[Day 7 Of CNY] Ren Ri (人日) and Yu Sheng (鱼生)

Day 7 of Chinese Lunar New Year (年初七) is also known as Ren Ri (人日) meaning the common "birthday" of all human beings. During this day most of the family will gather everyone in the household to have a feast together in order to celebrate the occasion and at the same time do a Lo Hei Yu Sheng (捞起魚生) to bring in luck for the family.

In this post I would be sharing how we celebrate Ren Ri and some of the auspicious meaning when eating Yu Sheng (鱼生) as well as a recipe for Longevity Noodles (寿面).

[Valentine's Bakes] Chocolate Flourless Cake and Chocolate Raspberry Tart

[Valentine's Bake] Chocolate Flourless Cake

One more day to Valentine's Day and I am sure most of you have already prepared or going to get some lovely gift(s) for your dearest. But if you are still looking for quick and easy valentine's day recipes; here we have a ready in 30 minutes (including preparations and baking) Chocolate Flourless Cake recipe for you.

To prepare this cake, you can easily get the "heart-shaped pan" from Daiso like what we did then grab some good quality of Dark Chocolate (I bought the Cadbury 70% dark chocolate) and Strawberries and  you are ready to make one.

[CNY Bakes] Mixed Fruit Pastry Cake, Chocolate Beetroot Cupcakes and Honey Joys

During this Chinese New Year I did baked quite a few items such as Cheesy Pineapple Rolls, Matcha Butter Cookies, Kueh Bangkit and etc as new year gifts which you can read more about it here (with recipes). Whereas for our family gathering (with recipes on savory dishes) I also prepared some tea cakes which our guests can enjoy them with coffee/tea after the savory dishes.

And in this post I would be sharing 4 recipes on the items that I had prepared for the dessert corner during our family lunch gathering.

[With Recipes] 2014 Chinese New Year Lunch Gathering With Relatives

This is the second year we invited our relatives over for Chinese New Year lunch gathering where everyone can mingles around as well as enjoy some homecook dishes and cakes prepared by my mum and myself. As usual we have a big group of relatives and to prepare a semi buffet for 30 people in a home base kitchen with gas stove and a microwave convection oven (my built-in oven was down) was rather a bit challenging for us. But thanks god we managed to get all the food up on time and everyone enjoys the array of food and family bonding time too.

So here is a long-winded post with photos of the food as well as related recipes (or recipe links) for your reference in case you need some inspiration on what to cook before the 15 days of lunar new year ends on Friday, 14 Feb 2014 (ooooo it's also Valentine's Day too)

[With Recipes] Our 2014 Lunar New Year Reunion Dinners

Our Reunion Dinners

Time flies fast and today is the 4th day of Chinese Lunar New Year which I believe most of you had a great long weekend with abundant of food and bonding time during house visiting. And out of the 15 days of new year celebration we are still down with another 11 days more to indulge with the New Year atmosphere and food.

Here I would like to share with you how we celebrate our reunion dinners with family and relatives during the week of Chinese New Year Eve.

[Wordless Wednesday] Celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year In Singapore

[Chinese Lunar New Year] Chinese New Year Ornaments

[Chinese Lunar New Year] Chinese New Year Ornaments

[With Recipes] Our Chinese Lunar New Year Goodies

Three more days to go before the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration begins and most of the households are busying with new year bakes such as pineapple tarts, almond cookies, love letters and etc. Whereas for savory dishes most of us will be making the ngoh hiang (minced meat roll), braised soy duck, braised sea cucumber, chicken curry and etc.

In this post, I am sharing some of the goodies (with recipes) that we had made till date such as Kueh Bangkit, Orr Nee, Ngoh Hiang and etc which you might be interested to try any of them during the 15 days of lunar new year feasts.

Birthday Feast @ Blue Bali on Cluny

Blue Bali on Cluny

Although I have not being to Bali (a small island in Indonesia) but I have heard good reviews on their food and many of its tourist attractions from friends who went over for holidays. So last Saturday, we decided to make a reservation at Blue Bali on Cluny to have an early celebration for my Birthday.

As usual, we found this restaurant using the Entertainer App which is now one of our reliable food source adviser that provides great saving dining deals.

[Blue Bali on Cluny]

Blue Bali on Cluny is located along the backyard of a colonial house at Bukit Timah which is within the faculty at the back of NUS Law School. And due to its “hidden” location, first timer might take quite a bit of time to find the place (like we nearly give up finding the location because google map just pin “10D Cluny Road” ends the car park entrance of Singapore Botanic Garden; Nassim Road) if you are not familiar with the area.

2014 Lunar New Year Bakes #1 - Cheesy Pineapple Roll and Black Gold

Chinese Lunar New Year is less than two weeks from now and you can see lot of festive goodies available in either supermarkets, bakery shops and even most of the households are busy with making their own expertise of bakes. Every year for my household, we only make pineapple tarts/rolls because they are our favourite and also when compared to the rest of the new year bakes (such as love letter, almond cookies, kueh balu, kueh lapis and etc) this is consider the most easiest with the help of ready-made pineapple paste.

Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) Festive Specials Available From 17 January 2014 plus Giveaway of Smoked Salmon Yu Sheng

[Din Tai Fung] Abalone Fortune Yu Sheng

From now till 28 February 2014, Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) is pleased to introduce a line-up of Lunar New Year specials which is available for dine-in or takeaway. And during this festive season, everyone loves to toss an auspicious New Year with Yu Sheng (鱼生) that brings healthy and prosperity for the new year.

Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) offers two different types of Yu Sheng such as:-
Salmon Prosperity Yu Sheng (富贵鱼生)
- Standard (serves 2 - 3 pax) @ SG$28.80++
- Deluxe (serves 4 - 6 pax) @ SG$48.80++
* Available at all outlets except Din Tai Fung at Parkway Parade

 Abalone Fortune Yu Sheng ( 财宝鱼生)
- Deluxe (serves 4 - 6 pax) @ SG$68.80++
* Available at Din Tai Fung at Paragon, Marina Bay Sands, Resort World Sentosa, Marina Bay Link Mall, BreadTalk IHQ and Raffles City only

Goodness of Beetroot

For those who dislike the “raw” taste of beetroot you can mix it together with carrot and apple to create this miracle drink which has gained popularity all over the world due to its health benefit. To make this effortless juice, blend the three mentioned ingredients above together and consume it immediately. In addition you can also add in a splash of lime juice to enhance the taste.

Entertainer App 1-For-1 Main Course @ La Nonna, Holland Village

Last Saturday while sourcing a new eatery for our usual weekend brunch as well as an early celebration for my boy’s birthday, we decided to pop over one of La Nonna’s branch which is located in Holland Village. Upon arrived, the outlook of the restaurant give us a warm and homely feel with friendly staff bringing us to our seats.

[La Nonna @ Holland Village] Outdoor alfresco area

If you are curious like us, La Nonna meaning "The Grandmother" in Italian and it serves traditional Italian country cuisine.

Titans Of The Past - Dinosaurs & Ice Age Mannals

[Science Centre Singapore] Titan Of The Past

My boy is a great fans of Jurassic Park movies and he loves all the dinosaurs especially T-Rex. So during December (2013) school holiday, we decided to visit this "Titans of the Past" exhibition which is currently held at Singapore Science Centre until 23 February 2014.

[Science Centre Singapore] Titan of The Past

Upon entering the exhibition hall, visitors will be greeted by the "The Growth and Behavior of Dinosaurs" which was developed by world famous palaeontologist, Dr Jack Honer who is also the technical advisor for the Jurassic Park movies.
 

Hoshino Coffee - 星乃珈琲店

[Hoshino Coffee] Hoshino Spaghetti

Every time when I went to the Uniqlo outlet at Plaza Singapura (PS), I will always see people queuing outside Hoshino Coffee which is famous for their Japanese hand-dripped coffee and fluffy souffle style pancakes. So two weeks ago while we were in town doing some Christmas shopping we decided to drop their outlet at PS to have our lunch.

[Hoshino Coffee] My mum and aunt

Since this is a casual family lunch with everyone around waiting for the food; I just took some quick photos using my mobile phone. And here is my mum and my lovely aunty who dote me since I am a toddler. For me it is always so warm-hearted to see their closed sisters’ kinship throughout the years where they often keep each other in mind.

[Photo Friday] Dayre - My New Daily Posts

[DAYRE] - A microblog on mobile app

Recently I am hook on "Dayre" which is a new mobile app that allows user to blog on the go without turning out the PC or Laptop. You can easily download this FREE App which available on iPhone and Android and start your first step of blogging anytime of the day using your mobile phone.

This app is great with short post (about 500 characters each post) which enable for user to share their daily encounters, views and etc with the unlimited numbers of media like quotes, photos, videos, stickers and location check-in.

[Wordless Wednesday] Welcome 2014 with Dim Sum Brunch @ Tak Po

[Tak Po (德宝) ] - Array of dim sun for our New Year Brunch

Fireworks @ Countdown 2014 at our neighborhood area

[Day 2] Pear Picking and Hsitou Monster Village, Taiwan

[Xiang Ye Orchard @ Zhuolan (卓兰)]

After a hearty lunch at Yehliu, our day 2 trip continued with pears picking at Xiang Ye Orchard (乡野观光果园), a stopover at Hsitou Monster Village (溪头怪物村) and lodging for the night at Sun Link Sea Resort. And since it takes some traveling time from Yehliu to the first destination most of us on board began to take a short nap in order to refresh ourselves.

One of the benefits of joining tour group is just like what my mum always said; we do not need to worry about the our 3 meals, transport and lodging. We can ease our mind, relax and enjoy the scenery along the way, get to try most of their tourists’ recommended food and stay in at least a 4 stars hotel.

[Xiang Ye Orchard @ Zhuolan (卓兰)]

After about an hour plus of coach ride, we reached our first destination at Xiang Ye Orchard. Although it was drizzling but it did not effect our mood and everyone was still full of excitement to explore the orchard as well as the pear picking.

[Day 2] Exploring Jiu Fen Old Street and Yehliu Geopark, Taiwan

Day 2 of our Taiwan trip features places like Jiufen Old Street (九份老街), Yehliu Geopark (野柳地质公园) and Hsitou Monster Village (溪头怪物村) where we sit back and enjoyed the coach rides that bought us around the attractions. And moreover going with familiar group of tour mates (almost the same group of people from our previous Taiwan trip) and guide also makes planning of the itinerary much easier during the whole road trip.

[Harbour View Hotel, Keelung] Breakfast Buffet Spread

Blueberry Lemon Streusel Muffins

I always wanted to try making this type of streusel muffins which I often come across in cafes like Starbucks, Paris Baguette and etc which cost around SG$4 each. And what attracts me most is that top layer of golden crispy buttery streusel topping which contrast well with the soft and moist exterior of the cake.

Moreover homemade muffins actually does not require much effort and time if you have all the ingredients ready in your pantry as what you have to do is just stir, mix and bake. So why not join us to bake a tray of this Blueberry Lemon Streusel Muffins for afternoon tea or breakfast which I bet you will love it just as much as we do.

BLUEBERRY LEMON STREUSEL MUFFINS

For this recipe is quite similar to the previous one that I did for the Chocolate Chip Muffins but instead I replace about half of the plain flour with organic wholemeal flour for a healthier version (if you could replace with all wholemeal flour will be better). On top of that if you prefer a stronger lemon fragrant, you can also add in 1 whole lemon zest instead of ½ into the cake batter.

One-For-One Main Menu Item @ Erwin's Gastrobar, Marina Bay Link Mall

[Erwin's Gastrobar] Fish Fingers

Festive season is always a great time to catch up with some old friends whom we seldom get a chance to meet during the year. So last week I managed to meet up with one of my girlfriend who work around Marina Bay Financial Centre area and we had a great lunch over at Erwin’s Gastrobar which is located on the ground level of Marina Bay Link Mall.

[Entertainer App] One-For-One Deal

While sourcing our lunch venue using the Entertainer App, I managed to find a good 1-for-1 deal at Erwin’s Gastrobar which is just a few minutes walk from her office.

[Christmas Bake] Cranberry Almond Shortbread And Christmas Donuts

Christmas is just another 4 days from now and I am sure most of you are busying with the festive bakes such as Christmas Fruit Cake, Fruit Mince Pie, Gingerbread Man, Christmas Stollen and etc to share as gifts for friends or serve them together with the festive feast. Here with our recipe collaboration with Bake King, we have another two Christmas Bake ideas which might comes in handy for your last minutes bake too.

Shortbread is one of my favourite cookies to enjoy with a cup of freshly brewed tea and in order to make some good quality of shortbread it is very important to use quality butter and pure vanilla extract to enhance the taste. Furthermore you can have different flavour and texture by adding cocoa powder, espresso powder or lemon zest plus a small amount of cornflour to the all-purpose flour to achieve that melt-in-your-mouth shortbread.

[Wordless Wednesday] 3 Cup Chicken - 三杯鸡

Three Cup Chicken - 三杯鸡

3 CUP CHICKEN
三杯鸡

(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
1/2 Portion of Chicken, cut into bite size
50g Fresh Ginger, sliced
Handful of Thai Basil Leaves (九层塔)
2 - 3 Dried Chilli (辣椒干), soaked till soften

[Day 1] Our Family Trip to Taiwan 2013

Our recent family trip to Taiwan in June (2013) was rather impromptu because when I received the itinerary I was quite hesitate to go.  Is like base on what I read through, almost half of the "attractions" mentioned were those that we had already visited during our 1st Taiwan Trip in  2010. But to think about it, going for a long trip with mum's siblings (uncle liang, aunty lily and her husband)  whom I am close with since young make it still a good reason for us to revisit those places again with them.

So on 13 June 2013, together with twenty over tour mates plus our group of six we begin our journey to Taiwan again.  And since this is a round the island trip, we will be visiting towns like Taipei (台北市), Taichung (台中), Nantou (南投), Kaohsiung (高雄), Taitung (台東), Hualien (花莲) and Yilan (宜兰) during the eight days.

Chocolate Chip Muffins - 巧克力豆松饼

Adding a handful of chocolate chips to the usual vanilla scented muffin batter always turn them into great tea snack. These moist and fluffy delicious muffins can be eaten either warm or at room temperature together with a glass of cold milk or tea. And beside the chocolate chips filling sometime we also love to sprinkle extra chocolate chips or nuts on top of the batter before sending them into the oven.

[Wordless Wednesday] Santa Claus Sushi Art Workshop

[Sushi Art Workshop] Santa Claus Sushi Art

[Sushi Art Workshop] Necessary Ingredients

Spicy Prawn Fried Rice

Belachan Chilli is one of the Asian condiment which can be used on it's own as dipping sauce or add a small amount to flavour dishes like Sambal Belachan Prawn or Fish. For a “lazy bum” like me who always goes for store bought “instant paste or sauce”, a bottle of ready-made belachan chilli in the fridge definitely makes wonder.

Below is one of the methods where we used Belachan Chilli to flavour shrimp fried rice. As for the spiciness, you can always adjust by adding or reducing the amount of chilli used.

Jolly Holly Christmas CG Party With PrimaDéli Truffle Log Cake

This festive season PrimaDéli’s has added two new items such as Salted Caramel Log Cake and their mouth-watering Chef’s Supreme Pie to their Christmas collection. And with their range of sweet and savoury treats you can pick your all-time favourite log cakes in any shapes and sizes from either standard design to Santa’s or Winter Wonderland Santa’s Cottage that made from chocolate or vanilla sponge.

Here I would like to thank PrimaDéli’s for the complimentary Truffle Log Cake (SG$36.90 (standard) / SG$47.90 per kg) and Chef’s Supreme Pie (SG$11.90; 16cm) which brings joy and festive atmosphere to our early Christmas cell group party last week.

Above shows their new Salted Caramel Log Cake (SG$36.90 (standard) / SG$47.90 per kg) which is an exquisite creation of layers fluffy vanilla sponge that covered with salted caramel cream and made perfect with an almond spread dotted with crunchy chocolate pearls. Although we didn't managed to sample this but I going to get it for our own Christmas gathering because I am a caramel fans and I am sure it will taste great with the combination ingredients too.

Orange Chocolate Pound Cake Loaded With Dark Chocolate Chips

I am sure for those who love pound cake there are always one or two safe-keep recipes on hand which you can mix and match for different flavour. For me, Lemon Pound Cake has being my all-time favourite whenever it comes to tea cake but for the post I will be sharing a recipe on Orange Chocolate Pound Cake which is loaded with mini dark chocolate chips.

ORANGE CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE

I made these mini loaves as gifts for friends who love both orange and chocolate flavoured cakes during a Tea Party last week. This orange infused cake is soft, moist and fluffy plus it is loaded with generous amount of mini dark chocolate chips inside out. Although most pound cake recipes called for equal amount of butter, sugar and flour in “1 : 1 : 1” ration but for this recipe I reduce the sugar used to 180g instead of 200g due to the chocolate chips which adds sweetness to the cake too.

Festive Brunch Menu Using Perfect Italiano Cheese

Christmas is just another three weeks down the road and I am sure most of you are busy with the Christmas menu planning. Here with some complimentary cheese that we received from Perfect Italiano, we decided to whip up some dishes from their “Food Fixes in 15 Seconds” festive menu which features tasty and simple dishes that you can learn in just 15 seconds.

Using the cheese we prepared a 5 Course Brunch Menu shown above with Cheesy Corn Chowder, Parmesan Toast, Cheese Baked Christmas Casserole, Sausage And Mushroom Baked Rice plus Parmesan Pancakes for dessert.

[Wordless Wednesday] Our Tea Party With NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto

[NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto] Our family tea party with NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto

[NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto] 3 Latest Tea Specialties

Banana And Espresso Walnut Muffins

Two weeks ago, I made some Banana And Espresso Walnut Muffins using Nigella Lawson’s Banana Muffin’s recipe whereby I added some extra walnuts and instant espresso coffee powder  to enhance the flavour. I always love Nigella’s recipe which is easy to follow and the ingredients used  are also easily found in our kitchen pantry. Moreover these muffins are so light and fluffy which makes them a great company for breakfast or afternoon snack together with smoothie or hot beverages.