Tower of muffins!

On Thursday, I decided to bake some muffins since I have an unopened container of sour cream sitting in the fridge. Here are my results.

Isn't it pretty? Eh, just humor me. It had a bit too much blueberries in it, so you guys can reduced the amount of blueberries used or not. Also, since I didn't have Pastry Flour I just used All Purpose Flour. The difference of not using Pastry Flour wasn't too noticeable, but a slight change of texture in the outcome. Originally, the recipe is for 6 dozen and I re-calculated it to make 1 dozen instead. Here is the recipe.

Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins (Yield: 1 Dozen)

Ingredients:
100g Granulated Sugar
112.5g Softened Butter
1.67g Salt
12.5g Lemon Zest
66.67g Whole Eggs
66.67g Sour Cream
141.67g Milk
250g Pastry Flour
7.5g Baking Powder
1.67g Baking Soda
166.67g Frozen Blueberries

Procedures:
1) Cream sugar, butter and salt.
2) Add eggs slowly and scrape bowl frequently.
3) Add sour cream, again scrape bowl.
4) Add milk and dry ingredients in alternating stages (1/3 at a time) starting with milk and following with flour.
5) Fold in frozen blueberries. A tip I learned in school is to dust the frozen blueberries with a bit of flour before folding it into the mixture. That way the mixture will grab onto the dusted flour. It's the same as breading items for deep frying.
6) Pipe or drop into prepared muffin tins.
7) Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20 - 25 minutes or until done.

Have fun baking!

So, earlier today my family went to Happy King Seafood Restaurant for lunch again and I ordered this dish.

Free Range Chicken on Rice. One word, YUCK! I don't care if it was average tasting or not, just don't order it. Look at it; the pinkish color is enough to make you gag. *please ignore my sarcasm* But you have to admit, it holds some truth to it. It may not seem too bad, but up close and personal it's pink. I don't even want to comment on this. Tomorrow, I'll blog about what I had for dinner today.



Location:

Happy King Seafood Restaurant
#258 - 2800 East 1st. Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V5M 4P2
1-604-215-3338

Happy Halloween!

Today marks a special occasion and also, the end of October. So I decided to share some photos taken back when I was in College. It was a fall theme involving the ingredient, pumpkin. So, please enjoy and have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Tarts: topped with a marzipan pumpkin, piped rosette of whipped whipping cream, shaved chocolate and a dusting of cinnamon powder.

Pumpkin Pie: topped with marzipan pumpkins, piped rosettes of whipped whipping cream, shaved chocolate and a dusting of cinnamon powder.

Pumpkin Cake: topped with marzipan pumpkins, shaved chocolate and decorative border with rosettes of whipped whipping cream.

Pumpkin Cheesecake: topped with marzipan pumpkins, shaved chocolate, chocolate motifs, whipped whipping cream border and some toasted, crushed, sliced almonds on the sides.

Choose any two items...

I chose chicken wings and fish. It comes with a bun and a sad looking dry coleslaw with a dollop of sauce. I believe the sauce is a mixture of sour cream and mayo. I ordered this meal on Sunday for brunch and if I was at the restaurant around noon, I would have ordered the wings and sirloin steak instead of the fish. Not that I don't like fish, it's just too much fried items in one dish. The menu changes around noon, as well as the prices. It's a cheap meal for $5.85 and it comes with a drink.

I asked for Milk Tea and I'm pretty sure they use the Lipton Rose. Usually, the portion is slightly larger, but it's still a good deal. You can't go wrong with fried foods and for those with a weak heart, please exit this blog.

Kam Do Restaurant & Bakery has been around for quite a long time and if any one generally goes to Richmond to eat, they'll know this place. People would be better off getting a table if they go there earlier because it gets packed quickly. The food isn't anything extra-ordinary, but it's their portions that brings in business.

That's it for today, but stay tune tomorrow because I will be showing you goodies made from pumpkin.



Location:

Kam Do Restaurant & Bakery
1120.1130.1140 - 9391 Alexandra Road
Richmond, BC
V6X 3W5
1-604-231-9216

Naan Bread!

My dad was telling me how he would always smell this wonderful aroma every time he passes by this Indian restaurant on his way to meet up with his friend. So, we decided to give it a try. This would be my third time trying Indian Cuisine. We ordered quite a few items, so we could take the leftovers home for the rest of the family to try. Although, my mother didn't seem to like it.

The first thing to come was a complimentary item. I can only describe it as Cumin Wafers. Since I'm not a huge fan of cumin, this item wasn't too strong in cumin flavor and it was a bit salty. Served with a sweet and mild Chili Sauce.

Here we have, Prawn Pakora. It was quite tasty and had a nice mild kick to it. The texture of the batter was soft and airy, with a bit of crunch on the outside. It was served with a Chili Sauce and a Lime Citrus Sauce, I believe.

I call this the Tandoori Combo, but it's really called Tandoori Dinner. It's just a variety of tandoori items served with a Butter Chicken Sauce, but without the chicken inside the sauce. There's chicken, lamb and fish with julienne green bell peppers and onions. The lamb was done two ways. One was ground lamb kebab pieces and the other was boneless lamb that's been cubed and marinated over night. The ground lamb kebab pieces and the fish were my favorite.

Everyone should try Butter Chicken if they go for Indian Cuisine. It is a must try. The sauce is not oily from the butter and it has a bit too much tomato flavor in it, but it's still tasty. However, I've had better Butter Chicken. The sauce is good, but the chicken isn't infused enough with the flavors of the sauce. It needs more marinating time.

You've got to have Rice to go along with Butter Chicken. I believe they said it was Basmati Rice. It has a nice texture.

Naan Bread is also another must have. Their Naan bread was so good. The elasticity and texture of the bread was excellent. I would have been happy with just Naan Bread and the Butter Chicken Sauce. Does anyone know any place that serves really good saffron rice? I've had saffron rice once and it was pretty good, but I don't remember where I had it.



Location:

Tandoori Kona
#170 - 11700 Cambie Plaza (Cambie Road & No. 5 Road)
Richmond, BC
V6X 1L5
1-604-279-9259