Hon Kee Porridge, Damansara Utama

Been ages since I met Jo, and when we decided to meet for a meal, light dinner in PJ sounds doable, and Hon Kee seemed like good place for this.
We ordered the sliced fish porridge and pork ribs&oysters porridge to share..

The porridge was served piping hot, especially for the fish slices- we opt to let it 'cook' in the porridge rather than having it sashimi style..

Hon Kee's version of porridge is the smooth, non grainy type. Hong Kong style congee. Though it was rather velvety, I cant but help to notice some starchiness after a few mouthfuls. Maybe they added some constarch to thicken this porridge? The fish was fresh and blends in well with the porridge.

The pork ribs and oysters on the other hand came heaped with ingredients..

I was rather surprised to see 5-6 big chunks of ribs/ meat and a couple of oysters. The porridge tasted rather plain, which I presume the ingredients were cooked separately and added into the porridge before serving. Though the pork ribs were boiled until it's meltingly tender, the flavour and sweetness of the meat was retained.
Some compulsory yau zhar guai for my porridge..

If it was crunchy, would have enhanced my porridge experience. Nonetheless, soaking the YZG into the porridge is still a lovely treat that can easily please me.

Maybe QC is harder to maintain at branches? Felt that the original branch fared way better.

Hon Kee is located at No 71, Jalan SS21/1A, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya.

Dragon Gate Seafood Restaurant

 Last Friday, our department held our "bonding" activity at Dragon Gate Seafood Restaurant along Roxas Blvd and here are some of the main dishes we devoured...

GARLIC PORK SPARE RIBS

pangkaraniwan lang ang lasa para sa akin. medyo matigas pa kaya di ko masyado nagustuhan ....

SESAME CHICKEN

chicken strips deep fried with sesame seeds

nothing to crave about this. tuyo at matigas din. nasobrahan siguro sa prito ....

SWEET AND SOUR FISH FILLET

This one I liked. Masarap. Malambot yung fish fillet at tamang tama lang ang timpla ng sweet and sour sauce.

HOT SHRIMP SALAD

A hot creamy shrimp salad with fruits.

  Masarap kasi sariwa at juicy yung shrimp.

Yang chow fried rice kanin namin, assorted canned softdrink for drinks and assorted fresh fruits for dessert.

We had a room rented for our Department. Halos 20 persons din kami and libre na ang gamit ng videoke. Masaya, magulo at busog kami. I hope we could do this more often as a group para naman di puro trabaho pinag uusapan namin. We're lucky to have a company that is generous enough to allow us to go out and enjoy once in a while para ma relax at makalimot sa problema sa trabaho kahit sandali, hehe.

Marianna's New Hair Cut

Short na ang hair ni Marianna ngayon. From Dora hairstyle naging Diego na ang kanyang hairstyle, hehe. Napakainit kasi at kamot sya ng kamot. Yung batok, likod, pati loob ng tenga may sugat kakakamot nya. Pag nababasa kasi yung buhok ng pawis, nagagati at di na mapigilan sa pag kamot ang anak ko. Ayaw din nya mag paipit. Kaya ayan, I decided na pagupitan na sya. Grabe naman para kaming ginulpi ng tita ko bago sya natapos gupitan. Nagwawala. Buhat buhat namin sya at nag pupumiglas at umiiyak habang ginugupitan. Sabi ko nga sa bakla wag lang pasyarin sa batok e. Kaso mo di nga mapakali ang anak ko kaya ganyan kaikli ang nangyari. Nagkalat nga kami ng buhok nya sa buong parlor, hehe. Pero ngayon, na sinabihan ako ng ninang nya na kukunin syang flower girl early next year ... papahabain ko na ulit hair nya. Sana di na sya masyadong maligalig by that time, hehe. Ang anak ko, lalong naging kamukha ng daddy nya. Mini-me at Jr ang dating. Lalo tuloy ako na in love sa mag ama ko, hay .... Speaking of Daddy, by August nandito na ang mahal kong asawa. Excited na kami ni Marianna to spend family time with him again after nearly 8 mos :-)

Nangarag Ako!

Hay ... Im almost more than a month behind my posts !!!! Nagarag ako. Yun yun. Ang daming work sa office at kinailangan ko mag hanap ng yaya ni Marianna ng madalian kaya na stress ako at nagarag. Ngayon na may yaya na si Marianna, Im hoping to catch up with my posts and scraps :-)

MOMMY PAGES

As I was about to finish cleaning the aircon screen in our garage this morning, when i heard a loud knock on the door. Upon opening, an LBC person handed me my MOMMY PAGES.

I did request a copy of this through email about a month ago. I read about this on the May 2010 issue of Smart Parenting. Its a very useful directory for mommies which provides as a reference guide to places, numbers and all things parent related. From shopping stores, play centers, theme parks, childbirth & lamaze classes, and even cord blood bank services and best of all, its FREE!!! Ms. Janice Villanueva, together with Sen Pia Cayetano, founded Mommy Pages, this is indeed a must have for moms like me. Thank you so much.

If you would like a your own copy of Mommy Pages, just email them at copyrequest@mommypages.com.ph

Travelling to Heaven in the OBX

To get to A Perfect Escape, required planning, shopping packing, and of course, driving. Since we were staying for two weeks at the beach, and since for part of that time we were having lots of people and some with special dietary likes and dislikes, we did a lot of planning for meals. We wanted to have good food,but not include things that took a great deal of preparation, after all, it is a vacation! We decided to take two cars to avoid using our luggage carrier, packed up (always an ordeal), gassed up and hit the road.

We left really early to try to get ahead of traffic- a strategy that has served us well. Since check-in time is usually 4 o'clock, the later you wait in the day the longer your wait to get to your destination, and we couldn't wait to start our stay. If you are headed to a destination like the Outer Banks, even if you can't check in, it is best to be there before noon. You can always kill time at shops, and many rental companies will allow you to park your car at the home and go to the beach even before check in. Or follow our lead and negotiate an early check-in to beat the rush.

Between our house and the OBX are two required stops, both related to food. The first is a store my husband calls the world's best store - The Border Station- a combination restaurant-convenience store-souvenir shop that straddles the state line between Virginia and North Carolina. For years we thought he was exaggerating and we would sit in the car, until once, seeking a restroom the girls and I went inside, and what a surprise! They had a little restaurant making fresh foods all day long, beach and North Carolina goods including some made locally made goods. And this is where we found the "world's greatest fries". You know those fries you had as a kid- crispy on the outside and tender on the inside? These are the Border Station's fries- a real trip down memory lane. You can see on the left, Bridget preparing to enter Nirvana, and to the right the reason for our excitement (and weight gain!) If you get a chance try these fries, and from the looks of the lines they make an awesome homestyle breakfast as well!

Our second food-related stop was a bit healthier. One of my favorite parts of the trip to Corolla is passing the many fruit and vegetable stands that crop up during prime season.

There are several some small and some larger, advertising watermelons, peaches and corn all along the way, but our favorite is the Morris Farm Market is a huge market with all manner of produce, freshly made bread and baked goods, fruit ciders, and condiments. Morris is very busy on the weekends, with travelers stocking up for their beach stay and those coming back trying to take the tastes o the beach with them. Since they also have the cleanest restrooms, they are a popular stop, but well worth braving the crowds.

The best way to cap a great road trip was getting to a fabulous destination. We arrived at our Perfect Escape, and settled in, unpacking and getting organized for the week and then explored the beach to get started on a vacation to remember!!!

Curry Noodles, Segambut

Jane told me that there's a very popular curry noodles in Taman Sri Sinar and one unexpectedly visit to a friend staying nearby led us to this place.

The shop just opened for dinner- it does dinner only and I was rather surprised that at 5 plus in the afternoon and there were patrons already. Yes, we were passing by and it's way too early for dinner, but since this was recommended, I might as well try it :p

Ordering was easy, I had the curry noodles though there were other noodles available too (such as clear soup and prawn noodles)

The piping hot bowl of noodles was served in a matter of minutes..

Their curry noodles was served in a thin curry soup and topped with a few spoons of thick curry 'sauce'. Stir in a generous amount of sambal and the curry noodles was very addictive. The bowl was laden with bean curd puffs, fish cakes, bloodied cockles, fishballs and beansprouts. The ingredients were very fresh and complemented the curry soup well.

Honestly, I thought I wont enjoy the curry noodles; it was such a hot day, the ventilation in the shop was not that good and it was stuffy sitting in there. And the idea of slurping down spicy, hot curry noodles dont really add to a happy eating experience. Although this curry noodles was not mind blowingly good, it somehow was able to satiate and please us.

There's no sign board to this shop, this is how it looks like..

The best landmark I could find was this Wisma located just a few shops away..

Curry noodles shop is located at Jalan 20/38A, Taman Sri Sinar, Segambut, KL.

All About: Smoked Seafood

Smoked fish is somewhat of an exotic treat nowadays - which is a 180 degree turnaround from what life was like for our cave-dwelling ancestors! Before we learn to harness the power of moving electrons to circulate chemically-cooled air in a refrigerator, we simply smoked our'seafood order', straight after we caught it from the ocean. Today we check out some basics about smoked fish, and perhaps get your tastebuds tingling a little …

An introduction to smoking methods

No, we aren’t encouraging you to do anything that might increase your risk of lung cancer… only your risk of becoming addicted to a new favorite dinner! Everybody has their own special and preferred smoking method, but most adhere to some common principles:

• The fish is treated with salt - either a concentrated brine or a surface coating of dry salt. In the salting process (which will take only a few minutes for smaller fish, but many hours for big fish), the salt draws most of the moisture out of the fish and in turns a little salt leaches in.
• The salt's antibacterial properties, added to the fact that there is less moisture for bacteria to survive in, make the smoked fish safer to eat without refrigeration.
• A second cure is done, both to draw more moisture out and to add different flavors. Sugar, spices, herbs, rum and whiskey are all popular curing agents
• The fish is hung to air dry in a cool breezy spot (which is as likely today to be inside as outside).
• It is taken down after a tacky coating known as a pellicle has formed - the coating helps seal in moisture, prevent fast rising to the surface and spoiling, and also helps the smoke flavor adhere to the fish
• The fish is either hot smoked (where it is also cooked) or cold-smoked (like lox)

Best fish for smoking

Usually big deepwater fish are the ones that are smoked. The following are all popular:

• Salmon
• Tuna
• Trout
• Sablefish
• Sturgeon
• Bluefish

Should I smoke my own fish or buy pre-smoked fish?

The advantages and disadvantages of buying pre-smoked fish are much the same as buying anything in ready-made form. You'll need to consider that:

• Readymade is much faster and easier
• It also means that you don't waste time and fish in 'learning' the smoking process
• But it is less personalizable
• And sometimes pre-smoked fish costs a little more

A More Perfect "Perfect Escape"- Part 1

Family vacation. Those two words can strike fear in the hearts of many, but in the Dowd household, it is something we look forward to and plan for all year long. For many years before I began working at Jefferson Lab I never had paid vacation and when my children were young,when there was time there was no money, and when there was money there was no time. So now, vacation is an almost sacred time for our family. And while we love the mountains, vacation for us means the beach at the Outer Banks. This year was particularly special since,for the first time, we were taking 2 weeks !!! We were saving, and planning and comparing and negotiating from January to find a house that would provide a view of the ocean,and a pool,and were thrilled when we found out that the house we had rented last year in the Whalehead section of Corolla, A Perfect Escape, was available. We enjoyed the house so much last year we had reserved it for 2010 and were disappointed when we were told that it would no longer be part of the rental program. After three trips to scout other homes in the Outer Banks, we found out that it was again available through Sun Realty, and we jumped at the chance to stay there again. The house is situated just steps from the beach, has great views and plenty of room, and a great pool and hot tub- a perfect get-away whether you love walking the beach, swimming laps, or just soaking up the sun on the beach.

Planning is an important part of a successful vacation and for us that means making arrangements for our two dogs, making lists of what we want to take and planning menus. I ordered special shirts from Queensboro with the Dowd Beach Week logo. We actually started our countdown at about 145 days out, with Molly writing the number of days to the beach each day on the chalkboard in our kitchen. Since we knew we would have a large crowd the first week with extended family, we needed to plan meals that would be easy enough that I would still have a vacation, but still fun and festive and taking full advantage of the the local produce and seafood. Our meals had to appeal to a variety of eaters, some adventurous, some meat and potatoes, some gourmet. We had decided to carry some meats, cheeses and condiments that we thought we would have trouble getting or that might be more expensive in the Outer Banks. We carried our panini maker, which was a great hit last year, our own coffee grinder, and a couple of our own good knives since even the best rentals often have knives that are past their prime. I printed out new recipes I wanted to try, and carried along a couple of tablespoons each of baking soda and powder in case I decided to bake. We decided to take two cars in order to carry everything we needed, and packed the cars the night before. as a real treat,since we were going to be leaving on Memorial Day weekend and our rental was not occupied the week before, we were able to negotiate a price on an extra day to arrive on Friday instead of Saturday so that we could get settled and unpacked before the rest of the crew arrived.

Two weeks is a lot of time and a lot of family, fun and food I want to share, so this is the first of several posts that will take you through our perfect escape.

Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles, Taman Danau Desa

Gary and Candy has been, for the longest time, trying to get me to try the fish head noodles at Woo Pin. Somehow, I was very busy for many, many weekends...and finally the sun, stars and moon aligned and wahlah, here I am at Woo Pin :p

It was saturday brunch time and Woo Pin was packed, packed, packed! The number of people waiting for tables was rather intimidating, but surprisingly, we got our tables quite quickly. But since it was so crowded, we had to wait a while for our hot bowls of goodness..

And 30 mins later, here's my fish head noodles..

When it comes to fish head noodles, what the pull factor for you? The soup, the fish or the type of noodles used? For me, it's the soup, and I definitely feel that this was Woo Pin's selling point. There's subtle differences to fish head noodles soup; some are skewed towards sourness, some strong with wine and others, extremely milky. Woo Pin's version was milky- no wonder the kids were slurping down the soup like there's no tomorrow. The milkiness was very aromatic, the distinct flavour of milk gave a lingering fragrance in the mouth. The noodles were served with 4 large chunks of fish(head) meat which Candy said was much less as they used to served about 6 pieces of fish meat.

We shared a bowl of yut wat with spinach..

Quite nice but rather fishy. Mask it with the ultra yummy chilli sauce if you cant stand the fishiness. The yut wat (fish paste) was compact and full of fish flavour, gives a good bite.

Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles is located at A37, Plaza Danau 2, Jalan 109F, Taman Danau Desa, 58100 KL. This is how it looks like, dont be confused with all the sign boards, Woo Pin's signboard is the green banner. Available from 730am- 10 pm. Closed on Mondays.

International Cuisine, Shanghai, Part 1

Shanghai, being one of the regional hubs for Asia, has it's fair share of tempting international cuisine and Alfred (our host) recommended some of his favourites to us...

Japanese: Kagen teppanyaki

I believe Kagen played a Big part in contributing to Alfred's 10kg in weight gain since he came to Shanghai to work :p. This was our first dinner in Shanghai, which was unexpected- I was thinking of Chinese food throughout my stay there..

Kagen is tucked in a quiet, chic area of Shanghai, reminiscence of Bangsar. What's their specialty? Teppanyaki buffet.

We were ushered to a room, seats about 10 customers per room, facing the teppanyaki table. Just get the menu and order away. Only one item were limited to one plate per table- the sashimi- other than that, we were given free reign to order anything under the teppanyaki menu..

Some starters..The sashimi was very fresh. Shishamo was pickled, so it was sourish and sweet, a first for me to try such a method of cooking for shishamo, but lovely nonetheless. The unagi on cucumber was nice and the deep fried baby octopus tentacles was delicious.

For RM110, I must say that this buffet was good value for money..

We had multiple orders of plump scallops, juicy jumbo tiger prawns and sirloins..Cooked to perfection, each item was oozing with juices. Absolutely lurved the scallops and prawns. Simply divine.

The teppanyaki chicken came unexpected scrumptious, crisp skin and tender, luscious meat. The Saba fish was delish as it was browned just to my liking :). The beef wrap was wonderful too, we had it with enoki wrapped or foie gras. And some tricks to entertain the guest, the teppanyaki master asked us to sit back and suddenly the stacked onions on the teppanyaki table were set on fire in our darkened room. Huge ball of fire rose up to the ceiling. Such drama..

End the meal with endless cups of cold and hot sake..Bliss :)

Modern European: M on the Bund
Reading mixed reviews of M on the Bund, I was on the fence on this one. Finally did pop by in the end, we were at the Bund anyways, so heck, might as well have a meal here. We were there for lunch and well, menu was not so extensive, we only had the choice of a healthy, light lunch set or a full, heavy lunch set. As we had a heavy breakfast, all of us decided to have the light lunch..

Started off with a pretty glass of carrot, lemon and parsley juice..

Refreshing and good way to whet our appetite..

Freshly baked bread with creamy butter.

For starters, there's a choice of chicken broth with fresh herbs or a salad of roasted eggplants and tomatoes flavoured with cumin and coriander finished with yogurt. Both had very contrasting flavours- the former was mild and gentle on the palate, very much flavoured liken to chinese chicken soup while the latter was robust and strong and woke up my tastebuds immediately :p. I preferred the latter.
Mains was a choice of :

1) Char grilled baby squid with pilaf of brown rice, marjoram and tomato with lemon wedges..Slightly too charred, the burnt flavour fell into the rice, there were hints of bitterness in some bites. The warm, slight gooey rice was a welcoming sight on a cold winter day. Quite a nice main, but not to shout about.

2) Kuku Ye Sabri- or to simply put it, an iranian herb frittata..Looks pretty, but lacking in flavours. Though it was described to be filled with feta cheese and olives, it just tasted rather bland.

We finished our meal with an extremely moist carrot cake..Good portion to end the meal with a sweet note.

Our lunch costs us approx RM50 per pax- I guess it's real good value for money for the service and the breathtaking view that we got from M of the Huangpu River and Pudong (new shanghai). Food wise, it's just ok.

Kagen Teppanyaki: 28D, Taojiang Lu, Near Heng Shan lu, Shanghai, China.

M on the Bund: 7F, No 5, The Bund (corner of Guangdong Lu), Shanghai, China.

Cooking Guide for Perfect Crab Legs

There's nothing better than in-season crab legs … especially when they're the big, meaty king crab kind! Fresh frozen king crab legs are delicious, and you can do so much more with them than cooked frozen legs which have to be handled delicately so they don't become tough and chewy. If you've snagged some delicious fresh frozen king crab legs, here are some tips for cooking them!

Quantities

If you’re buying your crab legs (or any other fresh fish in your seafood order), you'll need around 8 ounces for an entrée-sized serving, and up to a pound for full adult-sized servings.

Defrosting tips

Don't defrost your king crab legs in the microwave - microwaves often have 'hot and cold spots' that mean you'll end up with little cooked, chewy bits on your crab legs. Defrost them in the refrigerator for 8 hours. If you take them out of the freezer before you go to work, they'll certainly be ready in time to cook when you get home.

Cooking styles for king crab legs

Cooking seafood can be tricky at the best of times! Here's how to ensure your king crab legs are delicious by whatever cooking method you favour:

• To steam crab legs: Bring a pan of water to the boil with some salt in it; pop your crab legs in and set a timer. If your crab legs are fresh frozen, allow them to steam for 12-15 minutes, or until they are warmed through and starting to become aromatic.
• To boil crab legs: Bring your water to a boil first, then drop the crab legs in. Don't leave the water boiling - let them simmer for around 15 minutes, depending on the size of the legs.
• To bake crab legs: Crack the crab legs and brush them with a mixture of butter, lemon juice and a seasoning of your choice, then bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes.
• To microwave crab legs: Note - this is only recommended if you have purchased pre-cooked frozen crab legs. Fresh legs can cook unevenly, as we mentioned earlier.

Jaya One Foodcrawl, Part 1

An invite from Ramesh led me to join a large group of bloggers for a food crawl at Jaya One recently. Been ages since I joined a food crawl with bloggers, so why not eh? Met a number of new faces (not all were food bloggers) and a big bunch of food bloggers.

We all congregated at Brisik to begin our crawl..Starters at Brisik consist of satay serai and satagor. The satay serai was very much like satay lilit; Brisik's version was moist and good with the sauce. The satagor, which looks like begedil, was actually a mash of bean curd, potato, mince chicken and veg deep fried. Satagor is a blander and softer version of begedil, which you'll either like or dislike. I find it ok, but would have given my vote for good old begedil.

Kerabu Mangga added some zing to the mild flavoured starters..

The chilli padi was fiery and complemented the sour mango well. The shredded mango was slightly soft, the extra crunch in the kerabu would have been better. Taste wise, it was very appetizing.

We adjourned next to Bar Madrid for some tapas..

It was highly strung compared to Brisik, maybe having so many bloggers visiting the establishment on the same night added the tension. Anyways, we got to try some tapas prepared for us..

The tortilla espanalo was served first..

This was a more lavish version of the spanish omelette, this was filled with ham, cheese and a scattering of herbs. A compact version of an omelette, it was quite nice.

The Jamon Serrano Croquetas was a bane for some of us..

Jess and Mike, whom I had the pleasure to share table with, had a strong dislike for cheese. And this croquette (fried potato balls) was filled to the brim with creamy, cheesy, bechamel like sauce and chopped serrano ham. It had a rather strong porky flavour, which might put some diners off. Else, it's actually a rather yummy treat.

Iberico Confitado was served last..

The Iberico pork was slow cooked till tender and served on baguette. This tapas tasted rather asian, the flavour tasted almost like the pork filling for seremban siew pau :p. Delicious nonetheless, a mouthful of goodness that I enjoyed.

After the starters, we moved on to Divino for some wine..

Dawn was there to greet us almost immediately- we were slightly late and guess she was expecting us. We were brought around the restaurant and also to the adjoining Pristine Wine Shoppe which carries an extensive selection of wines from both Old and New Worlds.
For our night, Dawn had selected 4 wines from New World..

Frm L-R: June Shiraz, Ken Forrester Petit Pinotage, Black Cottage Pinot Noir and Lobster Reef Malborough Sauvignon Blanc

Lobster Reef Malborough Sauvignon Blance 2009: The only white wine for the night, the wine was light in flavour as its a young wine. Easy to drink and would be good with seafood.

Black Cottage Pinot Noir 2008: Slightly spicy, this wine was quite easy on the palate too. This wine is recommended with red meats and pasta.

Ken Forrester Petit Pinotage 2008: I find this rich with strong tannins. Think will suit heavier flavoured food.

Juno Cape Maidens Shiraz 2007: Another spicy based wine, this Shiraz carries hints of nutty flavour too. A deep flavoured wine, this goes well with more intense flavoured dishes (red meats).

Brisik

10-1, Palm Square Jaya One, No 72-A, Jalan Universiti, 46200 PJ.

Bar Madrid

12A-G, Palm Square, Jaya One.

Divino Restaurant

6-1, Palm Square, Jaya One.