To know me is to love me? Below are the 3 levels:
1. Those who doesn't know me think I am cheerful, friendly and funny
2. Those who know me well can't stand me
3. Those who know me best can't live without me
LOL
My point is, people from level 2 and 3 know how thrifty (correction: stingy?) I am, and many associate this to my Chinese-Javanese origin. I was called Japit (Jawa sipit or Jawa pelit) = Small-eyed Javanese or Stingy Javanese.
How thrifty? How stingy? Get ready for some hard core mathematical experience (here's a link to google currency converter):
- When I was studying in Australia, I bought AUD40 SECOND HAND MATTRESS (how could I???!!! many people are still condemning my stupid decision hehe, but hey! Lucky I didn't get anything off that mattress eh?)
- When I first moved to Hong Kong, my daily lunch was 2 slices of bread, each slice folded to form a sandwich with either strawberry jam/nutella filling or tuna which costs about HKD2 per lunch. Buying a HKD9.90 rice box was considered a major splurge back then
- Nowadays, my dinner & lunch budget is a total of HKD40 (2 meals for 2 people = HKD10 per meal per person)
Despite my Scrooge-yness (yep that is not even a word), I am willing to splurge from time to time on good stuff. This time, I've decided to splurge on a meal for a special occasion ^_*
I've been longing for a decent steak for a while...and as much as I love Hong Kong's version of steak (meat-tenderiser-MSG-laden-less-than-1-cm -thick slab of meat) served at most local coffee shops, I miss a thick steak, tender and juicy inside, crusty and almost crispy outside. Normally I pair steak with fries, roasted or mashed potatoes, but this time I want some pasta with creamy mushroom sauce, plus a serving of broccoli with roasted tomatoes. YUM.
A meal for a special occasion or what? Hehehehe
*Guess the special occasion*
The Splurge
The plump button mushrooms for my creamy mushroom sauce :) (HK$23 per pack)
The ricotta and parmigiano reggiano tortellini (HK$41 per pack) wayyyy over my normal HK$6.90 per pack pasta budget hehe, I'd better not screw this up
But look at these...how could I resist?...
The Australian Angus Rib-Eye Steak (HK$59 per 100 gr = HK$312 for 2!!!!!!)
Additional Ingredients
- Cherry tomatoes (HK$6 for half pound)
- 2 Broccoli (HK$7.90 for two)
- 4 cloves of garlic and 2 cloves of shallot, finely chopped
- Olive oil, butter
- Sea salt, white pepper, black pepper, sugar, chicken stock cube/powder
The Steak
Season steak with salt and black pepper, then pan fry in very hot oil with a bit of butter for about 2 minutes each side, try not to always flip
The Pasta
Boil the pasta according to the direction in the package
The Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Saute finely chopped garlic and shallots in a bit of olive oil and 3 teaspoon butter, add chopped mushrooms until slightly brown, add chicken stock powder, salt, pepper, sugar, add cream, add a bit of juice from the steak, pour over pasta, veggie and steak
The Veggie
Boil pieces of broccoli in water with salt, for about 3 minutes, drain and pour into iced water. Slice cherry tomatoes into halves, dump into oven with olive oil, butter and some salt until slightly golden.
It was a splurge, but totally worth it! Now, back to normal budget.
Check out more pasta recipes at Presto Pasta Night! :)
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24 comments:
aduhh rittt..beneran aku belum pernah bikin steak :(( ngeliat steak mu makin ngilerrrr...hahahaha...
btw, emberr tagnya emang aku jg bingung..:)))), aku liat di blog temen2 cuma copas aja itu contentnya...hahahaha...ga ngerti isine apa sebenernya, tapi karena di pass and ditanyain yo wis ta kerjain...dikau kena ya say,..:))))
Wow! Like eating in some high class steak restaurant! Isn't it better to indulge at home, esp when you can wear ur PJs and eat the steak :O
The only disadvantage - someone has to do the cooking, and washing!
oh rita..this is really a class A type of meal. takes a bit of preparation but definitely a meal to treat oneself and somebody special. i must simply bookmark this recipe :)
Rita, if you invite a man over for dinner...make him this...you will make him swoon, as I am now.
Very classy meal -- and I agree, who could resist those tortellini?!
Wow..expensive! But it looks so good. I can see why you couldn't resist! :)
hiee rita!nice blog u have. Yeah sure i don't mind linking up with ur blog too.keep up the good work!
what a wondeful blog with great photos! I went to Hong Kong for the first time in jan. I loved it and hope to go back again. Hong kong has the best food around!
Bertagni pasta! HA! They are one of the only store-bought filled ravioli's and tortelini's I'll buy cause they are DAMMMMN good! This meal is reminiscent of what my last meal on earth may look like - some type of fatty beef, a cream sauce and some fresh pasta.
isn't kind of funny that this pasta is sold up the street from me in brooklyn, ny as well as near you in Hong Kong? Kinda brings a 'we are the world, we are the children' tear to my eye. Everyone hold hands! ok, it's the end of my workday and i'm goign stir crazy.
wah aku yo gelem kr saus jamur,tp tortelini ganti sego wae yo huehehe... ra wareg maem pasta.. *dasar perut katro * hahahaha
nek ra ono sego yo kentang guyeng opo potatos wedges
This looks like a wonderful splurge and worth the effort. What a great recipe to share!
Ohhh........ steak!! laki gw bisa teriak nih minta dibikinin iqiiqii
Rit itu header jd meuni iklan kecap manis ABC begitu :)))
duhhh can I come over to your place :D
hi elsye, dwiana, yoo bikin yukkk
hi tigerfish, ahaha...PJs...close enough...i cooked those in my...(too much info alert!) hahaha
hi yozora, all are just easy cooking as the materials are already good as they are ^_^
hi peter, very good point! and cooking this meal, you won't have to put up with "my mum makes this wayyy better than you" as hong kong mamas don't normally serve this at home! LOL..if you are cooking chinese steamed fish...a totally different story ^_^
hi lydia & maryann...totally irresistible! my knees went all weak at the supermarket
hi culinary princess, thanks for dropping by, i've linked you too! :)
hi lina...gimme a shout when you're visiting hong kong again ya :)
amy, *cue the music*..."it's a small world after all..." hehehe..don't you just loveeeee how blogging bring all of us together through food?
yin..wah aku jadi pengen sego goreng kok'an yoooo
noble pig, it's totally worth the expanded waistline too! hahahaha
pep...hihihik maklum aku penggemar fanatik kecap manis + teh botol...beneran yo kalo ke hk call2 daku hihihik
You have to splurge on food every once in a while. This looks like a really good way to do it! That meal looks tasty!
hi kevin, couldnt agree more ^_^ i'll allocate more budget on food this "fiscal year" lol ^_^
ooo..is it your birthday? or perhaps a date?
I'm the same as well.. every penny counts. Our dinner cost around AU$2.5 per person. ahah..a far cry from the AU$8-9 if we eat out!
hi daph...hehehe yeah a super hot date indeed! all the heat from dicing and slicing, saute-ing, pan frying, grilling and taking pictures under halogen study light! LOL
gosh...when i was still in sydney, AUD5.50 could get me a good chinese take away meal from market city food court...now maybe not anymore eh?
Great meal, the steak looks really good and you can never go wrong with steak and 'shrooms. I agree with Kevin, you gotta splurge, there's nothing greater than a hearty satisfying meal to calm the nerves and soothe the soul!
- The Peanut Butter Boy
hey, i know that Japit term! most of my relatives live around Java (Jateng, Jatim) and i know some who are Japit :D
no wonder you're skinny, you could live with only 2 slices of bread! i would die...
hi nick, thanks for dropping by...hey...i am after cheap guilty pleasures in life hahahaha, but i agree, occassional splurge is ok. just curious, have u ever bought a super expensive jar of pb?
liz, so now you get to know 1 more japit la hahahahaha
i WAS skinny...now i cook cheap & huge meals for lunch and dinner...soooo with slow metabolism...i've been up 1 lb at a time (how i wish the same applies to my stock investments T_T)
I'm Back....
wah, masakan iki aku seneng tenan...
tortellini saus jamur...
mak nyuss....
This is the ideal last meal on earth or the last meal before going on a diet!
Everyone needs to be decadent once in a while. Thanks for sharing this with Presto Pasta Night.
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