Getting Excited Over Sakuras @ Guiyang [Guizhou, China]

The sakura blossoms in Japan are world famous but as the air ticket and accommodation's prices are known to be exorbitant during that time; i have never even attempted to visit, especially given the fact that the blossoming dates are never confirmed until maybe a week or two before. 

Therefore, it's a treat indeed for both my dad and i to chance upon the sakura blossoms in Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou! One particular tree stood out for its low-lying branches and being Singaporeans; we had to step closer for more photo taking! 

Some of our travel mates were as excited as us and we helped each other with the photo-taking. While Singapore is a tropical country with blooming flowers all over the year, it's rare to find trees that were literally covered thickly with flowers.

Dad actually loves flowers a lot and when we were in the village; he kept many pots in the garden! When we moved to the HDB flat in Yishun, he had to make do with a limited space and could, sadly, only keep a few pots. Therefore, you can see him excitedly taking out his phone camera and take picture after picture.

I prefer to take photos of my dad instead of him taking pictures of me; which he did by the way but my eye bags were too heavy for me to publish them on this blog! Hahaha!

It may not look much from the photographs taken using my phone but in real life, coupled with the cool weather, the tree was a breathtaking sight to behold and it's depressing i didn't have my DSLR with me. :( 

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Click here for the itinerary of the 8 Days Spectacular Guizhou Tour Package (GUARANTEED No Shopping Stops Throughout) by Chan Brothers.

Durian Kaki - A Popular Durian Store @ Junction Nine [Singapore] #duriankaki #junction9

Everyone loves a good deal but when it comes to king of fruits, it can get a bit complicated; you wouldn't want to waste your daily calories intake with lousy durians and that's the reason why people would usually check out reviews, for better or for worse.

I am lazy to travel out of the notorious town of Yishun (if not, i would have gone to Ah Di Durian in Ang Mo Kio) and have heard of favourable reviews of durian kaki for quite some time; guess it's time to check it out with my secondary school mate whom i have known for over 20 years! 

Four steps of ordering although i think it misses one step; first is to queue, second is to choose your durians, third is to pay (NETS payment allowed), fourth is to decide whether you want to takeaway or eat at the store and last is applicable only if you need packing for takeaway. 

We managed to secure a table right outside! There were only two so i guess we were lucky; on second thought, not really since the cream of the crop (mao shan wang / cat mountain king species) was sold out and we had to make do with golden phoenix (which is still preferable) and mixed species.

Five durians for just the two of us; smallest were the golden phoenix species. I was telling my friend we should order moderately for health reason but it didn't quite sit in well with him as i had durians four times in eight days! 

With durians, always start with the lower quality one and the cheaper mixed species we had were yellow-meat, big seeded and tasted sweet. No complaint since it's S$10 a kilograms and quality was alright for the price.

Golden phoenix species was priced higher at S$16 a kilogram but due to their smaller fruit size; it really didn't quite matter, especially when the seeds were smaller / flatter with pale-yellow meat and the taste hovered between the highly sought bitter-sweetness.

Overall, i enjoyed the durians from Durian Kaki and despite the relatively young age of the sellers; it's obvious they are not out to scam you like in the case from many other durians stores. Next time, maybe i would call to reserve their durians! 

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Address

18 Yishun Avenue 9, Junction 9, 

#01-83, Singapore 760935

Contact Number

+65-8405-8509

Durian Prices 

As of 08 June 2019 and subject to fluctuations depending on supply, demand and seasons.

Pricing of Our Orders

Golden Phoenix - S$26 (for two durians)

Mixed Species - S$18 (for three durians)

Fried Cockles Kway Teow - Load it with Crispy Pork Lard @ Ayer Rajah Hawker Centre [Singapore] #ayerrajahhawkercentre #charkwayteow

My obsession with food from a particular stall / restaurant is actually very noticeable if you happen to be my meal kakis. Take ayer rajah food centre as an example; despite the many stalls, my recent fixation is with this hawker that offers only char kway teow and carrot cake! 

Manned by an affable pair who never fails to put a smile on my face, it's auntie on duty that day as uncle had to go for a medical appointment. Ordering for me when it comes to char kway teow is easy; more black sauce, extra one egg and maybe, a bit of chilli.

A key ingredient i wouldn't have missed out would be crispy pork lard but right here at this stall; given that i have been a loyal customer for quite a few months, i could sometimes freely take from the container! 

The above was how i loaded up my char kway teow with crispy pork lard and on one hand, i think i could have been more 'generous' but on the other hand, we shouldn't deprive other customers of this holy grail.

Pork lard aside, i totally enjoyed the full body aroma and delectable flavour oozing from the plate of char kway teow that had a great ratio of yellow and flat noodles and stir-fried with plump beansprouts, slices of fish cakes and pieces of Chinese sausages and cockles! 

Of course, the best way is to combine everything, including the yummy pork lard, in every spoonful that goes into the mouth! It's a happy-sad situation for me as it was lip-smacking delicious yet i should really cut down on my carbohydrate intake! 

I think my mom would like the juicy cockles here; which would be beneficial for me since i don't like this particular shellfish but as my friend said; you still need it for that extra oomph for the char kway teow.

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Address

Block 503, West Coast Drive, 

#01-03, Ayer Rajah Food Centre,

Singapore 120503

Location Map

As above. 

Pricing

Char Kway Teow - S$3.50

Add Extra Egg - S$0.50

Fresh, Homemade Fruits & Nuts Bread Using Kenwood Breadmaker BM250 #kenwood #breadmaker #homemade #fruitsandnutsbread

Around a month ago, i finally hauled back a second-hand breadmaker (Kenwood BM250) kindly donated by two friends as their family prefers handmade bread and the machine had been lying idle in their home for ages! 

Now, i am not so much a bread person and find bread-making a chore compared to cakes, cinnamon rolls etc! However, making bread using a breadmaker is supposed to be extremely fuss free; with mixing, kneading, rising and baking all taking place within the same device! Read further to see whether it is true or not! 

The recipe i found online for sweet bread (cranberry, almond and pecan bread) was rather straightaway; just to need to prepare the ingredients according to the loaf size you want and put them into the bread pan, in the order they were listed. 

Piece of cake (pun unintended) for someone who has been baking for quite a few years; the water goes in, follows by plain yogurt, bread flour, salt (bottom left), sugar (top right) and instant yeast. As i didn't have almond flour, i changed to bread flour instead. For the yeast, i made an indentation in the middle of the bread flour and poured it in. 

Indicate the menu (in our case, it would be menu 4), the loaf size and the crust colour. Personally, i prefer a darker crust as i enjoy crispier edges! The second final step - press the start button.

Let the kneading begin! 

There's still a final step - prepare the nuts and fruits! I am not keen on cranberry and pecans and opted for raisins, walnuts and any other remaining nuts / seeds in the fridge! Do mix them in a separate bowl using a teaspoon of bread flour; this would deter them from staying at the top, bottom and sides of the bread.

You still can't add in the fruits and nuts when the kneading continues. Wait for about 20 minutes after pressing start or when the machine starts to beep loudly.

-beep - beep - beep - time to add in the fruits and nuts! When i first tried out the recipe, i followed strictly to the quantity as indicated but found them too little for my liking. 

Hence, what you see above was a lot more; easier three to four times the original quantity on the recipe book! After you are done, just close the lid and it's now a waiting game of over 2 hours for a one-kilo loaf.

Done! As i would do things like watch videos, listen to music in my bedroom while waiting for my bakes; i have the tendency to set a timer on my phone as the beeping sound isn't loud enough for my hearing-damaged ears.

Remove the pan; remember to wear gloves as the handle would be freakish hot! 

Shake out the bread onto a cooling rack; it's important to follow this step. There's once i asked my sister to help me remove the pan from the breadmaker as i was in town and when i arrived home to take out the bread; condensation had set in, resulting in dry-textured bread. 

Easy? Definitely although the time taken could be exhausting, especially if you have plans to go out. My parents love the freshly made bread that's dotted with a generous amount of fruits and nuts though and i have been making full use of the breadmaker by utilising it at least once a week! Should it break out; there's a high likelihood i would buy a replacement. 

Lean Bento Bistro (Halal-Certified) - Nutritional, Healthy Yet Delicious Meals @ Holland Drive [Singapore] #leanbento

[Note: the physical store at Holland Drive (near Buona Vista MRT station) would be closed from 12 June 2019 although there's still the online booking option via https://order.leanbento.com/.]

I had intended to blog about Lean Bento ever since i had lunch there about six months ago. Alas, procrastination set in and when i heard that the bistro would be closed on 12 June 2019; my colleagues and i immediately decided on a date as two of them had yet to have the chance to enjoy the food there!

The owner of Lean Bento is well known for his good physique and has in fact been featured a couple of times in the local newspaper for his diet which he attributed to natural, nutritional meals. Now, it's not new to bank on the nutritional bandwagon; give how health conscious Singaporeans are.

However, healthy meals don't usually commensurate with tasty and here's where Lean Bento would prove you wrong! As you can see from the two photographs above; the energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat and fibre levels were indicated for each dish and you would even know if it's gluten, grain, dairy or even nut-free! 

Ordering at the counter - it's hard to decide what to have, especially when you have to also consider whether you want to top up with a beverage and / or muffin / waffles. 

After payment, collect the order number and the utensils and prepare your table for the food! No service charge was imposed and GST was already included in the listed price. 

Butter Milk Waffles - buttery and tasty; the only two things needed improvement were that they could have been hotter and crispier.

Chocolate Muffin - the taste was a bit bland for my liking although my colleague enjoyed it so much; she had to buy their blueberry muffin for breakfast the next day! 

All Day Brunch - Honey Chicken with Sauteed Mushrooms and Sesame Bun; where possible, i am most keen to try dishes under the all day brunch / breakfast listing. 

The sweet potatoes balls were extremely addictive and the honey chicken (generous portion by the way) was good on its own without the pertinent need for us to add extra seasoning or sauces! Even the sesame bun tasted amazing with light crisp and buttered surfaces. 

Energy count for my all day brunch was a mere 565 kcal yet it was just too filling for me! I couldn't finish the bun even though i really wanted too and i didn't even touch the salad....

Amazingly, one of my female friends managed to clean up her plate and she even helped herself with my salad. That's a surprise given she's the kind who would have on hand, a plastic container, to keep leftovers as she usually couldn't finish her food! 

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The two colleagues who had never tried the food in Lean Bento walked away with a fully satisfied stomach; only regret was not being able to visit the bistro earlier. Nevertheless, home delivery and self pick-up are still options after the physical store pulls down its shutter from 13 June 2019. 

Address

43 Holland Drive #01-49

Singapore 270043

(Closed from 12 June 2019; click here)

Website

https://order.leanbento.com/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Honey Chicken with Sauteed Mushrooms & Sesame Bun (Combo) - S$19.20

(Inclusive of GST and No Service Charge)