Eggs, Egg, Eggless

Personally I adore eggs. Scrambled, pan-fried, deep-fried (as in Sambal Telur), soft-boiled even the occasional hard-boiled, I simply love my eggs. My signature breakfast is my egg white omelet with mushroom, plum tomatoes, shredded potatoes spiced with chili, cumin and coriander. Going meatless for me clearly narrows down my option for finding food with a good source of protein, nutrition and taste other than the overly publicized TOFU or soy protein powder.

Recently, eggs have been a welcomed option in our family meals. On days that the kids feel like skipping breakfast, a "special" will be served. It's a hot cup of organic oat milk with an organic egg whisked in till frothy, sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon powder and sweetened with honey.

When I feel indulgent and in need of a little palate pampering, it's definitely the french toast. Slices of danish dipped in vanilla scented egg/milk concoction, grated orange zest, pan-fried to golden perfection and served with maple syrup for the kids. Of course, I enjoy mine simply, with a dash of cinnamon sugar, paired with a cup of Earl Grey.

If there are awards to be given in the super-food category, eggs would get my vote. Growing up in a Chinese home, I've always enjoyed eggs cooked in different ways. Braised tea eggs, eggs custard with mincemeat (chicken eggs, century eggs and salted eggs), chives and egg frittata, fish 'n' egg rolls, barley egg drop "tongsui" just to name a few.

Aside from being a gourmand's choice, eggs have their "other" uses eg: treatment of fever, bruises, bumps in traditional medicine. According to old wives tales and Chinese customs, a hard-boiled egg inserted with a copper coin will draw out toxins from a feverish patient. Rubbing the patient's abdomen will bring down a fever. Nowadays I use the ice-gel bag for fever, microwave bead bag for my aches and pains. If nothing else works, pop some pain killers or consult the doctor.

Unfortunately, eggs have a rather unfavorable position in my husband's family. For any vegetarian who hails from southern India, eggs are considered somewhat taboo however garlic and onions are acceptable. For all the right reasons, the queenly egg will never grace any of our family meals. In the past, during the occasional birthday of any family member, traditional sweetmeats were served. All that has now been overshadowed by the glamor of having a western cake. A cake would be ordered from one of the few Indian ladies who made egg-less cake in the neighborhood. Often they came overly decorated, piled with icing made from margarine in the most unhealthy way.

So the last straw over the camel's back was the horrible soggy cake I had during my friend's party. It was the start of my journey to discover a new horizon in the quest for the egg free cakes.

My very first attempt at egg-less cakes was the strawberry coconut muffin. Then the pandan cupcake and the very challenging semolina cake. Dolly the neighborhood specialist , used to sell her sugee (another way of calling semolina) cake in the neighborhood supermarket and it's always been my hot favorite. The semolina cake is a popular Ceylonese recipe, a rich and decadent masterpiece requiring about half a dozen eggs to make. Many love the richness of this particular cake. To others having sensitive noses, the smell of the eggs is repulsive, let alone eating them. As they say, one man's meat is certainly another man's poison!!

Through trials, errors and countless web searching, I've managed to tweak many cake recipes, turning them eggfree. A foodie friend (He owns 5 restaurant) couldn't even tell the difference with the lemon poppyseed cake. Of course, using good quality ingredient, having the right combination in taste, texture, and the look of the finished product is so very important. The bravado of matching exotic ingredients that goes against traditional ideas can result in newer and sophisticated flavors too. All these I hope, will convince you that the egg-free cake you are biting into is as delicious as the rest.

My next quest? Definitely molecular gastronomy and for that I will have to pick the brain of my dear friend, Chef Horst Futterer.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT

Talk about luck, we've been 2x lucky catching these pesky rats. The first was caught just before we left for HCMC. As the chief domestic vigilante, I noticed the presence of unusual droppings in my backyard. Between Uncle Sam and myself, we saw two types of droppings. One slightly green probably excrement from a "vegetarian" and the other dark blackish grainy ones.

Yes, I caught Mr Grasshopper, the vegetarian with my own bare hands. Mr Grasshopper has been voraciously chewing up my water reeds silently for weeks before he was detected. Fat from eating nutrient-rich leaves and housed in a cool shaded foliage, it was almost 5 inches when he was caught. By far the largest I've ever came across.

Back to the rat, I dug out our rust resistant rat cage, smothered a good amount of peanut butter onto a piece of multi-grain bread and placed it at the corner of our backyard. Why peanut butter, you may ask, why not belacan, ikan bilis or cheese?

Many myths about its favorite food have been perpetuated by cartoons and movies. The most outstanding would be the "cheese with holes", the famous Swiss Emmenthal cheese. But if you are looking for the perfect bait, take the recommendation from the Discovery Channel documentary on rats, the peanut butter.

The peanut butter bait have succeeded in trapping the rats, not once, not twice but three times, the last was the juvenile rat. I have a feeling there is a last member hiding in my roof space. The "dead giveaways" are the incessant scratching and squeaking at night. Pardon my pun.

Beware Rattus Rattus!! I have plenty of delicious peanut butter and bread, my alluring spread awaits you.

Greener grass on the other side of Vietnam

Property and construction business are booming. More international 5 stars hotels (both Hilton and Sofitel) are currently under construction. Domestic economy and consumption has increased. Foreign goods and cars (including the new hybrid cars) are easily available if you have the money, of course. Locals are heading toward jewelry outlets to invest in gold to deck themselves with this precious commodity. TV programs on 10 local TV channels are aired throughout the day and if variety is what you demand, subscribe Cable TV. Elsewhere, a sure sign that time is good is the mushrooming of restaurants dishing out local (Pho 24 and Wrap n Roll are some home grown success selling Vietnamese noodle and fresh rice rolls) and western cuisine and designer cafe bars.

Sipping coffee at Mojo's of Sheraton was my last trip's favorite as it was the place to people watch. It's a favorite of the young upper crust in the Vietnamese society where they are decked out with the latest Parisian bag, diamond encrusted Rolex, IPOD and wheeled in by fancy cars. If that's not your cup of "coffee", you could order their delicious cakes and desserts. This time around Kimchi (She is chief strategist in an international media firm) took us to the cafe bar close to her office, Ban Sonate Cafe at District 1. It's an oasis that comes with free wi-fi, furnished with comfortable couches nestled in a serene background of tropical foliage, waterfall, rock garden and designer garden chairs and some cute ornamental ducks in the garden.

The Vietnamese coffee bar are not for the Starbuck's die hard where they order, collect and go. Enjoying a good cup of "Vietnamese drip coffee" will mean dedicating a good amount of time waiting for the brew to drip through tiny holes into your cup filled with a small amount of condensed milk. In the meanwhile, what can you do? Kick your legs up, sit back, relax and indulge in sweet talks, office gossip or do nothing. If you are alone, you can always go back to your boring activity of working on your laptop. With an extensive menu of coffees, tea, light snacks it certainly hard to choose. As I was having one of my sinus attack, I had to decline the cup of coffee and ordered ginger tea. Thoroughly relax after my drink, all that I have to do is to soak in the surrounding, filled with the rippling sound of the water of the artificial river that runs at the back of the upper level of the cafe.

The younger generation have embraced coffee culture not just in the city but all over Vietnam. In Da Lat(capital of Lam Dong Province), in the central highland, cafes lined up along main roads. All serving the requisite cup of drip coffee served hot or with ice. Coffee are an important commodity introduced by the French and Vietnam is the second largest producer in the world after Brazil. In Da Lat, coffee is considered the king of beverage but tea are definitely the queen.

Jasmine tea, Green tea, lotus tea, oolong tea, artichoke tea are very, very popular. The mild, cool temperate climate is the best reason to have a constant warm-me-up drink, which is the tea. Vietnam's domestically driven economy has made Da Lat a major producer and supplier of temperate fruits and vegetables all the way down to Ho Chi Min City.

In Cho Da Lat(Da Lat Market), the morning market is swarming with locals and buzzing with activities of buying and selling. Mulberries, strawberries, apple custard, artichoke, avocado grown here are arranged in a orderly manner to show of their best. Fresh peas of all sorts are picked and shelled, carrot, radishes, green papayas daintily hand shredded, ready to be sold and taken home for that infamous green papaya salad, Stalls selling an assortments of herbs and salad leaves such as butterhead, endive, watercress, basil, spearmint, perilla leaves, forest ferns as a condiment for fresh rice paper rolls. Fresh tofu, fresh rice noodles, fresh rice paper, cherry eggplants, roma tomatoes, pink potatoes, straw mushrooms, eggs, rabbit, quails, pate, ham, roasted pork, fresh living seafood and so much more ....... ( I will leave some to your imagination or you can check the pictures I have uploaded). After that, walk over to the wine, spices, pickles and preserves corner. Here, you will also find a variety of bulbs such as garlic, some as tiny as a kidney bean together with shallots of different colors.

A walk through the Cho Da Lat(the market is about the size of a football stadium) will by now arouse hunger growls from your stomach. Smell the food and take the stairs in the center building block where hawker stalls are situated. Similar to the Pudu market, the food court sells local food from Pho to steam dumplings, baguette sandwich, rice, vegetables, hot and cold drinks as well as desserts. For vegetarians, the options are far better than the regular family restaurant in Da Lat town. No tummy ache eating street food.

By now, with tummies satisfied, visit the myriad arrangements of flowers located in the front of the block. A prestigious spring flower festival every April herald Da Lat as the main producer of temperate flowers such as hydrangea, lilies, roses, orchids, peonies and etc. Head towards the preserved nuts and fruit section to sample popular items like ginger, soursop and tamarind candies. Do buy some mulberry or strawberry gum sweets and famous artichoke tea to take home. Practice bargaining prices just for the fun of it but the language barrier is pretty obvious. It is very difficult to find anyone speaking English and if at all with their accent, you might as well use sign language.

What about the nightlife? More al fresco cafes and a lively pasar malam carnival like atmosphere. Cardigan and scarves are the norm dress code as the night temperature dips low. Downtown Da Lat square turns into a pedestrian mall on Saturday and Sunday with al fresco dining, live art and music performance as well as horse carriage riding for families. In the windy night, the smell of freshly grilled dried cuttlefish and corn permeates the lakeside air. I glimpsed the lady carrying the "kandar" stick and wondered what everyone was eating. Hot steamy bowls of silken taufu far with pure molasses syrup boiled with young ginger and topped with a spoonful of coconut cream. It was the most heavenly manna I have ever eaten and so deliciously simple, all for less than RM1.

A non-stop frenzy of wheeling and dealing from morning till night. Motorbikes and taxis abound in the one way streets of booming Da Lat. The resourcefulness and the political circumstances have resulted in a strong local economy that is positive and thriving. Even in such a small town, infrastructure are pretty well planned, city folks like Pius and Kimchi have bought property here both as an investment and second home. With such a positive prediction and the spring climate, of course, who wouldn't.

Most Vietnamese are very contented with the current economic environment and more overseas Vietnamese have chosen to return to live and work. Likewise many expatriates have chosen to start businesses and live here as well. LG, a Penangite, married to Wade a chiropractor from USA has opened a practice in HCMC for more than two years. In a rare and bizarre situation, Vietnam is probably the only country where our friend wears gold bracelet the size of a watch strap. a necklace thicker than a rope and still feel safe. Capital punishment have kept crime rate from escalating in such a bustling city. Yes, there are some downside of a communist regime but no government is ever perfect.

Wish I can feel the same living in Bangsar. But what an experience I've had for the past 6 days in Vietnam. Having travel to Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An to HCMC and now Da Lat, I have enjoy the best of all Vietnam.

Good night, Vietnam!

Good Morning Vietnam!

All of us have been counting the days since we bought our air tickets in March. Come 17th June, we will be in Ho Chi Min City, staying with our dearest friend, Pius and KimChee. We are still talking about our first trip though it 's been two years. Junju is still excitable about the food, the trip to the Bamboo Park and riding on Uncle Pius' motorbike. For her, it's been one of the most thrilling holidays she's ever had.

First and foremost it was the adventure of riding on a motorbike for the first time. Of course, had I known they had gone without wearing safety helmets, I would have stop them. Alarmed I was, but the millions of cyclists in HCMC obviously do not adhere to the safety rules as the local government does not enforce them. Bicycles and motorbikes swarmed the city of HCMC everyday. They are a common mode of transportation for both human and animals. We have come across riders carrying chicken, pet birds and even dog all over the city. (Of course, both chicken and dog eventually ends up in the market as food). The kids have certainly enjoyed the adrenalin rush riding pillion on Uncle Pius' Suzuki.

As HCMC is not known for kids oriented activities like, museums with dinosaur skeletons or mummies, Uncle Pius suggested swimming. The swimming facility was nestled in a beautifully landscaped garden with fishing lakes and a restaurant. The kids had a smashing time and even made some new friends. But definitely no more motorcycle adventure! We'll be taking taxis from now on. (HCMC many outstanding war-based museums may not appeal to energetic impatient kids too young in ages. You're far better off taking them to Cu Chi Tunnel where they will have a time of their life pretending to be soldiers especially if they are boys. It's a good opportunity for older kids to do some videoing, if not do bring your notebooks and still camera. Lots of great moments here!)

Taxi service are time-saving and efficient way to get around in HCMC. Uncle Pius and KimChee depends on them daily as oppose to having their own car and driver which requires additional liability such as insurance. Streets in HCM central business district are narrow and most are one way street, making it all the more difficult to find a parking box. VERY SUSAH if you don't have a driver that waits and picks up as soon as you are done with whatever you are doing. Likewise, the thought of taking public buses quickly diminished as we are limited by our inability to speak Vietnamese.

So we indulged ourselves by taking taxis everyday and enjoyed them thoroughly as we would not have this opportunity back in KL. It was cheaper and more efficient that KL. We struggled to converse and memorizing Uncle Pius' home address was the only few we've managed. Till today, we can count on it to provide a good laugh as recalling the address in Vietnamese is soooo... hilarious. That's because Vietnamese words don't sound the way they are written at all. The kids gave it a good try for days and kids being kids, they are so gungho about learning new things especially if they are funny.

So Uncle Pius suggested going to the Bamboo Park. What an incredible surprise the Bamboo Park was. Again, beautifully landscaped with of course, lots and lots of bamboo plants. Everything is made from bamboo, the giant swing(I really mean GIANT), see-saw, the windmill, the merry-go-round etc. Everything is layout in a tropical garden with fish and lotus pond reminiscence of a traditional Vietnamese village. It is so nostalgic and picturesque that couples considered it to be a key location to have their wedding pictures taken there. Armed and escorted with hair, make-up artist and professional photographer, it was such a sight. We counted more than 20 over couples including one with a foreign groom, who almost fell out from a tree branch overhanging across the pond. Another sat in a traditional boat or sampan dressed in traditional Vietnamese wedding gown. Now, that's is what we called the "Universal Studio" in the most natural setting.

After "rubbing shoulders" with all the beautiful brides and grooms, we sat ourselves in a quite corner of a local cafe to sample a traditional "burnt rice crust pie" and some tea.

We would love to share more quirky moments in HCMC with you but we exit now with a short home video of the Bamboo Garden ......

The Stepford Wives

I think most of us are familiar with these words, stylista, fashionista and lately recessionista. We are blasted with these bombastic terms on TV, the fashion news, web and the fashion business pages. ( The recessionista are fashionista, who due to the temporary economic situation actually recycle their expensive hoards of designer clothes or buy labels from lesser known designers. This will boost the image of lesser known fashion designer and increase their business. By the time the recession is over, the price of clothing by them, now made famous by those recessionista will be beyond our reach. So, we are back to buying clothes of the rack for most of us. One of those vicious cycles that never end.)

Stylista, fashionista or recessionista, I am not one but I am close to pioneering a new groupie called the "ORGANIZTA". No, it's not Russian, Hungarian or even remotely Romanian human right organization. (It's a slang originating from the word "organize", from the Latin word "organum" or "organizare" and means to arrange in order, to coordinate or to group using "tools".)

Succumbing to the fashion trends, I do not. Only a confession of my weakness for all home gadget and having absolutely no resistant not even to a pair of chopsticks. For those fashionitas out there, imagine staring at a pair of Jimmy Choo's 6-inch Stilettos and trying to tear yourself away. For that reason my daughter enthroned me with the title the "Home Gadget Queen of 151".

You will find the best kitchen knives and accessories (Ahem ... GLOBAL knives) BAMIX hand blender, WILTON silicon bakewares, SALTER weighing scale, Villeroy crockeries and etc in my queenly domain, my kitchen of course. (I have been known to carry ethnic brass and copper cooking pots all the way from China, I am quite unstoppable.)

In order to keep them in place, the queen needs her "essentials". Guess where the Home Queen hunts for these. My hunting grounds extend from IKEA, JayaJusco, MetroJaya, Isetan eg. to the more down to earth (I mean down to earth prices) 100 Yen Store, to the latest in the market which is DAISO JAPAN.

Super "kawaii" cute Japanese imports are available at Daiso at super low prices of RM5.00. ( A surprised shopper came to me and asked for confirmation.) A huge variety of products ranging from Japanese to Western-style table wares, kitchen wares, bathroom accessories, wardrobe organizers, cosmetic to stationary even gardening and hardwares are available. Of course the ever important BOXES that comes in different sizes, colors and materials.

Everything is beautifully crafted, designed and coordinated to help any proud homemakers make their home perfect like those "Stepford Wives". Certainly a tribute to the Japanese (more like Japanese men) who introduced this culture to all of us.

Their sophisticated culture have resulted in everything near perfect. Daily rituals so evident from their manners right down to their food presentation, their impeccable simple fashion sense to home wares to electronic gadgets make us gasp in awe. (Remember their invention of the perfect toilet bidet? The bidet that washes and air-dries your derriere after you done your business and flushes automatically. If you are still not convinced, visit a handicraft store, a pastry store in Tokyo and you will wonder why. The very fact that they recovered from a devastating ww2 to become a super modern nation speaks for itself.)

Back to DAISO. It was love at first sight. What a rush! Finally discovering a new playground seemingly with a never-ending maze!

So, take a drive to Puchong 101 Mall. Remember to bring cash because DAISO does not accept credit cards. That's probably the only little pain in the @$%& they need to sort out because at RM5.00, your basket will be filled up in no time.

Happy Shopping!!

P.S. One more item I am adding to my basket, a designer cupcake courier which my cousin will be bringing back from US.