Gourmet Garden

Our first encounter with Poon Choi was some four five years back, while on a business trip to Kuala Lumpur. And our first home-cooked Poon Choi was in 2009, since then we have been looking and tasting this unique Hakka delicacy when opportunity strikes. There were good ones and bad ones, and there is a variety of versions that are available on offer by many established restaurants.

Poon Choi (盆菜) is traditionally a Hakka dialect delicacy that is myth to have fed a Song Dynasty Emperor who was seeking refuge from the ensuing Mongols.  As the Hakka’s live in the mountainous regions and live was not as well then, they prepared and cooked what was the best ingredient  they could manage or find  and layered them into a wooden basin that was then served to the emperor and his loyal subjects that were with him.  As time goes by, this unique delicacy has found its way to Hong Kong’s Yuen Long (元朗) and made famous by the constant exposure in TVB serials and Hong Kong movies.

Our most recent encounter was at HoHo Food World, where we had the privilege to experience what they could deliver in terms of flavours and ingredient selections at a reasonable price tag with fellow bloggers (invited review) and then with family.

The Poon Choi is made to order by reservation of at least one day before dining. It is all done by their chef who have had years of experience in preparing Chinese cuisines in reputable restaurant in Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

HoHo Food World’s Poon Choi has an estimated 15 to 17 different main ingredients that builds up one of their signature dishes that they have on offer at their restaurant.

The most luxurious would be the firm and springy sea cucumber, the flavourful fish maw, the earthy dried scallop and dried oysters, the savoury sea asparagus and freshly fried prawns, and last but not least the smooth firm abalone. Note that they serve individual abalone for each individual diner, and their Poon Choi caters to 5 persons for the smallest order and up to 12 diners for the biggest set available.

Then there was the well prepared creamy yam and chicken, the smoky roast duck and chicken ham, the firm clam slices, the irony green broccoli, and an array of stewed mushrooms, carrots, radish and Chinese cabbage.
The gravy of the Poon Choi has a light sweet, earthy and nutty flavour with a creamy end from the yam used. It is not soupy like those with have encountered previously, it had a thick consistency which we have been searching for.

HoHo Food World

Add: 1301, Bagan Bukit Tambun, 14110 Simpang Ampat, SPS, Pulau Pinang.

Tel: +6016 5205535

Our overall experience:

Popularity: 4% [?]

Share/Bookmark

Again we were invited by Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa to attend one of the launching events at their premises last Friday (16th Dec 2011) evening. In conjunction with the visit of the 56 finalist Miss Tourism International World Final 2011, Rasa Sayang’s marketing team took the opportunity to introduce the Malaysian ‘Joget’ dance to the ladies, and at the same time announce their Lobby Lounge’s “Joget High Tea Buffet” that will begin this coming Christmas afternoon.

The Joget is a traditional Malay dance that originated in Malacca with influence from the Portuguese dance, Branyo that was spread to Malacca during the Sultanate era where spice was traded extensively. The joget is a great example how elements from various cultures can merge together into one single form in Malaysia. The dance is of Portuguese roots, the accompanying music is played by an ensemble consisting of; a violin (from Western culture), a knobbed gong of Asia, a flute and at least two rebana or gendang of Malay Archipelago.

The Joget is one of the most popular folk dances in Malaysia and normally performed by couples in cultural festivals, weddings and other social functions. There used to be a Joget house or dance studio in Chowrasta Market many years back, even before discos exists.

As part of the resort’s CSR initiative to support local culture, heritage and traditions, Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa will be introducing the Joget dance to their foreign and local guests through their “Joget High Tea” that will be available every fortnight starting from from this coming 25th December 2011 onward at the resort’s Lobby Lounge from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. The Joget High Tea is priced at MYR45++ per person, and guests can choose between the usual English tea set or the traditional Malaysian high tea set. For inquiries and reservations and bookings, please call 04-888 8888 for the F&B service Centre.

OPTION ONE: English Tea Set

Hazelnut scone

Vanilla scone

Whipped cream & strawberries

Linzer tart

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosty

Espresso mousse

Sandwiches:

Poached prawn & avocado

Grilled beef with peppers and onion

Cheddar cheese & peach mango chutney

Coffee or Tea

~~~~~~~~~

OPTION TWO: Malaysian Tea Set

Chicken lorbak & cucumber

Chili dip

Curry puff

Nyonya Kuih:

Cucur badak*

Angkoo*

Kuih lapis*

Coffee or Tea

In attendance at the event other than the finalist from the Miss Tourism International 2011, the “Teruna and Dara” band and the “Red Kebaya Joget Girls” we also present to give the girls the experience of sight and sound of how the Malaysian Joget feels like.

I also got some opportunities to be photographed with some of the pretty lasses.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share/Bookmark

Another year is almost over, and Dong Zhì is just a day away. We last wrote about Dong Zhì or Winter Solstice was in year 2008.   This year we would like to share 2 new modern recipes for Tang Yuan that may appeal to the younger generations.

The basic Tang Yuan Dough:

• 225gm glutinous rice flour
• 180ml water

Mix the water into the glutinous rice flour, and then knead into smooth dough that is non-sticky.

First up is something sweet, Tang Yuan in Honey Syrup. The traditional or usual syrup for Tang Yuan is sugar syrup infused with ginger for that heart warming sensation. To add fragrance, ‘pandan’ leafs are used. For the honey syrup, the ingredients are as follows:

• 150gm gula Melaka
• 50gm Maltose
• 30gm Honey
• 3 springs of Pandan leaves
• 1.2lt water (reduced to 950ml after boiling)

Mix all together and dissolve over low heat, then strain the syrup to prevent lumps or impurities.

For the savoury Tang Yuan, we have come upon one that is served with Tom Yam soup as oppose to our previous clear anchovies and soy bean base soup. The making of the Tang Yuan is as usual and the soup used is according to the Tom Yam recipe that we have shared previously.

• 200gm Tom Yam paste
• 2 to 3 stalks of lemongrass
• 2 to 3 stalks of coriander with roots
• 5 springs of kaffir leaves
• A few slices of lengkuas(a.k.a galangal)
• 1 red onion
• 3 to 5 cloves of garlic
• 2 whole limes
• Chili padi (amount depends on how adventurous are you)
• Mushroom
• 250gm sliced chicken meat
• 200gm fresh soft shell prawns

The first thing is to slice the lengkuas or galangal into thin pieces, cut and crush the lemon grass stalks and extract the coriander root, then soak all of them in water. Bring water to a boil and throw them all in. Then cut up the onions and garlic before adding them in with the chili padi. After the ingredients have emit their fragrance and taste, spoon in the Tom Yam paste and squeeze in the lime juice and let boil for a few more minute to let all the flavours infuse. Now it is time to put all the remaining ingredients (mushroom, chicken and prawns) and cook until tender then serve with the tang yuan.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Share/Bookmark

Let see what is on offer at some of the more well frequent restaurants, cafes and bistros in Penang for Christmas and New Years’ Eve.

Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa’s

Feringgi Gril, Spice market Cafe & Pinang Restaurant & Bar

Golden Sands Resort’s

Sigi’s Bar & Grill By The Beach and Garden Cafe

Hard Rock Hotel’s 

Starz Diner

Weissbräu German Bistro & Bar @ Straits Quay

G Hotel’s 

G Cafe

G Hotel’s

 Sesame & Soy

That Little Wine Bar

SOHO Free House

Popularity: 4% [?]

Share/Bookmark

On 5th December 2011, we were invited by Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa to witness the launching of their “Charity Gift of Life Christmas Tower” at their Garden Wing lobby. With a height of 2.8 meters and made up of  68 golden Christmas boxes, the resort hopes to ‘fill’ it with donation (charity) tags that comes in denominations of MYR100, MYR200, MYR300 and MYR500. The resort hopes to at least collect MYR14,000 for their Gift of Life Charity Fund that will be channelled  t0 benefit underprivileged children who have congenital heart defects. The funds are meant to subsidize the cost of surgical operations and post operation treatments. Members of the public are welcome to purchase the charity tags at the resort’s reception counter and make their pledge to help those in need until 5th of January 2012.

This Charity Christmas Tower is part of Shangri-la’s social responsibility “Embrace” programme that focuses on their Caring People Project, which aims to promote the highest level of education and health support to the underprivileged communities. They even have a “Sanctuary” programme which concentrates on Shangri-La’s Care for Nature Project that promotes the wildlife conservation and biodiversity restoration.

To get the ball rolling for a good cause, Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa Penang’s freshly appointed General Manager, Ms. Elaine Yue, who pinned the first donation tag on behalf of the resort. This was then followed by the pledge made by two of their lovely guests.

Apart from the launching of the Charity Gift of Life Christmas Tower and the lighting of the resorts Christmas tree to mark the beginning of the Christmas season, a time associated with giving, they also took this occasion to handover a RM2,000 cheques each to Crystal Family Home and Penang Shan Children’s Home Association in simple but meaningful ceremony. The money is to be used in the acquisition of school uniforms for children in the Crystal Family Home, and to fund the medical treatment for children being cared by Penang Shan’s Children Home Association.    

At the event the guests were kept entertained by a 25 member choir that goes by the name of “The Messengers”, who performed Christmas carols from around the world through the leadership of their choir director, Ms. Khoo Hooi Lay.

What is Christmas without Santa Clause? There was also a special appearance by the  resort’s own Santa Clause and Santa Rina, who went around sweetening the occasion with their bag full of assortments of sweets.

For more information and support of the underprivileged children, please contact Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa, Penang at +60 (4) 888 8888 and ask for Ms. Amelia Lim, their Corporate Social Responsibility executive.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share/Bookmark