Chicken, Mushroom and Onion Puff

Due to the hectic working life, I can hardly find time for baking on weekdays. While I am struggling in coping with my new and challenging post, I wholeheartedly wish I could have an afternoon to spare for my favourite hobby - baking. Yesterday, I arrived home earlier than usual and the workload was not as taxing as before, so I put aside my books and laptop for a couple of hours, preparing the ingredients I need for 3 humble puffs.

Homemade Chicken, Mushroom and Onion Puffs

The pastry puffs up like a pouch, making it look even more tempting.

The puff is diagonally cut, showing the flakiness of the pastry but at the same time unveiling its weakness as a big hollow is seen within the cavity. The stingy Pam made too little filling for the puff. lol

Be a Cantonese @ Canton-i

Canton-i is nothing new in this blog. Dining at Canton-i has become a must-do whenever we go to Queensbay Mall. The reason is simple: Mum enjoys eating thread-like wonton noodles and plump wonton with crunchy shrimp filling. Another reason is the uniqueness of their dim sums which captures my heart and keeps me coming back for more, over and over again. 

Jasmine Blooming Flower Tea @ RM5.00

Being hand-tied around the base of a Red Globe Amaranth flower, the fine jasmine scented tea leaves gently open and bloom into a lovely flower. 

You can request for hot water refills to continue enjoying the beautiful Jasmine scented tea.

 Hong Kong style Won Ton noodle @ RM12.80

Lemon-infused barbecued pork ribs puffs @ RM5.10 / 2pcs

Yam flavoured pau with custard filling @ RM6.00 / 2pcs

Yellowish custard leaking from the bottom when bitten into.

Queensbay Mall, Penang

Part of GF-12 & GF-13

(Part of GF-12 & GF-11),

Queensbay Mall, 100,

Persiaran Bayan Lepas,

Penang, Malaysia.

Tel: +604-6456688

Espresso in Moka pot and homemade Char Siew puff

Today, I am sharing with you all my homemade Char Siew puff and Illy Espresso brewed in the Moka pot.

Moka pot from Italy

Illy Espresso

Concentrated coffee made using the Moka pot

My homemade Char Siew puff

Puff pastry stuffed with juicy Char Siew filling.

Plump and succulent, these puffs are best eaten hot and fresh.

Pairing with a cup of thick brew, these dainty treats are perfect for afternoon tea.

Early bird catches the worm

Early to bed, early to rise. 

Early to rise, early to eat. 

An old-fashioned dim sum shop in Taiping bakes and sells pastries of the good old days every Sunday morning. These traditional biscuits - Chinese egg tart, kaya puff, Nam yue pie, sesame ball etc. - are selling like hotcakes as they are available only once a week. So, getting up early is the only key to enjoying the food. However, how early is early? 7 a.m.? 8 a.m.? If you are lucky, you may be able to grab the last few pieces at around 7 a.m. but rest assured that nothing else will be left behind after this. 

Egg tarts, sesame balls and kaya puffs.

Nam Yue Pie @ RM1.10 each

Egg tart & Nam Yue pie

Crispy pie stuffed with with Nam Yue infused lean meat

Kum Loong Dim Sum Restaurant

45 - 47 Jalan Kota,

34000 Taiping, Perak.

Malaysia.

Blacky Peppy Mushy Puffy, Black Pepper Mushroom Puff

The pastry chef of Pam's Patisserie, Pam, held an afternoon tea at her place last weekend for her family and friends. It wasn't a special occasion, but a weekly baking assignment of Pam.

Black Pepper Mushroom Pie by Pam

Fiery peppery filling

Plump & juicy mushrooms encased in a light and crispy pastry puff

Look at me, fresher than the morning breeze...

Chocolate Puff @ Pam's Patisserie

In my earlier post, I made a special request to readers who view my blog to help me select the most perfect looking chocolate croissant from five different croissants I had posted. Based on the readers' opinions, a chocolate croissant is best made into the original shape, the crescent-like shaped croissant. I started the ball rolling by cutting the pastry sheets into squares of equal sizes. I only realised my mistakes when I flipped the pages of my baking guide to find out that pastry sheets should be made into triangles instead of squares. There's no point crying over spilled milk, so I modified the shape of my chocolate croissant into rectangle puffs with the same chocolate filling ... Nutella! After sealing the edges of the pastry, I popped them into the oven and watched them rise from thin sheets to multiple-layered flaky puffs. I started beaming and waited anxiously for the baking process to complete. Half an hour later, I removed pans after pans of golden chocolate puffs which had risen so well and I actually thought they resembled the Japanese Puffer fish --- Fugu.

Pam's Chocolate Puff

Strictly not for sale!

Chocolate puff meeting his perfect soul mate, Macchiato...

A chocolatey journey has begun!

Black Pepper Chicken Pie & Apple Puff

Hooray! It's the school holidays! Knowing that I travel a lot, many caring colleagues were curious to know where I'd be heading to this time. Sorry to let them down cause I ain't going anywhere this holiday. Be leaving by train on Sunday to Segamat to visit some old friends and stay put for a couple of days, before returning to Perak on Wednesday. There comes another 2-day trip to Penang with the School Prefectorial Board immediately after the Segamat trip. Born a busy traveller by nature, and I always am. That's why la... where got time to travel overseas, hoh?

Not sure if I could get some good pastries throughout the week so I'd better treat myself to some sumptuous little snacks before my cuti-cuti Malaysia trips... Bon appetit!

Fruit tartlets and chocolate tartlets

Black Pepper Chicken Pie & Apple Puff

Apple Puff with sweet custard base

Black Pepper Chicken Pie

Generously stuffed with chunks of chicken and mushroom

Espresso made from Italian Roast

Yes, I am a liar...

I went out for tea with my 'daughter' this afternoon. Yin claimed that I kept paying every time we had meals together so we decided we're going dutch this time. However, after placing her order...

"Teacher, AA (Algebraic Average a.k.a. pay our own respective portions of the bill) ah?"

"Hah? Sorry, I don't remember a thing."

"Can I have a look at the receipt please?"

"Wait till I get my tax exemption."

"Teacher, you're a liar!"

"Yes, I am!"

Dear Yin, I will let you pay once you start earning your own money, okay?

Éclair @ RM3.80

Ozzie Sausage Roll @ RM5.50

Double espresso @ RM6.50

Caramel Machiato @ RM12.00

Starbucks Coffee

Taiping Sentral

Jalan Istana Larut

Taiping.

Bidor Duck Thigh Noodles

Bidor is a small town in Perak. The completion of the North-South Plus highway 2 decades ago had tremendously reduced the number of travellers along the federal trunk road which cuts through Bidor town. This resulted in the many small towns in Perak to turn into a sleepy hollow, namely Tanjung Malim, Slim River, Bidor, Tapah etc. However, Bidor is the least affected town due to its location as a junction town leading to Teluk Intan in another direction. Therefore, many still pass through Bidor on their way to Teluk Intan, and they usually stop over for food before continuing their journey. 

This town has a main attraction that make travellers keep coming back for it. That's the famous Duck Thigh Noodles at Pun Chun Restaurant. 

Duck Thigh in very flavourful herbal soup.

Egg Noodles

Their Yam Puff (Woo Kok) is another notable item in this restaurant.

The yam puff has a very crispy outer layer, encasing very juicy and tasty pork filling

Pun Chun Restaurant

Jalan Besar,

Bidor, Perak.