Foodarrific

My love for Shanghai noodles goes back a long way. Back in those days I used to frequent Esquire Kitchen because it was conveniently near where I worked, and their Shanghai noodles was a treat I looked forward to… tremendously.

I always order the one with char choy (preserved veggie), pork strips and pork chop, and I still do. I ate this just the other day for lunch and although the noodle is a bit different, at least the soup is not as high sodium as it used to be at one time.

Indeed there was a time when I had to close my eyes and wish the saltiness away. I always joked about them needing to reimburse me for the expensive wrinkle eye cream after all that squinting and twisting to my eye area as I painfully swallowed each mouthful.

Glad though that they’ve realized and decided to tone down the salt. I love the taupan cheong (chilly bean paste) that accompanies the Shanghai noodles. It’s so good and I always request for extra . Me, the Chili Queen, remember?

Filed under: AsianRice & Noodles by chili queen - 1 Comment →

I have a thing for Indian curry rice. This is what I’ve been having for lunch on the weekend once in a while. Last weekend, we were at the The Curve and I ordered this plate of rice with fried fish fillet and cabbage and drowned it in lots of curry sauce. Heaven!

Although it’s a very simple meal with just two dishes and a papadam (cracker), it’s just the fix I need. You know, like those racing fanatics who can’t resist buying every Nascar jacket that’s available out there. Yep, that’s how I feel about Indian curry rice. I always end up overeating but there’s no way I can resist it !

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I honestly can’t remember where I had this bowl of fish head noodle. Maybe it’s near the place where I get cheap auto insurance. Suffice to say, I’ve been ordering fish head noodle everywhere I can find it.

The noodle is topped with large chunks of fried fish fillet and tomatoes with preserved veggies and the soup is milk-based giving the dish a sweet, sour and saltish flavor.

Kinda different, huh? That’s why I like it. Not many places serve it though so when I find it, I pretty much go nuts ! Wonder if I can homecook it and still have it taste as good.

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Every other weekend, we’ve been walking past this new food court at The Curve where they’re serving a rather plain-looking porridge with yau char kwai (Chinese crullers). It looks appetizing and I couldn’t wait to cook my own porridge at home. I prefer my porridge a little more fancy and nutritious.

Boiling the porridge is really simple. Just wash the rice and then add about double the amount of water (or chicken stock for a more flavorful result) in a pot over medium heat. When the water comes to a boil, I add in my sliced chicken, carrot chunks and baby abalone we bought from Japan. Keep it on the boil until the rice softens and opens up.

The thing about making porridge is it requires patience and endless peeking into the pot to ensure you achieve your preferred consistency. I prefer a thicker porridge. Some people prefer a more watery porridge in which case you simply add more water. See, no need to go to Porridge School and wait for the graduation announcements to see if you passed the course .

Lastly cut up the yau char kwai, or Chinese crullers, into 1-2″ lengths. I typically serve them on a common plate so each person can take however much they want and top it over their own bowl of porridge. With just a few ingredients, the porridge turns out really flavorful. Try it!

Filed under: AsianKid-friendlyOne-dish MealsPoultryQuick & Easy CookingRecipesRice & NoodlesSeafoodSnacks & Desserts by chili queen - 2 Comments →

There’s this fairly new place called Penang Recipe at 1 Utama that we’ve visited a couple of times, once or twice, for their weekday lunch time promo.

Whichever restaurant you walk into these day, you can pretty much find the ubiquitous Nasi Lemak. Penang Recipe’s Pandan Nasi Lemak with Chicken Rendang is a pretty good serving that comes with a papadam as well.

I started out really crazy about their Curry Laksa which came packed with ingredients like huge chunks of chicken, meatballs, taupok (tofu pockets), half a hard-boiled egg and even clams. Well, it’s still pretty good but the portion has shrunk very quickly over a short period of time and I’m not happy about that.

It’s sad how sometimes restaurants start out with such promise and then once business picks up, they scale back on quality and quantity to focus on their ecommerce fulfillment or whatever other business ventures they might be involved in.

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