Chinese lunch, Quay Lo Dinner

Last Saturday, my best friend Peng and I went to try the food in Di Wei Chinese Restaurant at the Empire Hotel in Subang. 

Our intention was to try the Dim Sum but then there were not many choices, so we decided to order noodles. The one we chose was recommended by the restaurant captain and we were quite happy with it. It had qualities that I like in food. It was very simple but flavorful. It was stir-fried in egg white gravy resulting in a dish that was light, but still unctious and rich tasting. The noodles were al dente and give a nice mouth feel. I believe it is rather easy to make so I am going to try replicating this at home someday.

I liked the design of the restaurant and the service was very good. When the waiter brought the bill, I signed on it and carry on chatting with Peng. The waiter stood right there and did not take the bill away for almost 5 minutes. I got a bit agitated with his hovering. I turned to him and said, “I signed already.” (with a slightly irritated voice). He said to me, “Ma’am, I am sorry I am waiting for your credit card.” Good gracious! Did I think I could eat for free?!! So embarrassing! LOL! I quickly gave him my credit card and apologized to him. AIYOH! 

After lunch, we adjourned to Fresco, a cafe in Jaya Grocers, to have our coffee because I had brought with me the lemon curd cheese cake that I had baked in the morning, to let Peng sample it. Before she ate it, I explained to her that my cheesecake is a cross breed between baked and no baked cheese cake. She laughed and said she would call it half baked. I burst into laughter. A perfect name for my alter ego  Aunty Lucy who now has a cheesecake named for her. I can see it under the counter as an exclusive at Secret Recipe Cake Shop. "Aunty Lucy's Half Baked Cheesecake". LOL! When Peng sank her teeth into her first bite, I could see the approval from her expression. She said it was delicious and the cake melted in her mouth. I will share with you the recipe in my next post. For now, I will give you a sneak peek of this "half baked" confection.

In this post, I would also like to share with you an appetizer dish that I learned from Chef Fabio’s demo, the pancetta wrapped prawn. However, this time I turned it into a meal by plopping it on top of some freshly sauteed spinach with garlic, and pairing it with left over paella rice which I re-purposed to a stuffing for some beautiful fresh capsicums. After filling the peppers I broiled them in the oven and served with the pancetta wrapped prawn. This was a brilliant idea from my Quay Lo. The two dishes complimented each other very well in flavors and we all enjoyed the meal.

Pancetta wrapped prawn

(Chef Fabio’s recipe)

Ingredients:

6 big prawns

6 tsp of gorgonzola cheese

6 pcs. thinly sliced pancetta

ground black pepper to taste

oil to fry the prawn

Method:

Remove head and shells of the prawn, retain the tail. Make a cut at the back of the prawn from head to tail to butterfly it. Season with ground black pepper on both sides. Using palm of your hand and press 1 teaspoon each of gorgonzola cheese to make little bugs that will fit into the opening of the back of the prawns. Close the lip of the prawns to hold the gorgonzola cheese in place. Wrap the prawn with pancetta staring from the tail end. Press the prawn by closing your hand around it to ensure the pancetta will stick to the body. Fry the prawn on both sides till pancetta looks crispy or you can grill the prawn if you prefer. I served it on a bed of  garlic sauté spinach.

Stuffed Capsicum with paella

Ingredients:

Paella (Please click on photo to get the recipe)

3 capsicums

olive oil

Method:

Cut off the top of the capsicum and scoop out all the seeds. Blanch the capsicum and dry it before stuffing in the paella. Oil the baking pan with some olive oil. Spoon  in the paella till the brim of the capsicum and cover with the top piece. Lay them all in the baking pan and roast it in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 10 mins. You do not want the capsicum to be too soft and collapse. You just want it to be cooked. This can be served with other side dishes or just with some freshly baked bread and butter.

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