Food From Our Hearts: Double-Boiled Bird's Nest Soup

To think of it, I really had a hard time thinking up a dish to cook for this year's Merdeka Open House theme Food From Our Hearts. Up till the last weekend, I still have none up my sleeves. Was kinda worried hahaha and I was all readied with all sorts of excuses to be the champion of all hostess by declaring that I have no submission!!! I know if I ever do that a lot of you will come after me with a big huge chopper, so back to square one. Then came this event that sparked off an accidental dish for me to serve up.

Last Saturday, Capt'n Hook asked me to cook up the remainder bird's nest which he had bought for me to cure my cough sometime back. Well, I always being laughed at by my brothers that I have expensive cure for my cough but hey one out of two times, I have to say my cough is usually better after a couple bowls of bird's nest soup! Cis, they never heard that there is no one cure for coughs, we just have to try every darn thing that people recommend!!! :p

Well, this time is for BoiBoi who is having a bout of cough and suspected allergic rhinitis. Even though the grade Capt'n Hook had bought is not too shabby but after soaking them in water, I can still see teeny weeny feathers floating on the water and also many many stuck onto the nests! Grrrrrr that's when I sat down with the bowl of bird's nest, a bowl filled with some water, an empty bowl, a small bowl with water plus a pair of tweezers.


The box of bird's nest, sorry I did not take a picture of the dried nest as I've never intended to blog about this in the first place :p

The modus operandi is place a small amount of nests in the bowl with water (water have to be changed to remove the floating feathers when necessary) . Use the tweezers to remove the feather. I have to dip the tweezers into the small bowl of water to get rid of the feather before moving on. Once this is done, drain the nest and place into the empty bowl. Well this went on till all is done. I repeated the process at least twice to ensure as much of the feathers are removed.


Can you see the amount of dark feathers I picked out?

It was certainly a back breaking job sitting there for about 45 minutes sieving through the bird's nest. As I was doing this, I thought back on how my mother painstakingly doing the same for us. Well, it's not that we have this all the time but on the rare occasions when she manage to get nice and reasonably priced bird's nest. The thing is whenever she make for us that being myself, my two brothers and daddy; never once she partake any. Each time I asked her to have some, she always said "I don't like them. They have fishy smell."

Cleaned and soaked bird's nest

While I tucked into the double-boiled soup sweetened with rock sugar, I would always try to taste out trying to find the fishy smell she had mentioned but never once I could taste it. In my mind I would have lines running in my head perhaps she, as would all mothers, save up and give her family the best... or perhaps she really dislikes bird's nest soup??? I will never know cause she never tell me why up till now.


Into the pot the ingredients went

Now that I'm a mother myself, I guess it would really be the former. However, I did found out about the fishy smell... yeah she was right, there is indeed fishy smell but only detected during the feathers removal process. Ahhh so perhaps that smell could have offended her?

Whatever it is, here's a tribute to my mother on her birthday today for showing us her loving and kind compassion to all of us. We wish her good health and may her be blessed with happiness today and always. Many happy returns of the day, Mother!


The bowl of bird's nest soup awaiting for BoiBoi to lap up

Double-Boiled Bird's Nest Soup
Serves 3

2 pieces of dried bird's nest
3 bowls of water
4 - 6 red dates (optional)
rock sugar to taste (I've used the brown one, hence the soup turned out looking brown)

Placed all items in slow cooker (alternatively use a double boiler) and cooked for 3 hours in low heat. Serve hot and best to drink before bed time.

This is the first time BoiBoi drink up double-boiled bird's nest soup. He don't really like it and protested until his daddy stepped in :p I had to feed him but when I made the second batch on Sunday, he asked me for the soup before he went to bed!!! *roll eyes* He's getting very unpredictable these days with his ever changing palate. Thank goodness his cough is much better now ;-)

There you go... my accidental contribution to this year's virtual open house. Wishing all Malaysians a blessed Hari Kebangsaan. May we live harmoniously, be tolerant with each other and be peaceful always. Merdeka!!!

Review: The Zun Kitchenette @ Shaw Parade

**Non-halal**


I've read about The Zun Kitchenette sometime back in the papers and knew where it existed as we go round Pudu area rather often but somehow there isn't any urge to check them out as the complex they were located in is errmmm a rather dead place, not to mention notorious as well :p

I supposed we were destined to check out The Zun Kitchenette as that evening we went round Pudu area in search of a "nice" dinner (as how Capt'n Hook had put it before he came to pick me up) towards the tail end of CNY but the few restaurants that we wanted to go to were closed. Since it was a wet evening, I suggested to have some NICE soup in a NICE surrounding as our fave soup place was closed as well. So that was how we ended up in Shaw Parade!



Parking is rather easy but you'll need to spiral up to get to the carpark otherwise park outside the complex. This carpark is not that friendly and rather dim so do bring along a bouncer friend or two. As far as I know, on the Ground floor, there are two places opened - Eu Yan Sang and Purple Cane. Funny how one Chinese medicine hall and tea centre have restaurants operating within them. To get to The Zun Kitchenette, one just need to look for Eu Yan Sang which was their flagship outlet in Malaysia and walk further in and you'll see the restaurant in a glass enclosure. Way back inside there's even a TCM clinic and a tuina and foot massage centre! As the waitress ushered us in, she told us the food served here are healthy stuff and do not contain any MSG. We were wowwed indeed. Yes... it never ceases to amaze us to unearth a treasure ermmm in a rather dead complex right in the city centre!

Once we were done with our order, we were served some tea like looking liquid in clear tiny teacups. Further poking and checking, the round bit you see there is actually crushed ice shaped using ice-cream scoop. I had a shock upon my first sip hahaha cos it's so sharp! Not my fault actually cos when we asked the waitress she mentioned the name in Cantonese which of course we won't have any idea what it is. After we were done with it, we went over to the shop outside to check out what it was.



Oooo it was actually Propolis and Honey Vinegar. We were told to drink this cold, in fact the colder the better in terms of the taste which we totally agreed so much so that we carted 2 bottles home hahaha they're very good in marketing, aren't they?

Our soups arrived first... Capt'n Hook had Chicken Delight Herbal Soup (RM10.00). I took a teeny sip. The clear soup was "sweet" in its own element. Should do Capt'n Hook's troubled throat some good.



As for myself, I've no idea why I asked for Bak Zhan Black Chicken Soup (RM10.00) as I detest bak zhan soup when my mum made them for me when I was much younger so much so that my mum stopped making them after seeing me crinkling my nose each time. I cautiously took my first spoon of the soup but I was delighted that it tasted totally different from the horrible stuff that my mum gave me. Perhaps it was the quality of the herbs used or could it be because I'm more tolerant now? Seriously I've a different perception of the bak zhan taste now as it has the "kum" (golden) after taste as oppose to my bitter (pun intended) experience.



Since there were just 2 of us, we decided not to have rice with dishes. We gotten ourselves single portion of Seafood Fried Rice (RM18.00) and Stir-Fried Noodles (RM12.00). Seems expensive huh for single portion however, I have to said it's well worth the price. The rice have loads of crunchy prawns, few pieces of chopped scallops and I think squid. The chopped spring onions in it made the rice rather fragrant. Geeshh... I must be getting old not able to recall. The rice they've used is aromatic and slighlty glutinuous texture which I supposed signified the quality of the rice used for the grains turned out separated.



Don't let the simple name of Stir-Fried Noodles fool you. We loved this noodles to the bits. They've used sarng meen (fresh noodles or usually known as wantan noodles) that retained the al dente texture that I liked. Fried with beansprouts, julienned carrots, strips of shitake mushrooms and seafood, yes more seafood! The portion is just too much for the 2 of us after walloping the rice that we doggie bagged half of them home.



Capt'n Hook had his fave Guilingao Herbal Jelly (RM4.80) for dessert. He gave this 2 thumbs up saying that this was how one should taste like coupled with the real thick honey that was served on the side.



As for myself, I was too stuffed to have any birdnest desserts listed in the menu so I continue sipping my Rooibos Tea (RM5.00 for 2 paxs) to ease digestion.



Just in case you would like to know the Chinese names to the dishes above.



For once in a long while, I don't have to drown water down my throat after dinner. We loved the simple yet exquisite meal and yes, we're returning to check out the other dishes soon. Watch this space ;-)

My only concern is how to curb their clever marketing strategy and the shopaholic in us :p for you can get those yummy herbs, vinegars, bird nests, honey etc that you've tasted in the restaurant on your way out???

BTW, there is The Zun Express at The Gardens, Midvalley serving express meals like soups and noodles. It is located on the same row as Nyonya Colors and Belanga.

Note: If you have Eu Yan Sang membership card, you're entitled to a 10% discount in the restaurant. You can apply immediately too, just pay RM12 for one year membership. There is a service charge of 10% and our total bill of the above meal came up to RM65.80.


The Zun Kitchenette
Lot GL-01 Ground Floor
Shaw Parade
Changkat Thambi Dollah
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603-2118 6860


Technorati Tags: chinese food

Homemade Chicken Essence

One of the nourishing soup I had is Chicken Essence after the nasty episode. Nope, not those straight from the bottle. The homemade style. I drank this during my confinement after giving birth to my boiboi. This soup made me super alert and kept me awake at most times hahaha that I totally banned it!

The process is pretty tedious to me, as usually one have to smash up one whole kampung (free-range) chicken with a pestle, bones and all. Then these are placed on top of an over-turned porcelain bowl inside a double-boiler. Put on the lid and double-boil the smashed chicken for 3 hours. The essence of the chicken will drip under the bowl. Remove the chicken and the bowl gently and drink up the essence.

Note: When you first open the double-boiler lid, you won't see much liquid inside as shown on the left pic. Don't fret, the essense hid underneath the bowl!



Well, that was the usual way of making chicken essence but this method produces a fair bit of oil. What my mom did was to use lean breast meat from 3 (yes THREE!!! That's a freaking whole lot of chickens that we have been eating every other day!) kampung chickens instead. For a bit of variation, a few slices of dong guai (angelica) can be added underneath the bowl.

My colleague had taught me some years back to make this Chicken Essence. He also told me to reserve the cooked chicken and use it the next day to boil soup. We tried that and the soup turned out tasting sweet as he had mentioned.

Technorati Tags: confinement food

Review: Restaurant Friendship Herbal Soup

**Non-Halal**

Dug these out from my photo archive. We went to tried this Restaurant Friendship Herbal Soup, the Kepong Branch when it was still new (that must have been many many months ago haha). My mother had heard from the neighbour that they were running some kind of promotion which I can't recall what was it now. Anyway, this place is located at the row behind KYS Restaurant (Carrefour side).

Four of us shared one Double-boiled Coconut Soup (RM6.00) and another soup which I did not manage to capture the picture, hence can't recall what it was, plus the receipt is in Chinese! Duh. This soup tasted clear (ching) and have hint of coconut.

I liked this Salted Egg Yolk Fish Slices (RM15). The crispy deep fried fish slices were coated with even amount of salted egg yolk which render them not overly salty and the fish have a very fragrant taste.

The benchmark of wok hei (breath of the wok) came out best with Stir Fried Romaine Lettuce with Fermented Beancurd (foo yue) dish. Glad to say Friendship Herbal Soup passed the test with the right amount of fermented beancurd used. I lapped up whatever little gravy on the plate.

We also have a small plate of Honeyed Pork Ribs (RM9). Can't go very wrong when the tender ribs with slight sweetish thick sauce.

One can have plain rice or yam/taro rice (RM1 per serving) to go with the dishes. We tried the yam rice which is nothing to shout about. The rice was a bit dry and not so flavourful. Could hardly ever trace yam pieces in it. I think mine is better :p

Restaurant Friendship Herbal Soup
12G & 14G Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 2
Taman Usahawan Kepong
52100 Kuala Lumpur

Technorati Tags: malaysian food

Review: Keong Kei Poh Ban (Double-boiled Soup)

**Non-Halal Posting**

My parents have been raving about a poh ban (double-boiled soup) place opposite Shaw Parade in Changkat Thambi Dollah for a while ever since their neighbour brought them there for a few occassions. For the amount of time we have our dinner around this area, we have no clue about this place. So I got the detailed location from Daddy and decided that we must set foot here, well at least for once.

Hubby and I, went on a recent Monday and circled the area 3 times but can't find any parking. We gave up and went to YHK instead since our tummies were rumbling. The following Monday, got sms from hubby asking me to think where to have dinner *roll eyes*. When I hopped into the car, he looked at me seeking for my reply. I looked back and we BOTH instantly understood each other. Errr does any of you out there have this phenomenon where you can read each other mind without even opening your mouths??? We do and it always creep me off!

So we set off using Jalan Sultan Ismail but hubby did a booboo by turning right at the 3rd right lane which is supposedly going straight to SMART tunnel. The next thing we saw were policemen flagging him in... hohoho... there's a double line there but since it's pretty new, not many were aware. Hence, these scums men were there to booby trap motorists. All I have to say is, it was an expensive dinner :p So be careful if you're not familiar with Kuala Lumpur's roads!

Once done with the men, we took a left turn at the road between Club De Vegas and Times Square. Went down the road and saw this stall under a big tree. This stall named Keong Kee is situated at the junction of Changkat Thambi Dollah and Jalan 1/77B. The best landmark would be Shaw Parade, opposite the main entrance. I doubt you can missed the amount of steamers this stall have! You can park your car at Shaw Parade or there is a parking just next to this stall but the entrances are pretty hidden. So slow down and look out.





Once sat down, someone will come and rattle off their menu. Take your choices of double-boiled soups ranging from herbal chicken soups to errr squirrel or even sui yue (turtle???) *wrinkle nose*. Dished like wild boar curry, pork belly with preserved mustard cabbage (mui choy khau yoke), ginger chicken etc...

I've asked for Double-boiled Hair of Ginseng Roots with Chicken (Sum Soe Dan Gai). Ohh my... this place really gives its best, not stingy at all! The soup is full of ginseng flavour and came with a huge chicken thigh. The meat was tender and flavoured with ginseng. Yummy on its own without even need to dip them in soy sauce, well not that I have that habit. Finished till the last drop and check out the amount of "hairs" in there haha...

Hubby ordered one Double-boiled Chicken in Coconut (Yeh Tzi Dan Gai) and I took a few sips as usual. Very qing (clear) and can tasted the natural sweetness of the herbs and coconut.



We also have a blanched iceberg lettuce served with a few dollops of oyster sauce and topped with shallots oil.



Since my mom was singing praises of the Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Cabbage (Mui Choy Khau Yoke), we asked for one too. Pretty good I would say but the I got a couple of pieces of lean pork belly, hence they weren't as tender as I would loved them to be. Pssstt can ask for separate extra gravy if you fancy to drizzle them on your plain rice.



Look at the layers of fats and meats of the pork belly.



While we were chowing down, hubby spied other tables with plates of curry looking meat. Upon enquiring, they were Wild Boar Curry. Funny the guy thought we had wanted just the curry gravy... cos he asked a few times whether we want just the gravy or meat together with gravy hahaha... we didn't know they were so generous. Anyway, my waisik (glutton) hubby ordered one portion. I have to say I liked this a lot! The curry flavour masked out the gamey meat and its a bit on the lemak side. Tried so hard to finish this up but alas we have to pack the remainder back haha... GLUTTONS. *roll eyes* If you wish to cook your own, do check out Precious Pea and her hubby's versions of wild boar curry.



Overall, we are very happy with this find and we will definitely return to try the rest of the dishes and soups. All the above dishes, soups and 2 bowls of rice costed us RM27.00, reasonable huh? The proprietor informed that the soups are available from 4ish in the afternoon till about 10ish at night. Opps forgot to check when is their off day but nevermind since there are so many eateries in that area to opt for if they're closed.

Keong Kei Poh Ban
Changkat Thambi Dollah
Coordinates: 3°8'25"N 101°42'44"E

Technorati tags: double-boiled soup + malaysian food