| New home |
[Sep. 29th, 2011|07:42 pm] |
If the image does not load, visit my new space by clicking here.
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| Get it? :) |
[Sep. 27th, 2011|09:53 pm] |
. Read this in Cantonese . |
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| What's for lunch? |
[Sep. 25th, 2011|07:40 pm] |
That's right! I baked bread today! Gluten-free rosemary beer bread to be exact.
Bread making isn't something I usually bother to attempt. Just thinking about having to manage yeast and the whole kneading and rising process is enough to tire me out. It makes more sense to just head down to Cedele to pick up a loaf. That was until I saw this recipe for beer bread. No need for yeast and the blah - all you need is a can of beer, mix everything up and voila! you look like a culinary goddess with a loaf of freshly baked bread. I was intrigued and attempted a loaf using gluten-free flour this morning.
It really was that easy - you just need flour and a can of beer. Any beer. Mix everything up, pop into the oven for 40 minutes or so, and you end up with warm, crusty bread.
I toasted up a couple of slices and made grilled cheese toast for lunch.
My only problem? I forgot I hate beer *faceplam* When the recipe said Beer Bread, I thought it simply meant you use beer as a clever replacement for yeast. Not that it would taste of beer. Sigh. To be fair, it was good beer bread. The texture of the bread is quite dense and has a great sweet/salty taste with a wonderfully textured crust. I thought it tasted better toasted but I guess that's because I don't really like my bread dense. Toasting makes it a little less "gummy" in my books, and the cheese helped mask a little of the beer flavour. In the end, i ate up the crust and picked off my cheese. Thank goodness, I also made a side of baked broccoli which was delicious.
Recipes below. Attempt only if you like beer. Also, don't use gluten-free flour - I think it makes the bread even more dense.
Beer Bread
You will need: - 3 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- 11/2 teaspoon of salt
- 4 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 can of 12oz beer (I just used one regular can of Tiger beer)
- 3 tablespoon of butter
Preheat oven ot 190 C. Lightly grease a 9 inch loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Pour in beer, and mix until a stiff batter is formed. Scrap dough into prepared loaf pan.
Melt butter and brush across top of dough, and sprinkle rosemary or favourite herbs.
Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean.
Baked Broccoli
You will need: - Broccoli (chopped into bite sized pieces)
- Breadcrumbs (I just use crushed Ritz biscuits)
- Cheddar cheese
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 220 C
Toss broccoli with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add in breadcrumbs and toss well.
Bake for about 8 minutes until broccoli is tender. Top with cheddar and pop back into oven for a couple more minutes.
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| Midnight snack |
[Sep. 24th, 2011|12:01 am] |
One of the best things about Hong Kong is that you can get good food no matter how late. So when we're feeling a little peckish past midnight, we head down to fave supper spot Yuen Kee where it's usually already packed with locals . Everything at Yuen Kee is pretty good and they're well known for their fried beef hor fun. But if you want something totally hard core in the middle of the night, go for the fried instant noodles with black pepper beef. You'll never eat instant noodles any other way again.
Address
27-33 Kimberley Road
Shop 6-10, G/F Wing Lee Building
Tsim Sha Tsui
Related Posts:
The usual, please
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| Loveeees |
[Sep. 21st, 2011|11:00 pm] |
Tokidoki means 'sometimes' in Japanese, but for Tokidoki fans, it means cuteness overload ALL THE TIME! For the uninitiated, Tokidoki is a series of Japanese-inspired characters by pop artist Simone Legno that appears on a wide range of products, like the Tokidoki range of Le Sports Sac products.
Anyhoo, Tokidoki and K11 - an art mall located in Tsim Sha Tsui have collaborated to bring an incredibly cool exhibition to fans in Hong Kong. We are talking huge Tokidoki figures, including a 5-m tall Caesar sculpture that was tailored especially for this exhibition in Hong Kong. Needless to say, we both spent a good part of our evening happily exploring the mall and the very colourful exhibition.
This is what I like about Hong Kong malls. Instead of the cookie-cutter model that many Singapore malls fall victim to with the same 'ol stores no matter where you go, the newer Hong Kong malls try to set themselves apart from each other with quirky features and fresh selling points. K11 brands itself as an art mall so in addition to retail space, a big part of the mall is dedicated to showcasing art works. Besides exhibitions like the Tokidoki collaboration, K11 also has a series of interesting in-house pieces like this Mona Lisa wall mosaic which upon closer inspection was made up of ... 6,000 pieces of toast!
Also worth checking out at K11 are two great spots for dessert and coffee.
The Agnes B Cafe Le Pain Grille is a lovely place to unwind and recharge. The cafe's ambience is all French chic. They serve coffee, sandwiches and a wide variety of cakes. We tried the dark chocolate cake which was good but predictable. The coffee was also nothing to shout about. But this place isn't really about the food but more about hanging out at a stylish cafe - sipping a cup of coffee and reading a book and pretending you're in Paris :)
If you want great dessert, then head on down to Paul Lafayet - a French patisserie in K11. This place is tiny with only 4 counter seats, and more suited for take-outs than dine in.
The Creme Brulee is Paul Lafayet's best seller, and rightly so. I wasn't sure if the creme brulee could handle a couple of hours of shopping so I squeezed onto the counter seats, and ate mine there and then. They are served in clay ramekins (which you can bring home), and counter staff will caramelize the sugar on the spot when you order. The creme brulee was heavenly - the creamy custard was light, not too sweet and perfect with the crispy, caramelized sugar.
The Hubs ordered the pear tart. Meh. No fight once you've tasted the creme brulee. Plus I'm really not a pear dessert person. But here's a pretty shot :)
All in all, K11 is worth checking out if you want something different.
Address
18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Take the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui station, and take the K11 exit.
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| Great weekends are made of these |
[Sep. 18th, 2011|11:49 pm] |
Catching up with a dear friend over a homecooked meal. Cooking does take a little more effort but nothing beats homemade goodness. And I'm beginning to love feeding my favourite people :) Having a leisurely meal and chat with a friend at home is one of the best ways to spend a Saturday afternoon.
. Organic asparagus and spinach quiche .
You will need
Crust (makes 1 9-inch quiche)
1 cup organic flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup organic olive oil
1/4 cup ice water
Mix flour and salt with fork. Beat oil and water to thicken. Pour in flour and mix with fork until you get a breadcrumb like texture. Press into 9-inch pie dish.
Filling
Organic spinach
Organic asparagus
3/4 cup of organic cheddar cheese plus 1/4 cup as topping
2 organic eggs (lightly beaten)
11/2 cup of organic cream (I couldn't find organic cream so I mixed 1 cup of organic milk with 1 cup of organic yogurt)
Organic salt and pepper to taste
Pre-heat oven to 200 C. Pop in crust to pre-bake for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
Blanch asparagus until tender and set aside. Chop up some into small pieces and leave some for placing on top of quiche
Fry spinach until just wilted and set aside
Whisk eggs, stir in cheddar cheese and organic cream and chopped up asparagus
Place spinach at bottom of crust, and then pour in egg/cream mixture, giving a stir to make sure everything is evenly distributed
Arrange asparagus on the top and sprinkle cheese on top
Bake for 35-40 minutes until done.
Let it cool down it little before serving
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Spending my Sunday afternoon with one of the cutest kids around. Of course I may be biased but I think my god-daughter is super cute :) A kid's birthday party is never terribly exciting for adults but it's nice to be invited to share the love. And when it comes to friendships that have lasted through the years, sometimes, it's important to make the effort to just hang out.
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Cooking for the people I love. Did I mention how much I love feeding my favourite people? I was on a roll this weekend. I cooked BOTH lunch and dinner for The Hubs. And I had promised to make pizza for my parents for months but never found the time. Today I managed a special delivery for them - made just the way I thought they would enjoy it - very Chinese with very little cheese. Absolutely worth the effort when my mom loved it.
. Pizza topped with bbq chicken, onions and capsicums .
Click here for recipe for pizza dough
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| World's cheapest Michelin restaurant |
[Sep. 16th, 2011|11:54 pm] |
I never thought we would ever dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant for less than S$15. For the two of us.
Tim Ho Wan is a tiny 20-seater one-star Michelin dim sum restaurant in the Mong Kong area. Headed by a chef formerly from a three-star Michelin restaurant in Hong Kong's Four Seasons Hotel, people can wait up to 3hours just to get in. But the queue system is not that bad. There's a lady that gives out queue numbers at the door, and she tells you the approximate waiting time. So you basically grab a ticket and either wait around outside the restaurant or go shopping and come back at the designated time. We decided to try our luck at 4pm on a Friday afternoon, and got real lucky. We scored a table after 5 minutes *woohoo!*
While the menu isn't extensive and limited to the standard items, dim sum was excellent. The star of the show was the baked char siew pau. It was the perfect combination of the sweet crusty bread of a polo pau and juicy, sweet, tender chunks of char siew. I would have wolfed down all 3 buns all by myself if The Hubs didn't stop me. The other items worth a mention was the spring roll which was deep fried to perfection and stuffed with yummy pieces of beef, and the cheong fun which was amazingly thin and translucent.
In fact, the food was so good that as I am typing this post, I have a sudden urge to fly back to Hong Kong just for more dim sum.
Highly recommended.
Address:
2-20 Kwong Wa Street, Mongkok (* use the Kwong Wa Hospital as your landmark. It's on the street just behind the hospital)
10am - 10pm daily
Get off at Yau Ma Tei, exit A2
Be prepared to wait especially if you have a group of 4 or more - the restaurant is really tiny
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| Little things matter |
[Sep. 15th, 2011|11:08 pm] |
Langham Place has got to be our favourite place to stay when in Hong Kong. A lot of it has to do with its location. Just above the Mongkok MTR station, it's an easy train ride from the airport and you're right smack in the middle of bustling Mong Kok. There are great eateries around every corner open till late, lots of shopping and did I mention a H&M outlet right at your doorstep?
The rooms at Langham are of a good size and we got a fantastic view - great after a long day on the crowded Hong Kong streets. And wonderful for mid-day naps when you need a break.
A big part of Langham's charm also has to do with the little touches which make guests feel right at home. Because we had stayed in Langham before, the check-in staff immediately upgraded us to a bigger room, threw in complimentary breakfast throughout our stay and remembered our room preferences. How's that for starting off the stay on the right foot?
These little touches continue well into the rooms. On top of complimentary wifi Internet access, our room came with an iPhone docking station plus an iPhone4! These phones are to help guests stay connected so they come with a Hong Kong SIM card for free citywide calling, Hong Kong maps and restaurant locators. Incredibly cool.
You also get your own Nespresso machine for that caffeine fix and a menu of pillows to choose from. I also found details such as placing a bottle of water and glass at the bedside table during the turndown service to be very thoughtful. Or that staff takes the trouble to summarise news headlines for use as placemats at breakfast.
Langham Place has taken customer service to a whole new level, and they can certainly count on us returning for another stay the next time we're in Hong Kong. |
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| Possible only when you don't have kids :) |
[Sep. 13th, 2011|09:03 pm] |
This is what happens when I end up working non-stop for more than 24 hours. Sleep deprived and exhausted and feeling very sorry for myself, I checked our schedules, bought the air tickets within days and last weekend, we scooted off to Hong Kong for a couple of days.
When I need a break, I crave Hong Kong. Many people find this very strange. Hong Kong is no relaxing beach resort. On the contrary, it's messy, dusty, crowded and people are always pushing and shoving. But I think for me, Hong Kong is like an old friend. There's a comfortable familiarity so there's no need to think, no need to plan. All you do is hang out and catch up.
So we ate, we shopped and we slept like babies. We went back to our favourite haunts, and we discovered a couple of new gems. My feet are aching as usual but I think we got a pretty good break.
More posts and pics to come.
Related posts:
Screw the shopping ban
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