So, you like Bush Keluak.  And you like Tau Yew Bak. And if so, combining them together make sense. There are some who think they don’t like Buah Keluak as they always eat it the traditional way: intense as a stuffing in the seed. But if it is milder, they may actually like it. Now that we can buy prepared buah Keluak paste from markets like Tekka, Geylang and even other places, it make sense to use it more often and find other ways to enjoy it. I find this recipe very easy to do, in part because I am familiar with Sous Vide. And it is very delicious, Witt firm but “melt-in-your-mouth ..read more

Welcome to Ipoh! This city is famous for her street and Cantonese cuisine. Below is my personal guide of eateries I have come to like over the years and as far as I am aware, is still keeping up the standard. I appreciate feedback from locals and welcome your comments below. Do know that you are spoilt for choices in this beautiful city. What and where to eat should be guided by what you feel like eating at a certain moment and accessibility. Your eyes are also your best guide as you observe a stall of coffeeshop. Though best eaten in, some foods can also be ordered in via Grab. Google for the ..read more

I cooked a batch of Prawn Mee for 30 pax recently. I will share the recipe here. It will also be my cooking notes for future cooking.  For those who have cooked this before, it may be helpful to note some changes I made from previous posted recipes.  So, some basic principles to note for a good prawn soup: You want a rich umami prawn taste in your stock. The shells will give you the rich flavor. In SG, fresh medium size sea-farmed prawns are good and cheap. It is even cheaper for this recipe because you are reserving the prawn meat for other dishes.  It is important to fry ..read more

Asian greens grows very well and it is also a daily staple for most local families. Since this is a cooking blog, I will keep the focus in this post. If there are some who are interested in the technicalities of growing a home hydroponic system, I will be more than happy to share my experience in another post. (Or perhaps in another blog?) My hydroponic set up on my balcony: Pak Choi and Cai Xin.  There are those who think that soil-grown greens taste better. Perhaps so, especially soil grown greens tend to take a longer time to grow, developing better texture and flavour along ..read more

By now, you know that you can cook comforting and homey Singaporean/Malaysian dishes in London.  You should of course use the freshest meats and produce that one can find. I mean, just buy UK. You don't need to go to a shop in Chinatown for this. Sainsbury, M&S etc will work fine. These days, they do carry a good variety of ingredients that you can use to recreate some of the dishes you grew up with.   I love buying pork in London. It taste great and it is half the price of that sold in Singapore. So, let's start with pork ribs. Pork ribs is muscle meat. Coupled with being ..read more

Editor's note: I want to dedicate this post and recipe to my late brother, Clement Wong, whom I am missing dearly. "Keong Choong Cho Yin Kai" - or Steamed Chicken in Ginger sauce - served by the brothers at Public Pusing Restaurant in Ipoh is a family favourite. We never failed to order this dish whenever we get to dine there. It has taken me quite a while to come up with a version that is close to theirs. I have to confess that over many visits and some clever conversations with the waitresses, tips can be had. I just piece it all together and experiment till I get the dish closer to their ..read more

I have been making Nasi Ulam for sometime now. Some of my earlier posts can be found here.  I led a cooking demo recently on how to appreciate and enjoy our local herbs, and I showcased Nasi Ulam. I worked on a minimalist version which is still delicious, proving that "less can be more." Here are my lesson notes.  Nasi Ulam (light version) Ulam means herbs in Malay. Traditionally, it was a kampung dish using fresh herbs of nearby plants. If salted fish, meat/fish and sambal belachan were added, it made for a cheap and delicious one plate meal.  Nasi Ulam has been making a ..read more

Too bad the latest TM feature doesvnot allow one to share the recipe via cookidoo. In any case, here is a screenshot :)   ..read more

Another CNY is here and here are my cooking notes. This will be the third celebration happening under the shadow of the pandemic. This means that, sadly, I won't be able to celebrate with the Wongs for the third year running at our family home in Petaling Jaya. And with the restriction to 5 unique visitors per day, this will be a quiet CNY here in Singapore. With limited guests, this also means that we can plan for sit-down dinners and lunches. The concession is that there will be a lot cooking and trying out various festive dishes. What am I planning to do? As you will know, the pla ..read more

It has been some time but I had always wanted to get down to the Ipoh Curry Mee recipe. This is also somewhat emotive for me as I miss being with my family lock downed in KL and Ipoh. And of course, I miss Ipoh food. I have posted my experience at the famous Ipoh Curry Mee stall here.  This Malaysian version of Curry Mee do not normally use coconut milk. The broth is lighter and more emphasis is placed on the use of aromatics like spices, herbs and chillies. In my opinion, curry mee is easier to cook compared to Assam Laksa or Prawn Mee. Both these recipes are explained in details in ..read more