Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Away......

*pic stolen from the web*

my first visit to Taipei :)))))
and we are definitely gonna scale up the 101.....with an elevator of coz.
Bahahahaha, wat were u thinking?

Enjoy ur week there folks!!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Biryani Birthday Dinner

The numerous spices used to prepare Biryani. Note the beautiful orange Nutmeg flowers. It's not really flower as in flowers but the Mace of the fruit/seed itself. According to JS it's one of the key spice ingredients in Biryani.

He obtained this awesome recipe from his ever reliable source, a certain Si Fu who hates to be mentioned here. Apparently I do have a huge followers here, bcoz of his fans base. -_-"

Anyway JS did a test run Biryani 2 weeks ago prior to this actual dinner for the guinea pigs gang. JS no longer calls them cute fluffy guinea pigs....they are now officially known as Piranhas with sharp jagged teeth >.< *ouch*


beautiful and prized Saffron procured from our previous trip to Spain
I used them like tic tacs in watever I want to the horror of JS

JS: "Do u have any idea how much that cost???? u just need a few sprigs...not a spoonful!!!!!"
errrr oh ya kah???? sowwyy~~~~~



Semi-aged Basmati rice
he said it has to be AGED!!!! and this was only SEMI....not perfect enuff.

Do u have any idea how it is to live with a perfectionist who also happens to be an engineer with precision??? Thank goodness he doesn't have OCD.......but I have and I damn can blarddy nag 9 streets long. Now we totally understand why no family members wanna stay/be with both of us. It's a disastrous combo.

essentials in Indian cuisine - clarified butter

Homemade bread/roti
I didn't know JS can make these...from scratch.....it was his first attempt

JS: "Can I borrow some of your flour?"
Monkey: "tssskkkk wat are u making? becareful!!! and don't dip ur hands into the jar, pls use a proper scoop."

as he was bz dusting the counter top, rolling a dough...
"wat are u making?"
JS: "bread...for tonite."

BREAD???? O.O as in B.R.E.A.D.

YS and Beautiful CS
since it's a Biryani dinner, everyone was supposed to turn up in Indian theme.....but epic fail. Moral of the story is....Guinea Pigs/Piranhas don't follow instructions.
caramelised onions were used generously for the Biryani. JS was having a hard time slicing dicing preparing so much of onions.

"Oh don't cry baby, I am sure my friends will love your Biryani"
JS -_-".......then T_T

Birthday Boy Brian and Sally Betty *her new nick*, she was supposed to turn up in a Betty Boo costume...but...oh well.......that nite she wanted to dig out my eyes to put back into my bitchy mouth :P

Birthday Boy looking youthful and effortlessly glorious....we need to dig.......his secrets....wat is his fountain of youth?!?!?!!?!


There wasn't much at the florist that morning....only gerberas and some miserable orchids and unopened lilies. So this was wat we got that evening....so sad...


my job was pretty simple that evening.....prepare some tomatoes salsa

cucumber raita which can be better....not intense enough bcoz I used the wrong yogurt -_-"

Mangos salsa wasn't too bad, but can be better...
anyway the star was Biryani so I didn't want to outshine Mr. JS
kekekekekekeke....

anyway no matter how hard I tried, I'll never be able to....

coz simple stuffs like this onion chutney prepared by JS was so so so awesome!!!!

OMG!!!!!
it looked so sloppy but I can concur that it was the best Lamb Biryani in Malaysia. Sorry lar I don't think u can outperform Hyderabad Biryani......hehehehehe.

the lamb melted in the mouth, with really good texture. Such intensity of spices....the basmati rice was just cooked to the right texture....silence ensued the dining hall...u know it's AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME.

I wanted to give Chef a standing ovation bcoz this was only his 2nd attempt but he opened his mouth to say, it can be better!!!!
O.O wat?????? wat else do u wanna improve on? Maybe the presentation la....kakakakaka

Dr. Epicurean who came early and Monkey were holding their respective champagne glasses watching Chef JS painstakingly prepared this dish...layers after layers of rice, lamb curry, saffron milk were being assembled....before the baking process. Yea so much of work and yet both of us stood there enjoying our bubblies and commenting on the difficulty level in getting the right texture, temperature and cooking duration. Macam lah food experts...prollie Dr. Epicurean is but not Monkey.

the final presentation....opps forgot about Pappadum pics....Birthday Boy Brian bought a huge pack and were gone in a few minutes. Told ya Piranhas have got jagged teeth that chomps reallllll fast.

the royal doulton baking tray was soon emptied. So yummy :)))))))))) and everyone soon sanked back to their comfy chairs after the feeding frenzy. Inclusive of those who doesn't consume carbs....

Chicken Dopiaza then made its way to the table.....and feeding frenzy continued.
chomp chomp chomp nom nom nom

The homemade bread/roti to accompany the Chicken Dopiaza.
Most of the guests enquired for the recipe bcoz it's so simple and so yummy :))))

simple palate cleanser of Watermelon Vodka granita
very untidy "plating" coz we were rushing....esp working with "ice"
Monkey scooped, JS grated lime zest over
from the freezer straight to the tummy....hahahahahaha


Shy Chatwin and Sexay Back Maggie....congratulations on ur big tummy...
nope she's NOT pregnant....or maybe she is...with FOOD of coz!!!!
hahahahahaha

then there's more FOOD
beef for those Carnivores



Basically there's only 2 carnivores on the table
they were just passing the beef to each other all the time....
one for you, one for me, one for you one for me

still passing beef around among the 2 carnivores

:P hahahahahaha


Sally Betty said she will give face and took a piece :P


Birthday Boy Brian was so happy
I guess his fountain of youth is to stay happy alwiz no matter wat. For someone a decade older than me and to look this GOOD....is seriously RARE. All of us must learn something from Brian :)

Sally Betty, Beautiful CS, Birthday Boy Brian, Sexay Back Maggie and Monkey

Dr. Epicurean, Chef JS, Shy Chatwin, YS with Birthday Boy Brian
Then the gentlemen wanted a group pic too....or more like we forced them to!!!

Brian will alwiz be Forever 21 :))))))))))))

Since I didn't have time to learn a new cake, so here u go again - Devil's Food Choco Cake. There's more birthday coming up, I better hurry up and learn more new cakes!!!!


Karaoke session.....I promised I will practice more OK. blame it one the alcos.
They were singing Tong Hua by Michael Wong. I don't know any chinese but it's really a beautiful song.



7 bottles for 9 adults....plus 2 tiny bottles of beer.
Thank you for the wines JS and Dr. Epicurean.

Thank you Chef JS for the awesome Biryani
so so awesome, he's hosting it another round for the "registered" guinea pigs :P
now we need to think of another dinner for this group of Piranhas.


Happy Birthday Brian Boy
May your life be showered with lots of love like this alwiz :))
Hope you've enjoyed the evening as much as all of us did


Friday, September 20, 2013

Unique food @ Kota Kinabalu

my favourite Fu Zhou Noodle
handmade egg noodle with minced pork, roast pork, some good shallots oil and finely chopped spring onions. It looked so simple and bland, not spectacular at all....but the noodle was springy with really yummy flavours!!!!

u can choose various toppings, but minced pork and roast pork combo is my usual favourite. The pork here in Sabah is different because the pigs reared here are on organic feeds, instead of pellets + antibiotics + chemical-ish stuffs. To me, Australia has the smelliest pork and chicken, thanks to all the antibiotics they were on.

the other common drinks in Sabah is their lemon tea. They drink them a lot and it's available at all chinese coffee shop.

This famous Foo Zhou Noodle is located at:
Jalan Maktab Gaya off Jalan Kolam,
Luyang, Kota Kinabalu.

Since the pork in Sabah is so good, the other must have is Pork Noodle of coz
Monkey only ordered the soup minus the noodle....can't load so much of carbs. The sliced pork here are really silky smooth bcoz they were "treated" with flour. They cooked it just right to retain its velvety texture. While the pork broth was really packed with oohmmmss, topped with shallot oil and pork lard as much as u want them.

the 2 saucer plates consisted of the famous sabah chili sauce and pork lards :))))) Sabah's chili sauce are really unique for its pungent white vinegar that its our tongue b4 the spiciness blew u off to the moon. If u are not into spicy sauces, just beware.

There are a few branches but we went to the original one
Kim Hing Lee *since 1982*
it is located at a row of low rise shop lots right behind Le Meridien Hotel, Kota Kinabalu.


"Tuaran" Noodle, named after a town. This noodle looked so bland huh? Believe you me it was really awesome. Made from only EGG YOLKS and flour this noodle is super supreme eggie to the max!!!!

Usually fried over high heat in a short period of time to create that crunchy crust at the bottom. So u'll get crunchy, bitey, al-dente noodle with that springy twang-twang texture. YUMMSSSS. Usually local vegetables sawi, meat or seafood are added. More eggs are added towards the end. The secret of it is a dash of "lihing" a locally made rice wine by the Kadazan-Dusun ppl here. It gives it a nice rum-sweetness to the noodle at the end.


Nope, it's not sawi.....this was a locally grown "Sayur manis"
the locals called it Sabah Choi as in Sabah Vegetables. Hahahahahaha

Really sweet and high in Vitamin K. Usually fried with eggs. Its stems were crunchy like asparagus and extremely sweet and delicate. It is not like the usual sayur manis that u can find in Peninsular Malaysia - the one usually served in Paan Mee. This one is bigger, Leafier *is there such word?*, fatter, juicer and sweeter.


The most refreshing drink here - Kit Chai Pink
literally translated to Iced Kalamansi. We do get it here in Peninsular Malaysia but in Sabah, it's like a staple drink...u see ppl drink it everywhere. Basically it's an iced cold chilled freshly squeezed kalamansi juice with salted plum.

oh yummsss.....really refreshing esp on hot sunny day. I drank a different variety at a Country Club in Sabah...they added 100 Plus into it...Weird. I still prefer it the original way.

In the island of Borneo, with such fertile land, beautiful mountains of the Crocker Range, exotic animals like the Orang Utan and Proboscis Monkey, weird flowers like the huge 1metre in diametre Rafflesia, beautiful islands, this place has got a lot to offer other than its unique food.

Oh not to mention the Kadazans, Muruts, Dusuns, Bajaus....I have yet to find time to visit their "Tamu". It is a market where natives gather to sell their much pride local produce. Really do need a tourist guide to take me to places like this.

Found this interesting site/blog *click here* which recorded a few exotic types of vegetables found in Sabah. I've eaten a few others which wasn't listed in the blog, weird looking shrubs from the jungle. Whenever I asked a local for its name, they'll give me its name in their native language which made it even more confusing.

Sorry me no speak Dusun nor Kadazans. I can't event differentiate them. Only know that Bajaus are good horse riders. Remember Mat Salleh the Bajau Freedom Fighter? hahaha he's not a caucasian, just that his actual name was Datu Muhammad Salleh.

And the word "Mat Salleh" used by locals to describe a caucasian actually came from "Mad Sailors" When the Brits arrived here in their ships, usually drunk, they ran in madness when they saw the local tribes, thinking they were cannibals....bahahahahaha. Oh yes, we were that uncivilised then, prollie wearing only banana leaves carrying a spear with tattoos all over the body :P

Weird but true. Go google :))))