58th Birthday do Chez Moi

 Last weekend, we celebrated my birthday cum friends visiting Raub with a lunch do chez moi. Well since everyone is kind of in a relaxed mood, it was decided that it will be rather Mediterranean-inspired (also the weather so hot these days)....

To begin, setting up the table the day before...

when everyone arrived, we started with some apéritif : Campari + Martini Rosso + Orange juice on ice and a tray of charcuterie:

a simple tray of garlic cream cheese, olives, cherry tomatoes and some charcuterie....

served with slices of Turkish bread and a small shot glass of cocktail to open up the appetite. A few tidbits were served alongside...

tartelettes with bacon bits & ....

a bowl of organic Avocado dressed with double cream, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper...

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The first course was pretty simple: slivers of warm poached saucisse de Morteau with potato puree...

I was supposed to poach the sausage with slow bubbling water for 40 minutes but forgot and ended up with a 1h30mins do. But the end result was still good...

The meal was washed down with a bottle of rather new rosé from Provence. 

The poulet a la provençale was easy to make and easy on the palette. We paired it with a crisp Chablis...

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Then it was the cheese and salad - again I have decided to go simple as some guests are new to this...

a slice of aged Comte and Brie can never go wrong...

And then the tiramisu to finish with a cup of infusion ...

A Christmas meal on Boxing Day

Last Christmas, we had our usual Christmas meal with friends on Boxing day...

This year, the table setting was more on theme than usual - with a centre piece made of fresh Blue Gum, Noble fir, Hinoki Cypress and pine cones

some tidbits

a terrine of pork served with cucumber salad and pickles

boeuf bourguignon with puree of potato and poached cabbage

Recipe for the potato puree:

800g of Chat potatoes, boiled in salted water and pressed through a riser,

250g of French butter (le Gall is suited for this)

1.5 cup of double cream

fleur de sel and white pepper to taste

The ingredients must be incorporated with a whip while the potato is still hot and went through the riser. It is not necessary to pass the puree through a sieve (only if a very fine silky texture is desired), a bit of rustic feel is more easy to handle.

Salad with cheese

Simple pound cake with Chantilly cream and chestnut cream

Post Christmas lunch 2022

 After a couple of years suspended from gatherings and dinners with friends, we decided to host a Christmas lunch with some friends while seizing on the opportunity to catch up on some pending issues at hand...

After having thought of the recent adventures in France, I was inspired to go a bit more "natural" with the menu...

A more simple setting with a wreath as a decor element was chosen...

Comfort food - velouté de légumes served with a dollop of sour cream. To obtain a flavourful broth. the vegetables (red bell peppers, onions, pumpkin, potatoes) must be pre-baked in an oven with a drizzle of olive oil and then cooked in a chicken broth with a bouquet garni. 

Boiled artichoke with a soft-boiled egg, sauce Béarnaise. 

Chicken baked with rosemary, garlic and butter. Served with potato puree, red wine sauce and poached vegetables.

To make the puree: 1 kg potatoes (soft meat type like Chat or Ratte which has a nice texture), 350g (facultative) of French butter, 2 cups full cream, pinch of salt.

Boil the potatoes and pass them through a riser. Fold in all the butter and then the cream. To obtain an onctueuse puree, it could be passed through a fine sieve using a soft spatula. 

 

Simple garden salads to be eaten with bread and cheese (below)...

A soft truffle-infused cheese from Bourgogne: le Crémeux de Bourgogne.

A fruitcake inspired by the city of Angers - orange flavoured with Cointreau (instead of using orange peels)

Ingredients: 1.5 cup of flour, 1 cup of almond powder, 4 eggs, 1 cup vanilla scented sugar, 250g French butter, a pinch of salt, selection of dried fruits (cranberries, black raisins, diced apricots, ginger confit, black cherry)

Soak the dried fruit mixture overnight with a cup of any brandy (Hennessy or Martell) and half a cup of Cointreau. Line a baking tray with butter and flour and the base with a piece of baking paper. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar, splashing a teaspoon of vanilla extract to help with the emulsification. Slowly fold in the eggs and half a cup of Cointreau into the mixture. Next fold in the sifted flour with 2 teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt and later the almond powder. Lastly fold in the soaked dried fruits. Bake at high heat for the first half an hour and medium heat for another 30 - 35  minutes until done.

In a separate bowl, squeeze and filter the juice of 10 - 12 oranges. Cook this juice with a cup of fine sugar until syrupy. Add half a cup to 1 cup of Cointreau to the mixture. Once the cake had cooled off overnight, slowly drizzle the syrup over the cake until it has saturated. Keep in an airtight container to mature for at least a month before consuming.

and for the little sweet something at the end, a specialty from Angers - the Quernon d'ardoise, which is a slaty blue chocolate with nougatine centre - made to imitate the bluish slate roof tiles of the region as a hommage to the slate quarry workers ... https://quernon.fr/la-maison-du-quernon/

They have a stand in the Christmas market in the city centre of Angers (starting 01 Dec 2022 for Christmas sales)

A meal at Chez Remi... a restaurant with a conscious effort

 I recently got to dine at a restaurant in Angers, France that serves meals from freshly obtained local produce and organic products whenever possible. Loved the concept as the cuisine was not pretentious and they offer hearty local flavours of the season at an affordable price.

The facade is rather simple and does not scream to passersby to come inside the restaurant. It is therefore an interesting discovery...

The first thing that greets a client - a pledge to stay clean from the use of pesticides in food.

the setting is cosy and classic bistro styled

the table setting is also pretty basic

I chose a standard lunch menu of 2 dishes at 23 Euro. The entree is a watercress and sorrel soup. Liked the rustic, dense flavour.

The main course was a choice between fish or veal. I opted for the later. Very well prepared and well seasoned. The accompanying mushroom was delicious. And with a cup of hot tea the total bill came to 26 Euro.

The online menu - it doesn't tell what it will serve because it is based on what is available seasonally...

Dining at Han Room

 Well the Covid situation wasn't going anywhere and going out these days is a real challenge - the amount of hesitations and risks to calculate if it was worth it at all. Any which ways, it must have been like a year ago since I actually ate something decent from a restaurant and so my friend, so happen to be in town, decided to give it a go, with social distancing et al....

We initially wanted to have the hokkien mee but after a few doubts, Paul decided to go for the set menu at RM158 per pax (min 2 pax). The bill came up to RM370+ for 2. Pretty steep if you ask me. 

I don't want to sound like a picky eater but here's my 2 cents for the chef...

Pan-fried tuna - nice. A bit more sauce would be appreciated.

I always like superior soupe. They should just get rid of the dried-up meat inside since the double boiling already removed their essence anyhow.

The abalone was nice and soft and I liked the thick sauce.

Iberico pork was nicely done but the accompanying salad would have been better with some Granny Smith apples to give it the thang and zinger, albeit with a more sourish fruity sauce. Pork and apples are good friends. The salad didn't do justice to the main. Somehow something is flat.

Teochew-styled steam rice with Mui Choi. Too spicy for me. The spiciness masked the quality of the stew.

simple no-frills desert. ok...