Yes, Plum's market. I thought they were more widespread. Papa Joes is another gourmet market but I think they are only in Detroit area too (my former turf & my sister's current turf). .
Enjoy the mosquitos lake!

Dinner last night was homemade baba ganoush with a pita bread then drumsticks with peri peri sauce, a salad and some potatoes. Probably ate too much really.

Grilled swordfish, grilled asparagus, local blueberries, toasted corn muffins.

My new go-to for swordfish or tuna in harissa. Might be worth a try, whether a mild version or something or the spicier side.

My goodness , have not been back in the area since ‘ 77 .. will see when a return visit can be made .
Check out to see if old haunts like the DQ , etc are still around in the same locations .
So many places to go when flying resumes .

Wow that looks delicious!

outdoor supper in Wilmette IL with fireflies :-)

Grilled Turkey Italian sausage
corn/black bean mix

blueberry pie with 365 vanilla bean ice cream


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Weren’t the fireflies rather crunchy?

I'm intrigued. At first I thought you left a clue that you were at Firefly, but I looked it up and it says permanently closed. Maybe just at a friend's house???

A somewhat timely gift from friends for watching the Olympics .
Here is plate of Ang Ku Kueh missing some colours , if not they almost represent the Olympic colours if not the rings even as the Opening Ceremony is on as this is posted ❗️
The different colours of the Ku Kueh indicate the various fillings .

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Small platter

Will add another photo later with the kueh pan fried as they were not eaten “ immediately “


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Here are the panfried duo

Hopefully , the other ku kuehs , to be enjoyed by others , will just be as yummy as the now panfried coconut & mung bean .

sorry!! At a friend’s house with fireflies. I haven’t seen fireflies since summer 2019 because we just did indoor dining this trip other than last night, or were indoors and not noticing the fireflies until last night :-)

I would be in a coma after that. Ang Ku kueh are good, but so so heavy...

I made Paul Bocuse's Steak au Poivre with a Dijon cream and a side of sliced potatoes. I can't eat like this every night, but it's good to indulge every once in a while.

...and there's a good chance I'll find escaped peppercorns all over my kitchen for the next few days.

We ate one of the neighborhood Italian places last night. I had spaghetti with sweet Italian sausage. Mrs BV ordered mignon and 4 cheese fiocchi. My FIL ordered shrimp scampi for the first time. It’s a dish that is boring most places and this was no exception. The rest of us were pleased. They have Peroni on tap - not one of my favorites, but I went with it anyway and enjoyed it enough to order a second.

Reading Dirt by bill Buford which has a lot of mentions and anecdotes with paul Bocuse.

I loved Heat but found Dirt to drag a bit. (On a related note, did anyone see the pictures of Mario Battali this week? He has aged!)

Tonight I had a super gourmet feast of finish off the last two slices of frozen pizza from the other night, and a handful of pistachios.

Oh, is this a second tequila and Fresca? I think it is!

dirt would have been nice with a timeline. I can’t keep on top of all of the French legends. But the Bocuse mentions are fun.

Antipasto platter, veal scallopine, and straw basket Chianti.

For more than one !
Usually shared among more of us but with latest only 2 visitors a day now , spread out over meals heavy snacks 😉
Have added a photo to earlier post

Very , very delicious 😋
Have to exercise even more now ‼️

I thought that didn't start (again) until the last day or two... Kinda surprised that it took this long for the KTV cluster to be caught. That said, I don't think the ang ku kueh would last too long. IME, unless you've got a good fridge, things like AKK tend to spoil within two or three days.

Well , we were given the AKK on Wednesday afternoon when we were already overladened with desserts ( plus think 12 tubs of ice creams ) . The 2 visitors limit began on Thursday .. that is why the ang ku kueh were panfried as were not eaten on the same day , crispy on the outside & moist / soft inside .
Still have some to go as the other flavours are not my cup of tea and the potential dessert partners could not come these couple of days - some having second vaccinations & such .
Besides a dedicated freezer , we have 3 fridges plus a “ minibar “ ( hotel type ) . Before someone else queries & necessitates another post , the fridges are Hitachi , Subzero and a trusty workhorse 30 + years - Sanyo . And no , we do not own or run a cafe or ilk ..

Ok, first, wow... I don't know anyone with that amount of cold storage (anywhere). :) That out of the way, what flavours did you have? I'm actually having a craving for peanut or "dau sa" right now. Next time I'm there, might try to find durian paste...

Second vaccination hits much harder (I got mine last Friday and my arm is still partially out of commission due to lack of strength). A friend of mine who got his second went into a vaccine-induced diet (couldn't hold down a lot of food and also lost his appetite) for just over a week. I didn't suffer that, although it was a challenge to cook with one arm unable to lift anything notable.

back home after being away for 18 or so days of the past 21 days! I was out of Costco SCO at 9:18a. $148 and most expensive was the $11.99 deli sliced Turkey!
braslvr grilled chicken - just got the thighs today at Costco and will brine around 4!
baked potatoes
oven fries
Roasted carrots
sautéed onions
raw veggies - carrots, english cuke - maybe the Campari tomatoes

I am so thrilled to again cook!

I know it’s hard for those effects and omg I am soooo happy for you!!!
hope that you and the friend feel better fast.

after my jnj single dose, I had a yummy supper. I felt lousy that following day and had zacharys deep dish pizza for supper.

I look forward to the upcoming future boosters like the flu annual shot.

Thanks. He's still got no appetite. I'm just learning how to cook one-handed for now, so learning to prep in a more logical manner, cutting things in strange and curious ways.... Should be better in a few days (I hope). We're doing better here than before, but since I have immuno-compromised neighbours that I try to help when I can, cutting down on as many trips as possible to ensure the less likelyhood of getting delta and infecting them. Makes for interesting looking meals when I pass them on.

Last 3 nights have been fish fish and fish.

Wednesday night, my wife invited the widower of her first friend over. We had blackened sockeye salmon (Alaska as our stocks are depleted due to stupid decisions). Thursday was the rest of the salmon and I tried blackened red snapper which doesn't lend itself to blackening so Friday was just pan-fried meuniere style with browned butter.

Tonight will be the rest of the rack of lamb done, again, Chinese Uighur style (the Chinese contribution is adding SzeChuan "peppers").

Tomorrow night will be pizza, and I will try it with honey extracted from a few of my hives (have 9, up from 2 a few months ago) a week ago. Not spiced though. My bees don't have access to field of flowering chillies.


Sounds vaguely SE Asia Chinese (FuJian in origin)? What the heck is it?

Our friends are going to give us another lot of “ ang ku kueh “ in about a month . Preferred flavours next time too , requested some space in between as they are going to also give pulot inti 😋

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The list of colours & fillings are above the AKK
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Pulot inti

Had the coconut & green bean ( dau sa ) .. bit of peanut .
Will request more of these for next time and also asking about other flavours 😉 . Do not want to be so presumptuous even though these young friends are being generous ( been buying stuff from them too ) .
Do not care for the other fillings given this time round .

Sorry to hear about your arm and your friend ‘ s , hope both recover soon . Mine hurt more after the first jab with other side effects like eyes refusing to stay open . The second jab was to my surprise less so with only the arm hurting for about a day .

Ang ku kueh? It's a mix of SEA Fujian (Hokkien) and Malay I suspect....Ang (Hokkien: Red) ku (Hokkien: turtle?) Kueh...not sure what the root language is, but I would guess the closest translation would be "steamed" dumpling.... Pictured below... when they were introduced to me as a kid, they were red mochi-like dumplings (on banana leaf) with some sort of filling (see FlyerEC's legend)... I wasn't a fan of them although they have grown on me as time has gone by...But kueh in general are typically steamed...

Ang ku kueh is what is shown below... Usually sweet...
Tutu kueh (sometimes mixed up with putu piri) Also sweet... usually filled with guala malaka but there are other flavours as well...
Soon kueh a savoury dumpling... Gu chai kueh another savoury dumpling made of asian chives.... people will know you ate these... (narration is in teochew/chui chow... )

And those are just some of the more common versions... If you're in Singapore/Malaysia just wander around a hawker centre and you will eventually find someone selling them...

<'scuse me while I now go find some food to snack on>


So they're in the business? That's cool. I only know of I think maybe two places that make mini ones, but they're usually not what I'm hankering for. :) Maybe next time one of my relatives is holding a pot luck when I'm there (although I'm more interested in trying that vegetarian otah I saw)... Pulot inti looks nice... I suspect my next trip there is going to cost me dearly with all the foods we have been discussing lately.

Thanks. My first shot only hurt for about 24/36 hours... but wasn't that bad (I've had the same effect with the regular flu shot). This second shot took me by surprise. Fortunately my team lead was quite understanding... my stove on the other hand, will need to be opened and cleaned if I don't want to smell burnt stuff...

Went out for sushi last night. I told the chef to choose what to serve me; omakase? yes. After several servings of nigiri, he served me Spanish Mackerel sashimi.

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Leaf lettuce salad with sour cream & oregano dressing
blackened Shishitos with lemon
grilled baby potatoes with Lakeshore Drive seasoning and fresh chives
grilled rib eye (perfect medium rare) with fresh thyme.
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Tonight is street concert night and my dinner gets cold when they play a good song and i get up to dance. 😀

Grilled chicken (braslvr) with separate bbq sauces
baked potatoes
oven steak fries
Roasted carrots
raw veggie tray - carrots / cucumbers / baby peppers (not the bad bell peppers)
Raw Campari tomatoes with freshly ground salt & pepper

I love the braslvr chicken!!!! So happier!!!!!


organic strawberries
ice cream


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YVR Cockroach will explain later but what StuckInYYZ posted should somewhat clear your queries

StuckInYYZ , thanks for explaining & expanding on the kueh ( s ) , putu piring , etc .




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Prawn fritters
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Chicken curry
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Stir fried baby kai lan
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Mango , mangosteen, orange , grapes and rambutans
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Ang ku kueh - dau sa ( green beans )
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Clearer view of the dau sa filling

Oops , what was typed earlier in reply disappeared , will wait a bit & try again sorry .
Hope the latest photos of the ang ku kueh helped , YVR Cockroach .

StuckInYYZ , our young friends are in the “ food industry “ but not the ones making the ang ku kueh ( red tortoise cakes - a mish mash of Hokkien & Malay which is common in Singapore as well as Malaysia ) .

Her family are the ones behind the famous Pontian noodles ( as others especially Malaysians tell me ) and he is a chef . Currently assisting in a patisserie in a company ‘ s stable of eateries . This is while waiting for an iconic East Coast / Joo Chiat Peranakan area coffee shop to reopen and where he will be a manager .

Years ago , ang ku kueh were all red & had similar tortoise shapes , perhaps slight variation to denote the different fillings like bean paste , shredded coconut or crushed peanuts . About a decade or so ago , a greater choice of fillings was introduced hence more colours needed to differentiate the type of filling .

Mangosteens, rambutans and mangoes are amongst my favourite fruits!

As for Ang Ku Kueh, it is an overseas Chinese food. The name is Hokkien from Fujian province. The classic ones are red, and with a sweet bean (dau sa) filling, and the patterns are meant to resemble the turtle shell, hence its name (Red Turtle Cake). The Malay/Indonesian for Kueh comes from the Hokkien pronounciation of cake. In Chinese it is pronounced 'gao', and in Hokkien it becomes 'kui'. Normally it is sticky so I wonder how you manage to pan-fry them without making a mess out of the pan? It is usually eaten steamed, never seen anyone frying them before.

The red colour is because it is usually served on celebrations like weddings. I think it is also common for serving them during the Tomb-Sweeping Festival as offerings for ancestors.

Good that you chimed in , quirrow . Saves me some ..

On another post , my cousin ‘ s now closed cafe in Melaka was mentioned . Their family used to fry their ang ku kueh and that was the first time encountering this version which is quite delicious as is crispy on the outside so not “ gooey “ & the insides melts in your mouth .

And , yes indeed , the red makes it necessary for a baby ‘ s one month gift package 😉 and other auspicious / important occasions .

I think maybe you should give a shout out for your friend's coffee shop. When I go to Singapore, I'm usually staying in that area (have relatives there...) and wouldn't mind stopping by... I've been watching too many food vlogs so building up a large list of places I want to visit assuming they're still around.

When I was a young'un, all the ang ku kueh would be red and be laid out on a square banana leaf with crushed peanuts inside. But definitely looking at some of the more odd flavours now. It has given me some ideas. Just wish I had the time to action them.

I've ran into fried ang ku kueh before... not often (and I've never done it myself). But I guess it depends on how you do the frying. It should be similar to sweet nian gao... personally I would probably take one, give it an egg wash and then put it on an oiled frying pan... give it two or three minutes a side to heat the insides (longer if coming from a fridge) and crisp up the egg and then serve. If you want to get fancy, while it's "frying", sprinkle some shredded coconut on top. Depending on the companionship and time, if you have some ma tie gao (type of steamed cake done with water chestnuts) done similarly, that'd be a good lighter accompaniment.

Big lunch, so no dinner tonight.

Cocktail appetizers:

Red pepper hummus with carrots and celery
Cheddar and rye crackers
Pizza rolls
Evercrisp apple slices

Mua, Oakland CA

shared appetizers incl:
beef bone marrow
Bruxelles sprouts
beet salad
crispy tofu
fried calamari
beet salad

fried chicken


little giant ice cream:
key lime pie


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Your experience in younger days echoes mine . Grew up by the sea in that general direction .
Not sure what other odd flavours for ang ku kueh . Did not do an egg wash before frying but we do for nian gao .

Wait till we get to the mooncakes this year , every seems more outlandish though some combinations / flavours work beautifully & deliciously ..
Even popcorn , just tried it in nasi lemak ‼️
Do pm me especially if SIN DO is not likely for those reading and are curious to know more .

Possibly Pontian noodles for dinner , we shall see .

Durian, pineapple, chinchalok (I doubt this one exists...could be a joke someone wanted to play on me)... hae bee... egg "crusted" nian gao is how my mom always did it when I was growing up. Some of my relatives never heard of it but that's how I was raised with it.

There was supposed to be a place on Orchard which made chicken rice into an ice cream.... that'd be one that would raise my curiosity... maybe a laksa flavoured one as well. Actually one other thing I want to try is one of those craft nasi lemak burgers. I did try the McD version way back when, but it wasn't impressive (not that it was expected to be)