Thursday, July 31, 2014

Unforgettable Durian Pie @ The Humble Pie Co, Section 17, PJ

After burgers, it looks like pies are the next big thing in KL city with a few outlets selling pies popping up. Well I have definitely no problem with that trend because I am personally a big fan of pies, especially after two years of enjoying quality pies when I was studying in Perth!
So we went to sample Humble Pie Co one night for supper with the SIL and BIL. Unlike the norm of rugged design, the little cafe is bright, clean and looks simple yet chic, providing a very cozy environment for its diners.
I'm in love with their interior design and simple yet comfy furniture. 
Although they named themselves The Humble Pie, their menu has more than just pies (both sweet and savoury), with snacks, pasta and main course included in the menu. We were asked to order everything at the counter but was charged service charge for that and that is always a big no-no for Deardo and I. SERIOUSLY RESTAURANTS OUT THERE, HOW CAN YOU CHARGE SERVICE CHARGE WHEN YOU RUN A SELF-SERVICE SYSTEM???
Chicken Bites, RM10.
Chicken & Mushrooms Pie, RM20.
The Chicken Bites, which is basically fried chicken wings was not too bad, especially how the rockets that they lay underneath the chicken tastes really nice with some of the oil from the fried chicken. It is however, a very simple dish to make. The Chicken and Mushrooms Pie was a huge letdown, with the fillings a bit too watery to our liking and it tastes like those recipes that I found earlier where the pies fillings are make with canned Campbell soup... I'm sorry but Deardo also agreed that my Chicken Pie tastes better. And to charge RM20 for that pie is pretty crazy! 

Durian Pie to the rescue!!!
I was so glad we chose the Durian Pie for dessert in stead of all other sweet pies available. At RM15, the pie is worth every single penny! The fresh cream and the pie base were awesome but the best thing about the pie is the real durian flesh which was impressively delicious when go with the cream! It was simply unforgettable and a must try for Durian lovers!!! :)
Latte, RM10.
Coffee was just decent but that isn't their main thing anyway.
Lil' Jolie with chocolate on her face again!!! :p
I think as a cafe that has 'pie' in their name, I expected more from them in their pies, which is supposed to be their specialty. With the Durian Pie being so fantastic and the Chicken & Mushrooms Pie being a failure, I'm assuming you can actually go give their sweet pies a try in stead of trying the expensive but disappointing savoury pies.

The Humble Pie Co
11, Jalan 17/45,
Section 17, Petaling Jaya,
Selangor
Tel: 03-7932 1793

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Shirlexia's Chorizo Sausage Pork Pie Recipe

Remember my Chicken Pie recipe?
After that first trial, I was eager to try making the pie with different fillings. So the first trial was Chorizo Sausages (you may have heard of them here) which I have two more left in the freezer. So today I'm gonna share my own pie creation which I shall name it Chorizo Sausage Pork Pie.

What you need:
Chopped garlic and onions, 2-3 Chorizo Sausages cut into pieces, about two cups of minced pork, green pies, sliced mushrooms, cream, any type of stock (I used pork cubed stock), salt and pepper to taste, frozen puff pastry

What to do: 
1) In a pan/pot, simmer the garlic and onions with either oil or butter.
2) Add the sausages and continue stirring.
3) Then add in the minced pork and stir and let them cook.
4) Add in the green peas and mushrooms.
5) As the ingredients cook, add in enough salt and black pepper to taste.
6) Now add in stock then pour about half a cup of cream into the mixture. 
7) Let it boiled and you are done with the filling of the pie! 
8) Scoop the filling into the puff pastry in a muffin mold as seen as in my earlier post. Cover with another sheet of puff pastry then brush the surface with egg for a brownish colour then send into pre-heated oven at 180c for about 20 minutes. 
9) Let the pies cool down a bit then remove from mold and serve immediately or let them cool on lined tray. 

We had the pies for dinner with a side sauteed vegetables and they were awesome!!! These pies actually tasted better compared the the earlier chicken pie mainly because of the flavour from the Chorizo Sausages which make the filling a little spicy and comes with a nice spice fragrant! :)
My awesome Spanish-twist pies! :p
What's better to feel good about your own creations? Hehehe...
Maybe we should try using roast pork next?

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Super Delicious Beef Dishes @ Gyuniku Restaurant

Gyuniku Restaurant, as its name says it, is a restaurant selling mainly beef dishes, both noodles and rice, with of course some alternative dishes with chicken for non-beef eaters. It's a Halal restaurant though, so no pork served!
It was really a random lunch choice so we ordered based on dishes that look pretty nice in pictures and here they are:
Sauteed Beef Rice, RM13.
Red Braised Beef Soup with rice, RM12.50.
Awesome ingredients! :)
Deardo's Sauteed Beef Rice has a very flavourful gravy (may be a little too salty without the rice) and the thinly sliced beef were very tender. Have the beef to go with rice, blanched vegetables and a fried egg and it really spells perfection! My Red Braised Beef Soup with rice is something similar to Hong Siew-style (红烧), only this one is slightly more tamoto-ish, which I really love. The soup comes in a claypot and has beef, beef balls and some awesome innards, with some radish and carrots. Despite sweating my heart out eating the dish, I really enjoyed it a lot! 
Oh my, I really want some of those beef soup now!!!
The bill came up to RM25.50 (without any extra charges), which is slightly expensive for workdays lunch. But it is a place I will definitely go back again one day when I feel like getting my beef-fix! :)

Gyuniku Restaurant
20, Jalan 28/70A,
Desa Sri Hartamas,
50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-23000122

Friday, July 18, 2014

Awesome Char Siew @ The Home Cooking Dishes, Sg. Way

One fine day after work, we were going through Sungai Way to skip some traffic jam and first decided to try the famous BKT there but they were all closed (apparently only open day time) so we made a random choice of dining at The Home Cooking Dishes
Operating in a corner house, the restaurant doesn't look as appetising from the outside. While everything in the restaurant looks old, it does however, appears to be a very clean and comfortable place to have your dinner at.
The menu comes in a piece of A4 size paper, limited choices but to us it was good enough, at least it has pork, chicken, tofu, fish, egg, vegetables and even two prawn dishes. Do check out their white board for specials, especially fish dishes.
Since we only wanted a simple dinner, here are the three dishes we ordered...
拖地叉烧 "Mopping Floor Char Siew", RM12 (small),
Bitter Gourd Omelet, RM9.80 (small).
Stir-Fry Eggplant and Long Beans with Dried Prawns, RM10.80 (small).
As their signature dish, the 拖地叉烧 (literal translation: Mopping Floor Char Siew) didn't fail to impress us. Juicy yet not oily, the special sauce used is not as red as the usual Char Siew Sauce and not as sweet as the usual sauce as well. I have to say it's one of the best Char Siew I've ever tried so far! And for the price of RM12, the portion is definitely very generous! Super thumb-up!
While the Bitter Gourd Omelet is just quite normal, the Stir-Fry Eggplant and Long Beans with Dried Shrimps was truly satisfying. Simple cooking style, nice aroma and taste coming out just from the dried shrimps make the dish so homey and delicious! 
Surprisingly good dinner we had!!! :)
With a portion of rice and a pot of Chinese tea for two, the bill came up to RM36.80, which is quite decent for a satisfying home-cooked style dinner.
We never really thought the tiny restaurant would serve such awesome food but we left the place super happy and satisfied! Must go back one day to try other dishes! :)

The Home Cooking Dishes
555, Jalan SS9A/12,
Sungai Way,
Petaling Jaya,
Selangor
Tel: 016-677 3200

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Breakfast.Lunch.Dinner

Have been forcing myself to make my own breakfasts and lunches to work because 1) Tired of the limited choices offered around my office area, 2) tired of paying expensive prices for meals around my office area and 3) healthier to eat home-cooked food.

Breakfast
I can see a lot of you are doing this overnight oats thingy for breakfast that looks like a trending share on social media. Because Deardo has been eating overnight oats soaked in water for quite some time, I decided to make his breakfast a bit more interesting and 100 times yummier. He loves it by the way! :) I of course, enjoy it for breakfast too sometimes (can't take it everyday, seriously not so much into oats).
Overnight oats with blueberries.
Overnight oats with bananas. 
Although the original recipe calls for strawberries, I've changed it to blueberries, bananas and papaya just because they are cheaper fruits. Also sometimes change to normal yogurt because Greek yogurt are expensive in Malaysia.
Just in case you haven't heard of the recipe, simply soak rolled oats, chia seeds and choice of fruits with Greek yogurt, low fat milk and a dash of honey (I skipped that whenever using flavoured yogurt), send to the fridge overnight and voila~ Breakfast's ready without you waking up earlier to make it!

Lunch
Unfortunately my office doesn't have a microwave, so I'm stuck either making salad or anything that can be eaten cold. Sometimes I do use the thermos container but that doesn't help too much anyway. :(
My basic is of course loads of vegetables, sometimes with eggs, sometimes with tuna or chicken breast.
Hard-boiled egg, Kyuri cucumber, capsicum, tuna in oil, spring onion and pepper to taste. 
For a slightly more luxurious version lunch, broccoli, hard-boiled egg, tuna in oil, fish roe, spring onion and pepper to taste.
Broccoli is often more expensive, so Cauliflower makes a good replacement, with Kyuri cucumber, tomatoes, capsicum, tuna in oil, spring onion and pepper to taste.
Chicken and Cucumber Salad. Recipe here.

Sometimes with Soba noodles, leftover 10-grain rice or Quinoa. Actually just started eating Quinoa after much hoo-haa on the internet have talked about it being super healthy and all. It's tasty actually, like a crispier version of rice or couscous but it's definitely very expensive to eat in Malaysia, sigh...
Soba, Kyuri cucumber, cherry tomatoes, green peas, ham with roasted sesame dressing.
Dried Soba Noodles with Romaine lettuce, green tea tofu and ham.

10-grain rice with tuna in oil, Kyuri cucumber, capsicum and baby spinach.
Quinoa with baby spinach, capsicum, grapefruits and hard-boiled egg.
Quinoa with Kyuri cucumber, broccoli and hard-boiled egg.
Quinoa with Kyuri cucumber, water cress, capsicum and ham (curry gravy from Mamak stall. lol.)

Or go lazy and have these simple but super satisfying snacks as lunch...
Vegetables with Hummus dip. 
Homemade Tuna Mayo with Romaine lettuce wrap. Cherry tomatoes with Asam Boi Powder. 
I'm very very addicted to Hummus (recipe here) every time I start eating it I can't seem to stop! And Tuna Mayo with Romaine lettuce is like way tastier and lighter than having them with breads! So yummy!!! :D

I don't think my lunch boxes look very appetising though. In fact, some of them I can't even say they taste nice or filling enough. But who knows? You might find some inspirations here if you are looking for healthy meals to make? :p

Dinner
Then giving a little airtime to the simple dinners I cooked over the weekends.
Baked Dory Fish, Stir-fry Cauliflower, Sambal Okra with shrimps and ABC soup.
Fu Yong Fried Eggs, Stir-fry broccoli with minced chicken and herbal soup.
Tom Yam Fried Bihun, Recipe here
Fish Porridge.
To go with some boiled spinach.

Time to warm up the kitchen again yo?