Chocolate Mousse Royale Ice Cream Cake for a 14th Birthday

Ahh, how time flies. My little boy is no longer a boy and is now a 14 year old young man! His birthday this year fell on a Sunday and we started the day off by going to church. We were running a little late so we didnt wake him up to open his presents as we usually do. I managed to quickly place his presents under the bed just as he left his room and then we went back in and wished him.

He got a Chelsea t-shirt and a lego mini figure. We were supposed to get him a pair of sneakers that he wanted but there wasnt time to go shopping so hopefully we can go get it soon. After church we went for lunch the grandparents and then headed home to cut the cake.

Egg and Bacon Pie and memories of a Milk Bar

When I was a Uni student in Melbourne I lived an an apartment that had a Milk Bar nearby - less than a 100 metres away. This Milk Bar was our stop whenever milk ran out(obviously) or bread, for a quick chocolate fix or snack. Even for a can of corned beef or when we had run out of something like tomato sauce. The milk bar was also a 'saviour' whenever we wanted a quick meal and that was usually a four and twenty meat pie with loads of tomato sauce squeezed into the pie. Joe and Claudette, the proprietors of this milk bar, served up another fancy pie that I absolutely loved - Egg and Bacon Pie. Joe and Claudette orginated from Lebanon and since I lived in that apartment for more than 3 years, we became good friends. They would know what I wanted based on what time of the day it was. If I sauntered in at around dinner time, Joe would welcome me before asking "Meat Pie or Egg and Bacon mate?"

Carnitas or Pulled Pork in a Cubano/Sandwhich/whatever

This was made way back in February 2015 but I'm only posting it now. Better late than never right!

For a number of weeks now, my son has been asking if I could make Pulled Pork. We had tried the pulled pork burger in a kids meal when we had taken my inlaws out for dinner almost a year ago at Morgansfields. So over the weekend, I decided I would make some pulled pork!

At first I thought of just making my usual Pork Roast as the meat is so tender that I always serve it 'pulled' anyway. However, I thought I'd take the route of making a real pulled pork where the meat is served in a bowl - pulled away and ready to eat. Also, I figured I would slow cook the meat, kind of like braising it, so that it would absorb the juices and make it more tasty and flavourful.

While looking for inspiration on the web, I came across Carnitas - which basically means "little meats," and is a dish of Mexican origin. Carnitas are made by braising or simmering pork in oil or lard until tender. That caught my eye and I decided to combine a few recipes to make pulled pork simmered in beer and orange juice and also chillis for a bit of spice. So a variation of Carnitas it was.

Then came the decision of what to serve the pulled pork with. Fist thing that popped to my mind was a pulled pork burger. Then I thought of Cubanos! You see, A few weeks ago, we sat down as a family and watched Chef - the movie where a chef leaves his restaurant and starts up a food truck selling Cubanos. The kids seemed to think the Cubanos looked really good and I thought that was the end of it.

However, a recent trip to Fridays triggered their memory of Cubanos as it was on the menu. I mentioned that it didnt look very good though and thats when my little princess asked if I could maybe make it one day.

So with that request in mind, I decided I would make Cubanos.

So on Saturday, my little princess followed me to drop Michael off at band practice. Then we popped into the supermarket at Bangsar Village to get some pork shoulder - without the skin, together with lettuce and nice ripe tomatoes. My princess asked why I was getting Tomatoes and Lettuce and I explained they were for the Cubanos. "But Cubanos dont have lettuce and tomatoes Dads." She remarked. "So you're not really making Cubanos then...."

TLW's Birthday 2015

Today is TLW's birthday but the celebrations started on Saturday night! You see, since today is a working/school day and since Mike had to play with the School Band at some show for the launch of KL Fashion Week at PAvilion later this evening, we thought we'd best celebrate he birthday early.


On Sunday, TLW had a lunch appointment with some of her ex-schoolmates to celebrate two birthdays. I'd say Old Schoolmates but they are all still happening babes so 'old' doesnt quite do them justice! She figured she may be too full from a long lunch to properly enjoy dinner so we decided we'd do dinner on Saturday.

Of course she quietly asked if I could make her a Tiramisu for her birthday. But of course! That was always part of the plan.

So Saturday night, we went for a Japanese Buffet at Eyuzu Restaurant, Eastin Hotel. We had wanted to go to Genji at PJ Hilton but it was closed for renovations. So Eyuzu it was. The food was pretty good although I guess we were a little disappointed at the variety. Dont get me wrong, there was plenty but somehow it stuck to the basics. There was no fancy hand rolls, just the one with crab sticks. The sushi and sashimi spread was basically just Tuna, Salmon and some White fish. The did have Fresh Oysters and Prawns too but I guess we were hoping for more types of Sushi and Sashimi. They also had chicken, beef, squid and salmon teppanyaki made to order as was as Tempura made to order but both were pretty average. There were a lot of other items on offer as well. No cause for complaint but as we all agreed, it was nothing to knock your socks off. Still, we had a good time and indulged at the end of the meal with loads of Macha ice cream and also Moshi.

Sunday morning we went to church and then dropped of TLW and Bangsar Shopping Centre for her lunch appointment. The kids and I went to get some cream for the Tiramisu and also some bacon and ham for lunch and also contemplated what to make for dinner. I decided I would keep it simple since we werent sure how hungry TLW would be. The kids suggested Goulash and my princess asked if it would be nice with pork. So dinner was decided upon as Pork Goulash. I made some BLT Sandwhiches for lunch that the kids relly enjoyed. I think they were just really hungry! After lunch, I whipped up the Tiramisu and then later in the evening, Sarah helped me with the Pork Goulash. I also made a 'Saffron' Rice to go with the Goulash.

Dinner was enjoyed by all and of course TLW couldnt wait to dig into her Tiramisu. With only 4 hours in the fridge it wasnt as cold as it should have been although everything had set nicely. I served the tiramisu with Almond Pralines and that gave it a lovely crunch and added sweetness.




Monday morning and I woke up the kids to wish TLW. We had bought her a small gold pendant in the shape of a flower. She wore it to work and seemed rather pleased with it. We were contemplating going out for dinner later at night and catching Michael's Band Performance at Pavilion.

As it turned out, Michael called from school to say he was having fever and so he didnt go for the Band performance. I took him to the doctor in the evening and so whatever plans we may have had were scuppered. Anyway, the Tiramisu was still enjoyed by TLW and all of us.

On Tuesday, TLW took some to work to share with some of her friends. My little princess 'complained' as that meant that there would be less for us but I told her that the Tiramisu was for mummy and she could share it with whoever she wanted to.

Happy Birthday TLW!

Note: Pics taken using a phone camera due to time and laziness constraints :)

Giant Choc Chip Cookie Dessert

Mothers day 2015 was celebrated on the 10 May and The Lovely Wife asked if I could make her a trifle. Sure! Why not! While the kids liked the idea of a trifle, they wondered if I could make something else as well. You see, I havent been baking too much new stuff off late and I guess the kids just wanted to try something new. I said I'd make them whatever they wanted but they retorted by asking me for suggestions. The trifle was being made on Saturday for Sunday as it needed time to set. So, since the inlaws were coming over on Saturday night, I decided I'd make something for dessert. I suggested a lemon cake but while my daughter thought that was a good idea, my son didnt seem to keen. I went through a few possibilities while searching the internet but most elicited looks of boredom and disinterest.

I had seen a Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Sunday offered as dessert at some restaurant, I can't quite remember which one though. So I threw the idea to the kids about a giant choc chip cookie like dessert that you could eat with ice cream. The looks of boredom immediately turned to interest. Deep interest! I surfed the web for a few recipes and settled on this Choc Chip Cookie Cake from Sallys Baking Addiction.

A New Way to Prepare Eggs - I call it Snow Eggs

I first saw this on a video that was in Russian or some Eastern European language. Basically what the video showed was separating eggs, whipping the egg whites, shaping the egg whites into a kind of volcano shape, placing the egg yolk into the centre and then baking it.

Looked fabulous and I couldnt get it out of my head. I wanted to make it for a while but each time I suggested it, I was met with doubt and resistance. Finally, I decided I would just make it. Two weekends ago, (14th March) Michael was away at band camp and so I persuaded my little princess to try these eggs for breakfast and let me make it for her.

I used three eggs and separated them, placing each yolk into an individual dish. Then I whisked the egg whites with a little salt until it was thick - like a meringue. Then I dolloped a batch of egg white on parchment paper and shaped it, making a hollow in the centre. The egg yolk was poured into the hollow.





I then baked it for around 15 minutes in a 180C oven.

Once it game out I placed it on a plate and sprinkled some pepper on the eggs and also a little more salt.  I served it with some lightly toasted bread as well.







I call this Snow Eggs coz it looks like pillows of snow.

The Snow Egg was really interesting. Sort of like a savoury pavlova and the egg yolk was a little runny once broken. The crust was a little rubbery as it cooled so you need to eat this fresh out of the oven and not let it cool too much. My princess thought it was interesting too. It was certainly a new way to enjoy eggs!

When I make this again, I will make the base a little flatter so that it cooks faster. As I said, indeed a new and interesting way to serve eggs!

11 year old Princess with a Salted Caramel Chocolate Mousse Cake

So my princess turned 11 today, the 17th of February 2015! As per the practice over the years, we placed her presents under the bed and then woke her up.



It was a school day for her today while her brother Michael started the school break for Chinese New Year. She gets tomorrow until the end of the week and also the next Monday off.

She got a few presents from us starting with an Adidas T-shirt. My princess loves games that you play together and with that in mind we got her a board game called You are Sentenced, a small dice game and finally an Electronics Lab that lets you build 130 different circuits to build timers, make make sounds, flashing lights and other electronic gizmos - supposedly even an AM Radio!

She seemed quite please with the presents and with the presents out of the way, she got ready and went off to school. I had to go to work but after school she was taken for lunch at Chillis with Mummy, Mike and Amma. My wife's brother and family went for lunch too.


Later in the evening, my parents visited and we went out for dinner. Sarah wanted Japanese so we went to Rakuzen at Sri Hartamas. She enjoyed a Sushi and Tempura bento while Michael went for the Unagi Rice Bento. Mummy had a Teriyaki Cod while my parents shared a Beef dish. I had a Beef Teppanyaki and we all shared a Grilled Salmon head. I had told the restaurant manager that we were celebrating Sarahs birthday and they gave us a complimentary dessert - Japanese ice cream wrapped in some kind of waffle covering. Rather tasty!

After dinner we returned home to cut her cake that I had made the night before.

Souvlaki

When I was a student in Melbourne, one of my favourite foods was Souvlaki. There were plenty of greek cafes dotted around Melbourne and I was partial to the souvlaki where the meat was in cubes and grilled on a hot plate rather than the kebab kind where it was sliced off a spit.

When we visited the Gold Coast late last year, I was quite disappointed to find that Souvlaki wasn't as readily available as it was in Melbourne. However, I was really thrilled to be able to find a shop selling souvlaki and to introduce my children to it. They really loved it and I decided I would need to try and make it one day.
One of the things that has stopped my from making Souvlaki is that we dont seem to have souvlaki bread available her in KL. The use of pita bread was never a consideration as the pita we get is somehow to thick. Of late however, I have noticed that the Mission brand has different types of breads - Pita, Naan and also Wraps. The wraps look like kind of a thinner version of a souvlaki bread and so I reckoned I would try it out. In my minds eye, I would use lamb chunks for the meat, make a yoghurt garlic sauce and throw in a bunch of chopped tomatoes and lettuce all wrapped up with the flatbread.

Goulash

One of my Christmas presents last year from The Lovely Wife and the kids was a Le Creuset oval pot. Le Creuset is super expensive in this part of the world and for a long time, both TLW and I have gazed longingly at the Le Creuset displays in the shops.

I used the Le Creuset immediately on Christmas Day 2014 for a casserole and found that leaving meat to slow cook in the oven delivered super soft, tender and tasty meat. So when we were shopping for groceries, I saw some nice cuts of beef and I suggested that I would make Goulash.


"Will it be nice Dads" piped up my princess. "What exactly is goulash?"

I explained that Goulash was a meat stew, generally using beef or lamb in a tomato based sauce with loads of paprika for flavour. The kids had seen a shop in Publika, one of the nearby shopping centres, that served Goulash and they made a reference to that, asking if mine would be better.

"I really dont know coz we haven't tried their Goulash have we?"

The kids proceeded to 'interrogate' me further on when I had last made Goulash, was it nice, if I really knew how to make it, was it nice, why hadn't I made it for them before, was it nice....