Domino's Pizza: An Appreciation Dinner

Bloggers who participated in the Singapore Blog Awards(SBA), which started in May, were invited to an appreciation dinner by Domino's Pizza. Domino's Pizza have received the help of many blogger and thus, organised this dinner in appreciation.

8 bloggers, including myself, turned up for it. It was really just a time of mingling around with other bloggers who shared the same passion for blogging and well, when there is company, it is bound to be accompanied by food right? I had a great time getting to know: Hazel of AiMakan, Roxanne of Laced Ivory, Joey of iisjong, Melissa of Melissa Choi and Alexis of alex.is.

We were in for a treat that night, as we were served a number of sides, pizzas and a lava cake each.



The gathering started off with Ms Linda, the marketing manger of Domino's Pizza, feeding us with a little of Domino's Pizaa's background information and its history.

She then told us about the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of Domino's. It's really customers first at Domino's where they would offer customers a free pizza voucher if there is any complains, no questions asked.

They are committed to making sure that every customer is not short-changed with CCTVs at every work station while the staff made the pizzas. Thus, in any instances of complains of too little ingredients, they can easily check through the CCTV. Now that's commitment for you.

It was time to eat and, the sides were served first.



The Crazy Chicken Crunchies(Tom Yam) were a little cold after we have finished taking photos and whatsnot. However, with that aside, I thought the spiciness of the chicken was overwhelming; you could only taste the spiciness along with the crunch of the chicken.



These onion rings could do with a little more cheese. I couldn't taste the garlic cheese on the Garlic Cheese Onion Rings.



The Golden Roasted Drummets were Melissa's favourite. She had 5 of them and wanted more. 'Chickens, fear her.' Haha. They were tasty and finger licking good.



At Domino's, there are 4 chocices of crust available. They are, in ascending thickness, Crunchy Thin Crust, Cheese Burst Crust, New York Crust and Classic Hand Tossed Crust. You can see from the picture, the obvious difference between a hand tossed crust and the cheese burst crust.

Domino's ushered in the arrival of a new crust - the cheese burst crust - not too long ago. The cheese burst crust is described as such, two crunchy thin crust with a layer of creamy cheddar cheese sauce in between. Did that get your saliva glands working?



I only managed to try these two pizzas before I was full. You'll see why later on. These two are the Hawaiian Paradise (bottom) and the Chicken Temptation.

The Hawaiian Paradise had supposedly the cheese burst crust, but my tastebuds only manged to detect their signature sauce - tomato sauce - and the cheese in the pizza. The crust wasn't crunchy crispy but it was nice, with it being thin.

The Chicken Temptation was decent with its thick crust. I think I prefer the thin crust to a thick hand tossed one. Though for you out there, who likes chewy food, you'll enjoy the hand tossed crust.



The Classified Chicken pizza.



The Extravaganzza pizza.



Oops, it's gone. Domino's Lava Cake was devoured. And this was the reason why I didn't have the chance to sample the other two pizzas.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins when 'chocolate lava cake' was mentioned. The thought of warm, runny, molten chocolate flowing out as your fork nudged a piece of cake off, was too much to bear. I skipped the two pizzas and went for this first.



The chocolate cake was very chocolatey, I think I just sounded the alarm for chocoholics, but the molten chocolate was too thick and cloying. I was expecting a runnier chocolate filling. It was filling too, so beware. This should do fine if you should ever need a quick dose of chocolate.

Well, that was more or less the entire gathering. This was my first bloggers meeting and I've happy to say that they're all friendly and nice!

Thank you Janet for the invite and the team behind Domino's for the wonderful dinner!

Domino's Pizza

Kovan
943/945, Upper Serangoon Road, Singapore 534710

Ang Mo Kio
1, Blk 339 #01-1587, Singapore 560339

Bedok
Blk 218, Bedok North 1, #01-15 Singapore 460218

Bukit Merah
Blk 111 Jalan Bukit Merah, #01-1678, Singapore 160111

Choa Chu Kang
Block 253 Choa Chu Kang #01-01 ( Keat Hong Shopping Centre) Singapore 680253

Elias Mall
Blk 625 #01-312 Elias Mall, Elias Road, Singapore 510625

Jurong
6 Jurong West Avenue 1, #01-03, Singapore 649520

Katong
301,Tanjong Katong Road,Singapore 437084

Killiney
71 & 71A,Killiney Road,Singapore 239527

Sembawang
369 Sembawang Road,#01-06 Sembawang Cottage, Singapore 758382

Tampines
No. 15 Jalan Tepong #04-11/12 Jurong Food Hub , Singapore 619336

Bukit Timah
8 Chun Tin Road, Singapore 599595

Microwave An Egg: Cook An Egg Under A Minute

Off to work or school and time is not on your side? Late, late, late but you know you've got to have some eggs for breakfast, yet it's impossible to cook an egg lightning fast using the conventional methods of boiling or frying. Don't worry, there's a way when there's a will; Go the unconventional way - microwave! It might sound strange, absurd or even dangerous to some, but not to worry, this is tested and proven and I live to share the joy.

Cautious parents, rest assure, the cases of exploding eggs you've heard are probably of hard boiled eggs being microwaved without being pierced. Thus, the pressure builds up in the egg and it explodes. Short bursts of microwave time, in this recipe, will put your mind at ease after you've tried it once or twice.(:

Eggs are nutritious, a good source of proteins and omega 3, simple and delicious. In simple words, eggs are good for you. So have one or two to start your day off with, but do remember that the daily limit for a normal person is around 2-3 eggs per days - the yolks are all too generous with their contribution of cholesterol!

Microwave Egg

Egg(s)

1. Crack your egg into a porcelain bowl. (not a plastic bowl!)
2. Microwave for around 20s and stop.


After 20s in the mircowave

3. You'll find the sides are a little cooked now. Using a small spoon coax the cooked sides into the centre. This is done so that your whole egg will be cooked properly, not just the sides.



4. Microwave, 2 times, for 20s each time.* The egg is cooked. (Stop earlier if you're into half boiled eggs like I do.)


Half microwaved eggs

5. Served egg with bread or eat on its own. You're off to a good start now!

*Stop once you hear 2 'pop' sounds, you are most likely done already.

Saung Sunda Sawargi A.K.A SSS: Sundanese Cuisine

This post would sum up the meals I ate at different restaurants in Batam during my church camp last June.

I wasn't aware that Sundanese cuisine existed till it appeared on the itinerary and I actually tried it. "Sundanese cuisine is the cuisine of Sundanese people of West Java, Indonesia. It is among one of the most popular food in Indonesia." by Wikipedia

I can't say for sure the dishes I had were all authentic Sundanese dishes, but this speaks for the popularity of this restaurant:


They must be celebrities or respectable people.



The dishes that were served, buffet style, were decent. Especially the Gado Gado, a type of Indonesian salad. The big crispy look thing, I'm not sure what it is called, was okay, would make a good side to dip into the spicy gravy of the dishes actually.



Frankly speaking, I can only vaguely recall the flavours of this lunch. The hard boiled egg was fried then bathed in a spicy, curry like sauce, not too spicy. The corn and vegetable behind the egg was the contents of some soup but they didn't have a bowl at that time so I just scooped a little onto my rice, no recollection at all. I'm thinking they were normal.



The Gado Gado stood out from the rest. The different vegetables were fresh and crisp, paired with egg and their in-house peanut sauce, resulted in a good starter. The peanut sauce was thicker and sweeter than our satay peanut sauce if I am not wrong.



This must either be beef or mutton, but I think it was pretty good, tender and juicy if I'm not mistaken.

So there you have it, a simple yet flavourful Sundanese lunch before I bid farewell to the island of Batam. It was a great camp with pleasant memories, thankyou. Are there any Sundanese restaurants in Singapore? Tell me about your experience there.

Rong Yi Hong Kong Tim Sum: Ang Mo Kio Branch

I have decided on writing short and concise posts for the months leading up to the Os to come; I can update this blog more regularly (so you don't have to wait too long for a updates!) and well, more time on the books.(:

One thing to celebrate if you have been with me for awhile now, reading this blog of mine, chinese O level results were released last Thursday and well, it was a moment of pure joy : A1! Praise be to God for the good results and many thanks to my teacher, who put in a lot of effort to teach us, and my friends for their constant encouragements to spur me on, thank you all!

Coming back to the topic, this chicken pao(top picture) is well worth a try. Surprisingly, I realised the main branch of this stall seems to be in Rochor Centre as I was googling for the name of this stall. Unfortunately, that means I haven't tried the main branch dim sum so there's no knowing if what I ate was up to their best standards. However, I can confidently say, comparing to the other chicken paos I've eaten, this is truly one of the better ones.



I'm not sure what's your idealistic pao or the best pao you've eaten - soft and fluffy skin, tender chicken filling, egg, mushroom and juices bursting out as the inside of the pao is being revealed?

This chicken pao ($1.50) is near there but a little different as well. For starters, there's no mushroom nor juices bursting out. But wait, the pao contains onions and, I suspect, radish, these two add great flavour and crunch to the chicken filling. Thus, overall, I would say it's worth a try if you're in the vicinity or having a craving for chicken paos. I've tried the lotus paste pao as well, decent but a little too expensive for its small size.

The best pao I've tried, that fulfils the idealistic pao above, was in malaysia, will definitely blog about it if I go over to malaysia in the future. Meanwhile, anyone knows if the chicken pao is the same over at the main branch?

Rong Yi Hong Kong Tim Sum (AMK)

Blk 158 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4
#01-590
Singapore (S)560158

Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo: Worth The Wait

Studying makes you hungry. After hitting the books with my cousin at the library earlier on, and it was decided that we'll go to the nearby Ang Mo Kio Ave 6 Food Centre to have lunch. We did go but the original plan for me was to try the duck porridge there.

The duck porridge was always sold out or the stall was closed on the particular day I went, thus I never had the chance to try it yet. Today, was just one of those days unfortunately. Oh, wait, or was it a blessing in disguise? As a result, I chanced upon the perpetual long line of queue outside Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo stall.

Recalling my sister telling me that there was a Yong Tau Foo stall that was recommended by Dr Leslie Tay and we seem to have tried the wrong one the other time, so my mind pieced the partial memories together and there I was, plonked myself into the queue. Now, if only my mind could create links as fast as that during study time and yes this is the right stall that Dr Leslie Tay recommends. Happy as a bird was I, snapping a few pictures of the stall name, till I finally saw it.

Saw what, you may ask. I saw that customers were supposed to choose their items and placed their order before queueing up! Yup, that's how they operate here. You queue up AFTER you have placed your order. Don't make the mistake that I've made and waste 15mins of your life queueing up for nothing.



Coming back to the bowl of yong tau foo, it was deliciously satisfying. This bowl of dried vermicelli, served along with your picked items, topped with sweet sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds justified the long wait and seemingly endless queue. It was that good.

The ingredients were fresh, the fried items were delicious, noting in particular some kind of fried flour ball they have and their fried meatball (the second picture). The meatball was chewy, juicy and flavourful - all the characteristics of an outstanding meatball. The vermicelli they used were a little different, a little flatter and thicker than the usual ones. The sweet sauce balanced out nicely on the palate, not too sweet. The small bowl of soup that comes along will help to cleanse your palate if the sweet sauce is too cloying for you after awhile. Overall, a great bowl of yong tau foo. I would certainly revisit this stall!

Xi Xiang Feng Yong Tau Foo
Ang Mo Kio Blk 724
#01-23
Open from 7am to 7pm daily
Sunday closed
96353203

Durian Puff: First Attempt On Choux Pastry

Efforts to resist myself were futile; I succumbed to temptation. I baked. Really, I should have been digging into my books and excavating that abundant wealth of knowledge, yet I didn't.

However, one would be guilty too if they had an absolutely legitimate craving and desire and they didn't fulfil it, right? Oh, it's an excuse, but I baked durian puffs anyway hehe. You could say that I was celebrating Singapore's 46th birthday as well. Yup, I baked them yesterday, on the 9th of August.

'Happy belated birthday Singapore! Majulah Singapura!'

Durians are an iconic food in Singapore since you normally don't see them elsewhere except Malaysia and Thailand and we even have the Esplanade building whose design was inspired by durians.



Being the king of fruits, it is easily recognisably by its spiky green shell, pungent smell and strong taste that lingers in your mouth and breath long afterwards. Many would avoid it, yet ironically, many would flock to places selling them once they are in season. It's a love or hate thing really, like I've mentioned in my previous post.

Enough said, it was my first attempt at baking choux pastries and it was a success I would conclude. Nothing terrifying about them, you just need to inject love and patience like all other times of baking and they'll come out rewardingly well. Proof?


Proved.

Durian Puff (adapted from Maameemoomoo)


For 8 puffs

85ml water
50g butter
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
50g bread flour
20g cake flour — i didn’t bother with cake flour, substituted with plain flour –
2 eggs (lightly beaten)


Step 5 - the signature triangle you're looking out for.

1. Cook water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan till bubbling hot. Turn the heat to low.
2. Add in the flour mixture in one go and mix with a wooden spoon till a dough is formed
(picture on the left)
3. Still on low heat, cook the dough for 1 – 2 minutes till a thin white film is formed at the bottom of the saucepan.
(picture in the middle)
4. Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and beat till it is lukewarm.
5. Add in egg by thirds and mix till well blended and smooth. It needs to be glossy looking. Test the batter by taking a scoop of it and it hangs down and form a smooth triangular shape, it means u’re on the right track ;)
(picture on the right)
6. Place batter into piping bag and pipe it onto a lined pan in rounds of about 5cm in diameter. Spray some water on it. (i piped mine 5cm and it turned out HUGE! will pipe 2cm and get 20 small puff pastry instead. i like them mini :))
7. Gently smoothen out the pointed peaks with a moistened finger.
8. Bake at 200C for 25 (mine took only 20) minutes then 180C for 8 – 10 minutes or till dry and golden brown in color.

Durian filling

200ml whipping cream (will reduce this to 150-170ml)
1 tbsp rum
550g durian pulp
3 tbsp milk

1. Whip up whipping cream to a soft peak.
2. Fold in durian pulp. Stir in milk and rum.
3. Put fillings in a piping bag and pipe it out into the baked choux pastry.

Ayam Penyet: Cheap and good food!

When someone says,'fried chicken.' What comes into your mind? Personally, it's crispy skin and tender chicken meat. This was no Manchu Han Imperial Feast nor a dish served in a high end restuarant, yet it was good; This was just simple Indonesian fare. The chicken thigh was fried to a crisp and the meat within still remained tender.



The chicken thigh was crispy goodness. How did I end up discovering this? It was lunchtime during my church camp in Batam back in June. A group of us decided to visit the largest shopping mall on Batam island, Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall, as the hotel could provide shuttle service and it was only good to go exploring and going new places in a foreign land. Though, it was my second time there but I had very little recollection about the first. *It is strongly recommended that you visit this shopping mall if you're at Batam because this shopping mall is the most complete mall, in terms of shops and food, compared to the other shopping malls in Batam. We skipped lunch at the hotel and decided to have it at the shopping mall itself, own time own target. A&W fast food restuarant was a big temptation since we don't have it anymore in Singapore. I was determined to try something local.

This stall caught my eye eventually, besides being directly opposite of A&W, it had the most customers. I was in the store and seated in a jiffy, with two other churchmates. We decided have one ayam penyet each since we presumed it must be the best seller in this stall, where the sign says it all. The rest, they say, is history.



The chicken was served alongside with some cabbage, cucumber, mint, 2 pieces of what tasted like fried beancurd, their signature chilli I presume, and topped with a generous amount of deep fried batter bits. The chilli was fine, a little too oily though. The vegetables did a great job to cleanse the palate from the oilness of the chicken. The chicken thigh came with rice too.



In addition, we ordered a bowl of beef soup to try. It tasted okay. The chicken remained the star of the meal.

I've saved the best for the last: this meal cost me around S$3-4! It is cheap and good indeed. And it looks like they have branches in Malaysia and Singapore as weel, have anyone tried this stall?

Durians : One man's treasure is another man's poison?

Durians; It's a love or hate thing.

I faithfully declare that I belong to the former; I love durians.

It's really a love or hate thing with durians. I've ever heard them being described as "completely rotten, mushy onions." on tv, by Chef Andrew Zimmern - host of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. He has certainly tasted some of the weirdest things on earth yet, when it came to durians, it was too much for him. 'What a waste,' I would say. It never fails to make me to crave for them, even when you have ulcers, at the risk of being too 'heaty' or overeating them previously. It's edible, creamy, lucious gold.



My aunt just bought a bag of them back from Malaysia but I'm gessing they'll only last a maximum of three days before they're all devoured by us heh.