Teuscher

Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland has its origins in a small town in the Swiss Alps. This chocolate is approximately 70 years old.

Rumor has it that one fine day, on an impulse, one single, solitary, chocolate-maker decided to embark on a path that would make him one of the world's greatest chocolatiers...

Dolf Teuscher was his name, and he toiled and slaved over his stove, blending the world's finest most natural ingredients to produce his now famous chocolate recipes.

If you guessed Teuscher ranks No.1 on Top 10 chocolates in the world (An Ultimate Guide for Travellers published by National Geographic), you would have guessed right. What's even more interesting is that Valrhona ranks 4th and Godiva ranks 6th or 7th on that list. In light of this, saying that the chocolate here is exquisite in taste and texture, might be an understatement.

Apparently, these chocolates are prepared fresh in the kitchens of Zurich and flown directly to all stores in Europe, Canada, America and Asia.



The house specialty (and my favourite) is the Champagne Truffles. These Champagne Truffles have a Dom Perignon champagne cream center, surrounded by dark chocolate ganache, covered with milk chocolate and dusted with confectioner's sugar. Why I feel the truffles here are superior, is because of the quality and the increased amount of cocoa butter used, giving them a richness not found in other chocolates. I was told that these truffle centers are 'conched' longer, creating an incomparable smoothness.

Nothing satisfies the cravings of a "mum to be" as the hot chocolate from Teuscher. It reminds me of the silky smooth taste of European full cream milk, blended straight into thick cocoa powder, with no extra water added. Liquid, molten, pleasure-in-a-cup to soothe the anxious mind and calm the soul.. what more can one ask for.

Hi. My name is Ciki, and I am a teuscher-holic...

1. THE 12-STEP CHOCOHOLICS PROGRAM: NEVER BE MORE THAN 12 STEPS AWAY FROM CHOCOLATE.


2. I WANT IT ALL, AND I WANT IT SMOTHERED IN CHOCOLATE.


3. CHOCOLATE IS CHEAPER THAN THERAPY, AND YOU DON'T NEED AN APPOINTMENT.


4. THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN A GOOD FRIEND, EXCEPT A GOOD FRIEND WITH CHOCOLATE.


5. IN HEAVEN, CHOCOLATE HAS NO CALORIES AND IS SERVED AS THE MAIN COURSE.

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6. DO NOT DISTURB: CHOCOLATE FANTASY IN PROGRESS.


Add:
Teuscher,
FK1, 1st Floor,
East Wing,
Bangsar Shopping Centre,
Bangsar.
Tel: 03-2093 7633

Char Siew Zhai Wantan Mee

We've seen this place packed with people during the lunchtime and we wanted to check out the roasted meats and the wantan noodle in this shop.

We ordered our noodles separate and ordered portions of Roast Duck, Roast Pork and BBQ Pork.

The texture of the wantan noodle was not bad. It had a nice, slightly sweet, dark sauce flavour to it.
The Charsiew (BBQ Pork) was dry, tough even, and the Duck was overly soft and had not much flavour in the meat, though the sauce used to cover it was rather strong tasting. It was as if someone had just cooked the duck for way too long and all the essence had gone out of the flesh.

Of the three, the Siew Yoke(Roast Pork) was the nicest but by no means the best I have tried in PJ or KL. The other interesting thing was the guy with the Mohawk flipping the wantan noodles high into the air, backwards, forwards.. over his crazy mohawk, like some Apache, high on Cactus Peyote!

Char Siew Zhai Wantan Mee is located in Sea Park, opposite the Giant supermarket.

Angku-licious

Four, tres, two, uno

Listen up ya'll, Cuz this is it
The dough that I'm bangin' is de-li-cious

[Verse 1]
Angku-licious definition make them lil boys & gals go loco
They want my treasure so they get their pleasures from my mung beans
You can squeeze me, you can eat me
I'm very easy, I ain't meaty
I got reasons why I'm chewy
Trays of me just come and go like biscuits

[Hook 1]
Angku-licious (So delicious)
But I ain't fergalicious
And if you was suspicious
All that filling is sumptuous
I also got peanuts (mmmwwahhh)
That puts them boys & gals on shiok shiok
And they be lining down the alley just to watch what I got (four, tres, two, uno)

[Chorus]
So delicious (It's hot, hot)
So delicious (I put them boys on shiok shiok)
So delicious (they wanna slice of what I got)
I'm Angku-licious (t-t-t-t-t-tasty, tasty)

[Verse 2]
Angku-licious def-, Angku-licious def-, Angku-licious def- [def fading echo]
Angku-licious definition make them boys go crazy
They always claim they know me
Comin' to me call me Auntie (Hey Auntie!)
I'm the A to the N, G, K to the U
And can't no other stall put it down like mine

[Hook 2]
I'm Angku-licious (so delicious)
My mould stay tight
I be up in the kitchen just working on my tradition
He's my witness (oooh wee)
I put yo' boys & gals on shiok shiok
And they be lining down the jalan just to watch what I got (four, tres, two, uno)

[Chorus]
So delicious (It's hot, hot)
So delicious (I put them boys & gals on shiok shiok)
So delicious (they wanna slice of what I got)
I'm Angku-licious (hold hold hold hold hold up, check it out)

Baby, baby, baby
If you really want me
Honey gotta be early
Maybe then you'll get a taste
I'll be tasty, tasty, I'll be laced with sweetness
It's so tasty, tasty, It'll make your taste buds go crazy

[Will I Am]
T to the A to the S T E Y angku you tasty, T to the A to the S T E Y angku you tasty
D to the E to the L I C I O U S, to the D to the E to the, to the, to the, hit it Aunty!

[Rap]
All the time I turn around brotha's sista's gather round always looking at my stall up and down looking at my
(uuhh)
I just wanna say it now I ain't tryin to round up drama wit yo mama I don't wanna take your children
And I know I'm comin off just a little bit conceited and I keep on repeating how the boys & gals wanna eat it
But I'm tryin' to tell, that I can always be your street side treat
Cuz' they say my angku...

[Hook 3]
Delicious (So delicious)
But I ain't fergalicious
And if you was suspicious
All that filling is sumptuous
I also got coconuts (mmmwwahhh)
That puts them boys & gals on shiok shiok
And they be lining down the alley just to watch what I got (four, tres, two, uno)
Four, tres, two, uno
My mould stay tight
I be up in the kitchen just working on my tradition
He's my witness (oooh wee)
I put yo' boys & gals on shiok shiok
And they be lining down the jalan just to watch what I got (four, tres, two, uno)

[Chorus]
So delicious (aye, aye, aye, aye)
So delicious (aye, aye, aye, aye)
So delicious (aye, aye, aye, aye)
I'm Angku-licious, t-t-t-t-t tasty, tasty

It's so delicious (aye, aye, aye, aye)
So delicious (aye, aye, aye, aye)
So delicious (aye, aye, aye, aye)
I'm Angku-licious, t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t (aye, aye, aye, aye)

[Will I Am]
T to the A to the S T E Y angku you tasty, T to the A, to the S T E Y angku you tasty
T to the A to the S T E Y angku you tasty, T to the A, to the, to the (four, tres, two, uno)
D to the E to the L I C I O U S, to the D to the E to the L I C I O U S to the
D to the E to the L I C I O U S, to the D to the E to the, to the, to the (four, tres, two, uno)

T to the A to the S T E Y angku you tasty, T to the A to the S T E Y angku you tasty
T to the A to the S T E Y angku you tasty, T to the A, to the, four, tres, two, uno
D to the E to the L I C I O U S, to the D to the E to the L I C I O U S to the
D to the E to the L I C I O U S, to the D to the E to the, to the, to the, to the, to the.

Happy Monday Morning my friends.. Hope this brightened up the start of your week!


Footnote:
*Lyrics adapted from that ever so popular track by Fergie, Fergalicious - the Dutchess Album.
**Angku is a popular dessert in Malaysia/Singapore, and is a glutinous rice cake with bean or peanut filling.
***Desserts are sweet foods eaten purely for pleasure.
****Angku featured were original (Mung Bean), Red Bean, Pandan, Coconut, and Peanut.

Il Padrino

Il Padrino at UOA - we read about this place on Eat Drink KL. We decided to pay the 'Godfather' a visit.

Antipasto misto "il padrino" - RM78.00

This starter for two of bresaola, tomato buffalo mozzarella, calamari, parma ham with melon and grilled vegetables was served relatively quickly. It was light and refreshing with an intensely fragrant slice of melon that tempered the salty parma ham to perfection.

We had to wait a long time for our bread though. The bread-sticks were soft and no longer fresh unfortunately. We liked the crispy paper thin bread bits.

Fettucchine nero alla granchio - RM32.00
The homemade squid ink fettuccine served with carb meat sauce was rather disappointing. Whilst the crab sauce was sweet and fresh with the metallic after notes of zinc, the pasta fell flat on its face. Soft, over-cooked and really rather bland. We expected more from the homemade pasta.

Ravioli al spinaci - RM32.00
The spinach and ricotta cheese ravioli served with butter sage sauce and parmesan cheese was slightly better than the squid ink fettuccine. It in terms of texture, it resisted the tooth a bit more than the fettuccine but could have still been slightly more al dente.

The spinach center of the ravioli was gorgeous and creamy. We loved the taste of the parmesan cheese that gave the dish a rich and heavy finish. We needed this as they served so few pieces of ravioli! The portion was really rather small.

Roast Pork Belly - RM42.00
The Roast Pork Belly which was the special that day was a letdown. Tough and hard with too much reduced balsamic vinegar sauce, it was actually a case of too many over-powering flavours with no clear aroma coming through.

Well, the next time we go back we will try the pizza as recommended by Masak Masak!

Add:
Il Padrino,
Wisma UOA,
Damansara Heights.
Tel: 2093-8596

New York City Half-Marathon, August 16th 2009

Hello peeps! Cumi &Ciki are helping Sara of Freshair.org, post a mention of this year's New York City Half Marathon held on the 16th of Aug 2009.



"Would you like to run this year's New York City Half-Marathon on August 16th while also helping Fresh Air Fund children? Join our Fresh Air Fund-Racers team today! If you would like to register, please visit http://freshair dot kintera dot org or just click here! If you have additional questions or are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact Kate or Sara at runners@freshair dot org or call (800) 367-0003 ext. 8890.



Last summer's NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE was a huge success for The Fresh Air Fund, and we couldn't have done it without all of our Fund-Racers! Thank you to the dedicated runners who participated through our team and to everyone who came out to support us! We raised more than $125,000 which will go directly to our free programs for NYC children.

We are also still in need of Friendly Town hosts for next month. Host families open their hearts and home to a NYC child who would not otherwise have the opportunity to escape the hot, crowded city streets. "

For further information Kindly contact:

Sara Wilson,
The Fresh Air Fund
sara@freshair dot org
www dot freshair dot org

Izakaya Tamako & my cousin's birthday

It was my cousin's birthday this week and we had dinner with him at the cozy Izakaya Tamako, in Plaza Damas.

Agedashi tofu is an old and revered dish.

Izakaya is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. The food is usually more substantial than that offered in other types of drinking establishments in Japan such as bars or snack bars. They are popular, casual and relatively cheap places for after-work drinking.


Sashimi which is very thin bite-size slices of fresh raw fish, traditionally served with soy sauce and wasabi.

Knowing my cousin, he is particularly careful about the type of food he allows into his body.
Seeing as he is such a huge KDT fan and one of its top students (ahem!) , his very effective but simple motto of, staying away from emotional eating, but rather switching your perception and looking at your meals as "everyday food" vs. "sometimes food", will actually see you lasting longer on a health regime that you pick for yourself. It is a life long science vs. a one off diet fad really, i.e. exercise regularly, eat a healthy balanced diet , but occasionally feel free to pig out on that bakuteh or huge, blood red steak- without feeling guilty.

I love my cousin. He is very wise!


The nice, cosy atmosphere of Izakaya Tamako is really conducive for chit-chat and slow, unhurried makan! Very pleased to meet you, K of Velvetescape and little Kafka!


This place is actually famous of it's Japanese Satay. Yes, you guessed it.. the Yakitori.


The Buta Bara looks like some form of hap-hazzard nyonya layered cake accept that it is layered lean and fatty bits of pork belly.

Babi-yakitori to be specific.
(Hallelujah! I am a convert.. I am a Babitarian! Pass me another skewer please.)



In between yakitori sticks, we take more photos.


Enter the new and 42KM improved, Bald Eagle.
Lean, mean, yellow machine.

I don't want to fight with this guy for that last piece of Yakitori.


No, I lie.. I will fight for the last skewer of pork belly Yakitori:P



Cordon Bleu Chef and Masterbaker Nigel!


Oh Shishamo.. I would like to be slim and trim like the shishamo ..., but not grilled whole while full of eggs!


The extremely healthy soba will become the Crying Soba, especially if someone chucks a whole dollop of wasabi into the miso soup (without telling you) and you happen to scoop it up, right into your eager, open mouth!

Spitting it out would be uncouth. So instead, you sit there. Crying. Swearing. But mainly crying.

:P

Happy Birthday Nigel! Hope your birthday was a great one! Continue to be the wonderful, kind, generous soul that you are and may God always grant you the desires of your heart and prosper you!



Oh, yea, one last thing.... this gorgeous, moist, butter walnut banana cake you are seeing for the first time, has been Christened...
Cumi's Banana.


Don't ask me why. Ask the Masterbaker:P





Add:
Izakaya Tamako
E-0-10/E-1-10, Plaza Damas
(Walk out of Hartamas Shopping Ctr, Opposite Starbucks),
Jalan Sri Hartamas 1,
Sri Hartamas,
50480 Kuala Lumpur.

Subak

Subak.
We read about Subak on Masak-masak's website, and decided to go hunt for this 'highland' dining restaurant, for ourselves.

Subak's architecture is inspired by the highland, Balinese styled rice terrace irrigation system and you can immediately feel the calm, serene vibe of the place when the only sounds you hear are the gurgling of water and the hum of nature.

It took some effort getting here (but we had a great navigator so we didn't get lost.. not once!) but if you are unsure of the Kampung Sungai Penchala area, kindly refer to the map at the end of this blog.



Blue Coracao Soda and Mango Coracao Soda RM7.00 and RM10.00

The Blue Coracao is the house specialty. Mocktails, of course but still incredibly refreshing and tangy.

Though we are sitting outdoors, the place is airy and cooling even in the heat of day. Looking up, we noticed that the roofing was some sort of organized, dried leave weave. Asking the waiter if it was the normal attap leaf, he said no, it was in fact, dried lalang which the owner had brought all the way back from Indonesia. Heat/bug/rain treated and Fire-proof, it is a more expensive, classy, durable alternative to the common attap coconut leaves. It also lets in a lot of cool air and breeze. Lovely!


Gado Gado RM10

We were recommended the following starters by our friendly waiter. As a matter of fact, we were recommended all the dishes you will see below.

Ibu Yati's gado gado is essentially vegetable salad in a crispy popiah skin bowl, served with a bumbu peanut sauce. Oh my word! This peanut sauce was amazing.. neither too sweet nor over pulverized, it had the most nutty taste and gritty texture imaginable. I drank the whole damn bowl.


The Pak Ajelan's Balinese Style Chicken "Soto" was fantastic as well. We are normally use to the less thick version but this chicken consommé served with cubes of compressed rice, vegetables, shredded chicken, potato etc, was the thickest broth I have ever tried. It tasted almost like it had been enriched with santan - that's how rich it was. Delicious.



Soto Ayam RM10



Seafood kebab RM65.00

Next up was this strange looking kebab. The guy said there was no skewer for this kebab of sea scallops, tiger prawns and fish pieces. How weird.. first time I have ever eaten a stickless kebab. (Wait a minute, they did not say shish kebab though, did they?)

This dish had a strong prevailing taste of garlic, ginger, spring onion and a long lingering after taste of teriyaki marinade. I loved the baby potatoes that came with it as it tempered the sweet notes of the teriyaki most effectively.




Seafood Aglio Olio RM28.00
The Seafood Aglio Olio was a let down. The pasta was overcooked and the so called "spicy" sauced lacked punch.


Lamb Shank RM40.00

The lamb shank served on a bed of mashed up sweet potato was good. Not the best I have had - the meat was tender enough but I wish it had more cartiligous parts to it. The Masala marinade was a nice touch, lending the tenderized meat an exotic, spice infused aroma.



Tapai RM8.00

I could not possibly pass up the only chance I had of 'alcohol' that day in a halal restaurant, so I picked the Tapai. Oh, that stinky, cloying vapour of the Tapai hits my nose the minute the rice touches my palate... Yes! I really do enjoy a good Tapai! I was more than happy to have that rice, all on its own, but the ice-cream that came with it, went nicely as well.



Es Teler RM8.00

The Es Teler, some sort of version of the Thai Tap Tim Grob perhaps, was an assortment of fruits served in chilled coconut milk. This was a great refreshing dessert and of special note was the inclusion of avocado in the mix. Apparently avocado is a complete meal in itself, as it contains all the major food groups in its silky, plump, little yellow and green body.
Well it looks then, like I've had TWO delicious meals today, in one sitting. Good for me.

All in all, a memorable, off the beaten track, dining experience for us. For PJ folk, it's a real bonus, not having to traipse all the way to Ampang for 'forest' dining. All that's lacking in this place is a spa... We will be back!

Add:
Subak
Lot 3213
Jalan Penchala Indah
Bukit Lanjan, KL.
(Look here for a MAP!)

Tel No: 603 772 99030

The Blue Ribbon

In symbolism, blue ribbon is a term used to describe something of high quality. The usage came from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners, also refers to the blue ribbon worn by a particular order of knights.

The French for the term is 'Cordon Bleu' which is also used in English-speaking countries.

Here is my friend, the Cordon Bleu Chef, Jun, carving up his 5KG rump.
Stellar quality rump. Stellar quality chef.


The BBQ pit.. where all the fun and action come together under one big, starry, starry sky.
Bring your latest pout, your agent 007 'cock-stare' and your 2009 unisex side-swept bangs.. the party's just starting.


Add to the mix, Cordon Bleu Chef's selection of MP3 mixes, Home marinaded chicken wings, handmade burger patties, All those who chipped in for the 5KG Rump, Toy couple's salad, FBB's Mee Siam, Nigel's Pork Pies , Just Heavenly's cakes.. and ..,
what you have is a recipe for a great BBQ.


This collage is called.. " Feed the one you love! Feed the one you're with!"

Thank you Jun for a great night out under the starry, starry sky.. listening to your choons and feeding on your rump! We think your 5KG Rump is HOT!

Thanks for the party!

That's All Folks!

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Till the next pahtey:P