 When one is not working; one has lots of time to do things that one may not usually do or have time to do.
Of late, I've been busy with volunteer work, picking up free Clinic facial serum samples, enjoying free coffees and McDonalds or Starbucks; participating in one competition or another...
Cathay Pacific is offering round trip tickets to Hong Kong; all one needs to do is submit and original noodle recipe in honour of International Noodle Month (March). The winning dish could also be served in economy class.
Thoughts of being the Chinese-girl version of Alan Bourdain flitted through my mind as with the idea of some passenger falling in love with my noodle recipe that I'm made heiress to their top-notch restaurant (the original thought was that I'd be hired as their top chef...But it seems a bit stressful after watching various cooking shows on TV). Anyway, I figured the way to go was to maintain an Asian flavour but with a twist. Thus born 'Seafood Angel Hair Pasta in light Wasabi Cream Sauce'.
Seafood Angel Hair Pasta
in a Light Wasabi Cream Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
-Angel Hair pasta
-Scallops
-Shrimps, peeled and clean
-Button mushrooms (white or brown). Washed and sliced
-Pea Shoot
-1 tsp sesame oil
-3 tsp oil
-Japanese sushi Flying Fish Roe or Capelin Roe
-Roasted seaweed, slivered (I prefer Korean style)
*Alternative ingredients: Hokkaido Surf Clam, Crab Meat, slivered asparagus
SAUCE:
-2 tbsp butter
-125mL heavy cream
-2 cloves garlic minced
-1 tbsp wasabi (if too dry, dilute with with a touch of water...You want something like toothpaste consistency)
-Lemon juice
**Healthier Sauce: Reduce cream by half and add flour to thicken sauce.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Rinse and clean scallops and shrimps. Pat dry with towel and put into a small mixing bowl. Add oil, sesame oil, cornstarch and a dash of salt and sugar. Mix well and set aside.
2. Heat a pot of water and cook desired portion of pasta as per instructions on packaging. Divide the pasta onto two plates. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add minced garlic. Slowly stir in cream and then add desired amount of wasabi; the more, the spicier. Continue to stir occasionally to avoid burning bottom. Squeeze lemon juice into the cream sauce. Reduce heat and stir until sauce is well combined. Set aside.
4. Heat a little olive oil in the pan and saute the mushrooms gently. Add shrimps then scallops and cook. These cook quickly so be careful not to overcook. When cooked, spoon over the pasta.
5. Add a little more oil to the pan. When hot, cook the pea sprouts until just wilted. Layer on top of pasta.
6. Add the desired amount of wasabi cream sauce over the pasta.
7. Garnish with fish roe and seaweed.
8. Serve hot and with enjoy with a glass of white wine!
I have Asian food very frequently; so today, we decided to go for something a little different and went to Gourmet Malaysia on Sheppard Ave. in Scarborough. Just reading some of the names on the menu brought back memories of my first two years in HK; when I worked with many teachers from Singapore and Malaysia. I frequented Singapore and parts of Malaysia then. Those were good years; everything was such a novelty for me! The food was so different from the usual Cantonese cuisine I eat....Bak Kut Tai soup, Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng, Laksa Noodles, Mee Gorang, Bee Hoon Noodles, Beef Randang, Indian Rojak, CNY treats like Love Letters and Pineapple tarts, Kek Lapis and other sweet delights like pandan chiffon cake from Bengawan Solo. Fond memories of Singapore and Malaysia include enjoying curry crab and cereal prawn at Clarke Quay; hot ginger milk tea at kopitiams (cafes), slurping drinks out of plastic baggies, staring at the majestic Mt. Kinabalu and knowing I wasn't hike that thing, magical evening boat rides admiring fireflies, gorgeous sunsets while sipping cocktails on white sandy beaches...Learning about the Peranakan (descendants of Chinese and Indonesian/Malay people) in Georgetown...Perhaps one day, I will get to go back and visit some old dear friends. But today, we at least have Malay restaurants to enjoy, right here in Scarborough. The place serves Halal food and is spacious. I believe there are regular evening dances or karaokes. The customers are varied and on this day, there were Westerners, Muslims and Malays and the table next to us with whom we chatted to; Malay-Taiwanese. It's good to see a healthy mix of people...Everyone enjoying a diverse range of foods. It was a little late for lunch so the place wasn't too crowded and the service was prompt. There were lots to choose from but the Gado-Gado, which was like a cooked vegetable dish with a satay or peanut sauce was lovely and a great alternative to cold salads. The curry chicken with coconut rice was tender and flavourful. There are quite a few interesting dishes that caught my mind and will definitely come back another day to sample them.  Gado Gado Nonya Mixed Salad with Peanut Sauce $6.99  Nasi Lemak Curry Chicken/Coconut Rice $7.80
It seems like these days, that coming by good volunteer work is nearly as difficult as getting a good job. The process is pretty similar; applications, references, background checks, police checks, interviews....And the dreaded, "Don't call us; we'll call you" words at the end of the interview.
Having taken time from work since July 2012; I spent the latter part of the year busy with family engagements and a bit of travelling. When the new year rolled in, I thought it would be a great time to get back into a bit of schedule and to utilize my time by doing something for the community. I've since applied and interviewed for three differing positions and have started working on two.
One of the volunteer work requires the delivery of a day's program at local middle schools; the program is on job readiness. It's been almost half year since I've been in a classroom and I felt a bit nervous; but it turned out great. The students enjoyed their day and came away with some understanding about the accepting differences and working with different people. I truly felt it was time well-spent on my part today. Looking forward to the next one in a couple weeks' time.
I also started helping an eco-organization doing some admin work...Love how I'm re-connecting with my original choice of study; environmental studies. It's been a challenging work area for me to get into; not having the environment science/engineering background. Maybe I'll be able to hook up with an NGO or something later.
I'm still waiting go hear from one place; if that one goes, I'll get to see the panda bears!
It's the first Easter I've spent in Toronto for close to 10 years. Today's April 2 and looking out the window...There's snow! Just a bit...but there's snow! Many have complained how I've brought wintry weather back...It was warm this time last year; people were already golfing!
Fortunately, this past weekend, there was bright sunshine; perfect day for little children dressed in rabbit ears; Easter egg hunts and all things furry and sweet...Thinking of little chicks and fluff-ball bunnies. I've had two sightings of wild rabbits hopping about and am charmed by these sure signs of Spring waking up from her slumber.
Wishing everyone a beautiful Spring; may it bring new welcomed beginnings to all.
Asians are known to be big tea drinkers but I've noticed on this trip back to Toronto that a tea-drinking culture is striving in Toronto. Plenty of gourmet tea shops have sprung up with very pleasant fusion blends of east meets west. Coffee is nice; my HK milk tea is nice but a soothing cup of clear tea is best when one is feeling a bit under the weather or simply when one desires something lighter on the tummy. But Ten Rens Tea Time goes beyond simply selling teas...They offer dishes; Taiwanese-inspired, featuring tea ingredients. Frankly, I don't really taste the tea in the dishes though the dishes are tasty. For $15.99, you get salad, soup, main dish, side dish, dessert and a drink. I quite enjoyed the seaweed/tofu soup, the chicken cutlet and the two desserts (green tea mousse and caramel egg pudding). The seating environment is pleasant enough and I do enjoy the slightly old-fashion Chinese decor but the Adele music being played somehow just doesn't fit the match. The crowd tends to be young...Younger then later it is with the Taiwanese snacks and bubble teas being the more popular food and drinks orders. I generally find bubble tea houses to be overpriced...It's mainly flavoured milk powder drinks with sago; but is a nice alternative to coffee if all you want is a place to mingle and chat with friends.
Since coming back from NY, my low-carb diet flew out the window...And I was making reasonable progress! :( I decided the best way to get back into it is to too indulge in a sweet but low-carb friendly cake. The flourless chocolate cake fits the bill perfectly. After a bit of research, I settled for the recipe shared by blogger ' A Dash of Sass' which I recently used for my modified clementine cake. It turned out great and so I'm eager to try another one of her recipes and it'll kickoff my low-carb diet with a bang! INGREDIENTS:4 oz bittersweet chocolate 1/2 C unsalted butter 2/4C sugar 3 large eggs 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional) 1/2 tsp fine grind expresso (optional) DIRECTIONS:1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate and mix until fully combined. 2. Add sugar slowly, mixing it well.
3. Scramble the 3 eggs and add slowly to melted mixture. Finally, add the cocoa powder and all other optional ingredients.
4. Pour mixture into an 8-inch cake pan (I use a springfoam pan) and bake for approximatley 30 minutes. Do a bamboo stick test. If it comes out clean, then it's done.
5. Let cool but it's delicious served warm with a scoop of your favourite ice cream and fresh fruit.
Deciding on a quiet afternoon at home; we re-heated some egg tarts (flaky ones of course!) and made home-styled milk tea. Whilst the English have their teas and scones; we have our milk tea and egg tarts or pineapple bun with butter. All very yum to me depending on the mood.
Mom has found that the use of two whole red tea teabags together with condensed milk helps create the richer colouring and texture of cafe-ordered teas. Though not exactly up to standard, it's a close second.
Recently, we went back to Red Tea Street Cafe (previously blogged) and we each indulged in a cup of their tasty tea.  I like how they use the same cups as old-fashioned HK tea cafes.  Yup, it's fattening but oh so tasty!
Love Shanghai-styled dim sum. Hmm, I would probably say I like all sorts of dim sums or tappas...I'm wondering if I just like the concept of small dishes and can nibble some of this and some of that.
A famous Shanghai dim sum that is a standard of any restaurant that calls itself a Shanghai restaurant is the 'xiaolongbau'. These are small little dumplings with pork and broth inside which one dips into a ginger/vinegar dipping sauce. Careful, they're hot and need to be cooled before eating. When biting into its juicy goodness, one needs to take care that none of that juice squirts out, potentially creating some embarresment. Been there myself.
The xiaolongbao here at 369 Shanghai Dim Sum is steamed to perfection; nice wrapper texture holding all the goodness inside without being to chewy. Succulent tasty pork morsels enveloped with just the right amount of broth. Yum.
The spring rolls were tasty as it should though we found it to be a bit on the saltier side; as with the scallion/spring onion pancakes we had also ordered. I liked the onion pancake more.
One particular dish did stand out; perhaps because of it unusual name; 'Ants Crawling Up Trees'. Having no idea what it is, we ordered it on a whim. It's a tasty vermicelli dish with minced pork and a touch of chilli. Simple but quite delicious. We also ordered a dish of stir-fry pea shoots just so we would have some greens and not feel guilty.
Overall, it was a delightful place serving most of the standard dishes one would find in a Shanghai restaurant. It is clean, bright and price seems reasonable.
Ahh...A steaming bowl of noodles in a flavourful broth just begging to be slurped right up...Just perfect when all you want is something clean to the palette, simple, warming and filling. I love my Vietnamese pho, my Hong Kong squid ball/fish skin dumpling noodles, satay beef vermicelli ..And now I'm going to add fish soup noodles. I've had it once or twice in HK, but I don't remember enjoying it as much as I have tonight. The Fish Soup restaurant recently reopened at their new location on Silver Star Blvd and we decided to give it a go. For $7.95, you choose the soup base you want, the type of noodles you like and two free toppings; additional costs for additional toppings. I went for their famed basic fish soup broth, vermicelli noodles with fish/tofu balls and pork cheek meat. Oh....It was sooooo flavourful. Nothing felt too greasy or too oily; it was just perfection. I am definitely going to go back!
Toronto seems to be struggling with deciding to stay winter or change to spring. The last few days, it'll change from blustery cold with snow to sunny bright sunshine the very next. But, even as winter bids her adieu, she leaves us with a reminder of how beautiful winter can be.
Here are a few upcoming events that are fun or worth supporting which have piqued my interest!EARTH HOUR 2013 24MAR13 @ 8:30pm - 9:30 pm or longer. Definitely hope to take part in this annual global event. Coordinated my workplace's effort towards this event. This year, am happy to just be a participant. Will be turning all non-essential lights out...No TV, not phones...No blogging tonight ;p Click here for the official youtube video. Very inspirational! Metro Zoo. Panda Bears ready to face their admirers in May. So cute. Must visit! Sparking Diva's. Ladies networking event. Sounds like a fun way to meet some new people and make some new friends. GreenDrinks. Every third Wednesday. I've been struggling with attendance. Something always seem to come up. I have attended a number of them in HK and am keen to see how the two cities' approach the same event.
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