#ewew makes Salads but not Salad Dressings

One of my favourite meals to have is a salad....but not any salad though.  I'm not a big fan of raw salads, at least not 100% raw.  I used to rely on triple washed mixed salad leaves straight out of a packet for my salads but that was before I discovered the deliciousness of roasted or chargrilled vegetables (and for that, I have phonghongbakes to thank).

Since learning how to make grilled vegetables, I'd much prefer to eat my own cooked salads nowadays...or a salad combination of cooked and raw ingredients is fine too (we don't want to be grazing like a goat according to choiyen.com)....lol!

As much as I like to make and eat salads, I don't make my own salad dressings.  Why would I when I can conveniently pour or squeeze out my favoured dressings direct from a bottle...and that dressing is none other than Kewpie dressing, of course.

But if I did make my own salad dressing, it'll probably be the simplest one with olive oil, lemon juice, honey and a little bit of crushed garlic.  Even before I started buying bottled dressings, I would buy those dressings in small packets or get a salad which comes with a packet of dressing inside.  Now that I eat salads more often and prefer my own cooked salads than raw salad leaves, obviously getting bottled dressings make more sense.

The first Kewpie dressing I tried was Kewpie's Roasted Sesame Dressing.  The first time I had it, I really liked it a lot.  Then the overly robust flavours of the roasted sesame got to me and I couldn't bring myself to finish the last bottle I got.

So, I moved on to Kewpie's Thousand Island Dressing.  Now I've always loved Thousand Island dressing as it's the one I'm always drawn to when I find myself at the salad counters of buffets even when there were loads of other dressings I could choose from.

Thousand Island has always been my no. 1 favourite dressing and Kewpie's Thousand Island Dressing is light and tangy and not too sourish or too sweet.

I'm all for anything that's tangy and zesty as I find the dressing stimulates my appetite especially on days when I don't have much of an appetite.

Then I saw this Hellman's Smoky Thousand Island Dressing advertisement on Astro.  Since I love Thousand Island dressing, I thought why not try a different brand.

Hellman's Smoky Thousand Island Dressing has a much thicker consistency than Kewpie's and also a more robust and punchy flavour.  Because of this, you can afford to put less dressing otherwise it can be a little cloying if you put too much.

And because this one is smoky Thousand Island, I did get that light smoky taste which differentiates it from Kewpie's.  It's not as light as Kewpie's and I also find it a little sweeter, so go easy on the amount.

One day when I was browsing through the supermarket, I noticed a new roasted sesame dressing, Kewpie's Roasted Sesame Dressing with Yuzu Taste.  This must be their new take on their regular roasted sesame dressing which now comes with yuzu flavour.

After finding Kewpie's Roasted Sesame Dressing too salty for my taste buds (I suppose you could add some honey to balance out the saltiness), I'm glad to say it is now back in favour with me but only the one that says Kewpie's Roasted Sesame Dressing with Yuzu Taste.

That fruity, light tartness of yuzu (I find) cuts through the saltiness of the roasted sesame which makes it appetite inducing and that much more welcoming in taste.

Besides my 'go to' favourite trio of salad dressings, I also have a trio of seasonings that I must have in my pantry at all times and these staples are McCormick's Black Peppercorn Grinder, Sea Salt Grinder and Garlic Pepper Seasoning Grinder (grinder versions only...hehe).

Before they had the grinder version, I used to buy ground black pepper to sprinkle on my mushroom soup or any other types of soup before realising that the black pepper was too fine.  Then I changed to coarse black pepper and found it to be more fragrant and you can actually taste the black pepper coz it's coarse.  Of course they also sold whole black peppercorns which was wonderful coz nothing beats freshly cracked black pepper but it was inconvenient to have to put it into a grinder of our own.

So, when whole peppercorns came packaged together with an all-in grinder, it was ingenious!  The smell of freshly cracked black pepper is just different...and I love the sound of pepper being grinded like it's so authentic...lol.  There's even a setting (three actually) as to how fine you want your black pepper, so you can have it really fine or coarse as you wish.  I've not bought any other bottle ever since.  Yes, I pay a little bit more for this convenience but it's so worth it.  Forget about those bottles of ground black pepper, coarse black pepper or whole black peppercorns....just get this everything-in-one (with grinder function) will suffice! ^_~

The same goes for the sea salt grinder which I like to use this for my western cooking coz it's not as salty as table salt (which I use for Chinese cooking) + it just sounds that much more genuine when you grind it out from a bottle! :D  That way your family or guests also get to tweak the food to the level of saltiness they desire.

The final bottle is just a combination of black pepper, sea salt and garlic (+ red & green bell peppers) that I like to use to season almost anything and everything.  I use them as seasonings for meats, potatoes and vegetables....I sometimes even sprinkle them on fries and fresh salads! ;)

When it comes to the protein component of any salad, nothing beats a freshly roasted, tender and juicy chicken leg.  Of course you'll need to shred or tear out the meat from the chicken leg.

If I don't make roasted chicken, a protein of grilled or pan-fried chicken tenderloin will do just as well too for me.  Some salads are so good on its own, I don't even need a dressing...lol.

The other protein I like to use are sauteed large, juicy, charred prawns but I don't know if that qualifies as a prawn salad....or a prawn dish?  Kekeke!

Of course, bacon is another excellent choice as a protein.

And when you really don't have any protein in your fridge, even potatoes and hard-boiled eggs will do fine too.

For the vegetable component, it's quite obvious (from the photos of my salads) that I tend to use the same few ones which I think work really well in a salad of roasted vegetables and they include broccoli, cauliflower, red & green capsicum (all colours but red is my ultimate favourite because of the sweetness it brings), onions, cherry tomatoes and fresh button mushrooms.

And the best thing is, roasted vegetable salads keep really well as leftovers.  If kept in the fridge, you just need to reheat it in the toaster oven and it'll be as good as new.

When I get tired of cooking, tired of eating my own cooking or don't know what to cook, a salad is what I'd fall back on all the time.  Not only is it easy to make, it's nutritious, it's healthy and it keeps well as leftovers. It's great as a main meal or a side dish to your main meal. ^o^

Nasi Lemak Bamboo @ SS2 PJ

When phonghongbakes wrote a post on Nasi Lemak Bamboo @ SS2 PJ, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I ventured there coz I love to eat nasi lemak to begin with + it's located on a jalan (road) which is a familiar hunting ground for us when it comes to food.

Originating from Sabah, this flavour of Sabahan reached our shores with their first branch outside of Sabah in PJ (opened in late November 2020).  They have since opened another branch in Sri Petaling with more franchise outlets to open soon.

We actually came here twice.  The first was a disappointment because we found a queue waiting to be seated...and we didn't want to wait.  The second time, we arrived not long after they were opened and found no queue.  We got one of the last available tables...and that's when I noticed everyone who was sitting down wasn't eating yet coz the 'queue' has moved inside...meaning everyone was 'queuing' inside instead for their food...lol!

Well, at least queuing when one is seated isn't that bad.  The shop is basically self service, so you need to order at the counter and self pick up your food and drinks from two different counters.  I would have preferred for the food to be served to us at the table.

Well, our first order has to be none other than their Nasi Lemak Bamboo Kari Seafood @ RM16.90 as that's obviously what they're best known for (otherwise it wouldn't be in the shop's name...hehe!).  This was how it was served.  It arrived with an inverted bamboo on a rattan tray lined with waxed paper laden with the usual toppings of hard-boiled egg, fried ikan bilis & peanuts, cucumber and sambal.

When I lifted up the bamboo cylinder, the contents melimpah keluar (flowed out) with steaming hot rice mixed with prawns, sotong (squid) and sambal that was wrapped in banana leaves.  They made this by lining the hollow bamboo with banana leaves before filling it up with cooked rice and seafood curry to be steamed.

You know me, the food already gets off to a flying start when it arrives piping hot.  The seafood of squid and prawns were adequately fresh and it was a generous amount of seafood for the price.

The medium-sized prawns had a slightly (very slight) bouncy texture when I bit into it and were only mildly sweet, not near the low quality of frozen prawns but also not quite the good quality, sweet tasting fresh prawns that I know.

What looked like small squids turned out to be baby cuttlefish.  They seemed like baby octopus initially but taking a closer look and based on size of the tentacles to body ratio, they're more likely to be baby cuttlefish (they call it sotong katak?).  The cuttlefish had a nice, soft texture.

The seafood curry is very light tasting, not the robustly flavoured kari we know, so those expecting traditional curry flavours will be disappointed.  The curry has this light, sourish tang to it (with kaffir lime leaves)...nothing quite like a savoury curry but I quite enjoyed it eaten together with the sambal.  The sambal is more on the sweet side rather than spicy which works for me but some will prefer it spicier and more savoury (like my husband).  Mix the curry with the sambal for a delicious mouthful.

I wanted to try the Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang for our other choice but it was not available that morning.  Not sure why since we were there when they opened shop, so they couldn't have run out of it already.  Perhaps it wasn't ready yet which leads to the next question....why wasn't it ready? >_<

So, we chose the Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng @ RM12.90 instead.  It was served with a whole fried chicken leg with the same condiments of hard-boiled egg, fried crispy anchovies & peanuts, cucumber and sambal.

The coating on the deep-fried whole chicken leg was very crunchy but the meat could do with more seasoning and flavour (according to my spouse) though it was alright for me.  The batter coating of this fried chicken is crunchy but a bit hard and seemed a little over-fried.  It's not as good as Village Park's Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng (which I prefer) where the batter coating is finer and much crispier with better flavours in both the coating and the meat.

I was able to taste the santan in the rice a bit more with this one coz it was not doused in the seafood curry. The ikan bilis weren't of the best quality though they managed to be crispy but a tad hard.

I ordered a Mee Siam Kosong @ RM5 to go (for my lunch later).  The plain mee siam came with a few slivers of omelette.  The mee siam may look deceptively simple but I did enjoy it as the flavours were nicely balanced between sour and not too spicy.  Something light and appetite inducing.

The Hainan Kopi (Cold) @ RM3.50 is as decent as it can be for an establishment like this.  They also have on their menu mee rebus, soto ayam, sotong goreng, cucur udang, otak-otak, cendol, soft-boiled eggs & Hainanese toast.  They've recently added nasi lemak rendang daging to the menu (now this I'm interested).

My Personal Opinion

For me, it's the uniqueness of the seafood curry in a bamboo that differentiates it from the rest of the nasi lemak joints (although nasi lemak served in a bamboo isn't something new as it has been done before). Nevertheless, if you're someone who enjoys eating seafood (like me) and who doesn't mind a light tasting, faintly sourish, appetite inducing curry, then this is the very thing you should order when you're here. ^o^

But their ayam goreng is not quite in the same league as say Village Park's fried chicken.  I've not had their nasi lemak ayam rendang and certainly wouldn't mind trying their rendang daging on my next visit.

Overall, it's a pleasant enough nasi lemak (I'm referring to their signature dish, of course) though many will probably say they can find many other better tasting nasi lemak than this.  Nasi lemak is just one of those dishes that everyone tends to have their own favourite and it's difficult to convince them otherwise. ^_~

Update:  This branch is permanently closed but they have other branches elsewhere (google to find out where)

Nasi Lemak Bamboo

28 Jalan SS2/66

47300 Petaling Jaya

Selangor

Tel: 016-801 3007

Just One Food - Kawan Roti Paratha

Roti Paratha (or more commonly known as roti prata in Singapore and roti canai in Malaysia) is an Indian-influenced flatbread that's a well-loved hawker food and popular breakfast dish here in Malaysia.

I won't even call it a breakfast dish (though that's when it is eaten most often) as people from all walks of life eat it the whole day round...for breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and supper!   I think its popularity stems from the fact that it's a very affordable meal.  For between RM1 - RM1.50, you can have a roti kosong (as in plain) or roti telur (with egg) for RM2 - RM2.50.  I've seen families of six or more dining out for lunch or dinner on just these.  What can I say, it's one of the most affordable meals around when cost is a factor...more so now in times of despair for destitute families! 

This round, circular disc of sumptuousness is one of the things I miss eating during this pandemic.  Before the pandemic struck, it has been my once-a-week (if I'm naughty) or once in two weeks (preferably) indulgence for breakfast.  It's obvious that one has to resist the temptation of eating this too often for health reasons. But the other reason (brought on by the pandemic) is that I have to be cautious of eating these in mamak restaurants knowing that the majority of them are foreign workers (from India) who (most probably) stay in cramped and undesirable living conditions coz many of these employers exploit their workers to keep their costs low.  So, pardon my precaution lah (I even know of a neighbour who forbids her husband to go to any mamak restaurant during the pandemic...lol).

So, I was pleasantly surprised when my husband brought home a packet of Kawan Roti Paratha that his sister gave him.  Hmmm, what is this frozen paratha?  I've never had them before but I've seen them selling in supermarkets (along with some other brands).  I thought why would I want to buy frozen roti canai when I have access to fresh ones.  Well, that was before the pandemic....these are desperate times...which calls for desperate measures....lol.  So, frozen roti canai will have to do...for now.

This is Kawan's (Plain) Roti Paratha (RM4.99) in green packaging.  One pack has 5 frozen pieces packed individually between two sheets of plastic.

There are instructions on the packaging that you can follow but I didn't.  Anyway, how difficult can it be?  So I sprayed a little oil on my non-stick pan, peeled off the plastic and put the frozen disc in.  You can skip the oil part, of course, as the roti itself would have been oiled.

Now, the instructions (on the packaging) are a bit vague but I think I was supposed to cook the roti for 1 1/2 minutes on each side....but I ended up needing 6 - 8 minutes....8 minutes on medium-low heat (90°C - 120°C) for the first piece (and a little less time for subsequent pieces once the pan was sufficiently heated up).  Wait for a good 2 minutes for the roti to firm up before flipping for the first time.

  

Visually, you'll know when it's done when the roti puffs up and browns nicely.  You may need to press down on the roti so that the dough makes contact with the heat of the pan in order for it to have a more even browning.

One instruction that is key (and must be followed) is to not thaw the roti as it'll turn soft and sticky.  In fact, I would suggest you take out just one piece at a time from the freezer to cook.  This is because the roti defrosts very quickly once out of the freezer....even before your first piece of roti is cooked.  Once they become sticky-soft, it's much harder to peel them off the two sheets of plastic.

I was skeptical at first to think that the roti can be successfully cooked from frozen state but it was amazing to see just how fast that could be achieved.  I remember being equally surprised when I watched something similar being cooked this way (the Taiwanese scallion pancake from Liang Sandwich Bar).  Same concept! ;)

Once it's done, you need to fluff it up (you can do it by using your spatula and a pair of tongs or chopsticks). But I decided to do it like how the roti canai man does it....by clapping it together with both hands while it's still hot (for that authentic feeling....kekeke).  I did feel that there was a difference in texture when I ate it without fluffing the roti....it was, well....not as fluffy. :P

The frozen roti paratha turned out a lot better than I expected.  It was light, airy and crispy.  Taste wise, I would have liked if the roti was a bit more seasoned but otherwise it was good.

The light and airy texture of the roti means you can probably eat more than one unlike the more doughy and greasy roti canai at most mamak stalls/restaurants where one is more than sufficient (at least for me).

Buoyed by the better than expected taste of this frozen roti canai, I decided to pick up two other variations when I was at the supermarket recently.  First up was the Onion Paratha (RM5.59) differentiated by their red packaging.

When I bought this, I didn't know if the onion meant big onions (like what they put into roti telur) or scallions (spring onions).  When I opened the package, turned out it was spring onions (much like Liang's scallions sandwich).

Did it taste any different from the plain paratha?  Not really....as the spring onions taste was practically non-existent.  So, no need to pay extra for the onion version in my opinion lah....hehe.

Because of the more doughy nature of a roti canai, I've always had a preference for a roti telur than a roti kosong.  So, why not add an egg to this frozen roti, I thought.  Of course, unlike a roti telur where the egg is encased between the dough, this is not possible with the frozen roti.  So, I beat up an egg (season the egg please!) and poured it into my pan before putting a fluffed up roti on top (before the egg sets).  Let the egg cook through and flip it a few times to ensure the egg is nicely browned.

Note that it's important for the roti to be sufficiently browned and fluffed up before adding it to the egg. That's because I made it once by putting the roti on top of the egg (without cooking the roti long enough and fluffing it first) and ended up with a denser texture....not so enjoyable.  I then re-read my Liang Sandwich Bar post and realised I went about cooking it the wrong way.

Taking a leaf from how Liang's scallion sandwich with egg is made (except minus the sauce), I followed suit. Maybe it was in my head but I thought the version with egg still rendered the roti slightly less fluffy coz it lost some of that crispiness compared to the plain ones.

When I was eating it, I couldn't help but wished I had some dhal or curry to go with it as it can get a bit dry. So, next time if you have some leftover curry (that you bought unless you're the Curry Queen who can cook her own delicious curries)...don't throw it away as you might want to eat it with a Kawan...hehe! ;)

The other variation was the Flakey Paratha (RM5.59) differentiated by blue packaging.  The frozen discs looked similar to the plain paratha.

But I noticed the difference when frying the roti as it puffed up more than the plain paratha.  Let me show you a side view of the roti.  When I fluffed the roti between my hands, it felt like it had thinner and more layers.

Let me tear out a piece of the roti to show you how thin the layers are.  The texture of this one was definitely flakier and crispier too.  You might want to think twice before buying/cooking them for your kids as the super crispy texture will mean messier eating with the crisp bits flying everywhere! ;P

Did I enjoy the flakier and crispier texture?  Not necessarily so.  It's not how I like my roti canai to be...I do like it crispy but not overly crispy.  So, it really depends on what texture you like your roti to be.

The key to how enjoyable your roti paratha is hinges on how well it's cooked.  I would suggest you try to do it like how you see Liang Sandwich Bar workers do it....and that's by pressing gently down on the roti and flipping it constantly (perhaps not as constantly as how Liang does it).  This will allow the roti the opportunity to puff up nicely and brown as evenly as possible leading to a fluffy, airy roti.

In fact, this Kawan Roti Paratha has an uncanny similarity to Liang Sandwich which a reader of mine alluded me in my Liang Sandwich Bar post some 3 years ago.  I didn't get any to try then as I duly forgot about the comment, so this Kawan roti has been around for quite a while.  Now you don't have to pay more for a Liang Sandwich when you can have an exact cheaper option of Kawan Roti Paratha....hehehe!

My husband's friend has been telling him for some time how good this Kawan Roti Paratha is....but only the plain one (and I have to agree).  After trying all 3 variations of Kawan's Roti Paratha (not sure if there are more variations than these three)...and a version with egg, I enjoyed the plain paratha the most.  But if you want to eat it like one of those Liang's sandwiches, by all means, you can have it with egg or some type of filling...whatever rocks your boat!  Me, I don't want to muck around with something that's already good, just keep it plain and simple! ^_~

Of course it doesn't beat eating a freshly made roti canai (accompanied by some delicious fish curry, dhal and sambal which is a must for some people) but this comes close.  Imagine having a light, fluffy, airy and less greasy roti at your disposal in your freezer available to you at any time of the day...sounds wonderful?

But it can also be a little scary (come to think of it) that this snack indulgence is just a hop, skip, and a jump away...coz limiting this to once a week is going to be extremely difficult...resistance is futile, they say (the only way is to not stock them in your fridge....hah...hah).  Looks like I found a new kawan.....kekeke! ^o^