If My Head Was Not Attached To My Body.....

This was one of my father's favorite sayings when I was a child.....unfortunately, it still applies today. True, I am slightly better organized and do lose things a LOT less (it gets a little painful when you start paying for your own possessions), I still get a little scatterbrained sometimes and "misplace" things. It's not really lost, but just...misplaced...the irony of which is that said "lost" item appears a few months later when you least expect it and have bought another replacement. Yes, I do my part to keep the flagging US economy going....and no siree....I don't do it on credit! See, mom and dad, I did learn something from you, after all.

Okay, so...the currently misplaced item is my battery charger for my digital camera...gasp! I know, this is why I have been unable to blog my home cooked meals lately. And I have been cooking a lot more because I am currently on a health kick. Funny isn't it, that my "health kicks" always coincide with an upcoming trip home to Asia? You see....eating healthy does have the wonderful added side effect of weight loss for me. So, in anticipation of people back home that have no shame saying..."Wah...U.S food it so good ah? You so fat already!" or "Your face is so round, you look so...prosperous." And more, the completely shameless and clueless ones will start pinching your cheeks or even worse...tummy flab roll. Stop already! Being a size 2 in the US means NOTHING in Asia where skinny, anorexic looking girls are the norm! Well still, to give the haters their due, I am usually seen stuffing my face in Penang and eating twice the normal portions of food so I can why they cannot resist the applying the adage, it takes a village to raise a non-obese child.
*Scratching head, wondering how I got from misplacing camera's battery charger to this rant*

Anyway, I'm making Asparagus Stir Fried with Tiger Prawns In Chili Paste today. Sounds good and it's unbelievable simple. I'll post a recipe and pics when I find a solution to said problem above. However, don't hold your breath.

On a completely different but more important note, please support the Menu for Hope 4 that ends December 21st. It's a charity fundraiser organized by the fabulous Pim of Chez Pim that supports the UN Food Programme.

This year, they are raising money to feed the hungry schoolchildren of Lesotho. Since I am a big proponent of keeping kids in school, I entered the raffle too and did my part. Ya gotta walk the talk, honey! So I am a little late, since the raffle ends on Friday but it only takes a few minutes of your time and it's unbelievably easy. The hard part is picking out the amazing prizes. That took me a while. So don't wait any longer and get to Firstgiving and start donating! They have raised $45, 520 at posting time. Results will be posted at Chez Pim on January 9th.

3 AM Food Craving

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

Why do I do this to myself? I come home from work at 3 AM and what do I do? I sit in front of the computer, read food blogs and then look through my archives of Penang food pics and then suffer. I am craving this right now with a capital K!!!


For those of you who are unfamiliar with Penang cuisine ( well...probably not many.. because the 4 people who read my blog already are familiar with it), it's a dish called Chee Cheong Fun, Pig Intestine Noodles would be a direct translation. The moniker is derived from the rolled up appearance of the rice noodle which resembles intestine and not because it's made from pig parts. It's actually harmless white rice noodles, steamed in sheets and then rolled up after being oiled. The rolls of noodles are stacked up in a glass case, usually until a portion is ordered by a customer and then it is steamed and then cut into bite sized pieces.

Then the seller ladles on prawn paste, tee cheow (hoisin sauce), shallot oil, chili paste and then tops it with toasted sesame seeds (Bamming Emeril style optional) and serves it up with a flourish.

I always ask for the noodles to be unfurled prior to saucing because I like my noodles to have maximum surface exposure to the delicious sauce prior to stuffing my face. As children, my brother and I took utmost delight in unfurling each rolled up piece of noodles slowly and then stirring it into the sauce, to the dismay of our dining companions, the adults. Can you imagine how long it would take us to eat a plate?

A morsel in your mouth reveals a tangy, sweet and fiery taste, all at once from the amazing sauce. The soft chewy and silky noodles are an amazing canvas for the delicious finger and plate licking good sauce.


We like to eat this dish in the morning at MaCallister Lane in Penang. Can anyone help with the exact location of this stall? Update: Thanks to Tine who says this stall is very hard to miss because it's located near the junction as you turn into MaCallister Lane.


Now going to bed, very frustrated.

The Godsister Should Love This

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

Oh boy... I just microwaves 2 peeled bananas in a bowl, mashed them with a fork, added some brown sugar (no gula melaka, alas) and a pat of butter. Stirred it together and ate it all up. It's 4:53am.

Ah...how the mighty have fallen.

Just occurred to me that the addition of a drop of pure vanilla extract may not be amiss.

Cashew Chicken

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin



I was reminded two days ago that real bloggers actually update their blogs...so I took the opportunity to test out Rasa Malaysia's Kung Pao Chicken recipe that had me almost drooling onto my keyboard. For years, I've heard of Kung Pao chicken in Chinese-American restaurants and thought that it was a made up dish....kinda like Chop Suey. However, after reading RM's blog about cooking authentic Kung Pao Chicken, I realized, "Hey, my grandma makes this dish!" It was similar to a dish that my grandma calls Cashew Chicken and does NOT in the slightest bit resemble the Americanized version of Kung Pao Chicken.

The pleasant memories flooding my tastebuds prompted me to make this dish tonight. I adapted RM's recipe, substituting cashew nuts for peanuts, added sesame oil and oyster sauce to the dish. I also cheated on the steps and cooked it all at once instead of cooking the chicken and sauce in two steps and then combining them.

Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:
5 pieces of boneless & skinless chicken thighs
1 large handful of roasted and salted cashew nuts
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 stalk diagonally sliced scallion
8-12 small dried red chillies
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 thumb sized knob of thinly julienned fresh ginger
1/2 of a small yellow onion, sliced


Chicken Marinade:
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoon ShaoXing wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Pinch of black pepper to taste

Sauce:
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3-4 tablespoons water (depending on how thick or runny you'd like the sauce)
1 tablepoon corn starch
1 tablespoon ShaoXing wine

Method:

1. Prepare marinade and sauce in separate containers.
2. Clean chicken meat, pat dry and cut into 1cm cubes. Place in container with marinade and mix well. Set aside for 1/2 hr.
3. Heat the cooking oil in a large pan/wok on High setting until the oil is smoking. Add garlic and fry till golden brown.
4. Add scallions, ginger, chilies, onions and cashew nuts to pan. Fry together until the aromatics are soft and fragrant.
   
5. Add the chicken meat and cook until all of the pieces are cooked through
6. Pour in the sauce and stir-fry until sauce thickens and coats the chicken pieces well.
7. Add a pinch of sliced scallions "Emeril" style after plating for style and drama.

We ate it with steamed jasmine/long grain rice. It was GRREATTT!!!! The bf gave it two thumbs up :)

The Breakfast of Champions

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

Growing up, I have always been lectured about the importance of eating breakfast. It's touted to kick start your body into full gear and feed your brain, so to speak. I remember a teacher in high school rambling on and on about needing to eat breakfast, even going as far as having those who did not confess to eating breakfast that particular morning singled out and ridiculed. Yes, I am talking about Miss Ang.

And speaking of breakfast, nobody does it as well as Malaysian. We are champion breakfast eaters. Where else in the world would you find people who eat everything from nasi lemak (coconut steamed rice with anchovies and boiled egg) to curry noodles to chee cheong fun (steamed rice noodles with fermented shrimp paste, sesame oil and chili paste)?

One of my favorite things to eat for breakkie is Hainanese French Toast with Malaysian Kopi. The sugary sweetness is enough to induce diabetes but it is oh so good....and actually quite okay to eat once in a while.

I like the sweet aroma of Malaysian roasted coffee (with margarine, salt, sugar and sometimes chicory) paired with creamy condensed milk bright and early in the morning. It gives me a reason to get out of bed.

The French Toast was completely soaked through with the egg-milk-sugar mixture and tasted delicious. My only complaint was that the surface was not crispy enough.

Msian coffee+French Toast, by their powers combined=Simply delicioso!

Milwaukee Downtown Dining Week-Yanni 5/31/07

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

The bf and I went on a double date with another couple for Downtown Dining Week (DDW) to Yanni's Restaurant. I've been to Yanni's several times for dinner and have always been impressed by the quality of their food and service. Thus, when I found out that they were participating in the DDW events, I immediately called to make a reservation. Let's just say that we were very happy with our dining experience.

The service was excellent, as usual and our waiter was very attentive. Since, I already had planned out my meal one week in advance, it didn't take long to take our orders....yes, usually I am the one holding up the table with my indecisivenes.

I had the crab cake for my appetizer, beef tenderloin for my entree and the chocolate ice cream Jubilee. The bf had the soup, the fish and again ice cream. Our other dining partners each chose something different and we all shared.For 20 dollars, you get to choose 3 items from the menu below, one from each category:

STARTERS/APPETIZERS
- Soup du Jour -- Chef's inspiration

- Wood Stone Baked Crab Cake -- Single jumbo lump crab cake with spicy dijonaise and remoulade sauces

- House Salad -- Mixed greens, radishes, cucumbers, eggs, grape tomatoes, carrots, croutons and choice of dressing

ENTREES
- Beef Tenderloin Tournelle -- 5 oz. petite fillet of beef served with sauteed spinach, truffle potato croquette and shiitake Madeira sauce

- Mahi Mahi -- Served baked with steamed vegetables in a champagne garlic lemon herb sauce

- Chicken Trio -- Three chicken breasts, marinated and sauteed with fresh herbs, garlic and spices, and served with sweet potato mash, sauteed spinach and three individual sauces: lemon cream, Madeira and apricot

DESSERTS
- Ice Cream Jubilee -- Vanilla or Chocolate ice cream topped with a cherry jubilee sauce

The waiter brought out the bread basket and we all dug in. The bread was served with several kinds of flavored butter and a dipping oil. My favorite was the strawberry butter. I totally pigged out on the butter and bread more than intended.

The bf's soup of the day. I can't even remember what it was but I was too busy enjoying my crab cakes and didn't really pay attention to his appetizer. The other couple also had the crab cake.

The absolutely scrumplicious Wood Stone Baked Crab Cake. It was served with 2 different sauces, a Dijon mustard sauce and a remoulade sauce. I liked both sauces equally but the Dijon sauce seemed to bring out the flavor of the crab meat better compared to the remoulade. I really took my time rolling the briny crustacean meat in my mouth...it sounds gross but tastes like heaven. B, my friend appeared to have immensely enjoyed her crab cake as well.

Now for the entrees:

The bf had the baked Mahi-Mahi in a lemon sauce preparation and liked it very much. I had a small bite of his dish and discovered that the fish was very fresh and did not have a "fishy" smell or taste to it. I think the lemon sauce did help to mask the original smell of the fish and made the dish more palatable. Those of you who know me know that I do not like fish, ...well... except for, you know, sushi. B's bf also had this dish and have it his stamp of approval.

B had the Chicken Trio, a serving of 3 generous pieces of grilled chicken breast, accompanied by 3 different sauces. It also came with a portion of mashed sweet potatoes, topped with sauteed spinach. The dish was so generous that she was unable to finish it alone. Even after some help from us, she had to box it up to go.

My entree was absolutely a treat. It was a perfectly grilled 5 ounce beef tenderloin cooked to medium rare and came on top of a potato croquette. The sauce was slightly sweet and very flavorful...you can definitely taste the Madeira and the woodsy mushroom in the sauce. I loved every bite of the tender meat that melted in my mouth.

I was not impressed with the dessert at all so I didn't even bother to take a picture of it. I've never had ice cream jubilee before but I am so never ordering that if I had a choice. After the magnificent appetizer and entree...the dessert was rather...boring and disappointing. What can I say, I am an ice cream snob, after all. Yanni, I did expect better.

All in all, we had a wonderful time up to dessert and the company was great. B and M, lets do this again.

YANNI'S

540 E. Mason St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414.847.9264

Hours:
Sun: Closed
Lunch:
Mon - Fri: 11 am - 2 pm
Dinner:
Mon - Thu: 5 pm - 10 pm
Fri - Sat: 5 pm - 11 pm

Milwaukee Downtown Dining Week

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

I just wanted to announce that May 31-June7 is Milwaukee's Downtown Dining Week. I know, I know, it's almost over but it's still not too late to go out and catch an impromptu lunch or dinner at some of the participating restaurants. It's a week when many fine dining restaurants offer a 3 course lunch for USD 10 and dinner for USD 20. What a steal!!!! You don't even have to make reservations for lunch but dinner reservations are recommended lest you arrive at the restaurant disappointed.

Here's the link to the Downtown Dining Week website. You can see the list of participating restaurants and their offerings. I generally look at the menu and then decide on the restaurant. This way, I'll be guaranteed to like the offerings. Two hot tips: Yanni and Coast. I'll blog about my culinary adventures soon.

What are you waiting for....go out and eat, Milwaukee!!!!

Korean Delights at Seoul Garden

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

The bf and I were filling up my car with gas on Prospect Ave, when we happened to glance down the street and saw that a new owner had taken over the former Han Kuk Kwan, a Korean restaurant that we were not very impressed with. So unimpressed were we that we had never gone back after eating there once.

When I lived in KL (Malaysia's capital city), I had these two Korean friends who would either cook kickass Korean food (do they just call it food in Korea?) or take me to great, authentic Korean restaurants. I became spoilt. I mean, I remember going to a restaurant in the middle of a bunch of nondescript office buildings where nobody on the wait staff spoke a word of English and the utensils were made of solid stainless steel (old school, man). If you didn't go with someone who spoke Korean, you were reduced to pointing at pictures and gratefully eating whatever they put on your table. Yes, the food as THAT good. Now, I cannot remember the name of the restaurant and have lost contact with my two friends but the taste of what constitutes as good and authentic Korean food has been permanently burned into my taste buds. Needless to say, I have been searching for a good Korean restaurant since moving to the US but have been unable to find one....until now. The name to remember is Seoul Garden.


The restaurant is situated in a little building where Ichiban used to be before they moved into the bigger, nicer building next door. The decor has changed but the cozy setting of the dining space has not. I still love the coziness of the space and especially find the tiny little nook that serves as a semi-private dining area (only fits 4 people, I think) very adorable. But the food....is spectacular. It's homemade (cooked by the owner's mother and brother), flavorful, authentic and delicious. Most, importantly, it's non pretentious. The owner confided to us (the bf, a friend and me) that she had asked her mother to cook up something different (think fusion) to make the food more acceptable to mainstream American diners and her mother had replied, "I don't know how to cook that. What you get from me is authentic Korean food." Wow!

Seoul Garden serves a buffet lunch from 11:30 am to 2:30pm on weekdays. I think it's USD 7 something per person. The bf and I have been there several times to eat and the buffet remains mostly the same with the exception of 3 dishes that is changed daily.


View of the buffet. The rice cooker is being blocked by the plant.


The far end of the buffet contains pickles, kimchi, lettuce leaf of a sort of wrap and sauces.


These two dishes are my favorite: Top-Bulgogi (beef), Bottom-Jeyuk (pork). I can't even begin to speculate what the seasonings are for the two dishes. I can only say...I likee a lot!


You can even use the lettuce leaf to wrap up the meat, add the sauce, (I recommend the fermented soyabean paste on the far right), roll it up and stuff it into your mouth before the darn thing falls apart. You think that after years of eating lettuce wrapped bang-kuang char, I'd be able to do this with finesse but noo....I still suck at it. Mine fell apart so I had to improvise (see pics below) You can also add a small dollop of rice to the roll but I was having technical and mechanical problems so I skipped the rice.

This was also the first time that I had tried barley tea. It's just brewed barley pearls from what I gathered and is served unsweetened. It's not bad but I prefer green tea. To me, a barley drink has to taste like good old barley-peng from a kopitiam (typical coffee-shop in Malaysia). This bland drink, I was not crazy about.


My first round at the buffet. Will only show the first round because to paiseh (embarassed) to let you know how many times I went back.


The bf went hunting and gathering next and came back with this.


Remember the lettuce roll that I was talking about earlier? It's called ssam and is supposed to look like this, pre-wrapping/rolling. The disaster comes with the rolling/wrapping part.


The bf attempting to properly assemble a ssam. Note that there is significantly more leaf than there is filling. That's just not good eats :)

Finally fed up with my crappy assembling skills, I made modified ssams and just spooned them into my mouth. Yummmy, less of the lettuce leaf and more filling. Ya gotta think outside the box!


I went back to the buffet table and put together this plate, which I proceeded to devour. After taking a few pics, of course!


Close up shot. Isn't that absolutely scrumplicious looking? It tastes even better than it looks. Like a little bit of heaven.

I am so happy to have found this little gem of a restaurant. And the service was absolutely wonderful. We went there late for lunch once and the waitress was supposed to get off her shift but she stayed to serve us and was as nice as can be despite the circumstances.

If you live in Milwaukee, you need to try this treasure of a restaurant out. I promise you'll like it. They also have dinner but that's another post.

Seoul Garden
2178 N Prospect Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414-289-8208

Bah Kut Teh

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin


I made Bah Kut Teh (pork bone tea soup, for the uninitiated) last night but didn't even get a chance to take pictures of it before it was devoured. I was cooking this delicious soup meal for a fellow Penangite, S.H who was visiting the bf and I from New York after suddenly being struck with homesickness.

I was puttering around the kitchen from 7pm last night, trying to recall how to cook the dish. Mom and Dad conveniently neglected to answer the frantic phone calls that I made to them to ask for advise. Thankfully, S.H was a big help in the kitchen and we managed to get the pot going.

After I announced that dinner was ready, I went to grab a quick shower and walked out to discover that they were on helping #2 already!!!! I didn't get any pics for my blog, needless to say but here's the recipe for those of you who may be homesick for the dish. We had stopped at the chinese store and even bought some Yew Char Koay (fried cruellers). Man, it was delicious!

Bah Kut Teh recipe: a word of warning....all these measurements are agak-agak (a rough guess-timation). My philosophy, just add stuff until it tastes good. And have Pizza Hut or Dominos on speed dial.

Ingredients:

1. One packet of A1 Bak Kut Teh Spices (should have 2 sachets inside)
2. 2 plus pounds of cut and cleaned pork ribs with bone. I asked the butcher to cut it into short rib pieces for me.
   
3. Three or four pieces of Tong Kwai.
   
4. One whole head of garlic-peeled and smashed.
5. One package of pork/beef balls (I bought the ready made frozen kinds from Vietnam)
6. Five stalks of baby bok choy....cleaned and separated from the stalk.
7. 10-15 cups of water. I just fill up my pot to almost 3/4 full.
8. Freshly cracked peppercorns (I like using the white peppercorns)...use one heaping tbs.
   
9. One cube of Knorr's pork bouillon.
   
10. One can of Golden Mushroom (Kim Chiam Koo), well drained and separated.
11. One packet of ready made Yew Char Koay
12. Two tbs of thick soy sauce
13. Three tbs of oyster sauce
14. Three tbs of normal soy sauce

Yeah...the preparation is so hard. I am a fanatic and will spend a lot of time stripping fat and skin away from the meat. The soup is a lot healthier and leaner but of course, the oomph factor is a little compromised. What the heck, it was still good. So good that the boys just continued to eat and eat. They each ate 3 full servings!!!

Okay....now comes the easy part. You still have to stand in the kitchen though and watch the pot. But if your kitchen has a little bar area that opens up to the living room, you can also relax and watch TV at the same time. I was watching House.

To Cook:

1. Put the pot on the stove and boil the water on High.
   
2. When the water is really bubbling, put in everything else, starting with the meat EXCEPT for the beef balls, baby bok choy, mushrooms and Yew Char Koay.
3. Boil in High for 3o mins, then turn the heat to Medium and cover. Stir occasionally.
4. After 1 1/2 to 2 hrs (whenever the meat is soft enough to just fall off the bone), turn heat to high and put in beef balls, mushrooms and then blanch the baby bok choy in the boiling soup.
5. Remove baby bok choy and serve on a platter. Place cut up Yew Char Koay on a serving platter.
6. Dish up soup and dinner is ready.
7. Do I have to tell you to cook white rice as well??? This one is a no brainer.
8. Oh....word of warning...don't leave the food undefended to take a shower. No good can come out of this.
   

Naples, Florida aka Paradise. Part I

I landed at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee 2 nights ago and immediately wanted to turn back and board the next flight back to Florida. It was cold! And I was told that it would only get colder in the next few days. I wish that Wisconsin would quit doing it's 'spring menopause' thing soon because I realize that I am addicted to 85 degree weather.

I spent 6 glorious days at the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club with 3 other former PA classmates and 350 other Emergency Room PAs, going to lectures, workshops, eating, drinking, dancing and lazing in the sun. I hadn't anticipated the immensely satisfying sense of belonging that washed over me as I interacted with so many like minded individuals who had so much in common. The ER stories that we told!! It was rather amazing to talk to other ER PAs and to learn about how they practice.

The other great thing about going to a conference was being on an expense account. In an expensive city like Naples, there is no way to eat cheaply (unless you had sandwiches and soda for every meal= $8-10 USD) so it was nice that my meals were taken care off by someone other than moi :)

We obviously had many meals at many restaurants but I am only going to highlight the best places that we ate at. The restaurant featured on this post is called "Yabba Island Grill" and serves Carribean style seafood. I quickly learned that there was no point taking home doggy bags as we were living in a hotel so I started ordering 2 appetizers which served as an appetizer and an entree. No more wasted food!!!



Steamed Mussels with Garlic, Roma Tomatoes, Artichoke Hearts, Basil, White Wine and Lemon

Verdict: The mussels were very succulent and plump (unlike the 3 other disappointing mussel dishes that I'd already had) and perfectly bathed in the golden colored broth. The broth itself was very flavorful (and garlicky) without being too salty and the acidity of the tomatoes balanced the sweet juices from the mussels. Loved it!!!!! I sopped up all the broth with the toasted, thick sliced sourdough bread and the server removed a completely empty, almost clean plate.

“Maryland Style” Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes with an Old Bay, Citrus and Sherry Wine Remoulade

Verdict: I thought that the portion was rather small. Each crabcake was approximately 5cm in diameter and there were only 2 crabcakes per portion. Yet, each tiny bite packed a huge punch of soul satisfying crab meat (no fillers here, ladies and gentlemen) and I was completely full as I devoured the last bite. The crabcake tasted like it was deep fried, rather than baked and as a result, had a crunchier crust which contrasted very nicely with the creamy crab filled center. This was also a spectacular dish.


Looking very pleased with my mussel dish and choice of restaurant!!!!

Stay tuned for more pics and of course, food.................

Pretty Fruit Tart

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin


We picked up this absolutely scrumplicious strawberry and kiwi fruit tart at Whole Foods Market up the street from our apartment for dessert. I kept staring at it on the way home coz it's so pretty. I took tons of pics but due to the bad lighting (and poor cameraperson- my dad always said that a bad carpenter blames his tools) this is the best picture.

And then, we ATE IT!!! Yummo....the sweetness of the strawberry and custard balanced out the tartness of the kiwi slices. The pastry shell was perfectly made, able to hold up it's shape, despite of the moisture in the custard and when placed in my mouth...melted into a mass of buttery goodness.

Wouldn't you like a fruit tart for dessert tonight?

The Real Pulut Mango

I took a picture of a Thai dessert called 'Pulut Mango' at my favorite Thai restaurant, Chok Dee when I was back in Penang but somehow misplaced the file. I found this today and thought that this would be a good time to let you guys know what the real thing looked like, following my post about sticky rice dessert. Doesn't it look scrumplicious?





I had to jilat (lick) my spoon and scrape my plate clean after eating the absolutely fabulous dish at the restaurant. Yeah, sorta was an embarrassment to my parents because all sense of shame fled my body as I claimed the half-full plate of pulut mango for myself. My fellow diners were complaining of being full after the meal.

Man, I can't even begin to tell you how sweet and juicy the mango slices were, combined with the steamed, sweet, sticky and chewy glutinous rice. I was transported to a Thai paradise at that instant when the first bite made contact with my tongue. One minute, I was sitting in a crowded noisy restaurant in Penang and the next, I was lounging on a chaize on a pristine white beach on Phi Phi Island in my bikini and eating a delicious juicy mango. Just like in the movies.....

http://www.charteryachts.info/arabesque/newimages/monbeach.jpg

The Cheesecake Factory

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

The bf and I braved the bitter cold and ventured newly renovated Bayshore Mall (intended to rival MayfairMall) yesterday, having decided to have brunch an early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. It was 4:30pm and thankfully, almost empty. The Cheesecake Factory (TCF) is a very popular place to eat and there is usually a 30-45 minute wait during lunch and dinnertime. We were lucky to just hit the period in between and was shown to a table by a very gracious hostess right away.

Hypoglycemic to the point of fainting, I was tempted to order everything on the menu but my last thread of sanity reeled me back. We intended to go shopping afterwards and then spend a cozy few hours at Barnes and Nobles, my favorite bookstore so we did not want any leftovers to cart around. Hence, no appetizers.

The wind chill was reported to be -31^oF and so we needed to warm up fast. Naturally, the bf has a mojito (a cocktail made with rum, mint and traditionally, sugar cane juice).

Because I am useless when it comes to drinking am allergic to alcohol, I settled on a pot of nice black English Breakfast tea, with a spot of milk (yes, yes, how very British, we colonized, remember?)

Our server, Nicole brought some freshly baked bread which TCF is famous for and we dug in with great gusto. To my disappointment, the normally chewy and flavorful breads were rather dry and hard. Nicole explained that they were probably baked for too long and offered to get us a new batch that the kitchen made. Not wanting to spoil our appetites, we declined

Shortly thereafter, the entrees arrived. I had ordered Renee’s Special, consisting of
one-half of a chicken salad sandwich, a cup of wild mushroom soup and a small green salad with balsamic vinaigrette. The hearty mushroom soup really hit the spot and helped the thawing process. I found the sandwich bread a little too greasy for my taste but I have no complaints about the chicken salad filling. They did not skimp on the chicken meat and the dressing was delightful. The salad was a welcome side dish after consuming all that buttery, creamy, high caloric foods.

The bf had Cajun Chicken Littles, a huge platter that came heaped with mashed potatoes, corn, and pieces of boneless chicken breasts, breaded, seasoned and then deep fried.

When the waitress, Nicole picked up this plate in the kitchen, SHE complained that the portion of chicken pieces were smaller than usual and made the kitchen fry up an extra portion of chicken! This is what I call customer service. Have you even heard of such a thing in Malaysia? As a customer, I wouldn’t even DARE complain for fear or retribution (eg spit in food or worse. Go watch “Waiting” if you don’t believe me) and here is a waitress, championing our cause. We were honestly floored. Believe me, she got a good tip.

This is the extra portion of fried chicken that our dedicated waitress scored for us.

After such a fantastic meal, we thought, what the heck, we have leftovers anyway so let's order dessert to go and we can have supper later. The bf had his predictable carrot cake while I went with the raspberry-lemon cheesecake. Due to the huge bag of food that we had walking out of The Cheesecake Factory, we had no choice but to leave the food in the car before hitting the shops. I don’t know about the bf but I was warmed by the good service and wonderful dining experience that we had.

Kudos to Nicole and the Cheesecake Factory!

The Cheesecake Factory
Bayshore Mall,
5799 N. Bayshore Dr. #L100,
Glendale, WI 53217
(414) 906-8550

Padang Brown Hawker Food

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

I was feeling rather guilty by the lack of new posts on my blog when everyone knows damn well that I ate like a pig in Malaysia and Indonesia. I have been working nights for the past week and a half (which is good because it eliminates the need to acclimatize back to US time=no jet lag) and am truly exhausted. However, out of guilt and my innate eagerness to please emerges this post that I hope will make all of you salivate...and for those of you who can, head out to Padang Brown for some yummy afternoon snacks.

This particular trip to Padang Brown was brought on by intense hunger, having skipped lunch for a family photo shoot (needed all the help I could get to look thin not look fat). So it was at 4:30pm when I could not take it anymore and begged my dad to accompany me for some light makan. This was done with the full knowledge that we had a dinner plans for a full 8 course Chinese dinner at CRC Restaurant. I know, I am such a pig.

The food "court" consists of about 8 hawker stalls selling a variety of street foods and several metal tables with metal stools. The system goes like this: You go to a stall, tell the hawker what you want (e.g ang tau seng, mai ang tau), where you're sitting and then go back to your table to wait while your food is prepared and brought to you. You then pay the hawker. The process can be repeated at other stalls while you wait for your order to arrive.

We first stopped at a Dim Sum stall. It's not your typical dim sum place where the little dumplings are steamed in wooden baskets and then the cart is wheeled to you for perusal.

We're eating street food here, so the dim sum are dumped willy-nilly in a large metal steamer and portioned out per customer order. Nevertheless, it does not detract from the taste, nor even the aesthetics. I mean, it still looks BEAUTIFUL to me.


Clockwise from top: Fishball, squid-ball, siew mai and har gow. Accompanying the tasty morsels is chilli sauce and sweet sauce (tee cheow).

We also ordered the famous Padang Brown mamak-style popiah. Popiah is a variation of the many types of springrolls found in Asia. This stall used to be run by an old man whom I was informed passed away last year. His daughter in law has taken over the business but she has made no changes to the recipe so the taste of the popiah remains as delicious as ever.

She starts preparing my order by laying down a piece of popiah skin on the wooden board, then smearing it with fragrant date sauce as a base before laying down a trimmed piece of lettuce. Then,2 heaping spoonfuls of stewed filling made with jicama, tiny shrimp, long beans, shallots and garlic are added on top of the lettuce leaf. Next, blanched beansprouts (tauge) and cooked tofu is added to the top and the popiah is rolled up. Finally, she cuts it into bite sized portions and tops the whole dish with more date sauce and gravy from the filling.

I was so starved when this baby arrived that I accidentally ate one before remembering to take a picture. Doesn't that look absolutely scrumptious? I am salivating at the recollection of savoring it.

Then we topped off our gastronomic adventure by ordering some Malay-style prawn fritters, called cucur udang, with an extra order of deep-fried (read unhealthy) beancurd, fishcake, which came accompanied by slices of raw cucumber (in attempt to neutralize the deep frying?)


The uncle, spurred into action by the presence of my camera sportingly demonstrated how the prawn fritters are made.


Basically, blanched beansprouts and pre-cooked small shrimp are placed in a small, shallow, metal ladle and then white colored batter is spooned onto the ladle. The while ladle is slowly lowered into a pot of boiling oil and the cooking process detaches the fritter from the ladle. The fritter is then turned so it cooks evenly into a golden brown color and is fished out and set to drain on a wire rack.

When semi cooled, the fritter is cut up into pieces by the uncle's wife and served with a kickass garlic based, sweet chili sauce.

Here's a closer look below.

Mmmmm........brings back all kinds of fond memories. They say that a family that eats together stays together, don't they?

I am still wondering how my light afternoon snack, intended to tide me over until dinner evolved into an eating spree. Thanks dad, for sacrificing your stomach space to accompany me on this eating session :) We still did good during dinner, didn't we?

Apong Manis Ah Guan

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.—Brillat-Savarin

When the bf and I come home to Penang, we never fail to visit our favorite apong manis stall located next to Union School on Burmah Road. Mr Uan or Ah Guan has been selling his famous apong manis there for as long as I can remember.



We are attracted to the stall and the man behind it because of the consistently delicious coconut flavored, soft ‘pancakes’. The pancakes are cooked using a combination of grilling and steaming method where the fragrant coconut batter is poured into little round shallow pans which grills the outside of the pancake and then when it is partially cooked, Ah Guan closed the cover and allows steam to finish cooking the batter. He then adds slices of ripe banana and a large dollop of creamed corn and the deftly folds the pancake in half. This creates a sweet golden brown pancake with a soft center filled with flavorful gooey bananas and corn.


Ah Guan does the cooking with panache and his cheerful personality makes a visit to his apong manis stall a real delight. He flashes his warm smile at you as soon as you approach the stall and he never fails to charm his customers.

However, I must warn you that there is always a wait for his popular delicacy and so if you are in a hurry or are impatient, this is not the place to go. Ah Guan lets you know that there is a wait right as you approach and he marks the length of the wait by how many pieces of apong manis that is on back order. When I went there last week, I was 30 pieces of apong manis behind. The wait is quite pleasant as he chats away happily with you as he prepares your order. There is another apong manis stall along that stretch of hawker stall but it is always bereft of customers while Ah Guan’s stall is always popular with the crowd, despite the waiting time.

Each piece is priced at RM 0.30 and most people usually order 10-15 pieces. I had ordered 30 pieces and had to wait a little longer than usual. During our chat, Ah Guan told me that he was a former Free School Boy and was English educated. I found this to be rather interesting as most Chinese hawkers are Chinese educated and can barely speak English. This makes Ah Guan a great interview subject when non-Hokkien speaking TV crews, some coming from as far as Singapore and Hong Kong feature him on their food programs.

I left his stall with 30 aromatic pieces of pancakes. By the time I got to the car, there were only 28 pieces left. Nuff said.

Apong Manis Ah Guan
The stretch of hawker stalls just before Union School on Burmah Road.
Just look for the crowd.