Talam Lapis Diplomat

Agak lama jugak duk jenguk jenguk blog Sis Ayu dari Curlybabe's Satisfaction kita yang di Singapura.  Tapi belum ada update lagi … lama dah tak menjamu mata kat sana.  Maybe busy, maybe ada urusan yang lebih penting.  Apapun harap harap cepat la update yer..

However, di desak dek kerinduan nak kenyangkan mata kat blog dia tapi tak dapat … aku pun decidela nak buat one of the kuih yang dia penah feature dalam blog dia which is Talam Lapis Diplomat.  Kalau korang nak tengok versi Ayu ni, bolehlah klik: Curlybabe's Satisfaction

Minggu sudah aku ada buat Chocolate Cake yang di tempah oleh Cik Lela yang bekerja di Hyundai Malaysia, untuk majlis makan makan kat pejabat dia.  Dah terlanjur buat tu kan, terus buat dua bijik sekali gus.  Lupalah pulak yang penghuni rumah kami ni tak der sorang pun yang suka Chocolate.  So agak lama jugaklah baru nak jalan.  Last-last teringat apa yang Ayu buat on her blog and decided to give it a test-drive! Haaa .. macam kereta la pulak!

Tekstur kuih ni agak pudding-like.  Sedap kalau di makan bila dah di dinginkan. Lagipun aku tambah perisa sikit.  Memandangkan bawahnya coklat, aku meng’kopi’kan lapisan tengahnya.  Sebab teringat sorang kawan baik; Cik Sarimah Saliman yang bekerja sebagai Pengurus kat The Putri Pacific tu, kalau makan kek coklat mesti nak dibasuh dengan Coffee katanya!  Tapi bila dia bercakap, slang dia tetap ala ala Johor lama! So di mana Mat Sallehnya?! Hahaha.  Memang sah aku akan kena maki dalam facebook jap lagi.

Lately otak agak buntu, sebab tu boleh tahan lama jugak tak berentri.  Tak tau nak tulis apa.  Kalau nak selepuk taruk resepi jer .. macam bukan myself la (Wow! Feeling-feeling celebrity sesekali)

Lapisan pertama:

350 gm Choclate Butter Cake
3 biji telur
100 gm prune (cincang) – tak enhance rasa pun, tapi sebab saya ada dalam fridge saya taruk jer
150 ml susu cair
300 ml air

Cara-cara:

Satukan semua bahan dan biar kek serap cecair
Masukkan dalam loyang 10’ x 10’
Kukus 15 minit

Lorek lorekkan dengan garfu

Lapisan kedua:

70 gm tepung gandum

90 gm gula kastor
½ sudu teh garam
3 biji telur
1 sachet coffee with brown sugar (Jenama Nescafe)
100 ml santan
300 ml air

Cara-cara:

Satukan semua bahan dalam blender dan blend
Tuang kedalam periuk dan kacau sehingga naik wap
Tuang ke atas lapisan pertama dan kukus 15 minit
Cakar dengan garfu

Lapisan ke tiga:

50 gm tepung kastad
120 gm caster sugar
secubit garam
2 biji telur
1 sudu the esen vanilla
100 ml santan
300 ml air

Cara-cara:

Satukan semua bahan di dalam blender
Blend dan kacau di dalam periuk sehingga naik wap
Tuangkan di atas lapisan ke dua
Kukus selama 20 minit

Tunggu sehingga betul-betul sejuk baru di potong

Kalau nak lagi sedap, simpan dalam fridge sampai sejuk baru potong dan makan

Bingka Telur dan Sambutan "The Blue Raya"

Sebelum Aidilfitri melabuhkan tirai untuk sesi 2014, aku dan rakan rakan sempat jugak mengadakan jamuan untuk meraikan kaum keluarga dan sahabat handai sebagai tanda mensyukuri kurniaan Allah kerana memberikan kami kesihatan dan kesempatan untuk menjalani Ibadah puasa dan mengecapi nikmat menyambut Syawal untuk yang kesekian kalinya.

Seronok tak terhingga bila dapat berkumpul, bercerita dan bergurau senda memandangkan kami jarang dapat kesempatan yang macam ni.  Segala penat lelah pun tak terasa.  Untuk yang sudi meluangkan masa dan memeriahkan majlis, aku ingin mengucapkan berbanyak banyak terima kasih.  Juga pada yang membantu harap harap jangan serik ye?!

Alhamdulillah, tahun ni semuanya kami buat sendiri. Dari juadah utama, sehinggalah ke pencuci mulut dan kuih raya.  Dalam riuh rendah majlis, ada juga yang bertanyakan resipi kuih Bingka Telur, Seri Muka dan Puding Kenyal yang aku buat.  Memandangkan ada juga mengambil gambar sekeping dua, dapatlah jugak aku selitkan untuk buat entry dan resipi kat sini.  Selain untuk pembaca blog, boleh juga untuk rujukan sendiri di kemudian hari.

Bingka telur ni ala-ala kuih bakar.  Ada tekstur yang lembut dan rasa seakan akan ‘vanilla custard’ dan campuran rasa daun pandan yang lemak manis.  Pada majlis tu, kuih ni yang habis dulu.  Tapi buatpun tak lah banyak, dalam 100 biji.  

Bahan-bahan:

250 gm tepung gandum
6 biji telur
230 gm gula pasir
10 gm garam
900 ml santan (dari 1 biji kelapa)
1 sudu minyak makan
1 sudu makan esen vanilla
1 sudu makan pewarna kuning

Cara-cara:

kisar semua bahan di atas dan tapiskan adunan
lengser loyang 10’ x 10’ dengan minyak atau mentega
tuangkan adunan kedalam loyang dan bakar di dalam oven 180 darjah celcius selama satu jam
biarkan sejuk barulah dipotong

Senangkan cara buat dia?

Selamat mencuba dan selamat menjamu selera

Talam Labu – Biarkanlah Si Luncai! (Pumpkin Cake)

Impossible! 

For a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage
Impossible!
For a plain country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage
And four white mice could never be turned to horses
Such falder-all-and-fiddley-dee-of-courses
Impossible!

Alah! Tiba tiba ter-feeling Cinderella nyanyi lagu ni (Whitney Houston and Brandy).  Bought this pumpkin weeks ago, and since my cooking muse could not turn it into a Golden Carriage, she returned it back to me. Yeah, the original plan was to cook this pumpkin with prawns and long beans (Masak Lemak Labu) but turned out making ‘Talam Labu’ instead.

Most of us here in Malaysia know what is a pumpkin, but how or where it originated from? I guess only few know and almost all of us could not be bothered or even care.  Sama macam aku yang menulis ni jugak.  Actually, pumpkins are native to Central America.  Do you guys know where is central America? Ya, Allah, if every little things I have to explain, this could be the longest entry in the history ever!  Perhaps you have heard of a country like Nicaragua, Panama, El-Salvador, Guatemala, Belize and such.  Haaaa itula Central America … I hope that I get this right. Erkkk…. Not very good in Geography at school but hey, I’m not that dumb okay?

For me, when we talk about pumpkin, ‘masak lemak’ and ‘Jack O’ Lantern’ will straight away come to mind.  But this time am not going to talk about those two… maybe next time.  Today, I’d like to share this very smooth and sweet Talam Labu recipe.

Here are the ingredients:

For bottom layer

150 gm pumpkin (cut into small cubes)
700 ml coconut milk
100 gm castor sugar
80 gm flour
120 gm rice flour
15 gm tapioca flour (can also substitute with cornflour)
9 gm salt
Pandan / Screwpine Leave

Method

Blend all the ingredients except pumpkin and screwpine leave

Bring all to the pot, add screwpine leave and cook until it thickens or the steam appears on surface of the mixture
Take out the screwpine leave
Add in pumpkin cubes and pour into a 25cm x 25 cm tray that is greased and line with paper glass
Steam for about 10 – 15 minutes

Top Layer

150 gm pumpkin (you can grate or steam then mash or blend)

160 gm sugar
120 gm rice flour
90 gm plain flour
15 gm tapioca flour
700 ml coconut milk
2 eggs (I use B grade ones)
9 gm salt
Yellow food colouring
Pandan / Screwpine Leave

Method

Blend all the ingredients with coconut milk then sieve

Bring to pot and stir over heat till steam appears on the surface or till the mixture covers the back of a metal / wooden spoon
Pour on top of the bottom layer and steam for another 15 minutes
Let it cool completely before you cut it

Note :  Normally what they do is heat up the coconut with sugar, salt and Pandan leave before blending all the ingredients, but I omit those steps so that we can cut some of the preparation and cooking time.

Talam Suji

Just remembered that I promised Puan Mazni to post the ‘Talam Suji’ recipe here in my blog, that was like four months ago. Alamak, sorry yek Maz, sibukkan hal hal lain sampai terabai permintaan hang. Jangan sampai kempunan dah la yer?

Puan Mazni is my old friend, that I’ve known during college heydays. One of the popular girls in my batch. We’ve been through a lot as student and best friends as we’re taking the same course and in the same class, and I considered it as one of the precious and happy times. I remembered that whenever there is guy interested to get to know her, they will come to me first, either to get permission or some tips on how to start. As if I’m her agent kan? I know at least a bunch of guys in my class who’s interested in her, but couldn’t reveal it here as some people might get offended.

After college, we sort of lost contact but thanks to face book that allow us to get re-connected. Anyway Maz and the blog reader, here’s the recipe, and if you tried it, let me know how it goes ok?

Talam Suji (I normally use 25cm x 25cm tray)

Bottom layer:-

220gm fine semolina flour (tepung suji)

650ml coconut milk

1 screwpine leave (daun pandan)

200gm sugar

7gm salt

A few drops of yellow food colouring

Top layer:-

135gm flour (tepung gandum)

15gm cornflour (tepung jagung)

650ml thick coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

150 gm palm sugar (gula merah)

80gm sugar

3 eggs

7gm salt

Black or dark brown food colouring if desired

Method: 

Note: oil/grease your tray with a cooking oil or butter

Bottom layer:-

Place a fine semolina flour and yellow food colouring in a pot. Blend coconut milk, pandanus leave, sugar and salt. Sieve to get only the liquid and mix in with the flour. Stir on a medium heat until it becomes thick or until it covered the back of the metal spoon. Then transfer it into the tray and steam it for about 15 minutes. Prepare the top layer…

Top layer:-

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Sieve/filter to get only the liquid and place in a pot. After 10 – 15 minutes of steaming the bottom layer, place the pot of the top layer on a medium heat and stir till the mixture thickens. Before pour it on top of the bottom layer, scratch the bottom layer with a fork to make sure that the top and bottom layer won’t separate when you cut it. After pouring the top layer, steam for another 15 minutes. Let it cool before cutting.

Happy trying or if you have doubts on some of the process, let me know and I’ll explain further.

Koleh Kacang

Dah beberapa hari dah kita menyambut New Year, tapi biasala aku, tak pernah ada azam baru sejak berbelas belas tahun dulu. Sebabnya aku tau, aku ni bukan a man of my word and I’ve never keep the promise I’ve made. Kebiasaannya tahun baru means nothing pada aku kecuali hari cuti, so I could laze around the house and daydream... ohhh tell me about it, aku memang peng’impi’ yang sangat tegar. Sampai kadang-kadang aku impikan jadi gangster dan wipe out musuh musuh aku yang selama ni aku takut or somebody that I hold grudges and never had the chance to get at them. Teruk kan aku ni?

Well, last week agak sibuk juga... the whole stretch of weeks aku ada order. From Majlis Aqiqah, Gathering sampailah wedding pada Ahad lepas. Tak ada rest and as a result, aku demam. Not sure if aku demam because of tak cukup rehat or antibody aku tengah lemah.

Sekejap tadi, on the way balik dari kedai, ada sorang akak telefon aku. Katanya dia makan kuih yang aku buat untuk majlis resepsi kat rumah Kak Ella (orang yang order kuih ngan aku untuk wedding anak dia). Dia tanya pasal price kuih... katanya dia terkenang kenang kat kuih koleh kacang yang aku buat hari tu and nak order seloyang. Tapi aku cakap that I never do a delivery if the quantity is below 100 pieces. Tapi aku suggest dia buat sendiri and aku boleh kasi resepi... memandangkan dah ada yang mula menanya pasal resepi, aku rasa aku dah boleh mula sertakan sekali resepi-resepi kuih yang aku buat kat sini... if ada yang tanyala. Otherwise, aku just merapu ikut sedap mulut jer.. hehehe.

Lucky enough that almost everytime aku ada order, aku snap gambar... only if aku tak cukup masa aku skip. Dah berlambak lambak gambar dalam camera si Ariff yang aku belum gunakan. And lucky jugak since aku nak sertakan resepi ni, aku ada gambar yang aku boleh sertakan sekali. Untuk akak (apa ntah – tak ingat nama), aku dah kasi resepinya over the phone tapi sertakan sekali kat sini should next time ada orang tanya lagi aku suruh refer kat sini jer.

Resepi Kuih Koleh Kacang – Untuk Loyang 10’ x 10’

300gm tepung kacang hijau (gunakan yang dia orang goreng sekali dengan kulit; yang putih tu mcm geli jer nanti nak makan
1500 ml Santan (korang beli jer at kedai yang RM 1 tu and campur dengan air sampai jadi 1.5L
260gm gula
14gm garam
Tahi Minyak
Daun Pandan (Optional)

Cara2:-

Campurkan kesemua bahan dan kacau sehingga tidak berbintil2. Kemudian jerang atas api hingga likat, bila dah menggelegak, perlahankan api sedikit supaya tak mercik dan kena tangan korang semua nanti. Kemudian kacau lagi sampai berkilat, menunjukkan yang santannya telah masak. Lagipun kalau kacau lama sikit, koleh kacang ni boleh tahan lama. Angkat dan tuangkan ke dalam Loyang... taburkan tahi minyak... tekan sikit supaya tahi minyak lekat pada kuih. Sejukkan baru la di potong.

Cara membuat tahi minyak :-

Perah santan pekat dari kelapa parut.
Jerang atas kuali sambil di kacau sekali sekala
Angkat bila tahi minyak dah berketul dan bewarna keperang perangan
(ada orang campurkan garam sedikit pada santan ni, mungkin untuk buat dia tahan lebih lama kot)

It was said that koleh kacang ni berasal dari Johor, sejauh mana betul atau tidaknya, aku tak tau. Yang aku tau makan aja, and buat koleh kacang ni aku belajar dari kawan mak aku. The original recipe that was taught to me, ada taruk sikit tepung lain... tapi tak ingat tepung apa.. aku belajar buat kuih ni taun 2003 kalau tak silap, and it was quite a hit back then. Tapi my recipe tak guna tepung yang lain... malas nak renyah renyah. Kalau korang rajin, tepung kacang hijau ni pun boleh buat sendiri. Tapi proses dia makan masa yang agak lama jugak la... korang kena sangai/sangrai/goreng tanpa minyak kacang hijau ni sampai dia garing... then kisar, baru la boleh buat koleh kacang ni...

For the blog readers, here are the gambar of the Koleh Kacang so that korang tau how does it looks like...

Harga Kuih Ni Seloyang RM 18.00

SELAMAT TAHUN BARU UNTUK PEMBACA PEMBACA BLOG SEKELIAN

On that wedding day, Kak Ella order 4 jenis kuih ... Koleh Kacang, Seri Muka, Talam Suji and Bingka telur, alas Bingka telur dah di hantar and tak sempat amik gambar... berpeluh juga nak menyiapkan 1200 bijik kuih sementelah lagi dapur aku tu kecik.. naik terjojol bijim mata.. hehe

The 'karipap' Story

Tengok cerita Karipap Minah earlier on kat tv buat aku tersenyum on certain scenes. Walaupun cerita dia very loose, tapi bolehla untuk hiburan ringan.

Berbicara pasal karipap, it often reminded me of how I love this kuih when I was a young boy. Kalau dulu dulu, Kuih manis? Out of the list. Tapi kalau karipap tu, setakat 10 bijik aku boleh telan sambil senyum jerk.

Tho my mum knows a lot about ‘kuih’ making, ‘karipap’ is not one of them.. perhaps, that was a contributing factor that at that time, bila tengok karipap jer, mesti selera aku terbuka. Yela, kalau nak makan kuih kuih lain, sebut jerkan? Sure dia boleh buat, and until now, aku masih ingat, kalau ‘karipap’ tu, aku mostly suka karipap arwah isteri arwah Cikgu Seman (Osman), guru besar Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Sri Pantai (Walking Down the Memory Lane? Duhhh), yang dia jual kat Kedai Runcit Arwah Pak Long Sulong (Masya Allah, ramainya yang dah jadi arwah). Dia punya karipap Keledek memang sedap.

Kat Mersing ni (the place where I grew up), karipap keledek is the most popular one. Unlike in KL, most of them cari karipap kentang or sardine (was it because of the lifestyle? I don’t know). Kat Mersing juga, there are lots of them who loves karipap ikan or people call it ‘tembosa’ (this karipap was originally from Terengganu). Normally they made the filling using ikan kembong or ikan Selayang (KLites call it ikan Sardin), campur santan, halba, and other basic ingredients. Kacau sampai kering until jadi macam serunding. So far, aku tak pernah jumpa lagi tembosa ni kat KL... KECUALI!!!!!!... aku buat sendiri untuk puaskan halwa tekak. Haha.

As for karipap, when my sister kerja part time kat kantin sekolah some years ago, she acquire quite a good skill making this karipap and over certain period of time, karipap is her sole source of income. Bertitik tolak dari situ, I learn from her on the karipap making, alter a little bit here and there (among my family members – I was known as a peng’alter’ masakan, sebab aku suka cakap aku punya resipi normally taste better sbb aku alter). Kalau aku suruh kakak ipar aku masak, she would normally sound aku mcm ni!!! “Hai!! Ko punya masakan kan org tak leh challenge!! Tak reti reti nak masak sendiri...!!” I would normally gelak with that remarks, but I guess in her heart she knew that she is always one of my cooking mentor. And true enough, she has this magical touch when it comes to food...

Other type of karipap yang aku pernah jumpa is karipap telur, karipap sayur, karipap daging and ayam. Kat KL ni, dulu dulu... aku pernah jadi pelanggan tetap karipap kentang + telur yang ada jual kat foodcourt Lot 10; RM1 sebijik tapi sangat sedap bagi aku. Then aku suka karipap sardine sorang makcik ni, dia jual kat depan CITIBANK Jalan Ampang. Tapi sekarang dua dua karipap ni tak tau mana pergi dah, aku tak jumpa lagi. The next almost nice karipap yang aku jumpa sekarang is dekat IKEA, tapi aku bukan la fan karipap ni, cuma kalau Adan beli, aku tumpang sekaki.

Sampai sekarang aku masih tercari cari atau mencuba cuba untuk menghasilkan karipap yang sedap, tapi masih gagal, kalau aku buat sendiri pun aku rasa mcm biasa jer... nothing special. Tapi pada siapa siapa yang nak order tu, here’s the price list:-

Karipap Sardin / Kentang / Keledek : RM 1.00/3 pcs
Karipap Ikan : RM 0.40/pc
Karipap Daging / Ayam : RM 0.50/pc
Karipap Jumbo Kentang + 1/4 egg : RM 1.00/pc

Untuk tontonan umum, kat bawah ni ada gambar karipap yang aku amik masih Cik Juffrina order untuk majlis kenduri kat Putra Heights beberapa minggu sudah.

Apam Harum Manis

The first time aku buat apam ni, bila aku dah tua... yes, tua as in 35 years old.. jadi about a year ago. I got the recipe online and put it to the test only to find out that when it’s fresh from the steamer, I can’t help but savouring the sweet taste and fluffiness of this apam till I almost ate it all.

Though it was called Apam HarumManis because of the aroma and it’s sweet taste, I’d normally call it Apam Mercedez because of the pisang on top yang ada tiga bintang.
Here’s the photo taken when I prepare it for majlis kenduri at Cik Yus in Setapak.

Cek Mek Molek (Aku lah Cek Mek yang Molek tu. Hehe)

Setahu aku, kuih ni asal dari Kelantan – or so I’ve been told, thus the name kan? Bahan-bahan asas dia adalah very simple.. Keledek, tepung gandum dan garam.

Masa aku remaja, aku bukanlah penggemar kuih kuih manis, aku lebih suka dengan kuih kuih pedas macam karipap, popiah, tembosa dan pulut serunding. Kalau dulu, bila mak aku buat aku just pandang sepi jer... adik beradik lain biasanya berebut especially bila baru angkat daripada kuali tu. Dia orang kata, keledek yang hangat hangat dan air gula yang meleleh keluar dari kuih tu rasanya sangat nikmat. Bagi aku .. yelah tu..

Tapi kan, bila seni membuat kuih ni diturunkan pada aku, aku tak der pilihan selain daripada merasa hasil kerja sendiri. So lama kelamaan, feel tu datang sendiri. Entah masa bila aku mula minat kuih ni pun aku tak tau. Hehe.
Tapi proses buat kuih ni agak renyah juga, especially masa nak membentuk, sebab kalau silap bentuk, air gula yang cair boleh meleleh keluar masa goreng dan akan menyebabkan minyak jadi kotor dan kuih tak berapa cantik.

Usaha menggentel dan membentuk yang memerlukan latihan tubi yang padu.. haha

Siap untuk di kerjakan.. jemput merasa semua..

Keria

Kelmarin, penyokong tegar MyKuihStory, order kuih lagi ngan aku... but this time, dia nak keria. Actually, dia dah buat advance order, cuma seingat aku, dia mintak talam suji jer.. yang keria tu, aku cakap next time. Tapi kul 10 pagi semalam dia tanya aku ada buat keria tak? Kelam kabut jugak aku jadinya. Yela, customer kena jaga, especially customer yang mcm ni. Yang support you all the way.. not only for my kuih, but for my many other things!

Actually, dia kata kalau aku tak der buat keria, tak per, aku boleh buat other time. Tapi when we talked over the phone the other day, dia bagi tau, keria tu favourite dia and today (Friday), dia akan berkursus ke Bukit Tinggi. Being somebody yang parentsnya agak menekankan soal makan and soal keinginan orang, especially yang hendak menempuh perjalanan, aku tak sedap hati la. Takut kempunan.. So, dalam demam and batuk yang menekan (sampai sakit belakang aku nih tahan batuk), Aku pun keluarla cari keledek. First pergi pasar Darul Salam, keledek semua macam yang dia orang gali zaman Jepun, mcm tinggal kulit ngan urat jer, tapi masih nak jual RM 3 sekg. Giler, nak tak nak kena la jugak aku pegi kedai buah makcik yang aku biasa amik kat Kg Pandan Dalam tu. Malangnya, tempat dia keledek sama juga.. cuma ada yang tua and yang lama. With the time yang agak suntuk, aku amik jugakla, with a hope that the keledek won't give me troubles. Makcik tu cakap, sekarang ni keledek memang susah nak dapat.

Balik rumah rebus keledek, only to find out that half of it, langsung tak boleh empuk. Mak aku kata keledek ni keledek tenggelam air. So, aku terpaksa amik part mana yang ok jerla.. itupun dah mcm nak jadi bubur, cair. Keria ni is my mom punya specialty.. ko kasikla keledek mcm mana rupa bentuk pun, kalau dia buat keria, pasti rasanya sama and paling sedap aku penah rasa. Walaupun dia ajar aku trick and tips of the keria making, tapi aku rasa macam helpless with this one; sebabnya dah lama aku tak buat keria and aku almost lupa the trick.

So, dengan kepayahan yang amat sangat.. sebab terlalu lembik, aku ulila jugak.. tetap lembik, jadi proses untuk membentuk keria ni, agak sukar la jugak. Nasib baik sempat hantar on time. Here's the keria ladies and gentlemen... Pricing dia sama la RM 0.30 / piece.

Baru lepas goreng tapi belum sira lagi..

ready to be delivered

Kuih Lapis Ego Bruised!

Funny how this might sound, but yes .. It’s a kuih lapis ego bruised I would call it. Not sure if it’s my ego, or the other parties’! Let the story begin..

A friend of mine introduced me to one cafe outlet that caters food and kuih to a large chain of hotels here in the central region (KL, Malacca & Negeri Sembilan). When we had a meeting, the Operations Manager was asking me, whether I wanted to work with them and do the kuih from the outlet itself or do it at home and distribute it to them. Knowing that I want to own this food business (too tired of working for people), I said that I would like to take the 2nd option. After some negotiations, I agreed to do some samples for the taste test. I went home with the hope that I can pull this through, because we’re talking about umpteen thousands of kuih a week.

The day came and I made 2 types of kuih for the samples. I was so excited that at 6.30am, the kuih was already at the cafe. I went home anxiously waiting for the comments to come in. A day passed without feedback, even email was left un-replied. Something just wasn’t right. The 2nd day, I met the friend who introduced me to the Operations Manager and ask him to find out for me. We were having lunch at LRT corner with my cousin and his friend.

Guess what the feedback was? Here’s what the chefs said :-
I might have been using ‘tepung lama’ because the kuih lapis didn’t taste right.
They suggested me to use Anchor or Key Brand so that the kuih lapis will taste nice.
The color of my kuih seri muka was off, I should increase that green color so that it’ll become darker.

I couldn’t help smiling when I heard those comments. It’s funny, I mean, those were the last comments that I would expect from well known hotel chefs. If they commented on the texture of my Kuih, or probably the presentation and such, I would have appreciated their advice. Then, I started to question their integrity in my head. If they really knew how to do the tasting... wouldn’t they be able to differentiate the taste of my kuih lapis whether it is made of ‘tepung beras’ (rice flour) or ‘tepung gandum’(wheatflour)? Or the mixture of it? Some tips for you guys, if you make kuih lapis using tepung gandum, the texture will be firmer but not that bouncy!

Telling me to use Anchor Brand or Key Brand is suggesting that I used different type of flour? It’s quite cliché for them to even suggest it that way. Did they know that whatever brand the flour might be doesn’t make much difference except for the pricing because of the Brands? People always think that Anchor Brands would make the best kuih because it’s the most expensive flour, thus it’s the best compared to the rest? Do they know that the only difference is because they add and enchance the vitamins in the flour that makes it more expensive than the rest, but didn’t enhance the taste of the flour? Ok, enough of that, but my ego was bruised because they think my kuih lapis is ‘tak sedap’ hahaha

As for kuih seri muka, they said the taste is fine, but the colour should be darker, as if the colour of the old pandanus leaves. If you all read this, the photo on the top pages of my blog is the colour of my kuih seri muka. I know it’s some sort of apple green, but do you think making it dark will make people think it’s nicer even though there was too much food colouring in the kuih itself? I guess hotels should know better about the ‘healthy food’ that they’ve been campaigning for the past years?

According to my friend, there might not be anything wrong with my kuih, but by not letting me get into the business easily or probably beating them in the kuih making department they were ensuring that their ego was not bruised. Or probably because they are the ones wearing a top hat, thus they must say something about someone else’s cooking so that to let other people know that they are better. Maybe.

I guess, that’s all for now, for that kuih lapis ramblings.. and my ego that was bruised.. or was it theirs? Haha

Here are the pictures of the kuih lapis ... and as usual, if you want to order the price is RM 0.30 per piece. Minimum order is 50 pieces (Self-collect) and free delivery for 100 pieces and above within Klang Valley Area.

Talam Suji (Semolina Cake)

Honestly, I never knew that this ‘kuih’ even existed, till 2006 when Adan told me that his mom used to make it. I only knew that semolina always associate with cookies that was quite popular here in Malaysia. But the funny thing is, though they call it Semolina cookies but it was from ghee, nothing from semolina flour (Only that I didn’t know whether that semolina flour was made from ghee or otherwise. I need to find out about that one fact) I’ve heard about semolina cake though, but never even tasted it. So, it’s kind of weird to me. However, I got the recipe from Adan’s mother and put it to experimentations and voilla! It’s heaven.

Some of the ingredients that I use to make this talam suji are semolina flour, wheat flour, eggs, pandanus leaves, brown sugar and coconut milk. It has a fragrant and sweet taste from the semolina flour and pandanus leave on the bottom layer, and sweet and creamy taste of brown sugar on the top layer.

Below are some of the photos of Talam Suji that was taken when I got the order from Bangsawan Kiosk in Pavillion last week.

The price per piece is RM 0.30 and the minimum order is 50 pieces (self collect) and 100 pieces (I can arrange to deliver if it’s in Klang Valley Area)

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FRESH from the tray

Tea time...