Over the past weekend, hubby and I went to an IT mall looking for voltage converter and we managed to find one that is suitable for our needs. Even though the converter is not very big but it's darn heavy! So we left the mall right after the purchase, and as we were walking towards the train station, we chanced upon a farmers market. I was very excited and pulled hubby along, but he was in no mood to walk around because of the converter. So I told him to wait outside while I dashed into the market, made a quick tour and in 15 minutes time, I managed to grab a 2kg free range chicken from Taitung, 2 bottles of honey from Taoyuan and some fish snacks! I found out from one of the vendors that it is a weekend market and so I made a mental note that I will pay the market a visit again one of these days!

Anyway, with the voltage converter, my mixer is finally working and I was able to make these yummy thumbprint cookies for TWD this week. I toasted the hazelnuts before grinding them and it sure made the cookies very nutty and tasty. The cookies are great on its own and in fact, I find that it's a tad too sweet with the jam. So I prepared a few pieces for photo taking and ate the rest without the jam! The cookies are so yummy that this recipe is now in the list of my top 5 favourite TWD recipes!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Mike's blog!

Since I arrived in Taipei last Tuesday, I've been busy exploring the city as well as tidying up the house. Apart from that, I managed to find a baking supply shop near where I stay and my kitchen is now fully stocked with ingredients and that makes me very happy. ;-)

For TWD this week, Beryl of Cinemon Girl has chosen toasted-coconut custard tart. I was not able to get shredded sweetened coconut and so I used dessicated coconut instead. I made 1/6 of the recipe but I miscalculated the quantity of cornstarch and as a result, the custard was thicker than usual. Nevertheless, I still think that the tart is yummy!

For recipe, head over to Beryl's blog!

The past few weeks had been quite hectic for me. Most of my time was consumed by preparing for the move to Taiwan for both myself and the dog, and also trying to clear my pantry by cooking/ baking as much as possible. On top of that, I had to put everything behind, went back to Penang, Malaysia and spent a week there celebrating Chinese New Year with my father. So you can imagine the mad rush I had to go through to make sure that everything's done before I leave Singapore!

Anyway, I can finally heave a sigh of relief, as the dog had already been sent to Taiwan yesterday and I'll also be leaving Singapore in a few hours time. The next 1-2 years will be exciting for me, I'm sure of that! I can't wait to explore Taiwan and try out all the local foods!

I'm glad that I managed to bake these honey-wheat cookies even though I was very busy last week. It is a recipe chosen by Michelle of Flourchild for TWD this week. The cookies are chewy and I like the combination of honey and lemon. It's a tad too sweet for my liking though, but I will definitely bake these cookies again!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Michelle's blog!

For TWD this week, Kaitlin of Kait’s Plate has chosen my best chocolate chip cookies from page 68 of the book. This is the third chocolaty recipe for the month but I'm not complaining. The cookies are really yummy and this is the BEST chocolate chip cookies recipe that I've tried out so far!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Kaitlin's blog!

I'll be leaving Singapore by the end of this month. So I have to clear my pantry again like what I did before I left Saudi Arabia. Because of that, I can only make a portion of Rick Katz’s brownies for Julia, using the last bit of Valhona chocolate that I have in my fridge.

This brownie is a recipe chosen by Tanya of Chocolatechic for TWD this week. It was easy to put together and it tasted really great when eaten warm, but again, it's too rich for my liking. I'm glad that I managed to complete two chocolaty recipes for TWD this month, one more to go!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Tanya's blog!

For TWD this week, Kristin of I’m Right About Everything has chosen milk chocolate mini bundt cakes. I made half a batch, using a muffin tin and I got 5 cupcake size cakes. They are soft and moist, and I like the chopped walnuts in between the cakes. I'm sure that I will get chocolate overdose this month as there are two more chocolate desserts coming up in the following weeks. So I only had one cake and gave the rest to a friend. Hope that she likes it!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Kristin's blog!

I went for a 4-hour walk with a friend at MacRitchie Reservoir yesterday. Due to lack of regular exercise, my body was aching very badly when I woke up this morning. I felt like lying on my bed all day long but of course it's impossible to do so as I still have tonnes of chores to do at home. So for my lunch, I prepared a simple one-pot dish, steamed rice with salted fish and minced pork. It is similar to the another steamed rice with chicken dish that I cooked before and it's equally yummy and satisfying!

Steamed Rice with Salted Fish and Minced Pork Recipe
Recipe adapted from Flavored Cooked Rice (有味饭)

Ingredients A:
Rice, enough for two persons
1 tbs fried shallots
1 tbs chopped spring onion
1 egg (optional)

Ingredients B:
200g minced pork
1 piece of salted fish, about 1X3cm, chopped
2 pcs dry mushroom, soaked until soft and chopped into small pieces
1 tbs chopped ginger
1 tsp fried shallot oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp light soy sauce
Pepper, to taste

Sauce:
1 tbs oyster sauce
1/2 tbs light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp shaoxing wine
2 tbs boiling water

Method:
1) Combine minced pork with remaining Ingredient B. Stir with a spoon until the mixture is slightly sticky. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
2) Rinse rice. Put the rice in a heat proof bowl, add water. As the cooked rice would absorb gravy from the pork mixture, the amount of water added should be less than what you would normally use to prevent the rice from turning mushy.
3) Place the bowl in a preheated steamer and steam for about 20 minutes, or until the water is almost absorbed by the rice. Spread minced pork mixture on the rice and let it steam for another 15 minutes.
4) In the mean time, prepare the sauce by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
5) Pour sauce over the rice with minced pork. Crack an egg on it, continue to steam until the egg is almost cooked. The egg yolk should be slightly wobbly.
6) Turn off heat, remove the bowl from the steamer. Sprinkle fried shallot and chopped spring onion on it, serve hot.

Cocoa-nana bread is a recipe chosen by Steph of Obsessed with Baking for TWD this week. While I'm not that crazy over chocolate desserts in general, I can't resist anything with chocolate and banana combo. This bread (tastes more like cake to me though) actually works for me. Moist, chocolaty and with a subtle hint of banana flavour, it would be a perfect breakfast treat!

For recipe, head over to Steph's blog!

Teanna's pick for TWD this week could not have come at a better time. As Chinese New Year is only one month away, I'm currently looking for recipes to bake as gifts for my relatives. So when I saw Mrs. Vogel’s Scherben, I knew immediately that this cookies would be perfect for the occassion!

To test the recipe out, I only made half a batch of the dough, and I also added some black sesame to give it an Asian twist. The cookies certainly did not disappoint, it's easy to prepare and extremely yummy too!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Teanna's blog!

Fried Rice with Chicken and Ikan Bilis Recipe

Ingredients:
Cooked rice for two persons, keep in the fridge overnight
2 sprigs curry leaves (use only the leaves)
1 chicken breast, remove the skin, rinse and cut into cubes
3 chili padi, chopped
2 tablespoons ikan bilis (anchovies), soak until soft, pat dry with kitchen paper towel
2 tablespoons shallot oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Marinade for chicken:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:
1) In a small bowl, mix chicken pieces with marinade. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.
2) Heat up shallot oil in a wok. Add ikan bilis and chicken, saute until the chicken is half cooked. Add chili padi and curry leaves, saute until it is fragrant.
3) Add rice, do a few quick stirs. Dish up, sprinkle with fried shallot and serve hot.