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6 May 2014

Manning The Egg Station - Eggs Eggs Eggs


Have you stayed at any hotel which serve breakfast buffets before? Be it complimentary or not?

If yes, there would be a high chance that the hotel would have a station where you could 'order' your eggs anyway you like. Of course I meant the standard ones and not the sous vide to whatever degrees celsius kind or eggs benedict. Those half boiled, soft boiled and hard boiled eggs can be requested and were done in the kitchen of course.

Anyway, I got the chance to mend the egg station for breakfast before and it was my virgin experience preparing those eggs ala minute for people. At first, it was really nerve wrecking for a newbie like me. But then, practice makes perfect and I focused on whipping up perfect omelettes and fried eggs for costumers instead of rushing through the cooking process. Speed of course was another issue depending on the crowd. 

There are many ways to cook an egg but I shall just list down the common types of specification in which people would want their eggs to be cooked.

'Fried' — eggs are fried on both sides with the yolks broken until set or hard. 

'Over well', also called 'over hard' or 'hard' — cooked on both sides until the yolk has solidified. 

'Over medium' — cooked on both sides; the yolk is of medium consistency and the egg white is thoroughly cooked. 

'Over easy', also called 'runny' — cooked on both sides; the yolk is a thin liquid, while the egg white is partially cooked.

'Sunny side up' — cooked only on one side; yolk is liquid. The egg white is often still rather runny as well. 

Omelet  very lightly scrambled in the fry pan, but cooked flat and rolled up.

Not to forget, Chinese people would normally say 荷包蛋 (he bao dan) which means 'pocket eggs' in translation. It is just fried eggs that are folded and fried to a desired consistency. 
  

There are strange people with unique requests, even when 'ordering' eggs.

I came across a person who requested an omelet with 5 big spoonful of diced onions, capsicums and tomatoes each. He mentioned that he loved vegetables and he requested the same serving for the following 3 days. I felt like I was making a vegetable roll instead of an omelet for him.

There are also health conscious people who requested no oil on the pan. The moment I heard the word no oil, I was like 'O shit'....high chance the egg (especially the omelet) would stick to the pan!

Some would request only egg white omelet. An evil though just came in mind - I should request that in future to bring inconvenience to the cook who prepares it for me! (Nah!)


Since I am still a newbie, I have experienced a few embarrassing moments before. Care to know what?

Firstly, I busted yolks while flipping the egg over. People may wonder why this chef can't flip an egg properly.

A couple of times, annoying people would just request their orders and walk away. This really can confuse the order especially when a few people does that at once. People! Please queue up... because some people
actually took others' order and left the explanation part to me.

Once, the kitchen serviette tissue that was used to wrap around the handle of my pan caught fire from the stove's flames. (The kitchen serviette tissue is to prevent the heat that transmitted upwards from burning my hand.) I quickly removed it and put out the flames by hand within a few seconds and threw it into the bin beneath me.    


Beside that, I really love it when people gave me compliments about my nicely done omelet or fried eggs!
No harm praising the chef who did your eggs in future right? It will make his day happier too!

3 May 2014

Domino's Pizza Kicks Off Footy Online Contest!

Hey! All the Football and Domino's Pizza Fans out there! Domino's Pizza once again launched something new and exciting for everybody! I was quite eager to attend since I had a great experience from the
previous Domino's Pizza event.

See the staffs were all so enthusiastic and eager to share about Domino's Pizza Kicks Off Footy Online
Contest! (Picture taken from William)

Check this poster out! The football season is here! More pizza, more football! The staff sure could pose
better than me as I am a seriously bad poser...
Check out the poster below!


Decided to take a selfie with the soccer ball above my head! I am no fan of soccer, but a fan of yummy
pizzas! Duh!
Before the food arrived, lecture first....we viewed a demonstration on the newly launched football game
that you could win great prizes from, such as an Ipad and a 60'' LED HDTV! More details can be found at
http://www.dominos.com.sg/ !

As for the game, log on to dominos.com.sg/kickoff to start. Remember to like the page first and it will
direct you to this screen.

Click to start playing this Flash game!

Any pro flappy bird fans out there? This could be your thing! Just click your mouse to control your ball
instead of a retarded birdie. Sounds easy? Not! I am a noob because I tried 3 times and my highest score
still remained at 2! WTH? Tell me there is a glitch.....Sadly no.

Time for my favorite part! I got to try one of the newer pizza addition which was the Ramano Margherita.
It felt so vegetarian since it was sprinkled generously with cherry tomatoes, black olives and feta cheese on
Napolitian Sauce. Just loved the cheesiness!  

Savored the other baked snacks that would be worthy to munch on while watching soccer! Spotted something new?? 

Yes! The NEW Napolitana Baked Meatballs! The compact beef ball was firm and had a slight chewy
texture that made me craved for more! Although the cheese had clumped together, the tangy tomato based
sauce prevented the balls from being too dry. Really addictive!
(Picture taken from William because I was too busy enjoying, and neglecting to take a nice shot of it. )

See all the bloggers (including myself) enjoying ourselves at Domino's Pizza? (Picture taken from William)

Ending the night with a group shot! #typicalbloggers (Picture taken from William)
Thank you The Influencer Network and Domino's Pizza
 for the invite! 

29 Apr 2014

The Public Izakaya by Hachi - Over Fusion??


The interior was furnished so beautifully that it felt so surreal! Am I still in Singapore? The streets along
Tanjong Pagar where offices are located in almost every building? The dim lanterns hanging across the
ceilings emitted an orangey glow that made the entire restaurant felt so homely. Too bad my friends and I
had to dine outdoors due to the peak lunch period and the clash with the office crowd.
(Picture taken after the meal.) 

There were free flow of appetizers, mainly salad that were not worth the mention since they were either
soggy or badly marinated. It could be a wise move since office people are getting rather health conscious

nowadays. Health is wealth!

Certain food like this serving of deep fried chicken cutlets with wedges found in the lunch menu totally 
contradicts the Japanese style. Could it be a fusion that was overtaken by the western part? With the
ketchup bottles as a backdrop, no one could tell this dish was from a Japanese restaurant. Tender juicy 
chicken but the ratio to the crispy batter was imbalance. Let's not talk about the processed wedges
since I decided to skip them.

My friend received a wrong order but he decided to take it anyway. I think due to the really huge pieces of
ribs that were too eye-catching and difficult to resist. My stares could not be turned away due to the
tantalizing gravy that drenched the rice. Gosh, I want to eat from that yummy bowl right now!  

I had the pork belly set which looked less appealing as compared to my friend's ribs. It was simple, tender
and mildly salty, perfect combination with plain rice. Thankfully I had other dishes to whet up my appetite.

ARH....Finally the most Japanese-like food that arrived at our table! A light bodied clear
soup with certain unknown Japanese ingredients in it! Hard boiled egg, taro, fishcake
filled with sticky flour and another spongy fishcake. Such enjoyable and real comfort food
I would say. By the end of our catching up meal, the entire place was empty as people

went back to their monotonous work life. How I wished I had more freedom and be
stress-free!

28 Apr 2014

The Corner Place Korean BBQ Buffet - In general, I would want to avoid in future

I don't usually fancy going for a BBQ or a Steamboat buffet meal since I knew that the quality of those frozen/raw food usually sucks. I am referring to those standard $20 - $30 range of buffets which I had tried that has been listed on the side column of this blog.
You may question why I go for yet another BBQ buffet then?

Such buffets are mainly for gathering purposes, be it for a huge group of friends or with a
bff/buddy who got lots of catching up to do over a meal. Since my friend wanted to indulge
a bit on those scary quantity of over marinated meat, I just have to agree. Partly because I
was too lazy to decide where else to dine around Marina Square. 

These were the cooked food available while waiting for our meat to sizzle till cooked. Glass noodles were
thick and tasted decent, egg custard had that turn-me-off eggy stench and we did not touch the korean rice
cakes. I loved the Korean spicy-sweet marinated drumlets so much that I gobbled down 10 pieces of

them. Being in a buffet also means that you need to learn to be selective of the food you consume! Just
pick your favorite + what you think is worthwhile! 

Our 'BBQ pit' was constantly filled with various types of meat, especially those tender slices of beef! We
kept complaining about using those Korean flat metal chopsticks that were kind of a nuisance since they
were made without considering the ergonomics factor. The service was also prompt as the staffs would
change the foil once it turned semi black.

Not meaning to turn you off but looking at the amount of excess oil/waste dripping out through the internal
sewage system, we can't help but to imagine those waste being deposited into our stomachs. Gosh, what
did we just fed ourselves with?    

9 Apr 2014

Orh Nee Roll - My Rendition of Orh Nee

Decided to do up a post before going to dreamland to recharge my energy for a crazy day of work tomorrow! It is FHA week and the morning crowd is so CRAZY! Too bad my off days are after FHA and I could not go although I had complementary ticket from my chef. (Gave away the ticket already...) I posted about my last day of school and my presentation previously (click here to view) and below is the dessert I created. The recipe I used included if anyone want to try making it?  


(Picture taken from my school instructor's album.) Nicely taken from his DSLR! 


A summarized version of my report (modified)

Orh Nee Roll is my rendition of the popular Teochew dessert that goes a long way back.
Orh Nee in Teochew means Taro Paste and memories of this dish come from attending
wedding banquets, where it is almost customary for it to be served as the last course in resturants.
The main ingredient used is yam, which is one of the oldest food plants known. It is also a common plant found around the rustic and rural kampung environment in the past. Yams are a good source of potassium, manganese, copper, vitamin C, dietary fiber, and vitamin B6.
The other secondary ingredients used are coconut cream, pandan leaves, shallots and pumpkin seed (to replace the actual pumpkin flesh).   
Since the past, coconut cream is added to Orh Nee to enhance the flavor, giving it a creamier texture. As for shallots, when fried, they produce a fragrant aroma which would mask the undesirable smell of the yam. Pandan leaves are used as additional flavoring for the skin.

To further depict the kampong style, I choose to present my Orh Nee rolled up in light pandan fragrance snowskin, looking like a piece of home made traditional kueh. It is also to break the monotonous habit of serving Orh Nee in a bowl, looking like a pile of unappetizing dull looking gooey mess. The spongy texture of the snow skin with fried shallots and pumpkin seed provide a slight contrast to the rich creamy texture of the yam paste itself. This sweet as well as savory dessert is made from scratch, just like from the kampung days.


Dessert name: Orh Nee Roll (About 100 pcs)
(Adjust oil and coconut cream base on your desired consistency.)

Ingredient List

Yam Paste 

Fresh Yam        1200g
Caster Sugar        200g
Peanut Oil            300g
Shallots             15 no.s
Coconut Cream    600g
Salt                    A pinch

Snow Skin

Fried Glutinous Rice Flour (Kou Fien)          600g + (100g for dusting)
Icing Sugar                                                   750g
Shortening                                                    180g
Water (Cold)                                                 600ml
Green Colouring                                            Few drops
Pandan Leaves                                              100g


Method

1)      Peel taro and cut into thin slices. Arrange on a dish/tray and steam for 20-30 min until soft.
2)      Once the taro slices are out of the steamer, mash them up with the back of a fork, adding caster sugar at the same time. Taste and add more caster sugar if required. Tweak the level of sweetness to personal preference. Cover with clingfilm.
3)      Peel shallots and finely slice them.
4)      In a wok or wide saucepan, add oil and sliced shallots. Gently stir-fry on medium low heat until the shallot discs begin to brown and crisp up. Strain the shallots from the oil.
5)      Return oil back to the wok, turn down the flame to low. Add mashed taro paste and mix until well amalgamated. Taste again and add more sugar if required. Also, if coconut milk is used, it can be added at this point with a pinch of salt. Cut back the oil by half if so and add accordingly until the desired texture is achieved.
6)      Allow the taro paste to cool down considerably. Transfer into a food blender and blitz until smooth. Chill the mixture till firm.
7)      Sift the flour and mix with icing sugar and add into a bowl
8)      Blend the pandan leaves for its juice, add into the cold water with a few drops of colouring.
9)      Add shortening and water to the flour mixture, mix together to form a smooth dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.
10)   Roll out the dough into a rectangular flat surface, spread the taro paste across it and roll it up like a swiss roll.
11)  Chill before slicing into portion and serve. 


(I had my reference from http://travelling-foodies.com)

2 Apr 2014

Graduated from At-Sunrice! Spice Odyssey 2014

This 18 months was like a whirlwind to me. I enrolled into At-sunrice and started my course almost 4 months after my army days. Even the pictures I am about to post felt like an aftermath of the whirlwind since I am at a loss of what sequence should I start my story line with!  

Every story have a starting as well as an ending. I shall begin mine with the layout of my group's given
presentation theme - Survival and Preservation. I further modified the concept to Kampong Survival and
Preservation of our Heritage so that it would make things easier. I present to you our layout that day of our
presentation! (Not the full layout actually)

My team that comprises of 3 pastry and 3 culinary students. With kampung theme, we dress kampung style! 

Another group shot sitting on the floor like kids! I wore singlet that day although I know I do not have a perfect body.
Who cares? I am known to dress anyhow as long as I am comfortable with. Note: For hygiene purpose, I
did shave my armpit hair the day before.  

A selfie playing with a paper kite that day. Although badly taken but no choice as this was the
only picture my friend sent to me....

My Orh Nee Roll which is my own rendition of the popular Teochew dessert. Shall post the recipe next
time. Really survival looking right?

We had to pack some door gifts for our guests and we bought some of these really old school toys and
candies! Remember these? We also bought some other toys like five stones, paper balls and chapteh to
play with during our presentation (not shown here). We wanted our guests to walk down the memory lane
and re-experience the past. 

I know it looked quite cheapo in plastic bags but it is Kampung style! Each group was only given $100 to
spend on whatever props and stuffs we need for our presentation.

We had to present our concept and food 3 times to different batches of guests. We were only allowed
one invite each. Taken a photo with one of my close friend's wife when she visited my group for food
tasting.

My classmates! We all dressed accordingly to our theme that day. My dressing is definitely the most
'CUI'! LOL! 

My close cliquey of friends! 

Guys only shot! One of them went for smoke break I think...

Back at Sats, thank you chef for loaning me some of the equipment for my presentation! 

This is just a brief post and I did not have time to try my friends' food or to take pictures of other teams' layout/food. We all knew we did what we could and to happily graduate from our course, no matter whether we would want to continue this profession in future.