Iftar @ Al-Majlis

It’s been a tiring, frustrating, upsetting and angry week. Every little things will pissed me off. Hate it when i feel this way coz its very irritating and tiring to be upset. L

Anyway, last Friday’s iftar wiv MEK ILAH and CHEK ESA was awesome!! If only MEK EAN could join us, it will be wonderful! We planned to iftar at Al-Majlis as they have never tried it before. So made a reservation earlier to ensure we can have seats. Me & ILAH spent our lunchtime to plan our food order. And we were getting excited as the time goes by. ILAH left earlier to meet her hubby and i left slightly later to meet DEAR at Bugis. By the time we reached Al-Majlis, juz nice they reached too. I choose the Al-Majlis seating (sit on the carpeted floor wiv cushions) so that we can sit longer. We let the guys browse thru the menu to see what we have order. Lucky they seems ok but like it or not, they have to eat wat we ordered!..hahah

There’s kurma (dates) on every table. Our drinks came 1^st. When it’s time to break fast, our food was not here yet. Came abit later. Once the food came, we all attacked the food! Yummy food! I loved Al-Majlis’s food J J

Once we finished eating, the guys got a backache coz they have no backrest and DEAR was in need to have his puff so we decided to leave and lepak sumwhere else. Walked aimlessly and decided to go to Kampung Glam area. We were already seated at Bushra Cafe when ESA saw there’s a Gelato cafe at the 2^nd floor of the opposite shophouses so we decided to try out that place. Oh wow! Such a nice, cosy place! And yummy looking gelato! Check out the pics!

Crema

Ribena Sorbet & Yogurt

Salted Caramel & Dark Choc

Chocolate Cornflakes Macaroons

Salam all...

Last week ended wiv a wonderful iftar wiv Mek Ilah & Chek Esa at Al-Majlis on Friday(will blog abt it another time) and Saturday was spent wiv families and frens. Spent Saturday morning at Geylang Serai wiv MAK and AYAH, buying baju for AYAH and some other stuffs. Then continued to Jurong West to meet DEAR to go Tong Garden to get the BBQ Bugles. Send the bugles to his house before going back to Jurong Point to change money. Then went to order Pizza at Pizza Hut coz we will be going to Renah & Asri’s new crib for iftar. Lovely home! It’s so simple yet nice! And i loooooveee the back door..haha..easy to sneak out! After iftar at their place, took cab down to Geylang Serai (AGAIN!) to meet AYAH & MAMA. Woahhh....super crowded! Went to buy baju for DEAR, IWAN & AYAH. Then just walk down the Ramadhan Bazaar. MAMA bought curtain, table cloth, flowers and some other stuffs. She also bought some cakes for my family. Thank u MAMA! J Reached home nearing to midnite...I’m so tired but can’t sleep...zzzz

Sunday i decided to bake Chocolate Cornflakes Macaroons (CCM). A recipe passed down from my aunt, Cik Idah. She used to bake it and it’s always been our favourite. Mak Abang used to bake one big bottle for my BRO and now since i can bake, I have to make some for him for Hari Raya (usually for his own consumption). So got the stuffs ready and i started preparing at ard 11am. The recipe stated that i have to use 150gram of cornflakes for 4 egg whites but after making a few times, i realise for that batch, i have to use more than 150 grams of cornflakes. If not the cornflakes will be abit wet and not crunchy. So for this recipe, i used abt 400gm to 500gm of cornflakes...and i got about 317 cups!

Chocolate Cornflakes Macaroons

The recipe is quite easy but putting it in cups is very tiring and boring especially if you are doing it alone..so i got so tired after the 3^rd tray. MAK was busy frying her rempeyek so she can’t help me. So was hoping that it finished soon. Haha..lousy me! And the smell of it coming out from the oven was so yummy! Haha..can’t wait for break fast so that i can try if it’s crunchy or otherwise. Finally, when it’s time to break fast, i quickly grab one piece and try and i got abit disappointed coz its not as crunchy as the last time i baked it. Feeling so demoralised that both cookie and CCM that i baked this year did not turn out as nice as i wanted it too. Haiz..MAK said probably i’m tired. L But its ok..i still loved to eat CCM, be it crunchy or not! So have decided that i will try and bake another batch soon....so checkout the recipe below okies..

CCM...yummy!

Chocolate Cornflakes Macaroons (CCM)

4 egg whites
250gm castor sugar
250gm renchoco chocolate chips (or any other choc chips)
150gm cornflakes (i didnt really follow the recipe..i throw in the whole packet of cornflakes in)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp fine salt

1. Beat egg whites until stiff peak
2. Put in the salt,sugar & vanilla essence and beat again till stiff peak (medium speed)
3. Add in the cornflakes & chocolate chips and mix well
4. Put in paper cups and bake for 15mins..

Freaking upset!

I wanted to update my blog about the iftar wiv Ilah & Esa last friday and also the baking i did over the weekend but i totally lost the mood after seeing sumthing...getting abit pissed now..gggrrr!!

Food Journey - Cafe Le Caire @ Al-Majlis

I’m EXCITED!!...can’t wait for the day to end so can go for iftar wiv Ilah & Esa. J

Bringing the half-Arab-guy-who-dunno-about-Middle-Eastern-dishes & the girl-who’s-game-to-try-anything to Cafe Le Caire or also known as Al-Majlis. Al-Majlis is located at 39 Arab Street. If i’m not wrong, they started out wiv just a stall in the foodcourt. Due to overwhelming response, the stall expanded to another stall and finally a cafe. I loved their food and best part was it’s Halal so it’s ok to bring your family especially the elders if you wanna try Middle Eastern food. The downside – some service staff can be rude/unfriendly. Have encountered 2-3 of them whenever i had dinner there but most of the time they are ok. But please remember, you are in the service line, no matter how tired or busy you are, at least don’t give a black face to a customer who did not do anything to you.

Al-Majlis had a few seating ambience. From the original foodcourt area to fine dining area. Fine-dining area is good if you want to bring your clients or colleagues there, Al-Fresco sidewalk or Al-Majlis room  is great if you want to hangout wiv friends (but do take note for Al-Majlis room, its sit-on-the-floor area & its a smoking area). The first time i went there to have dinner was wiv my cuzzies. Subsequently when i started dating, Al-Majlis was one of the restaurant that we frequently go to for dinner. I totally love their Feta Cheese Omelette! And DEAR is always eating Mixed Sausages and now he loved the Hummus!..hehe..so we the boring people will always end up eating the same 3 dishes everytime we went there..haha! The only time we tried something different was when we went there to celebrate MUM’s and BRO’s birthday. DAD loved the Foul Mesdammes (or commonly known as Kacang Phool).

Check out the pics below!

Meshawi set

Saffron rice that comes wiv Meshawi - can actually opt for rice,fries or wedges



Crispy Chicken

Mixed Sausages wiv Wedges



Our usual order of Hummus(Top) & Feta Cheese Omelette

Grilled Mushrooms - tried this when had dinner wiv cuzzies in 2008. My 1st time there

Chicken Wrap

The FLAT Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok...i dunno what or where went wrong..my Chocolate Chip cookies went flat! *sob sob* the 1^st time i tried when i got the recipe from my cuzzie Fizah, it came out nice and round. But yesterday, all the cookies turns out flat L

my 1st try - see the nice round shape

Could it be that i over beat the butter? Or it’s bcoz the egg i used was not fresh (kept in fridge for abt a week oredi)? Whatever it is, i’m so gonna make DEAR eat the flat cookies!..hehe...u will eat it won’t you DEAR? J Even my colleagues offered to try the flat cookies..hahah

the FLAT cookies..the 1st tray i baked..subsequent tray was even flatter :(

Oklah..maybe will try to bake another batch when i’m in the mood to bake again. Till then peeps!

Oh ya!..here's the recipe if you wanna give it a try :) Do share wiv me if yours turns out nice okies!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (source: not sure but got it from my cuzzie Fizah)

125gm butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
275gm firmly packed brown sugar (i cut down on the sugar abit to 250gm)
1 egg
150gm plain flour
35gm self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
35gm cocoa powder
250gm chocolate chips
70gm nuts (macadamia..almonds..pecans..anytg u like)

1. Preheat oven to 160 degree celcius, grease baking tray
2. Beat butter, vanilla essence,sugar & egg wiv mixer until smooth
3. Add in dry ingredients, nuts & choc chips. Mix wiv wooden spoon
4. Roll dough into balls and bake for 12-15mins

Food Journey - Barcelos

Yum Yum!...i’m not really a chicken lover but i do love this grilled chicken from Barcelos! Especially the sauces!!..hehe..Frens who know me will know i don’t eat Tomato Sauce, Chilli Sauce and other spicy sauces but i totally looooooooveeeee Barcelos’ sauces..from Tangy Lemon to Supa Peri!

So take a sneak peak on my favourite dish at Barcelos!

all the 4 sauces! - Tangy Lemon, Mild Peri, Very Peri & Supa Peri

The 4 sauces!...you can buy them home! its S$5.50 per bottle...

Coke & Ice Tea



Beef Skewers wiv Supa Peri sauce

DEAR tried the Beef Skewers...but he don't really like it..

1/2 Grilled Chicken wiv Very Peri sauce

We usually ordered 1/2 chicken to share...so can get 2 sides or 1 side + drink


1/4 Grilled Chicken wiv Very Peri Sauce

The day when i was really craving for the chicken so ordered my own without sharing wiv DEAR as usual


Like it so much tat i bought a bottle of Veri Peri sauce home!

There's a few outlets - Nex@Serangoon, Vivocity & Novena Square. You can check out their website here . Think they also have delivery service.

Cheers!

Food Journey - Nabins

One of the restaurants that me and DEAR went during the early days of our dating-ship (got such word meh? haha) was Nabins restaurant located at  Arab St. If i can remember correctly, they started out wiv only one unit at 27 Bali Lane. Nabins serves Middle Eastern cuisine such as Hummus, Falafels etc but they also have western snacks like fries, calamari rings etc. I like the ambience of the restaurant, very cosy fine dining area. But the downside, this restaurant serves alcoholic drinks too :S that is why it is not Halal certified.

Think early this year or late last year, we happened to come across another Nabins outlet at 32 Sultan Gate. Its like those big old 2 storey houses near the Kampong Glam area. Oh lala!..i totally loved the ambience of the new outlet. 1^st level was the bedding seats. Its like a huge sofa/bed. It feels like a King n Queen sitting on the bedding..haha..2^nd level was more of sit-on-the-carpet-floor kind..its great for gatherings. They even have a stage. Think on weekend nites they have some belly dancers performing..heheh...subsequently, the 1^st outlet at Bali Lane extended. From one unit, now it became 2-3 units. U can choose to sit at the fine dining area, sit on the floor, sit outside..

The first time we went there, we tried the mushroom soup (sorry pic unavailable..forgot to snap), onion rings & seafood platter that consist of Fries, Calamari Rings, Scallop (or was it nuggets?) and some other stuffs (pic below). Not bad! Price range for the food is from S$5 for single dish or snack to S$70+ for platters (will explain later y is it so expensive!) So juz check out the pics ok.

Onion Rings

Seafood Platter

The 2^nd time we went, we tried this dish – Mandhi Roasted Lamb(MRL). Sumtg like your Briyani!..portion was HUGE!..ok..its meant for 2 people. Served in a round serving tray wiv some fries or wedges, some green stuffs (like salad but its more of cucumber,onions, carrots or cherry tomatoes). And also Potato Boat (which DEAR called it “musiboat”..haha). Its baked potato wiv cheese i think. We totally fall in love wiv MRL. Its yummylicious! Another time we tried MRL at the Sultan Gate outlet but i was disappointed coz its juz not the same as the one at Bali Lane. Rice tasted abit uncook and the gravy..well..its juz different..but the other time we came wiv Ilah & Esa and the recent visit there to break our fast, it tastes better J

Best of Nabins Seafood Platter

Hummus & Babaganush

Mandhi Roasted Lamb

Ok..abt that S$70+ dish, its the Mandhi Mixed set – they have lamb, chicken, fish served with rice & fries..the serving is for 5 people. Wow!..really alot! I took my colleagues there to have a team dinner wiv our event colleagues. We ordered that Mandhi Mixed set, Best of Nabins Platter, Feta Cheese served wiv pita bread and few other things tat i can’t remember their names. Will take note the next time i go there..hehe..so u guys juz enjoy the pics okies!

Feta Cheese Salad wiv Pita Bread

Can't remember wat is this

Mandhi Mixed set

Desserts

Weird or what?!

There is sumtg wrong wiv me sumwhere..haha..y did i said so?..coz i don't really enjoy eating out. Meaning..eating at restaurants..food court..hawker centre..etc..the reason?..i will only managed to have a few mouthfuls of the food...n then i will feel like puking!..no!..i'm not preggie!..haha..but i'm juz weird.. *_* .

It kinda started juz after i started my full time job in 2002. I used to think "is it bcoz i stayed home too long?" (was unemployed for a few mths then)..but feels that the reason abit lame. Some said probably its my psychological thinking..well..mayb!...anyhow..i kind of dislike eating out bcoz of tat reason. 1) its so embarrassing to puke out after a few mouthfuls 2) its kind of waste of money..buy food to eat n puke out :S

My BRO have the problem too but he only feels like puking when he ate too much! but to prevent him from doin so, juz give him some sweets and he will be fine. Not me tho..u give me sweets..i will still puke!..haha..now my family knows that i can't eat much. Once i start to frantically search for tissue papers, they know what comes next.. :P DEAR is still puzzled tho wiv my weird habit. Initially he refused to believe and he even forced me to finished up my food. But since it happened most of the time plus MUM backed me up, he has stopped forcing me to finish the food and he will help to eat my share. Thus the round tummy he has!..haha..now DEAR didn't even bait an eyelid whenever he saw me puking. He can even calmly pass me some tissues and continue eating..gggrrr!!

But thanks to DEAR, i have slowly reduce the no. of times i puke whenever i eat out and now sort of enjoy eating out. Thanks love! :) And thru DEAR, i've been trying different kind of food out there, exploring a few eating places that i would have not stepped in last time. So my next few posts will be about my food journey since i have yet to start baking or cooking something new to share..heheh...

Enjoy peeps!

Hola!

Ok...i’m back to the blogging phase again...wondering how long it will last this time..haha

Anywayz..i’ve been blog-hopping..blog-reading..and realised that it’s mostly about food!! yeah...don’t we all love food!?!....some people enjoy eating...some enjoy cooking...some enjoy baking! Me?..i’m a lil’ bit here and there J

When the mood comes, i do have the urge to try out cooking or baking something for the family to eat...but most of the time, MUM is the main chef at home..and occasionally DAD will prepare his specialty – Fried Maggi (special coz its fried but at the same time it’s wet) and Beef Steak(not the normal steak like those western restaurant but more Malay-ish + Indian-ish kind). DAD is also the “expert” or should i say..the maker of Roti Kirai (oso known as Roti Jala or Spider Web pancakes) and the baker of Kuih Bakar Lauk (ok..i dunno what’s the translation in English for it :P). So whenever we gonna have Roti Kirai or Kuih Bakar Lauk, DAD will be the one standing in front of the stoves preparing it for us.

As my MUM is a homemaker, she’s home all the time to ensure that her family is well-fed. So in a way, i’m way too pampered!..haa!..i have to admit..i really dunno how to cook..well..i can cook instant noodle tho!..haha! Oklah i know how to cook rice, make tea-O, chicken soup (and mind u, i don’t use the prepacked spices ok..MUM taught me to prepare it from scratch), tom yam(i muz know how to cook this coz its my all-time fav!)...and my elder BRO on the other hand, is a better cook than me..he used to stay behind when we went for trips so he always have to cook up sumtg to feed himself. MUM juz have to leave some stuffs like prawns & veges in the fridge before we go off and BRO can survive!Me?...i will either cook instant noodle or buy packed food..hahah

But now that I’m gonna hit the big 3..and also getting married soon (Insya ALLAH!)..it’s time to learn some skills huh...furthermore, my DEAR fiancée is oso a better cook than me and he prefers home-cooked food, guess i got to start learning how to cook rite.!?. Well, they said to win a man’s heart is thru his tummy! (but DEAR’s tummy is already rounder coz he always have to finish my food!hehe).

So i’m starting this blog to share my cooking/baking experience journey. Not only that, will oso post all the food outings wiv DEAR, family and frens! Enjoy peeps!