Happy Halloween 2017 from BabySumoFamily

BOO! Happy Halloween from BabySumoFamily.

Introducing Count Dancula.. the 666th generation of Danpires.

It was actually Baby D's idea to be a vampire this year. He lost both his upper front teeth just in time for Halloween so it looks like he has mini fangs. Hubby DIY-ed his vampire cloak using a black apron and some red cloth. Some dark eye makeup and blood completes the look ;)

Here's Coco Cat.... a witch's black cat ;)

Spooky or frightfully adorable?

So the kids decided, "Mummy, you should be a mummy. That would be perfect!"

If you scroll back to the first photo, you will see that Hubby cleverly made the artwork to illustrate the Halloween characters we're dressing up as this year.

Annual Halloween Game... eating toast off a line. LOL! We played it one year and the kids enjoyed it, so we've been doing it every year ever since.

And this Halloween poster is made by Baby C using an app... clever girl!

Hope you have a spooktacular Halloween.

Here are some recipes for Halloween: Halloween eyeball pasta with blood sauce, Halloween ghost and bat cookies, Spooktacular Halloween coffin cake and Frozen Banana Ghost Pops.




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Set Lunch @ Jyu Raku Japanese Restaurant, Subang Jaya

Last week, we were looking for a lunch spot in Subang (specifically Japanese food). A quick search led us to Jyu Raku, one of many Japanese restaurants located in this stretch in SS15 known as "Japanese street".

For lunch, they offer the a la carte menu, set lunch as well as several ramen sets. The set lunches caught our eye, as they seem really good value for money and is often a good way to sample the restaurant's dishes without burning a hole in your wallet.

Usually most Japanese restaurants offer a rice set with their set lunch, however Jyu Raku goes a step further and offers sashimi rice and sushi with the sets.

For example, Hubby went for the Beef teppanyaki set and he gets to choose whether to have it with rice (RM45), sashimi rice (RM65) or sushi (RM65). He opted for sashimi rice, which means that he gets an extra sashimi platter (3 types of fish, 2-3 slices each). The set also comes with pickles, mini salad, chawanmushi, miso soup and fresh fruits. The beef was cooked to order, medium rare, and it was nice and tender. The sashimi (salmon, tuna and kampachi) was fresh and in thick slices, so we felt it was pretty good value for money.

I had the Salmon Sashimi Set with rice (RM35) and I was very happy with it. It came with seven thick, fresh slices of salmon sashimi. This set also comes with pickles, mini salad, chawanmushi, miso soup and fresh fruits.

Our friend had the Sashimi Set with rice (RM45) which comes 5 types of fish, 2 slices each.

Service is good. We stayed on after finishing our food and the servers efficiently refilled our tea cups without us having to prompt them.

The Set Lunch Menu

Pork-free.

Opening times: Lunch 11.30am - 3.00pm; Dinner 6.00pm - 10.30pm.

Location: Jyu Raku Japanese Restaurant, 13, Jalan SS15/5A, Subang Jaya (Street parking and valet parking available)

Tel: 03-5633 3819

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Recipe: Halloween Eyeball Pasta with Blood Sauce

Every year in the run up to Halloween, we would make Halloween crafts and bakes with the kids. This year, we decided to serve up this gruesome Eyeball pasta with Blood Sauce,  perfect for your Halloween dinner.

First, you will need to make the bloody brain sauce. I used minced chicken, you can also use minced beef if you prefer. Simmer the chicken together with the tomato sauce as well as diced carrots and onions for about 10-15 minutes while you cook the spaghetti. For the eyeballs, you can use mozzarella balls aka bocconcini (you can get them from here) - I cut out some circular basil leaves and then topped it with an edible sugar eyeball (which I removed before eating though) so it looks more realistic.

Toss the cooked spaghetti in the blood sauce, then plate.When plating, it's okay to make a mess to create that gory look. Top with the eyeballs and serve. You can also add some thinly sliced basil leaves to add some "fungus" to the dish.

Happy Halloween from BabySumoFamily!

The Grim Reaper likes my eyeball pasta , I think?

Spooky yet tasty eyeball pasta

Halloween Eyeball Pasta with Blood Sauce
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 2


Ingredients
150g spaghetti
1 can (300g) traditional pasta sauce
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
125g chicken breast, minced
1/4 carrot, cubed

1 onion, finely chopped

6 bocconcini
Sweet basil

Edible eyes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Grana Padano or Parmesan, to garnish


1. For the blood sauce: In a large saucepan or wok, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute for about 1 1/2 minutes, then add the chicken and carrot and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

2. Then, add the tomato sauce and bring to the boil. Then, lower to medium heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. You can add about 1/4 cup of water if you prefer to have more sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

3. In a separate pot, bring a pot of salted water to the boil over medium high heat. Cook spaghetti for about 8-10 minutes, until al dente. Drain.

4. Toss the pasta in the blood sauce and then divide into 2 plates. Grate Parmesan cheese all over and then garnish with thinly sliced basil leaves. 

5. Cut 6 small circles from the basil leaves. Place 3 bocconcini on each plate, then top with the basil leaves and edible eyes. Serve hot.

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Sunday Lunch @ Thainstone House Hotel, Inverurie

I love Sunday roasts. We used to have it almost every week back in the day, be it homecooked or at the local pub / restaurant. So, during our last trip back to Scotland, Sunday Roast was on my list of to-do things.

After some deliberation, we chose Thainstone House Hotel as the online menu sounded promising, plus the hotel looked lovely from the photos on their website. Located in Inverurie, Thainstone House is an elegant 18th century Palladian country mansion set amongst 44 acres of woodland and parkland.

 

Sunday Roast is served in The Green Lady, a gorgeous 2 AA Rosette restaurant with high ceiling, Wedgewood green walls, grand paintings and ornate furnishings. We were ushered to a table with a beautiful view, thanks to the large picture window overlooking the parkland.

I was expecting to see roast beef or roast lamb on the menu, but unfortunately for us, there wasn't. I asked and the server mentioned that they were offering a new concept, whereby only one type of roast is offered every week and it was chicken during our visit.

Diners can opt for the 2-course lunch at £15 or 3-course at £19.95 while kids under 12 eat at half price. For starters, I went for the King prawn & crayfish cocktail served with buttered brown bread. The portion was generous, with huge juicy prawns and sweet crayfish in a Marie rose sauce. A great start to the meal.

Hubby had the Chicken liver parfait with onion marmalade and oatcakes, which was equally delicious. The rich, smooth parfait paired well with the onion marmalade. 

For mains, there was a choice of chicken, coley (fish) and pumpkin tortellini. Since we were craving roast, we both went for the chicken. The roast chicken breast was pretty moist, and was served with roast vegetables and red wine jus.

The kids got to choose from the special young diners menu. Unlike other restaurants which have a limited kids menu, the young diners menu here offers grilled steaks, eggs benedict, mussels, scallops and haddock.. impressive. For most of the items, you even get to specify how you would like them cooked. Too bad this menu was only for children under 15, otherwise I would definitely order from this menu too. We let the kids order for themselves and they picked well.

Our son went for the scallops (good taste, boy) and they were pan fried in butter with pancetta bacon and served with chips and salad. Plump and juicy, the boy gave a big thumbs up for this dish. Our daughter on the other hand, went for the fillet steak. Simply grilled to medium, she thoroughly enjoyed it. The portion was generous (2 pieces) so we got to enjoy some of it too. 

Since Hubby and I were full, we skipped dessert but the kids had the Sticky toffee pudding and Toffee Sundae. They licked the cups and plates clean. Lunch overall was excellent and the ambiance was fantastic.

After lunch, the kids enjoyed a spot of giant chess at the hotel entrance. 

The Sunday Lunch is available every Sunday from 12pm to 2pm.

Price: Total bill £45.

Location: Thainstone House Hotel, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, AB51 5NT

Tel: +44 1467 621643



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Express Lunch @ Pak Loh Chiu Chow, Starhill Gallery, KL

For those looking for a quick lunch option in Starhill Gallery, Pak Loh Chiu Chow restaurant at Feast Village recently introduced the Chiu Chow Express Lunch.  Priced at RM25 nett each, diners will be spoilt for choices and can select from 25 mouthwatering rice and noodle dishes, available on weekdays from 12pm to 3pm.

Pak Loh Chiu Chow in Feast Village Starhill Gallery, which has been serving signature Chiu Chow cuisine for over 13 years is popularly known as the "golden sister" of the renowned Pak Loh Chiu Chow restaurant in Hong Kong. The restaurant here is helmed by Hong Kong-born Executive Chinese Chef Alex Au who honed his skills under the famous Master Chef Chan Tung.

Chiu Chow cuisine is well known for its Chiu Chow marinades of poultry and pork, seafood dishes, distinctive food preparation styles such as cooking over a slow fire, stewed, steamed, stir-fried or pickled that ensure balanced flavours and textures in a meal without heavy flavourings.

Diners can be assured that the new set lunches are prepared with the same quality ingredients and with highest standard of preparations, paired with swift service.

Start your meal with an appetizer platter and a welcome "Kungfu" tea (a very strong Oolong tea). During our visit, we had the Preserved vegetable with chicken liver, Cucumber with sesame dressing and Fruit salad; the flavours and textures working harmoniously to whet our appetites.

For our mains Hubby chose the Wok fried la mian with pork collar while I went for the Hong Kong-style prawn wonton noodle soup. Both noodles had great texture, and we particularly enjoyed the la mian as the overall dish was full of flavour, with tender slices of pork collar - very tasty indeed. Portions are generous and all sets also come with fresh fruit as dessert, so it's a well-balanced and satisfying lunch.

When asked which are the most ordered dishes from the menu since the launch of this set lunch, Chef Alex tells us that they are the Sweet and sour pork rice, Hong Kong-style braised beef brisket rice or noodles and Braised sweet and sour spare ribs rice.

Sweet and sour pork rice: The pork are coated in a special blend of flour, to ensure that they remain crispy even after it is tossed in the sauce. 

Hong Kong-style braised beef brisket rice or noodles

Braised sweet and sour spare ribs rice.

Chef Alex also explained that they use a high-quality chicken, imported from China for the Steamed chicken dish.

Barbecued Honey Pork Rice

Hong Kong-style Zha Jiang Noodles with shredded pork: a combination of sweet and salty flavours, Chef Alex also recommends adding in the chilli oil and vinegar to enhance the flavours further.

Braised eggplant with minced pork and salted fish rice or noodles: This was a really lovely, comforting dish which reminds me of home.

Slow-braised goose rice: one of the signature items in Pak Loh Chiu Chow, the slow-braising (2 hours we were told) brings out the best in the taste of the goose.

Braised pork belly with preserved moi choy rice: Big on flavour, with melt-in-your mouth pork belly pieces.

They also have the signature Chiu Chow oyster rice porridge with minced pork as part of the set lunch.

Weekday Express Lunch Menu (click to enlarge)

For reservations or more information, please contact Pak Loh Chiu Chow restaurant at 03-2782 3856 or pakloh@ytlhotels.com.my.


Service: Excellent.

Location: Pak Loh Chiu Chow, Feast Village Starhill Gallery, 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2782 3856



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