January 21, 2016 In All recipes, Dairy, Meat, Seafood, Snacks, Travel

MADRID, plus how to throw a tapas party

[ezcol_1half] In the past few years, for more times than I'd like to admit, I have allowed myself to dance dangerously around a question that is as simple as it is complicated, as imaginable as it is hopeless, a secret irritation that haunts us all who have ever fell in love with a corner of this beautiful land they call Europe, but had to depart soon after. You know you ask yourself this, we all do. Why. Why can't I live here? EVERY SIMPLE DELIGHTS FROM EVERY ASPECTS OF LIVING, RESTRAINED IN SMALL SERVINGS, BUT CONSTANT, AND IT DOESN'T STOP COMING It's a cliche, of course, for someone who doesn't know or has travelled to Europe that much. But is that what romance requires, muchness? From the first time I landed a foot in Paris back in spring 2012, around the time when I just started this blog up till now, I have only been to a handful of European cities and each affair lasted no more than a week. And yet, the immense imagery of lost stories behind every architectures and cobble streets, the courage I seek to enjoy life with ease that they breath daily as a

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January 15, 2016 In All recipes, Bakery/Pastry, Sweets

WEDNESDAY’S THROW-IT-TOGETHER TEXAS SHEET CAKE

[ezcol_1half] I didn't intend to sneak a cake recipe in between my travel-inspired posts, but this is the easiest-yet-delicious cake recipe I have yet to encounter, and I think you should do it. Look, I'm not exactly a practician of 30-minute meals.  I don't mind getting down and dirty with a recipe for the better part of my day and get disgustingly anal with minor details.  But for those who knows me, knows that when it comes to dessert-baking, specifically cakes and such, I then become what Nat Geo would call, a cake-sloth.  If the recipe, even at a glance, contains any mentioning of words like "softened/room-temperature butter (subtext: have my cake and eat it tomorrow)", or "creaming (scrape till my ass split)", or "sift (is Santa coming or I'm covered in blow!)", or "beat eggs one at a time (zzzz

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January 8, 2016 In All recipes, Meat, mobile slider, Seafood, Snacks

LISBON, PLUS SURF’N TURF PORK BELLY AND SHRIMP SAUSAGE SANDWICH

[ezcol_1third] After what seemed as long as forever, but now, feels as short as a blink of an eye, five weeks of traveling in and out of 6 different countries, I am now, finally, back home. It is difficult, if not impossible, to sum up a journey as long as this one in one post.  It began in Hong Kong, then Taipei then back to Hong Kong, then it departed towards London, then Madrid, and Lisbon, then finally, passing by Germany, back to Hong Kong, then back to Beijing.  It was a zig-zaging montage of cityscapes, sounds, smells, flavours, stimulations… but also disorientations, sense of aimless drifts, dubbed by a relentless seasonal flu somewhere at end.  How do I tell such a story I have no clue.  I suspect I would be inadequate but I shall try. I shall try, starting with Lisbon. Why Lisbon?  I don’t know.  I guess there are moments in life that didn’t feel particularly monumental at the times, but somehow, years and years later, they stay with you whenever you feel like looking back.  Lisbon, in the best sense, felt as such.  There are cities where we go to feel the future.  New York, London, places that strut at

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December 12, 2015 In All recipes, Bakery/Pastry, Dairy, Sweets, updated recipe

SANDY OLD MAN ON X’MAS

[ezcol_1fifth]  [/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_3fifth] ONCE THESE PIPING HOT, LIGHT AND AIRY DONUTS HIT WHAT I CALL THE "CHRISTMAS SAND", THE HOUSE WILL INSTANTLY SMELL LIKE SWEET, BUTTERY AND EGGY HOLIDAY SPIRIT. Quickly leaving you today with something awesome I discovered in Hong Kong.  And it comes with a funny name, too, called Sandy Old Man! I found it at a traditional Catonese-style pastry shop and thought to myself that it was just donuts, but as I bit into the sugar coated fried dough, this little fella instantly sank into an airy sponge with soft and almost custardy interiors.  After some much needed research, turned out that this thing which they call "Sandy Old Man", are essentially pâte à choux donuts!  By frying this classic cream puff-dough, you get a slight crispier exterior with almost hallow interior, permeating a salivating aroma of eggs and butter. Traditionally Sandy Old Man are only coated in granulated sugar, but come on, it's Christmas.  Granulated sugar turns into light brown sugar, then festivity turns into a pinch of ground cinnamon, cloves and a slight sprinkle of salt.  Once the piping hot, light and airy donuts hit what I call the "Christmas sand", the house will instantly smell like sweet, buttery and eggy holiday

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December 7, 2015 In All recipes, Dairy, Meat, Noodle/Pasta/Rice

SPICY CURED YOLK RICE BOWL

[ezcol_1third][/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third][/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third_end] PRECIOUS, SALTY, SPICY LUMPS OF LAVA-LIKE LIQUID-GOLDS [/ezcol_1third_end] [ezcol_1third][/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third][/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third_end] OK, so if you also read this article from not-so-long ago, and a little naughty idea got wrapped around your head like the most annoying holiday jingle, I'm here to tell you, the resistance is futile.  Cured yolks.  Thickened, jam-like, salty and sticky cured yolks. Does it work?  Yes.  And it's easy. Look, obviously, the idea of dehydrating a yolk for 10 to 12 hours until it becomes the consistency of its soft-cooked self, infused with the deep savouriness of soy sauce and whatnots, is only going to entice the most devoted of yolk-fanatics.  But even if you weren't previously a follower of this particular cult - sunny side up, poached, soft boiled, and none of it did the trick - this particular recipe might just be the one that finally converts you to the other side. For one, it's extremely easy to make.  On top of that, infinitely adaptable. [/ezcol_1third_end] [ezcol_1third][/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third][/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third_end] The process involves nothing more than whisking a handful of ingredients together as the "curing liquid", then leaving the yolks inside this "love potion" to make their magic.  The curing liquid can be, as suggested by NYTimes, a combination of soy sauce, konbu

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December 4, 2015 In All recipes, Dairy, Noodle/Pasta/Rice

Needle point pasta in light blue cheese sauce

[ezcol_1fifth]  [/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_3fifth] IF YOU LIKE STUBBY AND CHEWY PASTAS, LIKE ORECCHIETTE, YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS Are you still waiting for your simple, elegant, next go-to dinner party recipe that you can strut out in front of an impressed crowd and say "oh this?  I just pulled it out of the fridge"? Well, this one is mine. In case you aren't aware yet, but for the past two weeks, I've been and will be stuck with tiny and barely equipped kitchens in rented apartments all the way till early January.  You know when they say, you don't know what you have until you've lost it?  Well, I feel exactly the same about my kitchen.  Because what I have now in my temporary possession is a bended cutting board, a non-stick skillet, and a knife that's about as sharp as a letter-opener.  But, strangely, it is always when I don't have something, that I find myself wanting it the most. Two days ago, like a crippled soldier standing amidst the desert, not the most convenient timing of all you see, I found myself really, really craving some homemade pastas. [/ezcol_3fifth] [ezcol_1fifth_end]  [/ezcol_1fifth_end] [ezcol_1quarter][/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_1quarter][/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_1quarter][/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_1quarter_end][/ezcol_1quarter_end] [ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end][/ezcol_1half_end] [ezcol_1fifth]  [/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_3fifth] Obviously, without any pasta machines, the pasta will have to be completely hand-shaped.  But in case you haven't noticed, all the best

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November 29, 2015 In All recipes, Meat, Snacks

MACAO’S PORK CHOP PINEAPPLE BUN

[ezcol_1fifth]  [/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_3fifth] IT CAN'T BE RIGHT.  IT SHOUDN'T BE RIGHT. BUT IT MIRACULOUSLY IS. History had it, that whenever two polar opposite cultures are smashed together, often under reluctant or even violent circumstances, despite hardships and losses, something mutated but beautiful eventually comes out at the other end.  That something, is usually food. No doubt that America has its unspeakable history from the time of slavery, but what was left from its ugliness, was the unapologetic creole and cajun.  Taiwan's predominantly Fujian and kejia culture (derived from China's southern coast) adjusted to 50 years of Japanese rule by nurturing an uniquely categorized cuisine all of its own, which, some say, may be the last-standing pride of this politically fading island.  So on

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