Dundee Cake

Dundee cake is a traditional cake from Dundee, Scotland. Traditionally, it should contain sultanas, Seville orange peel and decorated with almonds. But as time goes by, people tend to change the ingredients to their liking. I find most modern Dundee cake recipes not much different from other fruit cake recipes, other than the almonds on top. The original Dundee cake does not contain any cherries or currants, or any mix peel, but specifically Seville orange peel for that bitter orange tinge and sultanas, just sultanas.

Daikon Beancurd Stew

A meat free dish. Flavourful, delicious!

It's easy to cook, goes well with rice.


I think I've cooked this 3 times, I think.. or at least twice :)
I slurp the gravy like soup

Thanks Peng for this recipe...

Strawberry Crumble Buns

I miss the smell of fresh bread from the oven, but kneading bread made from bread flour takes too much of my time. I was googling for some recipe and this image caught my attention. It was an image from a bakery in Poland, .. and the strawberry and the crumble and the icing, so yum looking.......but no recipe. So, I used the name and googled for a recipe.  And settled with this recipe. My mind just kept thinking about it for days until I finally got my strawberries and turned my thoughts into reality.

Fish Pie - Fish Week #2

Fish pie is a traditional British dish. Read more about it here. If I were to make this again with more seafood, I'll name it as Fisherman's pie.

During that time, my brother in law dines with us on week days.I thought this pie was huge and when my BIL said he won’t be coming for dinner, I was worried it won’t be finished, but I was wrong. My hubby and I ate it all with pleasure. LOL.

So good!

Swiss Wings 瑞士鸡翼 - AFF HK Macau "Gai" #2

Like the previous chicken dish, this is another one commonly mentioned in my Hong Kong culture guru, TVB.

I did wonder did these originate from Switzerland? I found the answer and nope, they did not.
In fact they were first called this way, when a waiter could  pronounce the word 'Sweet' properly. And the customer  liked it so much and came back again asking  for sweet wings by calling them as Swiss Wings, as that's what he thought the name was. And the urban legend lives on. It is said that the best is found at Tai Ping Koon.

Pork Panang Curry - Thai Curries AFF #2

We seriously love this!

If you avoid consuming coconut milk, then it's hard for you to make this because I used 350ml coconut milk to cook this plate of curry. Personally, I love coconut milk for it's health benefits with all the short and middle chain fatty acids that used to be confused as BAD. Rich with lauric acid that benefits the heart. It helps with weight loss and I will need it desperately if I ever get Alzheimers. Read here . 

If you have never drank freshly squeezed coconut milk, you don't know what you're missing. That's why you always see coconut trees in places that people nickname as Paradise! Joking.

Blueberry Baby Cakes with Cheesecake Topping - Berries #2

I was pretty much attracted to how the cake looked with 2 layers of colours, but I don't know why mine came out looking pretty homogenous, the lower layer didn't look brown like the source.

The original was baked direct in the muffin pan, but I was a bit chickened out, scared I'll mar the cake's surface when I lift it up, so I better line it.

Kelantan Beef Floss ~ Serunding Daging - Kelantan MFF #6

Beef serunding or beef floss is a Kelantan specialty. Some also call it as beef sambal or sambal daging in the Malay language. It is said that a properly made serunding can be kept for a year without referigeration.

I was itching to try making this, but was hesitating and hesitating and hesitating.
Finally I did, just last week! LOL.
I can't stop thinking about all these Kelantanese delights because they all reminded me of my lovely holiday there many years ago.

Chinese Cabbage with Roast Pork and Imitation Abalone - Chinese Cabbage #1

When I saw this recipe long ago… wooah, it looked pretty expensive. Dried scallops are not cheap and so is roast pork. I have sort of forgotten about it until 2 hours before dinner time.

I was surfing the net looking at pictures of cauliflower, but don’t know why this picture of Sonia’s was included in the search. It looked familiar and I clicked it to view it again after so long. Haiya! I have everything on hand. I just took out a big chunk of roast pork to come to room temp thinking of reheating it in the oven later. Then, No no no, no reheating, I’ll be using the roast pork in this dish tonight.

Beef with Arrowhead Stew 慈菇焖牛肉 - Arrowheads #2

I was attracted to this recipe because of the use of Haw in this recipe. I didn't have that on hand and so I used Haw flakes instead, those round flat Chinese candy that we used to eat when we were kids. When I used that, I didn't need to add in sugar as well.

The original recipe didn't call for black vinegar, but I found that it lacked that edge... or maybe it's because I didn't use dried haw of which is a lot more tangy than haw flakes candy. Maybe next time I'll try it with dried haw.

For this dish, my hubby gladly ate up everything even the arrowheads of which normally he'll give a skip.

Ikan Goreng Bercili ~Fried Fish with Chillies- MFF N9 #2



hehehehe, I missed those scales on the fish's scalp

This is another favourite of mine of the Minang cuisine!

Normally ikan keli (catfish) and Tilapia is used, but then again, any fish can be used. Maybe these 2 fishes are more affordable. But catfishes are more 'buttery' compared to Tilapia. Whenever I see this dish being available at Padang Cuisine Restaurants, I can't help but take one. I must take one, LOL.

Black Sambal ~Sambal Hitam Pahang - MFF Pahang #4

I love this! A special sambal from the state of Pahang.

It doesn't look appetizing being black, but for those of you who like having a sprinkling of spicy crispiness, you will enjoy this a lot on your rice and noodles!
I made this as a condiment with noodles and we piled it on. My MIL who was intending to fly back to US asked me to make a big portion for her to bring along.

Kebuli Rice~ Nasi Kebuli - MFF Pahang #2

Nasi Kebuli is considered as the heritage dish of Kuala Lipis district, some even call it as Pahang's Royal Rice.
It was said to be created in 1944 for a Sultan who reigned from 1914-1917.
I can't explain this, but maybe you can read about it here, but it's in Malay.

I actually cooked this twice, once for family consumption and another time for Reuben's birthday party. I got good comments from all who ate this saying it's very delicious.
The rice has a unique fragrance, not strong, but subtle enough to add highlights to the flavour of the rice. The use of kaffir leaves, mint and lemongrass makes it special.
This rice is absolutely yummylicious!

The rice is good enough on its own. Accompanying dishes are bonuses.

Pekan's Roasted Chicken~ Ayam Golek Pekan - MFF Pahang #1

Ayam Golek literally means, rolled around chicken. Something like rotisserie chicken. Pekan is the royal town of Pahang, of which is the current Prime Minister’s hometown. So, this is Pekan’s Rotisserie Chicken.

I got this recipe from Pekan Municipal’s website. It’s a recipe from Pahang’s Palace, from the Sultanah’s cookbook. There are lots of recipes there, do visit it and see if there's anything you like.

Honey Mustard Roasted Pumpkin, Beets and Carrots - Pumpkin #2

I made this for more relatives who came back from Australia few weeks later after the pumpkin sabzi.

They have past their 50's and are conscious of the things they eat. 

Having living overseas for quite a long time, they love to eat roasted vegetables.
Something my hubby find it hard to take in.

I took the opportunity to try out this dish.
Very well recieved by them. I was only so so about this.

Easy Pumpkin Sabzi - Pumpkin #1

The original recipe called for butternut squash, but I used pumpkin. The pumpkins that I buy are always very orangey in colour. Which is why, I find the taste to be similar to butternut squash. I never knew that there was an obvious difference, not until Anne of Pigpigscorner told me during our meet up 2 years ago.

Kuih Gedung Cak - MFF Kedah Perlis #7

The ingredients to this kuih and kuih lepat liat is actually quite similar. You can make both kuihs if you’ve bought too much of either ingredients. But which is nicer? Haha, Kuih Lepat Liat is steamed, Gedung Cak is baked. My hubby and I says, this one, the baked one.

It’s also very easy to do, just mix, wrap and bake. LOL, you can imagine baked dodol with a crust... delish!

Fish in Broth, Northern style~Pindang Ikan- MFF Kedah Perlis #6

A healthy oil free dish that is boiled to cook.

This dish, is almost similar to Singgang of the east coast states. In the northern states, this method of cooking is referred as Pindang method.Negeri Sembilan also has Pindang ikan, but the ingredients are different, being more spicy and uses kaffir lime leaves. Kedah's version however is more towards being sourish rather than spicy. Chillies can be added, but only to a mild level, like a seasoning, rather than for some kick!

Indian Mackerel Curry ~ Gulai Ikan Temenung- MFF Perlis Kedah #4

Ikan kembung (kembong) is the name known to many. In Kedah, it is known as ikan temenung, and fondly loved by people of the state. It used to be cheap when I was young, but not anymore. It's quite pricey nowadays. Usually I eat slightly larger fishes because I'm lazy to go through the bones, hehehe.

Kuih Lepat Liat - MFF Kedah Perlis #3

This Kedahan kuih was actually told to me by my reader, Norehan. Thanks kak!

Liat means elastic. Is this kuih that elastic? Haha, it didn’t break my teeth.
It’s actually quite soft, while it’s warm. Firmer when colder. I like it firm and chewy. Almost like dodol. Delicious! If you have no idea about dodol, it’s almost like niangao 年糕. Get it? Except the coconut is already in the niangao. Sweet, sticky, chewy and coconutty.