Welcome to The Dainty Mummy

Welcome. This is a spin off from my existing blog, The Dainty Candy. This new blog will hold all my blog posts on being a mummy-to-be, a mummy. Yep, I am going to be a mummy in another 11 weeks time and I cannot wait for my Little One to be part of our lives.

The first thing I have to do after setting up this blog is... beautify the blog template. Haha.. This is going to take some time. But most probably, the template will be pretty similar to my personal blog, The Dainty Candy. So for the time being, do be patient with this work-in-progress template.

I will still be posting while designing is in progress. Do stick around. Thank you.

Nutella Brownies

Inspired by a GF who made Nutella muffins with a simple recipe, I went online and found this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Nutella-Brownies-Three-Ingredients/

Here's my end results. Not very nice looking. It needs more tweaking in timing.

Since it is my first attempt, I decided to cut the ingredients by half to try out.

Serves: 5

Ingredients:

• 140g Nutella
• 1 egg
• 31g flour

Directions:

• Put it in a bowl. Mash it up. 
• Pour into muffin cups.  
• Bake at 180°C for around 15 minutes 

At 15 minutes, my Nutella brownies look... overbaked. Haha..

After trying, it taste quite nice. It is soft on the inside, and a little crispy on the outside. Hubby also thinks that it taste nice.

I would have to lower the temperature and increase the timing the next time I attempt this.

Tonkatsu By Ma Maison (Westgate)

Located on the 4th level in Westgate, one of the newest shopping mall in Jurong East, Tonkatsu By Ma Maison offers mostly indoor seatings and some outdoor seatings.

Hubby and I were there about 8plus in the evening and there were still some tables available. Excited to try out the tonkatsu.

Rosu Katsu Set 120g [S$18.80++]
Deep Fried Pork Loin
The Rosu Katsu Set is available in 120g and 150g. I had opted for the smaller portion. And by right I had ordered the Hire Katsu Set (Deep Fried Pork Fillet) instead of this. Guess the waiter heard wrongly. I was ok to try out, hence, did not point out the mistake. But mid way, I kind of hoped that it was the right order instead. I do not like the texture of pork loin, and the fried surface came apart from the meat, making looking clumsy with food dropping off my chopsticks.

Mameton Set [S$23.80++]
Deep Fried Prawn, Pork Loin and Pork Fillet
The hubby's order has a combination of different meat. Though I feel it is quite little for the price. Hubby feels that the food does not taste as fantastic as expected.

On the table, they have this instructions on how to enjoy their tonkatsu with the additional seasoning and sauces available on each table.

The three compartment saucer came together with the food. From the left, Sweet sauce, Spicy sauce and Salt. On top of the sweet and spicy sauce, it is recommended to add grounded roasted sesame seed for additional flavour. Hubby and I both feel that the salt indeed adds additional flavour, but it's a tad too salty for us. I prefer the spicy sauce over the sweet sauce, though I don't really taste the sesame seeds. Maybe we did not put enough. Haha..

The kitchen is within view and they have quite the usual japanese setting. They have some cute piggie cartoons around the place.

Our total bill came up to $50.14, inclusive of 7% GST and 10% Service Charge.

I prefer eating at Tonkichi though. It is the place where I first discover this delicious Japanese deep fried food.


Tonkatsu By Ma Maison (Westgate)
#04-06, Westgate, 3 Gateway Drive
Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 - 22:00

Another blogsite or no?

I'm contemplating. Should I set up another blog or just post everything in this blog? Hmm... 

Symmetry

The hubby had me decide on the lunch location, since I rejected his buffet idea. And after reviewing online for a cafe that is opened on a Monday (lots of nice cafes were closed on Monday), we finally found Symmetry. I like the food photos posted by previous customers. Check out Symmetry on Burpple: http://www.burpple.com/symmetry/reviews

Online reservations is available. Head to their website, http://symmetry.com.sg/, and click on the top right most button to reserve. However, the reserved time slot may not be given on time if there are just too many customers. We waited 25 minutes for our table to be available and ready. The place was already very crowded when we reached (10 minutes before our reserved timing, so in total we waited under the hot sun for 35 minutes) and there were many still waiting for their table.

They have this app by the door where you can get your queue number and take in your requirements, eg, table for how many pax, preferred seating location (indoors, outdoors or bar seats). Key in your mobile number and the system will alert you when the table is ready. I received an automated call when our table was ready. Cool.

I had already done my homework online by checking out their menu, but it was the brunch menu and not the lunch menu that we were given. So I have to rethink what to eat. And sadly the side that I wanted, Bacon & Cheese Rissoles, was not available.

Big Breakfast [S$24]
2 eggs of choice, maple-glazed bacon, smoked salmon, chicken cheese sausage, sauteed mushroom, mesclun, jam & toast
I had bits and pieces of the hubby's order. Love the harshbrown, even hubby likes it too (he's not a potato fan). The sausage is tasty though I did not taste any melted cheese in it (I did not realise that it's a cheese sausage until now). The hubby thinks overall it's tasty, and would come and try out other meals.

Pork Croissant [S$19]
pork belly, caramelized onions, hickory sauce, scrambled eggs, mustard
I love the taste of the pork croissant. I was a little skeptical about it initially (as I desired another main) but it is indeed delicious. I was unable to taste the croissant though, as the tasty fillings overwhelmed it. There are two slices of pork belly in it and they just melt in your mouth. The roasted tomato has a little sweet taste to it. Overall, the seasoning/sauce made my whole meal very delicious.

The little things in Symmetry.

The indoor seating is quite small, with a little less than 20 table groups and about 5 pairs of counter seats. Walking space is a little small too. But hey, we went on a public holiday, so I assume that's the reason for the overcrowding. Overall Symmetry is a cosy place to enjoy a cup of coffee with delicious food over with some friends.

Symmetry charges 7% GST and 10% service charge, and our bill came to a total of $50.70.

Definitely heading back here again to try out what is on the lunch menu, enjoy a cup of coffee and try the Bacon & Cheese Rissoles that I had missed out. But if the crowd was to be the same and the weather is just as horribly hot, maybe I would think twice and come back another day instead.


Symmetry
9 Jalan Kubor #01-01 S(199206)
http://symmetry.com.sg/
Opening Hours
Monday 1030 – 2100
Tuesday to Wednesday 1030 – 2300
Friday 1030 – 0000
Saturday 0900 – 0000
Sunday 0900 – 1900

Kaohsiung : Food and more food

Besides eating at Night Markets, we also went to some recommended places online and on TV. These places are not that near from the KRT and need some working out on feet.

BO 雪球餅乾咖啡館 BO Schneebälle Cafe

新光三越高雄左營店3F | Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (Zuoying) level 3
https://www.facebook.com/bocafe.tw

We had accidentally went past this cafe in Zuoying Shin Kong Mitsukoshi 星光三越. The hubby saw a TV show recommending this special biscuit ball where you need to hammer it to eat in smaller pieces. We tried it as it was quite fun. We had the chocolate flavoured one.

The huge wooden hammer in shop to break the biscuit ball into pieces.

I think we hammered too much... Haha the ball became overly small pieces. It's delicious.

You can buy as gifts. If I remember correctly, three balls into one container.

I am pretty regretful that I did not buy more to bring home. I like the taste of it a lot. And I am missing it so much. Ahh.. Delicious.

臺鐵便當 Railway Bento

Hubby's one of the must eat whenever we are in Taiwan. No matter which part of Taiwan. As long as they sell Railway Bento, he will buy to eat it, whether or not we are taking the railway. Haha.. This Octagon pork rib bento costs NTD80

南風洋菓子 Minamikaze Yougashiten

高雄市三民區同盟二路37號 (近愛河之心)
Opening hours: 12pm-10pm (Closed on Tuesday)

Take the KRT to Houyi Station (R12) and then Exit 4. Walk about 15 minutes and we will reach this small little cake cafe. It only has two tables outside the shop.

It was already 8plus, so not many of the cakes were left.

Hubby had this Fruit Pastry NTD90. Taste nice, but a little difficult to eat with the pastry holding the fruits. Everything just crumble apart when cutting to eat.

Here's mine. Thick chocolately cake. Delicious. Not too sweet. The lady owner even gave us a plate of cookies on the house. They taste delicious too.

關東煮 

Another one of Hubby's must eat whenever we are in Taiwan. No matter which part of Taiwan. Sold in 7-Eleven stores, you can choose from a variety of ingredients. Each piece at a different pricing, depending on what you choose. Hubby will always choose a piece of white radish. It is like our Yong Tau Fo, just without the noodles and minimum pieces.

桂林酥脆麵小檔案

高雄市鼓山區鼓元街87號
Opening Hours: 11:00~21:00 (Closed on the Second and Forth Mondays of each month)

We saw a review of a delicious Guilin Crispy Noodles located near 西子湾 Sizhihwan Station (O1). And since we were heading there in our itinerary, we decided to go try it out.

This is the order chit. Types of noodles, size, and soup choices. They have braised food too, but have to choose at the counter.

It's a small little shop front with two ladies manning the shop. Quite alot of people came to eat.

Besides ordering noodles, we had the Fishball soup 鱼丸汤 (NTD25) too.

Our lunch is finally here. Guilin Dry Noodles 桂林干面酥 and Crispy Sesame Sauce Noodles 脆麻醬乾麵 (Small: NTD40 | Big: NTD45).

To be honest, I find it so-so. Haha.. So much for walking the extra way to eat here. Bonus is that the meat is indeed crispy.

甜子烘焙

高雄市三民區永吉街41
Opening Hours: 09:00-18:00
http://073136808.tw.tranews.com/

This... got us walking and getting lost and finally finding it after an hour. Cake puff in Original and Chocolate flavour. Do not look down on the simple exterior. It is simply delicious. The cake on the exterior is puffy and solid, inside is filled with icecream. It is a must eat if you are in Kaohsiung. Too delicious to be missed. The lady before us bought boxes of cakes from this bakery and we just bought two cake puff. Ahhh.. How I wish we can try the others too.
黄金雪果子：原味，巧克力

The bakery where delicious cake puffs are made.

Here are what they have in store.

See this. The cake puff even though depressed....

... The depressed spot bounces right back up. Magical.

Breakfast Joint 早餐

We did not managed to go to many breakfast joints as breakfast is provided in the hotel we were staying in. This is the kind of breakfast I like. And they are quite affordable. The "sandwich club" from some restaurant locally sells for a near $20, while it's only NTD69. We should have more of these breakfast joints locally.

What we had. Onion "prata" with egg. Haha.. Taiwan's version of our local prata, without the hand flipping and the smacking. Did not order much as we had already eaten in the hotel.

劉家酸白菜火鍋 (岡山店) Liu's Traditional Juancun Food

高雄市岡山區岡山路166號
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 11:00 to 23:00
http://www.lius.com.tw/food.php?f=0

We were pretty sure it was not that difficult to find. 10 minutes walk from Gangshan railway station. But somehow, we got lost. But we got back on track after a while. And boy... we were glad to see the big blinking lights of 劉家 (Liu's).

... and we were so happy to see the shop.

Here's the set menu. We had the first set, for two pax. Each hot pot includes salted vegetables, pork stripes, meatballs, toufu (hubby says it is smelly toufu), and toufu skin. NTD750

Here comes our hot steaming hot pot. Looks nice. Smells nice. Huge portion and we were thinking, how are we going to finish this whole thing?

Scooped up: pork and vegetables. The soup base is sour. It's on purpose. The soup base refill even has three different levels of sourness, base on your preference to mix.

Our set includes one crispy chicken wrap (choice of chicken, beef and vegtables). It is huge, by the way.

And includes 10 dumplings.

Our set also includes two side dishes. Everything is here except for the dessert.

Here's the dessert that came midway into the meal. Steamed cake.

The hubby loves this alot. Ever since he saw this on TV, there's only "酸菜白肉鍋" (on repeat). And he is glad we went for this. Happy hubby, happy me ^^