Cheezy Choco Banana Pancake

I really concern about my husband's health, so every morning I prepare healthy breakfast (2 slices of wholemeal bread and a cup of hot milo with oatmeal).

But if I give the same menu everyday, then he will get bored easily. So, usually I make this banana pancake on Saturday :)

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter / margarine / olive oil
1 cup pancake mix
3/4 cup water
1 banana - cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 cup shredded cheese
2 tbsp chocolate syrup



All the ingredients :)

Directions:



1. Mix pancake mix and water with fork or wire whisk until smooth

2. Heat butter in a pan over low heat (Surface is ready when drops of water jump around)
3. Pour in the batter and tilt pan until batter covers bottom of pan



4. Cook until bubbles break on surface and edges just begin to dry



Almost done! :)



5. Check, if the bottom is golden brown, then it is done :)



6. Turn off the heat and lay bananas on the pancake



7. Spread the shredded cheese



8. Pour the chocolate syrup on the cheese



9. Fold the pancake into 2



10. Put in the plate



11. Pour the chocolate syrup over the pancake
12. Eat it while it's still hot :)

Dian Xiao Er (店小二)

Today we had dinner at Dian Xiao Er (Causeway Point).



The place looks like an inn in ancient china setting.



Even the menu looks like kung fu manual in kung fu movies.

These are what we ordered:



Dong Po Pork
2-4 pax: S$12.50
5-7 pax: S$18.80
8-10 pax: S$25.00



Looks like very oily..



But actually not. There was only a thin layer of fat, and the rest: pure tender meat! The sauce was excellent... penetrates into the meat without covering the natural taste of the meat, giving birth to an exceptional combination of taste! And one wonders why this dish was so famous since hundreds of years ago!



Duck Roasted With Angelica Herb
2-4 pax: S$11.80
5-7 pax: S$22.80
8-10 pax: S$33.80



The duck doesn't have too much fat too. Luv it :)



Kangkong With Fermented Beancurd
2-4 pax: S$8.00
5-7 pax: S$12.00
8-10 pax: S$16.00

The kangkong was very nice. It was very fresh, fragrant and tasty..



Deep Fried Kailan With Floss
2-4 pax: S$9.80
5-7 pax: S$14.80
8-10 pax: S$19.80

This is one of the most popular dish here.



Quite unique, but I must say that I don't really like it. The kailan smells like oil that had been re-used several times already.

* There will be 10% service charge n 7% GST

Overall Rating : 3.5/5

Outlets :

Please refer to their website: http://dianxiaoer.net/#

Operating Hours :
Mondays - Fridays: 11.30am - 2.30pm, 5.30pm–9.30pm
Saturdays, Sundays & Public Holidays: 11.30am–3.00pm, 5.30pm–9.30pm
Last Order at 9.30pm

Din Tai Fung (鼎泰丰)

My parents came to Singapore for holiday, so me and my sister wanted to treat them dinner. We wanted to go to a nice restaurant (preferably chinese food) and of course.. not too expensive :P

In the end, we decided to go to Din Tai Fung :)



It is a Taiwanese restaurant, complete with elegant wooden table and a unique container to put our bags :)



Crispy Golden Prawn Pancakes - S$8.50 *



If you are a shrimp lover, then you have to try this!!! The skin was crispy and the shrimp was really fresh ..



Fried Rice with Shreded Pork and Eggs - S$8.50 *

The fried rice is quite famous and now I know why...



The rice was very fragrant and tasty. Although I'm not a big fan of fried rice, but this one was quite good (my hubby said it was really good)



Stir Fried Spinach with Garlic - S$8.00 *

The spinach was fresh and good especially when you eat it while it's still hot.

Din Tai Fung is famous for its Xiao Long Bao. But since everytime we come here, we always order that, so now we wanted to try something else.



Steamed Shrimp and Pork Dumpling *
(6 pcs) S$7.00
(10 pcs) S$9.80



For the filling: shrimp, pork and soup.. very tasty!! And it's good to eat it with the ginger strips and soy sauce... (I think my saliva come out already, just by seeing the picture -_-!)



Steamed Yam Paste Dumpling *
(6 pcs) S$5.80
(10 pcs) S$7.80

When my sister ordered this, honestly I'm not to sure about the taste. I even said that my mom won't like it. But she said that my mom likes yam so she will definitely love this yam paste dumpling.



Well, I have to admit that although it doesn't look convincing on the outside, even the picture doesn't look that wonderful, but it tasted quite nice (never judge the book by its cover haha!)



Vermicelli Soup with Deep-fried Beancurd and Minced Meat Ball - S$7.80 *

This is my favourite dish. The beancurd was tender, the soup was tasty and the minced meat ball was simply yummy.



I prefer glass vermicelli to noodle...



Noodle with Minced Pork in Bean Sauce - S$7.00 *

My hubby ordered this dish, and he said that it tasted good but not exceptional.



Anyway, hubby was happy to eat here :) (There goes his fake smile again -_-!)

* There will be 10% service charge n 7% GST

Overall rating : 3/5

If you wanted to treat your parents/friends or just want to have a special dinner with you love ones, then I recommend this place :)

Outlets:

Please refer to the website: http://www.breadtalk.com/dintaifung/contactus.php

Operating Hours:
Mondays - Fridays: 11am - 10pm
Saturdays, Sundays & Public Holidays: 10am - 10pm
Last Order at 9.30pm

Black Pepper Salmon With Potato Wedges

Last week I wanted to surprise my hubby by making Black Pepper Salmon. It turned out to be quite easy and fast to do. So here is the recipe :)

Preparation Time; 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Medium

Salmon Fillet
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Microwave Time: 4-5 minutes

Ingredients:
250 gr salmon fillet
1 tbsp butter / margarine / olive oil

Directions:
1. Spread butter all over the salmon fillet
2. Place the salmon fillet into a microwave-safe container/plate/bowl, skin-side up
3. Set microwave temperature on high for about 4-5 minutes (You'll know it's ready when you see the butter start to crackle)
4. Check to see whether the salmon is cooked well enough to your liking

Potato Wedges
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Microwave Time: 9-11 minutes

Ingredients:
600 gr potato (4 medium potatoes)
1 tbsp butter / margarine
1/4 tsp dried and crushed basil, tarragon or oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:
1. Scrub and cut the potatoes each into eight wedges and set aside
2. Melt the margarine or butter on high for about 45-60 seconds or until all the butter is melted
3. Once melted stir in the spices



4. Add the potato wedges and cover in the mixture
5. Place the dish into the microwave, cook for 4-5 minutes
6. Stir the potatoes and place back into the microwave, cook for another 4-5 minutes

Black Pepper Sauce
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 onion
2 garlic
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
water

Directions:
1. Chop garlic and onion into fine pieces
2. Fry in olive oil
3. Add black pepper
4. Add some oyster sauce and stir
5. Pour some water so it becomes slightly watery
6. Add sugar

Put the potato wedges, salmon fillet and some boiled vegetables (you can pick broccoli, corn, and carrots). Pour the hot black pepper sauce on the salmon.



Dinner's ready :)



Result: A happy hubby (with a fake smile -_-!)

PS: although overall it was a good attempt, but I miscalculated the portion for my hubby. In the end, my hubby still asked me to cook instant noodle because he was not full.. Sorry hunny.. T^T


Btw, for the black pepper and the dried basil leaves, I usually use this brand. It's affordable :)

Chicken Celery Soup

My hubby caught a cold, so I cooked this soup for him :)

Preparation Time; 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:



- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 6 stalks of celery
- half chicken
- water
- salt

Directions:

1. Chop the onion, garlic and celery into small pieces
2. Cut the chicken. Get rid of all the fats if you are particular like me
3. Boil the water in the pot



4. Put all the ingredients into the pot
5. Lower the heat to a slow simmer
6. Cover the pot and cook it for around 20 minutes
7. Add salt to your taste
8. Serve hot

The soup will cause body temperature to rise, so expect some sweating, remain well covered and rest. Get well soon hunny :)

Benefits of celery:
1. Eating celery will reduce high blood pressure and give the effect of calmness.
2. Celery clears uric acid from painful joints and may help the treatment of arthritis and rheumatic problems.
3. Celery also helps the kidney an acts an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. (It helps eliminate body’s waste through the urine)

Garlic and onion help to protect against cardiovascular disease, respiratory concerns, diabetes, and a variety of cancers. Both of them are good for cold & flu.

Benefits of garlic:
1. Lowers blood pressure
2. Decrease the risk of blood clots developing that can cause strokes and heart attacks.
3. Fights a great number of bacteria and viruses and therefore helps to prevent infections and it decreases the risks of a number of different types of cancer, with an emphasis on cancers of the stomach.

Benefits of onion:
1. Increase the HDL cholesterol in the blood, especially when they are eaten in their raw state.
2. Decrease the bad cholesterol or LDL in the blood and they increase the ability of the blood to dissolve blood clots
3. Onions are excellent at decreasing the risk inherent in developing diabetes and help to fight off the bacteria that are responsible for causing many infections in the human body.
4. Decrease the risk of many different types of cancers