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Afternoon Tea

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25 Jun 2020

Momo (Nepali Dumplings)

By Faizah

So I was talking to my colleagues at work about food and dumplings and yummy stuff to eat, when Shu mentioned momos. Momos are Nepalese dumplings, she said, and you eat them with chutney.

To me, that sounded simply wonderful. I have always loved dumplings, and I also thoroughly enjoy making them especially the pleating part which I find most therapeutic. However, the dumplings I’m used to have always been the East Asian variety (mandu, wonton, gyoza), and I’ve tried Filipino molo which isn’t too different either. Now here I was, presented with a more exotic variety of dumpling, filled with flavorful spices and herbs like cumin and coriander and cilantro, and I simply couldn’t wait to experience it.

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24 Jun 2020

Breadmaker Kayu Keramat

By Faizah

Growing up in Terengganu, one of my favorite afternoon tea snacks was kayu keramat. Literally translated as ‘sacred stick’ (don’t ask), it is basically a lightly sweet fried dough. A local doughnut, so to speak.

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20 Jun 2020

Steamed Banana Buns

By Faizah

Saw this recipe on Youtube a few weeks back. Everything was in Chinese, but the ingredients and the concept shown was enough for me to imagine how tasty these buns might be.

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26 Apr 2020

Japanese Meat Buns (Nikuman)

By Faizah

I’ve always loved Japan, their wonderful country, culture and food. Oftentimes when I visit a konbini like Lawson or Family Mart I’d stare longingly at the selection of steamed buns, especially the nikuman, and wonder what they taste like. Of course I’ll never know for real, as they are most certainly made of pork and are therefore out of bounds for me.

Since I’ve been making steamed buns of late, it finally hit me. Why didn’t I think of making my own (permissible) nikuman sooner? Thanks to the Internet I found a few recipes for reference, and I finally got around to making my own Japanese meat buns.

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04 Apr 2020

Breadmaker Milo Buns

By Faizah

I’ve been putting off making this recipe for a while now, and finally got around to it today. We got a jar of Ovomaltine Crunchy Spread from Tiffany , and I figured a malted chocolate spread would be a great match for these Milo buns. These buns are pillowy soft, and the crunch from the Ovomaltine gave it an amazing contrast of textures. Try it out!

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25 Jan 2020

Chicken Char Siew Buns

By Faizah

I love dim sum. Dolly Dim Sum, Luk Yu Tea House and Lai Po Heen are my favorite places in KL for good dim sum, but unfortunately it’s not often that I get a chance to enjoy their food.

One of the typical dim sum I would order are the BBQ chicken buns, or chicken char siew bao. Lately Kak’mbang and I started making pau again using my trusty breadmaker, so I thought, why not try out fillings we haven’t tried before?

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15 Sep 2019

Homemade Bagels

By Faizah

I love bagels. Especially the ones freshly toasted and slathered with a ton of cream cheese. Top it with some yummy smoked salmon and you’ll have a complete breakfast.

I tried making my own bagels before which turned out pretty yummy, however it wasn’t very long before they became a bit stale. So I found another recipe by Serious Eats which applies the Japanese method of using yukone, a water-based roux which is supposed to improve the browning and shelf-life of bread.

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28 Apr 2019

Weekend Cooking: New York-Style Bagels

By Faizah

It’s so hard to find good bagels in KL. I can name a couple of bakeries selling it, but can’t say they are particularly spectacular. One day I had a major craving for bagels, so I looked up a few recipes and picked up the one by Sophisticated Gourmet, which didn’t seem too complicated compared to others.

My first try making this, I completely messed up the water-to-flour ratio and the dough resembled alien goo. The second time around, I went back to my learnings in the science of breadmaking, and got the ratios spot on. However I also had some problems with my breadmaker during the second try, and had to knead the dough by hand. Such a good workout, lol.

Verdict: absolutely loved it. This will definitely be my go-to recipe for bagels – simple, no frills, and absolutely delicious straight out of the oven.

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14 Jun 2018

RayaFest 2018: Pulut Lepa Terengganu

By Faizah

Being from Terengganu, I grew up thinking fish is a natural, common ingredient in so many local favorites; nasi lemak with sambal ikan tongkol, karipap, pulut panggang (we call ’em pulut lepa)… but *of course* fish is the main ingredient!

Wait… you guys have nasi lemak with chicken rendang and *gasp* paru (beef lung)? Karipap kentang? What is this orange coconut nonsense in this pulut panggang?!! Well, imagine how shocked I was discovering what them West-coast folks are eating.  This was probably when I was about 7 or 8 years old.

Anyway, fast forward to today, I really miss the East-coast pulut panggang with fish filling.  On very rare occassions someone managed to find it here in KL and I would eagerly wolf them down, but they mostly turned out quite underwhelming.  But we compromised anyway, because it was better than nothing.

Finally I thought, why not make it myself and serve it for Hari Raya? I looked around for recipes online, and combined with Kak’mbang’s knowledge and experience we managed to make a decent Terengganu-syle pulut lepa which Mummy and my aunties (all Terengganu natives) accepted as truly authentic.

Here it is, if you ever feel like having some Terengganu fare.  Do note that this recipe makes a lot, so feel free halving it.  Leftover fish filling can also be used in yummy Terengganu-style karipap.

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