When you think you’ve seen it all….

Posted on September 29, 2008 by Lyrical Lemongrass

What do you get when you pair a seemingly innocent kid….

…with a sour cream coffee walnut cake?

You get a broken birthday candle….

…..perhaps, a slice of cake too…..

….and a very satisfied customer!

Credits:
Sour cream coffee walnut cake by Fatboybakes. (He takes orders)
“Seemingly innocent kid” – nephew of Lyrical Lemongrass

Rave reviews:
“Fatboybakes’ cakes are getting better and better!!” – father of “seemingly innocent kid”
“Wow! This is an amazing cake!! Not too sweet, and tastes wonderful with coffee!” – grandfather of “seemingly innocent kid”
“I love the crumble topping!” – mother of “seemingly innocent kid”
“Light on the palate. The walnuts/brown sugar/cinnamon combo is fantastic!!” – Lyrical Lemongrass
“Mummy, may I have somemore?” – kid

Not so rave reviews:
“Can I have Fatboybakes’ chocolate cake for Deepavali?” – matriarch of the house

10 days, 10 lessons – My Holiday in Australia

Posted on September 24, 2008 by Lyrical Lemongrass

Lesson No. 1

When travelling during the Ramadhan month, DO NOT expect the husband to drive all the way from Jalan Ampang to Shah Alam within 2 hours during peak hours to pick you up and send you to the airport.

Because he won’t make it.

And you may just miss your flight to Australia. Unless, of course, by some stroke of genius you decide to drive yourself to the airport, break all speed limits, dump your car in the open air carpark with hourly parking rates, and rush in to LCCT to check-in just on time.

And pray that the husband finds the spare keys so that he can locate the car and drive it back, because there’s only 25 bucks left on the Touch ‘N Go prepaid card which you zapped for the parking.

Lesson No. 2

If like me, you decide not to spend 20 bucks by pre-booking your seat on Air Asia X, do not expect to ask your friends (who did pre-book their seats) to get a nice aisle seat for you. This is because you will still be allocated a seat, so do request for that aisle seat you have your eyes fixed on. Failing which, you end up being sandwiched between the businessman who uses the corniest pickup lines on the stewardess sitting diagonally opposite him (oh, you have Chinese features…good thing your mother taught you Mandarin hor, but your body shape ar…can tell look like Malay lor), and the sleeping beauty on the right who spills over to your side everytime there is air turbulence.

Lesson No. 3

Air Asia is punctual. So don’t bother booking a connecting flight to Sydney 5 hours later (in anticipation of a delay by the Malaysian carrier) coz by the time you visit all of ONE duty free store in the Gold Coast airport, it would take a whole 8 minutes, after which you will wonder if the book you’re carrying will last the remaining 4 hours and 52 minutes. (It won’t.)

Lesson No. 4

Learn to bake. Viva la pavlova.

Lesson No. 5

When visiting the Sydney Fish Market, it is best to bring your wallet. If you fail to bring cash, and you’ve already booked a place on the guided behind-the-scenes tour of the fish market, you will need to spend some time explaining to the guide, in front of the other 15 people who did turn up with cash, why you cannot go on the tour. Thick skin is absolutely necessary. Of course, the guide will most likely tell you that it is only 7.00 in the morning, and things will get better eventually, so tag along until some money magically appears. And of course, if you pray hard enough, and you’re able to make a call to a very sleepy uncle, the wallet will be hand-delivered two hours later by a stylo-milo uncle in sunnies and an open-top Beemer. The two hours before that is a painful lesson in poverty and starvation.

Kumamoto and Pacific Oysters

With money in hand, try the fresh seafood, both raw and cooked, at the market. Remember, eat outside and risk sharing your scrumptious seafood meal with the gulls.

Lesson No. 6

EAT! Scour the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide for an idea of what’s good out there.

Longrain Restaurant

Try Longrain, a restaurant with only 3 long communal dining tables, for a touch of Thai….

The food at Longrain is refreshing, and that’s how it is when one uses and pairs only the freshest of ingredients. Dining in Longrain, one can almost feel the energy at this place; there is a festive air as groups of people find their places at the long tables. And this is what communal dining represents – camaraderie, friendship and sharing.

Longrain
85 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills, Sydney

Lesson No. 7

View from Altitude, Shangri-La Sydney

Make sure you get a table by the window, especially when you’re on the 36th floor overlooking the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

Barramundi

For modern Australian cuisine with European influences, this is a great restaurant to dine at. Service is excellent and attentive. And if you’re thinking of surprising that special someone, call ahead and ask for this:

Ain’t nothin’ like swallowing your very own diamond.

Altitude
Shangri-La Sydney
Website HERE.

Lesson No. 8

Always carry a spare camera. Because when the right moment comes, you want to be able to capture it and show off the amazing National Geographic-like pictures of the whales that you saw after braving the tumultuous waves out in the unpredictable seas. “Thar she blows!” you shout excitedly, and reach for your SLR, only to find that. it. has. stopped. w.o.r.k.i.n.g. And the only proof you have is this:

Note: For pictures of the real thing, see Precious Pea’s blog.

Lesson No. 9

Throw away your watch.

Relax.

Contemplate.

Rejuvenate your senses.

Breath.

The Bathers Pavilion
Website HERE.

Lesson No. 10

Embrace love.

The good people of Abu Dhabi may view pictures HERE.

Cagayan at Centrepoint, Bandar Utama

Posted on September 19, 2008 by Lyrical Lemongrass

1.

Boracay Island, Philippines

When we got married, my husband was still working in the Philippines on a two-year overseas stint. After the honeymoon, we both went our separate ways – I returned to KL, and he went back to Manila. Being newly married, a two week separation meant long, extended daily phonecalls of Imissyous and wet pillowcases. But then, the sun came out again and everything was well as I was greeted by the old familiar smile at the chaotic Manila airport. All my travels never prepared me for the diversity of flavours and sights and sounds that was his adopted home. From the crystal clear waters of Boracay to the slums in Manila, I absorbed everything, and despite having very few photographs (in the days before digital cameras), I still remember the mother and her children sleeping on the pavement outside the walls of the closely guarded gated communities, the dazzling blinking Rudolph and Santa Claus and baby Jesus on lawns and rooftops of spanish-influenced abodes, the man selling odds and ends at the traffic light, the playing of the national anthem before the screening of a movie, the counterflow of traffic (both legal and illegal) on busy roads, the smiling beautiful people of the Philippines.

2.

It’s a pity that there aren’t more Filipino restaurants in KL. Cagayan is a tiny cafe with tables, benches and stools, hardly the place to take your ailing grandmother to. The menu at Cagayan is a strange combination of Filipino and Japanese, but they seem to be segregated into separate sections, so thankfully, there is not much chance of anything fusion happening here.

I remember being excited about sisig in the Philippines. What started out as a vinaigrette fruit salad for expectant mothers eventually evolved into a dish of pig’s ears and tail in vinegar, and then its popularity extended to the hairier sex who ate it as a snack while ingesting their favourite intoxicating potions. Nowadays, sisig can be any kind of meat served on a sizzling plate. When I first tried it in Manila, the husband, in his usual precise but crude fashion described it as smashed pork head. Depending on one’s upbringing and dietary consumption, that can sound either exciting or disgusting. The sisig in Cagayan is not the entire head but just the ears cooked on a sizzling hot plate and served with a raw egg which gets cooked when one stirs it in. The pork ears had a nice gelatinous bite to it with little burnt bits which worked well with the creamier texture of the spicy egg-y sauce. It tasted very much like the sisig I had in Manila, and judging from the satisfied look of the others at the table, it was a winner.

The pork ribs were excellent, well grilled and had tender pieces of meat that were easily ripped off the bones. Several choices of sauces were available, and upon the advice of the waiter, we chose the classic sauce. There are also spicier sauces for those with a more adventurous palate. The crispy kangkung was quite plain. It was prepared tempura style in a flour batter that lacked much taste, but eaten with the accompanying dipping sauce it was a little better. I did like the crunchy texture, though, which was its redeeming factor. The enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon was, at its best, just a little above average, but I must say that the bacon was cooked to a nice crisp, just the way I like it. Desserts? Despite the tempting description of bananas on ice with gula melaka (palm sugar) and evaporated milk, the combo didn’t work. Perhaps it was due to the unusual texture of the bananas, or the taste of the other ingredients, but we weren’t able to finish it.

Overall, the experience was good, and it will be a restaurant which I shall visit when that feeling of nostalgia hits me again.

Cagayan
Ground floor, Centrepoint,
Bandar Utama.

Open daily, 11.30am to 10.00pm.

Pork sisig

Pork ribs

Deep fried kangkung

Enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon

Bananas on ice with gula melaka and evaporated milk

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