Steam Osmanthus Cod Fish

In about a month's time, there will be two great occasions that falls on the same day of 14th February 2010. And I am sure most of us is aware of this Special day which marks the 1st day of the Chinese New Year as well as the Western Valentine's Day. So on this day, most or maybe all the restaurants will be fully packed with people celebrating this double occasions. In this case, why not try to whip up something special for your family or love one at the comfort of your home.

Since it is near towards the Chinese New Year season, I am sure whatever you have or going to prepare, you would want to give it some auspicious name. Today, we are going to prepare this "Osmanthus Cod Fish" with a translated name of "桂花蒸鳕鱼" which sounds like prosperous fish/become more prosperous every day(蒸蒸日上). For readers who has being following my post, you will have read about this Osmanthus flower which I have used it quite a number of time in making dessert or herbal drinks.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1 Large Cod Cutlet
1/2 Tablespoon of Osmanthus Flower
1 Teaspoon of Wolfberries
3 Red Dates, halves
Some Broccoli Florets, blanched
1/2 Tablespoon Mirin/Glutinous Rice Rice, optional

Method:
1. Clean and pat dry the fish, lightly marinate it with some light soy sauce and corn flour.
2. Next arrange the fish cutlet on a plate together with the red date, wolfberries and 1/2 of the Osmanthus Flower.
3. Prepare a steaming pot with metal rack, when the water boils, put the plate of fish on the rack and steam on medium high heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Remove the pot cover, drizzle mirin/glutinous rice wine on it, scatter the remaining Osmanthus Flower and continue to steam for another 2 to 3 minutes till the fish is cooked through.
5. Remove and serve with warm rice.


Note:
~ You can choose any type of fish fillet/cutlet that is suitable for steaming or to your liking.
~ The timing for steaming the fish will depend on the thickness, you can test it after 5 minutes of steaming time, using a chopstick/fork to test the center of the meat.


Osmanthus is a highly perfumed flower, and it is well known that you can smell it nine miles away! It is a deliciously fragrant flowers which carry the scent of ripe peaches or apricots. Other than its refreshing fragrant, in the Chinese Medical terms, it is also used to reduce phlegm if you have a bad cough.

Sunset @ Lower Peirce Reservoir

"Lower Peirce Reservoir - 贝雅士蓄水池下段" is one of the oldest reservoirs in Singapore. It is located near the MacRitchie Reservoir and the Upper Peirce Reservoir which is some where near Upper Thomson Road.

The Lower Peirce Reservoir is Singapore's second oldest reservoir. It was built by impounding the upper reaches of the Kallang River and comissioned in 1912. The forest that lines its banks is considered a mature secondary rainforest and evenly until today you still can find numerous rubber trees and oil palms scatter around the park.

The park not only provides a peace and relax environment for stressed-out individuals, the dense forests surrounding the reservoir also serve as an important refuge for many rare animal and plant species finding shelter. During weekends or public holiday, the park will be filled with family bring kids or love one to set up picnics and to enjoy the scenery or enjoying the trails through the rainforest to have exciting encounters with Singapore's amazing wildlife. From what we have saw and heard from friends, most of the people like to come to this place to catch little shrimps, crabs or fish which is another way of family bonding time with the kids.

If you choose to visit the park or stay around evening time, you might able to catch up with the beautiful sunset that you might not have a chance to see often during your daily working life. Sometime life will be more meaningful if you can spare some time, stop your pace and lift up your head and enjoy this beautiful sunset that is created by God.

If you are staying around Upper Thomson Road, I am sure you have visited this place and enjoy the natural goodness far long before us. But if you have not come to know this place before, maybe you can arrange for one of the weekend and give it a visit and enjoy your breakfast or evening sunset along the coaster or the green patches. I am sure that will be a most wonderful day for you......

Birthday Treat @ Sakae Sushi Part I

January is a double Birthday month for our family and today my little darling is going to be 6 years old in 2010. This year, we didn't have any celebration/family gathering like what we to have in the past years. As Rey is a year older now, he actually proposed not to have any celebration party, he said he just wants us to bring him to have his favourite Sakae sushi and Swensen's ice-cream.......

So with his request, we actually bought him for a Sakae lunch after his school today and guess what we have for our lunch...........

As usual, Rey started to attack at his favourite "Tamago Sushi" while the rest of us also aiming for our "favourites" from the menu screen or the conveyor belt. First plate that Aunty Lily took from the conveyor belt this, Cheezy Crab Maki(which consists of soft shell crab). It has a layer of grill cheese covering the rice and the filling. The taste was rather special as you can taste something like smoke cheese taste.

While looking at the Menu, I have some craving of their Lobster salad which is a cold side dish. The texture of the Lobster meat is tender and juice and it's really quite a refreshing dish to start off the meal. If you are a Lobster fan, you might want to read more on their Lobster Set Meal from my older post. (click HERE)

"Saba Shioyaki" or grilled Mackerel is one of my mum's frequently ordered items on the list, she will often choose between this and fried Salmon Kamaage or either the one that is available. This fish will taste a bit of that "Fishy" smell so you need to squeeze some lemon juice on it before consume and sometime, there are also some bones which you might need to be extra careful when feeding the kids.

Other than the above, we also have "Fried Doufu", "Renkon Chip", "Salmon Nigiri", "Chawanmushi" and etc. While chit chatting, we were all curious about this soup which they called it "Dobinmushi" which is served in a tea-pot together with a wedge of lime/lemon. First you need to squeeze the lime into the soup and use the cup to drink the soup. Usually the ingredients, being the main focus of this dish, are generally consumed prior to drinking the soup.

Overall, we have a very hearty and wonderful lunch at Sakae Sushi and most important is our little Birthday Boy is delighted with his birthday treat. So stay-tune for Part II of this month Sakae Birthday Treat!

Streets Cafe Restaurant @ IMM

Streets Café Restaurant - 街头茶餐厅 has a few branches located in different area of Singapore. Eg, IMM Jurong, Bukit Panjang Plaza, City Square Mall and etc. As we are going to IMM to grab some stuffs and it's around lunch time, we decided to get our lunch in this Hong Kong style cafe.

Although this is not my first time patronise a Hong Kong Style cafe, but it is rather my first time visiting this Streets Cafe. There are not many tables being occupied despite of nearly to lunch hours. After scanning through the menu, we settle for the following drinks and main dish. Their Ice Milk Tea is serve using a very special cup which look sort of like a jar but with handler. But the taste of the milk tea is kind of average which compare to even our local coffee shop standard milk tea.

I love the combination of Mango and Pomelo, so while looking at the drinks column, my attention was being caught with this "Ice Blended Mango Pomelo". Before this drink is being served, I actually think of it to be serve on a bowl with shaved ice and mango puree which sort of like our local dessert, "Ice Ka Chang". But when the drink is served, I was totally amazed by it's attractive and colourful combination. This is indeed another great way to try this famous Hong Kong dessert.

Their "Beef Hor Fun with Gravy" comes in a big serving plate with everything mixed together. So on the glance of it, you might feel "Errrrrrr" what is this? Or maybe I can put it as the presentation of the dish is not very good, the look of it makes the dish look like a plate of mixed vegetable dish rather than Stir-fry Beef Hor Fun....... But thankfully, the taste is still good and the beef are still tender to taste.

The Ying Yang Baked Rice came with 2 sauces which is the white sauce and tomato sauce. The sauce split right in the middle and topped with generous amount of Mozzarella Cheese. The texture of the rice was just nice, but we think the taste of the sauce can be improve much better.

Toast Box - Afternoon Tea

Toast Box is one of the owns a chain out outlets under the Breadtalk group. It is established in December 2005 as a food stall unit in Food Republic, at Wisma Atria in Orchard area. Within a few years, Toast Box has expanded with more than 20 outlets in Singapore and expanded overseas outlets in Malaysia, Philippines, China, Thailand and Hong Kong.

No matter at what time of the day, you can start of with a fragrant cup of Nanyang Kopi, crispy-grilled thick toast and soft-boiled eggs. Or you can have your choice for Nasi Lemak, Mee Siam or Laksa. If you feel like having a relax tea-time on some light refreshment in the afternoon, you can choose from Traditional Kaya Toast, Banana Cake or some Colonial Tea Cakes that made from fresh buttercream, and topped with succulent fruits which will satisfy your taste buds.

Since we just wanted to have something light for Tea-Snack, we decided to get one of the Peanut Toast Set which serves together with a cup of freshly brew coffee, 2 large soft-boiled egg and a slice of 2.5cm thick toast which is crusty on the outside and heavenly soft inside. The toast is spread with a generous amount of peanut butter coating which goes well with the thick toast. This is really a good energy revival snack for a tiring afternoon of shopping day........

We also get a slice of this homemade Banana Cake because I am attracted by it soft and moist outlook. Banana Cake use to be one of my favourite tea-snack during my secondary days so having a slice of this with coffee really brings back a lot of my school days memories. But if you are looking for those moist or full of banana fragrance texture outcome then this cake might not suits your taste but it is more towards the light version.

Pinnacle @ Duxton

Finally the long waiting months are over, the Pinnacle @ Duxton along Cantonment Road is now ready for keys collection for majority of the residents. The Pinnacle, consists of seven connected towers labelled 1A to 1G and each tower is 50 storeys in height. And guess what, the unit that we are going to view today is located at level 45.............

Here are some views which we can see from the inside of the apartment. Staying in the city area, especially near the CBD area is totally different from what we used to have. I guess the most happiest of all is my brother who has waited for the completion of this flat for more than 5 years...... :)

All seven buildings are linked at the 26th and 50th floors by Sky Bridges forming a jogging track and sky garden which is a feature that is unique for public housing in Singapore. These are some of the views at level 50 of the sky bridge. Residents will have the access card to the sky bridges area while public need to pay an admission fees in order to access these viewing area.

Other facilities include a food centre, daycare centre, underground carpark and other sports and recreational facilities in the upcoming months. These are some photo(s) of the underground carpark which is still under some mini construction.

Happy New Year - 2010

Time always went past so fast without us realising that it is time for another brand new year again. Today is the 1st day of 2010, a lot of thoughts in my mind and I am really thankful that God has preserves me and my family through out a wonderful and blessed year. While scrolling through my blog posts, I feel so satisfied that even being a full-time working mum, I am still able to catch up with my hobby in blogging and at the same time, prepared all these dishes and bakes for my love ones.

I am also thankful to all my blog readers and sincerely appreciate for your dropping by, comments and supports in my blogs. Without all your supports, Cuisine Paradise will not be able to accomplish such a great achievement in year 2009 to win the BEST FOOD BLOG award which is organised by OMY(omy.com.sg). And with the winning of this award, I am also given a chance to have my very first interview being broadcast on Air with Daniel Ang from FM100.3.

Another Major accomplishment for Cuisine Paradise in 2009 is to be able to have my very own recipes being published bi-monthly in a local parenting magazine called "Parents World". So far, my recipes had being published in 5 issues....... Thanks to Daniel, the editor who gave me such a opportunity to fulfil my dream.... I hope that I might be able to do better in contributing some interesting recipes for the readers......

Finally, before sharing with you some of my personal picks on what I have done in 2009....... Let me send my best and sincerely wishes to each and everyone of you out there that reads and supports Cuisine Paradise a HAPPY & WONDERFUL NEW YEAR ahead and may this 2010 be a great and prosper year for all of you.........

Soup!!! These are the main things that I will cook no matter how busy I am. Even without any proper dishes, we can just have a bowl of homecook soup together with steam rice. I personally believed nothing can compare to a bowl of homecook soup that is full of love and nutrition in it. So if you are interested to know more about the soup that I cook for my family, click HERE for more ideas.....

If I have the time, I love to try out different type of cuisine with different interesting ingredients. And most of all, I love to garnish my dishes with "COLOUR". As frequent readers of my blogs, you will notice that, I love to present my dish in a colourful layout. The reason for this might be partly because of the photo taking but most important factor is, I feel that proper presentation is very important. When you look at the food menu, you will definitely order something that looks good rather than something that looks simple. And with a kid at home, I find that by in-cooperating different colours in the dish, it actually catches their attention and this make it easier for the kid to eat all kind of food by their attractive colours. Interested in any dish? Click HERE for the recipe index :)

2009 is not a baking year for me, as I am working full time, I don't really have much spare time to do baking with my boy like what we used to have when he was a toddler. But on a off, during special occasion or when my boy is craving for his favourite Chocolate cake, muffins or cookies, I will still find time to bake something with him. Baking is always a great bonding time for both of us, as he will help me with the ingredients and preparation then finally he will wait by the oven side for the goodies to be bake while I do the washing up.

In 2009, I am also in the trend of making Kid's Bento. With some great inspiration from my bento pals like Amy(motheringcorner), Susan(Hawaii Bento), I started to collect all kinds of BENTO TOOLS and come up with some of my very own Bento for my kid. Above are some of my favourite Bento that I have made so far...... You can take a look HERE for more ideas too....... Some of my bento were also feature in the magazine together with Rey in May/June Issue.

In 2009, I also add in another new blog-site to Cuisine Paradise known as "Shop, Eat & Travel", where I post some of the food reviews on the stalls/places that we patronise and as well as some places of interest in Singapore such as Dairy Farm Park, Marina Barrage, Bottle Tree Park and etc where you can bring your kids along and have a great family outing. With so many different content of sub-blogs in Cuisine Paradise, I hope that I can have more time to update every blog-site regularly and share more interesting recipes/information with all the readers here.

Lastly, this is my favourite dish that I have done in 2009. Durian Fried Rice is always one of the dish that I wanted to try it out at home. I have heard about this dish serving in one of the Hong Kong Style Cafe in Singapore. From the food review that I have read from google search, this is actually a fried rice dish that consists of some prawns, egg and durian flesh. So I guess you can imagine the taste of a mixture of savoury and sweet combination. For me, since as a little kid, I love to eat durian with steam rice from the influence of my late father, so this an interesting venture for me to try out this dish during the durian season. So if you have tried this dish before and you are interesting to give it a try a home, or maybe you would like to take a look at some of the Durian recipes that I have post.

B.B.Q Chicken Wing @ Sembawang

Along Sembawang Road after the Chong Pang Camp, you will find an range of eateries opposite the newly renovated Sembawang Shopping Center. The formerly Yishun Seafood Village has now being take over by S11 Coffee Shop and within the coffee shop itself, you can find a lot of yummy local Singapore food like Satay, Fried Hokkian Mee, BBQ Stingray and etc.

In the S11 coffee shop, it will not be hard for you to notice the stall that is selling BBQ Chicken Wing and Spring Chicken. The stall is always crowded with people queuing up with orders and they also accept bulk orders for gathering or BBQ function.

Look at the colour of their BBQ Chicken Wings, isn't it look great. The wings are evenly cooked through and it taste great and fragrance with the seasoning. These wings are also serve with their special made chilli sauce which add extra flavour to the taste. Each wing is sold at S$1.30 each and the stall opens till 1am might night or while the food last.