Cooking for family

Diced 4 water chestnuts.

Peel and chop 12 medium sized grey prawns into three parts.

Mix 400g of minced pork and diced water chestnut with 2 tbsp of oyster sauce, a dash of sesame oil, white pepper and a tsp of soya sauce.

Chop spring onions to be used either mixed into the filling or as a garnish for the soup.

(I divided the pork into two portions for two different types of filling- for a 云吞: minced pork, chestnut and spring onions/ for a 水饺: minced pork, shrimp and chestnut)

Makes enough filling for one pack of wanton wrappers, approximately 34 sheets.

For each wanton wrapper, place a generous ball of pork and shrimp filling in the middle before sealing with beaten egg and crimping the ends tightly.

Bring water to a boil before putting in the dumplings to cook. 

The dumplings are ready when the skin turns slightly translucent and they float up to the surface.

Serve in a stock made from simple boiled ikan bilis and peeled prawn heads reserved from earlier (or simply use Knorr ikan bilis MSG free cubes).

Serve dried with the noodles blanched and tossed in a base of sesame oil, oyster sauce, a little soup stock and sambal chilli (optional)

Top with dumplings, roasted bbq pork and chinese kale.

Or simply serve in soup. :)

The dumplings were no sweat.

It's the separate blanching of vegetables and noodles together with the final assembly of soup/ dried orders of noodles that took a while.

But all worth it.

Tummy satisfied!

This muah chee recipe deserves a kiss! *muah :)

My grandmother was recently admitted to A&E over the weekend and ominous dark clouds of fear and anxiety have comfortably settled above us for an indeterminate number of days. :(

Just to perk everyone's spirits up for a bit. 

And really, just to kick Monday's butt-

I decided to finally get down to making some muah chee.

How hard can it be?

There's tonnes of microwavable muah chee recipes out there.

Except.

What if you don't have any means to measure the quantities?

Ingredients:

Glutinous rice flour 

(Erawan brand with blue wordings and signature red elephant logo- 600g pack)

Sesame Oil 

(Chee Seng White sesame oil)

Peanut & sugar mix

(Singlong Premium Quality Peanut Powder)

Recipe:

(Serves four)

1 cup glutinous rice flour 

(as long as they aren't those huge mugs you're fine)

1 cup water

(use the same cup for measurement :) )

3 tbsp sesame oil 

Make a well in the centre of the rice flour before pouring the water in.

Mix well before adding 2 tbsp of sesame oil.

Give that a good mix before popping it into the microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Stir the mix which should be half cooked by now to ensure that the flour mixture at the bottom of the bowl also gets cooked through.

Add in 1 tbsp of sesame oil and mix well.

Add water if necessary.

Microwave again on high for another 1 and a half minutes.

The dough is done when it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and remains soft enough to be cut through with a spoon.

Cut it into pieces after putting a portion of dough into the peanut mix.

(Don't try to cut all the pieces up before mixing it into the peanut. 

You just get all the dough sticking together again :/ )

Give another generous sprinkling of the peanut mixture before serving. 

Looks like a mouthful,

but it really just takes 10 minutes.

Including putting it on Instagram. ;)

Now tell Monday or any other terrible day to take THAT!

Morton's celebrates its sweet 16th anniversary with $16 treats

From 5-7pm every Monday to Saturday, let's get happy.

At Morton's Mortini nights.

(And really bad photo attempts since lighting up is but an option to be overlooked.)

Now at $15.95, these martinis aren't going for cheap. 

And why is the bar still running full capacity for these two hours every evening?

  

If you haven't tried it yet.

You should.

These martini glasses contain housepours with 3 oz of vodka/ gin unlike the single shots that one usually gets for a cocktail order.

So be prepared to get happy. :)

And since the last time I checked,

I was still alcohol intolerant but took sips of the Appletini rimmed with cinnamon powder.

It smelt like green apple Hi-Chew

And actually pretty delish.

I would've downed a glass had I been prepared to live with a week-long allergic reaction.

Of course, I wasn't.

I'm hardly buzzed from my sips of green apple hi-chew.

And I remembered that we were here for Morton's Prime Burger.

Going at a sweet deal of $16 instead of the usual $35.

Just for the month of May.

You essentially get a deconstructed burger.

And instead of the usual shoe string fries, we got some thick cut wedges.

Perfectly fried. 

Crisp on the outside, fluffy and very satisfying on the inside.

With a dollop of mayonnaise no less.

My selection was for Swiss cheese and sauteed mushrooms.

 

The fist-sized patty was all of what I was looking for in a burger that night.

Thick. Juicy.

Essentially beef.

Sitting atop a bun to soak up all the juices once I made a cut with my knife and watched as the juices oozed out.

I skipped the assembly and ate it as is.

Because no one sits at the bar AT MORTON'S and uses her hands to eat.

And my dining companion chose cheddar instead with sauteed mushrooms.

The cheddar was a little bit too salty for my liking and melted into an unsightly orange yellow gloop.

She couldn't finish hers.

And we both wished for a more generous serving of mushrooms.

We sat and while we ate over random chatter, 

we watched the bartenders behind the counter filling out orders with expert flair.

Once happy hour ended at 7pm,

the orders of Bombay Blue took over.

There were martini orders, but not the flavoured ones.

And there were quite a few with orders of blue cheese filled olives.

I mean, really?

Pardon my immature palate but I could hardly comprehend a drink like that.

It was a chillax night out.

And amidst all that crazy buzz of human traffic and noise,

I'd be back for a Mortini night.

Even if I hardly drank.

For their offerings of Morton's steak sandwiches.

Fluffy soft buttered buns with a silver of steak in between.

And if only just for the ambience and laidback vibe at the cosy bar at Morton's.

*If you're here for the $16 sweet deals, they start at 7pm.

**Morton's Prime Burger and Slingtini are only available at Bar 1221 and Bar@Morton's located at the atrium.

***The Legendary Hot Chocolate Lava Cake deal is only available at the main dining room with every order of entrée or main course at its main dining room.



Ends 31st May 2014.

Llao Llao

Sometimes,

a picture does paint a thousand words.
Not.

It's our first attempt at a Llao Llao.
Pronounced 'yow yow'.

More of hers than mine.

Since I always get my share of Llao Llao from beloved people who pick up a cup of happiness to be shared all around.

Looking like absolute country bumpkins,

we decided to join the queue for our cup of LlaoLlao.

Me: "That. I always get to eat those big sizes with three toppings in a huge white cup."

E: "But the ones I see being posted are always those in the see-through plastic cups."

Me: "How are we gonna order?"

E: (speaks to the oblivious girl infront) "Oh. Excuse me. What did you just order?"

E: "Mmm. Sanum."

Me: (reads) "Three fruits, honey, cereal and frozen yoghurt."

Okay!

Kiwi, blueberry and strawberry.

(It was almost closing time and there were a couple of mini fruit flies around the 

tired looking cut fruits that had been there all day. 

We chose the ones that looked the least cause for stomach upsets.)

llaocrostinis- these morsels of yum. Chocolate covered muesli.

Praline sauce for toppings.

Hmm. Where's the honey in this?

First ever cup of Llao Llao.

E: "I can't see the fruits. 

The color of the praline doesn't look good. 

Oh no, it's not going to be a nice photo."

Still, Good job us.

We'll be back for another soon enough.
Just because it was a pretty good tasting froyo. :)

Supply & Demand

Happily Ever Laughter was a right laugh.

But looking for a dinner venue post comedy was no joke.

We were about to settle for Gluttons Bay and brave the heat and acrid smell of smoke and all things cooked when we chanced upon Supply & Demand just behind Mansion.

And wasn't this the place that my friend has so many a time urged me to visit because a couple of the owners were her friends?

It took a long while but I've finally made it here.

By a serendipitous chance at that.

With nary a queue and opening hours till 1am on a Thursday, this was the perfect place to get away from the mad queues and oppressive heat even in the night.

The restaurant interior is lit by warm yellow lighting that gave a comfortable cosy feel to its diners.

I was intrigued by the menu handed to us on a clipboard- Peruvian?

But that exotic a taste, I'd leave till the next visit.

It was now 10 pm and we just needed some familiar favourites to fill our tummies.

Flipping back to the section on Italian offerings,

there were pages of pizza toppings, risottos and pastas with three different base sauces.

Because the owners know that with 20 different types of pizzas, people were bound to want to try different flavours, they had an option to have a split pizza.

This was our order by recommendation from their warm and friendly service staff- The Morning After and Chorizo & Italian Sausage for some meat.

They have the most refreshing tea coolers here.

Not too sweet and filled with a chock full of your choice of fruit, we had a strawberry and a peach picked for me on request.

Perfectly thirst quenching.

They also carry cider from Brothers and we had a Toffee Apple which was deliciously light on the palate.

And it couldn't just be pizza could it?

Late night supper club calls for some fries.

With a side of guilt.

Thick cut fries topped with sliced jalepenos and parsley.

The guilt kicks in from the thick cheese sauce poured over the fries.

The cheese sauce, while nicely addictive, was mostly pooled at the bottom of the tin.

The fries unfortunately made soggy by the addition of the sauce.

This was served with a curiously mismatched barbeque sauce.

Would've been better if the cheese sauce was served as the complementary dip. 

They have a rooftop bar as well, for the after-dinner drinks in a pretty al fresco area with a view of the riverfront.

It was wet and rainy that night so we only ventured up for a look before we left.

Perhaps I'd try those exotic Peruvian offerings on my next visit.

Have you already tried them?

Ronin. 17 HKST.

From the people who brought you Bravery, The Plain and now this, Ronin. 

I've come full circle. From simple primary colours to whitewashed zen and now, over to the dark side. 

Once upon a time, there were menus. Then a large communal menu and here?

Prick up those ears and keep close attention. 

For the friendly service staff will recite the menu to you patiently while you mull over your choices and place your orders.

Taking a huge step away from my usual flat white, I made an order for Wicked ($5.50). Mint green after-eights melted into an espresso shot. A little too sweet and quite the treat. :)

Toast and scrambled eggs ($9) for me. Because these eggs have found fame in the eyes of many. Lightly scrambled, slightly runny and very deliciously creamy without falling apart in a slop.

Sometimes, I do conform to the masses. 

Served with three slices of lightly buttered toasts and a dark earthy Portobello ($3.50) add-on on request. The Portobello was a little dry and would perhaps be made perfect with a Worcestershire marinade.

He had a roast beef sandwich. Thinly sliced roast beef, tangy cream dressing, a slice of camembert, sweet Japanese pickled daikon and a handful of rocket, held together by warm crusty bread.
Don't bother slicing these up.
Eat with hands.
Simple but satisfying. 

We took the seats at the round communal table where the seats looked more comfortable than the bar stools with minute seats. The high ceilings and open spaces of a modern industrial interior meant we could hear the conversations of other people around us but only barely so. It was dim but comfortable. A little warm yet hardly restrictive.

Welcome to the dark side.

I'll be seeing you there.

Something new is brewing at McCafé!

The first McCafé in Singapore opened in 2003 and over the years has quietly established itself with a laidback approach to quality coffee at an unbeatable value located conveniently islandwide alongside most of your favourite McDonalds outlet.

My favourite Himalayan Tea Latte, a soothing sweet milky tea infused with notes of cinnamon for a slight spice with the cutest latte art.

In an effort to kickstart McCafé's long-term commitment to celebrate and champion creativity amongst youths in the community, McCafé will be launching a series of complimentary Coffee Appreciation Workshops to give young coffee lovers an opportunity to learn more about their coffee and have free expression of their creativity using coffee as their canvas.

Who? 

Youths between the ages of 16-35

As long as you're looking like our ages, you should qualify to apply.

What? 

A three hour workshop learning from the talented baristas from McCafé led by Master Trainer, Mr Hilmi Mohamed- an effervescent man who bubbles over with his passion for all things coffee.

The workshop will allow participants to discover the history of coffee and origin of McCafé, watch a latte art presentation, try their hand at handling the coffee machine to prepare a cup of Cappucino and how to froth the milk. To conclude the session, participants will get to showcase their talents and express their creativity at latte art and plate art.  

And we had the privilege of being the first few to be taken on a preview of the new and exciting series of workshops for people like you and I.

The selected baristas from various outlets will patiently walk you through the process.

Telling you more about the finer points of the gold standard of foam and latte art.

As they encourage and watch you bring your creativity to life.

On a cup of latte made from McCafé's espresso with 100% Arabica beans.

Couldn't have done it without you, Hongliang from McCafé, Northpoint. Much appreciated. Thanks!

And what's plate art?
Bringing your food to life as far as your creativity brings you. Or at least, where mine brought me.

Where? 

At McCafé of course.

When? 

Starting in September on 6th and 13th of September where the first two sessions will be held, to coincide with the September school holidays. The sessions will be limited to a maximum of 10 participants.

The next two workshops are slated for December 2014.

How? 

Registration will take place from 18th August to 1st September 2014. Simple drop them an email at : promotions@sg.mcd.com

I know where I'd be heading for my next cuppa. :)

Thanks to omy.sg for the invite and to the marketing team of McDonalds and staff at McCafé.

Have a break, have a -baked- KitKat

Baked?

Yes. In an oven.

Oven baked.

Nestlé Japan has developed a new mini KitKat that can be eaten as chocolate bar or baked.

All the way from Japan,

a creation by Chef Yasumasa Takagi comes the Bake 'n tasty mini kitkat-Custard Pudding Flavour 

Not that I didn't trust my aunt who speaks and writes Japanese.

But why would I be willing to bake my kitkats?!

What would I do if it melted into nothingness?

So of course I opened my first packet and...

ATE it.

White chocolate.

Mmm.

The taste of caramel.

MMMM.

But of course, before I ate up all the other fingers,

my aunt was already busy preparing the oven tray for our mini bake.

And if you read Japanese like her,

click here.

But if you didn't.

Then follow either the video,

How to make a baked kitkat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkHE3jiA45w

or just read on right here.

1. Refrigerate the mini kitkat fingers.

Once they are sufficiently hard to the touch, unwrap them for baking.

2. Cover your oven tray with aluminium foil.

3. Set the kitkat fingers on the foil,

leaving some space in between fingers.

4. Bake for about 2 minutes without preheating the oven.

5. Don't look away!

Because these babies brown in no time.

You really don't want them burnt.

And because you don't want your tongue burnt either- 

6. Let them cool for a bit before popping them into your mouth.

7. Enjoy the taste of...

Crème brûlée

That's exactly what it tasted like.

A nicely burnt sugar surface, followed by a deliciously caramel layer and the much loved familiar crunch of wafer in the middle. 

YUM!

But that was a lot of work just to enjoy a Kitkat.

It was a novelty for us.

I'm pretty sure I'd be popping the rest of them fingers in my mouth without baking.

But wait.

A pack of 13 double fingers and only 4 left?

You guys...

** Just a closing note of caution, don't be baking the normal Kitkats. You're in for a fire hazard if you do. I kid you not.

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

(Credits from Pangdemonium.com)

A jazz band playing the hits of yester-years at Boo-gis Wonderland.

Sufficiently indulgent to bring the audience back to the 1970s where the show is set in a local adaptation of the original play written by Jim Cartright.

  

Rishi Budhrani sets the comedy in motion when he steps onto the stage even with the most mundane of housekeeping matters.

He lightens up the atmosphere and naturally elicits laughter from the audience before the rest of the cast take over.

In the days where transistor radios were used and the telephone was a luxury not many could afford- this is Singapore, still yet new with its independence.

Very local in flavour.

The script has been rewritten by Tracie Pang to appeal to the local audience and she's hit the spot on all counts without losing the personalities of the original characters and essence of the original musical.

Little Voice or LV played by Mina Kaye is a shy, reclusive young girl who holds her late father in loving memory. He was the one who cultivated in her, a love for old records and singers from his time.

She spends all her time in her room listening to his old record collections and occasionally breaks out into perfect singing, impersonating the divas of then- Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Edif Piaf.

Of these she has perfected Judy Garland not just in song but also in her role as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and it was a great effort on her part to do Edif Piaf in French and Sakura Teng in Mandarin.

I'm impressed, by Mina Kaye. 

A true thespian in her ability to bring out a colourful character.

Unfortunately, her mother is a total opposite of her. An abusive alcoholic, Mari Hoff (Denise Tan) is in-your-face loud and larger than life. Disappointed by her first marriage, she lives in contempt of her daughter who she regarded as an enemy who had stolen all the attention off her after LV's birth with her late husband.

LV needs someone who loves her. And she finds love knocking at her door in the form of Billy (Shane Mardjuki)- a socially awkward telephone technician who shows love in the purest forms. 

One night, her singing catches the attention of Ray Say (Adrian Pang), a flamboyant and pretentious talent scout when he goes over to their place for a night's tumble with Mari. He recognizes talent when he hears one and sees Little Voice as his last ditch attempt to success.

Boo-gis Wonderland, the IT place where nobodies go, to become somebodies was booked for LV's moment of fame. She runs away in fear on her first attempt.

With Ray's persuasion, she tries it one more time.

And that night was so magical, it changed lives.

This poignant and funny love story put me in stitches and made the tears flow when it came to a close.

This Asian Premiere of Little Voice by Pangdemonium is a must watch!

Catch them before it ends on May 18th at the Drama Centre Theatre- National Library Singapore.

Thanks to GV Movie Club and Mr Popcorn for the tickets.

OpenSNAP!

Posh nosh at Flutes in the National Museum.

Katrina from The Public Relations Company and OpenRice have really taken out all the stops for the unveiling of OpenRice's newest app- OpenSnap.

Individual Ipads.

Just to, you know.

Try out the app since it could be downloaded onto our mobile phones but hadn't yet been launched for public use.

An Ipad in the hand was the Invitation to Play and Dream.

Registering myself on OpenSnap and taking my first picture of the beautiful hanging display.

This was after applying a filter.

Understated glam aptly described the ambience of Flutes.

This was the first time seeing the Country Manager of Openrice.com.sg, Kenett Wong.

He boasts an impressive portfolio of social media start-ups and projects having been previously at inSing.com.

A passionate foodie, as he must rightly be working at OpenRice, his interest lies in heartland food. 

And he speaks of his usual food haunts at the neighbourhood hawker centres- All available on Opensnap. 

Jenny Sung from OpenRice HongKong was also there to share her experiences of using OpenSnap and leading us through a step-by-step guide to using this app and introducing the unique features of this new app.

So why Opensnap?

They were not kidding when they said that this app allows you to browse a million restaurants and pictures across 7 countries in Asia.

Just one app.

Yup.

So you're stuck in the middle of nowhere and you're famished.

Or you're out and about meeting with friends who give you perfect faith for being THE food guru who knows where the good grub is.

Welcome to my life.

More reason for me and you to fall in love with OpenSnap?

The app automatically lists nearby food places within a 2km radius from your current location.

And even states how far you are from them.

It's like a foodie's dream come true.

And wouldn't you love a personalised food album?

Automatically sorted by restaurant or filed under home cooking.

It's a food journal made easy right at your fingertips.

So join me.

On my food journey on OpenSnap @bsmint

If you love stickers, then you'd love these stickers customised to each country.

Full on localicious flavour.

Now don't be saying I BO JIO for the HO JIAK foods!

I'm pretty sure that's us saying Ho Jiak!

And Tiff maintaining her composure with a happy smile. @tiffywong

Wide open mouths for more delicious food.

Anytime Instagram makes you hungry, start up OpenSnap to get those hunger pangs sorted.

Explore at your own risk.

Avoid the nights.

They are the hardest for empty tummies to bear. :)

Thanks to OpenRice for the invite.