Your Almighty LOVE...Happy Mother's Day

My mum is my most sought after confidante, to whom I always confide, whenever I feel down and need to pour my woes. We share all the ups and downs, nobody knows me better other than her. She never feels tired listening to my complaints and nags all day long. I even share with her my darkest moment which nobody knows except her.

She loves and cares for me no matter how hot tempered I am. Thank you so much for your eternity and unconditional love that you have showered all these years through thick and thin. I apologize if I have speak my mind too directly, in a moment of folly, which have hurt you deeply inside.

I love you the dearest, Mummy...Happy Mother's Day...

My kids who have been so close with my mum as they were being taken care of by my supermum since babies.

We booked a table at Simply Peranakan, which serves authentic nyonya dishes, located in The Esplanade. The address and contact is as below:

Esplanade Mall #02-12
8 Raffles Avenue Singapore
Tel: 6333 9382

Menu, with baskets of keropok, served with achar and sambal belacan.

The table cloth was so authentically peranakan

This was my first time trying out ayam buak keluak. Although I might have been Melaka twice, but I have never order this dish before, coz from the look itself is not very inviting at all. So I plucked out my courage and decided to challenge my tastebuds. Seriously I do not think that there are many who adore this keluak this, not for me, for sure. I will never have this again in future. But if they served my favourite drumstick or chicken thigh instead of fibrous and tough chicken breast, I might have a better impression towards the dish.

Satay ayam....why the breast again? GOSH!

Fu yong fried egg...love this simple egg dish...I am an egg fanatic

Nyonya ngo hiang....not a bit on par with my mum-in-law's ngo hiang. Hers is the best, which I only able to savour every CNY.

Assam fish head...among the best dish which has left a mark in memory.

Bean curd with dried scallops....nice soft tou fu

Poached spinah with eggs....the stock or gravy was flavorful as there's plenty of dried shrimp added.

The backdrop proves its autenticity of peranakan features

After hearty peranakan meal, we strolled around the vicinity. The stunning evening view of MBS.

My girl has my genes...the glutton wannabe!

The magnificent high-rise buildings

The sakura-decorated wall in the esplanade

My son who handsomely strike a pose :)

The very next day, my kids celebrated mother's day with me. We dined at The Steakhouse in Clarke Quay, which they boast is the steak specialist, specialising in prime cuts of Australian Angus Beef.

Decked out in dark wood and warm lighting, The Steakhouse is more to a casual chic dining in a comfortable ambience. Guests can have a drink at the fully-stocked bar, with wide arrays of wine collection that is stored in a floor-to-ceiling alcove by the entrance.

Trio chunky mushroom creamy soup..my kids's love

Appetizer: Oyster Florentine....which are the poached oysters with baby spinach, pomodoro, parmesan cheese and bacon bits.

Hubby's entree: Australian black wagyu...300 days grain fed

Son's entree: Blackened Atlantic Cod...on bed of baby spinach and potato, topped with capers burn butter

My entree: Angus sirloin (medium rare)...a self-confessed beef lover!

Side dishes: saute seasonal veg. and mashed potato

Enjoying the beefy meal

Kids' carbo meal: Angus fillet spaghetti meatball...the meatballs were a bit tough thou  :(

A meal would not be complete without a dessert

We had Chocolate Lava Gateau...A sweet indulgence on choco madness

Clarke Quay

 

My cheeky kids. Getting all wet playing with splashing water fountain.

The popular Singapore night spot where people have a night out drinking and clubbing.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

I love chicken rice. So do my kids and family. Love the tender juicy chicken meat served with a bowl of irresistible fragrant chicken rice and chilli sauce. Hainanese chicken rice is a simple and fast dish to prepare, you will need only a few tricks and tips to have a perfect outcome!

You need a fresh kampung chicken. Kampung chicken is preferable as its meat is more solid and less fat. Clean and trim excess fat from the chicken. Keep the fat for later use. Tuck a bunch of spring onion and crushed ginger into chicken cavity. Boil a pot of water and lower the chicken into hot boiling water. Make sure whole chicken is immerse in the water. Cover the lid and boil for 15 minutes on high heat. Off the fire, and let the chicken soak in the pot for another 20 minutes. Take out the chicken and put in an ice bath for a minutes to stop the cooking process. The steps of soaking in hot water and cold, will turn the chicken meat tender and juicy, while the chicken skin is springy.

To prepare the rice, rinse the rice. Add in sufficient chicken stock from previous step, into a rice pot. Fry crushed onion, garlic and sliced ginger until fragrant in 2 tablespoons cooking oil. Transfer them include the oil into rice pot. Add a bit of salt and knot of pandan leaves into the rice. Place the pot in electric rice cooker and let it cook. Your whole kitchen will smell tremendous while the rice is cooking. After cooking, remove the onion, garlic, ginger and pandan leaves from the rice.

For the condiment which is vital when eating Hainanese chicken rice, is the chilli sauce. You will need equal amount of garlic and ginger, chilli padi, lime, oil from chicken fat, sugar and salt to taste. Put garlic, ginger and chilli padi into a blender, add some chicken stock to blend. Tranfer the blended item into a pan to heat up in small fire while stirring at the same time. Add little bit of salt and sugar until you get the taste that you desire.

Lastly add in the *chicken fat oil to the chilli sauce. Remove the pan from heat, and squeeze in lime juice according to your liking. Let the sauce cool completely in a container before storing in a fridge. Scoop some chilli sauce with a dry clean spoon, whenever you cook your favourite hainanese chicken rice dish.

* To get the chicken fat oil, fry the trimmed fat from the chicken until brown in a very little bit of cooking oil. Retain the oil and discard the chicken fat.

Chopped the cooked chicken into serving size after it cools down, and arrange on a plate with some sliced cucumber and tomato. To prepare the gravy, add dash of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce, and bit of salt in a separate bowl. Mix well and pour evenly onto the chicken.

Reheat the chicken stock from cooking the chicken, add some greens or chinese cabbage to the chicken stock. Add some salt. This is the soup to be served with the dish later.

Its now ready to enjoy your home cooked Hainanese chicken rice. Nice tender chicken meat with a bowl of fragrant chicken rice, alongside with the chicken soup and chilli sauce. I start feeling famished again. Going to fix my growling stomach now.

Bye for now, and please try this simple dish and you will sure fall head over heels on Hainanese chicken rice.

BON APPETITE...

Brunch at Saddle Club

I have been looking at recommendations and foodie blogs for a nice warming brunch on weekends for family. Riders Cafe ignites that little curiosity and interest in me. This place was actually hidden away in Bukit Timah Saddle Club, somewhere near Fairways Drive. You have to drive along a winding road before you reach the destination. Have the feel of driving in a countryside, surrounded with greenery and rows of trees. With GPS, we managed to navigate the way effortlessly.

The decor which explains the name 'Riders Cafe'

 The simple menu, yet the dishes all well-presented, prepared with passion and fresh ingredients 

 They claim their ingredients are obtained from reliable suppliers. As for tea is from local company Gryphon & coffee from Grinders in Melbourne. Choco banana milkshake and macchiato. Whoa..the macchiato was too strong for a fair coffee lover like me... 

My cuppa of strong fragrant coffee...very intense, very BITTER

Look at the size of the cuppa...small but over-powering with caffeine. Looks can always be deceiving eh...

Kiddos' spaghetti bolognaise....with generous serving of minced beef. I stole a bite...hmm hmm....not bad at all...love the sauce

Son's main order: Roast black cod with creamy spinach and cous cous. The fish was fresh and succulent, served with very fusion (guess is masala) flavoured cous cous...recommended. My son finished the cod...he loves the fish dish.

My very much talked about Eggs Benedict. It was actually sourdough topped with vinegar flavoured poached eggs, fried bacon, and creamy hollandaise sauce, with  teeny bit of rocket salad. Nice? Though this was my first bite, but I reckon I can prepare this even better. The vinegar aftertaste of the poached eggs is a bit disappointing, its a bit sourish, too much vinegar added, I guess.

Lamb Racks with mashed potato and fresh garden greens..love this better than egg ben...coz I am a meat lover...can't live without RED MEAT!

Another tempting salivating Eggs Benedict shot: very deceiving...my oh my, just look at how the yolk oozing, was enough to spark the love in you on this dish!

Tables full with patrons, one week advance booking is compulsory to dine in Riders Cafe!

Photographs of riders posing on horsies, and awards were framed up as decor on the wall

My own reflection...

The Riders Cafe....old building with mysterious charm, amidst lush greenery and tranquil surrounding

Horsies in the barn

See...we are too late to catch a pony ride. Its OK, we will make it the next round.

Set the birdies FREE!!! What a huge bird cage!

Nice country feel....

Act emo....love this!

Another one...Hahaa...reminded me of my previous Europe trip tour guide, she reprimanded our group coz we spent too much time snapping on trees and roadside wild grasses...Hahaaa. Just call us nature-lovers, OK..

 A loner monkey spotted, searching for leftover from a bin...

Its a nice place to stroll around after meal, you might be lucky enough to see horsies trotting pass, and monkeys fooling around...

Riders Cafe

51 Fairways Drive
Singapore 286965

Phone  (65)6466 9819

Please reserve a week in advance...to avoid disappointment