9 BRUNCH DISHES TO EAT AT THE DAILY GRIND

Fluffy Waffle & Fried Chicken (RM22++) for brunch? If the thought of hunky crispy fried chook paired with waffles leave you crowing with delight, then make haste to The Daily Grind for your share of this delectable dish every weekend from 9am to 2pm.

 

This long-standing casual eatery has a cheerful and laidback vibe about it so feel free to saunter in with your brood or besties in tow for a good chow-down.

Served with spicy tomato chutney and maple syrup, the boneless chicken fillet was flavoursome; the outer layer of skin coated with crumbly, crunchy batter. Several slices of briny beefy 'ham' drizzled with maple syrup complete the delish platter.

 

Top placing went to crumbly Smokin' Seaside Scones (RM28++) - a creative, savoury permutation of classic English scones which formed a solid flavoursome basis for a pair of poached eggs with hollandaise sauce alongside smoked tuna and swordfish, and fresh peppery rocket.

My personal fave of Goddess Bowl (RM22++) edged in at third place...it could have easily trumped the rest just on looks alone especially the generous pool of smooth house-made Vietnamese yoghurt in plain and blueberry flavours. A milieu of colourful edible flowers, fresh berries, mango dices, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, goji berries, oats, coconut flakes and berries coulis surrounded the lush, tangy yoghurt.

Neck to neck in terms of subtly sweet appeal would be Pancake Soufflé (RM23++). The stack of pillow-soft pancakes resembling soufflé drenched in lemon cream was feather-light, with textural interest lent by scatterings of wild berries and assorted nuts, and shards of honeycomb. Ideal for the sweet-toothed without loading up on too much guilt.

  

Named after two historical heavyweights, the Napoleon & Churchill (RM25++) was anything but. A fallback for those who prefer their brunch along the perennial pairing of sausage and eggs, this plate of savoury cheddar cheese-filled crepes drew us in with seared chicken sausages and a salad of fresh rocket and green apple slices with romesco aioli.

The savoury crepes made a nice change from the usual bread or potato hash found in most brunch platters. A shoo-in for less adventurous eaters who like the tried-and-tested with just that slight twist. 

Tickle the funny bone of prankster friends or family members with a sense of fun and humour with The Mockery (RM18++). It looks like a classic English breakfast but doesn't taste anything like it at all! Suffice to say we had a good laugh digging into the inventive, mind-bending creations.

Since The Daily Grind's reputation is built on burgers, it's inconceivable something like Burger Me Breakfast (RM27) would appear in the brunch array. Burger fans can rejoice for this delectable dish comprises brioche bun bearing a juicy beef patty and crisp slices of beef bacon, livened up with tomato jam and hollandaise sauce. Satisfying fare to start lazy Sundays with.

Salty and sweet accents reigned in the Herb Brioche Pudding (RM29++). Laden with salted caramel, walnuts, sultanas, air-dried beef and rum, we were nonplussed by this unconventional speciality. Frankly, I wasn't gaga over the busy mixture of flavours but go ahead, give it a go and decide for yourself.

Rum & raisin ice cream is so hard to come by these days that I'd steer towards Captain Morgan's French Toast (RM23++) in all likelihood. Studded with plump rum-soaked raisins, the heady, faintly spicy sweetness was splendid once it started to melt onto the thick slices of French toast. Crushed pistachios and maple syrup provided the finishing touches.

 For brunch reservations at The Daily Grind, please call: 03-2287 6708. Address: LG8, Lower Ground Floor, Bangsar Village 1, Jalan Telawi, KL. 

APPLES IN MY CAKE

Fancy a slice?



Apple Cake & Muffins anyone?



I can't recall when I last had some 'kick back' time but this afternoon was one of those rare days. After I had completed my lastest assignment this morning, I decided to treat myself by trying out a new recipe from Chef Wan's Sweet Treats book.

With only 3 eggs available in the fridge, I had to look for a cake recipe that could be made with what was available at hand. So the Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe (page 146) looked promising but then again, I didn't have any bananas or cream cheese in the house! Clever old me decided that I would substitute this with grated green apples instead...and forget about the frosting. So my 'reworked' Apple Cake recipe went like this:

225g unsalted butter (I cheated and used salted butter but omitted the salt called for in this list)

1 cup castor sugar

2 eggs

1 cup grated apples (I used 2 Granny Smith green apples)

1/3 cup yogurt (I used Liteyo Green Tea & Aloe Vera Yogurt which I happened to have)

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 3/4 cups all-purposed flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder


Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by grated apples. Then add in the yogurt and vanilla essence to the mixture together with cinnamon powder. Sift flour with salt and baking soda before folding these into the batter. Pour into a greased and floured 22 cm cake pan. Bake for 50 minutes and then remove from oven to cool.


Note: I misread the instructions and poured the 2/3 of the batter into a loaf pan instead! The rest I divided into a 6-cup muffin pan ;-P This essentially changes the cooking time of course. I baked the first loaf for about 30 minutes or thereabouts - once the skewer inserted into the cake came out clean, I removed it from the oven. The muffins went in for about 20 minutes.


All in all, it wasn't a very successful attempt. The overall texture of the loaf turned out nice and soft but I noticed a sticky layer just above the bottom crust which according to Chef Wan's notes indicated too much liquid - I figured it must be the grated apples which of course had more water content in them compared to mashed bananas! Luckily the muffins fared much better. But the taste-wise the cake was delicious!