Once a Week, A Malaysian Meal

Unsettling things are happening in Malaysia, my birthplace. From corruption to violation. Just last week, a maid kills 2 young children under her trusted care, made headlines.  Any crime, you  name it. Not shocking,  Kuala Lumpur makes it high on the list of the most dangerous cities to live in.  Am I fortunate to be living away?  thoughts like this cross my mind,
thoughts I thought I'll never have to entertain.
These matters, never hit me as profoundly as it does today,  having a little one to care for, it's unthinkable to fathom all the fear, it's really sad
 just those chills you never ever want to feel,  eats at me

I feel it to the bone and I'm miles away.
 

At this time and age, being a mom is a whole different ball game.

Really hoping things settle. I recall the stories of my father, of how they played after school, dragging along their toys made of cans, carefree...gone are those days.

 How would life be for my precious little LA?

 

On a different note, I had a Malaysian friend leave Chile and head back to Malaysia,  so I'm once again blessed with another remarkable friendship that I'll forever treasure plus I have spices, ingredients and more -  flavors and prices one can only savor in Malaysia.
 

 When melancholy kicks in, I try new recipes. As a couple, before LA, recalling our life in Australia,  Luis and I would pick a recipe and we would get all excited in the process of getting the ingredients,  just to try a new recipe a week - it used to be our thing and still is when time allows it. I really treasure these precious times, music in the background, his tender soft kisses,  the sips of wine and his engaging smiles.  These days come, but not too often juggling a child,  how I treasure them. Parents alike will concur, I'm sure.
On the bright side, it makes me really appreciate my relationship at a different level.
  The kind you can only feel when you have a child.

Getting back to the recipes..
 Luis has been a lot better and has tried out a couple of recipes from our Jamie Oliver's recipe book-Jamie's Italy. He tried the aubergine and tomatoes a Sicilian recipe.

 

 During our memorable year in Sydney, we tried out a couple of Chilean recipes.  I  thought of doing the exact same thing - you know, to really try out the dishes from my own roots. So thanks to rasamalaysia.com, I've tried out her stringy french beans and her black bean fish recipe.
Luis said, " These flavours are only in Malaysia".
  I felt the same, it's nice to be able to get most of the ingredients here,
but mom does stock me up when I need.
The dried prawns certainly was the key!

 

 

Of course I have to forward gratitude to having the time to cook. So...

Thanks to my gorgeous boy who found the sugar bag
and flour mixing bowl the coolest thing in the kitchen!
 

 



 Luis Andrés, mom thinks you're just the best!


Between Luis and I, when we touch down in Malaysia next, we're gonna eat, eat and eat!

What's your top ten dishes in Malaysia?
Luis has a mental list and so do I

 

.

 

Indomita

Wine lovers would know that Chile is renowned for its great wines. Winery tours are most definitely on the itinerary for tourist that come to Chile. There are many proud regions - from the North to the South (along the 800- mile stretch) - some more famous than others, some with history, others with interesting tales too.  I'm always up for a good vineyard tour and most definitely enjoy the sipping process as we go along.  Something I'm looking forward to again when my family comes to visit us in December ;) or who knows an opportunity might arise earlier.

Our decision to visit Indomita with Marcela and Nicolas was quite a spontaneous thing ( Seriously. We decided at around 2am at a farewell party the night before) Indomita's located on a hill that we have gone past numerous times on our way out of Santiago - around 80 km away. Something I adore about Chile - you don't really have to go too far off to have a nice escapade. Everytime we past Indomita, we never failed to say to each other how we would love to stop by.

  So I'm glad we've made it a point to go and made a brilliant Sunday afternoon out of it too. 

  I must admit, we went there solely to dine. I know most of my post are about food, I did notice . 

Oh well,  I reckoned by now you must know me and what's life without good food,  friends and going places aye?! :)

 Anyways,  Indomita has a fantastic restaurant that certainly lives up to its reputation.

Moreover,  the opportunity to dine overlooking the winery?
 I guess that's a pretty hard one to top and resist.  

I of course tried my luck and suggested getting married there again. A romantic renewal of vows perhaps? along those lines. Luis just gave me this funny look :)

 I guess "wedding planning" screams "trauma" with a capital T for most men :)

 Most will say "only once", " never again"

 Actually, I don't blame them. I feel quite the same.

 The planning - way to much to handle, the wedding day - Pure happiness

However horrendous the whole concept of planning a wedding is, it still hasn't hindered me from imagining how tremendously romantic it could possibly be at a vineyard. 

I'm still waiting for my first wedding invite to one.

That's in my top 100 things to do before I die by the way. No, I haven't lost it yet and no.... actually I told a fib -  I don't actually have a bucket list.

( why all the unnecessary pressure I say -  I'm pretty happy the way things are)

  It's just really something I would love to experience, this whole vineyard -craze- phase. 

With that, I could at least imagine being in la la land for a while and that's always fun in Marsha's world.  I have many things I would love to do.  But how I die? how long more I have to live? is beyond my control and way to creepy to think about - so no,  I don't intend on making a list. Of course I do have some sort of broadish goal.  My latest one is learning to speak Chilean Spanish before I snuff it. 

( note, "Chilean Spanish" which is a whole other language).

Anyhow, I do hope I'm making the most of my days and I hope to try harder in whatever I do.

( I stretched a bit further today at Pilates Class and resisted the 4th peanut butter sandwich  - wiiiii lets jump for joy :)

- ah, the little guilty pleasures in life !  

So here's to a day in my life I very much enjoyed.

Just eating, chatting, chilling and living it a bit with people I love. 

Marce had the Pastel de Choclo ( won the National Gastronomy Competition in 2003 ) and Nico had the Congrio 

Luis had the Ossobuco beef  and I had the Fillet of Magellian Lamb

Thought my dish deserved a photo:)

Then we took our wine glasses and decided to have our desserts overlooking the above at the terrace.

That's the Creme Brulee that I ordered ( can't get better than a trilogy of flavours), Luis ordered something chocolaty of course and Nico and Marce had the platter

Then we had a posing session

A bit more - now you see the mountains

and now you see a bit more of the mountains and the lush vines !

The cellar, the restaurant and the shops of course.  I got us a bottle for keeps. Umm maybe for a special May entry on our very own terrace;)

The view along the main road looking up towards the winery

I'll give you a much deserved tour in December I promise, and.....

 I'll bring a few Malaysians not because you deserve the publicity but because you're that that good!  :)



Dining in Valparaiso

Luis and I were pleasantly surprised with the food in Valparaiso - some of the best dining spots. Being a city known for its beautiful history and view, many restaurants have certainly taken pride in obtaining the best spots in terms of location - dining with a view always sets the mood. Well at least, if the food's not up to expectation, staring into the endless beautiful scenery is some sort of redemption. So below are the restaurants in order of where we dined. We tried as many restaurants that were either recommended or  listed by the Trip Advisor or both. We are so passionate about food ! ( Come to think about it, we spend so much of our time talking about food! ) No doubt we will attempt to eat our way through our journey in life together -  that's one thing I'm sure about. As long as we both have teeth I guess :)

1.  Porto Fino ( Fine Port) - Ranked #15
Celebrated our Valentine's lunch here. I quite enjoyed this spot that the restaurant chose for us.

This dish's called  Macha a la Parmesana !
( Oh, how they tease me - You know Marsha como Macha a la Parmesana ) used to me my intro everytime. I'm sure I've mentioned this before.  Kinda understand it now with not having "sha" in Spanish. Side tracked there, but this dish is one word
-  magnificent ( if you like clams and cheese I guess) 

Good seafood !

Our view

   

After lunch we went to the deck

Perfect spot for Alfresco dining-  Perhaps for an evening drink or dinner

2. Cafe Turri - Ranked #10
    A French Restaurant with a whole lot of history -ate there twice.  The first time, we lost our spot because it was a busy weekend and we couldn't get a park in time ( we were 15 min late!)  Anyhow, we were lucky enough to still get a nice table, but they ran out of black pepper sauce for my lamb chops ( I know right? like how so? )  and I was so disappointed ( I know some people have no food etc but honestly people it's like almost everytime, like too often so please allow me to vent -  just last Sunday, we went for Japanese and I ordered Soba and obviously I didn't get what I ordered. They brought me some fried odd looking noddle dish instead (a miss is as good as a mile) aye? Anyways, the second time around, we dined with Paz and Fernando -everything was fabulous- loved my Salmon dish with my favourite vegetable - the spinach. Luis ordered the tuna sashimi and that was incredible.  I must say - the desserts are excellent. Finally,  just a reminder - just  make sure you get a cab in, especially if it's a weekend for the reserved best spot. Of course there's no such thing as valet parking for you princesses out there:)

My lamb chops with the honey mint ( that's just being too polite, how about with that yellow mush! )
Obviously, I wasn't too crazy about it  and my sleeves weren't perfect too! Boohoo ! ah, nevermind.

Luis had the Fillet Meridien and of course El Senor, looked very nice as usual  ( I know you're my husband  and I shouldn't be bitter,  but but... how do you look SO darn CUTE ...all the time? :) Like our whole civil wedding? you took only 15 minutes to get ready and you looked so good and what was it? Only 3 hours of sleep the night before !
 sheesh  ( Ha ha ) wuv you.

Milk Custard with caramel sauce

Dinner before heading out to one of Luis's Kent launches

Salmon with prawn sauce & Cream Spinach

Luis had the Turri Temptations & Fernando the Bitter Chocolate Truffle Fudge

Creme Brulee for moi

3. La Conception - Ranked #9

Equatorian Prawn Curry for me - This dish aside ( for I had no complain whatsoever ) I keep going Asian whenever I can, But I must remind myself that I'm in Latin America.  Like the other day, I ordered a Terriyaki Burger.  Luis said  to me, "like who orders Terriyaki Chicken at a burger place in Chile"? :) yes, true that -  I'll stick to the beef and steaky normal stuff the next time. Luis's burger was indeed so good!

4. El Desayunador ( The Breakfast Place)
After we checked into the HA Acontraluz, we of course got offered a great breakfast even though it was past breakfast time ( Daily until 12pm- which is so much better than 11am at most places and just crazy at 10am for others )  Anyways, being us, we wanted to venture out.  Don Jose, the owner suggested the most awesome place. 

Don't you love how everything is set up? I love the cabinets at the back. Everything is so obsessively neat

We went for a moderately indulgent meal. SO.. not us -  The eggs were done is a typical way here in Latin America. I've grown to love the not so fluffy scramble eggs in comparison to the way I was used to have them in Malaysia

I loved the trendy mixed with cosy/antique furniture 

5. Samsara - Ranked #4

The Owner/Chef is Chilean but goes yearly to Thailand to learn and update himself on their cuisine- Thus, needless to say -  the food is excellent.  Very cosy with around 15 tables,  reservations are essential.

Loved the smaller sized wine bottle

This dish is the Chef's speciality. Takes 3 days to make. Filled squid filled with king crab and solomillo ( pork)

Of course, I couldn't resist the Red Curry - seriously people, one of the best I've had and I've been to Thailand !

6. Via Via Cafe - Ranked #6

Enjoying the Crafted Belgium Beer

Choritos a la Belga

Now that's a "girly" beer

7. Oda Pacifico - Ranked #12

We were so lucky at this Restaurant. We arrived to get a table away from one of the best spots overlooking the port.  For some unknown reason though,  the couple seated there just got up and changed tables after 15 minutes. Two theories

 (1) They were staying at our hotel too, out of good will?

 (2) He was going to propose so he wanted a table at the end for privacy - the more likely perhaps, cause we saw him on his knees later on that night ( but then again the girl was so quiet, honestly like no reaction) God only knows. Luis did mention to me that God must have heard my prayers - I suppose I do pray sometimes for selfish and indulgent things and voila! -  God's pretty cool :)

King Crab

My fish dish

Us at the restaurant - very romantic surroundings, dime lights, candles - nice

Grilled Octopus - The scrumptious dish that famed this restaurant

Valparaiso with its beauty is perfect for night time strolls too after dinner.

This bird's eye view was taken high up the hills of Valpo.  We decided to take a cab to this restaurant and the cabby was so nice to have taken us first to this spot for a photo.

Then we walked around Cerro Alegre

Strategically located benches - great views

Us, very happy after one of our meals - we had a good stroll every night before heading back to the hotel.


 Ah yes, we would have dined at the Maladrino ( Ranked #1) for lunch before we left,  but it was a gloomy day and  it looked like it could rain,  so we took a rain-check and headed back to Santiago :)


 In a nut shell -  great city, not commercialised to any level and some pretty awesome food.
What yummy times !