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.
- 225 g salted butter (room temperature)
- 125 g castor sugar
- 280 g self raising flour
- 85 g corn flour
- 1/2 teaspoon almond essence or vanilla essence (I used vanilla essence)
- For toppings (optional): silver almonds or maraschino cherry or glazed cherry
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- To make the cookie dough:
- Cream the butter and sugar using a spatula in a mixing bowl - a) cut the butter into huge chunks, b) mix in the sugar. (ensure that through the process, the butter remains soft and does not turn into liquid).
- Prepare the flour mix - a) mix the self raising flour and corn flour together. b) sieve the mixture.*
- Mix the flour mix with the butter-sugar mix using the spatula.
- Using your hands, knead the mixture into a dough. (Do not knead for too long as the dough might become too soft) [To prevent this from happening, I usually place the dough in the fridge for about 20 minutes before making the cookies]
- Make the cookie balls: 1) Using a spoon, scoop the dough. 2) Place the scooped dough into your palms. 3) Roll the cookie dough into a ball. 4) Using a fork, gently press the centre of the cookie dough to produce a flat cookie dough. 5) Place the almond or cherry on top of the cookie dough.
- Place the cookie on a tray and bake for about 15 - 22 minute.
- The final product should appear whitish or off white and not brown.
- Cool and serve.
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
Dinosaurs still roam…
Move over Singapore Sling. A must try is Milo Dinosaur - a chocolate tasting energy drink filled to the brim with milo powder.
One cup is like eating one full meal. Just look at the milo filled ice-cube!
Best matched with our local roti-prata for a sumptuous supper. Yum!!!
Chocolate Scouffle & Royaltine
A few months back, life by ST (Straits Times) featured 50 best cakes in Singapore. Chocolate Scouffle by Sweet Secrets was mentioned. Now, I have been a die-hard fan of Chocolate Royaltine (from the same store) since my 14th birthday, so I was a little saddened that my favourite cake was not mentioned. Nonetheless, I decided to give my taste buds a treat and purchased the recommended cake. Ratings: Smooth and even taste of chocolate throughout. But, the cake just lacks this va-va voom factor to it that Chocolate Royaltine has. 
I guess I’m still sticking to my all time favourite for my birthday cake for the years to come!
The cakes can be purchased from:
Great World City
1 Kim Seng Promenade
#B1-06 Great World City
S(237994)
or at their other outlets.
Bagel attack!
Two months ago, I was in agony of not being able to enjoy a proper toasted bagel with cream cheese. Lo and behold, whilst dining out with my friends today, I managed to catch sight that Gloria Jean’s Coffee was selling bagels!
Upon further questioning by bagel-deficient moi, the shop attendant told me that they do sell bagels alongside with cream cheese foc! Though it was a diy spread.
A bite into the bagel brings back memories of my Tim Hortons bagel. Second bite reveals that the bagel is not as ’sour’ as it should be, but it’s way better than the other bagel I bought 2 months ago. I’m still missing my Tim Hortons breakfast combo…