Wednesday 10 March 2010

Durian Feast - 猫山王

Look at this gorgeous fruit which you will either "Loves" it or "Hates" it. This is one of the Asian Tropical Fruit which is known as Durian or the "King of Fruits". This fruit is distinctive for its large size, unique odour and thorn-covered husk. The durian is a seasonal fruit and in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, the season for durians is typically from June to August, which coincides with the Mangosteen.

Prices of durians are relatively high as compared with other fruits. For example, "Mao Shan Wang - 猫山王" which is the most famous durian among durian lover has a retail prices of between S$8 to S$15 per kilogram and with an average weight of about 1.5 kilograms, a durian fruit would therefore cost about S$15 to S$22 depending on its weight. The taste of the durian flesh were sweet, creamy, dry and a kind of bitterness taste that leave you with an unforgettable taste. And after trying this I guarantee that you won't go back for D24 anymore. Posted by Picasa


Tuesday 9 March 2010

Winter Melon, Sweetcorn & Pork Ribs Soup

The weather for the past few weeks had being so hot and humid that we really need to have some cooling soup to cool down our body system. While chatting with one of the mum of my boy classmate, she was sharing with us on some of her daily soup that she made for her family. One of the key ingredients that she often use for soup is "Winter Melon - 冬瓜", which we rarely cooked in our household.

Accordingly to some housewife myth, Winter Melon is used to boil soup with pork ribs or other herbs for cooling purpose such as quenches thirst and expel summer Heat. Whereas Huai Shan whets the appetite and strengthens the Spleen while Gou Qi Zi improves eyesight and promotes blood cell formation so these two mild herbs are suitable for the whole family. The use of carrots can also lower the blood glucose, invigorate the Spleen too. On the other hand, Corn is rich in many kinds of Vitamin B and C, thus preventing vascular sclerosis.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 Round Piece of Winter Melon(冬瓜), around 150 - 200g
300g of Pork Ribs
100g Fresh Huai Shan(淮山)
1 Small Carrot, cut into 1" thick
1 Corn(玉米), cut into 3 sections
5 Red Dates(红枣)
1/2 Tablespoon of Wolfberries(枸杞子)
1.5 Litre of Boiling Water

Method:
1. Roughly peel off the outer skin of the winter melon, scrap off the seed, rinse and cut into 2" rectangle cubes size.
2. Repeat the same procedure for the fresh huai shan and set aside.
3. Blanched the pork ribs in boiling water for about 30 seconds, rinse and set aside.
4. Bring the pot of water (1.5 litres) to boil, add in the pork ribs, winter melon, huai shan, carrot, corn and red dates to boil for about 5 minutes.
5. Transfer the pot of soup to slow cooker and cook on AUTO for at least 2 hrs. Add in wolfberries 30 minutes before cooking time.
6. Or if you don't have any slow-cooker at home, you can simmer the soup on the stove for about 45 minutes on low heat.


So why not try to whip out this cooling soup for your family during this hot and humid weather to quench their thirst as well as build up their immune system. I am sure this will be a great soup for kids as the adding of carrot and corn gives this soup it's nature sweetness as well as that extra flavour. Posted by Picasa


Happy Kampong Seafood

Happy Kampong Seafood located in a coffee shop somewhere near the road junction of 81 Jalan Malu-Malu where they are a lot of terrace/semi-detached house. This coffee shop had being there for more than a decade or so and other the "Zhi Char - 煮 炒", this coffee shop also has a very popular Prawn Noodles stall which opens from morning till lunch hours.

This coffee shop is always crowded with customers as early as 5.30pm during weekends. From a glance of it, they have rather about 25 tables range from 4 to 10 seats. And sometime during festive season such as Chinese New Years, they even have wide varieties of seafood which is available for your choice.

Today's dinner we bring mum to try their signature Nonya -style Fish Head Curry which is common dish found on each patronisers table. The fish is very fresh and sweet in taste which goes well with their special nonya sauce. The fish head is pre-steam till done before they braise it with some lady finger, tomato, pineapple cubes and special sauce. It costs about S$18.00 for half a fish head.

We also try one of their egg dish which is this "Furong Dan". The inner layer consists of shredded red onion, carrot and chilli and shrimp which is being covered by a layer of egg skin. Usually you can find different fillings for this egg dish, some stall even add in "Char Siu - Roasted Pork(叉烧)", capsicum, minced meat and etc.

This "Braised Homemade Doufu With Gingko Nut" is also one of their signature dish too. The doufu which they made into rectangle-block symbolised like a "gold bar" in this dish. We love the texture of the doufu which is so silky and smooth and it goes pretty well with the sauce which is made from their special broth. The combination spinach, gingko nut and doufu makes this a healthy dish to crave for.Posted by Picasa
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UPDATED: 22 November 2011
 

Happy Kampong Seafood has shifted from Sembawang to 164 Tagore Lane, Singapore 787572, Reservation: +65 6755 1018 .


Breakfast Delux @ McDonald

Recently, McDonald has extend their weekend/public holiday breakfast hour to 12pm instead of the usual 11am. So that means for those who wish to sleep late during weekends will still have a chance to grab some of their favourite McDonald breakfast before lunch.

And for those who can't decided on whether "Big Breakfast" Or "Hotcake" for Breakfast, this new "Breakfast Delux" with two hotcake, scramble egg, meat pattie and muffin will be a great combination for you. Posted by Picasa

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