Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon

There is this delicious Fish Head Bee Hoon which located at a corner stall in the coffee shop of Block 46, Holland Drive which is just a few steps away from the NTUC supermarket. When you talk about Fish Head Bee Hoon, I guess you will prefer it to be clear or milky soup base with either fresh or deep-fried fish.

We have heard very good review on their famous "Prawn roll - 虾枣" so before having our Main Course, we decided to have this as our appetiser. Indeed their prawn roll is great with that crispy outer skin and juicy filling which taste great with the sweet dipping sauce.

We ordered two bowl of XO broth fish noodles, one which is the deep-fried fish slices that comes with gorgeous amount of fish meat soaked in their tasty XO fish soup.

This is my 1st time having Deep-fried Fish Head Noodles. Although it might be kind of troublesome to look out for those extra pieces of fish bones, but I am very satisfy with the overall combination of their fish, noodles and soup. Maybe this is not the best Fish Head Noodles in Singapore, but I am sure it's worth the price to give it a try.

Other than selling XO fish Head Noodles, this stall also have A La Carte Zhi Char menu whereby you can order dishes such as:- chilli crabs, sweet and sour pork, fried rice/noodles, shrimp paste chicken and etc.

Parents World Nov - Dec 2009 Issue

Finally got my copy of Nov - Dec issue of Parents World. A few weeks ago, I heard from Daniel (the editor) that Angelina Jolie will be on the cover page and some fabulous updates will incorporate in this upcoming issue. So I was really very excited and eagerly looking forward to get my copy. If you are a Fan of Angelina Jolie, then you sure will want to grab a copy of this to read more about her and her family life :)

In this issue, they share a lot of interesting and useful information i.e. Best of the Best Enrichment & Learning Schools for busy mum like us. It actually gives us some guidelines on what each enrichment school provides and help us to make the right choice for our child to attend their classes during coming school holiday. There about 20 over pages on the top enrichment schools in town and some discount vouchers will be given to Parents World Readers too..... :)

Other than choosing the best enrichment school for your kids, you can also read about the WILD & WET land at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Tips on taking charge of your child's health and what are the area to look for. You can also find some interesting read up on "Household Tips - Clean well with toothpaste", "Planned & Unplanned C-Section" and etc......

Lastly, you can also take a glimpse on some of my recipes contribution at "Dish Up Your Own" page. From stir-fry, oven bake to steaming dish...... these are some of the easy to whip-up recipes that can satisfy you and your family tastebuds.

Double-Boiled LingZhi Soup

It has being a long time since the last time I made this "Ling Zhi - 灵芝" Soup. We used to have this at least once a month which is recommend by the Chinese physician. You can even make this soup in different version by manipulate with the ingredients as per your preference.

Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) is a woody mushroom highly regarded in traditional medicine and is widely consumed in the belief that it promotes health and longevity, lowers the risk of cancer and heart disease and boosts the immune system. So in the double-boiled version of mine, I used the above ingredients such as Red Dates, Dried Longan, Wolfberries, Honey Dates, Hard-boiled Egg and Ling Zhi Slices.

Red Date (红枣): It is a blood tonic, that can be widely used with other ingredients to nourish the body.

Dried Longan (桂圆肉): It influences the heart and spleen channels. Calms the spirit, nourishes the blood and strengthens the spleen. Commonly used to treat heart palpitations, insomnia, forgetfulness, worrisome tendencies and overwork.

Wolfberries (枸杞子): It strengthens body and bones, supplements kidneys and energy, nurses liver and clarifies eyes. It also cultivates energy and aids yang bodies moistness lungs and stops coughing. Other than use it as a soup ingredient, it can be used as a condiment in frying dishes or used to make tea. Choose Qizi which are full and with bright colour.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
5g Ling Zhi Slices
10g Dried Longan
5g Wolfberries
8 - 10 Big Red Dates
Honey Dates (金丝蜜枣)
2 Hard-boiled Egg, removed shell
800ml Water
1 Knot of Pandan Leave, optional

Method:
1. Place the uncooked eggs in a small saucepan and bring to boil, then simmer for about 5 -7 minutes, remove from pan, rinse and peel off the shell then set aside.
2. Rinse all the herbs ingredients then place them (except the wolfberries) in the pot of boiling water (800ml) and simmer together with the pandan leave for about 3 minutes.
3. Add in the eggs and bring to boil again then transfer the mixture to a ceramic pot.
4. As usual, I always place the ceramic pot into the slow-cooker and cook on Auto for about 2 hours. (you can take a look a the sample HERE)
3. Add in the wolfberries at the very last 30 minutes of cooking time.

Note:
~ You can replace the hard-boiled eggs to a few quail eggs if you prefer a small portion.
~ If you find the taste a bit too bitter for your linking, you can add some rock sugar to sweet it.


Nothing is more heartwarming then a bowl of homemade soup after a long day of work. And during this flu bugs season, it good that you can whip up something simple and yet good for your healthy. You can consume this soup either before bedtime or in the morning and serve it as breakfast. The nature of this soup will taste a bit bitter due to the adding of Ling Zhi so do not overdose it in the ingredients portion. The adding of the hard-boiled egg also add extra protein to this soup.

Korean Cuisine @ Suntec City Foodcourt

Today we are around Suntec City, Carrefour to get some groceries. As it is around lunch time, we decided to stop by at the basement foodcourt which is nearer to Carrefour for a quick bite. After eying around the various food stalls, we settle for the Saba fish meal (鲭鱼) set. Some people also called this Saba Fish, "Mackerel" in English.

Other than the Saba Fish, this set also comes with a small portion of Kimchi, fried spicy Anchovies (ikan bilis) and a bowl of Miso soup(with some Wakame in it).

Bibimbap is a very common and yet popular Korean dish which also refer to as "Mixed Rice". It is usually a bowl of warm white rice top with seasoned vegetables, meat such as beef/chicken, chilli pepper paste(gochujang) and a fried egg. Sometime, they will sprinkler some extra sesame seeds to enhance the fragrance. And the traditional way to eat this dish is to stir all the ingredients together thoroughly before eating.

Overall this stall serves an above average standard of Korean Food which is at a more lower price compare to some Korean Restaurant. So do give this stall a try if you are happen to be in that area :)

Dian Xiao Er @ AMK Hub

Dian Xiao Er has about 9 branches located through out all parts of Singapore Major Shopping Mall. From the name "Dian Xiao Er - 店小二", you will know that this is a Traditional Chinese Food restaurants that serves Asian delights. Today, we will share with you two of their signature dish at one of their branch at Ang Mo Kio Hub.

When you ask around about this place, most of the customers will relate the restaurant as an ancient China teahouse. This is because almost all their furniture and layout are made of wood. As you can see, they even have their own unique menu book that look like those "Secret Manual Menu".

From the list of items in the menu, we select this Dang Gui Roasted Duck, the flavour of the herbs is pleasant and not overpowering for those who don't take Chinese herbs. According to their write-up, duck meat has a nutritional that surprises most people. Lean Duck has 25% more protein than other poultry, high in vitamin B and Vitamin E. Mum was surprised to find the gravy in this dish as she comments that the gravy will actually soften the crispness of the roast duck skin. But after all, if you order rice and other side dishes, this herbal gravy goes well with rice.

Actually my aim was to try out their new dish "Claypot Bee Hoon With Chinese Wine". I was attracted by the advertisement and write-up shown outside the restaurant as so compare to the usual Vermicelli Crab/Been Hoon Crab, this dish actually use Frog legs and River King Prawns to enhance the sweetness and flavour of this dish. According to the description, they also add in some top grade rice wine to obtain a flavourful golden broth. Overall, the flavour of the broth was great as you can taste the light and fragrant sweetness from the prawn and rice wine.

But when it comes to dessert time, we are a bit of disappointed with the choice that we ordered. We have this "Double-boiled Ginseng Hashima" which is serve in a normal plastic bowl which I thought was a wrong order. It was kind of diluted and with some Hashima(or maybe mashed jelly), two slices of ginseng and 1 red date which cost S$5+. I guess this is not a suitable place for after meal dessert............ :p

Rochor Original Beancurd

I have heard some pros and cons review on this Beancurd stall which is located at 2 Short Street that is somewhere near Peace Centre, along Selegie Road. I guess those of you who frequent that area might have patronize this stall before.

Rochor Original Beancurd - 梧槽豆花油条 owns a two storey shophouse stall near the junction of Short Street and Selegie Road. Due to crowds sometime you might need to sit at the back alleys of shophouses to eat.

Although their beancurd is silky smooth and yummy with no other artificial taste, but we do find it taste rather sweeter compare to it used to be. So maybe for those who with sweet tooth, this will suits their tastebubs better.

While in the store, I was attracted to their snacks more than their Beancurd or Soy Milk. So let's see what I grab from the stall..... I get a box of this Red Bean Paste Crystal Dumpling which is one of my favorite. But this seems to be those franchise from the factory outlet and the skin is a bit hard and chewy. I remember I used to patronize a stall which sell this traditional dumpling around Bugis/Lavender area. But now that stall has closed and no longer there ......

Other than the Red Bean Dumpling, I also grab a box of this Savoury Glutinous Rice sticks. I love the jade green colour of this snack which make it look so appetizing. To us this snack taste sort of like the traditional "Teochew Pink(Png) Kueh - 饭桃 ".

Other than the above, I also grab hold of a Portuguese Egg Tart which I am craving for. And as what I have expected, don't pinch too high hope of this snack which is not freshly made from the oven at the store.....

Tau Sar Piah @ Telok Ayer Street

Here is another post relating to Tau Sar Piah........ This is one of our family favourite Tau Sar Piah stall which is recommended by my lady boss. This shop is located at 86 Telok Ayer Street which is some where near the Central Business District (CBD) region. On the other hand, Tan Hock Seng Cake Shop is very famous and has been around for more than 50 years and most of their customers love the "Ma Ti Su - 马蹄酥" and "Tau Sar Piah - 豆沙饼".

On and off when we pass-by this shop on the way back after meeting with clients, we will always make an effort to stop by and grabbed a few packet each of their signature pastries. And out of all their pastries, these are the 3 types that I will always grab when I patronize their stall. In order to make a different between the Sweet and Savoury Tau Sar Piah, they actually add some white sesame seeds on top of the "Sweet Tau Sar Piah" in order to show the differences. Look at the crispy flaky skin of this little treasure that is filled with generous amount of green bean filling. It has always being our favourite tea-time snacks to be served with a cup of Chinese or English Tea.

Out of the three flavour that I used to purchase, I was always fascinated by their "Savoury Tau Sar Piah". I love the fragrance of the filling which consists a light scent of onion taste that makes the filling so tasty. When you start eating it, you can't seems to stop because the crisp skin goes so well with the savoury filling. Em... maybe to some of you, it taste sort of like the "Penang Tau Sar Peng" from Malaysia.

Lastly, let's look at the main attraction of this shop which is their Signature "Ma Ti Su - 马蹄酥". During lunchtime, you can always see the lrowds queuing to buy these crisp and chewy biscuits. According to the shop owner, this is so popular that each customer is only allowed to buy 3 packets each. The outer skin of this biscuit is indeed very crispy, fragrant and the filling is chewy and yet won't stick so much to your teeth. And this is one of my boy's favourite which he will always asked me to buy if I am around that area.

Purple Wheat Noodles - Part II

This is a continuation exploring on the new "Purple Wheat Noodles" which I have bought yesterday. After sharing with you the "dry" version on making the colourful Noodles Salad(recipe here) with this "new product". So today I decided to use it to make a Hong Kong Style Soup Noodles with luncheon meat (spam), vegetable and a sunny-side up egg.

This is a very simple and easy way to prepared Instant Noodles in a more nutritious and at the same time you can present it similar to restaurant style. All you need are some simple ingredients which you might be able to find from your kitchen fridge and pantry. Look at the texture and colour of this "Purple Wheat Noodles" isn't it look great for any combination. The noodles itself taste great with a spongy texture if you don't over-cooked it.

Here we goes:-
~ Any type of Instant Noodles
~ Few Slices of Luncheon Meat/Spam
~ Sunny-Side Up Egg/Hard-boiled Egg
~ Some Green Vegetable
~ Stock Cubes/Instant Stock

Method:
1. Cook the instant noodle according to the packet instructions, when done, rinse and set aside. (the purpose of rinsing is to present the noodles from sticking together)
2. Prepared the egg according to your preference, then pan-fry the Luncheon Meat/Spam for 1 or 2 minutes on each side.
3. Prepare another pot of water, add in stock cubes or use instant stock.
4. Bring to boil, blanched the vegetable in it for a few second, remove and set aside.
5. Arrange the noodles in a bowl or soup plate, scoop in some soup base, top with vegetables, Luncheon, Egg and serve immediately.

Note:
~ You can swap with any other ingredients that you prefer instead of Luncheon meat or egg.

KOKA - Purple Wheat Noodles

I was attracted to an advertisement on Friday, 23 Oct 2009 in the TODAY newspaper introducing on this new Purple Wheat Noodles from KOKA. I was immediately captured by the word "PURPLE WHEAT" and I am also curious about the actual colour and texture of the noodles.

According to the advertisement, the purple colour from the noodles comes from its ingredients which is the "Purpleberry flour" that is the combination of purple wheat and purple corn. And it also stated that this Purple Wheat Noodles is naturally rich in Anthocyanins which is the same antioxidants as those found in blueberries and bilberries. Most imporant of all, they are are "High In Antioxidant - 高抗氧", "Fat Free - 无脂肪" and "Non-Fried - 非油炸".

So without much delay, I decided to go and look for it today and I managed to a packet of this Purple Wheat Noodles which is 1 of the 3 packets left on the shelf. So this can explain the impact of the media advertisement :) I whiped up this Noodle Salad dish for our dinner and another Hong Kong Style Soup Noodles which you can take look at the recipes below:-

1. Purple Wheat Noodles Salad

2. Hong Kong Style Soup Noodles

Purple Wheat Noodles Salad

As we have late and heavy Lunch today, I decided to whip up something light, simple but vibrant in colour. So this is what we have for our Special weekend Dinner Menu. With my "new ingredient" that I managed to grab from one of the Supermarket, I can't wait to try out this "new products" from KOKA Noodles.

I was attracted to an advertisement on Friday, 23 Oct 2009 in the TODAY newspaper introducing on this new Purple Wheat Noodles from KOKA. I was immediately captured by the word "PURPLE WHEAT" and I am also curious about the actual colour and texture of the noodles. According to the advertisement, the promotion will last for a week which you can read more at this link HERE.

After grabbing a packet of this Purple Wheat Noodles which is 1 of the 3 packets left on the shelf. Rey and I starts to look around for other ingredients to prepare our Dinner. Since this noodle is purplish in colour, I decided to use it to make a Colourful Salad Noodles Dish. Rey suggests to grab a pack of cherry tomato and breakfast ham while I think some curl lettuce will do a great job to enhance the colour and add extra crunch.

Other than the salad ingredients, I also made some garlic oil to act as the salad dressing.

Ingredients For Garlic Oil:
50ml Of Olive Oil
4 - 5 Cloves Of Garlic

Method:
1. Preheat a small saucepan with drizzle of olive oil, then add in the garlic cloves and saute it till fragrant.
2. Pour in the remaining olive oil and saute the garlic till slight golden brown, dish up and set aside for later use.


Ingredient For Salad: (serves 2)
2 Individual Packet of Koka Purple Wheat Noodles
4 Slices of Breakfast Ham
2 Hard-boiled Egg, halves
8 Cherry Tomato, halves
50g Fresh/Frozen Corn Kernel, blanched
Some Salad Lettuce
2 Tablespoons Garlic Oil

Method:
1. Cook the eggs in a small saucepan under medium-low heat for about 4 - 6 minutes from the time the water boiled.
2. Removed from heat, rinse and peel off the shell then cut into halves and set aside.
3. Bring another pot of water to boil, cook the instant noodles according to the packet instruction, rinse with cool water and set aside. (rinse with cool water to stop the noodle from further cooking and also to make it taste spongy)
4. You can either blanched the Ham with boiling water or you can pan-fry it under low heat for about 30 second on each side with some Olive oil.
5. Next, drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil on the cooked noodles, toss it well with the blanched corn kernel and cut tomato.
6. To assemble the dish, place some lettuce on the plate, place the noodles mixture on it.
7. Top with ham, hard-boiled egg and you can drizzle some extra garlic oil and serve it warm.


So after seeing this Noodles Salad, do you have the urge to try making some for yourself? This is indeed a very healthy and nutritious dish, if you can't find any Purple Wheat Noodles, don't worry, you can always replaced it with whatever you have in your pantry.