Double Bean Salad

Chickpeas are one of the best things for you because of its ultra-high fibre content and it tastes great too. I had to make myself a quick packed lunch today for school and when I found a can of chickpeas in the pantry, a bean salad was the obvious option. This recipe is quick and simple and it tastes absolutely great!

Double Bean Salad

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas

100g skinny runner beans (regular is fine too)

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

cracked black pepper

Method

Rinse and drain chickpeas and put into a bowl

Boil runner beans and cut them into centimeter long pieces

Combine the two beans along with the vinegar

Season with black pepper to taste

Great as a side dish or an appetizer, this salad is a breeze to make and will no doubt satisfy those tastebuds!

Cinnamon Spiced Brownies

I think one of my favourite comfort foods of all time would have to be brownies. Every since I was little, a neighbour from a few floors down in my condominium block would bake a small batch of rich chocolate brownies for my brother and I. Back then, I never knew exactly what it was that I was eating but it didn't matter - all that mattered was that it tasted good. For some reason, in the school that I am in, brownies are a big deal.

When I used to live in Sydney a few years ago, it was always cakes or cookies that made their way to bakesales. At times we would see students walk around with giant Freddo Frogs of Caramel Koalas to raise money instead. But brownies never made it into the process of money-raising. However, here in Singapore, bakesales are almost synonomous with brownies.

There is something about the dense, chocolatey and fudgy characteristic of brownies that is just so appealing. Slightly sticky yet yeilding crumbs. Rich and comforting, though not cloyingly so. Brownies are the ultimate, I think, in delivering that satisfaction for chocolate.

Last wednesday was a friend's birthday and I decided to bake some brownies for her. I had initially thought of baking her cinnamon rolls because cinnamon rolls are one of the things she really likes as well. But bread baking requires time - time I did not have. So, the only way to go is, obviously, adding a little cinnamon into a basic brownie recipe to create that exotic spicy flavour.

Cinnamon Spiced Brownies

Ingredients

140g unsalted butter

200g brown sugar

95g unsweetened cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs, cold

65g all purpose flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

Preheat the oven to 170ْC and line an 8-inch baking pan with greaseproof paper

Mix butter, salt, sugar and cocoa in a bowl and over a pan of simmering water

Stir mixture until butter has completely melted and it is just hot enough to touch

Remove bowl from pan and let cool until warm

Stir in vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously after each addition

Stir until batter looks shiny and thick

In a separate bowl, sift together flour and cinnamon

Add the flour mixture to the batter and stir until flour is no longer visible

Beat batter vigorously for 40 quick strokes before pouring into pan

Bake for 25 mins or until toothpick comes out with a few crumbs still attached

Let cool completely before cutting into 16 pieces

These brownies were really good. The cinnamon provided a very nice twist to the regular brownies which is nice when the regular browies are all you see nowadays. I hope my dear friend loved eating them as I loved baking them. Happy Birthday!

Tim Tams - Classic Dark

I hardly eat bitcuits because they really are quite bad for you. By the time you've had enough to fill you up, you feel quite sick in the stomach and you find yourself hungry again soon after. Its not a very economical snack. But when I do nibble on some biscuits, I almost always choose Tim Tams - the pride and joy of Australia.

Tim Tams are known arguably the best chocolate biscuits around (one could even say the best biscuits around). They consist of a thick layer of chocolate cream sandwiched between two layers of chocolate biscuits that is then all dunked and smothered in a layer of chocolate. Thats three layers of chocolate, three layers of comfort - three layers of heaven. In a given supermarket, you would always find a wide range of varieties of Tim Tams - original (milk chocoltae), classic dark, double coat and caramel with more exotic ones as well like black forest and tia maria. *sigh* Tim Tams are one of the things I miss most in Australia.

The pack of "Classis Dark" Tim Tams has been lying untouched in my fridge for quite a while now so I figured that if noone was going to eat them, I will. I mean really, all the sacrifices I make. But one can can never say that they have had a Tim Tam if they haven't had a "Tim Tam Slam" as well. The procedure is really quite simple. Take a small bite out of 2 diagonally opposite corners, stick one end of the Tim Tam into a hot drink (i.e. coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or just hot milk), put the other bitten end in your mouth, and suck as if the Tim Tam were a straw. The hot liquid melts the biscuit and cream filling slowly while the chocolate coating helps keep the biscuit together. Before the biscuit disintegrates into a clumpy mess in your drink, eat it! Trust me on this - it is amazing.

Although Tim Tams are not a rarity in Singapore's supermarkets, the only ones they stock are the Original and maybe the Double Coat variety. Well, it just looks like the next time I find time to make a trip to Sydney, I'm going to have to load up!

Sun With Moon

One of my most favourite cuisines is Japanese. To me, Japanese food spells out freshness, simplicity and natural while never failing to have the background teasing of complexity and uniqueness. The Japanese also have that eye for detail that I find other cuisines lack. Presentation of food always seem to please the eyes as much as the taste of the food itself pleases the stomach. Fresh sashimi and sushi, warming miso soup, perfectly grilled mackerel and eel, lightly battered tempura. The array is endless. And that is not even touching dessert. Being the little health-squirrel that I am, I also love that Japanese food is very healthy. Do the Japanese not have the longest human life expectancy for both males and females in the world? Japanese cuisine revolves around primarily on the taste of the food itself and the subtle enhancement that mild spices and light sauces provide. A good Japanese dish should never allow the natural taste of the central item be overwhelmed and dominated by another flavour.

A Japanese restaurant that I frequent almost every other weekend is Sun With Moon on the third floor of Wheelock Place. It was almost by accident that I had come across this restaurant. It was lunchtime, I was hungry, I had just been at Borders on the first floor, I wanted food nearby. Back when I first visited this restaurant, business was decent - a few tables occupied here and there, a new order being brought out from the kitchen at a comfortable place. Now, queues start forming at 11.30am when the restaurant opens, the reservation list never seems to end, and waiters and waitresses are always seen running around the restaurant trying to fulfill customers' needs to the point that they are almost sprinting. It is one of the busiest restaurants along Orchard Road I know. However, having said that, neither the service nor and the quality of the food have never dropped.

Because I have been to Sun With Moon quite often, I have pretty much tried everything on the menu that has appealed to me at some point. One little thing on which the restaurant looses a brownie point is that the menu has remained the same since the first time I ate there. Thus, I always eat the same thing whenever I am there because I know that it tastes good and it makes me happy. Their Sashimi And Oden Set comes with 5 kinds of raw fish, a bamboo steamer filled with a variety of simmered items, a bowl of miso soup, a large bowl of rice, pickles and a small dish of fruit. Every lunch set at Sun With Moon comes with a complimentary cup of tea or coffee when you have finished.

The sashimi, though always the same, is of one of the best qualities I have tasted in Singapore. 3 slices of salmon, 2 slices of yellowtail, a prawn, 2 pieces of scallop and the most generous single serving of squid. Everything is fresh and the slices of fish are thick. My favourite item out of them all is the scallop - it is utterly amazing. The side of Oden consists of a thick slice of konnyaku (a Japanese jelly that is chewier than your regular jello), a slice of fishcake with a thin sliver of bamboo shoot stuffed inside, a slice of radish, half a boiled egg, spinach and a round of potato. The simple soy-based broth provides enough flavour to make the dish tasty but nevertheless, the flavour of each item is distinct.

What I like about Sun With Moon's miso soup is that it has little mushrooms in it, something you don't get at any other Japanese restaurant. Its a nice touch that adds to the richness of the soup, warming you up at the same time, its pure comfort. The nice folks at Sun With Moon make sure you have enough to eat too, by serving up a huge bowl of steaming hot white rice. However, another little glitch is their fruit. 2 small cubes of watermelon paired with a little slice of melon. While you always get the same fruits (and they are 2 of my favourite fruits too), very rarely have I had them sweet. I hope that this is something they will pick up on because its a shame that one would finish such a wonderful meal with a disappointing serve of fruit.

I will always continue to visit Sun With Moon, even though my choice of lunch never changes. Staff are friendly and alert while the huge variety of dishes never leaves you unsatsfied. I will post photos up soon if I get the chance to. But you should not wait till then to visit this restaurant if you haven't done so already. A wonderful place for a weekend meal, but just be sure to book a table if you are planning to go there during peak hours!

Hong Kong Cafe

I love breakfast. Simple as that. I just love waking up in the mornings, especially on the weekend, and getting breakfast ready with the papers in front of me. I'm such a morning person (as you can see). But at the same time, I am one of the most boring people as well. I can eat the same thing for breakfast every day of the year if given the option. All I really eat for breakfast is either a bowl of muesli (untoasted please!) on weekends or a slice of bread with nut butter and jam on weekdays. See? And not only that, it is the same nut butter and the same brand of jam and the same brand of muesli all finished off with the same brand of milk. However, I look forward to breakfast nonetheless. Yes, how un-foodie.

BUT!! That does not mean that I do not enjoy all other things one may eat for breakfast. I think its just that I could not be bothered to make something different every morning. On holidays, I always take advantage of the breakfast buffet spread, indulging myself with waffles and pancakes, smoked salmon and ham, scrambled and boiled eggs, fresh fruits and juices. Mmm. It was, after all, at a hotel breakfast buffet that I tried maple syrup for the first time. And I'm glad that I did because I always have maple syrup with my waffles and pancakes from now on. Living in Singapore, I have an even wider array of choices than the usual Western breakfast items. I've had chwee kueh (steamed rice cakes served with shallots), min jiang kueh (chinese sweet pancakes with a sugary peanut filling), chee cheong fun (penang style steamed rice rolls doused generously with a sweet black sauce), various kinds of baos (steamed breads with all sorts of filling like roasted pork, lotus paste, chicken, red bean), kaya toast (toasted crustless white bread spread with pandan flavoured coconut jam), the list is endless.

Having said that, the only better thing than having breakfast bright and early to start the day, is eating breakfast for dinner. And I did just that today. I had a typical breakfast item for dinner at Hong Kong Cafe along East Coast Road. Hong Kong Cafe has been opened since 2004 and is the first cafe to sell Hong Kong style cuisine. Lately, Hong Kong cafes have been popping up all over the island like those beavers you see in Whack-A-Beaver games at arcades. Such hype, such commercialization. I am 2 years late, but I guess its never to late to try something new. They sell the typical Hong Kong fare like thick toasts, noodles, fried rice, congees,\ and dimsum. I was there for the toast.

Apparently, what makes the toast so special is the thick sliced white bread that has been pan fried so that is is soft and fluffy on the inside with a thin crisp layer on the outside. I decided to have a chef and tv recommended item - French Toast With Peanut Butter ($3.00). I had visions of gooey peanut butter melting slowly over a thick slab of white bread with that crisp shell. What I got was two regular slices of white bread with a thin layer of peanut butter spread between them, all dipped in egg and fried so that the toast becomes a yellow square that looks almost like a block of bread crumbs. Hmm.... right, not quite what I had in mind. The taste? Just as boring and disappointing as it looks. Too much bread with too little peanut butter, slightly soggy and quite a pain to cut into bite-sized pieces. But the experience was made just that more unfulfilling when my toast came with a square of butter on the top. I a) don't take butter and b) already told them that I did not want butter. Sure, I'll put butter in my baking but I don't like the taste of it so I never have it directly (yes, I love my food. But I don't want to end up quite so rolly-polly). So... I had to wait for them to make another one for me, though credits to the waitress (all, by the way are from mainland china.. working in a supposedly authentic hong kong cafe =S) who apologized. I also had an Iced Milk Tea with Grass Jelly ($3.50) which tasted ok. I mean, its just milk tea with grass jelly. Can't really go wrong with that can you?

Overall, I did not see anything at all that seemed to convince me why this place, as well as all the other Hong Kong cafes, is so popular. I am starting to think that because of all the hype that these places are receiving, that Singaporeans do believe that this is exactly what people eat in Hong Kong. My mum is from Hong Kong, and she has never had thick toast before. However, I still do want to try their regular thick toast. I wonder if its any different. From what I have seen from orders of other tables is that the regular thick toast isn't covered in that strangely gold shell but is the regular white colour of .. well, regular white bread.

Hong Kong Cafe received 2 bowls from Makansutra but I honestly do not think it is worth those 2 bowls. Well, at least I can say I've been there, done that.

O'Briens Tropical Tossed Salad

For a light lunch today before meeting up with Linh, I popped over to O'briens Irish Sandwich Bar at Citylink Mall for a Tropical Tossed Salad ($7.60). A simple salad of mixed leaves, watercress, shredded chicken breast that have been seasoned lightly, mango and orange cubes, raisins and cucumber, all tossed together with a sweet citrus dressing. For $7.60, this was an expensive salad but quite satisfying nonetheless.

The greens and reds of the leaves, contrasted by the orange of the fruits with the occasional spinkling of the black raisins contained within a huge white bowl was appealing for the eyes as well. For the purpose of asthetics, the guy behind the counter did not toss the salad, so it is a job that you have to do (quite tediously) yourself, hoping you do not get bits of chicken and lettuces flying everywhere. The dressing went really well with the salad and the subtle seasoning of pepper and salt of the chicken was quite a surprise for me - the chicken looked plain and bland in the display.

O'briens is a place that I would stop by at if i happen to be passing through city hall or a quick and fulfilling meal. I have tried a few of their wrappos before, one was the Houmous Wrappo (a tortilla wrap filled generously with hommus, sundried tomatoes, toasted peppers anmd mixed leaves) and another which i picked and chose the filling. I say, go there for the sandwiches and wraps which always seem to be bursting with colour and filling - it isn't called a sandwich bar for nothing. The occasional salad, ehh, maybe. Next time I go through Citylink Mall, I'll definately drop by again. Its a great place to read a book over a lunch as well - I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.

Larabar's Maya Chocolate Mint

I have been quite intrigued by Larabars ever since I read somewhere in a magazine about a celebrity eating these all day, every day during a session of filming. I have found them in Cold Storage'd Marketplace and have grabbed a different one everytime I shopped at one. The range that is stocked in Singapore is quite limited and I'm soon running out of options. Soon, I will post about Larabars themselves, but for now, I shall share the Maya Chocolate Mint bar ($4.20).



This bar is a chocolate alternative to the fruit-central Larabars, containing organic cocoa and organic cocoa nibs instead of your usual milk chocolate or chocolate solids... or whatever they may use. The mint bars are quite unique in the sense that the chocolate taste is not the typical commerical type, but a slightly bitter, coffee-tasting flavour, complimented by bursts of mint. These bars, as with pretty much all the other bars in both the Larabar and the Maya bar range, are bound together with dates and nuts. The mint bars contain organic almonds as well as a peppermint and vanilla flavouring.



While these bars do not serve to satisfy those intense chocolate cravings that we all get once in a while, they are quite tasty as a snack, all enhanced by the fact that these "pure organic chocolate food bars" are gluten, dairy and soy free AND do not contain added sugar. Do we need any other reasons to give these bars a try the next time our tummies feel like something satisfying yet friendly?

MIX - Juice For Life

I have decided to expand my blogging to include food reviews as well. I have noticed that I have a lot of trouble finding reviews of restaurants or other food-related things when I'm trying to find it. Thus, I decided I shall post my little reviews on what I've come across, hoping that it would be helpful to a someone out there looking for a food review.




Went to MIX at Raffles City today and had a Veggie Wedge ($7.30) for dinner. I always like going to MIX because of the calm and relatively spacious environment. There are sofa seats to collapse into or, if you wish, there are also sets of table and chairs available too. Its not the first time I've been to MIX - this is probably my 4th or 5th time. I must say, the array of wraps and sandwiches they offer is huge! I've set myself the goal of tasting all the wraps they have, as long as it doesn't have bacon or mayonnaise (I'm picky for a food escapader). My Veggie Wedge had tofu, kidney beans, tempeh, mushrooms and bean sprouts, all wrapped together in a wholewheat tortilla paired with a light teriyaki sauce. While this may not appeal to many without the acquired Asian taste for fermented beans, it was quite a treat for me. Tastier, to me at least, than the other vegetaran option on offer: The Fez. I had The Fez quite a while ago, but all I remember is it was a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern concoction of hommus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, carrots and green leaves, all encased in a bright green tortilla. Another wrap I've had recently is the Rock The Kasbah - a Lebanese wrap with lamb meat balls (I'm sure there is a far more appealing and intriguing name for this) and peppers, tied nicely together with a mint yoghurt in, once again, the shockingly green tortilla. I've also tried their 'Flapps', which are a smaller breakfast-type wrap. They are really great for a light lunch. Out of the two Flapps I've tried, I like the No Meat To Eat Flapp which contains egg white omlette, tomato and mushroom. The other Flapp I've had was the English Sausage Flapp which is the same as the No Meat To Eat Flapp but just with a sliced pork sausage.

MIX is great for lunch or dinner. Grab your favourite read or choose pick a magazine from their magazine rack, and enjoy a wrap over an hour. The kind folks at MIX toast your wrap (or Flapp) up nice and hot for you, making it all the more enjoyable. I have yet to try their smooties, sandwiches, salads, muffins, pies... (gosh, the list is endless) but there is no reason why I would not go back again!

Banana Maple Muffins

Yes, another banana muffin recipe.

The reason? a) We still have half a comb of bananas left and b) My mother wanted more walnuts, more banana. So, clearly, the only way to solve this dilemma is to make another batch!

Fortunately, I like my muffins, partly because of the incredibly range they come in - from sweet to savoury, from fruit to chocoalte - but also because they are so versatile. Ran out of bread and cereal at home? Have a muffin to start your day! No crackers or fruit for afternoon tea? Have a muffin to tie you over! It's 10pm and the ever-hungry tummy of yours is yearning for a little nibble? Have a muffin! Not only do they come in individual servings already (saves the hassle of finding a knife) but they are incredibly easy to make to!

What interested me about this recipe from anne is the addition of cinnamon to the muffins - to me, cinnamon meant apples and apples meant cinnamon. Like the other recipe, these were really quick and easy to make. I have tweaked the recipe slightly according to taste so feel free to use the original recipe if you wish.

Initially, these muffins were just, well, another batch of muffins. But, alas, I now have a great reason for my attachment with the oven. I shall use these as an entry for Elena's brand new Muffin Monday! This would officially be my first blogging event and I really do hope to participate in many more (if my time allows me to!).

Banana Maple Muffins
Adapted from annesfood.blogspot.com

Ingredients
250g plain flour (I used 100g wholemeal flour + 150g white flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
75g brown sugar
300g natural yoghurt
1 large egg
3.5 tbsp maple syrup
2.5 tbsp canola oil
6 ripe finger bananas, mashed
1 additional finger banana, chopped into small pieces
200g walnut halves, divided

Method
Preheat oven to 200ْC and line 12 muffins holes with cases
Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl
Mix in sugar
In another bowl, mix yoghurt, egg, maple syrup and oil
Mix in bananas and 100g chopped walnuts
Carefully combine the dry and wet ingredients and spoon into muffin cases
Sprinkle remaining unchopped walnuts on the top
Bake for 25mins or until brown and toothpick comes out clean

Compared to the recipe from the Australian Women’s Weekly, this recipe has that extra tinge of spice that although subtle, provides a nice flavour. These are a denser type of mufffin with a more bread-like consistency. Personally, I really like the hint of spice in these muffins, while my family didn't so much. I guess they still prefer the Banana Walnut Muffins . Maybe I'll combine the two the next time I have a bunch of bananas and make a batch of "Banana Walnut Spice Muffins". Intriguing...

Don't forget Elena's lovely round-up right here!

Banana Walnut Muffins

Everyone has had those days when a new fresh comb of bananas makes its way from the market to the kitchen. Its shiny, plastic-looking skin with that unmistakable tinge of green blended amongst a rich buttery yellow. It hangs there to ripen slowly and before you know it, brown speckles form and eventually, the dull skin is a spotted with black blotches. Darn, we didn’t eat the bananas quick enough again.

Most of the time, we would peel the bananas and put them individually into a plastic bag to freeze. Don’t know if you have had them before, but frozen bananas are a great treat. Texture of ice-cream and the full flavour of bananas but without out the overwhelming heaviness of cream. Great for the eternal summertime of this equatorial island.

Because of the season, we have had quite a few combs of bananas end up in the freezer - it was time for a change of scenery. Thus, the search for banana recipes began. My mother used to make muffins quite frequently for my brother and I when we were younger, so muffins was almost an instant decision. With the love for nuts and all things nutty, walnuts soon implanted itself as a necessity in our search for a muffin recipe. Mum, with her illogical and sometimes biased favourites decided that a recipe should come from a decent and recognized source - not some random blog on the internet (hmm, she can’t really say that anymore eh). So, the website of the “Australian Women’s Weekly” was a natural choice.

These muffins are my first real baking success - and that goes to show how easy and idiot-proof they are. Fluffy and not too dense on the inside, they are great for breakfast, afternoon tea or, in my case, a late night nibble. These were quite a hit with my parents, especially with my mum. Next time I make these, I would leave them in the oven a bit longer to brown them a bit more.

Banana Walnut Muffins
Adapted from Australian Women’s Weekly

Ingredients
300g self-raising flour
150g plain flour1 tsp bicarbonate soda
175g brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
375 ml non-fat milk
190 ml canola oil
6 ripe finger bananas, mashed
1 cup walnut halves

Method
Preheat oven to 200ْC and line 15 muffin holes with cases
Sift flours and bicarbonate sugar in a large bowl
Stir in sugar, beaten eggs, milk, oil, mashed bananas and walnuts – do not overmix, batter should be lumpy
Bake for 20mins or until brown
Stand for 2mins before removing from pan to cool on a wire rack


Notes:
- can be made a day ahead
- store in an airtight container
- suitable for freezing
- do not microwave