We've always liked their outlet at Racecourse Road, but as we are almost always there on a weekend, the car traffic and human traffic is not that pleasant to maneuver. We knew they opened an outlet at Dempsey but always thought it is more "atlas" or fine dine version so have been shunning it.
This evening we ran out of ideas of what to eat since pigging out a lot past few days. We decided to give Muthu's at Dempsey a shot.
We were pleasantly surprised by the prices, which is, in my memory, around the racecourse road outlet price, or perhaps a little more ex but not noticeable. Decor was modern, parking was easy. Food was just as good. So we will be back, now that we know we have a favourite Indian nearby.
We ordered our usual favourites. Aloo Gobi ($8), Butter Chicken ($10) and Kashmiri Naan ($5). The gravies were thick and fragrant. Hub was attracted by the lamb chops cooked in spices and tomato puree ($10), so we ordered that too. The lamb meat was so fork tender but the sauce was a tad spicy, nice just that we didnt expect it to be so. The free flow of Briyani Rice ($4 per pax) came with cabbage and brinjal and that was equally delicious.
Oh yes, the papadum was free!
Another one of those places where everything is done well. Simple dinner without overeating. We'll be back.
Verdict : 4 / 5
The Muthu's Curry @ Dempsey
Blk 7, Dempsey Road
#01-01
Singapore 249671
Tel : 64745128
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Mini Sliders
Ever since my friend brought home-made mini sliders to our picnic playdate 2 years ago, I've been wanting to make my own mini sliders (yes, been wanting for 2 years!) I did give it a try some time back but it was merely for myself and hub. These few days, the urge is back especially after looking at the bento book which made the burger top into a pig face! So cute.... I got to make it!
Adapted from smitten kitchen
Makes about 16 mini patties / sliders
Ingredients:
Patties
1/2 cup milk
2 slices white bread (trimmed of crust)
2 pound (900 gm) ground pork
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 large onion, diced
4 teaspoon parsley
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
black pepper
1 cup of plain flour
olive oil
Sliders
16 Mini burger buns, sliced into half (I bought sunshine mini buns)
16 leaves of lettuce
16 slides of tomato
16 Emmantel cheese slices (if it is too big for the burger and buns, you can quarter it and put 2 quarters on each slider)
Butter
Ketchup / Chilli sauce (optional)
Dijon Mustard (optional)
Directions:
Adapted from smitten kitchen
Makes about 16 mini patties / sliders
Ingredients:
Patties
1/2 cup milk
2 slices white bread (trimmed of crust)
2 pound (900 gm) ground pork
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 large onion, diced
4 teaspoon parsley
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
black pepper
1 cup of plain flour
olive oil
Sliders
16 Mini burger buns, sliced into half (I bought sunshine mini buns)
16 leaves of lettuce
16 slides of tomato
16 Emmantel cheese slices (if it is too big for the burger and buns, you can quarter it and put 2 quarters on each slider)
Butter
Ketchup / Chilli sauce (optional)
Dijon Mustard (optional)
Directions:
- Warm up the milk without boiling. Tear up the white bread and let them soak for 5 minutes before squeezing off extra milk and putting them into large mixing bowl.
- Add beef, garlic, onion, cheese, egg, salt, pepper to mixing bowl and combine till well mixed. (at this point, texture should not be too watery, but mouldable like play dough)
- Sprinkle a thin bed of flour onto a tray. Shape your patties into desired size and put on top of flour. When all are shaped and done, sprinkle another thin layer of flour onto the top.
- Heat up the grill pan to medium-high. Brush with oil and grill about 4 patties at one time.
- To ensure nice grill lines, resist the temptation to flip back and forth. Rather, wait for about 6 minutes till one side shows nice grill lines before flipping and continuing for another 4-6 minutes.
- Butter bread on both sides and put down on grill pan, butter side down for 2 minutes.
- Spread ketchup, chilli sauce, mustard on butter if desired.
- Layer the slider in this sequence from bottom to top: Bun, lettuce, tomato, patty, cheese, bun.
- Secure the slider with a party toothpick.
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| beautiful grill lines! |
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| this is why i bought the grill pan |
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| ta-ta! |
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| Oink Oink! |
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Review: Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Noodles
We first tried Ah Kow in 2005 when makansutra came out with the hawker legends. We were hooked and went back at least once every few weekends.
The magic must be in the mushrooms; whether a minced pork noodles, or bak cho mee in hokkien, makes or breaks it depends largely on the stewed mushrooms in black sauce. Ah kow's mushroom is savory and complements really well with the noodles and minced pork, while they bathe in a mixture of vinegarish black sauce. The $4.50 version comes with fried bian yu 扁鱼(literal translation flat fish) which gives the dish an overall extra flavor when u bite into these crunchy bits. We always ask for more mushrooms instead of noodles for the $4.50 version, because Ah Kow is very generous with his noodles! And extra vinegar too!
I do feel that his mee kia (面仔 or thin yellow noodles) are somewhat a little less springy and QQ than some of my other favorite fishball or BCM stalls, but hub thinks it still has bite. One thing that ah kow misses the mark, in my humble opinion, is the meat dumpling. Their skin tears apart easily and gets soggy when mixed into the noodles, and they seem to have more skin than meat. Perhaps he should serve them with the soup instead.
Overall still a good bowl of BCM. Ah Kow is probably in his 60s, and it doesn't look like his kids are helping out at the store. I sure hope that he can continue this legend for as long as possible, and pass it on for someone to continue the legacy.
Rating: 3.75 / 5
Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Noodles
#02-43 Hong Lim Food Centre
The magic must be in the mushrooms; whether a minced pork noodles, or bak cho mee in hokkien, makes or breaks it depends largely on the stewed mushrooms in black sauce. Ah kow's mushroom is savory and complements really well with the noodles and minced pork, while they bathe in a mixture of vinegarish black sauce. The $4.50 version comes with fried bian yu 扁鱼(literal translation flat fish) which gives the dish an overall extra flavor when u bite into these crunchy bits. We always ask for more mushrooms instead of noodles for the $4.50 version, because Ah Kow is very generous with his noodles! And extra vinegar too!
I do feel that his mee kia (面仔 or thin yellow noodles) are somewhat a little less springy and QQ than some of my other favorite fishball or BCM stalls, but hub thinks it still has bite. One thing that ah kow misses the mark, in my humble opinion, is the meat dumpling. Their skin tears apart easily and gets soggy when mixed into the noodles, and they seem to have more skin than meat. Perhaps he should serve them with the soup instead.
Overall still a good bowl of BCM. Ah Kow is probably in his 60s, and it doesn't look like his kids are helping out at the store. I sure hope that he can continue this legend for as long as possible, and pass it on for someone to continue the legacy.
Rating: 3.75 / 5
Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Noodles
#02-43 Hong Lim Food Centre
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| Only remembered to take photo after gobbling halfway through! |
Friday, March 29, 2013
Braised Lamb Shank
This is the recipe that made me think that cooking is not as hard as it seems, and that I could really be a decent home cook. It also made me realise that the way to your hub's heart could be through his tummy as I received rave reviews from him!
However...... recently, I made extras during a session and froze them; 3 months later it is still sitting in the fridge. He said it is too heavy for him, hahaha.
Oh well.
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 lamb shanks
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped roughly
2 carrots, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
200ml red wine
1 can of whole tomatoes with juice (400g) (i used the brand Cirio I Pelati)
300ml chicken stock
300ml beef stock
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (or dried)
1 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or dried)
Directions:
Notes:
However...... recently, I made extras during a session and froze them; 3 months later it is still sitting in the fridge. He said it is too heavy for him, hahaha.
Oh well.
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 lamb shanks
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped roughly
2 carrots, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
200ml red wine
1 can of whole tomatoes with juice (400g) (i used the brand Cirio I Pelati)
300ml chicken stock
300ml beef stock
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (or dried)
1 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or dried)
Directions:
- Season shanks with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sear shanks until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer shanks to plate.
- Add onions, carrots and garlic to pot and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in wine, tomatoes, chicken broth and beef broth. Season with rosemary and thyme. Return shanks to pot, pressing down to submerge. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
- Remove cover from pot. Simmer about 20 minutes longer.
- thanks to my kitchen art pots, the total simmering time only took slightly more than 1 hour. And the shank already turned out fork tender!
- while simmering, always remember to stir occassionally. I burnt the base of my shank once!
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| My very first attempt - would have referred more gravy! |
Caramelised Pear Pork Chops
Like all Asian "cooks", we practise agar-ation when it comes to estimating ingredient quantities. We will do the taste test, if it's too sweet, add salt/soya sauce; if it's too salty, add sugar. Especially for stir fries, sauces and soups.
I'm going to attempt to document my recipe to the best of my ability, as I'm not a very precise cook. Hopefully, it will be still representative of the original recipe!
Girl has been nursing a bad cough for a few days, all thanks to mummy who passed it on to her. According to my friend, they are not allowed to eat fish and chicken! That's so restrictive because then it's only pork left.... And how many ways can you sautéed minced pork, make pork balls, stir fry pork slices? I decided to look to the Internet for help and found this recipe to try:
Adapted from Pork Be Inspired
Ingredients:
1 or 2 small boneless pork chops (sprinkle salt & pepper)
2 tsp brown sugar
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
pinch of cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
4 tbsp water
1/2 pear, cored and cubed
Chopped walnuts (optional)
Capellini or any preferred pasta
3 Cherry tomatoes
3 mini broccoli florets
Directions:
Heat pan over medium-high heat. Saute chops, 8 minutes, turning occasionally until cooked. Put cherry tomatoes on the pan half way.
Cook capellini and broccoli in water. Plate together with pork chops and cherry tomatoes.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar,salt, pepper and cinnamon.
Add butter to pan; stir in brown sugar mixture and pears. Add water. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or just until pears are tender. Remove pears and arrange on top of chops; keep warm.
Continue cooking mixture in pan, uncovered, until sauce thickens slightly.
Spoon sauce over plate. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Verdict:
Taste wise is good though i should have let the pears caramelise more. girl doesn't like the pears. Also, as helper put corn flour on the pork chops, you will need to add some oil before cooking them, otherwise they will stick to the pan.
I'm going to attempt to document my recipe to the best of my ability, as I'm not a very precise cook. Hopefully, it will be still representative of the original recipe!
Girl has been nursing a bad cough for a few days, all thanks to mummy who passed it on to her. According to my friend, they are not allowed to eat fish and chicken! That's so restrictive because then it's only pork left.... And how many ways can you sautéed minced pork, make pork balls, stir fry pork slices? I decided to look to the Internet for help and found this recipe to try:
Adapted from Pork Be Inspired
Ingredients:
1 or 2 small boneless pork chops (sprinkle salt & pepper)
2 tsp brown sugar
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
pinch of cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
4 tbsp water
1/2 pear, cored and cubed
Chopped walnuts (optional)
Capellini or any preferred pasta
3 Cherry tomatoes
3 mini broccoli florets
Directions:
Heat pan over medium-high heat. Saute chops, 8 minutes, turning occasionally until cooked. Put cherry tomatoes on the pan half way.
Cook capellini and broccoli in water. Plate together with pork chops and cherry tomatoes.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar,salt, pepper and cinnamon.
Add butter to pan; stir in brown sugar mixture and pears. Add water. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or just until pears are tender. Remove pears and arrange on top of chops; keep warm.
Continue cooking mixture in pan, uncovered, until sauce thickens slightly.
Spoon sauce over plate. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
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| Tried to do some plating! :) |
Verdict:
Taste wise is good though i should have let the pears caramelise more. girl doesn't like the pears. Also, as helper put corn flour on the pork chops, you will need to add some oil before cooking them, otherwise they will stick to the pan.
Review: China Whampoa Handmade Noodles
Ever since we had to send our girl to nursery, we have been eating breakfast out almost everyday. Sometimes we do run out of choices but still, we have quite a long list of favourite hunts, some of which we NEED to eat every week.
One such place is China Whampoa handmade noodles.
Manned by a 30 something couple, their soup is particularly sweet and wholesome. After eating a few times, we concluded that there's no MSG. The ban mian or handmade noodles come in a huge variety of additions apart from the regular minced meat balls. There's sliced fish, prawns, abalone to name a few, but we always choose the plain meatball ones because it's breakfast! They don't automatically come with eggs though so you need to ask for them specifically.
Another star is given to their chilli paste, they have both the red and green versions! They are a tad sweet for my hub, for he likes the KL dried shrimp chilli better, especially when used for the dried ban mian. In fact, this is probably one of the only few places in Singapore that serves dried ban mian. I prefer the soupy one because of their sweet soup base.
The noodles is bouncy and has bite, which is paramount to a good ban mian.
The only gripe is that Whampoa hawker centre is probably one of the most dirty in Singapore. Had the place been cleaner, the experience would have been much much better.
Rating : 4.5 / 5
China Whampoa Homemade Noodles
91 Whampoa Drive
#01-24 Whampoa Drive Makan Place Block 91
Tel: 96256692
One such place is China Whampoa handmade noodles.
Manned by a 30 something couple, their soup is particularly sweet and wholesome. After eating a few times, we concluded that there's no MSG. The ban mian or handmade noodles come in a huge variety of additions apart from the regular minced meat balls. There's sliced fish, prawns, abalone to name a few, but we always choose the plain meatball ones because it's breakfast! They don't automatically come with eggs though so you need to ask for them specifically.
Another star is given to their chilli paste, they have both the red and green versions! They are a tad sweet for my hub, for he likes the KL dried shrimp chilli better, especially when used for the dried ban mian. In fact, this is probably one of the only few places in Singapore that serves dried ban mian. I prefer the soupy one because of their sweet soup base.
The noodles is bouncy and has bite, which is paramount to a good ban mian.
The only gripe is that Whampoa hawker centre is probably one of the most dirty in Singapore. Had the place been cleaner, the experience would have been much much better.
Rating : 4.5 / 5
China Whampoa Homemade Noodles
91 Whampoa Drive
#01-24 Whampoa Drive Makan Place Block 91
Tel: 96256692
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Welcome! My Story
I consider myself a foodie.
According to wikipedia :
My husband, I think, is an "snobbish" foodie than me, for he will rather be hungry than eat lousy food. So the responsibility sometimes falls on me to suggest places to eat, and if I am cooking, to cook something different each time, and to his liking.
Before i met him, i used to eat for convenience, I could be satisfied with instant noodles (with all my favourite add-on ingredients) or porridge continuously. Not that i don't savor such comfort foods anymore, but my mindset changed since we started dating and dining out more.
We were the sort who can eat and discern a good meal from bad rather easily, thanks to our blessed tastebuds, but we were always too lazy to cook ourselves. That, however, never stopped me from buying cookbooks, saving recipes, get all excited about buying cookware. I think the interest started during my Secondary 1 home economics days.
Recently though, in the past 2 years, things have changed a little. I quit my fast paced, ladder climbing job when my girl was 1.5 years old to be a stay at home mum (SAHM). SAHM, in Singapore's context, seem to be all pretty apt in cooking, either by circumstances (need to cook everyday) or for some, a genuine hobby. I was pretty inspired by the advent of the korean happycalls and ceramic pots in the past 2 years and the numerous blogs and asian home styled recipes, eg Noobcook, Let's get working, Food 4 Tots and Munch Ministry, to name a few.
Still I found it rather hard to cook for my family for a few reasons :
1) my husband does not come back regularly for dinner
2) and if he does, he will only tell me at around 4 or 5pm, if I nudge him repeatedly
3) so having a potential for eating out, I dare not take the risk to cook for my girl and myself and my helper (helper then will cook for my girl everyday, at least she is guaranteed food by 6 or 7pm instead of waiting for us)
4) and even if my hubby decides to come back for dinner, he is not content with the regular 2 dishes + 1 soup menu.
I am still not quite there yet, but I am glad to say that I have been more adventurous in trying out recipes that I have sought out from the internet. Here, I will document my cooking journey (hopefully if I can remember, recipes to go along) and food reviews (oh, i have so so many recommendations but never had the chance to really pen them down).
Thanks for visiting my blog and wish me luck!
According to wikipedia :
n.Slang A person who has an ardent or refined interest in food; a gourmet.
Further, a foodie seeks new food experiences as a hobby rather than simply eating out for convenience or hunger. While gourmet and epicure can be used as synonyms they have fallen out of favor and bring to mind a stodgy or snobbish attitude.
My husband, I think, is an "snobbish" foodie than me, for he will rather be hungry than eat lousy food. So the responsibility sometimes falls on me to suggest places to eat, and if I am cooking, to cook something different each time, and to his liking.
Before i met him, i used to eat for convenience, I could be satisfied with instant noodles (with all my favourite add-on ingredients) or porridge continuously. Not that i don't savor such comfort foods anymore, but my mindset changed since we started dating and dining out more.
We were the sort who can eat and discern a good meal from bad rather easily, thanks to our blessed tastebuds, but we were always too lazy to cook ourselves. That, however, never stopped me from buying cookbooks, saving recipes, get all excited about buying cookware. I think the interest started during my Secondary 1 home economics days.
Recently though, in the past 2 years, things have changed a little. I quit my fast paced, ladder climbing job when my girl was 1.5 years old to be a stay at home mum (SAHM). SAHM, in Singapore's context, seem to be all pretty apt in cooking, either by circumstances (need to cook everyday) or for some, a genuine hobby. I was pretty inspired by the advent of the korean happycalls and ceramic pots in the past 2 years and the numerous blogs and asian home styled recipes, eg Noobcook, Let's get working, Food 4 Tots and Munch Ministry, to name a few.
Still I found it rather hard to cook for my family for a few reasons :
1) my husband does not come back regularly for dinner
2) and if he does, he will only tell me at around 4 or 5pm, if I nudge him repeatedly
3) so having a potential for eating out, I dare not take the risk to cook for my girl and myself and my helper (helper then will cook for my girl everyday, at least she is guaranteed food by 6 or 7pm instead of waiting for us)
4) and even if my hubby decides to come back for dinner, he is not content with the regular 2 dishes + 1 soup menu.
I am still not quite there yet, but I am glad to say that I have been more adventurous in trying out recipes that I have sought out from the internet. Here, I will document my cooking journey (hopefully if I can remember, recipes to go along) and food reviews (oh, i have so so many recommendations but never had the chance to really pen them down).
Thanks for visiting my blog and wish me luck!
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| Chocolate lava cake |
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| Chocolate lava cake with gooey centre |
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| Pork belly stew on Jap rice |
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| Blueberry muffin |
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| Oyakudon |
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| Soya sauce chicken and condiments |
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| Seafood squid ink risotto |
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| Truffle capellini |
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| Baked portabello mushrooms |
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| Egg in toast for Father's Day |
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| Tamagoyaki |
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| Braised lamb shank |
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| Baked baramundi |
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| Carrot cake |
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| Yakiniku |
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