Chocolate cravings

Chocolate Cake - Midnight snack!
Originally uploaded by cutejoos

On my drive back from chinese class I suddenly had this craving for something sweet & cakey that just would not go away. I had to go through my brain rolodex to see what places would still be serving dessert at 9pm near our area. The easiest haunt would have been at Mickey D's for some hot fudge sundae or apple pie, but my craving was really for cake. I ended up at our friendly neighborhood Starbucks which I knew would have the answer to my hearts desire. I actually ended up with more calories than what was deemed legal when it came to after dinner snacks, I could not resist the Sausage Roll which is my ultimate SB favorite, imagine a lovely pork sausage slathered with some mustard then wrapped in a super flaky & buttery puff pastry - it was heavenly! Then for "dessert" I ordered the chocolate cake which was disappointing, I've had it before and I don't recall it being this sweet and it was a tad bit dry already - sadly it was not worth the calories. I'm now lying in bed feeling like such a glutton, I need to have more will power!!!

Chawanmushi w/ salted duck egg

Chawanmushi w/ salted duck egg
Originally uploaded by cutejoos

Today mother-earth decided to host a mahjong game for a good friend of ours visiting from Hawaii. So since I had to man the kitchen I decided that chawanmushi or steamed egg would be the perfect dish to serve for dinner, the rest of the dishes (pork barbeque, spinach soup) I would just buy at a favorite restaurant near our store. For this chawanmushi, I got the recipe only recently from my cousin B who took the Beginner's cooking course at CCAC, she was totally raving about how easy & delicious it was, so I really had to try it out. Having made steamed egg before I changed my method a bit when I was advised by our Hawaiian friend to lower the flame when steaming this dish, he said it will result in a more smoother texture & he was right! Although cooking time was extended for 10 more mins. It was sooo smooth & silky. Plus I added some chopped salted duck egg on top for added flavor. The entire dish was devoured by one & all.

The Ting Tings

I stumbled upon this awesome British duo called The Ting Tings on MTV while I was channel surfing. They were performing the song "That's not my name" which is such an uber catchy tune that I just had to download it on my ipod right away. It's been awhile since I've been instantaneously impressed with a band, it's been so long that I don't even recall when the last time this happened. I googled them to see what they were all about and it seems that they have achieved some success in the UK already, now I guess they are ready to conquer Asia.

Pancit Luglug

Pancit Luglug
Originally uploaded by cutejoos

This plate of Pancit Luglug was one of the dishes we had ordered on our day trip to Anvaya Cove. It was middle of last year that I first tried out the offerings of this resort and unfortunately I was not impressed at all. Food service was slow and when it finally came it was sooo disappointing. But I tried to be understanding as they were still in the early stages of their soft opening. So on this latest trip, almost a year later I was expecting to see more of an improvement from them. Food definitely was better but not yet in the category of good, it's more in the so-so stage considering that they are a first class resort. Service was decidedly slow when you take into account that it was 2pm already and there was no lunch crowd since it was a weekday. I guess I have to anticipate my next trip and hopefully by then I can expect the good unexpected.

Addicting!

Addicting!
Originally uploaded by cutejoos

Since mother-earth has been back from her trip, yours truly has had no more serious kitchen duty to perform except as sous chef to the queen bee. I can honestly say that those 10 days she was away were an eye opener, I really take my hat off to all the moms/wives out there - it is really hard work!!! As a way to relax, I have been having this after dinner drink during my down time infront of the TV. I discovered this instant Milk tea drink made by Lipton as I was making my supermarket rounds. I have been a big fan of sweetened milky tea for awhile now so I was soo excited to see that it is now super easy to enjoy it without having to deal with the tea bag, then adding milk & sugar, it's now all in one small packet, you just add hot water!! The taste is just perfect, it's how I would have prepared it if I had done it myself.

Mango Torte Madness

mango
Originally uploaded by cutejoos

We enjoyed this lovely mango dessert from Dulcelin brought over by pal Jack for T & G's birthday party. I've had this torte many times before and for some reason I never really thought it was fantastic or even yummy for that matter. Sure it was pretty to look at with all the luscious vibrant looking mango balls, but for some reason I always felt that the mangoes were tasteless. It was only now that I realized (due to the lack of a freezer at the venue) that this dessert was not to be eaten in a semi-frozen state as suggested, but was best when it has all but defrosted already. Only then can you truly taste the decadent combination of mangoes & cream & the nutty caramely crust. Arrgh calories calories!!!!

Scenes from a Pool Party!

It's the middle of summer here in South East Asia, the perfect time to indulge in some yummy ice cream with all the fun stuff added into it!!! Enjoy!

Caramelized Bananas

Caramelized Bananas
Originally uploaded by cutejoos

Our backyard plantain banana (saba) produced a bountiful harvest this week, some were already rotting that I had to quickly start giving them away. I decided then that this would be the perfect time to try to make Caramelized Bananas since I had loads of them to experiment with. I sliced the bananas in half then placed them on a pan and sprinkled them with brown sugar, then I dotted some butter all over. I baked it in the oven till the bananas turned nice & golden, by this time the sugar had already melted with the butter. It was quite yummy & super easy to make, although not too pretty to look at. I'm thinking I can do it a la Mode next time.

Fish Fillet w/ black bean sauce

Fish Fillet w/ black bean sauce
Originally uploaded by cutejoos

For mother-earths welcome home dinner I decided to cook her a fish dish which I again saw in Yummy magazine. I think there must've been an error in their recipe because the dish certainly lacked in saltiness, and the one big boo boo I did was I didn't taste the sauce before adding it to the fish. I normally do do a final taste test but I don't know why I completely forgot it this time. Plus the fish was a tad bit overcooked by maybe 2 minutes. Recipe said 10-15 minutes steaming and I only did 10 mins. can you imagine if I did it for 15 mins.? It would have been as tough as pork. The only saving grace is that the finished dish looked so lovely.