Blogosphere Food Finds @ 5 December, 2005

Here's the food round up for last week, sorry it's a wee late as I have been so busy last weekend that I had no time to even update the blog. It was a crazy weekend but I managed to get some great pictures which I will be sharing with all of you this coming week. In the meanwhile, do look at what the other bloggers talked about: favourites seem to be the Hong Kong char chan tengs, Dragon-i, birthday celebrations and lots of yummy food from Malaysian kitchens from all over the world.

Hong Kong invades Malaysia

Looks like Hong Kong char chan tengs have invaded us this week, quite a few bloggers talk about various outlets all over Kuala Lumpur. I admit I am no expert on char chan tengs as I have only tried two so far: Kim Gary in Mid Valley Megamall and Wong Kok Char Teng in ss2. Even when I visited Hong Kong, I never ate at one but favoured the traditional style coffee shops that served porridge, yau char kiaus, char leong, fried cheong fun, steamed paus and fresh soya bean milk. I guess Jason from Jason Mumbles is a bit like me as he recently had a Hong Kong style breakfast just like the Hong Kong television drama shows.

Babe from Babe in the City started it all as she shared with us a food find she made in Low Yat Plaza called Hong Kong Food Culture. Looks like she is the expert on Hong Kong style char chan tengs as she also recommends KYS Restaurant located in Kepong.

Around the Low Yat Plaza area is U Village which got two mentions this week i.e. from Grace of Yummy Corner and Hush Now. I am not too sure what is the Pumpkin Rice but based on Grace's picture it looks like fried rice with pork chop and fried egg placed on top of a hollowed pumpkin? A bit more information on Hush Now's blog says there is pumpkin sauce too. Sounds interesting and something I may try since I love pumpkin.

Darryl from Cypher Inc also got caught in the Hong Kong invasion and tried out the Kim Gary in Avenue K. It made a change from all that hawker food he has been eating. Even Klang has been invaded and the girls from Just Heavenly shared their local char chan teng, Yuen Long with us.

Don't do this or else you will get in trouble...

Sometimes without knowing it, we often get ourselves in a bit of a fix. Lilian from Malaysia Best reckons she may have accidentally eaten an endangered species i.e. the terrapins. The Perspective caused a kitchen hoo-hah when the bowl melted in the kitchen oven. You have to see the pictures to believe it! The Month of May baked bagels but had some mishaps during the process so they came out less than perfect. I am sure she will get it right the next time and am looking forward to a lovely batch next round. Rachel from Tham Jiak whipped up a Cheese Baked Rice ala Hong Kong char chan teng (they even invaded our kitchens!) that didn't look it's prettiest but tasted good according to the lucky guy who tried it out.

Quick, go stock up as the shelves have these...

Lilian from Malaysia Best heralded the arrival of the Chinese winter speciality, waxed ducks. Looks like Chinese New Year is coming round the corner soon. Time to start planning your Chinese New Year holiday plans. If you are a die hard Manchester United("MU") fan like are we there yet?, stock up your shelves with these Jam Filled Shortcake biscuits for tea that come with the MU logo. Not only that, it's made in Malaysia so you are supporting the local industry.

Eats around Kuala Lumpur

Aprilcherrie is on the move again and this time round, she had a bit of seafood porridge in Sri Petaling. It looks good with all the yummy big prawns, crab and fish meat. She also had some weird looking curry pasta and yummy looking pan meen. Her blog had a bit of glitch in the middle of the week when it exceeded bandwidth but it's all back to normal now (thank god!). She also managed to snap some pictures of Vietnam Kitchen at Citrus Park.

Acrix from Acrix69: Realmz of Fantasy! had a yummy and discounted Nigiri Sushi set from Isetan. Continuing the Japanese theme, julie the biscuit found a Japanese tea house in Sentul called Yuritei which has koi ponds and lovely gardens surrounding it. Last but not least, LavaMama from Everything That is Or Was Began in a Dream shares with us her family's favourite Japanese restaurant, Sugimoto at Desa Sri Hartamas. We move on to Korean food with Foongyie from babyfelton rulez who shares with us her experience in Han Woo Ri in Ampang.

Just Heavenly had Madam Kwans in Mid Valley Megamall after a shopping trip and hopped on board the famous Kluang Station at 1 Utama for some kopitiam favourites. Sadly, the kaya toast is just not up to the mark. Acrix tried out the famous Koon Kee wantan mee but thought it was so so only. LavaMama reviews Meaty House with it's famous German pork knuckle and A&W waffles which are my evergreen favourite.

Sue from Funky Cookies is busy busy busy with work but she managed to share with us her birthday dinner at TGIF. (Happy Birthday Sue!) Hush Now also recently celebrated a friend's birthday at San Francisco Steakhouse in KLCC and found it somewhat lacking in taste though. Every one is celebrating their birthdays and Aprilcherrie celebrated her boyfriend, Brandon's birthday with eats in KFC, Shakeys and Nandos. There was also lots of birthday cakes and Christmas decorations from the shopping malls. Wyejon from Wantan Productions celebrated his mother's birthday at Taiping Lang restaurant in Puchong. The name of the place is quite misleading as it looks like they serve Nyonya food as I spied a lor bak in his pictures.

KY of KY speaks shows us how to party during the weekend at Halo Cafe, Sunway Pyramid. I guess I must be a noob (a.k.a, a banana) as I'm totally unfamiliar with these cafes. Suanie from As Suanie Sees It gave us a peek of newly opened Finnegans in Mid Valley Megamall and shared with us their dinner in Chillies. Julie the biscuit shared with us a quiet night she had at Ole Cafe playing monopoly and her friend's birthday that was celebrated with Alexis' yummy Tiramisu cake.

Lilian from Malaysia Best was in KL for a holiday and dropped by Dragon-i in Mid Valley Megamall. She didn't manage to take any pictures except for the drunken chicken and there was a little tussle about the wet tissues. I guess she should have met Aprilcherrie as she had her wet tissues all sorted out in her review of Dragon-i in 1 Utama.

Eats from out of town

New Journey shares with us this healthy vege-fruit appetizer served in Kedah that has slices of cucumber and pineapples. Incidentally the colours of this appetizer is the same as Kedah's flag too making it quite a patriotic dish. Beyond this Box shares with us Kuching's favourite snacks: apam balik, paus and goreng pisang. Lilian of Malaysia Best also shared with us some yummy paus from Balik Pulau, Penang including a close up on the delicious vegetable pau.

I also found out from Lilian that the double Fish O Fillet promotion is back in McDonalds (they're also serving the blue drinks and blue coloured ice cream sundae). I read in a McDonalds leaflet that they are bringing in the Prosperity burger from 22 December onwards, can't wait as I love that spicy burger. Lilian is a great guide around Penang and she shared with us some Western food delights at Fettes Park. Wena from Kuching's ::mum-mum::eat-eat is feeling a bit under the weather but she let us have a peek into her friends' birthday party at Jambu restaurant.

Even the local mamak man is expanding his empire as Potpourri of Insanity reports that Kayu Nasi Kandar has opened an outlet in Melbourne. Sadly Metria felt it was a bit of a let down and service was super slow. I guess they should have brought those lightning fast Indian waiters to Melbourne. Nick from the reflector is now in Mongolia so do hop over there to see how food and life is there. He shares with us a little video on what Mongolian barbeque is all about.

Kitchen Stories

Foodcrazee was a lucky guy recently as he took a break from work and went home. He tempts us with a whole array of yummy home cooked food courtesy of his mother and mother-in-law. They sure do make a mean French Bean omelette, Stir fried pork with dark soya sauce, Curry Chicken, Stir Fried Brocolli, Pork Tripe Soup, Braised Sea Cucumber, Steamed Marble Goby Fish and Stir Fried Angle Loofah Gourd (my tummy is rumbling while typing all this down). Foodcrazee also shares with us a contented picture of himself with his nieces and more yummy eats with porridge including a dish that includes salted vegetables. He even got into the act and made Hokkien Noodles for his wife. I guess once a chef always a chef.

Mycoffee from Sweets for My Sweet drives me crazy with her yummy looking Low Fat Cranberry Bread and soft Honey Walnut & Golden Raisin Whole Wheat Bread. She does not stop there as she made me ooh over her Donna Hay version of cupcakes (peanut butter and chocolate) and aah over her honey ginger snaps and custard crunch cookies. She doesn't stop my torture and continues with the delectable Light Apple Cake. How I wish I could pop over to her house and try out those goodies.

Rachel from Tham Jiak joined Weekend Herb Blogging for the first time with curry leaves and some delicious looking Masala Vadai. Wow, I think I should be visiting her home during tea time instead of the mamak stall as she cooks up my favourites so well. When I am there, I can also get a batch of healthy whole wheat oat pancakes.

Just Heavenly is in a baking mood and whipped up some orange shortbread plus sponge cakes with creamed corn filling on a whim. We also get to hear about a home made ginger tonic that will perk you up just in time for this coming week. Sounds really nice and warm especially during the cold and rainy weather we have been experiencing lately. Carrick Hill double wowed me with her pandan chiffon cake efforts. It looks so lovely and I can imagine it being light as a feather.

Babe took time out from her busy schedule to make us "one pot" rice. Looks great even though she forgot the dried shrimps. Foodies never let missing ingredients faze us in our pursuit of food. Shawn from Away from Home made some yummy looking hainanese chicken rice even though he had no steamed chicken and a Hainanese bloodline. This boy sure can cook and I wish I knew him when I was studying in university.

Shaolin Tiger made simple mushroom and black olive pesto pasta from sauces he had brought back from his home including a simply yummy looking Sticky Toffee Steamed Pudding. Those are my favourites and now I feel like baking up some to eat with lots of creamy custard. Simmie from What's For Dinner? shares with us her experience of cooking her first Thanksgiving turkey, Roasted Brined Turkey. Greenapple of My Felicity Corner had a bit of unconventional Thanksgiving dinner with steamboat. LavaMama baked up some great looking pizzas including Sharkboy's favourite crispy pizza. The Rabbit from Pearl of the Orient is busy with work but manages to make some yummy fried sausage with pear from a recipe Foodcrazee shared earlier on and change her blog's design. Everything looks great and I would love some of that sausage please.

It's a pretty long round-up this week so happy eating!