Masak - masak Melayu ~ Kangkung masak air

I'm nuts over kangkung recently.

And the recipe, literally, yeah. Because the kangkung is cooked in such a way that cannot be referred as soup but watery, so there.

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Kangkung Belacan.

In this easy recipe you can opt to use real belacan or the powder one by Maggi. I used powder belacan to save trouble of roasting the real one over the fire.

Ingredients:
1. 1 stack of kangkung, get rid of the hard stem. You might consider slitting open the soft stem too. Using a pair of kitchen scissors help make life easier.
2. Garlic, 5 cloves, chopped fine
3. A handful of udang kering /dried shrimp, soaked in warm water, pounded
4. Oil, 2 tbs
5. Maggi belacan powder, 2 tbs (in picture) / 1 cm2 belacan, roasted till “fragrant” (no, it’s the opposite actually. It stinks…) then grounded
6. 1 red chili, chopped or pounded
7. Pinch of salt

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in wok, toss in dried shrimp, chili and garlic. Stir till fragrant, careful not to burn the garlic.
2. Toss in the kangkung and add the belacan (depending on how much you want actually). Stir till the vege wilt slightly.
3. Add salt in accordance. Off gas.

Too much belacan powder will make the dish bitter and salty at the same time, what more with the peculiar smell.

Indian Food: Anjappar Chettinad Restaurant

Status: Serve no pork.

Venue/landmark: AsiaCity, ground floor (G49, Asia City Complex, Asia City, Kota Kinabalu).

Time open – close:

Reservation:Available

Contact no.: 60 88 227969 , 484969

Website: http://www.anjapparborneo.com (An excellent reference)

Basic RM per meal: RM 10.00 (w/o tax)

A great place that serves Northern and Southern Indian cuisine on banana leaf. Not too spicy mind you so have a go at it. The atmosphere is very Indian, thanks to the music and deco featuring all the Indian stuccos decking up the wall, with the fusion of sleek Western furnish. They have extremely friendly manager and waiters explaining the menu through and through and with the expertise to recommend you the best out of the spread to suit your taste. Service is pleasantly good and the waiting for the food is worth it. Much recommended that the cuisines are enjoyed by using your own hands bared from the fork and spoon or you can never truly enjoy Indian food through this metal barrier (When you go to India, do as the Indian, or so to speak to match this article).

1. Aloo Paratha

Wheat bread stuffed with potato (aloo=potato). Pretty nice though I wish they are more generous with the potato. A nice combination would be with Butter Chicken, Palak Paneer or Mushroom Manchurian. Small portion (or is it just me?).

2. Cheese Naan

I think, being high class or slightly higher class doesn’t make your food taste any better than mamak’s. I still preferred Scenario’s with the dripping cheese instead of a scanty layer. But I suppose this is a healthier option. The taste and texture passed well, the cheese ample enough to tease your taste bud. Not very filling, the portion is too small for me (shrug).

3. Naan

The naan is fluffy and soft, served hot in its basket. Tore off a piece to dip into the Butter Chicken gravy before popping it into your mouth (I’m a Butter Chicken nuts, shrug). The sides are done nicely without being over – browned to let you enjoy some crispiness within the softness. Small portion (again…).

4. Chetinnad Chicken/lamb biriyani

I took the chicken one for dinner, and man it’s quite filling. They give you the thali bowl overflowed with rice with succulent chicken pieces and an egg embedded within to be upturned on your plate (the waiter was kind enough to do this for me to prevent a mess on the floor). To enjoy it to the max, please abandon your fork and spoon and mess your fingers scrapping the last piece of onion in mayo they provide along with the set. The mayo onion kind of compliment the spiced meal with a cooling effect (or maybe because it itself is cold, ^_^) with each mouthful. (Drink plenty of plain water after you’re done by the way. It helps. Finish off with a glass of mango lassi. Then you’re cool.)

5. Butter Chicken

Oh, my favourite dish. Creamy butter – and – tomato based gravy with succulent chicken pieces, a wonderful accompaniment for your bread. I kinda not like it with rice since the combined textures and taste don’t seem to agree with my palate. Non – spicy and non – greasy as the name may imply.

6. Chicken Korma
”Chicken cooked in a mild sauce of cream, yoghurt and cashew nuts.”

That was how it was described on their website. I quote since I’m not very sure of the Indian version of korma. So they use yogurt. Ok. No wonder I feel like the gravy texture is heavier. But it’s still nice, taken to accompany the banana leaf meal. Like curry but without the yellow / orange colour, non – spicy, a hint of sweetness and spice.

7. Anjappar Banana Leaf Regular Meal
Rice served on banana leaf, acoompanied with assorted gravies and vegetables, and rasam. Standard basic meal in any Indian eatery. The rice will be presented to you in a steel bowl and you can scoop out the amount you want onto your banana leaf. Very practical since there’s not much space left from the vegetables and gravy miniature bowls.

8. Palak Paneer

This dish consists of cottage cheese chunks in creamy spinach gravy. The cheese gives off a salty taste to compliment the tangy spinach taste of the gravy. I usually polish it off with plain or garlic naan.

9. Gobi / Mushroom Manchurian

Well, the menu describe it as something like an Indian version of Chinese cooking. That time I ordered the mushroom version instead of potato, and was presented with mushroom cooked with various spice to produce tangy, non – spicy dish that burst with flavor in your mouth. At first I intended to have it with my rice but we ended up polishing it off on its own.

10. Mango lassi

Claimed to be one of the best in town, it did not disappoint me with the sweet – sour flavor from the blended tropical flavor and fresh yogurt, served chilled.

11. Papaya lassi

There were times when mangoes are out of season so to replace their mango lassi, another tropical concoction is produced. If you like papaya, you will like this. It really reminds me of papaya yogurt; the thick texture and papaya taste, more sour than sweet. A change.

Bakery: Strawberry Bakery

Venue/landmark: Damai. Located at a large area comprising of shop houses and eateries including Tong Hing, Desa Supermarket, Coffee Bean, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Uncle Biscuit bakery.

How to look for it? Coming from another traffic light junction then this one is easier as you can just go straight after entering the left traffic light junction, you will see Strawberry Bakery on your right after a few meters only. Or better, find someone familiar with the area.

They offer bread loaves of different types, buns, pastries and cakes. The bread tends to expire before time so check daily for molds or store in fridge 2 days before due date. If you are looking for loaves with thick slices (at least 2 cm), here is one option for you.

1. Mini Cheese Tarts

Available in chocolate, blueberry and plain cheesy flavor, this mouth – bite size delights are my excuse to stop by whenever I passed the area for errands. The best are the plain ones and blueberry, the choc ones just so – so (suprisingly). The dough simply crumbles in your mouth and the cheese is in generous dollop.

2. 500g cheesecakes (birthday cakes)

A cake consisting of 2.5 cm thick of cheese layer over the sponge cake layer (which is a tad dry) with icings and oatmeal + cereals(?) sprinkles on the side . Available are plain cheese and blueberry cheese, topped with glazed fruits.

But for me, I still prefer Uncle Biscuit's cakes and Secret Recipe's cheese cakes to theirs.