Tagged along…

.. With DH. (wrote this post back in Dec, but didn’t post it) He had a couple of business meetings in Singapore the beginning of this week. He drove so I went along. Usually he goes by plane but this time he needed to bring back the wine he shipped back from Napa Valley. He bought 27 bottles from Opus One, the Limited Edition Vertical 2005, 2006 and 2007. We opened one at another restaurant. We let JC, dh’s French buyer, choose a couple of wines at Lawry’s. We all had the restaurant’s famous prime rib. Dh and I shared the 15oz diamond cut because we also shared an order of baby back ribs. We could’ve gone to Morton’s but were just there in Hong Kong. I was longing for some good prime ribs and Lawry’s certainly satisfied that craving.
We also went to Long Beach Seafood at Eastcoast Parkway. This was my first time there. We certainly had the best. The men opened a couple bottles of whisky and lots of  great wine. We had sashimi geoduck and lobster, tiger sea mantis w/golden garlic, Alaskan king crab, renown crispy duck, BBQ fish. We couldn’t finish the food. I would’ve eaten more , but was a little ill. The next day, we had brunch at Marina Bay casino with dh’s bro and family bf departing for home. We had the usual dim sum dishes like siew mei , chee change fun, etc. It was ok. The outstanding dish was the melt in your mouth egg tart, and the salted butter pao. I think we just had too much good food and couldn’t appreciate anymore food.

prime rib

sea mantis

Alaskan king crab

lobster and geoduck sashimi

Blackmore wagyu

Rich, rich , rich…but oh so melt in your mouth yummy. First time dh and I ever made a special trip to KL for lunch just to taste this special beef. On Fridays I don’t drive any kids to school, so was homefree. We decided to go to Prime at Le Meridien because htis Blackmore beef is only available in July- August. Blackmore wagyu beef is the finest beef that we’ve ever had with a 9+ marbling grain fed for 500-600 days. We ordered a set of oyster blade served with double consommé with sides of somen noodles, tofu cubes and honshimeji mushrooms. This RM528 set also came with wild berries w/ whipped cream and evian water. Loved the ponzu sauce that came with it. We also ordered a Blackmore wagyu sirloin that came with garlic mashed potatoe and med grilled veggies. On top of that, Chef Anton came to the table to explain to us the types of sets they were offering and what was available. We were confused with what the waitress was trying to explain to us. He ordered Master Kobe chuck flab tail(near the neck of the cow)for us to try, simply melt in your mouth. The Chef said it was on him, so after we finished our dinner we sent a glass of wine to him. Will put in photos later. What a great lunch that was. Meant to post this back in August.

Thanksgiving with my family

We took the kids back to the states for their year  end holidays last Nov-Dec.  We went to CA(Hollywood, San Diego, & San Francisco), Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe/Mammoth Lakes, and Iowa.  Ate at many fabulous places.  Will back post those restaurants later.  I got a chance to spend Thanksgiving with my siblings  and cousins.  That was also the highlight of great eating for me. 

Before Turkey Day, we had a bbq-chicken, pork ribs and 2inch thick steaks plus great salads.  We had so much meat that night and were all so finger licking good.    I didn’t have time to take photos of the other meats and salads.  I was too in awe of the giant steaks.lol  The steaks were simple worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper.  Dh made sure I was in charge of those so my sis wouldn’t marinade it with anything fancy or funky sauces.  But the marinades she put on the chix and pork ribs were so good.  The kids got to make smores(1st time ever) after the steaks were done.  That was fun for them.  My sis actually made a pit for barbeque right in the middle of her garden.  Thanksgiving was wonderful.  We wnet to 3 houses.  I didn’t touch any turkey at the first 2 houses.  I was saving my stomach for Melody’s roast turkey at my sis’ house.   The turkey was covered with beer, apple cider and salt overnight.  Onions and celerys were  stuffed inside when it went into the oven.   She worked all night chopping and preparing  the ingredients for the next night’s feast after just arriving hours only from LA.  I helped out by making salads(7-layer and taco) and appetizers(jellos with fruit, devilled eggs and pastry filled with munster cheese, spinach and beef with marinara sauce.  Dh bought 2 very expensive French champagne-Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Rose (for toasting Melody’s(my niece) engagement to Chris and celebrating Thanksgiving. Lots of guests brought wines.  My sis invited lots of people, not just family. She  also had Esaan food b/c she knew I love it.  It’s been 8 years since I went back to Iowa.  It was great to be around my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and cousins I hadn’t seen for a long time.  The turkey was the best I’ve ever had in a long time-so juicy and tasty.  I will use that combo of beer/ apple cider from now on when I roast turkeys.

cornbread stuffing, 7 layer salad, taco salad,

great cuts of 2 inch steaks

Medium-rare steaks

sitting around the pit

Esaan food

appetizers

more sides dishes-cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, greenbean cass.

mashed potatoes, yams w/marshmellows, gravy

2 turkeys

salads

Aunt Teri’s bbq pit

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne

Brasserie Les Saveurs @the St. Regis Singapore

Brasserie Les Saveurs

salad-fresh baby greens and grilled prawns w/walnut dressing

sashimi

clam chowder

fresh oysters

dessert

beverage

eggs benedict

eggs and sausages

We went to Singapore last wknd.  Both dh and I had to do some banking there.  Plus, dh had 3 nights of SPG redemption left.  Had to use it by the end of the month.  We chose the St Regis again b/c it’s convenient for me to walk from the shopping complexes.  This time we had lunch and brkfst at the hotel-Brasserie Les Saveurs, an intercontinental restaurant with French brasserie favorites.  It was raining and we were hungry after checking in.  Dh checked out the spread and it looked very good.   The restaurant had his fave French oysters from Quiberon Bay.  He had a dozen of those.  Loved them with raspberry vinegar w/onions.  They were $3 a piece.  I never had them and have to admit they’re the best oysters I’ve ever had.  The sashimis were perfectly cut, not cubed, especially the hamachi.  Had a second helping of those.  I loved my baby salad greens with walnut dressing.  Will have to look up a recipe for that dressing.  Grilled prawns were perfect with my salad. The clam chowder was too creamy for me.   My main course was pan-seared Pacific seabass.  Dh had the wagyu beef cheeks. I almost got that too but we were going to Lawry’s for dinner that night.   Dessert was ok.  I had creme brulee, choc mousse, and cheese cake.  Didn’t have any of the yummy pastries.  I had to control myself.   We will try hightea or dinner there next time.

We usually have breakfast at the hotel.  I have my eggs and sausages and dh has to have his eggs benedict.  This time I also had muesli with fresh berries.

Girls making pizza

Cousin Emma was staying the night on Sunday, so I let the girls help with making pizzas after their swimming classes.  They each made their own pizzas selecting their own toppings over flaky crust.  I made one for Justin cause he wasn’t interested in making his own.  I had diff  meat toppings of bacon, pepperoni, hotdog sausages, and smoked chicken;  three cheeses, mozzarella, light American cheddar and Galbani Italian  cheese and also  onions, mushrooms and pineapples.  Besides their own mini pizzas they can also have the chicken/sausage and bacon/pepperoni that I made.

girls making pizza

smoked chicken/sausage pizza

3 cakes in June and July

Aly and DH had b-days in June and Justin’s was in July.  And I just now have time to post about it.  Been awful busy.  Aly wanted a black forest cake so I attempted to make one.  Turned out pretty good.  She said it was definitely better homemade. I made choc mousse for DH again.  And this time I put brandy on the whole cake instead of half  like last year.  Justin wanted a  forest cake but with blueberries.  I made him  one like a blackforest cake but with blueberries instead of cherries and used a blueberry cake recipe instead of choc sponge.  Fresh blueberries were sprinkled on top of the batter b/f baking.  The “blueberry”  forestcake had 4 layers of cake with cream in between and frosted with cream cheese frosting.  He was so tickled by seeing blueberries on his cake.  For some reason I couldn’t find fresh blueberries that week and had to go to 3 stores to find some.  Will post the recipes when I have time.

Aly's b-day cake,

Aly is 11 years old.

Made 3 layers instead of 4.

Dh's chocolate mousse b-day cake with raspberry sauce

Choc mousse cake

Justin cutting his cake

Yummy

Aly’s lunch

Alyssa has extra classes (tuition) on M, W, and Thu after regular classes and since last month has been taking lunch from home.  I will pack what I’ve made  for lunch that day or give her left-overs from the previous night’s dinner.  She was ok with buying lunch from the school canteen.  Pretty simple stuff that she likes(tofu, chicken, green veg and rice).  Now, the rules have changed.  Children have to line up in single file and pay at the end after selecting the food.  And her main teacher has been making her class copy 2 essays after their last class.  They are always the last class to come out.   She said by the time she gets to the canteen, most of the good stuff is gone and left with yucky food.   I can actually leave her lunch at the guard house and some  ladies who volunteer  bring  them to the canteen for the children to their designated tables.  Did that a few times and she couldn’t find her Thermos.  Now, I’m forever waiting by the gate for her to pick up her lunch.  I guess I don’t mind so much as long as my child has a good lunch.  She only wants rice with meat and veg from home or fried noodles.  She won’t take anything soupy.  My firstborn is very picky.  I few times I had to buy her chicken rice from the hawker shops by the school cause I made porridge or soupy noodles.

rice with roast duck and left-over vegggie beef stirfry

Grand Imperial Restaurant

This is our new favorite Chinese restaurant in Bangsar.  Went there for dim sum one Sunday after Dhamma Sunday school.  We got there 1:45pm and the place was so busy.  We had to wait 10min for a table.  The manager came to sit and chat with Dh, so he’s been going there quite often with his friends.  Hmm…this is our only 2nd time as a family.  Oh well, the food is great.We ordered a few favorites like prawn siew mai, prawn dumplings, fish balls, radish cake, yam dumplings cheong fun, kai lan and chicken feet.  The chix feet sounds gross but it;s actually quite tasty.  The one here was a bit too sweet.   The kids didn’t like the pan fired fish cake.  Dh and I had to eat those.  I quite like the sauce that came with it. It’s a lot like the Thai sour sauce for seafood(lime, hot chilli and ginger).  The kids love the friend squid tentacles with mayo sauce.  Dh had to double the order.  The dumplings and chee cheong fun were average.  The radish cake and fried yam dumplings were excellent.  We would have dim sum there again.

 

Fried carrot(white radish) cake

Sauteed Kai Lan w/garlic

Deep fried squid tentacles

Steamed cheong fun w/prawns and bbq pork

Pan fried fish cake

Steamed praw dumplings, Shanghai xiao long bao,steamed fish balls

steamed chix feet

Deep fried yam dumplings

Epicurean walk

Dh and I indulged in a gourmet “dine around” at the Laguna Resort  on our last night in Bali. We started  the 5 course meal at 7:30pm at the bar with cocktails and canapes to salad and soup, a couple of entrees and ending with dessert, coffee and liqueurs at the gazebos by 9:45pm.   The food was a good sample of the restaurants available at  the Laguna.   By dessert time, we couldn’t eat anymore.   The ending at  the gazebos was nice.   From one restaurant to the next, we were escorted by a butler.   Dh made it a point to get the chefs’ names from each retaurant.  We got very friendly with the staff.  I think we were the only couple signed up for this dinner special.  We started at 7:30 and didn’t see anyone else having the same things, unless they started much earlier.  The menu included strawberry mint mojitos, canapes of salmon sahimi,  cauliflower parfait topped with prawns, mutton balls at the Cascade Bar;    Dumplings in tomato consumme and carpaccio with mango and baby greens at SariMayan(Indonesian fusion cuisine restaurant);  Grilled barramundi with mashed turnips, 2 ways lamb(ground mutton battered slices and grilled lamb steak with red wine shallot sauce at the Seaside Cafe.  Very interesting dishes.  The barramundi was excellent.  I loved the baby greens with mango and carpaccio.   The assorted desserts were ok.  I think we were too full to appreciate those after  eating so much.

 

 

Valentine dinner

roast pork

 

fried potatoes

mixed veg

Since having children, we’ve been having the Valentine dinner at home.  Last year, dh made a steak dinner.  This year, I made a pork roast.  I wanted to try a recipe that I saw at Bon Appetit.  The cut I bought was actually a loin with skin .  I thought it might be tough, but it turned out so tender and tasty.  I also made fried potatoes with onions and rosemary.  Kids love d that.  For our greens, we had a mixture sauteed with Italian herbs.  A very simple satisfying meal.  And of course, we had that lucious lemon layer curd cake with mascarpone.

I used this rub for my pork- http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Double-Rack-of-Pork-with-Morel-Mushroom-Pan-Sauce-233397?sisterSite=bonappetit.com