Our first stop is Ipoh for ayam taugeh... 'nga Choi kai' at their famous Lou Wong in Jalan Yau Tet Shin...of course with the slow google map on our fone, hard to find the place...
Hehe...thankfully a frens cousin brought us there..
we ordered the koay tiau with taugeh n chicken.. Im personally not a big fan of taugeh...its reeli more taugeh than ive eaten in my life,cumulatively...
Afterthat we went to the lou wong confectionary..cos they gave us a 10% discount voucher..hehe..
Woke up at 6am, went to putrajaya for interview with Spa... Followed by the Big 4 processes... SPA- JPA- MMC - MOH... For housemanship registration...Settle all by 12 stg.. Noreens dad nicely brought us to Kajang Satay... While waiting for the offer letter...
yummy...
Afterthat tea time at Beard Papa... That i din getto eat b4 i leave uk..
Since my frens decided to come to melaka on a strategik day wednesday, chun chun no jonker walk, no pasar malam nearby... n requested for nyonya kuih sumore after watching little nyonya...
i had to do some homework b4 they come..sunbian test the food first..haha.. thanks to some food blogger, i found this 'baba charlie' place at tengkera, where theres a variety of nyonya kueh..
my mum recognised her from the tuesday pasar malam at kpg lapan.. normal days the stall is at her house..
they even have her address on the blog: lorong tengkera 2c..slightly off the mosque at tengkera..
As soon as i go in, whoaaa..all the nyonya kuih displayed..whoa..although i alwiz see them in pasar malam, but was never impressed.. now that we go hunting for it, learn to appreciate them more..
Bought some nyonya zhang, my favourite rempah udang, onde onde, kuih talam, n some banana pancake thing..
This is gona be the longest of me being away from my Edinburgh home i think... except in first year when i go back to my Real Home in Msia..
Of course with the Scone Craze still onz, the first stop will have to be a Scones Stop..
I've alwiz wanted to go to this Betty's Cafe Tea House in York for their big fat rascal scone, said to be 'the mother of all scones', 'so far best scone she ever tried'.. so of course I HAVE to try it too.. hehe.. But erm, Betty's original branch is in Harrogate! and my tea buddy had been to York... soo...
Since I'm going down to london, lets meet in the middle... 9.30am train from edinburgh
Trust me, this 4 picture is really what I remembered of the city of Harrogate... headed straight for the scones!
Oh, and I remembered this:
After 5 mins walk + 5 mins photo time on the way, finally I'm there! -1.10pm
wow.. n there's a queue outside!! hmm, luckily some1 came 40 mins earlier... hehe... by the time i reached:
nice warm seat waiting for me at the corner! Just the perfect spot to lepak long and not get noticed for sitting too long and great view of outside and the whole restaurant...
Ok.. ORDER!!! (1.20pm)
First round: Betty's Specialty Afternoon Tea... with a pot of single estate Darjeeling Tea... and of course the Big Fat Rascal...
Notice there is the normal scone on the left and the big fat rascal on the right.. Yeah, I would say it was one of the best scone.. number 1 criteria fulfilled: served warm.. number 2 criteria: crispy on the outside.. it was abit crumbly on the inside i would prefer not so.. but it was quite special..
After finished that, the waiter came and ask if we want any desserts... and brought us around to see the cake counter... but ermm.. that was actually our starter.. We want to have something savoury now...
We had a Traditional Breakfast Rösti (Wiki says its a swiss dish, shreaded potato fried with butter plus toppings) also the Leek and Spinach Tartlet.. (cos my tea buddy is vegetarian for lent.. so u know where all the bacon on the Rösti went)...
And so we chat and chat sit and sit till 7pm when its time to chao for train.. they even started lighting up candles for night and the waiter that served us b4 changed shift.. its now a lady waitress..
oh..
I forgot to mention the man playing the piano.. dint notice when he started actually, only noticed when the candle lit up.. but definitely makes the environment so warm and cosy...
Before we leave Harrogate, finally had a chance to stroll around the town.. which as expected is quite small.. and tapau some dinner for the journey back...
The train that we took, was almost empty!! who would go from harrogate to london on a tuesday night anyway..haha...
Reached Floyer at 12am.. chun chun.. wow.. a complete and satisfying Afternoon Tea
Hmm..since I have the afternoon off, and it's raining and in already out, decided to go for afternoon tea!!
Always Sunday, a cafeteria/ tea place on royal mile..they advertise their special scones where ppl travel there just to eat..
cheese scones and butter for £1.75 and a pot of tea for 1.80.. no jam..had to pay another 45p for jam..normally I wud just ear with sugar, but erm..jam sounds nice.. but nyway,the scone is quite good..better if it's served hot I think..
4 and a half years in UK, I finally picked up one of few cultures here..
I remember last summer we were quite into picnic in the park..just a mat and some food is enough to 'chill'... Maybe its cos we r getting lazier.. I quite enjoy sitting around doing nothing and watching ppl around, enjoy the sun.. Some of the picnics at least had like ball games or Frisbee...
As another year passed, and erm.. can't reeli sit around in park during winter.. wad to do leii??
'Afternoon tea!!'
2nd Official afternoon tea: (1st was in london long time ago)
My first trial after much survey is : Clarissa Tea house...Was surveying whole night with my 'tea buddy' skk skk.. Choosing between this 1 and Loopy Lorna... finally tried this not so expensive 1 for first timer la...
A small and cozy tea house on Royal Mile... with like cakes and most importantly Scones!!!
Started with a scone with the cream tea set.. plain scone with jam and clotted cream ( intro by my tea buddy cos i normally take with butter 1).. Scones was alright la.. one thing about afternoon tea, scones not freshly baked hot liao.. Nx mission is to find served hot scones..hehe..
Nice and relaxing afternoon with my music on and a book to read.. wah.. feel posh and ang mo like.. I actually did this quite alot during my GP rotation, but only because I had 3 hrs lunch break, dono wad to do..
Afterthat as stated in reviews, the turnover in the small tea-house is quite fast.. so had to order stg else b4 got kicked out.. hence the roll with salmon n cucumber and egg... Yummy!!..
Lesson of the day:dont go to a too small tea-house if you want to stay long...
3rd Afternoon Tea: This was in Kirkcaldy during Paeds rotation... After surveying the whole town area, finally went with LeeYan to this 1...
Nancy Clark's Coffee Shop.. although says coffee shop, but they had afternoon tea too.. The environment was quite nice, with flower deco n all.. menu had loads of sweets n savoury to choose from.. n we sat till it close..hehe... 4th Afternoon Tea: This 1 I finally had with my 'tea buddy' and because we spotted other food along the way, we decided to share 1.. so to not fill ourselves up... Scones again was not warm.. Still din get to eat my perfect scone... but still enjoyed itt.. n happy..
A picture that I stole: 5th Afternoon Tea: This was just the next day... when our other friends are busy with shopping n sales, we were eye-ing for afternoon tea... Almost instantly, we suggest that the rest leave us in our tea haven and pick us up later...
and it was on Valentines day -eve.. haha..
a foto that I stole from her blog:
That was my last official afternoon tea so far... but then I decide to do my own afternoon tea: I stroll around town looking for nice and affordable teapots... Yesterday I bought a teapot for 3pds.. wohooo.. but still not complete... I kept looking but cant find the 1 that i like...
But it was today that I set my eye on the perfect set.. just 5 mins before all shops close..
not the too plain, not too flowery, not expensive, not too many pieces not without saucer, not with too many cups that I cant carry back...
It was just right:
Just what I wanted.. n the milk pot was only 50p.. The 4 cup set with few small plates for my scones was 5pds.. wow... happyy..
and at that same charity shop, I found the handcrafted notebook that I have been searching for few weeks.. I wanted to standardize my diary, but the shop that i bought from ran out of stock... even went back 3 times to check, but none.. and how lucky am I to find 1 here!!!
I had to get a scone to celebrate.. and of course I had to read some intellectual book to match my nice British teacup.. and this is the first time I took out the 1 year bible that a friend gave me and started reading.. with light music background...
but erm.. closed it after 2 mins.. moved on to another philosophical e-book.. cools..
Looking forward to my next official afternoon tea!!!
Ok... not really cool having afternoon tea and reading bible and non-medically related book when I have portfolio due tomoro and my progress is as far as creating a word document and saved the title...
Here comes monday again.. the day after Sunday.. the whole weekend just zooooomeed pass.. It was just less than 24 hours ago, we were havin fun eating instant noodles because one of my housemate smartly say no to 'KUNG PO KAI TING'... n decided that we r hungry at 10pm..
with mah jong and movie followed by chor tai di till 2am..
SO so so reluctant to go to bed..because i know that as soon as I close my eyes, it WILL BE MONDAY!!!
Saturday we celebrated Jenn's bday...
hehe..actually its not her birthday yet... just cos weekdays folks will be out in some ulu place..
and afterthat... we went for PRAWNS!!! err..not in the restaurant, in the cinema..
Its actually not bad.. weird movie, and beware if you're intolerant to movement or prone to dizziness.. cos the whole movie is in news form, so damn dizzy...but farny..haha..
Din notice this when I walked into the cinema..haha
The most difficult decision to make during a trip is: Where to eat?? maciam choosing life partner...
What if you only have enough money to eat at one place at one time?
You walk on the street to find some nice place to eat...
u see hawker centre.. cheap n good food, but erm, too simple..can eat anytime wad..
u see restaurants, dono nice or not.. dono worth it onot..
u see fine dinings...dono enuf money or not..have to wear nicer la, have to have good table manners la..so mahuan.. lots of requirements..
So many..which 1 to go in?
Some ppl too hungry, just go in the first place that they see n eat n be happy..
Some ppl hungry also must make sure find something nice to eat..
Some ppl not hungry, n alot of time, just walk on the street, trying samples n all, see which 1 nicest to eat..
What if you walk n saw 1 that u like..the sample taste good, but kedai tak buka..
then alot of ppl waiting outside wor..does it mean good food?
but u dono when the kedai gona open wor..n not sure if its ever gona open or not also..
so u walk around sumore lo..now getting more n more hungry.. keep thinking the kedai that not open, all the other restaurant u also wun pay attention to..cos u stil din try the first shop.. u keep going back, but stil not open.. mayb it opened n closed liao, u also dono..
N sample good n look good from outside doesn't mean inside also nice.. mayb see price actualy very expensive lei.. n even if environment nice, food nice, doesnt mean tomoro not gona get diarrhoea..
Customers don't normally get to see what is going on in the kitchen..
Some ppl so particular, must eat good food, if not rather mati kelaparan..
What if u walk n walk n walk then ehh, too late liao..all the kedai close one by one.. u wana go in also tak sempat?
or if u simply go in 1, end up dont like, but no more money liao?
Some ppl lagi jialat..go in liao, eat sample, sit down n pretend like wana eat there, end up lari..
Some ppl lagi stupid, eat liao tomoro lausai, the next day still feel like eating the same food..
Sempena watch Britain's Got Talent, have to sambil makan sambil tengok oni best 1 aa...
Hence:
Project Loh Mai Kai...
Thanks to lily for recipe..hehe
Loh Mai Kai Recipe
Ingredients: 250g glutinous rice 2 cups water/chicken stock 100g chicken meat 100g Char Siew(bbq pork) - slice 1 Chinese sausage (lap cheong), slice 10g black Chinese mushrooms, soaked and cut into thin slices (ai hua tutup, so no mushrooms) I added cashew nuts, cos the ones i alwiz eat got 1..hehe
Seasoning (A): 1 tsp light soy sauce 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp oyster sauce (again, ai hua tutup, so takda) 1 tsp ginger juice 1 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau wine 1 tsp oil 1 tsp tapioca flour (corn starch can also) (gua agak agak la, do the normal tau yiu chicken)
Seasoning (B): 1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 Tbsp oil 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp dark soy sauce 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
Method:
Wash glutinous rice, then soak it for two to three hours.
Steam it for 30 minutes. (put on muslin cloth n steam through)
Cut chicken into slices. Marinate with seasoning (A) for about one to two hours.
Stirfry the chicken with the ingredients.. + mushroom.
Mix cooked glutinous rice and seasoning (B) (I stir fry abit, make sure its evenly distributed..then try first.. by now its like loh mai fan oredi..)
Grease six small-size rice bowls.
Arrange mushroom slices, a few slices of Chinese sausages ,chicken and bbq pork slices.
Top up with glutinous rice and press down with a ladle.
Fill the bowls with water/chicken stock, make sure the water level is above the rice.
Steam for 30-40 minutes. Alternatively, wrap the bowls with plastic wrap , poke the wrap and microwave on high , 3 bowls at a time for 20 25 minutes. Repeat with the other 3 bowls. ( better not microwave la..i microwave, chow ta..haha, mayb cos i din put 3 bowls at a time..)
Turn over the rice bowl onto a plate and serve..not bad 1 aa..boleh makan.. Cooked red bean (ang tau theng) for dessert, but no pictures la, too kusyuk eat..
End up..din reeli concentrate on Britains Got Talent also..have to download n watch..hmm..
As promised: One fine afternoon, jogged to Hing Sing, a Chinese Supermarket in Leith 2 get banana leaf for my rempah udang.. + have to rush back for badminton afterdat..
I am getting more impressed with this supermarket, they alwiz have stuff that I din expect.. like some grean bean powder from indonesia.. now my banana leaves n pandan leaves too (thx Jenn for the info)... haih, at home, my pandan leaves grow ber-bush-bush, just cut and wash can use liao..one of the ingredient alwiz taken for granted..
and this... Buah keras @ candlenut.. one of the stuff normally used in nyonya food..
and this:
Winter melon@tong kua.. hmm.. (tot wana omit that oredi, manatau ada..)
Hasil kajian recipe-recipe and also from my 22 years experience of living in Nyonya town, Melaka...
Rempah Udang Recipe
Ingredients
300g glutinous rice, washed, soaked overnight and drained
100ml thick coconut milk mixed with 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar
1 banana leaf, cut into 20 pieces (of 13x10cm rectangles), scalded to soften and wiped dry
40 pieces of 3cm-long bamboo picks, cut both the pointed edges (if malas use stapler also can la..)
8 pandan leaves washed and knotted
Filling
50g white grated coconut (gua guna dessicated coconut..dono where 2 get grated here aa)
50g dried prawns, soaked, drained and pounded
50g prawns finely chopped (this 1 i added from another recipe)
30g candied winter melon, chopped finely
1 tbsp oil
Ingredients (A) – (Ground finely) - if gotmortar use mortar n tumbuk
1 tbsp roasted coriander powder
1 small piece cekur root (sar keong) (Kenot findd!!!)
1 clove garlic
6 shallots
1 red chilli, seeded (or 1/2 tsp chilli paste
1 lemon grass and 1 buah keras (from another recipe) - if no buah keras, can use brazillian nuts kot..
Seasoning (B)
1/2 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
3 tsp sugar (i added more to my liking, the ones i eat alwiz sweeter 1..hehe)
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
2 tbsp water
Method
Place rice on muslin lined steamer + pandan leaves + cucuk some lubang for steam to pass tru..
Steam glutinous rice for 20 minutes then add salt, sugar and thick coconut milk to the rice.
Colour half the rice with blue colouring if u like ..or with the blue flower juice, dono what it is called liao...bunga kantan?
Let it stay for 2 mins.
Return rice and coconut mixture to the steaming tray and steam for another 10 minutes until well cooked.
Panfry the grated white coconut until evenly browned n wangi...
Heat oil in a wok and fry ingredients (A) until fragrant. Add the prawns, dried prawns, seasoning (B), coconut and candied melon. Kacau -kacau till evenly distributed.. then taste n see.... not enuf sweet add sugar, not enuf salty add salt..
Dish out and set aside to cool.
Take the rice out n stir evenly, like making sushi rice lidat..
Place 2 tablespoonful of glutinous rice in the centre of a banana leaf.
Grease the leaf if u need to..
Spread one tablespoonful of filling in the centre:
Roll the rice firmly, if not enuf rice, add sumore, dun kiam siap..
Wrap each roll firmly in the banana leaf, press the ends together and secure the ends with bamboo picks.
Grill the rolls over charcoal fire or in an electric grill for 15 minutes, turning the rolls occasionally. An alternative is to pan-grill the rolls in a frying pan, to brown the banana leaves all over, until aromatic..Lastly, arrang and take picture for blogging purposes...
Itu sahaja..sekian terima kasih
Penghargaan:compilation from Lily Wai Sek Hong, The star Amy Beh, Aiyahnyonya...
