We See, We Sense and We Evaluate (2)

See, Sense and Evaluate Part 2 :

todays dessert menu:

Hello Kitty Restaurant

 Have you heard of The Hello Kitty Restaurant located in taiwan before?

In my previous post, I talked about PatbingSu which I tried  in korea as well as in Singapore recently.

In this post, I will be providing you great insights on my recent overseas trip to Taiwan, where I explored nice dessert places and went into this Hello Kitty Restaurant due to great online recommendations.

The exterior of the restaurant greeted me with a wide smile on my face.

Look at it, so beautiful isn't it. :)
Even though I am not a Hello Kitty fan, I am really impressed and amazed by the decoration.

So what did i chose from the menu ?
Here comes the dessert menu:

i ordered these 3 J
The decorations and plating of the desserts were so beautiful that it made me hesitate so many times before I destroy the Hello Kitty face, hahaha.

Evalutaion:

Attractiveness level:
5/5 (very eye-catcing) 

Taste:
4/5 (Relatively sweet due to fondant)

Texture of cake:
5/5 (Sponge cake was lovely, it was light and fluffy, accompanied with a fruity appealing aroma and taste)

Smell: Sweet-smelling Price: NT 120, S$6 ++

Evalutaion of chocolate cake:

Attractiveness level:
5/5 (very eye-catcing)

Taste:
5/5 (Not too sweet/bitter)

Texture of cake: 4/5 (Chocolate cheese cake inside. Chocolate was too rich. Great for chocolate lovers)

Smell: Strong cocoa chocolate taste

Price: NT 150, S$7 ++

Evalutaion of fruit trifle:

Attractiveness level: 5/5 (beautiful plating. has depth and variety of colours from the fruits used)

Taste: 5/5 (Well-balanced tartness and sweetness level)

Texture of cake: 4/5 (sponge cake were used for layering, similar to the 1^st dessert)

Smell: Strong tart appeal and flavour due strawberries and other fruits used
Price: NT 200, S$10 ++

This reiminded me of the Fruit trifle cake which jehan, my partner made for microteaching.:))

So what else did i chose from the menu ?
Here comes the dishes ordered from the MAIN menu J

J Point : love the plating of the salad at the side of the baked pasta

J Point : Likes how fizzy drinks are served in tall cups

J Point : likes the well-balanced portion of meat to vegetables

J Point : likes how garlic powder are sprinkled at the edges of the plate

So what else did i chose from the dessert menu ?

Here comes the dishes ordered from the Dessert/Drinks menu J

J Point : nice plating of fruits and frosting on a large white plate to fill the emptiness

J Point : sides of the cake are have square white choclates nicely aligned.

J Point : Beautiful plating of chocolate flan cake.

J Learning Point:
The different plating techniques for main dishes/desserts/drinks can be taught to students in aid of their coursework plating skills.

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And so J what’s your say on Hello Kitty Restaurant?

Do leave comments/queries.

Do leave down comments and share what you know about other non-local desserts too J

Many many thanks. 

♥ Angela insights of Home Economics

We See, We Sense and We Evaluate (1)

See, Sense and Evaluate Part 1 :

♥ 디저트 ♥ : .desserts.

todays dessert menu:

PatbingSu

Have you heard of Patbingsu before?

It is a famous korean dessert loved by all koreans. :))

I have being searching for it high and low in Singapore since I tried it in Korea.

It is very very similar to ice kachang in Singapore, the difference lies in the ingredients used and in PatbingSu, the ingredients used are: ice shavings, mangoes, red beans, korean rice cakes, mangoes, ice cream and chocolate rice.

doesnt it sounds appealing ?:))

Wondering where to get it?

BBQ chicken korean fast food restaurant sells them !

I managed to chance upon it while scanning through the menu.
Went in and tried to revive the days where I tried Patbingsu in Korea :)

Here are some pictures of the Patbingsu I ordered:

 

 Though the ingredients used were the same as the PatbingSu i tried in korea, the layout is a little different.

 PatbingSu in korea Lotteworld

whats your say on the decoration of this?

The overall taste was awesome, you should really try it out one day :)

 What attracted me to try out Patbingsu?

1.  The variety of ingredients used

2. The attractive colourful appearance attracted my attention

3. The soothing, icy coarse appeal that attracts one with a sweet tooth

What made me to like Patbingsu?

1. The smooth yet chewy texture of the rice cakes in Patbingsu

2. The smooth and icy mouthfeel of the shaved ice and ice cream

3. The mixture of sweet (red bean, ice cream, chocolate sticks) and tart     (mango) flavour from the unique bend of ingredients

4. The fruity sweet aroma of Patbingsu

 Let me show you some beautiful plating techniques of Patbingsu J

J Learning Point:
Such international desserts could be implemented in practical sessions to engage and equip students with the various non-local desserts and at the same time broaden their creativity in dessert plating.

And so J what’s your say on Patbingsu?

Do leave comments/queries on PATBINGSU.

Do leave down comments and share what you know about Patbingsu too J

Many many thanks. 

♥ Angela insights of Home Economics

STAY TUNED TO PART 2 of  See, Sense and Evaluate.

The 2nd Mircoteaching on Meat.:

todays microteaching menu 13 OCtober 2010:
And so the mircoteaching done by Miss Sini, Miss Jit, Miss Nurul, Miss Li, Miss Lee and Miss Priscilla begins :)

1.      Baked Chicken Sambal
2.     Chachouka

3.     Mutton Masala

Baked Chicken Sambal
J Technique : Cubing of meat
J Key Ingredients: Meat, Sambal Chilli
J Learning Points: Making of Sambal
J Thumbs up number: 5 / 5

As the name implies, baked chicken sambal involves using sambal chilli :)
However, due to time constraint, instant chicken sambal was given to us instead.
Miss Jit demonstrated on how sambal is made and it was a great exposure for all of us, especially those who dont have prior knowledge in making of sambal.

I love chicken sambal in general, but cooking it yourself makes the taste more engaging to yourself as you are the creator of the dish.
On whole, the chicken sambal was fabulous.
Spices chosen to marinate the chicken enhances the bulk of the chicken flavour, making this dish a suitable main dish when accompanied with rice or noodles. :))

J Learning Point:
Use homemade sambal instead of commercial ones to reduce overall fat, sodium and preservatives consumption.


Chachouka
J Technique : Cutting of vegetables and meat
J Key Ingredients: Meat, mixture of vegetables
J Learning Points: Making of chachouka
J Thumbs up number: 5 / 5

What is Chachouka?
Yes, that was the question I held in my head throughout the whole pratical session. 

If you love salsa, highly likely, you would like Chachouka as well.
It is similar to salsa, just that meat and egg were the additional highlights of this dish.
Chachouka is a balanced one dish meal that one could prepare as a snack or a accompaniment dish. It is usually consumed together with toasted bread.
Chachouka is generally healthy with simmering/stir-frying cooking methods employed in the preparation of the dish.

J Learning Point:
Chachouka has well-balanced quantity of vegetables to meat, making it a suitable dish to teach students in the future.

Mutton Masala
J Technique : making of masala
J Key Ingredients: Meat (Mutton)
J Learning Points: Cubing of Meat across the grain for tenderness
J Thumbs up number: 4 / 5

Mutton was used in place of chicken/fish.
Personally, I would recommend this dish for non-mutton lovers.
Yes, non-mutton lovers. WHY?? you may wonder.
Personally, I am not a mutton-lover due to the strong smell.

However, when I sample this dish, there wasnt any trace of mutton smell and to add on, the mutton texture was not tough and fibrous, it was relavtively tender.
Reasons:
The mutton smell was eliminated as it is being masked by the herbs used such as:
ginger juice, garlic, shallots, Masala curry powder, coconut milk, yoghurt, lemon juice and red chillis.

J Learning Point:
Mutton Masala is a suitable dish to prepare for non-mutton lovers or curry lovers.

And so J what’s your say on this post?

Do leave comments/queries .

Do leave down comments and share what you know about relevant skills/tecniques too J

Many many thanks. 



♥ Angela insights of Home Economics

Its Microteaching Time

The 1st Mircoteaching on Rice and Alt.:

todays microteaching menu 29 September 2010:
And so the first mircoteaching done by Miss Hidayah, Miss Farah, Mr Jay, Miss Mavi, Miss Kee and Miss Azimah begins :)

1.      Tuna Fish Quiche

2.     Holiday cous cous

3.     Penne pasta with chicken grills

Tuna Fish Quiche  
J Technique : Rubbing-in
J Key Ingredients: Butter, flour and tuna
J Learning Points: Blind Baking, Even rolling of dough method
J Thumbs up number: 4 / 5

Tuna Fish Quiche was the first dish to be taught by Miss Hidayah and Miss Farah. 
Quiche is usually prepared using chicken or potato, its my first time preparing Quiche with tuna as the main ingredient.


I love the overall outcome of the dish, the crust has the right moisture level, not too dry or wet, it has a crumbly melt-in-the mouth texture too. AWESOME job :)

As a result of the uneven thickness:

1.       Overall mouthfeel of the crust was affected

2.      some ingredients seep through thin dough during baking as well

The key in ensuring even thickness is by placing a pair of chopsticks on the side of the dough and roll the dough using the rolling pin across the chopsticks.

I also learnt the art of blind baking through placing broad beans on the empty aligned dough.
GREATTTT Tips isnt it :)

Holiday cous cous
J Technique/skills : Boiling, de-shelling and cleaning of prawns
J Key Ingredients: Prawns, crabsticks, pistachios, instant cous cous
J Learning Points: De-shelling and cleaning of prawns, making of cou cous
J Thumbs up number: 3.5 / 5

 

Holiday cous cous was the second dish to be taught by Mr Jay and Miss Mavi. 

Cous cous is actually similar to rice, just that its source derieves from semolina flour.


It is my first time preparing cous cous and actually tasting them too. I had not idea what cous cous was about. 
I love the overall outcome of the dish, except for the moist texture of the cous cous.
Reason for the moistness: 
I left the cous cous in the pot for more than 5 minutes, resulting in a moist and paste-like texture of the cous cous grains.

Overall, cous cous is a great dish which I can introduce to my students in the future, especially if students are preparing a meal with theme based on morocco and northern Algeria. 



Penne Pasta with Chicken Grills
J Technique : Cutting of vegetables, grating
J Key Ingredients: Pasta, Chickem Breasts and Vegetables
J Learning Points: Sweating of onions
J Thumbs up number: 4 / 5

Penne pasta was the last dish to be taught by Miss Azimah and Miss Kee. 

I love penne pasta, especially wiht cream based sauce such as carbonara or bacon/ham.
This dish is a healthier pasta choice due to the use of chicken breast instead of other more fatty parts of the chicken.

I love the overall outcome of the dish, pasta were cooked to al dente,  with chicken breast well marinated and baked.  AWESOME job :)

I love the rich flavourful aroma given off by the rosemary leaves, thyme and black pepper, as well as the pasta sauce.

I had learnt several tips from this mircoteaching.
I learnt that sweating of onions require the use of a cover over a saucepan. However, due to the lack of covers for saucepan, it is replaced with just sauteing of onions.

Neverthless, this step made me google why sweating is important and tips in doing it:

Tips & Warnings

• Sweating onions is called for when you want to make onions in a recipe taste milder, sweeter or have a softer texture.
• Adding salt to the onions in the pan will help the onions release their moisture and sweat more quickly.
• Do not let the onions brown while cooking.
• Do not use too much butter or oil when sweating onions, or they won't sweat properly and will be too oily.

Read more: How to Sweat Onions | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2083641_sweat-onions.html#ixzz136l6EcJQ

And so J what’s your say on this post?

Do leave comments/queries .

Do leave down comments and share what you know about relevant skills/tecniques too J

Many many thanks. 




♥ Angela insights of Home Economics