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Holy Crêpes

4/20/2012

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One of the things I've been practising in the past year is to make crêpes. It sounds trivial: flour, eggs and milk beaten up to produce a runny batter which is then spooned onto a heated pan, flipped over and voilà. But you know what they say -- talk is cheap.

What is the right proportion for the three ingredients? The eggs and milk: cold or at room temperature? Whisked or blended? Pan: cast-iron, non-stick or stainless steel? Heat: low, medium or high? Fire or induction? One can read up on the internet and still messes things up when doing it, for instance, lumpy batter that is not ready for the pan. And finally, there's the look on the husband's face that says it all. Meaning, he still prefers the ones he had as a kid. Meaning, "The next time we go back to France, I'll ask my mum to teach you."

Which was what he did. And she did. And thus I did. In fact, in the past months I've turned crêpe-making into an organized process which, in my humble opinion, is worthy of ISO certification. JL now asks for them and can take up to eight crêpes per seating. Me, I happily oblige every time since it's been internalised. It may not be the world's best recipe but it's definitely one I can call my own.   
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This can be done with just a wooden spoon and a bowl for the batter. But allow me to share some key details which you won't find in any magazine or food article:

* As soon as you decide to make crêpes, take the milk, eggs and a tablespoon of butter out of the fridge. Leave these on the counter to warm to room temperature. Until then, carry on with your life.
* Measure the flour by weight, not by cup. My "Golden Ratio" -- 100g flour : one egg : 250ml milk. Laugh all you want but, you're welcome.
* It is easy to obtain a lump-free batter when you use a blender. But you can also get a smooth batter with just your spoon. So you don't need a blender, really. You just need to know how to do it with your hands. I'll describe it later.
* You need to "rest" the batter for at least an hour before using it. Trust me. 

Ready? Let's just work with 300 grams of flour. Follow the Golden Ratio and it's always one tablespoon of butter. 

Start by making a well with the flour in your bowl. Break one egg in the well, use your spoon to cut into the yolk. Working in a small circular motion, gently incorporate the flour with the egg until you get a pasty texture. Add a small amount of milk and keep mixing the ingredients slowly but thoroughly. Alternate between adding of egg and milk till the third egg. Continue to stir in small amounts of milk to incorporate all the flour. Then, stir in the butter, a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of sugar. And finally, stir in the remaining milk. You'll get a very runny batter, much like the consistency of heavy cream. Now let it rest.
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After some years of teaching mathematics and music in Singapore secondary schools, I have two words engraved on my forehead: Best Practices. And this is my setup for crêpes - from left to right - input, process, output. Also, I find that induction cooktop is better than gas (fire) because the pan is consistently and evenly heated up. More pleasant to work with too. I use moderate-high heat and only start when my palm feels hot over the pan. With just that tablespoon of butter already in the batter, there is no need for oil on the nonstick pan.

The rest of it comes with practice, practice, and more practice. First, you get the hang of the process, right from taking the ingredients from the fridge to eating it. Then, work on getting the exact amount of batter to put on the pan. If you keep using the same ladle and pan, very soon you'll be able to tell if it is too much, too little or just right. Work on your wrist action - how you swirl the pan to spread the batter evenly without any hole. After that, how thin can you get? When do you turn the crêpe over? How? Don't forget to savour that split-second when you slide the crêpe onto the plate. 

I came to realize that my true enjoyment of crêpes lies in the process of making them, and not so much in the eating. I like that the entire process has been well thought through -- my RO (reporting officer) would have been impressed if this were my KRA (key result area) -- and that it is simple to the point of being primitive. But more importantly, I love watching how the husband turns into that boy all over again, sprinkling sugar before rolling it up like a cigar. Just the way he likes it.  
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Sayonara, Bon Goût

4/14/2012

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Every few weeks, JL and I make a trip down to Singapore for many reasons: catching up with old friends, meeting people regarding work, dropping by the hairdresser's (hey I've been seeing him since the turn of the century!) and running errands (banks, post office). 

In between these, we also try to plan our meals revisiting our old haunts -- good old Singapore-style Hainanese chicken rice and dry beef horfun at Chin Chin; the sole mio pizza at Mario's; tandoori chicken and curry at Samy's; nachos and Asian grilled chicken wings washed down with golden ale at Brewerkz; rojak and sliced fish beehoon soup (with milk!) at Wisma's Food Republic; xiaolongbao, braised beef noodles soup and shrimp wanton noodles soup at Din Tai Fung (the one in KL Pavilion just couldn't cut it)... A long list which is limited only by the number of nights allocated for each trip.

We are such creatures of habit that we almost always order the same items at these places. Hence our broken hearts when we walked to our regular Japanese manga store cum home-cooked food café, only to be shocked by slabs of bare concrete walls through glass panels, not even the tiniest hint of what was previously there. I'd dare say for that few minutes, hunger was taken over by sadness.

It's been three days and memories of Bon Goût at Robertson Quay still linger on. The motherly Japanese lady boss and her younger hippy-chic assistant, the odd duo (one tiny Ah Pek and the other his exact opposite) working in the kitchen who'd sneak a peek at the diners when they were less busy, the sight of Japanese families quietly reading their mangas or magazines after a meal, the rice cookers and slow cookers sitting along the wall behind the service counter, and the unpredictable genres of music playing on the blue portable player near the cashier. 

Yes, it was so regular that we had even gone there both lunch and dinner on the same day. And I regret having only ever taken two photos there.  
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It was through Bon Goût that I realized how a good home-cooked meal can be as simple as it is satisfying. It was the hippy-chic lady who said to use California-grown sushi rice (Kokuho, which eventually became our staple in Cambridge). It was the portable player that convinced me Céline Dion sounds only as great as the audio system through which her voice is amplified. 

I suppose the coffee table we have for our living room will always remind me of the tables and counter by which we used to sit at Bon Goût, as they are all of the same shade of wood. And the simplicity of a home-cooked Japanese meal inspired by their menu: udon with cod, naruto maki, and fresh greens in miso soup.  
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We'll remember your pan-fried beef steak rice set with creamy carrot-potato salad; your curry rice where half the plate is covered with curry containing potato, carrot and onion, while the other half just white rice with neatly sliced tonkatsu resting on top, served with the most delightful salad of pickled cabbage and onion I've ever tasted; your fried chicken with negi sauce rice set; your stir-fried miso chicken with eggplant. 

And not forgetting your shoyu ramen, which had become our own little joke, as JL would say "I'll shoyu ramen" when he really means "I'll show you". So thanks for the good-tasting memories and inspiration, and I secretly hope that one day, my collection of pretty little stoneware dishes will be as widely assorted as yours. One day.
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Rain Check for Ano-san

4/5/2012

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We met R for dinner last night and feeling bored with the same old half-baked "western" food in KL, he was game to try something new. It was our first time at Changkat Bukit Bintang on a Wednesday night. Is it always this lively on Hump Night or were people thinking the same as we did? It is the Holy Week and surely, one must have the conscience to abstain from all things hedonistic on Good Friday? And being the not-quite-disciplined ones, what we'd normally do on a Friday night would then be brought forward to Wednesday night? 

Confession: I was ready for some Torture Ribs at Racks despite having been there barely a week ago. But I think our pseudo-Japanese-Korean Ano-san wasn't in the mood for pork ribs for the n-th time. Just for the record, though - Racks is a great place to hangout with people whose company you enjoy. The only pre-requisite is that you must love pork. But what to do when you don't feel like pigging out?

That's when the next door neighbour comes into the picture. These two immediate shophouses are easily our favourites along Changkat Bukit Bintang. Time for tapas at Pinchos. Ano-san was happy to share some with us. Three hours of tapas, bread, cider and beer later, I told R that if we end up living in KL, it would be a pleasure for me to put together an evening of tapas and pinchos at home for him. "Oh... I will come!" he replied, nodding his head profusely. Meanwhile he should just keep his fingers crossed for us, this week especially.

So lest I forget - for future reference, with the freshest ingredients, no cutting of corners, here's what I propose:

* Aceitunas: marinated olives, in particular Kalamata olives (a tiny bowl for JL coz he l-o-v-e-s them)
* Gambas al ajillo: sauteed prawns with garlic, parsley and olive oil
* Pan tumaca con jamon Serrano: Serrano ham and tomato spread on toast
* Chorizo con setas: Chorizo sausage stew with mushrooms and potatoes
* Albondigas: pork and beef meatballs with thyme and garlic
* Berenjenas con tomate: pan-fried eggplant with tomato sauce and parmesan
* Pinchos de ternera: grilled veal skewers with mushrooms
* Pinchos de jamon con queso fundido: ham and melted cheese on toast with pine nuts
* Tomates con ajo: fresh tomatoes with garlic, herbs and olive oil
* Ensalada sencilla: romaine lettuce with hard-boiled eggs, tuna, olives, onion and tomatoes  

Let's just start with these ten with some bread to soak up the sauces. 

Ano-san bring very mucho sidra El Gaitero, hokay? And you pray for us also, hokay?
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    briefly

    JL and S grew up in France and Malaysia respectively. They met while living in Singapore, stayed a year in the USA (Cambridge, MA) then the south of France, Malaysia, and are back again in the USA (New York, NY). 

    frenchinos at home is where we share some of our stories with friends, much like the living room, dine-in kitchen, or the timber-deck balcony which we've always wanted to have, which sounds most impossible where we live now. 

    Welcome and we're happy to have you here :)

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