Picasso

Unparalleled views of the Bellagio Fountains.

Massive Picasso originals on every wall.

Excellent Michelin Star quality French food prepared by a very well known Spanish Chef.

There aren't that many two or three star Michelin restaurants in Las Vegas. With the recent closing of the beloved Alex at the Wynn (according to Bryan : best seared fois gras ever), Las Vegas is down to one 3-star Michelin restaurant and two two-star Michelin restaurants.

We haven't tried the other 2-star restaurant (Guy Savoy). We did try Joel Robuchon (the only 3-star Michelin) a little over a year ago, and found the experience to be the most over-the-top crazy opulent dining experience we'd ever had. The craziest "Menu Degustation" is a whopping $385. Even our 4-course meal (at $148) was plenty decadent.

Picasso, on the other hand, is a totally different experience. The environment is no less impressive, with lovely view of the Bellagio Fountains and huge Picasso originals ($30 million worth!!) gracing the restaurant walls. However, the outlandish opulence is absent. Instead, there's an understated elegance that's peaceful, relaxed, and beautiful.

The dining room is quite large, yet the place still manages to maintain a romantic atmosphere. The paintings and the fountains alone are beautiful and breathtaking. Moreover, the service is warm and efficient, making the overall experience quite enjoyable.

The menu only consists of prix fixe menus: a 4-course for $113 and a 5-course for $123. Bryan's rational? If a 5-course only costs an extra $10, why not just go for that? Seriously, compared to Joel Robuchon, where a 4-course menu cost us $148 last year, this seemed reasonable in comparison.

Amuse bouche
quail egg, salmon with caviar, and a small "shooter" of velvety potato soup

We absolutely loved our amuse bouche of quail egg, cucumbers, smoked salmon, and caviar. Such a rich and flavorful explosion of flavors all in one bite! The velvety potato soup was also excellent. Perfect execution; sublime flavors.

Maine Lobster Salad
Apple-Champagne Vinaigrette
The Maine lobster salad was yet another well executed dish. The lobster was sweet with just a touch of creaminess, which was nicely offset by the slightly tart vinaigrette.

Pan Seared U-10 Day Scallops
Potato Mousseline and Jus de Veau
The pan seared scallops were also very good, and the flavors of the entire dish came together nicely, with a rich veal stock and ultra smooth mashed potatoes. Some at our table (including me), felt that the scallops were just a tad overcooked. Others at our table thought they were perfectly executed. I do tend to like my scallops almost borderline raw on the inside!

Sauteed Steak of "A" Foie Gras
Poached Pears, Huckleberries and Crushed Pistachios with Lemon Zest
Though I'm not the biggest fan of fois gras, I could appreciate that this was very good fois gras. The fois had a beautifully crusty edge and quite a strong liver flavor (which Bryan loved but I didn't care for as much). The fruity accompaniments (pears and huckleberries) provided a good complementary contrast to the rich and savory fois gras.

Sauteed Filet of Turbot
Green Asparagus and Sauce Hollandaise
You get your choice of main entree as part of the prix fixe menu. Almost predictably, the women at the table ordered the turbot while the men ordered the Wagyu beef (a special that day). I thought the turbot was well executed, although the flavors did not blow me away. It was a classic French dish that was fine - just not particularly inventive or exciting.

Wagyu Beef
Black Truffles
Bryan opted for the Wagyu beef with the in-season black truffle add-on. Not surprisingly, the beef was meltingly tender and absolutely delicious. The black truffles lent a lovely earthiness to the dish. Bryan enjoyed his dish very very much (ha ha, not a surprise, with THOSE ingredients!)  Note: Bryan actually custom designed this dish. He saw the truffle special and asked whether it could be paired with Wagyu beef. They were happy to oblige - at an added cost, of course.

Wagyu Beef with Wild mushrooms (without the black truffle add-on)
Our friend got the version without the truffles, which he still thought was quite nice.

Quince themed dessert
We also had our choice of dessert. I opted for this fun little tasting of quince - everything from quince ice cream, to a shooter and a creme brulee! Fun and interesting.

Chocolate
chocolate "fondant" (molten chocolate cake), nut ice cream
For anyone who likes chocolate, you'll like the chocolate dessert. The stack of molten chocolate cakes were executed with precision, and the rest of the components were good as well.

Cheese tasting
Bryan opted for the cheese plate as his dessert (there is an add-on charge). It's always fun to try a variety of cheeses, and this was no exception. The entire table of four unapologetically dug into Bryan's cheese plate.

Mignardises

Overall Thoughts?
Picasso is a beautiful restaurant with excellent food. The dining environment is the most interesting part, with gorgeous views of the fountains and really really inspiring art. The food is excellent - high quality ingredients, expert execution, and flavors that work well. You won't find the most inventive creations or awe-inspiring gustatory experiences here. Expect solid, traditional French food in a very unique dining atmosphere, a living art gallery plus arguably the best fountain show on earth.

We happened to see Julian Serrano that night, and he was super friendly, offering to take multiple pictures with us with various different background. Julian Serrano used to be the executive chef at Masa in San Francisco, often touted as the best French restaurant in San Francisco. Steve Wynn spent months trying to convince Julian Serrano to move to Las Vegas to be the executive chef at Picasso.

And for the Ladies . . .

Just like at Joel Robuchon, the ladies were treated with a beautiful box of sweets - in this case, delicious angel wing cookies.

One of my favorite parts was actually hanging out on their patio after dinner. The views of the fountain are fantastic, and you can chill for as long as you want. We stayed around for a couple fountain shows (they come every 15 minutes) and just hung around and chatted. There are several tables where you can relax. If you want the best view of all, stand at the edge of the balcony to get your own personal crowd-free view of the fountain show.

Impressive wines!

And that concludes the Las Vegas Series!

This post is part of a larger Las Vegas series. Posts in this series:
Spago Cafe
Carnevino
Serendipity 3
RM Seafood
Bouchon Bistro
Bouchon Bakery
China Poblano
Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie
Beijing Noodle No. 9
Raos
Mesa Grill (2011)
Mesa Grill (2010)
Joel Robuchon (The Mansion)
B&B Ristorante
Enoteca San Marco

Picasso
Bellagio
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Spago Cafe

These days, Wolfgang Puck is virtually a household name. You see casual sandwich shops inside malls with his name on it, takeaways inside airport terminals, frozen pizzas, and even a line of cookware.

Some may argue that this well-known chef personality has diluted his name by slapping it onto so many different products.Who was Wolfgang Puck. originally?

Wolfgang Puck initially became famous through his well known and uber popular restaurant Spago in Beverly Hills, which drew lots of stars from the area. Through Spago, Puck really pioneered "California Cuisine" - popularizing dishes such as funky designer pizzas and eclectic pasta dishes. The restaurant has won numerous awards, including the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Service Award and of course, two Michelin stars (one of only three restaurants in LA to have this honor - there are no three star Michelin restaurants in LA).

In 1992, Spago opened up a second location in Las Vegas inside Caeasar’s Palace after the smashing success of the original one. Puck was really the first elebrity chef to come to Vegas. He seriously started a trend. Nowadays, every major casino houses numerous celebrity chef restaurants.

This second Spago has two parts: a fancier sit-down section (in the back) and a “Spago Café” (in the front) that serves more casual and reasonably priced fare.

Having already tried the “fancier” Spago a few years ago with Bryan’s parents, we decided to stop by Spago Café for lunch before we headed out to CES.


The Spago Cafe is in the outer section of the Spago space. You can sit "outside" and face the forum shops (this is what we did). Bread came almost immediately, which is a huge plus when you're hungry! The generously filled bread basket was brimming with several different kinds of bread. I loved the flatbread, although in general I liked all of them.

Hearts of Baby Romaine Lettuce "Caesar"
Creamy Garlic Caesar Dressing, Lavosh-Herb Crouton and White Anchovies

Bryan started with the Caesar Salad, which he thought was only so-so. It was nice that it had anchovies in it. Unfortunately, the dressing and cheese were only average.

Hand Cut Fettuccine
Wild Oregon Mushrooms, English Peas, Arugula, Glazed Shallots and Parmesan-Reggiano

Bryan was super thrilled to see hand cut fettuccine on the menu, so it didn’t take him too long to decide what to order. He was very pleased with the texture of the pasta as well as the flavors of the wild mushroom sauce.This was definitely a solid choice.

Spago Classic Chopped Vegetable Salad
Diced Vegetables: Carrots, Celery, Corn, Green Beans, Red Onion, Radicchio, Cherry Tomato and Provolone Cheese
I opted for the "Spago Classic" chopped salad because I was starting to feel the toll of all our crazy dining in Las Vegas. My stomach needed a break. To be honest, I thought the salad was only OK. Granted, it had a reasonably nice assortment of fresh ingredients. However, at the end of the day, the flavors did not wow me. I found myself muttering, “I think like the salads at The Cheesecake Factory better.”

ANYWAY, the "not-bad-but-not-amazing" dishes coupled with the "higher-than-average-hello-you’re-in-Vegas" prices left me leaving a bit dissatisfied. Perhaps I let price get to me too much. Bryan, who is much more immune to prices and spending in general, is able to be more objective about food quality sometimes because he doesn’t let price bother him as much. Of course, Bryan liked his dish a lot better than I liked mine, so that could explain why he had a much more positive experience than I did.

In any event, Spago Café is not bad, though don’t expect anything close to the quality of what you’d find in Spago proper. Instead, see it as a casual Italian café that serves pretty good food at slightly higher prices than you might expect outside of Vegas.

Spago Cafe
Caesars Palace
3570 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Flavors of Malaysia Book Winners

 Flavors of Malaysia: A Journey Through Time, Tastes, and Traditions

Congratulations to the Flavors of Malaysia cookbook winners! Thanks everyone for participating! It was really fun to read all your answers. I personally don't know much about Southeast Asian food at all, so it was really education to learn about all these wonderful dishes and restaurants around the world!

Seriously, if anyone is traveling to Malaysia or Singapore soon and is looking for some awesome dishes or restaurants to try, definitely check out all the cool suggestions in the comment sections of these three posts:

Hainanese Chicken Rice
Spicy Water Spinach (Kangkung Belacan)
Char Kway Teow (Chinese Stir Fry Rice Noodles)

Here is what our winners said . . .

What is your favorite Malaysian dish?
Day 1: bunster10
"I've only had a few opportunities to try Malaysian cuisine. I think the last time I did was on a trip to Hawaii. We decided to try a Malaysian restaurant. I don't remember what the dishes were but they were all very tasty!"

What is your favorite Southeast Asian Restaurant?
Day 2: Alain
"Thanks for posting this amazing recipe! I can almost smell the garlic when I look at the picture. YUM! my favorite Southeast Asian restaurant has to be Mandalay, a Burmese restaurant, here in San Francisco. Their tea salad is out of this world GOOD!"

What is your favorite Asian Noodle dish?
Day 3: Phong
"I absolutely love braised pork and eggs. The belly fat from the pork makes the dish top-notch!"

Thanks again for participating! Watch out this week for another great Giveaway!

Carnevino

A lot of restaurants will do crazy things to get attention. Take, for example, the $1000 opulent sundae at Serendipity or the 10,000 NT ($324 USD) beef noodle soup at Niu Ba Ba in Taiwan. Even though a majority of diners will not order the crazy menu item, restaurants offering these insanely-priced item inevitably receive recognition, visitors, and fame.

I often wonder how much of it is hype and how much of it is truly warranted.

Carnevino is yet another restaurant that sells a crazy menu item. What is it? The Riserva: an 8 to 11 month dry aged steak. Apparently, this steak is so aged the texture changes into something that more resembles ham than steak. Moreover, this unusual and curious meat takes on aged flavors reminiscent of aged cheeses, like blue cheese or gorgonzola.

Needless to say, Bryan, the steak-lover and stinky cheese-lover, was extremely intrigued by this idea. He absolutely wanted to try the restaurant and order the curious sounding steak.


Carnevino is another collaboration between Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. Carnevino specializes in quality dry aged steaks as well as Italian fare. Carnevino only uses dry aged "BBL beef," which they claim is "often beyond regular USDA prime standards for marbling and flavor and is hormone and antibiotic free." All of their steaks are dry aged for at least 60 days, though they also offer the Riserva, which is dry aged for months (typically around 8 months, but could be longer).

If you’re both a steak lover and an Italian food lover, you will absolutely fall in love with Carnevino. Carnevino is like a really high quality steak house with the HUGE added bonus of Mario Batali’s handmade pasta dishes and high-end Italian appetizers as your side dishes. Move aside boring creamed spinach and roasted button mushrooms! Hello burrata caprese salad and squid ink pasta!

We are big fans of Mario Batali restaurants and thus it was no surprise that we loved all the pasta sides. The roasted shitake mushrooms were slightly charred (just the way I like them), and had tons of deep, earthy umami. The imported prosciutto was absolutely fantastic. Bryan and I agreed it was probably the best prosciutto we had ever tried.


From left to right, top then bottom: MARINARA tomatoes  | 'SPAGO' with lamb ragu |  BLACK FETTUCINE crab, jalapenos, and shallots  | BUCATINI ALL' AMATRICIANA caramelized onion, guanciale, tomatoes [around $17 for a "small" and $32 for a "large" -- note: small is like a starter while large is like an entree size]

Similarly the pasta sides (which were all made with homemade pasta), were excellent. The texture of the pastas was nice and chewy while the sauces were all deeply full of flavor. All four were fantastic, and different people had different favorite ones. My personal favorite was either the Black Fettucine or the Bucatini. I think Bryan's favorite was the Lamb Ragu.

Oh, how could I forget the steak!!

So, apparently the Riserva dry aged steak was SO POPULAR that it had been sold out for weeks. As a result, we could “only” order the 60-day dry aged stuff. Bryan decided to share the Dry Aged Bone in Ribeye for Two ($65 per person) with another friend. We ordered a bunch of pastas and sides to supplement the meal.

The steak was absolutely incredible. It was seared just the way I like it - with a beautiful crust on the outside edge. The inside was a perfect medium rare - juicy and wonderfully flavorful. Bryan declared it was the best steak he had ever had in his entire life. That’s definitely saying a lot, considering this guy’s been to many top steakhouses throughout the nation, including Quality Meats (NYC), Harry Caray's (Chicago), Grill 23 & Capital Grille (Boston), Craftsteak (Las Vegas), Smith & Wollensky, Morton’s, and Ruths’ Chris’s (not to mention all those Michelin restaurants that often serve steak).

We have concluded that, at least at Carnevino, this super-aged dry aged stuff is definitely not just a sensational stunt. Dry aging clearly makes a difference, and the 60-day dry aged steak at Carnevino is better than most steaks that are out there.

I've never heard of BBL beef and I have no idea whether there is an official rating beyond prime. Nevertheless, what I have experienced first hand is that this type of steak is really really good. Even me, someone who’s not really a steak eater, thought the steak was sublime and truly beat out anything I’d ever had before. I kind of wished we'd ordered another one!


The details
The steak is definitely top notch, but you pay for it. I thought $65/person for the "Steak for Two" would be way more than two people could handle, but it was not a huge amount of food. We had no trouble finishing it! Likewise, we ended up ordering the "large" sizes for all the pastas basically because the waiter looked at what we had ordered and told us it was not enough food.

Even though we eat less than the typical American, I would have to agree with him in this case. The portions are quite small even though the prices look sort of high (~ $32 for a full sized pasta dish). This is not the kind of place you go to get a "good deal."

If you can look past the high prices, you can appreciate that the food is really top quality here. The pasta has the same chewy texture as the pasta we've had at B&B Ristorante. The other Italian sides are all made with very high quality ingredients as well. Of course, the steak is incredible and is the real reason to visit this place.

This is not an everyday sort of place. However, if you have a special occasion and you want to treat someone who loves steak, I can't think of a much better choice.

Highly recommended. 

Update Jan 2013: This is still his favorite restaurant in the US. However, we finally had a chance to try the Riserva Steaks, which Bryan thinks is even better than the 60-day dry aged steaks here. 

This post is part of a larger Las Vegas series. Posts in this series:

Serendipity 3
RM Seafood

Bouchon Bistro

Bouchon Bakery

China Poblano

Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie

Beijing Noodle No. 9

Raos
Mesa Grill (2011)

Mesa Grill (2010)

Joel Robuchon (The Mansion)

B&B Ristorante

Enoteca San Marco

Carnevino
Palazzo
3325 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Tiny Urban Tidbits #17 - Bryan Tries Puffer Fish!

How many of you have seen that famous Simpson's episode where Homer tries puffer fish?

I think for most of us, puffer fish is something that's exotic, far away, and not really something you would expect to see ever on a US menu.

On Sunday we visited one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Boston, Oishii. Bryan saw fugu on the specials menu and really really wanted to try it. Fugu is the infamous puffer fish. It contains a lethal poison, tetrododoxin, which must be carefully removed before consumption. In Japan, fugu preparation is controlled by law and only licensed chefs (who train for 2-3 years!) can prepare and sell the fish.

Rumor has it that your lips "tingle" a bit when you taste it, allegedly from the tiny bit of residual poison. The poison works by paralyzing your muscles. Most victims die of asphyxiation.

And Bryan really wanted to try it???!!

Don't ask me why, but the risk of this dish is a large part of the draw of this weirdly exotic dish.True thrill seekers will actually flirt with death (and the law!!) by eating the liver, the most poisonous part of the puffer fish.

I continuously snapped pictures as Bryan tried his first bite.

One bite.

Chew chew . . . pause . . . . funny expression.

"It definitely tastes like a cross between lobster and squid sashimi. And there is a slight tingle."

Swallow. More pauses.

I think he's going to be OK.

Phew! OK . . on to dessert!

Valentine's Dessert at Oishii

In reality, these days the risk of dying from eating fugu is pretty low. In fact, between 1993 and 2006, only 23 incidents were reported, with only one occurring at a restaurant. All the others involved fisherman eating their catch.

Furthermore, the biggest risk is eating the liver (now illegal in Japan!), the ovaries, or the skin (not as much risk with the flesh).

Nevertheless, there's still this slight sense of fear and excitement at the same time when you're trying something like fugu for the first time!

Fugu

Valentine's Day
Though we eat out often, we actually chose to stay home on Valentine's Day proper. I seared a simple, sous vide prime steak and we paired it with some fresh pasta tossed with a little bit of butter, cream, and thinly sliced black truffles.
 
Simple, elegant, and totally relaxing.

What's up next?
Next week we wrap up the Las Vegas Series (three more restaurants, including the best steak Bryan's ever had in his life, Two-Michelin Stars, and a really famous chef from LA). After that? Look out for posts on some of Boston's most well-known burgers, several more giveaways, and a Tokyo Series!

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Serendipity 3

It was sooooo cold outside. Frrrrreezing!

In fact, it technically was freezing that crazy week in January when it briefly snowed in Las Vegas! It was so cold, area stores completely sold out of the season's winter coats to unsuspecting visitors who had shown up in the city assuming they wouldn't need jackets.

So why "frrrozen hot chocolate"? On one of the coldest days on record?

Hey, I'm from Boston. Bostonians love their iced desserts and will eat at anytime. Heck, our ice cream shops open all winter long and they are always crowded, regardless of how high the snow piles are or how cold it is outside. I am always happy to make and eat ice cream no matter what season it is!

So of course I was totally game. Plus, one of our friends had never been to Serendipity before and really really wanted to try it.

Serendipity 3, a restaurant that originates from New York, holds the world record for the most expensive ice cream sundae. This insanely opulent sundae must be ordered 48 hours in advance (probably so they can obtain all its exotic ingredients!). It contains five scoops of Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream (infused with Madagascar vanilla), rare Amedei Porcelana and Chuao chocolate, American Golden caviar, passion fruit, orange, Armagnac, candied fruits from Paris, and marzipan cherries. On top of that, there's real gold everywhere, from real gold dragées to the  23-carat edible gold leaf.
 You even get to enjoy your sundae with an 18-karat gold spoon.

Absolutely nuts. Supposedly they sell about one per month. I wonder who gets these? I wonder if it even tastes that amazing . . .

Anyway, we didn't find out. Instead, we ordered their most famous dessert, the frrrozen hot chocolate. I got the Oreo one, which I loved.  I have always loved Oreos, especially in ice cream, so it's no surprise that I would love the Oreo frrrozen hot chocolate. It had the characteristic dark bitterness of Oreos. The best part, it wasn't too creamy nor too sweet. I shared one with my friend, which was just about right.

Bryan got a peanut butter one, which was quite good too. In the end, I still preferred mine, thinking his was too sweet and rich. His was also an alcoholic version, though it was so huge and rich he had trouble finishing the whole thing,

Serendipity is located right outside Caesars Palace. Except for that crazy sundae, it's actually a reasonably priced restaurant. The menu has a variety of sandwiches, hamburgers, salads, and some main entrees as well.  Of course, there is an extensive dessert section which includes various ice cream sundaes, cakes, and tarts. As for ambiance, the funky retro decor is fun, although the music's a bit loud for conversation and the service can be average. Nevertheless, it's not a bad place to stop by late at night for a little sweet tooth craving.

Serendipity 3
3570 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

This post is part of a larger Las Vegas series. Posts in this series:

RM Seafood

Bouchon Bistro

Bouchon Bakery

China Poblano

Jean-Philippe Pâtisserie

Beijing Noodle No. 9

Raos

Mesa Grill (2010 trip)

Joel Robuchon (The Mansion)

B&B Ristorante

Enoteca San Marco

Giveaway Winner!
Congratulations to the first Flavors of Malaysia cookbook winner - bunster10!  I'm still giving away two more books!  Click here and here to enter!

Char Kway Teow (Chinese Stir Fry Rice Noodles)

Welcome to Day 3, the final day, of our three part Malaysian Food Series! Check out Day 1, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Day 2, Spicy Water Spinach (Kangkung Belacan).

Char Kway Teow, which stands for "stir fried rice flat noodles" is a very popular street food in Malaysia.  It consists of these flat rice noodles stir fried in a very hot work with prawns, cockles, greens, bean sprouts, and eggs with dark soy sauce and spices!

Historically, fishermen and farmers would sell this savory, flavorful dish at night in hawker stands to supplement their daytime incomes. Traditionally, you stir fry the dish in pork fat, which makes it quite a rich dish (though I'm sure it's really really good!)

These days, most people have switched to using vegetable oil. Many versions include a fried egg as well, which adds back some of the flavor lost from the lard.

If you have all your ingredients ready to go for this dish, it actually doesn't take too long to cook. The frying step has to be quick and done in a really hot wok! You want there to be a char with the noodles - that's what makes this dish stand out!

I ended up buying sheets of rice noodles because I could not find pre-cut ones. I was able to find mine in Boston's Chinatown at Sun Sun Market, though you can probably find it in a lot of places. Cut noodles into 1/2 inch strips.

The rest is pretty easy. If you are experienced with the recipe and all your ingredients are ready to go, you should be able to cook this up reasonably quickly. In our case, since it was our first time and we didn't really know what we were doing, we took a little longer than normal.

We eventually felt like we had to take the shrimp out otherwise they would overcook. So, if you want to be safe, you can take the shrimp out too after you think they are done. Overcooked shrimp is rubbery, hard, and, frankly, can ruin the dish.

This dish is really like a normal stir fry, so it's not too hard. It's important to have a really hot wok or skillet (cast iron would be great!). In our case, I think our wok was not quite not enough, and thus we didn't get as much char as we would have liked.

The flavors were all there though, and my Singaporean friend blessed and approved the recipe. :)

Giveaway!

 Flavors of Malaysia: A Journey Through Time, Tastes, and Traditions
This Malaysian series was inspired by a free review copy I got of Flavors of Malaysia by Susheela Raghavan. You can read a more detailed account of my thoughts regarding the book here. The publisher has been kind enough to provide me with THREE books to give away! I will be giving one away per day during this series - one for each dish I cook from the book!

The other two Giveaways are at the Hainanese Chicken Rice post (ends Wednesday, March 2, 2011!) and the Spicy Water Spinach (Kangkung Belacan) post (ends Thursday, March 3, 2011!).

For this giveaway, comment below and tell me your favorite Asian noodle dish! 

Man, this is too hard for me. I love glass noodles (like Korean Chap Chae) and rice noodles (like Char Kway Teow or Thai Drunken/Crazy Noodles). Finally, I LOVE glutinous rice cakes (like Chao Nian Gao 炒年糕) and, of course, hand-pulled noodles!

Giveaway ends Friday, March 4, 2011 at midnight! I reserve the right to pick another winner if I pick the same winner twice during this three-part giveaway series.

Char Kway Tweo

from Flavors of Malaysia: A Journey Through Time, Tastes, and Traditions 

Ingredients

2-3 T cooking oil

1 T crusehd garlic cloves

8 oz (about 1 cup) shelled and deveined shrimp or thinly sliced chicken

2 T double black, thick, or sweet soy sauce

2 T regular soy sauce

1 tsp finely pounded white peppercorns, or 1/2 tsp finely ground white pepper

1/2 to 3/4 tsp white granulated sugar (use less if using thick or sweet soy sauce)

6 to 8 ounces Chinese flowering cabbage (choy sum) or Chinese cabbage (bok choy), or Chinese Mustard Greens (gai choy), stalks and leaves separated and washed to remove dirt

14 ounces fresh, flat rice noodles, already cut or cut into 1/2 -inch wide strips, rinsed in water

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups (4 1/2 ounces) bean sprouts, rinsed or blanched

Spice Paste

6 whole dried red chilies, steeped in hot water for 5-8 minutes and then deseeded; or 1 to 1 1/2 T of cili boh or 1/2 to 3/4 T bottled sambal oelek

Optional: 1 1/2 to 2 tsp dried shrimp paste (belacan) toasted at 400 ° F for 15 minutes; or whole dried shrimp, soaked in hot water for 5-8 minutes until soft, then drained

1/4 cup water

*for pictures of sambal oelek and belacan, check out the water spinach post

Garnish

1/3 cup sliced Chinese chives or spring onions

1 or 2 fresh red chilies, sliced 

1. Process Spice Paste ingredients to a smooth paste and set aside

2. Heat 1 T oil in a wok or skillet and saute garlic for about 1/2 to 1 minute, till light brown and fragrant. Add Spice Paste and remaining oil and saute for about 4 to 5 minutes, till fragrant (adding more oil if necessary)

3. Add shrimp or chicken and stir-fry for about 3 minutes for shrimp or 6 minutes for chicken, till cooked.

4. Stir in soy sauces, white, sugar, and Chinese cabbage stalks, and stir for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add noodles and coat well with sauce for about 2 minute. Add Chinese cabbage leaves, cover, and cook for about 1 minute, till greens start to wilt.

5. Uncover, push noodles towards edge of skillet/wok, add a little oil in center, add beaten egg and let set 1 to 2 minutes, then lightly scramble the egg till cooked and blend with noodles so egg coats noodles.

6. Toss in the bean sprouts, blend well and stir fro another minute or two. (Don't overcook, as noodles will get mushy if cooked too long)

7. Garnish with Chinese chives and chilies and serve hot

Enjoy!

Disclaimer

Time to time I receive free products, meals, etc. as a food blogger. I do not receive any payment for blog posts/reviews nor am I required to write a post when I receive free products, meals, etc. The views expressed in this post are completely my own. I was given a free review copy of the book.