Category Archives: Homegourmet & Gatherings

RI Bro CJ Treasured Annual Tradition = 14bros CNY Steamboat on 30Jan2020

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14bros + HCK
CJ annual tradition = round round thing steamboat
CJ annual tradition = round round thing steamboat
round round thing…this time braised..canned
usda prime shabu beef
angka prawns
red garoupa fillet
shitake & shimeji mushrooms
new year goodies
new year goodies
LKY’s origami
CJ’s cutie shih tzu
CJ’s atas fruits aka yellow dragonfruit, giant cherries, japanese mikan

by the best of traditions, CJ hosted his annual 14bros+HCK CNY steamboat featuring the round round things (this edition round brown things aka canned braised abalones) and bak kwa blind test..

with large angka prawns & usda prime shabu beef, and red garoupa fillet..wa seh!

plus homemade chicken rice, chilli, stock base from 2 whole chickens.

this year also added atas fruits- yellow dragon fruit, giant cherries & S$14 a piece japanese mikan..

CJ’s shih tzu cutie called kai kai

a fun, warm, precious makan & chill together & treasured tradition to be repeated (maybe more times a year?)…for the next 30yrs+

c.h.e.f andy

CNY Day One 8pax Family Dinner on 25Jan2020

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CNY DAY 1 年初一8pax family dinner inc aunty bes
CNY DAY 1 年初一8pax family dinner inc aunty bes
ama ebi
octopus calamari
capellini alio olio
hay smoked chicken (10mins stove 20mins 200degC oven)
hay smoked chicken (10mins stove 20mins 200degC oven)
kani konabe – jap crabmeat claypot rice
pan fried usa prime ribeye

this chinese new year, we decided to have homecooked dinner. 🙂

CNY DAY 1 年初一8pax family dinner inc aunty bes on 25.1.2020.^^

wife made pan fried usa prime ribeye, always good.

I made-

  1. kani konabe – jap crabmeat claypot rice
  2. capellini alio olio
  3. hay smoked chicken (10mins stove 20mins 200degC oven) – recipe here

trying to model esora’s kani konabe…

rice was flavourful..son liked it…need an even tastier stock..canned crabmeat excellent when son made crabmeat pasta…doesn’t seem to come out best in this preparation..got to figure out a bit.. this the first time..can experiment further.

capellini alio olio was good with truffle sauce and extra virgin olive oil, modelling 8picure. this was a huge serving, taste far better than the presentation.. can never match 8picure but good enough la..

hay smoked chicken was pretty good too…(recipe here)

good smoke & flamed flavours and very tender too, also modelling esora hay smoked pigeon.

c.h.e.f andy

18pax RI Bros Homecooked Dinner on 21Jan2020

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chye kiang brought couplet he wrote for me

HCK gave me his calligraphy couplet

白斩鸡
curry chicken
noya tau you bak
black bean sauce pork soft bones
assam red snapper (ang kueh)
gimson nonya sauce seabass
broccoli

made 18pax RI bros dinner this evening on 21.1.2020. ^^

during this period while i was recovering from my accident, many RI bros (& also OPS bros – this evening though for RI bros) visited me & also drove me for many followup medical appointments & for makan..

i restarted slowly my large group cooking.

last week i did for the bbq at aloha loyang bungalow RI bros with matthias family, doing fewer dishes served in larger quantity.

this evening, i made much few (just 7) dishes, in larger serving quantity…also to prep for restarting the fortnightly HCA 40pax lunch next week.

  1. nonya curry chicken
  2. 白斩鸡 chucken rice chicken
  3. nonya tau you bak
  4. black bean sauce pork soft bones
  5. assam red snapper (ang kuay) – first time trying out assam gravy
  6. 6 gimson nonya sauce steamed seabass
  7. fried broccoli

thanks bros for the fun evening & all the stuffs🙏

thanks LCH for cooking and bringing the rice & 10 stools, LCM for the disposables, HCK for the couplets & tea, & J for the samosa…etc…🙏😀

c.h.e.f andy

Made Chicken Rendang for Contractors’ Workers on 4Oct2019

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chicken rendang

chicken rendang

got packet of happy family rendang sauce

made chicken rendang for neighbour 7 gll contractor workers and the behind houses workers who were doing their company defects repairs for me.

c.h.e.f andy

9pax RI Bro Dinner Showcase NCL Curry Chicken & Harold’s Adobo Pork Dish on 1Oct2019

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dinner dishes

our RI bro LCM organised a 9pax dinner for HCK’s 茶 chat group on 1.10.2019. ^^

unfortunately HCK has last minute overseas engagement & unable to join us this evening…

wonderful that CCG was able to join dinner….

the evening menu showcased-

1 adobo pork with egg and potatoes by H
2 curry chicken by NCL

& some calefare dishes by me to make up the numbers

3 nonya fish curry
4 nonya chap chye &
5 fried kang kong with gimson nonya sauce

copied from chong lee whatsapp –

Thanks, H for the adobo pork.

Thanks, LCM, for the wine.

Thanks, CCG, for the kuehs.

Thanks, JT, for the Olympics liquor and the baguettes .

Thanks, WWC, for the Chateraise jelly.

Thanks, LCH, for the grapes.

CL’s curry chicken

NCL’s curry chicken with prima paste good as usual. 🙂

there was plenty of curry so tasty can be more intense. that is a personal preference.

Harold’s adobo pork dish

Harold’s adobo pork dish

Harold’s adobo pork dish very tasty dish. i had like 3 helpings. liked the eggs and potatoes too.

everyone liked it. 🙂

fish head curry

my fish head curry the usual, with lots of vegetables.

nonya chap chye

nonya chap chye

nonya chap chye. this like my second time making this dish.

pretty good actually, quite delicious.

nonya sauce fried kang kong

nonya sauce fried kang kong

grapes

we also had LCM wine, JT’s own umeshu special brew, CCG’s kueh, Tolmas charteraise fruit jelly, and LCH’s grapes.

CL’s curry chicken

another fun dinner among old friends showcasing NCL’s curry chicken dish and Harold’s adobo ninoy cuisine.

must have more, surely!

c.h.e.f andy

 

 

Wife Made Excellent Open Beef Sandwich on 28Sep2019

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open beef sandwich

open beef sandwich

wife made an excellent open beef sandwich with alfafa, rockets, caramelised onions, honey mustard and of course roast beef. ^^

on 28.9.2019.

c.h.e.f andy

Dry Kuay Teow Mee on 28Sep2019

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dry kuay teow mee

made 1pax dry kuay teow mee for lunch today on 28.9.2019. ^^

dry kuay teow mee

dry kuay teow mee

dry kuay teow mee

quite good, noodles, ingredients, and chilli.

not as good as outside.

c.h.e.f andy

Delicious Homemade Hu Tieu (Vietnamese Kuay Teow 果条) 2pax Lunch on 29Sep2019

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hu tieu

RI bro CCG came for lunch.

made 2pax hu tieu (vietnamese kuay teow 果条)lunch on 27.9.2019. ^^

finito!

hu tieu

excellent hu tieu as good as in hcmc。

with bakuteh stock, liver, sliced pork, tender belly pork and 沙茶酱mala sauce dip 👍👍👍

vietnamese coffee

vietnamese coffee

hu tieu

 

& vietnamese coffee was superb!

own handgrind vietnamese coffee and strong cup served with condensed milk。

very enjoyable lunch and time with RI bro

c.h.e.f andy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wife’s Excellent Beef Don 5pax Dinner on 9Sep2019

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wife made excellent beef don

wife made excellent beef don

wife made 5pax dinner on 9.9.2019. ^^

excellent beef don, tako kakiage & oven roast pork ribs.

usda prime ribeye was excellent! wife added mirin and sake when charring the beef.

don was sprinkled with japanese garnishing and ribeye slices topped with wasabi, exactly like beef don restaurants.

tako kakiage done like calamari, just using japanese octopus. and oven baked baby ribs were tasty and fell of the bones. very good indeed!

c.h.e.f andy

 

Prawn Alio Olio for One on 9Sep2019

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prawn alio olio

got leftover like 60g spaghetti in chiller

just throw in 4 prawns and made chili prawn alio olio 1pax lunch.

prawn alio olio

prawn alio olio

fried cut chili padi, chopped garlic in olive oil till fragrant. do not brown garlic.

add white wine and reduce.

add spahetti, off fire, add butter & toss. add sea salt to taste.

garnish with sweet basil. i lazy to do. lol!

voila!

a quick, delicious meal for one!

c.h.e.f andy

 

 

Delicious 2mins Prawn 豆签 Bean Noodles Dinner for One on 31Aug2019

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prawn 豆签soup

made 2mins dinner for myself 1pax on 31.8.2019. ^^

prawn 豆签 using leftover chicken stock.

just one bunch 豆签  bean noodles very light and hopefully lower carbs, anyway it was a tiny amount.

had very tasty thick chicken stock left over. just seasoned 4 prawns with fish sauce and white pepper, dropped them with the 豆签  about same time 2mins to cook.

garnised with cut chili and scallions..

and voila!

delicious dinner for one….

c.h.e.f andy

Delicious Tapas and Pasta 12pax RI Bros Dinner on 12Aug2019

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12pax RI bro dinner

made RI bros 12pax 12-course (8 tapas, 3 pasta, tofu cheesecake) dinner this evening on 12.8.2019.^^

Menu

Tapas

1 pumpkin rocket salad
2 spanish omelette
3 miso teriyaki salmon belly
4 1/2 tea smoked kampung chicken
5 pangrilled sous vide pork chop
6 flamed red wine belly pork
7 chorizo prawns
8 grilled vegetables

Pasta

9 seafood tagliatelle
10 funghi linguine
11 chicken paella

Dessert

12 tofu cheesecake

copied from NCL-
“thanks KWL and LCM for the wine, SCG for his wife’s strawberry and earl gray tea ice cream and cones.

Thanks all for the discussion and the banters. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻”

and of course thanks NCL for strawberries and blueberries and the nice photos. 🙂

LKH brought crisp and CCG brought tidbits…

#1 pumpkin salad

friends all loved and commented on the pumpkin salad.

#2 spanish omelette – tortilla

#2 spanish omelette – tortilla

the spanish omelette another simple and delightful dish.

#3 mustard belly pork and red wine belly pork

#3 mustard belly pork and red wine belly pork

some experimentation here. the red wine belly pork quite elaborate 3.5 hrs in 130degC oven.

the mustard belly pork just boiled 1.5hrs then seasoned with mustard, slat & pepper and flamed.

ccg and several friends said the mustard belly better texture. hck said the red wine belly had better after flavours.

i think i need to flame less…just colour a little will do so not overcook the pork and affect the texture…

#4 tea smoked chicken

#4 tea smoked chicken

tea smoked chicken was flavourful.

#4 tea smoked chicken with barley risotto

barley risotto this evening not so tasty..a bit low in stock as 3 pasta dishes and chorizo prawns all needed stock.

#5 slow braised pork chop

pork chop was sous vide 62degC for 2hrs.

it’s kind of sous vide experiment on pork chop..surprised that the texture not more tender..again pork chop too thin have to reduce flaming so not to overcook…

#6 grilled peppers and portobello

grilled peppers and portobello was pangrilled with just added seasalt, then added a bit extra virgin olive oil and a dash of balsamic and honey.

#6 grilled sweet corn

corn was good as usual.

#7 teriyaki miso salmon belly

teriyaki miso salmon belly a perennial favourite. wonderful colour, texture, taste. great combination of miso, ginger, garlc, light soy sauce and perfectly grilled 15mins in 250degC oven.

#8 chorizo prawns

and the chorizo prawns, quite perfect, succulent, sweet prawns and wonderful sauce.

#9 seafood tagliatelle

pastas were all good, very tasty and al dente. ^^

just right amount of sauce. i took out some for SCG before adding butter and tossed. an excellent pasta dish.

#10 funghi spaghetti

and likewise the fungi spaghetti. 2 packets 400g brown mushrooms, very intense, tasty mushroom flavours.

#11 chicken paella

and the chicken paella…i added the tender smoked chicken and paella itself very tasty with stock, vegetables and chorizo.

#12 tofu cheese cake

leng khiang birthday – my tofu cheesecake

we celebrating GLK august birthday so i made a tofu cheese cake, have not made for very long time.

still good,  cake all finished.

SCG’s wife strawberry and earl grey ice cream

SCG brought 2 tubs of ice cream made by wife and ice cream cones. we finished all as well.^^

strawberries and blueberries

NCL brought strawberries and blueberries.

#8 chorizo prawns

had a wonderful evening with all my bros and close buddies, just like NCL said.

c.h.e.f andy

 

Teochew Chye Por Char Kuay Teow on 11Aug2019

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teochew chye por char kuay teow

made teochew char kuay teow this evening on 11.8.2019. ^^

add chopped garlic, chye por, fry till fragrant, add bean sprouts, julienned broccoli stems and few broccoli, cooked broccoli, then added kuay teow, followed by yellow noodles..then added a bit oil & cracked egg, let it formed then folded over the kuay teow..

good wokhae and taste, complete vegetarian no meat no prawns no sausage no fish cakes…poor man’s ckt?

teochew chye por char kuay teow

teochew chye por char kuay teow

teochew chye por char kuay teow

teochew chye por char kuay teow

anyway, a nice dish and too much carbs for me 1pax dinner.

will see how i can improve the dish.

c.h.e.f andy

 

Laksa Steamboat – Delicious, Sedap Pong’s Laksa with Poached Chicken 白斩鸡 8pax Family Dinner on 8Aug2019

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pong’s laksa with chicken

wife traveling..i made 8pax family pong’s laksa hotpot dinner this evening..with aunty bes..on 8.8.2019.^^

pong’s laksa with chicken

pong’s laksa is just sedap, simply delicious! the best laksa for me…

i like it only second to curry chicken noodles.

pong’s laksa steamboat

today i made it as a steamboat, with additional ingredients including some yongtaufu.

白斩鸡

of course it works only with my poached chicken 白斩鸡, which is as good or better than ah heng’s chicken, but nothing compares with ah heng’s curry chicken gravy.

yongtaufu and prawn

sliced toman and fish cake

shimeji

so a few items to complement the main laksa and chicken and served as steamboat so always hot gravy.

pong’s laksa with chicken

pong’s laksa with chicken

simply wonderful chicken and laksa!

pong’s laksa steamboat

though pong’s laksa gravy sachet is very good, the key for me to make it a very tasty laksa is the chicken stock…i had very sweet, tasty, intense chicken stock from boiling whole chicken bones with all the aromatics, ginger, shallots, spring onions garlic, and also carrots.

a most delicious family dinner.

c.h.e.f andy

 

Super Delicious Chicken Laksa with Pong’s Laksa Paste on 5Jul2019

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chicken laksa

made 7pax pong’s laksa today on 5.7.2019, with my OPS and RI bros WT,WM, HC, LKY, LKH and HAB. ^^

HC had lunch with brother still came over at 2pm. I made a bowl for him. 🙂

i love curry chicken noodles.

  • according to makansutra this dish was famously created by teochews in singapore exemplifying singapore’s chumchum 参参 mixed heritage ..the 3 famous teochew nang stalls are ah heng and heng kee at hong lim food centre and da po at golden mile food centre.

pong’s laksa

pong’s laksa 

I don’t have the secret recipe to make the curry chicken noodles gravy..

so i approximate using pong’s laksa paste and added the important secret ingredient haebee, and laksa leaves, AND and very tasty chicken stock, excellent taste. ..

and the usual taupok, teochew fish cake, and fish cake..no potatoes for me..

cannot c/w ah heng etc of course but still very shiok! haven’t learn how to make the dried shrimp sambal yet..

made 白斩鸡 and 白猪肉. & had lots of taupok, teochew fish cake and fish cake.

白斩鸡

白斩鸡

白斩鸡

i think my 白斩鸡 is smoother, chicken breast more moist, and sweeter & tastier than ah heng. ^^

recipe

1/2 chicken, salt in fridge overnight, clean thoroughly, placed in boiling stock (chicken bones, carrots, scallions, whole bulb garlic cloves, ginger, red onions) boiled covered 12mins, off fire poached 24mins, placed in ice water bath, then in fridge for 1 hr, then debone.

drizzle sauce

for the 白斩鸡 drizzle sauce, i added 1tbsp flat sugar, 2tbsp light soy sauce, 1tbsp sesame oil, 6tbsp stock or water. taste it!

白猪肉

and 白猪肉 also very tender and tasty…

recipe

boiled in stock 1.5hrs. placed in fridge. and cut & added stock to warm up when serving. hence very tender yet cut neatly no fraying.

and i added the 白斩鸡 drizzle sauce, w/o sesame, very nice. 🙂

fish cake 

i had had lots of taupok, teochew fish cake…. and fish cake.

chicken laksa

i think it approximate quite well in that laksa broth was wonderful, only thing not spicy, need to add some haebeehiam sambal next time, and my 白斩鸡 and 白猪肉 were excellent texture and taste. but of course it is still NOT the same ah heng curry chicken gravy…

WT’s haebeehiam fried rice and durian fried rice

WT’s durian fried rice

WT’s haebeehiam fried rice 

WT made very nice msw fried rice and haebeehiam fried rice..

WT not feeling so well, and i likewise so we took plain soup and less noodles..

白斩鸡

白斩鸡

白斩鸡

lovely 白斩鸡 eaten on its own…

tangkak msw

tangkak msw

my OPS gang brought msw from tangkak, frozen and thawed, super flavourful better than the msw i had recently..

chicken laksa

the guys stayed and chatted quite tilled quite late.

really good time together with the bros chit chat and sharing.

c.h.e.f andy

Delicious 8pax Home 海底捞Dinner on 1Jul2019

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wife’s home 海底捞

wife decided this morning to make home 海底捞 dinner today on 1.7.2018.

all came – JH, PT, ervin and we had 8pax dinner. full house.

wife’s home 海底捞

i had some crispy bean curd.

beef shabu

and some beef shabu. 500g packet.

pomfret

and cut 2 medium white pomfret.

kurobuta shabu

kurobuta shabu

wife ordered some kurobuta from qbfood earlier.

cheese and fish tofu

and bought some cheese and fish tofu and a ‘her kiao’ fish dumpling.

mushrooms and veg

and we had shitake and shimeji mushrooms and baby corn..

sauces

sauces

most important are the sauces, like if you go 海底捞or huating steamboat.

i made the 沙茶酱mixed with 麻辣chilli with lots of chopped garlic and chinese celery. wife made fried onion oil. scallions and light soy sauce.

wife’s home 海底捞

steamboat is the easiest food to prepare. aunty bes made the ikan bilis and yellow bean stock. all the other ingredients just buy and we had a wonderful 8pax family dinner. no effort.

c.h.e.f andy

鲳鱼煲 Claypot Pomfret Soup 5pax Home Gourmet Dinner on 19Jun2019

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claypot pomfret soup 

made 5pax family home dinner this evening-

  1. 鲳鱼煲 – super tasty as good as fragrant gardens
  2. tanhoon prawns- usual very tasty dish especially with haebee
  3. white beehoon- excellent dish with very tasty chicken stock…prawns, cuttlefish, lala all done just right
  4. aunty bes made nice french beans with minced pork

5pax home dinner 

pomfret soup

first time i made 鲳鱼煲 Claypot Pomfret Soup, inspired by the excellent dish recently at  fragrant garden.

it was very good. soup was very very tasty, flavourful, from lots of fish heads and bones leftover from filleting, and lots of chinese cabbage, and also radish, ginger, garlic, red onions, scallions.

and the 斗鲳 really nice, firm and very sweet.

a super tasty dish! 🙂

claypot tanhoon prawns 

today’s claypot tanhoon prawns also very tasty.

i added good quality haebee and the usual aromatics like coriander, scallions, ginger, red onions etc, and black pepper…

and i had teh same intense chicken stock i also used for the white beehoon.

this evening, texture of tanhoon was perfectly, moist and very well infused with the stock and aromatics. quite perfect!

white beehoon with prawns, lala, and cuttlefish

and likewise for the white beehoon.

just the right amount of stock, ingredients, beehoon, so beehon also very well infused, cooked just right texture, moist and tasty, and all the ingredients were not overcooked.

aunty bes minced pork long beans

aunty bes always make nice olive minced pork with long beans. 🙂

large pomfret 斗鲳

a large pomfret 斗鲳, cut into large pieces.

the soup base

very tasty soup.

鲳鱼煲 Claypot Pomfret Soup

superb 鲳鱼煲 Claypot Pomfret Soup.

prawns and tanhoon prawn stock

the prawns and tanhoon prawn stock to make a great dish!

lala clams

white beehoon with prawns, lala, and cuttlefish

white beehoon with prawns, lala, and cuttlefish

and putting together the white beehoon with prawns, lala, and cuttlefish.

claypot pomfret soup

had a really good enjoyable family dinner.

c.h.e.f andy

 

 

 

 

Great Tapas 5pax Dinner for Wife’s Friends on 14Jun2019

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spanish omelette – tortilla

wife invited her friends MW & thomas (also my RI friend) and WG (Dorothy) for 5 pax dinner this evening on 14.6.2019. ^^

we had-

1 (wife made) salad and grilled brussel sprouts
2 spanish omelette
3 miso teriyaki salmon belly
4 chorizo prawns
5 seafood tagliatelle
6 australian wagyu 6/7 striploin

wife’s mesclun salad 

mesclun salad was excellent, with agave nectar and the usual extra virgin olive oil and balsamic and some crunchy bits.

spanish omelette – tortilla

the spanish omelette – tortilla were excelelnt this evening. don’t make this often, but this evening it was tasty and the egg, potatoes were onions were just the right texture. 🙂

wife’s friend all loved this tapas dish. 🙂

wife’s brussels sprouts

and i loved the sprouts.

miso teriyaki salmon belly

miso teriyaki salmon belly good as usual, and the fresh gill from my garden was great.

chorizo prawns

they all loved the chorizo orawns very flavourful and succulent prawns, and wonderful chorizo sauce.

pangrilled wagyu MBS 6/7 striploin 

pangrilled wagyu MBS 6/7 striploin 

pangrilled wagyu MBS 6/7 striploin 

wagyu was a good cut, marbled and flavourful not my best rendition though not getting the right temperature and timing with this pan..

still it was very tasty and tender, and quite restaurant standard.

seafood tagliatelle

pasta was al dente and very tasty.

i used the same intense tasty chicken stock made from chicken bones, carrots and aromatics like ginger, red onions, garlic, scallions.

both had white wine reduction, browned whole garlic cloves in olive oil and basil, only that chorizo prawn sauce also had sliced chorizo so another layer of taste. and most appreciated by wife’s friends.

had a great fun dinner with good friends together.

c.h.e.f andy