White Chocolate Oreo Mousse Cake

I have always loved reading food blogs, whether it was Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean, American, Australia etc. I find it very interesting to learn about other people's culture, what they eat and the best thing is to know I'm not the only one who is obsessed about food! I really loved it when people also provide recipes to their creations, and this was how I learned how to make my White Chocolate Oreo Mousse Cake today. The cake took longer than I'd expected, but it was well worth the time! It turned out the way I expected with nice crunchy Oreo bits inside the cake. Thank you so much for the recipe Khun Jum! You can check out her other amazing creations on her blog, it's in Thai though. I did not follow the exact recipe as I cut down some of the white chocolate and the whipped cream and it still turned out great. Enjoy! *edited* my friend said it wasn't smooth enough, so I shall improve it in the future! Maybe I need to cut down the gelatin.

Another BKK entry @ The Krok

The Krok is situated in Siam Square Soi 2, a popular hang-out place amongst Thai teens. You can see teens roaming around in their uniform, from early secondary school until University level. I think Thailand is the only country in the world that has uniform in the University level. (Please correct me if I'm wrong) Anyway, back to 'The Krok', I discovered this restaurant recently from reading another food blog. Normally when I go to Siam Square, I would usually eat at "Som Tum Nuo", a famous Som Tum (Thai Papaya salad) place where people queue up for 30++ min to an hr just to eat there, and they don' t take reservations. After a while, I realized that even though the food is quite good, it's not worth the wait--especially not in Thailand's weather! Some may argue that it's not as good as Tum Nuo, but at least I never had to queue up here and the service is always very good. By the way, both the Krok and Som Tum Nuo serves Northern Thai food, not the ordinary "Pad Thai", and "Green curry Chicken" type food. Here are some recommended dishes:

Four types of dipping sauce

Tom Yum Khai Jeow or Tom Yum with Thai style Omelette.

This dish was very good! I love the fluffy and crispy Thai style omelette especially when it soaks up the spicy goodness of the Tom Yum soup!

Som Tum Tod or Fried Spicy Papaya Salad.
The sauce was served in a little mortar-shaped container. It was adorable!


Som Tum or the 'original' version of Spicy Papaya Salad


Yum Pak Boong Tod Krob or Tempura Battered Morning Glory with spicy sauce

The batter was very light so you don't get the 'oily' after taste.

Thai style fried chicken wings

I love their fried chicken! It's done just right--crispy, juicy and succulent at the same time!

Kanom Jeen Pad or stir fried Thai noodles.
Didn't think this dish was too special.

I think this restaurant is really reasonable as the atmosphere is quite good and the price is very cheap! The place is not packed like "Som Tum Nuo", you can actually enjoy a proper conversation with you friends without overhearing other people's conversations. You also won't get the pressure of having to rush through your meals when you know there are tons of people waiting outside. Enjoy!~~

Donna Hay's Chocolate Mud Cake

Made Donna Hay's chocolate mud cake today, however it wasn't as good as I'd expected. The texture of the cake was a bit dry for me. I prefer mud cakes that are more moist and fudgy! I was told that it tasted good with milk though. So far, I have made 2 recipes out of my new chocolate book, many more to go! Good Luck to my friends and family :)

Experimental Gyoza

A few weeks ago, I had a strong Gyoza craving, but did not want to eat those overly oily ones that are offered in most reasonable Japanese restaurants in Melbourne. There is only one solution left, which is to make them myself! I decided to buy the pre-made Gyoza skin as I couldn't be bother making the skins by myself. I did not have any chives on hand, so I had to replace the chives with spring onions. I'm quite happy with the results, considering it's my first time making Gyoza. Taste wise, I think I'll need to add more spices to the minced pork+ cabbage mixture. Overall, it's quite good (hehe, maybe it's because the vinegar dipping sauce covered up all the taste :p )

Pre-cooked Gyoza


Post cooked Gyoza

Get high on chocolate with Max Brenner's

Max Brenner's is one of the famous Chocolate shops in Melbourne. There are two stores in Melbourne city itself! One in Queen Victoria Complex and the other one Melbourne Central. This is where most people would bring their friends/relatives when they are visiting from overseas. I think Max Brenner's has several franchises overseas, including Singapore as well, so I wouldn't exactly call it "Australian". As for the quality of chocolates, I personally prefer Koko Black (which I will post about in the future). However, Max Brenner's has more to offer in terms of varieties! The price is also quite reasonable too, if you go to the one in QV as it's not 'decorated', so I suggest if you would like to impress your guests, take them to the Melbourne Central one, but if you have enough of the 'presentation' and is just there for the chocolate fix, you can enjoy the QV one.

Babka: Cinnamon bun with raisins drizzled with chocolate


Chocolate Souffle! For some reason, I think the souffle at Melbourne Central one tasted better than the one in QV. The QV one was cold, so you couldn't really get the 'oozing' chocolate feel.


Warm Belgian Waffles topped with Strawberries and Icecream. This is one of my favorite dish, especially when it's done well! Warm and crispy waffles and not soggy.

Another plate of Belgian waffle. Warm waffle, warm chocolate, juicy strawberries and creamy ice cream! What more can you ask for?


Chocolate Croissant

Nyala African Restaurant, Melbourne

Ever wonder what African Cuisine taste like? Well, I've got the chance to try it a while ago during my cousin's 21st Birthday. She decided on an African restaurant on Brunswick Street for a change. The restaurant itself (Nyala) was small, cozy and decorated with African paintings. I was convinced that this restaurant was quite authentic as all the waiters and waitresses were dressed in their traditional African costumes which added more to the atmosphere. Service here is good too as the waiters always responded to our requests with a big smile. We ordered several dishes to share, unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture all the photos as the food were spread out across the long table. I really did enjoy the meal and in my opinion, if this restaurant were an Authentic African restaurant, I would say the cuisine tasted like a mixture of Indian and Indonesian!

The dips and the flat bread


The vegetarian dishes with their traditional African bread? It's soft and fluffy--pancake-like in texture. Taste great when eaten with lamb, chicken and other main dishes.


The Chicken Stew. I love this dish, it reminded me a little of Butter Chicken but with a more tangy kick to it.


This is their Beef Stew. I couldn't remember the African name. This dish tasted like Indonesian Beef Rendang!

Overall, I'm quite pleased with this restaurant. The price is really reasonable too especially if you are not a very big eater and ordered to share. If you are a fan of lamb, you should tried their hot plate lamb!Booking is a MUST as the place was packed after 7pm!!

Yummy food at Lenotre, Bangkok

Lenotre is one of my other favorite restaurants in Bangkok as the presentation is beautiful and the price is quite reasonable for the quality and the 'name'. Their service also proved to be quite good when my dad complained about the chewiness of their steak compared to the previous times, and they did not hesitate to bring a new one. It also has a wide selections of French desserts available and it's actually more famous for its desserts than its main course in Bangkok! Enjoy!

Great selection of breads


Entree: Duck breast salad. This dish is very very worthed! Only 180 Baht!


Tomato Soup..sorry for the poor photo quality


Another Entree: Pomelo and Shrimp Salad



Roasted Ribs..slightly on the salty side


Poached Cod with lobster bisque


Roasted Lamb Cutlets


Decorated Concerto


Volute! I love this! It's their famous dessert! If I'm not mistaken, it's hazelnut mousse enclosed in wafer.


Tiramisu

Dinner at Baan Khanitha

On my last visit to Bangkok, I had the chance to try out Baan Khanita. It was a famous restaurant amongst Tourists, but not a popular choice amongst local Thais due to its price tag. I got to try several of their famous dishes and my verdict is that it's not bad, but not worth the price. The service, however, was not their best side either as the rice took a while to arrive after the main dishes were served. Here are some of the dishes I've tried:

The Appetizer

Thai style fried Prawn cakes

the prawns in red curry


Yum Som O or Spicy Pomelo Salad with Shredded Chicken


Deep fried prawn with tamarind sauce~this was good~


Fried fish. This dish was a bit too bland for my liking.


Famous Thai dessert: Thai Mango with Sweet sticky rice.

Overall, I think the food here is a bit overrated, but it's worth a try. The presentation and atmosphere is quite nice, but the place can get extremely busy at night so booking is recommended.

Chocolate Molten Pudding

This was actually supposed to be Chocolate Molten Cake which I got the recipe from Chubby Hubby, but it turned into pudding instead of cake because I wasn't able to remove the cake from the ramekin. It still tasted great nevertheless, especially with the addition of good quality vanilla icecream~yum~

Donna Hay's Double Chocolate Cookies

I bought Donna Hay's Simple Essentials: Chocolate yesterday and decided to make use of it. Everything in the book looked so scrumptious..but I finally decided to give the Double Chocolate cookies a go. I made mine smaller than hers and I think I overbaked them a little. I also added in Chocolate chips instead of the required chopped chocolate, as I didn't have enough on hand. Overall, I was quite happy with the results.

I think all of my friends and relatives were really happy with the cookies too, especially with the oozing chocolate in each bite! Some also asked for the recipe, so here it is:

Double Chocolate Cookies: Donna Hay's simple essentials--chocolate

110g unsalted buttter, softened
130g brown sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract
150 g plain flour, sifted
30g cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
125g dark chocolate, melted
280g dark chocolate, extra, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 160 celcius. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 min or until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for a further 3-4 minutes. Stir through the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and melted chocolate. Add the extra chopped chocolate and stir to combine. Roll teaspoons of the mixture into rounds. Place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room for the cookies to spread, and flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 min or until slight cracks have formed. Cool on wire racks.
Makes 16 (I managed to make 24)

First post

Hehehe, this blog is dedicated to my food reviews/eating experience/random food creations. I must thank my friend who inspired me with this name :)