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Turkey ($18/kg 5-10kg)

1.     Roast Turkey with Herbed butter and apple cider baste

2.     Roast turkey with Bacon herbed Butter

3.     Ayam Bakar Roast Turkey

Comes with apple sausage stuffing for (1 & 2) and spiced country bread stuffing for (3)

Ham

($28/kg Semi Bone-in 4.5-5.5kg)

($25/kg Bone-in 6.5-8kg)

1.     Rosemary Garlic Ham Bone in

2.     Honey Escabeche Ham Bone in

3.     Maple Apple Mustard Ham Bone in

Orders close 15 DEc!

Private dinner for Joel’s birthday

Joel’s darling of a boyfriend decided to surprise her for her birthday! Set on his private balcony just steps away from their love nest, a candlelit table with flowers everywhere. And in the kitchen – Chef Nicole Loh. See guys, this is how you do it…

Menu for the night:

Salad Trio – Cherry tomato and charred corn caprese with bacon / Thai mango and japanese cucumber salad with seafood / Edamame and Japanese Mushroom crown

Main: Herbed Crusted Salmon served with Red Linguine and Buttered Thai asparagus

What Nicholas had to say:

The “bacon corn caprese” was awesome! I never eaten corn with bacon in my life before. Didn’t know it will taste that good with each other. Presentation wise i would give an A. I am amazed at how the ingredients are compacted nicely in a circle. This colourful dish definitely surprised me.

This is my favourite dish of this meal: “Pan fried salmon with butter asparagus n red linguini”. The salmon was damn huge! (in a good way) The meat is fresh, tender and most importantly its tasty! I am not sure what is being put on the salmon skin but i certainty enjoyed this.

Overall, the meal was well prepared and well made. Presentation and taste are both great! You definitely want a second time.

Nic

I was recently given a few packets of Peacock Brown Rice Spaghetti to play with and i must say, it was quite an eye opener. Usually when i think of vegetarian or wholemeal noodles i reminisce about that very hard texture of wholemeal spaghetti that i hate and then i cringe. However these noodles were springy and had a lot of bite in them. If done properly of course. They were also not as limp as the normal bee hoon and the texture was just amazing. Well done Peacock you’ve made a Chor Bee Hoon lover out of me.

I managed to conjure up a vegetarian bee hoon recipe suitable for kids and adults. As we all know, kids love sweets, chocolate and pizza. Well, my nephew loves curry and durians so i guess there are some exceptions.

Keeping what kids would willingly digest in mind, i decided to use sweet local pumpkin as a base for the sauce. I also used mushrooms for the topping. Mushrooms are rich in vitamins and nutrients. To also add more oomph to the noodles i decided to throw in some Konbu – Japanese Seaweed.

Here’s how it went.

White and Brown Shimeji Mushrooms, Shallots, Garlic, Konbu and Basil

Saute Garlic, Shallots, Konbu and Roasted Pumpkin Flesh

Peacock Brown Rice Spaghetti

All you need to do to prepare the noodles is to soak it in ROOM TEMPERATURE water.

Toss the Soaked noodles with the sauce and top with Sauted Mushrooms

And, here’s the recipe.

Peacock Brand Brown Rice Spaghetti with Pumpkin and Konbu topped with Shimeji Mushrooms

Ingredients:

Sauce

1 Local Pumpkin, Halved and seeded with a spoon

3 Tbsp Seaweed (Konbu), Chopped

3 cloves Garlic, Sliced Thinly

3 Shallots, Sliced Thinly

4 Basil Leaves, Sliced Thinly

2 Tbsp 100% Extra Virgin Cold-Pressed Macadamia Nut Oil

To taste Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Mushrooms

25 g White Shimeji Mushrooms, Plucked

25 g Brown Shimeiji Mushrooms, Plucked

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

To taste Sea Salt & Black Pepper

½ cup Water

Noodles

500 g Peacock Brand Brown Rice Spaghetti
Blanch in room-temperature water to soften. Do not blanch in warm or hot water.

Additional Metrics:

Difficulty: Easy

Yield: 3 servings

Cuisine: Fusion

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Description: A healthy vegetarian local fusion recipe

Directions:

Sauce

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius

2. Cut diagonal lines on the pumpkin and sprinkle with Sea salt, Black Pepper and drizzle some Macadamia Nut Oil (100% Extra Virgin Cold Pressed). Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

3. Sauté garlic and shallots in a shallow sauté pan with some olive oil. Once fragrant, add the roasted flesh from the pumpkin and sauté until color darkens

4. Add chopped Seaweed and ½ a cup of water. Simmer until sauce slightly reduces.

5. Throw in the thinly sliced Basil leaves

Noodles

1. Add in the hydrated brown rice spaghetti into the sauce. Sauté for 3 minutes until the spaghetti is perfectly cooked. Texture should be springy and not too soft with just the right amount of bite.

2. Season with Sea Salt and Black Pepper

3. Garnish with some Basil Leaves or edible flowers

Again from the same book, “Singaporean Cooking” by Mrs Leong Yee Soo.

The difference between Penang Laksa from Penang and the Nyonya Assam Laksa is that the soup for the Penang Laksa is much thicker than the Assam Laksa. But of course, being nonya i naturally prefer the Assam Laksa. The main two ingredients besides the rempah for the Assam Laksa would be the tamarind paste (Assam paste) and the Mackeral. Some people use Sardines instead, i find that mixing a little amount of sardines in gives the dish an interesting flavour. Also, NEVER EVER skip the “Hei Ko” or prawn paste – You know the prawn paste they use for rojak? Yea, that one.

Just a quick bite of useless information: Did you know that the people in Penang call our local Laksa, Curry mee?

For this laksa, i couldn’t get any mackeral so i used Kembong (Wolf Herring) instead.

So, this is how the cooking went:

Ingredients for the Rempah: Chillies, Torch Ginger Flower (Bunga Kantan), Laksa Leaves, Tumeric and Lemongrass

Blend the rempah ingredients with shallots and belachan. Add a little oil to make it easier

Boil the rempah with the Assam water, Lemongrass, ginger flower (Rojak Flower) and Laksa Leaves. After it boils, add in the fish.

Once the fish is cooked, remove the fish from the soup and leave it to cool

One the fish is cool, debone the fish and return the bones to the soup

Leave to simmer for another 2 hours. Once done, drain the soup and add 3/4 of the shredded fish meat in to thicken the soup.

Prepare the garnish - Pineapple, Rojak Flower and White onion

Don't forget the cucumber

And the Mint leaves. (Fresh from my sisters Mint plant)

Once the soup is done ...

PLate the noodles first followed by the pineapple, cucumber, fish meat, mint leaves and lastly, rojak flower.

An empty bowl is always a good sign. Refer to the image of the Hei Ko if you don't know what it is

http://search.insing.com/business/si-chuan-dou-hua-restaurant/raffles-place-boat-quay/id-53380200?title=sichuan+do+hua&term=sichuan+do+hua&shuffling_cipher=7&businessPage=1&resultIndex=1

Thanks!

The first cookbook i’ll be using for this “Localise Me” project, is “Singaporean Cooking” by Mrs Leong Yee Soo.

It says on the book that Mrs Leong Yee Soo belongs to the generation of Straits Nonyas to whom good cuisine is an article of faith and a personal challenge. (Right on Sista!)

She regrets that the fine art of cooking is fast dying out with women taking up jobs and with instant foods, frozen dinners, snack-bars and take-aways. (i’m sure women are still taking up jobs and i think instead of instant foods and frozen dinners everyone just goes out to eat. Snack-bars have been replaced by granola bars and well, take-aways are mostly from Mcdelivery.)

This book was published in 1976.

So, from a wise 1976 Nonya and now from a not-so-wise 2010 Nonya, i bring to you, the first dish from this book : MEE SIAM!

What i like about this Mee Siam is that it’s not drenched in gravy but merely laced with it. So if you’re a big fan of those normal Mee Siams that you buy from your malay shop downstairs i’m sure this will turn your head around. Auntie Evelyn and Uncle Joe this one is for you =)

Red chillies are soaked in water to rehydrate.. Approximately 20 mins

Red Chillies are then sliced

Shallots, Dried Prawns and Belachan (Shrimp Paste) for the rempah - Spice Paste

Blend the chillies and the ingredients for the rempah

Tumis (Fry) the rempah using medium heat.

When the colour darkens and the oils are released, it is done.

Fry the beehoon with the rempah. You can add some taucheo for an added kick!

Assam (Tamarind Paste), Tau Cheo (Salted Yellow Soya Beans) and Sliced red onions for the gravy.

Soak the Assam paste with water and use your hands to mix it up. Drain. Boil together with gravy ingredients. Save some for the Sambal

Saute the Onions and Garlic for the Mee SIam Sambal

Tumis the blended chillies together with the fried onions and garlic. Add Assam water and sugar

Sambal Is Done

Plate the noodles first and then the Tow Kwa (Beancurd) and the Sliced Eggs. Top with a grilled lemongrass prawn, spoon the Sauce over and top with sliced Koo Chye (Chinese Chives). Serve with Sambal and Sliced Calamansi Limes

Secret Weapon: Fry prawn shells in oil

Use this oil to fry your rempah and add water to the fried shells to make stock. Use this stock for your gravy

]]> http://h00ked.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/uprooted-part-1-mee-siam/feed/ 1 IMG_5369 nicoleloh Singaporean Cooking Rehydrating Dried Red Chillies Slice the Red Chillies Shallots, Dried Prawns and Belachan (Shrimp Paste) Blend Tumis Done Rempah Frying the beehoon Ingredients for Gravy Making Assam Water Fry the Onions and Garlic Sambal Sambal Mee Siam Fry prawn shells in oil IMG_5325 http://h00ked.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/the-dream/ http://h00ked.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/the-dream/#comments Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:05:32 +0000 nicoleloh http://h00ked.wordpress.com/?p=73 ]]> Show me a chef who doesn’t dream of his/her own restaurant and i’ll introduce you to a french person who doesn’t like butter. Not gonna happen.

In this case, words would not do justice.

Let the images speak of my vision. Ohmmmmmmm …

Lush, sexy and intimate interior

Friendly, inviting, fun and delicious

Victorian and Sexy

A simple understated hole in the wall

A quirky, intimate, sexy and clean cafe situated somewhere near the corner around that street? Which street was it? Yes, that one.

It can be the place you go for that perfect cup of coffee and everything on the menu from the sandwiches to the 3-course dinner is done with the utmost care and intense passion. The service is personal and everybody knows your name. Prices are very reasonable and everything from the ingredients to the furniture is all local. The music ranges from Buddha Bar to Peggy Lee and you drift to a different “Alice In Wonderland” world.

A percentage of the proceeds go to charity and the development of better food or local produce.

If you would like to invest in my dream. Please click the Contact me button above. =)

In an era of Haute cuisine and molecular experimental cooking we find ourselves being immersed in a modern wave of gastronomy. I, for one am certainly not complaining.

Being a chef and cooking fusion dishes almost every other day, it wouldn’t make sense for me to pop into Wild Rocket (Modern Singaporean) or Blue Ginger (Peranakan). Instead, you would probably find me at Chomp Chomp slurping up some good ole’ Hokkien Mee, digging at my Gong Gongs and savouring my Sambal Stingray. MMmmmm… However, when i do decide to give myself a treat, the first place i would step into would be a restaurant serving molecular cuisine. Why? Because i can’t cook it that’s why.

Molecular cuisine intrigues me, though the kitchen might seem cold and equipment oriented i would say that the technical expertise of the chefs and the differentiation in the textures of the food served is really inspiring. Just recently i lost my molecular virginity at Private Affairs; and i must say, what an experience it was. Kudos to Chef Paul!

Being a fan of molecular and a practitioner of modern fusion cuisine, i ask myself this question – Are we lost in modernization, complication and confusion? Just like how a traditional chef should sometimes come up with new techniques and dishes, a modern chef should also sometimes take a step back and try to infuse nostalgic tradition and culture into the dishes that he/she decides to put on the menu.

With that being said, i have decided to go back to my roots. Instead of thinking about how to incorporate parsley gel into my Buah Keluak Air, i will grab tradition by the balls and give culture phobes a shock. A tasteful and delicious one of course.

Sometime next month, a very talented friend of mine and myself will be bringing you a photography / Food experience.The theme for this event will be Simplicity.

I will be using all local farmed ingredients. (Local like from Singapore and not Malaysia). Though the menu has not been finalised, be prepared for a flavourful mix of culture, exquisite ingredients and the simplicity of good food.

Do check back for further updates. =)

Now get off your ass and get in the kitchen.