Chocolate Almond Bun

Original recipe was Chocolate and Hazelnut Bun. Well could not find the Hazelnut in store thus change the ingredient to almond. It has been a long time since i last made bread. Dun really have the time to wait for it to rise but since i'm on holiday,its a totally different story.

Despite having a bread maker at home, i have not use it for about 4 years.Wondering if its still working? Well i personally love to just knead the dough and well homemade bread are the best.The freshness and captivating aroma of just out of the oven bread its just simply the best.

Well for this recipe the chocolate flavouring was lacking. Guess i should have used another brand of cocoa powder and added more chocolate buttons in it but i like the crunch of the almonds in each bite.

Its a great teatime snack beside breakfast.Well it can also be food on go. Good for someone like me we likes to eat breakfast and rush out of the house for my appointment in the morning.




Awaiting for the dough to rise










An individual shot




Group Shot

Cafe 18

There has been alot of Hong Kong Cafe booming around in singapore but i've only been to Xing Wang Hong Kong Cafe coz it sells my fav food. Recently went to this HongKong Cafe located at 15 Cheong Chin Nam Road opposite Beauty World Shopping center.

Cafe 18 is owned by this HongKonger as far as i heard. There were discounts going on for students,special set meals and a 15% off the bill.

Nothing much to boast about as the wait of food was long despite it was after lunch hour and there was only 3 customers beside my parents and me. The taste of food was average. What we ordered - Fish Head with black bean sauce,fried rice and a pork chop baked rice.

Fish head was not too bad but the baked rice was a disappointment. Under the sauce and pork chop was fried rice with egg. The combination was totally out and it was too oily. Guess their speciality is not baked rice. Should have tried something out of their special menu.

Potatoes

Below quotes are from http://www.all-about-potatoes.com/

'The United Nations have officially declared the year 2008 the International Year of the Potato in order to “increase awareness of the importance of the potato as a food in developing nations”

Take a look at this five facts about potatoes:
- a potato has only between 70 to 100 calories
- a potato is about 80 % water- a potato has potassium, vitamin C, iron, and fiber, protein, carbohydrates, calcium, and magnesium
- the potato was the first vegetable to be grown in space in 1995
- There are about 5,000 potato varieties in the world

Can you believe all these??

These are all new to me. Never knew so much in a potato beside the fact it taste great in anyway you cook them. Boil, stew, bake, deep fry juz to name a few.

My fav way is baking them and below are 2 different ways of making them. Baked Potato and chicken pie and extra cripsy potatoes.

Baked Potato and Chicken Pie, a recipe learned during Secondary School days. How i miss those days....








Extra Cripsy Potatoes, it really came up cripsy!!

Mango Shaving Ice

Mango Shaving Ice from Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe. Well there is a few branches but i always frequent the one at marina sq. Sad thing is that they seem to be getting smaller in portion and the price remain the same at $6.90 not including service charge and GST.

Well its a dessert for at least 3 ppl and 2 if u've eating at least 3-4 hours ago. Today went to the one newly opened at anchorpoint and had this dessert again. But all tks to my frens who are willing to share it with me, knowing i love mango they always eat this with me when we visit. And oh well coz i'm the picky eater among them.

The branch at Anchorpoint was not bad. Their serving was big till we 3 din fiinish it up. Wasted but we were all too full. Well felt they could add more mango and more of the syrup. Otherwise its good enough for frens to sit around and chill out while eating and 'shouting' and 'blaming' each other when the ice tower falls.

The next one would go try the Ice monster at Plaza Singapurd. Heard its not bad.

Apples..

The first trees to produce sweet, flavourful apples similar to those we enjoy today, were located many thousands of years ago near the modern city of Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan.

The Greeks were growing several varieties of apples by the late 300’s BC, and the ancient Romans also grew and loved the fruit. Researchers have even found the charred remains of apples at a Stone Age village in Switzerland.

European settlers brought apple seeds and trees with them to the New World. Records from the Massachusetts Bay Company indicate that apples were being grown in New England as early as 1630. In 1796, in Ontario, Canada, John McIntosh discovered a variety of apple which is today enjoyed by people around the world--the McIntosh Apple!

Apples have also appeared in legends in our past. In the Bible, Adam and Eve are tempted by apples in the Garden of Eden, and in the Swiss story of William Tell, an archer is arrested and then promised his freedom if he can shoot an apple off his son’s head with an arrow.

Taken from http://www.geocities.com/perfectapple/welcome.html


Apples are great ingredients for baking and i came up with this simple recipe using apples.

Apple Muffins, a combination of 2 of my fav food to 1. (actully its 2 of the many fav food i love)

Results you may ask??

YUMMY!!
Its moist in the inside and yet some cripsiness on the outside. It came out the way i like it.Even my brothers enjoyed it. Well they are my food critic .