Club sandwich, breakfast steak, poutine - what a satisfying brunch!

Remember I posted about poutine some time ago? This was the same place we had brunch on a lazy Saturday. The poutine was a side-order, just in case we were not fed well as we were eating two meals (breakfast and lunch) in one :D


Club sandwich is one of my favorite sandwiches of all times. It is not available everywhere. But whenever I see it on the same day I'm craving for sandwiches, club sandwich it will be!


Weren't these the same fries that were used in the poutine? :P


Obviously it is my favorite! I have so many snap shots of it.

The other order was the breakfast steak. It looks much better than I thought. A breakfast steak tends to leave me an impression of Denny's breakfast (I do not know why) and I don't fancy that.


I think I was too quick to make my decision statement. It looks hearty to me when it turned out more "English" style. Yum!

In Casa Restaurant
華美街334號
334, HuaMei Street
Taichung, Taiwan

The weekend is here! Will you be having brunch tomorrow? Or any plans for a different breakfast? Hope I have made you hungry for breakfast :D

For me, I will be busy cleaning up the "house". Yes. I am putting up in a hotel (which sucks in terms of the rates they charge for internet, printing, use of meeting room etc) till I moved into my own personal shell called "home". And the movers made me unhappy yesterday by telling us our shipment is only going to arrive end of August! It is taking so long!

The sandwich will be going to Greedy Gourmet's Sandwich Snapshots.

Tag: breakfast, brunch,Taiwan eating

Chicken Tomato Curry, Tomato Chicken Curry

I have wanted to cook this dish for some time now, because it spells one of my favorite flavor combinations - spicy and tangy.


There are many spicy + tangy (combinations, permutations, levels, grade etc.) I love. For example, the combination of tamarind (assam) and pineapples in Assam Pineapple Prawns or Assam Fish, Tom Yum Soup and even Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup. These dishes are unique in the spice and sourness combination because each different ingredient (eg. chili or spice powder; tamarind, fruits or condiments such as vinegar) is tapped and employed differently for a characteristic taste via different cooking techniques). This Tomato Chicken Curry also has its spice and tangy factor but it is definitely not as sourish since tomatoes only adds a very mild tangy dimension. Well, ripe tomatoes are supposed to be mainly sweet, not sour.

Tomato Chicken Curry (Dry Version)
Ingredients: Chicken chicken drummettes or chicken wings, 1 medium-size tomato (cut to medium cubes), half a can of diced tomatoes, onions(sliced), 2tsp curry powder(or more, adjust accordingly), some chicken stock/water, salt and sugar to taste.

Directions:
1. In a lightly oiled pan, saute the onions till soft, then add in the raw cubed tomatoes.

2. Add in chicken and fry at medium heat to brown the chicken a little.
3. Then add in curry powder and half a can of diced tomatoes with the "tomato juice", mix well, and allow entire mixture to simmer and cook. If too dry, add some stock/water to partially submerge the chicken.
4. After ~10-15mins when the chicken is cooked, the sauce reduced, the onions turn soft and sweet, it is ready. Add in salt or sugar accordingly if you wish too (Note: For myself, the onions have given the dish its sweetness, so I did not add any sugar)


Almost like chutney curry?

This is my first time taking part in Weekend Wokking - a blog event started by Wandering Chopsticks, hosted this month by Blazinghotwok. How can I miss this since the secret ingredient - tomato, is one of my favorite and it features two of my favorite bloggers - Wandering Chopsticks and Blazing Hot Wok. :D

Tag: tomato, curry

Japanese set - Oyako Don, Burdock Root and Miso Soup

Do you know how/why Oyako Don is thus named ?

Oya- means parent.
ko- means child.
Oyako- ...a single word for parent-and-child.
Don, a short from of Donburi meaning a big bowl with lots of rice on the bottom and other food on top.


In Chinese, we call it 亲子丼 (QinZi Don). 鸡肉&鸡蛋=亲子...yes...parent-and-child will be equivalent to the chicken and the eggs respectively. If you are served grilled salmon with salmon roes on top of the rice, it qualifies as Oyako Don too!

See that little side dish ? It is burdock root. This is a common Japanese appetizer. For more on burdock root, check it out here.

Tag: Japanese Don, Taiwan eating

Stir Fry Pasta or Warm Pasta Salad

If you have some mushroom and vegetables leftovers, you can boil some pasta the next day, and toss them into a warm pasta salad sans the cheese or other garnishes. It should be fine when the vegetables (leftovers) are typically the non-leafy variety such as celery and carrots.

Or if you intentionally want to have leftovers so that next day is an easier day, try not to have this intentional action with green leafy vegetables overnight since they all lose its charm and appeal the next day. Leftover greens will only turn out mushy the next day. Yucks!

When you do not have leftovers...good for you! I cooked a similar mushroom and vegetable dish before. I did it again and this time, stir fry pasta in them. Call it a warm pasta salad, if it fits to be one. It is a one-dish meal, for sure.

Stir Fry Pasta with Mushrooms and Vegetables/Warm Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 stems of celery, washed and cut into small pieces
- 1 carrot, washed and cut into small pieces or into very thin shreds
- 1-2 sliced red chili, cleaned with seeds removed
- Fresh mushrooms (I use king trumpet, shitake, honshimeiji), cleaned and cut close to size/shape of the vegetables
- 1-2 garlic gloves, sliced thinly
- some ground pork ~ option (Note: If you are vegetarian, you can omit this)
- some white pepper
- pasta, cooked according to instructions (reserve some pasta water for later)

Seasoning:
-2 tsp soy sauce
-1 tbsp oyster sauce (Note: If vegetarian, opt for vegetarian alternative)
- water/stock, adjust accordingly

Directions:
1. In a lightly oiled pan, fry the garlic till fragrant, then add celery, carrots and red chili, followed by mushrooms and meat
2. Fry and mix well in the pan (~5-7mins) then add water and seasoning. Allow it to simmer till vegetables and mushrooms are tender and cooked
3. Dash in white pepper to enhance the aroma
4. When ready to serve, add in pasta, mix well and add in a little pasta water if too dry (Note: this dish does not have much gravy/sauce, similar to Chinese stir-fry noodles...moist but yet not too wet)


I'm serving this at Presto Pasta Night, hosted by Katie of Thyme For Cooking this week. Check it out! At the same time, I'm also saddened by the news of Sher's pass away. I "knew" her through her wonderful beautiful pasta dishes.

Tag: noodles, stir fry pasta, one dish

Coffee and Espresso Maker, Kitchen Oven - I want good deals!

I like to check out online shopping websites not just solely for the actual shopping. Online shopping websites allow me to view comparison, price breakdown and read reviews of products that I'm interested in. Dealtime.co.uk is one such website that serves these practical purposes. Just type in the product category you want in the search box - for example, keying in "garden+furniture" will allow you to compare garden furniture in a matter of minutes. Then, you can take your time and browse through your targeted results and read reviews. Start searching now! I'm going to search for "coffee maker", "blenders", "oven" - my list gets longer and longer every time I'm at shopping websites.

Taiwan pineapple cake - 台湾凤梨酥

Do you like this ?


Taiwan pineapple cake - the pineapple filling is typically inside the pastry



Bye bye Taiwan, I will soon be back in Singapore! Yes! Durians!

Tag: pineapple cake, Taiwan eating

Poutine - French fries comfort food

Taken at IN CASA Restaurant, Taichung City, Taiwan

Not your usual French fries but French fries topped with fresh cheese curds, covered with brown BBQ chicken gravy and sometimes other additional ingredients.

Also known as Poutine, the freshness of the curds is important as it makes them soft in the warm fries, without completely melting. I read that this is a Canadian comfort food, especially but not exclusively in Quebec. Is that true, Canadians there?

Tag: poutine, Taiwan eating

Multigrain burger it's Mcdonald's

What IS that??

Something good....

from McDonald's ???


Tag: burger, McDonald's, Taiwan eating

Beef and Mushroom Pasta with Bok Choy - what?!

Remember this picture? What was I planning to cook ?


I hope the bok choy did not mislead you. I was planning to cook pasta.
Yes.
This.


Beef and Oyster Mushrooms Fusili
Ingredients:
Carrots, onions, can of tomatoes, oyster mushroom, ground beef/pork, salt and pepper to taste, bok choy (blanched), pasta cooked according to instructions

Directions:
1. In a lightly oiled pan, sauce the onions and carrots, and when they are partially tender(soft), add in meat and mushrooms, followed by tomatoes (Remember?...some good oil is good for carrots and tomatoes)
2. Let this cook at medium heat and when start to simmer, turn to low heat and continue to let it simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Note: For a little variation, you can add in some curry powder so you get a light curried tomato-based sauce)



3. When the sauce and gravy partially reduced and all the ingredients are cooked, add in pasta and mix well
4. Before serving, turn off the heat, you can add in bok choy(already blanched) and mix into pasta or just serve the bok choy around the pasta.


Instead of using broccoli or spinach often seen in Western pasta dishes, I think alternating with bok choy is a great idea. At least, it works for me. Now, I can have tomato-based pasta with Chinese vegetables! Yay!

This week, Presto Pasta Night is back with Ruth. Check her out on Friday!

Tag: pasta, one dish

Carrots, tomatoes, healthy cooking oil - they belong!

A Healthy Cooking event taking place at Fun and Food and I wanted to use it as a platform to reinforce a message about being Healthy AND Nutritious.

I am not saying salads are not good. In fact, most, if not all salads are healthy when we are careful with the dressing. However, you can make your salads more nutritious. Now ask: consuming raw vegetables...is that the best way to take in nutrients? Think harder.

Cucumbers! Tomatoes! Carrots! Note: Healthy and Nutritious delivers different messages. Eating your vegetables raw can be healthy but may not be as nutritious as you think.

Heat destroys the vitamins! Yes. True. Overcooking of vegetables is not good. Heat destroys the vitamins! But. Partially.

Some vitamins such as carotene (in carrots) and lycopene (in tomatoes) are FAT-soluble vitamins. SO....LISTEN...HARD....boiling/steaming carrots (just carrots) in water is less nutritious than stir-frying carrots in a lightly oiled pan. In the latter, the oil helps to release the benefits of carotene and lycopene in the carrots and tomatoes respectively. The method of cooking you choose can maximize the nutrition you are extracting from the vegetables.


Stir Fry Celery and Carrots
Ingredients: Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Ginger(minced or crushed); Celery(shredded); Carrots(shredded); Dried herbs (optional)

Directions:
1. In a lightly oiled pan, saute ginger till fragrant
2. Add in carrots and celery and saute till they start to turn tender. Remember, do not overcook.
3. Add in some dried herbs (basil or oregano) if you wish
4. Serve immediately

Are you convinced ? I hope this little information is useful to you.

Tag: vitamins, cooking tips

Famous bento lunch, Alisan Taiwan

Enough of bentos and convenience food? Hang on there. This is perhaps the last "bento" I'm featuring.

A famous bento known as 奮起湖便當 (FengQiHu Bian Tang or FengQiHu Bento).

Feng Qi Hu locates a train station near Alisan,Taiwan. The story goes that...when the the lumber business was in its heyday, a box lunch seller got on a train at Feng Qi Hu station (奮起湖站 ) where everybody rushed to buy a box lunch. Local box lunches (also known as bento) were sold to passengers on the rail line. FengQi Lake (奮起湖) became a tourist attraction in Alisan.

Tag: bento, Taiwan eating

Bibimbap - Korean stonepot rice in rice cooker

Grilled salmon, green peppers, spinach, egg, kimchi. What would you think of?
WAAa...aIT! KIMCHI! Do I hear something...Korean?
Besides one-dish pasta dishes, I have been cooking one-dish rice dishes of late and this is one of them. I serve you Bibimbap - Korean stone-pot rice...in my rice cooker!

Do not have a stone-pot to keep your dolsot (meaning stone pot) bibimbap sizzling and most importantly...warm ? NOW YOU CAN! I hand you a trick...via the rice cooker. Remember my rice-cooker style cabbage fried rice? Similar technique applies. A rice-cooker style "bibimbap" is easy to do, not forgoing the taste. If you like a healthy and easy way of dining at home, this is it!

Bibimbap, Korean stone-pot rice (rice -cooker version)
Ingredients:
-grilled salmon, seasoned with salt and black pepper,
-1-2 eggs, whisked lightly with some soy sauce and white pepper
-1-2 green pepper, julienned to strips
-some spinach,
-some kimchi
-nori strips, garnish
-cooked rice

Directions:
Step A - Prepare and cook ingredients in advance
1. Grill salmon, set aside (Note: I would suggest choosing a fish that has a firm texture when cooked. Eg. Cod fish is too moist, soft when cooked - when flaked and tossed around too much, it becomes mushy - not recommend)
2. Fry an egg omelette, then set aside on kitchen paper towel to drain away the oil. When cool, cut into thin strips
3. Blanch the spinach, then totally drain away water (Note: Make sure your palms are clean and squeeze the spinach dry. Tip: If you have a bamboo sushi roller, you can use that and drain the water away from the spinach, just by rolling them up and apply slight pressure). When dry and cool, chop into pieces

Step B - Cook rice and add in cooked ingredients
1. Cook rice as per normal
2. When rice is cooked or ready to serve final dish, add in kimchi and green pepper into the rice cooker and mix well with the rice (Note: Allow rice to infuse with kimchi flavor first. Also, the green peppers were not cooked in advance in Step A, adding them first will ensure they get the warmest"heat" from the rice just when the rice is cooked)
3. Flake up the salmon, then with eggs strips, and chopped spinach, add into the rice and mix well
4. Garnish with nori seaweed strips
5. Ready to be scooped and served

Dish out a bowl of warm kimchi-infused rice with nutritious ingredients. Each spoonful of rice you enjoy is flavor-bombed and filled with a profile of textures. The light crunch of green peppers, the salmon flakes, moist warm rice, kimchi-fragrance... ... ... ... ...

How does it look? Healthy ? Easy ?


Bibimbap cooked, using standard and basic kitchen appliances and equipment. An effective way to keep your entire dish warm too!

My 石锅拌饭 or rather 饭锅拌饭...:D

Tag: kimchi, bibimbap, korean

Taiwan street food - turkey rice, 火鸡肉饭

A famous street food of 嘉义( Jiayi, Taiwan): 火鸡肉饭, which is Turkey Rice. I don't think it is unfamiliar or strange to you. Some of you make this dish (from the leftovers of a roasted turkey) after Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Hahahhaha....

In Taiwan, it's available all year round.


But I prefer chicken rice anytime! And I've painfully reminded myself of Hainanese Chicken Rice back in Singapore.

Is it a widely-accepted fact...when you talk about "where to look for good food"? In Taiwan, you can try finding good (and cheap) eats near the temples (庙 口小吃), major universities, or some of the old historic streets (老街) . In night markets too, you will find yummy snacks and food.

Tag: turkey, turkey rice,Taiwan eating

Asia's ultimate restaurant guide - The Miele Guide

Did you notice the neat-looking red button I've just put up (extreme right column on my blog) about The Miele Guide ? I'm not paid to do this. Just as The Miele Guide is NOT paid (in the form of accepting free meals or advertising from restaurants) to rank and profile restaurants, and WILL BE Asia's truly INDEPENDENT regional restaurant guide; I'm also doing this posting out of my own will... because I am a food lover and have lived in Asia (Singapore) almost half my life. Living out of Asia for the past two years have made me want to know and love Asia more than before.

The Miele Guide is evaluating restaurants in 16 Asian countries—Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Written by food lovers who know and love Asia, The Miele Guide will rank and profile restaurants across the region’s major cities, categorized by country, city and cuisine. A shortlist has been drawn from the region’s top food critics and online polls are now evaluating public opinion (till end July 2008). This round of judging is open to anyone who registers at the website, along with a select jury of respected foodies and food and wine professionals from across Asia.

Won't you want to own a food guide which is unbiased in its review? I WOULD! Won't you like to have this slim, elegant book with you when you're traveling and looking around to dine in Asia? I WOULD!

Weekends dining out - set meals, ala carte

Weekends mean dining out!

Is it true that set meals are more inferior compared to ala-carte selection? I've asked that before. Since set meals are quite common here, I've bring you more.

Whatever on the tray is ONE SET!


You get side dish, mixed salad, rice and the hotpot (option of pork bones or curry-based as the soup broth) + the thin slices of meat that you cooked in the hotpot.

Set meals ranging from ~$160NT to $200NT(less than USD8), it's definitely value for money!

升禧燒 - Kolewa
台中市中港路二段27-5號(中港路大墩路口)
Junction of Taichung Kang Road and DaDun Road
Taichung City, Taiwan
********************

How about ? ...$328NT for all this in a weekend set meal

















新阿杜 香港風味茶樓
文心路一段538-1號 (大業路口)
Wenxin Road Section 1, 538-1
Taichung City, Taiwan
********************

Or this ?

Steamed glutinous rice set - with doubled boiled soup and side dishes ~ $200NT.


DongPo Pork Rice set, with rice + egg, soup, and side dishes ~$260NT


Specialty - Dongpo Pork

我家廚房
公益路383號
GongYi Road #383
Taichung City, Taiwan
********************

The cost of living in Taichung(central Taiwan) is not as high as Taipei (northern Taiwan) but this is going to change when central Taiwan gets more investments and developments. Do come to Taichung before it gets too expensive! It reigns a famous FengChia Night Market too :D

Tag: set meals, ala carte,Taiwan eating

Ice Dumplings - savory meat dumplings cannot beat this!

POINTED

If you read Chinese, the words on the packaging means Ice Dumplings (冰 粽, Bing Zong). While 粽子~ Zong Zi is a symbolic food or snack seen during the Chinese Dumpling Festival or Dragon Boat Festival, I was more fascinated when I saw these...Ice Dumplings. First, the packaging attracted me. I had to buy it. Second, what's inside. Mochi made in the shape of a triangular dumpling.

Best served when chilled, thus the name Ice Dumplings


The filings of the dumplings - red beans and a lil' cream

These are one of the best dessert sweet dumplings (粽子 Zong Zi) I've had. They are quite common in Taiwan during Duanwu Dragon Boat Festival. So I reckon Ice Dumplings are seasonal. But of course, mochi is not seasonal.

FYI, 85C is the name of the cafe where I bought this dessert.

Tag: mochi, desserts,dumplings

Yellow watermelon - instant chilled desserts

Forget about making cold mango desserts and chilled grass jelly, this can be a thirst quencher!



A yellow watermelon has less beta carotene compared to a red one.


Do you have a preference for red or yellow watermelons ?

Tag: watermelon, desserts