Food Explorer & Home Chef
Setting: Sabayon at Sky51 where the stunning city skyline greets the eager diner, slowly melting into the night sky revealing a sea of blinking bright lights. Once the popular Equatorial Kuala Lumpur, the hotel has been rebranded as the trendy, chic EQ to reflect the …
In their quest for that perfect shot of single malt, Glenmorangie’s 23 year-old Grand Vintage Malt 1996 showcases the oldest whisky matured in their bespoke casks. Distilled in Scotland’s tallest stills, it is uniquely delicate and ripe for experimentation. Believing that wood could unlock new …
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, a 2008, 2012 and 2014 blend, was released in 2017. Stylistically and philosophically equal, Penfolds g4 is an evolution of the original concept, delivering an exceptional wine. The final release, Penfolds g5, will be available in 2021.
“These four Grange vintages are amongst our favourites of the last two decades. All so different – in every sense, not just climatically, the synergistic blending of these vintages works perfectly from a quality, structural and style perspective,” said Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago.
Blending across vintages is part of Penfolds’ winemaking philosophy. A natural progression was to apply this venerated technique to create a new Penfolds red style, first with Penfolds g3 and now with Penfolds g4.
“Each vintage component was carefully selected to bring something different to the final g4 blend, adding layers of intrigue and complexity. The cooler-vintage 2002 Grange is highly defined and sleek while the 2004 Grange is relatively opulent in comparison.
“The 2008 Grange, awarded a perfect 100 points by both Wine Spectator and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, is big and bold. The final component from the yet-to-be-released 2016 Grange serves not only to ‘freshen up the blend’, but also offers its own textural and flavour imprint,” added Gago.
The 2016 Grange will be released this month. Only 2,500 bottles of Penfolds g4 will be available around the world.
In 2019, Penfolds Grange was named ‘Australia’s Most Collected Wine’ by Wine Ark. Grange, a multi-vineyard and multi-district blend, retains its proven stylistic template to this day. The same is now true of Penfolds g4, a compelling expression ofGrange across four vintages.
Press release
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 …
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 Innovation when it comes to making the best out of stuff found in the fridge, so I am always happy to comply!
Just the other day, Ruby asked what to do with her opened box of cooking cream before it went bad. What do you know, I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago and back then, I didn’t have a solution.
Well, now I do! Besides a boring cabonara pasta, why not whip up a crustless quiche? So easy to make that even cooking noobs (that’s what my friend called herself, hahhaha!) can conjure up, this egg dish is fulfilling, comforting and healthy. Frankly, this dish works even without the cream (or milk), but the added richness gives it more flavour and body.
A quiche without a pie crust is essentially a frittata, and when it’s in a muffin tray, it becomes …. Baked Frittata Muffin! Ta da!!! It sounds so boojie that I’m totally stoked!
The proposed ingredients are changeable and you can’t go wrong even if you use more ham or less spinach or whatever. Go with your gut feeling and experiment!
Ingredients
4 eggs
1/2 cup ham, cut into small bits
2 cups spinach
One big onion, diced
100ml cooking cream (or milk, if you don’t have cream)
1/2 cup grated cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Before starting, heat up the oven to about 170 degrees C.
Using just about a tablespoon of oil or butter, give the ham a quick saute. Then remove from pan and put aside.
On the same pan, put a tablespoon of oil and sweat the diced onion before adding the spinach and some salt to draw the water from the vegetables. Saute the veggies by stirring constantly and once they have softened, remove from fire.
You can add just about anything you want – tomatoes, capsicum, spring onions, mushrooms – it’s really all up to what you like in your egg. Just ensure you’ve sweated the veggies so that your frittata don’t end up soggy.
Next the eggs – crack all four into a jug or a container with a pouring tip. Whisk the eggs, then add salt and pepper (and some herbs too if you like), then add in the cream and mix well.
The next part is the fun part. Firstly, grease the muffin tray, and then pour in a bit of the egg mixture to just about cover the bottom. After this, layer the frittata with some spinach, some ham and sprinkle some cheese on top for good measure. Lastly, cover all this with more egg mixture, up to 3/4 of the muffin hole as the egg will puff up. If you fill it to the top, it will spill over when cooking in the oven.
Bake for about 15 minutes, then take it out and let it cook before removing from the tray.
Ruby didn’t have a muffin tray so she used a baking dish instead, which works just as well. Some recipes recommend that you put this directly over the stove on low fire for 5 or 10 minutes for more even cooking if in a dish. But it’s fine even if you bake it directly in the oven – just that it’ll take longer, up to 25 minutes or more, depending on your heat and container, for the centre to cook properly. When done, cut into pieces and serve like a cake!
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 …
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 dense. Her version uses sour cream for a heavier cake that’s still moist and delicious. I’ve tried different versions and my final recipe is based on Mary Berry’s recipe from goodtoknow.co.uk
Update: I’ve tweaked the recipe to add a bit of sour cream. I find it makes the cake more moist and fluffier.
Ingredients
180g self-raising flour
160g castor sugar
180g butter, softened
3 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
zest from one lemon
2 drops vanilla essence
60g sour cream
Lemon drizzle
70g fine sugar
Juice from 1 lemon (about 4 to 5 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon warm water
Stir both together and keep aside
Method
Heat the oven to 175 degrees C. Cream the butter with the sugar until creamy and pale. Add the eggs one by one, lemon zest and vanilla essence and continue whipping.
Sift the flour and mix in the dry ingredients. Then add the sour cream and mix again. Transfer mixture into a 9x5in loaf tin that’s been brushed over with butter or lined. Then bake for 40 mins or until cake sets. If you poke a toothpick right through and it comes clean, means the cake is done.
Let it cool for 5 mins then poke small holes in the cake and pour the lemon drizzle over it when it is still hot and let it seep in.
Remove cake from tin when cool and serve.
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 …