pigging out at el cerdo

cam, mei yin, soon wei, alvin and i celebrated jin min’s bday at el cerdo on changkat bukit bintang on sat night, recommended by soon wei.

a very animated soon wei

i was told it was a spanish restaurant so, naturally, i was expecting tapas, paella and sangrias. so shoot me for having stereotyped all spanish restaurants. how was i to know it would be a pork affair?

the first thing i noticed were pig statues greeting me at the entrance. how cute. i found myself suddenly wondering whether i had stumbled upon a chinese restaurant instead. after all, show me a malaysian chinese whose face doesn’t light up at the mere mention of ‘pork’.

i felt like a kid in a candy store as i looked at all the pork dishes available on the menu.

pork! pork! oh look, more pork!!

i kept forgetting to take pics of the dishes coz i was ravenous and scoffed everything down before i realised. oops.

our menu:

green pea soup with smoked kassler ham

boquerones

hickory smoked pork soft ribs

paella

roasted suckling pig

rum & raisin pancake

complimentary dessert

bottle of red wine

by the time the suckling pig came, i was rather over-porked and salad started to look more appealing.

the bill came up to rm880+ between six people. O_O my jaw dropped.

i have to say my favourite part was definitely the ribs. it was lip smackingly awesome. not to mention the injection of spanish customs like breaking plates for good luck and serving dessert by order of age/importance.

mei yin obliging me with a half-smile

soon wei, JM & mei yin

what an uncanny resemblance

“who should i give it to first?”

happy & well fed birthday boy

el cerdo is definitely an experience.

the lady joiner returns!!

oh yeah baby… i’m off to bangkok again! it’s become a yearly tradition now.

well, i guess there’s no better way to learn lady joiner skills than learn it from the country of its origin. this time it’ll be cam, hunter soon and myself. a fraction of the old melbourne crew.

there’s room for one more, if anyone wants to join.

here are some photos from my last trip…

awesome thai & italian restaurant which served yummy mojitos

me and my lovelies – ally & cam

anti-pasto at zanotti

the DFSes at Vertigo Sky Bar (Banyan Tree)

partying at slims in costume

places i MUST visit:
pratunam market
suan lum night market
zanotti for awesome italian food
thong lor

things to eat:
larb gai (mince chicken salad)
som tam (green papaya salad)
tom kha gai
red duck curry
lime minced pork noodles
beef noodles

a taste of thai

i can’t wait for the new house to be ready and hopefully be able to do some cooking. it’s been awhile and i really miss it. nothing gets my mouth watering like thai food, so just for future reference, i’m posting up my self-made menu for a thai dinner.

managed to dig out a recipe for tom kha (tom yum with coconut milk) from way way back. definitely authentic and super yummy.

Tom Kha Gai

one stick lemongrass
5-6 kaffir lime leaves (fresh ones are better than dried, more flavour)
2-3 limes
3-5 chillis (depending on where the chilli is from and how hot it is i guess)
a quarter head galangal (ginger is ok if you can’t find galangal)
4-5 cloves garlic
fish sauce (to taste)
sugar (to taste)
chicken stock
one can coconut milk/cream
500g chicken

• cut up the lemongrass into 1 inch pieces and smash them. peel and smash the garlic. cut the lime. slit and smash the chillies. peel the galangal and slice.
• bring the chicken stock to boil. when it starts boiling, put in the lemongrass, garlic, lime and galangal. but you can leave the chillies til later.
• abuse the kaffir lime leaves and put them in.. all of them..
• leave to boil for about 5 mins so all the flavour from the herbs come out. then simmer and add lime. add fish sauce and sugar to taste… you may want to add more.
• put in the chicken and put in the chillies. simmer everything for about 5 mins. then slowly add the coconut milk/cream. but make sure there are no lumps so you might need to turn up the heat and stir it a bit.
• have a taste and make sure it’s yummy… and the chicken is cooked. then serve and impress your guests.

Moo Pad Gra Pow (Stir-fried minced pork with basil)

2 tbspns vegetable oil
chilli flakes
1 tspn sugar
a handful of basil
500g minced pork (can be substituted with chicken or beef)
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
a few dashes of fish sauce

• Fry the garlic in oil over high heat. When garlic starts to turn brown, drop the minced pork in. Stir constantly. The juice will start to come out.
• Keep stirring until all the juice is gone. It might take a couple of minutes.
• Add chilli flakes, sugar and fish sauce. Then add Thai basil.
• Quickly turn it over a few times to mix the leaves with the meat and then remove from the fire.

Roasted Duck Red Curry (Kaeng Phed Ped Yang)

a whole roasted duck, deboned and cut into strips
2 and a half cups of coconut milk
10 cherry tomatoes
half an eggplant cut into cubes
6 canned rambutans or pineapple slices, cut into bite-sizes
4 fresh kaffir lime leaves
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt
few dashes of fish sauce
half cup of chicken stock
1 tbspn cooking oil
3 heaped tbspns of red curry paste (the cheating way)

• Put vegetable oil into wok over medium heat and add the red curry paste. Fry til the paste becomes fragrant.
• Add 3/4 cups coconut milk and stir to mix thoroughly.
• Add the duck and stir well. Next pour the mixture into a pot, add the remaining coconut milk, water, tomatoes, rambutans/pineapples, eggplants, kaffir lime leaves, sugar, salt, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil then let
• it simmer for about 15-20 mins.

this is not helping my hunger at all. -_-

food, glorious food!! i live for thee.

out of the box

is how i seem to live my life. i don’t think i’ve ever had a period in my life since i was 14 where i have not had things in boxes. and before i get everything out of the boxes (which admittedly, can be quite awhile) it’s time for me to move again.

my family’s getting ready to move out into our new house in ara damansara soon… as soon as the renovations are over.

just as well, most of my things are STILL in boxes since i moved back to KL one and a half years ago! =p

whilst packing, i came across a recipe my stepmum’s brother wrote for me. one of my absolute favourite chinese dishes – vinegared pork trotter or chu keok shin. he makes a killer vinegared pork trotter. i better archive it here before i lose the piece of paper. it’s just too precious.

Vinegared pork trotter (one big pot enough to feed half an army)

Ingredients:

1 bottle of vinegar

500 ml of water

2-3 pcs of gula melaka

750g of local ginger

2kg pork trotter
a few dashes of soy sauce
dried chillies optional
scotch whisky optional

Directions:

Blanch the trotters in boiling water for a couple of minutes to get rid of all the yucky scum. Then bruise the ginger with a good smacking and fry it in sesame oil to get the flavours going.

Throw the trotters in and add in a dash (or a few) of scotch and flame the muthas. Not recommended if you have never tried this before. I won’t be held responsible for any fires caused by this recipe. Fry the trotters til they’re slightly browned.

Pour in the vinegar and water then bring it to a boil for 5-10 minutes. Throw in the gula melaka, chillies, soy sauce and voila! Let it simmer away for a few hours til the meat is ready to fall off the bones and melt in your mouth.

YUM YUM!!
_________________

i’ve just discovered a whole directory of online shopping in malaysia.

uh oh.

guess wat i’ll be doing a lot now. the amount of time i used to spend on ebay… is the amount of time i’m going to be browsing through these online stores.

feel like getting a shopping without lifting ur arse off the seat? then go to emmagem and have a look for yourself!! you kind of have to sift through the junk before u find some gems. i found a few of promising sites (i only got up to E):

button my buttons
cat in a bowl
etoffe clothes

i’ll be in singapore from tuesday to friday setting up a new store. it’s going to be a super hectic and exhausting week. but it should also be fairly fun and interesting.

alrighty, i’m off to do some online shopping!! =D

merrilicious christmas

i haven’t had a good christmas since i was a kid. this year, i did.

i can’t believe it’s over already. i love christmas for the christmas carols, food fests, gift shopping, wrapping, giving & receiving presents and most of all, the gatherings.

what made this christmas good:
- receiving cool presents eg. polaroid camera – thanks G!!
- preparing christmas eve dinner
- christmas shopping with my baby
- costume parties
- excessive eating

i don’t think i’ve ever had so much lamb in so little time. not complaining. not complaining at all!!

new year’s coming up next. no one seems to have any solid plans. wat to do, wat to do?

how do couples decide who to celebrate new years with? his friends or her friends? i’m always celebrating occasions with his side. when’s it my turn?

taste of japan

alvin won a voucher for a 2D 1N stay at Palace of the Golden Horses months and months ago, so we decided to use it this weekend.

truthfully, i was expecting a small, old, dingy room dressed with the bare neccessities. we were pleasantly surprised. it was an old but big room with a huge king sized bed, big bathroom and amongst the complimentary toiletries they provided – was shoe shine.

kind of indicates that they gave us a business suite. that, plus the executive desk in the corner of the room.

but the room is really nothing to shout about. it’s the japanese restaurant downstairs that alvin and i have fallen in love with. we decided to go for the buffet at kin no uma. it’s rm69+ per head. not much more than rakuzen, but the food is fresher, better, tastier.

and because it’s all the way out in the mines, it’s quieter. so you don’t have to fight the crowd for that piece of sashimi. the good thing is, they only prepare a few at a time, so you never have to pick up a piece of sushi that’s been sitting there for hours while the rice becomes rock hard and the fish looks like it’s half-rotten.

the oysters. oh my god. the oysters are huge. i regret not taking my camera. i guess you’ll just have to go and see for yourself. totally recommended.