Selamat Hari Raya 2015

Amazing Crab Curry by Mr. JS *his first attempt*

After numerous invitation by Peakie D to their beloved home for crab curries, and after so many tasting of this outstanding dish cooked by her mother-in-law, JS somehow has something in his mind.

A week later, he sourced all the ingredients including the "murungai" leaves. It's the leaves from a tree with long pods u call, drum sticks. Native at the foot hills of Himalayas, in Msia Indians community eat them in curries. For this dish, only the leaves were used. It's not easy to buy/get murungai leaves it seems, so Mr. JS got his staff to harvest some from his home and brought to the office. This one is KPI beyond job scope man....bahahahaha.

JS concocted his own Garam Masala with the portion of spices he preferred and took less than an hour to cook this blue swimmer crabs. When I tasted it...OMG..it tasted exactly like Peakie D's mom's cooking!!!! *clap clap clap*

So Selamat Hari Raya my dear readers...who said u need to eat only ketupat and rendang for the festival. Being Malaysians u can have anything u want as long as u are happy. Just like how we had CNY open house with ketupat and rendang :)) So here to a blessed Raya celebration with Indian Crab Curry!!! That's the beauty of being Malaysians and I am proud to be one.

Be safe wherever you are :))) and we are heading off to Doraemon's hometown. 

The Men Cooked up a storm in Singapore

Claypot Crab Rice, all made from scratch

If a pic taken with an iPhone could be so stunning, the real dish is even more awesome. Agree? So it was one of those weekends where we would bump ourselves to Singapore just for catch-up session. Session of food and wine indulgence, sometimes it has to be done quietly......shhhhhh....stealth mode into the country and quietly out. But these days with social media, u can hide no more unless u decided not to post nor share any pics.

another stunning dish of fresh frog legs wok fried with "hor" or kuey teow or in english, it's known as flat rice noodles. Kowfuu made sure there's plenty of "breathe of fire" on this dish. Usually beans sprouts are used to introduce the smokiness into the dish by frying it first on the wok to release the aroma, then u throw away the beans sprouts before actually frying the ingredients and adding more fresh beans sprouts.

According to the Men, this is wat the Char Kuey Teow guy does too. This technique is to release the smokiness and intensify the breathe of fire. JS and Kowfuu does a lot of analysis and discussion when it comes to cooking....from techniques to suppliers, to ingredients and methodology. It could be one single step that makes a whole world of difference.

But I was too bz slurping down my frog legs hor.....the smoky flavours and the fresh sweetness of its muscles. Definitely better than fish and chicken hahahhahaa, that's wat I usually tell the kids when they refused any frog legs. By far the most orgasmic frog legs I had were there ginger fried frog legs at Jade Palace Singapore and the home cooked ones by Chef Takashi Kimura. 

Have a look at the Jade Palace's orgasmic fried frog legs *here*

JS cooked a huge pan of prawns pasta with oil rendered from the prawns heads and shells. I guess the men were trying to save some plates and dishes by serving it directly from the pan. While the poor maid was still busy scrubbing and washing ever since they started cooking.

I didn't snap pics of most dishes, must be overly happy bcoz we were drinking since 12pm. Weeeee areeee the champions my friends.......and weeeeeee'll keep on drinking till the endddddd. Okie correction...Monkey always promote drinking responsibly...so always consume alcohols in moderations and do not handle machineries nor drink and drive!!!

So I resorted to drinking daikon soups and ended having 3 bowls. So yumssss, slow boiled with amazing ingredients inside. Okie u won't wanna know, it's basically all the good stuffs. :)))))))

The Men kept on churning food outta the kitchen while the really blessed and honored guests were bz chomping and nom-ing down every single plates/bowls and glasses of champagnes and wines.

Take a closer look on this claypot crab rice...the roe were still creamie, there's triple fermented soya sauce being used, some grand cru fish sauce from Vietname, fried garlic, freshly chopped spring onions. anchovies from Spain, caramelised shallots...definitely full of umami. Now who's hungry? and the grains were fluffy and fat from Spain too.

With all the superior ingredients made to pair and complement each other, this pot of rice was really a bomb in terms of flavours. Kowfuu not too happy about the texture, he said he's gonna try again.

while doing lunch, Boo_licious  mentioned that these tarts down the road were to die for....and bcoz we were so full to the brim from lunch, we decided to pack some of the tarts back. Sadly at around 4pm after our lunch *ahem yea it was a long 4 hours lunch* there were only a few options left.

 

So we packed back strawberries, lemon curd, berries, caramelised nuts and some eclairs back. Really really yummy especially the pastries.

The single odd one out was the chocolate cake - packed back from lunch at Les Amis. In order to get privilege to settle the bill, I told the Maitre'D that it's my bday and I'm buying lunch for my dearie friends.....somehow my credit card got rejected by the restaurant, bcoz the rule there is the person making the reservation gets to pay.

While J&J James told me that So Sorry, Singapore will never ever accept ur credit card. It doesn't work here. Haha very farnie. We never ever get to pay for our friends here......thank you so much for ur hospitality guys!!!

And bcoz i told a lil lie....or rather quite a big one...the restaurant wheel out my mini "birthday" cake with a song. *wham head onto table* all decorated with berries and gold leaf. So kids, never ever tell lies, there's consequences~~~~~ BOO!!!!

Mini Infinity dark chocolate ice creams!!!! so so good~~~~~
and after a few days of extreme indulgence......we flew back to Malaysia with really really contented tummies and happiness thanks to the amazing company of our dearie friends.

and bcoz Monkey was raving on and on and on about the Claypot Crab Rice.....JS cooked his version for me. Combination of Kowfuu's technique and the special avocado curry sauce from Chef Takashi Kimura.

What surprised me was the curry sauce tasted exactly the same!!!
"He gave u the recipe?"
JS: "Nope, I de-constructed it based on taste and memory."

Ok confirmed la, Chef Takashi will never ever share with u what's inside in the future. U copy cat!!!! kekekeke but it was an extreme good copy with amazing efforts to construct something out of ur taste memory.

Kowfuu was also amazed that JS combined the best of both world to make one single dish. Hahahaha...u damn can la Mr. JS. If u guys are wondering and would love to have recipes, these guys alwiz cooked without one. Depending on request, sometimes they have to re-draft something for my readers out of their memories. I can't cook without recipes. Even with recipes it doesn't taste the same, bcoz according to JS, recipe is just the beginning....it's all about technicality, timing and ingredients. Okie lor....u win liao lor...

Nasi Lemak Brunch Gathering

Rice boiling in rich coconut milk and coconut water, thrown in some pandanus leaves for that extra fragrant nose. YES JS boils all his rice from scratch and our rice cooker is a bit under-used. He was contemplating to get another high-end Japanese super rice cooker which cost thousands of USD...I dunno wat it does, prollie can make coffee and massage me too bahahahaha

so back to the rice...it ain't easy to control the temperature, but according to HIM, it's much easier to boil rice this way to achieve the best texture, consistency and flavours. I guess if he could start some wood fire at home, he would do it....>.<

the amazing caramelised....beef rendang...oh my gawd, this was a bomb!!! It's so rich and intense in flavours with good balance of spiciness, sweetness and coconut cream. I don't wanna know how much of coconut cream and milk went into preparing this brunch :))

The ferocious chef with his Japanese knife, but wearing a cute Kumamon apron :)))))

one of his many Birthday pressie from MW Maho...he indeed looked cute innit. Thank you MW Maho!!

everything was made from scratch including this sambal belacan paste, where Mr. JS had to cut the red dried chilis with his scissors to remove all of the seeds, wearing his gloves and apron....he looked like he's about to cry. HAHAHAHAHA poor thing but the end results was so fabulous so it's totally worth it!!

The camera feast first before the human can hahaha.

Yes I do know, I've lost too much of weight, it's not the kind of healthy weight lost bcoz 7kg gone in 2 months. So now I need to stuff my face with more food and nasi lemak to gain those back :))) Gimme back my curves!!! I don't wanna be a bag of skeletons!!!!

even the preparation of hard boiled eggs has got its own techniques *rolls eyes*
JS said it has to start from slow boil...bla bla bla bla...to give it that full and creamie texture. Before he could finish explaining his methodology, Monkey ady popped a few into her mouth alongside the yummylicious sambal.



We took "orders" from guests the nite before.....how they want their eggs and number of pieces. Runny yolks or thoroughly cooked.



The must have fragrant peanuts and crispy slow fried ikan bilis from Kuantan. Oh yes the anchovies must be fried slowly and patiently......ohmmmm ohmmmm ohmmmm, took quite some time and Monkey was bz stealing fr the bowl in the process...krop krop krop yummmsss.


superb beef rendang, garnished with thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves....oh so caramelised and the meat was so soft and succulent :)))))) delish~~~~If there's any rendang that can convert anyone, this would be it....bcoz even those guests who don't consume beef had the thick gravy.


crispy fried fish with turmeric powder. This's my all time favourite, if JS prepares this for dinner...oh yummssss.....dip with sambal or any homemade chili sauce makes my evening :))))


Homemade from scratch.....sambal sotong...

JS was so anal, he insisted that it has to be the yellow sotong, instead of the white one for its chewy texture and it can absorb more flavours from the base sauce and gravy. This whole pot of sambal was gone in 1.5 hours time.


very last minute, Mr. JS prepared a bonus dish - fried salted fish with sugar, fish sauce and drizzled with lime juice and cut bird eyes chili.

Monkey: "Eh I think some of our guests don't eat smellie salted fish lar."
JS: "Nevermind lar, I wanna eat."

in the end, everything gone.......-_-"
Monkey to a guest: "hey hey hey I thought u don't eat salted fish?"
Our Guest YS: "What do u mean I don't eat? I swallow them whole....love it!!!"

so...wat did Monkey prepared?
heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
*sheepish smile*
I cleaned and cut the japanese cucumber. Very important to complement the main course...no nasi lemak dish is complete without the cool cucumber...JS insisted it has to be cut in such angular chunks. and I thought doing this task was easy....when u are in JS's household, nothing is "easy"

and oh my......the end results...
forgot to add in beef rendang and fried egg into my final presentation. All the multiple preparation and hardwork was worth it. The grain was so flavourful with coconut milk and juice. Everything else complement each other from texture to flavours, spiciness was balanced with a certain amount of sweetness, the saltiness of the fried anchovies just add some zeng to the dish....but my ultimate favourite was still the sambal sotong....

and bcoz I've cut a huge servings of cucumber...there's a lot of leftover...I just ate them all with sambal :)))

chitter chatters on a beautiful sunday morning :))))
I lurve dining at my own home, no dress code....and so so comfy especially in the comfort and company of my friends :))))

everything was gone including 1kg of rice
-_-"
I dunno how we could finish 1kg of rice!!!!

JS had to supplement more with the leftover belacan paste and fried a Nasi Goreng Belacan. Spicy yo!!!! He was too generous with the belacan paste.

mini cute sweet and crunchy apples and Teh Tarik and Horlicks ice creams!!!! Yup Nasi Lemak must have teh tarik. Beautiful CS brought a few packets of hot and fragrant teh tarik but we forgot to snap pics.

Lil Monster can't wait for her ice cream!!!

YS, Melvin, JS, Brian C and Eric C
Good to see that everyone had an amazing time and thank you for mopping off all the food. :)))

and the ladies - Beautiful CS with her Lil Monster, Sal, Monkey, Brian C and Eric C
Thank you for your infectious laughters and beautiful friendship.

We ate brunch till 5pm
hahahahahaaha so now it's time again to prepare for the next Nasi Lemak brunch for another group of friends. Now I can no longer eat outside Nasi Lemak for the version that's prepared and cooked with love by Mr. JS is just too yumssss.......

my colleagues still don't understand why izzit that I alwiz rushed home for dinner before coming out again to see them for events. 
Colleague: "Babe let's grab dinner before the event."
Monkey: "Dude, I gotta go home to eat ...."

Boss: "Do you want to dine with me before we head off for the event?"
Monkey: "I am goin home to eat first, so see you at the event boss!!"

colleaguesssss: "What is it about you goin home to eat first ALL THE TIME??? You don't like us izzit???"
Monkey :)))))))))) hehehehehe

Celebrations on Valentine's Day

Gosh that was 2 months ago....shows I have so many pics and details to blog about. Thing is, Monkey didn't wanna pick and choose, everyday every events, every session is truly important to her, and it must be documented for memories.

Since February 2015 was around the celebration of Chinese New Year, we decided to kill many many birds with a single stone. To celebrate the arrival of Sheep Year, TC the Photog's birthday and finally Valentine's Day.

In fact JS and Monkey don't really celebrate V-Day, more like of anti V-day bcoz according to JS, everyday is Valentine's Day....hiak hiak hiak. But since we are cooking, we invited friends to dine with us with home cooked food, with love of coz.....candles and flowers and chocolates. Hahahahaha.

We bought the prepacked Yee Sang set from Isetan, added more sashimi slices of Salmon Belly. Added more fresh pomelo sacs, grated fresh daikon and carrots, used own extra virgin olive oil and we have a semi-home made yee sang.

Hmmm where's the condiments? I only see fish around here...but no complaints coz in the end everyone went for the sashimi quality fish!!!

Lou ah!!!
Huat Ah!!!!!

It's always a mess but this is a good mess, it's wat every chinese who celebrates Chinese New Year would want. The abundance of good things in a single dish...but to me Yee Sang is quite symbolic and serves as a quick appetizer. The true full abundance of good things kinda dish to Ms. Monkey is actually "Pun Choy". I had so many this year and would rate the one from Chuai Heng Chinese Restaurant at Jalan Imbi the most delicious one. :)))))

So far the year of Sheep has been a fantastic one, I am really enjoying each and every day with good company of friends and loved ones, amazing eats and drinks but most of all absolutely amazing new experience in life....

to sum it up, I just need to do 4 things this year.
Travel
Eat
Learn
Live

:)))) simple and meaningful.

Not bad.....guests did an amazing job in tossing the auspicious yee sang to such beautiful mix of colors. Just reminded me of the recently launched Hennessy VSOP Privilege Collection 5, a bottle with vibrant colors and stood the test of time, designed by British Art Director Peter Saville. :)))

Read more about it *here*

because I've promised all my beautiful guests that it will be a dining experience for them on their Valentine's Day, so it had to have some for of decorations for mood and ambience.

Japanese Yuzu with the special citrus grater and "duster" which JS acquired from Japan. Basically u grate the yuzu and dust it off ur dishes straight fr it.

Cute isn't it? we saw the same one at Kame-Sushi Desa Sri Hartamas, :)) Kame also means turtle in japanese.

Bahahahaha Horses are indeed so last year...
Welcome year of Sheep Sheep and this lil cute card is now sitting on my office desk. Reminding each day to Bahahahahahahaha. Which I do....every morning without fail esp with my secretary first thing at 7.30am

double boiled superior stock....all made with love by Mr. JS and boiled for 7 freaking hours!!!!.....those were not sea cucumber floating in this soup, but grand cru level of fish maw, acquired and procured by none other than his mommy dearest. The texture was so so good, almost like gelatine but with a good bite.

The soup was extremely sweet with a certain umami-ness. Yuzu zest added right before serving just further enhance the flavour. Indeed this was a very rich bowl of soup. Every guest only got to have one single bowl coz there ain't enuff!!! hahahaha

YS the giraffe was the only lucky one to have an extra bowl, to the dismay of other guests. Everyone was watching him slurping down the last drop. Hahahahahahaha

Mr. JS frying some greens with prawn oil. Look at that face.....it's like I got this under my control....I called this the LCLY look. LOL. Agree?

His kitchen is considered spanking clean looking at the amount of food being churned out from here. Since we have TC the Photog as one of the guests, he was also made to "work" here....snapping pics for Monkey :P

what is chinese new year without the yummy claypot waxed meat rice!!!
all cooked from scratch...where the waxed meat from Yung Kee Hong Kong were sauteed on the same claypot, rendered its fats and oil....then some these oil were used to fry the rice to a certain degree before being left to boil on its own.

the superlicious yummy waxed meat!!!! U only get this at certain time of the year :)))) So rich and full of flavours bcoz the darker colors were made with mixture of foie gras :))))

JS cooked a small portion of baked prawn pasta for Joey C coz she doesn't take meat. But it ended up in everyone's stomach. Yeah the piranhas...u know who u are :D

My dearest Dom Perignon Chef :)))) made ROAST PORK wahahahahaha. This pic was taken by Photog TC on 14th February, way before I joined the brand :)))) I know...he's really supportive of my career and I think he secretly wants my job :) kekekekeke.

We bought this apron during our visit to Dom Perignon's maison, Epernay a few years ago.

Proud Chef with his mouth full of roast pork....bz chewing...krop krop krap krap. We forgot to snap upclose pic of the roast pork...coz once it was presented on the table.....it was WAHHH all gone!!! real quick!!! well u could tell fr Chef's face he was already enjoying it before serving it to the guests.

yup we are only 30 years old.....really young :))

all the great whiskeys of limited edition and limited productions, especially the sherry cask and mizunara. What a privleged to enjoy them, :)))


Happy Guests eppy hostess....
Beautiful CS must be trying to stress her points *as always*

Ben smacking his head....can't remember what it was about...while Cat was bz helping herself to more japanese whiskey.

It was also on 14th February 2015, that her husband fell in lurve with whiskey for the first time. When he was served alcohols that nite, Cat insisted that the hubby doesn't drink a lot. Now he's a true whiskey connoisseurs with knowledge spanning from production, the types of barrels used, its peats to the different style of whiskeys and of coz the tasting profile.

what is chinese new year without "Tong Yuen"???
and what is valentine's day without something sweet to end the dinner?
so JS made the ginger jus from scratch and with love of coz, but store bought frozen black sesame dumplings.

Not forgetting the birthday boy TC the Photog with Joey C

It has always been a joy to work with TC and *click here* to read about the making of one of the project we did together --> Shell Shell's Bridal Shower photoshoot

JS was so tired by now, from cooking hahahaha and drinking :P

Joey C, Cat, Beautiful CS, Monkey and BCBG Amy

and bcoz it's Valentine's Day, all ladies deserve a bouquet of flowers :))))
thank you for coming :)))) so blessed to have all of you in my life. But most of all thank you to chef for such an awesome dinner.