Lumpia Mataram, Semarang - Spring Rolls, My Hometown Style

Sorry for flaunting some more Indonesian food pornage.
These golden bars are something I've been missing forever...they're my hometown (Semarang)'s specialty and they ain't no ordinary spring rolls.


Super flaky, crispy and thin spring roll wrapper...


with bamboo shoots, dried shrimps, pork and scrambled eggs inside.

Greasy goodness! Absolutely heavenly!
They are my breakfast, lunch and dinner for the coming few days ^_^
Can't get enough of them!

Indonesian Fried Meatballs from Bakso Goreng Indra, Semarang

Some Indonesian food pornage for ya.
My mom's in town for Hari Raya Idul Fitri holiday...and she brought some Indonesian goodies with her. This is one of them, I specifically asked for them.


Crunchy on the outside, fluffy and a bit chewy on the inside. Heavenly!
In Indonesia, we devour them with a tasty broth. My mom didn't bring the broth, so I tried to make it myself. The original street version probably has a bagful of MSG and then some. Mine doesn't so it doesn't have that certain "umami", but it's close enough.

Pork broth for bakso goreng
Recipe
- HK$20 worth of pork bones (with a quite bit of meat on them)
- 3 shallot, cut into chunks
- 2 cm ginger
- hot water, salt, pepper, sugar
- a sprig of chopped spring onion for garnish
- crispy shallot for garnish
- chilli sauce as condiment

In a stock pot, drop the bones into boiling water, simmer for about 30 minutes, turn off the heat, let it be for about 15 minutes, turn on the heat again, heat until almost boiling, turn off the heat again. Repeat this process for about 3 times or until the meat on the pork bones are super tender. Season with salt, pepper and sugar, serve with fried meatballs, garnish with freshly chopped spring onion and crispy shallot.

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust and Strawberry Compote

Finally! Something I baked that SC likes!

I baked this white chocolate cheesecake to celebrate SC's birthday, and I am sooo happy he likes it! (Normally he doesn't like my baked goods...I like things fluffy and he likes things...exactly the same as what we can buy from Hong Kong bakeries, and I am no Hong Kong bakery...)

Anyway...it's really easy to make, and it's yum.
Rich, creamy, buttery white chocolate + savory-ish cream cheese + chocolatey oreo + sweet & tangy strawberries and sugar = fantastic...
It's almost as certain as 1+1 = 2, right?
I'm so good at math, it's scary.

Recipe
Oreo Crust
- 1 pack of Oreo cookies
- 3 tbsp butter
Throw everything into food processor, pulse until smooth, pour into greased pan, level it with spoon and push them down until packed. You can pre-bake this before adding cheesecake batter at 180C for 5 minutes, but I didn't bother...

If you don't have a food processor, place the cookies in a glad bag and bang em good.

White chocolate cheesecake
- 1 bar of Lindt white chocolate (100 gr), chopped into chunks
- 1 box of cream cheese (250gr), chopped into chunks
- 5 tbsp cream
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp corn flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
Pulse everything in food processor until smooth and mixed well, taste and see if you need more sugar (the white chocolate is already sweet though), pour into greased cheesecake pan, onto the oreo crust, bake in a 180C preheated oven with over a water bath for about 30-40 minutes or until it's just a bit wobbly in the center. Let cool and refrigerate. Bring it back to room temperature before serving.

Again, you can totally do this without a food processor. Soften the white chocolate and cut the room temperature cream cheese into smaller pieces. Just mix 'em smooth using a hand mixer or a whisk.

Strawberry compote
- 1 cup strawberries, halved
- 3 tbsp caster sugar (or more, if needed)
Pour strawberries and sugar in a sauce pan, cook on low heat until you see some strawberry juice and it thickens a bit. Keep tasting and add sugar if you want it thicker and sweeter. Add some of the compote when serving the rich and creamy cheesecake.

My apologies for these crappy "recipes", I really normally just adjust as I go along T_T

August Birthday Junk Trip

Some memorable yumminess from my first ever junk trip last weekend.
I can't believe that I've been living in Hong Kong for more than 8 years and I have NEVER been to one. Madness!

Some food's included in the price of the trip. You might think that those are simple food, but boy...I am telling you...everything tasted extra delicious after swimming from your boat all the way to the beach and back!

Some fellow junk trippers also brought some more additional treats on board...

Yummy soy sauce chicken...


Some tofu with lo sui sauce...


They might not look it, but this was the best, and most tenderest duck I've tasted in my life!!!

I most post another shot of my all time favorite Hong Kong junk food...

Yellow siu mai with a drizzle of soy sauce and chilli oil. OMG, tasted too bloody fantastic after the swim...I think I ate about 20 of them at least...


A strong sangria...

Lookie what Javier caught!

Clams (plus some empty shells I picked out at the beach)! Too bad not enough to make pasta al vongole for everyone...


The boat owner caught this hugeeee squid! Wow!

We also had awesome birthday cakes for the August birthday boys...

This mango number is from St. Honore.


And the perfect, rich chocolatey ending from Awfully Chocolate.

My first junk trip was absolutely fantastic! I had tonnes of fun, met lots of great people, and I am now so fabulously golden brown! Thanks so much for organizing, @littlefatchick!

If you wanna book a junk trip, here's the website.

I will post more funage at my other blog.
Meanwhile, please also check out my junk outfit photography gig for the ever so fabulous Miss ChicMcMuffin!

SC, Mama & Siu Pak's Birthday Celebration at Home

Here's one of SC's birthday celebrations this year.
SC and his mom has the same birthday ^_^. Normally we'd celebrate in any nearby Chinese restaurants, but this year we had the celebration at SC mama's home.

SC's mom prepared all these yummilicious food!

Juicy, sweet, succulent boiled prawns. Dipped in soy sauce and freshly chopped chillies. Yum!


Steamed fish with light drizzling of soy sauce. SC's favorite fish (minimum boneage).


Squid and vegetable stir fry. Look how pretty!


Clams and preserved vegetables. One of my all time favorites from SC's mama!


Spicy curry crabs. I think I shamelessly ate about 90% of this dish...


Fish cake & vegetable stir fry. I am not a big fan of choy sum, but these are super sweet!

Normally, I'd try to make something as a contribution to the party, but since I didn't have a chance to do so (I was busy doing last-minute birthday gift shopping), I bought these macarons from Jean-Paul Hevin.


Baby M was curious...what are you photographing, mama?


Look at my little party animal ^_^


And here are the birthday lady & gentlemen...

PS. Siu Pak has his own doggie cake!

Happy birthday to SC, Mama and Siu Pak!

PS. If you wanna see what I bought for SC, check it out here.