Penguins Bento and Bento Making featured in ZaoBao(联合早报)

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Recently my boy was fascinated with "The Penguins of Madagascar" showing on #kto(here) every Monday - Thursday at 6.30pm. He loves those 4 crazy Penguins known as Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private who rule the roost at their Central Park Zoo home with thier all-new adventures together with King Julian. And with his favorite show he has always wanted to make a Penguin Bento.

So finally last Sunday, I managed to come up with this Penguins Bento which is similar to his favourite Madagascar Penguins using Charcoal Bread(read more HERE) bought from "Lavender Bakery" at City Square Mall, Johor. He was so excited when we cut out the penguins shape from the charcoal bread using the cutter and assemble it featured with cheese and carrot. I am sure no matter who you gave this Penguins Bento to the receiver will definitely be thrilled.

This photo shows the tools and steps on how to assemble this cute Penguins Bento.

Ingredients:

1 Slice of Bamboo Charcoal Bread
1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
2 Thin Slices of Carrot
1/4 Portion of Sweet Corn
Fresh Fruits of your Choice
Some Prawn Crackers
Nori sheet
1 Toothpick

Method:-

1. Blanched Sweetcorn in boiling water for about 2 - 3 minutes, removed and add in the carrot. Cook for 30 seconds, remove and set aside.

2. Using a Penguin shape food cutter to cut out two penguins from the bamboo charcoal bread.

3. Next with the same cutter cut out another two penguins from the cheese and using toothpick and drinking straw to cut out the stomach, mouth and eyes of the penguins.

4. Place the cut out cheese features on the prepared bread (give it a gentle press to stick the cheese on the bread), before securing the legs(you can use a flower shape cutter to cut out semi-circle from the carrot) of the penguins using carrot and thin spaghetti strips.

5. Lastly, assemble the sweetcorn, fruits, crackers and penguins bread into the bento box and serve.

FEATURED in 21.06.2011

ZaoBao(联合早报), Family Page

Here is a screen shot of our bento making featured in today's ZaoBao(联合早报), Family Page which might be an encouraging article for working parents to create a bonding time with kids by making bento as a food art and educational theme for them.

Although bento making in Singapore is not as popular as in Japan and Taiwan but there are still a lot of bento makers and bento item collectors in Asian countries. And my bento journey starts with a group of bento friends whom always inspired me with their creative ideas where you might be interested to take a look and read-up their fabulous bento from their blogs shown below:-

1. Mothering Corner @ http://motheringcorner.com/

2. Bentolicious @ http://www.mybentolicious.com/

3. Susan Yuan @ http://susanyuen.blogspot.com/

4. Hippomum @ http://www.wretch.cc/blog/hippomum/11108126

5. Tona Mummy @ http://ourfirstbabykimiboy.blogspot.com/

The Ultimate Crab & Durian Buffet @ Sentosa Boardwalk

Last Saturday evening we finally went for the "Ultimate Crab and Durian Buffet" after hearing so many different reviews from media, bloggers and friends who had tried. We had booked two tables to cater our usual group of foodie friends as well as a few new comers to feast on this "FULLY" booked buffet which starts from 09 - 26 June 2011, 6.00pm to 11.00pm(daily) at the Promontory along the Sentosa Boardwalk.

The long waiting queue of people was there even 10 minutes before the buffet starts and when enter the venue you will see a long buffet line with over 40 different varieties of food to satisfy your hungry and taste. To begin with the buffet you can start with either their cold/hot appetizer such as "Coral Crab Bisque with Sour Cream Soup" to go with freshly baked roll. Or you can pick up something from the selection of Maki Sushi, Poached Tiger Prawns, Prawn and Mango with Avocado Mousse, Fresh Oysters and etc.

Further down the buffet line of this Ultimate Crab buffet, you would at least get to try 5 different crab dishes such as Wok-Fried Chili Sri Lankan Crab, Black Pepper Sri Lankan Crab, Masala Mud Crab shown above. Or others some others like Salted Egg Yoke Crab, Nonya Curry Crab and Ginger Scallion Flower Crab. I am sure for someone who loves crab there is definitely something that suits you.

Even though when comes to seafood, crab eating it is usually not my cup of tea compare to the others like prawn and fish. I find their Masala Mud Crab taste better than Wok-Fried Chili Cab because of it lovely hot and spicy taste from the Masala spices. And if you like spicy food, don't missed out their "Beef Rendang" which is very tender and comes in thick and fragrant gravy which you would love to dip with the Fried Man Tou or as gravy for the crabmeat fried rice.

One of our friend in group recommend this must try "Whole Baked Salmon in Rock Salt" which served with Chive Butter. The fish itself taste so fresh and juicy with it's nature sweetness even without any serving sauce. And personally I prefer this baked salmon compare to their Salmon Sashimi. Some of us are also quite shock to see the orange-red colour of their sashimi but the texture and taste wise was still quite average which generous thickness of slices.

Look at those baskets of D24 Durians! To be honest, Durian are the main reason why I am coming for this buffet. According to one of our friend she said that everyday at around 7.00pm onwards there will be a non-ending queues waiting eagerly for their turn to get hold of a plate or two of these creamy and delicious freshly open Durian.

Although not every seeds of these durians are of good grade but at least you can expect about 80% of it. And if you would like to have something different, perhaps their Durian Pengat which is on the lighter taste compared to the fresh durian pulps will be a good choice for you. But unfortunately the one that we had that day are not served in individual cups with a extra gula melaka topping like what mentioned in some blogs that I have read about. Instead I think the chef have mixed the gula melaka syrup together with the durian puree for our convenient.

Other than Fresh Durian and Durian Pengat, they also served other accompany desserts such as Fresh Cut Fruits, Nonya Kueh, Ice-cream and pastries such as Dark Chocolate Mousse, Durian Cheesecake, Tiramisu and Durian Mousse.

THE ULTIMATE CRAB AND DURIAN BUFFET
Venue: The Promontory, Sentosa Boardwalk
Time: 6pm - 11pm
Prices: Adult $38++ / Child $21++
(Free flow of ice water but other drinks chargeable)
Telephone: 6279 1767

Special Promotions:
Islanders - 15% discount (max. 10 pax per reservation)
ANZ Credit Card - Every 3 paying Free 1

p/s: By the way the buffet is already fully booked till the last day of the promotion. However you can try walk in and may be lucky to get a table.

Each and everyone of us has a wonderful night with good company of friends, food and excellent view from the promontory where we are able to catch the fabulous fireworks and Crane Dance performance. For more read-up and photos related to this buffet, you can refer to their blog links shown below:-

1. Maureen: http://www.misstamchiak.com/

2. Shi Ting: http://lobsterpaints.blogspot.com/

3. Celes: http://celestialdelish.blogspot.com/

4. Derrick: http://www.sgfoodonfoot.com/

5. Meng Ching: http://jessiefoodtrip.blogspot.com/

6. Sherie: http://www.maameemoomoo.com/blog

7. Priscilla: http://www.iluvmyscooter.com/

Steamed Pandan Cake With Sweet Potatoes

I am sure most of us are familiar with the pandan chiffon cake that is available at most bakery stalls. Here with a twist from the previous steamed cake that I have made, I decided to make some Steamed Pandan Cake with Sweet Potatoes. And to make these steamed cakes more fragrance and delicious, you can add in some home-made pandan juice for a superb and natural jade green colour.

When it comes to steamed cake it might look rather easy compared to those bake version but for some of us this might not be the case. I have received a few emails regarding on the "steamed cake" recipe(s)(read more HERE) that they have tried a few times following the recipe(s) to dot and yet they cannot achieve the desire outcome like what is mention on the blog post. Friendly speaking I have failed at least twice while testing out the recipe(s) before I could perfect them with the right texture and outlook too.

[Dessert] Sweet Potato Soup

I am sure you can easily find this common sweet soup available at most dessert stalls in Singapore. But are you willing to pay for the price ranging from  S$1.20 - S$2.50 just for a bowl of Sweet Potato Soup - 番薯汤 similar to this?

In fact you can cook this quick and easy sweet soup anytime of the day at your own comfort zone with just minimum ingredients required. But before you starts you have to take note of some tips to make it taste just as good as what you had from those dessert stalls.

The key point of this dessert is to control the sweetness of the soup and texture of the sweet potatoes. The soup base cannot be too bland or too sweet and as for the sweet potato it must not be overcooked or else it will be too soft and affect the overall taste of this dessert. And to enhance the taste of the soup, you can also add in a few slices of ginger and some dried longan for that extra spicy taste and fragrant.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
2 Orange Sweet Potatoes(番薯), peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 Japanese Potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
Cane Sugar To Taste
2 - 3 Slices of Ginger, optional
1.8 Litres of Water
5 Pieces Pandan Leaves, tie to knot

Method:-

1. Bring 1.8 litres of water to boil together with pandan leaves and ginger slices for about 3 minutes.

2. Add in all the potatoes and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes or until soft.

3. Lastly add cane sugar and stir till dissolved.

4. Remove from heat, ladle into serving bowl and serve warm.


I simply adore this sweet potato dessert which brings back a lot of my wonderful childhood memories where my mum and I used to patron a dessert stall outside the cinema area where we used to visit after our show for late night supper.