My hubby and I are great fans for coconuts but our 6 year-old son is definitely not. Early this year, he tasted steamed nian gao (年高, a sticky cake served during Chinese New Year) coated with fresh coconut flakes for the first time. Within minutes, he threw up. Whew! that was scary! It made me wonder if the taste of fresh coconut flakes is really that terrible to him. Until now, I still couldn’t...

  Mini dollar pancakes are those small round pancakes with 3-4cm in diameter. My son was treated with these mini dollar pancakes by his 2nd aunt during our last trip to Penang. It was love at first bite for him. Ever since then, he kept reminding us of  his memorable food experience. Knowing that he loved these pancakes so much, I started my mini pancake experiment. After a few rounds of trial and errors,...

    What’s your favourite finger food? If I were to name one, it would be fish fingers (or fish sticks). Who doesn’t love fish fingers? Not even a picky eater.   Trust me! Making your own fish fingers from scratch is very easy and they taste absolutely delicious too. Besides, you have full control in the selection of the type of fish and seasoning. If you have 30 minutes or so to spare for...

  Mushi-pan ( 蒸しパン ), literally translated as steamed cupbread. But if you ask Uncle Google, you will also find it being associated with buns, cakes or muffins. Personally, I like to call it a “cake” as its texture is closer to a light version of mini cupcake, but not as dense and chewy as the tradition Chinese prosperity cakes (“fatt gou/ huat kueh” 发糕). I must say that mushipan is...

  Most kids love cookies – my son included. But, he often gets a nose bleed if he eats them too often. For this reason, I seldom offer him cookies. Lately, a recipe with flower shaped cookies in a cookbook caught his attention. He was so amazed with its appealing appearance that he kept pestering me to bake some for him. Of course, I was quite reluctant initially but finally relented as the recipe sounded...

  My family had a wonderful time during our recent holidays. We went to Kuala Lumpur first, then to Cameron Highlands and lastly ended in Penang. The only regret was that our duration in Penang was too short to cover our usual to-eat (no, must-eat) list. Just thinking of this food heaven, my stomach has already started rumblimg….oh my! I will share with you some photos I had taken during our Cameron...

  Hi everyone, we are nearing the June school holidays! So, what have you planned for your children for this month-long holidays? For me, I intend to engage my son with more cooking/ baking activities. My son loves playing the role of “master chef” and is always finding ways to make my kitchen his playground. During our past culinary adventures, we had so much fun and happy moments.   Cooking/...

I must confess that I got hooked on baking cookies recently. After making sesame crisps and cornflake cookies , I can’t stop thinking of what to bake next. On the other hand, time is running short as we will be heading back to our hometown early to celebrate this coming Lunar New Year festival. Luckily, when I was browsing through my favourite “100 homemade cookies”cookbook (孟老師的100道手工餅干),...

Chinese New Year is approaching and it’s time to bake some festive cookies to share with your loved ones. Last year, I made my favourite pineapple rolls which may be considered tedious and time consuming by some. So, for a change, this year I picked a super-easy, kids-friendly cornflake cookies recipe for sharing. These cookies are not only popular among Chinese during Chinese New Year but also among Malays...

Sesame seeds are not only rich in magnesium and copper but also a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc and dietary fiber. Besides that, they also contain lignans, including unique content of sesamin, which are phytoestrogens with antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. Among edible oils from the six types of plants (sesame, groundnut, cottonseed, sunflower, corn and olive),...