Everything has a beginning and an end.....

 The year is coming to a close.....and with this, my 1,025th post, my blog turns 10.....and I feel I'm (finally) at my journey's end.  I know, I know, I've said this (twice) before...and 4 years later, I'm still at it...lol.  I guess it's difficult to "give up" something that has been a part of me for so long.  But I'm hoping going to make it stick this time.

When you lose the urge to seek out new food places (coupled with the reduced frequency of eating out with friends and family as everyone moves on with their lives, even the next generation), you know you're nearing journey's end.  It's been really fun while it lasted...but everything has a beginning and an end.

Perhaps, this may not be the "end end"....and there may still be some posts left in me sporadically in the years ahead (when I think I've something to share or my fingers get itchy).  Anyway, my blog will still be left on the web until such time it's not (I'm not sure how that works but probably taken down due to inactivity?).  Sad, isn't it?  That all your hours of writing will just "poof".....disappear one day. :'(

So, let me wish you a merry & bright Christmas, a wonderful & joyous 2024, an enjoyable & 'a-you've-earned-it' year end Happy Holidays and a festive & prosperous Chinese New Year...all at once! ^_~

To all my faithful readers who have been following my blog...I just have 3 words for you...."thanks for reading".  Special mention to the few loyal bloggers (you know who you are) who have supported and motivated me throughout my (blogging) journey with your comments and compliments (I appreciate them all and will miss the interaction).

Perhaps we'll meet again (here) some day.....till then, I wish you nothing but the best!

xoxo

#ewew cooks Fried (Fresh) Sardines

I think all of us are well versed with sardines....but usually the kind that comes out of a can.  I love sardines...and don't mind those that come out of a can at all.  Canned sardines in tomato sauce is one canned food that you'll always find well stocked in my pantry.  It's a staple I resort to on rainy days and would cook it the most common way and that's by adding sliced onions (and fresh chillies if I have) which makes for a quick and simple meal with rice.

Then you have the more fresh-looking sardines in extra virgin olive oil, slightly more atas (premium) kind that also comes out of a can (but without sauce).  These I would eat as a snack on top of some crackers or as a sandwich.  But, besides the canned versions, you have fresh sardines which I'm working with today.

Fresh sardines isn't commonly found in our local wet markets.  Either that or I mistook them for mackerel or ikan kembong as the two look very similar.  The difference for me is that the ikan sardin is a little narrower/thinner (in body shape) and the head is slightly more pointy compared to ikan kembong but such differences can easily be overlooked.  So, the only way is to ask the fishmonger or buy them online.

I recently got some fresh la la from Barang Dapur Basah (BDB) and it turned out rather well.  In that same purchase, I also bought some fresh sardines (500g) from them (the fish looked fresh with clear, reddish eyes). This is the first time I'm cooking with fresh sardines as I've never found it at my regular fishmonger.

When cooking with small fish, the best way (in my opinion) is to fry them until crispy so that you can devour the whole fish, head and all.  So I made a seasoned flour (you could also just go with plain cornflour) by using salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, (a little) chilli powder and (dried) parsley.

Make sure you pat your fish dry.  Dredge the fish in seasoned flour and shake off any access (my seasoning seems to be lost in all that flour).  This dredging in flour also helps during the deep-frying process to reduce the incidence of oil splattering.

Lower the fish gently into some hot oil and shallow-fry until the fish is cooked and nicely browned.....it's getting there! ;)

I would suggest to use medium heat so that the fish don't brown too quickly (since it's quite small) as you'll want to cook it longer so that it gets really crispy.  If you want it super crispy, you'll have to deep-fry them.

I wanted to eat the fried (fresh) sardines as a meal in itself, a low carb meal at that (great for those on a keto diet as well), so I made a simple salad to go with it.  Just chop up some cucumber and pineapples and season with a light pinch of salt and black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Top with some chopped fresh coriander...and serve with some lemon wedges.  The colours of green and yellow are so pretty.....it's like sunshine on a plate! ^_~

The fish is nicely flaky with a satisfyingly crispy skin.  I prefer to eat sardines over ikan kembong (mackerel) as I find the meat not as dry as kembong.  Of course, any fried fish without sauce will still have that bit of dryness to it.  So, a fresh juicy salad will definitely help.  Also, that little touch of chopped coriander will add further freshness to the plate.

Finally, you have to eat it with a squeeze of lemon juice over the fish...it's a must (the lemon wedges are not there just for aesthetic pleasure).  It not only brings juiciness to the fish but also enhances its fragrant aroma.

If you do not wish to eat the fried sardines like a western meal in itself, you can also serve the fried fish in a Chinese-style meal as one of the dishes with rice.

We fry and eat these crispy small fish with rice all the time like those tiny pomfret (my favourite) or ikan bulus (whiting?).  Some of these small fish we don't even know the names but we just buy them and goreng saja...and eat the whole thing, head and tail.

I was very pleased with the freshness of the ikan sardin I got from BDB and seeing that I could get full on just 3 fish, you bet I'll be making this again for my low carb meals.  I now know where I can get a regular supply of fresh sardines from.

BananaBro @ Cheras Leisure Mall

This chain of banana leaf rice (BLR) restaurant has been around for many years and is well-known for their all-you-can-eat BLR (and yes, they serve it on real banana leaves...lol).

With over 30 branches all over Klang Valley, I'm sure you won't have much difficulty finding one near you...and we have five near us! ;)  We chose to come to BananaBro @ Cheras Leisure Mall to indulge in a carb-loaded meal one evening.

You start with the all-you-can-eat Craving Set @ RM11.90 (almost everyone will order this) which gives you unlimited servings and refills of all items which include rice, 4 types of curries, 3 types of vegetables, rasam (a lightly tangy and spicy Indian soup) and papadum (a type of Indian crispy cracker).  And yes, it's served on a real banana leaf (none of those banana leaf look-alike crap that's fake!)...lol.

So, after you're seated and have put in your orders, a real banana leaf gets laid in front of you.  To have an awesome BLR experience, rice is at the centre of it all.....it's a must and it's the first thing that's scooped onto your banana leaf.

Next comes the vegetables and there are three types....two that's standard and one that will rotate and change.  The standard ones are the fried snake gourd and cucumber yogurt (or raita).  The third veggie for the day was stir-fried cabbage (with carrot, chillies and curry leaves).  We got this same veggie on our second visit as well.

I enjoy all three veggies but the fried snakegourd is my favourite...thinly fried snake gourd slices dipped in seasoned batter and fried to a crisp texture.  I've eaten this before but had always thought of them to be bitter gourd but turns out I was wrong...and now I've a newfound veggie that I really like.  This snake gourd slices even have a light sweetness to them.  The (diced) cucumber raita is crunchy and refreshing on the palate while the stir-fried cabbage is standard fare.

With the vegetables all in place, it's time for the rice to be flooded with curries...and you have four choices...chicken, fish, dhal and/or crab curry.  Who says you can't have all four....to banjir your rice!  So, don't ask me which curry is better...I wouldn't know after they're all mixed together...lol.  So good with the crisp papadum (which I asked for seconds).

If you're a vegetarian, you can make a meal out of just the craving set alone and be fully satiated and satisfied with as much refills as you want of rice, vegetables, papadum, rasam and curries although you may be limited to only the dhal curry which is meatless.

If the craving set alone is not enough to satisfy your cravings, you can also add-on side dishes like fried tenggiri, fried squid, chicken 65, gobi (cauliflower) 65, mutton varuval, masala prawns, butter chicken and sambal petai.  I picked the Fried Tenggiri (Fried Mackerel) @ RM11.90.

The fish (quite a big piece), flaky and fresh, was well seasoned and fried till crispy perfection.  I would recommend that you have it with a squeeze of lime which made it so much better as fried tenggiri is usually a bit on the dry side.

My son likes to add on Chicken 65 @ RM5.90 to his 1-Pax Single Set @ RM15.90 (for a total RM21.80 inclusive of a drink, lemon tea).  If you're wondering why it's called Chicken 65, apparently that was the year it was first made.

The Chicken 65 are marinated pieces of boneless chicken that's lightly crispy and spicy (with a spice level that even a kid can take).  Vegetarians can go for Gobi 65 which is essentially the same thing but made with cauliflower instead.

The Fried Squid Rings, probably with the same marination as the earlier Chicken 65, was also decent, lightly crispy and not too chewy.

Drinks of Lemon Tea (Cold) and my Teh Tarik Lawa (Cold) @ RM7.90.  Not sure what's the difference with this teh tarik lawa and the usual teh tarik as it tasted the same to me.

There's also the 2-Pax Family Combo @ RM49.90  where you'd get 2 x Craving Set, 1 Chicken 65, 1 Fried Squid Rings and 2 x Lemon Tea.  For bigger families, there's the option of a 4-Pax Family Combo (RM99.90).

My Personal Opinion

I think this BananaBro is probably one of the most economical meals you can have in a comfortable environment based on their basic craving set which cost only RM11.90 (but do note that the same set can cost RM13.90 at some other outlets).  The price difference depends on whether it's a mall outlet or a shoplot according to their FB (I think the rental plays a part since Cheras Leisure Mall is a mall after all...lol).

Either one, it's still a value-for-money meal/deal as you can fill to your heart's (or should I say stomach's) content with unlimited refills of rice, veggies, curries and papadum.  This makes for a great vegetarian meal and for those (like me) who love to eat vegetables more than proteins.

BananaBro

Unit L1-60A Level 1

Cheras Leisure Mall

8 Jalan Manis 2

Taman Segar Cheras

56100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-205 4237

#ewew cooks Pan-Fried Pork Meatballs/Patties Many Ways

Ah, pork meatballs or patties is one of the most welcomed dishes on our table.....a dish that everyone likes, so it obviously becomes a dish that's cooked regularly in my household.  It's great eaten with rice (along with other dishes) or as a snack on its own (when or if there are leftovers).

Not only are meatballs cooked frequently in my household, they're also posted often on my blog as I've showcased them in many of my dishes, some of which include sweet and sour meatballs, spaghetti and meatballs, meatballs with potatoes and baked meatballs.

My meatballs recipe has always been the same with the usual 3 ingredients of pork mince, onions and spring onions (besides egg and cornflour, of course) but, since I make this all the time, I recently started to experiment with other ingredients (so that it's not the same old boring meatball) and they came out tasting great even with just 2 ingredients.

The first one is the ever popular Pork Meatballs with Salted Fish.  You'd find this commonly sold at chap fan stalls though it's usually in the form of a salted fish pork patty (ham yue chee yoke paeng) rather than meatballs.

These pork meatballs/patties were made with just pork mince and salted fish.  For this, you'll need the ikan masin tenggiri masam or salted mackerel fish which I bought from NSY Trading (through Shopee) for the first time.  I found the salted fish fresh and fragrant, so I was pretty happy with the quality.

Since we're using salted fish here, there's not much need for any other seasoning except perhaps some white pepper.  I then use egg and cornflour to bind the mixture together into a (workable) paste and form them into balls (or more like lightly flattened mini patties).

The salted fish can be treated in two ways (you can choose either way).  Some would add the raw salted fish directly into the minced pork though it's a bit difficult to tear apart/separate the salted fish (in its raw state)...so I used a pair scissors to help me snip them into smaller pieces before I mixed them in with the pork mince.

Others would pan-fry the salted fish first before adding to the mince.  This way the cooked salted fish is much easier to handle/mash up.  The lazy me did the first method and regretted my choice soon after.  Next time I would just cook the salted fish first coz handling raw salted fish left my fingers smelling like salted fish after...like a long time after....lol.

End result....saltish but absolutely fragrant little morsels of deliciousness that you can't help but pop one (or two) into your mouth as soon as they're fried! ;)

For my next meatball recipe, I used one of my favourite fragrant vegetables (coriander or Chinese parsley) or is that a garnishing?  You won't find many lovers of this (certainly not my son) but if you love coriander (like I do), this Pork Meatballs with Coriander is really simple but good.

You just need to chop up some coriander, stalks and all, and mix them up with the pork mince.  This one I didn't even bother to use egg and cornflour.

The coriander brings a truly fresh and fragrant flavour to the meatballs.  If you're a fan of coriander, try this simple combination and you'd be very pleased with the results.

Of course when I make this, I have to make it with another type of meatball.  So, for my third option, I experimented with a combination of pork mince and dried shredded cuttlefish, you know, the same ones you'd use to fry with jicama/yam bean (or sengkuang) in a dish like jiu hu char.

You can get this from any dried goods seller but make sure you get good quality ones.  I would use them to fry vegetables (like cabbage or cucumber too) as it imparts a fragrant flavour to the vegetables.  I would also use them to flavour soups when not using dried cuttlefish heads.

If it's good enough to flavour soups, it's good enough to flavour meatballs.  You know those commercially produced pork meatballs that have dried cuttlefish studded in them, they taste extra good, so that was the thought behind this.

Just finely chop the shredded dried cuttlefish (or snip it with a pair of scissors) and mix that into the minced pork.  I added some finely minced carrot just because I had them (you can totally omit this).  Again, I skipped the egg and cornflour.

For seasoning, you can use a combination of soy sauce, oyster sauce (not too much of these two though as it'll darken the meatballs considerably when fried), salt and white pepper...or even garlic powder, onion powder, chicken powder, anything you like.

You can just imagine the fragrance emitted by those finely chopped shredded dried cuttlefish once it's fried. Yet another winner! ^_~

So, the next time you're bored with your usual preparation of meatballs, you have these three options to add to your repertoire of meatballs to cook at home if your family happens to be a big fan of meatballs (like mine).  They all taste wonderful in their own way! ^o^

Khueen Kee Chayang @ Pandan Indah

Khueen Kee Chayang @ Pandan Indah, opened some time in August this year, is an offshoot of Khueen Kee Baker from Ipoh, not a name I'm familiar with nor have I eaten there.

Stepping inside, the interior decor is retro and nostalgic with enamelware, olden clock and telephone adorning the walls.  You'll also find old pieces like TV, typewriter, flasks, thermos and records from the olden times.  There's also a corner where you can pick up all sorts of snacks for your munching pleasure.

The Chayang Char Siew Curry Mee @ RM14.90 in the menu was what attracted me first.  The person who took my order did prelude me to the fact that their curry mee is sour (she called it suin kali meen) which was fine since that's how Ipoh-style curry mee is after all due to the heavier use of curry powder which carries a tangier taste (much like Indian curries).  That was what I took it to mean.

Although I'm not a fan of Ipoh-style curry mee for that very reason, I thought I'd try this Ipoh mali curry mee to see how it stacks up to those served in Ipoh...but what came was a total surprise (I witnessed other surprised looks too)!  It was so coz they didn't do a good job of preluding us to their unique sour curry noodles and what to really expect.

First of all, it was adorned wth lots of mint leaves which is as expected since that's a trademark of Ipoh-style curry mee.  But it wasn't an Ipoh-style curry mee.  It didn't have flavours of curry at all but flavours of assam laksa instead. @_@  No wonder the default noodle was only cho mai fan (thick vermicelli) that's almost like lai fun (used in  assam laksa) but not as soft, transparent and starchy when I asked for meehoon + mee (I should have realised that something was amiss since no one really uses cho mai fan for curry mee)! >.<

The bowl of curry mee contains typical ingredients you'd find in curry mee like char siew (other options include siu yuk), rehydrated pig skin, fish balls, fried beancurd and long beans.  The so-called curry broth was both spicy and sour (but not as sour as assam laksa).  Not easy to find fans of this as I noticed some crunched up faces/expressions of people eating this for the first time.  In the end, it was a weird combination of eating ingredients of a curry mee but in a broth that's like assam laksa (minus the ikan kembong flakes).  Not something I would order again.  I'd rather have a proper bowl of curry mee and a proper bowl of assam laksa...separately, not together! ;)

On my first visit, I noticed quite a few people ordering their signature fried chicken nasi lemak but, from photos online, the sambal didn't look like a proper nasi lemak sambal, so I decided to forego that and get the Luncheon Meat in Dry Noodle @ RM12.90 instead tossed in dark sauce with flavoured oil (shallot or pork lard) and had light flavours (some will probably find it a bit too bland for their liking).  Not sure what noodles were used but they looked/tasted like some thick egg noodles.

The luncheon meat was fried till crispy, nicely fragrant though not the most fragrant I've had but also not the low quality luncheon meat served by many (the shape of it is an indicator).  I thought it was a fairly decent dish with ingredients of luncheon meat, egg and dry noodles that children (especially) would enjoy.

Khueen Kee isn't just a kopitiam serving eggs, toasts, noodles and rice dishes but also a bakery.  At the entrance of this quaint little cafe you'd find a pastry section selling all kinds of pastries and biscuits (pre-packed biscuits are also available inside the cafe).  Not sure if the goods are baked here or they come from Ipoh.

Someone told me that their pastries isn't worth my time but I decided to give it a try anyway.  I got a few for my first sampling, a Traditional Egg Tart @ RM2.70, a Chicken Floss Egg Tart @ RM3 and a Kaya Kok/Puff @ RM1.50.

For the traditional egg tart, I found the egg mixture to be silky smooth, not too sweet, with a fair dose of egg-y flavour.  The tarts had a soft, flaky texture but weren't too buttery (if you prefer a very buttery crust, this one might not be the one for you).

The chicken floss tart was a little bit more unique, this one was savoury because of the chicken floss filling and I thought the pastry was even more flaky than the traditional egg tart.  The kaya kok was my least liked item even though it had a decent amount of kaya filling that wasn't too sweet.

On another visit, I got a Chicken Pie @ RM3, a Lao Po Biscuit @ RM2.50 and a Salty Red Bean Biscuit @ RM1.20.  I also got a repeated item, the egg tart which was my most enjoyed item the previous time.

The chicken pie had a filling that tasted exactly like those of a char siew bun but it's chicken instead of pork.  It was ok.  The lao po (wife) biscuit's winter filling (however) was far from good and this one had thinly shredded candied orange peel in them that gave it a light tangy flavour which I thought threw the balance of the filling a bit off.

The salty red bean biscuit is something like those famous bite-size Tambun biscuits (tau sar pneah), a must-buy 'souvenir' when you're visiting Penang but no where near the quality of those.  Not sure why they call it salty (red?) bean since it's (as I know) usually made from grounded mung beans (or green beans).  The someone who told me to skip the pastries here was probably right...at least almost right.  Out of the six I've tried, these three (+ the kaya kok) will not see me having it again.

The Kopi-O (Cold) @ RM3.60 and their Chayang White Coffee (Cold) @ RM5.40 were coffees that I quite enjoyed but certainly not among my most favourite ones.

My Personal Opinion

The local fare of noodles and rice is satisfactory enough for a breakfast or lunch option for people from around the area but not outstanding enough that you need to make a special trip here just to try the food unless you're game enough to try their unique sour curry noodles which they should just call assam laksa (to prevent misinterpretation or unexpected tastes) since it tastes just like one (but without the fish).

The pastries/biscuits are a bit of a hit and miss too with the egg tarts being the one I enjoyed most from here.  Certainly not the best out there but possibly the best we have in our taman (neighbourhood) at the moment.

Khueen Kee Chayang

46 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6B

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-555 4331