Singapore's Hokkien Mee

I just came from my course and I met my husband near the MRT for us to eat in the Food Court. Since it is Friday and my 2 daughters have their own meetings with their own sets of friends, me and my husband decided to eat out by ourselves here in Family Court. Of course the food here is cheaper as compared to other eateries. But still the quality of food here is not bad. Just look at my "Hokkien Mee". So nice!! It is a local food here in Singapore and it costs only SGD 3.00.

You may say that it looks pale and not that tasty. Don't be deceived by its look. Hokkien Mee tastes so nice. It has pork, scrambled egg, prawns and squid. It is made tastier with a portion of sambal sauce. Combined with that mee, both white and yellow, it is already a wholesome meal.

Wanna try my Hokkien Mee?

A Late Celebration At Delifrance

It was my daughter Marielle's birthday on the 4th of July. As it was a weekday when all of us were busy with work, and she aside from full time job also is doing her final year in RMIT, added that I am also attending my classes, we decided to have the celebration on the following Sunday. Marielle planned to bring us to Sakae Sushi in Causeway Point. Unluckily, there was a long queue when we went there. So, she decided to bring us to Delifrance. I like their bread actually. But with their meals, I was not that interested.

When we entered, one of the staff told us that the place is full and she could accomodate us only outside, an open space where there's no aircon of course. I got a little bit irritated for it was hot there. We were only accomodated inside when we asserted how hot it was outside and when one of the table was vacated. I noticed that they got no tooth pick canister also. Their tissue paper got no label. And during payment time they could not accept my daughter's NETS and accepts only cash or credit cards. I wonder why they could not accomodate NETS when it is a common form of payment here in Singapore. Ahh, I don't like their service. Period.

Their food as comparable to Marche could be lagging behind, as far as I am concerned. But anyhow, I could say that I still enjoy the food.

LP Eleven : In Our Kitchen

I joined the very first Lasang Pinoy event as I was invited by Stef of www.stefoodie.net. Since then I got hooked on joining the monthly events. But due to work and family commitments, I was not able to join the other events.

Luckily, I was able to join this recent event, the eleventh Lasang Pinoy as hosted by Jeanette or popularly known as JMom .

Please visit the round-up at www.inourkitchen.blogspot.com.

And surely, you’ll learn how interesting the foods from my born country, the Philippines, are.

LP Eleven: Summertime

How can we forget summertime especially those summers when we were young? Like every body else, I also cherish my childhood summers. Not only for those memorable moments, but also for the food associated with it especially those that we indulged with our puppy love(s).

But on this topic, I decided to tell about my first summer away from home, not with a puppy love, but with distant relatives who made me realised the simplicity and beauty of ordinary life through simple food.

After my graduation from grade school, my mother decided to let me have my first vacation with her first cousin in a remote place called Liwayway, Mauban Quezon. We travelled for almost a day crossing rivers to reach my Tita's house which was a nipa house very near the edge of the river. Imagine that! I was so dismayed and was so angry with my mother for giving me such a horrible vacation place.

It was a new experience for me seeing people eating from banana leaf using their bare hands and drinking water taken from the river. I really wanted to cry then and told myself that I would not eat anything in that place.

Later, I noticed my Tita's mother preparing to cook for dinner. She took some leaves from the back of their house and with coconut milk and "tuyo" or dried fish, she cooked it and served hot on their bamboo table. They all said in unison: "kain na!!!". I told them that I was not hungry yet. And all of them ate with gusto and were so proud with that yucky dish on their table.

As they were eating, I heard somebody said:"kakain din yan pag nagutom." And very true, my stomach grumbled. With shaking hands, I tried to take a small portion of the green leaf with a string still on it. So yucky!!! I told myself and closed my eyes. As I brought it on my mouth, I tasted the salty fish combined with the taste of the coconut milk. Ohh!! It was nice! I took some more bites and hurray!! I ate with gusto and consumed the whole portion of the ginataang gabi.
And that was the beginning of my appreciation of simple food from the province.

So everytime summer comes, I always remember my first summer away from home. I always remember the ginataang gabi who made me realised that a poor man's food also taste heavenly.

Since the day I appreciated ginataang gabi, I don't label it a poor man's food anymore. For me, it is already a novelty food .

What makes it more interesting is that whenever I visit my mother in Laguna, she always see to it that there is ginatang gabi for me. Just like my recent visit there. They served the best ginataang gabi for me.

Just look.

NOTE: I am on a 15 months course. I'll visit blogs and post my entries when time allows. Thank you for all those who visit my site. Thank you very much!!!!

Mother's Day Dinner

protod gratiem (soft shell crab)
gaykeaw wan(green chicken curry)
tom yum soup
tao hoo song krueng (tofu)
Siam Kitchen
nuer phad numman hoy (beef)
plamueg kua prig kluer ( calamari)

On Mother's Day, my daughters invited my husband and me for dinner at Siam Kitchen in Causeway Point. As they know that I like Thai foods, they brought me there. It was great!!!

Above are the Thai names of those foods. Correct me if I mispelled them.

Swedish Meatballs

Last time we went to IKEA , we ate at the IKEA Restaurant. As usual I ordered the Swedish meatballs. I really like their cream combined with that strawberry jam. So savoury!!!

And of course, our meal was not complete without the fried chicken and a tin can of Green Tea.

Next time you visit IKEA, don't forget to eat at their restaurant. The long queue you would endure would be compensated dearly by the nice tasting food. And that I can guarrantee you.

Desserts and Dumplings

Bo bo char char
lychee
red ruby
dumplings

It was Polling Day yesterday, therefore a holiday. And what a day to relax also. In the morning, my husband and I went to the food court for our breakfast. We had teh tarikh and of course roti prata. There were a lot of people enjoying their breakfast before going to the poll station.

And oh, we spent the morning also by dipping in the pool below. I enyoyed swimming with my husband for the first time since it was the only Saturday morning we swam together.

Before the day ended, we went shopping in Woodlands. I bought new bedsheets, Aussino bedsheets. And what better way to end our shopping than to have our desserts. Yeah, desserts only for we had big meals at home.

Those desserts are just ordinary ones here and only cost$2.oo per serving. But mind you, they are special to me for they almost resemble the ones we had in the Philippines. Bo bo char char comes in cold and hot servings. It resembles our ginataang kamote. The red ruby and lychee almost taste like our rainbow. And the dumplings. Wow!!! So yummy especially as it was served hot.

Pork Liver Steak

I intended to join the Lasang Pinoy 9. I wanted then to cook pig blood stew or dinuguan in our lingo. The problem was that I got no idea where to buy pig’s blood here in Singapore. Honestly, for the long years my family stayed here and I visited markets, I had not seen anybody selling pig’s blood. I knew that I could also use the chicken’s blood instead of the pig’s. But as you see, here in Singapore, we buy fresh chicken that are already dressed. Unlike in Hong Kong, I could buy live chicken from the market and the chicken vendor would dress the chicken for me and would give me the blood so I could cook my dinuguan.

My daughter informed me that according to her Filipina colleague, canned dinuguan available in Lucky Plaza stores could also be used. Since I got no time to drop by there, I was not able to cook. Luckily, we were invited by the same lady to her daughter’s birthday party at Hume Condo in Bukit Timah. They prepared dinuguan. Unfortunately, when I was to take a shot, I noticed that I forgot to bring my camera. So “goodbye na lang sa dinuguan..” One thing, the round-up was already up before April ended.

I really like cooking and eating offal or lamang loob. When we went to NTUC this morning, I saw fresh pork’s liver. I decided to cook pork liver steak. My family ate with gusto. Sarap daw!!! Sige na nga, masarap na!

Chicken Rice

Chicken rice is a well known meal here in Singapore. Your stay here would not be that complete if you had not eaten chicken rice. For chicken rice could me synonymous with Singapore.

This evening, my daughters just bought chicken rice for our dinner. It came in styrofoam packages, complete with rice, veggies, sauce, garnishings and of course the white chicken. My daughters paid $15.00 for the whole set good for 4 persons.

So life is like that here in Singapore. If you got no time to cook at home, it is just easy to go to a hawker centre or food court nearby. And presto! You have an instant lunch or dinner. And mind you, you can choose an array of foods. That is why Singapore is really a foodie paradise.

BBQ Stingray

Yes folks. This is a real stingray, a barbequed stingray. And it tastes soooo delicious. What with the sambal paste and okra or lady's fingers.

My youngest daughter informed me that she already tasted stingray and how she loved it. I told her that I would never for the life of me would taste nor eat one. But I ate my words. Once, I tasted the BBQ stingray, I was then convinced that it really tasted so heavenly. We ordered this BBQ stingray in Family Court in Yew Tee for S$10 per plate.

So wanna try eating stingray? For sure, you'll love it too.

Thai Tom Yum Soup

Since it is Holy Week, and we don't eat meat during this time, Thai Tom Yum Soup is one of the dish we can cook and eat. My husband who can also cook this dish (yeah, this is not only a soup but already a dish for us) usually cook with fresh ingredients, the real fresh lemon grass and chillies. It is really nice to eat this dish with fresh lemon grass. But since at times, we are all busy, the convenient spice paste can also satisfy us. Just look my Tom Yum straight from the pot.

My ingredients:



How I cooked:

1. Boil water in a saucepan. Add spicepaste and stir well.

2. Add all the ingredients and bring back to a boil.

3. Just before serving, season to taste. Garnish and serve hot.

Now, here's a bowl of my Tom Yum soup.

Chicken Curry

Back in the Philippines, I used to cook chicken curry. During those times, whenever I go to the market, I saw to it that I buy chicken and that green curry powder. Almost once in two weeks I cooked chicken curry then. Later here in Singapore, I found out that the chicken curry has an orange colour. The first time I saw one, I didn’t even try to taste a bit. But when we were invited to a gathering of the Resident Committee, I was obliged to eat the curry. And when I tasted the curry, it was so good. From then on I tried to cook the Singapore version of chicken curry.

One time, my former colleague, Irene, who was so happy for being confirmed after her 3 months probation, cooked chicken curry and brought it for us to eat in the centre. It was so delicious. So, whenever I cook curry I follow Irene’s version which she said is a Chinese version.

Yesterday was a happy day for me. Why so? Because though I resigned from my job, I already have bright prospect. Details of it I will blog on my other site. And because I was so happy and considered yesterday a special day, I cooked the chicken curry.

Here's how I cooked it.

INGREDIENTS



1 can filled milk
1 cup tomato catsup
2 tbsp vegetable oil
200 ml water
2 tsp salt
500 g chicken chunk
2 potatoes(cut into cubes)
1 medium sized carrot(cut into cubes)
1 packet My Mum's curry sauce

PROCEDURE
1. Sautee chicken with oil
2.Add My Mum's curry sauce and then stir well
3. Add potatoes, carrots, filled milk, water, catsup and salt. Stir well and simmer for 15 minutes.

And now here's my chicken curry. Hmmmm, let's eat now.

LP 8 : Pork and Pig's Liver Chop Suey

During my early childhood, I was not a vegetable eater. My mother’s mother whom we called “Lola Cleta” used to scold me for not eating vegetables and almost always compared me to my cousins who ate veggies with much gusto. When I got sick one time, my grandmother prepared stir-fried vegetables with liver for me. Since there was no choice for me then but to eat, I tried eating a spoonful. To my surprise, I took one more spoonful till I was able to finish eating the whole bowl of veggies. The sweet taste of the snow peas and carrots made me like the dish more. And that was the beginning of my love affair with stir-fried vegetables.

When I visited my twin grand daughters in Williamsburg last year, I found out that one of the twins, Darrielle, likes to eat vegetables. That was why we branded her that time as the ‘vegetarian” twin. So, with my stir-fried vegetables, I am setting aside one bowl for my dear Darrielle. Surely, she’ll like this.

And for you who love chop suey here’s how I prepared it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound fresh pig’s liver
1 pound pork
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1 piece Knorr beef stock cube
½ pound snow peas
½ pound Beijing cabbage
1 piece sayote

1 piece carrot
1 large green pepper
1 onion
Garlic
Oil for stir-frying

PREPARATION:

Cut the pig’s liver and pork into strips. Add seasonings and marinate for 10 minutes.

Cut all the vegetables and slice diagonally.

Heat the wok and add oil. When oil is ready, stir- fry pork and pig’s liver until the redness is gone.

Take another wok and heat it and add oil. When oil is ready, stir-fry each of the vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste . Add water and the beef stock cube. Gradually add the sauces and stir to thicken. Add and combine the the stir-fried pork and liver. Once it has boiled, it is ready to be served hot.

So do you like my version of chop suey?

A Tale Of Two Palabok

Above are my two palabok. As you can see, they don’t look the same though both of them are called palabok, a Filipino dish made from white noodles and garnished with shrimp paste, smoked fish called tinapa, eggs and other sea foods like shrimps and or squids.

When I visited my mother in Laguna province, my younger sister ordered this palabok and so this is home made and especially cooked for me. My sister paid six hundred pesos for a “bilao” of this palabok and I say it’s not bad, considering it tasted excellently. The squids and shrimps tasted so nice for they seemed to be so fresh from Infanta, I could say. It may look a little bit pale in colouring but just looking at it you’ll know it is a real yummy palabok. Though, it may represents a probinsya look, I was so happy with my sister for allowing me to taste one of my favourite Filipino dish.

On our last day of stay in the Philippines, I was still craving for the deliciousness of palabok. So I told my sisters that before I fly home, I want to eat at Goldilocks for their palabok. You know, Goldilocks palabok was one of my favourite then. So we went to a Goldilocks outlet in Metro Market Market. And as you can see, the palabok looked so nice too. Only I was not satisfied. It did not taste the way I envisioned it. My sister opined that since the eatery was only an outlet, they never served the real taste of the original Goldilocks palabok.

And so this is my two palabok: Same in colour, same in name, almost same in ingredients. But the one from the province tasted better than the one served by a well known establishment.

So don’t be deceived by the looks and the place where palabok is served. For me, the home made palabok will always be the best.

Turon

This is called turon, bananas sprinkled with brown sugar, wrapped with lumpia wrapper and then fried.

My sister-in-law bought a lot and spend thirty pesos only on our way to their farm in Laguna. The bananas were so tasty and I really ate a lot while watching the animals like turkeys, chickens, ducks, horses and pigs.

When my daughter's friend who is a Malay saw this photo, she got so curious and asked how to cook it.

Of course, my daughter taught her how to cook the tasty turon. And now, just looking at this photo, I can already envision the crunchy lumpia wrapper. Hmmm, I better say bye and prepare cooking my turon.

Kaya Toast

Whenever possible, me and my husband eat at Ya Kun Kaya Toast in Causeway Point. This eatery station is located nation wide and is very well known here in Singapore. I really like the kaya toast with tea. Our afternoon is always magnificent whenever we eat there. You know why? There's the runny and wet. Just look at the first photo and try to guess what it is.

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Chicharon, my pulutan

My pulutan, the chicharon

I was not able to join the LP 6. I already had the chicharon on my mind as my entry for the theme pulutan. Unfortunately, I was not able to take photo of the chicharon my eldest and I used to eat over there in Williamsburg. I was then so amazed of the availability of this Filipino stuff over there. And most of the time we used to buy 3 to 4 packages with different brands. And would you believe, the brand of chicharon from Mexico also tasted good, almost the same as the chicharon from the Philippines. Only, I was not able to take even one shot of the chicharon.

And here in Singapore to buy such a foodstuff, I need to go to Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road. I told myself that surely, I can post my entry once I already have one. But then I became so busy and then we also flew to the Philippines. Fortunately, I was able to buy the chicharon in Metro Market Market in Taguig, Global City.

Our family is not really fond of drinking wine. We do drink only on occasions. Though we always have bottles of wine at home, they are mostly for display or for consumption when there's the urge to drink.

But there's one drink that I drink everyday and makes my chicharon a real pulutan, my tin can or bottle of coke.