Heart-healthy Breakfast

Nothing really beats a warm hot breakfast that's filling, yummy and healthy.

Don't you agree?

I feel better when I've started my day with a feel-good meal. In fact, I prefer simple breakfasts.

Stuff like bread and pancakes!

Today, I made wholemeal pikelets. Yep, it's my second try. The previous attempt didn't turn out quite right because I used the wrong flour! This time, I got it right. I used organic wholemeal flour from Origins Healthfood.

Pikelets are actually similar to crumpets - it's a quickbread version. And I really dig these fluffy yummy things. I love it that it's uber healthy too.

Wholemeal flour is good for you! Haha... it really is. Check out the texture of these pikelets:



I made quite a bit so I left some for my younger sis, who ate them all up! Talk about a good morning appetite. She had hers with Manuka honey.

I had mine with bananas. Please do try out these pikelets. They're really easy and fool proof. Tastes great with jam, maple syrup or berries! Enjoy :)
_______________________________________________

Pikelets
from bills food by Bill Granger

125g wholemeal plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1 egg
170ml milk
butter, for greasing the pan

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and stir. Add the egg and milk and whisk until smooth. Heat a large, non-stick pan over medium heat and brush with butter. Spoon tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Cook each for 1-2 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface. Then flip and cook for another 30 seconds. Makes about 12.

** Note: You can use less sugar like I did (as usual!) and there's no need to grease the pan if you're using a non-stick like me! Haha, even healthier!

Cinnamon Raisin Biscotti

playing around with a photo taken of my freshly baked cinnamon-raisin biscotti

Did anyone tell you how therapeutic baking can be?

No?

Well I'm telling you now.

Ever since the new semester of school kicked in, I've been so busy that I haven't had time to bake or cook as often. My oven was under-utilised, there wasn't any nice aroma emanating from the oven and absolutely nothing to experiment with.

So yesterday when I had some time to spare in the evening, it's no surprise what I did.

I baked.

I baked these:



Don't mind the black & white effects. I was bored so tried to play around with Adobe Photoshop.

Anyway I was really craving for some homemade biscotti.

There's something about biscotti that's so simple, yet so elegant.

Whenever I think of biscotti, I think old school - people sitting around in cafes, dipping their biscotti into a cup of cappucino, hot cocoa or latte. It exudes that sense of serenity, where people slowly wait for their crisp biscotti to soften in their hot drink then bite it.

The only other biscotti I've made is the almond biscotti; that's the most common one I guess. Almond biscotti sounds sophisticated and does certainly taste so. To me, it has character. I'm someone who doesn't crave for uber fanciful things so maybe that's why. I guess the recipes I choose reflects me and my preferences.

Going back to basics is so me. Probably that's why I adore anything vintage, rustic, country and raw stuff. I have that vision for my bakery - in the future that is.

Maybe I'll have a shop just like what Samsoon did in My Lovely Samsoon. Hers was an online pastry shop but she also had a physical store where customers can come and collect their orders. Hmmmm... I can't wait till the day that happens. But first, I gotta concentrate on school!

So before I go, here's a normal (yea decided not to play around with this photo) shot of my cinnamon-raisin biscotti with recipe attached, enjoy!:



Cinnamon-Raisin Biscotti
from Epicurious.com

Ingredients:
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup whole almonds, toasted

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease heavy large baking sheet. Using hand-held electric mixer, beat egg and sugar in medium bowl until very thick and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in brandy and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into egg mixture and blend well. Mix in raisins and almonds. Spoon dough onto prepared sheet to form 10- to 11-inch strip. Using moistened fingertips, shape dough into neat 11-inch-long by 2 1/2-inch-wide log.
Bake until log just begins to brown and feels firm to touch, about 20 minutes. Cool cookie log on sheet 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Transfer cookie log to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-wide slices. Arrange slices on same baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Turn slices over. Bake until beginning to color, about 8 minutes longer. Cool cookies completely on baking sheet (cookies will become very crisp). (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

Makes about 2 dozen.

Bon Appétit
September 1995
Tony DiSalvo: Falls Church, Virginia


**the baker's note: i halved the amount of sugar because I don't like my biscotti too sweet. anyway the raisins are sweet already.

Watermelon & Banana Smoothie

Once in a while, I'd have crazy ideas, be it about food, life, or just about anything.

My ideas do sometimes turn out better than expected and I'll take this smoothie for example:



Allow me to paint this scenario where I wake up early in the morning scouring the kitchen for some breakfast to eat:

Me thinks to myself: "Man I'm hungry, what should I eat?"

Opens the fridge, nothing new there. Checks the microwave and lifts the lid off the wok and finds it empty as air. Walks around the kitchen thinking of going out to get some food, then pauses again due to pure laziness

Myself: "Well there's eggs and cheese, so should I make a cheese omelette sandwich yet again for the umpteen time this week? .... Nah, maybe not"

Opens cupboard and sees Weetbix but alas there's no milk in the fridge!

Me: "I could eat dry Weetbix with honey but I don't feel like having that today"

Then I open the freezer and this stares back at me:



I: "Ahhh.... this might be something"

Walks toward the window latch where this is hanging:



Why didn't I notice it before? I love bananas. Bananas are good. I suddenly go bananas over bananas and then as I pluck one, I start to think: "Would bananas go with that lovely frozen fruit I found in the freezer?"

There was only one way to find out and the only way was the way of the blade.

The wicked metal blades of our Braun blender.

In went the banana and the watermelon, wait, the frozen watermelon.

What resulted from that union was something quite unexpected. Good, but surprisingly better than what I imagined. It tasted almost like soft ice-cream or sorbet. Hmmm, well I start to think how well other fruits would mix together and felt tempted to further experiment with some dragonfruit, then I remembered I had to rush to school. So I held that thought and continued with my smoothie...



Doesn't the pink hue look sweet? It's pastel pink and it's yummy!

Now I know that it's possible to play with your food and still end up with something tasteful. I really should play around with my food more often, no, I mean fruits. Wait fruits are food. Anything that's edible are food. Or is it? What's food anyway? Things you eat? What if you don't eat something because of personal reasons, is it not food? Hmmmm.... okay, before you raise that brow and start to think I'm going a little cuckoo, that's just something I picked up from Sociology of Food. I've been studying how food is far from just stuff you put into your mouth. There is a functionalist & conflict perspective involved mind you. And don't be surprised if Marx or Weber comes into the picture. That's what you get for reading the blog of a food crazed sociology major.

All right, enough banter; Just try out the smoothie combo, you might like it :)

Din Tai Fung @ Raffles City

A xiao long bao photowall put up by Din Tai Fung! Can you spot my signature?

Ranked as one of the top restaurants in the world by The New York Times, Din Tai Fung is definitely not your run-of-the-mill dim sum outfit and it's not a place I go to regularly.

In fact, I've only been there once, on my birthday two months back.

This week, I went back again, but it wasn't with friends or family.

I went there alone.

No no, I didn't go there specifically to dine by myself.

I was invited to the grand opening of Din Tai Fung's fifth outlet in Singapore - at Raffles City. You know the newly revamped basement? Yep, it's there, near Aerin and Kuriya.

As a freelance journalist I write about food places, etc and will get invited to the occasional press conference such as this. Well now that I mentioned, I really miss my days as an intern at I-S Magazine. I went to countless press conferences and food tastings and learnt alot. I was glad they didn't task me to brew coffee all day long. I got sent out on assignments. Writing is my passion and it works out well.

Anyway, yep, back to Din Tai Fung. So I was there on Thursday and the restaurant also recently launched some new items (yep we the journos got to try them) and I have loads of photos for you so do enjoy:



Steamed Glutinous Rice in Red Dates ($4)

These dates are interesting. I love the chewy filling. It's an appetiser actually. One of the 6 offered on their new menu.



Crunchy Mini Cucumber in Spicy Sauce ($3.80)

These really were crunchy. I think they used japanese cucumbers? I like! Totally dig the spciy combi.


Finely Sliced Honey Lotus Root Stuffed with Glutinous Rice ($4)

Another sweet treat. This is the first time I've eaten lotus root made this way. I totally enjoyed it. How innovative!



Century Eggs with Fermented Soya ($3.30)

I almost skipped this. But I'm glad I tried it in the end. I usually avoid century eggs whenever possible but the others said it was bearable because the garlic would have masked the taste. And guess what, they were right. I like the jelly-like texture. Hmmm...



Steamed Chicken

This steamed chicken was totally yum. Tender meat.



Five Spiced Braised Dried Bean Curd with Minced Meat ($3.30)

Tofu is one of my favourite dishes and I do fancy how they made this one. It's more dense than normal beancurd. I like the sauce very much.



Chicken Soup

Now this is what I call chicken soup! You know those books "Chicken Soup for the Soul"? I think they really meant this type of chicken soup. No kidding! Flavourful and aromatic, this soup will lift your spirits.



Fried Rice with Prawns

Talk about fresh juicy prawns. This is some delicious fried rice. The prawns are really succulent. Can't you see from the picture? Gorgeous.



Dou Miao

This is one of my most favourite vegetables. I love it's fresh crunchy texture. They cooked it well! I think they added chicken too. Yum yum yum!




Their famous xiao long bao! Simply divine and best eaten this way:




Yes, with slices of ginger and vinegar! Mmmmmmmmm...... I'm totally crazy about xiao long baos now!!!



Here's how the meat filling looks like. Check out the juices. It's amazing how the skin of the dumplings are not too thick and not too thin. It really holds the juices well and doesn't tear when you pick it from the bamboo steamer.




Some chives dumplings. Another of my favourite. Oh and I am a huge fan of anything to do with red bean so I was hugely excited when they served this:



Red bean dumplings! How cool is that? I've only ate red bean pau at dim sum places. But this one was oh-so-lovely. Check out the filling:



Gosh. I think I am one lucky person, to be able to eat so much good things in one night. Best of all, it was a press event.

But seriously, this press conference was well executed. The PR Company, Ubersprint helmed the entire event. Din Tai Fung's one of their clients and I think they couldn't have chosen a better PR company. I know some people at Ubersprint and am always very impressed by their standard of public relations. Well done guys, and girls! To Diana & Jessica, great job done. I hope you poor girls got to eat after the event!

So before I go to get some shuteye, here's the last photo of something sweet and delightful:


Chilled Grass Jelly topped with Sweet Black Glutinous Rice ($4.30)

I do think it's a perfect dessert to end a meal. It's not too heavy and just nice to keep you happy. I know I was happy. Grass jelly goes well with black glutinous rice I realised. Kudos to the chefs at Din Tai Fung. I know this whole post might sound bias because one might say that the food tasted good because it was for the media. Perhaps it might be the case but I'd rather give the chefs the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure they do work hard and even more so for this event. It's not easy serving a full restaurant filled with journos and what not.

Din Tai Fung, this isn't the last you'll see of me! I'm craving for some xiao long baos now....

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

Finally!

I've been wanting to eat from this chicken rice stall since god knows when.

At first, I heard good rumours about this place...

Then I found out that Anthony Bourdain swears by their chicken rice and he only eats chicken rice from that stall. It's true! Dot spotted him eating there earlier this year. I also posted about it with the picture Dot snapped of him eating the chicken rice!

Seriously, how can anyone resist chicken that's as succulent, juicy and tender as this! Here's a closeup shot of the famous chicken that will surely make your mouth water:



I'm like drooling as I type this!

However, I have to confess that I'm not exactly an avid chicken rice lover - I can live without it. I hardly eat chicken rice actually. Only once in a while. Don't ask me why! I think it's because there's just so many stalls but not that many good ones?

But hey, I'm glad I decided to try out this one. Which stall is it? I suppose you would have realised by now (from the title of my post). I really do think that Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice rocks! Well I like it. Do you?

Some say the Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice is better while some swear by Five Star Chicken Rice or even Boon Tong Kee. So what's a hungry person to do when he/she's craving for a good plate of chicken rice and wants to try the best? I say go with your instinct.

Or just stare at the above pictures of Tian Tian's chicken. I think that might be enough to give you an answer. At most, you can always skip the chicken and get yourself some duck or fish instead.

___________________________________________

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
Stall 10, Maxwell Road Food Centre, Maxwell Road.
Open: 11.00am - 8.00pm daily; closed on Mondays.

___________________________________________

Solero Orange Fresh

Desserts are my weakest link.

I always give in to that occasional craving for that scoop of ice-cream, a bar of chocolate and that tiramisu by the shop window.

Sweet things make me happy and there's no better way to cheer myself up on a hot and sunny day than some good ice-cream.

Ben & Jerry's is definitely one of my top favourite ice-cream brands. I usually go for ice-cream by the scoop but once in a while, I like to pop my head over the ice-cream freezer outside 7-11 or the supermarket to check out what new flavours there are right now in the market.

Sometimes I end up buying a stick of red bean ice-cream or that green tea & redbean one by Meiji. But most recently, I have a new favourite: Solero Orange Fresh.

My sis bought some home the other day and let me try some and I became a fan since then.

Solero has had a few flavours but this is by far my favourite one. It's actually blood orange sorbet with orange ice cream in the middle:



It's really very refreshing! Tends to be a tad sweet but hey desserts are usually meant to be sweet, no?

Anyway go try it for yourself!

More about ice-cream in another post.... oh yes, and tell me about YOUR favourite ice-cream why don't you?

Steamboat Seafood Buffet

Just how messy can a table get?

Apparently as messy as that table above.

Where can you find tables as messy as that?

I think the locals should know... Do you? :)

It's got this:



and lots of this:



some of this:



and alot more.

Yep, it's a buffet! Not just any buffet. But one of the cheapest buffet around. Come on, where else can you get free flow of meat, fish, seafood and the works for just $12 nett?

I know this is no Seoul Garden but still, for the price, it's really worth it. Might be a tad uncomfortable because of all the smoke around but I guess the price more than makes up for it?

I went home smelling like a barbecued piece of meat!

So anyway, for those who still have no idea where is this place, it's Chin Huat Live Seafood. It's at Marina South. I was there yesterday night with my dearest Amplify Ministry. It was a birthday celebration for all the September babies.

In case you're wondering, nope I didn't bake the cake. Heh, I wish I could, but I've been sooo busy with school and all that I haven't had time to bake! I miss baking!

Oh well, I guess if I intend to get good grades, I have to prioritise my time. But don't worry, I'll bake whenever I have the time to. What I've been doing is to save any recipe that I come across and want to try. I have already printed out a stack of recipes I'm dying to try out! My oven is crying out to me... I can hear it .. haha...

Okay, baking aside, here's some photos of my friends and I from yesterday:


From left: Jules, Joel, Grace, Cass, Me

Here's some of us, smiling for the camera.

I love these people. They're such a fun bunch. There's no end to laughter, smiles and good eats whenever I'm with them. Seriously, they're like family to me.

Oh and Jules, she's the unofficial Amplify photographer. She always has her camera in hand, to capture all those Kodak moments. She also uploads all the photos onto Snapfish really fast! Super efficient. That goes without saying. Hey, she's a lawyer, mind you! Oh speaking of which... haha, here's a shout out to Jules' colleagues - I heard from her that you read my blog.... I hope I've done my part in whetting your appetite just before lunch ya? :p

Here's Grace and Cass:



They look like they're enjoying the prawn. These prawns are served to you live (they give us a tub of them) and it's rather cruel because you can see them wriggling as they get cooked. But that's why they taste so fresh. Heh.

Oh yes, Grace is another lawyer. There are many lawyers in Amplify! Grace is me and JF's ice cream and dessert buddy. We love ice cream and she's the one who went for the chocolate buffet at Fullerton hotel... Another chocoholic I love!

And Cass, hmmm I don't think I can say where she works at. It's a secret. Shhhh.. I dont' wanna get into trouble! But she's also a big foodie and she has a super high metabolism. She and Leonard are so skinny... God has blessed them tremendously. They are two very inspiring people I love.



Here's Jules and me, posing with some food!

And here's one more picture just for fun. Please don't ask me what we're doing because I really don't know.


From left: Lynette, Florence, Me, Jules, Grace, Cass, Lydia

We have loads of rubbish shots like this. Hmmm if I'm not wrong, the hand gesture is to pretend we're covering our 'double chin'? Haha, actually I think it was because Lydia didn't like this other photo that we shot because her it made her look like she had a double chin... Lydia, please don't kill me... So anyway, this photo was to poke fun at her. Heh, I know, we all look silly. But hey, that's how Amplify Ministry is like. We're not afraid to look silly! Oh man, I love these girls... They make my life so much more fun.

I tell you, life just seems to pass by so fast, especially when you're so busy. Heh, these days, when I'm not busy studying or doing ministry stuff, I'm watching My Lovely Samsoon. It's this Korean drama that I totally dig. I'm like hooked okay. The main character's this pastry chef who studied in Le Cordon Bleu in France and watching the show just makes me more adamant on pursuing my dreams of studying patisserie. You know what, I'm going to do just that. It won't be too soon because of financial reasons but I know I will do it someday!

Okie, before I go, I want to say hi to Rose. Yes, it was interesting how I met her today. I was attending mass at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in town and she recognised me. She was sitting in front of me the entire time. Haha, it was nice to meet you Rose. Thanks for reading my blog... Enjoy!

Durian buffet @ Goodwood Park

Was supposed to post up these pictures but I sort of forgot about them! Oh how could I!

Haha, better late than never I say. So here it is, some photos I took at Goodwood Park Hotel's durian buffet:



Goodwood Park is famous for their durian pastries and I've tried their durian mooncakes before thanks to my aunt but this was the first time I've tried their cream puffs.

These cream puffs were amazing - wait till you see the rest....




That's the durian crunchy hazelnut tartlet. One of my favourites. I'm really impressed by how many durian creations the chefs are able to come up with. Like, seriously!




Durian waffle. Mmm.... okay, it's pure durian paste spread on waffles. Check out the pancakes stuffed with the same durian paste. Now now, who said you can't eat durian with anything?




You can have them on toast too if you like!

It brings a whole new dimension to toast. I wish coffeeshops sold durian toast instead of kaya toast. Haha, ya i sound rather insane.

Perhaps I am. I love durians! Love the taste, the texture; I dig how the creamy flesh slides down my throat and versatile it is. It is truly the king of all fruits.




Check this Durian & Espresso Bar. It's like a durian version of the tiramisu. Yummmy. I couldn't stop eating these. Can you see the durian pudding beside it? Pure, unadulterated D24 durian - it rocks my world.




Here's some Durian crumble and Durian crepe.

Both were delicious. Okay, I think you'll all be thinking that I've gone mad and died in my fantasy durian haven.

Actually, I felt like puking after the buffet. It was seriously a durian over dose. You see why I don't like buffets much? There's a tendency to eat more than you can take. Haha. Or maybe I was just being a bit too greedy. Okay okay, I don't do this often so ya, I should feel less guilty.

Anyway durians are dense stuff and eating too much of it will make you want to hurl - I won't deny that. But you see, I adore this fruit. It's special and though alot of people (esp those who aren't from Asia) would run away from it, I'll simply run to it.

Anyway this durian buffet is seasonal and this one ended in August. I'm glad I went before it ended.

Durians, anyone?

Crisp Bread

A recent discovery of mine has lead me to think of various ways to cook up something different.

That would be crispbread:



I really don't know why they call it bread when it's more like a biscuit. It's crunchy and I like eating it even on its own. Made out of rye, it makes a good healthy snack.

I'm not sure how they make it but over the weekend I was hungry and was in a rush so didn't have time to cook a proper meal.

Then I thought, hey, why not make something and eat it with them crispbread?

So I did... and this was what I came up with:



I suppose you can see for yourself what I put.

Dad had steamed some fresh tuna a few days ago so I used that. I added some scrambled eggs and then mixed it all up with some sauce. Actually any sauce would do - bbq, mustard, ketchup... be creative!

Then I topped it with some feta cheese.

How did it taste? I liked it. But perhaps you would have to like tuna to make these? Or you could always use other meat or fish.

Whatever it is, I really like the versatility of crispbread. It doesn't have much taste on its own which makes it great for pairing it up with other ingredients.

You can get it at most supermarkets I think - NTUC. I think Ikea sells it too.

Allrighty, off to school I go... tataz!

French Tea

Yes yes, I love tea and I'm going to talk about yet another amazing tea that I've tried.

Okay that tea you see there, my gosh, it's gorgeous.

My friend Mark went on a cultural immersion trip to France during the holidays and stayed there for 5 weeks. I took this opportunity to see if he could get some lovely tea leaves that Flo of Bliss in the Kitchen sent me during the 2nd Edition of Blogging By Mail.

Flo sent me plenty of delights from France including the unforgettable tea!

So anyways to cut the long story short, I copied down the address so Mark could perhaps check out the same shop she got it from.

BUT...

When he went there, there was no tea shop! Oh well... maybe it was the wrong address or wrong place. Hmmm but he did go to Lyon where the shop was supposed to be.

Whatever it is, it's okay because he bought me some fruity tea instead. Yep, those black tea leaves came all the way from France in Mark's luggage. Haha... thanks loads Mark! I really dig the tea. It smells divine and the tea had no bitter aftertaste, which was atonishing.

Well most tea I drink almost always leave a bitter taste in my mouth but this was an exception. So yep, I'm drinking this tea slowly - can't bear to finish it all so soon...

Oh, the 5th edition of Blogging By Mail is currently taking place and I'll be sending my parcel really soon. I think it's too late to join already but do look out for the next edition.

Here's my thanks to the host this time round: Stephanie the Happy Sorceress of Dispensing Happiness. It's no mean feat and I salute her for organising it this time round. Of late there are 85 participants! Gosh that's like more than 5 times the original number of participants. This should go down in the Guiness World Book of Records for the largest mass food mailing event don't you think? :p

Allrighty, I'm off! Time to snooze! Gotta wake up in time for my morning lecture - ciao!

Fruit & Melon Bowl

Fridays are my most favourite day of the week.

Apart from it being the last weekday before the weekend arrives, I love it because of Amplify's Fridays. Some of you might know of this youth ministry I'm in. Also known as Amplify, we meet every Fridays at 8pm and for the past weeks I've been helping out with the hospitality team, and put in charge of the food.

You know, refreshments and stuff for after the session ends.

And so far, it's been exciting and fun as the team and I try to come up with something original every week.

This week was supposed to be colourful and garden-like since we were doing a 4-part series known as God & Life. So it's supposed to be lively and what not.

So the team and I came up with this:



Pretty? I think it's lovely, the colours especially. Lydia and I was shopping at NTUC and brainstorming about how to put together a fruity-thing in a presentable fashion....

Then 'Eureka'! Melon balls I thought!

So we bought a honeydew and water melon. It felt boring so we decided to get these too:



Grapes and kiwis!

Aren't they pretty?

But the grapes, man, the grapes are really special. Know why?

Check out their size:



Not sure if you can see it properly but these grapes are reeeeally tiny. They're known as champagne grapes and we found it at NTUC. A box was about $3.80.



I'm not sure if they're called champagne grapes because champagne's made out of it. No matter what, I still like these grapes. They're really sweet and adorable! Geez I never knew grapes could be that tiny. Pretty things. Perfect for decorating any dessert I think.

So viola, we added these grapes to our fruit melon bowl and got a beautiful fruity combination! You noticed we used the watermelon skin as a bowl? Now that's called making full use of every part of a fruit. Cool eh?

I think this is a keeper. If I ever have a party, I'll definitely make this! So simple, so healthy and so picture perfect! :)