Bird's Nest Soup

I had always thought we needed about 2 to 3 hours to cook bird's nest soup. This seemed to be confirmed from what I had seen from some blogs and websites. Some bird's nest even required cleaning/plucking of feathers, which was time consuming and tedious. 

Recently, I saw from Hock Hua Tonic E-Store that they were having a promotion on some of their bird's nest. Some of the instructions there stated that the bird's nest only needed to be soaked for 1 hour and then cooked for 45 minutes to 1 hours. 

Bird's nest was usually sold by weight. Since it was my first time trying to cook bird's nest, I chose the cheapest bird's nest available at that time as there was not much difference in terms of efficacy. I bought the 特选沙巴洞燕片 Super FS SABAH BCN-White (AA) at a Hock Hua Tonic retail store, which was sold at a special price of $50.00 for every 37.5 g (一两).  I bought about 42 grams, which cost $56. I also further confirmed with the staff on how to prepare the bird's nest. The staff advised me to soak the bird's nest for 1 hour, remove the water that was used to soak the bird's nest and double boil for 45 minutes. 

Their staff usually tell us to cook 1 to 2 piece of bird's nest for 1 person's consumption. This seemed to be a lot in my opinion and would be very thick in consistency. Maybe some people loved to eat bird's nest this way. 

I had previously researched on the optimal quantity of bird's nest to consume every day and found that it should be between 1 to 5 g. Below 1 g, it is ineffective. If we consume more than 5 g, the human body cannot absorb that much and, hence, it would be wasted. I bought six pieces, which weighed 42 g, so one piece was about 7 g. There are four of us in our family, so 7 g divided by 4 persons would be about 1.75 g per person. I think this was good enough for us.

Now that we have the Tefal Electric Steamer, it was very convenient for me to double boil bird's nest. After soaking the bird's nest for 1 hour, I removed the soaking water and put about 1 small bowl of water  to the bird's nest and steamed for 45 minutes.

Dried bird's nest

Cooked bird's nest

After 45 minutes, I added rock sugar to the bird's nest soup and it was ready for consumption. We were satisfied with the consistency. 

Last week, we saw that there was a stall at Causeway Point mall selling freshly double boiled bird's nest. Coincidentally, they also used the Tefal Electric steamer to double boil their bird's nest. :)

[S$50.00]HOCKHUA TONIC OFFICIAL E-STORE|福華官方商城|金牛特级冰糖洞燕配套（两盒）|Golden Cow Special Grade Birdnest with Rock Sugar 1 SET (2 BOX)|Store Pickup Available|

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SG Funpack

We were finally able to collect our SG Funpack last week. We received the dragon playground design tote bag. I was pleasantly surprised that the bag came with a partition inside and a zip on the outside. It should come in useful.

Sera especially loved the Singa figurine.

I used to be able to play the capteh very well when I was in primary school. Now, I can only manage one kick. Sigh. 

Capteh

We haven't tried playing Snap yet. Maybe we will try to play during the National Day weekend. However, I don't really remember how to play this game.

Some other stuff in our SG Funpack.

Thank you to the NDP committee for giving us this SG Funpack.

Fridge Organization

We bought a new refrigerator a few weeks ago. This new refrigerator was smaller than our previous refrigerator so it was a challenge to squeeze in the food, beverages and other items. 

We decided that we needed to do something to optimize the usage of the interior space. We didn't want to buy those stackable containers to use in the fridge because this would give us more work. We would have to remove food stuff from its original packaging and place them inside the container immediately after coming back from grocery shopping. We have to wash the containers before and after every use which takes more effort on our part. Furthermore, we preferred to leave the beverages, sauces and other items in their original packaging to prevent contamination and spoilage. 

For the lower part of the fridge, we thought we could get a drawer box, a rack or a metal partition/panel (to have another slot to put things) to fully utilize the vertical space. We did not find a suitable drawer for this purpose. Similarly, we could not find the right size for the metal partition/panel at Daiso. So, we settled for the small metal rack (green) sold at Daiso and bought another plastic basket. The basket worked somewhat like a drawer as we only needed to pull it out to take the item on the innermost corner of the basket. We no longer need to take out everything from that shelf just to get the item. This worked quite well, leaving the other half of the shelf space for tall bottles. We could also place some small items on the metal rack. 

On another shelf, I used another plastic basket that I already had to put packets of chrysanthemum, curry powder etc. as the packets were not stackable. This freed up at least half the space previously used. The extra space could be used to defrost meat and put other items.

Basket with packets of food stuff in it on the right

Another shelf with a tray

As mentioned in my post on Hitachi Refrigerator R-H350P4MS on Anne's Product Reviews Blog, it was a bit cumbersome to take ice cubes out from the freezer as we had to take the twist ice maker out before we could take the ice cubes from the transparent ice tray. To solve this problem, we bought another metal rack (white) with a shorter width from Daiso. So now, we could take out the ice cubes more easily.

You could see from the picture above that I had used another ice tray to put packets of frozen food. I used this instead of a plastic basket as I was concerned that the plastic might not be able to withstand the cold air in the freezer and might crack. So I thought using the ice tray was the safest way since it was meant to be put in a freezer in the first place.


Related post:

Hitachi Refrigerator R-H350P4MS (Anne's Product Reviews Blog)

《法证先锋III》（"Forensic Heroes III"）

I was looking forward to watch 《法证先锋III》（"Forensic Heroes III") ever since I knew MediaCorp's Channel U would be broadcasting it. This TV drama serial was the third instalment of the "Forensic Heroes" series but with totally different actors and actresses. 《法证先锋III》（"Forensic Heroes III")  debuted on MediaCorp's Channel U on 16 Jun 2015, at 10 pm.

This new sequel did not disappoint me. It was very interesting and amazing to see how the police and its Forensic Science/Pathology Division made use of the knowledge of science and technology to solve crimes. In the first three episodes, the forensic division gathered the evidence and other small details to re-enact the crime scene. They even used reverse ballistic construction to deduce that the bride who was murdered in the restaurant was not the target of the murderer. The person whom the murderer wanted to kill was actually the bridegroom. From then on, they could focus on finding the person who hated the bridegroom so much that he would want to kill him (the bridegroom).

In the fourth and fifth episode, the forensic division deduced that the murderer of a rich businessman Guo Fuhua should be having some skin problems after the murder because the murderer came into contact with some organism when he killed Guo Fuhua. Coupled with other evidences and technology, they managed to find the killer and the mastermind.

Looking forward to further episodes.

Quotes from Episode 2 of 《长辈甜心》 ("Super Senior")

《长辈甜心》 "Super Senior" is a MediaCorp TV drama serial that started airing on Channel 8 on 18 Jun 2015, at 9 pm.

Below were some interesting lines said by Dong Guanghui 董光辉 (starring Henry Thia 程旭辉, best known as 辉哥）during his conversation with his son, Dong Haoyuan 董浩元 (starring Aloysius Pang 冯伟衷)

董光辉:  “你老爸虽然只是谈过一次恋爱，但是，我有恋爱的秘笈, 你要不要？我pass给你啊。” (Your dad may only have had one relationship but I know the secret to love. Want to know the secret? I'll pass it down to you. )

董浩元: “什么秘笈? ”（Let's hear it.）

董光辉:  “其实很简单的。你制造一个意外惊喜，给她惊喜到死，然后就浪漫到死。再不然，就肉麻到死。总之，你要弄到她要生要死，她就会对你死心蹋地.” (It's really simple. Give her a surprise that will sweep her off her feet. Then romance her with something corny. Get her to become obsessed with you. Then she'll never leave you.)

These lines coming out from the mouth of 辉哥 were even more entertaining and made us laugh. :)

NDP 2015 Exhibition and Marina Square Shopping Mall

Singapore is celebrating its 50th year since independence this year. There are various activities for our community to take part to mark Singapore's Golden Jubilee. One of them is the NDP 2015 exhibition held at Marina Square Central Atrium, from 5 June to 14 June 2015. 

Last weekend, we brought our two kids to the NDP 2015 Exhibition. The Exhibition showcased the eight chapters of our NDP 2015. We were given a "Progress Card" upon entering the exhibition area.  It was not necessary to visit each booth in sequence. As long as we visited all the booths, we could get a goodie bag from the Majulah Singapura booth and take part in a lucky draw to win NDP tickets and other attractive prizes.

The designers of the NDP Totebag and the totebags

Sera posed in an SAF no. 1 Uniform

Photo taken with Captain Green

As we went during the weekends, there were some live performance in the evening.

After getting our souvenirs, we lingered around Marina Square Shopping Mall. We found this big retro TV and took some fun photographs.

Can you spot the little red dot inside the TV? This little red dot was something we bought at the NDP 2015 exhibition and was supposed to be put outside the car. The sales proceeds would go to 4 charity organizations. 

Was that a flying penguin on the right?

Egg Tarts Recipe

It had been a long time since I last made egg tarts so I decided to make some egg tarts on the last Saturday of the school holidays in March. 

I liked to keep things simple so I used a recipe that did not require many ingredients. We did not like our egg tarts to be too sweet so the amount of sugar and icing sugar used were less than that stated in the original recipe. So if you like sweeter egg tarts, you can add more sugar. I also increased the amount of flour used for the butter pastry.

The ingredients I used for the butter pastry were:

280 g salted butter
450 plain flour
1 egg
80 g icing sugar

The ingredients I used for the egg tart filling were:
300 ml water
100 g sugar
4 eggs
80 ml full cream evaporated milk

Steps to prepare the dough:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

2. Mix butter, flour and icing sugar together in a bowl.

3. Add an egg.

4. Knead it into a dough. Refrigerate the dough for 20 min or until it is in a workable state.

Butter pastry dough

While waiting for the dough to be ready, we can work on the egg tart filling. 

Steps to prepare the egg tart filling:

1. Pour 100 g of sugar into 300 ml of water. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

2. Add milk and eggs to the mixture above. Beat and mix well.

3. Sieve the mixture two times to get a smooth egg filling.

Egg filling after sieving

Steps to prepare the egg tarts:

1. When the dough is ready to be used, take it out from the refrigerator. Knead it again. 

2. Take a small ball of the dough and press it into an pastry mould gently using your two thumbs. Repeat the process until all the dough is used.

3. Pour the egg filling into the pastry mould with the dough in it.

4. Bake the egg tarts in the oven at 200 degree Celsius for 15 to 20 minutes. The egg filling should still be wobbly when done. The egg tarts are ready if a toothpick can stand upright when poked into the filling.

Sera volunteered to help me make the egg tarts and she really enjoyed kneading the dough and putting it into the pastry mould. Towards the end, she also helped to pour the egg filling into the pastry mould.

Unbaked egg tarts in pastry mould on a tray

Baked egg tarts

We made a total of 30 egg tarts with diameters of about 8 cm each.

Eczema Balm

Sera had eczema on her left inner elbow. She didn't like the smell of the eczema cream I bought from a retail store so she refused to use it after applying 2 to 3 times. Normal moisturizer only helped to relieve the itch temporarily and was not able to clear the eczema rashes.

I happened to see this Theo10® Skin balm sold online and read many positive reviews about it. It could also help with minor cuts, burns, insect bites and nasal congestion. Since it could also be used for other purposes (in case Sera refused to use it), Ardon and I decided to give it a try. It was not expensive and was manufactured in Singapore. 

After about 3 applications, we saw an improvement on her inner elbow. Rashes started to clear and her skin felt smoother. According to Sera, the balm did help to soothe or numb the itchiness.

1st day after application

3rd day after application

The downside was this balm had a very strong peppermint smell. However, it was the premium peppermint essence that helped to numb the area to stop the itch. Fortunately Sera didn't mind the smell and was willing to use it. Her only concern was that Lynn could not stand the smell. So considerate!

• Qoo10 - ♣ All-Natural Eczema balm ♣ Moisturizing first-aid-balm♣ Help blocked... : Sports Equipment

Cast of 《信约：我们的家园》 "The Journey: Our Homeland"

"The Journey: Our Homeland" is the finale of the trilogy “The Journey”. It depicts the development of Singapore from 1966 to her era of prosperity in the 1980s. Click here for more information.

Actress Jeanette Aw would be reprising her role as Hong Muihui. Click here for more information on this. 

Rui En will play Yang Meixue, a straight-talking nurse who becomes good friends with Hong Minghui, a matron at Kandang Kerbau (KK) Hospital. Zhang Zhenhuan will play the character, Yan Yisheng - Yang Meixue's boyfriend. 

Shaun Chen, Andie Chen and Felicia Chin would be reprising their roles as a Zhang Jia, Hong Dangyong and Zhang Min respectively.

Romeo Tan will play dual roles as Hong Kuan and Zhang Yan (Hong Kuan's biological father). Hong Kuan is the first son of Zhang Min and the stepson of Hong Dangyong. Jeffrey Xu will play the role of Hong Rui, the second son of Zhang Min.

The Journey: Our Homeland also stars Rebecca Lim, Ian Fang, Julie Tan, Cheryl Wee and Shane Pow. Rebecca Lim will take on the role of Wan Fei Fei, who grew up in a poor family with her three siblings Wan Zi Cong (starring Ian Fang), Wan Zi Hua (starring Shane Pow) and Wan Fang Fang (starring Cheryl Wee). Julie Tan plays a tomboyish character named Yao Jia Hui. 

Click here for the other members of the cast of the drama serial.

The Journey: Our Homeland debuts on 6 July 2015 on weekdays at 9 pm on Channel 8. Looking forward to it.

Related posts:

《信约：我们的家园》 "The Journey: Our Homeland" - The Love Triangle between Zhang Jia, Meixue and Yisheng
Episodes 1 to 10 of 《信约：我们的家园》 "The Journey: Our Homeland"
Episodes 29 and 30 of 《信约：动荡的年代》"The Journey : Tumultuous Times" (Last Two Episodes)
《信约：动荡的年代》"The Journey : Tumultuous Times"
Cast of 《信约：动荡的年代》"The Journey : Tumultuous Times"
Last Episode of 《信约：唐山到南洋》"The Journey: A Voyage"
Episode 30 of 《信约：唐山到南洋》"The Journey: A Voyage"
Quotes from Episode 18 of 《信约：唐山到南洋》"The Journey: A Voyage"

Ebi-fry

A few weeks ago, I found this Ebi-fry in the frozen section of NTUC hypermarket. 

Big prawns are usually quite expensive but the price for this Ebi-fry (already marinated and coated with bread crumbs) was reasonable, so we bought one packet to try out.

Yesterday, I finally took it out from our freezer. There were no instructions on how to cook this. What I did was put some oil in a deep baking tray and coat both sides of the prawns with oil. Then I placed the tray into our convection oven, set the temperature at 220 degree Celsius and heated it for about 20 minutes. I am using our oven as a multi-cooker :p. 

After about 20 minutes, the prawns were cooked but I found them a bit too soft probably due to the oil. So I placed them onto another dry shallow pan and heated it in the oven toaster for another 3 minutes. On taking out the prawns, they were still a bit soft. However, when we ate the prawns, they were okay - crispy on the outside and soft inside. Tasted good too - not too salty and not too bland.

Ebi-fry

Perhaps next time, I should put less oil. They should turn out better after 20 minutes of heating.