Food Explorer & Home Chef
Penfolds has announced a new wine blended from four vintages of Grange, aptly named Penfolds g4. The blend entwines Grange DNA from the exceptional 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2016 vintages to create a unique Penfolds expression. The first style of this inimitable wine, Penfolds g3, …
I am continuously amazed at what my hood has to offer. Just the other day, I told a friend about a hip coffee joint here and he was gobsmacked that this ‘middle-of-nowhere’ residential area had an inviting coffee joint out in the boondocks. Well, it’s …
Brave soul to open a new Japanese joint just after the Covid lockdown. But with everyone in recovery mode, people are hungry to try new places and eat out again so it might well be the perfect marketing strategy.
New Japanese restaurant Shin Haru Tei is offering ramen lovers another option in Jaya one, Petaling Jaya and may well be THAT OTHER Japanese ramen place to go to when my favourite place is full.
Over 2 visits, we tried out a range of dishes. The signature dish, Ooki Chashu Ramen, is noodles with the Japanese version of Chinese char siu – succulent pork belly marinated in soy and mirin – braised to perfection and chargrilled for that burnt, smoky flavour (RM18.90). Decadently layered with fat, the meat was juicy and lubricious, melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Four choices of soup available: miso, spicy, pesto and tonkatsu. But of course, we chose spicy – at the recommended mild level – as we were told “very spicy” will seriously damage our taste buds. The soup was surprisingly quite spicy, a slow burn and hits you at the back of your throat. WoW! Makes me wonder what “very spicy” would be like! We also had Tonkatsu soup, and the broth was rich and flavourful, and will be on the top of my list for my next visit.
Hiyashi ramen – noodles in cold broth with wasabi – was a little different from the conventional cold Japanese noodles I expected. Usually, ramen is dipped into a separate cold bowl of broth. This was an all-in-one dish, with onsen egg, pork slices, black fungus and seaweed. A nice balance of flavours, this was simple and subtle – I really enjoyed this refreshing ensemble.
No. 3 son had the Mentai Carbonara Ramen (RM18.90), a fusion pasta with cod fish roe and mushrooms which worked well with a light cream sauce that didn’t linger or cloyingly stick to the noodles. No. 2 had Shoyu Ramen, which was probably the most ordinary of all. This came as a part of a Set Lunch menu that comes with a salad and cup of green tea at a steal price of RM13.90.
Pesto Ramen (RM18.90) had similar ingredients as the other ramen – pork slices, seaweed, onsen egg and black fungus – but the delectable and strong, fragrance of basil stood out in the unique soup. I didn’t think it was possible for pesto to be a soup offering, but there you go.
Kakuni Donburi – slow braised pork belly, seasoned egg and salad, plus miso soup – is a good bet for those who cannot do without their carbo fix. Mind blowing that pork can melt like jelly, but in the hands of an expert chef, it’s possible.
Shin Haru Tei also offers a good selection of hotpot (nabe). I asked about the protein/ Western menu which apparently had hamburger and steaks, but for now it’s not available as they are unable to cope with churning out food for both menus.
What’s most attractive about this street-inspired Japanese restaurant is the prices. You can get a hearty bowl of rice or ramen from RM16.90 to RM19.90 which is rare and very affordable, compared with other places that charge closer to RM30 per bowl.
Add: 69-P1, Block D, Jaya One, Jalan Universiti, Petaling Jaya, Tel: 03-7931-9733
I don’t know about you guys, but my friends ask me all the time – where to eat, what to cook with this leftover ingredient or how to make that dish. I may not be the most fantastic cook, but I am the Queen of …
Just 2 days after we dropped by at Say Cheese Cafe in Bukit Jalil, BAM! MCO (Movement Control Order) was declared and there would not be any dining in for a while. It seemed rude to post a food review when we were supposed to …
I’ve tried so many brownies recipes these past few months that I’ve lost count so I’m calling this Brownies 5.0. It uses dark chocolate and brown sugar, so I’m consoling myself that it’s a less guilty indulgence!
They all claim to be the easiest, fudgiest and most delicious, with small variables such as with or without baking powder, with or without chocolate (yes, you can make brownies without using actual chocolate), less butter, more eggs, etc.
This is the most recent one that I’ve tried. I will probably try other future versions based on this as a benchmark. It ticks all the boxes as it’s easy to make, rich, less sweet and all the piranhas at home approve of it.
Feel free to add chocolate chips, almonds or walnuts to give more oomph to your brownies.
Ingredients
100g dark chocolate (you can add about 30g to 50g milk chocolate for a sweeter finish. The original recipe called for 300g milk chocolate)
180g unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar (use half white/half brown sugar if you prefer sweeter, cut sugar to half cup if you are using all milk chocolate)
105g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
60g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (if your butter is salted, omit this)
Method
Heat up oven to 175 degrees C.
Melt butter and chocolate (place ingredients in a bowl over a container of hot water). By liquifying this, you will end up with a nice crusty top for the brownies.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until fluffy, and then add vanilla extract. Fold in melted butter and chocolate.
Sift flour into another bowl, and mix together with cocoa powder, salt and coffee.
Fold dry ingredients into butter and egg mixture, and combine them well. Don’t whisk too much as you might up with a cake rather than brownies as you get more air into the batter.
Pour everything into 8x8in (20x20cm) tray and bake for about 25 minutes to 30mins, depending on your oven. Use a cake tester ‘needle” (baking instrument, I don’t know the proper name) or a toothpick and poke in the centre to see if it is cooked in the middle. If it is still wet then continue baking. It’s fine if there are still some crumbs sticking to it after 27 minutes, but it’s not too wet. Otherwise leave it for just another 3mins, depending on the heat of your oven, then turn off heat and leave to cool inside.
At this point you should switch off the heat as it will still continue to cook in the leftover heat. For brownies (and cheesecake), it’s always best to underbake rather than end up with a dry product.
Let it cool down fully on a rack before cutting otherwise it will crumble. Serve with vanilla ice cream or enjoy the lovely rich, chocolatey brownie on its own.
Every time I do this, I find minute differences, and the best results I find, despite what the recipe sites say about fluffing up the eggs and sugar, or creaming the butter, is to whisk everything by hand, and not overdoing the folding.
Good luck!
This has turned out to be my favourite cake to bake this season! The citrus flavour cuts through the sweetness to give the most delightful cake you will ever bake! I’ve tried a version from kebayakitchen.com which is more of a pound cake and more …
Is it May already? I’m looking forward to eating out again as restrictions are slowly being lifted. And about time, as I’m really low on inspiration these days. Could you tell? I love experimenting and trying out new foods. But when you have to come …
Everyone is baking nowadays, it seems, and the shops are running out of bread flour and yeast.
On a day when I was low on both, I changed upon this recipe from a friend’s feed. Am not exactly sure where the recipe is from but the shared picture indicated Momma’s Easy No Yeast Dinner Rolls on win.stylemod.co
Easy as pie, everything can be done in less than 30mins. How’s that for super fast dinner rolls? The buns are not soft and fluffy like bread, but a bit more dense and firm, more like American biscuits or breadcake. Great for dipping into soup or curry or thick gravy.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder (I made 2 portions at a go and used 1 tsp sodium bicarbonate and 1 tsp baking powder for fluffier finish inside)
1 tsp salt (I cut this down to less than half as the rolls end up quite salty)
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Method
Mix everything together in a bowl then spoon into a greased muffin tray. Original recipe said to bake for about 180 degrees C for about 15mins. In my oven it was a bit too hot, so I turned it down to 160 degrees C for 20mins.
Each recipe makes about 5 buns.
Tiger Beer is donating RM1.5 million to support Malaysian street food during the Movement Control Order (MCO). The funds will be used to help cover rent for street food vendors, coffee shops and food courts across the country as they face reduced income due to …