BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY #2

21/7/2019
SUNDAY

Belated birthday celebration dinner at Dynasty @ C180 Cheras..  

My nephew and niece who share the same birthday.. 

Black Forest Cake and Pandan Layer Cake which I baked for the birthday boy and girl. 

Sarah booked our lunch on this Sunday at Taiji Katsu, a private home dining experience. 

Seatings are limited so you do have to book through their facebook.  The private home of Glen and Paul caters for lunch as well as dinner and of course private events too. 

Welcome matcha tea

the chef Glen preparing our lunch  @ Tatji Katsu  

Yes, food prepared on the spot when you arrive, how freshly cook is that?

Of course while waiting, busybody me got to look at their collection of books...thumbs up for men who reads and cooks as well!

The servings are generous  and delicious. 

All-in-one Katsu Don comprising of prawns, chicken katsu and pork katsu with eggplant, lotus root and mushroom.  All these goodies are crispy yet not oily and succulent juicy inside. I especially love the eggplant, it was so creamy though crispy on the outside. .

Feeling at home...loved the space...

Since we were around the area, we decided to try another private eatery in another block building.. 

The husband and wife team @ M-Ti Cup cafe... 

the balcony... 

For the child in us- a  long black with vanilla ice-cream.. 

good coffee and good music. 

MAKING FISH PASTE

30/7/2019
TUESDAY

Do you know that dogs are very smart and they know when its a weekday and when the weekend comes.  They must be wondering why on earth we did no wake up on a weekday and one of them was "knocking" the grille door at 6.30 am. So it was time to get up before she wake up the neighbours.

Even though the fridge is already bursting with the marketing since Saturday, I decided to go and just get breakfast.  However I was lured by the fishmonger to buy from him a fresh ikan tenggiri.....to make fishballs he told me..

Normally I could just buy ready-made fish paste from the market as I feel its rather messy work to do so at home.  But this time, I decided to record down my method how to make fish paste.

Ask the fishmonger to slit the fish, their knives are much sharper. Tell him for making fishball and they will slit both the fillets still attached to the bone.  So just cut and detach the fillet from the bone.  

Use a metal spoon and scrape as much fish paste from the skin and bone as possible. 

Reserve the head, skins and bones.  Gently wash away any blood vessels etc and cut them into pieces.  These bits and pieces make excellent fish broth, so do not throw them away.  If you do not intend to use them the same day, freeze them.  Otherwise just lightly season with salt and pepper and then fry them till golden brown, add boiling water to the pan to a milky broth. Can add a knob of ginger and sesame oil. Bring to a boil and them let simmer.    

Ok now to make the fish paste. Season the fish with salt to taste.  Have standby a bowl of cornstarch solution and using the blunt end of the cleaver to "chop" the fish into a smooth paste. Add the cornstarch solution now and them to help the paste to become cohesive. 

 

The paste will become smooth  and sticky 

Then its time to gather into a ball and lightly "throw" the paste down 

Continue to gather and "throw" till you feel the paste feels bouncy and smooth. 

The fish paste is then ready. 

I used the fish paste to make another Chan Clan's favourite: "Lo Siew Ping On" translated Safe for the Old and Young ie Steamed fish paste with taufu. Mixed the fish  paste with one (1) piece of soft white taufu and some chopped spring onions..  Season with salt and pepper and steamed for less than 10 minutes (depending how much and how big your plate is) Serve hot with dash of sesame oil and soy sauce. 

I did a 3rd batch of tempeh using the organic black beans with green kernels using the last 7 remaining simpoh air leaves and as you can see I placed the remaining beans in a plastic bag. 

After 24 hours fermentation... 

BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY #1

14/7/2019
SUNDAY

A simple yet delicious dinner  prepared by Sarah. She made the onigiri and cooked the tamagoyaki all served with the kimchi on the side. 

Beautiful cityline.... 

Braised Beef noodles.

Fried rice with shrimps 

Lunch at Din Tai Fung @ Pavillion

Saturday Brunch - ChanClan favourite 

"rat-tails" noddles with minced pork gravy served with roasted pork bones broth.  

Toto guarding his space and watching Blackie under the stairs...

the doggies misses us during the weekday and once when we settled down at home, they would demand to come inside even if its just to sleep and watch TV with us. 

SOURDOUGH FRENCH TOAST AND PICKLED ONIONS

22/6/2019
SATURDAY

French Toast using sourdough bread 

this is the sourdough which we bought from Garden To Table.. 

here we have eaten it with some warm extra virgin olive oil and dash of balsamic vinegar.  

For breakfast, we served the french toast with sliced bananas and honey.

a bento for weekday... penne pasta with homemade tomato sauce, prawns and basil from the garden of  course. 

roasted cauliflower with chickpeas and cherries which are in season  now...

When tomatoes are plentiful and cheap,  buy more to make pasta sauce.  Keep them in the fridge and these are great for quick meals.  Some of the tomatoes are tossed with olive oil, salt, sugar and dried oregano and left to roast in low oven for 4 hours before bottling them.  

How about pickling some onions too?

Pickled Onions with rosemary and garlic cloves

So fragrant 

and so pretty pink too

These are delicious and refreshing to be served with any grilled meat or top up sandwiches or 

simply  tossed into this Kerabu Meehoon which I served with grilled chicken fillets.  The fillets were marinated with cayenne pepper,  chilli powder, salt and pepper to complement the spicy Kerabu Meehoon.  Kerabu Meehoon tossed with diced tomatoes, grated carrots,  sliced bunga kantan, fresh coriander, mint leaves, pickled onions and of course some chili padi and season with a dressing of lime juice, sugar, salt and sesame oil and sesame seeds.