X'MAS DINNER 2011

X'mas was celebrated with dinner cooked by my eldest girl with dessert, a pear tart baked by 2nd daughter.  All my DH and me had to do was to sit down and enjoyed the meal.

Beet root apple and spinach salad to start off the meal.

Coq au vin (chicken stew in red wine) adopted from the recipe by Nigel Slater.  The chicken meat was infused with the aroma of wine and paired beautifully with mashed potatoes.

Desserts to satisfy our sweet tooth.

A pear tart with pears stewed in sugar syrup and baked in sweet dough base of frangipani filling.

Plain glutinous balls paired with azuka red beans and matcha ice-cream.

X'MAS 2011

Wishing 

You

A

Merry

X ' M A S

JONES II

Cannot get enough of Jones The Grocer the first time so we went again

Great festive ambience to dine in

Mushroom goat cheese pie with side salad.  The cheese complements the mushroom flavour perfectly.

Chicken saute in olive oil with vegetables

Lemon meringue tart, tangy and sweet to balance the heavy meal

Chestnut cheesecake

Ordinary tiramisu

FESTIVES

Festive air with X'mas decos everywhere.

OSTHAMUS JELLY （桂 花 糕）

Osmanthus is one of China's top ten traditional flowers.  It has a medicinal value and since ancient times has been a widely used food ingredients.

My daughter managed to bring back a bottle of syrupy osmanthus from Hong Kong, which I used to make agar agar with.  The fragrance of the flowers is intoxicating and it spread out like golden flecks when spooned into the ready to set jelly mixture.  For a colorful presentation I added in wolfberry seeds.

MEI HEONG YUEN （味 香 园）

We adjourned for dessert after frog porridge dinner.  Across the street in Temple Street is a popular Chinese dessert shop where the queue never ends and seats are hard to get during weekends.  Besides selling dessert they are also famous for their FARMER BRAND peanuts which is popular with both local and tourists.  The peanuts are recognized for its excellent quality in freshness and flavor.

A large poster depicting ingredients in making the various desserts which are nourishing to the body, moderate body temperature, quench thirst and regulate digestive system.

Clockwise : Walnut paste （核 桃 糊）,  Peanut paste （花 生 糊）,  Almond paste （杏 仁 糊）
Thick and creamy, soothing to the throat

Sweet and sourish mango with pamelo and sago （杨 枝 甘 露）

Berry & passion snow ice - Fluffy and cooling


65-67 Temple Street
Chinatown

CLAYPOT FROG PORRIDGE

Great Wall frog porridge in Chinatown is well-known and popular. The place is always crowded and parking is a hassle as all parking space is always full.

We like to find a seat along the pavement which feels that you are in the 60s era where food were sold along the road side.

The porridge is served in claypot, steaming hot with thick slices of ginger and spring onions.  The frogs tasted fresh and springy with thick flesh.

Sampan porridge is full of ingredients : fresh cuttlefish, pig intestines, liver, pork slices and century eggs.

Claypot livers are tender coated with thick brown gravy and spicy from the dried chillies.

Porridge cannot go without raw fish.  Super fresh with lots of fresh ginger, lime juice, soya sauce and sesame oil.

XIAN CAO （仙 草）

Chin chow, a popular dessert made from herbaceous plant, is eaten in jelly form or drink as a beverage, especially in hot weather.  Of all the chin chow I have tasted the stall at Bukit Timah Beauty World food centre is still the best, although it cannot compare with home-made ones.

The jelly in thick streak serves in brown sugar syrup and ice cubes emits a nice pandan leave fragrance.

BIRTHDAY THAI

Celebrated birthday of a family member in Than Ying Thai Restaurant in Hotel Amara.  The place was cooled and quiet during weekday.

Fresh orchids in glasses were used as table deco.  The orchids gave out a sense of leisure and freshness.

Mango salad was addictive

Side order of deep fried fish skin.  Good exercise for the jaw.

Part of ordered dishes

Get started with tom yam soup

Fiery hot red curry

Cool green curry

Pad Thai on a sweet side

Crispy chicken wing a perfect complement to pineapple rice

Great sauce for the chicken wings

End with glutinous balls in coconut milk with fresh fruits