Dinner with Rice (:

Here are some of the home dishes that mum whips up to go with plain white rice. (:

Pork Ribs Marinated in Red Yeast



Steamed Pomfret (Teochew Style)



Crispy Tempura Prawns


[get this widget]

Roasted Meats at Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Restaurant

Some other goodies we treated ourselves at the New Year feast:

Roasted Pork (烧肉)

My personal sinful indulgence: A crisp layer of crackling skin, followed by a melt-in-the-mouth experience of aromatic lipids, finished off by the tender meat. All compacted in a small but sophisticated package of flavours and textures. They provide mustard, but I like to eat it as it is.



Roasted Goose

Another stellar dish at Imperial Treasure, this one is me and Mum's favourite. The meat is not the slightest bit dry, and the skin crisp and bursting with flavour. Truly the epitome of all Chinese roasts! :D

[get this widget]

My Favourite Goose Web!!

While celebrating "ren ri" at Imperial treasure Nan Bei restaurant, Mum and Dad treated me to one of my favourite dishes: Braised Goose Web!

Fear factor to others, but favourite dish to me! :D The skin and meat is so smooth and tender it slides from the bone and glides down your throat! The strange thing is that many restaurants serve this dish with knife and fork. I find that using chopsticks is much easier.

[get this widget]

Chinese New Year: Yu Sheng

We had a rather delicious Yu Sheng (Lo Hei) during the Chinese New Year festivities at Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Restaurant. (During "Ren Ri" or the birthdate of all men in Lunar calendar) To tell the truth, I've never liked Yu Sheng as 1) I still couldn't get used to raw fish except Aji; 2) Full of veggies! But strangely this one actually got us finishing the entire plate!

The syrup was not too cloyingly sweet, and I liked the fact that they added crunchy shredded yam. Oh oh and there were (a few strands of) jellyfish!



Mixing the ingredients together and drawing it high for good luck!

Click here for more information about Yu Sheng and Lo Hei!

[get this widget]

New Year: Mum's Stir-fried Glass Vermicelli

Every Chinese New Year, Mum will cook this staple dish without fail. These "glass vermicelli", or also known as mung-bean vermicelli or "Tang Hoon" is extremely delicious because it is cooked in a concentrated stock. Stir-fried with Jew's Ear and various veggies, I can wolf several servings of this down at dinner time! :p

[get this widget]

Mum's Steamed Crab with Glutinous Rice

While everyone had loads of delicious Butterball Turkey, (this year's turkey was really tender!--from Cold Storage) Blackforest Ham, 240 days aged Roast Beef, Leg of Lamb, (generously sponsored by our loving Uncle :P) Mixed Salads, Jamie's Corn Soup, Jamie's Mashed Potato etc etc.. (and not to forget Jamie's really awesome Tiramisu!!) Mum made Steamed Crab with Glutinous Rice specially for Grandma this Christmas!

The crab was specially selected by the fishmonger, who claimed that the crab was 'neither male nor female', but the roe is the best.. and true enough! The meat was succulent and the roe, aplenty and deliciously sinful!

Merry Christmas, everyone! :D

[get this widget]

The Hairy Crab Season's Here!

'Tis the season to be jolly... for it's hairy crab season again! I'm not exactly crazy for this expensive delicacy, but I have to admit the roe is really good.

To quote TTC, “农历八月挑雌蟹，九月过后选雄蟹”, meaning you should choose female crabs in the Eight Month and male crabs from the Ninth Month onwards (Lunar Calendar). The one in the picture is a female. You can tell from the underbelly; if it's shaped like a triangle, it's male. If it's more rounded, it's female.



Mum purchased 4 crabs from Capital Restaurant and steamed this herself at home. The deeper red roe is hard and dry. The yellow-orange soft roe is the more delicious roe, being softer and more aromatic. (:

Capitol Restaurant
Bukit Pasoh Shop Houses
44 Bukit Pasoh Road (S)089857

P.S. The gills (shown in the second picture) aren't edible, but not poisonous either.

[get this widget]

Blog's back online again! :D

Sorry for the long hiatus, everyone! Had Science Attachment programme after Chinese O Levels, but now I'm back online with lots of pictures to make up for it! Meanwhile, here's Mum's experiment: Red Yeast Pork Belly! :p

[get this widget]

Mum's Tigerskin Omelette!!

Awesome stripey "tigerskin" pattern on this omelette, huh? This is another one of Mum's groovy experiments. There are prawns, cai poh and long beans inside!

[get this widget]

Mum's Experiments: Crispy Noodle Pancake

Yet another of Mum's Experiments: Crispy Noodle Pancake! It had loads of hidden goodies inside: Mushrooms, Sliced Pork, Bean Sprouts and Wood Ear Fungus! They are smacked inside a huge cake of crispy noodles fried until brown!

[get this widget]

Mum's Experiments: Sweet Vinegar Chicken with Dates

Another yummy experiment by Mum after watching the cooking programme! It had red dates and mushrooms (the ones that look like potato wedges!) too.

It is sweet with just a hint of tangy sour from the vinegar. Goes really well with rice or porridge.

[get this widget]

Mum's Steamed Herbal Chicken Wings

Mum also tried making some Herbal Chicken Wings for dinner. It had Dang Gui (Chinese Angelica Root) and Gou Qi Zi (Wolfberries). This was really fragrant, and all the essence of the chicken seeped into the herbal soup, making the stock golden in colour!

[get this widget]

Experiment: Rack of Lamb Bak Kut Teh

I really appreciate creative fusions such as the Rack of Lamb Bak Kut Teh which I came across in My Space@Humble Home, Tung Lok. Inspired by the Singaporean's favourite Bak Kut Teh, and creating a whole new taste and dimension by using the Rack of Lamb instead of Pork Ribs. I really wanted to experiment with this idea, so I tried a version out at home.

Unfortunately, after the re-vamp, we noticed that Meidi-Ya's rack of lambs have changed since, and the musty taste was stronger than before. But the soup was quite a success once the oil was removed from the soup. A good idea would be to add Chinese Black Mushroom and use unprocessed herbs and spices instead of ready-made buk kut teh spice powder.

[get this widget]

Dim Sum at Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant

One of those special occasions where we went to eat dim sum at a grand Chinese restaurant. My favourite dim sum restaurant has always been Ah Yat Abalone Forum restaurant at Allson Hotel, and my family always go there during special occasions since young. Their standards are still good, and being a regular, we are known by the warm and friendly staff there. I am known as the "Goose Web Girl" for setting record high of downing 8 goose webs in a row when I was a kid.

Anyway, we decided to try out the other dim sum restaurants and decided on Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant at Carlton Hotel for lunch. We had lots of dim sum, cold dishes and a couple of heavenly double-boiled soups plus sago dessert.

Cold Pig's Trotter with Jellyfish is a must-order cold appetizer dish. It's slippery, QQ texture is delicious! I also love cold jellyfish! As you can see, I really enjoy food with a good bite to them.



Har Gao, a prawn dumpling dim sum, is a must-order for us. The prawns are really "crunchy" and plump, and the skin translucent.



Crystal Vegetable Dumpling, just the way Mum likes it: Lots of veggies and little meat!



Another favourite order: Steamed Chicken Feet!! Yes, I love feet of all kinds, be it chicken, duck, goose or pig! Meat with bones in them really do bring out the carnivore within! :D



This is something new we ordered; if I remember correctly, it is Abalone Pastry. A very unique dim sum which my Mum loved at first bite!



Shown above is some sweet pastry dim sum...



The soup Mum had (and I stole quite a bit of) is Double-boiled Winter Melon Soup. This was really fantastic. I've always appreciated Cantonese cuisine for their amazingly good double-boiled soup and superior stocks. Rich in flavour yet not overwhelming or too heavy. (:

Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant
Address:
76 Bras Basah Road
2F Carlton Hotel

Tel: 6311 8188 / 6311 8189

[get this widget]

Cantonese Roasted Pork

One of the must-orders when I'm in a Cantonese Dim Sum Restaurant is the Roasted Pork (烧肉). These tiny cubes layered with crispy roasted skin, oh-so-sinful fat and meat are just delectable. The combination of crackling skin, chewy meat and juicy fat is just heavenly.

I tried this in Mayim Chinese Cuisine restaurant, a very mixed Asian Cuisine restaurant. They have Korean, Cantonese, Jiang Su and Shanghainese fare including La Mian.

[get this widget]

Pu Tien Restaurant: Xing Hwa Cuisine

Mum and I like to go to Pu Tien restaurant, a fast-growing Xing Hwa cuisine restaurant with several branches across Singapore. Their main branch is at Kitchener Road. They have several unique dishes that really sets them apart from the usual Chinese cuisine.

This dish is called Mixed Cold Pork Intestine, but it is actually made of Pig's Stomach, along with the other ingredients such as pork meat, carrot and century egg.



This soup is known as Wonton Soup in their menu, but better known by their Chinese name, 扁肉汤. The wontons are not like the cantonese version, but are small and the skin is translucent white. They add vinegar to the soup, which makes it extremely appetising to drink. It tastes very refreshing when cold!

Here are some other dishes we tried before:



I love their Braised Pig Intestine, which is chewy and full of bite! It's not like your usual Kway Chap, and you can see that they rolled the small intestines into the big one! Sounds gruesome, but not until you've tried it!



These are Spicy Pigs' Ear, but I do not see it in their menu now.

Other interesting dishes to try that Mum and I order are (as named in their menu): "Pu Tien" Lor Mee, "Pu Tien" style w bottle gourd (胡瓜烙), "Pu Tien" Sweet and Sour Pork in Lychees. I also like their Or Nee (Yam Paste with Ginko Nuts).

You can see their menu here.

Main Branch:
127 Kitchener Road
Singapore 208514
Website: http://www.putien.com/

[get this widget]

Mum's Kong Bak Bao Recipe up now!

Due to popular demand (*hem hem*), Mum's Kong Bak Bao Recipe is up on the original post! Click here to see!

[get this widget]

Special: Hospital Food

As promised... the post that will surely motivate you to keep fit and stay away from the hospital!!

...Just kidding! The food's ok if you're not staying in the ward for too long. After all, any delicacy will taste boring after a while. ;)

Of course, the first food that comes to mind for patients is naturally, Porridge! This looks like the plainest congee you've ever seen, no? Actually, it's pretty ok with a dash of pepper and some re-heating.



One of the better Chinese Breakfasts on the menu. I prefer Bee Tai Mak to the Kway Teow.

But who says there's no meat on the menu?



Look! Chicken Chop and Mashed Potato for Western lunch! Oh did I mention on lucky days, you get mashed potato for breakfast, mashed potato for lunch and mashed potato for dinner? But honestly speaking, it's pretty OK.

They do serve Fish and Chips, Fried Noodles, Potato Wedges and Sandwiches sometimes. Especially on days when the kitchen forgets dietary restrictions. But honestly, I would rather eat these somewhere else.. :/

[get this widget]

Hawker: Cheng Ji Steamed Fish Head in Hot Sauce

With 200 over food stalls at the newly reopened Smith Street Food Complex, one would surely get a headache just deciding what to eat. But Claypot Chicken Rice (Sa Boh Fun) and Steamed Fish Head are the two prominent dishes here.

It can get pretty crowded at night, with many people ordering Steamed Fish Head and Claypot Chicken Rice. We came for lunch, and decided to order Steamed Fish Head with Hot Sauce from Cheng Ji, which also occupies another stall a distance away.

Despite being a freshwater fish, the meat tasted fresh and the sauce (although on the salty side) did complement the fish well. I just love the jelly-like flesh near the head area! Do beware the large bones, though.



We also ordered "Ku Lu" Pork, fried crispy pork in a tomato based sauce. This was really good. It came hot and crispy, but do eat it quickly or its gets soggy from the sauce.



Finally, there are quite a few hidden gems here, with less common dishes like this Teochew Pork Jelly. Cooking fatty pork would result in a gelatinous layer on top of the cooked broth. This dish is created by adding some meat and chilling this layer and then cutting it into blocks of strips.

Another hidden find is a German stall tucked away at the far end. They have Cordon Bleu, Pork Knuckle, Goulash and German Beer, all at reasonable prices. Just nearby (not in food complex but directly downstairs) is another German stall selling breads. I love their half-size French-style Baguette, and they have pretty interesting innovations like the Fragrant Onion Bread.

[get this widget]

Hawker: Wanton Mee

Sometimes when there's no choice but to eat a quick meal at the hawker centre near my house, I sometimes pick this Wanton Mee for lunch. It has a yummy QQ texture and springy bite to the noodles, but there is a slight hint of "boric acid taste". The other ingredients aren't that great, but I do love my noodles!

Before I put the noodles in my mouth, I tend pick the noodles up with my chopsticks and pour some soup over them to "rinse" excess soy sauce. Think it helps reduce sodium intake? :/

[get this widget]