Cooking rendang ayam in a kuali
I took up the challenge to read the entire Twilight series recently after I scoffed at the the twittering younglings pledging their allegiance to Team Jacob and Team Edward, whatever that meant. For most of the time, I plundered on, page after page, wondering why I even bothered to spend my precious toilet time reading the books, but I soon realised that I was spending longer periods in the toilet until my feet turned numb from the lack of circulation. My unread so-called literary books sat untouched on my bookshelf while I groaned every time Bella did something rash yet again. I downloaded the books onto the iPhone and iPad so that I could read them in the dark while Bald Eagle slept. It was a love-hate condition until I turned the final page, and upon realising that there would be no more Bella, Edward or Jacob to fill my mornings on the throne, I looked at Bald Eagle and said, “I feel empty inside.” He gave me a peck on my cheek and said, “Can I have salad for dinner tonight?
Table setting at Bayan Indah
Simmering ikan tongkol curry
The final plating
Home cooked nasi dagang
Luckily for Bald Eagle, it won’t always be salad nights with Lyrical Lemongrass. Nay, some days will be filled with nasi kerabu, and some with rendang ayam thanks to another fulfilling cooking class with Rohani Jelani. There’s nothing like a hands-on class to understand the temperaments of the stove and ingredients, and when you don’t read the instructions and add another 200ml of water where the recipe specifically tells you that you should refrain from adding water if you’re using chicken instead of beef….well, Rohani is there to salvage the situation after sending you to the corner for being a bad boy (yes, you, FBB).
The spread
Bengka ubi
Condiments for soto ayam
Kuih talam
I was quite pleased when Nigel (of Just Heavenly) picked me as his partner because he is already an accomplished cook and I knew that there would be no chaotic moments in our little corner in the kitchen. True enough, with Rohani’s guidance, we completed cooking nasi dagang, ikan tongkol curry, rendang ayam and kuih talam while Rohani stood by to give us kitchen tips and to let us know if the first layer of the kuih talam was ready for the second and if the rendang ayam had achieved the right consistency. Her insistence on using natural ingredients from scratch, like dry-frying coconut kerisik till my arms turned sinewy, resulted in some pretty delectable stuff in the end. Together with the other teams, we put together a spread that would have wow-ed any food critic. This was what cooking from the heart meant. An outpouring of love and warmth, right from Rohani’s huge bear hug at the entrance of her home to the constant friendly jabs between the teams. It was all good.
Rohani, Babe_KL, Pureglutton, GFAD, Fatboybakes, Nigel, Chaokar, Wai Hoong, Cyrene, Saw Leng, Audrey, Alice and Annie. Oh, and me.
For more information on Bayan Indah, please visit their website: http://www.bayanindah.com/
For earlier post on Bayan Indah, click HERE.
That was quick! You got to love BE’s wit. Hug him for me tonight, will ya 😉 Sooo…what did FBB do to get sent to the corner?
unka: LOL, I amaze myself sometimes. And I bring out the best (worst) in BE lah. We inspire each other. 😛 Oh, FBB spilled his air kapur. All 10 sen worth. Of course kena punish lah. And he also didn’t read instructions on the rendang ayam and added more water. Men! 😛
Good stuff! Now your culinary repertoire is growing well! 😀
(So, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob??)
J: Yup, soon I shall be able to cook for a restaurant. 😛 Ummm….if I really had to choose, it’d be Team Edward. 😛 Arrghhh…you’re bringing back memories again, J!
Meena, I’ve been following your blog and read about you in magazines. Now, I’m so honoured that I have a spot in your blog too.
ooh, ikan tongkol! that’s something i order whenever i see it on the menu, since it sounds exotic. but i’m starting to believe that it looks and tastes almost like tenggiri (which i ate too much of as a kid, so it’s not a favorite fish of mine).
i’m team edward! though the best resolution would be for both edward and jacob to dump the ultra-whiny bella and ride off into the sunset with each other instead.
ergkh, the bahasa melayu grammarian in me has to note that it’s actually ‘bingka ubi,’ not ‘bengka ubi’…
Wow… you are on a roll – 2 posts on Bayan Indah consecutively! Great pics – sooo captured those moments! Oh btw, FBB got sent to the corner (3rd time??) for throwing away his sweet potatoes water/liquid – he was asking around for others to donate some to him, LOL! 😛
sawleng: It was such a pleasure meeting you! Btw, I love the picture of you and Annie in the collage – you girls make it look so easy to grate ubi kayu!
Sean: Ikan tongkol curry is a must have with Kelantanese nasi dagang, though. It tastes more like tuna to me and the tedious part is in removing the bones. Have you tried fried tenggiri, Indian style? It’s fab. Oh, you would suggest that Edward and Jacob ride off into the sunset together of course! Ptoooi. Yar, how can either of them stand Bella, hor. But hey, she has a greater purpose in life, and I know this coz I read the 4th book. 😀 Eh, you sure it’s “bingka”? And I should trust you because..? 😛
Pureglutton: Hehe…occasionally, I can be faster than a kura2 too. 😀 What?!?! How come I missed seeing FBB getting thrown into the corner yet again?!?! Damn. I need a repeat performance. He really doesn’t follow instructions, does he? Men!
deii, thamby, if i recall correctly, you OSO didnt follow the recipe and added water as for beef!!! chis. but you see, you not teacher’s pet ma, so she dont punish you lor. you know la, parents only punish chewdren they lurve.
beautiful meens! really, really nice.. when u cooking for us;D
FBB: where got where got? i followed the recipe wot. 😛 teacher loves me lah…she hugged me bigbigtighttight, and I didn’t even have to bodek her with a cake.
cumidanciki: tank yew! invite me over to ur place and i’ll cook for you baybeh!
hmmm, i think i had indian-style tenggiri back in penang, but that was like 12 years ago. i’m positive i didn’t like it 😀
u can trust google! see how many hits u get for bingka ubi vs bengka ubi…
Sean: Rohani calls it “bengka”. 😛
I confess.. I read Twilight too.. but only the first book. In fact I finished the book in 4 hours while waiting for the car to be serviced.. then I asked myself.. WHY oh WHY did I read the book .. I cannot tahan la.. so mushy! and corny dialog!
Anyways, it was really fun (the class and seeing FBB getting punished). Was a pleasure meeting you too.
Wow, this is extremely fast. Now I regret not going! There’s even kueh bengka – my fave!
hmm i miss the soto ayam.
p/s: when someone announced makan time, it’s hard for me to forget how fast and swift you dash over with your empty place. Hahahaha.
Rawr !
Wahh so fast, you scared you’ll be sent to the corner too? :p
Another fun class and can’t wait for the next one either 😉
Cyrene: Yar, it’s so corny!! But you know what, when the final (two?) shows are screened, you’ll find me in the queue! I’m done for, I tell ya!
It was a pleasure meeting you too! Hope to see you real soon!
alilhungrymunkey: You really should have come, munkey. You were missed.
chaokar: hahaha…shhhhhhh….not so loud!
babe_kl: Thanks for organising this session. Yar, let’s do another class soon. I can’t wait!!
Pity there was only one tray of Bengka.
So, has BE asked for NDagang and ITongkol yet?
gfad: Ya lor. Although I’m pretty relieved that I didn’t pick bengka. Imagine all that scraping! Ewww. Yes, BE has been reminding me everyday about the fact that I didn’t tar pau any of the leftovers for him that day. roll eyes.
Soooo fast 😉
You really got it up there quickly. I’m still trying to figure out how to balance the blogging, work, and tweeting. sheesh
It was LOVELY being your partner! And I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Actually, after the 2nd sesh of kampung cuisine with Dad, he wants to do Nyonya now.
Wanna come? 😉
Oh happy not-only-salad days! 😛
Come to think of it, I’ve never ever tasted your legendary salads before lah… Maybe we can invite you to Casa Diavlo and you can toss some magic greens? Hehe.