Home Cook-Tom Yum Goong Recipe

If there is one thing I like is to do my favourite clear tom yum soup recipe. I had cook it once before about 3 months back. Family loves it except the first time, it was too spicy (yep, I put too much Thai green chilli ;-)) ) and second time, it was too sour. 

Now that I am doing this for the third time, I think it will come out better than before. It will be left to my family to judge later tonight.

Here is my recipe, taken courtesy from www.thaitable.com and I followed most of it except one or two things.

Ingredients

• 6 green or red chilli peppers *
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 stalks of lemongrass
• 2 limes
• 200gm Grey Oyster Mushrooms
• 200gm peeled shrimp
• Quart pot of water
• 2 tablespoon of Tom Yum Paste or Powder*
• Thai fish sauce* 
• Option to include some meat; chicken or pork

*Note: For chilli peppers, if it's green chilli padi or thai green chilli, I suggest you cut and put about 3 pieces first and add more later on as you taste the soup when it's boiled. Cilli Padi, especially Thai ones tend to be spicier.

For the fish sauce, I will use a tablespoon and pour it in to the soup few tablespoon at a time and then taste it first. Different people have different requirement for their tom yum soup to be sour. So, pour and taste at your own liking, yeah. 

It is up to you if you wish to include the tom yum paste/ powder. My earlier two tom yum soup recipe, there wasn't any paste/ powder at all. This time, I am trying it since I bought this from Singapore. The place I found is a haven for Thai people to congregate and shop there by bringing in their local products and fresh vegetables from Thailand.

It's too bad that I can't find one Thai supermarket here at all.

Instructions

1. Fill up quarter pot of water in the pot and bring it to boil.
2. Prep the lime by cutting it into halves.
3. Peel off the lemongrass leaves stalk and then take the little crab hammer and beat the end of the stalk to release the flavour and smell.
4. Cut the green chilli into halves.
5. Add the chilli, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves into the pot and wait for it to boil.
6. Once boil, pour in the meat, squeeze the lime juice into the pot and add in the paste/powder and stir it well until it dissolve.
7. Wait for few minutes and stir the pot and then pour in the shrimps and mushrooms.
8. Include the fish sauce by pouring it few tablespoon first and taste until you feel that it is sour enough for you.
9. Optional to add in the cilantro before you serve.

Home Cook-Stir fried chicken with thai red curry paste Recipe (gai pad prik gaeng)

Tonight, my recipe is all about Thai food, hence the tom yum soup and now this. This is one of my favourite Thai dishes. It goes well with steamed rice and you can fried some eggs too, if you want.

This recipe is taken courtesy from www.eatingthaifood.com 

Ingredients

• 350gm of boneless chicken breasts*
• 3-5 long strands of Chinese long beans
• 3-5 kaffir lime leaves
• 4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste*
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon oil for frying

* Note:

• It is up to you if you prefer your boneless chicken breasts with or without its skin. I usually get mine without.
• Depending on your level of spiciness, you can put in 3 tablespoon first of ready made Thai red curry paste. Alternatively, you can make the paste yourself another time too.

Instructions

1. Sliced your chicken breasts into small pieces.
2. Cut the long beans into 1 inch pieces.
3. When both have been prep ready, pour in 1 tablespoon of oil into the frying pan or wok.
4. Let it heat a little before you pour in the paste.
5. Fry it until it's fragrant for around 30 seconds on medium heat.
6. Once you can smell the paste, add in your chicken and stir fry it until it is cook.
7. Add the fish sauce and sugar and stir it well. If you feel you need to add either one for more flavouring, you can do so.
8. After that, pour in the cut long beans and fry it for about 30 seconds before you add in the kaffir leaves and stir it well.
9. Fry it for another 15 seconds and then turn it off.
10. The food is now ready to be serve.

Hanamaru Udon, Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur

Today is Aeon Member's Day sale at Mid Valley. I was happy to be able to go out and just do some grocery shopping other than window shopping. Unfortunately, after browsing at the grocery section for 1 1/2 hours, my tummy was growling. Uh-oh, looks like my Nestum breakfast didn't last long enough. 

Due to budget constraint, I decided to eat at Hanamaru Udon again. I was craving for Miso soup and since it is not in the list of "what shall I cook tonight", I am contend with having my udon. 

I ordered one regular Ontama Bukkake and the usual iced green tea. I have to say, I regretted ordering regular portion. There wasn't much at all. I was afraid that the larger portion would be too much for me. Oh well....

I really like this dish. The miso broth was yummy although I find it a little too salty for my taste. What I like about this dish is the egg. The egg looks so delicate like it's going to burst anytime if I am not gentle. When I bite the egg, the yolk was gushing out and the egg white just melts into my mouth. I'd say it was cooked perfectly, that the yolk is still runny and the egg white doesn't break easily when it is serve into the bowl.

It's definitely one of the better eggs that I've tasted so far. Try it if you are the type that's fussy about your egg.

Ontama Bukkake RM 8.90

Frisky Goat, TTDI, Kuala Lumpur

Finally, the day came and we were flying off to Singapore in the afternoon. My hubby and I always have this big question of "where shall we eat?. One of us remembered that our friends have been to Frisky Goat and hear that it is good. 

Our first impression when we stepped in is the friendly and cheerful staff. We sat next to the window. The place is cozy and a mini aquarium of gold fish outside outdoor seating. They have fresh croissant and pastries at the counter and cakes displayed next to the cashier. 

We ordered Salmon Scrambled and Waffles a L.americaine. For drinks, I ordered Apricot Juice. My smoked salmon was fresh and they gave generous portion; scrambled eggs weren't too dry with nice texture and flavour were well-balanced as it accompanies well when you eat it with salmon and bread.  

Salmon Scrambled RM 17.90

Other than that, we love the ambience here and the food's good. There are more dishes to try if you come later during lunch or dinner time. We're looking forward to coming back here again.

Address: No.72, Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur
Opening hour: 8am to 10.30pm

Myeongdong Noodle, Jaya One, Petaling Jaya

This is an overdue food review. We were at Jaya One a few days before we left for Singapore for our holiday. We wanted to eat at Boat Noodle, but behold, the queue were so long and we are one of those who refuse to wait in line for half an hour or more for our food, if we are extremely hungry. 

We explored around and saw this new restaurant that opened not too long ago. Since we love Korean food, we decided to try it out and they were having 20% discount on all items as their opening promotion.

Since we don't eat a lot, we ordered ddeokbukki with ramen for our late lunch and Korean tea. Flavour wise, you can't really go wrong with gochujang. Ddeokbukki here taste better than the some restaurants that we went to as it's not hard. In fact, it is chewy and soft that it melts in the mouth. As for the ingredients, I wish they are more generous with the vegetables. The spiciness is just right for us. If it's anymore spicy, we will not enjoy our food.

Service is slow here though with only 3 workers working at that time. They need to be more attentive to customers. 

Address: Across from Doi Chaang Coffee, 72A Jalan University, Petaling Jaya

Opening Hour: Mon to Sun-10am to 10pm

Hoagies Hauz, Nu Sentral, Kuala Lumpur

We've had a good holiday break away in Singapore about 2 weeks ago, which coincided with the F1. Thankfully, the haze wasn't too bad when we were down and it rained too. Later on, I will post some of the places we went while we were there.

Last weekend, we went over to Nu Sentral as I needed to attend an interview there. Since we were already there, we stayed on to watch a movie and have our lunch there at Hoagies Hauz. This will be my second time here and first for my hubby.

Hoagies is hot dogs in Australia, for those of you who don't know and the cafe is located next to the cinema. 

Their specialty would be hot dogs but they do offer savoury food such as sandwiches, and pasta. We ordered 'The Signature Hoagie' and 'Fresh Lemonade'. The hoagie comes with small portion of potato chips. If you feel like having some add-ons to your hoagies, they have that too; extra cheese, double meat, avocado spread, salsa and etc.

Ingredients in 'The Signature Hoagie' consist of chicken thigh, cheddar cheese, leaf of greens and homemade buttermilk sauce.  The wheat bread was soft and not hard, which make it easier for us to eat. The chicken was tender although it was a little bland even with the sauce. It does taste better when you add in the Sriracha sauce. The lemonade was refreshing with a sweet and tangy sourish taste.

This place is a good place to have a quick lunch or a quick bite if your office is nearby or you would like to have something different other than chinese, fast food and so forth at the mall.

Address: L5-1, Nu Sentral, No.201, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hour: Mon to Sun-10am to 10pm

Cafe Clon at Section 12, Petaling Jaya

I am glad that there are more cafes springing up near the residential areas, catering to Section 14, Section 17, SS2, Seapark area. There are times when I just prefer to eat nearby and avoiding the traffic.

In fact, I noticed this new shop a while back, except this main road is known for residential converted to commercial lots and with few changed owners in the past, I thought it was just another new furniture shop as the signboard says Kaching. It never cross my mind that it was a cafe until I read the review from one of the bloggers. 

So, one of the weekdays, since my hubby and I could not decide where to go for dinner, I suggested trying Cafe Clon since we were too lazy to venture far from where we stay.

It is located diagonally across from Centerstage PJ. As the cafe is facing the main road, there are limited parking space available. 

It was brightly lit with clear windows. Since both of us are not big eaters and we share a lot, we ordered Roasted Spring Chicken and Iced Vietnamese Coffee. We were then brought for a tour around the place. It's a cool place where they encourage corporate team meeting to be held there other than birthday bash or some other party or event launch.

The Iced Vietnamese Coffee was nice except it was a little grainy on that day. I will come back again to give it a second chance.

Their roasted chicken was super yummy. Chicken was tender and their sauce was well-seasoned and enough to ensure that the chicken don't stay dry. It's half portion but was filling for both of us.

The menu was limited when we were there last month but I think, they have added more if we are to revisit them again. 

Opening Hour: 12pm to 12am, closed on Monday.
Add: 62, Jalan Kemajuan 12/18, Petaling Jaya

Home Cook-Spicy Soup La La (Clamshell) Recipe

Ingredients

• 500 gm lala
• 1/4 ginger, sliced thinly
• 4-5 pieces of red chilli padi
• 3 sprigs of curry leaves
• 3-4 cups of water
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of sugar

Instructions

1. Rinse the lala over water and place it in a bowl.
2. Take some young ginger and sliced it thin.
3. Take the red chilli and sliced it into half. You can keep the seed to add to the spice.
4. Wash and peel the curry leaves.
5. Once all the ingredients have been prep, bowl the water over a pot and pour in the lala.
6. Once the lala is cooked, pour in the ingredients and stir it well. 
7. For seasoning, add some salt and sugar to the pot and taste till you get the flavour that you want.
8. It is now ready to serve.

Home Cook-Korean Beef Pancake Recipe

Ingredients

• 500 gm fat trimmed sirloin steak
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Sliced the sirloin in thin pieces and spread it across a big tray or cutting board.

1. Sprinkle the salt and ground pepper all over the pieces of meat once.
2. Pour slight sesame oil over it after that.
3. Take 2 garlic cloves and mince it. Once done, spread it across the meat.

1. Prepare the flour and pour it to one side.
2. Take each piece of meat and dip it into the flour, front and back and place it back in the tray.
3. After that, crack 3 eggs into a separate bowl and stir it well.

1. Switch on the gas stove or induction cooker and pour 1 tbsp of cooking oil and spread it well.
2. Once the oil is hot, take each piece of meat, dip it into the egg bowl and then spread it onto the frying pan.
3. Fry it for about a  minute, front and back and take it out and place it on a tray for it to cool down. Do not put all the meat at once in the pan but once it is full, switch off the stove and take a piece of paper towel and clean it up and redo step no.9 until all is complete.

*Recipe is taken from www.maangchi.com  

Home Cook-Mushroom Rice with Wolfberries Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups white rice 
• 3 tbsp wolfberries (kei chee)
• 10 fresh Shiitake mushrooms, finely sliced
• Water
• Salt

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients, except wolfberries, in a rice cooker or thermopot.
2. Once the rice is on boil, add the wolfberries and stir it.
3. If you are using a thermopot, take it off from the gas stove and place it into the thermopot and let it do its work. If you are using the rice cooker, just let it cook and it will be ready.

*Recipe is courtesy from The Malaysian Women's Weekly Food Book

7th Mile Kitchen at Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya

This is an overdue post. I've heard about this place from friend, especially those from East Malaysia who are particular about how Sarawak dishes are prepared and cook.

I find it hard to look for "kon lou" food. Reason is that most of the dry food prepared here in Peninsular tend to have some wet sauce/soup in a dry dish. For me, when I want "kon lou", means super dry.

What's more is that, I have tried few places that has kolo mee and so far not impressed by it. So, I finally told my hubby that on one fine Saturday morning, to drive to the place and try it.

We went there around 9am to Kelana Sentral. It was easy to find a place to park. From outside, you would think that there is nothing to eat as ground floor was extremely empty with lots of vacant shop lots but at one corner, you can find the shop with many customers.

Their specialty there is obviously kolo mee. But, they also have Sarawak Laksa, Tomato Yee Mee.

Kolo Mee is really satisfying here. Their dry version is really dry with no sauce or water at all and the meet is thin and not thick and fine. You can order small or big bowl.

Kolo Mee

Another time when we return to the place, I tried their Sarawak Laksa. Very generous portion of shredded chicken and the soup is well-balanced and rich, where the flavour doesn't overpower the other. 

Sarawak Laksa

This is one place where I will bring my friends and family from overseas to try, if they are not going to Sarawak.

Add: RG24, Pangsapuri Kelana Sentral
Tel:016 2283832 Opening Hour: Closed on Monday
                         Tues to Fri: 7am to 2.30pm
                         Weekend and Public Holiday: 7.30am to 2.30pm

Premium Bingsu Korean Dessert, Damansara Uptown, Petaling Jaya

This will be our second visit to the shop. Hubby had a craving for bingsu yesterday night and we decided to drive there. The good thing is that they close at 12am ^^

Last time when we went there, we tried Injeolmi Red Bean Bingsu as shown in the photo below. We love the ice flakes here. It's so smooth and literally melts in the mouth. Ice cream has the authentic red bean and we didn't feel like we were eating a paste.

Injeolmi Red Bean Bingsu

This time, we ordered Belgian Chocolate Bingsu and it was yummy ! Chocolate is my favourite and secondly, chocolate tend to be sweet. Thankfully, the outer topping may be full of chocolate but the clear ice beneath it helped to balance the sweet chocolate taste.

Belgian Chocolate Bingsu

Price range is a little on the high side, at least RM17 and above, depending on the type of bingsu that you order.

Opening Hour:12pm to 12am
Add: 28, Jalan SS21/35,Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya
Tel:03-7733 3086