Moroheiya Stir-Fried Noodles

 Noodles is one of the easiest, quickest and tastiest dishes to prepare. My sister and I eat a fair amount of noodles.With our busy schedule we are always on the run. We don't turn to frozen food as the main energy source  so we need sustenance which can be prepared in a matter of minutes.

Last weekend, we had moroheiya noodle soup. There were still 2 package of the green noodles left. We wanted to cook the noodles in a different method. When I got home yesterday evening, my sister and I decided to stir-fry them. She did the washing and cutting of the vegetables. She took pictures of me while I cooked. 

Dinner And IKEA At Mega Bangna Kilometer 8 Bangna-Trat Road

Before hitting the malls, me, my sister and our circle of friends make sure our tummies are half-empty. We do this to make room for the indulgence we want later. Last Sunday, we were at Mega Bangna, billed to be the largest low-rise shopping mall in South-East Asia. (Not sure if that is true though). We checked a few of its 800 shops and we spent almost the entire afternoon at IKEA.  The time we were at the Swedish furniture store, I was on cloud 9.  Home products just blow me away.

Towards the end of our IKEA  visit, our stomach began to growl. That's when we headed for the exit to look for food. We almost walked the whole length of the mall before we found the area where the restaurants were located. We had two choices -  to eat at Bibimbap Korean Restaurant or at the restaurant right next to it - Pepper Lunch, a Japanese Teppan Restaurant. We checked each restaurant's menu and weighed the priced. We reckoned to go Japanese.

My sister ordered salmon pepper rice. The miso soup and egg didn't come with the dish but they were available as a side dish.The waiter said the rice menu had to be mixed evenly. She did and it turned out wonderfully. I had to reach over to get spoonful of it a few times.

Maiz Con Hielo With Corn Flakes

Maiz Con Hielo which means corn with ice, is a popular snack in the Philippines. It is similar to halo-halo in a way that both required shaved ice and milk to mix with the ingredients.

Summer months are over yet we still experience roasting hot climate. When my friends were here for our Friday night dinner, I gave them a surprise treat. I made mais con yelo for dessert. No one complained!

Going Green (Healthy Moroheiya Noodles)

Moroheiya noodles are made from organically grown moroheiya. The green vegetable, also known as Egyptian spinach,  is believed to be rich  in beta-carotene, iron, calcium, Vitamin C, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. Big sis got the noodles from a colleague who knows about her vegetable-based diet.

My sister's absence made me so relaxed that I didn't bother to cook a proper meal or even check what's left in the fridge.Weekend came, we found the vegetable crisper  had nothing but  half a head of cabbage. In just a matter of minutes, she turned the cabbage and the noodles into something delicious. A simple yet tasty noodle soup.

Little Samuel's Birthday Cake

Mission Hospital's chaplain's son Samuel  celebrated his 3rd birthday during the church potluck on Saturday. Pastor Rienchai requested a vanilla cake for his little boy this time.

This is the only picture I managed to take before Sam's dad brought it to the potluck. It may look simple but Sam's parents were not disappointed. That's what mattered most.

Spaghettini With Creamy Mushroom Sauce

I am alone in the house. Big sis is away for a week. I don't do much cooking because I only have myself to feed. The past few days I have been eating oatmeal, porridge and sandwiches . I had a loooong day at work today but as soon as I got home, I was determined to cook pasta, my kind of comfort food.

If you are rushed and have no time to labor over dinner, this easy-to-prepare dish cooks up in less than 30 minutes and  tastes good.

Asiatique The Riverfront

While watching TV last week my sister saw a commercial about Asiatique The Riverfront, an open-air mall along Chao Phraya River which opened in 2011. It boasts as Bangkok's latest shopping and dining destination. The ad had got her intrigued. When our girlfriends came for dinner, she mentioned it. They too had heard rave reviews about it . Later that night, we agreed to meet on Sunday to visit  the place and more importantly try gastronomical delights they're boasting.

We were on our way there early Sunday evening. We took the sky train to Saphan Taksin Station. From there, we waited for a shuttle boat which took us to Asiatique. Halfway to our destination, there was a downpour.  The rain ruined a good evening that we had anticipated.

We walked around to check the shops and restaurants. Most items they sell can also be found at Chatuchak Weekend Market and Pratunam so we didn't do a lot of shopping. When our tummies started to growl, we wandered around to look for good food. We found an Indian Restaurant but  no seat was available so we were off again. My sister found a Vietnamese Restaurant  but the picture menu didn't look inviting. We checked three other restaurants. Two were full, the other was a hotpot restaurant. No one was up for that so we went around again. Finally, we found a table in a fast food restaurant. We were so happy that we'd finally got a place to sit and eat. My sis and I were disappointed with our decision to eat there though.

My sis ordered mushroom soup and mashed potatoes.The soup had bits and pieces of mushroom. It wasn't creamy but it almost fooled us into thinking it was when it was served.  My sis had 2-3 spoonfuls.

Twinings Peach and Passion Fruit Tea with Monin Caramel Syrup

I am a tea drinker and so is my sister.  I would drink it for any seasons. My sister and I reckon to have tea with dessert. For us, tea complements the flavors of many desserts.

I brewed peach and passion fruit tea for 2-3 minutes. I added few drops of caramel syrup to sweeten up a bit. It did go well with our mango and brownie dessert.

Simple Dessert for Mango and Brownie Lovers

Mangoes and chocolate make perfect partners! When I saw the beautiful mangoes my sister brought home, I didn't hesitate to experiment ...... eat  mangoes with the brownies I made earlier.

Trying a new brownie recipe was good

My cousin Joy was home for the weekend. We don't see her often as she lives 3 hours away.  To give her a welcome treat, I baked her brownie. Not the kind I usually do but a new recipe I got off the internet. I tweak the recipe a little to appeal to our taste buds and it did not let us down!

William The Great Turns 7

A couple of weeks before his 7th birthday, William and his mom were having a conversation that went something like this:

Mom: William, what kind of decorations would you like on your cake? Please let me know soon so I can tell Tita (Aunty) Leeann.

William: It's my birthday Ama (Malaysian word for mother). You have to surprise me.

Our friend Irene searched for stuff that interest her son but he seemed to like an almost endless variety of things. She had finally figured out what her son liked the most when she talked to his teacher.

Magic. Yes, he is into magic these days. According to his teacher, William  pretends to be a magician and gets excited when they conduct Science experiments.Why? Because he always relates them to magic tricks.

So I was a good Aunty again :)  I browsed the web to get an idea of what a  magic cake looked like.I found hundreds. I discussed the design  with my sister. We decided to go with the magician's hat design. It seemed appropriate for the birthday boy who loves to do magic tricks.

I went home after the dinner we had organized for William and Ginger and started to make magic.

William and Ginger's Combined Birthday Celebration

The birthday of Ginger, my niece and William, the son of one of our closest friends fall on the same month. Ginger was born a year earlier but she and William became the best of friends.This year, we opted to have a combined celebration since their birthdays are just 2 days apart.

We went to the newly renovated Santa Fe Restaurant. We feasted on pasta, steak, chips and garlic bread.

A Gathering of NIS Faculty and Staff and Their Families

It's the end of school year again for international schools. A colleague of my sister, Geraldine  is leaving NIS for good. She had organized a potluck for NIS  workers  and teachers  whom like her are seeking  new adventures and  greener pastures.

Table was set

Congratulatory and Farewell Dinner Rolled Into One

Our Friday night dinner was cut short last week by a phone call from Irene's relative. Her nieces Jentii and Joneesa had graduated from high school that day and would be going back home to Malaysia the following day. When she hung up, she said she was leaving early to take the two girls for a meal. I suggested we all go with her so we could say goodbye to the girls and get dessert later.

We let the girls chose the restaurant. They ordered  food. Irene and my sis went to a coffee shop opposite the restaurant to buy cakes. We gorged on our dessert while the two girls enjoyed their "last supper" in the Land of Smiles.

Opera is a French cake layered with Chocolate Ganache and Coffee butter cream. I had eaten a far better Opera than this.

Vegetarian Siopao for Saturday's Breakfast

My sister and I have been hosting Friday night dinner to our closest friends for 2 weeks now. Our usual bonding time in the kitchen on a Friday is put off until later. But since I get Friday off, my kitchen journey continues.On my day off, I made siopao, the Filipino version of steamed buns stuffed with savory shredded chicken or minced pork.We don't eat pork due to our religious beliefs so I used vegetarian filling.

A Feast Fit for Hungry Working Women

When my big sis and I got home yesterday from work, we were both feeling drained and exhausted. I usually do the cooking because I come home earlier than her but last night I was not in mood to whip up dinner and so was she. 

After a quick check of  the fridge for any leftovers, I found Champorado (Filipino chocolate rice porridge) which I cooked the previous night and a whole piece of fried dried fish.The porridge wasn't enough for our rumbling tummies.  So I made egg sandwich.  Although we only had lettuce and tomatoes, the veggies were enough to make a simple salad which we coated with thousand island dressing.

Our lost of energy resulted  to excessive eating last night but it satisfied our famished stomach. Well, just this once.