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Thick Fudgey Brownies

So now that I've got more time to indulge in my passion for baking, I decided to volunteer to bake brownies and cupcakes for a church fundraiser to benefit Cambodian kids.

Thanks to my generous friends, I got myself committed to baking 16 slabs of 8" x 8" brownies. It was my first attempt to bake on such a major scale...

Three trips to Fairprice Finest, two trips to Phoon Huat, three rounds of experiments and hours upon hours of baking later, here are the final photos and recipe.

After the initial anxiety, I'm happy to report that all the brownies and cupcakes were sold out. I'm indeed thankful to Him for the opportunity to contribute in a small way.

But proud as I am to have achieved the production target (with some help from foreign talent and a bit of child labour), I have concluded that the possibility of me converting this hobby into a business has become extremely remote.

Ingredients:

225g unsalted butter

340g fine sugar

4 eggs (or 3 large ones)

1½ tsp vanilla extract

150g unsweetened cocoa powder

225g all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

¼ cup Hershey’s chocolate syrup

¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Frosting:

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

160g icing sugar

1-2 tbsp milk

Directions:

1.        Preheat oven to 175 deg Celsius (350 deg Fahrenheit). Grease an 8” x 8” pan.

2.        Warm butter in microwave for approx 60 secs until fully melted. Pour into large mixing bowl.

3.        Stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.

4.        Beat in cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix in Hershey's chocolate syrup. Add walnuts if desired.

5.        Spread batter into prepared pan.

6.        Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Do not overcook.

            

To make frosting:

1.        Combine butter, cocoa, honey, vanilla extract, icing sugar. Add 1-2 tbsp milk to smoothen frosting mix.

2.        Frost brownies while they are still warm.

Note: I highly recommend Hershey’s cocoa powder for the frosting as you get a nice sleek chocolate frosting that’s not too dark.   

Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant - Groupon dinner

I've always been a little skeptical of Groupon offers. Deals that sound just too good to be true, would turn out so right? But I've got Groupon junkies as good friends, so it was inevitable that I'd succumb ;-)

When the Hokkaido Sushi offer came along, I decided to purchase a 9-course omakase for two worth $306 for just $97.60. The discount was delicious already. But as it turned out, the dinner was not quite.

The courses included sashimi (reasonable enough), chawan mushi topped with ikura (nice), grilled salmon (okay), wagyu beef (disappointing bite-sized pieces; where's the meat?), and Hokkaido Maki (nice). Oh, I didn't bother taking photos as the presentation was really just average. I guess with two full seatings at 6pm and 8pm, they had to dispense with the pretty presentations you'd expect at top Japanese restaurants.

Was the dinner worth $97.60? Sure. Was it worth $306? Certainly not...

100% home-made Creme Brulee

The first time I made creme brûlée, I used a pack of Elle et Vire creme brûlée mix. I innocently thought what's really important is the caramelized sugar and final presentation. That's where the skills are needed right?

Boy, was I wrong. After the usual oohing and aahing over how nice my creme brûlée was in terms of taste and presentation, my dear purist girlfriends looked downright disappointed, no make that cheated, when they realized the custard came from a pack. I am after all an honest person. And having done time in a food corporation, I really didn't see anything wrong with taking one or two short cuts. Like whoever bothers to make chicken rice chilli from scratch these days right? ;-)

Anyway, I finally decided I'd make a creme brûlée from scratch. And here it is: my 100% home-made creme brûlée ;-) The verdict from my friends? Yummy!

Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
4 tbsp white sugar (more if you want it sweeter)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (or up to 1 tsp)
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
Approx 2-3 tbsp brown sugar

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 175 deg Celsius.
2. Beat the egg yolks, white sugar and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl till thick and creamy.
2. Warm the cream in a saucepan over low heat, stirring continuously until it almost comes to a boil.
3. Mix a little of the hot cream into the egg mixture. Then whisk the egg mixture into the rest of the cream.
4. The mix will be foamy. Strain the mix to remove the foam. Scoop off remaining bubbles or use a torch to remove bubbles.
5. Pour mix into ramekins placed on a baking tray. Place tray in oven and fill tray with hot water till midway up sides of the ramekins. Be careful not to pour water into the ramekins.
6. Bake for about 20-30 mins till the custard takes on a jiggly but not liquid consistency. Remove from oven and leave ramekins to cool in water bath for about 15 mins.
7. Place ramekins in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
8. When ready to serve, sprinkle a fine layer of brown sugar over the top of custard. Caramelise the sugar with a torch.
9. Serve with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries!

Gonpachi, Roppongi, Tokyo

There were no yellow jumpsuited assassins in Gonpachi the night we went. Instead, we were greeted by friendly servers in this traditional tea house meets trendy izakaya.

Overall, the experience was really good. The menu was extensive, in terms of both food and drinks. In particular, I liked the foie gras yakitori with balsamic sauce and fresh strawberries (¥1,250).

The total bill for the 7 of us came up to just ¥24,350 including sashimi, tempura, their handmade soba, sake and lots more. And they actually turned off the lights to serve a prettily decorated birthday treat to Loo and Chien.

So Gonpachi inspired Quentin Tarantino in creating the set for Kill Bill. But with its good and reasonably priced food and great drinks selection served by young friendly staff in a cool ambience, it sure provides an inspiring dining experience!

Kaikaya By The Sea, Shibuya, Tokyo

What better way to celebrate 27 years of friendship than to hop on a plane together, fly 3300 miles, and settle down to a nice warm dinner with just the company of your BFFs!

And Kaikaya provided just the right lively setting for us to kampai to our enduring friendship and celebrate our enduring youthfulness ;-) with some good sake.

Kaikaya came highly recommended by a few friends. And of course, the ever efficient Ming went online to do her due d. We were not disappointed.

The food can best be described as Japanese given a modern twist. As none of us had been there before, we decided on the omakase, which turned out to be a 12-course feast for just ¥4,500!

The meal kicked off with its signature fish carpaccio, Sengyo No Carpaccio, with garlic, olive oil, balsamico and basil. Absolutely delightful. We also enjoyed the wagyu beef sushi, the really fresh and generous sashimi platter, the seafood miso soup and more... The dinner ended on a sweet and perfect note with stick-like slabs of matcha cheesecake.

The odd thing is that practically all the customers that night were gaijin. I suppose it's because Kaikaya would not appeal to purists seeking traditional Japanese cuisine.

Our only grouse was that the smoke from the open kitchen got a little intense at times.

But we certainly had a great time and I'd definitely visit Kaikaya again the next time I'm in Tokyo.

Joel Robuchon, Hotel Michael

It's said that time flies when you are enjoying yourself. Well, we've been married for 10 years and it feels like not too long ago that we first met in that little bar ;-)

To celebrate this very special milestone, we decided we'd have a nice slow dinner - not just once, but on as many occasions as possible throughout the year!

From the beautiful decor to the quiet elegant service, the ambience in Joel Robuchon provides a great start to a romantic night out.

We felt the full degustation menu might be too heavy and decided on the $250 4-course menu. After we'd selected the courses, the bread trolley was rolled out. On the trolley was an amazing selection of bread with basil, saffron, rosemary, etc, etc.

Certain items carry a supplement eg. the lobster I ordered for appetizer. And I didn't realize it as I was given the guest menu without prices and my dashing date had the host menu with the prices.

Should they not presume the man will always pick up the tab? It annoys me when service establishments are too presumptuous. Or perhaps they thought a couple so engrossed with each other could not possibly be married and juggling joint finances? I'd forgive them then.

It was a very nice dinner overall I must say. The service was excellent, and the wait staff were happy to accede to our requests, like changing the dessert course to the cheese trolley.

A great place for special occasions, or to simply to appreciate the companionship of your other half.