Bangkok March 2011 - Part III

Our second last day in BKK, more shopping and food!

Woke up late once again and headed to Lemongrass Restaurant at Sukhumvit Soi 24 (near Emporium Shopping Mall) for an early lunch. I read from a magazine that it was supposed to be one of the most acclaimed Thai restaurants in Bangkok and it is housed in an old and rustic teak Thai mansion.

The entrance looked rather unassuming.

The interior was quite old but cozy with mainly thai decor and antiques.

We were the first and only guests since it was still very early (like 1130am). But the waiters didn't seem friendly (probably coz we were too early?)

Lemongrass juice which was refreshing.

Tom Yum Soup which was not bad, met hubby's expectations.

Stir-fried Kailan, quite fresh and crunchy.

Grilled Honey Chicken, not bad either. I love the chopped nuts with some sweet and sour sauce scattered on top of the meat.

Fried 'Batang' (Tengirri) Fish. This was good, especially the deep fried scallions scattered over the fish, very fragrant!

All in all, the meal was not bad but considered rather pricey. We have had equivalent if not better Thai food at much affordable prices elsewhere. So I guess wouldn't be back here again, I mean there are still many thai food places to try in BKK.

After lunch, we shopped at Emporium for a while and thereafter went to MBK. Spotted this thai dessert stall, had always been curious about this snack so decided to try one.

Ok, the base was crunchy and scattered with fragrant coconut shreds. But there was a huge dollop of meringue which was wayyyyyyy too sweet. We ate just a bit and had to give up.

Late in the afternoon, we went to Siam Paragon and hubby brought me to this dessert cafe "After You". He saw it the previous day and thought the desserts looked good so wanted to try. Moreover, it was immensely popular, the crowd was never ending and we had to wait for sometime before we got a seat.

The cafe sells desserts like thick toasts with ice-cream, brownies, pancakes, trifles, panna cottas, sundaes, puddings, crumbles. The photos looked so good that we couldn't decide on what to eat. Finally we settled on the most popular item, the Shibuya Honey Toast and an Earl Grey Milk tea.

The Earl Grey Milk tea was rich and creamy, not bad but I prefer my Iced Earl Vanilla from The Coffee Club :p

Oooh, the Shibuya Honey Toast. It looked so yummy and tantalising, no wonder the cafe was so popular. The thick toast was crispy on the outside and fluffy inside, well complemented by the honey, with sprinkles of powdered sugar, vanilla ice-cream, whipped cream and chopped nuts. Yums! Next time I want to try the other desserts!

After the yummy dessert, we went to Siam Square for a massage. Hubby was here the day before (while I was shopping) and highly recommend the place. We had to wait for half an hour as the place was packed.

I took the foot, neck and shoulder massage. The therapist said my shoulders were too stiff and gave me a very hard and painful rub-down! Ouch! Well, my shoulders did feel better afterwards.

After the painful massage, we walked around for a bit before heading to Sukishi Japanese Buffet at Siam Center for dinner. The spread was quite spectacular with seafood appetizers, sashimi, sushi, tempura, teppanyaki, grilled seafood and meat, stir-fry, dim sum, desserts etc etc.

Took only a few photos as photos not allowed actually :(

We enjoyed a slow and sumptuous dinner, afterall this was our last night in BKK.

Thereafter, headed back to our hotel and packed our stuff. The next day, our flight was in the morning. When we reached the airport and did our check-in, was pissed off to see that the immigration queue was super duper long. Queued for almost an hour just to clear immigration, the officers were simply taking their own sweet time to process the passports! In the end, couldn't do any shopping at the DFS and almost had to run to our boarding gates :( Seriously, why was the Thai immigration so inefficient?

Anyways, so much so for the unhappiness at the immigration. Hope that the situation would improve next time we go.

Here's sharing just two of my shopping loot.

Everytime I go Thailand (and Tokyo), I just have to load up on shower gel! I love the shower/bath gels from Boots, as well as Divana Spa (retailing at Emporium besides the spa itself). They have so many different exotic fragrants unless those in SG. I think these bottles could last me for a year :p

This is a nifty little gadget I found at Siam Paragon. It's a garlic presser/crusher whatever you call it. Basically it chops garlic. Period. I totally hate to chop garlics using knife as the nasty smell stays on my fingers for a long time. I tried other types of garlic crushers before but this is unlike any other. Just pop one to two pieces of garlic into the container, roll the wheel to and fro a few times and viola, neatly chopped garlic pieces! Love it!

Alright, that's all for my sharing. Hope to go back to BKK soon :)

Bangkok March 2011 - Part II

Continued from the previous post.

The next day, we woke up late and took our time to wash up before heading out for shopping. First stop was Platinum Mall. We had been to BKK several times and this was our first time stepping into Platinum Mall. Was overwhelmed by the number of shops selling all sorts of fashion, accesssories and stuff!

Then we realised our stomaches were rumbling from hunger and headed to the foodcourt for lunch. Really spoilt for choice with many varieties of food which looked good and best of all, very cheap! We had to purchase a stored value card to buy the food and drinks but the the value could be refunded subsequently if not used up. I think this is quite a good system as the stall owners don't need to handle cash and the food court management could find out the turnover of the various stalls easily.

My Braised Pork Knuckle Rice. Looked tantalising and tasted even better! The pork was flavourful and skin nearly melt-in-the-mouth.

Hubby ordered this 'Hor Fun' (flat rice noodle) which tasted good too!

After lunch, it was shopping all the way. I couldn't remember in sequence of all the malls we went to those few days; all I remember was Siam Paragon, Emporium, Central Mall, Platinum, MBK... but honestly, I didn't buy a lot, really :p, mostly window shopping.

After the intensive shopping, we went back to the hotel to unload our stuff and rest for a while before our highlight of our trip, dinner cruise along Chaophraya River. During our previous trips, we had wanted to take the river cruise but didn't do it, so this time we were determined to give it a try.

The river cruise cost 1400 Thai baht person, inclusive of return transfers to and fro our hotel, thai and international buffet, welcome drink, onboard live band and cultural shows and of course cruise along the Chaophraya River.

When we arrived at the Rivery City Pier, it was very crowded with mostly tourists and some locals (mainly couples). Besides the Grand Pearl, there are other similar dinner cruises such as Chaophraya Princess, Manohara etc. Just as we were comparing the different cruise boats and wondering which was the Grand Pearl, a vessel with a saxophonist standing at the bow steered into the pier. Talk about a grand entrance! I was truly impressed.

Was pleased that we had a seat at the bow just a table away from the saxophonist. But disappointed that he left after playing a few songs. I thought he would be there the whole night :( That would be lovely.

Tables at the bow around were mostly catered for couples. More romantic I guess :)

There are also indoor seats and upper deck (for larger groups) with a stage for cultural shows and later towards the night a live band.

While waiting for the cruise to depart the pier, I checked out the buffet line. Ok, the usual appetizers, sushi, soups, hot dishes, fruits and desserts. Not really impressive.

In fact, we were a little disappointed as the dishes were mainly international and very limited thai selections. Well, with most guests being 'farangs' (Thai slang for foreigners), I guess they had to cater to different needs. Was also quite surprised that the buffet dinner lasted for less than an hour, we thought we could slowly savour the food while enjoying the breeze and scenery.

Anyways, the highlight of the cruise was the sights along the river and not so much on food right? We were supposed to see Wat Arun - The Temple of Dawn, the Grand Palace, Wat Pra Kaew - The Temple of Emerald Buddha, Pinklao Bridge and Taksin Bridge; but there was no commentary so we were not sure which is which. It didn't matter to us, we just soaked in the atmosphere while feeling the gentle breeze as the cruise meandered along the river.

It was interesting to see the serenity of the palaces and temples at night but somehow the peace was marred by the loud music and bright lights of the cruise boats.

Towards the last part of the cruise, the live band started playing disco/pop music and many foreigners went to the upper deck and started dancing. And all the other cruise boats too! At one point, I thought the different cruise boats were competing for the loudest music! I had expected a peaceful and romantic dinner cruise but oh well... apparently not.

Nonetheless, it was an interesting experience which we had to try once. We noticed several restaurants along the river, probably we would try them next time round instead.

After the cruise, back to the hotel for a good night's rest.

To be continued...

Travel Resource:

• Bangkok River Cruise http://www.thairivercruise.com/index.php?tpid=0084

Bangkok March 2011 - Part I

This was a 4D3N trip made in March this year (I know, wayyyy overdue!). Initially we were supposed to go Tokyo, unfortunately we had to shelf that trip due to the earthquake and nuclear scare back then. After a long and hard debate (we wanted to go Tokyo soooo badly after a 2-year hiatus), we decided to settle just for Bangkok due to various reasons. It has also been quite sometime since we last visited BKK due to the political instability, but BKK remained as one of our favourite Asian city.

Well, it was a highly anticipated trip (could have been Toyko, boohoo) because it was hubby and my first overseas vacation without dear son in more than a year! Anyway, couldn't recall much details already, so shall just make it short and simple with lots of photos :p

This time round, we decided to stay at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok since we never tried this hotel before. It's located beside Grand Hyatt and 5 min walk to Rajadamri BTS station which is quite convenient. By the time we checked in, it was already late afternoon. But to our dismay, we had to wait for a while before our room was ready. Huh, so much so for a 5/6 star hotel?

Anyways, we hanged out at the lobby lounge to wait for our room. The lounge was spacious and airy, with an air of luxury and elegant. We saw many people having high tea and was contemplating whether to order when we were informed our room was ready.

Our room was the Deluxe-view room, overlooking the golf course of The Royal Bangkok Sports Club.

Very spacious and luxurious room, bigger than Grand Hyatt if I were to make a comparison.

Comfortable King-size bed.

Lounge corner, with daily complimentary tropical fruits.

Work desk area.

Full mini bar (payable of course) with complimentary tea and coffee making facilities. Notable service, the ice bucket was always filled during the turn-down service. 4 bottles of complimentary distilled water provided daily too.

Very spacious bathroom with large size bathtub and separate glass encased shower area. The bath amenities provided were Loccitane products. Pretty impressive :)

After washing up, we headed out to our first stop which was the Erawan Shrine. A must-visit for me everytime I visit BKK. Along the way, we saw this street hawker selling jackfruit and bought a packet. Not bad, quite sweet and juicy.

Erawan Shrine was still as crowded as ever. After paying my respect to the Four-Face Buddha, we decided to go for a massage :)

This time we tried a new place the Asia Herb Association Herbal Massage and Spa located at Sukhumvit 24 Phromphong Shop (8 mins walk from Phromphong BTS, very near Emporium Shopping Mall). Found this place through a blog and apparently it was very popular among the Taiwanese and Japanese.

Quite crowded when we reached there but the beauty about BKK spas, they always have ample spa rooms and therapists at any time.

We enjoyed some herbal tea at the lounge while waiting for the therapists to get ready.

Very soon, we were led into our spa room, very simply decorated but cozy ambience. The only gripe, the air-con was just turned on, so it was quite warm initially. I did a 90min Massage + Herbal Ball whereas hubby did a 90min Thai traditional massage. Our treatments were not bad and the therapists were quite skilfull. But somehow, we still prefer our usual haunt, the Lavana Spa.

Attached bathroom of the spa room.

After the massage, it was already quite late in the evening. Decided to head to Siam Paragon for our favourite MK Gold Restaurant which we missed dearly.

Our favourite iced chinese tea now comes in bottled version, MK Restaurants very own label! This was our must-order drink every time we were here.

Another of our must-order dish, the MK Roast Duck. The duck meat came with the sauce at the side now, instead of drenching it. Somehow, the flavour was not as tasty as before.

Ordered some vegetables, mushroom and meat for the hot pot. The soup base was still as good as before. The pork meat was absolutely tender! This is definitely one restaurant in BKK that we would always visit.

After the sumptious dinner, we walked around Siam Paragon for a while before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Part II to be continued...

Travel Resource:

• Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok http://www.fourseasons.com/bangkok/
• Asia Herb Association Bangkok http://www.asiaherbassociation.com/
• MK Restaurant http://www.mkrestaurant.com/

Hong Kong Style Pan-fried Radish Cake

I always thought that the Hong Kong Style Pan-fried Radish Cake sold at Dim Sum Restaurants is very difficult to make at home. How is it possible to achieve the almost melt-in-the-mouth type of texture yet with a crispy skin?

In fact, I attempted a radish cake several years ago based on a verbal recipe given by my mother-in-law, but failed miserably. Back then, no matter how long I steamed the radish cake mixture, the batter just wouldn't cook and remained in its pathetic watery form! I gave up there and then.

Recently, after reading Shirley's post on her take on Radish Cake with Seafood and XO sauce, I realised the reason behind my failure! That's because I didn't 'pre-cook' the batter to thicken it up before steaming. Steaming the liquid batter directly over boiling water is more meant for restaurants where their stoves are able to generate high heat whereas our home stove's heat is simply not intensive enough to cook the rice cake batter through. It's the same theory as stir-fried veg or fried rice that we ate at restaurants; they taste nicer as the heat intensity could generate the 'wok-hei'.

With this realisation, I attempted the recipe from Shirley's post. It's really a concidence that I attempted so many of her recipes recently :) But seriously, I feel so inspired by her as she made the recipes look achievable. Thanks Shirley!

Here, I extracted the part on Radish Cake from her post for ease of reference. Please refer to her blog for method on frying the radish cake with seafood and XO sauce. I followed the entire recipe, except that I used a 18cm square pan instead of 21cm. I wanted thicker slices of radish cake like those in Dim Sum restaurants instead of stir-frying them into 'Cai Tao Kuay'.

Hong Kong Style Pan-fried Radish Cake(16 small square pieces; using 18cm square pan)

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Cooking oil
• 1 Tbsp Dried prawns (soaked in water for 10mins, then minced)
• 20g Chinese sausage 20g (minced)
• 2 pieces Dried shiitake mushroom (soaked in water for 20mins, then minced)
• 500ml Water
• 75g Rice flour
• 20g Potato starch
• 20g Corn starch
• 100g White radish (shredded and squeezed dry)
• 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a wok. Fry dried shrimps, chinese sausage and mushroom until fragrant. Ladle out and set aside.
2. Mix 250ml water with rice flour, corn flour and potato Starch flour and set aside.
3. Place remaining 250 ml water in a pot with shredded radish. Bring to boil. Add in sugar and salt seasoning. Pour boiling mixture into flour mixture in (2).
4. Stir well. Return mixture into pot. Heat over low heat and stir continuously. Once mixture starts to thicken a little add in (1).
5. Continue stirring until mixture becomes almost pasty.
6. Pour mixture into an oiled 18cm square tin.
7. Steam over vigorously boiling water for 45-60mins.
8. Cool down completely (refrigerate over night if possible). (Rice cake will still be soft after steaming. Do not try to cut)
9. Cut Radish Cake into small squares. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Sear cake over high heat to crisp the surface.

Notes

• I added water half-way through the steaming process, so increased steaming time by another 5-8mins.
• Could replace 250ml of water (for boiling radish) with chicken stock for added fragrance and taste. (I didn't do it this time round, but will try next time)

This is how the radish cake looked like after chilling in the fridge overnight. Initially I cut them into rectangles but changed my mind and cut them into squares for more dainty look. LOL :p They may be hard at this point but trust me, they really softened once heated.

And TADAH, after pan-searing the radish cake, they looked almost like those sold at Dim Sum Restaurants! Yippee! And they were really crispy on the outside and almost melt-in-the-mouth inside. The radish cake was not too salty (those sold in restaurants could be a tad salty sometimes), and really fragrant with the bits of dried shrimps, mushroom and chinese sausage. Even hubby gave his thumbs-up :) Dear son was sceptical at first but savoured them after trying a small bite.

So I'm now convinced that homemade radish cake is really simple and quick, and I like it that the amount of seasoning (e.g. salt) could be adjusted according to preference. Now I'm tempted to try Shirley's version of frying it with seafood and XO sauce!

Raisin & Cranberry Danish Butter Cookies

After attempting the Danish Butter Cookies, I proceeded with the Raisin Danish Butter Cookies, an almost identical recipe once again from Shirley of Kokken69.

I have only a tiny amount of raisins left after baking the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, so had to top up with cranberries left over from another bake. The main differences between this recipe and the previous Danish Butter Cookies are the addition of raisins and dessicated coconut, as well as chilling of the dough for ease of cutting into desired shapes. The Raisin Danish Butter Cookies are typically round, but I decided to cut some into stars just for fun and see if dear son would be attracted to star shape.

Once again, the aroma of the buttery cookies filled the kitchen as they were baking. But patience is the key here as the cookies were very brittle just out from the oven, need to let them cool down completely. The wait was totally worth it as the cookies were oh-so-good! Probably due to the addition of the raisins, cranberries and dessicated coconut, the flavours enhanced the taste of the plain old Danish Butter Cookies. Although the taste of coconut was almost non-existent, the bite was still there. I couldn't resist but to have one after another.

And which shape did dear son prefer? Actually made no difference, he took both, one in each hand and stuffed everything into his mouth, one after the other -_-"

Tropical Tuna Salad Wrap

I love sandwiches, burrito wraps and pita pockets filled with different sorts of fillings, I think they make excellent choices for a quick, easy and light meal. I came across this recipe in the July issue of Young Parents magazine. The recipes featured are fruity ones meant for kids, but they are certainly good for adults too. I think my toddler may be too young for this right now, will KIV for him when he's older.

I love the combination of veggies and fruits added in the tuna mayo salad, which is otherwise kind of boring. The cucumber and celery add crunch to the salad, the green apple slightly tangy and grapes sweet and juicy. This tropical tuna salad is in fact good to eat on its own. I like it in a wrap for some added chewiness to the overall texture. Give it a try :)

Tropical Tuna Salad Wrap (makes 4 to 6 wraps)

Ingredients

• 1 can tuna (packed in water), drained
• 1/4 Japanese cucumber, diced
• 1/4 green apple, diced
• 3/4 stick celery, diced
• 10-12 seedless grapes, quartered
• 2-3 tbsp Japanese mayo
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 4-6 burrito wraps

Method

1. Combine the tuna, cucumber, green apple, celery and grapes and mixed thoroughly with Jap mayo.
2. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
3. Heat burrito wraps in a pan, 10 secs each side.
4. Lay 2-3 tbsp of tuna salad across the middle of the burrito wrap and roll up the wrap. Serve immediately.

Options

• Additional fruits and veg like cherry tomato and pineapple can be added to the tuna salad.
• Lettuce can be added in the wrap.
• Chicken can be used inside of tuna to make a chicken salad.
• Besides burrito wraps, can also use pita bread, prata or plain/wholemeal bread. Proportion of tuna salad should be adjusted accordingly for different types of sandwich.

Danish Butter Cookies

With the success of my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, suddenly I'm like into cookies. LOL! Came across Shirley of  Kokken69 with her rendition of Danish Butter Cookies and I was raring to give it a try. I fondly remember the famous blue tin too, it was usually included in gift hampers given to our family during some festivals. I always couldn't decide on which cookie to eat first. One funny thing was, the cookies were stacked based on the different flavours, I would try to balance the stacks by eating my favourite (the sugared pretzel shape one) followed by the next favourite till the least favoured so that all the flavours remain the same height.

The recipe by Shirley is really easy to follow. I followed her recipe to a T, except that I used normal sea salt instead of Fleur de Sel. Wonder if Fleur de Sel would make any difference to the overall flavour? The toughest part would probably be piping the cookies. I only have one tiny and one big star tip. Decided to use the big one so that the cookies would not turn out too small and brittle. On hindsight, I should have used the small one as the cookies turned out to be so fat and not dainty anymore. One thing I like about the recipe, it's given in small quantity so it's just nice for us. Cookies turn soft in our humid weather fairly quickly (although kept in airtight container); small quantities ensure faster turnover and fresher cookies :)

The cookies turned out crisp and buttery and dear son loves it. Next time I will pipe them smaller :p Meanwhile, I'm eyeing another recipe of Shirley's, the Raisin Danish Butter Cookies. Anyone keen? Hop over to her blog for all the recipes :)