By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy
Octoberfestavali, a most appropriate Malaysian celebration, combines Octoberfest (where Germans' drink) and Deepavali, which of course, the Hindus in our community have just celebrated; a triumph of good over evil. And with apologies to our Hindu brethren, we felt that alcohol is always a good cleanser especially when you consume copious amounts of the good spirits...of single malt. To that end,
FBB organises a party to end all parties. A party that will go down in the annals (please don't twist that word FBB) of flogger history, at least in our own little corner of Flogdom, as one of the most hip and happening dos that we've ever had.
It turned out that it was
Frat Mustard's birthday as well. An occasion he had celebrated over the weekend (with tequila) even before he got to the official Octoberfestavali do. Nothing a little hair of the dog didn't cure. Although, his ever enduring wife, Mrs Frat Mustard seemed to be quite understanding of the hijinx hubby got up to. It was also an honour to met Mrs Frat for the first time. I was beginning to think he deliberately hid her from us. ;-) Frat, please bring Mrs Frat for all future dos.
FBB, Jun of Cordon Bleu-Rousillon-St Pierre fame, and
Joe, who very generously brought along some great "chi pau kei", provided the food and some of the best Chicken Pie I've ever had. Flaky puff pastry, creamy filling filled with chunks of chicken.
FBB also made a great cake he named specially for Frat. Filled with cream and little seeds of passion fruit, not surprisingly called Jack Off Pavlova. Nangka, passion fruit and cream is truly a combination from the mind of a passionate genius. There were LOTS of little seeds. Considering Frat has twins, I thought it was rather appropo.
My Allan also brought a lovely test cake. I hope I will soon be able to put that up on my Just Heavenly Menu. We're thinking of calling it Chocolate Threesome or Chocolate Trilogy. Although for obvious reasons, the former would be certain to tickle peoples' fancy more. A layer of Chocolate Souffle Cake eaten cold (so it's slightly fudgy), a layer of chocolate mousse, and topped with a layer of white chocolate mousse. Ummm...nothing like Chocolate smeared all over your tongue and over your tastebuds and down your throat. It certainly starts making you ooze all sorts of endorphins.
The food and/or occasions that we find to have parties are really more excuses to gather with a group of crazy, loving, generous souls who revel in each others' company and just generally have a whale of a time when they breathe the same air. We laugh, mostly. Drink, a lot. And then promptly do it again the very next time an opportunity presents itself. Food blogging has never been more fun.
Especially, when it's really about the people.
By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy
Thanks for all who participated in the recently concluded Nuffnang Awards. Results will be announced on Friday 23 October 2009. I'm sort of assuming the results will be listed on Nuffnang's award website.
All the best Ms L!
By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy
We're in the home stretch.
Alilfatmonkey, who's neither little, nor fat, created the badge you see on the left.
Nuffnang is closing the voting on 11 October. So as of today, we have less than 2 days left to vote for the BEST FOOD BLOG for the Region.
I thoroughly believe that Lyrical Lemongrass deserves the nod.
Yes, she's a friend. But if you read her
blog you will know that she's passionate about her subject, is honest yet diplomatic, and has a hunky hubby! ;-)
Ensure you vote for ALL the categories. Or your vote won't be counted.
By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy
"hi all, i am too lazy to use the events function, (actually dunno how), and also since i myself never check it, ....
anyway, thursday night, 17th april, free or not? its been awhile, and it would be nice to ketchup with everyone. simple dinner at my place, hopefully followed by board games."
And so, FBB set the ball rolling for another of his famous get-togethers.
After rushing back home for a quick shower from a wedding rehearsal, I rushed over to FBB's place. Allan had already taken our offerings, such as they were, with him to dinner and I was to meet him there.
Stepping in to the dining room was like slipping on a comfortable pair of slippers that make you feel at peace and happy. Everyone turned around and greeted me warmly. Being 30 minutes late, I was grateful that everyone had started on dinner. Or what FBB was calling starters.
A gorgeous side of lamb, warm flour tortillas and a heaping amount of tabouleh graced the long table. Along with a mouth watering cheese platter populated with Havarti, dried apricots, a blue cheese, and another full fat cheese. A platter of rich lamb sat alongside the tabouleh and begged to be rolled together into a Mexican/Middle Eastern Poh Piah. The tangy, textured, tabouleh was a wonderful contrast to the rich, almost gamy lamb.
Just as I started to tuck in, FBB enthusiastically reminds us that there's lots more food coming out. Inwardly, I groan. My will to eat moderately is crumbling.
Being raucously loud and deliberately misunderstanding statements added to a bawdy evening of laughter and fun.
With so many food bloggers in attendance, the cameras were out in force and an edict issued by Allan to hurry up and take the pictures "so we can eat" was quickly obeyed. No doubt spurred by growling stomachs.
Then, the dishes start to make their appearance. A gorgeous chinese roast pork, which is listed on a menu (yes, a menu) along with fried water convulvulus. I remark that the word itself is rather suspect. I am paraphrasing of course. Who can remember verbatim what was said that night! ;-)
Rice steamed with coconut gravy (Nasi Lemak) and it's attendant fixings is next. The sambal is fiery, the omelette nice and dry (no French Omelette this) and the peanuts add an earthy crunch. The parkia speciosa or stink bean (Petai to you and me) fried with sambal and eggplant had that particular bitter methane flavour and yet, the eggplant's texture was coherent and did not fall apart into a paste which indicates a level of skill in knowing how to cook this fruit. Yes, fruit. The eggplant is a relative of the nightshade family which includes the potato, the tomato and the deadly nightshade plant. Amazing what we eat isn't it?
A rich, fragrant chicken pie came next covered with a buttery crust of puff pastry. 
KM had to leave his mark on the evening and decided to use the menu as a vehicle. 
For whatever reason, dessert is always ooh-aahed about. I think it's all burned into our consciousness about how calorific desserts are and when they come out they're almost a guilty pleasure so almost always, there's a sussuration around the room when they make their appearance. This gorgeous Strawberry and Nangka Pavlova was FBB's contribution. I thought that the combination of Strawberry and Nangka was a stroke of genius. That honeyed fragrance of the jackfruit combined with the tartness of the strawberries and the cream elevated this Pavlova to a whole new level. FBB was quick to point out that Lyrical Lemongrass helped in finishing this sweet. Why he did this is certainly up to conjecture. >;-)
There was also a lovely trad Tiramisu, layered with lots of creamy mascarpone and sponge fingers. To accompany it was a bottle of Frangelico. Yum!
Allan and I brought some Profiteroles and some dried meringue shells (vacherin) which we filled with Mango. Wanting to give it another dimension I asked FBB if he had Basil to which he replied he had some Thai Basil but not Sweet Basil. Always wanting to try something new, I thought why not? It worked quite well. The minty, herbaceous flavour combined very well with the sweet mango to create an interesting dessert with lots of flavour and texture.
After everyone had left, with FBB bemoaning the fact of how young people these days just did not have the stamina that we once did, LL, RR, KM, Allan and myself, and of course, our host continued our session even though we had work the next day. All of a sudden, Allan get's up, picks up this huge bag and whips out some crepe paper. Very soon, LL and RR were deftly cutting up the paper to form pomanders that we were using to hang for decor at an upcoming wedding.
Allan enjoying his sandwich
It is with gratitude to FBB that I wrap up this post. Thank you very much for the invite and for the effort in putting this together. It's always a joy to see friends again and it's always a special honour when we get to break bread together and be able to share the spirit of the moment with people you enjoy. After all, isn't that what "breaking bread" is all about?
Other floggers and bloggers who wrote about this evening;
Paprika
Kenny Mah
By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy
Time flies when you're working or having fun. This post has been in my drafts for almost a month now. In any case, it was still a fun night and worthy of a post. So here it is.
The RSVP Klue dinner was held in Ninja Jones. The food was decent (I'm not going into a huge dissection of how it went) but it was barely enough. It was fun hanging out with Lianne, Boo, Lyrical Lemongrass, Splashie Boy, and Bald Eagle.
Now, I'm usually suspicious of restaurants with "entertainment" settings like gimicky costumes because I've always felt that it distracts you from what should be the true star. Sure, a proper environment and setting for the food sets up the appropriate expectations but beyond that, ninja costumes and masks were, well, IMHO a bit excessive.
Having said that, we also had the opportunity to meet up with msiagirl who turned out to be a real gem.
I only really had one complaint; the salmon was overcooked. It was another laugh a minute night.
Splashie Boy
Bald Eagle
By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy
Time to play catch up.
Time was when blogging was a past time. But now I find that writing something actually coalesces my thoughts for the day and besides being therapeutic and cathartic, is something that helps me organise my all too precious time. One would think that adding to my work load would be a seriously foolish thing to do. But no.
One drawback to all this is of course, in the course of a life, one could really blog about a myriad inanities. And in a blog like this, one does tend toward that. One thing I admire about food bloggers is the discipline of slowing down the entire process of eating so one can really take pictures, admire the food from a visual perspective before letting any of it pass their lips as a culmination and reward for the sweet anticipation.
I'm just too impatient. The only thought that goes through my head once food is on the table is "MUST. EAT. NOW!" That's why some of my food photos are taken at the END of the meal when my stomach has been satiated and my mind has begun to exert some control over my rampantly disobedient tummy. The photos tell the tale.
The other thing of course, is that, if you don't blog about somethig that you've prepared for, you find that after a day or two, pictures start cluttering up your hard drive. A very big no no for me. I like my hard drives pristine. And full of space.
So in an effort to clear the backlog I am going to lump a few days worth of food I've either tested and/or eaten into one entry.
Chinese Doughnuts & "Lak Tau Swa"
On Sunday, around 430pm, Mum feels like having tea and I have an urge to cook something. Rummaging around the pantry I find a packet of skinned mung beans. And then Mum mentioned that it would be nice with Yau Char Kway.
Obviously, getting Yau Char Kway on the table by 5pm was not an option, so I opted for Chinese doughnuts which in essence is Pate a Choux, deep fried. I decided to shallow fry instead in a non-stick pan. Here's the recipe. I didn't have Double Acting Baking Powder or vegetable shortening. So I substituted Baking Powder for the former and butter for the latter.
Chinese Doughnuts (Pate a Choux shallow frying in oil)
Chinese Doughnuts rolled in caster sugar
Lak Tau Swa on the other hand was just water, white sugar, and pandan leaves. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of waterchestnut flour in enough water to cover. I put in 8 chinese rice bowls of water, 1/3 of a packet of Mung Beans, and 10 tablespoons of sugar. I liked the clean taste of white sugar for this sweet "tong sui." Boil the Mung Beans, and the water until the beans soften and start to break up. About 15 mins. Add in the sugar and bring back to a boil. Quickly pour in the waterchestnut mixture, give it a quick stir and allow it to thicken slightly. Add in the pandan leaves last. Once you smell the fragrance, turn off the heat and serve.
I was very proud of myself as I got tea on the table in 30 minutes.
"Lak Tau Swa"
In a bowl ;-)
Siew Yue Chee Chook with Oyster sauce and Sambal Belacan
Siew Yue Chee in Chook
This is one of Mum's signature recipes. Peanuts boiled in water. And Chook boiled in another pot. Then leftover Roast suckling pig (in this case, the head and trotters of the pig) chopped up and boiled for about an hour and a half till tender. You could also add in pork rib. Mix in some oyster sauce and sambal belacan and dip your pieces of meat, which should be falling off the bone by now, into the spicy condiment.
Nigella's Cheesecakelets
Nigella's CheesecakeletsOk, these were ubergood. I've made the title clickable. That's the link to the
recipe. They tasted like little cheesecakes. And the maple syrup on top (please splurge and get the real thing) was divine. A little melted butter as topping and I think I sort of know what heaven feels like.
Since I didn't have cottage cheese but I DID have philadelphia cream cheese, it was a no brainer substitution. And I added a pinch of salt to the recipe. Have the centres slightly undercooked.
Steamed egg custard with honey
Steamed Egg Custard with honey
3 eggs, a drop of vanilla, 3 ozs of honey, 1.4l of Milk (you can substitute water as well but milk gives it good mouthfeel) and a pinch of salt. Blend the eggs with the honey till well mixed. Boil the milk till it's almost boiling but not quite. Take the milk off the fire. Drizzle milk into the cold eggs. Drizzle it at the speed of a baby peeing. ;-) When you've drizzled half the milk into the eggs, pour the egg mixture back into the milk. Stir for 2 minutes to cool further. Add in the salt and vanilla.
Divide the mixture into individual bowls and cover tightly with foil and steam over a low fire. The water in the steamer should NOT be touching the bowls and the water should JUST be bubbling. It should NOT be a roiling boil. Steam for 40 minutes and then turn off the fire and leave it covered for another 20 minutes. Eat hot or refrigerate.
Sarawak Laksa, Sween Poon Chee, and Char Kway Teow in Nam Chuan, Bangsar
Sarawak Laksa...after the carnage
WMW,
Lyrical Lemongrass,
Precious Pea, and
Jason had a food crawl on Sat 28 Apr and since I had work, I met them at the end of it in Nam Chuan, Bangsar. By the time I got there, they had already plundered the Sarawak Laksa but the sween poon chee (yam beads) were yummy. I ordered my all time fave local food, Char Kway Teow. I could eat that all week.
Sween Poon Chee
Char Kway Teow
Steamed Egg Custard and Kong Yue Chee
Steamed Savoury Custard with "Kong Yee Chee" garnished with spring onions
Same recipe as the sweet steamed custard above. Obviously, I ommitted the honey and bunged in 2 Tablespoons of fish sauce. I added some kong yee chee which had been nuked in water until tender. I know. I know. How could I nuke something as precious as that. Actually it sped up the process and the resulting liquid was added to the milk. It was fabulous. Smoother and more ethereal than tau foo fa.
