Bangkok.

Home made Thai Green Curry

Thai green curry is fiery hot with a hint of sweetness. The curry paste is made with fresh green Thai chili peppers. This is my first time trying this recipes so  off I went to the supermarket to get the ingredients for the recipe.

500gm chicken fillet
500gm brinjals, cut into quarters
500gm pea brinjals
6 pcs birds eye chillies
1/4 cup thai basil (optional)
a stalk of lemongrass
kaffir lime leaves
green curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
Mint leaves for garnishing

Heat up the oil and put in the green curry paste and fry a bit. Then pour in 1/2 cup of coconut milk into the green paste and start to stir. At this point you should sense a nice aroma. Add in the birds eye chillies and lemon grass stalk.

Once you see the greenish oil starts to separate, add in the chicken pieces and start to coat the gravy onto the chicken oieces. Allow it to cook until the chicken is half cooked. Now, you should add in the rest of the coconut milk and 1 cup water. Then, add in the brinjals. I like my brinjals pre fried but it is really your choice.  Let it simmer for 10-15mins and make sure chicken is fully cooked. You should add in the pea brinjals at this point and let it cook. Pea eggplants takes about 2-3mins to cook. This is a very interesting vegetable and  look like green peas clustered together like grapes with short stems
It can be eaten raw or boiled with sauce and cooked in curry. Watch out though when they're cooked because they can explode in your mouth, like a little heat bomb, if you're not careful.

Season accordingly with fish sauce and also chillies if you need the extra heat. Lastly add in the thai basil and the kaffir  leaves and take the gravy off the heat.  Finally you get a masterpiece of sweet, creamy  stew with a tiny hint of spiciness when serve wiyh steaming hot Jasmine or Thai fragrant rice is simply superb.

I was happy because the family was happy...

Feast at Lamma Island, Hong Kong-Rainbow Restaurant

I was in Hong Kong in August this year for a conference and we were invited for dinner at Lamma Island. It was interesting as we need to take a ferry ride to the island, which was about 30 mins of bumpy ride. But it well worth it.

It was a rather small island, and I was told by my local colleague that the famous Chow Yuen Fatt is from this island. To me it looked as if there were only restaurants but I may be wrong.

Now, let us look at the food we had.

I missed a good photo of the appetizers, but we had a great variety from century eggs, boiled prawns, pickled onions, stir fry bak choy and fried tofu.

The next dish that came in was stir fry prawns. It was good but I could not catch the way it was prepared. There was a hint of saltiness from butter, I think. 

Next we had the fish, stir fried with veges. Light and fresh is how I would describe it.

Then we had the noodles with crayfish, which was my favourite. The noodles had the flavour of the crayfish mixed into and it was so flavourful. More pictures on this..

Look at the size, my oh my! 

Then came the crab....which was really huge. But I can't say much because I did not try it. Just did want to get messy.

The second half of the fish came in and it was prepared differently but was equally good. This was the part of the head to the neck, and it was coated with some sort of flour, fried and then stir fried. This gave some crunchiness although it had sauce on it.

The next dish that was served was roasted chicken, which was a pretty sight for my Caucasian friend, and judging from the picture, you can guess why....

Lastly, we were served with fried rice which by then I had lost interested in eating., and of course photos. In short, the meal was scrumptious and we enjoyed every bit of it.

Hong Kong Dim Sum Adventure @ Tim Ho Wan

Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum

We started day 1 with a Dim Sum feast at the most talked about dim sum restaurant along Shim Shao Pao street.  We took a walk from.our hotel and got a little lost but it was well worth it.

Dim Sum is definitely a must have in Hong Kong. Don't be surprised with the limited variety of dim sum in Tim Ho Wan but you would not mind having the sane type again and again . It is really good.

 If you need the address, it is on the menu card above.

 The pan fried radish cake was simply divine. It was not oily, lightly fried with chunks of radish and slight hints of dried prawn. No flavour was overpowering and everything was just nice.

 For a person who hates porridge, I would say hats off to the pork and century egg congee. The serving was big and was shared among 3 of my family members.

My favourite was the baked char siew pau
My ohhh my.. fantastic. It was freshly baked, piping hot with the sweet filing of char siew...yummy

The chee cheong fun had the most fullfilling fillings. That is a mouthful..literally...haha

Both the "siu mai" and "har kow" (prawn dumplings) were really good. As you can see, before I could take a photo, one piece went missing. It was filled with fresh and plump prawns.

I forgot what these spring roll looking are called but it was basically egg and prawns wrapped in beancurd skin. Not too bad but was not by favourite.

And finally, my favourite was the stewed pork ribs Juicy, thick meat over the bones, with a little bits of fat, was a mouthful of flavours.

Tim Ho Wan should be one restaurant that you should not miss but just be beware if you are a non  Cantonese or Mandarin speaker, be ready to use sign language.

Honalulu Cafe Hong Kong

Polo Pao is one of the most eaten buns in Hong Kong either as breakfast or snack during tea break. You should not miss the Polo Bun if you visit Hong Kong. One of the best of the Polo Buns is said to come from Honolulu Cafe oven. The outlet is located at Central and I heard or read somewhere it was featured on CNN. You have choice to have the Polo Bun plain or sandwiched with butter or egg The salted butter is said to be home made and gives a good contrast of flavor since the Polo Bun’s crust tastes sweet. Being non Chinese, we just had to point out to the pictures to make our point.

 We also sampled the egg tarts which is also  good choice here and tasted fantastic.

 We also tried the Hong King milk tea which is so different from our teh tarik. HK’s Milk Tea has a stronger tea aroma, smoother on the throat and a lot less sweeter due to the fact that they use more evaporated milk instead of condensed milk. It does not come with and you need add sugar to your preference.

 We were lucky because we went in early to have our breakfast before going to the Peak, and escaped the queue. If you are going to HK soon and contemplating a Honalulu cafe visit, trust me and mark it down as one of the must-visit. Thanks to my dad who made this place into our list.

Mr & Ms Cafe, Oasis Ara Damansara

 Mr. & Ms. Cafe is a cosy place which is perfect for a lazy weekend breakfast or brunch. The interior is pretty cosy and the staffs are very friendly. The breakfast menu offers a huge selection of western breakfast choices while the lunch menu which is available from 12pm onwards. I can' t comment for lunch because I did not try it. 

It was pretty crowded on the day that I went there, and I am sure this is the normal weekend crowd. Looking at the blogs, it seem to be one of the hottest breakfast or brunch spots. 

The decor was nice and had an urban touch, despite the dark wooden shelves and the traditional red brick walls. Added on with beautifully lit  filament bulbs, it creates a cozy ambiance. You can see along dainty little decorations such as flower pots and photo frames.

Enough said about the decor, let' s talk about the food. I had to have caffeine fix so I went along with my cappuccino while Joshua wanted his hot chocolate. Both added on to the comfy feeling that we 
already felt in the cafe. 

I ordered the eggs portobello, which fitted well, for me, as I love my mushrooms. to came with poached eggs on top two juicy portobello mushrooms. Served with feta, nuts lentis and grapes, I was surprised that the combination of textures and the sweet grapes just fitted so well. Imagine grapes, nuts and poached eggs, but yeah it worked ! Thick, tender and hearty, these meaty portobello mushrooms can replace your meat anytime.

My boy, however, ordered the Big Breakfast. It is complete with everything that you need,from toast, eggs, ham, herb chicken sausages, bacon, mushrooms & baked beans and not to forget tomatoes. You can choose you eggs  to be poached, scrambled or fried. The only sad thing, it was too big for him. I wish his dad was there to help him finish it up.

Definitely a brunch-tastic place to go after a very late morning. Try it ! 

Lunch at Pantrie, Oasis Ara Damansara

Pantrie serves international western cuisine, and has a menu that showcases the best of Italian, English, French and American dishes. I would say this is one of the better places that I have dined and enjoyed.

It was a Saturday noon, and we arrived there at 12 noon. The place was empty and that immediately made us doubt about the food there. The waiter arrived with the menu and it looked interesting so why not !

I ordered creamed escargot, shelled escargot baked over spinach, topped with mozzarella and crusty breadcrumbs. What a divine tasting dish to start with . Just scoop the delightful cheesy escargot with just enough spinach and cheesy cream into your mouth and enjoy.

My son had the wild mushroom soup. It was good, light, though it was not my favorite. But there wad nothing to complain.

However, my son simply loved the braised lamb shank that was served on top of a blob of creamy mash potato. Tender to the bones and simply flavourful, a he kept raving over it.

But the star of the day was the vanilla creme brulee. Its silky smooth texture simply melts in your mouth.

Pantrie is a good place to head if you want to experience delicious western cuisine, nothing too fancy or over the top, but just hearty, wholesome food. And I should say the service is fairly good too.

Simple, fulfilling lunch : Ayam Masak Merah Malay Style

Lunch today was an accomplishment, with satisfied customers, both hubby and son. The menu: Ayam Masak Merah( Red Chilli Chicken) ,  Acar (;Cucumber and Pineapple Pickle) with 2 choices of rice : Nasi Lemak ( Rice in Coconut Milk) & Carrot Rice.
For the Ayam Masak Merah, grind the below into a paste :
1. Red Chillies
2. Garlic
3. Ginger
4. Scallion
5. Tomatoes
6. Belacan( Shrimp paste)
7. Lemongrass
8. Candlenuts

Marinate the chicken pieces with a tumeric and salt.
Cut and prepare some potatoes, carrots and also can of peas to be added later.

Heat up your wok, fry in some onions and cinnamon sticks until fragrant. Then put in the paste and cook about 15mins. At this point, your kitchen would be filled by the aroma of spices of lemongrass and all.

Add the potatoes and carrots and cook them until half cooked, and then add the chicken in, and let it simmer for about 40mins. Simmering allows the flavours to seep through the chicken. Then add in the peas and  cook for about 5mins ( note I used caned peas). Pour in coconut milk and stir for a couple of minutes. And, voila the dish is ready, easy peasy.

I matched this with Ghee Rice with Shredded Carrots and Pickled Cucumber and Pineapple.

Couscous with grilled salmon

This is a tasty, wholesome dinner recipe for anyone who wants a change in their daily food menu.A quick to make and hassle free dinner for busy moms.

Simply put the couscous in a bowl and pour in boiling water. Stir it and then cover it with a lid. Uncover and fluff it with a pork. I added a little salt and lots of  finely chopped mints, cherry tomatoes and grilled zuchini.

As for the salmon, I marinated it with a little honey and soy sauce, tiny bit of salt and pepper. Then I used the microwave to grill it. When it was done, I used a fork to break them into smaller pieces.

Assemble the slices of grilled salmon onto your pre- prepared couscous and there you have a fantastic, complete and wholesome meal.

That night I paired it with home-made Sangria.

Simply add lemon and orange wedges into water melon juice and keep it in the fridge.When serving, add ice, vodka and the juice.

Home Made Burgers for Dinner

Sometimes kids get so fussy with food and they become your biggest critic. I finally decided to make burgers, and yes home made burger patties. So the below was my end product.

Let me tell you, they were better than any burger I had ever tasted, perfectly juicy inside and grilled just nice outside. First, start by getting good quality ground lamb. You can use any type of meat of your choice, chicken or pork. Marinate the meat with a fair bit of tumeric, paprika and cumin powder. Add salt and pepper for seasoning. Mix them well and make them into patties. The trick to work your way through and season the meat thoroughly.

I wrap the patties in foils and refridgerated them for later use. This process also enhances the flavour and holds them into the shape better. I never measure my ingredients so I apologize for  not being able to provide precise measurement. I go with the smell, and touch. Remember not to overwork the patties.

Use a grill pan to grill your burger to get that beautiful charred mark. I used butter because it was for my son and he could afford that little bit of fat on him. Toast your buns to get the best out of it. Lastly assemble your burger as per your choice.

Mine was a simple assembly of a slice of tomato, freshly grilled lamb patty, cheese, lettuce in between toasted buns. The king was the flavourful lamb patties marinated with my favourite spices, grilled to perfection! Yummm....