Rum and Raisin KitKat Bar - Tokyo Edition

This is easily voted as my favourite, I always love rum & raisin. Always..
The taste that I can only get while eating icecream now comes in a chocolate coated wafer bar!
It's amazing how the flavourists in Nestle managed to create this beautiful flavour.
It has a little baby kick of alcohol too. It stated like 0.056% which is easily negligible. Hahaha
I wish they put some raisin bits in the bar. It would make it more real.

Wasabi KitKat Bar - Shizuoka Edition

This is the one KitKat that you should try! Who would've imagine a Wasabi KitKat?

Here it is! What does it taste like?

Well, it tastes like... eating a white chocolate with a generous portion of ground wasabi :)

Is it hot? No.... wasabi is not hot. It just send a burning fume to your nose and make you tear. Attack!!!

Seriously, it's not hot at all. It has the smell, the taste, minus the fume

Almost fooled by the light green colour, for a sec, it looks like a granny smith apple flavoured bar.

Ichimi KitKat Bar - Nagano Edition

Remember the movie "Chocolat"? Remember how Juliette Binoche create a chocolate with a hint of pepper & spiced up boring town-peoples' lives with it?

The movie is what I have in mind the first time I tasted this bar. It's not as sweet as other fancy KitKat variants - afterall,  it is a dark chocolate. It tastes beautiful and smooooooth, and just when you finished a finger, the "mild" pepper tastes started to linger. It has a very unique state yet yummy.

I don't understand why it calls "ichimi" - 1 taste? Is that the pepper's name?

 It also said "hot". I find it not that bad, not that hot, it's mild.

The package also writes "Yahataya Isogoro".I managed to decode the kanji character, but I have no clue what it means. 

Google translate, why U no translate?

Sakura Matcha Kitkat Bar

Imagine yourself having a piece of white chocolate, accompanied with a cup of Japanese Green Tea in a park full of sakura/cherry blossom. And the cool delicate spring wind blows, creating a shower of pink cherry blossom petals.

That's exactly what it is! This piece of KitKat can make you feel like a Japanese princess :) hehehe

It tastes much milder than the Uji Matcha KitKat, with subtle hint of a cherry blossom perfume - not much of a taste, but it has the beautiful smell.

Green tea-Good. Sakura-Pretty

I should eat more of this

Uji Matcha Green Tea Kit Kat Bar - Kyoto Edition

I just realised there are some different kinds of KitKat Green Tea. Well, what I have on hand right now is the famous "Uji Matcha". Uji is a district name in Japan, famous for its premium matcha (ground green tea).
It tastes like green tea, hehe... which is a bit "green", it's not grassy, but does have a leaf taste, which is nice; so yeah, it tastes like a slight grassy white chocolate.
While eating this, bear in mind that Green Tea is a good antioxidant, good for your body :)

Strawberry Cheese Cake Kit Kat Bar - Yokohama Edition

Well, it tastes like white chocolate with a fragrant strawberry flavouring.
Its dominating sweetness is kinda overwhelming for me, esp. when it is compared to its tangy Strawberry KitKat counterpart.
And it looks so pale, which just killed the "strawberry" look

Strawberry Kit Kat Bars

It has a kicking tangy strawberry taste, which is awesome! It has a good balance of sweet & acidic taste.
Look at the bar, it has red dots over the deep pink chocolate, it must be the strawberry bits.
Kinda have an illusion of a healthy snack.
Healthy it is... I am trying to hypnotize myself. Hahaha

I am not quite sure why none of these Strawberry Kit Kat packaging are exactly the same.I guess there are some messages written on it. I know the one on top right, saying "Thank You"... for being mine forever.... Hahahha

Cookies & Cream Kit Kat Bars

The whole tastes like a crunchy Oreo, the vanilla taste is quite strong.
In fact, it's taste & look like Oreo's filling sandwiching the cookie :) Hahaha... Inside Out Oreo

Here is what it looks like :) Yum!
I love the contrast of the black wafer & the speckled white chocolate.
Simply beautiful   

Bacon Flavoured Cracker

I am not someone who likes to nibble on idle time, esp. when I was wearing braces. Now that I am wearing my retainer, the appetite for snack is just gone (hopefully forever). I opt of a proper mealtime.
But, a friend recommended this cracker TUC Bacon Flavoured. Bought it somewhere in France, I think...
I didn't buy it because I like it, I bought it cos I know Dad would love it. And I didn't bother to try it at all that time, I just knew he'll like it.
I finally tried it when I arrived in my hotel room after a long long flight home. Was so hungry, but it's already mid-night. You know what, it's very yummy, full of flavour (artificial I bet), and so aromatic (of course artificial).

Bite it, and you'll find a pink layer, as if a real bacon really sandwiched within the cracker, we all know it's not a real bacon there. The label is Bacon flavoured, but no real bacon listed in the ingredients part. So, I dunno if this can be categorised as Halal or not. Whatever it is, it's so yummmmyyyyyy.

Mon Amour, Mon Chéri

I was first introduced to Mon Chéri chocolate by Dj last year, been looking for it, and I finally found it at Düsseldorf Airport. I quickly fell in love with this little darling, they are so yummy. I regret that I bought only a few of them that time. Ever since, on my trips to Europe, I try to look for it, it's so odd that a Ferrero chocolate is so hard to find. I hardly see it at any petrol stop in Italy or France.
On my recent trip, I found some at a petrol station from Paris to Lucerne. And I finally got some more at a supermarket at Lucerne. I carried them as much as my baggage allowance allow me :) Not a good thing, though. A bad bad craving.

So what is Mon Chéri? It's a dark chocolate filled with cherry and brandy :) so yummmmyyyyy!!!

Indonesians, as usual, are clueless-followers; when I bought Mon Chéri at the petrol station, some saw me, and rushed to get the same thing too. I had to gave up a couple of boxes from them. While others also put a radar on any petrol-stops' shops. They didn't have any luck until we reached Lucerne, there, then they bought a few boxes for themselves. Since I bought plenty myself too, I opened up the box and shared it to others, so they could have a taste of it. 
And why it's not surprising that they didn't like it. They kinda "blame" me saying, "Well, you bought so many, we thought it's very nice!!!"
Heheheh... they didn't know it's dark chocolate, they didn't know it contains a bit of alcohol, they didn't even know it has any cherry in it. 
Gee!!! They dunno what they are missing, dude.

Lompong Pisang

It looks appealing, the big fat thing is wrapped in banana leaves, grilled on coconut shell charcoals. From a far, I imagine a big succulent otak-otak. 

But when I sank my teeth into it.... What the..?!!!!

It's not otak2, it's something sweet!!!

That was my 1st experience eating that grilled wrapped thing. Never again I buy them from the vendor... I was fooled! Totally fooled!!! I never even bothered to ask what that imposter thing was called. I couldn't be bothered at all.

Not until my long lost friend, NN, requested me to get some (more than SOME, actually) for her sister who has a huge craving for that thing. Oh, now I know the name is "Lompong Pisang". Gee, I thought she was preggie.

So, being a nice friend, I went to the vendor. The vendor was still preparing the coal. He is still preparing his stall. Since I wanna make sure that I buy the right thing (oh btw, I couldn't remember what it looks like inside) I asked a few questions
Me: Bro, I want to order 50 of them, make sure it's a banana one... Errr... How many types u have?
He: same
Me: ooo... (I thought he talked abt the price). Ok same, I want the banana one
He: Same, "Lompong Sagoo" is also same
Me: OK, banana one. Don't want the sagoo one. Can you make sure no coconut?
He: (took a big deep breath, looked very much annoyed), Lompong Pisang, Lompong Sagoo is the same. Inside got coconut.
Me:............. Eh? Is it? Whatever la... 50 of them. I pick up at 5, k?
I bet the vendor was thinking "what an idiot bitch"... Hahhaah

After a few hours, I came back to pick my order. Guess what? It's not done yet. I think kept on selling mine away. They only finished 30 piece when I arrived for pick up. So, I decided to wait for my other 20 pieces.
Btw, it's the vendor's wife grilling the wraps now. So I made a little conversation with her...

Me: Sis, what is it inside?
She: Banana, sagoo, coconut, and sugars
Me: (Great, I've mention 3 out of 5 ingredients to her husband) So, you use pisang kepok?
She: No, we use Pisang Banan, from Bukittinggi. The one we eat after meals. Using other type of banana won't be nice.
Me: Pisang apa?
She: Banan, we call it Banan
Me: ooo Banan (until I typed it for NN, then I realised she was making fun of me... BANAN ... BANANA... )
She must thought, idiot girl... Hahahha

Anyway, during my wait, I realised this Lompong Pisang cake-wrap is actually a hit, the queue was quite something! And I still couldn't imagine what it tastes like. So I asked the vendor's wife to give me 52 pieces. The extra 2 is for me, to try, I told her.
When I was about to pay, I paid her full price for 52 pieces. She refused to accept for the extra 2, "It's for you to try, see if you like it"

The other customers asked the vendor, "why does she buy so much but dunno what it tastes like?". Hahahahhaa. And other looked at me in amazement, "Sis, are you going to have a lompong party?" Hhahhahah cute.
On the way home, my car is filled with burnt banana smell. Which was beautiful. So yummy.

FYI, the whole incident happened in the Lompong Pisang Stall in front of Bank Nagari at Pasar Tanah Kongsi, Padang. They only opened at 3 pm until finished.

Review:
Btw, Lompong Pisang is actually very nice. Soft, tender, slightly sweet. It's a nice cake if you eat it when it's still warm.
I think I'll get some more today.

Searching for Binlang Princesses

Driving across the island, I saw many many glass booths with lots of neon light. I was expecting near-naked ladies sitting inside, but I couldn't see any, only decently-dressed girls. If you search Mr.Google with the keyword “BinLang XiShi”, you’ll find a lot of pictures of girls in bikinis or skimpy dress and heavy make-up. I think Taiwan TV just exaggerating about their raunchy dressed Binlang Princesses (檳榔西施). Either they are just overrated marketing, rumours, or my radar is lame in finding ladies. Hahahhaa

To feed my curiosity  we finally to stop at random BinLang booth. Did I see any sexy ladies? No! In fact, there were a fat older lady and a fat uncle serving me. I couldn't be bothered to take their picture. I bought 2 available types. Each cost me NTD50 per pack.

I tried chewing them, here is my report:

When eaten individually, binlang is awful, the texture is just like the husk of young coconut (they are cousins). Imagine trying to pierce your teeth into coconut husk, no matter how immature the nut is, it is still very hard to chew. Plus with my braces, it was an almost impossible thing to do. Binlang tastes dry and astringent; I couldn't taste any sweetness or sourness, just super dry astringent. Don’t like at all щ(゜ロ゜щ)

 The betel piper leaves. I have no problem with this, I think it taste a little minty with heavy herbal fragrance. OK with me!

Sexy girls you said? This is as far as I got - on a box of sandwiched binlang

See the above picture? The thing sandwiched between sliced binlang? I thought it’s a kind of root or something. I found out this is the flower vine of betel piper. No wonder it tastes so nice. Imagine putting minty toothpaste in your mouth. This is what it tastes like, freshen your breath （*＾3＾）/～☆

I tried eating them whole too. Again, I couldn’t really chew the binlang. It’s just too hard. Those people who were addicted to binlang must have over-worked jaws.

Despite considered low class, judging from hundreds (thousand?) neon-booths on streetside, Binlang is somewhat popular in Taiwan. Usually consumed by drivers to get alertness during their work, just like cigarettes and coffee (since they are mostly males, girls in skimpy dress must made them super alert and manly. Who wouldn’t?) It is also addictive. The side effect is reddish black spit, stained teeth or losing your teeth too. Recent studies concluded that chewing binlang can cause oral cancer!!! 

A question mark! as binlang is not a new thing, why people in past centuries don’t get these side effects? Even in Indonesia, binlang and betel piper considered to strengthen your teeth rather than ruining them (they still stains). I guess it depends on how much you chew. Unlike Taiwanese who chew non-stop, people in the past chew occasionally – usually on religious/traditional ceremonies.

Sate Daril

One of the Padang food that I miss most when I am away is sate Padang - a kind of beef satay in thick spicy sauce.
Note that Sate Padang have many different types, mostly differ on their sauces.
Not only the colour, even the same coloured one can taste abit different depends on the vendor.

There is one particular one that I love so much, it's sate Daril (Da = Uda, means brother in Minang language; Ril = the owner's name). It tastes SO GOOD...!!!
I think I had my first sate at his stall. He used sell right in front of the gate of SD Agnes, my late elementry school. I remembered that I used to order some kerupuk/cracker with the sauce ('cos cracker was the cheapest thing he sells), or only 1 stick of satay + 1 ketupat (rice cake)... The good old days when my pocket money was limited. Hahahha.
I guess all the SD Agnes graduates love his sate.
Many of them hire Daril to cater for their weddings too (guess they are all in marrying age by now).
My brother did too...  ^.^ Yum...

The satay stall is still there, now they are accross the street in front of the school, well, SD Agnes is no longer there.
But Sate Daril still exists in different form. Instead of the wooden cart pushed by man-power, now he uses a pick-up car for the stall.
Daril doesn't sit there to attend the stall now, he hires his relatives. Daril stays at home to prepare his secret recipe. Apparently he has more than 1 stall now. I think it's a beautiful successful story of one's determination and persistence.

Passionfruit - Acidity and Sugar Content

There are a few kinds of passionfruit in Indonesia: orange-skinned and purple-skinned.

Usually the purple-skinned ones are unsuitable for table-fruit due to its extreme acidity; usually it's mixed with sugar to make syrup.

But what we have here is a purple-skinned passionfruit, with the aromatic smell, orange/red flesh, but still with high sugar content (ard 20 Brix). Making this variety to be a perfect table fruit. Just cut it, and enjoy :)

The picture below is to show how to check the acidity on our passionfruit. Just dip the indicator-paper in the juice, wait around 30seconds, see the colour changes, and check against the colour on the indicator box. Here my passionfruit's acidity is around pH 3-4 :)

How to eat Mangosteen / Manggis

Some people cut with a knife, 

Some people squeeze it hard 'til it stained their hands, 

Some people use spoon to scoop the flesh out

But, here it is the easiest-tool-free way to eat mangosteen (without any stains and the flesh will be bruise free too)

Remember, practice makes perfect

Xmas treats - failed

A friend threw a X'mas party at their house on this year Xmas. It wasn't a potluck dinner, but I just wanna whip something from my kitchen. Been staring at cooking website for days before the event. Bought SO-MANY ingredients - sigh, I know this's my "bad" habit; was planning so many cute sweet holiday treats...(such as meringue, berries in chocolate, etc) but...

The 1st disaster was the mixer didn't work (it was a gift, brand new, but it's a lousy one)

Then the oven's knob simply broken, so I couldn't make a guess of the temperature - couldn't adjust it. Haha.

I even couldn't melt chocolate properly, it just turn lumpy and sandy. Tell me why??!!!

Whole day of kitchen disaster.

I didn't give up, I went to my maid's house and made a mess there... She has a decent mixer and an oven, which works. This's so lousy, why me as the boss don't have anything that works properly? Hahaha

Anyway, the only "successful" things was this "Cupcake with Strawberry buttercream, topped with Strawberries or Mulberries"

My in-law insisted to bring it for the party, I didn't make much, so it's only natural that it's all gone. I wouldn't say it was a hit. It's obviously not. 

The only part that I am proud of is the mulberries, it's our garden's produce. Harvested the day before X'mas.  

Look how pretty they are - just like a blunder of black caviar :)

Tape Singkong

This is my first successful experience to make tape/tapai (fermented cassava).

So, this is how I made it (thx to Ling for teaching me how to make it + giving me the yeast tablets) :

1. Prepare a cassava. This one was freshly harvested from our garden, I just love the size!!! Of course you can just get it in the market rather than growing it yourself. Haha.

2. To de-skin the cassava, make a long slit vertically, and (pic 3) push your finger through the slit; the the skin will just come off easily, leaving you a white cassava rod. Wash with running water.

4. Cut to smaller pieces; preferably cut in in shorter rods. In this pic, I simply cut it into quarters, which isn't aesthetically appealing :( Oops...

Next step is:

1. Steam the cassava for about 10 mins or so (just try to stick a skewer, if it's easily poked, it's done)
2. This is what mine look like, it has a transparent edges, but the mid part is still white, but soft enough for a skewer to go through.
3. Prepare the yeast. What I have comes in tablets, so I need to grind it into fine powder
4. Then it need to be sprinkled evenly. In this pic, I put way-too-much yeast! It won't do any harm, but please just sprinkle lightly and evenly.
5. You need to put them in closed container, keep it in cool dark place for about 3-4 days. So how can you tell if it's done or not? Poke it with a skewer again; by now it'll have a texture similar to boiled-eggplant. Soft, but still holding up its shape. 
6. It tastes sweet, abit acidic with a slight alcohol punch. Yum!

Yummy Nasi Kapau

Had "Nasi Kapau" for lunch today at Uni Er's stall. Guess she's quite famous, since her stall is the most crowded one compares to others at the same venue - Los Lambuang, Pasar Lereng, Bukittinggi.

Btw, this place was recommended by Ling, a local Bukittinggi-er; well, if the locals are crazy about it, it must be really nice, right?

I am not a connoisseur, so I can't really tell how and why her cooking sells better than her competitors. But overall, I had a good and satisfying lunch.
I heart for the sweet-potato bits in her chicken rendang.

Here is some of the picture:

1. Here she is, Uni Er (= sister Er), the owner of the stall

2. Bowls of gulai Kapau. Uni Er will scoop your orders using her long wooden spoon

3. Ikan Raya Batalua (Fish with roes cooked in Kapau style) I wanted to have it, but I didnt. Next time I will.

4. Tambunsu (Intestine stuffed with eggs and tofu). I know it looks scary, but it wasn't as sinful as it looks. The intestine was just like a sausage casing - some people removed it before eating the stuffing.

5. Gulai Kapau, this's what differentiate gulai Kapau from other Padang cookings. Mixture of local cabbage, snakebeans, young jackfruits, bamboo shoots, etc in light coconut curry. Yum!

6. This's my plate. This's how Uni Er served it.  Simply Delicious.

Note: There are more dishes than what I showed here. Check this site out for more info.

3-D chocolate!

Look what I've got today: Cute 3D chocolate figurines :)
Thanks to dear friend, Ling. So generous :)
Btw, I don't dare to eat it yet... Too cute

Note: more pics on Ling's blog entry here

Like us, there’s more to them than meets the eye

Received a msg from my manager about the Angry Birds cake yesterday night (ard 10pm).
She mentioned about her son's bday TODAY!!!
With such limited time, I can only make one, small, undetailed figurines, using left over fondant from Bro's bday.
Yet can't think of anything for boys.
Then a friend suggested "Transformer"... Optimus Prime for the cake topper.
Surely a boy will love robot, rite?
So, I decided to make a cute chibi-version of Optimus Prime :)

Here's what I've created for hours today

I put the figurine on a muffin (just like bro's). The figurine is around 7 cm tall.
I tried to do as detailed as possible. I guess hardcore fans will find some mistakes here and there.
Somehow I couldn't make a nice gun, so I just omit it. Less violent, haha.