Japan Vs China- The Food Debate, Pan Asian, Chennai

Vegetarian vs Non vegetarian

Paneer vs Tofu

North Indian vs South Indian

Coffee vs Tea

and now, things are going global. Yes, we are talking about the big debate between Japanese Food vs Chinese food. I was wondering what this was all about, what ITC Grand Chola was hoping to accomplish. Little did I know I was in for a visual and sinful treat. 

They had flown down a Chinese Chef , pitted him against our very own Chef Vikram and the debate was on. I have been to Pan Asia twice before and both times, it has been quite a memorable experience. I have tried dishes filled with new flavours and textures, so I knew tonight was going to be no different. Just dint expect the surprise I was in for! 

And this Debate was going to pawn all other debates, beating them hands down. It had the Oomph. The food was paired with Whisky, and no small brand, it was Johnnie Walker. 

We were shown a menu, a set menu, one side of it belong to Japan and the other side to China and the dishes were paired with different kinds of Johnnie Walker whisky. After a brief round of introductions and hellos, we settled in and the evening just flew by.  When our orders were being taken, I somehow went with the Japanese menu, but luckily friend chose the Chinese and so we got to taste both  the dishes. 

The 1st platter, the amuse-bouche was quite a visual treat, and then my taste buds did the tango wit every sip and bite. There was a mini martini glass with a drink [yuzo and vodka] and the rim was filled with celery salt. Then there was a soup spoon with little green balls that were basically celery, and a crisp tofu skin[sansho crisp] and a sake?white wine soaked cherry tomato. Every mouthful was like firecrackers in the night sky. The Celery salt was the highlight. Oh, how can I forget the glass of Rising Sun that I sipped on. Johnnie Walker whisky blended with Egg white, soya sauce and Wasabi mix. Loved it, absolutely loved it.

I knew then the party had begun! The soup was another treat- Edamame, beetroot, truffle in a subtle Broccoli broth and a ring made with rice and another Japanese ingredient. Reading the word "Truffle" brought memories of the movie "No reservations" and of shows I had seen where a dog was used to sniff it out in the wilderness. What amazing flavours. As the soup arrived, so did the 2nd drink, this time a Johnnie walker blend with Oolong tea and sugar syrup, served in a long stemmed Martini glass. Moving on, the starter I chose was Confit Green Apple Carpacio served with plum tomato ice, gold label sichimi emulsion. Carpcio was yet another dish I had heard and seen on TV, so trying it out was a new experience and Yes, I loved it. What a blend of flavours and textures. The Whisky paired with this was Johnnie Walker Double Black label, such a smooth drink. 

Following this, came the main course- Grilled Artichoke hearts served alongside sticky rice, tobajan miso, water chestnuts. The drinnk for this was Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve, yet another smooth drink. The dish was just amazing, loved the crunchiness of the Water chestnut [infact we had a debate amongst ourselves wondering what veg that was].  And then, it was time for dessert. We were all grinning and having a lovely evening. Once again, I went with the dessert on the Japanese section of the menu and boy oh boy was I happy. My dessert was Johnnie walker whisky soaked  pear slices served with probiotic yoghurt ice cream. A vanilla milk of sorts was poured over the pear slices and boom boom the flavours took me to heaven and back. I am not joking nor am I exaggerating. I loved the creaminess and smoothness. This was served with the finest in Johnnie walker, the Premium drink.

Wait, Chef Vikram had yet another surprise in store for us. We were served another dessert, a dark chocolate one[75%], his signature chocolate preparation. He came over, chit chatted with us, asked for feedback and mentioned this dessert was just something he put together, no big deal... :-) What a humble man!! We also spent a few minutes chatting about some of his other creations and the Sunday brunch that he promised was going to be a one of a kind experience.  

This Chinese/ Japanese set menu is priced around Rs 2500 [and if you include the Whisky, it would be Rs 4000ish].. 

PS: Here are my earlier posts

Address:

Address:

ITC Grand Chola
#63, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai,TN,600032
Ph- 044 2220 0000

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Sunday Lunch- Noodles, Schezuan style

I stood there in the kitchen wondering what to make for lunch when the doorbell rang. Glad to get away from the fridge and stove, I answered the door to find a courier. It was a set of Knorr sauce mixes. Nice. Just the inspiration I needed to make something new. It was going to be a one pot dish.  What did I make? 

Noodles, Schezuan style. How? Read on to know how... 

Ingredients:
1/2 onion [ thinly chopped]
2 cloves garlic [ finely diced]
6-7 button mushrooms [cut into small pieces]
6-7 beans [cut into 1inch pieces]
1 egg
1 tsp Olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 packet Haka Noodles

2 cups Water
2 tsp Knorr-Chinese-Schezuan mix

The process:

1) In a pot, add 1 to 1.1/2 cups of water and cook the noodles. I added the egg to the same water and let it cook for about 10mins and removed the same. 

2) In another pan- add the oil, saute the garlic and onions, before adding the remaining vegetables [you can add any vegetables to this dish], add some salt and pepper. 

3) Remove the veggies once cooked and in that same pan-- mix about 2 tsp of Knorr-Chinese-Schezuan mix to 1/2 cup of water and allow it to come to a simmer. Add the cooked vegetables to the sauce and check for seasoning. I also added the noodles and finally the egg to complete my lunch. 

How easy is that? I am now itching to try the others from Knorr range!!

Cooking time: 25mins
Prepping time: 15mins 
This portion I cooked serves - 1 

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Food Trials at Wok a Toque

Practice makes perfect, right? And this phrase applies to pretty much every aspect of life, so why food be left out. Restaurants these days test the waters before opening the doors. This is not only to make sure the food they are serving works, but is more than welcome and is well received as well. Just as at home when we make a dish for the first time, we call our friends or family to be the guinea pigs, restaurants invite people they know and bloggers to run their trials on. 

Where am I going with this? I wanted to share the experience of a Food trial I was a part of that was held recently. Wok a Toque is the name of the restaurant and it is located within Hotel Chariot on Thirumalai pillai Road, opp Vidyodaya School. 

I have seen this Hotel quite a few times but never ventured inside. So, when I was invited to be a part of the Food Trials, I took this as the opportunity to check the place out. We were received by the Manager who told us how the group has taken over the F&B in the Hotel and is opening a restaurant "Wok a Toque" and a bar/pub "Elevate" here. 

The giant door is what you see as you get onto the 1st floor, and the decor inside is beautiful to say the least. Simple oriental light fixtures, textured wall, subtle art work is all you see. The music playing is also Oriental and quite mild. The main dining area is divided between the Lobby and 1st floor, with the 1st floor offering Lunch Buffet and dinner a la carte, while lobby offers only a la carte. They also plan to launch a Breakfast menu and Midnight buffet eventually.  The tables were dark brown with a beige sofa against the wall and red plush chairs on the other side. 

Moving on to the main aspect of the evening, the food. It was Indo- chinese, as is everywhere else but the food served was quite good, I loved it.

All the tables had a plate with three bowls- pickled vegetables, peanut based snack and Kimchi, except here Kimchi had a lot of sesame seeds on it. These are again typical of most chinese restaurants [atleast the ones I've been to]. We were then handed a makeshift menu that ran to nearly 9 pages. Quite an extensive one at that, and I also noticed the vegetarian items were just as many as the non veg [earlier it was very few veg to a lot of non veg items]

I chose the Burnt garlic soup and woah, it was divine. Loved the flavour of the burnt garlic and the sweetness of the chinese cabbage in the clear broth. Moving on to the starters, I once again opted for a dish that I havent tried before- Stuffed Lotus stem fritters that was served alongside chilli honey sauce --> The fritters were sinful, there was a stuffing of sorts between two lotus stem slivers and it just melted in my mouth. 

While the non vegetarians devoured the various meaty starters, I began scanning through the menu looking for the main dishes. There it was, new ingredients yet again. While we decided to order Kwai Teow Pad Thai Wheat Noodles, and a Ginger-Capsicum fried rice, for the side dishes I chose the Bamboo Shoot and Mushroom in Chilly Bean Sauce and Mapo Tofu. The former was a hit with all, we couldnt get enough of the dish, the latter was alright- tofu is an acquired taste and not many like it. 

The non vegetarians went rampant and ordered Duck, Chicken, beef and pork. They enjoyed some while they felt others were similar to the starters. By the time they were done, it was time for me to leave, I had a movie to catch and so I skipped desserts. Did hear from the boys that there were about 3 desserts which were decent. 

The doors opened on Monday- 24th June and I wish them all the best! If the food we had during the trial was anything to go by, am sure they would be a roaring success.. 

As for the price factor, most dishes are priced between Rs 250 to 400, while items like Lobster and crab were priced higher.  Am guessing a meal for 2 should work out to about Rs 1200 - 1500. 

Address:
The Chariot
#4, Thirumalai Pillai Road, T Nagar, 
Chennai- 600017
Phone: 044 2834 1212
URL- http://www.thechariotchennai.com/

Disclaimer:
The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember that restaurants and eat outs sometimes change with time, so does their food and service. So, kindly consider these factors while visiting the places. Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit  :-) 

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Illusions- The Madras Pub, Chennai

The name reminded me of David Copperfield. The man popular for his breath taking mind boggling Illusions. This place on the other hand was called Illusions, The Madras Pub. Wonder why the tagline though! Any ideas?

The place opened up a few months ago and friends made a lunch plan, but then Mr Murphy came in and changed my plans, and the lunch dint happen, rather I was unable to join the girls for lunch. And so,  when this other friend called asking if I wanted to join her and another friend for lunch, giving me options, I chose Illusions. The reason being- I had not been here before. 

I reached the place on time, 1 pm, and made my way up the staircase into the pub. Took me a minute to get used to the dim lights and layout, but soon found a table and made myself comfortable. I noticed a room in between the restrooms and discovered it was for "smoking". Friends came in a few minutes, we got settled in and started to order. The 1st order of the day was drinks- i went for the Blue island iced tea, the ingredients were blue curacao instead of coke and rest of the items were same as the long island iced tea, friend ordered the same and the other friend ordered whisky with soda. I also ordered a mushroom and cheese starter. 

The place was dim lit, actually quite dark, and I was told one seating area transforms to a dance floor in the evenings. There was a nicely filled bar on our left and more seating spaces all around. The place is very different from the other pubs I had been to.

Within minutes our drinks arrived on the table and we started diving into them. Our iced tea was alright, we missed the Long island iced tea, this felt a little watery and diluted. Oh well, only if you order will you know what such drinks are, right?

Moving on to food, we went ahead and ordered different combos. One friend ordered a wrap [mexican or italian, I forget, but the weird thing about it was it had paneer and when we asked the waiter about Italy and paneer, he got back a minute later and said "Chef says in Italy they use paneer a lot".. hmmm.. that is a 1st!] I ordered a penne in red sauce and the other friend ordered the chinese combo- chinese fried rice, gobi manchurian and wontons.

I enjoyed my penne though I wonder why it had no veggies. As we finished our drinks, we also noticed the place filled up quite a bit.

The meal worked out to about 800 bucks each [incl tax and tips]. The place would be an option if all others were full or shut. 

Overall Rating- 5/10

Address:

105, 1st Floor,[adjoining Nilgiris supermarket]

 Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, 

Mylapore, Chennai- 4

Phone: +91 9841157869, 044 42144449

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The Curry Club, Chennai

 

A tinge of violet, an inkling off Indigo, a generous dash of blue, a pinch of green, a sprinkle of yellow, a shade of orange and a final swirl of red- all these come together to make a beautiful rainbow. Even though not all colours are clearly visible, they all join hands to shine in the sky. Why am I talking about colours when writing about a new Multi cuisine restaurant in town? Well, I kinda feel these restaurants are like the Rainbow. They have so many different cuisines, some shining bright, while others lay low.  

Where was I headed this week? It is to the new restaurant in the city, in the post locality of Haddows Road. If you drove down the road and took the last left, 2 doors down on the right you will spot the huge signage "The Curry Club". Yes, MASH was here earlier, but now has been replaced by this swanky place. 

With a seating capacity of over 100, the restaurant also sports a nice conference/banquet hall on the 1st floor near the open area. It comes with dual lighting options, a pull down screen, and options to fit in a projector for those presentations. Or host a private party in this hall with upto 20 people and enjoy the cosy evening. 

Rohit Zachariah is the man who owns MASH in Besant nagar [on the beach] and The Curry Club as well. While chatting with him, learnt that he along with his cousins opened MASH as a place for them to hang out, casual and comfortable. This was back in 2007 and the place is still home to many who come to spend a few hours on a lazy Sunday. The Curry Club on the other hand is a place that offers different cuisines- North Indian, South Indian Chinese and Continental. 

We tried dishes from their South Indian & Chinese sections and they were quite interesting. Started with the veg Manchow soup, I also tried the the mushroom pepper fry, which was cooked in a tomato based sauce, then there was the aachi varuval [ which was cauliflower bhajji of sorts]. For the main course, I opted for their "Choose a curry and get Unlimited Dosa/Idiyappam section". The staff recommended the Nilagiri Vegetable Khorma for the idiyappam. The gravy was made with spinach and herbs, haven't had something like this. They also had a dish called "pal katti  pattani masala- I was very curious on what this pal katti was. Discovered it was the good ol paneer. :-) They also had few other veg side dish options, felt good seeing there was equal importance given to veg as well as non veg. I did sneak in a few French fries and roasted veggies from the Non veg orders. They were yumm.. 

And for dessert, I tried a spoonful of the phirni, one of the Crème brûlée  and the sinful Mud pie [a brownie that was hot and gooey chocolatey]. Oh, how can I forget, the mud pie is served with a scoop of pan ice cream. I don't eat Pan, but the ice cream was brilliant. 

Should visit them once and try the dishes from other sections as well. 

A meal for two should cost around Rs700- 800

You can view the Menu on Chennai Food guide portal

Address:

3/2, Haddows Road, 2nd Street, Nungambakkam, Chennai-34

Ph- 044 28211555

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Aromas of China in Chennai

Yet another Thursday evening amidst friends, and this time we were at a new restaurant on Khader Nawaz khan road. Over the past few days I’ve noticed that quite a few places have shut, but a few new ones have cropped up. “Out with the old, in with the new” I guess and wondered how long these new places will survive… But that road has changed drastically over the years, it has become a landmark locality of sorts in the city. A road known for the “poshness”, high end shopping, eating and lounging.

Ok, so I headed up the elevator to the 2^nd floor and noticed Aromas of China on the left and Khansama on the other side. They both belong to the same group of hotels. At the entrance was welcomed by a giant Buddha face on the wall and a lion near the maitre de’s table.

Slide into the space on the sofa, was a tad tight, but what the hell... Chit chatted and while waiting for the soup, nibbled on the Kim chi and tried to pick a few with chopsticks and must say I succeeded. Yayy!! Along came the soup, veg sweet corn soup- it was bland and felt empty. I added quite a bit of Chilli in vinegar water and soy sauce to add some flavour. Reminded me of the good ol days when Sweet corn soup used to taste exactly like this[bland that is].  I wondered and joked that maybe the guy who orders the spices was out of town or gone missing!!

 And then came the series of Veg starters- 1st came the momo, tried picking it up with chopsticks and did succeed. Was reminded of Kung Fu panda where Master Shifu & Panda train with a bowl of momos..This momo was just about alright, I've had better, what was missing? Flavouring, n it was nothing like the momos i've eaten [heck I even make em at home] !! .Anyways, back to food, there were quite a few corn based items- one was corn cooked in white sauce with other veggies; another was crispy corn which i liked, and finally came the Crispy fried veggies[ an assortment of veggies- cauliflower, carrot and baby corn]. I ate these with ample chilli sauce, and the mustard sauce. There was another sauce which was dark in colour, nearly black, a black pepper sauce [if i remember right]

In between mouthfuls we caught up on life, and everything else, while some were busy photographing the place and the people. For a Thursday evening the place was nearly full, which had me amazed [Chennai people do get out, amazing] The main dishes began coming out, one by one. The 1^st in line was Noodles [which was quite good, esp since i prefer noodles over rice any day]. It was served along side a mix veg gravy [don’t know the name], it had cauliflower, snow peas, baby corn, capsicum and onion [tasted alright, like any Chinese dish]. The other dish was Veg dumpling, which had a flat cutlet kind of dumpling in soy based sauce. I liked it..especially since the other one was very bleh. I noticed the restaurant slowly filling up, and buzzing with customers. Always good to see a packed house :)

Then came the Schezwan Rice, it was red in colour making me wonder how spicy it was, but with the 1^st spoonful I realised it wasn’t spicy at all. The rice was just about cooked and had a generous splash of spring onion, i wondered if perhaps they added colour to give it that scary look.

Ok, so where were we? Ah yes, food. We waited and waited, laughing, catching up, cracking up and some more when suddenly there were the waiter serving us some yumm looking desserts. The 1^st one was Daarsaan [ flat noodles deep fried coated with honey and served with a few chopped up almonds] and vanilla ice cream. Now, I am not a big fan of Vanilla ice cream, but I did like this one and it went well with the dessert.  The other one was a spring roll of sorts, it resembled a cigar, except this had gooey chocolate inside and was HOT. Lip smacking, so much so that I had a 2^nd piece and another dollop of ice cream to go with it.

Well, even though the food is Indo-Chinese, the kind we get almost everywhere, and even though I've had better food, if one was to go by the crowd piling into the restaurant, I’d say the place was a roaring success. They are doing something right.. whatever that is!


Ambiance: The only quip I have is the sofa seating was very uncomfortable, getting in, sitting and the cushions, almost got backache, request the management to change the cushions
Price: A meal for 2 should cost around Rs1500 [little more if you are Non veg

Address:
Aromas Of China 
2nd Floor, #15, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, 
Nungambakkam, Chennai- 34
Ph- +(91)-9962379494 | 43178111

The place where Mocha was, it is  opp the building with Kryptos/Atmosphere.

This was part of a CFG Showcase that I attended and was conducted by Chennai Food Guide.

Disclaimer:

The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember that restaurants and eat outs sometimes change with time, so does their food and service. So, kindly consider these factors while visiting the places. Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit  :-) 

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Chao, T Nagar

"Chao".. well, it means hello in Vietnamese and to think Ciao means Bye in Italian.. One word, so many meanings. Similarly, Chao, the restaurant has many faces, many avatars so to speak. It offers an eclectic blend of interiors, a menu that takes us on a journey from Vietnam to Singapore, China to Thailand....

Spending a few minutes exploring the venue, I discovered it was on two levels, the basement bigger than the ground floor. it also included a Lounge-a private dining area... The walls are adorned with various figurines and pieces made of wood, a tree stump leading to a light fitting under which sits a majestic Buddha. A narrow winding staircase tucked away in a corner. The ground floor offers a few cabin like settings, two small and one large. Glass, wood and light is what catches your eye as you step into this swanky restaurant that is just a few weeks old. 

Situated on north Boag road, almost opp the Singapore Consulate, adj to Coffee Central, the restaurant belongs to Ramesh & his partner Jagadish. Ramesh, being an architect has spent quite a bit of effort in decorating the place and it is quite visible.

Greeted with a cup of hot Lemongrass tea, I chatted with Shalini Muthukumar [Ramesh's sis in law] who also owns the label "spice dip". Pretty soon, the table was full, and Chef Dhiraj started bringing out plates of food... not only did they look good, but tasted delicious as well. He was kind enough to remember the vegetarians from the non veg clan and patiently answered my 1001 questions.

Starters:

Green Mango Salad

 

Corn Tartlets - Tartlets filled with crispy corn kernels

Devil's potato - Crispy fried and sauteed potato wedges

Veg Dim Sums served with garlic sauce

Mushroom Pepper Salt - Crispy & juicy mushrooms tossed in pepper, chili flakes and garlic and served on a bed of fried noodles'

Rice wrap rolls served alongside Lemongrass dip - Rice wrap sheets stuffed with raw vegetables and tofu rolled up.

 

Devil's chicken

Chao Thai Grilled Fish - Boneless fish fillets marinated, grilled and served on skewers

Wasabi Prawns - Crispy fried Prawns tossed in smooth Wasabi mayo.

 Satay Prawns - Juicy prawns marinated, grilled and served on skewers

I spent quite some time sampling the dishes, trying to figure out the spices, method of cooking, sorting through my curiousity and i noticed another array of dishes coming towards our table. They were the main dishes announced Shalini.

Thai Veg Green Curry- It was very different from what i've had, was surprised to find Brussel sprouts in the gravy

Jasmine Rice- A rice cooked with jasmine infusion though with no jasmine flavour[thank god]

Singaporean Bee Hoon - Fine Rice noodles with bean sprouts[ this was the best of the lot]

Cashew Garlic Garden greens - Stir fried vegetables mildly cooked with Garlic sauce and cashews

 Sambal fried rice- Non veg

Basil Chicken - Fine Minced tender chicken served in hot basil sauce

And finally, as i flipped through their extensive menu card [which has been beautifully separated into 2 sections- Veg & Non veg], i spotted quite a few familiar desserts. The ones we got to taste were

 


Tub Tim Grob - Water chestnuts in coconut milk served with crushed ice

Pumpkin custard with Coconut ice-cream- This was an afterthought of sorts. I noticed it on the menu and requested Shalini to serve us a plate or so. and no sooner there were more than one plate of this dessert served up, but they kept disappearing...








It was one fun evening... As always.... If you are driving down the road, and feel hunger pangs kick in, then pull over and do try the restaurant. 

Price- A meal for 2 will roughly cost around Rs1500 - 2000 

Address:
#49, North Boag Road,T. Nagar address 044 65555553, 044 65555554
[Opp Singapore Consulate and Adj to Coffee Central] Drive down from Residency towers/10D towards GN Chetty road, and you will spot this restaurant on your left.


This was part of a CFG Showcase that I attended and was conducted by Chennai Food Guide.

Disclaimer:
The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember that restaurants and eat outs sometimes change with time, so does their food and service. So, kindly consider these factors while visiting the places. Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit  :-)

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Nivedhanam, Mylapore, Chennai

Nivedhanam is pure veg restaurant that is a few months old. It has been promoted by Amithra Hotels and Restaurants, and the 1st of its kind started by an Indian living in Japan.  As you walk in, the mix of culture is quite obvious. There is a small curio of sorts displaying various objects most commonly associated with Japan and the people there. 

They serve Indian, Continental and Chinese cuisines.The first thing that struck us were the 2 women at the door, welcoming us with a big broad smile. There is a comfortable sofa to wait, else people can sit outside in the chairs while waiting their turn. Trust me, it does get packed, so make sure to reach early. 

There is a small play pen for children to play in, and a lady who applies Mehndi for free.. The decor is quite bright, with red dominating the ambiance. The tables are quite packed tight, with very little space between them, but all said and done, it is a lovely place, especially if you are looking for good Veggie delights. 

We ordered tomato soup and chappati for my friend's son, while others had roti and quite a few different side dishes.Each of them were served piping hot and delicious. There is no overpowering masala, or oil in the dishes. They also serve the traditional Japanese noodles, which have been cooked with a few vegetables. For dessert, we decided to try the banana split, 2 slices of bananas enveloping 3 different ice cream scoops.

 The walls have been decorated with elaborate Tanjore art pieces, and the table place mats are the ones with puzzles and word games on them. The waiters take down the orders on iPod Touches, which i thought was damn cool and they are accommodating to special requests.

I have been here twice and both times came out smiling, and happy!  A meal for 3.5 hungry souls worked out to about Rs840, which i thought was quite reasonable, going by Chennai standards.

Food - 8/10
Ambiance- 7/10
Price- 8/10
Service - 8/10
Overall Rating - 8/10
Cuisine-Across Indian, Chinese, Japanese & Continental - Pure Veg
Car park- On the street [secluded and so no fear or getting towed]

Value add: There is a play pen for children, a Mehndi lady and a man who performs simple magic tricks/ventriloquism
 
Address:
VM Street, Mylapore  Chennai, Tamil Nadu
 Turn right next to Yellow pages when approaching from Gemini flyover and you will see the restaurant few doors down on right hand side.
Phone: +(91)-(44)-42054881, 42054882, +(91)-44-66598988

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Chinese Dessert - Red Beans and Barley With Milk Dessert

Red beans and barley dessert is a famous Chinese dessert ("tang sui" or "tong sui" in Chinese) which basically consist of red beans, barley, sugar and milk. This dessert can be served hot or cold. Although it is relatively easy to cook, it will take some time for it to boil till soft.

Ingredients:

Dessert

• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1 cup red beans (soaked in cold water overnight)


• 1 panda nus leaf /skrewpine leaf (tie into a knot)


• 1/4 cup barley


• 2 cups water


• 4 cups milk

Method:

1. Add 2 cups of water, 1 cup of red beans, 1/4 cup of barley and 1 pandanus leaf in a pot. Bring them to a boil. You may want to soak the red bean and barley overnight if you want it to be cook(soften) faster.

2. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook until the mixture of red beans and barley are tender for about 2 hours.

3. Add 2 cups of milk and 1/2 cup of sugar into the pot. Stir well until the sugar dissolves. You remove the heat from the pot and leave it to cool down for about 10 minutes.

4. You may serve it hot or cold depending on your preferences. If you prefer to serve it cold, leave it to cool down for another 15 minutes and then put it in the refrigerator. The additional 15 minutes cooling time is required so that the heat does not spoil other items stored in the refrigerator.

Optional:

Replace white sugar with brown sugar. It will taste better.

If you are not able to find pandanus leaf, you may replace it with dried orange peel. This dry orange peel is easily found in any Chinese herbal/medicine shops.

If you do not like milk or lactose intolerant, just replace it with plain water.

For more cooking tips, recipes and pictures of the dessert, visit the author's Asian recipe blog

Chinese Dessert - Red Beans and Barley With Milk Dessert

The author has 30 years of cooking experience. She specializes in asian food recipes and emphasises on easy to cook recipes with added health benefits. View her recipe collections in her website here: http://www.asianfoodandrecipes.blogspot.com

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