Koh Samui 26-28 Feb 2011 Part II

A continuation from my previous entry on Koh Samui getaway.

Sabieng Lae is our favourite restaurant in Koh Samui and one of the reasons why we love the island. This time round, we didn't rent a vehicle so it was actually rather inconvenient to get there as the journey takes about 30-40 mins one-way. Had to find a cab that was willing to take us there, wait for us while we had our meal and send us back (as it's difficult to get a cab there). Such an arrangement cost 700 baht. If we were to rent a motorcycle or car, it would cost only 250 baht and 400-500 baht respectively for 24hrs. Naturally, we couldn't get a motorcycle with dear son. As for a car, parking is a problem in Chaweng area and we really didn't see the need to rent one since we were checking out the next day already. Well, for the sake of the great food, we just had to part with the 700 baht.

Pleasant surprise as we reached Sabieng Lae. The restaurant had a minor facelift with new signboard and entrance, looks kind of more classy now. Anyways, the focus is the food! The place was still as crowded as before and besides locals, there seemed to be more tourists than before. I guess more people have discovered this little gem.

Looking at the extensive menu, we couldn't decide what not to order. Decided to indulge since it's not everyday we could visit Koh Samui. LOL :p

Seafood salad as appetizer. My my, this salad really blew us away! The combination of the different tastes and textures created a symphony in our mouths and whet our appetite for the remaining dishes. It was sour, sweet, spicy, salty, crunchy, chewy, crispy, succulent, everything in one dish. Thumbs up!!!

Stir-fry morning glory. Fresh and crunchy. Another must-order dish here.

Tom Yam Gong. Though the broth looked very clear and harmless, trust me it packed a punch. Taste was full-bodied and complex. You know how some tom yam soup tasted flat, like just spicy and sour? This had depth to it, you could taste different spices and herbs that were added.

Steamed squid with lime. We didn't mean to order so many squid dishes, but since we hardly eat squid in SG, might as well? Haha. Actually we kind of had an overdose of squid for that meal, didn't realise there was this much squid we ordered. Should have ordered fish or something else. Anyways, the squid was fresh and once again, the tangy and spicy sauce made us went on and on, without realising just how much cholesterol we had consumed.

Deep fried prawn cake. Okay, we didn't order this in the first place. I mean, we ordered 4 dishes already! But we saw other tables ordered this and it looked so damn good that we just had to be gluttons :p

It was sooooo good! The prawn cake was deep fried to a perfect crisp. The innards were fish, squid and prawn paste that were succulent and well marinated. It was totally addictive with this sweet and sour sauce provided. And we finished everything. Seriously. Just between the 2 of us. Gluttony to the max. Best part the meal cost less than 1000 baht!

After the sumptuous meal, we left satisfied and vowed to return one day. I missed the prawn cake already. The cab took us back to Chaweng street, and we walked and shopped in an attempt to burn off those calories we consumed earlier.

It was sunny and humid, we were hot and sticky so decided to pop into an ice-cream palour. My goodness, after that huge meal? But but, this was dessert :p We always have room for dessert right? LOL!

Look at the colours. I tried not to think about the artificial colorings they could have added. Okay, no poisonous thoughts during vacation, right?

Couldn't remember the exact flavours, I think they were coconut sherbet, blueberry yogurt, cookies and cream and some caramel butterscotch.

Dear son loved the ice-cream and couldn't stop eating. We hardly allow ice-cream back home, so for once he could indulge. Well, we were on holiday, so relaxed a little.

After the ice-cream stopover, we walked some more, heading towards the spa place. Hubby had his massage the night before so it was my turn. Initially wanted to go back to the spa that hubby went, but saw this particular one which looked quite decent. Hubby brought dear son back to the hotel for his nap, whereas I popped in for a 60 min "Tiger Balm" massage (around 300-350 baht).

Started with a simple foot cleansing first.

This comfy looking massage chairs were for foot massage.

And these for back/full body massage. My "Tiger Balm" massage was soothing and relaxing, the muscle rub really worked wonders. The body first felt warmth then an icy feeling, just like when you apply tiger balm. Another reason why we love Koh Samui. Not sure if other places in Thailand offer such massages. I know Krabi doesn't.

After the massage, I headed back to the hotel. We brought dear son for a bit of sand play and swim and by the time we were done with washing up and stuff, time for dinner again.

We saw Chom Talay (restaurant where we had breakfast) put up alfresco dining on the beach with a BBQ seafood theme. Really tempting, alas we were still quite full from our heavy lunch. Besides, didn't think the romantic atmosphere/dining experience would agree with our active dear son. So we settled for a quick dinner at one eatery nearby, with simple Pad Thai noodles and Stir Fry veggies.

After dinner, we shopped a bit, before heading back to the resort for dear son's bedtime. Hubby went out again for more massage while I stayed with dear son.

Next morning and our last day. Breakfast as usual. I had 2 servings of food :p

Thereafter, I brought dear son out for a walk as he was bored and hubby wanted to take a nap. Most shops were not open yet, so after an hour, I headed back to the resort. Did some packing and we headed out for lunch at Burger King. After lunch, some last shopping before finish up packing, check out and off to the airport.

Nothing much to do at the airport, so we checked ourselves into Swensens since it's air-conditioned (the boarding area is not). Yes, more ice-cream :p Well, it was hot and we need something to cool down.

And finally, time to board the plane. Just before we board the plane, I strapped dear son to the baby carrier. He fell asleep soundly and we had peace throughout the flight :) Okay, this marks the end of our short getaway. We'll definitely return to Samui, when we have another serious craving for Sabieng Lae and Tiger Balm massage.

Koh Samui 26-28 Feb 2011 Part I

Finally, I got down to sort my travel photos and edit them! Took lotsa photos as usual and will be splitting this entry into 2 parts.

Hubby and I brought dear son to Koh Samui back in Feb for a short 3D2N getaway. This was our third time on the island, we really missd the "Tiger Balm" massage as well as our favourite restaurant on the island, "Sabieng Lae". Technically, this was not his 'first' trip to Koh Samui, I 'brought' him there during my second trimester. LOL, not that he knows.

The flight was 8+pm, which was supposed to be his bedtime, but he was too excited to sleep. In the end, we had to keep him entertained and out of mischief throughout the flight. Thank goodness it was a short flight under 2hr! By the time we touched down, cleared customs and reached the resort, it was already 10+pm. This time we decided to stay in yet another different resort, the Chaweng Regent Beach Resort, because it's located nearer to the main shopping district along Chaweng Beach and hence more convenient with a toddler.

We checked into a Premier Room, which is slightly bigger in room size so that dear son could have more space to explore. The king-size bed was cozy and comfortable, good size for all 3 of us.

Day bed which we didn't really use much. Didn't need it as we were comfortable lazing about the king size bed all day long.

Pleased with the flat screen TV, not that we watched much TV.

Very spacious bathroom which comes with an attached jacuzzi bath. Dear son enjoyed waddling in this super size bath tub.

Balcony which we didn't use much as we were afraid of the mosquitoes.

After we settled down, hubby ventured out for his favourite "Tiger Balm" massage while I stayed back with dear son for his overdue sleep time.

The very next day, all of us woke up bright and early (ahem, it was dear son actually who wakes up at 7am everyday without fail). After washing up, went to Chom Talay for the buffet breakfast.

Chom Talay was just next to the beach, with ample seating areas both indoor and alfresco according to preference. Buffet spread was pretty standard with the usual juices, cereal, fruits, deli, bakery, egg station, noddle station, porridge, sushi, hot dishes etc.

I ordered a bowl of rice noodles from the noodle station. The broth was light and soothing, just perfect to warm my tummy :)

Followed by a small selection of the buffet spread.

After breakfast, we explored the resort with dear son. There are 2 pools, the beach pool and garden pool. Yes, looks inviting but we only soaked ourselves in the children's pool with dear son.

There's a spa located within the resort itself but prices are much higher than that of the spas along the Chaweng streets, so I didn't try the service.

After exploring the resort, it was still quite early (we woke up very early remember)? Shops were not opened yet and it was also not time for dear son's nap, so we decided to head to the beach for him to play with sand.

This was his very first time playing with sand, he was totally intrigued and enjoyed himself so much that he didn't want to leave. As the sun got hotter, we brought him to the children's pool for a quick dip before heading back to the room. After we bathed and changed him, he was tired from all the morning activities and quickly settled into his nap, while both hubby and I were glad to take a breather.

Part II to be continued...

Sweet Soft Buns Workshop

After attending the last Cheesecake demo class by Chef Valerie Kong at Shermay's Cooking School, I attended another demo class of hers last Friday. This time, the Sweet Soft Buns demo class.

Had attended a few bread making demo class conducted by Chef Daniel Tay previously, but somehow the tedious process made me hesitant about attempting the recipes. Okay, I admit, I procasinated and was lazy to go through all the kneading and proofing of the dough.

What attracted me to this particular class was the method used by Chef Valerie, the Japanese 'Yukone' method which supposedly yields bread that is incredibly soft and slightly chewy. Curious. Since dear son loves to eat soft bun and I hope to avoid commercial breads which may contain artificial stuff (such as bread improver), I signed up for the class immediately.

4 recipes were demo-ed in the 3hr class.

1. Coffee Roti - sweet soft bun with buttery filling encased in a crispy coffee flavoured Mexican topping. Think Roti Boy/Roti Mum.
2. Tuna Bun - sweet soft bun stuffed with filling of tuna and mayo, shaped round and topped with little black sesame seeds.
3. Hot Dog Bun - spirals of sweet soft bun with sausage in the middle.
4. Cranberry Cream Cheese Bun - sweet soft bun with cranberries studded in between and sweet cheese filling in the centre.

This is certainly no mean feat considering bread making process is long and requires sufficient time for kneading and proofing. Yet, when the dough is well proofed, it needs to be baked immediately. As such, Chef Valerie had to go back and forth the various recipes at different stages. At the end of the day, I believe that the key point is to plan in advance if I were to bake the breads.

Chef Valerie showed us how to make the master recipe for the bread dough using a Gelatinized Starch, basically the 'Yukone' method. Was quite surprised that the process was rather easy, replying mostly on electric mixer instead of hand kneading. Yeah, definitely good news for lazy me. Proofing also takes only 20min to at most 1hr.

After making the basic bread dough, variations are actually up to individual preference. One variation is the popular Cranberry Cream Cheese Bun, fondly known as 'Ah Bian' which I believe first made popular by Breadtalk. The dough was ''sandwiched'' between 2 heavy cookie tray during proofing and baking in order to achieve this flat look. Now I know.

The hot dog bun is the ever green and popular bread of all times, especially among kids. I guess the tough part is twirling the dough round the hot dog so that it looks nice after baking.

I love tuna buns, it is yet another classic. Somehow I almost always buy tuna bun when I'm at the bakery. The beauty of this sweet soft bun is, I can fill it with almost any ingredient I like. I can already think of the variations I like, such as luncheon meat, potato & ham...

We had 2 tastings in class, the Coffee Roti and Tuna Bun. I must say that the bun was really good, very soft indeed! It's amazing how this 'Yukone' method of baking bread could yield such fantastic result with reasonably less effort.

The coffee roti was crispy on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside. Yum! The tuna bun, what can I say, sweet and soft bun with savoury fillings. Yum yum!

All participants received a takeaway box with mini buns of all 4 flavours. Didn't manage to take photo as dear son ate the cranberry cream cheese bread immediately after I reached home. The coffee roti turned soft already, so it's best eaten when just baked. For the hot dog bun, the bread turned a little damp probably due to the moisture from the sausage. I guess it's not suitable in mini size.

Anyways, while the mini buns look adorable, I thought the bread was not 'enough', I mean, I would prefer to take a big bite of the soft fluffy bun. Probably mini ones are more suitable for toddlers than greedy adults :p

I can't wait to try baking this sweet soft buns one of these days, starting with my favourite luncheon meat filling! Will update when I'm done!

Cheesecakes: Light & Asian-Inspired Workshop

Pardon for the absence once again, have been busy with many things, among which was following the Singapore General Election 2011, that just concluded early this morning. Made a short trip to Tokyo early this month too, to attend a Shinto Wedding. Shall update on that, and my other trips as soon as I can. Great, I seriously need to get my act together to blog more often huh?

Okay, enough of the ramblings. Attended a Cheesecakes: Light & Asian-Inspired Workshop by Chef Valerie Kong at Shernay's Cooking School last Friday. Chef Valerie is new to Shermay's Cooking School, and will have several workshops upcoming as well (have signed up for another one this coming Friday :p).

3 recipes were demo-ed during the 3hr workshop.

1) Japanese Cheesecake - soft, airy and moist, tangy tasting cheesecake.

2) Strawberry Hearts - buttery biscuit crust base, smooth cheese centre topped with a heart-shaped strawberry and red jelly.
3) Tofu Cheesecake  - made with cheese and real tofu, smooth and delicate cheesecake with crunchy biscuit base.

I guess many of the attendees signed up for the class because of the Strawberry Hearts, yours truly included :) Well, there are some recipes available on the internet, but I just wanted to have a foolproof recipe. And seeing the whole process would also make things easier right? Okay, I admit I was plain lazy.

Anyways, Chef Valerie was very friendly and clear in her instructions and gave many useful tips throughout the class. And like many female chefs, meticulous too (from the way she cut and arranged the strawberries and making sure each one looked perfect).

We tasted a slice of the Strawberry Hearts in class. It was pretty to look at and absolutely yummy. Crunchy base, smooth and creamy cheese centre, sweet and bouncy jelly topping with slightly tangy strawberry. I think this dessert would definitely be a party pleaser.

Just look at the strawberry hearts, weren't they pretty? Each piece looked almost the same. Well, lots of effort went into choosing and cutting of the berries.

3 layers of the strawberry hearts. The recipe is actually pretty simple but lots of labour of love required. Nevertheless, this is definitely on my top baking list (it doesn't even need to be baked :P).

The Japanese cheesecake was fairly easy as well. Egg whites beatened separately before mixing together with the batter to make the texture airier. The cake was light and moist but I felt that the lemon taste was a tad too strong.

Chef Valerie actually invented this recipe after tasting the one sold at Sun with Moon Restaurant. That was also where I had my first tasting of tofu cheesecake.

The tofu cheesecake was rich and creamy, and I absolutely loved the base which had crunchy caramel bits! A secret ingredient was added besides digestive cookies (psst... it was Werther's Originals caramel candies). She is a genius!

So far, I had tried 2 other recipes of tofu cheesecakes, one from Chef Keiko and the other from a blog. I must say, Chef Valerie's version is my favourite :)

Each participant also brought home a goodie pack of 2 pcs of tofu cheesecakes and strawberry hearts respectively, as well as a slice of the Japanese Light Cheesecake. I let dear son try all 3. He disliked the Jap cheesecake, I guess coz of the strong lemony taste. His favourite was the strawberry hearts, kept asking for more :) Well, I know which one to bake for him in future.