Pam's moved!

I have recently created a new blog and the
http://tarts-and-pies.blogspot.com/ 
will not be updated anymore. 

You can now find me on 
http://a-coffeeholic-travel-tale.blogspot.com/ 

Cheers,

Pam

Leaving for London and Paris...

Mum and I are leaving for London tomorrow morning. It has been 4 years since our last visit to London and Paris. We just can't wait to visit these beautiful countries again as we did not manage to cover some of the tourist attractions during our previous visit. Spending two weeks in London, we will be making some short trips to the neighbouring countries or regions. We shall begin with Paris and hope we can travel north towards Scotland before the vacation ends. Most probably, I will not update my blog until I come back from London. See you all on 11th June 2012.

Picture taken by Pam on 26th May 2008

Picture taken by Pam on 31st May 2008

Pam's Collection of Coffee Machines

This post features my special collection of coffee machines since 12 years ago. Till now, I am still keeping all my 'buddies' in good condition. We have been together for years, through thick and thin. Through the years, they have always kept me company, making the best stimulants to boost up my spirit. Rain or shine, there's hardly a word of grudge. Word by word, sheet by sheet, I would want to make a pledge, to show you how much I appreciate you, when I have been granted the chance to finally call you mine. I take thee to be my lawful coffee buddy, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse (beans), for richer or poorer (taste), in absence and in presence, to love and to cherish, to grind and to brew,  till death*** do us part...  

*** Had I kicked the bucket while all of you're still in one piece, I wish someone out there would be kind enough to adopt you and love you like I did.

Electric Coffee Maker (2000)

French Press (2003)

Single Serving Electric Coffee Maker (2004)

Single Serving Moka Pot (2010)

Moka Pot (2011)

15 Bar Pump Espresso and Cappuccino Maker (2012)

Coffee Syphon (2012)

Homemade Dessert #6: Chocolate Swiss Roll

As I was beating the sponge batter, I found the colour of the chocolate powder quite pale. I knew I had to add some 'extra kick' to my sponge so I removed a bar of cooking chocolate from the fridge and melted half of it in a saucepan. Poured the melted chocolate into the batter, gave it a nice stir till it's incorporated well in the batter. Yeah... that's the right colour. When the sponge was baked, I peeled off the baking sheet and waited for it to cool a little before spreading chocolate cream on it. There came the idea of pipping chocolate sauce on the sponge to give rise to the chocolatey cravings in me. Six strips of chocolate sauce evenly piped along the sponge, spread the chocolate cream and rolled it up! My super rich chocolate Swiss roll is DONE!

Teochew Style Afternoon Tea

Going to Pam's place in the afternoon guarantees a rewarding experience because a decent English Afternoon Tea is served every afternoon, from 3 to 4 p.m. My colleagues have been my loyal customers for years until recently one of them volunteered to host a tea party at her place. The tea party was another highlight of the month because that was our very first experience in savouring afternoon tea, the Teochew style.

Deep-fried yam strips coated with icing sugar.

Nam Yue biscuits

Chinese tea served Teochew style

Teochew Afternoon Tea

Mother's Day Lunch @ East Ocean Restaurant

We celebrated Mother's Day at East Ocean Restaurant (Ipoh Garden South). We did not order any set in advance but instead some common dishes to go with rice. The bill came up to a total RM224, which is on the steeper side compared to most restaurants in Ipoh. 

Fried belacan kangkung @ RM20

Fried Oemelette with Shrimps @ RM20

Signature Beancurd @ RM15

Steamed Chicken with Ginger @ RM35

Steamed mystus tengara @ RM50

East Ocean Restaurant

41A, 41-1, 41-2, 

Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah Utara,

Ipoh Garden South (Taman Ipoh Selatan),

31400 Ipoh Perak,

Malaysia.
Tel: +605-5453768

The Roasting Affair

My mum and I are not quite fond of meaty stuff but the men in the house always do. When the decision of eating lunch is on the men's, we usually have not much choice but to compromise no matter how reluctant we are and our protest normally falls on deaf ears. Now, we seldom complain because we know the more grudge we hold, the more MEAT we eat. The moral of the story is: Just eat it! Who cares?

Roast Duck @ RM25 (half)

Roast Pork @ RM18

Barbecued Char Siew @ RM18

SKY HOTEL / SKY CAFE

348, Chulia Street, off Jalan Masjid,

10200 Penang.

Malaysia.

Business hours: 11.30a.m. to 2.30p.m.(Monday to Saturday)

Things are getting smaller...

While the food in most cafes may be a little too heavy in the sense that they contain more fats and calories than your body need in a day, one can opt for more dainty looking treats just to satisfy the hunger pangs without burdening your health with unwanted loads. 

My Mum's Scone @ RM4.00

CBTL's double espresso @ RM6.50

Por Lor? Polo? Whatever you may call...

Breakfast in Hong Kong has a strong Western influence owing to its era of colonisation for about 150 years. Simply walk into any of the tea houses (char chan teng) in Hong Kong and you will be greeted by the harmonious blend of east-meet-west breakfast in their menu. While the breakfast sets are wonderfully paired with both Chinese and British ingredients - e.g. Char siew Spaghetti and scrambled egg set, Chinese noodles and butter toast set etc. - the Hongkies generally mix up anything they can think of, creating a variant cuisine which is usually widely accepted by the community. Thanks to its culture that nurtures its people into ones with high adaptive features, that nothing ever sounds strange to them as long as it is practicable. 

Old Town White Coffee (Gao) @ RM3.20

It's the surface of the bun that gives rise to the name - Po Lor - literally translated as pineapple in Hong Kong version of Cantonese.

Por Lor Bun (or Polo?) with Ham and Cheese @ RM4.20

For the rakyat, to the rakyat... from a generous YB

Hahaha... yesterday was Teachers' Day and the school received a huge sponge cake from a 'very very generous' YB (exco member) who 'loves' his people (especially che'gu) so much. Hahaha (x100) 

Dato', you'd better give us a car next time, or we would go to school by 'rocket' later...

I'm seeing double!

It was a rainy afternoon. My biological clock informed me that it's time for a light meal. Since La Promise, my usual place for afternoon tea, is merely 500 yards from my place, why not go there again for tea. Hopefully I'd find something interesting this time. Arrived at La Promise, the waitress led me to the cake cabinet and introduced their new item - Double Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake. Double chocolate? Such a perfect match with double espresso, which I normally order whenever I go to La Promise.

The Double Effect:

Double Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake @ RM4.90

Double espresso @ RM5.90

LA PROMISE BAKERY AND CAFE

7, Jalan Panggung Wayang,

34000 Taiping, Perak.

Malaysia.

Tel: +605-8079007

The Famous Golden Corner Noodles in Taiping

I took my parents to Matang for seafood but ended up leaving immediately without eating anything. The place was over crowded and we were told that we had to wait for at least an hour for our food. It was already a quarter past eight so the three hungry souls would rather go elsewhere for dinner. As we were heading back to Taiping town, Mum suggested Golden Corner, a very popular spot for noodles and fishballs in Taiping. 

Chicken feet @ RM6.00

Assorted fish balls and fish paste @ RM9.00

Noodle Soup @ RM2.70

Noodle Curry @ RM3.00

Wuyi Tea with Egg @ RM1.70

KEDAI MAKAN GOLDEN CORNER

Market Road

34000 Taiping, Perak.

Malaysia.

Homemade Dessert #4: Apple Puff

To make a single serving apple puff, simply core the apple, dice it and cook it in low flame till it softens a little. Then, sprinkle with some cinnammon powder and brown sugar. Next, spread the partially cooked apple cubes onto a slice of puff pastry sheet and place another sheet of puff pastry on top. After that, seal the edge and brush some egg wash on top of the puff pastry. Lastly, pop it into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Homemade Dessert #5: Mango Yogurt Muffin

This yogurt muffin adopts the all-in method in the mixing of the ingredients. Simply whip up some sugar, butter, self-raising flour, milk, mango yogurt and some dried mango (optional), the outcome is extremely soft and fluffy muffin which is so light in weight and big on taste. 

Homemade Dessert #3: Peach Tart

To make a peach tart, you can use either fresh peaches or the canned version. Halve the peach and cut it into wedges. Arrange them nicely on a slice of puff pastry sheet with its four sides folded inward by 1 centimetre. Brush some fresh milk on the sides of the pastry and bake it in the oven for 8 minutes.

English Afternoon Tea @ Pam's Place

I threw a tea party yesterday and invited four colleagues of mine to come over to my place after school. Upon reaching home, I whipped up all the ingredients at summer lightning speed, rolled and folded the batter pastry before stamping it into 20 dainty looking scones on the baking sheet. Popped them into the oven and I got 20 crumbly scones which make a perfect companion to my syphon brewed coffee.  

The entire tea set is made up of Pam's home-baked cakes and bread. 

The coffee ceremony has begun.

 I measure the quality of my life using the coffee spoon.

Freshly baked raisins and mixed peels scones 

The setting of an elegant homemade afternoon tea

The lower tier comprises raisins and mixed peels scones

The upper tier consists of fruitcakes and coffee cookie

Care for an afternoon tea at Pam's place?