Just Heavenly Christmas Stollen.

"What's a Stollen?" I asked.

"The best way to describe a Stollen is, it's a half bread half cake," says a fellow one2two-er.

And that's not very far from how Wikipedia describes it: 'A Stollen is a loaf shaped fruitcake, powdered with icing sugar on the outside. The cake is usually made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices. Stollen is a traditional German cake, usually eaten during the Christmas season, when called Weihnachtsstollen or Christstollen...'

Through further reading, you'll discover that a Stollen is made to look like a swaddled up baby Jesus. And the tradition of baking a Stollen dates back to the 15th century in Dresden, Germany.

These Stollens, however, are made by the 'Just Heavenly' duo of Allan Yap and Nigel A. Skelchy, right here in their Bangsar house at No 47, Jalan Terasek, Bangsar Baru, KL (Tel: 603-2287 9866).

The icing is a lemon zest glaze, and has an optional marzipan (almond paste) center. Priced at RM32 each.

Now you don't have to fly to Europe for extra Christmas cheer.

Warming Up Winter Solstice.

Winter Solstice. The westerners call it a pagan holiday. The Chinese, we call it Koh Toong, which is literally translated as 'the passing of winter'.

And, most 'westernised' Chinese around the world, will not know that Koh Toong calls for a bigger-scale celebration compared to the Chinese New Year.

Koh Toong is a day when family members return home for dinner, to celebrate the passing of a barren, freezing cold winter, (applies even if you're in an all-year-round summer place like Malaysia), and dig in to some homemade Tong Yuen (Glutinous Rice Balls served in light sugar syrup and ginger soup).

Intentionally named, Tong Yuen sounds like, in Mandarin, 'annual reunion'.

In fact, the hot, sweet, ginger soup and the hand kneaded, smooth textured, glutinous rice flour balls, will warm you up real good, in anticipation of the warmer, happier days of forthcoming spring.

The Ming Room, BSC.

The Ming Room has a thing going for horses. They have cartoon-ish horses imprinted on the walls. And mini terracotta horses as well.

It was definitely grand enough a setting to host the wedding dinner of the decade - congratulations, once again, to Mr. & Mrs. Ong - it was an excellent evening of glorious Chinese cuisine, and a highly momentous celebration of love. (In no particular order).

The first of my 3 hot favourites for the night - The thinly crepe-wrapped crispy Peking Duck with spring onion and sweet sauce dip....

Then there's the remainder of the duck, and duck liver, diced, stir fried, accompanied by fresh, juicy, lettuce leaves for a healthy wrap...

And finally, the Smoked Free Range Chicken that tasted a little like smoked ham - totally unforgettable.

I was very hungry then, but was secretly glad I didn't have to eat a horse, at The Ming Room, T109 & 111A, 3rd Floor, West Wing, Bangsar Shopping Centre. Tel: 603-2284 8822. (Non-halal).

Fish Head Noodles.

If you've clicked on even after reading the title, then you must either be a big fan of fish head noodles, or you're just curious as a cat.

Well, here are my current top 2 Fish Head Noodles:

Bowl No.1 is the Woo Pin Fish Head Noodles of Ho A One Seafood Restaurant, Jalan 1/109F, Taman Danau Desa, KL (opposite S. K. Danau Perdana).

Bowl No. 2 is the Win Soon Fish Head Noodles of Ah Soon Fish Head Mee, 46, Jalan Kuchai Maju 9, Entrepreneurs Park, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, KL.

Which one takes the title of the Best of the Best Fish Head Noodles? The debate is ongoing... try them both and email me about what you think at live4danow@gmail.com

Mee Rebus Ramli.

There is no long, complicated story attached to the name of this restaurant. It belongs to the Ramli family. And their specialty is Mee Rebus - literally translated as 'Boiled Noodles'.

And true enough, the noodles are neither fried nor braised. Just boiled, for probably 10 seconds or more.

But, there's really nothing simple about this Mee Rebus. The special not-too-spicy-but-delicious-as-hell sauce that's poured over the noodles, complemented by a fresh lime that's squeezed on by yourself, garnished by sliced potatoes, fried fitters, cubes of fried beancurd, chopped spring onions, fried shallots and cut chillies, is – uniquely Ramli's.

Other Mee Rebus that you find across Malaysia, (except for the other 2 Mee Rebus Ramli, also located strategically across Ipoh), will not have the same light, refreshing taste that Mee Rebus Ramli offers.

Apart from the must-try Mee Rebus, there's the Ayam Goreng (Fried Chicken) to share among your fellow one2two-ers.

The addresses to the 3 Mee Rebus Ramli are:

767, Taman Tasek Jaya, Jalan Kuala Kangsar, Ipoh, Perak (main) • Tel: 605-547 2026 (7am - 10pm).

28, Jalan Raja Ekram, Ipoh, Perak • Tel: 605-243 7203 (8am - 10pm).

116A, Persiaran Perpaduan Utara 1, Taman Bercham Raya, Ipoh • Tel: 605-547 5092 (3pm - 12am).

The one I went to sits right across the historical Shaw Brothers building... and that's a truly long, complicated story.

Mum's Sawn Poon Cheer (Abacus Beads).

Everytime mum cooks yam for dinner, I'd know that we'll be having her Hakka specialty Yam Abacus Beads for breakfast the next day, and probably for one2two too.

What she does is add tapioca flour to the leftover yam, kneads the mix into long strips of dough, breaks them into little cubes, hand-roll them into mini balls and expertly presses the middle (of each and every one of them mini balls) with her thumb and index finger to form the abacus beads.

(It's so easy and so much fun, we kids love to join in).

Next, she drops the yam abacus beads into a pot of boiling water. And scoops them up when they emerge on the water surface.

Mum then places the cooked abacus beads onto an oiled, hot wok, add in stir-fried minced pork, mini dried scallops and mushroom strips. She'll work the wok till sauce thickens slightly, sprinkle some freshly chopped spring onions, and it's ready to serve.

The secret to a delicious bowl of Hakka Yam Abacus Beads is the portion of yam and tapioca flour, as well as the strength applied in the kneading of the dough.

You'd know it's perfect when the overall texture is smooth, and they're 'bouncy' with each chew.

But it's difficult to find good Yam Abacus Beads these days. And soon it'll be yet another lost treasure if nobody takes the trouble to learn from their mums.

There'll be a shortage of mathematicians.

And we'll all lose our ability to count.

Or so says my mum when we don't eat Yam Abacus Beads.

But well, what does she know, right?

Lau Kau Meat Bone Tea.

Meat Bone Tea is a literal translation of Bak Kut Teh, a name in Hokkien dialect that spells out a pot of meaty pork ribs (and other parts of pork) stewed in a potent soup of mixed Chinese herbs. (It's a local cuisine that varies in 'style' with each different vendor).

And strangely enough, Lau Kau is translated from Hokkien to Old Monkey in English.

Back to Bak Kut Teh... it's usually served in a claypot because a claypot is known to retain heat for a longer period of time, hence it helps to bring out the flavour of the meat and herbs onto the soup.

The Lau Kau version of Bak Kut Teh is one that's clear souped and not overpowering on the herbs. Plus, they also have the lip-smacking, thick and 'dry' Claypot Stewed Pork as well.

Now for the tricky bit... to locate Lau Kau, you'd have to look for an old restaurant that's hidden at the end of Jalan Segambut Tengah. Directions: Turn left from the main Segambut road at the RHB Bank junction, follow the road till you see an open space with a simple structure for shelter, right next to where the Genting's helipad used to be.

Well, most of the time, half the fun is in the hunt, and the reward will appear like a pot of gold.

Among many other dishes to add on or size up, the Kai Choi (Chinese Mustard Greens) Rice is worth checking out, albeit steamed white rice is the obvious choice to complement Meat Bone Tea.