Lamb fudge tempter

Baked some lamb fudge last night for Shalom's 2011 new year getaway trip to the beach. This is an easy to make and definitely yummy treats. Actually we use this a fair bit for our daily play and trainings. And because they are slightly moist, they make good treats during outings as it is another source of hydration for the furkids rather than dry treats such as Polly Pumpkin.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes (depending on your oven)

Ingredients:
• 400g ground lamb
• 1/2 teaspoon of chopped garlic / rosemary
• 120g carrots / pumpkin
• 300ml of water or milk (milk gives it a creamier consistency and does not seem to be a problem for Shalom who is lactose intolerant)(and we now opt for Goat's milk)
• 400g flour (rice flour or wheat flour)
• 1 large egg (optional)

We made 2 pans this round - one pan being garlic carrot and the other being rosemary pumpkin

Chopped up or slice the carrots and pumpkins, whichever your preference. I like them chopped because I am lazy. I just dropped them all into the chopper.

Transfer to a large bowl. Mix flour, garlic / rosemary, lamb, carrots / pumpkin, milk / water and the optional egg in the bowl. Combine till is a watery texture. If a wee dry, add more water or milk.

Optional: replace some of the flour with oats so that it has a stiffer and chewier texture.

Pour ingredients into an oiled baking pan.

Preheat oven.

Baked at 180C at 30-40 minutes.

Check that is is cooked by inserting a toothpick through. If it comes out clean, its cooked. if not, popped it in for another 2-3 minutes or so.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I generally cut it into cubes for Shalom at home. However for gatherings, I normally cut them into smaller bits. Don't want any furkid choking as a result of gobbling their food.

They keep one week in the fridge. I normally keep them in tubs and freeze them till they are needed:D

It smells lovely even to my nose. So I normally would nibble on some. Be warned...no salt or sugar, so its just flavours from the ingredients and nothing more.

And here's the 2 pans all sliced and packed ready for Shalom's 2011 new year countdown getaway.

Little Jakarta

Little Jakarta.

Hubby says it looks good from the outside. But wait...isn't it previously named The Colonial? Hmmmm....We didn't like food at The Colonial. And the decor inside does look almost scaringly similar to The Colonial.

Shall we try?

What if food is bad?

Hmmmm...if we don't try we won't know.

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Parked our car and took a deep breath before we walked in. Prayed hard that food would be good. Afterall I was starving.

First thing that we saw was ais kacang. Hehehe for Rm1! Ok this RM1 only applies if you order food from their menu. It isn't tough, considering that they have quite an extensive list of items.

And so how does it taste for RM1? Looks OK. Taste good! Life is good:P

We returned to Little Jakarta thereafter a few times and apart from the ais kacang, the following are recommended. There are a lot more dishes to try but there's only so much that 2 persons can eat each time without being gluttons:P And I must stop ordering the same dishes everytime I visit!

Rice is served on prettily cut paper. A plate is under the brown paperlah:P

Ok. Ais kacang at RM1 caught my eye. But the first dish per se that caught my eye was also Krispy Ayam Kremes. This is almost a dish on its own for me. A few slices of cucumber to cool us down after this dish of fried tofu, tempe (I absolutely love tempe) and chicken.

Hubby loves beef. So he was naturally going to order beef. And he settled for beef rendang nasi uduk set komplit. Nasi uduk is basically aromatic rice cooked in coconut milk with spices including Indian bayleaf (daun salam), lemongrass (serai), coriander seed (ketumbar) and screwpine leafs (pandan).

I am a sucker for kangkung and will always order this if I am given the task or ordering dishes. Been here 3 times and this dish is also cooked consistently with some crispy ikan bilis sprinkled on top for some extra crunchy kick.

Ikan pepes is a wee similar to otak-otak. The fish is mixed with some spices and then steamed. Then it is wrapped in banana leaf and grilled. You can imagine the aroma when they open it before you!

Beef rawon is super yummy. In fact it is one of the best rawon that I have ever had. Rawon is a spicy beef soup. The main ingredient apart from beef is a herb / spice called kluwek / keluak. It is also known as black nut. Kluwek must be processed properly before it is used for cooking. Otherwise it is poisonous. I love this dish so much that it is a must have on every visit.

Sambal sotong. Nothing much to shout about but it was very appetising. Hmmm thus far all dishes were appetising:P

On my next visit, I must have:
• Sayur asem
• Sayur londeh
• Soto ayam
• Gado gado
• Crispy Sambal Ijo Flying Fish
• Cincau Ijo
• Javanese coffee (am told the coffee here is good...so it has to be lunch time otherwise I will be wide awake enough to sit through the day, night and day shift with the security guards.)

One complain. I have a feeling they have taken out the Crispy Sambal Ijo Flying Fish:-( I have yet to be able to taste it after 3 times of visiting the place. Geram....

Here's an affirmation why I absolutely love Beef KIng 牛王

Beef King in Pudu is one of my fave haunts for morning or lunch beef noodles. Slightly herbal soup that comes with your soupy noodles or even the beef balls when you opt for the dry version. And the meat is not overcooked! See what I mean from the pictures?

Another must have is the loh see fun in soup. This is of limited bowls. What's unique is the loh see fun is minus the pang sa or borax to make it chewy. Its the good old fashion style. I have yet to be able to have a whole bowl to myself. Only was "lucky" to get a few strands of it in my bowl of noodles - whatever strands that is left over whenever I go there:-(

I must have it sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!

Quando Quando Quando

Quando Quando Quando - I remember it best by Engelbert Humperdinck. Here's a remake by Michael Bublé and Bonita. Couldn't find the one that Michael Bublé and with Nelly Furtado

Heng BKT Delights

I love Bak Kut Teh.

I love Bak Kut Teh.

I love Bak Kut Teh.

And I reckon I'm now making up for loss time of picking up a liking for pork at a rather late age...

I like mine very herbal generally. However, Heng BKT Delights worked well with me even though its not the strong herbal style. Its a gentle balance of herbs and meat. And one thing I noted after my meals there (as of today, I think I've been there at least 10 times since they started the dinner operations on 2nd December 2010).

I love my BKT more so in the nights when its cooler and a pot of warm soup does wonders to the stomach and mood generally. And after work, there's no rush whatsoever...just chill and enjoy the meal and tea. And I must say the company that Anderson and Uncle Billy provide. These 2 folks behind Heng BKT Delights are simply an awesome concoction themselves:P

The Bak Kut Teh as I mentioned earlier is a good balance of herbs and meat and its really soothing. Let them know your fave parts and they'll serve it to you. I've always been a ribs persons so its ribs most of the time. Although some days I have to take other options if I arrive a wee later (e.g. after my kickboxing and yumcha sessions).

Another favourite is the pork trotters in vinegar i.e. chi kiok chou. This is one place that serves it sour enough and spicy enough. Spicy is not derived from the dried chilli like most places. No expense is spared. Its gingery spicy.

Rice wine chicken or wong chao kai is a hot selling item here. When I first tasted it, I just knew so why! The ginger and wine was cooked just nice with the kampung chicken and kei chi (wolfberry). And the wine used is specially ordered from a lady who makes them specially for confinement lady. So you can just guess just how potent the flavour is. I love it to bits. A bit heaty for me if I have it back to back every 2 days...but I just love it.

With the same wine, they also have another popular confinement must have food i.e. rice wine cooked with pig kidney "wong chau chi yu". I took to this quite well as it didn't have the stinky pee smell that some places have. The secret is to wash it well and wash it patiently. This has a slightly sweet taste to it.

And if you're on confinement and stay near to Heng BKT Delights, you can even order the wong chao kai and wong chau chi yu from them!

I also love the "choi kiok" here. This is a dish that must be cooked over night for the flavours to developed. Here the choi kiok is spicy. Its very much similar to the ones that I remember that my granny cooked whenever I returned to Penang. This is another dish will result in me carbo loading big time whenever I visit Heng BKT Delights.

Started liking the texture and taste of the pig's intestine and stomach of late. However, I don't like it if it smells funny (not washed properly) or is overcooked that it becomes like eating rubber. On one of my recent visits here, we tasted the black pepper soup with the intestine and stomach. Verdict? shiokalingam. It was so good that I forgot to take any pictures. Hence here it is...borrowed from pal Andrew. Check ut his blog http://runningandrew.blogspot.com for food ideas! I wish that hubby takes this dish too, otherwise it can be a little too much for me to eat alone. Well, I can finish up the whole serving but it does not leave me with much room for the other dishes.

Many places serve dry BKT with dried chilly so its a wee spicy / hot. Here the dry version is actually loh chee kiok - braised knuckle. Looks fatty but ain't fatty when the parts served are actually the tendon and ligament. Taste it then you knowlah.

This is a must write. The rice is superlicious yummy. Here on yam rice with a generous portion of yam and decent size dried shrimps are served almost daily unless they can't get good yam. And when there are good ripe pumpkins available at the market, they served pumpkin rice too. And long bean rice on some special days. So you could just drop in and see what is the special of the day or call before you come to enquire if your preferred rice is available.

I love "tao pok". And here the "tao pok" has a unique taste and flavour to it. I am told this is because the process includes a wash in salt water. Nope it is not salty. Its just a unique taste which make you want to eat more. I normally have 2 bowls on my own:D

While waiting for your food, here's a bowl of piping hot bowl of soup to soak your "yao cha kwai":D

And while you're there, chat up Uncle Billy and Anderson to know more about BKT. Here's the location details:
Heng Bak Kut Teh Delights
No 622, Jalan 20, Rumah Panjang,
Off Jalan Kuang Gunung,
Taman Kepong,
Kepong.

GPS: 03*12.483N 101*38.236E

Business hours: 7am - 3pm
6pm - 1am
Closed on Wednesdays!!!

• Anderson +6 019 208 0720
• Billy +6 016 332 8003
• Christine +6 012 672 7476

www.hengbkt.blogspot.com

My fave cartoons from the 80s

Its Jem and not Jam.

I grew up watching Jem and the Holograms. A must watch before I go to school on a Sunday. Yeah those were the days when Johoreans had school on Sundays. And SBC would show Jem and the Holograms.

Here's the theme song:D

SBC 5 would screen Care Bears too...

More Care Bears:D

And M.A.S.K

Destination: crazy tired...

I've always enjoyed my Wednesday. Its kickboxing day at TNT and its Pink Wednesday thereafter. 

Strangely on 29th November, I didn't really enjoy both the kickboxing and ice cream as much as I normally did.  It started with my left leg being a lil over stretched by my partner who was "busy" chatting with someone else. And then Baskin Robbins ran out of bananas for my Banana Royale. The chit chat at Baskin Robbins too didn't seem right. Didn't make sense at all. I always loved my Wednesdays! 

Friends felt I was pushing myself a wee to much with my morning runs and kickboxing. I honestly don't think I was pushing myself since I feel really good after each workout. And sleep real well at the end of the day.

As it turned out, I was exhausted. It was a strange exhaustion that I never before. 

Remedy: Sleep. It was time for me to hibernate. 

Hit home and slept like a baby the next few days. Decided that the ad hoc off days was needed. So took Thursday and Friday off. No work. No clients. Nobody nobody but me mattered now. 

The schedule continued for the weekend. All I did was sleep and eat. A lil of meeting people (I am generally not a hermit). Good laughs and giggling...but just a little...I was too busy sleeping.

How do I feel now? 

Cheeky and stubborn.

And trying to stay out of mischief.

*Sulk* Yes I am sulking because my left leg just doesn't seem to feel like mine. Feels detached from me:-( Perhaps I should hibernate for the next few days?

Darn! Its another 33 days!

I have to admit that work is getting to me. And I am feeling in a desperate need of a beach holiday real soon. In reality I am off to be a beach bum for the coming New Year countdown. But for now, it seems so far away.

So here's a few pics from my "sunny" beach weekend getaways:D

"Sunny" because I am contended to sit by the beach even during the monsoon seasons. And I am thankful that my monsoon getaways are always rewarded with sunny skies. 

Why do I like the beach? There's something about the sea and sand. And of course the sun. But then again, there's always the activities and creatures that we meet. The sunset and sunrises.

For now the countdown begins...33 days more...Shalom counts on too with me:D