Nasi Kandar

After *counts* EIGHT months in NY, with no curry, no mamak roti canai/rendang, you can imagine how crazed I was when I arrived in Penang in January for a 2 week holiday. I was determined to stuff myself to the brim with local food before returning to NY. Though NY is by no means a bad place for food (It's actually a gastronomic paradise), the food doesn't have the spiciness of Malaysian food. Blame it on the Americans. So, the shop/store/place I was for most of the time? MAT LAN's Nasi Kandar stall opposite the Floating Mosque in Batu Ferringhi. First two times, I forgot my camera. Finally, I got one, YAY! All my photos are of food. It makes me drool.

So, after a Penang heritage walk in ancient Georgetown, Sara, Dilys and I head over.

*Sorry, no pictures of the place. Just the food. I specialise in food. Period.*

To satisfy Sara's intense love for potatoes, we ordered spicy chilli wedges. Don't be put off by the colour, it really isn't that spicy. But approach only if you really like potatoes. Two of these might knock you off your food trail. Can someone say, STARCH!

Aren't they just so pretty?

Next, just to satisfy my love for mutton and curry, MUTTON CURRY. (Fail.) This is the famous mutton curry I have eaten for a good 6 years, every CNY. At our house. I love you, food traditions. Fabulous. Do try. Get over your fear of mutton (and its "supposed" smell) and order one of these!
Right-o. See the little lump of red and yellow? That's fried eggs in sambal. SAMBAL!!!! The very same sambal I haven't seen for sooo long. Sara and I go nuts, both having being equally deprived. I wasn't a great fan of this, but hey, its an egg. Eggs go well with almost anything.
I swear, this is the last of the curries. CURRY FISH HEAD with LADY FINGERS! A Malaysian classic. A roti canai classic. But the roti canai store wasn't open. :( But this did not disappoint.
To top it all off, how could we not resist the one food that we're often forbidden to eat, yet Malaysians everywhere eat it with nasi kandar, and the guy at Line Clear fries at least a ton of them in a year, everyday, every night. Without fail. I don't even think they stop for Ramadan. Behold, the fried chicken! Maybe not the greatest of chickens, but more flavourful than KFC. By that I mean that the spice actually penetrates the meat, not get stuck on the skin.

So was it all worth it to travel all the way from Georgetown? Hell YEAH! Then again, we live within 2 km of this stall. Watch out though, lunch crowds are the craziest, and you might not get a seat. The menu changes after 1pm for a tea/dinner crowd, so you won't find what someone ate in the morning there. Also, sometimes, they make one of the best fish dishes in the world, chilli stuffed fish. I can't remember what fish it is, but its scaly, bony and rare. But the meat is soft, juicy and sweet! Deep fried with sambal, and you get perfection.

I'm still thinking what dish to post about next time. I can't believe this only took 10 minutes. Wow.

LAST Days in Penang!

New York, here I come!

And I'll probably be completely overwhelmed by the madness of such a city. Thank God I'm going to Sarah Lawrence. Its nice and quiet there.

www.elcerdokl.com - Nose to Tail Eating

Today, as a birthday treat, we went to a Spanish restaurant on Cangkat Bukit Bintang called 'El Cerdo'. Their tagline is, 'Head to tail eating'. And in that sense, they mean pork. Every dish on the menu was made with pork.*brother smiles gleefully*. Located on the busy end of Cangkat Bukit Bintang, this restaurant is owned by a Mr. Werner, who coincidentally also owns the El Cerdo Spanish Tapas Bar and Werner's pub and lounge down the street. The design of the restaurant itself was not particularly outstanding, deciding on being more mellow with small accents here and there. But one interesting feature of the restaurant were their pictures of pigs. Which I found quite cute and amazing. Did I mention their head Sommelier is a woman? Anyway, on to our menu. I'm quoting the names I gave them, since I didn't really get a chance to read the menu.

Appetisers:

1. Potato and ham soup - Pureed potatoes, regular stock, ham chunks and parsley made this quite a familiar yet interesting start to the meal.

2. Cured ham platter - Thin slices of ham (I don't think they were proschuitto) served with boiled white asparagus and salad with an olive oil, parsley and balsamic dressing.

Main course:

3. Sausage platter - 4 different types of sausages, freshly made. Each was different, having individual spices and herbs added. The sausages sat on top of a bed of sweet sauerkraut (with tomatoes)

4. Viennese sausage - Long reddish sausages with potato fritters

5. Braised pork cheek - Served with shredded spring onions, carrots, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mash and parsley. The spring onions were a nice touch because they gave a nice crunch and spiciness to the otherwise gravy-filled dish.

6. The one that we've all been waiting for, flaming roast pig - Now this was interesting. The pig was previously soaked in vodka (apparently) and then slow roasted until it was soft enough to be cut with a plate. Before that happened, the chef would douse it with vodka once again and light it. Hence a flaming pig. The final result was tender pork with crispy skin and a little hint of alcohol. The price was scary too, RM220 for a piglet.

~ After the plates were used to cut the pig, they are broken into a large wooden paid with a granite stone in the middle. Its for good luck.~

Desserts:

7. Spanish cherries served in a wine glass on a bed of ice. Simple, but coool.

8. Green tea and red bean cake

9. Margherita shots with salted rim - this was a bit hard to drink down.

And to top it all off, my uncle ordered some Stella Arnois beer. It was... as with my general reaction with beers, unsavoury. But an amazing dinner, nonetheless.

Don't get in the middle of it. I have a special relationship with........ Food.

Today I went for one of the best dinners I've ever had. We went to Batu Ferringhi for dinner. The ambience and atmosphere there is great, and the food makes it even better. I love the simple wood chairs and tables, the lighting, small plants around and above you, and especially the plank floor. Very innovative. Anyway, my usual concentration is the food, so here we go.

Upon arriving at the terrace, I see a HUGE barbeque pit. There was already a fire going on, and durians were open (its durian season btw). After some drinks, the food start flowing. First, the chef had to heat up the roast lamb (a whole lamb), grill the fish, and heat the char-grilled vegetables. This is what we were served:

1. Whole lamb - with honey dijon mustard (sweet) and regular mint sauce (very fresh and tart)
Best part was the rib and the rarer cuts closer to the leg. (I shall have to do more research on different cuts of meat)
2. Potato salad - with what I think is horseradish (I could be wrong), chives, and lime
3. Corn - Grilled with parsley and butter
4. Chargrilled vegetables with lime juice - Brinjals, yellow brinjals (?), Zucchini
5. Mee siam
6. Fried rice - with cashew nuts
7. Lime and mint frostie - Nice, but I'm not a fan of fresh mint >.<
8. Special order - Angus beef soup (Also known as oxtail soup. lol)
9. DESSERT! - Movenpick Chocolate ice-cream.
10. Coffee - Capuccino and latte

The lamb was fantastic. Roasted for 4 hours with apples and potatoes, it was just nice and tender especially at the ribs and the leg. (HEAVEN!!!) The potato salad and the vegetables are as they usually are, good, but doesn't quite reach my idea of heaven (clearly, my idea of heaven involves meat). But I must say, the char-grilled veges were a first, as I've only ever seen them on TV (Jamie Oliver!). The mee siam was alright, a little heavy on the curry leaves, so I was slightly frightened by that; but the fried rice was quite good. Just the right balance between the sweetness of tomatoes and spiciness of the chillies. But then again, that wasn't the highlight.

Not being a big fan of fresh mint, the lime and mint frostie (which was meant as a special drink) didn't really take off with me. I really did enjoy it though, but when it started settling, and I started getting more of the mint, the drink stayed on the table. (sorry!) Next, the special order of Angus beef soup was fantastic! Best beef soup I've tasted so far. The meat was right on tender, fall of the bone, and the soup wasn't too watery, with a good amount of carrots and potatoes to become a dish on its own. But the final dish that really surprised me was the ice-cream.

It seems that calling the ice-cream a surprise would be an overstatement, but after encountering the Movenpick ice-cream stall in Gurney constantly running out of flavours, this was a refreshing difference. Firstly, the chocolate ice-cream on its own was really creamy and right off we could tell it had less air and more cream (i.e fat). BUT, instead of having just regular chocolate flavours, this version was FILLED with chocolate flakes. Which meant that every spoonful I took was filled with chocolate shavings. (Shudders with happiness) I even tried the Strawberry ice-cream, which was special on its own as well, because every spoonful was difference due to the mix of fresh strawberries.

The coffee deserves special mention too, mainly because of the mix of coffee beans, the method and the machine (Heh). Aside from mixing beans from entirely different places to get a perfect balance of taste and body (I was given a complete explanation on coffee, but that's for another time), there was the meticulous packing of the powder and foaming of milk. Everything had to be precise and it came with practise. But aside from the amazing skill of the "barista", there was also the coffee machine itself. That was a sight to behold. (At least for a food nerd like me) It was the Boncafe Rancilio Epoca Coffee system. Bright red, and HUGE. Complete explanation given about its size and all, but unncessary here. It was claimed to be the most sophisticated coffee machine in Penang (for the time being), and I'd believe them, because not many proprietors would be willing to spend such a sum on something that they usually make out of bags. However, it is the quality that counts. And I've always been a sucker for cool and modern equipment.

Overall, the best meal I've had so far (in terms of dining out and fusion/western food. My grandmother's doesn't quite count). The food was fantastically fresh, ambiance was good, the seating arrangement was interesting too. Great dinner. I was seated in quite a strange corner, so I didn't talk much. The spotlight of my night was the food. And food alone. Yay.

Note: The restaurant we went to was Ferringhi Garden. However, most of the items you saw on this "menu" isn't served during normal times, because of certain cost issues. However, their steaks and most items on the a la carte menu are equally well priced and good, so go for it.

P.s. I've just realised that this is a long post about food.... without any photos. Apologies for that, but I didn't bring a camera. No one did, except one person. I shall endeavour to get those photos.

Cruel Intentions 2

Can you guess who's who?

Fascinating show. Indeed, not quite up to par with Cruel Intentions, but then again, it is very difficult to top the sheer manipulation and false innocence in Sarah Michelle Gellar's Katryn. Cruel Intentions 2 is the story of how step brother-sister Katryn and Sebastian met. As Sebastian (Robin Dunne) is determined to start a new life in Manchester Prep, he chooses to start a war with Katryn (Amy Adams - remember her in "Enchanted"?!), the school bitch-extraordinaire. He begins his new life by dating the Principal's daughter, Danielle (Sarah Thompson).

Already having his past researched by Katryn, Danielle isn't making things easy for him as he chases her - quite desperately too, I might add - and does everything he can to be the nice guy. However, the final twist in the story left me absolutely speechless for about 5 minutes. And only then I started muttering, 'SERIOUSLY?!'

As they gear you up for his huge confession of love scene to Danielle, Katryn makes a move and takes control of their building sexual tension. And in the end, after confessing his love to Danielle, she tells him in the most evil manner that she was in it with his step-sister the ENTIRE time. Which means Katryn wins the war. She managed to get Danielle to seduce Sebastian in the most unlikely and innocent of ways. How very shocking and frightening.

As an amoral, vulgar and often obscene film, Cruel Intentions 2 is not quite a piece of cinematic genius. Initially meant to be a TV series (but was cancelled), many of the lines from the movie were recycled from Cruel Intentions 1. On the other hand, the Cruel Intentions series are quite frightening in the sense that it is able to conjure up such ideas for the manipulation of others. It probably indicate some sort of observation and active imagination. And to think that some human beings are truly capable of that. *Shudders*

If you don't like risque movies, do avoid Cruel Intentions. If you;re looking for meaningful, thoughtful movies, avoid it too. If you're looking for strange obscene scenes or just mindless yet shocking stories with a scary understanding of the human psyche, go ahead.

Note: All info from http://www.imdb.com/