Sunday, March 25, 2012

A Fine Dining ~ Coco Tei Tokyo Japanese Cuisine

I was at this classy Japanese restaurant 2 days ago accompanying my husband for a bussiness dinner.
This was my first time there, and I'm so lucky that I have a chance to try out the most authentic and delicious Japanese food I've ever try.
The entrance and the enviroment of this restaurant gave me a feeling that I'm going to enjoy the dinner without any hesitation! And yes, I'm right, no regret at all!! Well, it was alittle pricey but it really worth it..:)
Let me show you why it is so special...................

The entrance.....
The costumers there are mostly VIP or under reservation, they seldom take in walk-in costumers. Then the chefs will make sure you'll never have the repeat menu as your last visit! Yes, they do record what you ate!! Specical??...Then you may ask do they have such a long menu??....Ah that's the point! The owner will invite a special guest, a retired Japanese chef from Japan, to train and test out the menu there. Then he'll also create some nice, special, delicious dishes into the menu before he left!!
I'm not so sure how's the menu looks like because I didn't get the chance to peep into it.....and our dinner just started without it!! As I said the chef already knows what he's going to serve us!! From appetizer till the end of the dessert...it was so fullfilling!!

My 1st dish.....the Fruit Salad.

...then came the Sashimi.....so fresh!!

Oh..it was served with their fresh Wasabi, which I never tried before..:)

Then, the Cabbage Rolled Soup...with a tomoato heart...so beautifully served!

Then follow by...Senzai San Tei ( a 3 combination main dish)....from the left, the Japanese chives with sesame, then the cow's tougue and follow by a homemade Japanese toufu.

Then the Inari Rolls....


The fried prawns...(pardon me for I've forgotten the name given to this dish)

Baby Sardine served with Japanese mayonaise....this was so good and crispy!!

Then it ends with the Grilled Maki....and some ice cream which I didn't take. I was too full by then...;p
The name card I got from them with the location inside (located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Pardon me with the bad photography here which I've taken with my phone. And another reason with so many people waiting for me to take the pictures of every dish before they can start...opps! Really feel bad....heehee!! Truly I don't know how much was the dinner cost, but roughly it was around rm200-300 per person I guess. But it doesn't matter if the food served was really good right?!....;p

Hope to visit this restaurant again soon, then I'll see what I'll get from their menu again..:))

Address:
Coco Tei, Tokyo Japanese Cuisine.
No.5, GF-B, Jalan Delima, 55100
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel : 03 2141 1945
Hotline: 1800-88-6655
W : www.cocotei.com
E : info@cocotei.com

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Banoffee Tarts (Banana Toffee Tarts)

A week that is not so fun and not so relaxing for me!! Due to my "delayed" bathroom renovaion and a "too" short school break made me feel like time passes too fast and I've done nothing for my blog!! And then school will starts tomorrow...:(
Well...luckily I got a day to gather with my friends yesterday for a tea-party with loads of delicious food...that satisfied me alot!! And I've managed to baked something too...^^".

Banana Toffee Tarts adapted from the magazine "Her World" in March issue. I got this recipe from this magazine while I'm having a hair wash last few weeks at the hair saloon....hehe!

It was named...Banoffee Tarts! I like the name given to this tarts....classy!!

I've never made any toffee before, and this my first. I have totally no idea how will it taste and how it looks like until I opened the can of condensed milk after steaming for 2 hours.

My expression was...WAH..it looks good!! (at that moment)...LOL!! And there are some left overs in the fridge now which I think I should make a chiffon cake with it..:)

My favaourite tarts base from my blueberry cheese tarts recipe. It does goes well with the bananas fillings!

I can't get any sweet and nice bananas so I just bought whatever they have at the nearby store. So if you are making this, make sure you'll get some good quality bananas.

Recipe for this tarts (yells 15 tarts):
15 frozen mini tarts base or my blueberry cheese tarts base.
1/2 tin (225ml) condensed milk
4 large bananas
125ml whipping cream
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
~ To make the toffee: carefully immerse the unopened tin of condensed milk into a pot of water.Bring to boil and simmer for 2 hours. Carefully remove from the hot water and cool completely.
~ Bake the tarts base well and cooled.
~ Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until thick.
~ Spread the cooled toffee over the tart base using the back of a teaspoon.
~ Slice banana and and layer on top of toffee.
~ Spread cream over bananas.
~ Repeat and end with a dallop topped with sliced bananas and a sprinkle of cinnamon powder.

** Toast some almond flakes and sprinkle on top of tarts for some crunch. (which I didn't...;p)

I used some light fresh cream for this tarts as I don't want it to be too heavy or too sweet. I find it was just nice, and my daughter prefer it without the cinnamon powder..;)

They are really good to go with a cup of english tea, just to bring out the flavour of the tarts.
I think it will taste nice with other fruits, maybe peaches or pears..:)

Try out and let me know then...^^


Cheers!!














Monday, March 5, 2012

Braided Ribbon Twists (麻花)

It's March!! Time flies....and school is going to have their 1st term break. Planning to go anywhere? I'm not....because this holiday is too short (only a week) and my daughter is going to have her Music Theory Exam during that week...*sigh*...boring!!
Then today, the contractors have started their work hacking and drilling my bathroom.....Oooo MESSY & NOISY!! Just because of the leakage underneath the bathtub, I got to remove everything to repair it...:(
Nevermind...I'll just go entertain myself in the kitchen...LOL!! So here it is...the braided ribbon twists was done while the drilling and hacking still going on..^^ ...And also I've cooked my favourite Ribs curry too...haha! YUMMY!!

This was my 2nd attempt since last month. That time I did not do a good job, so while frying the twists...all went loosen and became small biscuits instead. This time, I make sure I twist properly and tightly before frying. Ta-Da....*clap clap* for myself....:)

Done 2 types of braids here, the 2nd one below was my daughter's idea. She keep asking me to braid it like braiding her hair...okay then...so I did some for her..hehe!

This was easy to make which the recipe only needs a few things and no machine requires. The result was good too...very crispy!

Here's the recipe to share...(adapted from the Y3K magazine, Traditional Koh Kuih,Lap Mei & Cookies by Wong Sip Moi)

170g plain flour
65g icing sugar (original called for 70g)
1/4 tsp salt
30g shortening
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
70 ml water (may not need all)

Method:
~ Sieve flour, mix all the ingredients together (with the water adding in slowly) into a smooth dough by hand.
~ Rest dough for 30 minutes.
~ Divide into about 15g portions and shape into slim rolls. Braids them up like the above pictures.
~ Deep fry in hot oil (medium heat) until golden.
~ Remove, drain well and sprinkle with some icing sugar if prefer.
~ Cool completely and store in air tight containers.

Easy right?!..You may like to braid it with your own patterns but remember don't roll the strips too thick or else it may not cook properly. This recipe only yells 8-9 twists, so if you want more...double the recipe!!

A look at the inside, light and crispy. This is my father's favourite too...will make again next week when they come visit..:)


Cheers!!