Things in Bangkok 1

Big C in Thailand, is one the popular groceries shopping place around. It has bought over Carrefour as you could find similarity between the former there. We were paying a visit to the mall to buy some snacks and beer. I bought this roast pork snack to try, only 22Baht.







But... Only few slices in the pack. The roast pork is very flavorful, good to pair with beer.

In Bangkok, you can find 7-11 everywhere. Their 7-11 is very convenient (compare to Malaysia). There are various type of Bentos, burgers selling in the store. It's a good place to hunt for food when feeling hungry in the midnight.

We had 2 days supper at 7-11 nearby our hotel after Thai massage. The Bentos are worth to try, not bad for something like that selling in 7-11, price range from 20 - 50Baht. Too bad I did not take any pictures of the bentos we had there, none of us brought a camera out to massage place. I spotted a 3-in-1 espresso and bought back to try. Its cost around 30-40Baht, 5 sticks in a pack.



The brand is Khao Shong Coffee, the coffee aroma is not as fine as I expected, mild taste and not very sweet(which is good).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friggingly overpriced banana muffins

Anyone in Australia would feel the same way I do, when bananas are no longer our perfect fibre source. With that, there is no way I would spend an average of AUD$10 per kg on bananas. I *hearts* my free bananas.

I dislike seeing kids wasting their overpriced bananas as they merely take a bite of it and having the rest in the bin. Having said that, I see it happening almost everyday.

Recipe (9 muffins)
2 bananas (if its not way expensive, 3 bananas would possibly be better)
1/2 cup of sugar or slightly lesser
1 tbsp olive oil spread (butter, margarine, etc)
1/2 egg, beaten
2/3 self raising flour, sifted
1/3 almond meal
pinch of salt
handful of walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Beat eggs and bananas. Add other ingredients and mix well.
3. Fill muffin tray till 3/4 full and bake for 20 minutes.
I baked it for 15 minutes before turning it off, and then keeping them in the warm oven for another 5 mins.

They really aren't the prettiest muffins, I have to say and vanilla extract would also make the muffins more flavoursome. They tend to be a bit too sweet for my liking, but I still enjoyed it.

I actually love it more when its cold, straight out from the fridge. Having said that, I made these muffins as snacks on the go. I think I like it best because I have been deprived of bananas.

*wails* When will bananas prices go down like it used to?

Winter fav

A month of winter is almost over, and I have to say we have been enjoying some beautiful weather over the weekend.

An overdue post this is, because I made it during one of those cold wintery weekends. Taken from the Women's Weekly Winter favourites, this recipe of a hearty bacon, lentil and vegie soup has led me to appreciate lentils further.

Recipe (serves 4)
2 tbsps olive oil
1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
4 bacon rashers, finely diced
2 sticks celery, chopped coarsely
2 medium carrots, chopped coarsely (I used 3)
1 cup of red lentils
4 cups of chicken stock
salt and pepper

1. Heat oil in large saucepan, cook onion, bacon, celery and carrots over high heat till softened.
2. Add lentils, then stock, bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes or until vegies and lentils are soft.
3. Serve with bread (toast!)

Love this easy quick soup. Its hearty and enjoyable, suitable to freeze and microwave. Perfect for me for work, and for the days where I just want to bum around. =)

Big 5

It's my little girl's BIG 5! And the huge balloon justifies the BIG number, it is even bigger than her in size. When you're 5, you go to BIG school you do huge proper excursions and do heaps of exciting fun things. *hurray* We had dinner at the Colonist Tavern Funky Bar and Restaurant. 5 years of age and she had an awesome surprise birthday party @ a bar?!

*missing food pictures due to my self consciousness*

Menu for the awesome night
Home Made Dukkah
intense your palate with home made dukkah, candied Coonawarra merlot vinegar + Limestone Coast extra virgin olive oil, served with oven baked bread
I love this to the max! Warm oven baked bread dipped in vinegar, then olive oil with the awesome mixture of herbs and spices in the dukkah.

Chicken Schnitzel
tenderised chicken breast coated in chunky crumbs
Little girl's dish*

Vego Burger

portobello mushroom + chickpea pattie served with Adelaide Hills cos, tasty cheese, fresh tomato + a free range egg, finished with eggplant kasaundi in a warm roll with chips
I expected a huge portobello mushroom, and a chickpea pattie rather than a mixture of portabello mushroom and chickpea mushroom. I was craving for a burger *thanks to Jin and Masterchef too* but this burger was so huge I could not fit it in my mouth. So the dainty side of me deconstructed this burger. Eggplant kasaundi was delicious =)

Angus Scotch Sanga

char-grilled Angus scotch served with red onion jam, wild rocket + tasty cheese between grilled rustic bread, finished with tomato chutney + chips

Grilled Halloumi + Asparagus Salad

pan-fried Halloumi served with pickled beetroot, char-grilled asparagus, rocket, toasted pinenuts, preserved orange, gremolata + blood orange oil

Barossa Valley Free Range Chicken Salad with Pancetta + Preserved Lemon
free range chicken breast lightly marinated in herb olive oil, grilled + presented with warm roasted pumpkin, chickpeas, Danish feta,grilled pancetta, wild rocket, shavings of preserved lemon + basil pesto
Not sure how the rest of the dishes tasted but the grilled halloumi was absolutely presentable. Beautiful, standing tall and proud in presentation.

Chocolate cupcakes from American Candy Stand/ Cupcake Cafe

I never liked the icing because I found it too sweet. Almost any cupcake have the sweetest icings, sugar sugar sugar. The surprising thing about this surprise: the little girl previously loved their chocolate cupcakes to the max but decided to say "I don't like the chocolate cupcakes" and gave someone else a bonus cupcake!

Whats even better, we have a 'personalised' goodie bag each to take home. M for Mich =)

Colonist Tavern

44 The Parade

Norwood SA 5067

American Candy Stand

Shop 6/224 The Parade

Norwood SA 5067

note: Details are taken from Colonials website www.colonist.com.au and an image from google to justify their funky design.

Mex bacon enchiladas, my way =)

Have been debating (or more accurately contemplating) on recipes to make during the long weekend, to be more productive instead of bumming around. From baking cupcakes or muffins to pasta dishes, I settled with bacon enchiladas. The main reason being I have most of the ingredients (or substitute) without spending more money.

My recipe (which is not truly authentic enchiladas) makes 4 wraps
4 multigrain tortilla wraps
Half an onion
Diced bacon
Baked beans (specifically SPC hot chilli ones for the spiciness)
Grated carrot (doesn't exist in authentic recipes)
Grated cheese (used vintage buttt... I'm sure tasty works better)
Sliced lettuce
Mild peri peri sauce (my extra ingredient!)

1. Preheat wraps in the oven (180C). Authentic enchilada makers encourage wraps to be dipped in sauce individually before using them as wraps.
2. Fry off onions and bacon bits.
3. Drain liquid from baked beans and reserve them. Mix the baked beans into pan.
4. Add peri peri sauce and grated carrot.
5. Lay sliced lettuce on base, before topping with filling and rolling it.
6. Layer the baking dish with reserved sauce and assemble the rolls on it.
6. Cover the tortilla rolls with remaining sauce and cheese.
7. Place dish in the preheated oven, and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

I definitely needed more sauce and possibly cheese on it. However, I am so conscious with my intake of cheese I stopped myself.

I've seasoned it further with slight mixed herbs and pepper before eating. And... I totally love it, I had to take another one from my packed lunches to enjoy.

As you can tell, sliced lettuce or carrots are normally served as salad sides but I've decided to put them into the wraps for work lunches convenience. Having said that, I will still be making a small salad to go along with these enchiladas.

A new label for the blog: Frugal recipes. Then again, some might debate my recipes aren't exactly frugal but they are definitely still cheap eats.

My thing to do

during the long weekends... other people like spending them more productively, but I just love bumming around =) My absolute favourite past time.

We were totally slack since thurs when the bosses were away. At the same time, I was way excited over this chocolate mud cake (with maltesers!) to celebrate a colleague's birthday. Birthdays are the perfect excuse to enjoy a piece of cake- and a very sinful one too! It was not too rich with a decent ganache, and maltesers (again!) A chef friend of mine has also told me they have the best curry chicken puff which is totally up to Malaysians standard.

Duffy's Bakery
Shop 5 Norwood Mall
166 The Parade, Norwood SA

With my ''bumming'' personality, I also need the perfectly quick lunch to satisfy my bolognese craving. It is absolutely the easiest sauce to make with must-have items in most pantries; diced tomatoes, four beans mix, fettucine (or any other pasta), mixed herbs. Slice another half onion, two celery sticks, with sliced chicken breast / ham... ta-da, two decent portions of fettucine bolognese and extra sauce for an emergency lunch. note: salt and pepper to taste

 

And... snacks to go with bumming around in front of the computer screen and loads of series. I finally had a chance to taste Red Rock's new flavour Grilled Chorizo and Caramelised Onion. Finally it was on sales and on the shelves of Coles.  (personally, Hurray!) I love chorizos despite them having the highest content of fat in sausages. Having said that, I thought it lacked the chorizo flavour despite having that slight spicy flavour. note: image from the distributors Brisbane

One more day to bum around, Hurray!

Cakes or Patties or Bakes

They have many names for this dish. I can't decide which- but I have been discussing this with Jin as patties. There are a gazillionth recipes for these patties on google and I am going to be one of them out there!

So here we are Tuna Patties.

My random recipe is:
2 x 95g Tuna in springwater
1 egg
3 tbsp of almond meal
onion (half)
sweet potato (half)
mixed herbs, salt and pepper to taste

I think that was it. I honestly do not remember. Do anything you like, it is the beauty of tuna patties. Its a cheap meal and most things go with it.
This makes about 4-5 really decent portions.

Had a little mould to shape the tuna patties, as they are nicely wrapped to go into the freezer. They were a bit 'wet' for my liking, and there are two ways to amend it; either more almond meal or draining tuna completely (it means squeezing out the water in the tuna chunks).

Started Monday's lunch box by panfrying the patty. Its a cold lunch box: patty on some lettuce leaves, steamed broccoli and carrot sticks, as well as a mandarin. Fruits that cannot fit in box, but fits perfectly in my new lunchbag are my packham pear and kiwi.

For tomorrow's lunchbox (Tuesday, that is) I've baked the tuna patty. Its buried under the stirfry vegies. Mashed sweet potato and steamed broccoli in the other little box! Warm/ Hot lunch box, this shall be! Fruits that cannot fit in box (again!) are apple and kiwi.

Wonder how long I can keep up with this act of making my lunchbox decent and then, displaying them here =)

Desperado

2 weeks ago, I was desperate to whip something from scratch in the kitchen. Having said that, I can live so ''frugally" I have a minimalist pantry.

All I have in this bowl is eggs and flour. Wonder what it will lead to?

It is getting more colourful! Carrots are forever in my fridge.

Viola ! Its 'jeon', I can't really call it 'Pa Jeon' because I do not have green onions/scallions in it (essentially the pa) In case you are wondering, 'Jeon' is a korean pancake.

I had to just put this picture up because it shows the crispy bit at the end. It took me three tries to get this crispiness, and it is still not thin enough. I really need to ask the koreans how they could get their batter so thinly on the pan.

It should have been a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar for the dipping sauce, however all I did was just korean chilli powder in our chinese red vinegar. I really needed to use up the red vinegar.

Full recipe (I did half)
600-700g zucchini (used a medium zucchini)
2 tsp salt
2 carrrots, grated
onion (not added in this attempt)
2 cups plain flour (used glutenfree flour)
2 large eggs
2-3 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste (essential!!!)

1. Top and tail zucchini, toss with salt and leave it aside for 30 minutes to soften and allow liquid to drain out.
2. Beat eggs lightly to combine.
3. Add flour and whisk till thoroughly incorporated, whisk well after each cup (reach consistency of this pancake but not watery)
4. Add zucchini and mix in. Grate onion, carrot and stir till well combined.
5. Fry in little oil over low heat.

I wouldn't say they are quick fix because I am an absolute amateur in this. They are however good as a side dish in my lunchbox.

Arigato gozaimasu!

This was such a surprise. A colleague of mine came back from Japan with souvenirs and she gave me this box of chocolates from Kobe.

Each piece is individually wrapped, which is brilliant! I can now ensure I ration my chocolate intake.

Even though I am not a fan of coffee, this coffee-flavoured, chocolate-coated wafer does not have an overpowering coffee taste, which suits me just fine.

It isn’t overly sweet, but it does not have that creamy texture that you expect chocolates to have, though. However, it still serves as a snack, especially when you crave for something sweet after dinner.

Arigato! ^_^