burps&giggles ... the loveliest cafe in the country

Was back in Ipoh for a memorable weekend for my alma mater's Centennial Reunion Dinner, what a blast. Julie Song from Indulgence "instructed" me to visit her new place called "burps&giggles" (its exactly behind the famous Kong Heng, house of mirrors, in old town).















I will just let the pictures tell you the story, its easily the loveliest, most rustic, romantic cafe  I have ever come across. So, for your next trip, besides Ipoh taugeh chicken, Hakka mee, beef noodle, dry chicken curry nasi kandar @ Yong Suan, Funny Mountain taufoofar ... you should add burps&giggles to your Must Go To list.

the entrance




nostalgic knick knacks all over the place 

my lunch, bam-bam burger with chunky fries (with melted cheese and truffle oil) 


go through the backdoor and you have a quirky yet sublime place called the "lazy lane", great atmosphere to unwind and enjoy an environment just like the 40s and 50s "concubine lane"

every corner, every angle is a photographer's dream .....

Food include a long list of premium burgers, pastries and sweets plus great coffee.

clever usage of lights and lamps to enhance the very cosy feeling

the foyer with high ceiling as they have removed part of the first floor



burps&giggles
(behind Kong Heng)
93 & 95 jalan sultan yussuf
ipoh
05-2426188
www.allegraessentials.com

Sometimes We Take People For Granted

My Blackberry Is Not Working!

Many of you would have seen this already. Trust the English to put a skit up thats relevant and makes fun of the evolving English language. Smart and sassy, 15m viewers cannot be wrong. Please note that Orange is a telco service provider in the UK.

A Gentle Soul Departs

Many people pass on everyday, some famous some ordinary folks ... everyone will leave their own legacy and their influence to people around them. No one is more important or less so than the next one. Andy Williams was way popular way before I was even born. I think his passing deserves a mention cause I have rarely read a bad article about him, and he performed very well for a very long time. A gifted crooner, at a time when crooners were highly respected. A gentle soul whose voice brought us memories of wonderful melodies and lyrics for decades past and decades to come.

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Andy Williams, whose soothing baritone and relaxed performing style made him one of America's top pop vocalists and a popular TV variety-show host in the 1960s when he recorded hits such as "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses," has died. He was 84.

Williams, who announced in late 2011 that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer, died Tuesday at his home in Branson, Mo., his family announced.

Cooking With Dali - Pig Trotters Vinegar Ginger

Yes, it seems like I am cooking all dishes for pregnant women, but somehow I love these dishes. I have tried and tested and refined this so many times till I got it right. Somehow, many seems to be fearful to try to cook this, I hope this will demystify the dish.

Ingredients are relatively few:
Old ginger or Muntong ginger (about the size of a hand)
Good sesame oil
One pig trotter (get the front legs not the hind legs as the latter is way too fatty)
One packet of black beans
One small bottle of sweetened vinegar
One large bottle of black vinegar
Gula melaka
4 eggs

Get your pig trotters from Sanbanto if you can, they have very good quality pork there. Start with 3 pots. One to boil the trotters (a must) to rid of the impurities or else you will get a stinky smell. Dry roast the black beans for 10 minutes till all are crackling and split. Boil to make hard boil eggs.

Once you see sufficient impurities on the trotters pot (after 10 minutes or so), remove and wash clean, set aside. Now boil the black beans in water for 15 minutes on high, a must to soften the beans sufficiently - the water will be so dark. Drain and set aside.

The coarsely sliced ginger, dump into a wok with 6 table spoons of sesame oil. Fry for 5 minutes. 

Then add the drained trotters, aim is to brown them with sesame oil and ginger coating and to precook them as later you do not need to stew them for too long with vinegar (as your vinegar will evaporate if you do so for too long a period). The browning process should take another 5 minutes.

 Add the bottle of sweetened vinegar and one bottle of black vinegar, the other bottle of black vinegar you need to keep in case to fine tune the final result, and it should look something like below. The secret here is do not use caster sugar as that would make it sickly sweet (even weakens your teeth). Throw in the black beans as well. Chop one roll of gula melaka and add to the stew. Gula melaka has a more rounded sweetness and better caramelisation without being too sickly sweet. Go on low fire for simmering for 45 minutes. Stir with soft hands every two minutes to make sure all pieces gets proper cooking.
 
 Add the egg after 10 minutes of simmering when you don't have to stir so much as the eggs might break easily. After 30 minutes of simmering, taste to see if you need more gula melaka or the black vinegar to balance the taste.

End result. You can let it cool down and separate into 5 plastic containers, so it can last a few meals or you can give some away.

So Proud Of You Shila!!!

Shila Amzah, who knew .... against top singers from other Asian countries, and winning comfortably at each round. She won over the 9 esteemed judges made up of well known producers and major top singers. OMG, her rendition of the two famous Mandarin songs, Forever Love and Zheng Fu, were delivered in immaculate intonation and the emphasis on the words were appropriate and meaningful.

To win over the mostly China audience and judges must say a lot as there were other Chinese artistes as well. Loved the costumes as well. Well done! ND Lala must be so proud!

Cooking With Dali - Drunken Chicken Ginger Broth

OK it seems I have nothing much to say about the markets over the last couple of weeks. Share with you all another minor passion of mine, cooking - freestyle. I hate recipes. If I like something, I will try and decipher and breakdown the dish and put them together my way. For more traditional ones, I will get my mum to give the basic ingredients and away I go to come up with something I really like.

Today I felt a stirring and yearning for Drunken Chicken Ginger Broth. Its easy yet so satisfying, and heaty. Try it, you will love this version:

Unless you brew your own rice wine, any Hua Tiew wines will do, all supermarts have them, about RM10-14 per bottle, try to get two different brands for "depth". Use only drumsticks and thighs, chop into pieces.

Here is where it gets tricky, USE only Buntong Ginger (Muntong Keong), it costs a huge premium to normal ginger and is only available at morning markets. The ginger is so refreshing, you can even bite into it like a fruit to enjoy and yet gives the most soothing ginger taste, not overpowering.

Marinade the chicken with soy sauce, lots of white pepper and a table spoon of good sesame oil. Put aside for at least 30 minutes or longer.

Dice the ginger 3 ways, julienne, thicker julienne and rough pieces... texture baby, texture. Heat your wok with 6-8 tablespoons of sesame oil (its OK to be generous), throw in the ginger on medium heat for 5 minutes. Then throw in the chicken, making sure to brown all sides for another 6 -7 minutes.

This is important as you want the chicken to be coated, pre-cooked, so that it does not need that much boiling time with the wine.

I always have ready some useless whiskey or brandy as top ups, just in case. Put in the Hua Tiew, slow fire with the chicken and ginger the whole shebang, cover with lid. It needs to simmer for 10 minutes, really simmer, not any hotter as the chicken would be rough and not smooth in texture - always with lid on as you do not want too much alcohol to escape.

Taste, add salt and sugar to get the right mix. In this case it needed two teaspoon of salt and 4 tablespoon of sugar to balance out the alcohol. The versions you have outside are so diluted and pathetic, thats why these things usually cost RM10-14 per serving and still tastes diluted.

 Boil some Wan Yee (again available at all supermarts) in water for 10 minutes, drain then slice, throw the bugger in for the last 5 minutes of simmering.

This broth can serve 6 but the bill comes to nearly RM50 but its got the real kick in the guts feeling.

 End result, all in less than one hour, rice with kick ass drunken wine ginger .... sweat like mad but heavenly so. Till my next recipe..... cheers.