Seaweed Crackers

Hi All! I am still alive but feeling a little flat and to correct Greg, I still have a bunch of cheese cakes and chocolate cakes orders to be made, not including our own. But the good news is that I'm finally done with all my lapis orders, my own cookies and keropok, and have sent out most of the CNY gifts. We've also bought our drinks and oranges. Really really a relief!

I really really don't understand why there are sooooooo many things to be done before CNY ~ the painting, the cleaning, the new items to be purchased, the garden overhaul, the food preparation, the caterer and menu confirmation, the florist and on and on. It's strange how we pile up everything that needs to be done onto this one single particular time of the year. I'm thinking whether all this can be spread out more evenly within the span of one year. And the strangest thing is that when the same time comes again next year, I'll do it all over again!

As promised, I am doing a recipe post on Chinese New Year goodies. I made some pineapple tarts, kuih momo, almond cookies, nam yue cookies and seaweed crackers this time. And I was trying to decide which of those to post when my helper Rosalind quipped, "seaweed crackers are so nice and sooo easy to make that any non baker & non-cook can do it".

My mum-in-law was so impressed with this snack last year and I could not understand why. Apparently some mean fellow told her that this snack is soooooooo hard to make and asked her not to bother. What a bunch of poppycock!

This is seriously so easy to do that you would feel ripped off by the prices that they're selling for out there. So here you go!

This recipe will fill up 1-2 plastic containers.

10 pieces of nori seaweed
20 pieces of spring roll skin (the big ones)
Some sesame oil
A tiny sprinkle of salt & pepper per piece of seaweed
some egg whites

1) Defrost spring roll skins and peel them apart nicely. Dont separate them all at once as they tend to dry out.

2) With a brush, spread egg whites on one piece of spring roll skin. Lay seaweed on top. Rub some sesame oil, salt and pepper on seaweed. Brush another piece of spring roll skin with egg white and lay it on top of the seaweed, preferably covering the entire piece of seaweed. Repeat for all ingredients.

3) Cut into any shape or if you've got nothing better to do, twist into them ribbons or bows. Heat up oil and deep fry till golden brown and crispy in batches. Separate the pieces which stick to one another. Cool till the batches feel lukewarm before storing in air tight containers.

I made 3 and 1/2 containers with 20 sets in 1.5 hours. How is that for fast and easy?

Short Post: Nee's CNY Update

Hi. Greg here. I'm writing on behalf of Nee. Just a little update on her CNY preps.

The sun is finally out for today & Nee's keropok has been awaiting for something like that. So they're now sunbathing out on the porch.

Nee has now completed the bulk of her Lapis cakes (her orders & her own) & also incredibly managed to squeeze her own bisuits (Kuih Momo, Pineapple tarts & Seaweed crackers) in despite the fact that you can buy them from outside! She disagrees with the quality.

I'm bringing her keropok up to my mom for further drying & she'll be helping out with the frying. In the meantime, Jo just brought over a whole bunch of keropok as backups.

This afternoon, Nee will finish off the marathon with two final Yam Lapis orders. Next week will just be a few cheese cakes for our own serving.

Keep on reading. We'll have more updates. I think this is sounding as interesting as the election & flood reports combined.

Day 4 in Paris: Cafe Beaubourg

There's a cafe on Rue St. Martin that looks quite popular despite it's minimal decor.

The first thing that you'd notice are the rows of chairs facing outwards, a very odd but normal practice in all Parisian cafes. Maybe that's why they don't get along with Americans.

The second thing that you'd notice is that it's just next to the modern art gallery, Centre Pompidou, which is a very popular spot for street performers & artists.

Well, you can't see any at that moment. Sorry to say, but the old dude on the left is not one of them. It was still too early in the morning & they're all probably still asleep.

The national past time of Parisians is to look at people. They spend all their afternoons drinking wine like water & eating their baguettes. They do not work.

We didn't think that Cafe Beaubourg had anything special. It was more of a popular spot where people hang out to watch other people. But we did get to try the infamous French Citron Press & their hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate was heavenly. It was like Milo multiplied by a hundred. The chocolate was super rich, super thick & super aromatic.

Although Nee absolutely loved the Citron Press, I just couldn't take it. One sip & my face shrunk & everything got pulled into the middle, like there's a blackhole there. This is the most evil super sour drink ever conceived by humankind.

Needless to say, you could walk into any cafe in Paris with your eyes closed & their baguettes & butter would be top notch mou tak teng.

And an exceptionally plain scrambled eggs.

I don't exactly know what a French waiter's job description would be. But I think it shouldn't be difficult to guess - know the menu well, take orders, crack jokes, make customers happy, carry ten plates on one arm, get rid of flies in the soup & to serve with speed.

But what I didn't know was that waiters at Cafe Beaubourg can also do bicycles.

Ahh, I'd have to say it again, Cest la Vie!

Two Malaysian bloggers in Paris trying to act local.

Geez, it's that old dude again. I think he's stalking us.