A week of guinea pigs

I cooked for a few friends of mine but sad to say, I had to eliminate some on my list, due to my leg condition. I cooked for Gen Sausage in Tomato Sauce, Onion Omelette and Fried Chicken Wings. The review was that she loved the sausages, the egg was waxy-looking, as I had fried it for too long a time, and the chicken wings were oily as I saw her try to rub oil off. I decided to cook Japanese Rice instead but I guess she wasn't used to it. For dessert, it was Sara Lee's Apple Pie with berries as garnishing. She liked the blackberries and the pie was warm from the oven.

Cheryl had it bad though. I decided to cook noodles instead, accompanied by Tuna Cakes, Chicken in Black Bean Sauce and Seaweed Soup. The food grew cold as we started our meal late. The noodles became dry and stuck together. Thank goodness I reheated the soup and it softened the noodles. The Tuna was obviously not nice as it was cold. The chicken dish was fine but I did not add enough water and so it was a little salty. There was not much soup left after reheating. The redeeming factor was my Lime Fruit Jelly which had set perfectly. She enjoyed it. My student Huijie had the better lot as I toasted the Tuna before letting her try. She liked it. :D

Minglong was next. I cooked rice, Seared Scallops, Korean-style Beef with Asparagus, Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and Miso Soup. The scallops were a little salty, the beef was good :D, the satay too and the soup was a little salty. He found the Apple Pie all right.

One of my best friends came for dinner. I put less salt on the scallops but he found it fishy. He liked the beef which was cooked Teriyaki-style and with Yellow Peppers instead. He thought the Prawn Cakes were Salmon Cakes and he liked the Tofu with Mushroom and Cucumber Soup, which I had added Dried Thyme to. I cooked Minced Chicken in Soya Sauce, to reproduce what my mum had cooked for me when I was young. The taste was rather authentic but I put in too much dark sauce. I had Starfruit and Berries for dessert. The Starfruit had turned brown as I had not added salt to prevent it. He liked the raspberries as I do. They are sweeter.

Meifen requested for Nonya food and so I cooked Sambal Squid, Chicken in Korean-style Sauce, Cucumber in Dried Shrimp Blachan, Teriyaki Chicken Wings, Potato and Carrot Soup, and rice. I made Strawberry Fruit Jelly for dessert.The squid was good as I had used Prima Taste's Nonya Sambal, which is very authentic in terms of true Nonya cuisine. However, I had cut the squid into too small pieces and having left the dish out for a while, the squid became hard. The first chicken dish was good. I could really taste the ginger included in the sauce while the wings became oily after being left out for a while. Toasting them before I ate them for dinner, made them taste way better. The vegetable dish surprisingly received a good review, and I did this from scratch. :D The soup was really good, close to the exact taste that my mum's version was. I used chicken cubes for the stock, added button mushrooms and dried herbs though. My student liked it too, even though I felt it was a little salty. The dessert was good and had no added sugar. :)

I used pre-packaged sauces and marinades to cook, for convenience, and the results weren't too bad. :) I decided to start much earlier than my previous attempts, as I have a time management problem when it comes to cooking. I have made some of my guests wait for me. However, the disadvantage is that the food grows cold as a result. Sigh.

Big breakfast at Cafe Cartel with Di and Theodore

My order. It was filling and good!









The guys' order. They each ordered one of this set. The pancakes look fluffy and the sausages look more well-grilled than the ones above. :S







Hot Chocolate: mmm....

Zhou's Kitchen at Square 2

Sakura Chicken: chicken in a fragrant rose-tinged sauce. Love it!