I love yam cake! So do my family and countless friends who share an ardent love for this simple, traditional delight.
When Babe KL invited me to be part of her virtual 55th Merdeka Open House themed Uniquely Malaysia, I thought yam cake fits the bill. After all, I haven't seen yam cake sold in any other country except perhaps in Singapore?
I first learned to make it in 2009 after my Mom revealed her yearning for this humble but tasty treat. You can buy yam cake from certain stalls in the local pasar (market) and a handful of restaurants but we found that most of them barely have any yam in it. Don't know about you but I prefer my yam cake with just the right consistency studded with visible yam dices. I also hate it when the topping is bare frills at best with a stingy sprinkling of chopped spring onion, chilli and fried shallot.
So I resorted to make yam cake at home and it turned out to be easier than I thought! For those of you who want to try your hand at making it - here's the recipe which I have adapted slightly from Rohani Jelani's recipe book called Hawker's Favourites.
Last year I made pans of yam cake for sale, to raise funds for a friend's Climb of Hope where all proceeds went to National Cancer Society. Hmmm...perhaps it's time I make some in celebration of our 55 years of Merdeka.
For what's being served for Babe KL's Merdeka Open House, check out:
http://babeinthecitykl.blogspot.com/2012/08/announcing-7th-merdeka-open-house-2012.html
YAM CAKE
800g yam
6 shallots
2 tbsp dried prawns
2 tsp salt
2 tsp five-spice powder
1 tsp white pepper powder
200g rice flour
5 tbsp tapioca flour
800 ml water
1/2 tsp alkali water
Garnishing
5 tbsp fried shallot
1 tbsp fried dried prawn
3 stalks spring onion (chopped)
2 red chilli (sliced)
1 tbsp choy poh (sweet preserved vegetable)
Sweet & Savoury Bean Sauce
2 tbsp taucheo (salted soya bean paste)
2 tbsp sugar
100 ml water
1/2 tbsp oil
Peel
skin from yam and cut into dices. Steam yam dices over boiling heat for
20-30 minutes until soft. Once ready, remove and set aside.
Slice
shallot and saute with dried prawns until shallot turns slightly brown.
Add in yam dices and stir-fry quickly. Add salt, five-spice and pepper
powder. Stir evenly and remove from heat.
Mix rice
flour, tapioca flour and water in a pot until mixture is lump-free. Add
in alkali water and stir evenly. Cook mixture over low heat, stirring
frequently until batter thickens into custard-like consistency.
Add
in yam dices into the batter and mix everything thoroughly. Pour into a
metal cake pan and even out the surface. Steam yam cake over high heat
for 30 minutes until cooked.
Once ready, turn off heat
and remove yam cake from steamer to cool. Sprinkle garnishing
ingredients on top of yam cake once it has cooled down completely. Cut
into diamond-shaped squares to serve.
To make sauce,
mix taucheo with sugar and water. Heat a little oil in pan and pour in
mixture. Bring to boil. Stir until sugar has dissolved and remove from
heat. Serve with yam cake.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Sunday, August 05, 2012
EIGHT'S A CELEBRATION
Monday, July 09, 2012
THE WIZARD OF SAUCE
Xinfully, cottony soft and light as air...deep-fried egg white souffle |
Rarely can I recall a Chinese meal that finishes on a high when it comes to dessert. Most of the time, it's either wholesome sliced fresh fruits, hot or cold sweet broths or in the case of wedding dinners, the ubiquitous crispy pancake with red bean or lotus paste.
This is where Xin Cuisine stands out from the rest. Thanks to new Chinese Chef Alfie Hoh's inspired creation of Deep-fried
White Soufflé with Red Bean Paste (RM6++
per piece, minimum order of 6 pcs), you'd be floating home on a happy
high once you have sampled those unbelievably airy, puffy balls.
The dragons' domain where Chef Alfie Hoh reigns |
This confection alone lends ample testament to the veteran chef's culinary wizardry. After four decades in the business and a career that spanned Zhuhai, Shanghai, Ningpo, Wuxi, Romania,
Indonesia and Singapore, Alfie's akin to the Dumbledore of Chinese cuisine, a masterful wizard when it comes to conjuring up potent sauces and
weaving fresh ingredients together to create captivating dishes that keep you enthralled.
Here's looking at you...Chef Alfie Hoh |
What drives this 'sauce-rer' of Chinese cuisine? Apparently books and street food are the key secrets to his unrelenting drive. Citing beef noodles at the old school Lai Foong coffee shop in KL as his perennial favourite, Alfie admits that he loves giving a new lease of life to classic 1970s
recipes melded with subtle Northern Chinese accents.
Don't judge a dish by its looks...this Szechuan Smoked Fish is mildly sweet with a stealthy albeit pleasing bursts of spicy heat that numbs your tongue |
Years spent in China have drawn Alfie to the Northern Chinese penchant for cold dishes to prime the appetite prior to the main meal. Hence you'd find light, stimulating nibbles such as the crispy, almost jerky-like Szechuan Smoked Fish
(RM18++) and Cold Cucumber Tossed in Black
Vinaigrette and Garlic (RM15++) included into Xin Cuisine's latest appetiser line-up.
Mildly sweet yet robustly spiced, the former catches you by surprise with its subtle, 'slow-burning' bursts of tongue-numbing heat whilst the latter helps to cool things down; the finger-thick, crunchy yet slightly soft cucumber strip teases the palate with its deep-seated tartness, having been marinated in some premium Xinjiang black vinegar.
Save the sharks and dive into this superbly viscous soup instead |
Now that more diners are opting to save the sharks by omitting shark's fin soup from their list of 'must have' treats when dining out, we reckon the chef's Shredded Duck, Yellow Chives and Seafood in Thick Soup would be the perfect substitute. This retro Cantonese soup of bamboo pith, crabmeat, black mushroom slices and fried
crullers certainly boasts similar deep-seated hearty
flavours and multi-layer textures to that of the pricey original.
Porky please...a dish that even mothers would approve of |
If you prefer some home-cooked fare, Alfie's a dab hand in that aspect too. Just sample his Braised Spare Ribs with Mui Choy Beijing-Style
(RM30++ per portion) and you'd be seized by a fresh perspective on how this homely Hakka staple can indeed be taken to the next level.
Alfie's mui choi pork is oh so salubriously saucy! |
Even more staggering is how simple it is...instead of the usual soya sauce base, Alfie just tweaks it with some tomato paste, giving the dish a faintly tarty nuance that balances the omnipresent beany brininess.
Palate pleaser...chicken with shredded mango salad and a tantalising sweet-sour-briny-spicy sauce |
If you're averse to fiery hot bird's eye chilli, tread carefully as you dig into the Deep-fried Boneless Chicken with Pattaya Sauce
(RM32++ small, RM48++ medium, RM64++ large) lest you get caught in the line of 'fire' once you bite into a sliver. You'd find the lethal chilli bits studded in the light sweet-sour dressing
(a mixture of fresh juice of small limes or kat chai, 7Up and preserved plum sauce) that complements the crispy boneless chicken. Crowned with a heap of shredded mango salad, this is one addictive dish that leaves you wanting more.
The chef also looked east to liven up his repertoire of seafood specialities. Instead of ginger and soya sauce, the Wok-fried Cod with Japanese
Sauce (RM26++ per 100g) receives a splendid boost with his own concoction of sake, mirin, Japanese shoyu
and dashi stock.
More saucy magic emerges in the prawn dish |
The wizard of sauce keeps up the pace by whipping up shoyu, sake and margarine into a sublime sauce to elevate his Baked Sea Prawns with Japanese Wine (RM55++ small,
RM75++ medium, RM110++ large) up to new gustatory heights.
Green is in...as long as the leafy greens are doused in this yummy sauce! |
Instead of the tried and tested 'siong tong yin choi' (spinach in superior stock) that has been flogged to death in most Chinese restaurants, I urge you to try the Wok-fried Seasonal Vegetable with Crabmeat and
Salted Egg Yolk (RM30++ small, RM45++ medium, RM60++ large). Again it's the sauce that steals limelight and rightfully so.
Alfie tells us that in the good old days, a lot of crab roe was used to make the rich sauce but nowadays salted
egg yolks prove to be an adequate and easier to obtain substitute. Mixed with freshly extracted crab meat in addition to some soup stock to lighten the
viscosity, the combination imbues the dish with ample colour and superb flavour.
Delicious ties that bind...Yee Fu Noodles with Dace |
Rustic, earthy
but scrumptious best describe the substantial dish of Braised Yee
Fu Noodles with Dace (RM28++ small, RM38++ medium, RM55++ large). We can't get past how well the noodles soak up the hearty brininess of black beans and fried dace, resulting in such Xin-fully great taste.
Kudos to Alfie Hoh - the wizard of sauce!
Kudos to Alfie Hoh - the wizard of sauce!
For reservations at Xin Cuisine, please
call (03) 2144 8750 or 2144 2200 ext 2338. The restaurant is located on the
lobby level of Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
LEND A HAND
Time to be a do-gooder folks!
Hospis
Malaysia is having a Charity Bazaar to raise funds, to fund its charitable efforts that offer professional
palliative care to patients who are suffering from life-limiting
illnesses such as cancer, AIDS, muscular dystrophy, motor neurone
disease, organ failure etc.
The poster says it all...so show up and lend your support for every ringgit means a lot and helps to sustain its noble existence.
Many
see life as a great challenge, but death is another big challenge by
itself. Oblivious to many, terminally ill patients are suffering a great
deal emotionally and physically. The pain of battling with worsening
health condition and hovering death can never, be understood by us
healthy ones and we are only doing what we can to help them out in their
last leg of journey on earth.
It is an endless advocacy, but not a thankless
one. In order for this non-profit organization to survive, Hospis Malaysia needs funds to pay the bills, every year at least RM3 million to
sustain the cost of operation, with over 1600 patients under their
care. Services are provided at no cost to patients.
So help spread the word, show up for the event and donate to the cause. Your money will help to save lives!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
iGO FORWARD
Star Power at the iGO Launch...Ian Ong (SuperModel), Issac Ong (Movie Actor), Alan Yun (SuperModel/Actor), Josiah Mizukami (Emcee/TV host), Peter Davis (Actor/Supermodel) |
Clueless when it comes to looking for directions when you're driving? Wanna hunt down the newest, hottest eateries in town but dunno how to get there?
Never fear, iGO primo app SEA edition is no here! Available at a promotional price of
USD$9.99 for a limited time only, the navigation app is popular among iPhone and iPad users
for its reliable route planning, intuitive interface and impressive 3D
visualization. Download of community maps is FREE and users can also extend
their navigation experience by purchasing speed camera databases and other
services. The community mapping portal and forum is open to public,
ensuring its extensive maps are continuously updated and self-verified by
MFM and NavNET contributing members, providing reliable navigation to the app
users.
(Left to right) Handy app...Imre DĂłzsa, Head of Marketing Communications, NNG LLC, Lester Neil Francis, Group COO and Executive Director for M3 Group of Companies, Roger Huang, Vice President of Asia, NNG LLC |
Other plus points include a wide range of advanced and mobile-optimized features such as Google local search, calling of POIs (Points of Interest) from within the app, Realistic Junction Views and 3D landmarks for easier orientation.
“South East Asia attracts millions of travelers every year, although the local traffic can be a challenge for first-time
visitors. By launching the iGO primo app
Southeast Asia edition with community-based maps on-board, we are offering quick
help in one hand for the most popular holiday destinations such as Singapore
and Malaysia,” says Roger Huang, Vice President of Asia at NNG LLC.
NNG’s wireless navigation
solution for Southeast Asia is also available to network providers and
smartphone manufacturers on Google Android and Microsoft WinCE operating
system.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
GUERLAIN MAKE-UP MY DAY
Guerlain hosted an exclusive Bloggers Get-Together with its international make-up artist from Paris, Maxime Poulin recently at Alexis, The Gardens one sunny morning.
Maxime, who works and trains directly under Guerlain’s Creative Director, Olivier Echaudemaison showed attendees the art of make-up using the brand's sizzling summer collection, Terra Azzurra.
After showing how to gently massage and apply acupressure to our delicate peepers' area, he proceeded to explain in length about each Guerlain products, highlighting their key benefits such as the inclusion of natural ingredients, water-based primer that reflects light but gives a matte finish and Guerlain's meteorites highlighting powder that makes skin look flawless under all lighting conditions.
Maxime also regaled us with the creative collaboration between Guerlain and Emilio Pucci's daughter for the Terra Azzurra range. Apparently, the dazzling colour palette was drawn from Mother Nature especially the brilliant blues of the sun and sea, and vibrant corals and pink hues in Portofino, Italy.
As Maxime took us through each of the products used, we were given first-hand feel of their textures. We were also taken by surprise by the sheer ingenuity of certain packaging like in the case of Guerlain's mascara and lipstick casings.
After plying us with drinks and finger food, every attendee trotted happily home with little gift bags containing a Guerlain eyeshadow set and lipstick in each.
Maxime, who works and trains directly under Guerlain’s Creative Director, Olivier Echaudemaison showed attendees the art of make-up using the brand's sizzling summer collection, Terra Azzurra.
Karen Tan welcoming Maxime to the Guerlain event |
Maxime also regaled us with the creative collaboration between Guerlain and Emilio Pucci's daughter for the Terra Azzurra range. Apparently, the dazzling colour palette was drawn from Mother Nature especially the brilliant blues of the sun and sea, and vibrant corals and pink hues in Portofino, Italy.
Emilion Pucci's famous print design is featured on the packaging |
Polished walnut case with magnetic lid and Emilio Pucci's print pouch complete this sleek blush powder case |
Maxime touting the exquisite eye shadow shades from the current range |
Guerlain's ingenious mascara case comes with a tiny pop-up mirror! |
As Maxime took us through each of the products used, we were given first-hand feel of their textures. We were also taken by surprise by the sheer ingenuity of certain packaging like in the case of Guerlain's mascara and lipstick casings.
After plying us with drinks and finger food, every attendee trotted happily home with little gift bags containing a Guerlain eyeshadow set and lipstick in each.
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