#25 - How to: Bite-sized Taupok balls

Can we just take a moment to relish the fact that it's a SATURDAY?! All y'all finally made it to the the weekends! For me, I'm about to start school and I'm not too sure how I really feel about it. I'm excited for all the new things I'll be learning and doing something productive everyday. However, I'm not too excited about the workload and the fact that school is starting. Yeah, I know. It's a feeling that is going to take a while to understand. Also! My school had sent me an email telling us that they have added a new 'Wardrobe Collection' for those who don't abide by the dress code. Wow. I'm looking forward to the Fall fashion style that the school would be testing on students. HAHA (cue laughter)

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I for one have never seen any food stall that sells what I'm about to show. So, I thought why not share about how to make them. Maybe it'll inspire you, maybe not? I can guarantee that it will be delicious and your taste buds will be calling out for more.

Ingredients you'll need are :

• Minced chicken meat 
• Fish meat 
• Mushrooms
• Spring Onions
• Carrots (diced)
• Soy sauce
• Sesame Oil
• Chinese cooking wine (a.k.a 花雕酒)
• Pepper
• Corn flour (depends on how much of the filling you have. more = more. It will help the mixture to stick)
• Egg yolk (this will help the mixture to not only stick together but also makes it more fragrant)
• Taupok (*SUPER IMPORTANT IF NOT YOU AIN'T GON' MAKE ANYTHING*)

In total, I spent : $10+ 

So, the things that I needed to spend on were the meat and the taupok. I did about a 100 servings but don't be taken aback by the amount it's not tedious at all. For the mixture, I just threw in the meat and vegetables together and gave them a good mix till everything is one big chunka meat. The sesame oil and cooking wine were added to give it fragrance. The pepper was added to sorta strip away any fishy smell. Lastly, the soy sauce was to give it flavor but I adjusted accordingly since the fish meat that I'd bought had MSG added.

For the taupok, I bought the bigger sized ones so my grandma and I thought of many creative ways to present the taupok balls and also to be able to make enough for everyone. In the end, we stuck with mini taupok balls or what my grandma would say "GOLD INGOTS!" HUAT AH!!!! (cue laughter)

Taking this big piece, I cut it into four. Then, for each piece I cut the middle just enough so that it won't tear open when I invert them. The trick when inverting is to push the middle or the corner of the piece in first then try as much as possible to be delicate with pushing the rest in. Of course, practice makes perfect! The following picture shows the progression. The end result is getting the coral-like interior to be outside so that I'll end up with a crispy delight!

Filling wise, we didn't want to put too much because the outside gets cooked really fast and we don't want people having to eat charcoal balls. Another note is that taupok by nature is very absorbent so therefore, it absorbs A LOT of oil so make sure that the oil is hot before cooking. While cooking them, I learnt to not over-fry them because the 'juice' from the meat will be gone. So, as long as you can see the meat turn white and the inside is more solid, it's time to take it out. 

photo blog : http://foxusphotos.tumblr.com/

Eventually, they will turn brown even if I took them out when they were golden but rest assured, they are perfectly fine. Of course, they taste better when just cooked! I'm really glad that my CG mates loved it! So, I hope that anyone who reads this would too :)

Alright, have a blessed weekend and..

Thanks for reading, x.

#24 - CHILL DAY

I'm guessing most of us spent the day with our family and friends yesterday since it was a public holiday. It was a very chill day for me and family so we each did our own stuff. I decided to tag along with my grandma and mum for some grocery shopping as well as lunch. After that, it was just helping mum make an apple pie, watching TV shows and Youtube videos.

The outward appearance of the pie looked really good since mum put in some work to mold some leafy detail. However, the recipe she used didn't turn out the way she wanted it to. Nonetheless, we now know that the recipe will forever be at the bottom of the sea and never to be seen by a human soul. Ever.

I also have a photo blog! >>> http://foxusphotos.tumblr.com/ <<<

Thanks for reading, x.

#23 - I AM A DECENT COOK.

If you ask me if I can cook, I would've told you that "I am a decent cook." I can cook up an egg sandwich for breakfast, a pot of fried rice for lunch and an oven-baked fish for dinner. Suffice to say, I can cook myself a meal. So for lunch a few days back, I made myself a quick and simple meal!

Ingredients

• Scrambled Eggs : White Onion (small), Corn Kernels (mine are the frozen ones), Carrots and Milk.
• Dry noodles : Mi Goreng noodles

I like how NTUC sells these cooked fish that is already marinated with teriyaki sauce which makes things SO much easier. I think beginners can even cook this because they have 3 methods that comes with instructions at the back. Fret not young ones!

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On the same day, I decided to make some banana pancakes because I was craving for it. Since there was some connection problem I couldn't search the Interwebs for a recipe so I just used my gut feeling to judge. I did had a fun time experimenting (:

(disclaimer : this is what I would do if I made a pancake. The recipe can be altered to your personal taste)

Ingredients

• Salt (a pinch)
• Eggs x2
• Banana (Mashed)
• Milk (small cup)
• Plain Flour/Self-Raising flour (preferred)
• Vanilla Essence

For the banana, I mashed it while leaving small bits of banana. I reckon that while biting the slightly tasteless pancake, there will be bursts of sweetness. As for the milk, it was my savior when the batter became too thick as you want the batter to be more of a liquid consistency so pour it in bit by bit. I used plain flour thinking that I will have fluffy pancakes but had flat cakes instead. I guess self-raising flour would help with the fluffing it up!

After altering the recipe after the first pancake, it turned out pretty good! It went really well with my cup of milk and a spread of Nutella (:

Hmm, what did I learn from this? I guess, you never know until you try. Now I know how to make pancakes! So, UNLEASH YOUR INNER COOK TODAY!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!
For better viewing of pics, go to http://foxusphotos.tumblr.com/

& as always,

Thanks for reading, xx

#22 - C.TOWN VISUALS

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It has been many years since I'd last been to C.Town so when mum invited, I agreed. After getting my gear ready, we took a train down and when we alighted I was greeted with myriads of people. There were SO MANY PEOPLE! From tourists to locals, there wasn't much space to walk around but I guess that added to the atmosphere :)

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe

75 Pagoda Street, 059234

Opening hours : 9AM - 7PM

1630 : We stopped to have a quick meal before embarking on our walk. Although service was rather slow which is understandable due to the lack of staff but food was good enough for tea. I recommend the yam cake and the soon kueh :)

Upon exiting the MRT Station, I was again greeted by people and shops that sold many trinkets as well as decor which would only be bought during CNY. (It felt like new year all over again!)

Thank God for the wonderful weather where the sun brought great lighting for my shots and how it wasn't very warm that I had to hide indoors most of the time! Looking up, I noticed that it wasn't always blue skies but there were lanterns hung from building to building that decorated not only the streets but the skies and that created contrast. Therefore, you would notice that most of the shots involved lanterns.

Many stalls sold the same things and all of which little trinkets and pretty vintage stuff. For instance, glass perfume bottles with a traditional Chinese painting inside. 

They also sold lighters that were made of marble and had the merlion engraved on it. You can definitely find T-shirts, sunglasses, bracelets etc. So, if you're thinking of getting a present and want to stay away from the shopping malls, then Chinatown is a good place to visit! Of course you've to bear in mind that the prices are set more for the tourists so fake an accent if you have to to get a discount haha!

While we were making our way to a pastry shop, we walked past a hotel called Rucksack. It caught my attention because of the outstanding red Chinese umbrellas that were hanging down from the ceiling as well as the the nicely vandalized wall.

I think that having the guests to write their comments/reviews on the walls made this backpacking hotel outstanding. It is so clever too because its a form of advertisement and shows how many people actually have stayed at the hotel. "A time stamp" is how I would describe this!

Our next stop was to visit a shop that sells commercial items for those in the F&B business because mum wanted to. According to her, this was a parent stall to TOTT ? While on the way there, we stopped at this old medical hall and you would think that it'll be quiet. Apparently not. There were busy packing all the herbs into papers for their orders. It didn't stop there because people started coming into the shop to buy medicine and some were waiting for their medicine.

(there were like dried bees in the stack of herbs! au natural)

When I first entered, I was put off by the strong smell of Chinese herbs but staying in there long enough, I got accustomed. In that moment, I thought that I should learn to appreciate it because it's not everyday do I get to experience this. 

The architecture was also beautiful. It gives off an Asian feel mixed with European architecture. Also, a great place to have a photoshoot or filming because of the old and timeless sites like the alley ways. 

After walking a bit more, we made our way back to the MRT station and headed home! It was a good experience for me while I was walking around because it felt like a whole new world with the many sights and sounds. 

That concludes my entry! For more photos, go to - http://foxusphotos.tumblr.com/ ! :) :) :)

Thanks for reading, x.

#21 - The Lunch Bus

Recently, my dad and I have been exploring the woodlands estate. We have taken two buses for now and I thought why not share what we did on my blog!

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The first bus we took was 913 which brought us all the way to Admiralty and we had lunch at Koufu. The Foodcourt was mashed between Fork & Spoon which was another Foodcourt and a neighbourhood mall. Then we took our usual walk around the small neighbourhood mall called Woodlands Mart. It was a rather small community which I can't help but think that everyone knows each other and it was obvious that we were aliens to them. The mall gave me a 'of the past and the present' vibe because there were shops that had signs of wear and tear but had a new coat of paint over their scars. Also, there were shops that were more familiar with the younger generation like Sweet Talk and Mcdonalds. Whilst walking, we noticed that there were MANY students sitting around and just chilling after school. All of them were from different schools though. 

01102013

(all photos taken with an iPhone)

Today, we took bus 856 which brought us to Marsiling Lane or Admiralty Rd. (I'm confused too but if you search google maps, marsiling lane is the better option) we had lunch at a hawker centre in Block 20. It was packed with office workers from the nearby factories and residents of the area. Food was cheap and the portion was good! 

Soy Sauce Chicken Rice

S$2.50

If you're looking for a meal that will satisfy your tummy leaving you without cravings for the rest of the day then this plate will save you. Although the rice wasn't up to standard and the chilli was more like Thai chilli sauce but they were pretty generous with the amount of chicken (: When at a hawker centre, don't leave without having freshly squeezed fruit juice which is also served cheap! I had apple juice and it was refreshing and non-diluted. Mmmmm...

Walking around this small neighbourhood I realised how quiet it was. It was like time decided to slow down. Most of the shops looked so old school! From provisional shops to hardware shops to wet markets. Visiting this place will enable anyone to relive the good ol' days.

Thanks for reading, x. 

# 20 - Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (My Mum Bakes)

Hey y'all! Time really flies! It's been 2 weeks since my holidays started and I, unlike many of my peers have accomplished only a fair bit. I don't have anything planned out to do during the holidays even though I did mention that I wanted to find a job. I took the first step of opening up Classifieds and looking through to find a job that might interest me but..nothing. I know many people would say that you would never find out if you like the job unless you try or just take up any job to gain the experience and if you don't like it, then you know that this is one of the thousands of jobs that would not fit me. I like that positive thinking but at the end of the day, I think that doing what I love to do would make me want to get out of bed and quickly start work. Yes, many factors fall in place and so does many different reasons to why I should take up any job but I don't want to be striving at work. So, that was just a piece that I had to pen down which maybe (just maybe) wasted 1 min of your time. HA.

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My Mum Bakes! strikes again. This time, she made a chocolate hazelnut cake that amazingly didn't require flour but just oil and hazelnuts. (of course chocolates...) Again, I want to say that I edited the photos BEFORE I realised that someone had already taken up the name XFOCUS so, therefore, I don't intend to infringe any copyright!

They were delicious and I really love the texture of it because it was both soft and moist! Just like a piece of brownie :) yumz. Sigh, what to do, my mum is so talented and she feeds me with good stuff until I'm this big. *looks at sad tummy with 1 family pack* HAHAHA #blessed

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So whilst I'm typing up this post, I'm waiting for the darn video to load. I'm currently on a My Princess marathon because SSH is just tooooo *puppy eyes* *starry eyed*. I realised that my biases (kinda weird to type this) are WAAAAAY older. LOL 

IF you have nothing to do, (like me lol) I recommend to watch this KDrama because it touches on issues like the old vs new and politics. Not only that, I think the character types are interesting because of the r/s and conflicting feelings. ALSO, A LOT OF SUBTEXT therefore thinking about what the characters say and feel goes through my mind a lot. Thanks to theatre teachings. HAHA Have fun watching!

As always,

Thanks for reading, x.