An Undergraduate's Kitchen

Moving to a New Home!

2011-04-20T07:34:00.004+08:00

Visit me HERE~

Stir-fried chicken wings with preserved black bean and capsicums

2011-04-09T12:55:00.000+08:00

I have to admit I've been ignoring my blog for the past two weeks. My work, project and thesis writing have been keeping me busy. It is now the critical stage of my Honours year. 2-3 more months to go and I shall be free! or in the other words, I'll be an unemployed fresh graduate that time..wondering around and begging for a job in this competitive world.. Haha...

Since I'll not be an undergraduate anymore after June, I am considering to create another blog and continue my blogging life there.. it'll be more than just a food blog.. I want it to be a place which allows me to blog about my life, traveling experiences and food (of course!).. a place which I can keep in touch with all my friends (whom I seldom meet and chat with~).. no matter where I am or where you are, I'll always miss all of you.. and our sweet and memorable moments together.. Hugsss to all of you.. =p

Lastly, share with you all the recipe of this Chinese cuisine which I found in one of my mum's Yum Yum magazines.. yea, I'm trying to improve my cooking skill on Chinese cuisine... Hahaha...

Ingredients:
4 chicken wings
1 red bell pepper - cut into pieces
½ green bell pepper - cut into pieces
½ onion - cut into pieces
1 ½ tbsp preserved black beans - soaked, rinsed and chopped finely
2 tsp minced garlic

Marinade:
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp sugar
1 tsp rice wine
1 tsp corn flour

Seasoning:
1 tsp light soy sauce
¼ tsp sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp corn flour

Method:
1. Mix the chicken wings with marinade ingredients and marinade for 10minutes.
2. Heat up 1 tbsp oil. Stir-fry onion pieces over low heat till fragrant.
3. Add black beans, bell pepper pieces and chicken wing pieces. Stir-fry for a while.
4. Add minced garlic and continue to stir-fry.
5. Blend in pre-mixed seasoning.
6. Cook until the chicken wings are done. Serve.

Pan fried five-spiced pork steak

2011-03-28T12:20:00.000+08:00

I negotiated with Jye that I would cook him a nice pork steak if he is willing to eat the carrots and broccoli as side dishes. This is a different way of marinating the pork steak - a fusion of Asian and Western cuisine.

Tender and juicy pork steak~ Yum!

Ingredients:

2 pork steaks
1 carrot - peeled, cubed and blanched
2 potatoes - peeled, cubed and cooked
1 small broccoli - cut into small portions and blanched
low fat yogurt/mayonnaise

Marinade:
Five spice powder
Salt
Black pepper

Method:
1. Rub both sides of the steaks with five spice powder and salt. Sprinkle some black pepper. Leave aside.
2. Mix the potatoes with low fat yogurt or mayonnaise.
3. Heat up some oil in a saucepan. Pan-fry the steaks until cooked.
4. Dish up. Serve with blanched carrots, broccoli and potatoes.

Dinner @ Party Play

2011-03-12T11:27:00.006+08:00

When I was in hometown for CNY, my mum kept promoting to me and Jye about a newly opened restaurant in Lintas. She went there a few times with friends and was very satisfied with the food and ambience of the restaurant. I was curious about this place, so we went there for dinner the night before I came back to KL. When I first stepped into this restaurant, the design and decoration of the restaurant, especially the pictures on the wall and its menu, attracted me.

It was a Friday night, so I was quite surprised to see the restaurant was not as crowded as I thought. Well, it's good in some ways, e.g. my food could be served faster. Haha...

Vanilla Milkshake for mum

Pineapple Juice for me and Iced Lemon Tea for dad

My pineapple juice was from the packet drinks, not the freshly squeezed juice.

Party Punch
Ian and I were disappointed with this drink. We thought it would be something special because it's their signature drink, but it tasted like the fruit punch from packet drinks.

Iced Mocha (I think?) for Jye

Party Play Salad
I love cranberries and of course when they are added in salads, so I ordered this. The salad was very refreshing and appetizing. We love it!

Baked French Mushroom Soup
Strongly recommended by my mum. I love mushroom soups cooked in this way, smooth, creamy and full of coarsely chopped mushrooms, but it tasted a bit salty to me.

Grilled rib-eye steak, served with salad and wedges
Tender and succulent. Thumbs up!

Bangkok style spaghetti
Sorry for the bad photographing. I only managed to take a quick snapshot before my dad inserted his fork into the pasta. The pasta tasted good but it would be perfect if it was not that salty.

Linguini Bacon Carbonara
Creamy and filling, but we felt salty after eating half of it.

Penne Marinara
Each penne was well-coated with the tomato-based sauce. Yummy, but still having the same problem: Less Salt Please!

All Meat Pizza
Pizza with bacon, ham, sausages and bolognaise. A heavenly good meaty and cheesy pizza for a carnivore's craving!

Address: Beside Salim II, Lintas, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Stir-fried udon with teriyaki sauce

2011-03-07T22:13:00.006+08:00

I cooked this simple dish last week. Unlike typical sweet teriyaki sauce, I added a bit of lemon juice to the sauce, which did a great job and matched perfectly with the udon. This sweet and sour teriyaki sauce triggered our appetite to eat more. I should have cooked more for dinner next time.. =p

Ingredients:
2 packets of udon - cooked and drained
1 red capsicum - julienned
1 onion - peeled and shredded
some asparagus
meat - cut into pieces

Teriyaki sauce (adjust to the taste that you want):
Light soy sauce
Mirin
Sugar
Some lemon juice

Methods:
1. Heat up some oil in a pan. Sauté onion and red capsicum until fragrant.
2. Add in the meat and stir fry until cooked.
3. Add in udon, asparagus and the sauce. Drizzle some lemon juice and stir-fry until well-mixed.
4. Dish up and serve~

Leeds

2011-03-05T09:27:00.002+08:00

I saw a review about a newly opened Italian restaurant in Sunway Pyramid. It mentioned about a pasta cooked with squid ink sauce, which reminded me of a yummy squid ink pasta I had in Leeds. When I first arrived in Leeds, Shin & Emily brought me to an Italian restaurant opened by Jamie Oliver. I am sure some of you might have watched his cooking show on Astro before.

The restaurant was opened in a former bank on Park Row. We sat at the bar area while waiting for an available table. The bar area has a modern open kitchen concept. My stomach growled louder when i saw all the hanging cured meat at the kitchen, fresh homemade bread on the rack and appealing dishes being sent out from the kitchen. Haha...

The Scallop and Squid Ink Linguine (top middle) was highly recommended by my friends. The squid ink linguine was cooked with Brixham scallops, chilli, parsley, anchovies, wine and capers. The sauce was perfectly matched with the scallops and linguine, and most importantly, no black stain on your teeth! =p I love their Crunchy Stuffed Ascolana Olives (top right). Big green olives stuffed with tuna, fried and coated with parmesan and herbs. They were really finger-licking good! People who love thick homemade pasta would love this Beautiful Bucatini Carbonara (bottom middle). The tubular spaghetti was cooked with crispy fried smoked pancetta and ribbons of leek, tossed with eggs, thyme and Parmesan cheese. Hmmphh... yummy! The Monachelle Puttanesca (bottom right) refers to seashell pasta cooked with a spicy chilli and tomato sauce, capers, anchovies, parsley, green and black olives and herby breadcrumbs. However, I found the pasta a bit dry and not well coated with the sauce.

It was a nice, windy and bright day in Leeds. After lunch, we walked around the city and visited some places. Here's some photos...

City centre

The Castle

Smooth and creamy Vanilla ice-cream for dessert!

Botanical Garden

We had our dinner at La Tasca, a Spanish restaurant. I fell in love with Spanish cuisine after this meal. It's so satisfying to taste so many different dishes in one meal, as they were served in small portions.

Patatas Bravas (top left) - Fried potato with spicy tomato sauce. Costillas de cerdo (top middle) - Succulent pork ribs with tangy sauce, LOVE THIS! Estofado Vasco (top right) - Northern Spain's traditional stew of tender beef, with potato, cherry tomato, red pepper and paprika sauce. Paella with mussels and green peas (middle left and right). Melón Galia Y Jamón Serrano (centre) -Fresh melon slices, topped with Spanish serrano ham, mint and a drizzle of honey dressing. Calamares Andaluza (bottom left) - crispy squid rings, served with roasted garlic mayonnaise and lemon. Croquetas de Pollo (bottom middle) - Chicken croquettes, with roasted garlic mayonnaise. Paella Valenciana (bottom right) - Paella with chicken breast, squid, king prawns, mussels, peas, green beans and white wine, topped with asparagus, artichoke, peppers and lemon wedges.

Wild Honey @ Mandarin Gallery

2011-02-23T13:25:00.004+08:00

I have been away from my blogging world since mid of January. Have been busy for the past one month and hardly go online. I'm glad that I managed to finish my enzyme work before Chinese New Year, and now I just need to concentrate on thesis writing and the remaining histological work.

I seldom cook for the past 2months because my condo kitchen was under renovation. It was a torture to people like me, who love to try new recipes and dislike oily hawker food. I was looking forward to go back to my hometown and bake as much as I want, but then a bad news came right before I went back for CNY. My mum told me that our mixer was spoilt and I couldn't make any cookies, cakes or bread at home. And then, my home internet connection went down during my holiday. I couldn't connect to the internet at all and spent almost one week of my precious holiday to get it fixed.

Anyway, I'm back in KL now, and am glad to see the renovation of the kitchen had completed. Jye is coming back this Saturday, which means I'll be back to my cooking days soon~~~

There is a nice place in Singapore for breakfast/brunch which I've always wanted to blog about it. Ian's friend introduced us this place when we were in Singapore. We waited for 20 minutes on a Monday morning in order to get an available table. The atmosphere of the cafe was very comfy and we were given a sofa seat facing the counter. I was surprised to see so many varieties of breakfasts in their menu (in an Ipad at their counter) and all food pictures looked so appealing. It was a difficult decision to choose my breakfast. I even told Ian that I wanted to order another one after I finished the first round. I took back my words after I finished my breakfast. The breakfast was so filling and yummylicious. We'll definitely be back on our next trip! =)

Ian's latte

My Mocha
Smooth, rich and creamy with strong chocolate flavor, but a bit too sweet to my liking.

My European breakfast
I was attracted to this when I flipped through the Ipad menu. A unique version of Egg Benedict that I've never tried before. Irresistible Hollandaise sauce on two perfectly poached eggs + fragrantly sauteed mushroom, wrapped with ham prosciutto and served on toasted homemade brioche.... Hmmpphhhh.... what a wonderful breakfast to begin my lovely day!

Ian's Tunisian breakfast
A sizzling skillet of tomato stew, cooked with half-boiled eggs and spicy Spanish chorizo sausages. Another heavenly good breakfast served with thick and soft brioche..Arhh....not to forget the crunchy pickled cucumber~ ^_^

Wild Honey
Address: 03-02, Mandarin Gallery, Orchard Road, Singapore.

Katong Laksa

2011-01-18T07:43:00.002+08:00

XH brought us to a laksa shop in Katong for breakfast. This shop seems to be very popular, judging from the owner's pictures taken with different artists from HK, China and Singapore in her shop.

Laksa

A good thing about this laksa is it suits everybody. The original laksa is not very spicy, so people who can't take spicy food can eat this. For people who love spicy laksa like me, you can adjust the taste of the laksa by adding more chilli paste youself. I like the thick vermicelli in the laksa, it tasted better and smoother than the thin vermicelli or mee which I usually have in Malaysia.

Otak-otak

Yummy Otak-otak! very thick, fragrant and most importantly, not too oily.. thumbs up!

Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie @ Raffles City

2011-01-09T11:29:00.002+08:00

I'm back from Singapore last Monday but was too busy at work so I couldn't find time to blog about my food hunting experience there. January will be a busy month for me as I have to finish most of my benchwork and assignments. After this tough January, here comes the happy February and Chinese New Year!! Kekeke... I'm so looking forward to the CNY food & dinners, and most importantly, the angpau! *evil smile*

Okay, back to the topic. Before I went to Singapore, I did some research on the food that I want to try in Singapore. This was one of the restaurants/cafes in my list. It is a chic dessert place, offering different types of desserts, pastries etc. It has several branches in Singapore such as Raffles City, Shaw Centre, Robertson Walk and Paragon.

The ambience of the cafe was really good and cosy. I personally think that it's a good place to hang out with family & friends.

I love the way they display their pastries, chocolates and desserts outside the shop. A good strategy to attract customers!

Strawberry shortcake

(Fresh strawberries layered with crème chantilly and Japanese shortcake laced with kirsch)
Thumbs up for this cake! The strawberries were so juicy and the whipping cream was neither too sweet nor too rich. I can finish the whole piece of cake without feeling sick with the whipping cream.

Opera
Coffee lovers might like this but it's a bit too moist to my liking.

Gateaux Chocolate
(Dark chocolate cream, flourless chocolate sponge decorated with triple chocolate shards)
A nice piece of petite cake for people who likes bitter sweet chocolates.

Macha cake
(Delicate green tea mousse and chestnut cremeux layered with green tea biscuit and almond crumble)
Superb combination of chestnut cremeux and green tea mousse! I LOVE this but XH & Ian thought the green tea flavor was not strong enough.

Le Royale

(Chocolate mousse 66% layered with hazelnut feullitine, almond success and chocolate genoise with rum)
A dark chocolate cake with a crunchy hazelnut taste and a little bit of rum. Another must-try cake in this cafe!

The macarons failed to impress me. They are okay but I still prefer the ones that I had in Ladurée, Paris.

Sky Bar @ Trader's Hotel

2010-12-31T12:16:00.002+08:00

After our dinner at Nero Teca, we went to Sky Bar at Trader's Hotel for a drink. The bar was packed with people. When Ian made our reservation more than a month ago, he was told that all the sofa seats near the windows were fully booked. We only managed to get the tall table beside the windows which I think was good enough for both of us. Going to Sky Bar was really an eye-opener for me. Other than the long swimming pool in the middle of the bar, high roof top and open air concept where we could feel the breeze from the windows and admire the magnificent view of Suria KLCC, I was surprised to see families with kids and babies in the bar. Kids & babies + upbeat music in the bar.... mm... wasn't it a bit weird? Hahaha...

Spectacular and stunning view of Suria KLCC from the window beside our table.

His beer and my fruit punch~

(p/s It's new year eve! Hope everybody have a memorable celebration! I'll be celebrating new year countdown tonight in Singapore... Happy happy!! kekekeke....)

Nero Teca

2010-12-30T08:15:00.001+08:00

Nero Teca is a modern-style and authentic Italian restaurant in Lorong Ceylon, KL. I've always wanted to go there for lunch or dinner, despite the unfriendly receptionist who answered the call. Ian called to the restaurant to make reservation on Christmas, which fell on a Saturday this year. The Indian receptionist told him that Christmas should be on a Sunday, he said there's a calendar in front of him and insisted he was right. Ian didn't want to argue with him, so he told him that he wanted a reservation on Saturday night.

When we went to the restaurant, I was hoping to meet the unfriendly Indian receptionist but he was not there. The waiters and waitresses in the restaurant were very polite and friendly. We reached the restaurant 15mins before our reservation time. I was shocked to see their super long reservation list. We were lucky to arrive before the whole restaurant became crowded and noisy.

This side of the restaurant looks like a typical Italian deli, with lots of cheese on display and many sausages and cured meat hanging on top.

I like the atmosphere in the restaurant. It is such a comfy place for people to relax and enjoy their meals.

Prosciutto e melone
I love this!! The combination of salty Parma Ham and the sweet, juicy rock melon is really appetizing! Yum~~~~

Spaghetti ai Gamberi
Spaghetti cooked with prawns, codfish and mushrooms. The spaghetti was cooked al dente and well coated with the light tomato-based sauce. It was so delicious that we wiped the plate clean and couldn't get enough of it.

I don't remember the actual name of this dish. It's basically grilled lamb chop with melted cheese on top and served with truffle mashed potatoes. The medium cooked lamb chop was so tender and succulent, together with the melted cheese.... Hmmphhhh~~~ yummy yummy! Not to forget the smooth mashed potatoes with strong truffle fragrance. Thumbs up!!

Levain Boulangerie Patisserie

2010-12-29T09:23:00.001+08:00

Ian and I are bread lovers. I recently came across with this bakery cafe through my friends and I've read many good reviews about their breads and pastries on internet. We went there in the early morning on Christmas, hoping that most people went back hometown for the holiday. To our surprise, the shop was packed with customers. We were lucky to find a table for two upstairs without waiting for people to leave.

I like the warm and lovely decoration of the cafe, and of course the breads, cakes and pastries!!!

Nice caffe latte to start my day.

I wish I can eat more..... =p

Macarons!!!! Cakes!!!

We really love the pastries in the cafe. Wish we could try all of them. I'll definitely come back again...Next time, I'll make sure my stomach can fit in as many pastries as I can... =p

The Apartment Downtown @ Suria KLCC

2010-12-28T12:40:00.004+08:00

Ian and I celebrated our first Christmas eve together in KLCC. I was extremely hungry that time and was craving for turkey for X'mas dinner. We walked around the mall to search for food and decided to give The Apartment Downtown a try. We were told that the restaurant is offering a 3 course holiday menu at RM 88++ per person. I spotted 'Stuffed turkey breast' in its main course section, so we decided to order this.

Drinks are not included in the 3 course holiday menu.

Ian's appetizer, consists of beef pastrami, smoked tenggiri and turkey ham, served with pickled vegetables.

My appetizer is a traditional polish beetroot soup. I like beetroot soup cooked in this way, but the black pepper was too strong.

Turkey breast stuffed with prunes and apricot, served with chestnut stuffing and giblet sauce. After few weeks of craving, finally I had my turkey!!!

Risotto cooked with mushrooms and truffle oil. The risotto was really nice. It's very creamy and has a strong truffle fragrance. I love this dish but it's very filling, I couldn't finish it.. =(

Christmas pudding seems to be a 'must-have' dessert on Christmas menu, although it's just a simple fruit cake.

The crème brûlée was smooth, but nothing special other than that.

Sausage and potato casserole

2010-12-16T07:42:00.003+08:00

Sausages are non-healthy food as they contain nitrates which are proven cancer-causing agents . I have been cutting down my sausage consumption for the past 2 years. However, I do take them occasionally to satisfy my cravings... =p

SY bought me a recipe magazine called 'Good to know Recipes' from UK. I love all the recipes in it but sadly most of them require oven which is currently not available in my place. I found this recipe from the magazine and decided to cook it with the remaining sausages in the fridge. I did a slight modification on the recipe and the casserole was really good. Who says only pasta goes well with tomato pasta sauce? Well, potatoes do and they are healthier than pasta~

Ingredients (adapted from Good to know Recipes):
1 tbsp oil
2 potatoes - cut into cubes
some sausages - cut into small pieces
1 onion - diced
1 green capsicum - diced
1 can of tomato pasta sauce
some dried basil leaves
dash of black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the potatoes and sausages for 5 mins.
2. Add the onion and green capsicum and cook for another 5 mins, turning the sausages occasionally until browned.
3. Add the pasta sauce, rinse the can out with a splash of water and add to the pan. Add some dried basil leaves. Bring to boil and simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
4. Season with some black pepper. Off heat, add a piece of cheese into the pan. Cover and let the cheese melt.
5. Mix well and dish up. Garnish with dried basil leaves and serve~

Pan-fried salmon with assorted vegetables

2010-12-13T07:37:00.003+08:00

I am a bit relieved ever since Jye went back hometown for summer holiday. Now, I can cook my dinners more freely & in a healthier way, and remove the carnivorous meals from my daily menu. This was one of the meals I cooked last week - easy, simple & yummy~

Ingredients:
Some frozen green peas
Some asparagus - cut away the bottom part
1 potato -peeled and cut into small pieces
1 carrot - peeled and cut into smaller pieces
1 salmon
1 tbsp of lemon juice
2 tbsp of low fat yogurt

Seasoning:
Dash of black pepper
Dash of sea salt

Method:
1. Add a bit of salt into a pot of water. Bring to boil. Cook the potato, carrot and green peas until tender. Blanch the asparagus.
2. After the potato cools down, mix with low fat yogurt and lemon juice.
3. Sprinkle both sides of the salmon with black pepper and sea salt. Pan fry it until cooked.
4. Arrange everything on a plate and serve~

Bath Spa

2010-12-03T21:39:00.001+08:00

I have a very rigid body clock and jet lag hit me really hard during the first 5 days of my UK trip. I had bad oedema (water retention) on my face and limbs. When I woke up on the second day in Birmingham, I shouted out loud when I saw my super puffy eyes in the mirror. My eyes were so swollen and with big eye bags hanging under. Little was shocked too. I was so panicked and tried many different ways to reduce the eye bags before we could get out of the hotel. Sigh, lesson of the trip: jet lag is horrible!. Hahaha....

We went back to the place where we had our dinner last night and filled our stomach with nice breakfast before we proceeded to the train station.

Mocha
Coffee is a good way to eliminate water retention!

My breakfast! Yum Yum Yum... This was my first time trying black pudding. Nothing special but it's good to try.

On the way to Bath Spa~

Bath Spa old train station

City view

Bath Abbey

I wanted to visit Bath Abbey but unfortunately the Bath University was holding their graduation ceremony there. Such a nice and pretty place for graduation! Jealous......

Outside the abbey
So crowded and packed with graduates and their families & friends.

The Garden was very pretty, but we have to pay if we want to get in there. So, 'No No!' for both of us. Haha...

It's so relax to sit by or walk along the river, enjoy the view and the nice weather... =)

Glass blowing is one of the attractions in Bath Spa. This shop sells various eye-catching glass jewellery. There is also a factory in the city which opens for glass-blowing demonstrations and classes.

Pulteney bridge
A very short bridge. It is one of the four bridges in the world which is lined by shops on both sides. Interesting!

Shops on the bridge

Loves summer and the colourful flowers everywhere in UK!

We had our lunch in the late afternoon. It was 4p.m. that time, we were extremely hungry and wanted something in BIG portion. We searched everywhere for food and found a small classic pub. The pub is old but it has a warm and cosy environment.

Lasagna
Little ordered this. Looked nice to me..

Fish & Chips

I've heard from many friends that most fish & chips in UK aren't nice, I was lucky to try it in this pub. The fish was fresh, juicy and coated with a crispy breading. The portion was big but I finished everything, except the chips. I had too much of these chips, sick of it. Hahaha...

Vietnamese-style beef stew

2010-11-21T08:01:00.001+08:00

Life's been busy recently. I just had my graduation ceremony for my double degree course last Saturday. Parents and grandma attended my ceremony. I'm so glad that grandma came coz she has always wanted to attend my university graduation ceremony and now her dream came true. Thanks to Ian and friends for the flowers and presents. Thanks to mum for the little gift and most importantly, thank you daddy!! Finally I got my Canon G12!! kekekeke... Now I can take more more more pictures with a better camera! Must polish up my photography skill when I'm free... =p

I found this recipe in a cookbook called Simple Asian Cookery. I cooked it on a rainy day and it was really good. Although it is a Vietnamese-style, its fragrant resembles that of our hometown beef noodle. Maybe because it contains star anise and five spice powder, so it smells like Chinese beef noodle. The fragrant made our saliva dripping while waiting it to be cooked! Hahaha....

This photo was not taken with my G12!

Ingredients:
6 fresh lemon grass stalks
2 tbsp groundnut oil (I used olive oil)
1.5kg stewing beef, such as brisket or shin, cut into cubes
4 spring onions, cut on a slight diagonal into 5cm lengths (I obmitted this as I couldn't find spring onions that time)
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
6 slices of fresh ginger
6 garlic cloves, light crushed
2-3 tsp crushed dried red chilli (I used chilli flakes from Domino's pizza..haha..)
450g carrots, peeled and cut on a slight diagonal into 5cm

Braising sauce:
900mL chicken stock
75g rock sugar or granulated sugar
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
4 star anise
2 tsp five-spice powder
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1. Peel off the tough outer layers of the lemon grass stalks, leaving the tender, whitish centre. Crush with the flat of a kinfe, then cut into 7.5cm pieces.
2. Heat up a saucepan with the oil. Fry the beef for about 10mins, until browned all over. Set aside.
3. Pour off most of the excess oil from the pan, leaving about 2 tbsps. Add the lemon grass, spring onions, onion, ginger, garlic and dried chilli and stir-fry for 5mins.
4. Add the browned beef and all the ingredients for the braising sauce.
5. Bring to boil, skim off any fat from the surface. Turn the heat to a low simmer. Cover and braise for 1.5-2hours.
6. Add the carrots and continue to cook for 30mins, until the beef and carrots are tender.
7. Remove the beef and carrots with a slotted spoon and set aside. Turn the heat up high and boil the liquid rapidly for about 15mins, until reduced and slightly thickened.
8. Dish up and serve with big bowls of rice!! =p

Stir-fried mihun with cabbage, egg and meat

2010-11-07T13:25:00.003+08:00

I am an Asian but I am not a fan tong. Haha.. I love noodles, mihun and kuew teow more than rice. I used to eat stir-fried mihun or kuew teow every morning back in my high school and A-levels time. One plate of stir-fried mihun + a sunny side up egg would give me a good start to a great day.

This dish is just a very simple stir-fried mihun but it brings up lots of childhood memories to me. When I was small, grandma cooked this for me & Jye occasionally. It's so delicious to eat while it's hot and I used to gobble a few plates before I started to feel full. =p

Ingredients:
2 packets of mihun - soaked and cut into small segments
some chopped garlic
1/2 cabbage - cut into small pieces
3 eggs
meat - cut into small pieces
salt
water

Seasoning (adjust to the taste and color that you want):
Dark soy sauce
Light soy sauce
sugar

Methods:

1. Beat the eggs. Add a little bit of salt into the egg mixture and beat well. Heat up some oil in a pan. Pour in the egg mixture and fry. Dish up and set aside.
2. Heat up some oil in the pan. Add chopped garlic and sauté until fragrant.
3. Add meat and stir fry until it is no longer pinkish.
4. Add cabbage and stir fry for a while.
5. Add mihun, seasoning and water. Stir fry for a while.
6. Cover the pan and let it simmer for a while.
7. Check seasoning. Add fried eggs and mix well. Dish up and serve hot~

Birmingham

2010-11-02T07:04:00.000+08:00

I left London in an early morning and took a train from Euston railway station to Birmingham. Similar to Paddington station, Euston station is a major rail and tube station in London. It is the main rail terminus from London to the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and part of Scotland. I arrived at the station an hour earlier than the train departure time, bought an apple turnover and Americano and sat aside to have my breakfast.

The station was very crowded, mostly with business travelers and office workers. Everybody was standing and staring at the departure board. Once a train arrived, they would jostle and rush towards the platform and got into the coach. While everybody was rushing, I had all the time in the world. I was once like them, rushing through my life. Right after my A-levels, I enrolled into a four-year double degree course. Since then, I had endless assignments and reports and stressful exams. I had no weekends, no mid semester breaks and no 8 hours sleep per day. Until one day, I decided to give myself a break, to be away from everything and to let myself figure out what do I want in my life. At that moment, I really enjoyed sitting there alone, let my mind go blank, sipping my cup of Americano and relaxed.

I met up with Little at Birmingham New Street station. It has been a year since I last saw her. We were so happy to see each other again and were very excited about our 3days 2nights trip together. We checked in at the hotel, dropped our luggage and took a train to Cadbury World - one of my must-go destinations in UK! Hahaha...

We thought we would be the only grown-ups queueing up and crazing for the chocolates in the factory, but surprisingly we found old couples in the queue too! Little and I had a sweet 'date' there and we left with a handful of chocolates~ =p

We went shopping at Bullring, which is a famous shopping centre in Birmingham.

St. Martin's church - a small church behind Bullring.

Most shops were closed at 5something in the evening. We passed by a pub called The Briar Rose and found it packed with people, so we decided to have our dinner there. It is actually one of the Wetherspoon pubs. We managed to find an empty table and proceeded to the bar to order our food.

We were extremely hungry so we ordered one whole table of food. Kekeke....

Orange juice for Little & Cranberry juice for me~

Steak burger
We didn't order this. The waitress sent it wrongly to our table. The beef patty looked so juicy, so I took a picture of it before the waitress came to get it back.

Steak and kidney pudding
A traditional English dish and award-winning recipe of Wetherspoon pubs. It's actually a suet pastry with a filling of diced steak and beef kidney pieces. The golden, crispy and buttery pudding crust + juicy filling + rich gravy = 2 thumbs up!!!

Mixed grill
A large plate of tender and succulent gammon steak, rump steak, lamb chops, pork steak and Lincolnshire pork sausage, served with a jacket potato and garden salad, kept a carnivore quiet! Hahaha...

Sweet chilli noodles
Egg noodles, tossed in a sweet chilli sauce, with red peppers, spring onion, choy sum, bamboo shoots and carrot. Little loves this!

Spaghetti with pumpkin and ham sauce

2010-10-29T07:37:00.007+08:00

I googled for recipes one day and unexpectedly found many pasta recipes with different types of pumpkin sauces. This new combination surprised me as I've never heard or eaten this type of pasta before. I looked into some of the recipes and decided to use the limited ingredients that I could find here to make my own pumpkin sauce. Most recipes use canned pumpkin but I didn't. I steamed the pumpkin and mashed it myself. I also added ham to satisfy our carnivorous appetite and some cheese to make the sauce more creamy and cheezy. By looking at how fast Jye finished the whole plate of pasta, I'll definitely add this recipe into my recipe collection! Haha...

Ingredients:

spaghetti or any pasta - cooked and drained
garlic - chopped
2-3 shallots - chopped
pumpkin
2 slices of ham/bacons/sausages - cut into small pieces
some concentrated chicken stock
2 bay leaves
3 tsp chopped fresh thyme
dash of salt
dash of ground black pepper
2 pieces of cheese/some shredded cheese

Method:
1. Steam the pumpkin until soft. Remove the skin and mash it with a spoon. Leave aside.
2. Heat up some oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic and shallots, sauté until fragrant.
3. Add ham and stir fry for a while.
4. Add mashed pumpkin, concentrated chicken stock, bay leaves and chopped fresh thyme. Bring to boil.
5. Season with salt and black pepper. Stir and simmer until the sauce thickens.
6. Remove the bay leaves and turn off the heat.
7. Add cheese and stir to melt the cheese. Serve hot with pasta~

EspressSoup @ Times Square

2010-10-27T07:21:00.010+08:00

I have too many drafts waiting to be posted up onto my blog. This is one of the long overdue post. I was shopping with mum and Jye at Berjaya Times Square. Since we were not so hungry and wanted a place to rest our sore legs and have a drink , we decided to try this out.

Soups are served with Farmer Bread which is made of wheat and rye flour.

This is the correct way of eating the bread and the soup. I saw this while waiting for my order. Then, I observed none of the customers read these tent cards on their tables. They just sat down, moved the table tents aside and drank their soups.

There are 5 types of soups sold in EspresSoup, chunky mushroom, creamy pumpkin, fresh broccoli, clam chowder and classic minestrone. I chose the fresh broccoli soup combo (RM12.50) which was served with salad. We ate the bread together with the soup. It was not bad, but i think it would be better if the soup was thicker. Mum likes the complimentary salad which was served in quite big portion (but I forgot to take a picture of that..hehe...)

Oxford

2010-10-24T18:48:00.001+08:00

On the second day I arrived in London, I made a day trip to Oxford. When I was planning my UK trip, I hesitated whether I should go to Oxford or Cambridge. In the end, I chose Oxford coz I wanted to visit the dining hall in the Harry Potter movies. Haha...

The train took off at Paddington railway station. I arrived at the station earlier and took some pictures while waiting for my friend, Richie.

The Paddington station is a central railway terminus and Underground station. It is really big and spacious (or should I say 'HUGE'? haha...). The station does not only connect to the Bakerloo, District and Circle lines on the London Underground, there are also regular trains which leave for other destinations in UK. Moreover, the Heathrow Express travels between this station and the Heathrow airport.

The Paddington bear stall!

Since Richie arrived late, we quickly grabbed our breakfast from Upper Crust and rushed into the train. I got a bacon baguette and a cup of caffe latte. The baguette was fresh and crunchy but the bacon was a bit salty to my liking. I didn't take a picture of my breakfast coz my hands were occupied. The train was so packed that we couldn't find empty seats and had to stand at the corridor.

To me, Oxford is a city of knowledge, wisdom and history. It has the oldest university in the English-speaking world. I like the old architectural buildings and the quiet & hassle free environment here. It's really a nice and comfortable place to stay and study.

We saw this lady singing beside the road. She has a nice voice~

Oxford is a small city, so the best way to get around Oxford is by foot (which were what we did) or bike. You can also hop-on and hop-off the double-decker sightseeing buses in the city. We visited the Christ church. It is one of the largest colleges in the University of Oxford and the Cathedral Church for the Diocese of Oxford. The college has been used in the filming of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the Harry Potter series.

The exterior of Christ church

The dining hall in Harry Potter series

Okay, I've to say the dining hall is much more smaller than our expectation, but the deco and dining tables are reminiscent to those that we've seen in the film. I still remember I was so excited to stand inside that hall and imagined the scene where all the Hogwarts students dine here. Haha...

While I was admiring the large stained glass windows in the Cathedral of Christ church, Richie told me that once I visited the St.Peter's Basilica in Vatican city, allchurch and cathedrals in UK would be 'nothing' to me. What he said was so true, I really thought so after I visited Vatican city during my trip to Italy. The St.Peter's Basilica is really the largest and most impressive basilica in the world!

We passed by The Church of St. Mary the Virgin and decided to go in and have a look. Like other ordinary church, it has nothing much to see inside except an entrance to the top of the tower where you can enjoy the views of Oxford.

I love going to the markets (but I must clarify I am not behaving like an aunty! haha..). Oxford Covered market is an traditional indoor market with lots of fresh food stalls, shops and restaurants. It has a Victorian interior design with a high-raftered roof. Walking inside this clean and unique market was really relaxing. I love the flowers in the florists and the arts and crafts sold in the gift shops! The restaurants are usually packed with students during lunch time, I was not hungry that time so we didn't have our lunch there. We ended up having lunch in MacDonald where Richie showed me how he bought a burger with £1. Haha...

We went up to Carfax tower and this was the view from the tower~ =)

In Oxford, you can see bicycles everywhere.

Radcliffe Camera is one of the Science libraries in Oxford, however it is not open to the public.

Hertford bridge, which is also known as the Bridge of Sighs in Oxford due to its similarity to the famous Bridge of Sighs in Venice.

We spent the whole day walking around in Oxford. I was in jet lag mode while waiting for the train back to London.. =.=

Dried scallops and spare ribs soup 明目鱼瑶柱排骨汤

2010-10-17T19:34:00.003+08:00

Finally, weekend is here and it's time to cook soup! I cooked this soup once and Jye loves it, so I cooked it again today. I don't know what is the english name of 明目鱼. I only know it's a type of dried seafood and it's good for vision, brain and digestion, as well as nourishing and cooling our body. Dried scallops (瑶柱) are rich in proteins and they are good for relieving fatigue, headache and body pains.

Ingredients:
some 明目鱼 - soaked and cleaned
some dried scallops (瑶柱) - soaked and drained
some dried longan (干龙眼) - soaked and drained
some wolfberries (杞子) - soaked and drained
some dried mushrooms - soaked and drained
some spare ribs

Methods:
1. Bring a pot of water to boil, blanch spare ribs for a few minutes. Drain well and set aside.
2. Combine all ingredients in a pot. Bring to boil. Turn to low heat and cook for 2 hours.

Spaghetti with lemony lamb bolognese sauce

2010-10-10T07:48:00.013+08:00

Every time Jye and I go to Jusco supermarket, Jye would look at the lamb shoulders with big bright eyes and says 'sis, let's cook lamb!' I always brush him off by saying 'next time, next time..' As time passed by, I started to feel guilty about it so I bought the lamb shoulders one day and made a spicy lamb soup for him. Since there was a piece of lamb shoulder left, I cut it into cubes and made this pasta.

Ingredients:
Spaghetti 2 lamb shoulder - cubed
1 onion - diced
some garlic
1 tbsp of sugar
1 can of tomato paste
dash of black pepper
some parsley

Marinade:
some lemon juice
some mixed herbs

Method:
1. Marinate the lamb with some lemon juice and mixed herbs for 15mins.
2. Prepare a pot of boiling water with some salt. Blanch spaghetti in boiling water until al dante.
3. Heat up some oil in a saucepan. Saute chopped garlic and onion until fragrant. Add lamb and stir fry until it is no longer pinkish.
4. Add sauce and sugar. Cook at low heat until the sauce becomes thick.
5. Toss in the spaghetti. Mix well and dish up.
6. Sprinkle some black pepper and garnish with some parsley. Serve.

Peppino Italian Restaurant

2010-10-06T08:27:00.001+08:00

When I was back in hometown end of August, Ian & I had our first 'official' date at this Italian restaurant in Shangri La's Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa. The ambience of the restaurant was really good, the waiters were friendly and most importantly, the food was yummylicious!! Highly recommended for couples! But my only advice is 'Bring more money or make sure your credit card works'.. Hahahaha...

Medium cooked...tender and juicy~ YUMMY!!!

This was my only disappointment in this dinner. I prefer the one in Grazie~