Pineapple Rolls

Ahh... Chinese New Year cookies. Who doesn't love them.

Actually I don't.


Except for these. Pineapple rolls.


before entering the oven.


Though people have the habit of calling them pineapple tarts since they originated from tarts. Or mini pies.


I never knew how these were made till recently I witnessed it myself in bb's house.




You roll those pineapple paste mix into an oval shape ball and then wrap it around a long strip of pastry.




Then cut when the pastry meets.


Pop into the oven, the whoila!





Freshly baked Pineapple Rolls. YUM!

Burning off CNY Weights

Chinese New Year has come and gone and I have found myself two kgs heavier right after the festival.

I have a shoot in two weeks so I'm setting a goal to lose off these two kgs in 14 days.

Now I'm not an exercise buff but I don't mind walking. I disgress going to the gym, or any sort of sports because frankly, I don't really have that sort of stamina to last long. Strangely enough, due to my travelling habit, I have adopted a skill in walking.

And I don't just mean a walk in a park. I mean I can walk for hours non stop in a day and I can still find myself going on. I once walked an average of 5 hours a day for 10 days in Beijing.

Or even once hike-walk across a tiny peninsula on the Isle of Skye (in Scotland) in search for some lost village, one way journey took me five kms across the green hills and land, and another five km back. And I had been walking all over the island that morning.


So I decided to dedicate two weeks starting from today to walk. As my form of exercise. On a treadmill. Thank god for that. No sun for me thanks. I don't mind the sweat, I just hate having darker skin.

Now here's the calculation.


One kg of fat = 7700 calories (holy!)
(One pound is 3500 calories)

So to shed off that much, I can't just cut off on my daily intake of calories (which would be 1800 calories since I'm a girl) by 500/1000 everyday because then my body would take the carbs I consume and transform it into fat to burn.

And I can't just cut down on carb while cutting back on calories either, and focus on protein. Because then my body would transform protein into carbs in my liver (called Gluconeogenesis) and the process will just repeat itself.

And technically, due to the complexity of our metobolism, it would take more (than 7700) calories to burn off one kg of fat.


Generally, I should cut back on 500 calories a day and exercise at the same time (aka walk).
So by calculation, that would mean I should limit my consumption to 1200 calories a day.

But because I've been binging so much during CNY. It's actually healthy to detox for the first three days of the two weeks; because then it allows the body to burn your bodyfat first before realising it's calories deficient.

I'm talking about fruits, fresh juice, lots of water and no heavy solid food yet. Limiting myself to only 500 calories, this would help me cut back a further 700 a day on the first three days.


As for walking,

1 hr normal walking = 150 calories

But I'm doing a slight brisk walk at 4km/hr so 45 mins walking would take 155. (estimate, base on personal treadmill walk)

Hence, 1 hr 30 mins walk = 310 calories.
That would be 6km of walk every day.


First three days: (1200 + 310) x 3 = 4530

Following days: (500 + 310) x 11 = 8910

Total: 4530 + 8910 = 13440 calories.


Fat lost in two weeks: 13440/7700 = 1.745

That's a whooping 1.75 kilo of fat!

In two weeks and simply by walking. Not limiting much your intake as long as you stick to a 1200 cal daily benchmark.


Considering the possibility of water retention and undiscarded stools in my body, I'd say two kgs in two weeks should be a healthy and very possible achievement.

Wish me luck! (on my determination)

You should try it too.

Cabbages & Condoms @ Thailand

First time I heard of the name was two years ago. In a lonely planet guidebook when I was exploring through northern Thailand.




Since it has become one of my favourite places to dine at for good authentic Thai food in Thailand.

The concept was this: cabbages were a common dish for the poor that can be obtained everywhere in the olden times, and with new concept, they wanted to make condoms as common and attainable as cabbages, hence the name.




I's become obvious that their objective was to promote anti-aids and safety first when it comes to sex among the people, the title would appeal the most to the young minds for obvious reason.




In the restaurant you'll find various displays that are inter-connected to condoms.







Names apart. They do provide really fancy, nice and affordable Thai food. Perfect for those who wants to savour authentic local food minus the noise from passing-by cars. It's a romantic place for couples and quiet night out with families.




We started off with some Miang Kum as appetizers. A form of dish that are served with Chaboo or La Lot leaves which you then wrap the ingredients around and dip it in sweet sauce.




The restaurant however have already prepared everything in a platter for you. So all you need to do is splatter some sauce and pop it in your mouth.

We then moved onto tom yum kung, something you must have in Thailand. And they served it pretty well here.




Red curry chicken was not bad either, though didn't know why we didn't order the green curry instead.




I would suggest the seafood in a coconut, great presentation and good taste too.




Then end your meal with a cold local Thai beer, the perfect way to end any meal.




Perfect.



Rating: 4.5/5


Cabbages & Condoms
10 Sukhumvit Soi 12, Bangkok, Thailand.
Contact: +66(0)2-2294610

Website: www.cabbagesandcondoms.com

Baliku @ Jimbaran, Bali

If you ever get lost and confused when landed in Jimbaran, amidst all cluster of available restaurants for tourists along the coast, this restaurant is where you should pick when dine out for an evening romantic dinner.




Ask for discount, haggle for it. They'll usually give. We got it for 35% for two person. If you have more people, you can even get it at 40%. :D




Introducing the magic of night.




This is Baliku Special Sauce - the best damn thing your taste bud will ever try in Asian cuisine.

Ask for a bowl before the start of your meal, then you're ready to go.




Best dipped with calamari. Crunchy and sweet.

They even put some of the magic on our oysters appetizer.




We had Baliku special sauce grilled fish which was HEAVEN.




We ordered tiger prawns too but camera wasn't fast enough for our mouths.

The crabs were so so, fresh though. Nothing fancy.




The bill totaled up to 283k rupiah, which was roughly RM100 that time.




Seafood for two at such a romantic destination, I'd say it's pretty reasonable. :)



Rating: 3.5/5

Location: Jimbaran Bay, Bali, Indonesia

Foo San @ Christchurch

Said to be one of the locals favourite yum cha (dim sum) restaurant in Christchurch, Foo San Restaurant was owned by a reader-turn-friend of mine.


funny photo of Danny


Great service, friendly and sweet staff (especially Danny's parents) and good food.

Yum Cha (transliterate to 'drinking tea') in New Zealand has never been a cost-wise option, more a luxury dining than you're everyday meal.




But if you're born local, it's actually considered rather affordable.




Almost everything on the menu was above my Kiwi's dim sum expectation, in other words, they were good.




My favourite being the chicken feet, always the first dish I ordered when I 'yum cha'.




Portions were pretty generous in spite of being a foreign food in New Zealand.







But then again, what meal portion was never big in New Zealand. People there ate generously too.

However, their most popular dish was the fried calamari, the one odd dish that's more Western than Chinese.




But the batter was nicely done and not oily at all. First bite guarantee your enlightenment as to why this dish was ever so popular.

First time for everything. Fried calamari dim sum.



rating: (I could be biased so let's just say it's 3.5/5)


Foo San Restaurant
6-8 Rountree St
Upper Riccarton
Christchurch City

Contact: (+64)(03) 348 4921

The Store @ Kekerengu

Whenever you make a drive down from Picton or Marlborough along the coast line toward Kaikoura or Christchurch. Be sure to make a stop at The Store.




Located in Kekerengu, between Blenheim town and Kaikoura.

The Store is a scenic and cozy cafe restaurant facing an ocean that runs quarter a mile a distance at the back.




This is where you get your local cuisine at its best in New Zealand.







I was brought here non-selectively but was glad that my drivers did (I was hitch-hiking down south).




It was foggy and cold that morning and they were stopping by for a coffee break. Germans do like their coffee, other than beers.







Since I wasn't a morning person but woke up to catch the ride down anyway, I decided to have my breakfast, a meal I skipped and has been skipping every morning.

Choosing among the hot chocolates and sandwiches, I decided on a good old Egg Benedict for my brekkie.

Not a bad meal, considering that you can't really go wrong with Egg Benedict. Despite the coldness, we sat outside so the couple could enjoy their puff while I, er... bathe in freezing wetness.




Maybe one day I'd come back for a proper meal in the evening when I visit NZ again.


The Store
State Highway 1, Kekerengu
Marlborough
New Zealand

Contact: +64 (03) 575 8600

Cheese Souffle @ Wairau River

If you're a fan of cheese.

Be sure to make a trip to Wairau River in Marlborough wine country when you're down to New Zealand.




They serve the legendary cheese souffle most tourists to Marlborough would hunt for, for its rarity.







I don't particularly think there's a lot to be fancied about this dish, there are much improvement though I would think it's more of a savory souffle more than a dessert. I had expected a dessert-ish dish.





But it's worth a try. And can be really filling.


Wairau River Cellar Door & Restaurant
Corner State Highway 6 & Rapaura Road

Open everyday from 10am - 5pm (except Good Friday, Xmas day & Boxing Day)
Lunch served 12pm - 3pm.

Contact: +6435729800 (or 03 572 9800 for local)