YAY for Smartbox(es)!

Running out of ideas for birthday pressies? Get a Smartbox! With 7 ranges to choose from, there is certainly one that will be perfect for your 'recipient'. The ranges are: Temptations for two, Table for two, Serenity, Adventure, Extreme, Unique Escapes and Wine Getaways. Being someone who adores food, i wouldn't mind receiving either of the first two smartboxes =P

In a nutshell, you select (and pay) a Smartbox from the available ranges and give it to your recipients. They will then select the gift from the guidebook and make a reservation! Just don't forget to presert the gift certificate at the venue. For more information, please visit the website.

[Picture taken from SmartBox website]

Pre-New Year's Dinner 30.12.09

Was invited to an auntie's place for a dinner to celebrate New Year! It was kinda like a potluck dinner and a group of people were invited. Usually in dinners like this there are heaps of good food, just because aunties are also mothers who prepare the best home-made dishes. For this occasion, I made pickled cabbage and beef stir-fry but for some reason, i forgot to take photos of it (silly me). There were heaps of food varying from noodles, stir-frys, finger foods and desserts.

There were Apple and Corn Muffins, Hong Kong-styled Salad (which is made of fruits, vegetables and eggs mixed with mayo), Braised lamb - which i didn't try because i am not a big fan of lamb (I just don't like the 'lamby' taste). I really liked the prawn spring roll because it looked very pretty and at the same time, it was very delicious - the prawn was wrapped with some basil and mint leaves and then with a spring roll skin and consequently, deep fried. The prawn heads were not spared either as they were deep fried a la japanese way.

Traditional dishes such as the fried hokkien noodles, chicken & black fungi stir-fry and chinese dumplings were also present. Despite being traditional pork & chives dumplings, they tasted different with the addition of dried shrimps - not bad.

I also liked the pastries and there were two flavours: vegetables and spinach & ricotta.The highlight for me was probably the Northern Chinese Cold Salad that the auntie made. The ingredients were fresh and the sauce just complemented perfectly with the salad - perfect for this HOT summer. It had chinese glass noodles, shredded chicken, carrots, cucumbers, black fungi, coriander and it was topped with basil and a bit of mint leaves. I am not certain of how the sauce is made but from what i heard it consisted of soy sauce, chinese vinegar, chilli, lemon juice, salt, pepper, sugar and a bit of chicken stock (don't know the proportions).

Pan-fried Chinese Pork & Chives Dumplings...with dried shrimps

My fave dish of the night...i think i had 3 serves =P

The whole table filled with yummy food: (ohhh...i can spot my dish!)

Courgette Restaurant - Graduation dinner

Went to Courgette Restaurant (54 Marcus Clarke St, City), which has been awarded a hat for 3 years straight,  for a friend's graduation dinner sometime around mid-December (i know, it's been ages ago). The interior design it's modern and the restaurant is quite dim to maintain that romantic atmosphere. The waiter was really friendly and knowledgeable, his service was really good. We all ordered an entree, a main and a dessert and that almost covered 75% of the menu! We were treated with some lovely amuse buche (ocean trout) and very nice house-made bread

                           Left: Amuse buche                           Right: Grape Sorbet, served just before the desserts 

For entrees we ordered:

• 
  
  Sauteed Yamba King Prawn with preserved lemon and parmesan risotto, smoked ocean trout and leek tart, honey balsamic dressing
• 
  
  Orange and Szechuan pepper pressed confit duck, seared Queensland scallops, apple and fennel puree - the scallops were huge and very juicy, cooked very nicely

The Yamba King Prawn entree taken in 4 different angles

Orange and Szechuan pepper pressed confit duck, seared Queensland scallops, apple and fennel puree

For the mains: (overall i would have enjoyed the dishes more, if they were 'cleaner & simpler' without having too many flavours going on at once)

• 
  
  Seared ocean trout with Moreton bay bug cigar, corn custard, shaved Hawkesbury squid and double bacon jus - I think there were too many flavours going on in this dish and that kinda made it a bit too rich for me. However, the components by itself were good.

• 
  
  Roast duck breast and confit leg with Toulouse sausage, pickled red cabbage, baby turnips, prune and Armagnac sauce - Duck was quite tender and it went well with the cabbage

• 
  
  Roast Riverina spiced lamb loin with speck and cauliflower puree, fondant potato and confit vine-ripened tomato

• 
  
  90 day grain fed fillet of beef with potato bobbin, pea puree, roasted baby beetroots and bordelaise sauce - the beef was very tender and juicy!

The night just wouldn't be complete without the desserts and our selections were:

• 
  
  Strawberry and plum terrine with traditional panna cotta and glass biscuits - loved the selection of fresh berries that were served with the lovely panna cotta and also the Persian Fairy Floss

• 
  
  Warm Belgian chocolate and fresh raspberry tart with vanilla cream Chantilly - not rich and yet tasty

• 
  
  Vanilla crème brulee with seasonal mixed berries and short bread finger - probably the best of the desserts for the night. Smooth and creamy crème brulee with a thin layer of burned sugar

I'm OVER THE TOP!

First of all, thanks Missklicious for giving me this lovely award. I've never expected to get an award, but thanks for reading and supporting my blog.

The first part of the rules of this award, involves me providing my readers the answers to the questions below and the catch is: all answers must be in one word. I have to also thank my award giver for this cute award (which i already did, but thanks again Missklicious). I haven't had the time to think of my 6 favorite bloggers, so i will do that later =)

Mon answers:

1. Where is your cell phone? Bag
2. Your hair? Black
3. Your mother? Listener
4. Your father? Kind
5. Your favourite food? Japanese
6. Your dream last night? Hairdresser
7. Your favourite drink? Water
8. Your dream/goal? Business
9. What room are you in? Mine
10. Your hobby? Photography
11. Your fear? heights
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Somewhere
13. Where were you last night? Restaurant
14. Something that you aren’t? Genius
15. Muffins? Yummy
16. Wish list item? Gucci
17. Where did you grow up? Brazil
18. Last thing you did? Dinner
19. What are you wearing? Dress
20. Your TV? Off
21. Your pets? Two
22. Friends? Special
23. Your life? Nice
24. Your mood? Dreamy
25. Missing someone? Always
26. Vehicle? No
27. Something you’re not wearing? Scarf
28. Your favourite store? Bakery
29. Your favourite colour? White
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Monday
32. Your best friend? God
33. One place that I go to over and over? Japan
34. One person who emails me regularly? Sis
35. Favourite place to eat? Everywhere

Feliz Ano Novo!

Feliz Ano Novo! That's me wishing everyone a Happy New Year in portuguese.

Thanks for everyone who reads my blog and also for your support. In the coming year, i hope to improve my photography skills and improve my blog =)

Since it's the 1st day of the year, I just couldn't not post! Hum...it's been a bit busy for me but i still managed to squeeze in some time to make a HK-style Mango Pudding - especially because it's Mango Season. It's not hard to make it and it's a perfect treat for this summer.

Mango Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

- 2 mangos

- 1 packet of Mango Jelly Powder (90g)

- 1 egg

- 300ml hot water

- 170ml evaporated milk

- 1tsp of gelatine powder

Method:

- Cut mango into cubes

- Beat egg and evaporated milk until well combined (mixture A)

- Mix gelatine powder with the Mango Jelly Powder, then add hot water into the mixture. Mix until all the jelly powder is dissolved (mixture B)

- Add in mixture A into mixture B, then add in the mango (mixture C)

- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight

Note: If you want to have that jelly layer of mango on top, put some mango in the mould that you would like to use (as you can see, i used my favorite panna cotta mould) and add a bit of the mixture B. Put the mould into the freezer and leave it there for around 45minutes or until set. Take the moulds out and pour in the mixture C. Voila! (you can serve it with a bit of evaporating milk)