Lamb Burgers with Cucumber Sauce

Serves 4

700g lean minced lamb

1 small onion, finely chopped

8 dried apricot halves, finely chopped

4 tablespoon pine nuts

25g fine dry breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons mild curry powder

1 egg

Salt and pepper

4 pittas, heated and cut in half

For the sauce

½ cucumber, peeled and grated

                300ml plain yoghurt

                2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1)      Combine the lamb, onion, apricots, pine nuts, breadcrumbs, curry powder, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix well together with your fingers until blended.

2)      Divide into 8 portions and shape each into a small burger. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

3)      Meanwhile, for the sauce, squeeze the grated cucumber in a double thickness of paper towels to extract excess water.

4)      Mix together the cucumber, yoghurt and mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5)      Preheat the grill or prepare a charcoal fire.

6)      Grill or barbecue the burgers until they are cooked to your taste, about 10 minutes for medium. Turn them halfway through cooking to ensure that they are brown and cook evenly.

7)      Serve the burgers in the pitta halves, with the cucumber sauce.

 Serves 4

700g lean minced lamb

1 small onion, finely chopped

8 dried apricot halves, finely chopped

4 tablespoon pine nuts

25g fine dry breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons mild curry powder

1 egg

Salt and pepper

4 pittas, heated and cut in half

For the sauce

½ cucumber, peeled and grated

                300ml plain yoghurt

                2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1)      Combine the lamb, onion, apricots, pine nuts, breadcrumbs, curry powder, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix well together with your fingers until blended.

2)      Divide into 8 portions and shape each into a small burger. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

3)      Meanwhile, for the sauce, squeeze the grated cucumber in a double thickness of paper towels to extract excess water.

4)      Mix together the cucumber, yoghurt and mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5)      Preheat the grill or prepare a charcoal fire.

6)      Grill or barbecue the burgers until they are cooked to your taste, about 10 minutes for medium. Turn them halfway through cooking to ensure that they are brown and cook evenly.

7)      Serve the burgers in the pitta halves, with the cucumber sauce.

Pepper Steak with Mushrooms

Serves 4

2 tbsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed

½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes (optional)

4 fillet, sirloin or rump steaks (170-225g) each, well trim

3 tablespoon vegetable oil

15g butter

145g mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoon Cognac or whisky

150ml whipping or double cream

Salt

1)      Combine the peppercorns and hot pepper flakes, if using, and press on to both sides of the steaks.

2)      Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil with the butter in a heavy frying pan that is large enough to accommodate the steaks in one layer. Add the mushrooms and cook over moderate heat, stirring and turning them occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until they are wilted.

3)      Increase the heat to moderately high and continue cooking until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated and they are lightly browned. With a slotted spoon, remove them from the pan and reserve.

4)      Add the remaining oil to the frying pan. When it is very hot, add the steaks. Fry for 2 minutes on each side or until well browned. Continue cooking until done to your taste. (Test by pressing with your finger.) Remove the steaks from the pan and keep them hot.

5)      Pour off all the fat from the pan. Add the Cognac and bring to the boil, stirring and scraping to mix in the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the cream and bring back to the boil. Boil for 1 minute.

6)      Stir in the mushrooms and reheat them. Check the seasoning, then pour this sauce over the steaks.

Roast Duck with Peach Sauce

Serves 4
1 x 2.25-2.7kg duck, prepared for roasting
salt and pepper
5 ripe but firm peaches
240ml orange juice
4 tbsp peach brandy
1 tsp cornflour
2 tsp water
2 tsp Dijon mustard
fresh parsley or watercress, to garnish

Steps

1. Preheat a 200°C oven
2. Rub the duck all over with salt and pepper. Put it breast up on a rack in a roasting tin and roast for 1.25 hours
3. Meanwhile, peel the peaches: dip in boiling water for 30 seconds, then in iced water to remove the skin. Cut them in half and remove the stones. Puree 2 peach halves with the orange juice in a blender or food processor.
4. Put the remaining peach halves in a saucepan. Sprinkle with the alcohol or peach nectar. Set aside.
5. Pour off the duck fat from the roasting tin. Place the duck in the tin, without the rack, and pour the orange and peach mixture over it. Roast, basting occasionally with the sauce in the tin, for about 15 minutes more or until the duck is cooked (lift it with a long 2-pronged fork: the juices that run out of the cavity should be clear).
6. Transfer the duck to a carving board and keep warm. Skim all the fat from the sauce, then set the tin over moderate heat and bring to the boil. Blend the cornflour with the water and stir into the sauce. Simmer, stirring, until thickened. 
7. Quarter the duck. Warm the peach halves, then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the mustard to the pan and mix well. Stir this mixture into the sauce and taste. Serve the duck with the peaches, garnished with parsley or watercress. Serve the sauce separately.

Nice mash potatoes (Salad Bowl Cafe)

I am someone who loves mash potatoes a lot. If you think KFC mash potatoes is nice then you should try this. This cafe is located at Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling. If you plan to head over there, you better pray for a parking space available because it would be quite a nuisance looking for parking over that area. According to its Facebook page, it is an Asian Fusion restaurant. So why they name it Salad Bowl? Maybe because their signature dish is their salad. They offer a wide range of salad so if you are a salad lover, you can head down there and give it a try too.

Clam chowder (RM5)

First up is the clam chowder. The price of the clam chowder is just RM5 which I feel its cheap. The soup is tasty and not too thick, so just nice. The chef is also very generous with the clams. Next, I ordered the bangers and mash. Basically, its sausage and mash potatoes. I forgot the price for the rest because I forgot to take a picture of the menu.

Bangers and Mash

This is my favourite because I really like the mash potatoes. If you like KFC's mash, for me, they are too soft for a real mash. So I personally do not consider KFC's as a real mash potatoes. This mash is quite smooth and creamy. The mash is not lumpy and the creamy taste is very tasty. This is the mash that you can eat without any gravy. 

Carbonara Fettucine

 For main course, I ordered a Carbonara Fettucine. The fettucine is not as springy as I expected. The sauce is creamy enough but a little bit too greasy to my liking. I could not quite remember the price for the bangers n mash and the pasta but the total is under RM40. Overall, I would say you can get good food with extremely reasonable price over at Salad Bowl.

Salad Bowl
No. 72 , Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling
10200 Pinang George Town
+60 4-262 1985

Facebook : Salad Bowl Cafe

Burger craving at Two Buns

The burger scene in Penang has quieten down since 2014 I would say. There is not so much hype like it used to be. So, i came across this burger joint while i was travelling along carnarvon street, The name of this burger joint is  "two buns". It is located at carnarvon street which is heading to prangin mall.

Two Buns

It is quite a small place but the interior is quite nice. It is a very hippy place i would say. The beverage menu is hangin on the wall while the food menu is on the counter. Their choices are not many so it is relatively easy for me to choose.  As it was my first time, so i chose the most basic burger which was the "classic beef".

The menu

Thankfully, during my visit it was not too crowded hence i just waited for like 10 mins. Oh btw, i forgot to mention that this was actually my 2nd visit because my 1st time there, they have too many orders and the waiting time was too long for me but kudos for the cashier for informing ahead. The classic beef is RM13 and i also opted for the set which is add on just RM5 and you can get fries plus a can of soft drink.

Classic beef

A closer look

 So now lets move to the burger. The bun is fresh, from the texture, it is not too hard and it was made just nice. For the classic beef, there are of course beef patty, lettuce, cheddar, tomato, pickles, ketchup and mustard. As a basic, the beef patty was not too dry so it was good. Maybe because i ordered the most basic so the sauces are only mustard and ketchup so it is nothing too special but overall it was quite good. One thing i like about two buns is they mustard for you to use. So i ate the fries with mustard cause mustard is my favourite. I would definitely come back again to try their others and hopefully their signature.

The inside of Classic beef

Two Buns (Non-halal)

177 Lebuh Carnarvon,

10200 Georgetown, Penang

Email : twobunspenang@gmail.com

Business hours : 12pm to 12am

Facebook : Two Buns