Delightful Experience

A couple of weeks ago I attended a Food Blogger Meetup at Penang Delight Cafe, a restaurant I enjoy visiting for their authentic Malaysian food and friendly service.  Penang Delight has been open for a while now, but I remember going there before it became Penang Delight.  My former co-worker was friends with the previous owner who was Burmese and featured the same kind of cuisine on his menu.  I can’t remember what the name of the restaurant was back then, but needless to say it is no longer there.

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One Lump or Two?

I don’t think much of Valentine’s Day, especially since I work during the “holiday” each year.  But I do think Valentine’s, hallmark holiday or not, is a good excuse to bake something sweet.  My milk was about to expire, so I tried my hand at making creme brulee which was about as successful as my 2011 resolution to floss daily.  After making the creme brulee, I was left with almost a dozen egg whites which I didn’t want to simply throw away.

I contemplated the idea of making cupcakes, but the thought of making cupcakes and having to frost them deflated my enthusiasm like a nail to a tire.  A financier recipe which I came across intrigued me because it included blanched almonds, an ingredient leftover in my pantry from when I made almond thumbprint cookies.  Unfortunately, I lacked the proper equipment, so that was out.

Finally, I settled on angel food cake which doesn’t require frosting, and used all of my leftover egg whites.  As an added bonus, it’s fat free!  I scrambled to bake it a couple of nights ago before going to bed and brought it into work today for my co-workers to snack on.

Angel Food Cake

Like the creme brulee, I did have a few hiccups when I was making the cake because I was rushing through the process.  Number one: I didn’t read the instructions thoroughly, and added flour to the egg whites too soon, which made for a less airy cake.  Number two: I didn’t mix the flour in well enough because I found several hard chalky lumps fused to the white cotton-like cake.  I’m not sure if anybody noticed since nobody said anything about lumpy cake.

Mochitsuki: A New Year Tradition

Ooey Gooey Mochi

The Japanese mochitsuki ceremony is a New Year’s tradition, and I had the pleasure of attending one at the Nikkei Heritage Centre on December 29, 2011.  Even though I had a cold, I sucked it up and tossed back a couple of Dayquil, because I wasn’t going to miss the once a year event.  However, it was poor planning on my part because I arrived at the centre when the events were already underway.  Although I didn’t really miss out on anything, it was difficult to find a parking spot.