Traditional Baked Mooncake

 

The annual Mooncake festival is here again. Time really flies. I remembered my first attempt at making the traditional baked mooncake last year. It was not really successful. The skin was too hard. I wanted to try again this year but was hesitant, partly due to the fact that it was in the midst of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Anyway, I made the mooncake golden syrup two weeks ago first. It was advised that the longer you keep the mooncake syrup, the more flavourful your mooncake skin will turn out. If I did not make the mooncake this time, I can always keep it for next year.

Bacon & Ham Melt Sandwich

 

Maison Kayser (Paris) at Scotts Square. This bakery cafe located at the basement of Scotts Square has a nice collection of good artisan bread, pastries and sandwiches. I went there for lunch one weekday and ordered a bacon, cheese and rocket sandwich. A simple sandwich but exceptionally delicious. The ciabatta bread has a very nice chewy bite to it and very flavourful. I love it so much that I bought two small ciabatta bread home, with the intention of re-creating the sandwich.

Japanese Beef Rice Bowl

 

I've run out of ideas of what to cook for lunch and dinner. I want something simple to prepare and cook and yet delicious and appetising at the same time. I was at the library and chanced upon Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking cookbook. I looked through the recipes and they appealed to me. I have to try out some of the recipes in it and so I borrowed it. I have her other book - Everyday Harumi. The recipes in her cookbook are easy to follow and prepare and I've tried out a few recipes from this cookbook. Most important of all, they all turn out beautiful and scrumptious. Also, it has lots of cooking tips and ingredient substituition. What a great find!

Chocolate Banana Delight

Chocolate-themed birthday cake will never go wrong. This cake is specially baked for my son, Ryan's 12th birthday. Have to settle for a quiet birthday celebration as his birthday happened to be in the midst of preparing for the most important exam in his primary school years, the dreaded Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). It's the most stressful exam not only for him, but for me too. I have to nag at him to study (believe me, no parents like to do this) and stop spending too much time on computer games. This year is a very busy and hectic time for him. Endless homework and practice papers.