Indian Dining Experience at Chakra Restaurant, Johor Bahru 印度传统美食

Chakra is a fine-dining restaurant that serve delicious authentic Indian cuisine from northern to southern India.

Its name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning"

Chakra字根源自「圓」、「輪子」，意譯為脈輪或氣卦，在印度瑜伽的觀念中是指分布於人體各部位的能量中樞，尤其是指從尾骨到頭頂排列於身體中軸者。

Located in the middle of JB, Jalan Yusuf Taha, Chakra is situated in a unique classic pre-war colonial bungalow that once a family home.

You will have the complete Indian dining experience here.

Angry Birds Cupcakes & Homemade Pineapple Tarts 愤怒鸟杯子蛋糕&黄梨酥

Angry Birds Cupcakes 愤怒鸟杯子蛋糕

Arvind Singh - Professional Cupcake Decorator

Angry Birds in the cute house

Homemade Pineapple Jam

Pineapple Tarts teacher, Helen Loh (Left) and Chiu Phen

Pineapple Tarts ready for baking

Out from the Oven.
So yummy, will melt in your mouth



Homecook Sarawak Laksa for lunch. Prepared by Alan



Girlie

Furrugamo (left) & Cotton (right) in the house too

Cake Decoration - Angry Birds or Smiling Birds Fondant (愤怒鸟软糖) ?

Angry Birds Fondant (愤怒鸟软糖)

Helen, Chiu Phen & I learnt Angry Birds Fondant today. These are our end products.  The birds are not angry at all, looked like Smiling & Happy Birds, dont' you think so :)

Coloured Fondant 彩色软糖

Fondant is one of several kinds of icing-like substance used to decorate or sculpt pastries. The word, in French, means "melting", coming from the same root as "foundry" in English.


Rolled fondant or fondant icing, which is not the same material as poured fondant, is commonly used to decorate wedding cakes. It includes gelatin (or agar in vegetarian recipes) and food-grade glycerine, which keep the sugar pliable (elastic and flexible) and creates a dough-like consistency. It can also be made using powdered sugar and melted marshmallows. Rolled fondant is rolled out like a pie crust and used to cover the cake. This gives the cakes a smooth appearance. Poured fondant can also be rolled out and used for this purpose.

Fondant是类似粘土的可朔性糖膏/软糖（中文其实叫“翻糖”），可以用来朔造3D造型的公仔装饰在蛋糕上。

Example from the Web (1)
怒っている鳥

Example from the Web (2)
화가 조류

Rolled out the basic parts

Put together all the parts

 Our very first end product:

From Left: (Made by) Helen, Chiu Phen & Soh Eng

Angry Birds Cupcakes & Angry Birds Fondant (愤怒鸟杯子蛋糕/软糖)

Lovely Cat Fondant

Mini Zoo Fondant

Special thanks to Anna for her professional instructions and patient in teaching us. Cheers!

Thai Cooking Class @ ChiangMai 招牌传统泰国菜肴 (Pt 2)

The cooking course should teach you how to make the paste from scratch, because that is where the secrets to flavouring and spice lie.

Ingredients for Green Curry Paste

Put all Green Curry Paste ingredients in a mortar and grind well

Left: other ingredients for Green Curry
Right: other ingredients for Tom Yum Soup

You can add in Chicken / Beef, if you like (Green Curry)

Add all vegetables, palm sugar (or gula melaka) and fish sauce

Let it boil for a while

Green Curry with Chicken & EggPlant

Chili Paste for Tom Yum Koong

If you would like to cook Tom Yum Koong (Hot and Sour Prawn/Seafood Soup) at your home, look out for this brand, you may find this at the Thai fair market or supermarket. This Tom Yum chili paste can be added to the steamboat or other soup as well.

Add lemongrass, galangal, lime leave & chilies, cook for 2-3 minutes

Add tomato, onion & mushroom. Cook for 30 seconds.

Add sugar, fish sauce, tom yum chili paste & lime juice.
Add in prawns or seafoods until cooked.

Tom Yum Koong 冬荫汤
Add coriander & spring onion before serving

And, another 3 dishes cooked by my friends:

Tom Kha Kai
(Chicken in Coconut Milk)

Tom Sab
(Hot & Sour Soup in Local Style)

Tom Sab is a local clear soup, it is less spicy compare to Tom Yum Koong, and you can add chili powder as an option.

Gang Massaman
(Massaman Curry)

Massaman curry taste is quite close to our Malaysia-Indian curry.

Spices for Massaman Curry

Next time, when you visit Chiangmai, you may put this short cooking class in your itinerary, it is really fun and unique experience. At the end of the course, they will provide you with a cookbook, which include all the dishes available at the cooking class. This will help you to recap what you have learnt there.


Lastly, I would like to apologize for the incomplete step-by-step photos, as I have to follow the cooking instructions, cooking and taking photos at the same time.

Thai Cooking Class @ ChiangMai 招牌传统泰国菜肴 (Pt 1)

Green Curry, Tom Yum Koong (Hot & sour prawn soup) and Brown Rice
绿咖喱鸡,冬阴功(酸辣海鲜汤)

One of the popular activities while in Chiang Mai is to learn how to cook Thai food. There are many cooking courses around, either cook in town or cook at farm.

The course started with a Thai welcome snack (Meang Kum), we learnt the right way how to eat it.

Firstly, fold the betel leaf as a cup (with glossy side out). Put all ingredients in the betel leaf cup, then top with the sweet syrup.

Eat the whole betel leaf cup in one bite, chew it slowly, and you will touch all flavors at one time.

Visiting an organic kitchen garden and local market tour to see and taste the spices, vegetables and herbs you will be using during the class can be a fun and unique experience.

Organic Herb/Kitchen Garden

Lemongrass 柠檬香茅 (1)

Lemongrass 柠檬香茅 (2)

Can you differentiate these two lemongrass (柠檬香茅) ?
Yup, the first one is commonly found in our surrounding (white colour). The second one is a bit purple colour.


The usage of the two are different. First one is widely used as herb for cooking or drinks, and the second one is commonly used for insects / mosquitoes repellent.

Local Market

Fresh Mushroom 新鲜的草蘑菇

Egg Plant 茄子

Spices 香料

Various Thai Rice 各种泰国米

 After the market tour, we go back to our cooking class.

Cooking Area

One Person, One Wok

For a half-day course, you will pick one noodle or rice from 'Stir Fried' menu, one soup, one curry paste and curry.

Ingredients for Pad Thai (kuey teow)

Ingredients for Stir Fried Hot Basil with Chicken (Pad Kra Proaw)

Oyster & Fish Sauce  蚝油&鱼露
(Commonly used in stir fried)

Ingredients for Stir Fried Noodle in Chinese Style (Pad See Uw)



Pad Thai (Fried Kuey Teow / Flat Noodle)



Hot Basil Stir Fried