“No! It’s my turn to lick the batter!” I squealed and pummelled my brother’s legs. He effortlessly held a whisk attachment high above the reach of my hands while slowly licking the batter off the other.

“Give one to your sister,” my mother chided my brother as she slid the bundt pan into the oven. I grinned in delight as he reluctantly handed me the other whisk.

“Don’t worry,” my mother whispered to me after my brother left the kitchen. “I’m making two more cakes. You can have the batter for both.” My mother’s pound cake is the taste of my childhood. It was dense, yet airy. Buttery and sweet. Bands of colour swirl through the cake, combinations of which us siblings took turns choosing. My favourite was always blue, red and yellow, sometimes taking the time to eat each colour individually. We looked forward to family get-togethers, where at least two of these cakes would be on the table. And sometimes, for no reason at all, a freshly-baked cake would be around at tea-time, with whisks in a bowl at the side for my brother and me, batter still on…  Continue reading »

It was a lovely Saturday morning when we all gathered at The Food Studio in Mont Kiara to take part in a class run by Chef Paul together with Electrolux. The program featuring classic pies such as Sheppard’s pie, creamy chicken and leek pie, and caramelised apple pie was highly anticipated by everyone who attended. We had a few fans and bloggers join us: Marcky(who provided us with the stunning photos for this entry), Rebecca Saw, Pureglutton, and Memoirs of a Chocoholic.

Upon arriving we enjoyed some refreshments while we glanced over our recipes for the day. The concept at Food Studio is to have a cosy kitchen space that resembles a home kitchen, not an intimidating commercial space. This is to help people realise that cooking is not difficult and they can recreate these same dishes in their own home. The studio is fully equipped with sleek Electrolux appliances. Ingredients are prepped and individual stations are set up for this unique ‘get your hands dirty’ experience.

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What is this world coming to when eggs are being counterfeited? Unbelievable! Toying with nature for profits has certainly gone too far.

It came to light yesterday that a woman bought fake eggs in Pulau Tikus. She realized immediately that something was off when they smelled different in addition to being tasteless. These eggs were larger than normal with weird shapes and the surface was a bit rough. After cooking the egg when she opened it up she saw that the yolks have a more vibrant yellow colour.

In doing more research I discovered that these fake eggs also cost more at RM11 for a tray of 30eggs compared to RM10.50 for a tray of real eggs. These synthetically produced eggs require more production and tweaking but are still cheaper to mass produce than to keep chickens. It is especially scary to note that they are toxic to the system using industrial chemicals that can cause dementia. The whites are made of calcium carbonate while the egg yolks are made of sodium alginate, alum, gelatin, benzoic acid, calcium chloride, water and colouring. The eggshell is made of paraffin…  Continue reading »

I have been fasting regularly now for 20 odd years. And let me tell you I have made all the mistakes. Ate so much at buffets, they have to wheel me out on a gurney. Suffered nights of indigestion. During uni days with limited funds and a need to look like a waif, I only ate one meal. By the time the 10th day of fasting came, I clear passed out during an economics lecture.

There's more. But the stories are dodgy so let's just put it that though I've always fasted sincerely, there have been times when I've completely missed the point of it all.

That fasting is time to reflect and be thankful for something as simple as knowing where your next meal is coming from. It's also a time of moderation. And I suppose with the siren call of buffets and Pasar Ramadhans galore, it's hard to keep centred.

Here's some stuff I came up with through the years to not go nutts during Ramadhan.

For some odd reason, people go CRAZY over ayam percik golek during RamadhanContinue reading »

I want to blog a bit about the recent 'hoopla' when our Tourism Minister Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen said that we needed to protect our food heritage. This came to light when someone posted a thread on FriedChillies on some news coverage about this. I thought that it's probably best to wait until the heat has died down a little before putting this up so here it is. You see, if we Malaysians are really interested in getting people to know about our food on a global basis, this will be a more like a marathon instead of a sprint. So a month or two worth of delayed posting I think would not matter much.

Firstly, it's about time we heard kick a** statements like this from our Government instead of being all 'lets try to negotiate and see'. Sometime we have to take the bull by its horn and not worry about what comes out the other end of the horn, usually down South. I would like to personally thank our Minister of Tourism for such a bold and brave statement. Timing is a bit off but…  Continue reading »

Since I was a child, I have always viewed every different festive occasion and cultural custom with great interest. I love Christmas, the lantern festival, Deepavali… I admire the perseverance of those who show great strength during Thaipusam, and the infinite wisdom of Buddhist teachings. Overall I feel extremely lucky to be living within a country where I am able to witness and learn about other cultures and religions apart from my own. I feel this gives me a deeper understanding and respect of others.

Being a Muslim, I recently experienced Ramadan - the once a year, month long fasting season for Muslims. The general idea is that from dawn to sunset, we make a vow that refrains us from eating or drinking. Going deeper, Ramadan is a time of patience, reflection and humility; and a time for us to try to become better people. It is a month of remembering the poor, of those you are less fortunate then us, and to remember the struggles and sacrifices made by those in the past.

Every day, ‘Iftar’ (the break-fast meal) is a time that is much anticipated by all. Over the…  Continue reading »

Yes it's the silly season where for some odd reason, you enter a shop completely thinking you are going to be sensible and then... you buy this...