Sam's Off to Seoul

Sam' heading to Seoul to be with his wife! :) Jamie suggested Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao for his farewell. It's funny we didn't introduce this restaurant to Sam until his farewell??? It's one of Jamie's, Lin's & my fav noodle & dumpling place. ^.*

There were five of us last night but Jamie's camera shy. :)

















Lin & I love the spring onion noodles and we are always having that. We're capable of being super boring!!! Lol! :))) Unless someone strongly recommends it to us, we rather stick to our usual. We took Jamie's recommendation - spicy chicken la mian. It was pretty good but the serving was kind of big. She also recommended mixed grain rice in hot stone. The only thing for me about this hot stone rice is corns! There were plenty of them! : / Clifford had spicy beef la mian (I didn't snap his noodles cos it was my first time meeting him & it's really weird if I drag his noodles for photoshoot! Lol!)















Btw, the crabmeat with egg white complemented the spring onion noodles. :) Both thumbs up!

And of course we can't do without juicy xiao long bao and spicy dumplings! *.*

The finale of the dinner was radish pastry! :) It was gooood....

Everyone's vey happy Sam's finally able to join his wife in Seoul. We'll give him time to brush up his Korean before visiting them. Perhaps till this coming autumn? :)

Details of Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao:
#04-27 Ngee Ann City
391 Orchard Road
T: +65 6238 1661

Stir Fried Beef Slices with Spring Onion & Ginger

I try to expand our dinner menu a little as I'm bored with our usual homefare. Tonite, we have stir fried beef slices with spring onion & ginger. :) We didn't have ginger at home & so I "borrowed" it from our bestie neighbour, Amy. *.*

Ingredient
250g of beef
A bunch of spring onions
4-5 slices of ginger

Marinade
1/2 tbsp of Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp of light soy sauce
2 tsp of corn flour

Seasoning
1/2 tbsp of Shaoxing wine
1/2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp of seasame oil
1/2 tbsp of corn flour
4 tbsp of water

Method
Mix all the marinade and add the beef slices. Set aside for at least an hour.
Mix all the seasonings and set aside.
Heat some oil in a wok
Fry the ginger and spring onions
Add the marinated beef slices
Add the seasonings
Mix all the ingredient & seasonings well
Serve!

I love the aroma of fried spring onions. The beef slices were oh so tender! It goes extremely well with a bowl of steamed rice! Hm...we're satisfied. ^.*

Nasi Lemak & Durian Feast

Beanie claimed he hasn't seen Wendy & Tina for a long long while. So he invited them & Edwin over for dinner. :) We feasted over nasi lemak & durians! ;)

Prawn & tapioca crackers make excellent pre-dinner snacks. Once you start, you CAN'T STOP??? :O

Here's our nasi lemak spread. About 70%  was home cooked. :))) Novi fried the ikan bilis & sunny side ups, we bought the chilli & shrimp paste off the shelves & mom oven baked the chicken wings & drumlets.

The otahs were from a famous otah shop in Jalan Kayu. The cabbage was fried by Novi. :)

What's nasi lemak without fried fish? Our HK gf, Suet Yee loves them! :) Novi will fry them for her when she's here next month. :) We're so looking forward to having her over at our place. :) Mom bought fish cakes from River South Big Prawn Noodle.

Our fabulous guests. *.*

That's not the end to our dinner! :) Lin wanted mom to make Gula Melaka Sago for dessert. Mom hasn't even try it before and so this was her own version of what she imagined it to be. Lol! :))) She made coconut & pandan agar agar too. :)

The highlight has gotta be durains! They got Koka all excited! :) Thanks Edwin & Wendy for the stinkily sweet treat! :D

Edwin & Wendy always choose the best durians! Yummmmm...

I didn't weigh myself the next morning. I don't wanna know... lol... :)))

Surprise Visit from Roy & Hugo :)

Roy brought Hugo to our place for a surprise visit yesterday. A pity Koka didn't take to Hugo! :(  But what's new? She only loves herself! Lol.

Hugo's a charming, blue eye boy from Australia. *.*

外卖 - River South (Hoe Nam) Big Prawn Noodle

Mom bought me 外卖 for lunch today. It's my fav River South (Hoe Nam) Prawn Noodle. Lin and I will only have dried prawn noodle with broth on the side from this stall.

The prawns are very fresh, big & succulent. The generous topping of scallions enhances the flavour of the noodle & the beansprouts give it extra crunch. I figured alot of pork ribs & prawns must have been used to create such rich & flavourful broth. *.*

Mom was concerned I might not be satisfied with just a bowl of noodle & broth. And she added an extra side, fish cake. :)




























Details of River South (Hoe Nam) Big Prawn Noodle:
31 Tai Thong Crescent
T: 6281 9293

How Not To Love Her?

Though she has an ultra bad temper and is up to mischief 95% of the time, she can be utterly sweet too........Tues was one of those sweet sweet days. It's impossible not to love her???

Was it the drizzle outside which made her wanna get cosy with me? Or was it because there wasn't anyone else at home? Whatever was the reason, I was pretty delighted by her affection. Lol! I was lazing on the sofa and checking for messages on my iPhone. It didn't take long for Koka to make herself comfy on my back and she was soon in dreamland. I just gotta capture the moment. It's priceless. *.*

Fried Mee Siam for Breakfast

Lin introduced me to fried mee siam by Chinta Manis recently & I'm loving it. :) Since we were around the area this morning, we dropped by Chinta Manis for breakfast. One of the great things about living in Singapore is you have a wide selection of food for breakfast to suit different cravings & budget. ^.*

What do I like about the fried mee siam? Well it's not too dry, very flavourful, the shrimps are fresh & the soft tofu cubes give the mee siam a little twist in texture. And, if I may stress, the chilli has ikan bilis in them. :) Lastly, because it's fried, I need not worry about splashing my top/dress with gravy (original mee siam comes with gravy). I'm a pretty clumsy eater. Lol :)))

Details of Chinta Manis:
China Square Food Court
51 Telok Ayer Street #01-03
T: +65 6225 4754
W: http://www.chintamanis.com.sg/

Mung Bean Sheets with Tomatoes, Mushrooms & Sausage Casserole

It's such a rainy Tuesday. :) Wouldn't it be nice if we could have something hot & soupy for lunch? I found a recipe in a Shanghainese Homestyle Cooking cookbook and gave it a try with slight modification. :) The original recipe calls for tomatoes only. But for me, I needed meat. So I added sausages & white button mushrooms to my casserole. ;) This casserole is great if you're having a poor appetite. ^.*

Ingredients

2 fresh tomatoes
1 stalk green onion
40 - 50g mung bean sheets
Some white button mushrooms
2 sausages (sliced)

Seasonings
2 tbsp Ketchup
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 cup water

Method

• Soak mung bean sheets in water till they are soft & blanch with hot water for 3-5 secs
• Make 4 cuts on the top of the tomatoes and boil them till the skin crack. Remove and soak in cold water, peel the skin & cut the tomatoes into cubes.
• Heat a tbsp of oil and stir fry the green onions. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes & sausages. Add all the seasonings and cook for another 2-3 mins.
• Pour everything into a casserole.
• Add mung bean sheets. Once they soften, remove from stove & serve. :)

Steamed Tofu with White Button Mushrooms

It's difficult not to like these soft & smooth blocks of tofu. I like them steamed, fried, braised, stewed. Any way you cook it, tofus are awesome. I have some leftover white button mushrooms. It might work well with tofu. So here we have it. :) A union between Mr Mushrooms & Ms. Tofu. ^.*

Ingredient
1 block of silken tofu
1 - 2 tbsp of white button mushrooms
1 tbsp of fried shallots
0.5-1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tsp of thick dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of chopped spring onions
Some butter for frying mushrooms

Method
Carefully place a block of silken tofu on a plate, rinse it gently with water, pat dry and steam it over high heat for 15-20 mins
Meanwhile, heat up a pan and add some butter. Sauted the mushrooms & shallots.
Once the tofu is ready, carefully pour away excess water from the plate.
Drizzle oyster sauce, light soy sauce and thick dark soy sauce over the tofu.
Lastly, place the mushrooms right on top of the tofu.

Enjoy!

The Peak - Scrambled Eggs, Vermicilli, Mushrooms, Onions, Carrots & Spring Onion

This dish was supposed to be my lunch. But I wasn't hungry and so I made it for dinner instead. :) It's my own version of one of the cold appetisers served in Chinese restaurants years ago. I'm naming it The Peak. *.*

Ingredients (serves 4 - 5 pax)
1 red onion - shred
1/2 carrot - shred
4 shitake mushrooms - soak & cut into thin strips; keep the water used to soak the mushrooms (at least 1 cup)
3-4 spring onions - cut into shorter strips
1 bunch of vermicilli - cut short
4 Eggs - beaten
3 tbsp oil
Salt/soy sauce (adjust to your palatte)
Dash of pepper

Note: you may half the quantity of all the ingredients if you're serving it as an appetisier.

Method
Heat oil in frying pan
Add onion and fry till it's a little fragrant
Add the carrots
Add the cup of mushroom water, let it simmer
Add salt/soy sauce & dash of pepper
Add vermicilli
Add spring onion
Mix well and let the vermicilli soak up all the liquid
Ready to serve!

I shaped this dish with a ramkin and garnish it with Chinese celery. :) Pretty?

Ice Popsicle for Breakfast? :)

I bought a number of popsicle molds last year, but never used them. Mom finanlly put them to good use. She's been making ice popsicles the whole of last week! :D The first batch was Sarsi flavoured. Not exactly my fav but I ate them anyway. The second batch was lovely - sparkling grape juice! *.* I'm so in love with it.  It goes so well with a spicy breakfast. We had leftover Kimchi Jigae for breakfast this morning and hence I'm eating ice popsicle to cool my morning! ^.*

White Button Mushrooms, Honey Ham, Mozzarella Cheese & Toastie Pie

These pies are so easy to make, I wouldn't even call the following a recipe. It's just putting everything together & Vola! ;)

Ingredients
Bread of your choice - I'm using white bread here; The number of slices is dependent on the size of your ramkin. My ramkin is small & requires only 1.5 slices of bread.
White Button Mushrooms
Honey Ham
Mozzarella Cheese
Butter
Dash of freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Pre-heat the oven at 150 degree celcius for 10-15 mins
• Remove the brown edges of the bread & flatten it with a rolling pin
• Cut the bread according to the circumference of the ramkin. Cut the remaining bread into strips (height of the ramkin)
• Spread some butter on the cut slices
• Spread some butter on the ramkins
• Line the ramkins with the buttered bread slices & put them in the oven for 10 mins
• Remove & set aside

• Dice the ham into bite size
• Add some butter to a frying pan
• Fry the mushrooms till they're a little brown, add the ham
• Add a dash of ground black pepper

• Add mozzarella cheese into the ramkin of baked bread. We love cheese, so we added heaps of it! Lol! :)))
• Next, add the hams & finally top it with mushrooms
• Increase the oven temperature to 200 degree celcius
• Put the ramkin of goodness back into the oven and bake them for another 15-20 mins.

Enjoy! :) I have them for tea. The white button mushrooms, ham & cheese fused together so beautifully. :)

I think I can try other fillings the next time round. Ham & pineapples, sausages & mushrooms...the possibilities are endless! :D

Valrhona - Degustation Grands Crus

The sky is overcast this afternoon and so I needed some perk me up! :) I attended a company's AGM some time back and they gave guests a box of Valrhona Degustation Grands Crus each. I placed them in my fridge & forgotten all about it! :))) Time to take them out to savour! ;)

Valrhona Degustation Grands Crus contains 52 dark chocolate squares - 26 Alpaco (66%) and 26 Caraibe (66%). Both are velvety. *.* Alpaco has delicate floral aroma of jasmine & orange blossom while Caraibe offers soft aroma of nuts on the palate. I can't decide which I like better. Lol :)))

Macarons Treat

I waited & waited for Lin to return home from work to savour these macarons from Obolo Estudio. :) What do we have in the box?

1) Bittersweet Chocolate Macarons
2) Macadamian Milk Chocolate Macarons
3) Earl Grey Milk Chocolate Macarons

Blue Monday? Nah, sweet Monday. ^.*

Details of Obolo Estudio:

W: http://www.obolo.com.sg/estudio/

Peranakan Patisserie by Chinta Manis

Are you a kueh kueh person? :) I'm not. But the Nyonya kuehs by Chinta Manis are too tempting to give them a miss. ^.* They look and taste fantastic!

For our Sunday afternoon tea we have the following:
1) Durian Sarlat - made from D24 durian flesh and steamed glutinous rice and coconut base
2) Pulut Seri Kaya - coconut egg custard and steamed glutinous rice
3) Chendol Agar-agar - made from Chendol and red beans
4) Kueh Koswee - steamed tapioca & palm sugar coated with fresh grated coconut
5) Kueh with Gula Melaka
6) Kueh Bingka - baked tapioca with coconut

Lin regretted introducing them to me! Lol! :))) She now has competitor to these fabulous kuehs.

My favs are Durian Sarlat, Pulut Seri Kaya and Kueh Bingka. :D What's yours?

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

Details of Chinta Manis Peranakan Patisserie:
W: http://www.chintamanis.com.sg/

Birthday Dinner at Prive Bakery Cafe with Sam & Vic

Sam is leaving Singapore & heading to Seoul to be with his wifey real soon. It's the second year we're celebrating our b'day with him. Really wanted to introduce another part of Singapore to him and what better place than having dinner at Prive Bakery Cafe at Keppel Bay. ;)

The weather last evening was fantastic. Very breezy for al fresco dining. Yeah! :D

















Sam was torn between having lamb shank and fish & chips. He caved in to lamb shank but it was sold out! So he went for the second best. Fish & chips! :D Btw, the fish & chips are served with tartare sauce, malt vinegar and fresh Lemon at this cafe. ^.*

Lin & I opted for seafood lingunie. We had special requests though. Lin didn't want mussels & I didn't want mussels & squids. :))) Mine was eh-hem.... pretty much prawns lingunie at the end of the day! Lol! :)))

Vic went for organic mushroom linguine with white wine, garlic and cream.

The four of us are chocolate addicts! Woohoo! So here're our desserts:
1) Baked Chocolate Tart Valrhona 55% Equatoriale Chocolate
2) Hazelnut Praline Royale
3) Frangelico Ice Cream Profiteroles with Valrhona Chocolate Sauce
4) Luscious Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake

A truly chocolate overload nite for the four of us. *.*

Details of Prive Bakery Cafe:
No. 2 Keppel Bay Vista
Marina at Keppel Bay
T: +65 6776 0777

Rise & Shine to a Hearty Breakfast

Good morning to a yummilicious breakfast! Lin took a day off and we brought Mom & Koka to Casa Verde for breakfast. :) We love the place for it's situated in the Botanical Gardens. Once you stepped out of the car, you're greeted by lush greenery & fresh air. :) Awesome! :D

We ordered a western & local set to share. ;)

Details of Casa Verde:

Singapore Botanic Gardens (visitor Centre)

1 Cluny Rd

T: +65 6467 7326

Something Sweet for Breakfast :)

I had something sweet for breakfast! :) Freshly baked marble muffin from The Signature Patisserie. I thought it would go well with Lipton's new Apple Tea. And it did! I enjoyed my muffin & my apple tea (the tea smelt applely but I think the one we had in Japan was much better). The muffin was soft & moist and its core was oozing chocolate! :O What a sinful morning! LOL!

I would love to have their chocolate muffins but they were SOLD OUT??? So Beanie got us the marble ones, which was pretty good too! ^.* Btw, if you're weight conscious, you may go for their cute mini muffins. But I guess it wouldn't make a difference cos you would most problably be popping these mini cuties non-stop. :)

Details of  The Signature Patisserie:
No. 151 Chin Swee Road
#01-29 Manhattan House