Hainanese Kopi-O A place to share, keep events and thoughts.

October 15, 2006

Steamed fish & fish meal

Filed under: Kitchen — tanling @ 8:35 am

I have gone mad recently, over fishes. Both of my sons enjoy any style of cooked fish. My younger son Chris went even madder over them – dead or alive.

Cod Cod cooked

I bought all the fishes I had on this post from Jusco. I could not resist my temptation, ended up buying 2 kinds of fishes for dinner. On cod fish, I decided not to use any sauce – not even soya sauce, I used wolfberry or gei chee (regretted not putting more) as it is good at drawing the freshness of cod fish. Each bite of cod fish with wolfberry tastes sweet and melt on your tongue sensation.

Another fish Another fish-cooked

This second fish dish (forgot the fish name), as you can see, I had slices of ginger on top to steam and later added crispy pickled radishes as topping after steaming. The taste turned out to be so-so.

October 14, 2006

Ginger Sauce with Wood Ear

Filed under: Kitchen — tanling @ 7:53 am

soaked woodear

I tried to recreate cold young wood ear fungus in ginger and green onion sauce that I had in Hong Kong. I found some wood ear fungus stock in my stock cupboard from my confinement period. These wood ear fungus kept well in dark and dry condition. The type which I had were quite mature.

Ginger

Unfortunately I had frozen spring onion and garlic as emergency stock. Luckily the young ginger is fresh. I blended everything till the texture that I like. Smooth texture does not provide me the excitement of biting into the ingredients.

Cooked ginger

The mixture is slowly cooked in peanut oil til fragrant as I find sunflower oil is not as flavourful. I forgot to snap picture of the finished product as I was too engrossed in eating it. Anyway, I boiled the soaked woodear and mix with the ginger mixture. Sort of like chinese salad. I wished I had fresh ingredients for the sauce and better wood ear fungus. The original dish that I had in Hong Kong was superb in terms of flavour (for both sauce and wood ear), texture, chewy-ness and after taste. The sauce may sound oily but you may appreciate its role in making the rest of the ingredients mely in your mouth.

October 13, 2006

Kluang Coffee Shop One Utama

Filed under: Eating Out — tanling @ 5:15 pm

Enjoy some delicious pictures of Kluang Kopitiam bestsellers.

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Hainanese chicken chop: I am a Hainanese but have never seen the gravy in tomato version. Traditionally supposed to be onion gravy but the chicken in Kluang Kopitiam’s version is fresh and yummy.

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Nasi lemak with fried chicken: Sambal not too spicy but cucumber is not fresh. The fried chicken is the same as chicken chops’.

Price $$ Food 3/5 Ambience 2/5

October 12, 2006

Book: Ping Ton Comic

Filed under: Reading List — tanling @ 3:14 pm

A local chinese comic with Hokkien and Penang flavour. Available at MPH and Popular bookstores at RM12.00 . Get ready for the non stop laugh.

Cover

Cover

Cover closeup

Cover closeup

Intro

Intro

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Sampler part 1 of 2

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Sampler part 2 of 2

City Scoops

Filed under: Travel — agnes @ 3:26 am

Best surprise in this trip

Singapore Scoops 2nd Edition

Hot off the printers!!! I have Singapore CityScoops 1st Edition which is indenspensible for preparing what to do, see, should-have in Singapore. Important info such as web link, contact number, location map, operating hours, days are detailed in both books. Interesting part is places mentioned were actually visited by the Singapore CityScoops team. No advertisting supports it publication.

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Day 1: Holland Village & Shaw House

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Provence bakery at Holland Village is our must visit on the first day. Its coffee, daily baked bread and pastries are unique and most of them are not available in other local bakery. Next door is a bead shop which is well stocked for serious beader where findings are plenty of choices. Price $$ Food 4/5 Ambience 1/5

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The purple cabbage on a flower bouquet looks good to eat. Window shopped in Shaw House at Orchard Road for late evening and ended up at a pork fritter specialist Japanese restaurant, Ton Kichi. I have never been to a proper Tonkatsu restaurant – normally had Tonkatsu at food court. I was too hungry to walk to Takashimaya food court.

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Ordered 2 sets – the food portion is much for 2 persons. Each set costs below S$20 before tax and can feed 2 persons. Tonkatsu portion is huge that is solid 1″ thick, drizzled with sauce and mustard, on the side – finely fresh cut cabbage with seaweed vinegar dressing – very japanese style. Udon is chewey, soaked in hot flavourful shoyu soup.

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The other set difference is – cold noodle, instead of udon in soup. The jellyfish topping is delicious on its own as appetizer. Price $$ Food 4/5 Ambience 3/5

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Day 2: Gone mad with Ton Kichi over dinner

Lunch Green curry

Lunch’s iced lemon tea at food court was great to cool down brain heat. Lemon scent and sourness is balanced for cleansing the after taste of Thai food. Olive rice, creamy green curry, stir fried chicken in black pepper and another in sweet and spicy were not too hot, but the more were consumed, it all became fiery on the tongue.

Olive rice Chicken

We went mad about Ton Kichi and had dinner there. Kimchi salad is something you would like to indulge on your own. This time I ordered Udon in Tonjiru soup, basically have strips of pork in vegetable and pork soup.

Kimchi salad Tonjiru Udon

Day 3: Cartier exhibition at Singapore National Museum

Singapore National Museum

This is my personal main objective to visit Singapore. After the Cartier exhibition ends, the collection will be return to Geneva. The heaviest and biggest diamond necklace was owned by a Maharajah. Pieces shown on catalog and media are more impressive in real. The National Museum have just finished renovated. It is a nice and peaceful place for creative work and probably quiet moment of meditation. The building were redesigned and built to bring the outdoor into the building. Not much can be seen from the front but at the side and back of the building.  Pictures of the building can be seen here. Cartier exhibited some of the most memorable pieces that set record in the past. Went to Cartier shop at Takashimaya to find the Trinity de Cartier ring costs about S$1390. Cartier is said to be jewellery for lovers. I am thinking of asking my boyfriend if he loves me…

Trinity de Cartier

After a long walk and wandering around, lunch at Suntec was comforting. Steamed minced pork meat with salted fish; carp fish slices and lean pork double boil soup with both types of chinese almonds, chinese sweet date; Pork belly stewed with preserved mustard. All fulfilling after a hot long walk.

dscn7216.JPG Fish Meat Almond Double Boil Soup Preserved veggie steamed with meat

Spent next half day in CarreFour at Suntec. More french or CarreFour products here than Malaysia. We went to Plaza Singapura for dinner at Crystal Jade with Moon and discovered Daiso, a japanese S$2 item shop. Fantastic!!

Blanched fish skin, fried wanton, rice noodle, claypot beef brisket and claypot aubergine were delicious.

Fish Skin

Fried wanton Rice noodle

October 11, 2006

Book: Fatherhood by Bill Cosby

Filed under: Reading List — tanling @ 4:20 pm

An indespensible “manual” on raising kids for fathers, self-reflection book for  mothers on how to act, decide sensibly around kids and husband. I finished this book within 3 hours (spread over 2 days of bus ride to Skudai and Lion City). You can have a preview and order at Amazon books.

October 10, 2006

Skudai day trip

Filed under: Eating Out,Travel — tanling @ 2:41 pm

Arrived at Skudai at 8.30am. Looked like not much to eat. Fortunately found a coffeeshop with decent crowd. Only few stores operating. Walking around, inspecting what patrons have on their table – bowl, leftover, drinks, I decided to have laksa and my travel partner wanted to have chee cheong fun. It reminded me of primary school days. Soft tofu on the right, fresh flat rice noodle, bouncy fish balls, fish cake slices and beans sprout were nostalgic. Even the slightly spicy coconut soup tasted the same.

School canteen laksa noodle

My travel partner had his chee cheong fun or steamed flat rice with sweet bean sauce and toasted sesame seeds.

Price $$ Food 2/5 Ambience 1/5

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On our way back to Klang Valley, the  haze was still around but tolerable for driving. Fortunately the weather was cool and good to sleep all the way home.

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October 7, 2006

Chris Second Birthday Cake

Filed under: Eating Out — tanling @ 3:57 pm

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Terrace bakery at Mount Kiara did a good job for Chris recent 2nd birthday cake. Chris favourite cartoon show – Pingu, Pinga and their parents are on their North Pole home, complete with igloo, water impression of a pond, puddle and some pine trees. The kids could not resist touching the cake. I decided to set a little higher budget since his dad complained this is Chris first birthday cake. The cake tasted as good as it looks. Price $$$ Food 4/5

October 4, 2006

Reading List

Filed under: Reading List — tanling @ 6:27 pm

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I am putting up a reading list to audit my books and magazines in possesion. I have been going to bookstores more often than wet markets. I hope it is a good way to keep track of my reading notes.

KLCC Suria 4th Floor Food Court

Filed under: Eating Out — tanling @ 6:12 pm

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Spent whole day running office errand by train in Kuala Lumpur today. By 11.30am my belly was barking. I think some people heard. So I headed to the nearest food court since I was already at Kinokuniya  to pick up some books. I took a piece of chicken, beef strips stir fried with ginger and vegetable cooked in curry from a chinese mixed rice stall. All for RM8.50!!!! Next time I will show you guys the good ones from Mid Valley. Price $$$ Food 2/5 Ambience 2/5

October 3, 2006

Memory… Stealing corns

Filed under: Personal — tanling @ 5:41 am

Fatty fatty bom bom

Curi curi jagung

Mata mata tangkap

Masuk dalam lokap

Source: NST 1-Oct-2006

October 1, 2006

Toa Payoh Wet Market Food Court

Filed under: Eating Out,Travel — tanling @ 11:12 am

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Found my ultimate southern chinese comfort food at Toa Payoh Wet Market Food Court. It’s sliced fish meat in preserved salted mustard leave(harm choy), tomato,  chinese celery and toasted left flounder meat, cooked in fish bone soup.

Another is mini Teochew chinese dumpling and Siew Mai by a 60 over years in business stall. Pop one dumpling into your mouth, taste its juicy and tender meat.

Then you keep eating non-stop.

Price $ Food 4/5 Ambience 2/5

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