Food Explorer & Home Chef
Valentine’s Day is less than one week away. While the past year saw most of us spending more time than we would like apart, this year you might just be able to spend some alone time with your beloved. Life is not a bed of …
Since we can’t meet up and have our traditional Yum Seng and Lo Sang get-togethers due to the pandemic, Tiger brings the ‘Ong’ to the media and trade partners instead, with an innovative Augmented Reality (AR) twist. The Tiger ONG Box contains everything guests would …
First cafe outing for 2021 at Slow Coffee @The Hubs, SS2 in Petaling Jaya. Hopefully it won’t be the last for some time, as the number of Covid cases are on the rise again.
‘Twas so nice to be out and about with my girlfriend Jo, and for a while, it almost felt like things were back to normal, as there was a good healthy crowd and if not for the face masks, it didn’t feel any different from any other day out … in 2019. Reminiscent of the once trending industrial mode, the cafe’s decor banked on grey benches, hanging white lamps and simple, clean lines accented with brown wood.
Slow Coffee has been around for more than a year and while I’ve tried their pancakes, I never really had brunch here. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of food served.
We had Baked Eggs with Chorizo (RM26), and this was clearly a crowd favourite as every other table seemed to order this too. The eggs had a nice consistency, spread over a bed of minced beef/chorizo with a marinara base, it reminded me of lasagna without the filling pasta sheets. It was an excellent choice for us girls who didn’t want something too heavy as we used the toasts to scoop up the beefy goodness.
The other dish we ordered was Eggs Benedict with Pulled Chicken (RM21). The eggs were done nicely runny at the centre – you would think this would be a given for egg benedict but not every cafe gets it right – and we loved that it had a bit of bite to it with the chicken that had a hint of smoky bbq.
The fact that these two dishes came with meat made my day as I really hate how so many self-declared ‘Australian-styled’ brunch places offer fancy egg variations at even fancier prices and it is just … EGG! Heck, even the most expensive organic kampung egg laid by the most precious chicken can’t cost that much, right?!!
The rest of the menu looked pretty inviting too … sliders with prawn katsu, open faced sourdough sandwiches, chicken confit, baked baramundi …. definitely worth a second and a few more visits.
When Jo asked, do we skip desert … I said NO! I’m so glad we ordered the Pu-Erh Souffle Pancake (RM18). Loved how it’s so light and fluffy and jiggly, like a marriage between cotton candy and pavlova, minus the sweetness, minus the guilt. Came with a side of tea granola, crumble, vanilla syrup and a scoop of pu-er gelato. There are other interesting pancakes and waffles on the menu too so if you just wanna have something sweet, this is a good dessert stop. We were also eyeing the cakes which looked quite tempting from the usual fare.
When at Slow Coffee, surely we must have our caffeine fix, and that we did. They offer a good blend, and you have a choice of single origin beans too.
I want to say this is a good place to chill and enjoy a slow coffee but these days, we’re not exactly encouraged to do that so … drop by to try the souffle pancake. That alone is worth the trouble.
Add: B-G-03, The Hub SS2, 19 Sentral, Jalan Harapan, Petaling Jaya
This year has surely been a strange year for all of us. I’ve attended zoom meetings, conducted zoom interviews and now, a virtual luncheon. No. 1 son asked whether I actually got to taste the food or was it just a “see food” affair since …
Green tea is loaded with polyphenols, natural compounds that provide health benefits such as reduce inflammation, lower the risk of heart disease, help with fat loss and fight cancer, etc. If you don’t already know, it’s supposed to be one of the healthiest beverages you …
I only learnt how to make Kimchi jiggae when No. 1 came back from UK and taught me how easy it was. So what’s the difference between kimchi soup and kimchi jiggae? The amount of water! The broth for the stew is just a little thicker and has stronger flavour.
We weren’t so big on Korean food then, and now, especially since I make my own kimchi, this has become a staple in my house as it’s so easy to whip up. After the usual Bak Kut Teh, Chinese ABC soup, Old Cucumber Soup, and herbal soups, this is a welcome change in terms of taste. Usually I make a large pot that sometimes carries over to the next meal, and by then, it tastes even better!
Essentially, it’s a similar recipe as you would find online, except that I use chicken, and there’s more ingredients as it’s usually a one pot meal for our family on days when I’m too lazy to cook more dishes.
Ingredients
Half a chicken, cut into small pieces (or you can use chicken breast meat if you prefer boneless meat)
1 cup aged kimchi, cut into bite sizes (aged kimchi means kimchi that’s been kept at least 2 weeks or more, and it’s usually really sour. But there’s no rule to say you can’t use fresh kimchi except that it might be less flavourful)
1/2 cup kimchi juice
1 big onion, sliced
2 stalks spring onion, cut small
Handful of mushroom (shiitake, enoki, straw mushrooms, they all work fine in my book)
1 carrot, cut into wheels.
1 block of firm taufu, cut into smaller cubes (sometimes I use the softer version, which is nice as well)
2.5 cups of water
Soup base
1 tablespoon Korean chilli flakes (gochugaru)
1.5 tablespoon Korean chilli beanpaste (gochujang)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
A splash of rice wine (optimally it should be mirin, which I don’t have, so I use Shiou Xin wine instead) – optional
1/2 teaspoon garlic, chopped small
Dash of sesame oil
pepper, salt and sugar, to taste
Method
In a large pot, fry the kimchi lightly, then add the chicken and fry a bit more.
Add the kimchi juice, carrot, onion, garlic and mushroom. Stir fry everything together lightly, then add the 2 cups of water.
Bring the soup to a boil, then add the soup base ingredients one by one. Ensure they are well mixed. Other recipes call for all this to be mixed together in a bowl first before putting this into the soup, and this way ensures everything is well mixed. But I don’t do this because … I’m really practical and I don’t want to wash another bowl!
Cook for about 15 minutes on low to medium fire. When the carrots have softened, add salt, sugar and pepper. Stir the big pot of stew around a bit so that the flavours are nicely blended in. Lastly, add the taufu on top, cook for another 5 minutes or so, and make sure you splash the soup over the top ingredients every now and then.
Serve in a big bowl for all to share Asian style to go with rice, or in individual small bowls, if you’re particular about sharing food. Sprinkle the spring onions just before serving.
Tweaks the ingredients a little if you prefer less spicy, sweeter, saltier, etc until you reach your own perfect blend.
Tiger is synonymous with hosting street food festivals, complete with games and activities, live performances, great selection of street food and, of course, Tiger Beer. This year, Tiger is taking the street food festival experience to the next level: from the streets, and onto your …
Thanks to inspiration and the mastery that comes from experience, the passage of time has revealed the grandeur of Dom Pérignon’s Vintage 2010 . The label plays out its aesthetic and sensorial values: precision, intensity, touch, minerality, complexity and completeness, a way of embracing and …
Darn, just as I thought we had a Get-Out-of-Jail card and could be social beings again, it’s CMCO – Conditional Movement Control Order – and we have to stay put again to stay safe!
Well, it’s back to the drawing board, or rather, the kitchen, for some comfort baking. I stumbled upon this easy, delish cake not too long ago, and I love how the scent wafts through the entire house when it’s still baking in the oven!
The original recipe calls for 1 large apple, but I added another one for good measure as the apples we get here tend to be on the small side, and besides I love a cake generously laden with apple. Also, I mix it up using 1 crunchy red apple and 1 green apple for that slight tartness to the cake so that it’s not sickly sweet.
Ingredients
100g (1/2cup) brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
150g (3/4 cup) white sugar
110g butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla essence
190g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
125ml (½ cup) milk
2 apples, peeled and chopped into small cubes (I tried it with slices but cubed apples taste better)
Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking paper.
Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Then mix half of it with the cut apples, and keep aside.
Firstly, beat the white sugar and butter together with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla essence.
Combine the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl, then add this to the creamed butter mixture. Lastly, add the milk into the batter and stir until smooth.
Gently fold in half of the apple mixture into the batter and swirl a few rounds. Doesn’t have to be absolutely evenly mixed.
Pour the apple batter into the loaf pan. Top the batter with the remaining apples and sprinkle with the rest of brown sugar mixture. Don’t have to finish all of this, if you feel it might be too sweet.
Bake for about 45 minutes. After it cools down, you can eat this cake as it is, or warm up a slice and eat with vanilla ice cream. Kinda reminds me of apple pie, which I also love!
Johnnie Walker, together with master blender Jim Beveridge, has come up with its latest addition to the fold, Johnnie Walker Aged 15 Years Sherry Finish. Carefully blended from some of the finest single malts and finished in ex-sherry oak casks that once held sherry from …