My love for Pineapple Tarts and Kuih Bangkit

Lately, I have had a craving for some traditional Chinese New Year cookies such as pineapple tarts and kuih bangkit. These are about the two things I binge on during the festive season.

So now that I'm more familiar with baking and using the oven on a regular basis, I decided to embark on a baking journey on CNY cookies! Big G is the best place to learn and search for good recipes and there is always a risk in trying out a not-so-good one. The tip is to read the comments on what others had experienced and not repeat their mistakes. These days, people used Big G for anything and everything, from finding recipes to looking for payday loans!

After a long search, I found a couple of pineapple tart recipes and decided to give it a go. I bought two big ripened Queensland pineapples from Crisp on creek at $6 and started cooking the pineapple filling. I had heard from my mom that this was a tedious process. I did it anyway. Tedious can be a nice challenge. When the pineapple filling was done, I moved on to the pastry which I was most frightened of. You would only know if it is a success when it's baked and by then, you have to live with your mistakes. Know what I mean. A bit different from cooking the pineapple filling. You can adjust the moisture and end result.

To cut the story short, my first experience with pineapple tarts was a huge success! I was so happy that they turned out so well... according to DH, better than what we got from those we bought previously. I am so delighted that I won't need to order or buy any more pineapple tarts from anyone next time... it's such a nice feeling to eat your own 'masterpieces'!

I went on to try out kuih bangkit two days later. The 1st time was a flop because I used a tin of coconut cream that was reduced fat and had a fat content of only 23%. After reading many comments and doing my research, I used another recipe and lo and behold, they were perfect!

It's been two weeks since I first made these goodies and I'm on to my second batch.... What an amazing baking journey! I'm loving it!

My Green Tea Dacquoise and Orange Almond Cake

I'm sorry that I haven't been posting photos of my baking and cooking... due to the big file size of the photos, it takes long time just to upload them and sometimes, I just have to hurry off to my next task.

Here are some photos of my green tea dacquoise and orange almond butter cakes. My yuzu chiffon cake photo is still in my iPhone and I will copy them the next time. I haven't been on my iMac much these three weeks as my little man tends to 'share' my computer in the afternoons. Maybe we should look into some cheap desktops and get one for him so that he won't need to use mine. Then again, there are already five computers in this mini home office so I don't think we should add one more!

Gotta go for now... I'm gonna whip up a chocolate souffle on this cold winter's night... definitely a nice comfort food on a cold Saturday night!

Baking and More Baking from OKASHI

So I found a new love - baking :) This started since I got hold of Keiko Ishida's Okashi and I'm loving those yummy recipes everyday!

The oven is sending out nice fragrance of butter cakes and chiffon and it's a nice feeling for me. Yesterday I made another yuzu chiffon cake for DH's aunt and it turned out better than the previous :) I'm still awaiting my yuzu juice in the post and soon, I'll be able to use the pure yuzu juice for my baking :) I'm also trying to order the yuzu concentrate from Singapore. Can you see how crazy I am when I'm passionate about something... it's just so fun whipping up those delicious cakes from home! The best thing about this whole baking frenzy is that, I never know I can bake pillowy soft chiffon! I am so glad I have learned how to bake this delicate cake :)

IN the last few weeks, I had baked green tea dacquoise (little french cakes), japanese milky madeleines, orange almond butter cakes...etc. They all turned out very well though DH didn't like the rough texture of the butter cake. For me, the orange peel in the cake was refreshing and I love it. I could eat that because it was loaded with lots of butter! It was a light butter cake that was refreshing and the apricot glaze was so appetizing!

So much about cakes, I ought to be checking out some information on auto lifts for DH while he's enjoying Cars 2 with my little man. He had waited so long to watch this with his little friend and I hope they have a great time!

Cooking, Eating and Experimenting in Brisbane

Both hubby and myself love food and discovering a good place for dinner has become a real novelty since we moved to Brisbane. In the first couple of months, DH insisted that we go to Sunnybank for Asian meals at least once a week. But after a few disappointments, we decided to stop.

Like they always say, it's always good to ask the locals when in doubt. After speaking to more 'locals', we have discovered few good makan places in Brisbane. One of them is Pine and Bamboo who serves very good Peking duck which cost only $55 for two courses. We like the crispiness of the duck and its owner is a Hong Kong gentlemen name Bill Wong. You can see him cutting up the duck in most dinners esp weekends.

Last week, we had dinner in a Shanghainese restaurant after a friend told us about its yummy dumplings. We had the Mui Choy Kau Yok and it was heavenly! We agreed that it tasted better than the ones in Msia and it was very nicely done. Though it's made of fatty pork, it didn't make us feel 'yucky' after eating. But after eating all these good food, I might need to check out adapexin-p for my waist sake!

This week, I tried out a few new recipes - Mini bacon/cheese quiche with sweet potato, mini rack of lamb, cheese brownies and sambal tumis seafood. So far, all the cooking attempts turned out very well and it motivates me to want to cook more!

We are heading to Toowoomba tomorrow to spend some time with my cousin and the boys are going to have a nice time together. And yes, holidays for Clayton had begun!

Work At Home Mom & Food

In our home, we eat in on the weekdays and the kitchen is closed on the weekends. This arrangement can be tiring if you work at home mom cos you need to set aside at least an hour or more to prepare dinner for the family.

As such, I look forward to weekends as that's a break for me and I can indulge in my favourite foods. These days, we avoid going to mega malls and we prefer to go to neighbour ones to get all our necessities. Being stuck in traffic or driving in circles for a parking lot is never too fun and it's time consuming too.

These days, there are two favourite hunts that we frequent. One is situated near Aman Suria called Betty's Mid West Kitchen and the other is WaterLily in Tropicana. Betty serves very yummy pork ribs at the most affordable prices. We love the homestyle cooking and casual environment... nice people too. No frills and just good food.



Salad with BBQ Squid



BBQ Beef Pasta at WaterLily

WaterLily serves contemporary Balinese food which is affordable and good. The BBQ beef and chicken are my favourite plus the satay lilit. WaterLily also serves western dishes with a balinese twist while the local Balinese dishes remain the popular favourites with their diners. Be warned that portions are quite huge so you may want to order to share.

With all the meaty dinners on the weekends, I may need to start looking at fat burners if I don't exercise enough. So I'm stopping here to head to my rebounder for a good bounce and oh yes, the mid term school holidays are here again and there'll be no more rest for the work at home moms :(

japan hotels, hong kong hotels and hari raya holidays

In a way, I was looking to the long holidays this Hari Raya but then my schedule seems to be fuller than usual so I guess it's not so much of a 'break' for me.

As far as my little kiddo is concerned, he's the happiest person in the house this holiday season. He slept in for a couple of days, put on his sun cap and went swimming in DH auntie's new condo and spent lots of time in front of the tellie.

I'm still comparison accommodation hotels for our Hong Kong trip since the Tokyo and Osaka accommodation have been confirmed. I have picked the Somerset Roppongi in Tokyo and Swissotel Nankai in Osaka for our Japan family trip after all that travel research, travel reviews and comparison. Do not expect accommodation hotels to be cheap if you want to travel comfortable as a family but for solo travelers or indie travelers, budget accommodation rates is definitely possible.

I'm still hoping to pick the right accommodation hotel in Hong Kong though I've reserved for Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay. I feel the urge to be near the Victoria Harbour and my foodie DH would probably like to stay in Kowloon island more than Hong Kong island, tho I personally prefer the latter. There are heaps of accommodation hotels in Hong Kong itself but to find spacious rooms in Hong Kong lodging, you better be prepared to pay a little more.

For now, here are some of my foodie shots in Klang's famous Pai Kuat restaurant - we went there 2 times in a week - it is super duper cheap and good!

another great day at the Taman Tun River Stream

The weather has been less than perfect these couple of weeks. As such, we haven't taken Clayton to the Taman Tun Park much. Today, we promised him that we would take him and he was so happy. He was still hopeful that the Taman Tun Park plan would still be valid even when it started storming at 3pm. Children are so full of faith.

At 4.45pm, the rain had already stopped and strangely, he fell asleep on his own on the floor downstairs... while watching the TV sitting on the LCD mount. We had to wake him up since the weather was cool and it looked like a nice day to be at the river stream in Taman Tun park.







Yes, we had fun and it was nice shooting pictures in the outdoors, though I kinda wished the sun was not sheltered by the clouds. Dinner at Yau Tak Teng was extremely delicious today that Clayton had a full bowl of rice!

loving eggs n things at waikiki!

Whenever it comes to food during our vacation, we tend to be easy and flexible. After a few months of research from travel guides and websites, I heard about this fabulous place for breakfast - Eggs N Things.



We finally found our way there yesterday morning to discover a queue outside the shop. It was great that it was only 5-10mins walk from our hotel so we didn't take too long to find the place. One peek at the shop and you know that these people are there for some real American breaky. The pancakes arrived in stacks and the fluffy omelettes in a plate full, topped with either rice, potatoes or buttermilk pancakes. It was hard to find a table with no leftovers - I mean, the portion was seriously big enough to feed a hungry family! In this place, people don't talk about corporate performance management or whatsoever, you can tell they are only ready to pig out!

For some reason, every tourist or local seems to know the reputation of this infamous breakfast joint!





We are certain that this won't be our first and last visit... in fact, we were there again for lunch today. So if you are in Waikiki, be sure to check out Eggs 'n Things!

gurney drive at The Gardens

To those who crave for real Penang local fare but can't travel to Penang... take heart cos there's a new Penang joint in town that has opened up at the Gardens, the new wing next to Mid Valley Mall. Gurney Drive is an upmarket hawker fare restaurant. Upmarket because you will be paying nothing less than $10 for a bowl of Duck Drumstick noodles (ngap toi min) and $6 for a bowl of chendol. Believe it or not but 3 pieces of popiah will cost $15 (or was it $12) and $16 for a plate of Loh Bak.

Well, we tried it anyhow since it was my birthday lunch. The restaurant is huge and packed with corporate and entertainment crowd. It's not cheap for an executive or average waged worker to eat here though...

I must say that the quality of food is quite good though the prices are on the steep side. I know the Penangites will be comparing and wondering why people are paying 2-3 times the amount for a bowl of local fare but for those who live and work in KL, you may treat this as a lunch treat at the beginning or end of the month.





I had the Ngap Toi Min Sin and truly enjoyed the light herbal broth. The Loh Bak was freshly fried and one bite and you knew they were made of quality ingredients. DH had the Sar Hor fun which he commented was quite 'nice'. The Poh Piah wasn't that great for that price and DH claimed the Chendol was a refreshing treat.



So if you are desiring for some real Penang fare, now there's an option to Penang village and Little Penang. Check out Gurney Drive.

craving for JCo. Donuts

All of us have cravings for certain foods from time to time. Lately, I have a strong cravings for JCo. Donuts since they opened its doors at the Pavilion. See, I'm not so much a donut fan when the ones at JCo. are mouth-watering and yummy.

Couple of Sundays ago, I took Clayton to Pavilion with the main intention of buying some JCo. Donuts. The queue wasn't that bad though I had to wait in line for 20 minutes. And if you had waited for 20 minutes, it wouldn't make sense to buy 3 right? So, I bought half a dozen and another half for my good friends, Dexter and Kim. The variety was great at JCo. Donuts but most of all, they tasted heavenly! Funny that I won't queue for the ones in Singapore but I'd queue for this one!



Last Sunday, I went to Pavilion with the hope to buy some but this time, I was put off by the queue... I wasn't that greedy then. Now that I'm writing about it, the craving is here again :(

yummy japanese food at Sushi Zanmai

Calling all fans of Sushi Tei in Singapore, you can now enjoy the yummy sushi, sashimi, hand rolls and bentos at Sushi Zanmai at The Gardens, Mid Valley City. While searching for a lunch venue last weekend, we stopped by to check out the menu at the entrance. Being a regular patron of Sushi Tei, I noticed that the menu looked similar. After a quick confirmation with the staff, I found out that I was right and we grabbed a table right away.



We were amazed that the prices in the menu were so reasonable. It was almost dollar to dollar with Singapore. In other words, in Singapore, I would pay $16 for an Unagi bento and in KL, the same dish is RM16! Wow! What savings :) DH ordered an appetizer to try. It was his treat that day. This cuttlefish wasabi didn't look that appetizing but it tasted ok, a bit slimy though. I still like my sukiyaki set... the raw beef was served separately so you cooked it when you were ready. I thought that was nice. That way, the beef won't be overcooked in the broth.



The sushi selection was nice too but we only tried the avocado roll. Before I could snap a photo of it, DH had already helped himself with sushi :( So next time, when you are at the Gardens and are craving for affordable and yummy Japanese food, check out Sushi Zanmai.

thinking of my caesar salad

I'm looking forward my regular caesar salad at Delicious this coming weekend. This is one place we frequent every other weekend and I can tell DH is already getting bored. But there are just too many of my favourite dishes found here - caesar salad, smoked duck pasta, lamb shank and the ultimate chocolate brownie! If you haven't been to Delicious then you probably won't know what the crowd is like on the weekends. But somehow, the wait is short and you will be seated at the table quite fast. Oh dear, why am I thinking about food at this hour? It must be that strong desire to put on those extra kilos :P

expensive gourmet burgers at Carl's

Last week, I mentioned that DH and myself paid RM50 for two Carl's Junior burgers - that was shocking! Actually I wouldn't mind eating gourmet burgers or expensive burgers once a while as long as they were worth it or tasty but the Carl's Junior ones at One U were disappointing. Imagine, a family of three would end up paying more than RM50 for 3 burgers and for that price, you can have a complete meal in a restaurant like TGIF or Italiannies.

my first baking class with Catherine

These are the shots taken during my first baking class with Catherine Lau a week ago. There was two days ago on light fruit cake but I couldn't find the time to spend 4 hours in the class. Tomorrow is another interesting one on Japanese Cheesecake - yummy! Looks like I just have to wait till my last event is over or maybe I should really make time.



A lady in the class was 'laughing' at me snapping pictures of ingredients, cake and everything else - it sounded like an insult, as if I was "sua koo" - in my heart I was telling myself "what do you know, lady? I'm a blogger!" LOL.



Can you see all the 'auntie auntie' in the class? ya lor, these are the ones who have all the time in the world to attend baking class everyday, even though they already know everything about baking.

let's talk about Chinese foods and cooking

When it comes to food, the Chinese is very particular about ingredients, cooking style and taste. Personally, I find cooking chinese food a lot more work than western dishes - more preparation, more ingredients, longer cooking time...etc. There is one thing that I avoid cooking and that is, soup. Not only does cooking soup takes time, it takes knowledge and efforts - right timing, right herbs, right compliments...etc. But there is one ingredient that is common in chinese soups and there is the goji berry. The Chinese believes that goji berries help to improve eyesight, blood circulation and boost metabolism. Mom always reminds me that those berries can make my eyes sparkle! These days, I even throw a handful of goji berries into my fish porridge to sweeten the taste. Anyone has any experience with cooking with goji berries?

my baking session with Catherine Lau

It was a great session at Catherine's class though at the back of my mind, I kept thinking about my health blog which was down for the whole morning. This was my first time attending a baking class so it was exciting. Catherine's kitchen was professionally organized with stainless steel working top, pots, pans, cake tins, industrial mixer, commerial ovens and lots of cake baking equipment. She was already whizzing away with all the ingredients and preparation when I was there. I could notice that the kichler lighting had lit the class brightly with a homely ambience.

Being a first timer, I was poking my nose with every step and making sure I didn't leave any details out. I could observe that the class was made up of mostly tai tais, those who had nothing to do but to busy themselves with baking and cooking for friends and relatives. I wasn't there for this reason, I just wanted to know how to bake good and moist butter cakes and chocolate coffee cheesecake.

I snapped alot of photos and will post more details along with them once I got them uploaded.

my favourite pastry shop has to be Bakerzin

What better thing to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon than a slice of these heavenly treats from Bakerzin. I don't care what you say but this must be the best french pastries in this region. Chief baker and owner, Daniel Tay (my old friend) gets all the credit for introducing fine French pastries to those who appreciate sweet quality cakes. All these years, Daniel believes in using only the best ingredients including fresh cream, which explains why his cakes are never too rich to savour. I'm craving for a slice now...

for childhood favourite - Kueh Tu Tu

Some of these Singapore local snack foods bring warmth and memories and this is my childhood delight - Kueh Tu Tu. For years, I haven't had it until my last trip to Singapore when I spotted an old fashioned cart store in Food Republic in VivoCity. Tu Tu cake is usually filled with peanut filling or fragrant coconut and the good ones would taste soft and moist. If you haven't tried it before, don't forget to give it a go when you get a chance to visit Singapore.

other benefits of olive oil

Don't think that olive oil is used only in Italian cooking :) It is known as a great skin and hair moisturizer. A research centre in Philadelphia has discovered that olive oil is also a natural painkiller. It can help to reduce the risk of heart attack, strokes, some cancers and Alzheimer's disease. Problem is you can take olive oil to cure a nagging headache but you will need about 43 tablespoons of it to match the strength of a regular adult painkiller. That means you may lose the headache but gain some extra pounds!

the goodness of consuming shitake mushroom

I'm very thankful that Clayton enjoys a variety of vegetable and fruits with a particular liking for mushrooms, jackfruit and rambutans! We eat alot of shitake mushrooms in the house as it is known to contain vitamin B12 and anti-carcinogenic compound. The Japanese eats alot of them and actually Shitake mushroom can be versatile in cooking as compared to other kinds of mushrooms. it is a nice ingredient for steamboat, barbeque, pizza topping, stir fries...etc. Some people eat them raw but I find it a little bland and uninteresting :) Shitake mushroom is also a rich source of friendly bacteria and it contains antiseptic and anti viral properties.