Give me a Jamie any day!

I am putting all responsible work duties behind to blog because I have to and I need to. One of the main reasons is that I have something to admit to all. As you probably know, I was back in Malaysia for a few weeks visiting friends, family and eating great food. Now that I am back, I want to put all those glorious experiences into this blog, i.e. pictures.

Here's the big thing; my camera's battery is flat.... and i left my cables back in Malaysia!

*pregnant silence*

I KNOW!! I am Such a klutz! Now I can't access my pictures until my parents send the cables back to me via courier, which they are doing/have done/etc. I know I will expect them next week. SIGH. But why don't you just use a memory card reader or something? Well, my camera uses XD card instead of the common SD card and i NEEEEEEED the cables to transfer those pictures otherwise I would have just stuck the SD card into my printer and have it read there. SIGH.

And those cables are not the ONLY things I left behind. I also left a bunch of hair clips, a cute headband with ribbons, my bag of dong guis, and a set of my makeup brushes! But being the true foodie that I am, I brought back all the other food items though. I stocked up on Bak Kut Teh packs (try the brand "Wonderful" Bak Kut Teh, if you're in Malaysia. The pack is blue in color with an obscure logo of a king sniffing on a steamy pot. It's about +/- RM2.95/pack and it's the BEST BKT pack i have ever tried!). I will show you pictures of it WHENCE my cables are back.


If anyone's wondering why I wrote the subject as "Give me a Jamie any day", it's because i watched Jamie Oliver on Iron Chef America battling Mario Batali. It's the BEST challenge yet because in my humble opinion, Jamie is like the "Rolling Stones" of Italian cuisine while Mario is like the sage of Italian cuisine. One's young, wistful and bold; the other wise, experienced and refined - I was leaking with anticipation come tallying time.

But give me a Jamie any day. Jamie lost by 3 points, which turned me into a ball of screaming-bulls*it-fits! Like..how can the judges rate Jamie less on taste?? Jamie's a BALL of taste...i bet it's that Chen-bot woman from The Daily Show that screwed up the scores. ^&$$#$%@$!

Obviously, I am more bitter about the loss than Jamie is LOL!

Jamie came to Canada here's a video to prove it!



I didn't go to Toronto to meet him at Indigo because [insert an excuse that will never be good enough anyway here]

I really wish I had just take a Fuckidol pill and went. :P


Babes, Gentlemen and Food-boppers, I am really sorry about the cable. Next week is when I will get my cable and then we can get the food porn rolling again. :)

Icky Sticky Buns

This is a back log post that was suppose to be up before I left. I posted pictures of them before but Sticky Buns are something that everyone should make at least once in their lifetime. The gooey praline type topping is just hard to resist!

I first encountered these buns on TV where Chef Bobby Flay was having a Throwdown with Joanne Cheng, famed for her sticky buns of Flour Bakery and Cafe in Boston. And she has generously shared her delectable Sticky Buns recipe for all here. :D

I followed the recipe diligently EXCEPT for the flour, i only had all purpose and substituted it with the flour required in the recipe. I did make a bit of adjustments here and there, like substituting pecans for slivered almonds. I was making do with what I had because I was craving sticky buns and I wanted to eat them NOW!

But you will see that "NOW!" meant the next day because the dough needs time to rest and rise. The recipe will be divided into three parts - the dough, the goo and the assembly. So here's my version of sticky buns with much respect to Joanne's original recipe:

For the dough:

2 1/2 cups high-gluten flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
5 cups all purpose flour
1-ounce yeast
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup ice water
5 eggs
11 ounces butter, softened

1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, except the butter and beat on low with dough hook for 10 minutes.
2. Add the softened butter and knead for another 20 minutes until dough slaps on the side of the bowl.
3. Place in a container and cover well.
4. Proof in refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
5. Shape, cover, proof for several hours at warm room temperature.

For the Goo:

1/2 pound butter
15 ounces brown sugar
5 ounces honey
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup water

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt together the butter and brown sugar. Remove from heat, let cool, and whisk in the honey, cream, and water. Set aside.

Assembly et. al.:

1 recipe Brioche dough, recipe above
2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pecans slivered almonds, toasted and chopped
Goo, recipe above

1. On a floured surface, work out the dough until it is a large rectangular shape. It will be approximately 1/4 inch thick.
2. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and almonds well and sprinkle on the dough surface. Make sure you evenly cover the surface with all the cinnamon and nutty goodness.
3. Roll up the dough ala cinnamon bun style and cut it into 1 inch thick buns. Leave aside.
4. Spread the goo on a baking pan and lay the buns cut side up side by side until the pan is filled.
5. Let the buns rest for 2-3 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Bake until beautiful golden brown for 45 minutes. Let it cool for 10 mins before inverting it onto a serving platter and watch the magnificent goo spill lazily on the sides of the golden rolls.

Eat carefully as the goo can be a tad warm :D

I'M BACK

OMG, what a grueling 26 hours of flights and transits it has been! I am jetlagged, tired and feeling a little euphoric all at the same time. I have many things to share from my trip and tomorrow, I will be treated by my partner to an unforgettable dining experience. It's an outing to celebrate Valentines since we missed it from being thousands of miles apart. Where would we be going?

O.Noir.

I shall be dining in the black of darkness and experience food as a blind foodie for 1.5 hours! Needless to say I look forward to this dinner and hopefully to make up for lost V-time :)

I am still pondering what I should pick for my entre, mains and dessert - you're suppose to make a decision before you enter the dark room. Maybe I should just pick "Surprise" on all three and let my taste buds tell me what I'm eating.

Jetlag begone!

Food updates soon and you can count on it! I just need to sort out some pictures and get back into grove with my kitchen. If you could only imagine how much I miss my Shun knife. The knives in my mom's kitchen pale in comparison - cooking becomes more of a chore when cutting and slicing takes too much effort. Which explains why I did not cook as much when I was in Malaysia.

Anyway, more soon. Now, i need sleep!