Bak Kwa Cheese Toast

Bak Kwa, pineapple tarts, taiwan mua chee, pudding......these are a few of my favourite food! yup....especially during cny. haha....

Simply;
-Spread butter over slice of bread, toast in the oven toaster for about 8 mins.
-Top with bak kwa & cheese, toast for another 4-5 mins untill cheese melts.
-Enjoy!

I love pineapple tarts. Yes & its onli the type where pineapple jam are being wrapped inside.know y? Normally for those tarts whereby the jam are on top, they tends to be dry & hard.

Another of my favourite! These foodstuff from taiwan onli starts their trend here in these recent years.

Jesper purposely went to chinatown b4 cny period to purchase them.
I loved the green tea & yam mua chee most.Mum loved mango & lychee pudding! yummy!

CNY Hotpot & Yu Sheng Dinner

I been reali bz for the cny period. Other than house visitings, i gotto cook & prepare meals for our family.
Same as previous year, we had steamboat on the 1st day of cny.Other than this, we had "abalone yu sheng".
Yeah....its time to "lao hei" may everyone prosper with better health & luck in the year of ox.

These are the ingredients for hotpot. Other than abalone slices, assorted balls like fishballs,mushrooms balls ....i prepared beancurd puff & fish dumplings as well.
Wow....i can't wait to eat! I used abalone stock as soup base for the hotpot.Hmm...yummy!

Yummy~licious abalone yu sheng.

Wat a wonderful cny dinner! :-)

Heng Hua Mee Sua

Since young, having "heng hua mee sua" as breakfast on the 1st day of every cny has been our family tradition. All i noe is we are "heng hua" & other than heng hua bee hoon, this is another 1 of the dish where we eat.
Wat i like about the mee sua is other than all these garnishes to go with the mee sua, when soup is being poured over it, the mee sua won't turn soggy so quickly. U r able to chew on the springy & Q crunch of the mee sua. Wow... the texture is lovely.

See, the mee sua are thick & not soggy, and it goes perfectly well with the soup.

Ingredients;
Some heng hua mee sua, boiled & drained
1 bunch chye sim
1 pkt holland beans
2 chicken drumstick
6 dried mushroom, soak & slice
2 eggs, beaten
100g peanuts
Some orr lai (heng hua seaweed)
½ cup mushroom water
Salt to taste
½ pot water
Oil for frying

Method,
-Peel seaweed into fine shred to remove fine sand, fry with ½ tbsp oil over low heat for about 5 mins. Be careful not to burnt them. Remove.
-Stir fry peanut with 1 tbsp oil till browned & cooked. Remove.
-Make 2 thin omelette from the beaten eggs. Shred into thin pieces.
-Stir fry chye sim, holland beans, mushroom individually. Remove.
-Boil chicken drumstick till cooked, shred into pieces.
-Pour mushroom water into the stock used for boiling chicken. Bring to full boil, add salt to taste.
-To assemble, gather mee sua & top with all the ingredients, serve over hot soup.

-Enjoy!

香爆姜葱猪肚

This is the 1st time i'm trying out stir fry pig stomach. All the while our family style is to cook pig stomach in soup. But we only take a few sips of soup, the rest will be gone to waste.
To prevent any wastage on the joyous occasion, i decided to test out for our reunion dinner tonite.

Ingredients;
1 cooked pig stomach, sliced
Bunch of spring onions, cut into 2” length
4 dried chili, cut into 2” length
3 clove garlic, sliced
3 inch size ginger, shredded
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp dark soy sauce
½ tbsp sugar
Dash of pepper
Pinch of salt
120ml water
Oil for frying

Method;
-Prepare cooked pig stomach by boiling it in a pot of water with 1 tbsp pepper seeds till soft.
-Cut into slices if 1.5cm thickness, set aside for later use.
-Heat oil, fry with ginger, garlic & dried chili till fragrant.
-Add in pig stomach & fry for another 2 mins.
-Stir in sauces, sugar, salt & pepper.
-Add in water, bring to full boil & let it simmer till sauce dry.
-Sprinkle in spring onions, fry for another 30sec & serve.
-Enjoy!

Asparagus Prawns With Spicy Rojak Flower

For chinese new year, i specially prepare this dish wif 8 big prawns. Lucky number 8 symbolise "fa" in chinese & we will "huat" in the coming year.

Ingredients;
8 big prawns
16 stalk asparagus
½ rojak flower, chopped
40g shallots, chopped
2 chili padi, chopped
1 tsp sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
Oil for frying

Method;
-Remove shells & veins from prawns, run knife along the back of prawns to make a thin slit. Cut a hole, twist the tail of prawns & insert through the hole.
-Insert 2 asparagus through the hole.
-Boil prawns & asparagus till cooked, soak in ice cubes.
-Set aside for later use.
-Prepare sauce by frying all the chopped ingredients in oil till fragrant, add in sugar & salt.
-Continue to fry till mixture until about to dry up, add in tomato ketchup.
-Pour in prawns to coat evenly.
-Serve immediately.

CNY Reunion Dinner

In another few more hrs time, we will be sending away rat & welcoming the year of ox. It will be another brand new year.
Most chinese family will get together on new yr eve, reunion over a steamboat dinner.

Our family normally have steamboat on the 1st day of cny instead. Dad would place order for suckling pig for our family on every reunion dinner on cny eve. Yummy..............its my favourite!Other than that we had some other dishes that has special meaning to symbolise good for the year.

Suckling pig from Kian Seng Seafood Restaurant.

Chinese leek with sea cucumber, symbolise 年年都有的算$

Prawns with Asparagus, symbolise 喜哈大笑

Stir Fry Pig Stomach with Ginger & Spring Onion, symbolise 钱财堵到家里满满

Meatballs Veggie Fish Maw Soup, symbolise 年年有多余的钞票

Wat a yummy~licious reunion dinner we had tonite :-)

Gong Xi Fa Cai 恭喜发财

"Gong Xi Fa Cai"

Wishing all readers, a happy & prosperous new year.

May the year of the ox brings better wealth & health to all.

Crunchy Potato Balls

I've been wanting to try this recipe out since sometimes back, but was reali bz with events.

In order to clear some space to stock up other food for CNY, i decided to prepare Crunchy Potato Balls.

Ingredients;
1 large potato, boiled & mashed
2 slices carrot ham, diced
2 tbsp mayonnaise
Salt & pepper
Some crushed cornflakes

Method;
-Mix all the ingredients except cornflakes.
-Roll potato mixture into 1 inch size balls & roll onto cornflakes.
-Freeze potato balls till firm.
-Deep fried till golden brown.
-Alternatively, can baked them at 220ºC for 20 mins or till brown.
-Enjoy!

Pan Seared Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Poor Adam had been working till past midnite these few days. He will be home for dinner tonite as he will be home in the afternoon.
I cooked some of his favourite dish & this happened to be 1 of them.

Normally i will baked these wings, but decided on a quicker method.I realise that pan seared method is quick & easy, sort of like grilling in a pan.Most importantly, its yummy!

Ingredients;
10 chicken wings
3 tbsp Japanese teriyake sauce
Dash of baking soda

Method;
-Marinade chicken wings with teriyaki sauce & baking soda.
-Set aside in fridge for at least 3 hrs.
-Heat a non-stick frying pan, pan fried wings till browned on both sides. -Pour in remaining marinate & bring to full boil till sauce dries up.
-Enjoy!

Meatballs in Shark's Fin Soup

There's this can of shark's fin soup lying in my cupboard for almost a yr. The expiry date is in 2010 & mum's been nagging asking mi will this expire? Better cook it or give away if i dun intend to eat this.


I decided to cook it with meatballs as i wasn't very keen in eating the traditional style of thick starchy shark's fin soup.

Ingredients;
220g minced pork
3 large prawns, minced
3 water chestnut, diced
3 dried mushroom, soak & diced
1 tbsp light soy sauce
Dash of salt
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornflour
1 can shark’s fin broth
Some coriander leaves, chopped
Dash of pepper
1 cup chicken stock
Some thickening agent

Method,
-Mix the 1st 8 ingredients together & make into meatballs.
-Bring shark’s fin broth & chicken stock to boil.
-Add in meatballs.
-Thicken soup with some thickening agent.
-Serve hot with chopped coriander leaves & pepper.
-Enjoy!

B-day Mee Sua

Mum cooked Mee Sua for mi last nite. The mee sua used is the long thick traditional type where signifies longevity. According to chinese custom, this noodle dish is a muz have on birthday & serve with 2 red eggs.

For mi, i'm rather simple. I'm not the type that muz throw a party, have birthday cake & lots of good food to celebrate b-day. As long as i had a simple meal with my family will do.

To make this dish simple, mum replaced red eggs with plain hard-boiled eggs, serve with dry fried style mee sua.Normally for these kinda b-day mee sua, its serve with a thick gravy.If i know mum will be preparing this dish, should have requested the way i wanna it to be earlier. haha....

Hmm..... how can birthday be without presents?!?!I dote on myself & normally i will buy presents for myself on b-days & christmas.Well, for birthday tis yr, i got myself something i've always wanted.Not those luxurious items but something to soothes mi as i've been bz up till my neck recently.

I bought the aroma therapy set with 2 different flavours of essential oil.Isn't it cute? Its in the design of ancient stove cooker.Reason why i choose this design is actually its the nicest looking wan in the shop. haha....

Received several cards & greetings from frens & the teardrop shape black ear-rings is from Adam. He's been working part time while waiting for his O'level results. And in fact this is the 1st gift which he bought wif his 1st salary, its for mi! I'm so touched :D

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EKINA"

Dinner @ NewYork NewYork

I had a sudden crave for western delights, especially pasta. I meet up with a fren for dinner last nite, can be say for catching up & for hot gossips as well! keke.....

We went to the crowded NY at amk hub.Ever since this outlet open for biz, it's always packed with pple.During dinner time especially, if u r slightly later than 7pm, u gotto join the long Q & wait for ur turn.

My favourite~Creamy Alfredo with Crispy Sauce. My fren is a cream pasta & cheesy freak. I specially ordered this pasta for her to try & its to her liking. She's full of praises for the dinner last nite.

Assorted Crispy Fried Mushroom.The shitake mushroom is yummy, however the golden mushroom is hard & dry.

Hmm.....Cheesy Garlic Bread! Not too bad, but they seems rather stingy with their cheese!

Hmm....these buffalo wings are fantastic. Crispy & fragrant, reali yummy treat.

This Waffle with Chocolate Ice-Cream is abit disappointing. Onli the double chocolate ice-cream is yummy.

A yummy waffle muz be hot crispy on the outside, soft & moist inside, & goes heavenly with the ice-cream.

Overall dinner is quite cheap, onli $48.85 for all the dishes we ordered.I find that New York New York is a place with nice ambience which serve yummy food(depending on wat u order :-P) & its a nice place for catching up wif frens.

Dinner @ Xin Wang 茶餐厅

Its been such a long time since i last visited a 茶餐厅. Its actually a hongkong style cafe which serve popular hk food.

I love the 鸳鸯(coffee with milk tea) & it is my favourite beverage.When i was in hongkong few years back, i had 4-5 鸳鸯a day, till i was reali addicted & when i was back in singapore, i reali missed it.
I ever requested 鸳鸯 from a local coffeeshop,they do have it but the feel is totally different.

There was a trend of 茶餐厅biz blooming in singapore sometimes back, lots of pple tried the hk style of food. And so did I. The standard definately can't be compared to hk, but its almost there.
Eversince den, whenever i have crave for my 鸳鸯, i will make it a point to dop by the 茶餐厅to satisfy my crave.

I went to Xin Wang 茶餐厅for dinner last nite.

Oh, my favourite 鸳鸯! This feeling is great, with the smooth & thick coffee & milk tea smell.

This is my all time favourite~Shanghai Vegetable Rice.

Its olive veggie fried rice serve with porkchop & green.

My fren ordered a Mushroom Baked Rice which i find nothing special about it. haha....
But we gals enjoyed our nite enjoying the food & our juicy gossips. haha...

Egg Sandwich With Colourful Bread

All tis while i tot sweet dough bread can onli go with sweet fillings like kaya, but didn't i expect that it goes well with salty fillings like egg,cheese & ham.
I did a very daring try, initially i bought this colourful bread to make toasted kaya bread but somehow or rather i had a crave for salty sandwich.
This is wat i prepared for breakfast tis morning;

All i need is to prepare tomato omelette, carrot ham, low fat cheese, lettuce. Sandwiched all the ingredients with bread & serve with my favourite baked beans. Yummy!

Crispy Salted Cashew Nuts

Dad has been using this simple recipe for years & we never fail to fry cashew nuts using this recipe for every CNY.

-First of all, its a muz to sun raw cashew nuts for a few days untill it slightly puff up.

-Simply deep fried them in oil till browned, drained & sprinkle fine salt over.

Yummy! Reali goes well with beer. Now i noe y so many pple likes to eat nuts with beer!

Sweet Cashew Nuts

Another CNY goodies which our family never failed to prepare every year is cashew nuts. Since young, dad would buy raw cashew nuts, sun them for few days & fried them on his own.

This is my version of sweet crispy cashew nuts & its actually my 1st attempt. keke....& the result turns out great!
Ingredients;
300g cashew nuts
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
240ml water
50g cornflour
30g brown sugar
Oil for frying

Method;
-Mix cornflour & brown sugar together, set aside in a tray.
-Boil cashew nuts, salt, sugar & water till water bout to dry up.
-Drained & mix well with cornflour mixture, leave to dry for 2 hrs.
-Deep fried till golden brown.
-Enjoy!

Golden Brinjal Cases With Sweet & Spicy Sauce

I was thinking about to cook onot to cook for 2nite as i baked till late last nite.Hesitated till pass noon & finally reach a decision & proceed to the supermarket to get the ingredients i needed.
Oh gosh....the supermarket is ususally very crowded on weekends but due to the festive season, its exceptionally packed. I dun like this feeling, all i wan is to get my stuff asap.

Yummy....these golden brinjal cases are so fantastic & the sauce goes very well with plain rice.

Ingredients;
1 brinjal
100g minced pork
2 prawns, minced
½ tsp light soy sauce
Dash of salt
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornflour
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp cornflour
Oil for frying

Sauce;
½ tbsp oil
½ tsp chili paste
1 garlic, minced
1 chili padi, chopped
½ tbsp sugar
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp water
Chopped spring onions

Method;
-Slice brinjal into thin pockets where u can stuff filling inside.
-Mix minced pork & prawns together.
-Add light soy sauce, sesame oil, salt & cornflour to meat mixture.
-Stuff fillings into brinjal pockets.
-Coat brinjal cases with egg mixture & shallow fry till golden brown.
-To prepare sauce, mix all ingredients for sauce & bring to boil.
-Drizzle sauce over golden brinjal cases.
-Enjoy!

My CNY Bake~ Mini Buttery Cups

As CNY is fast approaching, i'm onli left with 2 weekends to prepare new year goodies.Gosh....the best thing is i haven been to chinatown to do new year shopping this year.

I spent the whole day baking cookies yesterday.This is a simple and delicious cookies which are being requested every year.

Yummy~licious Buttery Cups

Wow...plenty of cookies which I'm gonna gave away to my frens & relative.

Ingredients;
450g butter
500g plain flour
180g brown sugar
Vanilla essence
Icing sugar for dusting

Method,
-Beat butter & sugar till fluffy.
-Mix in vanilla essence.
-Fold in sifted flour.
-Pipe mixture onto mini paper cups.
-Bake in preheated oven for 20-25mins or until cooked.
-Dust icing sugar over.
-Enjoy!

CNY Closing Dinner

Our company CNY closing dinner was held yesterday at Imperial Court Shark's Fin Restaurant. Its at grassgoot club located at yio chu kang & this restaurant belong to Gim Tim group & ever since i joined this company, all our events are held at gim tim restaurants.


Being the organiser, we gotto be at the restaurant in the afternoon to see to the preparations.
Every guests will be given a mandarin oranges carrier with 2 mandarin oranges as door gift. Therefore, we gotto pack about 300 of those door gifts. Poor mi :-(


Nice setting rite? plus a bottle of complimentary red wine for very table from our company.
Wow...so many lucky draw prizes to be given away!

Still remembered den.... on the previous year, we prepared some DIY hampers. From buying the food packs, wrappers, wrapping & making bow ribbon, everything were DIY on our own. Our hampers were soooo heavy that needs at least 2 pple to carry 1.However, as we couldn't spare time to diy, we purchased quite a number of hampers.

While waiting for our guests to arrive, i come across this cute figure outside the restaurant. As this is the year of the cow, most of the decorations has something to so with cows. Isn't it cute?

Finally all the guests arrived & its time for dinner! I'm so hungry after the long wait.

Our 1st dish~Prosperity Yu Sheng

Shark's Fin with Crabmeat

Crispy Roast Chicken~my favourite dish of the nite!

Bating Fish with Black Bean Sauce~i was wondering wat's bating fish?

As i onli heard of batang fish. In the end, it turned out to be catfish! chey....

4 of our guests were chosen & invited to perform on stage for us. They do haf lots of fun ya!

Spicy Squid with Celery on Bee Hoon Basket~wow...its reali spicy xia!

Braised Beancurd Skin with Mushrooms

See i got so many lucky draw coupons! Each guests is entilted to 1 lucky draw coupon each, wonder how come i have so many??? haha.... some guests from the vip table gave mi the other 3. But but but.....too bad lady luck wasn't smiling at mi on that day.

Another performances by selected guests...this time round its a hunk show! keke....poor them, being treated like clowns.

Cereal Prawns

Wax Meat Rice~not too bad, indeed this is the 1st time i enjoyed eating wax meat rice.

Honey Sea Coconut with Longan~hmm....i prefered the other famous dessert of theirs-red bean paste with lily bulb. Too bad, this time round its not in the menu! :-(

After dessert, its almost time that the event come to an end. I had a wonderful nite!