Sept 1-14th – BAKING FOR ELIZABETH MAH

26 Aug 2011 In: BITS AND PIECES

Dear readers,

I’ve copied this directly from Fatboybakes’ blog.  Please help support this cause.  I’ve been following Elizabeth’s progress and my heart goes out to her and her family.

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Liz, and her husband, Henry, are dear friends of mine. I am the godpa to their eldest kid, Nicholas, and they are godparents to my youngest daughter, Mei. Two years ago, Liz was diagnosed with Stage 4N Non Small Cell Lung Cancer. By the grace of God, she has managed to put up a good fight, and for a year or so, the targetted Chemo drug Tarceva seemed to work well.

Earlier this year, however, scans showed that the drug had stopped working, and the cancer has spread again. They are now embarking on a new form of treatment, which you can read about in Henry’s appeal letter.

Anyway, September is Liz’s birthday month, so I would like to dedicate all dough (excuse the pun) raised from cake sales in the first two weeks of September towards her treatment. In all the years I’ve been blogging, I have never appealed from my friends/readers, but on this occasion, I am asking you if you find it in your heart to contribute to these dear friends of mine, please do so. The photo shows what cakes are available during the first two weeks of September for sale.

You can sms your orders to me at 012-3240988. Do please indicate if you are responding to this note, so I can relay to them who their kind benefactors are.

God Bless you all, my friends.

Fatboybakes

 

OMG

“I’m not telling you, ‘Never eat a hamburger.’ Just eat the good ones with real beef, you know, like the ones from that mom-and-pop diner down the street, … And it’s so good that when you take a bite out of that burger, you just know somewhere in the world a vegan is crying.”
– Homer Simpson

OMG

Craving for pleasure in a 9-inch package?

Déjà vu.

But not quite.

OMG

A 6 kilogram wonder – 2 kilos of freshly ground juicy beef patty, 1 kilo of cheese, 1 kilo of pickles, tomatoes and greens, and 2 kilos of multigrain bun that tries to make this healthy.

OMG

And the true test of a good burger? Lift it up, hold it between your fingers as the juices drip down your wrist, and take a big chomp through the entire cross section.  Then lick up the spillages.

Talking at this point is not advisable.

 

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It’s no secret that I’m a fan of The Daily Grind.  When the owners invited me over to try this monstrosity of a burger, I went for a medical check-up first before agreeing.  Eating a burger this size is like preparing for war.  You have to be prepared.

*grin*

Nah.  It’s meant to be shared – lah.  For us Malaysians, communal dining is nothing new.  If we can sup over rice and curry and ko lou yoke, we can certainly sup over a giant burger.  What an amazing bonding opportunity.

This burger can easily feed 10 to 12 persons.   The price?  RM360++.  Please order 48 hours ahead because something this size needs tender loving care and planning.  I’m still talking about burgers, of course.

The Daily Grind
Bangsar Village
Kuala Lumpur

 

 

La Bodega, Bangsar

9 Jun 2011 In: Food Type: Spanish, Location: Bangsar

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I’ve always believed that my work life should be kept separate from my personal life, and because of that I’ve rarely spoken about my work on the blog.  My friends lead glamorous lives, but mine is office-bound, approximately 12 to 14 hours a day, including some weekends.  As a result of more stringent enforcements from authorities and regulatory bodies, my work has become twice as taxing this year. But deep down, in some perverse way, I do like what I do.  What it means, however, is that when I sit down to blog, I get distracted by spreadsheets and work emails, and I get so frustrated by the intrusion that I push everything aside.

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Life goes on, though, and it’s heartening to see so many food bloggers out there who are enthusiastically reviewing all the new restaurants in town, and I read the blogs, salivating and checking my schedule for my next available time slot to visit.  While local food still whets my appetite, and there’s nothing like a plate of Penang chee cheong fun to lift the spirits, I’ve also been eating quite a bit in Singapore and have had the pleasure of dining at db Bistro Moderne (a contemporary French-American restaurant by Daniel Boulud) and Mario Batali’s Pizzeria Mozza.   The memory of the smell of freshly baked madeleines at db Bistro Moderne, golden brown, eggy, fluffy and warm, is like a happy drug that inundates the senses.  But as far as euphoria goes, I think I may have found the ultimate macaron down south in a tiny shop called Jewel at Orchard Central.  The salted egg yolk macaron with black palm salt is heaven.

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I still love KL, though. If I want banana leaf rice with crab rasam, I know exactly where to find it.  Every other week or so, my friends and I hit La Bodega Lounge at Telawi 2 for food and drinks after work.  I like the place because it feels like home.  I like the comfortable armchairs and I like the fact that it’s dim enough indoors to hide the fact that my clothes haven’t been ironed.  Board games and books are available, and once, I observed a couple of really cute guys playing chess.  Be still my beating heart.  I have a weakness for men playing chess.  I also like the fact that my friend, Bari, manages the place and he always gives me my favourite sofa.

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I’ve been eating at La Bodega for several years now, sporadically, and no, I have not always been enthusiastic about it.  I used to find the food generic, but I’d eat there anyway because all my friends ate there.  And then one day, Bari said, “Hey LL, I’ve got some new items on the menu and I’d like you to try them.”  And he fed me and my friends till we could eat no more, then he fed us some more.  Understandably, he fed us quite a bit of the good stuff, like the award winning signature cheese burger made with homemade beef patties and melted cheddar cheese.  The Pollo Picante (diced chicken and dried chillies in olive oil) is a regular order for me.  Once all the meat is eaten, I love to dip bread in the spicy, flavourful oil and slurp it all up, fat be damned.  There were several other tapas items, perfect to be shared with friends over sangria or wine, and frankly, despite being still generic, I couldn’t quite fault any of them.  A couple of dishes from the regular menu which I thought was quite good – the seafood soup, a tomato based broth chock-a-block full with shellfish and prawns, a hearty dish that absolutely should not be shared, and Pizza Quattro Stagioni, four quarters of different pizza toppings; chicken pepperoni, beef pepperoni, mushrooms and olives.  I also enjoyed the Spaghetti Fruti De Mare (alio oglio style seafood pasta) which was cooked to perfection, the thin strands of pasta cooked al dente and the dish bold with the flavours from the seafood.

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I was more interested in the new dishes presented that night from the Lounge Fusion Kitchen.  These were experimental at the time of trying, and I presume they are now on the regular menu.  All the dishes were a departure from the usual La Bodega (Spanish) signature style, and to be honest, a little confusing.  Imagine tiger prawns served in a ponzu sauce and topped with enoki mushrooms.  Or duck rolls with caramelised onions in a crisp wrap, Chinese style.  Tempura fish fingers.  Sesame soft shell crabs.  All absolutely delicious and faultless.  But I can’t quite decide if it fits in with the overall appearance, ambience and theme that La Bodega stands for.

Anyhow, time will tell.  To me, La Bodega Lounge will always be that warm inviting place with good drinks, music, food and company.  A great formula, for sure.

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La Bodega Lounge
Jalan Telawi 2
Bangsar

Tel: 03-2287 3808

 

 

 

 

About this blog

Food, for me, is a means to an end and not an end in itself.

Food, for me, represents the love of family, the fellowship of friends, and the community and communality it brings.