Birthday Cakes

I know.

My birthday was over 1 month ago or something. But I thought I just had to post up all the pretty pictures of the cakes that had the pleasure of occupying my fridge during the short few days of its lifespan.

Kai Lin's Tiramisu Cake
recipe from thepioneerwoman.com
Could not find ANY savioradi lady's fingers from the shop around my flat so settled with Tesco's flan cake which tasted like cardboard. But overall, not bad recipe.

Sorry it's takken with a flash.

Phey Ming's Chocolate Cake
Told myself I will make a cake for each of my flatmates this year. Managed to make one in time for Kai Lin but unfortunately, not in time for the other flatmate (as she came back one day earlier than expected from her peripheral attachment. So not my fault ok)
Therefore, this cake was bought from Tesco

We decorated it ourselves.

Phey Ming's Pandan Layer Cake
recipe from my junior Peipei at flower-monster.blogspot.com
Too much pandan essence in the jelly/kaya part. But the sponge bit was alright.

Lol. Was too excited to try the cake that I forgot to take a picture of it assembled.

All The Cakes During Our Combined Dinner Celebration

Baked by Su Ping. Absolutely decadent.

Diabetic chocolate cake from Double Dutch

Another cake - a blueberry cheesecake, also from Double Dutch

My Other Various Cakes

From Fisher's In The City

From WyKeat


Chocolate cake from Kai Lin

I think I last weighed 100 kg 2 months ago.

Checked yesterday and I've actually touched 150.

Thanks for the cakes guys. Thanks.

When You Are Deprived...

of food in the UK and chance upon a restaurant that does a seafood steamboat/bbq buffet for 15pounds, you...---

Leap For Joy and Praise the Lord.

Because after a 45 min drive to this undisclosed food haven, we feasted on food that was mouthwateringly-oh-so-delish.


Imagine an array of crabs, scallops, squid, prawns, mussels etc that you can eat as much as you want.


Even the crabs here, especially crab shells/head which is my absolute fav are bigger than the ones in Malaysia (well, not ALL the times I've eaten back home, but this is pretty darn good) and filled with this amazing thing called crab roe. Or eggs. Or whatever you call them. I don't care.

Look at that. Is it calling out to be slurped down or what?!
Bye Bye crab roe.

I could go on and on about the food here. However, let's instead talk about the cast of characters that were present. I hardly ever describe anyone in my blog to detail, but because the people that night all stood out in some way or other with regards to the meal, I shall break the policy for once.

OK. So.

First up, we have Miss DW.

Accountant extraordinaire with a Citreon Picasso car to boot and from a highly well-to-do elite family from Indonesia. She comes and eats with the saying, "I don't cook. I am served."

People cook for me okay. I am only in charge of eating.

Second, we have Miss PPL.

Possibly the easiest name to remember with the least amount of letters in them too, sums up a rather petite figure of this sleeping volcano of a chef. She can cook anything and everything. Name it and you've got it. "Please lorh, I cook better than this restaurant" - is probably what is running through her mind throughout the whole seafood affair.

WHAT IS THIS CRAP?! Chicken also not chicken, fish also not fish. -100/10.

Thirdly, Mr ACS

Rates himself 10.5/10 in the looks department and can possibly talk the hind leg off a donkey. Places himself strategically on the table and says, "Whatever that you cannot finish, put on my plate. Dank yew veli much." DBKL's (Dewan Perbandaran Kuala Lumpur) child prodigy.

Let the food come.

Fourth up, Mr MC.

Yes, one look and you know he is from somewhere exotic like Sabah. Which is in Borneo. And for your information, Borneo consists of 3 countries ok, you twats. Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Can't stand it if people say that they are going to Borneo. WHERE in BORNEO?! Borneo is not even continent. (I'm just a bit anal about this as my country is part of Borneo and hence everyone should know that it is there)

But anyway, Mr MC.
Can eat a lot of squid. Can eat a lot a lot of scallop. And can eat a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot .. Have I said a lot? of of fishballs.

All fishballs are mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine.

Lastly, Mr JK.

Tall, dark and handsome immaculate. Possible diagnosis of a vocal chord pathology as he can increase his pitch to a few hundred decibels higher than Mariah Carey's. Known for disliking seafood and never choosing to have it if given a choice.

Yes, I don't eat seafood even though all there is to eat is seafood!! Chui Ah.

And me.

Nothing needs to be said except that I heart seafood of any type, description or colour. The amount of love is directly proportional to the cost of seafood consumed.

To you I pledge my undying love and declare my utmost devotion.

If there is something in the world that is created to solely satisfy the pleasures of mankind, it is really non other that seafood.

Of course, I still accept cash, gold and diamonds. If you are good looking, I'll even settle for the latest LV bag.

A 'Gordon Ramsay' Treat

Wait.
Did I JUST hear you ask: WHO the heck is Gordon Ramsay?!


Celebrity chef of the UK, specialises in French cuisine, owns goodness knows how many Michelin star restaurants and is as famous as Jamie Oliver, thank you very much.

If you are going to ask me who Jamie Oliver is, you can stop reading now, go to your room and hide under your covers while contemplating your lack of knowledge regarding the world around you.


Fast forward to Edinburgh, and we have a Ramsay's junior chef visiting - in the form of wholly Malaysian born, fully Kuantan bred:-Mr. Tan Yan Yih.

Graduated from IMI Switzerland in Culinary Art, Mr. Tan now works in Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen at Claridges, as a commis chef, learning the ropes as he goes along and also stealing as much food and recipes as he can.

He is 22 years old, 174 cm tall, weighs 68kg, of Chinese origin and is pretty darn rich as far as I can tell. His Facebook name is Tan Yan Yih, Friendster page: Aryan Tan and msn ---

Eh, I am not stalking him okay.

Anyway, Mr. Tan decided to grace our kitchens by preparing us a proper fine dining meal, worthy to be served in Gordon Ramsay's Michelin star restaurants. A mouth watering gastronomic delight main course of lamb shank tastefully matched with mint sauce, a starter of crab meat salad chilled with fish roe dressing and to finish up - a deliciously sweet dessert of pear tarts with a side serving of rich cold ice cream was the menu of the night and I went to sleep the night before thinking happy thoughts.

Only to find out the next day that Edinburgh has no butcher's to get the lamb shank, crab is almost non existent, and the oven in the kitchen is of so poor temperature control quality that the baking of a rich yet light base for the tarts is almost close to mission impossible.

Well, to be honest, we do have a butcher who has got lamb shanks and we do have crabs which are affordable.
However, one can think that the cook might not be experienced enough to prepare the above mentioned dishes or we can blame it on other factors.
Depends on how you roll.

So, our Gordon Ramsay chef opted for Tesco Pork Steaks and Tesco Bramley apples to prepare the main dish : Pork Steak and Apple Sauce.
Courtesy of Tesco.
Wait, I mean, of Victoria Chan whose friend he was and who paid for everything.
*We love you!*

The host of ingredients

Of course, there is never only one chef in any Michelin star restaurant. There is always, always, more than that.

Introducing:

Gordon Ramsay's protege/Head Chef of West Richmond Kitchen

West Richmond Kitchen untapped talent for cooking/Sous Chef

The one who cuts and washes the mud of the potatoes/West Richmond Kitchen noob

For extra credit, I chopped all those mushrooms and apples into small, small, smaaaaaalll pieces ok.

Then promptly forgot to put the apples in water to prevent oxidisation because Mr. Gordon Ramsay didn't tell me and got yelled at a la Ramsay style for the end product was a lifeless brown colour when it really should have a shining white yellowy tint.

Oh CRAP! Oxidised apples. -_-

Hard at work chopping fresh basil/mint/coriander leaves. Sure, the head chef chops the easy ones and I chop things like rock hard green Bramley apples. This is what they call child labour.

Finally after about 1 1/2 hours, we were ready to roll.

The starter:Crispy garden salad leaves with deep fried bacon bits (which I CUT TOO), quarters of boiled egg and small cherry vine tomatoes seasoned with herbs and salt and finished off with Tesco Finest Sweet Balsamic Vinegar.

We do love Tesco.

Main Course:

Fresh out of the oven - the pork steaks.

All delicately sliced and nicely presented on its bed of mash potatoes (infused with MINT) with a side sweep of freshly picked greens, a salty concoction of fried chestnut, shiitake and portobello mushrooms and topped with sweet as honey apple sauce and sun blushed tomatoes slightly grilled to tippy top perfection.

It is then drizzled with reduced juices from the steaks.
*Shivers*

All for show ok.

What we really had was a spread of every thing, piecing together the bits ourselves as we all dig in unceremoniously into the food.


Who wants to wait for the head chef to plate everything?

Or the more likely situation is he was too lazy to plate it and told us to eat it ourselves.
Unceremoniously.

Dessert was Tiramisu made from the most refined mascorpone cheese and rum recipe you can find in Gordon's kitchen and also a trifle of triple chocolate mousse that our Head Chef made FROM SCRATCH.

HAH.

TOP THAT.

SCRATCH OK.

THEY DO NOT SERVE ANYTHING THAT IS PROCESSED IN GORDON RAMSAY'S KITCHEN.

THEY GROW THEIR OWN POTATOES, MILK THEIR OWN COWS THAT ARE FED OF ORGANIC FOOD AND SMOKE THEIR OWN HAM. THEY EVEN CULTURE THEIR OWN CHEESE AND SUN WATER FROM THE DEAD SEA FOR ITS SALT.

All in a little back garden called The Gordon Ramsay Spot.

*damn, I am doing so much publicity for him, some one should pay me advertisement fees*

But dessert -

Tiramisu we had, triple chocolate trifle we had -


all Tesco brand.


Because our Gordon Ramsay child prodigy says that according to the current latest up-to-date economy and an all round market survey of student spending habits in Edinburgh, these desserts are not profitable to make for our sampling.

Fine.

We got Tesco okay.

*Tesco should ALSO pay me for advertisement*

And since we already had our 80-pound-a-meal from 'Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen at Claridges' minus wine, we have nothing more to ask for.

Except to ensure Mr. Tan Yan Yih remains our friend forever. Because he can cook.
And Miss Victoria Chan too. Because she can pay.

Muax.

Greek & Turkish Foodfare

Greek Culinary Delights

1. Greek Salad
A bed of onions, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce drenched with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper with a slab of feta cheese on top. Just like a regular salad but the feta cheese makes all the difference. Tweak the taste to your fancy with the bottles of olive oil and vinegar that accompanies every meal.

2. Greek Yoghurt

A serving of fresh original yoghurt with condiments on the side. Best if taken with pure greek honey and walnuts if available.
Depends where you are, they might have preserved fruits in syrup which also tastes oh-so-heavenly.

3. Stuffed items

Clock wise from top , bread, greek salad, fava beans and stuffed vine leaves.

Stuffed tomatoes
Clockwise from left: Stuffed onions, greek salad, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed mushrooms.

Ooooh, their stuffed vegetables are grrrrrrrreat. Make sure you try some fava beans, and vine leaves!

4. Seafood

Seafood spaghetti

Ah.... a country by the sea and not have it's seafood? Cardinal sin!!! However, on a personal note, I prefer the chinese way of cooking seafood. Shh. Secret. Don't tell the Greeks.

Turkish Gastronomic Wonders

1. Kebab

Aubergine Kebab
Iskendar Kebab

None of the oily, greasy british kebabs you get here, but kebabs bursting with flavour and winning hands down with its presentation!

2. Pide
Which actually means Turkish Pizza. Gives Pizza Hut a run for its money.

3. Mussels stuffed with rice
Sold by the roadside on a barrow by the river, it really is: Mussels and rice, loaded with ground pepper that gives it a smashing spicy taste. 1 lyra for 2, I can literally stand there and eat the same thing the whole day.

3. Fish Burger
Baguette slapped on with slices of fresh fish, grilled on the spot. Squirt on some lemon juice and sprinkle a dash of salt - tastes fantabulous!
Look out for the rocking boats though, it's amazing how the fish manages to stay on the grill, and the cook manages to stay on the boat.


4. Baklava
OH MY GOODNESS. Ever tasted something SO GOOD that is just indescribable? Welcome to the world of Baklava. Absolutely gorgeous for the sweet tooth and irresistible even to the most hardcore bitter-lover, this baby is a sure one way ticket to Diabetes-Dom.

5. Apple Tea
Funny how I was told to sample their to-die-for apple tea, but what the locals really drink is regular tea. A tiny cup like that intensely flavoured (be it apple or regular tea) with 2 blocks of sugar and no milk (NO MILK please, God Forbid), is actually tipping my my preference of the English tea to the Turkish one.

And what every young person needs, a good dose of alcohol in the system. Presenting:
Oozo (left), and Raki(right).
Sitting at a folding table, by the side of the street of Monastiraki in Greece, not quite unlike Chee Cheong Kai in KL, we sampled what was true Greek alcohol (so said by the barman).

Oozo tasted like Hacks, the old-man sweet you take when you cough, and Raki - supposed to be downed as ice cold shots - like petrol. And then again, which hard liquor doesn't taste like petrol? And Raki is supposed to be wine.

Raki shots.

Oozo 'Hacks' drink.

Instead of taking Hacks, you now have Oozo. The true medication for the cough, it gives you a kick to the brain too.

Turkey's an Islamic country, don't ask.