Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ho ho ho! With Christmas around the corner, it is time for me to get my hands messy and bake up trays of Christmas goodies for my beloved friends.

Last year I made butter cookies, this year it shall be peanut butter cookies with a healthy dose of chocolate.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Portion: Makes about eighty cookies with 4cm width.
Time: 20 minutes to prepare. 40 minutes to bake all the cookies.

Cookies:

• 110 g (1/2 cup) shortening. OR 113 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 185 g (3/4 cup) peanut butter creamy or chunky
• 65 g (1/3 cup) fine sugar
• 45 g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp fresh milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
• 240 g (1 & 1/2 cup) plain flour (you can use more depending on how watery the dough turns out to be
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 170 g (1 cup) hersheys kisses

Directions:

Preparation:

1) Heat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 F).
2) Beat shortening and peanut butter until well blended.
3) Add sugar and brown sugar; beat till fluffy. You should obtain a mixture like this:

4) Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well.
5) Add flour, baking soda, salt.You should get a dough that is soft to touch but not watery.
6) Shape dough into 1 inch balls.
7) As you shape the dough, roll in mini chocolate kisses.
Flatten it. You should obtain trays of these:

9) Bake the cookies for about 15- 20 minutes, or till it is light brown.

Enjoy!

Good Wood Park Hotel Durian Mooncake

Picture Source: www.sparklette.net

For the love of Goodwood Park snowskin mooncakes, my sister and I went on a crazy drive around Singapore - Goodwood Park hotel, Takashimaya, Plaza Singapura, Jurong Point, Lot 1 and Junction 8 - it was a little thrilling, but extremely fulfilling.

Goodwood Park is famous for it’s durian puffs (which is a seasonal item), and is also famous for its durian snowskin mooncakes. They are generous with their durian filling, and it is always supple and creamy. You can never stop at eating just one durian mooncake.

With only a few days to go to mid-autumn festival, my sister and I decided to try our luck at getting our hands on another box of the ever so popular snowskin mooncakes. We were not exactly surprised that the durian mooncakes were not easily available in the stores, but we were hoping real hard. We heard that the snow skin mooncakes were available but limited in stock.

So there we were, going from shop to shop, and always seeing the “sold out” sign. Finally at about 5pm, we decided to make one final stop at Junction 8. Since it’s 5 pm, the chances of buying the mooncakes seem minute. But when we arrived, we noticed a queue had formed outside the Goodwood Park stall.

“There is hope!” “When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

So grinning from ear to ear, we purchased our fair share of the mooncake. And within a short span of 20 minutes, all 10 boxes of durian and 3 boxes of combination snow skin mooncakes were sold out.

Ahhh…. For the love of durian mooncakes.

ILF: Hotcakes

I made hotcake duckies for breakfast this morning. It turned out to be really fantastic.

This is my second attempt at making hotcakes, and I found that it tastes really really good with these precise measurements. You may make minor adjustments as you deem fit.

Portion: Makes about eight 15cm in diameter hotcakes.
Time: 15 minutes to prepare and make the batter. 20 minutes to cook all the hotcakes.

Hotcakes:

• 154 g self raising flour
• 2 tbs fine sugar
• 1 egg beaten lightly
• 185ml of fresh milk (I use Meji. For a lighter tasting hotcakes, use lighter tasting milk.)
• Butter for cooking
• Maple syrup

Directions:

Prepare the batter:

1) Place the flour and sugar in the beater.
2) Place the beater on slow speed. Beat in the milk. Beat in the egg. Obtain a smooth batter.

Cook the hotcakes!

1) Warm the pan. Add some butter. The butter helps to brown the hotcakes.
2) Scoop and pour batter into the pan.
3) Wait for bubbles to appear before flipping it around to cook second side.
4) Remove when both sides are slightly brown.
5) Add maple syrup.

The finished product. Nicely browned hotcakes!

Use different cookie-cutters or egg-shapers to make it a fun-filled breakfast for the little ones.

Top it up with hashbrowns to make it a super-duper great breakfast. Enjoy!

Le Le Pot

I love my niece very very much.

Ate at Le Le pot at Tiong Bahru some two weeks ago. Simply made for my niece who we lovingly call Le Le too!

Le Le pot is opened by a Chinese celebrity. The eatery is decorated with walls of pictures of celebrities, framed in colourful Ikea frames. The air-conditioned place is also really clean and not smokey at all. I didn’t feel the urgent need to rush home to bath, unlike most other steamboat experience.

Dining in this steamboat place feels like you are eating at home. The service staff are friendly and smiley. A definite plus.

The steamboat buffet is really awesome. You can choose between the ala-carte version or buffet. I would recommend the buffet if you are dining for 5 or 6 (which is approx $25 per pax), and the ala-carte version if you are only eating for 2.

The buffet spread include prawns, chicken wings, mushrooms and poultry meat. Crab, sea cucumber, and cray fish are available at additional cost. All of which are presented in nice clean plates. Drinks are sold separately. Oh, and I love their desert! It is homemade ice jelly, or ice topped with durian, mango.

Evidently, I enjoyed stuffing myself to the brim at this cosy homely eatery.

Visit the Le Le Pot at Blk 58 Seng Poh Road #01-23 (opposite Tiong Bahru Market). Call to make reservations at 6222 9442. They can be rather crowded during weekends.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my daddy’s birthday.

To celebrate his birthday, we went to eat at Nadamen at Shangri-La. It was so awesome! Even though it is a bit tad high class, the ambiance was not at all stuffy, and the service staff were so helpful and friendly.

Look at the sumptuous lunch that we had!

From the menu, I chose the beef teppanyakki lunch set. It costs $55. Really worth it. I heart the scallop and cod fish. The vegetables were a little bit too salty for my liking, but the rest of the menu was great! I heart the vanilla ice-cream too. To round off the sweet deal, the good people of Shangri-La gave my dad a complimentary cake.

Happy birthday daddy!

PS: Shangri-La is currently having “flash your age” promotion. On your birthday you are entitled to discounted meals (according to your age - if you are 60 years old, your discount is 60% - how fantastic is that).  Call 67373644 to make reservations. You have to be quick because there is a quota daily.

NB: One of the pictures above was taken from hungrygowhere.com

Summertime!

School’s out, summer dresses are in.

With the June holidays just around the corner, it is high time that I put on some summer clothes, throw on some sandals, and chill out with my friends.

I’m definitely excited to pull my friends out (regardless of their busy schedules) for a nice cup of high tea and some late night shopping.

Here I am enjoying a girls’ night out with one of my best friends, Yuan Shan. We had chocolate from 2am dessert bar at holland village. It was simply divine. Chocolate is a combination of a freshly baked tart with oozing bitter-sweet chocolate, contrasted with mango sherbet for that sharp taste of sourness. Pardon for the poorly taken photograph, it was snapped using my cell.

The ambiance is so romantic! There are these cushy seats where you can snuggle with your partner, or you can choose to sit on those classy high chairs with a bunch of friends. Really awesome.

Chill at 2am: desert bar at 21a lorong liput, holland village, s(277733). Phone 62919727.

BonChoco Chocolate Mix

Winter season has kicked in! Technically it is not 0 degrees in Singapore and it is more of a tropical christmas than a wintery one. However, with the daily dose of rain plus a pretty light up in orchard, it does feel like a colder christmas.

There are several things I love to do on cold rainy days. 1) Eat noodles in piping hot soup and 2) Sipping a cup of hot chocolate.

For a good cup of home made hot chocolate, buy BonChoco’s instant hot chocolate mix. Even though it seems rather expensive being 5 packets for SGD 3, it taste creamy and foamy enough to match that of Starbucks’ hot chocolate at one cup for SGD 6. A word of advice, for people who wants idiot-proof free good cup of hot chocolate, purchase the 5 packets in a box instant hot chocolate mix rather than the canned version. I bought the canned version of the chocolate mix today and realise I need lots of practice to make a perfect cup of hot chocolate.

Ahhh.. Now all I need is to buy eggnog to add to the festive occasion.

ILF: Butter Cookies

It is tuesday again! So roll up your sleeves, let us do some baking! Today, I’ll be sharing another of my baking item - butter cookies.

ILF: Cheesecake

When I was in Canada, I love tuesdays. Tuesdays were toony tuesday in which I can get 2 pieces of chicken plus a small packet of fries for $2 (excluding gst). It was a real deal because it meant that I could break away from the routine dorm food which was often over salted and deep fried.

From now on, every tuesdays will be in memory of the food days I had. It’s going to be I Love Food day! I love to cook food. It is thereapeutic and I feel a great sense of achievement after I conquer the kitchen to make myself a decent meal.

One thing I got out from my days in Canada, is my love for cheesecake and my love in baking them. Surprisingly, cheesecake is really easy to make.

Here is Valerie’s version of the cheesecake:

Portion: Fills 2 rounded pans of 40 diameters. Time taken approximately an hour dependent on your oven.

Crust:

• 6 - 8 pieces of digestive biscuits crushed per tray (or 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs)
• 55 grams unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• A dash of salt (optional)

Filling:

• 2 blocks of Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature
• 150 grams castar sugar
• 230 grams sour cream (200 grams would suffice as well)
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 120 grams heavy cream

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
• For the crust, mix the biscuit crumbs concurrently with 1) the melted butter and 2) the sugar till you obtain an even moisture mixture. For taste, add a dash of salt. Though do this only after you have poured all the sugar into the butter mixture. Press the mixture evenly on the pan. Bake the crust for about 15 minutes. The crust should be golden brown. Ensure that the baked crust is hard and not soggy. Cool the pan.
• Lower the temperature of the oven to 162 degrees C.
• For the filling, 1) cream the cream cheese at medium speed using a hand held mixer or standing mixer. The product should be smooth and would appear moderately heavy. 2) Gradually add the sugar into the smooth cream cheese. At medium speed, beat the sugar till light and fluffy. 3) Beat in the sour cream. 4) Add the eggs. Beat the mixture every time you add an egg. 5) Stir in the vanilla and heavy cream. The final product should be slightly thinner and fluffier than in step 1. It should appear white-yellow.
• Pour the batter into the pan. Bake the cheesecake for about 45 minutes. The top should be lightly browned and upon probbing the cake should jiggle slightly. Though if you stick a stick into the cake, the stick should be relatively free of any cake mix. Do not bake the cake till it is totally hardened. Cool the cake. Place a plastic wrap over the pan and refrigerate it overnight.
• Serve with fruits or as it is. Enjoy!

I love oysters

I love oysters. I love them in the form of 蚝煎 (fried oysters egg) and baked with cheese. But I ultimately love them in the raw form. Just squeeze a little bit of lemon, scoop it out with a spoon. Slurp it down. In an instance, you are on a joy ride through the ocean.

It is difficult to find raw oysters in Singapore that has a fresh taste to it. Most are mired with a slight tinge of the muddy sea base. Though, if you need to satisfy your oyster cravings, The Line buffet at Shangri-La Singapore serves up decent raw oysters. So does the Ellenborough Market at Merchant Court Singapore.

But the freshest tasting raw oysters I have tasted so far hails from a petite seafood restaurant tucked in the quiet residence in Bukit Timah. They have oysters special every Tuesday with oysters going at $1 each. Also, they do serve some delicious fish & chips. Introducing, Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro!

Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro 34 Greenwood Avenue
Singapore 289236
Tel: 6467.4950