Savory Malay Pancakes (Roti Jala)

Eid marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan. It is a day to celebrate one's abstinence whilst fasting during Ramadhan. Traditionally, Malay Muslim families celebrate the first day of Eid with an abundance of delicious, festive foods, along with various sweet offerings including home baked cakes and cookies. 


Part of the fun of Eid is in preparing the food to be shared with friends and family. Being in Chicago during Eid for the second year, I was contemplating the special menu to celebrate this special occasion. Since I have to attend class on that day, I planned to prepare something simple yet delicious. So my thoughts went to 'Roti Jala' a very classic Malay savory pancake that goes very well with a beef curry. Roti jala is by no way an everyday dish. It takes considerable time to prepare, and usually served for tea in the company of special guests and loved ones. To be served roti jala is indeed quite a delightful treat for anyone visiting a Malay household! 


Special thanks to my sister, Su, for sharing this family recipe, and Kak Idah from Toronto for her brilliant idea on the apparatus. - Ros


Ingredients (Serving for 3-4 people):
- 1.4 cups of flour
- 2.8 tbsp evaporated milk
- 1 medium egg
- 1.4 cups of water
- Salt to taste
- A pinch of tumeric for color


The process starts with the preparation of the batter. Mix all the above ingredients to a liquid batter. Pour some of the batter to the 'squirt' bottle. (If you are in Singapore or Malaysia, you can buy the roti jala apparatus from many grocery shops). Then follow the process below:

1. A bit of butter and a dab of olive oil is added to the pan.

2. We used a 'squirt' bottle because we did not have the right apparatus.

3. Make round, concentric circles like above. Leave for pancake to cook, but just on 1 side.

4. They are folded into four like the above. Just love the ones that's ever so slightly browned.

5. The table is set up for dinner.

This is our second try at roti jala. It gets better each time. :)

Prawns in Egg Gravy

Prawns in Egg Gravy

This is the perfect dish to go with rice congee on a cold fall day. The ingredients are basic, and it takes less than 15mins to prepare.

Ingredients:

- One red fresno pepper (sliced)

- 2 stalks of spring onions (sliced)

- 1 small handful of fresh cilantro (diced)

- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)

- 1 sweet onion (diced)

- 1 egg

- 0.75lbs of cleaned prawns

- 0.5 cups of water (more if you prefer runny)

Preparation:

1. Heat wok, and pour 1 tbsp of olive oil

2. Panfry the prawns until 75% cooked

3. Heat the wok again, and pour in 1 tbsp of olive oil

4. Stir fry all ingredients (other than the prawns) in the wok other than the egg and prawns

5. When the ingredients are wilted, add the water, continue with cooking for 2mins

6. Break the egg and cook for 1 - 2mins

7. Add the prawns, stirfry

8. When the prawns are close to ready, it should look like this.

9. Season with salt and sugar to preference.

10. Serve with freshly made, pipping hot rice congee. Enjoy!

Terrace Dining in Summer

One of the best things about summer is the open terraces at restaurants. There is just something so appealing, so luxurious and inviting about terraces. I am not sure exactly what or why, but I can safely say that it must be my trips to Europe that help me come to this conclusion. From Paris, to Geneva, to Amsterdam, to Madrid... the streets come alive with rows of little tables and seats arranged neatly for customers to enjoy the sun and their meal. In the US, the terrace culture is not as entrenched as the ones in Europe. Well for one, there is not much of a coffee culture in this country. Nonetheless, we managed to find some wonderful terraces to visit this summer in Chicago. These are the rare gems that should be shared with everyone! Ros

1. Piccolo Sogno

Dream a Little Dream...  and they will come true - at the very least, dreams about fabulous terrace lunches, surrounded by fountains and multi-colored leaves and the best tasting food. I recently became acquainted with Piccolo Sogno, after the many times that the restaurant had been recommended to me by a close Milanese friend.  Despite my trying to introduce him to other Italian places, he still swears by Piccolo Sogno, saying that it is the most authentic Italian place in town!  And... definitely the place was a wonderful oasis, which reminded me of what it was to lunch a late lunch in some lost terrace in Rome  or the narrow cobblestone streets of Capri.  Piccolo Sogno is located at the west end of the city, among not very pretty looking bridges and the remains of some of the Chicago Tribunes operation buildings.  But once you step in and set foot into the terrace, time stops and suddenly you are transported!  

We had one of my favorite dishes of all time - fried zucchini flowers and spaghetti neri with shrimp.  Love, love, spaghetti with squid ink and Piccolo Sogno's rendition of it was just spectacular!  All paired amazingly well with a pinot bianco.  So as summer finishes trickling through Chicago's unusually warm streets - this venture in terrace dining is something to be remembered and I am sure that Piccolo Sogno will be one of those favorite regular Italian restaurants we will want to visit on a regular basis. - Connie

The lovely terrace of Piccolo Sogno in downtown  Chicago.

A summer treat: Zucchini Flowers!

Black ink pasta with prawns in fresh tomato sauce.

2. La Creperie

We discovered La Creperie sometime in 2010, and what a happy find this turned out to be! Aside from the delicious crepes that it serves, we love its location, which is within a 10minute walk from home. So it is just a short hop away for us when the mood for crepe strikes! - Ros

A large menu of sweet and savory crepes to choose from.

La Creperie opens its terrace in summer and we get to enjoy our meal under wide umbrellas at the back of the restaurant. The umbrellas are colored red, blue and white - the national colors of France. On Bastille Day (July 14), the terrace gets decorated even more and one can't help but be part of the celebration of France's independent day.

We love the casualness of the terrace at La Creperie.

A sugar and butter crepe, and a glass of Orangina makes a lovely breakfast!

We each have our favorites at La Creperie. I started with the Nutella crepe but eventually grew to love Connie's favorite, the plain butter and sugar crepe (served with a serving of whipped cream) as per the above. The crepes are crispy on the outside but chewy and ever so buttery on the inside. Best eaten with a glass of Orangina or just a plain cup of Earl Grey tea. Such a simple, satisfying and amazing treat, to be savored with each bite! Ros

Bon Appetit!

Great Lake (Pizza) in Andersonville, Chicago

The shop front - very forgettable. It hides a true gem.

I wrote in my Facebook entry about the Great Lake.  I said something along the lines of '...Great Lake is the best kept secret in town.' and a response to that was that the Illinois Lake society said the same line before requesting a donation!  So...  The name - Not the most unique.  The place - could be passed by in a flash - and given full curtains, no signage indicating any presence of a restaurant, and pretty much the silence, one would not know if the place was open or closed...  But the experience - Unforgettable.  It is indeed true that Simplicity is the key to excellence.

So we decided to venture and try this wonderfully kept secret (not so secret now).  We arrived, not knowing if it was the right place or not and when we finally decided to open the door and step in into a 12 seat tiny place, we were greeted by 10 pairs of eyes and an 'invisible secret hand shake'.  The pizza maker and the pizza oven where visible a few feet away so we knew we were in the right place.  We ordered quite quickly and took a seat at a communal table, together with a wonderful suburban couple (running away from the kids); another couple with foreign accents; two 20 somethings women, enjoying BYOB root beer and us - the delimillis (multi-national Asians, art and food loving bloggers).

The waiting starts...

Only two choices of beverage: Orange soda or water.

We took our seats and waited.  All or our hearts (also the ones from the 10 other pairs of eyes) skipped a beat as suddenly plates with cutlery were brought to the table, as the oven seemed to open and close in a flash.  The first to get their pizzas were the child escaping couple - who were feeling even guilty to start eating as we all stared (our eyes suddenly joined the group of 10 in instant admiration of all things pizza). Soon enough we all got our pizzas and... HEAVEN.  Absolutely fantastic - Artisanal crust, with farm cheese, tomatoes and the freshest red onions thinly sliced.  Cooked into a bite that tasted of French onion soup with heirloom tomato, and basil mist.  Refined and rustic, the ying and the yang of Great Lake.  Best part was sharing the experience with the fellow diners, who were equally impressed and sharing their thoughts...

Our experience was a highlight and an adventure which we tried to capture through photography.  Verdict - a Must.  Decision - Will Try Again.  Final Comments - not only Two Thumbs Up but 10 Eyes Wide Open and Smiling! - Connie

The pizza finally arrived. Just look at that crust!
We had the Tomato Sauce, Farmers Cheese and Dante Cheese Pizza: eden foods organic tomatoes, cedar grove organic farmers cheese, wisconsin sheep dairy co-op (wsdc) dante aged sheep's milk cheese, california olive ranch (cor) arbequina extra virgin olive oil, fresh herbs, sel gris de guérande (grey sea salt).
Plus one extra order of tropea onion.

No guessing if we liked it or not. ;)