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Fun topic! It always 'pisses' me off when people eat SE Asian rice with just a fork(and look at me like I'm a heathen). Fork AND spoon at the same time, all the way!

Sambal Belacan This is the basic recipe (you can add calamansi juice and sugar to get the mixture I used in the Nyonya Okra salad for example) from my mother: 1 tablespoon belacan (Malaysian fermented shrimp paste) to 5 fresh big red chillis. The belacan will have to be lightly roasted (make sure it's not burned or it will be bitter) without oil. Pound chillis, add the roasted belacan and half a tsp of salt. Easy! Another version from my mother is: 6 small shallots, 1 small clove garlic, 1 tsp belacan (again roasted-basically belacan always has to be roasted), about 6 big red chillis (for interested Dutch people, these are the ones sold near the salads- 2 chillis in a packet). Pound onions, followed by the chillis and then garlic and finally the belacan and about 1/2tsp salt:) Now, let me just warn you that roasting the belacan will stink your house out so if you can't bear strange smells or if you have a fussy neighbour......

Did you know that Malaysians are one of the most unhealthy people in the world?? I think I know why.... Hello Abra, Eek, I was wondering when someone was going to bring that up:D You see, the layer cake recipe is from an Indonesian Dutch lady and she has requested my mother to keep it a secret. I can definitely post the sambal belacan recipe as it belongs to my mother but also not the Nyonya recipes (like chilli garam etc) because again, it belongs to my father's family (and Peranakans are all about secret recipes ). I'm really sorry and I feel bad! That's why I figured I could just PM whoever who wants the recipe instead so that it's less public. I'll have to get back to you regarding the rojak sauce. You should definitely try the bak kut teh! It's a perfect dish for winter and very easy to make.

There is nothing better than a girl's night out. The place: Saffron in One Bangsar Julz and I arrived first and proceeded to wolf down the excellent bread available. We waited and waited for the other 2 to appear (Malaysian time means 10-45 minutes late) and decided to order a bottle of cheap Italian wine (only RM95- 20euro!) When Claire and Carol arrived, we all decided to order the set as it had the mains we wanted. Carol, Julz and I opted for the Moroccan Lamb Shank while Claire chose the Tangine Chicken with couscous. Lamb Kofta (very tasty!) Lentil and Chickpea Soup (tasted like dahl) Moroccan Lamb Shanks Tangine Chicken with Couscous Polenta The disappointment of the night... We were very anxious to try this, having never eaten this before. It was completely tasteless and none of us swallowed more than a bite. So we ordered another dessert to share. We were so very full by then! Spanish bread and butter pudding Us girls, looking very green I guess this will be my last post before this blog is closed. If it's still open, I'll post pictures of tomorrow's breakfast/lunch too but if not, good bye! I had a wondeful time writing this blog- my parents were very involved in this too. It was practically a family project! I'm glad I had the opportunity to show you some Malaysian food and I really hope you'll come over to this part of the world someday. Cheers!

I'll PM the recipe to you soon:) May is right when she said different mangoes have distinctive tastes (I hate all mangos anyway-they still have that mango-ey taste:P) . So far, the mangoes I've seen in The Netherlands seem to be the longer one (the less sweet version). Have you tried the round Indian ones?? Those taste like Mango cordial (without it being diluted with water lol)

I'm eating like a pig! I really have to stop because bikini season is really really soon. Why can't I have amazing metabolism?? Keropok Ninjau (Crisps) This is how they look like from the packet. After frying Eaten with gula melaka (Malaccan palm sugar). This compliments the savoury bitterness of the keropok ninjau. It's really addictive!

Bak Kut Teh (literal translation: Pork Rib Tea) Plain water, garlic and a packet of ready made spices (combination of cinnamon, star anise etc.) Ma adding some soy sauce Add the meat and simmer for an hour Served with yau char kuey, chopped chillis in soy sauce, rice and extra soup for dipping in the yau char kuey (if you dip it in the main bowl of soup, it will become extremely oily due to the excess oil in the deep fried dough). Home-made rojak with turnips, cucumbers and bean sprouts Bak Kut Teh is served with Chinese tea . Tastes good after all that fat and oil. Enjoy~

I finally woke up early enough! The morning market closes at about midday. I went at about 10.30 and it was already really hot! Lots of pictures ahead, some more graphic than others Oh first, breakfast was a chocolate cupcake and some layer cake. Chinese medicine man, selling herbs for nutritious soups, bird's nests, ginseng etc. Fish/Shrimp/Squid Poultry Shop selling fish balls, fish cakes, surimi, uncooked dim sum etc. They also sell chicken feet Nasi lemak shop. This one isn't pre-wrapped so you can decide how much sambal , fried dried anchovies and nuts you want. Roast pork and Chinese sausages (there was also a stall selling Peking duck next to it but the man looked scary) Tempe (the white packet), some vegetables and sea coconut (in the packet , on the right) Frogs *BOO!* Vegetables again Ikan haruan. I don't know what this fish is called in English (possibly snake head fish?). It lives in rice fields , can live without water for ages (they have wet gills or something) , can 'walk' on land using fins (not mudskipper), they eat fish and frogs (they hate anything near them so I reckon they're territorial), they have barely any bones and supposedly aid healing. These are still very much alive. Kuih (there is also a pre-wrapped lasi lemak in brown paper and banana leaf in the picture) More vegetables (this is for Abra to see the red chillis needed for sambal belacan) Yau Char Kuey (fried dough eaten with pork rib soup) stall. It can also eaten with sugar:) Deep frying it Nearly ready The finished product and other deep fried Chinese breads (I like the sesame ones -bottom left-, the round one with the darker centre have red bean paste and the other is plain) Chee Cheong Fun (square soft rice sheets cut like noodles,usually served with sweet black sauce, fish cakes, foo chok-bean curd?- , sesame seeds and anything else you want for breakfast) Char Kuey ( fried char kuey teow style- very good!) More kuih Guess what I'm having for lunch?? *hint* Dad bought lots of yau char kuey

No, unfortunately they are not homemade! Making something at home means eating it for a few days and unfortunately, I'm all about instant gratification I can ask mum for her recipe if you like but I don't think it's the same as the ones sold on the street. Hi C.Sapidus! The paper dosai is indeed Indian tosai , just much thinner. About apples, no, apples are not at all exotic here. In fact, I think local fruits are less available than apples and oranges. Apples and oranges here are also very cheap (probably because they're from China and Australia)! The flavours of fruit lassi available at the shop that day were mango (most popular), apple, vanilla,lychee and guava. I don't know why I hate mangoes too. Having a mango tree is probably a big reason why. I just hate the saturated, iritating, distinctive sweetness of mango! I like fruits like mangosteens, lychee, mata kucing (literally cat's eye) and rambutans which all share a similar trait come to think of it- Sweet, light ,white juicy meat. Hmm..I guess it's just one of those things..... I know! How can anyone mess up shark's fin?! But surprisingly, I have eaten countless bad shark's fin soups at weddings, birthdays and what-not (anything with more than 2 tables). Tsk tsk. Doing that thing with the glass allows the eater to eat the layer cake literally layer by layer which is apparently part of the experience haha. Sea coconut is the insides of a coconut plant by the sea (different species from the coconuts we drink). The insides are juicy and translucent. It doesn't taste coconut-ty too and is used in most clear Chinese dessert soups.

Hello! Thanks for all your replies. I'll answer the questions tomorrow because I'm so sleepy. The food was horrid considering that there was a prince, numerous ministers and at least a hundred titled people hahaha. My aunt bought a table and invited us. I didn't even know I was going until I woke up this morning (I'd assume she'd only invited my parents). The dishes picked were fine- it was after all a charity dinner but how difficult is it to just have edible Chinese food?! The only thing edible was the first and last course. Deluxe For Hot & Cold Combination Braised Superior Shark's Fin Soup with Crab Roe Crispy Boneless Lemon Chicken (sorry about the picture) Steamed Garoupa in Spicy Garlic Sauce Braised Sea Cucumber & Black Mushrooms with Broccoli Fried Rice with Shrimp & Anchovies Chilled Sea Coconut with Fresh Ginseng Good night!

Hola! My best friend had an event at an orphanage today and her mum baked 2 large boxes of cupcakes for the children. Her(my friend) boyfriend carried the 2 boxes on top of his shoulder for some reason or other and when they opened the box, it was totally ruined hahahaha! There was chocolate everywhere and everything was upside down. Only 3 survived, relatively intact. We had the mashed up ones for tea I had plans to go for dinner with my 3 best friends tonight but I'm being dragged to a charity fundraising dinner so dinner with friends will be tomorrow instead! I have no idea what is being served tonight but tomorrow should be good as the 4 of us love good food and are often willing to spend on good food Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Hi Ashiana! I remember you from my first blog! My grandmother also used to pickle the the sour belimbing/birambie Carambola is a different sort though. Is it the same in Suriname? I really really still must try real Surinamese food other than that horrid Tjau Min I bought from C1000 I don't think there is a Surinamese restaurant in Malaysia but I'm sure it will be easy to find them in The Netherlands. Rock on

PM me if you want it:) I love spice cakes:) Hello! I've seen canned jackfruit. Have you tried it?? I once saw 'fresh' mangosteens in Japan but they cost 7000 yen (US$70) for 5 small ones... That's a wonderful commentary from your father-in-law. Thank you! Is he English?? There is this mountain (Cameron Highlands) which is still very English (afternoon tea,scones, clotted cream, tea plantations, old Victorian houses etc). I am not sure about the chicken wings, sorry! All I can say is the skin is very crisp (and possibly basted with honey?) and that the wings have definitely been frozen (wings often have dark meat when it has been frozen for some time). I think the most important thing is the crispness of the skin. When my mother makes it at home, it tastes good but it's still lacking something (the skin, it's all about the skin!). The plum drink is sweet with a hint of sourness. The dried pickled plum is also sometimes grated onto guava or eaten plain . I'll try to show you a picture of the plum later (not umeboshi but I think it is sold in Japan). Ayam Percik is awesome! I almost never buy it here in KL unless I am desperate and then I buy some during puasa (fasting before Eid) month (from the many markets available then). My uncle lives in Kelantan with his Kelantanese wife and when they visit us, they always bring ayam percik and/or murtabak. Indeed! American cakes tend to be heavier and very rich which is nice in its own way (I think American chocolate cake with fudge is the only real chocolate cake for example). Dutch 'cakes' tend to be boring pound cakes (they call anything with cream 'pie' ) and the 'pies' there tend to be more cream than pastries - again which is nice in its own way but the Japanese cakes are real cakes to me! So light, fresh , moderate sizes and the best quality ingredients.

Good morning (afternoon:P)! Breakfast this morning was char siew bau, tau sa bao (red bean filling) and ling yung (lotus paste) bao. They were HUGE! I had half of each. Then, for lunch, we had Pasembor (Indian Rojak) in honour of Abra. Without sauce (cucumbers, bean sprouts, boiled egg, octopus ,crispy bits-made from flour and coconut and then deepfried-, and a softer version made from flour,prawns and what not ,also deepfried. With the sauce

Hi Sheena! I'm Peranakan Chinese ,meaning I'm mostly Chinese but I come from Peranakan/Nyonya stock (er as in ahem *starts narrating* In the 1400s, a Chinese emperor sent his daughter Princess Hang Li Po to marry the Malaccan Sultan. She brought 200 men with her who married Malay women. Their descendants are called Baba & Nyonya/ Peranakan/ Straits Born Chinese. They speak Malay at home but are non-Muslims and in some ways even more Chinese than pure Chinese people. They also developed their own cuisine) Hi sadie-siamesecat! I really appreciate it! Thanks My mum only uses pans with slanting sides for layer cakes. I asked her why and she said she has no idea. It was what the Dutch Indonesian lady taught them. The cake was grilled (in the oven) and also baked I don't think anyone prepares banana leaf breakfast or Indian breads or Chinese noodles or whatever for breakfast. We just eat out at the many breakfast places available. Sometimes, we just eat 'kuih' (those colourful Malay/Nyonya dessert/snack), sometimes we go to the coffeeshop for a cup of strong Malaysian coffee and toast with kaya (coconut jam). Of course, a lot of people also eat cereal and sandwiches. Some people who don't like to have breakfast just have a cup of Milo (malt?). I cannot be 100% sure what most Malaysians eat but what my family eats is not uncommon (although most probably eat like that 3 times or so a week while we do it nearly everyday now since my parents are retired). There are cafeterias and stalls outside most offices so they just pop in to buy something... Pandan is used to flavour meat too! Also in bread, jams, rice etc. I can't descrive what it tastes like exactly but it's not really herbal. More.... vanilla-ish but with a hint of.. chlorophyll...hmm. It's the same thing in Malaysia (Pan and I were discussing about it too)! I think I have to try drying it like your grandmother so that we always have some on hand:) I didn't like this belimbing when I was younger but I do appreciate it now.

Jalan Alor is a seedy place with good street food. Some say it's overhyped and I agree (RM2.50 for herbal tea?? hellooooo!? ). 10 of us went on a little eating spree after dinner (gluttons, that we are...) Wong Ah Wah's famous chicken wings washed down with dried pickled plum drink (Katchai Shimui) Then we walked to another stall famous for frog porridge. It was my first time trying frog- I've always been scared of it after I saw the man at my local night market killing them... Frog tastes like a combination of fish and chicken. Another short walk into a dark alley brought us to this famous beef noodle shop. My friends had this (sorry about the crappy picture): and I had beef ball kuey teow 2.30a.m. now. Have to go to bed!

We had mussel pasta for dinner. I used Jamie Oliver's recipe . I made it once in Holland but the mussels here are different (so big) so it was really hard to toss the thing! I wasn't very happy with it. I'm going for supper now with some friends. I'll answer everyone's questions later!

Mum made Indonesian layer cake today. Lekker ~

This is for Chufi:) Indonesian layer cake / Spekkoek It tastes really good but it doesn't look perfect. The first layer (the bottom one) is a little too thick and there's one dark layer in the middle because my mum was talking to me Spekkoek is yummy and easy to make but requires full concentration as the layers burn very quickly . I'm stuffing myself:) I love layer cake.

Hehehe, I just read your comment again:D The 'strawberries' next to the melons are actually rambutans ! Hahaha the insides look like lychees but taste a bit different! The outside is really hairy and they're in season now:) Pan, It must have been an amazing experience! I imagine it must've been difficult for you to learn everything in Malay (or was it still in English, then?). If you could name one thing- just one- what would be your favourite Malaysian dish/meal?

Here is the curry laksa as promised! There are 2 kinds of curry laksa- one with chicken and the other with seafood. This is the chicken version (my mum had the seafood but I didn't bother taking a picture:D ) I have a tiny garden. All it has is a large mango tree. My dad is very attached to this tree. He planted it when it was about 2 feet tall about 34 years ago (when they bought the house) and when we wanted to do something with the yard, he did everything he could to save the mango tree which is why we have a crooked path to the door now I hate mangoes in any form (drinks, dessert, mango fish, the fruit itself etc.) but I know we have beautiful, juicy, rich mangoes as is evident by the many which mysteriously get lost everyday. We almost never get ripe ones because someone or other will steal them! My parents get so mad that the gate is locked everyday (sometimes the carwash guys still climb over though) and once, my dad recognised one of the thieves and complained to his boss to no avail so my dad- the mad mango man- hid out opposite our street in the confines of his dark car, in hopes of catching the offender They don't mind if someone wants a mango(or mangoes) but ask and it will be given! And of course do leave one or two fruits for us instead of plucking 20 at a time Small curry leaf plant Pandan (screwpine leaf) My dad planted the belimbing tree outside our house a few years ago. Just this morning, the maid from next door called my mother because this lady was plucking some. She asked for permission when my mother came outside. She had plucked a large plastic bag full of flowers because her Indonesian maid told her that making a tea out of the flowers is good for cough (her whole family is coughing now). My mother said yes ,of course and later plucked some flowers to make that drink for an aunt who is also coughing. So there you go, flowers for coughing and the fruits for cooking.

We had breakfast out again. This time, we went to the SS2 Banana Leaf Curry House which is small 24 hour Southern Indian coffeeshop down the street. My dad had what is known as 'fragrant coconut' My ma got her usual teh tarik (pulled tea) And I drank apple lassi. It was very refreshing He's making my roti canai The finished product, served with fish and chicken curry The same man making sure the 'paper tosai' is paper-thin My dad's paper tosai, eaten with chutney and chicken curry My mother had roti tisu.It has some granulated sugar stuck to the tissue-like (hence the name roti tisu )batter. Best eaten with condense milk and/or curry and chutney. Some of the dishes you can pick if you eat banana leaf rice More dishes The curries and vegetables are on another table (no picture). Feast on!

The star-shaped belimbing is juiced or eaten as a fruit. I love them, especially the honey variety (very sweet). The green belimbing I used however is only for cooking. It is very sour. In Melaka, it is often used in not just Nyonya dishes but also in the peanut sauce for satay. This gives the sauce an extra ' oomph' !

All of them! But yes, I probably order Japanese strawberry sponge cake and 'mille feuille' (sp?? however the Japanese mille feuille is not the french mille feuille but more like MeganBlocker's Gateux aux Crepes in RecipeGullet) most often. What I like most about Japanese cakes is the quality of ingredients and how light they are. You don't get sick of Japanese cakes - every bite is savoured. Yes, unbaked cheesecakes are quite popular here (Oreo cheesecake and what-not). Another thing is, remember that hideously expensive loaf of bread I posted earlier?? That is called Gion and sold on a cart outside Jusco. They claimed it was Japanese..I don't know... could just be a marketing thing... Pan, that is a really funny story! May I ask why you lived in Malaysia? Were you posted there?

That might be possible (the lo thing), we didn't mix it up though because if we did, the top part might fall off! haha And indeed, thanks for telling what that coconut meat thing is called. I was like 'arghhh what's the English equilvalent? '?!. I think Malaysia is cheap is you earn in SGD or other strong foreign currencies but not when you're earning in Malaysian Ringgit. Last night's dinner which wasn't particularly special (in terms of price of ingredients) cost RM40 (US$1= RM3.50) , I could do nearly a week's worth(only dinners) of groceries for 2 with 40 euro in The Netherlands. Going out for dinner only costs 20 euro at a normal restaurant (those 3-gangen menu), in Malaysia for the same service and food, expect to pay RM60. I know Singapore is similiar- meaning locals are more willing to part with their money. I really never realised this trait until I went to Holland and found out that practically no one my age would spend 20 euro for dinner (snack bars or kebab shops all the way) or 9.50 euro for 100 grams of cookies..... Hahaha, again this is something I didn't notice but I think food handling rules (I don't know if these are official rules) have been improved here. In The Netherlands, they do not wear gloves when handling food which was really strange! One time, this guy at a frite shop had a cold and kept wiping his nose before shovelling my fries... But then, the Netherlands is still much more cleaner than Malaysia (drains, no rats and simply cleaner streets after markets). Hahaha, no none of the photos have been photoshopped! I'm horrid at graphics and anything too technical Consumers are very demanding here- no one will buy anything unripe! It's OK to be slightly unripe (like in the case of rambutans , some are greenish red) but only if it can be eaten in a few days. About the pastries, I don't know much- only from personal experience. Flour,sugar and eggs are quite cheap but the extra things like cream( RM9.00 for 50 ml), vanilla beans (RM20 each- this was 2-3 years back so it might be cheaper now), good (not super but just not horrid) cooking chocolate (RM10 per 100g) etc. And in the end, each bun can only be sold for RM1-RM2 each. Of course there are higher end bakeries where a slice of cake is RM 5.90 but even then the taste is just.. so disappointing from the cakes and pastries I've tried in Japan and The Netherlands (incidently Japan makes the best cakes by far from any country I've visited and The Netherlands make the best pie). Thanks for dropping in ,mizducky! I was wondering if my blog has failed! Not many responses haha. Yes, this one is in a suburban area (mine!). It is still quite a large one though, more than 50 stalls (and most stalls have more than 1 lot). I like this better than the night market in Chinatown because I don't like and am not shopping for fake branded goods and I think there's only one sad, fake branded stall in the night market where I live EDITED TO ADD: My dad says that the pasar malam has 200 stalls, not 50. The pasar malam on Monday has 3-400. Oooh, rice is also very important here. All meals (unless it involves noodles) is eaten with rice (usually white). The difference here is that we like to put soup and gravies on rice (I know Japanese people hate that! The rice has to be pure and untouched ) when we eat them. For many people, they don't feel full unless they eat rice. If I take old -fashion people like my dad for a hearty steak and kidney pie for dinner, he comes home and eats rice anyway......