Category Archives: Uncategorized

banana, Cake, Uncategorized

Upside Down Banana Cake

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I tried banana cake before:

Banana Cake

This upside down banana cake is kind of an improved version of banana cake. It’s a combination of banana cake and caramelized banana top.

Ingredients:

Butter 80g

Sugar 120g

Egg 1

Flour 140g

Milk 1/4 Cup

Baking Soda 1 tsp

Baking powder 1 tsp

Ripe Bananas 2

Vanilla 1 tsp

Salt 1 pinch

Cinnamon powder 1 tsp

Butter 3 Tablespoon

brown sugar 1/4 cup

vanilla 1/2 tsp

Banana 1

1. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

2. Add in egg, vanilla and baking soda. Stir well.

3. Add in 2 mashed bananas and milk. Stir well.

4. Add in flour, salt and cinnamon. Mix them well and set aside.

5. Preheat oven to 180 degree C.

6. Add 3 Tablespoon butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar into a sauce pan. Turn to low heat and stir till sugar melts.

7. Cut an another banana into slices and arrange at the bottom of baking pan.

8. Pour the butter & brown sugar mixture into the pan.

9. At last pour the batter in.

10. Into the oven and bake for 30-40 mins.

Cool down a bit. Cover the cake with a plate. Then flip it over.

And voila!

https://flic.kr/p/2dK55G3

Really moisture.

My husband loves it.

Beef, Chicken, food hunting, Uncategorized

Brazil Churrasco

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Yesterday was my husband’s birthday.  He wanted to try this restaurant since half year ago. Can you IMAGINE???

Because it was quite close to Valentine’s day. Restaurants are very difficult to reserve especially those good ones. Last year, I tried to make a reservation in an Italian restaurant and failed. I had no choice but to change to another one. This year, I got better prepared and revered this restaurant almost 12 days before.

It’s located @ sixth avenue. Quite near to MRT station and easy to find.

What did we have in this Brazilian Restaurant? MEAT! Or to be more precisely, all kinds of MEAT!!!

WE chose full dinner, which costs S$52 per person. It’s kind of like a buffet, but not same as the regular buffet that we grab a plate and take whatever food we like.

Staffs are friendly. As we were just seated, some sauce and small bread, Which I believe is Brazilian  cheese bread were served. Sauce on the left contains onion, bell pepper and vinegar, I think. As it tastes very sour. Sauce on the right is mint sauce.

Oh, and also the nice creamy mushroom soup.

Drink is not included, so we have to make an extra order of drinks.

And here is what the birthday boy chose:

Caipirinha. A kind of cocktail. Actually, we are not the alcohol type. To me, it tastes bitter and strong. Beer is also strong to me. So… It does taste special.

And the price is S$14.7

There is a salad bar in the restaurant. I didn’t take the picture.

I found this pic online

Related image

From: https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g294265-d797685-i144385855-Brazil_Churrasco-Singapore.html

My husband took a big plate of salad from there. Fried mushroom is really nice. We kind of regret having so much salad, because the meat afterwards really really WOW!

Chiefs bring meat from the kitchen and approach to the table, telling us what meat that is and asking whether we would like some.

Image result for brazil churrasco

From: https://thesmartlocal.com/sg/b-other/444-brazil-churrascaria

They just carry that big skewer and sharp knife walking around to each table. If you want some, they will cut 1 or 2 slices for you into your plate. Then they carry that giant skewer back to the kitchen to roast the meat again. Everytime, they just walk out with the fresh roasted meat. Whole restaurant is full of sizzling and fragrance.

(I really put a lot of efforts when writing this blog, because I need to put heavy mosaic to wipe out my husband. Yes, that mosaic is my husband.)

They have beef, lamb, chicken, duck, ham. And surprisingly, they have chicken heart and chicken liver. So juicy, tender and you may need to drink a lot of water. πŸ™‚

https://flic.kr/p/2dDkJY9

We almost full after the first round and tasting everything. For the second round, they also bring something new. Fish really looks like tofu.

https://flic.kr/p/2dmwPMD

And My husband’s favourite pineapple!

It’s really good to have some sweet and sourish pineapple after so much meat.

It’s really a meat lover’s heaven. And also a good place to go with friends and family. The experience is new to us and my husband is very happy with his birthday dinner there.

Staffs are very nice. They also tell us to have lamb with mint sauce. Very warm-hearted.

Probably for the next days, we don’t need to have any meat. πŸ™‚

 

Chicken, Uncategorized

Lemon Chicken Chop

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Main ingredients are lemon and boneless chicken leg.

1. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of the chicken. Rub a bit.

2. Heat a little oil in the pan. Put the chicken in with skin side down. Fry for 2-3 mins or till skin gets golden brown.

3. Flip it over and fry the other side till brownish.

4. In a bowl, prepare sauce: fresh juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp salt. Mix all the ingredients well.

5. Pour sauce into the pan. Turn to low heat. Simmer the chicken till sauce reduce.

And serve hot with lemon slices.

Quick recipe, Uncategorized

Easy Avocado Milkshake

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Since last time, we had very nice avocado milkshake in a hawker center, my husband cannot forget about it. And we decided to buy some avocados and make it by ourselves.

It’s very easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado (remove peel and core)

250 ml milk (if your avocado is big, you can add a little more milk)

sugar cubes 2 (If you want sweeter taste, you can add more sugar)

Just put all ingredients into a blender. Blend till smooth. Serve with ice if you want it to be cooler.

You can also replace sugar with honey. I tried it, but my husband still preferred sugar.

It’s so easy and even my husband (who almost never cooks) can make it.

mushroom, tofu, Uncategorized

A Good Way To Consume Leftover Curry

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I cook curry occasionally.

Curry Chicken

One problem is that every time chicken and potato will be eaten but plenty of curry sauce is leftover. Actually, curry sauce is very tasty, I was wondering if I could use the leftover sauce to make a stew or something.

  1. Prepare shiitake mushroom (wash and cut into wedges), tofu (cut into small chunks) and French beans (trim two ends).
  2. Pour the curry into a pot. After chilled in fridge for overnight, it already became paste. Also pour in 1/2 – 1 cup water, depends on how thick your curry paste is.
  3. Add in some extra curry powder if necessary. Just in case water makes the curry flavor lighter. and also add in 1 tablespoon tomato sauce. Stir gently.
  4. When the curry boils, add in shiitake mushroom and tofu pieces. Turn to low heat. Let the mushroom and tofu braise in curry for a while. Let’s say at least 10-15 mins to make the flavor go in.
  5. Put the Frech beans in. You can break the beans into halves if you think they are too long. Simmer for another 5 mins.
  6. Season with salt.

https://flic.kr/p/SmyYbG

Tofu is so juicy and full of curry favor. I really like this way to reform curry and also use it to the utmost.

Uncategorized

Steamed Abalone With Vermicelli

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It is the first time for me to cook abalone. Since Chinese New Year is quite near, abalone becomes a popular choice in supermarket. My husband just stared at those abalone for a little while,  and I knew for sure that he wanted to have some. I decided to cook them in the easiest way, and which is steaming.

  1. Clean abalone. Gently separate the meat and the shell. Because I found the shell seems to be impossible to be completely cleaned, so I thought I’d better discard the shell. Also remove the intestines and wash off all the dirt.
  2. Soak vermicelli in hot water till soft and drain them.
  3. In a small bowl, add in 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp cooking wine, 1/2 tsp oyster sauce. Mix well.
  4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add in 3 or 4 cloves of chopped garlic. Saute till aromatic.
  5. Place vermicelli in a plate. Pour the sauce in evenly. Then scatter abalone on the vermicelli. Top abalone with garlic. If there is still some extra garlic, just place them over the vermicelli.
  6. In boiling water and steam for about 8 mins.
  7. Garnish with chopped spring onion.

https://flic.kr/p/2eq5a2j

Vermicelli will be very tasty and my husband loved it.

food hunting, Uncategorized

Food Hunting @ Alexandra Food Village

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My husband and I were planning to go food hunting at Alexandra food village for a long time. Today we finally have a chance to go there.

There are so many hawker centers in Singapore. We haven’t tried many. And there are also many good & cheap food hidden in the hawker center. As food hunting is what we would like to do during our free time, we will definitely not want to miss them.

Alexandra Food Village is not the biggest hawker center, but it still big with many food stalls worth trying. But some of stalls close on Mondays.

The first dish recommended online is claypot Laksa.

This stall is famous and it was even Bib Gourmand Award Winner of the 2016 MICHELIN guide.

I still remember very clearly the first time I came to Singapore, I just fell in love with Laksa. I loved Laksa so much that I had to have it again in the airport before I got on the airplane.

This is the first time I try Laksa served in claypot, so is my husband.

The smell is so so incredible. Soup is creamy. Noodles are tasty. Taupok (similar to tofu) is fatty and juicy. Shrimps and cockles are fresh and tender. Everything is just perfect. Definitely best Laksa I’ve ever had. And the price is quite reasonable. Medium size pot is S$5.

We also tried Char Siew Rice. The stall is located at the corner.

I have to be honest, the Char siew & Roasted Pork rice doesn’t look very appealing. But, it tastes amazing.

Pork is very crispy outside, you can hear the crunchy sound in your mouth.

The gravy is super. It makes every grain of rice so tasty. My husband said it’s the best Char Siew Rice he’s ever had.

Price is S$4.

Avocado drink is highly recommended, which is not expected by us. Neither my husband nor I am avocado lover. We decided to give it a try though.

We chose this King Avocado shop. And my husband ordered avocado milk shake.

Price S$3.

I took the first sip. I think I changed my opinion on avocado immediately. My husband looked at me like I was too exaggerated. Then he tried. Seriously, I saw his eyes just sparkled. πŸ™‚ Both of us started to doubt it’s really the same fruit we dislike. Suddenly, avocado milk shake became my husband’s favorite drink.

Some shops close on Mondays. So we didn’t have the chance to try claypot chicken rice. On our way back to bus station, we found a famous Kueh shop, Poh Cheu.

It sells handmade Kueh.

We orders 3 Kueh. From left to right: Ang Ku Kueh (coffee filling), Soon (bamboo shoot) Kueh and gu chye (chives) Kueh. Soon Kueh and Gu Chye Kueh are savory.

https://flic.kr/p/2dmQmyy

My favorite is this Ang Ku Kueh and the coffee filling is very special. My husband also loves it most.

Price: S1-1.3/each.

Uncategorized

One-pot Sausage Rice

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Preserved sausage is very popular in southern part of China.

This one-pot sausage rice is very convenient. You just need to put all the ingredients into the rice cooker. Press the button and wait for it’s done.

1. Wash rice. Drain them. Put rice in the pot of a rice cooker. Pour in water. Usually ratio of water and rice is 2:1. I used 1/2 cup rice and 1 cup water.

2. Add in thawed carrot, corn and green peas.

3. Cut several Shiitake mushroom & sausage into slices and throw them into pot.

4. Add in 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar. Stir a bit.

5. Lid on. Press the button. And wait.

Super easy.

Chinese, food hunting, Uncategorized

Hangout @ Chinatown

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Well, today I have one day off and my husband also has time. We planned to go to Chinatown and have lunch there. He wanted to try a nasi lemak restaurant there. It’s the first time for us to go to Chinatown and hunt for non-Chinese food.

Chinatown of Singapore is really close to to the CBD. You can actually walk from Chinatown to CBD and also see blocks of tall buildings from Chinatown.

There are many places to have nice food in Chinatown, such as Amoy Street and Chinatown Food Street.

Chinatown has many traditional buildings of Nanyang style.

https://flic.kr/p/2eib1ts

The restaurant we went is at Ann Siang Rd.

https://flic.kr/p/2dgGSub

There are many bars, restaurants and cafes there.

The blue restaurant is the one we were going.

The Coconut Club.

It is not a very big restaurant. Their signature dish is nasi lemak, which can be told from the menu.

Actually, the price is more expensive than nasi lemak sold in other places. We can usually buy nasi lemak at around S$4 and even below. But still, this place is very popular. It was lunch time, many office workers came here for lunch. And I could see a long line waiting outside. My husband and I ordered 2 signature nasi lemak. We waited for a quite long time.

The big plate of rice, chicken, sambal chili sauce, fried peanuts & anchovy, egg and cucumber proves it is worth waiting.

Rice is full of coconut milk flavor and not too strong. ( I just realized what is wrong with the nasi lemak I cooked. I added in too much coconut milk into the rice.) Chicken is juicy and tender. The only thing I’m not so pleased with is the egg is very tiny. 😦  I love Sambal chili sauce. The whole plate is a big portion. I could’t finish my chicken and asked my husband to help me finish it.

After nasi lemak, we also tried the dessert there.

My husband ordered Cendol:

Topped with Adzuki Red Bean. Full of creamy coconut milk and sticky gula Melaka (a kind of coconut sugar in brown color). My husband said it’s the best Cendol he’s ever had in Singapore.

I ordered Kueh (a Malay word means “cake”).

I really like the green & blue one. The upper layer is soft and melt in your mouth and the bottom layer is made of sticky rice. The small cake wrapped with coconut flakes on the right is too sweet to me.

After this satisfying lunch, we just found the cafe across the street.

Nanyang Old Coffee. A cafe my husband wanted to try a long time ago.

We went there. My husband ordered a cup of Yuanyang coffee. And I ordered Ang Ku Kueh.

I am not a coffee lover. My husband review towards his coffee was “not bad”. As to my Ang Ku Kueh, I chose green bean paste filling. It’s also not bad.

Finished coffee, we just wandered in Chinatown. Because Chinese New Year is coming in around 2 weeks or even less than 2 weeks.  The main color in Chinatown is Red.

Red lanterns.

Red Spring Couplets and Chinese New Year decorations.

https://flic.kr/p/QBsGor

Since 2019 is pig year according to Chinese Zodiac, Pig is also a regular element in gift shops or in the street.

https://flic.kr/p/23Lirci

https://flic.kr/p/23LisjD

Chinese New Year is a big festival for Chinese. We prepare lots of food. So you can see piles of snacks are there.

https://flic.kr/p/23LirCZ

Many shops gave free samples when you pass by. We get black peanuts to try.

Apart from so many things to say, Chinatown is heaven to foodie. I think all Chinese cuisine can be found here: Sichuan, Hunan, Northeast. No matter hot pot, Raosted duck, or seafood. We tried some of them before, I must say they taste authentic.

https://flic.kr/p/23LirVc

https://flic.kr/p/2dgGSDQ

https://flic.kr/p/23LirWV

https://flic.kr/p/QBsFzH

Ohhhhh, I’m hungry again……

Uncategorized, Vegetables

Winged Beans

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This is a completely new vegetable to me. I have never heard about it, never seen it before.

This is how they look like:

It also has the name: four-angled beans and dragon beans.

They look kind of strange to me at the first sight. I was very curious whether those small leaves are edible or not. And if it is hollow or there are seeds inside.

I bought them last night, and couldn’t wait to cook them today.

I trimmed the two ends and cut them into slices.

https://flic.kr/p/S9qePA

They are kind of in star shape. And yes! There are seeds inside. Their smell is not pungent and a bit like long beans.

I decided to cook it in a way similar to how I cook French beans.

  1. heat 1 tsp oil in the pan. Add in 1 clove of chopped garlic and a little ginger shreds. Saute till aromatic.
  2. Add all the winged bean slices in. Stir fry for 1 min.
  3. Add in 1 tsp sweet cooking wine, and 1 tsp light soy sauce. Toss aΒ  bit.
  4. Add in 1 tablespoon water. Cover with lid and simmer for 2 mins.
  5. Toss a bit. Add in chopped red chili (mine is spicy type) and lid on for another minute.
  6. Season with salt and serve hot.

Beans are chewy and taste a bit sweet. I like them.

https://flic.kr/p/2dbv1hQ

I was really worried that could I get food poisoning. But so far so good. No vomiting, noΒ  stomach ache, no diarrhea. πŸ™‚

I’m so exiting that I knew new vegetable today and I cooked it!