Bakewell Pudding.....or Kaya Kok?

It is 1860 in Bakewell, Derbyshire. A visiting nobleman arrives at The White Horse, a local inn. He spots a sullen faced woman yawning at the Reception, and approaches her.

'Harlow. Here got food ah?' he asks.

Mrs. Graves, upset at the rude interruption to her lovely daydream about nasi lemak with sambal sotong and lots of ikan bilis, gives him an irritated look and scurries to the kitchen to check on supplies and emerges with a triumphant look.

'All gone already,' she proclaims. 'Only got strawberry tart. How?'

'Aiyah, strawberry tart only ah?' he sighs.

'Ya lor. Today got Siti Nurhaliza concert, everybody go to JB to see her, so we don't prepare so much food here lor.'



He hesitates. His stomach rumbles. A strawberry tart isn't much of a consolation when one expects to eat mutton peratal.

'Harlow, we don't have all day to decide! You want or not??'

'Okaaaay la,' he says. 'Sure don't have mutton peratal ar?' he continues hopefully.

Mrs. Graves snorts in disgust and yells the order to the cook. 'ONE STRAWBERRY TART. TABLE FOUR!!'

Fifteen long minutes go by.



'One KAYA KOK!' the cook says as she plonks the pie in front of the hungry nobleman.

'But I order strawberry tart wor,' he says.

'I heard "kaya kok", okay!!!'

The nobleman wonders which part of "strawberry tart" sounds like "kaya kok" and looks to Mrs. Graves, hoping to get some support. But Mrs. Graves is fast asleep, dreaming of curry laksa with plump, juicy kerang.



He takes a bite of the kaya kok. His eyes widen in delight. 'Mmmmmm, so tasty!!'

The cook looks at him and thinks he's a little crazy. She decides not to tell him that she had forgotten to stir the egg mixture into the pastry for the strawberry tart (which she had heard clearly enough), and in her haste to cover up her error, she had spread it on top of the pastry instead.

'What you call this ar?' he asks. 'Kaya kok?'

'Ya lor. Why? Never heard before izzit?'

'Cheh. Kaya kok sound obscene lah.' he says.

The cook rolls her eyes, ready to dismiss him and return to her reverie beside the fireplace in the kitchen.

'I know,' he exclaims. 'Since we are in Bakewell, we call it the Bakewell Pudding LAH!!'

She walks away, muttering obscenities under her breath.



The nobleman leaves the inn, happy at his new discovery. The next week, droves of people turn up at the inn to taste the wonderful new dessert called the Bakewell Pudding.

THE END?



Well, not quite. And whatever happened to Mrs. Graves and the cook? They couldn't handle all the extra workload, so they sold their recipe to one Mrs Wilson who turned it into a million dollar business, and I can assure you that at least Mrs Wilson lived happily ever after! For the version of the story unadulterated with sambal belacan or kari kepala ikan, check out their official website HERE.

The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop,
The Square, Bakewell,
Derbyshire, UK.

Tel:01629 812193

As always, for residents of the glorious nation of UAE who are unable to access my flickr photos, click HERE for pics.

Note: For a quick and easy recipe for kaya (not kaya kok, but hey, half's better than none), check out Argus World.

Est Est Est, Liverpool, England

1.



I learnt a new word.

Sitting at the Kop end of the Anfield stadium, I am moved to tears as I listen to grown men croon all their favourite tunes, surprisingly in harmony, as they wave their scarves in the air. There is a certain camaraderie amongst these hardcore supporters that move me.

And then the game between Liverpool and Spurs starts. Soon after the 12th minute first goal, I hear gradually ascending sounds around me.

"Fockit!", he mumbles.

Mmmmm. Sounds like some type of British food. Probably in the same genre as Spotted Dick.

"Fockit, lads!!", his voice is filled with frustration, his expression grim.

Aaah. I blush. A little. This is British expletive at its best. Around me, more murmurs of "fockit" are exclaimed.

To think that Liverpool almost lost that game. They made Spurs look good that day. Fockit.



2.

Thankfully, there was reason to cheer that night. Liverpool scored an equaliser at injury time.



So we got back, changed into fresh clothes, and headed for stunning Albert Dock which houses Tate Liverpool and several other museums as well as some of the nicest (and most expensive) restaurants in Liverpool.

Est Est Est, an Italian restaurant, captured our attention almost immediately. Many of the restaurants along the dock were hardly filled, but we were amazed at how crowded Est Est Est was. We didn't make any reservations, so they gave us a little device that would blink like an X'mas decoration when a table was ready for us. We spent the half hour wait at the bar enjoying a jug of June bug - a delightful concoction of banana liquor, Midori, Koko Kano, fresh lemon sours mix and pineapple juice.

We had almost finished the jug when our electronic device blinked furiously, and so we tottered off after the waitress who led us to our table. It was still very crowded; half of Liverpool must have been there that night! And the noise would have made a Chinese restaurant here in Malaysia look tame. Such boisterous conversation all around me. I bet it was all that wine that they were consuming. Loud conversations can mean only one thing - that the patrons were happy. And happy patrons equals great food. Or at least, we hoped!



Feeling somewhat unsteady at this point, I was quite happy to see my starter arrive soon after we gave our order. My gigantic piece of aubergine baked with tomato and mozarella was enough to fill my stomach and my only complaint was that it lacked salt. But that was easily rectified by sprinkling a little salt on it. Bald Eagle's field mushrooms roasted with italian sausages was a rustic dish that was full of flavour. Certainly a good start to our meal.



The mains took a little longer to arrive, and by this point, I had photographed the olive oil on my table at least 15 times. I didn't despair, though, when the mains were finally set down before us. My pan-fried organic salmon fillet was cooked to perfection! The flesh was moist and not overly flaky and it went wonderfully with the side dish consisting of mashed potatoes which derived its flavouring from the crushed olives and sundried tomatoes - both tart in flavour and contrasting wonderfully with the bland taste of potatoes. I savoured every mouthful with a sigh of contentment.



Bald Eagle's main was equally good. His slow braised lamb shoulder was extremely tender. This dish was served with grilled polenta, braised vegetables and red wine jus.

Est Est Est
Edward Pavillion, Albert Dock, Liverpool, L3 4AF
Tel: 0870 40 12 125

The George and Dragon, Rowde, England

I finally found wi-fi here in England! (Sound of Guinness glasses clanking)


Anyway....holidays. Yeah. The key is to shed all inhibitions and allow yourself to be totally immersed in whatever new experience that comes your way, and not have any preconceived notions. And this applies to everything, not just holidays, doesn't it? Putting aside repetitions (like the black and white P.Ramlee movies that they keep showing on telly every year) and telling yourself that you will enjoy every moment like it's a new experience. And then, after experiencing that mind blowing moment, you want to shout it out to the whole world and you hope that somebody, anybody, will listen.


My next few posts may not be about Malaysian food or restaurants, but I'd like to share them with you anyway, because really, good food should always be celebrated.

We had timed our visit to Stonehenge (in the Wiltshire county) to coincide with lunch. The reason was obvious. (Hint: makan!)





The proprietors of The George and Dragon personally served us, and that made all the difference as they knew what they were serving and what to recommend. The comfortably furnished 14th century gastropub (it started off as a meeting house which later became a public house) was a perfect destination for us to warm ourselves up after enjoying the historic Stonehenge.


The breads were lovely. We all agreed that the cheese and jalapeno bread was the best; bursting with flavour, a little spicy and went marvelously with the butter. We were also served olive bread and brown bread for those who preferred less spicy bread. What a treat!




Aaah. Fresh sardines, fried till a little crispy and served with aioli sauce. Aioli has a texture similar to mayonnaise and is probably similar to mayonnaise except for the addition of a couple of other ingredients (eg. garlic). By itself, the sardine was good. With the aioli, it was spectacular. Of course, there were the constant murmurs on the side by the non-sardine eaters (Msiagirl and Bald Eagle) asking me to chew and swallow the bones!




Bald Eagle and Msiagirl both chose the beef carpaccio. The rocket and parmesan went well with the tender beef slices.




For our mains, Msiagirl and I both had the cod fillet with parsley mash. Sadly, I forgot to photograph it; perhaps it indicated my excitement at seeing such a tantalising dish. Bald Eagle's Lobster and Crayfish Tartlet, despite it's simple appearance, was exploding with flavours from the shellfish.




We were served a variety of side dishes, from crispy potatoes with onions, and ratatouille.......





....to cheesy cauliflower......




....to a green salad. They were all generous helpings.




And to top it all off, we had homemade vanilla, kiwifruit & chocolate chip and strawberries & champagne icecream made by the proprietor's mother-in-law!



Thank you, Msiagirl & family for hosting us these couple of days, for showing us around your lovely city and for sharing your lives with us.

The George & Dragon
High Street Rowde Devizes
Wiltshire SN10 2AN

Telephone: 01380 723053

Website: Click here.