: : Bananas : :



Maybe my brain has turn into a banana! Blogging for 24 hours. Well, it's for a good cause and I wanted to see whether I could do it. Ok, so I'm in for a penny, in for a pound.

Oh yeah, picked up my Dad from the airport today and we went to eat dinner at Seoul Garden located at 3rd Mile. Unfortunately, forgot to bring my camera. Ah well.

Dad : At first I thought you'd be too tired to pick me up because thought you'd already started the 24 hour blog thing.

Wena : No lah! That's on July 24.

Dad : Ah ok! By the way, you have some donations already. About USD100.

Wena : Really?!?

Went to check and through enough, I saw the amount pledge. Wow! So am now officially in. Thanks to May. Woo hoo!

Alright, have already collected pictures for 4 postings. Now, about 20 more postings to prepare for. Am hoping to put up a posting every 1-2 hours. Hopefully will have enough. Must also remember not to fall asleep on the bed.

Tiara also gave me a heads up on the pledge as well. She is blogging at her site for Amnesty International, Malaysian Charter.

Also, another Malaysian blogger, Callista Chuah, is also blogging on the same day. She is blogging to concert funds for the Philharmonic Society of Selangor in aid of the National Stroke Association. The number "killer" in Malaysia is heart related diseases and after that comes road accidents.

So, do sponsor one of us. It need not be me but other bloggers as well.

: : project blog 2004 : :

It started with a question from Gette on who was going to blog for 24 hours. So I thought, why not? I missed out on the 2003 Blogathon.

The charity that I'm supporting for 24 hours on July 24, 2004, is Mercy Malaysia. They are a team of volunteers, mostly medical personnel, who provide medical relief to people both within and outside of Malaysia. Their most recent expedition is to the interiors of Sarawak where medical aid is very hard to come by. I remember growing up listening to radio announcements on the flying doctor service. Then there was the Australian series on Flying Doctors in the bushland. Anyway, there are people always in need of medical aid, be it in the form of donations or volunteers.

The date is 24 July 2004, starting 8 a.m. Eastern time. That translates to 24 July 9 p.m. So, hmm... methinks have to take leave on 26 July to catch up on some sleep as the time duration finishes on 25 July 9 p.m. Wena is going to be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO groggy.

If you want to make a donation, you can do so at the project-blog website. However, you will need to have an account there before committing an amount to be sponsored. Read the FAQ here for more information.

As for making the donations, if you feel like sponsoring me, do make an account at this site. Once the event is over, I will nag remind you to make the donation to Mercy Malaysia. You can even donate to them online at their Donation Page.

Right, I'm off to prepare for 24 food dishes for the event. Hopefully I'll have enough photos by then!

On another note, you may want to check out what Pimms is doing. She has a charity drive going on. More details are at her site so please do drop by.

: : Bak Chang : :

I ate two pieces yesterday for dinner and one the day before. Yum! The following pictures arrived in my mailbox yesterday.







Renee has done two great write-ups on making the chang and the history behind it. Enjoy it!

: : More Fishy Dishy : :

And dishy, these dishes were. Very tempting. Gorgeous. Aromatic.

Cathy's Red Plum and Snapper en Papillote was absolutely wonderful. The description alone was enough to make my mouth water.

We also have a bonafide marine biologist cooking up sustainable seafood as well! So let's check out Jarrett's delicious Lingcod with Cherry Tomato Salsa. Hey Jarrett! My cousin is a marine biologist too. Her thesis was on huge clams off the coast of Australia.

Apologies for the late notice. I was having fun being a pirate last night!

: : More Catches : :

I seem to have misplaced a few of the catches and last night, was slaving through the blogs compiling them. So, apologies for the late notices. Was seriously peak last night while I was compiling all the dishes. Here are some that I missed out :

As mentioned earlier, we have Pim's amazing grilled fish. I love the holder. Very chic and useful. For this slight, she may now not consider inviting me for a meal. ;p

Anyone for Yellowtail Sandwiches? I'm sorry that I didn't get your name and shifting more than 50 emails is beyond me at this early hour of the morning. Still, luv the sandwiches. Great for breakfast.

Owen sent in his submission : Horseradish Smoked Trout Pate! I love pate! I feel like doing the Star Trek thing of 'Beam me that food, Scotty!'. Hee hee! Nice.

A bit of mistakes here and there. I also got Clotilde's name wrong! Sacre Bleu! Ohhh... the embarassment! Ah well. We make things right again, albeit a bit later. Sorry guys!

: : IMBB No. 5 ~ The Catch of the Day : :

Updates : Shame on you Wena! You forgot Pim!!! Oopss... I knew it was going to happen. Accidently forgetting to put someone in. Pim make a great tasting fish à ma façon. I absolutely love the grill holder. Yum!
It has been an extremely fishy-themed Sunday alright. There were so many entries with different varieties of fish. We even had one that posted more than one dish! Woo hoo!

Claudine was the first person to submit her entry. It was a beautiful Bouillabaise. I love the mussels and am suffering from cravings as we speak.

Next, Pieman jump into the fire, preparing an amazing Vietnamese dish called Chao Luon using eel! It looks like a very tasty porridge. I'll never look at eel in the same way again.

Running along, we're off to New Zealand where against a backdrop of beautiful scenery, we have Christine making a beautiful meal out of fresh salmon and potato wedges. The pink skin wedges look so pretty!

Husky submitted an entry from his archives but it still counts. The fish was steamed and it look to be Teochew style which is one of the various Chinese cooking styles. Woof woof!

Umami took us down her memory lane with her Chan Che's Sardine Mee Hoon. Simply but for sure delicious, childhood dishes does bring one back to days of old.

I love Elise's Fish Tacos! Taco taco taco! And this time, with great tasting fish fillets! Ooh! I'm drooling here.

Coming to the Cuisine Capers, Irene made a marvelous meal with Tilapia cooked with Bulgar and Chickpeas. So nice! So tempting! And I adore chickpeas!

Clotilde and I had the same theme : fruits and fish! Both ingredients start with the letter F and both came out so nice. I like to try her Tropical Fish and Nectarine Skewers one day. Now, the only thing to do is find a way to pack myself off to France for a meal!

Mik is participating for the fish time and I must say, her entry is so nice. Wok-smoked pomfret is something different and the tea leaves are an interesting addition.

By now, you can tell we are obsessed with IMBB! Hee hee... Taking about obsession, Derrick made a wonderful meal out of salmon. I'm so jealous that he got fresh salmon. It's so hard to find it over here! Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to get into his website tonite although I did managed to catch a glimpse of it at work. Believe me, it was nice.

It was so nice of Pascale to blog in English for her IMBB submission. Tantalizing Tuna cooked with herbs and slow roasted tomato. Definitely looks like something from a restaurant and being French, it came out so classy. The cherry tomatoes came out simply superb.

Petra from Germany also blog in English for her entry. Her dish was a Brazilian meal called Moqueca Baiana de Peixe. I wanted to stretch a spoon over my computer screen and dig into the fish stew.

From complicated dishes to simple yet firm favourites, Lynda has reminded us all how tempting Tuna Toasties can be. Also, poor G has to put up with it. Hee hee!

Donna submitted an interesting dish called Candied Salmon. Wow! I was impressed by the entry. Imagine sweetening up the salmon. Yummy!

Being passionate about cooking, Johanna came up with Sesame-crusted tuna carpaccio with cucumber-mooli salad. Oh oh oh! Drool drool drool! Suffer suffer suffer!

We're not done yet! Still have some more dishes to go through!

Now, next on the list is a classic from England. Jennifer has reminded all of us how tasty fish and chips can actually be. This domestic goddess is amazing.

From crumbs, Theresa came up with a magnificent meal titled Sunny-side of the Street Fried Sea Bass with Mango Shrimp Salad. Oohh! The mango would go so well with the fish.

Mummy Deb has also taken some time from looking after Ellie to make this fish dish : Moroccan Fish Tagine With Peppers And Olives. If only little Ellie could taste this, she would be loving it as well.

Surprise surprise! We have another fish taco submission! Charlotte gives another version of making it. Can't wait for her camera to arrive and we will see it one fine fine day, I'm pretty sure of that.

Now, from Mr. IMBB himself, Alberto came up with scrumptious Stuffed Squid, Neopolitan style! I love it! It's so interesting and I do so love eating squid.

Foodgoat and Ladygoat were grilling some fish for their IMBB submission. Grilled tuna is a firm favourite. Argh! I'm getting hungry at 10 pm at night!

Carlo never fails to disappoint and this time, he has made another Italian dish. Moscardini is made from baby octopus. Ooh! Yummy! The Japanese will love this.

Redfusion massacared poor Sam the fish! Hee hee! Just kidding. Can't believe he name the fish Sam. Not sure what the name of the dish is but definitely a lot of Cuban style cooking and thinking went into this fish meal.

Rachelita2 has cooked up some shrimps which she got from the supermarket. Boy, are tey huge! The shrimps that is. The dish is called Ziti with Spicy Peanut Shrimp. How on earth am I going to sleep tonight without tasting this?

Jeremy said that he cheated but he provided quite a number of fish-themed dishes. Wow! It's great, I tell ya. Nice, tasty and all so tempting!

The Red Emperor was caught in Anthony's net and ended up on the dinner table. It went into the Red Emperor Nabe with a 3 Fish Ceviche. Anthony, your guests were the lucky ones! And I'm the one stuck here with only pictures to drool over. :p

Josh from the Food Section in NY has made a wonderful Blini With Gravlax and Creme Fraiche. Finger snacks. Hor d'oeuvres. Starters. Appetizers. All names to describe small, edible food to start off a wonderful meal.

The Accidental Hedonist a.k.a. Kate has prepared a delicious fish meal of sea bass over tomato rosemary pasta. Ooh baby! Come to mama! Hee hee...

From Seattle, we have Bon Vivant making a great Tarragon Honey Copper River Salmon En Papillote. It was amazing! Cooked in a wrapping, I can imagine the juices soaking up all the seasonings and complimenting the fish.

Meg from Too Many Chefs has prepared a great Lox and Pasta. I love what she did with the salmon and pasta. Looks simple and easy to do. If only I was not dieting at the moment, I'd enjoy eating the pasta with slices of salmon.

Reid has prepared an interesting Misoyaki Butterfish. It looks wonderful and something definitely worthwhile to try out.

As for me, Granny made a simple, yet favourite, Pineapple Curry with Prawns and Salted Fish. Comfort food alright.

To end it all, I'm going to post up a submission by Sherry Chermak on making Salmon with Greens.



Salmon with Greens

Ingredients
2 skinned salmon fillets
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups roughly chopped bok choy, with stalks separated from leaves
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
grated ginger root to taste
pepper to taste

Cook salmon in a nonstick pan or griddle over medium heat, until just cooked through, and remove to a warm plate.

In a heavy skillet over medium heat, cook garlic in the oil for about one minute. Add the bok chow stalks, stir for barely a minute and
cover the pan with a lid and cook for barely 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove lid and add the bok chow leaves, soy sauce, and grated
ginger root to taste, and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes until the leaves wilt. Remove from heat and add the sesame oil.

Pile the greens on plates along with the salmon. Add pepper to taste.

Bon Appetit everyone! The next IMBB may be just around the corner. Should be interesting to see what everyone is preparing next.

: : Burning burning BURNT! : :

The Sunday morning dawn bright and cheery and I overslept. So, I didn't quite managed to take the earlier shots of Granny making her tasty Pineapple, Prawn and Salted Fish Curry. Yummy! Ok ok, so it doesn't sound that great. You have to taste the curry to be totally convinced.



For the ingredients, Granny cut a few small shallots into small pieces and stir-fried them with the curry paste. Note that the curry paste that she used is for making fish curry.



Once the paste is fragrant, she added in the pineapples and filled it up with water. She also added in some salted fish with the fish bones. The curry was then left to boil on a slow fire for about an hour to soften the pineapple. Add in some sugar to taste.



When the pineapple is soft, add in the prawns and let the entire simmer until it's cook. Serve hot.



This is the finished dish. It goes very very well with rice and tasted so good. It's not easy to find this dish. Most of the time, I eat it at home. I've never seen it outside although I have tasted pineapple curry. The fish itself no longer tastes salty as all the salt would have already come out and entered the soup. And that's the fishy entry from Wena and Granny, or rather Granny.

I'll be putting up a list of the other IMBB dishes tomorrow once the full listing comes in. So, come by tomorrow and see the gorgeous and sumptious spread ahead!

Ta ta!