d'liteful cravings

Follow Your Cravings

2011-10-12T06:24:00.001+04:00

Hi all, as you can see, this blog has gone downhill... it was purely my own mistake, I accidentally deleted my entire photo album and it would take months to redo them all so I decided not to save this website. BUT a few months ago, I did try out with wordpress and I'm so glad I did because I successfully exported my entire blog to my new Wordpress site which is:

http://dlitefulcravings.wordpress.com/

So it's all there, check me out, like me, follow me, I'll be updating my blog more often now.

Thanks for your support!!

Wild Ginger ICONIC at Deira City Centre

2011-02-06T17:23:00.000+04:00

This was actually our second visit to Wild Ginger – before we found out about UAE Food Explorer – and it has changed since we were there about 2 months ago. Tucked inside ICONIC at Deira City Centre, this little gem was a joy to discover! The layout, environment, the view was just spectacular. The light and airy feel of the urban cafe feel was one that attracted us and of course the fact that we could have a meal after alot of walking and shopping within ICONIC is another tick in the box! They served Pan Asian, which includes Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese.

Several changes to the place were the layout of the restaurant/cafe and the menu. The menu was a tick box menu much like Noodle House and Ping Pong, but now it’s changed to the normal menus, in a booklet style. We were greeted with a chalk board at the entrance of the walkway with the specials of the day which wet our appetite as we walked in.

The specials for the day was sizzling beef hotplate, beef siew mai, beef dumpling and one other dish that I cannot recall. We were greeted by a lovely waitress who explained the cuisine and led us to our table. Within seconds, a waiter came to take our order for drinks which we haven’t even made yet but decided to settle for the first hot drink on the menu which was green tea. We were presented with little cute Japanese teapots and cups with real green tea leaves soaking in the pot rather than out of a teabag. We were very impressed as the tea was thick and cloudy and authentic. However, there wasn’t much water which made the tea taste like fresh seaweed juice! We asked for the teapots to be changed and more hot water added which they gladly obliged.

For starters, we ordered one plate each of the beef siew mai and beef dumpling. They were gorgeous! Juicy on the inside, firm on the outside, warm to the mouth. The dumplings were big, fat and meaty – suffice to say, when we finished them, we ordered 2 more plates!

For our mains, we ordered the Som Tam (green papaya salad) with the dressing on the side, Tori Don and Wild Ginger Fried Rice. The green papaya salad was absolutely fantastic, fresh, delicious, light and crunchy! I could eat several more servings of the salad! The portion was nice for the price (dhs18). The Tori Don was basically Chicken Katsu Kari with steamed rice and Japanese salad however the description was Deep Fried Chicken with Sauteed Vegetables and a side of Japanese Salad. The Wild Ginger Fried Rice was fried rice with fried egg, seafood and chicken pieces.

All in all, the meal was lovely and everything was nice and freshly made. We enjoyed it, although the portions were smaller than expected. The beef siew mai and dumplings and the Som Tam were the highlight of the meal – we would definitely go back again for them! The experience, ambience, customer service were good and for the price. The location was definitely a plus after a good shop around Deira City Centre, away from the hussle and bussle of the mall.

Me Myself and I

2011-02-06T14:27:00.001+04:00

I was due a good massage for ages now, with the 10hrs spent in the kitchen baking Chinese New Year cookies, my husband made a booking for me at Jasmine Spa at the Grand Millennium Hotel for me, for a 90min Sweedish massage. I was really looking forward to it as my body was just aching and crying out for a good massaged. I was literaly bending over at the end of the day. This would be the 3rd time since being in Dubai that I had a massage at Jasmine Spa and with its close proximity, it was easy to get to.

But I definitely spoke too soon as it was that week when we had the sand storm and it was not an enjoyable walk at all. I had dust in my hair, eyes, mouth, EVERYWHERE! I didn't feel fabulous walking there and it was just as bad walking back. The massage oil made easy access for the dust to stick on my skin which wasn't very nice! Anyway... back to the experience, aside from the lovely massage, I really enjoy the relaxation room where they had 3 lounge chairs, the lighting was yellow and dim which made it really easy to fall asleep and relax. I was offered a cup of green tea and there were magazines for me to read too. I spent a total of 5hours there from my 1 hour steam room session, 90min massage session and the rest of it changing, cleaning, showering and relaxing! What a lovely day. I didn't want to leave the place at all! Shall I suggest to my husband that we should make the Grand Millennium our next move to stay? ;)

A few random shots of my day out during the week - this one was a green tea moment at Kino Cafe with a few foodie books (I cannot get enough)! apple, water and an amazing view of the Burj Khalifa, Old Town, Souk Al Bahar and the fountain! My other favourite place to lounge after my exhaustive day walking Dubai Mall!

This little cutie was found on a walk along JBR, the shop was called Moda which sold the most quirkiest furnitures, homeware and kitchenware. It was so cute I couldn't resist sneaking a picture of it.

Well, back to the now, yesterday I decided to finally drag myself down to Al Safa Park to take a look for myself this notorious Flea Market. I've always wanted to go but have procrastinated for over a year now. Making my way to the Mall of Emirates, I decided to stay on the metro and head down to Al Safa Park purely because the day was so nice, I decided to opt for a walk outdoors. My stop was Business Bay in which I walked back on Sheik Zayed Road which took me about 10min to get from that station to Al Safa Park. By that time it was around 11am and the place was packed with people coming and going. I was really looking forward to this trip and was so glad I took it although I was dressed for the mall, I was perspiring a tad bit. That aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the walk.

I noticed that the footpath along the perimeter of the park was soft and remembered that it was specifically done that way for runners. The mature trees along the footpath created shading for the runners as well which was well thought of, especially for hardcore runners during the hotter seasons.

Arriving at Gate 5, there were a few people hanging around, some were packing to leave, some were packing to sell. It costs aed3 to get into the park, not too bad considering the park was very well kept and manicured with BBQ facilities and other facilities kept well and clean.

As I walked along the pathway towards the hoards of stall and people, I was really looking forward to what gems and goodies I could find. There were alot of people, picnic goers of families and friends, bbq's flaring left and right with intoxicating smells wafting through the air. I was surprised I didn't end up introducing myself to the nearest bbq stand and digging into a couple of sausages and steaks!

Anyway, on I went, eyeing the entire layout and planned my walking path to make sure I saw everything the market had to offer. Suffice to say, it offered all sorts, mostly 2nd hand goods, all kinds and all sorts of people were selling their goods. From soft toys to shoes, slippers, bags, clothes (think I saw some underwear in there too), accessories, makeup, books, dvds, cds, etc. I browsed through but came out with nothing as some were either too expensive or just too old and tacky for me.

I was spent after all that, I went around twice to make sure I really didn't find anything I wanted and walked away at around 11.30am. It was a good experience, but I wouldn't go back again. But if I was wanting to sell my goods, this would be a good place to do it hoping that there won't be people like me who are too picky and choosy! I say the dvds, books and cds are the best bet to get from a place like this but then again you have to be careful as what the contents are. Most of them look legit anyway so it should be ok.

After my trip back to the metro station, I stopped by Mall of Emirates for some R&R and a good cuppa. I decided to try out a new Starbucks that replaced Le Pain Quotident when it moved to fashion avenue a few months ago. What brought me to it was the "blackness" of the place, almost professional business like Starbucks unlike the casual laid back "green" Starbucks it's well known for.

You've heard of Hugo Boss Green? Orange and Black? This is the same concept for me, I called it Starbucks Black purely because of the black colour sign and the dim, urban, sophisticated and stylish outfitting of the cafe. I like it! It is definitely very me. Thinking that it would be filled with a 'certain' type of people, business suits, etc, it wasn't at all. Far from it, it was my place to be. It was a very sophisticated place, the layout of the cafe was quaint and stylish, just right for any type of stylistas, fashionistas,ladies who lunch and of course good enough for suits! It was packed when I walked in, all the comfy chairs were taken, only the wooden tables were available so I decided to order a large Latte to take away. As I waited for my coffee to arrive, the place cleared out abit and I was lucky to claim a lovely corner 2seater table which I could snuggle into.

The chair was so big that I could bring my legs up and fold them and settled down pretty well and quickly. I managed to get The National newspaper (with my favourite m-magazine) and enjoyed my time. I quickly made myself comfortable and enjoyed my large coffee for the longest time. Dreading when the feeling came, I had to finally get myself up, packed and headed to the nearest toilet! :( Wasn't happy that I had to leave my comfy chair knowing that someone else will take it as soon as I walked out!

But I love the place. It will be my to-go place now when I get bored, just need to be out and surrounded by noise, movement, people and slow buzz. I just love the ambience, the layout, the dim yellow lights, the sophisticated and stylish feel of the cafe (aside from several screaming, jumping and kids running everywhere), the modern and abstract paintings and hangings on the wall and the lovely staff. I still enjoy Costas and St Moritz but for a change, Starbucks Black is my Starbucks to head to for abit of me myself and I time.

Gong Xi Fatt Chai 2011 Year of the Rabbit

2011-02-06T13:48:00.000+04:00

Gong Xi Fatt Chai! One thing I love about Chinese New Year (CNY) is that it's celebrated for 3 weeks and 1 day! It's a great excuse to enjoy food, family and festivities. I've been planning for CNY 1 month beforehand to make sure that I get my recipes, my traditional dishes and cookies down to the dot. I love discussing CNY with my mom because I want to keep the tradition going eventhough I'm so far away.

This was my list for CNY eve dinner which is where we celebrate a big meal together as a family. The meal is very extravagant because it is tradition to have left overs for the next few days so that you don't have to cook and enjoy the new year. Also this is a tradition to ensure that you have food brought over from the past year into the new year, so you won't go hungry. That is why we make sure we cook every meat, fish, veg as well as noodles for longevity and good life (I think)!

Chinese New Year Baking

First up is the baking section! I had a day off the gym on Monday so I decided to get my baking out of the way to prepare for dinner on Wednesday night. On the list were:

Peanut Cookies

Almond Cookies

Sugee Cookies

Red Bean Puffs

Sago RedBean Coconut Balls

I started preparing the red bean first, boiled 2 cups of red beans, 1 cup of caster sugar then in the processor to blend the red bean till smooth. Then just set aside to cool for the red bean puffs and sago balls. Next up was the dessicated coconut with melted brown sugar, mixed together and set aside.

First up were the base cookie which was the Sugee cookies that I used. I made 4 batches of the Sugee Cookie mixture (per portion) which consists of:

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cornflour

250g butter

1 cup icing sugar

These little lovelies were moulded into balls, then baked for 20min which could double up as Shortbread Cookies really. With the 2nd batch for the almond cookies, I added in:

1 cup of ground almonds

2 tbsp almond essence

1 cup of canola oil

1 egg (for eggwash at the top)

So all you need to do was to mix it all in, combine well and mould into a ball. Lightly wash the top of each cookie with the egg mix and into the oven it goes for 20min.

Next up is the red bean puff. So, use the 3rd portion of the sugee cookie mixture, roll it out flat, cut with a round cookie cutter and mould. You could do alot of different types of shapes and sizes, its up to you. Very simple.

And finally, with the 4th portion, I made the peanut cookies. To the sugee cookie mixture, I added in 250g of peanut butter, 2 cups of grounded peanuts or if you like it peanut-ier, you can add more. A pinch of salt and egg wash on top with a whole peanut for decoration. Into the oven for another 20min till golden brown! Easy as that.

Next up were the sago red bean coconut balls which were quite tricky. I had a few hits and misses as I went about trying to shape it but finally came around to a technique. With all the ingredients prepared and made infront of me, putting them together was easy.

Firstly, cook the sago with water until translucent which means it's cooked. Place the caramelised coconut and red bean paste together and some more dessicated coconut for coating.

Use a teaspoon to scoop the sago paste, flatten it and coat with dessicated coconut for easy handling. The sago paste is very sticky.
Place some caramelised coconut and red bean paste in the middle.
Stretch out the sago gently and pinch the sides together to form a ball shape.

This is how it looked like when cut in half. Just be aware to eat it asap otherwise the sago will go hard. If it does, all you need to do is to steam the balls again for 10min or so and then eat. It's nice warm or cold. Either way, it's going fast! :)

The entire baking session took me 10hrs from start to finish! I was in the kitchen from 11am - 9pm slaving over these goodies. I do enjoy it but I think I was abit over ambitious with them. In my head, it was easier and faster than it actually was! I've learnt for next year!!! I managed dinner in between there somewhere, not having time to cook, my husband had to get takeaway SUMO Bento for dinner. I enjoyed UMI Sashimi (salmon, tuna and snapper sashimi) and my husband had Chicken Kari Katsu. It was lovely!

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner

Well, as you saw my menu at the top, I had alot on my plate for Wednesday. First up were the Tea Eggs. Mom mentioned them on our daily chats and inspired me to try making them. It was my first try and I was looking forward to the challenge and especially the result having seen so many beautiful pictures online.

So, I hard boiled 2 eggs first, took them out and made cracks on the shell. This will make the lovely lines that you see on the traditional tea eggs. In the same water which boiled the eggs, I placed in 2 black tea bags, 5 star anise, 2 small sticks of cinnamon and 1/2 cup soy sauce. Bring the water back to boiling point and place the cracked eggs back into the liquid. Make sure the eggs are fully submerged in the water otherwise top it up. They were boiled for 2hours and then left to soak for another 3hours.

Next up was the wonton preparation. I found some lovely wonton skin in Lulu's, a nice big pack for aed19. I only used half the pack, the other half will be wontons for another day! We just love wontons, don't know why I don't make them more often! Ah right, it's the work involved... that's why! ;)

So mix together

500g mince pork

3 medium carrots, diced

2 eggs

1 can chestnuts, diced

fresh coriander and spring onions, chopped

soy sauce

sesame oil

pepper

Mix well and then place into the wonton skins, fold together by wetting the edges with water (or egg) and pressing the skin together to stick. I also wrapped the lovely fresh super large prawns we got from Lulu's with wonton skin.

Overall, the chopping, cooking, frying, wrapping and stirfrying took me from 9am to 7pm when we finally sat down and ate. I started preparing the meal by about 6.30pm, putting things together and placing them on the dining table for the start of our chow down session!

First up were the tea eggs. I was really looking forward to cracking open these little puppies, with fingers and toes crossed, hoping that the webbed stain would form on the eggs much like the lovely pictures online and sure enough it did! I was so happy with the outcome, but mostly the stain on the shell itself! Haha, it was darker than the egg but oh well, nevermind. They looked so beautiful and they tasted great too. They were abit lighter, not too salty as I didn't add in salt to the liquid, thinking that the soy sauce would be good enough. But do add some more salt into the liquid or some strong soy sauce for added taste!

TA-DA! The meal! We have deep fried king prawns, steamed wontons, stewed pork with black mushrooms and roasted sweet potatoes, topped with fresh coriander and spring onions, mixed vegetables consisted of fried tofu, baby corn, button and black mushrooms, torn white cabbage, onions and fresh chopped coriander and spring onions and the tea eggs.

And the meal would not be complete without a bowl of Thai bird's eye chilli in soy sauce. I don't know if you noticed but I didn't have time to do the salmon or the noodles. Again, I was abit over ambitious, not having enough time and not wanting to stress myself I decided not to cook them but do a noodle and fish dish one of these days, like I said, CNY is celebrated over 3 weeks. Speaking of which, there's a special meal for the 7th day and the last day of CNY I think. Have to ask mom about it! I do realise that I didn't make the traditional Yee Sang for the 1st day but I don't dare prepare raw fish myself. Should have gotten some from SUMO bento huh? Nevermind... we are still enjoying the food till today. I say I prepare far too much for just the 2 of us, but CNY always brings back memories from my mom and grandma and here I am wanting to make sure that I cook everything they cooked for me back then and also wanting to try abit of everything! What a great meal! What shall I do for the rest of the festivities?!

Our First Homemade Arabic Dinner

2011-01-27T15:15:00.001+04:00

Woo Hoo... I finally manage to get around to cooking an Arabic dinner for us! Oh, but how embarrassing after being here for so long now that it took me so long to get my head around to this. But, it isn't all my fault - I was waiting for Suzanne Husseini's cookbook to come out to give me a push to make a homecooked Arabic meal. Flicking through the book once I got it from the book launch at Bloomingdale's I was hooked and inspired by the ingredients used. They were all pure, fresh, wholesome and healthy! Why oh why did I wait so long? But now I'm hooked. As previously blogged (to my husband's absolute dismay) I have since started collecting several more Middle Eastern cookbooks... um, dare I say how many more? I think not, to save my own skin.

Observing the fridge and larder, I found a few ingredients lying around and looked through her book to create 2 dishes and lo and behold, I found them.

Moussaq'aa and Chicken Shawarma

The main ingredients being a chickpea and tomato stew, roasted aubergines and chicken with loads of lovely gorgeous spices, herbs and lemon juice. Utterly utterly gorgeous. The combination of spices were questionable as there were about 7 of them but hands down, the shawarma is now my favourite chicken dish to make now and forever more AMEN!

Put them all together, roasted aubergine topped and stuffed with chickpea and tomato stew and chicken shawarma on the side. You could add fresh salad or some lebanese bread at the side, it's up to your preference. You could even have some rice? Mix and match but we had it as it is.

My experiment for this new year is to try all Arabic food from all the cookbooks that I bought and if and when permitted and available, a little homegrown Chinese Malaysian twist to it dare I say, but only ever so slightly. I just have to make sure that they don't clash or overpower each other. I love my fresh herbs, spices and what nots so I am open to all types of food. Love it love it love it. Thumbs up from my husband as well who enjoyed it and wiped his plate clean within minutes. Probably also helped that he was hungry when he got home from work! ;) But kudos to him to widening his palette and willing to try new things!

Oh How I Miss Thee Ms Popiah

2011-01-27T14:59:00.000+04:00

Ah popiah, popiah, popiah, how I miss thee so! After being in Dubai for almost 2 years now and haven't been back to Asia since, I've always craved for popiah. Having postponed making this dish for too long now (eversince dear mom sent me Chinese sausages), I finally got around to making it and absolutely loved it! Even my husband was in for the enjoyment and experience as this would be his first time having it. Popiah is basically the Malaysian/Nyonya version of wrapped fresh vegetable spring roll. The popiah has a special popiah skin but can't be found here so I substituted with Vietnamese Rice Paper and Lebanese Bread, or you can even use tortilla, just whatever wrapping you like. Considering Chinese New Year's around the corner, this is a great start to the festive season.

Introducing the fabulous fantastic ingredients, first down the red carpet;

Chinese Pork Sausages and Pork & Liver Sausages (steamed)

Fried Eggs (rolled and sliced)

Stir Fry Turnip, Carrots (both julienne) with lots of fresh coriander and spring onions

Onions and Garlic (fried till caramelised and crispy) - use scallions for crispier, fragrant onions

Ta-Da, this is the layout of the table, all the above including tauge (beansprouts), rice paper, hoisin, plum, chilli sauces on the side. What's missing was peanut sprinkles at the top... think that was all that was missing.

Lets Wrap n Roll...

This is the rice paper version (dip the rice paper in some hot water till soft)

Another version is the lebanese bread version which worked really well, turned out like a Chinese Tortilla Wrap!

The next day we had some left over turnip stirfry so we had it with fried salmon and onion stirfry noodles. Yummylicious I have to say so myself.

No more postponing, or procrastinating in the new year, I thought popiah would take ages to prepare but it really didn't. The only thing that took a while was the julienne turnip and carrots but just for the 2 of us, it didn't take long to do. I absolutely loved the sausages, haven't had it for ageeesssssss... but I couldn't stop eating it! Mom, send some more please... Did I say that I love you and you're the bestest mummy in the whole wide world? ;)

I'm slowly making my CNY menu for eve dinner and bakings too... have you got yours organised? Do tell, do tell.

Dinner at Seville's WAFI and the Weekend

2011-01-24T12:55:00.000+04:00

I decided to head to Deira City Centre on the first day of the Dubai Sales Festival, wanting to get the best deals from Magrudy's 35% sale on everything. I'm such a bookworm, trust me - our home is filled with books, magazines, etc as I am a collector of beautifully designed printed materials of all forms to my husband's dismay. Lets just say our home can be described as "Living With Books".

I picked up a few more Arabic/Middle Eastern cookbooks ever since I got my hands on Suzanne Husseini's cookbook as for my new 2011 resolution is to use more local produce and eat local cuisine infused with my heritage cuisine. There are a number of posts, news and PR out there regarding organic farming, organic produce, eating locally, eating ethically by reducing carbon footprints in any way possible. A new pickup can be seen in the 2nd picture below! ;) The Arabian Nights Cookbook by Habeeb Salloum.

After a lovely morning browse at Magrudys, I headed over and around Deira City Centre but didn't get anything else as I just didn't need anything. My wardrobe is bursting at the hinges!! Shocking statement as I am much a fashionista, I think my priorities have changed, I spend majority of my moolah on books instead of clothes and shoes nowadays and of course, food and still on the look out for good coffee.

While walking back towards the metro, I decided to stop over at Costa Coffee which was located at such a good private spot, a set of comfy couches by the window with a gorgeous view with the sun rays coming through. I ordered a big cuppa and was tickled by what I see advertised about, Flat White - the new item on their coffee menu! Welcome to the 21st century? You're a century behind the rest of the world??? Good to see that it's here though, although through my extensive knowledge of coffee *ahem*, what pray tell is the difference between a latte and a flat white? I have no clue. Anyone care to enlighten me?

I just want to comment a bit more on Arabic Cuisine, when I browsed through Suzanne's book, I was happy to see that all the ingredients and food are made without extra sauces, preservatives, where they are all whole and fresh, using local ingredients and way of life. It is all so enlightening as now my fascination for Arabic, Middle Eastern food for that matter, has increased resulting in more purchasing of cookbooks. I will happily enough tryout more local food by home cooking using local ingredients (hopefully lighter on the monthly food shopping bill?) as well as eating out and looking out for the best local down to earth good old fashion creole Arabic street food places. Keen to try out Zaroob, alot of hype about it...Now I just have to convince my husband to explore his palette!

I sat down with the sunshine, cookbooks and wordsearch puzzle as my date, I sat down and enjoyed some down time for about 2.5hrs. Time sure flies when you're enjoying yourself and relaxing. Wish time would stand still for good times.

I then made my way to Wafi as I made plans for dinner at Sevilles for their Anniversary specials, where a selected of tapas and drinks are aed10 each. I had to take this deal and try it out as I have been wanting to try Spanish food for a while now. To my utter dismay and annoyance, there was no metro stop close to Wafi, having paid aed4.10 on the metro over 10 stops and having to pay aed15 from Deira City Centre to Wafi which only took me 5min!!!!!!!!!! I could have used that money to buy 3 books on sale!! So so so annoyed.

Anyway, the layout and atmosphere at Sevilles was lovely. I cannot say anything bad about the ambience of the place, we had a seat outside so it was like we were dining out on a garden. The lighting, the seats, the staff members were all set out right. The only thing was the weather, it was a tad bit cold so we order a few rounds of coffee before our meal.

We were given the al la carte menu and the specials menu but our aim was to try everything on the specials menu - thinking that tonight's dinner was only going to set us back aed80 for meal - as there were 8 tapas on special. So we ordered all 8 and it took about 15min for the food to arrive to our table.

Clockwise from the top left hand corner - chicken bbq skewers, potato and prawn croquette on ciabatta, prawn and vegetable salad on ciabatta, roasted vegetables with tomato on ciabatta, steamed cod with peas and parsley puree, crispy battered calamari with mayo, roasted fiery potatoes and onion fries topped with fried egg sunnyside up and cheese chilli bread to accompany.

I was shocked when they arrived, the portions were minuscule! Super tiny! If I took a breath, they would all disappear off the table! Goodness me. This wasn't going to be cheap dinner after all! We finished the 8 dishes in a blink of an eye and I was definitely not satisfied! Suffice to say, we ordered more, more of our favourites. So 2 more plates of chicken bbq skeweres, onion fries and egg, steamed cod and a traditional spanish salad. Nothing traditional about it being being similar to a Tuna Nicoise Salad (without the olives), the vinegar dressing was the "traditional spanish bit", that was it. Along with another basket of chilli cheese bread.

All in all, it was a nice night out, but from my previous tapas experience (not in Dubai), the tapas were much bigger than what we got served. Guess it's like what they say, you get what you pay for? We wanted so much to order the chorizo tapa but was afraid to be disappointed as it was priced at aed47. The bill came up to aed 250 for the both of us. Ouch!

The next morning we had a light breakfast and sat out on the balcony, reminiscing on dinner last night. We had a few positives and negatives. The weather was dark and gloomy, it drizzled a little bit but I was waiting for some full on rain fall, thunder and lightning but alas, it never came. I'm still waiting... waiting...

But can't complain when we're enjoying dessert for lunch - Mint Chocolate Cheesecake! :)

Mixed Peel Scones for Breakfast

2011-01-24T11:52:00.001+04:00

Ever since we bought an extra bottle of lemon curd from Choitrams, my husband commented on several ways we could eat with the lemon curd and one of them was raisin scones for breakfast. The other was lemon meringue pie but I thought this was easier and quicker! They took me about 1hr to prepare and another 30min to bake them. So it was super quick and easy for me.

Get together:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla essence
250g of mixed peel or raisins (just estimate as you go, if you like more or less peel/raisins)
1 egg
50g melted butter
5 tbsp milk

Just mix all the ingredients together and stir until well combined.
Make a long thick roll and slice into pieces or roll out onto a baking paper and cut with a rounded cookie slicer to form the traditional scone shape.
Evenly place on baking tray and bake for 30min under 190degC.

I doubled the ingredients to enjoy over several mornings but suffice to say, they were so fragrant, so delicious and oh so crumbly with warm butter and lemon curd - sweet, salty, crunchy, what a super awesome way to start the morning off. But having said that, I've had more than expected so many not so many mornings to enjoy?? Oh dearie me... Should I feel guilty? I think not.

Spinach and Lentil Patties with Tofu and Jacket Potatoes topped with Chilli Con Carne

2011-01-24T11:41:00.000+04:00

Did I get the shock of my life or what? If you can't see the image properly, click on it and tell me what you see! Imagine you're only looking at a picture, I actually had it in my mouth and I think... I think, I had abit of that black stuff you see on the white flesh...eeeewwww.... YES I had some of the little worm inside there! YUCK! Thanks alot!

Aside from that, breakfast have been super delicious and scrummy. We had banana oat buckwheat pancakes one morning and no, I did not burn the pancakes, it turned black from the sugar of the over ripen bananas that we had to eat. I hate over ripen bananas as they are too sweet, so I mashed them with oats, buckwheat cereal, bran and milk for these lovely pancakes. Topped with a dollop of warm butter and lemon curd, super yummy to start off the day.

As mentioned in my previous blog, I made these lovely spinach lentil patties for dinner with aubergine and set them out as burgers. I had loads left over as my husband didn't care for them too much so I had the entire tray to finish myself. I had them over the past 4 days and I absolutely loved them. I will admit to say that I'm happy to take a break from them for now, but they will show their face soon enough. I just absolutely love vegetarian patties, especially with my favourite bird's eye chilli. Speaking of which, it's finishing soon - need to go out and get some refills!

For the husband, he was craving potatoes as I haven't made any for him since we landed here, potato jackets was on his top priority list. He named a few toppings that he loves, his top three were chilli con carne, baked beans, butter and cheese. So we went hunting around for sauces, cheese, beans, the lot and came home happy and smiling. We bought 3 huge lovely potatoes, baked them for 1hr with salt pepper and olive oil, and cooked the chilli con carne.

Just as it came out from the oven, the potato was sliced into four to break it open in the middle, drizzled some hot butter and sprinkled some gouda cheese and leave it to melt. Then for the piece of resistance, a few hearty scoops full of chilli con carne to finish off a delectable looking meal. Want some?

For last night's meal, I finished the last 4 patties, with the other half of the tofu and some wakame.

Had to add this in, what a lovely sight, chilli con carne potato jacket swirled with tomato sauce and spinach lentil patties with tofu wakame salad swirled with thai bird's eye chilli sauce... *sigh* talk about being weak in the knees over some pictures huh?! Can you taste it? I can.

Table Top Pizza Cooker and Bath n Body Works My New Favourite Place to Be

2011-01-20T09:35:00.000+04:00

I.WANT.THIS.

And I want to shop here!

I'm so happy to find out that Bath&Body Works, Lifestyle and Pottery Barn just opened in Dubai Mall. I haven't been to Mirdiff City Centre yet but have always wanted to go purely to visit Pottery Barn but since it's come to Dubai Mall, we don't have to travel that far! BUT BUT BUT, having heard so much about it, Mirdiff City Centre warrants a visit for sure! Did I read it right that it's the biggest mall in Dubai or just the newest? Dubai Mall is still the biggest right? The problem is that when we visit new places, we tend to break our bank account. But in my defence, DSF has started today and I'm sure it's the best time for a visit! ;) Have an absolutely great day everybody - I've been sitting here for the past 1hr updating my blog and now it's time to head out and enjoy some shopping. Still dark and gloomy outside, bit threatening really... speaking of which, we don't actually own an umbrella being here in Dubai, you don't think you need one do you?!

Aubergine Spinach and Lentil Burger and Ba Kua Cheese Sammie

2011-01-20T09:30:00.000+04:00

Last night's dinner was a beauty I have to say. A combination of eastern, western and middle eastern combo.

Eastern - ba kua, lovingly sent from Malaysia;

Western - sammie style with cheddar cheese;

Middle Eastern - spinach lentil falafel with aubergine.

These little falafels took a bit of time to bring together.

2 cups black french lentils, cooked

2 bunches spinach chopped

2 cups gram flour or any flour or breadcrumbs

1 bulb garlic

4 medium onions

3 cm ginger

3 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp garam masala

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Combine all those ingredients above, or do them section by section if you don't have a food processor big enough, mix well and form into balls. In the oven it goes with some sliced aubergine for 1.5hr under 190deg C heat.

And here you go, beautiful falafels (although it did 'melt' abit) delicious, hot and popeye goodness!

And for the ba kua sandwich, in the oven it goes for 10min until the cheese melts at the top. Crispy sweet ba kua with salty cheddar cheese and bread to even out the taste, what more can you ask for? Melted cheese just melts my heart and the smell, please... don't even get me started. It makes me weak in the knees... can I just leave it as that?!

I layered the falafel, making a vege burger - layering the baked eggplant, spinach lentil falafel with some yoghurt and...

...topped with thai birdeye chilli sauce! Food purists out there, don't look.. oh too late! Muahaha!! You can't take me away from my chilli sauce! It goes with everything I eat - even if it doesn't, my brain tells me that it does!!!!!!! Oooooohhh... just lovely. The work was worth it.

Sweet and Sour Sausages and Chilli Fried Tofu with Pak Choy

2011-01-20T09:19:00.000+04:00

Who loves tofu? I love tofu! Oh my goodness, I just cannot get enough of tofu. It goes with everything for me, I eat it like rice, it goes with anything and everything for me! I eat tofu every week in all form shapes and size! Blended, fried, steamed, you name it, I've done it.

So for this night, I cubed a block of tofu and enjoyed it with some steamed bakchoy and made a sweet and sour sauce with some panfried pork sausages.

Oh oh, I have to post about this find from Carrefour. I was just browsing through the aisles of Carrefour, like I always do, and normally avoiding the pickled section, decided TO visit the pickled section and found this little beauty. Chilly Red Paste. It was sat amongst pickled veges, pickled olives, mustards, artichokes, etc. The beautiful striking redness of the chilli called out to me, inviting me to have a taste... standing there for a few minutes with the lady behind the counter looking at me weirdly, I decided to buy a spoonful of it. I hurried home, panfried the tofu and quickly dunked it in and stuffed it into my mouth. It wasn't like the normal chilli paste that I have had, this one is pickled. It was sour, probably Middle Eastern style? They do like their vegetables pickled, wonder if it's part of their cold mezze spread? It was nice, spicy, sour and may warrant a second visit. It's fresh blended chilli with some form of vinegar I'm sure, not bad really.

The sweet and sour was simple, capsicum, onions, carrots and cucumber. In they went with 1/2cup apple cider vinegar and 2tsp of plum sauce. Simply delicious!

Served with pork sausages, brown rice and sweet and sour sauce. I've been experimenting on making simple and quick sweet and sour sauce from scratch without using a bottled sauce or packet with added preservatives etc and here I found a great simple recipe! Yay finally! I'm so happy! And the best bit is that when I took the sweet and sour vegetables out of the fridge the next day, I had a taste and whoa... sweet and sour pickled vegetables!!!!!!! SO GOOD!!!!! If only I had a side of prawn crackers and some of those chilli paste, it could be Acar I was eating right there and then! Another recipe within a recipe! How great is that?!

Mint Chocolate Cheesecake with a Date Coconut Almond Crust

2011-01-20T09:07:00.000+04:00

Oh la la... this is one of my favourites! Borders went on sale, their crazy aed10 sale, and being a book nutcase, horder, buyer, bookaholic, whatever you want to call me (bring it on!) I went down in a rush to see what I could get, but first wallet check, to see how many I can get rather!

I found a little beauty called Sweet Gratitude. It's a raw dessert cookbook filled with awesome recipes and most importantly lots of gorgeous and inspiring pictures. I am in a raw dessert craze right now, just because I love exploring and experimenting with new and alternative option to the normal desserts. Alongside this book are books from Ani Phyo, Juliano, Matt Amsden and the awesome Matthew Kenney. They are all raw foodist which I simply adore. I can only look in awe at those pictures and salivate, hoping one day I will get my lazy bum up and make them.

But this one is dedicated to my husband. He simply loves the chocolate and mint combo so I made this for him. I bought several bars of mint chocolate bars a few weeks ago and decided to use it for this dessert. I mentioned the buys to him but he always forgets to eat them so I will have to utilise them in a way that he will remember to eat it!

To start the preparation for the Mint Chocolate Cheesecake;

1 date crust (almond, dates, coconut, cocoa powder, vanilla essence)

3 bars of melted choc mint

3 cups of cashews, soaked and blended with vanilla and peppermint essence

Prepare and pour in the 'cheese' mixture in the readied crust, dolloping the melted chocolate at the top and slowly but gently push then down. Spoon some more chocolate on the top, use a skewer and start swirling gently to get a swirly effect. Simple!

In the freezer it goes for 1-2 hours, the remove and put in the fridge for another 1-2hours before serving so that the cheesecake will melt a little bit. Or if you'd rather just place in the fridge for 4hours before serving for it to set together.

Sorry this slice is abit wonky but we couldn't resist it but have it straight from the freezer which made it utterly difficult to cut into. We should have rented a chainsaw to slice into the cheesecake!

But suffice to say, the cheesecake was so so lovely. The cashew cheese was so light (unlike the heavy creamy dairy cream cheese), the chocolate was just a lovely touch and the crust was sweet, chewy and so fragrant. This is definitely one to make again! So many, too many great recipes to try in so little time! Oh how I wish I could make them all right now... Who wants some free dessert tasting? ;)

Dinners of Fluffy Tofu Omelette to Steamed Salmon with Dill and Lemon and Sticky BBQ Ribs to Edamame with Cold Wakame Salad Cheese Platter

2011-01-20T08:52:00.000+04:00

Good Morning Duuuubai! Dark and gloomy outside, exactly how I like it! Well, last night I looked at my rich photo collection and found lots of foods that I haven't posted up so that's exactly what I'm doing now. A collection of deliciousness that will have you salivating in no time. But seriously, I've been thinking about this for some time now (and still haven't done anything about it) about my photograph skills. It's pretty lacking of any I have to say. Very amateurish, very homegrown. I will try, no promises, but I will try to take better photographs, promise.

Following from the previous blog of my lovely chicken liver curry, we had some left over and as you know, I like to look at the ingredients in my fridge and concoct something up. So here we have a lovely fluffy tofu omelette for the hubby as he doesn't like tofu on its own, unlike me, with a side of the left over chicken liver curry. And as an addition on the side, as well as for his lunches for the next few days, wheatgerm coated chicken breasts with olive oil.

For me, I like my tofu panfried, brown and crispy and as always doused in lots of thai birds eye chilli!

The lovely fresh salmon tails were swimming towards me for the next meal, crying out to be eaten! I had some fresh dill and lemons in the fridge and voila, steamed salmon with fresh dill, lemon rind and lemon juice. Utterly gorgeous. I love working with fresh herbs and 'fruit' juices and if you haven't noticed, I love wrapping my food steaming or baking/roasting. It's just so easy and so fast, although I do realise that it contributes abit more to the landfill, it's so easy. I will try to reduce this way of cooking, I am quite concious about the waste that it's adding to landfills but hey, we're in Dubai, our carbon footprint is the size of whooping big foot's momma's momma.

And here you go, with a side of roasted veges and those old old brussel sprouts from all the way from Christmas! I bought an extra packet when it was on sale in Choitrams, I couldn't resist it as it's been too long since we've had brussel sprouts. Because it was frozen, it turned out really brown and lifeless when thawed, bit lumpy, chewy, soft and gross when baked BUT I still loved it. I had the majority of it as the hubby didn't really enjoy it. I love any and all veges no matter what condition it's in!!!

And for dessert, this bowl of lovely fat juicy sweet cherries. Pity it was abit expensive otherwise I would be out the door roughing it for another few kgs at Carrefour. Think I got it for aed54/kg from USA which was abit expensive. The cheapest cherries that I found was a few months ago for aed30/kg from Oman, they were just as good. Cherries are cherries to me.

For my husband's next few lunches, I made tuna pasta bake. He mentioned several times that he missed it - the way I find out what he wants to eat is just asking him nonchalantly - so, what do you miss eating? And in that way, I take the time to surprise him with it. This is a simple quick dish;

1can of baby corn
1can of button mushrooms
2cans of tuna in brine
2cups of pasta, cooked
5eggs, beaten with some milk, salt and pepper
emmental cheese

And in the oven the tuna pasta bake goes with some gorgeous pork ribs we bought from Park n Save. They DO have the best bakery and butchery! The ribs were utterly gorgeous! They were big, juicy, thick, meaty and rich. In the oven it goes with few dollops of Char Siew Sauce by Lee Kum Kee. I also sneaked in some carrot chips for some crunch.

One of those nights, my husband came home with a surprise behind his back, a big juicy Korean Nashi Pear. It was humongous! I've never seen a nashi pear that big before as I normally eat Chinese Nashi Pear which is like 1/4 of the size! Then lo-and-behold, we found them in Choitrams for aed13/kg and so we got 3 which came up to 1kg! It was expensive but so worth it. The fruit was so juicy, sweet, crunchy and less grainy than the Nashi pears from China. Oh so so worth it.

And for a Thursday night meal, I came home late and didn't have time to cook so we had another cheese platter, just to finish off the smoked salmon that has been sitting in the fridge for too long. I was utterly relieved to find that it was still delicious because it was packed in air tight plastic which sealed the goodness inside and kept the badness outside. I blanched some edamames, broccoli and wakame, rye crisps, cheddar and cream cheese along with the smoked salmon and a beautiful bottle of rose to end the working week with. Just lovely.

Dubai in January 2011

2011-01-13T09:12:00.000+04:00

This is the view from our balcony, clouds! Oh glorious clouds! Gulf News reported that we are expected some rain but so far, nothing in our area. I've heard of rain in areas around us but not in our area which is a bummer. I miss rain, I miss the sound and smell of rain having been deprived 11months of the year, also not to mention a good wash down of the buildings! I couldn't help but take these few shots, it was a gorgeous night which hopefully will continue on for the next few weeks at least.

I have been keeping up to date with I Live In A Frying Pan with Arva and was very much so tickled by her descriptions and adventures of finding the ultimate coffee experience in Dubai. I am an avid coffee drinker as well and we have been seeking the best coffee in Dubai as well. We've tried most of the chain coffee houses but have yet to try the kitsch coffee houses but so far, my husband likes the coffee at Costa Coffee. I'm not too sure myself as every cup of coffee I have is always different no matter if it's the same coffee chain. The Costa coffee brewed in Mall of Emirates will definitely be different to the one at Ibn Battuta Mall so I cannot really say I have a favourite. However, following Time Out Dubai, RAW Coffee at Dubai Garden Centre has been said to make the best coffee - we shall make it there one of these days!

BUT, below are pictures of coffee from my gym - which I have to say suffice for me after my hard work out (NOT!) at the gym. It has the creme and froth at the top too! Honestly, it's from a coffee machine! Gotcha!

The beginning of the week, we woke up to this lovely sight. It showered lightly during the night and fogged up which was a novelty. A nice cooling walk to get coffee and back again after the fog dissipated otherwise I would have been run over by seriously dumb Dubai drivers out there. It was reported that a few people died on the road from car accidents due to the fog. I mean, come on guys, drive according to the weather conditions! Have you no common sense?!

When it's times like these with such opposite weather to that expected in a desert, it makes living here abit better personally. I'm glad that Dubai has 4seasons, at least it gives us the chance to cool down and enjoy the few jackets we have mossing up in the cupboard! Has it been extra cold this winter? I find myself layering up to 4 layers and yes, I have been getting weird looks by everybody I walk by. Nah... don't really care.

Wanted to add in a bouquet of my favourite flowers! :) From the hubby when I was sick, and what a surprise to find an assortment of colours too. The smell of lilies are just so lovely.

What are your plans for today? I'm contemplating on whether to head out or slouch at home in my PJs... its sunny outside, cooling but there are dark clouds too... hhmm... really wanting to check out Borders sale. I'm such a sucker for books (&cookbooks). Help?

Chicken Liver Curry with The Last of the Lentil Bakes

2011-01-10T13:38:00.000+04:00

Following from my previous blog, we also found some lovely fresh chicken liver in the butchery calling out to us. Being low in iron lately and fed up of feeling cold all the time, I decided to get it and cook something strong with it. Chicken liver is one of my favourite dishes, malay style. I remember when we used to go to our local Pasar Malam in Seremban, my dad would always buy a pack of dry chicken sambal curry that always comes with chicken livers. One day, oh one day I will attempt to try cook it... I'm sure I can because I remember how it looks like so be patient with me and I will cook it one day!

Oh I hope you know me by now, I like putting 2 and 3 together, 6 and 10 and what nots what nots, pairing and concocting up the most weird and wonderful...(my husband will look at me with utter worry when I use the word concoct) because it's something new to him and he likes to stick to what he knows...*hhmm* so opposite to me... but I make things interesting? Right? um.. wrong!

So this dish consists of:
1 pack of chicken liver
1 medium aubergine, diced
4 medium fresh tomatoes,diced
1 can of diced tomato in natural juices
6 medium onions, diced
1 bulb of garlic, sliced
3 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp chilli powder
Salt and Pepper

Fry garlic and onions in some oil with the curry and chilli powder till golden and fragrant. Keep on cooking until onions are all wilted.
Add the liver and stir fry till brown.
Gently stir in the diced tomatoes and canned tomato and aubergine. Make sure it's mixed well. Cover and simmer for about 30min on low heat. (I left mine to simmer for about 1hr to get the tomatoes and aubergine to melt away with the onions as I wanted a thick creamy consistency).
Add in salt and pepper to taste and serve.

We enjoyed our liver curry with the last of the lentil and chickpea bakes each.

Since my husband cannot eat curries that are too spicy, I had some curry powder at the side to spice up my own dish. The golden powder and the smell of mixed curry spices really did it for me. I could have added some more chilli powder too as I fancy real spicy food, it literally causes me utter discomfort but by gosh, it is addictive... tell me otherwise! I'm a chilli addict... which is a good thing right?!

The chicken liver curry turned out gorgeous, although I simmered it for so long, I was very gentle when stirring the pot. The livers came out whole, soft, creamy and tender. I think we've only ever had liver once before so this was a real treat. My husband liked it which was good, he couldn't remember the first time we had it... nevermind. Glad he ate it though otherwise I'm left with a big pot of chicken liver curry to have for the rest of the week! Dinner tonight? Left over chicken liver curry, a side of fried tofu topped with crumbed chicken breasts. Yummo!

Lentil Chickpea Spinach Bake and Tuna Poppadoms with a Tahini Drizzle

2011-01-10T13:15:00.000+04:00

For the past 2 days, we've been enjoying some new food that I concocted up from left overs and new found mouldy food hidden behind the larder! Just kidding! I'm one that likes to stock up on food and ingredients that are on sale eventhough I don't know when I'm going to use them and I don't think I'm alone. Having done a minor 'spring clean' of my larder, I found several packets of pulses and lentils hidden at the back of my larder and decided to come up with something new.

My husband had half of those lentils and chickpeas for his lunches last week and the left overs were added to create our dinners which were these cute lentil chickpea and tuna poppadoms and spinach bake. I used the lentil and chickpea mash to create two dishes.

This is the lentil chickpea and spinach layered bake which involved:

2 cups black french lentil, cooked

2 cups chickpeas, cooked

4 medium onions

1 bulb garlic

2cm ginger

2 bunches of spinach

Cook the lentils and chickpea, cool. Place onions, garlic and ginger into a blender with the cooled chickpea and lentils and blend till smooth. Add oil or water to help the process. Some salt and pepper, voila, done. Layer it, mould it, make it into patties, balls, whatever you want, even wrap them up in filo pastry, it works any and every way.

And these are the lentil chickpea mash in poppadoms, layered with onions, cream cheese, lentil chickpea mash and topped with emmental cheese. The tuna poppadoms were just onions and tuna with a tahini drizzle.
(To soften the poppadoms, soak them in warm water first, then put in muffin tray).

I enjoyed my slice of lentil chickpea spinach bake with some scalded broccoli. I've recently decided that I'm going to eat broccoli as long as the price per kg is reasonable and lately, it has been reasonable! But of course I mix and match with the green leafy veges, being frugal and all that with the price hike!!! (not happy!) and topped with my favourite Thai bird's eye chilli sauce.

Another little thing that excited us last weekend was that we found this little beauty! Park and Shop recently opened near our neighbourhood so we decided to do our week's grocery shopping there and we were very surprised to find Sticky Maltloaf! We haven't had it for years since Woolworths NZ stopped baking them and so we bought 2 loaves! One's already gone thanks to my healthy malty appetite, the 2nd is out from the freezer, thawing! It isn't as sticky and malty as the one in NZ but it's good enough to tickle our tastebuds.

And another find, young coconut for aed5.95 each? Wow, what a bargain!

We read in a magazine that Park and Shop boasts the best bakery and butchery and man, they were right (the bakery part anyway). My husband bought some Cornish Pasties, Steak and Kidney & Chicken Pies, Sausage Roll and some baps which he gave his approval to. What more can you ask for when you see the expression on his face when he bit into the lovely crumbly pastries, oozing in warm thick gravy and chunks of filling? The prices were fair too... *think we will definitely be going back for more* (sorry no pictures as the pastries were consumed before I could pick up my camera!)

What have you guys found lately that's tickled your fancy? When I find something that brings back memories or haven't had for ages, I immediately buy them and to make things even sweeter is the prices aren't too bad! Park and Shop will be our shop for these little goodies in the future!

Happy New Year Everyone

2011-01-04T14:06:00.000+04:00

2011 already?! Where has the year gone? I shall start on a positive note for a positive new year... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! The new year started here with such a bang and blast as we decided to head down to Burj Khalifa to enjoy the fireworks that has been the talk of the town. Being it's first new year's bash since it was officially opened 1 year ago today (4th Jan 2010), we wanted to be with the in-crowd to see what the Burj Khalifa had to offer.

We decided to head down a couple of hours before hand to make sure we had a parking spot, trawling through the traffic jam as soon as we exited Sheik Zayed Road and slowly ended up at Al Manzil Hotel which was fairly quiet at that time of night (7pm). We walked out on a cool Thursday night with a good number of people and traffic around downtown burj which is always a good sign. We decided to park ourselves for starters at Boulevard Cafe, having heard that it serves the best club sandwich as voted by Time Out Magazine. But we already had something to eat before we left so it was a side of coffee and fruits.

Our view was amazing, both the Burj Khalifa and The Address in front of us, the downtown burj arcade, buzzing with people. The cafe was about 70% full, the perfect spot to view the new year fireworks. We ordered black coffee and a fruit salad which was lovely, however the portion was tiny - it's all about the location I guess. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for long as we had so many hours to kill before midnight so we decided to walk around and snap shots as we went along.

View of Burj Khalifa from Souk Al Bahar;

View of Burj Khalifa from Old Town Palace Hotel;

We scouted several potential view spots of the fireworks, taking into account the extent of the smoke of the fireworks, the fountain show and the overall view. Along the way, we found new eateries (that we would like to try), shops, potential future residential spots! and I have to say, the view, the environment, the buzzyness of downtown burj area is really enticing! I dread to see how much it would cost to have all of that on your doorstep. We stopped at Starbucks for a good couple of hours chatting about the area, our future and we played 101 questions about the old year and the new year which was fun (but at times got abit too serious). After several coffee stops, smoothie slurps and toilet breaks, we parked ourselves in front of Qamardeen Hotel along Dubai Mall boulevard. I forgotten to bring along with me a jacket and was suffering from the cold! I've acclimatized to the Dubai weather! How am I going to survive cold weather again?!

Anyway, we waited until the clock striked 1minute to midnight and there she blows!

A good whole 5 minutes of fireworks and fountain display, it was well worth the wait I have to say. Although it did look very similar to it's grand opening. But, what can I say, it was still spectacular and very grand! The shots and video that we took were amazing, towards the end of it, the tower looked like it was on fire. The spot that we chose was good as we saw almost everything apart from the fountain show which as abit far away. We had the local tv crew perched in front of us as well so the crowd was big.

When it was over, that's when the nightmare began, another trawl getting out of the place onto Sheik Zayed Road or Al Khail Road for that matter. Both were chokka block, we spent a good 1hr trying to get out, moving inch by inch, accompanied with a lot of beeping, hand gestures and words being mouthed through car windows. What an experience! I'm glad I'm not the driver!

With that being said, we got home well after bedtime, 2am I think it was, both tired and knackered. I am now suffering from the flu, having caught a chill that night. What a way to start the year huh? With all this time in my hand, it's quite scary when you think about it, as I ask myself what have I done this year that's memorable? that I'm proud of? that I love? regret? what have I achieved? did I see and do everything on my list? did I live life to the fullest? It's scary to think that another year will just slip by without warning and I will never get it back. We are all the same aren't we? We make new years resolution or even day to day decisions on what we want to do this year or even next week but we don't always achieve them. I guess we will always be procrastinators - well, myself included of course, always postponing or not bothered about it, there's always next week right?

I need to change my way of thinking, my attitude, my perspective of life to make sure that I am happy and content that I can tick off from my bucket list. Dubai is ever changing and there's always something new and upcoming so we have to keep up with that pace of life and enjoy the rush (while we're young anyway) because you never know what might happen (touch wood).

So that being said... sorry for ending on a sad note... Happy New Year, may 2011 bring you joy, love, peace and luck. Live life to the fullest! Or if you're happy as you are, live it happily!

Cheese Platter and Smoked Salmon Night

2011-01-04T12:40:00.000+04:00

I'm not sure if I mentioned during our Chrisstmas rush buys I managed a 2for1 packet of smoked salmon from Carrefour's festival deals. It was a deal that I couldn't resist having tasted smoked salmon in a recent brunch work-do and my sudden interest for salmon sashimi! I'm going out of my comfort zone and trying new foods and of course new way of preparation.

So anyway, I decided to have a cheese and smoked salmon night, think this was a day in between Chrisstmas and New Years. We also got 2 blocks of lovely cheese, one was smoked cheddar and the other was plain cheddar cheese. We enjoyed them with some Ryvita crackers, edamame, cucumber salad, dill dip, chicken olive cold cuts and sundried tomatoes.

Not forgetting a lovely bottle of rose vino, our recent favourite...

A self made canape, just trying out putting two and two together. Who says you cannot break the boundaries? Although it had a very interesting taste... too many actually, going on in my mouth! Should have stuck to only 3.

We love our little cheese and wine nights, always a treat to have a break from cooking and from eating heavy meals but I do like warm hearty meals, all that was missing was a nice bowl of hot soup - always the Chinese in me wanting hot soup! But like my husband says, you can always get warm with a few glasses of wine! Suffice to say, I turned red and slept like a baby that night.

Chrisstmas Day Celebrations

2010-12-29T17:10:00.003+04:00

We love Chrisstmas, we love Chrisstmas, fa la la la la, la la laaa laaaaaa... Did I mention we love Chrisstmas? Well, we do! I decided to bring out the presents from the bedroom, hidden away all this while, out into the living room in a home made festive sleigh, a few days before Chrisstmas to get into the festive mood and abit of excitement, although all that did was entice us to want to open it all before Chrisstmas. Lucky enough, we have self control and managed to leave a bundleful to open on Chrisstmas Day. We received presents from near and far, thank you mom&dad (UK) and wishes from the NZ (presents to arrive next year!)

Chrisstmas decorations went up at the beginning of December and the cards came flowing in. We bought some lovely red candles and candle holder and decorated it and also some lovelies from UK.

My husband went around with his flashy camera and took some beautiful pictures of the rum & raisin truffles that I made and we enjoyed some that night too. Suffice to say, 80% of the lovely truffles have gone, as we are now savouring the remainder.

On the 23rd of December, we decided to finally head to the Madinat for some outdoor festivities. We were greeted by a lovely little Chrisstmas Village, the amphitheatre was made up to look like a winter wonderland. Chrisstmas trees to the right and left, Chrisstmas stalls, miniature train set - set in the Swiss Alps, Santa in the corner, busy with the kids and Chrisstmas music blaring through the speakers. The one thing that has been constant has been a visit to the stand that sold Gluvine (German mulled wine) which was absolutely fantastic! It was a warm night so I had rosey cheeks after a few big mouthfuls and shared the remainder with my husband. I will attempt to make Gluvine one of these days!

These standing ornaments were just gorgeous! Next on the to-do list maybe?

Found Santa lounging in one of the Abra's with a beautiful backdrop of a lovely Chrisstmas Tree and the Burj Al Arab.

Chrisstmas morning... Look at the damage we left behind! Enough said!

We wrote down our Chrisstmas Menu, making sure that we don't leave anything out... So much for only 2 people? We definitely have bigger eyes than our stomach can handle. But we did manage to make a little bit of everything and we enjoyed them for the past 3days too (and still enjoying them!)

I was so excited when I found these beautiful cherries at Carrefour (aed49.95/kg)! We have them every year in NZ during Chrisstmas so why break tradition and memories? I picked up 1.5kg's worth of beautiful shiny cherries, although I cannot remember where they were from, but they were juicy, big and sweet. I polished them off within 2days!

Beautiful melted cheesey french toast;

Speculaas with chopped bananas;

Chrisstmas Cake and Marzipan... 3months worth of soaking and feeding the Chrisstmas Cake was well worth it because it turned out absolutely amazing! This is our 3rd Chrisstmas in Dubai and it gets better every time. I am so happy with how it turned out, moist, juicy, rich and oh so delicious. I think I will keep this recipe and make it every year. This one is thanks to Jamie Oliver, and partially me too as I made some substitutions! ;)

Not forgetting the lovely truffles, more Speculaas, beautiful big round juicy cherry tomatoes (another great bargain for aed2.50 a box) and sweet mandarins at aed2.75/kg. Bargains at supermarkets are great aren't they?!

We sat down and had a nice good chat out on the balcony after having such a heavy breakfast, not to mention all the munching and nibbling in between, but we managed to start dinner at around 5pm which included making chestnut stuffing, vegetable preparations and putting together the roast. The recipe for the chestnut roasting came from 3 different recipes where I mixed and matched them a little bit.

500g chestnut, cooked
4 medium onions, diced
1 cup millet, cooked
sage and thyme
salt and pepper

Mash the chestnuts and mix in with the rest of the ingredients together until well combined. Roll into balls on a tray and bake for 30min on a 180deg C heat. (with some vino in between) Or you could also roll it up in a foil like a sausage and steam bake it or bake it, depending on how you prefer your stuffing. Alternatively you could stuff it into the turkey!

My husband was in charge of the vegetables so he prepared the asparagus, carrots, parsnip and brussel sprouts with love.

A dish that he made a special request for was sausages wrapped in bacon. So we substituted bacon for peppered turkey slices from the deli.

And voila! Beautifully made sausage wrapped in turkey meat, made by my husband. It was nice to see such a satisfied facial expression when he took a taste test.

Chrisstmas Dinner at its finest - Turkey and chicken with parsnip, carrot and brussel sprout roast, blanched asparagus, chestnut stuffing and sausages wrapped in turkey bacon.

Even better served with gravy and enjoyed together after all that hard work. Think we were hungrier that we thought. Suffice to say we enjoyed the lovely meal with several helpings, with left overs for the next few days. But we still managed a few truffles and some wine for afters!

Hope you all had a great Chrisstmas too - cheese platter, cold cuts, salad, smoked salmon, edamame and some rose wine for dinner tonight... the start to our New Year party! Omgness... only 3 more days till the new year - how time flies!

Two Quick Easy Dinners before Chrisstmas

2010-12-28T22:15:00.001+04:00

What can I say? I absolutely love tofu, in any shape, form, size, texture... I love it! Having had leftover cold Wakame and Cucumber salad from the previous dinner, I added on some panfried tofu steaks and topped it up with Japanese 7spice chilli powder (I think that's what it's called). It was lovely dovely... Will definitely make it again as it was fast and simple.

2 lebanese cucumbers, sliced

1 cup dried wakame, soaked in hot water

1/2 square of a block of tofu, sliced thickly

Drain and run Wakame in cold water, slice up the cucumbers and panfry the tofu. Put them together and sprinkle a generous helping of Japanese chilli powder or Thai bird's eye chilli sauce! Phwoar!!

And for the other left overs, I turned the sauteed onions with salted black bean into a stirfry buckwheat noodles and topped with fried eggs. Yummy!

Apologies but this post is upside down! I still have yet to learn how to work this new format. This meal was made the day before the meal directly above, hence the onions with salted black beans and the Wakame Cucumber Salad images...

I couldn't help but cook the salmon tails in the freezer, the fillets were thick and crying out to be cooked and eaten. The steaks were thick and oh so lovely after it's been panfried, accompanied with sauteed onions in salted black beans and chopped up fresh coriander and spring onions. No seasonings were added as the salted black beans were salty enough and could hold the taste on its own. Topped with the sauteed salted black beans, the salmon was so too good to be true. I panfried the salmon for about 8min on each side as they were fairly thick, leaving a slight pinkish in the middle of the fish where every bite was soft, sweet, thick and creamy! OMGness...

Accompanying the salmon was a small bowl of left over gingered chinese cabbage stirfry and I made a side salad of Wakame and Cucumber. I absolutely love Wakame and Cucumber Salad now after having had it at both Minato and Kisaku. Super delicious and super fresh.

There are 4 more salmon fillets in the freezer, I can't wait to have them, but how shall I cook them this time around?! Must experiment more... oh and we also got 2 packets of smoked fresh salmon which didn't get served for our Chrisstmas dinner so it shall be for our New Year's party canapes? Or for the start of a new year? What do you think? Can't wait... (I'm in a salmon craze mode at the moment, have to say though that mom will be happy I'm eating so much salmon as I used to hate them! Mom, I'll cook loads when you're here!)

Chrisstmas Bakings Strikes Again

2010-12-22T20:50:00.004+04:00

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Chrisstmas! Yay, another 2 more days till Chrisstmas, CAN'T WAIT! Finally brought out and arranged our Chrisstmas 'sleigh'. Found a nice little corner and a festive coloured throw to accompany the gifts that we've received and bought. But we were a little naughty, we couldn't resist but open a few already and it was well worth it!

From my husband, I got 3 pairs of tops and bottoms from Diesel, a Bloomingdales Dubai Teddy Bear and a personalised bracelet with an attached charm of his wedding ring fingerprint and a sweet message at the back! From me to my husband, Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige Edition Strategy Guide. Few more surprises to open yet for each other, can we wait? or can we not?!

This is a picture of the stuffed shortbread - dates (left) and rose marzipan (right), covered in crumbly soft, buttery shortbread crust!

Today, I decided to make a favourite of my husband, by request, Rum & Raisin Truffles. I decided to make it healthier than the normal truffles, taken from one of my favourite raw chef - Matthew Kenney.

The ingredients and their amounts are just estimates and added as and when required accordingly as I stirred the mixture together. The main ingredients are:

cooking chocolate (70% cocoa), melted

date paste

dessicated coconut

raisin, soaked in rum, pureed

almond powder

cocoa powder

First, puree the rum and raisin, add in the date paste which has been softened. I do this by soaking the dried dates in hot water and leave till softened. Mash it evenly.
Place the wet ingredients in with the almond powder, dessicated coconut and melted chocolate and stir evenly.

3. Place all ingredients closely together for easy movement and start by rolling the mixture into balls, then coating them with cocoa powder.

I tried rolling one into the melted chocolate but it didn't work as the truffles were abit too soft and wet.

I made an assortment of truffles, some coated and some not;

Drizzled some chocolate over some and covered some with chocolate. Place them in the fridge to harden a little bit. The chocolate will harden but the truffle will stay soft and moist.

After that, I decided to have some Chrisstmasy fragrance linger in the house so I made some Speculaas! I've always loved Speculaas, especially the cinnamon smell - with nutmeg, clove and ginger. YUM!!! Dunk them in with coffee, enjoyed as breakfast.

These lovely truffles turn out just amazing. The outer chocolate shell hardened but the inside stayed moist and juicy. The rum wasn't too overpowering but the taste and smell are still obvious, and after having 10 of them, I don't feel drunk at all! Score! :)

When my husband stepped into the apartment, I wished him Merry Chrisstmas and popped one in his mouth as the start of our Chrisstmas holidays. Most importantly, he approves of the truffles. In his own words "Mmm... it's so good!" He's off for the next 4 days which is great. We're going to have such a blast! I do hope you try them out, they are so delicious and not forgetting, healthier than the normal truffle version too. So enjoy! We still have our Chrisstmas cake to try yet! Can't wait! Have a great Chrisstmas everyone!

Salted Black Bean Salmon 2-ways with Ginger Chinese Cabbage and Pork Curry plus a Healthy Dessert

2010-12-22T19:19:00.000+04:00

This post is the compilation of our meals this week so far starting from today apparently, working our way backwards! I'm still trying to figure out how the pictures get attached!

But I am so excited to put the pictures up from today's dinner because it was the best ever salmon we've had so far. I decided to panfry the salmon tail because Lulu's now scale the fish which makes life so much more easier and yummier! This is the 2nd way we had our salmon this week (the 1st way is below), I panfried the salmon tail for about 5-8min on each side as the fillets were quite thick. On the side, I sauteed some chopped garlic and onions with half a can of salted black bean sauce until the onions have caramelised then tossed in the chopped fresh coriander and spring onion - closing the lid to "melt" it down.

We had the salmon with a side of left over ginger chinese cabbage and also Wakame and Cucumber Salad.

For our Monday and Tuesday dinners, we had lovely pork cube curry, made with lots of onions and garlic and tomato puree with the best curry powder (from Malaysia)!

Gingered chinese cabbage;

This was the 1st salmon with salted black bean sauce meal that we had, accompanied with roasted vegetables of broccoli, carrots, onions, fresh mushrooms and brussel sprouts.

I steamed the salmon the first time around, topping the fish tail with fresh coriander and spring onion and salted black beans. Wrapped in foil, each parcel were steamed for 15min.

This one was drowning in herbs, just the way I like it!

I found some barley in my cupboard as I was doing some "spring cleaning" the other day, putting two and two together in my head, this little beauty was created.

I pre cooked the barley and left it to cool. Meanwhile, I mixed 3cups of yoghurt with 1packet of lemon flavoured jelly. I then created layers - pressed barley at the base, the yoghurt mixture in between and topped with "crumbled" barley at the top.

I placed it in the freezer for a while which was a mistake as I had to wait for it to thaw before being able to eat it. It should just go in the fridge for a couple of hours which should be enough. We topped it with lemon curd for a little sweetness. Yummo! How simple and easy is that? You can make it in your sleep! :)

When Suzanne Cooks - Suzanne Husseini's Cookbook Launch at Bloomingdales Dubai Mall

2010-12-16T13:14:00.000+04:00

I had the privilege of attending the launching of Suzanne Husseini's cookbook in Bloomingdales Dubai Mall last night. When Motivate Publishing sent me the email, I immediately RSVP'd as I was looking forward to receiving this notification since I first saw Suzanne cook in August 2010 at the Crate & Barrel new line launch. Her style of cooking, the freshness and ingredients that she used made me want to know more and when she mentioned in August that she was working on a cookbook, I couldn't wait.

4months later, here we are and I was the 2nd person to purchase her book as I got there early, got to chat with her and got her to sign my book! She's such a lovely grounded person who has such a lovely smile and love for cooking from the heart and soul. So here are the pics of my own copy of Suzanne's cookbook with a personal message especially to me. I had such a fantastic day! My mind was still buzzing till 1am before I went to sleep!

I had such a blast, I'm so glad I went there earlier to catch her alone, preparing for her cooking demonstration and book signing. I cannot wait to try out the recipes in her book, they all look so delectable, wholesome and so delicious! Her book would be the first Arabic cookbook that I've got on my shelf so far... I'm going to start my Arabic journey through Suzanne. Thanks Suzanne!

So, the book launch was held at Bloomingdale's at Dubai Mall, the home section was set up for book signing and a quick cooking demonstration. Slowly, the area began to fill up with people, some alone, some with friends and finally the star of the day, Suzanne made an appearance at around 6.45pm.

Formal pictures and speeches were made by the representatives of Bloomingdale's Dubai and Motivate Publishing.

And it was time for Suzanne to say a few words. She thanked everyone for being there, thanked her family especially her mother who was her inspiration and she got choked up and emotional from being so overwhelmed, happy and humbled by her dream coming true.

She did a quick demonstration of one of her recipes, Arabic Shortbread which took about 20min or so, and took questions from the audience while the paparazzi snapped on! After the demonstration, she moved on to book signing, the crowd was massive and the line was long. I am so glad I got her just before the rush!

In and amongst that, she pre-made favours from her cookbook, spinach and cheese pastries, chicken and pomegranate tarts, chickpea patties;

Ricotta stuffed Medjool dates with pistachios and almond, baklava;

And Arabic Shortbread with pinenut and a sesame and pistachio cookie.

Suffice to say I had several helpings myself and I swear the waiters were avoiding me by the end of the 1st round. I had to chase after them to grab some food! They were so hard to resist. But my favourite was definitely the stuffed Medjool date, it was so delicious! But I did like the others too! We were also served with sparkling apple champagne and pure fruit juices. Just wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and am so glad I got her book. I also walked away with a Bloomingdale's goodie bag! :) Happy Happy!

PS: Mom, I'll cook some Arabic food for you when you get here, also if you like, we can get a copy of Suzanne's cookbook for you! Hope it gives you a nice introduction to Arabic cooking and will continue to enjoy it when you go back to NZ.

Hearty Beef Barley Stew and Spiced Roasted Pumpkin with Panfried Tofu and Aubergine

2010-12-16T12:40:00.002+04:00

The past few meals have been graced with a super hearty beef barley stew accompanied by spiced roasted pumpkin and panfried tofu and aubergine. Weird combo I know but I had to find a way of using up food in the fridge.

The hearty stew was a recipe I've memorised from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbook which is definitely no-fail in my experience, having cooked it several times before. The main ingredients of the stew are:

beef

carrots

celery

bay leaves

oregano and rosemary

onions

garlic

canned chopped tomatoes

tomato puree

worchestireshire sauce

salt and pepper

beef stock

I started off with caramelising and infusing the bay leaves, onions and garlic, then adding in the beef cubes to quickly panfry till brown but not entirely cooked through. Don't cook through otherwise the meat will be too tough. As I go, I add the hardest vegetable to the softest, cooked barley for texture and volume, the spices, worchestireshire sauce and beef stock and finally cover the stew with the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Make sure you push the meat down into the liquid to cook. Cover and stew for about 2hours on low heat to get the meat tender, stirring every 20min or so. Take off the cover and stew for another 30min. Turn off the heat and let the stew sit for 10-15min to allow the stew to settle and thicken.

To accompany the stew, I roasted half a pumpkin, with the skin on, spiced with rosemary, cumin, nutmeg, salt and pepper and a drizzling of olive oil. Into the oven for 1hour under 150degC heat.

On the side, I panfried some tofu pieces and a humungous eggplant! I had some left over wasabi from our SUMO night and pickled ginger. Don't worry, they were still ok to eat, I didn't get a tummyache if you were wondering!

Just a side note, I made savoury vegetarian scones for my husbands lunches for the week; ingredients were:

tomato

cream cheese and emmental cheese

onions

capsicum

roasted seeds and nuts

For the scone mixture, simply mix together:
3cups of flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup water
salt and pepper

I caramelise the onions and capsicums first, then added them to the scone mixture.
Then I layered the ingredients in a muffin tray with the scone mixture filling half the muffin cup, cream cheese in the middle, then covering the cream cheese with more scone mixture. I finally top the scone with a sliced tomato and covered with emmental cheese. Easy peasy!

Then in the oven for 50min under 180degC heat. It'll fill your home with a wonderful smell, almost like little pizza scones. He took the scones to work with a side of either boiled egg mayo, tuna mayo and the recently attained Ba Kua (pressed BBQ mince pork) from Malaysia! YUMO!

Festive Cooking Demonstration at Asado, Old Town Palace Hotel

2010-12-16T11:49:00.000+04:00

I was so chuffed when I was informed that I won one of 10 places at the Asado Cooking Demonstration at The Palace Hotel (in Old Town) from BBC Good Food ME. I was torn however, with the fact that I would miss the exciting launch of new classes and new moves at the gym but having thought about it back and forth, discussing it with my husband, I made the decision to go to the cooking demonstration. I am so glad I went because not only did I learn how to make 3 delightful dishes, I had a lovely cup of coffee with macaroons and chocolate pistachio biscotti in the lobby cafe, a beautiful view of the Burj Khalifa, found an Argentinian Restaurant (Asado) and on top of that I made new foodie friends!

We started off with a quick introduction by Chef Jean Luc, he was of French origins, speaking with passion of what he was going to be demonstrating and the agenda for the day. Asado (I thought it was Japanese cuisine) was rustic and wooden, very country like, warm and homely interior. Very steakhouse like, which it is. A Japanese named Argentinian Restaurant with a French Chef... only in Dubai! We were shown our seats which were arranged in front of the kitchen, however we were soon inside the kitchen, close up with the pots and pans and the chefs in the kitchen! It was exciting and felt part of the kitchen feeling the heat from the stove and oven while Chef Jean Luc explains every single step he was taking and ingredients he was using.

On the agenda of the cooking demonstration was:
Marinated Salmon with Festive Spices
Roast Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing
Chestnut Parfait

The cooking demonstration started at 11am and lasted till 12.30pm when we were then told that we would enjoy the feast that we just went through. I was really looking forward to the meal. We started mingling and started getting to know each other through our passion of food, chatting about our backgrounds, our food loves and hates, restaurant findings in Dubai, places to try and places to visit. I had a great time and I'm so glad I decided to go!

First up was the starter, marinated salmon with festive spices served with orange infused fennel bulb and a sweet vinegarette topped with slices of green apples.

For the main course, we had the most succulent, tender roasted turkey, roasted potatoes, roasted root vegetable fritatta, steamed stuffing and half a baked green apple, topped with gravy.

And dessert, chestnut parfait with whole honey chestnuts, caramel and a sprinkling of pistachio nuts.

Amongst the chit chats and small talks, Shona (PR Manager of The Palace) joined us and we were exchanging knowledge and information, getting to know each other where our common ground was food! What a great way to meet new friends. We ended the delicious meal with a cup of green tea in the cutest cast iron teapot.

Thank you to The Palace Hotel Old Town, Shona Sweeney and BBC Good Food ME for the opportunity. And of course Asado and to Chef Jean Luc for his wonderful knowledge and demonstration, so inspiring to see someone so passionate with cooking and food!

Dinner at Kisaku and Our Weekend at Deira

2010-12-14T21:50:00.000+04:00

Last weekend we finally booked for dinner at Kisaku, an infamous Japanese restaurant here in Dubai with the Japanese expat community. You cannot question that, if it's packed with Japanese expats, you know it's good. Having heard and read so much about it, we were looking forward to our dinner there and I have to say, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

We started off with drinks, my husband ordered Heineken and for me a bottle of water and Japanese Plum Wine - Delish! We were greeted with a complimentary entree which I think was Cold Cucumber and Squid salad with sweet teriyaki like sauce. It definitely got my tastebuds tingling!

The waitress was lovely and very patient with us as the menu was so extensive we didn't know what to order! We wanted to try everything. She explained portion size and ingredients and was very knowledgeable. She was clearly Japanese which makes this place all the more authentic. She asked us which of our orders we would like as starters which was nice.

Our starters were Wakame Salad, Edamame and Gyoza. They were super delicious and so fresh. The Wakame Salad was pure wakame (and not substituted and filled with cucumber) with a sweet onion relish at the top. The gyoza was just perfect, the best we've ever had so far. The gyoza skin was light and soft and the meat was velvety and smooth. The gyoza was finished with a light pan fry which gave it a subtle crispy layer and it wasn't too oily.

We had our fair share of ordering the mains, not knowing portion size (except recommended by the waitress) we ordered Tepanyaki Baby Asparagus, Salmon and Tuna Sashimi, Mixed Yakitori, Prawn Tempura and Mixed (Crumbed Assorted Meats/Seafood).

The mixed yakitori included chicken wings, chicken liver, pork, bacon, bacon and asparagus, mince, beef and prawns. The mixed crumbed meat/seafood balls included calamari, prawns, pork and chicken. They were lovely. I especially liked the chicken liver, slightly strong to the taste but it's been a while since we've had them and I thoroughly enjoyed them teriyaki style! The sashimi was super fresh, velvety and soft, the wasabi and daikon was oh so lovely... I cannot fault anything, we just loved it all. We were glad that the portions were small, leaving us slightly uncomfortable but satisfied!

I fancied some miso soup after all that, to wash my palette and I was also getting abit cold, having been in the restaurant for 2.5hrs enjoying ourselves!

AND, not forgetting some sweeties, a fresh fruit platter and some delicious Matcha and Black Sesame Seed Ice Cream to leave us satisfied but promising to go back for another visit. We definitely want to try the other items on the menu, I'm sure it'll be good. All in all, it was a great meal and we loved it. Kisaku is in Al Kaleej Palace and it definitely warrants a second (third, forth, fifth...) visit!

The next few days we spent in Deira, experience and absorbing old cultural Dubai - but we ended up in Deira City Centre instead! Talk about cultural experience, but I'm sure you can obviously tell that it is my fault, yes, I suggested a visit to Deira City Centre and we spent most of our weekend time there rather than outside. Whoopsie! My bad...

I've read so much about this little restaurant inside Iconic called Wild Ginger and was keen to try it out. Dragging my husband along, he was keen too so we decided on having dinner there after our exhaustive shopping stint at Iconic! My Bad!

The place, decor, design and layout of the restaurant was really cut and quaint. It had open long wooden tables as well as side soft couch dining. The lighting was warm, the interior design was funky and young and has a combination of stylings from Noodle House and Noodle Factory. The menu was tick your pick which was fun and convenient for us.

Our orders were Japanese Fried Seafood Rice (which was on special), Sweet & Sour Chicken and Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls.

And Braised Tofu with Seasonal Vegetables and Thai Mince Chicken with Holy Basil and Chilli.

The portions were abit tiny, although we were glad because we weren't left uncomfortably full but we expected more for the price. This place is slightly cheaper than Noodle House (which has a closer menu link than Noodle Factory) but it is justified (or unjustified by the portion size). You can pay more at Noodle House and you get more at Noodle House. But the food was nice, the meal tasted really wholesome and didn't leave us with dry mouths after that. The MSG wasn't there, or wasn't much which was good! We also had some lovely ice tea (out of a can) and coffee. We would definitely go back again as there were some interesting meals on the menu which we want to try for next time... (plus some more Iconic and Superdry shopping for sure!)

Chrisstmas Bakings Continues

2010-12-14T20:54:00.003+04:00

Well, this is our 2nd batch of Chrisstmas bakings. I finally decided it was time to take out the mixed dried fruits (soaked in rum for the past 2months) out of the fridge, as it was taking too much space, and finally baking the infamous Chrisstmas Cake, a must(!) for Chrisstmas. This time I followed Jamie Oliver's recipe, which was quite extensive, but I made it my own, taking out and adding in and substituting what I thought was appropriate and necessary.

Suffice to say, it was baked with much love and I somehow created a big foil flower at the end of it, covering the cake immediately when it came out of the oven (to keep it moist). Several hours later, removed and replaced in an airtight tin, covered with 2 layers of foil, making sure that I could cover over the cake, opening it as and when to feed it with more rum. This morning was it's first feed, through multiple holes made with a skewer! Wonder what it'll grow into? Little booze hound maybe? I think it'll make us into little booze hounds when we finish the animal! Oh and it'll also be covered with a layer of marzipan, for that little bit more touch of Chrisstmas. So, I shall keep on feeding it with rum until Chrisstmas Eve and have a boozy Chrisstmas Day! *yum yum*

I made more goodies whilst the Chrisstmas Cake was baking (2hours under 150deg C), utilising the remnants of ingredients from our first bake-a-thon! I decided to put two and two together and created these little beauties that I call Shortbread Stuffed Dates and Shortbread Stuffed Marzipan Coconut Balls.

I followed a shortbread recipe which I doubled to make 2 different type of 'stuffing';

400g of butter (soft)

4 cups of flour (sifted)

1 tbsp vanilla essence

1 cup dessicated coconut

1 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup cornflour

400g ready made marzipan (I mixed mine with 2tsp of rosewater for fragrance)

400g date paste (or dried dates soaked in water and then mashed to form a firm paste)

Beat butter and sugar together until smooth and soft.
Add in the dry ingredients and the vanilla essence.
Combine and mix well.
Form a ball and place in fridge for about 15min to firm up but still soft to touch.
Flatten out the shortbread mix at 0.5cm - 1cm thick and press down with a circular cutter.
Place rounded pieces of marzipan and date paste in the middle of the shortbread pastry and bring the sides up to seal the ball.
Smoothen the ball by rolling it in between your palms.
Bake in the oven at 150deg C for 30-40mins or until the top turns golden brown.

These little beauties will fill your home up with such a lovely smell, you cannot resist the temptation to at least try one (or 4) when they come out straight from the oven, all warm, melty and delicate. They leave a thick and sticky texture in your mouth as you bite into them, leaving you wanting more. The shortbread is thick, creamy and crumbly with a sweet warm gooey goodness surprise as you bite into the Chrisstmasy goodness!!!! OMGness... go now, go and start baking! You have to try them! They're so easy to make and OH SO GOOD!

It's Starting to SMELL a lot like Chrisstmas

2010-12-08T21:16:00.009+04:00

Well, I'm in the Chrisstmas mood already since the 1st of December. This is when we put up Chrisstmas decorations, start to think of buying Chrisstmas gifts, making Chrisstmas goodies and start sending out Chrisstmas Cards. I can tell you that we've done all of the above, but you can never get enough Chrisstmas goodies, so I've left a few more bits and pieces to pick up on closer to the date!

This is the start of our Chrisstmas festive lights we bought from the 1pound store in Truro (yay, it works!) around our little palm tree on our kitchen bar. It's a small section but it feels right.
We started baking Chrisstmas cookies as gifts for our colleagues and friends last Saturday. We did a whole lot of ingredient shopping on Friday, started at 11am and finished at 8pm! I'm so glad it's only once a year that we chose to do this - but then again there's Chinese New Year coming up on the 3rd of Feb... that's another story for another time. Let's get through Chrisstmas first shall we? We were knackered by the end of the day.

In amongst the baking, stirring, folding, moulding, cutting and sifting, we managed some dinner. My husband has always wanted to try SUMO Sushi & Bento, so we did. I ordered the UME Sashimi and home blanched broccoli.
The order came with 3 slices each of salmon, tuna and snapper on a bed of daikon salad, side of wasabi, pink pickled ginger and soy sauce. It was yummy, fresh as it can be - with only a slight fishy taste to the snapper. The tuna and salmon were my favourite. This is actually my first try with sashimi and I like what I ate. I'm trying to fit sashimi into my Japanese palette!
My husband on the other hand went for the Chicken Katsu Curry. His favourite because Japanese curry isn't hot/spicy at all. It came with a few slices of chicken katsu, some carrots and potato on a bed of white rice.
We added to it some left over briyani rice;
And some mixed seafood balls, baked for 20min in the oven. We enjoyed our meals because we've been working so hard, but then after 30min dinner break, we were back to it!
Oh and before I forget, amongst the Chrisstmas cooking/baking, we managed to roast some vegetables for my husband's lunch for the week. I chopped up some onions, carrots, capsicums, mushrooms, eggplant, pumpkin and tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and generous helpings of rosemary and oregano while I sent him out to get more butter!
This picture was taken AFTER we packed everything, this one is a few slices of the Date Oat Slice that was left over, we enjoyed it with Devon Custard - warmed up! YUM!!
So, lets start with our bakings; Date Oat Slice;
This is a collection of all the baking we saved for ourselves;

(clockwise) flapjack, shortbread, gingerbread heart, more shortbreads and date oat slices.
Our sliced up rocky road, the layers and colours turned out awesome! We made this one up ourselves, it had marshmallows, peanuts, raisins, dessicated coconut and melted chocolate all over. In the fridge overnight and voila! Classic NZ favourite sweet!
From the left, caramel shortbread and the rest are Gingerbread cookies, with star and flower cutters. I loved the smell of them when they were baking, it was Chrisstmas all over again, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and ginger, just beautiful.
I couldn't really take a proper picture of our little gift packs but I tried my best;

from the left the rocky road's hidding;

on top are the caramel shortbread and gingerbread cookies;

bottom right is the date oat slice;

middle top is the Scottish shortbread;

middle bottom are the flapjacks and coconut ice.
15 little beautiful packs;
Close up of the layers, unfortunately the plastic was slightly frosted but you can see them and how they're packed. Green and Red ribbons for a festive feel...
2 layered coconut ice (white and pink) and the unsliced date oat slice;
Another picture of the rocky road? What's going on?
Sliced up Scottish Shortbread, this one was tricky as it was so crumbly. But thanks to my husband who made it with careful instructions, they turned out lovely! Crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth, smooth, rich and buttery Scottish Shortbread like it should be!
Caramel Shortbread and Flapjacks;
Closeup of Caramel Shortbread (thumbprints) minus the lemon curd!
What an experience, going through 8 recipes in one day! We left the bakings to settle overnight, munched, I mean taste tested them on Sunday and sliced and packed them on Monday. We were so tired after that but I was very happy with the way they turned out. My husband asked why? why? why did we decide to do this?! Poor thing... I enjoyed it though... Till the next festive season, I shall leave you salivating for my lovely bakings.

Oh by the way, there's a few more on the baking list, Chrisstmas Cake (the mixed fruit has been soaking in rum for over 2months now), Chrisstollen with marzipan, a few fudge, slices and truffles to go? Chrisstmas Pudding... the list goes on and on. I want to make it all!

We're still putting our Chrisstmas menu together, so watch this space. Do tell me what your menus are for Chrisstmas or what cookies/bakings you've done for Chrisstmas. Remember, I take orders! ;)

More Foods throughout the Months 2

2010-12-06T12:54:00.008+04:00

In celebration of Diwali, we got some sweets from Lulu's, having sampled everything on the spread by a lovely server, we chose a few of our favourites. Not sure what they're called but they're mainly made from condense milk, rice flour, mungbean flour, cashew&chickpea flour and more.When we visited Lulu's for our weekly grocery shopping, we picked up a duck and my husband roasted it with 5 spice powder for dinner. He's done a great job of it, it came out juicy and tender, along with several roasted vege sides, we enjoyed it with plum and hoisin sauces.
Just lovely! He's the chief duck roaster of the family! I've never roasted a duck before I have to say. So, I'll leave it up to the expert chef to roast ducks in the future! :) Thanks baby
I'm not sure I might have mentioned this before. We went on our trip to UK and found a lovely whole food store and got some raw chocolate pies. I've got the ingredients for them and more and will attempt to try them out. I've also attained books from Ani Phyo and Russell James, both so inspiring so I will be attempting raw wholesome and goodness food throughout the year. Lets do some testing and trying... can't wait!

Oh by the way, we chose the Nut Pie, Festive Pie and Raw Pie;
This one just came out of no where, fish cakes burgerless burgers... (substitute with eggplant instead ;)

Pan fried eggplant slices;
Pan fried fish cakes (a mix of salmon and hamour fishes, spring onion, coriander, salt, pepper, Thai Red Chilli Paste, breadcrumbs, olive oil and eggs);
Caramelised onions;
TA-DA! Eggplant Fish Cake Burger!
The weekends, we enjoy some naughty food especially when Christmas is drawing near! This is a festive ginger spice muffin from Costa Coffee;
An assorted cheese platter, light gouda, brie and welsh cheddar with rye crisp bread;
Fancy some Indian Curry? Veal rendang with pumpkin;
Some crispy (almost burnt) poppadoms and chicken cous cous;
With a side of cauliflower soup and onions;
I also made vegetable and a bacon, mushroom and tomato quiche which I am so proud of. For the crust, I mixed chickpea flour with water and oil - healthier than the normal quiche crust and much more tastier too, but alas, my hubby didn't really like it as much.

For the vegetarian quiche, I layered eggplant, tomato, spinach, onions and eggs;
And for the other quiche, bacon, tomato, mushroom, onions, ricotta and eggs;
Sorry for the multiple pictures, I just can't get over the lovely images of the layers and the crust, it came out so well!

Having read other local bloggers, I decided to place and order of bread online through a swiss company, baking locally. So I ordered a pure rye bread and wheatmeal croissants. They were lovely, but they were TINY! For the price they were, I'd say not really worth it eventhough their ingredients hail from Switzerland.
More pappadoms for curry night and fresh veges for cabbage wrap!
Curry, fresh coriander and spring onion, tauge and pan fried tofu wrapped in lightly steamed cabbage leaves;
Infusion of loads of different foods here, vegetarian and meaty, hot and cold, I love exploring different tastes and methods all together. Sometimes it's hard work preparing so much but it's all worth it to me eventhough my husband disagrees! Too much work he says... no wonder you're so tired all the time! ;) *oops*

Dubai National Day Weekend

2010-12-06T12:31:00.002+04:00

We went down to JBR on Thursday as it was Dubai National Day for walkies and found that there were some things going on along the walk. So for my part in celebrating National Day, I decided to get my hand tattoo-ed by an Emirati lady with Henna Ink.It was lovely! But I didn't know what to do with it because it wasn't suppose to look like that - but then as we walked and talked, it kind hardened and started peeling off... then it was like a lightbulb that came on, on top of my head, the henna ink would leave a stain on your skin whilst the ink itself would come off once it's dried!!!! Duh!!
The next day, we went to Festival City for an ARTE Fair, found Cafe Nero at a corner little nook that looked like a little English/Italian cafe, sat down and enjoyed morning coffee.
This picture was taken after 2days when the ink settled and turned dark brown from the original orange colour it was. It's lovely! I'm so chuffed by it for some reason.

Yay I Did It FINALLY

2010-11-10T13:27:00.005+04:00

Sorry for the mega random post but I had my yoga class today and I finally managed to do a full yoga bird pose and hold for about 10seconds! I'm so happy!! The photo above is obviously not me but it's the yoga bird pose I'm talking about. You start on the Hindu Squat Pose then slowly go into the Bird Pose which is so much more easier than I thought. It's got nothing to do with strength like you see, it's all about balance. You set your arms and legs together at the hindu squat pose then rest your knees onto your elbows for support, lean forward, balancing well with your arms and palms wide open, look forward and then lean forward and balance. That's all it takes. I've been struggling for a few months now with the pose but I finally got it steady!! I'm sooooooo happy!!! :) I'm glad all my yoga class efforts was fruitful. I love Yoga! (&Pilates of course).

More on my foodie updates coming up soon ok, so watch this space. I've made some real goodies over the months and we've gone out and tried some really good food too. I'm so glad that I have this avenue to share with you my ramblings and passions! Thanks for staying with me...

More Foods throughout the Months

2010-11-08T10:26:00.011+04:00

My all time favourite, blanched broccoli with carrots!Rosemary and Oregano Sweet Potato Chips;
With oven steamed lemon salmon and kangkong stirfry and some lovely lovely dill cream sauce;
Chinese 5 spice, star anise and clove pork stew with boiled eggs;
Granola parfait and maple pecan brioche for breakfast;
Egg, beans, olive, avocado salad ala my style with a side of blanched edamame!
My day off!! Enough said... pepperoni pizza
Chicken Supreme;
BBQ Chicken;
The Godfather;
Salad Nicoise - my style (onions, tuna, blanched broccoli and lots of Thai chilli sauce)
Chicken and Vege soup with Matcha Soba;
Chicken and Vege Laksa;
Chicken Chow Mein;
Char Siew Spare Ribs;
This little beauty is from Haruki Murami's cookbook. Lovely book, I'm so glad I happen to find it on sale!!!! This little beauty is steamed tofu with poached egg, a side of sweet pickled pink ginger, soy sauce, roasted seeds and fresh coriander and spring onion. Simple and easy as that and SUPER DELICIOUS! So simple and so delicious! I think, no, I know, she's now my favourite!
Stewed pork cubes/sausages and belly with onions and ginger;
With Mein;
With fresh tofu and salad and loads of Japanese chilli;
Chilli seaweed salad with cabbage and carrot stirfry;
Kebab galore, fish/cuttlefish/prawn balls, with roasted onions, eggplant, carrot, mushrooms and avocado;
With a side of plump juicy fleshy Egyptian Mango!!!! Our favourite of all time! There's no going back now!

So Many Posts So Little Time So Lets Start with the Weekends

2010-11-08T08:33:00.009+04:00

Kino Cafe finally opened at Dubai Mall, in Kinokuniya Bookstore. I immediately fell in love with it. During my time of visit, the sun was shining in, so I chose a lovely sofa corner and sat under the warm sun rays where others had shade pulled down... why not sit somewhere else then? I don't understand.

Anyway, managed to sneak in a photo of the menu without getting caught, although after taking this pic, I found several cameras above me! Whoops... no one approached me though... *phew* There were some lovely stuff on the menu. Will take my time trying them all. The desserts look really scrumptious! Price wise, it's ok actually, the portions are fairly generous.
Have a look around the cafe and tell me what you think... I have to say, I love the simplicity, minimalistic look. Japanese designs are my favourite!

Me and my books and a lovely lady across the table. I ordered a lovely black coffee, apparently specially syphoned through a very interesting coffee making/warming equipment but it tasted the same as normal coffee. Price was outrageous. Not ordering that again!

More views of my surrounding. It was lovely and quiet as the cafe newly opened about 1 month ago and it was a weekday so I had the cafe to myself most of the time. We went again during the weekend and it was super chokka block! I've been there again and will be going there again and again. It's really lovely with a full view of the Dubai Mall Fountain! What more can you ask for?!
For dinner, we headed to Organics Food & Cafe and enjoyed dinner. One serving of carrot and apple juice and pineapple juice.
Fresh assorted organic breads;
And for our mains, we had a lovely cheese beef burger and a chicken stirfry with cashews and a side of steamed veges! YUM!
And for dessert, Morelli's Gelato, coconut with strawberry cheesecake and passionfruit with coffee!!! Not a good combo!
When we got home, we had some cold sake - defo not for me!!! Poor hubby had to finish it, but he said he likes it?!
Fleshy Egyptian mango for breakfast accompanied with cafe lattes in our new Latte Mugs from Crate & Barrel on the balcony.
And for dinner, we decided to try Gazebo, an Indian Restaurant recommended by my husband's Indian colleague - should be good and it WAS good!

Assorted chutneys and pappadoms for starters;
For our mains, we had Tandoori Chicken;
Chicken Tikka Masala and Vege Masala - yes, we OD'd on the masala area... my fault!
Along with some fluffly basmati and naan breads... super yummy! We couldn't finish it all, had to order doggy bags!
Almond Croissant and Maple and Pecan Brioche from More Cafe;
And we even got into the Oktoberfest mood, celebrating German beer, sausages and pretzels at Media City Radisson Blu. We had such a blast!
The food station...
Sunflower seed pretzel - our first, tough as heck! Nearly pulled out a tooth...
1 big jug/mug German beer;
German beef stew with dumplings;
And of course some borewors with sauerkraut and red cabbage with a side of German mustard;
We finished off the night with Apple Strudel and a dollop of Haagen Dasz vanilla ice cream.. ironic or what? I think Haagen Dasz isn't German!

Weekend in Abu Dhabi

2010-09-29T21:32:00.008+04:00

Ah... Abu Dhabi, what can I say about it? I like it's pedestrian structure, it's urban design, it's architecture in which compared to Dubai's, it's much more strategic and better thought out. The place is people and pedestrian friendly, lots of open and green spaces, lots for people to do on foot and by car. However it is not a place I want to live in, too small and slow compared to Dubai and very much more expensive to live in.

Anyway, we decided to spend a day down in Abu Dhabi, deciding that Friday would be best because it would be quiet and less packed being a Holy Day for the locals. Our plan was to have breakfast at the Corniche at one of the beach front cafes.
With a spectacular view and comfy chairs, we chose Cafe Noa, one of the many cafe's lining the Abu Dhabi Corniche. This is a favourite spot/area for locals and expats and gets very busy during the weekend. We arrived at around 10am, so it was abit quiet. We ordered Cafe Latte and Americano with a side of fresh pineapple juice...
And shared a Fruit Platter. Although the coffee was abit questionable, the fruit platter was nice for the price. It had green apples, sweet watermelon, pineapple, rock melon, blood oranges, kiwifruit, strawberries and grapes. Very refreshing and tickled our palette.
We sat for a bit but decided to move on due to the heat, think it might have been around the high 30s and we were getting uncomfortable so off we went to our favourite little spot, Jones the Grocer. We had a 2 for 1 voucher so we decided to take advantage of it. After all, we do like Jones the Grocer so the drive down was worth it.

The place had extended itself since the last time we visited, it had a full stock of cheese in the chiller and a takeaway area with goodies to make you salivate while you choose a winner out of all the winners! How do you choose??? I don't know... The interior was lovely, very homely, loft-like and industrial, modern and rustic at the same time. The place was packed but we found a little corner and sat our bums down. The place doubles up as a gourmet deli as well so there were alot of gourmet foods, kitchen and houseware on sale, also a large selection of coffees and teas, oils and cookbooks. It was fairly expensive so we just browsed around and nibbled on freebies after our meal! :)
The menu is not very extensive but it took a while to decide as everything looks so damn good! Breakfast was due to end in 10min time so we decided to go ahead and order mains instead. I chose the Grilled Salmon with Babaganous, Feta, Tomato and Olive Salsa with a side of Salad;
And my husband chose the Jones Wagyu Burger, which seems to be popping up on every table! It came with a side of fries and home made tomato sauce which was absolutely delicious!

The burger itself had a wagyu beef pattie, relish, tomato sauce, cheese and salad in a small bun but enough to fill a tummy for the meantime. The wagyu pattie wasn't all that as it was more of a mince pattie and the accompaniment overpowered the wagyu beef pattie. But overall, it was a really good and tasty burger which satisfied my husband. The presentation of the meals were adorable as you can see, they came on a wooden serving board each which was cute!

We browsed around the shelves, hoping to pick something up but ended up empty handed. However, on the way out I spotted these little lovelies - Dark Chocolate Coffee Beans and Roasted Wasabi Green Peas! Bloody heck, they were so so so UTTERLY delicious. I was crying through and through while enjoying the wasabi green peas, they were so good, I couldn't stop eating them although the wasabi was going through my nose into my eyes, I was suffering but I couldn't stop eating them! I cannot tell you how good they were!! The chocolate coffee beans were lovely, dark, bitter, crunchy and chocolatey. YUMO!
After that, we enjoyed some blueberry frozen yoghurt, mainly to calm my wasabi attack which I couldn't help but eat more when we got back into the car! ;) We spent the afternoon and rest of the day in Al Wadha Mall, stopping for some coffee at Costas on the way.
By the time we got back to the car to drive home, it was dark so we had to give the trip to the Souq Qaiyat Al Beri a miss, a good excuse to go down again another weekend and visit Jones the Grocer!

These are just some night shots of the way home through Saadiyat Island and YAS Island. Sorry the shots aren't great as I was taking these from a moving vehicle.
The entire place has definitely developed in the speed of light since the last time we went down which was in April 2010. How things change so quickly! YAS Island will be holding the F1 again in November and Ferrari Land is scheduled to open at the same time so I guess they have to work quickly to get things open and ready by then!

We got home tired and exhausted but very happy and satisfied with such a great trip. Can't wait to visit again soon!

Breakfast at Flying Kiwi Cafe and Dinner at Tribes Mall Of Emirates

2010-09-29T21:21:00.005+04:00

Wow, going through my photo archives, we've had so many goodies, found so many good eateries but on our list, we've got loads more to go through. We need to experience as many as we can as long as we're here, so expect more delicious pics to come!! :)

This one was a few months ago, we decided to finally visit the Dubai Garden Centre which houses The Flying Kiwi Cafe. Not sure really how it's related to the land of the kiwi but the cafe was pretty poor for all the garden cafe's we've been to. The garden centre itself is nice though, loads of BBQs and lovely outdoor furniture. We love the wooden rustic ones especially.

We couldn't do without a lovely slice of chocolate banana cake and our favourite, Peppermint Slice and 2 cups of lovely latte.

For dinner, we popped by Mall of Emirates and since we had a 30min wait for PF Chang, we decided to go across the way and try Tribes, an African restaurant, newly opened at the Fashion Avenue in the mall. They had all the drums, dancing and singing going on for the diners. We had a very friendly waiter who was quite knowledgeable of the extensive menu they have. We really couldn't decide! I swear we took about 30min to go through it and finally ordered.
The waiting staff did a tribal dance and song for the diners.
The interior design of the restaurant.
Our drinks, I cannot remember what they were... mine was some carrot drink type thing and my husband had a lime, lemon type drink with mint and something funky.
I had the BBQ flame grilled chicken skewers Arabic style with a side salad.
My husband had a mushroom beef burger with a side of fries.

Wasn't too bad, tad bit expensive for small portions, I wasn't full after that I have to say... We were tempted to go back to PF Chang for dessert!

Spinach and Tofu Frittata with an Asian Twist

2010-09-29T21:13:00.003+04:00

For tonight's dinner, I decided to have some fun. Rather than making something boring with spinach and tofu, I decided to go for a frittata to bring and set them together and at the same time, layering them as you would a lasagne, with hints of Italian flavour. The flavours were mainly all natural, only using salt, pepper and some extra virgin olive oil.

All you need are:

1 firm block of tofu

2 bunches of spinach

1 bulb of garlic, chopped

4-5 med to large onions, sliced

8 eggs

milk

salt and pepper

EVOO
I layered the baking tray with whole spinach, slices of garlic and onions and thinly sliced firm tofu. Mix together the eggs, milk and salt and pepper, beat well till combine and pour over the layered vegetables. That was it. Baked for 1hr under 190degC to make sure that it comes out soft and wilted. Simple and easy as.

The Asian twist is that the lasagne was served with some baked fish and tofu balls... that's all :)

How delicious does that look? And I can tell you that it tastes even better! I loved how the layering is visible and it worked out well. Next time, I might try the dish out with some feta cheese and pine nuts? Maybe with a crust? Oh the options are endless! I might also try a different side dish, maybe sweet roasted pumpkin and kumara, roasted chicken and buttered warm toast... *drool*

Tauge and Cabbage Stirfry with 3 Different Dinners

2010-09-29T20:45:00.006+04:00

Not going to say much as I have so many blogs to catch up on! This one is an oldie from the archives! Big pot of chilli bean beef stew with cabbage and tauge stirfry eaten 3 ways. My favourite, as a taufu pocket.

Left over chilli bean with pasta for good measure! :)

Yum, my favourite from when mom use to make them - Taufu Vege Pockets
Second round, with a whole blue Sherri
Finally finishing the stirfry mamak style, with char siew chicken, fresh coriander and spring onion and tossed with lovely matcha soba noodles!!!! YUMO!

And a spot of chilli goodness!

My Ever Growing Cookbook Collection

2010-09-20T16:14:00.004+04:00

I have a weak spot for cookbooks (my husband can vouch for that). We've spent so much on health books, recipe books, any books with recipes and beautiful images always make me buy them! I get excited about all new things, new findings, I try all sorts and any sorts that's why I have so many cookbooks. At times I feel so happy when I buy a new cookbook, other times, I feel guilty. Either way, I hope my husband sees my obsessive collective behaviour as a hobby with a big passion!

Here we go...arranged according to the NAME, SURNAME of the author and TITLE

A Common Sense Guide - Vegetarian Cooking

Alice Sherwood - Allergy Free Cookbook

Alicia Silverstone - The Kind Diet

Ani Phyo - Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes

Ani Phyo - Raw Food Desserts

Baussan and Meulien - Flavours of the Mediterranean

Bay Books - Best Ever 500 Simply Delicious Recipes

BBC Good Food ME - Signature Dish Dubai 2010

Betty Saw - The Complete Malaysian Cookbook

Charlie Ayers - Eat Yourself Smart

Cook Yourself Thin

Cooking Light - What To Eat

Complete Indian Cooking

David Kessler - The End of Overeating

Delia Smith - Delia's Frugal Food

Frank Lawlis and Maggie Greenwood-Robinson - The Brain Power Cookbook

Gary Rhodes - 365/One Year.One Book.One Simple Recipe for Everyday

Gillian McKeith - You Are What You Eat

Gordon Ramsay - Healthy Appetite

Hamlyn - 200 Wok Recipes

Helen Brierty and Annette Fear - Essentially Thai

Jamie Oliver - Jamie's Ministry of Food

Jane Lawson - Yoshoku

Jason Vale - Slim For Life

Jay Rayner - The Man Who Ate The World

Jessica Porter - The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics

Juliano - RAW The Uncook Book

Jo Seagar - The Cook School Recipes

Keith Floyd - Floyd's Great Curries

Kitchen Classics - Celebration

Le Pain Quotidien - Alain Coumont's Communal Table

Lesley Christensen-Yule & Hamish McRae - A Cook's Bible

Lisa Hark and Darwin Deen - Whole Grain Diet Miracle

Love Food - 101 Best Health Foods

Lynda Stoner - Now VEGAN!

Maria Constantino - Juicing and Smoothies

Mark Hix - Easy Everyday British

Matt Amsden - Rawmazing

Michael Pollen - Food Rules

Michael Pollen - In Defence of Food

Michael Pollen - The Omnivore's Dilemma

Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz - You On A Diet

Michio Kushi - The Macrobiotic Way

Mohana Gill - Vegemania!

Nigella Lawson - Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson - Feast

Peter J. D'Adamo - Eat Right For Your Type

Rocco Dispirito - Now Eat This!

Simon Majumdar - Eat My Globe!

Sri Owen - Indonesian Food

Stefan Gates - 101 Dishes To Eat Before You Die

Steve Pratt and Kathy Matthews - SuperFoods HealthStyle

Steve Pratt and Kathy Matthews - SuperFoods RX

Tal Ronnen - The Conscious Cook

Thai Vegetarian Cooking

The 200 Superfoods That Will Save Your Life

Thomas Yarema, Daniel Rhoda and Johnny Brannigan - Eat.Taste.Heal

Tom Kime - Exploring Taste & Flavour

Tracey Lister and Andrewas Pohl - KOTO A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam

Wagamama - Cookbook

Wagamama - Ways With Noodles

Women's Weekly - Gluten Free Cooking

Women's Weekly - Gluten Free & Allergy Free Eating

Weekend at Ibn Battuta and Dinner at Duck King Jumeirah

2010-09-20T13:20:00.003+04:00

Just wanted to share this lovely bouquet with everybody. A lovely bunch of white lilies that my husband got for me last Thursday as I wasn't feeling well that day, suffering from digestion problems and the fact that he had to work on Friday. And yes, he did work on Friday (our weekends here are Friday and Saturday) from 7.30am to 3pm. In the meantime, while he was at work, the water tank exploded, flooding the entire bathroom, the tiles cracked from the water pressure... oh the madness!! I am so glad we live in a serviced apartment! Everything was fixed and replaced within the same day.

Anyway, on Saturday, we decided to visit Ibn Battuta Mall as we haven't been there for a while now. They've just finished constructing the Ibn Battuta Gate which looks nice but if you look closer, the facade looks really fake and terrible. Not sure what the theme is behind it but it's oriental/arabic surface design looks just fake but overall, the "gate" looks nice, as an entrance into Ibn Battuta Mall.
We had a lovely lunch, I chose Zest, a fresh flavourful feast of Fab Falafel Salad (falafel, honey pumpkin and salad) and a freshly made Celer-brity Juice (celery, apple juice, carrot). This is my ultimate favourite salad/fresh bar but it can only be found in Ibn Battuta. The other salad bar is called Sumo Salad at Dubai Mall.
My husband had a Thai dish, I think it was Sweet and Sour Chicken with Prawn Fried Rice. He loves his fried rice I must say, which is why you see me making big batches of them to have with our meals. He's happy, I'm happy! :)
After our meal and walkies, we stopped at Costa Coffee (a must) for a sit down and some reminiscing of the old days. We love chatting about the past, present and especially our future.

One thing to mention about Ibn Battuta Mall is that it is a themed mall, so the pic above is at China Court. The mall is split into several themes, there's Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, Persian, Andalusian and Arabic I think? It is based on the travels of Ibn Battuta - an Arab traveller. So it is really nice and very detailed with sculptures, murals and historical readings, books and information displays.

On Friday night, we decided to head to Duck King, one of the places we had to visit because we had a discount voucher that expires at the end of this month. We have several actually so we'll be doing our fair share of eating out... this is how they make you go out and spend your money! Smart people huh? But we've had our eye on this place for a while now because we both love duck, any form/way it's cooked, we love duck. So off we went... Duck King is located in Jumeirah Beach Plaza on Jumeirah Beach Road, another one of our favourite places to visit because of its quaintness and unique shops/restaurants, pedestrian friendly area and the beach being the piece of resistance. Another favourite is Lime Tree Cafe just down the road. We also found Circle Cafe in the plaza which was just fantastic because it was voted the best cafe in Dubai.. so guess where we'll be heading to next time we're in the area?!
Sorry, so back to it, we were the only ones in the restaurant as we decided to have an early dinner. We arrived at 6pm and had the fullest attention of the waiting staff which to a point is seriously annoying but they were really good to give us time and space. The place was nice, a modern twist to the Asian themed restaurant, it was lovely with high back white chairs and elegant setting. The menu was super extensive, as I wanted to just try every single thing on the menu. Of course, visiting Duck King, you have to try their duck so we did, amongst other many dishes... we just couldn't decide what to have... tik tok tik tok... after about 30min, we made our decision.

First up, ice lemon tea;
A lovely big plate of fried squid with ginger, garlic, coriander, spring onions;
Jade Tofu (Japanese tofu with Enoki Mushrooms). I was chuffed with this having haven't had Japanese tofu for ages and ages!
Stirfry Beef with Broccoli (also came with carrots, Chinese mushrooms, baby corn, bamboo shoots, chestnuts);
1/2 Hong Kong Roasted Duck with Plum and Hoisin Sauce;
Claypot mixed veges (cabbage, chinese mushroom, carrots, vermicelli, chestnuts, bamboo shoots, button mushrooms, spring onions);
We also ordered Pi Par Chicken but they couldn't do half portion so we decided to cancel the dish which we were so glad we did as the portions were big and we were trying to hard to finish everything. We were advised that 5 dishes were too much for just the 2 of us but we asked if it was ok to get doggy bags incase that happens and they happily obliged. Suffice to say, we didn't need doggy bags, we were hungry and we were stuffed!

The food was great! The duck, the tofu, the veges, everything was lovely. Nothing was overpowering, each dish had its own lovely subtle taste but my ultimate favourite was of course the duck. It was to die for. The fat under the skin was so thin that it wasn't worth scraping out, it all went into our mouths! The meat was lovely, the skin was roasted to perfection, it was a lovely lovely dinner. We would head there again and try out more of the menu, that is after we've gone through the rest of our list of restaurants/cafes we must visit!

PS: If you must know, we went to Dubai Mall after and walked for 3hrs to digest the food we just consumed!

Hurrah Pizzas and Vege Omelets

2010-09-20T13:15:00.003+04:00

Again, several more coupons we had to use up by the end of the month, I decided to pack it all in last weekend! We had coupons for Hurrah Pizza which was just down the road from us, and the discounts were very good. We haven't been there before so we didn't know if it was worth it or not compared to Dominos or Pizza Hut. Hurrah Pizza is one of the smaller private owned pizza companies, amongst so many others that have popped up around us.

With our coupons, we bought 2 large pizzas for the price of 1, a family pizza, 2.25L of coke and garlic bread for the price of 1 pizza. This is what we got:

Garlic Bread;
Family size Supreme Pizza;
Large Tuna Pizza;
Large Chicken Pizza;
Suffice to say, they were pretty tiny, the family pizza was the size of a large pizza at Dominos/Pizza Hut and were slightly more expensive. The taste didn't really 'wow' me at all, it was bland and the toppings weren't great. The crust wasn't thick which was good. The meal was ok, not fabulous or overly fantastic. We would try other places before heading back there again.

So back to some home cooked meals, last night, we had some rosemary kumara chips with olive oil and roasted garlic which were simply superb! They were so sweet, I had half the batch!
We had an easy dinner, which consisted of a mushroom with caramelised onion omelet for my husband (with tommy k);
And I had a broccoli and cauliflower omelet. As you can see, the omelet didn't really form well, so I had vege and scrambled eggs! Haha.... topped with some Thai chilli sauce (which I over squeezed) and caused some perspiration and hanging out of the tongue! Well worth it thought!
I made a pork and chicken tomato and 2 bean stew for tonight, already cooked and waiting to be eaten for the next few nights, whilst I'm blogging from the balcony under the sun in 40deg heat which I must say is uncomfortable, yet comfortable for me.

Steamed Mui Choy Pork with Tom Yum Fried Rice and Edamame Salad

2010-09-17T11:31:00.004+04:00

Good morning all!!! I couldn't wait to post this blog up because for my birthday, my lovely dovely mom sent me a box of oldies but goodies. We've chatted alot online about foods that I miss, her cooking that I miss, you just don't know it until you're away from it. She's been cooking for us since we were born and no matter how many times her dishes repeat themselves over and over again, I keep telling her that no matter what she cooks and how many times she cooks it, we will love it.

She sent me some mui choy, pickled raddish, chinese sausages - the normal ones and the liver ones (my favourite!!!), goji dark chocolate balls, manuka honey and my good old dad sent me some ba kua and ba hu!! What a lovely surprise! I was very surprised and very pleased that they all came through immigration without a hitch! I can't tell you how happy I was when it came through and I opened it with all the lovely smell that whiffed out!! Now, the best part is that my husband didn't have a clue what they were and was quite apprehensive about it all until he bit into the ba kua - he absolutely loves it! He wanted more so that was 4pieces gone. There's only about 2 pieces left and he's been having them for breakfast which he can't stop "mmm-ing" as he bites into them. Warm and toasty, sweet, chewy and all the meaty goodness!

Well, last night I decided to make one of mom's dishes, steamed pork mince with mui choy. I think it can be made in stewed form too as I remember but steamed was on the menu last night. We finished the last bit of the tom yum fried rice, I blanched up some lovely frozen edamame and a tomato salad on the side. I should have made a stirfry for an Asian themed dinner but time got the better of me.
The steamed mui choy pork was so simple, just put together:

600g mince pork

1 piece of mui choy

1/2 bulb of garlic, sliced

1 bunch of fresh spring onion

pepper
Mix everything together well and place onto a tin plate for steaming for 30min in a steamer. That's it, simple as... and just enjoy!

I scooped out some "soup" before hand as it was overflowing and it was soooooo lovely! The smell and the taste took me back to being with mom at the dinner table enjoying each other's company and eating this dish with her.

It was very surprising that only 1 piece of mui choy salted up the entire dish perfectly without being over or under salted comfortably. I had mine with the tomato salad and we munched on the edamame as a starter while waiting for the pork to cook. It was such a lovely dinner and I want to thank mom and dad for sending the goodies to me. All I can say is... (dare say) KEEP THE GOODIES COMING! :) Everyday's my birthday???

Tom Yum Fried Rice Tom Yum Soup and Tom Yum Salmon

2010-09-16T10:24:00.002+04:00

Tom Yum galore if you haven't already picked up on that! :) I was craving for something spicy and found a bottle of tom yum in my cupboard that's almost empty so decided to use it all up for this week's dinners. I'm loving everything Thai at the moment, I've got yellow and red thai curry paste in the fridge, still very full - when will I use them? I'm hopeless. I see delicious spices and pastes in the supermarket, buy them and say that I will use it but never do! Why oh Why?

Anyway, I made a big batch of Tom Yum fried rice with fish balls and fried cuttlefish balls, caramelised onions, garlic and frozen mixed veges which we enjoyed for 4days now! Yes, it is a BIG batch. I find that I spend too much time rushing to cook so I deserve a break now and then and make extra for left overs. I'm more relaxed this week I have to say.
Together with that, I also made Tom Yum soup. Plain and simple with the fish and fried cuttlefish balls, cabbage and carrots, with water and a dollop of Tom Yum paste of course. It was superb!! Haven't had it for a long long time.
Last night's dinner was amazing as well. More Tom Yum rice accompanied with Salmon Parcels. I loaded them with:

1 salmon fillet

1 carrot, sliced

1 tomato, sliced

1/2 lemon, sliced

1/2 red capsicum, sliced

1/2 bunch of fresh coriander, chopped

I washed the salmon, put in all the veges in a foil parcel and baked it for 30min. When you pack food in a parcel covered, it steams the food which is much more convenient than steaming it on the stove top. Besides, my wok is quite tiny and my tin plates are small and shallow too so it's double the work for two people. We simply love steamed salmon. It's gorgeous!

Weekend Eats

2010-09-13T13:47:00.006+04:00

This post is a compilation of eating out from several weekends, and to start it all off, is Caribou Coffee house, our favourite haunt, where we enjoyed dinner for 2. We love their coffees, our normal black and latte coffees. We also love their signature coffees, Mint Condition.Chicken Pie
Steak and Cheese Panini
Last month was the month of Ramadhan, so we found a cheap Iftar to attend at Berts for aed60 each. We actually found an even cheaper one at Hotel Ibis for aed45 but Berts was closer to us so we decided to just head there and they are known to serve 'healthier' food. But I have to say after that it was healthy at all. We started off with dates and juice, then a hearty thick and creamy pumpkin soup. At the buffet table there were servings of dijon lamb cutlet, green curry chicken, seafood rice, basil cream pasta, vege stirfry, roast potatoes, a selection of cold salads, potato, pasta and raw greens. An assortment of desserts of mango pudding, cake, chocolate and white chocolate mousse and fresh fruits.

I was hungry, so I ate one and all to my husband's shock and horror!
The new extension at the Mall of Emirates opened on the 1st of Sept with 40 new shops plus several new eateries. One of them was More Cafe, which we were/are so thrilled about!!!! We decided to head to the mall for a movie - we watched Inception - from 6-9pm and had a late dinner at More Cafe. Everything was so new, shiny and white in the new extension, called Fashion Dome. It's now my favourite place to go. We did a quick scan but will do a more extensive scan later on. My husband didn't want to do a thorough scan cos Christian Louboutin just opened his first store here in UAE at the Mall of Emirates. I've been eyeing his shoes for a while now... My husband's keeping a closed hand on his wallet! :)

Anyway, back to new eateries, the mall opened up several new restaurants and cafes, from memory, PF Chang, More Cafe, Fauchon, Tribes, Biella, Asha? Al Alabibi? Le Pain Quotident and a few others, Pinkberry, Cafe Havana, etc. So exciting! All a must try. They included one from every continent type thing for every tastebud and background. We headed straight to More Cafe, where we ordered their infamous Beef Lasagne (bloody gorgeous) and Soup of the Day (Cauliflower Soup) with a side of rye bread. The menu is very extensive with all sorts and we can never decide what to eat! I just want to try it all.
On one of our food shopping nights, we got some Eid sweets to try... they were all sugary, rose flavoured with pistachios, dates, figs and raisins. All very nice to try. My favourite is the pistachio pastry.
We enjoyed it with a bottle of lovely Rose! Lovely end to the night...
Our dinner just last week Thursday, we decided to have dinner at PQ Dubai Mall. I've always wanted to try their hot meals, having only had breakfasts at PQ. It was also the last day of Ramadhan, thank goodness for that.
Our Americano came in bowls, I thought only lattes come in bowls...? Cute!
We ordered the same thing as that was what we both chose in our heads as first choice! We both had the stewed chicken in tomato, olives and mushrooms. It came in a cute little casserole hot pot, with couscous or fresh greens. It was a mission trying to tell the waiter I want to replace the couscous with salad. One minute he said no, it's not possible and then another minute he suggested salad?!!! What the heck... my patience is definitely being tested here... And the most annoying thing was that he kept on looking at my husband rather than me.

The chicken casserole was nice but very tasty and salty. We were thirsty for the rest of the night, having to spend so much on liquids!
The weekend that just passed, we spent the 2days at Radisson BLU Deira Creek. We had vouchers to spend before Sunday so we decided to splurge on some good food. First choice was my husband's - Minato. It was lovely. We went a la carte.

We had this lovely octopus salad as an Entree - complimentary of the house;
Fresh Edamame and Chicken Gyoza for Starters;
I ordered the Miso Cod and a side of Seaweed Salad. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! It had me at first bite. The pieces of fish were creamy, thick and soft, melted in your mouth as it goes in but at the same time held it's form. The fish was tangy, salty and sweet, the skin, crispy but softly and lightly coated in the tangy sauce. OMGness... I absolutely love it. I didn't know something so simple could taste so smooth and delicious. I made every bite count and savoured it till the end. The side seaweed salad was absolutely fresh and delicious. Well worth the price and ambience, it was such a good choice.
My husband was itching for Ebi Tempura. It came with 5 big juicy fresh prawns and several vege tempura as well. Don't think he had any sides but it came in a big hearty warm bowl. The presentation was immaculate. Everything Japanese is perfect! I love it. He loved it, he loved the fresh prawns, saying he could eat Ebi Tempura forever. Wonder how easy/hard it is to make Ebi Tempura?!
We finished the meal with a cup of Americano each, although this was my husband's 3rd choice. He ordered the Banana Tempura with Ice Cream - but that wasn't available because the bananas weren't fresh or good, then 2nd choice was Tempura Ice Cream, which again wasn't available and finally he said, forget it, give me an Americano. The waiter was so apologetic about it and we were appreciative of his apologies that our coffees were complimentary.
After the meal, we headed up to Up On The Tenth, being Friday and all that, to enjoy spectacular view of Deira Creek on Friday night. We were impressed. It was surprisingly quiet, but it was only 9pm and the jazz musicians weren't on that night so that's probably expected. We will go back there again when the musicians come to play. It's suppose to be one of best jazz club in Dubai. We'll let you know!
We were back again on Saturday, this time for lunch and it was my choice so I decided on Sumibiya, a Jap/Korean BBQ restaurant. We were early and it was quiet so we were the only ones in the restaurant save for 1,2 singletons who came and went.

We ordered fresh orange and pineapple juice and the glass that it came in gave me a shocker when the waitress placed it on the table. The picture below says it all!!!!!!!
First up, we ordered their kimchi (small) - it is SMALL.
And then the BBQ, 3 types of meat, Aussie beef, NZ striploin and chicken and a vege platter. The waitress told us that it is enough for 2, boy we could have it 3x over. The amounts were pretty small. However, the novelty of bbq-ing/cooking our own meal was fun but I was worried about cross contamination.
The foods were tiny and small but after all that, we were full after all. The drinks, kimchi and meal was enough for lunch I would say. We paid for a la carte where buffet dinner that night was the exact same amount for all you can eat.... DAMN. We will be back! It was fun, we had such a good weekend!
What will we do this weekend? I don't know, but we've decided to put together a list of places that we've seen or read about that we want to visit and try and the list is SUPER long. So watch out for more delectable photos and weekend out eats!!!!! Can't wait!

Kang Kung Sambal with King Fish and Egyptian Mangoes

2010-09-13T13:02:00.003+04:00

After visiting and tasted Egyptian mangoes, I have to say that it is the best mangoes we've ever had since being here. It is NOTHING compared to Pakistani or Indian mangoes - the size, colour, texture, sweetness, soft silky flesh is the ultimate of the ultimate!!!

These pics don't do justice to the thickness of this humongous mango that we shared but still hungry for more! I have to say that the flesh was at least 3cm thick or more from bottom to top...the seed was so small and thin, it barely took up any space in the mango and we both enjoyed the flesh, leaving us biting and sucking what remained on the skin!!! Omgness, I'm really hooked on Egyptian mangoes, they are the best!
Anyway, back down to reality, I decided to try my hand on making some sambal kang kung - my style anyway cos it didn't turn out like those you get in the restaurants! ;) I did have some sambal, thanks to my good friend WL who sent me some and I have to say that little teaspoon added to the dish made a big difference! I could taste it even in such a big dish. I'm glad I didn't put any more than 1 tsp!

I put blended together:

5 onions

1 garlic bulb

2 fresh red chillies

2 pieces of galangal

1 tsp belacan

2 bunches of kang kung
And there you go, I fried the blended onion mixture first in a hot wok with oil until fragrant, then added in the kangkung and stirfried till cooked.

We enjoyed the meal with pan fried king fish, another one of our favourite. They both went together really well.
And yes, we did finish it all up, down to the last onion in the wok! It was good but of course, not like in the restaurants unfortunately, maybe one day huh?! The meal was lovely, a little taste of home.

All I Can Say is YUM YUM YUM

2010-09-13T12:40:00.005+04:00

YUM YUM YUM! Want me to say it again?

This little number came from the LEON cookbook, thanks to my husband who picked it up and having all the ingredients, I made this dish called Pork, Lentils and Rosemary. We had it over 2 days. One with mungbean patties and the second time with lovely rosemary and thyme couscous.
First up is to marinate and roast the pork belly, pork pieces and pork sausages with copious amounts of rosemary, salt and pepper.
All of the lovely meats above are then chopped up into bitesize pieces.
With lovely fluffy couscous flavoured with rosemary and thyme and extra virgin olive oil!
For the main dish, it had all the meats, tomato, veges, I replaced lentils with mung beans (as that was available for substitution) and you guessed it... ROSEMARY! I stewed it for 2hrs under a low heat and it came out so beautiful, thick, creamy and gooey!
For the 2nd day around, I decided to finish up the rest of the mungbeans in pattie style. I actually wanted Uadai but didn't turn out that way. But it was still good though, my style of chunky Uadai!

4-5 cups of Mung beans, both whole and pureed

1 bulb of garlic, minced

5 onions, diced

2 fresh red chillies, chopped

coriander

2 eggs
Mix and combine properly. I used an ice cream scooper to form the shapes and into the oven it went for about 40min under 190degC heat.

I also fried up some tofu at the side. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Delicious Dinners of Mung Bean Green Curry Style and Thai Fish Cakes PLUS Dessert

2010-09-13T12:04:00.009+04:00

This one is a bit of a mix and match. I decided to clear our my larder and found alot of lentils and pulses hidden behind at the back of the cupboard. I can't even remember when I bought them so decided to cook them and restock again. I'm glad they were still ok to eat.

I experimented mungbeans in green curry, with corn tortillas on the side, some panfried chicken, baked beetroot and panfried tofu.
The meal come out semi asian/mexican infused which was quite nice and interesting I have to say. The tofu and tortillas were suppose to be the dippers for the green curry in the middle but it didn't work out so we just ate as we went... mixing and matching!

With the left over mungbean curry, we had it with black french lentils the next day. It's really versatile and still lovely to eat. It was a bean fiesta!!
Another dinner recipe was chosen out from Jamie Oliver's cookbook for Thai Fish Cakes made from salmon. I had a good old time with this little number, think it took about 3hrs all up to put this together, to only see it all fall apart as they didn't hold together as well as I thought they will. Suffice to say some were safe, but others weren't, so I'll only show you the good pics. They were really good though.
Mix together:

2 cooked salmon fillet

2 cups sprouted mungbeans

2 eggs

4 onions, diced

1 bulb of garlic, minced

1 whole tofu, pureed

1 cup gram flour

3 red fresh chillies

1 bunch of coriander and spring onion each

Mix and blend them together as you go, just make sure they're chopped or blended nicely. I omitted the flour thinking that it would hold but it didn't. So make sure you don't omit it. Then just panfry them and enjoy!

We enjoyed ours with a side of fruity grape and cucumber salad and some left over mixed veges and of course my favourite, hot dang spicy thai chilli sauce!
For dessert, I made strawberry angel delight yoghurt pie. There were 2 packets of angel delight sitting there for the longest time ever so I decided to utilise it.
This was a BIG PIE! The method was the same as with the banoffee pie I made earlier but here are the ingredients:

For the crust:

2 cups almonds, chopped

2 cups dates, chopped

Combine them both together and mix evenly and press down in a baking pan/baking dish. Set aside.

For the top:

2 packets of strawberry angel delight

1 tub of plain yoghurt

2 sticks of agar agar

Combine and mix together well.

Putting them together:

1. Press down the crust in a baking pan/dish evenly.

2. Place and spread out cherries to cover on top of the crust.

3. Pour over the yoghurt mixture.

4. Put in the fridge for at least 8hrs or overnight.

My cherries were still frozen so it kinda melted everywhere when we wanted to eat it. And the yoghurt mixture was abit clumpy too cos the agar agar was still bit too hot when I mixed it all in. Oh well, never mind! It was still so delicious! Live and learn, and don't forget to eat!

Gingerwine Chicken and Vege Wraps - Post Food Poisoning

2010-09-13T11:44:00.004+04:00

I was suffering from food poisoning after our trip to Cairo, I guess it's typical that one pics up on this when eating food in Egypt. Although my husband didn't - think he has a stomach made of steel but when it comes to spicy food, he has the opposite effect!?

Anyway, after 1 week of suffering, mom told me to cook this meal to gain back my strength, gingerwine chicken soup. We found Stone's Gingerwine, which is the best and some DOM for sweetness to add into it and some chicken thighs on sale to put this together for me.
The soup came out lovely as I haven't had the soup in such a long time. But I had to make another meal for my husband as he prefer not to have the soup so I made fried rice with pork sausages and mixed vege for him with a touch of soy sauce which I'm glad he enjoyed.
With my ginger chicken soup, I made a raw vege wrap on the side.
I blended up some carrots, black lentils, coriander, lemon juice, salt and pepper together till smooth and wrapped it up in lettuce leaves with my lovely chicken, drizzled with some lime juice. Just lovely!

Sweetie Goodness

2010-09-13T11:27:00.002+04:00

Made some lovely pancakes for breakfast one day with frozen cherries (thawed overnight). The pancakes came out super fluffy and soft - this one is from Betty Crocker, out of a box. YES, I know, it's not like me but it has to be eaten. Surprised my husband with this one and enjoyed it immensely! The combination of cherries and maple syrup's the bestest ever! It's nice to be bad once in a while ain't it?!

This pic I had to put up!! Omgness, I had to get these when I saw them. I grew up with these in Malaysia - Julie's is the most popular brand for sweetie goodness, from love letters, wafers, biscuits etc. I found them in my gym building ironically! They were on sale for Ramadhan too, aed5 per box, bloody bargain!! I scoffed both the boxes down and I'm not ashamed to say it! So there you go! HAH!!
We found this little beauty at the Cairo International Airport and HAD to get them. Again, scoffed down within a matter of days! I love the round ones - they were coconuty and I love just plain black licorice. YUM!!!
These little golden puppies have a story behind them but I don't want to get into it. I made these beautiful muffins just this weekend pass, from FREE bananas!! Yes, 5 free bananas... cos they were semi bruised, that's why they were free... and turned it from zero to hero!

5 large bananas

4-5 cups of raw oats

2 cups of golden raisins (or dates), chopped

2 cups of almonds, chopped

Mix and mash them all up, place in a muffin tray and bake for 40min under 190degC heat.

Super delish and super fast. Enjoyed with a spot of butter and marmalade by candlelight darling... You can put any ingredients in if you want, it's totally unlimited to the imagination. Try them all and let me know!!!!

My Birthday Cupcakes Made With Love

2010-09-13T11:13:00.002+04:00

Omgness, sorry peeps to those who follow my blog. I haven't updated it for yonks. I do have a good excuse and also a not so good excuse. First of all, my laptop died on me (as mentioned before) and also I've just been procrastinating. There's always something else so see, do, copy, paste, pack, organise, etc. My life's oh so busy - yeah right! :) So here I go, we'll see how far I can go with all the backlogs that I have. I promise not to bombard you with millions of posts, maybe I'll clump them all together.

This is an overdue blog. My birthday was 1 month 1 day ago but I need/want to put this up because it was the best ever birthday cake I've ever had and it is all thanks to the effort my husband put into it that made it so much more better. I decided to try out one of Ani Phyo's delectable desserts that I got because I'm so keen to try all sorts, open up my palate and all that and I am suitably happy with what I found.

For my birthday this year, I told my husband that he should make my birthday cake rather than go buy an unhealthy one outside with all the fatty and sugary goodness. My favourite cake is carrot cake and I was delighted to see a recipe in Ani's cookbook.
And here is the result. A beautiful lovely version of Ani's raw carrot cupcake with kream. It was the most delicious, light, healthy cake I've ever eaten! It only took him 30min to put it together and serve. Thanks darling, I know you enjoyed it too! I'm so glad I got the book, I'm so keen to try out all her recipes now after tasting this beautiful cake.

M.I.A

2010-08-29T14:39:00.005+04:00

Hi guys, sorry for the silence... My laptop died on me - it says that my hard drive is due for imminent failure so I panicked but I managed to save it and paid a reasonable price for a new hdd and service fees too. Hopefully it'll last me the next few years yet!

Alot have happened since, in terms of foodwise, my birthday, trip away, lovely cosy home cooked meals. I will post them up as soon as possible! Promise! Will leave you some teasers to tickle your tastebuds!