Weekend Baking ^.~

Recently, I got the avocado cheesecake recipe from http://www.avocado.org.au/ and decided to bake one. Again, thanks to Li who always willingly to offer her kitchen for baking ^.~

Here are the main ingredients ~ avocado (get those ripe ones), digestive biscuits for the cake base and 2 blocks of cream cheese.

Instead of crushing up the biscuits with our bare hands, we use the food processor which is faster and less messy.

Mix the melted butter into the crushed digestive biscuits. Then firmly tapped and pressed the mixture in the tray. Li has a baking tool which I think it is for smoothing cream on a cake. She bought it for pressing the crust and it really worked as it was much easier than using the back of a spoon. Smashing up the riped avocado ~ so creamy & yummy! The centre photo is the lemon juice.

2 blocks of cream cheese ~ beat with sugar till it's thick, smooth & creamy!
Thereafter, follow to mix in the eggs, cornflour, lemon juice and avocado mixutre.

Pour the avocado cream cheese mixture into the trays and then into the hot oven.

This was my first time baking a cheesecake. Li thought me the waterbath baking method. I went online to read about this baking method. Just realised that this technique helped the cake to bake gently, without cracking. The french term is known as Bain-Marie.

Still a little crack as perhaps the oven is little too hot but the color and texture were good.

PHEW!~ successful baking of our avocado cheesecake ^.^

The avocado taste was strong as we used 3 avocados.

I brought to office for my colleagues and friends to try it ~ they commented good ~ happy!

As there were time for other baking so we went on to bake lemon ginger drop cookies and muffins.

Baking is indeed fun and fulfilling ~ my weekend was well-spent Wo0OHoo0OO!

Chocolates Making

One afternoon during lunch hour, I visited Bake King Retail Store @Haig Road. The store is selling all baking products such as baking molds, wares, ingredients, cake decorations and many more. As I had only a short time to spend in the store, I just browsed for the stuff which I was looking to buy. In the end, I grabbed 2 sets of muffin cups, a block of chocolate, heart shaped chocolate mold and Christmas cookie cutters. The muffin cups and cookie cutters are meant for my next baking session with my friend ^.~ As for the chocolate molds, I was going to try out on making chocolates with apricot fillings for the very first time. It seems easy thou' :)

I bought a small block of chocolate which was just enough for making 15 pieces of heart shape chocolates.

The chocolate should melt in a slow heat in a double boiler which consist of a bowl fits in a saucepan. Keep stirring to avoid the melted chocolate become lumpy.

Here is my silicone chocolate mold. When the chocolates are hardened, the mold is soft and rubberize so it is easy to pop out the chocolates.

I had some apricots left so I decided to put into my chocolates.

It was easy to make chocolates. However, it was my first time so you could tell from the photo that it was lousily made (i__i) I realised my mistake that I should not put in the apricot bits first. I should have put in the melted chocolates and freeze till a little harden and then put in the apricot bits. Thereafter, follow again with the melted chocolates to cover it.

Oh there was still some melted chocolate left so my mum decided to put them into a agar agar mold ^0^ but it could only fill 2 molds.

It was indeed fun and easy to make chocolates. You should try it too (^_^)

Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant@ TripleOne Somerset

Steamboat has always been my favourite. There are so many dishes that you can choose to cook in your hot pot plus those yummy dipping sauces which make your food more flavorful. So far, my friends and I usually patronise Ting Heng Seafood Restaurant @Tiong Poh Road and The Magic of ChongQing Hotpot @Tanglin Shopping Centre. These 2 restaurants serve very good broths, dipping sauces, wide varieties of fresh food for your hotpot as well as a-la-carte side dishes.

Recently, I went to Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant @TripleOne Somerset which I heard from ex-colleague commented it was good but rather expensive. Anyway, I asked L to join me since she also likes steamboat. Of course, I warned her about this pricey meal before we went to Imperial Treasure Steamboat ^.~

There are 12 dipping sauces for you to mix. I always like white sesame/peanut sauce mixed with the dried chilli paste.

L likes the hot and spicy broth ~ Ma La. For me, I like to try a different broth instead of the usual herbal chicken broth ~ Century Egg with Corriander (non-spicy). I had tried this broth in my previous trip to Hong Kong. Initially I doubted that I would like it because I just didn't like corriander but once I tried the soup, the corrianders gave a pleasant aroma taste to the soup which I could accept it. It was light and delicious.

While waiting for the soups to boil, the waiter served us 4 long sticks of thin spring rolls in a wine glass. The rolls were crispy and the fillings were delicious. We did not want to have rice so we chose the egg noodles.

Next dish served to us was the live prawns ~ OMG, they were flipping and bubbles coming out from them. Totally freshness as the prawns looked shiny. The cooked prawns were crunchy and so yummy!

Here were the thinly slice beef and pork ~ very good for shabu shabu.

Our plates full of squids, eels, wantons, dumplings, fish and meat balls; and yams. There were cabbage and lettuce too which we had already put in the hot pot.

Nanjya Monjya @ Waterfront Plaza

Louis Vuitton Island Maison store is located at the waterfront of Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Since my friends and I are free for half a day, we decide to visit the store after our lunch @TWG Tea Salon & Boutique, MBS.

We choose to have a light lunch as we will be going for a good meal at an authentic Japaanese Restaurant for dinner ^.~ So we order 2 pots of pink flamingo and a fruity tea; and 2 sets of Egg Benedict to share :)

Egg Benedict ~
Homemade toasted English muffins topped with two poached
farmhouse eggs served with creamy hollandaise sauce and
a choice of smoked salmon or turkey ham.

Sorry, there's no photo on the store as we are so excited and browsing the LV items. Overall, the store is exlusive on its own at the MBS waterfront, the architectural design is quite unique and the interior layout is spacious and neat. They even have a private lounge and outdoor sitting area.

Time passes so fast and we are almost late for our dinner. We halt a cab and proceed to Nanjya Monjya for their famous authentic okonomiyaki and Monjya-yaki. The restaurant only opens from evening 5.30pm till 12am. Remember to make reservation as the restaurant is always full. Beside indoor seats, you can choose to take the outdoor terrace seats which is facing the river bank.

As we all are not very good at cooking, we better leave the task to the waitress to help us on cooking the okonomiyaki.



I've requested to add mochi into our okonomiyaki
~ just like those that I had eaten in Tokyo ~ chewy!



Ta-Tah! See ~ the waitress done it so well :) We can't wait to grab our first bite.



I added more mayo, katsuobushi and aonori ^_^



Omelette

I request for more mayo on my omelette and my friend squeezes

the bottle of mayo into a cutie smiling heart ~ haha ^0^

Marinated beef ~ we did not order the wagyu beef.

Thinly sliced beef on the teppan ~ As I do not eat beef so I ask my friends' comments ~ "tasty but the meat was a little over done."

glazy

Marinated prawns and scallops

The waitress has divided the seafood portion equally so that we will not fight haha ^0^

Sake + Chicken ~ going onto the teppan

The chicken meat is tender ~ not much of sake taste thou'

Yasai Yakisoba

Mix-up @.@

I like the soba which is chewy and tasty.

So far the okonomiyaki that I've tried, Nanjya Monjya is still the best and yummy. The staff are friendly and their service is prompt. I will definitely return to try out their monjya yaki and other dishes stated in their menu ^.~

De-Stress Day!

Can singing really de-stress? Apparently, it seems to work for my gal frenz. Anyway, we went to NEX party world KTV for a happy 3-hours of singing. It was a fun singing session ~ I tend to enjoy more of my bubble milk tea drink and snacks hehe!

Here's a pair of hands for giving applause and cheering the "singer"

While waiting for us to come out from washroom, my friend Lyn was attracted to the plush toy~ Angrybird at the game arcade. It was in the toy machine which required a claw to pick it up. She was so determined to get the Angrybird and paid to play the game. It was just less than 3 try and she picked up the toy easily. The passers-by got a shock as we shouted out happily when Lyn got the toy. I also paid to play a few rounds to pick up other toys but unfortunately, the claw did not manage to grab the toys as they were too soft to hold. Nevertheless, it was fun.


Thereafter, we went to Uncle Leong Seafood Restaurant at Punggol Promenade Riverwalk to have our dinner. It was rather a new place for us to explore as it was far away from central. I personally like the restaurant facing the green and river view; enjoying the breeze while having a good dinner meal.


See Angrybird was waiting patiently for its meal. Hmm..it didn't look very fierce and angry right haha!

The restaurant service is fast and here's our 1st dish ~ Spinach with Eggs, Century & Salted Eggs 三黄苋菜 ~ delicious!


Crispy Seafood Tofu ~ soft and silk tofu which really yummy


Fried Mee Sua ~ overall the taste and noodle texture were good but just a little salty.


Guiness Pork Ribs 黑啤酒排骨 ~ unique dish that using guiness stout beer to make its sauce.

Shimmering Crab Delights 金沙有、蟹 ~ huge crabs and the sauce was very cream and tasty! Best to dip with our man tou (buns) ~ yummylicious!

We were so full after the meal and decided to explore around. Beside Uncle Leong Seafood Restaurant, there are other eateries like popeye Louisiana fast food, Frienzies Bistro and Bar, and Xi'an Seafood Restaurant and Bar. There is also a prawn pond where you can try prawn fishing.

Since we had come all the way to Punggol, we decided to chill out at Frienzie Bistro and Bar. As it was a weekend so the place was rather crowded. We waited for about 15 minutes to get our seats. The restaurant has a nice cool ambience which it is perfectly for group and family gatherings. Moreover, the staff are friendly and service is great. We ordered a bottle of white wine and nacho chips ~ in addition, the staff recommended their choya ume mojito ~ Now, I'm addicted to this mix.
I like the refreshing and not very strong alcoholic taste.

It was indeed a relaxing day. We had so much fun and would like to visit Punggol Riverside Walk again. Hmm, perhaps we can also try kite flying at Punggol vacant field.

Kko Kko Nara Korean Restaurant

Since I've heard and read much about the fried chicken at Kko Kko Nara Korean Restaurant so I decided to get my friends and try their popular fried chicken. The restaurant is located at 57 Tras Street and about 10-15 mins walk from Tanjong Pagar mrt station. Their operating hour is up till 3 a.m. where you can have supper in the wee hours :) I suggest that you make reservation in advance as the restaurant is not big and have limited seatings so it can easily fill up with customers. Hmm, I guess it is also the Korean Wave now that people go for Korean food besides K-pop and K-drama.

This is their signature dish ~ Korean Fried Chicken. This is a small combo set which you can have chicken in original flavor, sweet & spicy and garlic soy sauce. The salad is good to have after eating such fried food. Thumbs up for these fried chicken.

Our next dish is the Kimchi Jungol with Pork Slices ~ This is somehow a little disappointing. I feel that it is not flavorful enough and the pork should have cut into slightly thinner slices.

One of my favorite korean dish will be the pancake, either seafood or kimchi ^.~ This kimchi pancake is tasty.

Well, if I have craving for fried chicken, I would go to Kko Kko Nara and it will be great to have Soju or HITE beer to go with it ~ Hehe ^.~