Hari Kraf Kebangsaan 2008 (National Craft Day 2008)

Last week hubby was at his client's place at Kompleks Kraf and noticed there is an expo going on. He went round and saw many interesting stuff so we decided to bring our city boiboi to check things out. They have allocated some free parking lots around. The one we parked were behind Prince Court Hospital which was labelled C which is a huge place but its kinda the rough it out kind. They just dumped gravel stones on a few parts to level the ground and have many pot holes. It's one big mess after a heavy down pour when we left. There are a couple more A and B but A which is within the complex has limited space and B is a bit of walking distance away.

There were numerous huge tents set up for the displays and each tent has a theme of some kind ie. crafts made out of forest sources, batik, international crafts etc. The layout of the displays are prominently display all around the huge complex.

There were many traders displaying rattan wares and all these items are on sale. I noticed the price here is very reasonable and you can bargain for a fair price.

There are even modern design handbags for fashionistas.

There is a stall displaying gasing, a type of traditional top which fascinates my boiboi. There's a man displaying how to spin the top. We got boiboi the starter version at only RM5.00! Get the man to test out the top first before walking away with one cos you'll need one that can balance properly. There's one displaying various traditional drums.

Then there were flower stalls fashioned out of dried leaves and so forth. Very colourful indeed.

As we walked on, I heard a very sweet familiar music. As I got closer, I saw a man playing angklung (is this how it's spelt?) which is a traditional musical instrument fashioned out of bamboos. I tell you this guy is good!

This is how they looked like individually which one can play just like that instead of rows of them shown above.

Colourful beadings from East Malaysia.

<

This lady was seen weaving a rattan ball.

Fancy some old school coin box made of bamboos???

This piece of wall display is fashioned out of tree roots.

Wood carvings.

These flowers were made using fish scales!

This man is seen resting after working on his kuda kepang, a type of horse weaved out. Kuda kepang is used in a Malay dance from Johor.

The larger tents have stage in them showcasing various traditional dances and for this instance there was this keroncong session going on.

In tent number 10 (I think or could be 11), there are a few crafters around showing off their skills. Other than that you can paint your own batik or clay FOC.

You can also have your portrait sketched.

The man on the left is carving sand stones, on the right, the man from Semporna, East Malaysia was crafting wooden ships.

Over at the smallish international showcase, there is only a handful of crafters and all of them are Asian crafters ranging from dyeing cloth in natural dyes and materials from India; inlay crafting from Iran; embroidery from Bangladesh and stone carving from Nepal. Sounds rather pathetic huh?

Natural dye from plants etc are used together with mud which result the cloth came out with those cracked like prints.

The most interesting of the lot is this Inlay craft from Iran. The man saw pieces of wood and join them all up to form pictures.

Inside the main complex, there are rows and rows of traders displaying batik! Quite boring actually cos they looked kinda similar except for a couple. Also on display were Malay keris and pedang (sword).

What is expo without food haha... There is a huge tent that serves all sorts of food. Most of them are Malay stalls but I think there's one Nothern Indian cos there's a tandoor oven there. Since we just wanted some snacks, we have some very yummy cucur udang (the stall next to the Northern Indian one). From one of the stalls, I tried their bubur chacha and kuih talam. Both I have to say are superb!!! I haven't eaten such a nice creamy bubur cha cha in a long while, the creaminess is totally not over powering. They did not stinge with the ingredients for the kuih talam definitely. It's so hard to find soft, fragrant ones these days.

Overall, I find the expo quite disappointing. There were more traders than crafters. This is like a huge bazaar hahaha. I thought it would be more appropriate for them to showcase the experts' skills. Such a pity else my boiboi's generation will be totally at lost with all these beautiful crafts that we have in the country.

Anyway, it's still interesting to pay them a visit. The expo is on from 23 March till 7th April 2008. Opening hours is 10.00am till 10.00pm. Location is at Kompleks Kraf, Jalan Conlay, Kuala Lumpur. Map can be found here.

Pak Tong Koh (White Sugar Sponge)

Yozora asked one day if I happen to know how to make Pak Tong Koh, a type of Chinese traditional sweet cake. I told her that I've never made any before and neither does my mom knows how to make one. I went searching in the net and found this recipe by Florence, seems to be the easiest. This one only need 2 hours fermentation as compared to some - overnight!

I went and did a test run recently, well just to see if I could make one since I'm usually very sceptical about myself making such traditional stuff. They usually never turn out okay especially the first time.

I followed her recipe to the T with the exception that I added 140gm sugar, 10gm more after I tasted the cooked batter. The koh turned out looking like this...

They smelt exactly like those I've bought from the market, looked quite close too hehe... but the honeycomb texture is not so obvious though. Taste wise, quite close to the real thing but not sweet enough for a koh. I think 150gm sugar would be a better bet. Hubby said the yeast taste is a bit over powering but he tried not long after I took out from the steamer.

I kept them in the fridge over night since my mom said it will turn bad quickly. I took one the next morning and somehow can't detect the strong yeast taste but it's a bit hard though.

I gave a tub to my parents which she kept in the fridge. My mom being the rajin (hardworking in Malay) one steamed them the next morning before eating. When I called her, she asked if I really made the koh myself. I told her yes. She told me, they were very nice worrr :P hahaha... wah first time she said my cooking is nice!

I'm reproducing Florence's recipe here for my future reference. Thank you Florence for such a wonderful recipe.

Pak Tong Koh (White Sugar Sponge)

Ingredients:
(A)
170g sieved rice flour
130 - 150g castor sugar
360ml water

(B)
3/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp warm water

Method:
1. Mix (B) and leave aside for 10 minutes for use later.

2. Mix (A) together with a whisk and cook over low heat stirring all the time till a little thicken (this process should not be more than 5 minutes otherwise the mixture will have sago pearls forming). Sieve this mixture into a big mixing bowl and cooled it in a basin of water. Make sure it's cooled till luke warm.

3. Mix (1) and (2) together and blend well. Cover the mixture with glad wrap and prove in a warm place for 1 - 2 hours. When the mixture show signs of bubbles all over the surface then it is ready for steaming.

4. Pour the ready batter into a 19.5cm x 19.5 cm greased pan and steam on high heat for 20 -25 minutes.

5. Cut into serving pieces when cool.

Ref: Do What I Like blog by Florence

Technorati Tags: malaysian food + kuih

Review: Satay O'Mulia

Where to find satay in the city of Kuala Lumour when you have cravings for them in the evening???

Now don't read me wrong here hahaha... usually it's my the other half who will have all these weird cravings. No wonder his tummy is perpectually 4 months pregnant!

As he was throwing me this question, it suddenly dawn upon me that there is indeed one stall in the city that serves satay. Adly of Friedchillies have been telling me about this Satay O'Mulia aeons ago but somehow it never cropped up in my mind. This stall is located at the busy intersection between Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Semarak. It's opposite Menara Celcom. Parking is certainly not a breeze here, we went round the stall 4 rounds but yet can't find any parking, not even by the road side ok. Sigggghhh so I told hubby to try just one more round and yippeeee we managed to squeezed into one tight space in front of the Indian restaurant a few doors away.

We shared a table with a big fat cat. Too bad boiboi is not around else he will be very fascinated cos he just loved cats. Anyway hubby shooed it away when our satay arrived. He was worried that it will steal his satays away LOL.

I'm impressed with the large succulent chunks of beef and chicken meat. There were chicken skins in between the chicken pieces, burnt and caramelised under the charcoal. I'm glad the beef satay stays tender. Both types were well marinaded and went well with the peanut sauce. Loved the way O'Mulia serves their sauce. Just like Haji Samuri, they gave us a large bowl of peanut sauce and a small bowl of fiery hot chilli. We could scoop into our individual bowls to our hearts content without needing to call for the wait staff every now and then for refills. Not the best peanut sauce but hey, I'm not complaining... dunking in the cucumber and ketupat as well.

Our only grouses were some of the chicken satay were not cooked AND they seem to have used a lot of MSG either in their marinade or peanut sauce. The first was solved by sending back for another round of grilling but it was the mother-of-all thirstiness that I really can't stand for the whole night. That certainly spoilt everything about O'Mulia.

Other than satays, I noticed there were a lot of patrons ordering fried rice and noodles. If not for the MSG experience, I won't mind patronising again, so at the moment, it's a no for me.


Satay O'Mulia
300-1 Jalan Tun Razak,
54200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 6019 371 3639
Opens from 6.00pm - 11.00pm


Technorati Tags: malaysian food + satay

Slow Cooked Chicken and Potatoes

Sorry for the silence. Things has not been so bright since yesterday morning, we lost a colleague quite suddenly on Sunday night but thank goodness it was rather a peaceful one. It's not easy with this one as he has 3 young kids as well, just like ST Tee. Got me into thinking mode again...

Anyway, I have this in my draft folder. Enjoy yah.

Since the discovery to slow cook food without water... it's getting easier to have some of my meals prepared. One of the better ones done in a slow cooker is this Slow Cooked Chicken and Potatoes.

Easy peasy but in order to get a more fragrant taste, I pre-fried sliced onions with garlic, soy bean paste and fermented black bean together in oil. Then dump in chicken chunks and brown them. Arrange potatoes at the bottom of the slow cooker. Placed the chicken concoction on top. Cover and cook for about 3-4 hours.

The outcome was fantastic especially so after pre-frying the aromatics!

Check out my two other slow cooked meals:
Slow Cooked Chicken With Bittergourd
Slow Cooked Pork Ribs


Technorati Tags: slow cooker + chicken

In memory of ST Tee

Review: Red Door Cafe & Restaurant

Red Door is one of my parents' favourite joint but seriously I don't find them that great, just mediocre on the number of occassions I have joined them for dinner. Even though claimed by a couple food writers that this place serves authentic Nyonya food but I chose to digress. We have ordered ala carte dishes to go with rice but the portion is way too small and doesn't taste fantastic, let alone authentic. Funny that this place is always packed on weekends, well maybe there isn't much choice in Jusco Metro Prima.

Since sometime back, they decided to widen their menu by introducing individual meals like noodles or rice and when we went there recently, they have some additional items added to the menu as well.

I went for their Duck Noodles (RM8.80). The soup is of the herbal kind which is similar to the famous duck noodle found at Pun Chun, Bidor but clearer. Hubby was busying helping himself to my soup whilst waiting for his Char Koay Teow (stir fried flat rice noodles).

This was hubby's Char Koay Teow (RM6.80) which I tried a bite. Great to note it has enough "wok hei", a must for Char Koay Teow. Tastewise, it was surprising a good one.

Dad ordered Hainanese Chicken Chop (RM8.80), errr in a nyonya restaurant??? Aiyoh hahaha but he said it's a new item and he wanted to try it. When it came, it looked not too bad. I didn't taste it so no comment but he said it was ok.

My mom had their Melaka Chicken Rice (RM7.80) which came with 3 elongated rice balls served with soy sauce chicken. I ate this before and it was nice. The soy sauce chicken tasted like my mom's style. I like the chili sauce (sorry no photo cos her food came late and I didn't want to delay her from digging in).

We have a plate of fruit rojak (RM6.00) which is all right too but our only complain was the fruits were not cut in consistent sizes. Some of them came thinly sliced but some came in huge chunks! Just purely fruits and no crisps nor yau char kwai (deep fried crullers).

Mom and hubby each ordered cendol (RM2.80) which I think has improved tremendously but the portion is still kinda small. At least this time the cendol strips didn't came frozen.

Note: Not sure if it's halal or it's just pork free. Price stated above is excluding the 5% Government tax and 10% service charge.


Red Door Cafe & Restaurant
F27 First Floor
Jusco Metro Prima
Jalan Kepong
Tel: 603-6252 6186


Technorati Tags: malaysian food

East and West Fried Rice

Actually this is not one dish of East meets West fried rice hahaha just so happened I have two versions of sausages used. In terms of flavours, the Eastern or rather Chinese sausages tasted entirely different from the Western version, well except for a certain cured sausages that tasted quite similar.

Let's start with the Eastern version. I've used Chinese sausages, just cubed them. Scrambled some eggs in oil and set aside. This time I decided to make my rice more fragrant by deep frying some thinly sliced shallots. Remove them from the oil and set aside. Then I fry the sausages in the oil. When they became fragrant, I added leftover brown rice and stir to ensure the grains are separated. Stir in mixed vegetables and sprinkle soy sauce and white pepper all over. Continue to stir and add in the eggs. Stir till everything is mixed well before dishing up. Topped some fried shallots on the rice before serving.

It's simply delish!

Next up is the Western style with the usage of normal frozen premium sausages that usually I will have in my freezer on standby. Made this for my boiboi's dinner. Scrambled some eggs in oil and set aside. Just sliced the sausages up and pan fry them till brown. Put in some chopped garlic and fry till fragrant. Next, add in leftover brown rice and stir. Just need a few dashes of soy sauce and white pepper for seasoning. Add in some green peas and eggs and mix well. Dish up. Since I've made this for my boiboi's dinner, just need to squeeze his fave tomato ketchup all over for him and he downed them in a jiffy.

Technorati Tags: fried rice

Review: Nasi Lemak Mak Wanjor at Kampung Baru

One wet evening, hubby was craving for nasi lemak and so off we went to Kampung Baru. Since we were disappointed at how the Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa is faring these days, we went down a few stall further in search of Nasi Lemak Mak Wanjor. Very easy to find with a signboard up with the name on it.

There isn't much choices available that evening, so I took the ayam masak merah (chicken in spicy and red style) with sambal kerang (spicy blood cockles). The rice was fragrant and fluffy. The sambal is on the sweetish side which is nice. The cockles were just mediocre, maybe it's not freshly cooked. The chicken was tough and so were the deep fried ikan bilis (anchovies). Kinda disappointing but maybe because all these were cooked earlier in the day since they operate from morning.

Hubby had cockles and a piece of beef rendang. I took a piece of the rendang which tasted good but the meat is tough. Sighhhh...

Next time must try to go here in the morning to grab a piece of deep fried chicken!


Nasi Lemak Mak Wanjor
Jalan Raja Muda Musa
Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur


Technorati Tags: