Curry Pie - Support Curry Cooking Day for Singaporean Indian Family

I just cannot imagine that anyone would complain about the wonderful curry smell. A Chinese immigrant in Singapore reported to the Community Mediation Centre (CMC) about their Indian neighbour curry smell (link, Yahoo News). After reviewing the case, CMC requested the Indian family to cook curry only when the Chinese immigrant family is not at home. Well, I think this complain and decision by CMC is shear nonsense! Curry is part of our culture and many people loves this dish very much. I guess it is more of an attitude problem of that Chinese immigrant family rather than curry smell problem!

Therefore, I decided to cook this Curry Chicken Pie in support of the Indian family.

Ingredients 1 - Fillings
Chicken Meat, 300 gms, cut into small pieces
Potato, 1 large, cut into small cubes (use US Russet potato which would softhen easily)
Curry powder, 2 tablespoons
Onions, 1 pc, cut into small pieces
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Ingredients 2 - Pie Pastry (please refer to my previous Apple Pie Recipe)

Heat up wok and put in a little oil. Saute onions until fragrant and put in the potatoes. Cook until the potato turn a little soft. Add curry powder and chicken meat. Keep on stiring the mixture. Add a little water and boil until the potato is soft.  Put in the salt and sugar.
Pour the curry chicken with potato fillings into the pie pastry. Cover up the top part with the rest of the pastry. Bake in oven at 200 Dec C for 20 minutes.

I wonder if this Chinese immigrant family can 'tahan' (stand) the smells of my Durian Pie? ha ha ha!

A 'Whole' Bunch of Fresh Shallots

   I bought this whole 'bunch' of shallots (scallions, Allium cepa var. aggregatum) from a Malay vendor at the Kepong Baru Wet Market. This is the first time I came across shallots being sold with the leaves (aka spring onions) still intact. However the leaves are already dried up.

Anyway, these shallots are very fresh. You can see the shinny, clean and brightly coloured skins in the first photo, unlike those that are sold loose (without the dried stalks).

Ok, gotta go.....now can cook  fried bihun (rice vermicelli) with crispy fried shallots as garnish! Yum Yum!

Stir Fried Pandan Chicken Meat Recipe

Pandan chicken is a must order dish whenever we are at Thai restaurants. In the original Thai version, the chicken are wrapped with pandan leaves (screwpine) and then deep fried in oil. However, when I am cooking for three hungry kids, I don't the luxury and time to wrap each individual chicken with the pandan leaves.

In order to save some time I also marinated the chicken before putting them in the frezzer. It will taste better too because the ingredients would be absorbed throughly into the chicken meat.

Here is my shortcut Stir Fried Pandan Chicken Recipe....

Ingredients
Chicken meat, 400 gms
Pandan leaves, 3 pcs, cut into 1" length
Light soya sauce, 2 table spoons
Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon
Cumin, 1/2 teaspoon
Chili powder, optional, 1 teaspoon
Lime (limau nipis) juice, from 3 limes
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Corn flour, 1 tablespoon
Onions, 1 pc, cut into four

Marinate chicken with light soya, turmeric powder, cumin, salt, sugar, lime juice, chilly powder and cornflour. It is best if they are marinated overnight. Heat up wok and put in some oil. Saute pandan leaves and onions until fragrant. Add in the chicken and fry until they are well cooked. Put in a little water if the dish is too dry.
Best eaten with Nasi Lemak (coconut milk rice).

Simple and Easy Szechuan Preserved Vegetable Soup with Prawns & Chicken Recipe

I seldom cook this type of thick Szechuan soup but would normally boil the Szechuan vegetable plain with chicken bones. My family members prefer clear thin soup instead of thick ones to go with their rice. Anyway, I tried cooking this soup with starch as thickener last week, just like the ones served in many Chinese restaurants.
I like this Szechuan soup with some chilly oil floating on top it. Salty, sour and spicy.....is the soup for me! LOL!

Ingredients
Szechuan Preserved Vegetable, 1 medium size, cut into thin strips
Prawns, 200 gms, shelled and cut into small pieces
Chicken meat, 100 gms, cut into small strips
Chicken carcass, 1 pc to make chicken stock (boil in 8 bowls of water)
Onions, 1 pc, cut into slices
Chili oil, 1 tablespoon (fry some chilly powder in hot oil until fragrant)
Chinese Cooking wine (shao shing chiew), 1 tablespoon
Corn flour with water mixture to thicken soup
Pepper, to taste
Vinegar, 1 tablespoon

Add szechuan vegetable into chicken stock and bring to a boil. Put in the onions, chicken meat and prawns. Boil for a short while. Add shao shing chiew, vinegar and pepper. Pour the corn flour and water mixture into the soup to thicken it. Pour the chili oil into the soup. Garnish with parsley before serving.

Note : I didn't add salt because Szechuan Preserved Vegetable is already very salty.

Quickie Nyonya Style Sambal Prawn with Cucumber - A Recipe for Buka Puasa

I tried cooking sambal (chili with fermented shrimp paste) without blending or pounding the ingredients to save some time. I just cut the main ingredients like onions, galangal(lengkuas) and lemongrass (serai). The sambal udang (prawn) with cucumber dish turned out quite well when cooked this way although I did not use buah keras (candle nut). So, I am sharing this simple quickie recipe with my Muslim  friends who are fasting (puasa) during the Ramadhan month.

Ingredients

Prawns, 300 gms, remove shell

Cucumber, 1 pc, remove seeds & cut into bite size (I used Japanese cucumber which is crunchier)

Chili powder, 2 tablespoons (less if you do not want it to be spicy)

Galangal, 1"x1"x1", cut into thick slices

Onion, 1 large, cut small

Serai (lemongrass),  2 stalks, smashed

Belachan (fermented shrimp paste), 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Sugar to taste
Dried Prawns, 1 tablespoon, fried until crispy

Tamarind juice from, 1 tablespoon of tamarind

Heat up wok and put in some vegetable oil. Saute onions, serai and galangal until fragrant. Put in the chilly powder and belachan. Add tamarind juice, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil and add in the prawns. Fry for a short while or until the prawns are cooked. Add cucumber and crispy dried prawns. Serve while still hot. Best eaten with Nasi Lemak.

Selamat Berbuka Puasa!

Stamped on The Toilet Door - Private Sex Massage, AMOI SIAP MAIN (Lady Ready to Play)

I saw this 'advertisement' with Hand phone contact number stamped on the Gents toilet door in a shopping complex. As in the photo above, it says 'Private Sex Massage', Amoi (girls) Siap (ready to) Main (play).
Play what? Play 'bakuli' (marbles) meh? lol

Anyone knows how to translate the Mandarin character correctly?

Well, some enterprising pimps must have been using the toilet door in this shopping complex to advertise their 'services'!

Are there any similar advertisement in the ladies toilet? If there are, I wonder how they would read?

'APEK SIAP MAIN'? (Old Man ready to play?), ha ha ha !

Burdock Root Soup with Chinese Herbs (Ngau Pong, Gobo, U-Eong, Niupangzi)

Young Burdock Roots can grow to about 1 metre in length and are widely used in Asian countries as food. This wonderful root contain potassium, amino acid and calcium. It is also believed that Burdock roots can increase lactation. However, it is not suitable for pregnant woman because it can cause premature uterus contraction.
Burdock root soup is good for detoxifying our body. It has a little earth taste and goes along well with pork ribs in soup. I do not have pork ribs in stock, so I just used some chicken bones instead.
This is a simple Burdock root soup recipe.

Ingredients
Pork Ribs or Chicken Carcass, 500 gms
Burdock Root (Ngau Pong), 1 pc, remove skins and cut into 2 inches length
Chinese Red Dates, 10pcs
Carrot, 1 pc, cut into bite sizes
Pepper, to taste
Garlic, 1 bulb
Salt to taste
Water, 10 rice bowls or enough to cover ingredients above 3 "

Pour water into pot and bring to a boil. Add in pork ribs or chicken carcass. Put in the rest of the ingredients. Boil under low heat for 2 hours.
Serve while still hot.
I love my Burdock soup with some chilli padi (bird eye chilly) in light soya sauce. yum yum!

Yap Tong Klang Bak Kut Teh in Desa Aman Puri

This Yap Tong Klang Bak Kut Teh branch is located in Desa Aman Puri, Kepong. It occupies a shop lot, which is on the same row as Kpoh Restaurant, Khuntai and MCY Restaurant. We ordered a pot of bak kut teh for 2 persons with extra Romaine Lettuce toppings and Kam Cham Ku (straw mushroom). My daughter loves Yau Char Kwai, so I ordered a bowl for her. As for the bak kut teh, I requested for pork ribs and lean meat because my kids don't take innards like instestine and all the other 'spare parts' stuff.

This is a typical Klang type bak kut teh with dark and flavourful soup. The spice and herbal combination for this bowl of bak kut teh is just right and I love the taste very much. The ribs and meat are very tender. The meat taste really good with chopped garlic in chili padi (bird eye chili) and light soya sauce.
Taste delicious till the last drop! LOL!

The total bill for 2 adults and 1 child is RM35.00

Address : Yap Tong Klang Bak Kut Teh

                15-A, Jalan Desa 2/8,

                Desa Aman Puri,
               52100 Kepong, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 016-627 5777 / 016-651 5777

Business Hours: Mon - Fri, 10am - 2.30pm & 6pm - 9.30pm.

                        Sat, Sun & Public Holidays, 9am - 2.30pm & 6pm - 9.30pm

Map to Yap Tong Klang Bak Kut Teh, Desa Aman Puri,



Yee Wen Tomyam Thai Food, Jalan Helang Merah, Kepong Baru



Yee Wen Tomyam Thai Food Restaurant is nestled behind some tall trees and elevated from the road level. One can easily miss this Thai restaurant if he/she is not familiar with this area. Furthermore, the road in Kepong Baru have different local bird name (Jln Helang Sawah, Jln Bubut, Jln Chiak Padi, Jln Helang Laut) and without any sequential numbering. It is really hard to find your way around this area. I wonder which 'dung dung' and short sighted dude that came out with these bird name without sequential numbering for the road?

Back to the food.........

This restaurant is run by some Thais and it has been operating in this place for quite some time. It was packed with dinner crowd when we arrived there around 7.45 pm.

I like the way they serve the Seafood Tomyam (RM35). The earthen pot is placed on top of a charcoal stove. However, I was a liitle worried that my little over active toddler would try to touch the hot charcoal stove.
Anyway, the tomyam is really spicy and sour. The prawns and sotong (squid) are very fresh. It is full of flavour and this is one of the best tomyam I have eaten. Ok, this one made it to my good Tomyam list!

Nice and flavourful seafood tomyam soup

Everyone snapped up the Thai deep fried squid(RM25)  before I could take the photo. This explain why there are only a few left on the plate. The batter is very crunchy and squid is tender. Thumbs up for this dish!
We had 2 plates of this deep fried squid........LOL!

I was a little disappointed with The Pandan Chicken (Screwpine)(RM20). It has a strong cooking wine smell. Need some improvement on the recipe..

I was expecting Cha Om (Thai Omelette) like the one I had in Khuntai when I ordered this dish. This is actually prawn and kuchai (Chinese Chives) omelette. I guess RM12 is a little pricey for an omelette dish.

There is nothing to shout about this Kailan dish (RM12)

I like this Prawn Tofu (RM15) and it's gravy. Really sweet and the tofu is tasty as well. I recomend this dish for family with kids that cannot take spicy food here.

The total bill for Tomyam Seafood, Pandan Chicken, Egg Omelette, Kailan, 2XDeep fried Sotong, Rice for 5 adults, 1 child & 2 toddlers and Tea came up to be RM156.60.

Khop Khun Krap..........

Address : Yee Wen Tomyam Thai Foods
                Jalan Helang Merah
                Kepong Baru

Map to Yee Wen Tomyam Thai Fodds Restaurant

Magical Musical - London West End

I managed to catch the Magical Musical in Sunway Amphitheatre with my family and sister on the very last day. I know that the show ended more than 3 weeks ago and I am a little late in publishing this post about it. Anyway, my kids really enjoyed the show, including my little 4 year old toddler although he was a little tired that night because he did not take his afternoon nap on that day.

The West End performer really did a good job and gave an explosive performance. They sang a series of songs from different era. Love all of them especially, Footloose......my favourite!

NOTE: Since it was the last night, the MC announced that photography is allowed.

The Sunway Amphitheater...

Nice lighting effect........

Even, our local Bhangra (Punjabi Dance Group) performers were there!

Tong's Kitchen, USJ 19 , A Friendly Neighbourhood Restaurant

This is my second visit to Tong's Kitchen in USJ19 Digital Mall. This restaurant is a popular neighbour hood restaurant and you will notice that most of the patrons know each other so is the owner of the restaurant. I forgot to blog about it during my first visit here. I can see that this restaurant has a good crowd nowadays. There are many families dining in here when I was there for dinner. In fact the place was packed with diners and all the tables were taken.

For a start, we tried out this unique dish, the Volcano Tofu. As per its' namesake, you can actually see the smoke coming out from the tofu! The sauce is nice and a little spicy but I think it would taste nicer if the tofu used is softer type.

The kids love calamari and for a change we ordered fried squid rings with salted eggs in flour batter. You can't go wrong with salted eggs.....! This dish taste really nice! yum yum!

This is the Mongolian Fried Chicken....opppps, sensitive 'word'! ha ha ha! The chicken is fried until crispy and topped with thick flavourful gravy. Red wine vinegar gave the sauce the reddish colour. Alternatively, the red wine vinegar can be substituted with Dry Sherry. The Mongolian Chicken is delicious!

All the dishes that we ate!

I forgot how much we paid for the meal......next time must write it down liao! Sign of getting old......sigh! LOL!

Address : Tong's Kitchen,  G.2 Ground Floor, USJ 19 Digital Mall, USJ 19 UEP Subang Jaya, 47620, Subang Jaya Selangor

Tel : 03-80236153

Map to Tong's Kitchen, USJ 19 Digital Mall