Monday 20 May 2013

Singapore Navy Open House 2013

Over the weekend, I believe many of us has visited the Singapore Navy Open House 2013 (NOH) at Changi Naval Base. The open house starts with long queues over at the Singapore Expo Hall 3 where visitors go through some security screening before boarding the free shuttle bus to NOH. Even though we were there early like 8.10am on Saturday, 18 May we still waited for about 30 minutes before we get into the bus. But thanks to the well-organized queuing system (to and back from the open house) as well as the navy staffs who help up to maintain the flow, the queue do move pretty fast and in order too.

The crowds at Singapore Expo go through the security screen and waiting to board the shuttle bus to the Navy Open House on Saturday, 18 May 2013.

K-Ster expendable mine disposal system (EMPS) on display

Navy Open House held at Changi Naval Base


With the given brochure(s) at the entrance, visitors would be able to redeem a limited edition Navy Open House Badge plus submit a slip to join their ballot cruise ride on one of their display warships too.

There are a few zones to explore at the NOH like Mission Zone, Heart Zone, Experience and Family Zone.  In the Heart Zone, there are many navy personnel around to share they stories as well as a photo booth to provide free photo taking and instant print for visitors and after which these photos would be uploaded to their Facebook here.  

Souvenirs and information booths are also available in Heart Zone too.

At the open house, visitors could also experience ear-bursting dynamic display on how the members of the elite Naval Diving Unit dropping into the water from hovering Chinook helicopters to overcome terrorist threats at sea as well as conducting a hostage rescue.

Rescue in process.....

RSS Valiant from 188 Squadron

Ships at Navy Open House which opens to public access where visitors could go for an on board tour.

RSS Swordsman at the Navy Open House. Too bad submarines are not open to public access and viewing.

Thanks God, we won balloting tickets for a 60 minutes cruise ride on board the RSS Vengeance from 188 Squadron.

We sail off from the Changi Naval Base and start with an hour of exciting cruise ride along the coastal line.

On board we get to experience the Corvettes travel at amazing speed of 30 knots which is about 50kmh. And during the ride, we also given opportunity to understand the function of the warship and the life of the crews on board through exchange conversations.

Beautiful view along the coastal line while on board the RSS Vengeance.

At the open house, there was also an Food and Beverage Zone where you could take a rest, have some bites and occupy yourself with performances that are prepared by the navy staffs and school students.

As you could see from the over, the food zone was over crowded even before the lunch hours which I think they could have bring in more stalls or bigger area to cater for the crowds in future events. For us, we just grab some pastry which has the shortest queue of all but I think it would be good to bring along some bread or sandwiches which would be great in term of cost and quality.

RSN S70-B Seahawk naval helicopter


Other than the naval ships, visitors also has the opportunities to see other assets from the Army and Air Force too. For example, Seahawk naval helicopter, Tankers, Top Gun and etc.

Out of all the exhibit warships, the queue to visit the RSS Endurance [207] never seems to get shorter than the 90 minutes wait. This ship is fitted with a well dock which can accommodate four landing crafts as well as a flight deck which can accommodate two medium lift helicopters too.

Lastly we also explore some of the foreign warships that participate in this year Navy Open House such as the :- ) USS Freedom [LCS-1] – Freedom class Littoral Combat Ship from United States of America; INS Satpura [F48] – Shivalik class Frigate and INS Kirch [P62] – Kora class Corvette from India.

Although the weather was pretty hot that day, but I am sure all those who went definitely had an enjoyable time with the cruise ride, warships tour, experience at shooting range and etc. We shall look forward for the next Navy Open House in 2016.

Friday 17 May 2013

Omurice and Pork Cutlet With Japanese Curry

Curry (カレー) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan and it is often make into Curry Rice (カレーライス), Curry Udon (thick noodles) and Curry Bun. The ingredients used for Japanese curry are vegetables like onions, carrots, potatoes and meat such as beef, pork, and chicken. Sometime you could also find Katsu-karē / Tonkatsu (カツカレー) which is a breaded deep-fried pork cutlet served with curry sauce too.

For this recipe I have combined 3 of our family favourite such as Omelette Rice, Japanese Curry and Deep-fried Pork Cutlet into one dish and we just simply love this dish even though we are having it second time for this week.


OMURICE AND PORK CUTLET WITH JAPANESE CURRY


Although we have a mad rushing week but finally the mid-year school examination has ended (on Thursday) and now we can start counting down for June school holidays. And also since I could not help my kid to sit for the exam, all I can do as a mum is to prepare his favourite food to shower my love and encouragement to him during this stressful week.

I know there are many mothers out there sharing the same thoughts as me during this stressful exam month but I believe we would get it through and enjoy the sweet moments with our kid(s) no matter how good or bad they scored for the exam.  After all family support and love are also one of the greatest secret to score well too. 


(Serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 25 - 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
  • 2 Servings Of Cooked Rice
  • 2 Pieces of Butterfly Pork Cutlets
  • 1/2 Cup of Breadcrumbs
  • Oil For Deep-frying

  • Japanese Curry
  • 3 Medium Potato, cut into 1" cubes
  • 1 Medium Carrot, cut into 1.5 cm chunks
  • 1 Medium Onion, diced
  • 100g Of Pumpkin, cut into 1.5 cm chunks
  • Half Chicken Breast Meat (optional), cut into chunks
  • 1/2 Tablespoon of Cooking Oil
  • 700ml Boiling Water
  • 3 - 4 Cubes of Japanese Curry Sauce Mix

  • Omelette Skin
  • 2 Eggs (55g each)
  • 2 Tablespoons of Fresh Milk

Method:-

For Japanese Curry:-
1. Saute diced onion with 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil till soft and fragrance.

2. Stir in chicken breast (lightly marinated with 1/2 teaspoon each of light soya sauce, cooking wine, cornflour and dash of ground pepper) add cook for 30 seconds before adding in carrot and potato.

3. Give the mixture a quick toss, pour in 700ml of boiling water and bring it to boil. Lower the heat and simmer the mixture for about 7 minutes, add pumpkin and continue to cook for another 5 - 7 minutes until all the vegetables are cook to your preference.

4. Remove the pot from heat. Slowly stir in 3 - 4 cubes of Japanese Curry Sauce Mix till dissolved.

Tip:
~ I would advise you to taste the curry after adding the 3rd cubes and decide whether would you still like to add in either half/whole of the 4th curry cubes to suit your preference.

~ I use 2 curry cubes each from the above sauce mix so that the curry will taste better with the sweet and hot mixture, but you could also use just 1 type instead of two.

My boy loves this type of deep-fried pork cutlets which could be purchased from any of those Hainanese Scissor Cut Mixed Vegetables Rice Stalls in Singapore which cost around S$1.00 - S$2.00 each depending on it's size. For this quick recipe, I marinate the pork cutlet with egg and cornflour together with other seasonings and coat with a layer of dried bread crumbs before deep-frying it till golden brown.

You can find the recipe on how to make this deep-fried pork cutlet as well as how to use it to create dishes such as Hainanese Pork Chop Rice and Pork Katsudon at this post here.

For Omelette Skin:-
1. Lightly beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of milk till combined. Pour mixture into preheated grease pan and tilt the pan to coat the base. Cook until eggs are almost set but still a little runny in the middle (refer to the photo label no. 4 above).

2. Remove the pan from heat spoon about 1 serving of cooked rice (1/2 cup) on the omelette (refer to the photo label no. 5 above). With a spatula, flip one side of the egg omelette over the rice mixture

3. Slide the wrapped omelette rice to the edge of the pan and flip the pan against the plate for the omelette to land upside down on the plate.

4. Shape the omelette rice using kitchen paper towel and repeat steps with remaining portion of the rice and egg.

Depending on your preference, you could served the curry together with the omurice rice and pork cutlets or serve them in separate plates. For me, I love everything to be on the same plate and with decent amount of curry sauce to go with it. What about you?


Other than Omelette rice, you could also served the Japanese Curry with some cooked spaghetti or penne for quick meal idea. And if you have any interesting ways of pairing Japanese Curry, please do share with us by leaving your comments/suggestions in this post. Thanks.

Lastly, have a great weekend and hope you enjoy making this quick and easy Omurice with Japanese Curry for your family and loved ones too.


Thursday 16 May 2013

[Day 6] Tokyo Ramen Street

On second last day of our Japanese trip, we went to First Avenue Tokyo Station (東京駅一番街) which has a three-floor commercial and retail featuring 120 stores and restaurants with the first floor connected directly to the Yaesu exits of Tokyo Station (東京駅).

And with the two main attractions like Tokyo Character Street and Tokyo Ramen Street, we decided to go there to try their well-known Ramen shops in Tokyo as well as shop for some cute souvenirs back too .

Wednesday 15 May 2013

[Wordless Wednesday] Double Chocolate Loaf Cake Recipe



*For Double Chocolate Loaf Cake:-
- 100g 70% Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
Add half add into the batter and use the remaining for toppings.





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