: : Crash boom bang! : :

My PC died today. No updates until I can get it fix. Sigh.

: : Hoops and Yoyo ~ Aftermath : :

I had a comment on this posting on Hoops and Yoyo :

Hoops & Yoyo are not wicked and not annoying. They are the cutest things that ever walked the planet and you are in no position to call them anything negative!!

Anonymous

Well, I suppose I deserve that for not providing more information to the posting. The entire post was written in an American slang whereby negative words need not necessarily mean negatory comments.

If I were to say out loud what I put up in the posting, but with a smiley face and with a laugh to friends, they would know it was done IN JEST.

The use of the word wicked is not to be taken as literal but wicked in the sense that it's awesome and out of this world.

As for annoying, why are people annoyed? Because there are events or occurances (most of the time repetitive or happens a lot) and it sticks to their mind. The word 'annoying' in this context was in the light of American humour. Heck, even the Brits can also used the same word in a witty manner or sarcastic manner at the same time.

Plus, I did say that I wanted one. They are seriously cute. That I agree. On this planet? Debatable because there are many cute things on this planet.

And I don't hide behind a name like Anonymous.

Looks like a little jesting cannot be done online anymore.

Bah.

Comments feature for this posting is off.

: : Do you know the meals? : :



What are the dishes in this picture? Post your answers in the Comments section.

On another note, about 5 min ago, I just heard a car rattling over the road breaking really hard and hitting something. The back of the house faces the main road so usually, it's a lot of ambulances racing towards the next town. So, kind of strange to hear an accident in the wee hours of the morning.

: : Nasi Ulam : :

Granny was so excited today. After watching Chef Wan's cooking show on the telly last evening, she decided to make some Nasi Ulam @ Ulam Rice today.

I'm giving to you a translated version of the Malay Wikipedia of Ulam. I hope I managed to translate it properly. I paraphased the information a bit.

Ulam is a name given to a group of herbs and vegetables that are eaten raw or blached (quickly dip in hot water) that are eaten with rice. It can also normally eaten with some side seasoning like budu (grinded dried anchovies @ ikan billis or dried prawn @ udang bari), cencaluk (a spicy sauce made from tiny baby prawns, cillis and other seasoning) or sambal belacan (chilli paste made from dried fish or prawn paste); eaten with rice. Ulam is famous as daily fare for the Malay community in villages. Ulam is taken from many different portions of a plant. This includes the shoots, leaves, umbut (someone help me with this translation please, thanks), seed, fruit, root and sometimes the flower. Common vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce and eggplant is also used to make an Ulam dish. Traditional medicinal herbs are also used.



Here is the Nasi Ulam @ Ulam Rice that Granny prepared. There is no frying involved other than having to cook the rice.

Ingredients
Daun Pegaga @ Centella asiatica, Urban Spadeleaf (although ours does not grow in the wetlands)
Daun Cekur @ Aromatic Ginger Leaf, Lesser Galangal
Daun Kedom / Kadok @ Wild Pepper Leaf, known to the Chinese as "Young Sirih Leaf"
Daun Kesom @ Laksa Leaf, Vietnamese Coriander
Daun Pudina @ Peppermint
Slices of Onions (raw)
Salted Fish
Chopped Chillis
Lime Juice
Pepper to taste
Rice

The Ulam herbs were sliced into small strips and the salted fish was grinded using a pestle and mortar. Squeeze some lime juice into the mixture. Now, mix everything together in a bowl until it is well mixed.

It is a fresh and tasty dish. I certainly felt a lot better. It's a dish that is without much preservatives except for what is used in the salted fish.

If you're in Asia, you would be able to find the herbs at the wet market. It took me quite a while to find the correct internet links that had some useful pictures in them. Even then, I wasn't too sure whether it was the correct information or not. There are a huge variety of spices used in South East Asia that to classify every one of them. So, to help you along, here are some pictures from my Granny's garden.


Daun Cekur @ Lesser Galangal



Daun Kesom @ Laksa Leaf, Vietnamese Coriander



Daun Kaduk / Kadok / Kedom @ Wild Pepper Leaf



Daun Pudina @ Mint Leaf



Daun Pegaga @ Centella asiatica, Urban Spadeleaf


I hope you enjoyed this posting as much as I did. Here is Granny's joke for the dish :

Granny : Jaga ah! (Careful ah!) Afterwards you bang pui too much! (Flattulence!) But good to clean stomach woh! (BIG HINT about bowel movement!)

: : Errata on the Blogspot Hijack : :

As with cases of inaccurate translation, here is an errata for the previous posting.

Comments from posting :
so stupid! this girl wasn't asking for a laptop....(LaptoP is not the SAME as PORtOlA!!!) portola is the can where the sardines live!!!.... please get a translator and don't say stupid things!...

Well. My apologies then for posting the wrong information since I got it from another posting who refer it to another posting where a translation was posted up by an anonymous reader who volunteered for the translation.

Anyway, I've had enough of this matter on my blog. The comments for the previous 2 posting about Ailin's blog is now switched off. Any future comments about this matter will be deleted.

: : Quack quack : :



Duck stew with dark soy sauce, eggs and mushroom.

It's fairly easy to do. Granny took a wok and on a medium fire with some oil, she put a whole duck into the wok. She then kept turning it until it was half cook. After that, she added in some water and some dark soy sauce. Turning the flame down to a low level, she simmered the duck in a wok. The wok also needs to be covered. The duck was cook for about 30-60 minutes until it was completely cook.

The duck was then left to cool down so that it was easier to cut it into smaller pieces after that. The smaller pieces were then put into a claypot which was filled some water, more dark soy sauce, sugar, Chinese 5-spice and some dried orange skin. Also, a pinch of MSG was added in as well. The whole stew was left to cook for about another 30 min.

Oh, the egg was boiled separately until it was hard. Once cook, she put it into the claypot as well. As for the mushroom, the Chinese dried black mushroom was soaked in hot water until hydrated. Throw away the water to get rid of the preservatives. Repeat a few times until the water is clear. Cut the mushrooms into smaller pieces and throw it into the claypot.

The duck stew was eaten during the Mooncake Family Dinner. Nice.

: : Blogspot Hijack Saga : :

Blogger came to AiLin's rescue and resetted her userID and password. Good for you hon!

And surprisingly, the hijacker left a message in my Comments Box. Here it is below :

pinches malasios de popocita verde... me qitaron mi blog robado, al carajo, ya no los quiero!

ah, y tu blog también está de hueva... igual que el de chia... que mamadas son esas... esas fotos de comida me provocan ganas de guacarear

Translation anyone? The babelfish translation doesn't come out so well.

For reference, please goto this posting.

It's also not very nice to call her a b*tch in the first place and then attempt to be nice about it later. Ah well. Reap the consequences afterwards.

Although, it must be said that the quickest way to fame is to be bad than to be good.

: : Diary : :

Two new places that I heard that just opened recently. Mind you, recently as in the past few months. That's how long I've haven't been out eating.

Bollywood Cafe at Carpenter St. : Heard that one of my collegue's Dad opened up a little cafe along Carpenter Street that serves Northern Indian cuisine.

Mango Tree at Crookshank Road : Previously know as Kikyo-Tei @ Japanese Restaurant, it is now the posh Thai restaurant that is a franchise around the world. One thing about having a food blog is that one always ends up arranging for gatherings. Am arranging for a farewell dinner for some friends. Here is their UK website. I remember finding their corporate website but now, can't seem to find it again! Google is giving out too many hits on reviews rather than their official site! Although it is an expensive place to dine, they came up with a great menu within the budget that I asked for which was RM30 - RM35 per head (USD7.90 - USD9.21). It's what you order that gives you an indication of the final bill. The ambience has been raved about a lot so worth to check it out.

BTW, if anyone is impatient for updates on food places in Kuching, check out Huai Bin's site. He's been going around to more food places than I have recently.

On another note, I heard a rumour that some shipments of freshwater prawns @ udang galah to the USA were rejected by the FDA. Reason being is that there were too much antibiotics in the prawn that was deem more harmful to health than normal. Hence, a lot of freshwater prawns are going really cheap in the market. Note that this is an UNVERIFIED RUMOUR so it's anybody's guess. I heard this from a colleague who mentioned it to me after I recount my dinner at the Junk with Baked Prawn (yeah, freshwater prawn) and Cheese. Both the freshwater prawn and tiger prawn is cultivated in "farms" in Sarawak. Suffice to say that I'm still hale and healthy.

: : Nonya Otak-Otak : :

What to do with a freezer full of mackeral.



Granny : Nah! Here! Try this!

Wena : Err...what's inside?

Granny : Aiya! Otak-otak lah! I make one! Nonya style - must steam one wor!

Wena : Ok then! So big one!

Granny : Yalah! The tenggiri (mackeral) so big that easy to cut big big loh!



Wena : Oohhh...it looks nice.

Granny : Yah! Rub some santan (coconut milk), kunyit (tumeric powder), some chilli powder, serai (lemongrass) on the fish. Wrap with banana leaf and steam lor. Easy!

Wena : *munch munch* Nice nice.

Granny : Better than outside one. Put in oven or panggang (grill) not so good. This better. This is Nonya style. Cook like this in Penang one.

Haven't posted up conversations like this in a long time. Hope you enjoy it folks. And for those who are new, Granny does talk like this. It's always fun to talk to her like this. Sound very coy. LOL!

: : Blogspot Hijack : :

Looks like Chia's blog has been hijack since October 5 and Blogger has not responsded yet. The layout has been change.

He's since change her layout and posted up observations of how he took over her blog via blogger's dashboard. Goto babelfish to get a translation (Spanish to English).

Scarey, isn't it? To have one's blog hijack.

Still, the hijacker is giving a bad reputation to other Mexican bloggers out there. Sigh. Kids. According to Jeff's posting, seems like he is asking for a laptop in return for her blog.

For Blogspot users, you can send your concerns via their Help feedback page.

Chia, I do hope you'll get your blog back soon.

: : Dessert at the Junk : :



Dessert : Pavlova
Ingredients : Sugar base with whipped cream on top and a smattering of delicious fruits.

Beautifully done at the Junk Restaurant. Had dinner with David, Jack and Garnet. It was an interesting evening where we spoke about many things.

One of them was how the British "unionized" West Malaysia before 1957. Not literally, of course.

As for the main course, it was Baked Prawn with Cheese @ Prawn Thermidor. Two pieces of King Prawn (the huge ones that are as big as your hands) @ Udang Galah. It came with a huge portion of fries and salad for about RM32 @ USD 8.42 . Yummy, tasty.

For those hoping to go and have it there, it's not from the regular menu but rather, the dish of the day.

: : Magenta, Again : :

I was bringing around a KL tourist, treating him to a nice dinner and all. Apparently, he's here with a whole bunch of people from the same college on a 3 day tour of places in Kuching.

Since he was into architecture and interior design (so-so lah, according to him), I wanted to take him to The Junk. Unfortunately, it's close today so I took him to Magenta instead.



He ordered this : Grilled Salmon which came with potato ragout and salsa on the side. I've always love the food presentation at this restaurant and it's always so eye-catching.



I ordered the Chilean seabass which came grilled. It tasted really good : tender and juicy. Same side dishes as the salmon except that the decorative orange sauce had some sumboi @ plum powder mixed with it. Now that tasted different, very different.

We had a delicious fruity Riesling wine, the Royal Bleu Rheinhissen, 2001. It was a sweet and fruity white wine made from wineyards in Germany. I'm pretty sure it's this one that we drank tonite but it was definitely NOT priced as high as that. The wine was RM78 (USD20.50, £ 11).

Who was the Kuching city tourist?



;)

After that, it was desserts and coffee at bing! He's off tomorrow to check out the Sarawak Cultural Village with the rest of the group. Now, hopefully, it doesn't rain too hard in the afternoon. According to him, part of the group were grumbling about having to bring raincoats and yet it didn't rain today. They're lucky. It's been raining cats and dogs every day for the past few weeks with turbulent winds with thunder and lightning. Let's see what tomorrow brings for this group.

: : hoops' & yoyo's Favourite Food : :

You just gotta love these things.

And heck, they don't take international orders!

...bah...

Now this plushie would sell like hotcakes in Asia. We love cuddly toys...

: : Hoops & Yoyo : :

They are wicked.

Annoying but cute.

I want one.



But hallmark.com is down for maintenance.

Oh well.

: : Blue : :



I always wondered how they managed to make this blue drink.

Then again, I'm too chicken to try it.

It's tough looking for a toilet in the middle of a food fair.

;p

: : My Japanese Name : :

My japanese name is 藤原 Fujiwara (wisteria fields) 三千代 Michiyo (three thousand generations).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

via my Sis

: : Mooncake Festival ~ Carpenter St. III : :



Know what makes a really good roast chicken? Other than marinating it with soy sauce and some sugar, that is. Add in some serai @ lemongrass and it tastes so good. The lemon flavour doesn't taste so tangy and give a really nice small zing to the entire roasted chicken. Yum!



And the cook did the same thing to this quail. My, doesn't they look juicy and yummy?

: : Green-Bean : :

I've been meaning to blog about this for some time but it just slipped my mind. Then when I went back to FoodGoat's blog, I saw it again and it reminded me that I had something to do.

Loic Le Mur was adventurous when he tried this Green-Bean Paste Ice-Cream in China and got the shock of his life. Wait until you try out durian for the 1st time. Hee hee!

Jackie had an even stronger reaction. Pea Ice-Cream! Now this one, I had such a good laugh.

Right, now the green-bean itself is actually not a pea but a hard green-colour bean. I must admit the colour of the ice-cream puts me off quite a bit.

The bean is usually boiled with sugar and then served as a dessert or snack. It can be served hot or cold so you can have it on a hot day or cold day. It can even be made into ice-lollies or mixed with coconut milk. I'm suspecting that the ice-cream had a lot of preservatives inside (rampant in mainland China and Japan products) so probably would taste pretty horrible.

Now, let me show you another picture. This was taken at a food court in Kuching. See if you can spoke the green bean soup in this picture.



Here is the original posting on it. What I missed out was that the yellow soup on the upper left called Luk Tau Suan is also made from the same green bean, minus the skin. That certainly looks more appetizing no? The Luk Tau Suan is usually eaten with fluffy, light U Char Kueh.



I would say one human's disgust is another human's delicacy. I wonder now whether the Green Bean's reputation is totally tarnish that people now will not be willing to try it out. Defenceless little ingredient. Ah well.

Speaking of which, I should boil some green beans and disgusts everyone on the blog. Would make a great Halloween posting, no? Hee hee...