And then she did her best to track such items down for me.
I know, right? Crazy-amazing-kind-generous-amazing. And because I’m thrilled by what Helen so carefully picked out for me, I simply must share it with you all. Are you ready? I think you should probably be ready for some envy. See, if I were you, living out there in Internet-world, looking at what had been given to me… I’d be envious. Just sayin’.
And we’re off!
For years, I’ve wanted to try the sour-spicy-tamarind-pineapple Penang-style assam laksa which, unlike the more well-known Malaysian laksa, doesn’t use coconut milk. To start off with a really clear example of Helen’s amazingness of spirit, she mentioned in an email to me weeks ago that she wanted to bring me assam laksa paste. However, she couldn’t find any in Sydney, so you know what she did? She gave me one of the packets that she’d brought back for herself from Malaysia. I was/am speechless.
Also, she remembered that I’ve never tried dosai, so she gave me a packet mix for that, too. Even more excitingly, it’s gluten-free and vegan!
Every now and again in my life I go through a Pho phase, during which time the only thing I want to eat at restaurants are big steaming bowls of broth and noodles into which I merrily throw enormous handfuls of herbs, beansprouts, and chilli. Lots of chilli. Now I can have that complex broth at home without having to boil icky bones for a squillion hours first. Hooray!
However, I will have to boil icky bones – wait, no, I mean ribs – for authentic Bakuteh. Methinks this is Grab Your Fork trying to sneakily make me a fan of meat so that she can order crispy pork belly for me when we rendezvous in Sydney in the hopefully-not-too-distant future. She’s a wily one.
Vegan grass jelly mix! Super excited about this one. Helen recommends having it with ice cream, which I can definitely see being a winner. If only So Good hadn’t got rid of almost all its different “frozen dessert” flavours in recent years…
Next we have an awesome, authentic chai blend that you add to super strong black tea, and alongside that the guide to Sydney’s Chinatown and Haymarket areas that Helen wrote all the food reviews for. If you’re in Sydney, I recommend picking one of these free guides up. Helen’s got your food-lovin’ back.
Then, of course, there was chocolate. Japanese chocolate, which is always fun, and also Schoc chocolate! Helen said she didn’t know that I’d recently talked to Vaala on this blog about wanting to try Schoc chocolate, but I think she was simply trying to hide her geniusness.
The last thing I pulled out of the bag had me a hair’s breadth away from hyperventilating. Honestly, I think I blanked out for a second at the restaurant and went to a giggly-squealing happy place. All I can hope is that such a reaction gratified, rather than scared, Helen. Behold!
KAYA. Kaya kaya kaya. The coconut pandan custard spread that Malaysians eat for breakfast on toasted white bread with slabs of butter. Helen and I discussed this One True Way of eating kaya, but I’ve since admitted that I may well end up eating it on porridge, because that’s how I roll.
Thing is, I’m so excited by the kaya that I haven’t let myself open it. Mostly, I’m just doing this:
Y’know. Just staring at it lovingly. Sometimes stroking it. (Apologies for the crazy hair)
Oh, and before I go, there was one other AMAZING thing that Helen gave me, but it deserves a post of its own. Still, I can’t help teasing you with it…
Oh yes.
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Can get Kaya at the Asian grocer at Woden near the interchange
I bought it there for a workmate’s daughter whose name is Kaya.
SO … eat it, then go and buy more!
Hey, wapow! That’s awesome! I’d forgotten about that place – it has all kinds of goodies, doesn’t it?
Prezzies! Gotta love a bag of well thought out prezzies complete with Japanese chocolate.
I’ve often thought it’s more fun to give than receive, but this time it was definitely awesome to be the receiver
My eyes are GREEN!
I’m sure you mean beautifully green, not green with envy
Aww how lovely! What an absolute gem of a human being
btw, let me know what you thought of that Schoc bar! I had it and was really disappointed, mostly with the texture/total lack of melt (and therefore lack of flavour KABOOM). But then again, I had it shipped to me from NZ at the peak of summer, so the weather conditions/travelling probably didn’t help matters… i’ll be very interested to hear what you thought!!
She is! And you better believe that I said to mum, when writing this, that “Lizzi ate this Schoc chocolate, and I bet she’ll pop up telling me her thoughts on it!”
hahah oh I’m so predictable! :p But yeah, I’d really love to know what you thought/whether i just got a dodgy one (it might be like the Trader Joe’s PB-jelly-potato chips bar fiasco all over again!).
btw, LOVE your kaya porridge idea..last time I bought a jar, I used it as the filling for crepes, and as topping for ice cream
both highly recommended!
Have you ever gone to the Indian vegetarian food fair on Saturdays at the temple in Torrens? Next to the primary school. I used to go quite often and have their dosai… one of those foods that I initially COULDN’T STAND, then suddenly one day found myself craving….the appetite works in mysterious ways!
Awww how sweet!!
I can so feel your loved up excitement.. hehe.. and you’ve also made me homesick and longing for some of those eats! The Indian stall at the Belconnen mall food court normally does a wicked dosai… thin and crispy… but it’s sometimes inconsistent. And the kaya can also be found in all the groceries in Dickson. Hmm our bottle is running out too….
I’m so excited to learn that I can get kaya here in multiple places! Does Dickson stock this brand, or another kind? And while I’m also happy to know there are dosai makers in Canberra, it’s a rare event that sees me head northside…
Now that is a fine gift bag! Reminds me of why I looove going to the Korean grocery and purchasing anything unfamiliar. (Although last time that resulted in canned bubble tea, which I cannot recommend.) Also, I saw coconut spread at World Market yesterday! It didn’t immediately appeal to me, but now I’m considering a return trip …
Ah, “chokoreto.” Another of the few words I know in Japanese. Although if you think about it, one can get far on “Can I eat,” “chocolate,” and “please” alone.
Funny thing is, coconut isn’t one of my favourite things at all, and yet I’ve wanted to try kaya ever since first hearing about it
These kind of snacks/packets/treats are why I love any and all grocery stores… which you learnt when I went to my happy place in your local Wegmans!
I only have eyes for the chocolate….!
And I’m sure I’ll talk about them in more detail in time
I don’t know what was more fun. Having an excuse to go food gift shopping or watching you take everything out of the bag one by one with increasing excitement! Honestly the pleasure was all mine. I was excited that you were excited by the grass jelly and lol at the bak kut teh comment too.
I am all for free and creative use of kaya. I think its
a great idea to use it on porridge but I definitely think you will have to try it on toast as well
Can’t wait to see you in Sydney sometime soon. Or maybe a combined trip to Melbourne?
I honestly do think I was behaving like a five-year-old on Christmas morning, and I’m so relieved to hear that you found that entertaining rather than silly
I’ll definitely try it on toast… I’ve got a whole jar, so I can spare some for non-oatmeal endeavours. What about ice cream + grass jelly + kaya?
Ooooh, combined trip to Melbourne would be amazing! Might have to plan a week’s break if I’m to fit in all the eating it should entail
Wow. Such an amazingly generous and thoughtful gift bag of goodies that Helen brought for you. I tried kaya toast when I was in Singapore in June. I must say I was underwhelmed. But it was at a cheap and nasty place, the toast was thin, bland and STONE COLD. And had the thinnest smear of kaya. Not a good introduction I suspect. This combined with the barely congealed “soft boiled eggs” was too much for my western palate for breakfast. And I guess those stupid expectations got in the way. I was expecting some kind of paradigm shift confiture de lait experience. And it certainly wasn’t that. I’ll have to look out for some in Sydney next time and give it another go.
From what I’ve read, kaya [on toast] is so prolific in Malaysia that it can be hit and miss if you don’t know where to go for a good version. Helen and I chatted about the barely-set eggs component too… I think I might stick with the butter-kaya-toast combination for now!
I wonder whether a good kaya would be overkill mixed with a quality dulce de leche…?
am very jealous of your goodie bag but happy to see how much these treasures make you happy – esp that coconut spread – which I have never heard of – but I do love me some dosai and pho and of course chocolate – and it is always interesting to see the gifts bloggers exchange as it shows some of the quirky foods – and tastes – out there
I only learnt about kaya through the blog-world, as I haven’t been to Malaysia myself! Foodie treasures always make me happy – and Helen was so tremendously generous
Seems everyone’s had dosai but me!
so many fun new things to try!
Having been treated with a taste of the pretty sneak-previewed gift (bribery goes a long way, as in, “of course I’ll take you to the toe doctor but only if I can have ….”) , I can’t wait for that post.
You’re just lucky it was cold that day, otherwise I might’ve walked to the doctor so that I could hoard the macarons
Wow! I don’t I can live up to this amount of amazeringness when we do our swap! =X But I shall try my very best, rest assured.
Wait, grass jelly?
Ohh, that coconut spread! ME WANTIE. I think I would do the very same thing, not open it for as long as humanly possibly because you wanna make it WORTH IT to open it, damnit, because you know in a heartbeat it’ll be gone, all GONE! (This is exactly why I’ve been hoarding my last order of PB Loco peanut butters [5 of them! All different flavors!] for, um, over a year. I should open those…but I shouldn’t…but I really should…)
I’m absolutely certain that your amazeringness will be equal to Helen’s
I wonder if that coconut spread would get through customs if I managed to track some down for you? Heavy, though…
*laughs* When you started talking about hoarding, I was thinking “that’s exactly what I’m doing with my PB Loco cookie dough peanut butter, mostly because you told me they went out of business”. And lookee here! We’re two peas in a pod again!
Jealous! I want kaya too.
If (as I’ve found out in these comments) I can find it here in Canberra, I’m sure it’s available where you are too!
AWW that is so sweet! And I could feel your excitement beaming through the internets. You are so cute!
I do love that you interpret this as “cute” rather than “crazy-town”.
This is exactly why blogging is The Awesome: because I get to have a BFF who understands food-excitability!
Wow! That’s some serious gift bag! Japanese chocolate? Awesome
And crazy hair? Huh? That looks mighty tamed to me!
The bad thing about having my brother back in Australia after three years in Japan is that I no longer get parcels of Japanese candy
Hmm, I guess you’re right. I was thinking of the flyaways in the hair, but in all honesty it often looks far more wild than this 
Yeah, I see no flyaways (or at least none that really count). Wild is good in my opinion (or do I say that so that I can feel like I have good hair?).
{ 1 trackback }