Coke and its sharing can

I love this! Can't wait for it to come to Bangkok! Must try when I get back to Singapore next. Hope they have it in my favorite Diet Coke and it is here to stay, not just a fad!! =)

Check out their video here and my visit to the World of Coca-Cola here.

Till my next blog post, have a Coke!!
 

My Seoul Snacks

Food is a big thing in our lives. When I share my Seoul travel experiences with my friends and colleagues, it is inevitable that the food question will pop up. I will highly recommend that they go to my favorite ginseng chicken restaurant (Korea Samgkyetang) and also ask them to pop by Lotte Mart at the Seoul Station to stock up on snacks.

Sharing with you some of my favorite snacks in Seoul ...

#1 on my list of favorite snacks is this wafer fish with ice cream and red bean. I love red bean! I love wafer fish! I love ice cream! What a perfect combination. It is very affordable .. about Won 1,000 at 7-Eleven. When I am in Seoul, I take this every night as my dessert after dinner. =)

#2 on my list is the Korean Citron Tea. The tea also comes in sachet format which makes it easy for me to carry around. The big glass jar is too dangerous for my butter fingers. Add a sachet to cold soda water and you will have a very refreshing beverage. Super good for a hot and humid day. Spread it onto bread like marmalade and have a sweet breakfast. You can also add this into agar-agar powder and water and have yuzu agar-agar / jelly. I know some people use this to bake cakes but I am not at that expert level yet. =)

#3 on my list is this moist and chewy soft cake that has sweet red bean chocolate cream inside. Did I mention that I LOVE red bean? Try it! Believe me, you won't be able to stop at one. I always tell me my friends that one piece of the fish is so tiny, you have to take two or three at one go to feel the satisfaction. =)

#4 on my list is this lightweight, water cracker with chocolate. This is supposed to be the healthy and tasty range from Orion. But how to be healthy when I eat a two portions at one go?!? Orion, in general, makes good snacks. I also like their potato chips. But I don't like their brownie which is very popular. I find it too sweet for my liking.

My snack basket from Lotte Mart! =)

Till my next blog post, have a snack! =)

Top of mind mentions for Singapore

When I say 'Singapore', what comes to your mind? Most people, I believe, will say "Merlion, Orchard Road, Changi Airport, Sentosa, shopping, Marina Bay, chicken rice, Universal Studio, Night Safari". 

During my recent trip to Seoul, we had a taxi driver who drove us to the Pyeongchang Trout Festival. His name is Mr Park and he spoke English. We told him that we are from Singapore and the first thing he said was "Ah! Singapore! Jumbo!". JUMBO?!? Are you kidding me? Jumbo Seafood Restaurant is top of mind for Singapore to Mr Park! I guess their chili crab must be quite good to have left quite an impression on Mr Park. =)

So, I spoke to a few foreigners and locals and apparantly Jumbo is like a tourist attraction in Singapore. So, when you visit Singapore, a one-day family adventure will look like this: Botanical Gardens in the morning, the Singapore Zoo in the afternoon, dinner at Jumbo, followed by casino at night.

I like the chili crab, fried man-tou, scallops in yam ring, stuffed you-tiao and mee goreng. Loaded with calories but good. My husband likes the pepper crab but I don't. And do wear the bib that they provide. =)

Till my next blog post, have some seafood! =)

Noryangjin Fish Market, Seoul

When in Seoul, try going to the Noryangjin Fish Market for some fresh seafood. =)

It is easy to get there - just take the subway to the Noryangjin Station and walk along the overhead bridge. It takes you to a carpark and then to the upper floor of the market (where the restaurants are). Walk down the stairs and there are many, many stores selling fresh seafood. We went in the winter and so there is no fishy, smelly smell. We reached there at about 11am, so there is no crowd which makes exploration of the market more relaxing.

Walk around, get a feel of the surrounding, smile at people, pick a store that has a good and fresh variety and start selecting your desired seafood. Sellers here can quote you prices in Mandarin which makes bargaining easier for me. =)

After some vendor evaluation, we selected this lady and bought our seafood from her.

There are 3 of us and we bought some octopus, a medium-sized lobster, some scallops and abalone. We had 2 portions of the octopus - one portion we had it stir fried and the other portion, we ate them still wriggling and live. Other than the experience, the live octopus with wasabi tasted good.

Shhhhh ....Tread quietly .. she probably started her day at 3am, so let her take a rest. =)

Till my next blog post, have some omega-3! =)

Thai Cooking School

I have been living in Bangkok for more than 14 years and I still do not cook Thai food and have not attended any Thai food cooking class. Lots of tourists come to Thailand and other than eating, shopping and relaxing at the spa with facials, massages, manicures and pedicures, they also attend cooking class. So, why not me?

Thanks to my sister and my 10-year-old nephew, I finally attended my first Thai cooking class in December. I must admit, it is kind-of fake but a jolly good way to spend a morning or afternoon in Bangkok. I say this is kind-of fake because we probably did about 50% of the work and the instructor and his assistant did the rest. And this is what made it 'jolly' since I did not have to do all the work. =)

Name of the cooking school on my apron. Love the batik and quilt work on it!

The cooking school is located at the Silom area. We visited a nearby wet market and learnt about the different types of chilli, eggplant, ginger, basil leaves, etc that we have in Asia. Great knowledge for me! We took some ingredients back to the cooking school.

Learning about ingredients at the wet market

First thing that we did when we got back was to use lots of running water to wash the ingredients - carrots, spring onion, lime, shallots, tomatoes, etc. As we were doing that, the assistant helped arrange them beautifully on a round netted flat basket.

The ingredients that we used. A bit of an overkill as we had a lot of leftover ingredients. But it provided a great photo opportunity. =)

Now, please remember that I am an amateur cook, so I still have a lot of learn. I learnt that in Thai cooking, the meat, seafood and vegetables can be changed to your liking. But the seasoning and key ingredients are critical as they add aroma and flavor to the dishes. So, we absolutely cannot leave them out of any Thai dish.

Our cooking instructor. He not only taught us how to cook the dishes and he is the cameraman as well.

We cut and prepared the ingredients in a room, all seated on the floor and in a circle. A tip: please come in pants or bermudas and not a short, tight denim shirt. Th actual cooking / stir frying is done outside, along the corridor. Then there is another room, where there are tables and chairs for us to sit down and enjoy what we have cooked. 

We went on a Sunday and the dishes that we actively made were: chicken in coconut milk (tom kah gai), red curry with chicken (kaeng ped gai) and chicken with cashew nuts (gai pad med mamuang). I say 'actively' because these are the dishes that we actually did the chopping and the stir frying. The other dishes that were demonstrated to us by the instructor and we made limited effort are glass noodle salad (yum woon sen), fish cake (thod mun pla) and banana in coconut milk (kluay buad chee).

Chopping, stir frying and tasty chicken with cashew nuts in just a few minutes. It helps when you have all the ingredients and equipment ready at your arm's length. =)

There are different dishes planned for different days of the week. Maybe next year when my sister and nephew come to Bangkok again, we can go on Monday and learn how to make red rubies (my favorite Thai dessert) and green curry.

Some of the dishes that we 'made'.

Like I said before, this cooking class is a jolly way of spending an afternoon with your loved ones and getting some knowledge and hands-on experience on Thai cooking. And it is Baht 1000 for the experience, food and a recipe book. Try it! =)

Till my next blog post, cook! =)

Samgyetang in Seoul: Tosokchon vs Korea Samgkyetang

I have been neglecting this blog and I feel bad. Work in the past few months is like madness. I was fortunate to be able to take a week off and spend it in Seoul with my family. We love Seoul in fall. The weather and colors are beautiful!

When on holiday, food is very important to me. I searched the internet and read many blogs on the best ginseng chicken or samgyetang in Seoul. 2 names kept popping out and it became my mission to try both. Tosokchon is frequently recommended by many people. Korea Samgkyetang (or Goryeo to some people) is not as popular.

Samgyetang in Seoul: Tosokchon vs Korea Samgkyetang: Signboards

Walk-in (locals and foreigners) guests at Korea Samgkyetang go into the restaurant on the ground floor and get to sit on chairs. I think the floors above the ground floor are for tour groups. Guests at Tosokchon have to remove their shoes and sit on the floor. The way they show you to your seats and the service they provide at Tosokchon makes me feel that the place is more like a factory than a restaurant.

We ordered the same thing at both places (to ensure that we have a fair test =)) .... the samgyetang and the chicken.

Samgyetang in Seoul: Tosokchon vs Korea Samgkyetang: Their main dish - Ginseng Chicken

For the samgyetang, I prefer the one from Korea Samgyetang. We ordered the one with the wild ginseng in it (Won20,000). It comes piping hot (see the bubbling in the left picture above). It has ginseng shreds on top and the soup has a stronger ginseng taste. The side dishes include a bowl cold glutinous rice which helps to provide a balance to the piping hot soup and fill my stomach. The ginseng chicken from Tosokchon (Won15,000) is not piping hot (see the right picture above, it looks 'flat'), has sunflower seeds on top and I have to add the ginseng wine to the soup to get the ginseng kick. It is a bit of a let-down after the raving reviews that I have read online.

Samgyetang in Seoul: Tosokchon vs Korea Samgkyetang: Roasted Chicken

Both places also serve chicken which is great for kids who do not take samgyetang. The roasted chicken at Tosokchon (Won15,000) has some ginseng marinade in it and my son did not like it. I cannot get used to it too. The rotisserie chicken from Korea Samgyetang is crispy, the meat is tender and when dipped into salt and pepper, it is delicious. 

Samgyetang in Seoul: Tosokchon vs Korea Samgkyetang: Price list

Prices at both places are about the same. Tosokchon is not worth the trouble of removing your shoes and sitting on the floor for their samgyetang and chicken. Thank goodness that we did not have to queue to get, otherwise, it would be a waste of our time.

This is just my opinion. If you go to Seoul, try both places and let me know what you think. =)

Till my next blog post, have some tonic soup! =)

Standing out at Point of Sale

It has been crazy at work! I am so glad the weekend is here and I can spend some quality time with my family. We went shopping for beer and snacks last night and I saw this at the Tops supermarket.

I have seen this idea being mentioned at numerous ideation sessions but this is the first time that I have seen it in execution. I now know where the premium UHT milk at placed at the store. Not that I take UHT milk .. My family is a fresh milk family. =) 

Can they do this to organic cereal? Sometimes these things get quite lost at the shelf.

Love the 'blue light', makes the UHT milk looks so hi-tech.
Not sure which brand did this .. Dumex? Mead Johnson? 

Till my next blog post, have some milk! =)

Marketing Drinks

On my recent trip to Singapore, I spent a bit of time at the drinks section at a supermarket, trying to decide what new drinks to buy when I saw some interesting marketing for drinks.

Straight red tea ... so this can make gay people straight?

Cloudy Apple. I don't understand this ... I know this is supposed to be better than 'clear apple' but if I want all that 'bits' in there, I will go eat a real apple instead. 

Charlie is really honest. No concentrate, no added sugar, no preservations in his smoothies. Just berries, acai and more fruit.

Don't get dirty-minded .. Naked means 'all natural'. Though I'm not sure what 'boosted' means here. If it is 'boosted', it is still naked?

Till my next blog post, remember .. an real apple a day keeps the doctor away! =)

Malay-Style Roasted Chicken

When I am missing the strong flavours of Malay food, I fall back on this recipe. The marinade preparation takes about half an hour and the cooking takes about 40 minutes - still manageable for an easy Sunday night dinner.

Malay-Style Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
- 4 pieces of boneless chicken thigh or drumstick
- 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
- 1 thumb-sized piece of galangal, grated
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- half a teaspoon of salt
- 1 stalk of lemongrass, bruised
- one quarter cup of coconut milk

(The original recipe calls for 4 red chillis but I have left that out because my son cannot take spicy food.)


Method:
1) Pound, or if you impatient like me, grind coriander seeds, cumin seeds, 
grated ginger, grated galangal, oil and light soy sauce into a fine paste.
2) Add turmeric powder and salt into the paste and mix well.
3) Rub the mixture all over the chicken and leave in fridge for 2 hours or overnight. I usually do this on Saturday afternoon to cook for Sunday dinner.
4) Leave the lemongrass stalk to steep in coconut milk for about an hour.
5) Preheat oven to 225oC.
6) Cover baking tray with aluminum foil and grease the tray.
7) Baste chicken with coconut milk and roast for about 15 minutes on one side.
8) Flip over chicken, baste with coconut milk and roast for about 15 minutes on the other side.
9) Done! Serve with rice and some soup and vegetables.


Till my next blog entry, happy buka puasa to my Muslim friends! =)

MK Restaurants

I am not a steamboat person. I never like my food in soup or eat my food boiling hot. Until I 'met' MK. He is now a 'staple' in my life. =)

MK restaurants is a large, kingdom-wide chain of restaurants in Thailand. Some people say that MK is even popular than McDonalds. I believe them. When you come to Thailand, you must have a meal at MK, it is afterall Thai steamboat at its best. Low-calorie and healthy too! =)

I read from somewhere years ago that the owner of MK restaurants is an engineer by training and the designs used in MK are done with consistency and efficiency in consideration. For example, the serving dishes stack up well, the multi-layer serving rack helps save space and the PDA used to take orders and facilitate payment is very efficient.

There are 2 'classes' of MK Restaurants - the normal ones and the GOLD ones. The GOLD ones are slightly higher-end as they provide nice-smeling hand towels, cloth napkins and better ambience. The food is about the same in both classes.  Other than steamboat / suki / hotpot items, MK also serve cooked food like dim sum, roasted pork, roasted duck and a variety of drinks and desserts.

Uncooked suki items. Instead of lying everything out on the table, they serve the items in this space-saving multi-layer stand.

I always add an egg into the soup base before cooking the rest of the items.

My style of cooking - put the meat in first and then the vegetables next, put on the cover and let it cook away. =)

The 'secret recipe' suki sauce and green noodles are fantastic!

Another one of MK's must-have is the roasted pork (char siew) and roasted duck. I say they taste better than pork and duck served at some Chinese restaurants in Thailand.

Till my next blog post, have some yummy food!

Silom Restaurant

*** Closed permanently Oct 2012 ***


Silom Restaurant on Silom Road, Soi 15, Bangkok.

This is a really, really old and obscure restaurant that my family eat at for old times' sake and familiar food. My husband used to eat at this place when he's a kid and it is one of the first few eating places that he introduced me to during my first year living in Bangkok.

We went there with our son a couple of weeks ago and saw a 'for sale' sign. They are selling the house and the land that it is built on, not the restaurant. I think I am going to be sad when it goes .. it's a gem than not many people know. =(

Simple interior, no AC, old-fashioned chairs ...

Food is also simple but good ...

Beef steak. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I also love the salad vinegar-based dressing!

Yummy pork chop/rib.

Ox tongue .. this is my husband's dish, not mine. 

I don't eat rice at this place. I have the toasted bread with butter. I usually order the curry chicken to eat with this bread. But on this day, they run out of curry chicken.

Till my next blog post, hold on dearly to your memories! =)

Chinese Beef Stew

Another one of my one-dish Sunday dinners .. Chinese Beef Stew. This one is not that easy but still manageable. I need to start cooking at about 3.30pm if I want to have dinner at 6pm.

Chinese Beef Stew with carrots

Ingredients:
- 500 gms of beef cubes
- some olive oil for frying
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 spring onion, green and white parts separated and thinly sliced
- 2 cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
- 0.5 teaspoon of 5-spice powder
- 1.5 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon of plain flour
- 250 ml of beef stock
- 1.5 tablespoon of light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of light brown sugar
- 1 star anise
- 1 large carrot, sliced


Method:
1) Heat up olive oil.
2) Brown the beef in batches and set aside.
3) On medium heat, add garlic, white part of spring onion, ginger and 5-spice powder and cook until they are fragrant.
4) Pour in Chinese cooking wine and let it bubble for about 1 minute.
5) Add in the beef, sprinkle the flour and stir everything together until the flour dissolves.
6) Pour in the beef stock and soy sauce.
7) Add in the carrots, sugar and star anise.
8) Mix everything well together.
9) Simmer* for about 1.5 to 2 hours or until beef is tender to your desire.
10) Serve with green spring onion and rice.


*If the liquid dries out while simmering, add in more water.


Till my next blog post, happy cooking! =)

Chandrphen Restaurant

Chandrphen Restaurant on Rama 4, Bangkok. This is a Thai-Chinese restaurant that is over 50 years old which they proudly listed in their menu. There are lots of good stuff here and the dishes below are just the few that we should try.

Not to be missed is their grilled chicken. They have 2 types of chicken: the normal type with the meat being softer and more tender and the 'kampong' or free range type with the meat being tougher. It's your call which type you prefer. The 'kampong' chicken is more expensive.

One of the dishes that is not commonly found elsewhere but here is 'Suki-hang' or suki-dry in English. As the name describe , it is dry suki with glass noodles, prawn, squid, pork and vegetables. Served in a hotplate over fire.

'Suki-hang' in detail: prawns, vege and glass noodles.  Comes with their own version of suki sauce.

This deep-fried sweet bun is from the dim-sum menu and I have it as my dessert .. something sweet to end my meal. =)

The only thing that I do not like at the Chandrphen Restaurant is the table cloth that they use. They use some strange 'curtains-like' material with very out-dated designs. It is not exactly pleasing to the eyes, so just enjoy the food. =)

Till my next blog post, eat well!

Kitty's Pork

I never have to cook when I was a single girl. I either have my mother's home cooking or eat out. I was never worried about learning how to cook until a few months before my wedding. I am going to move to Bangkok after my wedding and then what am I going to eat? I have always enjoyed my mom's home-cooking and the thought of eating out every meal is starting to sicken me.

I asked around about cooking classes and I have an Indonesian colleague who assured me that 'cooking is automatic'. I will always remember her telling me not to worry about cooking, once you are married, the skill will come to you 'automatically'. I was quite skeptical about what she said. Some 'sabotagers', who claim to be my friends, even bought me cooking books as my wedding present. =)


Then in my first few months of married life, it just clicked. I started to understand what my Indonesian colleague was saying. Cooking is about producing something simple and edible on the dining table. You do not have to produce gourmet food every meal, you leave that to the restaurants. You need to know a few recipes with easy-to-find ingredients and learn not to undercook them.


My husband showed me how to make Kitty's Pork (affectionately named after a dear friend of his who introduced this dish to him) when he realized that I cannot cook. That's when I learnt how to 'simmer'.

After twelve blissful years of marriage, I am still cooking this dish for my husband on some Sunday evenings and he has no complaints. =)

Very simple to make .. Kitty's Pork

Ingredients:
- some olive oil
- a can of mushroom soup
- some slices of pork
- a can of water
- broccoli
- rice


Method:
1) Heat up olive oil and brown the pork.
2) Add in the can of mushroom soup and water.
3) Bring to boil and let it simmer at low heat for about 50 minutes or until pork is tender.
4) Steam the broccoli.
5) Cook the rice.
6) Serve and enjoy!

Simple ingredients

Till my next blog post, simple is good! =)

Fuji Japanese Restaurant

Fuji is a chain of Japanese restaurant in Thailand. It has a branch in almost every major mall in Bangkok and is very popular among Thais for gatherings and family meals. Don't be surprised to see a queue outside its restaurants during lunch and dinner time. I eat at Fuji about once a month. The food is fairly good and at reasonable prices.

Of everything that Fuji has on its menu, my favorite is the Geso Karrage or deep fried squid legs. It is a dish that I would order and share it with my family as appetizer. Sometimes it is not enough to go around and we have to order 2 portions.

Geso Karrage, Baht 75

As for my main dish, if I am very hungry, I would have the Tempura Bento.

Tempura Bento, Baht 280

Or I would have the Tempura Udon if I am not so hungry.

Tempura Udon, Baht 140

My son's usual order is Salmon Teriyaki ...

Salmon Teriyaki Set

Sometimes a simple one-dish katsudon will also do for me.

Katsu Don

It is not gourmet Japanese food but Fuji does its job as a quick, good value-for-money Japanese food with mass appeal.

Till my next blog entry, have some Geso Karrage! =)