strawberry crepe cake

Strawberry Crepe Cake

I remember that last year I watched a cooking programme on telly and they talked about "crepe cake" and then I really wanted to order a few whole ones for the girls who helpe/assist me at work for New Year Gift. I tried to call TV3 to get a phone number of the Bakery but no none there could be able to pass to me their number. I was so disappointed..

Last week, a mate called and told me that she has found a place where we could order/get to try “Strawberry Crepe Cake” – it’s a love at first bite.
Personally, I love Crepe too bits as it always reminds me of Paris and as being a sweet-tooth person, I can’t help but adore this unique cake too much.

It’s an ideal gift giving to girls on Valentine’s Day… I mean if you were a man who wants to be creative as giving Chocolate every year could possibly be too predictable and a bit of a bore.




Mint’s Balcony
Sukhumvit Soi 26
T. 02 258 6831, 02 665 6597

riya's cheese plate

Riya’s Cheese Plate

It’s my Playboy's B Day.. So, I managed to invite a few of his mates for a cosy chat at my place before taking off for dinner at a fancy restaurant.

To host a brief party of 4-6 people, a cheese platter seems to be a perfect choice. My Partner doesn’t like much of eating but he loves dairy products - especially, cheese ; hence a treat of a small cheese plate with a few of decent bottles of champagne.

Too bad that I couldn't find decent blue (stilton) at any supermarkets – Normally, I always have “blue” cheese in my plate. (seems to me that Brit loves "stilton")

Find below a few tips and tricks, you'll be surprised how quick and easy it is to put together a fancy cheese platter



Cheese
Try to serve a variety of textures and flavors in one plate. Most cheese belongs to one of four basic categories: aged, soft, firm, or blue. For a good variety, choose at least one from each group. Below are some examples.

Aged: Aged Cheddar, Aged Provolone, Comte, Goat Gouda
Soft: Constant Bliss, Camembert, (Double-Cream) Brie or Brie de Meaux, Brillat-Savarin
Firm: Manchego, Mimolette, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Fontina, L’Emmental
Blue: Gorgonzola Dolce, Valdeón, Danish Blue, Stilton

Note : You can also try selecting cheeses by the type of milk used (cow, goat, sheep

Tip: Always make sure the cheese is brought to room temperature - remove the cheese from the refrigerator at least an hour before serving.



Accompaniments
Besides Cheese, Try to offer variety of accompaniments on the plate

Fresh Herbs: Use some fresh herbs, such as thyme or rosemary, to finish off the garnish.
Fresh Fruit: Figs, Pear, Green Apple, Strawberries, Gooseberries, Green & Red Grape (seedless is highly recommended)- try "caviar grapes" a bit pricey but very cute & adorable!
Dried Fruit: Dried Cranberries, Dried Apricots
Roasted Nuts: Almonds, Pistachios
Bread & Crackers: Get Raisin bread, nut bread, sunflower seed loaf, sourdough bread or French baguette, bread with herbs and then get very thin, crispy, salted crackers for soft cheese.

Jarred condiments and vegetables are conveniently to get from any decent supermarkets or good deli-s. Try sweet (fruit) preserves, honey, chutneys, & artichoke’s heart.

Serve : 4

thai omelette with shredded pickled-turnip

Thai Omelette Shredded Pickled-Turnip: Kai Jiew Hua Chai-Poah

Once in a while, we feel like having something very simple like "Thai Omelette Shredded Pickled-Turnip" with "Kao Tom", sounds very Chinese. It's usually something Chinese have for Breakfast.

The Omelette in the picture seen below appears to be brunt as I cooked it for a mate who likes it cooked almost burnt. You can cook it to your liking.

Find below a recipe

4 Organic Chicken Eggs
1 Cup of Shredded Pickled-Turnip (get in from any supermarket)
1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce
Sugar

For Garnish
Spring Onion
“Sri Racha” Chillie Sauce



Preparation

• in a bowl, whisk the eggs with shredded pickled-turnip (add a bit of soy sauce and a pinch of sugar)
• heat a wok over high heat
• add cooking oil , wait till hot
• pour the eggs with pickled-turnip in
• wait till the egg is cooked to your liking
• turn, fry till the egg is cooked to your liking
• remove into a serving plate
• sprinkle with chopped spring onion
• serve with a small cup of chillie-sauce “sri racha”

toast, fried egg & tomato

Whole-grain Toast, fried Egg & Tomato

Watching Thai Telly - a documentary about Princess Galyani Vadhana, the elder sister of the King - My King composed a song for her called "Menu Kai" means "Egg Menu" as she liked Egg when she was young. I am very deeply impressed by the warmest bond between my King & his Sister...... I have been crying almost everyday when watching the telly since the Princess has passed away.

This morning I woke up & felt that I need to cook Egg for Breakfast....

This recipe is very simple but very tasty. Another fast recipe for those who love Egg & Breakfast..

2-4 Fresh Organic Eggs
1-2 of Tomatoes, Horizontally Sliced
2-4 Slices of Whole-grain / 7 Grain Bread
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil / Cooking Oil



Preparation

• heat a pan over high heat
• add oil
• crack the egg and fry (don’t wait till the pan getting hot)
• leave the egg in the pan to be fried for 2-3 mins
• at the same time, fry the sliced tomatoes in the same pan
• check if the egg is cooked as how you like it to be cooked, turn the tomatoes
• turn off the heat, remove the fried egg and the fried tomatoes

• place toast on the serving plate
• place fried tomato on toast
• place fried egg on top of fried tomato
• serve with a small cup of ketchup

Easy Peasy !!

Serve : 1-2 persons

instant noodle soup with fish balls : tom yum style

Instant Noodle Soup with Fish Balls: Tom Yum Style

Thai people like “Instant Noodle” especially, Tom Yum Flavour (Mama Tom Yum).

My former assistant loves it and she likes “Fish Balls”. Hence, a fancy version of it.
It may not look/appear to be as “fancy” as you could imagine it to be but, believe me, it’s already fancy as we are talking about “Instant Noodles” Thai way.
If you get to see the way that Thai People really cook it.... they simply add hot-water into it and there is a meal.

I normally love “Noodles” too bits but I can’t really have it as simple as they usually do. I need some Veggies and some Meat. Call me a fussy person.

Find below a very fast and simple recipe of “Instant Noodles Tom Yum Soup”



2 Packages of Instand Noodles Tom Yum Flavour ( Mama or WaiWai depends on your liking)
4-6 Cups of Water or Chicken Stock
2 Cups of good quality Fish Balls
2-4 Cups of Straw Mushroom, halved
2-4 Tablespoons of Fish Sauce
2-4 Tablespoons of Lime Juice
2 Tablespoons of “Sweet Roasted Chillie Paste”
Sugar (Optional)

½ Cup of Coriander Leaves, cut
½ Cup of Spring Onion, cut

Preparation

• Heat a saucepan over high heat
• Add Water, bring to the boil
• Add Instant Noodles, wait till the Noodles are cooked
• Add Fish Balls, do not stir
• Add the Tom Yum Paste in small package that comes with the Noodles
• Add Fish Sauce, Lime Juice, Roasted Chillie Paste & a pinch of sugar
• Add Straw Mushroom, wait for 2-3 mins
• Remove into a serving bowl
• Sprinkle with Coriander Leaves & Spring Onion

Serve : 2

mixed fresh fruit & low-fat yogurt

Mixed Fresh Fruit with Low-fat Yogurt

I always like Breakfast, despite the fact that I hate getting up early.
Oh well, I always like Brunch … it sounds better this way.

I like to serve something different for breakfast so that people wouldn’t get bored of having the same thing on the table every morning.

Find one of my most favourite breakies: Mixed Fresh Fruit with Low-fat Yogurt.

½ Cup of Mango, diced
½ Cup of Green Flesh – Mellon Honeydew, diced
½ Cup of Orange Flesh – Mellon Honeydew, diced
(Any kind of fresh fruit that’s on hand)

1-2 Cups of Low-fat Yogurt
Honey (good quality)

For Garnish
Mint Leaves

stir-fried chinese kale with pork wiener sausage: thai style

Stir-fried Chinese Kale with Pork Wiener Sausage: Thai Style

I like Stir-fried Vegetable, especially with Chinese Kale or Baby Chinese Kale. It makes the best stir-fry to me. One of my mates happens to like the “Pork Wiener Sausage” from "the Oriental Deli". Every time she visits me at my place – she always gets them and asks me to cook something for her. I cook the Wiener in many ways for her – it’s always a pleasure to me to get to cook and to experiment.

This recipe works for some reason and we just like it. Find below a recipe.

1 Package of good quality/ premium grade “Pork Wiener Sausage”, cut into bite-sized pieces
4-6 Cups of Chinese Kale, roughly cut
2-3 Cloves of Garlic, peeled & crushed
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Oyster Sauce
2-3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
Sugar



Preparation

• heat a wok over medium heat
• add oil
• add garlic, fry till aromatic
• add the sausages
• add the Chinese kale
• stir-fry constantly
• add oyster sauce, soy sauce and a pinch of sugar
• stir-fry to mix everything well
• remove into a serving plate
• serve with streamed whole-grain rice

phad woonsen

Phad Woonsen : Stir-fried Vermicelli with Pork & Mixed Veggies

One of my most favourite, very simple and easy to cook, dishes. I like to cook it for lunch as I love noodles with veggies.

1-2 Cups of Pork, cut
1 Cup of Tomatoes, quartered
1 Cup of Onion, cut
1 Cup of Black Chinese Mushroom (Chinese Cloud Ear Mushroom), cut
1 Cup of Chinese Celery, cut
2-3 Cups of Chinese White Cabbage, cut
2-3 Cups of Vermicelli, soaked & cut

2 Tablespoons of Garlic, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Oyster Sauce
2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
Sugar


Preparation

• heat a work over medium heat
• add oil
• add garlic, fry till aromatic
• add pork
• add oyster sauce, sugar, soy sauce
• add onion, tomatoes, & black Chinese mushroom
• add chinese cabbage
• add vermicelli, keep stirring constantly
• add ¼ cup of water
• add half of chinese celery
• stir fry contantly to mix everything well
• remove into a serving plate
• sprinkle with the rest of Chinese celery