Ugly Delicious - Banana Chocolate Pie

Another ugly delicious thing for you guys :)
Seriously, how ugly does this thing look?
But I can assure you that buttery pastry + banana + chocolate...no matter how ugly it looks, it must be delish!


I used the crust recipe here, simply removed the teaspoon of salt and dry herbs, and used salted butter instead (I love a touch of savory in my sweets), or you can use frozen pastry too, I have nothing against that ^_^. I filled the pastry with chunks of banana and semi sweet chocolate chunks, egg-washed it and baked it in a preheated oven until golden brown.

If you can't get over the ugliness, eat this with your eyes closed or lights off heheheh.

Perfect with a cup of tea.

Grilled Chicken in Creamy Turmeric Sauce - Ayam Panggang Santan Kuning

Another recipe from what I made for baby M's recent bday celebration at home.
I hardly use coconut milk when marinating meat, but I should really use it more often. It's this magic ingredient that makes everything creamy and fragrant. Plus, the wet marinate keeps the chicken meat moist even after grilling.

Recipe
(for 4)
- 4 Chicken thigh fillet with skin on (allow half or one chicken thigh fillet per person, depending on whether it's served with other dishes and lots of rice/other carbs)
Marinate
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 3 shallot, peeled
- 2 cm ginger, peeled
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp turmeric
- salt, pepper, sugar
- 200ml of coconut milk
Process everything except coconut milk in a food processor or blender, or you can use mortar and pestle to make your paste. Add coconut milk, mix well. Marinate chicken in the mixture for a couple hours, or leave overnight in the fridge.

On the day of serving, you can either cook the chicken a bit in the marinate before broiling the chicken to brown the skin, or you can place chicken in a preheated oven (200C) along with some of the marinating liquid and grill it until it's done (you can crank up the heat in the last few minutes to really brown the skin). Cook the remaining marinating liquid until reduced, thickened and creamy as use as a sauce.

Golden delicious.
I might make this in the form of sate...because who doesn't love food on a stick?

Best Weekday Lunch Picnic Ever! Hong Kong Park x Simplylife

Yesterday was the last day SC and I worked in the same office. We had our farewell weekday lunch together, and it was perfect.

We had the perfect spot.


And the weather was perfect.
24C, cool breeze, no rain.

And we bought our favorite takeaway lunch.

Two choices of dishes with rice and burgers with fries. Yum!


Pork with vinegar sauce and eggplants with fragrant minced pork. Absolutely delicious.


Chili burger with spicy fries. One of my favorite burgers in Hong Kong.


The chili bit just added extra umph to the whole thing.


And those little specks of heat?
As if I needed fries to be more addictive...T_T


Spicy fries + mustard + ketchup.
Carbtastic heaven.

After lunch, we strolled around the beautiful park...

...not hand-in-hand. Pffft. We're not cheesy like that.

Imagine this scene.
The girl crouched down, almost falling into the pond trying to photograph lotus flowers...


...and the guy's busy with his iPhone.
Of course. We're romantic like that.

Wishing SC all the best with his PMP exam today and the start of his new job tomorrow ^_^

Nongshim Kimchi Ramyun Pack of 5 - A "Huh?" Moment at the Supermarket

Please excuse the ugly photos.
I just had a bit of a "huh???!!" moment at the supermarket, when I was buying my favorite instant noodle soup, the Nongshim kimchi ramyun.

Buy 5 packs HK$20.9...

And...

...or buy 5 in a pack for HK$24.50 (!!)

...from the same supermarket!
The value pack is more expensive than the loose packs?

I wonder if anybody still bought the value packs...

Hong Kong Beef Offal, Wonton & Fishball Noodle Soup

I couldn't remember the last time I had beef brisket/wonton/fishball noodle soup, and finally, when SC and I had a chance to go out (thank God for grandma & grandma who are always willing to babysit...)...we went all crazy and ordered loadsss of food.


My favorite...beef stomach and beef brisket with flat noodles.


SC's picks...beef brisket and fried fish cake ends with flat rice noodles (hor fun).


A bowl of wonton soup. Big, juicy juicy shrimp wontons.


Obligatory veggie, we picked water spinach in fermented beancurd sauce. I love how the veggie is tender enough but still green and not butchered, and they're pretty generous with the sauce. I slathered my noodles in this sauce too. Yummm~!

And my favorite from this particular shop...

...the deep fried fish skin! Very thin, crispy, and not stinky at all!

If only I could bring home this whole container...

Now, this shop is not necessarily my favorite, but it's near my home, and it's good enough to satisfy my cravings. I have yet to find time to visit my favorite shop in Mongkok. I'll do a post once I had a chance.

Meanwhile, have a yummy week, everyone!

Soto Sapi - Indonesian Spiced Beef Soup

One of the dishes I served at baby M's birthday party last weekend.
It was a hot day, and in Indonesia, we surely eat hot and spicy soup with a lot of acid to sweat it out. Slurp! If you did sweat, you'd feel like you just did one heck of a workout. Refreshed! Forget makeup, or use something totally waterproof :D

There are sooo many different kinds of sotos in Indonesia, I tried to do the yellow kind.

Recipe
Beef stock
- 1 kg beef (I used brisket and shin), blanched and cut into cubes
- 2 stalk lemongrass, bruised and cut into 5 cm long pieces
- 6 lime leafs
- 2 cm galangal, crushed
- hot water
- salt, pepper, sugar
Spice paste
- 8 cloves garlic
- 6 shallot
- 2 cm ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric (or more)
- 1 tsp salt
- a bit of cooking oil for saute-ing
Serve with
- crispy shallot
- kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
- lime wedges
- chopped scallion
- and of course rice ^_^

In a large pot, cook beef cubes in hot water with lemongrass, lime leafs, and galangal, bring to boil and simmer for 1.5 hours (minimum, or until tender), or pressure cook for 30 minutes. I made my spice paste by throwing all the ingredients into a food processor, followed by grinding it using a mortar and pestle until really smooth. You can use blender, try to make the paste as smooth as possible. Saute spice paste in a bit of hot oil until fragrant, add into the beef stock, mix well, and adjust seasonings if necessary. Garnish and serve hot.

Can't wait for winter so that I can use this soto as a hot pot soup base. Oh yes!

Mid Autumn Festival & Baby M's Birthday Party!

Last weekend, we hosted some simple get-togethers to celebrate mid autumn festival and baby M's first birthday, and this was one of them. It's also a farewell party as we're moving into a rented place (sobs).

Anyway, the only way to cure my sadness of having to move is...to enjoy the place more!
So, first, here are a couple of irrelevant non-food shots..

This was because I forgot to buy party decor...


But it felt good to play with papers, markers and scissors again.

And now, the yummy food!

I've prepared some simple food...
- Indonesian spiced beef soup (soto sapi)
- Crab, pineapple and pomelo salad
- Turmeric grilled chicken in creamy coconut milk
- Garlic and fermented black bean grilled pork neck

Drinks...

White wine, sprite and grapes drink

Others brought some yummies as well...

Jen's chicken, apples and bacon salad. It's the most amazing chicken salad ever! Check out Tom and Jen's fantastic blog for the recipe.


Janice made 1,2,3,4,5 pork ribs with some seriously lickable sticky sweet sauce, which SC wanted to mop with some bread that we didn't have...and I just realized that I don't have a shot of the ribs. I hope you can imagine how yummy it is from that background. Heheheh.


Gigi made pizza! Melted mozzarella, pizza sauce and homemade dough! And hello, I need a new oven...or at least clean it or something.


The pizza's then topped with serrano ham and arugula. Yum!

Mid autumn is no mid autumn without...

That's right! Mooncakes! We got some egg yolk custard ones from Kowloon hotel...the classic egg yolk and lotus paste from Hang Heung...


Hello kitty snowy mooncakes from Maxim.


Handmade custard mooncakes from Charlotte and Gary! Best ones I had this mid autumn!

...and what's a birthday party without a birthday cake?
We had this rose and lychee cake from Robuchon. Perfect for summer, not perfect for the birthday boy :D

Mama? Are you sure I can't have some? A bite? Please?

Sorry, son. This cake has raw eggs and other forbidden yumminess you can't have yet. Obviously, your birthday is just mama's excuse for the yummy food and cake...but HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Muhahahaha!

Special thanks goes to Jason for taking most of the wonderful pictures...mama was busy fiddling with the food and papa was occupied by the squirmy birthday baby ^_^

I'll post more of the pictures on my Facebook Page a little later.

Spam, Mayo, Seaweed, Caramelized Shallot with Sticky Teriyaki Sauce Sandwich

I don't think I need to say much about this sinful treat.
Junk sandwich at its best!


Thickly cut spam, pan fried until it's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside...thick slather of kewpie mayo, caramelized shallot glazed in teriyaki sauce mixed with a bit of sugar until thickened and sticky, thick slices of fluffy buttery and cheesy bread, topped with crispy seaweed.


It's pure porn.

SC's Birthday Dinner at Amber. Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

This post is gonna be very photo intensive, with minimum commentary.
Why?
Reason 1: I decided to just enjoy myself, not thinking too much about what was that yummy thing I just ate (lame excuse)
Reason 2: I am an ignorant glutton, I really didn't know what I ate (truth)
Reason 3: I am lazy (truth)
Reason 4: ...(could not find any excuse to defend myself)..kindly refer to reason 3 ^_^'

Anyway...please excuse my excuses, just enjoy the crappy photos from the night, and maybe see which dishes we liked.

Both yummy, but love the cannelloni one muchhhh!


Bread selection...I especially love the baguette and the thin crispy ones.


Watermelon with broth jelly...very refreshing! Perfect for summer.


Foie gras cranberry lollipops. So cute!


Decadent and delish! Love much!


This croquette squirts out something delicious!


Birthday boy was so excited, he was pretty much posting every single dish to his Facebook wall REAL TIME. He puts my blogging self to shame T_T but I was so happy seeing him that enthusiastic.


Sea urchin in a lobster jell-O with cauliflower and caviar, served with crispy seaweed waffles.
This is soooo yummy! One of our favorites of the night!


Birthday boy playing with his food.


Confit and smoked Tasmanian salmon, with avocado, horseradish and granny smith apple. SC loved it, but I didn't like the smokiness and the soft fish flesh...I just liked the apple thingy.


Duck foie gras and tasmanian black truffle ravioli, in cep consomme. I love the ravioli and the broth...but I just discovered something abominable that night...I am not a big fan of...(gasp!)...fresh black truffle! (Please don't kill me T_T)


Red amadai (including the scales, which were done in such a way so that they're crispy and edible), fennel and orange confit, bottarga grated new potatoes, bouillabaisse "sauce", and manni olive oil emulsion. Yummy, but the scales kinda hurt my gum a bit...opps.


Kagoshima wagyu beef sirloin MS A4 (this almost sounds like an electronic product model number...) oven roasted, with puree of "forgotten" shallots. SUPREMELY YUMMY!


When I thought the beef dish could get any yummier...they served this beef cheek dish. Absolutely delightful! Another favorite of the night!

The french farmer cheeses were wheeled in...

I chose the less stinky ones while SC braved the ones with "stronger" scent. My favorite was that cantaloupe-esque one.

Now, the sweets...and the superb service.

The bottom of this strawberry creation, "mara de bois" strawberry with mascarpone semi freddo is soaked with liquor. I told our server that I am rather allergic to alcohol when we were offered the wine pairing option. He kept that in mind and asked the chefs if any of the dishes had alcohol, I said cooked alcohol and a bit of uncooked alcohol should be fine, I just can't have a few glasses of wine and risk rashes on my freshly sun burnt skin. He specifically checked if they needed to change my dessert as this one has quite a bit of uncooked alcohol. I said it was not necessary, I can handle it.


Little did I know...he asked chef to prepare a different dessert for me, just in case. This beautiful cranberry creation, which had no alcohol...and they still served me my original dessert too, this one's on the house. How sweet and thoughtful!


The birthday boy finished the extra dessert :)


What's special occasion without a bit of chocolate? abiano 85% chocolate souffle with brown rum anglaise and super rich cacao sorbet. Again, I was given a separate non alcoholic chocolate sauce, just in case I couldn't handle the brown rum. Excellent service! I was so happy I drew on a happy face on my souffle and pour in my sauce ^_^

By this course, we were already stuffed to the brim...which was such a waste, they might wanna consider serving this in much smaller portion. The souffle's gigantic! I never believed in "too much of a good thing", but this was the case.

We pretty much couldn't eat anything else...but...

...there were petit fours...coffee for me, chamomile tea with honey for the birthday boy, the whole thing came with a candle..


...and a selection of chocolates...


...with birthday boy's name written on a piece of tempered dark chocolate..whew!


It was beyond!

You must've noticed that the pictures here are a bit..."foggy". I was just in the mood for that. If you wanna see the non-foggy pictures (many many more pictures), they're posted on my Facebook page.

Amber
7/F Landmark Mandarin Oriental
Tel: +852 2132 0066
The signature degustation menu we chose costs HK$1,588 per person + 10% service charge