#ewew tries Unagi Kabayaki from Vfresh

Vfresh is an online supplier of fresh produce, particularly seafood, that I came across recently.  They get their weekly supply from local fishing villages around Selangor.  There was once when I contacted the 'boss' and he so happened to be in Sekinchan sourcing for his weekly supply of fresh seafood.

I've since made my second order from them recently during CNY....got more of their refreshingly sweet pineapple juice...and received a free MD2 pineapple (surprisingly).  I think it was because I mentioned that one of the pineapples I got from them previously was slightly spoilt at the bottom.  I just wanted him to know (about his produce) and wasn't looking to be given a replacement but appreciated the nice gesture nevertheless.

When I made my first order from Vfresh, I got myself some Unagi Kabayaki or Japanese Grilled Eel (RM22) to try too.  When it arrived and I looked at the packaging, I realised they were from Piau Kee, a live and frozen seafood supplier/distributor.

Cooking instructions are provided on the packaging and you can choose a method that best suits you.  Method 1 - You can submerge the sealed frozen eel package into boiling water and cook for about 6 minutes.  Method 2 - Or you can defrost the frozen eel in its package first in the microwave for 2 minutes and then microwave it for a further 3 minutes.  Method 3 - You can also slide the frozen eel onto a baking tray and bake at 180°C for about 8 minutes.

Which method was I most comfortable with?  Obviously the last method as the first two involved cooking the frozen eel in its plastic packaging before sliding the eel out of its packet and onto a serving plate.  I guess I was just being paranoid.  I shouldn't be, after all sous vide is also done this way but that is done with food grade vacuum sealing bags, of course.  I wasn't too confident seeing that this had coloured printing on the packaging.  I once dropped a seasoning packet into my boiling instant noodles and I had to discard the whole pot! >_<

I decided to defrost the unagi in the fridge and cook it in the oven at 200°C (hoping for a better charring at a higher temperature) and it was done in just 5 minutes (since it was already defrosted).  It came out looking wonderful...like the real McCoy! ;)  As you can see, it's quite a large piece...for comparison purposes, it's as long as a pair of Japanese chopsticks.  You can serve (and eat) it on its own (with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds).

Or make it into a bowl of unagi don...full portion....for those with a ferocious appetite!  Taste wise, the unagi was soft textured (but a little gummy if you ask me) and it did achieve a bit of charring (but not much).  Even though there was a little charring, there wasn't any charred taste as you'd come to expect if it was grilled on an open fire as how it is often cooked.  This unagi had a bit too much skin (in my opinion) which was rather chewy.

But if you're not that big an eater, half portion is probably sufficient.  I actually delayed cooking this for a while until my bottle of mirin from Shopee arrived.  As can be seen from the packet, this unagi came with sauce but I was afraid it won't be enough....but it was.  So no need to make your own unagi sauce though the sweet, caramelised sauce with its thick consistency I found to be too sweet for me (perhaps next time I should dilute it with a bit of water).  When I slid the unagi from the packet onto the tray for cooking, I didn't pour out all the sauce but only added it in the last 2 minutes so that the sauce won't dry up during the grilling process.

If you happen to have any leftovers (and that's a big 'if'), the unagi keeps pretty well in the fridge for eating later.  You just need to reheat it in the microwave...and it's good enough for your food prep lunch the next day.

If you ask me, this cheap (and frozen) unagi is just not in the same league as those we order from Japanese restaurants.  Those are soft and delicately textured, not with a somewhat gummy texture, and the way they're grilled over an open fire means you get that lovely charred taste + the unagi sauce is also well balanced.

But at RM22, this unagi is good enough for two portions of unagi donburi making the cost only RM11 a bowl. Now where are we ever going to get a bowl of unadon at this price when we're more accustomed to paying anywhere between RM30 - RM50 (the average priced ones) at Japanese restaurants (there are also premium ones that easily cost more than RM50) although it's probably not fair to compare their quality directly to those offered by restaurants due to the vast difference in prices.

In the end, would this be an unagi I would re-order.  Yes and no.  Yes, if I'm looking for a cheap alternative (as a home meal)....and no, if I want to taste good quality unagi like those I'm excited to eat at Japanese restaurants.  So, hold your horses if you think you don't ever need to order unagi again when eating out.  This one isn't quite of the same level unfortunately...but, if you're willing to lower your expectations, this unagi is just pleasant enough to be acceptable. ^_~

What Chinese New Year Snacks Beckon in the Year of the Ox?

In anticipation that we'll be stuck at home most of the time due to strict SOPs during Chinese New Year (CNY) such as no interstate or inter district travel, I made sure I had an ample supply of CNY snacks to get us (more like him) through this period.

I'm actually not a habitual snacker (like my other half) but will maybe eat a wee bit more this year coz what else is there to do at home other than be a couch potato...and one will need snacks for that, right?...hee..hee! ;)  So, what snacks did I buy, make or receive?

Well, first of all, I had to go online to check out what I could get as gifts instead of physical shopping during MCO 2.0, so a poke poke here and a tekan tekan there....and I ended up with these, something different along with my usual gifts of snacks.

I got this Lay's CNY Gift Box (RM55) because of the lovely packaging and the variety of items which is ideal as a gift to a family that enjoys eating chips.

Here's a peek inside....I didn't even know what flavours I'd be getting when I ordered it as the descriptions were all written in Chinese! >_<  But, never mind-lah, chips are chips....any flavour will do.  I only knew the flavours when I opened the box (as the actual packs had English descriptions).

The gift pack included 20 individual packs of chips ranging from 15g - 40g for a total of 588g.

2 x Cheetos (Chicken & Beef Flavour)

2 x Potato Chips (American Classic Flavour)

2 x Potato Chips (Cucumber & Italian Red Meat Flavour)

2 x Crinkle Cut Chips (Grilled Pork Flavour)

2 x Crinkle Cut Chips (Grilled Squid Flavour)

2 x Crinkle Cut Chips (Roasted Chicken Wing Flavour)

2 x Yam Crisps (Cucumber & Tomato Flavour)

6 x Crispy Fries (Seaweed, Tomato & Original Flavours)

I also bought this Ban Heang Bundle Gift Set (RM43) from PenangToGo, again because I was attracted to the nice packaging but more so for the apt CNY wishes for a recipient who prefers blessings than snacks.

The gift pack contained:

(The Descents of Blessing) 2 x Coconut Crisps (2 pcs/pkt)

(Lucky star shines on high) 3 x Almond Slice - Original, Salted Egg & Cheese (2 pcs/pkt)

(Fortune & Prosperity) 3 x Crisps - Salted Fish with Seaweed, Cheese &Salted Egg (2 pcs/pkt)

(May the entirety be as you wish) 2 x Cookies - Butter & Almond (2 pcs/pkt)

(Harmony & Joy) 4 x Marshmallow Bites - Fruity & Matcha (2 pcs/pkt)

Perhaps this might seem a little pricey (and not so worth it) for the small amount of 28 pcs of snacks (individually wrapped in twos) but you can't deny the fact that the set (and wishes) makes for a rather appropriate CNY gift.

Now that I've gotten some gifts taken care of, how about some snacks for mua?  Something for my own consumption.  I'm not a big fan of cookies (neither is my spouse), so I don't need to bake any.  The snacks my family likes are the fried and crispy kind.  And why bother to slave in the kitchen when you can easily buy all your favourites.  The only snack I'm bothered to make (every year without fail) are prawn crackers and that's because I've not seen anyone sell these type of crackers.

I make these every year as giveaways (which are always well received by my intended recipients, in fact they're never enough) and this year I had to double up on the portion (RM30 for 600g of uncooked crackers) as I gave more away (the above is from one portion) + we started snacking on them well before CNY...in fact, right after they were fried! ;P

Besides crispy keropok, I also like these crab sticks (surimi) snacks (RM16).  I used to think these were just crab sticks shredded, tossed in cornstarch and deep-fried...and they should all basically taste the same, right?  Wrong.  I realised there was a difference in taste when I bought one this year (from a coffee shop I've never bought from before) that turned out really nice when I ate it simultaneously with one I received from my sister-in-law.  There was indeed a difference.  This one, though crispy as well, was slightly harder to the bite.  I even detected some mild fishiness.

The one I bought was super crispy and slightly more savoury.  You bet I'll be looking for it again next year (well, at least it had a telephone number on it).  I better hold on to the container then! :D

I bought this kuih kapit or thin crispy love letters (RM18) just because of the way it was folded into a unique shape (not often seen).  They're usually folded into quarters (fan-shaped) or rolled-up (like a cigar).  This one was cone-shaped with sesame seeds and not too sweet.

Then I chanced upon these caramel popcorn (RM8) at the mini wet market near my home...and soon realised a lot of vendors were selling these this year (but theirs were retailing for RM12).  My spouse finished one can in two sittings, so  I immediately returned to my wet market and got another 4 cans (two to give away).  With popcorn in one hand, now all that's needed is a good movie. ^_~

These are chocolate-flavoured meringue cookies that's predominantly made with just egg whites and icing sugar (+ cocoa for flavouring).  These ones are further studded with tiny chocolate chips.  My husband says they look like Hershey's kisses (probably that's where the inspiration came from).  They're super light, airy and crispy....it's like eating air!  These two snacks are for the sweet-toothed person in my family (which isn't me!).

I received a gift of prawn muruku.  I've eaten muruku but don't think I've eaten a prawn-flavoured one before (now there's even a salted egg yolk version).  I can't say I detected much prawn flavour though + this one was missing the traditional flavour of Indian spices like a proper muruku should be.

This year, my neighbour made and gifted me her pineapple rolls again.  The pastry is, of course, fresh tasting and the pineapple jam wasn't as tart, an improvement from the ones she gave me two years ago.  Like all cooking (which I can vouch for), or baking, it gets better with practice.

Because of the MCO, I didn't go out to the mall to get my usual supply of bak kwa this year.  So, I decided to get a pack from one of my frequented roasted meat stall to try (I've seen them selling for years but never bothered to try coz then I had my favourite brand, Oloiya to rely on.  Oloiya's prices this year is about the same as last year, RM58 for 500g.  This one I got was RM45 only for 500g.  Taste wise, nothing can beat my favourite.  This is just an interim measure until I'm reunited with my Oloiya...lol.

I also tried my hand at assembling my own gifts.  All you need is to get a couple of small containers and fill them up with different CNY snacks and make it pretty with a ribbon.  This way your recipients will get a variety of snacks instead of (say) just one container of the same thing (+ it can also be more cost saving if you're on a tight budget or have many recipients).

I received a couple cans of abalone too, not quite a snack, but it'll come in handy for my braised mushrooms, abalone and dried scallops dish that I intend to cook (and had already cooked) for the CNY reunion dinner.

I'll use them together with these dried mushrooms (a product of Japan) which my neighbour gave me to make my braised mushroom dish.  Glad to report that they taste similar to Chinese dried mushrooms (only better quality, thicker and tastier).

Now that's not a lot of snacks, is it?  Hee....hee...hee.  Whatever snacks you're munching on in this Ox-picious new year.....enjoy......and munch on! ^_~

Happy 'Niu' Year - A Reunion During MCO 2.0

For a third year in a row, we stayed put in KL for our Chinese New Year (CNY) reunion dinner.  This time, it was due to the Covid-19 pandemic with no interstate travel allowed.  It was a reunion dinner that almost didn't happen.  Luckily, the SOP for the CNY reunion makan was revised (due to the backlash from the Chinese community) to accommodate up to 15 family members who stay within a 10km radius.

Unfortunately, the revision was made so last minute (just a few days before the eve of CNY) that I (perhaps others too) weren't prepared for it.  Since I was resigned to eating within the same household only, I didn't even bother to stock up my fridge (with special, premium foodstuff).  I thought we would just have a very simple dinner that's no different from our every day meal.

I also didn't want to scramble and jostle with the crowd which I expected will throng the wet markets and supermarkets doing last minute shopping because of the announcement (and I was right).  So, we had to quickly devise a meal plan with what we had.  These were the makeshift dishes that made it to our reunion table this year at my sister-in-law's house (kudos to her again for being so rajin to put up CNY decor).

#1 - Yee Sang

As usual, it's common to start with the tossing of yee sang to usher in prosperity and health for the coming year (God knows we need it during a year ravaged by the pandemic).  A sister-in-law bought this from a restaurant in our neighbourhood, Esquire Kitchen.

And no, we did not deem it necessary to follow Singapore's SOP for tossing yee sang!  What is lo hei without uttering ox-picious phrases, right? ;P

#2 - Braised Mushrooms with Abalone & Dried Scallop

This was probably the most luxurious of all the dishes we had.  Luckily I was still able to cook this as I had (gifts of) dried mushrooms and cans of abalone (and I had dried scallops and frozen choi yin kai bones in my fridge).  I just had to get some broccoli.  I decided to do a little bit of extra work for a nicer presentation.

#3 - Soy Sauce Prawns

My sister-in-law cooked her soy sauce prawns (and they were huge ones) again this year but this time I noticed the prawn heads were intact (unlike last year)....hee..hee! ;)

#4 - Steamed Pork Belly with Yam (Wu Tau Kau Yuk)

My other sister-in-law bought a few frozen ready-made dishes initially for their own family consumption. Among them was this dish of Hakka wu tau kau yuk.  This is usually made with red fermented beancurd but the sauce of this one was more on the brownish side.  I don't know if the pork belly was tender enough as I only ate the soft yam.

#5 - Curry Pork Ribs

This was another ready-cooked dish that was bought (my sis-in-law even got an ong lai plate to serve it on)...lol.  The pork ribs were tender (loved the chunky potatoes).  The curry tasted somewhat like Ipoh curry mee where the curry powder is much stronger.

#6 - Fried Lor Bak

This fried five-spice meat (pork) rolls was the final dish that was bought.  These ready-made frozen dishes come in real handy as all it needs is reheating which means you don't have to slave in the kitchen to put something on the table.

#7 - Stir-Fried Leeks with Lap Cheong

I decided to cook an extra dish of leeks since it symbolises wealth (sounds like counting lots of money in Mandarin).  I noted that most recipes seem to stir-fry it with lap cheong (another auspicious ingredient), so I followed suit.  This was the first time I fried leeks and I have to say it turned out pretty delicious.  I enjoyed it so much I cooked it again for our own family dinner.

And that was our simple reunion dinner menu hastily put together thanks to the last minute decision of our government to relax the SOP for reunion dinners.  This year, there were no leftovers.  We finished everything...and that's because the dishes are much smaller portions bought as a result of thinking that we'd be eating within the confines of our own home.

It may have been a much simpler affair compared to previous years due to the pandemic and last minute announcement but we should be thankful that we were (finally) allowed to carry on with this all important cultural tradition of having a reunion dinner.

CNY is a time for celebration with family and we don't really need to forego it if no inter-district travel is involved.  After all, they're our close family members and we should trust them enough to keep themselves and everyone else safe.  Hope you had a nice, intimate gathering with your closed family members too. Happy 'Niu' Year one and all! ^.^

Online Fresh Produce from Vfresh

I was recently introduced to Vfresh (through eatdrinkkl), an online platform where you can order fresh produce and groceries.  So far, I've only ordered once from this online seller (and it certainly won't be the last) since I'm pretty happy with the quality and freshness of their produce.

They're a home-based set-up that was born out of the pandemic (sometime in July 2020) and they operate out of their home in Happy Garden, Old Klang Road.  Seeing that they're fairly near me, I whatsapped them to find out the delivery charges to my place...and it turned out to be only RM5 for a minimum order of RM100. The minimum order amount is certainly doable...and the delivery charges very reasonable too if I may add.

My first order was made before Chinese New Year (CNY) and I concentrated on their pineapple products as I was very eager to try the reputable local MD2 Pineapple @ RM8 per fruit that Vfresh gets from a farm in Ulu Tiram, Johor.  The skin of the pineapple looks a bit different from the usual ones.  I don't ever buy whole pineapples as I've not cut one before (+ it's tedious work) but this one (surprisingly) turned out relatively easy to cut.  Once the skin was removed, the eyes were pretty much removed too as they weren't deep.  I didn't have to make many diagonal cuts to remove the eyes of the pineapple.

Looks like my first attempt at cutting a whole pineapple went pretty well....lol! ;D  Taste wise, the pineapple chunks were indeed very juicy and super sweet.  When I say super sweet, I don't mean intolerably sweet but extra sweet for a pineapple which is generally a bit sour and makes you cringe a little when taking a bite (unless you managed to pick the right one)...but this one wasn't so.

If their fresh cut pineapple was already so sedap, I was very excited that the cold pressed Pineapple Juice (350ml) @ RM8 (RM15 for two) would be even better....and it was...so fresh and sweet! ^o^  Even with 100% pure juice with no added sugar, it was still very sweet (as it should be since fruits in juice form is always sweeter than eating cut fruits).  It was really, really good...so drink sparingly if you're afraid of the sugar content.

Do note that the juice bottles come in a frozen state (probably to preserve them at the freshest possible), so do let it stand in the fridge to defrost...and you'll have a juice that's so cold, thirst quenching and refreshing all at the same time.

Their final pineapple product that I wanted to get was the Pineapple Tarts @ RM28 (36 pcs per box).  That was my first intention since CNY was approaching to see if they were any good.

If they were, I wanted to get more boxes to give away as gifts.....and to eat since it's one of my husband's favourite CNY snacks.

The pineapple jam on the tarts were certainly tasty but, unfortunately, that wasn't the case with the pastry/cookie.  It wasn't buttery enough and neither did it taste all that fresh.  It was like eating commercialised cookies that tasted like they were made well ahead of time for sale.

It was a shame really as the pineapple jam was plentiful (judging from the amount that was protruding from the pastry), so I won't be making any repeat orders for this, I'm afraid.  Even so, my mister wallop habis! :D

Besides pineapple products, you can also order seafood like fish, prawns (including mantis prawns), squid, crabs (including king crabs), even cockles, meat (kampung chicken and lamb), kampung eggs, unagi and even ice cream.

I also got myself some salmon fillets and unagi to try.  Wait ah.....I'll show you what I made with them and what I thought about them in another post.

For this post, it's all about the pineapples (or wong lai in Cantonese) or ong lai in Hokkien (prosperity come come....lol!)....as we usher in the Year of the (Metal) Ox...at least with a little cheer that the reunion dinner is back on with some slight amendments to the CNY SOP much to everyone's relief.

Here's wishing everyone a Safe CNY & a Happy Reunion

(where possible) with close family members.  Stay vigilant.

P/S: For a little spirits uplifting, that's my lazy, tiny bit of CNY decor! :P