A table for two

“Hello! Hello!” I think I’ve been hiding in the MasterChef ‘closet’ far too long, but I AM BACK!!!! How I’ve missed you all! But first of all, I would like to apologise to all my friends and family for turning into a big fat liar for the last six months. I’m sorry! I tried to [...]

This used to be my playground. This used to be my playground This used to be my childhood dream This used to be the place I ran to Whenever I was in need of a friend Why did it have to end And why do they always say Don’t look back, keep your head held [...]

“A unique Mongolian marination, sprinkled with the Uighur special spicy chilli powder, then grilled with top quality Indonesian charcoals”, written in Chinese on the paper mat provided, these BT Monster Crazy Wings are not to be messed with! The inhumane hotness leaves both Helen and I flapping our hands like two helpless chooks, trying to [...]

The dramatic giant glass tank on Bathurst Street with big letters ‘CHEFS GALLERY‘ written across the whole wall glowing so bright, it definitely makes a few pedestrians stop on their paths and aroused a few curiosities. While I am waiting outside for Helen, I notice a countless of passerby having a double take, leaning over [...]

Masterchef Australia season 2 is finally over, and I have to congratulate Adam Liaw for making this far and claimed the title. Time flies, I still remember my Masterchef Audition in September last year and what a coincidence to be in the same group as Adam and Alvin, and both Malaysians. Well, I shouldn’t be [...]

“Ewww….!” She squeals. But we are not taking ‘no’ for an answer and keep prodding, “Eat it! Eat it!” She squeals some more and simply won’t barge. Betty eventually takes her drink away and says, “If you are not going to eat it, you won’t get your Coke!” And it worked. Karen slowly picks up [...]

“Melbourne is the Lady, Sydney is the …” …jests by one of the guests during a “Melbourne vs Sydney” conversation at the world’s longest lunch. Helen (GrabYourFork) and I, two Sydneysiders are already stirring the pot once touched down in Melbourne. We both are very fortunate to be invited by Tourism Victoria to spend a [...]

This is a story about a Shanghai Girl and a Malaysian Boy. Many moons ago, Malaysian Boy met Shanghai Girl through Flickr. It was a love at first sight connection that has bound them together ever since. But one day, Malaysian Boy made a tough decision by leaving things behind, and going anywhere around the [...]

The Chinese New Year is only two weeks away and I’ve been a very busy man slaving over hot stove (or oven) lately. Last year we had friends coming up to the Central Coast and we had so much fun celebrating the new year with a 9-courses Chinese dinner banquet. And I am doing it [...]

I slowly discover that I have complicated things, especially in cooking. Looking back at my recipe archives, most of the recipes involved a lot of ingredients and a million steps to follow, which usually half a day to prepare one dish. What happen to the simple quick toss on the wok? What’s wrong with the [...]

Chairman Mao is from the Hunan province in China and he loved his red-braised pork (紅燒肉). He even had his personal chef preparing this Hunanese dish to satiate his cravings. This dish has become his legacy and now Sydneysiders are able to try this dish at a Hunanese chinese restaurant in Kensington and undoubtedly the [...]

There are some home cookings from Malaysia that I really miss. But I am also having troubles locating a few essential ingredients even if I bother to cook that authentic dish myself. Pandan leaves for instance, it is hard to come by in the area where I live. But in Sydney, heaps of them! I [...]

A familiar sight of chefs in clinical white uniforms, complete with mouth masks; kneading dumplings away behind the aquarium glass tank. They called themselves the descendants of the “dragon” or phonetically – the “steamer basket”, as that’s what Dragon-i is famous for, steamy Xiao Long Bao. Like Din Tai Fung, Dragon-i is another restaurant chains [...]

Don’t blink. If you blink, another square of crispy suckling pig will be “y-oink”ed and vanished from the plate before you know it. Suckling pig, banquet dinner, family reunion and mum’s birthday – any excuse would do to get myself back to Malaysia for some gluttony action with the family. You know you have a [...]