Recipe: Madeleines au Matcha

February 27th, 2010

 Recipe: Madeleines au MatchaI love to buy baking hardware on the spur of moments but many times, they are left neglected in the kitchen somewhere, forgotten. Once in a while, I like to go through the kitchen cabinets and rediscover my kitchen tools and get inspired to bake.

These madeleines au matcha were the result of yet another (re)-discovery episode. Think of it, I had bought this 9-count silicon madeleine mould more than a year ago from a warehouse sale! Since this was my first attempt, I decided to just use the simple recipe attached to the mould.

These shell-like cakes were eggy and the matcha flavour quite mild. However the texture was slightly heavy. I would like them flufflier but they somehow did not rise much. I wonder if it was because this recipe did not use any other rising agent other than yeast. As I was surfing the web for other recipes as a reference, I noticed that baking soda is commonly used as the rising agent. The next time I make madeleines, I would try a different recipe and definitely add a little more green tea powder to intensify the flavour.

Nonetheless, these were pretty decent. I brought a few to my colleague’s place this morning when I visited her newborn baby and she loved it.

Ingredients
(I made about 14)
2 large eggs
75 grams fine granulated sugar
90 grams unsalted butter, melted but cool
90 grams all purpose flour
2 tsp green tea powder
pinch of salt
3 grams yeast
a few drops of vanilla essence
zest of 1/2 a lemon (I obmitted this because I didn’t have lemons on hand)
10 grams of honey

1. Whisk sugar with eggs until fluffy.
2. Add sifted flour, green tea powder, salt, yeast and zest until smooth and well-mixed.
3. Add melted butter and honey and stir thoroughly to mix.
4. Rest mixture in fridge for at least 30 minutes, or overnight if you are making it ahead.
5. Preheat oven at 160C.
6. Fill moulds with batter, almost to the brim.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.
8. Turn out to cool on a baking rack.

By the way, the history of madeleines is a pretty neat story. You can read it from Wikipedia here.


9784817 6092406973953453573?l=skinny epicurean.blogspot Recipe: Madeleines au Matcha

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Unforgettable Hakone

January 27th, 2010

Hakone is a quite a popular destination with tourists in Japan due to its vicinity to Mt. Fuji and its lakes. In fact, the place we stayed in is a typical onsen ryokan that faces a lake and the mountain. But before we got to the ryokan, we made a few stops at typical touristy attractions along the way.

 Unforgettable Hakone
Lake Ashi, or Ashinoko (???) is one of the lakes around Mt. Fuji and a scenic cruise was part of the itinerary. The “cruise” was barely ten minutes long but the view was breathtaking.

 Unforgettable Hakone
 Unforgettable Hakone

We had bento lunch with chicken and udon around Lake Ashi. Tender chicken with stir fried cabbage and carrots was a good accompaniment to the fluffy rice. I have always loved the Japanese short grain rice. The fried fish was a tad cold but the hot udon warmed me up.

 Unforgettable Hakone

Another stop that we made was at Owakudani, which is famous for its kuro-tamago, or black eggs. Word has it that eating one can prolong one’s life by 7 years! Apart from the black coloured shell (due to the sulphur from the soil), it tasted no different than your regular hard boiled egg. Apart from the eggs, there are other snacks such as buns, fried fish cake etc being sold here.

 Unforgettable Hakone

We arrived at the ryokan in the evening and settled down in our rooms. During the day, the mattresses are rolled and kept away and at night, spread out for the guests. I love how the rooms were almost like a studio suite by itself, with a small seating area, complete with fridge and washing basin, and the room had tatami mats, dining table and chairs, telly etc.

Another must-do in Hakone is of course to try the onsen. In fact most ryokans here will have their own hot spring facilities. Ours was located indoors on the top floor, with a gorgeous view of Mt.Fuji during the day.

 Unforgettable Hakone

Usually dinner is served in your room at the ryokan. However we were a bigger group so we got a function room to ourselves. Dinner was also in the bento form, with many small dishes. We had a small hot pot with flat noodles and some vegetables, grilled fish, seaweed salad, squid, chawanmushi, tempura and sweets in the form of jelly and melon slice.

 Unforgettable Hakone Unforgettable Hakone

What’s a trip to Japan without having sashimi right? But as it was not included in our meal, it was an additional 11,000, which sounded a tad expensive initially. However our sashimi boat was fairly big and could feed 4pax, and had 12 types of fresh, raw seafood such as lobster, salmon, tuna, scallop, sea urchin, sweet prawn, prawn, squid, octopus etc. Very fresh and sweet, sashimi’s indeed not to be missed in Japan.

After our good meal, some telly, a dip into the hot spring, we had a good night’s sleep and awoke to…

 Unforgettable Hakone

this view of Mt.Fuji from our room window the next morning. It was particularly refreshing walking by the lake in the crisp morning air.

 Unforgettable Hakone

We had another simple Japanese breakfast before we set off. Rice with miso soup, grilled salmon, tamago, yasai salad and another green salad.

It was quite lovely taking this break at Hakone as one can experience all the Japanese culture we’ve come to know with the tatami sleeping arrangements, hot spring and food.

 Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone  Unforgettable Hakone

hakone8 300x235 Unforgettable Hakone

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Happy Holidays

December 26th, 2009

Hope you are enjoying the holidays with friends, family, and mugs of spiked egg nog
xoxo

Mary

4213829588 4edcae4bf3 225x300 Happy Holidays

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Chinese Cuisines at Restoran City Star, Petaling Jaya

December 25th, 2009

I was invited by Ken for dinner together with his friends from Tour2U at Restoran City Star in Taman Mayang, Petaling Jaya during my Kuala Lumpur trip. This double shop lot restaurant owned by Mr CM Wong has a nice and clean environment with one section of the restaurant air-conditioned.
Our meal consists of several recommended [...]

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Enjoy your Christmas!

December 23rd, 2009

Unlike previous years, this year Christmas is on a very low key affair where foods are concerned. I had my lasik eye surgery today at Optimax Penang. I dare not plan anything as I wasn’t sure if I will be able to handle all the cooking and etc.
However, the intra-lasik [...]

Related posts:Download free Christmas turkey recipe with photos and instructions Here are some roast chicken or roast turkey recipes…
A Christmas without the Christmas stuffs This year will be the most…

Please visit http://www.malaysiabest.net for the full contents.

 Enjoy your Christmas!  Enjoy your Christmas!  Enjoy your Christmas!  Enjoy your Christmas!  Enjoy your Christmas!

 Enjoy your Christmas!

somerights20 Enjoy your Christmas!

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Otto Ristorante

December 13th, 2009

2009 12 111 Otto Ristorante

Regular readers will know I have a weakness for pasta and sushi. So when I read about the delicious lobster pasta from Otto Ristorante, an Italian restaurant that had been established for about a year or so now, I made a mental note to visit because the recommendation came from the imp, a lady whom I have never met before but am quite positive our taste buds more or less synchronise.

It made the perfect lunch spot when a girlfriend surprised me with her shout-out to meet for lunch. There, I found good service from Shar, a familiar face previously from Garibaldi Group, who was very accommodating with our various requests when placing the orders. In the end, I opted for the set lunch just so I don’t have to think too much given I knew I had to have the pasta as my main course. The regular set lunch costs a reasonable $35++ but I topped up some to make a switch.

Now, I shall not waste too much time talking about the appetizer and dessert, both of which were average at best. Onto the main course that I had been wanting to try, while I cannot proclaim the pasta to be the best that I had, Otto’s was quite well executed. I would have preferred it spicy as stated in the description, but what I was served, definitely had no heat at all.

Having said that, the al dente linguine pasta, a generous serving at that, was coated with a most moreish sauce and there were fresh lobster chunks dotted all over though I did find myself wishing there was more! I was stuffed after all that carb but I am already eyeing the other pastas on the menu!

28 Maxwell Road
#01-02 Red Dot Traffic Building
Singapore 069120
Tel: 6227 6819


9784817 4123338601787627200?l=skinny epicurean.blogspot Otto Ristorante

2009 12 111109 300x187 Otto Ristorante

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Saint Pierre can be affordable

December 6th, 2009

On weekdays, Saint Pierre offers good value set lunches comprising of either two, three or four courses, with prices ranging between an unbelievable $28 to $45. Unfortunately it is a little out of the way but on this visit I enjoyed the food that was based on classic French cooking techniques that were well executed. If you are looking for new age / progressive cooking, this may not be your cup of tea. But if all you want is simple, well cooked food, then you have an option here.

On this occasion, we had:

 Saint Pierre can be affordable

amuse bouche: warm, roasted tomato cream soup

 Saint Pierre can be affordable
appetizer: tuna sashimi, roasted cauliflower puree

 Saint Pierre can be affordable
appetizer: artichoke soup with bacon

 Saint Pierre can be affordable
main course: roasted cod, fennel salad

 Saint Pierre can be affordable
main: pan fried sea bream, potate ratte with crab
(loved the crispy skin and fresh firm taste of bream)

 Saint Pierre can be affordable
dessert: any 3 kinds of cheese with condiments below ($8 supplement)
(my favourite is comte!)

 Saint Pierre can be affordable
Overall the meal was satisfactory, bar the mini baguette served alongside the meal that was cold and chewy. My highlight was the cheese platter because the selection was great and I got to eat my favourite cheese :D .
9784817 7838649983312309557?l=skinny epicurean.blogspot Saint Pierre can be affordable

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Nyonya Restaurant, SS2

December 3rd, 2009

nyonya1 Nyonya Restaurant, SS2

This is an old establishment that has been here for years and has undergone a facelift since I last ate there. Driving past the other day, decided to pop in again to see how the changes fare.

nyonya2 Nyonya Restaurant, SS2

Clean lines in the interior.

nyonya3 Nyonya Restaurant, SS2

This is the Gulai Tumis fish. The fish was cooked in this sour tamarind gravy with lady’s fingers (okra) and pineapple and garnished with laksa leaves, or more known as daun kesom. Piquant and slighly spicy, this dish can be addictive once paired with white rice.

nyonya4 Nyonya Restaurant, SS2

We also tried the Beef rendang. Flavourful but the meat was not as tender as I would like it.

nyonya5 Nyonya Restaurant, SS2

Ordered sayur paku or fiddlehead ferns which were stir-fried with succulent prawns. Crisp and fresh, enjoyed this too.

It’s comforting to know that this place’s food has remained consistent over the years. And they do have quite an array of other dishes to tickle anyone’s fancy.

Nyonya Restaurant (www)
52, Jalan SS2/24,
47300 Petaling Jaya.

Other reviews;
- foodbin
- memoirs of a chocoholic
- kyspeaks

 Nyonya Restaurant, SS2  Nyonya Restaurant, SS2  Nyonya Restaurant, SS2  Nyonya Restaurant, SS2  Nyonya Restaurant, SS2  Nyonya Restaurant, SS2

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Sui Japanese Dining

November 28th, 2009

This post is for my friend, J, who was policing my blog and reminded me I was not updating fast enough :)

So, Sui Japanese restaurant is first introduced by my friend D. Initially put off by this hidden amongst a row of shophouses near Chinatown/Tanjong Pagar border because it is a little inconvenient to access for me, but it was after all close to town and I was motivated to find a restaurant to replace my old haunt, Tomo Japanese Dining, which is now defunct.

The kind of familiarity between my taste buds and the sushi chef is very important to me and a couple of visits later, I am pleased that I feel fairly positive about this place and the Chef/Owner Andy. He is very passionate about his food and tries to be creative with his sushi.

4137647785 a1e8c78a73 Sui Japanese Dining


His sashimi was fresh and sliced thickly with clean cuts. If I had to pick bones, they were sliced just a bit too thick, reminding me of Wasabi Tei’s version. But to give benefit of doubt, we were the only customers for lunch and since he was preparing the sashimi fresh from whole fishes, he could have been more generous that normal since he believes that the fresh fish should be eaten within 1-2 hours and not be kept.

4138411790 d3e32bdfbe Sui Japanese Dining


One can still find traditional sushi from the regular menu. However, going omakase allows you to experience Chef’s creative sushi. He loves being innovative and is constantly trying to find new ways to serve and garnish his sushi with different ingredients that would excite the tastebuds. He can be a little heavy handed with salt but nothing a gentle reminder could not solve.

4137647057 66336cfea9 Sui Japanese Dining

I am not a big fan of ankimo but the little ball looked so cute I just ate it. I am glad that he made the sushi small and used a citrus dressing to cut the richness. The result was very yummy and I could easily have another.

9784817 2748377747010674369?l=skinny epicurean.blogspot Sui Japanese Dining

4137647785 a1e8c78a73 300x225 Sui Japanese Dining

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Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.

June 29th, 2009

puducendol Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.

During a recent walkabout around the Pudu market (???) area, we were brought to this cendol stall in some alleyway off Jalan Pudu. Only after we were seated, we noted that many locals ordered their cendol in cantonese! Yup, the Indian uncle manning the stall speaks Cantonese. Heh.

puducendol1 Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.

The Cendol Kacang (RM1.10) is your usual plain cendol with a serving of kidney beans. The beans were soft and flavourful without being too mushy. And the cendol easily glides down one’s throat. The ratio of gula melaka and the coconut milk here is perfect, resulting in a refreshing, fragrant yet not too sweet dessert.

puducendol2 Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.

My favourite however, is the Cendol Jagung (RM1.20). Somehow the dollop of cream corn accentuates the flavours.

Great dessert during these hot days indeed. He also has Cendol Pulut, with glutinous rice and a special version .

Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol & Rojak
Mobile Stall next to Restoran R.S.S Maju,
Pudu Market Alleyway (Jalan Pasar?)
Pudu, K.Lumpur.

other review;
- ???? (in mandarin)

 Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.  Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.  Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.  Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.  Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.  Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.

puducendol 269x300 Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.

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