15 Aug 2013
Creamier Ice Cream and Waffles - Unlink choice
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| Omg so busy recently that I have no time to blog! I just came back from a short (3 days) getaway trip to Batam during the National day holidays and am now flooded with 2 major projects from school. Anyway, let me change to a more chill topic of an ice cream dessert which I had with my friend. I brought my friend to this outlet which was just walking distance from his house and he did not even know this place existed! Since my previous visit I did not have a chance to try their home-made waffles, we decided to order it with 2 scopes of ice cream! It was rather crowded that day and we had to wait quite a while before 2 near-perfect round spheres of ice cream, balanced neatly on top 2 squares of in-between-crispy-and-fluffy waffles arrived. Was glad it came in 2 squares as it saved us the trouble of portioning. I picked the Sea Salt Gula Melaka which had a lovely palm sugar sweetness, enhanced by the saltiness of sea salt. My perfect combination of sweet-salty! My friend decided to go for the tropical fruity Mango Passion Sorbet. It was tangy, deliciously refreshing and it had an obvious fruit puree taste. I felt the mango was dominant while my friend actually thought the passion fruit was more overpowering. (Who's right?) The main agreement that we both had in unison was that these 2 scopes totally do not compliment well with each other, like the opposite polarity of North and South. |
31 Jul 2013
Tonkutsu King Four Seasons - Artificial beauty blossoming
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| The moment I stepped into Tonkutsu King Four Seasons, I almost went OMG aloud. I was awed and impressed with the effort involved to furnish the restaurant into so Japanese-like. Artificially beautiful cherry blossom hanging along the walls, round lanterns, wall paintings as well as the open kitchen concept made me felt like I was entering a ramen outlet in Japan. |
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| An urge to risk, I ordered the Japanese green tea cola to try as it was a rare beverage option in Singapore and it was my first time coming across one. Upon reading the label, I realised that the brand was from Tonkutsu King itself. Fizzy and tasting like an ordinary can of cola, except that the colour was more towards the darker tone of olive green. |
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| My friend's bowl of 'Autumn' arrived with colour so vibrant that it reminded me of the season's departing leaves. The bright warning colour was a mix of spices and meat cuddled into an orb, slowing diffusing its fieriness across the umami broth. A mouthful of soup was already too much for me to handle and I was thankful that this bowl was not my choice! Not to forget, there were free flow of hard boiled egg and marinated beansprouts (just like Ramen Keisuke Tori King) to bring down the heat. |
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| My 'Summer' arrived shortly after my friend's 'Autumn' and the colour contrast reassured me that I would not have to sweat over my meal. Unlike Autumn, Summer's broth was intensified by a lovely load of mushroomy bits which emitted an unforgettable earthly taste. I felt like I was eating a high class 'bak chor mee' (minced meat noodles) with springy and relatively medium-hard noodles. As for the char shu, it was towards the leaner side with minimal fats, posing a slight challenge for a lazy person like me to chew. On the whole, I would definitely be back to try out the other seasons! |
27 Jul 2013
My 1st Bread Showpiece 'Crash Site'
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| My very first bread showpiece I did in school 2 days ago! The decoration bread dough, also known as dead dough is definitely not edible. I came out with this concept of 'Crash Site' only on the spot without prior planning, and the crafting space was about palm size. |
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| I felt like I was back during my primary school days modelling clay into miniature figurines for art lessons. I really enjoy art and sculpturing, making the best out of the 2 hours and less given time to complete my masterpiece. Roof meshing, fallen pillar, collapsed brick wall, debris and a un-detonated missile (I know it doesn't looked like one). |
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| Another view of the meshing! It was really tricky to do those netting design due to the crumbly bread dough and interloping dough of about 4 mm in diameter. |
The recipe that I used:
Baking temperature about 170 degrees, Time about 1/2 hour.
400g Plain Flour
70g Rye Flour
30g Potato Starch
30g Salt
100g Soften Butter
Sugar Syrup:
80g Water
120g Sugar
Steps:
1) Mix all the ingredients together
2) Add soften butter
3) Add sugar syrup (not too hot)
4) Mix to form a smooth, firm dough (add more syrup if needed)
5) Let dough rest overnight in chiller
The next day, add some sugar syrup to soften dough, blend well and enjoy making your bread showpiece!
25 Jul 2013
Antoinette Macarons - Round 2
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| After being quite impressed by the 2 macaron flavors I had tried the first time round, I made up my mind to be back to try out 2 more of Antoinette's flavors. Personally, I am not really a huge fan of macarons as I felt that they were getting common, overrated and expensive. Being a sucker for floral related desserts, my first pick was Violette, which was tainted a pleasant purple! I definitely made a bad move as by the time I got home, the buttercream was already smudging out like some busted toothpaste. I was quite disappointed with that piece as both the shell and buttercream taste were so faint and close to flavourless. The Grand Cru on the other hand was better with its nuttiness that swept through my unprepared palate (it was supposed to be chocolate), while the dark chocolate ganache was rich, sinful and slightly bitter. I don't think I could afford such indulgence that often and would not be back anything soon. |
19 Jul 2013
Domino's Pizza launches new menu!
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| It was my first time attending an OMY Blog Club Event and trying out Domino's pizzas! I was never a fan of pizzas in the first place, but I decided to taste how good a pizza can actually be. |
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| I was really nervous at first, seeing all the new faces and not knowing what to expect from such an event. I settled myself around the middle of the long table and within minutes, I started chatting with my new friends about topics revolved around blogging. I realized there were many food bloggers around, all so eager to try out the new pizzas available at Domino's! |
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| Recognized to be the world leader in pizza delivery (free delievery!), Domino's pizza is getting really popular due to its extensive menu of 28 specialty pizzas and 6 types of unique sauces! I was going to salivate any moment just by thinking about the load of new pizzas. Obviously eat hard meant work hard too, that's why I am posting this detailed post of my experience! The first pizza I tried was the chilli beef! It was delightful to see small pieces of ground beef scattered around, mildly spicy and shiok! |
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| What attracted me to the Parmagiana Chicken pizza were those wrinkled skin cherry tomatoes that appeared to look like tarnished rubies over a rocky landscape of olives and chicken. The juices bursting out from these tomatoes countered the dryness of the cheesy pizza. |
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| I naturally love the earthy mushrooms which matched really well with those smoky pepperoni. The landscape looked rather flat but actually the ingredients were well compact under the savory layer of cheese. |
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| The Chickensaurus was quite overflowing with chunks of smoked chicken breast, chicken pepperoni as well as mushrooms. It would be a rough one if you are not a meat lover as the meatiness sure was overpowering! |
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| The Smoky Meatilicious was yet another meat lovers ideal choice where ground beef and chicken sausage laid before you. Minimal slices of greens would not stop you right? |
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| This was something I did not try as the Napolitana Chicken pizza was too generous with its black olives. It would be a like it or hate it thing as olives were definitely not fans of bloggers that day. Sadly, this was the only pizza that was left untouched, except for a slice that went into an unknown person's stomach! |
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| Last but not least, also a hot favorite among everyone was the the Alfredo Prawn pizza! Thin crust with a layer of cheesy goodness, onions, red pepper, juicy pineapple and crunchy looking prawns! I took a slice and left the prawn alone, wondering who would be the lucky one to have an extra prawn (I can't consume due to shellfish allergy). |
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| The chocolate lava cake which I did not try due to being afraid of acne outbreak. It was really tempting to watch the other bloggers around me indulging in the gooey sinful chocolate dessert! |
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| Me enjoying my pizza slice! |
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| Had snacks such as the garlic cheese onion rings, well seasoned roasted drumlets and the tom yam chicken crunchies with spiciness too unbearable for me. |
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| What bloggers usually do after eating? Camwhore! With gorgeous Janet from Omy, who sacrificed her hair for a greater cause during the 'Hair for Hope event'. I was wondering how she would look like with hair. |
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| Posing with a giant menu! They should actually implement menu of this size so that the pictures are clearer and easier for many people to read at the same time! |
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| Me posing with one of the blogger! Hmm, what should we order? |
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| Camwhoring with other pretty ladies...and do not underestimate them as they sure knew the meaning of indulgence! |
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| More shots with a going-to-ord-soon blogger! |
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| Giant pizza anyone? |
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| A shot with one of the pretty organizer of this event! |
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| With another pretty lady whom I thought was a beauty blogger at first! Omg, I randomly took that cheese dip to pose with. Awkward pose! |
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| I did not get a chance to know some of the other bloggers due to our seating. Maybe in future events next time! |
Thank you Omy and Domino's Pizza for the invite!
8 Jul 2013
Marugoto Shokudou Ramen - A place so off the radar
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Marugoto Shokudou is located at Ang Mo Kio Central, in an isolated building where
K-box is. Although that location was pretty off the radar for people who are not
frequent amk wanderers, it was surprisingly packed that night. After browsing the
menu for quite some time, my mum decided to try the Katsu Chicken Ramen. I
always start describing the ramen by its broth, and it sure was slightly thick (even
you could tell just by looking at the picture) and had the pleasing umami taste.
(I accepted the fact that it was natural to be slightly salty for ramen broth.) As for
the chunky katsu chicken, the crispiness was certainly there but due to the thickness
of the batter, it was being dragged down. My mum went to the extend of partially
removing some 'crisp' off those cutlets!
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As for my Tokyo Shoyu Ramen, the broth definitely tasted the same as my mum's
ramen. I had cravings for fatty pork belly that day and my wish was granted. (I meant
over granted in a way.) I had 2 pieces of really thick and extremely fatty, slightly
chewy pork belly sinking halfway in my broth. The meat to fats proportion was
interestingly about 1 : 3 ! So not good for people on a low-fat diet. Despite being
on the pricey side, the overall bowl of ramen tasted unique on its own. However, I
would need to reconsider before coming back for my second round.
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30 Jun 2013
Menya Koji Ramen Dining at Paragon
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| Hidden at the basement of Paragon and located right opposite Ding Tai Feng, my friend and I went to try the Special Cha Cha Ramen since there was a promotion and it was 50% off that day itself. The sight of a mountain of beansprouts normally put me off but I still ate everything up, unlike my friend who was busy setting them aside. The thick salty broth was reaching almost an intolerable level but was toned down by adding more spices. The cha shu and molten yolk egg were decent and the entire bowl had nothing to wow about. |
14 Jun 2013
Mixed Berry Bar with Sour Apple Sauce - Randomness
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| Yesterday was my bake for health exam and 19 of us (my class) had to create our own healthy recipe. It was really challenging and fun at the same time as we could freely express our creativity, exploring into our own choice of either to create a baked or chilled dessert. My lousy phone camera did not show much justice to my dessert, not that my dessert looked picture pretty anyway. It was my first time making this mixed berry bar which I got the recipe from Clean Eating magazine (and I am using it for exam!). I customised and adjusted the recipe based on nutritional value of an individual serving. Made with whole wheat flour and rolled oats that has high fibre, it gave the bar a slightly dense and chewy texture. The dried blueberries, dried apricots and dried wolfberries added a punch of vitamins, minerals as well as antioxidant. The eggs (mainly egg white), some apple sauce and honey acts as a binder as well as natural flavouring. Silvered almonds was for added crunch too. Basically like an all-in-one food that is low fat, low cholesterol and extremely high energy! My applesauce is made by stewing apples with apple cider and a pinch of cinnamon. I found such a cute little pot to place my sour dip in, and to compliment the unappetising bite-size bars that is eaten with a toothpick. |
25 May 2013
Tonkotsu Kazan Ramen - A little crampy
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| I have been wanting to include Japanese restaurants into this supposedly dessert blog of mine ever since I changed my blog focus from cravescraze.blogspot.com to dessertingbeauty. I felt that it was quite a waste if I just left these pictures to rot in my hard disk, without sharing my personal opinions of my dining experiences. I shall only include Japanese cuisine since I am a fan of it and I find it closely related to beauty and zen which is still part of my blog focus. I shall start with Tonkotsu Kazan Ramen which is located at Novena Square 2, cramped into a small outlet space. Just like a small typical Japanese restaurant with the right ambiance where the voices of staff kept booming throughout. I felt slightly irritated by the noise level in this squeezy restaurant at first but my irritation was quickly dismissed upon the arrival of my food. |
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| I ordered the Karamiso Ramen with gyoza set and the ramen can be easily defined by the little molehill of blended spicy miso paste. After a thorough mix of the paste with my soup, I found the soup broth spot on with my taste buds, although the spiciness level was not there. I can say that it was fortunate for me as I have really low tolerance for spiciness. Sadly, the flavoured egg was slightly overcooked and the yolk was only semi molten. As for the pork belly, it was definitely not the melt-in-the-mouth type and it required some chewing to be done. Overall, I still wiped the entire content in my bowl clean. |
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| I shared the gyoza with my friend and it was rather decent. Although slightly oily, the gyoza skin was really thin, resulting in it being less filling and more meaty. |
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| My friend ordered a different set so that we could explore more from its menu. His Shoyu Ramen which was with soy sauce paste, had a rather mild soy sauce taste and would be really suitable for people who were afraid of having too much sodium intake. |
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| The fried rice which was part of my friend's ramen set came in this really hot stone pot. My friend began his mixing as soon as the pot hits the table to prevent the base from being burnt. While he mixed, I felt that the sizzling sound was instigating us to dig right into the piping hot fried rice. Look at that amount of spring onions which my friend went to remove bit by bit as he disliked them. The egg was the one that enhanced the taste of the fried rice, giving the dish its fragrance as well as a slightly charred taste. |
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| Just like the flavoured eggs from the ramen, these add-on eggs were also slightly over cooked. My friend and I should have waited for our ramen to arrive first, checked out the eggs before ordering extras. |
11 May 2013
Dolce Tokyo Japanese . Italian Cafe - Satisfying Meal
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| After dumbly going up the escalators for a couple of floors instead of just taking the lift, I finally found Dolce Tokyo among the many apparel outlets. After waiting a couple of minutes without anyone coming to lead me to my seat, I took my initiative to walk in and choose my own preferable spot. The place was kind of dim and rather cramp and I was glad that it was still too early to crash with the dinner crowd. |
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| Here is my complimentary set meal voucher which I was lucky enough to win from a blog's giveaway and I decided to try out the food. By the way, I am that type of assholes who love to near the walkway where people walking past could peek and have a glimpse of the yummy food that I was about to be served. |
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| My matcha latte arrived first and I was glad it did as I was getting thirsty. Taking a sip, I felt a rush of sweetness spreading across my mouth rapidly before the green tea taste actually surface. I understand that not many people would appreciate the bitter taste of green tea itself, or was it a sugar syrup overshot? The latte felt musty and diluted with plenty of ice which I did not quite like as I would normally opt for a hot one if I had a choice. I still finish it up though. |
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| My curry omelette rice with pork belly skewers and other sides arrived shortly and I was amazed to see such large portion, awaiting me to indulge in. However, I resisted my barbaric urge to start gobbling bites of everything within mere seconds. The omelette rice was mediocre to me while the sides were awesome. I did a really stupid mistake by taking in a mouthful of unchewable jellyfish and I had to swallow the entire mouthful down my throat. The cold potato salad had apple slices in them and they were all gone in a big spoonfuls. The baby octopus was in dismembered form except of its head and they tasted just like those usual ones. The best which I kept for the finale was the pork belly skewer. Tender, delicious and FATTY which I tried not to mind due to the word collagen spinning in my head, distracting myself from thinking too much. |
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| Another picture of the side dishes! I really love the pork belly and I foresee myself coming back again for their desserts if I had the chance and the company. |
5 May 2013
Ladyfingers and Tiramisu!
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| A couple of weeks ago I decided to prepare some tiramisu since my brother have a lovely bottle of Cafe Boheme standing stagnant in the refrigerator. Cafe Beheme is actually a coffee flavored alcohol which make a perfect refresher after adding a couple of ice cubes. I bet coffee and alcohol lovers would want to try it! Anyway, I baked some ladyfingers sponge first from the recipe below: 4 egg whites 78g caster sugar (A) 15g caster sugar (B) 3 egg yolks 60g cake flour
1) Egg whites and sugar (A) for meringue (Whisk till glossy and firm peak)
2) Egg yolk and sugar (B) (Well blend)
3) Fold egg yolk mixture into meringue (Gently)
4) Fold in cake flour (Gently)
5) Pipe into fingers and bake at about 180 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes
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| As for the tiramisu, I used 750g of mascarpone cheese which was a bit too much (I think 500g would do fine in future). I mixed coffee powder with the Cafe Boheme alcohol to increase the coffee flavor and then dipped the ladyfingers into the mixture. Lay the ladyfingers in any container/bowl, spread a layer of Cafe Boheme infused mascarpone on top and sieve an even coating of cocoa powder. (I repeated the process twice for more layers.) The above was about 8 servings size, so chill it and enjoy! I also want to thank my friends for the positive feedback!! |
7 Apr 2013
Custard Puffs
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| I decided to bake some choux pastry some time ago, hoping that my lousy oven would not fail me. These were unfilled puffs which I manged to bake and they were hollow and light. A couple of them did not raise well while 95% was enough to delight me. As for the filling, I was still deciding whether to fill them with pastry cream or custard. |
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| I made the custard cream the following day, and it turned out rather rich and had a creamy consistency. I felt that it was a little bit on the sweeter note that could easily be corrected next time. I was rather lucky that the amount of custard made was sufficient to pipe all the puffs. Sharing these little puffs with my family and friends was the best past of baking as they enjoyed biting into them, allowing the custard to ooze out slightly while savoring the sweetness that linger in their mouth. |
7 Feb 2013
Pineapple Tarts
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| Chinese New Year is just around the corner and nothing excites me more than collecting 'hong baos' (Red packets with notes inside)! I have seen many bombardment of pineapple tart recipes of different variation appearing in many baking blog posts and I was tempted to just follow the crowd. I am considered a baker anyway, a newbie one to be exact. I searched the web randomly and landed on a blog called foodismylifeand here is the link of the recipe which I had followed. It was my first attempt baking pineapple tarts and it was a success. The recipe as follows: 500g pineapple fillings (I used Poon Huat's) 400g plain flour 1/4 tsp salt 2 tbs corn flour 63g icing sugar 250g unsalted butter (room temperature) 2 no.s egg yolks (40g) + 1 no. egg yolk (egg wash) 1 pcs of pineapple tart has 6g filling and 11g dough Total amount of pineapple tarts I made: 67 pcs Oven temperature: 200 Degrees Duration: About 15 mins Soft, crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth, buttery, fragrant, a bit sweet, proportion just right. |