Christmas 2013 in Kuching, Sarawak

Every alternate year, we will celebrate Christmas with my in-laws in Kuching. This time we spent 6 days in Kuching. We experienced a wet Christmas with on-off showers of rain. It seemed that it rains in Kuching every year-end, unlike Penang which was reported to be perfectly sunny.

There were several ‘makan’ gatherings (Malay word for eat, and in this context it refers to feast); one with the relatives from hubby’s mom’s side (23^rd Dec) and two with his dad’s side (24^th Dec and 25^th Dec). Two of the three ‘makans’ were held in the kampong (Malay word for village) while one was held in BDC.

The pre-Christmas gathering at Kpg. Semeba (his mom’s village) was partly intended to celebrate nenek’s (hubby’s grandmother) birthday and the gathering of all her children, grandchildren and great great grandchildren. We had BBQ and karaoke session. The rain did not deter us from singing our hearts out that night.

 There were lots of food, but the one everyone was eyeing was the Bihun Belacan made by Abah (MIL’s eldest brother, hubby’s uncle). This is actually bihun (rice vermicelli) topped with a nutty gravy made of belacan and other spices, with boiled cuttlefish and topped with cucumber. This dish is quite famous in Sarawak.

We had a smaller scale dinner with the relatives from hubby’s dad’s side on the 24^th. I cooked Tau-Eu-Bak (pork in soya sauce) and mixed vegetables while hubby prepared curry. The rest of the dishes were prepared by mom-in-law. I think we had too much food that night. I was practically stuffed to the brim.

Christmas was celebrated at Kg. Serasot (father in law’s village). We attended the morning church service and then came home for lunch prepared by Aunt Margaret and another relative. I think by now you realize that hubby’s parents come from a huge family with many brothers and sisters.

The 2 days right up to Christmas were happening and tiring as well. The days that followed were more relaxed, and we managed to meet up with some friends, and coincidentally all of them worked in KL. Will talk about that later.

Birthday dinner: Beef Stroganoff and French Bean Salad with Fettuccine

Instead of the usual Birthday celebration dinner at a restaurant, I opted to cook this year round. Hubby helped out and together we cooked Beef Stroganoff and French Bean Salad with fettuccine for dinner. I've searched many online recipes of Beef Stroganoff. Most recipes called for smoked paprika and sour cream but since I neither have any of those, I used cayenne pepper and plain yoghurt as substitute. The Beef Stroganoff recipe is tweaked a little from Julie Goodwin’s recipe. She is Australia’s first master-chef in case you do not know. As for the French bean salad, hubby got inspired by Jamie Oliver’s recipe.

I am putting up the recipe for both Beef Stroganoff and French bean salad in case you and I want to try them in future.

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

• 300g Beef Strips
• 3 tsp. flour
• Salt and black pepper, cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp. tomato sauce
• 4-5 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
•  1 small onion chopped finely
• 3 cloves garlic minced
•  6 button mushrooms
•  ½ cup plain yoghurt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
•  2 tsp. butter
• Fettuccine

Method

1.    In a bowl, add flour, salt and black pepper to the beef and mix evenly.

2.    Heat oil in a pan, and then add in the beef strips. Sauté beef is browned and cooked. I took about 20 minutes to ensure my beef is perfectly cooked. Once done, set aside to cool.

3.    In the same pan, add some butter and then stir in the chopped onions and fry until slightly brown. Add in the garlic and give it a quick stir before adding the mushrooms.

4.    While you are at Step 3, fill up a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add fettuccine. Once soft drain out the water.

5.    Back to Step 3, add in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and continue stir-fry. After 3 minutes, add in the beef strips and give the combination a good toss before pouring in the yoghurt.

6.    Keep stirring until the yoghurt is mixed well with beef and mushrooms.

7.    Serve hot on a plate of fettuccine pasta.

Tip: If the mixture is not brown enough, you can add a drop or two of dark soya sauce for colouring.

French bean Salad

Ingredients

• 10-12 French beans
•   2 cloves garlic chopped
•   ½ lemon squeezed for its juice
• Crack of black pepper
•  Dash of salt
• ½ tsp. Rosemary 

Method

1.    Heat up some oil in pan and add in garlic. Sauté until slightly browned.

2.    Add in French beans and sauté combination until beans are soft.

3.    Add black pepper and a dash of salt.

4.    Pour in lemon juice and and let the beans absorb the juices.

A   Lastly, add in the rosemary and give it a final stir before serving on the bed of fettuccine.

Early Birthday Lunch @ Bella Marino Straits Quay

We celebrated my birthday earlier one day with lunch at Bella Marino at Straits Quay.

I ordered the Risotto Bella Marino which is saffron infused arborio rice with prawns, clams and asparagus.
This is my second time having risotto; the first was in Florence a year ago and that was superb. The risotto here is just so-so, not as creamy as I expected it to be. There were generous amounts of prawns and clams as well as asparagus.

Risotto Alla Bella Marino (RM 28.90)

Hubby ordered the Spigola Alla Griglia Con Capesante Al Pesto which is actually grilled sea bass with scallops in pesto sauce served with mashed potatoes. The salad was fresh, and the fish cooked to perfection with pesto sauce over it. Delectable!

Spigola Alla Griglia Con Capesante Al Pesto (RM 35.90)

We got too ambitious and also ordered their Pizza Alla Boscaiola which is pizza topped with mushrooms, beef bacon, tomato and mozzarella cheese. The pizza was good albeit a little salty. We couldn't finish and had to 'tapao' back.

Pizza Alla Boscaiola (RM 26.50)

For dessert, we had Panna Cotta; a traditional Italian cooked cream dessert served with raspberry coulis and crushed nuts. I love their Panna Cotta, not too sweet and goes so well with the raspberry coulis. The only thing to comment is the presentation. I think they should not 'drown' the entire cream with the coulis but rather place the coulis on top of the cream or at the sides.

Panna Cotta (RM 10.90)

The total bill including a glass of house white wine (RM 16.00), service charge (10%) and govt tax (6%) came up to RM 137.10.

 Thanks dear for the wonderful lunch:) Muaks!

Photobook

Gosh..it's been like 12 days since I last posted an entry. It surely doesn't feel that long. Anyway, I've been busy designing the photobook I bought from Groupon. The photobook is free and all I need to pay was the shipping fee of RM 8. If it was not for my colleagues, I wouldn't have known about this fantastic deal.

So here it is...our 6" x 6"  Mini Square Softcover Santorini photobook. Warning: Many photos ahead!

Snippets from the book..

Can't resist putting pictures of the yummilicious food..

One of my favourite picture captured!

Overall, I am very satisfied with the quality of this photobook. Might get the bigger one next time.

The Wine Shop @ Burmah Road, Penang

We accidentally stumbled upon The Wine Shop when we parked our car right in front of the shop. We initially wanted to have tea at Maxim's but then we couldn't find any parking. So, the initial plan was to try out the afternoon tea at The Wine Shop before church but we ended up having early dinner instead.

Deli (meat)

Deli (cheese)

For tea, we had 3 kinds of sandwiches to choose from.

We ordered their Gammon Ham & Cucumber Sandwich. This set came with salad and nachos and free coffee (or tea if you prefer). The gammon ham with cucumber is delicious. I love the salty and sweet combination of the ham and cucumber. The simple salad with balsamic dressing was nice too (although everyone can make this at home).

Gammon Ham & Cucumber Afternoon Tea Set (RM 12)

While we were having the sandwiches, we realized that there's something called the cheese platter. We ordered and were surprised at the huge amount of cheese laid in front of us. This platter came with crackers (kiam-pia), Crustini bread, dried apricots and seedless grapes.

Cheese Platter (RM 28)

Let me introduce these cheeses. The Murcia Al Vino (furthest of all 3) originated from the region of Murcia, Spain is made from the milk of the Murciano- Granadina goats and said to be the best goat milk in all of Spain. This cheese has a slight bitter taste (just before you swallow).

The cheese in the middle of the picture is called Mahón cheese. The cheese is named after the port of Mahón, an island in Menorca off the Mediterranean coast of Spain. This cheese is the strongest and saltiest of all three.

The one with the pale yellow colour  is called Manchego. This cheese is produced in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of the sheep of the Manchega breed. It has a mild taste.

The total bill came up to RM 42.40 (including government tax). There are other selection of food from The Wine Shop. You can browse them here. Perhaps you are wondering why didn't we order any wine. Well, I can't drink and hubby already had his coffee. If you love wine, then drop by to enjoy the wine, cheese and meats. I think there is no better combination than that. Hubby and I will come back again, this time for the meats.