soepom

i used to think the eighties was the only decade that would never make it back in the fashion cycle...

but i <3 ann-sofie back

it took me two years to recover from the last cut. oh well. duty calls.

the musical re-runs; the hair returns.

thanks for the love. i guess this affirms my position as cuisine team leader still huh?

my mum and aunt are fabulous indeed. i am grateful the cooking gene also comes with the eat-and-not-get-obese gene

starting with the basics. i can't deal with recipes, so pasta seemed like a good place to start for cooking-anything-anyhow. so far my intuition has served me well.

meatball spaghetti in soupy tomato-cream sauce

angel hair pasta aglio olio (with a bit of cream), with sakura ebi and tobiko stirred in. top with dried seaweed shreds to complete the wafu flavour. salad with cheese and spicy cuttlefish with japanese ponzu salad dressing

tomato basil with prawns and mushrooms, scallops baked with ham, chilli, pesto and mozzarella, chillies and olives stuffed with feta (from the deli)

finally had enough of pasta and tried to move on to mains...

salmon steak flavoured only with seasalt and basil, topped with a light garlic cream sauce, lingonberry jam, blanched asparagus, and mash with sour cream and chives.

yes and crayfish.

ham and turnip. light but refreshing. and yes, she carved the swans herself too.

i know it looks excessive. but we pretty much cleaned out the plates.

not one to be outdone, soemum hosted the dinner on the 1st day of the lunar new year:

"lou hei" again (i did say it was mandatory)

kong pau prawns

her signature scallop cold-dish

deep fried "squirrel fish" in sweet and sour sauce

shabu-shabu styled beef with peppers (looks simple but was my favourite of the night. tasty!)

glutinous rice with xo goose liver sausages

lobster gelee (bits of lobster suspended in savoury jellied stock)

"ayam buah keluak" this is a peranakan dish, the black nuts have an oily texture and have to be laboriously dug out, mixed with meat and stuffed back into the nutshell.

crabs. duh.

lychees stuffed with otak (spicy fish paste)

yes. but better late than never no?

eat.your.heart.out.

reunion dinner at my aunt's place (yes, the cooking gene runs in the family, mine are just expressing themselves a little late i believe...)

the compulsory "lou hei" tossing of raw fish salad for prosperity and good fortune

fishmaw soup

lobster fruit salad

prawns with wasabi seaweed

coffee ribs with roasted pinenuts

seared scallops with tobiko

deep fried beancurd skin stuffed with chicken

baked crayfish

stewed sea cucumber with duck, dried scallops, dried oysters and other exotic ingredients

steamed fish

yup. this was one meal.

meetup:

details of the white shift dress:

details of the white shift dress:

Please school me on hainanese chicken rice. I've read that it is traditionally boiled in stock, served with "oily rice", etc. Many say tasty, however chicken skin repulses me if not crispy. Does it come off slippery in texture? Does anyone serve with the skin browned at all? Given my distaste do you think it is not worth trying on my end?

yes, traditional hainanese chicken rice is served with chicken like the one in my photograph, most of the time with the bone (unless it says "boneless chicken rice" on the stall). that said, you can ask for roasted-chicken rice (nearly every stall will serve both the white (steamed) and brown (roasted) chicken), which is chicken with the skin browned, and it is very tasty as well. the rice is of absolute importance - it is oily because it's cooked with chicken stock instead of water, and often, some pandan leaves, which is very aromatic.

i'm a purist, so i always eat the chicken with the skin. try just one piece, and if you don't like it, then you can always eat it with the skin removed - many "health-conscious" singaporeans do that. even so, the skinless chicken meat is tender and flavourful. oh, and do try it with a little of the sweet black soy sauce, ginger paste and garlic chilli sauce for the full experience.

i'm so awfully tired and inebriated. so if this isn't making sense, i'll elucidate after i'm sober.

lunch at home:

lunch at home again:

so nice to have home cooked food!

one of my birthday dinners, at an okinawan restaurant:

the moment we started off with choya i knew it was gonna be a good meal...

garlic fried rice - simple, but very flavourful

ox-tongue steak

stewed pork belly. the fat melting in your mouth... so so good!!

so-so sashimi

lunch on another occasion:

stewed beef in red wine

supper that night

"famous" wanton mee - the sort you have to queue a long time for, beer in hand

dinner another night:

steamed gyoza

pretty good ramen (but plongin's secret ramen place is still tops for me)

2am dessertbar:

sorbet: pomegranate, blood orange, my fave was the sorbet du jour: kalamansi with basil. Mumm's the word!

an alternate take on hainanese chicken rice - you eat the chicken wrapped in the lettuce, with a generous splash of ginger paste. very refreshing on the palate

lunch at home:

japanese pasta place:

grilled squid salad with tangy sauce

crayfish pasta in creamy tomato sauce - my favourite from this place.

pose with better view of the sleeves

pose with better shot of the shoes