Trip to Pangkor Island

Pulau Pangkor is an island off the coast of Perak in north-west peninsular Malaysia, reached by ferry from Lumut (a small coastal town that links to Ipoh, or from Sitiawan). It has a land area of only 8 square kilometers, and a population of approximately 25,000 islanders. It is heavily promoted as a low-key tourist destination by the Malaysian government, but fishing and fish products remain major industries.
Historically, Pangkor was a refuge for local fishermen, merchants and pirates. In the 17th century, the Dutch built a fort in an effort to control the Perak tin trade. In 1874, it was the location of a historic treaty between the British government and a contender for the Perak throne (The Pangkor Treaty), which began the British colonial domination of the Malay Peninsula.
Pangkor is famous for its fine beaches and a mix of low budget to 5 star accommodations. Teluk Nipah and Coral Bay on the north west of the island is extremely popular with travellers from Europe. The quality of sand in the Pasir Bogak Beach is far superior to that elsewhere on the island. The sand is golden brown, quite similar to most leading prime beaches. There are a few resorts in Teluk Nipah or Nipah Bay.
Since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Indonesia, Thailand and to a lesser extent the West Coast of Malaysia in December 2004, there have been fewer local tourists visiting Pangkor.
In 2006, a biotechnology centre, a joint venture of Global Hi-Q Malaysia S/B and Hi-Q Bio-Tech International (Taiwan) Ltd began operations with initial investments of RM100million (USD30m). Their operations include fish farming and aquaculture, and the first harvest is expected in 2009.
Just next to island of Pangkor, there is a smaller island called Pulau Pangkor Laut.

Me and my family went for a holiday trip at Pangkor island in Perak, Draulridzuan.Its kind of new experienced as before this we used to go to Langkawi Island in Kedah.We stayed in one of the chalet at Nipah Beach,every water activities happens to be infront of our chalet at nipah beach.Me and my family really have a good time expecially the girls,we wish we can be more organized in our next visit ..and have more fun.

Ayam Penyet(popular indonesian recipe)

Ingredients:

• 6 large chicken legs or breas, deboned
• 2 stalks lemon grass, crushed
• 2 bay leaves (salam leaves)
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds (ketumbar)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin (jintan manis)
• 2 tbsp thick coconut milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Ingredients to grind:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 red chilli, seeded
• 2 cm knob tumeric
• 120g lengkuas, peeled and sliced
• 4 slices ginger
• 3 candlenuts (bush keras)

How to:

1. Fry coriander seeds over slow fire till fragrant then grind coarsely.
2. Wash chicken and drain well. Prick chicken all over with a fork.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine ground spices with ground cumin, coriander, salt, sugar, coconut milk and crushed serai. Add chicken and mix thoroughly. Leave to marinade for 30 minutes.
4. Grease base of cooking pot with some cooking oil. Arrange chicken in pot, add crushed bay leaves. Cover pot and cook over moderate heat for 8 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover pot and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes or until almost dry. Remove chicken and drain off excess liquid.
5. Grill or roast chicken on high heat, 250 deg Celcius until golden brown on both sides.

Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

250g bitter dark chocolate, chopped 250ml UHT whipping cream 450g cream cheese 150g castor sugar 2 large eggs 1 egg yolk 1 tbsp corn flour 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 1 tbsp Tia Maria (coffee liqueur) Cocoa powder and icing sugar for dusting Method Line the base of a spring-form pan, grease the sides and wrap a double layer of aluminium foil around Its base to prevent water leaking in or batter leaking out. Bring whipping cream to just a boil over low heat; add in the chopped chocolate and leave aside for 1–2 minutes. Stir well to dissolve the chocolate until mixture turns smooth. Set aside to cool. Beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy and smooth. Beat in eggs and egg yolk one at a time until well combined. Stir in corn flour, essence and coffee liqueur. Add the cooled chocolate mixture to combine. Beat until well incorporated. Pour batter into the prepared spring-form pan. Place pan in a large roasting pan and pour hot water into the roasting pan until halfway up the sides of the spring-form pan. Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 40–50 minutes. Switch off the oven and leave the cake inside for around 40–50 minutes then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the overnight. Remove cake from pan and sift cocoa powder or icing sugar to garnish.

Seafood Tom Yam

Ingredients
# 8 freshwater prawns, shelled and deveined with tails intact or you can choose not to shell the prawns
# 150g sotong, cleaned and cut into pieces
# 2 blue crabs, cleaned and cut into halves
# 5 pieces red snapper fish meat
# 100g abalone mushrooms
# 6 cups chicken stock
# 20g galangal (lengkuas)
# 3 stalks lemon grass (serai)
# 12 cilipadi
# 3 roots Chinese parsley
# 4 tbsps chilli paste in oil (Nam Prik Pao)
# 6-8 kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut)

Seasoning:
# 1 tsp salt, or to taste
# 1-2 tbsp fish sauce (nampla)
# 3-4 tbsp lime juice
# 1 tbsp oil
# 2 tbsps Maggi chicken stock granules
# Monosodium glutamate to taste

Garnishing:
# Chopped coriander leaves

Method
Smash the galangal and lemon grass slightly. Put them in a pot, add the cilipadi, parsley roots and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and add nam prik pao and kaffir lime leaves. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Put in all the seafood ingredients and mushrooms and bring to a boil until the seafood is cooked. Add in seasoning to taste. Serve hot and garnish with coriander leaves.