Prima Deli (Taste) Delights

One of the ways to cook your own authentic SG food in Oz is to use ready-to-use mixes. Even though this is 'cheating', not cooking from scratch using raw ingredients, the convenience of using premixes is really enticing... especially when the end result is very satisfying and authentic and 'shiok'!

I was checking out Prima Taste to see what premixes are available and which ones are available in party packs (cook in bulk). I was amazed to see that other than laksa and chicken rice, they have a lot more others! Why didn't I know this earlier so that I could bring them back from SG?? Check out the prices... they are really good value too!

Of their mixes, I have tried bak kut teh, beef rendang, chicken rice, laksa and chilli crab. They are all really authentic... which makes me not really miss those food at all :p If you purchase these mixes on their online store, you apparently get free shipping to anywhere in Singapore for purchases above S$30.

In the meantime, it cost a bit more to buy in Australia, given the current currency exchange rate. However if we were to bring it back from Singapore, they might be rejected by the customs... But thank God, so far, I manage to get through all that I have brought over.

Party packs are available at Prima Taste Kitchen, The Centrepoint Shopping Centre. They are great for hosting parties of at least 10 people. That means I can have a party with Singaporean friends here over authentic Singapore food :)

Places in Brisbane where you can find Prima Taste mixes:

• Amigas, Wynnum North
• Burlinton Supermarket, Fortitude Valley
• Flavour of Asia, Capabala
• High Fresh, Sunnybank
• Hung's Supermarket, Sunnybank Hills
• Vui's Market, Inala
• Welcome Fresh Foods, Sunnybank
• Welcome Mart @ Robertson
• Yuen's Market, Sunnybank
• Yummy Chow, Morayfield

(See the list of places in the world where you can find Prima Taste mixes)

Sara Lee Warehouse

How good is it to be able to buy this (600g) apple pie for A$1.50? With a flyer that hubby got through work, we are able to get this great promotion at the Sara Lee Warehouse.

The warehouse sells Sara Lee products that failed their quality control standards. You cannot tell what was wrong in these boxed up apple pies. The pecan danish that we got for A$2.50 (UP $5+) had too much icing that not all of it was on the danish. Some fell onto the sides of plastic container that the pastry was in. But you know what? It tasted great! We bought an apple pie for ourselves and 2 other pies for a party that we were going to. You pay a fraction of the price you would buy from supermarkets. Even though it may not look pretty (often time, you may not be able to tell what is wrong with the product), the taste of the product is not compromised.

This is a great place to purchase bulk sweets and savouries for your parties, weddings, etc! :) See their current promotions here.

For Brisbanites, the store closest to the city is at Daisy Hill or Zillmere. Daisy Hill is merely 15 mins drive from my place! For Sydney-siders, check out here.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Chicken of Hainanese chicken rice. This dinner was accompanied by boiled veggies and mushroom omelette

My grandparents were born in Hainan (pronounced as 'hi naan') Island, a small island south of the main part of China. When the people from the Hainan island (Hainanese) arrived in Singapore/Malaysia, they made "Hainanese chicken rice" and hence its name. Even though it has its origins from Hainan island, it is popularly known as a Singaporean dish :)

I have attempted making this a couple of times (only in the past 2 years), from the most tedious methods, to the shortcut ways of making this dish. If you were to make this from scratch, it does take quite a bit of time, effort and ingredients. If you are interested, the recipe can be found here - from marinating the chicken, cooking the chicken, cooking the rice and making the chilli.

However, if you are short of time or getting lazy (like me :p), this is my shortcut method (this still takes about 1.5 hours for prep and cooking):

Chicken:
1 whole chicken (I usually buy corn-fed or free range chicken when they are on sale)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tsp rice wine
2 pcs of 1-inch thick ginger, lightly bruised
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly bruised
a small bunch of spring onion
1 tsp sesame oil

Prepare the chicken by removing extra fat (save this fat for the rice if you want to follow the long method of cooking the rice. Otherwise, throw it away). Rub the chicken and its cavity with salt. Then rub with rice wine and 1/2 tbsp soya sauce. Stuff the cavity with garlic, ginger and spring onion. Set aside for 1 hour (not in the fridge).

In a stockpot with sufficient water to cover the chicken, bring the water to boil. Lower the chicken into the pot and ensure that it is entirely immersed. Turn off heat immediately, cover the pot and allow to stand for 1 hour. At 15-min intervals, lift the chicken and drain water from the cavity so that the chicken will cook through. At the 30th min mark, reheat the water to almost boiling point then turn off the heat. Never allow the water to boil. At the end of the hour, remove the chicken and immediately put it into a large bowl with ice and water to arrest further cooking.

Once the chicken is cooled (about 15-20 mins), drain it thoroughly. Rub it down with 1/2 tbsp soya sauce and sesame oil. Set chicken aside, covered, until it is ready to serve. To serve, chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place on a serving platter over sliced cucumbers/tomatoes. Garnish with coriander sprigs.

Rice:
1 jar of Hainanese chicken rice mix (available at Asian grocery store. Use either Lee Kum Kee or Wor Hup brand)
4 cups of rice (or however much you want to cook)

Wash the rice. Cook the rice in the rice cooker according to the instructions on the chicken rice mix. If you are able to, add a piece of pandan leaf (tied into a knot) for extra flavour.

Serve rice with chicken pieces and with special chicken rice dark soya sauce (or just the normal one will do), Lee Kum Kee chicken rice chilli (in a jar, available at Asian grocery stores).

As for the chicken stock left behind from cooking chicken, you may bring it up to a boil and add carrots or other veggies. Cook the veggies and serve them with soup with the chicken rice. Alternatively, most of the time, I will reserve the stock (freeze them if you are not using it within the next few days) and store them into containers. I like to use the stock to make rice porridge or cook instant noodles as a soup base for extra flavour. Never NEVER throw this precious stock away!

Using the chicken rice mix means that I need not wait for the chicken to be cooked and use the stock to cook the rice. I save on the time and effort to fry the uncooked rice with chicken fat, ginger and garlic. The mix has oil, ginger, garlic, etc in it that will fragrant the rice. You usually require quite an amount of chicken fat to make the rice fragrant and tasty. Otherwise, the flavour is just not there...

If you would like it easier, pop down to your nearest Asian grocery store and buy the Prima Deli Hainanese chicken rice mix that comes in a box with the full works - mix for the rice, mix for cooking chicken, authentic dark soya sauce, chilli and ginger sauce. All you really need is chicken, rice and water!

Enjoy! :)

Homemade Lemonade

Looked back on the many recipes that I have collected and found this summer collection which I got it free from Coles a year ago. I remembered that I have a few lemons (from my in-law's garden) and some frozen lemon juice... I thought I will try this simple lemonade recipe. I love lemonade!

Ingredients

juice of 4 lemons

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

1L sparkling mineral water (I wonder if soda water is just as good?)

In a saucepan, dissolve sugar in water over high heat. Simmer for 8-10 mins until the mixture has reduced and is sticky*. Allow to cool.

Add the sugar mixture into the jug which has been filled with sparkling mineral water and lemon juice. Chill and serve!

*I did not manage to reach that consistency but it has definitely reduced.

We and our guests loved this homemade version which is not as sweet as commercial ones but definitely fresher :)

Chocolate, Rum & Macadamia Slice

I forgot to take a photo of the finished product. This is taken from BHAG video clip.

Saw this on BHAG tv show and thought it looked devilish! I tried making it for A's surprise birthday party yesterday. This relatively easy-to-make slice turned out to be quite a hit at the party!

You may watch the video on how to make this slice here.

Ingredients

Biscuit base:

200g unsalted butter (I used normal butter)

2 cups (300g) plain flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup (60g) brown sugar

1/3 cup (80g) icing sugar

Middle layer:

1/3 cup (60g) currents (I used sultanas)

1/3 cup (60g) raisins

200ml dark rum

2 tins condensed milk (use those with 98% less sugar if you don't have a sweet tooth)

100ml thickened cream (I used the extra light ones ;))

100g chopped macadamia nuts

70g desiccated coconut

70g dark chocolate

Top layer:

50g butter

200g dark chocolate

1) In a glass mixing bowl, melt unsalted butter. While it is still warm, add cocoa powder, plain flour, brown sugar and icing sugar. Mix well together to form a dough (mine was a bit too wet so I added a bit more plain flour). Spread and lay the dough onto a lightly greased round loose-base flute tin (I used a rectangular brownie tray). Bake it at 190C for 10 mins. Remove from oven to cool.

2) In the meantime, place the currents, raisins and rum into a saucepan. Simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to low and add condensed milk, thickened cream and cocoa powder. Stir well to dissolve cocoa powder and simmer for about 1 min. Add vanilla essence, desiccated coconut and macadamia nuts. Stir everything through and remove from heat.

3) Scatter 70g of dark chocolate chips (or as much or as little as you want) on the baked biscuit. Pour the mixture into the tray. Bake for 15 mins. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

4) For the topping, put dark chocolate and butter into a mixing bowl and melt it over a saucepan of boiling water. Stir to assist melting and ensure that the chocolate is smooth. Spread the chocolate on the cooled slice. Allow it to set. Cut up and serve!

I reckon that the topping (step 4) is optional. Due to time factor, I omitted the topping. But you know what? No one knew and it tasted really good without it! And probably because I used the 1 tin of 98% unsweetened condensed milk, the slice was not too sweet and was just nice enough to eat. I can't imagine how sweet it will be if I were to add 2 tins of sweet condensed milk! Next time I may try just adding 1 tin of less sweetened condensed milk and an additional 100ml of thickened cream. Both chocolate and non-chocolate fans will like this :)

Brisbane River Fire

While we were waiting at the riverstage... waiting...

The annual Brisbane River Festival began with a (literal) bang on 12 September with the F-111 dump and burn. This is my 2nd time watching the fireworks live in Brisbane. The first was riverfire 2 years ago, where we caught it from Kangaroo Point. This year, we went early, parked at Roma St Parklands and had our home-prepared picnic style dinner at the park and then walked 30 mins to the city Botanical Garden's river stage by 6pm to settle ourselves in a nice spot to watch fireworks and the Chris Isaak concert.

We were happy to get a spot not far from the stage. It was a cool (cold later in the night) evening. We chilled out for an hour while waiting for the fireworks to begin at 7pm. (We read that we could not bring food in. Otherwise, we would have a picnic dinner! But hey, the guys allowed us to bring in our half-eaten chips and drinks in anyhow!)

You know it is 7pm when you hear the F111 flying closer. With that, the fireworks began! We felt so fortunate that we were where we were. We sat/lay down on the grass (on a picnic mat) and watch the big sky with fireworks. Where we were, we could see fireworks sprouting from 3 locations (there were more along the river, from tall buildings in the city and from the river). If you can imagine, the fireworks were at my 11 o'clock, 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock location. It felt like we were surrounded by fireworks! The sky was simply so beautiful - black with colourful sparkles of light.

I figured that was one of the best places to view the fireworks, without having to squeeze with the massive crowds at Southbank and Kangaroo Point and the Story Bridge area... not unless you have own an apartment or penthouse along the river (which is my dream!) which you can watch it at the privacy of your own pad or enjoy it with a few friends invited to your pad.

Video clip taken with my mobile phone, which shows you how we were surrounded by fireworks

The 30-minute fireworks presentation ended with another F111 performance. It was only now that I reckon Brisbane fireworks are better and a lot more than those I see back in Singapore. Fireworks in Singapore goes for 15 minutes maximum (I think). The river fire fireworks has accompliment music (if you tune in to the radio or watch it live on tv from home) in which the fireworks seem to 'dance' along to the music/songs (we watched the recorded version on tv at home a few days after). Anyway I heard that the Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks are much better... Hope to see it in person one day...

Chris Isaak's concert began 1 hour after the fireworks. By which we saw more and more people congregating to the river stage as they move from various different locations to where we were after the fireworks. By then, we were really glad we 'choop' the place earlier so that we could enjoy the concert comfortably within the boundaries of our picnic mat :) The highlight of the concert was when Chris decides to walk into the audience and singing along at the same time... and stopping to take photos and shook hands with people. Just as I wished, he walked along to where we were. I stick my hand out into his path and he shook my hand! Hee hee but hubby was busy videoing him that he did not realise that and hence nothing was captured on photo or video :p

Very thankful for the relaxing evening well spent... especially after we spent a couple of hours in our garden weeding away earlier that day :)

Blueberry with White Chocolate Tarts

This recipe is available on the Coles Spring magazine. This is very simple and great-tasting to make for an afternoon tea treat, or dessert to share with your friends. I made this for a lunch gathering at a friend's place over the weekend.

Ingredients (makes 12)

150g blueberries (I used the punnet which I bought fresh and freezed some months ago)

1.5 square sheets of frozen shortcrust pastry, defrosted

150f white chocolate

1/4 cup cream

icing sugar to dust

To make the tart shells, use a 7cm round cutter to cut out 12 circles of pastry. Fit them nicely into muffin baking trays. Cut out 8cm round pieces of baking paper. Place the round discs of baking paper onto each shell. Place some uncooked rice or beans to 'blind bake' them. Bake them at 160C for 10 mins. Remove the rice or beans and continue to bake the tart shells for 5 mins or until slightly golden brown. Leave to cool. Store them in a airtight container if you are not using it immediately. You may make up to 2 days in advance and store them in the container in the fridge.

Melt white chocolate and cream in a glass mixing bowl, placed over a saucepan of water. Make sure the water do not touch the bowl (you only want the steam of the boiling water to heat the bowl above to melt the chocolate). Stir the mixture until it is smooth. Pour in a heat proof jug to pour into the tart shells (or just use a spoon to scoop). Refrigerate the tart shells with chocolate mixture for 1.5 hours. Top it with blueberries and dust icing sugar to serve.

Tip: To defrost blueberries (or any other berries), place the frozen berries in a metal (or any stain-proof) strainer/colander (a wide one, if possible). Allow it to defrost by placing the strainer/colander into a bowl to allow the water from the defrosting process to drip in.

In case you think this is very sweet, it is not. The only sugar comes in the white chocolate (which is not really sweet) and that bit of icing sugar dusted on the tart. The tart and the blueberries are not sweet-tasting. Trust me, you won't stop at eating one! :)

My Favourite Ice Cream :)

Hubby very lovingly redeemed his free scoop of ice cream from Baskin Robins birthday club (for his birthday) for me to have my favourite "Jamaican Mocha Almond" ice cream, just before he sent me to the airport. I was leaving for Sydney for some work training then...

I am thankful that I need not drive into Malaysia (from Singapore) for my favourite ice cream. Just 10 mins drive from home here in Brissy (or 3 mins from my work place), I get to enjoy my favourite ice cream!

Spring In Our Garden

Newly bloomed orange orchids in our backyard :)

Food and Its Expiry

A really helpful thing for homemakers like me :): to be able to know how long you may keep your food in your pantry, fridge, freezer. See here!

Morning Shopping

On days that I don't work, I love to do some shopping and run errands. Today is the alternate Friday that I don't babysit at Mother's Group. I decided to drive to Springwood after dropping hubby off at work.

I recalled I have a coupon for a free cappuccino at Pages Cafe in Koorong bookstore, compliments from my SIL. On my way to Ikea, I thought I will stop by Koorong for a cuppa and browse some books at the same time. I love the idea of chilling out at a cafe in a Christian bookstore. The Koorong at West Ryde in Sydney has a cafe too. This Springwood branch has only opened for less than a year. The other branch nearer to the city (I think) doesn't have a cafe. It was my little dream to open a bookstore/cafe where people can find food for the body and for the soul ;), and the cafe will sell cakes and pastries that I bake :)

My morning tea: free cuppa and I bought an apple slice to go with it

I was happy to find veggie tales dvds on sale, going for A$9.95 each. I thought they were a good buy as they usually go for about double the price here in Aust and in SG. There were quite a few titles to choose from, but I decided to get these 2 which I hope to watch with my niece Belle to teach her to be thankful and to share her toys with her friends. I reckon this could also be used when we have opportunities to babysit other kids... In any case, I am gonna collect these (and maybe other titles in future) :)

I love looking at furniture and furnishings at Ikea. Walking around browsing, makes me appreciate my small townhouse a lot more when I saw how they furnish a 55sqm home. It has a living area, a kitchen, a bathroom and 2 bedrooms and it was really cosy and still fairly enough space to have people over.

I was delighted when I saw some crockery on sale for less than 50% of their original price! I think they are trying to clear stock. 2 years ago, we bought a 12-piece set of stone crockery of plates and bowls. I have been eyeing a huge platter that is part of the same series. I reckon that 32cm (in diameter) plate is big enough to serve food like a whole chicken. I was glad I held out and happen to be browsing at Ikea today when I saw that same plate going for A$2.99 (UP A$7.99)! There you go, a saving of $5 :)

Later on, I proceeded next door to Good Price Warehouse Pharmacy to buy some vitamins and to Spotlight to buy some fabric to sew more aprons as gifts. The only normal price item I bought was a QV cream for my dry skin.

Speaking of goodies, I was really thrilled by being able to buy 2 cooked bbq chickens for A$10 at Coles last Wed and yesterday a near 2kg free range raw chicken for A$7! The chicken is best used by today, but with freezing, I am able to keep it for a while longer. The best deal of the month has to be a 5-star (least fat content compared with 4 or 3 star) minced beef I chanced upon last Friday. I was planning to cook pasta with mince that day and I had earlier defrosted some in the fridge. I bought about 580g worth of beef mince for A$2 that has another day before its "use by" date. I paid only a third of its orignal price!

I am really thankful to be able to find good deals, especially at the point of need. Again, little occasions like these reminds me of Jehovah Jireh, my Provider :) Lord, thank you for this morning's time of chilling out and providing according to my needs.

Childhood Song

Last Thursday, my 2.5yo niece Belle was singing a Chinese song 泥娃娃 (mud doll). She was so cute! I went to look for the song lyrics and as I was singing it, I recalled another song 青春舞曲 (Spring song). Here is a youtube clip that I found with some girls dancing to it.

太阳下山明早依旧爬上来
花儿谢了明年还是一样的开
美丽小鸟飞去无踪影
我的青春小鸟一去不回来
我的青春小鸟一去不回来
别的那样呦
别的那样呦
我的青春小鸟一去不回来

太阳下山明早还会爬上来
花儿谢了明年还是一样的开
只要你不是那负心的人
青春逝去爱情一样在胸怀
别的那样呦
别的那样呦
青春逝去爱情一样在胸怀

Translation
The sun sets, but tomorrow it will rise again;
The flowers wilt, but next year they will bloom again.
The beautiful bird has flown away, without a trace,
My spring bird has flown, and will never return again.
Do not moan and cry,
Do not moan and cry.
My spring bird has flown, and will never return again.

The sun sets, but tomorrow it will rise again;
The flowers wilt, but next year they will bloom again.
If you are not the heartless kind of person,
Youth may be wasted, but love resides in the chest.
Do not moan and cry,
Do not moan and cry.
Youth may be wasted, but love resides in the chest.

Reminds me a bit of the book of Ecclessiastes which we only recently studied...

When Belle returns from her holiday, I shall teach her this song :) It is a sure way to get children to learn Mandarin fast!

Milk Frother

Bought this latte milk froth mixer from Peter's of Kensington for a very affordable price. Tried using it at the Hengs' and it does foams up warm milk - good for adding into coffee, hot chocolate or cappuccino! It comes with a stand to hold up the mixer which is good for drying the equipment.

I love it! :)

Singapore Flyer Sky Dining Experience

About 29 months ago, hubs proposed to me whilst having a sky dining experience on the cable car in Singapore. It was a really romantic and private time spent with just the 2 of us.

Today, I read about someone's experience at sky dining at the Singapore Flyer! It seems nicer, bigger and special BUT it does not come with a wallet-friendly price tag - S$199 per couple for a 3-course meal (double the price of that at the cable car) But if you would like the entire capsule to be yours, be prepared to fork out S$1,500! See details here.

It will be really nice to have dinner in the early evening with sunset in the background :)

It seems these are different:
- SG flyer is larger and not castrophobic (for those who might have that phobia)

- SG flyer has a butler in the cabin (well, it is larger right? But this also means no privacy :p)

- Cable car has a longer ride of about 1.5 hours. The SG flyer ride is only 1 hour. Dessert is served in the VIP lounge.

- You get to go to the VIP lounge to chill out if you go for the SG flyer.

- Complimentary parking is available at SG flyer.

- You can arrange for a bouquet of flowers to be given at the cable car ride but there is no mention if the SG flyer staff will do that for you.

- The cable car has piped-in love songs to create the mood. Not sure about SG flyer.

Take your pick. Which will you go?