When I lived in the Far East. I was always impressed with the efforts made to make dishes attractive.They do say you eat with your eyes as well as your mouth. I am sure you  all know and have seen, tomato roses.carrot flowers ,but I always liked the little woven yam baskets,filled with all sorts of goodies.It was very simple to make and you can vary the size to suit.You will need a deep fat fryer and two metal seives,one which fits inside the larger.The method as follows:

Peel the Yam/Sweet Potato/Potato and cut into thin strips season strips with cornflower and salt and put to one side for 20-25 minutes. Heat Oil. Arrange the strips around the larger seive and press the smaller seive or bowl in place to form a nest.Fry in hot oil for5-10 minutes,drain on kitchen roll. You can if you want to be artistic weave the strips before frying.The filling is up to you ..Bon Appetit.

I have lots of Chineses/Malay/Thai recipies if you would like? From my wifes cookbook that she gathered during our travels.

Hi Shelly,

 Malaysian food is a combination of all the ethnic races that make up Malaya .So you have Chinese,noodles,ginger,garlic,chinese veg. Indian spices,Thai lemon grass,lime leaves,Lots of chillies.coconut,mango etc. combine that lot with Prawns,fish pork beef chicken and duck.As the old saying goes," You pays your money and takes your choice"

Living where you do,you will not have any problem getting the ingredients,might be a bit different in the "Boonnies". I'll look some up and post one a week or so,do not want to swamp suzannes blog

OK Shelly, I am having to decipher my beloved's handwriting,she was a Doctor and you know they are trained to write like a drunken spider.Its from 45 years ago,so Im having to interpret some of the ingredients,fortunately, a lot of towns/cities have Chinese retail stores,or its obtainable thro the internet,but I will add alternatives/substitutes as appropriate.With regards to Malaysian recipies some dishes require things like Belachan,(Dried Shrimp Paste) Tamerind etc,for which I don't believe we will find a substitute,but lets see how we go.I will start with basic easy dishes,

PS. Nothing in this world is new!! Ive just found out a dish called "Chinese Crullers" with a dipping sauce