Restaurant Tour – China-Hongkong Cantonese Restaurant

One of our favourite hongkong – chinese cantonese restaurant here in Auckland. I always told my wife, of all the chinese restaurant we have been, this is the best. Aside from being the cheapest of them all, this place offer a huge serving with a very reasonable price on their menu. And best of all you can bring your own wine absolutely free. You just have to be 21 yearold and over. The interior is fair as most of cantonese restaurant doesn’t really rely on the interior facade. Do you know how much and cheap I spend when I celebrate my birthday here last two years ago? You wont believe it, for 14 people, dinner courses consisting of soup, noodles, vegetable dishes, soya chicken, pork barbeques, steamed fish and bowls of rice. Just a 100 bucks. Believe it or not? you just have to know hot to mix and match their menus………….

They are located at:

Hongkong and Chinese Cantonese Restaurant

64 Mokoia Rd
Birkenhead
North Shore City

09-480 1168

Shrimp and Broccoli Stir-fry

………….Shrimp and broccoli stir-fry…………….This is a quick and easy recipe that I think everybody can cook. It is a vegetable dish I loved to pair every time I cook fried or roast dishes such as traditional roast pork or crispy pata and many more. I will tell you a little story about this dish, My wife made this when we had a visitor at home, to complete the line up of menu, we usually have one “saucy dish or casserole” such as kalderetang bakaone fried dish and one vegetable dish. Believe it or not, it so happen that our guest that time does not or can not eat shrimp and tomato base casserole. (hello tita, starring ka dito sa kwento ko ha..LOL). So it ended up eating her own “pot luck” . How about you guys? are you allergic of some other food? If you ask me, I hate eating okra and “saluyot” – it’s a kind of vegetable ingredient that is very sticky in texture when its cooked………………………………..Did you know that broccoli is helpful in repairing skin damage thanks to the glucoraphanin it contains which helps the skin to detoxify and repair itself. And also, broccoli bolsters the immune system with a large dose of beta-carotene. Trace minerals, such as zinc and selenium, further act to strengthen immune defense actions……

Ingredients: good for 4-6 persons

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 medium white onions sliced
• 2 heads of broccoli (cut in serving portions)
• 15 pcs of peeled shrimps
• 1 tbsp corn flour dissolve in 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Procedures:

• in a non-stick pan, heat oil and saute garlic and onions, add in shrimp and broccoli and seasoned with oyster sauce, salt and pepper. let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
• dissolve corn flour and water and add soy sauce. mix well and pour over and let it boil for a minute until sauce is thickened
• Serve hot!

Pork Skirts and Nuts

Pork skirts….One of the cheapest pork meat available on the market. Do you know why, it is not tender as what you expect from a pork meat. Well let’s make it tender. First, using a tenderizer or if you don’t have any, just flip the back of a chopping knife and smashed the pork and cut it into bite size. Then boil them using a low heat settings with a “solid stainless steel fork” upon boiling. I learned it to my uncles method of cooking. Its their traditional way of tendering meat without using a pressure cooker. It’s a belief, Sorry I can’t share the reason today because he is in the Philippines. But believe it or not? It works!!!………………Did you know that the nuts I used in this recipe is cashew nuts? and this nuts are rich in “heart-friendly” monounsaturated fatty acids like oleic and palmitoleic acids that help to lower or bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. Research studies suggest that Mediterranean diet, which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids helps to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by favoring healthy blood lipid profile……

Ingredients: (serves 6-8 persons)

• 3 tbsp oil
• 5 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 kilo gram pork skirts
• 1 cup cashew nuts
• 1/2 tsp of chinese five spice
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1/2 cup sprite or 7 up
• 3 pcs bay leaf
• 3 pcs dried chillies(optional)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp pepper corns
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

Procedures:

• Boil pork tero tero in a medium sauce pan with 1 liter of water for 30 minutes. Drain and slice into 1/2 inch or bite size portion. set aside.
• In a pan, heat oil and saute garlic, add in pork skirts and stir-fry until brown. seasoned withfive spice, salt & pepper
• Pour in the rest of the ingredients except nuts and adjust your taste by adding fish sauce . cook until sauce is thickened. Then add nuts and cook for 1 minute. Serve hot!!

Brazo de Ube

As I review the statistic of my brazo de mercedes, I found out that it became one of my popular recipe on my blog. So, me and my wife decided to make this brazo de ube, a version of the brazo de mercedes using an “ube or purple yam’ filling. Purple yam for some who does not know yet is a kind of sweet potato which is purple in color. The procedures and ingredients is same with the add-ons of “ube or sweet purple potatoes”………………….Did you know that purple sweet potato has the highest nutritional value compared to other vegetables. Its vibrant color is a clue to its high concentration of Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. One sweet potato contains five times the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin A, a powerful antioxidant that protects against free radicals and helps guard against smoking-related diseases like emphysema and lung cancer. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of Vitamin C and the trace mineral manganese…….

Ingredients:

• 10 raw eggs, separate yolks from white
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 4 tbsp confectioner sugar
• 1 can 14 oz condensed milk
• 1 pc purple sweet potato (boiled and mashed)
• you may need food coloring red and blue (3 drops each)

To prepare custard:

• In a saucepan using low heat settings,  whisk egg yolks then add condensed milk, vanilla extract and mashed sweet purple potato . cool down and set aside. if you are not satisfied with the color, you can drop red and blue at 3 drops each

To prepare merengue:

• In a mixing bowl, pour in egg white and cream of tartar and mix using an electric mixer until soft peaks form. add in caster sugar in small quantities and whisk.
• Pre-heat oven at 170 degrees celsius. In a cookie pan, spray oil and place baking paper, spread merengue using a spatula evenly. You can use fork to create lines and designs. Bake for atleast 10 minutes or until lightly brown. cool down and set aside and dust with sugar confectioner
•  flip over the merengue and spread custard evenly. again, dust it with sugar confectioner
• Then slowly roll over the cake to form a cake roll look-alike. Be gently.
• Place in fridge for minimum of two-hour.
• Enjoy!!!

Sinigang Na Pata ng Baboy (sour pork hocks)

Sinigang is one of the favourite dish of most Filipinos. Back home almost every week this is our cycle menu. Our weekly menu compose of Adobo, Kaldereta, Pinakbet, Kare-Kare and this dish.  But believe it or not, Because I am posting new recipes from monday to friday. I have set aside this food. Its been almost half a year we did not eat this dish. Well, The good thing about this food blog is every night our dinner is different…….. This will be the second time I will be posting the recipe, the difference will be the meat and the vegetables I used. This one is more traditional as I used radish, kangkong leaves, egg-plant, gabi, ocra and onions. It’s a whole bundle of vegetables. The soup is much tastier as I used pork hocks. by the way, this post is my 300th food recipe……….Happy 300th day to foodtrip!!!!………………………..Did you know that bundles of vegetables I used in this recipe such as radish the fiber in the radish helps fight colon cancer, the vegetable also contains a group of compounds called isothiocyanates, which are shown to be effective against other cancer cell lines. Some researchers tested various parts of the radish plant against human cancer cells. The results of their study show that the compounds in the radish bulb, or root, affect genetic pathways in the cancer cells, inducing cancer cell death…….

Ingredients: serves 4-6

• 1 kl pork hocks chopped in serving pieces
• 1.5 liter water
• 1 pc medium onions (quartered)
• 2 pcs  medium tomatoes
• 1 pack sinigang sa gabi mix (for a liter soup)
• 8-10 pcs string beans (slice to approx 2 inches)
• a bunch of kangkong (or bok choy optional)
• 1 pc of eggplant (sliced)
• 6 pcs ocras
• 100 gm of radish (slice)
• 100 gms of gabi
• salt to taste 

* please slice vegetables evenly

Procedures:

• in a large sauce pan, boil pork hock and onions in a liter of water for 30 minutes or until pork is half tender
• add in vegetables in and seasoned with salt and sinigang mix. serve hot…

Restaurant Tour – Food City

Last week I posted on my restaurant tour – Nandos chicken, If you will recall, The reason why I am only posting 5 recipe each week is because of the peri peri chicken which has been part of our weekly cycle menu. Today, I will be posting the other reason – The Food City in Northcote shops. My family is very addictive to this meal. Its a chinese – hongkong style roast pork with bokchoy and soy noodles. Valued at only 8.50 nzd, believe me, you can not finish the meal as it is good for sharing. So we share this meal as I add 4 pcs of honey chicken barbecue to complete a very reasonable and huge dinner. The line up of their menu is just priced at 5.00 nzd to 11.50 nzd on which you can choose a wide variety of asian – hongkong cantonese style cooking. the restaurant might not suit for special occasion as the ambience is food court. But for those family who had a tight budget and want to enjoy the same cooking in higher class restaurant. this is the place to be……………

They are located at:

Food City

Northcote shopping Center, northcote Shops

Food City has twelve outstanding food outlets on two levels:

Level 1

Curry Corner – Indian Food

Thai’d Krub

Curries & Kebabs

Saika – Japanese  Cuisine

Khun Pun – Thai Food

Jiang Nan – Chinese Cuisine

Level 2

A & P Café n Bar – Drink & Desert House

IndoPlus Foods

Britomart Japanese Food Bar

Fu-u Roast & BBQ

Malaysian Noodle Bar

Price Range: Average meal costs $5 – $12

Burong Baboy (Preserved Salted Pork)

Burong Baboy…………… I remember when I live before in our province in pangasinan (back in early 90′s) Everytime my uncle buy some pork meats in butcheries, He always seasoned the meat with lots of salt. Keep it on an ice box as we don’t have any refrigerator to keep our meat frozen. Once the pork seasoned with salt, it will last for a week. Usually we just fried it or mix up with some fresh saute vegetables or pinakbet dishes. It is also a favourite dish by my wife’s grand mother……………………Did you know that pork often gets a bad reputation because of its unhealthy benefits such as rising of hi-blood pressure and heart related diseases. But when it comes to minerals, pork nutrition facts are packed with them all. Phosphorus, potassium, selenium and zinc are found in large numbers in one serving of pork meat. as an addition pork is also a good source of calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese….Well I guess, to summarize up, every thing or food intake which is too much, might be dangerous to our health. Do you agree?

Ingredients: Serves 4-6 persons

• 1 kilo or 6 pcs pork shoulder cut
• oil for frying
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground pepper

Coriander Salad:

• 2 pcs tomatoes quartered
• 1 medium onions sliced
• 1 bunch of coriander sliced
• 2 tbp fish sauce
• 5 pcs chopped chillies optional

Procedures:

• In a mixing bowl, season pork with salt and pepper and rub evenly. fridge for 6 hours allowing the flavour to penetrate in the meat
• In a frying pan, heat oil and fry pork until brown.
• Enjoy and serve hot!!

Bopis

Bopis…………I would say because of this recipe, this blog was created. I remember when I was cooking this dish 7 months ago, My daughter and I area having a “funny video about cooking”. She get the video camera and started covering a video of me while I am cooking, She was the narrator. Then I acted as A Chef host of her “Cooking Show”. Then, after a week I started posting recipes. Maybe I will show you the video soon as I edited some of the “directors cut” portions. Enough of the video, let’s go back to this recipe. This dish is quite exotic as it is mainly made with pork internal organs such as pork livers, hearts and kidneys and some pork meats mixed with some vegetables like radish and carrots. It is a very common dish in the Philippines as you can find in most street carinderias (small cafe’s) ……………………….. Did you know that the vegetable I used here such as carrots are a very good source of complete nutrition that provide our body the essential enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Also, it is a good source of fiber, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, biotin, potassium and thiamine. Carrot has proved its outstanding role in anti-cancer effect. Some research revealed that people with lack of beta-carotene were more likely to have 2 times higher risk of cancer than normal people. It is wiser to eat an appropriate amount of carrot per day to prevent cancer. This is because beta-carotene in the carrot can be easily changed by our body into vitamin A, which is essential for healthy cell growth, strong immune system and protection against muscular degeneration (AMD)……

Ingredients: Serves 6-8 persons

• 2 tbsp oil
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 large onions sliced
• 250 gms pork kidneys
• 250 gms pork liver
• 250 gms pork hearts
• 250 grma pork meat
• 1 pc carrots diced

1/2 cup vinegar

• 1 pc small radish diced
• 1 tsp achuete powder
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 pcs bay leaf
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• you may need 1 liter of water to boil the pork ingredients

Procedures:

• In a large sauce pan, boil pork liver, heart, kidneys and pork meat for 15 minutes. sliced in small dice. Drain and set aside.
• In a wide and large teflon non-stick pan, heat oil and saute garlic and onion then saute pork liver, hearts, kidneys and pork meats. Saute well until brown then seasoned with soy sauce, salt and pepper.
• Add in carrots and radish and simmer for 5 minutes. adjust taste by adding fish sauce.
• Serve hot!!

Baked Peppered Chicken

Salt and peppered Chicken……………….This baked chicken is very good filling for your sandwiches such as turkish chicken sandwich or cajun chicken wrap as I used this as my base filling for any chicken sandwich I want to make. Sometimes I even used this on my fried rice or saute’d vegetables. Bake it and keep in fridge and it will last for 3 days. The taste is so flavourful as we keep the chicken taste intact because I only used onions, salt and pepper to taste…………….Did you know that salt is a good source of sodium. The sodium in salt is very critical in maintaining human hydration. Some studies have confirmed the importance of a balance of electrolytes: sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium. For instance, after exercise it is necessary to replace not only the water lost through perspiration, but the important electrolyte, sodium, as well. Because of declining renal function in the aging body, the kidneys retain less sodium. Changes in the intestinal function sometimes also lead to reduced absorption of many nutrients. These changes expose the elderly to an increased risk of hyponatremia. It is essential that the elderly maintain a stable sodium level in the body.

Ingredients: can make up to 10-15 sandwiches of different kinds

• 1.5 kilogram breast fillet
• 2 tbsp ground pepper
• 1 tbsp ground salt
• 1 large onions sliced

Procedures:

• In a roasting tray, spread salt and pepper to chicken evenly and cover with sliced onions. Rub well
• Then Bake for 45 minutes at 170 degrees. cover with foil
• When the timer is off, allow 10 minutes resting time. then cut to your desired thickness
• Grab a toast and eat it….
• Enjoy!!!

Bacon and mushroom pasta

pasta…………..Most of the time, I always have a ready cooked noodles in my fridge. As I always wanted to cook pasta as our dinner. It is one of the easiest and quickest  way to have a very good dinner. Once you have a ready cooked noodles. less than 10 minutes you can have a great pasta like this. It is a simple bacon and mushroom just seasoned with salt and pepper and dressed with a heavy cream and parmesan cheese. ………………….Did you know that mushrooms are very effective in preventing cancer of breast and prostrate due to presence of Beta-Glucans and conjugated Linoleic Acid having anti carcinogenic effects. Out of these two, linoleic acid is particularly helpful in suppressing effects of estrogen. This estrogen is the prime reason for breast cancer in women after menopause. The Beta-Glucans, on the other hand, inhibit growth of cancerous cells in cases of prostrate cancer. Selenium in mushrooms is very effective in inhibiting cancerous cells.

Ingredients: good for sharing

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 medium sliced onions
• 200 gms cooked spaghetti noodles
• 4 strips bacon
• 3 pcs mushroom slices(soak in water for 5 minutes)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• 1 pc egg
•  chopped parsley optional

Procedures:

• In a non-stick teflon pan, heat oil and saute garlic and onion, add in bacon and mushroom then seasoned with salt and pepper
• Add in pasta and continue stirring for a minute. then add the rest of the ingredients
• Great to come with a toast garlic bread