In room dining *by JS*

The day we came back from Burgundy, the weather decided to take a turn......yes, to our horror, it started snowing again!

BRRRRRR, that looks freezing!

Back in malaysia i always envy the countries with 4 seasons but after being in France for like one week+, i am convinced that our climate back home is more tolerable and adaptable. Infact this sort of winter is pretty harsh and how miserable it can get when it's snowing .......and TV can be quite deceiving by portraying people with happy faces and playing in the snow or white christmas with a log fire in a cozy wood cabin(yes, its nice in the cabin but not outside!!!) or people with their toboggans or skis speeding down a snow slope......Frankly I would settle for a round of golf under the hot midday sun anytime!! :)

BTW snow=ice=wet=slippery=fall down if not careful!! hence to walk on the melting snow(slush) really needs concentration if you don't want to look stupid :)

Anyway to cut a long story short, we decided unanimously to eat in for our dinner. You folks may wonder what got into our head......i mean for goodness sake, we'r in Paris the most romantic place on earth with nice al fresco dining and loads of 3 michelin star restaurants and here we are dining in room!! Frankly I think we had too many days of rich food so probably good time to gear down a bit.

Anyway Monkey, Dinos the great and me went to Le Bon Marche food dept to get some goodies for dinner and we will order some food from the hotel room service menu to make up for any shortfall.

Side track a bit......Le Bon Marche was the first departmental store in France and I must say for us this time around, it's the most visited place....haha! I blame the weather for forcing us to go indoor :)

So here's some pictures of our in room dining.

Chicken drumstick heated on the radiator of the hotel's central heating system

Lobster salad on the right and baguettes served with echire butter!

In addition we had another two salads.

not iberico but something quite exotic.

A white burgundy from domaine Leflaive's premier cru AOC of Puligny Montrachet and sub parcel of Les Clavoillon. We bought two bottles but only managed to drink one.......the story of the other bottle will only be told 10 years from now unless one of the 4 of us blurp it out >:-(

yes, Dinos the great insist on having cheese. The cheese on the far end is black truffles sandwiched in between two pieces of Brie cheese! Note the Le Thiers knife......i bought that in Reims a week ago and it did come in handy....ie, to cut the cheese and uncorking the bottle of wine :)

and dessert was tangerines from Le Bon Marche.....amazingly sweet and tasty!

Note all the empty plates and bowls .......yeap....their faces says it all.......but I think i spotted a "not enuf to eat" look amongst the three of them!

On another occassion Monkey and me had room service and this was what we got.......

silky pumpkin soup served in a Le Creuset pot with a sprinkle of paprika.

Another Le Creuset pot.....Guess what's in it????

Amazing eh?? Roast free range chicken on a bed of mash potatoes with whole garlic and a couple of sprigs of thyme.....and roasted in the Le Creuset pot.

well, since i no eat chicken......i have to settle for baguette sandwiches and really i don't mind at all :)

Very impressive room service menu and even more impressive when it's served in the Le Creuset pot!

Happy reading folks.....the next post you will see will be from your favorite monkey as she will be back by Sunday. Enjoy the weekend :)

Shabu Shabu @ home

well sometimes u just get too bored over wat to eat
this is wat my Si Fu alwiz said....."eat until dunno wat to eat...sien"

and till today I still dun trust his definition of "simple"
walauweh....if u r my boss, sure die....
"nah, just keep it simple........"
but I'll ended up doing something so extraordinary coz boss's definition of simple is a milestone notch above the actual term
-_-"

so when JS and Monkey really bored over dinner
and sometimes just too tired to cook
and most of all prepare and clean the food
Shabu Shabu is the best!!!!!

good quality shabu cut beef *wagyu better*....make sure have enuff fats as well, u dun want ur meat dry

freshly made toufu fr Isetan
*to make things simple, just shop at Isetan....they have everything fir Shabu Shabu*
**anyway that's where we shop for groceries all the time :P**

the stock....just get the bottled one fr Isetan :P
otherwise make a dashi stock but we dun have time for that
throw in the sweet onions first
followed by leeks and spring onions
this will further sweeten the base soup
:)))))))))))))))

we lurve this vege....it's called Tong Hou in chinese
or known as Garland Chrysanthemum
in Jap it's called Shigiku
with its good texture and a bitter after taste it's excellent for shabu shabu

not to forget all the dips for Shabu Shabu
on the butterfly shape dish is Yuzukushou courtesy from Chef Takashi Kimura
Thank you :))))))))

actually ppl dun eat it with Shabu Shabu but we lurve it with beef :))))))))))
on the deep dish is the goma *Sesame dip* very very yummy
and not to be missed a Malaysian favourite....spicy can die kampung chili padi in good quality soya sauce
*we get our soya sauce supply from Ipoh*

throw the food in and cook according to your liking

u can add a lot of other things...like small lil baby sweet corns, chinese cabbage, seaweed,
but not too many things coz u dun wanna spoil the originality of Shabu Shabu...kekekekk

the leftover broth can be cooked with rice, noodles, udon watever to ur liking
we usually use japanese glass noodle :)))))))))))))))

very easy and quick huh?

and most of all it's comfort food
*stomach rumbling*
heeeeeeeeeeeee

Lim Kee, Kuchai Lama

This post is dedicated to J&J James & Jelina
next time when u r down in KL we'll have their yummylicious fish head curry kay?
:))))))))))))))))))

chili padi and soy sauce is a must on every chinese dining table

dun care wat u eat...this is like a compulsory accompaniment

the other usual one would be pickled green chilis

we were craving for fish head curry + hokkien mee

so where else to go cept Lim Kee Eatery at Kuchai Lama

they have shifted from the wooden shack under the tree to the grey colored shop lots
just right opposite the road....
the above was not the chef...but their maid adding more "wok-hei" after the dishes came out fr its main kitchen.

so all in all they have 3 kitchens....if the above is counted as one :P
service is alwiz gruff and friendly
Auntie Fatty asked us: "why so long neva come?"
"no kaki to come here lar....need big group to eat here...so can enjoy all your yummy dishes"

fish head curry is not their specialty
somehow it's so yummy that soon it will bcame their specialty

we alwiz wondered....could it be the curry powder that they used
coz it's has such distinctive aroma to it.
and lotsa lotsa vege...
the trick was to pre-deep fried all the vege first before throwing em back to the hotpot
we slurp-ed everything down to the last drop of its gravy

hokkien mee with crispy crunchy porkie lard on top

:)))))))))))))))

the other specialty of theirs

fried glass noodle with condiments

served with bittergourd on the side

topped with crushed crispy pork lard on top

so u can't see them....but as u chomp on the glass noodle

it's everywhere!!!!!!

yes vege looked so normal....

but bcoz of their ferocious gas fire...

it has such wok-hei-ness

very very good!!!!

we lurve crunchy greens..

not soggy soft ones

Lim Kee Eatery

Off Jalan Kuchai Lama,

Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur.

"A B C" soup *by JS*

Thought i do something different for todays posting.........Yes, i shall attempt to document the preparation of my dinner.

In this household, when this dish is prepared, you can be rest assured that someone is not feeling well......Damn, got this very bad sore throat/flu and it's an infection from a very aggressive strain of virus >:-(

Anyway i really needed comfort food and the first thought that came to mind was the "A B C" soup so here goes...........

this is the mire pioux and tomatoes....... coarsely cut

some nice wash potatoes peeled and............

roughly cut

pork ribs blanched in boiling water

long peppers, cubeb pepper corns and 2 bay leaves

The long pepper and cubeb pepper is the most important ingredient. If replaced with ordinary pepper corns, you will get............. an ordinary soup!

The long pepper has this floral bouquet and incredible earthy nose and when combined the scent is so complex that it goes beyond what one will call a floral bouquet.

Like Long Pepper, Cubeb pepper is also mainly grown in Indonesia(Bali actually) but it's origins like the common pepper corn lies in India. It is pungent and bitter with a strong terpene aroma. The aroma is sometimes described as woody, champhoraceous and spicy peppery.

Basically put everything in a big pot(except potatoes), fill with enuf water to completely cover everything and bring to a boil. Then simmer until meat is reasonably soft but not falling of the bone. At this stage add in the potatoes and continue to simmer until it turn soft and soup thickens.

By then, the meat should be just about falling off the bones. Add water if necessary at any stage.

To serve garnish with scallions.

Yes, it's a simple soup guys but remember the special pepper corns are key and unique.

aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh :)

Mother of All Sandwiches *by JS*

One fine evening Monkey decided to have sandwiches for dinner. You see.....CNY been eating too much very rich food so must detox a bit........someone trying to be health freak :)

Monkey :- remember to buy isetan bread, ham, cheese, onion, cucumber, tomatoes, rockets, mayonaise, butter...... blah.....blah....blah.

JS :- are you sure you can eat all that......u usually have one sandwich only so how to fit in!!???

Monkey :- you wait and see lar......HUHHHHH.....belum nampak belum tahu!!

So JS went out to get all the items and still pondering how are we going to eat all that........then preparation time.....slice everything, bring out the ham, rockets, cheese, butter, mayo, etc and set the table.

Now, let the show begin.

Monkey then began to assemble her masterpiece....first spread butter on one slice of bread......then on goes cheddar cheese........cucumber comes next......

Monkey :- always pair the dry and moist ingredients!

Then on goes the ham follow a spread of mayo and then piled with onion slices......and a handful of rockets and couple slices of tomatoes......and on goes another piece of bread spread with butter!

Monkey :- did you ask earlier on how we going to eat all that?? well, now you seen for yourself :)

JS :- but......but........but.......i thought we detoxing and eating lite!!!???

from this angle the sandwich looks pretty ordinary.......and so does monkey.

thats better......see how thick !!! but still can go into the mouth.....that's not very ordinary....... scary man!!!

this is really how thick the sandwich was.......I am speechless -_-

NOW....that's what i call a sandwich.....mother of all sandwiches and I am still pondering how it fitted into that mouth.......only one explanation.......damn BIG mouth......haha!