Welcoming 2011...the year of the Rabbit

We didnt spend the lunar new year in Malaysia or in Hong Kong due to work commitments. So we had to celebrate it in Australia with our buddies. I've never really cooked a CNY meal so this year, it was my attempt No.1. Its not a very traditional FooChow CNY meal but it still feeds 4 people :P

1) Roast duck (this was a take-away dish)

2) Steamed osyters with XO sauce..mmMm

3) Steamed Snapper with lots of garlic and scallions

4) Stewed Abalone (everyone liked it except me)

5) Crispy Pork Belly

6) Braised mushrooms with scallops

7) Spinach with Goji berries in Superior sauce

8) Red bean soup with mochi (sesame paste fillings)

It was a coincidence that we had 8 dishes. I just realised it while doing this post! Does that mean we'll be '8' for the rest of the year? :P

Where in Melbourne can one get such a view? 

    

It is none other than our Eureka tower!

I was up there (Skydeck) on the 14th March partaking in the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival event called "The Last of the Summer Wines and a basket full of Stone Fruits" at the Eureka 89 restaurant. It was a belated birthday /Joe finishing his GP exam dinner. 

  

We didn't do the touristy thing of going into the viewing block that zooms in and out....because we were actually on the upper level.... but the lift ride up to the 88th or 89th floor was SCARILY fast..... The lift actually required several attempts to close its door and bring us up due to the strong wind draft!!! 

Its been a while since i last made an entry of foodie things. 

So Feast up! (I'll try my best to remember what they were)

Roaming appetizers - Can't remember

There was a Quail Starter dish - but i think we forgot to take a picture (or i misplaced it)

Fish = Hapuka with apricots, tapioca pearls (smaller than those from Lucky Cup!) with some pansy which I ate also. It was so-so.....

Pork - Joe said "My wife can do a better pork than this"

It was some slow cooked pork with nectarine....but it was pretty dry. I think if some old guy with saliva deficiency ate it, he might have choked and died on Eureka tower! It'll make frontpage of The Age newspaper.

Dessert - probably the best dish of the night

Its peach with crumbled biscuity thing..served with cream??? 

Maybe because the chef had to prepare 80 - 90 serves of the same food that night, that they couldn't control the quality of the food....

It wasn't a truly nice dinner.... the view was good though!

I probably wouldn't go there again.... 

So my review for Eureka 89 = So So only....

Hyacinths & Chicken

These are the two things that I absolutely adore

Hmm besides the other million things that seem to reduce my bank balance

Few things about me:

1) I love eating chicken

2) I don't like eating lamb stuff

3) I'm scared of porky smell (thats why always buy female pork)

4) Beef...must be cooked til its BURNT...no blood please.

5) Love flowers...except smelly ones (i.e very few...maybe only stargazers)

6) Love flowers (did i already mention it?)

I stumbled across this beautiful/dangerous shop in Auburn 2 weeks ago. I call it a BLACK shop because once you step into the shop, your nose is filled with the most enchanting smell of lavender, bergomet, camomile, etc etc..and I'm certain a spell was cast on me because money flew out of my purse not long after..... but I was a happy....even though i was a few bucks poorer.

The shop is called Handmade @ 134 Auburn Road, Auburn. Will remember to post pictures of any items I purchase from there. 

This Chicken thing I bought from there is actually a door stopper. Its made from some suede-flannel like material, and its filled with lavender, camomile and all things nice. I can't bear it sitting on the floor (just in case my dog decides he wants to pee on it) so I've placed it on our chinese round dining table with my Hyacinths. Note the teapot doubling as a vase! The chicken comes in a smaller size, and different colours...for the pantry...to ward off any moths or pesty insects. 

Oh and lunch/dinner this week was Grilled Cha-su with cold Soba noodles + miso soup. I made enough to last me two dinners and two lunches. I was pretty sick of it after that....... 

Sorry about taking so many pics starring the Chicken

Will upload my birthday post soon!!

 

Feeling Bamboo-ie

A few weeks ago....right after returning from our trip overseas, I was craving for home cooked food hence I decided to cook something homey....

I whipped out the Bamboo steamer that I bought last year but never really used (except for steaming Paos)....and went out to buy some ingredients to cook a scrumptious meal for the hubby and I.

Lo and behold I present to you........

Steamed Blue Eye with Black Beans...

(Before Steaming)

I know its very Chinese...but I AM of CHINESE background..

Fermented Black Beans were used.....not the pre-prepared black bean sauce things you buy from the supermarket....so I wasn't cheating..... and I had spring onions lying underneath the fish too......

Anyone interested in getting the recipe? HHaha

Valentine's @ the Khoo's

 

I look like a horse in this pic... and a bit red from the wine

Celebrating the 'Day of Love' won't be complete without some mischief from Muffin

   

Muffin's nose on the bottom right corner

Then I decided to let him pose with the Heart Shaped Icing

In 2 seconds, he launches an attack 

The food we had were catered by Porgie's and Mr Jones @ Auburn Rd

- French Baguettes

- Brownies, raspberry tarts, portugese tarts, scones, muffins

- Fritatas

- Osyters - not from Porgies - Joe had a craving so we ran down to get some from South Melb Market

And flowers for our lovely hostess....my buddy...adriana...

My version of mr Wolf's Pizza no.9 

(thanks to Karen Martini's cook book 

Where the heart is)

A christmas gift from my buddy Yi who is currently tracing her roots in the Foochow provence..... good luck with the toilets!

  

Pizza dough recipe

400 g plain flour (preferably unbleached)

100 g fine semolina

2 tsp table salt

1.5 cups (375 ml) warm water

3 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp (7 g) dried yeast

Combine flour, semolina and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with dough hook attached.

Mix water, oil and yeast in a small bowl and stir to dissolve yeast.

Pour water mixture into flour and mix on low speed until combined, then mix on high speed for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic, but quite wet and sticky.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl.

Cover with plastic film and rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Divide into four portions.

The dough can be used at once or stored, covered in the fridge overnight.

MAKES 4 PIZZA BASES

If preparing dough for the next day, use cold water in the dough and prove it in the fridge overnight

If you don't have a dough hook, combine basic dough ingredients and gather mixture into a ball. On a smooth surface lightly dusted with flour, knead for 15 minutes or until dough is smooth, elastic and sticky.

Pizza  no. 9 Recipe

A simple one, with fresh ingredients that are a perfect marriage made in pizza heaven.

olive oil and fine semolina to coat pizza tray/pan

1 portion basic pizza dough

1/3 cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil

150 g buffalo mozzarella, sliced

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 lemon juiced

80 g rocket leaves

6 slices prosciutto

Preheat oven to 250 degrees celcius

Light brush a large pizza tray with oil and dust with semolina

Roll pizza dough out on a lightly floured surface and transfer to the pizza tray

Drizzle pizza base with half the oil and top with cheeses. 

Season with pepper and bake for 10-15 minutes until dough is golden and cheese has almost melted

Whisk lemon juice with remaining oil.

Dress rocket leaves in a small bowl and toss to combine.

Remove pizza from oven and cut it, then immediately lay slices of prosciutto and dressed rocket on top and serve.

MAKES 1 LARGE PIZZA.

SERVES 4-6

CHRiSTMAS 2008 ( a way overdue post...)

 

Firstly our Christmas Dinner table wreath.....the long one from Pollon. I asked for a round wreath which was cheaper ($80) but Nicholas (the owner) gave me a long one ($160) for the price of a round one!!! Whoopeeee!! Yay!! Such a  nice guy.... guess He'll be my favourite florist now!

 

Because I wanted a round one too...I came across this one at the Camberwell fresh food market for a bargain at $30!!! I was being a bit cheapo by asking for a 'better price' and I could tell the guy selling it was about to roll his eyes at me because $30 was already the heavily reduced price at 4.50 pm on christmas eve..... But then how can you blame me for trying during this terrible financial period? Any savings is better than none..hehhee.

Presenting Our Christmas Tree

  

 

The first ever Van's Christmas Turkey 

Turkey with Chestnut, chorizo sausage, porcini mushroom stuffing. 

Served with Chive Gravy. 

Preparing the turkey wasn't as hard as i thought it would be...it was a bit intimidating but it sure is Do-able and I'm looking forward to my next one. A bit time consuming too....but it was yummy! My recipe for this was actually a combination from a few sources...Oprah.com and ABC's Delicious Christmas book.

Sides : Refreshing salad (Watercress, baby cos lettuce, prawns, mangoes, caramelised walnuts

             Balsamic shallots (no picture)

             Roasted Garlic Rosemary Potatoes (no picture)

Porgie and Mr Jones....

291 Auburn Rd,

Hawthorn 

Introducing my current favourite breakfast place.

     

Best dish there so far is The Banana Bread + pistachios + berries + other yummy stuff....

They even have Mandarin juice....not just your regular orange juice...

I think I'll be taking Chrystella there next week when I'm back in Melbourne.... 

Soup time on cold cold Melbourne winter nights



Chinese herbal chicken soup this time....trying to get some 'good stuff' into my body....

I didn't take a picture of the soup because it looks like any ordinary chicken soup...

I had chicken soup the past two nights...with rice....and thick ABC soya sauce to dip my chicken pieces...yumm

Oh...and chinese pickled cabbages too..... double yummm

Looked out from my window a lot today....


















I had a day off from Uni today..
Studied a bit..
Went out to the bank...

Came home...
Ate lunch...sushi time...
Couldn't finish it....



Studied again...
dinner time...
Sushi time...



mmMM....If only eating lecture notes will help with memory...I'd eat them all

Its been a while...

I've been busy preparing for my anatomy flag race exam the past week and its finally over today. It was a hard exam........ok...lets not dwell in the past now. Should always look forward and smile...everything will be better.

Even though I haven't been blogging...I have still continued to snap pictures of yummy places to go and a few things that I've been up to lately.

I've decided to load the pictures in the order I found them in my camera. So first one up is Joe's lunchbox! I cooked some Korean Spicy Pork Belly...Everything has to be sliced up/julienned?? in Korean cooking. So I had to do the carrots, onion, capsicum.....Eat it with steamed rice, and some seasoned seaweed... yum yum.

Feeling Soupy

Miss my mum's cooking. Can't believe mum chose Korea over her kids! She decided to go sight-seeing with her friend instead of coming over to feed her starving children. Mum!!!! How could you do this to us? Hehhee... oh well. Mum needs a holiday too and I'll be seeing her at the end of June. As long as she remembers to buy us lots of pressies then we're even.

Ok, back to food....I went through my pantry and found some dried beancurd (think mum bought them awhile ago), then I remembered I did set aside some "soup-bones" last week....SOUP TIME SOUP TIME!!! Its going to be dried beancurd, red date and bone soup tonight. I haven't had those chinese boiled soup for ages! Usually its just ABC soup for me. For those who do not know what ABC soup is, it is basically everyhing you can find in your fridge mixed together. Sounds disgusting but the combination requires some skill too.

Usual ABC ingredients: (Vegetarian)
Carrots
Tomatoes
Big brown onion
Potatoes
(will boil the above ingredients for 30-45 mins, then remove from heat and stir in spoonfuls of miso paste, and add a dash of dashi granules)

Dried Beancurd soup:
Dried beancurd (soak it in water until soft, then add it in the soup after it has been boiling for and hour or so)
Red dates (deseeded)
Soup bones (can be chicken or pork)
(the bones and dates are boiled together for as long as you want....to release the flavour within....yummm....then add the softened dried beancurd into the soup and let it boil again for 10 mins or so....do not let it boil too long....because the beancurd will shatter).

I will upload the picture of the soup a bit later....cos I was too hungry tonight so i didn't take any pictures.

Pears are in season.....so PEAR it up!!!!! Some like it squishy soft, some like it firm. I like them in between....so just let them ripen at room temperature instead of shoving it in the fridge. Believe me....cos I said so.....

Chicken with chickpea+couscous+tomato+onion

I've been trying to be healthier lately. But so far....it ain't working. I only went to one BodySteps class and one Reformer pilates class. Then...I let myself go and ate all that BAD but yummy stuff in Adelaide. Therefore, I shall force myself to attend more exercise classes (three times a week?) and eat home more often (i.e cook more).

This recipe is my modified version of what is in the May issue of Super Food Ideas.

Ingredients
Cooking oil Spray (I just started using sprays....they're so much better)
6 x Chicken thigh fillets (trim the fat)
400g Edgell chick peas drained, rinsed (found in cans or you can cook your own)
Cous Cous (Ainsley H) Spice sensation 200g (Or any other cous cous)
2 tomatoes (cut into chunks)
1 large onion (sliced roughly)
Lee Kum Kee Chicken Marinade
Chinese cooking wine

Method:

1 Marinade the trimmed chicken fillets with the bottled marinade and cooking wine. The amount used depends on how much chicken you have...etc etc... I just estimate with my eyes. Leave for 30 minutes or even longer to let the flavour soak in.

2 Heat a large, non-stick wok over medium-high heat. Lightly spray the wok with canola oil and fan fry the chicken pieces. Let each side cook until it is golden brown before turning over to seal in the flavour. Make sure the chicken is cooked thorough!

3 Add in the tomatoes and onion into the wok, and let them soften.

4 In the meantime, prepare the cous cous (add 180 mL boiling water to contents and let stand and fluff with fork after 2 minutes)

5 Add a few table spoons of cous cous into the wok with the chicken/tomato/onion

6 Spoon some chick peas into the wok too.... and dinner is served.

As Easy as A B C

How can anyone go wrong with Lee Kum Kee marinades? Saw this new product last week on the shelf while grocery shopping "Cantonese Barbeque Marinade"...just had to try it. Too easy to create succulent pork ribs for dinner.......

Ingredients: 1) Pork Ribs (or whatever your little tummy desires)
2) Minced garlic (my own secret recipe)
3) Spoonfuls of cantonese BBQ marinade

Method:
1) Preheat Oven at 200 degrees celcius
2) Cut away the bad ugly fat from the ribs
3) Put ribs in a bowl and mix well with the marinade and garlic ~ 30 mins
4) Place ribs into oven ~ 30 - 40 mins or until cooked. Turning it once.


Serve with rice and some vegies for a well balanced meal. Yummmmmm