furama and the banana leaf #bangsar #malaysia

raw. unedited.

of course i took a dip in this :)

and look what i found!

i love shopping in pantry magic.

window shopping.

i wouldn't be able to stop myself otherwise!

who needs plates when you have banana leaves. ;)

ayam goreng

kari tenggiri

sambal cumi goreng

cucumber and carrot in yoghurt, chopped spinach, tandoor deep fried bittergourd.

your choice of dhal, fish curry or chicken curry.

or all of that.

can you tell that i'm entirely contented with just a rice set?

my friends,

there's an arapaima in there!

these things should only exist in underwater world.

i know right?

it's massive.

and it snaps at the fish during feeding time.

scarymary.

murtabak ayam.

i love the onions and chicken filling.

from the ramadan bazzar just around the corner in subang.

what a pretty house.

and i'm glad we got to visit.

thanks dear :)

timed.out.

Crispy on the outside, fluffy soft on the inside.

Savour it for what it's worth.

With spicy sour and very addictive fish curry.

And sugar of course.

It was only Monday.

But that little bit better at least.

:)

Go! Go! Curry!

It's been perfect curry weather this whole week! :)

What's the deal about a cheer on for gorillas and curry?

I stood around watching their promotional video (entirely in Japanese) and I will not pretend to have understood more than "Oiishi!" :p I did however, recognize Hideki Matsui who plays for the New York Yankees and his jersey number, 55 which was the reason for Go! Go! (the number 5 in Japanese) clearing my entirely reasonable idea of it being a cheer for the curry. And well, his Godzilla nickname influenced their eventual choice of a gorilla for a mascot. 

But just like an entirely serendipitious sort of phenomenon, that's probably brilliant though. The idea of a Go! Go! in your restaurant's name psychologically propels your body to respond to your subconscious mind. Go! Go! to the Curry! now! That was me anyway.

So next time you walk past, tell me if you feel a sudden compulsion to act on it! :)

Why go for less, when you can challenge the Grand Slam!

Actually, I just couldn't decide what I wanted with my curry. :D

This wasn't what I expected from a Japanese curry. It was a distinctive dark brown colour and a more pronounced peppery taste. Think: A thicker version of beef stew. I liked it! Whether curry or called by any other name because this was comfort-type soul food on a rainy day. They weren't generous enough with the curry sauce though, unlike cocoichi and no, I did not know that I could add on extra portions of curry until I read one of the reviews that suggested extra curry and extra cheese! Mmm.

So if you were going at it alone, remember that these curry rice sets have a larger than normal portion of rice even on the healthy version. Diners pick from a choice of Shrimp, Sausage, Pork or Chicken cutlet, accompanied by shredded cabbage. And unless you're with someone else, I don't know how one person's stomach can manage 650g of rice with curry and 4 sides.

It was a good post zumba dinner. I workout hard for my curry rewards. :)

As with all good meals, they should end with a dessert. 

Essentially a Snickers bar deconstructed and reconstructed into a stack with dense chocolate cake layers.

Rich. Peanut buttery. Dense. Caramelish. Definitely. Sweet. All too much for a post-curry late night dessert but I see it as most certainly an energy bar for that extra boost of sugar rush energy if taken at lunch time.

Girlfriend timeout in the midst of a mad week at Ion. :) 

what's cooking at home

It's never an easy task to be cooking daily. Grandma isn't in the best of health and she can't stand for extended periods of time. Sometimes we want her to just take a good rest and buy takeout instead. But if given a choice, she'd rather cook. It's sort of like a responsibility she's taken on and she's lost if she doesn't have to cook. She's good at it. And no, not because i'm biased. Food outside never tastes the same when replicated at home. For better or for worse- the taste, that is :)

Braised pork trotters with egg

Perfectly braised pork trotters with tender meat falling off the bones and the flavour infused hardboiled eggs. Chases away the cold rainy nights. 



when leftover rice takes on new life when wok fried



Leftover rice is sometimes my grandmother's biggest bane. She's left to decide whether to fry it up or to just to steam it with the new batch of rice she cooks. It used to just be eggs and rice but these days, she's taken to adding in strips of charsiew that she buys from the market. This is an entire meal all on it's own. But of course, we always have dishes on the side. :)



sea bream smeared with curry powder



That's the taste of home right there. I haven't had curry powder smeared on fish outside before. Not that I've ever come across. Chilli/ sambal yes but curry powder, her secret blend of spices, nope. And rarely a night goes by without fish. :) I've taken to loving both the crispy skin and curry powdered white flaky fish meat within. I used to avoid eating fish because of it's bones and the patterned skin. Psychological.

And yes, there are vegetables as well. Depends what she gets from the market. That's the one dish we finish up without fail every night. For the very reason that vegetables aren't recommended leftovers what with a loss in color and their nutrients. We love our greens. :)

What's home cooked food like at yours?