It's been a while since we've had a dedicated food post, what with the CMCO and everything.

A couple of home-eats first:

-- The same Indah that has delivered so many good things to us over the last few months (most recently black pepper chicken) also came up trumps with satay chicken, all yummy with lemongrass, turmeric, and crunchy peanuts:


-- Until this week, I didn't know that black capsicums existed (actually, they're purple, well, purple on the outside, and green on the inside).


-- The photo at the top is my "cauli goreng". Which needs a bit of explanation:

Back in the days of home quarantine, I started making a low-carb version of Malaysia's beloved nasi lemak, using cauliflower instead of rice (I know, I know, it's a travesty really, but I'd rather do this than give up on nasi lemak altogether, and it really is pretty tasty).

Well, the other great rice staple in this region is nasi goreng (fried rice), and I wondered whether I could press the old cauli into service as a substitute here too. Definitely a bit more tricky... Apart from the rice itself, a lot of the colour and flavour of nasi goreng derive from high-carb items like palm sugar and kecap manis. But I persevered, and we think this tastes quite nice.

So, purists, cover your ears: Fry up some onion, garlic, and chili. Add your mashed cauliflower. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of coconut flour (this is essential, to make sure you don't end up with something sloppy). To flavour, add a tablespoon of soy sauce, a teaspoon of fish sauce, and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar (for a touch of sweetness). Top with a fried egg or two.

To round off, a meal out:

We'd eaten at Foochow Estay once before, but made it back for a return visit only this week.

This is ang chow kampua mee, and it's absolutely delicious:


Kampua mee is the Foochow answer to kolo mee. And ang chow is "the lees or the residue of the red yeast rice from making the traditional Foochow red wine". So you get the pork, the noodles, and a big dollop of this awesome wine stuff.

Love the food here...