Experience at World Street food Congress 2013: sincere hearts and good food

1pm in the afternoon. It was scorching hot in Sunny Singapore. My daughters and I could barely open our eyes. But when we do, all we could see was pearly white smiles everywhere.
Enthusiastic, friendly, happy, slightly nervous (due to language barrier) but sincere hearts were over flowing and it added a rare and much needed touch in the midst of our fast paced city. And these are the people who put in their heart and soul to make this WSFC a success.

First we were greeted by the pleasant officials who showed us the way into the event, followed by the nice lady in charge of selling coupons, then we toured around the 37 stalls and at one point, was politely interrupted by an friendly official along the way to ask if we would like to go for a MasterChef class demonstration while deciding what we would like to eat in the comfort of the air-conditioned studio.
Yes, it would have been nice to be in the air conditioned studio but it was also priceless to tour around the 37 stalls, reading the description of every single dish and background of the stall followed by the observation of the fantastic teamwork the students (from Shatec, At-Sunrice, Culinary Institute of America, Institute of Technical Education) have with each street food master. The new found bond was warm and mutual. Street food masters with language barriers depended on the student buddy to translate the queries and requests from the customer and the enthusiastic and helpful student buddy would be the middle person to explain, facilitate and ensure a smooth and happy experience was made.
They must have spent a good amount of time to understand the ingredients and taste of the dish to be able to explain and make recommendations while the street food masters were patient to listen and try their best to accommodate to any special requests.

Besides this, the choice of outdoors and indoor dining has been carefully thought through. It allowed customers to decide what they prefer and for a parent like me, I appreciated the indoors dining set up with cooling fans and neatly set up square tables with tablecloths, a television showcasing a documentary of WSFC and having the toilet available within a few walking steps.

I marvel at the strong teamwork and it almost felt like everyone of them were from the same organization, no differences and part of a big family.

The dishes were also prepared with pride and the street food masters would share about how they pack their ingredients from their hometown to here, specially for this congress.
It must be a liberating experience for them to travel out and participate and sell their food in Singapore, especially for those that were here for the first time.

I also appreciate MakanSutra for this fabulous idea to gather 37 best street food masters and invite them
to fly in and showcase their signature dishes in the comfort of our country. The amount of hard work to consolidate information about the best street food masters, inviting them for the Congress, doing the write up and photo taking of every stall, setting up the stalls in Singapore, for the street food masters to make a bold step to leave their comfort zone and to participate in this, for the collaboration of the various academies and agencies, for the planning of the numerous logistics and accommodation and for every single person who contributed just to serve the customers made this Congress possible.

All in all, I felt that this was an eye opener and a very good experience for a first timer like myself and I am
Definitely looking forward to the next WSFC!

Head down to WSFC before it ends this Sunday 9/6/13!

P/S: Please say the password "Patricia's guest" to be entitled to FREE ENTRY PASS worth SGD$8 per person with courtesy from KF Seetoh from Makan Sutra and Founder of WSFC. Only available on WEEKDAY till this Friday 7/6/13!
Operating hours: 11-10pm
Location: Singapore F1 Pit building and Paddock



Signing off
PoshPearl

Review and recipe: Hakka abacus seeds 算盘子 quick fix!

We found this gem located at the basement of smith street chinatown wet market, a stall which has a banner stating "staircase stall since 1978". This stall has an amazing display of frozen goodness. We bought a few to try and the most outstanding one got to be the handmade cooked and frozen abacus seeds at SGD$7 for a large box!

All you need to do is to prepared the side ingredients and seasoning to stir fry together and you will get a satisfying meal! It was so convenient and good! The aroma of the yam was strong and it was chewy and tasty!

However, it is definitely more meaningful and economical to make it ourselves so I have also included the made from scratch abacus seeds recipe which is really easy!

Here's how I prepared the dish:

Abacus seeds:
Either store bought from chinatown wet market or
Made from scratch:
1 medium sized yam (about 500g)peeled and sliced
100g of tapioca flour sieved
A pinch of salt

1. Steam the yam until totally soft.
2. Mash the yam in a big bowl.
3. Add a pinch of salt.
4. Sieve in half of the flour and knead while yam is still hot.
5. Continue to sieve in the flour slowly and knead until you can shape the abacus seed and it doesn't stick to your fingers.
6. Coat lightly with excess flour to prevent the seeds from sticking before use.
7. In a pot of boiling water add just a teaspoon of oil and add the abacus seeds. Once floating, they are ready to be used. Do not over cook as you need to store fry the side ingredients together later on.
*you can also choose to wait for them to cool and pack them in an air tight container and leave them in the fridge for the next day use.

The picture of the fresh abacus seeds on a plate is made by my parents!

Ingredients:s
Group A:
500g Minced meat
1 1/2tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
3 teaspoons of corn starch
A dash of pepper
Group B:
1 box of ready hakka abacus seeds
4 Dried chinese Mushrooms soaked in hot water (keep the water)
1 dash of sugar
2 tablespoon minced and pan fried dried shrimps (you can make a batch before Hand and keep in the refrigerator. It's useful for Chinese cooking!)
1/2 tablespoon shallot sauce (refer to pic below, the best! Aromatic! Avail in Sheng Shiong supermarket )
1/2 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (refer to pic below, my mum's favorite brand, taste is thick and nice. Avail in major supermarket)
1/2 bowl chicken stock

1. Combine group A and marinate for at least 30minutes.
2. Remove mushroom from water and press away excess water.
3. Dice mushrooms
4. Heat wok in medium heat. add oil. Wait for 30 seconds and add shallots.
5. Stir fry till partial golden, add mushrooms.
6. Add sugar.
7. Stir fry till golden brown, add minced meat.
8. Use the ladle to break the meat into pieces to prevent them from sticking together.
9. Flip the meat to ensure both sides are well cooked.
10. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the abacus seeds, and sauté for a couple of minutes.
11. Add the abacus seeds and sauté until the abacus seeds are cooked through.
12. Now it's ready! Garnish with red chili and lettuce or spring onions if desired!

Inspiring yummy mummies
PoshPearl

Review: Beksul tapioca sesame bread premix: Whip them up in an instant!

It's 11am and I have less than an hour to pick my daughter from school. She is looking toward to her daily bento and I ran out of bread! What should I do?!
I conveniently took out the Beksul Tapioca sesame bread premix and whipped them within 40minutes from preparation to baking to be presented in her bento box!
It's so aromatic and crusty on the outside and soft and chewy in the inside!
It's hassle free and easy and perfect for anyone to do, especially for busy mums or working adults or even young children!

The end result? My darling Trinity was so happy with her bento and she finished the bun and told me it's so yummy!

Side note:
I bought it from Vivo City Seoul Market. I suppose Korean supermarkets should carry them.

There's 2 packets of premix in the box, 250g each. Makes 9 buns. So you get 18 buns at $8.90. That's a steal!

Ingredients:
1 egg (60g)
90ml full cream milk
1 packet of premix (250g)
Optional: 1-2 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder/ bakeable matcha powder or black sesame powder

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg Celsius.
2. Whisk egg and milk.
3. Add premix.
4. Knead with a spatula for a little while till a dough is form.
5. Make little balls of 40g each and place on baking tray or silicon baking mat.
6. Bake for 30 minutes and you are done!!!
Enjoy!

Inspiring yummy mummies
PoshPearl

Review: Prima nonya curry paste, fragrance that fills the kitchen!

So we had not much time to cook and was really hungry. My mum bought some crayfish earlier on and so I decided to put my Prima curry paste to use. The result was an aromatic and yummy dish that got my mum saying wow, I can smell the fragrance from the living room! Moreover it is really easy to use! Just need water and coconut cream plus meat or vegetables! For Spiciness level I will give it a 3/5 but for fragrance level 5/5! Taste would be 4/5! We really love the taste of the curry and will definitely buy it again to spice up any dishes!

Crayfish nonya curry
Ingredients:
Crayfish, washed clean and prepared, cut in the middle on the underside
Prima nonya paste
220ml water
200ml coconut cream ( I added more to make the curry sweeter and creamier)
1. Add water to curry paste, stir evenly tin the wok and bring to a boil.
2. Add crayfish, coat it with curry and cool over high fire, covering wok.
3. When crayfish has changed color, add coconut cream.
4. Once cooked to desired consistency, it's ready!
5. Serve with rice or spaghetti.

Inspiring Yummy Mummies
PoshPearl

Review on LUNCH PUNCH

Pretty sandwiches are possible even if we busy mums only have 5-10 minutes or need to make a few sets. Thanks to LunchPunch, sandwiches are made pretty in a jiffy! 

Just make your sandwich as per usual and punch it with the cutter you want! It's easy even for your children to handle!

Here's some designs we have made! Of course the possibilities are endless!

It comes in a themes box of 4 cutters for S$17.90.

Available at ToTT, 896 dunearn road #01-01A Singapore 589472.

You can also shop online at www.tottstore.com

This is a personal review and it is not paid. 

Have fun!

Inspiring Yummy Mummies 

Poshpearl 

Review: Yonanas ice cream maker

Wouldn't it be nice to have Ice cream with absolutely no trace of cream and sugar yet still taste creamy and luxurious?
Well, my dream came true when I got the yonanas ice cream maker!
At just SGD$118, this maker can make very smooth and creamy ice cream just by grinding frozen fruits!
All you have to do is to peel the skin of your favorite fruits and freeze them for at least 24 hours. Then, as and when you want it, you can pop and grind them into the maker and get ice cream
immediately! It is not only easy to use, it is also easy to wash and clean. Just wash the five parts with soapy water.

After getting the yummy ice cream
I like to mix in my own toppings to control the level of sweetness and crunchiness and freeze the ice cream in an air tight container. In that way My family will be able to eat guilt free ice cream anytime!

Inspiring yummy mummies
PoshPearl

Review: Mediya Gyudon Kit

Your kids and hubby is hungry. You have just spent 2 1/2 hours baking breads and your family is hoping for a yummy Japanese meal. What do you do?
Well, the mediya Gyudon kit came to the rescue! Serving size is just nice for 2 adult and 1 child.
Just sautéed the onions with a little oil until fragrant and add the beef. Stir fry with a pair of chopsticks for 2-3 minutes or until 70% of the beef has turned brown before adding the sauce provided. After the beef is totally cooked, switch off the fire and serve with scrambled eggs (beaten with hon tsuyu) over steaming hot japanese rice if you like.
Like it to be spicy? Add lots of S&B brand togarashi (Japanese chili powder) and you got yourself a yummy and satisfying meal. Not enough? Pick up a sashimi platter and a pack of green tea sachets to complete your meal and you will have your hubby and child telling you how yummy it is all night long!

Review on Daiso's 4 in 1 bread cutter mould, seaweed face cutters and tweezer

Ever thought of creating bentos? These items from Daiso can help you!

The bread cutter mould is lovely as it ensures that no bread is wasted. Apply adequate pressure and press down till you can feel the mould scratching the plate as you move it. The cut is pretty and there's no problem for 2 pieces of bread with cheese in between. However, there's a small hole in the intersection point and bread will get stuck to it. Make sure you use a tweezer to remove the pieces!
The seaweed cutters requires pressure to press down fast and more effective when seaweed is crispy. The more intricate the design the more strength is required.
The tweezer is easy to use and really helps in picking up tiny pieces.
To stick on the seaweed, I use a tooth pick to apply some mayonnaise on the desired spot and pick up each seaweed detail with the tweezer to stick it. :)
Daiso has great stuff to start bentoing however pls note that these items sells really fast so get them before they disappear!

Inspiring yummy mummies
PoshPearl

Review on Daiso mini ball scoop, long bento sticks, silicon dish and lunch box

A quick review for parents who would like to prepare a fast and fuss free snack bento!

The mini ball scoop is easy to use for both adults and children. My daughter scooped the persimmon balls easily and enjoyed herself.

I also found the long bento sticks useful to make fruit skewers which are appealing to young children. I used persimmons today, but could foresee sticks of kiwi, apple, grapes, oranges etc... Yummy!

The silicon dishes are easy to wash and the malleable shapes makes it a breeze to suit all kinds of bento boxes.

The snack box is small and suitable for children to maneuver independently.

Overall, the items are all value for money and it value adds to your child's packed bentos!

Inspiring yummy mummies,
PoshPearl