Stiff Neck

Ever wake up in the middle of the night, realizing you're sleeping in an odd position? Well, one of these nights, I woke up realizing I'm resting my head on my own shoulder and I can't move. My pillow was at least a few centimeters on top of me. The result? Stiff neck, not so hard to imagine isn't it? My colleagues were so tempted to 'help' me twitch my neck whenever they saw me moving awkwardly at work.

My mother has an old superstitious method of 'solving' stiff neck. She'll bring the pillow out and dry it in the sun, then she'll beat (yes, she really beats with a stick) up the pillow. Strangely, usually after she did that, there'll be no more stiff neck / sleeping problem the night after. I tried to do the same here but it doesn't work. Maybe the weather is too cold, the sun is not warm, the magnetic field is different blah blah blah...bottom line is: it doesn't work & I have stiff neck 3days in a row!

When weekend arrives, I finally bring myself together and went to purchase a 'guarantee no stiff neck' hard pillow which cost DKK350!! I'm not sure if the pillow that working (or my money, indirectly), I can finally twist and turn my head around without moving my shoulder, what a relieve! I told my mom when one day I move back to Penang, I'll definitely bring that pillow along! :p

Anyway, if you have any good remedy in preventing / curing stiff neck, please let me know. Always good to keep some tricks that might be useful in future (not that I don't trust my pillow, hehe)

Fishball Soup

If you read my previous blog regarding Char Hor Fun (fried flat noodle & vermicelli mixed), then you would know that I bought some fish balls and Chinese green mustards for the noodle. The sad part is (aside from being expensive), food that are available in different portions back home are only available in 'one size' in Copenhagen. More often than not, the selling portion is more than what I need for a single recipe. So I usually have to crack my head to use the same ingredient in different recipes.

Luckily in the case of fish ball & mustard green here, it's an easy one. I just prepare some anchovies broth, throw in the fish balls and mustard green (also added some lettuce and spring onion)... Viola, I got myself a bowl of fish ball soup (huu wan t'ng in Hokkien). If I have glass noodle, I'd have add some in, too bad...too bad...

I miss KFC!

Almost everyone in Malaysia grow up with KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) being part of their memory. Remember the times when one of your childhood old birthday parties are held in KFC?; the times when your parents decided to have KFC for dinner and you'll be thrilled not just because of the food but also for the free toy (better if you're dining out because you get to go out); the times when you bring KFC to school as lunch box; and that KFC chicken buckets / barrels is always a wise choice for party catering?

The influence of KFC didn't change when I grow up. Once in a while you'll be reminded of the fragrant of KFC chicken lingering in front of your nose and gotten so tempting that you just must have KFC instantly. There's even KFC fried chicken marinate powder available off normal grocery shop shelf so you can have KFC, home made.

Well, as time goes by, new restaurants with all sorts of different kind of food are blooming, KFC seems to dim down. Nevertheless, one can always find KFC within a few kilometer distance or in every big shopping malls (often, ironically, situated close to a McD as well, hehe). You can even enjoy KFC breakfast starting at 4am :)

I like KFC and will once in a while miss it but not a super gigantic huge fan who'd have KFC on weekly basis. Happen to have a friend who loves KFC. I guess he can try to struggle 2 weeks without it but definitely don't think he'll survive a month without KFC. But what does it have to do with me & my history growing up with KFC?

Well, after I transferred to Conpenhagen, I never had the chance to eat KFC, for slightly more than a year now. This KFC maniac friend of mine posted some shout outs & pictures in facebook about KFC. Suddenly I was 'triggered' into terribly missing KFC mood as well. You might think what's the big deal right? Just go and get one. Unfortunately, KFC is not as big a hit in Europe as it is in Asia. There're only 4 KFCs in the whole Denmark.

After rounds of searching and confirming that the KFC in center of Copenhagen is still operating, I can't wait anymore but to visit. Most of the customers are Asian (:s) and only a handful on Danes in the small little restaurant. I went for the classic normal fried chicken but was rather disappointed. The chicken tasted almost the same but not as good. Why? simply because it's not piping hot and the skin is not crispy crunch like what I use to get at home.

Will I go to KFC again? Definitely...but in Malaysia. I have already warned my friend that he's no longer permitted to post any KFC shout outs :p

Char Hor Fun

To Penangites, char hor fun (炒河粉), has a special place in our life. In my aunts younger days, their boy friends' first visit to my grandma were wisely accompanied with a pack of char hor fun, not just any char hor fun, but the best in town. So what is so special about a plate of fried vermicelli mixed with fried rice flour flat noodle in thick broth? Shamefully, I don't know.

All I know is: a plate of perfectly fried until slight burnt fragrant 'encapsulated' noodles, topped with sliced roast pork (char siew), pork liver (some don't use it anymore), prawns, fish ball / fish cake, Chinese mustard green, in thick gravy (with or without egg), served with vinegar marinated chili in soy sauce...oh...I wish I'm sitting in the hawker food center with my plate of penang char hor fun right in front of me, piping hot.

Unfortunately, reality is cruel. I'm a thousand miles away and none of the Chinese restaurant in Copenhagen, I repeat NONE, serves char hor fun! Fortunately, recent efforts of browsing other food blogs yield positive result. I found a promising recipe on char hor fun: http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-penang-char-hor-fun_29/

Chinese mustard green which cost Rm1.40 in M'sia costed RM10 for the same amount in Copenhagen (and some of the leaves are already turning yellow already after being kept in the supposed air tight plastic bag for air freight purpose); each fish ball cost slightly above RM1 (and they're only available frozen, RM25 for 20 fish balls) but these 'investments' are a must in my attempt to reproduce Penang Char Hor Fun.

Following the recipe with a little modification (I fried my noodles with some minced garlic) and here's the result:-

I won't say it taste as good as home, to be honest, I think it can be much better if I have the right hor fun (I replace it with Cantonese flat noodle due to lack of availability). However, it taste almost as good...plus some nostalgic & points to my effort, it was a warm hearty meal for me, thousands miles away from home :)

Sesame Prawn Toast

I first known sesame prawn toast was when I studied in UK, some (err....quiet some) years ago. Never saw it being served in Malaysia before, seems to me like a product of migrating / working Asian in Europe / America. When I try to look up its origin on the Internet, some said it's from Thailand, some said from Hong Kong. Well, whether where it originates from, I guess it doesn't really matter that much anymore when compare to its wonderful delightful taste.

There's a Cantonese restaurant in Copenhagen that serves great sesame prawn toast but if your budget is running tight for the month and really crave for the prawn toast, making it at home is not rocket science as well :)

Ingredients:-

5 slices toast bread

250g fresh prawn, de-veined

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ egg

1 tbsp finely chopped spring onion

1 tsp finely chopped ginger

1 tsp sesame oil

salt to taste

lots of sesame seeds

Except the toast, put all ingredient into a hand mixer / blender and blend it into paste. This can be prepared up to 3hrs ahead. If you don't have any sort of blender at home, then minced the fresh raw prawns into nearly paste form and mixed in other ingredients (except the bread, of course).

I prefer to leave the bread open in the air after cutting every slice into half, just to 'dry' it a bit so it doesn't soak up too much oil during the frying process. Else, just use old bread, good way to deplete them too :) Spread the blended prawn paste onto bread (don't pill it up like a mountain, just spread like butter) all the way up to the edges so the edge won't burnt during frying.

Slightly press the bread's paste side into sesame seeds 'pile' (I assume the sesame seeds are in a flat plate or some flat surface) just to let the seeds stick on the paste. Heat up a pan (use less oil in pan than wok), bottom filled with oil enough to cover half of the bread. When oil is hot enough, place the bread with prawn paste side down for frying. Fry for about a minute until golden brown and flip the bread to the other side. Continue until the whole bread turns golden brown and it's ready.

I served mine on a bed of sliced lettuce and sweet chili sauce to my guests, specifically told them to reserve some for me while I continue some work in the kitchen. The next thing I know, there's only 1 last piece on the plate, and that's all I got! If I were any later, I might not get any at all! Poor me, for all the hard work, a single piece is all I have. Well, guess that tells how nice sesame prawn toast is ^-^

Blueberry Cake

Bought a pack of blueberry, intended to bake blueberry cheecake but ended up with blueberry cake instead (no cheese :p). Recipe is again from my all time trusted Joy of Baking: http://www.joyofbaking.com/BlueberryCake.html.

The result? It tasted so good that I don't mind baking it again & again, and again & again...super delicious, and it takes just about an hour from preparation to having a piping hot freshly baked cake. Too bad I can't share the cake, so here's some pictures to share. Warm or cold, it tastes as good :)

Roskilde Cathedral

Bright sunny Sunday, hop on a train and made an unplanned stop at Roskilde where one of the UNESCO heritage site - the Roskilde Cathedral is. The cathedral was the only church in Zealand until the 20th century and is the Danish monark's burial ground. It's a living UNESCO used for church services and other religious ceremonies thus sometimes not open to public when these ceremonies are on-going.

Pic: side view of Roskilde cathedral

Pic: the cathedral's west view

Story goes that when the cathedral is under construction, the king of that time has to travel away while the queen is pregnant. He then order the constructor to build a catherdral with round dome if a prince is borned; and a cathedral with spike roof if a princess is born. So even when he's far out in the sea, he can know if he receive a son / daughter. The queen gave birth to twin girls, hence the twin spike :)

Pic (both up & down): Inner view of Roskilde cathedral

Chinese emperors tried so hard to have a secret burial place with lots of tomb protections (and definitely on a 'feng shui' ground) while the Danish monarks final resting place is inside a cathedral, displayed to public. Good thing is due to all the visiting tourists and bright lights, it doesn't feel spooky visitng the cathedral :p

Pic: ChristianIV tomb (I think)

After hours of walk in the cathedral, a few hundred meters away (definitely within walking distance) is the all paved pedestrian walkway with nice ice-cream parlour. What choice do I have? I mean, the day is hot and the ice-cream is nice & close, so...Paradis it is.