Asian Deserts

One thing I realize when we were in Singapore was how much I miss the deserts. Maybe it's because I'm lactose intorelant and don't really have a sweet tooth, I was never big on Chocolate or ice cream or any of the heavy deserts common in the U.S. I much prefer the deserts found in Southeast Asia as they are milder in taste and most of them are served with shaved ice -- probably because it's so warm there. Here are a few deserts I enjoyed while being back in Singapore.

Ice Kachang with Peanuts
Black Rice with Durian Ice Cream - Quite tasty!
Cheng Tng
Mochi Rice balls stuffed with peanuts and black sesame in Peanut Soup

No Signboard Seafood

On the last night in Singapore, we had dinner with my old Secondary classmates at No Signboard. It was a nice reunion, catching up with everyone. The No Signboard Restaurant we went to is in Kallang. We had the usual Chilli Crab (not the best), stirfried scallops and Fried Squid but a few new dishes.

Cereal Prawns with the shells (I actually liked this version better than the ones at Jumbo)


White Pepper Crabs


Stirfried Scallops


Coffee Flavored Ribs


Vegetarian Dish with Egg Tofu - I LOVE THIS DISH


~ Mina

Mos Burgers

The first time I've ever had Mos Burger was in Singapore. Apprently it's a fast food chain from Japan. My mom insisted I tried the Teriyaki beef rice burger. I have to admit, the first time I saw it, I was a little skeptical. But it was love at first bite. I love the convenience of being able to basically eat Teriyaki Beef rice without a bowl or chopsticks.





~ Mina

Bridge to Terabithia

I know this blog is mostly about food but I wanted to vent a little about this movie my husband and I saw yesterday. From the previews on TV, we thought we were going to see a light hearted, fantasy/adventure, Disney kid movie.

It started out a little slow but I keep hoping it was going to get better. I kept waiting for the movie to make sense...it never did. We walked out of the movie totally depressed and disappointed. Mind you, we were not depressed because the movie was not what we thought (although that is part of the reason) but the movie itself was really depressing. It totally killed our mood for rest of the evening for us. I couldn't believe this was a movie for kids. I feel completely misled. We wish we went and saw Epic Movie instead.

If you plan to bring your kids, nephew, nieces or even just yourself to see this movie, be warned...it's not like the previews you see on TV.

~ Mina

Chinese New Year

I have been living in California since 1995, and I've never really celebrated Chinese New Year on my own. Honestly, it's a non-event. But, I decided to throw a dinner party this year. It turned out pretty good, I bought a soy sauce chicken and roasted duck. And I made cereal prawns, steamed whole bass, and stir-fried bok choy.



This is me prepping.



Decorations.



Dinner.



Steamed fish.

~Ray
~Photos by Kevin Knight

27 tubs of ice cream + 45 tubs of gelato = tummyache

When I first started my job, I expected the basic benefits: salary, 401k, health insurance, vacation days. I knew there were other perks, but I didn't realize to what extent. Over the past 7 months, I've grown accustomed to the foie gras, caviar, fresh roasted produce, gorgeous proteins, and succulent seafood. After a month, I stopped calling my husband the minute I get off work to gush about what I had that day. Well, today was the icing on the cake. In 15 minutes, I've consumed more ice cream in one sitting than I had in my entire life: 27 different types of ice cream to be exact. Everything from pomegranate to salty caramel to thai chili. Some were awesome (lemon yogurt), some were god awful (egg and marsala wine custard; I wanted to wipe my tongue). The high-fructose tasting left everyone slightly hyper and giggly. I hear there's more tomorrow.

*update: The next day, we tried 45 different kinds of gelato. Here's proof:




~Ray

Fish Head Curry

I must admit, I've never ever craved fish head curry. I can't even recall the last time I had it. But Mina insisted so we visited the famous Banana Leaf in Little India. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it!



Indian Cracker



Naan



Rice and side dishes



The star! Fish head curry.

~Ray

Iced Earl Grey

It's like the Singaporean affogato: Vanilla ice cream and earl grey. YUMMERS!

~Ray

Day 2 in Singapore - Dinner at Jumbo Seafood

We had dinner with our grandma, mom and Aunt at their favorite seafood resturant, Jumbo Seafood in East Coast Seafood Center. We only had to repeat the location to the cab driver 5 times before he is convinced we want to go to East Coast. It was quite funny...must be my mom's Japanese accent. My aunt got us an excellent table with a great view of the water. According to my mom Jumbo is the best and reasonably priced compared to the others in East Coast. I haven't tried the other restaurants but I'll take her word for it. The food were fantastic and I finally got to eat Chili Crab. mmm...


Fried Squid


Fried You Tiou with Squid Paste


Chili Crab


Cereal Prawns without the shells