baking and cooking tai tai session

together with melinda, michele and tracy, we got together today to cook and bake today! it was such a fantastic time of bonding with each other and with the food! we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the fruits of our labour & love!

we baked 2 items - brownies & banana muffin.

the brownies are from a trusty recipe (i've tried it a couple of times and it always turns out good). it was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

the banana muffin recipe was a first for me. i got it off the internet. this muffin came with a struesel topping (some crispy thingy) and it was so good! i would certainly make it again!

for lunch, we bought a prima chicken rice set. it was totally impressive. it came with several sachets - for cooking chicken, rice, and various condiments. v authentic and v convenient.

1 person fish meal

hubby's away... i've been cooking dinner for one lately.

i bought some norwegian cod the other day and decided to have it for dinner.

i simply seasoned the fish with salt and pepper. then, pan fry for a couple of mins till the fish takes on a tinge of brown. lastly, pop it into the oven to finish the cooking.

i ate the fish with some fresh salad and a basil vinagerette.

cooking for one isn't that difficult, is it? :)

a gem in arab street

this may sound ironical. but, carol, who's only been in singapore for 7 months, introduced me to a restaurant on arab street that day! in all my 30+ years living in singapore, i've never fully combed the arab street area or ate at any of the restaurants there!

last weekend, carol brought us to Alaturka Mediterranean and Turkish Restaurant for dinner. the food was fantastic and the prices were reasonable!

check out some of the food we had! a lavash($2.50), a meze tabagi ($14), karisik kebab ($19) and etlipide ($9.50).

lavash is a balloon bread with sesame seed.

meze is a assorted mix mezzes combination consisting of several dips like eggplant, chickepeas, etc.

karisik is a combination kebabs include lamb and chicken, served with pilaf.etilpide is a lamb stuffed baked bread with cheese... like a turkish pizza.all the dishes were delicious. im sure we'll be back for more!

aussie brekkie

on labour day, hubby and i decided to go for a nice brunch. we settled in the cellar door located at bt timah.

we had brunch there quite a while ago and we remember enjoying their lamb burger. thus, hubby ordered a lamb burger while i had an eggs florentine.

the burger was juicy and the chips were crispy!! yumyum.
my eggs florentine had lots of veggie... the way i like it. it came with loads of cooked spinach and a side salad of rocket leaves. although it came topped with hollandaise sauce, i choose to believe it is still a healthy dish considering the amt of veggies! haha

something smells fishy @ singapore national museum

indeed, something smells fishy at the singapore national museum. it's the smell of fish sauce!

i attended another one of the classes organised by national museum as part of its food and culture series. it's on fish sauce. i enjoyed the class a lot. i learnt a lot on the different kinds of fish sauce and making of fish sauce. i thought there was only fish sauce from thailand. but, i was so wrong. there can be fish sauce from china, vietnam, japan and korea too!

it was like a wine tasting class. the speaker, christopher tan, introduced to each of the fish sauce. as he explained the properties of the fish sauce, we were given a sample each.

i learnt a few tips in using fish sauce too. it's not used just in thai dishes. you can add a few drops to your claypot chicken rice if you don't have salted fish! it can bring your claypot rice to whole new level!

beef noodles

hubby and i enjoy a good bowl of beef noodles -- chewy noodles, crunchy beansprouts in a thick flavourful beef sauce, topped with sliced beef, salted veggies and lots of fresh corriander! who can say no to this? one of our fav stalls is in Newton hawker centre.

i decided to try my hand at this common hawker and foodcourt dish today!

i prepared the beef broth using oxtail tail. to the broth, i added cloves, cinnamon and 5 spice powder. then seasoned it with oyster sauce, dark soy, salt, chinese cooking wine, pepper and sesame oil. lastly, i thickened the sauce with some cornstarch solution.

to serve, i blanched the noodles and beansprouts, then topped it with sliced beef, shredded salted veggie, and chopped corriander. next, i scooped the delicious brown sauce over and chomp!

hubby loved it! me too!

honestly, its quite a lot of work... perhaps we should just head to newton the next time we have this craving!

my very first world gourmet summit

The World Gourmet Summit (WGS) is an international gastronomic extravaganza jointly organised by Peter Knipp Holdings Pte Ltd (PKH) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

An annual epicurean festival that showcases the intricate craftsmanship of prestigious chefs; it is also an exposition of the internationally acclaimed vineries. Encompassing a series of dazzling events like the Gourmet Safaris, Vintner Dinners and Celebrity Dinners, it is a gourmet spectacular specially crafted for the discerning individuals who appreciates fine wine and cuisines.

the above is an introduction on the WGS on the official WGS website.

thanks to carol's generosity, i attended my very first WGS masterclass today!!!

i attended the last masterclass conducted by 3 Michelin Star chef, Anne-Sophie Pic. during the class, anne and her pastry chef demonstrated 2 desserts for us - creme brulee de foie gras with green apple espumas and profiteroles vanilla.

i love both of them for different reasons. the creme brulee was rich but not overpowering. it was topped with a very unusual ingredient - popcorn! as anna explained ducks ate cornfeed; thus there was a relation to popcorn! im not sure about the explanation but i sure like the combi!

as for the profiteroles, i found the flavours very complex and multi-dimensional. the chocolate topping was laced with a passionfruit flavour... yumms...

other than the food, im really impressed by anne-sophie's humility and willingness to share her culinary secrets with everyone.

it was a totally cool experience for me! looking forward for the next summit in 2009!

the story of pho

the story of pho ... together with carol, i attended a food workshop on the story of pho conducted by the national museum of singapore last friday. it was part of a series of talks/workshops on food that is organised by the national museum.

its must have been 20 years since i last stepped into the museum. after several revamps, the museum looks gorgeous and magnificent!

back to the story of pho... a vietnamese man was flown in to speak on the origins of pho and to point out a few 'misconcepts' of pho. 1st is the pronounciation. pho is pronounced as 'fur'. also, the original pho didn't come with beansprouts.

after a lengthy talk, we were served a small portion of beef pho! it was yummy... though i can taste a lot of MSG in the broth.

it was a fun experience! will be looking out for more of such talks!

italian dinner with american friends

at the kind invitation of eric and carol (our friends from the US), hubby and i went to their home for dinner on sat. i was so looking forward to this dinner as carol's a wonderful cook and they're both super good company. we always have lots of fun with them!

it was italian night. carol whipped up these treats!

1st up was a salad. fresh and crunchy. nice start.

then, we had carbonara spaghetti. al dente pasta tossed in a lovely pancetta, garlic and egg sauce. so simple and yet so yummy. i really like carol's version as it is not too rich as the kind you get in the restaurants.

next, we had a chicken dish... i can't remember the name but i can't forget the taste! it was delicious. chicken thigh was pan fried till golden brown is cooked in a lovely sauce... i think there was wine added. it was simply yummy!last up was dessert... chocolate cake from sweet secret.

it was a really nice dinner... thanks again, eric and carol!

ooh ... chang kee

i love old chang kee curry puffs (aka kari pok). the straits times did a ranking of the best curry puffs in singapore some time ago. many brands like A1 and Polar came out tops but not old change kee. but, it remains my favourite curry puff. there are many reasons: convenience (you can find an old chang kee at almost every mall), value for money (there's lots of potatoes, chicken and a small wedge of hardboiled egg..yum), and taste (crispy on the outside and tender on the inside... droolz).

my idea of a good breakfast ... hot old chang kee with a decaf latte! life is good!

rewarding dinner

hubby works really hard every day... sleeps little and work lots! we decided to stay at home today and just 'waste away'. haha... not really... we did waste time..but it was doing things we enjoyed!

we indulged in 3 activities - sleeping, eating and wii-ing!

yes! we got a new wii set and couldn't wait to swing that control! it was really good fun! i honestly felt like i've worked out after a game of wii tennis! :)

for dinner, i decided to buy some quality ingredients and cook up a really nice dinner.

for appetizers, we had a smoked duck salad with balsamic dressing. no, i didn't smoke the duck.. i merely bought it and just reheated it! smart, rite? :pfor mains, I got 2 pieces of kurobuta pork chops from jones the grocer. season them lightly with salt and pepper, then pan fried. for the sauce, i deglaze the pan with chicken stock and balsamic vniegar. let the sauce cook till this is thickened and drizzle over the pork. (See picture at top of post)

dessert was molten chocolate cake with ice cream.
such a good weekend!

wagyu burger

i've read so much about wagyu beef... a superior grade of beef that is supposed to taste really good and cost really expensive. i've not had the chance to try it till today.since our 1st visit to Jones the Grocer, i noticed that they see wagyu beef patties at the meat counter. we've been talking abt buying these patties to make gourmet burgers at home. we finally got the chance today!

after a nice morning walk at botanic gardens with sam, we popped over to Jones and got 2 pieces of beef patties. next, we had to get buns and lettuce. we went to cold storage at jelita and got some fresh salad leaves. next to cold storage was cedele bakery where i got 2 buns.

all i needed to do next was to flame up the patties, assemble the burger and enjoy!
credit must be given to hubby for taking the yummy photo of the patty in the pan. so, he did contribute more than eating in this meal!

feasting tour in taipei

i was in taipei for a holiday with my mum 2 weeks ago.
we ate throughout our 5 days in taipei! there was so much food to try and so little stomach space... many times we stretched our waistlines so we could sample the delicious food!
here are some of them.

beef noodles

szechuan cold noodles - i like this
oyster omelette - it was better w/o the sauce. but, i still prefer the singapore version.
mango snow ice - yum
glutinous rice + crab soup
deep fried chicken's bottoms
intestines mee sua
salted goose - delicious
egg tarts from kfc - v v good!

braised pork leg rice

tapioca balls dessert
candied fruits

beancurd with tapioca pearls

bollywood party

yes, bollywood party! come in your saris and turbans to enjoy Indian cuisine and a tree dance after dinner! that's my invitation to my group of bollywood-wannabe friends!!! haha...

came, they did! with the full array of indian food ranging from fish head curry, to mutton curry, to naan, to chicken tikka and more. but, no saris or turban was in sight. no tree dance too ... just a wii rayman dance that was hilarious!

a couple of my 'couple friends' including c&j, k&r, k&w gathered in our home for a yummilicious dinner yesterday. we had lots of fun and food.

dinner was potluck and i contributed these dishes.

1. chicken tikka (picture at top of post)

2. dhal

3. cucumber raita

4. ladies fingers in yogurt sauce

5. fried spiced potatoes

6. flavoured basmati rice

the food was a success ... i cant say the same for the tree dance, though. :)