"Kuk fan" version 2.0

Last year December, I wrote my first food post on a dish that I came up with myself. After 6 months, 1 day, 6 hours, and 27 minutes, I finally decided to improve on it to make it the updated version 2.0. =P

duck tales

Duck... a rather foreign word in my cooking journey. This is because duck meat is very gamelike and rich with thick layer of fat that is underneath its skin. If cooked properly it is the best absolutely delicious; cook it the wrong way and it might put you off duck meat for the rets of your life. I came across a recipe that was really interesting. It involved marinating the meat in fruit brine (orange juice + salt) for at least a few hours before cooking it. The cooking process was a two step approach. First steam the duck then "froast (fry + roast)" it in the oven. After that plate up the duck with side vegetables sautéd using the fat from the duck. As usual, I always fancy a little extra on my plate, so I made some mashed potatoes to go with it.

Chicken rice

Looks delicious doesn't it? the succulent chicken with fresh vegetables and the beautifully cooked fragrant rice is just too good to resist. Chicken rice is one of the best chicken dishes ever created. Although it may look simple, but the preparation and work required to cook this dish is anything but simple. Fortunately I did not need to go through all the hassle to enjoy this meal, my flatmate was kind enough to volunteer to cook dinner. So as you can see we had a very good meal that evening!

Mac & Cheese

Its been a long time since my last cooking adventure.. and although I have not tried anything special.. but cooking Mac and Cheese (as the Americans would call it) is a first time for me and definitely worth a space of the cooking blog.

Oh yeah, mine is not the authentic Macaroni and cheese, I did some twists to it just to make it a little special. See the pinkish and green bits, they are bacon, chives and parsley. =)

盐焗鸡

Was checking the photos in my camera and just realised I forgot to post this picture up on the blog. It was during the holidays that I tried making "chicken raosted in a salt shell" which basically means the English way of cooking "盐焗鸡" (yim kuk gai)... hehe

Left overs

What do you usually do with left-overs from the previous night? I had left over curry and chicken burger to eat and I also had some sausages, spinach and noodles stored up. Now add all those together and you might just come up with what i call a "japanese noodle wanna-be".

three course meal... again?!!

Yes... a three course meal again. There was no occasion for us to have a three course meal in our flat. It just happened that the whole flat went out during the day for some food shopping in the market, so there was plenty of food to cook with for dinner.



For starters we had broccoli soup with tomato and basil bread bought from the market as well as a some garlic and chilli olives also bought from the market.



For the main course we had burger in bread crumbs (or more appropriately named as "beef-potato-lentil-mixed herb cake/burger") ... basically an unknown but delicious piece of food =P. The side dishes were the bread from the starter and mango salad. The sauce is just a random sauce I came up with.

For dessert we had fruit trifle from Marks & Spencer... sorry no photo for that!

Good old Steak and Chips

I have always wanted to make a proper steak and chips meal. Although it wasn't exactly ideal timing to have to make this during one of my busiest weeks of finsihing my thesis, I still did it. Why? Simply because it was my turn to cook and I didn't want to cook something if I didn't really want to cook it. I believe there is a difference when you really put an effort to provide a good meal. Wouldn't you agree?



Oh yes, bread and butter pudding to end the meal, of course!

Fish... fish... fish

If you are thinking what I am thinking... the answer is no I did not make this myself, I bought it from one of the fish bars around. I dunno why recently I have this craving for fish and chips. I mean I love fish and chips even before I came to the UK. The funny thing is when I first arrived in the UK, fish and chips was the last thing I wanted to eat. And now after 4 years and a few months to go before I go back home, I suddenly felt like eating fish and chips. I think maybe I realised that it would be a real waste if I came all the way to UK and missed the chance to really taste fish and chips as it is made in the place of its origin. So I went "crazy" and searched for all the fish bars I could find, just to try their fish and chips. At the moment I have tried 5 places, and will look for more... hehe!

Just a preview of what I have eaten... (drool!)

Bishopston Fish Bar





Clifton Village Fish Bar

咕佬肉（糖醋排骨）

Almost forgot, I also tried to make sweet and sour pork for the first time. It wasn't the best, but I quite liked it!