Kluai Buat Chi Plating And Decoration

I had the privilege to witness the kitchen staff's hands-on training for one of the most popular Thai desserts. Kluai buat chi or bananas in coconut milk is fuss-free recipe but tastes great. You simply cook not-so-ripe bananas in sweetened coconut milk and Voila - you get a satisfying treat!

Anyway, the staff were grouped in three teams, with four people in each. The executive chef demonstrated cooking  techniques. When he finished cooking, he ladled the bananas into a bowl and decorated the plate for presentation.The dessert was laid on a banana leaf. It was served with a scoopful of vanilla ice cream on the side. Once the chef presented his plated dessert,  each team went to its respective work stations to recreate the recipe.  Funny how the groups came up with different plating decoration ideas.

Surprise Birthday Cupcakes

These cupcakes made a little girl's birthday so special. She was not aware that we had something prepared for her. Wondering why the colors were  familiar? I had some leftover frosting from the batch I served at brunch. Tossing it would be a shame so I thought why not make a cupcake platter for her. Sunday's always crazy at work. It would set me back had I chosen to baked her a cake,  I went ahead with my plan, I made the girl a simple treat with these vanilla cupcakes.

Colorful Vanilla Cupcakes

These colorful vanilla cupcakes are the newest addition to the resort's Sunday brunch dessert menu. Similar  to what I make for the nightly turn down service except that I opted to stick to the original recipe I found on the web.  As for the frosting, I tinted it into bright colors.   I used three piping nozzles. The open star piping tip for pink cupcakes, the round piping tip for burgundy and the small closed star piping tip for blue. I added a sprinkling of colored sugar to achieve that perfect finishing touch.

Frosting the cupcakes required  a great deal of time but the result was rewarding. They were a huge hit not just to kids but the grown ups as well.

My First Attempt At Making Lemon Meringue Pie

Back in the days when I was teaching in Bangkok, I did a one-on-one tutoring with a Thai primary student, One time while reading the book Amelia Bedelia with her, I came across the dessert called lemon meringue pie. Neither of us had any idea what it was. I told her not to miss a chance if she found one. I said I would do the same and  for a while it made me wonder what it's like.  I didn't care much about sweets back then so  the thought of it was completely forgotten. Then the most unexpected thing happened.. I made a decision to leave my university teaching job after ten long years to pursue a culinary course. 

Prior to attending classes, I started collecting cookbooks to help prepare myself  as I had no strong background in baking. It was while browsing one of the cookbooks when I happened to see something familiar. It was lemon meringue pie! It got me excited. Would I ever learn it at the culinary school? I was going to a French school. I would be studying mostly French contemporary desserts.  I doubted they would even cover the subject. I got it off my mind for the second time.

Snickerdoodle White Chocolate And Cashew Nut Blondies

The idea is derived from a website I chanced upon while searching for  plain and simple treats for the resort's nightly turn down service. The original recipe called for white chocolate. I wanted to add more texture and flavor to the cookie so I reduced the amount of white chocolate by half and added chopped cashew nuts. To save time, I  opted to sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top rather than sandwiching it between the cookies. It may not yield the same result but during busy season I can't afford to spend long time working on one thing. I plan to have a go with it when it gets quieter at the resort to see what difference does a layer of cinnamon sugar in between  make.

Pizza Margheritta At The Kitchn

\
Margheritta is my all time favorite pizza. There was a time during the busy season when all I could think of was pizza.  I longed for the time when I could take Friday off as it's the only day I could visit Central Festival. Since the mall's opening in March last year, it has become my favorite hang out place on the island. Not that I go shopping every time I take a trip there but the mall has many dining options. One of my favorites is The Kitchn, located  on the ground floor of Central Festival.  The restaurant is now my go-to place for pasta and pizza.

My Preference In Eating Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken tikka masala is great with rice but for authentic Indian food experience, I prefer eating it with naan bread. The plain one is what I think is a better pair.

On my visit to Noori India at Central Festival recently, I decided to have both rice and naan to go with the dish. That's a lot of carbohydrates in one meal. With the amount of work I did that week I could really use some extra calories. Besides,  I hadn't had proper breakfast that day.

Chocolate Decorations

Chocolate decorations add the perfect touch to any desserts. Here are just a few chocolate toppers used  to garnish our shot glass desserts which  we serve at Sunday brunch.

Coffee Club On Chinese New Year

My post-Chinese New Year dinner was nothing short of extravagant in comparison with the dishes I partook during the Chinese festivities.  I am not Chinese. The holiday became an important time for me when I lived in China. I learned to adapt the practice of celebrating with a dinner feast.  I have long since left China but I still keep the practice. So on my time off, I took the chance to celebrate the occasion. It's not something traditional. I still haven't found the place where I could get a proper Chinese meal. Oh well, who cares? All that mattered to me was to join in the celebration.

While walking around my favorite hang out place, I spotted  Coffee Club and decided  to see what other creations it offers.I have only been there once before with my friend Saki. It was one of the places she loved to hang out, eat and drink coffee while she was here.  I  had light snack and iced lemon tea that day I went with Saki. That was about the extent of my dining experience at Coffee Club. This time, I went back to indulge myself in other creation.