Silence speaks louder than words

Much belated house warming

After moving in to my place for 6 months, I've finally gathered some of my ex-housemates and friends over for a small housewarming party.. well, more of a makan session anyways..

I've done a couple of housewarming sessions already for different group of friends (as my place is so pathetically small that it can't fit in everyone for one big housewarming dinner :-( )

And so, this group being my last group of kakis for housewarming, I've decided to cook for them a nicer meal (compared to the other groups ;p), with SF helping me....

SF cooked the red wine beef stew, filled with potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips and lots of herbs..

I did lemon herb poached chicken which is chicken, browned with olive oil, then poached with lemon juice and zest, chicken stock and herbs..I've also whipped up a simple baked butter fish with butter, spices and honey..side dishes were buttered veg and potatoes..Ben and Futaba contributed the lovely dessert, beard papa's cream puffs! (you can check out babe kl's write up on beard papa here ).Yumz...... There were other snacks that we ate like satar, keropok lekor and sai tou fish balls which I did not managed to snap the pictures in time! hehehe

Food4Thot is 1!

I thought I’d just play with the idea of blogging for a few months. That my interest would sway to other things after a while..

And to my immense pleasure and surprise, I manage to blog for a full year! Yeah, I can’t believe either.

Happy birthday food4thot, glad we made it…. :-)

Eating at the Chef's Table

Those of you who frequent this blog know that my "day job" is at Jefferson Lab, a nuclear physics research lab in Newport News, VA. It is a very interesting place to work, not only because of the world-leading science that is done there, but the international nature of the workforce. Needless to say, it leads to some very interesting culinary adventures, many of which I will be sharing over the next weeks and months. I have gotten recipes for salmon from Jim (already posted!), corn pudding and poppy seed cake from Sheila, broccoli salad from Sharon, curry and pilaf recipes from Swapan... well, you get my drift.

We are very fortunate to have a cafeteria at JLab that tries to meet the many dietary needs and preferences of our diverse population. Run under contract by the Compass Group, one of the largest food service companies in the world, our Quark Cafe (named via a contest among Jlab employees and users) has a staff that knows us by name, and our own CIA-trained chef, Chris (okay, we know we are lucky!) We have a salad and deli bar every day, two soup choices, and entrees that include cafeteria standards such as meat loaf or chicken divan as well as falafel and stuffed eggplant.

Every Thursday, besides our regular menu choices, staff and users are invited to the Chef's Table, a speical entree made to order by Chef Chris at a special cooking station set up where he can be observed working his culinary magic. Chef's Table entrees always atract a crowd- Chris has featured mussels and clams in wine sauce, salad with beef tenderloin and blue cheese, a seafood plate that included crab cake, salmon fillet and shrimp in a light cream sauce, and my personal favorite , made-to-order sushi rolls. For $7.99 on Thursdays, we can get a restaurant quality meal, watch a chef in action and enjoy Chris' easy banter without even leaving the site. I have posted pictures here of one of his Chef's Table entrees and you will notice right away the (great) quality of this picture- that's because they were taken by our JLab fotog, Greg Adams.

The Quark Cafe is so much a part of life at Jefferson Lab, it is hard to imagine what it would be like not to have such a great place to get a good breakfast or lunch right on site. What do you do for lunch? Brown bag it? Go out? Eat at your desk? Or do you have your own cafeteria that you frequent. I invited you to lunch at JLab, now's your turn to take us along for your lunch break!

The B***h is Back!

Warning: This is a pissy post on a b***h. No, not a female dog.You may choose to skip this if you are looking for a post on food :p

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She was missing for a month..

We whopped for joy and jumped in glee...wishing that she has resign, leaving us for good

Oh, I was so, so wrong!! ~*flashes of lightning, thunder rumbling in the background*~

I was rushing to the ladies just a while ago, my bladder was near bursting..high tide, high tide..

Rushed to my usual cubicle, only to find 2 large, black shoes prints on the seat!! The b***h is back!! yikes!!

You see, it all started six months ago, these mysterious black shoes prints started appearing on the toilet seats, usually once a week..What's so bizarre to me was the squat type of toilet was just next door..

So b***h, if you want to squat, why dont you squat next door?? Why do you want to balance on a toilet seat precariously while peeing??

I just dont freaking get it! tak paham, tak paham ni! Is it because:

• She likes doing her stunt at high places?
• She's a risk taker, even while peeing?
• She enjoys dirtying the seat so that everyone has to squat, like her?!? (not that we'll ever squat on the seat)
• She is a nincompoop who don't even know the proper use of a toilet seat?

This is so very frustrating. None of us know who she is, just that she does her act once a week (with that big, black, wet shoes prints of hers)..

Tell me, how can I stop her? How do I catch her??
gggggrrrrrrrrr

Nasi dagang dan roti canai, Terengganu

There's something about Terengganu and roti canai, bubbly alicia exclaimed while we were still making our way to Cherating..

We MUST eat roti canai there!!, bubbly alicia continued, while humming her favourite tune..

But roti canai is roti canai is roti canai and I believe I have enough of that at mamak stalls in Klang Valley, I thought to myself.. And I WANT nasi dagang!, my mind drifting, imagining my first bite of the tasty morsel, when i get my hands on it..hehe

Hence begin our love affair with these 2 delectable darlings, in fact, we need to have both of it every morning when we were in Terengganu!

Unlike Klang Valley whereby most of the rotis are prepared by mamaks, the malays in terengganu prepares the rotis. And what lovely roti canais those were!

My first try was at Cafe 691, located at the long Cherating road, just opposite Legend Hotel. The pakcik was happy, came and chat with us before preparing our breakfast..The roti was crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Have it with the kuah curry (curry sauce) mixed with dhal and sambal...now I know why bubbly alicia loves terengganu's roti canai....pure joy, pure joy!

We also tried a stall (no name) at Chukai, drive to Chukai, take the road towards Kuala Terengganu, Shell station on your left, it's opposite the petrol station..

Really garing (crispy), loved the plain roti and roti telur with the lovely kuah..creamy kuah kari ikan (it's sweeter and creamier) with dhal and sambal..woohoo! sedap belaka!

Nasi dagang was the much anticipated meal of the trip for me :)

Was recommended by the stall owners at Pasar (market) Chukai to eat at this stall. Located just behind the pasar, small stall with lots of people. The only stall selling nasi dagang, you wont miss it..For RM2, you get a big plate of rice (a mixture of white and glutinous rice, cooked in santan), boiled ikan tongkol (local mackerel), pickled cucumber, hard bolied egg and spicy fish curry (more on the salty, creamy side). The combination? Lovely..so lovely!

But the best nasi dagang I had during my stay there was bought at the Chukai pasar malam (night market). Opens every Thursday, ask the locals on how to get there..How do you know if you got the right stall? Well, there's lots of people crowding that particular stall..

For RM1, it's a dainty pack...but packed with the yummiest little gems.... a small chunk of ikan tongkol, some cucumbers and the unforgettable nasi and kuah..What's good was the rice, so fragrant with the santan (coconut milk), but not over powering.. the lip smacking kuah which was slightly sweeter than others, but well balanced when taken with the pickled cucumber..potent, just potent...

Oh, dont forget to try these if you do go to the pasar malam.. Think the name was pulut goreng (fried glutinous)..piping hot, chewy kuih texture, filled with mince fish inside.. tasted somewhat like serunding ikan... savoury and tasty..

Jazz@Top Room

It was raining in the evening and quite a dampener as we wanted to pop over to Top Room for a night of good music, catching up with friends and winding down after a hard day's work..
Nonethelss, we reached Top Room slightly after 10 pm, the rain had ceased and we settled in our seats, with a cup of hot coffee..
It was very pack by the time the band started and we wondered why...
Junji Delfino (vocals) explained that she and The David Gomez Jazz Sextet will be performing in the Miri Jazz Festival (11th-12th May) and they will be doing a preview of their performance for us. How lucky for us! No wonder the place was packed :). They are the only band representing Malaysia, performance will cover a wide range of jazz tunes, performing alongside bands from other countries..

The band was great, chemistry was fantabulous, passion for their music was evident (in fact, was oozing from them..hehe) and I enjoyed the vocals (loved gomez's vocals too)..Was a great night of good company and music, just lovely. So if you are in Miri on the 11th-12th May, why not pop over to the Jazz fest and check it out? Am sure you'll have a great time :)

Restoran Tong Juan, Chukai

I was reminded multiple times by my friends and colleagues to eat the stuffed crabs in Chukai..
So obviously, my first dinner in Chukai was to try this famed dish. KH & wife were nice, accomodating, bringing us to Tong Juan as we were not sure where it was..
KH did the ordering (stuffed crabs compulsory) while we made no special requests on any other dishes..
The wait was rather long although it was not pack (yet) and finally...
the stuffed crabs.. Tahdah!

Each crab costs RM7, the filling consists of mince crab meat, fish meat, onions, garlic...filled to the brim, covered with some doughy batter/skin, the stuffed crabs were then deep fried..

This is the stuffings inside..Sweet, fresh and goes well with the chili. Though a tad oily from the fried dough..
We had deep fried fish (yau zham) which bubbly alicia enjoyed.Heavily laden with lightly caramelised onions, the sauce base was thick, dark soy sauce instead of the ubiquitous light soy sauce. Was glad that they fried the fish till crispy and not hard.The tau foo dish was just normal, not to shout about..

I actually liked the stir fried asparagus very much, finding this veg very fresh, crunchy to the bite and tasty. yum yum..The sambal prawns was very appetising, I was glad that KH ordered this. Well, I didnt really think it was very sambal-ish, felt more of an assam prawns rather than sambal. The sauce emanates mainly sourness and spiciness, and small hints of sweetness. With the prawns being fresh, this was the best dish to me for the nite. Total bill was RM150 for the 5 of us. Not very cheap.

What Julianne thinks?
Delectable and uncomplicated.

Restoran Tong Juan is located at K117, Jalan Sulaimani, Chukai/Kemaman.
Note: KH asked us why we wanted to eat at Tong Juan. Bcoz famous ma! Why ar?
Oh, coz Restoran Malaysia next door was the restaurant that started stuffed crabs, not Tong Juan..
Aiyo, why didnt you say so, could have tried there instead! ._."

A Moment to Reflect- Becoming Part of a Hokie Nation

I haven't posted in nearly a week,and what week it was. A long-time friend and colleague of mine from Jefferson Lab is moving on to a new life in the Washington DC area and we had been planning a party for her ( and about 60 of her closest friends) that had me spending 3 solid days as a "white tornado" getting my house in shape. The day of the party... Monday April 16, 2007. As I was finishing last preparations, I kept the television on watching, trying to absorb what was happening only hours away in Blacksburg. I have to tell you that I have terrible timing for taking a day off. I was working a half day after Molly's birth and preparing to go in for my half-day when the Oklahoma City bombing happened. I had taken the day off on 9/11. Those infamous days I was, like everyone else, glued to the TV, not wanting to watch, but unable to turn away.

But this day was different... Blacksburg is so close... I have children the ages of many of the shooter's victims... Like most Virginians, I have friends, and my kids have friends who attended or are attending Virginia Tech. How do I deal with it, and help my children deal with yet another bout of random violence. How do I carry on with a party, when so many families are dealing with the unspeakable horror of losing a child, or brother, or father, or sister?

We did have our party... we would not have another opportunity to honor our friend and colleague. We did the only thing that can be done in the face of this type of tragedy...we lived. We talked, we laughed, we ate, we remembered a person we cared about and who would be leaving us and our organization. It was a nice party in the midst of a world and day that did not make sense.

Friday, some VT alumni at Jefferson Lab organized our participation in Hokie Hope day, bringing their entire stock of Hokie wear to share with others who wanted to show love and support, making Maroon and orange ribbons, and taping Va Tech banners to their office and cubicle doors. We gathered together and took a few moments out of our work day,watched a slide show of remembrances for the students and faculty that took place at universities all over the world, and finally, as it approached noon we saw the faces of the victims, projected on the screen... their smiles, their enthusiasm, their lives... In our silence we prayed and reflected upon this act of needless violence and lifted these special people up in our thought and prayers.It was a special moment that bonded us together in a way that only tragedy can. And we left with the words of Virginia Tech poet Nikki Giovanni stating... "We will prevail". It is true that we will prevail... hope will prevail... love will prevail... indeed it must, here, in the Hokie nation.

Kemaman Curry Mee, Chukai

Let's have kemaman curry mee for breakfast!, KH said with a twinkle in his eyes..

But I dont take creamy, santan-ish stuff for breakfast! I wailed..my stomache always does a somersault if my breakfast consists of spicy, creamy soup..

Bubbly Alicia's eyes widen as her tolerance for spicy food was pretty low..

Trust me, trust me, kemaman curry mee is very different! KH excitedly exclaimed while shoving us into the car..

After 5 mins, we're there. Should have walked instead....
KH placed the order while we waited patiently.....

There was nothing in the noodles that hinted curry, infact I thought the noodles looked more like prawn mee. The broth was rather clear, with a slight tinge of red, served with a dollop of sambal on the noodles. Laden with beansprouts and kangkung (water morning glory), the noodles was supposed to be eaten with boiled kampung fish, sambal and keropok ikan (fish crackers).The soup was sweet, not spicy and luckily, not fishy. Slurp it in with the noodles and fresh veg, this was quite good for breakfast afterall...:)

I was told that they will first cook the fish in the boiling pot of broth. After the fish is cooked and removed, the noodles and veg would be added into the boiling broth. The fish is served in a separate plate with a side of sambal. We were also given a pack of keropok ikan to add into the noodles.You can choose to dunk in the whole keropok, eat with the noodles when it's soggy/semi crunchy or you can dip the keropok into the broth and eat as a snack.

Again, this is another shop without a sign board..Took a picture of the shop instead

What Julianne thinks?

Original, simple and surprising

Kemaman curry mee is located in the heart of Chukai. Drive pass the Chukai (wet)market and fruit stalls, after the fruit stalls, you would see the bus station. The shop is next to it (further in)

Kedai Kopi Hai Peng, Chukai

Do I really need to blog about this? Hai Peng is so famous that maybe I should not blog about it...

But, for the benefit of those who have never heard of Hai Peng, I shall trudge on...hehe

Hai Peng oozes nostalgia, with the furniture and the ambience of old fashion kopitiam. Always packed with an eclectic mix of locals and tourists, Hai Peng serves a range of roti bakar (toast), kuih muih (malay snack), nasi lemak, nasi dagang etc.

We had the Kopi Hai Peng.... I like this strong, cukup kau (thick) coffee which I understand why some people are so crazy over this little cuppa.

Blur Butterfly decided to have some latte, which she was not too please with... Maybe it's too thick to be latte? I took a sip, thot it tasted alright, though there's a strong hint of cinnamon...

Bubbly Alicia opted for teh ais (ice milk tea) which was served sealed with Hai Peng's logo at the cover. Good way to prevent messy spills from iced drinks... Tea was thick and quite aromatic..

The old fashioned charcoal toast aka roti bakar was served next..

Thick toasts smothered with kaya (local coconut & egg jam) and butter served hot, we quickly grabbed a piece each. Though the bread was home made, I was not too impress with the bread. More doughy than usual, their bread seemed like a cross between sourdough and bread. hmmmm

Next was the toasted buns served with kaya and butter too.. Again, I was not very impress with the buns. Too thick, chewy and bland for my liking.

Bubbly Alicia wanted something savoury, so she ordered the curry toast... For RM5.90, this was way too costly for a slice of toast, egg and dhal sauce. Yes, you read right, dhal. Well, at least it tasted like dhal as I could not find any semblance of curry in it.

Took a nasi lemak bungkus as we wanted to have some rice.. Now this was yummy stuff, tasty, spicy sambal ikan bilis goes really well with the rice and hard boiled egg..

We did return on another day, extra stuff we tried was the Hai Peng Ice Blended Special... Beats all the franchised coffee chain's ice blended hands down. The coffee was strong, aromatic, ice was blended finely, the sweetness was well balanced with the bitterness of the coffee..just perfecto..

We had the nasi dagang too (usually sold off before 12 noon), pretty tasty, the sauce on the heavier side of ginger and asam, but goes well with the rice. No picture on this, you can see it hiding behind my cup of ice blended though.. :)

What Julianne thinks?

Killer coffees not to be missed, yumz for the rice dishes, mediocre for the toasts

Kedai Kopi Hai Peng is located at corner of Jalan Dato Omar (the main trunk road from Kuantan-Cherating-Cukai-Kijal-Kerteh) and Jalan Sulaimani, one of the main roads at Chukai, Terengganu. If you still cant find it, just ask a local. Everyone there knows where Hai Peng is..

Satar & Otak Otak, Kuala Kemaman

I've been craving for satar since the day we've confirmed our trip to Cherating...

Having tasted satar when I was a teenager, I was eager to introduce this delectable snack to Bubbly Alicia and Blur Butterfly, hoping that it still tastes as good as I remembered. We were lucky that Bubbly Alicia has a local friend, KH, who promptly brought us to Kuala Kemaman, famous for it's satar..

We reached this particular shop that's supposed to served really wicked satar, but most unfortunately, they have finished selling all their satar..and it's before 6pm! grrrr...:(.

Nonetheless, KH ordered some otak otak and keropok lekor to fill our bellies..Rather than the usual mince fish otak otak we have accustomed to, this otak otak had a small slice of fish, thickly coated with spices, mince shallots, onions, ginger, chillies and wrapped in banana leaves..This is so aromatic and addictive, I find it rather hard to stop..hehe.

Next, was the keropok lekor (malay fish cake/cracker)..

As I've always been a fan of keropok ikan and keropok lekor, I am quite immune to the 'fishy' smell of keropok lekor. Keropok lekor is made from mince fish, mixed with cornstarch/sago and salt, rolled into long tubes. You choose to have this deep fried or steamed (this method is more uncommon). I have tasted both types, and I prefer the deep fried version, eaten hot with the chili sauce..

The sotong goreng celup tepung was ok, Bubbly Alicia thought it tasted funky (?!?). I believe it's the rempah (spices) that was added, have some strong flavour that some may not like..

As the restaurant does not have a signboard, I took a picture instead. Bollywood Queen told me that there is another form of otak otak, called pais, which is served in the same marination as otak otak, but instead of a slice of fish, you get a tiny fish (whole) wrapped in the banana leaves. Wasted I didnt get to try that :(.

Since we didnt manage to eat satar at this shop, we ventured to another stall, also famous for satar..Ahhh, such pleasure it was to see skewers and skewers of satars, the smoky, sweet smell, filling the air.. Unlike otak otak, satar is wrapped to a conifer shape, skewered in the center. The filling is a mixture of mince fish (usually tenggiri), spices, mince onions, garlic, bird's eye/red chillies, ginger and grated coconut. Cooked till the filling is dry and firm, the slightly burnt banana leaves gives a lingering aroma to the satar, which is sweet, fragrant and rich in flavours..and the chili padi gives a kick to such a sweet tasting snack..yummy!! love this :)

What Julianne thinks?

Scrumptios, lip smacking and missing it already

To get to Kuala Kemaman, if you are coming from Kuantan/Cherating, drive towards Kuala Terengganu/Chukai. You will see Kuala Kemaman's sign board (approximately 10 mins after driving pass Club Med) on your right (there's a bus station at the corner). Turn in, you will see the satar stall on your left (first stall, opens frm 2 pm onwards). If you drive further down, at T junction, turn left. Drive for about 5 mins, you'll see the shop (the picture i took, opens frm 2 pm onwards) on your right, that serves satar, otak otak, pais, keropok lekor etc.

Cherating, Chukai and Kemaman

Was off to Cherating for a few days for a much needed break...

It was really relaxing, idling time away at the beach, enjoying the sea breeze...listening to the waves, lapping on beach..the smell of salty sea..Popping over to the Turtle Sanctuary to check out the graceful turtles...and the cute hatchlings (2 days old)..Not forgetting having a cuppa at the famous (or infamous?) Haipeng at Chukai..while savouring the utterly lip smacking satar at Kuala Kemaman,before popping over at night to Paka, to check out the uber cool, futuristic, fire breathing Petronas oil refineries.. ....will be updating my makan(eating) sessions at these places soon!