Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

Craving for some spicy food? How does a bowl of hot & spicy curry laksa sound? My curry laksa story begins with a sachet of curry laksa paste from Malaysia; and I’ve been wanting to try it out since a year ago (thankfully curry paste hasn’t expired). I was hoping for someone who is willing to help preparing it. Finally, the curry laksa topic was brought up by my roommate (who is also a great cooking buddy), and we decided to give it a try!

The instructions given to cook the curry laksa were easy. Simply add the paste into hot boiling water, then add desired ingredients (chicken, shrimps etc.) and coconut milk. Serve curry laksa with cooked yellow noodles or rice vermicelli; or better still, both! After some discussions, we agreed to prepare curry dish separately, not one but two; and serve together with curry laksa!

To ensure an authentic dish of curry laksa, we spent hours (more than 3 hours) in the kitchen. We cooked a pot of chicken curry, a pot of seafood (shrimps, scallops, and haddock fillets) curry, as well as a pot of curry laksa. 

This ultimate curry dish was served with yellow noodles and rice vermicelli, curry laksa (red curry soup), chicken curry (yellow curry), seafood curry (red curry), green beans, bean sprouts, and hard-boiled egg; garnished with mint leaves. It was as delicious as the local curry laksa in Malaysia, if not better! Three other Malaysians who tried it would agree with me too ;) 

You’re in Canada and have no idea where to go for a quick coffee break/breakfast/lunch/brunch? Try Tim Hortons! This is where I had my first meal in Canada several years ago. The uptown Tim Hortons in Fredericton opens 24/7, the so-called “mamak” for Malaysians here :) I remembered those good old days where we sat and chatted while sipping on hot coffee till wee hours in the midst of everyone’s busy class schedule, in the cold winter nights.

Tim Hortons is Canada’s largest quick-serve coffee and doughnut chain. The first store was opened in Hamilton, Ontario, back in 1964. Currently, there are more than 2,800 store locations across Canada, and more than 400 in the United States.

Why can Tim Hortons be so successful? This has a lot to do with its location, marketing strategy, and unbeatable price (compared to Starbucks, Second Cup etc.). $0.80 for a doughnut and $1.01 for a small, or $1.14 for a medium cup of hot beverage. Beat that! Not to forget, the lineup at the drive-thru can be rather crazy in the morning and lunch hour. The lineup is so long that it often results in congested traffic on the main street! I don’t understand why drivers don’t just park their cars and walk into the store instead. Wouldn’t it be quicker than waiting in line?

Recently, Tim Hortons is working towards joining forces with Cold Stone Creamery (U.S.-based), to create up to 100 co-branded stores at various locations in the United States (Ohio, Michigan, New York, and Rhode Island). The idea is to offer some cold treats (ice-cream, smoothie, shakes) at Tim Hortons to attract more customers in the evenings as well; since it is busy mainly in the morning and lunch hour. On the other hand, Cold Stone Creamery which has a steady business in the late afternoon and evening, will be able to draw in a larger crowd during the day by serving Tim’s products (coffee, doughnuts, sandwiches and soups etc.). Apparently, this is not a brand new idea. More than a decade ago, co-branding agreement was established between Dunkin’ Donut (world’s largest coffee and doughnut chain) and Baskin-Robbins in the United States.

The doughnut shelf at Tim Hortons. Timbits (on the bottom shelf), Tim’s signature doughnut holes.

Freshly baked muffins, bagels, danishes, croissants, cookies etc.

The “Roll Up The Rim To Win” contest started since 1986. It usually runs during the late winter months, into early spring. Cups for hot beverages (medium, large, and extra large) have special rims that contain messages printed on the inside. When rolled up, messages indicate if someone is a winner or not. 35 Toyota Venza, 100 $10,000 cash prizes, 1,000 Toshiba laptops, 25,000 $100 Tim Card, and over 31 million food prizes are among the prizes to be won this year!! With 1:9 odds of winning, many has at least won some food prizes. The contest runs while cup supplies last.

Oops… try again :(

I find the marketing strategy of Tim Hortons is amusing. In order to sustain a steady flow of customers, special treats are offered during special occasions, for a limited period. In the early summer last year (in conjuction with strawberry picking season), Strawberry Blossom doughnut was offered.

Strawberry Blossom doughnut. Hard candy sprinkles with strawberry jam in the middle.

Candy Cane doughnut during Christmas season. Chocolate doughnut with colourful hard candy sprinkles.

My favourite Boston Cream doughnut. It’s filled with custard and topped with chocolate glaze. *Highly recommended*

The new Cherry Chocolate Bloom doughnut. Chocolate and cherry sprinkles with delightful cherry jam in the middle.

Doughnuts in a box (clockwise, from top left): Sour Cream Glazed, Vanilla Dip, Cherry Chocolate Bloom, Boston Cream, Blueberry Fritter, and Honey Cruller.

Trail mix cookie was offered with a cup of hot green tea for $1.99.

The newly introduced Whole Grain Rasberry muffin.

Pumpkin Spice muffin was offered in the fall of 2008.

Cheese tea biscuit with Pumpkin Spice doughnut and Pumpkin Spice tea.

Maple Pecan danish.

Hot breakfast sandwich (on Tim’s Homestyle Biscuit) with egg, sausage, and cheese.

Breakfast bagel, B.E.L.T. (bacon/sausage, egg, lettuce, and tomatoes). Yumm…

A bowl of chili with garlic toast.

Creamy Field Mushroom soup (contains portobello, white, and shiitake mushrooms) with tea biscuit.

Freshly baked crisp and flaky croissant with butter.

A.B.C. (Air Batu Campur in Malay), is known as ice with mix ingredients, when translated into English. This is a popular dessert (or a substitute for drink), served with shaved ice, syrups, evaporated milk, creamy corns, azuki beans (or red kidney beans), green starch noodles, grass jelly, peanuts etc.

I seized the opportunity to have a bowl of A.B.C. during my visit home in Malaysia last year.

The fancy A.B.C. with ice-cream!

Snow is wonderful for building snowman, making snow angel, and then what? I came up with this idea of preparing A.B.C. from fresh snow! What?? Eating the natural snow?!

Here is my version of eco-friendly “natural” A.B.C.

Disclaimer: Try at your own risk!

It has been more than 24 hours since I had it. No peculiar happenings just yet. I kept thinking: if we can stick out our tongues to taste the snow, what difference does it make to eat snow? I was mentally prepared, if I ever have to make use of my medical insurance coverage… Thank God I survived from that bowl of yummy A.B.C.!

How does snow taste like? Is it different from the regular slush ice you’ve had? You bet! The disparity in taste is comparable to boiled water and mineral/distilled water. That’s the difference I found between slush ice and natural snow. Despite my best of intentions to serve my roommates A.B.C., they opted for just an itty bitty taste of the snow, and had their “A.B.C.” without the “shaved ice”! *faint*

Now that I regain my sanity (too excited over the snow yesterday), I’m carrying out a microbiological test on the natural snow for detection of coliforms, E. coli, and any other “junks” that could be in it.

Do I catch your attention now? I can’t wait to see the results either! Oh well, no matter what the outcome is, I’m willing to accept it. If snow is proven to be clean, maybe I can consider selling A.B.C. in the winter (just kidding); otherwise, I’ll quit making A.B.C., that’s all.

The test results should be out tomorrow! Stay tuned for more updates! ^v^

Pakora is a popular South Asian snack food. It can be found in Indian, Punjabi, and Pakistani cuisine. It’s flavourful and easy to prepare!

Ingredients:
1 large onion, thin sliced
3 cup chickpea flour
1 tsp salt
1 + 3/4 cup water
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
~ 3 cup cooking oil

Directions:
1. Mix chickpea flour and salt together.
2. Add water into the flour mixture gradually, while stirring.
3. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and sliced onions into the batter.
4. Heat cooking oil in a wok. Place 1.5 tbsp of batter in the heated oil gently, one at a time.
5. Deep fry 5 to 6 pakoras on medium heat, for about 6 minutes or slightly brown. Deep fry for another 6 minutes on other side of pakoras, until light brown.
6. Serve!

My poutine story continues… after my first post about poutine several months ago. Poutine is one of my many great discoveries in Canada. I’m not a big fan of either fries, gravy, or cheese; but the taste is surprisingly delicious when they’re put together!

What exactly is a poutine? Here is the description of poutine from wikipedia: “Poutine is a fast food staple in Canada. It’s served with beef gravy on French fried potatoes and cheese curds.”

It’s a must-try when you visit Canada, especially in the province of Quebec (where poutine originated). For non-poutine lovers, sorry to say that you’re missing out a lot! Having said that, poutine should be consumed in moderation, due to its high calories. For the past few months, I’ve tasted poutine from different places, and even made it myself! Here is a glimpse of what you’d expect:

KFC. The gravy for mashed potatoes is used for poutine. It was delicious! It’d be better if the fries were crunchier.

Harvey’s. Cheese curds, yumm… Too bad that the beef gravy was too salty for me.

New York’s Fries. It was a generous serving. Crunchy fries, beef gravy, and cheese curds; an authentic poutine! It was one of the best poutines I’ve tasted!

Farmers’ Market, Fredericton. It’d be better with more gravy and cheese curds, instead of shredded cheese.

Crabbe Mountain cafeteria. Poutine was referred to as “fix” on the menu. This was certainly one of the best!

Homemade. A healthier and flavourful version of poutine; baked fries, poutine gravy, melted mozzarella cheese, as well as spices (dried rosemary, oregano, basil, black pepper etc.). It was a successful try, I’d say :)

What’s my criteria for a good poutine? Overall, I really enjoy poutine with crunchy and skin-on French fries, flavourful and thick beef gravy, as well as chewy cheese curds that melts in the hot gravy! It looks just like this:

Snooty Fox Pub. This poutine had everything that I asked for! Lovely…

Hope you enjoy poutine as much as I do, if not more ;)

Hummus is an Arabic snack prepared from chickpeas (cooked and mashed), blended with tahini (sesame paste), garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. It can be used as a dip or spread. I tried hummus at a multicultural food fair a few years ago and really liked it! Since then, I’ve been making homemade hummus :)

Here is a recipe of hummus without tahini; since tahini is not a common ingredient and might not be readily available at grocery stores. The hummus tasted as great!!

Ingredients:
1 can (540 ml) chickpeas
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 salt

Directions:
1. Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas.
2. In a kitchen blender, pour in chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, water, olive oil, with the rest of ingredients, including salt.
3. Blend on high speed for ~ 3-4 minutes or until a paste with soft texture is formed. Add more water if needed.
4. The flavourful hummus is ready in no time! Serve with pita bread, crackers, or even veggie sticks! Enjoy :)

Being part of a student organization during my university days at the University of New Brunswick (UNB), has been a fruitful and memorable one. I joined different student organizations; one of which was the Malaysian Students’ Society (MSS).

The MSS was founded in 1978.  Over the years, MSS has organized activities such as apple picking, Thanksgiving potluck, Christmas party, birthday party, cultural night, ski trip, graduation dinner, BBQ etc. These events enriched our living experience at UNB, given us a better insight into Canadian culture, and also enabled us to share our culture with the local community. MSS welcomes all students from campus to be part of the group. The nationality of members ranges from Malaysian, Singaporean, Chinese, Taiwanese, to Indian, Canadian etc.

Here, I found it amusing to meet people from the same cultural background and speak the same language. Ironically, some are neighbours who used to live just a few miles away from where I was; but meeting each other when I’m thousands of miles away from home, in a foreign land!

The highlight of the MSS activity, is the annual event–Malaysian Cultural Night. Juggling between busy class schedule and massive preparation, members had fun putting bits and pieces together and made the event a roaring success, year after year. The cultural night, which opened to university students, faculty members, and the community, usually targeted for 200-250 guests. The biggest crowd was in 2004, where we had around 350 guests!

Members and friends involved in food preparation, performances, decorations, table setting, sound system, food serving, and of course, cleaning (food and garbage) too! =D  It has been a “tradition” for MSS to have a group picture of members and friends who helped out at the cultural night.

2004: Cultural Night in “Pasar Malam (Night Market)” Style. I was the Secretary this year, in charge of ticket selling. Guests purchased a coupon booklet of $5 or $10, and got to go around the table and try different dishes for just $1 each! The event was held at the Student Union Building cafeteria, UNB.

2005: Cuti-cuti Malaysia, Malaysia Truly Asia. Being the President, I was busy all night socializing with the VIPs and guests. It was a banquet-style event held at the Student Union Building Ballroom, UNB.

2006: Cultural Night in “Mamak” Style. I was one of the emcees for the evening. This was also a banquet-style event, same as the year before.

2007: Pulau Idaman, Paradise Island. As the Vice President, I was the greeter this year. It was a buffet-style event, located at the Student Union Building cafeteria of UNB. “All you can eat!”

2008: Malaysian Cultural Night 2008. I helped with food preparation in the kitchen. 8 hours of cooking!! This was also a buffet-style event, similar to previous year.

Although the preparation required much effort and was time-consuming, the idea of promoting Malaysian culture to the Canadian community was splendid! Friends of members were invited to lend a helping hand to host such a big event, in exhange for a scrumptious Malaysian meal!

From performance practice (for at least one month), ticket selling, food preparation (as early as two days before hand), to the actual cultural night, it was a lengthy yet enjoyable process. The joy of introducing Malaysian cuisine and sharing the culture with the community, has made every effort worthwhile.

Are you curious what was on the food menu? Here are some food items we’ve had in the past:

Appetizers: Fried wanton, spring roll, fried chicken wings etc.
Main course: Fried rice, fried rice vermicelli, sweet & sour pork, satay, beef rendang, chicken curry, tandoori chicken, BBQ pork, mixed veggie, sambal egg etc.
Desserts: Red bean soup, red bean square, serimuka, jello, fresh fruits (imported from Malaysia) etc.
Drinks: Rose syrup, water, juice, coffee & tea.

We tried our level best to place at least ten different food items on the menu, for greater selection to our guests. What do they think about the food? Absolutely LOVING it!! Majority of the guests actually comes back every year!

The Malaysian Cultural Night is certainly one of my best memories from UNB!

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
~ 3 cm ginger root, grated
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 can (540 ml) chickpea, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp chana masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp salt
Dash of coriander powder
Dash of garam masala
1 tbsp cooking oil

Directions:
1. Heat cooking oil in a pot on medium heat. Saute onions till light brown.
2. Add garlic and ginger into pot. Pan-fry till fragrant and brown, on low heat.
3. Next, add tomatoes and salt. Mix well and let cook on medium high heat, cover with a lid. When it comes to a boil, let simmer on low heat.
4. As tomato juice thickens and a thin layer of oil becomes apparent, add chickpea, red chili powder, chana masala, and turmeric powder. Mix well on medium high heat.
5. Stir continuously for 1-2 minutes, till fragrant. If too dry, add ~ 1 tbsp of water. Let simmer on low heat for another 15 minutes, with lid on.
6. Lastly, stir in coriander powder and garam masala. Let cook for one minute before turning heat off.
7. Serve while hot, with rice or Indian bread.

* Spicy level: 7/10

This is a hot & spicy Indian dish. Feel free to adjust the amount of spices according to taste. I was inspired by the Indian cooking of my friend, Seema, several years ago. Since then, I’ve been having fun preparing Indian dishes from time to time. Seema, I missed your samosas and pakoras!

There are many customs and traditions in the Chinese culture during Chinese New Year; food symbolism is one of them. Why is a certain dish served during the festive season? What does it symbolize? The list below shows some common food items served during the Chinese New Year celebration.

Steamed whole chicken: unity of  family (whole chicken symbolizes completeness), and purity (light colour of cooked chicken).

Fish: prosperity. In Mandarin and Cantonese, “鱼 (yu)” is homonym of the character “余” which means remaining or in excess. Hence, there should always be some leftover of fish, which symbolizes abundant wealth.

Noodles (long and uncut): longevity.

Black moss: prosperity. In Cantonese, “fatt” in “发菜 (fatt choy)” means good fortune.

Dumplings: wealth (shaped like the yuanbao ingot). In Mandarin, “饺子 (jiao zi)” is homonym of the characters for coins “角子” used in the olden days. Besides, it has the meaning of cohesiveness.

Sweet glutinous rice balls: unity, completeness. “汤圆 (tang yuan)” in Mandarin, is prepared with either ground peanuts or sweet azuki beans filling, in sweet broth. The suspension of glutinous rice ball in the sweet broth when served, looks identical to full moon in the sky. The sweet taste implies sweetness of life.

New Year’s cake: cohesiveness and advancement. In Mandarin, “nian” in “年糕 (nian gao)” is homonym of the character “粘” which means stickiness; “gao” is homonym of the character ” 高” which has the meaning of tall, and hence understood as high achievements. “步步高升” in Chinese characters.

Pineapple: wealth and good fortune. In Cantonese, “wong” in “黄梨(wong lai) ” is homonym of the character “旺” for good fortune.

Mandarin oranges: gold. In Cantonese, “柑 (kam)” is homonym of the character gold “金”.

Peanuts: fertility, prosperity, and longevity. The Chinese characters “花生 (Hua sheng)” indicates growth, which can then be translated as continual growth of offspring or wealth. Peanuts also referred to as “长生果(chang sheng guo)”, which literally means long life fruit.

Ground peanuts: wealth. The ground peanuts that are yellowish brown in colour, resemble golden sand. In Chinese characters, “金沙满堂 (jin sha man tang)”.

You’d probably reazlie that most of the Chinese New Year wishes, or food symbolism in this case, has a lot to do with wealth and fortune. Why is it so? This can be explained by the active involvement of Chinese in trade and business for centuries. Nowadays, these good wishes can even be addressed to investments that someone has, career advancement (higher position = wealthier) etc.  Thus, it’s considered a high compliment to someone who receives wishes in the context of wealth and good fortune.

These fascinating believes can be rather interesting, and certainly spice up the celebration of Chinese New Year. So, be sure to feed yourself well for a happy and prosperous year ahead of you!

What’s tipping all about? In most Asian countries, Malaysia for example, tipping is optional and generally practiced only when you’re in an upscale environment. For instance, dining in a posh restaurant or staying in a five-star hotel. Having said that, gratuity (or known as service charge) is usually added to the bill at air-conditioned restaurants and hotels, of course. Hence, it’s quite clear that tipping is required; and in this case, it’s mandatory ;)

It’s interesting to examine the different tipping culture, in various countries around the world. Some countries, such as Japan and Australia, not only tipping is uncommon, it’s considered rude and insulting too. In Japan, tipping is implying that servers must be paid extra to ensure they perform their duty; whereas in Australia, tipping the gaming staff in a casino is thought as bribery. Likewise, tipping government servants in most countries is a crime and therefore, is prohibited.

What about in Canada? I didn’t experience much culture shock when I first arrived here. Nevertheless, the tipping etiquette was something new to me. So, what now? I knew I had to tip, but how to tip and how much to tip? It’s inappropriate not to tip your service providers. In restaurants, tips can be given directly to the server, by leaving it on the table, or even have it added to your final bill ( most restaurants have the “tip amount” option available on bill when paying with a credit card). Sounds convenient? Err… what about the tip amount? The general rule of thumb is to leave 10-15% of the pre-tax bill as tips. In most case:

• 10%  means below average service
• 15%  means average service
• 20% or more means exceptional service

For a large group event, usually 6 to 8 people or more, gratuity (about 10-20%) is automatically added on the bill.

Tipping is a social custom with no set rules. It’s a measure on the satisfaction on the service you received. What are the tips for, you may wonder. Service providers, such as waiters and waitresses are usually paid minimum wage or slightly above that. They are dependent on the amount of tips received to generate a handsome paycheck. Therefore, tipping to them is a token of appreciation, and even a motivation to provide better service to his/her patrons. However, keeping in mind that tips to them are taxable since they’re treated as income. There’s no way to get around with paying tax, is there? :P