Interested on a gastronomic journey of authentic popular Malaysian hawker fare? Look no further, Malaysian Food Street in Resorts World Sentosa promises just that to its patrons. This food haven was open to public not so long ago. I heard a number of raves about the place. Since we have a family visitor to bring around town, we decided to head over at Resorts World Sentosa last weekend. There, we had a chance to experience what this increasingly becoming popular food street has to offer. 

It houses the famous and heritage hawker brands of Malaysian origin such as these...

One of the stalls that really captured my wandering appetite was the Penang Lim Brother's Char Koay Teow. The queue was relatively long and the waiting time is 20 mins minimum. I patiently waited to have a taste of this.



It's generally oily and spicy. There's really not much deep taste into it though. I was expecting for a good smokey charater in the dish but it wasn't there.

Some other foods that you can try...

Happy Labor Day everyone! It's another long weekend and I'm spending it with much gusto. Short breaks such as this, is an opportunity to be had. It's actually a welcome respite from the usual busy weekdays. I had so much time to kill today that I thought of consuming it well in the kitchen. Hence, as usual, I rummaged through some cookbooks and my wandering eyes led me to Dave Lieberman's Dave's Dinners. As I perused his cookbook,  his Chocolate Cake recipe instantly caught my curiousity. He named it his Best Chocolate Cake Ever. Need he say more? Of course, that's more than enough reason to give it a whip. So here's how my take on his recipe turned out.

Overall, indeed it's chocolatey. However, I was expecting for a more decadent cake. It's moist but I was looking for something more. Maybe because I used a low fat yogurt instead of a full-fat one. Other than that, I still enjoyed a scrumptious nibble out of this cake.

What you need:

Cake:

3 large eggs

1 cup full fat yogurt

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1 cup hot water

Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Hershey's)

How to make:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and yogurt. Beat in the melted butter and vanilla. Gradually beat in the sugar until fully incorporated.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder baking soda, and salt until homogenous.

4. Mix the dry ingredients into the previously prepared batter in two steps alternating with the hot water and end with the dry ingredients.

5. Divide the batter between two 9-inch non stick round cake pans. Bake for 25 mins, until set. Allow to cool completely.

6. Make the ganache. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan and remove from heat. Add the chocolate chips and whisk until dissolved into the cream and the mixture is creamy and thick. Allow to cool.

7. Put one layer of the cake onto a serving plate and pour half of the ganache on top of it. Cover with the other layer of cake and pour the remaining ganache on top. Smoothen the surface. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour for it to set. Using a fork, make a swirl on top of the ganache before serving for an added appeal.

For the longest time, I've been planning to make a pavlova cake at home. But for some reasons, I can't seem to find a convincing recipe to work on. After much research and browsing, I've settled down on a Gale Gand's recipe. I was just actually looking for a good recipe for the meringue base as I have already planned my toppings. The original recipe calls for red wine vinegar but I substituted it with balsamic vinegar instead. There are a lot of variations available for this New Zealand and Australia's favorite dessert. However, the meringue base is key that's why it can't be compromised. Initially, it may seemed to be a bit tricky to make. But as soon as you get the hang of it, it's very easy to do.

1/2 cup egg whites, at room temperature (from 4 eggs)

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp light brown sugar

2 kiwi fruits, peeled and halved

12 strawberries, trimmed & halved

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in bowl until foamy. Add the granulated sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla. Continue whipping until it becomes stiff, smooth and glossy (about 8 mins).

3. Spoon the egg whites into an 8-inch non stick round baking pan. Smoothen the top and bake in the oven for 10 mins.

4. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees F and bake until the meringue has puffed up and cracked on the top and the surface is lightly browned (about 45 mins).

5. Turn off the oven, prop the oven door open, let the pavlova cool in the oven at least 30 mins to room temperature.

6. Whip the cream and brown sugar together until stiff. Spoon it in the center of the cooled pavlova and spread out to within 1/2-inch of the edge. Arrange the slices of kiwi and strawberries on top.

Hongkong is indeed a shopping paradise. It will definitely top the list of the shopping meccas in asia. I can easily claim it as my favorite go to place when it comes to shopping. It literally has everything. From the simplest and most sublime to the most classy and luxurious of all things, name it and they have it. In terms of trends and innovations in fashion, they were never too late. What's even amazing is that, anywhere you go in the island there's always something to look forward to that's related to shopping. Since our hotel is located in Kowloon area, the likes of Nathan Road, Mongkok and Canton Road were our shopping haven during our visit. But I'm sure there are so much more than these famous ones. If you have the luxury of time, it'll be worth exploring the different parts of the territory.

Ladies Market in Mongkok.. Lots of bric a bracs being sold here. Just don't forget to haggle big time when you intend to buy. 

The popular Milan Station (that sells mostly second hand designer leather goods) didn't escape my wandering eyes and neither was I able to resist to have a peek of what's inside. Unfortunately, I found the price still quite expensive. You'd rather buy brand new ones. Although there are a few new ones (unused) being sold, the designs are quite limited. 

This is Canton Road where designer labels such as Gucci, Prada, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Marc Jacobs and what have you are located. Prices in Hongkong are relatively cheaper compared in Singapore. I checked the Mulberry store in Harbour City and the price of Mulberry Bayswater is almost SGD200 cheaper. They give 10% discount to tourists. 

We also visited the City Gate Outlets in Tung Chung. The selection of international brands housed inside the mall is extensive enough. That's where I found real good deals on Coach items. The discount ranges from 30% - 50%. In other brands, the choices are a bit limited. 

All in all, the shopping mileage in Hongkong is limitless. So make sure to allot a significant amount of time for your shopping needs. 

Prior to the arrival of Disneyland, Ocean Park is considered the most premier theme park in Hongkong. In terms of location, it boasts of a more panoramic view and ambiance. It's divided into two sections, the Summit and the Waterfront. The Summit features the exhilarating rides and attractions. It's located on higher altitude and you have two options to reach it, either through a cable car ride or an ocean express train ride. We took the cable car on our way to the top and the ocean express on the way back to the ground where the Waterfront is. Both experience are a must.

In the Waterfront area, you'll find the most popular attractions in the park like the Grand Aquarium, Giant Panda Adventure, Hongkong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures and others.

These are the stunning views from the cable car on the way to the Summit. 

Hongkong is really beautiful..

I love Hongkong!

We watched the dolphin show at the Ocean Theatre. Unfortunately, I was not completely impressed by it. I even found it too boring. The dolphin show at the Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay, Philippines is in so many ways better.

The giant panda. He's eating when we arrived.

A nice view from the Waterfront Plaza.

Sky Fair. We wanted to try this but the queue was too long.

A glimpse of the marine world inside the Grand Aquarium. This was another let down for me. Manila Ocean Park and Sentosa Under Water World in Singapore are both better in terms of size and contents of aquarium.

We can't help but notice that most of the live shows are not foreigner friendly. They were shown in Chinese so we couldn't understand it at all.

Overall, a day would be enough to cover this theme park. There are a lot of activities to choose from and there's something for all ages. Although there were some attractions that didn't wow me, it still is a must see place when you're in Hongkong.

 

Ocean Park, Hongkong

I opted for a roasted chicken, and it was nice. It's tender and succulent. We still wanted to try some desserts but we're already too tired and somehow filled, so we just decided to head straight to the hotel. When we come back on december, we'll definitely try the other foods on offer at Corner Cafe.

Corner Cafe

Main Stree, USA

Hongkong Disneyland 

It's touted as the happiest place on earth and for the second time around Disneyland proved it to me again. This is simply the place where you want to be and the memories you'll have are definitely meant for a lifetime. I've been to Tokyo Disneyland Resort a long time ago. This is my and my family's first time at Hongkong Disneyland. But I just realized, regardless of which particular resort you visit, you're on for the same level of happiness and excitement. The moment you see childhood mementos of anything Disney, you'll be outrightly transported to a whole lot of fun.

The theme park is actually divided into 5 main attractions namely Main Street USA, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland and the newest addition Toy storyland. If you cannot cover all rides and shows, I would suggest prioritizing only the must see and must try.

In Tomorrowland, Autopia and Astroblaster are the good ones.

As it's the only river encounter ride, the Jungle River Cruise at Adventureland is also a must try.

I had some DeJa'Vu of the movie Toy story as we entered Toy storyland. I felt like Andy's friend being welcomed to his home. The 3 rides featured in this attraction are also exciting. Especially if you're a sucker for some adrenaline rush, the roller coaster ride is the way to go.

Time passed by ridiculously too fast while staying at the park that it felt like we only had a serving of the whole pie of HK Disneyland. Nonetheless, the memories that we had will still be remembered forever. On another light, at least we have a reason to come back.