Archive for the 'Western Food' Category

Nov 17 2008

Homemade herbed hamburgers, two ways to eat it

Published by Foong under Fusion Food, Recipes, Western Food |

I’ve been meaning to learn to make our own hamburgers so that we do not need to eat those store-bought frozen hamburgers which are oily and full of MSG. Considering hamburgers merely consist of ground meat, how hard can it be right?

Besides, The Food Critic is really crazy about hamburgers. Every time we go to the grocery store, he simply must stop at the frozen food and pick out a packet of hamburgers. A few times when we do eat out, he’d insist on choosing an American restaurant like TGIF serving good burgers (nope, it is definitely not the same as those fast-food burgers!). So, in response to his special request for homemade hamburgers, I gave it a try.

I didn’t really go around searching for a hamburger recipe. In fact, I borrowed some tips from Jessie’s (The Hungry Mouse) meatball recipe and changed it a bit. After all, meat patties or hamburgers are simply the flatter, bigger version of meatballs. I think. Heheh.

Anyway, this is the end result…

Homemade herbed hamburger

Homemade herbed hamburger

Of course The Food Critic was ecstatic. He finally gets to eat homemade hamburgers without needing to spend a fortune at some overpriced restaurant. I made quite a lot, so he actually ate it for lunch and dinner!

So, here’s the recipe for:

Homemade Herbed Hamburgers

Homemade herbed hamburgers

Ingredients

For hamburger

600gm minced port & chicken

2 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp black pepper

2 tbsp mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped

2 tbsp light soy sauce

3 - 4 tbsp instant oats (or you could use breadcrumbs if you want)

For special sauce

3 tbsp peas

3 tbsp diced carrots

2 large onions, diced

2 tbsp garlic, diced

5 no. fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp oyster sauce (or mushroom sauce)

1 tbsp light soy sauce

4 tbsp soya milk (sugarless)

1 tbsp chicken stock

a dash of pepper

2 tbsp corn flour

5 -6 tbsp water

Instructions

Prepare your minced meat and mix it together

1. Prepare your mince meat and mixed it together

Add the garlic powder

2. Add the garlic powder and mixed it around

Add in the mixed herbs and black pepper

3. Add in the mixed herbs and black pepper and remember to stir it and mix it in evenly

Add in the sauce

4. Add in the light soy sauce

Stir in the oats

5. Stir in the oats and mix well

6. Heat up some oil in a pan. Form meat patties with a ladle and slide it into the hot oil.

Fry it, both sides, until it turns brownish like this and remove from heat.

7. Fry the meat patties, on both sides, until it turns brownish like this and remove from heat.

I know you must be wondering why there’s also a ’special sauce’ ingredients. Well, instead of just serving up the hamburgers as well, burgers, I thought I might as well use the leftover oil in the pan to create a special sauce as toppings for the meat patties to be served as a main dish, like this:

Hamburgers as a meat patty main dish with special sauce

So, now that you’ve fried all of your burgers and there is some oil left. Don’t throw it out! Use it to make the special sauce as it would have all the added flavours of the meat. Right from the start, I used olive oil and I didn’t use much oil so ended up, I have about 3 tbsp of oil left in the wok which is just perfect for the sauce.

Now, on to the sauce:

Get your ingredients all ready

1. Get all your ingredients ready

Mix the sauces together in a bowl

2. Mix the sauces together in a bowl

Add in the soya milk and then the corn flour

3. Add in the soya milk and then the corn flour

4. Stir and mix the sauces well. The corn flour is to thicken it so that it won’t be so watery.

Sautee the garlic and onions

5. Sautee the garlic and onions in the same pan used to fry the burgers. If you look, you'd notice that there's still some bits of meat from the burgers I fried earlier.

Add in the rest of the ingredients

6. Add in the rest of the ingredients

7. Then add in the sauces and stir.

Let the mixture simmer over medium to low heat for several minutes

8.Let the mixture simmer over medium to low heat for several minutes

9. Then it is done, ready to be served with the meat patties / hamburgers.

You just pour it over the hamburgers and serve

You just pour it over the hamburgers and serve

But if you prefer something you can eat on the go, then you don’t need to prepare the sauce. Just serve the meat patties as the filling for a hamburger sandwich.

A hamburger sandwich

So, there you have it. One herbed hamburger, two different ways to serve it!

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Nov 05 2008

Dinner at a restaurant inside a house

Published by Foong under Restaurants, Western Food, Where to eat |

For Penangites who frequently eat in Pulau Tikus area, I am sure they would have heard about Top Top Restaurant which used to be at a shop along the main road of Burmah Road.I remember it used to be quite swanky (at least by my student days standard) and eating there was considered a luxury. The food is also quite good.

That was quite a long time ago and then one day, they closed down. I didn’t know what happened to them until in recent years, I heard that they are operating out of their home in the same area. Now, hearing about it does not make it easy for me to find the place. Then my personal chef (aka The Food Critic aka The Food Hunter) found out the location and we went there for dinner.

It was still as good and in quite a cosy atmosphere despite it being based in the ‘restaurant’ owner’s home. So, here’s introducing Top Top Restaurant, now known as Yaw’s Roast and Grill.

The 'kitchen' is outside in a corner of their house compound

The 'kitchen' is outside in a corner of their house compound

They filled up the rest of their compound with plastic tables and chairs and even placed some tables and chairs inside their living room. And no, there is no signboard outside the house. That’s why it wasn’t easy for us to trace them until we were specifically given the address!

A view from inside the living room, looking out to more seating outside

A view from inside the living room, looking out to more seating outside

Now, let’s get on to the menu and food, eh?

Here's a menu of the food offered here

Here's a menu of the food offered here

And here are the food we ordered…

Grilled giant sausage which is the specialty of the day

Grilled giant sausage which is the specialty of the day

They have specialty dishes on different days and on the day we went, they have giant sausage so we ordered that. Nothing really all that great about it since it is just sausage they probably got from somewhere to be grilled and served.

Mixed grill

Mixed grill

Their mixed grill consists of lamb chops, sausage, bacon and grilled chicken breast meat. It is served with a small serving of fries and some fresh greens. It is practically meat galore with a dusting of black pepper. Considering the different types of meat on this plate, all of it are grilled to perfection and in quite a good portion size. The Food Critic could finish this whole plate of meat but he didn’t and shared it with me instead.

Fish Maryland

Chicken Maryland

We went there with another couple and one of them ordered chicken maryland. I can vouch for the chicken maryland as I’ve ordered it the first time we came here.

I ordered the fish version this time around. Of course, I shared my fish maryland with The Food Critic and my picky toddler. Here’s a closer look…

Fish Maryland

The fish is deep fried with a crispy, crunchy crust and since it’s maryland, naturally it has a sausage and a slice of ham with the fish. The fish was not bland and is rather tasty as it was probably seasoned before it was deep fried. What’s more, it is quite a big portion too…that’s why I was able to share it with my son and The Food Critic.

Our friend ordered chicken chop Chicken Chop

My other friend ordered chicken chop and it looks pretty good too. I’ve tried their chicken maryland before and since the chicken is probably fried the same way, I can safely say it is crunchy and good. As usual, the chicken is the deboned chicken thigh so the meat is tender.

I don’t know about the chicken chop sauce though.

My verdict: the overall experience of eating at Yaw’s is that of cosyness and far from being a quiet place, it is often packed with most tables occupied. So, be prepared to enjoy great western style food in the midst of chatter from the crowds there. However, it is a great place to hang out with friends and catch up while waiting for the food to be served.

The prices are pretty reasonable and I could say it goes with the portion. I would not say that it is really good food but it is good enough for me to want to go back there again. Only problem is that parking space is not easy to find as you will have to park along the roadside. It is located within a residential area after all.

Rating: 6/10

Price:$$$

Yaw’s Grill and Roast

1, Gerbang Midlands

Tel: 04-2276273 / 012-4848178

Here’s the location of this restaurant within a house.

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