Italian Pastry… Oh So Good!!

Okay so Julia, Lili and I went on another one of our Saturday outings… I love ‘em… and we went to Crown for lunch… nothing big just ate at the food court… what we actually wanted to get from Crown was some delicious Italian pastry and Julia wanted to go to Prada to look at the bags… After we had lunch we headed to Cafe Greco which is also in Crown and let me just tell you… all the pastry are displayed at the entrance and when you walk through it’s just like woooahhh… It took me like 10 minutes just to decide what I wanted to get… ended up getting chocolate tiramisu… Oh so good man!!! Oh so good… seriously if you wanted to get Italian pastries go to afe Greco… Brunetti’s is good but Greco is better!! Well unless you have a sweet sweet tooth… because Brunetti’s stuff are much sweeter… So yeah go try it…

Cena Española

Julia checking on the rice

Me making sure everything is ok

Taz & I

Me & Julia

Lili, Me, Julia & Taz (The Cooking Club)

Tortilla de huevos de la patata

Pollo de carnes asadas del estragón

Vehículos de las carnes asadas

Arroz Español

Placa de cena

The idea of having a themed dinner came from Julia I think but Lili and I were definitely along with the plan and Taz joined in later… and our first theme was Spanish… At first the idea was to have a three course meal but we decided to start out small so we went with 3 dish meal instead… We had Spanish rice, Tarragon roast chicken and vegetables, and potato omelette… I have to say it turned out fantastic… but then again it wasn’t that difficult really… and it was fun… everyone enjoyed it… Next up… Roll your own sushi…

Yum Cha: A Chinese Legacy

I feel like some dim sums right now… It’s been like half a year since I had myself some decent dim sums (点心) which led me to “yum cha”… for those of you who don’t know… yum cha literally means “drink tea” but can also be used in context referring to the traditional Chinese culture of drinking tea while having dim sums together with friends and family… it’s the Chinese equivalent of tapas… Well there are 4 basic components which makes up the yum cha experience… No. 1: The Tea… Tea is to the Chinese what wine is to the Europeans… it is drank with every meal and is believed to have a cleansing property… mind you that Chinese tea tastes rather different from what I like to refer to as English tea… those drank by westerners… Chinese tea has a richer, deeper taste and is taken without sugar or milk… My personal favourites are Po Li and Tie Guan Yin… No. 2: The Tea House… these days people usually go to restaurants to yum cha but there are still some tea houses around which are basically shops that do yum cha only… It’s all part of the experience because the atmosphere gives the yum cha experience that something extra… it’s crowded and everyone is practically shouting… if you manage to find a very traditional tea house you might even find some people bring their pet birds along with them and all the cages are hung together and the customers yum cha to the sound of birds singing… No. 3: Dim Sums… dim sums mean “touch the heart” which I’m not sure why they atually call it that but probably because dim sums really hit the spot when you are craving something delicious and they warm the soul… dim sums are traditionally little tid-bits usually steamed served in little bamboo baskets but these days it ranges anything from “siew mai” to “har gao” to “char siew pao” to “lo mai gai” to “cheong fun” to congee to egg tarts to mango pudding… there are loads to choose from to suit anyone’s liking… Just thinking about it is making me drool… I’m so hungry now… and last but not least No. 4: The Company… The yum cha experience is, for me, never meant to be had alone… It’s a time for friends and family to get together and enjoy each other’s company… if done right yum cha could take up half a day… Probably that’s why the older generation love it and the younger generation have no time for it… When asked “How would it affect you if yum cha no longer existed”, over 60% of Chinese under 25 years said that it doesn’t matter because there are so many other things to eat… However majority also believe that it would never happen due to the relatively high demand… Personally I L-O-V-E, LOVE, to yum cha!!! A shame it’s so expensive though… I think that’s partly the problem… there are cheap ones but they are no good… the good ones are just too expensive to have a a regular basis in Malaysia and as for Melbourne it’s all expensive… In addition I think the yum cha culture is one of the better Chinese traditions that I really would like to see it live on and for the younger generation to embrace it… It’s an absolute delight… It’s suh a shame that people don’t even appreciate a good cup of tea anymore… It’s just like water to them… but I personally think it’s so much more… a good cup of tea is to be enjoyed and savoured… But then again… it’s a luxury that not everyone can afford and a legacy that we rarely have time for these days…

Banoffee Pie!

So I went for dinner with Maria, her boyrfriend (sorry I don’t know how to spell his name, is it with a v?), and Veno at Bangsar Village… it’s basically pretty new… few years… never heard or seen till yesterday… and we had dinner at “Delicious” by Mrs. Reid… I had the curry laksa and it was not bad… could have been more spicy… Then it came time for dessert… Maria had her eye on the banoffee pie and was pretty sure there was one left… however when we ordered… the waiter told us that some one had already taken the last one… It was hysterical… Maria asked if the chef could make another one but they said it was made in the other restaurant in One Utama… so we made a decision… I’m not too sure who’s idea it was but I was definitely the one who encouraged it… we cancelled our orders for dessert… paid the bill and drove to the restaurant in OU… when we got there Maria sent her boyfriend to go straight to get the banoffee pie while we parked the car… it took quite some time due to some stupid Taxi drivers getting in the way but we got there… and it was a lucky thing she sent him ahead because her banoffee pie was the last one… yes the very last one… man oh man… that girl loves her banoffee pies… I have to say it was definitely a fun dinner… loads of laughter… Next the mango-thingi in SS2!!!

Mecca Bah

Ole ole ole ole!!!! Exams are finally over… all in all… not too bad I think… could’ve been worse… fingers crossed!! Well anyway so to celebrate the end of exams (or the soon to be ending for some of us)… my beloved housemates and I went out for a nice dinner in Docklands in a restaurant called Mecca Bah… It was actually because I’m leaving soon for Malaysia and the Europeans will be heading back to their respective countries before I return from Malaysia and so we just wanted to have a “last supper”… The restaurant wasn’t bad… Middle Eastern food… I had the Garlic chicken kebab, mjaddarah, yogurt sauce & tabbouleh… It was good, I loved the rice and chicken… but they ruined it with the weird tomato salad they had with it… tried some of my friends’ desserts… the chocolate ice-cream was good and the Pistachio Maamoul was good too… thumbs up for the Spicy lamb & pine nut Boureks; Mussel with harissa, tomatoes & preserved lemon; Flathead fillets wrapped in vine leaves & chargrilled, parsley & artichoke salad; Middle Eastern spiced swordfish kebab, spicy couscous salad; Spit roasted lamb, rocket, yogurt & sumac… from everyone else… so pretty much good reviews for the restaurant…

On Set…

First I have to apologize for my terrible night mode camera skills… I can never keep my hand steady enough for a clear shot… Anyway… something rather interesting happened in front of my place, O’Connell Residence, tonight… There was a low budget movie filming along O’Connell Street… which is where I’m living right now… and the film people are parked across the street right outside my room… I was watching them film… I reckon it won’t be a very good movie… Probably about drug lords or something… But hey still rather exciting… Went to the Victoria Market “Night Market” again today… I think I will try the food next week… it looks pretty good in spite of what Tim says… Tim is this guy who lives in O’Connell Residence as well… I tried the ice-cream/sorbet last week… the mango was pretty good but the passionfruit was really sour… This week I bought fudge… marble fudge… tastes really good… I reckon I’ll get summore next week as well… good stuff… Those in Melbourne should drop by and have a look… Night Market is held on Wednesday nights from 5.30pm – 10.30pm I think… with food from around they world… dessert… clothing… jewelery and junk… and live music… I think it ends sometime in mid March… so don’t miss out… Cheers…

New Venture…

If you’re wondering what this is… It’s my own version of apple strudel… Haven’t tasted it yet but I reckon it should be alright since I’ve tasted the filling… and it was alright… Green apples… cinnamon… and honey… Last semester I tried my hand in cooking… this semester I think I will try baking… I’ve already tried samosas… not too bad but it wasn’t crispy enough… this is my second project… I’m thinking of making Spanish doughnuts aka churros… I love ‘em…!!!! Wish me luck!!! Cheers…

Recipe: Tiramisu

This one’s for Bavani… I found this recipe but have not tried it… although it did get a high rating and good reviews from those who have…

Ingredients:
CAKE:
1 (18.25 ounce) package moist white cake mix
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1/4 cup coffee
1 tablespoon coffee flavored liqueurFILLING:
1 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur

FROSTING:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur

GARNISH:
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Baking Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 (9 inch) pans.
2. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions. Divide two thirds of batter between 2 pans. Stir instant coffee into remaining batter; pour into remaining pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. In a measuring cup, combine brewed coffee and 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur; set aside.
4. To make the filling: In a small bowl, using an electric mixer set on low speed, combine mascarpone, 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur; beat just until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
5. To make the frosting: In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat the cream, 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur until stiff. Fold 1/2 cup of cream mixture into filling mixture.
6. To assemble the cake: Place one plain cake layer on a serving plate. Using a thin skewer, poke holes in cake, about 1 inch apart. Pour one third of reserved coffee mixture over cake, then spread with half of the filling mixture. Top with coffee-flavored cake layer; poke holes in cake. Pour another third of the coffee mixture over the second layer and spread with the remaining filling. Top with remaining cake layer; poke holes in cake. Pour remaining coffee mixture on top. Spread sides and top of cake with frosting. Place cocoa in a sieve and lightly dust top of cake. Garnish with chocolate curls. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
7. To make the chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar.