By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy
I'm finally getting used to the moped/scooter. It's a Yamaha Nuovo and makes this amazing sound like a chicken farting. It's quick, it's wobbly, it has this feather light throttle that makes it jerk ahead, and it makes rubbernecking vewwy, vewwy, difficult.
For instance, there are MANY of these around. Eye Candy that is...
I obviously only got to take pictures of these few OFF the two wheeled contraption from hell. While the slightest motion of my head in the opposite direction of travel would have almost certainly condemned me to a fate of having my head stuck up someone's exhaust pipe.
Anyway, it was with a healthy measure of apprehensive anticipation that we set off this morning on our scooters, to Kuta, after an equally healthy breakfast which was included in that oh-so-affordable room rate.
No sooner had I picked up my vintage cap however, Unkaweence's metabolism had burnt up his remaining stores of brekkie and had to be fed. Poor guy was actually feeling faint. Sigh. To have a metabolism that actually USES up the food rather than stores it.
Anyway, off we go in search of eats and we end up in Made's Warung, Kuta. When I stopped to ask a security guard directions however, it went something like this. "Jalan luRRus ke PERampatan, belok KAnan, luRRus lagi hingga sampai ke Warung Made." All this was accompanied with more singing than speaking (Indons have a great sing-song accent) and the ROLLING of "Arrrs." Needless to say, after asking him to repeat it until he had slowed down to the speed you would speak to a deaf person, I finally figured out he meant "go straight to the junction and turn right."
I promptly go back, tell everyone, and with mystified looks on their faces, Allan and Chui, proceed toward the guard and interrogate him again. They obviously received the same answer and off we went.
Somehow or other, along the way, Fids gets boxed in by some cars and instead of turning right as in "belok kanan" he keeps on going straight ("jalan lurus.")
We get to Made's Warung and immediately the great search for the missing Fidael begins.
To cut a long story short, he made it back in time for lunch, none the worse for wear. Please remember the poor guy is extremely nervous on the back of the scooter and I believe is hanging on with white knuckle determination.
Lunch was a fantastic pork ribs for Allan and Kate, gado gado Nasi Campur for Unkaweence, Papaya Spare Ribs curry for Chui, and Sate babi with Nasi Goreng for me. YUMMO in the extreme! All exotic flavours, all well done. And best of all, at a great value pricing.
Wondering what to have for a sweet, Unkaweence and I settled on a Coconut Milkshake! Omigod, was it the right choice ever. Creamy, coconutty, and not too sweet or milky! Yummmmmmilicious!
Frothy glass of coconutty goodness
After lunch it was a short hop to Kuta Square and more shopping. A relatively mundane afternoon. I'm now glad to say I've seen Kuta and until there's a massive redevelopment of this place to make it look something like we're in Bali, I've seen enough of Phuttayakutakawi for now. No prizes for guessing the "what" I used in the amalgamation of that name.
Whether shopping, lazing around, or just splashing around in the pool, Day 2, was a truly lazy vaykay sorta day.
After attending a thoroughly fun art gallery exhibition by Kirsty Ludbrooke entitled "The Frames In Between" at Biasa Artspace (thanks Yip for bringing us), we scooted (scootered?) to Zanzibar for a dinner of Pizzas, Mezze Platter of breads and yummy dips, and dessert we made our way blearily home to crawl into bed.
I-in, the owner of Biasa Art Gallery, Kirsty Ludbrooke, Allan, Me, Chui, Yip, Fidael :-)
All the beautiful people
Just another day in Paradise.
By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy
Keith pokes at his Ipod Touch as we sit in the alfresco section of Le Papier Du Tigre on Pub Street wondering where to go for dinner.
An armless man passes us on the street and comes up to our table and holds out his hand, begging. 2 children come by offering trinkets for the ubiquitous “one dol-lah.” It clawed at me to put on a dead pan face and shut them out.
“There’s this one called ‘Viroth’s.’ It really looks good.” Keith offers.
I guiltily but gladly pull myself out of my reverie and don’t mention how I feel to Allan or Keith. We decide on Viroth’s for our first dinner in Siem Reap.
Coming back from the temples to the hotel for a bit of a rest before the evening, it struck me how alike Siem Reap is to some of our towns in Malaysia. The grassy tree-lined river, the alleyways and roadways bordered with colonial style shophouses, the asian faces running around making ends meet and trying to scrape up a living. The only difference is that this is a country that had just come out of a civil war about a decade ago and was just now reclaiming it's rightful position in the community of nations. Truly, there but for the Grace of God...
That night, Dara, our trusty moto driver from our "sunset" jaunt to the temples meets us at the entrance and in the light night drizzle, wends his way confidently to Viroth's. Obviously a destination he was familiar with.
As we step up to the main entrance of Viroth's, attractive Cambodian guys greet us in that amazingly hospitable manner that is obviously a cultural trait and show us to our table.
That was the first time we noticed Fabien sitting behind the reception area. We later learned that he owned the place with his Cambodian partner.
The ambience was contemporary, chic, simply but effectively decorated and easygoing.
I ordered a beer (An Angkor; not to be confused with An-chor ;-) ) and Keith and Allan ordered the food. I find it's easier to let them decide as I'm not very particular about what I eat and will generally eat most anything that's put in front of me.
Allan was starving so we started off with Beef Salad. Gorgeous. Cool. Crunchy. Tart, sweet, and notes of lemons and herb from the lemongrass and coriander leaf. It didn't have the bite of a traditional Thai salad and it's flavours were nicely balanced rather than the overt herbaciousness of Vietnamese food.
As part of our culinary adventure, we started with Vietnamese style fresh spring rolls. Lovely. The cool, crunchy vegetables, the sweet prawniness combined with the salty hit of the fish sauce. I have no idea what they call nuoc mam in Khmer but the fish sauce was yummylicious.
It was a really cool night, and the breeze was very like a daytime in Fraser's Hill; cool, crisp and a little damp. So, we decided on a soup. A Chicken Lemon soup with julienned basil. Warming, green, savoury; absolutely delicious. Very soon, I was looking regretfully at the bottom of my bowl and wondering if I should be a pig and order more.
The other dishes were just as yummy. Beef done like Thai Basil Beef but milder and more flavourful. And chicken with bamboo segments as well as onions and kangkung.
We also had a Vegetarian Amok. Much like our Sayur Lemak. Rich, coconuty, earthy vegetables with that light lemony lemongrass. And they certainly were generous with the coconut milk; the sweet, creaminess shone through. If dishes like this are too lean on coconut milk, they're flat!
For dessert, we had flambed bananas with coconut ice cream and a splash of rum. Sweet bananas paired with the evaporating feeling of alcohol up your nose and the light creaminess of coconut.
Blue Pumpkin is one of the premiere cake and dessert suppliers in Siem Reap and we eventually came to recognise this mousse cake as one of their creations. It's called Le Louvre. A pun on Louvred windows and the museum. Very nice. Think creme brulee with a moist chocolate base! That heady chocolateyness and creamy custard is something that should be tried.
All in all a fantastic experience and one I would have no hesitation in recommending to anyone making a trip to Siem Reap. AND from what I can see on the website, his hotel is also a must try!
Viroth's Restaurant (Cambodian)
242 Wat Bo St, 016-951-800
By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy
Bisou. Bijou. Bianco. Kiss. Jewel. White. Alliterations galore. All 3 restaurants belong to the same group. Bisou being the newest. Situtated at the site of the old Vanilla Box on Asian Heritage Row.
After dropping off a wedding cake at the Crowne Plaza at 930am, we decided to head out for breakfast. It was a slow day and it was a wonderful time to enjoy some quality togetherness.
Bisou is the newest brainchild of two restauranteurs who have a history with other notable restaurants in KL.
Raymond the manager, Mariani (I hope that's the correct spelling) and the waiter were very friendly and helpful.
The ambience was fresh, contemporary, bright, and reminiscent of a suburban Australian bistro which serves breakfast. Which they do.
Since Allan and I had breakfast already, we decided to order one large plate and share. The Big Breakfast did the trick. Yes, that's what it was called. Baked beans, toast, butter, eggs (which we ordered as an omelette), fried mushrooms, and a sausage, chicken of course.
We enjoyed it. I feel that you can't go wrong with eggs. And that was exactly the case here. (Nitpicking ahead). The omelette was a little under salted. It was also overcooked. I like the French style of cooking omelettes. Hot fire. Eggs blended in a bowl. A little good quality oil which is on the verge of smoking. And then in they go and stirred till they ALMOST set. Remove from the heat while there's still a little slurry of eggs in there and fold. Allow the residual heat to firm it up to the consistency of creme caramel. Which is to say, slightly soft.
This wasn't it. The eggs were cooked to the point of almost being dry.
But as I said, it didn't detract from the experience. The sausage was good. The mushrooms cooked till they were flavourful. And the baked beans on toast. Well, for me, that's always been comfort food.
We also had coffee from Coffex, which is to say, they serve a good quality brew and a muffin (available with your coffee at the promotional price of RM2). The muffin was still warm and the butter was nice and soft.
Now, restaurants, if you're reading, please use good quality SALTED butter for customers to use as a spread. UN-salted butter should only be used for cooking!
I thouroughly enjoyed the fact that this was a non-smoking place! Fantastic!
Bisou's cupcakes are quite well known in town, having made their name in a place called Fit For Two.
We also bought an Orange Semolina cake with a Rosemary syrup soaked in. Very nice. Moist, citrusy, and a great tea cake. Served as a slice off a loaf, it looked and tasted generous.
Factoring in everything as a whole, it was a delightful experience. Recommended.
Bisou Bake ShopAsian Heritage RowNo 58 Jalan Doraisamy50300 Kuala Lumpur
www.bisou.com.my
Tel; 03-26970131
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.
