Korean BBQ And Ssambap @ Home

I received an electric Pan Grill for my birthday from WB... hehehe and ever since then I have been thinking of korean bbq and my all time favorite Ssambap ( a korean lettuce wrap ) with ssamjang dip sauce.  I told WB , "lets have our own Daorae Korean BBQ at home " and I was surprised he said YESSS.  We bought a few pieces of spare rib chops from our regular butcher and had them marinated with my own marinade sauce....mmmm I managed to whip up my own marinade sauce, almost 90 percent as close to the one from Daorae... after having eaten and tasted Daorae ( just kidding )  I made my own marinade sauce which consists of gochujang paste, sesame seeds, marmalade jam and light soy sauce and a tiny drop of sesame oil. Wow, it was good...really tasty.  I marinated the spare rib chops in the morning...cling wrapped them and kept them in the fridge till needed.

I made some ssamjang dip sauce for the lettuce wrap )  I googled for the recipe and found one that I think would be flavorful  - it consists of gochujang paste, local beanpaste, sesame oil, chopped onion,chopped garlic and finely sliced spring onions. 

marinade sauce

we chose spare rib chops

beautiful chops....juicy and tender and flavorful

as it sizzles in the pan grill...the aroma made us hungry

added some red onion slices for the wraps

once it is cooked, we cut the chops into thinner pieces

for ssambap ( lettuce wrap )

this is a must have for ssambap...the Ssamjang dip sauce

my lettuce wrap(Ssambap) 

filled with slices of grilled chops , ssamjang sauce,

pickled garlic and kimchi and fresh mushrooms

DELISH!

With the leftover ingredients, I stir fry some rice on the grill pan

korean style...so tasty  !

Yummilicious fried rice :)

Enjoy !

Saba Mackeral Kimchi Stew

Many of my readers know that I am a fan of kimchi and even make my own kimchi at home.  Making kimchi may involve a lot of work but worth the trouble taken when you you have a jar of ready homemade kimchi in the fridge.  At any one time you feel like cooking kimchi stew , it is there for you. Save the dollar is one thing but it is also  freaking healthy because you know what you put inside your enzyme packed kimchi.  

Needless to say , when I have a piece of leftover grilled saba mackeral in the fridge, kimchi stew came to mind and with the mackeral , I added some crab meat mushrooms to the stew and GOSH it was lip-smacking good !  Believe me, it was so good that even WB asked for a bowl without the fish of course...he doesnt eat fish for your information..scared of bones....mmmmm he does not know what he misses.  Anyway, I always believe less man more share...LOL so wicked of me to say it...* shrug the shoulder *   If anyone of you would like to make your own kimchi..here is the recipe link for homemade kimchi.

smells good....you can add any kind of edible mushrooms 

to your kimchi stew or any seafood of your choice

Saba Mackeral Kimchi Stew

ingredients:

(A)
1.5 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of homemade kimchi
1 tbsp of gochujang paste
1 tsp of chilli flakes  *optional


(B)
1 pkt of fresh crab meat mushrooms - cleaned
grilled saba mackeral fish ( half a fish )

garnishing
spring onion - clean and cut into 1" length


 Method:

Combine (A) in a claypot and simmer under medium heat.  When it comes to a rolling boil, add in grilled mackeral fish and crab meat mushrooms.  Cook till the  mushrooms has soften and the sweetness of the grilled fish has been boiled into the stew. Add in a pinch of salt for taste . Off heat and garnish with spring onions.  Serve hot with noodles or rice.

Happy Sweet 56 Elin @ Food & Desire

Today I admit I am 56 instead of 26 . And today I decided that I will stop crapping so WB made it a point that I will remember this day by buying me a special soft shell crab birthday 'cake'.  Look at the picture and you will see that the crab appears to give a cheeky smile. It was a delicious soft shell crab burger.  I have taken soft shell crabs quite often in Japanese restaurant.  This is by far the biggest I have laid my tongue on.  Thanks WB for the delicious and scrumptious birthday dinner and thank you to all my cell group members and my children for celebrating a week earlier with me.

WB asked me where I would like to have my birthday dinner....I told him why not Food & Desire !  I love this place and its food.  Love their designer ice cream too. But for today , there is no more room for their designer ice cream.  The soft crab burger is named ' HOLY CRAB ' :)  I should have asked the owner why she named the soft shell crab burger ' HOLY CRAB '....  anyway it was a nice piece of deliciousness.....I pray that I will get to enjoy many more happy sweet birthdays with WB and my four children .   What was my birthday wish ?  hehehe I think I forgot to make a wish but I did remember to say grace before taking my first bite !

no birthday cake but just this soft shell crab burger

love it...mmmmm yummy!

Fish and Chips for me

I am happy it is NOT DORY fish

so super good

Grilled Chicken with black pepper sauce for WB 

I had a wonderful time chilling out with WB

just like the good old times :)

Food & Desire 
fusion - ice-cream-fondue

18, Jalan Medan Ipoh,
1D, Medan Ipoh Bistari.
31400,
Perak

Te; 012-5025540

Nam Nam Noodle Bar @ Suntec City - Singapore

Josh and Elaine introduced us Nam Nam Noodle Bar in Suntec City, to have a taste of Vietnamese street food.  They said the best Vietnamese beef noodle they have eaten ...as good as the one they ate in Vietnam . Old world recipe with a modern twist.  Since Nam Nam does not have a franchise in Malaysia, it will be good for us to try it out .  And true to his promise , it was DELICIOUS , the broth , I almost slurped down all . It was fragrant and the beef slices were fresh, sweet and tender. We felt we were transported to the streets of Vietnam I will definitely visit Nam Nam Noodle Bar again on my next visit :)  

We ordered some appetizer and gosh it was good especially the Crispy Imperial Rolls and their Southern Rolls with prawns,pork, fresh herbs comes with peanut sauce for dips. My son recommended me their special tamarind and peanut drink...so refreshing and good...a must try if you visit Nam Nam Noodle Bar.  The Vietnamese coffee is good too. Served in enamel mug :) of course, it gives you the feel like you are in Vietnam :) I will definitely come back to try out the rest of the Vietnam street food in their menu. Josh and Elaine are happy that we enjoyed our dinner :)

Our trip to Singapore was a short one 2 nights and 3 days. Went there for a mission and came back fulfilled :)  Will plan a longer one next trip

Pho Beef Combination - 

beef steak slices, beef balls, tendon and

honeycombed tripe

Pho Pork Balls

Pho Beef Steak slices served medium rare

Pho Wagyu Beef Slices -  served medium rare

Appetizers -  Crispy Imperial Rolls and 

Fresh Southern Rolls that comes with peanut sauce 

this is really delicious...crispy wrap ..inside is sweet potato paste

very delicious  and can be addictive :)

Fresh Southern Rolls- packed with prawns, pork, herbs

and dip with peanut sauce....delicious 

love all their appetizer ...will try out the rest on my next visit

this is the most delicious and refreshing drink I have tasted

fresh coconut water with tamarind paste and topped with peanuts

LOVELY ! a must try if you visit Nam Nam

another interesting refreshing drink...

Vietnam coffee with condensed milk

There are 6 Nam Nam Noodle Bar franchises in Singapore

SUNTEC CITY

#B1-131, Temasek Boulevard
Singapore 038983
t: 6884 5677
(closed between 3-6pm)

Raffles City
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-46/47
Raffles City Shopping Centre,
Singapore 179103
t: 63360500

Wheelock Place
501 Orchard Road,
#B2-02,
Wheelock Place,
Singapore 238880
t: 67351488

Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road,
#01-55, Plaza Singapura
Singapore 238839
t: 68372234

Resorts World Sentosa,
26 Sentosa Gateway 
#B1-225
Singapore 098138
t: 62389447

Owen Link, Connexion
1 Farrer Park Station Road
(Access via One Farrer Hotel &Spa
#01-08/10
Singapore  217562
t: 64431173

Curry Times @ Changi Airport - Singapore

The moment we touched down in Singapore, the first thing we looked for was food. We were feeling hungry, reason being, we skipped breakfast that morning :)  After the immigration clearance, we met our son and new daughter at the food court of Changi Airport.  There were so many choices to choose from  and we ended up in Curry Times coz my son said he miss curry...hehehehe or rather he miss my curry :p.  Anyway we ordered a few of their curry dishes and we were quite happy with their curries. Style of cooking very much nyonya.  The only thing which we were disappointed was their otak otak...maybe it is a different type of otak otak unlike our local one which melts in the mouth. Theirs has a harder texture . Other than that we were pleased with the other dishes which we ordered. Oh by the way, Curry Times must be popular as we had to queue for our seats. Below are the dishes we ordered and my son was happy with the curry he ordered for himself. I can't actually recall the name of the curry dishes but it was good :)

curry chicken served in enamel bowl

chicken in turmeric...this is commendable

laksa fried mee...this is special and taste good

their special otak otak.....not my kind of otak,

was a bit disappointed with it though

overall the curry dishes are good......at the time of taking this photo,  we were 

still waiting for the otak otak :)

dessert was Singapore version of cendol,

very quite like our Malaysian version

my son could not wait to eat..hehehe

great food and great fellowship 

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