Showing posts with label Salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Salad. Show all posts

Tuesday 10 March 2015

[With Recipes] 2015 Chinese New Year Lunch Gathering With Relatives

Like previous two years, mum invited our relatives to come over for lunch gathering on the second day of Chinese New Year where everyone gets together to mingle around and enjoy some homecook feast. As you know to prepare a semi-buffet for a big group of 30 people was indeed a challenging job but thanks God with past years experience we managed to get everything ready just in time for lunch.

In this post I would be sharing a few recipes on the dishes and bakes that we prepared  and I hope they might come in handy for you too.

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.

Tuesday 12 November 2013

[The Entertainer app] One-For-One Deal Main Course @ Bedrock Bar & Grill

[Bedrock Bar And Grill] ONE-FOR-ONE DEAL with Entertainer App
While searching for a good weekend dining deal from Hungry Go Where (HGW), I managed to find a great saving offer from the new Entertainer App (shown below) recommended through them. And with this paperless interface application that provides great saving deals, we had an enjoyable dinner at Bedrock Bar and Grill last Saturday.

The Entertain App
Here is a quick preview on how the Entertain App works:-
Login ~ Select the Deal ~ Call to make reservation ~ Enjoy ~ Redeem ~ Saving

With the above if you are interested to find out more about this app you can refer to a detail walk though regarding this app after the Bedrock Bar And Grill review at the end of the post.

Monday 21 October 2013

3 Recipes On Quinoa Salad - Part II

Morning! It's Monday and here is Part II of my quinoa dishes which I would like to share with you. And if you have missed out Part I, here is the link. These super-grains can be used to make different food like salad, pancake, bread, cakes, porridge and etc which makes a healthy replace for our usual flours or grains.

In this post, I will be sharing how to use cooked quinoa and turn them into salad, fritters and risotto to create a hearty meal for the family. But if  you have any easy recipes on quinoa do feel free to share with us your post link or ideas on the comment box below too.


MUSHROOM AND BACON QUINOA SALAD


This Mushroom And Bacon Quinoa Salad was inspired by one of my friend, AiYen when we were chatting about Quinoa on skype last week. She told me she would like to try out her first quinoa dish with bacon and mushrooms so on that afternoon I loot back some bacon from the supermarket to test out her suggestion.

To our surprise this combination taste quite good with hint of bacon flavour and it's crispy texture hidden within the quinoa salad which blends well with the overall taste. But perhaps for next round I might add in a splash of extra virgin olive oil or lemon juice to lift up the taste.

Monday 14 October 2013

3 Recipes On Quinoa Salad - Part I

Many of you might have heard about this super-grains known as Quinoa(Keen-wah) which is consider as the "Mother of All Grains". According to the information that I Google online, quinoa is an easily digested grains with good source of fiber and it's also gluten-free too.

For the past few months I have being including some organic "quinoa" into our daily meals for at least 2 - 3 times a week on top of our usual white/brown rice. And in this post you can also take on reference how I make used of the red and white quinoa in our dishes together with other ingredients.


MOROCCAN CHICKEN QUINOA SALAD


Moroccan seasoning has an exotic flavour and it is usually used to marinade lamb, chicken or beef which is ideal for grilling, barbecuing or pan frying. You can easily grab a bottle of this Moroccan Spice (shown in the ingredients photo below) at your local supermarkets or you can mix your own using a few spices shown below too.

Friday 21 December 2012

The Perfect Interfusion At Sushi Tei

From November till 09 January 2013, all the 15 Sushi Tei outlets (here) island-wide will be having a new promotional menu know as "The Perfect Interfusion" which centred around warm and hearty rustic far with a contemporary twist.

Furthermore, all Sashimi fans will be thrilled by their new selection of premium sashimi-based dons at irresistible prices such as the Otoro, Kanpachi, Ika and Salmon Don for S$22.00 each. Below are some of the dishes from we had tried from their The Perfect Interfusion menu.

For appetizer we have Mentai Potato Salad (S$6.80) which is the one of my favourite starter whenever we visit Japanese restaurant. The fluffy mashed potato balls (with lovely bits of carrot and cucumber) is topped with generous portion of cod roe to enhance the flavour when compared to the usual Japanese potato salad.

{Must Try} Spicy Ban Ban Ji Ramen (S$10.00) is a very refreshing cold noodle dishes created by Sushi Tei, 112 Katong which is listed in their top six "Supreme Chef Challenge Creations" in The Perfect Interfusion Menu beside from those cold soba varieties in their usual menu.

The springy ramen taste great with the accompany spicy sesame sauce which gives it a nutty flavour and it pairs well with the crunchy cucumber and tender poached chicken too.

Yakiniku Cheese Roll (S$12.00) is created by Sushi Tei, Holland Village which is a whimsical re-interpretation of the cheeseburger. The sushi roll is wrapped with a layer of beef and cheese together with some sweet sauce which makes it resemble hamburger rice patty.

{Must Try} Instead of Chicken Katsu, we tried the Tori Nanban (S$10.00) that is created by Sushi Tei, 112 Katong. The deep-fried chicken is served together with the homemade Taru Taru sauce which is made of mayonnaise, shallots and parsley. I am sure this pipping hot crispy chicken cutlet will be a great choice in your ordering list.

Mango Avocado Roll (S$12.00) created by Sushi Tei, Thomson Plaza make use of both Mango and Avocado for this dish together with wafu dressing. For me who always love their Dragon Roll and Golden Roll, this new Mango Avocado Roll is sure a good catch to satisfy my fruity sushi craving.

Ikameshi (S$12.00) is a char-grilled squid stuffed with flavoured squid rice. Although it might look like a simple dish but the savory rice add extra touch to Hokkaido squid which brings out it's natural sweetness. Alternatively you could also try their Ika Sugata Shio/Teriyaki (S$9.00) which is grilled squid with salt or teriyaki sauce.

Ikameshi (S$12.00), Grilled squid stuffed with flavoured squid rice

Ikasumi Pasta (S$13.00) is one of the reason for my visit because I was tempted to this dish from one of the photos that I spotted on instagram a few weeks back .

The al dente spaghetti is tossed in a luscious squid ink sauce and topped with tender slices of squid and crispy fried garlic which you must eat together with the spaghetti to bring out it's flavour. But overall only the paste itself  is lightly flavored with the squid ink which makes it a bit plain and flat on the taste.

Matsutake Sukiyaki (Beef - S$26.00; Chicken - S$22.00) featured the seasonal Matsutake pine mushrooms which comes with a choice of either Beef or Chicken. This pot consists of glass noodles, tofu, leeks, carrots and enoki mushrooms in sukiyaki soup which is Refillable.

U.S.D.A Beef Tenderloin for the Matsutake Sukiyaki

After the main dishes, we decided to go for some desserts and since there are four of us in the group we could actually order different varieties to share among ourselves. Above are  Yuzu Sherbet (S$3.40), Nama Chocolate Ice Cream (S$4.80) and Matcha Nama Ice Cream (S$4.80)

Shiratama Azuki with Matcha Ice Cream (S$6.00) served in a pretty clam shell waffle which filled with Glutinous rice dumplings, Azuki beans and Matcha ice cream. Love the combination texture of chewy rice dumplings with crispy waffle shell together with the matcha ice cream.

Out of the four desserts that we had, my most favourite is still the Matcha Nama Ice Cream. I just simply love the intends flavour of the matcha ice cream flooding in my mouth which makes it so irresistible to stop at one. But if you are a chocolate lover, go for the Nama Chocolate Ice Cream instead!

Thanks to Sushi Tei and Veronica from Sixth Sense Communications for the invite tasting.

Sushi Tei @ Ngee Ann City
391 Orchard Road #05-30/31
Podium Block Ngee Ann City
Singapore 238873
Reservation: (65) 6737 8878
Website: http://www.sushitei.com/index.php



Friday 20 July 2012

Antoinette at Palais Renaissance

I am sure the brand name "Antoinette" sound familiar to those who love cakes, pastries or French food. Following the success of Antoinette’s first three outlets (Penhas Road, Mandarin Galley and Scarlet Hotel), Owner-Chef Pang Kok Keong unveils Le Jardin d’Antoinette which is also one of their largest outlet at Palais Renaissance.

Last Saturday I was invited to a lunch tasting at their new outlet, located at Palais Renaissance together with Celes (Celestial Delish), Derrick (SG Food on Foot) and ShiTing (Lobsterpaints).

After some self introductions between Chef Pang and us, we started to look around at their cake and pastry counters while taking some photos. Below are some of the pastries and cakes which are available at Antoinette.

Array of Cakes available

Array of Assorted Macarons on display

Pastry Section: with Danish Puffs, Brownies, Muffins and etc

The Main Dining Area designed after Versaille’s expansive outdoor garden which is a unique round shaped dining space decorated with vintage furniture featuring floral accents such as flower print upholstered seats. The outskirt of the dining area is also surrounded with hanging vines as well as floral arrangements. Furthermore there is also a special elevated gazebo sits at the centre of the dining area too.

{Soup} We started with their new Classic French Onion Soup (S$16.50) which is prepared using caramelised onions in a rich chicken and veal broth accompanied by cheese toasts made from Antoinette’s signature 24-hour baguette. To perfect it, the soup is topped with a cheesy crust which resemble "cover" and it is made using parmesan and gruyère cheese.

On the 1st try, the soup taste a bit sour but when you dig in more, it actually release a hit of sweetness from the caramelised onions and it goes well with that crispy cheese crust.


{Entrées} Next we had the Tartine de Nicoise (S$26.00) which is an open face levain sandwich hide beneath some butter lettuce, French beans, tomatoes, olives, anchovy, a three-minute egg and some seared tuna.

According to Chef Pang, these Levain Bread (sourdough) are made from their own kitchen in Antonietta and the process for making this bread is quite tedious and it takes up to 16 days to cultivate the yeast from scratch plus another 2 more days to proof the bread before baking. So when having this dish, we must really appreciate each and every bits of its ingredients especially the Levain Bread which has a unique flavour and texture.

{Main Course} During the tasting, we tried 3 main courses and first to serve was Confit de Poitrine de Porc (S$36.00) is a traditional French confit of pork belly that is first cured in a mixture of sea salt, brown sugar and aromatics before it is cooked and covered in duck fat at 90 degrees Celsius for 12 hours.

The dish was plated with 5 pieces (about 2 cm each) of thick, tender and fragrant pork belly together with decent amount of garlic mash (which you might thought is mashed potato), seasonal vegetables and mustard sauce. Although I am a "pork belly" lover but I find this dish a bit on the salty side unless you are having it with some water or wine to balance the taste.

{Main Course} Next we had Bouchées aux fruits de mer (S$30.00) which is a luxurious seafood medley that consists of scallops, prawns, squid and mussels sautéed with white wine and cream. It is then served in a puff pastry case which resemble "vol au vents" but it is made with a unique reverse folding method which results in a flakier and crispier crust.

I love their fresh and seafood and taste of the sauce is is not overpowering to the whole dish but on the down side, me and ShiTing find that our scallop is kind of overcooked which makes it chewy and difficult to bite.

{Main Course} For the last main course Chef Pang brought in Prawn crumble pasta (S$26.00) which is an aglio olio-style pasta dish featuring spaghettini tossed with parsley pesto instead of basil and sprinkled with their homemade anchovy crumble.

During the introduction, Chef Pang mentioned to us that those crumble was made using Antoinette’s pain de mie loaf as well as a kalamata olives and Spanish anchovies tapenade. No wonder when all mixed together it has such a unique taste which you might mistook the breadcrumb with grated cheese.

{Dessert} For the dessert, Chef Pang shared with us 4 of his new 2012 collection which you could read more on the post below. Above we shows  Chloe (S$9.00 per slice) which is a combination of refreshing and fragrant yuzu cremeux with white chocolate vanilla mousse on a light sponge cake and almond sable.

This is one of the lighter taste cake which we concluded out of the 4 that we had tired so if you prefer something light and refreshing perhaps this would be great hit for you.

{Dessert} Forbidden Fruit (S$9.00 per slice) has a delicate layered creation that features granny smith apples in various incarnations including green apple mousse, vanilla caramel apple and green apple jelly, complemented with maple cremeux on a financier cake.

On 1st bite you will feel hint of sourish taste perhaps from the apple jelly but when you slowly savory it with a cup of tea, you will fell in love with it because of it sweet, fragrant and sour combination. I guess this is similar to feeling of "falling in love" taste.

{Dessert} Kyoto (S$9.00 per slice) is a Japanese matcha crowd-pleaser with green tea mascarpone mousse, chestnut cremeux, almond crumble and a green tea finger sponge. It has a very fragrant matcha aroma and after taste which we all loved. A "must try" for matcha lover.

{Dessert} I personally love this Tarte Exotique (S$8.50 per slice) which I think I can conquered two at one time. It has an almond base with a luscious gula melaka cremeux, finger sponge and light coconut mousse crowned with a delicate fruit coulis sphere. Because I love almond base tarts and as well as the unique aroma from the Gula Melaka, I highly recommend this dessert which I am sure you will love it as much as we do.  

Just to share there is a private dining room which is perfect for groups of 8 - 10 pax to hold function such as Formal Dining, Gathering, Birthday or etc.

Antoinette at Palais Renaissance
390 Orchard Road, Palais Renaissance,
B1-08/09/10C,
Reservations No.: +65 6735 6392

Operating Hours:
11.00am to 10.00pm daily (last order 9.30pm)


Lastly I would like to thank Hsian Ming (from Sixth Sense Communications and PR Consultancy Pte Ltd) and Chef Pang (Antoinette at Palais Renaissance) for this tasting invitation. For more photos of this tasting, you can click on Cuisine Paradise Facebook page HERE.

Friday 25 May 2012

Hearty Meal With The Family @ Swensen's

Swensen's, a household name in Singapore has bought many memories to me and my family over the years. I remember during my school days, I used to visit Swensen's with my classmates to enjoy their ice-creams and food during weekends gathering where we often share the "Huge" Earthquake ice-cream together.

Recently, Swensen's has just revamped their menu with new and exciting treats such as Spiced King Prawns and Chips, Laksa Aglio Olio with King Prawns, Crabmeat Fried Rice and etc. Here we have ordered the "Laksa Aglio Olio with King Prawns" shown above as I am curious with this East And West fusion taste. The al dente pasta is infused with Laksa flavored pesto, chilli padi and served with succulent king prawns which gives us a Wow!

{S$5.00 Top Up} With additional $5.00 top-up to any Main Course, we can enjoy additional soup of day which I always look forward to, a complimentary hot/cold beverage plus a scoop of ice-cream of our choice to end the meal.

For starter we order Ocean Crunch Salad with served with fresh greens topped with fish bites, calamari, breaded shrimps and refreshing pineapple BBQ dressing.

This Black Pepper Seafood Pasta is one of my mum's favourite pasta from Swensen's. She loves the taste and fragrant of their black pepper sauce which is not too spicy, salty or neither overpowering the overall taste of the dish. I would recommend this if you are a fan of black pepper sauce.

Although Chicken Baked Rice is always on my ordering list, but that day I have a craving of trying their Beef Stroganoff Baked Rice which served in chunky beef slices that saute in onion and brown sauce. Although the sauce is a bit too rich and salty towards my liking but overall it still quiet a good try. 

My boy's Fish Nuggets with Star Munchy And Sweetcorn kid's meal set which he often order serve with either cold Milo or Apple juice. A plus point for kid's meal is although it is deep-fried but for the few occasions that we ordered it is always nicely done without drip/trace of oil on the nuggets or munchy.

*Note:
All photos in this post is taken with my iphone as this is a leisure family meal.

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