Lunch…. Eat What Huh?

Have you ever encountered this:  What's for lunch?  Lunch eat what huh?

I work in an area where there are quite a few coffeeshops and canteens, but every now and then, I wonder what to eat for lunch.  And no matter how simple home-cooked food is, it always taste better, not to mention healthier, cheaper and the list goes on and on and on….

Lunch was made up of some leftovers.  Macaroni frozen a couple of days ago, carrots and clams from a dinner previously.  It's a simple stir fry that I can add in whatever ingredients I have...

Ingredients:

- 1 piece fish cake
- 1/4 carrot, shredded
- some razor clams
- 2 dried oysters
- 150 gm macaroni
- 2 cloves of garlic, diced
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- alittle soy sauce
- drizzle of sesame oil

Directions:
1. Soak dried oysters in hot water for 15 mins and chop coarsely
2. Cook macaroni accordingly to package (if uncooked).  If frozen beforehand, ensure it's thawed before frying.
3. Stir fry sliced fishcakes and set aside.
4. Heat some oil with garlic till fragrant before adding in the dried oysters and carrots and stir fry it till it is almost soft.
5. Add in the fishcake and macaroni and mix well.
6.  Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil and mix well.
7.  Finish up with adding in the razor clams and stir frying for a few seconds.

It looks like a lunch full of "good food" and what's lacking is probably greens!  

Dried oysters can be quite saltish thus I do not add in too much soy sauce.  I generally do not like overly saltish food as I grew up eating not-too-salty.  I cook my pork, chicken and whatever kind of porridge without adding in any soy sauce and some goes…. Are you serious?!  Yes, I am.  :))

Happy Chap Goh Meh! And a Black Bean Soup Recipe….

Chap Goh Meh, which is Hokkien for 15th night, marks the end of the Chinese New Year.  It is also know as Yuanxiao Festival (元宵节), the Chinese Valentine's Day.

Many Chinese celebrate the 15 days long Spring Festival by visiting relatives and friends, and indulging in good food - thus you see cans of abalone flying off the shelves because everyone believes in starting the year right.

After many days of good food, I made a Black Bean Soup for the family.  

Black beans, an excellent source of  cholesterol-lowering fiber and being antioxidant-rich, are known to aid in the digestive health and regulate the blood sugar levels in the body amongst others.  There are many ways to cook black beans but we like it in the way of a Chinese soup.

E, enjoying his bowl of black-coloured Black Bean Soup.  Being the fussier and pickier kid between the two, I'm glad he enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

Missing the red dates.  Oops.

- 200g pork ribs

- 3 scallops

- 100 - 150g black beans (rinsed)

- 8 red dates 

- 2.5 litres water

Directions:

1. Pre-soak the black beans in water for about an hour and rinse.

2. Blanch pork ribs in boiling water to remove scum.

3. Place all ingredients in a pot (I use a Tanyu pot) and bring to a boil on high heat for 10 mins.  Lower flame and simmer for an hour. 

4. Season with salt if preferred.

You can read more about the benefits of black beans here:

- WHFoods

- Heal With Food

Hong Kong Day 2

How has your Chinese New Year been?  I think I have grown many kilograms fatter *oops*.  

It's so fast that after all the hustle and bustle, Chinese New Year is coming to an end soon.  And we will start missing pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit till the next Chinese New Year……

Back to our Hong Kong trip in November 2014, the trip was planned mostly for the boys, with the occasional shopping (not for me!).  Day 2 was Ocean Park day.  The last time I stepped foot in Ocean Park was almost 20 years ago and I wondered how much have changed since then…..

Before the "lots-of-walking" day at Ocean Park, we headed to the famous Australian Dairy Company for breakfast.  Maybe we were early or maybe it was a Sunday as the queue was not that horrendous as what people always say.  We, a total of 8 pax, were seated within minutes.  Now, note that most Hong Kong Cafes aka Cha Chaan Teng are not exactly kids-friendly - no high chairs, no strollers allowed inside, no kids utensils.  Place is crowded with little walking spaces.

The forced-to-wake-up-early look of D, but hey, he loved this Macaroni Soup with Ham and finished every bit of it.

The Steamed Egg White and Milk Custard which I like….  because I heard it is supposed to give a better skin complexion (believe it or not!  haha)

Please remember to bring your Krisflyer card if you have any as there is a 12% discount on admission tickets (till December 2015 as at this point of time) for Ocean Park.

What's this place?  Where shall we go first?  I want to see this…..

 A welfie in the Cable Car - a way to travel to access the attractions between the two different sides of a mountain, the Waterfront and Summit.  

After the Ocean Wonders show of dophins and sea lions, we took the Ocean Express back down to the Waterfront area.

Visiting the Giant Pandas - the red panda and giant pandas:

Fooling around before we got some souvenirs and left Ocean Park for the day.  

The rides in Ocean Park are not really suitable for the boys as what I saw are mostly roller-coasters and those with a certain height requirement.  However, it is quite interesting as we get to experience a cable car ride, view different ocean and sea animals and even caught the pandas in actions.  All at one place.

As Ocean Park is located on Hong Kong Island, we took the opportunity to have dinner at Yung Kee Restaurant for their speciality Roast Goose and Century Eggs.

I just need to buy these macarons from Pierre Hermé at IFC although they aren't cheap  (you can easily buy a plate of chicken rice for 1 piece).  I am happy yet unhappy they are not available in Singapore for now.

Look at that!  Going crazy over those little things…..and see that little hand tugging at me, telling me to start feeding them.  Yes, my boys know how to enjoy macarons.  :P

Ending the night with a walk around the Ocean Terminal, enjoying the lights-up for Christmas.  As it was near to Christmas, many malls had Christmas decorations and they make picture perfect backdrops.

The sleeping E in my Boba carrier, one that travelled places and which we had for years.  Definitely one of my best investments.

Miso Cod

The whole family loves cod and miso. 

This time, I bought a few fillets of Sablefish, also known as Black Cod from The Alaska Guys.  This whitefish is wild caught from Alaska and an excellent source of heart-healthy Omega 3's.  Apart from the Black Cod, I bought some salmon as well and let me tell you, they are not the kind you get from supermarkets.  For someone who does not eat cooked salmon, I finally found myself loving those wild caught salmon but I will leave that to another day, another post.

I thought to myself, "what better way to cook the black cod than the popular Japanese dish, Black Cod with Miso served round the world."

If I were to order a cod fillet in a Japanese restaurant, the price is usually at least S$20.

I thought to myself, "might as well pay that amount for a bigger slice of the fish for the whole family to enjoy."

I usually buy miso from Isetan Scotts supermarket during their Japanese fair whereby I can choose which combination of miso I would like.   With the white miso, the sweet miso, in my freezer, I ventured into cooking this piece of buttery white flesh fish.

The fish was marinated a couple of days but the wait was worth it.  What's even better was, it was cooked on a weekday night, within my 45-minute cooking time-frame.  :)

My portion - served with cold soba.  I need prettier dishware. :)

Miso Cod Recipe
Adapted from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients:

•   2 black cold (Gindara) fillets (I used Sablefish)

•   2 tsp. salt

•   2 Tbsp. sake

•   Chives for garnish (optional)

Miso Marinade

•   3 Tbsp. saikyo miso (or white miso)

•   1½ Tbsp. mirin (I used 2 Tbsp)

•   1½ Tbsp. sake

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle salt over the fillets and set aside for 30 minutes.  This will help get rid of the fishy smell and remove excess moisture from the fish.

2. Wet a paper towel with sake and gently pat the fillets dry.  Do not wash the fish.


3. Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl.


4. Put half of mixture on the bottom of an air-tight container (with lid).  Place the fillets in the container and slather the fillets with remaining mixture.  Cover the lid and keep in the fridge to marinate for 2-3 days (at least overnight; traditionally, a week!)

5. Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Remove the marinade off the fillets completely with your fingers. Do not leave excess miso on the fish otherwise it'll burn easily. Place the fish skin side up on baking pan lined with parchment paper.


6. Bake the fish until the edges are browned and the flesh is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Do not flip the fish while baking.

Merry Christmas!

E: Santa Claus says I am a good boy!

#FacePalm

Hong Kong Day 1

Hong Kong, here we come!!!!

We bought the air tickets in July for our trip in November due to the promo fares on Singapore Airlines.  When the protests began in September, we panicked.  Fortunately, we bought travel insurance way before the protests began and should it get worse, we will forgo the trip and might be able receive some form of compensation.  

After consulting friends who went before us and those staying there, we did not have to forgo the trip.  The boys are the happiest, no doubt!

It is always difficult to wake the boys up in the morning but when it comes to going to the airport for our flights, it is never difficult!  Why ah……

Happy to be on his Trunki for the first time.  
Trunki is the original ride on suitcase which can be hand carried onto the airplane (make sure it's not over the carry on allowance though).  

Guess what will be in E's Trunki?

His baby bear, pillow, spare clothes and a book.

The Trunki is perfect for beating boredom suffered by travelling tots.  Sometimes they attract the attention of other passengers, both young and old, sometimes they irritate passengers as they have to make sure they do not bump into these luggage-pulling kids.  :P

My Superboy-Wannabe

But I am not too sure if the Trunki is a great idea for the parents.  :P

But if you were to ask me, the advantages surpass the disadvantages:

- when the kids are too tired to walk, I can pull them while they ride on their luggages - means lesser whining and tantrums throwing;
- it entertains them while they pull, push, get on, get off, play with the luggages during the waiting time after check-in and before boarding;
- they can pack what they need or want and be responsible for them;
- durable - same type of plastic as adult suitcases

Kids have this thing for the safety brochure in airplanes...

See you in Hong Kong!!!

We're going to the zoo zoo zoo, how about you, you, you?

One morning after constant bugging from D the night before, we went to the Singapore Zoo.  No strangers to the zoo as we have been going there pretty often.  However, this time, the zoo is having the  Zoo Hoo! Wildlife Warriors event!  How glad we were to be there at the right time!

Every weekend in December, one can pick up a Wildlife Warrior Trail Booklet at the Registration Counter and be on their way to complete the tasks at the 5 game stations to earn a stamp. 

The 5 stations:

1. Polar jumper which is located right outside the Frozen Tundra.  Just like a game of snake and ladder, we need to roll a huge dice and make our way to the end of the mat.

2. Pin the rhino horn which D had to turn a few rounds blindfolded and try pinning the rhino horn onto the rhino.  It was so funny as we direct him to where he should pin the rhino horn.

3. Fragile forest.  One needs to toss the correct trash into the different recycling bins.

4. Hang on for hope is a game that seems too difficult for the boys.  In order to help the orang utans reunite with their forest home, they need to throw the orange utan craft with a hook onto the strings across the trees.  B manage to do it, by aiming and throwing it in a certain angle. 

5. Eye of the tiger where the boys took a ball and throw at the incorrect things tigers are being used for.

We spent a lot of time at the Wildlife Craft Corner which I later came to know was conducted by Lollibox.

Making their own animal stickers… The area was catered for kids, with kids chairs and tables and there were friendly people around to help.  

You know he enjoyed when you see such a happy expression!

When 2 boys get into the #partnersincrime mood.

Look at that glee after they finish all 5 stations and get to decorate their own medals for Wildlife Warriors!

Though the weather was hot and sunny one moment and wet and humid the next, we enjoyed our zoo trip.  On top of what we usually do like watching the different shows, feeding the animals and watching the animals in action, this event is one that my boys will talk for a quite a while, with their bragging rights of their unique medals.  :)