A Toast to Champagne

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Whenever my wife and I attend formal parties we like to bring along some Wine Gift Baskets.

Top Benefits of Food Delivery that You Should Know About!

Top Benefits of Food Delivery that You Should Know About!

If you are craving for something and you are not in the mood to get up and get it, you can always call the Food Delivery to have it brought to you. Food delivery is very popular nowadays. There are some places that offer free delivery, while others charge some amount of delivery fee. A lot of people are willing to pay for the convenience of bringing the food directly to your house. Many companies will gladly deliver your food to your house.

Some restaurants normally deliver in the area where they are located and only few of them deliver in other places. This will greatly depend on the company’s rules and regulations. Some of them will even provide exceptions when the placed order is too big. Foods that are ready to eat are not the only ones that can be delivered. Today, even frozen items can be delivered to your home. You can order at an earlier time and have it delivered on a particular day, while others just show up to your home on a specific day and you may opt to purchase foods on their truck.

Catering is also another type of food delivery. You need to choose the food that you want and they will bring it to you at once. This is usually done during special occasions like company party or picnic. They will bring the exact amount of food as long as you inform them the number of guests that will attend. With the help of a caterer, you can save time and effort in planning the activities.

Make sure that you give your exact address when you are asking for food delivery. You may also provide them your phone number, so that if they are not able to find your house, they can immediately call you. Wrong directions can make the driver really frustrated. In addition, you may not receive your food hot just like you expected it. Once you place your order, they should inform you the approximate time that they will arrive with your food. They surely know that customers really get upset when the food they are expecting does not arrive on time. Frozen foods are commonly delivered on a truck. This truck usually has a cooling system unit so that the food will remain cold to Catering Singapore.

Companies that deliver frozen items commonly show up once a week or once a month. They will bring the items that you ordered previously or you may also purchase an available item in stock. The foods that they deliver are usually the same every week.

Food delivery is now becoming a normal part of the busy lives. Since most of us work late, we just call to order something to eat for dinner. Those with health problems and those who find it hard to get around will benefit from this convenience. So the next time that you are too lazy to cook dinner, this can be a good option.

Deep Fried Tofu

Deep Fried Tofu - Chineat

To be served immediately, deep fried tofu is one of the most well-known Chinese recipes. Here is how to cook it only in ten minutes.  It is cheap and doesn't cost a whole lot of money.
In order to prepare deep fried tofu, you’ll just need 1 pound of firm tofu, 4 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch and oil for deep frying. The first thing to do is to drain tofu and cut it in 3-4 cm cubes. After that, you can roll tofu cubes in flour or cornstarch, while putting oil in a wok or pot. When the oil is enough heated (you can see it starting bubbling), just put tofu cubes into the oil and stir them occasionally. Once they are golden on both sides, you can remove them, drain them in paper towels and they’re ready to be served with some rice or veggies and to be dipped into soy or chili sauce. Just remember that deep fried tofu is good as snack or as hors-d’oeuvre.

Please visit Chineat.com to read more about Chinese Food recipes

Beef on the Barbie Big Fat Daddy's Style: Citrus Marinade Recipe

Can you smell it? We're coming SOON to a town near you. Gearing up for almost three decades of grilling our famous Texas Pit Beef and BBQ. Oh yeah, I'm loving it. Here's some citrus marinade top secret recipe for your beef!

Marination:
1 Bottle Light Italian Dressing
1 Bottle Spring Water
2 Onions Sliced Thin
2 Oranges Sliced Thin
Dash of Sea Salt
1/4 Cup HOT SAUCE

Mix together and let hunk o' beef sit in this mixture overnight. Best to turn once every 12 hours so both sides get coated. It's proved to be better if you let it soak for two days, but grill on wood charcoal and use all the marinate early on as the marinade may contain beef blood and or juices that will need to cook off. Discard any leftovers. You will taste a sweet but savory taste, unlike no other.

 

Make sure to check out http://www.bigfatdaddys.com/ for more great recipes and tips!!!!!!!

The World's Best Lasagna

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com.  The only thing that I changed was the way the noodles were prepared.  Other than that I followed this recipe and I'm glad that I did.  The sauce will be the sauce that I make when making spaghetti now as well.  You simply have to try this!  This is what I did:

The World's Best Lasagna

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

3/4 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup minced onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

12 lasagna noodles

15 ounces ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.               
• When sauce is finishing simmering, soak noodles in hot tap water for about 30 minutes.
• Mix ricotta cheese, egg, and 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.               
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

This is the best traditional lasagna I've ever made.  My mouth was watering when the sauce was cooking.  Well...worth...the...wait!  Stop what you're doing right now and go make this recipe!!!!

Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce

Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce

4 (3/4-inch-thick) pork chops

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (1 to 2)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup country-style Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.
• Heat a dry 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot. Pat pork dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add oil to hot skillet, swirling to coat, then brown chops, turning over once, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a shallow baking pan, reserving skillet, and bake, uncovered, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour off fat from skillet, then cook shallots in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add broth and any juices from baking pan and boil, scraping up any brown bits, 2 minutes. Add mustard and cream and return to a boil, then add lemon juice and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

Pollo Loco - Mexican Chicken and Rice

As I was searching for recipes, I came across this one from PlainChicken.com.  I saw the picture and I instantly knew that I had to make this.  This is one of my favorite dishes to order whenever I make it to a Mexican restaurant. 

Pollo Loco - Mexican Chicken and Rice

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 bottle Lawry's Baja Chipotle marinade

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long grain rice (not instant)
1 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Pampered Chef Southwestern Seasoning or Taco Seasoning
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 container Mexican cheese dip

• Marinate chicken in marinade for a few hours.  Pat dry and cook in grill pan(or on grill) until cooked through, while rice is cooking. 
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and Southwestern or Taco Seasoning.
• Stir in onion flakes, tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
• Heat cheese dip according to package directions set aside.
• To assemble the Pollo Loco - place 1/4 of the rice on a plate, top with grilled chicken. Pour 2-3 Tbsp cheese dip over chicken and rice.

I made some cheesey refried beans with this as well.  Thanks to PlainChicken.com for having several awesome recipes!  You can find the original recipe here.  I wish that I could have grilled the chicken, as it would have been so much better.  This was really really really good too.  Even the wifey loved it!

The Limestone’s Fine Dining Restaurant @ Regalodge Hotel Ipoh

The Limestone’s Fine Dining Restaurant @ Regalodge Hotel Ipoh - j2kfm

If you think that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, think again.

For 15 years, Regalodge Hotel has been enduring the many stalwarts of hoteliers with impressive tenacity; albeit the emergence of one VERY strong contender by the name of Tower Regency situated at … erm, almost next door.

Then, sometime last year, the 3-star hotel underwent a major refurbishment ordeal; painted with a fresh coat of beige and purple paint and the addition of a foot reflexology centre. But what’s most enticing is this 4 months-old fine dining restaurant named The Limestone’s.

Seafood Paella (RM68.50 for a portion to be shared; Dinner Menu, or RM28.50 for an individual portion; Lunch Menu)

I admit that I was well surprised by the choice of location; a fine dining restaurant not within its own compound or in a refurbished mansion, or even nestled within some glittering high class resorts by the hills or in the midst of any of the business centres.

Here’s a story on the latest fine dining establishment in town; helmed by Chef Erwin from Europe with an interesting penchant for firing up a culinary storm not only in Malaysia; but in Ipoh of all the other towns …..

One glance and you’d be hard-pressed not to dismiss this as just another coffee house at the lobby of any hotel. But …. The Limestone’s is more than just that.

Now, before that detour to Secret Garden for high-tea, we actually visited The Limestone’s since I have heard and read much about this but have yet to step foot into this fine dining restaurant. However, they close for lunch/tea time on Mondays. And it WAS a Monday …. Tough luck.

King Prawns Set On Special Spicy Mango Medley (Part of Valentine’s Day Set Menu)

This was partly a review of their upcoming Valentine’s Day 5 Course Dinner Menu, and certain signatures of The Limestone’s thrown in for good measure. Oh boy …. and I was not prepared for the humongous portions served!

To perk up the jaded tastebuds (I mean, after days of serial bingeing and mindless stuffing our faces), the medley of succulent prawns seated atop a bed of spiced mangoes was indeed kicking things up a few notches. This dish was a creation of Mdm Mahani; the sous chef at The Limestone’s with 8 years of experience at another hotel on Pangkor Island. A refreshing fusion of sweet and spicy, balancing the rich, firm flesh of the crustaceans, this was a really good starter to the ensuing feast.

Salad Millionaire Ala Limestone (Market Price) - Fresh lettuce with Italian dressing, half a lobster, scallops and shrimps topped with mayonnaise-based dressing

Their signature cold appetizer in their Dinner Menu (they have separate Lunch and Dinner Menus) is the lobster salad peppered with additional bites of scallops and shrimps.

“To make up for the one-dimensional texture of the lobster, so to speak …”

Comparing this to the first appetizer, my vote goes to the king prawns on a bed of spicy mangoes though. This cold appetizer had all the bells and whistles; yet failing to capture the essence of the prized crustacean; freshness and natural sweetness of the flesh.

Left to Right : Clam Chowder with Green Atlantic Mussels (RM12.50/USD4), Portuguese Spicy Fish Soup (RM13.50/USD4.50) and Minestrone Alla Milanese (Part of the V-Day Set)

Now where the cold appetizers failed to captivate your tastebud, their heartwarming soups sure make up for whatever that was lost in translation. The soups came in pretty sizeable portions; hefty enough to warrant stomach space or a substantial light meal in itself. The Portuguese Fish Soup in particular, was an interesting blend of tarty tomato-based broth, with chunks of salmon and marlin, scallops and even topped with some caviar.

Scottish Lamb Leg Roast Yorkshire Style (RM48.50/USD16) – A sweet gravy coating the extremely tender (only fork and spoon necessary) chunks of meat with a subtle gamey taste, and a whole Yorkshire pudding served as complement to the roast meat.

Yorkshire pudding is seldom seen served in restaurants anymore; aside from being featured in some Christmas menus.

Now, by the second course, we were already gasping for air. Oh did I mention that they actually served toasted garlic bread with Italian herbs to start off with?

And hence, let the onslaught of MAINS begin. Or rather, let unleashed the CARNIVORE in you!

Hawaiian Style Surf Board (Part of V-Day 5 Course Set) – Grilled New York Strip Loin Steak with Tiger Prawn and Shrimp Gravy, accompanied by Fresh Pineapple Slices

The Paella (Spanish style baked rice served in a pan with a multitude of seafood!), roast leg of lamb and Surf N Turf variant (they do have the original one with lobster in the Dinner Menu) came in succession.

The presentation of each was pleasant with ample emphasis given on the execution of the dish paired with flawless aesthetics. The Hawaiian Style Surf Board for one (in the first picture), was a winner in plating. Though we did find the strip loin steak a tad too well done to our liking. The Seafood Paella (first we had in Ipoh, and I believe you cannot find this anywhere else in town … do correct me if I am wrong) came loaded with a plethora of seafood; from mussels to prawns and scallops, and even chunks of fish.

I enjoyed the Scottish Roast Lamb Leg the most, with meat that was so well done .. little effort was necessary to detach the meats into bite-sized chunks.

Crepe Suzette (in the Dinner Menu), and English Trifle (part of V-Day 5 Course Set) finished off the meal on a sweeter note.

Fresh orange rinds in a zesty, caramelized sauce complemented the pancake enveloping vanilla ice-cream; complemented by fresh strawberries and whipped cream. The stark cold combination was a change from the usually prepared on-the-spot warm dessert highlighted by the addition of a hard liqueur to flame the pancakes. The English trifle came layered with custard and fresh fruits, then liberally covered with whipped cream and a cherry.

The Limestone’s Fine Dining Restaurant – Valentine’s Day 5 Course Dinner Menu @ RM149++ per person

The ambience make for a casual dining affair during the day, but transformed into a romantic setting with fresh roses and lit candles come sundown. A relatively smallish space; well-fitted for a crowd of less than 30 pax, The Limestone’s is one of those rare establishments with different Lunch and Dinner menus to cater to the varied appetites.

The Lunch Menu (including Fresh Breakfast items) contains a myriad of choices; mostly within the range of less than RM20/USD7 per portion. Pretty reasonable, and lighter servings to cater to the lunch crowd.

The Dinner Menu on the other hand, is more extensive with carefully thought-about selection of items best to be savoured in a sparingly relaxed seating. No rush, as you would not want to fork out a decent sum of money (mains around RM50 each) and yet not relishing in every bite and embrace the suited ambience.

“Come Dine With Me”

THE LIMESTONE’S FINE DINING RESTAURANT
@ Regalodge Hotel Ipoh
131, Jalan Raja Ekram,
30450 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Tel No : +605-242 3241
Hours : Breakfast (7.00am – 10.30am), Lunch (11.30am – 2.30pm), Hi-Tea (Cake + Coffee/Tea) (3.30pm – 5.30pm), Dinner (6.30pm – 10.30pm). Closed for lunch and hi-tea on Mondays.
More information from their Facebook page

*This Valentine’s Day 5 Course Dinner Menu preview was an invitation extended by the management of The Limestone’s and Regalodge Hotel.