Banana & Oreo Muffin

Muffin is common American term of bread that is baked in small portions. Somehow or rather it looks like cake or cupcake in shape but usually it is not as sweet as cupcakes and generally without any frosting.

Baking muffins is always an enjoyment time for me and my kid. Since it does not required much procedures I can always let him handle most of the task, which in a way helps to build up his self-confident too. And moreover I love that facial expression of him waiting patiently near the oven for the muffins to be ready.

Kiseki Japanese Buffet @ Heeren

These few years, there are more and more Japanese concept Buffet Restaurants available in Singapore. I am sure most of you have heard or tried those yummy japanese street food that are available at either Sudoku or Manpuku. But instead of the two mentioned restuarants, today I am going to share with you another new Japanese restaurant known as "Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant" that is located at the basement level of The Hereen at Orchard area. Let's see with the price of S$19.80++ what this restaurant can offer for a weekday lunch buffet.

According to the serving staffs, there are roughly about 100 seats available in this restaurant with different environment setting concept in each section allocated. This restaurant also provided a child friendly dinning area with comfort design playgroup and games that suits different age group of kids. On top of that, they also have separate kid's utensils and highchair specially cater for younger kids.

Near the entrance of the restaurant, you can see about 8 - 10 different stalls serving all kinds of Japanese street food range from Sushi, Sashimi, Cold Appetiser, Seafood, Tempura, Pizza, Soba, Teppanyaki and etc.

First counter on the right that is near the entrance serves all kinds of Sushi and fresh Sashimi that will definitely make you excited over it. Furthermore if you want, you can also ask the chef to make some hand-roll sushi with your preference ingredients.

These are what we had over at the Sushi Counter. I am sure just by the look of these attractive sushi and sashimi it has already make you drool over it. And in addition to the common salmon and tuna sashimi slices, this counter also provides yummy octopus slices too. Each pieces of this raw fish taste so fresh with its' natural sweetness that you don't even need to dip it in any sauce before eating.

This is Seafood and Salad counter near the sushi bar area where you can choose your favorite salad ingredients to create a bowl of appetiser to start off your meal. If you love cold seafood platter don't missed your chance to pick up some of these lovely items on the ice such as shellfish, prawn, crabs and etc etc.

For older folks or those who don't fancy raw fish and cold appetiser, you can always choose something from the Teppanyaki counter where you can grab a stick or two of the BBQ items as well as their mouth-watering Grilled Salamon Head.

Or you prefer a bowl of pipping hot udon noodles from the array of choices at the Tempura Counter. If noodles is not to your liking, perhaps you might want to try their Japanese-style hotpot to go with some steam rice and delicious tempura.

Chawanmushi is always one of the comfort starter in most Japanese restaurant and it is also one of the favourite item among kids and adult. Most of us who tried the chawanmushi agreed that their steam eggs was nicely done with that smooth texture that melt in your mouth. Worth trying! But however, we are kind of disappointed with their Western-style pasta which served with Wafu sauce. The sauce was kind of too salty for our taste too.

Mum and I love their thin crust pizza from the Pizza & Rosti Counter. There have a few choices of pizza, fish nuggets and etc. The pizza crust is very crispy and spread with generous amount of ingredients. Worth trying too!

Finally after trying most of the savory dishes, we are ready to venture the Dessert & Beverage counter, which is located at the opposite end from the rest of the counter. You can find wide varieties of attrative jelly and pudding served in shooter glass, Japanese waffles to go with ice cream or maple syrup, chocolate fondant, array of cake and etc. If you would like to have some sake or cold beer to go with your food, you can always approach their friendly counter staffs to get the drinks at separate cost.

This is their well-known Tofu Cheesecake which is a popular item on their dessert counter, although the serving size is small, but you can taste the smooth texture of the tofu which blend pretty well with the cheesy fragrant of this cake. I suggest you have this with a cup of cappuccino or hot green tea to prefect the taste.

To end our buffet, I have another serving of my self-assemble Waffle with Green Tea and chocolate topping. Their waffle is those crispy in texture when bite as they have place it on the hotplate to maintenance the crispness of the waffle.

On each table, you will find this reminder tag that shows the charges of food wastage so remember to take just what you can consume and don't waste any food.

If you want to read more about our family food venture to this "Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant" in Chinese version please click HERE to follow the link or you can also drop by Cuisine Paradise Fan Page Album (HERE) to take a look on more photos on this related food reviews article.

Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant
260 Orchard Road
#B1-01 The Heeren
Singapore 238855
Telephone: 6736 1216

Lunch Buffet: 11:30am – 3.00pm
Monday - Friday : S$19.80++ (Adult), S$12.80++ (Child);
Saturday, Sunday, Eve and Public Holiday: S$26.80++ (Adult), S$16.80++ (Child)

Dinner Buffet: 6.00pm – 10.00pm
Monday - Thursday: S$29.80++ (Adult), S$14.80++ (Child);
Friday - Sunday, Eve and Public Holiday: S$32.80++ (Adult), S$16.80++ (Child)


* Charges For Food Wastage: S$5.00 for every 100grams of food wasted

* Child age is between 4 - 12 years old.

Wendy's @ GV Yishun 10

Em... if you are just given this photo to guess where are these baked potato from, can you score bingo for it? I am sure for those who always love to venture new food are bond to recognised some of the signature items from each restaurants at a glance. I have posted a similar photo at the Facebook Fan page and surprisingly all the 5 person who comments guess it correctly(click HERE to view). These baked potatoes are indeed from the new fast food restaurant known as “Wendy’s”.

Last Saturday, Joyce and I decided to drop by Wendy’s that is located in Golden Village Yishun 10. This newly opened outlet has replaced the Burger King that had being an icon fast food outlet there for more than 10 years I guess.

The queue at Wendy’s is pretty long during weekend evenings and I have to queue for about 30 minutes before I can get my orders done. To survive in these fast food industries, Wendy’s indeed has a wide range of items from different varieties of burgers to deep-fried chicken pieces, assorted baked potatoes, chili and array flavour of frosty. So after running through their menu, these are what Joyce and I settle with.

1/4 Pound Single Combo which comes with a 1/4 Pound Burger, small fries and drinks of your choice. You can also choose to upsize your side and drink with additional 50cents or S$1.00 for medium or large. Each bite of this 1/4 pound burger, you will get to taste the delicious patty that is grilled to juicy perfection and it is served with fresh toppings such as tomato and pickle. For a combo set like this with regular fries and drink it cost S$6.85 per set.

Next we get a set of their Fried Chicken Combo at S$7.40 each because we are curious to try out how different it taste compare to other fast food restaurants that serves fried chicken too. The outer layer is very crispy and the meat inside is surprisingly not dry or tough but tender. But if compare to other fried chicken, this taste rather mild without the usual herbs and spices taste.

My choice of "Broccoli & Cheese Baked Potato" @ S$3.30 each which is a huge serving that can be shared between two person. The piping-hot baked potato that is straight from the oven is topped with tender pieces of broccoli and a creamy cheese sauce. For me as a cheese lover, the cheese sauce taste rather a bit mild but in another way it will be less greasy and great for those non-cheese lovers to pick up this choice.

Joyce pick wants something less cheesy so she settle with this "Sour Cream & Chives Potato" that cost S$2.90 each. The sour cream topping goes well with the blend baked potato and makes it a rather healthy choice among the 5 toppings that are available. Although this taste great, but we thought if they have some extra fried bacon bits on top of the sour cream it would be perfection for this dish.

Wendy’s offer 4 different types of “Frosty” which are Original Frosty, Frosty Float, Frosty Shake and Twisted Frosty. Here we order one of their “Original Chocolate Frosty” that taste cool, creamy and refreshing. The texture is very smooth and it does not taste too sweet for those without sweet tooth. I am sure a small cup of this will satisfies your palate after hearty meal.

Other than burgers, fried chicken, baked potatoes and etc. Wendy's also have Breakfast Sets, Garden Salads, Chili, Kids' Meal (comes with a toy) and etc. Perhaps we will drop by another day to try out their breakfast set again.

There are a few Wendy's outlet around Singapore from the main branch at Lau Pa Sat and the rest locating at Jurong Point, Holland village, Liat Towers and Yishun 10. According to them, there will be another two NEW outlets coming up soon at Plaza by the Park and NEX Mall.

Double-Boiled Durian Chicken Soup - 榴莲炖鸡汤

Durian is known as the "King of all Fruits" and in Singapore we can have Durian almost throughout the whole year. And among all the varieties of durian in the stalls, I am sure most of the people will go for either "Cat Mountain King - 猫山王" or "Red Prawn - 红虾" which are bonds to make people crave for more. In recent years there are so many special and delicious products that are made from fresh durian flesh available in the market such as: durian moon cake, ice-cream, muffins, and etc.

Today I am not going to use durian to make any cakes or dessert but rather I will like to share with you on how to make a pot of simple and delicious Durian Soup. From what I have read up, in Thailand many woman or confinement ladies will make this soup to strengthen their body as Durian is consider to be one of the best ingredient. There are different method on making this soup, some of them will use the durian shell, soft white flesh inside the shell or the durian meat itself. But here, I will choose to use the durian flesh together with the seed.

Since you can always find all sort of varieties of Durian at the local Durian Stalls or some supermarket. If you wish, do pick up some and try out this double-boiled durian chicken soup which will surprised you and your family. This soup has many therapeutic effects, including circulating of the blood and qi in your body, nourishing yin and it is also suitable for everyone to consume. For those who loves durian, this soup gives a little hint of durian aroma and sweetness but if you prefer something stronger taste, you can always mixed the soup with the flesh to make it more tastier and creamy texture.

Durian is also rich in protein and contain good source of nutrition in the fruit category. It has a special aroma, which are appetizers to promote the effect of appetite, including dietary fiber which can promote bowel movement. But you should not over consume it because of its rich nutrition that your stomach might not be able to fully absorbed it. And if you eat durian, you can always have a few mangosteen which is the "Queen of Fruit" to cool down your body from eating too much of durian.

Now let's take a look at today's ingredients which only consists of 4 items: -

Ingredients: (serves 2)
6 seeds of Durian Fruit
1 Chicken Drumbstick
2 - 3 Pieces of Pork Ribs
800 ml Chicken broth or Soup stock

Tips:

~ When getting the durian, try to choose those flash that is dry and not too ripe that it can be kept whole throughout the cooking.
~ You can also add in 2 slices of ginger to enhance the flavour of the soup.
~ The natural sweetness and taste of the soup is good enough to consume without any extra seasonings.

If you don't have slow cooker, you can always double-boiled it in another pot over the stove on low heat too.

Method:
1. Trim and cut the chicken drumpstick into pieces, then bring a pot of water to boil.
2. Blanced the chicken and ribs in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, removed, rinse and set aside.
3. Next arrange the Durian neatly into the bottom of the double-boiler pot, then top with chicken and ribs on it and place the pot into the inner pot of the slow cooker.
4. Pour the chicken stock into a small soup pot, bring it to boil then slowly add into the durian ingredient pot.
5. Remember to use boiling water for the inner pot of the slow cooker to double-boiled the soup.
6. Set the slow cooker to AUTO and cook for about 1.5 hours and serve it warm.

After looking at this interesting Durian Chicken Soup recipe, if you are interested in reading more on other related durian recipes such as: Durian Fried Rice, Durian Chocolate Chiffon Cake, Durian Tiramisu, Durian Cheesecake with Chocolate Fudge and etc. Click here (HERE) for more recipe articles.




p/s: If you will like to read more on the chinese version of this recipe, do hop over to my blog at Omy HERE.