Uncle Sun Abalone Chicken Soup
Vincent gave me this pack of Chinese Herbal Soup to try. He recommended this to me as he said that it's a simple soup to make and it tastes quite…
Vincent gave me this pack of Chinese Herbal Soup to try. He recommended this to me as he said that it's a simple soup to make and it tastes quite…
I picked up this pack of Go Cha Dried Thin Noodle from Smart and Save in Lansdowne Mall. The noodle, Min Sin (in Cantonese) reminds me of my childhood days. Whenever I’m sick, my late grandma or my late mom will make me “Min Sin”. It is a very soft noodle and I believe its gentle to your digestive system. That’s why it’s given to sick people.
I cant recall exactly how much this pack of noodle cost but its around $3. This pack of noodle is enough to serve my family of four.
Inside the package, you’ll find a pack of dried thin noodle, a pack of tapioca starch, a spice pack and a hot chili pack.
I had heard a long time about this snack which is very popular in Australia. I came across this at the Real Canadian Superstore some weeks ago. I would have…
Believe it or not … the only chocolates that I bought was these chocolate eggs in Brussels. I did pop by some of the famous chocolatiers in Brussels but they were either too expensive and I simply had not room in my bag to carry a single box of them. Even these cheap chocolates which I bought from Hema was a class above other cheap chocolate eggs — definitely much creamier.
But guess what … when I got home, WB and KC came by our home and dropped off a box of Belgian chocolates! Well … what do you know?
I can only name the following famous Belgian chocolate brands … Neuhaus, Godiva and Guylian. What are the other brands you know of?
Sometimes one can know the character of a city just by observing the people going about doing their business. I can relate to a city like Brussels. This city is well maintain, clean, graffiti free and have very little vagrants. The subway felt bright and safe.
I stumbled on the Parc du Bruxelles while trying to look for the Unknown Soldier Panorama. I must have made a wrong turn somewhere and came upon this place. I enjoyed this park. In a cold early spring weather, there are quite a lot of people running during their lunch break. It reminds me a lot of Vancouver where when the weather is good, people do don their running gears and go for a run.
In every European city, there is a cathedral at the center of the city. Brussel’s cathedral is called the St Michael and Gudula Cathedral. I had seen enough of churches already and gave this a miss.
Brussels is a compact city. I came across the Manneken Pis again. Since there are better light this time, I took out my long lens and managed to get a closer shot of the famous sculpture. Sometimes they do dress up the Manneken Pis in costumes but not this time.
The highlight of the day is to visit the Atomium. This monument is a national icon of Belgium and is as iconic as the Eiffel to Paris. I have seen pictures of the Atomium but had no idea what is was like up close. More about the Atomium later …
I went to Brussel Centraal railway station to catch a train to Heysel Park.
I was still hungry after that little breakfast of Waffle. I stopped at a food stall at the train station called Maciotto. I had seen Maciotto in several stations before and thought I should check this out. They sell traditional Italian snacks. Since I thought that there would be nothing much for lunch at the Atomium, I got myself a snack as brunch.
I got something called the Diavoletto Pollo (I think the word diavoletto means devil in Italian). This 3 Euros snack contains tomato, chicken and olives. Anyone can tell me more about Diavoletto? I had never come across this before.
I hardly spent a few minutes in the hotel room. The sky is getting dark and I wanted to at least spend sometime getting to the centre of Brussels. So, I dropped my bags, had a quick clean-up and headed out immediately. I am so glad for this room because compared to the dump in Paris this is much comfortable. I got a good deal from Orbitz which is only USD$60 per night.
The Brussels downtown core is so compact. You could walk to most places of interest. I read a lot about the Grand Place which is a central market square. This is the most visited tourist site in Brussels. The square is surrounded on all sides by grand buildings. The Gothic style City Hall, below, is 600 years old.
UNESCO had declared the Grand Place as a World Heritage Site.
The City Museum, located right across from the City Hall, is dedicate to the history of Brussels. There is a room that contains all the costume of the Manneken Pis.
Just across the road from my hotel was a patisserie. Unlike in England, frankly, I really don’t know where to go for breakfast. I could have breakfast in the hotel but it costs 15 Euros — too expensive for me.
So, I just went across the street to get something from the patisserie. It was my first time and I can see what the fuss were about french bakery shop. The place smells so nice and there were so many types of bread alone that it’s bewildering.
I just got something familiar — Quiche, vegetable quiche.
I walked over to the Metro station to get a seat to eat before I head to my destination. That’s all I had for breakfast … quiche and chocolate milk. The quiche is much better than any I’ve ever tasted before. The warm pastry was so soft that it flops down. The quiche and choc milk costs 3.80 Euros.
This is a day I planned to visit the two most famous churches in Paris, the Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur. The Notre Dame is located on a small island on the River Seine called the ?le de la Cit? (don’t ask me how to pronounce it). It is here where Paris was founded. Compared to London’s Thames, this river seem so idyllic whereas the Thames is so chaotic.
The word Notre Dame in French means Our Lady (Virgin Mary). (more…)
We blogged about making Pho at home last year. I made a Beef flavored Pho last time. This time, I made the Chicken Flavored Pho for a change.
Similar with the Beef Flavored Pho, this seasoning will make 20 bowls of soup. This will last me for a few meals. I do not mind the volume as Arkensen and Nanzaro love Pho.
The ingredients are very simple. One or two chickens, one onion, two pieces of ginger and I also added a bunch of cilantro.
I used only one chicken because our family is small. I intend to freeze the remaining soup for other meals and I can add more chicken or use other ingredients like meatballs, fish cakes or artificial crab sticks which my kids love to eat with Pho noodles.
I normally cook the whole chicken in the pot as I find its too bulky. I normally cut the chicken in two halves which makes it easier to clean and I do not need a pot which is too deep to submerge the chicken in water.
The instruction is pretty simple. After cleaning the chicken and removed any excess fat, put the chicken, onion, ginger and cilantro into a big pot. Cover the chicken with cold water and bring to boil.
Coincidentally, I have some Guillinggao Powder which my father gave me during Ben’s trip back to Malaysia. My sister recommended it to me as this is her daughters’ favourite dessert.
Guilinggao is a Chinese medicine that is made with three-lined box turtles and China roots. It is often served as a dessert, made in the form of a jelly.
Guilinggao has a hint of bitterness (in Cantonese, ‘kum’) and its usually sweetened with rock sugar.
I had tried to make the Guilingao according to the instruction on the box but it turned out to be very watery. So, I consulted my sister for her recipe as she is the one who recommended it to me.
Inside the big package of Guilinggao Powder is 10 small sachets of Guilinggao Powder. My sister’s recipe is to use 5 sachets of the Guilinggao powder with 6 cups of water and 250g of rock sugar. My sister emphasized on the usage of rock sugar as she had tried and failed with granulated sugar.