Eat.Play.Cook: May 2014

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Cook: Good for cough_Double boiled apple apricot seed soup.

Double boiled apple apricot seed soup

Difficulty: 1/5

Recently, my son has been coughing so i decided to cook this double boiled apple apricot seed soup for him. This is a passed down recipe from my mum. I will cook this whenever my kids have cough and depending on the severity of the cough, one or two doses of this soup will do the trick.

Do give it a try if you or your kids are having cough, after all ,the ingredients are simple, it is easy to cook and no harm drinking some apple/apricot seed soup :)

For the apricot seed, buy the 南北杏 and not the 南杏 or 北杏.

INGREDIENTS:

1. One red apple

2. A handful of 南北杏（apricot seed)

METHODS:

1. Cut the apple into 4 pieces and remove the core of the apple.

2. Place the apple and 南北杏(apricot seed) into a bowl or chinese pot (those used to double boil soup)

3. Add water until it just cover the apple

4. Place the bowl or chinese pot into a big pot and boil for 30 minutes

A handful of apricot seed

The apricot seed (buy the 南北杏 as shown on the packaging)

Cook: Nourishing Black Chicken Essence Soup

Black Chicken Essence

Difficulty: 1/5

Hubby used to cook me this super yummy and nutritious black chicken essence soup during my confinement. Now, occasionally we will still cook this soup to drink but omit the ginseng. It is very nourishing and rejuvenating especially during the days when I am tired from taking care of the kids :) Plus , it is super delicious too!

INGREDIENTS:

1. One Black Chicken (cut to small pieces)

2. 1/4 teaspoon of pao shen powder (泡篸粉）

3. A teaspoon of DOM Liquor (optional)

METHODS:

1. Place 1/4 teaspoon of pao shen powder into a big bowl.

2. Place a small bowl inside the big bowl (as shown in picture)

3. Place the black chicken pieces on top of the small bowl

4. Cover the big bowl with a big plate (as shown in picture)

5. Put everything into a big pot and steam for 1 hour

6. After the bowl has cool down slightly, remove the plate and the black chicken.

7. Then, remove the small bowl and the chicken essence will flow out :)

8. Enjoy!

1/4 teaspoon of pao shen powder inside a big bowl

Place a small bowl inside the big bowl

Place black chicken on top of small bowl

Place a plate on top of the big bowl

Friday, May 30, 2014

Eat: Long Beach,IMM

Date Visited: 27th May 2014 (Tuesday)

It is school holidays now!!! :) Despite everyone's busy schedule during this school holiday, my mum and sis manage to find time to come visit me in Spore. We went to Long Beach at IMM for dinner the first night they were here.

Initially, we wanted to visit the branch @ Dempsey but it is a little too late to make reservation so we went for IMM branch instead.

Entrance to Long Beach, IMM

We ordered cereal prawn, special roast chicken, famous chilli crab and spinach in trio eggs. Overall, the food is good but not as good as the branch in Dempsey.

1. Cereal prawn: This dish is yummy and tasty but the cereal was not crispy enough, it is slightly soggy.

Cereal prawn, $44

2. Special Roast Chicken- this dish is very yummy, chicken is roasted well, skin is crispy and meat is soft, coupled with their special powder dip, i couldn't find fault with the chicken.

Special Roasted Chicken, $38

3. Famous Chilli Crab- we were a little disappointed with the chilli crab. The chilli crab sauce is not as thick and tasty as what we had before @ Dempsey branch.

Famous Chilli Crab, $63

4. Spinach in trio egg- this dish is nice, something light to the palate.

Spinach in trio egg, $27

Lemon tea water to wash hand

Overall, the food at IMM Long Beach is still all right but the branch at Dempsey definitely fare better. Do note that the branch at IMM does not serve the super yummy durian pudding that is available at Dempsey.

Service is attentive and the manager on duty, Miss Carol Liew is very friendly and that makes our dining experience a good one. The waiter on duty also is very diligent in helping us clear out our dirty plates. Thumbs up for the service.

ADDRESS:

Long Beach@IMM

Level 3, Next to Rooftop Garden

IMM Building

Jurong East Street 21

Singapore 609601

Tel: 6566 9933

OPENING HOURS:

Mon to Friday, Sun, PH: 11am-3pm, 5.45pm-11pm

Sat, Eves of PH: 11am-3pm, 5pm-11pm

Eat: Miam Miam, Westgate

Date Visited: 13th February 2014

Went out for dinner today at westgate. Tried miam miam cause on their window's display, it says that their food is created from scratch.

Wasn't impressed, food is average and portion are small.

I had Riz Noir Black Rice, it is something similar to squid ink paella with some squid and egg. I think it is a little salty, and the portion is very small.

Hubby had Riz Au Curry, technically, is Japanese curry rice with sausage, egg and broccoli. Hubby commented that the taste is not bad, but portion is too small.

My mum had Miam Miam Capellini, it looks really good on the menu. Mum commented that it tasted normal.

We were still hungry after the meal. Saw gelato on one for one offer at the ice cream parlour outside miam miam , had tiramisu and passion fruit flavour ice cream. Yummy!

Riz Noir Black Rice, $17.80

Riz Au Curry, $14.80

MiamMiam Capellini , $15.80, looks nice on the menu, tasted normal

ADDRESS:

Miam Miam @ Westgate

#01-21/22 Westgate
3 Gateway Drive
Singapore 608532
Tel: +65 6837 0301

OPENING HOURS:

Mon-Fri: 11.30am-10pm

Sat, Sun: 11.30am-10pm

Monday, May 26, 2014

Cook: Rice Cooker Chicken Mushroom Rice

Chicken Mushroom Rice

Difficulty: 2/5

As i was busy preparing food for picnic the other day (making apple oatmeal muffin and white bread for our picnic), I decided to make something simple for dinner tonight...

To my surprise, hubby says that this is one of the best dinner he ever had... (he actually had some fried chicken and wrap from KFC before coming home... ) and he still finishes his share of rice for the day. I am really surprise....

INGREDIENTS:
(serves 2)

1. 2 pieces of drumstick thighs

2. 8 small chinese dried mushrooms

3. 1 medium size dried fish maw

4. 2 medium size dried scallops

5. A handful of dried prawn

6. One cup of rice

7. 4 cloves of garlic

Marinate for chicken (MIXTURE A):

1. 3 tablespoon of oyster sauce

2. 3 tablespoon of soya sauce

3. 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce

4. 2 tablespoon of sesame oil

5. Half teaspoon of ground black pepper

METHODS:

1. Cut the chicken thigh into small pieces and marinate them with MIXTURE A for a few hours ( i marinate mine for 5 hours)

2. Soak the mushroom, fish maw until soft and cut them into small pieces

3. Wash the dried prawn and scallops, then soak them in water (i soak for about 2 hours and keep the water)

4. Wash the rice and measure the amount of water required to cook the rice using rice cooker. Pour the water out into a container and put the rinsed rice into a rice cooker.

5. Stir fry garlic until slightly brownish and then add dried scallop and dried prawn. Stir fry until fragrant, then add fish maw and mushroom.

6. Add chicken together with all the marinate sauce(MIXTURE A) and cook until the chicken is slightly opaque.

7. Then add the water from the scallop/dried prawn and water measured from the rice (i discarded some of the water from the rice and compensate them with the water from scallop)

8. Continue stirring for a while until the water boil. Let it boil for about 2-3 minutes then transfer everything to the rice cooker and mix them together.

9. Cook the rice using the rice cooker (using the same setting as cooking normal white rice)

Stir frying in process (before adding the water)

Mixture of meat and rice in rice cooker (before cooking)

Eat: Seafood Galore at Restoran Super Lobster, Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia

Date Visited: 2nd May 2014 (Friday)

Found this gem when we visited Pengerang last year.... The food is consistently good (on the two occasions that we were there).. so re-visit this restaurant again during our recent trip to Desaru.

This restaurant is situated near to the Jade Garden Restaurant , one of the more famous restaurant in Pengerang. It is the row of shops behind the Jade Garden and this restaurant is facing the sea.

This time round, we were not disappointed as well.

These are the dishes that we ordered. Personally, i love the lobster, clams, crab and squid.. it is really very yummy.

Lobster in stewed soup: The flavour of the stew compliment the lobster well and each mouthful of the stew soup taste like heaven.

Stewed soup lobster: RM 128 ( 2 lobster cut in half, so good enough for 4 adults)

lobster (sideview)

Salted egg crab: A nice blend of salted egg with chilli padi adds great taste to the crab. The crab is fried beforehand and it is nice and crispy.

Salted egg crab: RM 54 (one crab)

Fried Mini Squid: the squid is crunchy and the sauce compliments it well

Fried mini squid with BBQ sauce : RM 16

Clams: Nicely done.. with a hint of spiciness

Clams: RM 18

Vegetable: it is the crunchy type, hubby loves it but not to my liking

Vegetable: RM 14

Steamed Hong Gui Fish: the fish is very fresh but i wasn't blown away by it (hubby loves it though)

Steamed Hong Gui Fish: RM 46

ADDRESS:

20, Jalan Siakap, Sungai Rengit,

Pengerang, Johor.

+607-8263699

Cook: Easy Peasy Dried Yee Mee

Dried yee mee (yum yum!)

Difficulty: 2/5

Made some yee mee for breakfast on a Sunday morning before going to church as FIL is in town... and i think he would prefer something savoury rather than having bread for breakfast. This dried yee mee is really easy to make and doesn't take long to prepare plus it is yummy too! You can serve them with any side dishes you like (I served mine with fried egg and nuggets)

INGREDIENTS:
(serve 1)

1. Yee Mee ( I bought this Megah Mee brand from Sheng Siong, a local supermarket)

Sauce:

1. 3 tablespoon of oyster sauce

2. 1 tablespoon of sesame oil

3. a pinch of ground white pepper

METHOD:

1. Boil a pot of water and then cook the yee mee and some vegetable(any green leafy vegetable) until it is soft (about 2-3 minutes)

2. Pour away the water and mix the noodle with the sauce.

3. Serve with your favourite side dishes

The sauce

Eat: Date Night at Spruce@FireStation, Upper Bukit Timah

Date Visited: 12th May 2014 (Monday)

Had a date night with hubby at Spruce.... :) We send the kids to hubby's aunt's house for a few hours to play and it is date night for hubby and me. It has been quite sometime since we had a chance to have dinner on our own , just the two of it so we really treasure when opportunity presented itself :)

Hubby suggested that we try Spruce @ Fire Station .. we passed by this restaurant a few times after church but have yet try it... It is located at the old fire station @ Upper Bukit Timah, next to Springdale condominium and the carpark entrance is located just before the restaurant. Entrance to the restaurant is directly facing the carpark so you won't missed it. They have both indoor and outdoor seating and we chose indoor seats.

View from entrance-there is outdoor and indoor seating

Bar in the middle of the restaurant

Indoor seating

Menu...

After browsing through the menu and read some of the online reviews, i ordered fish and chips while hubby ordered Spruce's Burger with bacon. As there is also happy hour promotion at the time we visited, we had some beer as well.

Happy Hour Timing:
Mon, Tuesday: 3.30pm to midnight
Wed, Thurs, and Friday : 3.30pm-8.30pm, 10.30pm-midnight
EXCLUDING EVE OF PH AND PH

Huge portion of fish and chips , $ 24

Spruce Burger with bacon, love the chips! $20

Look how big is the fish (3 huge pieces)

Virgin Mojito, $12

Overall the food is good. Fish is very crispy and the portion is huge. Hubby enjoyed his burger too, he said it is yummy, the beef patty is juicy and the sauces mixed well with the beef and bacon. And i love the potatoes that comes with the burger, it is a little spicy and the herbs goes well with the potatoes.

I had a mocktail that night as I didnt want any alcohol, and their virgin mojito did not disappoint me. It is very refreshing!

We also had an oreo cheesecake for desserts, it is good as well, it is creamy but not too rich, perfect dessert to end the meal as we were quite full at the end of it.

The price of the food is at the high side but the huge portion kinda makes up for it.

Oreo cheesecake, $12

ADDRESS:

#01-01, 260 Upper Bukit Timah Road,

Singapore 588213.

Tel: +65 6466 5582

OPENING HOURS:

Mon-Thurs: 11.30am-12.30am

Friday: 11.30am-1.30am

Sat: 9am -1.30am

Sun, PH: 9am-12.30am

Bar open till late

Cook: Sinfully good no bake chocolate cheesecake

No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake (First Attempt)

No bake chocolate cheesecake (Second Attempt)

Difficulty: 3/5
Time spend: 30 minutes (excluding refrigeration time)

The first recipe that I am gonna share will be a very very yummy no bake chocolate cheesecake which i adapted from:
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/85/no-bake-chocolate-cheesecake.aspx

I found this recipe online and there are sooo many good comments and reviews from those who had tried.

For all the chocolate lovers, you will definitely love this recipe, the cheesecake is soooo chocolate-y and the steps required to make this cheesecake is very simple and on top of all that, you don't need an oven to make them.

I did some modification in the ingredients to fit my square pan and also to make it less sweet and more chocolate-ty.

I attempted this recipe twice and it is a success on both occasions.

You can keep them in the fridge for up to a week (although it is soooo good that it might not last that long :)))

INGREDIENTS:

Base:

1. 200g digestive biscuit
2. 80g unsalted butter
3. 2 tablespoon of cocoa powder

Cheesecake:

1. 180g of chocolate (i used 113g of Baker's unsweetened baking chocolate bar and top up to 180g with chocolate chip from silver bird)
2. 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
3. 150ml of whipping cream
4. 250g of cream cheese
5. 80g of caster sugar

METHODS:

1. Crush the digestive biscuits and mix well with the melted butter and cocoa powder. Press into a square tray (i used a 205mm x 205mm x 48mm tray) and refrigerate for an hour.

2. Whip cream until stiff peak stage. Add cooled melted chocolate and cocoa powder. Blend well and set aside.

3. Beat cream cheese and sugar until the sugar is well blended into the cream cheese. Fold in cream/chocolate mixture and mix well.

4. Spread the mixture into the square pan on top of the crushed biscuits. Refrigerate overnight and serve. ( I serve mine with blueberry and icing sugar on first attempt and mixed fruits on second attempt)