Saturday, October 28, 2006
Thursday, 26th October 2006
And just to prove that we do eat vegetables too, here is some blanched choy sum, with oyster sauce and garlic chips which I served with the tumeric chicken.
Friday, 27th October 2006
Steak and chips.
Panfried ribeyes, French fries and pumpkin. I had my steak with a dollop of HOT English mustard and 2 glasses of red wine. (Not in picture: Creamy mushroom sauce)
Dinner conversation with the kids:
Loan Sharks (HK, Singapore and Brunei style - all info gained from newspapers, hearsay, etc)
The pleasant unexpected surprise
Christmas
Empire Hotel
etc
Panfried ribeyes, French fries and pumpkin. I had my steak with a dollop of HOT English mustard and 2 glasses of red wine. (Not in picture: Creamy mushroom sauce)
Dinner conversation with the kids:
Loan Sharks (HK, Singapore and Brunei style - all info gained from newspapers, hearsay, etc)
The pleasant unexpected surprise
Christmas
Empire Hotel
etc
Saturday, 28th October 2006
A lazy Saturday afternoon:
Eating: An enormous scone with cream and strawberry jam
Drinking: Green Tea
Wearing: Tie skirt (translated into: expandable waistband) and old tshirt
Watching: Desperate Housewives Season 3 Episodes 1 to 4
Eating: An enormous scone with cream and strawberry jam
Drinking: Green Tea
Wearing: Tie skirt (translated into: expandable waistband) and old tshirt
Watching: Desperate Housewives Season 3 Episodes 1 to 4
Thursday, 26th October 2006
I was thrilled on Thursday as my second attempt at tumeric chicken was a smash if I may say so. I have always wanted to know why the fried chicken in Indian or Malay restaurants taste so good and how they make it.
Z's mum makes fantastic crispy fried chicken wings but her recipe is very closely guarded. Another girlfriend told me her recipe and I tried it out last week. It was good but I felt that something was lacking and far from what I have tasted, and although I know its msg, I tweaked the recipe on Thursday and decided to add fresh grated tumeric in addition to its powder form. Success!
The tumeric/ginger bits turned very crunchy and clung to the crispy skin of the chicken. Crispy bursts of flavour in every bite..
Recipe:
Slashed chicken drumsticks
Wings - found some really tiny ones in SS but on they other hand, they cook really quickly
Fresh grated tumeric
Fresh grated ginger
Salt
Lime juice
Wash and pat very dry meat. Smother with marinade, overnight. Fry in very hot oil. Drain and serve.
Here they are in their raw state. Let meat come to room temperature before you fry them.
In the hot oil:
Drain on kitchen towels:
I'll definitely make these again. Would any readers out there share their tumeric chicken recipes?
Z's mum makes fantastic crispy fried chicken wings but her recipe is very closely guarded. Another girlfriend told me her recipe and I tried it out last week. It was good but I felt that something was lacking and far from what I have tasted, and although I know its msg, I tweaked the recipe on Thursday and decided to add fresh grated tumeric in addition to its powder form. Success!
The tumeric/ginger bits turned very crunchy and clung to the crispy skin of the chicken. Crispy bursts of flavour in every bite..
Recipe:
Slashed chicken drumsticks
Wings - found some really tiny ones in SS but on they other hand, they cook really quickly
Fresh grated tumeric
Fresh grated ginger
Salt
Lime juice
Wash and pat very dry meat. Smother with marinade, overnight. Fry in very hot oil. Drain and serve.
Here they are in their raw state. Let meat come to room temperature before you fry them.
In the hot oil:
Drain on kitchen towels:
I'll definitely make these again. Would any readers out there share their tumeric chicken recipes?
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Weds, 25th October 2006
Not tidying up again! Today, I tackled my glassware cabinet and cupboard where I keep photographs, cookbooks, spare decor items, wrapping paper/ribbons, wire and stuff, cards. I found this in the photographs basket - it's a recipe for a baked cheesecake, from quite a well known place. The cake is very very rich and dense and the ingredients are simple and the results are guaranteed - if I can make this, so can anyone as I can't bake to save my life!I am definitely not a hoarder but sometimes I am surprised at the things I find while I am having a good old clean out.
For those with eagle eyes, you will notice the date on the fax as April 1988. That kind of explains the yellowed piece of doc you see here.
The next piece of paper I found was a recipe for Caesar Salad dressing, also from a well known place. It was written after watching them make it tableside, one evening, a very, very long time ago.
3 tbs garlic1 tbs anchovies
1 tbs mustard
(mix together)
2 egg yolks
tobasco
juice of half a lemon
lea & perrins
croutons
bacon bits
parsley
parmesan cheese
olive oil
few dash vinegar
black pepper
After egg yolks, add olive oil in a stream, mixing all the time. Add vinegar, tobasco & lea/perrins. Then croutons, bacon, parsley, pepper. Break up croutons.
That does not sound too terribly difficult, does it?
Monday, October 23, 2006
Saturday, 21st October 2006
J bought some seruding from the very popular stall by the escalators at Utama Grand. Her helper fried some cashew nuts and mixed them into the serunding.... Wow, it was good!
This recipe is from www.asianrecipes.com and I won't even think about attempting it so I might head over to the Mall later to buy a box ($10).
Beef Serunding
Ingredients :
500 g Shin or topside beef
300 ml Thick coconut milk
12 pieces Dried chilies, cut in 2cm pieces
10 stalks Shallots, coarsely chopped
2 cm Fresh ginger, chopped
3 stems Lemongrass, inner part of bottom 10cm only, thinly sliced
1 cm Fresh turmeric root, chopped or 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 cm Galangal, chopped
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 pieceDried tamarind slice (asam keping or asam gelugor)
or 2 tsp dried tamarind pulp, soaked in 2 tbsp water,
then squeezed and strained to obtain juice.
Method :
Cut beef into 6cm cubes, then put in a pan, add water to just cover and bring to a boil.
Cover the pan, lower the heat and allow to simmer until just tender (45 - 60 mins).
Drain and reserve the beef stock.
When beef is cool enough to handle, use fingers to tear the meat along the grain to make fine, hair-like shreds.
Now soak chilies for 10 minutes in warm water, discard some of the seeds to reduce the heat, then process chilies, shallots, ginger, lemongrass, turmeric and galangal to a coarse paste in a blender.
Gradually add 180ml of the beef stock and keep blending until smooth.
Heat wok or pan and stir-fried processed mixture, coconut milk and salt over medium heat until mixture is very thick and starting to dry out. This should take approx. 15 minutes.
Add the shredded beef, reduce the heat to very low level and cook beef, stirring and tossing frequently for approx. 30 minutes.
Add the tamarind slices, or tamarind juice and continue cooking until the meat is completely dry and crisp.
Allow to cool thoroughly before storing in an airtight container.
Serve as a garnish with rice and other dishes.
This recipe is from www.asianrecipes.com and I won't even think about attempting it so I might head over to the Mall later to buy a box ($10).
Beef Serunding
Ingredients :
500 g Shin or topside beef
300 ml Thick coconut milk
12 pieces Dried chilies, cut in 2cm pieces
10 stalks Shallots, coarsely chopped
2 cm Fresh ginger, chopped
3 stems Lemongrass, inner part of bottom 10cm only, thinly sliced
1 cm Fresh turmeric root, chopped or 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 cm Galangal, chopped
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 pieceDried tamarind slice (asam keping or asam gelugor)
or 2 tsp dried tamarind pulp, soaked in 2 tbsp water,
then squeezed and strained to obtain juice.
Method :
Cut beef into 6cm cubes, then put in a pan, add water to just cover and bring to a boil.
Cover the pan, lower the heat and allow to simmer until just tender (45 - 60 mins).
Drain and reserve the beef stock.
When beef is cool enough to handle, use fingers to tear the meat along the grain to make fine, hair-like shreds.
Now soak chilies for 10 minutes in warm water, discard some of the seeds to reduce the heat, then process chilies, shallots, ginger, lemongrass, turmeric and galangal to a coarse paste in a blender.
Gradually add 180ml of the beef stock and keep blending until smooth.
Heat wok or pan and stir-fried processed mixture, coconut milk and salt over medium heat until mixture is very thick and starting to dry out. This should take approx. 15 minutes.
Add the shredded beef, reduce the heat to very low level and cook beef, stirring and tossing frequently for approx. 30 minutes.
Add the tamarind slices, or tamarind juice and continue cooking until the meat is completely dry and crisp.
Allow to cool thoroughly before storing in an airtight container.
Serve as a garnish with rice and other dishes.
Sunday, 24th September 2006
Another typical Sunday for us - swimming/clowning around at the Sheraton while Mum surfs on the internet by the pool, reading the papers and having a pot of tea.Me: Kiddies, out of the pool now, please, it's raining!
Kids: awwwwww, but we're already wet...
Me: *thinks* - makes sense.. (goes back to the papers)
Late lunch:
Saturday, 23rd September 2006
Another soto post.
This one is from Tini's at the Mall. Piping, burning hot chickeny stock. Their chilli is eye-wateringly spicy. Add a good splash of white vinegar, 2 scoops of chilli paste and soya sauce for extra flavour and taste. I love soto and my fave is Tini's, followed closely by Sweet & Savoury's and then Rossmini's. Z's mum make fantastic soto too, served with the beef potato patties, handfuls of fried shallots & parsley - yummy!!!!
This one is from Tini's at the Mall. Piping, burning hot chickeny stock. Their chilli is eye-wateringly spicy. Add a good splash of white vinegar, 2 scoops of chilli paste and soya sauce for extra flavour and taste. I love soto and my fave is Tini's, followed closely by Sweet & Savoury's and then Rossmini's. Z's mum make fantastic soto too, served with the beef potato patties, handfuls of fried shallots & parsley - yummy!!!!
Saturday, 21st October 2006
BEFORE:
AFTER:
As I suffer severely from Ornithophobia, I kept a watchful eye on this the entire night - it made me very nervous, with its wicked beady eyes, bold comb, pointy beak and artfully painted plumage....
AFTER:
As I suffer severely from Ornithophobia, I kept a watchful eye on this the entire night - it made me very nervous, with its wicked beady eyes, bold comb, pointy beak and artfully painted plumage....
Saturday, 21st October 2006
On his return from Vancouver, R's promotion was confirmed and he took us all to our favourite restaurant Thiam Hock in Gadong for a celebratory meal - yes, we braved the traffic to make our way there on payday but we narrowly beat the traffic by going in at about 6.30 pm.
Menu:
1. Individual bowls of shark's fins for everyone - And here I must apologise for being so p-in-c and if I can justify it in anyway, we only have this once or twice a year - partly due to the cost ($24 per portion). It was lovely though, rich flavourful stock, chunky combs of fins, large pieces of dried scallops & firm pieces of crabmeat.
3. Butter Chicken (everyone's favourite)
Menu:
1. Individual bowls of shark's fins for everyone - And here I must apologise for being so p-in-c and if I can justify it in anyway, we only have this once or twice a year - partly due to the cost ($24 per portion). It was lovely though, rich flavourful stock, chunky combs of fins, large pieces of dried scallops & firm pieces of crabmeat.
2. A 2.6 kg lobster cooked in 2 forms (half was cooked in their signature stock with garlic and the other in a flavourful peppery light broth served in a claypot with glass noodles)
3. Butter Chicken (everyone's favourite)
4. Sizzling tofu with minced meat and egg
5. Braised Pork leg with slithery Sea Cucumber and Mushrooms
6. Stirfried Broccoli with crunchy firm fat prawns
We were all very full and satisfied after that meal. Thanks R, keep up the good work - you're a generous pal. Hope another promotion will come your way before too long... From your very grateful guests, Ym, M & H, Wm, P, D, J and KF.
Lastly, the bill (gulp..) :
And some nice crisp white wine, glasses thoughtfully provided by the management.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Sunday, 22nd October 2006
Hey all (and Sam) - I'm back and here is the quickest update, in no particular order:
1. Diet - Failed totally, utterly, MISERABLY
2. Work - Busy - I like
3. Kids - Off school till 1st Feb
4. Home - New curtains and upholstery (red, gold, cream theme) J says it's the 'boudoirish' look, I need a chandelier, a red beaded lampshade... and one wall to be painted RED to complete the look.
(Birthday gift from Hazel)
5. Helper - Left at end of 2 year contract
6. Self - Was the amah for 2 weeks
7. Helper 2 - Elf finally arrived!!!!!!! yippee
8. Birthday - Celebrated quietly - Jurlique rose handcream from J, MAC Studio Fix face powder, magazines & dried herbs from Wm, Tealight holder from Hazel & meal at Excapade from Mark, cake from Sheraton.
9. Shopping - 1 Oroton embossed croc leather handbag from Melbourne A$299!!!! reduced from A$499, British India super FLOUNCY multitiered skirt in beige, pink and brown, eyelet blouse (too tight but last one), green embroidered skirt from Butik Eileen Chen, napkins from Sheraton boot sale, bits and pieces for the house, bright pink flexible linen basket with handles which can double up as swimming bag, maroon runners from Cinnamon, 2 cream damask lampshades with little beads to replace my 15 year old silk shades.
10. Housekeeping - Tidied up EVERYWHERE (linen, bedding, clothes, crockery, cutlery, toolbox, kids' study tables, undie drawer, toiletries, DVD/CD cupboard) Elf and I have run out of places to tidy and clean
11. Doc visits - numerous for Hazel's asthmatic condition - stop the burning already, you environmental idiots nearby!
12. Food ate - too much and too many to mention
13. Sungkai - Sweet & Savoury (twice) and Sanur (sorry girls, missed Capers and another sess at S&S with you 3)
14. Acquired - This cool little baby - aren't the speakers sexy? Dell Dimension 9200
15. Hair - Appointment at Alan Inspiration on Monday 23rd Oct
So how have you all been?
1. Diet - Failed totally, utterly, MISERABLY
2. Work - Busy - I like
3. Kids - Off school till 1st Feb
4. Home - New curtains and upholstery (red, gold, cream theme) J says it's the 'boudoirish' look, I need a chandelier, a red beaded lampshade... and one wall to be painted RED to complete the look.
(Birthday gift from Hazel)5. Helper - Left at end of 2 year contract
6. Self - Was the amah for 2 weeks
7. Helper 2 - Elf finally arrived!!!!!!! yippee
8. Birthday - Celebrated quietly - Jurlique rose handcream from J, MAC Studio Fix face powder, magazines & dried herbs from Wm, Tealight holder from Hazel & meal at Excapade from Mark, cake from Sheraton.
9. Shopping - 1 Oroton embossed croc leather handbag from Melbourne A$299!!!! reduced from A$499, British India super FLOUNCY multitiered skirt in beige, pink and brown, eyelet blouse (too tight but last one), green embroidered skirt from Butik Eileen Chen, napkins from Sheraton boot sale, bits and pieces for the house, bright pink flexible linen basket with handles which can double up as swimming bag, maroon runners from Cinnamon, 2 cream damask lampshades with little beads to replace my 15 year old silk shades.
10. Housekeeping - Tidied up EVERYWHERE (linen, bedding, clothes, crockery, cutlery, toolbox, kids' study tables, undie drawer, toiletries, DVD/CD cupboard) Elf and I have run out of places to tidy and clean
11. Doc visits - numerous for Hazel's asthmatic condition - stop the burning already, you environmental idiots nearby!
12. Food ate - too much and too many to mention
13. Sungkai - Sweet & Savoury (twice) and Sanur (sorry girls, missed Capers and another sess at S&S with you 3)
14. Acquired - This cool little baby - aren't the speakers sexy? Dell Dimension 9200
15. Hair - Appointment at Alan Inspiration on Monday 23rd Oct
So how have you all been?
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