My H Gourmet takeaway package

At the start of the lockdown period in May dubbed MCO 3.0, I received a WhatsApp message from Dr H which simply read, “Thinking of you and your mum.”

My H Gourmet takeaway package

We exchanged messages in a brief chat where I told her that we were obediently staying home and that we would be going out the next day because my mum had a scheduled appointment to receive her second dose of vaccination.

As our chat drew to a close, I was pleasantly surprised when she said, “Want to send you some sous vide food.”

Dr Sharifah Halimah Jaafar is fondly called Dr H of H Gourmet, a sous vide themed café at Taman Eko Botani, near Educity in Iskandar Puteri, that serves a menu of perfectly cooked, nutrient rich, healthy food in easy gourmet meals.

Dr H wisely guessed that I would need some help with preparing meals in the next few days and thoughtfully offered to send me a package of food from H Gourmet.

 

The gift package was tied up with string!

I graciously accepted her kind offer and eagerly anticipated the delivery of their calorie-controlled meals provided in chilled, ready-to-eat takeaways, along with tender sous vide products with easy-to-prepare reheating instructions.

From my previous experience at H Gourmet, I also liked the chilled salad takeaways, packed in tall see-through jars dubbed, Hurry Jars.

I remember enjoying the flavours of two tasty Hurry Jar salads and hoped that the gift package would include these refreshing salads.

Vacuum-packed ready-to-eat food items

The phrase sous vide in French, means ‘under vacuum’ and this is a low-temperature cooking method where food is vacuum-sealed and cooked slowly in a water bath.

The sous vide method uses heated water, well below simmering temperature, to gently cook food so that it stays juicy and full of flavour.

I recalled that their sous vide products included seafood like de-shelled prawns, fillet of salmon, seabass and saba fish, meats like lamb chops, and poultry like duck breast, chicken breast and chicken chops.

Vacuum-packed sous vide Chicken Breast
prepared in Korean Spicy sauce

H Gourmet has been providing convenient takeaways during the lockdown periods, and I was happy to receive my gift package provided in a cardboard box and a paper bag, kindly delivered by H Gourmet’s Business Manager, Jamie Au.

It was fun to open the box and discover ready-to-eat gourmet meals that came with step-by-step reheating instructions for Chicken Roulade, Salmon steak, Japanese Ishiyaki Seafood Cha Soba and Garlic Fried Multigrain Rice with Chicken Breast.

This was really useful. I could keep them chilled and prepare each dish as and when I decided to eat them.

The package included two Hurry Jars!

Inside the bag, there were two Ready-to-Eat vacuum-packed sous vide chicken breasts in Korean Spicy flavour, a jar of Apple Cinnamon Jam and two Hurry Jars one labelled Avocado & Sous Vide Chicken Salad while the other was Tuna Pasta.

I quickly sent a message to thank Dr H for her generous gift package because these easy-to-prepare food items has taken the thinking out of my meal-planning for the next few meals.

After I had put everything into the refrigerator, I went to bed with this one less thing on my mind.

Apple Cinnamon Jam on my buttered toast

For breakfast the next morning, I did not hesitate to open the jar of the Apple Cinnamon Jam to spread on my toast. 

Mum and I were delighted to discover that its taste was reminiscent of the filling in my friend, Kak Mariam’s famous Apple Pie.

The two Hurry Jars filled with Avocado & Sous Vide Chicken Pasta and Tuna Pasta Salad, each with its own salad dressings, were just right to enjoy for lunch on a hot and humid day.

While I was unpacking the gift package, I remembered seeing two Vouchers enclosed… but where are they now?

Salads from two Hurry Jars for lunch!

I must track them down to use and enjoy a discount on my bill when I am next at H Gourmet to shop for my stock of gourmet meals to savour while I stayed home to stay safe.

H Gourmet, a Muslim-friendly café, is at No. 35 Jalan Eko Botani 3/4, Taman Eko Botani, 79100 Iskandar Puteri, Johor. Tel: +6011 1618 8124.

Open daily from 11am to 9pm. Cakes and Desserts served from 2.30pm to 4pm. Closed on Thursdays.

For more info, visit Facebook page: hgourmet.my or webpage: www.gwsmalaysia.com