Ethan & Owen - Chicken Cacciatore & Green Tea Cupcakes Day

I got invited for a meal by my nephew, Ethan who was gonna cook Chicken Cacciatore (with additional spaghetti on the side) and was delightfully suprised to find out that my other nephew, Owen was gonna make cupcakes too. Cook & Bake Day!

Here's the Chicken Cacciatore Recipe from Food Network

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs
• 2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons drained capers
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.
In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Night View in San Francisco - Twin Peaks, Castro & Broadway

The weekend is here and almost coming to an end.  While I'm still recuperating from my Taiwan trip (the schedule was hectic!), here are some shots of the night view in San Francisco.

If you're ever in San Francisco, make sure you go up to Twins Peak for it's one of the best spots for a great view of the city.  Be it day time or night time, the view of San Francisco city from Twin Peaks is breathtaking!

A Delicious Time @ Delicious Times & D'lish New Menu Launch

I have got to play catch up with all the recent activities that I have been up to ... back from Taiwan (yes, that means I will be blogging on my Taiwan trip, hopefully soon!) and straight back at the desktop :o).

I had a great time, a delicious time as a matter of fact when I was invited to the launch of Delicious Times (Delicious Group new in house magazine) and D'lish new menu last month. Naturally, what can one expect except a great time and great food by the Delicious Group! Thanks to Simon who got a table right under a spotlight, we were able to take photos of the food served in an otherwise dim surrounding. With salads, canapes and desserts (not forgetting the great entertainment - Adibah Noor and Instant Cafe Theatre), there were lots of samplers that night and I didn't manage to try them all, let alone capture all of them but here are the highlights of the launch (in no particular order).

Delicious Times Mag/Prawn Cocktails on Baby Romaine/Haloumi & Watermelon Salad

Char grilled Baby Octopus - I love these!

Pictorial Friday!

While I'm away in Taiwan, I thought I would post some photos of mine that were taken when I spent 2 months in San Francisco last year.  Yes, I haven't finished blogging on my USA trip! Hahaha.... I've also mentioned that there is still more from that trip to be blogged since I also traveled to Canada and took a little side trip to Las Vegas and here I am now, in Taiwan!

So, enjoy the sights ... Have a great weekend everyone :o)!

Columbus Tower (Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope Studios) along Kearny Street

Stopping to smell the flowers along California Street ...

Hainanese Taste @ SS2, Petaling Jaya

(NON-HALAL)

It's has taken me a while to blog about this place though it's been one of the few places that I have been eating at regularly.  On the other hand, there are lots of regular places which I have yet to blog on ... Meanwhile, let me tell you my usual order whenever I drop by Hainanese Taste (which is operated by the same boss of House of Fishball - 60s Teo Chew Fishball).

I still remember taking Kat and hubby here when they came back for a short holiday and I recommended this to them ...

My usual order - Dry Mee Pok (with extra sambal chilli and crispy lard).  Kat went back to Abu Dhabi, longing for Mee Pok after being introduced to this noodles.  Looking like Hakka Mee, Mee Pok is of Teochew origin.  Bursting with spicy excitement, the al dente noodles are flavourful and has enough minced pork and crispy lard topping that makes it a satisfying meal each time I have it.  It also comes with a couple of fishball and a few slices of fishcake in a small soup bowl on the side but I only have eyes for the noodles, hahaha...

All mixed up and ready for chow down!

Down it with an order of good ol' Hainanese Tea ... delightful frothy goodness and you'll leave the restaurant one happy camper!



Hainanese Taste
(Same row as Lobsterman/behind Sri Siam)
19 Jalan SS2/30,
47300 Petaling Jaya
Tel : 012-228 8328 (Micheal Tang)
Opens Daily 8am - 8pm





P.S. I'm off to Taiwan ... Stay tuned!

Wau Penyu @ Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur

(HALAL)

It's quite a task finding a place to eat each time my work team gathers for a lunch meeting.  After our usual two hour formal meeting in the office, where we head to for our lunch discussion is always the highlight of the day! Hahaha....When restaurants started operating in Solaris Dutamas, we were glad that we now have a wider selection of venues apart from the ones in Solaris Mont Kiara itself.

I had read about Wau Penyu from Cumi & Ciki's blog and the nasi tumpang there (one of my faves since I first tried it during my memorable trip to Kota Bahru back in 2007 - read about it HERE and HERE) and told the team about it and we decided to try out the food.  The team loved the setup of Wau Penyu, a restaurant (or as they label themselves "a funky kopitiam") that serves delights from the East Coast of Malaysia.  We found the place conducive for a casual meeting over food.  It delivers a rather perfect ambiance and has a lovely red corner (with all sorts of framed keris adorning the wall!) where we would "nestle" together as we went through our weekly agenda..

The Fine Art Of Flavours, Midsummer Nights Feast 2010 @ Starhill Gallery

I was invited to Starhill Gallery on behalf of FoodStreet once again for the press conference on Midsummer Nights Feast which will be held from 2 July till 9 July 2010. As stated in their press release, Starhill Gallery Midsummer Nights Feast is inspired by Group Managing Director of YTL Corporation, Tan Sri Dr Francis Yeoh CBE. It is an annual “Starhill Gallery experience” that brings together the art of good food and wine, paired with music and entertainment to create convivial, festive experience that celebrates life by engaging all the senses and the intellect. In its third year, Starhill Gallery Midsummer Nights Feast continues to excite the culinary scene with world class dining experiences under the leadership of YTL Corporate Executive Chef Kevin Cape together with Chef Johann Ong of Shook! Kuala Lumpur and Chef Jacqueline Qiugiong of Shook! Shanghai. A host of international celebrity chefs like Celebrity Chef John Burton-Race, Stephen Mercer (winner of the Australian Golden Chef's Hat Award) and Master Chef Massimo Martina will be flown in specially to Kuala Lumpur to showcase their signature dishes for the celebration of “The Fine Art of Flavours”.

There will also be fashion shows while you savour the finest in haute cuisines on the runways of Shook! and live performances by Najwa Mahiaddin and Syafinaz Selamat, delivering catchy rhythms to add on to the dining experience. During the 8 day Midsummers Nights Feast, specially created menus using seasonal ingredients are specially created for all-day dining from Breakfast, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner and Supper! Now, this is what I truly call a FEAST! This time round, the media folks were taken on a walkabout around Feast Village to sample the different fare at the many restaurants that will be participating in this year's event. There were just too many samplers to try out, here's some for you all to feast your eyes on!  Click on "Read More" to see the many pics!



Shook! - Seared Sea Prawn with Bisque – Risotto, Soft Shell Crab Tempura with Curry Sea Salt. During this festival, Shook! will be having a special 3 course Set Lunch Menu at RM68++ per person.

Theobroma Chocolate Lounge Sweet Essentials & New Addition!

Theobroma Chocolate Lounge had earlier launched "Sweet Essentials" campaign that ended on 31st Jan 2010.  The campaign managed to raise RM20,000 for Pride Foundation which is a non-profit organisation that promotes breast cancer awareness and improving accessibility to treatment and care towards Malaysian women.  RM1 from every transaction made at Theobroma Chocolate Lounge outlets during that period was donated towards Pride Foundation.  The cheques were handed over during a media event held early last month to Pride Foundation Chairman, Datin Azrene Abdullah by Hing Yiap Group Bhd's Executive Chairman Chi Oi Meng.  Salina & Associates PR, also contributed RM2,000 towards the foundation.

There was a crepe making demo, highlighting one of the newer items - Chocolate Chips, Pistachio, Biscuit Crumble & Sultana Crepe.  We were then given a chance to make and customize our own crepe!  There were other goodies for us to feast on too ...

Chocolate Affair - One of my fave ... Chocolate fondue with 4 seasonal fruit varieties.