Durian Puffs

After reading about the Durian Degustation party organized by Leslie from his blog, I can't help but crave for some of these delicious fruits myself. Following his recommendation, I went to Ah Loon and Ah Teck (their store is along East Coast Road, opposite Jago Close) for my durian fix. They were very good in what they do, and most of the durians that they have picked for me were superb. I think Mao Shan Wang and Golden Phoenix were really yummy and well worth the price! Beside buying about 8kg of durians to feast with my parents, I also packed 1kg of Mao Shan Wang durian pulp. I used the pulp to make these Mao Shan Wang durian puffs today. Thomas will be back from his business trip tomorrow, and this is my little surprise for him.

Pandan Jade Agar-Agar

I made these Pandan (also known as Screwpine Leaves) Jade Agar-Agar today.  

Agar-Agar is a gelatinous substance derived from seaweeds.  Historically and in modern context, it is chiefly used as an ingredient in desserts throughout Japan.  Based on the definition on Wikipedia, the word "agar" comes from the Malay word agar-agar (meaning jelly).  In Malay and Indonesian, it is known as agar-agar. In Japanese, it is known as kanten (寒天) meaning "cold weather," referring to the fact that it is harvested in the winter months. In Mandarin Chinese as yángcài (洋菜) meaning "ocean vegetable" or "foreign vegetable." In Taiwanese Minnan it is known as chhài-iàn (菜燕) meaning "vegetable swiftlet," i.e., similar in texture to the nest of the edible-nest swiftlet used in bird's nest soup. In Korea, it is known as hancheon (한천). In China, it is known as hǎizàoqíongzhī (海藻瓊脂) or dòngfěn (凍粉).  In the Philippines, it is known as gulaman in Tagalog, Apayao, Bikol and Pangasinan, guraman in Ilokano and gurguraman in Sambali.  In Thai, it is known as wóon (วุ้น).

Agar-Agar has always been one of my favorite desserts.  It is very easy to make and taste really yummy when chilled.