Kuala Lumpur 2012: Indian

As I mentioned in my previous post, we spent the first three nights of our Malaysia trip in KL, staying with my brother's girlfriend, the awesome Su.  (Hi SU!)  Because this was my first non-family trip to Malaysia, we had a much more active holiday than I'm used to - lots of walking and sightseeing.  Normally when I go with my parents we just shop and eat. Aah... the true Malaysian pastime!

Today's post is focused on all the Indian delights we enjoyed whilst in KL.

Whenever I go Malaysia, the first stop has to be for roti canai.  Devi's Corner in Bangsar was an awesome destination for our first Malaysian breakfast! 

Devi's Corner

14 Jalan Telawi 

4 Bangsar Baru

59100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Drinks: Milo Ais RM2.00; Teh Ais1.40; Teh O Ais Limau RM1.40

We absolutely gorged ourselves on different types of roti (all cooked to order), and funky drinks.  We had milo ais (iced milo), teh ais (iced tea) and teh o ais limau (lime ice tea).  Don't forget to ask for your drinks to be kurang manis!  (This means "less sweet" in Malay.)  Standard drinks in Malaysia are crazy, super-duper sweet!

Roti Canai - RM1.30

The classic roti canai, served with various curry sauces - fish, chicken and dahl.  Mmm... flaky goodness!

Roti Telur Bawang (egg and onions) - RM2.70

Same as above, but with egg and onions.

We also ordered a roti kaya (not pictured), which for some reason still comes with all the savoury sauces.  (Only Sandra dared to dip the sweet roti into the curry sauces!)

Paper Tosai - RM2.70

I'd never had paper tosai before, but loved the light and crunchy texture.  This one also came with different sauces, including a delicious coconut chutney/sambal thingo.

Devi's seem to be open pretty much all the time - lunch, dinner, late night suppers, and more!  They also do a mean tandoori chicken and fab chappatis, which we had on our last night in KL before we left for the airport.

Sri Nirwana Bangsar

43 Jalan Telawi 

3 Bangsar Baru

59100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Ph: +60 3 2287-8445

Also in Bangsar, Sri Nirwana serves up awesome banana leaf.  There's always a big queue, but it seems to move quite quickly!

The standard order is rice on banana leaf, with a few sides/sauces, and you can order extra things like fried chicken, curries etc.  (I don't remember the prices sorry, but let me assure you - it was all very, very cheap!)

When we visited, the sides were a cucumber salad, a potato and cabbage curry and crunchy deep-fried bittergourd pieces.

They also come around with salted chillis, and pour curry sauce (chicken, fish, whatever) directly onto the rice.

We ordered fried ikan tenggiri (mackerel) and chicken masala to go with.  Those little tubs of soup are called rasam, which is very rich with spices.  Apparently it's very nourishing and health-giving - good if you've got a cold or are feeling run down.  You can also see another teh o limau ais in the background!

Batu Caves

I'd never been to the Batu Caves before, and was fascinated to see the series of Hindu temples and shrines built in the caves of the limestone hill.  Although I must say that climbing hundreds of stairs in Malaysia's heat and humidity was not my idea of a fun afternoon!  (I'm sure I was overheard saying more than once: "Why can't we just go to a mall and drink Coffee Bean?!")  The climb was definitely worth it though.

Inside the cave itself were many shrines, people singing religious songs and worshiping.  We saw quite a few people carrying small kavadis, and making offerings.  The Batu Caves is the focal point of Thaipusam, and I'm told during the festival, it gets absolutely packed with worshipers carrying massive kavadis, and onlookers.  I'm sure it would have been an amazing sight.  Unfortunately, even though we were in Malaysia during Thaipusam, due to our flight timings, we missed both the Penang and KL festivals. Boo!

The Batu Caves are also famous for their monkeys!  There are loads of them, all the way up and down the stairs and the surrounding trees.  They're super cute but can be very cheeky - stealing food and things like that.  We saw one monkey eating chips from a packet while we were there!  This one just ate a banana.

It saddened me to see many tourists hassling the monkeys - pulling on their tails and squealing.  Aiyo, how can?!  Apart from being cruel, it's just dangerous - this area is home for the monkeys, and of course they'll bite and scratch to defend themselves.  Grr!

Anyway, off my soapbox now.  Check out this adorable BABY MONKEY!

To see all the posts in my Malaysia 2012 series, click here.

Read More

Malaysia 2012

The Petronas Twin Towers - Kuala Lumpur

As those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook will know, I recently came back from a fabulous holiday in Malaysia! It was my first trip back in over 8 years – way too long between visits! We spent 3 nights in Kuala Lumpur, 6 in Penang (my home town!), and another back in KL before flying home.

My family used to go to Malaysia almost every year when I was a kid, but this trip was the first time I’ve been as a grown-up, and it gave me a chance to discover lots of new sights and tastes. Super fun!

Having now finally sorted through the thousands of pictures we took, I’m so excited to be sharing our food and travel experiences here on my blog. I reckon it’ll take me a good month to get through them all!

Malaysia is a very exciting food destination, thanks in part to its racial and ethnic diversity. I feel like I should expand on this a little here, as I’ve found that Aussies seem to be a bit confused when I say I'm Malaysian Chinese.  I’ve lost count of the number of times people here have asked me if that means that one parent is from China and the other is from Malaysia; or if I'm Malay; or if I speak Malay (AKA Bahasa Melayu) at home. The answer to all of those questions is NO! I’m very proudly fully Malaysian, but it would be totally inaccurate to call me Malay.

Anyway, let me explain – here’s my very basic, potted description of Malaysia’s ethnic diversity!

Malaysia’s main ethnic / racial groups are Malays (i.e. Muslims), Chinese and Indians, due to previous waves of immigration and settlement. There is also a lasting British influence due to the history of British colonialism. This means Malaysia is a big mix of different cultures, religions and languages – hence the awesome food scene!

Super-cute Malaysian kids! (Indian, Chinese, Malay).  I love this pic!
Photograph published with kind permission of Jennifer Gan

This also means that there are lots of public holidays, and explains why the start of the year is pretty much a write-off for anyone wanting to do business. (E.g. Chinese New Year, Thaipusam, Prophet Muhammad’s birthday – just to name the ones we encountered whilst there!)

I am a Malaysian of Chinese descent, from Penang – emphatically not Malay! You can’t use the words “Malay” and “Malaysian” interchangeably. Whilst “Malaysian” describes a person of any race who comes from Malaysia, the word “Malay” refers to a specific race of people linked by customs, language and the Muslim religion. There are also Malay populations outside of Malaysia - for example in Brunei, Singapore, Southern Thailand and even South Africa. (You’ve heard of South Africa’s “Cape Malay” population?) They would be all "Malay", but not "Malaysian".

My parents' ancestors migrated from China to Malaysia many generations ago, making up part of the Chinese-Malaysian population – A.K.A. Nyonyas/Peranakans/Straits Chinese.  I daresay that after centuries of being in Malaysia, and having established unique Malaysian Chinese customs, most Malaysian Chinese these days feel very little, if any, direct cultural connection to mainland China – I know I don’t! To confuse things even more, there’s diversity within Malaysia’s Chinese community itself – e.g. the Chinese in Penang speak Hokkien, whereas the Chinese in KL seem to speak Cantonese. (Which is even more foreign to me than Malay / Bahasa Melayu!) Others still speak Teowchew, Hakka, and other Chinese dialects.

Most Malaysians will speak their own language (Malay, Hokkien, Tamil, English, etc.) and some of the other languages to varying levels of skill, depending on their upbringing and education. For example, my parents were educated at English schools, and speak both Hokkien and English at home. However, they can speak decent Malay, having taken Malay as a school subject, and will do so when ordering at a Malay restaurant, or when doing government business (renewing passports etc.), as it’s the country's official language.  (Although not everyone speaks it fluently or as a first language).

And – ta-dah! – that’s my very simplified explanation of Malaysia’s ethnic composition. I didn’t want to go into too much detail, and I hope the way I explained it all made sense – I’ve linked to some Wiki entries above if anyone is interested in discovering more. I absolutely love my country and find the history and culture so fascinating.

And here's your reward for reading through all that text: some pictures!!

Fruit and Veg at the Pasar Malam (Night Market), Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Cempedak at Pasar Malam (Night Market), Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

One of the Petronas Twin Towers

CHINESE NEW YEAR BISCUITS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur

Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur

View of Kuala Lumpur City

Handbags galore at Petaling Street night market, Kuala Lumpur

Fried bee-hoon, Pulau Tikus Market, Penang

Curry Puffs and more, Pulau Tikus Market, Penang

Teluk Bahang Beach, Penang

Teh Peng, Kopi Jua, Fettes Park Market, Penang

Toast, Fettes Park Market, Penang

Interior of the Peranakan Mansion, Penang

Streets of Little India, Penang

Streets of Little India, Penang

Nagore Dargha Sheriff, Indian Muslim Shrine, Georgetown, Penang

Kuan Yin Temple, Georgetown, Penang

Streets of Georgetown, Penang

Streets of Georgetown, Penang

Viper in the trees, Snake Temple, Bayan Lepas, Penang

Sunset at Batu Ferringhi, Penang

So for the next few weeks, my little blog is gonna be all about Malaysia! I’m gonna start with the KL food posts!

Read More

Pandan and Toasted Coconut Sherbet

With so many of my friends loving pandan, we really wanted to make a pandan-flavoured ice for the Ice Cream Party, but I wasn't quite sure how to go about it.  At first, I thought I could just make a regular custard-based vanilla ice cream, substituting pandan leaves and essence for the vanilla pod, but thought it might be a little flat.  (And adding an essence to a plain base would just feel like cheating!)  But when I came across David Lebovitz' recipe for toasted coconut sherbet in Ready For Dessert in my pre-party research, I realised that the tropical, coconutty base would make the perfect partner for my favourite Malaysian flavour.

Sherbet, I've learned, is a milk-based frozen dessert, often lightened with whipped egg whites.  Unlike ice cream, there are no egg yolks, nor cream, so it's not quite as rich.  I suppose you could also think of it as sorbet with milk.

I've typed my adapted recipe in full below, but let me take you through some of the major steps first.  (If you want the original recipe, or a whole chapter of fab ice cream recipes, as well you should, check out Ready for Dessert).

The first step is to infuse fresh pandan leaves and toasted coconut in sugar and milk.

I toasted the coconut in the oven (keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn!), and it smelled so lovely!  I made a huge mistake though - enticed by the coconutty aroma, I opened the oven and took in a big whiff, only to choke and have a terrible burning sensation in my eyes!  The brand of coconut I'd bought contained a sulfur-based preservative.  I'm not sensitive to sulfur, but it certainly wasn't the best idea to inhale those fumes.  Whoops!

Once the milk has absorbed the flavours of the pandan and coconut (about an hour), you strain them out and discard them.  The flavoured milk is the base of your sherbet.

For me, pandan just isn't pandan without a lurid green colour, so I added a small amount of pandan essence to the flavoured milk.

Finally, you fold through some whipped egg whites - and it's ready to churn!

I was so, so pleased with how this turned out.  The slightly icy sherbet was wonderfully refreshing, with both the pandan and coconut flavours sending me straight back to sunny afternoons in Penang.  A friend of mine described it as having the same flavour as kuih kapit (Malaysian love letter biscuits), but with its light, icy texture, I felt it was closer to cendol or ais kachang - perfect for these hot, humid days we've been having!

Pandan and Toasted Coconut Sherbet

Based on David Lebovitz' Toasted Coconut Sherbet, Ready for Dessert

1 litre full-fat milk

4 pandan leaves

3/4 cup caster sugar

90g sweetened dried shredded coconut

1/2 tsp pandan essence

3 large egg whites

Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Spread the shredded coconut in a thin layer on a baking tray.  Place in the oven and let toast for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the coconut is evenly browned and smells gorgeously coconutty.  Set aside.

Tie each of the pandan leaves into a knot.  Place the milk, sugar and pandan knots into a saucepan, and heat until almost boiling.  Take off the heat, add in the toasted coconut and stir to combine.  Place a lid on the pot, and allow to steep for an hour.

Strain the liquid into a large bowl, squeezing the coconut to extract as much liquid as possible.  Discard the coconut and pandan leaves.  Stir in the pandan essence.  Cool the liquid over an ice-bath until chilled through.

Just before churning, whisk the egg whites with the salt until soft peaks form.  Fold the egg whites through the chilled milk mixture.  Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes 1 litre

Sarah received the Cuisinart 2 Lt Frozen Yoghurt, Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker courtesy of Kitchenware Direct.

Read More

The Pour Kids

Whilst writing up my 2011 Round Up post, I realised I only blogged two Melbourne cafes last year!  Due to loads of travel and being crazy-busy at work, I tended to stick to my favourites.  I haven't made any resolutions this year, but one thing I want to do a bit more of is to visit new places and try new things.  And with that in mind... I present to you my post on The Pour Kids!

The Pour Kids

1E Winter Street

Malvern VIC 3144

Ph: (03) 9077-3847

Website

Twitter

It started with a Twitter message.  I can't remember if it was @thepourkids themselves, or someone else, but I remember reading a tweet in my feed mentioning this new cafe.  I promptly checked them out online, realised they're close by, saw that they serve Axil coffee and that they have reasonably priced and cutely-named dishes.  Sold!

We stopped in on a Saturday morning with my cousin Catherine and friends Adrian and Chris - we were going on a road trip to the Mornington Peninsula and wanted a nice substantial breakfast to set us up for the day ahead.  The Pour Kids is just off Glenferrie road in Malvern, right opposite the Coles carpark.  Surprisingly, even though it was a weekend morning, there weren't queues and we were able to get seated and served pretty quickly.

They had quite a few tempting sweets on offer: muffins, brownies, and some cute rectangular financiers (love!), but as I mentioned above, we were after something a bit more filling.  I'll have to pop back in soon for an arvo tea.

Skinny Cappuccino - $3.50
Weak Latte - $3.50

We all ended up ordering different coffees - strong skinny latte, weak skinny latte, weak normal latte, skinny cappuccino blah blah blah - and we had a little chuckle when our waiter brought the first coffee over, simply saying: "Latte?"  And we were all like: "Sorry, which one?", and he had to go back and check.  (Yup, we were one of those tables that I'm sure cafe staff find terribly annoying, hehe!)  Anyway, we all got our coffees in the end and they were all very good.

Three bears out hunting - Rapadura-enriched porridge, with stewed rhubarb+ pistachio praline - $11.50

I ordered the "Three Bears Out Hunting" porridge, which was lovely and creamy, and came with tart rhubarb and crunchy little sweet bursts of pistachio praline.  I really liked it, although I found it quite sweet and rich, and only managed to eat about half of it.  I do love oats, and eat them regularly for breakfast at home, but am used to cooking them in water with just a splash of skim milk and a light sprinkling of sugar to serve.  This was rather an indulgent version!

But if we're talking about indulgent, check out my friend Chris' plate!

The Lego (build-a-breaky) - Two lovely free-range eggs (poached, fried or scrambled), on toasted sourdough bread - $7.50
PLUS Istra bacon - $5.50
PLUS Avocado - $3.00
PLUS Exotic Mushrooms - $4.50

All their eggy breakfasts start with two eggs and toast, and you can add as many sides as you like.  At a $7.50 base price it is quite cheap, but of course can quickly build up if you've got a big appetite!  The avocado normally comes out mashed, but kitchen were able to accommodate a request for the avocado to be sliced - super nice!

Duck season (rabbit season) duck season - Confit duck on ciabatta roll, with spiced quince chutney, petite herbs + shoots - $11.50

The confit duck roll looked quite plain, but was a tasty choice, with a nice earthy spiciness (cinnamon? five-spice?) from the chutney.

French Toast - $14.50

Adrian and Sandra both ordered French toast (I can't find this item on their online menu, so can't share the cute name with y'all).  They both liked it, although Adrian found the toast a bit soggy from the compote, and Sandra said it would have been even nicer with some fresh berries as well.

Adrian has a pretty mega-appetite (and I'm sure those of you who follow his blog would agree!), and he ordered a little hash brown on the side.  It was crispy and fresh - extra points for being made in-house and not bought in!

Hash Brown - $4.00

I think The Pour Kids is definitely one of the better options in the area - great coffee and a varied, interesting menu at good prices.  Especially if you consider the tranche of ridiculously expensive cafes on nearby High street and Malvern road in Armadale!  It was definitely a great find.

You can read Adrian's impressions of The Pour Kids (and four other venues!!) here!

Read More