Koh Chang Escapade - Breakfast By The Beach

The dining hall of Siam Beach Resort is a large area with an ocean view. We were off to breakfast early after our long morning walk. We sat at a table facing the beach. The menu had both Thai and Western food. There was nothing special about the food but eating breakfast with wind in our hair and cheeks and the sound of waves rolling were to die for.


 Here's my plate. Chicken sausage, fried rice and pad Thai. I also had two servings of coco crunch.

Koh Chang Escapade - Mak Mak Family Restaurant is a Must DO

When dining on Koh Chang, don't miss Mak Mak Family Restaurant in Kai Bae. From what I've read, it is owned by a Dutch/ Thai couple. The restaurant's big sign caught our attention while walking along the main road looking for a place to eat. The restaurant was empty when we got there. We sat in the open courtyard and ordered. People began to come half way through our meal.

The restaurant serves Thai and Western dishes. We only got to dine in there once but boy we were so glad we did! Everything we ate was scrumptious!

I ordered beef lasagna. The meat sauce was superb. The only drawback of this dish was that there were more meat than lasagna. I love pasta dishes. It would have been nice if there were more pasta sheets than meat.

Koh Chang Escapade - M's Birthday Dinner

The three of us plunged into the pool after a quick tour of the surrounding area of the resort we were staying.  We swam a few laps, talked a bit, took loads of pictures and then headed out to get lunch. We chose to dine at the resort to try their menu.  Since it's M's birthday, she offered to pay.

Sis ordered mango shake. I had no idea how much mango the lady put in big sis' drink but it did taste artificial. I had chocolate shake. M had young coconut shake. We were both happy with our drinks.

Koh Chang Escapade - Part 2

We settled quickly in our room and left to venture out around the area. Let me share with you some photos my friend M and I took while strolling.

We found this strange looking creature on the beach. I haven't seen anything like this before.

Siam Beach Resort on Lonely Beach, Koh Chang

I normally don't mention the hotels I stay at but this one deserves a praise.We booked a room at Siam Beach Resort located on Lonely Beach, Koh Chang.  I was a bit hesitant to get a villa with a private pool because of its price but M and my sis preferred to have privacy while on holiday. It's me against them so I had to give in.

Our decision to stay at the resort did not disappoint. What a wonderful time we had down there.  There were less people in the area compared to White Sand Beach where tourists mostly go to. We enjoyed the peace and quiet of the resort. We liked the close proximity of our room to the beach.


Entrance to Siam Beach Resort. The weathered exterior is uninviting.It's actually nice inside.

Koh Chang Escapade - Part 1

To celebrate our friend M's birthday, we took a two day trip to Koh Chang, Thailand's second largest island. We left the city on a van on Sunday afternoon. We made many stops on the way to drop off other passengers so the travel took  more than 5 hours.   We spent a night in Trat as we were too late to catch  the ferry's last trip to the island.

The neighborhood of the guest house we stayed at.

NIVA International School Heritage Day 2012

 Just some pictures I have been meaning to share with you. I took these photos during Heritage Day of NIS months ago. Each class chose a country they wanted to represent. Students were graded according to how they portrayed the cultures and traditions of their chosen country. They even dressed up in  traditional costumes.


The Kindergarten chose to represent the three East Asian countries - China, Japan and South Korea

Chinese Steamed Fish

After taking a quick hiatus from hosting Friday night dinner,  I had granted the request of the girls to make  Chinese steamed fish. M was back from her three week holiday in Philippines. Another friend I was finally free from any engagements.Only my cousin J missed our dinner as she's in Indonesia  for the summer break.

I had steamed fish for way too many times in China. I will say it's one of my best loved Chinese dishes. It's easy to make yet wonderfully flavored.

A messy good time with chocolate

Chocolate work is the one thing I miss since I graduated from the culinary school.  Although I dreaded handling the chocolate during the first few months, I became more passionate about it towards the end of my pastry arts course. For months after graduation, I was "deprived" of chocolate work. I became thrilled eventually  knowing that I got the liberty to make my own menu and recipes at work.

We are into Japanese stuff these days

Japanese movies, Japanese drama, Japanese food. For the past 3 months, ate and I have been smitten by Japanese related stuff. Actually we don't know what got us into liking  things from the Land of the Rising Sun. Perhaps it all started when we watched  Japanese movies one after the other for weeks. Or maybe it's because we have had Japanese food countless times now. Or probably  because my sister and I had discovered a lot of good things about Japan when  her class  portrayed its cultures and traditions during the Heritage Day at NIVA International School and the discovery made us want to visit the country soon. Whatever the reason is we have no idea,  but we sure are enjoying our new passion.

For our dinner  Saturday evening, we consumed salad seasoned with Japanese salad dressing. My, it was good that I had three servings.

What a difference seasoned rice made to rolled sushi

It had been the third week that our  Friday night dinner was cancelled. One friend went back to the Philippines for the summer, the other was busy touring her friends around.  Because of our friends' absence,   Ate ( term for elder/eldest sister in Philippines) and I had loads of time to whip up something nice for the children's potluck at church on Saturday. We decided to make sushi.

Not so long ago I made rolled sushi without any guidelines .I used plain Japanese rice and sliced vegetable for filling. They did not come close to what we had at Japanese Restaurant. This batch we made was based on the recipe we found at the back of the nori sheet package. The instruction said to season rice with salt, sugar and vinegar before use. I followed the instruction. Ate and I were surprised at how tasty the rice had become.

Royce's Macha Green Tea Chocolate

My sister and I found a new favorite - Royce's Macha Green Tea chocolate. We had our first taste when our friend Kru Jang brought a box  from her trip to Japan in April. We were immediately mesmerized.

A couple weeks ago, one of the kindergartner's dad who is a pilot asked the kindergarten teachers what would they want  from Japan, his next stop. They all said the same thing. Macha Green Tea Flavored Chocolate from Royce. He brought home not just one but four boxes. One box for each. We were thrilled!

This melt-in-your-mouth chocolate is Oishi!

Making pancakes takes me back to the time when I've had my first Pancake Day the Irish way

When I was in China, I had met and embraced diverse group of  people, locals and foreign alike. So many that if I were to list their names, it would take ages for me to finish it. No Joke! (I had lived in 6 Chinese provinces and explored 7 other provinces) Those people I had met while living and traveling made my life exciting, helped broaden my perspective, taught me things I had never known and introduced me to new cultures, cuisine and holidays.

Krispy Kream doghnuts were worth the wait (edited)

The downside of living overseas is not being able to keep up to date with the recent happenings back home. In September 2010, Krispy Kream had opened its first branch in Bangkok. I first heard about  the doughnut store from my Pinay partner/classmate Cha at the culinary school here.  It was her who told me that the store was all over Manila ( It has more than 30 stores in Philippines). She raved how good their baked goodies were and suggested I try them when I get the chance. Upon learning their only shop was way too far from where I live I procrastinated.

It wasn't long before I remembered I hadn't gone to check their store at Siam Paragon when I saw  a box of  Krispy Kream doughnut sitting on the dining table at a friend's house. My friend offered it to me.  I did not hesitate. That was my first Krispy Kream experience - definitely not my last.

Salmon Sinigang ( Salmon in Lemon Based Soup)

Despite my love affair with cookbooks,  I seldom consult them when I cook. I like the spontaneity and creativity in constructing dishes from scratch. The amounts and tastes are mostly my estimation.

Friday night dinner was salmon sinigang. I have been using salmon in my sinigang  since I learned that rendered salmon oil adds rich flavor to soups. I was at the grocery Thursday and found salmon head and scraps in the shelf. My sis and I had been craving for sinigang so I bought the fish instantly.

What is sinigang? It is a Filipino dish of meat or seafood which uses sour as the base of the soup. Although the original recipe calls for tamarind, I use lemon juice each time I make sinigang as lemons are readily available in stores and markets year-round.