31 August 2012

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SWEET RETRO BAKES This Merdeka weekend, reminiscence with these nostalgic cakes from the past

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PANDAN SWISS ingredients A 7 Grade A egg yolks 4 Grade A egg whites 65g caster sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 50g self-raising flour 1 tablespoon milk powder 1 teaspoon emulsifier 1 tablespoon water 65ml melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 1/4 teaspoon pandan paste 1 tub pandan kaya for the filling

Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease a swiss roll tin measuring 30x30cm. Line the base with baking paper and grease lightly. In an electric mixer bowl, place all the ingredients A. Beat with a balloon whisk for 8-10 minutes until it is white, thick, fluffy and batter leaves a ribbon trail. Turn off mixer. Add melted butter and vanilla essence gradually while stirring with a spatula making sure you scrap the bottom of the bowl. Spread half the mixture evenly in the tin. Gently mix the pandan paste with the rest of mixture taking care to not overmix. Pour on top of vanilla mixture. The pandan mixture will stay in the bottom. Bake for 15 minutes or

Taster Comments:

Even though it was my first time making a swiss roll, master. I liked the taste of the sweet kaya with the sof ALICIA LIM, Housewife

In the old days, coconut milk was used to give the cake a rich taste. You can also swap it for fresh milk.

EDITORIAL NOTE

by Lee Khang Yi

|

Crave Editor

Specially for Merdeka, let us celebrate our past with old fashioned cakes like the chiffon cake and the swiss roll. Reflecting the taste from the past, the chiffon cake uses coconut milk to give it a rich taste.

And for those who rather eat than bake, we also round up places where you can still get these retro cakes. One of the places we stumbled upon was Bakeri Joy, run by the former Angel Cake House owners. In our digital edition, we talk to them about the iconic cake house and their current business.

In keeping with the retro theme, our columnist shares a popular 1970s party recipe, stuffed capsicums with glutinous rice. She also tries out some comforting seafood noodles in Petaling Jaya.

Over at Imperial China Restaurant, they have gone crab crazy. In conjunction with the airing of Simply Crab, a show hosted by Tai Thong Group Executive Chef Jacky Lim. The pony-tailed chef is an expert on the crustaceans since he has tried various dishes in Hong Kong and Macau.

Email me any feedback you have to khangyi@mmail.com.my.

ORANGE AND CHOCOLATE CHIFFON CAKE

ingredients A 7 Grade A egg whites 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 130g caster sugar ingredients B 7 Grade A egg yolks 110g caster sugar ¼ teaspoon salt

ingredients C 6 tablespoons cooking oil 60ml coconut milk 60ml orange juice grated zest of 2 oranges 150g self-raising flour, sifted twice 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted with ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar topping 150ml UHT whipping cream, chilled and whipped to soft peaks 30- 35 fresh strawberries melted chocolate icing sugar, to dust

Selamat Hari Merdeka!

Preheat the oven to 170C. Prepare a 24cm tube pan but do not grease. Pour boiling water over the mixing bowl and whisk to remove any oil traces. Dry before using. Using an electric beater, whisk the egg whites till foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue to whisk till soft peaks. Add sugar and continue to beat till stiff peaks.

In a separate bowl, whisk ingredients B until it becomes pale in colour. Add ingredients C and continue to whisk till fluffy. Gently fold double sifted flour into batter. Add beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended. Pour 2/3 of the batter into the pan. Mix sifted cocoa powder and cream of tartar to remaining batter and pour on top of orange batter. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Invert the pan immediately onto the neck of an empty wine or soy sauce bottle.

Leave to cool completely before unmoulding.

To remove: Once cooled, remove from the bottle. Run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

To decorate: Place cake on the stand. Top with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Drizzle

with melted chocolate. Dust with icing sugar. - Recipe by Debbie Teoh, Photography by Chew, Westlight Photography.

Note: For a successful chiffon cake, the egg whites must be beaten till stiff peaks. Always ensure the bowl used to whisk the egg whites to be clean from any oil traces.

ADVERTISING SALES

Taster Comments:

Rajan Gopal

cake rose beautifully. It has a good portion of sugar and it was not too sweet.

The texture of the cake is light and fluffy.”

Senior Manager, Direct & Classifieds Direct line: 03 74951282 rajan@mmail.com.my

The tips in the recipe given were clear and good for a novice and the

JAIME LIM, Teacher from Singapore

FRIDAY 31 AUGUST 2012

S ROLL

THE MALAY MAIL

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In the Kitchen

FOOD bites

with Eu Hooi Khaw

until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Cool cake in tin for 5 minutes. Place a wire rack on a flat surface and cover with baking paper. Turn cake onto baking paper and remove the lined paper. Spread kaya over the cake thinly and evenly. Using the baking paper at the bottom of the cake, roll the cake up from the long side. Don’t worry if you squeeze a little bit of kaya out. Place the cake seam-side down onto serving tray. Trim each side using serrated knife.

Cover with the baking paper to ensure it does not dry out. Cut into slices. - Recipe by Debbie Teoh. Photography by Chew, Westlight Photography.

THE more colourful the vegetable, the richer in nutrients they are. Case in point is the capsicum, which comes in vivid traffic light colours: green, red and yellow or orange. All are from the same plant, known scientifically as Capsicum annuum, and are members of the nightshade family, which also includes potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant. Capsicums originated from South America; there are seeds of a wild variety dating back to 5,000 BC. Spanish and Portuguese exp l o rers

, the recipe was easy to ft fluffy cake.”

CLOCKWISE: Braised crab with minced meat, mushroom, eggplant and glass noodles.

Deep-fried soft shell crab with chef’s signature spice sauce.

Tai Thong Group Executive Chef Jacky Lim.

brought these to the New World.

Capsicums are very rich in carotenoids such as betacarotene and vitamin C, both very powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants absorb the free radicals in your body that can cause damage to cells, and disease.

The vegetables also contain vitamin B6 and folic acid. The red capsicums are especially rich in lycopene, which is believed to help prevent cancer. They also

contain the phytonutrients lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect against macular degeneration, a main cause of blindness in the elderly.

The plump bell-shaped vegetables keep wonderfully well in the fridge, wrapped in a plastic bag. They are still fresh and firm after three weeks. For ripe capsicums, choose those with deep vivid colours that feel heavy for their size and are firm but yields slightly upon pressure. The red and yellow ones have a sweeter fruit-like taste while the green ones have a slight bitter taste.

While raw capsicums are usually sliced and put in salads, you could also roast the sweeter red ones in the oven or oven toaster under high heat for 10 minutes. Let them cool, peel off the skin, add a little salt and douse them with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Add these to your salad; they will taste as sweet as a fruit.

Capsicums in whatever colour can also be stuffed with rice and baked or used as a receptacle for a tuna salad. It is best cooked at low heat for a short period of time to avoid loss of its nutrients.

STUFFED CAPSICUMS WITH GLUTINOUS RICE

CRAB FEAST Fans of the Simply Crab television series currently airing on Astro Wah Lai Toi (Astro channel 311, Saturday, 9.30pm) will have a chance to sample three delectable crab dishes they see on screen at Imperial China Restaurant’s Crazy for Crab promotion.

Tai Thong Group Executive Chef Jacky Lim crafted these unique crab dishes for the 13episode show he co-hosted with Jojo Goh. In the show, Chef Lim and Goh travel around Hong Kong and Macau in search of tasty crab dishes.

After each crab feast, Chef Lim would teach Goh how to cook up his own crab creation.

“I was challenged by the director to come up with various crab dishes that could not be repeated from the places we visited,” says Chef Lim. For the Braised crab with minced meat, mushroom, eggplant and glass noodles

(seasonal price), Chef Lim was inspired by the popular Hokkien noodles. Instead of the thick yellow noodles, he uses specially sourced noodles from Hong Kong. These chewy but smooth thick cut noodles are made from a mix of mung bean and sweet potato flour. The noodles served with the crab, is braised with minced meat, eggplant, dried chillies, spicy bean paste, sliced shiitake mushrooms, and spring onions.

With his Steamed crab with beancurd, supreme stock and crisped rice cereal (seasonal price), he drew some ideas from the local specialty of steamed crab with egg white. His version uses egg white mixed with soybean milk that is steamed to form a smooth and rich tasting custard. For a contrast of textures, he tops it with crispy rice cereal, that is made by the tedious multi-step process of air-drying and deep-frying

cooked rice grains to a crunchy.

Crowning the smooth custard is the steamed crab and a layer of superior stock that contains the crab’s essence extracted during the steaming process.

For his Deep-fried soft shell crab with chef’s signature spice sauce (RM28++ for small portion, RM42++ for medium portion), he uses the larger soft shell crabs from Ipoh. These crustaceans are deep-fried and accompanied with a delicious sauce made from ground peanuts, milk, chilli sauce and salad cream.

These three crab dishes are only available at Imperial China Restaurant, 3rd Floor, Jaya Square, Jalan SS17/2, Subang Jaya, Tel: 03-56361266.

The braised and steamed crab dishes require at least one-day advance order. Diners will have a choice of Australian, Indonesian or The Phillipines varieties depending on available stocks.

2 Chinese sausages or turkey ham, cut into dice 1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1 1/2 tablespoons dried prawns 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water, drained and cut into dice 4 dried scallops, soaked in water, drained and water reserved 1 teaspoon salt 200g glutinous rice, washed, soaked for 15 minutes and drained 2 tablespoons oyster sauce 6 medium-sized capsicums In a pan, fry the Chinese sausages till fragrant.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add oil and fry the garlic and dried prawns till fragrant. Add mushrooms, shredded scallops, Chinese sausages and ½ teaspoon salt.

Fry for 2 minutes or until fragrant.

Remove and set aside. Add drained glutinous rice and remaining salt in pan.

Saute for 1-2 minutes. Remove and spread evenly onto a flat dish.

Cover with the liquid from the dried

scallops till it just covers the rice.

Steam over rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms, dried prawns, sausages and stir into the rice. Cover and steam for another 10 minutes. Check and see if the grains are transparent and soft. Sprinkle some water if they are hard and steam further. Remove the rice from the steamer and stir in the oyster sauce. Preheat oven to 180C. Cut the tops of the capsicums and remove the seeds. Stuff capsicums with the rice and place on a tray with the tops on. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove and serve immediately.

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FRIDAY 31, AUGUST 2012

A TASTE OF THE YESTERYEARS This Merdeka, we turn back the clock and round up where you can still experience a taste of those old-fashioned cakes.

Usually eaten plain, these cakes would only be decorated with butter cream for special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries.

Over at Yut Kee (35, Jalan Dang Wangi, Kuala Lumpur, Tel:03-2698 8108, Open: 7.30am-5pm, Closed Mondays.) people flood in to the Hainanese coffeeshop for a sense of nostalgia. One of the best items to savour is their marble butter cake fresh from the oven. The cake is baked three times a day, starting from 9.30am onwards. It has a tender crumb with a distinct butter aroma that is best enjoyed with a cup of black coffee. In addition, Yut Kee also does a kaya swiss roll. Unlike the English version that uses jam, this is done Malaysian-style and is filled with kaya, our “jam” made from double boiling pandan, eggs and coconut milk. Yut Kee’s version of swiss roll tends to be a little dry though.

The marble butter cake is RM1.10 per piece and RM15 for one cake. For the swiss roll, it is 90 sens per piece and RM9 for one roll.

Instead, a better choice for the kaya swiss roll is the Pushcart stall located along the small alleyway of Lorong Yap Ah Loy (just off Jalan Yap Ah Loy and next to Hon Ming Textiles, Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 0122995222, Open: 8am- 2pm.

Closed on Sundays).

The 40-year old business is manned by the 70-year old Madam Wong Pek Yoke. Her late husband, Mah King Wai apprenticed at coffee shops such as Yook Woo Hin and the defunct Lai Cheong that used to be in front of Central Market.

Nowadays, her son, Mah Yoke Lun has taken over the baking duties. Madam Wong’s stall was originally in front of Central Market but she moved here about 10 years ago. Here the kaya swiss roll (RM1.10 per piece, RM12 for the whole roll) has a soft pillow-like texture but what makes it exceptionally good is the homemade thick and aromatic kaya. You can also purchase the kaya for RM3.50 for a small portion and RM6 for a large portion. In addition, she also sells egg tarts and kaya kok on sale.

And one must not forget Angel Cake House, the popular bakery from the 1970s and 1980s.

Even though, the bakery closed in the early 1990s, the owners continued their business at Bakeri Joy (No. 4, Jalan SS24/13, Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya, Tel: 03-78055188).

Here you can indulge in Angel

THE MALAY MAIL

SUPER FRESH (Clockwise) : Brisk cooking in the front of the shop. Kon-loh mee sua. Fresh tiger garoupa fish. Fried red snapper head with ginger. Tiger garoupa fish mee sua with seaweed.

FRESH SEAFOOD FLAVOURS

BY Eu Hooi Khaw

best eaten hot from the oven: Yut Kee’s marble cake.

RICH BUTTER AROMA: Liandy’s butter cake

FLUFFY TEXTURE: Lorong Yap Ah Loy’s pushcart’s kaya swiss roll

Cake House memories as they sell the Fair lady, a sponge cake with buttercream and covered with white chocolate curls. The butter cake is delicious with seven varieties and is sold in RM15 blocks.

Other good eats include the chocolate moist cake, chiffon cake and the various mini tarts. The bakery also sells Hainan noodles, Hainanese chicken chop but zoom in on

the nasi lemak.

A newcomer to the scene is Liandy Buttercake (Stall in front of Restaurant Sun Sea, Jalan Hujan Rahmat, Taman OUG, Kuala Lumpur, Tel:0380757339). Run by a couple, they originally started selling thick ban chean kuih for about 30 years. Even though they still sell their thick pancake with ground peanuts, people flock here for their

ve on n Cra om.my o k c i Cl il.c l a .mma www r the digit ad o e f l n to r editio bout Ange a . e e mor e Hous Cak cakes, which they introduced about five years ago. These butter cakes come in different flavours: orange, marble coco, marble coffee, chocolate, cappuccino, banana, rum coffee and carrot walnut. Using real butter, the cake is fragrant with a tight fine crumb. The stall only opens during the weekend from 7.30 am to 11.30am but you can also call to pre-order the cakes.

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I HAVE been to B & Best in Petaling Jaya several times over the years, and invariably after an overseas trip we were looking for familiar, comfort food. The best part about this seafood noodles restaurant is that it opens from morning till 4pm, and you could always find something to eat when all the other coffee shops are closed.

It’s a challenge to find a table at lunchtime in B & Best, which is in a corner shoplot with lots of extra space at the side that accommodates the spillover crowd from the restaurant. In fact this space turns into a tai chow place called Restoran De Rasa Sayang after 5pm. And I’m told the Sang har meen (noodles with freshwater prawns) are the best here.

On previous visits, I have had porridge with fresh oysters, and fried fish cake that is crispy on the outside and bouncy on the inside. This time we were focused on mee sua at lunch, ordering two kon-loh (dry style with sauce) portions, and one with soup. Two types of fresh fish were available – the red snapper and the tiger garoupa (loong tan) - and the fried red snapper head. We also had a bowl of fishballs (RM6).

I was happy with the sweet, clear flavours of my mee sua soup with tiger garoupa slices, drizzled with oil from crispy

fried lard bits. My friend asked for an extra dish of lard bits to put in her kon-loh noodles and generously poured some of the oil on mine. I got the strong flavour of fried garlic, tung choy (preserved cabbage) in my soup, and seaweed, just as you would expect in a Teochew style fish soup. The fish was firm and fresh, and a sprinkling of chopped spring onions was the finishing touch.

The Kon-loh mee sua was delicious, especially when eaten with the punchy sambal provided at the table.

I had a taste of the Fried red snapper head, which had fine strips of ginger clinging to each piece, so that you get their delicious aroma in the sweet fish. I liked this very much.

The fishballs were not smooth and bouncy and we were a little disappointed with them.

The seafood noodles at B & Best are not the cheapest but the fish and oysters are always fresh. The tiger garoupa mee sua is RM18 and the fried red snapper head noodle is RM15. You can also choose to have different kind of noodles or porridge with the seafood.

Spicy tom yum soup is also available. And for a deluxe edition, you can add Australian abalone that sells for RM168 a can.

B & Best Restaurant, 12, Jalan SS4C/5, Petaling Jaya, Tel: 012-295 8948. Open: 7.30am-4pm. Closed alternate Thursdays.

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THE SWEET LIFE

This Merdeka, we relive those days from the past and talk to Margaret Tan who used to run the iconic Angel Cake House and still upholds those old-school cakes in their bakery

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FRIDAY 31, AUGUST 2012

Dense butter cake

For those who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s around Petaling Jaya or Kuala Lumpur, birthday celebrations would not be complete unless your cake came from the Angel Cake House. An institution for many since it started in 1978, the bakery in SS2, Petaling Jaya enjoyed immense popularity for its sweet offerings such as the Black forest cake, Fair lady and Blueberry cake. However, changing expectations from customers throughout the times, eventually led to its gradual demise in 1994.

The iconic cake shop started out as a small family-run business. “My brother Richard was working in Singapore with our cousin who ran a bakery. One day, my brother asked him to return and open a bakery here,” says Margaret Tan. This led to the opening of the first outlet in Petaling Jaya.

Margaret’s large family pitched in the business. “I was doing the marketing while my three brothers were running the baking side,” she says. As the cake business became a success story, Margaret’s sister Joyce would also help to run other outlets. According to Joyce, in its heydays, they evolved into 28 outlets all around Klang Valley, whereby five were franchise outlets.

After the closure of Angel Cake House, they set up Bakeri Joy in 1997. The bakery full of old world charm is named after Margaret’s sister Joy. “Most of the old recipes are used here,” says Margaret. Faithful followers of Angel Cake House will be happy to re-discover favourites such as the Fair lady, a sponge cake that uses butter cream and is decorated with white chocolate curls.

“Customers who have eaten our cakes since day one will ask for them,” says Margaret. These cakes are made to order.

The shelves here are jam packed with tarts such as the rarely seen fresh coconut tart, various breads, biscuits including old-school sponge rusks, and slabs of butter cakes in different flavours. Choices range from plain butter, orange, carrot walnut, orange poppyseed, mocha, chocolate chip walnut and banana. The cakes are dense with a delectable buttery aroma.

Another popular choice is the

Fresh coconut tart

chocolate moist cake with a not overly rich taste and available in two choices: unadorned or with a thin chocolate ganache topping. Margaret believes that people prefer these cakes without cream since it is healthy. Her older customers will pair a slice of cake with a cup of black coffee. Not limited to just the older generation, younger customers who are watching their waistline also prefer these plain cakes.

“People who know how to eat will eat this kind of cake as the taste is there,” she says.

Six months ago, the bakery started serving a menu of home-cooked favourites following the request from their regulars. True to the family’s Hainan heritage, expect to find Hainan noodles and chicken chop on the cards here. Even the kaya is made Hainan style, cooked with the caramelised sugar to give it a light brown shade. Crowd favourites include the nasi lemak, hefty take-away banana leaf packages, that can also be ordered for eat-in. Your grandma is most likely to give the thumbs up to the homey flavours found here. Moreover, service is friendly as the Tan sisters chat with their customers like friends.

Keeping the Tan legacy alive is Richard’s son Adrian, the only one in the family who is interested to continue baking. His tinkering in the kitchen has seen the emergence of new creations such as the customer favourite, the Apple cheese tart that combines layers of baked apples and cream cheese. These creations are just minor tweaks that still keep to the old-school feel of the place. Primarily for Margaret, the secret to a good cake is all about ingredients. “If you want a good cake, you must always use good ingredients and it will become the best,” she says. Hopefully, in Adrian’s hands, this tradition is cherished and these old-school cakes remain edible treasures to give us a taste memory from the yesteryears.

Bakeri Joy, 4, Jalan SS24/13, Taman Megah, Tel: 0378055188, Open: 7am to 6pm (Monday), 7am to 9pm (Tuesday to Sunday).

Chocolate moist cake

The Fair Lady

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THE MALAY MAIL

THE MALAY MAIL

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FRIDAY 31, AUGUST 2012

The array of tarts and pastries

Apple cheese tart

From left to right: Margaret Tan, Nursheila Abdullah, Joyce Tan

Fresh bread is baked daily

The Black forest cake

nasi lemak bungkus

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