Spinach Stuffed Cod with Mushroom and Feta Cheese

I had some really thick cod fillets sitting in my freezer the other day. So, I decided to try out this new recipe that I downloaded off the Internet. The recipe was actually for spinach stuffed flounder, so I made a few changes to it and made it my own. It turned out to be really yummy, so I have decided to share it with all of you.

Start off by heating some olive oil in a pan. Then, add in some minced garlic and saute until it turns to a light shade of brown. As soon as it starts to change color, add in some sliced Crimini mushrooms (also known as baby bella mushrooms). Mix the mushrooms with the minced garlic and allow it to cook.
Once the mushrooms have soften, add in a few big bunches of spinach. Be very careful when you do this. As soon as the wet spinach hits the very hot oil, it's bound to splatter! Stir fry the spinach with the mushrooms and garlic until it's wilted.
Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle some crumbled feta cheese onto the spinach mixture. Gently stir in the feta cheese and your stuffing mixture is done!
Now, it's time to prep the fish. I premarinated my cod fillets with some of Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seafood Seasoning Blend a few hours before. You can pretty much use any seafood seasoning that you like or just some old fashioned salt and pepper. It is important that you use a thick fillet, so that you can butterfly the fillet in the middle. Then, place it onto a lightly greased baking pan.
Then, stuff your cod fillet with the spinach stuffing that we made earlier. Cover the stuffing with the top half of the fillet. Gently poke a few toothpicks all the way through the fillets. This is to prevent the top part of the fillet from popping up while it's in the oven. Then, squeeze some fresh lemon juice onto your fillets and it's ready to go into the oven.
Pop it into a preheated 375F oven and allow it to bake for about 25-30 mins (depending on your oven). Remember not to over cook your fillets. After 25 minutes, use a fork to check and see if it's done. If it flakes, it's done. Allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving. I served my stuffed cod with some dirty rice and steamed vegetables. Mmmm mmm mmmm, a healthy (not to mention yummy) dinner that is so easy to make!

Baked Cod with Italian Crumb Topping

I managed to pick up a couple of lbs of really fresh cod fillets from our local grocery store the other day. I love cod (simply love the texture and taste!) but I do not get to eat much of it back home in Malaysia, cos it's usually really really expensive. So yeah, I was pretty stoked to find some really fresh cod fillets on sale. I looked up a few recipes online and was torn between the Stuffed Cod Fillets and this recipe. I chose to go with this and boy, I'm glad I did. It turned out to be really yummy! Let me share this really simple but yummy baked cod recipe with you.

Let's start off by making the Italian Crumb topping. It's really simple actually. Just mix in some corn meal into a bowl of Italian breadcrumbs.
Then, add in some freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder and some grated Parmesan cheese. Mix everything together and set it aside. The topping is done! Wasn't that easy?
Alright, next! Scoop some low fat/light mayo into a small bowl. Then, squeeze in some lemon juice. Combine both of the ingredients together and make sure that everything is mixed in well. Once everything is nicely mixed, set it aside.
Now it's time to prep the cod. The cod fillets that I bought were pretty large. So, I cut the fillets into half and saved the fleshy part for another day. I am going to use the tail/back portion of the cod fillet for this recipe. Place the cod fillets in a lightly greased baking dish. Remember to tuck in the end of the fillets. This is to prevent it from overcooking (since it's way thinner compared to the other parts of the fillet).
Then, spread the mayo mixture evenly on top of the cod fillets.
Once you have evenly spread the mayo onto the cod fillets, sprinkle on the Italian Crumb topping. Make sure that you coat the entire top of the fillets. Then, spray on some olive oil cooking spray. Place the baking dish into a 450F preheated oven and allow it to bake for approx 15 mins or so (depending on how thick your fillets are).
After 15 - 20 mins, remove the baking dish from the oven and allow it to sit for another 5 mins. Then, it's ready to be served! Boy, this recipe is so yummy! Our whole apartment smelled so good while it was baking in the oven...mmm mmm mmmmmmm. I served the baked cod with some pasta salad and some stir fried spinach with garlic (my current favorite side dish :P). I'm starting to get all hungry now that I am thinking of those cod fillets. Yes, they are that good! You should try this recipe. Not only is it easy and quick to make, but really yummy to eat!

TaiTong Seafood - Penang, Malaysia

As promised, here is another review of one of the many restaurants that we went to during our trip back to Malaysia earlier this year. We had quite a lot of seafood when we were in Langkawi but we didn't really manage to eat much seafood while we were back in Penang (too busy spending time with the extended family and eating a whole lot of awesome home cooked food!). We were not going to leave Penang until we ate some seafood, so, for dinner during our last night in Penang, we headed out to Teluk Bahang. Teluk Bahang is a quaint little fishing village located on the Northwestern tip of Penang Island. Unlike Batu Feringghi (a major tourist destination and entertainment hub, just a mere 5KM away), Teluk Bahang is a sleepy, quiet, small town. Nothing much really happens in Teluk Bahang. One would say that it somewhat reminds you of Penang, say 20 years ago. However, Teluk Bahang is well known for one thing, and that is it's fresh seafood!

One of the most popular (if not, THE most popular) seafood restaurant in Teluk Bahang is the "End of the World" restaurant. It's been around for ages and people used to travel all the way to Teluk Bahang, just to eat there. Over the years, the quality of their food has declined. In fact, it is now not even located at it's original location and is under a new management. We decided not to eat at the End of the World but at TaiTong Seafood (located really close to the original location of the End of the World). TaiTong Seafood is actually a residential house that has been converted into a restaurant. Nothing really fancy, just a typical Chinese restaurant with handwritten menus and Carlsberg beer posters hanging on the wall :P It's usually at places like this where you can find the yummiest food. No frills, just good food.
After we sat down, they asked us what we wanted to drink. Of course they had the usual Chinese tea, sodas, fresh fruit juices, local coffee, Nescafe, Milo, Carlsberg beer...the usual stuff that you can find in Malaysian coffee shops. I then saw a banner for this drink called "Authentic 3 Layer Tea". I have actually seen that banner quite a number of times before but never got around to ordering it. I believe that it is originally from East Malaysia (Kuching, Sarawak to be exact)and it's really gaining popularity all across Malaysia. So, I decided to order one, just to say that I have tried it. From the photo, you can actually see the 3 layers. The bottom layer is gula melaka (local palm sugar) followed by a layer of evaporated milk and it's topped off with tea. Surprisingly, it tasted really really good. For only RM2.80 (approx US$0.90), it's really a bang for your buck!
Since we were planning on stuffing our faces with loads of seafood, we didn't order any steamed rice to go with the dishes. However, if you noticed, Malaysians NEED to have some sort of carbs with every meal. We believe that you will not be full unless you have some sort of carbs with your meal :P So, we ordered a large plate of Hokkien Char (RM 12 = US$ 3.80) to share. Hokkien Char is actually fried noodles with soy sauce, Hokkien style. It wasn't really the best, but it wasn't bad either. Yellow and rice noodles stir fried with a few pieces of chicken slices, fishcakes, small shrimp, beansprouts, mustard greens and topped with some fried onions. Nothing really to rave about. Oh, we also ordered a small portion of fried rice (RM5 = US$1.60) but I didn't managed to take a photo of it. I can't even remember if it was good or bad, so I would have to say that it was errrr, forgettable?
We also wanted to have some vegetables to go with our seafood.. The waitress suggested Thai Style Stir Fried Mix Vege (RM10 = US$3.20). Eggplant, okra and four angled beans, stir fried with some minced chicken and tom yum paste. It was a tad bit spicy (I expected it to be really spicy but was pleasantly surprised) and it tasted great!! I guess it must be one of the house specialities, since the waitress recommended this dish. Very nice.
Now it's time to bring on the seafood! First up is a type of shellfish called Bamboo shellfish (RM18 = US$5.70). I am not really sure what's the real name of this shellfish but it's commonly known as Bamboo shellfish in Malaysia. It's given that name for the mere reason that it's shell looks like bamboo. The Bamboo shellfish at TaiTong was really hugeee and juicy. It was lightly stir fried in some Chinese wine and topped with some cilantro, green onions, carrot shreds, ginger and red chillies. A really tasty and well balanced dish. Just the right amount of ginger and cilantro to balance out the fishy smell that sometimes comes along with this type of shellfish.

Next up is the the Steamed Sea Scallops (RM27 = US$8.60). A very simple dish actually. Fresh sea scallops steamed with some seasonings and topped with some ginger, spring onions, carrots and cilantro. You can taste that the scallops were really fresh. However, we were quite disappointed with this dish because the scallops were really small! We had hoped for bigger ones. It would have tasted so much better if the scallops were a tad bit bigger. Oh well :(
Ahhhhh Kevin and my mom's favorite dish. Sweet and Sour Chili Crabs (RM87 = US$28)!! This is seriously Kevin's all time favorite Malaysian seafood dish. Whenever we are back here in the States, he would go on and on and on about how yummy the Malaysian Sweet and Sour Crabs were and how he wished he could eat them again. If there is one dish that he really misses from the days when he was living in Malaysia, this is it (well, Char Koay Teow too I guess :P). The Sweet and Sour Crabs in TaiTong was alright. Nothing really great about it but it wasn't bad either. For Penang standards (since Penang is the food capital of Malaysia), I would say that it was only mediocre.

We also ordered some cute mantau buns to eat with the crabs. 5 fried buns and 5 steamed buns (RM6 = US$1.90). Yes, I know. There are only 4 fried buns in the photo. I think my dad (or was it Ashley??) ate one of the fried buns before I had a chance to take a photo of it :P

Now, the pièce de résistance of our meal. A yummy, creamy, cheesy serving of Lobster Thermidor (RM165 = US$52.70). Chunks of fresh lobster meat and an assortment of vegetables, cooked with cream sauce and stuffed backed into the lobster shell. It is then topped with cheese and baked. It tasted great but the downside was that there were a whole lot of vegetables and just a few pieces of lobster. I would say that it wasn't really worth the RM165. However, I would still have to say that it was really really really yuuummmmyyy!
Our total bill came up to RM337.60 (approx US$108) for 5 people. It's not too bad really, putting into consideration that about half of that bill already went to the lobster. Overall, it was a great night. We had a great time eating some really fresh (and relatively cheap) seafood and more importantly, spending time with my parents and Ashley. Ooooohhhh we can't wait to go home to Malaysia again and stuff our faces silly with all that yummy seafood! Oh and of course to see our family too :P

TaiTong Seafood - Penang, Malaysia
4 Jalan Hassan Abbas,
11050 Teluk Bahang,
Penang, Malaysia
Tel: (604)885 1693
Cell: (6019)417 7969/(6016)481 4789
Hours: Mon - Fri (3:00pm - 10:30pm), Sat & Sun (noon - 10:30pm)

Palm View Seafood Restaurant

After a whole day of sightseeing, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for a bit before dinner. My parents and Ashley went down to the beach for a swim and also to redeem their welcome drink from the poolside bar (I believe it was some Lemongrass drink). Kevin, who was still trying to recover from jet lag, was totally knocked out cold and I spent the remaining afternoon surfing the net in our nice A/C room (the jet lag didn't really bother me but I was having a tough time adjusting to the heat). It was good just to relax! :D

By the time we finally got ready to head out to dinner, it was pretty late in the evening. We decided to return to Pantai Cenang and try another one of the seafood restaurants there. There were quite a lot to choose from but we ended up going to Palm View Seafood Restaurant. I guess we were attracted by the bright lights and red lanterns :PJust like all of the seafood restaurants along Pantai Cenang, Palm View Seafood has a host of different live seafood to choose from. Since we didn't get our crab fix from Orkid Ria the night before, we were really looking forward to some yummy crabs that night. The lady told us that a new fresh batch of crabs just arrived and she brought us to a back room to pick out a few. I guess that was the first mistake of the night. When the waitress brings you to a 'special room' to pick out seafood, you know that it wasn't going to be cheap!

The waitress also kept on 'promoting' the mantis prawns. She said that it was very fresh and they just brought in some new stock earlier that day. So we agreed to go take a look at it. While we were out there choosing our seafood, we changed our minds about the mantis prawns and said that we would like regular prawns instead (cos the only way they would cook mantis prawns is to steam it and we wanted butter prawns). The waitress wasn't too happy and gave an excuse that the kitchen was too busy and they won't have time to make butter prawns, so we should just get the mantis prawns instead. We know that it's just an excuse because, A: how can the kitchen be too busy? The restaurant wasn't even half full and B: mantis prawns cost about 3 times more than regular prawns! So, if she were to sell us regular prawns, she would make less money. In the end, we didn't really want to argue with her and picked out a few mantis prawns. Check out the size of the prawn!

So, apart from crabs and mantis prawns, what else did we order? Well, we ordered a plate of sea scallops cooked with shark fin (yes I do eat shark fin and I'm not ashamed of it!), shitake mushrooms, garlic and superior stock. It was pretty good actually. The stock was really sweet and yummy.

We also shared a plate of Hokkien Fried Noodles. It wasn't as nice as the noodles from Orkid Ria but it was alright. They used a lot more dark soy sauce and there wasn't as much shrimp and meat in this noodles. I guess it could have been worse, so no complains here.

Ahhh the controversial mantis prawns :P It was steamed with Chinese herbs and topped with cilantro. It's funny that they should call it a prawn. In my opinion, the meat tasted more like a lobster instead of a prawn. This dish was pretty good too. You couldn't really taste the Chinese herbs (it just enough to compliment the prawns) at all and the meat was firm and fresh.

Here we go. The piece de resistance! Sweet and Sour Chili Crab. Mmm mmm mmmmm. We have been waiting to eat this for the longest time and boy, I'm glad we were not disappointed. We finally got our dose of crabs! The crabs were indeed very fresh and the sweet and sour sauce was good too. Definitely worth the wait. Generally the food in Palm View is pretty good and the seafood is fresh. You just have to be careful when ordering. If not, you will end up with a really big bill at the end of the night.The waitresses would just try and push the most expensive dishes. So, do not get swayed by the waitresses, order what you want to eat and not what they try to 'recommend'. With that in mind, I'm pretty sure you will have a good meal in Palm Ville Seafood.

Palm View Seafood Restaurant
Lot 1584 Pantai Cenang,
Langkawi 07000,
Kedah
Tel: (604) 955 9008

Orkid Ria Seafood Restaurant - Pantai Cenang

After picking up my mom and sister from the airport and resting up for a bit at the hotel, we decided to head out to Pantai Cenang in search of a good seafood restaurant for dinner. Pantai Cenang is one of the more popular stretch of beach in Langkawi and it's lined with many restaurants, hotels and shops. It's practically dead in the daytime but when the sun goes down, it comes alive with tourist flocking to the many seafood restaurants and pubs around that area.

No visit to Langkawi is complete without a seafood dinner (we had seafood almost everyday we were there :P). There were quite a number of seafood restaurants to choose from but we decided to go to Orkid Ria. That restaurant has been around for the longest time. I remember eating in Orkid Ria as a child whenever we visited Langkawi, way back in the day. Of course it was in another location and way smaller, but the food is still the same. Good fresh seafood! The decor of the place has changed too, from a simple open air shop lot to fancy lights and cafe style tables and chairs.

What I really like about Orkid Ria is the fresh seafood. You can walk up to the front, pick your seafood and the waiter will suggest various ways to cook it. Here are some of the different fishes available that night and pictures of the various ways they can cook the fish.

Here is Ashley looking at the lobsters and tiger prawns. Lobsters and other seafood are generally cheaper in Langkawi, compared to bigger cities like Kuala Lumpur. Man, check out the size of the tiger prawn! It's almost as big as the lobsters :P The only disappointment of the night was when we wanted to order crabs but we were told that they didn't have any crabs that night. What a downer! :( Oh well, there are other nights I guess...

Wanna see what we ordered? Well, we had a Grilled Snapper with some sort of sweet sauce. We initially wanted grilled stingray but they didn't have any available. So, the waiter picked out a decent size snapper for us. That was a good choice. The fish was really fresh and good. It was still alive when the waiter picked it out! Cooking fish can sometimes be a little tricky - there is a very fine line between uncooked and overcooked. Guess what? This fish was amazing! It was grilled to perfection, with crispy skin and the flesh was firm and moist. Yummy!

We wanted to try some sort of shellfish, so we ordered some Bamboo Clams (aka Razor Clams). Some places have really tiny and thin clams but the ones we got that night was huge. It was as thick as my finger, really big and juicy (the clams, not my finger!). Also, unlike most places, it didn't come with any shell. I just hate it when there are tiny pieces of shell all over the place. So, this is good. Very good.

What else did we order? Ahhh, a plate of steamed prawns with egg. This is really good. A light and delicate dish, with prawns lightly steamed with egg, soy sauce and Chinese wine. It is then topped with fresh ginger, shallots, coriander, and fried garlic. Again, the prawns were really fresh and super sweet. Another thumbs up for this dish.

As a filler, we order some Hokkien Fried Mee Hoon (rice noodles). It's fried with some shrimps, fish cake, chicken slices, mustard greens and topped with some fried onions. It's also good, not super great and not bad either. Nothing to complain or rave about I guess. It's just fried noodles :P

Overall, we had an awesome dinner. Yummy fresh seafood and great company! What else can a person ask for? I must admit that it's not exactly cheap but the quality of the food makes up for it. Judging from the smiling faces of everybody in the photo, I must say that they too agree with me that it was a good dinner!

Orkid Ria Seafood Restaurant
Lot 1225, Pantai Cenang
Mukim Kedawang, 07000 Langkawi
Kedah, Malaysia
Tel: (604) 955-4128
Fax: (604) 955-3128

T.G.I. Friday's - Clifton, NJ

We couldn't decide where to go for Kevin's birthday last night. He was really tired from work and didn't feel like going anywhere far. I remembered T.G.I. Fridays sent me a "Buy One Entree, Get One Free" a while back, and since the outlet in Clifton is only about 15 minutes or so away from us, we ended up going there.

By then time we arrived, it was already packed with people. I was pretty surprised actually, with it being a weekday and all. We were pretty fortunate to get a table at the back, without having to wait. I think if we were to arrive just a little bit later, we might have to wait for a table.

Since we knew that the portions will be big, we decided to share an appetizer. We couldn't decide between the Pick Three For All or the Jack Daniels Sampler. In the end, we went with the Jack Daniels Sampler ($13.99). The sampler is made up of Crispy Cajun Spiced Shrimps, Sesame Jack Chicken Strips and some super tender Baby Back Pork Ribs. It also came with a small tub of Jack Daniels glaze. The glaze was so good, I even used it on my steak later on :P

For my main, I ordered the Sirloin Steak and Lobster Tail ($18.99). It comes with a side of Baked Potato and Steamed Broccoli. Since I am not really a big fan of Baked Potatoes, I swapped my Baked Potato for some Sweet Potato Fries. My steak was a little bit overcooked (I ordered medium well and it came almost well done) but it was still good. It was even better after I poured on some of the Jack Daniels glaze from the appetizer. The lobster tail was great, really fresh and yummy!

Kevin ordered the Petite Sirloin and Half a Rack of Ribs ($18.99). He had a choice of two sides and he chose Baked Potato with Sour Cream & Butter and Coleslaw. He said both his steak as well as the ribs were really good. I guess nothing is yummier than slow cooked baby back ribs with the oh so yummy Jack Daniels glaze.

Overall, it was a good dinner. What's even better is, we got one of the entrees for free! Yup, that's right. With my coupon, I got the Steak and Lobster tail for free! The whole dinner, including a refillable Raspberry Ice Tea and Coke for only $38.56 (before tax and tip). Not too bad, not too bad at all :D

T.G.I. Friday's - Clifton, NJ
826 State Route 3
Clifton, NJ 07012
Tel: (973) 778-1828
Web: http://www.tgifridays.com/

Charlie Brown's Steakhouse - Clifton, NJ

This is a relatively backdated post. I'm still really busy, trying to settle things before our trip to Malaysia (yes, we leave tomorrow!) but as promised, I'm trying to update this blog as much as I can. A couple of weeks ago, we had dinner at Charlie Brown's Steakhouse. It's the largest steakhouse chain in NJ, with it's first branch opening it's doors in 1966. We've heard quite a lot of good things about it, so we decided to go check it out ourselves.

The moment we pulled into the parking lot, we knew that we had to wait for a table. The huge parking lot of filled with cars! We had to circle a few times and ended up parking way across the other end of the lot. I guess dinner time on a Saturday is peak hours for them :P True enough, when we walked into the restaurant, there were just people standing everywhere, waiting for their table. We had to wait for almost 25 minutes before we got a table.

For our appetizer, we ordered the Three Cheese Crab Dip ($8.99). Jumbo lump crab meat, seasoned with Old Bay seasoning and then baked with three different types of cheese was just amazing! It is served with crispy frybread chips. Just look at how much crab meat there is in the dip. So creamy and yummy!

We had a choice of the salad bar or soup with our mains. We both went with the soup. Kevin ordered the Lobster Bisque and again, it was gooood. I tasted a little of it and boy, it was thick, creamy and really good. There were also quite a few pieces of lobster in the soup.

I had the French Onion Soup. Now, this must be the best French Onion Soup I have had in a very long time. It was so flavourful and hearty. So, up til now...Charlie Brown's Steakhouse has been living up to it's name, really good food.

For our mains, I ordered the Chopped Steak ($13.99). It's about 16 oz. of chopped USDA Certified Angus Beef steak, served with a side of frizzled onions, rice pilaf and mushroom sauce. I ordered the steak medium well but when it arrived, it was way past well done. The outside was pretty charred and the inside was dry. The frizzled onions were also soggy and oily. Overall, it was quite a disappointment really.

Kevin ordered the Fish & Chips ($13.99). Four pieces of tempura battered cod fillet, served with fries and coleslaw. Yes, the portion was relatively huge but taste wise, it really didn't hit the spot. The fish was just alright, nothing much to shout about. We have definitely tasted better. Overall, it was just an alright dinner experience. The starters were totally amazing but the mains really didn't impress us at all. The service wasn't all that great too (we had to actually ask the server to refill our drinks, even though she walked by many times and saw our empty glasses). So, would we return? Well, having to wait 25 minute just for a table, coupled with mediocre service and a total bill of $47.24, I would say that the chances are pretty slim. However, I am so in love with the Three Cheese Crab Dip, so I don't know. It's a tough call on this one.

Charlie Brown's Steakhouse - Clifton, NJ
1296 Van Houten Avenue
Clifton, NJ 07013-1632
Tel: (973) 471-1400
Web: http://www.charliebrowns.com/