wade's beef noodle bday

champion food

We participated in the iron chef competition today and came back with a whole bunch of beef, chicken, and spring onions, courtesy of the campus center. All that cooking and oranges got us pretty hungry so we decided to jump straight into dinner when we got home. Dinner turned out tasting a lot better than the stuff we cooked in the afternoon.

Our kitchen and honorary housemates.

Beef seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, pepper (this marinade was actually from the korean cookbook we won!). Wrap around base of spring onion, for that crunch, pan fry till it smells good. This dish was very tasty, Mr. Swee will attest to that with his look of ecstasy, with a great flavor and texture combination. It will definitely be even better if cooked over a charcoal grill.

Poached chicken seasoned with a hot sesame oil, spring onion, and ginger mixture poured over. Easy and tasty!

Dried anchovies (aka ikan billis) fried with chili prawn paste (aka sambal), edamame, and peanuts. Good to eat with anything or on its own for that matter.

Mr. Swee takes a swig while he stinks up the street frying dried ikan billis, which according to firemen, smell like cat piss.

Our efforts at horticulture.

champagne high tea

With the thesis in the bag and the fear of real life setting in, a little good food and champagne is a welcome distraction.

the menu

the table

the gravlax

the heart attack sauce and asparagus

the heart attack croque madame

the panna cotta with frozen fruit and missing apple cake

After this we all took a nap and woke up to have dinner....life is good.

Easter Brunch

This meal on the patio made passers-by grin with envy as the smell of charred meat, grilled seafood and fresh spring vegetables filled the street. It was an indication that spring was here. I cannot imagine a greater way of spending Easter Sunday amongst good friends, warm company and great food. In our accompaniment were pork, lamb, chicken, shrimp and sausage which were delicately marinated in a host of various seasoning - from a rack of ribs marinated in mustard, infused with tarragon sprigs to chicken skewers peppered with cumin, fish sauce and other good spices. For greens, we had a lettuce salad tossed in olive oil and a potato salad andrew made with kewpie mayo and some dashi pellets.

It was a thrill to watch as slab after slab of pork was thrown on the grill, fired to perfection and go down our tummies. The big juicy shrimps were scorched on each side as homemade lemon butter was brushed between the crevices of these glowing orange crustaceans. The highlight was probably the pork strips which had been marinating in mirin and soy sauce over the stove, which when slapped on the barbi, formed a crispy crust with a tender interior. Simply decadent. Samantha's prized lamb chops were quite a hit to and were served rare, medium and well-done. We washed everything down with an orange cooler with lemon slices. It was a splendid day as the sun shone down on us and as we watched Drama Queen suck bone after bone of the poor pig.

plates of pizza!

We made pizza some time back, pulling out whatever was in the fridge as usual to see what manner of permutations we could come with. The pizzas concoctions are as follow:

Strawberry jam and muenster cheese in a sweet and savory marriage.

Tomato pasta sauce with shrimp and Parmesan.

Tomato pasta sauce with chicken tikka masala sausage, cheese and olives.

Homemade pesto sauce and homemade mozzarella with olives, shrimp, and tomatoes.