DIY QQ ball/taro ball

not sure if you guys like to eat QQ ball or taiwan yam ball, it's quite a favourite of mine.... recently i saw the recipe online so i decide to give it a shot...

ingredients:
yam300g
tapioca starch 100g (3:1 ratio)

sweet potato  800g
tapioca starch   400g (2:1 ratio)
 

tapioca starch

as stated by online recipe, you need to use tapioca starch or else you wont have the chewy, QQ taste

Direction:

Step 1: Steam sweet potato/ yam till soft....

before steaming

after steaming

it is important that the veggie are steam thoroughly or else you will have a hard time mashing them up....

Step 2: mash up & add starch

mash it up

add starch

Step 3: mix thoroughly.... if the dough is too dry then add water till you can form a smooth dough but not sticky

sweet potato dough

yam dough

Step 4: take a small portion of the dough, roll & cut into small cubes

cut into cubes

Step 5: bring a pot of water to boil before adding in the QQ balls..... cook for additional 1 min after the balls start to float

boiling

boiled

Step 6: drain out QQ ball & put inside ice water... this step will make the balls extra chewy & not stick together..

cool in ice water

Step 7: serve QQ ball with grass jelly or simply season with syrup

final product

if you cant finish the whole dough, coat the QQ balls with tapioca starch & freeze them (DONT cook them & keep cause they will stick)... you can keep the frozen balls for quite awhile =)

coated QQ balls

frozen QQ balls

tokutokuya at kallang leisure mall

today i went to kallang leisure mall with mama for some cooking lesson & after lesson, i noticed this shop which sell household stuff so decided to check it out.... at the first glance, i thought it was Daiso since i saw some $2 posters on the glass panels but the name is different, it's tokutokuya.....

tokutokuya

i believed its idea is very similar to Daiso whereby most of the items are priced at $2 unless otherwise stated.... its range of items are very similar to Daiso but with some interesting additions....

lunch boxes

cooking pots

stack-able storage for veggie

pottery

more bowls

food

drinks

for those Daiso fans, i believed you will be super tempted by the range of products over here.... i was so excited when i saw the variety of bowls to choose from.... but what caught my attention was THIS!!!!

calpis

CALPIS!!!!! i totally LOVE this drink!!!! everytime when i go japan, i will definitely buy afew to drink during the trip & also stock up some to bring back to SG!!!! i know the japanese supermarket also sell calpis but a 1.5L bottle cost at least $8 or even more... but here it only cost $2!!!! OMG!!!! $2!!!! can you imagine how excited i was!?!?!??!?!

loot for the day

so of cause i bought my favourite calpis.... i would say the taste isnt the same as what i drank in japan but good enough for $2.... i also gotten this round ice mould, so that can make the famous droplet cake..... so do drop by this amazing shop & be surprise by the items which you can find =)

chocolate cornflakes cookies

*back dated entry*

i believed this snack is no stranger to most people & it's super easy to prepare which makes it a popular snack during chinese new year =)

ingredients (makes ~40 cookies):
dark chocolate 200g
cornflakes    2cups
unsalted butter   50g
nuts/sprinkles   optional

directions:

Step 1: melt chocolate & butter over double boiler (pot of hot water).... although i read on some sites that it doesnt matter if the water touches bottom of your bowl, i prefer not to = just let the steam melt your chocolate.... here i used dark chocolate cause i dont want the snacks to be too sweet... i have also added some butter to reduce the viscosity so that it will be easier to mix....

melting chocolate & butter

Step2: after the chocolate + butter mixture has melted... let it cool down slightly before adding cornflakes...

mixing in cornflakes

Step3: scoop the chocolate cornflakes into paper holder.... i used the 2cm diameter holder which allows me to make ~40 cookies.... you can top it up with some sprinkles or chopped nuts... finally put the cookies in fridge for about 30min & you can enjoy =)

final product

oven & fried chicken

*back dated entry*

my friend love to eat fried chicken so she recommended us to try out this oven & fried chicken during our meetup.... she read good reviews online about this shop so we just give it a go....

Oven & fried chicken
82 Telok Ayer Street, S068630
Tel. 6222-5959

oven & fried chicken

 the restaurant is located along the shop houses, the nearest MRT station should be Telok Ayer & it took us about 10min walk to reach that shops.... actually you will see other korean restaurants along the way so dont wander off if you want to try this shop..... the menu is pretty limited = all fried chicken with some slightly different seasoning....

fried potatoes

fried chicken with some rice crisp

fried chicken with soy sauce

these were the food we ordered.... i would say the chicken were really nice.... very crispy & quite nicely seasoned.... personally i prefer the rice crisp chicken over the soy sauce cause latter was too salty for me.... for the 3 dishes it cost about $60 after all the ++, which is sufficient for 3 person..... i would say the price isnt too expensive since four fingers cost about that range & the taste isnt as good.... however, the restaurant is more like a bar so most customers tend to drink = end up talking very loud... so if you want to have a quiet chill out place then its definitely not the place for you.... if possible, try to make a reservation beforehand since it's a popular restaurant & it's really hard to get seats during meal time =)

Happy new year!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! OMG!!! it's so fast that one year had flew by us!!!! had been really busy the passed few months which resulted in the slow updates.... just a quick heads up about what i will be back-dating my posts = what I have been doing for the passed months.... of cause will continue with my home renovation, FINALLY moved into our new home, some useful furniture which we bought & last but not least our japan 2015-2016 trip =) stay tune for the updates =)