Celebrate Mid Autumn with Gartien's Pineapple Cakes

Mid Autumn, celebrated on the 15th of the 8th Lunar month in the Chinese calendar is one of the important festivals observed by the Chinese community; marked by the appearance of a full moon on this auspicious date every year.
Like all festivals, the Mid Autumn centers on the reunion of families and friends, gathering to enjoy quality time and sharing goodness through gifts of food, love and laughter.
The Mid Autumn is traditionally celebrated with the baked pastry; a carefully carved mould of a light brown cake with sweet fillings which are known as a delicacy and fondly referred to as the moon cake; with respectful connotations to the theme of the festival.

Moon cakes are soft moulded pastries, baked to golden brown and are available with the various types of fillings; from red bean to lotus paste, and even nuts or the prized yolk to tempt the spirit of festivities among the celebrating folks. The tradition continues until this very day, with variants of representatives of the moon cakes or even pastries, stemming from the creative minds of the new generation to spice the traditions a little with a more refreshing twist.

If you are looking for an interesting gift or a fresh way of celebrating the Mid Autumn, Gartien's Pineapple Cakes may just be the answer for you.



The traditional home recipes of these handmade buttery shortcakes, filled with luscious amounts of fresh pineapple fillings harvested from nearby plantations are just wonderful additions, if not replacements to the usual moon cakes during the festivities.




Gartien is a household name originating from the island of Penang, having started their business there a few years ago, specializing in homemade pineapple cakes. A delicacy which many may have experienced with the Taiwanese version, is now available in our very own turf, and Gartien weaves them all together to give these pineapple cakes their very own identities with their home recipe.



From the fresh and real pineapples, which are delivered on a weekly basis, these are cut into small pieces, manually, by hand; which is a necessary process to maintain the natural tastes and qualities of the fruit though it is time-consuming. The pineapples are then cooked for 12 hours, slowly and steadily to its golden brown perfection and rich in texture, and is an excellent companion to the buttery form of the shortbread pastry.
Together, the pastry is then baked to produce these luxuriously decadent cakes wrapped beautifully in their individual parcels.



I was delighted to be a part of the reviewer team to enjoy these famous pineapple cakes which many have raved about around the island.
The pineapple cakes arrived in a festive packaging, along with a paper bag suited for gifting purposes among friends and families.





Each pineapple cake is carefully wrapped and sealed, whereupon the light aroma of butter fills one's nose when the package is unwrapped.





The pineapple cake is solid, yet gentle with one's grasp as it firmly holds the generous amount of fresh pineapple filling held together in that highly dense mixture.

There is definitely more than enough of the paste which paired well with the buttery shortcake; and can even shake off the odd feeling of overwhelming dairy aftertaste for those who are less than enthusiastic about dairy tastes.




I like that the pineapple paste was rich in its ingredients; where I could actually taste the distinctive tastes of the pineapples, and yet, it was not overly sweet in its flavor.
It would not have been good for me if it was tad a bit too sweet than it is, as I am not one with a sweet tooth and this did it well for me; a perfect blend between the pastry and the filling.



One piece would have been satisfying; with its compact size and high density of power-packed ingredients made with love and I bet many would still reach for another piece.
It is definitely a perfect treat for any festivity, or even throughout the whole year; paired with a hot cup of tea and a great companion to enjoy a friendly banter under the sun, and of course, the moon.
After all, we are talking about their latest Mid Autumn theme, aren't we?


Gartien's Pineapple cakes are available all year round, as these babies are the pride of their bakery.

The signature pineapple cakes come in a box of 10 pieces; priced at MYR45.00 per box.

Gartien is currently proud to launch their Mid Autumn promotion; which comes in an attractive festive packaging in conjunction with the celebrations.
Also, early birds who are interested in purchasing these cakes for the Mid Autumn festivals can enjoy more privileges and value for their pineapple treats.

For 5 Boxes and Above, ordered BEFORE the 4th of August, will be entitled to ONE Box for FREE.

Bookings AFTER the 4th of August, subject to the availability, for 10 Boxes and Above, will be entitled to ONE Box for Free.


The price per box is at MYR45.00, for collection and Direct purchase from the Box.

Gartien does deliver to the whole of Malaysia; so for those who are interested in these pineapple cakes but are not residing in Penang need not worry for orders can be placed and you will receive these via courier.
The delivery charges do apply:
Additional MYR10.00 for Peninsular Malaysia  (MYR45.00+MYR10.00)
Additional MYR40.00 for East Malaysia    (MYR45.00 + MYR40.00)


Spice up your Mid Autumn with a little more variety, with this special edition and packaging from Gartien's Mid Autumn Pineapple Cakes version and enjoy sharing these cakes with your loved ones, while watching the surprises when you spring these famous pineapple cakes besides the traditional moon cakes at the parties :-)

Company: Gartien 小田佳园
Address: 380, Jalan Penang, 10000 Penang, Malaysia. (next to Kek Seng Coffee Shop/格成茶室)
Contact: 604-229 0068Business Hours: 9.00am-6.00pm dailyGPS: 5.416298, 100.329380



Gartien will be relocating to their new premises on Penang Road, right next to the famous Kek Seng Coffee Shop.






































Their official opening is set on the 20th of July 2014!

















For more information on Gartien, check out their website here

It is definitely going to be a very unique Mid Autumn, it's not going to be all about the moon and the traditional moon cakes, but pineapple cakes may be creeping into the trend soon, and you can be the trend setter! ;-)

Ola to Portuguese pastries from Chipmonky

Say Ola (or Hello in Portuguese) to the newly opened bakery, Chipmonky in the happening neighborhood of Pulau Tikus in Penang.

The new bakery, which was officially opened on a Sunday, the 27th of April 2014, welcomed their customers to visit the newly renovated place (formerly Maxim's) and to sample their bread and pastries on the opening day.

There is much reason for Chipmonky to be proud with their products; which hailed all the way from Portugal as the owners are excited to introduce their specialities in bread, cakes, pastries from the country. It would definitely be a first; as the closest we have probably gotten to with Portuguese pastries were the famous egg tarts, and with a whole bakery dedicated to making all these specialties from Portugal, it is something Penangites can look forward to.

While I was not there on the opening day, I dropped by on the following Sunday in the evening and it was fortunate I did, as I had the opportunity to meet up with one of the friendly owner; Luis, and his wife, Fatima.
Started by Luis and his Malaysian friend as a joint venture, Chipmonky strives to deliver the best cakes and pastries with most of their ingredients being imported from Portugal, and their products are guaranteed to be fresh every day; a promise that they made to keep up the reputation of this trendy new bakery.

It was his passion for baking which led Luis to take the step to move towards owning this bakery, following his stay in Malaysia for the past two years. As they were deciding on the location for their first outlet, Luis knew that he would want it to be in Penang, an island which stole his heart during his stay here since he moved from Portugal and it would be the perfect location, close to home.
There would be further plans to expand their business, of course, and the owners are definitely pumped with energy and enthusiasm to make Chipmonky a success.



The shop was still undergoing minor renovations; all proudly done by Luis and his team while simultaneously keeping the shop up with the daily operations since its opening. Minor touch ups and re-design can be seen in the shop, which was formerly a Maxim's bakery, to inject a fresh image and an identity which is truly Chipmonky's very own.

It is interesting to note that there were many cakes, pastries and even bread available in the outlet; many of which are unique and branded as Chipmonky's very own creations.
Chipmonky had even started to take orders for their cakes, and Luis was busy delivering and making cakes for his customers; which is definitely a promising start to the bakery which was only opened a week ago.

I was there in the evening on a Sunday, and many of their items were already sold out by the time I was there. Luis took his time to share with me his story, and also introduced the famous items from his country.







The famous Portuguese Egg Tarts were one of their recommended items; priced at MYR2.80 each





Portuguese Chocolate Muffins (MYR6.80)



Portuguese Homemade Rice Cakes

We bought their recommended items; which were reputed to be famous in Portugal and proudly Chipmonky's.

The Portuguese Egg Tart was truly one that was rich with the dense egg custard and firm yet flaky crust. It does not crumble easily, and was a delightful treat; unique from the usual Portuguese egg tarts we get. Well, one can definitely raise the bar when this is made by a Portuguese himself, right?







The other item which Chipmonky is proud of, is the Portuguese Sponge Cake.
Gigantic in size compared to the usual sponge cake, this version packs a soft fluffy version of the usual sponge cake but with a sweet sticky cream in it as well.



According to Luis, the weight of the sponge cake can determine the amount of cream in the cake. Some may prefer more of the cream, while some may not want too much of the cream which can be deemed to be a little too sweet.






Generally, the Portuguese have a sweet tooth which can make most of their pastries a little sweeter than that of the local Malaysian taste.
Luis is aware of that and he is customizing his pastries to suit the local taste; while at the same time maintaining the authenticity of the Portuguese origins.

Chipmonky do take orders for cakes, and you can bring your desired designs or photos to the shop to request for the cake to be designed to your preference.
Prices may appear to be slightly on the high side, but this is due to the fresh and imported high-quality ingredients from Portugal, Belgium, and other countries in alignment with Chipmonky's mission to deliver the best for their customers.

With a unique, not to mention catchy name like Chipmonky and the interesting arrival of Portuguese pastries to our shores, it would be definitely something to entice the taste buds of the Penangites.

After all, Penang island is the first location selected by the owners to introduce this interesting spread all the way from Portugal, and that is indeed something we ought to be proud of :-)

I look forward to the success of Chipmonky, for hail Penangites, we have something different to look out for in our local bakeries!~

(With Luis on the right, my special thanks for his time in explaining and sharing about his passion and pastries)





Note: 
This is not a sponsored post and I am not affiliated with Chipmonky.
This is based on my personal experience and opinion.

Taiwan Food Diary: Brown Sugar Cake

There are plenty to look out for while in Taipei, from the local eateries to the street food, there is no end to the varieties staring and beckoning to you from every corner and alley while in the city. It is almost synonymous to that of my own country, where the food never seems to take a break or go to sleep at all; perhaps even more so back in my country where you could wake up in the middle of the night feeling hungry and you are still able to dispel that quickly by popping to those late night to early morning eateries everywhere (that's Malaysia for you).

In my food diary, the trails of the food and the types of food will be shared along the way; hand in hand with the updates from my travel blog which shares on all the places visited, with a quick note of my personal perspectives during the journey to each and every site.

The morning where we visited Longshan Temple, and then wound up checking out the streets nearby; which had a bustling morning market in action, beckoning to the early birds' crowd.



It is interesting that while I don't frequent the markets (morning or night) back in my hometown, I ended up doing the exact opposite when I am in a foreign country; but in my defense, this was supposed to be something that the locals do around here, and hey, somehow everything seems fun when you are traveling? (I doubt I will have that same enthusiasm to do the same thing back here, but I might try, once in a while).
I was interested to capture and watch the typical or usual scenes which take place in the neighborhood, and all these seems like what the locals enjoyed on a regular basis.
Besides, their morning market was not exactly similar as it seemed more like a street filled with eateries on one side of the street while the other are laid with canvas mats with second hand goods for sale.

I spotted this particular stall selling cakes, buns, and baked goods, which caught my eye, as there were many items which were really fascinatingly unique and they were mostly meant for deities worship (remember the Longshan temple was nearby?)



The way to tell the goods were meant for worship is to look out for red patterns or red wordings or dot; yeah, the key word here being something red on the buns, or cakes. Red is considered an auspicious color and the Chinese dwell on this; and it is practiced by all of them in every corner of the world (yes, wherever you go).



There are inscriptions of well-wishes or meaningful words on the buns usually; such as prosperity, wealth, luck, longevity and such in red that makes them unmistakably the items for the deity worship.
Most of these can be consumed; although it would help to check with the seller if you are unsure.
The lady running the stall was quite friendly; though not with that beaming smile but she was quite soft-spoken and kind enough to answer some of our questions. She even recommended some cakes for us to try; and I ended up picking this.




It costs about TWD$20-30 per packet; which contained 4 pieces.
The description says that this is a Brown sugar cake; made without eggs or any dairy products.
The main ingredients are rice flour, brown sugar, water, and rising sugar.




Brown sugar is typically associated with dispelling heat/toxins from the body; as compared to the usual white sugar, or so as believed by some of the elders. Another reason it is also favored in baking is due to the light fragrant scent from the brown sugar itself, which added a little bit more flavor to the baking.



The cake, was surprisingly quite dense and it tasted like an entire block of brown sugar with rice flour. Taste wise, I wouldn't say it was too bad, if you are a fan of cakes and non-dairy stuffs, this would be quite an interesting try, though not so much for the non-gluten folks.



The cake was also topped with a fair scattering of sesame seeds, to add to the taste.
There were also no preservative included in the cake; nor is there any artificial coloring, and we were told that the cake should be consumed within the very same day (recommended). If not, it should be refrigerated immediately, and even then, it's best to consume it within a day or two.

Not a bad try, though I think we may be able to find this back home, maybe not in the same texture or taste. It should not be hard for baker enthusiasts to be able to simulate or even innovate this simple recipe?

Christmas Cakes

Christmas celebrations begin every year after the midnight vigil mass and rounds of cheers, hugs, kisses and warm wishes are passed from one to another.
The presents and chattering takes place after, followed by a feast!
Oh yes, even at the chimes of the clock at midnight and where strict dieters may frown upon, we enjoyed our indulgence and most importantly the family time.
In recent years, our Christmas celebrations have been graced by the beautiful and exquisitely made cakes and pastries by our lovely and aspiring family baker, and in case you are wondering, it was not me :-)

Her cakes were crafted with details and love, as she works her way to bake these cakes for the family.

This year's we were treated with a sinful and decadent chocolate fudge walnut cake, adorned with wild berries and red currants atop the melting goodness of choc.

Berry Choc-a-licious (my little name for the cake)



An exotic combination and a picture of sinful temptation, it was a cake which melted everyone's heart besides melting in the mouth, that is.

The star was definitely the cake, but the next little goodies did share that fair bit of the limelight as they managed to squeak out a few squeals of delight when they appeared (oh, mainly from me :-)

Sweet Berry Chiffon Cakes



These are mini chiffon cakes; a close spin-off cousin of the Hokkaido cakes but I am liking this more.
Topped with strawberries (my all-time favorite!), almonds and playfully decorated with the rich chocolate (again) - this is yet another delightful and light treat.






With beautiful and enchanting little treats of goodness like these, who minds that extra few pounds or just letting the hair down for just one night, right?
And what is Christmas without the sweet treats, family time, laughter, and catching up?

All the more reason to love Christmas besides the birth of Christ....
Happy Birthday Jesus!



P.S: Thank you dearest Elyn for your wonderful efforts :-)

Osaka Cake

I didn't mean to take a break away last week, but I was tied up with a lot of stuffs and I was also experiencing some technical difficulties with both my software and hardware that was somehow causing a lot of problems when I was trying to post entries into my blog, well, a long story.

I will start with a simple post; to introduce this extremely popular cake from Japan which can be found in some of our local bakeries of late; the Osaka cake.

I have previously posted about this cake earlier this year (read it here).

When I was in KL, there is this local bakery that I like and I did know the boss quite well which was quite a plus as she would often introduce me to the newest items available for sale in the bakery whenever their creative juices flow.

Their recent addition is this Osaka cake.

The soft sponge cake may appear a little like cheese cake from appearance; and there is a layer of fresh and light cream in the middle (a little like the cream puff) which just oozes into the mouth when you take that bite.



Comparing to the other version of Osaka cake I have tried previously, this is a slightly more moist and softer version and it is supposed to taste better chilled.
There is also less amount of cream in this version; which makes it more appealing.



Have you come across this cake before?
What are your thoughts on this?

They Come Wrapped in Leaves

While we have various Western cakes made of flour, sugar and butter, our local cakes of varying culture breeds incorporate their very own resources and hold a history back to the past.
Most of the local Malaysian kueh; which are bite or snack-sized cakes, come from a diversity of cultural backgrounds and each of the race and ethnicity living in this country has their very own culinary delights to offer and they just blended in harmony with each other.

Many of the kueh came from their origins from the mix of the culture; particularly the Peranakan which was a mix between the Malay and Chinese from the foreign settlement in the straits in history. This gave birth to the introduction of the breed of both unique culinary delights to form what we see in the many varieties of food we have here today; making the country Malaysia a world-famous food paradise.

What is there more to say, when we have so much to choose from for a simple meal of breakfast, or lunch, or dinner? There is no wonder that Malaysians are often found enjoying a drink or a snack at any time of the day; and it is true, if you are a tourist traveling to Malaysia, you will be amazed to see the many stalls open at all odd hours and it is like the people never stop eating!

Alright, back to the kueh, I have introduced many different local kueh/cakes in my many posts previously and today, I have a list of kueh which I have had the chance to learn about them recently as I visit a relative's house after the Qing Ming festival in the previous post.
These kueh/cakes, are unique in their own ways as they come wrapped in their leaves.

Yes, banana leaves or lotus leaves are usually favorites or preferred wrappers for the cakes due to its natural fragrant aroma emitted which gives an additional appetizing flavor to the cakes.

Kuih Kochi (or Koci) is a traditional Malay kueh/cake which is made of glutinous rice and is rather sticky in its form.

The color of the cake is usually dark or dull; or sometimes white (recent variant) on the outside, but inside is stuffed with a sweet filling of grated coconut with brown sugar.
This version of the cake; even scattered a little of the filling to fill the surface of the cake.


This traditional Kueh is rather popular in states along the East Coast of Malaysia; but can also be found around the country and in our neighboring countries like Singapore and Indonesia.
The older community passed down this sweet delight, but sadly, it is no longer found in abundance as in the past although there are many recipes out there in the cyber world sharing the way to make this cake.
It is also unique that this cake is known as a Passover cake; or a type of dumpling among the foreigners in the country and is often seen at funerals. The dark color of the kueh symbolizes the solemnity of death while the sweet filling offers hope of resurrection.
As mentioned, the cake is popular from its origin and though for many reasons it is consumed, it still remains a delightful snack for many especially when spotted at roadside stalls/carts selling traditional cakes.
In fact, there is poetic song/saying from the East coast singing praises for this cake whereby it describes the simplicity and sweetness of the cake which makes it a suitable snack for the toothless elders.
"Ada sejenis kuih tiga segi.... Di luar tepung di dalamnya inti... Makanan orang tiada bergigi..."


The following cake is probably an adaptation from the famous Vietnamese Banh Tet; or a type of sticky rice cake originating from Vietnam and is highly popular in the country including Thailand and Cambodia.
It is rarely found here; although it can also be an innovative twist of flavor to our local cakes.


Whatever it is, this is a sticky rice; probably made of sticky glutinous rice again and wrapped in banana leaves.
Like most of the local cakes, what differentiates each of their type is the filling and the flavor inside the cake and this is creatively made into three small mounds and tied in two parts to create the three small partitioned mounds.



The filling of the cake is sweet banana; cut into large slices and stuffed into the sticky rice.
A rather unique type of cake, I must say.




The Bak Chang; or the glutinous rice dumpling is a common type of dumpling found among the Chinese community as it originates from China.
Contrary to its sweet dessert-like dumpling counterparts above, the Bak Chang is one that is filled with pork or chicken meat, and the glutinous rice is fried with condiments like nuts, mushrooms till it is brown and fragrant.
The dumpling is then wrapped with lotus leaves; to add to the aroma of the taste of the glutinous rice and meat.



The dumpling can be found in stalls around Malaysia, but it is extremely popular during the fifth month of the Lunar calendar when the Chinese community celebrates the double fifth festival; known as the Duan Wu Jie or the Dumpling Festival/Dragon Boat Festival which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese Lunar calendar.


I have posted on this Bak Chang before, but expect to see more details of this dumpling when the festival comes again:)

Salty, sweet, and the different filling in the cakes just creates the whole new varieties of local delights available in the country, and how can Malaysians ever tire of eating when the list of food is just endless?