Tepee

Actually, I loved the way you (you know who y'all are) "miss"-pronounce Msian words. Too cute! You know I was feigning exasperation up there, don't you?

Michael, Michael (TP sporting a tired and exasperated look). Can you please teach your fellow countrymen how to pronounce PANDAN? You can't imagine how many times pen-den kuihs were mentioned! Yes, they were repeatedly corrected. "We can't help it! We're Americans."

Mau...no need to think too hard. Any which way you look at it, it's going to turn out provocative....you only have control over the degree. You're all welcome. We had a great time and I had little angels who mysteriously appeared in and out of my kitchen to do the clearing and cleaning-up. Thank you.

Aww..Michael (not you, Michael Jackson!), you were missed! After brunch, the group split up to do their own thing. I heard Krista bought some recipe books . And on to the pièce de resistance!! Hawker Food at Ahwa Coffeeshop (can be seen from Jalan 222, Petaling Jaya) for dinner. Tauhu Bakar (Crispy grilled Dry Bean Curd Squares filled with bean sprouts, cucumber in peanut sauce) Or Chien (Omelette filled with small oysters, usually a gooey treat, but this version seemed to have omitted rice flour). In this photo, you can also see our drinks, Tiger Beer, Ice Barley and Ice Gat Chai Suen Mooy (Calamansi Lime and Sour Plum). With so much fried food this is a perfect yin to counter the yang. Or, is it the perfect excuse to eat more? In the foreground is Lor Bak (you pick various deep-fried yummy stuff) with its special lor bak sauce. At the back, Hokkien Char Beehoon. Ikan Bakar (Grilled fish. The stall will offer a choice of fish to bakar/burn, for eg. stingray or pomfret, & etc.) The almost finished dish at the back (sorry) is sotong kangkung (sotong=squid, kangkung=oong choy in cantonese, water spinach). Hokkien Mee in all its greasy glory. Beef and chicken satay peeping from the back. I just had to show the sifu who dished out all the noodles at incredible speed with the help of his able assistant (has to have photographic memory) and servers. And no need to be squeamish about the balitong (a shellfish), it's actually very tasty. A How-to-Eat Balitong courtesy of maukitten follows. I only have it in pictures, you'll have to get the verbal tutorial from her. Can you see the look of wonder on the face of the boy at the back? I really do apologise, I was laughing so hard I couldn't focus. Ta da! Yes, it was an incredibly fun day. Already, a Kuala Selangor Seafood trip - seafood so fresh you are literally eating them off the boat - is being gleefully considered......

DH said that this was better than a buffet because all of us chose the food we like. Please forgive me but I had a bad camera day. I must get my glasses changed because the pics were a big blur. So, for the blur pics, I'm going to post them thumbnail size, OK? fish balls and yong tau foo - fish-paste stuffed okra, egg-plants, tau foo, tau foo sheets, chillies. mua chee - a snack made from glutinous rice flour and tumbled in a mixture of finely chopped peanuts and sugar. karipap/curry puffs Nasi Lemak with rendang daging( beef rendang) Nasi Lemak with chicken rendang. I like the way they make their santan (coconut milk) rice, steamed so that each grain is whole and separate. kon lo loh shee fun (plump rice noodles stirred in black soy sauce and minced pork) with bouncy beef balls. duku langsat jambu air(wax apples) from our garden Various kuih-muih from Aroma Nyonya. From the back; Onde-onde, Pulut Tai-tai served with Kaya, Green (pandan-flavored) and Red Koo Kuih and Kuih Ketayap/Dadar (pandan-flavored pancakes filled with palm sugared coconut). I just realized that the Kuih Ketayap was compliments from Aroma Nyonya; they always give us something extra. The pointy one is Kuih Koci and the one with the blob of palm sugar coconut is Pulut Inti. Two versions of Meen Chang kuih (er..I know there are other names) - a crispy thin and thicker more substantial treat filled with peanuts Oh, no! I can't believe I forgot to take photos of the laksa! And, we forgot to serve the taufoofah and acar (pickles). We also made Michael Jackson for a drink. Yesterday's people...pls feel free to fill in the blanks.

By the time we finished ta-pow-ing (take home) the hawker food we fancied - someone said she did exercise some restraint - it was 10.30 am. Time to go to the Aroma Nyonya kuih factory at Taman Perindustrian OUG. We arrived too late as they wrap up their kuih production at 9-ish and was cleaning up the place and sending their kuihs to their various destinations. However, we got to confirm that they indeed used bunga telang (butterfly pea flowers) to stain their pulut tai tai indigo; we were shown a big boxful of the dried flowers. Collected the kuih-muih we ordered and proceeded to my home to INDULGE. Disclaimer: This poster will not be responsible for wet keyboards and monitors. Please take a break and stuff yourself with whatever victuals you can find before proceeding.

Date: August 31, 2005 Participants: Krista G and friend, J (who were visiting), Mr and Mrs ecr, maukitten, Shiewie, boo_licious (not eGteer but a fan), JC (joined us for brunch), boo's bf Splashie Boy (joined us for dinner) and Tepee (plus DH and 3 girls who didn't join for dinner). Agenda: ISO Good (if not the greatest) Hawker Food 8.15 am: The enthusiastic bunch rose bright and early to meet at Steven's Corner in OUG. First-timers may have a problem if they are looking for a shop at a corner. A bit of background, it began with Steven's shop with the name of Sri Komaliah but business got so good that the area in front of the shop to the corner of the road got filled with various hawkers in the evening. Anyway, look for the shop with a big crab on top. Um....yours truly, who had the evil task of waking up 3 disgruntled children, arrived last, so didn't manage to take the food which bunch ordered while waiting. I spied leftovers of thosai and teh tarik. What did I miss, guys? While the rest of us toured the busy OUG market, DH stayed back with the girls for a nice paper thosai (I thought I ordered roti tissue?) or 2, a roti pisang (roti canai with bananas), teh tarik and a teh-O ais.

I suppose it'll work, Sue-On. We can find chinese rose jam, but I haven't seen rose water here*. My rose water I get from Australia. *If any Msians see this and know where to get this locally, let me know. I've run out of rose water and would love to make some turkish delight. Adzuki beans are smaller? But, yes, I find it less tasty.

Alkaline water (very small amount) is used for making the traditional cantonese skin. If you find alkaline water in a paste recipe, like lotus seed paste, it's to help loosen the skin for easy rubbing-off. That is rinsed off.

Here you go....... Red Bean Mooncake Filling 225g red beans, soaked overnite 175g sugar 1T maltose 170 ml peanut/groundnut oil Place red beans in a pot, and add water to 5cm (around 2 inches) above the beans. Boil till soft. Drain. Blend the softened beans in a food processor until fine. Sieve for finer texture. Put the blended beans, sugar and oil into a heavy-based pot and cook over medium heat for about an hour, stirring all the time, until the mixture thickens. Expect some exciting oil splatters after 15 minutes into cooking. Fun! If available, you may add 1 tablespoon of rose jam (mooi kwai lo). Lovely flavor. Adjust sugar to taste for future batches. This recipe is on the not-so-sweet side.

Easy variations to the tea. Add candied winter melon instead of sugar. More flavor? Add dried longan meat for an earthy flavor. Throat discomfort? Add a dried lor hon kor(luo han kuo in mandarin) smashed once, lightly rinsed.

Another point to look for in deciding on using adzuki beans or china red beans - look at the skin. I'm not sure but I think the skins of adzuki beans are thicker? You need to choose beans with thin skin which can soften and be mashed up as much as possible (pushing through a sieve will refine the paste further).

Sheetz, my bottle of alkaline water has sodium silicate and soda ash as ingredients. Sorry, can't help you more, chemistry not being my fav science subject. Square or round? If you have a fan-forced oven, it shouldn't make much of a difference. Good to have at least 2 moulds so that you can tell apart the different mooncakes you're making. I buy moulds for aesthetic reasons.

Another example of the superior taste/liu of homemade over storebought.

Also called chinese barley, or sung sook yi mai in cantonese, it can be used interchangeably with pearl barley. In fact, I don't really like the taste of job's tears, but since it's supposed to have enhanced properties (*) compared to regular barley, when I make a drink I use both. Sweeten with rock sugar and add pandan leaves for flavour. Of course, there are many other herbal soups which are packed by our local medicinal halls which has it as an ingredient. * Removes excess water from the body - used in some slimming tea concoctions Cleans the urinary tract in the case of UTI Effective for diarrhoea or loose bowels

Trillium is correct. The red beans are smaller than adzuki beans. As for the kan sui, just get a small bottle as it goes a long way, you only use it by teaspoonfuls after all.

Michael, soalan ini susah sangat kerana saya memang tak pernah fikir tentangnya. Anyway, thanks for making me do some googling. Maltose or malt sugar is used for many chinese confectionery because of its mild sweet taste and strong hygroscopicity, ie. readiness in absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. I'm sure you'll find maltose as an ingredient in chinese sweets which are chewy.

Just for you, I've roped in my 3 kids and dog.... Clap your hands everybody, Everybody, clap your hands! Sue-On's dumplings are the BEST! The best in the west! Here we go! (DO) clap-down clap-clap-down clapdown-clapdown clap-clap (repeat claps) p/s I'm amazed at your hospitality.

I'm away for one day and the thread turns mooney( I can picture Sue-On's, err, act ) and looney???? I was out buying mooncake moulds yesterday, and at one shop (I went to 3) the proprietor saw me spending a considerable amount of time choosing which mould to buy. He said to me, "If you want to know which mould is good, just knock it on your head!" Methinks several individuals upthread needs some knocking.

WHO IS THIS PROJECT WONDER??? Must be before my time. I'm still a young 'un.

Pardon me while I take a few moments to show off my prawn crackers inspired by Jack. Pls clicky

Hz and Sue-On. You're 2 of a kind . Or is it tit for tat, lard for fat....?

I haven't looked at this year's prices yet but they should be less than half of Hz's and less than a third of UK's. If I buy mooncakes, it's for the boxes. This year, they have very lovely ones made from organza which is embroidered, wooden ones with pull-out compartments, tins with beautiful pictures. OK, I'm a closet mooncake box collector. I think I've got over 2 dozen tins of all shape and sizes. Haven't decided what to do with them. I've used some to store knick knacks, others I've to think of a way to stop rust from forming.

You certainly did, Jack! I know I can't take photos and make mooncakes at the same time.

Not surprised. Mooncake manufacturers are extremely innovative in creating over the top mooncakes. Abalone and oyster? Hai yah! Even if there are miniscule slivers of it, the mooncake will be labelled as Abalone and Oyster as the star ingredient. Now Sue-On has us mouth-agape waiting for her taste description....