Han's Cafe

Han's Cafe is located in Westfield Carousel, one of the suburbs shopping complex in Cannington. We dropped by the cafe for our dinner when we patronized the place for Thursday night shopping when we were in Perth, Western Australia. Han's Cafe serves a wide range of authentic Asian cuisine from noodles, rice dishes, porridge, soup, vegetarian dishes, entree, main course, desserts, beverages to banquet. Ian Han founded this business in year 1995. Up to date, it has 20 over franchise in Western Australia.

Hubby and I had Lemon Lime Bitters each. This is the non-alcoholic cocktail that sister-in-law recommended. Since we were in Perth, so we grabbed the opportunity to try this drink which is originated in Australia. Not bad, it's a very refreshing drink with citric scent.

Han's Vietnamese Fresh Roll. Each serving comes with 2 rolls. Prawns and salad are rolled in transparent rice sheet and served with Han's special sauce. As you can see, they include generous amount of prawns in the roll. It tasted pretty good with the springy fresh prawns.

This is what I highly recommended, the Han's Seafood Egg Noodles Soup. As per the photo, it looks pretty ordinary, but once you take a sip, I bet you'll fall in love with it. The clear soup contains the natural sweetness of seafood. That makes the noodles so flavorful. I was truly inspired by the soup base. They must have simmering the soup with lots of fresh seafood over the long hours. I could taste it.

After taking so much of heavy Western food in Perth, we found that this light dining was a very pleasant experience. The heavenly Asian cuisine suits our taste buds completely.

Han's Cafe
Address: R101/1382 Albany Hwy, Westfield Carousel, Cannington.
Tel: +618 9358 0848
Website: http://www.hanscafe.com.au

Udon In Spicy Gravy

This fried udon was an impromptu meal that I prepared for last Wednesday's dinner. It is due to an incident happened which spoil my initial plan. Here goes the story...... In that afternoon, I "IM" my dear to boil a pot of chicken soup and keep it simmering in the magic cooker. Who knows he forgot to turn off the fire. So, the whole pot of chicken soup burnt, and our dinner was gone. Argghhh........No, I didn't scold him. I just asked him to clean up the pot. That's it. :) Heheheh......that's hard enough for him, don't you think so?

That's why I called it as impromptu fried udon. Instead of cooking it with black pepper sauce like what I did earlier, I just simply use whatever seasoning to cook the gravy. Luckily it turned out delicious. According to my dear, this one is tastier than the oriental fried udon. This round I cut down the udon portion, and replaced by more ingredients. Less noodles, more ingredients. I like it in this way. :)

Again, I would like to share the dish with Ruth's Presto Pasta Night #132. This week, the host is Sara from I'm A Food Blog. The round up will be on the coming Friday.

Udon In Spicy Gravy

Serves 2

Ingredients:

200gm of udon
300gm of chicken breast, thinly sliced
10 prawns, shell and de-veined
half of small size cabbage, cut into strips
4 dried mushroom, soaked, drained and thinly sliced
1 medium size yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 clove of garlic, finely chopped
250ml water
3 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp of corn starch diluted in 3 tbsp water

Seasoning:

2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 & 1/2 tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp of chili paste
dash of white pepper

Method:

1. Cook the udon as per instruction on the packaging. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat oil in the wok. Saute garlic and onion until fragrant. Add in cabbage, mushroom, chicken and prawns. Stir fry till fragrant.

3. Add seasonings and water. Bring to boil. Stir in the corn starch. Add udon and stir it till the gravy turn thickening.

Veggies Fried Rice Served With Satay

Every Thursday, there's night market near our residential area. I've tried the chicken satay before, and it's quite tasty. Each stick just cost 35 cents. Last Thursday evening, I decided to make a veggies fried rice to go with the satay. So, here comes our simple dinner.

It was nearing the end of the week before our next marketing. So, I have to clear the stock in fridge. I still had some cabbage, long beans and carrot. Hence, those were the ingredients for my fried rice. Veggie fried rice with the scramble eggs and chicken satay, viola!

Veggies Fried Rice Served With Satay
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup of cooked rice, cooled
3 long beans, chopped
1/2 carrot, julienned
some cabbage, cut into thin strips
2 omega-3 eggs
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of cooking oil

Seasoning:

1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce

Method:

1. Heat up the wok and make the scrambled egg. Set aside.

2. Heat some oil in the wok and saute garlic till fragrant. Add long beans and cabbage to stir fry till the cabbage turn soft. Then add the carrot strips to mix well.

3. Pour in the rice and seasonings. Fry till all the rice coated evenly with seasonings. Lastly add in the scrambled egg and mix well.

4. Remove the chicken meat from satay stick to serve with the fried rice.

Braised "Yee-Fu" Noodles

Yee Mein aka "Yee-Fu" noodles is called 伊府面 in Mandarin. It's a kind of thin egg noodles that is been deep-fried. It has the slightly chewy texture.

The noodles is tasty, and there are multiple ways of cooking it. Here in Penang hawker stalls, this noodles is commonly used in sizzling plate noodles, clay pot noodles and fried "Yee-Fu" noodles with thick gravy. If you cook it at home, basically it's quite free style. You can add your own favorite ingredients to fry, stir-fry, braise or even cook with a soup base. Everybody can have their own version of "Yee-Fu" noodles.

Here's my version of braised "Yee-Fu" noodles. It's similar to those served at hawker stalls, but with less gravy. I would like to share my dish with Preto Pasta Night #131 founded by Ruth and hosted by Sweet Kitchen this round.

Braised "Yee-Fu" Noodles

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 pieces of yee mee
120gm chicken breast, thinly sliced
8 prawns, shelled and de-veined
3 big rectagular fish balls, thickly sliced
some mustard leaves (choy sum)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Omega-3 egg, lightly beaten
3 tbsp of cooking oil
300ml water
1 tbsp corn starch diluted in 2 tbsp of water

Seasoning:

1 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 & 1/2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1/2 tsp of dark soy sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
dash of white pepper

Method:

1. Blanch the yee mee in hot water for 30 seconds and drain. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a wok, saute garlic till fragrant. Add prawns, fish balls and chicken meat to stir fry. Add a tbsp of light soy sauce to mix well.

3. Pour in water and get the wok covered. When boiling, add the balance seasonings and mustard leaves for simmering. Stir in the beaten egg to cook for a while.

4. Pour in the corn starch to mix for few seconds. Add the "Yee-Fu" noodles to mix well before off the fire.

Cream Cracker Layer Cake

This version of steamed layer cake is quite easy to make. My 2 sisters learned this on a radio program years back. I made it once when I stayed with my eldest sister. She made the batter and I just helped out in the steaming process.

Now, I'm rolling up my sleeves to make one on my own. It supposed to have more thinner layers, but I'm not too skilled to do so. So, here's my version of 5-layers cake. :) Compared to butter cake and cereal butter cake, the layer cake's more compressed. This is due to no baking soda is used. It just raise a little when each layer is steamed.

Instead of flour, cream cracker powder is used. It enhances the fragrant smell to the cake. I quite like the slightly compressed texture. Just take 2 pieces, and it will able to fill up my tummy. It can be taken as breakfast or as afternoon tea. Even my mom who is allergy to dairy products smell the fragrant and fall in love with it. She used to feel like throw up whenever she smell the butter and milk. But surprisingly, she ate up majority of the cakes which I packed for my dad. :)



Steamed Layer Cake

Ingredients:

250gm butter
170gm Castor sugar
200gm cream cracker, blended
5 omega-3 eggs, beaten
2 & 1/2 tbsp coco powder

Method:

1. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the beaten eggs in batches and mix well.

3. Pour in cream cracker powder in batches and mix well.

4. Divide the mixture into half. Add coco powder to one of the portion.

5. Spread a layer of original flavored batter in the baking tray. Steam for 5 minutes. Then continue with a layer of coco flavored batter and steam for 5 minutes. Continue doing this with alternating flavored batter until you finish up the batter.

Meat Crust Pizza

This lovely meat crust pizza is dedicated to my dear's birthday dinner. A simple and yet special meal that I prepared with lots of love. Dear, you hear it? Lotsss of love ya......

My dear asked for a Western style birthday dinner, but I have no mood to prepare the normal chicken combo set that I used to cook. I want to make something different for him. :) I've been searching high and low for a nice recipe that suits his taste buds but required just little skills, and finally I found this - the dough-less pizza. Firstly, it saves my time to prepare the dough crust. Secondly, no dough means low carb, hehe......that's the concept that I like. I know he'll love it too.

When we were in Perth for holiday, we tried the vegetarian puff crust pizza from Domino's. I like the idea of using cherry tomatoes for the toppings. It's simply delicious! So, here I am. I steal the idea for my first pizza making. :P

After improvised a little bit here and there, here's the harvest of my version of meat crust pizza. I'll definitely bake more pizzas. It's now in my hassle-free recipe list.

Meat Crust Pizza
Serves 2

Ingredients:

The crust:
300gm of grounded lean pork ( you can use beef if you like)
1 Omega-3 egg
2 clove of garlic, chopped
half yellow onion, chopped
1 and 1/2 half tsp light soy sauce
half tsp of sesame oil
dash of grounded black pepper

Toppings:
half can of Prego pasta sauce
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 fresh white button mushroom, thinly sliced
2 crab sticks, cut into 1cm length
2 mushroom sausage, thinly sliced horizontally
Mozzarella cheese
Cheddar cheese

Method:
1. Mix all the crust ingredients. Leave it for 15 minutes.

2. Layer a 8"x8" pan with aluminum foil. Grease it. Press the mixture to form a thin layer of base. Bake the pizza crust for 15 minutes at 200°C.

3. Spread pasta sauce evenly on top of the pizza crust. Add all the toppings and top with Mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes at 200°C.

The Healthy Version Of Curry Noodles

I'm very careful in my diet lately. When I have an urge to eat a bowl of hot and spicy curry noodles, I'll reconsider about the cholesterol induced by thick coconut milk, pig's blood, cockles and cuttle fish. So, I prompted an idea to cook a healthier version of curry noodles. *wink wink*.

The so called of healthy version of curry noodles is substituted with soy bean noodles instead of the yellow noodles and evaporated milk instead of thick coconut milk. I omit the cuttle fish, pig's blood and cockles. With such modification, it doesn't affect the taste at all. I still able to enjoy a bowl of spicy, fragrant, lemak and ingredients-fulled curry noodles. It totally fulfills a health freak's requirement. Or at least, I don't feel that guilty after consuming a big bowl of my home made curry noodles.

This dish is submitted to Presto Pasta Night #130 founded by the Ruth. Rachel from The Crispy Cook will be the host of the week.

The Healthy Version Of Curry Noodles
Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 pieces of soy bean noodles
1 packet of Delimas curry laksa paste
2 stalks of lemon grass, smashed
2 chicken bones, chopped into 4 pieces
300gm F&N evaporated filled milk
16 prawns, shelled and de-veined
2 rolls of fish cake, thinly sliced
20 pieces of small deep fried bean curd (tau pok), halved
2 handful of bean sprout
8 long beans, cut into 2" length
2 Omega-3 eggs, hard-boiled, shelled and halved
2 liter water

Seasoning:
2 tbsp of light soy sauce

Garnishing:

A) Chili Oil
3 Kaffir lime leave
3 tbsp of chili paste
3 clove of garlic, grated
pinch of salt
2tbsp of vegetable oil

B) mint leaves

Method:

1. Bring 2 liter of water to boil in a pot. Add in the chicken bones and leave it simmers under low heat for 1 and a half hour. Pour in the curry laksa paste, follow by evaporated milk. Add the lemon grass and deep fried bean curd. Leave it boil while preparing the other ingredients.

2. Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a wok. Saute garlic, chili paste and kaffir lime leave till the oil separated.

3. In another pot of boiling water, blanch the bean sprouts, long beans, fish cakes, and boil the prawns. Set aside all the ingredients.

4. Cook soy bean noodle as per the packaging instruction. Drain then water and divided the noodles in bowls.

5. Arrange all the ingredients on top of noodles, pour in the curry soups with deep fried bean curd. Garnish with mint leaves and serve with chilli oil.

Spiral Pasta In Mushroom Pasta Sauce

This is another simple dinner to prepare. It's not under the healthy meal category because I use several processed food like sausages and canned pasta sauce. The good thing is I try to add more greens or fresh ingredients like onion, lettuce, fresh button mushrooms, potato, broccoli, or cauliflower depending on what I have in the fridge. After all, it doesn't sound so bad, right? It can be a yummylicious comfort meal for a hectic day. Doesn't it look glorious? :)

I would like to submit the dish to Presto Pasta Night #129 hosted by the Ruth from Once Upon A Feast. This is the last minute entry. I hope it's not too late.

Spiral Pasta In Mushroom Pasta Sauce
Serves 2

Ingredients:
200gm of spiral pasta
2 mushroom sausages
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 clove of garlic, chopped
200gm of fresh white button mushroom, thinly sliced
10 leaves of butter head, tear into small pieces
1 can of Prego mushroom pasta sauce
dash of mixed herbs
2 Omega-3 eggs
extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the boiling water. Add pasta and cook as per the instruction on the packing and drain.

2. In a small sauce pan, put in 2 eggs and add water till water level cover the eggs. Bring to boil for 5 minutes. Drain and leave it cool before peel off the shell. Thinly slice the eggs. Set aside.

3. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan, pan-fry the sausage till golden brown. Set aside.

4. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok. Fry onion and garlic until fragrant. Pour in the mushroom and stir fry a while. Add the butter head and mix well.

5. Add a can of tomato sauce and bring to boil. Add a dash of mix herbs.

6. Pour the the source over the pasta. Serve hot with fried sausage and hard boiled egg.