Jaime Kim Sweet Treats ...

... is one of my many Angan-Angan Mat Jenin. Many years ago, I dreamt of becoming a chef, a pastry chef to be exact, but nowadays ... I could hardly even stand the heat in my mum's or my own kitchen let alone making a career out of woks and ovens. [Sigh!]

I remember introducing the Jaime Kim Sweet Treats brand for the first time during Bazar Ramadan KPKT 2008. That time I was testing the market for my mini trifles, corn puddings and various mini milk puddings (dadih yang diubahsuai - ikut tema pulak tu, Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter). Malas nak bersaing dengan gerai-gerai jual lauk pauk, biskut raya and kelengkapan raya. Lagipun everytime people buka puasa they will normally look for sweet treats first.

Next gerai was a Sarawakian (happened to be my mum's students) who married a local and resided in Klang, selling umai and some of Sarawak "unpromoted" delicacies. I felt so good pretending to be a Chef even for a day hehehe

Taken masa bazar mula dibuka.

Last-last my puddings habis dulu and I tolong orang sebelah pulak jual lauk pauk ... hehehe

Tapi tak sangka lah pulak, my EO betul-betul interested in my cakes for her open house last Saturday. Hopefully from word of mouth lah and not pasal nak ambik hati. Nevertheless after Ramadan, I got a big order for my Summer theme puddings for a wedding. Then order for my kek Holiday Inn and Kek Lapis Masam Manis from lawyer friends. Sedangkan I decided for this year's Raya I only accept order from Ida. Huhuhu ... tak larat den. Sampai terabai seminggu blog akak nie.

I got 3 orders from Kak Zuraidah. One for my Holiday Inn, 2 for any layer cake. Hmmm ... to tell you the truth, layer cake ni jenuh nak buat. Pastu, I don't use electric mixer for my batter. Everything is from the scratch. And 3 cakes ... huhuhuhu, tak tido lah gamaknya. Hasilnya ... TARAAA ...

Kek Lapis Masam Manis

Kek Holiday Inn

Kek Lapis Evergreen - kering sedikit sebab tetido hehehe

Since these cakes were customer's order so I didn't cut it. Nervous jugak nak tahu sambutan kat rumah Kak Zuraidah sampai sanggup heret Mr Energy Saving and Guy Next Door gi open house Kak Zuraidah just for the sake of "cake tasting". Hehehe


Moral of the story, i must be missing all of my kaki - Emel, Jett, Kazen, Agnes (ada juak nama disebut), Yoyop, Nijah and Suna. Sampai terpaksa carik hobi di hujung minggu and dera 2 budak "innocent" jadi food taster. Kesian ho!

My Mid Autumn Festival 2009

On 3rd October 2009, the Chinese all over the world celebrated the Moon Cake or Mid Autumn Festival. The festival is intricately linked to the legends of Chang E, the mythical Moon Goddess of Immortality. According to “Li-Ji”, an ancient Chinese book recording customs and ceremonies, the Chinese Emperor should offer sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. The 15th day of the 8th lunar month is the day called “Mid-Autumn”. The night on the 15th of the 8th lunar month is also called “Night of the Moon”. Under the Song Dynasty (420), the day was officially declared for Mid-Autumn Festival.

To tell you truth, I had never pay any attention to any Chinese celebrations other than Chinese New Year. But since 2003 when I spent more time with my paternal family ... almost every important celebrations like Chap Goh Meh (boleh baling buah limau dalam laut), Winter Solstice Festival (where people make the Tang Yuen), Hungry Ghost Festival and once Kuan Yin Festival I will balik kampung to Penang just to join the makan-makan. So, on the 30th September, I attended the MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers Moon Cake Festival dinner in a restaurant in Seri Kembangan when my batch mate who works in the Health Ministry teased me ... "eh you Cina meh?"

So I answered back,"Mau tengok IC kah?" hehehe

But anyway, I noticed this year Mooncake Festival in KL was extra special, maybe because it fell on a Saturday. Even the selection of mooncakes this year pun, you were spoil for choice. Anyway, the best mooncake i had was in 2001 when I was working in FTMS and an ex- colleague of mine from FTMS Singapore brought over yummy mooncakes with milk chocolate and vanilla ice-cream fillings. It was ... as me and Suna would described it .. "was heaven".

Terpanggil dengan persoalan "you Cina meh" so I decided to proof to my fellow Chinese friends that though my Mandarin sucks, I am more Chinese because I know how to make mooncakes ... Haaa suprise!!!

So the whole last week during lunch time I dragged Mr Energy Saving from TTDI to Bandar Puteri Puchong and Seri Gombak looking for the mould. I knew dia masih "terkoma" when I said I going to make mooncake this year. Hehehe ... sedangkan I buat mooncake jelly jer. Jangan main-main ... my jelly mooncake siap ada yolk lagi .... next year I want to try to do the cheese cake version of moon cake ... fuhhh yummy!

This morning when I gave it to my officemates ... ramai yang puji sedap. Mr Energy Saving and Guy Next Door dalam tempoh 30 saat dah habiskan theirs. Hebat ... yelah nak ambik hati boss katakan. Kalau kata tak sedap surelah LNPT dapat markah rendah tahun nie. Yang di atas was honey dew jelly with cream custard fillings as the york. Actually it was a mix of jelly + dadih so that when you eat it, it is a light as a dadih but maintain its structure. The yolk was made with custard so that once masuk mulut, u can taste the filling. Tapi kalau nak tgk all the pictures and how I did it ... feel free to check my Facebook.

Steamed Tapah Fish

Although I am the eldest in the family and suppose to be the most "taiko" among my siblings, I sebenarnya selalu kena buli jadi chief cook at home (termasuklah by my extended families). And my dad, mum, Joan, Jason and Jayne taste in food kadang2 menggerunkan. Sometimes it's very challenging to cook "some food items" which I categorised as Unidentified Frying Objects (UFO) ...

Eversince Joan got transfered to Sibu and followed later by Jason to Kanowit, they normally brought home local produce like wild vegetables (i never saw most of it) or freshwater fishes or shrimps. Last Gawai, they brought home a big ikan tapah and few kilos of freshwater prawns.

I thought I could get away from the task by telling them that I might "keluar ngabang" (visiting) with Emel, Agnes and Jethro.

Then Jason put on his most pitiful face and said " U know sis, I have been waiting all this while for you to come back so that I could taste your cooking."

Then Joan added, " Ya lah, memang we purposely don't want to cook this fish sebab there is no one layak untuk masak this fish other than you ... kan jason kan".

My mum pun didn't want to be left out," Old people like us need to rest and leave the cooking to the children".

Of course hati kakak mana yang tidak akan tersentuh mendengar ayat2 itu. But it is not that I didn't know that they were playing psychological warfare with me. Aiyo, I know them since birth lah and their "solid waste" when they were little pun I yang basuh.

With a heavy heart, I started to disect and clean the scary looking fish as shown below.

This is how the fish look like after steaming it with soy sauce and Chinese wine. Ambik mana-mana angle pun it is hard to make this fish look appetising. Suprisingly the flesh is tender and sweet.

Note: I was told that this fish can fetch high price in restaurants. Betul ke?

Dining In @ Mie Casa (Yo! Sushi Inspired)

Few months ago myself and Emel had a snack at Yo Sushi @ Midvalley. I immediately fell in love with the funky, groovy interior and selections of authentic Japanese ala carte menu and sushis on the kaiten belt. So refreshing ... Since we were just snacking, we didn't order much. However, I was truly, madly deeply love with this tuna sashimi salad. An excellent fusion of Italian style salad (in balsamic vinegar dressing) and lightly seared tuna sashimi.

Since that day I had on and off craving for the fusion salad. The problem is I don't like to dine there alone and most of my friends don't like raw Japanese food. Sometimes we also need a friend to do certain things like trying out new eating places or embark on a new adventure or exchange ideas right?

So when Emel suprised me with her visit yesterday, I felt a surge of new hope ... I felt liberated somehow (literally and gastronomically). But her visit this time was brief so no chance to dine again at Yo! Sushi. Suddenly it strike me ... why not make the salad myself.

This morning, feeling reenergise after sending Emel off at Sunway Convention Centre I hunted all over Plaza Damas and Mid Valley Cold Storage for all the freshest and organic wet items I could find. So people, this is my version of Mix Garden Salad with Grilled Squid, Scallop, Mushroom Franfurtter and Teppanyaki beef in Balsamic Vinegar Dressing.

Bestnyer, I get another suprise visit from Nijah and her fiancee right after finish garnishing the salad. Great food best enjoyed with great company right?

p/s Pardon the presentation K?


Inginkan gaya hidup yang lebih sihat? Maklumat lanjut di sini.

Indo-China Inspired Aidil Adha

Was suppose to go back to Penang for Dad's gym anniversary but the bus tickets were all sold out due to Aidil Adha and malas nak spend so much money on air tickets since X'mas is coming. So I ended up spending the weekend with Sam - signing him up as CNI member, then make him spend money in CNI (hehehe - I like this part right here), jalan-jalan to Jusco Taman Equine, shopping at Jusco Taman Equine (huhuhu- I hate this part right here), do marketing at Pasar Borong Selangor and memborong for seafoods and fresh vegetables.

Since he was not celebrating Aidil Adha with his family at his sister's house in Kapar, I suggested we had steamboat yesterday. Since he has been boasting about his very original Thai Tom Yum eversince the day he knew how to spell it so I suggested we have his Tom Yum as the soup base for the steamboat. Mula2 tuh macam-macam lah alasan. Tak biasa masak pakai kuali lain lah, sukatan kena pakai sudu tertentu lah, sukar nak agak sukatan air lah but of course lah I nak jugak rasa his Tom Yum.

Initially I thought that he might be using the Tom Yum paste like most of us and his story of using fish sauce and chili paste was just a myth. Then I pun macam impress when he REALLY bought the fish sauce, galangal, tomato, lemon grass, coconut milk, kaffir lime and leaves at the Pasar Borong. Dia siap suggest brand chilli bean oil yang dia pakai that is Mae Pra Nom. However, recently his Thai friend suggested another brand but he doesn't know how to pronounce it. But the truth is I pun tak pernah masak Tom Yum from the scratch. So I don't know what the heck to put in the pot to make Tom Yum soup.

Haa, lupa plak nak story. While waiting for him that Sunday, I singgah sekejap lah at this one Indian shop near his apartment area. I impress giler when I found out they sell rice wrappers (Banh Thrang) that the Vietnamese use to make their famous Spring Roll (Cha Goi). Murah pulak tu, just RM 3.40. The one I bought at Midvalley's Little Vietnam cost about RM 10.00.

Yesterday, I woke up at about 11.00 am to kemas-kemas rumah a bit before Sam arrive for our cooking session. Biasalah I mesti akan ambik gambar punyer so set penggambaran kena lawa lah sikit. Haa... the tikar tuh my mum import khas dari Sarawak tau. My mum nie terer lah pasal tikar kelesah nie. The one she bought bukan setakat better quality malahan lebih murah dan lebih halus buatannya berbanding the one I bought. Untuk memujuk hati, I letak tikar yang I beli kat dapur, as it blends with the deco. Ni side track a bit lah yer, sebenarnya saja nak show off macam mana I blend my Sarawak heritage into the modern contemporary theme. .. ahakss



So masa my Take Home Chef masak dia punya renowned Tom Yum. I buat lah I punya Vietnamese Steam Spring Roll. Since Sam nie "carnivourous" I buat yang takde sayur lah menggunakan minced chicken yang digoreng dengan bawang, halia, a bit of fish sauce and hoisin sauce. BTW, these spring roll nie better buat masa hari nak makan not the day before atau simpan dalam fridge sebab this will cause the wrapper to dry. Nanti not nice lah.

Anyway back to Sam's, the moment Sam add the fish sauce, galangal and lemon grass into the boiling water, I could feel I dah berada kat Thailand. Then whwn he put in the chilli oil paste, the tomatoes and the kaffir lime and leaves I dapat rasakan nie bukan calang-calang Tom Yum nie. Bau pun dah lain. Kalau yang kita makan kat kedai tuh penuh "sampah-sarap" jer. So malas nak cakap banyak so nie lah hasil tangan kami hari tuh.

Ramuan simple jer.

Mie - Life In The FAT Lane

If Semin is dedicating this song Jangan Ada Benci to all friends, well I would like to dedicate this song, Don't Cha (Jaime Yeoh remix) to everyone reading this blog. Here goes ... straight to the chorus ...

Don't cha wish your girlfriend was HOT like me ...
Don't cha wish your girlfriend can EAT like me ...
Don't cha ...

Don't cha wish your girlfriend can COOK like me ...
Don't cha wish your girlfriend make more MONEY...
Don't cha ...

Hahaha ... I like this song... and imagine singing this, while doing the pole dancing and eating strawberries with melted chocolate. Anyway, had breakfast this morning with En Mokhtar and he commented on how "prosperous" (physically) I was lately... Oh no... must be all those trans-fatty acids "goodness" in my homecook food... Oh yes babe... my kitchen is smoking lately ....

Going down the memory lane, I remembered Ah Kow, the contractor's worker said my choice of kitchen kabinet colour was very the Ah So. In fact he prefered Sam's choice. Hmmm, mamat Vietnam nie cakap macam takde permit. Pandai pulak mengkritik aku ... Hello, I am the Chef and the one paying OK...

Aku pakai contractor biasa jer buat kitchen cabinet. Takde agreement, takde warranty mcm Signature Kitchen. The warranty goes like this ... "Amoi, u ambik tai (tiles) punya la ... I gelenti (gerenti) u haa... sampai lu punya cucu punya jam pun tahan wooohhh... lagi satu aah ... itu black karer (colour) tai (tiles) ha...veli (very) nai (nice) ooo... "... Yelaa, time tuh I masih tak sedar diri mengidam-idamkan counter solid top yang mahal itew... :(

Actually I don't really know how hood and hob really operates. For the last 24 years, I have been cooking on various kinds of cooker - kayu api, kerosene, gas ... ahaa.. tried induction once. Masa Mr Poh, supplier tong gas Petronas aku pasang tong gas kat rumah, dah mcm2 recipes swimming in my brain. Sekali dia tanya mana bateri nak sambung ke hob. I looked at him in confusion. Mesti dia ingat aku nie very kampung kan ....

BTW 2 minggu tak makan homecook food, berat badan I turun 200 gram. If Ah Tom know about this he will surely be angry. To him, young fellas like us need good food to grow healthy... so I must get back that calories dengan bahan-bahan terpilih dalam peti ais ... as follows:

RAZOR CLAM WITH BROCCOLI AND ABALONE MUSHROOMS CUBAAN PERTAMA
Sejarah hidangan : Time tu berangan nak jadi vegetarian so beli sumer sayur. Tapi razor clam tuh menggoda sangat and teruja plak nak try dapur baru.


CHICKEN WANTON SOUP LEPAS GERAM
Sejarah hidangan : Balik kerja tiba-tiba mengidam nak makan kiaw (Kuching people calling wanton soup). Tried a few stalls around seri kembangan but takde yang setanding dengan I punya.

SUP DAGING TESTING JER
Sejarah hidangan : Sebenarnya mengidam sup tulang yang ala-ala utara atau mcm Restoran Taufik, kat Inanam, Sabah. Tapi masa gi Giant tak jumpa tulang so takpelah buat sup daging..

DORY FISH FILLET IN CURRY TUMIS PLAN B
Sejarah hidangan: Time tuh tgh renih sup tulang yang diidam-idamkan. Tiba-tiba uncle perumal said want to come over and finish the drilling for my bathroom accessories. Rasa mcm Iron Chef sangat cari bahan masak lauk nie.

NASI GORENG EMOSI TERGANGGU
Sejarah hidangan: Semalam gaduh dengan Pengerusi Persatuan Penduduk kat Kuantan. Just because I used to help the association before doesn't mean she could direct me to her beck and call. Tau aper dia nak? She wanted me to postpone a valid Joint Management Body meeting just because she was not allowed to join sebab tak bayar maintenance. So to stabilise my emotion, balik rumah terus masak nasi goreng.

Steamboat and Seafood Platter

I love to cook, I love to bake, and to complete it all ... I love to eat. Since I am sharing an apartment with a colleague we usually eat out. However, lately I started to feel the pinch of the fuel hike (as though that my pay is big) and "finally" understand the importance of eating healthily that I decided to cook at home.

So off I went to my favourite supermarket in Plaza Damas, near Sri Hartamas to get the freshest and the best ingredients for "whatever" I want to cook. I love to shop there as it is near to my house and offers fresh organic veges (me...going organic? I can't believe it myself). On my way to the supermarket, I walked pass the Bread Story, Penang Village, Yik Mun Pau Cafe and Kenny Rogers without giving them a glance... (so good to be true??? okay lah maybe got "see-see" a bit la)...

And so I took the trolley and went straight to the fruit and vege section... telling myself I am a new person now. Reminding myself that I must eat organic stuff... Non-organic products contain harmful pesticides and chemicals... I was doing OK until I passed the seafood section... the big prawns, squids, fishes looked so tempting ... like sashimi ...Then I tell myself... sashimi is healthy right??? And in the trolley it goes the nice prawns, squids and fishes...

Then I stopped at the poultry section, and at the same moment my tummy started to make a weird sound. I started to feel dizzy... and I think my eyes were deceiving me. The chicken wings started to look like Chillis Buffalo Wings... And I told myself... its OK... I can cook nice chicken soup with that .... (err ... farmers injected growth hormones through the wings right?)...

Hehehe... I think I just cut the story short ... want to know what happened to my groceries???

Well I did healthily on that Saturday ... enjoying steamboat enough to feed 3 persons ....

And this was wat I ate on Sunday ... Halleluya ....