Well, Soho is not just about that! When dust approaches, Londoners and tourists flock to the winding alleyways, spoil themselves with choices for entertainment – a large amount of bars, restaurants, pubs, clubs, cinemas, live music venues, theatres and comedy clubs which have mushroomed over the years. That quickly turns Soho into a melting pot of disparate rhythms and cultures.

For me, Soho is a foodie’s paradise. This area has got so much to offer, from Chinese food to Italian food that will suit all tastes and budgets for people from all walks of lives. It’s amazing how a small district has been able to keep its liveliness.

BACKGROUND

As one of the trendiest place in London, you would imagine that there’re some really stylish restaurants in this area. Yes, you are right! There is a little jem called Inamo in Wardour Street, Soho.

Inamo is an Oriental fusion restaurant and bar – a very interesting take on Oriental fusion cuisine that combines Japanese, Thai, and Chinese cooking. Inamo stands out from the crowds for 3 good reasons – trendy, great idea of fusion flavours and very technology savvy. Inamo has deployed an interactive ordering system, where you have total control in your hands.

There are no paper menus. You place your orders literally on the tables. Food and drinks menu is projected onto individual table surface. You just need to use the touch pad to browse and tap to order away whatever you fancy. This interactive ordering process is just a fantastic idea and fun to use!

All the dishes and drinks are accompanied with beautifully taken photographs that make you drool instantly. What’s more? You can even see the chefs in action through the webcams! Another feature that comes in handy is that you can see how much you’ve ordered if you need to split the bill.

DÉCOR

Décor wise, there’s pretty much no décor to speak of, as it doesn’t need any. You can set the mood and the ambience during your dining by changing the image projected onto your table, from plain colours to different patterns and pictures of different sorts. As you could imagine that all the colours and patterns of the tables are continuously changing which explain well why it keeps the décor to its minimal.

DRINKS

On the drinks menu, you have wines, beers, cocktails, soft drinks and hot drinks to choose from. The names of the cocktails caught my attention – lychee martini, sake mojito, sake martini, and a few more to name. The price ranges from £6.50 to £8.00. I settled for sake mojito. This is such a creative and great twist to the classic majito that uses white rum. The taste of sake wasn’t overpowering at all, blended with crushed ice and mint. It was a light and refreshing drink to start the evening.

Sake Martini is another proven great drink that looks almost yellowish green in colour, blended with pineapple juice, midori and lime juice, strained and served in a martini glass. Thai sapphire, however, muddled and shaken with lychee liqueur, apricot brandy, a generous measure of Ketel One vodka and pomegranate juice served over crushed ice wasn’t my favourite. I thought the generous amount of vokda was too overpowering. All I could taste was vodka and nothing else.

FOOD

You have small dishes, large dishes and set menu to choose from. The price for small dishes ranges from £6 – £8. Whereas, large dishes are from £8 – £15 each. The food was served within 15 minutes after the order was placed. If you order all your food at once, it’ll arrive one after another.

As you scroll on the menu, each dish is illuminated in a large picture with its description by the side. Alaskan King Crab (£15.50) was first served. This luxury dish was nicely presented in the shell. The crabmeat was fresh, very nicely dressed in coriander, chilli and lime dressings, which gives a zing to it and brings harmony to the overall flavours.

Baby crispy prawns (£7) from the small dishes is a must-have! The prawns were lightly coated in a batter and deep-fried. They were so crispy that I couldn’t stop eating! It definitely goes well with the Thai mango relish that was served with it.

Kelp marinated and thinly sliced sea bass (£5.75) was fresh and elegantly presented on a piece of kelp on top of a sushi bamboo mat, served with sisho and soy. A very eye-catching dish, but nothing else is special compared to what you can get at any sushi bar. The same applies to the vegetarian mixed tempura (£8.50). Whenever I get my sushi fix, I never give nigiri sushi (£5.75) a miss. It was a bit of a let down as the sushi rice was slightly undercooked.

Hot stone rib eye (£16.50) is another one that made it onto my recommended list. That piece of meat was nicely seared on the outside and stayed pretty pink in the middle. It was served on a bed of thyme on the hot stone. The cooking was still taking place when served. It was one of those dishes that’ll make you really happy even by looking at it. It was accompanied with coriander sauce, with a zing of lime juice and a hint of fish sauce that went really well with the tender and juicy rib eye.

As a fish lover, black cod marinated with spicy miso (16.95) is a disappointment. I have to admit that the black cod was really fresh, nicely cooked to its perfection and the flesh was fine that could almost melt in your mouth. However, the taste of spicy miso wasn’t near to existence. In fact, the sweet chilli sauce was the limelight of the dish.

Wagyu bavette was accompanied with hijiki seaweed. It was braised in a soya and brown sugar, which works well with the meat. However, each piece was tough and hard to chew. I expect the meat to be easily fallen apart in a braising dish like this.

DESSERTS

There were 6 desserts to choose from. Homemade sorbet, vanilla crème brûlée with strawberry and lemongrass jelly, thai basil pana cotta and etc. I thought thai basil pana cotta was interesting. It was indeed very nice and refreshing.

VERDICT

Staff are really friendly and attentive. Price wise, it is not very expensive for West End standard. This is probably the first time I have ever been to a restaurant that doesn’t have paper menus. The interactive tables are a brilliant idea and very fun to use. It would be a great night out with a group of friends. Food presentation is beautiful and modern. There are dishes that really stand out but a few that could be improved on. For special dining experience, I reckon, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Check out this video:

MY COOKING HUT’s RATING

Food: 4/5

Venue & Ambience: 5/5

Value: 4/5

RESTAURANT DETAILS:

Cuisine type: Asian Fusion

Cost per head (excluding drinks): £25- £35

Inamo

134-136 Wardour Street,

London, 
W1F 8ZP

What do I prefer? Meat or fish? My answer is fish. I have been a seafood lover since I was young. The moments that I will never forget were those when my parents brought us to seafood restaurants. That was something that got me really excited when my parents told us, ‘Hurry up, go and get changed, we are going out for dinner at a seafood restaurant.’

The nearest coastal town from my hometown is about 30 minutes by car. Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis are both famous for seafood restaurants. Apart from that, both places are famous fishing ports in the Northwest of Malaysia and also the spots where you can take the ferry to go to Langkawi island. Every time we went to Kuala Perlis was not to take a ferry to go to Langkawi but to indulge in the freshest seafood we could get. It couldn’t have been better when my uncle got his own catch and brought it to the restaurant!

Fish, of course, you can cook in many ways. I have a few fish recipes posted on my blog. If you take a look again, I guess, you will notice that I like to steam fish as well as stir-fry. Steaming is the best way of tasting fish! This time around, I steamed my fish but in a slight different way. I used plaice fillets and rolled them with spinach. Pretty simple, but in this way, I have my portion of greens too, which is great!

Plaice wasn’t common to me when I came to the UK a few years ago. It’s a kind of flat fish, which is widely available here. There isn’t much flesh but its texture is really fine and almost melt in the mouth. Try plaice, it’s a great fish!

Recipe: Steamed Plaice & Spinach Rolls

Ingredients:

Place fillets (cut into halves to make smaller rolls), 2-3

Spinach (chopped), 60g – 80g

Oyster sauce, 1 tbsp

White pepper, to taste

Garlic (chopped), 1 clove

Vegetable oil, 1 tbsp

Coriander (to garnish), 1-2 sprig

Method:

1. Lay each fillet flat on a chopping board. Divide the spinach between each fillet. Portion the spinach in the middle of the fillet and roll it up. Secure with toothpick.

2. Arrange fillet rolls on a plate.

3. Mix oyster sauce, white pepper and sesame oil. Drizzle on each fillet roll.

4. Steam fillet rolls in the steamer for 10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, heat up a pan. Put in oil and on low heat, slowly brown the chopped garlic.

6. Serve the rolls warm, drizzle with garlic and its oil and garnish with coriander.

Sometimes, it amazes me how simple a dish could be. The ingredients do not have to be too complicated as long as they come in good quality. My last few visits to France, I have had a real nice country-style potage. In English, it is pottage. Potage or pottage means thick soup, which often contains meat and vegetable which are boiled with water and then whizz the soup with a blender or with a stick blender.

The fresh produces in France are just amazing. Not only they have the best quality but they are sold at reasonable price. Every time I visit France, I like to go to the farmers market. I love to choose my vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat. Also, I love the produces that come without plastic packaging. Fresh produces in France are mostly grown in France. It could be that I was brought up in Malaysia. Going to the market is not something unfamiliar. Seeing chickens or pigs being slaughtered do not make me feel gross or make me weep. I know where my meat, vegetables, and seafood come from. That’s the way it is.

In the UK, probably 80% or more of fresh produces are flown in from other countries. Except for certain produces such as asparagus, potatoes and a few more items. Fruits are mostly imported from elsewhere too. I believe that more and more people prefer to buy local produces but I guess, the supermarkets are not doing their best to help these small to medium scale farmers. They would rather fly in produces from Kenya, Egypt, Morocco and etc. The option to buy fresh produces from the farmers market in London do not appeal to me much. Borough market is one good example. It could be nice if it was the first time you visit Borough market to check what they have to offer. After a few times, you would feel that you got ripped off because you couldn’t find purple carrots or purple broccolis at any other supermarkets. After all, they have more food stalls than fresh produces stalls.

I remember a few years back when I went to Caen for the first time. It was such an exciting moment when we went to check out the biggest farmers market in the town centre. Trust me, it’s totally different from Borough market and hundred times better! There were so many stalls – vegetables, fruits, meats, and not to mention seafood! There were probably more than 8 fishmongers! So, there’s a competition there. In comparison to Borough market, you have 2 or 3 fishmongers. All of them bought their supplies from Billingsgate Market, which is the UK largest inland wholesale fish market. I have been to Billingsgate market and will definitely blog about it because it has totally changed the way I buy fish in this country.

Anyway, the fishmongers are kind of cocky because they do business at the ‘prestigous’ Borough market, which is so popular that thousands of tourists shouldn’t give it a miss while visiting London! So, would you go to a farmers market that is always flocked by tourists? Or would you rather go to a ‘normal’ farmers market? Well, when I don’t have a choice and in desperation for some fresh seafood or vegetables that I can’t find elsewhere, then, I have to force myself to go there, spend a bit more and get what I need, that’s it. So, it doesn’t sound like I like Borough market a lot, huh?

So, I have been talking about fresh produces, markets, and what I think of fresh produces. They are important – both quality and freshness. Ok, I can’t avoid the plastic packing because I have to do my food shopping at Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose, and very seldom at Marks and Spencer because their fresh produces are packaged too nicely like presents. I like no packaging, please! And I will bring my own bags. After all, the 3 ingredients that I used to make my potato, carrot and leek do come in plastic packaging, except the leek. With these 3 ingredients, they make one of the best combinations in a form of soup/pottage. You need only 1 potato, 1 carrot, and 1 leek. Well, this recipe is for 2-3 persons. Hence, if you have more people to serve, you probably just need to double the ingredients.

I don’t like my soup to be too thick. Maybe, this is why it probably shouldn’t be called potage/pottage. So, we can call it thin soup. This is  just a simple soup, but it is rich in fibres and vitamins. Beating the cold weather is No.1 or if you are on detox, it could be a great choice too.

What makes this simple soup even more appealing to me is another secret ingredient, which is called nutritional yeast flakes, which I found out through Nelly a few years ago. Nutritional yeasts flakes: (wikipedia: similar to brewer’s yeast. It is a deactivated yeast, usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is popular with vegans and vegetarians and may be used as an ingredient in recipes or as a condiment. Nutritional yeast is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses, then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging the yeast.)

Gerble is a huge brand in France. Their products are popular amongst people who are health conscious, or people with special diet need. I was introduced to nutritional yeast flakes, called levure diététique, which is rich in vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, PP, magnesium, zinc, iron, protein, fiber, phosphorus and a source of vitamin B12. Did you a lot of Bs? No, I’m not trying to test your eyesight! Vitamin B is your beauty secret! Vitamin B is the champion of beauty! (read it again..) It is essential in growth, maintenance, and repair of tissues. Thus, they contribute to the radiance of your skin, hair and nails!! That appeals to me… the beauty secret!!  That aside, it tastes good, I like its malty flavour. You can serve it in your salad, soup, greens by sprinkling 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, which add a different dimension in taste, and of course also for your health! You can easily buy nutritional yeast flakes from any health stores.

Right, so my way of potage is a thin soup but full of nutrients, nothing could be simpler than this!

Recipe: Potato, Carrot and Leek Soup

Serves 2-3 persons

Ingredients:

Leek (chopped), 1

Carrot (chopped), 1

Potato (chopped), 1

Water (chicken/vegetable stock if desire), 600-700ml

Salt to taste

Nutritional yeast flakes (to serve), 1 tbsp

Parsley (chopped), 1 tsp

Method:

1. In a pot or saucepan, put in chopped leek, carrot, and potato.

2. Add in water. Put on the led and simmer until vegetables are soft.

3. Whizz to a smooth soup a food processor (or slightly chunky if desire). Adjust the thickness of the soup by adding water or more stock.

4. Season the soup and serve in soup bowls. Sprinkle a tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes. (remember: beauty secret)

5. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Hot and sour soup with prawns – Tom Yum Goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง) is one of those dishes that I love and can’t think of any reasons to say ‘no’ to it. Tom yum is such a distinct soup – hot and sour flavours that will wake up all your senses. The most popular tom yum is tom yum goong, which is cooked with prawns. Tom yum gai is the chicken version, which is as nice. I always opt to have tom yum goong as I just can’t resist to the sweetness and succulent texture of prawns. This Thai dish is not only popular in SE Asia but almost anywhere in the world!

As you know, Thai food is characterised by sweetness, sourness, and spiciness. This applies to tom yum, well, probably not so much on the sweetness this time. I think, what I really like about tom yum apart from its spiciness, sourness, and a bit of saltiness; is the fragrance of the herbs. Lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and chilies are used to infuse the soup make this soup full of characters! What can be better than this?

After having a bowl of tom yum, it instantly warms up your body and give a great sense of satisfaction to the taste buds! I also learn that the use of herbs in this soup helps to boost our immune system as it has natural remedy for cold and flu. So, does that mean that it’s better off to have tom yum soup more frequently than having Vitamin C in order to build up our immune system? haha…  I definitely have no problem to have it as frequent as possible.

Tom yum soup really helps me beating the cold. Last week was probably the coldest week. The temperature has risen a bit since then. But, that doesn’t mean warm just yet! It just means there is no more snow but rain. Honestly, I prefer snow than rain! Not sure about others, but that’s my preference if I get to choose.

Tom yum goong is a real quick soup that can be prepared within minutes. Need a quick fix of tom yum? Here’s the recipe.

Recipe: Tom Yum Goong

Ingredients:

Chicken stock, 1 litre

Raw king prawns (trimmed, shells on, deveined), 16-18

Lemongrass (slightly smashed), 1

Kaffir lime leaves, 2-3

Galangal (sliced), 2 cm

Bird’s eyes chilies (slightly crushed), 2-3

Nam prik pao, 0.5 – 1 tbsp

Fish sauce, 2-3 tbsp

Sugar, 2-3 tsp

Lime juice, 2-3 tbsp

Coriander, to serve

Method:

1. In a pot on a medium heat, put in the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

2. Put in slight smashed lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chilies into the stock and infuse for a few minutes.

3. Then, add in nam prik pao, fish sauce and lime juice. Add in the prawns and cook  for 3 minutes or until the prawns turn pink.

4. Taste and adjust the saltiness, sourness, and spiciness if necessary.

5. Serve hot with some fresh coriander leaves.

Photo: NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response

Soup had been on our menu for the past weeks. Just when it was so cold, my mind was telling me to cook a big pot coq au vin. Coq au vin is a classic french dish of chicken cooked in red wine with lardons (bacon), button mushrooms, and carrots. It is one of the all time classic bistro dishes and home cooking. There are so many versions of coq au vin. Whichever version you use, the basics remain the same for this dish.

Boeuf bourguignon is probably what comes to your mind after looking at coq au vin. These 2 dishes do share similarities – both use red wine, along with bacon, onion, bouquet garni, mushrooms, and carrots. In preparation of coq au vin, I have learnt a few tips:

1) Use good quality of full-bodied red wine

2) The main ingredient is the cockerel, if not able to have access to this full-flavoured bird, then buy a good quality of chicken, preferably free range

3) Marinate the chicken a night before to have succulent meat

4) The sauce is as important as the chicken, it should be thick, dark in colour, and glossy. Thicken the sauce with ‘beurre manie’ method.

I bought a whole chicken and joint the chicken. If you are not sure, you can refer to this link for a step by step guide. As you could imagine, the big bird would have very meaty breast. I decided not to put them in my stew as I personally think that it could be too fibrous and dry. Since there were some extra chicken leg portions in the freezer, I substituted the breast with the leg portions to be cooked with other parts of the whole chicken that I had cut into portions. I reckon with stew dish like this, cooking the meat with bones tends to be tastier.

This recipe gets my thumbs up and we are going to finish the remaining tonight. Bon Appétit!

Recipe: Coq au Vin (Adapted from A Little Taste of France)

Ingredients:

Chicken, 2 x 1.6kg

Red wine, 1 bottle

Bay leaves, 2

Sprig of thyme, 2

Bacon (diced), 250g

Butter, 60g

Pearl Onions, 20

Button mushrooms, 250g

Oil, 1 tsp

Plain flour, 30g

Chicken stock, 1 litre

Brandy, 125ml

Tomato paste, 2 tsp

Softened butter, 1.5 tbsp

Plain flour, 1 tbsp

Chopped parsley, 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Joint each chicken into 8 pieces by removing both legs and cutting between the joint of the drumsticks and the thigh. Cut down either side of the backbone and lift it out. Turn the chicken over and cut through the cartilage down the centre of the breastbone. Cut each breast in half, leaving the wing attached to the top half.

2. Put the wine, bay leaves, thyme and some salt and pepper in a bowl and add the chicken. Cover and leave to marinate, preferably overnight.

3. Sauté the bacon in a frying pan until golden. Lift out onto a plate. Melt a quarter of the butter in the pan, add the onions and sauté until browned. Lift out and set aside.

4. Melt another quarter of butter, add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

5. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and pat the chicken dry. Season. Add the remaining butter and the oil to the frying pan, add the chicken and sauté until golden.

6. Stir in the flour. Transfer the chicken to a large saucepan or casserole dish and add the stock. Pour the brandy into the frying pan and boil, stirring, for 30 seconds to deglaze the pan. Pour over the chicken. Add the marinade, onions, mushrooms, bacon and tomato paste. Cook over moderate heat for 45 minutes – 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked through.

7. If the sauce needs thickening, lift out the chicken and vegetables and bring the sauce to the boil. Mix together the butter and flour to make a beurre manié and whisk into sauce. Boil, stirring, for 2 minutes until thickened. Add the parsley and return the chicken and vegetables to the sauce.

Happy New Year! How was your New Year celebration? I can’t believe that we have stepped into year 2010! We didn’t do anything much on New Year’s eve, just went to a friend’s place for dinner. I still miss my holiday in France and the food. So, I guess by looking at the title, you would have guessed this post is related to a French dessert.

Far Breton is a flan based dessert made with eggs and milk. It is a very simple but nice dessert originates from Brittany, a region in the north-west of France. There are many versions of Far Breton, but the most well known is the one with prunes. Cinanamon powder is sometimes sprinkled on the top of Far Breton. The texture of Far Breton is pretty similar to Clafoutis, except it’s a bit more dense and almost has quiche-like texture.

France is just an amazing country, its cuisine is represented by each region of its country. If you travel from one region to another, you will find that the cooking-style, tastes, and ingredients change quite significantly! Far Breton is one specialty from Brittany. If you talk about Baked Apples Pomme Au Four, then it’s a specialty from Normandy. What I would like to do one day is to take 1 month off, travel to all regions in France and taste the difference!!

I was introduced to Far Breton a few years back and really love the texture and taste. I am an absolute fan of having fruits in desserts! Far Breton is such a homely pudding that you don’t really have to spend a lot of time to make such a lip smacking dessert. I love the rustic look of it, so simple yet tastes elegantly in the mouth! I thought we should start our 2010 with something sweet. So, there you are my readers, this is made especially for you!

Recipe: Far Breton (Brittany Prune Pudding)

Ingredients:

Flour, 180g

Sugar, 150g

Eggs, 4

Salt, a pinch

Warm milk, 500ml

Prunes, 20-25

Method:

1. Grease a baking dish and lightly flour. Scattered the prunes.

2. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, eggs and salt.  Add the warmed milk, mix well.

3. Put in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for 35 minutes. Monitor from time to time.

4. Sprinkle some cinnamon powder before serving if desired.

The alarm went off at about 05:15 on 19/12. Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of the warm bed and headed to the bathroom. All the presents and clothes were already packed. The pre-booked cab reached on time. It was a freezing morning, hence, we wasted no time and got on the cab as quickly as possible to enjoy the warmth.

BREAKING NEWS on 19/12/2009: “More than 2,000 Eurostar passengers were forced to spend a panicky night stranded in the Channel Tunnel linking France and Britain after freezing weather caused five trains to break down.”

We were worried. By the time we got to the station, many people were already waiting. None of the checking counter was opened. My heart sank. We had very little information and didn’t know what to expect. We heard several announcements that said due to severe weather conditions, there were delays on the services and advised to exchange or refund the tickets if the journey wasn’t necessary.

I approached a few Eurostar staff and was convinced that the service might resume at noon. We were left waiting in the freezing station without any complimentary hot drinks from Eurostar, which proves how efficient and considerate they are! In total, we waited for nearly 6 hours until the official announcement from Eurostar saying that there would be no services running at all for the rest of the day!

Disappointed. Furious. Panic.

Next came to our mind was to take a flight. Flights to Paris were fully booked. Maybe fly to somewhere that is near enough to Paris? We made our way to Heathrow, hoping to find something that could at least got us near to Paris. Nothing. A lot of flights were cancelled due to the severe weather conditions and we were told there would be no flights for the next 3 days as they were all fully booked. So, now what?

We made our way back to St Pancras International to see if something had changed since we left. “They were running limited services to Paris!” “No way, you are joking!” “It’s true, c’mon, let’s go!”

I was excited, truly excited. We went through the crowds, trying to grab one of the staff to ask what we were supposed to do. “So, we had to get a sticker to board a train.” “Ok, try to get for us..” One of the staff had kindly given us 2 stickers and let us through. “Yey, so we are going to travel at 19-ish, and reached at about 22:00 +1 GMT.”

We went through the security, got our suitcases scanned. Then, went through the Immigration. “I think we are safe. We can finally go to Paris.” At this point of time, we were truly hungry as we didn’t have any proper meals during the day and it was already 16:30. Time flew. I noticed the information boards went blank. I saw the trains schedule just now. What happened? At around 17:00-ish, there was an announcement. “No way! Why they did this to us? Why did they cancel the services again! What are they trying to do?” “I have no idea.” Silence.

One of the French Immigration officers told us that the first of the limited services departed about an hour ago broke down again. So they had to cancel the rest of the services for that day. “What about tomorrow?” No one knows.

Bummer. Contingency plan? Well, our last choice was to skip Paris and to take the final resort – cross the channel by ferry straight to Normandy! We found out there was a ferry departing Portsmouth (South West of England) to Normandy and it was going to be an 8-hour journey. “I don’t mind. I just want to be in France.” “Same here!” So then our journey began. We went to Waterloo, purchased our tickets to board a train to Portsmouth from London. During this time, we were lucky that we got 2 tickets booked to board the ferry. “I hope this is it!”

In Portsmouth. 10 minutes ride by Taxi to board the ferry. We got our boarding passes. A relief. So, maybe we should chill out a little bit, what about a pint or two?

Waited. 22:30, passengers started to queue up to board the ferry. The journey on the ferry wasn’t that bad after all. The sea was calmed. Fell asleep…

06:00-ish the next day, we finally reached La France. Excited and tired at the same time. It took us one day to reach France, an extremely long journey but with a great relief!

In Caen, Normandy, we took it easy. We went to the market; we had nice homemade food with superb quality of ingredients. For a change, I didn’t spend my time in the kitchen. I was on vacation.

All nice things in France had got me forgotten about the chaos that we went through. Our lives were laid-back. We had dinner with friends at Le Refuge, a restaurant that serve regional french food: Savoie. Their specialties are Raclette, Fondue, Tartiflette and Pierrade.

Apart from that, we did some shopping. I got some nice pieces of props (again!). Best of all, we had a wonderful time, eating out at a great Creperie in Caen.

Christmas approached. We had the superb meals – smoked salmon, tiger prawns, foie gras, oysters, scallops, capon, la buche de Noel (yule log), champagne, wine and more wine….

The time we enjoyed most usually passed without notice. It wasn’t a long stay in France but it was a memory one. All the good memories were captured, when I look at them, they make me smile. Meanwhile, on this last day of 2009, I am looking forward for 2010. I am sure it will be a great year for everyone. Happy New Year! Bonne Année! 新年快乐！Selamat Tahun Baru!

We had our first snow in London 2 days ago! I was so excited when I saw the snow flakes dropping from the sky! Probably, I was as excited as the kids, couldn’t wait to get out of the house and catch the snow flakes as they dropped from the sky. The snow didn’t stay like it did in February, which was probably the thickest snow that I have ever seen in my life! Well, I could only enjoy it from inside for not more than 30 minutes. However, the Met Office has given warning that there will be heavy snow tomorrow. Would it be true?

Anyway, I can’t believe that we are just one week away from Christmas! I have bought all the Christmas presents and they are nicely wrapped; all packed in my suitcases and ready to travel with me to France! Yup, we are going to France for 10 days! I can’t wait… can’t wait to see Paris, indulge in nice food and wine again. Perhaps, I should also start thinking about losing some weight after that. So, I guess, it fits well to my 2010 resolutions!

2010.. does sound scary. Time passes so quickly that I sometimes have to think what I did in the past few months not to mention years! Well, I think food blogging wise, it is as enjoyable as when I first started.  During this time, I am glad to have known some really cool food bloggers! I am thankful for the existence of the Internet!

Whenever festive season is near, I tend to think of festive food. Like last year, I have prepared something sweet to share with you all. This year, gingerbread men recipe is what came to my mind. I hope all of you will love this, it’s fun to make, not only for kids, but adult like me had thoroughly enjoyed the whole process of making these little cuties!! I am hoping to continue posting as soon as I am back from my vacation. I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy 2010!

Recipe: Gingerbread Men (adapted from www.taste.com.au)

Makes 20

Ingredients:

Melted butter (to grease), some

Butter (at room temperature), 125g

Brown sugar, 100g

Golden syrup, 125ml

Egg (seperated), 1

Plain flour, 375g

Ground ginger, 1 tbsp

Mixed spice, 1 tbsp

Bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp

Plain flour (to dust), some

Icing sugar, 150g

Red food colouring, 8-10 drops

Blue food colouring, 8-10 drops

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush 2 baking trays with melted butter to lightly grease.

1. 2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
2. 3. Meanwhile, place egg white in a clean, dry bowl. Use an electric beater to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Divide icing among 3 bowls. Cover 1 bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Add red colouring to 1 bowl and stir until combined. Add blue colouring to remaining bowl and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
3. 4. Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about 4mm thick. Use a 9cm gingerbread man cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart. Repeat with any excess dough.
4. 5. Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool.
5. 6. Place prepared icings in small plastic bags. Cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. Pipe icing over gingerbread men to decorate.

Claypot cooking is one of my favourites. Years ago when I was still a student in KL, I often frequented hawkers stalls for lunch and dinner. One of the dishes like claypot chicken rice by never failed to catch my attention. I always like my food to be warm when served, and claypot is the best in keeping the heat. Claypot cooking is not only a famous method used in SE Asia, it is also commonly used in several cuisines in Europe.

I bought a claypot not too long ago and have been wanting to use it. I thought of one dish that I used to eat quite a lot when my family and I went to a famous Chinese Seafood restaurant near to my uncle’s place in Kuala Perlis. This uncle of mine was in fishery business. When the catch was good, he would ask us to join him and his family at this particular restaurant, which he knew the proprietor really well. He would bring the best and biggest fish to the restaurant and asked them to prepare the fresh catch! It couldn’t have been fresher than this!

I love fish. One of my favourites is Grouper. Grouper has got really firm meat and it is suitable for stir-frying or braising. I got 2 Groupers when I went to Billingsgate Market not long ago. First thing that came to my mind when I saw grouper was claypot fish.

Claypot fish may sound really simple, I added some shiitake mushrooms, tofu, snow peas, baby corn, chinese cabbage and carrots. A wholesome meal was ready in less than 20 minutes! I think best dishes are always those that have been kept in my memory since I was a kid that never failed to put a smile on my face. I reminisced a lot about all the food that I tasted since childhood! Do you?

Recipe: Claypot Fish (砂煲鱼)

Ingredients:

Grouper or red snapper (cut into squares), 400-500g

Tofu (cut into squares), 100g

Shiitake mushrooms (or Chinese mushrooms), 3-4

Snow peas, 10-12

Baby corn (halves), 8

Chinese cabbage (roughly cut into 4cm), 4-5 leaves

Carrots (thinly sliced), 1/4

Garlic (chopped), 1 cloves

Ginger (chopped), 1 cm

Oil, 1-2 tbsp

Chinese rice wine, 1 tbsp

Corn flour, 1 tbsp

Salt, a pinch

Water, 80ml

Seasoning

Oyster sauce, 1 tbsp

White pepper, 1/8 tsp

Thickening

Cornflour, 1 tsp

Water, 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Marinate the fish with a pinch of salt.

2. Cut the tofu into squares. Pan fry the tofu with a little bit of oil until golden brown and crispy. Set aside.

3. Coat the fish with cornflour, pan fry each piece until slightly golden brown. Set aside.

4. Heat up a pan with some oil. Put in garlic and ginger, fry until fragrance and but brown. Put in chinese rice wine. Add in carrots, chinese cabbage, snow peas, baby corn, and Shiitake mushroom. Stir-fry under low heat for about 4 minutes.

5. Add in water and slowly bring to a boil. Add in fish and tofu. Give it a good stir. Add in seasoning then thicken the sauce with conflour mixture.

6. Heat a claypot in the oven for about 4-5 minutes until hot.

7. Pour in the cook dish into the claypot, serve immediately.

Just  a few weeks ago, I went out with a friend of mine and told her that I was craving for Asam Laksa. I mentioned that I hadn’t eaten Asam Laksa for too long that I couldn’t even remember how many years? Yeah, it does sound incredibly shocking but that was the fact. When you don’t live in Malaysia, it does seem a little bit difficult to eat something like Asam Laksa unless you go to a good Malaysian restaurant or make it yourself. It could be quite time consuming but it’s worth the time preparing it.

My friend, Azma, told me that there are a few Malaysian restaurants that serve good Asam Laksa. Somehow, we ended up in an Asian supermarket buying some cooking ingredients. I said if I could find Polygonum leaves, also called Vietnamese Mint (Malay: daun kesum) and Indian Mackerel (kembung fish), then I didn’t mind to make everything from scratch. She previously gave me some Torch Ginger/Ginger Bud (Malay: bunga kantan) that I have kept frozen, which came in handy for me to make Asam Laksa. If it wasn’t her who brought these ginger flowers from Malaysia, I had no idea where I could buy them in London! She had also kindly brought back some Laksa noodles (thick rice vermicelli) that I had asked my mom to buy. So, I gave one packet to her. These items seem impossible to be purchased (or you gotta try all the possible supermarkets) when you are not in SE Asia. So, it seemed that we were back in the olden days using Bartering system, which I find it great!

Asam Laksa is a hot and sour fish-based gravy served with thick rice vermicelli. Don’t be confused with Curry Laksa, which the broth is curry-based, so, it’s totally different! Asam means tamarind (Asam Jawa) in the Malay language. Tamarind is a common ingredient in Asian cooking that is used to produce sour flavour.

For me, the most important feature of this dish is the fish, that is poached then flaked. The poaching liquid is then strained and use as the stock. If Indian Mackerel (usually comes in frozen) can’t be found, the equivalent of wolf-herring or spanish mackerel can be used. When flaking the fish, be extra careful as you don’t want to be choked on tiny bones!

There are many variations of Asam Laksa. Penang is famous for its Asam Laksa, everyone who visits island of Penang in Malaysia will never miss out in enjoying a good bowl of Asam Laksa! Where I come from, we have what we call Kedah Asam Laksa (Malay: Laksa Kedah), where slices of hard-boiled eggs are added as part of the garnishes. I guess, I love both variations so far.

The usual garnishes/toppings in Asam Laksa include thingly sliced cucumber, red onions, pineapple, mint leaves, and bird’s eyes chillies. I like to add some raw chinese string beans for extra crunch! It is very often that Asam Lasak is topped off with ‘petis udang’ or ‘he-ko’ (蝦羔), which is a very thick sweet prawn/shrimp paste. This can be optional if the smell is too pungent for you.

I made quite a big pot of the fish gravy, so, I ended up having Asam Laksa for about 2 days as my lunch and dinner. The taste was just amazing and I felt like I was back in Malaysia. *LOL* My taste buds just love the gravy that is full of flavours! I remember when I was cooking it, Le Francais said “Ça sent bon! Qu’est ce que tu as mis dans la soup?” (It smells good, what did you put in the soup?) He likes it but he said it was too spicy for him. Well, can I cut down the amount of chillies? It wasn’t that spicy, but for him, it was hell too spicy. The next day when I offered him again, he said ‘No, merci. C’est trop épicées pour moi.’  (No, thank you. It’s too spicy for me.) However, he came around 1 or 2 minutes after for a few sips of the gravy!! Too spicy but couldn’t resist, hey?

By the way, a few days after, I mentioned to Gertrude from My Kitchen Snippets that I made Asam Laksa from scratch as I was craving for it. She then sent me a packet of Asam Laksa paste (amongst other stuff) all the way from the U.S! So, if I need quick-fix of Asam Laksa, I can make it real fast now! Thanks, Gertrude!

Recipe: Asam Laksa (Rice Noodles in Hot and Sour Fish Gravy) Adapted from Nyonya Flavours

Ingredients:

Gravy

Indian Mackerel/Wolf Herring/Spanish Mackerel, 600g

Tamarind pulp, 90g

Water, 2 litres

Tamarind peel, 3-4pieces

Polygonum (daun kesum), 2 stalks

Ginger flower, 1

Spice paste (ground finely)

Shallots, 200g

Lemongrass, 2

Red chillies, 5

Dried chillies, 5

Belacan/Shrimp paste, 60g

Toppings/Garnishes (thinly sliced)

Small cucumber, 1

Pineapple, half

Red onions, 2

Red chillies, 2-3

Mint leaves, 150g

Laksa noodles, 600g

Thick prawn paste, 5 tbsp

Hot water, 50-100ml

Salt, to taste

Method:

1. If using dried laksa noodles (thick rice vermicelli), prepare according to the instruction on the packet.

2. Gut and clean the fish and place in a shallow dish for steaming. Steam the fish until cooked. Leave the fish to cool before removing the flesh. Set aside the fish flakes. A pool of clear fish stock would have been collected in the steaming dish – strain the fish stock into a big pot along with 2 litres of water. (If you choose to boil/poach the fish like I did, make sure you take the fish out, leave cool. Then, strain the stock.)

3. Mix the tamarind pulp with water and strain into the pot with the fish stock. Add the tamarind peel, polygonum leaves, ginger bud and the spice paste.

4. Bring the stock to a boil and lower the heat to simmer until aromatic. Before turning off the fire, add the flaked fish and season to taste.

5. Split and core the cucumber and cut into think strips (julienne). Cut the pineapple into think strips too. Peel, halve and slice red onion thinly. Slice the chillies thinly. Then, separate the mint leaves from the stems.

6. Add just enough hot water to the prawn paste to achieve a pouring consistency.

7. To serve: Place a serving of laksa noodles in a bowl of deep dish. Top with a little of each of the toppings/garnishes. Ladle hot laksa gravy over the noodles and toppings. Serve with a tablespoon of the prepared prawn paste.

Right, I hope you like this recipe. Well, I haven’t forgotten about the Dorset Cereals Giveaways! Congratulations!! to the winners that have been randomly drawn as follow:

Prize 1 to 4: DORSET CEREALS – Exotic Pineapple & Papaya with Toasted Coconut

• John K
• Amy
• Hanson
• Delia

Prize 5 to 8: DORSET CEREALS – Berries & Cherries Bars

• Mei Yin
• Peachkins
• Lubna Karim
• Tan Siew Moy

Prize 9 to 12: DORSET CEREALS – Fruit, Nuts & Seeds Bars

• Debbie
• Dewi
• Christine
• AnnaLyon

Prize 13 to 16: DORSET CEREALS – Super High Fibre Bars

• Laurent
• Deb Harriss
• The Little Teochew
• Jess