Cup Spring Rolls

When I am preparing dinner, I always think what if I cook this instead, and always change my mind at last minute.

Today plan was to cook beef but then I thought about my leftover spring roll wrappers and thought about Su Yin Nasi Lemak cup. Ok change plan for dinner.

I cut my spring roll wrappers into 4, so they became the size of wonton wrappers. Arrange them in muffin tray and baked them like this.

Cup spring rolls with salad.


I arranged 2 wrappers in muffin tray to get bigger cups.


Salad dressing is Orange Vinaigrette. I got the recipe from Wokking Mum. Both Jon and I love it, it is very refreshing.

Spring Roll filling
1 packet of vermicelli
5 chinese mushrooms
100g minced meat
1/2 carrot, shredded
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
a pinch of pepper

1. Soak vermicelli in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and cut into short threads.
2. Soak chinese mushrooms in boiling water. Drain and minced.
3. Saute garlic, carrot, minced meat, mushrooms and vermicelli. Add sweet soy sauce, soy sauce and pepper to taste.

Orange Vinaigrette *recipe from Wokking Mum*
1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 tablespoon Orange Juice
1/2 tablespoon Apple Cider
2 teaspoon Lemon or Lime Juice
a pinch of salt and sugar each

Spring Roll

I made spring rolls for the first time. I used Vermicelli, shredded carrot, minced chicken, minced prawn and Chinese mushroom.

Comparing with spring roll to the ones from my hometown Medan, this definitely a failure. In fact, I never knew of spring roll with vermicelli till I saw them in Sydney. Medan spring roll uses jícama/Yam Bean ( Bengkuang in Malay).

But comparing the spring rolls to the ones in Sydney and New York, mine were nice =)

It can be eaten just the way it is without having to fry it.


Deep fried spring rolls.

Steak

Dinner for Jon: Lamb steak, mushroom, butter capsicum, mash potato, bacon asparagus.
I had chicken instead of lamb. I can't stand lamb smell.

Preparation and cooking: 1 hour
Eating: 15 minutes
Washing: 20 minutes

Stationery

I was sorting out my stuffs. We have so much stationery. We have a total of 116 combinations of pencils, pens, ink pens, markers and higlighters.

Why do 2 people have so much pens? And when we need a pen, we can't find any.

Pancakes

Sunday Morning Breakfast.


Pancakes scattered with strawberry, boysenberry and blueberry. Served with syrup and butter.


Half eaten pancakes

Lazy Dinner

This was what I made for dinner when I was lazy.

Prata. Pan fried frozen Prata


Japanese Curry. Japanese curry is the easiest thing to cook. Boil water, add chicken, potato, mushroom and curry cube, done.


Passion Fruit Drink. Refreshing!

Hop Kee Restaurant

Original plan was to go Dim Sum, but the restaurant we planned to go was closed. We went to restaurant opposite Hop Kee. There isn't much to look at: simple decor and located below street level.

Flounder Kow $20.50 Boneless flounder cut in cubes with Chinese vegetables, mushroom, bambo shoots, water chesnuts and snow peas. Presentation wasn't great, taste was ok.


Mushu Pork $10.50 Shredded pork chop meat and scrambled eggs, stir fried with cabbage, mushroom and scallions. Served with Hoisin sauce and thin pancakes. It tasted like Char Kway Teow



Hop Kee Restaurant
21 Mott st,
New York 10013
Tel: +1 (212) 964 8365

Sea Shipment Arrived

Sea shipment from Australia arrived. There were 75 boxes/items in total. I was alone when the movers came. Basically they carried the boxes inside and called out the box numbers and I had to tick and to advise them of where to put the stuffs.

Took me quite a while to get through the 3 pages of item listings. It was such a relieved when I got through the whole list.

I am so suprised and amazed at the amount of stuffs we collected over a period of stay back in Sydney. I have no idea how the previous 1 bedroom apartment in Sydney could fit all this stuffs? It was like doraemon pocket.

Boxes piling up in kitchen.


I walked here and there, from kitchen to bedroom to living room and back to kitchen, staring at those boxes. I didn't know where to start. I decided to start with kitchenware, I checked my list, I had 3 boxes of kitchenware and they were all at the bottom. With limited space, I had to reorganise and shift the boxes. As if I was on a mission to solve a puzzle.

Boxes in living room.


Unpacking will keep me busy for at least 2 weeks.

Happy Birthday Karn

I planned this months ago, birthday cake for Karn. When I told her someone was going to give her something on her birthday, she had a lot of question marks. Who is this person? Did she go to NY and I passed the present to her? No...no..the present was not from NY but Sydney ha..ha..

Happy Birthday Karn! Glad that you like it. Well, who can resist such a lovely cake? It looks so real as if the sushi bar is moving.


Oh I can't believe it, she cut the cake, she even ate it. So cruel~~

more photos here

Passion Fruit

Bubble tea store is no longer step away from my house (it was in Sydney). I managed to find passion fruit syrup hence could start making my own passion fruit green tea.

There are many types of passion fruit. There are 2 types particularly in Indonesia. The one with yellow flesh is sour and is used to make syrup. Another kind is as big as Panama passion fruit but with white flesh and it is very sweet. Not many people aware of sweet passion fruit/ white flesh. A friend from Malaysia said that the best fruit he has ever eaten was white passion fruit in Brastagi and he still craves for it. Likewise for me.

In Australia, passion fruit is mostly used as topping for desserts, cakes and fruit salad. It is also used to flavour soft drinks such as Passiona.

In Indonesia, the sweet passion fruit (white flesh) it is eaten straight as a fruit. Whereas it is very common to strain the passionfruit (yellow flesh) for its juice and cook it with sugar to make some sort of thick syrup, mixed with water and ice to be drunk.

White flesh sweet passion fruit


Normal passion fruit


Medan is famous for its passion fruit homemade syrup. Tourists who visit Medan, typically buy passion fruit syrup as gifts.

Passion fruit syrup has always been my favorite drink since I was young. Whenever I go back to Medan, my mom will make passion fruit syrup and make sure it will be enough for my stay in Medan *lol*

Passion Fruit drink

Polar Bear

There is a new documentary movie "Arctic Tale" about the life cycle of a walrus and her calf, and a polar bear and her cubs . The polar bears are Ohhhh so cute.


If predictions of melting ice is true, most polar bears would be gone by 2050. Full report here.

My new collection, baby polar bear in an igloo. So cute~~

Air Shipment Arrived

9 boxes air shipment are here. I have no idea how to unpack them. Computers, books/files are here but computer desk and book rack are not here. So it is hard to unpack.

I don't dare to imagine how to unpack the other 75 boxes that will be here soon.

House

I have just moved to new house. It is in quiet neighbourhood. In fact, this is the first time in my life that I live in a quiet area.


I love the kitchen.

Mee Noodle Shop

While loitering around 9th avenue, didn't know what to take out, I stumbled on a Chinese Restaurant. We ate there 4 days in a row.

Lo Mein $5.25. Stir fry egg noodle with vegetables and choice of pork, chicken and shrimp. This is the best Lo Mein in NYC so far.


Plain Fish Ball Soup $2.10. 4 fish balls, spinach, tofu and mushroom. Soup is too salty for my liking.


Shrimp with Lobster over Noodles $6.50. Jon likes this dish. However, the noodle tasted like gum/ rubber band to me. Well, after eating the nice Lo Mein, this dish is a little too plain.


Tofu with mixed vegetables $7.5


Mee Noodle Shop
795 9th Avenue (53rd & 9th)
Tel: + 1 (212) 765-2929

Wicked The Musical

Been a real great day today! Firstly Jon received a call early in the morning from the leasing agent notifying him of the successful home lease application. Finally.. a permanent home. (for now).


Later after signing the lease, we returned back to city and decided to go for the broadway lottery tickets for the musical "WICKED" - prequel of the wizards of Oz. It is the "untold" story of the witches of Oz, features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, and it's based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire.

Broadway lotteries tickets are available for most of the broadway musicals. Lotteries are conducted couple of hours before the start of the show. There is always a long queue for these tickets. Anyway both Jon and I decided to try our luck then. We queued up, waited for half an hour, submitted our names, walked around the blocks, returned to the scene and waited for the result of the lottery whereby the lucky winner's name would be yelled out. Names after names, our hope shrunk. Just when we thought that it was over, I heard my name being yelled out! Can't believe it~! It was only my second time queueing for the lottery. It was Jon's first time, anyway his name wasn't picked haha.

There were around 10 winners (20 tickets) out of 200 or more. (just for your information, we still have to pay around $25 for each ticket.) Of course it's great seats at a discounted price. =o)

It's my first musical, certainly won't be the last. It was spectacular. Jon and I loved it. The performance were gorgeous, orchestra were pitch perfect and the sets and backdrops were ever stunning! It was an perfect evening for the both of us.



More act photos here

Connie Talbot

I can't breathe watching her sing. She is such a beautiful girl with lovely voice.