Phuket July 2015 Day 1 - Heng Heng Thai Food, Pullman Arcadia

Back in July, my family went for our annual "retreat" to Phuket! As usual we did nothing but chill out, relax and eat! I'm already looking forward to the next one, or should we make it a biannual getaway instead :p

Will recount this trip based on
Day 1 - Heng Heng Thai Food, Pullman Phuket Arcadia Naithon Beach
Day 2 - Pullman Arcadia, Kan Eang 2 Seafood, Seoul Grill
Day 3 - dhatri spa, Thanoon Seafood, Vero Italian

We took a noon time flight and by the time we reached Phuket, it was closed to 2pm local. After retrieving our luggage, clearing the customs and settling the rental car, the first thing hubby wanted to do was to eat a bowl of Thai noodles. LOL!

So we just picked a random eatery located on the way to our resort, which is quite near to the airport actually.

A humble bowl of Thai thick rice noodle with fish cake, fish bowl and fish dumpling. The rice noodle was very smooth and the soup broth so savoury. Even the kiddo enjoyed it.

My drink of choice when in Thailand, Soda Water with lots of ice! Besides noodles, the eatery also sells pork knuckles which looked succulent, and other stir-fry dishes and seafood.

Thereafter we proceeded to Pullman Arcadia Naithon for check-in. Received a warm welcome by the greeters and concierge upon arrival at the entrance porch.

Check-in was a breeze and our Welcomer ushered us to our Ocean Room at Building 3 which is located next to the main lobby building where the restaurants, spa and main pool are. For the past two times, we stayed at level 2, this time we were given a corner room at level 3 which I would say even better!

Super king size bed, one of the biggest we've slept on, more than enough room for three people.

The usual comfy lounge sofa.

Desk, TV console, coffee/tea making accessories.

Two-way access bathroom with long bath, wash area, shower area and toilet.

Walk-in wardrobe.

And the balcony which seems to be bigger than the ones on level two. Anyways, love love love the view!

I hanged around here most of the time when we were in the resort.

Gorgeous sea front view. Felt so much at peace listening to the sounds of waves crashing onto the rocks while enjoying the gentle breeze.

Welcome chocolate and confectionery, complimentary of the GM of the resort. Appreciate his personal note each time we stayed here. In fact, not just the GM, all the staff at the resort made us feel welcome every time we stayed, and they really demonstrated excellent hospitality from the bottom of their hearts.

We had the afternoon to laze around. While the kiddo wanted to go to the Kid's Club, I decided to hit the gym! This was my first time ever going to a gym during vacation. I had started on an exercise and diet regime, so even though I was on holiday I thought I should at least try to squeeze in a workout session or two, in an effort to burn the calories for the sumptuous thai food I was gonna eat.

The gym was very well-maintained with brand-new looking state-of-the-art fitness equipment. And with a gorgeous view, it certainly made workouts much more enjoyable. In fact, I was running on the treadmill and plugging into the Asian Food Channel :)

Hot and cold water dispenser. Ear phones with disposable plugs for guest's use, no worries even if I forgot to bring along my ear phones.

After the workout, all of us headed to the pool for a nice, cool swim in the lovely free-form pool where we caught the sunset.

Decided to be lazy and ordered room service for dinner. HB ordered the beef burger, whereas the kiddo ordered fish & chips. I only got a veggie rice roll because I knew that the kiddo won't be able to finish his food and usually I shared the remains to minimise waste. Service was prompt and food quite decent.

We enjoyed our dinner at the balcony, blissfully enjoying a relaxing dinner in the comforts of the room.

Stay tune for the upcoming post Day 2 - Pullman Arcadia, Kan Eang 2 Seafood, Seoul Grill.

Japanese Home Style Cooking Class by Atelier Koinu

Last Friday, I took time off and travelled all the way from the west of Singapore to the east, to attend a hands-on class on Japanese Home Style Cooking conducted by Chef Aki Watanabe.

She used to teach at Shermay's Cooking School and I have attended quite a few of her cooking and baking classes which I enjoyed very much. Since Shermay has closed the school, Chef Aki is now conducting lessons at her private abode under "Atelier Koinu". In fact, she started Atelier Koinu even before teaching at Shermay's and has been doing so all this while.

Although I would love to attend more of her lessons, timing and distance is my concern. Anyways, I saw on her Facebook about this particular class with recipes that I'm very interested. So made up my mind to go the distance!

I must say I totally enjoyed the class, especially the hands-on, hardly had the chance to attend such classes. Learnt many useful cutting techniques and practical tips on cooking, and certainly gained more knowledge about Japanese cooking.

Best of all, we got to enjoy our fruits of labour immediately after the cooking and had a great time chit-chatting! This Japanese lunch set which I helped to prepare certainly looked tantalising and trust me, tasted equally good :)

The main course of the set, Chicken Namban. Chicken thigh meat that's light marinated and deep fried to a crisp and then coated with a sweet vinegar sauce. It's so yummy good to eat on its own but even better with the Yogurt Tartar Sauce! The sauce tasted similar to the tartar sauce found in Mcdonald's Fillet-O-Fish but fresher and tastier. I can already think of making this sauce to go with fish & chips, breaded prawns or calamari.

I love this refreshing salad made of daikon radish, japanese cucumber and carrot and tossed in a dressing made of shio koji and sesame. I think I could just eat a whole bowl of it as a main dish instead of a side salad :p

This is the first time I learn about Shio Koji, which is a rice malt and salt seasoning. Besides using it as a dressing, it can also be used to marinate meat and fish. I love the taste of it and can't wait to go to Meidi-ya supermarket (only available there) to get some so that I can prepare this salad soon!

I love this hijiki seaweed salad too! The beauty of it is, it can be cooked in advance and freeze for future consumption. The Japanese uses this salad as a filler dish for bento box because it's suitable for eating at room temperature. Taste-wise is a little sweet and salty, very light on the palate, healthy too and hence very popular salad.

It's actually not that easy to cook a bowl of good authentic miso soup. Nowadays, ready-made miso soups are readily sold at supermarkets, but the Japanese still believe in cooking it from scratch starting from the dashi stock made of water, kombu kelp and Katsuobushi bonito flakes. It's important not to let the miso paste boil after adding to the stock or else it will lose its flavour.

This bowl of miso soup tasted mild with a sweet after taste, whereas most miso soup I tasted (including the ones I tried cooking) were simply salty and flat. Now I know.

Steamed Japanese Rice, each grain represents the heart and soul of the Japanese people. Cooking Japanese rice also requires meticulous technique of rinsing and rubbing and soaking the grains, not as straightforward as we thought. The additional steps are important to ensure that the rice cooked will be glistering, fluffy and sweet.

Actually I couldn't wait to try out all the dishes, but didn't have time to go to the Meidi-ya supermarket to gather the essential ingredients that I lacked. But definitely, I have to try them soon!

Pandan Coconut Cupcake with Gula Melaka Buttercream Frosting

Wow, I realised that I haven't been baking anything new for months, apart from my cake orders and the same old like Blueberry Yogurt Muffin (for the kiddo) or Gula Melaka Banana Walnut Cake (for the hb).

And I haven't eaten any cupcake with frosting for months too. Well, I'm on diet for the past few months (still am) so it's bake-no-evil, eat-no-evil :p

I'm proud to announce that I've achieved my first weight loss target, hoping to lose more, but probably at a more relaxed pace :p So decided to reward myself with a cupcake! Actually it's because I have some leftover ingredients I want to use up before going on a holiday :) #excusetobake

So here's presenting my Pandan Coconut Cupcake with Gula Melaka Buttercream Frosting! I have a small block of Gula Melaka left over from my banana cake bakes, it's kind of irritating taking up space in the fridge so I gotta use it up. Have bookmarked several recipes on pandan and gula melaka, finally decided to adapt a recipe from BitterSweetSpicy. I think the combination of Pandan Coconut Cupcake and Gula Melaka Buttercream sounds heavenly.

Initially I had doubts about making this particular cake and frosting because looking at the sugar content and method, I knew that this was going to be sweet, and the cake texture would be more dense type. Personally I prefer cakes that are light and tender and less sweet such as sponge cake, combined with chantilly cream or whipped cream. Or just a simple chiffon cake.

Finally decided to just do it! I could probably jog a longer distance or eat lesser for dinner to compensate :p
Made slight changes to the recipe like reducing amount of sugar for both cupcake and frosting. Also increased the amount of pandan juice and reduced the amount of coconut milk, hoping that the coconut milk flavour will not be too strong and pandan flavour will stand out more.

Initially I didn't drizzle any Gula Melaka syrup onto the buttercream frosting and the cupcakes looked kind of plain. Was about to wash the pot (with a bit of syrup left) when the idea came to my mind. Bingo! The cupcakes looked more interesting now. And then, suddenly another idea of decorating the cupcakes further with tiny pandan leaves. Wow, now my cupcakes look kinda of chic and atas-looking. LOL!

I didn't bother with any colouring to the cake as well, so the cake wasn't tinted green, but rather a tinge of pale green tone, something like avocado.

The cupcake turned out quite well, moist and dense, but not too heavy. The coconut fragrance is present, slightly overpowering that of the pandan. Still a tad sweet, luckily I reduced some sugar. The buttercream is surprisingly not too heavy with a tinge of Gula Melaka taste. The additional drizzled syrup accentuated the overall taste, glad that I decided to drizzle some onto the frosting. The combination of the pandan coconut cake and Gula Melaka buttercream is so much better than expected, I found myself having one bite after another and soon, one cupcake gone, leaving me craving for more. Had to stop myself from having another one.

Pandan Coconut Cupcake with Gula Melaka Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
(makes 18 cupcakes, 4cm base, adapted from BitterSweetSpicy)

(A) Pandan Juice

• 20 Pandan leaves (the pandan leaves I bought are quite small, if large leaves, use 10)
• 3 tbsp water

(B) Cupcake

• 200g Cake flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Fine salt
• 125g Unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 150g Caster sugar (I use golden granulated unrefined sugar)
• 2 eggs (I use 60g egg with shell)
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 65g Coconut milk + 25g Water
• 2.5 tbsp Pandan juice (from A)

(C) Gula Melaka Syrup

• 50g Gula Melaka
• 3 Pandan leaves 
• 2 tbsp Water

 (D) Gula Melaka Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

• 3 Egg whites
• 50g Caster sugar (I use golden granulated unrefined sugar)
• 1/4 tsp Fine salt
• 150g Unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 5-6 tsp Gula Melaka Syrup (from C)

Steps

1. (A) Prepare pandan juice. Wash and trim 20 pandan leaves into 1" length. Place the leaves into electric food chopper and grind finely. Add about 3 tbsp of water to the ground pandan leaves and squeeze the juice. Sieve and set aside.
2. (B) Prepare cupcake batter. Preheat oven (top/bottom heat) to 180 degree celsius. Line muffin pan with cupcake cases. Set aside.
3. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and fine salt into a bowl. Set side.
4. Mix coconut milk, water, pandan juice (from step 1) and vanilla extract, stir till blended. Set aside.
5. Place unsalted butter in a mixing bowl, add sugar and beat at medium speed using the paddle attachment till creamy and fluffy. This will take about 3 mins, stop to scrap sides of bowl, then continue for another minute.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, mix till incorporated.
7. Add the flour mixture (from step 3), alternating with the coconut/pandan mixture (from step 4), in 3 additions. With each addition, mix till just incorporated, do not overbeat.
8. Using ice-cream scoop, fill batter into cupcake cases, till about 2/3 full.
9. Place muffin pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 20 mins.
10. Remove from oven and cool the cupcakes on a wire rack completely before frosting.
11. (C) Prepare Gula Melaka Syrup. Place Gula Melaka, water and pandan leaves in a heavy-based saucepan over low heat. Stir until all the sugar has melted, and mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
12. (D) Prepare buttercream. Place egg whites, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk continuously until the mixture is hot to touch and sugar is dissolved (rub some mixture using fingers, if it feels grainy, sugar hasn't dissolved completely).
13. Transfer to mixer, beat the mixture using whisk attachment on medium high speed for about 4-5 mins, until stiff peaks and mixture has cooled to room temperature (touch the bottom of bowl).
14. Turn speed to medium and add the butter, piece by piece. Keep beating till mixture gradually turns creamy and velvety, about 4-5 mins.
15. Add the Gula Melaka syrup, 1 tsp at a time, till incorporated. I added about 5-6 tsp. The buttercream is ready for use.
16. Transfer buttercream to piping bag and frost the cupcakes. Drizzle some Gula Melaka Syrup leftover (from C) onto the frosting if desired.

 

This recipe is definitely a keeper!

And if anyone is interested in ordering this cupcake, drop me a note at megtan@singnet.com.sg.

Koh Samui Jan 2015 Part IV - Dessert at Lolamui Cafe, Lamai Fresh Coconut Ice Cream

Continued from
Part I - Fenix Beach Resort at Lamai Beach
Part II - Lamai Sunday Night Market
Part III - Food at Krao Chao Ban, MK restaurant, Koh Tan Cuisine, Sabienglae 2


Actually we didn't have much room for dessert since we ate so much thai food for our meals.

But I passed by this interesting cafe which happens to be located at Lamai, and couldn't resist the temptation to take a look. In fact, it's located along the main road, very hard not to see it, especially with the distinctive old train car and interesting name post.

There's ample parking in the vicinity.

Upon entering the grounds, I could see a section of the vintage train car. Initially I thought it's just for display but it is actually a part of the cafe too, as in customers can choose to have their cakes/beverages here in the car. Cool!

The cafe is set among a lush hillside and appears to be converted from some wooden houses. It has this tropical feel with the white-bluish-grey colour scheme.

The main cafe houses the beverage preparation area, display counters as well as a kitchen where cakes are freshly baked daily. Here's the chef owner Khun Pun. She told us she bakes about 20 cakes daily for walk-in sales and sometimes additional if there are advance orders.

I wanted to try the coconut cake which is supposedly the house special and very popular, but it was sold out already :( Decided to make reservation and return the next day.

There are only 4 seats in the main cafe.

Here's the back of the main cafe/house where the kitchen is.

Alfresco area.

Steps leading to another house/more seating areas.

This house is much bigger, more seating available. Very simply furnished and decorated with some vintage items and mismatched furniture.

When we returned the next day, it was quite quiet due to a weekday. Apparently the cafe is packed during weekends and thai public holidays.

We ordered the signature Coconut Cake, Banoffee Pie, iced latte for the hubs and earl grey tea for me.

Banoffee Pie. This was surprisingly very good, a crushed crispy biscuit base, sweet and fragrant bananas with caramel sauce and generously topped with a light whipped cream and dusted with coffee powder.

I love the Coconut Cake! The sponge cake was feather soft and the coconut was so tender. Understand from Khun Pun that she specially selects a soft and creamy coconut called maprao kati (macapuno). Overall the cake was less sweet and very pleasing. Yummy! I would love to come back for this cake!

soft and creamy coconut called maprao kati (macapuno) - See more at: http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/article/best-thai-restaurants-samui#sthash.YLOoq2u7.dpuf

soft and creamy coconut called maprao kati (macapuno) - See more at: http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/article/best-thai-restaurants-samui#sthash.YLOoq2u7.dpuf

soft and creamy coconut called maprao kati (macapuno) - See more at: http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/article/best-thai-restaurants-samui#sthash.YLOoq2u7.dpuf

lolamui cafe

Open daily 11am-6pm. 127/184 Moo 3, Lamai, Maret. 089-688-4818, 077-601-607 - See more at: http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/article/best-thai-restaurants-samui#sthash.YLOoq2u7.dpuf

127/184 Moo.3, Lamai, Maret

Amphoe Koh Sa-Mui, Surat Thani, Thailand

+6689-688-4818, +6677-601-607

Opens 11am to 5pm daily

https://www.facebook.com/lolamuicafe

Besides lolamui cafe that is worth a visit, another must-try is the Lamai Fresh Coconut Ice-Cream!

Although more and more ice-cream stalls are popping up everywhere in Samui (in Bangkok as well), this is apparently the original one. Look out for this van that's parked at the Lad Koh Viewpoint (located between Chaweng and Lamai). The van is not always there though, during our previous trip, we tried once and wanted to eat more the next day and the van wasn't there.

The owner hard at work. The queue was perpetually non-stop.

She used a special tool to scrap the coconut meat from the husk.

Then added 2-3 scoops of coconut ice-cream, followed by toppings like candied yam, tapioca, sweet potato, banana, glutinous rice and peanuts.

Absolutely yummy, especially on a hot day. The ice-cream was very creamy and not too sweet, and the toppings complemented the ice-cream really nicely.

Enjoying ice-cream with a breathtaking view, only at Samui.

And this marks the end of my trip to Koh Samui, already looking forward to the next one, probably gotta wait till next year or if we get lucky to snag a good airfare deal!