Home-cooked dinner for the first day of the Dragon Chinese New Year, with Wilson, Alison, Chihoe, Yiwen, and Marielle.

Christmas at home with Wilson (chicken stew), Alison (cheesecake), Chihoe (rice), Yiwen (Peri Peri chicken), and Marielle (Shepherd’s Pie).

Sabbatical Return

Manja Makan! is back!

The year away included a bountiful of food, eating out or home-cooked. We have lost track of them so we are just going to begin anew with our most recents cookouts - Christmas 2011 and Chinese New Year 2012.

We hope everyone has enjoyed and will continue to enjoy our food adventures on Manja Makan!

Min Jiang Kueh (面煎馃) - Chinese Pancake, cooked by Alison and Yiwen. Served with a kaya spread, instead of the usual peanut-and-sugar filling.

Potluck dishes prepared by Wilson, Alison, Chihoe, Yiwen and Marielle. The onde-onde was a big hit!

Our Christmas meal prepared by Wilson, Alison, Chihoe, Yiwen, and Marielle.

Bak Chor Mee (肉脞面) - Minced Pork Noodles, cooked by Yiwen.

Gourmet Garden (Toronto)
4465 Sheppard Avenue East, Scarborough

• It was just the three siblings for dinner at Gourmet Garden on January 8.
• We have been to this eatery located in a foodcourt before, but it had been a while since we were back. The place, run by Malaysians mostly from Ipoh, has since expanded to a stall next to their main one.
• Is there no one in Toronto who can make a good bowl of Singapore Laksa? The ones that we have had taste more like Curry Mee, including this which used yellow noodles and rice vermicelli rather than the white laksa noodles. Singapore Laksa is usually more lemak (richer in coconut milk). Restoran Malaysia still has the better one so far.
• The taste and smell of petai is strong and unique. We love them, but be prepared for petai breath if you feast on them. It was actually a nice surprise when we first found out that Gourmet Garden served them because while petai is sold in Asian grocery stores, cooking it with sambal the Malaysian way so that it tastes good is a whole other level. Even though it was nice to have it cooked for us in Toronto, this Petai with Prawns was not fresh, slightly sour and had too much onions in it.
• The Asam Laksa was too sour to the point that it tasted salty. Otherwise, it was presentable and good enough for its price and complexity in preparation.
• Roti prata is usually made crisp by flipping flattened dough over and over on a hot plate. The Roti Prata tasted like it was deep-fried and while the Curry Chicken went well with it, the prata is always the main draw. Microwavable frozen roti prata is available at grocery stores but we don’t know how good they taste to fresh handmade ones since we have never tried them ourselves.
• Pan Mian gets a low rating only because of the flavour of the soup. While the noodles were the authentic ban mian noodles, the soup was too bland. Satay House, as last reviewed, had a delicious soup base but not the right noodles. If only we can combine the good from both places…
• The biggest disappointment of the night - Mee Rebus. One of us had mee rebus mixed up with mee soto which added to the disappointment. Nevertheless, any Malaysian food would be sufficient, so we thought. The mee rebus had a huge serving portion but the colour of the gravy was too yellow and the taste was off. Squeezing lime into the noodles did enhance the flavour but there is only so much a slice of lime can do.
• The best dish of the night - Rojak. Not only was it refreshing, the rojak actually looked, smelt and tasted authentic and had the proper sauce and ingredients of fruits, vegetables, crispy tau pok and crunchy fritters. Two thumbs up!
• The Chendol had the right amount of beans, jelly and shaved ice, and the chendol was not too sweet nor too watery. The perfect beverage/dessert to go with the meal.
• Kuih Dadar and Kuih Angku were well-received by us. The only comment was that the kuih angku’s skin was too thin.
• Gourmet Garden is inexpensive (think hawker centre prices) and is relatively accessible (uptown within Toronto and TTC-reachable). What’s more is that they do sell other food products at the stalls like snacks and sauces from home, even kaya! Like Satay House, it was a hit-or-miss for each dish.

Overall: 3 kueh out of 5 - Okay lah!

Japchae (잡채) - Korean Glass Noodles, cooked by Alison.

Satay House (Toronto)
Huron Street (north of Dundas Street West)

• Our makan kawan kawans were a group of Singaporeans studying at the University of Toronto: Audrey, Pamela, Zhiyang, Velda and Darryl.
• Satay House is a small, non-halal restaurant in Chinatown run by a couple. The owner/chef is Malaysian and his wife/server is from China. Audrey heard about this place from a friend who recommended the char kuay teow.
• We managed to taste-test the Char Kuay Teow and Wat Dan Hor from sharing with our kawan kawans and the ratings given were based off those spoonfuls.
• The soup of the Bak Kut Teh was that similar to those in Malaysia - herbal-flavoured and darker in colour. In Singapore, kway chap is the equivalent. The soup base could have been out of a packet sold at Chinatown grocery stores, but irregardless the herbal flavour could have been stronger. While the pork cooked with the soup was also not all that spectacular, the presence of tau pok (fried beancurd tofu) and beancurd skin in the soup, and garlic and cut red chilli served at the side, added to the authenticity of the bak kut teh.
• The Ban Mian, or rather mee hoon kuay (used were not the long strips of noodles that ban mian uses), had a delicious soup base. However, the noodles were not up to par as it was doughy and not chewy.
• Curry Laksa (review to come)
• Satay House, for its convenience in downtown Toronto and its cost of about $7 per dish, is a decent place to eat when we are craving some Malaysian fare but are too lazy to make the trip to Restoran Malaysia.

Overall: 3 kueh out of 5 - Okay lah!