Myday : My great great grandpa’s restaurant 品香茶樓 (Rumah Makan Irian)

My  family (from my mom’s family) runs a small antique restaurant since 1920 in a small town in North Sumatra called Binjai. Our family restaurant, 品香茶樓 (Pin Yin: Pin Xiang Cha Lou) or Rumah makan Irian, has now being managed by five generations and now being managed by my cousins (the eldest grandson) and my aunty. Our restaurant has been operating based on Cantonese traditions in-and-out. However, we have infused some of Peranakan touches in our menus.

Saw and witnessed different ages of Indonesia and become the oldest restaurant in Binjai makes Rm.Irian have lots of histories and memories inside and most importantly legacies of culinary and traditions.

 

One of its unique is that we are still using manual lifter (as seen on the pic beside). The kitchen is on ground level and dining place is one second stories so in order to save time, they use this cute manual lifter.

Some of Rm.Irian best signatures ( always and forever) and all review done by my cousin, Hari Quang, who manages the restaurant now. 

Irian Mie Cin

Mie Cin or you might have heard it as ‘I Fu Mie Goreng’. Well, let me tell you this: there is no such thing! I understand that some other restaurant and food vendors that try to imitate our I Fu Mie have certain difficulties in cooking their hard-as-rock noodles. Unlike our hand-made noodles, the noodles they use are usually factory-made. These noodles have different texture and taste.

I don’t know if the name ‘I Fu Mie Goreng’ came from the lack of creativity or in fact that the noodles are actually stir-fried like the general fried noodle. One thing for sure is, we honors tradition and we are using the name given by our ancestors. So let’s call Mie Cin as Mie Cin, not ‘I Fu Mie Goreng’.

Irian I Fu Mie

It is one of our specialties. I Fu Mie is a Cantonese cuisine, traditionally handmade in our restaurant. It is deep-fried crispy noodles with chicken and vegetable dressing.

Once heard a customer said,” to visit Binjai without eating I Fu Mie is like climbing a mountain and go back down without seeing the sunrise”. It’s a little hyperbolic, I guess, but I totally understand him. Where-else in this town or even in this province can you find the original I Fu Mie?

My Grandmother once told me that long time ago, the first generation chef in our restaurant made the noodle with the help of two pieces of big, fat bamboo. In order to use them properly, he would move in a certain way that made the chef looked as if he was dancing the Kuda Lumping. She said,” the noodles are so special that even seeing the making process can entertain one’s eyes.”

Irian Ang tho Mie

It looks like the shark’s fin soup. It is a creamy noodle-soup enriched with egg and crab’s meat.

Several years ago, a customer asked me why the noodle is called Ang Tho Mie. Where did the name come from? Ang Tho Mie means Red Plum Noodle. The noodle is cooked with chicken eggs nowadays, it used to be duck eggs. The yolk of the duck egg became a natural colorant, giving a reddish glow to the creamy liquid. When the noodle is served in a round bowl, it looks like a giant red plum.

Due to customers’ demand, we use chicken eggs now. They are said to possess less fat, calories and cholesterol compared to duck eggs. However, we are more than willing to serve it in original style when a customer order it.

Nasi goreng Irian (fried rice)

Looks like ordinary fried rice, but try it first and I am quite sure you will ask for more. Usually it cooks with lots lots of toppings, you can find crab meat inside, fish balls, eggs, chickens and chilli padi (but it doesn’t spicy at all).

Irian Cim kong

 

and still have more menus ( all the pics are in my other hdd and I forgot to bring it along with me right now…so more to come….)
PS. must try Irian fried chicken (super duper crispy), chicken wings cold plate en much more…

I grow up by its food lol…cause every CNY, our sa cap meh (Chinese new year reunion dinner), foods are all bought from here (and it never change and it become a habit to our family which I think it is a good thing and always craving for it ).

It makes me hungry now…and can someone da bao for me and delivery them to Singapore please….:P

Recipe : Indonesian sweet pancake (martabak manis terang bulan)

Living outside our hometown, for sure we will miss our hometown foods especially its snacking such as martabak (pancakes/ crepes) manis (sweet). In Medan, you can choose either thin or thick pancakes. I love thin one better than thick, cause crispier n crunchy.

One day on our way to market for having our brunch, he suddenly said he was craving for martabak manis (Oooou…wat happen to u hunny?). So I made him one hahaha…although it was not made by expert martabak-man but at least I tried my best to fulfil his craving hehe…

• 250 gr all purpose flour (can substitute it with 230 gr flour + 20 gr tapioca flour to make the skin smoother)
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 150 gr sugar
• 375 cc warm coconut milk or milk
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• Fillings : sweet condensed milk, chocolate rice sprinkle, cheedar cheese, sugar, coarse ground peanuts, margarine ( n all of them are optional…put watever u love cause u are the boss :D heheh)

1. Warm the coconut milk (or milk) in microwave for couples mins and mix it with the yeast, stir  well and set a side for 5 mins
2. Mix all the dry ingredients and gradually pour the wet ingredients (milk +yeast) into the flour mixture, stir until well combine.
3. Add in eggs one by one and keep stirring…stir stir stir…
4. It is better to sit the mixture for 15 to 20 mins and cover it with warm damp cloth so the yeast can work to its best hehe
5. Heat up the non stick pan and smear it with butter or margarine. Pour the mixture (stir it first before use) to the pan and cook for about 10 mins or until the the top full of holes. Put lil bit margarine/ butter and grease it on the top then sprinkle some sugar on it.
6. Take out from the pan and feel free to put watever fillings you want on it. Fold into half and spread the outside skin with margarine again to make it shinny and make it looks more mouth watering :D
7. Serve it warm en njoy fellas…

Recipe : Sweet tooth Oat cookies

Celebrating Easter long weekend…and having lots of oats sit in my kitchen wardrobe so here I make this sweet tooth oat cookies.

 

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1  cups quick cooking oats / rolled oats
• 3/4 cup raisins or/and walnuts (optional)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 eggs
• 1/2 sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 190 C
2. Mix shortening with sugar until smooth. Gradually stir in the egg and vanilla.
3. Combine all dry ingredients and mix it well
4. Spread the mixture in the pan which cover with cookie sheet
5. Bake for 12 mins or until lightly browned.
6. Remove cookies to wire racks and allow to cool.
7. Snip the cookies into small pieces and ready to enjoy with warm tea :D
8. Enjoy feelas :D

Notes: let it totally cool down first before store it

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe :Homemade carrot soup puff pastry + croutons

Using whatever ingredients I have on that Sunday morning and voila…end up I made homemade carrot soup puff pasty plus croutons. Usually people will make mushroom soup which goes very well with the puff pasty, but I did a little twist on it.

--- Our Sunday brunch @ 10 Apr 2011 ♥

 

 

• Two carrots, chopped
• 1/2 Chicken stock
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• 1 1/2 cup water/ milk
• 1 tbs butter
• frozen puff pastry , thaw it at room temperature for about 1/2 to 1 hour
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 slice white/whole bread for croutons  

1. Preheat oven to 175C
2. Melt the butter on the small pot, combine the carrot, chicken stock (stir it  on hot water to melt it first), salt and pepper and water /milk until the carrots are soft.
3. In a blender, puree the soup, and return it back to the pot and simmer it for another 20 minutes
4. Sprinkle the roller and surface where you work with the pastry with flour. Roll the dough as think as you can (I used the thin puff pastry so I don’t need to roll it anymore) and  cut the puff pastry accordingly to the oven-safe soup bowl or ramekins
5. Fill the oven-safe soup bowl/ ramekins with carrot soup and cover it with the cut puff pastry. Secure the edges with water
6. Brush the puff pastry surface with egg to have a nice sheen after baking.
7. Ready for baking….bake it for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the puff pastry turn golden brown and looks puffy :D
8. Croutons: Brush the bread with melted butter and sprinkle a lil bit salt on it…cut them into chunks and bake it together with the puff pastry soup.
9. Enjoyyyyy…… :D

Recipe : Homemade Pizza (no-knead dough)

Got this superb recipe from foodwishes ( I love all his videos and how he tutor us step by step)

He love to eat pizza but the main concern in doing homemade pizza will be “pizza dough”. Troublesome since we need to do some “sport” in kneading the dough (OMG…the pictures of big fat sweating people in kneading the pizza dough flying across my head aarggghhh….) haiz..so I always try to make others instead of having nightmare kneading the dough hahaha. And many thanks to Chef John from Foodwishes to share his superb recipe, it is pretty easy and of course delicious :D

I made this for homemade pizza plus smash potato plus bacon and sausage  for our Sunday brunch @ 20.03.2011 – a very full brunch but still planning to do it hehe :P

For No-knead pizza dough:

• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour , more for dusting
• 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups warm water to the yeast

For the pizza toppings (all up to your preferences ), mine are :

• chicken sausages
• bacon strips
• parmesan cheese
• mozzarella cheese
• capsicum
• tomato sauces
• pineapple chunks

1. Making the dough need lots of time so recommended to make it the day before. I rest the dough for more than 18 hours (over night). Mix all the ingredients together and stir it until it mix well and cover it with wrapping plastic and don’t forget to make some little holes on the plastic to let the dough breathe haha…
   (fyi, use a bigger bowl for the place dough for resting cause it will double it sizes … I forgot to place it to bigger bowl and end up i can’t see my bowl the next morning since the dough had felt down and covered the whole bowl…~imagine the dough ate the bowl >.< too bad i forgot to take pic of tat hueheh )
2. Pre heat the oven at 190C
3. Take the dough out from the bowl to the floured board and floured the dough until it is not wet, less sticky and easier to work with.
4. Divide it into four portions and try to work with each portions by shaping it into a ball.
5. Stretch or toss the dough into the desired shape and cover with toppings and ready for baking :D
6. Bake the pizza at the bottom rack for about 4mins first to crisp the bottom and then put on the centre rack for another 6- 7 minutes or until golden .
7. Serve warm and enjoy the homemade pizza with customized favorite toppings ..lope it

Before and After

 

 

Recipe : Mushroom cheesy white sauce with Spinach gnocchi

20.03.11 ~ I cooked Bacon spinach quiche + Nachos + Mushroom cheesy white sauce with spinach gnocchi

Spinach gnocchi (for two ppl)

• 2 potatoes : steamed, peeled and smashed
• All purposes flour 2 cups (can be more)
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup spinach (frozen or fresh) steamed, chopped and drained

Cheesy white sauce

• 2 tbs margarine
• 3 tbs all purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• 5 buttons mushrooms

Gnocchi:

1. For gnocchi : mix all the ingredients together and knead it until the dough forms a ball. Floured the surface and divide the dough into two portions and roll each into long snakes dough.
2. Cut snakes into half-inches pieces. Don’t worry about the shape…the uglier the more unique your gnocchi will. It will looks more homemade ♥
3. Boil salted water in a large pot and prepare an ice water on the side as well. Drop in gnocchi and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until it have risen to the top (u can see it floating)
4. Put the cooked gnocchi into the ice water to make it more chewy; drain and serve it with super creamy white sauce.

Creamy yet cheesy white sauce

1. In a saucepan, melt margarine. Stir in flour and mix well. Gradually add milk, button mushrooms and bring it to boil. Keep stirring it until the sauce become thickened and season it with salt and pepper.
2. Put the mozarella cheese on the top and cover the saucepan for about 1 to 2 minutes to melt the cheese.
3. Stir it well and ready to serve with the spinach gnocchi :D
4. Enjoy….

Recipe : Hot spinach dip

Another weekend is coming…and today we made a spinach dip for our brunch accompanied by nachos. Inspired by Chillis’ Spinach and artichoke dip that we ate on our Short getaway in Penang ♥ Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any artichoke at that time so we just omit it and use spinach only on our cheesy dip :D and it tastes great as well…

 

• 1/2 cup spinach (either fresh or frozen ) steamed, chopped,thawed and drained
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• salt n pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 175 degree C
2. Soften the cream cheese and mix it well with mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.
3. Gently stir in the spinach
4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and top it with mozzarella cheese
5. Bake it for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned
6. Prepare nachos , movies, comfy sofas and ready to enjoy your weekend at home…