Simply beautiful

OMG seriously.

p/s: in case you haven't noticed, I've got this thing for mermaid dresses. I think it's because I don't have the body for it... hahaha

An evening with Robert Danhi

So how did you spend 11eleven? I had to spend it working.... but it was such a wonderful evening.

I was one of the few lucky ones who got invited to a special media dinner with Chef Robert Danhi.

Not knowing what to expect, I made my way through the crazy Friday KL traffic into a swish guarded residence, only to be welcomed warmly by the hosts - Sam and Lily as though we've known each other for, forever!

They led me into the house where I caught the delicious aroma of shrimp cakes sizzling away on a hot stove wafted across and I was greeted by this view in the kitchen.

This is Chef Robert Danhi on the left (in the white Oriental collared shirt), one of the hosts' children (sorry I can't remember his name!) and Robert's friend/apprentice, Tom.

Tom is in town to learn from Robert and at the same time, explore the wonders of Malaysia that he's heard so much about.

Coconut crusted peanuts. Simple. Addictive. Once you start, you can't stop!

The delicious red curry shrimp cakes that they were making as I arrived. Gorgeous golden brown aren't they?

Sam and Lily's house has a pool. And three dogs (didn't take pictures of them because they got all excited when I was talking to them and barked their heads off. Yes I talk to animals.)

Spiced mango cocktail. This is a pureed concoction of mangos, kaffir lime leaves, thai basil, palm sugar and rum. Add some ginger ale in, garnish with cili padi and you're good to go. Feel free to dunk the cili padi into the drink while you're at it. I wasn't daring enough.

Chef Robert posing with his book.
 

Some of his favorite staples. His rationale (and I agree - no I'm not buttering up to him) is that there are just some things, which are better off bought in bottles. For example, these chilli sauces. Of course if you were to blend or pound it yourselves, it would taste fantastic, but you'll have to do it EVERY TIME you wanted to do it. And let's face it, not everyone of us has the time or the skills to get a great sauce/condiment.

Getting started with the interactive cooking demo.

The start of BBQ fish in red curry spices. Most of them were prepped before we arrived.

A quick demo on how to make the fish.

Place them neatly on the banana leaves.
 
Tip! To soften the leaves, you can try heating them over fire or a hot dry pan.

Fold it twice over. This makes the 'packet' just right - not too thick that it might take too long to cook the fish or not too thin that it over cooks the fish.

Secure it with skewers.

Break off the access skewer ends and you're done!

You can place it on a hot plate, griddle or even a frying pan to cook it! Takes roughly about 10 mins on either side.

Easy way to find out if it's cooked? Gently press down at the thickest part of the packet. If it's cooked, it should be firm but not solid.

Next dish - Roasted duck with snow peas and mangoes!

Mr OCD (pot calling the kettle black here) rearranging the ingredients in the order that he'll be using them. I usually do it this way too and I'm quite sure that this is a proper way so that you won't miss any ingredient/sauce or mess it up :)

Tadaa!
 

Chef Robert first talks about attempting to multi-task here - making the Silky Steamed Tofu with Caramelized Garlic Sauce AND the roast duck dish...

Stir fry the mushroom slices with a bit of oil and chuck the tofu into the steamer. Once it's done, turn of the heat and let is sit there soaking up all that gooey goodness.

Then for the duck part, just stir fry the ginger and garlic till fragrant

Toss in the sweet peas

And then the roast duck. He's using a roast duck that he bought from a nearby store. Really saves you the time!

Toss some mango cubes in and just give it a good stir

Lastly add in the sauce...

... and voila!

Here he is slowly and carefully pouring the yummy mushroom sauce that's been sitting on the stove over the tofu and veggies

And just adding a nice bit of mushrooms to the top and you can top that up with fried garlic/shallots

You're not Asian if you don't have any condiments ready.

Dinner's ready!

The finished tofu dish

Typically Thai - lemongrass drink. It's really very delightful.

Adding some finishing touches to the fish packets - a little coconut milk

Look at his face. Truthfully if it were me, I would just put a spoonful and let it be hehehe

Dessert. I can't remember the name of this but I will assure you that it was super yummy

This is a cool way to serve fruits to give it a twist. It's just cut up local fruits, with a chilli salt dip. MAJOR twist I tell you.

Eeeeeeeee! I didn't know I would be getting a personally autographed copy of his recipe book!!!

Chef Robert and me

So yeah that's it! Click here if you want to know more about his book - Easy Thai Cooking!

Same same different

I had lunch with my school mates today and within the first five minutes of the conversation I realized how I didn't share the same thoughts, ideas and character.

For instance, both of them claim to have some sort of female problems where it makes then hormonally imbalanced. Since I'm quite alright when it comes to that time of the month, I asked what happens when they're hormonally imbalanced...

They in turn looked at me seriously and rattled on about the typical hormonal symptoms of a woman going thru her menstrual cycle. But the way they were talking about it, the expressions, the earnesty in their voices... I couldn't tell if they were misinformed or if they really were going through some hormonal trouble.

Then one of them started to tell us about how she met her new boyfriend. She said she was skeptical at first, so we asked her why? Regular question, no?

"Because I didn't want to date a whitey,"

I stared at her.

Our other friend nodded sympathetically.

So I asked gently (seeing that this seemed a bit of a sensitive thing to her) "Why don't you want to date a Caucasian?"

"Oh there are just too many differences. We don't speak the same language, we don't share the same culture... It's just different. It's just a lot of work. You wouldn't know..."

This is a woman who is one day older than me and we've been friends since primary school. Yet she didn't seem to know that I dated an American for seven years.

"Oh.... So you've always wanted to settle down with a nice Chinese man?" I asked.

She nodded. Apparently it took the poor dude about two months of courtship to convince her that it's okay to date a white guy. Hats off to you, mate!

I kept quiet while the two of them rambled on about how cultural differences can create strains on a relationship and a few other trivial things.

I must say I was quite taken back by that two hours I spent with them.

I thought we lived in a glocal (portmanteau: global + local) world that every one of us were educated (one has a Masters Degree, works with a major oil company and earns a five-figure salary while the other has two degrees).

A world where every one of us had access to plenty of information.

A world where every one of us was aware and embraced the many colors of different cultures.

Unfortunately I was proven very wrong by people close to me.

I need to do a re-check.