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Mamak

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Had my first proper food adventure of 2016 at the famous Mamak! This has been on my 'must visit' list for too long. I think I've avoided it longer than usual because of the crowd. I remember walking past this place in the past and planning that we'd eat here someday. We've tried planning spontaneous meet ups to come here but it's just kind of far, then there's the long wait. We were secretly hoping the line wouldn't be as bad today because it's a weeknight. Even though it's   Thursday   night, you'd hope that more people are going shopping (than coming to eat out). Anyway, the luck was on our side this time. The line was quite short compared to what we've seen/ heard of. We patiently waited to go in. We felt a real sense of excitement thinking about what it might be like inside, it looked super busy. We were finally taken inside and shown our seats. It was a cute little set up with stools and small tables. It's actually quite a ...
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Kensington Street, Chippendale (Hong Kong Diner + Koi Dessert Bar)

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I caught up with an old friend today. We were in the Central area so ended up going to Kensington Street again. If you've read the previous blog, you'd know I only just went there last Friday. I knew there was a lot more left to explore but I didn't think I'd return so soon. We walked around Spice Alley and picked Hong Kong Diner. We ordered a prawn dumplings and fried calamari. It was very busy as it was peak hour and getting a table was a bit of a struggle. Finally, we settled down and started on our food. I was really excited to dig into my calamari because I rarely eat fried foods or calamari. However, my excitement faded after I took the first few bites. It was too salty. I know the description says salt and pepper calamari but I didn't think it'd be splashed with salt like this! Then I figured it would be less saltier if we soaked the calamari with tissues. It was much better after wiping with tissues as this wiped some of the salt and excess oil. ...
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High tea- final day

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Presenting some of our best shots and reflections on our experience. If you'd like to read about the background story/ beautiful chaos we had, see the other blog on  planning  :) Menu Sweet Chocolate cheesecake Butter Cake with buttercream icing Sweet potato and almond brownies Scones Semolina cake with cinnamon and lemon syrup Coconut macarons Red velvet cupcakes Vanilla thins Jelly shots Cream biscuits Sponge cake with whipped cream icing Mini coffee cupcakes with caramel icing Chocolate biscuits Lemon Shortbread Savoury Pinwheel sandwiches (chicken, egg and vegetarian) Curried chicken pastries Spinach ans ricotta pastries Sun-dried tomatoes, olives and polenta muffins Sun-dried tomatoes, capsicum and feta tarts Drinks Strawberry iced tea Masala spice tea Various pink Schweppes drinks (raspberry, pink grapefruit and blood orange) Butter Cake with buttercream icing Coconut macarons Sp...
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Marvellous May

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This was probably my best month this year because I had my first ever conference/ mini holiday. But it didn't start off that great, I had to learn how to use a software called Stata for statistical analysis. I struggled a lot in the beginning because I had no idea how to set up the data or what code to use. (Stata has a command interface). It took me a really long time to figure out what I needed to do. I went through a long process of trial and error and seeking help when I got stuck.  The first part of the analysis didn't take as long but the rest of it took me longer than I expected. I had set myself a deadline to finish it before I leave for the conference (but failed). However, the good news is, it finally worked in the end! I felt super accomplished after getting all my outputs. I think I'm slowly learning to be persistent! I thought I would be ready to write up after this but turns out, I still have to do another quality and tool validity assessme...
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Fast February

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Gosh, this month has gone so quick (even with the extra day that this leap year has given us!) I started my PhD at the beginning of this month and can't believe it has been a month already. I've been trying to adjust myself to the full-time (9 to 5) work routine. Right now, I am working on my paper from last year and starting a new SLR. To be honest, it has been a hard juggle but I'm slowly learning (safe to say!) I think the key is that you have to accept the fact that there will be ups and downs and you're not going to be super productive everyday.  For the majority of the time, I have stuck to very simple/ quick options (as you can tell from the pictures below) except for the Brazilian Passionfruit cake which was for a very special occasion (see recipe here ). Other than that, I started using my bamboo steamer during the Chinese New Year time. I have always wanted to use one of these, hopefully I can do some experiment cooking with it soon :) I...
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Black Star Pastry (Strawberry Watermelon Cake)

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Some of you might know about the desperate attempt I made last year for the Strawberry Watermelon Cake (see previous post at  Black Star Pastry ).  Yesterday I had the privilege of tasting this cake at a party. I got super excited as I’ve been wanting to try this for almost a year now. I was so tempted to just skip the mains but I patiently waited for dessert time and made sure I left space for the cake :P In the meantime, I went to take a close look at the cake (could not resist, for obvious reasons) and I was amazed at how magical it looked. It was constructed beautifully starting with a layer of almond  dacquoise followed by cream, then a slice of watermelon with cream,   almond  dacquoise and cream again. Finally, it was topped with strawberries, pistachios and dried rose petals. It was a quite a delicious cake but unfortunately, it did not meet the expectations I had. I liked certain elements, such as the lightness of the cream layers, f...
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Australia's Healthy Weight Week

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This week is all about encouraging people to eat healthy, home cooked meals and making small changes towards a healthy lifestyle. It is also about telling people what we do as dietitians (hence I am writing) The pictures are from the morning tea we hosted (colleagues and myself) for staff on our floor at work.  As you can tell from the photos, we tried to include something from all the food groups. We wanted to make it colourful and include healthier options, where possible.  Fruits: apples, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, figs, passionfruit, nectarines and peaches Vegetables: carrots, snow peas, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and beetroot dip Dairy: low fat yoghurt and low fat ricotta (fritatata) Lean meat, fish, poultry, nuts and legumes: variety of nuts, hommus Cereals: wholemeal pita bread If you'd like to read more information on the AHWW, head over to http://healthyweightweek.com.au/ :) Zucchini, ...
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Wholemeal date and walnut loaf

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Happy Monday everyone! It has been a while since I baked a loaf so thought I'd make one :) Recipe adapted from http://daa.asn.au/recipes/wholemeal-date-and-walnut-loaf/ Ingredients 2 eggs, lightly beaten 100 g pitted dates, chopped 45 g margarine 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 cup water 40 g walnuts, chopped 1 cup self-raising flour 1 cup wholemeal flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 tablespoon LSA oil to spray Method 1) Preheat oven to 180 °C. 2) Combine dates, margarine, sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir and boil gently. Set aside to cool. 3) Sift flour, baking powder, LSA. 4) Add in walnuts and eggs  5) Add in date mixture and mix well. 6) Lightly spray a loaf tin pan. Line with baking paper. 7) Pour mixture into pan 8) Bake for 45-50 mins. Skewer should come out clean.  9) Remove from oven and cool for 10 mins 10) Turn out on a cooling rack. Slice and serve with yoghurt, if desired.
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