~ Chronicles of a Culinary Princess~

It's been a year!!!

2008-05-01T18:12:00.005+09:30

Like a drug addict seeking for more magic mushrooms and trying out different little pills to get high I have been frantically searching for my pills. No, I’m not a drug seeker nor a drug pusher but I’m just a food blogger caught up in the blogsphere. A year ago, while desperately trying to download more food pictures onto my laptop, a signed popped up saying “ No more free-space. Please delete unused items”. Hundreds of food pictures were uploaded on to my lap top over the years and I didn’t know what to do with them. Hence, I decided to start a blog. It seems like just yesterday I was trying to figure out how to post a post on my blog. I’m still no expert at it but slightly better now.

I was very dubious about starting a blog as my culinary skills were not close to any of the other well known bloggers. However, after days of thinking about it I did it. You must be thinking I’m such a drama queen and making a mountain out of a mole hill. But that’s just how I am. Not a risk taker at all. But I did it anyway.

Despite having a brief twinge of guilt off and on last year for staying up a few extra minutes to rummage through recipe books instead of using that time to read my text books, I must admit that I have no regrets at all for starting this blog. It kept my head attached to my neck!! I would have ended up in some sort of mental institution otherwise with all my exams and stress I went through last year.

The experience I’ve gained in the kitchen and friendships I’ve build through this blog is beyond the seven seas. The biggest surprise is that I’ve kept the blog for a year. I thought it would have been just like a passing cloud. Hopefully I’ll keep it going for the years to come and won’t be too busy with work.

I made a cake for my blog and for my friend’s birthday with the help of Sarah and a few friends who saw us playing around with the fondant and wanted to join in the fun. After watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy where Burk made Christina try out different cakes for her wedding and one of them was a red velvet cake, I was very curious about how it tasted.

I got this recipe from Domestic goddess which was originally adapted from Martha Steward.

Red velvet cake

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups plain flour
4 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbs red colouring
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla exract
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
113g unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs

For the frosting
2 x 250g packages cream cheese, room temperature
113g butter
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 ½ cups icing sugar

Method

The Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter, line with parchment, butter and flour again one deep 10-inch-diameter cake pan.

2. Sift already sifted flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.

3. Whisk the buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in small bowl to blend.

4. Beat sugar and butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Beat in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 3 additions.

5. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 - 40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack for about 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.

Frosting:
1. Place cooled cake in freezer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

2. Slice cake into 2 even layers. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a platter. Spread 1 cup frosting over top. Arrange ½ of the blueberries, ½ of the blackberries and ½ of the strawberries on top of the frosting, pressing lightly to adhere. Top with second cake layer, flat side up again. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake - smoothing to a nice finish. Arrange remaining berries decoratively over top of cake. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour before serving.)

The verdict of the cake- 9/10. It was moist , light and was a cross between a chocolate and vanilla cake taste wise.

To bake or not bake that is the question!

2008-04-15T22:10:00.007+09:30

That morning a ray of sunlight peaked through the grey heavy clouds and straight onto my face as I tossed in bed. My eyes were still shut but my thoughts were doing the Macarena in my mind. The dripping faucet of raindrops from the gutter outside sounded like an anxious schizophrenic patient tapping his fingers on the doctor’s table and the strong winds brushing against the grills so angrily made my thoughts a fast forward version of the Macarena. *RINGGG my alarm went off* and my hand reached out to grab the alarm to shut it even before my brain could register where the sound was coming from. I pulled the covers over my head and got into the fetal position. Images of the old ancient looking building and patients that look the same age as the building, shuffling their feet at 1cm/min made me wish I could inject myself with a strong dose of diazepam or morphine and self induce a coma.

But before I knew it, I had slipped off the mattress and my naked feet were touching the cold unkind floor and I was shutting the bathroom door behind me in spite of the voice in my head screaming “GO BACK TO BED”.

To bake or to sit and listen to people going on about their problems for 9 hours was the million dollar question. I knock on my roommate’s door and stood there for a good minute before I could recall why I went in. Should I go in to hospital today was what I asked. Her reply was gold. “You’ve got only a few more months to chuck a sicky whenever you like, you know before u start working for good.” She continued after a second, “stay at home and I’ll be back in the afternoon and we can bake together.” So that was what I did after calling up my parents so that they would reduce my guilt. And it worked!

Soft, crispy cream puffs were what I made. I’ve had the urge to make them for the past few months but never got around to it. However, I got inspired after reading Iocyes’s post on cream puffs. I’ve always been afraid to work with Choux pastry. But I did it!!

I found this really easy recipe from easyhomemakers. I do agree with her that it is foolproof! The only thing that I added to the pastry dough was a few drops of vanilla essence due to my “egginess” phobia.

The recipe is as follows.

Ingredients

Pastry

1 cup (200ml) water
1/2 (150 gm) cup butter
1 cup (125 gm) flour
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt

1) Heat water and butter to rolling boil; reduce heat. Stir in flour and stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms into a ball, about 1 minute.
2) Remove from heat. Beat in eggs; continue beating until smooth.
3) Heat oven to 200 degrees Celcius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
4) Use rounded teaspoonfuls (to tablespoonfuls, depending on the size you like) to make mounds about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
5) Bake puffs until they are puffed and golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool.
6) Slit each puff halfway and put in the custard filling.

As for the filling, I used Nigella’s crème pâtissière recipe to fill these little treats up. You can email me if you want the recipe.

All in all, I had a nice self proclaimed long weekend. I seriously hope no one from the surgery reads my blog in the next few weeks if not my little secret will be revealed!

Thank you Iocyes for the award.

For spreading the love and being so generous with your time, words and expertise and making the blogging world a much lovelier place...i pass the award on to..

Su ling

Jun

Nirmala

Sophie from Flour Arrangement

Amrita

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2008-02-08T02:51:00.001+10:30

Ever since I can remember, most of my friends have been Chinese. This is one of the many benefits of living in a country with many cultures. Malaysia has become a pluralist culture. But somehow, I still get stares from people sporadically when I walk with my Chinese or Malay friends on the streets. The good news is, I have been immunized and have cultivated the antibodies for the stares :D

Since Malaysia is a cultural mosaic, we get to join in the fun and celebrate each other’s festivals. Chinese New year is one of my favorite. I love watching energetic lion dancers in malls, admiring the beautifully decorated streets with Chinese lanterns and most of all, eating mandarin oranges and snacking on love letters and cookies!

Since it was CNY, I had two guest bakers to join in the fun of making cookies in my kitchen. My friends and I decided to bake a batch of cookies. After going through what felt like gazillion recipes, we decided to make cornflake cookies. I must say, I was very impressed with the recipe I found from cyberkuali!

Here's the recipe

Ingredients

110g butter
110g castor sugar
1/2 tsp grated rind of lemon or orange
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg yolk
100g cornflakes, crushed lightly
125 g self raising flour
1 tbsp corn flour

Method

1.Cream butter, sugar and essence until the mixture turns light and fluffy.
2. Beat in egg yolk and lemon rind. Fold in sifted flour and mix. Put mixture into the refrigerator to chill for half an hour until it turns slightly firm.
3. Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture onto the crushed cornflakes.
4.Shape into balls and place on lightly-greased baking trays and bake in preheated oven at 170°C for 20—25 minutes or until lightly golden in colour.
5. Cool on wire racks before storing in airtight containers.

The only things that i did differently were, I only used 70g of sugar and I added 1 tbsp of milk powder to give it a milky taste.

If u want a different version of cornflake cookies, check out Daphne’s blog! She made dark chocolate cornflake cookies.

Before I end this post, I’d like to wish all my Chinese friends out there a very Happy and prosperous Chinese New Year! Go the year of the RAT!

A new year, a new beginning

2008-01-28T03:40:00.001+10:30

Greetings everyone! I bet my absence was missed dearly by everyone *cheeky grin*. I’m currently back home in Penang. A lot has happened since I last wrote. A lot of obstacles were thrown my way but with HIS grace and with constant support from my family and close friends everything seems to be going smoothly now. The good news is, I got through my finals!!!! WOHOO.After all the hard work, 1000s of cumulative calories and a few mental blocks along the way, I made it: D.

On another note, my one and only beloved sister is finally getting married!! And please do not ask me when I am going to get married. I’m no where near. Applicants are most welcome though.

I’ve been vegetarian for the past 1 month in conjunction with Thaipusam. Personally, I really enjoy being vegetarian back home. There’s so much variety here and you can get vegetarian versions of all your favourite local cuisines. But I do have to admit I can’t wait to set out to all my favourite hawker joints here in Penang. I’ve had quite a few requests to compose a list of all my favourite food joints here and i’ll try my best to make a list for all my loyal readers before I return to dear ol’Adelaide. So fear not dear friends, the next time you are faced with the conundrum of where to eat, you know where to come.

Now let me share with you my unforgettable New Year’s Eve sleep over with 2 of my best friends, Jas and LF. I’ve known these girls since standard 1. Yes, I’m serious! We’ve been friends for the past 16 years. You can do the math to find out how old I really am if you really want to :P We’ve been studying in different continents for many years and finally were in the same place at the same time.

We decided to have a small social gathering at home to span the transition of the year at midnight and decided to steer clear of all the overcrowded places. The day started off by going grocery shopping. I just get so excited going grocery shopping. We wanted everything to be simple that night and here’s our menu

Entrée

Stuffed mushrooms
Sausage rolls & tofu rolls for me

Mains
Vegetarian pizza

Dessert
Mars bar slice

I got my stuffed mushroom recipe from Dharm! Thanx Dharm for the lovely recipe. Your ever so reliable recipes always come in handy! The mushrooms were a big hit. You can get the recipe here. The major problem I had was finding the mushrooms here in Penang. But I finally did from Cold Storage in Island Plaza.

As for the pizza, all I can say is nothing can beat homemade pizzas! The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

2 tsp dried yeast

1 tsp sugar

¾ cup hot water

1 tbs vegetable oil

2 cups flour

Filling

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 onion

1 capsicum

1 can button mushrooms

Grated mozzarella cheese

Grated parmesan cheese

Italian mix herbs+ oregano

Method

1. Add dried yeast + sugar in blood hot water.Mix thoroughly and leave until bubbles appear(~ 10-15 mins)
2. Mix vegetable oil + yeast mixture to flour. Knead and leave for about 1 ½ hours. Dough should be roughly twice the initial size.
3. Spread tomato puree on base followed by whatever filling you desire.
4. Bake till cheese is melted and crust turns golden.

Being vegetarian , we had non-alcoholic sparkling apple juice to spice up the final seconds of the year, and celebrate the beginning of a new year full of hopes, challenges, changes and dreams.

Happy New Year everybody! Put the past behind and start fresh!

Another fresh new year is here,
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest..
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best.

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

~William Arthur Ward~

Srimuka

2007-10-20T11:24:00.001+09:30

Hiee everyone!! If u're wondering if i'm still alive, the answer is yes :) The reason for my absence is that my barrier exams are in 6 weeks time and i just don't have the time to cook much and let alone blog. I've been baking off and on but when it comes to meals, everything i eat doesn't take more than 20 minutes to prepare. I'm thankful that my sister cooks most of the time for me so i don't have to live off toast and noodles.

My parents are coming to Adelaide soon to kinda babysit me..aren't i lucky ;). To all my Malay friends out there, Selamat Hari Raya. A few classmates of mine invited a whole bunch of us over for Raya. It was lots of fun. We cooked practically the whole night the day before and they had people coming and going from morning till night. Just like how they celebrate back home.

I'll end this post with the recipe for Seri muka. I've made this many times in the past few weeks. Its just absolutely delicious. The recipe is from lily's

Ingredients

Rice Layer

300g glutinous rice, wash and soak in water for 4 hours, drain
180ml coconut milk
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

Egg Custard Layer

3 large eggs
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp rice flour
350ml coconut milk
150g castor sugar
1 tbsp pandan paste
1/4 tsp salt
Green coloring

Method:

1. Drain rice and steam on 22cm tray for 20 minutes.

2. Remove from heat, fluff up the rice and pour in the coconut milk, sugar and salt. Mix well. Steam for another 20-25 minutes or till cooked.

3. Using a spoon or spatula,press cooked glutinous rice firmly and use another tray to level pressed rice.

4. Sieve the 2 flours mixture and add them to lightly beaten eggs. Strain mixture. Add coconut milk, pandan paste, green color,salt and sugar.

5 . Cook on high in the microwave, 1 min at a time until mixture is slightly thicken.

6. Pour 1/2 of this egg custard over the steamed glutinous rice and steam for 10 - 15 minutes until cooked. Use a fork and scatch surface, then pour in the balance of the custard, steam further another 10 - 15 minutes until cooked. (steaming time varies depending on the heat of steamer)

7. Cut kueh into serving slices when cooled.

Expect my triumphant return in december once all this fuss about exams is over. Till then, au revoir and bon appetit.

Ps-too all the students who read my blog and are going to sit for exams.. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

2007-09-29T09:28:00.001+09:30

Since young, my family and i use to enjoy dinning in Thai Restaurants back home. We even used to drive across the border of Thailand just to have lunch there and come back. We seldom do that now since Thailand has become a little politically unstable.
We used to always order pineapple fried rice as a side dish when we had Thai food.It always came in a nicely carved pineapple and i was perpetually amused with it. I adore fruit and vegetable carvings. A friend of mine was hankering for pineapple fried rice a few days ago. It has been some time since i had Thai food and thought why not. I knew it was quick and won't take much time to prepare.

While i decided to cook the fried rice, he decided to be useful and started cutting the pineapple and scooping flesh of it out.

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
1 whole pineapple/ 1 can canned pineapple, drained
3 cups of rice, jasmine preferably
1 cup frozen mix vegetables/ whatever vegetables you desire
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion
3 red chilli
2 tsp curry powder
1 tbs soy sauce
3 eggs
1/2 cup prawns or chicken fillet
2 tbs fish sauce(for vegetarians u can get vegetarian fish sauce if not just use soy sauce)
1/3 cup cashew nuts (optional)
Cracked pepper(optional)

Method

1. Slice off one side of the pineapple to remove the skin (do no cut off the leaves). Carve out the fruit from inside the pineapple. Set carved pineapple aside.
2. Pound chilli and garlic in a mortar and pestle to make a paste. If you don't own one just use your knife to flatten it.
3. Place oil in wok and turn heat on to medium-high. Add the chilli paste and onion and sautée until fragrant.
4. Add the vegetables, cashew and prawns and fry for about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the rice in then fish sauce, soy sauce , curry powder and pepper. Add pineapple in after.
6. Make a hole in the middle of the rice and fry the eggs. Taste the rice, if its not salty enough add soy sauce or salt.
7. Serve in the carved out pineapple.

Its a good dish to bring along for a pot luck or to make if you're having a dinner with friends over. They'll be pretty impressed with the presentation!

French Bean Salad with a Twist of Spice

2007-09-24T22:14:00.001+09:30

Would you be surprised if i told you i only started cooking about 3-4 years ago? I only started learning how to cook because my mom kinda forced me to learn before leaving home to come to Aussie land! I never actually paid much attention but just went along and sat in the kitchen just because i was more interested in ways to distract myself and spend time chit-chatting with her *cheeky grin*. But the only thing i remember her telling me over and over again is that if you want to cook vegetables, the main ingredients to put in is mustard seeds and urad dhal(black split beans without skin).

So that's all i remembered when it came to cooking vegetables. However, after coming over to Australia, i started cooking and just absolutely loved it. My dad told me once, If you know how to cook, no matter where you are, you'll make friends.'

After discovering Sunita's blog, I came across her monthly spice event of 'Think Spice,' and I was thrilled when she announced mustard seeds being the spice of the month.

I kept thinking about what unique dish i could come up with only using mustard seeds. I didn't want to put up a normal South Indian vegetable dish as its too mundane. Instead, my sister and i decided to dish up an east meets west recipe for French Bean Salad using mustard seeds. Not to worry folks, I'm still keeping up with my quick meal theme!

This dish is soo easy, refreshing and the best part is that it has a twist of spice to it. A good side dish to go with anything that you want. And the absolute clincher is that it doesn't even have to be an Indian meal.

French Bean Salad with a Twist of Spice
Serves 4

Ingredient
3 cups of French Beans, cut into 4 cm pieces
1/4 cup grated carrot(optional)
1 tbs oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 green chillies, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
100g( grated coconut)
70g (1/2 cup) almonds instead pounded
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 tbs honey whole grained mustard (Master food)

Method

1. Boil some water in a pan. Drop in French beans and return to the boil. Or what i did was i just boiled water in a kettle and poured it into a bowl with my beans and covered it for about 2 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse in cold water.
2. Set aside in mixing bowl.
3. Heat oil in a separate pan. Add mustard seeds and fry. Add onion, chillies and grated coconut. Saute for 1 minute and then add the honey. Fry till the coconut turns brown or until fragrant.
4. Combine your beans with sauted ingredients. Add grated carrot, salt, sugar and mustard. Mix well.
5. Best served cold after being refrigerated for about 30 minutes.

Not only did i use mustard seeds, i also used honey whole grained mustard in my salad. Therefore, i think i do qualify to enter Sunita's ' Think Spice, Think Mustard seed' event ;)

Lunch + Dessert in 45mins

2007-09-23T16:38:00.001+09:30

I've realised that our young generation these day are very impatient people. They want everything done quickly and with perfect results. I guess with all the vast developmental and technological revolutionary changes that are happening around us, you can't help but try and keep up with the rest of the world.

I get alot of my friends telling me to put up quick and easy recipes for them to follow and of course tasty ones too :) With my barrier exams coming up in about 2 months time, i too have not had much time to make anything too complex. Therefore, as I needed a quick sugar fix, i decided to make Portuguese egg tarts today. They're quick and best eaten hot. Whenever i go for yum cha, its a must for me to order their egg tarts.I used to make these egg tarts very often last year after discovering it was so easy to make them.

Portuguese egg tarts
Makes 12

Ingredients

2 sheets of buttered puff pastry
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup of milk
3 drops of vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Lightly grease muffin tray and cut out 12 circles from the buttered puff pastry sheet. I used a round cookie cutter to make my circles.
2. Place your circular shaped ready made pastry in the muffin tray.
3.Use an electric mixture and beat in your other ingredients. Strain it once your done.
4. Fill your pastry with the filling mixture( ~3/4 full).The filling will puff up once you bake it.
5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the filling turns light brown.
6. Eat the egg tarts while its HOT !!!

Note- I found by using 1/3 cup of sugar my egg tarts turn out pretty sweet. I normally cut the sugar down. But if you're a big sugar fan, go ahead!

After making my egg tarts, i had bits and pieces of remaining puff pasty and decided to fry it to make myself some roti canai. It WORKS!! Of course, it doesn't taste 100% like the real roti canai, but i'll say its about 85% close to it! I had my rotis with left over dhal..SUPERB!

Not only did i prepare a good snack, i prepare lunch too! All in 45 minutes :)

Couscous Salad

2007-09-19T16:20:00.001+09:30

I bet you know how it feels to make a list of big plans but you end up doing close to nothing on your list of things to do. Well, i hope i'm not the only one! Anyway, i had a long list of things that i wanted to experiment with in the kitchen this weekend but ended up doing nothing *hehe*

I ate out most of the weekend except for dinner on Sunday.Somehow, i don't like going out on Sunday nights. I just like to wind down and just kinda mentally prepare myself for a busy week ahead. I just wanted to make something really simple and quick for my sister and me before America's Next Top Model came on tv. I looked into my fridge and saw a punnet of cherry tomatoes that i totally forgot i had in the fridge.What interesting dish can i make with it i mused? A couscous salad with lots of vegetables and feta cheese was the answer! I ended up making a simple couscous salad which let me tell you, is so easy and quick. I created my own dressing to cater to my own palate.

Ingredients

1 cup couscous
1 cup cucumber(diced)
1 cup cherry tomatoes( cut into halves)
Half an onion (cut into rings)
1/2 cup feta cheese

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vineger
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1/2 tsp mint sauce
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar

Method

1. Cook the couscous according to the directions behind the box.
2. Cut up the onions, cucumber, tomatoes and feta cheese.
3. Once couscous is cool, add all the ingredients for the dressing and mix.

Serves 2

Note-If you're tired from work and just want something quick try this! For health conscious people, you can substitute normal couscous with whole wheat couscous.

Spicy Tomato Chutney

2007-09-18T12:58:00.001+09:30

After my little test on Friday, i just felt so drained and tired even though it wasn't a big exam. I just didn't want to go through the hassle of washing up and cleaning the kitchen. All i wanted was a quiet lazy weekend when i could just sleep in!

Speaking of sleeping in... I had gone out for a few drinks on Friday with my friends, as well as watching Hairspray too which i thought was AWESOME :) and just wanted to sleep in on Saturday. However, a few friends disturbed my peaceful slumber with a wake up call early Saturday morning and said they wanted to come over for breakfast. It was a good day to celebrate as it was our Lord Ganesha's (God of Wisdom and Prosperity) birthday and i thought why not?!

I guess a normal person would have gotten really pissed off but i was happy they did call and turned up at the door after giving me a 10 minute warning. I ended up making a traditional Indian breakfast of Tosai(Indian pancake) and uppuma (a savory semolina dish) with tomato chutney. I have to admit the Tosai and uppama was made using instant packet stuff. Its not that i don't know how to make the real dishes, its just that i wasn't expecting anyone to appear at my door for breakfast ;)

As for the tomato chutney the recipe is at follows;

Spicy Tomato Chutney

Ingredients

2 tbs oil
1 tsp mustard seeds(optional)
1 large onions,finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic minced
3cm (1 1/4 in) ginger, minced
600g (3 cups) ripe tomatoes, blanched
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Method

1. Heat oil in heavy bottomed pan and saute the onion, garlic and ginger and mustard seeds until aromatic.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and simmer over low heat until thick, about 20 minutes

Serves 6-8

Note-It's really easy to make and goes really well with tosai!

Rich-Moist Brownies

2007-09-16T21:44:00.001+09:30

BROWNIESS..how i love brownies!!!The first time i had brownies was when i was about 6 years old and i had them in an Australian family friend's house(the Kings) in Malaysia. I recollect being very puzzled at the texture of the brownie after taking a bite into it. What is it i thought to myself?? It wasn't soft like a cake yet it wasn't hard like a cookie, so what was it i remember thinking to myself...Its a brownie Aunty Debbie uttered from across the room after seeing the look on my face! It didn't bother me much on what it was called as it tasted really good and that made me a really happy 6 year old kid.

I had an exam last Friday to study for and was a bit stressed out. Therefore, after reading and going through my notes for what seemed like the 100th time, i decided to bake something to divert my attention for about an hour. Since, my registrars and consultants in my rotation were really nice to us students and always insisted on paying for our morning coffees and muffins, baking them a batch of rich chocolate brownies was what i decided to do to show them my appreciation.

'How to be a Domestic Goddess' by Nigella Lawson was where i got my brownie recipe from. I knew Nigella will not let me down. And guess what..she didn't :)

Ingredients

(makes bout 48 according to the book-but i got about 25 pieces)

375g soft unsalted butter
375g best- quality dark chocolate
6 large eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
500g caster sugar
225g plain flour
1 tsp salt
300g chopped walnuts

tin measuring approx 33x23x5.5cm

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.Line the brownie pan
2. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large heavy-based pan. Beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla.
3. Measure the flour into another bowl and add the salt.
4. When the chocolate mixture has melted, let it cool a bit before beating in the eggs and sugar, and then the nuts and flour. Beat to combine smoothly.
5. Bake for about 25minutes. When it's ready, the top should be dried to a lighter brown but the middle still dark and dense and gooey.

Note- Keep checking your brownies. It only takes a few minutes for it to turn from a perfect moist brownie to a dried up yucky brownie

Have a good weekend :)

Pandan Jelly Roll

2007-09-11T14:09:00.001+09:30

I was craving for kaya( coconut jam) and even more for Pandan Swiss roll. But the thought of standing over the stove for HOURS to make the kaya was a major turn off! However, after Ioyces from Our Cooking Escapades left a message that she made kaya in the microwave, a sudden urge to satisfy my craving overwhelmed me.

The kaya recipe was done following the recipe from Lily's Blog. Its really fast and easy to make. A BIG farewell to the traditional kaya making! Not that i'm mocking the traditional way, but to me personally, this recipe is so much easier and faster.

Having kaya on toasted bread with a little dash of margarine over a hot cup of white coffee..heavenly!!!!

The recipe is as follows :

Ingredients
5 eggs (280 gm)
280 gm sugar
200 ml thick coconut milk
a pinch of salt
1/4 tsp of powdered vanillin

Method:

1. Stir and whip all ingredients except vanillin in a glass bowl to break up the eggs. Strain mixture.
2. Microwave uncovered for 5 mins on level 4(i am using 1000 watts) and then stir. Repeat again 5 mins on level 4, by now the mixture will be thicker.
3. Continue to Microwave for 3 mins on level 3, remove from microwave and stir. the custard should be thickened by now.
4. This time, cover with cling wrap and leave an opening for steam, microwave on level 2 for 5 mins.
5. Remove wrap and stir while adding in the vanillin and let it cool.

Note- I used 1/4 tsp drops of Vanilla essence instead of powdered vanillin and it worked for me. I wanted it to be pandan flavoured so i added 2 drops of pandan essence to the recipe

As for my swiss roll, it was my first time making it. I was always under the impression that swiss rolls are really hard to make and therefore the idea of making it intimidated me. But after reading how East Meets West was on the roll with her swiss rolls, i decided to try it out too.

Since i could not find a good recipe for Pandan sponge cake, i decided to improvise.I found a sponge cake recipe on Delicious days. Click here for the recipe. I added a few drops of Pandan essence to the recipe. I don't know why but my sponge cake turned out to be a half cake + half hard jelly. But guess what i really liked it. I remember we use to get Pandan Jelly cakes at the bakery when in Malaysia and this truly reminded me of that.If you can figure out where i went wrong please let me know..Its still a BIG mystery to me. But like they say...everything happens for a reason.

Ps: Iocyes, here's a picture of the pan i used. My housemate bought it from Myers. But i'm sure you can find it in any cookery shop or even woolies.

Waddling Along

2007-09-09T15:22:00.001+09:30

A whiff of freshly cooked waffles she was awoken with,
Breakfast in bed was her surprise for the day,
Cutely dressed penguins dripped with maple syrup was what she got,
What a perfect way to start her day she thought :)

I got a Woddles Penguin waffle maker for my birthday last year and it has been put to good use ever since i must say. The little penguins have depressions in their belly for ice cream! A Perfect dessert don't you think?? It comes with a reliable list of waffle recipes that I've tried due to my curiosity. The recipes are really easy to follow and I just find all this little kitchen gadgets really cute and amusing. I've tried making Chocolate chip waffles, apple and cinnamon waffles and just plain basic waffles which go really well with any toppings!
Here's the recipe for basic waffle batter:

Ingredients

1 cup self raising flour
1 egg, separated
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup water
45g butter, melted
1 1/2 tbs caster sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat waffle maker.

2. In a large bowl combine the sifted flour, egg yolk, milk, water and butter. Using an electric mixer; mix until smooth.

3. Using clean beaters; beat egg white in a small bowl until soft peaks form then gradually add the sugar and beat until the sugar is dissolved.

4. Fold the egg white mixture into the mixture.

5. Spoon 2 rounded tablespoons of mixture into each penguin waffle mould; using a plastic spatula push the mixture into the hands and feet of the moulds.Close lid.

6. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove waffles with a plastic spatula onto a cooling rack. Allow waffles to cool slightly before serving.

Back in Malaysia, my friends and i love the kaya(coconut jam) waffles from the local malls. It's a must have snack when we go shopping. I should try making it here one day.

French toast

2007-09-08T17:51:00.001+09:30

'Have you ever had restless leg syndrome?' was the first thing my housemate asked me this morning as i walked into the kitchen! It seems she was up all night walking about as she couldn't sleep. No, was my answer, but i was startled, as i was unable to stay abed that very morning and had jumped out of bed, rushing to the kitchen with my own 'restless bake syndrome'!!The plan was to sleep in today, but i was just so restless and was just dying to hit the kitchen but didn't want to wake anyone up. So i waited patiently in my room till the clock striked 9 before i dashed down to my kitchen to whip up breakfast for everyone. We had a few friends who slept over last night so i was even more excited to make breakfast.

WEEKEND= BAKING/COOKING time!!!I love weekends! No time limits for my cooking sessions, no lectures and ward rounds that i have to run off to and most of all i don't have to feel guilty that i'm not studying.

While perusing through my myriad of food blog sources, I came across a recipe for Crunchy French Toast on Simply Recipes and really wanted to try it out. I wasn't in the mood to make anything too fancy in the morning and gave the recipe a go!It's really easy and the recipe originally came from the book Kitchen for Kids .

The recipe is as follows :

Ingredients

2 or 3 slices of bread, cut into quarters
1 cup cornflake cereal
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 drops of vanilla
Butter and pancake syrup

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

2. Put the bread pieces on a lined baking sheet into the warming oven (it does not need to be at full temperature) to toast lightly for 5 minutes. Cool the bread completely.

3. Seal the cornflakes in a heavy plastic bag. Crush them with a rolling pin to the size of rolled oats. Pour into a pie pan or a shallow dish. Set aside.

4 .In a large bowl, whisk to mix the eggs, milk, flour and vanilla until blended. Be sure there are no lumps of unmixed flour. Pour into a pie pan or shallow dish. In batches, lay the bread pieces in the egg mix. Soak about 1 minute on each side in the egg mixture. Be careful not to rip the bread.

5 .Place the bread pieces in the cornflake crumbs. Coat both sides with the crumbs. Place on the lined baking sheet.

6. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes on one side. Then flip over with tongs or a spatula and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, until the crumbs begin to turn brown. Eat warm with butter and pancake syrup.

Makes 2 or 3 servings.

Note- I felt that i couldn't taste the egg much in this recipe. The next time i make this, i'm going to use 3 eggs instead of 2 and reduce the amount of milk.

Enjoy your weekend!

Semolina Cookies

2007-09-06T20:16:00.001+09:30

I was feeling a lil homesick and was craving for 'Malaysian' cookies!! One of the things that i've missed most about Malaysia since being in Adelaide for the past 4 1/2 years is celebrating Malaysian festivals and eating all the lovely cookies and yummylicious food!

I can't remember the last time i celebrated Deepavali back home or Chinese New year or Hari Raya. Oh how i missed my mother's peanut cookies and jam tarts! Since i'm thousands of miles away from home, i made my mind up to make some asian cookies for a change. But the million dollar question was, What kinda cookies are easy and fast to make?? I was riffling through my favourite malaysian recipe site, cyberkuali from 'The Star Online'. It's the best site ever especially for homesick students who are yearning for Malaysian cuisines.

I was trying to remember all the palatable cookies that i've had in my life. It felt like i had pressed the rewind button on a tape player.. *hehe*. And KABOOM!!! Suddenly my thoughts stopped and focused on the cookies my best friend Ching fern and her mom had made for me once when i was vegetarian at home. Semolina cookies they were. Its called Suji biscuit among the Indians.

Semolina is used alot in Indian cooking. I was quite amazed that my dear Chinese friend uses semolina too in her cooking and made cookies out of them. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

150g butter

80g castor sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla essence

Sifted

150g plain flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

40g ground almonds

50g semolina

1/8 tsp salt

Some castor sugar for dredging the baked cookies

Method

1.Cream butter, sugar and essence until creamy. Beat in sifted ingredients, ground almonds, semolina and salt.

2.Mix until well combined. Refrigerate mixture for 10-15 minutes if it is too soft.

3.Roll out the dough on a lightly floured tabletop. Use a cookie cutter and stamp out desired shapes or, if preferred, roll out into small balls, the size of small limes.

4.Arrange them on a lightly greased tray. Press down the small balls of dough with a fork to create an impression. Bake in preheated oven at 170°C for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

5.Place cookies on wire racks to cool before dredging in extra sugar.
For all you vegetarian readers out there, here's a recipe you should try! These cookies reminds me of butter cookies and melt in your mouth as soon as you take a bite into it!

Ps- I finally got to try out my new cookie presser! It makes cookie making sooo easy! I use to hate making cookies as they take up too much time. Guess i'll be making lots of cookies from now!

Busted!!!!

2007-09-04T16:05:00.000+09:30

I've been tagged by nirmala from Nirmala's Cooking Corner . I'm going to be nice and gonna give you a sneak preview into the recesses of my soul.

Before I begin, here are the rules:

Players must list one fact, word or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of their first or middle name.
When players are tagged they need to write their own blog-post containing their own first or middle name game facts, word or tidbit.
At the end of their blog-post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.
Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
If I've tagged YOU, please join in on the fun!

K-I'm such a klutz!!!~!Embarrasing myself has become a norm to me.Ever since i was small i use to fall everywhere..Trust me i even fall down on flat surfaces! YUP FLAT!!! To tell you a little secret i fell down in the hospital on Monday while walking.. One minute i was preoccupied with the things i had to do when i got home and the next thing i knew i was on the FLOOR and RIGHT outside the toilet..Haihh..Now you know why my mom refuses to let me get a bike here in Adelaide.

O-Obesity is my biggest fear :)I get a little paranoid sometimes. For example, I ONLY drink skimmed milk / low fat and never full cream milk as i feel like i'm pouring solid fat substances in my drink if i use full cream milk...I'm weird i know.Like they say, medical students have more obsessive compulsive triads in them than other people.

G- Gooseberries are my favourite!! Its really hard to find fresh gooseberries in Malaysia. I haven't even bothered trying to look for it here. I'll probably get weird looks if i asked a fruitseller here :P. There used to be a gooseberry tree near my house when i was growing up in Penang and everytime my dear friend Zafirah and i use to go cycling we used to climb the tree and pluck the fruits. NO we didn't steal them from anyone's house. The tree used to be outside an old uncle's house who no interest in the fruit!

H- My all time favourite sweet when i was growing up was apple flavoured 'Hi-Sour'. It really is very sour indeed but i used to love it. In college, we use to eat heaps of it to keep awake during our Physics lectures! Boy, did the lecturer know how to put us to sleep!

I- I LOVEEEE Lipton Ice Lemon Tea! I can drink it everyday, 365 days a week and never get sick of it..But of course i don't do that.Wouldn't want to end up with diabetes at 35!

N- Nutella is my all time favourite bread spread. I can just eat it straight from the bottle. When i was young, my mom used to give us little tiny packets of nutella to eat in school. It had like a little spatula to eat the nutella with.

I-Ice Popsicles!When i was in primary school, the ice-cream seller in school sold these ice popsicles that were only 10cents! I use to love eating it and had it everyday. I think that was the main reason i was always eager to go to school. And my mom thought i was a super good kid who dreaded skipping school or according to my sister, a super nerd!

E- Eggplant is my number 1 choice of vegetable. From eggplant pickles, grilled, chutney to dips.. you name it, I LOVE it!

My targets to be tagged are

Jun from 'From Durians to Floating Pies'
Josephine from 'Pssst'
Suling from 'Life of a chocolate loving piggy'
Tankiasu from Tankiasu
Nimrita from ' Yes, this is a nimbo blog'
Amrita from 'Le Petite Boulanger'
Sweesan from 'Self proclaimed Foodaholic'
Chrissy from 'And they lived happily ever after'

It was really fun doing this name mnemonic thing. I normally think this kinda things are super lame but i really enjoyed myself. It was mind boggling and it stimulated my little brain cells. Thanx nirmala! So for those who i've tagged try it k. I'll BE WATCHING YOUR BLOGS!!! *cheeky grin*

Nibbles

2007-09-02T15:37:00.000+09:30

Here's the recipes of the nibbles i made for my cocktail party. I was unable to put it up earlier as i didn't have my lovely cook book with me in Broken Hill. Most of the recipes are adapted from the Australian Women's Weekly "New Finger Food" cookbook. I reckon its a good investment for finger food lovers!

Lamb Kheema

Recipe by Dr. Daya Singh

Ingredients

Mutton kheema -1/2 kg

Red onion or scallot-s-1/4cup(finely chopped)

Ginger garlic paste-1tbsp

Tomato paste -1tsp

Garam masala-1tsp

Chilli powder-1/4tsp

Ground pepper-1tsp

Ground cumin-1/4

Fennel-2pinch

Turmeric powder-1/4tsp

Soysauce-1tsp

Worcestershire sauce-1tsp

Bread crumbs-2cup

Egg-1

Salt to taste

Methods

1.In a mixing bowl, mix kheema, onion, ginger garlic paste, tomato paste, garam masala, chili powder, ground pepper, ground cumin, fennel, turmeric powder, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, egg, salt and 1/4 of bread crumbs.

2. Make it into a small lemon sized ball and roll it on the bread crumbs, deep fry in hot oil.

3. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and onion.

Tandoori chicken on cucumber

Ingredients

2 tbs thick yogurt
2 tbs tandoori paste
200g chicken breast tenderloins
3(450g) Lebanese cucumbers
Whole coriander leaves

Mint Yogurt

¼ cup(70g) thick yogurt
1 tsp shredded fresh mint leaves
1 tsp shredded fresh coriander leaves
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp lime juice

Method

1.Combine the yogurt, tandoori paste and chicken in a bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2.Cook the chicken on a hot grill plate or frying pan until cooked through. Cool slightly
3.Slice the cucumbers into1.5cm rounds, about 8 rounds per cucumber. Using a tsp, scoop a small amount of the seeds from the centre of the rounds, without scooping all the way through.
4.For the mint yogurt, combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
5.Slice the chicken thinly and place a rounded tsp on each piece of cucumber; top with the mint yogurt and the whole coriander leaves.

Note- Not suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. This makes 24 bite- size morsels. Chicken and yogurt can be prepared several hours ahead. Assemble close to serving.

Bacon and cheese baby potato bites

Ingredients

12 tiny new potatoes (480g)
1 bacon rasher (70g)
10g butter
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons finely grated cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Method

1.Boil, steam or microwave potatoes until just tender;drain.Cool.

2. Preheat oven to moderately hot.

3.Cut shallow slice from top of each potato; using a melon-baller, scoop out about two-thirds of the flesh of each potato. Reserve flesh.

4.Cook bacon in small heated frying pan until crisp;drain on absorbent paper, chop finely.

5.Mash reserved potato flesh in small bowl with butter, mustard, cheese and sour cream; stir in half of the bacon and half of the chives. Divide filling among hollowed-out potatoes; sprinkle with remaining bacon. Place potatoes on oiled oven tray. Bake , uncovered, in moderately hot oven about 15 minutes or until heated through.

Sprinkle potato bites with remaining chives after baking.

Sun-dried tomato aioli and prawn canapes

Ingredients

1 cup myonnaise
2tbs sun- dried tomato pesto
2 cloves crushed garlic
A Baguette
Smoked prawns
Basil leaf

Method

1. Combine the myonnaise with you sun-dried tomato pesto and 2 cloves of crushed garlic
2. Cut the baguette into slices and toast them.
3. Spread your paste onto toasted baguette slices.
4. Top each with 1 prawn and 1 fresh basil leaf.
Note- I didn't toast the baguette as it acquired too much work but it still tasted good.

Deep-fried mozzarella sticks

Ingredient

1 cup( 150g) plain flour
1 cup (150g) cornflour
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/2 cups (375ml) water
1 cup (100g) packaged breadcrumbs
500g mozzarella
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Chilli pesto dipping sauce

1/3 cup (90g) sun-dried tomato pesto
2/3 cup(160ml) sweet chilli sauce

Method

1. Whisk flour, cornflour,egg and the water in medium bowl until smooth; place breadcrumbs in small bowl
2. Cut cheese into 1 cm-wide fingers.
3. Dip cheese sticks, one at the time, in batter, then in breadcrumbs to coat. Dip cheese sticks, one at a time, back in batter, then in breadcrumbs to double coat.
4. Heat oil in large saucepan; deep-fry cheese sticks, in batches, until golden brown, drain on absorbent paper.
5. Serve hot with chilli pesto dipping sauce

Chilli pesto dipping sauce
Combine pesto and sauce in small bowl.
Makes 32

Note- Do ahead. Mozzarella can be cut into sticks and sauce made a day ahead. Cover separetely; refrigerate until required.

Smoked salmon and dill

Ingredients
1/4 cup( 60g) sour cream
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
1 tbs finely chopped red onion
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs drained capers, chopped finely
100g smoked salmon slices, chopped coarsely
16 small fresh dill springs
1 packet of mini toast

Method

1. Combine sour cream, dill, onion, rind, pepper and capers in small bowl,
2. Divide sour cream mixture and salmon among the mini toast, top with dill.
3. Serve at room temperature.

Dessert

Mars Bar slice
Recipe by Monica Hong

Ingredients

4 Mars bars

1 tsp margarine

1 tbs honey

4 cups rice bubbles

200g good quality cooking chocolate

Method

1 .Melt margarine, honey, mars bar in microwave 1 ½ mins

2. Stir occasionally, add to rice bubbles. Refrigerate while melting cooking chocolate.

3. Melt chocolate and pour on top rice bubbles.

4. Refrigerate for ½ hour. Remove and slice it up (the longer you keep it the harder it will be to slice it up and the top will crack) and continue to refrigerate.

I seriously should get back to my books! *sigh* Good luck in making the nibbles!

Nutella Cookies

2007-09-01T16:12:00.000+09:30

Monica my dear housemate was going to leave for her 3 week rural placement to Minlaton and I wanted to make her a ‘care package’ with all her favourite conglomeration of snacks.

After being away for 3 weeks, I just HAD to bake something. I didn’t care what as long as I could use my oven I was happy. Monica and Jo got me a new ‘TOY’ for my birthday. A cookie press and icing set!!!! You should have seen the look on my face when I got it..classic !Thanx guys.. MUAKS

I was in the mood to make peanut cookies but surfed across some nutella cookies instead on Alpeneberry. I couldn’t resist making them!Unfortunately, the cookies didn't require a cookie cutter. Not to worry, I'm sure i'll find a recipe real soon that requires a cookie cutter :P

I took out my whisk with a whiff, a swirl and a whirl OFF i went!! Here’s the recipe :

Nutella Cookies
(makes 30 cookies)

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
7 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp.
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup toasted & skinned hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.

Cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in Nutella and vanilla extract. Mix in egg.

Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add chocolate chips and hazelnuts.

Drop tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for about 11 minutes until the edges look set. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then carefully remove to cooling racks.

I was totally distracted in the kitchen with friends chatting away in the kitchen while making these and forgot to add the required egg to the recipe. But guess what, it turned out well without it. However, I decided to try a batch with the egg. It made my cookies really chewy. So for chewy cookie fans, don’t forget the egg.

bon appétit!

An Outback Birthday

2007-08-27T18:24:00.000+09:30

After being in Broken Hill for the past week, I’ve been impressed by the indomitable spirit of the wonderful city. The vibrant earthy colours and magical light of the landscape have drawn many film makers and artists here.

BH is the longest continuous mining operation in Australia and the largest single source of lead, silver and zinc ore.

Sandeep came down to Broken Hill to visit Khobe and me. It so happens that his birthday is on the 10^th of August. Just 3 days before mine.

We met a lovely couple up here in Broken Hill, Paul and Sharon. Sharon is a superb cook I must say. I’ve picked up a few cooking tricks from her while being there. Paul is a very chatty bloke with a heart of gold. He never fails to entertain us.

They’re very down to earth and sincere. It’s quite hard to find people like that in the big cities. You’re always wary of people and their intentions. I used to trust people a lot very easily and had to learn the hard way when I came to live on my own here. No parent to protect you and to give their judgments about people. Like they say, Mother’s are ALWAYS right.

It wasn’t long till Sharon found out that it was Sandeep’s birthday and she insisted on making him a birthday cake. Chocolate being his favourite flavour on the planet, she decided to please the birthday boy’s taste buds by making him a moist double chocolate cake.

If you’ve been a loyal follower of my blog, you’ll know my perception on chocolate cakes..it has to be perfect! The cake was divine! Not too rich, moist and perfect!

Of course I couldn’t resist not getting the recipe from here.

Moist Double Chocolate cake

Ingredients

125g, butter, chopped

¾ cups (180ml) water

2 tablespoon cocoa

100g dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup (220g) sugar

¾ cup (110g) self-raising flour

½ cup (75g) plain flour

1 egg

Method

1. Grease deep 20cm round cake pan, line base and side with baking paper.

2. Place butter, water, cocoa, chocolate and sugar in medium saucepan, stir over heart, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved; cool to room temperature.

3. Stir flours and egg into mixture, pour into prepared pan

4. Bake in moderately slow oven about 1 hour.

5. Stand 5 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool

6. If desired, split cold cake, fill and top with chocolate fudge frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

45g unsalted butter

2 tbs water

¼ cup (55g) castor sugar

¾ cup (120g) icing sugar mixture

2 tbs cocoa

Method

1.Combine butter, water and castor sugar in small saucepan, stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved.

2.Sift icing sugar and cocoa into small heatproof bowl, gradually stir in hot butter mixture; cover, refrigerate until thick.

3.beat with wooden spoon until mixture is smooth and spreadable.

If y If u're looking for a easy and yummy recipe, give this a go!

A night to Remember

2007-08-17T14:04:00.000+09:30

Being an eager fetus in my mother’s womb, I decided to pop out 2 months earlier and on the 13th of August. Meanwhile, in another labour room after all the puffing and screaming, my dear friend Jun came in to the world 2 days later on the 15th of August. Of course from a different mother!

As our friendship slowly developed in the past 5 years here in Adelaide, I came to know a young lady of great strength of will and character. Being Leo’s we have the same taste and mind you that’s good taste *hehe* and similar principles in life. We’ve been celebrating our birthdays together almost every year.

This year, the verdict was to go to a cozy-chilled back place where we can let our hair down and relax. No pish-posh place where we need to control our loud voices and where Hooi Wen needs to control her hyper excited self.

We decided to go to Tap Inn which is a pub+ dinning bistro. The reason for our choice of place was to try out their tapas from their extensive tapas menu. Tap Inn has 54 tapas on their menu to try from!

As usual we kinda went overboard..... We tried at least 2-3 from each category. The seafood tapas were our favourites for the night.

Since the night was still young, we headed off to Boho’s, the local bohemian retreat, for some cocktails.

I absolutely love the deco of the bar. With can-can mannequin dancers and trapeze artistes hanging from the ceiling, you’re one step closer to having a Paris Moulin Rouge extravaganza!

After hearing so much about absinthe thrills, we grabbed the opportunity to do so. My vote was to try the flaming fairy which is a blend of French absinthe, apple and cinnamon. Read the line again! Do you see the word APPLE….NOW you know why I wanted to try it.

We were in the spirit of internationalism and after trying something from France we wanted something from Germany. The Black forest cocktail was a creation of Chambord and chocolate with not to forget cherries!

Bombay Sweetness which was a mix of Bombay sapphire gin, apple, elderflower was on our must have list.

After Boho bar, if you think we called it a night, you’re WRONG! We wanted to experience the sights and sounds of Adelaide at night. We headed to Windy point to enjoy the spectacular view of Adelaide and to remind us that Adelaide is not just a rectangular box as what people perceive it to be.

Being born on an Island with water all around you every corner you turn, guess where our next stop was just so that we could feel closer to home?? Glenelg!! After being so caught up in our “what’s been happening throughout the week and in life” session we forgot about our presents!

Being really helpful friends, we decided to help give Dave a BIG hint on Jun’s unconditional love for Tiffany and Co jewellery. Hooi Wen came up with the brilliant idea of wrapping up Jun’s present in T&C colour themes. Boy, did she find that highly amusing.

And being a cooking and baking freak I made life so easy for them on what to get for me.
“ How to be a domestic goddess” by Nigella Lawson was my gift from them with BIG hints that they’ve been deprived of good food.

It was a night to remember with my 2 dearest girlfriends I must say with deep dark secrets being revealed more and more as the night went by. Cheers girls!

Farwell to civilization + Birthday Celebration

2007-08-16T10:29:00.000+09:30

Ever since I moved out of my student hostel into a house, I always never failed to find excuses to have dinner parties in my house. Leaving civilization for Broken Hill for a 3 week rural placement was my excuse this time.

I decided I wanted something different from my normal main meal cookouts and opted to have a cocktail party with lots of finger food for everyone!

It was a household team effort in preparing the food with lots of laughter, gossip and criticism.
I was so excited the whole week on what to prepare and to my dismay the list kept growing longer and longer *Sigh*

Finally, I decided on the following master pieces *hehe*

Curry puffs and Asparagus wrapped with Prosciutto

Tandoori Chicken on Cucumber with mint chutney

Bacon and cheese baby potato bites

Baguette topped with prawns and sun-dried tomato pesto

Lamb Kheema( meatballs)

Cheese Sticks

Honey soy chicken wings

Smoked salmon on mini toast

Mini pizzas

Sausage rolls

Desserts

Fruit tarts filled with nutella

Chocolate Mousse

Mars bar slice

Jo and Mon came up with a list of cocktails and shots to make to keep us going for the night.

Jason was the bar man for the night

and he had a few assistants.

To add to the fun, we entertained ourselves with a few games. Sandeep was the games master for the night.

One of the games that we played was to make someone in the circle laugh by saying "Baby if you love me won't you please smile?”

They can play with that player's hair or whisper in their ear or act loving or anything that will get them to laugh. The player being sat on must say "Baby I love ya but I just can't smile" without laughing or even cracking a smile.

Everyone was really sporting that night hence it made the games very exciting and thrilling.

I was surprised with a birthday cake by all my friends that night.

My friends know my fancy for anything with apple in it and got me a German apple cheesecake.

It wasn’t a normal cheesecake mind you. The apple wasn’t in the filling of the cheesecake but it was in the topping of the cake. I really enjoyed it and to my surprise it tasted much better the next day ;)

It was a fun filled nite, with all the guests having having eaten their fill and sated their hunger pangs, drunk the nectar of the gods and getting all merry. The end after all justifies the means, and hence our effort was put to good use :)

Foodie blogroll

2007-08-02T08:36:00.000+09:30

I've recently joined the foodieblog roll.There are soooo many food blogs out there..its amazing!This Blogroll is especially designed for people who have a passion for food. If you have a blog about food, whether you cook it, or just like to talk about it, this blogroll is for you! It will be our way to create a community of Foodies!The more blogs the merrier!!! So if you're interested, click here.

Hearty Winter Soup

2007-08-01T12:14:00.000+09:30

It's been a pretty rough winter here in Adelaide this year. I hate the cold..HATE HATE HATE it! When i first came to Australia, people kept telling me that i'll get used to the cold..but guess what?? It's been nearly 5 years and i still dread it. But like the famous quote goes, if u can't beat them, join them!

It's the middle of winter and to tell u the truth I'm finding it almost impossible to remember how it feels like to just sit and enjoy a nice novel in the cool embrace of a shaded tree sheltering me from the sun's heat.

I scurried home from the hospital yesterday in the dreadful rain and all i wanted was a nice bowl of soup. I had lots of potatoes left in my fridge and purchased a stalk of leek from the market on the weekend and decided to make a nice bowl of potato and leek soup. I'm new to making soups. Coming from a tropical country where all you do most of the time is to indulge your self in something icy cold, having something hot to keep you warm never crosses your mind even a tiny little bit!

It's really easy and very satisfying i must say. I kinda just made the recipe up and didn't quite follow a specific recipe.

Ingredients
serves 1

3 potatoes cut into cubes
1 stalk of leek
1 small onion
250ml chicken stock
pinch of crushed pepper
salt to taste
1/4 cup milk/cream

2 tablespoons of butter

1. Chop the leek length wise to get rid of the grit. Wash it properly.
2. Add the butter and saute your onions and leek for about 5 mins/ till onions turn brown.
3. Add in your chicken stock and potato. I cooked my potato in the microwave for about 5 mins to speed things up.
4. Leave to boil for about 15 mins, once potato is soft, add pepper, salt and milk
5. Lastly, if you want your potatoes to be mashed up, blend your soup in the blender.

Bon Appetit!!

House of Fine Chocolate..the place to be!!!

2007-07-23T16:50:00.000+09:30

I've been in Adelaide for about 4 1/2 years now, and i must admit i was pretty upset with the limited options for dessert parlours here when i first came. I felt that it was REALLY unfair that Sydney for example had Max Brenner and Pancakes on the rocks for good desserts but Adelaide had NOTHING that i fancied!

However, i happened to come across this little chocolate dessert shop which is located on the bustling Jetty Road located in Glenelg last year..and ohh my goodness...I loved Adelaide 100 times more!Its called Bracegirdle's House of Fine Chocolate..and yes it definitely is!

Adelaide is like Penang i must say..We're always the last to get the good stuff. We only got Chills THIS YEAR in Penang..ya THIS year i repeat.

As for Adelaide, Star bucks came to town only last year and there's still no sign of Coffee Bean!

Anyway, back to Bracegirdle, it was the best dessert! i love the waffles there, as well as the chocolate sticky date pudding.

Their chocolate fondues are quite popular too i must say. They even have a lollies fondue which i haven't quite brought myself to try even though it sounds and looks interesting.

I'm normally adventurous when it comes to food but the waffles and chocolate SD pudding taste so good that every time i go there i just eat the same thing.They use Belgian chocolate in their desserts and handmade truffles.

Oh and guess what? They recently opened a joint on Greenhill Road and i am like 5 minutes drive away from it. Bracegirdle's really has a lovely ambience with original timber floors and just makes you feel at home when you're there.

Very homely and cozy. Its a nice place for an afternoon rendezvous in summer after having a nice stroll down the sandy beach of Glenelg or for a cup of hot chocolate and cake in winter.

Guess what they have right at the entrance?? A giant chocolate fountain!!Trust me, you'll be seduced by the glorious aroma of the melted chocolate! So, just follow your nose and enjoy *cheeky grin*

Big Table @ Central Market

2007-07-16T13:38:00.000+09:30

BREAKFAST!!!!!!!!!i love having breakfast out and trying new places. A change of environment once in awhile is good as compared to staring at the same 4 walls of your kitchen day in and day out.

As stated in one of my previous post on how i LOVE the markets, i decided to spend my Saturday morning there this week. My house mate and i were willing to forgo our weekend sleep in session just to have breakfast in Big Table which is one of my favourite breakfast joints in Adelaide.

Its a little corner shop in the market where you just sit around on little kitchen stools, enjoy your breakfast and wash it down with a giant cappuccino to the cacophony of sounds and aromas of the lively marketplace.

Their milkshakes are really thick and rich too!

Big table is well known for their homemade mayo and basil pesto which is made fresh daily. They have a wide menu selection of sweet and savory dishes. Here's a little 'sneak' preview of their menu

Green eggs and ham
Big Brekkie- the lot served with fat toast or baguette

Scrambled eggs any which way
French toast with rhubarb and maple syrup
Japanese fruit toast you can't jump over
Porridge with honey, banana and cinnamon

Mon and I were in the mood for something sweet..i think its a girl thing..*hehe* and settled for the
- French toast with rhubarb and maple syrup

- waffles with fresh strawberries and ice cream( i know its winter and no one has ice cream for breakfast BUT i DO ).

We really liked the French toast with rhubarb but found the waffles just ordinary if you know what i mean. Nothing can beat the waffles in Bracegirdle or at The Store.
They also serve lunch and have a great selection of baguettes, fresh salads, muffins and the winter hearty soup from the cauldron that warms the soul.

So if you're at the markets and can't decide where to eat, give Big Table a go!

SUGA HIGH!!!

2007-07-11T18:35:00.001+09:30

Day-o, day-ay-ay-o
Here i come with a banana cupcake recipe!
Hey, i say ba-na-na, i say ba-na-na-na-na
na-na-ay-O
Here i come with another cupcake recipe!

Work all night on baking lil cupcakes
(Daylight come and i wanna bake more) Stack banana till thee morning come (Daylight come and i wanna bake more)

HALOOO everybody!! I think im on a sugar-high mode or should i say cupcake-high mode..*hehe*

My rotation in hospital now is such a bludge which is really nice for a change. I'm not complaining one bit! I think my parents are getting a tiny bit worried though that every time they call me I'm at home or shopping..everywhere but hospital. But deep down they know i'm a good kid and will never skip classes. My sister until today still makes fun of me and thinks i'm a SUPER nerd..oh well.. i'm used to it by now.
Anyway, back to the main topic of my post..i baked again AND with company. I was flicking through a few cupcake books, burning a few of my brain cells away and trying hard to decide on what to make. I seriously just felt like baking EVERYTHING!!!!

I guess you might be thinking to yourself..she's such a bimbo and can't even make a simple decision. But really, it can be difficult.. I guess all mothers around the world feel my pain everyday in the kitchen, trying real hard to decide on what to cook for dinner. CHOICES , CHOICES and more CHOICES. Monica, my baking partner in crime came home early yesterday as well and was in a baking frenzy too.

Finally, the verdict was to bake banana crumb muffins and some chocolate muffins with the Baileys icing that i used for my mocha cupcakes! see i do keep to my words when i wrote last in my post that i was going to try the Baileys icing on chocolate cupcakes! The banana crumb muffins were REALLY moist and the crumb topping gives it the extra CRUNCH!

Being chocoholics, we added chocolate chips to the batter. The recipe is from a blog called baking bites.

Banana Crumb Muffins
Muffin batter:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg
2/3 cup (2 medium) mashed bananas, divided
1 tsp vanilla

Crumb topping:
½ cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp shortening, cut into small pieces.
1 tbsp mashed banana (reserved from 2/3 cup mashed banana)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease or line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

Prepare the crumb topping: In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Cut shortening into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Larger crumbs are a bit more desirable. Stir in the mashed banana and set bowl aside.

Prepare the batter: In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, egg, bananas and vanilla. Pour flour mixture into banana mixture and stir until batter is just combined. Spoon into muffin tins, filling each 2/3 full. Top each muffin with crumb mixture, dividing it evenly.
Bake for 18-21 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the muffins spring back when gently touched.
Makes 12 muffins

We added 1/2 cup of walnuts and 1/3 chocolate chips.Walnuts and banana goes really well.

As for my chocolate cupcakes, i'm really fussy when it comes to chocolate cakes, cupcakes anything chocolate and it has to be really moist and perfect if not i won't eat it. I wasn't in a mood to try any new chocolate cupcake recipes just to find out that the end result wasn't what i want it to be.

So i used 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix, and added chocolate chips in the middle of the batter while placing the batter into the cupcake holders. I made another batch of my Bailey's icing to top the chocolate cupcakes and it was finger licking good! *grins*

More cupcakes!

2007-07-08T15:20:00.000+09:30

I read alot of food blogs daily..Its like my daily dose of caffeine that i need EVERYDAY if not i start getting withdrawal symptoms and start thinking about it all day..*hehe*

When it comes to baking I'm still not too confident in making up my own recipes. You see, unlike cooking you can't really taste as you go in baking..once its in the oven the deed is done and you're kinda forced to eat up the whole batch of baked goods. As for cooking, you can adjust the flavour until you're happy with it.

I came across a unique Gateau Suprise Chocolat Pistache recipe from 101 cookbooks .
My housemates and i were having a few friends over for a cook up and decided to try out the recipe.

I must admit i only "supervised" the making of the cupcakes and didn't do much *guilty look*. Well like they say 'too many cooks spoil the broth' hence i was just preventing it from happening *hehe*

It turned out pretty well i must say and its going to be on our "good recipes list". The only thing that we felt was that the taste of the pistachios wasn't strong enough.

Therefore, the next time we make it we're going to add more pistachios to the recipe and not chop it up too fine. I'm not going to type the recipe out again cause you can find it here .

Its best eaten hot as you'll get to taste the effect of hot melted chocolate oozing out :)

Lobsters

2007-07-07T15:34:00.000+09:30

The mission was to get the princess some lobsters!And boy, was the mission accomplished well. I was having one of 'those' craving sessions again..and this time it was for lobsters. I don't eat much seafood in Adelaide besides prawns and fish. Therefore, i get my 6 monthly smörgåsbord of seafood when i go home.

It was a beautiful evening and my parents and i headed towards Teluk Bahang where fishermen hawk their catch and seafood- crazy diners enjoy their favorite seafood every way possible.

We ended up in one of our favourite little seafood restaurants that served delicious seafood dishes.We wanted the luscious crustacean's meat to be preserved with its natural flavour and not drowned in herbs or spices and ordered a grilled lobster with just salt and pepper.

It was really fresh and i strongly feel that it tastes better eating it by the beach, where the salty tang of sea air enhances its flavour.

We ordered a theochew stlye steamed fish and 2 vegetable dishes. One of the vegetable dishes that we tried was fried "yau mak veges with "tau joo"(romaine lettuce stir-fried with fermented beancurd) and it was really nice.

Half way through the meal, my dad wanted more lobster and we tried the lobster thermador(grilled cheese). Cheesy things are just not my cup of tea and therefore i enjoyed the grilled lobster better.
After the meal, the princess's cravings was satisfied and she had a BIG grin on her face.

Bailey's mocha cupcake

2007-07-05T21:59:00.001+09:30

I was in a baking mood and recently purchased an icing bag and was dying and i mean seriously dying to use it! I've been looking for a good, not your everyday cupcake kinda recipe for the past few days and finally found one that i quite fancied.It was my dear friend, Sarah's birthday and the special occasion gave me an even better excuse to bake.

I settled for a Bailey's cupcake recipe but modified it to a Bailey's mocha cupcake..yummy!

Ingredients

4 1/2 ounces butter

3/4 cup milk

3 eggs

1 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tsp coffee powder

Icing

1 (8 ounce) packet cream cheese

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

Instructions

Line a 12 hole muffin pan with LARGE patty cases (Muffin Paper Cups). NOTE: May need to change patty case size depending on your muffin pan. NOTE: Patty cases are OPTIONAL.
Combine Butter and Milk in small pan, stirring on low heat until butter is melted.
COOL to room temperature then add coffee powder to mixture.
BEAT Eggs in small bowl with an electric mixer until THICK and creamy.
GRADUALLY add Castor Sugar, beating until well combined. NOTE: Any substitute of other sugar may slightly change muffins, but is still OK.
Combine sifted self raising flour and Cocoa. FOLD (With spoon OR Hand Mixer on FOLD;) combined mixture and butter mixture in two batches. (Means Combined flour, cocoa and butter, and then combined flour, cocoa and butter again).
Divide between Muffin Trays with or without Patty Cases.

COOK in moderate oven 180 degrees for about 25 minutes or when toothpick comes out clean when tested.
Turn onto a wire rack to cool.
ICING ---BEAT cream cheese in small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add Sifted Icing Sugar WITH 2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder.
BEAT well until combined.
STIR in Liqueur.
SPREAD Icing over cakes.
Dust with extra Cocoa (OPTIONAL).

The cream cheese Bailey's icing turned out really well. I reckon it would really be a good icing for a rich moist chocolate cake. Guess who's going to try it out real soon..*cheeky grin*

Variety Wan Tan Mee

2007-07-04T13:36:00.000+09:30

Wan Tan Mee is also known as Tok-tok Mee from the sound of knocking bamboo sticks made by the vendors in former times to draw attention to their food, of a dish of egg noodles and wontons with sliced barbecued pork and vegetables. It is served either dry with soya sauce and sesame oil, or in a clear pork stock. Penang Wan Than Mee or Tok-tok Mee is also a spin off from Hong Kong, but Hong Kong style is served with dumplings or either with sliced barbecued pork.

However, this little stall which is located on Church Street is not your everyday Wan Tan Mee hawker stall. The title of post says it all..it serves a variety of Wan Tan Mee dishes.

I only discovered it recently cause my dear friend Lai Fong could not stop raving about it and due to severe peer pressure(just kidding ;) ) i gave in and decided to try..hehe the experience was memorable due to the mouth watering noodles!

There's about 14 different types of Wan Tan Mee to choose from and don't expect to get your classical Want Tan Mee here, cause you're not going to get it. The stall has an array of choices to choose from. From Chicken curry noodles, chicken drunken noodles to a simple dish of mushroom noodles.

I tried the drunken chicken noodles and the mushroom chicken noodles which i preferred better. The chicken was soo tender and juicy and the vegetables were so crispy.Eaten with finely chopped vinegared green chilies.. a PERFECT breafast/ lunch meal is all i can say!

" If it swims, we have it "

2007-07-02T17:16:00.000+09:30

The seafood market is a seafood restaurant which is located on Sukhumvit Rd in Bangkok. It's a very touristy place but a "must have experience". Its a massive restaurant and seats about 1500 people. And hey, its not your ordinary restaurant where all you have to do is order your food and KABOOM its there. At the seafood market, you actually have to do your own marketing. Confused?? Let the great one explain the concept.

Follow the instructions properly and you'll have a great time

1. You'll be approached by a very pretty attendant with a shopping cart..yup like the ones in shopping malls

2. Pick whatever seafood you want for dinner. The logo says it all, " If it swims, we have it".And believe me they do!From rock lobsters to king prawns to halibut!

3.Pick the vegetables you fancy for your side dish(you even need to choose your own onions and garlic) and fruits for dessert.

4.Pay for the raw materials

5. Choose how you want your seafood to be cooked

6. Enjoy your meal :)

The restaurant was filled with tons of camera-touting tourists and i must admit i was one of them too as i was really amused with the concept. However,i was very discrete with my picture takings as usual. The food was fresh and good but on the pricey side. All in all it was a good experience!

Streets of Bangkok

2007-06-25T13:22:00.000+09:30

We spent alot of time strolling the streets of Bangkok. We hardly walk around in Malaysia, but ironically even though it was really humid and hot we walked alot in Bangkok. I think its just a very tourist thing to do.

One thing i didn't fail to notice were the numerous street food stalls. A whiff of the freshly cooked food is all you need to distract you from shopping.In keeping with the "philosophy" of "doing what the Romans do when in Rome", it's a great way to be like the locals when it comes to meal times.

Crispy Pancakes with Fillings (Khanom Buang) is one of the popular snacks you can find. It looks very alike to Mexican tacos. These pancakes are topped with coconut cream before various toppings are placed on them.

The two common toppings that one can choose are the sweet filling: containing shredded coconut and golden threads (egg yolk strips) and the salty filling: shredded coconut and chopped spring onions.

Crispy deep fried chicken is also another rather common street snack. Even though it sounds really unhealthy AND is really unhealthy, its really tasty and you would crave for more after you've had one.

I realized that on the contrary,most of their street foods are rather healthy,besides the fried chicken of course. Take for example,these bbq bananas !! yup its barbecued and not your ordinary deep fried banana fritters you get or more commonly known as goreng pisang in Malaysia. The bananas are barbecued and then caramelized.

While walking in China town, i came across this little stall that caught my attention. Fried quail eggs anyone???? Interesting eh?

Everywhere in the city you will see street vendors selling fresh fruits, guava, pineapple, papaya, and lots of other exotic fruits. It was the best refreshment on those hot tropical days. Another strange thing that i saw while walking along the streets was this:

HAHAHA how funny is that, the anatomy of the brain in the middle of nowhere!!!Oh well, medical students will always be medical students :)

Dome in Bangkok

2007-06-18T01:00:00.000+09:30

Like always, I did my research on where to dine for the best food places in Bangkok before leaving. And knowing my *ahem*..expensive taste, i came across a blog that raved about Dome. Dome at the state tower situated atop Lebua Hotel, which is one of the tallest skyscrapers in Thailand.

There are 5 different restaurants in Dome.

1. Sirocco
Jutting into the city skyline like the deck of a flying ship, Sirocco has a lovely entrancing glow Sky Bar.Sirocco serves Mediterranean food of excellent quality.

2.Distil
Part DJ bar, part smoking lounge, part restaurant, Distil combines the comforts of the casual with the distinction of the upscale .

Located on the 64th floor of State Tower, it features the most amazing view of Chao Praya River and Bangkok 's city.

They have quite a few desserts to choose from. After our exhausting shopping spree , we decided to stop by for a drink and dessert. A girl never says no to dessert!!!

Granny smith apple 'tarte' with caramel ice cream and balsamic , and Strawberry shavings was what i had. It was unique i must say and i've not had anything like it before.

They also have an oyster bar that serves fresh imported oysters which can be accompanied by a selection of champagne.

3.Mezzaluna

Mezzaluna serves top quality Italian food. Everything from the fresh vegetables to the aged cheese, from the unfrozen meats to the unprocessed grains and pasta flour, are all genuinely Italian in origin, assembled by the skilled hands.

4. The State Room

It is located on the 67th floor and caters for special cooperate functions. It has its on independent gourment kitchen, menu and staff.

5.Breeze

It's a newly open restaurant and serves fresh, delicious seafood.

My truthful opinion about this place- the view is spectacular, and its a must visit place. However, one small down fall -i was quite disappointed with the cutlery they used( i know its not a big thing to some people, but one would expect good cutlery to be used in such a well known place) + you can't take photos of the view or settings..hmmph!

Top 3 Things That amused Me in Bangkok

2007-06-15T00:10:00.000+09:30

Guess who's back?? I know all of u missed me..but what can i say..the princess needed a break and was off to Bangkok for 4 days. It was a GREAT holiday and i got pampered heaps...just like a princess...hehe :)

Bangkok was better than i expected it to be. I thought it would be really dusty, dirty and not as developed as it is at present.

These are a few things that amused me:

1. The cabs
I was awoken by my excited mother way earlier than expected..but why am i not suprised.. :) Therefore, i was having a lil siesta in the cab from Savarnabhumi Airport to bangkok city. However, every time i woke up when the driver braked or honked other cars, this weird BRIGHT SHOCKING pink objects were seen zooming past from the corner of my eye. Thinking my contacts were playing up and cause i was still in lala land i ignored them and went back to sleep. And went we reached the hotel..guess what was parked right in front of it??... The bright pink object, which happens to be one of the popular colours of the cabs in Bangkok.

2. How much thai's respect their King

We were leaving the hotel on Monday and were engulfed by a sea of people in yellow walking around and we immediately assumed they must all work in the same place or something.

Not till a local thai person explained that with Monday being the day of the King’s birth, and associated with the colour yellow, to celebrate the King’s 60th year on the throne in 2006, everyone wears yellow shirts on Mondays. Although 2006 was the anniversary, the thai's still wear yellow on Mondays and probably will throughout this year.

And despite the political and social problems in Thailand, as well as any negative aspects of being ruled by a monarchy, it is great to see one thing draw all the people together. The King's picture can be found hanging in front of most buildings and can also be found on round-abouts in Bangkok.

3. College girls uniforms

I was really amazed at the uniforms the Thai girls were dolled up in. I must admit that almost 90% of them look really good and look like they just finished doing the catwalk down a runway. The standard uniform is a black skirt and white blouse just like any other uniform you find around the world. But let me assure you that it isn't. The girls have turned the mundane uniform into a very sexy fashion statement. Parading around with white tops that a at least 2 sizes too small ,their micro mini skirt, impossibly high 6 inches heels, little tiny handbags( only things that can possibly fit in there are a mobile phone, purse and a micro sized note pad) and not to forget fully rebounded straight hair- these almost identical looking girls can be found roaming around in Siam square
( one of the most famous shopping malls in Bangkok). And to top it all, can you believe that there is in an annual Bangkok award given to the college with the 'Cutest Techno girl uniform of the year!!

No Ordinary alley

2007-06-07T00:51:00.000+09:30

This ain't any ordinary 'shortcut' mind you. And this is a classic example of 'looks can be deceiving! This little hidden alley lies right smack in the middle of Georgetown city and situated in between 2 large high-rise towers on Beach Street.

If you're daring enough, you'll walk through it to discover that its a famous kopitiam especially among the working force people. I doubt this alley has a name so i can't really give you more details.

A kopitiam or kopi tiam is a traditional breakfast and coffee shop found in Malaysia and Singapore in Southeast Asia .The word is a portmanteau of the Malay word for coffee (as borrowed and altered from the Portuguese) and the Hokkien dialect word for shop.Menus typically feature simple offerings: a variety of foods based on egg, toast and kaya plus cofee, tea and Milo.

Recently a new breed of kopitiams have sprung up. The popularity of the old fashioned outlets along with society's obsession with nostalgia and increasing affluence has led to the revival of these pseudo-kopitiams.

The new kopitiams are fast-food outlets which are reminiscent of the old kopitiams in terms of decor, but are usually built in a more modern, hygienic setting such as a shopping mall rather than in the traditional shophouse.

As for my family and i, we try our best to steer clear of the whirl of people and visit original kopitiams like this. This place serves toasted bread which is toasted the traditional way- which is done on charcoal. Better known as roti bakar among Malaysians this toasted bread is normally served best with butter and sugar.

This lilttle kopitiam allows you to bring outside food. Therefore, my family and i usually drop by for the excellent coffee. My dad reckons they have one of the best kopi-o (black coffee) in Penang! If u're daring enough WALK into the alley and be adventurous!!!!!

There's Nothing like Home

2007-06-04T02:23:00.000+09:30

After 18 long weeks(but somehow felt like 100 years) of paediatrics and O&G all i was looking forward to was to return home. I reached back home last night after being entertained by my fellow Malaysian-classmates on the flight in one piece but with a stomach which was yelling' FEED me FEED me! And of course being in malaysia, where food stalls are open 24/7 i fulfilled my demanding stomach's wishes with a big plate of nasi kandar.

The day started off today by being awaken by the rosters crowing outside..YES real rosters and not my alarm clock that sounds like it. For those of you who haven't heard my annoying hp alarm that wakes up the whole house every morning..trust me its ANNOYING. As soon as i heard it and like what i do every morning, was to search franticly in the dark to turn it off!After pushing practically everything off my bed, the annoying sound was still there. I suddenly jumped out of bed thinking i was really late and lost 2 hours of my study time and being really upset that i ruined my study plan. (yea, yeah..i know what u're thinking..WAT A NERD..but with practically 1/2 the topics still left to cover in only 3 days u'll be desperate too)Then i thought to myself,' Wait a minute, my exams are over and i'm home!' After a big sigh of relief i tried to sleep but all i could think of was 'What should i have for breakfast?' :)

i ate practically everything you can think of today and can endlessly keep ranting about my food adventures but will settle with just telling you about the highlights.
The highlight of my day today was tea- time. Pa and ma wanted to take me for high tea today and we did actually go into a hotel to check the menu out but something just didn't feel right. I just knew all those lovely cakes on display will not satisfy my taste buds.

I was in an eating mood but just couldn't pin point what exactly i wanted. And all of a sudden i DID! i didn't want to eat in any fancy hotels, all i wanted was my sup kambing( mutton soup) by the roadside!!!

If you're from penang and haven't noticed that every single mamak restaurant has started serving an array of soups then all i can say is..are you blind?????

However, no big mamak restaurant can keep up to my favorite 'SUP HAMEED' stall. The weather was quite bad today with a few 'spitting sessions' but was just right for a soup day. I ordered just a normal sup kambing and nothing fancy-smancy.

I'm really not into eating 'other' parts of an animal besides just its meat. No tails or testicles or brains or what ever part you can think of will be the same as just the plain meat!

Normally, the soup is served with 2 slices of bengalli bread but i had a craving for roti telur. It wasn't the best i must say but the soup sure was!

Exams ohh how i love them..NOT

2007-05-26T11:11:00.001+09:30

EXAMSS!!!! i never seem to get away from them..year after year after year..seems like a never ending journey. Now you know why i haven't been updating my blog. i've been cooped up in my room. And as all of u know.. when i have exams, i REALLY get very stressed up. AND not to forget i make EVERYONE around me stressed out too. My parents and of course my lovely sister are so used to it by now that before i can tell them what's wrong they'll have answers to my problems
example: for my last exam i called home and dad picks up

ko: hello ( sounding all down)

Before i could say anything

dad: ko! i've got a stomach ache, i have a headache, i feel like vomiting, i'm going to fail , I can't do this anymore

U see my dad is a strong believer in reverse psychology.. and to tell u the truth..it did work..cause i just burst out laughing :)

Normally, i'll cook or bake when i get really stressed up but won't eat it after. But i haven't been doing much of either as there's no one to eat my lovely master pieces. I get into my 'moods' of either binge eating or not eating AT ALL. But for now i'm in my binging mood and just eat everything in sight especially chocolates. besides that, for those of u who know me well, u would know that i have weird cravings at weird times and guess what? It's worst during exams! i had instant noodles at 7am yesterday for breakfast. So people when you see me home in a week don't be surprise to see me with my tomato looking face!

i live with 2 other medical students and all of us are having exams at the same time..so u can imagine the house.The house never sleeps! when one sleeps at 3 am you can hear the other one in the shower getting ready to start her day. And not to forget , everyone is high on caffeine!

For all of you who are reading this and having exams too..good luck and you'll be needing this !

I'll end my post with this poem courtesy of Monica

Now I lay me down to study,
I pray the Lord I won't go nutty.
If I should fail to learn this junk,
I pray the Lord I will not flunk.

But if I do,don't pity me at all;
Just lay my bones down in the study hall.
Tell my teachers I did my best.
Then pile the books upon my chest.

Now I lay me down to rest,
And pray I'll pass tomorrow's test.
If I should die before I wake,
That's one less test I'll have to take.

- Unknown-

Mother's day dedication!

2007-05-15T18:30:00.000+09:30

This post is dedicated to all the mothers who read my blog and especially to my mom!
I can't remember the last time my sister and i celebrated mother's day with our lovely mother. We've been away from home for so long :( And its always times like this that we miss home the
most.

On Sunday, the celebration had to go on even though our special guest 'our mom' wasn't present. The day started off with the tradition- breakfast in bed. My sister and i made banana pancakes topped with melted hazelnut chocolate paste and had it all for ourselves *wink*

It was a bright and sunny day and a really good change compared to the cold gloomy weather we had the past week. And as i wrote in my old entry, we went APPLE PICKING!!!!

It was arranged by our malaysian medical student society in Mt Lofty. The scenic view on the way up Mt Lofty was breath taking. We headed up to the orchard in the afternoon.

The orchard had all the types of apples anyone could ever imagine. We broke up into little groups and headed out with buckets in our hands to pick the lovely apples.

We wandered through the 200 acre orchard,breathing the crisp fall air while eating and trying the apples off the trees. The best part it, you get to eat as many apples as you want and get to try it fresh off the tree!

Before we even picked our apples, we already had big plans for them..we made a list throughout the past week of lovely recipes that we could make.

By the time we reached the end of the orchard, trust me all of us were sooo sick of apples..hehe We kept eating away and had to practice our quality control skills on the apples.

The tree's were not that tall, but there were ladders to pick the hard to reach ones. I've been strawberry , raspberry and of course picking our local malaysian fruits but never apple picking! It was a good experience.

After picking our apples, a few of us headed over to my house to have a dessert party and a catch up session.We've all been so busy in different hospitals and its so easy to lose touch with people. Guess what the main ingredients were in all our items...APPLES + LOVE.

We made the boys core the apples and cut them and we did the easy job of putting the ingredients together. We made a delicious apple pie, chocolate apple brownies, apple and cinnamon waffles and the spice apple cake again since everyone loved it the last time. I'll put up all the recipes soon when i have the time.

And of course all these sinful desserts were made specially for all our mother's back home in malaysia and for Mindi, Dubai.But were eaten up by us. Happy mother's Day Ma. We love you!

Instant clay pot chicken rice

2007-05-12T09:24:00.000+09:30

This is yet another easy and quick meal. My final exam for my obstetrics and gynecology rotation is just around the corner. Therefore, with limited time on my hands for my meals and trying to eat healthy (i've been good k, been trying my best to avoid instant noodles and leaving that as my last resort) i decided to make 'clay pot chicken rice' but in the microwave.

Ingredients
2 breast fillets
1 1/2 cups rice
Vegetables of your choice
1 tsp oil garlic and ginger
2 tbs oyster sauce 2tbs soya sauce
1 tsp black pepper
2 eggs
2 cut red chilies
5 pieces of dried fish
Fried onions for garnishing

Start of by cooking your rice in the microwave on 'power high" for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut your chicken up into cubes. You can use any part of the chicken you like. My sister and i only like the taste and texture of breast fillets so that's what we use in our cooking.

Cut your vegetables up too. I used mushrooms, broccoli and carrot.

Place 2 tsp of oil, garlic and ginger in a small bowel and power heat it for 1 minute. Add the garlic, chicken ,seasonings and your remaining ingredients into your rice and cook it for another 10 minutes. Add your egg , in the last 2 minutes before your rice finishes cooking. CABOOM ! your dinner is ready to be eaten.

i cheated a bit when i cooked this time. i'm quite fussy about my chicken being cooked really really well and without a chickeny(i don't even know if its a word) smell. If you know what i mean. Therefore, i precooked the chicken with the seasoning and then added it in.

Try it !

Apple Frenzy !!!!!

2007-05-09T21:06:00.000+09:30

The theme for the week is ..*drum roll please* APPLES! I love apples.

They're soo crunchy,convenient and make good pick-up and run snacks. Did you know that almost half of the vitamin C content of an apple lies under its skin, so it’s good to eat the skin as well.We're going apple picking this sunday with our university's Malaysian Medical Student society.. Soo excited :) Even my sister who's not a medical student is coming.. So i foresee everyone in the house being so sick of apples by next week.

My equally 'crazy over food+food blogs+ food magazine' housemate, Monica and I were in a baking mood today. We had a few apples sitting in our fruit basket and we wanted to make way for the apples that we're going to pick on Sunday.

Even though we had a really long day in hospital today, our spiced apple cake just made our day!
I found this recipe last year when i got in to my 'apple mood' last year from winosandfoodies
Its soooo easy to make and it turned out soo moist and fluffy.

All you need to make this scrumptious spiced apple cake:

125 grams butter
225 grams cooked apple
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each - nutmeg,allspice,salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sultanas

Cut the apples into small cubes. Melt the butter and add the apples and sugar in a big pot.
Cook it till it caramelizes and let it cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, Sift all the dry ingredients and add your egg to it. Next, pour your dry ingredients into your cooked apple.

Add sultanas to the mixture.I omitted the sultanas as i'm not a big fan of it and added crush almonds to it.

Bake at 16oC for about 50 minutes.Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve and ice cream. Everyone in the house is on a so called 'diet' so a BIG NO to ice cream for us :(

One person can make a difference

2007-05-06T14:16:00.000+09:30

“One person can make a difference” John Fitzgerald Kennedy quotes (American 35th US President (1961-63)

I really like this quote, and think it’s true. Think about it, Mother Teresa whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after started off on her own and made a difference.

The quote was reiterated last night when I watched the biggest (with a production budget due north of $250 million) and longest (clocking in at 139 minutes) and quite possibly the capper of a trilogy featuring the current talent lineup, "Spider-Man 3. Just like Superman, he saved many lives and made a difference on his own.

Anyway, back to reality, i personally feel one person can make a difference. When you’re down and a close friend lends a shoulder to cry on or even just a few philosophical phrases from your parents can brighten up your day. A cup of coffee and cake and lots of gossip with a girlfriend can turn your day 360 degrees around.

Listening to your mom or dad laugh over the phone or even say they’re really proud of you can make you all warm and fuzzy inside..now u can’t deny that.

It may sound bizarre but even a stranger can make a difference to you. When you’re walking down the gloomy road after along day at work and feel that you’re all alone in a foreign world and all of a sudden a passerby gives you a warm smile..it really does wonders!

What about things? Hmmph.. I sure know what makes me happy and almost every girl…Its definitely NOT men..its CHOCOLATE!

Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don’t need an appointment! I can’t imagine life without chocolate..its like a beach without water.

Another thing that makes me really happy and never fails to brighten up my day when I’m stressed out is the market. Only dry ones of course!

The market here is a cornucopia in everyway. The wide spectrum of colours of fresh fruits and vegetables.

People from all walks of life walking around.

Kids with their faces painted playing hide and seek in between the stalls or just tugging onto their mother’s skirts and good music playing in the background by unknown musicians who have big dreams of making it big one day.

The scene of old lovely couples walking down the aisle holding hands choosing fresh grapes and strawberries which has been part of their routine for maybe the past 30 years together never fails to intrigue me.

And not to forget smell of fresh bread lingering in the air and familiar smells of char keoy teow when you walk past the food court. Aahh how can anyone not like the market.

so wat makes you happy ?

Simple and quick chicken rolls

2007-05-03T20:40:00.000+09:30

After being on call for 24hours for my O&G rotation, my whole system was screwed. My poor little tummy was doing back flips throughout the night. I was hyper though when i got home in the morning. A little adrenalin from the pregnant ladies in labour sneakily sipped into me i guess. i felt great and felt like i could go on for another 24 hours without sleep. However, once my heavy head hit my large fluffy pillow, i was in zzz land faster than my preparation of my 2 min instant noodles. When the little princess woke up all she wanted was a yummy but quick dinner!

My freezer was over packed with chicken and i decided to make a simple chicken roll.
Ingredients

-A packet of Lebanese bread rolls
-2 chicken breast
-2 table spoons of 'tikka masala'
-2 tablespoons of fresh yogurt
-lettuce
-salsa dip

Just marinate the chicken breast with the tikka masala and yogurt for about 10 minutes and grill it. I have a grilling hot pan which i used and grilled it for about 10minutes.

i was in the mood for something with a little spice kick and used tikka masala but you can grill your chicken anyway you like it.

Next , cut the chicken into thin strips and put aside. Spread a little salsa and yogurt onto your Lebanese bread and decorate it with fresh lettuce and tomatoes or what ever u wish like adding and not to forget your chicken.

The hardest part of this roll is actually rolling it up. A little tip that i have picked up along the way is to roll is up in foil and it STAYS!

I'm a really clumsy person and the kind that can not eat a proper yiros without half of it ending up on the floor and this works miraculously.

I can't eat my dinner without vegetables and decided to use up my asparagus . I just pan-fried it with olive oil and pepper and it went well with my rolls.

These rolls are really easy to make and a good pick-up and run lunch meal. Try adding cheese and grilling it with your favourite filling..yummylicious is all i can say.

Cocktails Galore

2007-05-01T15:26:00.000+09:30

Have you ever wondered how cocktails came about? I was just really curious and did a little delving around and found out that the term "cocktail" was first used in the village of Elmsford in Weschester County, New York after a local bar ran out of stirrers and resorted to use a cock's tail feathers to stir the drink and that’s how the name cocktail came about. Funny ain’t it

My dear friend in med, hooi wen decided to celebrate her birthday and catch up with us over cocktails last Friday at a cocktail bar called Distill.

Distill has a classy lounge atmosphere with superior cocktails I must say. It’s very chilled and conveniently situated on Rundle street and is well known for as an ‘after work stop’ especially among the young doctors from RAH. So single girls out there who want a handsome young doctor, you know where to go now ;)

They have a wide ,very exquisite range of cocktails. The funny thing about the menu was how they had little tiny prints under each drink about how so called healthy the main ingredient of the cocktail is. Example : Passion fruit is high in vitamin A, which helps vision and building strong and healthy bones.

My first drink was called Del Mar. I really love anything to do with passion fruit and when I saw this on the menu—I HAD to have it .After taking a sip of the cocktail—an image of having a refreshing cocktail under the Caribbean sky and enjoying the lively entertainment in the popular Aruba clubs and bars came to my mind..If only I was in the Caribbean’s and not in Lil ‘old Adelaide .

And yes.. it is really a flaming passion fruit pulp and not my camera playing up. The flame is to caramelize the sugar placed in it and you’re suppose to tip it over to add a little sweet effect to the drink and trust me you really do need what ever sweetness you can get.

Another one of my favorites was a cocktail called Viper room. I’m not a strawberry person. Well let s put it this way, I love fresh strawberries but hate anything else with it for example strawberry ice cream or sweets. This drink contained red bull, black vodka, strawberry liquor and mulberry jam! It sounds like a weird combo right?.. but it tasted really nice! I strongly recommend it if u’re a strawberry lover

All in all it was a great night out after a stressful week in the hospital. OH and the bartenders were quite cute too J

A point to remember girls, cocktails can make you high very fast if u have a low tolerance rate- certified by my dad ( I called home the next day to tell dad all about it and the first thing he said was- BE careful with cocktails k it seems harmless and refreshing but its NOT )

Welcome to my blog

2007-05-01T15:21:00.000+09:30

Hiee everyone! i don't know what made me start and create this blog but i have. What can i say, i get into my 'moods' and this is my current obsession. Hopefully , ill keep it alive and keep all of you updated with my life here in Adelaide. I've realised that im really hopeless at keeping in touch and replying mails as i hate mass emails and like sending personalized emails but take ages to reply them.

So hopefully this will help and do keep those emails coming and i promise ill reply them as soon as possible.