[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.

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.

[Wordless Wednesday] Santa Claus Sushi Art Workshop

[Sushi Art Workshop] Santa Claus Sushi Art

[Sushi Art Workshop] Necessary Ingredients

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.

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.

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.

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.

[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

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.

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.

Our Thanksgiving Feast - Roast Chicken With Cranberry And Macadamia Stuffing plus Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving is a time of the year where everyone in the family to get together to have meal and give grateful for things like family, friends, food and etc. To be frank this is my first year preparing Thanksgiving feast for the family and instead of the usual baked “turkey” I decided to swap with something smaller. So for this year, I prepared Roast Chicken with Cranberry and Macadamia Stuffing together with medley of colourful vegetables. And I also made our all-time favourite Pumpkin Pie with buttery crust for dessert.

I am thankful that this feast was able to complete and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner as planned. It was because during the preparation (if you have read about the mishap (here) on my Instagram (@cuisineparadise)) my old build-in oven (12 years) actually fused off while I was preheating it for the bakes. But thanks God with my Samsung microwave convection oven I am still able to prepare the dishes with slight changes or else I won't be able to know what to do. 

Recipes Using Samsung Smart Oven (MC32F606) - Part II

I have shared Part I of my Samsung Smart Oven MC32F606 recipes last week, featuring some of its cooking features to prepare quick meals such as "slim fry" chicken mid-joints, baked pumpkin rice, grilled salmon, etc. And in this Part II recipes post, I will be featuring some sweet treats such as chocolate chips muffins, apple chips and homemade yogurt which utilises the Convection and Auto Fermentation features of the oven.

[Christmas Bake] Mini Fruit Cakes With Nut Topping

Fruit Cake is a traditional all-time British Christmas cake that is often made with butter, liquor (RUM/Brandy) and lot of dried mixed fruits and assorted nuts. This cake is best to consume a few days to weeks after baking for a better flavour. And if you prefer a strong taste of liquor, you can also bake the cake a few week ahead and brush it with RUM several times and allow the flavour to age before Christmas.

Out of all the Christmas bakes, fruit cake is one of my favourite and every year I will baked some for my family and friends as gift. And since Christmas is just less than a month from now, it’s will be a great time to start preparing some fruit cake to enjoy over the festive season.

[Day 3] Visiting The Peak @ Hong Kong

After settled our baggage at the Airport Express In-town Check-in, we walked over to Central Pier to take a shuttle service to The Peak Tram Station. The Peak is known as Hong Kong's most popular attraction with its stunning views, great shopping and dining options which is a must visit attraction during your trip to Hong Kong.

[The Entertainer app] One-For-One Deal Main Course @ The Disgruntled Chef

Located at 26B Dempsey Road, The Disgruntled Chef is a bar and restaurant which offers European dishes in a cosy environment that is away from the heart of the city. And while browsing through my Entertainer “1-for-1 main course” deals we decided to try their main courses where I called up to make reservation for their weekend brunch.

Before sharing our views at Disgruntled Chef, here is a quick run through of what I had mentioned in my previous post at Bedrock Bar And Grill on “How to use the Entertainer App”. This app is FREE to download from your mobile phone (available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry) and there is no charges to utilise their monthly deals too. But if you wants to enjoy the full version of the Entertainer App with more than 990 “buy one get one free” offers on food, travel and etc, you can purchase the Full App @ SG$57 (usual price SG$95) for a limited time of 40% offer price.