little miss may

Hey there, folks.

Yes, it’s been awhile, and I had intended to prolong the ’silence’ for even longer but I did promise angel, winn and ah seng that I’d post about the dessert place we went to last night. So here I am. But first things first, a little paragraph on what’s been happening over the last 6 months…

Let’s see… nothing much, really! Changed jobs, working harder, enrolled in a yoga teacher training course earlier in the year, taking a break from work and yogi-ing, enjoying life as it comes along, now on holiday in KL for a couple of weeks. Well, one week left, really. Time sure flies from the cuckoo’s nest even faster than you can say “tookie tookie”.

In the last week I’ve been devouring my favourite Malaysian food - prawn noodles, asam laksa, roti canai, roti bom, some local kueh, hokkien mee, cantonese-style noodles, dim sum, lor mai fann… I’m still waiting to sink my teeth into some chow kuey teow, Ipoh hor fun… what else am I missing?

Last night we (re: the trio and I) went to a cafe-style restaurant called Cinta Ria @ DJ. The food is pretty good, and it has its regular patrons. The biggest surprise was finding out that the place was opened by an ex-schoolfriend of mine, with her brother. It’s a small world after all! Really great to see them doing well.

A little in-your-face promotion here (and it’s voluntary, they didn’t twist my arm to do it!), try out their delicious nasi lemak which is their signature dish, amongst other delicious yum-yum dishes at:

Cinta Ria @ DJ Restoran and Kafe
78 Jalan SS22/25
Damansara Jaya
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-77268981
Business Hours: Daily (9.30am -9.30pm)

After dinner, we went to My Honeymoon at 1 Utama where they served delectable desserts that would tickle your tastebuds. The place had an interesting wallpaper of books on shelves, and love the red seats and lamps which gave it a rather cosy ambience.

I had my first durian in 2 years, in the form of durian cake - pretty nice, and thank goodness I didn’t have durian breath after that. The other bowls of “tong sui” we had were good too, not too sweet, not too bland.

Well… one more week till I fly back to Sydney. Any suggestions on what else to eat to last me till my next visit home?

Just one more week till Summer is officially here… woo-hoo! What’s everyone been up to? New jobs, new playthings, new gossip?

I’ve been… errmmm, I’ve not been overly busy. I was telling misti earlier this afternoon that Blogland seems to have lost quite a bit its luster… Well, to me anyway. Even on the days when I’m home with nothing to do, my mood to write wasn’t quite there. Ah, but fear not - there still are days (like this one) where I bite procrastination by its arse and get a long overdue post going!

And what better topic to write on than food?

We discovered this gem of an Italian restaurant called Puntino Trattoria, just a stone’s throw away from where he lives. The first time we went there, it was a quiet Tuesday night. We had the homemade lasagna as one of the mains, and heavens, it was the best one we’ve ever tasted!

A few weeks later we went back, bringing his friends Mario and Emi along with us. Since there were more mouths to feed, we tried a few more antipasti and mains. The lasagna was still his favourite though.

I liked their pizza of the day the best. You’ll never know what you’re gonna get, but each one’s spot on with uniqueness of taste and texture. And guess what? The pizza maker is a Malaysian from Penang! It’s quite amusing how we always converse a little in Malay whenever I’m there. I wonder if he tries to make the pizza extra nice for us because we share the same roots… lolz.

No visit is complete without dessert! The panna cotta is a must-have; oh-so-smooth and creamy custard-like dessert that melts in your mouth. They have a variety of cakes too, as well as the traditional tiramisu (I still prefer my homemade one, though).

More updates coming soon - and I hope I won’t slack off for another 6 weeks before that happens!

Okay, I get the hint… It’s time to post!

Thanks misti, kyh and carcar for patiently waiting in line.

I must say I’ve had an interesting spring September. And in a few blinks of my two eyes, it’s already October.

Moz came a-visiting last weekend, and we beer-ed and dined at the Belgian Beer Cafe, catching up on our goings-on. I would’ve shared some photos of the absolutely delicious Tintin au Congo mussels, Belgian-style sausages and beer we had, but unfortunately my skills at the DSLR still sucked big time. My photos came out bleah, but I’m sure Moz will share his with you… when he gets around to doing it!

And for those in the know, Chen was in Oz too, except at the other end in Perth. We didn’t meet up, but it was really nice to know that she was in the same continent as I am for the last few days.

Now, on with the yummier show…

I had the day off yesterday to celebrate his birthday. We made a sinfully indulgent visit to the Lindt Chocolat Cafe after a long, hot walkabout in the city. That tall glass of iced dark chocolate was just what the doctor ordered - perfectly chilled to cool the tummy down. And what visit would be complete without trying out their rich, chocolate cakes? Mmmm… worth every bite. And lick.

Not two hours had passed and it was time for dinner. Well, it wasn’t because we were hungry after downing all that iced chocolate and cake, but reservations were for 6 p.m. and we didn’t want to miss out on some delicious modern Japanese dining at WAQU.

The 5-course dinner was fabulous. Every portion was just the right size, and the flavours were vastly different and interesting, from one dish to another. The star of the night, I have to say, was the beef tenderloin steak he had. Seared to just the right medium-rare level, and oh-so tender to the bite.

Mmmm. Heaven.

Happy birthday, hon.

What do you get when you cross a recipe book by a famous chef Tetsuya, a food enthusiast, his kitchen helper and a willing guinea pig?

You get Baz-uya.

And a whole lot of delicious fusion food for three people.

carrot and saffron soup with beancurd
sashimi of hamachi with orange and ginger vinaigrette

scallops with lemonade fruit and yuzu
oysters with rice wine vinaigrette

confit of petuna ocean trout with fennel salad

scampi with tea and scampi oil

prawn and scallop ravioli with tomato and basil vinaigrette

Y U M .

Thank you two very much for a lovely, delicious evening! xxx

For the last couple of weeks I suddenly went into this craze for all things Japanese. I think it started with going to Kinokuniya to meet a friend, and while waiting I checked out a Japanese cookbook. Then it was furoshiki and the art of wrapping, woodblock prints and chirimen fabric, bento boxes, cute kokeshi dolls, sakura, the Lonely Planet city guide to Kyoto and a Japanese phrasebook…

Yesterday I made a trip to Tokyo Mart up at Northbridge, a grocery store stocked up with everything you’d need to make a good Japanese meal and more. Needless to say I went a little ga-ga and bought a big stash of sushi rice, nori (seaweed), wooden bowls, katsuobushi, this and that, even a hangiri (flat-bottomed wooden tub) to properly dry out and dress my sushi.

They say that the crucial element of making a good sushi meal is the rice, and I totally agree. It takes a good 2 hours from start to finish just washing, straining, waiting, soaking, cooking, mixing and cooling the oh-so-important ingredient. The perfect sushi sticks when pressed together, but easily breaks apart when you bite into it.

By the way, for those who aren’t in the know (as I was, but now I’m enlightened!), the word “sushi” actually refers to the vinegared rice itself, not the dish.

2 cups of sushi is enough to make about 5 medium rolls, or 10 small rolls. Rolling up some maki-sushi (sushi roll) can be a little messy at the start, but with practice you could get the hang of it quite quickly. I opted to have just fresh salmon and avocados with a sprinkle of black sesame and salt. I made some nigiri-sushi (hand-formed sushi, the ones with a slice of topping) as well but the rolls were more fun to eat!

Ah yes, mustn’t forget the miso soup to top it all off. Nyums.

And now some totally unrelated bit of interesting d’oh-ness…

I was having coffee with a couple of friends some weeks ago at this cafe called Map, and when I finished drinking I tilted my cup and saw an airplane at the bottom! Talk about reading tea leaves. I was reading remnants of froth. I sure hope it means lots of travelling to come! To Japan, maybe? Hmmmmm…