Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Korean Inspired Fried Chicken


This is not exactly Korean, but it comes close to the Korean's version. I do not have any Korean ingredients but substituted what I needed with what I have. The wings were deep fried twice and tossed with sauce and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. These are yummy, sweet and spicy. Mmmhhh... it's hard to stop at one.  I used David Lebovit's recipe and now I am looking for Tefal Actifry that he talked about in his recipe. I am so getting one, I hope they sell this machine in this island.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Different Look...


We are trying hard to stay away from Japanese food these days because, not only we had too much of it, we also know that when the kids are back for Christmas, we will be eating some Japanese food. So we went for Chinese food on Sunday, at Paradise Inn in Somerset to be exact. We saw the above, Vermicelli with Pork Trotters, on the menu, looking pretty and appetizing, therefore we ordered the dish. The picture below is what we got. It almost look like someone has tumbled over, dropped the plate and put the noodles back on the plate in a big hurry and rushed the plate to our table. That ain't pretty! Huh?


Saturday, November 26, 2011

Brownies!


I was waiting for DH to come back from getting our lunch outside and I was very hungry. I made myself productive by baking brownies using Matt Lewis recipe using 8"x8"baking pan. I have Baker's Edge Pan Brownie Pan that I have been longing to use, but still can't use, because I did not want to make too much brownies. That pan (13"x9") will require me to double the recipe. It's way too much for three people that are currently staying at home, one of whom barely eats brownies. Hhhh......

Friday, November 25, 2011

A Slice Of Pizza


It's a slice of pizza featured on The Daily What. This sleeping bag is available at etsy.com
..... looks comfy.....

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Basil And Pesto...


Our basil plants are growing quite healthily in the garden despite the constant attacks from some bugs who seem to love eating basil leaves and leaving most others there. What better way to use the leaves than making basil pesto? I have pine nuts, garlic, parmigiano and olive oil. It's a matter of putting them together in a food processor or a blender and let the machine do the job. Season with salt and pepper and it's done. Pour some olive oil on top to prevent color change resulting from oxidation, the wise people say. It has not worked for me, but I still did it anyway.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

One Of Them...


It is impossible not to notice that Christmas is coming soon. Main streets like Orchard road is decorated for the occasion. Buildings are beautified with lights and ornaments and everything related to Christmas. The Christmas tree in the picture above is placed outside Orchard Central. It is one of the many around there.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Art Of Meepok

It's an out of box thing I did last Sunday morning, I joined DH all the way to Bedok to have breakfast in a place called Art of Meepok. This place apparently is well known for its yummy Meepok. I would not normally have the willingness to go all the way, almost 30 minutes to the east side of the island towards airport, just to get a bowl of noodles. DH normally goes on some weekends with now College girl No.2. She is the only one who gets up early and loves meepok. The rest of us, do not care as much. I was in a nice mood and against my better judgement, went along. I felt a bit bad that he was going to go alone.


I love small noodles, therefore I had them (picture above). DH had his usual meepok plus a few extra things that he normally has. He messed up the noodles before I managed to get a picture.


We got a nice place to sit, it was breezy and made it more enjoyable to eat. The noodles are great, but I am not the type who is willing to go to far for some food. I might go again in the future. I just don't know when.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Back To Sushi Tei....


When you went with two family members that love Japanese food and suggested to eat at a Japanese restaurant, but opened to your suggestions and then turned down your suggestion, you knew that your option was either going to the Japanese restaurant or going to the Japanese restaurant. There's no typo here, I wrote it the way I thought. Sushi Tei at Nge Ann City it was. We had not been here for a while and it took me by surprise (a little bit) that the place was not packed at lunch time on Sunday. I guess, with so many new places to eat around the place, they could not help losing some of its customers. Aside from my usual Kani Avocado Salad with Sesame Dressing that I love dearly, I went for something different this time. My picks were full packed cholesterol Hotate Teriyaki (scallop teriyaki) and Ika Sugatayaki (grilled Squid with salt). We could not finish the later and brought them home. They are stored nicely inside our fridge for now.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Chicken And Potatoes


For weeks, I have been trying to clear up the stocks that I have in my fridge and freezer, constantly minimizing the purchase of meat and everything else so that I have a nice and clear space inside. After all, there are practically two-three people at home most of the time and do not eat much (at home). I had some frozen chicken breast that I converted into oven baked breaded chicken with parmigiano and baked smashed potatoes that have been previously steamed. They were baked in the same oven, but required different timings. With some salad, it's dinner for two last Wednesday! Simple and easy.

Friday, November 18, 2011

After Nine Years ...

I still think of her. My sister. My big, selfless sister that succumbed to Lymphoma and left us nine years ago. She was like a mother to me and many of her siblings since our father died and our mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. While young girls at her age were enjoying life, she was working full time and looking after the big family. She assumed a big responsibility since she was merely 17 years old. After she started making money, she put back the money that she earned for the family, meal, school and other necessities helping out her three brothers that equally carrying the burden to feed everyone in the family. It's hard to comprehend that a good and dedicated person like her was diagnosed with Lymphoma way too soon and left all of us way too early. But that sort of things happens in life.


There are things that remind me of her. Origami, crochet and Fried Rice Noodles are some of them.  Two of the last three years in her life were spent a lot in this country with me. She was in and out of the hospital too many times. For treatment, for chemotherapy, for blood checks, for bone marrow transplant and everything else related to her medical treatment.  She also stayed at home with us and helped out with the cooking sometimes. She helped me do the preparations and I did the cooking. Many times, when she was hospitalized, I packed this Fried Rice Noodles and brought it for her and she truly enjoyed it. More than hospital food, of course. I miss her sometimes, especially today. I know that she is in a better place.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Pancake And Strawberries


A lot of times, I run out of ideas for breakfast. We are not a big fan of cereals or toasts. So, when I have an idea that could work, making breakfast becomes a piece of cake. I planned it all out last night, I was going to make some buttermilk pancakes with sliced strawberries for breakfast. I craved for them. They easy to make, light and fresh. Delicious too, I must add. If only I could plan this sort on daily basis, life would be easier. Now I have to think of what to prepare tomorrow....

Sunday, November 13, 2011

One Of The Two Birthdays....


We have two family members celebrating birthday this month. Today's is DH. We had a quiet celebration with a simple but wicked chocolate birthday cake from the Grand Hyatt Hotel and dinner at Limoncello. Just the three of us. 

In hours, Sunday will be over and we are entering the third week of November. Zzzzzhhhh..... Christmas is nearing...... I am not excited. Really.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Lunch On 11-11-11


True. There are so many restaurants and food places to choose from and we do not even have to go far. There are way, overwhelmingly, too many. In fact, sometimes the vast selection confuses us more that helps us. We do get tired of the same places but we also are not too keenly attracted to try new places. Tough life, huh? Haha. Anyway. Yesterday, being non-meat day, made it even harder to pick a place for lunch. If it was up to me alone, I would pick a place that has good salad. But since another person was involved, I let the him choose and tried being respectful with his choice, we ended up at Crystal Jade Dining In at Vivo (again!). Two of the three that we had were Sea Bass with String Beans (picture above) and Seafood Fried Noodles (below). We also had Claypot Eggplant and Beancurd and bought our mango dessert at a nearby dessert place.

Friday, November 11, 2011

11-11-11


It's an ordinary Friday, but the date is so special that record number of couples got married today all over the world. May happiness be with them forever, or for 72 days! The day went like any other day, we had sun today, but we also had rain. It may not be as special as 11-11-11 to many people, the yellow Four O'Clock flowers in the garden looked ordinary too, but their presence helped brighten the look of the garden. And that's today's picture!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Lunch At Mezza9 @ Grand Hyatt


It was public holiday last Monday and since had not dined at Mezza9 for quite a long while, we decided to grab lunch over there. I had Bratwurtz with caramelized onion and Sauteed Spinach as side dish to share with DH.


DH picked Seafood Hor Fun without bean sprout and squid. The size is reasonable for one person and the taste is just alright.




The part that I liked best was actually the Ciabatta that they served before the main course s were brought to the table. The two of us finished them and were offered to have more. We declined as we wanted to have enough space for the main entrees. 

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Sweet Potato ...


Sweet potato plants are really easy to grow and they grow really fast. I replanted them not so much to get the sweet potatoes but mostly to cover certain area in our small garden. If after a few months I am able to harvest some good sweet potatoes, that would be a bonus. If not, that's fine too. The leaves are rather pretty.

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Akashabu

Akashabu at Funan is a Japanese restaurant that my two housemates religiously go, but the one that I constantly refused to go to after the salad incident I had while dining there. I ordered one of the three salad they had on their menu, called Avocado Salad. With Avocado in the name, I expect avocado to dominate the salad, but it upset me that the salad was so full of sliced cabbage and very little pieces, hardly found avocado. The dressing was unimpressive too. I found no reason to  go back.


Last Sunday, I decided to tag along the two, back to the Akashabu. I was very curious in finding out what make these two people keep on going back there. The plate above is basically full of both Miss K's & DH's favorites sushi, including fatty tuna and scallop.


As usual, we also had Salmon Sashimi, which I must admit, tasted really great. 


I had a set lunch with Grilled Mackerel (Saba)as the main Entree. It was okay, but I don't think I will want to join my two loved ones to dine there again. I am not too crazy about the food there and I think we have a little bit too much Japanese food lately. Unless I find another good reason to do so.

Monday, November 07, 2011

Bread!


If I could capture the smell of the freshly baked bread, I would. The smell is absolutely so heavenly that I could just never get tired of it. The smell would fill up the kitchen as it bakes and spreads to the dining and living areas and further up to the study area where I normally park myself while waiting for the bread to be ready.   Of course, to fill up our tummy, we need to put some of the bread in.... The bread was baked yesterday, it was simply wonderful to eat them just like that. You don't need butter or olive oil to enhance the taste. Just like that and you will be content.

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Playing With Pop Color...


.... and that's the result. Thanks to Adobe! I don't think I like that picture that much, I need to find different ones to experiment.

Saturday, November 05, 2011

CoCo

This is a Japanese Curry House that we stumbled upon at 313 Somerset and we ate there for the second time today. As of the end of October this year, CoCo Ichibanya Co. Ld has 1226 restaurants in Japan and 63 in other countries. They must be doing something right here .... I am impressed. We love Japanese curry and we welcome good curry!



They have many curry rice choices and I picked Chicken Cutlet Curry (above). The customers are given the options to choose the spiciness of the curry from level 1 to 5. The customers could also choose the size of the rice (price will be adjusted accordingly) and the toppings they want on their dish. It's kind of DIY to some extent. I picked level 3 for the spiciness.  The last time I was here, I chose 4 and found it a bit much. The original size of rice is too much for me, I should have a little bit less because I could not finish it.


Below is DH's Curry Choice, it was Fried Chicken Curry. His spice level was 2 and his rice size is the original size.  He simply loved it, he cleaned up the plate. Really well, I must say.


Friday, November 04, 2011

Rain And Periwinkle


It has been raining a lot, on and off, comes and go, but on and on for so long.  It's so much cooler than the the extreme heat that we experience at times here, it's nice. I don't miss the humidity and the heat. The garden looks green and healthy and I barely need to to effort to water the plants.  I love taking pictures of the Periwinkles with the raindrops on them, they look pretty.

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Strawberry Galette

 

I like to buy Strawberry when they are inexpensive.  When they are at their regular price here, I feel they are over-priced. I saw some strawberries on sale yesterday and I bought four small punnets.  I did not have any plans what to do with them. I don't like eating them just like that because I know they are not sweet enough for me. Aside from storing them in the freezer for future use, I made a Strawberry Galette today.


Nothing spectacular here, the crust is the normal pie crust and the filling is cut up strawberries, mixed with sugar and flour. I brushed some egg wash on the crust and sprinkled some sugar on top for prettier effect. Bake til golden. Done!


Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Spinach Salad With Grilled Salmon and Caramelized Onion

Today, November 2nd, is the 40th anniversary of my father's death. He left when I was so young that I barely remember anything about him. I almost had no recollection of what I did with him, probably I have none. I only remember what was told by others about him to me as I was growing up. One of the few things was that occasionally, he took me on a bike ride to buy some food and brought them back home for the whole family to eat. I also know that he wore glasses when he was alive, thanks to the pictures that we keep. What I hope now is that he is in better place, reunited with my mother and my sister. May peace be with them!


What I had for dinner tonight has nothing to do with the significance of the date to my life. I bought a pack of baby spinach and have been working hard on finishing them with my little house mate, my only one at present. Tonight, I had them with a piece of grilled salmon and some caramelized onion. Miss K always loves to have teriyaki sauce with her salmon and tonight, I followed her way. We cleaned up well and left a little bit of onion unused. We also had ice cream for dessert. Delish!

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Mango Ice Cream

After having a conversation with my sister about making mango ice cream over the weekend, I was lured into making it myself. I got four Thai mangoes from the supermarket, not my first options but they were the best I could get. I had lime juice, sugar and whipped cream ready in hand. That's all I need.  So here we are, kicking off November with two tubs of mango ice cream in the freezer.