During one of my weekly grocery shopping trips to my favourite Japanese food store, I was browsing through the condiments isle and right next to the pasta sauces I saw a packet of this “Spicy Cod Roe Spaghetti Sauce” by S&B (Makers of the popular ‘Golden Curry’ range and wasabi sauce). This was a new concept to me, and the thought of some ‘caviar’ infused pasta excited me so I bought it.

A quick glance at the ingredients and cooking instructions:

The instructions were very simple, just like preparing instant noodles. There was one minor problem though- I didn’t have any pasta in my pantry but I had some Udon, so I used those instead. How could you go wrong with Udon anyway? It’s Japanese as well so I figured a happy marriage would be the outcome of the two ingredients together.

The Spicy Cod Roe Sauce packet contained two separate servings which meant I could save the other serving for a rainy day. =) There are two different seasoning sachets; the red and silver contained the cod roe sauce, while the black and silver contained shredded seaweed garnish.

Here is a closer look at the Spicy Cod Roe Sauce when applied onto the cooked Udon – It’s bright orange, has thousands of tiny egg sacs, and a tart, fishy smell. It would put some people off but I didn’t mind it.

I mixed the sauce in well with the Udon, then sprinkled the seaweed garnish on top. So here’s the verdict: Delicious. It tasted EXACTLY like Taramosalata. It’s both salty and tart, and very fishy. As for the ‘Spicy” factor, maybe a 1/10. I have to say it’s an acquired taste. But if you like Taramosalata then you’d love this. The Udon matches the sauce well, and it absorbs more flavour than regular pasta so I’ll probably use Udon next time, but I’m also open to trying it with regular pasta. Although the egg sacs were visible, the sauce itself wasn’t grainy. This dish was a winner, and I’ll definitely be buying more “Spicy Cod Roe Spaghetti Sauce” in the near future. =) Tasty!

The Delicatessen Bake Shop at the Hyatt Hotel in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, has been around as long as the hotel itself (In other words, decades). My mum used to buy me treats here when I was really young and as far as I can remember, I was never disappointed with the goodies that came out of this bake shop.

Only recently a friend of mine told me about their famous Asam Pedas or Hot and Sour Oxtail Puff. To combine french puff pastry with a local delicacy, how could I possibly NOT sample this? I made a quick dash to the Hyatt to investigate this for myself. Upon entering the shop, I asked the lady and she directed me to a glass display cabinet and lo-behold! There they were… At RM7.90 a pop, they had to be good!

I purchased one Oxtail puff and took it home for some serious analysing… And yes I measured it with a ruler, and it was a good 20cm in length! Don’t mind the lack of presentation, but the oxtail puff was bulging with a delicious meaty content waiting to be consumed!

I proceeded to slice the Oxtail puff in half and thanks to a good macro lens, I was able to capture a steaming close-up of the hot and sour Oxtail goodness inside the puff pastry.

The verdict? Everything I expected and more. The puff pastry was flaky on the outside yet was soft and buttery when bitten into. The pastry contrasted well with the sour and spicy flavours the Oxtail was cooked in. As for the Oxtail, it was cooked to perfection. Extremely tender but with a bit of bite, the meat itself wasn’t too chopped-up and minced. There were generous large chunks of delicious Oxtail in the puff.

I’m definitely going back for more. I reckon the Oxtail Puff would be great for tea-parties – you can pre-order in advance from The Delicatessen and they can bake them fresh for any function. Totally scrumptious!