Chocolate Walnut Brownies~

i've found it! The perfect brownie recipe! These came out of the oven early this morning. They were specially made for a 4-division meeting tea session in the the afternoon. The last time i made brownies for the meeting, it was commented that the brownies were alittle dry, hopefully they'll like this newly improved brownies later on.

~*Chocolate Walnut Brownies*~

These turned out nice and moist and crispy on top. The chopped walnuts were a perfect match with the rich chocolatey flavour :p~

Ingredients:

• 120 g Bittersweet chocolate
• 3/4 C Unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 C Granulate sugar (you may reduce 1/2 C sugar if you prefer it less sweet)
• 3 Eggs (beaten)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 1 C All purpose plain flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 C Walnuts (chopped)

Methods

1. Melt butter with dark chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from heat and gradually mix the sugar into the melted chocolate and butter. Leave it to cool slightly for 45 to 1 hour.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, sift in flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add in the beaten eggs and vanilla essence into the chocolate mixture and mix well.
4. Mix in the chopped walnuts.
5. Pour batter into an 8 x 8 x 1 " square baking tray lined with baking paper/greased and lightly floured. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.
6. Leave it to cool for 90 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy~

Outback Steakhouse @ Millenia Walk Part II~

i remembered to take a picture of the steak this time~

~*Outback Steak Sirloin (Medium-rare)*~

A whopping 225 grams sirloin steak, served with their house sauce and a side dish (such as, garlic mashed potato, grilled onions, steamed vegetables, jacket potatoes, aussie chips, rice pilaf). This sirloin was packed with meat and had minimal fat content, and the garlic mashed potato was nicely done with the potato skin to give that added mouth-feel. A satisfying steak, enjoyed the aussie way~

Just look at the blood oozing out from the slab of meat...it's like juice or gravy to some people...

~*Bushman Bread*~

This starter was served before the main course (see above). A slightly sweet soft dough bread, served with creamy butter.

~*House Salad*~

Iceberg lettuce with tomatoes, onions, croutons and cheese, with a choice of honey mustard or vinaigrette dressing. This was nothing compared to their supersized Queensland chicken salad :p

Nevertheless, their pleasant and friendly service made it an enjoyable dining experience~

New York New York~

A taste of NYNY at citylink mall~

~*Caesar Salad*~

It was known as the World's best caesar salad on the menu. i felt that it was alittle over rated though. Fresh romaine leaves with half a hard-boiled egg, shredded chicken, bacon bits, croutons and percorino romano cheese slices. Hmmm... something's missing, have you spotted it yet?

If you guessed, 'dressing', you're absolutely right! It's definitely a big no-no for Caesar salad fans to have their salad "naked".

~*Caesar Dressing*~

... well, i had it separated... whyyyyyy? Let's just say that's how i like my salad to be done. At least i don't have to put up with the risk of an overly dressed salad or awful dressing.

This caesar dressing was creamy with a refreshing citrus tinge and kick-ass wasabi, wasn't exactly the world's best, but nevertheless, it was enjoyably good.

~*Pepperoni Pizza*~

"Michelangelo" was the first thing that flashed across my mind. For those who are wondering why, it's because this teenage mutant ninja turtle star besides being known for the fun loving one, he is also a hugh fan of pepperoni pizza (ring a bell? No?!?!... nevermind).

Anyway, this pepperoni pizza was well baked, with tasty pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and tomato paste topping~ The thin crust was also perfectly done with a nice balance between alittle bready and crusty~

Oops! The crust was good, really!... but... it was alittle challenging for one to finish the entire serving. So in order to savour the entire pizza, this was the compromise :x

Hmmm... the crust ends would make a good snack together with some good dips, perhaps salsa or the "world's best" caesar salad dressing. Hee~

Ice cold lemonade, anyone?

Oh, did i mention the pleasant and friendly service over at NYNY (citylink)? :)

Coffee Buns~

Fresh from the oven! The aroma of baked bread and coffee is simply ooh la la la la! Hmmm... in terms of aesthetics, they were a far cry from Aunt Yochana's beautiful special coffee buns but nevertheless, they were delicious!

~*Coffee Buns*~

Oops! The coffee topping layer was much lighter than it should have been. i made alittle mistake with the coffee cream by adding too much water to dissolve the instant coffee :x

Pizza~

It's been a really long time since i last made pizza. i like my pizza with thin and crispy crust rather than pan. What about you?

~*Home-made Pizza*~

Thick tomato puree topped with sandwich ham, pineapples, green pepper, button mushrooms, specially seasoned chicken and mozzarella cheese~

The "free-style" pizza crust was made from a mixture of bread, plain, wholemeal flour and yeast, together with some salt, milk powder, olive oil and pepper.

Wyndham Estate~

Bottles & bottles at vivocity is a good place to enjoy a glass of wine and pick up a bottle or two from their decent selection of wines.

~*Wyndham Estate, Semillon Chardonnay (2005)*~

Hee~ here's my amateur opinion... This wine was pleasant and fruity at first sip followed by a light creamy after taste.

hmmm... some wines give me mild headache or dizzy symptoms after comsumption, i guess it may be due to the poorly balanced ethanol content in the wine.

Does anyone has an explanation for the cause of the symptoms?

Sausage & Raisin Buns~

The bread baking process is extremely therapeutic (well, at least it was for moi), it helps to gather my thoughts and relax at the same time. i was really excited when i saw the 65 degrees bread recipe on Do What I Like blog, the bread looked so soft and fluffy :p~ hence i decided to squeeze some time out to attempt the recipe.

i tried to follow the dough recipe as best as i could but made some modifications to the baking temperature and made mini buns instead of a bread loaf. The buns turned out nicely, crusty on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Well, i'd probably attempt again and try to achieve and a fluffier and softer bread texture, this bread recipe is definitely for keeps!

~*Sausage & Raisin Buns*~

Can't tell them apart? The sausage buns are longer compared to the round raisin buns.

Sushi Tei~

Oops! i can't recall if this is the 3rd or 4th time i'm blogging about sushi tei. Well, if you're thinking about pictures of sushi, handrolls or sashimi... i'm sorry, i ain't got any of those for this entry.

~*Wakame Salad*~

Simple and no frills, just seasoned seaweed, fresh iceberg lettuce, carrot shreds, a few slices of cucumber, a tomato wedge and a slice of lemon, served separately with a choice of Sushi-tei, wakame or sasame dressing. i'd recommend the sushi-tei dressing, it has a nice blend of flavours with a hint of citrus.

~*Cha Soba*~

Carbo aside, this is yet another healthy and refreshing dish~

If you're a fan of cold noodles, do try the highly recommended (by B), Soba/Cha Soba at The Waraku~

Rice-free~ dinner @ sushi tei~

Outback Steakhouse @ Millenia Walk~

Outback Steakhouse, a place for great tasting steak. Be it rare, medium rare, medium, well-done... etc... But for today, i won't be posting pictures of their steak, i got too carried away by the blood oozing steak (medium rare/medium) which W & M had that i forgot to take a picture of it.... The massive red meat was too much for me, so i decided to go for a salad instead (yes~ salad with white meat :p).

~*Queensland Chicken Salad*~

Is this how they serve their chicken salad in Queensland?

Nevertheless, it was really good~ Fresh romaine and iceberg lettuce, juicy tomatoes, bacon, croutons, cheddar cheese, creamy chicken breast topped with crunchy almonds. The large salad portion is just right for 2. But $20.90++ for a salad... hmmm... it's alittle steep. Well, either or, it was a pleasant dining experience at the Outback.

~*Creamy Soup served with the Salad*~

Food Junction (Parco Bugis)~

More food from the food junction~

~*Hamburger Omelette Rice*~

Nicely presented, with broccoli, carrots and handmade burger patty~
~*Korean Spicy Tofu Soup*~

i placed the wrong order, i wanted kimchi soup but ended up getting tofu soup instead... this simple tofu (yes... just tofu in spicy soup with alittle meat), tasted more like spicy baby food. No chopsticks needed, just a spoon will do...Lesson learnt; Always check the menu thoroughly before placing your orders...

Yong Tau Foo~

Yong tau foo's one of my favourate dishes~ My number 1 ytf stall would have to be NIE's followed by food republic @ wisma atria.

~*Yong Tau Foo @ Parco Bugis Junction Food Court*~

Minimum order was at least 7 pieces at $0.60 each. The variety of yong tau foo could not match the wide selection at food republic. Nevertheless, the ytf was so-so, no wow factor but the soup was light and tasty enough for mi...

Fish Soup @ People's Park Food Centre~

Fish soup from QQ handmade noodles stall~

i was surprised by the generous serving of sliced fish and cabbage, however i wasn't impress with the soup... It was alittle blend and lacked the rich fish broth flavour. Nevertheless, $3 for a good serving of healthy fish soup, i will be back for more...

Gloria Jeans (Cineleisure)~

Mixed berry chiller, anyone?
i apologise for the lack of posts recently... It's the crunch time period, will try to post new updates whenever possible~ In the meantime, take care and have a great March ahead~