Having a bad day with Streamyx

2003-07-07T06:31:00.000-07:00

: : Chicken Curry : :

As promised, here is the recipe for Granny's Curry Chicken. The number of ingredients here aren't a lot because most of the spices have already been added into the curry paste.

1 small bowl of curry paste or 2 tablespoon of curry chicken powder

1/2 chicken, cut into smaller parts

A few strips of beancurd, broken into slightly smaller pieces

8 small purple shallots, sliced into half

2 tablespoon of cooking oil

Some water

A big wok with a lid to fit (approx. 20-30cm in diameter)

A note about the curry paste used here. The spices have already been added in, including the chilli powder. However, when using curry powder, you'll need to use a lesser quantity in order to get the same taste.

I luv beancurd! Yummy with curry! The picture shown is a full length one. For the curry, the beancurd is broken into strips of smaller lengths. Then, it's later soak in water to rehydrate it so that it expands before being added into the curry.

Now onto the recipe!

Step 1

Heat up the oil on a slow fire until it is hot. To check, stick a dry spatula into the oil and press it against the wok. (Funny thing to note : over here, the spatula is called the frying stick!) If you start to see small bubbles come up, the oil is hot enough. Note that oil tends to spit if water is thrown into it. Slide the onions into the oil by pushing them from the side. Do not just drop them into the wok else the oil will start spitting. Fry the onions until they become soft and fragrant. Do not brown them.

Step 2

Fry the curry paste with the onions on a slow fire. Do not stop stirring. Add some water in if the paste is starting to dry up from the frying. No matter what happens, MUST NOT LET THE PASTE BURN!! Fry for a few minutes until there is a fragrant smell coming out. For first timers, be careful not to stand too close to the steam else your eyes will start to tear. I think it comes from the chilli inside the cooking.

Step 3

I hope that you still have a slow fire going. Big fire, smelly burnt smell. From the side of the wok, slowly slide the chicken in. The last thing you would want is a burnt mark on your skin, or worst, your face. (Incidently, if you do get burnt from hot cooking oil, the sap of a banana tree works wonders. Of course, you'll end up a sticker but when one is in pain, one doesn't care. Gotta look for a banana tree first!). Add some water if it gets too dry. Remember, the water is to prevent the chicken and curry paste from burning. Add in about 1 small bowl and stir the chicken until the outside is partially cook. Then, fill the wok with water : about half the wok should be filled with water. Turn up the file until the water starts to boil. Lower the fire and let the whole curry simmer. Cover the wok with a lid to cook the chicken faster. The lid creates a small pressure cooker so the chicken will be more tender.

Step 4

Once the chicken is cook, add in the hydrated beancurds. How to check if the chicken is cook? Try it lar! That's the only way to tell. Simmer it until the beancurd is hot.

Sorry I didn't add in a final picture of the finished dish. Completely forgot about it and when we had it for dinner again today, it looked to messy. Think there were some leftover so will take another pic tomorrow.

The orangey colour comes from a spice called tumeric. It doesn't add much spicy-ness to the dish but rather the colour. Notice that there is no coconut milk added in? Great for people who are watching their diet. Granny wanted to lose weight so omitted the coconut milk in most of her curry cooking. Although, I do think that this version is a lot spice-er compared to the version with the coconut milk.

As for buying curry paste, it's a 50-50 chance. Might get a good one, might not. Easiest way to find out is through word of mouth but do not be surprise if it doesn't come out well. I guess it's just plain luck. One thing good about curry paste is that it keeps in the freezer for ages.

So, that's just about the 1st actual recipe for this blog. Granny says that she hopes everyone enjoys it. I know we do, every Sunday. It's curry day every Sunday, 52 times a year.

2003-07-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

: : Chicken Siew Pau : :

KBH and PC were in town on a short holiday, staying at PC's childhood home. So, I pop by to meet up with them and brought along some siew pau.

I asked for the pork version but got the chicken version instead. It still tasted good though. The pastry is very very soft and the filling is not too sweet. The meat was very tender which is actually one of the critical traits of this pastry.

I bought this from Expert Hawker Centre, Tabuan Jaya, as it was the closest coffee shop that sells 'Kuching Siew Pau'. Actually, other coffee shops also have this siew pau. Look out for a food warmer with the sign 'Kuching Siew Pau' on it. Sometimes, they put up a picture of a yellow tabby cat that is kicking his legs into the air with his paws behind his head. I only know of another place that sells this siew pau is the Siang Siang Hawker Center in Tabuan Jaya. 'Kuching Siew Pau' makes the better tasting version compared to others and I've tried many versions.

In KL, there is a very famous coffee shop in SS2 (or was it SS3?) that sells delicious siew pau. I remember the coffee shop was facing the highway and Damansara College. There are two huge ovens to cook this pastry and it's open throughout the entire day. Yum!

2003-07-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

: : Tea-time : :

One of Granny's friend pop by to drop off some bak chang. Yum! She was making some for her daughter and had make extras. Granny immediately opened one and pop it into her mouth!

I've been pestering Granny for years to teach me how to do this but she has it's too much of a bother. Bak Chang is pork meat, chestnuts and black mushrooms stuffed in glutinous rice. This little rice ball is then steamed after being wrapped up in pandan leaves. It is actually shaped as a triangular pyramid.

There are many versions to different kinds of bak chang available as different types of stuffing are used. Other than pork meat, there is the tau sa (red bean paste) and peanut version. Sometimes, bak chang without any filling except for the glutinous rice, is available. Granny makes a mean sweet sauce to go with this : mixed gula melaka (thickened brown sugar) with soy sauce. Sounds pretty disgusting but trust me when I say that it goes well with plain bak chang!

2003-07-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

: : Breakfast : :

Good morning! It's a really cool morning after yesterday's cold and dreary day. Granny bought some mea sua when she went to do her grocery shopping. Yum! Mee sua is a popular FooChow dish. It's actually just rice noodles with chicken soup with some Chinese red wine added in. Yep, potent stuff although this version didn't have that much red wine in it. The noodles look like bee hoon but they aren't. They're softer and more filling to the stomach. Also, they're thinner compared to bee hoon but have a flat surface.

It's actually a very simple dish to do. Cook the noodles separately, then drain out the water. The soup is made by boiling pieces of chicken, black mushrooms, some ginger (to add in a spicy and tangy taste) and some red wine. If you like more red wine, then put more inside. For the black mushrooms, please un-dry the dried mushrooms first! You can do this by soaking them in water until they expand. Then, rinse the mushrooms a few times to get rid of the strong taste unless you like it that way. I would suggest that the noodles be cooked last.

I did promise some pictures this morning of Granny's home-cook meals but couldn't wake up early enough. *sheepish grin*

2003-07-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

: : Expiry Date : :

I wonder if I'll run out of things to talk about in another few more weeks. Hmm... well, let's see what happens. At least there is more than 3 weeks of blog posting up so I'm still here! By the way, so is Granny!

2003-07-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

: : Granny's Cooking : :

Brrr... it was a really cold day today with the rain pouring down in the morning and afternoon. The temperature at night has dropped down to 24 degrees Celsius which is considered really cold for this part of the equator. It is surprising because it's supposed to be the start of the dry season at this time of year where it's usually very hot and dry.

Coming back late from the office, Granny had cooked sweet and sour fish. The picture is a bit unsightly because my uncle wallop half of it. Tried to rearrange such that it looks more attractive but could not do it. Then again, when one is in a typical Chinese Restaurant, the food always look like one big mess.

To prepare the dish, Granny deep fried the fish in oil first until it was very crispy. The fish used is ikan tenggiri / mackeral. Yep, we're still trying to clear the freezer of Uncle Cyril's fishing catch a few weeks ago. Here's a cooking tip to prevent the oil from spitting and popping : add a little bit of salt into the oil before frying. About less than 1/4 of a teaspoon is sufficient.

Granny then prepared the sauce using Maggi's tomato sauce with slices of cucumber and onions. No additional sugar was added as the sweetness would have come from the tomato sauce and onions. No cornstarch was added, hence there was a lot of gravy on the side. Can't really call it soup because it wasn't that much but it wasn't a lot that it was very thick gravy either. Well, I'm not complaining as this tastes a lot better compared to sweet and sour fish in UK!

2003-07-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

: : Comments : :

Have added in a comments section at the bottom of each blog. Hopefully, it's more stable than SquawkTV.

2003-07-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

: : Granny's Cooking : :

Had dinner at home today and surprise surprise! Granny has come up with some favourites. Yummy.

Stir-Fried Veggies : Cauliflower and Celery

Pork Stew in Soy Sauce

Pork Stomach Soup with Black Peppercorn

Stir-Fried Veggies : Cauliflower and Celery

One of the many many versions of mixed vegetables, otherwise known in the western world as chop suey! This one was with cauliflower and celery. Of course, chopped garlic is added into the dish to remove any unwanted smell or taste in the vegetables.

Pork Stew in Soy Sauce

This is an extremely easy dish to do for beginners to Chinese cooking. You can boil it for as long as you like and nothing can go wrong. Even if the pork turns out soft, it's okay as the taste would have gotten into it. This stew is more of a soup as it's not thick at all. Put a slab of pork meat (500-600 g) into a pot of water with dark soy sauce and garlic. How much garlic? Well, try a few cloves first, maybe 5-6 pieces with the skin on. Can always add more in. Don't worry about the garlic taste because it'll all go into the soup and pork. Can't even taste the garlic taste in the pork but somehow it brings out the taste in the pork. Boil the soup on a slow fire until the pork is cook. Remove the pork meat and wait for it to cool. Then slice it into slices and put it back into the pot. Boil again on a slow fire, adding in black mushrooms and fried tauhu cut into big cubes. Boil until the meat turns brown. Add sugar and salt to taste. MSG is up to you : usually less than 1/4 of a teaspoon is enough. Or, you can put everything into a crock pot and leave it cooking overnight. It's real easy to do. However, remember to add more water if the pot runs dry.

Pork Stomach Soup with Black Peppercorn

This is seriously an adventorous dish for anyone but it is definitely tasty from the black peppercorns. Also, it's an extremely easy dish to do just like the pork stew above. Can cook it for as long as you like and it still tastes as good. Granny added in a small slice of ginger to bring out a slight spicy, tangy taste to the meal. Yummy! Nowadays, one can find this soup in herbal hawker stalls all over Kuching. So, don't worry about not finding it as you can do so.

2003-07-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

: : Thompson Corner, Tabuan Jaya : :

Yes, I went back to Thompson Corner for lunch again. AH had to eat where there was halal food so okay lor. Suffice to say that I ordered pork and ate in front of him but he's quite cool about it. BJ, SA and JJ were also having lunch together with us so I had more pictures to snap. Yes, I remembered this time!

Chinese Fried Rice

Malay Fried Mee

Bak Kut Teh

Chinese Fried Rice

This is a very "white" version of fried rice. One of the whitest I've ever seen. It's only so-so so be prepared. The reason why it's not so dark is because the hawker seller used light soy sauce and not the dark type. I suppose some people like it this way. Another thing missing is the taste of deep fried shallots. Now, the shallot is the ingredient that brings out the flavour of Chinese Fried Rice. Ahem, non-halal.

Malay Fried Mee

There is a difference between Malay Fried Mee and the Chinese Fried Mee. Malay Fried Mee is generally very spicy AND sweet as well. A lot of dark soy sauce is used for this one but it was still tasty. Checking the picture tonight, just realised that it was a bad shot because the chicken bone is exposed but oh well. Was being chased by people to hurry up to take the pictures. Be prepare for at least a 15 minute wait for this mee but it's worth it! Another favourite from this stall is the Malay Fried Kway Teow. That is also tasted. As the name implies, it is a halal hawker stall although it's not always open during lunch time.

Bak Kut Teh

I'm giving up eating bak kut teh at hawker stalls. The Sarawak version is so totally different from the West Malaysian version. Too much sugar and too little spices and garlic. Also, too much sugar. Yuck! Bak Kut Teh actually means Spare Rib Teh but that's the literal translation to English. What's inside the soup? Pork meat, pork skin, pork stomach, pork intestines, tauhu and lettuce. Definitely not for one who is not used to this. Granny makes better soup out of a packet! The best Bak Kut Teh quick fix packet is the A1 brand. I heard from a friend that the family that owns the shop selling the famous Bak Kut Teh in Klang, Selangor, is manufacturing this brand. Wouldn't be surprising as the packet version is good! This is an extremely easy dish to do and you can boil it for a long time without having to worry about it getting spoilt. Great during winter times in UK! However, for the Westerners, it's for the adventurous as there is some...er...shit in the intestines. Not much but enough to taste. Some places have it more than others. Sort of a delicacy.

Quick directions to Thompson Corner. It is the Tabuan Jaya branch, behind Bank Utama, facing the wet market and carpark. Can't miss the big sign. Always a popular foodspot during lunch time especially since it serves those iced drinks! Yum!

2003-07-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

: : Granny's Famous Recipes : :

Had a request from Carla to put up recipes of Granny's tasty dishes. Will try to accomodate that. Problem is that I'd have to wake up early during the weekend to catch her doing it. Anyway, let's see what happens this Saturday. Must remember to sleep early on Friday night.

Problem is the measurement. I probably will not be able to get it write but hopefully, accompanied with pictures, I can work something out. Granny's policy is if you like more of something, add more in! That was how I learnt how to cook as well. Important thing is to taste the food to see if it taste just right.

I'll put up some of her basic tips on cooking food, especially the curries. Also, have to consult my nature-loving uncle on the English translation for some of the local vegetables. So, please bear with me.

By the way, I should be able to post a step-by-step shot of how she makes her tasty curries. Sunday is curry day so she usually makes an extremely big pot to last for the next 2-3 days. Also, I hope to persuade her to make Salted Fish Curry with Pineapple and Prawn. Now, that is a culinary wonder considering that the salted fish no longer tastes salty after the curry is done. But, not this Sunday. Gotta see if there are any pineables in the market.

Stay tuned to this blog!

2003-07-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

: : Gamelan : :

You know what? Was so hungry today at dinner that I totally forgot to take pictures! Oh well, guess everyone has to settle for a quick rundown on the menu.

Gamelan is an Indonesian restaurant located just past the Simpang Tiga roundabout, behind Bank Utama. It's a nice place that is not noisy and very cozy as well. However, there are a lot of mosquitoes outside so would be advisable to sit inside where the aircon is.

The menu for the night :

Cumis Sos Mentega

Direct translation would be squid in butter sauce. This is yummy and is always on the menu whenever BJ and myself head over to Gamelan for dinner. It's spicy and tasty at the same time although a bit oily from the butter.

Kangkung Belacan

Found out today that kangkung is actually Chinese spinach from another website. Normally, this dish had so much chillie inside that it makes one really really sweat. However, today was a very mild version so we wallop it pretty quick. One thing about kangkung is that it is one of the 'cool' food that it will cool your body down pretty fast. Also, there is a wive's tale that kangkung causes cramps in the legs. I can testify to that as well as some of my other friends! Another note about this veggie : if you're not careful, you might be eating one grown in a drain. Yes, it's a water plant and some small-time farmers do actually grow this in drains. It's a hollow plant so if you're cooking it at home, you'd need to rinse it thoroughly before cooking it.

Fried Chicken in Soy Sauce

Sorry, my knowledge of the Indonesian language is totally zilch so went for the English translation. I'm not sure what the spices used were but I suspect the chicken was marinated in soy sauce, sugar and unknown (to me anyways) spices. Still, it was extremely tasty.

Stir-Fried Long Beans with Tauhu

This is standard fare and we girls didn't want to have a heavy meal. So, it was mostly veggie all the way except for the chicken. This was so-so because the beans were not cook until it was soft. I guess some people just prefer it a bit tough.

Rice

It's amazing how a bowl of good rice can complement a good meal. If the rice is terrible, the entire meal is spoilt after that. I believe that the rice used is either the Siamese Fragrant Rice or the local Bario rice. The grains were slightly sticky and small as well. Very tasty. Yum yum.

So, sorry about that folks. Guess it was a pretty tiring day that taking pictures was the last thing on my mind! Plus, had dinner really late so was very hungry!!

2003-07-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

: : Granny's Cooking : :

Dinner is, as usual, a beautiful (and delicious!) symphony of taste and colours! I just cannot do it justice with my camera.

Chopped Long Beans Stir-Fried with Egg

Teochew Fish

Chai Sim Soup (Chinese Mustard Soup)

Chopped Long Beans Stir-Fried with Egg

Long time favourite. (Notice how I enjoy my food? ;p) The long beans are chopped and then stir-fried with slices of garlic and egg. The taste is in getting the right amount of salt and egg into this dish AND at the same time ensuring that the beans are just nicely cook i.e. soft but still firm enough to bite into.

Teochew Fish

At least, I think it's a Teochew dish as they always like to cook with a lot of dark soy sauce. The fish used is a tenggiri or rather, mackeral. Uncle Cyril has been catching this fish for the past few months and we've been basically eating it non-stop! The fish is first deep fried. Later, the sauce is prepared by frying the soy-sauce with onions, garlic and serai (lemon grass). Then, the sauce is poured over the fish and served hot Hot HOT!!

Chai Sim Soup (Chinese Mustard Soup)

Another clear soup for dinner time. Very simple to do. Cut up the veggie, pour in a pot of water, when half-cook add in meat, add salt+pepper to taste. Name of the veggie is Chinese Mustard, courtesy of Uncle Cyril's vast pool of knowledge on plant life.

2003-07-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

: : Thompson Corner, Tabuan Jaya : :

Lunch today was really a moral booster after a bad Monday. Had my two favourite food :

Sarawak Laksa

Ais Jagung (Iced Drink with Corn)

Sarawak Laksa

An all-time favourite dish in Sarawak. The taste is similar to curry laksa but it is thicker with many other spices and herbs added into it. The one I ordered had the following ingredients inside : bee hoon, sliced chicken, sliced prawns, sliced squid, sliced omellete, taugeh (bean sprouts) with chopped spring onions as garnishings. It was accompanied with a slice of lime and belacan (prawn paste with chilli). The best laksa sauce is made from the Swallow Brand with the logo of a blue swallow there. The stall I ordered it from is not halal.

Ais Jagung (Iced Drink with Corn)

This used to be a kiddies drink for me and my sis when growing up. After that, we graduated to more fanciful iced drinks like ABC and ang tow chendut (red bean with green jelly in coconut). Anyway, for the iced corn drink, it's definitely a thirst quencher during a hot hot sunny day. It's actually ice shavings mixed with corn (of course), condensed milk, brown syrup and grenaldine syrup. Mix it altogether for a juicy, cooling drink!

Thompson Corner is a hawker food stall where a lot of proprietors sell different types of food for reasonable prices. This particular branch is located in Tabuan Jaya, behind Bank Utama, next to Expert Foodcourt. Note that there is only one halal food stall in this hawker centre.

2003-06-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

: : Granny's Cooking : :

I'm amazed at the amount of different dishes my granny cooks everyday. The variety, the taste, yum. So, here's a look at the dinner menu for today :

Stir-fried Bittergourd

Beancurd Soup

Sweet and Sour Fishball

Kacangma

Chicken Kurma

Stir-fried Bittergourd

To tell you the truth, I do not like bitter stuff. Still, it look delicious enough so here it is. Granny cooked it with pork, some garlic and I think some black beans.

Bean Curd Soup

Another favourite clear soup. The bean curd is actually from dried soy bean. The bean curd is sold dry and needs to be soak in water. Then it'll become soft. Granny also added in black fungus : soft and crunchy. Apparently, the black fungus to good to prevent heart problems.

Sweet and Sour Fishball

A Westernised Chinese Dish. At a Chinese Restaurant, one can find sweet and sour chicken, sweet and sour beer, sweet and sour fish, sweet and sour pork. Boring. But still, this one tasted good. Simple to do as Granny used Maggi's tomato sauce. She also added in strips of cucumber and onions. Note that the cucumber core must be removed. No need to add water as a lot of it will come out from the cucumber.

Kacang Ma

This is an extremely potent dish!! It's a herbal soup mostly taken by mothers during post pregnancy. Auntie Lucy gave us a pot and it really knocked us out tonight! This one was totally cooked in samsu(Chinese Rice Wine : used for cooking only)!! Definitely full of alcohol. The herbs are bought in bottles at cheap prices. It is fried dry and later grinded. Pounded ginger and the ginger juice is also added in with chicken. The alcohol can be substituted with more ginger to get a non-alcoholic wallop! Looks like I cannot sleep tonight.

Chicken Kurma

My sister's favourite. Kurma is a type of curry that is not hot at all. The curry is actually a grey-brownish colour but still very tasty. A cholesterol bomb because of the coconut milk that is added. The curry is simmered until it thickens but by then, the kurma taste would have already been in the chicken. Yummy yummy!

2003-06-30T05:03:00.000-07:00

: : Red Peach : :

Bad day at work starting with yesterday's emergency. So, decided to pamper myself a bit with some Asian junk food. Got it from the nearby timbang place at Big Fresh Supermarket, Tabuan Jaya. Loved this SO much when I was young. Yep, the amount of things that can be eaten by a child is simply amazing. Granny gets the credit for introducing all the preserve fruits and snacks to me. But since she's missing her teeth, well, harder for her now to eat these things. Also makes you wonder whether it's healthy to eat it. :p

Anyway, this is preserved fruit is called Ang Tho or translated as Red Peach. It's both sweet and sour at the same time. Can't really describe the taste without one actually trying it. Years back, there were concerns regarding the red colouring used as it might be harmful for health. This particular one was okay as the colour was only on the skin. If you are looking to try out the different Asian junk food, this is a good choice.

2003-06-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

: : Granny's Cooking : :

Was so tired last night that did not put up any pics of granny's cooking. However, it's going up today. Typically, a meal would have soup, stew or curry, fish (common for us as Uncle C is usually out fishing during the weekends), one or two veggie dishes and rice. Last nite's menu was :

Bak Choi Soup with Fishballs

Stir-Fried French Beans with Slice Carrots and Fish Cake

Assam Fish Curry

Bak Choi Soup with Fish Balls

Another clear soup that is easy to make. Bak Choi is like a cross between a lettuce and cabbage. The leaf is very wrinkled but the stem is firm. Granny added in fish balls to it. Basically, it's cutting the vegetables into rectagular pieces, boiling the water, put in the veggie and fishballs, add salt and pepper and boil until the veggie is soft. Easy.

Stir-Fried French Beans with Slice Carrots and Fish Cake

One of my favourite veggie dish. The French beans is sliced diagonally into small pieces whereas the carrot is sliced very thinly. Although not seen here, chopped garlic is added into the dish. Garlic is added to any Chinese veggie dish to get rid of any unwanted smells and tastes but at the same time acts flavour to it. About 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic is sufficient for this dish. Fish cake was also added in. It's actually made from fishball paste which is rolled into a rectangle and then deep fried. It is sliced thinly here.

Assam Fish Curry

Hmmmm.... This dish is sweet, sour and spicy at the same time. An all-time favourite. Usually, it's cooked with fish head as well but as Uncle C didn't come back with a big fish, Granny used normal fish instead. Assam? It's a fruit that is extremely sour but adds great flavour in cooking. Assam can be preserved and eaten just like a pickle. Had a great time eating this curry. Did you know curry is great with bread? Try it. That's why Indians always eat some sort of bread with their curries.

2003-06-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

: : Halal? : :

A few friends brought up some concerns about places that are halal and non-halal that are mentioned on this blog. Well, I was thinking of doing it when I move over to my new home where I can have a bit more webspace to play around a bit. So, I didn't want to put in too much effort to this website until the move over.

When will I be moving? Pretty soon. The space is up already but some problems with uploading the blogand files there. Am awaiting feedback from my cousins but since they're busy, I can wait. No big deal.

Back to halal and non-halal eating spots. Actually, a number of restaurants do not cook pork but they do not put up the Halal sticker. Reason is that they do not have a chief Muslim cook. However, the ingredients that is used is, of course, halal. This can be seen from the noticeboard that is placed nearby the cashier.

While waiting for my website problems to be settled, I'll just make a quick mention in my current blog on whether the place is halal or not.

2003-06-27T06:45:00.000-07:00

: : Chilli Peppers : :

After yesterday's dismal lunch, decided to follow some collegues out for lunch. Desperate times call for desperate measures!! Well, not so desperate.

Today's lunch spot is a coffee shop called Chilli Peppers. It's a halal coffee shop with a variety of food. Here are some of the drinks and meals we had.

Iced Barli

Iced Longan

Ice Lemon Tea

Thai Bee Hoon

Kolo Mee

Sambal Fried Rice

Thai Chicken Rice

Iced Barli

A really cooling drink when one is feeling hot and heaty. It's also a nutritious drink that can be taken when one has sore throat or when one is feeling dehydrated. Also great for making ice lollies! Just put some in the freezy and take it out when it's frozen. Think it'll also make a great sherbet.

Iced Longan

Another great thirst quencher! Yummy! Longan is similar to laici but firmer and the skin of the seed doesn't stick to the flesh. It's usually just the fruit added with water and some syrup.

Iced Lemon Tea

An old-time favourite everywhere. The lime used has a similar taste to a lemon but not so sharp. At least this iced lemon tea was made from real tea and lime rather than the instant version. Nowadays, coffeshops in Kuching are using the instant one which is tasteless. Can't even taste the tea.

Thai Bee Hoon

This is a slightly sour dished and not fried at all. The bee hoon is prepared before and water is drained away. Then, the garnishings are added on as shown with lime and chilli as well. Then, the entire meal is mixed up before being eaten. The noodles is made out of rice and has a lower cholesterol level compared to the yellow noodles.

Kolo Mee

Here is another version of the famous Sarawak Kolo Mee. This time, the noodles used are the curly ones. A favourite of an old friend in Penang. She couldn't get enough of it.

Sambal Fried Rice

This is the normal fried rice cooked with shallots, egg and chicken. The secret to a great tasting fried rice is the shallots. The best one to use is the small purple ones. It's hell to cut them up but the crying effort is worth it. Of course, there is the usual sunny-side fried egg and popadoms. Popadoms are the Indian crisps : light, thin and crunchy. Notice the sambal sauce on the right hand side? This is great! The chilli is fried with pounded dried prawn, onion and belachan (prawn paste). A great compliment to the meal. We kept asking for seconds!

Thai Chicken Rice

The rice was the normal chicken rice but it was the chicken that was different. Chicken is deep fried and a sweet sauce was later added on. Caution : Extremely sweet sauce! However, still very tasty and comes with soup.

The address for Chilli Peppers :

No. 12, Block B, King's Centre,

Jalan Simpang Tiga,

93150 Kuching,

Sarawak, Malaysia.

Tel : 082-576910

Directions to get there : It's located at King's Centre, the location of many shophouses. It is a few shops down from Systematic College, near the Simpang Tiga roundabout.

2003-06-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

: : Places to Eat : :

Just came across a directory for interesting food in Sarawak. Someone obviously has not been updating it. Yes, you can find German food in Kuching. Surprise? Arrangements can be made at Carvery a few days in advance. Also, Oktoberfest is a very big event every October with an omm-pa-pa band in Kuching and Miri.

There are at least 3 Japanese restaurant, 1 Italian restaurant, 3 Korean restaurants and countless seafood outlets! Good Western food is also available and many many hawker stalls!

Hmm... now I have an idea to set up a directory. Will start planning to do it once I've moved to another web server.

2003-06-26T05:45:00.000-07:00

: : Yesterday's lunchie : :

Decided to put yesterday's lunchie because today's lunch was worst! Urgh! Cafeteria food. The only decent thing was instant Korean noodles: kimchi flavour.

Anyway, yesterday's lunch was kuah chap. Mentioned early, it's a pork stew but not thick at all. Usually cooked with herbs, pork meat as well as intestines, pork stomach, pork skin and really big pieces of rice noodles. The noodles are similar to the kway teow except that they are cut in square pieces. It's also accompanied with half an egg.

This dish is a great breakfast dish and quite filling. Definitely not one for those who are not used to the unusual ingredients though. It is both sweet and salty at the same time as dark soy sauce is used to make the soup.

To finish the meal, I had a cup of Ribena 7-up!! Some Ribena syrup was mixed with the 7-up. Great way to end a meal eaten outside on a hot hot hot day!!

2003-06-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

: : Peanut Soup : :

A bit more about this peanut soup. I'm a Chinese so we cook it with pork. However, I think it should be okay with chicken.

It's a common soup made at home and very easy to do. However, might take some time to do it because the peanuts need to be soft. Not too soft that it disintegrate but still soft enough to bite through without the crunchy sound.

Most homemade Chinese soup are clear i.e. no cornflour added inside. So, it's a very light soup and not too heavy. This peanut soup is very good for one's health although I have to check with Granny what it's good for. Sometimes, instead of peanut, she puts in red kidney beans. The taste is slightly different but still good.

A typical Chinese meal at home will have soup. I know my Dad needs it! Throughout the coming days, I will start putting up other types of soup. Nowadays, these soups can be eaten at the foodcourt which sells different types of clear soup like pork stomach with pepper, chicken soup with carrots, bittergourd stuff with meat soup and others.

Still, the best soups I've tasted so far is always at home!

2003-06-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

: : Grandma's Cooking : :

Bit late today so think I'll skip the lunch menu for today and save it for tomorrow. It was a lousy kueh chap anyway (pork soup cooked in soy sauce, garlic with flat noodles).

Today, Granny cooked my sis' favourite soup : peanut soup with pork ribs. So, here it is!

Actually, the peanut is very soft. Granny's simple instructions :

Boil the raw peanuts in water over a slow fire. DO NOT PUT SALT IN!!! Need to ensure the peanut is 3/4 cook by tasting the peanuts. If not enough water, add more in. The soup will turn slightly reddish brown but that's okay. It's also to cook the peanut with the skin on. If you want more peanuts, put more in.

Add in the pork ribs and boil over slow fire. DO NOT PUT SALT IN!!!

Once pork ribs are cooked i.e. soft, add in the salt, pepper and Ajinomoto. Ajinomoto = MSG but only a little bit i.e. a pinch should be sufficient. For those who are not used to taking MSG, then you can skip this step.

The shiny stuff in the soup is actually the fat coming from the pork meat as well as some from the peanut. Throw in a cabbage leaf to soak up the fat and then throw away the cabbage leaf. At least, I remember it was a cabbage leaf. Or was it lettuce?

Granny doesn't give much measurements for the cooking ingredients. Everything is added in as per each person's taste so will leave it at that.

Anyway, sis, here's looking at you!

2003-06-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

: : Granny's Cooking : :

Special request from my sis : pics of Granny's cooking!

Starting tomorrow.

2003-06-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

: : Crime Scene: :

Cast : Grandma, Wena

Time of Crime Occurance : 10 p.m.

Grandma : Wei! Come and eat Kuku's (Uncle's) Kolo Mee.

Wena : Eh? Thought he wanted to eat later?

Grandma : Nanti basi later (Will turn bad). Come, I eat with you.

Wena : (Hmmm... using me as an excuse to eat the mee. Oh well. No harm. I get the mee. )

2003-06-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

: : Mega Food Court : :

Grand name. Foodwise, I'm not too sure. Below are some fares from lunch, also with collegues from work. Mega Food Court is at King's Centre, near the Simpang Tiga roundabout.

Tang Hoon Soup No. 2(another one)

Salad Chicken

Indonesian Fried Kway Teow

Tang Hoon Soup No. 2

The great thing about tang hoon soup is that you can order whatever you would like to have in it. EL decided to have it with only fishballs and seaweed(red ones!). A LOT of fishballs. Usually, it's the soup that matters most and this one didn't quite make the mark. I still say the one that the temple, Carpenter Street is a lot better. Gotta take a snapshot one day.

Salad Chicken

This is the latest -in- food for the chinese : Thousand Island Sauce with fried chicken and rice. Bit bizarre for me but my love affair with Thousand Island Sauce was way over. Seems like Thousand Island Sauce is the latest favourite everywhere. You can even find it in Chinese Restaurants where it's mixed with prawn and fruits! Hmmm...

Indonesian Fried Kway Teow

I'm not quite sure whether this is the REAL Indon cooking or not. But, the stall is apparently famous for this style of cooking. Although the noodles aren't cooked as dark, it's still very spicy. Lacking in garnishing but it was okay. Cannot beat Uncle's cooking.

Food wasn't that bad today. A bad lunch = lunch at the company's cafeteria. Urgh!

2003-06-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

: : Insults : :

[M] : alamak.. i just realised

[M] : your blog is about food

...Some people really...

[M] : i tot it was a phase

...oh, the insults...

2003-06-23T04:48:00.000-07:00

: : Asian Junk Food: :

Thought I'd put this up just for the heck of it. Yes, Asians do have their own version of junk food. In fact, it's been around for years and years.

Dried Plum Version 1

Tapioca Crisps

Dried Plum Version 1

There are so many different types of plum out there it's hard to list them all. This snacks reminds me of my childhood days of buying snacks at the school canteen during break-time/recess. This is sweetened but nowadays, artificial sugar is used rather than the real stuff.

Tapioca Crisps

One of the best I've had so far. It's not oily. It's crunchy. Very spicy from the chillie. Not too sweet. Not too salty.

Both snacks were bought at a Timbang Outlet (Timbang = Weighing in Malay) at Big Fresh Supermarket, Tabuan Jaya. All snacks are bought according to weight. Kinda like a sweet soup but this time for junk food.

2003-06-23T04:23:00.000-07:00

: : Expert : :

Went to Tabuan Jaya for lunch today with some collegues from work. Had to persuade them to give me some time to take shots of their meals before tucking into them.

Hurry up, Rowena! Hungry lah!

Okay okay okay.

Tang Hoon Soup

Kolo Mee Pok

Chicken Rice

Tang Hoon Soup

Direct translation : glass noodle. Yes, it is transparent, made from rice. PL got it from the Fish Ball King stall. It's not the best tasting Tang Hoon Soup but will do. For a better choice, there is always the Chinese Temple at Carpenter Street. Anyway, the soup also has a lot of other extras inside : the fish balls, meat balls, deep fried fish skin, tauhu stuffed with meat, plain tauhu, deep fried tauhu, crabsticks and others. At this stall, you get to choose what you want to eat although I always make the mistake of taking too much!!

Kolo Mee Pok

Mee Pok is the flat egg noodles. Cholesterol bomb but definitely tasty. The mee is first cooked in boiling hot water. Then, it is mixed with salt, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, pepper. Garnishes include char siew (sweet roasted pork), minced pork, fish balls, spring onions. Sarawak Kolo Mee has a unique taste to eat and is a big favourite among the locals and West Malaysians!

I had this from the Singapore Chicken Rice stall. The good thing is the chilli-garlic sauce by the side. Very nice. The rice is cooked with chicken fat and chicken stock. It's accompanied with roasted chicken and a bowl of soup.

Well, that was lunch! Expert Hawker Center is at Tabuan Jaya, behind Bank Utama and next to Thompson's Corner. It's so-so but it's a typical lunch spot.

2003-06-22T03:04:00.000-07:00

: : Other stuff : :

I decided to put up pics and commentaries of other interesting foodstuff found in Kuching, Sarawak. It's not easy having to go out and have something to eat all the time. Also, quite painful for the purse.

: : Custard Apple : :

Saw my granny eating this apple this afternoon. Well, it doesn't look like the usual apple that one sees everyday in the supermarket. Called Custard Apple because of the taste. It's actually very sweet with the light custard flavour. Also known as leng kim in Chinese. To open the fruit, one just needs to pry off the skin which is actually very soft despite the tough-looking exterior.

Granny has two plants in her garden so decided to take a pic of it. It can be grown easily from one seeds found inside the fruit.

Where to buy the fruit? The wet market, of course. Haven't seen it in the major supermarkets, probably because it's a local fruit.

2003-06-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

: : Pau : :

Got pau downstairs! Still hot! Better eat now! Granny shouting from downstairs. One of her friends just passed it to her. Ah! Another photo opportunity!

The pau is a steam, soft, fluffy, white bun filled with chicken marinated in the sweet sauce used for char siew (roasted porkmeat). There was more pau than white meat but it still tasted good. Other types of pau filling are char siew (local favourite), tau sa (very sweet red bean paste) and kaya (local jam made from eggs, pandan and sugar. A cholerosterol bomb : ten eggs for one small bottle of kaya).

Pau is served hot in many coffeeshops and also with dimsum (Chinese breakfast comprising of many small, different types of food. Similar to hors d'oeuvre).

Along Jalan Pandungan in Kuching, there are at least 2 coffeeshops selling tua pau (big pau). The filling is chicken minus the sweet sauce but a quarter of a hard boiled egg is included. This serving is enough for one meal. Usually, the pau size is small.

2003-06-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

: : Cheer up LG! : :

This message is for LG who was feeling a bit down as she just turned 30 years old.

I am older than you by 45 years

Yet we share the same namesake

I am of simple taste

Yet appreciated by young and old

I have a steady stream of admirers

However, my looks have not changed much for the past years

Although I am very Asian

The British loved me

I was around during the British Empire

And was known to be seen at fine dining locations in Asia

Today, I'm still here

So hang in there babe!

Lingham's Chilli Sauce has been around for a really long time. It is spicy and sweet at the same time. Unfortunately, most people prefer Maggi's Chilli Sauce these days so not many people are familiar with this particular chilli sauce. However, the old folks will remember it from bygone days.

Well, hope that cheers you up, LG. Took me awhile to find it. Finally found the chilli sauce at Big Fresh Supermarket.

[Postnote : Took another look at the bottle and realised there is a little 'h' there. Sorry LG!]

2003-06-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

: : Tea Ceremony : :

Was telling KSL about yesterday's dinner at Life Cafe. Found out that he was also into tea-drinking. So, sometime next week, will be taking more pictures of tea-making and a step-by-step description of the meaning of each step.

2003-06-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

: : Life Cafe : :

Since LG was still in town, we decided to go to this quaint little shop we saw while driving through Carpenter Street. The name of the place is Life Cafe. Met AL and NT having some snacks there.

It's a little tea shop but with really good Chinese cuisine, just like the way it's made at grandparents' home. We ordered quite a fair bit, including a pot of Chinese Tea :

-Traditional Claypot Rice

-SzeChuan Noodle Soup

-Celery Omellete Pancake

-Fried Dumplings with Spicy Soy Sauce

-A pot of Oolong Tea

Traditional Claypot Rice

This was great. The rice was served with chopped chicken, sliced black mushrooms, shallots, spring onions and chopped dried prawns. It's supposed to be mixed together before eating it out of little bowls. Why the little bowls? Claypot is hot and you will accidently get burned. Having said that, the rice didn't looked like it was cook in the claypot but who cares? As long as it tasted good, I'm not bothered.

SzeChuan Noodle Soup

Marvelous! Couldn't quite make out all the ingredients but there definitely was chopped chicken, spring onions, spicy salted vegetables (kiam chai). Not spicy for those who can eat chilli. In fact, my granny makes it more spicy but it still tasted good.

Celery Omelette Pancake

As its namesake, definitely a pancake that was eaten with chilli sauce. However, we kept eating it with the spicy soy sauce that came with the fried dumplings.

Fried Dumplings with Spicy Soy Sauce

It looks like the Japanese dumplings guoza and the sauce as well. AS told us that it was definitely spicy but maybe because we did not order it correctly. Still, it was the sauce that was a big hit but we could only finish half of it. Too full from the noodles and rice.

A pot of Oolong Tea

Now, for the star of the night : the Oolong Tea. Have to check with LG what's the name of the tea later on. The waitress was kind enough to show two ignorant Chinese gals the art of making tea. A small burner was used to ensure that there was always a kettle of freshly boiled water available. The amazing thing thing was we felt less full after drinking tea!!

We also had some tools available for use : a spatula, tweezers and scoop. The spatula is for removing the tea leaves from the teapot. The sharp end is to unblocked the spout which might be blocked by the tea leaves. The tweezers are for handling the hot cups after washing them with hot water. The scoop is for measuring the tea.

Step 1 : Put all the cups onto the plate. The taller cup is for inhaling the tea fumes for appreciation. The smaller cup is for drinking it (ahem... I know it's corny but it's my blog. So there! :p)

Step 2 : Pour hot water into the white jug. Make sure that the water is freshly boiled!

Step 3 : From white jug, pour hot water into the teapot. Then, water from the teapot is poured over the cups. Using the tweezers, pour the water into each cup one after the other. From the cup, pour it into a bowl so as not to fill up the plate.

Step 4 : Pour in approximately 2 scoops of tea into the teapot.

Step 5 : Pour freshly boiled hot water into the teapot. Close the lid. Then, pour a little bit of hot water over the lid. I think the last bit was to ensure the teapot is heated up to create a slight vacuum seal. The seal will prevent the lid from falling open.

Step 6 : After a minute has passed, pour the tea into the taller cup first. Then, put the smaller cup over the taller one and quickly turn it around! Tricky but takes practice. Then, inhale the tea-smell coming out of the tall cup to appreciate the fragrance. Lastly, drink the tea!

It was an adventure for the night but as usual, I forgot to take some pictures. This time it was the tea in the cups AND the facade with the tanglong (red lanterns)! I'm pretty sure the staff must have thought I was weird taking so many photos and asking for help on tea-making i.e. a tourist. Still, it was a popular place with many locals and tourists popping by to try the food and tea. It was a cosy place but not that many tables were available. They also had 2 seating placing for customers who want to sit cross-legged or Japanese style. There are seating areas inside the shop (air-conditioned) and outside (2 tables only, open air).

The address :

Life Cafe

No.108, Ewe Hai Street,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak,

Malaysia.

Tel : 082-411754

Mon-Sun : 11 am - 11 pm

Close on Sunday

The place is located in the old Chinese shops near the Waterfront, along a Carpenter Street. Parking is a bit of a trial since the streets are very narrow with cars and big vehicles parked everywhere. Still, worth the drive down!

2003-06-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

: : Carvery : :

LG was in town so we went and had dinner at a quaint restaurant called Carvery. The concept is based on Argentinian/Brazilian serving. As usual, I did not take much photos as we were busy eating. Also, the photos aren't that great with my little camera.

The chef, Mr. Walter Frostl, has been working in Sarawak for many years before opening up this restaurant with other partners.

Homemade Bread eaten with the Mushroom Soup

oohhh... very very tasty. The soup was very thick with a lot of mushroom blended inside. Went well with the bread. All the bread is homemade and is very tasty. One of the few restaurants in Kuching that makes it fluffy and not too salty.

Salad from the Cold and Hot Sald Bar

There are two salad bars in this restaurant : cold and hot. Fresh mushrooms. Baby carrots. Alfafa sprouts. Sometimes, you can find corgettes (my fav!!). The pic isn't the greatest but trust me when I say that the food was excellent done. Other than veggies, they have pasta (both hot and cold), Thai beef salad, and others.

The Carvery

Right, onto the main dish. About more than 10 dishes of different kind of meat was available. The meat are all cooked in-house so here is a quick rundown on what we had tonight :

•Chicken Sausage

•Beef Sausage

•Mussels

•Breaded Fish

•Lamb Chop

•Rack of Lamb

•Beef Ribs

•Chicken cocktail sausage wrapped in Beef Bacon

•Beef Ham

•Chicken Ham

Sauces

It was simply delicious especially the mint sauce! All the sauce are made in-house so definitely authentic all the way. And the flavours that comes out are simply ummmmmmmmmmmmm!

Dessert

There is a dessert menu available but of course, yours truly settled for a delicious bowl of Haagen Daaz Rum Raisin Ice-Cream. Probably the only restaurant that serves this ice-cream. Forgot to take a picture, as usual.

All compliments are more than due to the chef, Walter Frostl. He has been in Sarawak for many years, cooking in various hotels and giving customers full and satisfying meals.

Address :

Carvery

Lot 2069, Jalan Utama,

Bintawa Industrial Estate,

93450 Kuching,

Sarawak.

Tel : 082-345428, 345429

Enough said. My stomach is full and it was full paying the money for it. The restaurant is also open during lunchtime serving very reasonable priced meals as well as Set Lunches. Try it out! Definitely worth the money.

2003-06-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

: : The Venue : :

Went for dinner at this Chinese Restaurant with JW, BJ, UJ, then later joined by RC and EL. Cool place with both outdoor and air-con settings. Had the following food for dinner :

Dry tauhu with seaweed served with Thousand Island Sauce

Sorry. No pic because we ate it all before I remembered to take a picture.

Cangkuk Manis stir-fried with egg and garlic.

Local green vegetable that is good for people with 'thin' blood. However, not good for people with gout because of high ureaic acid content.

Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab

Oohhh!! My favourite. It was done beautifully with cut chillies.

Oyster Omelette

Not that I like this but it was okay. It was done in the same way as in Singapore i.e. the oyster was 'wet'. Usually, restaurants in Kuching will fry it till everything is dry or dry-crunchy. The others loved it but could only eat so much.

The Venue is located in the new shoplots in BDC, next to the Roman Catholic Church. It's tuck away in the middle of the shoplots and entrance is not facing the main roads but rather 'behind'. Can't really describe it and too lazy to draw the map.

The address :

The Venue

RH Plaza Commercial Center

Lorong Lapangan Terbang No. 1

Off Jalan Airport

93250 Kuching

Tel : 082-452186, 012 808 1186

Great place to eat seafood and I heard that the fish head curry and duck in sea cucumber. Of course, JW had her portion of Stout and Tiger! 3 cans for RM10 (US$2.63)!!

Stay tuned for more updates!

2003-06-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

: : Now where to eat? : :

Must think of a place to start this website.

2003-06-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

: : New : :

Today is the 1st day of Mum-Mum Site. Hopefully, will be able to put up more stuff up here on food stuff.