Brunchie Time at Wild Honey

Brunchie Time at Wild Honey

First visit at Wild Honey
After much persuasion from my friend and wonderful food reviews which I gathered online, I decided to try out the brunch menu at Wild Honey.
Indeed, the one time experience there made me want to go there as I share with you guys on the place.

Wild Honey, located in the heart of town, is well-known for its all-day brunch menu. It specialises in american cuisine.

OH yes, there isnt any menu, so patrons got to view the menu off an ipad.
Its really technological, yet warm and quaint environment.
5 / 5 thumbs up for the ambience.


What did I tried?

1.      Tunisan Breakfast

Rating: 4/5

Tunisan breakfast consists of poached egg, turkey ham, pork sausages, served with 2 slices of break and a salad. It was awesome. The tomato-based sauce adds the overall perk to this dish. Simply awesome.

2.      Pancakes

Rating: 3.5/5

Though soft and fluffy, the pancakes proved to be too heavy for my liking.

There was nothing spectacular about the wild berry and hibiscus compote, and I was disappointed with the tough bacon as well.

Seems like my best pancakes search still continues :).

What I Say about Wild Honey

If you're actually still thinking of checking out the Canadian breakfast, do request for butter and a top-up to the meagre portion of maple syrup served when your food arrives.

Nevertheless, I hope to be back at Wild Honey sometime for the popular Tunisan breakfast sets which I had.

AnDDDDD, do share with me good places for pancakes :) thanks.

Do check out http://www.wildhoney.com.sg/ if you would like to try it out :D

Do leave comments/queries .

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

Many many thanks. 



♥ Angela insights of Home Economics

Its Sensing Time

Sensory Evaluation:

What is it?

In today's practical lesson (22 September 2010) for the teaching of Food and Nutrition, the practical lesson was conducted in the form of different stations of sensory evaluation.

Some highlights of the 6 stations of today's Sensory Evaluation :

1. Pepsi Challenge
2. I smell a rat
3. Let them eat cake
4. There's a spy among us
5. Smell Check Point
6. Who moved my Cheese?

Pepsi Challenge:
The aim for conducting this station (Pepsi challenge) is to determine if the respondent's preference and taste perception of coke/pepsi correlates with each other.
Repondents were given 2 cups; one cup filled with coke, while the other filled with pepsi.
NO product information on the drink were given.
Respondents were then write down their preference between coke and pepsi and then conduct the sensory evaluation test and state which cup of drink they prefer.
Interesitng Fact:
I found out that some of my classmates prefer coke in reality, however, from the sensory evlaution, they actually evaluate pepsi as their preferred choice.
Interesting isn't it:)
People's perception really changes.
This evaluation method for Pepsi Challenge: Paired Comparison Test
Here's a picture on the layout of Pepsi Challenge Sensory Evaluation:

I Smell a Rat:
In my perception, I enjoyed and loved this station's sensory evaluation the most.
Why?
This station is so interesting in that sense that repondents were given 5 - 6 testtubes to smell, with each testube consisting of different spices/herbs/seasonings and we were required to evaluate the food item which we had just smelt.
NO product information on the items in the test-tube were given.
Interesitng Fact:
Most of my classmates had different perceptions through their sense of smell, as a result, there were many types of intersting food items being listed down.
E.g. irish cream, green tea, beetroot and many more ...
And when the actual food item is being revealed, we tend to link it back to what we smelt before and wonder at our own perception, like how we could evaluate the food item so far from the actual one.
People's perception really changes.
Here's a picture on the layout of I Smelt a Rat Sensory Evaluation:

Let them eat Cake :
This station was a appetitie stimulating station.
Chocolate cakes were served as the items for sensory evaluation.
Ckaes of 2 different brands were laid out on the table, and us as respondents were suppose to evaluate our sensory preferences with regards to the 2 samples of cake provided on the table.
NO product information on the items in the test-tube were given.
Interesitng Fact:
Most of my classmates, including myself, were linking each cake sample to a familiar brand which we had tasted before and evalute the cake sample of our preference with regards to the sensory factors we would expect from a chocolate cake.
This evaluation method for Let them eat Cake: Triangle Test; Star Diagram

There's a spy among us :
This station was a taste-bud functioning station.
Cups filled with sugar solution of varying concentrations were served to respondents.
We were then have to evaluate the odd-sugar solution amongst the others.
Criteria for being the odd-sugar solution includes:
Weird taste, degree/concentration/intensity of sweetness level, smell and aftertaste.
Interesitng Fact:
Personally, I had the same tastebud perception towards all the sugar solutions.
I had to redo this station twice in order to evaluate my choice.
Most of my classmates, including myself, were having different perceptions in our choice of the odd-one-out sugar solution.
This evaluation method for There's a spy among us: Classic Triangle Test
Here's a picture on the layout of There's a spy among us:

Smell Checkpoint:
This station was a trick station.
Baby food of varying colours were given to respondents to evaluate the flavour of the different samples of baby food.
The criteria for this station was that all respondents were required to wear a nose clip during sensory evaluation of each sample.
Interesitng Fact:
Personally, for all the baby food samples, I evaluated different flavours for each one.
Ranging from: Banana, Strawberry, Melon, Apple and Orange.
HOWEVER, in actual fact, all the baby food samples had the same flavour, the strawberry flavour.
I was tricked.
This station reveals the importance of our sense of smell.
It shows that taste buds alone does not bring out the full taste. It is only through the sense of taste together with the sense of smell that one is able to achieve the full taste of the food product.
It is also proven that taste with taste buds alone without sense of smell
(netronasal perception), is accurate to a small extent. This is so as the human taste buds would connect to a familiar taste which one had tasted before, hence, giving a minimal chance that a respondent choice of flavour could be evaluated correctly.
Here's a picture on the layout of Smell Checkpoint:

Who moved my Cheese:

This sensory evaluation station is a station managed by my group.

In this station, respondents were required to determine the cheese sample with the higher fat content from the 2 cheese samples provided.
The brand of the cheese samples provided comes fro KRAFT
Interesitng Fact:
Interestingly, the cheese with the higher fat content had a lighter shade of yellow as compared to the cheese sample with the lower fat content.
This is a decieving sensory factor in this station.
And results obtained showed that many of the respondents made the wrong cheese sample as their final evaluation.
In conclusion, colour perception to consumers play a large role in constructing their mentality.
E.g. Darker shade of yellow must be the cheese sample with higher fat content, since fat gives a yellow shade to food items.
This evaluation method for Who moved my Cheese: Paired Comparison Test
Here's a picture on the layout of Who moved my Cheese:

WHAT I CAN DO with what I learnt through today lesson?

These stations of sensory evaluation are interactive ideas where I am able to incorporate into my teaching of Sensory Evaluation Lessons in the future.

E.g. The use of Nose Clip is a fun teaching tool to engage the students' interest in learning.
It brings the importance of the sense of smell to a higher level. In addition, students are exposed to the usage of a non-common item (nose clip), building up their awareness to new products through providing such exposure.

Improvisions to conducting this sensory evaluation such as using blindfold/change the environment settings could make learning more interesting and sustaining in students.

 What's your take on these different stations of Sensory Evaluation?

Do leave your comments/questions.

Many many thanks. 

♥ Angela insights of Home Economics

First close up in NIE kitchen

DCX 130:

Teaching of Food and Nutrition

With the Food and Nutrition team introducing the NIE kitchen to us, it was just simply so awesome. The broad selection of the latest utensils and equipments made available to us added on to my kitchen dictionary by at least 30%.

Let me share with you 3 great utensils which you could have never come across in your secondary Home Ec Class:    
Note:
The pictures uploaded below are not the actual equipments found in NIE kitchen
1. Salad Knife

                                         

Uses:

Prevents lettuce from turning brown, prevent nutrient lost

Cleanly slices cakes, breads and brownies
Properties:

• Made from Serrated plastic blade.
• Safe for use on coated cookware.

• Dishwasher safe.

                         

2. Thin Silicon Chopsticks

Uses:

can be used for cooking, mixing, deep frying all types of food

Properties:

• Made from steel with a silicone coating, they provide safety and hygienic cooking.
• Heat-resistant to 480°F.
• Can be used for serving food. 

3. Food Brush With Silicon Head

Uses:

Useful for applying marinades and sauces to items on the grill or hot broiler pan
Properties:
• can withstand temperatures from 500 to 800 degrees F

• Heat-resistant to 480°F.
• Dishwasher safe.

4. Silicon Oven Gloves

Uses:

High - heat resistance

Properties:

• Dishwasher safe.
• Durable.

I am sure, out of all these 3 utensils which I have introduced you, at least 1 would be an eye-opener for you.

Out of all the unique utensils which I had shared with you, one equipment that caught my eye is the Salad Knife.

Salad Knife:

It minimizes nutrient loss as well as the oxidation of nutrients. Reducing oxidation also helps improve the appearance of cut fruits/vegetables as a whole as it minimizes enzymatic browning.

Let's Recap

Enzymatic Browning:

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzymes catalyze the transformation of an array of aromatic compounds that have two adjacent phenolic groups on them. This includes a number of polyphenols in plants that act as antioxidants. These copper-containing enzymes oxidize the phenolic groups to reactive oxygen molecules known as quinones, which continue reacting with each other and other cellular factors to form brown spots known as melanin. This browning causes the deterioration of fruits and vegetables.

 

Enzymatic Browning has been my main concern as it affects the overall appearance of fruits and vegetables.

Despite the usual methods to delay enzyamtic browning such as:

(Refrigeration method, salt/sugar solution method, adding acid like citric acid)

These methods are limiting in some food preparation

E.g. are not suitable for salads - as immersing in salt/sugar solution will affect the taste.

I am still in search for ways to delay enzymatic browning further and this salad knife will come in handy for delaying browning as well as retaining nutrient loses.

The blade of this salad knife is formulated to chop vegetables that minimizes nutrient lost and reduces the rate of enzymatic browning due to the sharpness of knife blade.
A sharpened knife will then improve the visual quality of the fruits/vegetables, yet at same time not affecting the taste of the salad that you prepared.

Such Great Stuff isn't it.

Next up,
Let me share with you other great electrical appliances that NIE provides to enhance our learning and teaching ability in future.

Steam Oven that serves many baking/cooking purposes but by steaming
Much healthier choice :)

E.g. Baking Bread, Setting Dough

Convectional Microwave Oven that serves as a microwave oven as well as an oven

E.g. Basic useful purposes of a microwave oven as well as baking purposes







PART 2:
Competencies Profile Checklist                              

We were expected to complete the competencies profile over the whole course module. It is an on-going process that will accumulate marks/points with every task completed for each lesson.

There were 4 parts to the first competency profile which we were required to complete.

Namely:

• Section A: Cutting Technique
• Section B: Handy Measures
• Section C: Food Lab and Equipment
• Section D: Reading Recipes and Converting to Metric Measures

Cutting Techniques

Dicing              

Dicing is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into small blocks or dice.

3 types of dicing:
large, medium, and small.
Large is usually a 20mm (3/4 inch) cube, medium 10mm (1/2 in.), and small 5mm (1/4 in.)

Shredding          

Shredding is done using a shreddar, shredding carrots into fine, sort shreds.

Julienne (ju-lee-en)

Julienne cuts are match-stick cuts using same cutting skills for dicing.

A stick shaped item wtih dimensions of

1/8 inch X 1/8 inch X 2 inches

Fine Julienne:

1/16 inch X 1/16 inch X 2 inches

Chiffonade 
Chiffonade is a preaparation of finely sliced or shredded leafy vegetables/herbs used as a garnish or a base under cold presentations

Chopping
Chopping is to cut an item into small pieces when uniformity of size and shape is not necessary.
E.g. Coarsely Chopped Onions

Slicing
To slice is to cut an item into relatively broad, thin pieces.

E.g.  Sliced Onions

The other sections of the competencies profile executed will serve as a useful guide in future practical lessons.
I do hope my first blog post for this subject was a great insight for you.

Section B: Handy Measures
Useful in saving time, improving lesson efficiency. Students need not crowd around weighing scales and avoid uneccsary time wastage
A useful technique learnt !
Section C: Food Lab and Equipments
Helps me to get familiar with all the tools and unqiue equipments for different usage and purposes.
Adds on my prior knowledge of kitchen equipments
Section D: Reading Recipes and Converting to Metric Measures

Do leave comments and all queries are warmly welcomed :).

Many many thanks.

♥ Angela insights of Home Economics