Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Making & Behind the Scene - Hello Kitty Food Blogger Sausage Sculpture for the Cock Up

Hello Kitty Food Blogger - My Blog is Cuter Than Yours - Cocktail Sausage Food Sculpture
All the mess and madness before the cocktail sausage cook up.

I didn't plan to make a sausage sculpture before, I knew cutetifying food isn't my forte.
Hello Kitty Food Blogger - My Blog is Cuter Than Yours - Cocktail Sausage Food Sculpture

What did I plan to make?
Welcome to my Hall of FAILURES.
Cocktail Sausage Cheesecake
Cocktail Sausage Savoury Cheesecake. 
The idea sounded good in my head, I used Maid brand's honey cocktail sausages, they're a bit sweet, so I thought they would work. I thought of making tarts instead of a huge cake, topped with glazed apples, peaches, or grapes, or a mix of fruits...maybe garnished with a piece of thinly sliced, deep fried crispy cocktail sausage.

Wow. Ambitious, wasn't I?

Well, obviously, I failed. Hard.
Cocktail Sausage Cheesecake
I food processed the cocktail sausages into the cheesecake batter. The cheesecake ended up fluffy, more Japan than New York, which was fine, but the tiny bits of sausage made the cake super weird, and not in a good way. I probably should've left them sliced to give the cake bits of bite. You can see that I've failed the cream cracker crust too. I was too impatient waiting for it to set. Oppps.
I'll do better next time...

Apple Cocktail Sausage Savoury Crumble
Apple, Pear & Cocktail Sausage Savoury Crumble
Again, the idea sounded good in my head, but the whole thing tasted so damn weird. I should've probably leave the fruits uncooked or pickled. Crisp the sausages and make the crumble separately and assemble them together in small shot glasses or something. This crumble topping was savoury, maybe I should've made the crumble topping sweet? I dunno, but I'll explore this idea and try again.

I realized I should stick to what I know instead of trying to be a smart ass, I'm a one trick pony after all. Heheheh. That's how I ended up with my dishes, sweet & sour sausages and the Indonesian sate sosis.

As for the Hello Kitty craziness...
I just wanted to have fun and create something mad for the event, instead of just bringing dishes.
I thought of making a whole table of food bloggers, most of them would resemble the bloggers who would attend the event, but OK, that's too damn ambitious, there's no way I could do that.

Then I thought of creating a mini me (a food blogger) out of cocktail sausages, but ok that's so damn narcissistic, I feel disgusted even as I am typing this up. Ugh.

So what's cute, somewhat relevant to Hong Kong, and relevant to the event?
Uh huh! Hello Kitty food blogger, my friend.
Hello Kitty Food Blogger - My Blog is Cuter Than Yours - Cocktail Sausage Food Sculpture
I used these light colored small sausages. A tanned Hello Kitty would be cute too, but I tried to be as close as its original colors.

I bought a variety of stuff to realize my Kitty ambition.
Hello Kitty Food Blogger - My Blog is Cuter Than Yours - Cocktail Sausage Food Sculpture
Seaweed and seaweed strands for the eyes and whiskers, cheese for the nose, maybe add some food coloring for the red bow. Crackers and cracker sticks in case I need to build a table...

Hello Kitty Food Blogger - My Blog is Cuter Than Yours - Cocktail Sausage Food Sculpture
I had to make a lot of plan Bs...it's hard to stick anything to the sausages as they're oily! Everything slides down and fall off when touched, especially after the oil's dried out. I ended up using rice for the nose, stuck it to the face using a toothpick. I used honey as glue, small sharp scissors and tweezers helped a lot!

Hello Kitty Food Blogger - My Blog is Cuter Than Yours - Cocktail Sausage Food Sculpture
What's a food blogger without food? This was pretty straight forward. Rice, seaweed strands, toothpicks and sliced cocktail sausages to resemble luncheon meat. Very Hong Kong la!

The camera's made of sausage wrapped with seaweed. This failed in the end, after a while, the seaweed peeled off..and I had a bit of a disaster with the bow too...the cheese melted. I was so upset. I tried to keep everything savoury, as if we're going to end up eating the whole thing (warning, food poisoning?), but in the end I gave up and made the bow and camera out of pink Sugus candies.
Hello Kitty Food Blogger - My Blog is Cuter Than Yours - Cocktail Sausage Food Sculpture
The slogan "my blog is cuter than yours" was made out of alphabet pasta and changed the banner to resemble a talk icon.

Whew! It's been so long since I've been so mad.
It felt so good, I look forward to more madness.

More pics are posted on my Facebook Page.

Monday, June 27, 2011

My Entries for The Cock Up - Hong Kong's First Cocktail Sausage Event

How could you say no to an event aptly titled "The Cock Up"?
Juicy wieners, food, drinks, competition, creativity...it's all cock full of fun!

Here are my entries for the event...
My Blog Is Cuter Than Yours - Hello Kitty Food Bloggers Sculpture Made of Sausages
My Blog is Cuter Than Yours - Hello Kitty Food Bloggers.
My entry for the Best Sculpture category.
Made of cocktail sausages, seaweed, sugus candies, rice, cream crackers, alphabet pasta, stick together with honey and lotsa tooth picks.

Sweet and Sour Pork (pork cocktail sausages) - Just Like How Mama Used to Make
Sweet and Sour Pork 
My entry for Just Like How Mom Used to Make category.
Deep fried honey cocktail sausages in light batter, SC's mom sweet and sour sauce recipe, made of sauteed onion, red and yellow peppers, pineapple with vinegar, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, and sugar.

Indonesian "Sate Babi/Pork Sate" made of Cocktail Sausages - Fusion Fart
Indonesian Sate Babi (Pork Sate)
My entry for the Artsy Fartsy Fusion Mess category.
Honey cocktail sausages marinated in nutmeg, cumin, ground corriander seeds, light soy sauce & sweet soy sauce, oven grilled. Served over ready made Indonesian sate sauce garnished with lime, thinly sliced shallot, bird's eye chillies and kecap manis.

There were tons of wonderful entries, check out how all cocked up we all were, pictures are posted on my Facebook Page.

Gadzillion of thanks to Tom & Jen for hosting, can't wait for our next saucy event!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Miso Grilled Pork

Miso Grilled Pork
Another crazy easy "recipe" for you.

Marinate pork meat (I am using pork neck, it has even fat marbling, stays tender and juicy no matter how you cook it) with miso paste, mirin, and a bit of sugar, preferably overnight in the fridge. Grill in 250C oven until golden brown with charred bits before serving. Tastes amazing with rice or noodle soup.

Happy Friday, y'all!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Stir Fried Prawns and Kimchi

IMG_3605
So easy and super tasty. Nuff said.

Simply pan fry prawns and kimchi in a bit of hot oil until the prawns are just done (do not overcook). You can stop here, it's yummy enough, trust me. If you wanna go further, you can add gochuchang for a bit of sweetness, then finish the dish with a bit of sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds (I didn't bother. Heheheh).

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

More Yummy Food from Kuala Lumpur

As if I am not miserable enough missing all the yummy street food I had in my previous post. Here's more.
Food from Kuala Lumpur
Kway teow or noodle soup.

Food from Kuala Lumpur
Prawn mee.

Food from Kuala Lumpur
Chicken rice with roast chicken.

Food from Kuala Lumpur
Two young guys making my noodles...

Food from Kuala Lumpur
My favorite from this food center.

Food from Kuala Lumpur
Dry pan mee. Nothing beats freshly made noodles! I miss this so much!

Food from Kuala Lumpur
Enjoying the noodles too much, I forgot to ask what kind of veggie/leafs are these?

Something I regret not trying...
Food from Kuala Lumpur
Adore the idea. Maybe I should try making my own.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Weekend Picnic at Inspiration Lake

Inspiration Lake Picnic
Finally! We've found a patch of grass we can sit on in Hong Kong! We were so happy it didn't rain yesterday, we had our picnic with Joe, Athena and baby Alice at Inspiration Lake.

Inspiration Lake Picnic
The place is beautiful and it's easy to get to. Simply take the MTR to Disney station, and take the R8 bus to the Inspiration Lake recreation area.

We settled ourselves on a clean patch of grass, under the shade of a tree. We brought some simple food...sandwiches, hot dogs, shrimp paste grilled chicken wings, marinated meat and fish balls and Chinese sausages, and fresh melons.
Inspiration Lake Picnic
There's a 7-11 there, so actually you don't have to bring any drinks or food. We didn't know that ^_^'

I made roast duck sandwiches...
Inspiration Lake Picnic

I used mini croissants, store bought roast duck, slices of fresh pear, and mayonaisse.
Inspiration Lake Picnic

The hot dogs had cheese sausages, sliced cucumber, mayo, ketchup and spreadable cheese in them. I used cocktail buns, the inner part buttered and lightly toasted.
Inspiration Lake Picnic

I also made apple caramel sandwiches. They're filled with slices of fuji apple, which were lightly salted to prevent them from browning, and slathered with some butter and toffee caramel spread.
Inspiration Lake Picnic

The babies enjoyed their own food...and some of our buns...
Inspiration Lake Picnic

And it was too hot, we decided to let baby Marcus try some popsicle.
Inspiration Lake Picnic
He was shocked by how cold it was...at first.

Soon enough, he grew to love it...
Inspiration Lake Picnic

...and kept asking for more.
Inspiration Lake Picnic
So much for trying to not let him eat anything unhealthy until he's 10 ^_^'

It was so hot, we were pretty much melted, sun burnt, and bitten my mosquitoes/various insects, but we enjoyed it much, we're gonna go back when the weather is cooler.

The full set of pictures are posted on my Facebook Page. Like it if you haven't already ^_^

Friday, June 17, 2011

Kuala Lumpur Street Food

When I travel, I don't always try to dine in famous eateries. I normally just eat wherever and whatever, but I'd try to eat something local.

The following deliciousness are from a dai-pai-dong style eatery near Sunway Pyramid, Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur Street Dining

Kuala Lumpur Street Dining

Kuala Lumpur Street Dining
Char kway teow. One of my all time favorite. I order this every time!

Tayy...satayyy....
Kuala Lumpur Street Dining

Kuala Lumpur Street Dining

Kuala Lumpur Street Dining
I am not too crazy about sate padang, but my workmate lovessss them much!

Kuala Lumpur Street Dining
Fried carrot cake, come to mama!

Kuala Lumpur Street Dining
Plump and juicy oysters, I love you.

Kuala Lumpur Street Dining
Sambal grilled stingray. I so need you right now. Could anyone make this available in Hong Kong?

Kuala Lumpur Street Dining
My favorite drink when I was in Malaysia, teh-o-ping (iced sweet tea).
This is how I love my tea. No lemon, no milk!

Malaysian street food, I miss you already.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Durian Food Sighting & Food Loot from KL 榴槤飄香 & 馬拉美食之旅

I saw a small food stand in Mid Valley mall KL, and it's called Durian Durian. It sells all kinds of durian goodies.
係馬拉既Mid Valley mall有間野叫榴槤榴槤, 唔使講, 佢地賣乜都係榴槤啦!

Food Sighting & Loot from KL

Food Sighting & Loot from KL

Food Sighting & Loot from KL

All sounded fantastic! I tried the durian cheese crumble cheese tart and durian cheese cake. The names are better than the taste. The cheese cake and tart were pretty dry and not durianey enough. I've also bought the durian cookies and sponge cake.
但食起黎就冇個名咁勁啦..

Food Sighting & Loot from KL
The cookies are fragrant and buttery. The sponge cakes were light and fluffy, but again, there was not enough durian in them. I should've known better. Durian is always better as is.
食起上黎唔係咁有榴槤味..

What else did I get from KL?
除左榴槤, 仲有..
Food Sighting & Loot from KL
Choki choki (I love choki choki when I was young! You squeeze out chocolate paste out of its plastic casing, it's like munching soft chocolate! Yum!), Nandos peri peri sauce (I am marinating some Nandos wannabe chicken to be grilled tonight), Caramel toffee spread, and tamarind paste.
唔知大家識唔識乜係CHOKI? 我細個成日食的. 勁鐘意! 係擠(git)出黎食既朱古力醬. Nandos 的烤雞醬 etc

You know I'm fond of spice mixes, and I surely bought some from KL ^_^
仲有好多方便調味醬!
Food Sighting & Loot from KL
Can't wait to try all of them.
好想快D試!