Thursday, 24th August 2006

As part of this:



this was where I had lunch on Thursday.



Starter:



Avocado salad with diced apples with a simple vinaigrette dressing. The dressing was lovely with just enough tartness to cut into the richness of the avocado. The apples were sweet and balanced well with the dressing.

Main Course:



Panfried chicken breast with mushrooms and chestnuts in a cream sauce served with a potato rosti. It's not easy to cook chicken breasts as they tend to become hard and dry if you're not careful but I think they have this just right. The outside was beautifully browned and it must have been finished off in the oven as the inside was still tender and juicy.

Dessert:



A simple mango, strawberry and grape platter with strawberry coulis.

We sat outside, in the shade, overlooking the Brunei Bay. Very, very pleasant and the glass of champagne went down nicely too.

Thank you again to the person who hosted the lunch.

Tuesday, 22nd August 2006

Me with C & J.

Last day of work at office no.2. sniff... I'm sad to leave as I loved the work and I enjoyed the company of my colleagues. However it's a bit of a relief to be doing one job instead of two at the same time. I must admit it wasn't easy rushing between 2 places and trying to keep afloat amongst the other responsibilities I have at home, kids, etc, etc.

However, having said that, I'm working on something which, if it materialises, means that I get to do something which I simply simply love, in the evening, and I get to wear a uniform at the same time! But more on that when/if it happens. Am I mad? Maybe.

I had the customary cake send-off yesterday and what a stroke of luck, a whole carrot cake from that shop in Kiarong. I love carrot cake and there was also a choc fudge too. There were sooooooo yummy.

Thank you to everyone at office no.2 for your support and friendship. Miss you all already.

Wednesday, 16th August 2006

D and I bravely took the decision to walk up the hill behind the Sheraton Hotel after work. We managed 3 rounds. If you were unfortunate enough to be there that day, you might have seen 2 ladies huffing and puffing up the hill and turning the air BLUE....

I aired out my brand new yoga outfit (never worn, bought in Dec 2005) with price tag still attached, and dusted off my shoes. I felt slightly mummified as they were so TIGHT!!!!!! Don't bother enlarging the pic - the pants are XL and the t-shirt M.

If you must know, I ached for 4 days after that walk......

Thursday, 17th August 2006

Wm, P, KF and Dom came over for dinner. I cooked a simple lodeh.

Recipe: Chop garlic, shallots, chillies and dried shrimps finely with some belachan. Fry till fragrant, add cabbage, carrot sticks & long beans. Fry and add coconut milk. Let it come to a slow boil, add some salt, dash sugar, chicken stock granules and some light soy. Add sliced fish cake and taufupok. I topped the dish with some sambal which MIL/MOL had given me. She usually makes a big batch and freezes them.

Here's a close up of the dish and a picture of my first helping.

Tuesday, 15th August 2006

I love this too - King Burger - double patty of juicy, tender minced beef (no detectable gristle), grilled to your liking, with mushrooms and cheese. I wish they would use a better bun as this is too soft but yummy nevertheless .... It is served with a tiny portion of coleslaw.

Tuesday, 15th August 2006

This a favourite of all my work colleagues and mine too, from the place across the road. I'll miss it and them when I leave next week.

Chicken Tandoori Pitta 'with LOTS of chips'






p.s I'm posting today's date - but I must have had this 15 times in the past 3 months.

Saturday, 29th July 2006

What a spectacular night! Here's Hazel with Eliza behind her. I think Dom was the photographer. Nice shot, Dom.

Saturday, 12th August 2006

Lunch for the kids. Kolomee made from scratch.

1. Slice shallots and fry till crispy, put aside with all the oil they were fried in.
2. Make a sauce from oyster, light & dark soy sauces, sugar, white pepper and water. Add this to the same pan you used to fry the shallots in. Simmer till flavours develop. Adjust to taste. Add a tablespoon of shallot oil with the crispy shallots to the sauce. Put aside.
3. Cook minced chicken and Chinese black mushrooms with garlic and the usual sauces. Thicken slightly and put aside.
4. Make egg omelettes, slice thickly and put aside.
5. Ok, assemble. Cook fresh egg noodles in briskly boiling water. Remove and pour boiling water from kettle over the noodles to rinse starch from noodles. Drain.
6. Put noodles on plate, add shallot oil & fried shallots, sweet sauce and meat sauce. Top with egg and add more shallots on top.

They loved it!

I. Must. Stop. Cooking.

Friday, 11th August 2006

The Pepper Gravy step by step.

1. Remove meat from roasting tin.
2. Pour out drippings (yes, fat and all) into small saucepan
3. Add some water to tin and scrap off all charred bits and pieces stuck to the foil.
4. Pour this into the saucepan.
6. Boil and reduce slightly.
7. Add two tablespoons of coarsely grind black pepper.
8. Add a teaspoon or so of Beef bisto (optional).
9. Add cream, stir gently.
10. Simmer gently.
11. Serve!

Saturday, 12th August 2006

We had several leftovers from last night, I kept a small slice for Mark for his school snack today and plated the rest for Dom who sms-ed me at 4.51 am this morning to thank me for his dinner.

This is Mark's roast beef sandwich. I trimmed the gristle and any fat away. With butter, mayo, wholegrain mustard & black pepper on wholemeal bread. Since they were quite young, both my kids have liked their meat medium (bothering on rare) done as it is in the picture.

Friday, 11th August 2006

Mark asked for roast beef for dinner so here is my version. Roast sirloin of beef with crusty topping.

These are the ingredients for the topping:- Flour, breadcrumbs, grain mustard, parsley, minced garlic, salt & black pepper and some olive oil. Mix together.



Marinate beef with salt & black pepper and brown briefly in a hot pan. ( I don't usually do this but tried it yesterday and can honestly say it makes NO difference to the end result so I won't in future as it creates an almighty mess on the stove top). Pat breadcrumb mixture firmly all over the meat. Cut an onion into wedges and put into a roasting pan, put beef on top and pour some oil into the pan. Bung it in the oven for approx an hour - the temp gauge in my oven has been broken since 2002 and I so just turn the oven off when it feels too hot and turn it back on again after 10 mins or so.

This is the meat just before it went into the oven.



After an hour or so in the oven. Let it rest for at least 20 mins before slicing.



Mark's very messy plate. I used the cheat's method for the jacket potatoes. Wash and scrub potatoes, boil till almost cooked. Remove from water. Sprinkle with salt and rub with butter. Wrap in foil - bake till skin starts to separate from flesh - half hour? Hazel refused to eat the skins but Mark ate them all.



I served it with jacket potatoes with butter and bacon pieces.

Next posting - the pepper sauce.

Thursday, 10th August 2006

All yesterday and today, I've been downing mugs and mugs of this. This is Chinese herb tea and it is "cool in nature and capable of dispelling inner body heat". You can buy it in big bags in the Chinese medicine shops, they look like assorted dried grass. Rinse well, boil in a big pot for about half an hour, add rock sugar to taste and drink. Am I better? You bet! (at 5.30 pm)

Thursday, 29th June 2006

As it was pouring with rain, we couldn't go to our favourite haunt across the road, so we ate at a restaurant on the ground floor. I had nasi lemak and as I could not decide if I wanted beef curry or fried chicken, I asked for both.

It was quite delicious! I love nasi lemak especially if the rice is rich and coconutty - do not give me the lowfat healthy version please.

Thursday, 22nd June 2006

I can't remember what occasion this was but there were roasted chicken parts, creamy mushroom sauce, roast potatoes & pumpkins at my place.....

Sunday, 6th August 2006

Mark & I woke early and went to 2 boot sales. One was at the Supa Save Mata2 carpark and the other at Kg Manggis Satu. I spent $6 and ended up with 2 tops for myself and a t-shirt for Hazel. One was a Topshop top with super flare sleeves which I just managed to squeeze into and the other was a plain white linen top with white embroidery from South China Sea Weekenders. Hazel's t-shirt had 'Super Girl' emblazoned on the front in metallic blue and silver. Very nice.

After the boot sale, we went to the famous Seria fried kueh teow shop in Gadong - its name escapes me now, and this was my breakfast. It was delicious and it goes so well with the thick black sweet soy sauce and 'local' chilli sauce. Mark hoovered down 2 plates!

Pic 1 - My plate
Pic 2 - Mark with his second plate (his first did not have the egg)

Thursday, 10th August 2006

It's Thursday and I'm still sick. It's quite an odd feeling; this lethargy and tiredness in my body - I'm just simply not used to it.

Here's my lunch. I fried some dried whitebait (which Mum brought from HK) with chopped garlic in a bit of oil. Added water and half a cube of organic veg stock, some salt & dash of light soy. When it came to the boil, I threw in a whole bunch of sayur manis & some florets of brocolli with a beaten egg. Let it come back to a simmer and serve. It was nice and light and easy on the stomach of a sick person.

Tuesday, 8th August 2006

I'm in bed with tissues, magazines and the remotes strewn around me, tea on a tray by my bed, my laptop perched precariously on my knees and I've just popped 2 Benylin flu & cold tabs and about to get into a mini Timeout bar. Total burnt out alert. I have to be up in about 2 hours to go to a work lunch which I can't get out of. sigh......

Saturday, 5th August 2006

I wonder who reads my blog besides my family? And tfp (www.thefoodpornographer.com) and I know Sam checks in, but who else?

Saturday, 5th August 2006

When I woke up this morning, I was ravenously hungry, as I really didn't eat very much last night with only a few slices of chicken and a scoop of gravy. What I really wanted was a Maggi Asam Laksa and yes! there was a last packet left in the cupboard. Here it is. I added a chili padi, an Ayamas chicken sausage, a crabstick, an egg and some sliced chicken from last night. It was super.
















I was peckish by 4 pm and had this - leftover salad topped with a few slices of chicken. Halfway into my second helping, I suddenly remembered that there was a sliver of foie left and I chopped up a tiny bit and sprinkled it over my salad.... I've had at least 4 pots (3 large cups per pot) of green tea since I woke up. Its now almost 9.30 pm and I'm still full so I've gone without dinner. I wonder what its like in the padang tonight. I can hear the fireworks from my room.

Friday, 4th August 2006

I sent the sistahs an email on Monday which says "I'm bored and I want to cook - etc, etc, come and eat, drink, laugh, bi#*h, listen to cheesy music and hang out on my balcony". An instant reply came from L "OMG i want i want, etc" so I gathered she was keen. Replies came from the rest later so we were all set for a dinner party on Friday.

The makings of a great night to come - no girls party is complete without Cosmopolitans! Ingredients - vodka (use vodka citron if you have it, if not ordinary will do), cointreau, cranberry juice & lemon juice. Instead of using the measuring cup which comes with my cocktail shaker, all I did was pour stiff measures of vodka into a jug, add half the amount of
Cointreau, juice of half a lemon strained, cranberry juice and lots of ice. Stir and Serve. If you make this in a cocktail shaker, then shake (the shaker, not yourself).

This delicious but lethal combination has brought down many unsuspecting victims so proceed with caution. Otherwise, yoga mats (Wm) or couches (S) come in handy and an obliging 12 year old boy to move your legs when you lose the ability to do so ...... hahahaha wm!!



An obligatory group pic before dinner. Here's to sisterhood!



My table set in a pinky gold theme, my new runner is a gift from J who bought it for me from Bangkok. It was beautiful and it survived the night without too many food or wine stains....



S brought a block of foie gras - it was creamy, tasty and we served it with tiny circles of toasted french bread. I served it in my crystal cheese dome which I had put in the fridge earlier to chill. She also brought 2 half bottles of a very sweet white wine (Noble One Botrytis Semllion) to be served with the foie gras. The combination was wonderful. Thanks you S, you are the perfect dinner guest.



This is the 'simple' salad - iceberg & butterhead lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, sweet yellow pepper, corn, egg and broccoli. Lastly I sprinkled black pepper and parsley over and laid 2 slivers of anchovy fillets on top. The anchovies stank to high heaven but I love them. L asked why the salad was so crispy - the secret is you must remove all the seeds from the tomato and cucumber. Also after you wash the ingredients (except the corn which you drain very thoroughly), pat very dry with kitchen towels.

I made a dressing which S liked and this is my secret, and now, not so secret, recipe - chopped shallots & garlic, wholegrain and English mustard, dried parsley and mixed herbs, black pepper, salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil and 2 ingredients which absolutely pulls the whole dressing together, light soy sauce & sugar. You can substitute soy sauce with Worcestershire sauce but I prefer soy.




The chickens before they went into the oven. It was marinated with oyster & light soy sauce, parsley, thyme, grain mustard, black pepper & salt. I made a butter paste of black pepper, thyme and salt and inserted under the skin with lots on the breast. The chickens were roasted with whole garlic cloves and onions. When they are done, remove the pan juices, turn and return the chickens to the oven for 5 minutes to crisp up the skin. Let them rest for at least 20 minutes, debone and slice in long thin slices.



The sauce was made by concentrating the pan drippings, adding lots sliced mushrooms, lots coarse black pepper, more thyme, parsley and cream. It was very very rich.

Here we are again, before tucking in.




And finally - spot the 'fake' smoker:



There's nothing I like more than cooking for people and having them appreciate and enjoy my food, setting my table, deciding on crockery and cutlery, choosing the tablecloth and napkins, fussing over placecards and napkin rings, and the excitement and stress of putting together a meal and sweating in a hot kitchen. I've catered for up to 30 people. I should have been a cook! ok chef. Oh the evening ended with a cha cha cha demo by J & S to Santana's Corazon Espinado. So. Cool.

Music:

Gimme gime gimme - Abba (feng tau/techno mix)
Twisted Transistor - Korn
November Rain - Guns n Roses
I should have known better - Jim Diamond
Boys of Summer - Don Henley
Disco Inferno - 50 cent
Bad Boys Blue versus Modern Talking
and more

I know, I know, my taste in music is soooo rojak.

Monday, 24th July 2006

Oh Foodies! Pay close attention - this was where I had dinner on Monday night!!! There was not only one of these magnificent chandeliers - there were at least 10!!!!



My place setting - solid silver cutlery, fine bone china from Japan, and crisp cotton napkins. sigh.....



The Menu insert, the outer is made out of leather and embossed in gold.... how decadent and how I loved it!



First Course: Trio of Marinated Seafood with Roasted Vegetables and Caeser Dressing. Its a butterflied prawn, a mussel & some scallops (real scallops) scattered amongst the roasted vegetables with dressing dribbled in an artistic cirle around the rim of the plate. It was good, cold on cold plates and surprisingly tasty. I expected the seafood to be woody but they quite sweet and seafoody in taste.



Second course: Mushroom Soup with Croutons - so so, they could have used more mushrooms to give it more taste and a more concentrated stock, it was quite thick but not mushroomy enough, the saving grace was that it was hot and the cream added at the end was a nice touch. It was served with bread and butter and everyone on my table took their bread from the right, hello!!!!!!!!




Third course: The main course - these were all served in a carousel bain marie dish, but had been on the table since 6.30 pm. There were:



1. Plain rice
2. Pilaf rice
3. Ayam Kapitan (chicken cooked in coconut gravy and chilli)
4. Roasted tenderloin of beef with green peppercorn sauce
5. Stir Fried Lobster chunks in Szechuan Sauce
6. Panfried Salmon Fillets with Caviar Cream
7. Stir Fried Asparagus with Shrimp Sauce (they mean dried prawns)

There was only 1 wait staff at our table and he took half an hour to serve everyone. First he took rice, went around the table and served everyone, next no. 2, then no. 3 and so on. Everyone was extremely impatient but I was determined not to eat until I received no. 7 so here is my plate, half an hour after he first served the rice:

Did I eat everything? - of course not, the food was cold and I really wasn't very hungry with nerves gnawing in my tummy but I played around with the food and actually had a bite of everything. 5 out of 10 overall.



Next was something called "Parisienne Scoop of Mixed Fruits" - its just a tiny ball of watermelon, rockmelon and etc. This I liked very much and could have had more.



Lastly, this is such a Chinese dessert and I was very surprised it was served tonight but nevertheless, here it is - Red Date Longan Juice and White Fungus. I loved this too - it was nicely chilled with just the right amount of sweetness, the longans were still sweet and juicy and the white fungus was crunchy. It was served very very cold and it was yummy - I had most of it.



Next came the birthday cake - didn't like it - very ordinary coloured sponge cake but I had a bit due to the significance of it, and lastly chocs - my friend wolfed down 4 and could have had more. I didn't because I was already up after the longan dessert co-ordinating people and and only wandered back to my table to snap pic of the cake and petit fours.







One last pic.... the napkin was embroidered with gold thread..... it's the main place setting.



In what I do now, nobody thinks anything of me walking around with a camera and snapping random pics here and here, in between 'actual' shots of course. So all the random pics are FOOD pics!