PSA: Promos at Goku Raku Ramen, Canton-I & Dragon-I Restaurants

**Non-Halal**


PSA = public service announcement lol, well just to get some good offers going before the promotions end.

First off, Capt'n Hook's fave ramen place, Goku Raku Ramen. Happening in Mid Valley Megamall (Kuala Lumpur) outlet, 50% off for big bowl of ramens on Mondays and Tuesdays until 31 May 2012. Where else Gurney Paragon (Penang) this offer is on from Monday - Friday until 27 April 2012 only!!!

Seems that they've introduced small and big bowl sizes now. Based on our experience, the previous one sized bowl is now the big bowl which means there's a slight increase of prices. Small bowl would be great for me though as I usually feel very stuffed by the end of my bowl of ramen. BoiBoi enjoyed his Ultimate Shoyu Tonkatsu ramen so much that he emptied his bowl "to the last drop" according to him *roll eyes*

Over at Canton-I and Dragon-I, their RM1 roast chicken promotion is back! Last year we enjoyed ourselves with this offer. With minimum 3 diners between 6.00pm - 9.00pm, they'll present a plate of roast chicken for just RM1. Based on our experience, the portion served will go according to the number of diners ie. for 3 diners, there will be a small plate; 5 diners medium portion and so forth. This promotion is on till 30 April 2012. I wonder if we would have the time to savour this RM1 roast chicken :p

Thank you so much for tuning in, hope you'll benefit from this PSA ;-)

Nasi Lemak "Musical"

Just a quick plug on this interesting video which featured the folks of Pudu Wet Market with some talents thrown in. Nasi Lemak is touted to be our national dish, hence I guess this video is a good reflection of that. It doesn't show you the process of making it but rather some of the basic ingredients that go into Nasi Lemak.

Nasi Lemak from Grain Media on Vimeo.



If you have the sudden urge to indulge in nasi lemak after watching the video, visit Sister's Kitchen, Mak Wanjor, Chawan, Jalan Alor/Changkat Bukit Bintang junction, Miss Kwan, Nyonya Colors, Blue Boy Vegetarian Food Centre (yes we do have vegetarian version of nasi lemak!), and Kluang Station Kopitiam plus the many more nasi lemak stalls that practically littered the streets in Malaysia :D

We're 65 Blog Malaysia Pilihan InTrend!

Woohooo I accidently found out that Babe in the City - KL was featured by InTrend March 2012 as one of the 65 blogs in Malaysia! What made it sweet was I happened to meet the editor, Rosie, at an event at Bayan Indah the day after  I bought the mag :p Rosie mentioned that they do this on an annual basis and this is the third installment.

We're deeply honoured as InTrend is a Malay magazine. To have our predominantly English blog picked under Santapan (food) category is truly amazing. We also shared the glory with friends Sean (Eat Drink KL), Boo_licious (Masak-masak) and Bee Yinn (Rasa Malaysia). The 6 other food blogs errrr I need to visit all of them, pronto, as I have not heard of them but they must be darn good to be featured. They are ...In A Whiz; Elinluv's Corner; Cupcakes Vs Chocolate; Mad About Cake; Luscious Treats and Periuk Belanga Zarin.

Congrats to all the 65 blogs featured!

The Top 10 Malaysian Foodie's Guide to Google Chrome

Ever since Google Chrome was introduced, I was one of the early adopter. I got frustrated using Mozilla Firefox after one update as a lot of websites just doesn't work with that update. I had to fall back to Internet Explorer for a short while until I installed Google Chrome. I was so happy with it as it was then proved to be one of the fastest browser around. It got even cooler as times go by with the addition of applications that could work with it.

Recently, I was informed of the following nifty tips & tricks by Google Malaysia and I would love to share them with you guys as I find them really really useful. I'm reproducing it here with the hope that they will benefit you as much as they did for me. Have fun with them (click on the diagram to enlarge) ;-)


Don’t know what to eat? Fed up of going to the same old places and choosing the same old fare week after week? Is the local Nasi Kandar seller already best friends with you because you go there so often?

Before you become a case worthy of the documentary “Super Size Me,” why not check out these Google Chrome tips that will expand your culinary horizon and help you get the food you want, faster.

From helping you cook your own food to giving you directions to your favorite restaurant, Google Chrome offers extensions and web apps to satisfy your hunger and also help the health conscious keep in tip-top shape.

1. Use local search to search local food.

Nearing lunch and suddenly craving ‘nasi kandar’? Simply type “nasi kandar” or ‘nasi kandar in pj’ into the Chrome omnibox and find out which local restaurants are serving this yummy lunch-time favorite near you. Hover your cursor over the search results, and a box-out appears with image of the website and details of address and contact numbers.

2. Directions are only a click away.

Need directions to where you and your friends will meet up for dinner? Simply highlight the address, whether it’s in your email or on a website, right-click, and select ‘Search google.com for ___’, and Chrome will display search results, including a map for the address.

3. Search for healthy recipes online. 

Eating healthy should not be hard or expensive. A Chrome web app, Good Food, offers recipes that list the nutritional information and the step-by-step methods to cooking each dish. Plus, you can view each recipe even when you’re offline, so you can easily access the recipe from the grocery store.

4. Easily store recipes in Google Docs. 

Found a great recipe online that you want to try during the weekend? Instead of printing the recipe or copying the details using a pen and paper, import your favorite recipes into Google Docs using the gRecipes Chrome extension and access it from your home PC without having to remember any URLs.

(gRecipes allows you to import your favorite recipes into Google Docs, making it easy to share and change your favorite dishes. You simply browse the recipes you love and the when gRecipes finds something it can import, the purple cow will appear next to the web address. With a quick click the recipe is automatically added as a Google Document.)

Install gRecipes. Whenever there's a recipe appears at support sites, a purple cow will appear next to the web address.

Click on the purple cow and once the recipe is saved into your Google Docs, there is a notification indicating the recipe is saved. Easy peasy!

Currently these sites are supported:

Epicurious

Food.com

Food & Wine 

Martha Stewart

AllRecipes.com

Gourmet Magazine

BBC Good Food

Food Network

CHOW

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

And many more... 

5. Upgrade your cooking skills. 

Next time you’re cooking for your friends, prepare ahead by learning cooking techniques and kitchen skills through the CHOW Video app. Browse through various instructional videos such as how to properly serve and cut cheese, how to dice food, or even how to pour beverages properly.

6. Track and rate recipes you make. 

Foodies can rest easy by tracking or rating meals using the Whatweate extension, which allows you to store the recipe title and rating URL in Google Calendar. With the extension, you will be reminded of the great meals you cooked so you can see what you can serve the next time your friends come over. This can also be useful to foodies on a diet so they can track what they have eaten throughout the day.

7. Share your passion for food online. 

The myeatbox app allows you to chronicle the meals you’ve cooked or eaten, document your diet, or share your kitchen skills with your fellow foodies online.

8. Learn more about the additives in what you eat. 

Taking your healthy diet up a notch? Get more information about the additives in your food by installing the Additives Info extension.

9. Know if you’re refueling properly. 

Water is an essential part of our diet and a vital factor in a healthy lifestyle. Are you consuming the right amount of water in a day? The Everyday water app can help you track how many bottles of water you have drunk each day so you can stay hydrated.

10. Succeed at losing weight. 

Having a hard time losing all the calories and carbohydrates you’ve packed after days of eating out? Set a goal and track your food intake and exercise time using the Lose It! Application. The app claims that 85% of its most active users have lost more than 12lbs.

By the way, today is Google's 13th Birthday... may Google be blessed with all things wonderful and keep all the goodies rolling out. Happy 13th Birthday Google!!!

Time Out KL Food Award 2011 Blogger's Choice: Vote for Al Amnah!

Babe in the City - KL is honoured to be picked by Time Out KL to list our choice of favourite makan (eating) place of the year. You're encouraged to vote for Al Amnah, our fave teh tarik and basic roti canais place as not only Al Amnah will get an award for Blogger's Choice category but we will also get a prize too should Al Amnah is the winner of this category! So do us a favour hehe vote for Al Amnah!!!

Blogger's Choice voting will commence on Friday, 23rd September at 9.00am. Every vote counts in the Time Out KL Food Awards – the ONLY awards in Kuala Lumpur which are free and fair and voted for by the citizens of KL. To ensure no unfair play, voters cannot vote multiple times on the same day. So just make it a habit to vote at least once a day :p for your favourite makan categories ;-)

To ease things up, I've reproduced the previous blog post here:



For the first time, TimeOutKL has included a Blogger's Choice category in The Time Out KL Food Awards 2011. So here I am nominating KL's best teh tarik place Al Amnah Restaurant. As I've mentioned before, they're located on the ground floor of Kuala Lumpur's earliest apartment building - Selangor Mansion in the Masjid India vicinity. There's a row of similar eateries here but this is our favourite as the teh tarik is so far the best we have tasted and the rotis (flat breads) are the bomb!

The teh tarik (pulled tea) is totally not sweet at all, without you even telling them "kurang manis (less sweet)". The tea flavour is strong but yet creamy. I would love to learn how to make this version of teh tarik!

I'm not a big fan of roti canais (flaky flat bread) but when I do want one, this is the place for me. Since the turnaround of customers here is very high, they tend to make a pile high of plain roti canais here that are round in shaped. However, we usually tell them we want Roti Canai Empat Segi (square) as these are usually freshly made and the crispy version of roti canai. They are served with thick-ish dhal (lentil curry) with a dollop of sweet sambal. There are other curries too, just tell them which you prefer. 

Capt'n Hook's usual order of Roti Canai Telur Bawang (eggs and onions) has also became a hit with BoiBoi. When we first brought him here, he was a bit skeptical about the surroundings... sighhh the signs of well fed kids brought up in comfy restaurants hahahaha but he liked the teh tarik and rotis so much, plus the countless stray cats that he admired... he's not complaining any more. 

When we first started coming here, the roti staples were very basic but in the recent years they have succumbed and added in a few more fancy schmancy (in their standard lah) items like Roti Sardine. Canned sardines in tomato sauce are smashed before beating in an egg and adding in a few slices of onions, which in turned is poured on the thin stretched dough before being cooked. 

My utmost favourite has to be the Roti Special! It's basically roti banjir (sliced up roti canai drowned in dhal) topped with 2 soft boiled eggs and a dollop of sambal on the side. I'm not sure about you but for a big fan of wobbly eggs with runny yolk soaking through the mash of roti and dhal... this is my kinda hearty dig.

Al Amnah is always buzzing with activities and it's always interesting to watch the going-ons here at any time of the day. As this is a small Indian Muslim establishment, they do not take credit cards. It's a road side eatery in an old building, so do not expect this to be disabled friendly nor child friendly. As for pet, I guess you can bring in your pet cat or iguana, I'm sure they won't mind.


Al Amnah Restaurant
No. 2 Ground Floor
Selangor Mansion
Jalan Masjid India
Kuala Lumpur
(I think this place opens 24 hours)
Coordinates: 3°9'7"N 101°41'50"E

Time Out KL Food Award 2011 Shortlists

Time Out KL has announced the shortlisted makan (eating) places that the public has nominated for it's third Food Award. You can vote for your  favourite restaurants, kitchens, mamaks, chefs and restaurateurs  at this link here.

For the first time, there will be a Blogger's Choice category where Time Out KL has invited a selection of food bloggers in KL to select a place where they have their best meal in the past one year.

If you have read my previous post, Al Amnah, is our choice for KL's best teh tarik and basic rotis... yes yes, I'm proud to announce that Babe in the City - KL has been selected to participate yay! However, you can only vote for this category on 23rd September 2011.

Keep in mind that you'll have until 31st October to vote and all winners will be revealed in the December issue of Time Out KL magazine.

I'm not sure about you but I'm really excited to see lots of newcomers in the shortlists and here are them:

CHINESE - Yut Kee; Shang Palace; Chynna; Li Yen; New Paris SS2; & Grand Imperial

CONTINENTAL - The Press Room; Albion KL; twenty.one tables+terrace; El Cerdo; Hakka Republic; & Tanzini

FINE DINING – Sage; Lafite; Shook!; Cilantro & Chalet

HAWKER/MAMAK - Nagasari Curry House; Devi’s; Nasi Kandar Pelita; Hutong, Lot 10; & Sri Nirwana Maju

HEALTHY EATING/VEGETARIAN - The Yogitree; Annalakshmi; Marmalade; Haven; & R.A.W.

INDIAN - Kanna Curry House; Passage Thru India; Sri Nirwana Maju; Bombay Palace; & Gill’s

ITALIAN - Il Lido; Nerovivo; La Risata; Sassorosso; Tatto; & Ciccio

JAPANESE – Fukuharu; Kampachi; Tatsu, Intercontinental Hotel; Gonbei San; Zipangu, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur; & Rakuzen

MALAY – Bijan; Enak KL; Songket; Chef Rebung ; Makan Kitchen; DoubleTree by Hilton

MIDDLE EASTERN - Al-Amar; Al Andalus; Tarbush; Al Rawsha; Laziz; & Hadramawt

THAI/INDOCHINESE - My Elephant; Rama V; Sao Nam; Erawan; & Tamarind Hill

PUB GRUB - Tom, Dick & Harry’s; Sid’s Pubs; Arthur’s Bar & Grill, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur; Jarrod & Rawlins; Hoofed

COFFEE - Espressemente illy; R.A.W.; Antipodean; Whisk; & Chilla Cup

SEAFOOD - Lala Chong; Pantai Seafood; Fatty Crab; Fisherman’s Cove; Green View; & Causeway Bay Spicy Crab

STEAK – PRIME; Jake’s Charbroiled Steaks; Suzy’s Corner; MeatWorks; & QBA, The Westin Kuala Lumpur

NEW RESTAURANT - Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie; Arthur’s Bar & Grill, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur; Ben’s; Antipodean; Brotzeit; & Hoofed

RESTAURATEUR - Edward Hyde, Gastrodome; Joseph Afaki, Al-Amar; Benjamin Yong, B.I.G. ; Werner Kuhn, El Cerdo Group; & Holland & Thompson, twenty.one

CHEF - Chef Adi Radzi, Hakka Republic; Chef Michael Karam, Al-Amar; Chef Nathalie Arbefeuille, Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio; Chef Chef Saiful, The Press Room; & Chef David King, The Westin, Kuala Lumpur

Merdeka Open House 2011: 6 More Days To Submission

Just a quick reminder, 6 more days to go before submission is closed for this year's Merdeka Open House 2011: Makan Through Malaysia!

Hazelnut & Chocolate Chips Cupcakes

The last recipes featured in BSC's reTALE magazine is this super fragrant, nutty and chocolaty cupcake!  During recipe testing, I wasted ermm some rather expensive Vom Fass hazelnut oil as after baking, the hazelnut aroma simply just evaporated and disappeared. So in order not to waste such precious oil, I've used an extra virgin olive oil instead which you can actually replaced with some neutral vegetable oil like corn or canola oil.

To preserve and enhance a nuttier flavour to this cupcake is to simply brush on some Vom Fass hazelnut oil on top of the cupcakes while they are hot. If you're feeling generous, you can drizzle some of these oil all over which will makes the cakes pretty moist and absolutely taste and smell Heavenly. I was  heavy handed on the amount of chocolate chips and I loved Hershey's as they're bigger and sort of like melted into gooey mess instead of those smaller generic ones you get from baking supply shops.

So, that's all the recipes featured in reTALE and I hope you'll enjoy these recipes as much as we did!plus

Hazelnut & Chocolate Chips Cupcakes
Makes 6 large cupcakes

140g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
45g sugar
½ tsp salt
1 egg
50ml Vom Fass Don Carlos - Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
130ml milk
2 tsp Vom Fass Naturally Cloudy Apple Cider Vinegar
100g roasted hazelnut, roughly chopped
140g chocolate chips
Some Vom Fass Hazelnut Oil for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line paper cups in a 6-holes muffin tray.

2. Stir Vom Fass Naturally Cloudy Apple Cider Vinegar into the milk and leave to thickened. Mix plain flour, baking soda, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl, set aside.

3. In another mixing bowl, mix egg, thickened milk and EVOO together with a whisk until they are combined. Pour this into the flour mixture. Mix well with the whisk.

4. Fold in ¾ of the hazelnuts and all of the chocolate chips into the batter with a spatula. Spoon batter into prepared paper cups to about ¾ full. Sprinkle remainder of the hazelnuts on top.

5. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and brush some Vom Fass Hazelnut Oil on top while they are hot.

6. Let cupcakes sit in the muffin tray for 5 minutes before removing them onto a cooling rack to cool.

In this series:
Life is Colourful
Chilli Angel Hair Pasta With Prawns, Scallop, Tomatoes & Basil
Black Quinoa with Grilled Vegetables

Black Quinoa with Grilled Vegetables

This is the second recipe featured in BSC's reTALE magazine. I was told this Ceres Organics Black Quinoa (pronounced as "keen-wah") which was new in O Gourmet then would be a good option to try on for a recipe. They would love to have these healthy grains to be introduced as many Malaysians may not know what to do with them.

I've taken the white ones in salads and was quite excited to try the black ones out. These highly nutritious grains are light and nutty in flavour, works well in salads and soups. I've read in one of Martha Stewarts magazines that it could be used in replace of breakfast cereals by just cooking the black quinoa, drain and then let it cool. Pour milk over them together with fresh fruits and nuts!

For this recipe, I've actually tested with vegetables roasted in the oven but theyvegetables turned a bit mushy and doesn't look quite appealing. In the end, I grilled the vegetables on a grill pan and they vegetables looked and tasted far better :D

Since I've used some nuts and seeds, I decided to drizzle some extra Vom Fass pumpkin seed oil to enhance the already nutty flavour and some sweetish sour balsamic vinegar to balance things up.

Black Quinoa with Grilled Vegetables
Serves 4 as side dish

1 cup Ceres Organics Black Quinoa
100g asparagus, remove the woody ends
100g eggplant, sliced lengthwise about 0.5cm thick
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
50g red capsicum, remove the core and sliced into quarters lengthwise
50g yellow capsicum, remove the core and sliced into quarters lengthwise
1 tbsp Vom Fass Madonia - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and grounded black pepper to taste
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp hazelnuts, roasted and crushed

Dressing:
2-3 tbsp Vom Fass Basil Olive Oil
2 tsp Vom Fass Aceto Balsamico di Modena Riserva Quality
Salt and grounded black pepper to taste

Vom Fass Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil and Aceto Balsamico di Modena Maletti Riserva Speciale for drizzling


1. Cook Ceres Organics black quinoa according to package instructions.

2. Heat up grill pan. Place all vegetables in a large bowl and drizzle in Vom Fass Madonia - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and grounded black pepper. Toss evenly. Arrange the vegetables in the hot grill pan and grill them until cooked before turning over. Do not keep turning the vegetables around as it may not leave nice grill marks on them.

3. Remove cooked vegetables onto a plate and let them cool a little before slicing them into bite-sized pieces.

4. In a small bowl, mix in all the ingredients for the dressing with a small whisk or fork. Taste to adjust the seasonings.

5. In a large bowl, toss the cooked black quinoa, grilled vegetables and dressing together before placing them in a serving bowl.

6. Garnish with crushed hazelnut and pumpkin seeds before drizzle lightly with Vom Fass Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil and a few drops of Vom fass Aceto Balsamico di Modena Maletti Riserva Speciale.

In this series:
Life is Colourful
Chilli Angel Hair Pasta With Prawns, Scallop, Tomatoes & Basil
Hazelnut & Chocolate Chips Cupcakes

Chilli Angel Hair Pasta With Prawns, Scallop, Tomatoes & Basil

As I've mentioned earlier, we were featured in BSC's reTALE magazine shopping for organic products in O Gourmet.

This recipe was featured in the magazine together with another 2 recipes which I will post separately to ease searching. It's a very simple pasta recipe using Passion Pasta's Chilli Angel Hair. I find this angel hair exudes quite some heat in this dish, so if you're feeding children, I would recommend to use their saffron version. As these are handmade, they cooked very quickly so do look out for doneness within the recommended cooking time.

You'll noticed that Vom Fass oils and vinegars were heavily used in these recipes as Mr Teoh of Vom Fass has generously gave us some samples to work around with. I'm not going to be bias just cos of this but to tell the truth. We were sampling the oils and vinegars even before this and find that they're absolutely delicious! If you have sampled Vom Fass, you would agree that the quality and clarity of the oils and vinegars are simply amazing. A little goes a long way I would say.

Mr Teoh recommended to drizzle this pasta with some basil infused olive oil and a rather limited edition of balsamic vinegar. The basil olive oil gave it an extra fresh scent of basil where else the thick balsamic vinegar is used really sparingly, just droplets of them for a sweetish dense flavour.

Chilli Angel Hair Pasta With Prawns, Scallop, Tomatoes & Basil
Serves 4

250g Passion Pasta – Chilli Angel Hair
3 tbsp Vom Fass Basil Olive Oil
1 red onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
20 medium sized prawns, shelled and leave the tail on
300g scallops
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red chillies, chopped
1 cup basil, roughly shredded and reserve 4 shoots for garnishing
Salt & freshly grounded black pepper to taste

Extra Vom Fass Basil Olive Oil and Aceto Balsamico di Modena Maletti Riserva Speciale for drizzling


1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain the cooked Chilli Angel Hair pasta. Reserve some pasta cooking water.

2. In a large pan, heat up the Vom Fass Basil Olive Oil in medium heat and stir in chopped onion and garlic. Saute until onion and garlic are softened, do not brown them.

3. Add in the prawns and scallops. Once the prawns turned pink and curled up, turn the prawns and scallops around.

4. Put in the cherry tomatoes and red chillies and stir well. Season with salt and grounded black pepper to taste.

5. Next, add in the cooked Chilli Angel Hair pasta and mix well. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking water if the pasta looked dry. Lastly, turn off the heat and stir in the basil.

6. To serve, dish pasta into 4 individual pasta bowls, ensure that prawns and scallops are divided almost equally. Topped with reserved basil shoots and drizzle some Vom Fass Basil Olive Oil all over. Drip on droplets of Vom Fass Aceto Balsamico di Modena Maletti Riserva Speciale and serve.

In this series:
Life is Colourful
Black Quinoa with Grilled Vegetables
Hazelnut & Chocolate Chips Cupcakes

Just Heavenly's Raya Centrepieces & New Offerings

We are into half month mark of Ramadhan and in no time we'll be celebrating Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. For this year's Raya, the fabulous baker boys, Allan & Nigel, of Just Heavenly have came out with some beautifully decorated cakes as centrepieces. These lovely cakes of either your choice of Chocolate Fudge or Sugee Fruit looked absolutely great amongst your Raya laden goodies and would make fantastic gifts.



Stars light the night sky of Ramadhan with your blessings as your loved ones receive this beautiful cake. Available as our famous CHOCOLATE and traditional SUGEE FRUIT in 9” round (approx 1.8kg), 11”x11”(approx 4.2kg), and 11”x 22”(approx 8.5kg) and from RM188 onwards.

A flickering flame lights your path with God's blessings which are passed on to the recipient when you give them this gorgeous centerpiece. Available as our famous CHOCOLATE and traditional SUGEE FRUIT in 9” round (approx 1.8kg), 11”x11”(approx 4.2kg), and 11”x 22”(approx 8.5kg) and from RM198 onwards.

This centrepiece was created with the iconic Wau. Flying high in the wind and from your heart to your loved ones for their Raya table. Available as our famous CHOCOLATE and traditional SUGEE FRUIT in 9” round (approx 1.8kg), 11”x11”(approx 4.2kg), and 11”x 22”(approx 8.5kg) and from RM208 onwards. 

Just look at the intricate design of the wau!

There are more designs and special gift boxes in offer for Raya, just check out their brochures here.

To order, email raya.justheavenly@gmail.com or call

Slice of Heaven @ Jaya One 03-7955 5212

A Slice of Heaven @ Pavilion KL 03-2141 5150

Corporate orders 03-2287 9866


Other than Raya goodies, there are some newly launched Peanut Butter Cupcakes and cupcake designs that includes the ever popular Angry Bird series and also Plant Vs Zombies!

Plants Vs Zombies at RM18 each.

Angry Birds RM120 for all of them including the slingshot and presentation tray.

Look at the details!

If your wedding is round the corner, do think of these "Hei" (Double Happiness) cupcakes (RM8.50 each) for your wedding favours or even as your wedding cake!

And my favourite.. Peanut Butter Cupcakes with a rich chocolate fudge cake topped with creamy peanut butter frosting! The best part is the cake is not sweet at all which compliments the sweet peanut butter frostings, yums!

Actually Nigel did a master class with a small bunch of us last weekend and I had the pleasure to learn how to make a deliciously moist Spiced Date cake and Torrone, an Italian version of soft nougat. I've caught them all on video and will post it up together with the recipes that he had shared with us ;-)

Yeah I know I do owe you guys lots of recipes!! Ok ok will try to make them happen next week :D

Life is Colourful

As I've mentioned earlier, there's a little something installed for us and we're quite happy how it turned out. Both Capt'n Hook and I were asked to be talents, pretending to shop at O'Gourmet, Bangsar Shopping Complex (BSC) whist they snap our photos away. Gosh it was hard work of 2 hours just for this shot to appear in BSC's reTale magazine - the Rainbow issue. Capt'n Hook is seen tapping oil at Vom Fass but in real, you're not allowed to do that :p as the oils and vinegars will be filled up by the retail assistants.



Well, it's not only that, I was asked to contribute 3 recipes using O'Gourmet's organic range of goods. I will post up the recipes here with some of my notes on the recipes and products used together with the photos I had captured. Hope the readers of reTale will like the recipes and attempt to cook up at least one of these recipes :D

Thank you to Malathi, Ling, Tian Xing and the team from La Scheers Co for the opportunity.

Japan Disaster Relief

It has been a week since the massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred at the northeastern coast of Japan which creates extremely destructive tsunami waves which hit Japan. The earthquake and tsunami have caused  severe damage in Northeastern Japan, leaving thousands of people confirmed dead, injured or missing, and millions more affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation. At some area, it's even snowing. It's also not helping when there's a nuclear crisis unfolding in Fukushima.

Google has a Crisis Response page where you can find resources related to this current crisis. It's a fantastic page set up with all information such latest updates on the situations, important links and telephone numbers, transportation statuses links, shelters and even a person finder. You can also find links if you wish to donate to Japanese Red Cross Society, International Medical Corps, Unicef and Save the Children. All these within one page which is excellent!

The Embassy of Japanese in Malaysia has informations with regards to this as well with various links on how to put in your donations.

If you have PayPal account, you can also do so via them.

Photo via Yahoo! News

On the home front, there are plenty of going-ons by now to collect funds. Well, we do not sanction these means but just merely spreading the information on how you could help. Just pick one which you think can be trusted and is legit. Here they are in no particular order:

Mercy Malaysia

MAYBANK (account name: MERCY HUMANITARIAN FUND, account number : 5621-7950-4126, ABA Swift Code: MBBEMYKLA), or

CIMB Bank (account name: MERCY Malaysia, account number: 1424-000-6561053, ABA Swift Code: CIBBMYKL).

Donations via cheque are payable to MERCY MALAYSIA (please indicate at the back of the cheque - Japan Earthquake Relief Fund).

To donate online, please visit www.mercy.org.my and inform via email that you wish to donate to the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

  

Malaysian Red Crescent Society

Donate to the MRCS International Relief Fund via Maybank Account No – 5144 – 2210 – 2657 or you can send cheque to:

Malaysian Red Crescent Society
National Headquarters
32, Jalan Nipah off Jalan Ampang
55000 Kuala Lumpur

Cheque should be made out to the “MRCS International Relief Fund" with the words “Japan Earthquake and Tsunami” written at the back of the cheque.

NSTP-Media Prima Tabung Bencana

Members of the public can donate by making payments to the 'Tabung Bencana NSTP-Media Prima' to Maybank account number: 5-14105-32075-7

You can contribute to the Fund can do so via any of the following channels:
Maybank2u.com
Fund transfers at ATMs and KawanKu Phone Banking
Cash deposit machines
Cheque deposit machines
Maybank branch counters

Cheques should be made payable to "Tabung Bencana NSTP-Media Prima" and send to NSTP Finance Department, 31 Jalan Riong, 51000 Kuala Lumpur or at any of the branches.

World Vision Malaysia

Go to World Vision Malaysia and download the form. The current efforts are to distribute blankets, bottled water and sanitary and hygiene supplies. Priorities include supplies for babies and children.

Milkadeal

You can also choose to do it via Milkadeal. All collections will be channeled to Malaysian Red Crescent Society.

Groupon

Groupon is also channeling to Malaysian Red Crescent Society and all donations will be matched Ringgit-for-Ringgit up to the total donated value of RM25,000 by Groupon.

Pavilion KL 

Pavilion KL fund raising is on till 17 April. You can put your donation at Level 3, Concierge Desk. Buy a tee shirt, there's charity sales plus food & beverage deals. Click here for more details. 

We're very sure there are plenty of other means but here are just a few. Let us all pray for Japan, a speedy recovery and the nuclear issues to be resolved as soon as possible.

Barista Jam at F! By Buffalo Kitchens

If you're a big coffee fan, you might not want to miss this event oganised by F! By Buffalo Kitchens which is located above Chawan. There is coffee tasting and hands-on latte art training plus competition going on this Saturday, 19 March 2011 from 2.00pm to 6.00pm. It will be conducted by award winning Van Lin from GaBee.

I found a video of him demonstrating and explanation on his creation but it's in Mandarin though, watch him here...

F! By Buffalo Kitchens
69-1 Jalan Telawi 3
Bangsar Baru
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 220 11710

Global Cook Series Cooking Camp @ The French Culinary School in Asia

I just can't resist pimping this cooking camp here as I find this series of cooking camps very interesting and seriously affordable too. Organised by The French Culinary School in Asia which I have the privilege to attend a session with Jean-Michel Fraisse and Jean François Arnaud on Häagen-Dazs' Christmas creations.

I was told that these cooking classes are meant for home cooks or gourmet food enthusiast. The cooking camps are a series of demo classes to learn how to cook global food. On the schedule so far, there were camps for Italian, Spanish, French, British and American dishes. These camps will be helmed by Chef Jean-Michel Fraisse who will take one through three-hour class on global dishes.

Priced at RM200 per person per class, you tell me if it's reasonable or not. Perhaps you will if scroll through the schedule below. Oh yea... you can also purchase the Leisure Cooking Class vouchers* where 5 classes would cost RM 850.00 or 10 classes for RM1,500.00 which is valid for leisure cooking classes and camp (*Terms and Condition Apply).

The difference of Leisure Cooking Class with these camps is product voucher will be given out to redeem products available at our premise on the spot after the cooking camp. Nevertheless, terms and conditions apply on the value of the product voucher.

The schedule and details will be available on The French Culinary School in Asia website next week but I have the schedule here.

GLOBAL COOK SERIES COOKING CAMP

"FRENCH SERIES" Everybody can cook French with our user-friendly recipes. Learn French cooking and you will master the foundation of all cooking...

Saturday 26th March

Camp 1 (10AM to 1PM) Many famous dishes today, including what is popularly known as the Russian Salad, is French in origins. Come and discover what’s so great about French food.  Recipes: Russian Salad, Coq Au Vin and Crêpes Suzette

Camp 2 (2PM to 5PM) In this class you will learn some of the most iconic dishes of France. Featuring: Croque Monsieur, Canard à l'orange and Chocolate Mousse

Saturday 2nd April

Camp 3 (10AM to 1PM) The French are good at taking the most simple of ingredients – such as onion and apple – and turning them into the most delicious bites. Recipes featured: French Onion Soup, Chicken Cordon Bleu and Tatin Tart

Camp 4 (2PM to 5PM) Fine ingredients and techniques are at the heart of French cooking, and this class, using foie gras and seafood, illustrates this perfectly. Recipes featured: Pan Fried Foie Gras with Caramelized Apples, Bouillabaisse and Crème Caramel

"BRITISH SERIES" indulge your fascination with British grub

Saturday 9th April

Camp 1 (10AM to 1PM) Bet you have heart of Mulligatawny Soup (yes, it’s British, not Indian) but have never tasted it. Here’s your chance to find out… and also find out the Brits’ way to make fish and chips. Featuring: Mulligatawny Soup, Fish and Chips, and Sticky Date

Camp 2 (2PM to 5PM) Join and learn to make the best Cornish Pasty, Irish Stew, and Bread and Butter Pudding

Saturday 16th April

Camp 3 (10AM to 1PM) The roast is the way to go to celebrate English-style. For a meat-lover’s feast: Scotch Eggs, Traditional Sunday Roast withYorkshire Pudding and Oatmeal Parkin

Camp 4 (2PM to 5PM) Knock back that pint of ale with inspiring British pub grub: Prawn Cocktail, Steak and Kidney Pie (the best ever!) and Lemon Meringue Pie

"ITALIAN SERIES" robust flavours for the whole family

Saturday 23rd April

Camp 1(10AM to 1PM) Apart from flat, open-face pizzas, in Italy they make what is sometimes called a ‘folded pizza’. Recipes: Pizza Margharita, Pizza Four Seasons, Calzone and the smaller Panzerotti

Camp 2 (2PM to 5PM) Whether you like it creamy, light, or slathered in tasty tomato sauce, this class will show you the different style of preparing pastas and making pasta from scratch. Recipes: Pasta alla Carbonara, Bolognese, Vongole and Putanesca

Saturday 30th April

Camp 3 (10AM to 1PM)  Layered and stuffed, fresh pastas are a notch above regular pasta and fun to make. Learn to make them from scratch: Lasagna, Caneloni, Ravioli and Tortellini

Camp 4 (2PM to 5PM) The Italians are credited for coming up with some of the world’s favourite desserts: Tiramisu, Rum Baba, Pannacotta and Pastiera Napolitana

"SPANISH SERIES" Trendy tapas bars are the current flavours but Spanish food is much more

Saturday 7th May

Camp 1 (10AM to 1PM) In this Spanish Cooking Series, you will learn to cook traditional Spanish dishes such as Gaspacho, Migas, Zarzuela, Churros and Chocolate Sauce

Camp 2 (2PM to 5PM) In this series, you will learn to make typical Spanish dishes, like: Empanadillas, Stuffed Calamari, Polvorones and Stuffed Mushroom with Ham

Saturday 14th May

Camp 3 (10AM to 1PM) Are you the one who like Spanish food and enjoy cooking? Join Chef Jean Michel on how to prepare Tortilla, Albondigas, Marmitako and Dolce de Leche. Don’t Miss it!

Camp 4 (2PM to 5PM) Join us and learn how to make Pan Con Tomato, Piquillos Peppers, Paella Valenciana and Catalan Cream. Who can resists these!

"AMERICAN SERIES" indulge yourself in the real taste of American Cuisine

Saturday 4th June

Camp 1(10AM to 1PM) All of us know hamburger and many of us think that hamburger is the only American cuisine. This is a great opportunity for you to discover more about American cuisine, featuring recipes: New England Clam Chowder, Boston Baked Beans, Chicken Pot Pieand Lemon Meringue Pie

Camp 2 (2PM to 5PM) For all the food enthusiast out there, don’t miss this opportunity. Join Chef Jean Michel on how to make Corn Fritters, Buffalo Chicken Wings, Corn Bread, Macaroni and Cheese, and Apple Pie

Saturday 11st June

Camp 3 (10PM to 1PM) Experience the best in American food with Chef Jean Michel’s secret recipes. Featuring: Waldorf Salad, Hamburger, Maryland Crab Cake and American Strawberry Pie

Camp 4 (2PM to 5PM) Indulge in some exciting American recipes inspired by Chef Jean Michel. You will find the recipes and techniques of making great Coleslaw, Chilli Con Carne and New York Cheese Cake. Don’t miss it!

So let's get cooking delicious global dishes!