wednesday

this is sherri. she came over today.

we made eggs benedict. complete with homemade hollandaise sauce. (link to recipe way, way, way below. after all my irrelevant talk and tempting photos, THEN you can see the recipe you are dying to try out because of how time-consuming it is.)

as much as i love bennys, i don't think i can eat another one for another couple months. those babies are rich. eggs, butter, bacon, avocado, cheese, eggs... that's at least 3 different kinds of fats. i love fat, and i love rich - don't get me wrong - i just like to spread out the fatty richness a little bit. (coming from the person who went back to the french cafe 3 days in a row for creme brulee)





i got the recipe for the hollandaise sauce here. this site does a great job of explaining the process. there are many different versions and ways of making this thick, creamy, eggy, buttery goodness. i liked this recipe. today it turned out a little bit too sour (i added extra lemon juice - stick to the recipe people), but otherwise great. i think a good thing to keep in mind is to keep it low (the heat - if its too hot, you will get scrambled eggs), and keep it active (constantly stirring or whipping).


(beautiful spring tulips my sister got from a friend)

tuesday

monday

breakfast this morning: gala apple, toast with peanut butter & brown sugar, bali coffee with sweetened condensed milk. ran out of eggs and was too lazy to go to the store today, so tomorrow's breakfast will probably look quite similar.

k-meals: french food bliss in jogjakarta (aka 3 days of creme brulee)

traveling to indonesia, i expected to eat my share (and more) of amazing indonesian food. the city of jogjakarta let me down in that way. gorgeous city as it is, i enjoyed very little of their traditional food. instead, i happened upon french food, and a creme brulee that lured me back 3 days in a row.

but this story of love & creme brulee has a bittersweet aspect to it. the day my sister and i randomly found this restaurant, i took some beautiful photos, and i was excited about them (i'm a modest person, excitement about my own work that i admit to publicly doesn't come often). and then i accidentally deleted all of them. its kind of pathetic to admit to, but my grief was such that you would have thought i had gone through a painful loss.

but i got over it, and i dragged my sister back so i could take more photos (and eat more creme brulee and drink more coffee) i will briefly divulge my thoughts on the restaurant, and then i will let the photos below do the rest of the talking.


from what the very friendly servers at k-meals told me, i think this restaurant has only been open for a few months. there are a few owners, but one of the owners is also the head chef there. the kitchen is visible and the friendly french chef will greet you (& welcome you back) and if there's a lull in the kitchen later, he comes by your table to ask about your meal.

you can tell that these people love their food - each plate is beautifully presented. even the simple dessert of ice cream is garnished in a way that makes it look like a complicated, high-class dessert. you can find out a bit more about k-meals on their website.

the menu is in french & english. they seem to have a special of the day that wasn't on the menu, but otherwise they specialise in wood-fired pizza (tasty). the drinks we had (orange juice and some weird mint & green tea creamy concoction) were so-so, but the coffee was quite delicious. but if you do go, make sure you specify that you want kopi java. the second day i ordered the same coffee from the menu, but i got an americano, and although it was lovely, the java coffee is just so much better. and if you're in java, drink coffee from java for goodness sake.

but the best part of k-meals is their desserts. the creme brulee uses vanilla beans from java, so you know its good, fresh stuff. the top layer of sugar is thick & crusty & yummy and the inside is creamy but not too sweet. i came back for this stuff 3 times, ok? it was good. the $3 canadian i paid for it didn't hurt either. the other dessert i tried was the kappuccino mousse "chocolate mousse in a cappuccino way" :) it was perfect. twice.

amelie cafe

the story:

a few weeks ago, my sister and i were walking around georgetown, penang (malaysia), and she tells me she's found this cafe that i will love. i don't want to get my hopes up, i mean, she's my sister, and we've been roommates for 3 years, and we've been travelling together for a month now - how well does she REALLY know me?

...apparently quite well. words cannot describe how elated i was when i saw just the outside of amelie, let alone after we found out how cute it was inside, or how good the food was. and who couldn't resist entering a cafe called amelie?

but before i continue, let me give a small disclaimer: i am so in love with this cafe that i'm not sure how to write about it in order to do it justice. honestly, if i ever own a cafe half as charming as this one, i think i would be content. and contentment does not come easily to me.

the entrance to amelie: tiny, cluttered, enticing

the cafe:

tiny, but efficiently used space.

cluttered, but everything fits.

i can't remember where i read this, so i can't cite it properly, but as far as i know, the 2 owners of amelie (Hung and Yen) use only (or mostly) recycled things in their cafe. this not only creates the charm of the place - mismatched chairs, jam jar drinking glasses, old wood, etc etc - but it also reduces waste and over-consumerism, and it hopefully saved them a bit of money too. they also sell various handmade things throughout the shop - soaps, artwork, etc - and i think its all locally made.

they've only been open for a few months, but they seem to be doing well, and i've seen lots of blogs post about them already. (i've linked a few below)

seating area includes:
2 tables, 3 chairs each, and a 3rd bench type table at the side.
i saw people go upstairs, so i assume there is overflow seating upstairs,
but i can't say for sure as i didn't actually go up myself

tiny kitchen.
they not only do all their cooking and beverages in the kitchen,



but they make their fresh hand-made pasta in here as well.

charming menu (i need to stop using the word charming)
prices were quite decent.
most expensive entree was RM 14.90 ($4.70 Canadian. ... yeah)

no words needed.

the food:

everything was made fresh, so it took a little while to come, but who am i kidding? if i wanted to eat fast-food, i would probably check myself into a mental asylum, because i don't like fast-food. i like food that has personality and has been made with love. and anyway, the longer i wait, the better the food tastes, so its a win-win.

the second time we ate here, we arrived too early for breakfast, but we were starving, so we ate somewhere else. BUT, we came back for a second breakfast. it was a sunday, so it got quite full, and i noticed at one point that one of the owners had to step out for a few minutes to buy more bread they were that busy. but as nice as it is to have a whole cafe to yourself while you are eating, its great for their business to be full.

i can't say much about the food on the menu that i didn't try, but it all looked great, and hey - the pasta noodles are freshly made, what can go wrong with that? but here are some photos of what i did try, which i was quite satisfied with.

lemon & honey drink (fresh & homemade).
served cold, or hot.
both are yummy.
(some people may complain that its too sour,
but it was perfect for me, tasted real & refreshing.)

portobello mushroom soup.
creamy & delicious.
i'm so glad i decided i DO like mushrooms.

even when you are a person who loves rice,
sometimes when you are traveling in asia,
you just need a sandwich.
this one hit the spot.
i think it was tuna.
and it came with a salad beautifully presented with the starfruit.

hand-painted menus.

the end.

location:
No 6, Armenian Street
10200, Penang
(next to Cheah Kongsi temple)
phone: +6012 496 7838

other blogs about amelie:
http://want2green.com/2010/03/17/small-sweet-in-penang-amelie-cafe/
http://jenclittlecorner.blogspot.com/2010/03/food-amelie-cafe-armenian-st.html
http://bearbee-foodstop.com/2010/03/amelie-cafe-armenian-street-penang/

edit:
i found where i read about everything being recycled:
http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2010/3/12/nothing-new-everything-old

dim sum @ Din Tai Fung

Dim Sum

"Dim sum is the name for a Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light dishes served alongside Chinese tea." (thank you wikipedia)



I have to admit I was a little wary of dim sum before I tried it. I think its just that some of my memories of Chinese food aren't exactly fond ones. But when you can choose what you get, the experience is quite delightful. The best part is the free-flowing tea. Eating food slowly is probably much healthier too, and it creates a warm, friendly social atmosphere to eat your food in.

Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese chain of dim sum restaurants. It's quite well known, and its quite good. My only complaint right now is that the 2 restaurants I went to had slightly different menus. And the food I loved the first time I went was not on the menu at the second location. How crappy is that? So much for being a chain.

I guess I have another 'complaint': too much pork. I know the Chinese love their pork, but it would have been nice to have a few non-pork items. But then again, their target market are the chinese, so it makes sense.



The kitchen is a pretty intense deal. Kind of looks like an operation with all the surgical masks and intent faces huddled over their patients. I can't imagine how unnerving it would be to work in that kitchen. With the huge glass windows plastered with little kids and tourists (guilty!) watching every single thing you are doing, there's really no room to make any mistakes, or to spit on the annoying customer's food.



I obviously have a vast knowledge of dim sum by now, considering I went a grand total of 2 times. But this is how I know it: you sit down, and are immediately served with Chinese tea. You will rarely be without a full cup of tea, as someone is always going around replenishing teacups. (Except when you are done your meal, then they stop filling up your tea as a subtle way of telling you to pay your bill and get out of here) After perusing the menu, you fill out a checklist type of menu, and hand it over to your server. Throughout the rest of your meal, your food slowly comes to you, and it is crossed off the receipt as it comes. It's such a great concept, because you aren't overloaded with all your food at once, and you can eat slowly, thereby digesting better. The combination of the little plates and the different arrival times creates a pleasant social experience as you can chat with your friends while sharing your food together.

Sadly I do not have a picture of the tea, as that was my favorite part of the meal. But here are some photos of some of the dishes I tried.



sesame spinach



dumplings (pork & veggie) - I have to admit, although I'm not a huge pork fan, the pork dumplings (no veggie) were quite delicious.



steamed buns filled with ... something... (these were so-so)

To sum it all up (no pun intended), dim sum is a definite must-try, and the dumplings are the best part of it. And the tea. If you are in Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, or Los Angeles, look up Din Tai Fung in your area. I am sad that its not in Canada yet, but that just means I'll have to be brave and try a totally new dim sum place here.

kopi java

i've been busy travelling and taking pictures and haven't had time, energy, desire etc etc to blog. BUT i've been trying to take lots of pictures. and have been enjoying coffee in asia. :) i got to visit a coffee plantation in Bali, i will be sure to write about that later...



this is java coffee (or or kopi java, pronounced jawa) that i drank a lot of in jogjakarta (on the island of java in indonesia). its very thick and sweet. usually they don't strain the coffee, the grounds are just left in the bottom. which means that if you are enjoying the taste of the coffee (like i do), and then you want to sip it til its gone (like i do), you will end up with a mouthfull of coffee grinds (like i did) and its just not that pleasant.

drinking coffee here in southeast asia (more specifically singapore, indonesia, malaysia) has almost made me switch back to sugar in my coffee as opposed to my usual black coffee. sigh. it took me a while to swtich from being an excessive-sugar coffee person to a snobby black-coffee person, so this is a bit of a setback. :) but i don't care as long as i am enjoying my coffee.