The Soup Queen

I've written about kachama or kachangma before. Even included a recipe with photos back in 2008. Kachama chicken is best eaten with dark soya sauce However, back then, I never knew what kachama was called in English. I tried looking high and low and could never find the name. If only I knew, I could google for it. Heck, I only know how it looks like dried and chopped up! Finally one day I chanced upon a herb called Motherwort which was listed as an ingredient in one of my client's products. She confirmed that yes, this herb is quite popular in Sarawak. I don't remember how I counter-checked but in the end, I realized kachama is Motherwort. In Mandarin, it is called Yi Mu Cao. Now this herb is, like its name suggests, benefits the mother! Well, in Sarawak, kachama cooked with chicken is traditionally served as a confinement food to help moms get rid of 'wind' or "angin". This is evident from the plethora of "angin"-busting ingredi...

While in HK, my friend took us to a local food joint which was located on the first floor of a building near the wet market of Causeway Bay. I can't recall the name of the place and anyway, I read very little Chinese (though I am learning, thanks to Skritter) so even if I did see the name of the place, I'd have forgotten by now. We had had enough of wan ton noodles and char siew rice and roast goose rice. The rice you get in HK is one mountain! Sometimes we had to share our rice. In Malaysia we don't gobble that much of rice!  We had met SP at Times Square at Causeway Bay (in Cantonese, "thung lor wan") and we walked towards the wet market, which at 6.30pm was in full swing. Vendors were selling fruits, fish (live ones too), chicken, pork and fresh vegetables. The sky was dark but the bright yellow lights made the market come alive with festivity. The chill was still getting to me though. At 14 C, it was cold for me. Too cold. And the skies were mostly grey whe...

Was in Hong Kong for 10 days last month for a few reasons. Business, leisure, etc. The usual. We try to pack a few things into our travel whenever we go abroad. This time was no different. But the best part is always the food. This is my 3rd time to HK - strangely the country grows on you. Nic and I like the weather though at times it gets to me. Like this time around, we were there late March and while it seemed like spring, to me a tropical girl, it was mighty chilly at 14 C. Yes, I know. To most of you, 14 C is not a problem. For me it was way too chilly. All my limbs were cold. I only took one shower a day (in Penang, I take showers at least 2 times a day and more if the weather's overly warm!). Anyway, I did a great many things while in HK. Will write more!