A-PORK-CLYPSE NOW!

The Rib Shop started the ball rolling when it boldly ventured into the non-halal territory by offering porky dishes to go with its extensive wine range in Damansara some years ago. Then came El Cerdo which had KL-lites all abuzz over its Spanish suckling pig and pork-centric delights.

It didn't take other restaurateurs to figure out there's a sizeable non-Muslim clientele who are just waiting to gobble up something different apart from the usual staples of Bak Kut Teh, Roast Suckling Pig, Roast Pork, Char Siew, etc.

So when I was invited to a special dinner headlining the Cochinillo Segoviano or roast Spanish suckling pig, how could I refuse? Bruno's Restaurant & Bar turned out to be a relevation of sorts - secreted at one corner of Jaya 33, this eatery is started by the same lady owner who runs the much-talked about Food Foundry.

What's good to eat here? Well, Chef Franky Chin who used to work with the Four Seasons in Singapore and then spent some time working/studying in the UK, is a dab hand when it comes to serving up Mediterranean, Italian and Spanish-style delicacies.



Starters to get you off on a head start include Piquillo Peppers with Anchovies with Tuna Belly (top) and White Asparagus with Iberico Ham and Romesco Sauce (below).



For those of you who have no inkling of what's so special about the Iberico pig, this Spanish black-haired breed is prized by gourmands for its tender, tasty meat. Also the pigs can be considered organically raised as they are allowed to roam freely, feeding on grass and acorns from the plush plains in Spain. Yeap, no growth hormones, antibiotics or chemical-laced feed for these precious piggies.

How is it different from the Cochinillo Segoviano? Well, the roast Spanish suckling pigs are prepared using 20-day old piglets which are suckled exclusively on their grain-fed mothers' milk. It is a classic speciality from the province of Segovia since the pigs are bred specifically in this area under strict regulations of the relevant certification bodies in Spain.

Chef Javier Sancha who is a third-generation expert when it comes to the Cochinillo Asado (roast suckling pig) at his family's famed El Pastor restaurant back home, was brought in to demonstrate how the speciality is prepared for local diners to sample. In essence, the piglet is roasted in a wood-fire oven for 2-2.5 hours with just a sprinkling of salt and nothing more.



It is interesting to find that the skin is thinner than our local Chinese suckling pig's and definitely yields a greater amount of tender, juicy meat. Those who are aversed to the strong milky aroma of dairy products may find the meat a bit of an acquired taste. Not surprising really since the little piglets had nothing but milk in their diet from day one.



Earlier we were also treated to an El Pastor Tapas Medley - each was a truly delightful morsel that remained in memory even after it was eaten. The other speciality featured for the special evening was Lechazo Asado (roast suckling lamb), an equally delectable Castillian delicacy.



Dinner rounded up on a luscious note with Natilla and Leche Frita, a superbly creamy deep-fried pancake and decadent pudding.

I have been back since for a heartily satisfying lunch. Now I can't wait for Bruno's to bring on the bacon since the outlet will be starting its weekend brunch soon!

Make haste and make a pig of yourself at Bruno's if you are into porky pig!

Bruno's Restaurant & Bar
PG-01 A Ground Floor
Jaya 33 Section 13
Jalan Semangat Petaling Jaya
Tel: (03) 7960 2663

NOODLES TO DOODLE OVER

On scorching hot days, nothing beats a bowl of cold soba noodles! Found one recently at a little Japanese outlet known as Hokano in Damansara Uptown. The place also serves reasonably priced set lunches and a variety of imaginative sushi rolls. But that's another story altogether.



I find the easiest way to revive jaded tastebuds (well, mine at least) is to eat something spicy or robustly flavoured. For some inexplicable reasons, I have this urge for mee rebus and mee bandung. So imagine how esctatic I was when I stumbled upon this nondescript outlet enroute to Kajang town which sells Mee Bandung Muar. The outlet - D'Muar World (inspired by Akademi Fantasia's hottest winner of all time, Mawi no doubt) has always had lots of cars parked in and about its vicinity so we suspect the food must be pretty good. Once I had my first bite of the mee bandung, you can almost see one of those big cartoonish speech balloons popping up above my head with the word 'Sedaaaapppp!!!' in it. The gravy is thick and richly flavoured with prawns and spices with a just hint of sweetness. Super yummy!



Nowadays, green is in but how many of us really conscientiously bother to adopt a low-carbon, eco-friendly diet? My token efforts amount to nothing more than buying and using that occasional organic wholewheat flour, sea salt and veges. Yeah, I've got a looooong way to go before I become a full-fledged greenie. But I must say I felt really good after eating Woods Macrobiotics' 5 Energy Somen Noodles. Don't they present a pretty picture? Made from organic wholewheat flour, their different coloured noodles are resultant from ground organic soya, bitchotan charcoal, green tea, beetroot and carrot powder. Each type of noodles supposedly helps to strengthen the heart, liver, kidney and stomach. I'm all for eating my way to good health!



Being the chilli fan that I am, Mee Siam naturally is one of my all-time favourite noodle dish. Toast & Toast Cafe in Balakong serves a decent version which is spicy enough. The rice vermicelli is also not too dry which is nice. Actually I can dish up a pretty mean version myself but slothfulness and work deadlines have prevented me from venturing into the kitchen. So the one at Toast & Toast will have to do for now ;-p



Nothing reminds me of my childhood more than Hokkien Mee. Believe me, this dish of ubiquitous noodles is bound to make its appearance come any tai yat chee or Chinese festivals in my grandparents' house alongside the park chit kai (white-cut steamed chicken) and popiah (spring rolls). Mom is a consummate expert at dishing this black soya sauce drenched noodles but she has since retired from culinary duties years ago! So what's a Hokkien gal to do but resort to search for alternatives? Luckily, the Klang Valley (especially in PJ - why is that??) still has 2-3 stalls that offer a decent version - not quite my Mom's gold standard but heck, beggars can't be choosers now eh? Our favourites? The no-name stall in Jalan Pudu (average wait 45 min-1 hour!), Millennium Eighty Six CoffeeShop and O&S Restaurant.



Last but not least, pasta is fast becoming a staple in our household. Especially with the little one who eats it faster than you can say Yee Meen! Don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that Italians have cheesey sauce ... Our little weekend luxury treat is to pop into Susan's Bistro at Bandar Mahkota Cheras (yes, that famous no-toll access road area which saw a battle royal between big money-making toll company and 'rakyat' months ago) for Spaghetti Carbonara. Creamy, unctuous yet oh-so-delicious, it takes Herculean effort from a light eater to finish a singular portion! But who's complaining eh?

CHOCOLATE FRENZY

After the earlier success of my chocolate muffins, I was inspired to give the trusty pound cake recipe another go. Although the recipe calls for a 6 inch can pan, I used an 8 inch ring pan instead coz that is what I have on hand. The rest were 2 inches too big so I really don't want to risk the cake 'stretching' unnecessarily.

Since the temperature stated is 375 degrees Fahrenheit, I set my oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Also I added 3 tablespoons of milk to the recipe as I read somewhere that cocoa tends to dry out the cake texture during baking. After the cake had been baking for a while, I noticed the top was cracked. This indicated the oven was too hot or it could be due to my own foolhardiness in using that ring pan!

Anyway all's well that ends well. After 45 minutes I realised the cake had shrunk away from the pan edges a little so I quickly removed it from the oven. Luckily no further damage was evident. Phew!



Here's a close-up of the end result. Doesn't look too bad does it? Tastes great too I must say. It was a tad dry when it was still warm but after 1-2 days, the texture actually became more moist. To cover up the unsightly cracks, I decided to slather the cake with some chocolate frosting.



I used 200 ml whipping cream mixed with half a large bar of cooking chocolate and a small pat of butter for the frosting. Can you believe it was my first time making this? I got really worried when the mixture looked too runny when I poured it onto the cake - I guess I should have let it cool down first before even thinking of using it! Nevertheless, nobody complained about the taste so I reckon it was fine. Once overnight, the cake appearance looked much, much better as the frosting has taken on a nice sheen.



This recipe is for keeps!

BINGING ON BISCOTTI

I will never forget the first time I attempted to make biscotti. It was a disaster! Instead of achieving a light, slightly crunchy texture, everything ended up hard as rock. Only the flavour was agreeable but I was thankful that my Mom encouraged me not to give up. She also gamely finished the trial batch which I truly appreciate.

Happily, my subsequent attempt turned out better - thanks I suspect mainly to Rohani Jelani's recipe which appeared in a backdated issue of Flavours magazine. Having purchased several jars of Rohani's splendid biscotti before some years ago, I had never quite forgotten how nice they tasted. So I was estatic when I discovered her biscotti recipe! The results were so good, I actually made about a dozen canisters of them a week before Chinese New Year as pai nin giftaways. Not quite enough to go around so a small coterie of relatives and friends were the lucky beneficiaries.



For those who are game to try their hands at churning out a batch or two here's the recipe.

ROHANI'S ALMOND BISCOTTI

3 eggs (size A)
160 g caster sugar (the original recipe has it down as 200g but I used less)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (you can also use real vanilla flecks scraped from 1 vanilla pod - the flavour is fab! It's pricey though as 3 pods cost RM20)
50g ground almonds
200g whole almonds (I use skinned almonds but again these tend to be slightly pricier. You can also use hazelnuts or pistachios or even a mixture)

Sift together
320g plain flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Spread whole almonds onto baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool thoroughly before using.

Stir ground almonds together with sifted flour. Then add in whole almonds and mix evenly. Divide mixture into three portions

Cream sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until light and frothy. Using a large sturdy spatula or metal spoon, fold each portion of the flour mixture into the egg and sugar batter. You should end up with a soft, sticky dough.

Dust your worktop, baking tray and hands with flour. Roll 1/4 of the dough mixture on the floured surface with your hands. Shape roughly into a log and place it onto the baking tray. Leave enough room in between for the dough to spread during baking.

Bake for 15 minutes. The logs should feel firm to the touch. If they are not, bake for another 5 minutes. After that, remove from oven and leave them to cool down.

Use a serrated knife to slice the logs thinly. Lay the slices on a clean, dry tray. Bake each side for 6-8 minutes depending on thickness. When done, remove and let the slices cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, be sure to store them in airtight containers.

MAY DAY MAKAN

What better way to celebrate Labour Day on the first day of May with some great eats! After reading tons of rave reviews by online floggers, I personally thought it's about time we check out the famous Green View Restaurant in Petaling Jaya for ourselves.

Since the outlet is renowned for its Sang Har Meen or freshwater prawn noodles, that was the first dish we ordered.



Doesn't it look slurpilicious? Our portions were for two persons but it was enough to feed three adults and one kid. The prawns were fresh albeit a tad overcooked but we had no complaints about the crispy noodles and egg sauce topping. Still both hubby and I agree its taste simply can't rival that of our gold benchmark - the tai shee tow (big tree) outlet behind Kota Raya in KL.

We also had Crabs with Stir-fried with Salted Egg Yolk. I must say the crabs were very fresh and meaty. Just look at the size of the crab claw! It was bigger than a tablespoon ok. Was so busy chomping down on the crustaceans I quite forgot to snap the actual dish ... The dish was a tad rich though and we regretted not ordering it cooked with sweet and sour sauce.



Overall, Green View left a good first impression. We probably will return to try the other dishes - that is if we can prise ourselves away from Fatty Crab which has always been our all-time crab feasting outlet. But that's another story huh?

CHOC MUFFINS THAT TAKE THE CAKE!

Every kid is a sucker for chocolate. Ditto for mine. Yesterday at the spur of the moment, we thought it'd be kinda fun to churn out a batch of chocolatey muffins. We were really pleased at how they turned out...



I used this easy-peasy Pound Cake recipe from my school's Home Science book and was amazed how well it worked.

3.5 oz plain wheat flour
0.5 oz cocoa powder
3.5 oz caster sugar
4 oz butter
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp chocolate chip

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together. Cream eggs and sugar until mixture turns light and pale cream in colour. Beat eggs and add 1/4 of it into the egg and sugar batter. Stir well and add in 1 tbsp of flour mixture. Gently fold to incorporate everything evenly. Add in beaten egg alternating with flour until both mixtures are used up. Line muffin pan with paper cups. Divide and scoop cake batter into each cup until it is half filled. Scatter chocolate chips on top to decorate. Pop them into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Test with skewer - if it comes out clean, the muffins are done.



This close-up shot looks kinda 'spacey' huh? Like some alien territory...but one that really takes the cake!

FOOD TRIP

A recent trip to Johor Bahru means lunch with an old friend who is a good cook and an ardent food lover. We had lunch at Danga Palace. The Sichuan Hot & Sour Soup was notable in which the sour, spicy and saltiness are well-balanced. It was also brimming with goodies - strands of soft beancurd, wood ear fungus, bamboo shoot, etc.



We ordered a chicken dish prepared in two ways - one with a piquant Thai-style sauce while the other coated in Marmite. Again the harmonious blend of flavours made the dish truly memorable. The latter was outstanding as the batter coating was thoroughly imbued with the Marmite sauce.





The other dishes we had were Stir-fried Kai Lan and a simple Beancurd dish. Later as we were wandering around JB, we stumbled upon an old bakery which has a 66-year old oven. They sell the real Roti Bengali that is popularly used for thick Hainanese toast, butter rolls, curry puffs and rounds of butter pastry. We bought one of their chicken curry puffs - the flaky pastry tasted richly of butter and the filling had a surprisingly generous amount of diced chicken meat. Too bad I forgot to snap a pix before it was devoured!

For dinner, we drove to Singapore. Found this decent Prawn Noodles with Pork Ribs in Chinatown. Quite different from our Malaysian version but it was tasty nonetheless. I luuuurrrvvve the soup - thank goodness it wasn't MSG-laden or else I would have suffered the consequences! Its hearty sweetness probably stemmed from the prawns and pork in it. Speaking of which, the pork ribs were equally nice and tender. Even the soft bones are edible with a nice crunch to them.



Hubby's Pork Rib Wantan Mee also came up to mark. In fact, it was better than some local ones from our "instant hawkers" here. It certainly put paid to our old presumption that Singapore-style wantan mee is weird and laden with tomato sauce. Well, not anymore. And if we Malaysians aren't careful their hawkers may just beat ours one day. Prices were another surprise - let's not do the currency conversion ok. Dollar for dollar, mine costs S$4 and hubby's S$3 for ours were small portions. I can't imagine us getting such decent food nowadays in KL...not when big prawn and pork ribs are concerned.



Other goodies which we had during our Chinatown jaunt included this German cheese sausage with mustard, a durian cendol (better than average which again was unexpected) and some roasted chestnuts (fresh, fresh, fresh without any badly shrivelled up ones like I sometimes get when I buy them in KL).



The following morning I had a most delicious kon lou (dry toss) meehoon with minced pork, pork and fish balls, sliced fish cake and deep-fried lard dices! Even the soup came with chopped seaweed which lent so much flavour. I can't get over the fact that I only paid S$2.20 for it!

All in all, it has been quite a revelation. It looks like their street food is fast gaining on us. Not a threat yet but if we are not careful, they will be.

We also went to Food Hotel Asia the next day but sadly, the show was a letdown. Perhaps my expectations were too high but there was nothing ground-breaking unlike when I first attended the event some years ago. So much so that I didn't even bother to shoot any photos...

Enroute back to KL, we stopped by the Machap rest area for a quick bite. Since I didn't have lunch, I grabbed a packet of Nasi Ambeng. This is Johor's equivalent to Nasi Lemak. A Malay friend told me it's a Javanese speciality usually served at weddings and auspicious kenduri or celebratory feasts.



Here's a not-very-good photo of the packet of rice - it has plain white rice with some fried yellow noodles in it, two pieces of salted fish (extra-large anchovies), spiced kerisik (grated coconut), fried chicken in a sweetish, mildly spiced black sauce and sambal. Unlike Nasi Lemak, it leaves you feeling less jelak (bloated? overly satiated?) and the multiple spice flavours more aromatic than red-hot spicy. A nice way to round off this business cum food trip ;-))