Get your FREE 1 PINT treat from New Zealand Natural

Heard from one of my facebook friends that New Zealand Natural has an on-going promotion that goes just well to help you cool off in the hot and humid weather starting from May 2011 till 24 July 2011. Whenever you buy 1 Quart of ice-cream you will receive another 1 Pint(worth S$11.80) absolutely FREE! So why not take advantage of these great savings and stock up your freezer with some of your favourite choice today !
Price: $$20.40 per quart of ice-cream

Try some of the yummy flavour at their New Zealand Natural Cafe at NEX Shopping Mall last week after our dinner and it taste really good despite on either Ice-Cream, Sorbet or Yoghurt. Here we ordered, "Superfruit Sensation"(front) which is Sorbet with pomegranate, goli berry, blackcurrant and passionfruit combined with mango juice blend with blueberry and ice. It taste really refreshing with fruity fragrance and the sweetness is just right for our preference.
Price: S$4.20 per scoop

This "Forest Berry" Frozen Yoghurt are made with live probiotic cultures, strawberry juice blend, blueberry, raspberry and etc. And for your information Blueberries are rich in antioxidants which help lower cholesterol and may protect against age-related deterioration of the brain. To my surprised their forest berry yoghurt is not as sour compare to those other brand that I have tried before. And the taste is very really natural like you are eating frozen berry on it's own. Worth trying!
Price: S$4.20 per scoop

So hurry down to one of their outlets(location HERE) to try their ice-cream as well as grab a Quart of that fabulous promotion too!

*NOTE: The 30:30 promotion would not be available for the month of May to July 2011.

The Mushroom Swiss from BURGER KING

To celebrate the success of BK Mushroom Swiss Burgers BURGER KING® as well as reminding everyone that this signature product of BK has grown to become one of Singapore’s favourite burger! Burger King is giving away a FREE BK Sundae (choice of caramel, chocolate or strawberry) with any purchase of a BK Doubles Mushroom Swiss Beef Burger large meal @ S$7.75* or Mushroom Swiss Tendergrill Chicken Burger large meal @ S$8.25*. With The King You Can, enjoy it from this July till 3rd August 2011.

*pricing varies at selected outlets

BK SINGLES OR DOUBLES MUSHROOM SWISS BEEF BURGER

Indulgent flavour and quality comes together in mouthfuls of BK Doubles Mushroom Swiss Beef Burger which nestled between a soft sesame-sprinkled bun with two juicy, 100% flame-grilled beef patties that blanketed in two slices of melted Swiss cheese and doused with their signature velvety-smooth mushroom sauce. But if this is too filling for ladies, perhaps you could go for their BK Singles Mushroom Swiss Beef Burger which delivers the same great flavour in a single-patty form.

MUSHROOM SWISS TENDERGRILL CHICKEN BURGER

Personally I would prefer Mushroom Swiss Tendergrill Chicken Burger which is cradled on a soft corn-dusted bun with succulent and tender 100% flame-grilled premium chicken thigh meat patty enveloped in melted Swiss cheese together with the all-time favourite silky mushroom sauce from BK, fresh lettuce and a generous spread of creamy mayonnaise. I am sure you won't be able to resists this temptation just like me.

Dim Sum Buffet @ Ban Heng Pavilion Restaurant

Ban Heng Pavilion Restaurant - 萬興樓(formerly Dragon Gate Restaurant) most probably offers the cheapest Dim Sum Buffet around Singapore with close to 30 different varieties of steamed and deep-fried dim sum together with porridge, soup and desserts.

Having Dim Sum Buffet for weekday lunch is a total blessing while others are rushing for their quick lunch bite within lunch hour. While waiting for the dim sum to be served, you can help yourself with their smooth and fragrant century egg porridge or some dessert of your choice. (Photo: Lotus root soup, century egg porridge, mango sago, read bean soup and almond jelly with cocktail)

The Steamed Custard Bun (香甜奶皇包) comes in a basket of 4 buns but I was quiet disappointed with their custard fillings which is not those flowing lava type which I had from Victor's Kitchen(read more HERE) sometime back. The custard fillings shown above was rather like paste form which is dried and not really towards my preference.

Look at these puffing Steamed Shrimp Paste Dumpling with Parsley (鲜虾香茜饺) that serves in a basket of 4. Each dumpling is filled with fresh and crunchy prawn but pity the skin and texture was too dry perhaps it had being left aside for quite sometime before serving.

Love their Steamed Meat Dumplings with Crab Roes (蚧璜蒸烧卖) as the texture was very crunchy with sweet juicy filling that leaves you craving for more than 1 serving.

From the Deep-fried category we tried both the savory and sweet dim sum such as Deep Fried Wanton(脆炸云吞) and Deep Fried Shrimp Dumplings(沙律明虾枣) on 1st row follow by Deep Fried Sweet Sesame Ball(香甜芝麻枣) and Deep Fried Water-chestnut Cake(脆皮马蹄条)shown on 2nd row. Out of the 4 items above, we love their Sweet Sesame Ball which has a crispy outer skin and not so sweet fillings, very addicting snacks .

If has to make a choice between the Deep Fried Roll with Chicken and Prawn(风凰卷) and Deep Fried Sweet Potato Roll(水果网中卷) I would vote for the sweet potato roll because I love the texture of the nested wrapped with a layer of sweet mashed potato.

Other than the above, we also tried their Stir-fry Spinach, Fried Noodles with Bean Sprout which we love and Barbecued Pork With Honey, Shrimp Paste Wrapped with Bean Curd Skin and etc.

Before coming for this dim sum buffet I have read up a few recommending sites and some it have rather negative feedback on either their food or the service staffs. For us, we find the quality of their food are still quite acceptable for the price that we are paying and the serving staffs of that days are also very friendly towards most of the customers.

But there is one thing that I would like to bring up, I notice that some of their utensils and plates are not thoroughly wash as there are still some porridge or dessert stains found on some of their serving spoons at the buffet line.

BAN HENG PAVILION RESTAURANT

1 Maritime Square
#04-01 Harbour Front Centre
Singapore 099253
Telephone: 6278 0288
Website: http://www.banhengrestaurant.com/

Opening Hours:-
Lunch: 11.30am - 2.30pm
Dinner: 6.00pm - 10.00pm

A clear view of their Weekdays Dim Sum Lunch Menu with pricing range from S$12.80++/adult and S$9.80++/child(age 3 -11 years old). For your information their buffet Lunch hours starts from 11.30am - 2.30pm with a minimum of 4 adults. They also provides "Weekends" Dim Sum Buffet at a slightly higher price which you can call their reservation line @ 6278 0288 for more details.

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/