The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:16 PM PDT

BY EU HOOI KHAW
September 13, 2013
Latest Update: September 13, 2013 09:22 am

A baked traditional mooncake and the snow skin varieties at the Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur.IT'S only a week to the Mooncake or Mid Autumn Festival, celebrated on the 15^th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This year it falls on Sept 19. It's the night when the moon is at its roundest and brightest, and a time for family reunions, and eating mooncakes together.

Traditional mooncakes – those filled with lotus seed paste, red bean paste and assorted nuts and fruits – are what I like, in spite of all the new flavours that keep popping up. I also love the aroma of the egg-glazed skin of baked mooncakes and I have been sniffing at the ones from the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur (pic). They passed the nose test, and when cut, the skin did not disengage itself from the filling.

The Lotus Seed Paste and Red Bean Paste Mooncakes were smooth, and glistened with the right amount of peanut oil in the filling. I liked especially the red bean paste with smoky hints in it, and the right level of sweetness.

The lotus seed paste one had the desired sticky and slightly heavy bite to it. A salted egg yolk in it gave it the right balance with the lightly sweet paste.

Few restaurants make the assorted nuts and dried fruit variety of mooncakes. It is one of my favourite mooncakes. Every year my friend CS makes sure I get to eat this one, listed as Assorted Nuts and Sundried Fruits, from the Shangri-La.

I had a slice of this and I picked out from the sticky paste the melon seeds, almonds, macadamia nut, sesame seeds, candied wintermelon, and aged mandarin peel that gave it that burst of citrusy fragrance. It was scrumptious. Again the sweetness had been toned down.

Of the baked varieties at the Shangri-La there is also a White Lotus Seed Paste (with or without yolk), Black Sesame Paste with Single Yolk, and Mini Chestnut Paste with Yolk.

Then there are the Snow Skin or Ping Pei (unbaked) varieties that are in mini sizes, such as the best-selling Ping Pei Durian and Ping Pei with Custard and Bird's Nest. Ping Pei Yam Paste and Ping Pei Chocolate with Dulce De Leche Praline Flavour, Almond and Hazelnut are the other newer varieties.

The mooncakes are beautifully packed in striking brocade boxes in deep pink, purple and orange with a carved jade-green peony on the cover. They make great gifts for family and friends, even corporate ones.

The prices of the mooncakes range from RM18 to RM28 each, depending on the flavour and number of yolks in it. They can be bought at the Mooncake Counter in the hotel lobby, or call to order at 03-2074 3560.

Snow Skin Mooncakes from the Oriental Group of Restaurants

Durian in the very core of this Snow Skin Durian Mooncake from the Oriental Group of Restaurants.I tried two Snow Skin or Ping Pei Mooncakes – White Lotus Seed Paste with Yolk and Durian – from the Oriental Pavilion Restaurant in Petaling Jaya. I was so pleased to find lovely fibrous durian combined with smooth white lotus seed paste in the Durian Mooncake. The aroma of the durian was unabashedly stinky and divine. The snow skin was perfectly thin and soft, without being too sticky and the sweetness was just right. It was so yummy that I ate half of it at one sitting. This signature Snow Skin Durian Mooncake is sold at all the restaurants in the Oriental Group at RM22++ each. The Snow Skin White Lotus Paste with a Single Yolk is RM16++.

You can buy them at any Oriental Group restaurant, such as Oriental Pavilion in Jaya 33, Jalan Semangat, Section 13, PJ, Tel: 03-7956 9288.

White Lotus Seed Paste Mooncakes from Chef Choi

White Lotus Paste Mooncakes from Chef Choi.For White Lotus Seed Paste Mooncakes, it's hard to beat those from Chef Choi. The Snow Skin variety of this stands out for its delicate smooth skin, and creamy white lotus seed paste filling that is lightly sweet. The pure white lotus seed paste is sublime, even without the egg yolk.

Chef Choi is located at 159 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 03-2163 5866. - September 13, 2013.

Japan to get world’s first cans of hot ginger ale

Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:53 PM PDT

September 13, 2013
Latest Update: September 13, 2013 04:53 pm

Coca-Cola Japan has announced plans to launch what it's calling the world's first self-heating, carbonated beverage: hot ginger ale.

Set to be released in time for fall, Canada Dry Hot Ginger Ale is different from the original recipe with the addition of cinnamon, apple flavorings, spices and punchier ginger extracts - a favorite autumnal flavor among Japanese consumers.

The self-heating can was the result of four years of research, the company says. While self-heating cans of soup, coffee and tea have been readily available for years across the country, the innovation of the hot ginger ale lies in the fact that the beverage is carbonated.

In the US, smart packaging company Hot-Can also produces self-heating cans, which work by depressing a button on the bottom of the container, gently shaking the can for about 20 seconds to activate the process, and then waiting three minutes for the beverage to heat up.

The double chambered aluminum can works via an exothermic reaction involving water and calcium oxide.

The result is a piping hot drink at 50-55C. According to Businessweek, Coca-Cola Japan beats Japanese beverage giant Kirin to the punch by a few weeks.

In November, Kirin will release a warm soda dubbed Kirin No Awa, a hot apple-flavored drink that will sell at convenience stores for 130 JPY (RM 4.30). Canada Dry Hot Ginger Ale hits the Japanese market October 21 and will retail for 120 JPY (about RM 4.00). – AFP/Relaxnews, September 13, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Khamis, 12 September 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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