Vansh

I was so excited yesterday, both about turing 30 and my hubby bringing me out for dinner to celebrate my birthday. We went to a restaurant that I have been wanting to try out ever since they opened a few years back - Vansh.

Eversince 2 weeks back when my girlfriend and I went to Melt at The Oriental for buffet and tasted the delicious Indian fare there, we have been yearning for more Indian food. So I told my hubby why not try out Vansh.

And my wait has not been in vain. The food is really good quality Indian food, and the balance of spices is not overpowering. For a person who doesnt really mind what he eats, my hubby actually said the food was excellent and it was the best he has ever had, speaks a lot eh?!
We ordered the vegetarian tandoori combination platter, black bean dal, deccan vegetable curry and a chickpea curry, accompanied by pilau rice and garlic naan.

As a starter, we were served pappadums served ala love letter style and accompanied by 3 dips - yogurt mint, mango chutney and a spicy chilli tomato sauce.....yummy. I love pappadums and was expecting the usual white round pieces but this one is different. It is speckled brown, rolled up like a love letter and served in a goblet! A tad salty though but the dips were yummilicious. I am salivating now as I type. *haha*

Pardon me, we were too busy enjoying the good food and forgot about taking pictures of the food *hehe* by the time I remembered, only 1 dish left. Here is the shot of the chickpea curry.

The tandoori combination platter comes with smoked cottage cheese, spiced mushroom fritters, tandoori cauliflower and a potato cum lentil croquette. All very fragrant and nicely spiced. The vegetable curry was ok but the black bean dal and chickpea curry are must tries. You know the usual dal we get outside is watery and from the yellow lentils? This is is creamy and the taste of the black beans comes through very well. A refreshing change. My hubby tried that first and kept singing its praises. *lol*

When it comes to pilau rice, I usually hate biting into a piece of star anise or cardamon pod when, but this one was free from those chunks, very fragrant. It almost reminds me of chicken rice!!! As for the naan, it was passable. Too dense for my taste.

Now comes in the interesting part. We brought a cake along to celebrate. So when we were ready for cake cutting, we waited and waited. We thought they had lost the cake. But see what they did in the pic above.

We were very pleasantly surprised. I didnt expect them to dress up the presentation of the cake, with tea lights and all. It was cool!!!

Overall, a memorable dining experience and we will return for more for sure. Thank you dear hubby for bringing us there!!!

For meat lovers, I hear their lamb kebabs and tandoori are very good. Check with the waiter or restaurant manager for recommendatios. They know their stuff well.

http://www.vansh.com.sg/

Vansh

2 Stadium Wlk

#01-04 Singapore Indoor Stadium

Singapore 397691

Tel : 6345 4466

Black & White

I promised some time back to post the cake I made for my mil's birthday. It is pretty simple. As usual, I try to find something relatively easy to do, looks good and tastes good. The only thing I am not happy about is that I like my cakes to have a softer texture when cold. But for this recipe, with the amount of butter in it, when the cake has been refrigerated, it will harden slightly. So you may say, take it out to defrost first....but the white chocolate icing will soften....dilemma *sigh* So if any of you have any solutions, pls let me know.

Black & White Cake

Prep Time: 1h 30min (45 min each for cake and icing)

Baking Time: about 45min

Cooling Time: about 2h

Serves 8pax

Chocolate Cake

5 eggs

225 g caster sugar ( i used fine brown sugar)

200 g self raising flour

50 g cocoa powder

250 g butter, softened at room temperature

Pre-heat the oven at 170C.

Cream the sugar and butter together until the mix turns pale in colour.

Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, ensuring the egg is well mixed before beating in the next egg.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture, a little each time (I go by batches of 50g) and fold into the mixture till all flour has been incorporated well.

Pour into a pre-lined and greased 8inch round baking tin and bake for about 45min or till a skewer (I use a butter knife) inserted comes out clean.

Let the cake sit in the tin for about 30min before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

White Chocolate Frosting

250g white chocolate, chopped into small pieces

70 g butter, slightly softened

200ml whipping cream

Melt the white chocolate and butter in a bowl sitting on top of simmering water.

In a separate bowl, whisk the whipping cream until soft peaks form and it can hold its shape.

Fold the cream into the chocolate mixture until it thickens.

Put it in the fridge to cool and let it harden slightly until it is manageable for spreading on the cake. Stir the mixture every 10min as it hardens.

To ice the cake, place the cake on a cake board or one of those cake stand that swivels. Using one hand to hold the cake base (with a little of the base jutting out of the edge of the table) and rotating it, with the other hand, use a spatula to form a swirling peak.

Belado Inspired Bean Curd

I was inspired by this dish called Terong Belado after trying it for the first time recently. Terong Belado is basically grilled eggplant with chilli & tomato sauce. It also has onions, garlic, galangal (blue ginger) and ginger in it. So as usual, I decided to experiment at home.

I didn't have eggplant so I used firm bean curd (tau kwa) instead. Yes yes, no semblance of eggplant, but who says I wanted to replicate the dish? *hehe* For the sauce, no chilli for me, cos I was nursing a sore throat, no onions cos I am still nursing my little one, and I didnt have galangal on hand. So what became of the sauce? Jane's Savoury Tomato & Garlic Sauce!!!

For those of you who wanna give this a shot, here goes.

Bean Curd with Savoury Tomato & Garlic Sauce

Prep time: 5-7min; Cooking time: 20 min

Cost: approx. S$2

Serves 2-3pax

2pcs medium tau kwa

2 semi-ripe tomatoes

3-4 cloves garlic, skinned

1/2 tbsp tau cheo (fermented soy beans)

Method

Drain the tau kwa of excess water by wiping with kitchen towel papers. Bake in the oven at 130C for about 20min.

Blend the tomatoes, garlic and tau cheo in food processor till fine (unless you prefer it lumpy). Pour the sauce over the tau kwa and bake for a further 10min. Alternatively, you can warm up the sauce in a frying pan (oil is optional) and pour it over the tau kwa before serving.

Simple yet nutritious eh?

The outcome was pretty good. From afar, the sauce reminded my hubby of chilli crab.

Casa Bom Vento

Guess where I am now? At my good friend, Lingshi's house. Brought Nicole to play with her daughter today and Nicole is taking her afternoon nap *yippee* freedom at last, for a while at least.

So yes I promised to mention about my recent food find at Casa Bom Vento over the weekend. It is a simple coffeshop space that serves Peranakan, Eurasian and Portugese food.

We tried the kacang butol ( wing beans or square beans as some call it mixed with sambal belacan, served raw), telong belajo (grilled brinjal with tomato based sauce), ayam buah keluak, nonya chap chai and fish curry just to name a few.

The kacang butol is nice but lacks the bite from the chilli but I was very happy with the telong belajo. For those who love salted fish, there is a sprinkle of deep fried salted fish bits on top. I was disappointed with the ayam buah keluak though, mainly cos they do not have the buah keluak in the dish. Instead they dug out the flesh and mixed in the soup to yield a thicker broth.

Overall a pleasant experience, food ok but lack the oomph from the spices and chilli and reasonable pricing. Oh yes, try not to sit near the kitchen. It is hot!

Casa Bom Vento
32 Seah St
Singapore 188388
Tel : 6338 8859

Soak It All Up

Here's a tip I picked up from a friend who owns an organic vegetarian food outlet. Soak vegetables in vinegar for about 15min to remove the insecticides and pesticides used. Although I don't really know if it works, I just do it with blind faith, believing in providing my family with healthier food.

If you can afford it, the ideal is to use organic apple cider vinegar. I go for a cheaper alternative with the chinese white rice vinegar. Add about 1tbsp of the vinegar to about 1.5 to 2litres of water.

Liquid Aminos

You probably have seen me using this item in my recipe. What's this? It is an alternative to light soy sauce, and in my opinion, a healthier choice. Tastes yummy too. Reminds me of Maggi seasoning.

I use Bragg Liquid Amino. It is made from soy protein and contains no preservatives, colourings, chemicals whatsoever. Hmmmm.....seems like I am almost "selling" this product. Haha.

Anyway, liquid amino as the name suggests contains 16 amino acids. To know more about this, you can check it out at http://www.bragg.com/products/liquidaminos.html

It is a pricier alternative to light soy sauce, at about S$8.50 for a 474ml bottle which lasts me about 3-4months, assuming I use a little everday.

Quick Mee Sua Soup

This is my 5th attempt to publish this post!!! Each time I sit down to do this, I am interupted, usually by my daughter. *sigh*

It was one of those evenings when I was feeling really exhausted from looking after the little one, so dinner had to be something simple. I love using this recipe when I am stretched for time or can't be bothered to cook too much. It is also very satisfying to have this on a cold (wish is was winter and snowing) day.

I do use some organic ingredients but it is up to you. For this dish, I prefer to use organic mee sua cos it does not have the white floury substance that clouds the soup when you throw it into the dish directly. For non-organic mee sua, you will need to boil it separately in another pot before dishing it together with the soup, unless you don't mind the cloudiness.

Quick Mee Sua Soup

Prep time: 20min; Cooking time: 10min; Cost: approx S$7
Serves 2 adults

4 pcs organic mee sua

4 cloves garlic, finaly chopped

300-400gm seasonal vegeatable (I used baby xiao bai cai)

1 pkt brown shimeiji mushrooms (white is fine too)

1 pc medium sized tau kwa (firm bean curd)

2 eggs

liquid amino (or light soy sauce)

2 heaped tablespoons or organic chickpea miso*

1.2 - 1.3litres boiled water

oil for frying

Method
Slice the tau kwa into strips (thickness is up to) and bake it in the oven at 130C for about 15-20min, depending on the thickness.

Fry the garlic till slightly brown then add a few dashes of liquid amino (or light soy sauce). Toss in the shimeiji mushrooms and baked tau kwa and stir fry for about 2minutes. Add the seasonal vegetables and mix well. Add the water and let it boil. Once boiling point is reached, toss in the mee sua. Let it cook for about 2 minutes then add the eggs. I like the eggs poached. But if you like it broken up, feel free to do so. The soup will turn slightly cloudy. Once the egg is cooked, add 1-2 more dashes of liquid amino (or light soy sauce) if preferred then turn off the fire. Stir in the chickpea miso at this point until well mixed into the soup. Your meal is ready to be served!

* miso should never be boiled as it kills off the life enzymes in it. You may use other types of miso for this dish but I prefer chickpea miso for it has a milder taste and a rounder finishing to it. It also gives off a hint of wine in the soup. Mmmm....lovely :p

Tip
Baked tau kwa is healthier and can be done hours before cooking time. I normally bake the tau kwa in the morning when I have time and leave it in the fridge till cooking time.

Chicken Rice Chilli

There is something about chicken rice chilli that makes the whole experience of eating chicken rice that much more upbeat. My hubby for one loves the chilli. I have seen him ordering just the rice and ate it with the chilli. So I have decided to make a bottle to store at home.

it's really simple to make and I did it all in under 20min including washing up so I managed to get this yummy bottle done way before my little girl called for attention.

Here's the recipe.

Chicken Rice Chilli

8 - 10 big red chillis

4 - 8 cloves of garlic

2 inch chunk of old ginger

2 tbsp white rice vinegar

Just whizz everything together in an electric food processor. I used a mini electric chopper so I had to chop the chillis and ginger into smaller chunks. Store in any dry glass jar and it should keep in the refrigerator for about 1 week. You can keep it longer if you want but the taste will alter. Enjoy!

Note:

The chilli, garlic and ginger should be kept dry and void of any water droplets or moistyre, This helps the sauce keep longer and prevent from growing mouldy faster.

I also washed the chilli the night before and let it air-dry. Alternatively, you can wipe the chillis dry with a piece of dry cloth.

Seriously Art

Yes, I have finally started my food blog, under the encouragement of my hubby since I love to cook and bake so much, and I enjoy good food. Eversince my maternity leave, I have been wanting to do something else, and now that I am going back to work(part-time) I thought I should start this.

I think the word "vegetarian" is often misunderstood and misintepreted. I hope to qwell the notion that "vegetarian" food equates boring, not tasty, eating only "grass" and inadequate to provide one with all the nutrients the body needs.

So what's this blog gonna be like? My aim is to help those busy moms out there, as well as any busy individual who wants a quick, relatively simple recipe to follow, and one that is wholesome, nutritious yet tasty at the same time! So expect recipes, food tips and anything related to food to be served, as Art On A Plate.

Before any of you start to think I have much time on my hands, I don't. So I try to find time-saving methods yet maintaining the taste of the dish and my sanity *haha* And if I do fall back on my updates sometimes, a thousand apologies.

One day, I hope to enrol into Le Cordon Vert and achieve as much as Jaime Oliver has, or even more.