Brunei Eats Jan 2006 - Lee Loi Fatt Foodstall

Lee Loi Fatt (LLF) in Kiulap (a commercial area about 5 minutes drive from city centre) is famous for it's rojak originated from Kuala Belait (a district in Brunei). I never visit it on purpose as there is better rojak elsewhere........

I decided to take my friends and cousin who had come back from overseas to LLF as these are the types of food they crave while away from Brunei.

We had

Mixed fried fritters (B$5)- prawn, yam and beancurd

Rojak (B$5) - ingredients include cuttlefish, turnip, pineapple and cucumber tossed in shrimp paste and garnished with crushed peanuts

As I hadn't had lunch, I also ordered laksa with prawn (B$3).

I always have three sour drink B$1.20 (lemon, lime and brined salted prunes), it's good for thirst-quenching and helps work up one's appetite.

Brunei Eats Jan 2006 - Reunion Dinner at Emperor's Court

I had reunion dinner with my family a day earlier at Emperor's Court, Hua Ho Mall at Jalan Muara. It was allegedly the best halal Chinese restaurant in town but I beg to differ...

Baked lobster in cheese sauce

Assorted hot and cold platter

Steamed Gui Hua (directly translated as jasmine) fish

Tender lamb chop in mandarin sauce

Braised duck with sea cucumber

Assorted vegetables in yam basket

Double mushroom with broccoli

Honeydew sago for pudding

I liked the fish, lam chop and sago pud the best :p

Princess' 1st Birthday

Princess: I am 1 year old today, yipee!

Princess: No zip stay zipped on my body, ha!

Princess: Mommy made an ugly cake for me :( even the candle singit to one side XD

Mommy: Aiya, I did my best sweetheart. You are Easter baby mah so I decorated with Easter eggs lor. People don't have piping bag or palette knife how to decorate sui sui ar........(continue nagging non-stop)

Princess: OK lor, no fish prawn also can (Mommy so bising)...

Princess: Eh? I got 2 prezzies, hello, hello, my first mobile, yay. Twinkle, twinkle little star, eeee, how come the book can sing my favourite tune, better check check first, hee........

Brunei Eats Jan 2006 - Gold Leaf Restaurant

Where? Seri complex. Always packed to the brim during lunch hour. Chef/owner was former chief chef at probably the most famous Chinese restaurant in town, Lucky Restaurant. Thus, food is above average standard.


I love all noodle things in all shapes n sizes. It's been a few years since I last ate claypot noodle. Not all places can do it nicely. This version is quite good, crispy noodles in boiling hot broth nicely flavoured by taro/yam, not too salty. Mmmm only thing missing is the raw egg on top. As I went there on Chinese New Year eve, they have ran out of produce as they were closing in 2 hours time. I had wanted seafood but instead I get pork and gizzards. Still it was tasty.

My friend's order, wat tan hor with again, pork and gizzards. Nice runny egg, yum! I tend not to order this in restaurant as I can cook this easily at home.

Brunei Eats Jan 2006 - You Me Restaurant

Where? Gadong somewhere....actual address unknown.....


Raised patio, looks newly renovated. Before were just few tables strewn on unkempt grassland with some makeshift giant canopy as shade. Look at it now, making money hor...

I wanted to order prawn noodles but they didn't have prawns :( so I changed my order to kolo mee with wanton n char siew. Aiya, don't ask me how it taste cos no taste at all........

Big King's usual order - fried kway teow (flat rice noodles) with char siew. This is quite good with lots of wok hei. The beansprouts were nicely crunchy not limp.

Aiya, why I don't get to eat wan?

Brunei's Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

Where to find? Centrepoint Gadong.

I never like the coffee served in chain cafes. But ice blended stuff is OK. Pictured is Mocha Ice Blended minus the cream.

Coffee Bean's coffee cheesecake used to be the best cheesecake I have ever tasted but standard has since deteriorated. The last time I visited, the cheesecake texture was uneven throughout with some part loose and some part thick and gooey, much like eating bubble gum. Worst of all, it was tooth achingly sweet. OUCH!

Princess enjoying her first visit to Coffee Bean. She wanted to have a share of everything we eat and drink, tam-chia (food greedy) like the mum hahaha........

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake

Yummy and easy to do!


There were some cracks, my oven temperature was uneven, sigh....


I hadn't make enough raspberry jam to cover the top. This pic came out ghastly, taken with the stupid sony dsc-v1.



Ingredients (8 in round springform pan):
Base:
Digestives biscuits 8 pieces
Butter 50g, melted

Raspberry sauce:
Frozen raspberry 1 packet
Water 1/2 cup
Cornflour 2 tsp
Sugar 2 tbsp

Cream cheese filling:
Cream cheese 600g (room temperature)
Sugar 4 tbsp
White chocolate 300g, torn to small pieces
Freash cream 1/4 cup
Large eggs 3

Method:
1. Crushed biscuits until fine, combine with melted butter and press onto bottom of lined springform pan. Refrigerate until firm.

2. Cook raspberry sauce: put all ingredients into a saucepan and heat till it boils. Lower the heat to lowest setting and cook for further 5 minutes or until thickens. Leave to cool.

3. Cheesecake filling: melt white chocolate and cream in a double boiler. Add sugar to cream cheese and using handmixer beat till mixture is thick. Add in white chocolate, mix well. Add in eggs one at a time.

4. Pour 1/2 the cheesecake filling onto the base. Scatter 1/3 of the raspberry sauce onto the filling. Add in rest of filling. Scatter another 1/3 of raspberry sauce on top and create swirls using a toothpick.

5. Bake in bain marie at 170 degree celcius for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 150 and continue baking for another 45 to 50 minutes. Check by pressing the middle of the cake, it should be a bit wobbly but not runny. Leave in oven with door ajar until cool. Refrigerate when cooled.

6. Before serving spread top with the rest of raspberry sauce.

Sweet Bread versus Sweet Cake

I was on a baking frenzy last week, baked 4 sausages and egg mayo buns (not pictured), 4 polo cocktail buns and one round 8 in featherlight cheesecake. Was torn among the 3; which to eat for breakfast, which for lunch and which for afternoon tea ah??


Why my polo skin does not crack **sob**sob**but tasty nonetheless. Big King especially like the filling, weyhey!!

Weird texture cake, a bit like souffle, a bit like chiffon but not as dry, aiyo hard to describe leh, gotta taste for youself, go make lah, recipe here.

I noticed there were some unanswered questions from my readers, sorry ah. I forgot....

The cream in the recipe can be substituted with milk if you don't have cream. I recommend using caster sugar in the recipe rather than granulated to ensure all sugar is fully incorporated as caster is finer. I do not think cooling the cake in the oven with the door ajar is necessary but you can always try and let me know the result :p.

Cut and fold method: Refer here.

What I ate in Brunei January 2006 - Snacks

Pudding milk tea

Big blop of mango pudding in milk tea, value for money at B$2.50 for a big cup the length of my lower arm.


Kyros' chicken doner kebab in Middle Eastern bread

A chain kebab house originated from Malaysia. Simply delicious? I've had better in England........

Assorted bread from Fun Bread at The Mall in Gadong

Bread is not simply bread in Asia. We like to incorporate different flavours into our bread. Famous Asian bread include polo bun, buttermilk bun, tuna bun. Fun Bread sells all kinds of quirky flavours like polo chicken char siew bun, spicy shrimp sambal bun, oreo bun and Big King's favourite spicy floss bun and so on.

Kuih Malaya

Pancake filled with crushed peanut, raisins, sugar and condense milk. A childhood favourite. The pancake is cooked in a cast iron skillet which enhances its flavour. Anything cook in cast iron tastes good!

Sorry for the blur pic, taken with a cellphone.

Strawberry KitKat from Japan

Chocolate wafers encased in white chocolate flavoured with freeze dried strawberries. Taste good as the flavours are quite intense. Pretty expensive at B$2.60 a pop. I got it from Hua Ho Mall in Jalan Muara. Go check it out, it's worth once in a lifetime taste, strawberries from Japan is not famous and expensive for no reason. Yum!

Crystal Jade Xiao Long

My must eat in Singapore-Xiao Long Bao from Crystal Jade. This is tar-powed from the branch in Changi Airport Terminal 2.

Singapore Trip January 2006 - Tonkichi

Tonkichi

Both Big King and I are big fan of katsu. I have read rave reviews about Tonkichi. Time to try it out myself :p

Visited the outlet in Ngee Ann city for lunch. The restaurant was dimly lit and staffed with middle-aged obasans....

Fillet and tenderloin set

Big King had fillet and tenderloin set while I opted for fillet, korokke and kaki (oyster) furai set. I enjoyed the oyster the most, plump and juicy. The rest of katsu were just average. While the meat katsu were tender as expected, they were not juicy. Win some, lose some....... Both the set meal were above S$20, I wouldn't say they are value for money as that kind of standard is easily replicated at home....There are better dining choices at Ngee Ann city...........

Imperial Treasure Nan Bei Restaurant

A fairly new eatery in Ngee Ann city. Went to check it out with my cousin. Menu is complicated...about 10 pages...ranging from dim sum, appetizers, a la carte, noodles, one-plated meal to desserts........phew. Took me 15 minutes just to glance through. No pictures taken as I had not bring my camera.

Ordered fried noodles with crispy eel (mine), fried rice noodles with beef (cousin) and tofu in crab roe (came in individual portion bowl).

The noodles came in fairly big oblong plate and looked like a big portion. Both noodles were quite tasty and the beef tender but the eel was soft but not mushy, nevertheless still tasty. We polished off everything on the plate. Tofu was delicious and the taste enhanced with the addition of vinegar.

Tar-powed (takeaway) one tan-tan noodles (noodles in spicy sesame sauce)for Big King who was suffering in the hotel looking after the howling Princess.... Big King proclaimed the noodles were delicious, I had one mouthful but it was so spicy I couldn't taste of anything :p

Will definitely visit again!

Singapore Trip January 2006 - Bakerzin

Managed to squeeze in an overnight trip to Singapore (out 19/1/06, back 20/1/06). Bought some desserts from Bakerzin (located in Takashimaya basement).


Strawberry and pistachio shortcake

Pistachio mousse lined with strawberry halves sandwiched between sponge cake. Taste just like how it looks....tasteless strawberries not lined properly, mousse sickeningly sweet, sponge cake too dry :( Apparently one of their popular cake, I do not see why.....

Valrhona white chocolate mousse on mocha flavoured sponge cake

Both mousse and chocolate coating sickeningly sweet. Sponge cake ok, not dry like the strawberry shortcake above. They should stop using Valrhona, it's a total waste......

Macaroons-assorted flavours

I had wanted to try macaroons for the longest time. This is my first encounter so I have nowt to compare them to. These little morsels were a pleasant surprise, crunchy on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside but they did not stick to my teeth as I would have expected. The fillings are a tad too sweet for my palate but in a pleasant kind of way not sickening at all. My favourite is the lemon, sweet and sour my favourite kind of taste.

What I ate in Brunei January 2006 - New Sentosa Restaurant

Situated in the popular Gadong commercial area.


Common drinks - hot wheatgrass and teh tarik ping (iced pulled tea)


Big King's favourite - King spare rib rice with egg fried rice


Rabbit's favourite - fish noodle (noodle made from fish flesh served in fish stock with fish slices and iceberg lettuce, no msg added but I wonder...)

Flight to Brunei 14/1/2006

Salmon with potatoes

Flight from London to Brunei took about 16 hours, transitting in Dubai. We had to take a connecting flight from Leeds. It was Princess' first time to board a plane, I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep the previous night. What if she cry non-stop, what if she doesn't eat the yucky bottled baby food, what if she couldn't sleep on the plane like me, what if..............keep flashing in my head.......

I was so relieved when she seemed relax on the plane, even during take-off and landing. Playful and babbling all the time, phew, good girl. But she decided she didn't like the bassinet (flight cot), refused to sleep in one so I had to hold her for like 6 hours, frozen the whole time. Afraid to move for fear of waking her up...........But she was an angel on our flight back to London sleeping in the bassinet the whole journey @@.

Highlight of flight meal - ice-cream. This is so delicious, apparently a British brand but I have never seen it sold anywhere.........

Arrived Brunei safe and sound the following day 15/1/2006. Brunei is 8 hours ahead of GMT...........

Princess was all smiles when we step off the plane but wailed when she met her grandma, auntie, uncle and cousin for the first time..........

Bubbly New Year Dinner

Lindauer-bubbly from New Zealand. Taste just like Moet & Chandon but at a fraction of it's price ha........

Simple dinner of Oyakodon (chicken and egg rice) on new year's day 1/1/2006.

Orange Chiffon Cake

I have never manage to bake a perfect cake. There's always cracks in my cakes and success rate is only about 80%.

A friend has recently pointed out a good oven is key to success baking which I totally agree. I have a lousy fan oven which is not suitable for baking :( and the heating element at the top kind of lopsided which resulted in an uneven height cake. Sigh.......what to do, the stupid oven comes with the flat.......

All is not lost, eventhough the appearance of the cake may not be good, the taste is not compromised.

Christmas Panattone

I am back in Leeds. What a whirlwind holiday! It was time to go back to Leeds in a blink of an eye!

I know Christmas is way over. Just want to share this delicious chocolate chip panattone from Sainsbury. Panattone is the Italian equivalent of Christmas cake. I think it tastes exactly like the French brioche. I like to toast it or make bread and butter pudding out of it. Delicious....My must buy item for Christmas, not christmas pud nor mince pies (I loathe them, taste worse than cardboard)....