Vietnam House, One Utama

Vietnam House is located in One Utama, and one of my favourite places for lunch. It is  not easy to find a good Vietnamese restaurant in KL and I seriously believe this Vietnam House is one of it. They serve ala carte and set meals.

On our first visit, with only 3 of us, we ordered the set meal which is more worth for money(RM16.90) as it comes with the soup, salad, appetizer and a dessert. The set meal comes with Vietnamese wanton which is what I look forward to (below)

 I had the set with sweet sour fish fillet, which  was very good. It was sweet and slightly spicy and goes hand in hand with the steamed white rice served in a very cute clay pot :). Some might find it a little dry, though...

 The soup has a clean, fresh. light taste with tofu bits.

Chicken with Lemongrass is one of the recommendation of the restaurant. It was a curry chicken with lemongrass and chillies is being served in the claypot. A friend opted for the bamboo fried rice. The fried rice is being stir fried and it is then being served in the bamboo. The ingredients includes prawns as well as the quail egg makes the rice even perfect.

The 2nd time we went with a bigger group and had the opportunity to try out ala carte dishes. We ordered 2 types of appetizers, Vietnamese Spring Rolls and Prawn Skewers.These appetizers came authenthic baskets.The spring rolls are refreshing and consist of of some carrot,cucumber,white carrot and prawn, and served with a special dip.

We had the Claypot Chicken Curry, which was quite good. Being an Indian, with our famous fiery tasting curries, I expected a bland curry from Vietnam but they amazed me. Though not spicy, it was aromatic and flavourful. The chicken was cooked tenderly and tasty.

   We had some other dishes, mixed veges and tofu with minced meat which I did not get a chance to get a photo..too bad.

But I made sure I got a shot of the authentic original traditional old school Vietnamese drip coffee.

Vietnam House is somewhere you would go to if you wanted to feel and taste something different, tasty, interesting and somehow light...

Organic Food @ Opika, 1 Utama

Organic food seems to be increasingly common nowadays, but Opika, is one of the few that coaxes fine flavours out of richly realized recipes.

 The Carbonara Fettuccine with Grilled Chicken and Funghi was perfectly creamy for me.   The chicken was  consistently wonderfully tender and tasty.

Linguine Olio Aglio and House Spiced Pan Seared Salmon was delicious. I’m a lover of pastas, and salmon so I found the flavours were right and the salmon was cooked to the perfect degree, neither too raw or dry. Perfect combination!

Multi Grain Fried Rice - The colours they incorporate into their dishes is just facinating! The multi grain rice is a colourful concoction of organic brown rice, red rice and quinoa; sautéed with corn, carrots and  serve with sate and prawns, topped with cubes of cucumber and tomatoes; and served with a crunchy-fresh side salad. 

We also had a salad as the starter but could not remember the name of the salad, but the taste, I can still remember...It was refreshing, tangy and yum yum...

The drinks we had, green tea, lemon grass and carrot juice....were all really, really authentically fresh, and original. All in all, the food in Opika, is deliciously good and healthy but you must be willing to the price.

Ho Ho Steamboat - Damansara

Last year, while we went shopping for bed frame and mattresses in Damansara, we came across Ho Ho Steamboat, which was right beside the shop that we got our mattress.

If you are dining in a small group, like the 3 of us, mummy,daddy and son, you would probably have to order the set meal. Our came about  RM30- RM40.

Luckily the set meal offered is not too shabby for its price. It came with two large prawns, some siakap slices, fish balls, fish noodles,dumplings, etc The good thing is the seafood is fresh and you could really taste the difference from those served in buffet type of steamboat restaurants.

The  clear soup was tasty and even more tasty after it absored all the added seafood’s flavour. In sum, if you want an inexpensive, no frills steamboat, then go for Ho Ho.

Add an egg, and the noodles...and complete your meal!

Weekend Banana Cake

It is was the weekend, and running through my blog, suddenly made me realize that I had somehow, along the hustle and bustle of career filled life, lost my passion to cook. So I decided that I must rekindle the spirit to cook and bake. So, hurried through the kitchen and found 2 overly ripe bananas, and off to the pantry and found all that I needed for a banana cake.

So here it goes...Mash the 2 bananas and keep it aside. In a saucepan, slowly heat up half a block of butter, about 125g, with 3/4 cup of sugar (I used brown sugar because I had loads of it), and vannila essence.

Take it off the fire, and add in the bananas, 1 egg, 2 1/2 cups of flour and 1/4 cup of fresh milk. Mix them all well.

Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius, and bake for about 40 mins. Of course, you will need to check to confirm the cake is cooked well.

After 40 mins, voila....this is what you will get...

A delicious way to use up any over-ripe bananas you have lying around. The cake turned out to be incredibly moist and fruity. Enjoy it with a cup of tea !

Authentic Nasi Kerabu

We Malaysians, just love our rice. We have our Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng (fried rice), the borrowed Nasi Briyani ( from India), Frog Leg Rice Porridge (from our Chinese friends) and many,many more. But today, I will talk about the Nasi Kerabu

 Nasi Kerabu  is a regional specialty from the state of Kelantan on the east coast of Malaysia. Traditionally, the rice is tinted bright blue from petals of a flower called bunga telang (clitoria) Several  varieties of local herbs are added into rice.

 This Nasi Kerabu is normally a combination of fresh aromatic herbs; local mint, basil, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, turmeric leaves and raw vegetables; bean sprouts, long green beans, shallots, cucumber, are combined together. The rice is bland on its despite its bright blue colour, and makes it perfect for the spicy "sambal"and  strong flavored ingredients such as salted fish, dried prawns, fish crackers, kerisik [fried grated coconut] and other savory garnishing. 

Yumm...This Nasi Kerabu is served with fish crackers, salted egg and chicken "rendang', a truly authentic dish.

Rich Fruit Cake for a Merry Christmas

Fruit Cake is a "must have" for Christmas, has that wonderful combination of nuts and dried fruits with barely enough cake batter to hold it all together. What sets a real cake apart is  the alcohol (usually brandy, sometimes rum). This gives the Fruit Cake a subtle brandy flavor and a moist texture, plus it also allows the cake to be stored for ages and ages. 

My recipe is just below:

Fruit Cake:

1 cup  unsalted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons brandyplus extra for brushing the cake

Juice and zest (outer orange skin) of one orange

Zest (outer yellow skin) of one lemon

1cup of any kind of nuts ( no groundnuts)

1 big pack of assortment of dried fruits (preferably Big Sister)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

salt

Soak fruits in achohol overnight or longer. The longer you soak the fruits,they better they taste in the cake. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the juice and zest of the orange, and zest of the lemon.

Adding of the fragrant orange zest...

Then fold in the chopped nuts, and all the dried and candied fruits. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder and fold this into the cake batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for1 hour.  I could not remember the temperature I used but I basically followed the manual of the oven. Bake for about 1 hr 30 minutes or until a long skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

 Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely. Wrap the cake thoroughly in aluminum foil.This cake will keep several weeks or it can be frozen.

This is just my recipe but there  are many fruit cake recipes on the net and you choose any one that suits you. Just go with the flow and experiment, that is how I got my cake done, and my mom loved it!

Bangkok House @ Sunway Giza

This is my first post for 2013, so I am 2 months behind time. Let's start, I bought a groupon coupon for Bangkok House. Being and ardent fan of Thai cuisine, so I grabbed the chance.

In short, the food was alright, but the place was decent and nice. This is what we ate, Deep Fried Assorted Veges. It was fried well, coated with just the right amount of flour, and the "sambal" was just perfect.

 "Ikan Tiga Rasa" or Fried Fish of 3 flavours came next. The interesting thing was that the fish was cut into bite size pieces which made eating easy, and the flavour was quite good, sweet, spicy and sour..all just right. My son who loves Pandan Chicken, vouched for their pandan chicken.

But guys..what is Thai Food without the one and only Tomyam. We ordered the white version of the seafood tomyam. The tomyam came with a generous amount of prawns, fish fillets, squids and even crab. However, it was not spicy enough for our taste buds.

I can say, in general, The food was not too bad, but nothing to shout about. We loved the ambiance though, which was a nice family setting. And of course, with the deal that we got, it was worth it!