HONG KONG FOOD TRIP day 1

This is just day one of my Hong Kong food trip over the weekend. We went there mainly to celebrate the 40th birthday of a good friend Noli Reyes. We decided to go last minute and so...here we are...the first good dinner for this trip.

We met Anna, Noli and Ique at Hunan Garden over at Time's Square. Reservations was at 6:30. We got to the area an hour early so we decided to go shopping first.

Of course, I had to go to City Super to check out the food court. Guess what I discovered?... these belgian waffles shaped like hotdogs freshly baked in the waffle iron. They were being sold for HK$ 13.00 and so I went to buy one. As soon as I tried it, I had to make Vivian and Cathy try it too. They couldn't get enough of it because it was so good, they had to buy again so they can have one for themselves. I also bought a pack of cranberry scones. They looked so pretty! Unfortunately, the pretty look didn't match the taste. The scones weren't so flaky and it tasted like it had parmesan cheese...so, that was a disappointment. It stayed in the hotel for days and ended in the trash can on the last day.

Going back to our dinner...we went up to the 13th floor at 6:30 pm. Scroll down to see what we had...

Here's a group photo with all the good food.

Jasmine tea was the choice for the evening.

This is my cute plate...

I particularly liked the sauteed peppers on the left. They were really good! I think it was sauteed with garlic, chili oil and the sliced chili peppers

For appetizers, we had Spring rolls with vegetables,

Steamed vegetable dumplings,

Steamed pork dumplings,

Then this soup...I truly loved...it's chicken soup...sort of like a chicken consomme with some ground chicken on top. It was really flavorful and served just the way I like it...piping hot.

This is an interesting fried rice. It had sliced smoked sausage.

This was also good...Steamed shrimp with garlic.

And of course, the birthday noodles for long life.

I think this was the best dish for the evening. Smoked duck. I enjoyed the crispy skin and smokey flavor of the duck meat. It was really really good. I heard that it takes about 45 minutes to prepare this so, you have to order this in advance.

Here's the photo of the girls after dinner, on the way back to the Crown Plaza for dessert.

I had to take this photo. The view from where we were was truly amazing!

Drinks and desserts at Club 28...of course, on the 28th floor of the hotel overlooking the pool on the left and the well lit buildings on the right.

PAN SEARED SALMON WITH CAPERS AND LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Here's a recipe I did recently for Women's Health Magazine...something healthy, using five ingredients or less... excluding salt and pepper.

Below were the questions they asked me about this dish...

What makes this dish healthy? Well, first, it's fish...healthier than red meat. Also, salmon is loaded with omega 3 fatty acids which helps fight against heart disease, it also promotes healthy skin and joints. It is also high in protein.

The sauce is a lemon vinaigrette and it is made with extra virgin oil which is rich with monounsaturated fat...it helps lower the rate of heart disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and asthma.

How did I come up with this dish?... I wanted a dish that was easy to make (cooks in less than 10 mins), need only 5 ingredients and it is packed with nutrients.

flavor profile - fresh tasting, light and refreshing

Now, here's the recipe:

PAN SEARED SALMON WITH CAPERS AND LEMON VINAIGRETTE
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Recipe By: AAA

Ingredients:

150 grams salmon fillet
salt and pepper, for seasoning
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon capers, drained, chopped
LEMON VINAIGRETTE
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 piece lemon, get zest and juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a saute pan on medium-high heat.

2. Season salmon fillet with salt and pepper.

3. Sear fish 3 minutes per side.

4. Once fish is cooked, remove from pan and place on a serving plate. Add a little more oil in the pan if needed then saute the chopped capers for 1 min. or until slightly crisp.

5. Spoon the capers over the fish.

6. To make the lemon vinaigrette: Combine mustard, lemon juice and zest in a medium bowl. Gradually pour the olive oil, and mix using a wire whisk. Set aside until ready to use.

7. Serve salmon with some mixed greens on the side and with some lemon vinaigrette.

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

Here's what's cooking in my kitchen now! Hainanese Chicken Rice. I learned this when I attended a cooking class in Singapore a couple of years ago. I like it because it's a complete meal. It has soup, chicken, and rice. The condiments can be purchased in the grocery if you don't have time to make it from scratch. This is my comfort food for the moment. Hope you can try making this easy recipe in your own homes too. Enjoy!

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

1 1/2 kilograms whole chicken

20 cups water

1 ounce fresh young ginger -- peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic -- peeled

1 bunch spring onions -- washed

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

slice cucumber -- for garnish

cliantro leaves -- for garnish

condiment

chilli sauce

grated ginger

sweet thick soy sauce

1. Wash chicken and remove knobs of fat on either side of the buttocks.

2. Smash the ginger and garlic and tie the spring onions into a knot.

3. Stuff the chicken with salt, garlic, ginger and spring onions.

4. Boil 20 cups of water in a large pot. Add chicken, breast side down first, submerging completely.

5. Let water boil, then turn the heat down to very low heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes, uncovering once to turn chicken turn over.

6. Remove the chicken and drain liquid from the body cavity. Retain liquid for later use.

7. Wash under tap water for about 2 minutes to stop the cooking process and to tighten the skin.

8. Drain, rub some vegetable oil over and let the chicken cool to room temperature.

9. Chop the ckicken into bite-sized pieces and serve garnished with sliced cucumbers. Then top with cilantro leaves.

FOR CONDIMENTS:

1. chilli sauce can be purchased in the grocery.

2. for the grated ginger...

1/4 c. grated ginger

3 T. vegetable oil

salt and white pepper to taste

heat oil in a sautepan. add ginger and cook until juices are slightly reduced. season with salt and white pepper to taste.

3. sweet thick soy sauce can be purchased in the grocery. If not available, you may use soy sauce.

FOR THE RICE

12 ounces long grain rice

5 cloves garlic -- minced

5 pieces shallots -- minced

3 teaspoons vegetable oil

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

3/4 teaspoon salt

1. Wash rice and drain in a colander for 10 minutes.

2. Heat 3 T oil over high heat in a wok. Add shallots and stir fry until fragrant. Add garlic and stir fry for one minute.

3. Add the rice grains and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.

4. Transfer to a saucepan or rice cooker and add the chicken broth and salt. Boil over high heat and lower down the heat to steam the rice when the water level reaches the level of the rice grains and steam holes appear. Cook for 30-40 minutes until the rice is cooked.

HAWKER FOOD IN MALAYSIA

I went to Malaysia last April to attend classes at the Callebaut Chocolate Academy. We arrived late at night and so upon reaching our hotel, everybody was hungry. We walked around the area and looked for places where we could eat and we ended up eating here in this area...

This was like a strip of small stores that serve different kinds of foods from bbq chicken wings, char kway teow, congee, grilled shrimp etc.

Here's what we ordered. The chicken wings right on the center, some char kway teo on the left, hainanese chicken with ric, satay chicken and beef, some iced honey dew melon with coconut milk, congee and some barley tea.

This one came last. Stingray sambal... It's really good!!! even if we were so full, we had to eat it...and we finished it. What was good about it too is that it was so cheap. Each of us paid about 20 ringgit , that's about 300 pesos in Philippine money so that's not bad considering we ordered a lot.

Will post some more good food that we had in a few days.

UNI IN CALATAGAN!

Holy week was spent in Calatagan with Marivic and JV. I was so happy that we got there in the afternoon after having a fun lunch in Sta. Rosa.

We headed down to the beach and decided to make the kids play in the sand. While walking around, we saw sea urchins...a ton of them. I got so excited!!! I remembered when we were younger, Marivic and I used to get them during low tide and bring them back to the house to serve them as sashimi for appetizers. That was several years ago and I was kinda glad that the sea life in Calatagan in alive again!

Scroll down so you can see what I'm talking about... Of course, we had to choose the big sea urchins and let go of the smaller ones.

Here I am with a rake... which I borrowed from the kids. I had to disrupt them from finishing their sandcastle. For me, getting the uni was more important haha.

Here it is. The sea urchin is cracked in half, then...

The meat is scooped out...the yellow part.

This what we got from a bucket of sea urchins, almost 3/4 of a bowl of uni

To serve, we drain the excess liquid.

This is Ari's creation...uni on top of sushi rice...with wasabi and soy...Yum!!!

SUMMER COOKING CLASSES!

This April, I'll be holding summer classes for kids. Feel free to call or email me at goodiesnsweets@gmail.com for inquiries...

FOOD FINDS!

I went out today right after lunch to go get some chocolate for a Yummy shoot tomorrow. I tried a recipe of a chocolate croissant pudding. I wasn't so happy with it. I wanted more chocolate in the pudding...so I had to go out to get some more dark chocolate. While at the store, I saw some items that I found interesting so I grabbed them as well. Here's what I got...

Caramel Fudge and Chocolate Fudge...something to top your ice cream with or make other great desserts with. I have to buy some vanilla ice cream and try it out tomorrow.

Then I saw this pack of Cocoa Tablea... not bad for the price. I wonder if it's any good. I'll actually try some after I write this...

Then I saw these vanilla sticks. It's 3 in a pack. I intend to use one stick to dunk in my bowl of sugar. I'm thinking, it would smell so good to use that sugar for my coffee or tea... I'll have to wait for about a week for the vanilla scent to infuse in the sugar...I'll let you know if it's any good.

Here's the label for the vanilla sticks...it's organically grown in Papua New Guinea...

I headed to Terry's in Podium to get other stuff... here's what I found... cheese with cranberries, and Manchego marinated in red wine...perfect for after dinner get togethers.

This brand of truffle oil, I encountered when I went to Italy years ago. We actually went to see the factory where it was made. I had to get a bottle. This time, I got the white truffle oil instead of the black. Now I have to plan to make the pasta with truffle cream sauce to try the oil out. The price was a bit reasonable considering the size of the bottle but comparing it to say like the price of a gallon of olive oil, this one becomes very expensive...oh but as they say...life is short so the food you eat should have some quality also... for you only eat three times a day. Every meal should be memorable...

Lastly, I had them slice me some chorizo pamplona. They were out of stock the last time. I'll probably make a panini sandwich with it tomorrow. Ok, that's all for now. Got to head back in the kitchen to make another batch of chocolate croissant pudding...You should smell my kitchen now...it smells heavenly!!!