Quickest 3 Course Dinner to Impress

A presentable one too! Seems like I've been away for a bit, have had so many things happening that need a bit of thinking time ... but I'm back, as usual, this time with an impressive 3 course dinner that takes 40 minutes from start till the end. Good for those who are in a rush with this impromptu, simple classics ...

Inspired by what's seasonal/on offer in supermarkets, I got myself some fresh scallops (8 of them), a pack of rocket leaves, some sweet cherry tomatoes on the vine, baby/salad potatoes, and 2 spare rib chops, strawberry flavored Onken yoghurt and some digestive biscuits (optional).

The beautiful thing about cooking is that you DON'T NEED to be super skilled/trained to cook amazing food! Most of the time, it can be supplemented with super FRESH, QUALITY INGREDIENTS ...

This applies to the starter dish. Was gonna serve Pan-fried Scallops with Tomato and Rocket Salad. Preparing the salad first, simply just mix the rockets and tomatoes with your favorite dressing, I used French dressing in mine, done! Ooh, loving the speed eh?

Scallops cooks pretty quickly, so just heat up 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, and once hot spoon the scallops on the pan gently, preferably cooking them in one go as they have to be serve immediately once done. Bear in mind that they overcook very easily, and full attention to the pan please for 3 minutes maximum, ok? While they are sizzling away, season with salt and black pepper, then flip them over after a minute. Do the same on the other side, season to taste and it should be slightly brown both sides after another minute. Serve with the salad immediately like below:

Beautiful yea? I prefer having them one minute a side pan fried, to be it's just nice, but if you prefer them 100% cooked, you can have them 90 seconds a side, it'll still be fine. All you want to avoid is eating a rubbery, overcooked texture ... It was perfect, P was pretty amazed at the speed and taste for sure ... this is exactly the misconception I'm trying to prove to many out there who are intimidated by cooking - taste does not always equal complicated and lengthy cooking preparations!

Ok, main course next! First, settle the potatoes: bring a pot of water to boil and place the potatoes in to cook. Meanwhile, the meat: this is my random seasoning which I thought up on the minute since I didn't have time to marinade for hours, but thankfully it didn't taste weird, hehe. So I had some leftover tomato puree from the last cooking of spaghetti, some ketchup, balsamic vinegar, paprika. Basically I put a similar seasoning to the BBQ Pork Fillet recipe, so listen up. First season the meat with salt and pepper all over and rub them well. Put 2 generous tablespoon of paprika, 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, about 100g of tomato puree (for a bit of sauce for the meat so it's not too dry), and generous dollop of ketchup. Mix the seasoning and rub it all over the meat, leaving it to rest while you heat up your grill pan. The potatoes should be cooked now, as seasoning of meat probably took 5 minutes, so drain them and set aside.

Once the pan is hot, place both the spare rib chops and let them sizzle away. Note that you would have leftover marinade and use these to spoon on the meat when you flip them later. Since the meat is cooking away, you can afford some time to set up your simple salad on the plates, which is the same as your starter anyways, with the additional potatoes on the side now. Time taken? 1 minute at max :P

So full attention to your meat now, let it cook about 5 minutes on one side and flip them over. Now hopefully you have some professional looking charred lines on it, but if not it's not a disaster either, LOL. Spoon some marinade on top and let it cook for another 5 minutes. Like the scallops, overcooked meat is hard and chewy like rubber, not very nice at all. So avoiding this simply takes a sharp eye and a bit of gut feeling. For those more risk averse, after cooking 5 minutes a side, you can use a fork/knife to put through the meat and if the juice looks clear you're fine. As long as it 's not bloody/red. But that is difficult to gauge with the marinade being of similar color in this case! Hence the gut feel comes in, you know it's almost cooked and perfect when you prod the meat and its slightly springy. Serve immediately and spoon as much of the marinade in the pan on top of the meat. There you go: BBQ Chops with Potatoes and Rocket Salad

There you go, 15 mins for starter, 20 mins for main maximum, and of course 5 mins for a simple easy dessert. Just roughly break some digestive biscuits served with dollops of strawberry yogurt, for a Quick and Healthy Cheesecake Imitation! Surely you don't need a picture for that :P Enjoy!

First Signs of Summer ...

Weather in London last weekend was perfect ... the kind where you can finally unbundle/unwrap, go around in shorts + T-shirts, have barbecues at your balcony, hangout in the park ... basically making you feel like La-la-la-laaa :)

The very first sneak peek into summer weather, and fair enough which doesn't last long, given the grey and cloudy week ahead. Hence apologies for this post being one week late!

Nevertheless, my menu last weekend changed to a lighter summer menu, given all my doner kebab craving lately, having discovering a good one just 2 minutes walk from my place.

Which relates to another important discussion ... why are doner kebabs so unhealthy? I always thought they were one of the healthier version of fast food given that they are solid (depending on shop quality) chunks of meat roasted slowly over a long time! Not until I saw this report in the Guardian paper today. Apparently it contains a serving contains an equivalent of a WINE GLASS FULL of cooking oil. Now how can THAT possibly be?!!

Checking on methods of making a doner kebab, here's what Wikipedia quoted:

"There are two basic ways of preparing meat for döner kebabs:

• The most common and authentic method is to stack seasoned slices of lean meat onto a vertical skewer in the shape of a cylinder. The stack is cooked by radiant heat from electric elements or gas fired infrared burners. Often meat, tomatoes, and onions are placed at the top of the stack to drip juices over the meat keeping it moist.
• Some cheaper shops serve a combination of seasoned sliced and ground meat cooked on a grilltop as döner kebab. In Germany the amount of ground meat is not allowed to surpass 60% (Berliner Verkehrsauffassung) "

The only way to reconcile this is that the research was based on the poorest quality of kebabs (second bullet point above).

And apparently one of the best (fast food category) in terms of low salt content was fish and chips. WHAT?! This sounds like a pro-British food campaign to me, :D. Ok, maybe not the fish, but chips are surely salty, but that result may arise given that the chips portions arent that large and tend to not be salted heavily as well since the Brits love theirs with vinegar. In relative terms to the junk food peer group of heavily salted processed meat burgers/sausages and pizzas, this result doesn't sound that absurd anymore, LOL

Ok, back from digression, where was I? *Summer menu* yes. Whipped up something simple for dinner, salad with turkey kebabs (not really the kebabs above). Salad was just a rough mixture of tomatoes on the vine, lettuce, carrots, roasted mushrooms and potato wedges. Marinaded the turkey for barely 10 minutes with grated ginger juice, honey, soy sauce and a little dash of sesame oil. Potato wedges are just lightly coated in olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper just like the mushrooms and along with the turkey went for the oven treatment for 35 minutes or so.

Turkey was a little dry as expected since marinading time was too short, but the salad was great, especially with the smoky mushrooms that I love ...


Just in case any of you are interested in somemore kebabology ...

Smiths of Smithfield (SOS)

In terms of lifestyle, transport and dining, London probably fares best with the latter with so much to offer in terms of eating out. You get to taste some of the world's best culinary creation here, but more importantly to me, there is a general higher quality of eateries even for the less pompous/celebrity chefs loaded restaurants. No one could really afford those expensive dinners all the time, and even if you see them and wonder, they're probably on company's expenses for client meetings etc :)

Here's a continuation of my quest to search for non pretentious, interesting and of course delicious food across London. I usually give those big Michelin dudes a miss since they've already enough media attention and cash flow for the moment, time to search for underdogs worth supporting. However, this time I chose to try out John Torode's Smiths of Smithfield (SOS) in trendy Clerkenwell, a place famous for nice pubs, bars and good nightlife. Seems like a perfect place to bring a friend who loves meat or a good steak.

John Torode is a well known food writer and TV presenter, and more recently one of the judges of the chef spotting talent show in BBC Two called "Masterchef Goes Large". Born in Australia, he is acknowledged as one of the player who introduced Australasian food in the UK. I would say he marketed himself as a meat specialist, sourcing fresh quality produces from farmers all of UK.

SOS is located near London's Smithfield market, boasting a 4 floor restaurant with a different theme to each, with formality increasing the higher you go, interesting eh? So the ground floor has loads of comfy couches, a comprehensive bar and some DJ-ing, good for breakfast, lunch or a quick bite anytime of the day. 1st floor focuses on wine/champagne tasting and appreciation, accompanied with exquisite light bites to match the drinks. There is a floor dedicated to private parties too, where you can hire private rooms for those special occasions. 2nd floor is the place to be for a nice ambiance, solid oak tables and chairs with candlelights, with the ability to peep at the chefs doing their work at the semi-opened kitchen. The highest floor is for those who crave a fine dining experience with breathless rooftop view of the city, completed with an extensive wine list and broader fresh seafood/meat selection.

Talk about price discrimination eh? This guy is probably the first I've seen that applies this economic principle to restaurants! Anyways, its good to book in advance and they do online booking which is handy. Up to 2nd floor we went, and for starters we chose something true to the Australasian theme, which is Lucky Squid, Chilli Jam and Chinese Broccoli. With a hint of hot, salty yet sweet spiciness of sambal, fresh squid with lightly blanched crunchy leaves - done to perfection. Apologies for the bad lighting of the photo, ambiance was dark and I don't Photoshop them, its as original as it gets :)

For mains, P decided to forgo the steaks and try something different - Crisp Belly of Pork, Mash Potato and Green Sauce. Presentation wise a bit odd, mash potato was all right, and the belly pork was crispy and nice, but I would say the green sauce didn't really go that well with it. Missing something that plays down the good work done on the pork really. Nothing outstanding.

I had something memorable as well, but that is two-fold. I think it was Roast Cod on a bed of PuyLentils, taste wise unmemorable, bland tasting lentils and cod was safe, lightly salted and pan fried till crisp, nothing exciting. But what was MEMORABLE was the really bad tummy ache that it gave me on the way home on the tube. Imagine having to stifle the pain and persevere till you run (with a bad tummy ache) out of the tube to the nearest loo and pray to the toilet god in many ways.


But yes I shall digress from going into too much details into that, but it is just so disappointing with a place capable of offering so much more ends up failing in hypocrisy. This is why time and time again I feel that all these publicity sometimes has adverse effects on a good chef, breeding complacency and being too business-like, starting to lose the very key passion or role of an excellent chef - to prepare and share a good culinary creations. This is not a generalization however, there are some level headed chefs out there that maintain or even increase the level of their work with pride, upon the recognition for their work.

To end things with a less serious note, I saw the name of this random lane that made the dinner memorable for sure :P

Smiths of Smithfield
67-77 Charterhouse Street
EC1M 6HJ
London

Change

Variety? Spice? ... Whatever you choose to call it.

Such a vital thing in life, yet easily overlooked in the midst of the hustle and bustle of our daily routine. You go to work from Mon-Fri, have the same thing for lunch everyday, or even do the same thing after work everyday, without realizing it and always wonder why you seemed to have lost some sort of direction in life, what purpose are you doing these for, gloomy and feel lost on weekends?

Sounds familiar? I certainly hope not for most of you all out there. But it sure is easy to focus all your energy on something at inception, get immersed so fully in the bubble, and somehow forgot why you're doing it for. It's good to self reflect once in a while I suppose, to remind yourself the purpose and what you want to go for in life, looking at the bigger picture.

So if you've been wearing the same sort of shirt color, doing the same sport, meeting the same type of people etc... it REALLY pays to give it a try to do something different. Something out of your comfort zone, something random, something that inject some sort of fresh spirit in your life, new experiences, new people, visit new places ... Come on, you only live one life, make the freakin' most of it!

Keeping the spice in life (and food of course! :P) in key to keeping sanity. Since the theme is change this time, let's try something Western for a new twist, how about fish? Something quick to cook, but easy to destroy at the same time due to fragile nature. But please don't let that deter you, the result is pretty amazing since it's easy to prepare.

So all you need, is a bunch of closed cup mushroom, a bit of potatoes, fresh green beans (from local grocer hopefully!), big red tomatoes, and a cod fish fillet, some salt and pepper, that's pretty much it! Ah, and some aluminum foil of course, and a working oven :) My original intention is to pan fry the fish, but that'll be for next time, as this is a no frills introductory to seafood cooking. Start of slow and steady, yea?

So we'll bake/grill/roast the fish, I never really know the terms or the difference, that's besides the point. First, preheat the oven at 180C-200C for about 10 minutes. In the mean time, wash the mushrooms, green beans and tomatoes, set aside. For the potatoes, once washed, pat DRY with tissue or a clean cloth, this is important for good potato wedges! With a fork, poke the skins of the potatoes evenly before you chop them into nice wedge shapes. Put the potatoes in a baking tray and season with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle a bit of olive oil and mix to coat the potatoes evenly. I personally prefer to add a pinch of Italian herb seasoning as well (oregano/basil/rosemary), works well too if you fancy.

With that done, chop the ends of the green beans to make equal length strips. Tomatoes can be sliced into thick quarters as we're going to roast them with the fish too. I like my mushrooms huge and unsliced, personal preference, you can cut them if you wish. Finally, all you have to do is cut out a big piece of aluminum foil, place the fish (I used cod here, plaice, mackerel, haddock, salmon, rainbow trout etc is good too) skin side up, mushrooms and tomatoes together. Before you wrap them up tightly in a parcel, season with the usual salt and pepper again, and I added a bit of lemon infused olive oil n rub against it to the skin of the fish. So we are now all set once the foil is sealed properly.

Put the tray of potatoes and the foil containing the fish and vegetables in the oven simultaneously. It should take about 15-20 minutes before the potatoes are brown and crispy. I didn't forget about my french beans by the way :) I prefer to steam them separately for a reason. They would have been overcooking if placed with the fish, and probably soft, brown and lumpy, uninteresting color. Gently steam (it's criminal to boil vegetables!) them over a pot of boiling water for 5-7 minutes or till cooked but crunchy. It gives a nice finishing touch and color contrast for this healthy dish!

Birthday Surprise

Archipelago at Whitfield Street is the place to go for a completely new and exotic dining experience...

There are just so many things that make this place stand out. I'd have walked passed it thinking it was a pub if I was not brought here. Upon entering the tiny entrance with a mini rock pavement, its as if you're immediately brought back to the Indiana Jones era, with a dark and calm ambiance, with an eclectic mix of Indian,Thai and Chinese influences in their decor. Of course, it's the menu that bags that extra surprise for a special occasion :) THEY SERVE CROCODILE, KANGAROO, ZEBRA meat ... and even chocolate coated scorpion for desserts!

Talk about being adventurous with your palate! Dinner started off with some cocktail and champagne (sprinkled with gold dust), courtesy of recommendation from Z. The cocktail was named after the restaurant, and I can't recall what it exactly contains (it served its purpose), but I know that it's something sweet and citrus-y which disguises the alcohol content, until it was too late... :P

That was Z's champagne with gold dust sprinkles, pretty good to get one bubbly and chatty ...

Starters was a selection of nibbles: Parsnip chips with sweet chili dipping, mini duck quiche and mini grilled pepper canapes. Parsnip chips were awesome, though slight thicker slices would be amazing. Canapes were my favorite since quiche wasn't my thing really. But they were delicious in small amounts :)

The highlight of the meal was the second starter to share: Crocodile fillet seared in vine leaves with a plum dipping sauce. The dish was freshly prepared, seasoned with some fragrant spices, wrapped with the leaves before deep fried. Yet, the white crocodile meat was succulent and springy, flavors accentuated with a little bit of plum sauce dipping. It was also served in a unique porcelain 'plate', seems like a (squarish) cross section of a tree.

When you come to places like these, wimp-y choices like chicken, lamb or fish are out of the question. Either you close your eyes/nose or both, one's gotta try something out of the ordinary, like gnu, zebra, or even lovebug salads, LOL

For mains, Z had Sliced wildebeest (gnu) fillet in a hot and sour sauce with nutty soba noodles. The waitress was really keen and patient in explaining the menu, which I think they are used to anyway given the amount of foreign meats/exotic names in it! Gnu, according to Wikipedia, is " an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved ungulate mammal. And you know what, that sentence doesn't help either. So from the picture search online, ignorant me would just say it looks like a member of the bull/ox/cow family... simple (indeed)! Z enjoyed this dish thoroughly, as the gnu was pan fried nicely for the crunchy edge and matched well with the soba noodles which was lightly dressed in the sauce.

I, on the other hand, had Zhug marinated kangaroo fillet with water spinach, pak choi and crushed chilli potatoes. Apologies to all Australians or kangaroo lovers before hand though.

Now you know what I mean when I say this is also an educational dining experience! Zhug, according to the host, is a hot sauce marinade from Yemen, containing ground fresh hot peppers seasoned with coriander, garlic and various spices. Kangaroo meat, actually tastes pretty similar to chicken, contrary to my expectation of it being tougher like turkey. Unfortunately, I found the dish way TOO salty, especially the vegetables having too much soy sauce on them. But other than that, it was a surprising dining experience, good to give it a go for something authentic and different for a change!

Swanky Sweden II

Speaking about my IKEA furnished rooms previously, here's a few pictures for illustration. Strangely how something so basic and simple can look so elegant and classy, don't you think?

Even the wash room is spacious and practically designed. You can see the simple curtains for the shower on the mirror image. Somehow everything in Sweden seems to be designed to maximize space without making it look tacky or extremely claustrophobic, especially noticeable in the place we stayed in Stockholm. Apparently Britain may start building "IKEA-villes" in the future to increase home affordability for first time buyers, with houses/apartments furnished with IKEA furnitures and designs to save space. That'd be cool to see :)

Dinner was a stone's throw away from our hotel. Barely 20 seconds walk there (yup, the island is that small). I decided to take my parents and family for a full fine dining experience, not sure why I decided to do that in Sweden, a country with 25% service charge :P (ouch!). But it's well worth the time and money of course as I get comical responses from my parents given its their first time trying out fine dining.

Starters are either Seafood Cocktail with Buttered Toast

or Grilled Scallops with Asparagus Soup. I got my taste of both and I must say the latter is slightly better and more unique as I've never had home made asparagus soup before. It was creamy with tiny bits of asparagus, served in a dainty cup as you see below. The seafood cocktail was light and well dressed with citrusy flavours, matched well with the mini buttered toast. Grilled scallops done to perfection, lightly seasoned and bursting with springy-ness. Yumz!

I had Chargrilled Lamb shoulder with Polenta. I usually like my lamb slightly medium done, still pinkish, hence this fits my palate nicely. I was quite excited to try out Polenta too, which is basically coarse ground cornmeal, forming a thick mush after boiling and lightly salted. To describe the taste, let's just say Polenta is to Italians, what potatoes are to the Brits. I quite like it for a change of scenery after 5 years of potato, but I think I'd still miss my potato mash after a while :P

G had Steak with Mash and Tomato Salsa, I'm sure they'd a nicer name but the menu was in Swedish, hence I'm providing the basic breakdowns, heh. I don't really take beef, but with the lightning speed he ate, I'm sure it's good stuff.

M chose to have Squid Ink Tagliatelle (pronounced tah-lyah-tel-le) with Poached Sea Bream and Asparagus. You all know I'm a super-big-squid-ink ANYTHING fan (well, maybe not a drink on it's own), so I was relieved when M liked my recommendation :)

Think the highlight of the meal wasn't really the taste of the food nor ambiance of the restaurant, but rather the opportunity to be able to gather around as a family over dinner, and more importantly laughing over M's comical expressions of wonder and confusion like "You pay so much for this small amount of food?!". I don't understand much either about the fine dining concept, maybe the price you pay also includes the presentation (BIG plates with SMALL servings), ambiance (candles and yellow lighting etc), and even the expensive rent these restaurants have as they're usually situated at prime locations. I somehow prefer more 'down to earth' cooking, like the ones I had in Portugal, but nevertheless, it's nice to pamper and treat yourself once in a while :)

Swanky Sweden!

Finally managed to get hold of the photos taken from my Stockholm holiday. Thanks to K's Canon SLR, photos (especially the food ones) showed significant improvement in quality! Hope my compromise on getting a Panasonic Lumix TZ2 recently provides an adequate compensation in terms of quality, trading off on it's weight/bulkiness .

Stockholm is a beautiful city by the sea, boasting hundreds of beautiful islands on the archipelago. We spend 5 days in Sweden, with one in Sandhamn, a quaint island just a short ferry ride away from the city. It's my favorite day in Sweden, just because the island is really small and there's not much to do except wine and dine and slacking around, which fits my criteria of a retirement plan :P

There are 3 main accommodation on site, 2 restaurants, a cafe and some grocery stores. That's a tiny island yea? But there are plenty of yachts around that day, as there's a competition going on. We arrived at noon and were instantly mesmerized by the crisp and fresh air, clear blue sky and crystal clear water



Lunch was at Seglar hotel's bistro, the largest hotel at the island (there are only 2 anyway) ...


I had Truffle risotto with grilled vegetables and pesto. It was a large serving, but it was really good that I manage to clean the plate :) The risotto was creamy and fluffy, yet maintained it's bite and not overcooked. The pesto sauce was freshly made, a good match with the lightly salted grilled peppers and even the truffle risotto.

G had beef for starters. Somehow I can't recall what it's called, but it was a roast beef dish served with some grilled vegetables and sausages, in a spicy tomato sauce, if not mistaken. Ain't it pretty?

M had fish for main course, also beautiful presented below. Poached lemon pike in a cream sauce served with vegetables. I really like the way to line up the carrot, beetroot and radish, not chopped up and on top of each other, making something so common and plain special.

And after lunch, all of us just retreated in our IKEA-like furnished hotel and slept for the afternoon... Now that's a real holiday :P

Copper Kettle

The Copper Kettle restaurant at the heart of Cambridge (Kings Parade, just opposite the touristy King's College) serves a pretty good fare from breakfast to dinner. It's a good place to pop by for tea as well, sipping a cuppa with their beautiful array of desserts, cakes and snacks :) I brought my parents and Yan here on their visit to Cam for a try on their Mediterranean food.

Mom had grilled swordfish and aubergine with salad. This was all I could manage to take given the direct sun shine still at 7pm that day.

I on the other hand, was feeling slightly carnivorous that day and craving something meaty and more substantial. This gigantic braised lamb shank was the answer to my prayers :P

I also ordered hummus and pita bread as starters, as my parents have not tried them out before. Despite their curious looks and lack of adventurous spirit, they finally tried it out thanks to our persuasion :) I guess it's difficult to imagine eating mashed chickpeas with tahini sauce and pita bread for the first time!

Inspired by ...

Wagamama

Having been there twice since their branch opened in Cambridge, I think it's value for money especially IF you've the voucher. I'm never a fan of chained restaurants or establishments, but I think it's just that in Cambridge the restaurant scene could do with a bit more competition, and this was a welcomed addition :) A good challenge to the existing Asian noodle bar/Japanese restaurant here as well ...

Anyways, this is my version of their signature dish Ginger chicken Udon. Mine uses normal rather than pickled ginger, and 'mee suah' (fine wheat noodles with a smooth texture, used mainly in soup) instead of udon. Hence, in a way, it's really a Chinese version, rather than Japanese themed. Nevertheless, it was thumbs up! :D

All you need is ginger, chicken (I used breast meat here), spring onion and some shallots. I had some remaining shallots in oil which I lightly saute till crisp, then adding the chicken first, spring onions later to stir fry. Lastly, the boiled noodles were added, with a dash of light soy sauce and it's all done! Lightning 15 minutes from preparation till the end (washing up inclusive). I'm beginning to feel like I'm on Ready, Steady, Cook!

Hope everyone's happy revising and not in denial like me. It's exactly 2 weeks away and I've NEVER felt so clueless before my exam... doesn't look good, does it?

5th week blues aside ...

These are some of the lovely meals I had not too long ago that I forgot to post up...


Unintentional fusion food creation: mini naan with char siew chicken stirfried with onions

And this delicious one of pork and mushroom in white wine sauce with salad and sweet potato mash as sides :)

Man, I am almost knocked out although it's only halfway through term! Shall cheer myself up with cooking all week after raiding the chinese shops with too much food supply :P

By the way, it's Shrove Tuesday today, so happy flippin' those pancakes!

Finito

Finally FINISHED!!! WOOOhooooooooooooooo!

But yea, I'm probably too tired to shout that out :) But feels that way inside. Exam was a killer especially the last paper..... (Maths)... I guess at the rate I complain about how dry Linear Algebra/Calculus/Stats were, they finally took their 'revenge'. I was basically clueless and would be lucky if I get half the marks. Should have drew a smiley face there as a sign of mercy or something. LOL. But anyways, enough bout boring stuff.

It's PARTY time!!! (well temporarily at least) Had a dozen different things I had to sort out right after exams, travelling plans, room, pack, etc etc. Oh and of course play :)

Can't believe 2nd year just breezed past again so quickly, slightly daunting at the thought of being a 3rd year next year, and no more fooling around as the degree finally counts this time. Ah well, I'm such a worry wart, ain't I?

Looking forward to the World Cup games, and staying here for a few months for summer. Haven't seen England all shining, bright and warm like these, it's always been linked to gloomy temperamental weather to me, since I'm always back for summer.

And I missed cooking too or messing about experimenting with foods. Here's what I had a week or 2 before the exams started.

Claypot chicken rice, with typical chinese style vege and gravy. So it's sort of mutated into a different dish, but nice all the same...
And this was what I had when I retaliated and had enough of cereal/toast for breakfast, guess? It's Thai Red chicken curry and vege, with rice noodles. Random concoction, but I felt like something spicy in the morning, and this was the end result :)

Ooooh, so tired, time to take a rest, and enjoy the sun!

Chill out Sundays

Decided to have a change for breakfast and had sweet potato rice (?) instead. Had a yam rice craving, substituted sweet potato for yam as it's hard to find yam over here. Added a few non standard stuff which probably transformed it to a different dish all together, but still nice :) See the piece of egg at the bottom? Was having fun putting the rice in a mould and shaping it, keke (too 'free' on Sundays)

Gave up on Selwyn hall food, as I always seem to go when they serve the weirdest dishes (try Sambal burger), but dont blame them for being adventourous. :) So tried out a new recipe for dinner. It seems to me that teriyaki or some cream sauce is always the standard thing for salmon. This version iswith honey ginger sauce and stir fried spring greens.

Designer Desserts!!!

Health issues aside, don't you sometimes just wonder why on earth people have appetizers and should just replace them with desserts, and have desserts before and after a meal? LOL :D

Okay, maybe that's a little overboard, or rather I'm on sugar high now, but that's just a random thought.

Recently, I attended a college reunion party at a hotel and was served these funky desserts. Tiny, classy and perfectly crafted, that's all you need so you can try a variety without adding a spare tyre to your waist! :)

Check THESE out!

1st Picture:
Clockwise from left:
Chocolate coated strawberries, Hazelnut cheese cake, mini choc cake with strawberry, green tea mousse, pear tart and assorted fruits.

2nd Picture (not too visible)
Front row, left to right:
Lobster bisque in a cup, choc coated strawberries and chocolate stick with caramelized sugar!

The chef must have been a real genius to create miniature versions of desserts, you can imagine that I went a few rounds to just try all of range he has served! Even my first course was desserts, haha :P