Dukkah Prawn Salad

We went for a life comedy act a week ago at PJ Live Arts at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya and it was brilliant. Besides having a good laugh that night we had a delicious bite at the Bees which located just outside the ground floor of the theatre. I felt great about this place, newly with simple deco, warmly spacious and part of the wall was filled with awesome earthen red bricks, definitely a great place to chill out and to have a nice cup of coffee over a chat.

There were four of us that night and we decided to share the starters and had our own individual main course. First plate arrived on the table was this lovely dukkah prawn salad and I know a few of us will definitely like it, well I am one of the dukkah fan. I stumbled upon this fascinating dukkah two years ago when I was reading cooking blogs and this spice blend can be found in Egypt, finding it infused in our food can be really exciting. This unique and fragrant spice blend consist of toasted and pounded hazelnut, coriander seeds, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, mint leaves and salt. I usually have this spice blend with pitta bread coated with olive oil and can be very appetising and the rest liked it. The prawns were well coated with dukkah and truly enhance the taste of the fresh salad.

Roasted Spiced Pumpkin and Couscous Salad

The bowl of roasted spiced pumpkin and couscous salad was just right in front of me and the bright orangy colour of the pumpkin truly caught my eyes. It was so beautiful and I was so tempted to have it all by myself but we had to share. The pumpkin was so well roasted, sweet in taste and the chef had couscous drizzled on top. It was a nice pleasant salad, something different and I would say very refreshing.

Roast Spiced Pumpkin and Couscous Salad
Serves: 4-6 persons

200 g cooked instant couscous
500 g mesclun salad leaves, washed and spun dry
500 g roast pumpkin (see recipe below)
Mint Mustard dressing (see recipe below)
4 tbsp hazelnuts (roasted and chopped roughly)

Roast Pumpkin
½ butternut pumpkin (approximately 500g)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
100 ml canola oil

Mix the above ingredients together and place in a single layer in a tray and bake in the oven at 190?C for 15 minutes until al dente.

Mint Mustard Dressing
½ bunch mint leaves
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
50 ml white wine vinegar
1 tbsp molasses
120 ml olive oil

Place mint leaves, mustard, vinegar and molasses in a running blender. Drizzle the oil in a steady flow until an emulsion forms.
To assemble the salad, toss the salad leaves, pumpkin, couscous and dressing together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with the roasted hazelnuts.

Fried Prawns with Thai Nahm Jin Dipping Sauce

Having something with a light bite, the fried prawns with Thai “nahm jin” dipping sauce was ordered and it was really nice. The fresh prawns nicely coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried were finely done left with a refreshing crunchy texture and taste. While the sweet sauce complimented the prawns well, I just love how it was done to my liking.

The Bee Burger

As for the mains, I got too excited with the beeburger patties, such heavenly thick patty with great awesome texture. I wish I can make such lovely patties at home, I was wondering if they can share the recipe too. I was salivating when I saw the aioli dripping over the patty, just awesome and the additional layer of bacon was absolutely gorgeous. Definitely a good burger!

The Beeburger
Makes: 6 burgers

6 Swiss burger buns
Homemade aioli (see recipe below)
6 Burger Patties (see recipe below)
6 cornichons, sliced
6 rashers of fried beef bacon
12 lettuce leaves
2 tomatoes, sliced

Homemade aioli
Makes: 300 ml

2 egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
3 tsp white wine vinegar
250 ml sunflower oil
1 clove garlic, finely grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the egg yolks, mustard and vinegar in a mixing bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. While whisking, pour in the oil in a steady stream and the sauce will begin to thicken. When the oil has been incorporated, season with the grated garlic.

Burger Patties
200 g Beef eye fillet
200 g Beef brisket
400 g Beef sirloin
100 g Beef fat from sirloin
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 whole onion, diced
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp salt (levelled)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Saute the diced onions and garlic in oil until soft but not coloured. Chill this mixture.
Clean the meat and remove any sinew or tendon from the meat. Using a clean meat grinder, feed alternating types of cuts, to ensure a thorough mix.
Mix the meat mince very well before mixing in the chilled onion mixture and paprika powder. Season. Divide the meat mixture into 150g portions and shape into 1-inch-thick burger patties.
To cook, place the patties on the chargrill for 4 minutes then flip the burger over and continue to grill for 7 minutes. Place a slice of cheese on each patty and leave to melt for another minute.
To assemble the burger, lightly toast the burger buns, spread 1 tbsp of aioli on both tops and bottoms of the buns, layer with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, bacon and cheesy burger patty. Serve immediately.

Chicken Burger

Same goes with the chicken avocado burger, lovely juicy pan fried chicken breast toasted over the sesame bun was perfect executed and the chunks of avocado laced with white sauce was brilliant while the chips keep the guys entertained. The smell coming from the ebi fried burger that I ordered was good, definitely be that burger to fall in love with. While biting into this crunchy and tasty burger can really excite anyone, I was totally aroused by the texture and freshness. It was really different, taste good and definitely my day.

Hueros Rancheros

My neighbour ordered a sizeable wrapped huevos rancheros contain of a crisply corn tortilla wrapped over with bacon, fried egg and salsa. It was such an enjoyable piece of work, excellent taste.

We end the meal with few lovely hot churros over cinnamon sugar and it was really delicious, having just a stick will definitely not stop the cravings. I just like mine crispy on the outside and softly moist on the inside. It was definitely the best churros in town. We were really impressed with the food, this is definitely a place to drop by as the food served is excellent and I managed to get some of the recipes too for sharing.

The Bee
Jaya One
72A Jalan Universiti
46200 Petaling Jaya