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Memorable taste of the US March 5, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , add a comment

phohoa1

It only takes a moment to remind you of an experience.  And sometimes it takes a meal to bring back sweet memories.

It’s not exactly like the phố we had in the US, but it is a branch of one of the restaurants we used to frequent while we were there.  And while the menu might be slightly different, the taste is vaguely familiar.

It felt good.  And comfortable.

And my Ethan boy even said, “Wow…just like in the US!”

phohoa2

I stayed up till 2:30a.m. last night… February 8, 2010

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… because of these doggies…

 

A sweet start for Saturday February 5, 2010

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Saturday mornings always taste better when we start it off with a freshly homemade batch of pancakes.

…and don’t forget the maple syrup!

Dishing out the cuttlefish January 21, 2010

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Let’s face it.  If I even have the remote-est chance of hosting a Chinese New Year reunion dinner in my home in the future, I had better learn how to cook Jiu Hoo Char, a very popular palatable Hokkien delicacy, that is never missing from any Hokkien household during Chinese New Year reunion dinner.  The fried cuttlefish dish that has shreds of carrot and turnip in it, is both visually appealing and tasty too, especially when wrapped with fresh lettuce leaves

Lately, hubby has been asking (more like *daring*) me to see if I can create this favorite dish.  It looked simple enough, although I have never cooked it before.  I had been forewarned that the preparation time would be way more tedious than the cooking itself.

So yesterday, I decided to give it a shot.  I had grated the carrots and turnip (bangkuang) the night before, so that saved me a lot of time.  I soaked the dried cuttlefish (jiu hoo) in balsamic vinegar for about 20 minutes before squeezing it dry.  And just as Hannah drifted off for her afternoon siesta, I quickly prepared the dish.

Not bad for a novice like myself, I would say.  Hubby gave his approval for it.

And when I was busy taking a picture of the dish, Ethan asked, “Mommy, you bought this?” :)

That certainly made my day. 

The really ultimate carrot cake January 13, 2010

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At the mere mention of carrot cake, most Penangites would verily point you to a certain famous bakery here (whose name I will not mention).  I have tasted the carrot cake there before, and while I do enjoy its moist-NESS and taste overall, there is just something missing from it.  I just didn’t know what.

And then just last year, I tasted the Carrot Brownie from another *secret* shop in Penang, and it was served with delicious cream cheese frosting.  Now if you know me well enough, you’ll know that I will melt faster than butter in a pan if you give me anything with cream cheese in it.  The brownie was very good, but because of it being a brownie, it lacked a little in terms of moist-NESS.

So when I stumbled on the Ultimate Carrot Cake recipe, I decided to give it a try to see how ultimate ULTIMATE really was.  Besides, it was a failproof way to get my toddler to eat carrots! :)

And it doesn’t just contain walnuts; the cake is jampacked with walnuts, raisins and pineapples too!

The whole process of making and baking the cake (including prep time) took me about 2 hours, minus the time taken to make the cream cheese frosting.  I baked the cake in the morning and allowed it to cool down.  I only made the cream cheese frosting at night after the kids had gone to bed.

For my first attempt at something I would call a HEALTHY cake, it was very moist, just the way I like it; PLUS the frosting complemented the cake in the best way possible.  Ethan only wanted the frosting part, but I managed to sneak in the cake for him too!  I have leftover frosting in the fridge too, so that might *encourage* him to eat more!

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and so I was certainly very pleased when hubby declared it was VERY good. :)

EPA, DHA and Omega-3 December 30, 2009

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Okay, I admit I am kiasu.

But only when the health and wellbeing of my family is concerned. :)

And when I cook, I want to make sure that the food I put on the table is tasty as well as healthy.  It’s not that I go out of the way to buy organic stuff, but I try to cook with organic produce whenever possible.  So when I discovered that the organic store I go to carries *organic* fish too, I knew I had to try that out for myself, given the fact that I was having a really hard time sourcing for fresh fish to cook (read: fish from the supermarket didn’t taste fresh at all, and I don’t fancy buying from the wet market where the fishmonger yells, “Ah Moi, ikan murah!”) Besides, I had never before heard of organic fish, so this was something interesting.

Anyway, the organic store only had one kind of fish: the Jade Perch imported from Australia, and it was frozen-packed.  The label stated the fish is organically grown, and contained Omega-3, EPA and DHA (magic words for any mother).

 

I chose the smallest fish and it cost about RM16.

The store owner recommended that I steamed the fish with miso sauce; again, something which I have not tried before.  I chose the brown rice miso…my first time cooking with miso (supposedly very good for *neutralizing* harmful radiation effects of people who spend a lot of time in front of the computer!)

I made a simple, nothing-fancy steamed fish, and garnished with spring onions when done.  The result was a tasty dish, with smooth-flesh fish.  The miso lent a unique distinct flavor to the fish, a taste I was very pleased with.  I might try using miso as a chicken marinade one of these days too.

Anyway, this was what the steamed fish looked like before it ended up in our tummies:

I bought another fish today, and am now deciding if I should steam it the regular soy-sauce style or Thai curry style :)

Buttery blast from the past December 15, 2009

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My good friend told me that Nancy Chong bakes the best butter cakes in Ipoh.  I had never heard of Nancy Chong before this, but I was curious to find out what the hooha was all about.

“Let your nose lead the way,” my friend had said after she gave me directions to get to the road Nancy Chong’s house is.

So when I was back in Ipoh during the recent Hari Raya Haji break, I stopped by to get some cake.

“No more extras today!” announced Nancy Chong curtly. 

Sadly, I left with only free smells of the butter cake and drool all over me.  Not even a single SLICE was available.

Until today.

My Mom came for a visit, so I specially requested Mom to get me one butter cake from Nancy Chong.  Turns out that my Mom actually KNOWS Nancy Chong personally, because she had ordered my first birthday cake and other birthday cakes from her before.

And suddenly, like the surprisingly heavenly whiff of freshly baked butter cake, it all came back to me.  The times when I was a little girl and I had followed my Mom to Nancy Chong’s house and had looked longingly at all the beautifully designed cakes, how the smell of her cakes had made me yearn for more…

 

And today, my Mom brought this cake all the way from Ipoh, colorful floral frosting and all.

Very sinful, temptingly sweet, but ooohhhhh so GOOD.

 

I call it a slice of marble butter cake heaven.  Now, now…stop licking the monitor will ya? :)

I have a feeling it will all be gone tomorrow…

Those unchanging things December 4, 2009

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , comments closed

Some things just never change.

Like how crowded the popular ngah choy kai stalls in Ipoh are, most patrons being out-of-towners stopping by for a quick bite.

Like how crunchy and succulent the ngah choy in Ipoh still is.  And always will be.  We were afraid we could not finish such a big plate, but that obviously was not the problem at all!

 

Like how tasty the chicken is, although we could very well tell it was extremely oily!  The combination of sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper and (I’m pretty darn sure) some secret magic ingredient made it all so worthwhile.

And as I mentioned earlier, some things will never ever change, and that is why my (unbiased) opinion is that Ipoh still serves the BESTEST koay teow ever.

Yes, some things just never change, and we love them all for their neverchangingness. But even more precious than the tastiest food in the world, the feeling of pride and joy when in the midst of a newborn will always remain unchanged too.

Last weekend, I met baby Caitlynn, newborn daughter to my brother and SIL.  The sight of a peacefully sleeping baby, oblivious to all the noise made by her brother and sibling, is truly a sight to behold.

Welcome to the world, baby Caitlynn!  I hope to be the your favoritest aunt in the whole wide world! :)

Oh, and speaking of things that never change, the malls in KL were all decked out in Christmas decorations too, as usual.  We were at The Curve and well, if you were not snapping pictures, you’ll really feel out of place!

Speaking of which…I need to go now,…cuz tonight we are setting up our tree! :)

My latest Friday’s obsession November 15, 2009

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, The Fairer Sex, Thoughts & Scribblings , comments closed

 

I’ve always wondered why TGI Friday’s does not offer any special promotions on Fridays.  Anyways, when we came back from the States, we discovered that the 3-course meal had become a 2-course meal instead (maybe because most people cannot finish the entire 3 courses?)

I had stopped ordering the course meals since they removed the half ribs from the entrée selection, but the inclusion of the Southwest Adobo Chicken recently is making me rethink my decision.  Love the marinated herbs in it, love the sweet potato crips (shaped like fries actually) and love the hot hot Jalapeno sauce!  Lately the chicken was done a tad too dry though. 

However, I’d still recommend this choice to anyone ordering the 2-course meal.  I’m not complainin’..my kid loves this place, even though they don’t give out balloons anymore.

Oh by the way, did you notice that I chopped off my locks?  Had a concave bob done last Friday.  My iffiness about it disappeared when my tot exclaimed, “Mommy’s hair is BEEEYOOOOTEEEFOOL!!!!” :)

Little cups of choc heaven October 30, 2009

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate , comments closed

I decided to make cupcakes today.  Chocolate cupcakes, to be exact.  Just thought it’d be nice to have something sweet around, and also because it would be a good project for my tot and I to embark on together. 

 

Oh, and the timing would be just perfect too, because chocolate cupcakes would be absolutely LOVELY to celebrate a fifth wedding anniversary :)

I saw this delightfully delicious chocolate cupcake recipe from Love and Olive Oil, and I knew I immediately must try it.  I was intrigued by the idea that the recipe calls for coconut milk and almond meal, and also that it did not contain any eggs!

The result is a sinfully moist, too-good-to-be-true yummy, and once-you-pop-you-can’t-stop kind of chocolate cupcakes that is (dare I say myself) hard to resist!  I made 24 mini cupcakes and 9 regular-sized cupcakes, but honestly, I prefer the mini ones.   They are just too convenient to eat! (but NOT very good for the waistline, I’m afraid!)

Love the vanilla-based frosting too.  I don’t know where to find vanilla beans here in Malaysia, so I substituted it with vanilla essence.  This is my maiden attempt at making frosting, and I am pleased to say that I am VERY happy with the results.  Might wanna jazz it up a bit with some colors in future…

At the end of it, I have a strong feeling this will ALSO be my go-to chocolate cake recipe.   Love it, love it, LURVE it!

Oh, and before I forget…Happy Anniversary, my Love!!! :)