Home Cooked Assam Fish

I love the taste of Assam Fish. My favourite was the one at the now defunct Wei Yue. It was the perfect combination of spice, sweet and sour. With Wei Yue gone, my mom tried to find the fish paste that would replicate the Wei Yue Assam Curry. We tried and failed many times. Now, let me present to you my top 2 picks for Assam Curry Paste

My no. 1 pick! We used a Red Snapper and I think it goes very well with the Assam curry. The meat is firm and it has a smooth texture. I like it that the fish does not give off a “fishy” taste or smell as I am very particular and sensitive to the so-called “yu-xing-wei”. The Assam was perfect. Not too thick and had the right amount of spice (very little in fact), sweetness and sourish after taste. I loved it. It was so yums I could have eaten the entire fish on my own! *slurp*

My 2nd pick would be this other brand which is good too except it is more spicy and less sourish. For this, we prepared it with Sea Bass. Good as well but I think the Red Snapper is still the better option.

So happy with my new camera! The Panassonic LX3! Here are pics of some of the other dishes we had for dinner on those 2 nights of Assam Curry Fish testing!

Home-made Fish Head Curry – FAIL

We previously attempted our very own fish head curry and it was awesome. Silly thing is, we have since forgotten that magic combination – namely, the brand of powder we used to make the curry! Well, I have here what we recently tried and you heard it from me, it SUCKS. Somehow it’s just too thick and the flavour just isn’t there. Will keep on trying and keep you posted until I find the right one. Meanwhile, I have protested and won so we should be trying Asam Curry next.

HUAT AH!

Reunion dinner this year was at my Aunt’s place as my Uncle was going to try his hand at Yu Sheng. It was a great first hand. I think it kinda had the right amount of everything – lots of salmon too! At least, it was just the way I liked it. Well done Uncle G!!

One of the nights, we had a blackjack session at my cousin, S’s place – remember my cool cousin that cooks really well? She prepared some alcoholic short cake and it was delicious. Generous portions of sweet strawberries laden with alcohol. It was yummy!!!

Dinner at my place on the first day was good too. As usual, Rhuty was an awesome cook, leaving everyone with only compliments on their lips; and mom & dad, very satisfied and proud hosts.

With just a few more days to the Chinese New Year left, let’s hope there’s more good food to enjoy. This year has been relatively quiet for me. How has yours been?

Christmas Desserts all made by my AMAZING Cuz…

Remember my multi-talented cuz? Well she invited us over for Christmas desserts and not only was the spread mouth-watering, they tasted every bit as good as they looked (if not better!!). Here’s a look-see at our indulgence for the night…

Tiramisu that was to-die-for. It was moist and with just the right amount of alcohol to give it that ooomph…

The calamansi cake was just amazing with a sourish tinge in every mouthful.

 

Pictures courtesy of Cassandra as I forgot to bring my camera!!

First of Many Christmas Gatherings

Last Saturday was my first Christmas Gathering at a friend’s place. These are actually friends of S and it’s really sweet how all of them are so close. Some since primary school days, some secondary school, and some since college days. It was night of fun, games, laughter and cheer. I had a terrific time and J was a splendid host serving us yummy food and T as usual, was our game master. The gift exchange had a slight twist this year and was undoubtedly the highlight of the evening.

Now here’s what I loved about dinner that night…

Scallops with melted cheese…J, these were delicious! Extremely tasty and the slight (residual) sauce that came along with it just made it even more yummy. LOVED IT. heh Guilty as charged for helping finish it. :p

Salmon Sashimi…now these were extremely fresh and J was generous in his portions too! *slurp*

Roast Beef with Mushroom Sauce…I really liked the mushroom sauce. I think it pretty much is a recipe on its own. Perfect with a slab of Sirloin steak.

Salad…J actually went around serving the salad to ensure we ate them. Actually they were very nice and crunchy plus I loved the hard boiled eggs mixed in it. Healthy diet as prescribed by the doc.

I am afraid I didn’t try the ham and sausages for some reason but considering how it got “whacked up” so quickly, I am sure it must have been yums.

Christmas Eve is in 2 days. Any plans for that all important Christmas Eve Dinner? Dining out? We’re doing a simple home meal this year. Hee the menu is pretty much inspired from the birthday dinner I prepared for S. After which we should be headed to my cousin’s place where she’s preparing desserts galore. On Christmas day itself we should be having dinner at S and on Boxing day I have brunch with the girls and at night dinner at La Villa with another of my girlies. Will put up a posts on it and please, do share with me how your Christmas dinners go. Looking forward to a week long of feasting. YAY!!!

A Family Dinner prepared by Family :)

Have I ever told you that my cousin is an excellent cook? And she isn’t restricted to a particular cuisine. She can whip up almost anything! I love it when she decides to throw one of her little dinner parties at her place. We can always expect high quality home cooked food that taste delightfully good and are presented on lovely china. She is big on presentation, right down to the napkins served and the cups used.  Her coffee set is pretty and adds to the allure along with the aroma.

Tonight, she decided to do something more indo-malay with nasi lemak rice, chicken wings, redang, curry sotong, etc. It was amazing. The spread was good and the portions just right. After which, we were treated to cheese cake with ice cream, nicely served in a wine glass. Beautiful. My highlight for the night was the ice cream log cake she prepared served with fresh strawberries and blue berries. The ice cream cake had a tinge of alcohol and the chocolate wafer crust was just the perfect thickness. The ice cream wasn’t frozen or melted but just right. It was phenomenal.

She really puts us all to shame my cousin. All who know her can vouch that she is the true modern day woman, and she does the role extremely well. A successful lawyer by profession, a fantastic wife and mom to her 2 boys; and an extraordinary homemaker who is pro in the kitchen as well as with home decor.

She’s DA BOMB. Lucky husband!!!!

A home cooked meal with the Lims

Fish Head Curry…ours was always brimming with ladies’ fingers coz mom loved it. The rest of us kinda just steered clear from it. We were also always well stocked on curry leaves as you can see from this picture. I think our fish head curry is yummy but I wouldn’t say it’s the best I’ve had (sorry!!). Somehow I always find the curry too thick. I think one of the best fish head curry I’ve had is the one from Ocean Fish Head Curry along Amoy street. The curry is very tasty and goes down easily. It’s not too thick or too jelat and the fish meat is soft and smooth, without being too hard from over-cooking. Another one for the books is the Asam Fish Head Curry I had at Wei Yue Seafood near Tiong Bahru which I previously featured. That was delicious! It was sweet, spicy and sour all at once. Absolutely fantastic.

Crayfish…we started out preparing this dish steamed with chinese wine. It was really yummy back then with the sweetness of the crayfish and the tinge of alcohol from the wine. Then the dish evolved to crayfish with black bean sauce and finally black pepper. Unlike black pepper crab, our black pepper crayfish is kinda more starchy with gravy. It isn’t dry and grilled. Instead, I kinda feel like it is a mix between the black bean preparation and black pepper. Nonetheless, it’s awesome! Very tasty and definitely alot less cheaper eating it home cooked than outside!!

 

Beef on hot plate…now this is beautifully done and I say it rivals those in the chinese restaurants any time! The beef is tender and well seasoned. It is a sweet, with tad black pepper flavouring and a subtle taste of alcohol. I love it!

Now I’ll be honest with ya. My house ain’t great with the greens. In fact, this is probably R’s best vegetable dish. The luscious greens are crunchy and are well stir fried with garlic and just a little oyster sauce that is not too thick and heavy but enough to leave a taste. Probably my favourite vegetable dish from R! (Ironically, this is probably the one dish that most of the places outside will beat us hands downs for in terms of taste. Why we just don’t get it? I have no idea!!! And vegetables are supposed to be the simplest!!)

A Japanese Birthday Treat

The venue was my friend’s place along Whitley Road and the cuisine was home prepared Japanese food. It was A’s birthday dinner and my lorong girlies and I were all psyched up for a yummy dinner along with some Guitar Heroes – We were NOT disappointed.

 

 

We were treated like Queens, with each course served dutifully after the previous had been walloped clean. We started out with glasses of rose wine (sparkling wine), each glass with a hibiscus nicely popped in to give it an additional sweetening. Not to mention making the glass look all pretty with the “blooming flower” resting at the base of the glass. With a unison toast, we kicked off our meal with some salad which was so good, it left us in anticipation of what was to come next.

The salad was a mix of lettuce with soft beancurd, all tossed with what I think is some sort of olive sauce. There was also a good blend of Japanese salad sauce. The lettuce were fresh and green, and the beancurd helped to rake in the flavour as it seemed to absorb the tastes from the sauces. I loved the salad as I felt it was light and not too reliant on the sauces to give it that allure. An excellent start to the meal if you ask me.

Next up was the salmon sashimi and sushi. Just looking at it, the spread was getting me really excited. The salmon looked really fresh and everything was nicely laid out, looking professionally done and pretty. Who would have thought we weren’t sitting at a 5 star Japanese restaurant but rather the dining table of A’s humble home? Kudos to her mom for presentation. It was extremely well done and the wasabi was awesome! I was secretly cheering when I saw that many slices of raw salmon just sitting there; knowing that amongst us not all were raw fish takers. The glint in my eye was plainly in view and I am sure A noticed my glee. =P (Sources tell me that apparently the raw fish and wasabi were purchased from the supermarket at Shaw Isetan. So you might want to check it out if you are intending to prepare a sashimi  feast at home.)

 

Then came the chawamushi in pretty little china cups. Beautiful. Whilst I was won over by the presentation, I must say that the texture of the egg was good, but the taste was a little blend and there was too much chicken. Great effort Aunty! You are close and getting there! So be sure to invite me over the next time, for I’m sure it would be perfect by then. Here’s a little tip: To avoid having it taste too much like chinese styled egg, perhaps you might want to have less chicken, add a crab stick (my LOVE), and probably have the egg cook a little longer so as to have a stronger egg taste. I think the egg can go a bit harder. I look forward to  your next attempt!

 

Tempura was the next dish served. Now the mushroom tempura (forgot what it’s called) was really good. In fact, I only got to try it the 2nd time around! Everyone just snapped it up!! The tapioca was amazing too. And I know a certain S LOVED the prawns so much she happily snapped up 4! The batter was good and went very well with the sauce. The chef was also prompt in replenishing the food whenever we were close to being done. Good food and excellent service, what more could we ask for?

Oh yes! And did I mention the rice which was served so nicely in those little bowls?

Beef was next! And it was yummy good quality beef! Nicely sliced served with tasty delicious gravy. Perfect with the rice. Ummmph! Mmmmmph! =)

Last course of the day was dessert! Japanese ice cream!!! By the end of it, I was feeling pleased and satisfied. I wasn’t bloated or over-filled, but rather, I felt a sort of calming pleasure.

Thanks A!! And thank you Aunty!! The meal was delicious and well in my books for one of the best meals I’ve had served at a family residence. *slurp*

Lim Family Steamboat ROCKS

“My house steamboat is REALLY good!! The soup is yummy and the beef is well seasoned. It’s the BEST steamboat ever!”

This is something I had told S since before Reunion Dinner even began, but he never had the opportunity to try my family steamboat and always rebutted with a “Really?” or “Are you sure? My house steamboat also very good, you just haven’t tried.” Well, I finally had the chance to shut him up, and boy, did I shut him up! I made my mom organise a steamboat dinner just for us and S so that he could finally savour the taste of steamboat, the Lim Family style. S’s conclusion at the end of the night: “Yah lah. Your steamboat is really good! The soup is damn nice and the beef is super shiok! K, k, YOU WIN!” – Ah HA!

There is a lot of family pride here but seriously guys, our beef is pre-seasoned and has a tinge of alcohol in it. It’s sweet and literally addicitive. Our soup is YUMMY too!! Sweet and fragrant! Oooooh! I love our steamboat!! Wheeeee!!!!

Vday Feature by Shandy

Yet another special feature by one of the girls in my lorong. Her bf whipped up a home cooked meal for her all by himself! Now ain’t that sweet? And it wasn’t even for vday!! This couple has been together for 5 years now mind you! Great job Alvin! And Kudos to the both of you for maintaining the spark, romance and excitement in your relationship even after so long!

 

Surprise Home Cooked Meal written by Shandy Kim

The one man show, behind closed doors – I wasn’t even allowed to take a peep! The grocery shopping, the preparation, the cooking – all 100% done by him heyy i wanted to help k.. i truely wanted to! In fact, i thought it’d be more fun but, he refused! Humph. (Next time I will insist on making it a joint effort :p)

 

The seasoning of the Salmon was good but the Swiss communal dish – The Fondue, was the highlight! It was a simple dinner, but it’s really the little details that touched me. Eg. Remembering the way I like my broccoli cooked, the berries, my favourite type of chocolate (including the secret ingredient to be added to the chocolate), the ‘long term investment’ etc.

Thanks for all the effort and love, dear’s the best! =)

-Shandy-