Sunday, December 28, 2008

Pandan Raisin Pancakes~

Busy busy morning! This a little something i made for a year-end tea session later this afternoon. It's a slight variation to the previous raisin pancake recipe, i replaced the pandan extract with 1/2 teaspoon of pandan paste.
~*Pandan Raisin Pancakes*~
Soft, fluffy and delicious~
*i hope they'll like it :)

Han's Cafe @ Far East Plaza~

i enjoy dining at Han's for their good selection of food at affordable prices...
~*Christmas Mixed Grill*~
A selection from the Han's x'mas set special...
The main course: Tender turkey breast meat, honey ham, sausages, broccoli and potato wedges.
Served with a drink (choice of coffee, tea, oj or ice lemon tea), a soup of the day, a slice of toasted garlic bread and a dessert.
~*Fish Congee*~
A large bowl of fish congee garnished with scallions, fried shallots and an egg (i omitted it).

~*Combination Salad*~
Some greens to go with our main course~
The pineapple ring and cherry adds a festive feel to the salad.

Han's Cafe
Far East Plaza
14 Scotts Road
#03-26
Tel: 67343727
Mon - Sat: 7am - 10pm
Sun & PH: 8am - 10pm

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe @ Cineleisure~

A quick lunch before a post-x'mas ktv session with L, M & C~
~*Luncheon Meat & Egg Soup Noodles*~
HK-style instant noodles with eggs, luncheon meat, corn, tomato and scallion in milky soup.
~*Braised Cabbage with Mushrooms*~
So this time, i decided to try a different veggie dish... which is a super huge serving of wong bok (chinese cabbage) with button, straw and golden mushrooms.
The serving is large enough to feed 2-3 adults...
~*Iced HK Ying Yong *~
A favourite iced tea + coffee combo to complete the meal~

Friday, December 26, 2008

78 Da Pai Dang (KPT)~

A x'mas dinner with my family at 78 Da Pai Dang zi char stall located at hougang KPT coffee shop.
~*Sauces*~
Chili padi in light soya sauce & chili belachan
The chili padi was pedas~ shiok!
~*Hotplate tofu*~
Spicy hotplate tofu wiht prawns, mushrooms, eggs and some veggies
~*Hotplate deer meat*~
My favourite dish of the night.
Tender and tasty deer meat with scallions and onions
~*Baby kailan with mushrooms*~
~*Thai-style red garoupa*~
The fish was over fried and dehydrated and the thai sauce was too sweet and not spicy enough.
*Lesson learnt... fresh fish are best enjoyed steamed and not deep fried...

Thursday, December 25, 2008

X'mas Eve (random)~

It's x'mas eve! Almost every corner in town was filled with people, people and more people~ We intended to go to Yuki Yaki at marina square for an early dinner but there was already a queue of at least 30 people waiting in line at 4.45pm! So early!!! In the end, we managed to find ourselves a table at The Waraku (marina square)...
~*Wakame Soba*~
The regular serving of wakame soba was presented in a large bowl that resembled a wash basin.
After dinner we went over to coffee club for some drinks before our movie, and this was what i had...

~*Strawberry Chocolate Blend*~
A rich chocolatie and super sweet dessert drink with chocolate bits and fresh strawberry bits.

It was way too sweet for me palette... :(

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie (Crisco)*~

Chocolate chip cookies using Crisco's shortening, it's another good chocolate chip cookie for keeps. Do check out the recipe on the Crisco's webby. Chewy or crunchy cookies, just simply adjust the baking time in the oven and... tah dah! You'll get chocolate chip cookies, just the way you like them~
~*Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie*~

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Sushi Tei's Ice ball~

A simple sweet treat to round up a scrumptious dinner~
~*Ice Ball*~
Mini bite size ice balls filled with the milky sweetness of the condensed milk.
We had the green tea, milk and strawberry flavours.

ROC Pizza~

i like it this way! Yes! This is it! Ultra thin and super crispy crust with mozzarella cheese, ham and mushrooms. Yummie-licious! This is what i call pizza lite. Restaurant standard pizza at hawker centre prices! So good, it rocks~ :)
~*Ham & Mushroom*~
This 8" pizza makes a good beer snack for 2 or a fantastic pizza meal for 1 :p~
Just look at how thin it is!

ROC Pizza

505 Beach Road #01-109
Golden Mile Food Centre

Operating Hours:
Tue-Sun: 12.30pm - 9pm (Closed on Mon)

Charcoal Fish Soup Steamboat~

A family dinner at Hong Kong Charcoal Fishhead Steamboat Restaurant at upper bukit timah road before the big day~

~*Hei Zou*~
Fried Prawn beancurd rolls~

~*Fried Tofu with Broccoli & Mushrooms*~

~*Prawn Paste Chicken*~

~*Charcoal Fish Soup Steamboat*~
The soup was very tasty and rich in flavour :p~ YUM!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Whisk Cafe & Lounge~


Shopping can really work up an appetite :p

This is my first visit to the Whisk cafe & lounge after reading about it on leafie's blog. We were greeted by the friendly service staff and ushered to our table. The cosy lighting, comfortable setting and good looking waiters allowed us to settle down pretty comfortably and were busy exploring the menu in no time.
~*The Menu*~
~*Mint & Lime Soda*~
A simple light, minty and zesty soda.

~*Dragonfruit & Mixed Berries Smoothie*~
No frills, it's just as the name describes, blended dragonfruit with berry fruits and ice.
The colour looks alittle scary and the drink lacks presentation maybe a small stalk of mint leaf would have been nice.

~*Izio's Aglio Olio*~
Spicy pasta tossed in garlic, herb, red chili slices and olive oil served with 6 juicy prawns.

~*Tandoori Chicken Wrap*~
Tasty and juicy tandoori chicken with yogurt wrap served with salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Whisk Cafe & Lounge
423 Orchard Road
#03-15 Wisma Atria
Singapore 238877
Tel: +65 6836 5080

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Waraku @ The Central IV~

An early dinner at Waraku with my parents... We didn't manage to make a reservation, hence, to avoid the crowd, we were at The Central in the early evening and were fortunate enough to get a window seat overlooking the Singapore river~
~*Tonkatsu Wazen*~
Delicious & value for money!

~*Beef Kaminabe (Chige soup) Wazen*~
A'lil of everything: beef, spicy soup, tempura, salmon sashimi~
~*Hokkai Salad*~
Something fresh and light...
Iceberg lettuce, fresh salmon, ikura (salmon roe), squid, tuna (maguro) with japanese wasabi dressing :p~
Waraku @ The Central
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#03-89/97/98 The Central
Singapore 059817
Tel: 6327-8860
Opening hours: 11:30am - 11pm (Last order 10:30pm)

Dark Chocolate with Mixed Fruits Brownie~

An experimental recipe for the festive season. Alittle fusion between a fruitcake and a rich chocolate brownie...
~*Dark Chocolate with Candied Fruits Brownie*~
The brownie is extremely crumbly and moist. Each mouthful encompasses the richness of the chocolate noir, almond bits and sweetness of the mixed fruits.
Sinful but satisfying~
Recipe

Ingredients

  • 150 g 65% Dark chocolate
  • 110 g Butter flavoured crisco shortening
  • 2 Tbs Water
  • 110 g Sugar
  • 3 Tbs Honey
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Vanilla essence
  • 130g Self rising flour
  • 1/2 tsp Baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp Bicarbonate soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 3 Tbs Candied mixed fruit bits (Soaked in Cherry liquer for at least 2 hours, then drained)
  • 15 Roasted almonds (Chopped into smaller bits)

Method

  1. Preheat oven at 180 degree celsius.
  2. Melt butter with dark chocolate in a double boiler (or microwave). Remove from heat and gradually mix the water, sugar and honey into the melted chocolate and butter. Leave it to cool slightly for 45 to 1 hour.
  3. In a separate mixing bowl, sift in flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda and salt.
  4. Add in the beaten eggs and vanilla essence into the chocolate mixture and mix well.
  5. Mix in the chopped roasted almonds and drained candied mixed fruit bits.
  6. Pour batter into an 8 x 8 x 1 " square baking tray lined with baking paper.
  7. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degree celsius for 25 minutes.
    Leave it to cool for 90 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

suggestion: After the brownie has cooled, refrigerate for about 1 hour before cutting if you would prefer a less crumbly brownie.

Hot Tomato Express~

We were at Plaza Singapura shopping center, walking around as we tried to decide on a place for dinner. We finally settled at Hot Tomato Express after being approached by a friendly service crew who kindly explained their on-going promotions while we were browing through their menu.
For every main course ordered, diners could enjoy a drink from their selection, a soup-of-the-day and a garlic bread at an additional $2.90++.


~*Lime Juice*~
Lime juice served with lemon slice.
Sourish and not too sweet, very refreshing and perks you up.

~*Soup of the day & Garlic Bread*~
Mushroom soup with delicious soft and fluffy herb garlic bread... Yummie!

This is how the bread looks like underneath...

~*Chicken & Mushroom in cream sauce*~
A tasty and good serving of angel's hair pasta with chicken and mushrooms in herb cream sauce. This cream sauce doesn't leave that "jalat" feeling which some cream based pasta does.

~*Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese & Avocado Sandwich*~
Chuncks of grilled chicken breast, bacon strips, melted cheddar cheese, tomato, avocado, cucumber, lettuce and mayonnaise sandwich served with potato chips.

~*Hot Tomato's Club Wrap-*~
A relatively healthy and yummie wrap consisting of chicken breast, bacon, cheddar cheese, fresh tomato, mixed salad leaves, alittle mayonnaise served with potato chips.

We had a pleasant experience with the service and food and would most probably return again to try their grilled salmon with mango salsa, oven-baked selection, sandwiches...etc
Hot Tomato Express

68 Orchard Road
#B2-40 Plaza Singapura
Singapore 238839

Saturday, December 6, 2008

The Magic of Chong Qing Hot Pot~

We had a wonderful hot pot experience at Suntec previously. Hence, we decided to roll over to the tanglin road Chong qing hot pot outlet to satisfy our steamboat craving.

~*Yuan Yang (Mildly spicy Mala & Chicken Soup)*~
At the beginning, when the soup was still plain and calm...


~*Appetizers*~

~*Our first selection*~
Seafood, meat, mushrooms, vegetables and bean products
~*Cooking in Process*~
~*Ice cream*~
The 2 available flavours were either mango or chocolate :p~
Once again, we were not disappointed, the good food, the friendly and prompt service standards were comparable to the Suntec outlet.

The Magic of Chong Qing Hot Pot
Tanglin Shopping Centre
19 Tanglin Road
#04-06/ 07
Singapore 247909
Tel: 6 7348 135, 6734 9789

Opening hours: 12pm-3pm, 6pm-11pm (Mon-Sun)

Mochi~

~*Sesame seed coated mochi with mung bean filling*~
This were made by my mum, it was her first and successful attempt in making japanese mochi. The advantages of making your own mochi is the freedom to include more of your favourite filling, the ability to control the sweetness level and the thickness of the mochi layer :p~
Well, the process of mochi making may get alittle messy but after going through the process, the reward of a nice d.i.y dessert treat is worth the trouble~ :)

Friday, December 5, 2008

Shokudo V~

Another eventful and enjoyable feast! :p
~We thought this was all we that we have ordered... ~
~*In the end, there was more!*~
And what did we have?
Appetizers (Seasoned scallop wings, wakame, baby octopus, kimchi), Sashimi delux, Rosti with sausage, Omu rice with grilled chicken, Mushroom & cheese omelette, Chicken bamboo rice, Salmon spaghetti, Hokkaido-curry potato thin pizza, Doumiao and assorted mushroom teppanyaki, Grilled squid, mushrooms, bacon wrapped asparagus, quail eggs and prawns, fried gyoza...etc :p~

Hurrr... it was indeed an enjoyable catch up session!
Thanx! M, G, I and B! :)