红（萝卜）运当（菜）头 | the approach of good luck!

• Ingredients
• 1 kg white radish, grated (reserve water)
• 50g red carrots, grated (reserve water)
• 150g rice flour
• 50g corn starch
• 1 Chinese sausages, removed from casing and diced
• 8 pcs dried black mushroom, soaked and diced (reserve water)
• 1 piece of dried cuttlefish, soaked and cut into bitesized strips
• 30g dried shrimps, soaked (reserve water)
• 2 shallots, finely sliced

• 
  
• 
  
• Method: 
• 
  
• Marinate the black mushroom, cuttlefish and shrimps with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp wine and a small pinch of sugar.
• 
  
• Combine the corn starch and rice flour with 21/2 rice bowls of water including reserve water from the radish, carrot, black mushroom, scallops and shrimp, soaking the mushrooms and cuttlefish. Stir and mix well to form a smooth batter.
• 
  
• With 3 tablespoons of oil, sauté shallots till fragrant with chopped sausages then add in shrimps, mushrooms and scallops. Toss in grated radish and carrots, add 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp ground white pepper and 1 tbsp oil before stirring well. Toss it well to mix and keep frying till the liquid appears from the radish and carrot strips.
• 
  
• Turn to low heat, slowly stir in flour mixture into the turnips. Turn and mix well until it forms a sticky dough. 
• 
  
• Grease dish for steaming. Transfer the batter into the pan and over high heat for about 40 minutes.

 Leave to cool and cut into slices to be pan fried. Or steamed and garnished with parsley, spring onions and chopped
  chilli.

Recipe adapted from : http://www.tastehongkong.com/recipes/featured/turnip-or-radish-cake-with-chinese-sausages/

I substituted cuttlefish for scallops. It tasted good too but I'll probably stick with scallops in future :)
Have adjusted the sugar because I used red carrots for natural sweetness.
I'll probably try it with just white radish in future to try and recreate the ones served at dim sum restaurants! 

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

"Mix It Up" on Health Perch

Colors of childhood

Colors of childhood. 
Let's start with my favourite food.
Black or white-
Must there really be a fight?
I'd pick them both.
But to Sir Diet I made an oath.
If only to stay away from the darker side.
These days I opt for the lighter ride.

Back to where it all started.

Last day of the Seventh Month on the Lunar Calendar and the last of the Seventh Month dinners organised by various committees. I'm long past the age of mad auctions and communal dining even if it is, good food. Dad and I were just chauffering Grandma and Mum over to the Foochow Clan Association at Jalan Besar.

So what's for dinner?

Just around the corner was Jalan Besar Stadium and the Broadway coffeeshop right next to it houses five of the original Longhouse stalls. Perfect for a dad and daughter dinner.

Parking spaces were aplenty at the Jalan Besar Stadium with parallel lots lining the sides of the stadium and a multi-storey covered carpark for those who aren't inclined to parallel lots. 

Like me. 

The last time we parked in the multi-storey, it was cashcard operated but now it's been converted to coupon parking. And at 50 cents per half hour, be sure to park safe and eat with a peace of mind.

*Chew on this!

Did you know that the Longhouse was originally a row of shops outside the old Jalan Besar Stadium? It had to move to Upper Thomson in 2000 when the stadium was undergoing renovation works. Fourteen years down the road, they are back to where they started- next to the Jalan Besar Stadium. 

But I digress. 

Let's get down to the food. 

I don't know about you. But I've missed delicious carrot cake and char kway teow from Longhouse Delights. I couldn't stomach them both so I settled for white carrot cake.

If a higher proportion of egg and radish are your standards for a perfect plate of carrot cake, then this must be it.

Mr Kee Chon Leong of Longhouse Delights was still as smiley as I had remembered.

"Want chilli?"

"Yes please. Just put it on the side."

"So should I fry it in? Or do you just want it on the side?"

"Fry it in and can I please have some more on the side?"
He patiently makes sure that he gets my order right before frying it.

Be impressed.

Dad took a pork chop option from Best Western Grill & Pasta.
Mr David Foo was considerably less smiley here.
Busily manning the grills and toasting garlic bread slices.

Thankfully though, he had a female assistant ringing up the cash registers and doling out smiles.

My favourite coleslaw.

And the most uninspiring crinkle cut fries ever.

At $7 for two pieces of these fork tender pork chops,

the fries were negligent to its popularity.

Dad nary made a cut before he was able to pull it off a piece easily with his fork.

So quick I couldn't even manage a focused shot! :)

Savoury marinade that keeps one going for more.

Mopping up the sauce with the fries greatly increased their palatability.

It could've been nostalgia.

But dinner that night was more than simply just satisfying.

We'll be back for the other original Longhouse favourites soon enough. :)