Sugar Fix @ Ah Chew Desserts

Look at these!!! I am sure there is something that you can pick up to quench your thirst during these hot days. From the icy cool “Mango Sago And Pomelo” to the all time favourite such as “Gingko, Barley with Beancurd Skin” or the smooth and silky “Ginger Fresh Milk Steam Egg”. Either one of these or other choices from their menu will definitely attract you into their shop.

Last Saturday after our lunch gathering at Porn’s (click HERE), we decided to drop-by “Ah Chew Desserts” to get our sugar fix from their wide varieties of home cook desserts. Below are the items that we have ordered and tried:-

They have a very special ordering menu placed beneath the glass top table in order for customers to have a clear view of their items before making orders at the counter.

My Choice of "Black Glutinous Rice with Vanilla Ice Cream(黑糯米湖加香草雪糕)". Ever since I read up the good review on I-weekly about this special dessert I have always wanted to try it. And finally today I get to eat what I have being craving for. The combination of cold and creamy vanilla ice-cream with traditional Black Glutinous Rice and a bit of toasted almond flakes was really a good hit. At least the ice-cream is not as greasy as the coconut milk/cream. and the crunchy almond flakes add extra flavour to the taste too. Worth trying like what is recommended or you can even make this dessert at home by adding a scoop of vanilla ice-cream to your homemade Black Glutinous Rice(Pulot Hitam).
Price: SS$3.00 per bowl

Susan (blog link) choice was her favourite "Mango Sago And Pomelo(杨枝甘露)" but while making order at the counter she was tempted by the toppings menu showing "Durian". Without hesitate she immediately ask for the extra durian topping into her Mango Sago and Pomelo. But while tasting the yummy combination, we find that the durian paste was rather a bit sour which caused some stir among us. Overall we find it is not really worth to pay S$5.10 for this combination as the taste was rather odd compare to the usual Mango Sago with Pomelo.
Price: S$4 per bowl + S$1.10 for durian topping

Audrey (Lobster) and Alvin shared this amazing "Black Glutinous Rice(黑糯米湖)" which we are all fascinated with it's "spider web" like design. This is definitely something unusual compared to the normal black glutinous rice that we used to eat at the food centre where the stall owner just drizzle a spoonful of coconut milk/cream on it. Audrey finds the texture of their black glutinous rice was rather grainy to her liking compared to those sticky and creamy type. For a chance, they also ordered extra glutinous rice balls to go with the black glutinous rice paste.
Price: S$2.10 per bowl + S$1.00 for extra 3 rice balls topping

Rae is the only person who prefers this slightly bitter and spicy "Ginger Fresh Milk Steam Egg(姜汁鲜奶炖蛋)". According to her, the texture is very smooth and silky that can just wobble down your throat. But for me I would rather go for something light which is their "Fresh Milk Steam Egg White(鲜奶炖蛋白) as I don't really prefer the ginger taste.
Price: S$3.20 per pot

Maureen (Miss Tam Chiak) settles for a bowl of her favourite "Red Bean Paste with Lily Bulb(百合红豆沙)" which she prefer the lightly infuse tangerine taste. But if for me, I would prefer this to be slightly sweeter and perhaps with more tangerine taste in it.
Price: S$2.10 per bowl

Yan Cai pick this "Water Chestnut with Egg(蛋花妈蹄露)" which comes with crunchy slices of fresh water chestnut that enhance the dessert with a extra refreshing fragrant. This is a simple and yet delicious sweet treat for hot weathers.
Price: S$2.10 per bowl

Kai's choice of "Gingko Barley & Bean Curd Skin(白果薏米腐竹)" which consists of generous amount of Gingko nuts. Taste wise was quiet alright which is not very sweet too. Friendly speaking I won't order this dessert from any stalls outside as I find they can't produce the taste that my mum's always prepared for us. I preferred those texture and taste that is similar to soya bean milk type.
Price: S$2.10 per bowl

Ah Chew Dessert is located in the middle stretch of Liang Seah Street where you can find all kind of yummy food along that street such as the famous Yu Kee Braised Duck Rice, Madam Saigon Vietnamese Cuisine, Around De World Café, Porn’s Thai Food, Crystal Jade and etc. With Ah Chew’s unique traditional furnishing of using brick and pairs of eye catching red couplet(春联) outside their shop. When you get into the shop you will be amaze by the Chinese traditional wooden chairs and tables that we can hardly seen in the modern household these days.

Ah Chew Desserts Pte Ltd
1 Liang Seah Street
#01-10/11
Liang Seah Place
Singapore 189022
Telephone: 6339 8198

Operating Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 12.30pm - 11.30pm
Friday: 12.30pm - 12.30am
Saturday: 1.30pm - 12.30am
Sunday: 1.30pm - 11.30pm

Stir-fried Shiitake with Lean Pork

We love to have some mushroom in corporate into our weekly menu. Usually I would just stir-fry it with some olive oil and garlic cloves to retain its nature flavour. But for today’s mushroom menu, I decided to add in some pork fillet and chili to spice up its taste and flavour.

Shiitake mushrooms are originate from China where it has been successfully cultivated for more than a thousand years. With a long history of medicinal use, Shiitake mushrooms are rich in vitamins and minerals. This mushroom is also known to enhance the immune system whereby it aids the body to fight infection and disease.

Shiitake mushroom has a rich and “woody” flavour, with a meaty texture and a distinctive aroma. This versatile mushroom is best used for braises, stir fries, soups and etc.

Here are some of the ingredients used for this dish. You can omit or change the pork fillet to chicken fillet according to your own preference.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
150g Pork Fillet, cut into strips
250g Shiitake Mushroom, cut into thick slices
3 Cloves of garlic, skin removed
1 Red Onion, cut into wedges
2 Stall of Spring Onion, cut into sections
2 Small Chili, optional
3/4 Tablespoon of Oyster Sauce

Method:
1. Rinse and cut the pork fillet into long strips and marinate it with 1/2 teaspoon each of light soya sauce, sesame oil, corn flour and a dash of white pepper for at least 15 minutes.
2. Heat up the wok with 1/2 tablespoon of oil and sauté HALF of the onion wedges and, spring onion together with the garlic and chili (cut into diagonal section) till fragrant.
3. Add in the pork fillet and give it a quick stir for about 1 minute until the meat is almost cooked through, dish up and set aside.
4. Using the same wok, add in another 1/2 tablespoon of oil, add in the remaining onion and spring onion and sauté for 20 seconds then add in the mushroom and continue to stir-fry for another 1 minute till it soften.
5. Transfer the pork fillet back into wok with the mushroom, add in oyster sauce and cooked for another 30 seconds or so.
6. Remove and serve with steam rice.


Adding extra chili bring up the flavour of this dish which gives it a spicy taste. But if this is a family dish for kids, perhaps you would like to omit chili and add in dash of black pepper before remove it from the wok.

Double-Boiled Pork Muscle with Burdock Soup

What do you need most during these humid and scorching days? I am sure lot of fluid intake in any form such as drinks, soup, dessert and etc becomes the most important task in our daily life. Today I would like to share with you a new ingredient that I have used only once for making the Korean Chicken Soup.

This is a very nutritious and popular soup for kids as the sweetness from the sweet corn and gaint red dates could actually mask off most of the "root" taste from the burdock. You can either serve this soup before or together with your meal.

Burdock comes as a long tapering, soil-covered root, also known as niu bang (牛蒡) by the Chinese. There are many reasons why you should include this root vegetable in your diet. This root is high in fibre and low in calories, rich in potassium and it is also a moderate source of iron and calcium.

The root is often peeled and shredded or cut into chunks, and prepared in soups, porridge, rice and pickled and stuffed into sushi rice. Once the skin is removed, the flesh oxidises quickly so be sure to have a bowl of lightly salted water to prevent browning if you wish to use it for salad.

Here are some of the ingredients used for the soup. Using of pork muscle for a double-boiled soup is always a good choice, as it will retain the flavour of the soup and also usually the meat is discard and we drinks only the soup.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
250g Burdock, cut into thick chunks
2 - 3 Pieces of Pork Muscle
1 Sweet Corn, cut into section
6-8 Red Dates
1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries, optional
1.5 Liter of Boiling Water

Method:
1. Trim, clean and place the pork muscle in boiling water for about 2 minutes, remove and rinse well. Set aside for later use.
2. Wash and scrab the burdock with a brush then cut in into thick chunk, alternatively you can use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer skin before cutting it into thick chunk.
3. Remove the husk and leaves of the corn, rinse and cut it into 3 sections and halves.
4. Bring 1.5 Litre of water to boil in a medium soup pot, add in all the above ingredients except wolfberries.
5. When the mixture comes to boil again, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour or alternatively you can transfer the soup to a slow cooker and cook it on AUTO for about 2.5 hours or so. (add in wolfberries 15 minutes before cooking time)

Often Burdock is used together with other herbs to treat a variety of illness such as colds, throat infections, pneumonia and tonsillitis. This root vegetable is also a great blood-cleansing ingredient that makes it indispensable in treatment for skin disorders. So if you have not try using this wonder ingredient perhaps this soup might gives you a good head start with it.

Lastly, thanks to all the lovely readers from Cuisine Paradise facebook page (link) for their suggestions on using burdock. Here are some of their suggestions which you might be interested to take a look.