Durian Cheesecake

My second daughter Lyanne is a durian monster. She's a very picky girl who loves plain rice and anything carbo but hates meat and vegetables. She isn't an adventurous eater but surprisingly, she loves durian. Love is an understatement. She's mad about durians. Durians aren't available all the time and when it's durian season, she will be pestering her grandpa to get her durians and he will gladly scour the town and get her the best that he can find.

Papaya Pork Rib Soup 木瓜排骨汤

I didn't intend to boil this soup.

My BIL bought an immature papaya and although it looked ripe on the outside, inside it's still pale and crunchy. He didn't know what to do with it and so he handed it to me, so that it won't be wasted.

Mango Sago with Pomelo 杨枝甘露 - AFF HK Macau Desserts #1

Mango Sago Pomelo is a popular dessert from Hong Kong.

It is a dessert that is made of mango, tapioca or sago pearls, pomelo arils, coconut milk and evaporated milk or cream.

And usually, pomelos are one of the quintessential fruits for Chinese New Year because the name sound prosperous. Besides eating it fresh, you can turn it into this dessert. It'll be a good way to serve this fruit during this hot hot weather, or maybe for next year's celebration :)

Chocolate Banana Boomerang Buns - Fruity Buns #2

Cathy! I really made this, hehehehe.

Last year (I made these buns last year, LOL), I saw Cathy posting some boomerang coffee buns and I thought she wrapped them with a banana. She said I was being imaginative and I thought it would work out.
And after I made the chocolate cream cheese buns, I fell in love with the dough and my mom gave me a bunch of 'velvet' bananas. They're perfect since these bananas are slim and curvy!

Durian Egg Tart - MFF Pahang #6

I had my first durian egg tart or durian custard tart  bought from Karak in 1999.. long ago.
It was a treat from my housemate from Kuantan. She always passes by Karak whenever she drives back to KL. She told me, whenever she passes by and if they are available, she must buy. Back in those days, the amount they make is not as much.

Durian bakes are extremely popular in Karak. I used to buy it from Yik Kee, I'm not sure if there are other shops doing it as well. It's situated on the main road. I do hear they have branches in Klang Valley and in Genting Highlands too.

Lime Watermelon Charlotte with Mint Basil Glaze - Mousse Cake #1

I came home from the competition and made another one.... to take proper pics for the blog...and also for my hubby's birthday.

My girls were crazy for this cake. We blew candles that night and had a slice each and then scoot them off to bed. The next day, when I picked them up from kindergarden, the first thing they said to me was, "Mom, let's go home and eat cake". My hubby called them monsters because they ate half the cake in less than 24 hours. Hahahaha, my husband rarely calls them this, but usually it's me calling them names, hahahah. We are a family of humour. I never thought Lyanne will love a fruit flavoured cake this much. But Lydia, yes, I know she will.

Mango Salad with Dried Cuttlefish - MFF Kedah Perlis #9

The last of my Kedah Perlis dishes! Phew! All done!

Because this month, I am host cum organizer, I am supposed to do 6 dishes, but since there weren't much on the internet, I decided to do more so that there will be more ideas and more recipes to choose from.

Kerabu or Salad made with dried cuttlefish is quite common in Chinese restaurants, but normally they come with cucumber. But in Kedah, especially Serdang area, the restaurants have come up with versions that uses green mango (see here), guava(see here) or even green apple(see here). Again, I saw this on the TV show,  Taste with Jason (Axian)

Pig Stomach with Pineapple and Chillies - MFF Sarawak #3

I don’t eat innards of the pig, except the stomach. It’s chewy and nice to eat.

There are three ways that I have eaten the pig’s stomach, in pepper soup, in Bak Kut Teh and in porridge. This method will be my 4th and give this a try of you like the idea of hot and spicy, sourish and yet sweet pork stomach.

Durian Cendol - MFF Melaka #3

I first had durian cendol more than14 years ago at Tan Kim Hock Melaka. Back then, it wasn't served in that fancy wasteful flower shaped carboard handled container. See here and here. I think now, San Shu Gong is more popular for this, and is served in a wasteful fancy durian printed cardboard handled container. Frankly I'm more comfortable without that handle thingy. It's a waste of money and resources. And the cost is just absorbed by the customer, us.

Dragon Fruit Honey Lemon Jelly Angku

Recipe created in June 2011

Angku is Hokkien for Red Tortoise. Tortoises in Chinese culture symbolizes long life. And red is always the colour for celebration. Full moon is always an important milestone for an infant. Back in those days, mortality rate is high, and to pass thieir first month is something worth celebrating about and of course, we wish the child to live long, like a tortoise. LOL

Watermelon Jelly - Jelly Week # 1

Recipe created in June 2011

No....... this is not made in a bowl.
I made this in a square pan.
No egg whites involved too, just good old coconut milk and dragon fruit.

I made this for Reuben's Full Moon Party and tried to use minimal food colouring for this jelly. I am not so keen to use sesame seeds as the watermelon seeds. So, in the end, I chose to use dragon fruit seeds as the watermelon seeds.

Prawns on Lemongrass and Caramelized Pineapple with Lime

Ever eaten Prawns on sugarcane? It's a popular Vietnamese snack.
This dish is a twist from the original version changing the sugarcane to lemongrass.
So, if you ever had lots of sugarcane from Chinese New Year, you can try making these with sugarcane instead.

Prawn and Mango Salad - Mango Week # 3

Thai Mango Rice Sushi - Mango Week # 2

I've eaten this once at a Thai food stall, not in Thailand but in Summit Subang Jaya. Sometimes there are Thai fairs and I love to go there for their food.

I made them in sushi form. Cute? LOL.

Mango Yogurt Mousse - Mango Week # 1

 

I first saw “ fake soft boiled eggs” on Sea Salt with Food. LOL. I told myself, I got to make these one day.
Then I saw this on Masterchef Australia. Marion was doing her celebrity chef challenge and she was making a dessert served in an egg shell. I was busy with my kids, but I saw how she cut the egg shells and how she assembled her dessert. But I have no idea what dessert it was as I wasn’t listening to the show, just catching a glimpse whenever possible.

Steamed Banana Buns - Steamed Buns # 1

I love these buns. When they were steaming, they smelled so good. But Mike hated it. Mike only likes Sweet Potato Buns. He even hates my kids’ favourite glorious pumpkin buns. He said this smell like our kids’ s***

Cinnamon Fried Plantain @ Horn Banana - Local Fruits # 3

Have you ever tasted a Ham Chin Peng (咸煎饼Chinese fried “bun”) flavoured fried banana? Haha, this is one.

When I saw a bunch of plantains at a Malay stall, I immediately wanted to buy one. Just this one cost me RM3. It seemed pretty expensive for just 1 banana right? But when I asked Mike’s worker, who owns a banana plantation herself about the plantain I just bought, she said, it’s usually sold at RM5/kg. So, the one I got was worth the price. But she also commented my banana was not mature when picked. She said, the rear end of the fruit should be more enclosed.

Old Fashioned Jackfruit Popsicles - Local Fruits # 2

When I was a kid, there were some homemakers trying to make an extra buck by selling popsicles.

We will either call from the door or the window in Cantonese, “ Aunty, Ngo Ngoi Mai Suit Tiu” ( Aunty, I want to buy popsicle, 阿姨，我要买雪条)

Then someone will answer us, maybe not the Aunty, maybe their kid or any other person in the house. “Ngoi mat yeh mei?” (What flavour do you want? 要什么味?)

Then we will ask back, “ Kam Yat Yau Mat Yeh Mei” (What flavour do you have today? 今天有什么味?)

They might answer us , “Sarsi, Oleng, Laici, Mei Look, Kopi” (Sarsaparilla, Orange, Lychee, Milo and Coffee), with only one place that might say “MangKat!!!” (Jackfruit)

And this place that has “MangKat” flavoured popsicle is at Golden Dragon Garden’s flats, one of the ground floor units.
The Aunty or whosoever will then hand us our popsicles, with the top cut, and we will pay them either 10 sen or 20 sen, depending on flavour and the place you bought it. It was far far cheaper than buying ice cream at grocery stores.

Stir Fried Fish with Wax Apple Slices 水蓊炒鱼片 - Local Fruits #1

Currently I’m living in a town where the food sucks. Sucks BIG TIME!! Wedding dinners here are either avoided by the younger generation or are forced by parents to be held at community halls, which is a far cry from prettily decorated dining halls in cities. Usually KK folks travel to Sungai Siput for restaurant cooked meals and they taste a lot lot better and are a lot cheaper than in KK.

This dish that I’m sharing today is a very weird dish that I once ate at a restaurant in Sungai Siput's Tai Chong. I was surrpised at the ingredient, wax apple. And to my surprise the taste and texture complemented well with the fish. With lovely wax apples bought from Jusco, I tried to recreate this dish, and I’m glad I did quite a good job on it.

Durian Cream Pancake Rolls - Pancake Quad #3

Don’t u think it’s weird to have durians in April? (I did this in April 2011)

All my life, on this side of the country, durians have always been bountiful mid year and year end. Never has it been in APRIL!!!! With none during those usual times. I had been searching for durians last Dec (2010), with only a speckful of them around town and the quality isn’t there. This didn't happen only last year, but for 2 consecutive years, I haven't been seeing durians coming out the time that it should. Times have changed and it’s a wake up call to us about the changes in weather. The fruit trees are telling you to take note.