Singapore Adventure: First Time

After a looooong day yesterday, my Cookie brought home a nice surprise for me. Hihihi... ^_^

2 pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream! This is the first time for both of us to try this popular ice cream. And it was heavenly. 0:)

We tried this one first - the New York Super Fudge Chunk. Just by the name and you know it's yummy!

What's inside the New York Super Fudge Chunk? Chocolate Ice Cream with White & Dark Fudge Chunks, Pecans, Walnuts & Fudge-Covered Almonds. Hmmmm.... Tasty!

There's still half a pint of this flavour. The other one is Chocolate Fudge Brownie - Chocolate Ice Cream with Fudge Brownies. Hmmm... Sounds equally tasty. Temptation! Will definitely have a go for this one tonight after dinner!

Singapore Adventures: Tonight's Dinner

Broccoli and Carrots in Oyster Sauce

These are the only things in the fridge. At least I have still managed to whip us up something for dinner.

Broccoli florets and stem, carrots, oyster sauce, sugar, water, cornstarch, sesame seed oil, minced garlic and onion, salt and pepper to taste.

Hopefully, the groceries open shop on Saturday. Otherwise, all I can serve through the weekend will be Instant Pancit Canton.

Singapore Adventure: Happy CNY!

大家新年快乐！

~ o 0 o ~

It's my first Chinese New Year in SG. And so far, nothing exciting has happened and it's most likely to remain this way from today to four days later. Well, if you count the cramped groceries and shopping places for the past week as excitement, then disregard my last statement.

Sheesh! How can I be so grumpy, it's the new year after all. Let me count the reasons for you.

1. My Cookie had to work during the holidays. SMACh (Samahang Malungkot Ang Chinese New Year. Corny.) member?

2. Nothing good on local TV. Can't believe I still can't persuade myself to get cable. And so, I am stuck listening to Toni Gonzaga's Falling For You album for two hours now, and counting.

3. No food in the fridge. All the groceries closeby (Carrefour at PS, Fair Price at Marsiling MRT, and Sheng Shiong at Marsiling Point) have closed shop for the holidays since 3 pm yesterday. You can't make me buy at 7-11. Never!!!

These are the top 3. The rest are too insignificant and are just subsets of the above.

Well, inspite of these. The Cookies had a pretty interesting Chinese New Year's Eve. I prepared dinner and we had fun downing it as much as I had fun cooking.

This is my Chicken Sotanghon Soup with Egg. The main event! Hehehe... Noodles are a must on happy occasions, right? ^_^

I've done chicken sotanghon in the past. But this is the first time I've used "achuete." And it sure did the trick of making it look more appetizing. In fairness, it turned out quite deliciously. ^_^

My Mama advised that we should have Misua with Egg for breakfast on New Year's Day. Why? I dunno. It's tradition. So stop asking! :P Since I did not catch any of the groceries open yesterday, we have to pass for Misua. This is my idea of a substitute. Good thing I still have sotanghon tucked away in the cupboards.

Aside from Chicken Sotanghon, we had fried wantons also. Just got them off the frozen goods shelf at FairPrice.

Toyomansi dipping sauce. The best accompaniment to wanton!

And steamed red bean paste buns from Sheng Shiong. The photo at the top of this post.

Singapore Adventure: Next Attraction

This is what I want to learn to cook next.

Based on the posted recipe, it sounds quite easy to follow. I just hope I can pull it off. And once I have learned to cook it, I can just prepare it from home. ^_^

Wish me luck!

Singapore Adventure: What's Cooking?

What: Beef Nilaga

When: 26 January, Saturday

Notes: It is my first time to cook beef. It took forever to tenderize the meat by boiling but it was all worth it. The "teaspoon technique" worked! Hehehe...

- o0o -

What: Buttered Potatoes Version 1.0
When: 27 January, Sunday

Notes: Fair Price supermarket in Woodgrove had bags of nice new potatoes. And since I miss World Chicken's baked potatoes, I just couldn't resist grabbing a bag. I looked up some new potato recipes for ideas on how to go about satisfying my craving and improvised. This is what I came up with. I boiled the potatoes first then threw them in a hot pan with some butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Yummy!

- o0o -

What: Fried Calamares

When: 2 February, Saturday

Notes: This is my second time to prepare squid. The first time, i just coated the calamares with flour seasoned with salt and pepper, then straight to hot oil for deep frying. This time, with the use of a helpful recipe for Calamares Prito I googled up, I came up with this. I whipped up the batter by combining beaten egg, flour, salt, pepper, finely chopped garlic and onions. Instead of water that has to be added in, I used Sprite. It turned out quite delightful. :)

I had some potatoes lying around in the fridge. I sliced them up, coated them with some of the remaining batter and deep fried them, too. They were better than Shakey's mojos! Hehehe...

- o0o -

What: Barbecued Chicken Lollipops
When: 2 February, Saturday

Notes: I have featured my barbecued chicken sticks on my blog several times. I often serve this to my friends during "cook overs". This time, I served them to some friends who came over for a visit - Jhing and Marc. It is, as expected, a hit! ^_^

Cleaning the pan where I deep fried them was painful, but the compliments from my friends with happy tummies sure made it all worth the trouble.

- o0o -

What: Buttered Potatoes Version 2.0

When: 3 February, Sunday

Notes: Well, like I said, it was a bag of new potatoes. And so, there were still some uncooked pieces left. I opted to go for another attempt on Butter Potatoes. Same procedure, but I skipped the boiling part. And aside from garlic, I put in some chopped spring onions.

- o0o -

What: (Almost) Yang Chow Fried Rice
When: 3 February, Sunday

Notes: We love rice! Well, obviously. Hehehe... I think I've cooked enough garlic rice already. So, this time, it's an attempt to do Yang Chow fried rice. I sauteed onions and garlic. Put in the rice. Added some veggies you can buy frozen from the grocery. Seasoned it with sesame seed oil, salt, and pepper.

Almost there, but not quite yet. More practice!