Poon Choi (盆菜) Recipe

This dish makes the perfect centrepiece at a festive dinner table... Fun to eat!

Each year, my cousins and I take turns hosting Chinese New Year dinners here in Melbourne -- it's so much fun. Even though we've grown up with having so much amazing food prepared for us during this festive season, it's also fun now that we can cook these meals for ourselves here in Australia because our parents are overseas. Luckily for us, my Mum as well as my aunt and uncle actually flew in from Malaysia to celebrate it with us this year. Amazing!

Aside from our Christmas lunches, these Chinese New Year dinners are the most important meals for me every year. Each year, I try to learn and recreate a childhood favourite dish to share on this blog. I absolutely love learning these dishes that I've had growing up because of the amazing memories I've had with them. 

Some of these special CNY dishes I've made and shared include:

- Chinese 8 Treasure Duck (八宝鸭)

- Mum's Sour Plum Duck (酸梅鸭)

- Ham, Abalone & Kailan Jade Chicken (火腿鲍鱼玉兰鸡)

- Grandma's Chinese New Year Vegetarian Stew ("Jye")

Do click on the links above to check out the recipes. You can also check out other Chinese New Year dinners I've blogged about in the link: here

Poon Choi (盆菜), is a dish that has become increasingly popular in recent years around Malaysia and Singapore. It's definitely a celebratory dish that's made for special or festive occasions. Excitement ensues as soon as you place the dish in front of the table for everyone to gather around. It is almost overflowing with ingredients to signify abundance for the new year and made with lots of expensive, premium ingredients that you'd only eat on special occasions. It really is a treat for anyone to have. Made with lots of love, specially for the people you care about. I also like it for the fact that instead of preparing a big banquet with numerous dishes, I can just put all the effort into one dish and serve that instead. It's great.

Restaurants around Asia are starting to serve this dish too but we've never had them outside of home because they all charge RIDICULOUS amounts of money. It really is a lot of work to make so I understand why some people would have this at a restaurant. But my family's not like that at all. We have always preferred eating at home rather than eating out. Just like most things, it always tastes better and also a hell lot cheaper to make at home. Plus, it's more personal as you get to make it exactly how you and your family like to enjoy it. 

There really is no right or wrong way to prepare this dish because Poon Choi actually translates to "big bowl dish" or "big bowl cuisine". There's just as many variations to this dish as there are the number of people making it. It really is how your family enjoys it. If you look online, no 2 poon choi recipes would look identical or have the same ingredients. The presentation of this dish is just as important, if not more, than the taste of it. It is key that it is presented in the best way possible so that it has that "WOW" factor. 

Anyway, I was very happy to have made this dish because it turned out really well and we all enjoyed it. Definitely a great first attempt. It was a lot of effort but I wouldn't say it's more effort than preparing multiple separate dishes like I normally would as each element was actually quite easy to make. 

My family and I really enjoyed eating the Poon Choi and I hope you think of this dish for your next special occasion. Even though I've shared our version of it, I highly encourage you to put your own twist on it to make it your own too. It's fun! It really is such a treat to make and share with loved ones. Seeing the faces of everyone enjoying it really makes it all very, very worth it.

We also had some Nian Gao (年糕) or Sticky Rice Cakes as snacks before dinner

Of course, we couldn't have a Chinese New Year meal without "Lou Sang". A raw fish salad with abundance of colourful ingredients typically eaten on CNY

Perhaps I need to share a recipe for this dish too. Maybe next year!

Poon Choi (盆菜)

(an original recipe, feeds 12 - 15 people)

Click here to print the recipe

Ingredients:

For the braised pork:

1 pork trotter

2 slices of ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp oil

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked for 24 hours then sliced)

5 pieces dried oysters

1 inch piece rock sugar

2 spring onions (tied in a knot)

3 slices of ginger

1/2 bulb garlic

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 handfuls black moss fungus (soaked in water for 30 minutes)

For the seafood:

2 spring onions (tied in a knot)

3 slices of ginger

1 tsp Shao Xin wine

8 - 12 large tiger prawns 

8 - 12 large fresh scallops

For the chicken stock:

1 whole soup or boiling chicken 

5 slices of ginger

1/4 head large chinese cabbage (or 1/2 head if small)

1 large daikon or white radish

Liquid from canned abalone (see below)

Other:
1/2 roast duck *
1/2 soy sauce chicken *
200g crispy roast pork *
1 can abalone **
1 small head broccoli (chopped to florets)

* Just buy them from your favourite Chinese roast shops. Mine's Pacific House in Richmond

** Don't use fresh abalone (it doesn't have the flavour and texture we want). And get the ones with 8 - 9 smaller pieces (so that each person gets one) instead of the ones with 1 or 2 large pieces

Method:

For the braised pork:

1. Heat up a pot of water. Add the pig trotter and 2 slices of ginger and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the pork. Pat dry with a paper towel.

2. Rub the pork with the 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp dark soy sauce. Heat up a large pan with the oil and sear on all sides until browned evenly. Remove the pork from the pan and place in a pressure cooker.

3. In the same pan, fry the shiitake mushrooms and dried oysters for about 2 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from mushrooms and oysters from pan and add to the pressure cooker.

4. Place all the remaining ingredients in the pressure cooker and fill the pressure cooker with water until it just covers the pork trotter. 

5. Seal the lid on the pressure cooker and cook on high for 35 minutes. Remove the lid. If the sauce is still a bit runny, set aside the pork and boil on high until sauce has thickened slightly. Stir in the black moss fungus.

6. Taste the sauce. Adjust the flavour if necessary with more sugar or soy sauce. 

For the seafood:

1. Fill a small pot with water and add the spring onions, ginger, Shao Xin wine and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.

2. While the pot of water is boiling, remove the veins and sandbag from the head of the prawns (but keeping the shell and head of the prawns).

3. Poach the prawns in the pot for 3 minutes or until just cooked. Remove and set aside.

4. Poach the scallops in the pot for 3 minutes or until just cooked. Remove and set aside. 

For the chicken stock:

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add in the chicken and ginger slices and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. While simmering, cut the cabbage to approx 1 inch squares. Peel the daikon and cut to 1 cm thick slices.

2. Discard the chicken and ginger slices. Add the white cabbage and daikon and simmer for another 30 minutes or until daikon is tender.

3. Stir in all the liquid from the canned abalone (used later) and turn off heat. No need to season with salt as stock will be flavourful enough once served with all other ingredients.

For the other ingredients:
1. Poach the abalone in the chicken stock for 1 minute. Remove from pot and set aside.

2. Poach the broccoli in the chicken stock until just tender (about 2 minutes). Remove from pot and set aside.


TO ASSEMBLE:

1. You will require a large dish or pot of minimum 30cm and several inches deep. Use whatever you can find. I used my hotpot or steamboat machine.

2. Place all chinese cabbage at the bottom of the pot, reserving a few tablespoons for decoration later.

3. Place all the daikon on top of the chinese cabbage, reserving a few pieces for decoration later.

4. Place the pork trotter in the middle of the pot. I used a few of the daikon pieces underneath to keep it upright. The pork serves as the centrepiece of the dish.

5. Next, carefully arrange all the remaining ingredients around the pork. You can do this in whichever sequence you like but I did the following (in clockwise from the top):

• Soy sauce chicken
• Daikon 
• Crispy roast pork
• Roast duck
• Scallops
• Prawns
• Abalone
• Chinese cabbage
• Mushrooms 
• Broccoli

6. Finally, arrange the black moss fungus in a ring around the pork trotter. Enjoy!!!

Ying Thai 2, Carlton

Yellow Curry with Crab Meat

Pad Grapow with Fried Egg 

Goay Teaw Moo

(Special pork noodle soup with minced pork, pork ball, fish ball, pork liver, bean sprouts)

Can't get enough of it

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking to have something that's cheap, fuss free but ultra tasty for lunch so I decided to head over to Ying Thai 2 on Lygon Street. This is a place that I haven't been for the longest time. I used to come here heaps when I was a student in uni for those very same reasons and man, did it hit the spot or what.

I noticed that they had undergone a renovation since uni days but am very relieved to say that the food was just as good as I remembered... Ahhh, the golden days of youth.

Ying Thai now have a new dish on their menu that wasn't there when I was at uni, which is the Yellow Curry with Crab Meat and it is DELICIOUS. Sweet, generous crab meat cooked in a seriously addictive yellow curry sauce. This dish is different but perfectly encapsulates what I like about the food here -- packed full of flavour. Plus, I just love crab meat that I don't have to shell myself (and there was heaps of it on the plate). Ying Thai makes the best coconut rice and it went down a treat with this dish. Highly recommend this dish.

Besides that, the Pad Grapow (stir fried mince with Thai basil) was as tasty as always. To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of stir fries (so boring) but this was an exception for me. The seasoning was subtly but lingering, delicious to eat. And this dish is just not complete without a serve of fried egg on the side, tis awesome.

Finally, most people are surprised when I tell them that one of my favourite dishes here is the mixed pork noodle soup. Even though Ying Thai is quite famous, this doesn't seem to be a dish that people would normally know of, let alone would order but I do enjoy it a lot. I've always been a fan of noodle soups (find it very comforting) when it's light, tasty and refreshing. That's why I would always take pho over a heavy laksa or ramen any day. This is the only place in Melbourne that serves pork noodle soup and it really does it for me. I absolutely love the variety of ingredients that's in there too, which makes each mouthful exciting and satisfying. This dish really does it for me and something I always order without fail. 

Anyway, I was very happy to revisit this place again. Ying Thai, to me, is like an old friend that you can always count on no matter what. There for you when you need them. Even if you go for years without seeing each other, feels like nothing's changed every time you catch up. Ok, am I talking about a Thai restaurant or an old flame? May or may not be sensationalising this too much. Time for me to stop.

Happy eating. 

 

Sezar, CBD

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. Winston received a voucher to dine at Sezar courtesy of Free Wines app

A seriously gorgeous bottle of wine to kickstart the evening, which you can get for FREE

All you need to do is download the Free-Wines app on your phone (download also available for free!)

Kataifi Wrapped Lamb Neck with Sesame Mayo -- $12

Bastourma & Egg -- $15

Armenian air dried beef, quail egg, toasted brioche & garlic jam

Spanner Crab Manti -- $16

Armenian dumplings, yoghurt soup & paprika butter

Molasses Glazed Pork -- $22

with roasted celeriac puree, grapes, walnut & purslane

Spiced Baby Chicken -- $32

with wheat berries, corn & lemon buttermilk

BBQ Wagyu Tenderloin -- $22

with garlic yoghurt & lavash

Mujadarra -- $9

braised lentils, rice & fried onions

First of all, let me just start by saying that this is not a hack. It does come as a real surprise (to myself at least) to be posting a restaurant review again because it has been so long since I've done one. To be honest, I must say that I have missed it a little bit. I did become more passionate than ever last year about homecooking and food styling so I that's why I decided to pursue that more on this space. 

That said, there were so many times instances last year when I tried a new place that I really liked, wanted to talk about it here but I decided not to blog about it because I seldom brought my camera with me so I had no photos to go with the post. Instead, I just talked about it with people around me IRL. I really hope to start getting back into restaurant reviews again though because I've always enjoyed giving people suggestions for where they could go to have a good meal with their friends and family. Most people know that I don't like the term "review" as it really is me merely sharing my personal experience at the time instead of "rating" a place, but you get what I mean.

Back to Sezar. Free-Wines first got in contact with me a few months ago to introduce themselves and what they did. They basically have an app (which is available to download on iPhone or Android for free) that allows people to enjoy a bottle of wine at any of their participating restaurants free of charge when they spend over $100. So easy. They had asked me if I would be keen on dining at any of their partnering restaurants and sharing my experience on the blog. I'll be honest, I had the slightest apprehension at the start because I have not heard of them before and wasn't sure if they would have any restaurants that I'd be keen to try. As soon as I scrolled down the list and saw Sezar, I immediately took up their offer to dine there and used the app.

Now, I don't have a lot of places that I am actually keen to try out as I do prefer eating at home (so boring, I know) but Sezar was definitely a rare exception. I first heard about this Armenian restaurant from a few good friends who has been there on numerous occasions and couldn't stop raving about it. Not only did the food that they showed me look absolutely spectacular, I've never had Armenian food before so I really wanted to experience it for myself!

The ambience of the place as soon as you walked in felt very typical of Melbourne CBD restaurant. Very dim, young, hip, chic, and everyone there seemed very well dressed (whereas I rocked up shamelessly in my hoody and Adidas trainers lol). At the start of our meal, I showed the waitress the app on my iPhone to order my complimentary bottle of wine and decided to go for the Melbac from Argentina. A truly stunning red wine that I honestly don't have enough of. Great notes of fruit and spices without being too heavy. Very easy to have with our entire meal. Again, I had my doubts about whether or not the wine we could get was going to be any good (since it was free) but must say that it was very, very good stuff. Imported too.

Foodwise, I was quite blown away to be honest. Often times, I'd read the description of the food on the menu and sort of know what to expect when it comes out. My meal at Sezar, however, was nothing like that at all. Every dish that came out looked and tasted completely different from what I had expected, in an extremely delicious kind of way. The Armenian flavour profile was very unique and distinct to those that I've experienced at other Middle Eastern restaurants as well. It is so nice to experience that sense of genuine surprise, delight and appreciation from eating a dish at a restaurant once again so I do sincerely thank them for that. 

First, the Armenian dried beef with quail egg entree was sensational. Tender and flavourful mouthful of meat coated in that rich, unctuous yolk. Amazing. Next, we felt like it would be an act of sacrilege if we went to an Armenian restaurant and not order a lamb. Our decision for this was justified. Dumplings had a strong seafood flavour, which I enjoyed. The glazed pork tasted as good as it sounded but to me, one of the highlights of that evening was the chicken. Maybe it was the use of baby chicken; maybe it was just their impeccable skills in the kitchen; but the dark meat of the chook had a very delicate, silky texture whereas the white meat was so soft to the bite. Paired with creamy, tasty flavour of the berries underneath it was honestly HEAVEN. I am salivating just thinking about it. Finally, the other notable dish (which happens to be a side dish) that you absolutely must have when you're here is the Mujadarra, a Middle Eastern lentil and rice dish. Wow wow wow every mouthful of the stuff was packed full of flavour. It was incredible to eat and went so well with the other mains or proteins we were having that evening. I could have a bucket full of the stuff on its own. So damn good.
Overall, I was very impressed with my meal here at Sezar and it's definitely high up in the ranks for me. Besides that, I was also very happy to have experienced the Free Wines app too and I can't stop telling people about it. It's so easy for us to spend over $100 when I dine with a group of friends. Now, I know that we can also get a free bottle of good quality wine as well to enjoy with our meal. Fan-friggin-tastic.

 

Hong Kong Mango Pudding Recipe

Yes, that spelling is not a typo and was intentional. Too many letters, not enough pudding

Greetings from Malaysia!

Back in my hometown of Kota Kinabalu in Borneo for a week before traveling to Europe for 2 weeks -- can't wait.

Being back is great. I get to catchup on much needed rest as well as family time, which I've missed. People who are living overseas away from their immediate family would know how it feels. Obviously, I've been eating so much since the time I've touched down it's not even funny. Thank God I anticipated this happening in advance and went on that 8 week diet before this.

Anyway, I thought I'd share this recipe because mangoes are in season at the moment which is great. Plus, this is actually a dessert I've been making for years as it is extremely easy to make and great to make in massive portions to share with friends/family. I've made it for birthdays, farewells, or just simple dinner parties and can vouch that it is perfect for every occasion. Inspired by the mango puddings you get at Chinese dim sum or yum cha restaurants, I really wanted to recreate it at home too. 

Although you can get sachets of instant mango pudding from certain Asian grocery stores, I cannot begin to tell you how turned off I get by artificial fruit flavours. It's the worst. This is why I was glad to have come across this recipe many years ago and have made it countless times since then. Because we get really good quality mango ice cream all year here in Australia (I like the Weis brand), you basically take that and mix it with a homemade syrup/gelatine mixture so you can help it set. Mixing it with the evaporated milk just gives it the milky, creamy flavour that is so prominent in the famous HK dessert. It's great.

Like I said, too easy to make. Delicious to eat. So please, don't ever use that powdered stuff anymore and just do this recipe instead.

Hong Kong Mango Pudding Recipe
(adapted from this recipe by Raspberri Cupcakes)

Click here to print the recipe

Ingredients

2 litres good quality mango ice cream (softened) *

2 cups water

5 tbsp gelatine powder

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

Flesh of 1 large mango (cubed)

To serve:

Fresh mangoes or fruits of choice

Evaporated milk

* I like to use Weis Mango Ice Cream (available at most supermarkets around Australia)

Method

1. Remove the ice cream from the freezer 1 - 2 hours before to allow it to soften and place it in a heat proof bowl.

2. Place the water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Stir in the gelatine powder and caster sugar and allow to continue to boil until thick and syrupy. 

3. Stir in the syrup into the softened ice cream until well combined. Stir in the evaporated milk and mango flesh into the mixture until well combined.

4. Pour mixture into a large serving tray or individual cups/moulds and allow to cool. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for minimum two hours or until completely set. 

5. To serve, decorate with mangoes or fruits of choice. Pour over with some more evaporated milk as desired.

Coconut Flour Pancakes with Coconut, Maple & Chocolate Sauce

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. Winston received the "Colour Basics Coupe Dinner Set" as a gift from Maxwell & Williams.

Recently, I was approached by Maxwell & Williams and asked whether or not I'd be interested in doing some food styling for them to promote their range for the Spring season. If you have been following my blog the past few months, you would've noticed that this blog has taken a slight change in direction. The food review aspect has taken quite a backseat and this blog has become more focused on home cooking and food styling. I get asked quite often as to why this is so. 

To be honest, the real reason is that I'm just too lazy to take my camera out to restaurants anymore. And even if I do, the photos might not be up to scratch for me and I am really hesitant about posting photos from my iPhone like I used to. That said, I do intend on making a comeback to food reviewing one day because there's always so many places that I've experienced, truly enjoyed and really wish I could share about. 

After doing this for over 4 years now, I can surely say that the experience of blogging is honestly nothing short of a journey for me now as it has since the day I started. Constantly evolving, hopefully growing; and the landscape of this blog really is a reflection of who I am as a blogger. There are changes in my subject, focus, photography and even writing. I like trying new things and challenging myself creatively along the way. To me, this is what makes blogging so exciting. 

Right now, I am really passionate about food styling ever since my food photography workshop in April. I love looking at interesting food photos and I am constantly in awe by the creativity behind each of those photos. I feel so inspired to push myself to step out of my comfort zone and be more adventurous in food photography too. It is for that reason why I was actually really looking forward on taking up this opportunity and collaborating with Maxwell & Williams.

Speaking of stepping outside your comfort zone, I was initially quite worried as soon as I opened the package (if I'm being honest). I mean, it was really blue. Something I'm not used to. I wasn't sure how I'd get to showcase and highlight food on a plate as striking as this. What colour tones do I want in the food or overall picture? What colour or texture do I want for the surface or the backdrop? What do I even make? After much thought, I decided to just embrace the colour and all its vibrance head on. I wanted to make something with lots of colours on the plate it so that the blue wouldn't stand out as much. Also, I wanted to highlight the colour yellow and make it a big component of the dish as I thought that yellow looks pretty good against blue. Pancakes it was. I decided to go with a neutral surface to help accentuate the colours on the plate too. 

Finally, I wanted to get some soft shadows in the shot to soothe the overall picture as I was worried that all the colours might be too loud and confronting. After many, many attempts, I think I finally got what I was trying to achieve out of these pictures. I must say that I really enjoy this dinner set now. The size, shape and colours actually work really well and I enjoy using them very much. Am thankful for this gift set from Maxwell & Williams.

Okay and as for this recipe, I really wanted to make something healthy-ish because I'm still on my diet. The result was an accidental vegetarian and gluten free recipe (gasp). This coming from Mr Carnivore over here. Anyway, the pancakes were actually really light and fluffy and the dessert was very well received overall when I made it for some friends on the weekend. They definitely dug this healthier alternative and so did I. Little positive steps go a long way, I say. Plus, this recipe is so easy to make.

I highly recommend you give these pancakes a go. Definitely a keeper of a recipe, if you ask me.

Coconut Flour Pancakes with Coconut, Maple & Chocolate Sauce

(pancakes adapted from this recipe by Nourishing Days)

Click here to print the recipe

Ingredients

Coconut pancakes:

4 eggs

1 cup light coconut milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp honey or real maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp salt

Coconut oil *

* I use coconut oil spray as I find it more convenient to cook with

Chocolate sauce:

4 tbsp coconut oil

50g dark chocolate

2 tbsp real maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla essence

Pinch of salt

To serve:

Fresh berries (I used raspberries and blackberries)

Fresh figs (sliced to quarters)

Slivered almonds

Method

1. Heat a non stick pan on low-medium heat. In a small bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Mix in the coconut milk, vanilla and honey or maple syrup.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the coconut flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt until well combined. Form a well in the middle of the bowl. Slowly pour in the wet mixture while mixing slowly until well combined. 

3. Spray the pan with coconut oil spray or add a small knob of coconut oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into the pan. Spread out into a circle (of approx. 4 inches in diameter) with the back of the spoon. Once the pancake forms bubbles on the surface (approx 1 - 2 minutes), flip to cook for a further minute or so. Cooking times may vary and practice makes perfect. I didn't get the hang of it until my 3rd or 4th pancake. 

4. Remove pancake and set aside on a plate. Repeat process with remaining batter until all pancakes are cooked. Give the pan a quick spray or small knob of coconut oil each time before adding the batter. 

5. For the chocolate sauce, combine all ingredients in a glass bowl and place in microwave in 30 second bursts until chocolate is all melted. 

6. To serve, pour chocolate sauce over pancakes and garnish with berries, figs and almonds.