31.10.08

Trick or Treat?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN peeps!

Stocked up your fireworks? Ready for Bon-Fire night???IMG_0250

Lit up your pumpkin yet? b

Since pumpkin has strong history with Halloween, I’m whipping up a dish using it as main ingredient. Nope I’m not carving it into a lantern head to scare off superstitions but instead gonna used it for pumpkin soup which has no relation to Halloween custom.

IMG_1832Main Ingredients:

Diced - Pumpkin, Carrot, Red Onion, Potato; Garlic, Single cream.

  1. First, baked the pumpkin in oven at 200 degrees for 25mins/until soft. Steaming is another option. If you are lazy, just boil it in water and retain the water for vegetable stock.
  2. Heat the pan with butter and combine the pumpkin, potato, carrot, onion, garlic in the pan and add water. Boil until soft.
  3. Use hand-held blender and blend the mixture until thick and smooth.
  4. Bring to boil for another few minutes adding in salt, black pepper and single cream.
  5. Sprinkle some parsley and ready to serve.
  • I’ve replaced diced potato with ready made buttery mash potato and also minus the step of heating pan with butter. Mash potato is then left to stir into the mixture after step 3 is completed.
  • Healthy option is to use water and not stock /msg cube as the mixtures with step 4 are tasty enough.

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Drooling,

Juanie

28.10.08

5 Minute Egg Soup


Mummy’s cooking always reminds me of home. Too bad I have not stayed home for many years already so I impersonate her recipes in search for that familiar taste. When I crave for that familiar taste, I will cook a dish she used to feed us when we were unappreciative brats.

Definitely on my comfort food list, I think the Egg Soup is favoured most by me in the family. When mum asks me what she should cook, one of the first suggestions I would have is the Egg Soup. Instant and no fuss, this is great for nights in when you just decide to have some soup but have no time to boil for hours.



2 Eggs
Garlic, minced
½ Chicken stock cube
1 cup water
Salt
Oil

Heat a little oil in a Chinese wok, or use a deep wok, not a pan. Fry minced garlic till fragrant. Add in eggs and scramble till cooked. Add in water and bring to boil. Slowly add in chicken stock powder and salt to taste.


Serve with rice and other dishes.

Warm Love,
Starningblue

24.10.08

I smell it!!!

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And this is an idiot proof way of choosing good durian – see the hole?   If squirrel like means its good… simple theory!?

Just for a laugh!

Drooling,

Juanie

23.10.08

Did you smell that?

The pungent smell you can smell miles away… unmistakably durian! A whiff of durian aroma is tantalizing to some, vomit-inducing to some - either you love it or hate it. I remember when I was a child, my father used to buy durians home and even before he reveals our treat of the day, we will know what it is~ Eating durians used to be a family affair; all of us gather around the durian laid out on newspaper on the kitchen floor. That was until my mum and penny decided they wean off durians…

Choosing a good durian is nearly an art. Sound, smell and feel are elements to determine a worthy durian. Shake the durian, listen to slightly hollow sound and movement of the durian seeds and you have a fresh durian not sticking to the shell. Look at the stalk of the fruit and feel for the weight. Then you need to identify the specific taste of durians you want, be it sweet, sweet & bitter, liquor bitter and bitter.

If you have met a good durian seller, you can count on his experience in picking a good durian. On the other hand if you don’t trust the seller, don’t let him rip you off with unwanted durians and you pay a hefty price of money and disappointment!

When Singaporeans want durians, the go-to place is Geylang. Throngs of stalls are scattered around this area and unless you know a good stall, many stories surface of customers being conned or over-charged.

Our go-to for durians is at Dempsey Carpark. This stall is the only surviving durian stall in this area when there were more stalls donkey years ago. Flashy cars pull up next to the stall to collect their pre-ordered durians nicely packed in choice of brown paper bag or styrofoam packets.

I believe all of his loyal customers come back to Ah-Di (stall owner) because he is reliable, trustworthy and honest. He will tell you if his stock of durians is not so good on that day and deduct the price of partial bad durian that we did not eat. We were impressed! Service is good, quality of durian is good, price is slightly cheaper than Geylang, plenty of parking space at the location – what more can we ask for?

Despite my love for durians, headaches from heatiness curb me from my cravings. However, I am constantly tempted by my durian-loving other half and sister. I sit there watching them gobble up and I take a few tiny bites to satisfy my tastebuds wondering why am I going through this?

Please bear in mind durians are the most sinful fruit indulgence ever. Durians contain most fat, carbohydrates and fibre. Whatever it is, moderation consumption should be exercised and remember, no beer after a durian session!


Warm love,
Starningblue

Me also want…

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After Starningblue publish on her recent Japan trip, I feel like flying there straight away.

Me, heart Sashimi.

I may not have the luxury of having it in the Land of Rising Sun, but I do recall having good ones in Singapore.

As for the restaurant name…errr…forget. (>o<)

Shall check it out again with Starningblue on my next return since I still (vaguely) remember how to go there.

Drooling,

Juanie

22.10.08

Konbanwa!

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Sense the post holiday glow from me? *_* To answer your question, Tokyo trip was great! The only thing I wished I could change for this trip was time. I wish we had more time.

Apologies to all, I had no chance to shop for quirky presents and meaningful gifts but all we could get was nicely packed cakes and Japanese snacks and small souvenirs to give – mostly bought from the airport and Asakusa because that was the only chance we had to ‘stock up’

As you will find out soon, our trip is much about food and Jap food is great! It is satisfying and quality assured everywhere we go. (Except for 1 meal, which I will elaborate further on) Contrary to comments from friends, food in Tokyo is actually relatively affordable. Portions as decent too and you can always savour the Japanese sincerity and pride in food preparation.

Day 1:
By the time we checked in to our room famished and weak from dragging luggage, the nearest and dearest place to eat was little shops opposite the main road from our hotel. Shinjuku is a very convenient place to stay, food is always within walking distance.

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We wanted to gorge ourselves with rice so we settled with this cosy shop for Beef Curry Rice and Katsu Don. Upstairs on the 2nd floor is the yakitori section where lots of middle age men sit, eat and smoke.

Those who are a fan of Red bean pancake will relish it lots here. It is freshly made and sold to you warm and full of fillings in every bite~ There is red bean (of course) and cream filling to choose from and both look much bigger compared to those sold here. The pastry is much thinner than local version so there is an explosion of flavour every time you sink you teeth in. *Bliss* This definitely settled Kel’s craving and im not sure if he would ever enjoy the fish pancake at Takashimaya basement marketplace anymore.

Day 2:
We have a full day of self planned itinerary so breakfast must be had. Italian Tomato café is seen around Shinjuku area with a few branches. This is probably the only place that is open early in the morning so we ordered ourselves hotdog and egg & smoked ham sandwich. Not sure if it is the atmosphere or because Jap bread tastes better, the meal was simple yet fulfilling.

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Sitting at the window allow us to people-watch (whoever walked by so early). With lounge music playing, the whole experience was romantic *smile*

Now we head off to Harajuku, it’s the Meiji-Jingu Shrine that we are visiting. Whilst there we could not curb our appetite, we ordered ramen and green tea. Now Im wondering how come there is only 1 piece of Cha Shu in my ramen? Somehow the ramen in Tokyo is not as salty as those we find here… Maybe less ajinomoto?

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I think we walked a lot then Kel started to crave anything in sight – here comes Kebab! Not the first kebab stall we came across, this one has more crowd and loud music so Kel ordered a beef kebab. Look how he is licking his fingers you know its good. *hiak hiak*

Next stop is Asakusa! This is a place locals come for their gift giving obligations. The entire street is endless supply of jap dolls, mobile phone trinkets, jap design pouches, touristy magnets, and traditional Japanese sweets such as mochi, rice cakes, ningyoyaki (small cakes with fillings) and rice crackers. The longest queue must be the best of all others right? We join the crowd to buy some for family and friends.

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At the end of this street is a famous temple where at the entrance you can find jap fried noodles, yakitori and my favourite takoyaki! After all the anticipation, I was disappointed though. The real Japanese takoyaki has pink pickles in it and it alters the savoury taste I love.

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Nevermind, we know that there is a tempura restaurant around the corner and we set foot exploring. After a long walk (lost our way for a while), we sat down at the old-fashioned eatery and started a chicken-n-duck conversation to order our food. With my super limited single syllable Japanese and Kel’s blur look, we managed to have prawn tempura and a raw fish platter on our table.


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This is the highlight – the fresh Tuna sashimi melts in the mouth even before you chew! OMG, I can’t describe this sensation. Usually I’m a raw salmon fan but I think they don’t serve salmon. However, no regrets! It is delicious and no fishy smell whatsoever! I don’t think I can ever settle with sakae sushi anymore. Bah!

Day 3:
Today we are going to Mt Fuji and Hakone day tour. Breakfast today is croquette sandwich and teriyaki chicken sandwich from a cottage style bakery. Special mention on instant coffee – the sachet is made in such a way you can hang the open ended paper sieve on the side of your mug, pour hot water in to brew, then add creamer and sugar to taste! So creative and interesting! Both of us were in awe and so amazed we bought some back to impressed others :p

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The coach journey is worth it – scenery was breathtaking and the route uphill was surprisingly comfortable. At the 5th and highest stop on Mt Fuji, there are lots of (more) touristy souvenirs and more foooooddd. We were impatient for lunch and the cold weather doesn’t help much with our cravings.

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Now you see us with yakitori~ I chose sausage, Kel chose his favourite squid. Both were yummy yummy! Holding on to the warm food and munching away, it was so fun as we can see ‘smoke’ coming out from our mouths into the cold. Squid was nicely done, not raw and not burnt. Sausage was springy and juicy.

Finally we have our lunch coming up. Our day tour comes with so-called Japanese Style Lunch but guess what, we were brought to a restaurant in a theme park hotel that says ‘Chinese Restaurant’. I should have known; how good can tour meals be?

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This statement sums it all up – I can’t believe my worst Jap meal is actually in Japan. Food was cold when we arrived, the fish was as hard as a rock and how on earth did a Chinese vegetarian dish end up in my bento as a side dish? My bento in the picture looks like a lot of food but we didn’t finish it at all.

We got back to town from countryside in no time by Shinkansen (bullet train). Again, we were looking around for our last dinner in Tokyo and wanted to eat to our hearts’ content, then comes sushi train!

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This place is cramp and no frills. Florescent lighting created a rather somber ambience. We had to help ourselves to green tea sachets and fill up our own mugs from taps all along the stool counter. There is only a handful of sushi variety going round but im only interested in salmon sushi and unagi! We had only 3-4 variety of sushi to fill us up but it was sooo good that we are happy just doing that. Count our plates and you will know how much we ate. :P The bill came up to about SGD40+. Sweet!!

To finish off the day, we had Crepe-in-a-Cone for dessert.

Day 4:
Today, we woke up reluctantly. We don’t wanna go back yet – we still want to see Tsukiji fish market, Roppongi, Shibuya, Ginza… To ease our mood, we indulge in Mister Donuts at the corner of our hotel street. Sitting by the window enjoying coffee and donuts on a quiet morning, it is the best way to end our trip.

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However, we were not contented to just leave like that, we pop into a corner shop noodle bar. Once in the plastic flap cordoning off the street, we order our Pork Bone Ramen Soup and voila~ It is goodd!!! Have been walking pass this place past few days and we see a crowd and thought why we took so long to try it. Simply slurpelicious! A container of special preserved spicy vegetable is for us to add on some zest to the noodle and it works wonders for the soup. The noodle is just nice, not too soft nor hard. ahh~~

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Some last minute shopping, we bought sakura green tea and lots of Japanese cake – honey and green tea flavour. Everything is intricately wrapped, feels like having lots of Christmas presents~ Also found kit kat in red bean flavour and Haagen Daz ice cream vending machine, I cant let go! As if to say goodbye, Tokyo rain came on our way to the airport.

Now Kel & I are back in reality and mourning the holiday over is quite a dampener. Nevertheless, with a plane ticket we can still go wherever we want to so that’s for future planning.

Click here for more sights and snaps

Mata ne!

Warm Love,
Starningblue

21.10.08

Superfoods

While chilling out at my club waiting for time to pass, I came across an article on the newspaper. ie. Top 20 Superfoods that slow down aging.

Though I’m all up for aging gracefully, this still caught my attention since it comes in the form of our everyday food. No harm reading neh.

Basically Superfoods are natural food that gives us the essential nutrients in an edible form. The list below appears to be rich in polyphenols that are naturally occurring antioxidants which slows down aging. These superfoods also help beat cancer and heart disease! But as you can see, some things are meant to be eaten in moderation…in this I meant chocolate, coffee etc.

Apple

Cranberries

Blackberries

Dark chocolate

Raspberries

Green tea

Black tea

Oranges

Blueberries

Peaches

Broccoli

Plums

Cereal bran

Red grapes

Cherries

Red onions

Cherry tomatoes

Spinach

Coffee

Strawberries

And so, I’ve ordered myself a berry booster (apple + blackberries + raspberries)… Youth?! LOL.

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Drooling,
Juanie

18.10.08

English breakfast

blog Call it full English breakfast, call it Full monty, call it fry up, call it all day breakfast... I believe everyone had this big fat meal before. Typical in English places, typical at B&Bs. I love to have them in the farm simply because the sausages are home made.

This traditional meal usually comes with egg, toast/fried bread, black pudding/hash browns, baked beans, mushrooms, sausages and grilled tomatoes (sometimes with bubble & squeak too).

I used to have it once every Friday with my team when our previous project was just stone throw away from the cafe/pub and it usually last me whole day (feeling fat).

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But hey, you don’t really need to eat out to have such cooked breakfast. Pictured above is no other than my own special version of fry up.

Special? Why? Look closely… notice any differences?

Its a Vegetarian English breakfast coz I’ve used meat-free bacon and sausages. Yes you did not hear me wrong, this meat free bacon is made to look exactly like real bacon. Before you tuck in, don’t forget your brown sauce!

But sometimes, sometimes I still miss the coffee shop style breakfast with my buddies on early Sunday morning.

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Drooling,

Juanie

12.10.08

Today is Fish.

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Lay fish (best with whole fish) on aluminum foil. And at the same time preheat oven at 180-200 degree.

Season fish with pepper, salt, herbs and lemon juice. Leave to rest.

Stir fry onions with olive oil.

Pour the hot oil with onions over season-ed fish.

IMG_1807 cute tomatoes wearing hat’

Personal preference, I like to throw in some halved cherry tomatoeS on the fish – to give some sweet/sour flavour.

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Wrap the fish up in the aluminum foil and then send it to the oven. (I did not use foil because I’ve got my own baking gear)

20 mins later…

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Mmmmm!

Drooling,

Juanie

10.10.08

Counting down to Autumn Breeze


Its every girl’s dream - Ok, it is MY dream~ I am flying to Tokyo tomorrow! Hmm, only a 4 day trip but we will make the most out of it!

Keep tabbing into Deery Lou Aromas, will be sharing snaps of our pretty encounters with Japanese yummies. Kel and I definitely looking forward to sashimi, ramen, sushi and Harajuku girls!

Toothbrush Check!
Shopping List Check!
Camera Check!
Passport Check!

Wish us a safe trip. Ja ne!


Warm Tokyo love,
StarNingBlue

9.10.08

Oven


I packed 2 dinners into one post so people can see the wonders of an oven=)

I came back from great ocean trip with 2 great products namely,

Herb cheese and pepper cheese! Drool pls people.

and so I decided to make some cheese stuffed chicken which tasted really really good.

First from the left was requested by Gs, stuffed with the mediocre mozarella. (boringgg)

I did baked potato too! Those like breko but i forgot how they managed to pack the topping so well that every mouthful of potato goes with the sausage and onions AND sourcream.
Presentation was neglected I admit but it was a great dinner I swear!
My pathetic topping on my potato haha. Theres a trick for busy people because traditionally raw potatoes take 1hr(yes you read correctly) to be cooked thoroughly. I was already running late so I just boiled it for abt 15mins and it took another 15-20mins to be done in the oven. Dont forget your sour cream!
Gs and I had an unexpected guest so I just quickly baked another chinese style chicken with tomato carrots and asparagus. Simply dash some soy and sesame oil on top will make the dish tasty already. The guest liked it! But the most fascinating one is not yet mentioned! You see, this time we had 10 odd hungry teens in the house and we had to come up with something quick and good, so I simply baked ASPARAGUS and BACON but who knew they were like adam and eve...


the heavenly pair. Its freaking simple that a kitchen idiot can do it with his eyes closed.

Only thing is that he'll burn his hands wahahaha.

Another friend made this superb tuna salad that I fell deeply in love;

and angmoh style chicken to complement

Im not sure whats used in it, I guess its cajun powder, salt, pepper etc Another good dish here to mention.

My hp cam doesnt do all the food justice because forgetful me never remember to bring along my cam when we're having a feast at home. But I guess its enough to encourage people to start using your ovens at home and use it often! Ovens will never go wrong =)

8.10.08

Old Town Ipoh White Coffee


Singapore is a place when a new eatery pops out, it is usually packed with hoards of boring people queuing up to taste the new talk of the town. Killiney and Ya Kun have been around for some time and Singaporeans need new blood – here comes Old Town Coffee.

Old Town is a Malaysian franchise of the famous Ipoh White Coffee café. Along with traditional toast and white coffee, they serve ipoh hor fun, prawn noodle and nasi lemak amongst many choices.

The Old Town branch at Big Splash is crowded most of the time, I don’t understand why people queue in the sun (yes, in the hot sun!) to get a table for ‘so-so’ food. Anyway, another branch emerged in Bukit Timah area, nearer to my home and not as crazy as the other place, Kel and I visited just to find out what is so good about it.



Frankly, the White Coffee is nothing to shout about, though in my opinion the toast is better than competitors locally, it is still no comparison with what I can get in JB. I wouldn’t say the meal comes out cheap but I guess with air-con environment you can’t expect it to be budget!

However, Old Town bukit timah is a place to go when you just want to chill out on a Sunday morning, read the newspaper or watch other people stuff their face. That’s what Kel and I did and it feels so good doing nothing much, just sit around till we decide what to do next~

Just pray that there are no screaming kids next tables!


Warm Love,
Starningblue
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