tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30039737701270926092012-02-16T19:29:24.139-08:00Ms Moon's food adventures...MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-21220904003407541482010-12-23T17:33:00.000-08:002010-12-23T18:18:17.486-08:00

Hello everyone, I'm having Christmas blues right now. There's not much Christmas spirit in the air over here in Beijing. I'm missing my friends at my old workplace. Saddest thing is that it hasn't even started snowing here this year... Mr Tofu and I will be heading down to IKEA later to buy some julmust, pepparkakor and chocolate almond cake to have our own little celebration at home tonight. ^

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-28461262108310311552010-12-07T00:07:00.000-08:002010-12-07T05:29:20.938-08:00

You can make this with the simplest ingredients that you can find in every kitchen ~ eggs, sugar, milk, self-raising flour. It's kinda amazing that no additional fat is needed. Plus, it's steamed and not baked, very healthy cake indeed...  ^__^ Aunty Ann, I did it!! ^ ^ The cake is very soft and moist. Thank you for sending me the recipe. I miss your (and Agnes') cooking all the time... Ji

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-71444095248296856152010-11-08T02:47:00.001-08:002010-11-15T17:26:55.238-08:00

Japchae (잡채), stir-fried noodles with vegetables, is one of the Korean dishes that most resembles Chinese cooking, especially my favourite Singaporean fried bee hoon. The Korean restaurants in BJ has this dish translated as za cai (杂菜) on the menu and I always wonder if it's actually a noodle or a vegetable dish. Because, (1) nowhere in the name can you tell it's a noodle dish, and (2) the

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-23774549364724045052010-07-09T10:56:00.000-07:002010-07-15T04:47:50.244-07:00

I had been neglecting this blog eversince I moved to Beijing. A bit of time spent getting used to a foreign land, a bit on finding a house with a decent kitchen, another bit on finding familiar ingredients... adds up to three months in total. Wow, that was a looooong time! But, I'm still not used to cooking Northern Chinese cuisine. This wanton noodle is a good example. Ingredients

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-78036243477807329502010-07-01T21:05:00.000-07:002010-07-15T04:51:23.116-07:00

Chai tow kuay ("fried carrot cake" in Teochew or Hokkien) ~ my all time favourite Singapore food. I remember my dad would occasionally ta-bao ("takeaway") this home for supper if he works late. My brother and I would hold our blunt toothpicks (the old-fashioned kind) and wait anxiously for mum to line the table with newspaper and open the ta-bao brown paper for us. The big pieces can

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-40105622749830064222010-06-09T22:36:00.000-07:002010-11-08T18:05:59.539-08:00

On a lazy afternoon, I was invited to this restaurant picked by my food-snob friends who were excellent cooks themselves. It was truly a great honour to be able to enjoy delicious true blue food with great friends who appreciate them. Random quotes from our conversation in this restaurant: "beautiful typical baba house deco""see the intricate wood carvings

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-15359687723436417332010-04-28T02:58:00.000-07:002010-12-30T22:02:20.170-08:00

I actually prepared this dish for a meal for 4-6 persons, but Mr Tofu invited another 2 guests over, so the guests ended up fighting for these yummy stuff. Recipe from here.

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-72122898284949676522010-04-15T18:34:00.000-07:002010-12-30T21:42:48.445-08:00

How to select less bitter bittergourds - choose those that are lighter shade of green - choose those with less bumps or uneven surface - choose local SG/MY bittergourds (those gigantic 20-30cm ones) instead of Japanese bittergourds (those tiny little 10cm ones) How to remove bitterness in bittergourds: - cut bittergourd into half, remove seeds, slice thinly - rub bittergourd slices

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-11828277372833756772010-04-08T07:09:00.000-07:002010-04-08T16:31:00.913-07:00

Gifts full of love from my sweet colleagues... Multi-purpose chilli paste Dearest Agnes, I don't know what came onto me when you asked me what I wanted to eat before I leave, only one thing came to my mind - your CHILLI. You must had been shocked that I made this demanding request. When I saw this huge tub of chilli, I was so touched. You must had spent ages to make this. I will

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-23877620224990219822010-04-01T08:16:00.000-07:002010-04-05T05:58:16.204-07:00

When I was buying the ingredients for making kaya in the supermarket, Mr Tofu was surprised that only four ingredients were needed. Yes, FOUR ~ eggs, coconut milk, sugar, pandan leaves. He was more surprised at how 'unhealthy' the ingredients were... hahaha.... like what gourmet chef 蔡澜 says, delicious food is never healthy ^ ^ I used a mix of coconut cream and 'instant' coconut

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-69021048662006012012010-03-13T16:26:00.000-08:002010-03-15T19:50:23.762-07:00

After helping my colleaugue out with the preparation of Yu Sheng during Chinese new year, I became obssessed with peelers and shredders. With these wonderful tools, shredding is no longer limited to using shredded carrots used for adding colour to fried rice, noodles and vegetable dishes. Shredding will not limited to carrots alone! Ideas just kept popping out from my head...

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-25903312956243184602010-03-07T17:23:00.000-08:002010-03-07T19:30:10.087-08:00

Received this sms from Mr Tofu this morning: My China friend, got alot of lobang, cheap Zwilling pots and pans (RMB350), cheap quilt (RMB200), cheap Lenovo laptop, n cheap Timberland.... Zwilling the 'stickman' brand? I tot Zwilling is a European knife-maker? Pardon me, I'm a sucker for Japanese products, so I haven't been noticing much of others. Surfing their website, the

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-39388742749539043672010-02-27T02:48:00.000-08:002010-03-02T22:55:22.709-08:00

  Yuan xiao （元宵, teochew: 十五晚 chap ngo meh）, the 15th day of the first lunar month, is both Lantern Festival and Valentine's Day for the Chinese. It also marks the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration. After meeting my relatives in my maternal grandma's house on the second day of new year, all the twelve aunties (including my mum) in the family will each cook up something and

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-80769177239907743522010-02-24T04:59:00.000-08:002010-03-10T22:06:45.230-08:00

  "Mini CNY Makan" ~ this was the title of the email invite that Agnes sent out to us. The makan session this afternoon was not mini at all, it was a BIG feast with lots of good food to enjoy. Agnes, Ann, Boss, Rachel and all, thank you for waking up at 4am to prepare these wonderful dishes  ^__^ Yu sheng (鱼生) was the main highlight of today. There are three kinds of radishes in yu

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-78595659920048961202010-02-15T18:11:00.000-08:002010-03-02T22:47:36.631-08:00

  It is my family tradition to make butter cakes for the new year. Throughout the years, I have tried asking my mum why we have this tradition. When I was young, she would tell me, "It's for Papa to eat while he works" - my dad was a taxi driver who worked 365 days a year. CNY was the time of the year where he gets the most 'customers'. The cake was probably my mum's way of showing

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-30768985404461546762010-02-10T05:53:00.000-08:002010-03-02T22:48:43.847-08:00

Being a career woman who only has three free hours per weeknight to play with, I can only afford to try out one kind of Chinese New Year goodie each year. Last year, I tried making kueh bangkit. This year, I decided to make pineapple tarts because it's both my mum and mother-in-law's favourite CNY goodie. Chinese are very supersticious people, we like to have all kinds of 'lucky'

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-42827538700136641112010-01-31T03:09:00.000-08:002010-07-01T21:17:03.992-07:00

I'm HOME ALONE today. Yay!! Time to cook up yummy stuff! There's cabbage in the refrigerator... and I remember seeing a can of braised pig trotters in the cupboard... I know! I can make fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) with the pig trotters! Yummy but sinful stuff! *chuckle chuckle* I remember my mum requested for twelve cans of pig trotters from Mr Tofu (boyfriend at that time

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-706053468437992132010-01-15T04:36:00.000-08:002010-01-15T15:38:47.317-08:00

STORY Ms Moon: The assistants really helped a lot in my work. If one of them goes on leave, it would feel as if I had lost an arm. Ms EY: Do you frequent the bakery? Ms Moon: (confused by the sudden change of topic) Huh?? Ms EY: Do you often buy a kind of pastry called the HUMBLE PIE from the bakery to eat? Ms Moon: Ohhh.... Hahahaha..... I'll take that as a compliment (-____-)lll Hahahaha...

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-58923093776265988892010-01-08T18:42:00.000-08:002010-02-25T23:41:11.369-08:00

Yesterday, Mr Tofu surprised me by suggesting to go Werner's Oven for dinner. It wasn't any special occassion, but I just agreed as it was one of the rare times that he expressed an idea on what to eat (usually, I'm the one who is full of ideas). Opened since 1998, Werner's Oven is a German restaurant owned by a Singaporean lady and her German husband. In the restaurant, you can see many

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-50804688045227261332010-01-02T17:19:00.000-08:002010-01-10T01:11:42.693-08:00

These hot dog buns turned out springy with a hard crust (like French loaf). I'm still trying out different recipes to get the BREADTALK texture and will post if I find the right one. For hot dogs, I like to use VALLEY CHEF brand.

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-8603435274232739642009-12-26T16:18:00.001-08:002010-04-16T02:46:09.071-07:00

Mr Stone is having a house warming party in his new flat in Sengkang. We volunteered to contribute sushi for the pot-luck party. After viewing this, this and this demonstration on Youtube, I started my new adventure... The rice (酢飯). The fillings. Rolling with a sushi mat. The uncut rolls - 2 cups of rice yield 5 rolls. Cut the rolls into

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3003973770127092609.post-30630349231809646172009-12-23T16:19:00.000-08:002010-04-16T02:44:55.117-07:00

Followed Lovescool's recipe to make Xmas giveaways for colleagues. It looked pretty with the sugar coating glittering like snow on a Christmas tree. After putting the gift labels that niece Ms TS made with me, the small gift packs looked really festive and presentable. Hope my colleagues will like them... Batch 1: Followed recipe exactly, used 100% icing sugar. Light green tea

MsMoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09741845658689854412noreply@blogger.com0