Mochachocolata-Rita

Super Cheesy Baked Egg with Broccoli

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Cheesy is pretty much what I am all about. I kinda overdid this a bit. Well a lot. The amount of grated cheese I added to this thing was ridiculous, but hey... the block of cheese was gonna expired soon, I had no choice right? Plus, there's never too much cheese in my book ^_^

So this was one of my last low carb breakfast before I went on a chain of business trip. I'll surely go back home and make this easy treat again.

Recipe
(served just me ^_*)
- 1 egg, beaten
- a dash of cream
- lots of grated cheese (like a tiny mountain of it), I used cheddar, but if you had a bit of mozzarella to go with it, it'd be nice too
- a handful of chopped broccoli (just used some leftover, a handful of frozen peas would be nice too)
- a bit of pepper
Preheat oven to 200C, throw everything, except a bit of grated cheese to put on top, bake until golden brown and fluffy. Serve with chilli sauce or tabasco.

And I got slimmer a bit eating this sinful thing? Howww?

Yummiest Things I Had in Cote d'Ivoire

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:00:00 +0000

I didn't expect anything when I traveled to Ivory Coast. Some of my colleagues told me some horror stories and recommended me to pack some food. And no, not cup noodles, because the hotel we stay in might not have a kettle. Yikes! I packed a bunch of soyjoy bars, cookies and nuts, thinking that I would be totally miserable, but it would be nice to lose a couple of pounds out of this trip. Silver lining is all I see :)

Little did I know... that Ivory Coast, being so French influenced, is so full of delicious treats! Every day, I had buttery and flaky pastries during breakfast (if you followed me on instagram or liked my Facebook page, you've probably seen my breakfast photo reportage ^_^)

Now, here's one memorable short food adventure my colleagues and I had, courtesy of our very lovely and hospitable local customers, in-between working like mad preparing for a successful event.
Hard boiled eggs. I am not a big fan, but...

...with this sprinkle of yummy spices, I fell in love!

Wait a minute. These little nuggets look familiar...

They are Vietnamese spring rolls and they are so popular in Ivory Coast! WOW!

Next, we sat down and had our late lunch alfresco.

The weather was beautiful! We were elated to be dining on the street!

I tried Orangina.

And I LOVE this fizzy orange juice!

We tried this yummy coconut chips.

And these fluffy and crispy shrimp fritters.

YUM!

And say hello to the best sandwich I've ever had!

The generous bits of grilled beef were so beefy, tender, juicy and so charcoal smoky... none of us could say anything but ..mm...mmm...MMMH!
Did you notice how my local customers got used to me taking pictures of my food? At first they went "Ahhh Rrrrrittaaaa... Riiiittaaa!!! You and your photos!" but after a while, they helped opening this sandwich up for my photographic benefits ^_^
I can't thank you enough!!!

Look at how they wrapped the sandwich in recycled paper!

J'adore!
Ivory Coast, you are delicious!

Mushroom Omelette with Black Truffle Pate

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

OMG! It's been so long!
Lots have been going on in my life... a new job, a new flat, business trips, etc etc etc...I am overwhelmed!
And naturally, I've been eating a lot of carbs, dumping my diet aside, which is a bit sad since it was going so well :(

Anyway, looking at my old low carb pictures, I am inspired to start again, and I'd like share this one with you. It's meatless but very tasty and satisfying with a touch of luxe ;)

Recipe
- 1 egg, beaten
- half a cup of button mushrooms, sliced
- a tsp of black truffle pate
- butter, salt, pepper

Melt butter in a non stick frying pan, saute mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, pour beaten egg, cook for a bit (do not overcook), flip, serve and add black truffle pate on top.

YUM!

My Holiday Breakfast Indulgence

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Chocolate cake for breakfast. So un-me, but so delish!

It all started when I bought a bag of super soft and chocolatey chocolate cake from A1 Bakery for baby M, and he cringed at the sight of chocolate cake (weird!!!) and refused to even try it (double weird!!!). But he adoresss eating just chocolate (triple weird).

Anyway... so we ended up with this chunk of temptation, and finally caved and had it for breakfast.

I added touches of savories, one's peanut butter and the other is cream cheese with passion fruit jam.

I had mine with coffee and SC devoured this with milk x yakult (weird?), with his bedhead (censored) and iPad on his lap (we no longer have human interaction on dining table since... iPhone and iPad).

Hehehehe...how was your Easter holiday, guys?

Sweet Savory Breakfast Sandwich - Croissant with Candied Kumquats and Cream Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 01:00:00 +0000

I received a jar of candied kumquats from my awesome foodie friend, Mr. W. He told me "Use it as you would marmalade"...and here's how I used it. I love a combo of sweet and salty, thus the buttery croissant and the creamy savory cream cheese with the candied kumquats. I love love loveeee!

It makes an amazing holiday breakfast!

YUMMY Eats from Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:00:00 +0000

I haven't been cooking much.

I just got back from a business trip to Bangkok...and I surely blew my diet, but it's totally worth it (no point dieting when on trip right? Everything I ate in Bangkok = ZERO calorie?)

So, here are some links of the absolute deliciousness I had in Bangkok. I didn't do much research on where I should go, etc. I submitted myself thoroughly under the tender loving care of my local coworkers who are all awesome!

Hugest, sweetest, springiest prawns with charcoal smoky goodness!

Yummiest mango sticky rice ever!

These are from Ob Aroi seafood restaurant, more pics and info here.

Here's Greyhound Cafe's (I went to the one in Central Chidlom) new chocolate and salted caramel cake...

I adore their crab and corn fritters too!
More pics and info here.

Unbelievably yummy grilled pork, served with rice, refreshing broth, spicy sour chilli sauce and fragrant herbs.

I also had a huge bowl of tomyum goong, which was not red at all.
More pics and info here.

It was also my first time trying home-cooked Sri Lankan food from the only Sri Lankan eatery in Bangkok. This Chinese-Lanka shrimp dish is out of this world! My favorite from the night, along with coconut sambal and hoppers. Adore!

More info and pics here.

If you visit Bangkok, give them a try na~!

Ultra Easy Side Dish - Zucchini with Truffle Paste

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Made this as the side dish of our KFC dinner ;)
Super easy, and what's not good with truffle paste (poor me obviously can't afford to buy fresh truffle)?

Recipe
- 1 or 2 zucchini, cut into 1cm thick chunks
- 1 tbsp butter, a touch of oil, salt, truffle paste
Heat up frying pan, melt butter and a touch of oil, add zucchini chunks, brown them a bit, season with salt, transfer to plate, toss with about 1-2 tsp truffle sauce.

Yum! Perfect for a quick weekday dindin.

Greyhound Cafe - Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I was pretty skeptical about the place, since I didn't really like the one in IFC, Central. But was so happy I ended up trying it last night. Some of the dishes I really love and will definitely order them again!

Here are my favorites...
Greyhound Famous Fried Chicken Wings

Who doesn't love chicken wings? Tasty, crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and each piece is cleverly done with only one bone. More convenient to devour! Love!

Greyhound Style Iced Lemon Tea

Lemon tea that doesn't get diluted! Adore!

Salmon Carpaccio

I love how hot, spicy, and refreshing it is. I skipped the raw garlic tho, since I wanted to be able to talk to my dinner companions heheheh. Love this much!

Pita Pizza with Seafood Stuffing

It's almost like a quesadilla. Very pita part's wonderfully crispy and the filling is wonderfully melty. Love much, will definitely order this again.

Pork Stick

Crispy spring rolls. What's not to like! I am a sucker for limited edition stuff, when our server said this is exclusively available in Greyhound Harbour City, I went mad and had 1.5 sticks! Yay!

Spaghetti with Thai Anchovy

Perfectly cooked pasta, wonderful flavors. My low carb diet was definitely OFF last night, but totally worth it!

Coconut Crepe Cake

Out-of-this-world! MUST TRY!

MORE mouth-watering pictures are posted on my facebook page.

Thank you so much for having us, Harbour City & Greyhound!

Greyhound Cafe
Harbour City．Ocean Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Level：G Shop No.：G01
Telephone：+852 2383 6600
Opening Hours：11:00am - 11:00pm
Website：www.greyhoundcafe.com.hk

Pickled Jalapeno & Cheddar Omelette with Grilled Sausages - Low Carb Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:00:00 +0000

One of my recent low carb brekkie.
Very tasty & satisfying, I love how the pickled jalapeno added a bit of heat & tang into the rich mix.
Btw, can I consider pickled jalapeno as "vegetables"? ^_^'

Recipe
(serves one and only me!)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp of pickled jalapeno, drained, chopped
- cheddar cheese chunks
- olive oil
Pour beaten egg to lightly oiled hot non-stick pan, add pickled jalapeno and cheese, fold or flip (I folded mine into a triangle), remove from heat and serve with grilled sausage of your choice (or bacon?). Do not overcook the egg.

This is good with some sweet and creamy coffee.
Happy Friday!

PS. Do you have more omelette ideas for me?

Hong Kong Roast Pork (Siu Yuk), Apples & Mustard Mayo Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Hmmm...

When life gives you bread...

...I'd say, ditch your low carb diet and make sinful sandwiches.
Did I hear amen?

There's a story to this loaf of bread.
Baby M wandered around a local bakery (A1 bakery), grabbed a bag of bread and dropped it on the floor. The bread slipped outta its protective plastic bag, lying helplessly on the floor, begging for us to buy it. Uh oh. The staff saw this, and she was being very nice. She offered to clean up the mess, never demanding us to buy the bread. But we are people with conscience, especially when we are trying desperately to find some excuses to eat carbs. So, we bought the bread.

On the way home, I simply bought a strip of roasted pork belly with crispy crackling & juicy tender melt-in-your-mouth meat *gulp*
So siu yuk sandwich it is!
Here's what I put together. I don't think I can call this a recipe, and I didn't make the roast pork nor the bread. We are spoiled with having numerous roast pork shops in Hong Kong. But if you wanted to make the roast pork, I am sure there's a good recipe online somewhere.

First, I generously buttered my bread and grilled them.

Pork and apples, they are best friends, right? Slice the apples thin and arrange them on the toasted bread.

Add the pieces of siu yuk. Lots of them.

For the dressing, I mixed mayo, mustard, and a touch of honey, then slathered it generously on the sandwich. You can leave the sandwich open, or top it with another piece of butter toasted bread.

What a beautiful sight!

I need to bring baby M to bakeries more often!

PS. If you're a Kpop fan and you love 2PM, I went to their Hands Up Asia Tour concert in Hong Kong last weekend. If you wanna see the pics, check it out here.

Easy Chocolate Yogurt Dessert

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Chocolate + tangy yogurt. I must've been mad.
Again, side effect of dieting.

Screw diet! I'm having something sweet. It's almost the weekend anyway.

This is very easy to make, and the tang from the yogurt made the whole thing almost taste like chocolate cheesecake.

Recipe
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt (this is why mine's so tangy, you can use vanilla yogurt, etc, but remember to adjust the amount of sugar)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
(you can use melted dark chocolate if you wish, I was just too lazy to even bother)

Toppings
I used dark chocolate cornflakes & powdered sugar based on SC's request, but you can use frosties/special K/coco pops or granola and berries if you like.

Whisk together yogurt, cocoa powder and sugar until well combined. Serve in a bowl with topping.

Enjoy!

At least the yogurt part is healthy right? T_T

Healthy Yummy Breakfast - Green Apples, Grapes, Yogurt & Cashew Nuts

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Just looking at this photo makes me feel healthier already. Heeheeee!
My second attempt of healthy breakfast, and my first time trying a sweet breakfast.

I simply squeeze lemon juice all over the cut-up apple, throw them onto a cup of yogurt together with halved grapes and cashew nuts.

Despite how yum it is, I am simply not used to having sweet breakfasts. It makes me feel so... unfulfilled.
I need to find a way to make this savory without adding huge chunks of bacon or sausage.

Help!

Breakfast - Green Apple, Cheddar & Smoked Salmon Salad with Lemon & Honey

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000

In an effort to steer away from my usual (super unhealthy) eggs-sausage-cheese low carb breakfast combo, I am trying something new today. I simply cut a green apple into cubes, tossed them with lemon and a bit of honey, added cheddar chunks and smoked salmon.

Yum. But I'm gonna need a bigger portion of this ^_^'
Hungry!

Do you have any healthy low carb breakfast ideas? Please share them with me. I desperately need more :)

Zucchini Lasagna with Bistik Flavors - Low Carb Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Urgh. Low carb, low carb, low carb.
I am not loving it, until a good friend of mine, the evangelist of low-carb diet, Miss ChicMcMuffin showed me this low carb lasagna recipe.

Oh my! I had to try it!

Too add my own twist, aka. making it work with ingredients I have in my kitchen, I made it with bistik (Indonesian sweet savory) flavors .

Recipe (I made a small portion to try out, only good for 1-2 persons on diet max)
- 1 zucchini, cut into slices about 5mm thick
- 1 cup of minced meat (I used lean pork, the cheapest option here. You can use others)
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 shallot, sliced
- 1 tomato, diced
- butter, light soy sauce, Indonesian sweet soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup, nutmeg, pepper
- 1 tsp corn starch dissolved in a bit of water
- grated cheeses (I used cheddar, which was on sale ^_^. An addition of mozzarella would be perfect)

Preheat oven to 200C.

Saute garlic and shallot with a bit of butter (or olive oil) until fragrant. Add mince meat. Add diced tomatoes, season with sauces until you achieve the perfect balance of savory sweet tangy, add hot water to create more sauce. Thicken with corn starch mix, set aside.

In a vessel, add a bit of the meat sauce, add zucchini slices, top with meat sauce and grated cheese, add a layer zucchini again, and so on. The top one should be meat + cheese. Cover with foil and bake until bubbly (check after 15 mins? I checked mine too often - wasting my time a bit ^_^'), and continue to bake uncovered until the cheese and meat on top gets golden.

I like this low carb. But oh my... so high in fat and others! T_T

Who cares? It's YUM!

Now Craving - My Food Illustration Series - Carbs

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:30:00 +0000

I've just started a new diet (oh what else is new?). I'm trying to reduce my carb intake...and guess what can I think about all day long?

That's right. Carbs.
My cravings need an outlet.

Since I can't eat, or photograph, or even stare at my old carb-tastic photographs in fear of going crazy, I decided to sketch my carb cravings. I will post what I crave from time to time under this Now Craving series.

You like?

How about you? What are you craving for right now?

Bubur Sagu - Indonesian Sago Pearl with Coconut Milk Dessert

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

This is so worth ruining my diet.
I miss this dessert all the time. It is something I always had back home in Indonesia. My grandma would bring us to the wet market in the morning (Pasar Gang Baru) and brought us a pink version of this (made using pink sago and caster sugar instead of palm sugar).

So I tried making the palm sugar version last weekend and... it's so easy to prepare, and so satisfying. The sticky sago pearls have the caramel-esque flavor from the palm sugar, and the coconut milk "sauce" is slightly savory. Perfect!

Recipe
- 3/4 cup sago pearls
- water
- 4 chunks of palm sugar (add caster sugar if needed) or you can use brown sugar
- half a cup of coconut milk + pinch of salt

In a pot (preferably non stick), drop sago pearls into boiling water, bring to boil, and simmer until they turn translucent (with minimum stirring if you are using non stick pot). Using a sieve, drain the water, place the sago pearls back into the pot. While the sago pearls were cooking, prepare the palm sugar by dissolving them in a bit of hot water. Pour the palm sugar syrup into the sago, stir until mixed well. Taste and add sugar if needed. Let the sago pearls absorb the palm sugar syrup. To prepare the sauce, mix coconut cream with a bit of hot water, heat it up (I did in a microwave) and add 1-2 pinches of salt, add enough salt to balance the sweet. Place a serving of sago pearls on a serving bowl and add a bit of the coconut milk sauce.

Weekends aren't meant for dieting, right?
I ate at least 2 bowls of this bad boy.
Oppps.

Hearty & Creamy Chinese Soup - Fish, Tofu, Coriander & Century Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:30:00 +0000

I am not normally excited about Chinese soups but this one had me going gaga! (Sorry, I spent too much time trying to buy tickets to Lady Gaga's concert this morning. All sold out. I didn't get one. I'll have to scream & dance to the fancam videos on youtube later)

It's so creamy from the fish, hearty from all the chunks of velvety smooth century eggs and tofu, and the coriander made the whole thing so refreshing. I adore! I asked SC's mom for the recipe and it goes pretty much like this...

Pan fry your favorite fish. Add some rice wine, add water, bring to boil. Add tofu cubes and century eggs pieces. Season with salt and white pepper, add (lots of) coriander only at the last minute to keep them green.

Slurpsss.

Homemade Yumminess from Guang Zhou Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Just here to ~~show off~~ share all the yummy homemade food I had during our trip to Guang Zhou.

We stayed at SC's grandma's place in China and we were absolutely spoiled by all the awesome homemade food. They still try their best to always make everything at home using the freshest ingredients. Amazing! Look at those little pieces of dry shiitake. They're little bites of heaven!

Fresh veggies, simply stir fried.

Tasty stir fried tofu with pork. I ate almost half of this. The weather was cold and digging into this with steaming hot rice...oh my. I miss rice. I hate my 2nd day of low carb diet. Ugh.

Awesome soy sauce chicken.

Tasty tasty soup.

As soon as we finished lunch, uncle started to make radish cake.

Look at all the goodies to go into the radish cake.

Chinese sausages, preserved meat, dry shrimps...fragrant!

The pickled vegetables that inspired us to make our own in Hong Kong. Not as good as grandma's!

A typical breakfast during my holiday...pan fried radish cake, pickles, yogurt...

...and homemade sticky rice dumpling chock full of precious things!

We gotta go back to Guang Zhou again soon!

Pickled Vegetables

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:30:00 +0000

I fell in love with SC's grandma's pickled vegetables when I visited Guang Zhou during the Chinese New Year. We asked for her recipe and decided to make some at home. These aren't as good as hers...but pretty close.

We were greedy, so we chose lots of different vegetables to pickle :)

We just used the inner part of the mustard greens, and boiled them for a bit. The rest of the veggies didn't need boiling. I think we can get away with not boiling them, but I just followed SC's mom and granny's instructions. These are drained after boiling to be joined by the other veggies.

All the veggies were mixed in the wok, we scattered some sea salt on them and let them be for about an hour. The salt helps draw the water from the veggies so they'll absorb the pickling liquid better.

After an hour, we squeezed the veggies dry. Lots of water came out!

Placed the veggies in a pot, ready for pickling.

During the salting time, you could prepare the pickling liquid. We started with about a cup of vinegar and a cup of sugar...continue adding sugar and vinegar bit by bit until you achieve the perfect balance of sweet and sour. Once done, let cool. Once cooled, pour the pickling liquid into the pot with veggies and let them pickle away. They'd taste fantastic the next day. I love them chilled in the fridge.

In Guang Zhou, we had these with almost any dish...or even eat them as snack.
I gotta make more soon!

Valentine's Day Dinner - Lots of Heart Shaped Food!

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Here are some pictures from our Valentine's day dinner. This year, a week before Valentine's day, I jokingly (no, seriously) told SC that everybody has booked their table for Valentine's day dinner, and I would be really sad if he didn't have anything planned. I was joking. No, I was serious. Heheheh.

That's right. I don't wait for surprises, I just blatantly ask him.

I was thinking of something like...a Hong Kong style steak dinner. Below HK$200 per pax max, but SC decided to treat me for my favorite kind of meal. Quantity > Quality. Buffet dinner! Yeah! So sweet of him! I love love love it! He also did something so dorky-sweet, just check out below.

Here are some pictures from the dinner.
WARNING! Lots of heart shaped and pink food pictures coming.

Heart shaped red balloons everywhere. Awesome!

Something pink and fizzy. I love.

Heart shaped "Caprese". This didn't taste good but it surely looked dang cute!

LOVE is...peeling crab shells for me, because I don't wanna ruin my sparkly red nails :)

...and he proceeded to make me...

....a heart using the crab shell!

SWEETEST THING EVER!

Sashimi. Nice!

Heart shaped smoked salmon appetizer and caesar salad. I LOVE that parmesan covered pastry stick!! I wanted to get the whole container!

Obligatory foie gras...this was meh.

Best lamb I've ever had in a buffet. Meat still tender and juicy with crisp crust. YUM!

Pretty looking Japanese seafood stew, but tasted too sweet. The only thing I love was the heart shaped tofu. For photographic purposes only ;)

Some heart shaped cheeses.

I snack on these in between grabbing different sweets.

More heart shaped pink food from the dessert section.

This was so pretty and it's yes, heart shaped! Too bad I didn't get to try it. No more room in my tummy!

Heart shaped tiramisu. This was meh.

Now I know that I don't dislike macarons. I just dislike bad macarons. These were not good T_T but they surely look pretty.

The cake was dry... so sad.

Orange jelly, dark chocolate mousse and chocolate covered panna cotta. These were lovely!

Unlimited supply of Haagen Dazs Ice cream. Perfect if you love Haagen Dazs.

Another heart shaped dessert.

This was served to us as we asked for our bills. We ate so fast because we wanted to hurry home and see baby M (actually, to play mahjong T_T), they didn't anticipate us finishing so fast.

We were given this box of Shiseido skin care too! Wow! SC was upset he didn't get anything manly...

Despite some of the mehs, will I come back here again? I will. For a buffet, this is actually more than acceptable. Service was attentive, and I did appreciate all the pink heart-shaped stuff. This was the perfect choice for me.

Anyway, it was a lovely evening, this time, I really didn't mind being ripped off a little. As long as we're happy, right? I did feel a little guilty not bringing the baby with us, we ended up bringing home the heart shaped balloons for him to play him.

Oh, to maximize the cheesiness of the day, we actually got each other some el-cheapo gifts. What are they? Check them out here.

The Cafe (Sheraton)
香港喜來登酒店咖啡廳
2/F, Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
20 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Hong Kong
尖沙咀彌敦道20號香港喜來登酒店2樓
Tel: +852 2369 1111

Nutella Cheesecake with Peanut Butter Crust FAIL

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Failure is merely a delayed success.
That's what I keep telling myself every time.

The idea is not too bad, but the execution is crap. I made too much crust (I used only half of the whole thing I made, and look at it, it's half of the whole cheesecake!) and it falls apart even after a night of staying in the fridge. Ugh. And I didn't put enough Nutella in the cheesecake batter. Sigh...

Ah well...better luck next time ^_^

Chinese New Year Holiday Homemade Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Just sharing one of my many lovely breakfasts during the Chinese New Year holiday :)
The yummies are all homemade by....(not me!) SC's uncle who lives in Guang Zhou, brought all the way back to Hong Kong! I am so grateful!

Ultra delish curry steamed glutinous rice.

Heavenly!

We received a tin full of homemade nam yue (Chinese fermented beancurd sauce) crisps. We ate lotsss of these while watching trashy holiday TV and playing mah jong (yes! I finally learnt how to play!)

Sticky dumpling with red bean filling. Greasy deliciousness!

And we polished everything off with pots of hot Chinese tea.
Perfection.

Tom Kha Steamed Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:02:00 +0000

It's been a while since I shared a lazy and tasty food huh?

One of my recent lazy tasty discovery is....using instant seasoning mixes (bumped up with fresh herbs and spices) to steam fish!

I can't believe I haven't done this earlier. Very easy, and it offers more variety of flavor combos when I am bored of the classic soy sauce or black bean steamed fish. I used tom kha instant seasoning mix this time, but I've also tried tom yum, opor, and rendang. All yummy! I will surely try more flavors...welcome to the world of endless instant seasoning possibilities!

If you hate using instant seasoning mixes (I bow in respect to you), feel free to grind your own paste using fresh ingredients, it could be as quick as a few pulses in a food processor, and I am sure it will be as tasty, if not tastier ;)

Ingredients
Fresh herbs & spices (you can omit all of these fresh herbs and spices if you are feeling lazy)
- a stalk of lemongrass, cut into sections and bruised
- galangal, bruised
- some kaffir lime leaves, cut thinly
- 1 or 2 red chillies, cut thinly

Main ones
- 1 of your favorite fish, cleaned and pat dry
- 1 pack of your favorite instant seasoning mix (I used Tom Kha)

Rub the fish with instant seasoning paste, scatter the fresh herbs and spices on top, and steam until the fish is just done.

Check the doneness by inserting a chopstick into the thickest part of the fish, the chopstick should go through easily, mine took about 10 minutes. Now I am really just saying stuff to make this "recipe" look longer...actually it is really one-sentence easy ^_^'

Experiment, enjoy and share!

Village Dining - Tai O Fishing Village, Hong Kong

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:36:00 +0000

During our last trip to Tai O, we also had a chance to dine in the village, where our local hosts cooked us simple but delish food. Let's have a look at how the kitchen looks like.

Where's the sous vide machine? Heheheh

Simple gas stove, old school rice cooker, a good start for a yummy meal.

Simple and fresh ingredients.

...and a wood stove for the soup. When was the last time you saw something like this?

Fresh mushrooms.

Stir fried tomatoes and eggs.

Self service soup station.

Corn, egg and tofu soup.

Potato and veggie curry.

Lettuce and mushrooms in soy sauce.

Pan fried tofu in soy sauce.

WTH? Isn't this Tai O Fishing Village? Where are all the seafood? Heheheh. Since this meal is organized by the company that I work for, it is strictly vegetarian. The hosts admitted that they've never prepared any vegetarian meal before and was pretty taken-aback by the request. Nevertheless, they still did a good job preparing a nice meal for us, my coworkers and I had a fantastic experience dining there.

I'll surely go back for seafood next time ^_^

Making Salted Egg Yolks - Tai O Fishing Village

noreply@blogger.com (Mochachocolata Rita) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:30:00 +0000

Don't we all love the rich savory flavors we get from salted egg yolks? I do! I love salted egg yolks with almost everything! Mooncakes, prawns, crabs,...hmm I need to experiment more with salted egg yolks. Anyway, a couple of months ago, I had a chance to experience making salted egg yolks during our company's cultural visit to Tai O Fishing Village. It's a lot easier than I expected, we had a lot of fun trying not to break the yolks!

Here are the pictures from the salted egg yolk making session :)

We need duck eggs, a bucket of water, a bucket for rubbish, a tray lined with salt and a net, and some more salt to sprinkle.

First, crack the eggs carefully.

Gently remove as much egg white as possible, pinch the clingy part with your finger without breaking the yolk and rinse in water. Don't waste the egg white, drop them into the bucket of water and use the water for planting.

Place the yolks gently on tray and sprinkle with salt.

And simply let them "cure" for about three days.

Look at all the salted yolks we did!

Hello yummy cholesterol!

After this session, we stuffed our faces with local delicacies and shopped 'til we dropped. I can't wait to visit Tai O again!

Here's how to get there:
Tai O Fishing Village, Lantau Island (Outlying Island)
1. Catch ferry from Central Pier 6 (MTR Hong Kong Station Exit E1. Walk through ifc mall) to Mui Wo, then bus 1 to Tai O.
or
2. MTR Tung Chung Station, then bus 11 from Tung Chung Town Centre.

I've also posted some black and white pictures of Tai O here.