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October 7, 2015
This homemade guacamole post almost did not make it to this page had it not been for my persistent 14-year old. Truth be told, I was reluctant and embarrassed. Oh, don’t get me wrong. This homemade guac is nothing but absolutely delicious and addictive. (If you are an avocado lover, you would know what I’m talking about. But if you are not, it’s never too late to try!) But because it is so ridiculously easy to prepare, I’m not sure if anyone would be interested...
October 2, 2015
Whenever someone mention Truffle, the instant reaction would be “WOOOO”. So when I told Tiger I was making Truffle Lobster Roll for dinner, you could guess what his reaction was.The traditional lobster roll consists mainly of fresh lobster meat soaked in butter and served on a hot dog roll. The popular version we see in most restaurants uses mayonnaise instead of butter. You could add in lettuce, celery, chives or green onions to elevate the taste.
September 30, 2015
A recent trip to Gyoza Ya made me fell in love with Japanese Garlic Fried Rice again. While they are famed for their specialty gyozas (either boiled or pan-fried), I was absolutely hooked on their humble-looking bowl of garlic fried rice. Every grain was super flavorful and laced with the right amount of garlicky goodness...
September 18, 2015
f you are a pasta and cheese lover, then today’s Double-B Mac and Cheese recipe is made for you! Any guesses what “Double-B” am I referring to? Netspeak for baby? Blackberry? Okay, I admit I’m kinda lame (sometimes). As testified by my family. “Double-B here means Bacon and Broccolini. Bacon just makes everything taste better and recently, I’ve been going town at broccolini. You would think they are baby broccoli but in fact, broccolini is hybrid of broccoli and kai-lan.
September 16, 2015
This is one item on our must-order list whenever we see them on the menu. To be honest, we have had our fair share of ups and downs - with the kaki fry, that is. When you bite into a perfect kaki fry, the batter should be light and crispy (not soaking with oil) and the oyster should taste like the ocean. That being said, we had some that tasted like they had been hanging out in the sewer for a while.
September 11, 2015
It is not very often I would label something as ‘BEST’ since I’m a natural skeptic. Tiger (aka hubby) would be the best judge for that. He thinks my palette is too difficult to please. Very often, the restaurants we visited based on rave reviews online turned out to be meh. (Meh – an expression of indifference, uninterested or boredom. Used frequently by my teenage daughter. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meh). Maybe my expectations were too hyped up by those astounding epicurean vocabulary used in the food reviews. Anyway, that’s another story.
September 11, 2015
It is not very often I would label something as ‘BEST’ since I’m a natural skeptic. Tiger (aka hubby) would be the best judge for that. He thinks my palette is too difficult to please. Very often, the restaurants we visited based on rave reviews online turned out to be meh. (Meh – an expression of indifference, uninterested or boredom. Used frequently by my teenage daughter. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meh). Maybe my expectations were too hyped up by those astounding epicurean vocabulary used in the food reviews. Anyway, that’s another story.
September 9, 2015
Whenever someone mentioned salad, images of lettuce, cucumber and tomato flashed across my mind. Of course, there are more varieties other than those mentioned above but my cognitive development for salad is pretty much tuned to that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of greens and can’t live without them in my daily meals.Soba Noodles is made from buckwheat flour. Nutrition wise, they are high in fibre and low in GI (Glycemic Index) and calories. Taste wise, they are smooth, slippery and less dense than udon. Perfect for noodles lovers (like me!) who love their starch yet don’t want to feel too guilty when indulging in them regularly.
September 4, 2015
Besides the beautiful beaches, spectacular scenery and exotic villas, Bali is definitely one of my favorite destination for their cuisine. Because of their vast influences from other Indonesian regions, Chinese and Indian, Balinese food defers slightly from Indonesian food. The island’s predominant religion is Hinduism so besides chicken and seafood, pork is widely consumed too...
September 2, 2015
What makes a good curry puff? Honestly, I’m no connoisseur when it comes to deciding one. Blame it on my low-heat/spice tolerance level, I couldn’t really enjoy those curry puffs packed with robust spices and tongue-numbing heat. Unfortunately, other than the school canteen Malay Epok Epok aka Malay Curry Puffs (which I absolutely love), I can’t seem to find any with milder curry spiciness.
August 28, 2015
If you are from Southeast Asia, then this Pandan Chiffon Cake should be a sight for sore eyes. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered the origin of this light, fluffy sponge cake hails from Indonesia. The signature green of this cake usually comes from the juice of pandan leaves aka screwpine leaves although green food coloring is also commonly used to enhance the color...
August 26, 2015
I love everything lemon. From dishwashing liquid, liquer to desserts (yeah, that is a totally unrelated spectrum), I just can’t get enough of that zesty, lemony tang. Today’s recipe is all about my childhood’s favorite dessert spread – Easy Homemade Lemon Curd.
August 21, 2015
How do you achieve a piece of moist, tender, flavorful pork chop that you’ll find in upscale restaurants and eateries? Besides having good quality cut meat, the secret is to brine it...
August 19, 2015
What is Gnocchi (pronounced nyo-kee)? For those who are unfamiliar with it, gnocchi is an Italian soft doughy dumpling made mainly from potato, flour and egg. To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of gnocchi. The ones I had before were dense, floury and chewy. I genuinely thought they were supposed to taste that way and had written it off as another food on my do-not-eat list...
August 14, 2015
Happy Friday everyone! ☀ ☀ I often get requests for NO-BAKE recipes, so today’s No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake is written with you in mind! This dessert is especially great if ....
August 12, 2015
O.M.G. Just when I thought I’ve made enough cupcakes, this Triple Oreo Cookie Cupcakes recipe totally reignited my engine. One warning: They are not for the faint-hearted Oreo Cupcake fans. I’m S-E-R-I-O-U-S...
August 7, 2015
This is one of the No-Bake Oreo dessert recipes requested by my dear BNF fans. These Oreo Truffle Pops take no more than an hour to put together. I had a great time making these super easy yet yummilicious with my daughter...
August 5, 2015
Today, I’m paying tribute to all BNF Indonesian fans who have been with me since Day 1 by making this crispy, tasty and utterly popular side dish – “Indonesian Perkdel”. These humble potato patties are also known as “Bergedil” in Java, Malaysia and Singapore. However, do you know they are actually influenced by the Dutch, who has their version of potato patties called “Frikadeller”?...
July 31, 2015
If you are a fan of Chinese dim sum, this Steam Osmanthus Water Chestnut Cake must be no stranger to you. They are usually served either steamed or pan fried. It is absolutely one of my dad-in-law's most requested desserts from BNF kitchen...
July 29, 2015
As the weather here (Singapore) has been climbing steadily to 34°C almost every day, I figure there is no better time than now to make these cooling, sweet Poached Pears with Osmanthus and Red Dates to combat that heaty body of mine...
July 24, 2015
I’m not going lie. I SUCKED at making Macarons. My first few attempts were total disaster - “Footless” macarons, dome cracked top macarons, and completely hollow macarons. At one point, I was so dejected and convinced that the Baking Goddess had condemned me from making perfect macarons and I should just give up...
July 23, 2015
Having encountered numerous painful failed Macaron baking attempts, i.e. “Footless” macarons, dome cracked top macarons, hollow macarons, etc, I've come to realize there are indeed some "rules" to follow which they don't really mention in most recipes...
July 22, 2015
I’m a huge fan of pesto sauce. Pesto originated from Northern Italy, Genoa to be precise. Traditionally, it is made with sweet basil leaves, crushed garlic, pine nuts, parmigiana-reggiano (parmesan cheese) and lots of good quality olive oil. Besides basil pesto, you might have come across other versions i.e. sun-dried tomato, anchovies, pistachio, etc...
July 17, 2015
A lot of readers have asked me: “What is a perfect cake to bring to a party?” The answer is in this recipe. Chocolate is really one of the universal sweet that almost everyone will go goo-goo gah gah over with. The thing about bringing food to parties is they have to survive for at least a few hours at room temperature environment and still taste good. Therefore, I highly recommend this Easy Banana Chocolate Sheet Cake. Did I mention it is so easy to put together as well?...
