Carven's Table

Pineapple Box courtesy of King of Fruit, Queensland  A while ago I received a box of pineapple goodies in my mailbox all the way from Queensland! Gosh, they got hold up in WA quarantine detention centre but they were ready-to-eat pineapple by the time it got to my hands. Before I finally got to open up the box, the whole house was perfumed by those sweet pineapple fragrance, loved it! Unfortunately, I received the box just a day before my overseas holiday, hence I gave most of them to friends and made myself a last dinner before boarding the flight! Just a simple pasta tossed with pineapple, tofu and spicy nap sauce Fresh, juicy pineapple from Queensland! Pineapple is an essential fruit in my home country - Malaysia. It is used in curry, stew, desserts, festive cookies and as prayers' offering. As a kid growing up in Malaysia, I never liked fresh pineapples because they were always as sour and left an unbearable aftertaste (like thousands of needles poking throug...

Sunrising  My flight flying into Perth landed early in the morning the other day, because I'm not so much of a morning person, so being able to witness sunrises and to be awake in the morning was one of those "most appreciated moments of my life". That being said, breakfast by the inlet on a beautiful spring morning was even better, double happiness! A Warm day approaching Lonely bird staring at sky We were half an hour early before Toast open its door for some toasting action! That wasn't a big deal at all as it was a pleasure walking along the foreshore of Claisebrooke Cove. It's open!!  The door were opened at 7am sharp, and it didn't take long for its place to be filled up by business suiters, morning cyclist and morning go-getter. Herbies everywhere, needs trimming though!  Crested Menu We got ourselves a table outside because we were the customer to arrive and it was a beautiful day, but the inside looks cosy and full of characte...

Finally I'm back in Perth just in time for the warmer weather, flowers blooming, music festival and events. Glad to be back, but was shocked to find out there were a few new restaurant sprung up during my 3 weeks holiday. And I'm in no delay in trying them out, also I will need to get groceries after flying-in if I were to cook for myself, a perfect excuse for dining out. Kai, just beneath Bull Creek's Curry House.  Kai Japanese was recommended by one of my foodie friend, but was being advised that there might be a queue. Situated beneath Bull Creek's Curry House, it's located at Parry Avenue's shopping square, next to The Cheesecake Shop. There wasn't a queue when we got there, but we waited 10mins outside for a table. The shop were tiny, only 6 tables fitted tightly in a space smaller than a normal size bedroom. If you are uncomfortable dining at such a confine space, I recommend that you get takeaway from them, though menu choices for takeaway are...

It was Mid Autumn Festival/ Mooncake Festival/ Lantern Festival for every Chinese out there. It is also a day to reunite with your family; to chat, eat, drink tea and play lantern under the perfectly round moon. I have lost count on how many Mid Autumn Festival I've missed celebrating with my family. This year was one exception, I got to eat mooncake, drink tea, play lanterns and candles with my family. You'll never feel too old playing lanterns. When we were a lot younger back then, we used to play with candles, making it into a fire stove and started cooking with dried leaves where we picked up at the garden. Well, now that we have all grown up, we don't play with fire anymore, but focus more on decorating the garden with colourful paper lanterns. Mooncake - Pandan with double egg yolk Eating mooncake is a must-do in this festival, you wouldn't feel completed if you didn't have one. We used to fight with each other for the biggest portion with biggest ...

It's way out of the truffle season now, but I managed to f reeze it, flew it out of the country, infused it, then only cooked every last bit of it the other day. Not one single bit wasted eh! Dish no.1 Omelette with brown beech mushroom, creme fraiche, rocket and truffle This was done 2 days after infusing the eggs with my little piece of black gold/shit. I shaved a tiny amount of truffle on the omelette, because we wanted to try if we could taste the truffle from the infused egg. The aroma and flavour was quite light, extra shaving of truffle didn't really help neither do the rocket leafs. Once again, my parents can't really engage into the whole truffle frenzy. In order to taste the subtle truffle flavour, one need a squeaky clean palate.   Dish no. 2 Risotto in the making It was such a great effort to look for Arborio Rice in Kuala Lumpur, I went to a few "supposedly" gourmet supermarket and traveled to numerous suburbs to look for arborio rice, ...

Piggy's tail with red ornament for good luck It was my cousin's 21st on the second day I got home back in Malaysia, and all I could think of was the whole roasted pig at the party! hmmm...roast pork... Uncle T ordered a whole roasted pork for his son's birthday, I didn't ask how much it weigh but judging from its size, it could be a young pig, just nice for roasting; not too lean nor too fat. Celebrating 21st in our family is slightly different from the usual Aussie kid's, not so much on music blasting, neither could you see costume party. We call it a party, but more like a family & friends gathering with lots of food of course and booze. Grandpa doing the honour Our honourable guest aka grandpa gotta do the deed by chopping and portioning the pork, I must say he did a great job and he does love his meat. I was snapping picture as quick as a ninja to keep up with him, but I whole intention was to get the first bite once it's been cut into delic...

Last Friday, marked the end of Ramadan (the Islamic holy end of fasting month), to the whole nation of Malaysia, that means yet another festive holiday - Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Celebration Day). Although I'm not a Muslim, but we do join in the fun of celebration, and food is the best way to learn and celebrate about the other culture. However, before celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri , Muslims have to fast for a month from dawn til sunset(that included refrain from eating, drinking and having any form of intercourse. So, if you happen to travel to Malaysia during fasting month, the chances of dining at a Malays' restaurant/shop/stall/kiosk during daytime are quite slim. However, Ramadan Bazaar is one of the most anticipated place to go every evening. What's there? One might ask. FOOD, STREET FOOD! As a Malaysian myself, I've never been to a Ramadan Bazaar in my entire life, heck I've never even heard of it! Only until recently that I discovered about its existe...