Cherry Almond Cake

Many years ago.... say around 2002, I bought a loaf of cake, studded with cherries. Normally I don't quite enjoy eating glace cherries...but in that cake, it was quite delectable.

I didn't know that it's actually a 'type of cake', I thought, it's just a pound cake with 'dump-in-any-thing-you-like-to-pretty-it-up' sort of thing. Last year while surfing for recipes.... I found that, it's actually a type of cake, that is popular in the UK. You can get many variations of the recipe, mostly from UK recipe sites.

Potato Salad with Apple

It's a salad? Looks like mash... yeah... either way.
But it's not dressed with butter but mayonnaise, so I guess that makes it a salad.

Rustic Apple Cake

Lydia walloped half of this cake by herself. A 5-year old eating half an 8 inch cake!!!! Not in 1 sitting, but 2. One quarter during tea, another quarter for supper! GAWD! But she didn’t eat dinner. But still….. I allowed her, because.. it’s a not a sinful cake. I made this cake 2 years ago, and now she's 7.

Anne, she really loved this cake. Really did.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

I'm lazy...... bought my cranberries for around 2 years, kept frozen. Yes, you read it right, 2 years.
Finally, I baked this cake.

And being absent minded, I didn't notice most recipes calls for the cake to stay in pan for 30 minutes before overturning. Instead I treated it like pineapple upside down cake that needs to be inverted right away after removing from the oven.......

Cranberry Orange Jam

It's the season for cranberries!
I used to think cranberries were bitter and very sour.... that was after tasting a cranberry sauce meant for a roasted turkey. Surprisingly this jam was nice after all the sugar was added. No prominent bitterness.... just a faint note that can be ignored.

You can use this to spread on bread, as a filling for cookies or a topping for cheesecakes.
If not, just mix with water and take it as a drink.

Cranberries are good for you, especially the men :)

Taro Porridge 芋头粥

I truly regretted not cooking more of this. It’s the absolute must try for taro cake lovers, or what you may call as yam cake lovers.

Peng is such a genius to think of transforming the taro cake into porridge form. Seriously! I love going to her blog to get inspirations for everyday dishes. She’s got lots of good recipes, with some combinations that I have never ever seen before and all her recipes that I've tried all taste good to me.
Well, I know that cooking is unlike baking, where one can just throw in whatever you like. But, it has to mingle well. Cooking is like wearing clothes, you need the right combination and pairing. Not all flavours work well together. Although edible, but it may not necessarily taste nice. But Peng’s ingenious pairing and combinations always brings the “ooo” and “ahh” out of me.

I may have changed the recipe, but all credits to her for the idea.

Taro Sago Dessert 芋头西米露

I first made this more than 10 years ago, and I also served this for my pre wedding reception.
It was well received and the first to be finished.

Last time, I used to make this using only taro, but, this time, I added in a little bit of purple sweet potato for natural purple pigment. Lovely hue :-)
You can choose to use only taro.

Herb Buttered Baby Potatoes

My potato monster calls these fishball potatoes :)

Lyanne loves potatoes, all sort of potatoes, while the eldest doesn't quite like it.
There was a time when she was around two, she was so picky, that all she eats is either white rice or potatoes.

When I made this, she ate a bowl of it. Sometimes, being a mother to a picky kid, I can't think much. As long as she's willing to eat anything but the usual white rice, I'll just let her eat.

Turmeric Stir fried Chicken ~ Ayam Goreng Kunyit @ My Fav Ala-Thai #3

My final fav ala-Thai

When I was pregs with #2, I craved for white rice. Sometimes, I will eat rice at 7pm, and ask rice again at 10pm. And the rice's taste cannot be overpowered by the dishes. I wanted to taste rice, but yet, won't want plain white rice with nothing.

This dish was the one that I ate with my rice cravings. Not that I didn't like this pre pregnancy, I have loved it all the while, just that, I loved it even more during pregnancy.

Sliced Beef Soup ~ Sup Daging @ My Fav Ala-Thai #2

My low carbo fix for supper cravings!
This is what I will order if I want something light for the tummy. I know....  'light'... *laughing cheekily*

Ala-Thai eateries usually will have a big pot of beef broth in their kitchen, mainly from boiling the beef chunk for their beef stir fry dishes.

Squids in Soy Sauce ~ Sotong Masak Kicap @ My Fav Ala-Thai #1

Ala-Thai restaurants are a common sight in Malaysia. Some people prefer calling them TomYam shops. These restaurants serve dishes that is popular in southern Thailand and with some local fusion as well. The best ones were said to employ Thai cooks instead of locals. I can hardly get a good Ala-Thai restaurant in KK, but I had happy times in Johor Bahru. It seemed that every Ala-Thai restaurant that I go to, it's delicious.

But no matter where I am in Malaysia, my favourite Ala-thai dishes never changes and it's with these dishes, I make that yardstick whether I like the restaurant or not. They have to cook my favourite dishes well. People around me love to go for Padprik or Pattaya fried rice, or even masak merah. But I seem to love those that they don't think of ordering. And oh yeah.. I love those small plates of ulam with sambal belacan that is on the house. Not because they are free, but I love the crunch of the raw vege dipped into the pungent spicy sambal. Goes very well with the dishes I love.

Farewell Asian Food Fest....

It's been a great 12 months.
Seriously great!

A big thank you to all my hosts, Alan, Lena, Shannon, Annie, Sharon, Alice, Alvin, Kelly, Swee San and Grace.
Thank you for writing the write up, hosting and doing all the postings and cooking to spur others into trying out Asian cuisine, and most probably going out of our own comfort zone. It wasn't easy and I'm glad it all turned out well.

Thank you to all fellow bloggers who participated, and sorry if there were instances when we had to send you a PM for certain issues. I hope that you will forgive me.

And lastly, thank you all the readers who have supported this event in your very own way. Thank you.

And as for those who remember, I mentioned before that there will be an event that focuses on China's cuisine. I am not the organizer, and the organizer mentioned to me, that we shall take a few month's rest.

I would also like to apologize to everybody as I seem less proactive this time compared to MFF.
I do hope that my blogging mojo will come back soon, as now I am feeling great slacking...... not a good news eh! Haha.

Here is the original AFF page with all the FAQ's, if you like to read it.

And here is our Facebook page of which you can access for as long as it lasts :)

And here are all the monthly events..... have a look


Japan
Thailand
West Asia
Hong Kong and Macau
Indonesia
Korea
India Subcontinent
French Indochina
Philippines
Taiwan
Singapore


or just scroll all the way down!

Singapore Food Fest - Finale.... Sept 2014

Singapore Food Fest is the final country to be featured in our event.
Hosted by Grace Phua, you can visit her blog and read about the food of Singapore

Here is our Singapore Food gallery on Facebook 

An InLinkz Link-up

Taiwan Food Fest - August 2014

Hosted by Alan of Travelling Foodies.
Visit his blog to read his writings about the food of Taiwan

See our Facebook entries... click here

An InLinkz Link-up

Philippines Food Fest - July 2014

Hosted by Swee San of The Sweet Spot

See our Facebook entries.. click here

Here are our entries this month

An InLinkz Link-up

French Indochina Food Fest - June 2014

Hosted by Kelly of Kelly Siew Cooks

Although Vietnamese cuisine is popular in our region, it's quite a quiet month.
May was the month of school holidays in Malaysia and Singapore... and we see less entries as everybody is busy

Entries on Facebook... totalling 31 

and here are our entries

An InLinkz Link-up

Indian Subcontinent Food Fest - May 2014

Hosted by Alvin of Chef and Sommelier

See the Facebook Gallery, a total of 114 entries 

and here are the submissions

An InLinkz Link-up

Korean Food Fest - April 2014

Hosted by Sharon of Feats of Feast

See our Facebook Gallery here.. a total of 74 entries

and here are our participants

An InLinkz Link-up

Indonesia Food Fest - March 2014

Hosted by Alice of I Love. I Cook.I Bake

See our Facebook entries here....63 in total

and here are our participants

An InLinkz Link-up

Hong Kong and Macau Food Fest - Jan Feb 2014

Hosted by Annie of Annielicious Food
It was held for 2 months, due to Chinese New Year when everyone is busy.

See the Facebook Gallery .. click here

And here are the entries

An InLinkz Link-up

West Asia Food Fest - Dec 2013

This event was hosted by Shannon of Just as Delish.


Our gallery of entries on Facebook.. click here


And here are the entries for West Asia

An InLinkz Link-up

Thailand Food Fest - Nov 2013

Thailand Food Fest was hosted by Lena of Her Frozen Wings
The event was held from 1st Nov to 31st Nov 2013

Visit our Facebook gallery page.. click here

Our entries for the month

Japan Food Fest - Oct 2013

Hosted by Alan of Travelling Foodies

Japan Food Fest was the first country featured in our blogging event.

Click here to see the the round up that Alan has done, manually.

Kueh Sarlat - AFF Singapore #4

My final AFF entry.....

Kuih Sarlat is known as Seri Muka here in Malaysia,  generally comes with white rice and green custardy layers. Seri Muka is the favourite of my man.. and also my little man now, haha!

This time, I shall try it with some blue pea extract, like how it's common in Singapore. I heard this colour combo is also found in Malacca... but it's for Singapore this round. No arguments please. Acknowledge the similarities, and embrace the differences.

Ah Balling 花生汤圆~ Singapore AFF #3

I've been slacking in my blogging lately..... I can't cope with work, family and blogging. So, I have to slow down. There are times when I felt liberated when I don't touch the computer, but I just keep on taking pictures of the things I make occasionally, not knowing if I'll ever write about them. My mind is still curious about food, thinks about new recipes all the time... just that I feel tired to blog. It's not easy to let go a part of me that I have built for 7 years

Glad that I still managed to cook this days ago.

Coconut Orh Nee (Taro Paste) - Singapore AFF #2

I had Orh Nee once.... brought home by my brother, a gift from this customer, saying it's available only through ordering, and he purposely got one for my brother to taste.

I expected something sweet and fragrant, but it was oily, bland, lightly salty and reeked of lard. I don't know if it was a 'no sugar' version or what, but it wasn't a pleasant experience and my mom decided to get it out from the house when everybody spat out the only spoonful we put into our mouths.

I can't believe my first experience had to be that way.

Singapore Teochew Bak Kut Teh - Singapore AFF #1

The Bak Kut Teh that I grew up eating in Malaysia is brown and herby. Pungent with angelica (dongguai) and comes  with 'spare parts'.

In Singapore, it is actually quite different from the ones we eat here. It looks pale and resembles the familiar pepper soup, but it is so much more garlicky, in a good way.

Taiwanese Bamboo Rice 台湾竹筒饭 - AFF Taiwan Chewies #5

I have access to fresh bamboo. So, it's not an excuse not to try making this.
My husband's employee falls her bamboo bush every Eid and I must ask for it in advance as I won't know when will the bamboo be cut down. As bamboo dries up easily, I can not wait for long once I receive them.

I have never eaten this before, but our AFF Taiwan host, Alan did, many times.
So, he told me what is in those that he ate and with some reference pictures I saw online... I embarked on a mission to copycat the modern Taiwanese Bamboo Rice, the version that you could probably buy at night markets.

Taiwanese Mugwort Dumpling 草仔粿 - Sticky #1

Chinese Mugwort 艾草 (pronounced "ngai chou” in Cantonese) is a household herb that is usually used in omelettes and soups. It can also be used to add colour and flavour to dumplings. This herb is said to be good for women and to dispel wind from the body

This dumpling is also found in China and Malaysia as well. In China, it can go with many names like 清明粑，清明糍，艾草粑粑 and quite a few more that I can't remember. There are some differences between the Taiwanese version and the rest.

Taiwanese Hakka Tang Yuan - AFF Taiwan ~ Chewies #3

Tang Yuan, is usually eaten during the Winter Solstice Festival.
They are made with glutinous rice flour, round and chewy.
One can either make them plain, or filled with fillings like red bean, peanuts, or  black sesame paste.

For the Taiwanese Hakka, they will cook tang yuan in a savoury broth. They love to use aromatic vegetables in the broth. My family also cooks savoury tang yuan, but not in the same way.

Taro Balls 芋圆 - Taiwan AFF Chewies #2

I can frankly tell you, I'm not a fan of these things.

I ate them at Blackball before and didn't fall in love with it, but I won't say I hate them. I will still eat them, but not looking forward to them .

My husband's family makes a savoury version with leeks and crab, as a traditional dish every second day of the Chinese New Year. My husband do not look forward to that too, although he has been eating them since he was a kid.

Liang Yuan (Cool Rounds) 凉圆 - AFF Taiwan Chewies # 1

Liang Yuan is an old time snack in Taiwan. Sold by uncles on pushcarts, displayed on blocks of ice. But of course.... not all are sold that way nowadays.

I didn't know of this, until my mom, an avid fan of Taiwanese cooking shows told me about it.
My friend said, it's not that nice to eat.. hmmm.... So, should I try?
I thought.. no harm to try. And so I did.

Sans Rival -AFF Philippines~Pinoy Bakes #3

I heard of this dessert many many years ago, from a fellow blogger friend Anne. From then... it was my 'dream' to bake one myself as I was intrigued by the layers of cashew nut dacquoise filled with french buttercream and topped with more cashew nuts... a nutty delight!

Nowadays there are many flavours of Sans Rival in Philippines, like mango, coffee and chocolate. But I guess I'll just try the original flavour, that's just with nuts.

French Buttercream

I thought... French Buttercream will taste heavy. Maybe heavier than Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Not really. I actually enjoyed this more than SMBC. But too bad it's far less stable in our tropical room temperature. Light and smooth.....almost like ice cream. Melts quickly like ice cream too.. if the room is too warm.

The major difference of French Buttercream with Meringue Buttercreams is that the French method uses egg yolks and the meringue method uses egg whites. Hmm.... maybe that's why. Ice cream is made with egg yolks as well :-)

Crema de Fruta - AFF Philippines , Pinoy Bakes #2

Creme de Fruta is a popular dessert in Philippines. It's sponge fingers (known as broas in Philippines)  with custard, topped with canned cocktail fruits and clear jelly.

You can choose to make this with a homemade sponge or store bought sponge fingers, and I also saw some using graham crackers. I used a recipe I previously used to bake sponge fingers and baked this in a sheet form and cut out the sponge according to the size of my serving cups. Usually creme de fruta is set in a large glass tray, but I also saw some in individual servings. I also chose to spoon the custard over the sponge while it's hot, because this way, the custard will set better. I don't want to disturb it too much, afraid it will turn runny, and warm custard hydrates the sponge much better.

Filipino Caramel Cake -AFF Philippines~ Pinoy Bakes

After a week of simple cakes.. this week, we indulge in more indulgent ones.

Caramel cake is quite a common thing. But in Philippines, they have a version of their own that uses evaporated milk.

One of the most famous Caramel cakes in Philippines is from Estrel's.

I made this cake in  a large tray, instead of a round cake because I wanted to skimp on the baking time, hehehehe.

Taisan Cake- AFF Philippines ~ Merienda Cakes #3

Taisan is a chiffon loaf, that is sugary and buttery, originating from Pampanga. It can be easily found at bakery chains like Goldilocks and Red Ribbon in Philippines.

I tried baking it with a recipe that was said to come from Goldilocks. The cake was moist and soft, salty and sugary at the same time. A delight to eat. But yet, I do not know how close it is to the original Goldilocks version. To compare a Goldilocks recipe, I think I need to eat one loaf made by Goldilocks to know.

And then my wish came true....

Calamansi Muffins - AFF Philippines Merienda Cakes #2

1st recipe

Calamansi muffins is famous in the beautiful island of Boracay, Philippines. Just do a google search and you will know.

I am crazy! I made this muffin 4 times!

First time I used a mixer to do it, whacking it too much causing the muffin to be so fluffy! Not right! According to Swee San, it's supposed to be dense and moist, with a cake like texture. It wasn't as tangy as I will like it, kind of bland in terms of zing. And it had that fine texture that sticks to parts of your mouth and will need some effort to swallow, you know what I mean?

It's this type of texture, the main reason, I don't enjoy certain cafe muffins. Shenny, my reader friend will vouch with me on this.

Inipit - AFF Philippines- Merienda cakes #1

Inipit is a specialty from the region of Bulacan of Philippines.,created by Eurobake bakery.
It's like a sandwich, made with chiffon cake layers and filled with a potato custard.

When I saw the video on how it's being sandwiched.. it seems that the cake is very thin. And the custard mixture was kind of brownish orangey... something like as if it's made with sweet potatoes or has hints of caramel. Oh well, I just followed some online recipes and made it. It may not look the same as the one from Eurobake, and I couldn't get a taste of the real thing, so I can't comment much about how close it is.

Maja Blanca @ Coconut Pudding with Corn - AFF Philippines~ Merienda #2

Maja Blanca is a popular merienda/meryenda (tea time snack) from Philippines. The taste isn't unfamiliar to us. And the topping Latik (fried coconut curds) gives it a wonderful touch, although looking deceivingly unimportant, but I do not recommend leaving it out as it imparts a beautiful flavour and textural contrast to the merienda. Latik is what we locally know as tahi minyak found on top of kuih kole kacang.

Cassava Bibingka - AFF Philippines~ Merienda #1

July is the month of Philippines delights! Hop over to Swee San's blog to read up more about our event this month.

For the past few months you have been reading so much savoury recipes on my blog and this month I'm going to turn sweet tooth. I know many of my fellow Facebook friends are waiting for this month.

Amok Trey @ Cambodian Fish Mousse - AFF Indochina~ Cambodian #3

Amok Trey is freshwater fish in a spiced egg mousse.
It is not too foreign to us, as it is similar to the local nyonya otak-otak, but quite different in many ways.

One of the important ingredients in amok trey is again, prahok. You can substitute it with other ingredients like fish sauce or shrimp paste, but I personally find the flavour profile to be quite different. The other special ingredients used is fingerroot (krachai, temu kunci).

Grilled Pork Rice @ Bai Sach Chrouk - AFF Indochina~ Cambodian #2

Bai Sach Chrouk is a popular breakfast item in Cambodia.

In this dish, grilled meats are served with broken rice. Not only pork is used, but beef, chicken, duck fish, egg or whatever you prefer can be the topping for broken rice. Broken rice is rice that has broken to about less than 3/4 of their original length. A humble rice that was meant to feed chickens has now become a popular thing. There is a tale behind this dish and you can read about it here.

Num Banh Chok @ Khmer Noodles - AFF Indochina~ Cambodian #1

Num Banh Chok is fresh rice noodles in Cambodia. Quite similar with Vietnamese bún. It can be served with many types of gravy and broth. This time, I want to try Samlor Khmer, the traditional version.
Because the fresh version isn't available here, I made do with dried bún.

After I cooked this.... it hit me that it has similarities with the local Kelantanese Laksae and Laksam. Aromatic coconutty fish broth with fresh noodles...what's not to love?

Khao Piak Sen @ Lao Tapioca Noodles in Chicken Broth - Indochina AFF~ Lao Food #3

Khao Piak or Ka'piek is a chewy noodle, almost similar to the texture of udon, of which is made with wheat instead. For locals, we will find it not too far off from the texture of Lai Fun (Assam Laksa noodles, but Lai Fun is less chewy. The Vietnamese has another noodle similar to this, called Bánh canh. But served in other ways.

Lao Beef Larb - Indochina AFF Laotian #2

Larb is the national dish of Laos. It is also eaten by the people in Isan, Thailand of which most of its population are of Laotian descent. There is another Northen Thailand version that uses spices to season. Some people will make it with fresh raw beef, and it is alright if you want to have a cooked version. I'm not that brave to go for a Tatare version.

Lao Khao Soi - Indochina AFF, Laotian Week #1

This is one noodle that I highly recommend if you are a busy person and love to prepare your meals in advance.

It feels like eating instant noodles, but the soup paste is homemade! Awesome!
Just blanch your noodles, top with the meat paste and pour hot water from the kettle and you're done. The meat slices are optional. Better than instant noodles from the packet. I love to keep my sliced coriander and spring onion is a covered container, kept chilled all the time, so that I can sprinkle them on whenever I like.

How to make Roasted Rice Powder

Roasted Rice Powder also known as Toasted Ground Rice, is an important ingredient to Laotian and Vietnamese dishes and some Thai and Cambodian recipes too.

Since the amount needed is usually not much, but is crucial, it's wasteful to buy a big packet not knowing when can one finish it. But here in Malaysia, it's not available at all. So... I can only make some by myself.

It's very easy.

Put some raw glutinous rice onto a pan.
Toast it on medium low heat, shaking it every now and then until it turns golden and some of them puff up.
Let it cool down and grind it to your desired texture.

I used the mill that came with my blender set to grind it fine. Takes only a few pulses.

From white glutinous rice to golden rice... and puffy too!

And yes, if you want to ask whether I washed it, nope I didn't. Like how we don't wash peanuts or almonds  before roasting....