Matcha Cherry Blossom Chiffon Plus Giveaways

I love Cherry Blossom (Sakura) and it is always my dream that one day I would be able to enjoy a family picnic under the full bloom cherry blossom trees like those Japanese family do during the Cherry Blossom Festival (Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri). Although last year we went Tokyo during November (read more here) which it impossible to see any cherry blossom but we are bless to have Joyce who visited Osaka last week and shared her trip photos with us at Cuisine Paradise facebook page here.

Other than photos she also helps us to loop back some awesome cherry blossom products like Salt Pickled Cherry Blossoms which are pickled in salt and umezu (ume vinegar), Sakura Leaf Powder and etc which I am going to share with TWO lucky readers as our blog 8th Anniversary Giveaway #1. (refer to the participating details at the end of the post)

Cuisine Paradise Turns 7!

Today, 30 April 2012 marks my 2,555 days (7th years) in blogging where Cuisine Paradise turns seven(7). Indeed time flies and it had being 7 years since I started with my 1st recipe post on "Steam Mini Pandan Kueh" with an aim just to share my tried and tested recipes and homecook dishes with friends.

Along the years, I have learn to cook and bake different kind of cuisines, food styling as well as into food photographing.  Despite of the ups and downs during my blogging days, I have get to know many new friends who share the same interest either from cooking, baking or photographing.

And to all readers of Cuisine Paradise, I hope I am enable to enlighten you with more improvements from my post and style of preparing the food(cooking/baking) through different stages of my project themes. Here I would like to sincerely voice out my appreciations and thoughts for those who has supported Cuisine Paradise during all these years. Thanks for all your feedback, comments and thoughts which enable Cuisine Paradise to achieve what it has today. Without all your supports and spread of words, Cuisine Paradise would not able to achieve up to 1.8 million page view (since June 2011 till date) and currently having about 150,000+ visitors per month.

Below are some of the flashbacks from Cuisine Paradise over the years:-

MOST POPULAR RECIPE

Avocado Chicken Parmigiana

With over 110,000 pins via from "Pinterest" and a total of 150,000+ Pageviews till date, this is one of the most popular recipe among readers of Cuisine Paradise. It is so easy to prepare that you only need an oven toaster instead of an oven to handle this recipe. And moreover this dish can be pair with either salad or pasta to end with a complete hearty meal.

If you want to prepare something simple and yet flavorsome to impress your loved ones, here is the recipe.

MOST POPULAR KITCHEN GADGET

Happy Call Double-sided Pressure Pan

It's only a few months back that this "Happy Call Double-Sided Pressure Pan" has finally makes it way into many kitchens in Singapore and Malaysia after a year or so in Singapore. This happens from a Happy Call group known as Munch Ministry which set up by 2 ladies who share their interests and recipes on cooking quick and simply healthy food using  HCP.

Even though I have one of this Happy Call Pan (HCP) for more than a year plus, I did not really fully utilize it until I was influence by this HCP group in facebook. After which I have develop interest in trying different recipes using HCP from dishes to bake. Below are some example of my HCP cooking/baking project. For the full HCP recipes menu, please refer HERE.

Baked Sweet Potato	Sizzling Tofu	Claypot Rice
Pineapple Upside-down Cake	Muah Chee	Pandan Chiffon Cake

OUR FAVOURITE BENTO

Making Bento is one of our weekly or at least twice a month mother and kid bonding activities whereby my boy and I will agreed on a theme to work together to assemble his bento.  Up till date I have about 30 quick and easy kid's bento featured in Cuisine Paradise and inSing.com, below are some of our favourite among the rest.

Easter Chicky Bento	Penguins Bento	Red Angry Birds Bento

PRODUCT REVIEWS

As a homemake and someone who loves to explore new kitchen products, I love to try new food or kitchen products whenever I spot something interesting during our weekly marketing trip. And from time to time I would also received product samples from media to be featured in Cuisine Paradise. Below are some of the product review posts and you could also read up more on this link HERE.

VOGEL's mueslis	Easy Thai Cooking(cookbook)	Zespri Kiwifruit Recipes

CURRENT PROJECT

Korean Cooking

It has never come across my mind to learn how to prepare Korean cuisines at home. And it's only due to my recent interest in Korea drama that I am starting to love how to appreciate Korea dishes in another view. Before starting on this cooking project, friendly speaking I am not a fan of even their well-known appetizer; Kimchi(김치) nor Korean Rice Cake (Tteok - 떡) which can be used to cook soup, stewed or noodles. But now with their easy to prepare and delicious dishes I am keen in exploring more Korean cuisines with the help of my new Korean friend. Thanks Daphne!

Below are some samples of my Korean Cooking Project post. If you are keen to read up more on this project you can click on the link HERE.

Kimchi Tofu Soup	Korean Rice Cakes with Ramen Noodles	Sangyetang (recipe coming soon)

Lastly I hope my passion for "food" on this blog would be able to commit for another 7 years or more but till then I really needs all your supports and feedback in order to maintain this blog and continue to strike for better improvements. And if you are new to cooking/baking, I would like to welcome you on board and sincerely hope that my recipes collection would be able to help you cookout some quick and easy dishes for your loved ones.

[My 1st Kids' Workshop] Pizza Toast plus Red Angry Bird Bento

Yesterday we have a fun-filled day with all the wonderful kids and their parents who attended our very 1st Kids' Pizza and Bento Workshop. This workshop has being in my wishing list for so long because I always hope to be able to conduct a hands-on workshop for kids and their parents. For me I think hands-on workshop are a great way to show bonding between parents and their kids as most of the kids enjoy the time where mummy or daddy will be able to hold their hands and work together to complete an assigned task. And during the workshop I am so happy to see some heart-warming bonding time between parents and their kids.

[Giveaway] Prima Taste Singapore Laksa La Mian

Laksa(叻沙) is a popular spicy noodle soup dish origin from the Peranakan culture, which is a merger of Chinese and Malay ingredients. Basically there are two types of Laksa such as "Curry Laksa" and "Asam Laksa(Penang Laksa)". Curry laksa used coconut curry as soup base together with noodles, tau po, bean sprout, prawns and etc while Asam laksa is a sour fish soup with noodles.

Laksa Leaf also known as Vietnamese mint/cilantro is a kind of herb used in either salad, soup, dish or etc. And in Singapore and Malaysia, the shredded Laksa leaf is an essential ingredient for "Laksa" which is a famous spicy curry noodle soup that is popular between all races.

You can also grow this herb at home for cooking purpose. First just get a handful of this herb from the wet market or supermarkets. Next pluck off most of the leaves leaving only the top, plant the roughly 5 inch stems into the ground and water every morning and you will soon get some freshly grown Laksa leaves.

Although "Thick Rice Noodles(粗米粉)" are most commonly used for Laksa but sometime due to individual preference thin rice vermicelli(幼米粉) or yellow noodles(熟面) are also used. Here for Prima Taste Laksa, La Mian is used instead of the traditional laksa noodles and it taste just as good with it's springy texture.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 Packet of Prima Taste Singapore Laksa La Mian
2 Hard-boiled Egg
1/2 Cup Bean Sprouts
Some Sliced Fish Cake
6 Fried Bean Curd Puffs(Tofu Pok), halves
6 - 8 Medium Shrimped, boiled and shelled
1100ml Water

Method:-

1. Cook shrimps in boiling water for about 5 minutes, remove the heads, shells, veins and set aside.

2. Next blanched bean sprouts, sliced fish cake and fried beancurd puffs separately for about 30 seconds, remove and rinse with water. Set aside.

3. Add label "A" Laksa Paste and "B" Laksa Premix into 1100ml of water, mix well and bring to boil.

4. Put noodles into the boiling Laksa soup and cook for about 5 minutes. Add in beancurd puffs continue to cook for another 2 minutes.

5. Top cooked noodles with cooked shrimps, fish cake, bean sprouts and hard-boiled egg and serve with some finely chopped Laksa leaves.

{Alternatively, you can cooked each individual packet separately for better texture of the noodles.}


Total cost for this dish is about S$8.75 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Laksa La Mian = S$4.85
~ Shrimps = S$2.00
~ Bean Curd Puffs = S$0.60
~ Bean Sprouts = S$0.40
~ Fish Cake = S$0.50
~ Eggs = $0.40

I am submitting this post to [June $20 Budget Meal - Noodle] host by Me(Ellena) of Cuisine Paradise at this Link HERE.

Lastly in conjunction with this month [$20 Budget Meal - Noodles] theme I would like to share this new "Prima Taste Singapore Laksa La Mian"(2 packets) with 1 Lucky Reader. If you are interested to try this Singapore favourite just leave your Name and your favourite noodle dish (Laksa, Mee Rebus, Carbonara, Bolognaise), example "I Love Fried Prawn Noodles" in the comment box and I will pick ONE Lucky winner and result will be announce on Thursday, 16 June 2011. (draw open to all readers around the world) Good luck!


[Updated on 16 June 2011]

GIVEAWAY RESULTS!!!!!

Congratulation Gertrude. Please email me your mailing address at ellenaguan@hotmail.com so that I could send out the gift by this week. Thanks.

Angry Birds Bento #2 - 愤怒鸟便当2 plus Giveaway Event

Pin It

If this is your first time landing at this blog, let me introduce you to my 3rd sets of Angry Birds Bento I have made till date. Apart from the previous post on the Red And Yellow Angry Birds vs King Pig Bento (read more HERE), this week we have another new quick and easy bento set that consists 3 Angry Birds character that made of Onigiri, Hard-boiled Egg and Fresh Fruits.

Before we starts off with this week New Angry Birds Bento and Giveaway, let's take a look at the 3 LUCKY Winners from the previous Giveaway.

GIVEAWAY RESULTS!!!!!

Congratulation to all the 3 winners. Please email me your mailing address at ellenaguan@hotmail.com so that I could send out the gift by this gift. Thanks.

Black And White Angry Birds Vs Green Pig Bento serves with Hard-boiled Egg, Rice Ball, Stir-fry Spicy Pork and Kiwi Fruits as dessert. To make the Black Angry Birds Onigiri, I shape the cooked rice into semi-round shape before wrapping it with nori sheet and assemble the facial features with cheese, nori sheet, crab stick and carrot. Whereas for the White Angry Birds, all you need to do is to assemble the facial features on the hard-boiled egg that requires less than 5 minutes.

Next using Kiwi Fruit to make the Green Pig is one of the best choices due to it's nature green colour and texture prints which makes it an idea ingredients.  And I am sure this is also another good way to get kids to eat this nutritious fruits too.

For this second round Angry Birds Item Giveaway, if you are interested to win one of these "Angry Birds Item", just leave your Name and with your favourite Angry Birds game edition (Angry Birds Rio, Angry Birds Christmas, Angry Birds Halloween and etc) "I love Angry Birds Rio" in the comment box and I will pick the winners according to the sequence shown below:-

Blog Post Comment(s) (2 WINNERS)

~ 1st Winner gets to win the "Angry Birds Colourful Notepad"; and
~ 2nd Winner gets the "Red Angry Birds Coin Purse".

Whereas for Facebook Page (2 WINNERS) (participate thru facebook HERE)
~ 1st Winner gets the "Red Angry Birds Plastic Fan"; and
~ 2nd Winner gets the "Angry Birds Cloth Pencil Case".

To INCREASE your chances to win, simply share this GIVEAWAY either through your Facebook, Twitter, Blog Post or etc then leave a 2nd Comments on what you have did to stand a 2nd chance on the draw. Winners will be announce on Monday, 06 June 2011. This event is open to ALL readers as well as fans who "like(s)" Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page.

[Updated on 06 June 2011]

GIVEAWAY RESULTS!!!!!

Congratulation to all the 2 winners. Please email me your mailing address at ellenaguan@hotmail.com so that I could send out the gift by this week. Thanks.

[Angry Birds Item Giveaway] Angry Birds Bento - 愤怒鸟便当

I am sure for those who play Handphone/Ipad games you definitely have come across this most popular paid-for game in the Apple App known as “Angry Birds”. My boy whom is a great fan of this game collects all the different character plush toys as well as some other related items such as pencil case, mouse pad, files and etc.

[May $20 Budget Meal] Specific Key Ingredient - "Tofu/Beancurd"

Here is the polling result voted by some of the readers over at Cuisine Paradise facebook page (HERE). From the photo you can see that Tofu has "14 votes" which is the highest among the rest of the mentioned ingredients. In the case, for May [$20 Budget Meal], we will use "Tofu" as the specific ingredient for one of the dish in the budget menu (eg: steam tofu, fried tofu, braised tofu and etc).

HOW TO JOIN:

~ Prepare either "2 Dishes plus 1 Soup" or "1 Pot Dish" using a budget which is not more than $20.00 for 2 - 4 servings. If you are from overseas, you can also participate by converting to the appropriate currency value, (ie. US$15.00, RM$50.00, Rp $138,000 and etc)

~ If you do not have a blog, just send in the photos and at least one recipe from your dishes and I will publish on your behalf in my blog, credited to you. (photos can be taken in any form using digital camera or hand phone)

~ All submission entries must be published in your blog or prepared during the month of May from 01 May  - 25th May 2011.

~ Please do mention in your blog that you are sharing this post to “May $20 Budget Meal - Specific Ingredient is "Tofu/Beancurd"” and link it to this page HERE (use this link: http://ellenaguan.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-20-budget-meal-specific-key.html) to encourage more readers to contribute into the event.

Since this month theme is on "Tofu/Beancurd" you can use your own imaginations or recipe(s) from cookbook to come up with all kind of related recipes using any type of tofu such as Egg, Silken, Traditional, Firm or etc that you prefer.

SUBMISSION:

~ E-mail your "blog link plus Photos of the dishes" or "photos with recipe" to ellenaguan@hotmail.com with a subject "May $20 Budget Meal" in the following format:

Your Name:
URL of your post:
Name of your dishes + soup:
Estimate amount spent for each dish:
Attachment of your photos in your email (each photo, preferably 500kb or less).

To enlighten you with a better ideas on the Tofu dish, here are four different types of preparation methods that you can take into reference. And if you are not sure about the post requirements or how to breakdown the price-list of each dishes/soup, you can refer to one of the example post HERE.

Lastly I would like to thanks everyone who has participated in the last two [$20 Budget Meal] events., all your dishes and ideas are Awesome!!! And till date we have in total, 35 sets of "$20 Budget Meal' which are quick and easy to prepare. If you are interested you can take a look at March Round-up(Here) and April Round-up(Here).

CLOSING DATE:

~ Wednesday, 25 May 2011, 2359 hours  and all entries will be compiled and posted on 31st May 2011.

[Easter April $20 Budget Meal] Round-Up!

Thanks everyone for supporting the Easter April - $20 Budget Meal event with a Easter theme of using Egg in one of the prepared dish. Thanks everyone whom take the effort to note down the pricing of ingredients and spending on each ingredient to support this event. Here we have a total of 21 fabulous sets of "2 Dishes 1 Soup" menu from blogger and facebook friends of different countries such as USA, Australia and Singapore.

Here are all the entries for the [Easter April - $20 Budget Meal], listed in the order of the date submitted.

Watercress Pork Ribs Soup (西洋菜排骨汤), Braised Fish Head (红烧鱼头), Steamed Egg with Chinese Yam and Mushrooms (淮山蒸蛋烩双菇)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$19.20; Serves 6



Luo Han Guo and Watercress Soup plus Hainanese Pork Chop Rice and Pork Katsudon

by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$11.50; Serves 3



Sausage, Bacon and Egg Pie, Roasted Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup, Salad Green

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$19.70; Serves 3 - 6



Chinese Yam and White Fungus Soup (淮山雪耳瘦肉汤), Seaweed Egg Roll (紫菜腐竹鸡蛋卷), Steamed Fish with Tomato and Salted Vegetables (蕃茄咸菜蒸鱼尾)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$13.00; Serves 3



Garlic Kale, Daikon Fried Egg, Stir-Fry Combination Veggies

by Tigerfish of An Escape to Food (Sunnyvale, California - United States)
Total Spending: USD 8.00 (S$10.00) ; Serves 4



Stewed Pork Rice (卤肉饭), Stewed Eggs with Bean Curd (卤蛋/ 卤豆干) and Cabbage and King Mushroom Soup (白菜鸡腿菇汤)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$13.50; Serves 6



Pork Shabu Salad with Ponzu Dressing and Egg Drop Soup

by Namiko of Just One Cookbook (United States)
Total Spending: USD 8.00 (S$10.00) ; Serves 2-3



Spicy Kangkong, Chicken in Rice Wine and Dried Laver Anchovies Soup

by Ching of Little Corner of Mine (United State)
Total Spending: USD 5.04 (S$6.20); Serves 4



Cream of Cauliflower Soup and Ham and Egg Pizza Tart

by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$8.60; Serves 3



ABC Soup (马铃薯蕃茄红萝卜煲鸡汤), Corn Fritters with Avocado Dip (黄金玉米片) , Broccoli with Egg Whites in Milk Broth (奶汁蛋白西兰花)

by Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$9.00; Serves 3-4



Seaweed and Minced Pork Soup, Fried Bitter Gourd Omelette and Ma Po Tofu

by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$6.60; Serves 3



Honey Marinated Chicken Wings, Ham and Onion omelette and Cream of Mushroom

by Jacqualine of TheSuper Girl (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$9.40; Serves 2



Corn, Carrot and Radish Soup, Stir Fry Long Beans and Mushrooms and Chili Prawns with Century Eggs

by Daphne of More Than Words (Australia)
Total Spending: AU$13.10; Serves 4



Steamed Fried Fish with Miso Sauce, Stir Fry Marrow Green and Egg with Crispy Silver Fish and Radish Pork Ribs Soup

by Wendy of Wen's Delight (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$18.50; Serves 4



Eggy Pepperoni Pizza and Eggy Turkey wrap

by Lobster of Lobsterpaints (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$19.95; Serves 2



Minced Pork Omelette, Steamed Tilapia and Fish Ball Soup with Spinach

by Anncoo of Anncoo Journal (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$14.65; Serves 4



Crabstick Steamed Egg, Stir-fried Cucumber with Prawns and Lotus Root Soup

by Jacqualine of TheSuper Girl (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$14.20; Serves 6



Seah’s Chicken Curry, Sambal Fried Egg and Stir Fry Bittergourd with Clam in Miso Sauce

by Wendy of Wen's Delight (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$17.75; Serves 4



Spicy Bulgogi Pork, Shanghai green with Shitake Mushroom and Korean style mussel, pork and egg soup

by Wendy of Wen's Delight (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$16.65; Serves 4



Steamed Tilapia Fillets, Eggs with Napa Cabbage and Seaweed Tofu Gochujang Soup

by Ching of Little Corner of Mine (United State)
Total Spending: USD 6.87(S$8.50); Serves 4

Entry From @ahpoohbear

 

Japanese Oyakodon and Miso Soup

by Joyce of @ahpoohbear (Singapore)
Total Spending: S$3.60 ; Serves 2 - 3

JAPANESE OYAKODON RECIPE

Ingredients: (serves 3)
1.5 cup of steamed rice
1 Chicken Breast Meat, about 200g
1 onion, thinly sliced
Chicken stock (I used concentrated chicken stock and mix with water)
Mirin
3 eggs
Soy sauce to taste

Preparation:

1. Cooked steamed rice and set aside.

2. Fry the sliced onion till fragrant and add in the chicken pieces.

3. Add in the chicken stock, mirin and soy sauce to taste.

4. Simmer over medium heat for a few minutes.

5. Crack the eggs into a bowl but do not beat the eggs. Instead, use a knife to slightly cut the egg yolk.

6. Once the chicken is cook, pour the egg over.

7. Let the egg cook for about 3 minutes, till the egg yolk is slightly hardened.

8. Turn off the heat.

9. Put the steamed rice into deep serving bowls and serve the simmered chicken and egg on top.


MISO SOUP

Ingredients:

Instant miso soup paste from supermarket

Preparation:

1. Get a packet of instant miso soup paste from the supermarket.

2. Pour hot water and serve.


Toal Cost: S$3.60
Chicken = $2.00
Eggs = $0.60
Onion = $0.20
Instant Miso paste $0.80 per packet


Once again, thanks everyone for taking your time to come out of these wonderful budget meals, ideas and kitchen tips. Do stay tune for our May event announcement on the specified "ingredient" upon voting from the readers. All you dishes are feature at Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page HERE and the dish who earns the most number of "LIKE(s)" will received a mystery gift.