Hakka Yong Tou Fu

I have been pestering my dad to bring us to a decent Hakka Yong Tou Fu (YTF) place for 2 years. This time round, we finally managed to fit that into our schedule and we were not disappointed. My father has been patronising this stall for years and swears by it.

Just beside it was a roast stall. How convenient!
My dad decided to order chicken ‘rice’ as part of our Hakka YTF meal. Great mixing and matching huh?

I wouldn’t say the rice was fantastic but it wasn’t oily at least…
The skin was crispy on the siew yoke. The meat was part fatty and skinny but it wasn’t tough. The guys polished this off in minutes.

The star of the show. Hakka YTF. I’m amazed at how crispy the wantons were. And I really enjoyed the stuffed toufu. It was silky and smooth. Did I mentioned that the stuffing was pretty generous as well? My favourite is the eggplant. Funny how no one fought with me on that one. I think the texture and colour of the eggplant looks pretty in the YTF dish!

and just for the fun of it, we tried the “Whatever” drink….

That’s my half-serious look. I was trying to figure out what flavour that was.

It was sweet peach tea.

My recommendation? Ditch the drink. Stick to the Ampang YTF instead.

Ngee Fou Restaurant (Hakka) Ampang Yong Tou Foo
928 Up Thomson Rd S787121
phone: 64521801

My Best Friend’s Birthday

I’m back in Singapore! Eight days in Malaysia flew by. I have lots of photos and makan places to upload so please do bear with me. I’m starting where I stopped last- before I left for Malaysia. Rest assured the photos of Malaysia food hunts will appear soon!

The last time I celebrated R’s birthday with her was 8 years ago. I believe that true friendships are a rarity, and we are blessed to have each other. All 3 of us (including Peg) were looking forward to that birthday celebration.

I met up with Peggy in the afternoon first as Ruth had a lovely celebratory lunch with her family. Hungry, we went in search for some food.

Walking around Vivocity, we decided on trying to Sarawak Kolo Mee. Now, I have never been to Sarawak but I remembered my previous house mate raving about it (Jackson san, are u still reading this blog?). Curious, we ventured in.

Both of us took the S$6 bowl. A little steep for a bowl of noodles wanton noodles…

It came with a bowl of soup with 3 small wantons.

and Peggy captured a really ugly photo of me eating…..

But I couldnt be bothered taking another shot. I was too busy eating!
I do like the springiness of the noodles. The texture is certainly different from the normal wanton noodles. Worthwhile trying.

Jia Xiang Sarawak Kolo Mee
Vivocity
Basement B2-38

And then we met up with the birthday girl!

We bought our tickets to Sentosa Island!

We chilled at Bora Bora Beach Bar along Palawan Beach.

Babe taking photograph of our drinks. I had the mango margarita, Ruthie had the lime and Peggy had the tropical something…. (someone remind me?!)

Peggy and her drink…

We adjoined to sushi tei at Vivocity later. The food was average and the service was BAD. Twice they placed wrong food on our table, and they even misplaced one of our orders. They were not even polite in admitting their mistakes. shessh. As it was Ruthie’s birthday + everyone was hungry, we didn’t pursue it further…

My long awaited SASHIMI!!

BLISS

more sushi- pretty normal. Nothing to shout about.

Softshell crab! Crisp!
Cold cha Soba after a hooottt evening, wonderful!
Ruth introduced this dessert to me.. I LOVED IT! So much so that I had this again when I was in Sakea Sushi in Subang Malaysia (My future-mother in law liked it too).

And we shared the peach ice-cream. I prefer the fish wafer though. =)
And we ended the night with….
DURIAN CAKE!

Hope you had a blast Ruth!

*muacks*

Black Pepper Stirfry on noodles

We are now in Malaysia! So far, it’s day 3 and we are enjoying every moment we have with AR’s parents and Zorro (pet labrador). I wouldn’t say the shopping here is cheap but I did grab 2 pairs of shoes at bargain prices! RM$25 (AU$8) for a pair of white low heels and RM$49.90 ( AU$17)for a plain black work shoes. Woohoo!

Anyhow, I realized that I have not posted a recipe post for ages. This one was saved in the draft folder for some time. Again, that was one of my quick and easy meals. We had a packet of Swedish meatballs stashed in the freezer and I wanted to clear it before leaving for SG/KL. So here we go! Black pepper meatballs pasta. I used “shanghai noodles” but I think spaghetti will work fine as well.

Black pepper stirfry on noodles (serves 2-4)
200grams of swedish meatballs
1 tablespoons of garlic
1 chili chopped
1/4 cup of black pepper sauce
1/2 up of mixed vegetables
1 packet of noodles of your choice.

Blanch noodles. Separate in portions.

Stirfry meatballs with garlic, chili, sauce and mixed vegetables. Top mixture onto noodles. Serve hot.

Newton Circus- Seafood Galore!

One of the most popular tourist eating place is Newton circus. Usually I avoid tourist places but this is one exception. I like it because of the variety and the food is actually pretty good. It was AR’s choice of wanting dinner there-simply because he remembered the fun and lovely seafood we had the last time we visited SG.

It didn’t disappoint this time round:
We met up with my beautiful bridesmaid + best friend Peggy. Yes, she was being her cheeky self…
My adorable and understanding father.

Who can resist tender sting ray slathered with sambal?
My must order from Newton- Sambal Kang Kong!
The satay was too dry for my liking but on the bright side… that means it was healthier?
I couldn’t stop eating this. Oyster Omelette! This was SOOO good and they were really generous with the oysters too. The eggs was crispy and oysters were fresh. Just thinking about this makes my mouth waters. I suspect this was from Hup Kee stall 65.
The man and his coconut.

First Holiday Post

It’s day 4 of my holiday and I’m in bliss. Sleep, hugs and food does wonders to one’s mood.
Departing Perth. See that smile!

8 hours later (5 hours flight + 1 hr of sleep + 2 hours of catching up with mum)…

We arrived at Bishan Junction 8 food court.
My Yong Tou Fu order. I have been craving for FRESH YTF for a long time. Especially staring at flogger’s blogs on YTF! I had mine dry with lots of yellow beans, chili and sweet sauce. NICE! S$5-what a bargain for 10 pieces (I regretted ordering the noodles. I was so full just by eating YTF).

AR’s Laksa YTF. The gravy was sooo good that I haven’t seen him slurping up that bowl so quickly! See the before and after look:

BEFORE
AFTER

Give that man a bowl of laksa YTF and sugar cane juice and look at that grin!

Yong Tou Fu
Junction 8
Food Court
4th Level
Bishan
Singapore

Chocolate Rum Pie + Holiday!

In a few hours time, I will be jetting off for a long awaited holiday. One that I don’t have to worry about submission deadlines and work responsibilities.

I see food, family, friends, shopping and most of all….good fun!

Rest asssured I will be bringing my camera along and will be updating often!

I cheated with this chocolate rum pie. I used a sweet shortcrust pastry instead of making my own.. but hey, whatever that saves time and looks good right? =)

I delibrately chose this pie to post today because I believe that it represents a sweet start to a new journey ahead.

So stay tuned people!!

Baked Chocolate Rum Tart
300 grams dark chocolate (70%)
200grams butter
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoon of castor sugar
generous splash of rum
25cm prebaked shortcrust pastry crust

icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 170C. Chop chocolate and butter. Melt over saucepan and stir till they are well combined. Cool.

Meanwhile, bake pastry shell for 10 minutes. Cool.

Beat eggs, yolks and sugar in a bowl. Whisk with wire whisk till thick and pale yellow in colour. Put a 1/4 of egg mixture into chocolate mixture and fold gently. Do the same for the reminding egg mixture.

Fold the splash of rum in.

Pour mixture into pastry shell and bake for 10 minutes or so. Cool and dust with icing sugar. Serve with ice-cream or cream. =)

See you later guys! I’m off to do more packing! *waves*

Thesis Submission

My highs and lows of being a postgraduate student is often documented here. Tears, frustration, joy, ambivalence emotions that ran through me as I struggled to complete this challenging task. So this time round, I thought I could share with you my thesis submission experience.

I’m not very academic but an opportunity allowed me to pursue a dream that I had since I was a little girl (or was implanted in me when I was kid by my dad!). I would have never completed this without the support of so many people. Thank you. *muacks*

My hard work of 3.5 years.

I have to submit one copy loose in a box file.

My baby and me.
My slightly tidied version. More stacks of papers around that also. You can see the carpet there..there was no way I could even walk without stepping on any papers during the “peak period”.University’s Car park.
Up the slope! (with 4 thesis = 10kgs?!, I used a trolley).
The doors that I have been walking through for the past 7.5 years.

The chair that I sat in for the past 7.5 years each time I visit my supervisor. He was my lecturer then but turned into my supervisor. For the past 3.5 years, we discussed and argued. He corrected me and provided me with encouraging and criticizing words. We came up with new discoveries in his office. I cried in that chair when I realized I had to take an extension + all those dramas that happened (Although it was really a minor issue looking at the bigger scheme of things).

Yesterday though, his anxious personality showed through. I stayed in his office for 1 hr talking about publishing + trying to re assure him that I’m not going to leave yet. And YES, i do know that most thesis require minor/major changes from examiners so I still have to revisit this. And YES, I know he wants me to write up papers (but 6!??!!) and YES i know he wants to be the first author for some papers. Then I told him “Peter, u know I’m over this right?” which he then say “Yes” and finally allowed me to leave with the relevant documents!

I walked through those doors to submit.

My clean out desk at uni. Yes, I know I need a haircut and some sleep. Then my friend said that looked unrealistic and got me to model in front of another desk.
That’s my friend’s desk.
My celebratory coffee in my favourite cafe at uni – “Club Murdoch”.

Katsu Fish Curry

I have been waiting to share this one with you. I’m a huge fan of Jap food. The flavours are usually clean and fresh. As the weather gets cooler, I find myself cooking more curries and one pot oven dishes.

Instead of cooking the fish in the curry, I decided to serve the Japanese curry as a side. This was also my first attempt using Panko breadcrumbs and I really like the texture crumbed effect it gave to the fish.

Katsu Fish Curry (serve 2)
4 slices of white fish fillets
1 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup of olive oil

1 small sweet potato peeled and chopped
1 carrot peeled and chopped
1 cup of beans chopped
1 portion of Japanese Curry paste (I used Golden Curry S&B ‘hot’)
1 tsp of hot chili powder (optional)
1 cup of water (or abit more)

Pat fish dry with paper towls. Coat fish with egg then panko breadcrumbs. Heat about 1/4 cup of oil in pan. Fry fish both sides till nice and golden.

Meanwhile, cooking vegetables in a seperate pot. Add a cup of water and simmer till the vegetables are nearly cooked through. Add curry paste-stir. Add a tsp of chili powder and continue to stir. Add more water if the mixture looks too thick. Simmer for another 15 minutes or so.

Serve with rice.

Stuffed Spuds!

Mother’s day this Sunday! What are you going to cook for your mum?

Once again, I’m not there to celebrate Mothers day with my mum. I’m sorry mum =(

On the bright side, I will be back by your side next weekend!

To my dearest mother,

Thank you for your encouraging words when the tough gets going. Thank you for loving me and giving me the best in this world.

Love you lots Mum!
Daphne

and if you are not sure what to cook for your mum yet..try these stuffed spuds! They are easy, healthy and delicious. I was mixing and matching my toppings. It was such a great way to get creative!

What are your favourite spuds’ topping???

Let me know!!!

Stuffed Spuds
3 scrubed potatoes

Poke holes all over them. Wrap them with paper towel and microwave for 20 minutes till soft. Remove and let it cool for a while before handling them. Do criss crosses on each potato.

Topping 1
3 slices of ham
1/4 cup of low fat cheese

Topping 2
Scrambled eggs!!!

Topping 3 (my favourite!)
Garlic mushrooms with mango chutney cream cheese! Yum yum!

Have a great weekend everyone. =)

Light Creamy Baked Pasta

I confess that I’m a control freak (abit like Monica in Friends). I plan my meals weekly and ensure that our diet is balanced (grains, veges, protein). On most weeks, the fridge is cleared of fresh produce and the cycle begins again. It is not often that I have leftover vegetables or meat to deal with.

On that particular week however, I found myself staring at a leftover red capsicum and tomato and some cream cheese. Being on a budget means no wastage so I had to come up with something to use them.

Two tins of tuna, some pasta and my must have in the pantry- 98.5% fat free evaporated milk= this creamy baked pasta. I love creamy pastas but hate the calories that go with it so I always use the light and easy evaporated milk to lessen the fat content.

Ok, now I sound like a calorie freak too! haha.

What do you do with your leftovers?

Light Creamy Baked Pasta (Serves 4)
400 grams of penne pasta cooked and drained
1 red capsicum
1 tomato
1/2 cup of frozen corn kennels
2 tins of sundried tomato tuna 98% fat free
3/4 tin of 98.5% fat free evaporated milk
1/2 cup of low fat cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of low fat mozerella cheese
knobs of 80% fat free cream cheese
seasoning

Mix drained pasta, tuna, chopped capsicum, tomato and frozen corn kenel. Pour milk over it. Season it to your liking. Toss it! Spoon it on a baking dish and top with 3 cheeses. Baked in a 200C oven for 25 minutes till the top is slightly golden.

Finally! A pasta dish for Pasta Presto!