Of Chocalates and Marzipans

I recently had many treats pouring into my house. Mostly chocolates and a box of Marzipan from Germany given by someone.

Lady Bird shaped chocolate

Chocolates come in various shapes these days huh? This was shaped like a lady bird. Well, not exactly shaped lah, just the wrapper. Nevertheless it is so cute! This chocolate was rather soft even after I left it in the fridge. Taste wise? Alright I guess. Nothing really much

Vochelle's Almond Coated Chocolate

This is was given by someone else who apparently bought it from the airport. One bite and I knew it was local chocolate. Local chocolate somehow doesn't taste as good as the overseas ones. Could be our cocoa. Chocolates from overseas are softer, creamier and smoother. This one was hard and not creamy. However the chocolate and almond did go well together.

A box of assorted Marzipan!!

I've heard of Marzipan multiple times but never knew what it really was. So I googled Marzipan and it says that Marzipan is a candy made of ground almond, sugar and egg whites. Sooooooo...Marzipan is a CANDY. Not chocolate although the pictures look so. It was coated with chocolate but the inside was mostly paste.

Classic Marzipan

Pineapple Marzipan

Pistachio Marzipan

The Marzipan tasted like ubat to me. It tasted like those almond drinks. Seriously...maybe it's because of the almond. I it's an acquired taste. Maybe after taking a few more I would get used to the taste. The Pineapple Marzipan and Pistachio Marzipan both had a hint of their respective flavour. I think I'm gonna learn how to acquire the taste of almonds before I attempt another Marzipan.

I Learned Something: Marzipan

Hmm...I learned something today. Marzipan is a paste of ground almond sugar and egg whites. Just ate it just now. Will post about it shortly.

A short post...it's late in the night already.

Rendezvous Steak House

Pronounce as Run-dei-voo. Yup, it's French for a meeting at a specific time and place typically between two people. This place is more like a cafe and just like the name suggests it's a good place to meet up with friends and catch up over food. They serve western meals and some Malaysian food.

The interior

I like the cozy feel they give to the restaurant: warm lighting and background music. Unfortunately for me that day, some kids decided to shout and scream at the table nearby. Spoiled my dinner experience.

The menu

First I would like to warn you not to expect your food to be something from Victoria Station or TGIF or something around there. They serve cheap western meals so expect your food to taste around that price.

They even have their self-made tomato and chili sauce

Watermelon Juice and Vanilla Twist (RM 5)

We ordered watermelon juice and Vanilla Twist. To me the watermelon juice was just OK. The Vanilla Twist was well something different. My mom thought it to be too sweet.

Chicken Cheese Foundue (RM 15)

The cheese

The chicken cheese foundue came with carrots, broccoli, criss-cut fries, fried chicken, a bun and of course a pot of cheese. The fried chicken was fried well. All went well with the cheese. But after awhile it started getting a little salty. Anyway, I polished the whole pot of cheese. I think they didn't need to wash the pot any more =P. I suggest that this be shared instead of gobbling it all down by yourself.

Grilled Salmon (RM 17)

The salmon was grilled very well. Just right, not too dry. Besides I was glad that the fish didn't have the stinky fishy smell. For RM 17 that was a bargain!

Grilled Marmalade Chicken

I don't get how it's marmalade because I didn't taste any marmalade at all. In fact it was drenched in cheese sauce. Hmm...anyhow it tasted good. As I said earlier, the chicken was done well. Sauce was good too.

Their fries tasted like those frozen french fries you get from the supermarkets. But oh well, for the price, I shouldn't be complaining huh? I feel the all the food served was done well. Marinated well, grilled well and fried well. I wouldn't say the food was awesomely good but I would definitely go back to try other stuff :)

Din Tai Fung

I went to Din Tai Fung a loooooooooooooong time ago. So much so that I've forgotten how the food tasted. Heh heh... But the food looks good. Pictures only this time.

Go on and drool....... =P

Mini Garlic Sausage Bun

This recipe was created because of a potbless dinner during Christmas last year. Besides I think that's the only way I get to eat sausage as sausages are banned in my house by mom :( . She says that sausages are highly processed food and contain loads for chemicals, very bad. So no sausages at home. I only get to eat this when I'm at a party or out for dinner. And I take the opportunity to do so. Hahaha...

Here's the recipe

Mini Garlic Sausage Bun

Ingredients:

1 basic bun recipe

12 chicken frankfurters

Garlic Spread

50g butter

2 cloves garlic (peeled and grounded)

Dried basil leaves

Method:

1. To make garlic spread: mix the butter, garlic and basil leaves together. Leave aside.
2. Steam/boil the chicken frankfurters until cooked. Cut each frankfurter into three. Leave aside to cool.
3. Follow the basic bun recipe until steps 3.
4. Divide the dough into 8 parts.
5. Roll each part into 1cm thick cylindrical shape.
6. Roll it around the sausage
7. Leave to rise then glaze the buns.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 150⁰C for 15 to 20 minutes.
9. Brush the buns with garlic spread twice.

Feast thy eyes =P

I Made Ice-Cream :O

Oklah not really ice-cream. It's frozen youghurt. The recipe is not perfect though. It's too sour. Maybe the youghurt. So no recipe this time. Just pictures..

Shilin Taiwan Street Snacks, Nyonya Colours & Chatime @ Mid Valley

It sounds more like a an eating spree eh? Hahaha... A couple of days ago Felicia asked me out for my birthday and I suggested we go Mid Valley. Well, Mid Valley is a little out of me and Felicia's budget for shopping. So when you can't shop you.....EAT!! LOL

At our first stop we went to Shilin Taiwan Street Snacks. There I ordered a bowl of Handmade Oyster Mee Sua.

Handmade Oyster Mee Sua

(This is what you get when you remember you have not snap a picture after you've mixed everything up)

The Mee Sua was smooth. The broth was flavourful. I'm personally not a fan of oysters so I was grateful they only gave me three pieces of oysters which I painstakingly swallowed. Overall I think it was just well..something different not extremely good but yeah it was alright.

Next up, we went to Nyonya Colours. Felicia wanted to eat Penang Asam Laksa. She said that the one in 1 Utama was nice and she wanted to taste the one here. I initially didn't want to order anything but the array of Nyonya kuih was too attractive.

The array of Nyonya Kuih

Lipat Pisang and S. Tapioca+Banana

Mmmm....it tasted gooooooooooddd. Enough coconut milk and sugar. Definitely not your choice of food if you're on a diet.

Penang Asam Laksa

The Penang Laksa on the other hand was a dissapointment. It didn't taste anywhere near Penang Asam Laksa. Not sour enough and not spicy enough. Not very much flavour too. I will not order this again.

Finally after all the food, we decided to get a drink. Chatime always has a line at the counter and we thought what's all the buzz about this new outlet. Let's try. At Chatime, you first have to choose your drink from 30 or so types of drinks (they specialise in milk tea I think). Then pay for your order and get your receipt. On the receipt is a number. You have to go behind and show your receipt to the person at the counter when your number is flashed. Interesting way of manning the shop.

Pearl Milk Tea

(sorry for the ugly picture)

The milk tea was good. It had a strong tea flavour and just the right amount of milk. They also gave a generous amount of pearl sago.

I had an awesome makan time. Hope to do it some day again :D

Banana Cinnamon Roll

I failed this time on baking. Silly me, I burned he roll. Of course you can't see it because I won't let you. LOL! I burned the bottom because I baked with the bottom fire for too long. But the taste was still good.

This isn't my recipe. I got got it from Amy Beh's column in The Star Newspaper a few years back. Made it couple of times already. A reliable recipe.

Click here for the recipe.

I made a couple of adjustments to the recipe however. I didn't allow the yeast to froth as stated because I felt that it made the bread hard instead of being soft and fluffy. As for the filling I did not follow the amount given. I'm one who loves generous amounts of fillings so I put four ripe bananas and 40g of butter. I don't remember how much cinnamon I poured. I guess it's up to your liking.

Starbucks Coffee

A few days ago dad said he would take me to anywhere I suggested as my birthday celebration. In short, he wanted to treat me. So I instantaneously said STARKBUCKS!! Well, you see I've been eying their array of pastries and cakes for a long time. Just wanna try. So I jumped at the chance since dad gave me the freedom. Hehe..

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffin

To me, the Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffin tasted just alright. Well, like any other muffin around. It would have tasted better if there were more blueberry cheese filling. For the price, I think it should taste a little better.

Peanut Butter Creme Brulee Cake

A long name for a cake I must say. Haha... This cake is super delicious. I've never tasted Creme Brulee so I don't know how it's suppose to taste like but as far as this cake is concerned it's yum yum. The flavours in the cake blend together well. It has a taste of peanut butter (obviously!) and some chocolate taste. The cake has some hard sugary base that's sweet and goes well with the rest of the cake.

Caramel Macchiato

We actually ordered two drinks one Java Chip Frappucino and one Caramel Machiatto. I remember taking a shot of the Java Chip Frappucino but I have no idea where it went. So there's only a picture of a Caramel Macchiato.

I think Java Chip Frappucina needs no introduction. It's everyone's favourite unless of course you dislike chocolate and coffee.

I had the Caramel Macchiato hot. It was good. I thought the coffee was very smooth. The smoothest coffee I've ever tasted. It was neither too sweet nor bitter. I could have another cup if not for the after effect.

All in all, I think the food at Starbucks is worth the try. As for the drinks...well...anything done in Starbucks is nice :)

Tomato, Onion and Herb Loaf

I didn't have much ingredients at home so I had to make use of whatever ingredients that was available at home. Shallots, some herbs and cherry tomatoes. It wasn't bad though I must say since I didn't actually had a recipe. Just threw in whatever ingredients I can find in the house. Hahaha...

Here's the recipe...

Tomato, Onion and Herb Loaf

Ingredients:

200g plain flour

300g high protein flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp basil leaves

1 tsp rosemary

2 tsp yeast

4 shallots (sliced)

2 1/2 tbsp oil

240 ml water

Toppings:

Some cherry tomatoes

2 shallots (sliced)

Some pepper

Some chilli flakes

Golden syrup for glazing

Method:

1. Fry the four sliced shallots
2. Mix all the ingredients together except toppings into a dough
3. Knead dough for 10 to 15 minutes or until elastic
4. Leave to rise for 30 minutes or until double in size.
5. Punch down the dough and divide it into four balls.
6. Put them in a grease loaf pan and leave for 10 minutes.
7. Glaze the loaf with golden syrup.
8. Arrange cherry tomatoes and shallots on top. Then sprinkle pepper and chilli flakes on top.
9. Heat the oven at 125 degrees Celsius and bake the loaf for 45 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.
10. Cool the loaf and slice.

A slice of bread :)

Otak-Otak Bun and Butter Bun

My initial plan was to bake a cake for my grandmother for Mother's Day/birthday. But she's not fond of cakes. Her reason? Cakes are high fat foods. She prefers buns. So I decided to make otak-otak buns and butter buns.

I normally make buns based on a basic bun recipe. Then I would put whatever filling that I want. Here's the basic bun recipe together with otak-otak and butter bun recipe :)

Basic Bun Recipe

Ingredients:

200g plain flour (sifted)

300g high protein flour (sifted)

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp milk powder

2 tsp yeast

6 tbsp oil

270ml water

Golden syrup/egg (optional)

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl to form a dough.
2. Knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes until dough is elastic.
3. After that leave the dough to rise for 30 minutes or until double in size.
4. Divide into small balls of 40g each.
5. Leave in a tray for it to rise until double in size.
6. Glaze buns with golden syrup or egg (optional)
7. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees or until the bun is golden brown.

Otak-otak Bun

Ingredients:

1 basic bun recipe

2 pkts otak-otak (steamed and cooled)

Method:

1. Follow the basic bun recipe until steps 4.
2. Cut each otak-otak into 12 pieces.
3. Fill the buns with otak-otak.
4. Continue with steps 5 onwards of the basic bun recipe.

Butter Bun

Ingredients:

1 basic bun recipe

200g butter

Some sugar

Method:

1. Follow the basic bun recipe until steps 4.
2. Cut butter into 15g pieces.
3. Fill the buns with butter pieces and put about one teaspoon of sugar.
4. Continue with steps 5 onwards of the basic bun recipe.

Yellow Cab Pizza Co.

I actually ate this pizza once at a class party in college last year. I thought it was so good I decided to bring my relatives for a try.

The exterior

The menu

One thing I like about this pizza chain is the EXTREMELY HUGE PIZZA. Take a look at the one below and compare it with the size of the hand at the side. It could have been six times the size. Say....WOAH!!

The pizza above is a 18" New York's Finest. Look how generous they are with their ingredients. This one was lip smacking good! All the flavours combined together very well. The dough was soft and chewy. But after a few bites it started to get waaaaaaaaay too salty. I remember the night after this dinner I was thirsty like crazy!

This is the #4 Cheese Pizza. The last time this pizza was ordered I didn't get to try because the minute I wanted to get my hands on it, it was polished and that was in just a few minutes. Being the cheese lover I am, I just had to have that. We ordered a smaller 14" because we didn't think we could finish all up since we had already ordered a gigantic pizza.

The taste? Well, it's cheese so come on! Of course it tasted good. But just like the previous one it was too salty. Hmmm....I wonder if they accidently pour a packet of salt or something?? Haha...

Overall I thought the pizzas were extremely good. As of now, I think they're my best pizza chain. I'll definitely make another trip there and about the saltyness I think I can bare with it. Or maybe I should request that my pizzas be made "kurang masin". LOL

I just had to take a picture of those cute motor bikes :P

OPPS!!! Cheese Tarts

I've actually eyed this shop at Pavillion for along time. The only thing that stop me from purchasing these cheese tarts were the price. RM3.80 for one small cheese tart isn't worth it. Then came along a discount that was too good to be true. They offered RM9.90 for a box of six cheese tarts instead of RM21. Now who would resist that hah?

So here are the six tarts of different flavours. I love the box so much that I still have not thrown it away. Haha... Sorry for an ugly background. I'm not equipped with a canggih editting software. LOL..

Strawberry Cheese Tart

Kiwi Cheese Tart

Blueberry Cheese Tart

Coffee Cheese Tart

Almond Cheese Tart

Lemon Cheese Tart

Overall the cheese tarts were DELICIOUS. Nyam nyam.... The pastry was pretty crumbly and the cheese filling was very creamy and smooth. Every bite I took I can tell that they used quality ingredients. All the tart flavours were of real ingredients instead of artificial flavouring.

My personal best was the strawberry cheese tart. The only downside was the lemon cheese tart. It tasted normal and nothing so lemony but the rest was awesome.

If it weren't for the price I would not hesitate to spoil myself once in awhile.

Address:

Lot P1.02

Pavillion KL

168, Jln Bukit Bintang

55100 KL