Easiest Breakfast Idea - French Toast

This is the thing - I love french toast and it's extremely easy to make, not to mention super yummy too. But, it seldom cross my mind to make it for breakfast! WHYYYY? >_<


So, because of that, I must write this post to remind myself and all my readers out there to make some french toast for brekkie!! :D


You know, for more than 2 decades, I've always make my french toast with only 2 ingredients - egg and sugar. And only recently, I found out from a friend that the original recipe (well most people) add milk or cream! >_< Anyways, it was my first time adding milk in my french toast and I absolutely love it! LOL. Maybe one day I should make both versions and test it on my guinea pigs!! Hehehe :P


Here's my super simple and yummy breakfast:

Fluffy Yummy French Toast

The bread alone is already very yummy. But you can always add toppings to jazz it up a bit e.g. honey, butter, jam or fruits.


Now, go make some already!

Enjoy! :D

The Best Mango Dessert @ Dessert Story

 I'm a huge fan of mango desserts and when a friend brought me to Dessert Story, I fell in love. 

Dessert Heaven on Earth :)

Dessert Story, as it's name suggests, is a dessert heaven, offering a broad range of cold and hot desserts commonly found in Taiwan and Hong Kong. They are a franchise operating a growing number of outlets mainly in Victoria (Link to stores in Vic). Besides desserts, they also offer a selection of Taiwanese Hot Food series ranging from fried dumplings to braised pork rice and beef noodles! But, who goes to a place which is obviously a dessert bar for heavy meals? Not me! >_<


Anyways, back to the desserts! :D


I was really amazed with the Mango Snow Ice. For $9.90, I was presented with a tower of smooth ribbons of milky snow ice, drizzled with thick mango juice, surrounded by chunks of mango and generous amount of juicy mango pearls! Slurp! Just imagine how each bite in your mouth explodes into a heavenly flavor of mango goodness!! :D Don't try to be greedy though, the portion is quite huge and enough to be shared among 2-3 people.

Milk Snow Ice With Crystal Jelly and Mango Juice with Popping Pearls

Both times, we went to their outlet in Glen Waverly. From the outside, the shop looks quite small, but surprisingly though, they are able to fit about 10 small tables (for 4 person) indoors and a few tables outdoor as well. The ambiance is very warm and casual (although it can be quite noisy if there were large groups in the shop) which is perfect for large group gatherings, girls day out, casual first date or a perfect hangout place after Sunday brunch. That's what we did...twice! Heh! :D


We tried their Black Sesame with Red Bean soup too (which is a hot dessert) and honestly, not too impressed. Maybe because we can easily make them at home...if we are not lazy. Hehe.


In my personal opinion, their Mango Snow Ice alone is enough for me to go back again and again and again...and again! Heh! :D


I can't wait for the weekends again!


See you in dessert heaven! Ciao!

Salad Recipe - Olives, Feta Cheese, Lettuce and Red Capsicum

I haven't mentioned to you yet but there's another Masterchef at home, aside from my boyfriend. Heh!

Imagine how stressful it is to cook for these guys! >_< But, luckily they are kind enough to enjoy my cooking too. Hehehe.

Anyways, I would love to share his salad recipe because it was very refreshing to me and I really really love it. Mainly because there were olives in it (my absolute favourite)! And it's also because it was my first time having red capsicum in my salad. Very sweet and crunchy! I love it! :D

Ingredients:
Chopped lettuce
Chopped red capsicum
Crushed Feta Cheese
Olives
Olive Oil

Step 1: Add all the ingredients in a huge salad bowl. Toss and serve. Done. Lol. I love salad! :D

Crispy red capsicum hiding underneath :P

I have to give credit to the olives because it was really good.

Yummy Olives

Hope you like this one!

Enjoy! :D

Puff Pastry Part 2!

I just got myself a new packet of Puff Pastry! ^_^ Looks like I'm getting quite addicted! And I'm not the only one! Haha...the bf has been requesting for pastries too! Lol.

I got my puff pastry from Woolies. Don't look down at homebrands - it's actually quite good (for newbies like me!) and I have no complaints about it. :D

Cheap but Good :D

Anyways, I accidentally cracked the last piece of puff pastry I had in the freezer:

URGH

But! I'm the kind of person who sees the glass as half full! So, thanks to YOU, you ugly cracks because you inspire me to try something new! Haha! :D

So what I did was I added more damage to it, shredding it into smaller pieces and line them in ramekins!

Pretty smart huh? LOL.

And then add my favourite ingredients - cheese, kransky and baked beans. :D

Add more broken pieces on top to cover it. Brush some egg wash before throwing them into preheated oven at 180C. Sit back, relax and wait for the magic to happen! (About 20mins)

And then....TA-DA! Perfect brekkie with my hot Milo :)

Throw in some cherry tomatoes for some colour :P

Another close-up photo to show you how flaky and yummy it was! Hehe...

Looks more like Tau Sar Piah (mung bean pastry) huh? LOL

The moral of the story is - Always find opportunities in difficult or challenged situations! It may lead you to something better :) In this case, a yummy pastry which looks like Tau Sar Piah.


Damn! Now I'm craving for Tau Sar Piah!! Cryyyy... T____T

The Blaming Game

I'm sure there are people out there who can understand the frustrations, the anger and the disappointments many of us have to go through in our daily lives. But it's not our fault, is it?


It's not our fault that our life screw up. It's all their fault. Who? Everyone. The boss who make our days miserable, the mother who nags, the husband who is irresponsible, the wife who cheated, the best friend who left, the useless government, the tea lady who makes horrible coffee, the dog that poop in your garden everyday, the slow internet, the cheap hard disk that crashed, the stupid car that breaks down every now and then...well, you get the idea. It's always their fault.


Oh, I'm not done yet. I've seen some amusing things in my life. Parents hitting and scolding the table for hurting their child. Parents who slap the shoes for causing their kid to fall. Blame the dog for eating the cat treats because they left it on the edge of a table (yup!). Blame the guy who cause a massive traffic jam in the morning (why must his car break down in the middle of the road?? why???!) Blame the sky for raining on the day you left the umbrella at work. Hmm while you are at it, blame the parents for bringing you to this horrible world, the world that rains on the day you didn't want it to rain. Who created the world? God? Well, blame God for creating the world and ALL the miseries that come with it. Yup, that's right, it's all their fault.


It's so easy, isn't it? To play the blaming game. It gets addictive, too.


Oh, how we love the pleasure to say to the next person (or an inanimate object!), "It's all your fault." It's almost therapeutic, isn't it? *let out a happy sigh* :)


I didn't do much today and it's almost noon. Stupid clock for ticking so fast. I should go out for a walk but stupid weather, I think it's going to rain. Stupid TV has nothing interesting on. Maybe I should play some games on my tablet...but oh damn that stupid tablet just ran out of battery! Sigh.


Hmmm...what else can I blame for a boring day like this?

How to make Tamago or Japanese Omelette

Wiki always explains it best. Tamago or Japanese omelette are basically grilled egg, which is made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg.


If you read my post on Teriyaki Chicken (Read the post here: Teriyaki Chicken), you may notice I made Tamago or Japanese omelette as one of the side dishes.
 
Here it is if you can't recall:

I love my Tamago salty so I usually avoid the Tamago sushi which is usually sweet. >_<

The bestest tamago I've tasted so far was in a famous shabu shabu restaurant called Restaurant Junidanya at Kyoto, Japan.

We were actually walking around Gion trying to spot a geisha when we saw a long queue outside the restaurant. We thought since there was a long queue, it must be good! So being kiasu, we happily joined the queue. :P

Restaurant Junidanya @ Hanamikoji, Kyoto, Japan

The food is pretty pricey but definitely worth the splurge. The shabu shabu was really good but what really impressed us so much was the tamago. It was really the best I've tasted so far - the layers of egg was so soft and delicate. It's really hard to describe but all I can say is it was amazing!

Unfortunately, I don't know why I didn't take a close up photo of the tamago but this was my awesome beef shabu shabu I had that night:

 

Ever since then, I've been wanting to make my own tamago at home and this was actually my first attempt:

Not too bad huh?

Well, of course it can't beat the bestest tamago I had in japan but I was surprised at how easy it was to make and succeed at first attempt! I need to practice more to make the egg layers thinner and softer. Yosh!


Anyways, if you are interested to make your own tamago, I learned it from Cooking with Dog at Youtube:

Have fun while you are at it!

Enjoy! :D

Lazy Sunday Lunch Idea - Instant Noodles!

Instant noodle is bad for you.


But! If you have it once in a while, it's OK! Lol. Especially on lazy days...well specifically Sundays! >_< Influenced by dad who has always been against instant noodles, I try to avoid it too and even if I had to have it, I try to make it as "healthy" as possible. If that makes sense. Haha.

Anyways, here are some tips I would like to share with you:

(1) Reduce wax in the noodles - Boil water to the amount equivalent of cooking for 2 bowls of noodles. Once boil, transfer half to a bowl and put aside. Cook noodles in the pot until soft. Transfer noodles only into the bowl which was put aside earlier (containing hot water).

(2) Never cook the seasoning in boiling water - That is what I read online and hear say from people. Plus I never cook my seasonings in the pot anyways.

(3) Only have it on lazy days - Instant noodles for me are only for "emergency" days when I'm extremely lazy. The advice is once you have instant noodles, you should not have it for at least the next 3 days.

(4) Drink plenty of water - Well, it's only natural to feel extremely thirsty after due to high salt content in the seasonings. But always try to drink more water after to remove the excess salt in the body.

(5) Make it a complete meal - Add vegetables, eggs or meat to complete the meal. :)


Here's my lunch last Sunday prepared by the boyfriend. Hehe. :D We didn't have any greens left in the fridge and I thought it was very brilliant of him to make use of the extra nori sheets we had from the sushi dinner the other day (Read the post here: Sushi Dinner)

Super yummy lunch prepared by the bf <3 Korean instant noodles complete with perfect poached egg and nori sheets.

The moral of the story today is - Be creative! Always make use of what you have! In this case, to avoid food wastage! :) 

Happy Sunday ya'll! :D

Chinese Herbal Soup Recipe: Ba Zhen or 8 Treasures Decoction (八珍汤)

*This soup is specially for ladies only! 


Born in a Chinese family, my parents have always been strong advocates of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Especially Mum. I love ALL her soups she has prepared for us since young. It's always so full of flavor and so yum. I hope to be able to cook yummy soups for my kids too in the future! Hahaha...but that's too far ahead! >_<

Anyways, this Chinese herbal soup called Ba Zhen is actually my least favorite soup of all times! It's always super bitter and I can fall sick if I get too "heaty"after drinking it (this soup is very "heaty", so make sure you drink loads of water!). But as I grow up, I begin to understand why it is important to make sure we have nutritious soups regularly so we can stay healthy and strong. So a bit of bitterness it's worth it in the long run. :D

Ba Zhen Soup is very nutritious and has a lot of health benefits for women. Yes, it's only for women! Haha! My boyfriend asked me why boil a soup he can't drink! Lol! But on a serious note, the reason is because the soup is too "heaty" for guys and it's just right for us especially right after our menses when our body is "weak/cold", hence we are able to tolerate the heatiness and in fact, we need it to make our body strong again. So, ladies, the BEST time to take this soup is right after the monthly menses to nourish the body and help replenish the blood lost during menses.

I've heard many times from friends how awful this soup taste and that's how my parents used to make it for me too. So I agreed with them! It was thick, gooey, bitter and just extremely yuck. Urgh. But!! Due to advance in technology (heh!), these days I can scout for good recipes and advice online!! :D Trust me, this soup is nothing close to bitter....it's extremely yummy! All you have to do is add a bit more water and "sweet" ingredients e.g. chicken, pork, red carrots, red dates, wolfberries, red beans etc...I saw this recipe at Happyhomemaker88 and got inspired to add hard boiled eggs in my soup too! Lovely!

Here's my version:

Ingredients:

1 packet of Ba Zhen/八珍 (bought from Asian store)
4 chicken drumsticks (skin removed)
2 hardboiled eggs (shell removed)
A hand full of red dates (seeds removed. **Tip: Always buy red dates with seed included because red dates sold without the seeds are rumored to be recycled and has milder taste)
A hand full of red beans (because I have no wolfberries at home! >_< But red beans are generally good for blood production! :D)

Step 1: Lightly wash all the herbs under running cold water. Drain and put aside.

Step 2: Add water into a pot and bring to boil (Refer to packaging for the amount of water required. You can add more water later as it boils, if the soup gets too thick)

Step 3: Add herbs, chicken drumsticks, eggs, red dates and red beans into the pot (basically throw everything into the pot. Cannot get any easier than this! Haha). Turn to low heat and let simmer for at least 3 hours. (Make sure to always keep an eye on it, stir it occasionally and add water if needed).

Step 4: Serve in a nice bowl and enjoy the comfort of hot, nutritious soup! :)

Because I'm the only lady at home, I will be drinking it for the next few days! Hehehe!

SO YUM! :D

That's all, ladies! So simple and it's so good for you!
 

Take care always! :D 

Drop-by Drawing @ Federation Square

One fine Sunday, after brunch with a group of new found friends, a group of us decided to check out a free drawing session at Federation Square.

It was my first time drawing in a public place. First time drawing in an art gallery with a crowd of random people. And my first time seeing a live model! >_<

It was a very refreshing experience, I wished I had stayed a little longer. And I also discovered something...I have a looooooooooooooooooooooooong way to becoming an artist. Hahahaha.....

Quite close to the real thing huh? LOL.

Well, most importantly, I had fun. :')

Hope you have a great day ahead and have fun! :D

Playing with Puff Pastry! :D

Oh Puff Pastry! One of the best invention by human race. :') LOL.

Anyways, so I got myself a packet of puff pastry and have been having so much fun playing with it! The crust is amazing, so forget the idea of making your own!


We have been having a lot of sandwiches for brekkie lately, so I decided to jazz it up with some puff pastry.

Tip for newbies like me: If it is cold where you live now, the fast way to defrost your puff pastry is simply putting it in the microwave with a glass of hot water. Close the door and wait for about 5mins or so. Done!

The steps to making your own pastry are basically the same:

(1) Prepare ingredients and line them on the puff pastry.
(2) Cut/Wrap to any shape you like
(3) Brush some egg wash
(4) Bake in preheated oven at 180C for about 20mins or until pastry turned golden :)

Here's what I did:

1st Attempt: Hawaiian Pizza Inspired Pastry

The Result: Taste better than it looks! Haha!

This is really what I did >_<

Turns out prettier than expected! LOL.

Ugly But YUM! :P

2nd Attempt: Baked Beans Puff Pastry 

It was more like I had a can of baked beans and puff pastry left, so let's make some Baked Beans Puff Pastry! :D Nothing can possibly go wrong with baked beans, ham and cheese!! >_<

The ingredients

So easy, you have gotta try this!! SOOOO YUM!

Brekkie for bf :D I have to say 2nd attempt was the BEST! My fav! Definitely making this again!

3rd Attempt: Cheese Kransky Pastry

Honestly, this feels like a cheat. Basically wrap puff pastry around cheese kransky, egg wash, DONE! LOL.

So, what do you think? Look pretty good huh? Taste just as good too (always toast before serving)!

My vote goes to the baked beans puff pastry while my bf said he votes for the chesse kransky but he loves the baked beans too...hmmm and also the pizza pastry!! Lol. ^_^

Well, I hope you will have as much fun as I did! 

Enjoy! :D

Simple Dinner Idea: Sushi (Tuna, Cucumber, Avocado and Tamago/Egg)

It's too simple, I wouldn't even call it a "recipe". It's an idea! :D


It was one of those days when I'm feeling all lazy and all I really want for dinner was something "light and simple". And sushi came to mind! Nothing fancy - just some tuna, cucumber, avocado and egg.


One thing I like about this dinner idea is that I have the choice to allow my guinea pigs to assemble their own temaki or hand roll which makes my job easier and makes dinner so much more fun right? But unfortunately, we had to rush to go out that night, so I made norimaki or nori roll instead.

Can dinner be anymore easier than this??? :D

It's my first time making nori rolls...and without a sushi mat! Lol. But I guess it worked, as long as I stuffed everything in and it taste great. Forgive me for the horrible looking sushis, I was in a hurry so I had no time to make it pretty! >_< 

Alert! Ugly Sushi!! (Left plate) Good looking ones for the housemate (only 7pcs made it! LOL), (Middle plate) Super ugly ones for ME and (Right plate) Not too bad looking ones for the boyfriend. Hehehe. I secretly fed him some ugly ones while he was driving!! :P

As you can see closeup, the pretty ones were ugly too. LOL. I need to practice more and make sure the ingredients are in the center of the roll next time!! >_<

Anyways, so there you go! Simple dinner idea for the lazy days. Ciao! :P

Simple Dinner Recipe: Teriyaki Chicken

I love teriyaki chicken.



Alright, I love ALL japanese food!! Haha! It's really hard to choose a favourite! >_< But the other night, I had some chicken breast left in the freezer and I thought to myself, "Teriyaki it is!"


Truth is, chicken thigh (with the skin on, of course!!) is the best cut for teriyaki because of the flavor, texture and the juiciness! But because I only had chicken breast, this recipe is perhaps the "healthier" version of teriyaki chicken you can get. First of all, thank you Marc for your excellent recipe (Link)! I love the fact that he has ginger in his recipe!! I love ginger! (By the way, I can't believe my bf actually managed to taste ginger in this! Can't hide anything from this Masterchef >_<)


This is my first attempt at cooking teriyaki but the guinea pigs were really happy that night. Hehehe..well partly because of the sago pudding too! Lol. Anyways, to me, it tasted really good but I would still prefer it with chicken thigh and more teriyaki sauce. Other than that, it was perfect with rice! Thanks Marc!

My lovely stack of "healthy"teriyaki chicken :)

According to wiki, teriyaki is actually the cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or gilled while basted in marinade based on soy sauce, mirin and sugar.


In this recipe, however, there are 4 ingredients in our teriyaki sauce: soy sauce, mirin, sake and honey. This recipe is really easy and goes so well with hot fluffy rice. Yummmm.


This is my version:

Ingredients
- Chicken Breast (use Chicken thigh if you have!)
- Ginger (size is about half your thumb; grated, we only need the juice)
- Teriyaki Sauce (Combine 1 tablespoon of each: soy sauce, mirin, sake and honey)
- Cooking Oil
- Pinch of salt


Step 1: Marinate chicken with a pinch of salt and ginger juice. Make sure you dry the chicken thoroughly with some kitchen towel to remove excess fluid before marinating. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or more in the fridge.

If you are using chicken breast, make sure you cut them with the same thickness so they cook at the same time.

Step 2: Heat oil in a frying pan (medium heat). Add the chicken and cook both sides. Make sure you do not overcook the chicken! 

Step 3: Add 1 tablespoon of sake and cover the pan with a lid. Let the chicken steam for about 2-3 minutes.

1 large chicken leg skin on, deboned (about 12 ounces)

1 teaspoon ginger grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon sake

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sake

- See more at: http://norecipes.com/blog/teriyaki-chicken-recipe/#sthash.UKM9V4YD.dpuf

Step 4: Prepare teriyaki sauce. Marc's recipe is 1 tablespoon of each: soy sauce, mirin, sake and honey. Combine well.

Step 5: Remove lid and any excess liquid from the pan. Turn to high heat and add in the teriyaki sauce. Let the mixture boil, while flipping the chicken to make sure every slice is coated with the yummy sauce. The chicken is done once the sauce is almost evaporated and form a thick glaze.

Note: I suspect because I'm using chicken breast instead of the thigh so there were not enough sauce to glaze the meat after it was cooked. So I made extra sauce with 6 tablespoon of each: sake, mirin and soy sauce; and 3 tablespoon of honey because I didn't want my teriyaki sauce to be too sweet. This is trial and error, so feel free to experiment! :)

Step 6: Serve your teriyaki chicken on a serving plate and drizzle some teriyaki sauce on top.

Dinner's ready!

Simple and Awesome Dinner: Teriyaki Chicken, stir-fry beans, tamago and hot fluffy white rice. I wish I made more of the teriyaki sauce so I can just eat it with the rice. Heh!

So, there you have it, super simple dinner which you can prepare for your loved ones!

My guinea pigs actually prefer the chicken breast because it's deemed "healthier". So my experiment was a success! Hehehe. :P

Hope you love this one. Enjoy! :)