Jaljeera 【孜然饮料】

Jaljeera is the Indian way to deal with lost of appetite and indigestion on hot summer days. The taste is so rich and flavourful that it almost instantly brighten your mood! Try it out if you haven't already!

夏天总有胃口不开，消化不良的感觉。在印度的时候，那里的夏天是超乎想像的热，当地人就会做些开胃而且帮助消化的冷饮喝。这个Jaljeera就是其中一款。

Banana Chocolate Chips Cake 【香蕉巧克力蛋糕】

My husband have this obsession of bananas that it's almost absurd, he has to bring a bunch of banana back whenever he goes to the grocery store. Needless to say, he goes to the store a little too many times this month, and I was left with a bunch of overripe bananas again.

So I made this cake with the help of my son A yesterday night and had it for breakfast today, the chocolate chips really kick the taste up a notch!

俊爹有很奇怪的香蕉情意结，他每次去超市非得带一梳香蕉回来不可，这两周我比较忙，日常购物就让他去得比较多。单看我家香蕉的数量，大概就可以知道最近是谁在购物了。

香蕉一过熟，我们家就没人肯吃了。昨晚带着俊宝把熟透的香蕉都用来做了这款蛋糕，加入巧克力豆真是个精明的选择，让这款蛋糕好吃得不行哦！

Bamboo Shoots Rice【竹笋焖饭】

When mom was here in the States, she loves to buy fresh bamboo shoots from The Asian market, she will stir fry it with tofu or made stew with pork belly.

She told me about this rice dish that she used to eat as a kid couple of weeks back. When I saw fresh bamboo shoots in the market, I brought home some and made this rice dish and shared with a few friends. 

My friends loved it so much that one of them even brought me more bamboo shoots days later and request me to make it again!

我妈很喜欢吃鲜笋做的菜，她在美国的时候只要看见鲜笋就会买几只回来炒豆腐干或炖肉。

几个星期前妈妈跟我提起鲜笋焖饭，是她小时候很爱吃的美味咸饭，我问了做法后，到亚洲超市买了鲜笋，处理好后留起一大半来做菜，一小半做了这个焖饭。

做好的焖饭送给几个朋友吃，大家都好喜欢。一个好友还在几天后买来一大包的鲜笋，让我再做一次！

Soy Sauce Seared Pork 【酱油煎肉】

Long/summer holidays were mostly spent playing with cousins at grandpa and grandma's house when I was young. Having meals with my beloved cousins was one of the fondest memories I have.

This Seared sliced pork is one of our favourite dishes made by grandma, I could eat so much rice with it, it has been years, so I am making it for lunch today!

小时候的长假基本是和表妹们在外婆家过的，外婆家在马来西亚南部的一个华人新村里，小小的村落有我们满满的记忆。

和弟弟妹妹们一起热热闹闹地吃饭是儿时一个很温馨的记忆。外婆经常做这道酱油煎肉，是一道很下饭好吃的快手菜。小朋友们有了这道菜，都能吃好些米饭呢！

Seafood Tomyum （Tomyum Thale）ต้มยำทะเล 【海鲜东炎汤】

I planted lemongrass and kaffir lime tree this year and have been waiting for it to be ready for a good pot of homemade tom yum soup. Thanks to a good amount of rain and sunshine lately, my kaffir lime tree is thriving well.

I woke up to pouring rain today and immediately decided it's time for a good hot bowl of tom yum soup, I ran to my garden, cut two stalks of lemongrass in the rain and quickly snipped a few Kaffir lime leaves. 

Off  I go to work on my seafood tom yum soup !

我一直很想做一次传统的东炎汤(冬荫汤)。今年种了香茅，还从朋友处得了一棵疯柑树，终于等到两棵植物都可以收成了，买齐了材料。

今天一早起来就是阴阴沉沉的雨天。冒着雨出去割下两根香茅，剪下几片疯柑叶。

回家做一碗香辣清爽的海鲜东炎汤，喝下去暖暖的，很舒服喔！

Bak Tong Gou (Steamed Sweet Rice Cake) 白糖糕

One of my mom's childhood friend sells Kuih/cakes at the morning market. Her White Sugar Sponge Cake is exceptional, very crunchy, sweet with a touch of sourness.

I have to thank my sweet friend Bobo selflessly shared her recipe with me, this Bak Tong Gou (白糖糕）turned out exactly like I remembered.

Note: The original recipe was written in February 2011, updated with new photographs.

我妈有个朋友是在早市卖糕点的，她做的白糖糕特别好吃，口感爽脆，甜味合适，加上白糖糕特有的微酸，常常让人欲罢不能。

昨天跟好友Bobo聊到了白糖糕的做法，她无私的跟我分享了她的食谱，我马上就动手了。今天早饭吃的就是这个。一入口，就感动得想哭。就是这个味道和口感。。。。真的很谢谢Bobo呢！！

注：原食谱写于2011年2月10日.

Kuih Lapis (Malaysian Steamed Layer Cake) 【三色九层糕】

Kuih lapis means layer cake in Malay. It is a common steamed cake sold at the roadside stalls in Malaysia. I was not crazy about this cake before I left Malaysia, but for some reason, I can't stop thinking about it lately.

Since I have a gathering over the weekend, I decided to make this beautiful cake to share with my friends.

My version of kuih lapis is made from scratch using rice (instead of rice flour) and natural coloring (Ang Chow and Pandan Leave). It tasted real good and it is all natural.

九层糕是小时候街边卖糕点的摊子上一定有的糕点，小时候随处可得的东西总是不太懂得珍惜，出国后一直想做一次九层糕尝尝。终于等到一个朋友要带糕点去聚餐，让我一起做点什么，就想起了这个九层糕。

我这次用米磨浆，然后用红糟和班兰叶汁染色，出来的效果还是很不错的，天然又好吃哦！

Nyonya Dumplings 【娘惹粽】

According to Wikipedia:

Peranakan Chinese or Straits-born Chinese are the descendants of Chinese immigrants who came to the Malay archipelago including British Malaya (now Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, where they are also referred to as Baba-Nyonya) and Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia; where they're also referred as Kiau-Seng)[4] between the 15th and 17th centuries.[5] Members of this community in Malaysia address themselves as "Baba Nyonya". 

Nyonya is the term for the women and Baba for the men. It applies especially to the Han populations of the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java and other locations, who have adopted Nusantara customs — partially or in full — to be somewhat assimilated into the local communities. Many were the elites of Singapore, more loyal to the British than to China. Most have lived for generations along the straits of Malacca. They were usually traders, the middleman of the British and the Chinese, or the Chinese and Malays, or vice versa because they were mostly English educated. Because of this, they almost always had the ability to speak two or more languages.