Ber-roman Di Bayan Indah Sempena Hari Valentine

Self proclaimed least romantic person in the world (although I myself am vying for that title), and celebrity chef Rohani Jelani emailed to ask me if I would like to join the couple's cooking class. I always shudder whenever an event is preceded by the word "Couple's". It's like Couple's Therapy, Couple's Bible Study, Couple's Counselling, Couple's Retreat....seriously, it MUST be a thing from the evil West. (that wonderful repository for which we blame all the world's social ills).

Well, however, this time, the word Couple didnt have that averse effect on me, the way peanuts might send some into anaphylactic shock, because, it was followed by the word "cooking class", but most of all, because it came from my idol herself, Rohani Jelani. Those of you unfamiliar with the name, (after spanking yourselves for being ignorami), she happens to be one of our foremost Msian celebrity chefs, and runs a GORGEOUS culinary centre called Bayan Indah. Bayan Indah is nestled in the greenery of Kg Penchala, a Malay reserve parcel of land, just next to Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Minutes away from Taman Tun, one feels one has entered a time warp and a different world, where P Ramlee might still be alive, and Malay ladies wore tight fitting kebayas with flowers in their hair. The illusion is shattered by the frantic searching of GOOGLE MAPS to find the place, which has since been given ROAD NAMES, which totally threw me off course, despite having been there twice before.

We, (we meaning the wife and me..you know, couple.... brrrr) were late, but not the latest, thanks to the fact that we tried every road from Bayan Indah 1 -6 ... but bypassing 4 ...being chink and all. Hailing a passer by didnt help, when I asked "Adik tahu Bayan Indah di mana?" and he gestures, "Ini seluruh kampung Bayan Indah"...

The cooking class, meant for couples, for Valentine's day (despite all the brouhaha in the media), was priced at RM450 per couple, but if you ask me, better value than sitting in a restaurant over candle light, with tables so cramped you can stroke the thigh of the person next to you... for RM450, we learnt how to make a Cold Watermelon Soup with Fruits and Herbs, Scotched Eggs With a Twist, Seafood Millefeuille, and A Chocolate Velvet Cheese Cake.



I just love the setting in Bayan Indah. I feel a sense of belonging....like I was always meant to be there. Rohani as usual pre-briefed us on what to expect, and what to do. I love her preambles. They inspire.


We start with the luscious chocolate cheesecake. She tells us that dessert should be made first, before we dirty the kitchen with the messier stuff. It makes sense. Well, I always make dessert the night before, if possible. One thing I love about Rohani's recipes, they are easy to follow, and 99% of the time, turn out the way it should. It's a hands on class, so it's quite enjoyable barking orders to the wife.... afterall, she is more in need of baking classes than I am. Ahem.

Rohani guides us along the way. She shows us how to marble the cake ever so subtly so that we dont lose our marbles.


We then proceed with the scotched eggs, which are wraped in a layer of freshly peeled crabmeat, breaded and deep fried and served with a lovely wasabe mayonnaise.

The eggs are handled with care, as they are quite fragile, even after being cooked. The wife gently coats the eggs with the crabmeat coating.

As we do not fry the eggs immediately, we are told to refrigerate our eggs for later use. Refrigerate ya, not freeze.


The seafood millefeuille is made up of layers of puff pastry sandwiching a seafood concoction in a lovely white bechamel sauce. Rohani demonstrates to us how to roll the pastry.


Oh, one of the participants in our group was Ruth Liew, famous columnist on bringing up children. Another one was Giselda, who has just moved back from Britain after many years there, with her English hubby, and she intends to start a catering business, so do check out her website here.


The completed Seafood Millefeuille, accompanied by a freshly tossed salad. Actually, its a very substantial dish, and for me, half the size would have been sufficient.


Cold Watermelon Soup. Unlike the gazpacho, which is thicker, this is a refreshing alternative, and has so many different flavours to titillate the palate.


The scotched quails eggs in crabmeat. They may look diminituive, but they're quite filling. I love this dish, but the thought of peeling crabmeat to coat my eggs is just too much work. And as Rohani pointed out, and I concur, frozen crabmeat sold here is quite vile. If anyone knows where I can decent crabmeat, all peeled, let me know. Would be most grateful.



The piece de resistance...The Chocolate Mocca Cheesecake. Divine. And so easy to make too. How? Sign up for one of Rohani's classes and learn how. Click here for the website.


Rohani say oni, she not romantic, but she still swirled a heart sign when marbling the cake. Chis, closet romantic.


Look at that texture. Cake like, mousse like, rich, melt in the mouth all at one time. If my culinary IQ was any lower, I might have had brain cramp.

Oh, and the wife enjoyed it too.

Well, for all the aspiring cooks out there, head on to Bayan Indah. You learn how to fly, when you have no wings...and it's possible, for as GFAD said, its like cooking with GPS.

Thanks Rohani, for another great session! Selamat Hari Valentine terlambat.

Sanook, Where Fun meets Flavour

When I Am the Witch asked me if I would like to go for a food review in Sanook, my first question was, "it's not Chinese food is it?" The orgiastic onslaught of chinese food for chinese new year, which resulted in yee sang flowing out of my ears, had really made me quite wary of going for yet another Chinese dinner. So, when I read in Lionel's blog that the cuisine wasn't Chinese, I was more than delighted to let my poor over chinoiseried palate have a rest.

Cherry Pawm Pawm hitched a ride from me, which made time spent to Plaza Kelana Jaya pass in a jiffy, and we both commented as we approached the building that the area resembled and had the potential to be a mini Clarke Quay ala Singapore.





Nothing breaks the ice, if there was any that needed breaking, like a cold pint of guinness draught, and any other alcohol. The very affable boss of the place, CF, was very attentive to us, and played the host with the most to the max.


The Witch's concoction of lychee margarita.


Walking Snail Escargots. Very exotic names they have. Even their restaurant staff have interesting names, like Chief Food Artist (Exec Chef), Godfather (Owner)... and it helps that the restaurant overlooks a lake that has depths of beyond 100ft, should the Godfather wish to cement your feet in concrete and dump you. Incidentally, Sanook means FUN in Thai. Mrs Godfather is a Thai.


Beef & Chicken Nachos. Creamy cheese (I think its a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar) over chicken and beef mince, on a crispy corn chip. Perfect booze partner.


Tod Man Kung. Or Prawn Cakes, in English. I loved the texture of these. None of that artifical undefinable stuff that you sometimes get, but yet maintaining the chewy texture of prawn and flavour. Another perfect boozey snack. At some juncture, Aly's eyes lit up like when you shine a torch into a blond's ears... when they mentioned they have FOOT LONG hotdogs.

Meanwhile, the table of Italians next to ours somehow passed word to us that the woodfired pizzas here are the best in the country. Now, that IS high accolade from Italians, so we simply had to try the pizzas.


I love the thin crust, and the ample toppings, but I dont know if I concurred if it was the BEST in the country. It is nevertheless very good.


Sang har mee, which of course, again, made Aly's light up like a beacon in the darkness. She is a hopeless Sang Har Mee convert, having lost her SHM virginity only in recent times, and is insatiable in her quest for the perfect SHM. For the price of RM38 for two medium prawns, I reckon it's good value for money.


Chicken Yakidoori, which was unevocative on its own, but what I did enjoy was the cooked prunes that came as an accompaniment, which added a certain umami to it.





They have INCREDIBLY reasonably priced set lunches, including all you can eat pasta.


Raviollo Braised Oxtail. I cant really remember having oxtail apart from in soup, so this was quite unique for me. It was well seasoned, falling off the bone and exceedingly tender. However, because I am so used to having it in soup, I actually wished there was more of the sauce to lap up, and actually, some bread would not have been amiss, to soak up the precious sauces.


Grilled Chicken Breast ala Bresse ... at first it sounded like some chinaman's pronunciation nightmare, where he could his tongue in a knot and got his Ls and Rs mixed up, and not being a fan of chicken breast, I was not enthusiastically attacking this dish. But to my amazement, the breast was succulent and moist, and not at all like blotting paper that some breast resemble.


Deep Fried Chicken Cordon Bleu. Again, a breast meat dish that surprised me. The Chief Food artist certainly knows his way around the breast.


The Tiramisu that Lionel RAVED about on his blog post. It was very good, sufficient alcohol, and not too sweet.


Chocolate Mud Cake - Very chocolatey, and nice texture.


One pic of the boys...






I have to say the ambience of Sanook, being by the lake etc, is EXTREMELY pleasant, and its a nice no airs place which looks like a great place to chill. The food is reasonably priced, and is very palatable...definitely worth a revisit soon.

Thanks ya, to IamtheWitch & Saucer for the invite, and to the gracious host, CF Yow for having us, and entertaining us and regaling us with tales of the courier industry.

CONTACT

Sanook

(PORK-FREE)
C-06 Plaza Kelana Jaya, SS7/13A,
Petaling Jaya 47301, Malaysia

Lunch : 11:30am – 2:30pm
Dinner : 6:00pm – 11:00pm

‘Happy Hours’ starts 5:00pm
Party ‘til late

Open Monday to Saturday for lunch & dinner
(Saturday dinner & drinks only)
www.sanooking.com

Tom Dick and Harry - Big Breakfasts Redefined

Manager of Tom Dick & Harry, whom we shall call RR, (Rolls Royce?), has been asking us to sample their new breakfast menu, laden with pork, and all the other gorgeous stuff, and finally, we made it, one wintery Sunday morning. The overcast skies made Alison Victor feel she was in her native Britain, ...for me, it just made the morning all the more pleasant to stuff my face.


Notice the pricing...its nett. That's a whopping 6% saving with the current GST rates.


The big breakfast platter, all the goodness of a wholesome hearty greasy bacon and eggs breakfast...which begs the question, is it American, or British? The hash brown probably has its roots in the US of A, but otherwise, surely baked beans, sausages etc are beautifully British? Did I mention that the bacon and sausages are pork? The way they were born to be? The very term beef bacon, it almost sounds like female cock...cockerel, that is...


The guys at TDH are nothing if not considerate.... for the non meat eater, behold, this spinach roll, .... which in truth, was wasted at our carnivorous cabal.


Aly & Lexie, a new DJ at Red FM. By the way, Aly has left Red FM, for those of you that didnt know.


The very affable co-owner, Ernest, who spent a great part of the morning with us, explaining to us in detail the concept of each dish, etc. Ernest, we found out from our review at Hoofed, is quite the perfectionist when it comes to recipe development.


Cornbeef fritata...a must if you are a cornbeef lover. Couldn't help thinking of Bald Eagle, who to my knowledge loves his corn beef.


Savoury pancakes, or more like crepes, topped with honey. There was a time when savouries and sweets were compartmentalised like female only coaches on KTM trains, but over time, it seems to have become fashionable to intermarry the two.


Banana Pancake. Now if at this point, you're wondering how many people were partaking of this gluttonous feast, I have to say there were about 10 of us. There was Aly, Lexie, Walauwei, a guest star appearance by The Nomad Gourmand, and a host of people from Advertlets, including the young photographer who pronounced that I was drunk based on my sanguine countenance. A word to the young people of today, a scarlet face does not equate inebriation, and people don't appreciate being told they are so, if they are not.


Ah, the most divine eggs Benedict I have tasted....poached to perfection, swimming in a sea of freshly made Hollandaise sauce. I hope Tom, Dick and Hairy's eggs are consistently this perfect, because I cannot wait to come back for more. Oh, incidentally, it's spelt Eggs BeneDICK here...


Steak and eggs. While it may sound decadent to have a rib eye while good Christian men are praying, it really is no more decadent than the platter of bacon and sausages, I guess, and usually, according to Ernest, hungry cyclists would chomp down this protein packed platter.





The mac & cheese and the cornflakes are meant for the younger gentler crowd, who still have their milk teeth intact, probably.


You ever watch a movie where the good guys are fighting the bad guys, and of course, the good guys never "finish off" the bad guy, who might lay there gasping for their last breath, but because they didn't FINISH OFF the fler, he comes charging with one second wind to kill the good guy instead? Well, by that analogy, Ernest, Collin and RR were kinda killing us with all that food, and well, this platter of bacon, is really to finish us off. How can anyone resist crispy, aromatic, streaky bacon!


Another dish for them kiddos.


Well, if the plate of fried bacon was to finish us off, this was the ENCORE performance. Can you imagine tucking all this in on a Sunday afternoon? This explains why I had put on weight even before Chinese New Year started! Ah, this pork knuckle, let me try to do it justice. The crispy crackling makes the sound of a good gin poured on really cold ice...that crackle, pop sound... it then melts into mouth, and melds with your arteries. The meat, falling off the boner, moist, succulent and tender. I think 5 people could easily share this and STILL be full.


Them girls love the boner..


Bread & Butter pudding...aisayman, I forgot to try this.


While the girls admired the boner, Walauwei was fiddling with his long canggih equipment.


I've read about these in Nigella's cookbooks..deep fried mars bars and snickers. Okay, not exactly my personal favourite, but I can see the appeal of multipying decadence.


As dessert to the dessert, Ernest saw it befitting that we washed down everything with a Hoegarden, AND more food. The crispy chicken bits, like popcorn chicken, is a beer's soul mate.


But if beer ever had a kindred spirit, then it is THIS! Deep fried luncheon meat. Speechlessly good.


That's mah cherry pawm pawm, with the two hunks, Collin and Ernest, the boys behind TDH.





And, another thing they have here is the PEACE PIPE, or is it the PISS PIPE?! Whoever drew the smallest card, drinks....me thinks it was a conspiracy, for I doubt anyone ELSE could have pulled off sucking that pipe, which incidentally, was filled with a drink similar to a graveyard. A toxic cocktail of sorts. But hey, we are talking about the same lass who drank 75 out of 100 shots in the Carlsberg Centurion Challenge, so what is a little graveyard.

Seriously, I am not sure if it was the company, or a combination of booze on a wintery Sunday morning, but that was one fantastic brunch spread. Benedict's eggs still linger in my memory, like a happy moment in a petronas ad. And that crackling from the pork knuckle, almost makes me want to break into song.....

Thank you again, RR for inviting us, and to Ernest and Collin for being SUCH fabulous hosts. For other reviews, check out....Aly's Wonderland, (gawd, that woman tried everything, down to the asparagus in the eggs benedict), and Walauwei..