Let's talk about food!

[Ilkless]

Why would you go to KL and eat Western food? I can give you a list of recommendations - Lala (cockle) noodles at Lai Foong ... claypot rice at Wai Sek Kai or Pudu ... beef noodles at Soong Kee in Jalan Silang or Sin Kiew Yee. Go to Unique Seafood, it is like an edible aquarium. Then there are the countless nasi lemak eateries - you can try the difference between Malay, Indian, and Chinese versions (IMO the Malay version is the best, even though I am Chinese). The Indian versions are usually too fiery, and the Chinese versions usually too bland. And then there's your national dish of chicken rice (I know you are Singaporean). The stalwart of KL chicken rice (Nam Heong) isn't the best any more, there are a number of places that are better. I forgot the name of the place in Damansara Uptown, I will have to ask my friend.

The last thing I would eat in KL is Western food.

There's a growing fine dining scene there, buoyed by a growing middle class but low cost base, that's also worth trying. Paid 40usd/150MYR for this lunch set from Entier.

Thought of going to Dewakan as well but S/O says tasting menus are wasted on her with her appetite.

 

[Keith_W]

There's a growing fine dining scene there, buoyed by a growing middle class but low cost base, that's also worth trying. Paid 40usd/150MYR for this lunch set from Entier.

Thought of going to Dewakan as well but S/O says tasting menus are wasted on her with her appetite.

Yes the food scene in KL is constantly evolving. The last time I went back, my dad offered to buy me dinner and asked me where I wanted to go. Of course I said "char kway teow". It's cheap. Well, he took me to this steak house. I was utterly confused. He said just be patient. Then he ordered this massive 1kg U.S. Tomahawk. I was even more confused.

When the dinner came out, I understood what it was. They cut off the fat from the Tomahawk, and used it to fry kway teow which was served as a side dish. You then eat the steak with the noodles. I have never heard or seen such a thing anywhere in the world. Only in Malaysia!

 

[Keith_W]

Souffle omelette - I finally had a success!

Those of you who have been to Mont Saint Michel may have walked past Restaurant La Mere Poulard which is where this dish was invented. When I ate there, I saw them whisking whole eggs in copper bowls and then frying them on copper pans over an open fire. According to the waiter, the only ingredients are eggs, salt, pepper, and butter.

So for a few weeks now I tried it. I finally decided to separate the egg whites from the yolk and whisk them separately. I used some tricks from baking to get more of a rise, so I modified the recipe. So here it is:

- 3 eggs, separated into whites and yolks
- Grate some cheese if using. I grated about 1/2 a cup.
- For the whites: add 1/4 tsp baking powder (to help it rise). Whisk to stiff peaks.
- For the yolks, add salt and pepper and 1 tsp flour (to give it some structure and stop it from deflating too quickly). Add about 1tbsp of chopped parsley. Add a splash of water to make the mixture looser and easier to mix with the whites. Whisk until foamy.
- In a suitably sized non-stick pan, melt some butter. While the butter is melting, fold the whites and yolks together GENTLY until incorporated. It will immediately begin deflating the moment the whites come in contact with the yolks, so make sure the pan is ready. Pour the mixture in, and sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Cover the pan and let it cook on low heat for about 45 seconds.
- Fold the omelette in half. Lift up the omelette slightly and add some butter to the bottom. Tilt the pan so that the edge of the omelette contacts the sides and cooks it slightly.
- Turn into a plate and serve immediately. All souffles deflate the moment it is removed from heat, so eat it quickly.

Result: like biting into fluffy, airy, buttery egginess.

I have a way to go before I reach the perfection of La Mere Poulard but I am getting there. Next step is to reduce the number of eggs - 3 eggs is too big for my pan.

 

[Mikig]

we were there a few years ago. We slept in a hotel on the island. Here are the copper pots filled with whipped egg and the fireplace for cooking. very nice!

 

[Keith_W]

Here we have a 240 day dry aged, grass fed and corn finished ribeye from Tasmania:

I put it in the Sous-Vide machine for 3 hours with thyme and butter. This was the result:

I finished it on the charcoal grille after removing all the moisture. This is the steak resting:

And here it is ready to serve with Cafe de Paris butter:

 

[Winemaker]

Here we have a 240 day dry aged, grass fed and corn finished ribeye from Tasmania:

View attachment 402724

I put it in the Sous-Vide machine for 3 hours with thyme and butter. This was the result:

View attachment 402725

I finished it on the charcoal grille after removing all the moisture. This is the steak resting:

View attachment 402726

And here it is ready to serve with Cafe de Paris butter:

View attachment 402727

Here in Sicily it's lunchtime, these photos are an attack on psychological integrity.

 

[Sal1950]

And here it is ready to serve with Cafe de Paris butter:

I'd have to taste it.
That's one hell of a lot of work to go thru to cook a steak.

Here we have a 240 day dry aged,

And a long time to wait.

 

[Keith_W]

I'd have to taste it.

Here is the recipe:

100g butter
1 tbsp of shallots, finely minced
1/2 tsp of thyme leaves
1/2 tsp of tarragon leaves
1 tsp of parsley
1 tsp of seeded mustard
5-6 anchovies
1/4 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp salted capers, washed and minced
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

Melt the butter and add all the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Roll it into a log and refrigerate, then cut into slices. If you have excess butter, it is great on corn as well. Husk and wash corn and microwave for 1 minute. Turn it over and microwave for another minute. It will come out piping hot. Rub the butter on top and enjoy.

That's one hell of a lot of work to go thru to cook a steak.

All thick steaks need a two step cooking process. Some people reverse sear, some finish in the oven. My preference is sous-vide, that way I don't have to watch the temperature like a hawk. And I get a perfect rare from edge to edge without an overcooked zone that you get with high delta-T cooking.

BTW I did not mention that I only buy ribeyes which have been cut from the 2nd to 4th ribs. This is because the rib cap, which is the best part of the steak, is thickest. If you buy anything closer to the tail end, the rib cap is miserably thin.

It is the opposite with T-bone steaks. The terminology of T-bone vs. Porterhouse is confusing because Americans and Australians have different meanings. It sometimes includes the tenderloin, and it sometimes does not. In Australia a "Porterhouse" is the striploin on its own, with no bone. A "T-bone" over here sometimes always includes the bone and striploin, but sometimes not the tenderloin. To be clear, when I say "T-bone" I mean "a steak cut from the lumbar vertebra which includes the bone, the striploin and the tenderloin". you want as much tenderloin as possible on your T-bone so you want it cut from closer to the tail.

The only way to properly cook a T-bone is on a charcoal grille. This is because if you try to pan fry it, meat shrinkage will lift the meat off the pan so only the bone gets direct heat and the meat gets steamed. The meat next to the bone never properly browns. And if I am going to take the trouble of firing up my charcoal grille, I want a nice piece of steak.

BTW, that charcoal grille flavour comes from fat dripping off the meat and catching fire on the coals. New flavour molecules are produced which deposit back on the meat. For this reason, I always ask the butcher to give me the beef fat from the trimmings. I place the fat around the steak while I am grilling it so that I get extra charcoal flavour.

 

[Sal1950]

Melt the butter and add all the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Roll it into a log and refrigerate, then cut into slices. If you have excess butter, it is great on corn as well. Husk and wash corn and microwave for 1 minute. Turn it over and microwave for another minute. It will come out piping hot. Rub the butter on top and enjoy.

Keith, Thanks for that! If I ever get to Australia I'll pressure you to invite me to dinner, I've been told I'm a terrible bully. LOLOL

I'm just not much of a grill wizard, the only time I fool much with cooking meat I do a nice Prime Rib Roast. A few minutes prep and
a meat thermionic and it's hard to screw it up. For steaks I'll just go out, if they mess it up I'll just send it back and say "try again"
Cheers.

 

[Mikig]

Here is the recipe:

100g butter
1 tbsp of shallots, finely minced
1/2 tsp of thyme leaves
1/2 tsp of tarragon leaves
1 tsp of parsley
1 tsp of seeded mustard
5-6 anchovies
1/4 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp salted capers, washed and minced
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

Melt the butter and add all the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Roll it into a log and refrigerate, then cut into slices. If you have excess butter, it is great on corn as well. Husk and wash corn and microwave for 1 minute. Turn it over and microwave for another minute. It will come out piping hot. Rub the butter on top and enjoy.



All thick steaks need a two step cooking process. Some people reverse sear, some finish in the oven. My preference is sous-vide, that way I don't have to watch the temperature like a hawk. And I get a perfect rare from edge to edge without an overcooked zone that you get with high delta-T cooking.

BTW I did not mention that I only buy ribeyes which have been cut from the 2nd to 4th ribs. This is because the rib cap, which is the best part of the steak, is thickest. If you buy anything closer to the tail end, the rib cap is miserably thin.

It is the opposite with T-bone steaks. The terminology of T-bone vs. Porterhouse is confusing because Americans and Australians have different meanings. It sometimes includes the tenderloin, and it sometimes does not. In Australia a "Porterhouse" is the striploin on its own, with no bone. A "T-bone" over here sometimes always includes the bone and striploin, but sometimes not the tenderloin. To be clear, when I say "T-bone" I mean "a steak cut from the lumbar vertebra which includes the bone, the striploin and the tenderloin". you want as much tenderloin as possible on your T-bone so you want it cut from closer to the tail.

The only way to properly cook a T-bone is on a charcoal grille. This is because if you try to pan fry it, meat shrinkage will lift the meat off the pan so only the bone gets direct heat and the meat gets steamed. The meat next to the bone never properly browns. And if I am going to take the trouble of firing up my charcoal grille, I want a nice piece of steak.

BTW, that charcoal grille flavour comes from fat dripping off the meat and catching fire on the coals. New flavour molecules are produced which deposit back on the meat. For this reason, I always ask the butcher to give me the beef fat from the trimmings. I place the fat around the steak while I am grilling it so that I get extra charcoal flavour.

Keith! Since I understand that you love the world of food, if you want a restaurant in Italy, I'll leave you mine!! so I can go back to retirement!!!

 

[Keith_W]

Buttermilk fried chicken.

The secret ingredient is Trisol which is a wheat dextrin. Add 25% of the weight of flour in Trisol and the rest of the seasonings as normal (garlic and onion powder, celery powder, smoked paprika, white pepper, cayenne pepper, salt). The Trisol makes it extra crispy, and more importantly, it maintains its crispiness for hours after cooking. You can even douse it with sauce and it would remain crispy. I have found that 25% Trisol is ideal. If you add too much, the batter is too hard and it shatters like glass.

The chicken was marinaded in a buttermilk brine (with the same flavourings as the flour) for 16 hours. I fried it until golden and then finished it an oven until a probe thermometer registered 67C.

Served with coleslaw and fries.

 

[Anatols_Dad]

Here's a lunch menu l that I recently had at an Irish Pub in Vienna, Austria - Cordon Bleu (hadn't eaten that for years) with potato and lamb's lettuce salad, followed by cheesecake with icecream.

 

[Robbo99999]

Here's a lunch menu l that I recently had at an Irish Pub in Vienna, Austria - Cordon Bleu (hadn't eaten that for years) with potato and lamb's lettuce salad, followed by cheesecake with icecream.
View attachment 408441
View attachment 408443

Definitely not American sized portions & not even Irish sized portions!

 

[Anatols_Dad]

Definitely not American sized portions & not even Irish sized portions!

The portions look smaller than they were and felt when they had landed in my stomach... ;-)
And I personally prefer quality over quantity, anyway.

Edit: Come to think of it - I actually ordered another dessert on the menu, because it was all so tasty ;-) And because the set lunch only cost 9.90 Euros despite the high quality, I think that it was a good deal for both parties

 

[Mikig]

Recipe for the traditional dish of my city:

take three cuts of beef, normally the "real" is used, we then use the "spinach" and the "priest's hat".
They must be cut into strips with a square section of about 1.5 centimeters.
The strips are then cut, thus obtaining cubes of meat about the size of a hazelnut.

In a large pot, traditionally earthenware, put 50 grams of butter for every kilo of meat, the meat cut into cubes, a mixture of lard and red wine, proportional to the quantity of meat.

Turn on the heat, low and start cooking. Prepare a gauze with fennel seeds and a clove of garlic if desired. Put it in the pot together with the meat, butter and red wine. Add salt only when cooking is advanced.

Cook with a lid for a couple of hours or more, taking care to stir every now and then. Do not add water or broth. If towards the end it is too liquid, raise the heat and remove the lid. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, however, adjust the flavor and add a glass of red wine, to mix everything together.
It is cooked when the meat falls apart and is tender.

It is traditionally served with yellow flour polenta. It is very tasty especially in winter and is a "comforting" single dish.

This is a simple dish, which has very ancient roots. It is said that the pot was placed on the fire in the morning, and eaten when returning home after a hard day's work. It practically cooked itself.
It has few ingredients, it was a poor dish, prepared with very cheap cuts of meat, which became acceptable only after long cooking and flavored with the few spices available and red wine. Enjoy your meal!

 

[Robbo99999]

The portions look smaller than they were and felt when they had landed in my stomach... ;-)
And I personally prefer quality over quantity, anyway.

Edit: Come to think of it - I actually ordered another dessert on the menu, because it was all so tasty ;-) And because the set lunch only cost 9.90 Euros despite the high quality, I think that it was a good deal for both parties

Fair enough, but to me for hearty "basic" food like that then you want some good portion sizes.

 

[Mikig]

Fair enough, but to me for hearty "basic" food like that then you want some good portion sizes.

as they say in the restaurant: the portions on the plate must be just right, like when you serve a glass of water... a little doesn't quench your thirst, too much is a prank...

 

[Keith_W]

I forgot I had this photo on my phone!

Same buttermilk fried chicken as upthread. The meat was tender and juicy. Most people who fry chicken recommend a lower frying temperature to avoid over-browning the crust before the inside of the chicken is cooked. What I do is: first fry to lightly brown the crust. Then into the oven with a probe thermometer to reach the target of 69C. Then back into the fryer to finish browning the crust and drive off any moisture to make it crispy.

Bone in chicken takes a longer time to reach target temperature than boneless, but to me it's not fried chicken without the bone. Without the bone, it's a schnitzel.

 

[beefkabob]

Not the actual ones I ate, but I had one of these yesterday and another today. The next one is scheduled for two Mondays from now. I have had fried chicken sandwiches, but this is the form of fried chicken sandwiches.

TINROOF / Maui

Tin Roof Maui is a casual lunch shop by Chef Sheldon Simeon in Kahalui, Maui. Dishes include mochiko chicken, poke bowl, and pork belly.

www.tinroofmaui.com

 

[Mikig]

Cassoeula

Another traditional dish from Northern Italy is Cassoeula.
It is a stew of pork, with the less noble parts of it, with cabbage that is normally eaten with polenta.
You take pork ribs, already divided and 10 centimeters long. Normally you have the butcher prepare the whole sheet divided into three lengthwise.
Verzini, which are small tied sausages about ten centimeters long.
The pig's foot is also sectioned into parts. If you like, you can also add the ears and the snout.
You also add the rind, cut into squares.

The process is simple but laborious. You have to be careful to boil the various parts first, to give them a pre-cooking but above all to degrease them.
So you prepare the sausages with holes and boil them.
Then you take the ribs, boil them,
Then you take the other parts and boil them. Always change the water between one boiling and the next. The various ingredients are cooked to 1/2 of the cooking time, so since the pieces are not too big, about twenty minutes per ingredient is enough.

Then prepare a soffritto with carrots, celery and onion.

Place all the previously boiled pieces of meat in the pot, in layers. Place cabbage leaves between each layer of meat.
Assemble the pot, add a good amount of broth, enough to almost cover everything and add a spoonful of tomato paste.

Cook until the ribs have the bone that comes away from the meat, the cabbage is very soft and so are all the other parts of the meat.

Again, low heat and patience.
If any fat from the meat comes to the surface, it will foam, making the dish lighter.

Very good, served with polenta or if you like with white rice.
A dish that was normally made from November onwards, because the less noble parts of the pig and cabbage, the last vegetable from the garden to be harvested, were used. The first night frosts were expected, to make the cabbages softer.

Enjoy your meal!!