Food in your neighbourhood.

It’s been ages since I did a food post, so here’s a quick one! If you live around Toa Payoh, I’m pretty sure you’d have tried this already, otherwise, good food is closer than you think… First of all, a disclaimer, I did not try the porridge, and the one worth raving about is at the end of this post, but since I got these from my sister…

I’m not a huge fan of porridge, but I do enjoy the occassional bowl of century egg congee, maybe next time, Ah Chiang! Now, on to what I did like (quite a lot!)

Roast meat noodles! Everyone had porridge from Ah Chiang’s but I was in the mood for some meat! I didn’t think I’d be doing a post proper so I totally forgot to take note of the shop’s name. >__< BUT! If you can find Ah Chiang, you can find this stall, it’s at the very end of the row of stalls, on the left. It’s sooooo crowded, you won’t miss it!

The noodles I had costed $7.50 for 3 different kinds of meat, roast pork, char siew and roast duck. I haven’t had much of an appetite lately so the fact that I wiped out every last bit of this must mean something. Also, if you are a fan of “lar pok” ie. pork lard, this stall is really generous with it, and in big pieces too! How rare! You will have to wait because this stall is rather popular, but it’s definitely worth it! There are only a few tables that they will serve, so if you pick a table as far away as Ah Chiang’s, like we did, you’ll have to opt for take away instead.

These stalls are both located at HDB Hub, Block 190, Level 1, Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310190

xx

Happy Birthday Mimi! ♥ ♥ ♥

3 dimensional paper roses for the birthday girl. This actually took me a couple of hours. Definitely worth it tho… Perhaps I should add this to the store?

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - { Dinner at Capricci } - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Just some of the dishes we ordered. As enticing as they look, taste wise, not quite up to par. The prices are also pretty steep for what you get. Would I go back? No not really.

- – - – - – - – - – - - { Post dinner drinks at Drink Culture } - – - – - – - – - – - -

If you like the Bar Stories concept, then you probably will like Drink Culture. Price wise? Pretty steep, considering my usual Amaretto with ginger ale puts a $20 dent in your pocket. So, unless you have way too much $ to splurge, this is not exactly a place for multiple rounds. xx

Sponsored Review : Sunshine Bakeries’ Enriched Corn & Bran Bread

Combining nutritional and health benefits with the great taste of sweet corn, Singapore’s very own home-grown enterprise, Sunshine Bakeries introduces Singapore’s first corn & bran variant, Enriched Corn & Bran Bread, which successfully combines the wholesomeness of corn and wheat bran.

Diets high in wheat bran have consistently demonstrated great health benefits such as lower cholesterol levels, healthier hearts as well as improved intestinal health. Corn is a rich source of fibre and being a low-fat complex carbohydrate, deserves a regular place on any healthy table.

Offering the goodness of dietary fibre, Enriched Corn & Bran Bread is an ideal option to complete everyday meals, as it offers the necessary Vitamins like B1, B2 & B3, which in turn help to release energy from proteins, fats & carbohydrates. The bread is also high in iron and calcium. Iron is an important component of red blood cells, which carries  oxygen to all parts of the body to help in the production of energy while calcium supports the development of strong bones and teeth.

If you ask me, this is one benefit-packed loaf that will fulfill your daily nutritional needs  without compromising on taste. I am not a big fan of wheat bread but I would definitely love to have this anytime of day. Lightly toasted & buttered, it reminds me of a corn muffin! :)

Sunshine Enriched Corn & Bran Bread is available at all hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, petrol marts and general retailers at the retail price of S$2.95 each. 

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a great easter holiday! We got down to some baking again over the weekend! I baked two cakes on Saturday, must have been out of my mind, I was so tired after that. >_<

I usually prefer cupcakes/muffins over cakes cos they’re easier to share but I didn’t bring the cupcake tray back to Robin’s place so we had to settle for cakes! The second one turned out amazing! I iced it with cream cheese frosting, a thick layer of blueberry jam & topped it with tons of fresh blackberries & raspberries.

We shared this with friends yesterday evening at a little home cooked easter dinner. :)

And…… Guess who’s being a cutie today?

I’m doing some catching up with work, so look out for more new additions in store this week! xx

Dig Deep.

I got a little sneaky last Friday, told Robin we’d go somewhere in the evening but that’s all I told him. We went to Beaulieu House which is within Sembawang Park, they’re currently renovating the place so there really isn’t very much to do there but I thought some quiet time out together by the water would be nice for a friday evening. :)

While waiting for our food to be served we enjoyed our very yummy coconuts.  I always say, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, just like you can’t judge a coconut by it’s tough shell, it still has a sweet centre.

Mr grumps/squishy face?

My teriyaki chicken, honestly I didn’t taste much teriyaki in this. It was supposed to be crispy but no part of this chicken was near crispy, still pretty tasty tho.

Baby’s steak with mushroom sauce, apparently not too bad but pretty pricey.

The food took awhile since there was a school event going on, prices are a little on the steep side considering the average taste. Next time I’ll go somewhere with less mozzies & ants.

I also physically parted with my past that night. As I watched a box of past memories go up in flames, I had imagined myself bursting into tears, but it was nothing like that at all. Instead, I felt relieved, as if I had been set free from a cage, a weight lifted off my shoulders…

Don’t let your past tie you down, limit the things you can do, or stop you rom being the person you can be. We only have this life to live. xx

“A Girls’ Day Out” @ Häagen-Dazs

Yesterday I was invited to attend Girls’ Day Out at Häagen-Dazs’ Holland Village branch, but it was also daddy’s birthday, so I decided to bring the family  for an afternoon out instead. :)

Soooo… Who do I look like? Mummy or daddy?

We were served the High Tea Affair set, $38++ which consists of….

3 mini scoops each of Cookie Dough Chip, Belgian Chocolate (YUM), & Strawberry ice cream. Followed by….

6 delicate ice cream macaroons. The macadamia nut brittle with orange cream one was a favourite across the board. If you like something unusual, it would be the green tea one. I’m still not quite used to tasting green tea in anything else other than, well, tea.

Lastly, this will put a smile on those of you who are health-conscious! A plateful of succulent kiwis, raspberries & grapes.

Now, what is melty & crunchy all at once?

Petite Temptations, priced at $18++ comes with chunks of buttery cookie dough & sweet fudge chips hidden in folds of the finest Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream, accompanied by drizzles of mango & chocolate sauce.

If you’re craving for just macaroons alone, order the Macaroon Mélange, $18++.  Enjoy an assortment of 5 ice cream macaroons containing creamy, luscious ice cream and Chantilly cream encased in a chocolate shell, served with almond nibs & strawberries.

  

The High Tea Affair, ice cream macaroons & limited edition Petite Temptations creation are available at all Häagen-Dazs shops nationwide until the 31st of May 2012. We had a great afternoon at Häagen-Dazs, I’m sure you will too! xx

Dinner at The Knolls.

So, very unfortunately, over the weekend my immune system (finally) decided to crash on me. Well, not before Robin took me to The Knolls at Capella for dinner on friday to celebrate our 4th month together. :)

Guess what happened just before we took the above photo? I’ll tell you at the end of this post, but for now, dinner! (And I just realised how huge his hand is compared to my head.)

foie gras with rhubarb compote $16

This is by far my favorite dish at The Knolls! We first had a taste of this during New Years. I’m a big fan of foie gras, but I’m also really picky about how it’s done, this is one of my favorites across the board. Rich yet perfectly balanced.

Crispy pork belly with apple sauce $28

I’m usually a skeptic when it comes to pork belly, the skin might not always be perfectly crisp, and the fatty part could be too overwhelming. This was my second time having the pork belly cos it’s yummmmmmmmmy! The apple sauce totally balances out the fats and the skin is so crispy you can break it in half.

And Robin had……

Salmon $24

I didn’t try it so I can’t say much about it, so I decided to ask Robin!

So there! We had two glasses of wine and a bottle of Fiji water which costs a whopping $14, which I still can’t get over cos I could have gotten another serving of foie gras…. The total bill came up to $148 for the two of us, not something we should be doing on a monthly basis I reckon.

Anyway, if you haven’t guessed about the photo… I actually dropped the ipad on my head while we were trying to take photos cos I burst out laughing and lost my grip on it. Thank goodness my skull and the ipad are both still intact. xx

Get Saucy.

There’s no better way to spend a Thursday evening than with Spam chips, truffle fries, chicken wings, burgers, beers, and your boyfriend. xx

my choux pastry ♥

Spent more time in the kitchen with Robin on Valentine’s! This time we made these profiteroles, recipe from Anne Burrell. It’s the first time either of us has tried making pastry, it turned out way better than we imagined! They were perfectly airy inside…

We had ours with french vanilla ice cream and Nutella sauce. Super yummmmmmy! You can also fill it with other stuff like custard, somewhat like the usual cream puff.  I’m guessing the possibilities are endless. xx

The Experimental Salad

So, what exactly went into this experimental salad?

• Baby butterhead lettuce
• Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Japanese cucumber, skinned & sliced (Zucchini)
• Porcini mushrooms, lightly cooked in olive oil
• Smoked duck, sliced
• Mangoes, diced
• Home made croutons
• Plum sauce
• Ceres Whispers of Summer fruit juice

No recipes, no precise measurements, just purely experimental. It turned out pretty good even though we didn’t manage to find the right kind of plum sauce we had in mind. We made the croutons with baguettes this time and they were really yummy! xx

Culinary Crash Course!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. So, what happens when your boyfriend falls sick and you are naturally obliged to take on nanny duties?

Answer : A culinary crash course.

Chicken noodle soup with french onions, celery & carrot

Whatever it is you are down with, this is sure to perk you right up! I am not usually a big fan of celery but if you cook them long enough they actually are pretty nice.

Chicken porridge with century egg

Well, I was the only one who had the century egg anyway, Robin was too disgusted by the sight of it to even come close to trying it. This actually turned out pretty well for a first try. We had seconds on Sunday!

So, getting sick isn’t all that bad when you get something out of it. I learnt that my “chinese cooking” isn’t all that hopeless, and Robin got a personal nurse for like 3-4 days. How’s that for a deal? I’m just really glad he’s better now, his rapidly fluctuating fever really kept me on my tippy toes……

I figure most people might think, why bother? Just buy porridge from the food court or something, right? But I’ve always believed that home-cooked is always the best. There’s a magical ingredient that doesn’t come in the food you buy…. Love.

Looks like the flu bug is going around too, so load up on those vitamins, drown yourself in water and stay out of this crazy Singapore heat! xx

happy holidays with love.

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope everyone’s having a great Christmas so far. Mine’s been nothing short of amazing, thanks to my dearest family and of course, Robin! :)

I will definitely blog more about Christmas but for now, I’ll leave you with a photo of my first attempt at egg nog. (Which actually turned out pretty well.)

Since it’s already the 26th, Happy Boxing Day! xx

Diced Tomatoes & Baguettes

If you read my blog last week, this might look familiar! I’ve received requests for the recipe of this very yummy dish, and here it is! Courtesy of the boyfriend.

1. Dice tomatoes, depending on how chunky you like your bites, if you prefer slices I reckon that would work too.

2. In a bowl, lightly toss diced tomatoes with salt, pepper and olive oil. We don’t use exact measurements so just taste as you go. You can also add in dried basil leaves. They sell these in bottles in the supermarket. (Optional)

3. Slice baguettes about 1.5-2cm thick.

4. In a pan on low heat, melt butter, then add the baguette slices, making sure the surface is covered with the melted butter. Do not let it burn! Do the same for the other side.

5. Spread a garlic & cheese spread on the pan-fried baguettes after they have cooled off abit. Pan-frying the baguettes actually keeps them crisp longer and adds to the flavour! (Think croutons!) We used Philadelphia’s Cream Cheese Light Garlic & Herb spread.

6. Dish up a spoonful of tomatoes and top the baguettes. Garnish with freshly chopped basil leaves. (Optional)

Enjoy! xx

Reversed Roles

On friday, Robin and I “celebrated” our first month together, and boy did he cook up a feast. For two days he was being all sneaky, I have no idea how many trips he made to the supermarket… But dinner was soooooooooooooo yummy! :D

“Pan-fried” baguette with garlic cream cheese & diced tomatoes.

Baby please make this often, it’s utterly AMAZING. So the whole pan-fried bread was something I started. The bread really stays crunchy a lot longer as compared to toast. More yummy too! Now you know. :)

It’s the festive season so I’ve been pretty much working, working, working, and working. I felt a little bumped that I didn’t have time to do something special for Robin. I mean, usually the first month is a pretty big deal, right? In fact while he was cooking, I was sitting in the kitchen watching him cook while doing my work.

I felt really bad that he was busying himself so much, so I made him these fridge magnets!

Also bought him his favourite Kinder Beuno chocolate and german christmas stollen. I walked round Cold Storage like three times before I found it… Anyway, back to dinner, he also made carbonara! My favourite!

YUMMY! I had double of this :D

Comic book us!

Thank you baby for cooking such a hearty dinner, so much love! I still need more time to get used to this! Ich liebe dich baby. xx

Food For Love.

Baby made us german pancakes for lunch on Saturday!

I would post the video of him doing dips in the kitchen in between making pancakes but I think he might kill me so I’ll skip that for now.

Time really flies when you’re having fun… In the blink of an eye, we’ve been together 3 weeks now, and I can safely say, I have no regrets. The drama we had to go through to be together was well worth it for what we have now, and for the future. December is right around the corner, and Robin will start university in just 2 weeks.. I need to start getting used to seeing him less and having less time to spend together. The thought of it is somewhat mood dampening cos we’re practically glued to each other, but we have to get through all this before we can be where we really want to be in life, and I know that we’ll be okay. :)

Ich liebe Dich, baby. xx

Saturday Night TV Dinners

We decided to head home to make dinner after doing some shopping in town. (Okay, it was more so just me shopping.)  Deliberating between steak and burgers, we finally settled on burgers while grocery shopping. They turned out pretty good actually, I cooked the beef patties with red wine……. Confession, it was my first time ever making a burger. (Now you know baby.)

Got cosy with the burgers and watched Bridesmaids. However I ran off halfway through the movie to make us some dessert. Rum-spiked bananas with vanilla ice cream. Yummmmm!

Also my first time trying this, hope it didn’t disappoint Robin & Gio. See, told you it was gonna be tough keeping us away from the kitchen, we’re already thinking of what to cook up next… xx

brunch @ sauce

Part 2 of Robin’s birthday celebrations! Brunch at Sauce! A great place to be at on a lazy Sunday afternoon… Or any other time of day for that matter.

Eggs Benedict. Awesome flavor but my eggs were over poached. I think I might have made a better Hollandaise the first time I tried, this one must have been left out for pretty long cos it wasn’t runny anymore. Never liked asparagus cos it’s so bitter, that still stands.

Smoked salmon. Robin had this, I haven’t tried. Don’t know why I didn’t but I will next time! Makes me want to run to the supermarket and buy a pack of smoked salmon, creme fraîche and table water crackers; I’m fine skipping the capers. Only problem is, it’s past 1am.

You cannot go to Sauce and not have Spam chips, seriously. These are addictive as hell. They’re $8 a bowl, pretty pricey for chips when a tin of spam probably only costs like what $2? Idk, but these are soooooooooo good. I’m actually craving these right now. xx

28 Lunch.

Sunny side-ups. An easier egg option, especially when you run out of milk at home.

This was actually better than scrambled eggs, must be the half-cooked yoke. I had the bacon cooking in the toaster so I “toasted” the bread in a frying pan instead. You save on the oil mess from frying bacon in a pan, and bread actually tastes really good if you fry it with butter instead of just toasting it.

Now you know. xx

late night tummy fillers.

Had a rather light dinner so by 11 my tummy was crying to be filled. :/

Have you tried sugar toast? It’s been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. Mummy always made it for me, of course, now I can make it myself. It’s really easy! 

How? Half-toast bread, spread butter, sprinkle sugar, and pop them back in to toast for abit until the sugar starts to “boil”.

Tadaaaaaaa! Quick, easy and very yummy too! Try it! xx

Yesterday Once More.

A little bird who has paranoia issues. He finds everyone around him suspicious. I haven’t given it a name, so for now I’m calling it Churp Churp. Available for purchase when I launch the “hama hama” collection.

Potato egg salad with chicken cheese sausages & croutons, topped with deviled eggs. Note to self : If you run out of dijon mustard, DO NOT sub with honey mustard.

…It’s yesterday once more