Gin's Kitchen - Chicken Biryani

Day 127

Biryani rice is Mr Tan's favourite. It shares the top spot with chicken rice on his list. We love the Fish Head Curry from Muthu's Curry with his fave biryani rice. Another to-eat when I go back!

There are Indian restaurants here but we have yet to check them out. Either they are super expensive and will cost an arm and a leg to eat there or they look dodgy and unappetising. We saw this Premix at Woolworths and the instructions seem easy enough to follow so we bought it! (Premixes are my saviours. Perhaps I can start writing reviews on all the premixes I have tried. Haha.)

2 drumsticks for Mr Tan - Checked

2 wings for Moi - Checked

Pappadam - Checked

Rice - Checked

Curry - Don't have!! Damn!

Biryani is never complete without curry. I don't have any curry premix at home and Mr Tan went to Woolworths to grab a can of Ayam Ready Curry Sauce. Now we are all ready to cook it.

I used the spice powder to stir-fry the chicken pieces and when the chicken is cooked, I added in the sauce and poured in the washed rice. It is looking and smelling good. :) The instruction said not to stir the rice but I forgot about it and started to stir the rice and the chicken happily. I used the lowest heat to simmer the chicken and rice but the rice at the bottom of the pot was totally burnt! I have no idea why that happened. Was it my pot? Was the heat too high? Was it because I stirred it? Damn. I had to cook more rice using the rice cooker and added it into the pot to mix with the sauce.

The sauce did not dry up as expected and though the rice was wet with the sauce, it tasted pretty good. We bought the instant pappadam and popped them into the microwave for a minute and they were crispy and yummy! Oil-free, less guilt. Haha. I love to dip my pappadam in curry and this Ayam curry sauce is the worst I have ever had! It was so salty and there was no curry taste at all. Yucks!

I guess the meal satisfied Mr Tan as he offered to help scrub the burnt rice and clean the pot. Haha. And he did a terrific job, the pot was clean and shiny.

Gin's Kitchen - Braised Pork Belly with Eggs and Tau Pok

Day 125

We miss Kway Chap. The smooth noodles, braised egg, tau gua, tau pok and yummy gravy is comfort food. Many order pig innards to go with Kway Chap but I prefer pork belly instead. Pig innards gross me out.

Asian Grocery stores sell Premix versions of the Braised Sauce but I decided to try cooking it myself. I have been searching the net for recipes and there are so many to choose from! Many use cinnamon sticks, star anise and cloves but there are also really simple ones that only uses light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and garlic. No prize for guessing which one I decide to follow. Haha.

Ingredients

- 300g of pork belly (do not slice until ready to serve)

- 2 hard-boiled eggs (shelled)

- 4 tau pok

- 5 garlics

- Slices of ginger

Sauce

- 1l of water

- 4 tablespoons of light soy sauce

- 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce

- 2 tesapoons of sugar

- 1 tablespoon of whole white pepper (smashed and cracked)

1. Place the eggs in a pot of cold water and bring to boil. Let water boil for about 2 minute. Turn off the flame and cover with lid for 15 minutes

2. Rinse the eggs with cold water till they are cooled and peel

3. Top up water in pot to 1l and bring it to boil

4. Add in garlic, white pepper and pork belly to the boiling water

5. Bring the pork belly to boil before adding in the eggs, tau pok, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and sugar

6. Lower the heat to medium low and braise the pork for at least 30 mins till it is cooked

7. Taste the gravy and add salt or sugar according to taste

8. Lower the heat to low and simmer for another 15 to 20 mins and it's ready!

They don't have the flat white noodles here so we ate it with rice instead. The tau pok was filled with the gravy. 咬下去时，卤汁喷出来，好好吃啊！卤蛋配上卤汁，一级棒！超赞！

Eat Out - Old Town Kopitiam - Mamak (Malaysian and Singaporean Hawker Fare) 2nd Visit

Day 124

Today was a fulfilling day for me as I went shopping and actually managed to buy something! Poor Mr Tan had to accompany me today but luckily, he had iPhone to keep him entertained. Luckily for him, the shops here close at 6. We were supposed to meet Shyan and Sabrina for dinner but Sabrina was having hay fever so we decided to postpone it to next week and make it a farewell dinner for Shyan who is going back to Malaysia for good in Dec.

I suggested going Old Town for dinner and immediately I thought of asking Jasmine to join us as she really enjoys their food and never fails to finish everything on her plate. This is rare for Jasmine who at most eats half of her food.

Jasmine ordered their Hainanese Chicken Rice ($9.90) and Soya Bean with Grass Jelly, Mr Tan ordered Biryani Rice with Curry Chicken, Fried Chicken and Curry Lamb ($12) and Teh Tarik and I decided to have their signature dish, Maggie Goreng ($8.50) and Ice Lychee. We also ordered a plate of Fried Carrot Cake ($9.90) to share.

True enough, Jasmine finished her plate of Hainanese Chicken Rice. This is the first time that I have seen Jasmine clean her plate! She really loves the food here!

Mr Tan's fried chicken was a fried chicken drumstick and the serving for the curry chicken was so much more than what we had when we did a take-away. The servings were huge and Mr Tan was so so full after the meal.

I didn't like the Maggie Goreng. It was too salty and was not spicy. It was cheap but I wouldn't order it again if I return. The Carrot Cake tasted salty and I did not take a fancy to it. I seriously have no idea why Mr Tan and Jasmine love the food here so much. I will try the other Old Town Kopitiam where I will try their stir-fry dishes while Mr Tan enjoys their curry.

8 Months and counting!

Day 123

The 3rd of every month is our special day.

3rd April = I Do

3rd August = A Great Leap

I bought Mr Tan a gift some time back and saved it for today. I am very sure he will like it. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. The game will be released on 7 Dec worldwide and I pre-ordered it for him. But it wasn't really a surprise as he had guessed it. Damn!

We went Dessert House for dinner as I miss their 椒盐鸡排. Sadly, tonight's dinner was a letdown. Mr Tan ordered Tom Yum Seafood Noodles, I ordered the Fried Kway Teow in XO Sauce and we ordered 椒盐鸡排 without rice to share.

The Tom Yum Seafood Noodles ($9.30) came first. They were generous with the noodles but I can't say the same for the ingredients. Prawns, squids, fish fillets and fishcakes added up to less than 8 pieces. I don't mind having less ingredients if the food is tasty but the soup was not spicy and tasted average at best. We should stick to having Tom Yum at Thai restaurants.

Next came 椒盐鸡排 ($9.30). This is my fave dish and this is the reason why I decide to dine at Dessert House tonight. Somehow, it didn't taste as good as it used to. Previously, the chicken was always fried to perfection-crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside. Tonight's chicken was a little too salty and the chicken was a little dry and hard. :(

We waited quite a while for my Fried Kway Teow in XO Sauce ($9.80). When it arrived, I wsa very disappointed. Where is the seafood? I can only see kway teow and more kway teow. There was hardly any egg and the whole plate of kway teow was just so bland. I ate one third of it and gave up.

Tonight's dinner was such a disappointment. Neither Mr Tan nor I were satisfied and I doubt I will be going back. The search for a new fave eatery has began.

Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary, Papa and Mama

Day 122

Last Sunday (农历十月二三) was Papa and Mama Goh's 30th wedding anniversary. 

My Papa might not be very handsome but he is definitely not ugly. Bro and I are the evidence. Haha. He might not be very rich but he earns enough to give us a comfortable life. We never had to worry about money. He might not be the most loving husband who showers Mama with hugs and kisses but he is always there when Mama needed support and encouragement. Most importantly, he puts Mama and us before everything else in the world.

In my Papa's eyes, my Mama is THE best. My Ah Gong did not like Papa and objected to their relationship initially but Mama stood by Papa. She might be impatient and will patiently wait for Papa at his shop (she might show a black face but she will not leave). She might not whispers sweet nothings to Papa but she takes care of his everything. She is not a 小鸟依人 but a 女强人 who worked hard with Papa to build the family. She supports Papa in her own quiet way.

Both Papa and Mama have come a long way. Since it is their 30th wedding anniversary, the gift definitely has to be something special. Papa and Mama Goh have almost everything. Bro and I have been working hard to check items off their wish list. Currently, we are left with, a bungalow, a new diamond studded Rolex and a new car. Hmmm...give us another 10 years. We will work hard! Haha. 

Bro and I cracked our brains to think of a special gift for them. Finally, we decided to buy this for them. To date, this is the most expensive gift that Bro has bought for them. He told Mama, 你看到这个礼物，你会"lau ba sai" (hokkien), 因为你们的礼物，我的wallet "lao sai"(hokkien). When Mama told me what he said, I couldn't stop laughing.

It was delivered to our place on Tuesday and Bro immediately msg me to say that he got a scolding from Papa. Bro was really upset as Papa said that it was a waste of money. Oh no. This is what we feared. I told Bro that perhaps Papa felt that it was too expensive and knowing him, he doesn't know how to say things nicely. He meant well. I told Bro I will skype with Papa and Mama later at night to talk to them. Hopefully I won't get a scolding.

Papa was smiling when I answered the video call! Haha. The power of moi! I explained to him that it was their 30th wedding anniversary and it is not something that everyone gets to celebrate. So the gift must be something that is big and memorable. Moreover, it is something that Bro and I specially chose for them. Of course, he was smiling all these while. Haha. He told me that he thought the gift cost $4-5k and he felt that it was too heavy a burden for us to bear. When he got home and saw the invoice for $2380, he realised it was actually not very expensive! Haha. The minute Mama stepped into the room, she "scolded" me for buying such an expensive gift. So I repeated what I just said to Papa to her. Now everyone is happy!

What to know what we bought them?

Presenting OTO Cyber-Indulge!

Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary Papa and Mama!