Where cool cats linger
I’m just a cat-loving Malaysian who loves to eat, cook, and bake. I also modify recipes from various cuisines into Halal, Muslim-friendly versions, and share them here so you don’t have to figure it out all by yourself.
My Recipes
My experiments with cuisines from all over the world, using Halal ingredients.
Treats from my home state of Terengganu, Malaysia, as well as a few family recipes.
My best recipes, guaranteed to be crowd pleasers and a hit at potlucks and dinner parties.
My endless pursuit of the yummiest bread and dough recipes, either baked, fried, steamed and more.
Copycat recipes you can make at home, to satisfy your curiosity or cravings.
My collection of recipes by gadget, from air fryers to pressure cookers and other handy kitchen appliances. Anything to help speed up our prep work!
MY MOTTO
#nakmakanbuatsendiri
(Wanna eat? Make it yourself)
Latest Posts
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Chicken Char Siu (Halal Air Fryer Version)
CONTINUE READING: Chicken Char Siu (Halal Air Fryer Version)Many of my favorite Chinese dishes call for char siu. Yes, of course original char siu is made of pork and therefore a no-go for me. Thankfully, in Malaysia halal versions using chicken char siu are easily accessible. The nationwide lockdown caused by the COVID pandemic was a major catalyst for me to learn to…
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Make Your Own: Duck or Chicken Fat
CONTINUE READING: Make Your Own: Duck or Chicken FatI think my first time ever dabbling with cooking using animal fat was when I made Jamie Oliver’s roast duck. The recipe uses fat rendered from the duck to make incredible duck fat roast potatoes, leaving a lot of fat to spare for other uses. Another recipe I made was duck fat mashed potatoes, which…
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Rotiboy / PappaRoti Copycat Coffee Buns
CONTINUE READING: Rotiboy / PappaRoti Copycat Coffee BunsI tried making Rotiboy. I’m in really big trouble. I’ve been thinking about making this fluffy, addictive bun for years now. The closure of the iconic Rotiboy KLCC branch in 2024 sparked some nostalgia in me, and nudged me to finally get the project going.
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MENU IDEAS
Having a Party?
I used to organize dinner parties with my friends, dubbed The Dinner Club. I’d propose a menu along with the estimated cost, and we’d set a date. I’d do all the cooking, and my friends chip in for groceries. Here are the menus for my past Dinner Club sessions, in case you need some inspo.
MAKE YOUR OWN INGREDIENTS
To Make, or To Buy?
Sometimes I’m just lazy to run to the store to get something. Sometimes certain ingredients cost a bomb, or simply aren’t available to buy. Take a look at spice mixes and other ingredients I’ve made myself, for use in recipes in this site.
Many of my favorite Chinese dishes call for char siu. Yes, of course original char siu is made of pork and therefore a no-go for me. Thankfully, in Malaysia halal versions using chicken char siu are easily accessible. The nationwide lockdown caused by the COVID pandemic was a major catalyst for me to learn to make these dishes myself, in addition to my desire to have more control over ingredients and food additives consumed by my family. When cravings set in and our usual restaurants were unavailable, I learned to make my own chicken char siu at home.
I used the wonderful recipe by @recipe_tin as a starting point, but instead of grilling them, I used my trusty air fryer. Aside from using chicken, obviously, to halal-ify this recipe I used rice vinegar with a bit of sugar in place of shaoxing wine. I’ve also used black vinegar before, with equally yummy results. Another thing to watch out for is the hoisin sauce. The Lee Kum Kee brand I use in Malaysia is halal-certified. However, if this is not available to you, check the ingredients to make sure it is alcohol-free and vegetarian friendly. For those who don’t take shellfish, vegetarian oyster sauce is an option.
This is a very low-touch recipe, incredibly easy to make. The chicken is marinated overnight, then cooked in the air fryer with minimal minding required. Use this chicken char siu recipe to make steamed BBQ meat buns (char siu bao) or char siu fried rice, or use as a topping for wan tan mee, and so on and so forth. Enjoy!
For the recipe, search for `air fryer char siu` in my blog, linked in my profile.
#airfryerrecipes #chickencharsiu #halalcharsiu #halalified #charsiuayam #nakmakanbuatsendiri
Made chocolate swirl bread a week ago.
I usually use the Japanese milk bread recipe by King Arthur Baking as the base dough for this bread, but I didn’t feel like taking the trouble to make the tangzhong, so I used a scaled-down version of my roti paung tecipe recipe instead. I also had some chocolate spread I needed to finish, so I slathered some of it between the two sheets of rolled out dough. The chocolate spread really elevated what is already a yummy (and pretty-looking) bread.
For the recipe, search for ‘chocolate swirl bread’ in my blog, linked in my profile.
#homemadebread #chocolateswirlbread #rotibuatsendiri #nakmakanbuatsendiri
I think my first time ever dabbling with cooking using animal fat was when I made Jamie Oliver`s roast duck. The recipe uses fat rendered from the duck to make incredible duck fat roast potatoes, leaving a lot of fat to spare for other uses. Since then I`ve been finding different ways to use up the leftover duck fat I have on hand, in vegetable stir fries, for frying potatoes, even in savory bread dough. Even though I rarely cook duck, I still accumulate chicken skin and fat trimmed off from my everyday meal prep, so from time to time I am able to replenish my stock of poultry fat.
I`ve looked at a few different videos and websites on how best to render duck or chicken fat from skin. Many suggest starting in a cold pan or pot over medium low heat and adding some water. However, after multiple tries, the skin keeps ending up sticking to the bottom of the pot, often overbrowning or even burning. This results in dark-colored fat, and not to mention a much more difficult cleanup.
I decided to take a step back and look for a better method. I recalled when making seared crispy duck breast, the duck was placed skin-side down in a cold pan and heated over medium low heat. This method slowly renders out the fat, resulting in crispy skin. With this in mind, why not do the same thing with chicken skin? After some searching I found a video by Mary`s Nest which confirms my theory. Starting the skins in a cold shallow pan, without any added water, renders the fat really well. The skin also eventually ends up floating on the surface of the fat, sparing you the trouble of scraping crusty bits from the bottom of the pan later. This is now my trusted method for rendering chicken or duck fat.
If you`re the type to trim or remove the skin and fat from chicken when cooking, consider saving them. I usually make a new batch every time I have about a kilogram`s worth. Rendered chicken fat is truly like liquid gold, a small amount can give such great aroma to your dishes. The cracklings are an added bonus; season with your favorite flavors and enjoy an addictive (albeit unhealthy) snack. Do give it a try!
Read more in my blog, linked in my profile.
I tried making Rotiboy. I’m in really big trouble.
I’ve been thinking about making this fluffy, addictive bun for years now. The closure of the iconic Rotiboy KLCC branch in 2024 sparked some nostalgia in me, and nudged me to finally get the project going.
Jump to Recipe
There were plenty of videos online, but I was intrigued by the method shared by Buttermilk Pantry on YouTube so I tried that one. Interestingly, the directions call for us to wrap a chunk of butter in a smaller piece of dough, before wrapping it with a bigger piece of dough to make a roll. The idea was to prevent the butter from leaking out during baking. My first attempt making this, I didn’t do this step well enough and a few of them still leaked. The rolls still turned out really delicious, but it lacked the desired cavity in the middle full of melty salted butter goodness like the ones from Rotiboy. This minor setback simply meant I needed to get better at it with more practice. More Rotiboy? The horror!
The first recipe I followed made only 6 Rotiboy, which is simply not enough. So in subsequent attempts, I looked at other sources for inspiration. My final recipe was based on the version by The Meatmen Channel, which makes a more respectable 8 Rotiboy.
Making the coffee topping was interesting for me, as I’m more of a bread person and very rarely work with cake or cookie batter. The piping bags here at home were a bit too large given the amount of frosting for this recipe, so I just repurposed a small Ziploc bag. This recipe should make exactly the right amount of frosting for eight Rotiboy.
These buns are insanely good fresh out of the oven. The crunchy topping contrasts so well with the soft, fluffy bread, and you get a wonderful mix of sweet and salty flavors. You will find it very hard to stop at just one. You have been warned.
Search for `Rotiboy` in my blog, linked in my profile.
https://purrfectbliss.com/2025/07/29/rotiboy-papparoti-copycat-coffee-buns/
Made Mary Ryan’s chicken pie today.
Started making the filling in the morning, but had to rush out for unch and movie with friends towards the end, so forgot to take a few photos. Shaped, filled the and baked the pies after I got home. Overbrowned the first batch a bit I think, but the second tray turned out just right.
Check out the recipe by searching ‘Mary Ryan’ on my blog! www.purrfectbliss.com
Made sweet & sour luncheon meat with potatoes.
Had this for lunch. Used luncheon meat I recently bought from @lolilisdelightschinesemuslims. Tried a healthier version this time, air fried the luncheon meat at 200c for 10 minutes, and the potatoes at 200c for 18 minutes. Real comfort food. Love!
Check out the recipe by searching “sweet sour luncheon” in my blog! www.purrfectbliss.com
#halalluncheonmeat #lolilisdelights #lunchideas #nakmakanmasaksendiri
Finally, (halal) lap cheong fried rice!
Super thrilled to actually find halal lap cheong. Mummy used to tell me how happy she was when her relatives who run a Chinese Muslim restaurant in Hong Kong would bring over Chinese sausages and waxed duck and such, and how Nenek would make fried rice with the sausages. For a long time, I could only imagine what they taste like. I used to get delicious halal luncheon meat from @lolilisdelightschinesemuslims, and when I recently realised they also have these cured sausages, I was ecstatic. Also love the fact that these sausages don’t have nitrates and all the nasty stuff associated with cured meats.
I based this fried rice on the recipe by @yummeth, as well as my own Chinese fried rice recipe. First I cooked the sausages over low heat to render out the fat, before going full inferno for the rest of the dish. The sausages are a little chewy, salty and a little sweet. Simple, delicious comfort food! Yum!
#halallapcheong #lapcheongfriedrice #chinesesausagefriedrice
Made Rotiboy for my mom, as promised.
Here I was waiting for the oven to finish preheating. Will share the recipe soon!
#rotiboy #homemaderotiboy #coffeebun #coffeebuns #nakmakanbuatsendiri
