Festive Ala Carte Buffet @ IndoCafe The White House
It is just days to Christmas and I reckon it was timely for a gathering with some friends whom I’d gotten to know over Facebook, a good time to get together again since meet ups as such are far and few in between given everyone’s busy schedules. It is also good to be able to put a face to a name, transcending from online acquaintances to friends in real life. There have been quite a number of Christmas promotions running in our local restaurants and F&B establishments in hotels so we are literally spoilt for choices. Despite coming back from Melaka just a couple of days back, I still crave for good Peranakan food. A quick buzz over one of the Facebook groups I am active in and it didn’t take long for like-minded foodies to respond to the calling. We chose ‘The House of Indocafe’ as none of us have been here before. We thought it would be a good chance to try out their “Festive Ala Carte Buffet” menu which is currently running at their “White House” restaurant located just along the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping belt. It was a choice we grew to regret. Read on to find out why…
Malaysian Food Fest Penang Month Round-Up
It had been a long and eventful month for MFF Penang and it is with mixed feelings that it has finally come to an end. The few weeks prior to June was particularly gruelling, having no clue on what to cook and what to present. Like the other MFF events, whipping up dishes for Penang MFF provided an opportunity for me to get to know more, not only about the food in Penang but also the people behind them.
A big thank you to one and all who has taken the time to come up with these delectable dishes. Many of you like Cynthia, Amie, Lena, Phong Hong, Cindy, Doreen, Mary … etc shown great support by whipping up multiple dishes. The event also drew the attention of several Penangites who had expressed interest or shown concern over the authenticity of the dishes prepared. Well, the objective of MFF is to promote the awareness of some of these localised dishes, some of which are already dying in the trade as we speak. While staying true to the originality of the actual dish is important, it is not of utmost priority… at least not for me. What was more important, is the effort put in and willingness to try, despite the need to venturing into unfamiliar and undulating terrain to prepare dishes which one has never tried before, both in cooking and in eating. So kudos to you all! Now you can really say that you’d been there and done that!
Laksa Belut Perlis – Freshwater Eel Asam Laksa
A long overdue attempt, barely making it in time as Malaysia Food Fest Kedah & Perlis Month is just days to closure. Been a “busy” month planning for our pigout sessions during our trip to Taipei (yes! expect more reviews on Taipei patisseries to come!), and then the actual week-long trip itself, followed by a post-holiday withdrawal period. Anyway, enough of my ranting! Sometime back during our regular chats, I asked my dear friend, Wendy from Table for 2 or more, the organiser of this monthly online event on what she felt is a dish which is least likely to be attempted this month. Laksa Belut Perlis is an almost immediate reply, probably because of the lack of accessibility to freshwater eels for many. Lucky for us here in Singapore, they are available in some of our local wet markets. So I took it upon myself to attempt this recipe, which essentially uses “laksa utara” as a base , with the special touch of using belut, freshwater eel as part of its ingredient list.
travellingfoodies 