Guido's Birthday Party

I have very little time to prepare and cook, as I fly back from a business trip to New York only 2 days before the party... So I plan a simple and hopefully appetizing menu, roast lamb marinated with rosemary, garlic, and rubbed with mustard, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper, assorted roasted vegetable, chow kwai tew - which is a Malaysian style fried rice noodles with prawns and Chinese Sausage, scrambled eggs and bean sprouts, and last but not least, stewed spare ribs served with coconut rice.
My friends are bringing the appetizers and desserts, and to crown it all, Guido's birthday cake...

Dinner in New York

I'm in New York for couple of days filled with meetings... But we manage to relax and enjoy dinner at my sister's home one evening, I made 2 dishes: "Bo Luc Lac" which is the Vietnamese shaken beef cubes served with thinly sliced onions marinated in Japanese spiced vinegar, on a bed of fresh spinach and tomato slices, and stewed spare ribs with soy sauce and Chinese wine. My sister prepared a delicious salad with salmon, avocado and mango.

Hainan Chicken Rice

This is my favorite chicken & rice dish and I never fail to enjoy it whenever I visit Singapore. The chicken is poached in boiling water then plunged into cold water to stop the cooking and keep the skin shiny. To prepare the rice, firstly I stir fried the rice in a little oil, minced garlic and ginger until fragrant, before adding the broth from the poached chicken into the rice cooker. Before serving, I add a few drops of sesame oil to the chicken and serve it with chopped scallions quickly blanched in oil and minced ginger, sweet soy sauce, and chili paste... It's real comfort food...

Chinese Vegetarian Dinner

Tonight we make a vegetarian dinner with deep fried tofu with scallion oil, fried noodles with assorted mushrooms, tofus and vegetable, and steamed rice rolls served sprinkled with toasted sesame seed with a dip of hoisin and chili sauce... Very satisfying and healthy too...

Pan Fried Crispy Noodles with Beef & Vegetable (Pho Ap Chao)

This is one of my favorite childhood snack.  Traditionally, the white rice noodles are deep fried to a golden crisp, but for a healthier version, I prefer to pan fry them, the result is lighter but still crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside. To serve with stir fried sliced beef with assorted vegetable...