A little slice of heaven aka Ode to durian cake

Sublime. There i've said it. The durian cake that was ordered from Chrys Lim and so readily enjoyed by us was beyond description. I will try to do it justice.

Believe me when I say that I enjoy all things durian-flavoured, be it durian puffs from Joo Chiat to the durian paste that merchant court has for it's buffets, but you haven't had the ultimate expierence till you've eaten the durian cake done by Chrys Lim. The cake has layers of durian paste sandwiched between sponge cake layers and topped by a thick layer of, well you guessed it, DURIAN. What makes it so special, you ask?

Mmmmm, how do i begin? Let's see. Is it the smell that rises to your nostrils or is it the sight of the multi-layered cake. Hard to say, well suffice to say…..I am always transported to another place whenever i eat the durian cake specially done by Chrys Lim. Foodies, you haven't lived till you had a slice of the cake.

—- Herman

Asia Pacific Best Restaurants List

I've been doing quite a bit of thinking about Restaurant magazine's survey of the world's fifty best restaurants and how few restaurants from Asia, Australia and the Pacific islands were represented in it. So, in a bold (and perhaps hubristic) move, I've decided to try and build a comprehensive listing of Asia-Pacific's best restaurants.

This list, however, depends entirely on you, fellow bloggers, readers and friends. And in such, anyone and everyone is welcome to take part in this. I'll make this caveat right away: any survey is only as good as the people who take part in it. And it's only really credible if a lot of people take part.

—— ChubbyHubby, Tomorrow

The call has been made, lets all go out and eat around the world…

Mee Bali

My brother and I were talking abt this dish one day. My granny introduced us to this dish and then it became a signature dish for my cousin's catering business back in the 1980s. However, we haven't eaten it for a long time and decided to give it a try. Here are the ingredients

• Laksa Noodles
• Chilli Paste
• Bean Sprouts
• Bean Curd
• Egg
• Chives
• Fish Cakes, Prawns, Crabsticks
• Garlic
• Soya Sauce to taste

Cut the bean curd into cubes and fry them lightly until brown all over and drain out the oil. Beat the eggs together and fry them omlette style. Slice omelette thinly. Fry garlic till brown, add chilli paste and add in fish cakes, prawns. Fry till the prawns are cooked, add in noodles, chives and bean sprouts and mix it well inside the wok. The idea is to leave the bean sprouts still crunchy so fry it really quick and serve.

… Jade Forest

Pies & Afternoon Tea

All in a weeks work, SJ decided to have a pie for lunch this week and offered to buy me one. A pie? That's so out of my diet, but I decided to give it a try as SJ insisted that the pie he was going to buy was one of the best pies….. and… he was absolutely right!!! SJ bought the pies from Chez Jean Claude Patisserie from Subiaco. We had a steak and mushroom pie and we went halves on the vegetable pasties and stragonoff pie. The fillings in the pie were plenty and you could taste proper meat. One of the reasons I'm hesitant to have pies is knowing what could be in the pies … however, after tasting these pies and being able to see what I'm eating, I started to enjoy the pies. The pastry was buttery and soft, so it melts in your mouth when you eat it. And here's a tip… no tomato sauce needed

Yesterday, whilst running around doing errands, SJ suggested getting afternoon tea of Baklavas from Boucla also in Subiaco and just a couple of shops down from Jean Claude. I got their Baklavas and a custard puff pastry. The Baklava was one of the better ones I've had as it was totally filled with nuts and not just boring puff pastry. Also, the pastry was not drowned in honey to make the Baklava overly sweet and sick. The custard puff pastry was absolutely delicious!! The custard was mixed in together with the pastry, and it was not too sweet with the pastry melting in your mouth. It was abit of a mess eating it though as the pastry was flaking off as you try and put it into your mouth. All in all, a great combination for an afternoon tea!!

…. Jade Forest

Ho Seng Kee Wan-Tan Mee

Ho Seng Kee has been making wan tan mee since my parents attended high school. It's located at Johor Bahru just opposite Holiday Plaza where all the pirated DVDs are sold. Their wan tan mee is one of a kind and to me, no one can match their specialty. It claims to be

1. Daily Made
2. 100% Egg Noodle
3. Top Class Flour Made
4. Preservatives Free
5. Artifical Colouring Free
6. Artifical Flavouring (MSG) Free

They even have their own website and yes, they do have a WAP service. Not bad for a wan tan mee seller. Orders can be made via phone or sms. What most people do, if you are a glut, buy about 10 – 15 packets and freeze it. There are two complaints about this place though. The first is they always run out of noodle. To them it's good because this means they are making a lot of money but they lose a lot of potential customers. So if you want to eat there, call them up first and book your orders. The second complaint is the price. It is really expensive, so prepare to blow your wallets for it. A big bowl of Wan Tan Mee cost RM5.00 and to add char siew or wan tan, it costs another dollar. So all together RM6.00. The reason is they spend the whole day making the mee and since it is one of a kind, they are able to monopolise the wan tan mee market.

Here's a newspaper article on them.

…nivlac 

Waffles Night

Tuesdays Waffles Night for most of us at Gelare…. you can get waffles for half price but it's only for the waffles. Any extra ice cream or topping (for example a banana) is at the normal price. Funny thing is that most people who are at Gelare on these nights are mostly Asians. Depending on which outlet you go to, you might get real cutlery (as opposed to plastic cutlery) and at some you even get free H2O!!

We're off to Waffles Night later, so will try and post some pics if they look good

…. the Jade Forest

Update: 12 May 2006

The waffles were good except Whitebear's waffles was a little hollow underneath. Sorry no pics, we kind of ate everything and then remembered!