My Kitchen Activities, August 1

2 August 2010, Monday

Now that I've completed my teaching stint at one of the leading Japanese restaurants in KL, I'm all gung-ho again to display my culinary skills in my spanking-new kitchen.

Hence, yesterday, 1 August 2010, I decided to cook Nasi Lemak Kukus (yummy, a recipe I learnt from my sister). I also prepared my signature Rendang Daging Daun Kunyit 'ala Kinsella to go with it.

And to top it all, I also cooked Sambal Tumis Ikan Bilis and Sambal Tumis Sotong.

And for dessert, I prepared "Going Bananas" dish, a steamed banana dish with steamed grated coconut and topped with oozing juicy Gula Melaka (palm sugar). How yummy and delectable!!!

Apparently, at one of the fancy and up-market restaurants at KLCC, a similar dessert (called Pisang Bali) will burn a hole in your pocket as it will render you poorer by RM15 for a mere 2 slices of banana!! I'll go bananas if I have to pay this kind of money!!!

Come to think of it, it pays to know how to cook. Looks like my kitchen will be a hive of activity especially since the fasting month is just round the corner.

The Heavenly Boiled Tapioca: Care To Try?

9 November 2009, Monday (21 Zulkaedah)

Do you know how tasty boiled tapioca is? The taste is simply heavenly, especially if you eat it with steamed grated coconut.

In KL, it is rather hard to find stalls selling this delicacy. And two places that I know of that offer this for breakfast are Gerai Kak Long at Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, and Mayang Sari resataurant in Gombak.

For those who have never tried this delectable delicacy, you certainly do not know what you are missing in life.

Imagine, tapioca used to be food for the desolate and the poor, and was a staple diet during the Japanese Occupation (my late mum used to relate how she and her siblings would eat tapioca during the World War as food was scarce at that time).

And today, a small plate of boiled potato with grated coconut would cost you nothing less than RM4-5 a small plate!!!Time sure has changed.

I urge you to try to know what "heavenly" means.

Beriani Here I Gam

7 October 2009, Wednesday (18 Syawal)

Today, my husband and I went to the Immigration Department in Putrajaya to cancel my schizophrenic maid's work permit.

Boy!! I felt a huge surge of relief once the Immigration officer stamped C.O.M Applied (Check Out Memo) on her passport symbolising freedom for my family, freedom for my father-in-law who had been verbally and physically abused by this crazy miad.

C.O.M on my maid's passport meant that she ceased her right to work for my family as of 10 October. In case you're wondering what I'm rambling about and why I've termed her schizophrenic, please refer to my earlier postings on Maids1 and Maids2.

While we were waiting to be served at the Immigration Department, my husband had casually mentioned that when he was here in January 2009, both he and his sister Tini, had tried the Beriani served at the restaurant just next to the section we were waiting at.  And he commented that it was good.

As we were not sure what to have for lunch, I had suggested we buy the Beriani home. Soon after we were done at the Immigration counter, we strode over to the Beriani stall.  It was just a normal stall served by the legendary mamaks.

My husband had ordered Beriani with kambing;

 for my eldest son, Khairul, it was Beriani with beef;

for my youngest son it was Beriani with Fried Chicken.

And I had ordered Beriani with 2 pieces of medium sized chicken, one Ayam Masak Madu, and another one, Ayam Masak Kari.

We had to do a little shopping at TESCO and by the time we reached home it was close to 2:00 p.m. Can you imagine how my mouth had salivated with the aromatic smell oozing from the four Berianis that was pervading our car?

Boy!! It was a real torture having to inhale the smell, without being able to dig our fingers into the Beriani. In any case, despite the strong and wonderful smell, I was still skeptical about how good the Beriani was despite the excellent review by my husband.

Once we reached home, there was not a moment to lose as we were both ravenous as it was well past our lunch time.

And once I've heated the Beriani for my husband and I (the two boys wanted to eat theirs later), we tucked into the Beriani.  The Beriani came with Dalca, Acar and an egg in each packing. And the helping was huge.  We actually kept half of each to be savoured again for dinner.

My! Oh My! The Beriani was really good. Better than good. It was excellent.  Better than excellent. It was superior to any other Beriyanis I've tasted before. My favourite has always been the Beriani that can be found at Jalan T.A.R. But this Beriani was one of its kind. It was HEAVENLY!!!

Freed from My Cage

4 October 2009, Sunday (15 Syawal)

After hybernating for 6 days, without stepping out of my house, today, I was freed from my cage. It feels good to be out of the house again.  I've been floored by fever and flu and had remained practically in my bedroom the entire week.

Today, we decided to have lunch in Bangi as we wanted to visit my sister-in-law, Tini and her family, and later buy tenderloin beef at Madam Butcher, also in Bangi. My two elder boys accompanied my husband and I to Bangi. My youngest son, Khairi did not follow us as he wanted to attend his friend's Hari Raya do.

I had suggested that we try D'Tasik in Bangi for lunch as I've read favourable reviews about their seafood.  But we were disappointed to discover that the restaurant is closed for lunch. So we drove around Bangi and finally settled on Village View Restaurant, a restaurant tucked in a little corner close to several petrol stations.

We ordered Siakap Masak Tiga Rasa, Kangkong Belacan (my all-time favourite), Tomyam Campur, Telur Dadar and Ayam Masak Pedas.

The food was pretty good, in particular the Siakap Masak Tiga Rasa. The exterior was very crispy and the flesh was still juicy and tender.

The Kangkong Belacan wasn't too bad either but it was watery.  I had specifically told the waiter to make it dry, but as always, restaurants will never heed customers' request.  It came back rather watery.  Thank God the taste was quite pleasant.

 See all the gravy (water) around it which I really hate!

Nevertheless, I wasn't too excited about the other dishes, alhough my boys and husband seemed to enjoy the food.  The sambal belacan was a total disappointment as it was very watery.

The Ayam Masak Pedas was so-so for me, but my sons seemed to like it very much. Hence the reason for the saying...."One's man's Meat is Another Man's Poison".

And so was the Kerabu Mangga - it was a tad too bland for me.  There was no ooomphhhh!

And the Tomyam Campur was very mild for me, despite the tons of cili padis they have thrown in. I would have preferred for Tomyams to be spicier.

And the Telur Dadar was telur dadar.  Nothing exciting about it.

In any case, I was grateful and thankful that my husband had given us this treat given that I've been cooped up in my bedroom the last one week.  Today's outing had been a wonderful respite for me.

Cakoi

3 October 2009, Saturday (14 Syawal)

It's now 4:49 p.m.  Our house is very quiet.  The gastronomic attack is over and done with. Khairi's friends left about 30 minutes ago. And he has gone to the Cyber Cafe with his close friends. Cyber Cafe? Why in the world would anyone go to the Cyber Cafe if they have access to computers and laptops at home??? Beats me!!!

There's only my husband and I left at home.  Earlier today, my second son Khairil had left for Penang to attend his boss' Hari Raya do.

And Khairul too has gone out to meet his friends after buying kueh (tea treat) for us.  We had assumed he would buy goreng pisang or curry puff (the usual tea treats you can find around the neighbourhood) but instead brought back Cakoi.

Whenever I have Cakoi (which is extremely rare), it will always remind me of Ayah.  Whenever Ayah came to my house, he would never fail to buy Cakoi or whenever he was in KL and staying with my sisters, he would still ask us to buy the Cakoi from Bandar Tun Razak.  Chakoi happened to be one of his favourite tea treats. No matter where he tried or bought the Cakoi, he would always boast that the ones in Bandar Tun Razak are the best Cakoi in Malaysia. The texture and the outer layer enveloping the fried dough is simply perfect and the taste is just heavenly.

And the same stall also sells Cakoi with red bean filling and it's just as great.

After Khairul bought the Cakoi, I remembered the Kuah Kacang and Sambal Tumis Sotong which I had prepared earlier for Khairi's Hari Raya gathering.

 

Without a moment to lose, my husband and I finished the Cakoi (huhhhh... don't be taken in by the above picture!! Of course we didn't eat a mountainful of Cakoi! - it was only 4 pieces between us...) which we had both dipped in the Sambal Kacang and Sambal Tumis Sotong.  Cakoi had never tasted so gooood... with these two tantalizing dishes!!! Oh my!!! It's really yummy!!!! And I try not to think too much about how Ayah had loveed the Cakoi. It always distresses me........ Ayah. I miss you.....

Gastronomic Attack in Bandar Tun Razak

3 October 2009, Saturday (14 Syawal)

Today, my house will be attacked by Khairi's friends, more specifically attack of the gastronomic kind.

After several days of suffering from pounding headache and feeling blue and lethargic, miraculously I woke up with a clear head this morning. I feel so much better. Thank God.

Last night, my husband suggested that we have breakfast outside this morning as I've been cooped up in the house the last 5 days. As a matter of fact, this is the first time, since my retirement that I've stayed put in the house without going anywhere.  This time the flu and fever had really floored me. In a way it was good as I could rest my tired body and aching spine.

But when he suggested it again this morning, I declined citing all the preparations that I needed to complete before Khairi's friends attacked our house after Zuhur prayers.

So, my husband went to the nearby mamak shop to buy roti canai and tosai.  Usually, I'm passionate about such type of delicious breakfast, but this morning, I only savoured a little of each.  Perhaps, my stomach was still trying to adjust to a non-fasting state, as I had been fasting the last two days.

Right after breakfast, I fine-tuned the Kuah Kacang and Sambal Tumis Sotong.

 

And it's really yummy and finger-licking good. The Kuah Kacang was a recipe given by my eldest sister, Kak Pah. Thanks Kak Pah, it's really delectable. I'm glad you shared the recipe with me.

And my Sambal Sotong was, ooohhh.... so scrumptious and will definitely whet my poor appetite.

And the Baked Macaroni was ohhh... so cheesy and spicy.  Really yummy!!

While my maid was preparing the ingredients for the White MiHun@Kinsella that I was going to cook later, I started filling up the cookie jars with snacks, cookies, chocolates, and candies.

And later Khairi (after a little push by my husband as he was still swathed in his comforter in his bed), came down to help me with some of the cleaning up in the dining area and living room.

 

 

 

 

 

Once I'm done with the cleaning up, I went back to the kitchen to cook the White MiHun@Kinsella.  I decided to cook two separate dishes - one with beef and the other without as some of Khairi's friends cannot take beef.

 

The two Mihun dishes turned out really well and yummy too.  And my maid started to cut the Nasi Himpit into dices and cubes. Kak Pah had given me some tips on how to ensure the Nasi Himpit turned out well, and thanks to her, the Nasi Himpit turns out aromatic (pandany), with just the right texture and moisture.

I was really happy and satisfied with what I had whipped up today. It was a simple fare that I had prepared but all the dishes turned out wonderfully. I must say I'm a satisfied cook as I lay all the food on the table.

 

 

 

 

I completed all the cooking by 12:45 p.m and it was time for me to serve lunch to my husband and my two boys, Khairul and Khairi (who wanted to eat before his friends came over).

 

 

 

My maid brought up all the dishes to the family hall, so we helped ourselves to all the delicacies first.

I was really touched when my husband commented after savouring the Nasi Himpit, Kuah Kacang, Sambal Sotong, Mihun Daging and Mihun Udang and Sayur, "Sayang, the food is really good and delicious." He surely made my day. And my reply to him was, "Sayang, that was cooked with abundance of one extra ingredient, i.e. LOVE."

So, my tips to all the wannabe cooks out there, "Be very generous with that one extra ingredient, sprinkle it everywhere!"

The recipe again:
6 cups love 5 spoons hope
2 cups loyalty 2 quarts tenderness
3 cups forgiveness 4 quarts faith
1 cup friendship 1 barrel laughter

Take love and loyalty, mix it thoroughly with faith. Blend it with tenderness and hope, sprinkle abundantly with laughter. Cook it with sunshine and serve with generous helpings and abundance of love.