Tuesday, September 02, 2008

And The Celebration Continues....

[WARNING: CONTAINS NUDITY, NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 40]

Afterall, how often does one turn 40? For that matter, how often does one turn any age?

Celebrating one's 40th is a Western Ideaology. Chinese don't normally celebrate 40th one. Ask any traditionalist. But anyway, we'll indulge her. Afterall, she's only part (chinese).

Turns out, this clump of dates is quite a popular time to be born. Wife & FOTY 2007 are born a day after Queen DSLR, hence making it a perfect time for a joint celebration. We also needed a smoke screen to distract Queen from the surprise planned by Bald Eagle, so we had actually set up another dinner date, ostensibly to celebrate HER 40th, on Saturday night, at a place called CWZJ in Kuchai somewhere. Twas also to give a chance to Hairy Berry to celebrate the Queen's 40th. The place was recommended by Mrs FOTY, who in turn referred us to this post.

Not that the place was bad or anything, but it really WOULD have been quite sad if this was really the ONLY 40th celebration she was going to have.

We convoyed, in rather good weather, I might add, to this unknown place in Kuchai Lama. I am amazed at the number of very interesting F&B outlets that have mushroomed in the area. Certainly worth a dedicated visit just to check out some of the places. All the ladies were dolled up, because we were to adjourn for drinks at a happening place after dinner, so were worried if they looked overdressed and overmade up for dinner at CWZJ. They breathed an audible sigh of relief to see that the place was air conditioned.


I guess when you have this much eye makeup, I would actually carry a tank of liquid nitrogen around to prevent a complete melt down of mascara.

The restaurant is an intermediate shoplot, adequately decorated, and rather cosy. Apparently CWZJ stands for Heavenly Kings Tea House....or something like that. My Mandarin is only slightly better than my Tamil.

We started with the Double Boiled Ginseng and Chicken Soup, a lovely fragrant clear soup (after they fished out all the ingredients), with lots of stuff to provide a delicious stock. Dried scallop, imitation abalone (whatever you call that impostor clam), chicken, pork ribs, ginseng, etc.

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My only complaint is that the soup wasn't piping hot. I like my soup piping hot, the kind that can do serious damage to your larynx and tongue and lips if not careful.

A crispy deep fried pork dish.... hint of 5 spice powder, this dish just cries out to accompany alcohol, so it's a good thing we had a bottle of JW Green Label with us. They charge RM30 corkage for the bottle, but it comes with a 1litre bottle of Panna mineral water, which actually makes it alright I guess. Other establishments have charged even more corkage for less in return.

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Seng kwa, (petola, or loofah), ....I think it's steamed, with some bits and bobs on it. Gosh, I really ought to write these things down. Tasty, and tender.

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Some kind of beancurd dish, in a sauce that resembles a savoury custard. All these dishes go very well with rice, that evil killer we were talking about in a previous post.

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Mmmm, lovely spare ribs, cooked in oolong tea. Flavourful and tender, this is definitely a must order dish.

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Smoked Duck. Someone remarked it was like the Chinese New Year Lap Mei-s. A tad salty, but tastes good.

And now, the clincher. The manager recommended us CHEE YAU CHAR FAN. The deaf one chirped, ooh, that sounds good, but then we realised her moniker was actually a highly appropriate one, coz when the dish came, she went, EUGHHHH, chee yau char fan??

Anyway, it's deep fried pork fat rice. How sinful can that sound? The manager preempted our reservations by saying, "yes, I know it sounds terrible, but it actually tastes very good". Well, who said it sounded terrible? Anything with chee yau char (deep fried pork fat) is like christmas come early for me.


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Surprisingly, despite its lardy da sounding name, the rice was EXCELLENT. Not too oily, (I know, a miracle in itself), and the deep fried pork fat (I think lard has been wrongly used all this while, coz lard is like ghee, and not the raw pork fat) was like a poor man's foie gras.

Dinner was very kindly bought by FOTY 2007. Thanks a bunch. Apparently the bill came up to 300 plus. We also had a tapioca dessert, which the deaf one loved. Maybe it reminded her of the days of the Japanese Occupation.

Speaking of Japanese, The Girl From Abu Dhabi had called me frantically on Thursday, asking if I could "deliver" a surprise gift to Lemongrass for her. She would have the stuff delivered to my place, and I had to bring it to Lemongrass for this fake 40th birthday dinner.

Lo and behold, I nearly balked when I saw these!!!!

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These amazing sugarpaste cakelets, shaped as sushi and various other things, are made by MAMAMIN. Check out her blogsite at www.mamamin.com . My first reaction was to gasp at the creativity of it all. I had no doubt that Lemongrass would be thrilled to bits.

In case you're wondering, the one at the far left upper corner is a torso, with a skin colored blanket, covering something that protrudes out.

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After getting over the initial awe, my emotions then turned to seeeeething envy and jealousy. I sms-ed Girl From Abu Dhabi, and bemoaned the fact that HOWWWWW could she have forced my pooooor Anna Pavlova into the sideline, by giving Lemongrass such a beautiful present?!!!! Sigh, poor poor Pavlova. Would I need to hide her in a paper bag, .......!!!! Anyway, then I decided, heck, since its a birthday celebration for 2 others apart from Lemongrass, I shall present THEM with the Pavlova instead.

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We have here the recipient peeling off the blanket from the torso and checking its contents.

I leave it to your imagination as to what she's doing in the picture. The thing on the palm is a bum with a g string.





37 comments:

LianneK said...

oouchhhhh .. that must have hurt! lol, and btw .. one cake is for presentation, and the other is for real eating pleasure .. no need jealous and evy lahhh ...

Rarebeet said...

OMG! That is sooooo freaking cute!!! So creative!

fatboybakes said...

lianne, i've been reading your buddy's blog religiously, julian si.
how's life in bratwurstland? so are they all small? hahaha the jealous and envy remark was directed at the girl from abu dhabi.....

paps, yalor hor. some people just have that gift.

wmw said...

The sushi cakes are soooo cute. Your pavlova of cos is nice looking too :o)

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

zhu yu char fannn....

haha you think they will entertain me if i order just the rice ar?..

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I want me some lard rice too... I never had me a pork fat fetish till recently, hanging out with such esteemed and well-informed (taste-wise) friends. :D

As for the last pair of pictures, oh my imagination is doing a fair bit of work on them, hehe.

Anonymous said...

Wei, our mascara worked well beyond our expectations la. At 4am, it was still on our eyelashes and not running down our cheeks.

That's one helluva gorgeous pavlova. According to Hairy, I ate a whole quarter of that cake. (sorry for my gluttony and for depriving others of the pav.) Oh, and that Kat's quite a naughty one, eh? Tsk tsk. I'm blushing.

fatboybakes said...

LL, you can blush one ah? but i'm glad you enjoyed anna, the pavlova. there was heaps to go round. i was worried i would have to dispose of the balance that was melting ....it was quite warm at aliyaa...the lemongrass cream patisserie and whipped cream was melting faster than your mascara.

where IS KAT? she asked me to photograph her gift for posterity.
or is that posteriority!

LFB, aitelyu, it would have made a sailor blush...(but not lemongrass)...
as for the lard rice...you could do with some fattening up, young hansel. let's bring you there.

nipple, have you seen the new 018 ads? the girl wanted to paint one finger only, with henna, and the guy wanted to buy 5 grapes.

wmw, yes, the sushi cakes are so cute hor. i didnt get to try them though, coz i was full of alcohol, and i feared that all that sugar might react.... you know, like the old urban myth of durian + beer = death kinda thing.

boo_licious said...

that is one gorgeous pav! defintely more interesting than the teeennny weeennny last pix??? Glad to read abt a review on this place, heard loads abt it and I saw them advertise a lot on the Jap papers.

Henry Yeo said...

nudities: what the &^&*@#%)!@$^%$??? (on second thought: poor patrick)

compliments on the pavlova, it must have been heavenly.

msiagirl said...

Enjoyed your post as usual!! tsk tsk those last two pics so scary lah - I can see LL's delicate hands lifting off that blanket...and what is she doing with that last pic??? scandalous!

I want that Chee Yau Char Fan!!!

This was my fave sentence tho: "I think it's steamed, with some bits and bobs on it." lol (hv u seen ll's little notebooks? Just crib laah). ;)

Steve said...

Wow! That pavlova has put any attempt that I have ever made to shame. It looks absolutely beautiful. Congratulations Fatboybakes (and also to The Girl From Abu Dhabi... staggeringly good work).

HairyBerry said...

i heard somewhere that ginseng soup should be taken lukewarm. perhaps it's true lar, hor?

and your pavlova was gorgeous lar. LL had 1/4 of it!!! the subtle lemongrass (almost ginger-like) taste was interesting. the candyfloss texture was good as well.

of course' KAT's cakelets were interesting as well! such great conversation pieces. i thought you would have included that oral piece, hehe.

sooo many eateries in that, hor? i saw jalan ipoh YTF, yu ai (from segambut), some bakeries, etc etc. happening lar!

fatboybakes said...

hairy, yeah, next time if you go there for your afternoon soirees with lemongrass, call me la.
what oral piece?
really ah? ginseng soup should be lukewarm? drat!

steveky, hey, thanks mate. i'm sure you're being modest. i would love to see a pic of your winning piece...is it available for viewing?

msiagirl, the bad thing about using a dslr is, you have to see everything thru that small hole in the camera...(no live view).... so i basically missed the action.
the lard rice was really good.

henry, how come you are versed with who patrick is? i didnt know until someone spelt it out...and i have kids that watch spongebob.

ciki, [guffawing the contortionist remark].

boolicious, yup, you must go try the place. i cant wait to go there again. and so many other places to explore there too. like paps says, so much food so little stomach.

daphne said...

i'm soo glad I ignored that under 40 comment.. hahaha. What cute sushi cakes!! Oh boy, all the patience and creativity by the maker.

And the pavlova looks gloriously pretty and a perfect birthday cake I think!!

And what was lyrical doing in that last photo? hmmm

Anonymous said...

Aiyooo.. when I received your SMS, I was sooooooo mortified!! That was the last thing I wanted to do! Sorry, sorry, sorry...!!! I thought you were going to give the pav to LL after it duly received its oohs-and-aahs, candles blown out, cut and ingested mah.

But as what Lianne said, one stimulates the tastebuds and the other conversation! What to do... couldn't be there personally to partake in the fine six-course degustation menu dinner nor participate in the witty conversation and raucous laughter, I thought I'd send a 'rep' instead.. (you're not the only one who has a pet green-eyed monster.. :D).

Min was the one who came up with the brilliant idea of sushi cakelets. I just told her what some of LL's favourites were. *wink* As for Patrick, it is a well-known fact that the Japs are really adventurous eaters. Since they also eat sea urchins, why not starfish?? Makes you wonder where Patrick has been, with his mouth wide open..

Your pav, as always, looks so incredibly luscious and inviting I just want to stick a spoon in and dig right in! (really difficult to refrain from using the words like hard, long and tongue in that sentence..) And I see that this time you took a photo of it while it was still on your kitchen counter.. :D

Out of the entire dinner, only the CYC farn stuck in my mind!! Mmmmmm.. chinese croutons.. instantly perks up any rice/noodle dish! I once attempted to make fried hokkien mee (using spaghetti) by frying my own pork fat and using the oil that oozed out, and aitelyu, it was lip-smacking good even without the wok-hei!! Hubby asked me how I made it taste so authentic, the same instant he bit into a crouton. He knew. :D

I saw another review of this place, there is a dish of steamed pork mince with olives. If you go again, can you try and let me know if the olives are mixed into the pork and steamed together? Or is it just sprinkled on top just before serving. I have a jar of olives sitting on my shelf.

And hey, thanks again for being my deliveryman. You da man! :)

fatboybakes said...

kat, alamak such a long comment!!! hahaah. like blog post laidat. dun worry la, i was just kidding..i was equally delighted to be the first to lay eyes on the sushi feast. i thought it was going to come with instructions for her to do a samantha jones.

daphne, the sushi cakes are indeed most creative. hats off to mamamin. i shall leave LL to answer the other questions.

Henry Yeo said...

patrick? i have nieces who grew up on spongebob squarepants and I always have to make patrick droopy voice to make them go to sleep.

Steve said...

Photos of my award winning pavlova, Fatboybakes? It was made sooooo long ago, that it would be giving my age away if I mentioned the exact year. In fact, now that I think of it, I'm not even sure that cameras had been invented when it took pride of place at the Sale Royal Agricultural Show!

We should have a pav bake-off when you visit Tassie. Come on down!

fatboybakes said...

jackson, dont even start! whenever i call you, you are too busy. go to your restaurant also no time to layan....roll eyes.

steveky, i am SURE you are exaggerating your age...rest assured i am no spring chook! anyway, you SOUND young(ish). we must always strive to be young at heart mustn't we. i've always been wanting to visit tasmania. the furthest south i've been is ...melbourne, obviously, even up to ...what's that southern tip where sorento etc lie? anyway, from there, i saw the bigggg ferry crossing over to tasmania, and thought, ah, i MUST do that some day.

henry, i still dont know who patrick is, but from numerous remarks, i surmise he is a starfish of sorts.

Anonymous said...

Ya ya, do please take me there and fatten me up on the lard rice! This will be one instance I won't mention them love handles of mine. I shall pretend they no longer exist.

And since I don't have Facebook open right now, I best mention before I forget that my better half thought LL looked ferocious in that pic of hers swallowing that piece of mock-sushi. It's all in the eyes, I tell ya.

But woman, take it as a compliment lah. Isn't it flattering when someone says you look 'fierce'? (Or is that just for supermodels?)

fatboybakes said...

LFB, ROFL...
one can almost imagine the wicked witch devouring her minions...

Anonymous said...

So yummy…. I want to eat that food.

Big Boys Oven said...

Thank you for dropping a comment on my blog but I hope you will not try to be "a fire stone" (batu api) as the true did prevail!

Argus Lou said...

Waah, that must be the mother of all pavlovas. Must have rung bells in dogs' ears, too. It did mine (does that make me a b*tch?!). And now I'm salivating.

As for LL, was she sticking a tiny sausage on a stick into ...?!!! Not sure if I understand the pic. Help!

(Is that Jalan Ipoh area where they're building the next LRT or something? Who would've thought 10 years ago that jalan Ipoh would be happenin' today, eh?)

Anonymous said...

Well, to be honest... I don't think many of us would mind being devoured by this wicked witch. Right, everybody? LL is some kind of wonderful. Okay, some kind of HOT, but that's nice too. :P

Henry Yeo said...

fbb: who would you elect to bake your birthday cake? nigel and allen?

Steve said...

not trying to make this a thread, but - to think that you were on the Mornington Peninsula, only a stone's throw from Tassie!

You will always be welcome here (especially after that "youngish" commment!). I'm trying to get LL to come down to - so maybe we need to have a makan session in Hobart!

And to

fatboybakes said...

steveky, no worries, even if you DO make it a thread. thank you for your open invite. careful what you offer to strangers, hahahah!!!

henry, oh, lemongrass has already volunteered to bake me a cake, but of course, i would have NO hesitation in ordering a cake from JHP. in fact, i'm kinda craving for their red velvet right now....

LFB, hahah, speak for thyself.

oh, argus, that was a butt shaped chopstick holder, wearing a g-string or whatever you call those flimsy underwear. and that sausage on a stick was extricated from the lower torso in the left picture, of some imaginary 6 pack. its all very graphic....

BBO, oh dear, what batu api remark are you referring to? please be assured that it is not my intention to be a batu api on anyone's blog, (okay, sometimes i kacau lemongrass a bit la). i hope there has been a misunderstanding, and that you aren't referring to any comment i've made on your blog. i think you guys are doing great work, by the way.

Anonymous said...

Tee hee, oh but I do. Anything to arouse or at the very least rile up the Divine Ms. L. Make that Double L. Doubly Divine. :P

Simon Seow said...

I want Chee Yau Char fan.

Breadpitt said...

those food were so..............erghhh tempting!!!!!!!!! btw, been post up the chocolate curl u ask for , thanks

Henry Yeo said...

Ooohhh...I definitely want to see her divine creation. Did you give her any request?

fatboybakes said...

henry, yup, she is charged with making an opera cake. many many steps and layers. muahahahahhaha.

breadpitt, thanks for the curls thing. looks like so much work!!! i dont have a large marble slab wor.

simon, damn good la, i now mengidam.

LFB, so, got withdrawal symptoms ah the woman so far away?

The Caked Crusader said...

Does it make me weird that I noticed the Patrick one before the nudey man? Maybe I'm just a good girl.....

denise said...

aiyooo...everytime i view your blog before meal , make me damn hungry ..
good picture , good writing

keep it up !

Fahrenheit 350° said...

Wow! That is amazing - and much more realistic! I have a lot of ideas for the next go round!