Ikan Bilis tomato omelette

I know it sounds absolutely absurd. But it actually tasted quite nice.
Frying the ikan bilis helps to bring up the aroma of the fish. chopping it into bits allows for distribution throughout the omelette. the saltiness of the fish is balanced with the tartness of the tomato.


At first i was wondering if i'd made a dreadful mistake and if i had to throw the whole lot away. But once  my nose got a whiff of the frying the fish bits, i knew if the smells went well together, the taste would too. Thank goodness my nose didn't fail me.


the toast is a bit charred but that coz i used the remaining fish fry oil to toast the bread. Nothing went to waste. And i was totally satisfied.


the tomatoes lends the dish a dimension of juiciness and their tartness helps to cut through the milk and cheese present in the omelette.


the crunchy bits of ikan bilis really compliments the flavours. 
So kids, do try this at home.


Ingredients:
Small handfull of ikan bilis
1 clove of garlic
half a tomato
a bit of red chilli
2 eggs
splash of milk
cheese
pinch of thyme
pinch of parsley
salt and pepper to taste
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Method
- Into the eggs, stir in milk, cheese, pepper, salt, herbs
- Fry the ikan bilis.
- Remove from oil, save the oil to brush on the bread later.
- Fry tomatoes, garlic and chilli (add a pinch of sugar to balance the sourness of the tomato - optional)
- Pour in the egg mixture over the hot pan and heat till cooked through. Remove from pan.
- Brush bread slices with the saved oil and brown them in the pan till lightly toasted on both sides 
- Serve and tuck in.
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prep time : 5min
Cooking time : 8-10min
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Wagyu Beef Sandwich

Husband and I made this for lunch on Saturday. We bought the Wagyu Beef patty from MMM the last time we were there. So since we were raiding the freezer for lunch ideas, we came across this nice little packet of beef. So out it came to feed our hungry appetites. 

We grilled the patties on the griddle, then buttered the bread and put it on the grill after. 

Whilst doing that, the potatoes were put into the oven to roast. Again, we tossed the potatoes with thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper and shoved it into the oven. 

To balance out the savoury, we made sweet caramelised onions to top off the sandwich.

Altogether, it was a very balanced tasting meal, there was iceberg lettuce, cheese, beef, onions and the buttered bread. It was really satisfying and quick to prepare. 

By now, i'm sure you realise making quick meals is what i like doing. I'm impatient and hate to wait for my food. Instant noodles are the last resort but sometimes you have to eat the crap to appreciate the good stuff.

Now have to go shopping for more meat to put into the freezer for another day of feasting.

No meat friday - Prawn pasta

My version of neapolitan with Prawns. Fast to cook good to eat.

Out of hunger and desperation, i rummaged in my freezer for a non-meat item.

And lo and behold, i had grey prawns sitting there smiling at me.

Out they came, all 3 friends defrosting in a bowl of water. Awaiting to be sacrificed to yours truly.

Then as i was boiling the water and chopping the ingredients, the makings of the sauce started to formulate in my head. I guess it's called, "try-and-use-up-what-you-have-in-the-fridge and it's-raining,-I'm-not-stepping-out-for- anything syndrome.

this dish was easy peasy to make and prep time is quick.

While boiling the water, i chop the ingredients,

then after draining the pasta and retaining some of the liquid, I start to fry the ingredients.

because they're chopped up pretty fine, the cooking time takes about 5 mins in total. Then add in the tomato paste, milk yoghurt, salt, pepper and the herbs. Then throw in the cheese when you've tossed your pasta into the sauce and you're on your way to mum mum time.

Within 15 minutes, i was sitting down to my pasta.

nom nom nomnom....

beats instant noodles, that's for sure

Smoked Salmon on Potato Omelette mmmmmm

Made this for lunch today.

I'm having the mother of all sore thoats but decided to just go for it.

It was very filling and actually quite good.

Inspired by my friend Victor's Baked salmon and spanish omelette, I decided to combine it in a different way.

Cut the potato into slices and boil them till tender and drain.

Chop finely the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and celery.

Fry the onions till tender and transluscent, then put in the bell peppers followed by the garlic and celery.

Throw in the potato slices and fry till slightly browned.

In the meantime, combine eggs, pepper, salt, milk, thyme(optional, but i like herbs for their imparted aroma), cheese (i used mozarella and cheddar mix).

When the potatoes have browned to your liking, pour in the egg mixture and leave to set, stirring a few times along the way so the bottom doesn't burn and the eggs cook more evenly

Serve on a plate and top it off with slices of Norwegian smoked salmon and a dollop of yoghurt. Sprinkle some parsley.

Pick up a fork and knife and tuck in.

prep time: 5min

Cooking time : 15-20min

Poached Egg for brekkie

This is a poached egg attempted for breakfast this morning. It was so fun to make!

takes a bit of finesse trying to wrestle the egg into the boiling water, but man was it fun.

Just make sure to turn down your flame to low then slowly lower the egg into the water using a cup or bowl. I left the egg in the cup for a while to help it keep it's shape then slid it into the awaiting pot of salted water.

3 mins later and voila! Breakfast is served.

Pepperoni - Bukit Timah

Last night's dinner- Pepperoni's

above - My reaction to the great food i had at Pepperoni's. They provide crayons to amuse kids (restless itchy handed adults too) and line the tables with sheets of paper. I just had to get my hands on the crayons. :)

The restaurant is located at greenwood Ave.

It seems like that food area is now my muse area to satisfy my ever increasing hunger for good food.

here's just a small sampling of what we had for mains.

We ordered a medium pizza with a half and half of 4 formaggi ( 4 cheeses) and Prosciutto with rocket. It was yummmmmm..... Husband had beef in red wine sauce linguine, I had the funghi and pollo linguine.

Since we had my siblings on hand to help, we also ordered a caprese, calamari and bruschetta. On top of that each of my siblings had their own pasta mains. ( i kept nicking my sister's squid ink pasta. It was very very appetising).

We ate, drank and rolled out satisfied at a job well done.

we managed to finish nearly all of it but for 2 slices of pizza which have been brought home as souvenirs from our feat.

The setting of the restaurant is comfortable, non-fussy, great to bring families to. Service staff are friendly and accomodating. Food arrives really quickly, even though the staff said the waiting time for pizza due to the crowds was gonna take 30min. It arrived within 20 min of our order. Parking is a bit hairy but doing a few rounds around the side lanes, you'll probably be able to find some place to chuck the car. The food is worth the trip. Trust me.

I will most definitely go back for more.

What was.

My husband and I went out for his birthday lunch. We decided to head to Greenwood Fish Market at Bukit Timah. They have a bistro attached which serves up their fresh seafood in a restaurant setting.

Getting there was misleading via GPS. Easiest way in is to go along dunman road and make a left into Hillcrest Rd.

It was a great meal. And I mean great in terms of quantity.

What you see in the picture is what's left after we decimated nearly 3/4 of the platter.

We ordered a fried calamari (it was yummy and substantial), and the Cold Seafood platter which arrived with :

- Half a lobster

- Mussels

- 1/2 dozen oysters

- Steamed clams

- Marinated octopus

- smoked salmon and caviar

- steamed prawns

- raw tuna salad

The seafood platter was reasonably priced, me thinks, at $79.

We ate till we were up to our nostrils in seafood.

we had also placed an order for aglo olio, you should have seen the face of the waitress and her exclamation of "It's quite a lot you know". We decided to place the order anyway, being the brave souls that we assumed ourselves to be.

Lo and behold, she was right.

After having the seafood, we had to either cancel or leave the place after we've had a nap. so we took the former option. Cowards that we finally realised we were.

Altogether, the food was fresh and the ambience is pretty nice. Not too stuffy and uppish.

For fresh oyster lovers, they have a tuesday promo of $1 oysters.

I probably would go back sometime, just not after that amount of seafood i consumed.

Think I've had my quota of iodine for the rest of the year.

Wagyu Steak.... lovely

Bought the steak from MMM... at Jurong.

Grilled it lightly over a griddle pan, Rare.

that's the best way to eat this one.

Accompanying this lovely steak were,

thinly sliced potatoes tossed in olive oil, pepper, salt, rosemary and thyme, baked to semi crisp state,

Long beans stir fried in sweet dark soya sauce,

and steamed sweet potatoes sprinkled with a touch of nutmeg.

Hubby and myself savoured every morsel.

The meat meltingly tender along with the creamy bits of fat just envelopes your tongue in a very sensuous way. When accompanied with the vegetables, made this dish my top favourite to date.

we also had a refreshing Pear cider to top off the meal.

mmmmm is all i have to say.

New Beginnings

This was me.

Chubby and rolling around on a full tummy.

Not much has changed since then.

I still eat and roll around, though not so much on a full tummy.

I've realised over the years that food makes me come alive. It feeds my soul. And when i encounter soul-less food like instant microwavable types, my system goes into a whole range of negative moods, from anger to downright rage.

Maybe not so extreme, but it still makes me mad.

Anyway, this is the beginning of the blog journey for me.

Gonna explore more food. cook more, eat more, buy more.

And write more.

It's been years since i've last written a word on my thoughts.

So here's to new beginnings!