Vegetarianism: Dinner at Ling Zhi Liat Towers (Part IV of Birthday Treat - Last Part)

Last but not least, the final instalment of my birthday treat is dinner at Ling Zhi Vegetarian - Liat Tower branch[1]. Perhaps because this is not my 1st trip to Ling Zhi, I forgot to take a photo of the food we ordered!!! I shall remind myself to take some if I ever blog about Ling Zhi again...

Well, the only photo I took while we were there was of QW playing with the SG50 balloon. As mentioned in my blog post on our Staycation at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, we picked up at the balloon station of "Pedestrian Night on Orchard Road"[2].

If you are an American Express Palate Card member, Ling Zhi is one of the restaurants of this Palate Dining Privileges. So, do enjoy the privileges while you are there!

Anyway, we ordered our usual favourites:
Sauteed Monkey Head Mushroom with Dried Chilli,
Vegetarian Curry Fish
Sauteed French Bean with Fried Enoki Mushrooms.

Just a note: This branch does not have buffet, unlike their other branch at Velocity@Novena Square. But the standard of the food remains the same =)

Well, the dinner sort of marked the end of my birthday treat =)
Had a great day thanks to my hubs for all the arrangements that he had made =)

References:
1. Ling Zhi Vegetarian
2. Orchard Road A Great Street - Pedestrian Night

Vegetarianism: High Tea at Raffles Hotel Tiffin Room (Part III of Birthday Treat)

I had no idea that he planned for a high tea next! Not just any high tea! But high tea at Raffles Hotel Tiffin Room! No wonder he told me not to dress too casually!

Lobby

I only got to know that we were going for our high tea minutes before we stepped into Tiffin Room. Do not just treat it like a place where you just pop by because you are around the area. Do make a reservation beforehand to avoid disappointment. Yes, it is that popular.

It being branded as "Raffles", the quality and variety of food is absolutely on spot. At the end of the room, you will be find the refills for some of the items on your tray and assorted beverages.

The usual non vegetarian menu

One of the sandwiches left a pretty deep impression on me. On top of the usual fillings such as tomato, egg mayo and cucumber, the shiitake mushroom filling was probably my personal favourite. I think the shiitake mushroom sandwich was a vegetarian's special (probably to replace one of the non-vegetarian sandwiches offered by the usual menu)~

As for QW, her favourite was the Mango pudding with lemongrass cream on the middle tray =)

Vegetarian tray

The service? Of course it was great. Not only do they take care of the adults' needs, children needs are also well taken care of. QW's high chair was already set up way before we reached. Also, she was given children utensils and bowl =)

The ambience? Fabulous especially with the background harp music.

I must say that it was pretty flawless. If you really want to find a thing to complain, it might have to be the price then. With good food, service and ambience, the price seems pretty reasonable~

Just ending this post with my favourite photo which we took while at Tiffin Room:

Reference:
1. Raffles Hotel - Tiffin Room
2. Tripadvisor - Tiffin Room

Vegetarianism: Sufood Food Preview

I realised that I haven't blogged for 2 months (since Sep)! Life has been pretty busy - with a mix of good and bad.

September had been mostly enjoyable because we went for a vacation to New Zealand - Southern Island. That I will blog in another post. It was generally a great trip with some hiccups along the way, which made it VERY memorable. It had been SO memorable that I have to work on my negotiation skill a bit to convince my husband into visiting New Zealand someday again.

October had been a "buggy" month with QW falling sick =_= *sigh*

So yes, this post is extremely back-dated! But as we always say, better late than never!

Back to the focus of this post. Previously, I had experience being a woven wrap babywearing tester. With thanks to my sister who won the lucky draw to Sufood[1] Food Preview for two, I had the opportunity to be a food tester this round ;) I felt very excited from the day she shared this great news with me :)

The scheduled preview date was 28 Oct 2015. We were to sample and give feedback for dishes which Sufood planned to include in their menu from 1 Nov 2015 - which means they are all available now!!!

The whole experience as a food tester was very refreshing. Let me share with you a quick run-down of what happened that night:

Sufood set aside a section of their restaurant where all the testers were seated together. Although my sister was told to invited one more friend (which is moi~), they were pretty gracious and accommodated my hubby and QW in the same section. Of course, hubby got to pay for his own set meal and get to enjoy the samples as well ;)

We were served in the following sequence: soup, main dishes, dessert and beverages. Each time a dish was ready for tasting, they will bring the dish to us so that we get to (obviously) take lots of photos!!! Then, they will take them away to serve us a portion of the dish. Their marketing staff then came around to explain the dish to us: conceptualisation, how it may be eaten, etc. And of course, they also collected our feedbacks for their chefs.

Alright, I know there has been a lot of words to read thus far. Here are some photos of the delicious dishes we got to sample that night to break the monotonous essay mood ;)

Misto mushroom soup

First, we tried their Misto Mushroom soup. I would say it was quite flavourful. Kind of like the diluted Brand's fungi essence. I liked that you can see the fungi (e.g. brazil mushroom, button mushroom, etc.) that were used to cook the soup. I tasted a tinge of ginger and confirmed with the staff that it was indeed one of the ingredients. My only complaint? I wished there were more than ONE brazil mushroom =_=; My sis ate the one and only...

Sufood staff busy portioning the dish

Soup after being portioned

Next up was Zesty Oyster Mushroom Rice. It is like bibimbap-kimchi fried rice. As you can see from the photo below, it is very colourful. These 5 colours (yellow, white, green, orange and purple) are colours of Sufood. Not only are they vibrant, they look appetising and is great for health. I am sure you have heard talks about eating a variety of naturally coloured food and anti-oxidants, so I won't repeat how healthythey are. By the way, the eel-looking mock meat is oyster mushroom. I personally feel it needed more seasoning. My meat-eating friends would probably agree that it lacks the "sea" taste of an eel. Overall, the dish is decent and filling enough as a main though. 

Zesty Oyster Mushroom Rice 

 A portion of the fried rice

The Lucky Clover Pizza was my favourite main dish that night. Two main ingredients used in the leaves are spring onion and hericium erinaceum (lion mane's mushroom). The spring onion side tasted juicy and fresh, while the hericium erinaceum side is chewy and meaty. As you can guess, I ate the leaves individually at first. If not for the insider's information, I would never have thought of folding 2 leaves together to eat. The best outcome would be to fold the spring onion with hericium erinaceum sides to eat. 

Lucky Clover Pizza

The Rainbow Baked Pasta is actually baked conchiglie. This may not be as filling as the Zesty Oyster Mushroom Rice, but I prefer its taste. This was my next favourite main dish after Lucky Clover Pizza. Once again, the various colours come into play, which made the food looked appetising :)

Rainbow Baked Pasta

Last and perhaps the least, we had White Ferula Pasta. You probably can sense that I did not enjoy this dish, can't you? It might have to do with the fact that it came out as the last main dish. My stomach was beginning to feel full and hence did not appreciate this dish as much. I felt it was too oily. I did reflect that to their staff and was told it might due to the olive oil used in basil pesto and also when cooking the pasta.

White Ferula Pasta

Drinks wise, 4 out of their 5 colours were ready on the sampling day. Purple took its "leave of absence" because its ingredients were still on their way from Taiwan. Here are the breakdown:

Red - The Lively - Watermelon and tomato

Green - The Purely - Pineapple, choy sum and sour plum

Yellow - The Sunny - Orange and pineapple

White - The Comfy - Pear and yucca root

Purple - The Tasty - Beetroot and honeydew

I LOVE watermelon juice. So, I am biased towards The Lively because it is my LOVE and the most refreshing (in my opinion). To be fair, they were equally tasty. The Purely impressing me a tad more because it has choy sum in it! The pineapple and sour plum really did a great job masking the bitter after taste that the vegetable typically has. That made The Purely a pretty tasty drink, very easy to swallow.

I probably have to make a trip back to try The Tasty =_= Really curious about how it will taste like.

Dessert received the thumb's up and seal of approval from QW. Needless to say, it was the best dish of that night ;)

Mango Frollino

This is not my first time dining at Sufood. Thus far, Sufood has been a nice restaurant to dine in. It is just great to see that Sufood is creating and adding new dishes to their existing menu. It makes it more enticing to revisit them.

Personally, I just hope my sister's lucky streak continues :p

References:
1. Sufood
2. Facebook - Sufood

Vegetarianism: Boneless Kitchen (Part I of Birthday Treat)

The first stop of my birthday treat was to Boneless Kitchen[1][2]. They specialises in vegetarian korean food.

It used to be located in Bukit Merah when it was reviewed by Hungry Ang Mo[2]. It seemed that he had mixed reviews on the quality of the food. Mostly leaning towards that there is room for improvement. But since he mentioned that they had improved from a previous days, it might be possible that they have made further progress since their Bukit Merah days.

As a vegetarian in Singapore, it is quite easy to find Chinese, Indian and Western versions. But other eastern food such as Korean, Japanese are harder to come by. Hence, I was really looking forward to it when my sister suggested to give me a treat at Boneless Kitchen.

Let me try to recall what we ordered:

Korean army stew, pancake, kim chi, pickled radish, potato vermicelli, squid rings, pan-fried tofu, dumplings, toppoki, etc.

This photo was taken at the beginning of the feast. I did not manage to to take any more when the other sides were served because I was too hungry by then :p

To quote my sister: "You are pigssss" :p *Haha*~ Ya, we really pigged out :p 

Location wise, it is very near Tai Seng MRT. Probably about 10 mins walk max and pretty easy to locate. Do note that they open from 11:30 am - 9 pm on Tues - Sun.

Ambience wise, the decoration is pretty korean looking but I felt that they could create an even more korean feel by playing k-pop as their background music instead of Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On".

Food wise, we liked the army stew the best. Dumplings were pretty interesting with the kim chi fillings. The rest which I tried are pretty alright or normal. But I personally find that the pancake was a little flat (just as Hungry Ang Mo reviewed) and oily. Also, I preferred the toppoki that my sister once made for me over theirs...

I feel that Boneless Kitchen is worth at least a try. Since there are quite a number of dishes which I have yet to try, I might visit Boneless Kitchen again if I am around the area or meeting my friends there. But, I probably won't go out of my way just to visit them.

*I revisited Boneless Kitchen again about a week after my 1st visit. This time, the background music is in Korean ;)*

References:

1.  Boneless Kitchen

2. Facebook - Boneless Kitchen

3. Hungry Ang Mo - Boneless Kitchen (Old Site: Bukit Merah)

Vegetarianism: Dinner at Whole Earth

Similarly to Wild Honey, my 1st experience at Whole Earth[1][2][3] was also with my best friend. I am fortunate that my best friend is actively "hunting" for new vegetarian dining places to try. It is always a joy when she asks me to try out a new dining place.

Personally, Whole Earth is still ranked among the top of my favourite restaurants list. Not only so, it is also the first that introduces me to the world of Peranakan vegetarian food.

Location wise, it is one of the shophouses along Peck Seah Street, within walking distance (about 10 minutes) from Tanjung Pagar MRT station. Since it is located within CBD, it might be a good idea to avoid the office lunch crowd if you can afford to do so.

Perhaps it was because I had shared my pleasant dining experience at Whole Earth with hubby, he made a reservation (for 2 adults and 1 baby) to celebrate our ROM anniversary. We arrived there for dinner at around 5:30pm.

From a parent's point of view, compliments must be given for their thoughtful service. By the time we got there, they have already set up the high chair for QW. Once we settled down and were handed the menu, they brought out kids-friendly plastic tableware (a fork, a spoon and a plate) for QW. I feel that their providing such good service makes their diners feel well taken care of and at home. Because of that, they will be seeing more of us.

Ambience wise, it does not emit the same relaxing feelings as Wild Honey. Rather, it is refreshing, modern and clean. The background music is soothing. Overall, we felt it was a pleasant/positive dining experience.

Interior

A page from their menu

QW on high chair.
(QW ootd: Pumpkin patch onesie)

Previously with my best friend, we ordered Olive Rice and Oatmeal Tofu. Among those two dishes, our favourite dish was Oatmeal Tofu. So, I ordered it this round too. The other dishes which we ordered were Sambal Kang Kong and Nutty Buah Keluak.

As per my last time there, Oatmeal Tofu did not disappoint me. Well, it is after all one of Whole Earth's top 12 dishes. It definitely lived up to its reputation.

Oatmeal Tofu

Sambal Kang Kong was also a joy to eat. But among the three dishes, it probably took the last place because of the lack of novelty.

Sambal Kang Kong

Last but not least, I feel that Nutty Buah Keluak is as Peranakan as you can get. Though it did not make it to Whole Earth's top 12, I strongly suggest that you give this dish a try if you want to sample some authentic Peranakan food.

Nutty Buah Keluak

Before I had Nutty Buah Keluak, I had no idea what a keluak[4] is. Neither did I know that it can be eaten. My hubby, who is more well-versed in Peranakan culture, was the one who ordered this dish.

I had thought that it was just an inedible herb with a sole purpose of enhancing the dish's flavour. And so, I almost threw it away without eating its "meat"! Fortunately for me, my hubby pre-empted it and prevented that from happening. Else, I would have wasted all the long and tedious effort put into ensuring that the keluak is suitable for consumption.

Keluak

Scoping out the "meat" (goodness) of Keluak

In a nutshell, I have not yet tasted anything from Whole Earth that disappoints me. It is one of those restaurants that I will go out of my way just to enjoy their good food. Especially more so for special occasions or when I need some comfort food. Hence, I am very sure that they will have me as a returning diner as long as they are in operation.

References:

1. Whole Earth
2. Facebook - Whole Earth
3. Tripadvisor - RYWsg at Whole Earth Vegetarian
4. Wikipedia - Pangium edule

Vegetarianism: Breakfast at Wild Honey Mandarin Gallery

My 1st experience at Wild Honey[1][2][3] Mandarin Gallery was with my best friend before it moved to the current location, just beside its previous location. Its previous location is, still owned by the same owner, Sacha & Sons | New York Delicatessan. I am not sure what is offered at Sacha & Sons, but Wild Honey offers yummy all day breakfast. The nice thing was and still is that it offers vegetarian options.

I remembered that we did not make our reservations and ended up waiting for about an hour as the queue was very long. Well, that was fine since we were craving for some breakfast food. I can't recall why we did not make our reservations back then, but it gave us a good opportunity to explore Mandarin Gallery.

Now, making reservations with Wild Honey is very simple. Just go to their homepage and click "Drop by" to make an online reservation. Oh, this blog post is only on the Wild Honey located at Mandarin Gallery as I have not been to its other branch at Scotts Square. Also, it is based on my personal views as a paying customer.

This round, I brought hubby to celebrate our ROM anniversary. And of course, I made reservation because of my previous experience. Hmm, maybe because its floor area is much larger now, or perhaps we went on a weekday morning, Wild Honey seemed pretty empty when we were there. Not that empty until there are no customers. But, it was empty enough not to make a reservation beforehand.

The ambience is one where you will feel relaxed especially (I feel) if you pick a window seat which overlooks the Orchard road with its lush roadside greeneries. Interior looked cosy because of all the couches, carpentry, and the (halogen) warm coloured lightings.

We ordered Moroccan Rose Tea, Portobello Road and Mexican. Our drink was served in a typical transparent tea pot. Truth is, I was slightly disappointed. I was imagining that it would be served in those pretty English teapot given the ambience. You know, those Victorian style ones? But luckily, the napkins looked pretty enough to distract me (so that add back some points).

Moroccan Rose Tea

It is hard for me to choose between the two dishes as they are of very different style. Mexican has more zest and energy because of its spicy taste. I especially like the guacamole out of the three sauces, followed by red chamyo sauce. I am quite a potato lover, so this dish appeals to my palate.

Mexican

Portobello Road is enchanting because the brioche, hollandaise sauce and the egg york from the poach egg are in perfect harmony. I have always wanted to taste Eggs Benedict after watching five seasons of MasterChef U.S.A., and Portobello Road is a pretty close answer to this craving. That's why to me, both are equally appetising and filling.

Portobello Road

Hubby preferred Portobello Road because he is more of a mushroom lover (and he felt confused that the Mexican tasted more like an Indian cuisine). Oh well, at least he enjoyed the food there with a price that is befitting of its location. It is a passable change from our usual ROM anniversary dining venue, the Original Sin or iILdiDO.

Service wise, it is pretty standard though it could have been better if they had brought us a baby high chair without me opening my mouth for one. Apart from that, I would say that the servers were pretty attentive because they did not serve our dishes from where QW was seated. So, thumbs up for that.

Downside (from a parents' point of view), we did not see and was not offered a kids' menu. Also, they did not provide us with kids friendly cutlery (so I guessed they don't have it). In brief, not a very kid-friendly place. We did not bring snacks for QW as she was fed beforehand and would be fed her next meal when we get home. Also, if she needed some snacks, there is always free flow of breast milk available. Having said that, you might want to consider bringing some snacks/food for your kids. If you do bring, it might be a good idea to check whether they are fine with it before you get there.

Would I revisit again? Probably for special occasions and if I have cravings for some breakfast.

References:

1. Wild Honey
2. Facebook - Wild Honey
3. Tripadvisor - RYWsg at Wild Honey

Vegetarianism: Reunion Lunch at Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant, Quality Hotel

Happy Chinese New Year 2015! May 2015 be a even better year than 2014 for you and your family! 

When I was first married to him, we would have reunion lunch with his side of family and reunion dinner with my side. Why this arrangement? Because his grandmother used to cook reunion lunch for the family. Having reunion lunch instead of dinner meant that she could get rested earlier.

By the way, his grandmother was not a vegetarian. Yet, she always whip up delicious vegetarian dishes whenever we visit her. But for last few years, we had reunion lunch at restaurant when her health was on the declined. This year would be our 2nd time at Lotus Restaurant[1]. Sadly, it is the first time without her as she passed away in Jun 2014.

Food at Lotus Restaurant has always been delicious. We sometimes have steamboat buffet or International buffet at Lotus Restaurant on special occasions such as birthdays. Personally, it is 3rd best for such joyous occasions after Miao Yi Vegetarian Restaurant[2].

Of course, the best is still grandmother's cooking which we both dearly miss... We miss her so badly that discussions about her have been fond yet still heart breaking... 

Okay, let's get back to the topic. Ambience wise, it is so good that a couple of my friends had their ROM lunches held there. You can see more of their interior decoration from the reference link below. Here are pictures of the Lo Hei and herbal soup which were part of the reunion lunch package:

As they always say, eating is not just about the sense of taste. It also involve smell, sight, etc. From the crockery they used, it does produce that festive spirit which makes the whole eating experience very enjoyable.

Was it worth the price? I would say that food taste delicious, service is good, the ambience is great and it is a convenient place to be at especially for those who drive. It is a nice place to get together and if you are the early birds, you can get complimentary car park from them! If you have the budget and your family chef want to take some time off, then why not? 

But, I think nothing beats home cooked food still no matter how much more delicious the outside food is and/or no matter how less delicious the home cooked food taste. Don't you agree?

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

References:

1. Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant
2. Facebook - Miao Yi Vegetarian Restaurant

Vegetarianism: Stir Fried Cucumber

My mother-in-law cooked this dish one day and we all fell in love with it. At first, we were skeptical of the taste because we usually eat cucumber raw or pickled (sides of satay, acar, etc). Who wouldn't, right? But, surprise surprise~ It actually tastes good!

After stir frying, the cucumber does not have the raw edge or refreshing taste to it. Rather, it has become more subdued. You will still be able to relate it back to cucumber, but some may guess that it is stir fried luffa. I did the version without adding chilli. If you like to spice it up a little, just add cut chilli to Step 1.

Ingredients:
1 cucumber sliced (remove seeds)
Sliced carrots
1 tsp mushroom granules
1 tsp pepper
Cooking oil

Steps:

1. Heat up the cooking oil and stir-fry sliced carrots with 1 tsp of pepper and 1 tsp of mushroom granules.
2. Add in cucumber and continue to stir-fry.
3. Serve when cucumber is translucent.

Do adjust the amount of seasoning to suit your taste. 

Bon appetit!

Vegetarianism: Potato Fried Egg

This dish is well-liked by my hubby. It is sort of inspired after I had rosti in Marche.

Personally, I preferred to use russet potatoes because I like the texture. Also, it is because the size of potato is just right. But, it should work with any breed of potatoes. If you are using baby potatoes, just make sure that there are enough strips to cover the bottom of your frying pan.

Ingredients:
1 potato cut into strips
2 eggs
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chilli flakes
Cooking oil

Steps:

1. Fry the strips of potatoes in cooking oil, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp chilli flakes until thoroughly cooked. Mix well.
2. Roughly arrange the potatoes to cover the bottom of the frying pan.
3. Beat 2 eggs and pour over the potatoes.
4. Flip side when the bottom side is cooked until golden brown.
5. Serve when both sides are cooked until golden brown.

Bon appetit!

Vegetarianism: Milo Inspired Recipes

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone :) Greetings from QW, my hubby and I!

QW ootd: Carter's

Now, back to the topic on Milo. What does 'Milo' mean to you? Most of us would probably just think of it as just a drink right? For me, Milo means a lot of other things, including memories.

I really LOVE and still have fond memories of Milo trucks! My primary and secondary schools hired them to provide drinks for our Sports Day at Kallang Stadium and Macritchie reservoir respectively. But no matter how I try to recreate the taste, I just cannot seem to get my homemade Milo to taste as delicious as those from the Milo trucks! If you know the secrets behind, please share!!!

Milo was also one of the few food that my mother was able to stomach when she experienced morning sickness. Milo porridge is still what I will have if I need a quick and nutritious meal (and of course when I am feeling lazy).

Anyway, featuring yet another brilliantly written article by my by my ex-band student Denise Bay! This round, she consolidated 20 Milo recipes! Out of those 20 recipes, I have only tried one: Milo porridge. I guess it is time for me to head to the kitchen to try more then!

Bon appetit!
May 2015 be as wonderful as 2014 for you all!

Reference:

1. TheSmartLocal - 20 Milo Recipes That Will Change How You Look at Milo Forever!

Vegetarianism: Chye Sim Egg Soup

Chye sim egg soup occupies a special place in my heart. It holds a dear memory which my maternal grandmother and I shared. Before I share the memory, let's take a look at how to cook this simple soup which takes less than 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 stalks chye sim cut into smaller pieces

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 beaten egg
500 ml water

Steps

1. Add 1 tsp pepper and 1 tsp salt in 500 ml water (use hot water to speed things up), and boil.
2. Add in chye sim and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until chye sim is crispy green.
3. Switch off flame and swirl in 1 beaten egg.

That's it! It's done and ready to serve. Do adjust the amount of seasoning to suit your taste. 

Now, back to the chye sim fond memory of my maternal grandmother. She passed away since I was in Secondary One. But, I still recalled vividly what happened that day.

It was a school day. My father sent me to primary school per mother's instruction. I was supposed to be on one more day of medical leave still due to chicken pox. Of course, I got sent back the moment I got into the classroom.

First, I tried to contact my parents but could not reach them. Since the only other number I remembered was my maternal grandmother's, I dialled it while praying that she was at home. Rang thrice and she picked up. A sigh of relief! Phew~ 

Luckily for me, she stayed near my primary school (and my place). Within an hour, I was at her house waiting for my parents to pick me up. Seeing that I am on the verge of crying (pretty traumatic experience for a primary kid), she cooked me this soup. Hence, this soup is one of my comfort food. It never fails to calm me down.

For years, I was trying to recreate it by adding seasonings such as vegetarian oyster sauce, mushroom granules, vegetable stock cubes, etc. but in vain. Something about the soup just did not bring back those fond memories.

Then, I recalled that my maternal grandmother was not a vegetarian (hence, I doubt she stocked up those seasonings). Also, she cooked me the soup about 20 plus years back. At that time, those seasonings were not readily available (or not in the market) too. So, I decided to go back to the basics and use only pepper and salt. Viola~  I finally got back the taste I missed so much. More accurately speaking, I miss her dearly still...

This is a very simple clear soup. Some might feel that the vegetable taste is a bit strong. But, I hope you will also like it. To increase its nutritional value, you may want to add in other ingredients such as tomatoes, carrots, etc. Go ahead and experiment with it! 

Bon appetit!

Vegetarianism: Tomato Rice

A Facebook post on cooking tomato rice using rice cooker captured my attention. It looked simple and fuss free enough for me to give it a try. One thing to note, I deviated the amount of seasoning and water used from those suggested by the YouTube[1].

Ingredients:
1 tomato (pick a big one place of at least the size of your palm)
2 cups rice
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
Water

Steps:

1. Wash 2 cups of rice and add water as indicated by the rice cooker.
2. Add 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp olive oil. Mix well.
3. Remove stem from tomato and it on top the mixture with stem side faced down.
4. Once cooked, stir the tomato into the rice and serve.

Step 3: Ready to commence cooking

Step 4: Mixed well and ready to serve

As compared to plain rice, this is definitely more nutritious if you are in a rush to get a meal ready. It has the fresh tomato smell, yet not over powering. A really quick way to boost the amount of carotene lycopene[1] (a very powerful antioxidant) and vitamin A in a meal~

Bon appetit!

References:

1. YouTube - How to make whole tomato rice
2. Wikipedia - Tomato

Vegetarianism: Cantonese Congee

There are different types of congee or porridge. Some more watery (I think that is the hokkien or teo chew version?), some more sticky (the cantonese congee), some with added ingredients (e.g. mushrooms, vegetables, etc.), and so on. This post will be on the plain version of cantonese congee.

Usually, I prefer to use a slow cooker whenever I feel like having cantonese congee (so that I do not have to keep stirring). Depending on the amount you cook and the heat you set on your slow cooker, it may take around 2 hours to cook.

To ensure that the congee is sticky like those sold by the stalls, the ratio of water to rice is very crucial. Personally, I found the best ratio of water to rice is when the amount of water is 10 times the amount of rice used.

Ingredients:
1 cup short grain rice (or new long grain rice)
10 cups water
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp mushroom granules
Sesame oil
Coriander
Chinese cruller (油條)

Steps:

1. Wash 1 cup of short grain rice and then add 10 cups of water into slow cooker. 
2. Add 1 tsp pepper and 1 tsp mushroom granules. 
3. Commence cooking.
4. Add sesame oil, coriander and Chinese cruller (油條) before serving.

That is it really! Simple right? You can adjust the amount of seasonings (mushroom granules and pepper) to suit your palate. Also, you can adjust the amount of rice. Just remember that the amount of water is 10 times the amount of rice used. 

It is up to your personal preference whether to add sesame oil, coriander and Chinese cruller (油條) as finishing touch. You can opt to add other ingredients too at Step 4. For example, if you add century egg (皮蛋), you will end up with century egg congee (皮蛋粥).

Before I end this post, does making the plain congee in less than 15 minutes might sound impossible? Well, we are aware that porridge usually takes pretty long to cook. Here, I share a trick I learnt on YouTube[1]. It can shorten the cooking time by a lot. And the trick is is to freeze the washed rice in freezer compartment for at least an hour before cooking it.

You might question why freezing would cut short the cooking time. I think it has something to do with what we learnt in science: greater surface area = shorter cooking time. Well, the washed rice grains have water molecules in them. So when you freeze the rice grains, water expand as it freezes to become ice. Hence, an increase in surface area because the rice grains are broken into smaller bits.

Hope you find the trick useful! Bon appetit!

Reference:

1. YouTube - Trick to cooking porridge quickly

Vegetarianism: Celebrating Wedding Anniversary

I treated him to spa body massage for our wedding anniversary. What he prepared for us was much more :)

The fun started from lunch onwards, where we met my sister at Nature Cafe[1] because it was near his client's place. Nature Cafe is located in Aperia (Kallang). The nearest MRT station is Lavender, which is about 5 to 10 minutes away. The decor was beautifully done. Together with the soothing background music, the ambience was great to enjoy a meal comfortably. Being there, you might feel as if you are in the Amazon (because of the fauna and flora themed decor, including the menu):

Menu cover

Per her recommendation, we tried the following dishes:

Curry fish and braised brinjal

Sotong balls with spicy sauce

Fried bean curd with sauce

I must say that the sides were deliciously made, but I felt was a tag pricer than usual as some cost $6. As for the mains, the curry fish was done more tastefully than braised brinjal (which I felt was plain and oily).

After finishing up his work at his client's place (which took the same amount of time to nurse QW), we headed for Faber Peak[2] (used to be known as Jewel Box). That was the starting point of our cable car ride to Sentosa, where we will hitch a bus ride to head for our dinner. The last time we were on the cable car was at least 7 years ago. At that time, I had booked the sky dining package to celebrate his birthday. So, with all that good memories which we shared, I really looked forward to be on the cable car again!

QW fell asleep!

Before we got onto the cable car, I checked out the nursing cubicle located in the ladies' restroom while QW napped. The entrance to the restrooms is interestingly named as Peek-a-Loo. That was a funny enough name, but I do hope that nobody really "peek" while I go to the "loo"!

View in the ladies

Seeing that I did not have a baby with me (because QW was asleep!), the janitor tried to stop me from using the nursing cubicle (it really is the size of just A cubicle!). Hence, it is definitely great news to many mothers that she guarded the nursing cubicle pretty fiercely yet professionally. Kudos to her!

Nursing cubicle

We headed for the cable car once QW woke up. At first, I was quite worried that we may not be fast enough in getting onto the cable car (so much so that I started to strategise a way to get onto it!). Then, a sigh of relieve. I was quite glad to see a signboard that the cable cars' speed may be adjusted for those having a stroller like us.

The ride was smooth (and well ventilated) enough such that QW did not kick up a fuss and seemed to enjoy her virgin cable car ride :)

When we reached Sentosa Imbiah Lookout, we were still early for dinner. Hence, we had a drink at Starbucks and were pleasantly entertained by a squirrel which was passing by.

After enjoying the Christmas drinks, we took Bus 1 to the Beach Station. There, I nursed QW at the bus terminal before we got onto Bus 3 to head for our dinner.

We got off at the Singapore Resort and Spa Sentosa where iILiDO Italian[3] is located. This is my second time there. But before that, a photo with the free roaming peacock first!

At iILiDO, you will get to enjoy fantastic sea view if you request to sit outdoor. Do make a reservation first as they were fully booked even on a weekday night when we were there!

Pretty sunset view from our table

Though they did not indicate their vegetarian options on their menu, they noted our booking request and told us that they can pretty much prepare most things on the menu for vegetarian with some obvious exception due to the sauce used, for example Squid Ink Spaghetti.

We started off with mushroom soup. Okay, allow me to correct myself. It was more like we started off with mushroom soup cream foam:

It was not a big portion (actually, it was only a few mouthful), but it was tastefully done. Next up, we had a small ball of hash brown served on some charcoal filled glass bowl (Sorry for the lack of photo because it happened too fast! I was told to pick it up and eat it hot. So, I shove it into my mouth before remembering to take a photo of it!).

Then, we were served our drinks and bread with balsamic vinegar. All these that we had up till the bread was not even our appetizer yet.

For our starter, we had crispy eggplant parmigiana with smoked tomato:

For our mains, we had risotto with mushroom and stracchino cheese, and asparagus spaghetti (off the menu):

As we were quite full after the mains, we did not order dessert.

All in all, it was a day well spent with the right companies, my hubby and QW. Had I mentioned that it is our 10th year together (and our 1st time with QW)? Thank you for such a heart warming celebration, hubby~ Looking forward for more to come!

References:

1. Facebook - Nature Cafe
2. Faber Peak Homepage
3. iILiDO Homepage