Where To Go This Weekend? Island East Market, Hong Kong

Island East Market is such a sight for Hong Kong sore eyes. Here are some of the gorgeous things I've enjoyed there. I've bought a lottt of stuff, ate yummy food, enjoyed my friends' company, had a great time with my family, and I'm just so pissed off that I don't live anywhere near it. Grrrrrr.

Yummy things from Bread Elements.

I bought a loaf of sourdough. Love love LOVE it.


I've bought the croissants too. I absolutely adore how they are savory enough for me.

Next stop, Gary of Joie de Vivre's burger.

Look at the ordering form. How cute!


I had the duck cassoulet. Even the bread is homemade! OB robbed the chips off my plate T_T


Charlotte's AWESOME LEMONADE! Me. Want. More!

The cutest things in the market last week, Spark Studios' baked goods!

I say if it's too cute to be true, BUY IT!

Halloween is coming and these ghost cake pops are just too adoraBOO!


Gingerbread skeleton man!

Too awesome!

Some gorgeous neck candies...


More gorgeous jewelries.

Hello, wallet, get ready to be emptied.

Time for more savories.
Yummy baos from plusixfive Supper Club.

One is rendang, one is pork. Two for HK$70. I love the pork so so so so much!


I was too full but still wanted to try the laksa. The owners are kind enough to pack the laksa with one of the containers they had. I'm making a mental note to bring my own lunch box next time. I had the laksa at home for lunch ;)

I bought the valrhona chocolate caramel fig tart (HK$48). OMG. SO GOOD!

Can't wait to get my hands on them again.


Strawberry shortcake... next time, next time.

If you don't know where to go this Sunday. NOW YOU KNOW.

Visit their website for more info.
See you there!

A Night In Cuba - Sugar, East Hotel, Hong Kong

Need somewhere to go to celebrate hump day? Try out Sugar's A Night In Cuba - it's on every Wednesday from 5pm til late. Enjoy your choices of mojito, snacks, the company of your friends/favorite coworkers...

... and don't forget to show off THIS AMAZING VIEW of Hong Kong to your visiting foreign colleagues  or friends or those smug relatives of yours or work frenemies & enjoy looking at how their jaws drop in unison before they mumbled the word "WOW".

Breath-taking.

Enjoy some Cuban inspired snacks...






Enjoy the music and the beautiful people.


And most importantly, enjoy this.

Thanks for the invite, East Hotel.
Advance booking is highly recommended.
Call +852 3968 3738
Visit their website for more info.

Pandan French Toast - Ugly Delicious

The color might be lurid green and scary, but I can assure you that it's very yummy!

Bread soaked in mixture of egg, melted butter, coconut cream, sugar & pandan essence. It's a no brainer, really! Must be yum! I will definitely use coconut cream more often when making french toasts. It gives me that much needed kick-in-the-gut richness.

Recipe
- bread of your choice (I used 1 small mixed grain bun, sliced to 1 cm thick slices)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 5 tbsp coconut cream
- 3 tbsp butter (salted), melted
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- a few drops of pandan essence (add bit by bit, I added half a teaspoon)
- some more butter mixed with vegetable oil for frying

Melt butter, let cool for a bit while preparing other ingredients. Mix sugar, salt, coconut cream, pandan essence and melted butter in a bowl, soak bread pieces in the mixture and let them "marinate" in fridge for a couple of hours. Before serving, heat up some butter mixed with a bit of vegetable oil to prevent from burning, pan fry bread pieces until golden.


Rich, fragrant, sweet, and fluffffffy! I really adore the scent and creaminess of coconut milk in these babies.
Enjoy!

Peas and Bacon Crumble

I've been crumble-topping everything eh? I can't help it! It's super easy, it makes everything tasty... and pretty too! I love it.


Recipe
- 2 heaping tablespoon of all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 tsp of grated parmesan
- a bit of sugar, black pepper, nutmeg, grated lemon zest
- 1 small bowl of green peas
- 2 strips of bacon, cut into chunks

In a frying pan, render bacon fat, add peas, mix well and pour into vessel (I chose sturdy paper muffin cups, you can use cute small ramekins). Preheat oven to 200C. Using hands, mix flour, butter, grated parmesan, a bit of sugar, black pepper, nutmeg and grated lemon zest - never mind the chunks. Add on top of the peas and bacon, dump into oven until the top's golden brown.


Yum! Great as a side dish or snack or party food!

Sauteed Mushrooms in Butter, Garlic & White Wine on Butter Toasts - Vegetarian Party Option

Perfect vegetarian option for parties, tea breaks, snacks, or even breakfast!
Super easy to prepare and so tasty!

I got the mushrooms from a farmers market which we visited last weekend.

Wait. A farmers market in Hong Kong???? Really???
Yesss! I'll post about it soon.

Anyway, yes. Fresh produce. Lots of fun. Now, back to the snack.

Recipe
- Your favorite bread, cut the way you like it (I used Yamazaki Onion bread, removed the crust and cut into square-ish shape)
- Your favorite mushrooms
- Garlic, minced
- Butter
- White wine
- salt and pepper

Butter your bread generously, grill on a frying pan or oven until golden brown, set aside. Melt butter in a saute pan, saute garlic until fragrant, add mushrooms, cook until there's a bit of a brownage going, add white wine, cook until the white wine's reduced, season with salt and pepper, done. Add the mushrooms on top of the butter toasts.

Although I am a huge carnivore, no meat does not always mean no good :)

Perfect Summer Snack - Fresh Cold Cherries

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

Hong Kong Street Snack - Cheong Fun & Siu Mai

I wish I had this plate of steamy goodness for breakfast this morning...

...silky smooth rolled rice sheets (cheong fun) and wonderfully chewy siu mai, drenched in soy sauce, peanut sauce and sweet sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

It doesn't have to be from any famous shop, the cheong fun doesn't have to be hand rolled...I'd still LOVE!
If you're in Hong Kong, you've surely tried this? If you haven't, please go to any street snack stall/shop near you. Buddies abroad, do you have this in your area?

Chicken & Shrimp Balls FAIL

Another FAIL.
I've been missing bakso goreng (fried pork & shrimp balls) from my hometown so much, I tried to recreate it, but it didn't work out. I've tried twice, and I've failed both attempts miserably.
Mine turned out too...fluffy. They resemble mini fritters more than the dense and slightly chewy fried balls with chunky bits.
Argh!

This is what I've done:
- 1 chicken thigh fillet
- a cup of shrimps
- a chunk of jicama (bengkoang)
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 shallot
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp corn flour
- 1 tsp baking powder (I dunno why I added this? Maybe this is the thing that makes the balls too fluffy?)
- salt, pepper, sugar, oyster sauce
- 1 egg
- a bit of oil (I dunno why I added this too)
I minced and mixed everything in food processor, not too fine, leaving some chunky bits, scoop a bit of the mixture at a time using two teaspoon and deep fry in hot oil.

The taste was ok, but let's face it, the above flavors could hardly go wrong. But the texture...it's just...not it!
Clearly I must have done something really wrong. What did I do to ruin it?

Does anyone have good bakso goreng recipe? Do share. Please, pretty please? T_T

I'm desperate.

Indonesian Tofu Pancake - Bakwan Tahu

Ohhh...I love having a helper!
My helper loves eating deep fried food and she doesn't mind doing all the deep frying. Oh yeah!
Hello, delicious crispy treats! She made this yesterday and she shared the recipe with me.

Recipe
- 1 pack of soft tofu, crushed
- flour
- corn flour
- 1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- salt, pepper, ground corriander, water, oil for frying
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 stalk of spring onion, chopped

Mix all ingredients to form a thin batter, add flour if it's too thin, add a bit of water if too thick. The batter should not be too thick (as in porridge), it should be thin, almost runny. Heat up some oil in frying pan, ladle batter and pan fry until golden brown, pressing it down to make it flat and crispy. Serve immediately. Ideally with some Indonesian Sambal ABC or your favorite hot sauce.

You'll also be seeing me snacking on Strepsils or Dequadin too as things could get pretty heaty ^_^'

PS. Do you like the "old" photo effect on this post?

Lindt Dark Chocolate with A Touch of Sea Salt

Chocolate and sea salt...are they really the best of friends?
Judging from this pack of goodness...yes! The touch of sea salt brings out the best out of the chocolate.
Give it a try :)

Rolled Toasties - My Low B Breakfast

Just my (another) low-b (idiotic) way to serve toasts.
Perfect for snack/teatime/breakfast.

Use white bread or wheat bread (I love them crustless), add any filling you like...roll them and place them on a lightly buttered pan (well, you can generously butter the pan if you want your toasts to be more golden), brush the top with more butter and grill in a preheated oven until golden.

Easy yummiliciousness! Buttery, slightly crunchy toasts with melted, gooey goodness oozing from the inside...oh lala!

What's inside my rolled toasties?
- the Classic: peanut butter & strawberry jam
- the Indonesian: butter & chocolate sprinkles
- the Savoury Sweet: cheddar cheese & condensed milk
- the SC: peanut butter & condensed milk

I'll try savory versions soon :)
Hello corned beef, sausages, spam, cheese and friends...see you next time!

Mark & Spencer's Double Chocolate Muffin & Mint Tea: My Late Night Snack

Just a quick tea break post :)

Tonight's after dinner late night snack...
Mark & Spencer's Double Chocolate Muffin & Dilmah Mint Tea
I love love LOVE M&S double choco muffins...as they're more cake than muffins...very moist, enough sweetness and super duper chocolatey! I am sure they aren't healthy, that's why I love 'em ;)

...devour them with a cup of hot tea...perfect!

A Hearty Snack - Mashed Potatoes with "Chili Con Carne" and Melted Cheese

This is the aftermath of a chili dog and mashed potato dinner...one heck of a hearty snack.

The hot dogs and buns are longgg gone, but I am left with a big bowl of "chili con carne" (quote marks as I am pretty sure that my version isn't authentic) and mashed potatoes. What to do? Put them together, top them with grated cheese...and nuke 'it to melt the cheese (I thought of putting them in the oven for a beautiful golden brown finish...but I worried that I would dry my mashed potatoes...I might try that next time).

Here's how I made my easy version of everything.

Mashed Potatoes
(serves two as side dish)
- 2 large potatoes, cleaned, peeled and cubed (around 1 x 1 x 1 cm)
- 3 tbsp butter, or more? (uh huh)
- a dash of milk
- salt, pepper, nutmeg

Place potato cubes in a microwave safe bowl, add a dash of milk and microwave on high for 15 minutes. Check if the potatoes are soft enough, microwave for 5 or more minutes if needed. Once the potato cubes are soft enough, mash them with a fork, stir in butter bit by bit, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

"Chili Con Carne"
(yields quite a lot, depends on how you want to use it, as a topping for hotdog/potatoes or...eat it with rice?)
I apologize for not being able to find the source of this recipe... T_T
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- half an onion, cubed
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 smallish fresh tomatoes, cubed
- 1 green bell pepper, cubed
- 10 pieces of sliced, jalapeno from a jar, chopped (I used El Paso)
- 1 small can of tomato paste
- 1 can of mixed beans
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp all spice
- 2 pieces of cloves
- olive oil, butter, hot water (or chicken or beef stock), salt, cayenne pepper

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil with a touch of butter, add ground beef, add chopped tomatoes and green bell pepper, let cook for a bit, add tomato paste, add a bit of hot water or stock (depends on how thick you want it to be, and depends on how long you want to cook it, since I plan to make a speedy one, I didn't add much water to the mixture), bring to boil, add spices and seasonings, add mixed beans, cook until heated through, adjust seasoning if necessary, add chopped jalapeno at the end, mix well, and serve.

I used a mix of grated mozzarela and sharp cheddar for this snack. After the cheese melted and everything's heated through...

Who was I kidding? One tiny ramekin is never enough!

Baked Indonesian Croquettes - Kroket Panggang

Love Indonesian croquettes so much, but not in love with the idea of deep frying (as always).
I wonder if I could get away with baking it...if I could bake shrimp cakes, surely I can bake these too?
Yayaya, so I thought.

Here's how I made my version, yields about 6 large croquettes:

Stuffing
- 1/2 cup of minced meat (beef/pork/chicken/corned beef/etc)
- 1/2 cup of mixed vegetables (I used frozen green peas, diced carrot and corn kernels)
- 1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
- 1 small clove of shallot, finely minced
- salt, white pepper, sugar, ground nutmeg, olive oil
- Cheddar cheese, cut into 1x1x1 cm cubes (optional)

Saute garlic and shallot, add minced meat let cook until almost done, add mixed veggies, season and cook until done. Set aside. Keep the cheddar cheese cubes refrigerated

Potato part
- 4 large potatoes
- salt, pepper, sugar, butter, ground nutmeg, milk powder
- egg, beaten
- breadcrumbs
- olive oil

Bake potatoes until soft enough to mash (about 2 hours in 180C oven). I've tried boiling/microwaving before, but the result was just too watery....

Once soft, mash potatoes, add 1 tsp butter, 2 tsp milk powder (skip if you don't have, it's not worth buying a whole tin of milk powder), season with salt, pepper, sugar, and ground nutmeg, mix well.

Assembly
Grab a heaping tbsp of potato, add mixed veggie and meat filling in the middle, add a cube of cheddar cheese, cover with another tbsp of potato, roll into an oval-ish ball shape. Continue until you've finished all the potatoes. You might end up with leftover filling, feel free to eat it with rice. I also ate all of the leftover cheddar cheese cubes :D

Eggwash the croquettes and roll them into breadcrumbs. Lay them in baking sheet/plate and refrigerate for a couple of hours (my impatient self skipped this step and kept opening my oven to check on my croquettes, so they cracked and went out of shape T_T).


Baking
Preheat oven to 200C, line a baking sheet with foil (if your baking sheet is all burnt like mine), lightly grease with olive oil. Line croquettes on baking sheets, leaving some space in between, brush them lightly with olive oil or melted butter, bake until golden brown.

Or...of course, you can also deep fry them :D

See I made a tiny croquette ball? It doesn't have any meat/veggie filling, just a cube of cheddar cheese and it tasted fantastical! I'm gonna make these tiny babies next time.

Despite the cracks and the flattened bottoms, when I took these out of the oven, I could still kinda mold them back into a decent shape...and they get firmer once they've cooled down...and they tasted good. I will try perfecting them again soon.

Now, I really have to show you this...
SC's idea of cool food styling is...

of course, sticking the parsley into the croquette like a mini tree :D
He went mad when I rolled my eyes and refused to take this shot.

What do you think? You likey?

Char Siew (BBQ Pork) Cupcakes

If we can have char siew bao (BBQ pork buns), why can't we have char siew cupcakes, right? The idea has been floating around in my head for a while, and finally, last weekend, I did it!

Did it work? Well, subtly sweet cupcakes with sticky-savoury-sweet-rich-and-hearty BBQ pork filling and topping?
It worked like magic, just like conditioner on my frizzy tangled hair :D

Plus, making these cupcakes should be wayyy easier than making char siew bao.
PS. Not that I know how to make char siew bao...saw it on TV, and believe that I wouldn't be able to do it >.<
PS II. Crazy me. Why would I even think of making char siew bao? I live in HONG KONG for freak's sake :D
Anywayyy....

Recipe
I simply reduced the sweetness of a basic muffin recipe and tried to recreate the flavors of char siew bao filling.

The Char Siew Filling & Topping
- 1/2 lb of store bought BBQ pork or char siew, diced, not too finely, we still want a bit of a bite (about HK$10 and you'll have some leftover, buy HK$20 and you can keep some for lunch/dinner)
- 2 shallot, thinly sliced
- oyster sauce, dark soy, sugar, olive oil
- water (not hot), corn starch

If char siew is not something that's easily available in your area, then you're doomed. Kidding! Simply replace it with BBQ chicken/other meat ala you....or if you wanna make your own char siew, go for it, plenty of recipes are available online. Unfortunately, since I haven't tried any of the recipes, I can't recommend one :(

If you have char siew, we're ready to rumble!
Saute shallot in olive oil until fragrant and softened, add diced char siew, add oyster sauce, just a little dark soy, and a few tsp of sugar. Keep tasting until you reach a balance of savoury and sweet. Thicken the filling with about 3 tsp of corn starch in a bit of water. We want the filling and topping to be pretty thick, not runny, so that it won't leak when placed in or on top of the cake.

The Cake
- 1 cup of self raising flour (or 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 tsp baking powder)
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp chicken stock powder (or a pinch of salt)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 175C. In a mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients, make a well, and pour wet ingredients which has been mixed in another bowl. Whisk until just combined, pour 1 big tbsp of cake batter into muffin tray lined with paper cups, add about 1.5 tsp char siew filling, top with cake batter until the paper cup is almost full. Bake for 10 minutes, add about 1 tsp of char siew filling on top of each cake, continue to bake for 10 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.


Hmmm~ breakfast...with a cup of hot tea.

Speaking of char siew cupcakes, I'm not the only crazy one. A good friend of mine, Jason Bonvivant made his version of char siew cupcakes too! Check it out la~

Easily Cheesy - Zucchini, Mushroom & Chicken Franks Slices

Please excuse below uncreativity...

Grated mozzarella and parmesan mix on promo at City Super = HK$39 for two packs
Overpriced zucchini sold at the only supermarket below my apartment = HK$9.80 for two small ones (Robbery!)

Leftover grated mozzarella and parmesan mix and zucchini + seeing just the right recipe for them = priceless!

Saw this recipe of Ham, Zucchini & Mushroom Slice over at Daphne's blog, and I knew I just had to try it. The cheese, the zucchini in my fridge....it's fate!

...no it's not! You bought them especially to make this recipe.
Oh yeah, serendipity? Not so much!

The recipe is idiot & failure proof, I wonder if Daphne tailor made it for me?

Hop over to Daphne's site for the recipe, I simply changed ham to chicken franks (it's all I had in my fridge).

Soon after messing about with ingredients and warmed my home with the hot oven, while radiating delicious cheesy scents to make my neighbors drool (without offering them any of the end products - wow. I AM mean!)...I ended up with this tray of gloriously golden, cheesy deliciousness.

Perfect for breakfast, snack or light lunch with a side salad/bacon/fried chicken? :D