- Hands on Workshop @ Phoon Huat -

Last Wednesday, I just tried a hands-on workshop at Phoon Huat - Sims Lane and I love it! I've never tried a full hands on classes at CC so far. I did a so-called hands on, but you only get a small portion of what you did, but here at Phoon Huat, you get to measure most of the ingredients yourself! The instructor will guide you first step by step on the recipe first, any alterations or questions of substitution on ingredients. Then you measure out the ingredients, and mix it yourself. Of course, the instructor will be there to give some help and adjustment (if needed).

I will definitely do this again if I see any interesting recipes!

Here are the stuff made!

Toasted Mushroom & Onion Bread

The bread is a mix of bread flour, rye flour and ... potato flake! Giving it a soft and fluffy bread even on the 2nd and 3rd day! The bread didn't last long of course... both were all gone by 2nd day afternoon!

Mississipi Mud Pie with Maple cream frosting & Chocolate topping

This Mud pie is a winner! It's a Oreo base pie, with dark chocolate filling which was not overly sweet... The whole family loved it! After my hubby tried one slice, he asked me ... "So,when are you going to make the mud pie?" (Even with 1/4 of the 7"x7" pie still in the fridge). However, he said that maybe I should not to make it 'too' chocolatey... I said, maybe because we use dark chocolate (which is good rite?), I will maybe reduce the amount of the dark chocolate and mix it with some milk chocolate to balance it.  

Meanwhile, I am browsing for other interesting hands on workshop that Phoon Huat have this coming week and the next, there is this earl grey lavender tea cake that I am interested in joining... any takers?

. more mooncakes .

I attended a hands-on mooncake making yesterday at Marine Parade CC  by Koh Bee Yen. It is the mooncake making season this month allover Singapore! The Community Centres all around Singapore has many classes on mooncake making. Go and check it out at OnePA website before the classes ended. Many trainers offer mooncake making and the popular ones are quickly snapped out! 

It was a full attendance yesterday, and there are many things to be done. Some are demo-ed while some are hands-on. The class started at 10am - 1.30pm but since there are many cakes to be done, in the end the class overrun by almost half an hour I think. I left at 1.45pm since I got to rush to my Thai Cooking Class at Cairnhill CC! 

Nevertheless, I enjoyed (as always) hands-on classes as you get to make your own stuff that you are going to eat and bring home!

Here are the photos from the mooncake class yesterday.

Flaky Yam Cake - unbaked

Flaky Yam Cake - baked

Shanghai Walnut Mooncake - unbaked

Shanghai Walnut Mooncake - baked

Snow Skin Mooncake - Durian (yellow) and Coffee (pink)

Traditional Mooncake with Single Yolk - unbaked

Traditional Mooncake with Single Yolk - baked

Actually, there is also a demo of Ice Cream Mooncake, which I did not managed to take a picture since I've eaten it haha! Seems quite easy to make but rather time consuming (in and out the freezer). The trainer actually taught us how to make the ice cream, but I figured out it will be easier (and faster) to use store bought ice creams. Here's how you make Ice cream moon cake.

Ice Cream Mooncake (Chocolate coating)

You will need:

Plastic mooncake jelly moulds, like these (can get from Kitchen Capers)

Chocolate (White, Milk, Dark or even a combination!), melted

Homemade or store bought Ice cream

Oreo cookies, chocolate chips (optional)

Method:

• Freeze the mooncake jelly mould in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
• Melt your preferred chocolate using microwave or double boiler (safer but slower method)
• Take out the mould from the freezer, pour in 1-2 tbsp of the melted chocolate. Coat all the sides of the mould (Shouldn't be too thin). Put back in the freezer for 3 minutes or till the chocolate hardens. 
• Pour in your ice cream of choice and extra fillings that you want, do not pour too full as you still need to pour in more chocolate to cover the bottom. Put back into the freezer, and let the ice cream harden again.
• Pour in some melted chocolate to cover the ice cream. Put back into the freezer for 5 minutes or till the chocolate hardens and it's done!
• Take out from the mould, and your chocolate ice cream mooncake is ready to be enjoyed by all (or just you!)

The process is quite tedious as you can see, and you must have some 'free' space in your freezer! (mine is always full). However, they do taste good! It's a good project to involve your kids too, just prepare extra chocolates just in case they can't stop licking the chocolates of their fingers or the bowl :D and do get them to wear apron as it can be quite messy as you are dealing with chocolates.

I can't reveal the recipes that I learned from the CC here, however, I found similar ones here ... go and have a try :)

Traditional Mooncake recipe from Bake King 

Pecan Mooncake recipe from Bake King (instead of walnut, pecan is used)

Pandan Snow Skin Mooncake from Bake King

Snowskin Durian Ice Cream Mooncake from Bake King (Durian lovers fave!!)

and I found this website which listed Very Good Mooncake Recipes online! Woohoo!

Happy Baking!

- Mooncake Workshop @ Phoon Huat -

Yesterday I attended a baking demo organised by Phoon Huat at their Sims Avenue branch. They have a baking demo as well as hands on baking workshop every day at 2 locations: Sims ave and Clementi. Those who are interested can check on their schedule at their website. Usually they will run the demo/workshop for a week so you can choose which day and timing that you prefer.

First time attending the baking demo, I was rather lost in the shop. By the way, the Phoon Huat here is big! You can find lots n lots of products! Other than the usual baking ingredients, they have a good range of Wilton decorating stuff since they also conduct the Wilton decorating class as well.

So, back to my baking demo class... I went to the cashier who directed me to another counter inside. Here I was asked for my name and asked to sign the paper for attendance and to note my voucher no. Oh, forgot to mention that the baking demo workshop costs $15 and they give you a $15 Phoon Huat voucher too! Of course usually you will probably spend more than that but better than nothing ;)

I was directed to a small coridor that leads to one of the kitchen at the end. I was early and I see some empty chairs upfront so I seated myself right in the middle. An auntie suddenly spoke to me that I cannot 'anyhow' sit, must sit according to my number. Then I realised all the red plastic chairs has numbers. I quickly apologised and go to my 'designated' seat which was actually written at the top corner of the recipe page (How would I know when nobody told me?) I was seated on 2nd row which wasn't too bad. However, the seatings were rather packed and as the seats were filled up.. I am stuck there.

The demo was pretty straight forward with chef Francis explaining the ingredients in both English and Mandarin. Then he started the demo. The class that I attended started at 2pm and ends at about 3.30pm. At the end of the class, everyone took a picture of the finished products and take a small slice each to try or take home.

Here are the photos of the mooncakes made yesterday.

- Mini Coconut Chiffon Cake -

After baking kueh lapis few weeks ago, I was left out with lots ( I mean LOTS) of egg whites sitting around in my fridge. Not wanting to just steam them n cook with sambal, or pour in every soups ... I turn to my friend Mr. Google for egg white recipes... 

I found a food blogger which has the same situation as me, and made lovely chiffon cakes using just egg whites! How wonderful! 

So, these days when I collected enough egg whites whether from other cake making recipes such as cream choux pastry, or those leftover when frying croquettes or other fry recipes, I would make these lovely chiffons ...

Here's a link to the food blog that I mentioned @kokken. Do check out her other recipes in her blog. 

Today, I'm making mini chiffon cakes ... found these mini chiffon baking pans at Phoon Huat few weeks ago and I couldn't resist buying them (6 to be exact!). Since I had no milk today, but I have leftover coconut cream ... and I use coconut oil instead of canola oil. So hopefully it will resulted in a 'fragrant' coconut-y cake? We'll see ...

Here's a snapshot of my mini cakes in the oven ... 

close up look at the mini chiffon

into the oven!

As I was typing this blog, my kitchen timer beeps! Since I was baking the mini ones ... the baking time is reduced by half! (original size baking pan would take bout 40 minutes!). Since this is my first time I bake the minis, I put the timer at 20 minutes to check... Surprisingly, all already baked in 20 minutes ... Woohoo!! Now, I only need to cool them down upside down before cutting and eating it!

yumm yumm..

remember to cool them down upside down

pardon my 'not-so-neat' cut

ta-da ... the cake is done ... I cool them down for about half an hour ... shld be more, as you can see in the picture, the bottom of the cake was still a bit wet, hence ... the patchy cake ... nevertheless, it still taste GREAT!

Here's the recipe, adapted from @Kokken blog

Ingredients: (makes 5 mini chiffons)

• 40ml Coconut oil (or canola)
• 80ml Coconut Milk
• 70g All purpose flour
• ⅛ tsp Salt
• 200g Egg white
• 70g Icing Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix oil and coconut milk together with a hand whisk.
3. Sift flour and salt into (2) and mix well with hand whisk until a smooth paste is formed and no lumps are visible.
4. In another clean mixing bowl, add egg whites and powdered sugar. Mix with a mixer fitted with a balloon whisk until soft white peaks are formed.
5. Add ⅓ of meringue from (4) into (3) and mix well. Add the remaining meringue and fold to combine using a rubber spatula.
6. Divide the batter into 5 mini chiffon pan and bake at 170C for 20 - 25mins.
7. Remove cake from oven and cool by standing the pan upside down.
8. Use a paring knife and cut the outer layer, around the tube and the bottom of the cake to release the cake.

Enjoy!

- after a long break -

after a long break, I decided to update my blog yet again .... I want to dedicate a time every week to write on my blog (solemnly promise).

I've been on a roller coaster ride for the past few months, with ups and downs, delays and troubles and lots of cooking classes ... (huh?!)

Yes, I discovered cooking classes at local CC (Community Centres) that is ... GOOD, affordable, and proven!

Starting next week, I will post some info on these classes on the blog. I was disappointed that I didn't discover these cooking and baking workshop long ago! I've been in Singapore for more than 10 years and didn't know that they have all these amazing classes! *doh* as what Homer Simpson would say.

I would not publish any recipe that I've learned though, as it would infringe copyright to the trainers, however, I would suggest that you should attend these workshops on your own time. Yes, I know timing can be difficult especially if you are working n all. However, some trainers do night classes AND weekend classes too. So, what are you waiting for, go and check the onePA website and register for those classes!

ps: I just signed up a new cooking course at Cairnhill CC, stage 7 Elementary Thai Cooking with HANSONGKHRAM CHUTNAPA (had to cut n paste her name since it's long and difficult to pronounce), her classes are good (I've done stage 1, 5 and 6 currently)

Goodbye Uncle K..

post drafted on 26th November 2012...

Last Saturday, my uncle passed away ...

He has been battling his heart problem for more than 17 years... It all started one day, 17 years ago at my home in Jakarta. My parents and my uncle were all getting ready for their holiday trip to Thailand the next day. My uncle received a phone call from my grandma, who was babysitting his children back in his hometown.

Phone calls 17 years ago, I guess... are not as advanced as now. There were no handheld portable phones like what we all have right now. I remembered this bulky black phone which was portable that we had at home since we didn't have the land line phone yet.

The phone calls were not as clear, but my uncle got a shock! He thought something happened to the kids back home, as my grandma kept on mentioning my cousin's name again and again ... It turned out that she was asking whether my cousin's spectacle was mistakenly packed into his luggage. Problem solved within the next half an hour or so. However, not my uncle.  He was pale and feeling giddy. My dad suggested he go to the hospital.

We all got a shock as well when it turned out that my uncle just had a heart attack! His blood vessels were blocked and he had to receive an emergency injection shots to help the situation. His situation turned for the better luckily, although in the end he and my dad had to miss the Thailand trip, but it's all for the better right!

After that, he received a surgery in Singapore to install a 'pacemaker' to help the heart. Since that day, my uncle had had his pacemaker cable changed, battery changed twice too. These operations burned a big hole in his pocket. My uncle used to say that he has at least 2 cars worth in his chest, but he got his life back and he got to spend time with his family.

This year, I got a message from my sister in Jakarta. She said, my uncle and auntie were coming to Singapore for consultation, as my uncle was experiencing difficulty in breathing. This was back in early September. I got a feeling something was not right. When I fetch him at the airport he looked tired and breathless. I decided to accompany him to the doctor.

His doctor of 17 years explained the situation. His heart function was declining ... down to 20% from the previous check at 25-30%. He suggested a surgery, to exchange the current pacemaker that he had which has 2 cables, to another pacemaker with 3 cables, and to insert/attach another cable to help to regulate the heart beat.  It is complicated, and it has its risks, and there is no 100% guarantee that it would recover the much needed help for the heart (subject to body condition and the working condition of the pacemaker itself). My uncle contemplated to whether he need this operation... The doctor asked us to go back and think about it, and let them know the decision.

After many many explanation later, we managed to convince him to do the surgery to replace his pacemaker. However, the morning before the operation the doctor called us in, and said that it cannot be done. He was reviewing the case when he realised there were already 3 cables inside the artery, which 1 of them was already old (17 years old) and wasn't working anymore. The X-ray revealed the crack on the old cable. The surgery can't be done, in terms of there is very little success that the artery can hold 4 cables at one time. Even if the artery could hold 4 cables, the blood flow might be affected, and my uncle could have a swollen arm as there won't be enough blood pumped to the arm.

One way to do is to remove the old, broken cable and replaced with a new one. There is one problem though ... that cable has been inside there for 17 years ... It was most probably (surely) already blended together with the artery wall. If it was to be removed, it has to be done very carefully, or it might tear the artery and create bleeding. To stop this bleeding, an experienced surgeon has to be on standby to stop the bleeding. He went on to explain that to stop the bleeding, it might take 5 minutes ... which by then, we do not know for sure whether my uncle's heart would last that long... So, the doctor said, there is a risk that my uncle could die at the operating theatre if there was a bleeding.

It was scary to hear and saddening to think... As I explain this to my cousins. My uncle and his family decided not to do the surgery. He said that he was already 70 years old, all his children are married and with kids. He had seen enough, and he thank the doctor for his help for the past 17 years. That was back in September ... just days before my 33rd birthday.

My auntie gave me a 'hongbao'  for my birthday. About a week before that, me and my husband gave my uncle a 'hongbao' too as it was his 70th birthday.

Thinking about it now, his last birthday was celebrated here with my family. I still have the photos too, with my daughter cheekily laughing away as they blow the candles together and cut the cake together. Yet now, less than 2 months after ... he is gone ... forever ...

Without treatment, I know he wouldn't last long ... but I didn't expect it will be this soon... My last words to him was Goodbye uncle, and see you soon in Indonesia.

I heard from my Dad that my uncle will be buried on Wednesday. I am not able to see him for the last time because I have family to care here, however, I wish that wherever he is now, he is in a better place.

Goodbye uncle ...  

overdue post

It has been months since my last post.... Now I realise, it is not easy to maintain a blog. I wonder how people do it. Some people can even post a few updates in a day!

I thought I would be able to maintain a post at least every week. Now, I don't even have time to update even once in a month. Things just happen every day, and day after day, I have almost forgotten about this space...

I think I better set an alarm on my phone to remind myself to update and update!

I will be back updating with more stuff soon k (after my short trip to HK) :)