Yam Rice Dumplings

Ingredients
550g glutinous rice, soaked for 2 to 3 hours and drained

Seasoning (A):
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp oil
30 dried bamboo leaves, soaked till soft
Hemp strings, soaked

Filling
200g yam, diced
50g dried shrimps, coarsely chopped
100g Chinese sausages (optional), cut at a slant
5 dried mushrooms, soaked and quartered
2 tbsp oil

Seasoning (B)
1 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Premium oyster sauce with dried scallops
1/2 tbsp ng heong fun (Chinese five spice powder)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp chicken stock granules

Method
Marinate glutinous rice with seasoning (A) for two hours. Set aside. Heat oil in a wok, fry dried shrimps till fragrant. Add yam and mushrooms. Fry well. Add seasoning (B) to mix. Dish out and add Chinese sausages to mix. Fold bamboo leaves into a cone, add one tablespoon of seasoned rice then one tablespoon of filling. Top up with another tablespoon of glutinous rice. Tie with hemp string in bundles of 10 dumplings. Put into a pressure cooker containing enough boiling water. Cook for 45 to 50 minutes or boil the traditional way as you would for the Vegetarian-Style Nyonya Dumplings.

Thanks to Amy Beh

Vegetarian-Style Nyonya Dumplings

Ingredients
500g glutinous rice, soaked for 2 to 3 hours and drained
3 tbsp split green peas (mung beans), soaked for 1 hour, drained
2 tbsp oil
30 dried bamboo leaves, soaked till soft and cleaned
Hemp strings, soaked

Seasoning (A)
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp oil

Filling (finely ground)
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp galangal
1 tbsp cekur roots

Seasoning (B)
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chicken stock granules
125g candied melon (tung kwa), coarsely chopped
3 tbsp ground peanuts, coarsely chopped
2 dried mushrooms, soaked and finely chopped
2 pandan leaves, cut into 15 pieces of 3cm lengths

Method

Marinate glutinous rice and split green peas with seasoning (A) for 1 to 2 hours. Set aside. Heat oil in a wok and fry ground ingredients till aromatic. Add mushrooms and stir-fry well. Stir in candied melon, peanuts and seasoning (B). Fry and stir until well combined. Dish out and set aside. Fold two bamboo leaves into a cone, put a piece of pandan leaf at the base of the cone, then add one tablespoon of glutinous rice and one tablespoon of filling. Top up with another tablespoon of glutinous rice. Wrap dumpling into a pyramidal shape and secure with hemp string. Fill half a deep pot with water, cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add dumplings and boil for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until cooked. Throughout the boiling process, keep topping up the water in the pot with hot water. Pressure Cooker method: Bring half a pot of water to the boil. Arrange dumplings in layers in the pressure cooker. Pour boiling water into the pressure cooker to cover the dumplings. Cook over a medium heat until the second ring appears. Reduce the heat and cook for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove and hang up the dumplings to remove excess water.

Thanks to Amy Beh

I Love Yoo! @ The Gardens Mall

I Love Yoo!

Lower Ground Floor,
The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra, Kuala Lumpur

This place serve porridge, soya bean and 'yau cha kueh' as their main attraction. Well, you can see lots of people have their lunch there. I went to this place for the first time and is with my girlfriend.

I order Set A - Chicken Porridge + 'Yau Cha Kueh' (RM3.90)

The kitchen which you can see through. The chef is preparing the dough for the 'yau cha kueh' before frying.

Rating: 8 /10

Pengat Pisang Durian

Ingredients
500ml water
50g sago pearls
150g palm sugar, roughly chopped
500ml water
200g pisang raja, peeled and sliced
200g pisang Montel, peeled and sliced
200ml thick coconut milk
200g durian flesh
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Method

Boil the water and add the sago pearls. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring continuously to separate the sago and prevent them from settling at the bottom of the pot. Turn off fire and cover pot. Set aside for 10 minutes. Drain sago, rinse in running water and set aside.Bring the palm sugar and water to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the durian flesh and stir with a wire whisk until sauce is smooth – the durian fibres will get caught in the whisk and you can remove them easily. Add banana, coconut milk and salt. Stir over a medium flame until the mixture comes to a boil. Add cooked sago pearls, stir and remove from heat. Serve warm.

Thanks to Chef Wong Yoke Kei

SBread @ The Gardens, KL

SBREAD

LG232B, Lower Ground Floor,

The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City,

Lingkaran Syed Putra, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2283 2929

Business hours: 10am to 10pm daily.

Website: http://www.sbread.com/

Those looking for a quick and affordable meal could drop by at the sbread outlet in The Gardens, Mid Valley, for a bowl of home-cooked asam laksa

Penang Asam Laksa (RM6.80)Yam Cake (RM4.00)Garlic Sesame BreadWhite bread served with Yam Kaya (RM2.90)Half Boil Egg (RM3.50)

Rating: 8.5 /10

Paella Vongole

Ingredients
300g short grain rice (Akita kom achi) or Jasmine sushi rice
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped ginger
½ an onion, halved and sliced thinly
2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
2–2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
600ml water
125ml white wine
400g clams
1 crab, cleaned and chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Seasoning for the rice:
1 1/2 tsp ikan bilis stock granules
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp Maggi concentrated chicken stock

For extra chicken stock:
800ml water
1 tbsp Maggi concentrated chicken stock

Method
Wash the clams well to get rid of all the mud outside, then soak for at least 1 1/2–2 hours in salted water (500ml water to which a tablespoon of salt has been added). This helps to get rid of any sand in the clams. Drain well in a colander. Heat olive oil in a wok, sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add onion and fry for 4–5 minutes until the onion turns soft. Add the rice and paprika and cook for 1–2 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, water and wine. Add seasoning and stir well to combine. Cook for 10–12 minutes or until rice is just cooked. Put clams, crabs and extra chicken stock in a saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes. Hold the saucepan with the lid tightly covered, shake occasionally until the shells of the clam have opened and the crab is cooked. Drain the clams and crab; sprinkle a little sesame oil and fry briskly over a medium high heat until fragrant. To serve, scoop out a ladleful of paella rice on to individual serving plates and top with enough clams and crab. Serve immediately with a slice of lime wedge.

Dipstick Restaurant @ Bandar Tasik Sri Permaisuri, KL

DIPSTICK RESTAURANT
No. 33, Jalan Dwi Tasik 2,
Bandar Tasik Sri Permaisuri,
56000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 016-491 5464 or 012-445 6696
Business hours: Daily, from 1pm to midnight
Halal.

Roti Special Dipstick with chicken, eggs and vegetable in it.Roti Komtar has an omelette base and a conical roti with ice cream inside.

Rating: /10

Thanks to Choong Mek Zhin

Paddy Frogs in The Pond

Ingredients
3 paddy frogs, about 600g (A):
20g cloud ear fungus (wan yee), soaked and sliced thinly
10 dried lily buds (kam cham), soaked to soften; tie each strand into a knot
10 gingko nuts (pat kor), shelled and blanched
15g young ginger, shredded
2 tbsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau cooking wine
1 big lotus leaf Sauce:
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Pinch of pepper
1/4 tsp sugar or to taste
1 tsp corn flour

Method
Clean the paddy frogs. Cut each into quarters and combine with the rest of the ingredients (A). Stir in sauce ingredients to mix. Marinate for 20 – 30 minutes. Soak lotus leaf in water until soft. Clean the leaf and line the base of a heatproof dish. Place marinated ingredients and sauce on to the lotus leaf. Add cooking wine and fold the leaf to form a packet. Secure with a piece of raffia string. Steam over a moderate heat for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove the parcel and serve up the contents immediately with a sprinkling of red chilli strips and coriander leaves.

Thanks to Amy Beh

Pan Mee @ PJ Old Town

He Pin coffee shop is located near Jalan 51/200. The stall opened daily from 7.30am till 3pm This is a well-known landmark among both the factory workers and white-collar folk in the area. The pan mee was garnished with minced pork, deep-fried anchovies and some spinach. If you love meat, you can ask the lady to add more minced meat, but this will jack up its price to RM6 a pop. The sambal dip that came with the pan mee gave it the extra “kick”.

Rating: 7.5 /10

IZZI @ Jalan Sultan Ismail, KL

Restaurant IZZI
44-2A, 44-3A, 44-4A
Jln. Sultan Ismail,
50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Business Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11.00 am - 12.00 am
Saturday - Sunday: 11.00 am - 1.00 am

For Delivery and Reservation Call:
Delivery No: 1-300-88-5555
Reservation No: 03-2141 5808
Events/Functions No: 03-2141 4111

Nice place to dine in. This is the first time I step into this restaurant where Nick treat us for lunch because his graduation day. I would say the food (spaghetti, salad, pizza) is nice but not the dessert (cakes, strudels). This restaurant situated opposite Lot 10 & McDonalds (City Centre)...

Rating: 5 /10

Black Pomfret with Special Sambal Sauce

Ingredients
1 black pomfret, about 800g
Enough oil for deep-frying

Seasoning
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp fish sauce
A little monosodium glutamate (optional)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp cornflour

Method
Clean fish well and make 2 diagonal cuts on each side of the body. Marinate fish with seasoning (A) for 15-20 minutes. Heat enough oil in the wok and deep-fry fish until golden and crispy. Dish out and place on a serving plate. Add the sambal on the fish and serve with an extra serving of the sambal.

Sambal 5 fresh red chillies 2 red bird’s eye chillies 1 tbsp cincaluk 3 calamansi limes, squeezed for juice 30g toasted belacan 1 tsp fish sauce ½-¾ tsp sugar or to taste.

Process chillies, cincaluk and belacan in an electric food processor. Add the lime juice and blend to the required consistency. Put the sambal into a small bowl and season to taste with fish sauce and sugar.

Thanks to Amy Beh

Pancake House International @ Sunway Piramid

Pancake House International

LG 126 Sunway Pyramid,

Jalan PJS 11/15, Bandar Sunway,

Selangor.

Tel: 03-7491 0785

Open 10am – 10pm

HALAL

On Merdeka Day (31st August 2008), we (Jeff, Jeane, Si Jie & I) went to Sunway Piramid for a movie (Money No Enough 2). Before we went into the cinema, we head to this Pancake House for our dinner. We ordered spaghetti, pancake, sandwich and set (fried chicken, spaghetti, bread & sandwich). I would say Pancake House is famous for pancake only. The spaghetti is not up to expectation (tasteless). The fried chicken was good as well as the sandwich and pancake.

Rating: 5 /10

Steamed Herbal Duck with Chestnuts

Ingredients 500g duck, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp corn oil
1 tsp sesame oil
150g dried chestnuts, soaked overnight
A piece of glass paper
A piece of aluminium foil


Herbs
6g tong sum
20g yok chok
5g hairs of ginseng roots (yong sum soe)
2 slices kam choe
2 slices tong kwai
1 tbsp kei chi
3 pieces chuen koong
3 red dates
6g dried longan


Seasoning
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp oyster sauce
¼ tsp thick soy sauce
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp sugar
1 tsp chicken stock granules
½ cup water


Thickener
1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp water


Method
Marinate duck with 2 tablespoons light soy sauce and 1 tablespoon thick soy sauce. Pre-fry the duck and soaked chestnuts for a while. Dish out and rinse under running water (to remove the excess oil).

Heat oil and sesame oil in wok. Add the herbs and stir-fry well. Mix in duck, chestnuts and seasoning. Dish out the contents onto a piece of glass paper. Thicken the gravy with the cornflour mixture and pour over the duck. Tie up and wrap in aluminium foil into a packet. Pressure cook for 40 minutes.

Remove the package and transfer to a serving dish. Serve immediately.


Thanks to Amy Beh

The Xun Empress @ The Gardens

Last year Mooncake Festival, I being wake up by Nick & Steven about 1:20pm. They come over fetch me out for lunch, movie & dinner. We went to Midvalley for lunch at The Xun Empress @ The Gardens & we watch Death Race at 5:15pm. This is the first time I went to The Xun Empress for a meal.

I ordered Lotus Leaf Rice & Herbal Tea. Nick ordered XO Fried Rice, Crysanthemum Drink & Herbal Egg. Steven ordered Seafood Porridge & Crysanthemum.

It is delicious!!! After the lunch, we went to Kong Woh Tong to eat Guai Leng Koh. That time only 3:00pm. We still got 2 hours before the show starts. So went to Brewball for 1 hour pool. It cost us RM 15 per hour. After 1 hour we decided go for bowling but unfortunately it is full. So we went to the arcade for a game (Time Crisis 2, Dancing & Whack Till You Siao). After this, we went to sport shops at level 3 before go into the cinema. Nice movie.....We went to Beans @ SS15, Subang for dinner. End of Mooncake Festival Day.

Rating: 7.5 /10

Stir-fried Glass Noodles with Chicken Shreds

Ingredients 50g chicken fillet, shredded
55g small prawns, shelled and diced
Cooking oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 dried mushrooms, soaked and shredded
50g shredded carrot
2 stalks spring onions, cut into sections
55g glass noodles, soaked and drained
2 tbsp sesame oil


Seasoning
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp abalone sauce
1 tbsp water
½ tsp chicken stock granules


Method
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok, add chicken, prawns and mushrooms. Stir-fry well and push aside. Add beaten eggs and scramble until set. Add carrot, glass noodles and seasoning and toss until well mixed. Add spring onions and give a quick stir. Sprinkle with sesame oil for added flavour. Dish out and serve immediately.


Thanks to Amy Beh

Overseas Restaurant @ Jalan Imbi, KL

Overseas Restaurant
84 – 88 , Jalan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur
Tel No: 03 – 2148 7567
Business hours: Lunch: 11:30am – 2:30pm; Dinner: 5:30pm – 10:30pm

The location map is available here

This is the first time I walked into this branch & this is also the most sumptuous meal I ever had. Well, my whole family went to this restaurant but before that we already ordered the dishes through phone call. All of us include 10 adults & 4 children. Grandpa, grandma, 2nd uncle & son, 3rd uncle, aunty, 2 sons & 1 daughter, Sean (cousin), dad, mom sis & myself. What a big family!!!
We started with a dish known as Buddha Jump Over The Wall, really a delicious & nourishing food. When it comes, they will divide the ingredient into a small bowl for each one of us & it was served in three serving with different ingredient.

First serving is the Shark Fin & Scallop with the soup.
Second serving is the mushroom, fish maw, black chicken, Jinhua ham & sea cucumber with soup.
Last serving is the abalone where we ask them to recook the abalone in another style.
After that dish, everyone of us looks full. We wait for the next dish which is the suckling pig and barbecue pork (famous).
The dish continue with a Deep Fried 'Kam Fung' with Dried Prawn, Onion & Sour Sauce.
The last dish is 'Ham Yu Fa Lam Po' which contains Pork stir-fried with Salted Fish in black soy sauce & served in Claypot.

What a sumptuous dinner ever had. Thanks 3rd Uncle for the dinner.

Rating: 9 /10

Tangy Lemon Tart

Ingredients
Rich Shortcrust Pastry
40g icing sugar
225g cold butter, diced
1 egg yolk Sifted
300g plain flour
1 tbsp milk powder

Filling
50g castor sugar
60ml lemon juice
45g UHT whipping cream
1 tbsp grated lemon rind
3 eggs

Method
Beat butter, icing sugar and egg yolk until creamy and smooth. Add in sifted flour and milk powder. Mix until well blended into a dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out pastry dough between two sheets of plastic to fit the base and sides of a 19–20cm fluted tart tin. Remove scraps of pastry from the edge. Press the sides of the pastry to make it even and prick the base with a fork (this is to ensure that the base is flat after baking). Bake pastry blind in a preheated oven at 180°C for 5–10 minutes. To make the filling, whisk together lemon juice, sugar, cream and lemon rind. Beat in eggs one at a time until well combined. Pour the filling into the pastry case and bake at 180°C for 20–25 minutes or until set. Remove tart onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve the tart immediately. (Chef’s note: If you wish to do so, you can make the tarts in small 8–9cm fluted tart tins.)

Thanks to Amy Beh

Thai Thai @ Sunway Piramid

Here I come Thai Thai @ Sunway Piramid. As far as I concerned where this restaurant open lately. At first, we never thought of going into this restaurant but luckily there is a kind person treated us (Si Jie, Si Jie mom & me) for a dinner who is Si Jie mom. But actually, Si Jie mom want to eat some Thai food & this restaurant came into Si Jie mind. I just sit down & they ordered the food. This is the best part where I do not need to think of what to eat. They ordered...

Fried Fish Cake

Tom Yam Prawn ~ nice but it is too spicy to drink. However, we drink the soup although it is too spicy. It is nice to go with rice

Green Curry Chicken ~ The Green Curry Chicken is so tasty where the coconut milk is just nice,

Fried Baby Kai Lan with Salted Fish ~ The Fried Baby Kai Lan with Salted Fish is delicious where the taste of the Salted Fish inexpressible

Fried To Fu ~ The last dish is Fried To Fu ~ Erm...this doesn't suits my taste...I would say ok only

Ice Blended Coconut

Ice Coffee

Mango Rice ~ The Mango Rice is good where the Pulut Rice goes with Santan (Coconut Milk) & the sweet Mango. Delicious !!!

Rating: 8.5 /10