Another Favorite Summer Snack - Cold Fresh Longans

Another favorite refreshing snack for summer, cold fresh longans.


I haven't found a way to work with longan as I found it best as is.
Have you done something with longan in sweet or savory dishes?
Do share your ideas.


Baby M, curious as always...

Coffee Cream Soda Granita

You guys can probably smell my desperation to beat the heat this summer. I've been freezing everything I can get my hands on, including my caffeine :D

Back home in Indonesia, I used to love F&N's coffee cream soda, and it's too bad I can't get it here in Hong Kong. I am trying to recreate it and of course, transform it into a frozen form ^_^

It's super easy and I am very pleased with the result.
Some bitterness from the coffee, enough sweetness and a tinge of tang from the cream soda...in the form of ice!

Frozen coffee.

Oh yeah. My caffeine of choice.

Recipe
- 4 heaping tsp of instant coffee (you can use your preferred coffee)
- 4 heaping tsp of caster sugar
- 1/4 cup hot water
- about 1 - 1&1/2 cup of cold cream soda (it's not creamy at all, it's just sweet)

Dissolve instant coffee and sugar in hot water, pour into a 24oz/3cups/700ml freezer friendly container, top with cold cream soda until about 3/4 full or add bit by bit to make sure that you don't lose the coffee flavor from adding too much soda. Place in freezer for two hours, stir well, put it back into the freezer and simply scrape the ice with fork before serving. After scraping with fork, you can keep the leftover in the freezer, ready for next consumption.

You can serve it topped with a bit of cream or whipped cream, but I prefer mine as is.

My Bastardized Sangria

I could really use some of this right now.
Red wine, diced strawberries, peaches, pears, sprite and ice.
Cheers!

Stir Fried Eggplant in Chinese Fermented Beans

My hat's off to SC's mom, who has been planning menu daily for over 30 years. She could make tasty and hearty dishes from the most humble ingredients! This dish is one of her brilliant ideas. It's really tasty, a little goes a long way with rice, I almost forgot that this dish doesn't even have any meat in it. It's that good, and it's so simple to make.


Recipe
- 1 eggplant, cut into chunks
- Chinese fermented beans (min si), we bought a pack from the wet market
- spring onion, roughly chopped
- cooking oil, white pepper, corn starch dissolved in a bit of water to thicken the sauce (optional)

Saute eggplant chunks in a bit of oil until softened, add min si bit by bit to suit your taste, add white pepper, add chopped spring onion, thicken sauce with corn starch mixture if you wish, and serve with white rice.

This could be a side dish to your meat and carb, or this could be the star of the play when you fancy a meatless day.

Lunch at Lis, L'hotel Island South, Hong Kong & Baby M's Antics

Look at that naughty face....

We brought baby M to lunch with a couple of friends to meet their lovely baby, and I was surprised to see such a stylish place in the middle of industrial buildings in Aberdeen.


There were so many diners with their babies and kids there, and now I know why.

Look at those stylish high chairs!


They also provided plastic utensils for kids.

Baby M had a lot of fun wreaking a havoc on their comfy seats...


Climbing up the seats to play with his diaper bag...

Until he was finally safely seated on one of the high chair with a handful of baby biscuits.

Whew! Now papa and mama can hit the appetizer buffet.


Baby M tried a bit of their corn soup, he liked it, but it's a tad too sweet for mama.
Mama loves the crispy and tasty bread though.


It's a semi-buffet lunch, you get to pick and order the main course you like.

The risotto has a nice bite, but it's a tad too creamy from the sauce. Too creamy for summer.


The duck's juicy and tender, the sauce was delicious. I wish the skin's a bit crispier, but all in all, not bad.

What I love the most, was their dessert spread.

Lovely croissant bread pudding and tiramisu.


The blood orange jelly, raspberry chocolate mousse and deep fried taro were wonderful too. I like!


There's a crepe station too! Yum!

As for baby M's antics...he went crazier after we fed him biscuits!

Naturally, he wanted to sweep everything off the table...

...and without hesitation, he went on to "attack" his new cute friend with kisses.

Oh, son! Please be gentle! You're scaring him! Aiya~!

The lunch costs HKD114 each for us. I wouldn't consider the food mind blowing, but I'd go back if we happen to be in the area, in need for a venue that's babies/kids friendly.

LIS
Podium, Level 3, L'hotel Island South
55 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
香港仔黃竹坑道55號南灣海景酒店 P3 (正門入口於塘邊徑)
Tel: +852 3968 8833

Watermelon & Mint Popsicles for Baby M

In an effort to beat the heat...
I made so many kinds of slurpee, popsicles, granitas, ice cubes, iced drinks, I basically iced everything, it's getting ridiculous!

Remember the watermelon and mint slurpee from yesterday?

I also made it into popsicles for baby M to enjoy.

Did he like?


Sweet, refreshing, homemade, no scary chemicals involved.


Lick, lick, lick!

He couldn't get enough of it :)

Happy weekend, y'all! Stay cool!

Watermelon and Mint Slurpee

Something easy and refreshing to slurp loudly while watching my late night bad TV after baby M went to bed. Watermelon and mint slurpee!

Simply throw some chunks of seedless watermelon (I used about a quarter of a watermelon), some fresh mint leaves, and a bit of honey (if needed) into food processor/blender, pulse/blend until smooth, add a splash of vodka if you want, pour into a plastic container, place in the freezer for about 90 minutes - 2 hours, and slurpppppp~!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Most Elegant Ramen Meal I've Ever Had - MIST, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong - Closed

The title says it all.
I've never thought a ramen meal could be this elegant. Normally, elegant is the #98763474 priority for me when it comes to food, and I always have this suspicion that elegance = pretentious =/= good. But I am so pleased to say that the food at MIST is super mega delicious!

SC and I ordered 1 set dinner (to share) + 1 additional bowl of ramen. It's the perfect amount of food for both of us.

The meal started with one spoon rahmen of sea urchin (the above picture) and chicken broth gelee with caviar.

Both absolutely delicious!


The lobster & crab meat tartare was sweet and refreshing. Lovely!


The smoked chicken thigh with black pepper sauce? Whew! Best black pepper sauce I've tasted in my life! It gave me quite a good kick, and the chicken meat was cooked to perfection. Wonderful!

Now...the ramen...look at how gorgeous this bowl of ramen is!

Karamiso Ramen.

The noodles had just the perfect amount of chewiness, the broth's super rich with flavor but not overwhelmingly greasy, the pork slices were melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Yummy!


Although I adore the richness of the karamiso ramen broth, surprisingly, I preferred this ume shio ramen.


Don't be tricked by its paler color. It's very flavorful, with a hint of sourness from the plum. Love it!


I am not a big fan of tofu desserts, but this one was so silky smooth, mildly sweet, lightly creamy with a lovely of something floral....I adore!


I ended my delicious meal with a cup of coffee.
Very satisfied.
It's so worth the elegant price tag.

A set dinner costs HK$428 and a bowl of ramen costs HK$120-140 (+10% service charge)
CLOSED :(
MIST (創作麵工房)
G/F, 4 Sun Wui Road, Causeway Bay
銅鑼灣新會道4號地下
Tel: +852 2881 5006

Perfect Summer Snack - Fresh Cold Cherries

A very random post. I am sooo craving this right now!

Honey Lemon Basil Chicken Pie

Underneath this dramatic exterior...there's something sweet trying to come out.


I asked for some ideas for summer-friendly savory pies on twitter, and it's so amazing how V, a food loving pal and I shared the same thought! We both thought of lemon chicken pie! Sweet, savory and tangy at the same time. It's perfect!


The filling is very easy to make and I used some leftover puff pastry I had in my fridge. If you want to make your own pie crust from scratch, you can use Jamie Oliver's recipe that I've tried before.


Recipe
Filling
- 1 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillet, cut into bite sized chunks
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- honey, salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg, corn starch, water, cooking oil, butter
- fresh basil
Marinate chicken chunks in salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg, lemon zest, a bit of lemon juice and corn starch for about 15 minutes. Saute garlic in a bit of butter and oil until fragrant, add chicken chunks, let cook for a bit, add honey, lemon juice, cook until the chicken's a bit caramelized, taste, adjust seasoning if necessary, add some chopped fresh basil, add corn starch which has been diluted in water to thicken the sauce, set aside.

Pie Crust
- Defrosted puff pastry
- 1 beaten egg
- butter/oil to grease pie pan
Preheat oven to 200C. On a lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry until it's about 2 mm thick and wide enough to cover the pie pan/pot, make two pieces, one for the bottom (bigger), one for the top (smaller).  Butter/grease the oven proof pie pan/pot, place rolled puff pastry gently, don't cut the excess yet, add filling, trim the excess pastry but leave about 1 cm. Brush the edges with beaten egg, place the topping, trim to fit the pan, seal with the excess pastry of the bottom, brush the top with beaten egg, poke a few holes, bake for about 40-50 minutes or until golden brown, serve with fresh basil.

Whew!
You can skip the whole pie-making extravaganza and just make the filling and eat it with a carb of your choice ;)

Weekend Pasta Lunch at Bene Italian - Sha Tin - Hong Kong

I used to check out openrice for dining venues when I ventured out of my familiar districts in Hong Kong. But these days? I find that much less helpful. We "openriced" Sha Tin, and all we got were froyo, coffee shops, or bakery. Ahem...not what we're looking for.

We walked around a bit and decided to try this place. I love the cute decor, the color scheme, and the open kitchen. As for the food? We just hoped for the best :)

Since I had to take care of baby M, I didn't photograph the foccacia, tomato soup, and the caesar salad from the set lunch. But I remember liking them all.

SC ordered squid ink seafood pasta in white wine sauce. It's simple yet super flavorful! Perfectly cooked seafood and pasta. Light and simple but still tasty broth. It was perfect for the hot and sticky weather. I was very pleasantly surprised.


I ordered creamy mushroom, bacon and egg yolk pasta. A tad heavy for the weather, but I only had myself to blame for not being able to resist ordering something creamy. I love it. Again, perfectly cooked pasta with delicious sauce.

We decided to add a bit more dollars to get a dessert with coffee to share.

The caramel cake's lovely. Soft, moist, with just enough bitterness and tang from the raspberry and blueberry. The coffee's Lavazza and I like it (since it's served with cream on the side, I think I like cream more than coffee? hehehe).
A very lovely lunch, we'd definitely visit again when we're in Sha Tin.

The set lunch including bread, soup/salad, main course, dessert and coffee/tea costs HK128. It costs less without dessert and coffee, but since I am a horrible blogger, I can't remember how much is it ^_^' sorry!

Bene Italian
Shop 103A, 1/F, New Town Plaza Phase 1
Sha Tin
沙田沙田正街18號新城市廣場一期一樓103A舖
Tel: +852 2699 3939


After lunch, where did we go?

Nasi Campur Food Stalls - Kuala Lumpur Hawker Center Yumminess

More drool-worthy yumminess from my Kuala Lumpur trip.
This time, they're from a random food centre near the stadium we held our event in (Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil).

I was surprised to find out that most of the nasi campur (mixed rice) stalls are run by....Indonesians! Aw!

I was tempted to pile everything onto my plate...but finally wisely selected stuff to form quite a well balanced meal. Veggies and eggs on rice, drenched in tasty spicy coconut-milky gravy. Yum!


Another day means another adventure...

Delicious Indonesian style fried chicken, including the tasty crispy bits.


You can imagine how refreshing this side dish is...perfect for the hot weather.


Quite a selection of veggies to choose from...


Fritters, side dishes and slices of oranges.

My yummy plate!



Roast chicken with chicken rice...too bad I didn't get to try it. Next time...

And the most impressive thing I've tried from this food center...

...these fritters!
They're like nothing I've tried before!


Super crispy exterior, sweet and soft ripe banana flesh interior..they're heavenly!
The perfect way to end a satisfying meal.


That, and a tall glass of iced coffee.
Can't wait to eat my way through KL again.

Click here for more KL food experiences.