Nigella's Chilli and Melting Wok's Char Siu with Rum & Raisin Ice Cream

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Ever since I got my "Nigella's Feasts" for Christmas, I've been trying odds and bods from the book. The first, a Chocolate Fruit Cake was YUMM-MEE!

I love her style of writing and I can just imagine her with her plummy accent speaking to me in the book. She writes as she speaks which is wonderful. It allows her personality and her genuine-ness to come through.

In any case, I was intrigued with the Chilli topped with cornbread recipe and have been wanting to make it for some time. That and Melting Wok's Char Siu recipe. The opportunity presented itself and I made it for the toughest customers I know. Allan's Mum and family and my family. Of the two though, Allan's family is more vocal about what they like and dislike.

Actually, Allan and I are very fortunate as we have a ready made focus group for any of our new cakes we test in our kitchen. ;-)

The other thing that we believe is that we shouldn't save something for a "celebration." Every day should be a celebration of life, love and family, and so for our Sunday night dinner we broke out the bubbly.

It was a chance to really channel the Domestic Goddess as we also tried out her idea for Rum & Raisin ice cream and her favourite bit of bubbly, Prosecco, which is amazing value for money at around RM65 each.

Inebriated Raisins
Enough good quality raisins to stuff an airtight bottle (an old jam jar worked wonders for me)
4 cloves (You can increase this or even use cinnamon or whatever grabs your fancy)
Dark Rum - enough to cover the raisins (Please don't use rum flavouring)

1. Fill half the bottle with raisins and drop in the cloves
2. Stuff the rest of the bottle with raisins
3. Trickle in the rum until it's absolutely full
4. Cover the lid tightly and refrigerate for at least a week

You can use this to just mix into a tub of vanilla ice cream for really boozy Rum & Raisin. It's better prepared the day before the party or event. It allows the rum to work its way into the ice cream otherwise the raisins will pop in your mouth with small, nasal clearing, shots of rum.

The Verdict

Nigella's Chilli Con Carne recipe is everything she makes it out to be. It's subtly spiced, meaty, well balanced. I can't resist tweaking recipes and my changes were simple; I substituted 500g of minced pork for the same amount of beef that the recipe calls for. So in effect, I used 1 kg of minced beef and 500 g of minced pork. I like the sweetness that pork imparts to a meat recipe. Furthermore, I simmered for 2 hours instead of the 1 1/2 hours that the recipe called for and added a teaspoon of honey to the finished recipe. To my mind this gave it a richer finish. And being Malaysians, I felt it needed more heat than 2 tsps of dried chilli, so I added an extra tsp.
It was perfect served with the guacamole and the sour cream. The tart creaminess of the sour cream and the grassy herbaceous notes of the guacamole/lime mixture proved the appropriate foil to the sweet richness of the chilli. The grated cheddar added just the right hit of saltiness and even my Mum who's not a fan of cheese, to say the least, was chowing down.

It was indeed a large pot and we bagged it up and froze the left overs. It was hearty, filling, comfort food. Just what the doctor ordered for a one pot meal with a salad.
Now, the piece de resistance. The Char Siu. Can I say OMIGOD?! Sweet, subtly spiced with the warmth of the five spice and the smoky-ness of the caramelised honey and golden syrup. The Chinese wine gave it an aromatic edge. Yes, now you've got me. Sorry lah Melting Wok, being the tweaker I am, I made a few minor changes to the method and to the ingredients. I couldn't find Maltose (Mak Nga) in Bangsar Village so I substituted Golden Syrup.

Instead of frying it the entire time on the stove top, I caramelised and sealed the meat on the fire and then transferred it to a 180C oven to bake for 10 mins. Took it out, turned it and baked it again for another 15 mins.

It would have been better if I had been able to get better pork belly or Kap Sum Yoke. It would have been even more tender and the flavour would undoubtedly have been more intense had I marinated it overnight. But as usual my impetuous nature got the better of me and I just absolutely HAD to make it. So I gave it an hour to marinate and then cooked it. Even so, it was a palpable hit, as they say.

Since, it wouldn't really have gone with the Chilli, I served it as a starter for everyone to pick at.
The Ice Cream was boozy, creamy, and after a hot hearty dish, it was a very welcome treat. The raisins were dark little surprises as they squished between your teeth and released their potent liquid which vapourised up your nasal passages. Allan sat up with his family and chit chatted till the wee hours while I crawled upstairs had a shower and snuck into bed. There are few things more satisfying than having your loved ones enjoy what you made.

What is the intent of my blog?

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

At present my blog seems to just "a day in the life of..." but it seems to be shaping up heavily skewed to food.

Wow! What a surprise! ;-)

In any case, the intent of this blog was just to run through my thoughts and provide some catharsis for myself during the course of the day. So there we go. Not intended to pull readership or is it meant to do anything except regurgitate in written form who Nigel A. Skelchy might be.

I've always loved writing and the exactness that you could glean from the written word, particularly in English. And how each person draws on their own experience to view the world. So that's part of what this blog does as well; to provide me a space to string sentences together.

Digitalis Unexpectoratum

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Sort of sounds like a Harry Potter spell doesn't it?

All I can say is that I certainly hope that the men had fun! Or is this a case of an overzealous Gombak chief following instructions to the letter? Although I'm certain the honourable Minister didn't mean ANYTHING salacious suggested by the headline! (Major CYA qualification! hehehe)

Friends for dinner (Majorly NON HALAL food entry up ahead)

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

We didn't have our friends FOR dinner. We had them over to have dinner with us.

It wasn't any special occasion but Mum had made something that's been a favourite of mine ever since I can remember.

Keluak curry.
Buah Keluak is a this little dark grey nut. Favoured by the Nyonya or the Portuguese Eurasians. It's more commonly made with Chicken. But in our family, pork is meat of choice. Or specifically spare ribs. The bone-in gives the curry a sweetness and richness that belies it's rather dark demeanour.
Each person was given their own chopstick (singular) to dig out the meat inside the nut. The meat itself is black and tarry and for those on a low carb diet don't bother. It just does not taste the same without hot rice and the keluak curry gravy drowning the rice. Or as they say in mamak's, "banjir."

The taste of Keluak can be strange for Keluak virgins not knowing what to expect. It has a distinct earthy flavour with a tinge of bitterness. But the soft, oily texture is akin to adding buttery smoke to your hot rice. All the spices that go into the curry only serve to frame that flavour.
Mum had also made Loh Hon Chye which is traditionally a vegetarian dish. But being the carnivores we are, she actually sometimes uses spare ribs as well besides a good deal of "lam yue" and dried oysters.
With uncharacteristic restraint, and a nod towards tradition, Mum deigned to leave out the ribs. But there was no way she was leaving out the delicious flavouring agent of the smoked, dried oysters.

I'm not certain how many people eat "Loh Hon Chye" this way, but in our family sambal belacan is laid out and you help yourself to liberal amounts to mash into the "vegetarian" dish. Amazing doesn't come close. The "lam yue" gives the dish such a smoky sweet sourness along with the heat of the chillies that my mouth is watering as I write this. No wonder I am the size I am! ;-)

We also had "Chee Keok Seen" or Vinegared Pigs Trotters. Since Mum didn't make this one dish I feel safe in saying that it was not the best I'd ever tasted. It lacked the bite of vinegar and the heat of the sufficient ginger. Since this dish is a confinement dish meant to put the heat back into a post natal woman's body, it also sometimes includes a dash of Benedictine Dom.
Being the ever filial son (I hope my mother is not reading this - she'd probably laugh herself silly) I must be honest and say with no bias (nudge nudge wink wink) that Mum's Loh Hon Chye and Keluak curry are the best.

Furthermore, no pig is safe with us. If you have a pig for a pet, keep it away from our house lest it become breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Fraser's Hill and Bentong - Part 3 - Photos

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Fraser's Hill and Bentong - Part 2

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

As we left Fraser's we had planned to visit the SPLASH centre.

But as we got to the bottom of the Gap junction, Raub/Bentong looked more interesting. Our sense of adventure prompted us to take a left instead of the usual right and off we went on a balmy Wednesday morning, meandering along roads which were shaded by leafy glades of bamboo and rainforest trees.

We drove through the valley town of Tranum and ended up in a little hamlet called Tras before we decided to stop and have a coffee break. But even here we had not escaped the pernicious hand of "civilisation" with machine made pau's and diesel lorries rumbling through what looked like an orchard town full of durians.

We definitely drew the attention of the villagers and all of a sudden I felt like a big city interloper who had no business being there.

Sitting down to a lovely cup of local coffee (lovely because it's fried in margarine) we proceeded to peel the pau. It was definitely of the Mcdonalds franchised variety, but it still tasted decent. Fluffy, pristine white pastry wrapping the requisite sticky "char siew" filling.

Not being sizeist but I think Tranum and Tras both share half of the proverbial horse that make them, together, a one horse town. Loved them both. Does that sound too Hollywood producerish speak? Or should I add the "darling."

From Tras we swung round and eventually headed off to the busy metropolis of Bentong. On the way in, I spied with mine little eye, a signpost pointing the way to "Air Terjun Chamang."


I was awed. Water was gushing down like gravity had concentrated all it's efforts at the bottom of the falls. And it was picture postcard picturesque.

Deciding that we had enough of straying off the garden path, Allan and I called a friend who is originally from Bentong to ask her for advice as to where and what to eat in Bentong. What we didn't expect was "I'll meet you at the restaurant."

It turned out that she had come up to Bentong over the weekend to visit her family and she was going to have lunch before heading down to KL. 20 minutes later we were ensconced in her 2nd favourite restaurant ordering our food. Her favourite was closed on Wednesdays.

One thing I've noticed about food outside of KL is that it's not as intensely flavoured. I'm not certain if this is a function of LESS MSG or it's just that our food in KL tends to be hit-over-the-head-with-sledgehammer type of cuisine but sometimes I prefer less of an assault on the senses so that you can actually taste the various flavours making up the flavour profile of the dish. We had stuff which wasn't out of the ordinary but was absolutely delicious and made more so by the company. Honey Ginger Chicken, Spring onions and ginger sauteed with sliced fish, and spinach in soup.

Allan had seen some lovely golden "pisang mas" on the way into the restaurant and so we stopped by to sample some of Bentong's produce, seeing that Bentong is a well known farmer's town. Just as we walk over however, our friend points out the tau foo fa stall next to it and since it proved too much of a temptation, we indulged. Yes, where food is concerned, we're easily distracted.
Silken, glistening, fragrant, hot, just set soya bean milk sweetened with the herbaceous vanillin notes of Pandan sugar syrup. Divine. It didn't slip or slide down one's throat as much as it got incoporated into the taste buds and vanished. It was magical. If you can imagine rippling silk in gustatory terms, you'd be close. I have not had better in KL.

I'm sorry I can't give the name of the shop because it was a stall behind the wet market.

From Bentong, we found our way back on to the highway and before you knew it we were avoiding KL traffic again.

Fraser's Hill

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Activism

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. This action is in support of, or opposition to, one side of an often controversial argument.

As defined in Wikipedia.

Activism. Good word that. Went out with a friend last night. Our conversation was everywhere on the proverbial map. Amidst the buzz of the hawker centre, we were enveloped in a cocoon of our own thoughts, our own ideas.

My "date" was an "activist." Oh, he's not a card carrying disestablishment type. But he had his own opinions and he sets about doing something about it. He tells people about what he believes and attempts to persuade them to his way of thinking. And in such a charming way that I for one, wanted to believe.

He made his points with the crystal clarity of the true believer accompanied by a glint in his eye and the serenity that comes with absoluteness. When he spoke it was with a fervency that belied his age. Or maybe it was his age that lent to his sense of fervency. Who knows?

In any case, he believes he subscribes to an absolute truth and wishes for the world to see it as he does. And I can't say it won't be a better world. To say I was struck with him would be an understatement.

In my cynically wise dotage, I averred. I agreed with him, his stance. However, stopped short of actually persuading people to that truth. Since it was about matters of spirituality and organised religion (I subscribe to one and have a sandpapery relationship with the other) I insisted that my truth was my own. How could I take the responsibility that the truth that was my own was also appropriate for everyone? I could certainly tell others about it and recount the many blessings to me personally, to Allan and to my family,through that belief, and I have no problems sharing of my experiences if the moment seemed appropriate. Furthermore, if someone wanted me to be their guide to come to my spiritual truth I would be happy to act in that capacity.

But I would certainly hesitate to ask everyone I meet to apply my formula. After all, the solution must be applicable to the situation.

In short, my "activist-date" made me think. Like another friend of ours who I recently shared this blog with.

After visiting her blog and then going on a linking spree from her blog, it's heartening to know that there are people who will speak their minds in my "Kampung."

Many of these people speak out with the knowledge that there have been cases of arbitrary detention without trial. Our school system is still very much of the "spoon feeding" variety. And statements by leaders who should know better are not always conducive to encouraging responsible, well thought out debates.

For example, a minister recently labeled ALL bloggers "liars." Instead of taking the more substantive and educational route of debating arguments methodically, smear tactics are used.

Our society has yet to learn to deal with disagreements. Generally, we do not debate with any clarity. Facts and figures give way to rumours, innuendos and personal attacks or just...silence!
As I progress into my (omigod) 5th decade, it is with an increasing realisation that disagreements CAN be handled in a civil manner, and that imagination can always lead to a manner of communicating that is acceptable and will persuade others to your way of thinking without confrontation. Rather than the unpalatable alternative of grin-and-bear-it, I say, complain in a way that your voice could be heard, speak your mind to the right people BUT be prepared to stick by it, live by it's consequences, and do not suffer in silence. Personal responsibility demands at least that. But like chinese Kung Fu, know when to take a step in retreat so that you will be able to further the cause another day.

However, it truly is heartening to see people like my date last night and my friend who speaks up, take a stand for something they believe in.

It inspires and encourages me to do the same.

Ricky Martin in Speedos

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

OK, the man hasn't had a bona fide hit in...forever, but you can't deny that he has certain charms! >;-) Wouldn't you like to know how "he bangs?"

I truly did not time this post deliberately. In other words, it was NOT intentional on my part to insert it after the last post about half boiled eggs!

Half Boiled Eggs for breakfast

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

One of my favourite breakfasts. Half boiled eggs, soya sauce, two slices of whole wheat bread generously slathered with good salted butter and some kaya (coconut jam) or marmalade.

Yes, yes, I've heard the whole salmonella thing. But if you have to worry about every little thing, then don't get up and certainly don't start driving.

Yeah!

Shock and horror on 2nd January 2007

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Read on. It's self explanatory. Professor Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, her husband, and her two boys are close friends.

If you agree with her sentiments, please paste and copy in your blog too.

___________________________________________________

The start to the New Year has been anything but happy for my family and I. As we settled down for the evening of January 2^nd after a lovely dinner with some good friends and in readiness for work after the long Hari Raya and New Year weekend, little did we suspect the terror and horror that we were to endure only hours later .

At approximately 0300 on the morning of January 3rd, I was awoken by the blood-curdling scream of my maid from her bedroom down the corridor. At that instant I was sure that she would be dead. I opened my eyes to find two men, one brandishing a cleaver and the other a foot long knife at the end of my bed shouting “Bangun, diam, kalau tidak aku bunuh engkau semua”. My initial reaction was that this was a nightmare, these are things that you read about in newspapers, that it could not possibly be happening to us. But at the sound of my seven year old who was sleeping next to me saying “Mum, what is happening, who are these people?”, I knew that this was real, that our lives were in danger. At the same instant, my husband who was also awoken by my maid’s scream rushed out the bedroom door only to be confronted by the other two robbers. I was initially left frozen in fear with my two sons in our bed as the robbers proceeded to tie my husband up. They then came back to me and asked me to come out of the bedroom and proceeded to tie my hands up as well, all the time reminding us to be quiet or they would kill us. I was subsequently asked to get my maid out from her room where upon initially sighting the robbers in the house she had locked herself in.

From then they proceeded to ransack the house. My elderly mother in-law who was visiting from overseas was also held at knife point as they proceeded to ransack her suitcase. In there the robbers found a bounty as she had returned for the 75^th birthday celebration of her sister and had some jewellery for the special occasion. Incredulous that I did not possess the same amount of valuables in my bedroom the robbers proceeded to ransack every nook and cranny of the room and repeatedly asked me for them. The brazenness of these robbers can be gleaned by the fact that apart from one who wore a scarf over his mouth the other three made no attempts at disguising their identities. Furthermore they were in the house for approximately 45 minutes, showing no fear of being caught as they satisfied themselves to the contents of our house.

As we sat there terrified but quiet as they went about their “job” a recurring thought that came to my mind was that yes I need to be able to identify these people. But I was also constantly reminded of my nine year old son’s advise whenever we get invaded by monkeys (of the macaque kind) at the house “Mum, never look at the monkeys in the eyes or they think you are challenging them”. And that was exactly how I felt then – these people who had invaded and entered our house that morning were no longer human beings. They were no different to the packs of macaques that regularly invade our house looking for food. They only left after finding my diamond wedding and engagement ring which I had slipped off my finger initially and placed under my pillow. It was literally a scene out of the Malay saying “macam kera dapat bunga” – for upon discovering the ring they converged and consulted one another and agreed that it was time to leave.

Syukur alhamdullilah in the end none of us were harmed. My two young sons whose childhood innocence was shattered that night were nothing but heroes. They did not utter a peep nor cried for if they had done that I am certain the rest of us adults would not have been able to remain as calm as we did – which I believed was what saved the day. Visibly trembling with fear as they sat on their bed I can only imagine what was going through their minds as they saw us adults being tied up and the robbers walking around the house, all the time brandishing weapons in their hands.

The police came shortly after we called 999. Several divisions of the police force came in succession over the course of the morning. Much as I am grateful to them, I did get a sense that they had “been there and done that” many times before. That they too were overwhelmed by the sheer number of these robberies and break ins. I have always suspected that by and large the police have had a raw deal in terms of their pay and work environment. But it is only when you see it with your own eyes do you realise that yes they have been having a raw deal for a long time. In an interview with me for The Edge early last year, the journalist remarked that my office surrounding at the University Malaya Medical Centre was austere for someone who was a President of this and Chairman of that. I wish this same journalist could visit the office of the Chief Inspector and the forensic department of the PJ police station (and I suspect the Chief Inspector has one of the better offices in the complex) – suffice to say that the general condition of the office was not where you would want to spend most of your working day in.

Having experienced an ordeal such as this one goes through a whole range of emotions. After the initial fear had settled down, the first emotion to set in was guilt – why did we not make our house more secure? However in talking to various people who have had similar experience, it became clear that even the best systems in the world were not going to prevent this from happening. Am I angry with the robbers? Of course I am angry. But I am less angry with them than I am with the whole system that has allowed this lawlessness and disorder to take place time after time after time. A system that has led to the pursuit of economic wealth at all cost. A system that glorifies and often times reward greed and material wealth. A system that has watched moral and societal decay and increased economic inequalities go by with no discernible actions to put it right. A system that puts more emphasis and priorities on billboards touting this and that rather than spending those dollars on paying our policeman better and making their work environment more pleasant for instance. To be honest I do not even care if these robbers are caught and sent to prison or not. For if these four are caught there are thousands more like them already planning and waiting to strike on the next neighbourhood, the next family.

When my husband and I made a conscious decision to return to Malaysia after many years of studying and working overseas it was to return to our families and to contribute our skills and expertise to the country. This episode has made us rethink if this was indeed the correct decision, not perhaps for us, for yes we have enjoyed enormous satisfaction from returning up until this sorry event, but for our two young children. Will they have to grow up in this increasingly violent country where they will not be able to go to sleep at night without worrying if they are going to wake up to a knife pointed at their throats?

As we celebrate the 50^th year of Merdeka and spend lavishly on attracting tourists to the country, is it too much for this citizen (and every other citizen for that matter) who chose to make Malaysia home and partake in another 10-20 years of nation building to ask that we may go about our lives knowing that we will be safe and protected?

Professor Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman

Petaling Jaya

___________________________________________________

My new toy - Sony Ericsson K800i...and the Steamboat that went with it...

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

I just received my new toy. A Sony Ericsson K800i. Lest anyone think it was a frivolous purchase, let me assure you that I thought long and hard. And hard and long. Before I took the plunge. The decider was really that Allan's credit card had an offer we couldn't refuse. 12 months and it was like under RM150 per month.

So here are some pics relevant to my favourite subject...eating!

After boot camp tonight, the bunch of us, including our sensei and our "si mo", went into the deepest, darkest reaches of Taman Desa to seek out HO A ONE SEAFOOD STEAMBOAT.

Damn good value, if I do say so. Ended up paying RM20 per person.

The food was awesome. Fresh, light, intense. I've always loved the contradictory textures in steamboat. Everything is fair game; from meat to fish, poultry to seafood, noodles to rice and many nowadays even use rice porridge to "fondue" your meat. And this one was really a good representative of the breed. Good strong stock. Meat which is fresh as fresh can be. And a nice large round table to yell accross.

Let's not forget the variety of condiments to eat it with. A tart, spicy chilli paste. Not a sauce. Nice amount of heat. Not too much.

And then, at the end, that stock. That wonderful, glorious stock. Every single flavour that you've cooked in it has deepened and sweetened it to the point that every single thing you've eaten is there. Melded together. Redolent of every good memory that you've experienced of the meal.

GAYSTED

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Heterosexual people getting so wasted, they slip into seemingly gay acts. The loose definition: "It is when you are soooo drunk (wasted) and dudes start dancing with you and you just sort of go along with it and then they start putting their arms around you and you just kind of keep rolling with it because you're drunk and you sort of think the dude is being your dancefloor bro, but then when you sober up you realize that the situash is sort of weird. when this happens, you tell your friends, 'dude, i got so gaysted last night."

Passion - Juwita Suwito's launch, Jaclyn Victor, & The Cammies

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

I was going to write about what I had for breakfast, but on second thoughts, even I don't find that to be very interesting. Except when the photo has been taken with my new phone. But that's another post for another day. Today its about...

Passion.

How can one live without it?

Passion for life. It's like the salt in Salt baked chicken. The Kahlua in Tiramisu. The food lab in Feran Adria's El Bulli. Let's face it! Salt baked chicken would be very bland without the salt!

You can make a VERY GOOD living and maybe even get wealthy pursuing a passion. Richard Branson did it. People like Anita Roddick of Body Shop fame did it. Many stars of the art and business world did it.

But then again, if you're pursuing your passion, money is not the final goal is it?

It's the satisfaction, the fulfillment of being able to do what you set out to do well. To do it to the best of YOUR ability.

Juwita Suwito is a very good friend who is a singer and performer. We had the honour and privilege of sponsoring the desserts for her album launch.

When she performs, she wears her heart on her sleeve, in her voice, and in her face. It's what drove her to independently produce her own album. And she IS a musician worth following. In this country we always hear, "oh, they're very good...for a Malaysian." Well, she IS Malaysian but that fact shouldn't be the reason why you buy her album. She's just...Plain...Good! Listen to her.
Kieran Kuek is another man with a passion. We met this unassuming gent at Juwita's launch and he mentioned that he composed songs for Juwita. Me being the "blur sotong" that I can be at times did not put 2 and 2 together and just nodded and smiled! I didn't even congratulate him! Turns out he composed 2 of the songs on Juwita's album. Listen to them.

Then, there was Jaclyn Victor. It was lovely to have the opportunity to meet her. That voice. You'd never think that a petite little thing like that would be able to produce that HUGE sound. But she does.
Passion. Just Heavenly, our company, was started out of passion. The passion for good food and desserts and for making dreams come true for wedding couples. Hence our tag line, "Designing Dreams, Serving Pleasure."

The Boh Cameronian Art's Awards (The Cammies), which held their nominations party for the 5th Boh Cameronian Arts Awards 2006 today, were established by people who had the heart and a passion to promote the arts in Malaysia. And we've been fortunate to be a part of it in the form of our acappella group; The Wicked Pitches.
A passion for singing brought us together more than 5 years ago. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves in for when we began this journey. 5 and a bit years, some tears, long hours, lots of arguments, frayed nerves, and joyous moments later, we've been nominated (you may need to register for kakiseni to see what's on the link) in 4 out of 6 categories for The Cammies. Best group performance (voice), Best production values, Best solo, and Best musical direction. This is our 3rd time being nominated but our 1st time for so many categories. The winners will be announced on 29th April.

Passion. Live it.

Stories

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Doesn't it strike you as glorious and amazing that everyone has a story?

Can you imagine if you had the time to talk to and learn from every single one of all the billions of people in the world, what riches you would glean from that endeavour?

I do.

Every single person, every single voice, has a unique story all their own. Each minute of their experience in this human existence as valid as the next person's. The blogging phenomenon brings this home every time I click on a new blog.

Spencer Tunick captures this in his photographs with eminent clarity. Truly, a picture paints a thousand words.

Consomme & Chinese New Year

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

My family and I had lunch at Lai Poh Heen in Mandarin Oriental as well on the 3rd day of Chinese New Year and as part of their Visit Malaysia Year activities they had a Lion Dance and a Dragon Dance. Unfortunately, I was a little too late to catch the actual dancing but there were some yummy types with tight sweaty bods running around, I tell ya! ;-)


If you've never made Consomme, you have to try it at least once in your life. Gorgeous crystal clear soup. Literally. But BOY was it hard work. First I had to make the stock. Any good stock will work. But make sure you don't take any short cuts. I used lots of oxtail (about 2kg's worth), aromatics (carrots, celery, onions), some peppercorns, bouquet garni, and lots of water to cover the oxtail. Boil then simmer for 3 to 4 hours. After which, you plonk it in the fridge and chill it overnight. Make sure you make space in your fridge for the pot BEFORE you start anything. The fat will float to the top and you will be able to skim it off. Fat is the enemy of consomme; it must be skimmed off as MUCH as possible. And there'll be a lot of it from Ox Tail. The reason why I chose oxtail is there's meat on the tail which you can use to garnish and lots of bone to make the consomme slightly gelatinous. Yum!

After that I found this clarifying technique using a "raft." Here's the link, complete with pictures. I'd suggest you print it out if you're truly interested. It's very good and takes you step by step.

The raft truly floats to the top and your resulting consomme glows like a jewel with the same clarity. The word "crystal" comes to mind. I had to dilute the stock as it was soooooo rich. The best part was when I refrigerated it and it gelled (as the pic above). It's delicious served cold or warm.

Chinese New Year

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Although I'm Portuguese Eurasian or Geragok (as some refer to us) our family celebrates Chinese New Year.

And because of my "rojak" (mixed Malaysian salad) background I was just reflecting on how we celebrate the occasion.

My partner being Chinese must go back to his family's place. And I've got to be at my Mum's and Dad's. Since we both want to celebrate and be together we've worked out a system where we run over to his Mum's place for a bit and then come back for a later dinner over at my place. Needless to say, this is not recommended behaviour for those who are worried about their girlish figure, since, to be polite, you have to stuff yourself at BOTH places.

In any case, because I was cooking this year, it got me thinking about how diverse and accepting our families are. Allan and I have been together long enough for his octogenarian Grandmother to be referring to my mother as his "Mother In Law." His Grandmother's words.

For one thing, I'm Eurasian but as a family we celebrate Christmas, Chinese New Year, and to a certain extent Raya (Ramadhan) because of my cousin. At CNY dinner this year, we had Yee Sang, and then went full fledged western with Consomme, Beef Wellington, and Passion Fruit banana Souffle.

On top of that my Mum asked us if our friend, S, who also happens to be gay, would like to come.

Although it get's somewhat crazy now and again, it's good being part of my family.

Life...X'mas and New Year.

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

If I had my druther's I'd be spending all my time sitting in front of my laptop at a wifi enabled outlet typing my blog 3 times a day.

Sigh...

Actually...I think that's just a place my mind and heart are at this moment. I have a distinct suspicion that my desires at this moment ...

...sooooooooooo cute! Just watched this young couple kiss each other as they gave each other presents. And I mean YOUNG! All of 21 or 22?

Anyway I digress...

...my desires at this moment would lead me to be bored after 2, maybe 3 days after I started doing what I said above.

So much has happened.

The Wicked Pitches had our show in November. We didn't even have time to experience the post show blues/anticlimax. Allan and I pretty much dived into Christmas and since then it's been non stop weddings/cakes/social events.

It's been all horrendously fun but very much a gaussian blur.

Christmas came and went all too quickly and now even New Year's is over.

I miss the times we used to be able to actually take a couple of days off before Christmas.

But having said that, its shaping up to be an exciting year. Lots of new things happening and lots of exciting changes. We hope.

Take care all, Merry Belated Christmas and a very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year.

Much Love.