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lamp rump

i finally cooked up those 2 pieces of lamb rump that's been sitting in my freezer for a while! i followed a recipe from Delicious ABC mag and the lamb was delicious!

first, season the lamb with lemon zest, rosemary, olive oil and garlic. you can let the mean marinate for 6 hours or overnight. then, before frying them in the pan, season with salt and pepper.

to serve, place the sliced lamb on a bed of iceberg lettuce, and accompany with grilled red and yellow peppers and onions. lastly, make a pesto with fresh basil and mint leaves, garlic and olive oil. then, spoon the pesto over the lamb.

luncheon meat soup

yes, luncheon meat soup...has anyone heard of this soup before? i grew up drinking this soup. i'm not sure if it's an eurasian recipe or just something created by my eurasian neighbour! whatever its origin, it is real good soup. plus, it's super duper easy to put together! believe me, it's almost idiot proof.

heat oil in pot. saute chopped garlic (about 2-3 cloves) together with a cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 1 cardamon, and 1 star anise for about 1-2 mins. add water (about 2-3 bowls). bring to a boil. then, dump in the cabbage (cut into bite size pieces), potatoes (i didn't add any as i didn't have any on hand!), and slices of luncheon meat. let it boil for about 10 minutes. then, season with salt and pepper.

simple right?

this tastes best when you ladle over steamed white rice, add sambal belachan, and fried salted fish.

melt at world cafe

today, we went to melt at world cafe (Oriental Mandarin) to celebrate hubby's birthday.

it was a good experience.

service was excellent. we were ushered in by the waitress who explained the various food stations to us before showing us our seats.

the food had a good variety and quality for most items. there're some items which are forgettable. but, overall, i like it.

cold cuts station
pestos, air dried beef, ham, olives, mozzarella, nuts and lots of cheese

salad station

i really like this station. there was different kinds of salad leaves --- baby spinach, rocket, lettuce, etc. there was also many kinds of dressing... bottles of olive oil, vinegar, walnut oil, and so on. toppings include crotons, grated parmasan cheese, ...

thai station

a few kinds of salad were available -- mango, pomelo.

i started my meal with a chicken coconut soup... it was really rich and yummy.

i didn't really take the meaty dishes as i didnt want to load up so soon and never did get back to this station.

japanese station

how could i miss salmon sashimi? sweet and fatty...but not cold enough.

indian station

this must my fav station. i enjoyed the briyani rice, naans, fish curry and butter chicken a lot. i thought the grilled items like tandoori and tikkas were a litte dry.western station

this is my least fav station. the roasted leg of lamb was the only item that's yummy. it was moist and juicy. the beef stew was tough and dry. the seabass was dry too.

noodles station

there was pasta cooked to order. i didn't order any of these cos i don't think they would taste extraordinary. hubby did order a thai noodle soup which he said was bland.

desserts station

a good selection of desserts --- many of them in tiny shooter glasses which are super cute! there was tiramisu, mousse, strawberry shortcake, chocolate cake, green tea cake, etc. asian desserts include agar-agar and chendol. fruits was disappointing... there's only watermelon, pears, and oranges.

buffalo wings

this is my 1st attempt at making buffalo wings at home. but, mine is a healthy version. i didnt fry the wings; i baked them in the oven.

i seasoned the wings with salt, pepper, paprika, tomato paste, and Tabasco sauce. then, baked them in the oven while i prepare the sauce.

the sauce consists of barbecue sauce, Tabasco sauce, ketchup and Worcester sauce. pour the sauce over the hot wings and dig in!

chop porky chop

i lurve these pork chops from hubers butchery. they're so nice and thick and so succulent!

they just need salt + pepper.

simple and easy... the way i like it.

pan fried seabass with green olives lemon butter sauce

i bought a whole red snapper and a whole seabass from ntuc the other day. i don't normally cook whole fishes as im squeamish abt gutting the fish and the whole fish just seems too much for us to finish. but, the snapper and seabass looked fresh, was cheap and there was someone at ntuc to do the gutting...

for the snapper, i cooked fish head curry with the head portion and steamed the rest.

seabass ended up as dinner tonight. i kept the seabass head for another day and filleted the body.

seasoned the seabass with salt and pepper. then coat them with a light layer of cornflour, and pan fried them in a non-stick pan. for the sauce, i melted some butter, then added sliced shallots and fry till it's golden. then, add the sliced green olives. take it off the heat and squeeze in lemon juice. pour over the fish and serve immediately.

for sides, i made a salad with blue cheese dressing and pasta in garlic oil. yumyum