Saturday 27 October 2012

Epicurious Brunch @ Bangsar Shopping Centre

Veni Vidi Voro was the motto on Bangsar Shopping Centre's (BSC) East West Food Fest banner. Capt'n Hook interpreted to me it's "I came, I saw, I ate" in Latin o.O don't ask me how he knows and when I asked... he proofed it to me by searching on the net via his phone! Well, the meaning is right about there and that was what happened today when the 3 of us visited the Epicurious Brunch.

15 stalls doesn't sounded much but by the time you try out the food from each stall... I tell ya... your stomach would be bursting! Luckily for us, we sampled and shared the food amongst ourselves, in a way, a little goes a long way for not for ttthhhat long.

Brunch menu was the call of the day and you'll find plenty of creative brunch menus to chow on. Starting off near the entrance is Craft Bakers with an array of very interesting breads and pastries ranging from Chocolate Chili Bun, Ginger Chili Chelsea Bun to Chocolate & Pumpkin Bread. Craft Bakers is an Artisan European style bakery and cafe located in Solaris Dutamas and they serve freshly baked organic breads, coffee and tea.

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Craft Bakers

I finally got a taste of the goodies from Swich Cafe! We sampled on Salted Egg Yolk Soft Shell Crab Pizza which essentially met the East West theme. The salted egg yolk crab smelt so good when the chef was cooking it that we stayed on and waited for the pizza to come out fresh from the oven! There's an aioli on it but yet it's not rich. Was told that they'll be opening by early next year at Publika, yay!

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We checked out Andy's BBQ next! Well Andy is basically based in USA but his brother, Todd, is helming the stove here in Kuala Lumpur. We have Smoky Chicken Banana Pancake with Gula Melaka and Virgin Kiwi Mint Julep. We loved the mint julep, very refreshing. The pancake is quite funky huh... there's the smoky flavour from the chicken but there's sweetness from banana slices and a light gula melaka syrup.

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Can't helped but to watch a bunch of jovial youth over at Yay, Sammich! I was served by Basira and was told their Christmas Kinda is very popular. The sandwich has roast chicken, cranberry jam, cheddar cheese and gravy and they're grilled on a panini pan before serving.

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Next we have Paulisima's Kitchen which is showcasing tacos with handmade corn tortillas. The tortillas are soft, totally different from those stiff pre-packages stuff. I opted for the traditional one which is the Classic Beef which has mozarella, chopped onion, cilantro and a roasted tomato salsa.

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Kee's Creampuff which has a shop front at Subang Business Centre is serving creampuffs plus a brunch that made up of devil egg, cheesy cream puff and chocolate cream puff. We tried the classic creampuffs... nice choux pastries filled with cream.

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Kee's Cream puff

The Potong had a presence here and I've blogged about them earlier. There are 3 new flavours for this brunch and we tried one of them - Sparkling Mimosa which must be really good that BoiBoi asked for seconds but too bad by the afternoon the Sparkling Mimosa was a little too soft due to some technical problem. We got him the Blueberry Yoghurt instead which turned out he quite liked it too even though he said it was a little sour but then again this is real yoghurt, not the sweetened kind. We also tried a Nutty Choc... nutella and fresh coconut milk, need I say more?

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Jason's Food Hall have some delectable local and western goodies. I spied nasi lemak, sandwiches, pasta, kuih muih etc but then not only that but the award winning macarons and chocolates from Pierre Ledent. I'm not a big fan of macarons as I always find them overly sweet however Pierre Ledent's one is a different story altogether. 

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It was much later on that we noticed quite a number of people from our neighbouring tables were devouring the banana leaf packaged nasi lemak. Capn't Hook bought a packet and got it heated up. Oh what a delightful find!

Kuriya made a big presence as it had a tuna cutting demo at noon. There were hordes of people crowding around the chefs while they twist, turn and slice up the 58kg tuna! After the demo, the packets of fresh tuna sashimi and sushi just snapped up like hot cakes!

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I met Chiun of Smooshie. On display was homemade yoghurt topped with strawberries with red dragonfruit and buckets of colourful bottled natural fresh juices without sugar nor preservatives. Oh boy, when you read the labels that came with health benefits on them, you'll find really interesting flavours that really works! Both the juices we tried were equally good. One of it Passion Fruit, Orange and Yoghurt but the adults loved the  Green Apple, Lemongrass and Rambutan! Rambutan, oh wow, so exotic as juice, nice.

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Next to them (a little hidden at the corner), you'll find loads of gourmet treasures at Gourmandine ranging freshly made breads and pastries, French butter (oh Heaven), gourmet juices and syrups and so forth. I brought back a sandwich loaf and made a yummy open sandwich of grilled chicken, carrots (cos I've ran out of lettuce) and topped with an egg for dinner. Just remember their breads are made without preservatives hence you'll need to quickly eat up or keep in the freezer or fridge or they'll turn moldy pretty quickly in our weather.

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These babies are from Ultra Fudge Brownies by Lexy. Was too full already so we brought back Ultra Fudge Brownies with Walnut and Spiced Orange and Raisins Fudge Brownies that are so full of chocolaty goodness.

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After hearing from so many foodies that Forty Licks Ice Cream is so delicious that we just have to make some space for them. I've gotten their best seller of Salted Caramel which is creamy and nice but kinda too sweet for me but then again my tolerance for sugar is quite low. However, we're swoon over by BoiBoi's choice of Honey with Dark Chocolate bits but I can be bias as I love love honey and bitter chocolate. As there were too many people making a beeline for them, I did not bothered to taste the rest, maybe next time.

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By the way, I'm slowly reintroducing coffee into my system after stopping for 16 years. At that time my stomach suddenly can't tolerate coffee anymore (not that I drink it everyday) hence the stop. I've asked Capt'n Hook to make me some decaf latte and ehhh my stomach did not protest over it. So over the last few months, I'm slowly but getting bolder these days hahaha. Yes yes yes, I'm starting to enjoy all the gourmet coffees that I've missed out all these years. So it was a great pleasure to end the brunch with  fragrant cappucino and latte from Hot Shots Coffee & Tea.

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The Epicurious Brunch is not all about food displayed at the stalls but there are some cooking demo and activities for kids. Nigel of Just Heavenly/Baking Barn was demonstrating how to make Eton Mess when we leave after BoiBoi's participation in the Dress-A-Cake Workshop for 7 - 12 years old kids. Nigel will be showing how to make honeycomb tomorrow at 10.30am, so make your way early if you wish to learn a trick or two. After that don't forget to drop by at Just Heavenly Cafe for more Heavenly food. I've tried the delicious offerings and will blog about it soon.

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And tadaaa this was how BoiBoi's cake turned to look like...

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Thank you to Anusha of BRDB for the invite and all the participants for feeding us so much delicious goodies. There is still one last chance for you tomorrow to sample on all the goodies show cased here. So head over to Bangsar Shopping Centre from 10.00am to 6.00pm for your fix of deliciousness!

There are more pics on my flickr album.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Epicurious Brunch @ Bangsar Shopping Centre (27th - 28th October 2012)


Public service announcement for all foodies like me... I got to know about this Epicurious Brunch event from Ivan of The Potong. It's happening this weekend, so if you're not going away over the long weekend, do pop by. You might spot me there on Saturday checking out the stalls, cooking demonstrations, baking classes and even activities for children (yes I'm bringing BoiBoi along).

Details of the Epicurious Brunch:

Date: 27th - 28th October 2012
Time: 10.00am - 6.00pm
Venue: Concourse, Ground Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre

Btw, do catch my fave baker, Nigel from Just Heavenly in action. He'll be conducting baking classes on these 2 days. Click on the link Epicurious Brunch for all the activities lined up for the 2 days.

The Potong will also have a stall at this event.

See ya there!

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Review: Artisan Popsicles From The Potong

We have the privilege to meet with Ivan, one of the 3 founders of The Potong which have branded themselves as fresh artisan popsicles recently. Ivan proceeded by introducing the concept and production of The Potong which I find it very interesting. I think I would love to be their taste bunny (well if they wish to hire me hehehe) as The Potong team embarked on concocting the various flavours coming from fruits, vegetables, herbs etc. Well not only those but also booze for the child in every adult we know :D

Cherry Root Beer & Sunny Melon

The Potong range is divided into Signature Range, Seasonal Specialty, Booze Pop (RM9 for each pop) and Prosecco Pop (RM15 for each pop). The first two (RM5 for each pop) can be found currently at Wondermama Restaurant & Cafe. The Potong should be made available at more outlets soon, I guess just wait for the announcement on their Facebook page. The Booze and Prosecco will be available at places with liquor licence at a later stage. However, you can dig into them at the following upcoming events in the Klang Valley:

The Week of Taste Malaysia @ Publika > 19 - 21st Oct
The Great Brunch Experiment @ BSC Concourse area, Ground Floor > 27th & 28th Oct 10.00am - 6.30pm
FAB Market  @ Publika > 28th Oct
Urbanscapes Festival @ Padang Astaka > 24 & 25th Nov

We have a little tasting session of these pops which claimed to be all natural but Ivan was honest enough to inform that they do need to add some sugar to adjust the sweetness according to the sweetness of the ingredients procured plus addition of a little stabiliser to keep the texture consistent.

We got to try the Cherry Root Beer and Sunny Melon. Cherry Root Beer is made of A&W root beer, vanilla cream and topped with a maraschino cherry, reminded me of the time when my dad took us to the then A&W at Jalan Raja Laut for a root beer float... ahhh such beautiful memories ;-)

Cherry Root Beer & Sunny Melon unwrapped

Honeydew melon, cucumber and thyme make up of Sunny Melon! Loved this combination and the soft texture was an added bonus. I have tasted similar granita made by Rohani at work but this is so refreshing and on a stick! Totally a must have on a hot hot day.

Ivan was kind enough to bring along a bottle of prosecco for us to try out the Prosecco Pop experience. We are supposed to dunk a pop into the sparkling wine before popping the pop into our mouth. We got to try with Rosy Mango (Mango, Grapefuit & Rose Water) and Watermelon Fizz (Watermelon, Lemonade & Apple Mint).

Prosecco Pop - Rosy Mango & Watermelon Fizz

The sensory played up when it first tasted the slight sweet slight bitter wine followed by the flavours of the pops. We loved Rosy Mango but Watermelon Fizz is great too! Kids would love them, well minus the wine combi. The pops given to us for tasting for this Prosecco Pop experience is a normal sized pop but it will be shorter in the actual sales. So please don't complain horrr when your pop is shorter when you try them at the above events.

Watermelon Fizz

Do follow The Potong on their Facebook page to catch hold of their latest offerings and locations.

Thank you Ivan for the time and pops; and Lanatir for the intro.

Psst, apologies for the crappy pics cos I dunno how to use Capt'n Hook's camera lol.


Monday 15 October 2012

The First Malaysian Week of Taste 2012

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Visual from Week of Taste website

If you're a foodie like me, there seems to be quite a number of food related events around Klang Valley this October and November. Do they excite you as much as they did to me?

One of them that pique my interest is this Malaysian chapter of the Week of Taste which is supported by Embassy of France, Alliance Francaise de Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce (MFCCI) and so forth. Week of Taste started in 1990 in France where school going children are being educated on food. It is also for adult to discover the benefits of cooking and the pleasures of eating and drinking. It has since spread to over 20 countries and the latest landing - Malaysia!

From the website, the Week of Taste is about:
Enhancing the diversity of tastes and food cultures
Promoting exchanges between food related professionals
Educating the younger generations to the pleasure of the taste
Making consumers aware of the quality and seasonality of products
Showcasing the craft skills
Promoting health through a varied and balanced diet
Promoting the discovery of high quality products
Preserving tradition and encouraging culinary innovation

It is designed for children, teenagers, families, teachers and all those who love to eat, who want to discover quality products and take time to savor and enjoy, and to all those who care about their environment as well as their health.

For a gastronomical affair at restaurants, do check out the participating restaurants or should you prefer to attend cooking related workshops, click on the schedule here. There will be a gourmet bazaar over the weekend (19th - 21st) at Publika in Solaris Dutamas with some 20 exhibitors of over 30 brands as well as artisans taking part. So if you wish to engage with the producers and sellers around, this is it!
The Week of Taste starts on 15th October 2012 and ends on 21st.

For more information, click on the Week of Taste official website.


Date Loaf

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I was itching to bake after slowing down for ages, well... if you notice of my poor blog being in a neglected state. After going through the fridge and larder, I've found packets of dried fruits and various nuts other than the usual flour, sugar, butter etc. Browse some recipe books and finally chanced upon 2 recipes using dates and nuts. With further scrutinising of the methods for the recipes, I finally decided to use the recipe from Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 2. Hehe all because it's simple and easy!

I got on to weigh and measure my ingredients, and it was a quick 30 minutes (includes washing up, excluding baking time heh).

The Date Loaf turned out perfectly... moist with a light hint of butter. The loaf itself is not sweet at all even though I did not reduce the amount like usual. The sweetness from the dates pieces is good enough since I do not like achingly sweet stuff. A repeat to churn out more of such loaf is on the way since the recipe seems a little healthy...

Date Loaf
Recipe from Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 2

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 cup roughly chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecan nuts (I've roasted them before chopping)
125 g butter
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 160C. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add sugar, dates and pecans; mix to combine and set aside.

Place butter and milk in a saucepan over low heat and cook till butter is melted. Add to flour mixture with eggs. Stir until combined. Spoon into a greased 10cm x 20cm loaf tin and bake for 1 hour 15 mins or until cooked when tested with skewer.

Cool in tin for 5 mins before slicing. Serve plain or with butter.

Date Loaf

Wednesday 3 October 2012

Review: Makanan Thai Pek Sak @ Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh

**Non-Halal**


It's always great to have adventurous parents when it comes to food. I guess it must have been that upbringing that somehow I've turned into a foodie. Makanan Thai Pek Sak is merely a shack in Sungai Buloh was rather elusive as my parents have attempted to bring us earlier the year but was closed and we ended up in LYJ instead which is located near by.

Operated by a man who married a Thai wife, hence we got a combination of Chinese and Thai food. Actually the man cooks dai chow (stir-fries) Chinese style and he manned the kitchen all by himself! The Thai element here are the grilled seafood!

Makanan Thai Pek Sak

An assortment of fishes, squid and blood cockles are grilled over charcoal stoves. Served with the utmost appetising chili dip, way much better than Nong & Jimmy.

Grill Fish

We have a platter of blood cockles, so juicy and yummy with the hot hot dip.

Grilled Blood Cockles

Then came the Braised Fish Head. Amazing flavours of soy bean paste with slight hint of chili melded well with the firm fish head that have quite some meaty parts. This was so good with rice that I overate my quota of rice that evening. The cook was rather generous too that my mother said he actually taught her how to cook this dish at her previous visit. However, our only gripe is the okra... so tough and old!

Braised Fish Head

Thinking that they were Thai specialist, we ordered a mixed Tom Yum soup. Disappointed that it doesn't taste good at all. As the kitchen is in an open area, I could actually see the cook scooping tom yum paste from a huge tin meant for catering purposes. So stay away from this.

Chicken & Seafood Tom Yam Soup

The star dish that appears on every table - Stir-Fried Dried Shrimp Belacan Fern Shoots. The fern shoots were blanched quickly before stir frying in sambal belacan and tossed with pounded dried shrimp. No wonder it's a must order for everyone. The fern shoots still retain their crunch and the addition of dried shrimps is a marvelous idea.

Stir-fried Fern Shoots

Next up is Harm Yue Far Larm Poe (Claypot Pork Belly with Salted Fish). There is no denial that I have to declare that they serve the best in Klang Valley! The pork belly are sliced thinly but broadly, unlike most places where the pork belly pieces shrivel down to nothing after cooking. The size of the pork gave a good bite to the dish. Apart from this, the portion of salted fish is really generous. The salty gravy with a hint of hotness from the dried chillies packed a punch... so now you know why I overate my quota of rice heh.

Braised Pork Belly with Salted Fish in Claypot

We added this crab dish later on but really, the portions here are kinda big and we struggled with these crabs. A rather unique style for a crab dish. This is done "kiong yung" (ginger paste) stir fried. Even though heavily peppered with ginger but the crabs retained it's natural sweetness. Thank goodness they were not meaty crabs, otherwise would have a lot of wastage. We managed anyway to finish up the crabs, right down to the last drop of its sweet broth. Finger lickin' goodness.

Stir-fry Ginger Crabs

For 7 of us with rice and Chinese tea, if I can remember correctly, the bill was between RM120 - RM130 or there about. Very reasonable but then again... this is a shack at the corner of Jalan Public and Jalan Welfare, opposite RHB Bank and Yin Ma Cash & Carry. I've asked for the phone number, as the building at the back is near completion, so there might be a chance that they'll be shifting to another location.


Makanan Thai Pek Sak
Corner of Jalan Public & Jalan Welfare
Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh
Selangor
Map
Opposite RHB Bank, same road as the famous Kong Mah Dim Sum
Tel: 016 256 1020 (Ah Pheng)


Blog Revamping

Hello... I'm in the midst of revamping my blog to make my life a little easier. So do not be alarmed as work is still under construction.

Cheers,
Babe_KL
16 Oct 2012