Chee Cheong Fun Sushi

Although I enjoy baking & cake decorating, Im totally hopeless when it comes to cooking.   My MIL used to ask me ... when are you going to cook some real food for my son?  LOL!   Well, after almost 7 yrs of marrying her son, she has stopped asking edi .. muahahaha.

We recently celebrated Bryan's 5th birthday with a small family dinner at home and I decided to try  my hand at assembling food.   I'm not good in cooking ma, so I assemble ready made food instead lor!  

Remember this from one of the blogs many moons back and here is a look at my try at it.   It's real easy to assemble food LOL!!

Just unroll a few rolls of CCF from your morning market, cut into strips whatever you'd like to fill it with and just roll.   For me, I made 2 versions as mom & I dont take seaweed.

Version 1 - seaweed, carrots, japanese cucumbers, immitation crabsticks + fresh salad and a dash of mayonaisse.

Version 2 - thinly pan fried eggs, carrots, japanese cucumbers, taiwanese sausages (fried them first) + fresh salad and a dash of mayonaisse. 

Do give it a try .. its pretty easy and actually, looks quite attractive on the dinner table too :)

Malaysian Ice Cream!!

You wont believe how happy I was when I saw it! Do you guys remember the good old malaysian ice cream? I used to love it soooo much! And my favourite flavour was thick milo!!!!


We were in Cameron Highlands last weekend and I got to taste strawberry flavoured ones and oh boy ... they were darn good!



Bryan taste it for the very first time and at first, he just wanted to hold it .. until I taught him how to suck it! And then, he never gave it back to me ... LOL!


Sorry for not updating my blog for quite some time. Will update more in a couple of days okie? Thanks for dropping by!

Instant Nasi Briyani ... almost!

I feel slightly guilty if I dont cook on dinner on Sat nights. Cos its the only day we get to eat dinner alone (just hubby & me, Bryan too of course) and on most Sats, we tapau something simple like fried rice, fried noodles and these days, hub is hooked on this nasi lemak with fried chicken from pasar malam that he accidentally discovered!

While at Carrefour, I spotted some instant nasi ayam, nasi briyani and even nasi tomato packs which I thought was a good idea since it was so quick and simple to prepare. So I decided on a nasi briyani as a start.

Asked mom to help me marinate some chicken thighs in curry powder (Indian style) overnight. And I was thinking of something simple like just fried eggs and fresh cucumbers as side dishes to complete the meal.


The brand that i bought was Chef Bop. It consist of one package of brasmati rice and another smaller package of curry paste mixture. All you have to do is to wash rice (as per normal lah) and add 480ml of water then add the curry paste mixture into the rice and mix thoroughly. Add a pinch of salt. Then cook rice (as per normal lah again) in rice cooker for abt 20 mins. At this point, I added some golden raisins and almonds and gave it a quick stir. Continued cooking rice for another 10-15 mins until done. That's it.

Verdict:

Rice does not taste like Briyani at all (ha!ha!) Maybe more like nasi kuning than briyani. But it was ok. I liked it cos it was different from our daily brown rice. At least this one has got raisins & nuts .. hehehe.

Will I buy it again?

Yeah why not? This pack can feed abt 5 adults (average eaters lah) and it does taste ok. Its more like a flavoured rice and can be convenient for entertaining small number of guests.

Pizza for 2

Our weekend meals are very very simple. Cos its only for the 2 of us. After having enough of chicken rice and fried rice, I decided to make some pizza. A few days before, I dropped by Cold Storage to get some frozen pizza bases based on recommendation from a friend. Tried Carrefour, Giant and Jusco recently, can't find them. Thought I saw some there before .. but anyway.

My simple pizza ingredients. Canned skinless tomatoes, roast chicken pieces, sliced fresh button mushrooms, canned pineapples diced into smaller pieces, parmesan and mozarella cheese.



Ready for lunch!



Hubby says not enough cheese. When I makan, I feel more than enough, but he is right, actually, its not enough"cheese smell" ... so next time I have to tambah extra dose of parmesan cheese I think.

The brand of frozen pizza crust that i bought was .. Piccolo something. Made in Malaysia one. Not super nice but just ok. Any other brands anyone can recommend and where to buy them please??

Test Test Kitchen Again

Over the long weekend, we did not go anywhere. Just wanted to stay home to rest. Moreover, we had some contractors coming for some touch-up paint-work here and there, and that took almost the whole day.


Did not get in the hourly maids this week. So after sending Bryan off to mom's place in the morning, I cleaned and mopped the house. Wuuaah, at night no choice, ask hubby to give me a deep-muscle rub with some Counterpain ointment! Now I know how it feels when age catches up!


Tried experimenting in the kitchen on Sunday. Banana cake damn good! Che-wah, sendiri angkat sendiri. But actually, it was really quite nice. I did a cream cheese fruit cake 2 days earlier, which was not bad when it was fresh. After the 3rd day, it started to harden, so for this cake, will only make when we have more people to share the joy *wink*.


I tried making a fanciful looking finger food cos it was rather easy but looks changgih *wide cheeky smile*. But the taste was disastrous! The original recipe calls for bacon to be wrapped over the immitation crab sticks, but I did have any in my fridge, so gua tried using ham lor ... but it was tasteless. So it was a failure. So this Friday, less one thing to serve my guests during our X'Mas dinner lah. I sure hope my turkey which I ordered would be a killer! Else, boring lah my X'Mas dinner party. Next, have to experiment on my cheese cake .... hmm!

The now blog-famous yam kaya

Heard alot about the charcoal bread and yam kaya from the blogsphere and when RT went public with her cravings over them via facebook, I decided to check it out.

A couple of night back, we dropped by MV (again, yeah) to check out some safety gates for our new home. After an unfruitful research trip, I decided to get some yam kaya to try. Our first time. I decided to get a loaf of multi-grain bread and a jar of yam kaya.

I must say the looks of it .. not too good .. but taste is pretty good! Its not too sweet or overpowering with coconut and sugar. And I was surprised that they had chunks of yam in there too!

Tip - if you go there after 8.30pm or so, she might just offer you the buy 1 free 1 promotion - cos those jams are all free from preservatives and can only keep for a week the most in the refrigerator. Pick & choose what you like. Another good deal ya?

Easy Banana Cake

When I first wanted to learn how to bake, I was looking out for real easy recipes that used only basic ingredients for the cake. I just did not want to spend a "mini fortune" buying all those fancy gadgets and ingredients and only use it once or twice in baking.

I also tried the non-bake cheese cake recipes quite a number of times but they failed terribly. Perhaps I do not know how to dissolve the gelatine properly, hence they dont turn out so "well done". So I stopped trying those because cheese dont really come cheap these days you know.

Moreover, knowing that I am starting from ground zero, I better learn the very basic cakes that we usually enjoy every now and then. Other than the butter cake, I tried baking banana cakes quite a few times then (before I had my blog). It has been a while since I baked it, and so I did it again.

My supply of bananas are usually from my MIL as she uses them for prayers and some for own consumption too. Surely there will be some that are ripening too fast for us to enjoy them fresh, so off they go into my baking tin *hee hee*.

I cannot seem to find the source for the recipe so I shall not post up the recipe here as yet. However, if you are keen to try it, do let me know and I shall work "harder" to find the original recipe :-)

Or if you have a good recipe to share, do let me know. I will be happy to try it too.

Steamed Moist Choc Cake

I finally did a real bake after quite a number of weeks. Managed to get this recipe from a friend sometime back and she assured me that this recipe yields a really good and moist chocolate cake - which is exactly my kinda cake! And the best part is this cake is steamed and not baked - so definately a healthier choice and dont need to crank up the oven!

Ingredients

1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup granulated sugar (I used 3/4 cup castor sugar)
1 cup good quality cocoa powder (I used Hershey)
1 cup unsalted butter
¾ tsp instant coffee powder

3 large eggs (lightly beaten)
1/2 cup of condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/4 cup self raising flour + 1 tsp baking soda

Method

• Mix the first part of ingredients together and cook over low fire until sugar and butter are completely melted. Ensure that you stir consistently so that the bottom does not get burnt. Shut off fire and let it cool slightly.
• Add the 2nd part of the ingredients into the cooked portion and stir till well mixed together.
• Sift the flour & baking soda together and gradually add it into the wet ingredients in 3 batches, each time ensure that it is mixed well and lump-free.
• Pour into a greased & lined 8-in pan
• Steam over high heat for about 45 minutes.
• Check for doneness.
• Cool it in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Then remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

Of course I did not have the luxury of time, so I only had time to allow the first mixture to cool down for 5 minutes before I added the eggs and the rest into it! Then I realised I ran out of vanilla essence! And then there was no condensed milk in the fridge! Great!

I had to make do with my full cream milk in the fridge which co-incidentally expired on the next day and without a single drop of essence. With my fingers crossed, I was hoping it would still turn out edible.

Mine was ready in exactly 45 mins and and as usual, no time to let it cool complete - started to remove from pan after 5 minutes and cut into smaller pieces to be taken home for MIL & SIL to try. The rest was for mom & sis at home for their breakfast the next day.

Hubby placed his first piece in his mouth. Did not say anything. Then I did the same. Wow! This recipe is a keeper! Totally rich, moist & yummilicious!

Hopefully someday I will have the courage to start on frosting. And I know pictures say a thousand words - so dont trust my photography skills - just go try steaming this - its really nice!

Organic Noodles

My mom cooks only on weekdays. Weekends are "off" days for her since dad passed away many many years ago. And on Fridays, its usually something simple at home, say a chinese fried rice or fried noodles usually. Could be just wanton soup with vegetables as well .. I like that a lot.

I had two packs of organic noodles which I bought from Justlife a few weeks back. Suggested to mom to cook them to make fried meehoon. We never tried them before and was not sure what to expect. But hey, I think it taste pretty good. They cost Rm7.90 a pack and it is even smaller pack than the ones you would usually buy for less than half the price. So yes, organic food is generally pretty expensive in Malaysia.

I would buy it someday again cos I think they taste pretty good *smile*.

Konnyaku Jelly

Mom wanted a butter cake but I told her, aiyoh, dont want lah, very tired lah. And then she highlighted to me that I still have a pack of konnyaku jelly and it has been some months gathering dust in the cabinet.

And since I have not baked for a long long time, I decided to just make this quickie instead, to replace the baking itch in me ...*smile*.

Konnyaku Jelly

1 packet of konnyaku jelly powder

160gm castor sugar

800gm water

a drop of coloring (if you prefer)

1 can of pineapple rings (cut into bite sizes)

• Bring water to boil.
• Shut off fire and add in castor sugar and the jelly powder.
• Stir till sugar melts completely.
• Let cool for a while.
• Place pineapple pieces into jelly moulds.
• Pour prepared jelly into moulds.
• Let it harden and cool down.
• Refrigerate.
• Serve it when its nice and cold.

I like my jelly nice and hard (not too soft) and not too sweet. You can use 180 or 200 gm of sugar if you have a sweet tooth. Or you can also use up to 900ml of water if you like. Its all up to individual preference.

This is one easy dessert that you can make anyday!

Chicken Rice - $30

Do you fancy paying for a RM30 chicken rice???? Well, last year I got a shock when I first bought this for my office lunch!

I don't know if its the price that made me biased but when I tasted it for the very first time, I felt it was no better than the RM3.50 ones you get from the chinese stalls. However, after a few times savouring it, I must say it does indeed taste good.

I must highlight that this chicken rice is served by a 5 star hotel in the city centre. I usually do a take-away for office meetings and most of my guests quite like it. Some even take 2 portions in one sitting! Due to the location of my office, there are limited chinese food available in the vicinity, so the hotel's coffee house is the best choice - and the easiest too!

World's Most Expensive Dessert

If you were to be one of the richest person on earth, how much would you fancy paying to sink your teeth into the world's most expensive dessert?

Well, you dont really have to be one of the richest person on earth, perhaps any millionaire (not million-hair like me hahahaha!) could afford this.

So what is the world's most expensive ingredient .. in order to create this expensive dish???

Its called The Fortress Aquamarine. Available at Wine3 at The Fortress, Galle, Sri Lanka! Price ..... US$14,500!

This dessert, which debuted in March, was inspired by the success of the restaurant’s other gem-studded treat, the Bombay Sapphire Martini. The star of the show is an 80-carat aquamarine gem (the main ingredient?) that rests on a sliver of chocolate shaped to resemble the traditional stilt fisherman that’s part of the resort’s logo.

Handmade glass utensils (not included in the price) complete the presentation. And yes, diners can pocket the gemstone after polishing off the dessert.

And how many have been sold so far ..... none they say.

Ikea Hotdogs & Cuffypuffs!

When you visit the Ikea store at Ikano Power Centre, did you notice a kiosk selling hotdogs and curry puffs right outside the check out counters? And yes, its got a long queue all the time!

Well, that's one of my favourite stops after visiting Ikea.

In my opinion, they sell the best tasting, cheapest hotdogs in KL!!!! It is only RM2 per hotdog and you get to dress it the way you like it! They provide a help-yourself counter where you can load on onions, mustard and other sauces any way you like it!


The bun is just so fresh and soft and ... ooh!

And the curry puffs are so yummy & fresh & crispy that I just gobbled it within 5 seconds so that is why I dont have a pics to share it with you *smile*.

Barcoding indicating country of origin

This is interesting to note. Each bar code has a unique code to show its country of origin ... as in where it is made from.

It is said that China has got 3 codes which is 690, 691 and 692. The example shown here is from Taiwan with its country code as 471.











Will check this out when I do my grocery shopping this weekend!

Steamed Egg Sponge Cake

After I posted my butter cake recipe, one of my new found blogger-pals, Josephine (such a pretty girl!) asked me for a steamed egg cake recipe

I have several recipes bookmarked and decided to explore this particular recipe. It rose very well and turned out quite ok. It does not taste too sweet after steaming and perfect for my mom who is diabetic. She usually enjoys them for breakfast.

I cannot recall where I got this recipe from (I definately copied it from somewhere ... credit to the original baker) and should you be keen to try it, here is the full recipe.

Ingredients :-
6 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (250gm) sugar
2 cups (300gm) flour (I used superfine)
4 tbsp (80gm) butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking powder (omit if using self-raising flour)
a pinch of salt

Method :-
Whisk egg with sugar till white & fluffy or double/triple in volume.
Slowly fold in flour, baking powder, salt & vanilla essence.
Lastly add melted butter.
Pour into a well greased pan and steam for 25 mins or till done.

I scooped out 1/3 of the ready batter and mixed in some choc paste. Poured 1/3 of the original batter into the pan, then pour in the coffee-flavoured batter and topped with the remaining 1/3 batter. Use a chopstick to give the batter a quick swirl for some marbling effect. Ensure water is rapidly boiling before you put in your cake pan for steaming.

Viola! An easy peasy 4-step steamed cake in a jiffy! Absolutely idiot-proof cos I could do this - hahahahaha.

Got Hitched - Finally!

This colleague and friend of hubby ... finally got hitched back in March or May I can't recall! And he quietly did that! No one knew, even his closest of friends! Terrible guy this fella!

We finally got a chance to attend his wedding dinner held locally in a chinese restaurant within a golf club resort in KL, in conjunction with his traditional Chinese wedding event at his home.

The restaurant (belonging to the Tai Thong Group) served reasonably good food which you can see from 2L2M's blog. I particularly liked the herbal chicken and steamed pomfret (although this fish is slightly high in cholesterol). The lotus fried pancake is not too bad as well.

Had to rush home before we could thoroughly enjoy our dessert as it was already 10pm and it was time to pick up my little one from mom's place before we head home. As usual :-(

Instant Thai Food!

Do you enjoy Thai food as much as I do? Oh yes! I love anything spicy and tasty and Thai food is one of those that can make me salivate even without looking at them *salivate again!*.

My sis bought these pre-packed Thai meal sets for my mom during one of her recent trips to Bangkok. She bought these at the airport as she hardly had time to visit any of the shops after work so price wise, I think it would have been slightly more expensive.

These are instant paste for green curry and tom yam shrimp soup! As Thai food are generally spicy, the level of spicyness are cleverly indicated on the outer packaging by listing the number of chillies highlighted. Can you spot it? That is a great idea and very consumer friendly dont you think?

Not sure when mom will cook these but will sure share the results with you yeah? Meanwhile, drool ... just like me.

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies

While my little one was fast asleep over the weekend, I quickly baked some cookies right after my butter cake! Wow .. was I in a mood for baking!

This is the first time I ever baked any cookies so I opted for something really simple and quick to mix together and a recipe that would require the most basic ingredients which I already had at home. So I got it from LCOM's ever reliable blog of recipes *smile*.


Can you see how yummilicious my giant cookies look? I got really excited seeing it expand in the oven and could not wait for it to finish baking. I did not have oats, so I dropped in some hazelnuts and chocolate chips instead.

I found the top still too "white" for me, so after 8 mins, I switched to top & bottom baking instead of just the bottom. My oven needed 13 mins. My first tray was baked at 15 mins but the bottom was slightly burnt, so I guess you need to see how your oven works and do not follow any recipe blindly.

Like what LCOM has said, this recipe is indeed a very good basic cookie recipe and there are endless combination of ingredients you can use to make a variety - so give it a try & enjoy!

Butter Cake

Mom requested for a steamed egg cake for prayers during the recent mid-autumn festival but I suggested we bake a butter cake instead as my mom's side of the family loves butter cakes.

They would normally consume quite a few of these cakes for breakfast during the first few days of chinese new year (don't really know why) so I tried this recipe and this is how mine turned out.


Not bad eh? I did not cut it as it was to be used for prayers but Mom told me, after prayers, they enjoyed the cake as the texture was really good and taste was nice. Again, another tap on my back for self motivation ...hee .. hee..

For the purpose of easy reference, here is the full recipe:-

250 gm. butter
1 tsp. vanilla essence
250 gm. castor sugar
3 eggs
330 gm. self-raising flour
180 ml. milk
pink food colouring
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. milk - extra

Method:
(1) Beat butter, vanilla essence and sugar until light and fluffy.
(2) Add in eggs one at a time.
(3) Stir in flour and milk in two batches. Divide mixture into 3 portions.(4) Blend sifted cocoa powder with extra milk and stir into one portion.(5) Add pink colouring into another portion and leaving the third portion plain.
(6) Drop alternate spoonfuls of mixtures into an 8" round pan. Use a chopstick to pull backwards and forward through the mixture.
(7) Bake cake about 1 hour at 175C. Stand cake 5 mins. in pan then tun onto wire rack to cool.

My mom likes it the "old-fashioned" way, so I omitted the coloring and marbling effects. Yummy!

Satay Lovers - Start Queing!

Hubby loooooves satay! I love it too! My entire family loves it. My in-laws are satay lovers too! Which Malaysian isn't a satay lover? Even my mat-salleh friends love them!

My regular supply of this lovely aromatic chicken skewered meat comes from Satay Kajang Hj Samsuri. He has got several outlets along several highway stops in the city as well as one just opposite Pertama Complex, outside the blue Mara Building. Others are located at the Sg Buloh overhead bridge and along Kesas Highway. Many more outlets but did not really find them all out.

My favourites are of course chicken and veal. I like the beef too but hubby & family do not take beef for religious reasons, so we normally do not order it.

Heard that it is pretty inconsistent when it comes to quality & taste in some of the outlets but nevertheless, we only frequent the one along Kesas Highway and it has never failed us so far.

My mom's comment is that the peanut sauce is a bit too sweet but I love it when it is mixed with its specially blended sambal sauce hmmmm ... salivating already *fattening smile*.