Mum's Experiments: Okonomiyaki

Sorry everyone for the major lack of posts! I've been rather busy with school, and there wasn't much to post anyway. ): But Mum's making new experiments again, this time it's the Japanese Pancake: Okonomiyaki!

I wrote words on with Mayonnaise! Mmmm! :P


This is what is looked like before serving. Pan fry the pancake then add Okonomiyaki sauce: 2/3 part Tonkatsu Sauce, 1/3 part Tomato Ketchup.


Sprinkle generous amounts of Bonito Flakes and it's ready to eat! :D

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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!

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Tomato

I've added a new Category called *FoodScoop, where I will post some food facts starting with the humble Tomato!

I got these beauties from Sixth Avenue Cold Storage! Very juicy and not the slightest bit acidic! The less red/orange ones are usually rather tasteless. These are On-Vine Tomatoes, the ones you see in the local supermarket are usually plucked before they are fully ripe, then ripened artificially with ethylene.

I also love Japanese Momotaro Tomatoes, but they're really expensive... I like them chilled and eaten raw, as an appetizer or dessert. Cherry Tomatoes may be sweet or sour, depending on the quality and specie, but the recent stock of yellow cherry tomatoes proved to be delightfully sweet! (:

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MarketWatch: Isetan Umaimono Fair

I recently went to Isetan Umaimono Fair @ Scotts, and found some interesting goodies! There were refreshing Fruit Juices (do try the peach and grape!), succulent Mentaiko, delicious Udon and Soba, crispy and chewy Ijima Shoten (Fried Squid) and yummy Sardine Ball soup!

This is Multi-coloured Kelp, which I made into a chilled salad with Wakame.



The Udon and Soba is really good! They have a Wakame version of the Udon too! (It is green in colour because they added Wakame powder)

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Friends @ Chomp Chomp

My parents came back home so we all went out for dinner at Friends @ Chomp Chomp (located at Serangoon Garden Village) for a dinner. We actually wanted to go to Aston's Express, but it was closed that night. My parents were apprehensive at first, at the thought of it being "casual fine-dining", but I told them they didn't need to be all dressed up to enter. ;)

First up was Wild Mushroom Soup for me and Dad.

This was delicious, but I think the chef deliberately made it bland so you can add the salt and pepper to your own preference. This was the soup that made me decide to try making my own!



Mum ordered the Spanish Dinner Set, which started with Marinated Eggplant with Raisins and Pine Nut, Mesclun Salad and Herb Vinaigrette.



Her main course was Stuffed Pork Cutlet with fig, olive and almond, served with mashed potato and fried beans. I love beans and mashed potatoes! Dad had the Char-Grilled Tenderloin (220g) which I stole quite a lot of! It was done medium rare as per request and it was really very tender and pink inside!



My main course was Seafood with home-made tomato sauce, essentially a Marinara Spaghetti dish. I didn't really like it... a little too garlicky for my taste, but that's just me I guess. :/ The pasta had generous amounts of seafood plus HUGE prawns, though. Aunt finished up every last bit of her Bacon Spaghetti Aglio Olio!



Mum's set included an Orange Crème Caramel. Actually it was more of a Crème Brûlée because the top layer had a burnt sugar crust. It came with vanilla ice cream and some (artistic?) syrup at the side.



I had half of Mum's share! This was my first Crème Brûlée, and I loved it, even though I don't have a sweet-tooth. The combination of a sugary crust and a custardy caramel beneath really tasted good. (:

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