WHAT TO EAT IN MALACCA?

May 2013 , Leave a Comment ,

It is fun to go on a food trip together with family or friends. This time round we had gone to Malacca together with frog’s friends.Malacca has the best of cultures mixture (Malay, Chinese, Indian, Portuguese and Peranakan) and you will be able to try out almost any dish or cuisines by the various races. These are part of what we had eaten for our short trip!

Restoran Famosa Chicken Rice Ball

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These are what we had ordered @ the restoran:

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 Succulent steam white chicken 

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 Table full of food!

I have read food blogs that if you are in Malacca, you must try the chicken rice ball. The rice is smashed and roll into small balls. Personally i do no like the chicken rice balls as it taste very mashy. It does not have the aroma and taste of the normal chicken rice. You can order the rice balls if you want to try it.

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 Ipoh Beansprouts

 I like the ipoh beansprouts as it taste different from the beansprouts that we have eaten in Singapore. The ipoh beansprouts do not have the ‘raw’ taste and is very fresh.

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Chendol

Red beans + Chendol drizzle with gula melaka syrup and coconut mik! We love this chendol and the taste of gula melaka as the syrup. The chendol has a cooling effect for such a  hot weather in Malacca.

After our late  lunch, we had make our way to Jonker street for more food hunt and shopping!

San Shu Gong

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A place that sells Malacca goodies, sauces, cofffee, milk tea. Frog and I had bought our favourite 3 in 1 coffee and milk tea over at San Shu Gong.

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We had seen a lot of people queuing for durian chendol. The stall is located in San Shu Gong. Without any hesitation, we had also gone to purchase the durian chendol to try it.

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Durian Chendol

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It is time for dinner again after shopping and walking around at Malacca places of interest. If you have read food blog on what to eat in Malacca, you will know that Restoran Capitol Satay Celup is the famous place for  satay celup. An assortment of raw seafood, meat, vegetables on satay stick and they are cooked in a pot of hot boiling satay sauce.

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From the picture above, you can see the long queue forming outside the restoran. We did not wait as the queue was very long and instead we pop by to Kedai Sate Celup opposite the capital satay restoran.

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 Table full of stay sticks!

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Time to dip the raw food into the boiling satay sauce. The food does goes well with the satay sauce and is very delicious. A unique way of eating the food.

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The uncle had given us bread to dip into the satay sauce. Although we did not order rice to go with the satay sticks, we had already felt so full after eating all the stay sticks! Time to shop around Jonker walk.

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  Jonker Walk

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Nonya Delights

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Pineapple Tarts and Beh Teh Soh

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Steamy Dim Sum

Along the street of Jonker walk, you can find stalls selling their local food such as nonya kueh, pineaaple tarts, dim sum and etc. We had passed by a stall selling durians and to satisfy our durian crave, we had ordered durians to eat though we are so full!

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By looking at the abve durian picture, I need not to further describe how delicious the durian was. We had not regretted having the yellow fleshy durians despite being so full.

We had enjoyed the Malacca trip and can’t wait for another food trip soon!

Posted in: Travel , Tagged: ,

McDonald THE SPICY FACE OFF

May 2013 , 2 Comments ,

Frog and I had attended the session of The Spicy Face off organise by McDonald at Bishan park. This is a faceoff from the current champion Mc Spicy burger (10- year champion) and the newly created burger.  Mc Spicy burger has faced a new challenger! The burger got spicier and good news is that you guys can vote which is your favourite McDonald spicy Burger online.

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The Spicy Face Off

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The Challenger: Double Red Peri Scorcher Burger + Passion Fruit McFizz

 A juicy, whole muscle chicken marinated with red Peri chilli, cumin, corriander and lemon, cooked in a cripsy batter with cracker wheat and top with spicy and red hot peri sauce.  The burger goes well with the Passion Fruit McFizz and citrus thai shaker fries!

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Citrus Thai Shaker

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Shake shake shake and the fries taste great with the shaker. It compliments the spicyness of the burger with a little of sourness and citrus taste.

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Personally i prefer the new red peri scorcher burger. Not only it is spicy,  it has the zesty and citrus aftertaste. It goes well with the fried cripsy chicken muscle. However frog perfer Mc Spciy burger as he feels that it is spicer.

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Vote for your favourite spicy burger today!

The new peri scorcher burger is available in McDonald on 16 May 2013. Check out McDonald’s Facebook page to vote for your favourite burgers!

Posted in: Media Invite , Tagged: , , ,

3 GREAT WAYS TO GET STARTED IN COOKING

May 2013 , Leave a Comment ,

Cooking is actually a very easy thing to do. It is not a daunting task and it can be a fun activity. For those who are keen in cooking but are scared at the sight of how fishes are fried in a Chinese wok and the endless ingredients to prepare prior to a dish, here are some easy tips to get you “knee-deep” into cooking gradually.

1. Start off a simple dish. Simple and easy to prepare dishes such as pastas or pizzas are pretty simple to prepare. Simple dishes not only help to stir the interest but throughout the process many cooking knowledge can be learned. It also greatly aids in building up your confidence level in cooking. Below are the links for pasta and pizza recipes.

Home Cooked Mushroom Pasta Recipe

Home Made Pizza Recipe

2. Watch food programmes such as Asian Food Channel or Food Network. These programmes are not just programmes to entertain your day away but it serves as an educational programme to let you know the facts and it may very well answer all your whys and how. You can also try out some simple and yet complex looking recipes for a good start.

3. Pick a celebrity chef or someone you admire to imitate. By doing this, much better to say you will be inspired to be like them; chop ingredients like them, flip the pan like them or even talk like them. For many I know, Jamie Oliver is probably one of the many chefs that many would like to be. Mine’s Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage and Michael Smith of Chef At Home. Now that’s something for a start.

If you notice I have never mentioned about cookbooks and this is because they are too “monotonous” to instill that interest as much as TV programmes do. I’m not saying they are of no use but once you get the hang of it, these books will come to play and it will be the book like a spell book to a sorcerer.

It does not matter if you stumble along the way and getting all those negative remarks and comments but as long the interest is alive, whipping up fantastic dishes is just steps away. Stay positive.

Happy cooking!

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CHEAP QUICK FIX MEAL – MACARONI SOUP

April 2013 , Leave a Comment ,

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On some days when you do not have the energy and time to make “complex” meals, a quick 30-minute recipe for a quick meal is all you need – at a cheap, ingredients easy to supermarket way.

The Macaroni Soup is I think one of the most easiest way to whip up in a short time and the ingredients involved are the easy grab-and-go at the supermarket.

The ingredients as follows (serves 2-3):

  • Some minced pork ($2 worth or less depending on personal preference)
  • 2-3 stalks of vegetable such as Xiao Bai Cai or Chye Sim (usually comes in a pack for $1)
  • Chicken stock of near half a pot you are cooking in
  • 2 cups of Macaroni
  • 1 packet of Yong Tau Fu (usually found at tofu section)

How to cook:

  1. Marinade the minced pork with some salt, pepper and sesame oil. Leave it aside to soak the flavour.
  2. Wash the vegetables and cut them into little sections.
  3. Wash the Yong Tau Fu.
  4. Boil the chicken stock (I’m using one Knorr chicken stock cube in near half a pot of water)
  5. Once boiling, add 2 cups of Macaroni. Stir it and let it cook.
  6. Once the macaroni becomes soft yet not cooked, add the Yong Tau Fu.
  7. 5 minutes later, add the vegetables.
  8. Once vegetables becomes “soaked”, roll the minced pork into balls of desired size and drop into the pot slowly. Do not stir here or the minced pork will separate.
  9. Cover up and slow boil.
  10. Taste the soup. If too salty, add more water and stir.

It’s a light, filling, healthy and satisfying meal. Enjoy!

Posted in: Cooking Recipes , Tagged: , , , , ,

GYNNSAM COOK’S KNIFE FROM IKEA

April 2013 , Leave a Comment ,

knife

This will be my weapon of choice for now to cook.

It’s the Gynnsam Cook’s Knife from IKEA.

  • The knife is at 21cm.
  • Looks pretty neat, not too heavy to handle and the grip is nice to hold.
  • The price tag is not on the steep side (in the world of Cook’s Knife that is) is at $29.90.

It has this 15 years guarantee that goes along with the knife but there are certain conditions to be met before they replace a new set for you.

They have other range of knives too but since I’m in need of a new inexpensive Cook’s Knife, this one is sufficient for me. The brochure (pdf format) for the knife is as below in the link.

GYNNSAM Guarantee

And the link to the online IKEA store should you want to buy the knife without heading down to IKEA itself.

Gynnsam 21cm Cook’s Knife

Hail the almighty Gynnsam Cook’s Knife!! I’m gonna cook with this!!

Posted in: Kitchen Hardwares , Tagged: , , , , , ,

LIPTON FIRST POP-UP HIGH TEA BAR_PLAZA SINGAPURA

April 2013 , Leave a Comment ,

Calling out all Lipton tea lovers. If you are a fan of Lipton tea, now is the opportunity to try out customise Lipton tea sets that is paired with Canelé sweet and savoury items.  Lipton opens world’s first pop-up High Tea Bar in Singapore @ Plaza Singapura, Main Atrium. Discover the art of tea and food pairing from 16 to 21 April 2013, 11am to 8.30pm daily. With the right pairing, it can actually bring out the flavour of food and tea.

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Lipton Pop-Up High Tea Bar

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For tonight event, we have Lipton Tea expert, Food Technologist Miss Wong to share with us some tips of tea brewing. To brew a cup of nice tea, it is dependent on the following factors:

  1. Size of Tea Leaves (This will affect infusion rate)
  2. Temperature of the water (80◦C to 90◦C)
  3. Mineral content of water (It will be good to use distilled water)
  4. Infusion Time (Dependent on individual preference)
  5. Do not uses reboil water to make your cup of tea as this will spoil the taste of the tea leaves.

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Chef Christophe Grilo also shared with us on how he had come out up with compatible sweet and savoury dessert to go with each different type of Lipton tea.

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Lipton is in working collaboration with Executive Pastry Chef Christophe Grilo from Canelé Pătisserie Chocolaterie and feature new customised tea sets paired with Canelé sweet and savoury items.  Here are the pictures of the Lipton High Tea sets that are available:

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Lipton Yellow Label Tea with Lemon Macarons

The richly aromatic Lipton Yellow Label Tea delivers a full-bodied blend in a frame of soft taste. Wonderful with the butter cream-infused zesty macarons. Personally this is one of my favourite tea set as the lemon macarons really goes well with the yellow label tea.

Pict 3image004Lipton Citrus Tea with Traditional Salmon and
cucumber sandwich

Lipton citrus tea made with cocktail of refreshing lemon, orange, lime and grapefruit. Goes well with fresh and silky salmon and cucumber sandwiches.

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Lipton Forest Fruit Tea with Chicken Mini Burger

Refreshing harmonious blend of strawberry, raspberry, redcurrant, blackberry and cherry. Forest fruit tea is one of my fav lipton tea as i love the smell of fruity aroma once the tea leave infuses. This tea compliments with the poached chicken served with tomatoes, fresh lettuce and mayonnaise, enchased by a fluffy brioche.

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Lipton blue fruit tea with classic cheesecake

Calming balance of blackberry, blackcurrant and raspberry in the Lipton Blue Fruit Tea. Perfect to pair with velvety smooth vanilla cheesecake made with fresh and luscious cream cheese on sweet crumble base.

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Lipton Russian Earl Grey Tea with Le Chocolat Croustillant

Robust blend of Lipton Russian Earl Grey Tea made with gentle bergamot and sweet blue flowers and is paired with luscious 70% Vanini Cocoa mousse layered with crispy chocolate praline.

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Lipton Asian White Tea with Chestnut Cassis Sponge Cake

Lipton Asian white tea made with a blend of white tea and green tea mingled with rose petals. The white tea compliments with sweets treat of fluffy sponge cakes soaked with vanilla syrup and topped with chestnut cream infused with rum and cassis marmalade.

 If you wish to try out any one of the Lipton High Tea Set (first 420 redemptions a day), simply spend $25 at Plaza Singapura or $15 worth of Lipton products.

  • Redemption is only valid on day of purchase and be made by 8.30pm.
  • Each customer is entitled to one redemption a day.
  • Only original receipts are accepted.

Do try the Lipton high tea set as this is world first Lipton pop up high tea bar.Enjoy sipping your favourite Lipton tea while savouring Canelé sweet or savoury items!

Posted in: Media Invite , Tagged: , ,

STIR FRY CHICKEN AND STRAW MUSHROOM WITH GINGER AND SCALLION

April 2013 , Leave a Comment ,

Here is the recipe for what I had cooked at Knorr Blogger CookOut.

Stir Fry Chicken and Straw Mushroom with Ginger and Scallion

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 4 slices ginger
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 chilli padi thinly sliced omit or adjust to liking
  • 4 stalks scallions (spring onions)
  • 250 grams boneless chicken breast or thigh fillet cut to bite-sized pieces
  • one x 200g canned straw mushrooms drained
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup water

METHOD

  1. Heat oil in the wok, add ginger and stir fry. Then add garlic, chilli & bottom the scallions; stir fry briefly until fragrant.
  2. Add chicken pieces and stir fry until they are no longer pink on the surface.

3. Add mushrooms, sauce ingredients and remaining scallions.

4. Simmer for 3-4 minutes with lid cover onto the wok.

Stir fry chicken and straw mushroom with ginger & scallion 

A simple and homely dish. :)

Posted in: Cooking Recipes , Tagged: , ,

HOMEMADE APRICOT AND WALNUT BREAD

April 2013 , Leave a Comment ,

I have never tried making my own bread before and this is my first attempt in trying to bake bread. While baking, aroma of the bread fills my kitchen and I am in love of making my own bread! I am using the Rowenta oven to ferment and proof the bread dough. Aware of the bread proofing function of my Rowenta OC7868 oven and finally got the opportunity to try and test it. Here are step by step Apricot and Walnut Bread Recipes using Rowenta oven. Thanks Scharlie for the bread recipe!

Ingredients:

A  
BREAD FLOUR 350 gm
BUTTER/MARGARINE 60 gm
DRIED YEAST 2 tsp
SALT 1/2 tsp

B  
BROWN SUGAR 1 tsp
EGG 1
MILK  210 ml
DRIED APRICOT 115 gm [chopped]
CHOPPED WALNUT  55 gm

METHOD

1. Pour A into the mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

2. Mix B together and mix thoroughly.

3. Pour B into the A and add the chopped Apricot and walnut.

4. Mix them thoroughly and the dough should be free from the side of the bowl.

5. Put the dough onto the table and continue to knead the dough for another 10 minutes.

6. The dough should be very elastic.

7. Proof the dough in the oven using Menu 14 for 1 hour or double in size.

Before

After (Double in Size after 1hr)

8. Knock it down and cut into 3 dough.

9. Put it on a baking tray and proof for the second time on Menu 14 for about 40 minutes or till almost double in size.

10. Take it out from the oven and cover with oil plastic or damp cloth.

11. Change the oven to traditional mode and preheat to 205 degree celsius.

12. Once preheat ready, bake the dough for 12 to 15 minutes or till golden brown on lower rack.

13. When the bread is out of the oven, brush it with butter or margarine.

14. Cool it before serving.

NOTE:

1. Always bake on lower rack and bread product can only bake 1 tray at a time.

2. The bread loaf can be brush with Apricot jam or top with water icing.

3. You can soak the apricot in water or rum for 2 to 3 hours to soften it.

 Although bread making is time consuming, the process of making the bread and the final product makes it worthwhile. Seeing my family members enjoying eating my homemade bread make me happy too. I am so glad that it was sucess on my first attempt of bread making. Practice makes perfect and i will keep on trying and perfect my bread making. Weekend is coming and if you have time, feel free to try out apricot and walnut bread recipe.

Posted in: Bread Recipes , Tagged: , ,

KNORR BLOGGER COOKOUT SESSION

April 2013 , 5 Comments ,

Nothing beats home cook food and it will be great to whip up simple and yet delicious meal for your family. I had attended Knorr Blogger CookOut Session yesterday and was fortunate to have Chef Daniel Koh for sharing his Stir Fry Tom Chicken recipe with us.

Knorr Blogger CookOut @ Tott Cooking Studio

Every one gathers near Chef Daniel to listen and look at his cooking demonstration.

Knorr Products

Once you have the ingredients ready, the cooking time is less than 20 minutes. A hassle free meal that is suitable for working adults like us. The tom yam aroma fills the cooking studio and we got the chance to try out the dish cooked by Chef Daniel too. The chicken breast fillet is tender and tasty too. I am surprise on how Knorr tom yam cubes can do wonder to a dish.

You can try the below recipe to other white meat too. I can’t wait to try the recipe using fish fillet meat.

Stir Fry Tom Yam Chicken

Ingredients:

1 nos chicken breast

1 cube Knorr Tom Yam Stock (Dissolve 1 Knorr Tom Yam Cube in 250mL of water)

1 tbsp Knorr Hao Chi

1/2 no lime slice

1/3 tsp lime zest

1 stick lemon grass cut into small pieces

1 leaf lime leave julienne

1 tbsp chopped onion

2 nos garlic slice

1 nos chili padi diced

1 stalk basil

1 tbsp coconut milk

Method

1) Slice chicken breast and season with Knorr Hao Chi.

2) Heat pan with oil and fry chicken for 1 – 2 minutes. ( Remove and set aside)

3) Fried onion, garlic, lemongrass, lime leave till fragrant and add Knorr Tom Yam Stock.

4) Bring to boil and add the rest of ingredients and chicken breast.

5) Simmer till sauce almost dry and lace with coconut milk.

6) Plate and serve.

Chef Daniel posing with his stir fry tom yam chicken.

After cooking demonstration by Chef Daniel, it is time for Blogger cook out session. Each of the blogger will come with his/her family member and whip up a family recipe.

‘Mine’ cooking station

Frog and I had cooked stir fry chicken with ginger and scallion. It is a very simple and homely dish that my mum will prepare for us during raining days. Frog had helped to chop the ingredients and i am in charge of cooking the dish.

Posing while cooking. Look i can multi task!

Concentrating in cooking up the dish.

Stir fry chicken and straw mushrom with ginger and scallion

Stay tune of my next post on my stir fry and straw mushroom with ginger and scallion recipe.

It is a joy to cook together as a family as this can bring us closer together and improve bonding with one another.

Chef Daniel and me posing with our dish 

Chef Daniel and Frog

Knorr blogger cook out session had ended off with trying out food prepared by the bloggers. All the dishes are very savoury and delicious. We had a hearty and sumptuous meal prepared by everyone.

Dishes prepared by each blogger

Knorr Blogger CookOut 2013

I will like to thank Knorr for inviting us and Chef Daniel for the easy and yet yummy stir fry tom yam chicken recipe.

Knorr Public CookOut Competition

To encourage home cooking for quality family meals, Knorr is organising a public Cookout Competion themed “Your Ingredient to Happy Family Moments”  on 29 MAy 2013 Wednesday 10am at Tott Cooking studio. Chef Daniel Koh will be leading the panel of judges and sharing 10 original  recipes that are created and inspired by his own family recipes.

To participate, just form a team of two with one of your family members and send in the following details to knorr@vmsd.com.sg from now to 12 may 2013:

1. Participants details, including name, date of birth, NIRC No, contact email and numbers and relationship of team members,

2. Name and photo of family recipe dish

3. Story behind the family recipe dish ( Limited to 100 words)

4. The recipe and Knorr product(s) used

5. Cost breakdown of dish (Limted to $30)

Participants of Cookout Competition stand a chance to win up to $8000 worth of prizes and share the stories behind their family recipes.

Do join this competion with your family member and have fun whipping up delicious dish!

Posted in: Media Invite , Tagged: , , , ,

MONG HING TEOCHEW RESTAURANT

April 2013 , Leave a Comment ,

I can still remember my father bringing us to Mong Hing Teochew Restaurant for dinner when we are young. A cosy restaurant for families to hang out and they are usually crowded on weekend. I had heard from my aunt that the restaurant is closing down when their lease in Keypoint expires in May 2013. The news was featured in the newspaper and the internet. Upon hearing this news, I had quickly brought my parents and aunties for a meal at Mong Hing Teochew Restaurant before we have no more chance to taste their food. It is a pity that they are closing down as they are around for about 58 years. I guess for now it is not easy to find manpower to work in food and beverage sector and is hard to maintain business to due high operating cost in Singapore.

Mong Hing Teochew Restaurant

Jellied Pork

Braised Goose Meat

Deep Fried Pork and Liver Roll

Fish Maw Soup

Stired Fried Asparagus with prawn and mushroom

Oyster Omelette

 ’Orh Nee’ Yam Paste

If you are a fan of teochew cuisine, there is still few more weeks to visit Mong Hing Teochew Restaurant before they are closed down. I will definetly miss their food.

Mong Hing Teochew Restaurant at KeyPoint

Add: 371 Beach Road   Tel: 6223-4588   Open from 11am to 2.30pm, and from 6 to 9.30pm daily

http://soshiok.com/article/23083

Posted in: Restaurant Reviews , Tagged: , ,