u m a m i

Mustafa vs Lau Choy Seng

Can't stand it any more, must get this off my chest. Last week I saw that Mustafa's is selling the Tanita KD-400 kitchen scale for S$67. I bought mine from Lau Choy Seng three months ago for S$95!

Adoi, sakitnya hati (dan dompet) saya......

My newest kitchen friend

                      

I have been hanging out at Mustafa's too much.  The fact that it is open 24/7 and only a 5 minute drive from my home is to blame. But I can't help it, it is such a terrific place to browse for kitchenware. Not as glitzy as Robinson's, Tangs or Takashimaya, nor as hardcore as those professional supply stores in Joo Chiat or Temple St; just a comfortable mix of both. There are plenty of cooking and baking tools, ranging from very cheap to very fancy-wancy WMF. Plus they have specialty Indian cookwares not available in other parts of this city.

Like this pan above, I don't know the name I'm afraid. But when I first saw it, I wanted it, and pretty soon I convinced myself that I needed it. For when I figured what to make in it. So I bought one, and it has been getting very comfortable sleeping in my pantry for what, two months now. Last week I finally got round to using it to make these little batter cakes with finely diced vegetables and roast pork bits, good to eat as a teatime snack. Looks similar to, but are not the same as takoyaki. The pan was fun to use though- it took some time to heat up but once it did, it retained its heat well and the cakes cooked evenly and brownly.

I am thinking of buying a tawa next. It would look more stylish than my boring old Tefal. And maybe also a murukku press,for when I ever get round to making putu mayam.

My Refridgerator

 

I think there was a mini-meme that went round the food blogoshere a few months ago featuring bloggers and their refridgerators, but I couldn't find it just now. Not an entirely new idea because ST runs a similar column every Wednesday in their health supplement section, featuring local personalities and their fridges.

I have 2 at home, which I love a lot. Neither are in the 'rich-guy' category as defined by our blog princess, definitely the 'poor' type with two doors and cheap magnets on its face. The insides carry many good things to eat. Plus, mine look rather like Tupperware advertisements; husband and I cannot abide fridge odours and food containers do help. The big fridge is for storing essential supplies like meat, eggs, fish, vegetables and sauces while, the other smaller model sits a step across the kitchen and is used for jams, fruits, ice cream, bread, teas and wines.

Scallion Slicer

Was doing the rounds of the wet markets on Christmas Eve morning when I received a call from my friend ttc. Turned out he was in also in Whampoa, less than a minute away from the market we were in. He wanted to give me a really cool kitchen tool- a scallion slicer. Really handy for slicing scallions really finely without getting the chopping board all slimey and messy.

I tried it out when I made some a salad of cucumbers, scallions and Chinese parsley. It worked great. Thanks ttc!

Leak no more

This is not a CD. It is a piece of aluminium foil laminated with plastic.

Before the wine is poured, the foil is folded to fit into the neck of the bottle, like so.

This flexible disc helps to ensure that every drop of wine goes into the glass, and when you stop pouring there is none of that backflow that runs messily over the rim.

Clever ain't it? Of course, wine buffs would already know about this, but umami is very ignorant about wine, so this was an exciting discovery for her.

rFAFi -the entries

rFAFi in case it is not clear by now, stands for Reader's Funky Appliance Fiesta. On 1st August we shared and posted on our favourite funky or unusual kitchen equipment, gadget or appliance. A hearty Thank You to all who participated in this project. I was delighted to receive your emails and thoroughly enjoyed the pictures and stories.

The first to email me was Anthony of spiceblog, who inspired this celebration. He shares with us his 70's cordless foundue pot and an appropriately coloured shirt.

Santos of scentofgreenbananas makes her daily brew with her electric coffeemaker namesake.

And Alice of My Adventures in the Breadbox started her blog in time to tell us about her favourite breadbox. Welcome to the food blogging community Alice!

What goes well with bread? Jam, of course. Let's visit Cathy's My Little Kitchen and say hello to her Pinnochio funnel.

Finally, the one that started it all- my Mother-In-Law's 70's blender joins the line-up.

I am thinking of organising another rFAFi in December, so we can show-and-tell our Christmas presents. It is not such a long way away, we can start making lists. If you think it is a good idea, do let me know, and spread the word around. I only realised today that not many readers were aware of rFAFi, I will make more of an effort to publiscise the next event.

rFAFi Day

It is the 1st day of August, also known as rFAFi Day. The response has not been exactly enthusiastic, which baffles me a little, as I am sure we all have some funky appliance in our kitchen somewhere. Come, do join in this little celebration, the day is still young.

Reader's Funky Appliance Fiesta (rFAFi)

A few days ago I posted pictures of a very cool 70's blender, which evoked nostalgia and a wee bit of covetousness among some readers. Anthony of spiceblog suggested having a Readers Funky Appliance page and I thought it is a brilliant idea to celebrate our much loved kitchen appliances.

I'll run it like IMBB. Why don't you, dear readers, post pictures of your choice appliance on your site, and like IMBB, I will compile all the submissions and post the links on my blog. We will call this project Reader's Funky Appliances Fiesta though I suspect its abbreviated form, rFAFi, is easier on the tongue. Let's also be a little regimented and fix some easy-to-follow rules. Do inform me if we need to modify anything.

1. We'll celebrate rFAFi on Sunday 1 August 2004. Post on your blog on that day and send me the link by e-mail or on this comment page. The post must have the words rFAFi in the title or the subject body. Submissions can also be sent to me before the date but I will post the entire compilation on my blog on 3 August 2004 8 pm Singapore time. For readers who do not have a blog or website, I am also very happy to host your submissions on my blog.

2. The appliance must be owned or used by the person posting about it.

3. For simplicity sake, we will allow any kitchen equipment, device or gadget, as long as it is used to prepare food. Does not need to be old, retro, vintage, antique or prehistoric, but it should have some distinguishing design features that makes it well, funky. Funky in this context means "unusual", which can be subjective in itself, but we'll see where this leads to.

4. If this project takes off, I might organise similar kitchen-geekie events in future, but it will probably happen on an ad-hoc basis.

I think that is about it, see you all again on rFAFi Day.

Something Old, Something Orange

It is really easy to make a Strawberry Smoothie. Take some strawberries, sprinkle with sugar, and blend with yoghurt and ice. Add some raspberries to pretty up the drink and voila, breakfast!

Erm, you may be wondering, why am I blogging about a simple thing like Strawberry Smoothie? Well, not really, I was just showing off this very old blender that my mother-in-law bought in the late 70's. It still works really well, and has separate attachments for juicing fruits. The cover for the glass jug doubles as an orange squeezer. I love the graduated shades of yellows and oranges. Made in Japan, by Sharp. Now how many electrical appliances are made in Japan today?

And here is another indispensable and treasured tool that MIL has been keeping all this time. This peeler, also of 20 over years vintage, is still very sharp. Orange seemed to be the shade of the 70's. The handle provides a sturdy and comfortable grip and peeling fruits and vegetables is so breezy. Close inspection of the logo reveals a nicely detailed profile of an American Indian in feathered headdress.