From down under!

Wow, i'm so stirred and encouraged to see so many of you guys cultivating all the skills since we went abroad. Nevertheless, here's some attempts i took when i went over to Adelaide in 2 weeks ago.
Ricotta Cheese Pancake - made by me & Su Chuen. Recipe, er, gotta ask chuen. basically you need some flour, ricotta cheese of course, egg white first, then add the yoke, erm.. what else.. the finishing and deco - berries, butter, er maple syrup if you somehow find a bottle in your cupboard, & yogurt. Yum!

Us having brekkie at this place called ETC!

Chuen posing with the Cheesecake brownies that she made. recipe - er, like i mentioned, prob need to ask her.

OKOK. this is brocolli salad! i know this. basically you need brocolli, nuts, bacons & mayo. Cooking instructions:-
1. Wash your brocolli until super clean. Coz in this recipe, we are not cooking the brocolli. trust me, it's nice. & of course, cut it mouth size...
2. mix mayo into the brocolli... not too much, not so wet le k..
3. open assorted nuts package - almonds, what else ar.. oh yah.. RAISINS AS WELL.. and then mix with the salad
4. lastly, while doing all these, make sure u cook your diced bacons (can be in mircowaves - depending on ur microwave strength - 5-7mins til its dried and hard so that it is crispy)
5. mix it all together and its ready to serve your appetite! how easy right?

Lasagna!
Ingredients - lasagna sheet, lotsa shreded cheese, lasagna sauce/pasta sauce, flour, butter, milk, salt, pepper, herbs to your liking... erm.. what else.. mince meat - beef, chicken, pork

1. fried garlic & onions together with meat, then add pasta sauce, pepper & salt & herbs.. once ready, set it aside.
2. Start feeding the sauce on your baking tray, & layer it with the sheet. repeat this process until 80% of the tray height. (leave some space for the topping)
3. Make the cream sauce.. First melt butter on low fire, and then add some flour and stir it until the flour sorta merge with the butter. then add milk and keep stirring.. then add cheese and stir stir stir at low fire.. the whole process is to make sure the sauce is equally blend and thickened. it requires some muscle to make sure it thickens.. so KEEP STIRRING..
4. once its thicken, pour the cream sauce over the lasagna, and then add heaps of cheese on top.
5. place it in oven or convection microwave at 180deg for 40 mins/until cheese brown.

hehehe.. miss u guys.. cant wait to hang out and makan again end of this year!

Fairycakes..

The vanilla cupcakes

With frosting and sugarsticks as deco

I came across a recipe recently and decided to try it out yesterday.. This time I tried baking, Vanilla Cupcakes or as they call it Fairycakes!

It was a quite successful.. though I've put in more butter than recommended for both the cupcake and icing. The cupcake turn out just nice for me, as I love butter, but the icing didn't frost well. Didn't buy an icing set as well.. so I came up with a 'durian like' (as Kenn calls it) with colourful sugar sticks as decorations instead ;p

Method:
Preheat oven to 177 degrees C and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

For the Cupcakes:
Cream 113 grams of unsalted butterand 130 grams of granulated white sugar until light and fluffy.
Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl whisk together 210g of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture, butter mixture and 60ml of milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter.
Bake until nicely browned and let it cool.
Then frost with icing.

For the Frosting:
Cream 113 grams of butter until smooth and well blended.
Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
And with the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in 230 gramsof icing sugar.
Add 2 tablespoon of milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy.

Chocolate Cheese Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

christine is taking orders for next yr :P haha.. no la kidding. just wanted to "showcase" my 2nd official order for a birthday party.. :D

Eve can cook.. so can you!

I'm finally back in my apartment for real! Since I've shifted into this apartment, I haven't really been staying in it.. it's because of the summer holidays and my O&G posting. So when I got back, I decided to make full use of my kitchen (yippie, I have my very own kitchen now.. only shared between me, my housemate and occassionally Kenn ;p) and attempted cooking!

PS: Remember.. Evie never cooks from scratch.. instant noodles and salads are her normal meals.

So what did I attempt to cook?
1) Beef Rendang
2) Belacan Kangkung
3) Red Bean Soup

I must say, the most difficult part of cooking these two dishes is not the actual cooking process.. it's buying the ingredients. I visited all the chinese grocery shops in Chinatown and another one near the university to get most of my ingredients.. but I couldn't find the most important one, BELACAN! So I bought some fish paste as a substitute.

The cooking process took quite long though.. because I had to grind every lil thing like onions, ginger and red onions individually because I did not have a blender but it was a success and I manage to cook up these 2 dishes plus a dessert for Kenn and my housemates.

EeWan boiled some chicken soup and Kenn cooked something too.. you should ask him what he cooked ;p

Evie cooking the rendang

EeWan gave the rendang.. thumbs up!

Belacan kangkung

A group pic.. with EeWan behind the camera.

So what do we need?
1) Beef Rendang
1½ lb beef cut into 1½ to 2-inch chunks
4 cups thick coconut milk
1 cup fresh coconut, finely grated
2 stalks lemongrass, slightly crushed
2-3 turmeric leaves
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp sugar salt and pepper

To blend:
4-5 tbsp chili paste
1½-inch fresh ginger, peeled, sliced
1-inch galangal [lengkuas in Malay], peeled, sliced
1½ inch fresh turmeric root [kunyit basah in Malay], peeled, sliced
2 tsp coarse salt

To Prepare :
Season beef with salt and pepper, marinate for at least 30 mins
Using a mortar & pestle or blender grind galangal, ginger, turmeric root, chili paste and kosher salt into a spice paste
In a dry heated pan, toast the finely grated coconut [meat] over low heat, keep stirring until golden brown. Allow to cool, then using a mortar & pestle, pound into a paste [called kerisik in Malay]
Heat wok on high, stir-fry spice paste 2-3 mins, add coconut milk, reduce heat and slowly bring to a gentle boil; stir often
Add beef and slow boil for 10 mins
Add lemongrass stalk, turmeric leaves [or kaffir lime leaves; or lime zest], sugar and season with salt and pepper
Reduce heat to low, uncovered, simmer for 1-1½ hrs; stir often with a spatula [be sure to 'scrape' the bottom of wok], add a little water if it starts to dry up too quickly]
Add the toasted coconut paste [kerisik] during the last 30 mins of cooking
When the beef is very tender - the gravy, thickens and oil starts to float on top - remove from heat and discard the lemongrass stalks and turmeric leaves
Serve Beef Rendang with steamed rice, Nasi Lemak [Coconut Rice] or Lontong, a Malay Rice Roll

2) Belacan Kangkung
1lb Kangkung [also called Water Spinach or Water Convolvulus], washed well in water, drained and cut into 2-3 inch lengths
3 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
1½ tsp sugar salt

To blend:
2 tbsp dried shrimp
3 tbsp or to taste, chili paste
6 shallots, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp belacan, also spelt belachan or blacan [dried shrimp paste]

To Prepare :
Soak dried prawns in hot boiling water till softened, drain, reserve some of the liquid
Using a mortar & pestle or blender, grind the softened dried prawns, shallots, garlic, belacan, chili paste into a chunky paste
Heat wok on high, add 2 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil, stir-fry the paste for 1-2 mins, reduce heat cook until quite toasted and turns a shade darker - careful not to burn!
Add the kangkung, sugar, and salt if necessary [*Note: belacan is salty]
Stir-fry on high heat, about 2-3 mins
Dish onto a serving dish while it is still quite crisp and serve hot immediately

The outcome was great.. I was worried at first that I've made a mistake and added too much coconut milk, made Thai Red Curry instead.. but after letting it simmer for 1 1/2 hours the sauce dried up and became rendang sauce. On the other hand, I put too little coconut milk and the dish was a bit too spicy for the rest of the people. The Belacan Kangkung turned out just nice, and finally I get to eat a belacan kangkung that's spicy!

The Perfect Half-boiled Egg :)

hehe. decided to post this up as i've just had one of my most perfect (by accident) half boiled egg ever!!!!!!!!!!

replaceD :) thanks again to vkeong.com but this my own reproduced picture for now..

so how did i manage to make this perfect half boiled egg?? (usually mine's too runny, or too cooked :( i guess this time it's thanks to serendipity!) ok here's how.

1) place egg into a deep dish/bowl. pour boiling water until egg is completely submerged in water.
2) eat my pasta (that i've already made. but thinks that i may still be hungry after that) while browsing facebook.
3) and i was right. i was still hungry after that bowl of pasta. so voila, i crack open the egg, and it is the most beautiful looking thing i've ever seen in my entire life. ok i'm exaggerating, but it is my best attempt. eat with buttered toast, and you're in heaven. almost.

**just in case facebook surfing time, and pasta eating time varies between individuals..... i reckon i took abt 7-8 minutes. haha~!**

Rainbow Seafood Restaurant, HK

To support Christine attempt.. to revive the blog ;p *I'm sorry, I'm one of the culprits who've left the blogging world for ages* I've decided to post something about my MakanMakan experience on the blog. Let's talk about one of the restaurants Li, Jay, CYin, Sze Siew and I visited together this summer!

Presenting...

Rainbow Seafood Restaurant,
16-20, 23-24, Fist St.
Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island, HK
Tel: 2982810

This is one out of the dozens seafood restaurants found in HK's famous seafood island.. Lamma Tou. Heard about it from Kenn Foong, when he went on his HK-Macau trip with his mum two years ago.

What's so special about it?
-They provide free shuttle services (Central-TsimShaTsui-Lamma Island and returns)
-'Seafood Expert', Mr. Lim Kenn Foong says it's SUPER GOOD!
-It's CHEAP! (to HK ppl's standards, did a price check with a couple of my HK friends and they think it's super cheap)

So when we arrived in HK, I gave them a call to book seats on the ferry and a table at the restaurant.

Experience 1 (The Ferry)
Service: 100 marks.. We left the hotel quite late that night (I was taking a nap, c'mon I was ill that day!), so we hopped into a cab and rushed over to the TST Ferry Pier. Problem is we couldn't find the jetty! By the time I called the restaurant get the number of the person at the TST Pier it was already past departure time. I managed to get the person, she gave me the directions but she said we'll most probably will have to take the next ferry which is in half an hour's time! With a bit of persuasion "M'sian style".. if you know what I mean ;p she agreed to wait for us. We were running so late that she actually called me back, located us, rushed us into the ferry and bang.. doors shut & off we go! But it was very kind of her to have waited for us.

Girls pic time.. sorry Jay, we know you're a girl too but we really needed someone to hold the cam ;p

Experience 2 (Rainbow Seafood Restaurant)
Service at the restaurant was really good too.. we didn't know what to order so the guy took charge. He brought us to the aquariums, asked us to choose the type of seafood we'd like to have, got our budget and he handled the rest. Not sure if he 'tipu-ed' us because we're tourists...but the food turned out to be delicious and it was really cheap too, for what we had.

The aquariums.. while the rest chose what seafood they wanna eat.

A group pic.. without Li, she was our camerawoman!

Dish 1: Scallops with garlic & dung fun

Everybody eat!

Dish 2: King prawns.. I think it's nai yau style

Dish 3: Lobster.. can't remember the name of the cooking style, it's something like 'Jiu Yim' with chilli

He always comes up with the most interesting poses ;p

Dish 4: Lai Liu Ha.. with the same cooking style

Dish 5: Steamed fish

Dish 6: Fried rice

The finale.. fruits

With 5 dishes, a fried rice and desserts.. this meal costs us less than HKD$1500 (Sorry, I can't remember the exact sum nor the exact names of each dish, told ya I was ill). Every single dish was fresh and I think they're really delicious.. though the 'Jiu Yim' ones were a bit too salty to eat on it's own ;p

Experience 3 (Ferry ride back to Kowloon Island)
This time the ferry was full.. we had to sit on the upper deck of the ferry which is an opened area. We got to enjoy the cold air and strong winds of the sea as we head back to HK.. and also the beautiful night view of HK Island and Kowloon as well as the Tsing Ma Bridge!

Our ferry ride, arriving at the restaurant's jetty

The night view of TST..

in an attempt to revive the blog...

presenting WASAI Japanese Kitchen, which happens to only be the awesom-est Jap restaurant in the whole of South Australia.

Edamame for starters

Green tea as always...

The SUSHI BOAT is like THE BEST EVER!!!!!! value for money too!!!!!!! 29 nigiris + makis only AUD3o. somemore with the drop in currency rates. wah! super dai!

just me posing with the boat.

shoyu + chilli flakes

lastly, strawberry parfait as our dessert.

twas a satisfying meal. see how happy chris is??


i know this pictures are already up on facebook. but haha.. oh well. yeah!! miss you people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when can we all makan again??!!

Banana Leaf Rice @ Bangsar

First time i've tried banana leaf rice among the 4 of us there that day.. paiseh. So i was a bit enthusiastic and jakun. hmm. and so i decided to blog it!

No sharing of food, so all of us ordered one each. and i finally had my 'limau ais' drink to go with it.

Comes with 3 types of vege for sides, a salad kind, a fried vege and a deepfried in batter bittergourd. yummy. And the rice, comes with choice of 3 kinds of curry to pour over it- fish curry, chicken curry and dal. Mine(pic) is fish curry. spicy, i like!

btw, it also comes with papadum and we ordered an extra mutton curry. which were both delicious as well! cant remember how much it was.. but affordable mamak price (rite?) and altho i wasnt very hungry i finished up my rice. service-wise, thumbs up as well. hahaha.

crab again ;)

and crab again..hehe. ths time, this crab is from this famous crab restaurant in kepong. wa, this place...i arrived at 7 something n it was packed wit so many ppl...n i had to line up just to get a table. but i must say, it's so worth the wait! coz the crab here is soooooo gooooooddddd!!!!! famous for their cheese crab or salted egg crab, i ordered the salted egg crab. yummy!

crab!!!!!

yummy sri lanka crab from this restaurant in ampang...
wit it is the delicious mini fried pau(s) to dip the sauce ;)n delicious pork ribs......

Din Tai Fung

introducing restaurant Din Tai Fung, in Garden's ....


the beef la mien was delicious! compared to Dragon i, the noodles are the same. but the soup here comparing the same flavour there, is very different. both hav their own special taste. both oso nice la hehe :)

siew long pau here oso very good. but i still like the siew long pau in Dragon i a bit more, coz there the one not so strong the smell..hehe...

this fried rice may look simple, but then when it comes to ur table, ur mouth start to water coz it smells so 'hiong'. then it's oso yummy yum. the rice summore it's the jap rice..round round...but it's not sticky la. so just nice!

Marmalade, bangsar village :)

yummy yum. this is marmalade's delicious carbonara. not too rich, just nice. coz most of the time, carbonara are too rich that when u eat more than 3 spoons u'll feel 'gelak'. but this one however is just nice, that i could finish most of it :)

my friends ordered chicken pie n beef pie each. the beef pie's good, but chicken pie here's a bit tasteless.

n here's 2 old pics of 2 other great delicious dish that's served here. this pic was taken during our breakfast few months ago ;) (wit seyin,eve,anu,shang). the cupcakes are yummy yum :) i think i can eat 10 of these in 1 shot hehe.n this mushroom spagetti, oso supereb!