Braised Rice (Man Fan)

When I was leaving in Kuala Lumpur, I enjoy this dish that we can easily get in the chinese restaurant called 'Man Fan'. It's literary means Braised Rice. Since I won't be able to find this dish in US, I decided to try to make it myself. In terms of taste, it's not really the same as the ones in Malaysia but it is close enough. This is because, I put in more seafood in it. It's still very hearty and I hope you will enjoy making it.

Ayara Thai Sauce

Leaving Malaysia 3 years ago, i never thought i will miss Malaysia food this much. When i was in Malaysia, i always take things for granted because i can easily get all the kuih-muih (cakes/snacks) and wonderful hawker foods everywhere. To make things worse, whenever i went back to my hometown Penang, all I did was open my mouth and request whatever dishes that I wanted to eat then I would have my grandmama and my aunties getting all busy in the kitchen cooking all of my favourite dishes. I know I know, I'm pretty spoiled. What do you expect, I was my grandmama first grandchild for a very long time before my cousins were born like 12 years later. So i am that little princess at home!

Since I am married to my husband and settling down here in California, I have no choice but to learn how to create all those wonderful dishes that I adore. I do enjoy cooking even when I was back in Malaysia but I never thought that I would be able to cook difficult dishes like Penang Prawn Noodle and stuff like that. With the location I am staying right now, there is no way i can get authentic Malaysia food. My only solution is to learn and experiment in the kitchen to recreate those flavors that I was once enjoyed back home.

Tom Yum Soup - Picture from Ayara Thai Cuisine

Besides Malaysia food, I love love LOVE Thai food. I used to have Tom Yum twice a week from a Malay stall near my home. On top of that, I have a relative who is from Songkla, Thailand. So, you can imagine how lucky I was back then to be able to taste all these wonderful foods prepared by someone who actually knew exactly what they were doing.

Yesterday, I received a wonderful package from a dear friend, Bchoo from Gourmand's Simple Pleasures She had asked her friend from LA. California who is the owner of Ayara Thai Cuisine to send me freshly made Thai Sauce. They do sell it online. You can check it out here. I was very touched by her gesture that I couldn't help but cry while reading the message she had for me together with these wonderful gifts. With the sauces now I can try to create wonderful Thai dishes that I absolutely enjoy. I like the fact the sauce is freshly made in their kitchen everyday with no preservatives. This is awesome because I love my food/ stuff to be as fresh as possible. So, Bchoo, Thank you so much for this wonderful gift. I love it!

As for the rest of the readers that are not really into cooking or just looking for some Thai food in LA California, Fear not. Ayara Thai not only produce their own sauce and sell it online, but you can also visit their wonderful restaurant in LA. Check out their website here . You can also check out their facebook page here

Ayara Thai Cuisine located
6245 West 87th Street, 
Los Angeles, California 90045

Phone: 310-410 8848

Operatiing Hours
Mon - Thu:10:30 am-10:00 pm
Fri:10:30 am-12:00 am
Sat:11:00 am-12:00 am
Sun:11:00 am-10:00 pm

**Mention that you're their Facebook fan during Happy Hour (weekdays between 3 to 6pm for additional 10% off

**All opinions written are 100% honest. I am not affiliated with Ayara Thai Cuisine. The products were a gift from my dear friend for personal use.

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