Category Archives: Homegourmet & Gatherings

Very “Song” (Enjoyable) 9pax Claypot Rice+Crabby Lunch on 7Jun2016

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7 course claypot rice lunch

7 course claypot rice lunch

my good friends came by to have 9pax claypot rice lunch on 7,6,2016. ^^

we had 7 dishes. i did not make dessert today. lazy la…

#1 claypot rice
#2 chilli crab
#3 crab beehoon
#4 三楼米粉
#5 belly pork steamed with salted fish
#6 kou rou扣肉
#7 nonya sauce ocra

7 course claypot rice lunch

7 course claypot rice lunch

this came about as one friend brought me to have new lucky claypot rice dinner (S$10 claypot for 2pax) at holland drive.

it was very good claypot rice. & soup was good too. but there were very little chicken. needed S$5 more to add chicken.

after that i started to make my own claypot rice which was hugely successful & served to family & different group of friends, but not yet this group.

7 course claypot rice lunch

7 course claypot rice lunch

i cooked one whole deboned chicken & less than 3cups rice, so ideally for 5pax max.

since we had 9pax today, i added a few other dishes.

almost all unanimous that claypot rice was the best dish today, though one friend had the 三楼米粉as his best liked dish.

my friend who brought me to new lucky still thinks new lucky is more “pang” & drier as they have the wire mesh to spread the heat.

for me though, i think my claypot rice just as “pang”, which gives me excuse to ask him to buy new lucky to try again & double-confirm… & my slow steaming deboned chicken was so much more tender (not old even for breast) & flavourful.

the rice was slightly moist but i personally actually prefer it this way, as it was not wet or soggy or mushy by any description so the texture & “moistness” actually quite perfect for me.

so much for self adulation. lol!! ^^

chilli crab

chilli crab

chilli crab was my first time.

quite useful to have a group of friends who are confident & relax to try your first time food.

chilli crab

chilli crab

i have done chilli crab sauce pasta previously, so i used the same recipe for sauce preparation.

crab is troublesome stuff, to eat, to buy (how to get live crabs same day as cooking lunch for 9pax?), and to prepare – kill, crack pincers etc.

chilli crab

chilli crab

lately (last one year) i have cooked lobster (some live) on a number of occasions & learned the “mercy killing” method, basically deep freeze!

2xvery meaty crabs from chinatown market 1.1kg @ S$31:kg2xvery meaty crabs from chinatown market 1.1kg @ S$31:kg3

i bought the fresh crabs (2 crabs 1.1kg @ S$31/kg) from chinatown market yesterday & put in freezer.

this morning i washed & cleaned crab thoroughly (easier to clean w/o a hole by chopsticks or knife in the crab), then opened crab & cracked pincers. very meaty, & no less fresh for freezing!

chilli crab

chilli crab

my chilli crab sauce was pretty ok except it was a bit sweet, no reference to calibrate i guess.

chilli crab

chilli crab

reduce the sweetness, it should be a pretty good standard crab. for me i also like it to be a bit spicier.

crab bee hoon soup i have done a few times already.

i have made tastier ones, but today’s version was ok not bad by what i am capable of preparing.

but that is still a long way off c/w uncle leong & melben, unlike my claypot rice which i think is comparable with outside stalls.

all my friend’s feedback were that too much evaporated milk. good feedback i added 1/2 cup (about 120ml) will reduce to 1/3cup (80ml) next time.

probably can’t do much more to make it tastier, already had bones of 2 chicken boiled for many hours to get the stock & also the chinese cabbage plus some intense fried prawn heads & shells stock.

can vary a bit but probably cannot match the 老火kind of standard.

it was a good soup anyway.

a friend commented the thick beehoon was overcooked, & it was. actually as i told him, i did not even cook the beehoon just throw it it after off the fire. however with so many dishes, they could not be done JIT, so always prepared beforehand then reheat.

for the 2 belly pork, i used my kou rou 扣肉 recipe slight variation – basically 4hrs in 95degC oven.

supposed to steam for 75mins but i needed to separate the 2 belly pork portions so steamed each about 40mins then steamed again separately for the remaining time.

somehow that did not get me the right texture (which is melt in the mouth but not falling apart tenderness).

belly pork steamed with salted fish

belly pork steamed with salted fish

the other portion i made a new belly pork dish steamed with salted fish.

this i modeled after the canto jumbo dish.

belly pork steamed with salted fish

belly pork steamed with salted fish

both dish were not my best, but still pretty ok tasty dishes la…

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce was pretty standard.

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

nothing to it except using gimtim nonya sauce.

for this lunch, a friend brought me a new bottle. she said it’s not available in singapore. & she was the one who previously brought me the bottle i used today. 🙂

i bought a bottle of taisun nonya sauce though just in case, not use it yet.

三楼米粉

三楼米粉

today’s 三楼米粉 did not have the appearance standard of the last one i made. supposed to be crispy outside & moist & tasty inside with the beehoon infusing the stock as you reduce to dry out the dish.

but that was my first experiment & good for 3-4pax. today was my second try for 9pax & more than twice the amount. quite impossible to turnover to brown the other side. just breaks up.

but they all like the taste, with one friend voting as his best dish.

wiped clean 风扫落叶

wiped clean 风扫落叶

the slate was wiped clean 风扫落叶 , all ready for the next round.

i did not make dessert. lazy!

a friend brought cut sweet 16 pineapples, sweet & tangy. another friend brought some kit kat etc.

we had a great time.

now must get my friend to buy me new lucky again!

c.h.e.f andy

1st RI FGS (For Goodness Sake) Charity Dinner Raised S$16,948 for HCA Hospice on 20May2016

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salad

salad

a group of RI friends have the idea that as we all have a good time coming together enjoying the food & company, making new memories together, maybe we can also do a charity fundraising while we are having our makan & chill get-together. ^^

so on 3.12.2016, we got together at a friend’s place to try out the logistics.

there were 28pax. 3 of us did the cooking. it was a good practice too to help with the planning & food logistics, and of course also another good excuse for our usual makan & chill together.

====================================================================

a lot more organisation had gone into it by the guys this time, and we also discovered that the generous host is a accomplished auctioneer & mob rouser.

he donated 4 macallan rare cask & 3 mac18, & got everyone into the mood. there were like 28 bids for the whisky & the auction closed with 2 equal winning bids at S$1,888 for 2 bottles for each group, so that was S$3,776 in total for the whisky.

a friend donated a book about hawker fares in singapore that went for S$188.

in total the 33pax dinner (about 27 attended inner, the others came to join drink after dinner) raised S$16,948 for HCA Hospice.

what is important is that everyone was in the mood of giving & feeling good about it. & in fact a lot of chat continues afterwards on whatsapp. people were feeling happy about the occasion, the time together & doing something for the needy, & wanting to do this again.

for me whether we had raised more or less is not as important as just spending time together & doing something meaningful together.

which bali resort is this?

which bali resort is this?

this time we had it at another friend’s beautiful home, an architect, on 20.5.2016. ^^

some of us were there early, preparing salad & cutting fruits. i was reheating the curry dishes we shipped over & organising the dishes for dinner.

the vast kitchen looks out into nice greeneries, like in a nature reserve. 🙂

we were saying no need to go ubud la for retreat & relaxation…just come over here & cook…

3 of us did the cooking.

another friend brought the veg to make fresh salad (top photo). & couple other friends brought cut fruits & lots of apples (30). 

mee siam

mee siam

one friend did mee siam with prawns & fish cakes & fried tofu. 🙂

side dish

side dish

he made a very tasty side dish too with ikan bilis & tofu.

mutton stew + pilaf rice

mutton stew + pilaf rice

another friend made mutton stew & pilaf rice. 🙂

mutton stew

mutton stew

he thought of doing mutton rendang. 🙂

i was doing a few curry dishes, so he settled on doing a stew.

pilaf rice

pilaf rice

& nice long grain pilaf rice.

the host was doing some plain rice for the curries. so we reduced the amount of plain rice a bit, & started dinner off with the pilaf rice. still i think there was quite a bit of rice leftover.

i made 7 dishes + chocolate banana cake

i made 7 dishes + chocolate banana cake

i did 6 dishes (2 servings of fish head so 7 dishes) + a chocolate banana cake.

i chose curry because it was very easy to cook, and could feed many.

i figured that one dish of fish head (2 halves) was not enough for 27pax so i cooked 2 separate dishes of fish head.

the serving came with lots of veg – yellow onions, ocra, egg plants & tomatoes.

fish head was easy to cook as i used a ready curry paste – mak’s curry.

i did this couple times already & my friends all liked the curry.

so it’s just frying the rempah (curry paste), yellow onions, ocra, adding fish head & coating with rempah thoroughly, then adding egg plants, chicken (or fish) stock, coconut milk, cover & let it simmered for 10mins, then adding tomatoes.

& it’s done, that simple! 🙂

for nonya curry chicken, i used my own rempah instead of a ready paste.

i prefer to first debone the 2 chickens, and make a tasty stock using the chicken bones & carrots.

again cooking was very easy.

just fried rempah with star anise, cinnamon bark, clove & curry leaves, added chicken to coat with rempah thoroughly, then added coconut milk, chicken stock, covered & let simmer. i removed the chicken pieces after 5-6mins & cooked the wings for another 10mins.

one of the key consideration is logistic.

for curries, i cooked them in the morning so i had complete dishes & tasted them to know they were ok. then removed the fish head & chicken & let the curries cooled. then i transfered them to separate sealed plastic containers & stored in the fridge.

(basically difficult to transport a dish with liquid unless in properly sealed containers la…).

reheating was easy. the only consideration was that the fish head & curry chicken not be overcooked.

it may seem strange to choose curries with the hassle of transporting but they are easy to cook, can do in bulk & easily reheat to serve hot, and have wider appeal to diners c/w with other dishes.

kou rou 扣肉

kou rou 扣肉

i did a kou rou 扣肉.

among my own dishes this was most popular, & disappeared in double-quick time. & our friends who were early were taking this (to try haha!) before reheating & before dinner started. 🙂

this was done 4hrs in a 90degC oven to have a slow low-temperature gentle braise, then steamed in a steam oven for 1hr 15mins, so it was very tender, flavour-infused, but still have bite & texture, not falling apart.

chap chai

chap chai

i did a chap chai to balance the curries.

chap chai

chap chai

this again a very easy dish, just fry, stew cabbage, add stock, then add beancurd puffs (taupok) and add tanhoon when ready so tanhoon will cook in residual heat & not be overcooked. remember this has to be reheated later when serving.

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

someone commented maybe have more veg, so i reduced 1 meat (omitted the teriyaki sutchi fillet) & added 2 veg dishes.

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

the sweet peas baby corn with prawns was excellent when my helper made it for our home dinner.

this though was my first time cooking it. it turned out quite badly, i think the worst dish for the evening.

the ingredients were good. prawns were fresh, sweet peas & baby corns were always very tasty.

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

sweat peas baby corns with prawns

however i made a bad mistake of frying the prawns first in butter, like i do for pastas.

unlike double-cooked pork回锅肉, prawns cannot be fried & steamed. it destroyed the texture, so the prawns were no more bouncy but mushy like not-fresh prawns. & this especially so when the dish had to be covered with aluminium foil & kept in a 50degC oven for long periods to keep warm.

on hindsight it was better to serve the dish cold…

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

i used a very nice tasty nonya sauce for the ocra.

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

so this dish was real easy, just fry, make sure it was cooked right then add the nonya sauce at the end.

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

ocra in nonya sauce

looking at the photos, the vibrant green went off quite a bit, though the dish still tasted very good.

on balance, it was better to serve the dish cold w/o additional treatment after cooking.

i made a chocolate banana cake.

this was quite popular. everyone liked it. ^^

it was my second time. the first time my OPS friends talked about awfully chocolate & their chocolate banana cakes. so i went to google & found a recipe & went to phoon huat to get a 9″ by 9″ cake tin to make the dish.

this time i got better quality bananas & also added more bananas. quite a good cake.

cut fruit stall

cut fruit stall

some friends prepared the cut fruits.

watermelon

watermelon

watermelon from our regular watermelon supplier…

yellow watermelon

yellow watermelon

pineapples

pineapples

mango & guava

mango & guava

& others, like pineapples, mangoes, guavas etc…

apples

apples

one friend brought 30 apples. we all ate or brought home some…

it was a really good, fun dinner.

the host was assisted by another equal mob rouser, and our mabuk friends & others were all into the spirit of sharing, whisky & donations in equal parts.

bless them all good people! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

OPS Primary School Classmates Makan and Chill Evening on 21May2016

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better than eat out or catered - no question

better than eat out or catered – no question

my primary school friends organised a makan & chill evening on 21.5.2106. ^^

we were doing potluck.

(as i was doing some heavy cooking the day before for the RI FGS (For Goodness Sake Charity Dinner, i asked to be excused, and ordered a patissier double chocolate praline cake instead).

little did we know what our friends were capable of.

the food were absolutely better than eat out or catered – no question la!^^

wai mun brought siu yoke - my no1 dish maybe co no.1 with kok hong's pork rib

siu yoke – my no.1 dish maybe co no.1 with pork rib

the siu yoke was very good, very flavourful. the friend who brought thought the skin not crispy enuf when he did the knife scrapping test. actually it was alright la…

this has to be my no.1 or co no.1 dish for the evening i had 3 pieces…

kok hong brought a braised pork ribs...very yap mei 入味 & fork tender exceptionally good i think, like a good japanese braise pork...my no2 or maybe no1???

braised pork ribs very yap mei 入味 & fork tender-my no2 or maybe no1???

the braised pork ribs very yap mei 入味 & fork tender.. exceptionally good i think, like a good japanese braise pork dish…my no.2 or maybe co no1….

think i will try cooking this next time.^^

better than eat out or catered - no question2

better than eat out or catered – no question

so much talent in the group.

anyway apart from the food, we had so much laughter or fun the whole evening the hostess later whatsapp that-

“Tks for the company, bonding, jokes, laughter & all the good food & cakes. My stomach is bloated, how to sleep?

& later-

“it’s my pleasure to hv u crazy ppl to make this evening so relaxed, at least so me. i laughed so much”.

nice framing - wai mun got some talent...

nice framing – someone got talent…

a nicely framed photo to proof…

wau mun broyght siu yoke 2- my no1 dish maybe co no.1 with kok hong's pork rib

kongbakpao

this dish from the friend who brought the siu yoke…open secret it’s done by his wifee la…

or maybe helper??

wai mun kongbakpao

kongbakpao

it was good. though the last time i had it at his pace during cny it seemed even better..

couldn’t really tell, there were lots more food this evening as well…

chin huat's curry chicken

curry chicken

this curry chicken just looked marvelous, the first that caught my eye when i arrived. 🙂

chin huat's curry chicken2

curry chicken

chicken was kampung chicken, and tender.

somehow taste-wise the curry last time we had it during cny was better, more “pang”.

crab tanhoon

crab tanhoon

this crab tanhoon, a friend had to go 3 markets to finally get the crabs.

the crab was sweet. tanhoon had good crab taste & flavoured with coriander. not sure whether got belly pork slices. for myself i like just a little more salty (like fish sauce) to bring out the taste more..

fong mui's fried oyster sauce prawns..all finished too..i had one...nice big prawns

fried oyster sauce prawns

one friend did her “usual” fried oyster sauce prawns.

& this dish very popular, all finished too..i had one nice big prawn.

fong mui's lor han jai 罗汉斋

lor han jai 罗汉斋

she also made lor han jai 罗汉斋. boleh da!

this friend made 3 dishes, including the konyaku jelly, so she was the clear winner this evening…

my teriyaki fish fillet

my teriyaki fish fillet

i wasn’t going to cook at first. but anyhow got to cook a quick simple teriyaki sutchi fillet which i had in the fridge + experimented on one piece with mala chilli…quite like the mala taste.. will do that next time..

i think dish was quite ok though sutchi not a favorite fish..not the most popular ones…

mr Ma brought his ma ma tei chives prawn ? a fu pei quin from 和记 the gu chai 韭菜 green dumplings were good

fu pei quin 腐皮卷from 和记 so-so..the gu chai 韭菜 dumplings were good

a friend brought chives prawn? fu pei quin 腐皮卷from 和记. tasted so-so leh….the gu chai 韭菜 dumplings were good though.. i took a second cut piece. 🙂

fried greens

fried greens

forgot to ask who made this vegetable dish.

fruits

water melon, papaya, grapes, longans

the host provided some nice fruits. watermelon, grapes & organic longans were sweet…

Fong Mui did a konyaku jelly as well - so 4 items la..

konnyaku mango jelly

i quite like the konnyaku jelly with mangoes…took 3 pieces..

PK's sup sup soi 40k egg tarts

tong heng’s egg tarts

a friend brought egg tarts from tong heng. it was ok. i also tried the one with coconut. ok too. different. not something i would be partial to.

patissier double chocolate praline cake

patissier double chocolate praline cake

may is also the birthday month of 3 of our classmates. ^^

i brought a patissier double chocolate praline cake, ordered a week ago & went to collect in the morning. 🙂

chocolate mousse tart

chocolate mousse tart

a friend brought a chocolate mousse tart made by his daughter.

it was really nice. the mousse so smooth like ice cream. the ganache very nice & the oreo cookie tart base combined perfectly.

a friend said the patissier chocolate cake was a bit sweeter. he liked the passion fruit meringue we had recently better. for me & another friend who prefers chocolate cakes, the double chocolate praline was better of the 2.

but having a home baked cake which was as good if not better than patissier’s, we don’t really need to buy la…i will see if i can make this chocolate mousse tartnext time..

it was certainly better than my chocolate banana cake.

c.h.e.f andy

 

12pax Home Dinner + Silk Road Adventure Briefing on 9may2016

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made a simple homecooked 12pax dinner for friends today on 9.5.2016. ^^

a good friend was briefing us on a silk road adventure tour she planned for sep this year.

mouthwatering it was! ^^

it was simple as curry dishes are easy to do & by now i am quite organised for these dinners.

the heavy cooking was only 3 full hours.

so i in fact went to the gym in the morning & a good friend bought a good teochew muay buffet lunch afterwards.

of course that excludes deboning the chicken, making stock, making the paste for nonya curry chicken & making tiramisu, all done the day before. 🙂

great wines brought by 2 friends

great wines brought by 2 friends

2 friends brought 2 nice reds.

we had the yellow label, the michel torino for another occasion.

for this evening’s dinner, i made 7 dishes-

#1 fish head curry
#2 nonya chicken curry
#3 teriyaki sutchi fillet
#4 kou rou (w/o mei cai) + white kong bak (both experimental)
#5 chap chai
#6 fried hokkien noodles
#7 tiramisu

& a friend brought excellent cheng chow dessert

the fish head curry, like the last 2 times, was excellent. everyone loved it.

my nonya curry chicken was very good too.

very lemak, flavourful & a key difference with curry chicken outside, my chicken was very tender not overcooked.

kou rou扣肉 preparation w/o the mei cai 梅菜 (experimental)

kou rou扣肉 preparation w/o the mei cai 梅菜 (experimental)

the kou rou扣肉 preparation w/o the mei cai 梅菜 was experimental. result was excellent. several friends picked this as the best, their favourite. 🙂

i used my mei cai kou rou recipe basically.

this time i used shao xing wine & sea salt & sugar to marinate, put in 90degC oven for 4 hours, browned on non-stick pan, added dark sauce to coat & some sugar, then steam oven for 1hr 15mins.

white kong bak 白腩肉 (experimental)

white kong bak 白腩肉 (experimental)

white kong bak 白腩肉 also experimental.

this after having the teochew white belly pork at bedok north food centre.

this was excellent too. a similar number of friends picked this as their favourite.

today's teriyaki sutchi not so good

today’s teriyaki sutchi not so good

the teriyaki sutchi fillet was not so good today.

i did teriyaki sutchi fillet for teban gardens community meal & bathesda bedok community meal recently. of you look at the photos, the difference is quite evident.

i think it was because i wrap it in aluminium foil in oven for 2 ovens & the fillet sweat.

chap chai was good sweet & tasty

chap chai was good sweet & tasty

chap chai was very good. cabbage sweetness + taupok yellow bean sweetness + chicken stock sweetness & reduced.

tanhoon gave some additional texture.

fried hokkien noodles tasty but soaked up the gravy & a bit mushy

fried hokkien noodles tasty but soaked up the gravy & a bit mushy

this the second time i made fried hokkien noodles.

but amount was doubled that of the first time so quite different.

another big difference was that the first time i served & ate right away, this time it was in a 50dgegC ove to keep warm for 2 hours wrapped in aluminium foil. it was tasty still but noodle soaked up the gravy & became a bit mushy.

excellent cheng chow mango, longans & aloe vera

excellent cheng chow mango, longans & aloe vera

a friend brought excellent cheng chow dessert.

excellent cheng chow mango, longans & aloe vera

excellent cheng chow mango, longans & aloe vera

it was very nice, with canned longans, freshly prepared aloe vera, lime juice & cut mango with some tanginess.

my usual tiramisu -irresistable for one friend

my usual tiramisu -irresistable for one friend

my usual tiramisu, simply irresistable to one friend, he mopped up all. ^^

korean strawberries quite sweet

korean strawberries quite sweet

korean strawberry was sweet for me, not sweet enuf for some friends.

grapes very sweet

grapes very sweet

a friend brought the grapes, very sweet! 🙂

had a great time with friends. & we had an excellent briefing too on silk road trip which one friend is organising. such a thrilling adventure from the slides presentation! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

A Memorable Belated 6-course Birthday Dinner for a Very Good Friend on 2May2016

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did a 6-course belated birthday dinner for a very good friend on 2.5.2016. ^^

friend & his wife both have their birthdays in apr, but he is ever so busy. great he could make it today. another common friend couple joined dinner so 6pax. 🙂

6-course birthday dinner

6-course birthday dinner

friend like seafood so i made mostly seafood this evening.

we had-

#1 gordon ramsay garlic chilli butter grilled lobster

#2 crab beehoon soup

#3 HK steamed red garoupa

#4 teochew fried egg onions crayfish

#5 claypot rice

#6 patissier’s double chocolate praline cake

gordon ramsay’s garlic chilli butter marinade was just excellent like last time. 🙂

i used a new bottle of remy martin but was unable to flame this time (not sure why? pan not hot enuf?) so i was worried the lobster might be overcooked (these were the frozen cooked lobster from cold storage).

everyone loved the very tasty lobster. i still felt my piece was slightly tough, but my friends were all ok with theirs. 🙂

today i added some sweet peas, 2 per person. very tasty.

#2 crab beehoon soup

#2 crab beehoon soup

the crab bee hoon soup was just superb this evening. better than what i did last time.

crabs were small today, just 250gx 2 crabs. they were very sweet & done just right not overcooked. i made sure of that la. 🙂

soup was intense & flavourful, crab, lobster, chicken stock with lots of chinese cabbage to balance the taste. thick bee hoon was just right too, not mushy.

still, i think it was no comparison with the very intense & flavourful crab bee hoo soup at uncle leong jurong east.

my OPS friends will be joining me for lunch at uncle leong jurong east this friday.

#3 HK steamed red garoupa

#3 HK steamed red garoupa

i did a HK steamed red garoupa.

as we were having quite many dishes, i did a very small one just 400g, which i bought from chinatown market the day before.

#3 HK steamed red garoupa

#3 HK steamed red garoupa

the HK steam method is so simple to do yet so tasty. you can feel the fragrance of the light soy sauce.

i did HK steamed red garoupa at a demo for teban gardens after the community meal on 29.4.2016.

#4 teochew egg & onion crayfish

#4 teochew egg & onion crayfish

the next seafood dish i did was a teochew-styled egg & yellow onion crayfish dish.

i softened the onions & added egg, fried separately then set aside.

then i fried the halved crayfish in butter in a very hot pan & added some oyster sauce . i then added some fish sauce. you could feel the aroma! 🙂

then i added back the egg onions & fried together.

#4 teochew egg & onion crayfish

#4 teochew egg & onion crayfish

friends liked the dish. my friend’s wife said meat was tender.

(crayfish meat is not as tender, springy, refine as lobster or prawns. & lobster & crayfish are quite easily overcooked).

#4 teochew egg & onion crayfish

#4 teochew egg & onion crayfish

the egg & onions were especially tasty as they absorbed the flavours of the crustaceans & also the wok hae.

#5 claypot rice

#5 claypot rice

i did my claypot rice.

its a very flavourful dish. you can feel the aroma around the room & when you lift the lid.

today it was not the best like what i did recently on 20.4.2016, so i would not claim it was better than new lucky….

still i still it was a very good claypot rice. certainly my chicken was very tender & flavourable much better than most claypot rice outside, even for the not best version i did today.

#6 patissier's double chocoline praline

#6 patissier’s double chocolate praline

this is the first time i took patissier’s cake in a long, long while.

it’s a very expensive cake, and the 500g cake cost almost the same like a 1kg cake at cedele.

#6 patissier's double chocoline praline

#6 patissier’s double chocolate praline

but it was very good.

i enjoyed it. my friend said he had not taken cake for the last 10+ years & only taking this because i bought for him. ^^

i don’t meet this friend often. he is always busy. i enjoyed the dinner preparation & we had a really good time this evening. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Wife Made the Best Shakshuka on 2May2016

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wife's shakshuka

wife’s shakshuka

wife made the best shakshuka for breakfast this morning on 2.5.2016. ^^

really excellent, i think i like shakshuka now. 🙂

wife's shakshuka

wife’s shakshuka

shakshuka is a jewish libyan dish of poached eggs, with tomatoes, peppers, onions, & spiced with cumin. 🙂

wife made it really well with yellow & red cherry tomatoes, yellow peppers, egg, onions & cumin.

wife's shakshuka

wife’s shakshuka

it was a lovely dish.

wife made it once previously & son does a good shakshuka too.

i am actually the one in the house who is not excited with all day breakfast & egg benedict kind of dishes. but this dish i really like.

and i like it more than the breakfast we had at sunday restaurant in london we visited recently.

shakshuka, chorizo, pama ham rockets, baguette

shakshuka, chorizo, parma ham rockets, baguette

wife also prepared fried chorizo & parma ham rockets salad.

& i went to cold storage to get some baguette from cedele for her. 🙂

shakshuka, chorizo, pama ham rockets, baguette

shakshuka, chorizo, parma ham rockets, baguette

chorizo was wonderful.

pama ham rockets

parma ham rockets

parma ham rockets are quite the usual. still it was very good!

chorizo, pama ham rockets

chorizo, parma ham rockets

it was a very enjoyable breakfast. i was planning to skip the breakfast as i was busy with cooking for my friend’s birthday & collecting his birthday cake from patissier.

but just as well i joined breakfast. it was one of the best i had. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Homecooked Yong Tau Fu, White Beehoon & Cuttlefish Kang Kong on 1May2016

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cuttlefish + yong tau fu from chinatown market

cuttlefish + yong tau fu from chinatown market

went to chinatown market on 1.5.2016 to get some stuff for my very good friend’s birthday dinner the next day.

saw the yong tau fu sold by some chinese stall owner for S$3.80. they looked really good, plump & lots of fish meat fillings.

& indeed they were, much better the average yong tau fu stalls.

also bought a S$3 cuttlefish (like S$7.90 at sheng shiong)

yong tau fu, white bee hoon & cuttlefish kang kong

yong tau fu, white bee hoon & cuttlefish kang kong

for home family dinner this evening, i cooked the claypot yong tau fu, white beehoon (using some cuttlefish) & cuttlefish kang kong. ^^

yong tau fu

yong tau fu

my yong tau fu was the best. later i will do a recipe for this. briefly-

  1. add minced garlic, cut chilli padi & 1tbsp spicy black bean paste (i use lee kum kee) in 1 tbsp oil & fry till fragrant.
  2. clean & cut yong tau fu items in 1/2 & fry in pan. coat the sauce on the yong tau fu.
  3. add chicken stock, cover & reduced to cook the yong tau fu & make a tasty sauce.
  4. add 1tbsp corn flour, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, mixed in little water & add to the pan to get a thicker tasty sauce.
  5. transfer to claypot & heat up when serving (of course can also cook in claypot from start).
yong tau fu

yong tau fu

yong tau fu was very good, tasty, not overcooked, not overpowered by the black bean sauce, just slightly starchy.

for me it was as good as kok sen’s yong tau fu la… 🙂

i do agree with daughter though that this preparation is not as good as the normal style in a good yong tau fu stall like say u hakka yong tau fu.

white bee hoon

white bee hoon

i tried white bee hoon again, using the cuttlefish, sliced chicken & prawns.

my version was ok but nothing great & i not hot on the original version, so i not trying this again. better to try cooking fried hokkien noodles next time la. had been wanting to try that. 🙂

white bee hoon

cuttlefish kang kong

cuttlefish kang kong also not so great.

i used the nonya sauce so it was tasty but my preparation not quite right & don’t really make the best of the nonya sauce, unlike what i did for the ocra the other night.

got to do this again right before i record the recipe. lol… 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

8pax Curry Rice Lunch for My Primary School Classmates on 21Apr2016

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curry rice lunch

curry rice lunch

made a curry rice lunch for my primary school classmates yesterday on 21.4.2016. ^^

i made 4 curry dishes + tofu cheese cake. then added on a white beehoon 白米粉 because a friend bought us (most in this group) a white beehoon 白米粉 dinner 2 days back. a friend brought roast duck & another friend brought chef yamashita cakes.

so for lunch we had –

  1. angkoli fish head curry
  2. nonya curry chicken
  3. thai red curry sayur lodeh
  4. thai dry yellow curry sotong
  5. roast duck (friend bought)
  6. seafood white beehoon 白米粉 – i ran out beehoon, asked a friend who brought some
  7. chef yamashita cakes (friend bought) & tofu cheesecake
fish head curry

fish head curry

i used mak’s curry paste for fish head curry.

did this last time for my RI friends. it was very good!

fish head curry

fish head curry

did not go chinatown. i used a 1kg fish head bought from sheng shiong this time.

fish head curry

fish head curry

just as good la…curry very tasty. fish meat fresh & sweet.

friends still liked the fish head curry best! 🙂

my nonya curry chicken always quite good. very lemak & tasty.

& i did it in quantity too for between 80pax & 100pax for –

& they were very well received.

maybe this time the fish head curry stood out more.

there were some leftovers & wife & i went out for dinner. the 2 daughters finished off themselves.

thai dry yellow curry sotong

thai dry yellow curry sotong

the dry curry sotong were pretty good.

thai dry yellow curry sotong

thai dry yellow curry sotong

lemak & flavourful. this a dish my children like a lot.

thai red curry sayur lodeh

thai red curry sayur lodeh

& some vege for balanced diet.

thai red curry sayur lodeh

thai red curry sayur lodeh

anyway i used the thai dancing chef red curry paste, and it was very easy to make.

fry the curry paste with sliced yellow onions & some coconut milk in 2 tbsp oil till fragrant & onion soften, add long beans & cabbage & 2 cups chicken stock & stewed for 20mins, then add taupok & stewed another 20mins. add water as required.

roast duck

roast duck

roast duck was very good. “pang”, looked, smelled & tasted good.

seafood white beehoon白米粉 

seafood white beehoon白米粉

a friend bought a nice dinner at jin hock seafood restaurant金福, ST 82 Coffee House, Block 844 Tampines Street 82. 

my friends had been eating white beehoon白米粉 there quite a lot. 🙂

so i thought i gave it a try too. 🙂

seafood white beehoon白米粉 

seafood white beehoon白米粉

i prepared gravy using chicken stock, a bit of yellow onions & chinese cabbage, and reduced it so it’s very tasty. & i fried the prawns & sotong in butter separately.

ran out of beehoon though, & didn’t want to go out just to get it. asked a friend & he brought a 500g packet with him. i used about 100g. soaked in water.

when serving, i added the beehoon, added oyster sauce, fish sauce, cornflour & stewed 炆! voila!

seafood white beehoon白米粉 

seafood white beehoon白米粉

it was tasty…pretty ok for a first gazak attempt…it’s more seafood taste, not quite like the jin hock white beehoon白米粉 which also had cuttlefish & pork…

will try it next time with prawns, cuttlefish & pork.

chef yamashita cakes

chef yamashita cakes

a friend brought chef yamashita cakes. very nice.

chef yamashita cakes

chef yamashita cakes

enjoyed as much then second time la… 🙂

chef yamashita cakes + chef yamashita cakes

chef yamashita cakes + tofu cheesecake

cakes

chef yamashita cakes + tofu cheesecake

i made a tofu cheesecake.

chef yamashita cakes

chef yamashita cakes

2 friends brought back the tofu cheesecake.

tofu cheesecake

tofu cheesecake

seemed that their family all liked it.

it was a very enjoyable lunch. had a great time together with good friends. we knew each other for 50+ yrs!

c.h.e.f andy

 

Simple Comfort Food for 4pax Family Dinner on 20Apr2016

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#1 spinach soup

#1 spinach soup

wife invited her brother & sil for dinner on 20.4.2016.

i decided to do some simple comfort food-

  1. egg spinach soup
  2. steamed red garoupa (forgot take photos)
  3. sa poh fun – claypot rice
  4. steamed sweet mei cai + aubergines + baby nai bai
  5. lotus seed ginkyo nuts cheng chow

for the egg spinach soup, i just used chicken stock, boiled the spinach stems in it, added tomatoes near the end & beat 2 eggs into the soup. & added spinach leaves last. 🙂

it was just a repeat of what i served for the all-vietnamese new year eve dinner.

we just returned from a tour of hoi an, hanoi & halong bay, and we were served this egg spinach soup on the luxury dragon legend cruise. 🙂 that soup was not on the menu. we think the crew just gave us additional some comfort food they prepared for the crew themselves.

anyhow, both times my soup were as good as that on dragon legend cruise.

#2 sa po fun - claypot rice

#2 sa po fun – claypot rice

my sa po fun – claypot rice, was absolutely the best!

i feel that my claypot rice is outright better than new lucky claypot rice la! ^^

#2 sa po fun - claypot rice

#2 sa po fun – claypot rice

the rice was so fragrant, so tasty!

& chicken was so succulent.

#2 sa po fun - claypot rice

#2 sa po fun – claypot rice

wife’s brother & sil commented even the breast meat was so tender & flavourful, not dry, not sinewy.

#2 sa po fun - claypot rice

#2 sa po fun – claypot rice

the rice itself was not burnt or dry.

the chicken sausage & pork sausage i used were also very good quality.

#2 sa po fun - claypot rice

#2 sa po fun – claypot rice

in fact we did not even have the flavourful dark sauce, and still the rice was very tasty without.

i forgot to take a photo of the steamed red garoupa.

it was good, but it was the usual, fresh, easy to do, nice!

#4 steamed sweet mei cai + aubergines + baby nai bai

#4 steamed sweet mei cai + aubergines + shanghai green

i tried to do the steamed sweet mei cai 梅菜。

the inspiration came from the excellent dish we had & enjoyed always at xin cuisine.

needless to say, i was miles off target.

i do an excellent mei cai kou rou, so can’t do wrong with the mei cai, aubergine was ok but nothing like what we had at xin cuisine. i did not have the wa wa cai 娃娃菜, so proxied (badly) by shanghai green.

#5 lotus seed ginkyo nuts cheng chow

#5 lotus seed ginkyo nuts cheng chow

dessert was the usual lotus seed ginkyo nuts cheng chow. easy, & nice!

c.h.e.f andy

Vegetarian Dinner? + Some Meats on 12Apr2016

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wife have this meditation group.

she invited 2 friends for dinner on 12.4.2016. ^^

youngest daughter decided to join dinner so we have 5pax.

1 friend is a vegetarian so i thought i will cook a all vegetarian dinner-

wife wanted to add some meats. so i did –

  • a grilled smoked duck breast (my own concocted recipe so i called it Andy’s smoked duck breast…hehe..
  • a mock kurobuta (mock as in i used pork neck with the marbling & did a low temperature braise to get a tender texture)

my recent spanish omelette (egg, potato, yellow onion, light soy sauce, pepper) had been very good.

the vegetarian friend claimed it’s better than what he had in spain. not going there (on matter of discussion) but i think my spanish omelette was pretty good la…

the cream of carrots (carrots, red pepper, yellow onion, vegetable stock, thickened cream) was very smooth & sweet.

i used sweet corn for the first time for the vegetable stock. i thought the sweet corn sweetness a bit stand-out, but seemed that everyone liked it.

for the zucchini pasta, i followed my usual recipe with blended zucchini sauce, grilled zucchini.

also added cherry tomatoes & shave parmesan, & basil.

today though i overcooked the pasta a bit, so while it was not mushy, it did not quite have the good al dente. not good.

i bungled up on the hob controls this time….

funghi pasta (my usual recipe) was ok, al dente so the usual nice mushroom aroma & great taste. not not really my best delivery also.

Andy’s smoked duck breast was a new exciting culinary adventure for me. will make a separate recipe post. i tea smoked the duck breast, also in oven for 3 hrs at 60degC. then i used Gordon Ramsay’s cold pan method to render out the fat & create the crispy skin.

it was nicely pink & the taste was quite perfect too.

#6 mock kurobuta

#6 mock kurobuta

i call it mock kurobuta as i am using a cheap pork collar which has the fat marbling, in fact a frozen pork collar from sheng shiong at S$9.95/kg, so like S$3 for 300g.

i did low temperature braise in 90degC oven to make the meat tender & flavourful with gelatine.

#6 mock kurobuta

#6 mock kurobuta

it was very good actually. still looked a bit fatty, maybe i will try 5hrs or 6hrs to reduce the fat a bit.

Smoked duck. mock kurobuta, spanish omelette

Smoked duck. mock kurobuta, spanish omelette

both vegetarian & meat eaters have their fill la…

cooked & ucooked portugese chorizo

cooked & ucooked portugese chorizo

wife, i & the eldest daughter recently toured lisbon & porto so we brought back some portugese chorizo & cheese.

chorizo, cheese & grapes

chorizo, cheese & grapes

we did not have our port with us, so did with some whisky.

chorizo, cheese & grapes

chorizo, cheese & grapes

pretty ok, though it was still different. port was a much better complement to the chorizo prosciutto cheese experience we had in portugal.

pan-toasted japanese cheese

pan-toasted japanese cheese

wife was recently in hokkaido & had some toasted cheese there. she tried pan roasting, though it did not turn out the way she liked. i don’t really know how it should be like, but still the cheese was pretty good la…

dinner very enjoyable. wife was happy. daughter split early to study. we had great conversation, cheese, whisky, coffee…

c.h.e.f andy

Wonderful 4pax Homecooked Lunch for my Outram Primary School Classmates on 17Mar2016

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5 dishes-claypot rice, bakuteh, steamed 桂鱼,tau jeon eggplants, cabbage with taupok

5 dishes-claypot rice, bakuteh, steamed 桂鱼,tau jeon eggplants, cabbage with taupok

3 OPS (Outram Primary School) classmates came to my place for lunch yesterday on 17.3.2016.

i did 5 dishes –

bakuteh
claypot rice
港蒸桂鱼
eggplant with tau jeon
cabbage with tau pok (fried beancurd puff)
lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow 莲子白果凉粉

quite excellent food & company! ^^

bakuteh is an easy dish to make, tasty dish which i did for my RI friends recently on 14.3.2016, reminiscence of our trip the week before to JB.

the only variation was i added tau pok, in place of tau kee (bean curd skin) they added in shoon huat 顺发JB.

i used back the hara fried beancurd puff, which made the tasty soup even tastier! 🙂

i used the same frozen prime ribs from sheng shiong, S$10.95/kg. it was meaty, fatty, and so much tastier than the less marbled pork ribs. i generally boil them for 45mins, so that pork ribs are tender but not falling apart, even after 1 or 2 reheats. just the texture, the way i like it. 🙂

claypot rice (my first time)

#2 claypot rice (my first time)

this the first time i did a claypot rice!

this was inspired by the new lucky claypot rice my RI friend bought me at holland drive food centre recently.

of course i searched internet for a recipe. it did not look too difficult.

  1. i fried some chicken fat (veg oil do just as well), added cut ginger pieces & salted fish & some chopped garlic, fried for short while to get the aroma.
  2. then i removed the salted fish & set aside, added 2 cups of rice & fried.
  3. i then added just less than 2 cups water (to provide for liquid in the marinated chicken so rice would not be wet & soggy), boiled & simmered.
  4. i had some cut chicken (i used 1/2 chicken + 1 thigh deboned) marinated with 2 tsp fish sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sesami sauce, 1 tsp dark sauce, 2 tsp corn flour for about 2hrs. also sliced 1 pork sausage & 1 liver sausage.
  5. i set my timer to 10 minutes but water was boiling off by 5 mins, so i added the the chicken + sausage at 5 mins.
  6. i reset for 10mins but stopped at 8 mins as i was preparing the claypot rice 2 hrs earlier & would be reheating another 5mins plus when my guests arrived.
  7. lastly i added the shanghai greens + salted fish
claypot rice (my first time)

#2 claypot rice (my first time)

it was my very first time, and unlike other dishes you cannot really taste & adjust as you go, so the arhgak-logy (estimation) had to be like first time right almost.

and i did adjust it/improvise as i went along.

anyway, the results were wonderful, and you could tell as the rice was cooking. i could smell the smoky, wonderful aroma. & my friends too, when i removed the claypot cover.

smelled wonderful, and tasted super la!

claypot rice (my first time)

#2 claypot rice (my first time)

the rice could be just a tag drier, but it was pretty ok as it were.

chicken were very tender, not overcooked (maybe i could increase a bit the fish sauce & sesami sauce marinade), and i had good quality pork & liver sausages.

it was quite perfect actually!

the lunch also came about because one friend brought me 2 桂鱼 mandarin fish airflown from shanghai the last time he came to my place after CNY.

the 2 fish were in my freezer for 1month liao, i took out 1 of them. it was very fresh, totally fresh!

i did the usual 港蒸 HK steamed style with a slight variation, 2 tbsp light soy sauce (& i used 2 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp mirin).

when all the friends were here, i put it in the steam oven (any steamer will do) for 10mins, just right for a 500g fish. 🙂

fish was very fresh, tender, texture a bit finer than red garoupa but firmer than the yellow croaker. a very nice fish, personally speaking, i still prefer the red garoupa though. 🙂

i tried out tau jeon 豆酱 for the egg plant this time. it was very nice, better than what i had previously for my 9pax teochew muay lunch. ^^

1 friend commented how the egg plant was not mushy, and this an important consideration, to make it soft but not mushy, stock much reduced almost dry so more tasty, intense, favourful.

i think it was a very good egg plant dish, quite excellent!

my cabbage with tau pok was also a variation of my usual cabbage for teochew muay.

this time it was a lot tastier even, because i reduced the stock more & also the hara fried beancurd puff added a very pleasant, sweet taste.

a great improvement even compared with the cabbage everyone liked on 28.10.2015!

fried ikan bilis

#5 fried ikan bilis

i had the idea of adding ikan bilis.

i got that from the nice ikan bilis bee hoon we had last time at ayer rajah food centre afte the indian rojak.

it went very well with the cabbage dish actually, but you can’t have too much of it so i just added 1/2 portion of what i made.

dessert = lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow + durian pudding

#6 dessert = lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow + durian pudding

i made my usual  lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow 莲子白果凉粉, modeled after hoe kee in hong kong.

& my friend brought durian pudding, made with XO durians.

lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow 莲子白果凉粉

#6 lotus ginkyo nut cheng chow 莲子白果凉粉

a very simple dessert, just boiled lotus seeds & ginkyo nuts in 5 tbsp brown sugar for about 2hrs. then added to ready made cheng chow from sheng shiong. very nice & refreshing.

durian pudding

#6 durian pudding

durian pudding/custard was very nice, very good durian flavours, not too sweet. i was eating it just now, left from yesterday, enjoying it.

after lunch we chatted for another hr plus, then decided to go out for coffee. i had to leave so 3 of us went to assembly coffee at evans road for a cuppa. 🙂

great lunch, company, chit chat & coffee afterwards. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Homemade Chirashi Don & Beef Don on 6Mar2016

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homemade chirashi don

homemade chirashi don

wife went on skiing trip with a friend at rusutsu hokkaido, and brought back some fresh sashimi.

we made a japanese don dinner this evening on 6.3.2016. ^^

chawanmushi 茶碗蒸

chawanmushi 茶碗蒸

i used my usual chawanmushi 茶碗蒸 recipe. 🙂

2cups water. add 2tsp mirin, 2tsp light soy sauce, 1tsp sugar (basically to taste) & whisked with 3 eggs. steam for 15mins. & that’s it!

chawanmushi 茶碗蒸

chawanmushi 茶碗蒸

i did not have prawns & decided not to use chicken breast. instead i marinated with fish sauce & white pepper some frozen hokkaido scallops (not sashimi grade) & also some cheap sutchi white fish fillet.

uni - sea urchin

uni – sea urchin

the uni was super sweet, melt in the mouth, lingering..

hotate - scallops

hotate – scallops

hotate also very sweet & with the wonderful slight gummy texture, the best!

ikura - salmon roe

ikura – salmon roe

ikura slight salty…bursting with flavours…

atlantic surf clams

atlantic surf clams

was surprised by the atlantic surf clams…the ones i remembered taking in singapore were the frozen kind, dry with little taste. these ones were tender & sweet. not in the league of uni & hotate though, for me.

angus beef ribeye medium rare

angus beef ribeye medium rare

i did an angus ribeye using my recent oven method – this one 2 hrs at 60degC then chargrilled 1 minute on each side.

homemade chirashi don

homemade chirashi don

the chirashi don was just wonderful & the beef too.

c.h.e.f andy

Klang Herbal Bakuteh 巴生肉骨茶 on 8Mar2016

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herbal bakuteh

herbal bakuteh

had a really wonderful JB trip with my RI friends yesterday, and especially enjoyed the bakuteh at shoon huat bakuteh 顺发肉骨茶 in Sentosa JB & roast duck from ya wang 鸭皇 opposite.

it was different from our singapore version peppery bakuteh, and just very mildly herbal & very tasty.

kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup packet

kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup packet

i was looking for something simple to cook today on 8.3.2016.

found this kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup base packet. i think my sis bought for me the last time.

it’s different from the usual cheap & good ILC packet i use.

kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup packet

kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup packet

巴生肉骨茶, the klang herbal bakuteh is a different style, but i remembered previously, long time ago, i tried at race course road it was quite herbal which i didn’t really like.

herbal bakuteh

herbal bakuteh

for this kee hiang klang packet, it was very mild in herbal taste, with avery mild sweetness on top of the meat sweetness. it was close to the shoon huat bakuteh 顺发肉骨茶, which i guess was a lot better so not making a comparison here.

herbal bakuteh

herbal bakuteh

making it was easy-

  • just cut the ribs (for this time i used 500g frozen ribs from sheng shiong)
  • scald with boiling water to remove scum.
  • add packet with 1 bulb of peeled garlic cloves to 1litre+water & boil
  • add cleaned pork ribs & boil for 45mins (i like it with bite, if you like it really soft & falling off the bones, boil for 1 hr)
  • i remove the ribs & boiled 4 pieces of taupok (cut to 16strips) for 10-15mins so thye are soft enough to soak in the soup.

unlike ILC which is salty enough without adding salt, this one needs salt to bring out the flavour. just add to taste.

you can garnish with coriander or tang orh & add any toppings like liver, kidney, tau kee, small intestines, fish maw etc like in JB. for me i just added taupok.

very tasty soup & nice ribs. for me i still prefer ILC to this kee hiang klang 奇香巴生 bakuteh soup base, but if c/w the real thing at shoon huat bakuteh 顺发肉骨茶, then shoon huat is clearly better la.

c.h.e.f andy

Valentine’s Dinner at Home on 14Feb2016

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valentine's day 2pax dinner

valentine’s day dinner at home

for this year’s valentine’s dinner, i had planned to do a small 2pax dinner for my wife on 14.2.2016. ^^

we usually do not go out on the actual day as most places ridiculously ex & quality of food & service not great vis a vis price.

this time, i got some IQF (individual quick freeze) frozen cooked lobsters from giant couple weeks before, so i would do a gordon ramsay grilled lobster. ^^

white cucumber gazpacho

white cucumber gazpacho

we started with a white cucumber gazpacho with croutons.

it was very good, wonderful refreshing flavour of cucumber tempered with yogurt, red wine vinegar & olive oil. croutons were ok very crispy & moderate cheesy.

prawn pasta iin pink sauce

prawn pasta in spicy tomato sauce

prawn pasta in spicy tomato sauce was very good. very tasty & wonderful tomato taste.

pasta spicy tomato sauce

pasta spicy tomato sauce

i used prawn stock, papa alfredo traditional italian pasta sauce & canned tomatoes, and reduced before tossing.

my gordon ramsay grilled lobster was the best.

i spooned the chilli garlic butter marinade over the lobster & left it in the fridge for 3hrs.

lobster was very flavourful with the chilli garlic butter, brandy flaming & hot grill.

gordon ramsay grilled lobster

gordon ramsay grilled lobster

lobster was very good really, meat was bouncy & very tasty, even though it could not compare with live lobsters.

gordon ramsay grilled lobster＋prawn pasta in pink sauce

gordon ramsay grilled lobster＋prawn pasta in pink sauce

the tangy tomato pasta complemented the lobster perfectly. ^^

australian wagyu ribeye

australian wagyu ribeye

my last course was the wagyu ribeye.

now i use the new method, rubbing the steak liberally with sea salt & pepper & placing in a 60degC oven for 2 hrs. that provided consistent medium rare interior & also did a bit of dry edging.

australian wagyu ribeye

australian wagyu ribeye

after that just 1 min each side on a very hot pan. it was such a flavourful steak.

the evening was one to savour, excellent food & wine & music, spending time together.

c.h.e.f andy

Special Italian Dinner for My RI Buddies on 18Feb2016

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#1 spanish omelette

#1 spanish omelette

made one of my best dinners for my RI buddies on 18.2.2016. ^^

i had wanted to do the dinner the following week as this week a close friend is traveling in wakayama, but wife is busy. she will be traveling the following weekend so we made it last evening.

it was a small group, just 3 friends. my jogging buddy came with his wife & son. they recommended a carpenter which did some really nice furniture for us. awesome! 🙂

tittot 疏园

tittot 疏园

they also brought a wine & beautiful gift. ^^

i did the spanish omelette very well this time, very tasty & nicely layered inside with potatoes & onions. a simple to do & great appetizer.

the cream of carrots soup was wonderful this evening. i had lots f vegetables (red capsicum, celery, yellow onions, tomatoes) in addition to carrots & also added prawn head/shell stock. there was also brandy & thickened cream.

an excellent, very smooth & tasty soup. several friends had a second helping.

the squid-ink spaghetti was again par excellence!

distinct squid ink flavor, qq al dente pasta, succulent not chewy squid done just right, and nicely creamy with butter added when tossing. one of my best for this evening.

the prawn spaghetti too. i am doing it better these days.

recently i did a great pasta & steak lunch for my friends on 15.12.2015. ^^

a key to make tasty pasta is to ad good stock (chicken or vegetable) & reduced so its more tasty & intense, and of course al dente pasta

#5 roasted vegetables ratatouille

#5 roasted vegetables ratatouille

the roasted vegetables was my first. i had yellow onions, celery, red capsicum, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, japanese cucumber, eggplants, sprinkled liberally with sea salt & coarse black pepper & 2 tbsp olive oil, then 250degC oven for 30mins.

#5 roasted vegetables ratatouille

#5 roasted vegetables ratatouille

it was very good. my friend’s wife commented “very sweet”.

my friend’s wife & son don’t take beef, so i had a last minute addition, grilled chicken thighs with thai yellow curry sauce.

this was something i recreated after busaba’s excellent grilled chicken green curry fried rice.

i served this numerous times including for 30+pax lunch for my duaghter’s party last year.

#7 grain fed wagyu MBS4/5

#7 grain-fed wagyu MBS4/5

recently i adapted a new steak preparation after a friend sent me a video.

this preparation involved put the steak ( iused a wagyu ribeye) in a 55/60degC oven for 2 to 3 hrs, then searing in high heat to produce the maillard reaction.

#7 grain fed wagyu MBS4/5

#7 grain-fed wagyu MBS4/5

i must say it consistently produced a very intense flavoured (“pang”) steak. it actually works better with a more marbled steak as the low temperature cooking helped to reduce some fat which flavours the meat & also has the effect of accelerated aging to produce more intense flavours.

#8 cut peaches

#8 cut peaches

the peaches this evening were soft & sweet, very good!

i made a banoffee pie. it was quite good, great combination of bananas with a very thin caramel layer over the biscuit base & freshly whipped cream on top.

this cake though is not my wife’s favourite nor mine either, but we had tiramisu too many times lately so i did this for a change.

eleven madison park - the cook book

eleven madison park – the cook book

a friend, owner of a top architect firm, dropped by for coffee & cake. he brought us a book – “eleven madison park – the cookbook”!

we all had a wonderful evening, nice chit chat & watching oldies on yotube – stylistics, bee gees, 3 degrees & also the recent ones – john legend, ed sheeran, sam smith..

c.h.e.f andy

14pax Homecooked Dinner for my Primary School Classmates on 22Jan2016

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the dishes

the dishes

had a 14pax homecooked dinner for my primary school classmates on 22.1.2016. ^^

as i was saying in another post –

we were not in contact for a long time.

recently another classmate came visiting from the states, so i joined a few of them at din tai fung @ gem after lunch on a saturday as i already had a lunch appointment that day.

one thing led to another & a group came to my place today for a 14pax homecooked dinner. ^^

the dishes

the dishes

weather was not so co-operative.

it was almost like thunderstorm at the time my guests were arriving.

this was the first time these friends came to my place.

a friend brought excellent cookies & pineapple tarts, so we had a good chat & munch on the cookies & spanish omelette before all arrived. 🙂

pumpkin tofu salad

#1 pumpkin tofu salad

i had a pumpkin tofu salad. taste was quite ok but presentation this evening was not so good.

spanish omelette

#2 spanish omelette

spanish omelette were also tasty. texture for 1 was slightly out & not firmed up enough.

teriyaki cod, char siew, miso belly pork

teriyaki cod, char siew, miso belly pork

the char siew was a taste i liked.

char siew

#3 char siew

colour & burnt part looked good too.

char siew

#3 char siew

but perhaps it was not the sweeter honeyed taste that some preferred. anyway it was mostly finished.

miso belly pork

#4 miso belly pork

many in the group didn’t take much belly pork so there was a bit more left.

overall i think i made a bit too much food, especially the pasta & risotto.

teriyaki cod

#5 teriyaki cod

most friends liked the teriyaki cod.

teriyaki cod

#5 teriyaki cod

the taste was good but i felt the cod was NOT the best. it was hard to tell as i bought from the same source, usually giant, sheng shiong or ntuc.

i felt that the cod itself was not so great this evening.

lemon chicken (son's recipe)

#6 lemon chicken (son’s recipe)

son made an excellent lemon chicken on christmas eve home dinner 2014 when he came back for christmas holidays.

so i whatsapped him for the recipe. 🙂

beer can lemon chicken (son's recipe)

#6 beer can lemon chicken (son’s recipe)

& i used the beer can method to give a more rounded roasting w/o using the rotisserie.

lemon chicken (son's recipe)

#6 lemon chicken (son’s recipe)

& it came out beautifully. a friend who used to sell chicken rice, commented she liked the chicken most. ^^

prawn linguine in pink sauce

#7 prawn linguine in pink sauce

the 2 pastas were very good at the time of cooking. very tasty, as good as it looked.

i did them well in advance, thinking of putting them in the oven at 40degC to keep warm.

prawn linguine in pink sauce

#7 prawn linguine in pink sauce

it was a few hours ahead of dinner. i decided to heat them up again.

i felt that the end result was not so good, not the very al dente pasta i liked.

cheese sausage pasta

#8 cheese sausage pasta

same thing with the cheese sausage pasta.

sausage pasta

#8 cheese sausage pasta

another thing was that i cooked just too much pasta.

cheese sausage pasta & prawn linguine in pink sauce

#8 & #9 cheese sausage pasta & prawn linguine in pink sauce

should have trusted my first instinct & not added more pasta.

seafood risotto

#10 seafood risotto

the seafood risotto was also far from my best.

a friend said she liked the risotto most because it had very intense flavours (i used a prawn heads/shell stock moderated with lots of vegetables).

still it was really a very far cry from my best seafood risotto, which should look & taste like this one above!

cut fruits

cut fruits

a friend pre-arranged to bring cut fruits.

excellent almond cookies, peanut cookies & pineapple tarts

excellent almond cookies, peanut cookies & pineapple tarts

another friend really bakes very well (& i suspect cooks very well too).

i really enjoyed his almond & peanut cookies & pineapple tarts.

pineapple tarts

pineapple tarts

the friend who brought the cut fruits also brought pineapple tarts. both were very good but i liked the first version.

the pineapple fillings were less “in the face” (some commented drier) but excellent pastry. i reasoned that i liked that better as it was more differentiated from commercial pineapple tarts & i liked the pastry bits more than the pineapple fillings.

it was a fun evening. think of it we knew each other for 50yrs+ since 1965 (from primary one)…for me it was from primary 2.

for the food, i was actually not so satisfied.

it was quite below my usual standard, and some dishes might not suit some friends. for my cooking philosophy, it is not important what dishes i cook, but it should be dishes that everybody enjoyed.

so in all my dinners, there were hardly leftover food. this evening some of my planning & food amounts were a bit out, but i will adjust in future dinners.

c.h.e.f andy

Relish Hong Kong Food Fun Moments on 20Jan2016

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#1 samgyaetang 参鸡汤

#1 samgyaetang 参鸡汤

6 of us had a lot of fun in hong kong 10-14.1.2016. ^^

weather was good to us except for rain on the first evening & second morning (so we had a leisurely dimsum breakfast at tao heung mongkok 稻香旺角).

great hikes & walks at cheung chau, dragon’s back, peak circle walk & lamma island, and we had excellent food at daipaidongs and the tao heung group restaurants, a fairer price restaurant chain.

our only bad & forgettable meal was when we kena waylaid into the wrong tai yun 泰源??(we think).

6 homecooked dishes + 1 dessert

6 homecooked dishes + 1 dessert

so, coming back, naturally i went about recreating several great dishes we had in hong kong (see above menu).

6 homecooked dishes + 1 dessert

6 homecooked dishes + 1 dessert

& here they are (above photo..the rice came later, not in photo).

#1 samgyaetang 参鸡汤

#1 samgyaetang 参鸡汤

my chicken soup was very tasty (though maybe still not as intense as the wonderful glutinous stuffed chicken soup we had at tao hueng tsimshatsui) & chicken very tender as my friends noted.

i stuffed the chicken with 3 tbsp glutinous rice (soaked in water for 1 hr according to one internet samgyaetang recipe), 3 cloves garlic & 3 dried red dates, sliced ginger, 2 spring onions.

i boiled the small 1kg chicken with chicken stock i made the day before, added 3 more red dates & sliced ginger & spring onions, salt (to taste) & boiled medium for 45mins, then turned over medium low for 30mins.

seems that the glutinous rice in the recipe was too little, would have been better with more so texture of soup will be better. will try 1/2 cup next time.

#2 black bean sauce bittergourd with fake kurobuta回锅猪项肉豆屎苦瓜

#2 black bean sauce bittergourd with fake kurobuta回锅猪项肉豆屎苦瓜

we had black bean sauce bittergourd with kurobuta at the accidental find yue bo 鱼宝食馆.

it was very good. 🙂

i used a cheap marbled pork collar to fake the kurobuta. i put it in 90degC oven for 2 hrs to convert the tough connective tissues to flavourful gelatine, then added it to the black beans bittergourd dish like a double-cooked pork 回锅肉.

my friends liked this dish very much. firstly the bittergourd had the special flavour but not bitter as i brined it with sugar the day before & the black beans & slow braise made it very tender & tasty, and the pork collar was excellent, flavourful & tender.

#3 pork + liver sausage fried kailan 腊味芥兰

#3 pork + liver sausage fried kailan 腊味芥兰

i had the pork + liver sausage fried kailan 腊味芥兰 for the first time at fu kee 富记粥品.

so i decided to buy some fairly good pork & liver sausage, steamed them & then fried & added chicken stock to bring out the 腊味 flavours then added the kailand stems & leaves & later oyster sauce & corflour the usual way.

i think my version was as good today maybe better than fu kee 富记粥品’s 腊味芥兰, very flavourful indeed.

#4 dried mustard leaves belly pork 梅菜扣肉

#4 dried mustard leaves belly pork 梅菜扣肉

we did not have 梅菜扣肉  in hong kong. this my first try & in any case a good opportunity to get friends to try..it was very well done. ^^

i varied a 梅菜扣肉 recipe i read on internet.

i placed the belly pork in a 90degC oven for 2 hrs (together with my pork collar to save electricity), instead of boiling it in water for 35mins according to the recipe.

i then seared the skin & sides & added 1/2tbsp dark sauce to coat the belly pork. & sliced the belly pork when cool.

then i melted 1 tbsp sugar, added 1 tbsp oil & fried the 梅菜 & added 1/2cup chicken stock.

then i placed the 梅菜 on the sliced belly pork & placed in the steam oven for 75mins.

the 梅菜 was just perfect, texture, colour, taste, everything & the belly pork 扣肉excellent, so tender & tasty! ^^

#5 salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼

#5 salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼

salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼 was another great dish we had at yue bo 鱼宝食馆.

the salted fish minced pork 咸鱼饼 was good, as usual.

today i experimented 1/2 on belly pork (which was sous vide at 90degC for 2hrs) & lean pork..turned out they tasted quite the same. my friends couldn’t really tell. me too. 🙂

#6 steamed minced garlic prawn rice 蒜蓉鲜虾蒸饭

#6 steamed minced garlic prawn rice 蒜蓉鲜虾蒸饭

the lotus leaf steamed minced garlic prawn rice 蒜蓉鲜虾蒸荷叶饭 was another great dish at yue bo 鱼宝食馆

#6 steamed minced garlic prawn rice 蒜蓉鲜虾蒸饭

#6 steamed minced garlic prawn rice 蒜蓉鲜虾蒸饭

this one though i had some difficulty getting it right!

i used chicken stock to cook the rice in the rice cooker.

then i added some soy sauce mix (similar to those used for fun cheong & also for adding to rice) & added to the cooked rice.

& i had lots of minced garlic.

still the taste was not comparable to the one prepared by yue bo 鱼宝食馆

#7 lotus seeds ginkyo nuts mango cheng chow 白果莲子芒果凉粉

#7 lotus seeds ginkyo nuts mango cheng chow 白果莲子芒果凉粉

& we also had wonderful dessert at Hoe Kee dessert 浩记甜品馆.

#7 lotus seeds ginkyo nuts mango cheng chow 白果莲子芒果凉粉

#7 lotus seeds ginkyo nuts mango cheng chow 白果莲子芒果凉粉

of course i won’t try to make the almond paste 杏仁糊，walnut paste 核桃糊, black sesame paste 芝麻糊 etc。

but lotus seeds mango cheng chow 莲子芒果凉粉is something i can do.

i cooked 1 packet of lotus seeds 莲子 & 1 packet of ginkyo nuts白果 with 4 tbsp brown sugar & reduced.

i let it lightly boiled for 1.5hrs to 2hrs, a friend brought the mangoes, so it was just an assembly of the 莲子白果 on the mangoes & cheng chow 凉粉.

lunch was a display of all the food we liked & enjoyed while in hong kong (except the 梅菜扣肉 dish). it was wonderful to be able to relish the fun food moments in hong kong.

c.h.e.f andy

A 9-course All-Vietnamese New Year Eve Dinner on 31Dec2015

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all vietnamese dinner spread-serving table2

all vietnamese dinner spread-serving table

had a wonderful family homecooked Vietnamese dinner on 31.12.2015 to round out 2015 & welcome the new year 2016! ^^

getting ready for dinner

getting ready for dinner

we were in hoi an, hanoi & halong bay last week 21-27dec2015, having lots of tasty Vietnamese bites in local restaurants, in the streets & also jolly good fare on board indochina junk luxury cruise dragon legends 1.

all vietnamese dinner spread

all vietnamese dinner spread

so i did a 10-course dinner with 9 vietnamese dishes + tiramisu to relish the vietnamese fare & family moments we enjoyed together. we had 9pax including our helper, 3 children & their friends. 🙂

everyone enjoyed the food very much….we had a great evening…after dinner we watched star wars episodes 1 & 3, in my view both episodes were much better than episode 7 – the force awakens. 🙂

bun cha - vietnamese chargrilled pork on beehoon

#1 bun cha – vietnamese chargrilled pork on beehoon

one defining vietnamese cuisine to be found anywhere is the streets, local eats & restaurants is bun cha, or vietnamese chargrilled pork (or meatballs) served with beehoon.

bun cha - vietnamese chargrilled pork on beehoon

#1 bun cha – vietnamese chargrilled pork on beehoon

i did this very well this evening.

vietnamese chargrilled pork for bun cha

#1 vietnamese chargrilled pork for bun cha

my vietnamese chargrilled pork was exquisite this evening! ^^

grilled prawns for bun cha

#1 grilled prawns for bun cha

my daughter don’t like porky taste, so i did a grilled prawns for her. 🙂

aromatics - basil, mint, coriander & lime leaves

aromatics – basil, mint, coriander & lime leaves

a very important ingredient for bun cha & many vietnamese dishes (like pho) is aromatics. for this evening i had basil, mint, coriander & lime leaves. 🙂

bun cha - vietnamese chargrilled pork on beehoon

#1 bun cha – vietnamese chargrilled pork on beehoon

everyone loved the bun cha! 🙂

it’s as good as the bun cha we had at morning glory hoi an & at siagon baguette central mall singapore but we prefer grilled pork collar to meat balls.

about same as the bun cha at mrs pho.

sotong salad

#2 sotong salad

& i made a nice salad, using julienned carrots, daikon (radish), japanese cucumber.

for both bun cha & the sotong salad, a key ingredient is the mixing sauce, which i made with chicken stock, fish sauce, vinegar, a little sugar.

other than commonplace bun cha which is outright vietnamese, many of the “vietnamese” dishes we had were on the luxury cruise.

quite a few were actually chinese dishes & not particularly impressive.

several though had nice lemongrass & herb seasoning & aroma, plus the refreshing salads & very good egg spinach soup. don’t know how vietnamese they were, but i was aiming to reproduce these to relish our vietnam moments. ^^

lemongrass BBQ snapper

#3 lemongrass BBQ snapper

my lemongrass BBQ snapper turned out beautifully, lightly yet distinctly lemongrass scented. quite exquisite. 🙂

lemongrass BBQ chicken wings

#4 lemongrass BBQ chicken wings

the lemongrass BBQ chicken wing likewise was very tasty & different because of the lemongrass. & very tender inside the charred skin. 🙂

flamed 1 hr 70degC sous vide flat squid

#5 flamed 1 hr 70degC sous vide flat squid

same with the squid. i only do slow braising for 1 hr in a 70degC oven & flamed it afterwards, and the taste & texture were both perfect. my children love this dish. 🙂

thai yellow curry for flat squid

#5 thai yellow curry for flat squid

especially when served with the thai yellow curry, a variation of my grilled chicken thighs with thai yellow curry dip.

i created that after having a very nice grilled chicken green curry fried rice at busaba shoreditch london.

my dry wok prawns has been consistently excellent. this time though it was not so successful.

reason is that lemongrass marinate in the chiller does not work. prawns needed to be ultra fresh so i should have just fried in lemongrass & ginger instead of marinating in the chiller.

grilled pork ribs

#7 grilled pork ribs

grilled pork ribs was perfect in texture but seasoning a bit off today.

the best egg spinach soup

#8 the best egg spinach soup

my egg spinach soup was pure perfection. i used mixed chicken stock & fish stock becos they were there & need to be used. it was better than the very good soup we had on the dragon legend cruise.

com chien - vietnamese fried rice

#9 com chien – vietnamese fried rice

my com chien – vietnamese fried rice was passable. still tasty & rice not mushy & separate grains but somehow it was quite different from the excellent com chien we had on dragon legend cruise.

not sure why? their rice felt like baked rice & very tasty.

tiramisu was good but the usual.

all vietnamese dinner spread

all vietnamese dinner spread

we had a marvellous dinner. great family time.

beehoon, chragrilled pork & grilled prawns

#1 beehoon, chragrilled pork & grilled prawns

for bun cha, i cooked beehoon al dente.

chargrilled pork collar was marinated in chiller for 2 days, then fried in butter on high heat.

grilled prawns for bun cha

#1 grilled prawns for bun cha

i had grilled prawns in place of pork for eldest daughter. 🙂

aromatics - basil, mint, coriander & lime leaves

#1 aromatics – basil, mint, coriander & lime leaves

& lots of aromatics  – basil, mint, coriander & lime leaves. 🙂

aromatics - basil, mint, coriander & lime leaves

#1 aromatics – basil, mint, coriander & lime leaves

lots!

browned shallots

#1 & #8 browned shallots

& browned shallots which was also good for the soup. 🙂

steamed squid for salad

#2 steamed squid for salad

sotong salad

#2 sotong salad

sotong salad

#2 sotong salad

sotong was steamed & cut in rings & carrots, daikon (radish) & japanese cucumbers were julienned. plus sliced yellow onions.

lemongrass BBQ snapper

#4 lemongrass BBQ snapper

i tried the lemongrass dry marinade on snapper as i wanted a fish with firmer meat. came out beautifully! 🙂

lemongrass BBQ snapper+flamed sous vide squid

#5 & #6 lemongrass BBQ snapper+flamed sous vide squid

i used a flat squid which is thicker as i wanted that feel.

flamed 1 hr 70degC sous vide flat squid

#5 flamed 1 hr 70degC sous vide flat squid

i “sous vide” it at 70degC for 1 hr in oven in lemongrass marinade in a sealed oven dish so it won’t dry out.

then i flamed with a kitchen torche & the result was simply perfect! excellent taste & texture! 🙂

grilled pork ribs

#6 grilled pork ribs

i did my slow oven braising 90degC for 6hrs. texture was perfect but today the marinade was not that great!

lemongrass BBQ chicken wings

#3 lemongrass BBQ chicken wings

lemongrass BBQ chicken wings

#3 lemongrass BBQ chicken wings

chicken wings were great!

com chien - vietnamese fried rice

#9 com chien – vietnamese fried rice

com chien much to be improved la. 🙂

the simplest dish is the hardest to make, as always an universal truth! 🙂

it’s a memorable evening with family, with the excitement of replicating some dishes we enjoyed in vietnam.

c.h.e.f andy

 

RI JFL 1st Eat Together 28pax Dinner on 3Dec2015

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mee goreng

mee goreng

a group of us RI friends have the idea that as we all have a good time coming together enjoying the food & company, making new memories together, many may also be ready to share with others and spread the cheer.

two ideas were discussed-

  1. when we get together again in the new year 2016, maybe many will be in the mood to make some small donations to a beneficiary charity (we are thinking we can do this twice in 2016 at one of the friend’s place & maybe we can collect say between S$1000 and S$2000 each time).
  2. some of us who loves cooking (& there are many among us) may offer to cook community meals for some needy folks….currently many friends are already managing events (some weekly) at some premises where various groups (senior folks or needy families in the community) come by to share some food.

those were ideas to be discussed further for the time being.

meanwhile 2 friends helped to organise this dinner at a friend’s house on 3.12.2015. we had 28pax this evening including the host couple. ^^

tandoori chicken

tandoori chicken

3 of us offered to make some dishes for all our good RI friends to share some food & fun time together.

this eat-together actually also serve a specific purpose to work out the food logisitcs of planning & co-ordinating the type of dishes to make (by 3 parties) that are suitable for transporting to the host location for sharing among a sizable group, and also the arrangements for transportation. ^^

drinks

drinks

a friend who made some dishes also contributed 3 bottles of wine. another friend brought 2 sparklies & the host arranged the ice box & other drinks. 🙂

curry chicken

curry chicken

one friend made a nice curry chicken. love the colour. i took couple pieces & the curry. was nursing a throat infection. could not take more also.

nasi biryani

nasi biryani

& the biryani rice was very good too! very fluffy & light, good herb aroma. 🙂

this friend messaged me that he had to re-steam the rice. i replied that that is always a bit of touch up & make-overs only those who cook know…which our kaypoh friend proceeded to promptly broadcast to the rest as his pet trivials….haha! 🙂

one of my favourite for the evening (seems like everyone also) was the mee goreng (top photo).

cannot really compare apple to apple with fried hokkien prawn mee, the other delicious dish we had at another friend’s house recently. & i have not decided if i want to try cooking, but probably i will start with the hokkien mee if i do.

the other dish this friend cooked was the tandoori chicken (above photo further up), very nice colour w/o using any colouring.

babi pongteh

babi pongteh

all 3 of us used the same aluminium trays to transport the food w/o consulting each other. haha! ^

i made a babi pongteh. the tau jeon (& bit of gula melaka) flavours were good. i added mushrooms & taupok which were well-infused with the taste. the pork texture were just slightly hard c/w my usual very tender belly pork.

sambal seabass

sambal seabass

the sambal seabass prepared by my helper is a perennial favourite among my friends & also this evening.

thai red curry sotong

thai red curry sotong

i did a thai red curry sotong also. this was done with a ready made “dancing chef” curry mix.

dry wok prawns

dry wok prawns

& the usual dry wok prawns.

broccoli with cauliflower

broccoli with cauliflower

i also made a broccoli & cauliflower, just pan-fry with garlic & added oyster sauce, fish sauce, cornflour mix.

chilli long beans with fried bean curd

chilli long beans with fried bean curd

& i got my helper to make the chilli long beans with fried beancurd. this quite an appetizing dish.

one of our friend is vegetarian & coming late at 8.30pm. so we arranged for him to have some vegetarian mee goreng, a vegetarian wrap & kept some of the 2 veg dishes for him. i think he had a good time too. usually he doesn’t eat much when he comes.

chong lee's favourite drunken tiramisu

tiramisu

i made 2 tubs of tiramisu.

all the friends loved this. it was light, very moist with lots of strong coffee (200ml) & brandy (50ml).

我的美人 smile

a friend brought his usual sweet watermelon. he must be good friends with the vendor by now. 🙂

another friend brought lots of ice cream bars & eclairs. i usually don’t take these but i enjoyed an ice cream bar this evening. 🙂

we had a very fun time together. there were 27 of us old RI friends from our cohort + the host’s wife, total 28pax.

we emptied out all the food. this was part of the food planning. one friend was asking whether it was ok with addition of few other attendees.

just for myself, we are at the age where we don’t need to consume too much carbs & also can manage with a bit more or less food, so my overall view is if a few more people, we just eat a little less lor….of course we don’t want the guests to go hungry. haha! 🙂

in the end it seems the first eat-togehter that involves 3 separate persons cooking & transporting the food to the host’s place came out pretty well, thanks to good co-ordination & everyone helping out.

everyone had a really fun evening. good food & old & new memories help to bring & keep people together.

we also stayed back to “unmess” the place against the direct strict instructions of the host & hostess to leave.

c.h.e.f andy

A Most Memorable & Delicious Homecooked Dinner on 13Nov2015

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fried hokkien prawn mee-bestest!

fried hokkien prawn mee-bestest!

a RI friend invited us to her newly done place for homecooked dinner on 13.11.2015. ^^

it was a wonderful evening of fun, laughters & memories.

we decided to have a PCK theme. some friends went to get a S$1yellow helmet for all, and we had the round floor protector pads for molds. haha! ^^

btw, my favourite dish for the evening among all the good food was the fried hokkien prawn mee! (top photo). it was done by the hostest brother, who made a couple other dishes & joined us for dinner.

it was the bestest! i have not tried making that. not sure i can do it. 🙂

cheese board

cheese board

the host & hostess had some cheese board which we enjoyed before & after dinner.

cheese board

cheese board

the blue, an english stilton blue cheese, was excellent! i really enjoyed that. 🙂

chicken wings

chicken wings

chicken wings were good.

good curry chicken

good curry chicken

curry chicken was the thicker, more powdery type. chicken was sweet. curry was tasty.

i quite like this curry though it was different from the nonya curry chicken i make.

roast chicken

roast chicken

roast chicken was good too, moist, tender. 🙂

some veg

some veg

there were broccoli & carrots.

nice long beans

nice chilli long beans

the chilli long beans were done well. 🙂

love the soto ayam

love the soto ayam

& i love the soto ayam! 🙂

love the soto ayam

love the soto ayam

i helped myself with a bit more.

love the soto ayam

love the soto ayam

there was also itek tim, but i did not take photo.

very good pork ribs

very good pork ribs

pork ribs were fork tender, and taste great.

very good pork ribs

very good pork ribs

it inspired me to make my own louisiana styled pork ribs afterwards.

roast pork ribs (or soft bones?) - super

roast pork ribs (or soft bones?) – super

& the roast pork ribs. i had a few pieces. it was fatty but really excellent! maybe it was soft bones rather than ribs.

i want to do this one too. still thinking how to do it. 🙂

very good bread pudding with vanilla ice cream

very good bread pudding with vanilla ice cream

a friend brought a very good bread pudding.

very good bread pudding with vanilla ice cream

very good bread pudding with vanilla ice cream

especially nice served with vanilla ice cream, no need to prepare separately a hot cream custard.

very good bread pudding with vanilla ice cream

very good bread pudding with vanilla ice cream

it was convenient & great party food, no need to cut & you can scoop what you want.

i went home & make one myself, a very good bread pudding also.

very refreshing fruit cokctail jelly dessert

very refreshing fruit cokctail jelly dessert

there was also a very refreshing fruit cocktail jelly dessert. we were full to the brim. still i had 2 helpings.

frozen eclairs

frozen eclairs

& i tried a frozen eclaire, not my favourite though. 🙂

we had a lot of sharing among old friends which now meet frequently in recent years. really good fun & company & delicious food, thanks to the hostess.

c.h.e.f andy