Train2eat with Danny Chen

Nian gao, literally translated to New Year Cake in Chinese which sounds like “higher year”. Higher means better and progress upwards. It is made from glutinous rice flour and it is popularly eaten during the lunar new year. It is offered to the Kitchen God, so that his mouth will be glued shut by the sticky rice cake and he won’t badmouth the human family to the Jade Emperor. You can buy nian gao from the supermarket, market or Chinese medicine shop. The version I made is with yam and sweet potatoes. It is more elaborate but you can also just steam or microwave it and eat it plain or coat it with beaten egg and fry it. I found my recipe on the internet and made some slight modification. To prepare the batter, sieve 1 cup of plain flour and 1/2 a cup of rice flour. Add 1 cup of cold water and mix the batter until smooth and runny. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon of tumeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and mix well. Let the batter sit for about 20 minutes. Cut the yam, sweet ...

Now into MCO2.0, like me you might be tired of elaborate cooking and just want a quick meal. Here’s a quick and easy tip on dishing up delicious bowl of noodle with your leftover soup.  When you order your favorite noodle delivery, most often than not, you have excess soup. Instead of throwing it away, keep it in a flask and store it your fridge and it is good for up to a week. If longer, freeze it in a food storage bag. When you fancy a bow of noodle, just reheat the soup and skim of the residue fat that is floating on the surface, add your chopped greens and meat of your choice. I would like to recommend this INA pan mee thin noodles that I bought from the supermarket. It’s so smooth and delicious, it doesn’t taste like instant noodle at all. Cook it in boiling water for about 4 minutes and then pour it into a colander and run it over cold water. Make sure that you toss it slightly to get rid of the excess water before you transfer the noodle into a bowl. Then pour your hot soup ...

MCO is really taking a toll on businesses? Usually there is a long line but this time, I didn’t have to wait very long. Universal Bakehouse, famed for its sourdough bread, sits in middle of Jalan SS20/11, Damansara Kim often had to turn away customers. As I wiggle through the door,  I was greeted by the waft of freshly bakes. How delightful?  I am not alone. There were customer before me and another steps in after. Packs of brown paper bags lined itself on a table nearby ready to be picked up. It’s the new norm and online orders and contactless pick-ups is here to stay. Tucked in the corner, someone frantically replying messages on the laptop and taking phone calls. Loaves of sourdough were lifted one by one from its basket. Then fresh ones were added. Eavesdropping I overheard, “onion focaccia? Yes, we still have some. One? Two.”. Moving on to the next order. “Hi, sir!” It’s my turn. “One oatmeal honey sourdough, please and can you slice it for me?” “Sir, if we slice it now, ...

Heighten fear of another lockdown and out of sheer desperation, off to a road trip we went. Only about 45 minutes away from KL, a drive to Semenyih dam was a brilliant idea. Escapade to the nature and a dinner appointment in a farm. How delightful? It was about 5:30pm when we drove off. Traffic was heavy. Great minds think alike. No time to waste. Let’s make this weekend count.   The dam was nice and there is a monkey hangout spot when you turn right at the junction towards Semenyih/Kajang. There are several spots which you can stop your car to catch a glimpse of the lake/dam. Then we backtracked for 20 minutes to have dinner at the Veg Fish Farm Thai Food restaurant. The restaurant has been around for 20 years and is situated at this current location for the past 15 years. The story is vegetable owner hired a Thai couple to work on the farm and Thai wifey helped in the kitchen instead and started dishing out butt kicking Thai food. So, Chinese boss decided to open a restaurant and...

Last Christmas, Luretta D.O.P stole my heart and it’s 2 weeks after but the meal lingers on. So, I can’t resist but to share the photos from this lovely merry Christmas dinner. Tucked in a section first floor of the most unlikely of departmental store, Isetan you find this quaint traditional Italian trattoria serving food from Emiglia Romagno, a place I have never heard of in northern of Italy.  Grazie mille to chef Emil Sassolini, creative director and owner of Luretta D.O.P. for bringing to us humble citizens of One Utama, such amazingly delicious and authentic Italian cuisine, what he calls local snacks.  So, let’s rekindle these snacks. Starting with the infamous porchetta. This is one mean “siew yoke” and you just find your fingers returning, wanting more of those crispy cracklings. Next, the cold cut platter. Salami, pepperoni, olives, ham, cheese, more cheese, marmalade, more ham, more bread. OMG imagine with a bottle of Chianti or Prosecco or two. Are you drooling now?...

Recently, I discovered this courtyard food paradise or to be more precise, hotpot village. When it comes to hotpot, Sunway Velocity might come to mind but here’s the twin city, Plaza Arkadia.  Somehow, I came hunting for a hotpot dinner but ended up at 舌尖上的中国 Chinese cooking (Translation: China on the tip of your tongue Chinese cooking). The hotpot restaurant that I wanted to try was full and this other restaurant was also packed with diners but I managed to get a table. It was busier than other restaurants around, so must be good right? Btw it’s next to  Sekai no Yamachan The menu consist of different cuisine from all around China. On the first page of the menu leading the way in the Chef’s specialty section was a Stone Cooked Cask Fish. I am Chinese illiterate and I couldn’t tell what exactly is in this dish but it’s on the first page of the menu. Must be good, right? 😆 The waitress was also not very helpful but she did understand when I instructed that I didn’t want it to ...

The wrath of the monsoon is raining down on our land and when we had a clear and dry Saturday last weekend, it was a good opportunity to get out of town for a road trip. As news of floods travels from the east coast and southern region, we shied away from anywhere too far as Monday is the beginning of the work year and you don't want to be stuck somewhere inundated. Genting was a good choice. Probably less crowded with the CMCO. Daily positive cases is averaging 2,000. The weather will not only be cooling but it would be freezing compounded by the daily rain. Since, we can't experience winter abroad this year, Genting is an excellent alternative. Only a 45-minute drive away, traffic was easy breezy. Parking was ample. Genting Premium Outlet (GPO) was pretty busy but bearable. The discounts were the usual but you can probably get a better deal if you look hard enough.  The Sky Avenue complex was even less crowded than GPO surprisingly. Perhaps, the crowd is in the casino which w...