Monday, 30 December 2013

[Day 2] Pear Picking and Hsitou Monster Village, Taiwan

[Xiang Ye Orchard @ Zhuolan (卓兰)]
After a hearty lunch at Yehliu, our day 2 trip continued with pears picking at Xiang Ye Orchard (乡野观光果园), a stopover at Hsitou Monster Village (溪头怪物村) and lodging for the night at Sun Link Sea Resort. And since it takes some traveling time from Yehliu to the first destination most of us on board began to take a short nap in order to refresh ourselves.

One of the benefits of joining tour group is just like what my mum always said; we do not need to worry about the our 3 meals, transport and lodging. We can ease our mind, relax and enjoy the scenery along the way, get to try most of their tourists’ recommended food and stay in at least a 4 stars hotel.

[Xiang Ye Orchard @ Zhuolan (卓兰)]
After about an hour plus of coach ride, we reached our first destination at Xiang Ye Orchard. Although it was drizzling but it did not effect our mood and everyone was still full of excitement to explore the orchard as well as the pear picking.

Thursday, 26 December 2013

[Day 2] Exploring Jiu Fen Old Street and Yehliu Geopark, Taiwan

Day 2 of our Taiwan trip features places like Jiufen Old Street (九份老街), Yehliu Geopark (野柳地质公园) and Hsitou Monster Village (溪头怪物村) where we sit back and enjoyed the coach rides that bought us around the attractions. And moreover going with familiar group of tour mates (almost the same group of people from our previous Taiwan trip) and guide also makes planning of the itinerary much easier during the whole road trip.

[Harbour View Hotel, Keelung] Breakfast Buffet Spread

Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Blueberry Lemon Streusel Muffins

I always wanted to try making this type of streusel muffins which I often come across in cafes like Starbucks, Paris Baguette and etc which cost around SG$4 each. And what attracts me most is that top layer of golden crispy buttery streusel topping which contrast well with the soft and moist exterior of the cake.

Moreover homemade muffins actually does not require much effort and time if you have all the ingredients ready in your pantry as what you have to do is just stir, mix and bake. So why not join us to bake a tray of this Blueberry Lemon Streusel Muffins for afternoon tea or breakfast which I bet you will love it just as much as we do.


BLUEBERRY LEMON STREUSEL MUFFINS


For this recipe is quite similar to the previous one that I did for the Chocolate Chip Muffins but instead I replace about half of the plain flour with organic wholemeal flour for a healthier version (if you could replace with all wholemeal flour will be better). On top of that if you prefer a stronger lemon fragrant, you can also add in 1 whole lemon zest instead of ½ into the cake batter.

Monday, 23 December 2013

One-For-One Main Menu Item @ Erwin's Gastrobar, Marina Bay Link Mall

[Erwin's Gastrobar] Fish Fingers
Festive season is always a great time to catch up with some old friends whom we seldom get a chance to meet during the year. So last week I managed to meet up with one of my girlfriend who work around Marina Bay Financial Centre area and we had a great lunch over at Erwin’s Gastrobar which is located on the ground level of Marina Bay Link Mall.

[Entertainer App] One-For-One Deal
While sourcing our lunch venue using the Entertainer App, I managed to find a good 1-for-1 deal at Erwin’s Gastrobar which is just a few minutes walk from her office.

Friday, 20 December 2013

[Christmas Bake] Cranberry Almond Shortbread And Christmas Donuts

Christmas is just another 4 days from now and I am sure most of you are busying with the festive bakes such as Christmas Fruit Cake, Fruit Mince Pie, Gingerbread Man, Christmas Stollen and etc to share as gifts for friends or serve them together with the festive feast. Here with our recipe collaboration with Bake King, we have another two Christmas Bake ideas which might comes in handy for your last minutes bake too.

Shortbread is one of my favourite cookies to enjoy with a cup of freshly brewed tea and in order to make some good quality of shortbread it is very important to use quality butter and pure vanilla extract to enhance the taste. Furthermore you can have different flavour and texture by adding cocoa powder, espresso powder or lemon zest plus a small amount of cornflour to the all-purpose flour to achieve that melt-in-your-mouth shortbread.

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

[Wordless Wednesday] 3 Cup Chicken - 三杯鸡

Three Cup Chicken - 三杯鸡


3 CUP CHICKEN
三杯鸡



(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
1/2 Portion of Chicken, cut into bite size
50g Fresh Ginger, sliced
Handful of Thai Basil Leaves (九层塔)
2 - 3 Dried Chilli (辣椒干), soaked till soften

Monday, 16 December 2013

[Day 1] Our Family Trip to Taiwan 2013

Our recent family trip to Taiwan in June (2013) was rather impromptu because when I received the itinerary I was quite hesitate to go.  Is like base on what I read through, almost half of the "attractions" mentioned were those that we had already visited during our 1st Taiwan Trip in  2010. But to think about it, going for a long trip with mum's siblings (uncle liang, aunty lily and her husband)  whom I am close with since young make it still a good reason for us to revisit those places again with them.

So on 13 June 2013, together with twenty over tour mates plus our group of six we begin our journey to Taiwan again.  And since this is a round the island trip, we will be visiting towns like Taipei (台北市), Taichung (台中), Nantou (南投), Kaohsiung (高雄), Taitung (台東), Hualien (花莲) and Yilan (宜兰) during the eight days.

Friday, 13 December 2013

Chocolate Chip Muffins - 巧克力豆松饼

Adding a handful of chocolate chips to the usual vanilla scented muffin batter always turn them into great tea snack. These moist and fluffy delicious muffins can be eaten either warm or at room temperature together with a glass of cold milk or tea. And beside the chocolate chips filling sometime we also love to sprinkle extra chocolate chips or nuts on top of the batter before sending them into the oven.

Wednesday, 11 December 2013

[Wordless Wednesday] Santa Claus Sushi Art Workshop

[Sushi Art Workshop] Santa Claus Sushi Art

[Sushi Art Workshop] Necessary Ingredients

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

Spicy Prawn Fried Rice

Belachan Chilli is one of the Asian condiment which can be used on it's own as dipping sauce or add a small amount to flavour dishes like Sambal Belachan Prawn or Fish. For a “lazy bum” like me who always goes for store bought “instant paste or sauce”, a bottle of ready-made belachan chilli in the fridge definitely makes wonder.

Below is one of the methods where we used Belachan Chilli to flavour shrimp fried rice. As for the spiciness, you can always adjust by adding or reducing the amount of chilli used.

Sunday, 8 December 2013

Jolly Holly Christmas CG Party With PrimaDéli Truffle Log Cake

This festive season PrimaDéli’s has added two new items such as Salted Caramel Log Cake and their mouth-watering Chef’s Supreme Pie to their Christmas collection. And with their range of sweet and savoury treats you can pick your all-time favourite log cakes in any shapes and sizes from either standard design to Santa’s or Winter Wonderland Santa’s Cottage that made from chocolate or vanilla sponge.

Here I would like to thank PrimaDéli’s for the complimentary Truffle Log Cake (SG$36.90 (standard) / SG$47.90 per kg) and Chef’s Supreme Pie (SG$11.90; 16cm) which brings joy and festive atmosphere to our early Christmas cell group party last week.

Above shows their new Salted Caramel Log Cake (SG$36.90 (standard) / SG$47.90 per kg) which is an exquisite creation of layers fluffy vanilla sponge that covered with salted caramel cream and made perfect with an almond spread dotted with crunchy chocolate pearls. Although we didn't managed to sample this but I going to get it for our own Christmas gathering because I am a caramel fans and I am sure it will taste great with the combination ingredients too.

Saturday, 7 December 2013

Orange Chocolate Pound Cake Loaded With Dark Chocolate Chips

I am sure for those who love pound cake there are always one or two safe-keep recipes on hand which you can mix and match for different flavour. For me, Lemon Pound Cake has being my all-time favourite whenever it comes to tea cake but for the post I will be sharing a recipe on Orange Chocolate Pound Cake which is loaded with mini dark chocolate chips.


ORANGE CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE


I made these mini loaves as gifts for friends who love both orange and chocolate flavoured cakes during a Tea Party last week. This orange infused cake is soft, moist and fluffy plus it is loaded with generous amount of mini dark chocolate chips inside out. Although most pound cake recipes called for equal amount of butter, sugar and flour in “1 : 1 : 1” ration but for this recipe I reduce the sugar used to 180g instead of 200g due to the chocolate chips which adds sweetness to the cake too.

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Festive Brunch Menu Using Perfect Italiano Cheese

Christmas is just another three weeks down the road and I am sure most of you are busy with the Christmas menu planning. Here with some complimentary cheese that we received from Perfect Italiano, we decided to whip up some dishes from their “Food Fixes in 15 Seconds” festive menu which features tasty and simple dishes that you can learn in just 15 seconds.

Using the cheese we prepared a 5 Course Brunch Menu shown above with Cheesy Corn Chowder, Parmesan Toast, Cheese Baked Christmas Casserole, Sausage And Mushroom Baked Rice plus Parmesan Pancakes for dessert.

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

[Wordless Wednesday] Our Tea Party With NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto

[NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto] Our family tea party with NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto
[NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto] 3 Latest Tea Specialties

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Banana And Espresso Walnut Muffins

Two weeks ago, I made some Banana And Espresso Walnut Muffins using Nigella Lawson’s Banana Muffin’s recipe whereby I added some extra walnuts and instant espresso coffee powder  to enhance the flavour. I always love Nigella’s recipe which is easy to follow and the ingredients used  are also easily found in our kitchen pantry. Moreover these muffins are so light and fluffy which makes them a great company for breakfast or afternoon snack together with smoothie or hot beverages.

Monday, 2 December 2013

Tim Ho Wan (添好運) @ Hong Kong Station Podium Level 1

Before visiting Hong Kong I have heard so much about their local food as well as one of their well-known dim sum restaurant; Tim Ho Wan which launched their first outlet in Singapore (Plaza Singaura) last year as well as a second branch at Tao Payoh lately. So when we happened to see their outlet at Hong Kong MTR Station (initially we intended to go to their branch at Sham Shui Po (深水埗) but it's too far out from our schedule as we only have limited time before departure), we decided to take the opportunity to try out some of their items since the queue there is definitely shorter than Singapore.

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