Tag: Singapore

Japanese Sponge Strawberry Swissroll

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Japanese sponge strawberry swissroll

Good morning dear readers! Firstly I would like to apologise for the long hiatus. It’s been an exciting and eventful coupe of months as we warmly welcome the newest addition to our Ho family (: That’s right! Lochlan Ho was born on the 8th of August and he has been an absolutely blessing and gem to every one around him!

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Having this precious boy in our lives is the best thing that has happened to us (: We can’t love him enough!

But I’m slowly coming back with posts from months back and I hope you can be patient with me as I try and get my routine back in place. Thank you all so much for your constant support, even though I haven’t been posting! It’s very encouraging and makes me wanna get back to it as soon as possible!

Japanese sponge strawberry swissroll

 So to celebrate my return, I decided to share one of my favourite recipes that I’ve baked a few times before bubba arrived! One that was shared by my cousin-in-law and enjoyed by everyone!

I have an obsession with swissrolls and just love making them! Of course, needless to say, I love to eat them too! hehe To date, I’ve made a matcha swissroll with azuki cream, chocolate with cream and fresh raspberries and this has to be my favourite, japanese sponge with fresh strawberries! A light and fluffy sponge that is not too sweet, paired perfectly with fresh strawberries and freshly whipped vanilla bean cream! NOMS! So if you’re a fan of swissrolls, do give this recipe a shot! I’m very sure you will enjoy it as much as I did!

Japanese Sponge Strawberry Swissroll 

3 egg yolks

35g castor sugar

50ml water, room temperature

40ml olive oil

80g cake flour

3 egg whites

30g castor sugar

1 tsp corn flour

200ml whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 tbs icing sugar

8-10 fresh strawberries, cut into small cubes

fresh strawberries

Steps : 

1) Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celcius. Line the bottom of a 27×27 baking tray with greaseproof paper. Do not line the sides.

2) In a standing mixing bowl, cream the yolks and 35g of sugar until pale. Combine the water and olive oil into a cup and pour into the yolk mixture. Sift the cake flour into the mixture and continue mixing till combined. Set aside.

3) In another clean mixing bowl, whisk egg whites till foamy and add 30g sugar. Add corn flour and continue whisking till firm peaks form.

Stiff peaks

4) Add the whisked egg whites into the yolk batter in 3 portions. Spread the batter into the baking tray. Bake the cake for 14 minutes, turning the cake at the half way mark to ensure even baking.

Combining the egg whites with the egg yolks

 5) Take the cake out of the oven and drop it a few times to reduce the shrinkage. Remove the cake for the baking tray and place it on a flat surface. Cover it with another baking tray to make sure it doesn’t dry out. Allow it to cool completely before filling it.

Japanese sponge cake - baked

6) Whip the cream till stiff peaks form and add the vanilla bean paste. Gently stir the vanilla bean paste till well combined.

7) Release the edges of the baking paper of the cake. Cover the cake with another sheet of baking paper, and flip it over. Slowy and gently remove the baking paper from the bottom of the cake. Place the paper on the bottom again and flip it back, in the upright position. Using a serrated knife, cute of the short edge furthest away from you with a diagonal cut.

8) Place the whipped vanilla bean cream onto the cake and using a spatula spread it out evenly, having a slightly thicker amount on the side closer to you. Add the strawberries evenly onto the cream. Fold the edge of the cake, pushing the paper forward, rolling the cake. Once rolled, wrap the cake with the clean sheet of baking paper, making sure it’s tightly wrapped. Cover with a plastic wrap and allow it to cool in the fridge.

9) To serve, unwrap the cake and place it on a long plate. Sift some icing sugar on top of the cake and slice it to the thickness of your liking. ENJOY!

 japanese sponge strawberry swissroll

Japanese Layered Sponge with Fresh Fruits

If you want to make a layered sponge cake instead of a swissroll, after releasing the cake from the tray, cut it into three even pieces, and layer the first two layers with freshly whipped vanilla bean cream and fresh fruits of your choice! To be honest, I did this only because my sponge kinda broke when I tried to roll it. haha So don’t stress if that happens!

Layered japanese sponge cake

I used fresh strawberries and blueberries! The only thing about the strawberries is that you gotta cut it into similar sizes so the cake will be flat enough for the next layer!

Strawberry layer

How pretty is the colour of the strawberries in contrast with the sponge? I love it! hehe So do give this recipe a try! It’s seriously one of my favourite recipes and a crowd pleaser!

PS : Thanks Liyun for sharing the recipe with me and giving me tips! (:

Remember to always cook and bake with love! Till the next post, xx

Zebra Cake

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photo 2-1-1

Home. I am back in the comfort of my home in Singapore getting ready for the arrival of our little bub, Baby Ho! (: But regardless of which island I’m on, I still always have the itch to bake! Lucky for me, I’m still able to do what I love with the big bump in front of me hehe

SCS Baker's Starter Kit

Also I was fortunately enough to be sent a baker’s starter kit from SCS Butter which was filled with boing essentials that I could use! So off I went to get some SCS butter from the local supermarket and planned what I wanted to make.

Zebra cake

I’ve been wanting to bake a zebra cake for ages, but never got down to making it. Since it’s a butter cake, I thought this would be a perfect time to try it! hehe I was a little nervous as you won’t know how to will actually turn out till you cut it open, almost like a surprise cake! haha So you would be able to see the relieve on my face when I got the first slice out of the bundt! Even though there aren’t as many stripes as I hoped for, I was glad there were at least some! hehe

I absolutely love the texture of the cake baked in a bundt tin – it had a nice crunchy crumb on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, not to mention how buttery it was! And to resemble more of the black stripes, I found extra dark chocolate cocoa which turned out almost black!

Extra dark cocoa powder

I actually got quite a shock seeing how dark it was, but it worked out well! hehe

So here’s the recipe and how I made the zebra stripes!

Zebra Cake (adapted from Ambrosia)

340g unsalted butter (I used SCS butter)

453g cake flour

200g caster sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup dark cocoa powder

6 tbs water

Steps :

1) Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celcius. Butter/Oil and flour a bundt baking tray well.

2) In a standing mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure that each addition is well combined into the mixture. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl when needed.

Adding buttermilk & flour

3) Add the salt and vanillin bean paste and beat for another 30 seconds or so. On low speed, alternate the cake flour and buttermilk until both are very well incorporated. Make sure you start and end with the cake flour. Beat until the mixture is smooth, but careful not to over mix the batter.

Mixing the batter to the cocoa

4) In a medium size bowl, mix the cocoa powder and water. Make sure there’s no lumps. Add 1 generous cup of the cake batter into the bowl and mix till well combined.

Getting ready to make the zebra cake

5) To make the zebra effect, add two heaps spoonful of vanilla batter in the bundt pan, then 1 heap spoonful of the chocolate batter. Continue to alternate the vanilla and chocolate batters until all the batters are used up and the bundt pan is filled. Tap the bundt pan to help in spreading the batters and be more equally distributed.

Steps to making the zebra patterns

Cake ready to be baked!

6) Bake the cake in the middle rack of your oven for 45-50 minutes. The crust will be golden brown and the cake should spring back when lightly touched. To check if the cake is done, stick a toothpick into the cake and it should come out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 10 mins in the bundt pan, then invert it out into a cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely.

Zebra cake

You can dust it with icing sugar, I wish I did, but I ran out of it! ENJOY!

Remember to always cook and bake with love! Thanks SCS for the starter kit once again! Till the next post, xx

{Giveaway} Savour Singapore 2014

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Good afternoon dear readers. So sorry for the lack of posts! I’m still trying to get back into the pace of blogging after the long rest I had when I went back to Singapore. Plus, if you haven’t already heard, we are expecting our first bub and thus I’ve been a little more tired of late. So please forgive me! I will come back with more posts soon, I promise!

Savour 2014 Giveaway Logo

There is something exciting I want to share with you, and this is exclusively for those readers in Singapore! I’ve got a giveaway that would definitely get you foodies on your feet! Savour is back and I’m sure many of you would love to go! Fortunately for you, and thanks to Nespresso Singapore, I have been give 2 tickets to giveaway to a lucky winner to attend the largest gourmet festival in Singapore, SAVOUR!

Once again there are a plethora of chefs to meet and a spread of different cuisines to try, so it’s one event food lovers wouldn’t want to miss! Foodies who are also coffee lovers will no doubt, not want to miss the brand new custom-built NESPRESSO MAISON, located right in the heart of the new SAVOUR event space in the lush greenery of The Promontory @ Marina Bay. So what can you expect at the Nespresso Maison? Escape to the extraordinary and experience ‘Your Perfect Pleasure’ through the art of bespoke coffee crafting with our very own Nespresso Barista. How exciting does that sound? 

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 Besides the Nespresso Maison, Nespresso will once again be bringing back their ever popular Coffee Atelier classes, where fans can discover and learn the subtleties, nuances and origins of coffee. Coffee experts will be sharing with fans how to create the perfect cup of coffee. I’ve attended one of these classes before, and even though I won’t categorise myself as a coffee lover, I really enjoyed learning more about the art of making coffee!
This year’s SAVOUR is held at The Promontory @ Marina Bay! It’s a 5 day event, however, the tickets I was given were for Thursday, the 6th of March 2014, between 5-11pm. The tickets will also come with 30 Savour $ each! So if you love your food, and would love to also experience some coffee magic, this is an event you definitely don’t want to miss!
So how do you win these tickets? Just leave a comment telling me who you would like to attend this event with and why! This giveaway will end on Wednesday 5th of March 2012 at 5pm, and the winner will be announced and notified at 7pm (Singapore time). I do apologise for this short period of time to enter the giveaway, but I assure you, it’s an event you food lovers wouldn’t want to miss!

Watch the video to see the highlights of Savour 2013!

So don’t wait any longer, leave me a comment and best of luck! Definitely looking forward to award the lucky winner!

PS: The giveaway is for the residents of Singapore only. Unfortunately, due to the short period of time, we won’t be able to give the tickets to readers overseas, as you won’t be able to attend the event on time. I do apologise! I’m sure there would be other events in the future!

Disclaimer : This is a collaboration with Nespresso Singapore and Crowd SG, tickets were given in compliments of the organisers and I wasn’t paid to run this giveaway. 

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And the winner is….. ALENA!! Congrats babe! Hope you’ll enjoy the event with your girlfriend! Time to take that break you deserve!! (: x
Winner of SAVOUR 2014 tickets
Winner's comment
Will be emailing you to let you know how to collect your tickets!

{SG} Kilo Kitchen

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Kilo Kitchen

We were introduced to Kilo Kitchen by one of our closest friends, Jacky and Linda, located at along the Kallang River. It’s just above Loysel’s Toy and this area brought back lots of good memories for us! Just a year ago, Jacky shot our pre-wedding video here and we had so much fun during the shoot! 

We didn’t know that in that same building was a beautiful quaint little restaurant that served comfort food inspired by Japanese and Italian cuisines. It took up the whole level, and there was plenty of space between each table. I was so excited the moment I stepped out of the lift and couldn’t wait to try the food they had to offer! (:

Kilo Kitchen

Address : 66 Kampong Bugis, Level 2

Telephone : +65 6467 3987

Email : reservations@kilokitchen.com 

Opening times : Monday – Saturday 6pm – 12am (Reservations highly recommended!)

We asked Linda and Jacky to order as they knew what was good and WOW! Just WOW was all I had in my mind when I tried the food. They were scrumptious and soulful. You could tell how much love and effort they put into making their food. That’s what I really love about places like these.

slow-cooked beef shortribs with salt and pepper

First up : slow-cooked beef shortribs with just salt and pepper. These were slices of heaven! Every single bite just melts in your mouth and you just want more! We were close to ordering a second serve but was saving out tummies for the other dishes we ordered. hehe It’s amazing how just salt and pepper would make a dish so delish!

Seafood ceviche

Initially, we wanted the figs with danish blue cheese, walnut and bacon (cause everyone knows I am totally addicted to figs!) but they ran out! AHHHHH! So we had to choose something else, and we decided on the seafood ceviche. They were all seasoned with a tangy vinaigrette and also a side of avocado salsa. I think it’s just me, but I am not a huge fan of raw tuna. But the tangy sauce makes it delicious! hehe Everything on the plate was fresh and I couldn’t stop myself!

12-hour pork belly with purple mash and crackling

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better. The mains of the night arrived. Fatty pork is a favourite of the mr, so when I saw this, I requested for it to be ordered. Linda tried it before and said YES! WHEEE! It was melt-in-your-mouth-yummy-li-cious!!!! The soft pork belly, creamy purple potato mash, sour cream and bacon with the crispy pork crackling. What more can I say? MORE PLEASE! hehe We ate it exceptionally slowly., just so we could savour it just that little bit longer. hehe

Squid ink rice with prawns and squid

This was my favourite dish of the night! So much so that each couple ordered one each! hehe Squid ink rice with an egg yolk and grilled prawns and squid! The richness of the squid ink just went so well with the egg yolk and was just MAGIC! Pure magic. You could tell from the look of our faces how much we really love this dish! I might be biased though, cause I love everything squid ink! hehe Something intriguing about the rich black ink that makes me want to dive my spoon in!

Are you drooling yet? hehe So if you’re in Singapore, do head to Kilo Kitchen and give everything a try! I can’t wait to head back when we are back in December! (: Have a great Thursday ahead dearest readers! Not too long before the weekend so hang in there!

Remember to always cook and bake with love! (:

{SG} One Year On

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One year anniversary dinner

Time really flies, especially when you’re enjoying every second of every day. It’s already been 1 year since I married the love of my life! I can still remember the moment I said I do, and how he passed all the games set by my bridesmaids and opened my room door. I could still remember the smile on his face the moment he lifted my veil. Beautiful memories that I would always remember, and be thankful for. (: To mark our first year of marriage, the mr planned a romantic dinner at Salt Grill & Sky Bar. It’s located at the top of Ion (one of the newest shopping malls in Singapore) and has an amazing view! We went through a secret walkway to a pair of private lifts that lead us to the 55th level! The moment we exited the lifts till we were walked to our tables, I couldn’t stop saying wow in my head! haha

View from Salt

Just breath-taking! Couldn’t get enough of the skyline. Thankfully we had a window-seat, so I could take in the whole view, all night long (: Salt Grill & Sky Bar is opened by Luke Mangan, and not surprisingly, the mr chose a place that serves Modern Australian cuisine. We’ve never been to restaurants by Luke Mangan before (his first Salt is in Sydney), so we thought, why not? hehe I have to say, the mr was spot on with his choice! We were served by a very warm and personal staff, who looked after our every needs through the night. He made it a point to make sure we were enjoying our food and also made sure it was a night for us to remember.

pan seared scallops

One look at the menu, and I knew exactly what I wanted. I have a habit (a good one I would like to think) to order scallops as my entree whenever I’m at a fine-dining restaurant. For some reason, the scallop dish is always one of the stand outs of the night. And this was no different! The scallops were cooked to perfection, so so tender and mildly sweet. It was a perfect match with the chorizo sausages too! I slowly savoured each one, but I wanted more. hehe

tempura quail breast

The mr ordered the tempura quail breast with roasted legs. When it arrived, you could immediately tell it had some japanese influence to it. The quail was cooked to perfection and was very tender and succulent. The good thing was it was cooked different ways and the tempura version added a good crunch to the dish. YUM!

Veal with foie gras and mustard crust

Then came the main. I had the veal that is seared and poached to a perfect medium-rare that had a yummy foie gras and mustard crust, served with a pumpkin custard and red wine sauce. I don’t usually have veal, but this was really good! Though it was a little rare for my liking, the flavours were sensational! The foie gras just melted in my mouth and the sweetness of the pumpkin custard balances the dish out.

Crispy skin salmon

Though I liked my dish, I loved the mr’s dish more! hehe Doesn’t that always happen? You tend to love the dish your partner orders, and secretly hope he would give you more. That was me that night! The salmon was cooked to perfection! Super crispy skin, and still pink in the middle. Definitely a very good choice made by the mr. Amazing! Definitely recommend this if you’re a fan of seafood.

our sides

And as if we didn’t have enough food on our table, we decided to order some sides to share : roast mushrooms in garlic butter and truffle oil & parmesan fries. We loved the mushrooms; they were just little explosion of flavours in our mouth! So so good (: The truffle fries were alright, didn’t have the wow factor, but having a side of fries just worked with what we had.

pear tarte tatin

Of course, we couldn’t not order sweets! A little digestive for the night. hehe One dessert that I cannot go pass is a tarte tatin. It would always be one of my first choice of desserts. The first one I had was at Mr Hive’s Kitchen & Bar and that blew my mind! This one was a little smaller, and was also really delicious! Puff pastry and soft poached pears all caramelised and topped with some creme anglaise and double cream. HEAVEN!

Creme brulee

As I ordered something I love, it’s only fair the mr did too. Without a doubt, he chose the creme brulee. Plus, they were serving it with his favourite salted caramel ice cream! So I knew he was gonna pick this! The pastry chef was so sweet to write Happy Anniversary on the edge of the bowl! Was a super touching surprise. hehe Love personal touches like that! (: Just makes the night even better than it already was.

My love

Just want to say Happy Anniversary to my dearest mr once again! (: This post is late, but just want to tell you that I had an awesome night, and I am so blessed and thankful to have you in my life. I love you! Thank you for being you.

Happy Mid Week everyone! (: Remember to always cook and bake with love!

{SG} Tea, Coffee & Sweets

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The Coffee Daily

Having afternoon tea has become one of the traditions of my family. Around 3 in the afternoon, the tummy craves for a cuppa and something sweet, just to keep the day going! So even when I was back in Singapore, I went around searching for a good coffee and places that offered a little something to satisfy my sweet tooth! hehe

The Coffee Daily

Address : 75 Brighton Crescent, Serangoon Garden Estate

Tel: 62848894

One of the first places we went to was The Coffee Daily. It’s a quaint little cafe that offered coffee closest to the ones we could get back in Melbourne plus a little something from our childhood.

The Coffee Daily - Drinks and Gem Biscuits

My dearest brother brought us there and we each ordered a cuppa and it was accompanied by a piece of speculoos cookie and a small plate of gem biscuits! That was the first time I ever had speculoos and it was DELISH! I’m so gonna make some soon cause just writing about them is making me crave for some.

I’m not sure if you’ve had gem biscuits before, but these are my childhood favourite. I use to eat the icing part of it first and then have the biscuit bottom! Been a long time since I’ve had these, so I couldn’t be happier having them with my coffee! hehe

The Coffee Daily

So if you’re ever around the Serangoon Gardens area, do drop by and have a cuppa! Having these gems would most definitely bring you back to your childhood days! (: It sure did for me.

P.S. Cafe

P.S Cafe

Address : 28B Harding Road

Tel : 64793343

P.S. Cafe

P.S. Cafe on the other hand is a totally different cafe for your afternoon tea. Tim brought us to the one at Harding Road (Dempsey) and it’s a converted warehouse that just looks amazing! Surrounded by beautiful nature, it felt so relaxing just sitting (indoors and outdoors) and having a hot cuppa and one of their amazing desserts they have to offer!

Dessert Menu

Of course, I wanted to do Miss D proud and order everything that was on the board, but having only three of us and cause we had a super full yumcha lunch just before, our tummies only allowed us to order 2! (:

Banoffee Pie

When the banoffee pie arrived, my jaw dropped! hah I couldn’t believe how much cream was on it! A little too much, in my opinion. But the filling was great! A crumbly and delicious base, with caramel and fresh sliced bananas. Even without the cream, it would be delicious!

Carrot Cake

I also chose the carrot cake and so glad I did. It was moist and dense and had the right amount of cream cheese frosting to go with! I love a good carrot cake and this is definitely it!

Cappuccino

How beautiful is the flower on the cappuccino? Love it! (:

Assam tea

I ordered a cup of assam tea to go with the sweets. The flavour was bold but was still quite delicate and it paired well with the richness of the pie and cake. Made me feel less guilty after drinking it, though I know it’s just me trying to feel better after all those sinful cream and sugar. haha But I know that I would definitely wanna head back to have the other desserts and even give their food a try! (:

Tiong Bahru Bakery

Tiong Bahru Bakery

Address : 56 Eng Hoon Street, #01-70

Tel: 62203430

The next place is one that I have been anticipating to try for over half a year! I have been seeing everyone enjoying their flaky croissants and pastries on Instagram and I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into some! As the trip back was considerably short, we had to squeeze as many places as we can in a day, so the trip to the bakery happened after a very full breakfast at Tiong Bahru Market! But by hook or by crook, I told the Mr that we had to try this place!

Pastries galore!

The choice wasn’t easy when I saw what was on display! I was SO tempted to just order one of each but decided to be good and try one of the them that instantly caught my eye.

kouign aman

This lovely pastry had layers of puff with butter and sugar in between each layer and every mouthful was just divine! I happily tore layer by layer and it starts with a crispy outer layer. As you peel your way through, it gets so soft and it just melts in your mouth. Heavenly! Absolutely amazing.

Coffee board

How cute is the drinks board? hehe I would want one just to put it in my kitchen! or near the coffee machine hehe Love it!

coffee and pastry

And as a digestive, the mr ordered his espresso (he is starting to love his shot of coffee now a days) and I had the cappuccino. Everything looked so pretty on the plate hehe (: Sadly, I didn’t get the time to head back and try the other yummies, but I will definitely be back at the end of the year to try more!

Arteastiq

Arteastiq

Address : Mandarin Gallery, 333 Orchard Road, #04-14/15 

Website : http://www.arteastiq.com

The last place I had a chance to have afternoon tea at during my trip back was Arteastiq! It’s located at Mandarin Gallery and I adore the concept they have! It’s a tea house next to the an art studio, where people could sign up for painting classes. It’s an open concept and you could see the beautiful art pieces that people are painting! Sometimes, I wish I was more artistic! haha Anwyays, back to what I had hehe I met Felicia for tea that afternoon and when I browsed the menu, I knew exactly what I was going to have.

Lychee ice tea

Sorry about the quality of the photo, the sun was shining too brightly on my drink! But I ordered the lychee ice tea, and if you don’t already know, I LOVE lychees! hehe Lychee anything to be more specific. This tea was so refreshing and it came with an almond biscotti and a peanut mochi. Mmmmm (:

Longan, red date and goji tea

Felicia ordered something a little different : a hot longan, red date and goji berry tea. It was delicious and even without adding the sugar, it had a subtle sweetness to it. Hers came with an almond biscotti and a sesame mochi. The seats were really comfy and it’s just a really nice place for girls, especially, to hang out with their friends and catch up (: That was exactly what we did! hehe

Thank you for being so patient as I share my coffee, tea and sweets experiences in Singapore. hehe I hope you enjoyed it and hopefully if you’re heading to Singapore anytime soon, you would be able to try some places out! Hope you all had a good weekend and are all recharged to tackle the new week ahead!

Till the next post, remember to always cook and bake with love! x

{SG} Wild Honey Brunch

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Wild Honey

Happy mid week everyone! (: Hope your week is going well and you’ve been eating yummy food and your tummies have been happy! I know I have! Especially for the past six weeks back in Singapore and I’m here to share with you some of the places I’ve dined at and really really enjoyed! So I hope all of you would enjoy my posts to come and of course, I would sneak in recipe posts and Melbourne food posts in between, so don’t you worry! (:

It’s amazing how much changes there is in the span of one year! We went back and just felt like tourists. haha. One awesome thing we realised is that the brunch scene has grown heaps in Singapore and there are so many more brunch places available now! We couldn’t be happier! So for our Christmas brunch, we decided to head to Wild Honey at Scotts Square.

Wild Honey

Address : 6 Scotts Road, Level 3

Tel : 6636 1816

Website : http://www.wildhoney.com.sg/

Our drinks

Of course being Christmas morning, the place was really packed. But we were lucky enough to get seats at the communal table. And not long after, we placed our orders and our hot drinks were served. They all looked so festive with the chocolate powdered christmas trees! hehe Just put a smile on my face when they placed it on the table.

New England

Due to the festive season, they had a couple of specials and the mr ordered one of them : New England. How beautiful is the plating? On top of their signature brioche is two fresh jumbo crab cakes with red pepper, fresh corn. Topped with perfectly poached eggs, citrus hollandaise sauce and black Avruga caviar. This was one explosive dish! Everything just went so well with each other. We loved it and just couldn’t get enough and savoured every bite!

Perfectly poached egg

And here’s the money shot! (: Just perfect with the huge chunks of crab meat. Noms! hehe

English

My mum-in-law and sister-in-law ordered the English. One of the signature brunch dishes that’s on their menu. Scrambled eggs, back bacon, Cumberland pork sausage, sauteed mushrooms, baked beans, potatoes and grilled vine potatoes with their signature brioche. The brioche is seriously something I could eat all day! So soft with a hint of sweet with every bite.

Tunisian

My father-in-law ordered another signature : Tunisian. It’s similar to baked eggs, with spicy shakshouka (don’t you love saying it? haha), chorizo sausage, the brioche and a side of Israeli salad. I didn’t get to try it, but he really enjoyed it (:

Boulevard St Michel

I ordered the one thing that caught my eye from the moment I browsed the menu : Boulevard St Michel ! It consisted of a savoury french toast with double baked cheese & spinach souffle, parmesan crumbed poached egg, slow roasted vine tomatoes, grilled bacon and spicy tomato chutney. This was SO YUM! I made sure I took small bites so that it would last for a longer time! hehe The cheese souffle was light and you know what’s better?

Crumbed poached egg with runny yolk

Poached eggs that were crumbed and still had a perfectly runny yolk – liquid gold ! It always amazes me how a poached egg crumbed and fried and still have a liquid-y centre. Definitely something I would love to try at home one day. haha.

So if you’re around Orchard Road in Singapore and you’re thinking of having some brunch, head to Wild Honey and give it a go! We were all filled to the brim as the portions were quite huge and definitely walked out with happy bellies! (:

Wanton Noodles

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I’ve been on a hawker food journey of late. There has been the black fried carrot cake (chai tow kway), XO fried carrot cake, prawn noodle soup and from a long time ago – minced meat noodle (bak chor mee). It’s no secret that I’m missing home, and it’s just evident with the food that I’ve been cooking recently! My ultimate source of comfort, besides the mr of course. (:

One other thing that I miss is wanton noodles. Especially the ones my grandma makes during our lunar birthdays. Her wontons are the bomb! hehe And when we head back for our holidays, wanton noodles would be one of the first things on our food-list that we wanna have after we’ve touched down. Fei Fei wanton noodles is one place we can’t miss, and let me tell you. Their bowl of noodles is magical. Looks simple, but tastes so good! Just talking about it is making me want a bowl now!

I came home craving for some wanton noodles from work one day and went to get some wanton wrappers to make some. If you know me well enough, you know that I  love spontaneity! When I think of a dish, I’ll head to the markets and get the necessary ingredients and will whip it up and serve it for dinner. hehe Not much of a weekly planner, I have to admit!

Usually, my grandma only has mince pork in her wantons. But I like to add a bit more ingredients to mine, and stuff it to it’s maximum. Whoops! hehe Well, just can’t help myself. hehe Need textures for the extra bite! So just before I share my recipe, just a heads up that making the wantons is quite labour intensive. Especially if you’re making it for the first time. So do make this when you have ample time to prep and do know that all your effort would be worth it! hehe  And also, the sauces for the noodles could always be altered to your own taste! I might prefer my noodles a little on the salty side hehe

Wantons Noodle (an original recipe of FoodMadeWithLove)

Egg noodles

8 slices of fish cake

a bunch of choy sum

bean sprouts

fried shallots and coriander, to serve

Wantons :

250g mince pork

100g fish paste

8 prawns, finely chopped

4 shitake mushrooms, soaked and diced finely

20g dried shrimp, soaked and finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 tsp ground white pepper

1 heap tsp corn starch

Wanton wrappers

Sauce for noodles (per serve) :

1 tsp shallot oil

1 tsp fried shallots

1/2 tsp sambal

1 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp thick dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Stewed Mushrooms (optional) :

6 dried shitake, soaked and sliced thinly (reserve 1 1/2 cup of water)

Knob of ginger, thinly sliced into strips

1 tbs shallot oil

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 tbs shaoxing wine

1 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs light soy sauce

1 tbs dark soy sauce

Steps :

1) For the stewed mushrooms : In a small pot, heat the shallot oil on medium heat and fry the ginger till fragrant. Add the mushrooms and fry it for 5 mins before adding the sauces. Add the water and allow it to simmer on low heat for at least 30 mins. Of course, the longer the better. Just stir it occasionally and add more water if needed.

2) For the wantons : In a frying pan, fry the dried shrimp and garlic till fragrant. Set aside. In a large metal bowl, add all the ingredients as well as the fried dried shrimp and garlic and mix till well combined.

3) Place a portion on a wonton wrapper, wet the two sides with water and fold it into half. Press all the air out and stick the two ends together.

4) In a pot of boiling water, drop the wantons in and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the wantons start floating at the top. Drain and set a side.

5) In a serving bowl, add the sauces for the noodles and give it a good mix so that it’s well combined. In the same pot of boiling water, blanch the noodles, fish cake, choy sum and bean sprouts separately. Toss the noodles in the sauce that was previously prepared.

6) To serve : Place the choy sum and bean sprouts on top of the noodles, and top that with the fish cake. Place the cooked wantons on top, followed by the stewed mushrooms (and some extra sauce of course). Last but not the least, sprinkle some fried shallots and coriander. ENJOY!

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A Sugee Cake Just To Say Thank You.

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I recently stopped work and really wanted to thank my boss and I knew from the very start sugee cake was her facourite cake of all time. So I couldn’t not bake it for her. I never really baked it before, and was a little nervous to be giving her my very first attempt to be honest. But as I was leaving for Melbourne very soon, I didn’t have much time to bake another. So a successful first attempt was what I was praying for!

Thankfully, I read Ju’s post on The Little Teochew (yes the same awesome person who baked and shared her Japanese Cheesecake recipe, thank you!) a couple of months ago, and bookmarked the recipe of the sugee cake she baked (adapted from Cherry on a Cake) and hers looks amazing! So I took a deep breath and plucked up my courage and gave this a try.

Ju did use almond silvers but I didn’t have that, and used pumpkin seeds instead. However, they didn’t stay on top and sank all the way to the bottom instead! hehe I must say it didn’t look very pretty, but it did taste pretty good! and goes well with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Thankfully, my boss enjoyed it very much! (: So thank you Zurin, for sharing the recipe, and thank you Ju for giving the tips!

so here’s the recipe from The Little Teochew, as adapted from Cheery on a Cake (: Enjoy!

Ingredients :

250g butter, softened
250g caster sugar (can reduce it to 220g)
125g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
125g semolina flour
50g cashews, ground (I used grounded almonds instead)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp buttercream essence (I left this out)
5 eggs plus 1 yolk, the whole eggs separated

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 150 C.

2. Stir semolina flour, Self Raising flour, baking powder and nuts together in a bowl and leave aside.

3. Seperate all the eggs. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Add cold milk, vanilla extract and buttercream essence and mix well.

4. In another bowl beat egg whites till stiff. Fold in flour mixture into creamed mixture. Then fold in beaten egg whites gently until well mixed. Gently sprinkle almond silvers or any nuts (as mentioned above, I used pumpkin seeds and it sank, so just stick to the almond silvers) on top before putting it in the oven.

5. Bake 150 C for 50-60 mins until skewer comes out clean. (Tent the cake batter with foil because the high sugar content makes the cake brown easily)

I used a bread loaf pan and it came out pretty nice and close to the texture of Ju’s sugee cake, crumbly and nutty! (:

Thanks again to the both of you so generously sharing your recipe and tips!