Pina Colada (Pineapple + Coconut) Muffins

I love to bake. But half the time, my baking fails. I remember one of the first few times I baked banana muffins in my Gage residence (two years ago), they turned out pretty good.. But my bad habit of not keeping a proper recipe book resulted in the loss of the recipe forever. Hence, in recent months, my banana bread/banana muffins have always turned out too dense or greasy and I haven't been able to make any good muffins in a long time. So this time, I must document the recipe AND pictures AND my notes properly in this blog!

Today, I tried to bake them again (after having failed for the past few weeks). I bought some bananas yesterday, but strangely enough, to come home only to find them missing!!! The phrases "lost your marbles" and "gone bananas" combine to become "lost your bananas" which brings it to a literal level in this case!

Without bananas, I decided to do something with that stash of pineapple in my fridge (bought too much for making pineapple tarts). Google returned all sorts of results for pineapple pudding, pineapple biscotti, pineapple upside-down cake and pineapple muffins.

I finally decided on pineapple muffins because this recipe sounded really good.. Pineapple and coconut, such a tropical feel! Just what I need for a gloomy rainy Sunday afternoon...



They turned out AMAZING! Not too dense, rather fluffy on the inside and will you look at that golden colour from the pineapples! The house smelled absolutely tropical with all that pineapple and coconut flavour, definitely took away some of that rainy gloom!

Coconut Pineapple Muffins (recipe from here)

• 2 cups flour, sifted with 1 tablespoon baking powder (did not sift, muffins could have turned out better if I did)


• ½ cup desiccated coconut


• ½ cup caster sugar (I used regular sugar and reduced to just under half a cup)


• 1 egg


• ¼ cup melted butter (which equalled to half a block of margarine)


• 1/3 cup milk (or use the drained juice from the crushed pineapple)


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 1x225 gram can crushed pineapple,drained (I used 200g of fresh pineapple, drained)


• ½ cup slivered almonds (I left this out because I did not have any at home)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl add the flour, coconut and sugar. Stir to mix.



2. Since I used fresh pineapple, I had to manually crush them. I found this easy by just mushing up the pineapple cubes with my fingers, or you could also use a grater. Oops, picture is too bright and out of focus.



3. In a small bowl, place the egg, butter milk (or pineapple juice) and vanilla - whisk lightly to incorporate, then stir in the drained crushed pineapple. I used the pineapple juice because I was too lazy to walk to the store to get milk because I didn't want to waste the juice.



4. Stir this into the dry ingredients until only just combined.



Before mixing



After mixing

5. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin pans and sprinkle over with slivered almonds. No almonds for me.



6. Cook in a preheated 180°C oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. I baked it at 350°F and it took WAY more than 20 minutes for my muffins.



After 20 minutes, they were nowhere near done. After 30 minutes, the tops were slowly beginning to brown. After 35 minutes, I stuck a wooden chopstick in and it came out gooey. After 40 minutes, the tops were crusting up and drying out, so I took them out.



Lovely golden brown muffin babies! I think the vanilla essence really contributed to the flavour and aroma. My heart sang as I took in the warm, fragrance of sweet pineapple and coconut.



Here's a close up! I love the rubble-looking texture. I may have left them in the oven for a little too long (because I was afraid the insides were not fully cooked), and they may have turned out a little dry. I will try harder next time!



I tried one after dinner and they were already cool. There was a gooey texture while chewing, perhaps because of the mushy pineapple, but the taste was great! The muffin itself looked really fluffy but taste a little dry. I also tried it microwaved for 10 seconds and it tasted a lot better, but still gooey.

This is a FAR improvement from my failed banana muffins! I will work hard to find the perfect banana muffin recipe and share it with you guys when I succeed! But for now, this recipe's a keeper! I still have loads of pineapples waiting in the freezer :) I'm calling this the Pina Colada muffins, with the pineapple and coconut in there.. I'm sure you can make them truly Pina Colada-y if you add some rum in there!

♥ Nikki

Burger King/Chronic Tacos/HMart all in ONE night!

Sometime ago, we bought a Groupon for Chronic Tacos. The deal was $8 for two tacos, two orders of chips and salsa, and two large soft drinks (a $16 value). On the day the Groupon deal was on, there was somehow a $5 discount, so we actually got the Groupon for $3! :D

On Friday night, we headed out to the downtown location of Chronic Tacos, the only branch where the Groupon was valid. We headed out early, intending to catch the sunset but sadly it was a cloudy day. Nevertheless, I got a great shot of downtown Vancouver..



We walked along Granville Street, enjoying the scenery and the Friday evening bustle.. We passed by Burger King and J.S. spotted a sign -- Free Fries Jan. 27!!!



We headed inside and asked how it worked. They just gave us a small fries for free! No purchase needed or anything! So we sat down and enjoyed our appetizer before dinner!



We were lucky to get a fresh batch of fries, so we enjoyed piping hot, crispy golden fries. It was slightly salted and the inside was fluffy. Yum!



We continued our walk to Chronic Tacos at Nelson Street. I pass by it often on the bus, so I knew what it looked like, but we still almost missed it. On a closer look, it almost looked like a tattoo parlour from the outside.



It was more of a casual, fast food place with unique wall paintings and lights decor. We presented our Groupon and got to choose two kinds of tacos. I chose the fish one and J.S. chose the sweet and sour pork one.



After we placed our order, we got in line to wait for our tacos to be made. There was not a big lineup as we were there around 5 p.m., rather early for dinner. The crowd arrived when we were about to leave; about 15 people just swarmed in.



The guy making the tacos made recommendations of what toppings and condiments to go with our tacos. On the right was my fish taco, a sad, dried piece of fried fish which he did Mahi Mahi style, with some sauce which I do not know the name of, cheese, maybe guacamole and shredded cabbage. On the left, was J.S.'s pork taco, which looked a lot better than my single piece of dried I mean, fried, fish. That was topped with salsa, cheese and lettuce.



I know you can't see a thing in this taco picture, but I shall proceed to talk about them anyway. My fish taco was great, mild tasting and creamy sauces which went well with the fish. Except the fish was too dry and tough; it had the texture of tough chicken instead of soft, flaky fish. The taco skin/shell was bland and tasted of flour, not a very exciting taste for me. The sweet and sour pork taco was nothing sweet or sour -- it was SPICY HOT! The pork was tender in the spicy sauce it was sitting in, and I think they topped it off with even more hot salsa! It was tooooo spicy for me!!!



Here's the chips and salsa that came with the meal. The chips were homemade, I guess, but they were also dry and bland. What made it worse were the VERY SHARP corners of the chips, which could easily cut your gums if you ate it too fast. The salsa was mild and fresh, but all I tasted was tomatoes and onions, and I did not fancy it too much.



This is our two-person meal: two tacos, chips and salsa, and drinks. It was self-serve pop from a fountain and I guess it also meant free refills as nobody was manning the drink station. I would say it is a little overpriced if it was worth $16, but since we paid $4 ($3 Groupon + $1 tax) for it, I have nothing to complain about.

With J.S. still hungry, we headed over to HMart on Seymour and Robson for jajangmyeon (black bean noodles)!! The last time we had this was on Christmas Eve, and it was the best jajangmyeon I had ever tasted!



Very affordable at $4.95, the jajangmyeon served in the mini foodcourt at HMart is a steal. You get a huge bowl of noodles with a generous serving of black bean sauce topped with cucumber strips, with a complimentary side of pickled radish.

This time, the noodles were a little undercooked so I was disappointed. The last time we had this, the noodles were chewy and bouncy, my favourite kind of noodles! I guess it depends on luck. But this will be my cheap, go-to meal if I ever need food around the area!



Here's a picture of B.C. Place and the downtown lights at night, taken from the Vancouver Lookout that evening. A perfect way to end the night of eating out at three places!

♥ Nikki

CNY Dinner at The Jade Seafood Restaurant

Happy Chinese New Year to all! It's the year of the ferocious yet magnificent dragon, the year I was born but I am not a dragon.. Such a complicated matter... Whatever it is, I wish everyone a prosperous and fulfilling new year ahead!

It is traditional to have a "reunion dinner" with all the family members on the eve of the lunar new year, and J.S.'s friends here in Vancouver decided to do just that. Sunday (Jan. 22) is the actual eve of the new year, but since all the restaurants would be fully booked and everyone had school on Monday, it was most sensible to have the dinner on Friday (Jan. 20) instead.

A large group of us (30 people) headed to The Jade Seafood Restaurant in Richmond. It was a rainy evening and the place was quite a few blocks from the Landsdowne Skytrain station. It was a long walk in the rain and we got there around 7 p.m.



The place was packed, full of people having their own reunion dinners and scurrying waiters. The atmosphere was like a very busy market, with staff dashing madly back and forth between tables with gigantic platters of food and tableware.

A Chinese reunion dinner is very similar to a Chinese banquet dinner you would have at a wedding, J.S. told me. Almost everyone must have had the chance to attend any sort of wedding dinner of relatives/friends, but I have never had the luxury of attending any wedding dinners except when I was less than a year old (I remember only because there were pictures!). J.S. told me it is very common to have a 10-course meal with luxurious dishes just like at a wedding banquet.

As I sat down at the table, taking in all this chaotic atmosphere, the feeling of fear overcame me. This familiar chaos of a Chinese restaurant was intimidating to me; all my memories of having dinner with relatives in Hong Kong came flooding back. I feel like I had not experienced such an atmosphere for such a long time, and I am so used to the Western dining culture that the Chinese way of dining is becoming so foreign to me.

We waited a good 20 minutes for our food, and when they came, they ALL came within minutes of each other. The organizer of this dinner had picked 10 main dishes for a table of 10 people (our party had three tables in all) and, my golly, an organized chaos is the only way to describe it! I'll elaborate more later after showing you all the pictures of the food!



Dish #1: Crab and fish maw soup

Fish maw is a chewy, spongy part of the fish that has a unique texture and somewhat crunchy to the bite. There was a generous amount of fish maw in the soup, along with pieces of juicy, fresh crab meat and egg white swirls. This soup is delicious and somewhat imitates shark's fin soup, the most popular Chinese soup.



It is common to have the waiter bringing the entire serving of soup and serving them into individual soup bowls prepared on the turntable. The amount of soup in the big bowl is usually determined to precisely match the number of guests at the table. Swift, skilled movements by the waiter had the soup served up in no time.



Dish #2: Braised pig trotters with lettuce and black moss

This was my favourite dish of the night. Pig trotters are an acquired taste and not everyone likes them, but I love that chewy, tendon-like texture that melts in your mouth yet has a slight resistance to the bite. Black moss is "fatt choy," which literally means "hair vegetable." It may sound a little off-putting to be eating something that resembles hair, but in Chinese, the sound of the words are similar to mean "fortune," so it is good luck to eat that so you will have good fortune in the new year.



Dish #3: The Jade Empress Chicken

Another popular Chinese New Year dish, this is a whole chicken cooked with a salty, "bouncy" skin. This dish is typically served cold and I just love the taste of cold chicken, and the skin added an amazing texture and saltiness to the moist meat.



The chicken is usually dipped into this concoction of oil, shredded ginger,  green onions and salt. I don't usually like ginger but this sauce wins me over every time. It is a little on the salty side, which could get a little oversalted when combined with the salty chicken (you know I have slight salt phobia!).



Dish #4:  Braised Dried Oyster with Sea Moss

I did not know what was the chewy, meaty thing rolled with the Chinese mushooms until I asked our dinner organizer what it was. It turned out to be oysters. I have never had oysters this way and they tasted rather interesting. Rolled up with beancurd sheets and served alongside choy sum (Chinese cabbage), it was a rather new taste for me. I could not fully judge the overall taste as there were only nine pieces for 10 people and J.S. and I just shared one.



Dish #5: Fried Rice with Egg White & Dried Scallops

With all the hearty meats served, it was about time to have some carbs to balance it off. The fried rice was fragrant with a very unique taste of onion. It did not occur to me it was only fried with egg whites until I saw the menu. I think this fried rice would taste a lot better with less rich dishes such as simple steamed vegetables, so that the full flavour can take the centre stage instead of merely complementing the main dishes.



Dish #6: Crispy Fried Squab

I learned a new word -- squab -- which is pigeon meat. The texture of the meat was extremely similar to that of duck meat, a sandy grind against your tastebuds. I'm not so huge on duck and eating pigeon sounded a little sad, but the way they fried this made the skin so tasty it was impossible not to eat it! However, it was full of blood inside as I guess the meat and bones cannot be fully cooked with just a short time in the fryer. The crispy skin was my favourite part of the squab. The fried shallots brought back memories of Singapore where it was a common topping for porridge, noodles and all sorts of dishes.



Dish #7: Buddha's delight (luo han zhai)

A popular vegetarian dish, this is a platter of various vegetables and vegetarian ingredients. The Jade Restaurant's version had Shanghai bak choy as the vegetable and came with an assortment of black fungus ('wood ear'), white fungus ('snow ear'), straw mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and fish maw. I enjoyed the texture of the black fungus more than that of the white fungus as it was more crisp and hardy. The Shanghai bak choy was lightly cooked and had a juicy, fresh crunch to it, a very refreshing lightness in the middle of such a heavy meal. This is a lighter dish in the midst of the assorted luxurious meats which I found to clean the palate well.



Dish #8: Braised Pork Belly Served with Pickled Vegetables

The pork belly is one of the most decadent parts of the animal that one can enjoy. The creamy fatty part melts in your mouth while the braised meat falls apart in concert. The pickled vegetables give a nice punch to the already flavourful meat and this makes a winning taste combination. Served in a claypot, the braised pork belly has a unique warmth to it, along with baby bok choy for the vegetable component. Not an ideal dish for the skinny girls watching their weight; but it is good to have it in small amounts.



Dish #9: Black Cod Hot Pot with Green Onion & Ginger

Another dish served in a claypot, this fish had a very addicting taste to it. It was fried but not crunchy, soft but not soggy. There were very strong flavours of soy sauce along with the green onions and ginger. I loved the taste of the fish, but my only complaint was the gigantic pieces of fish bones that were in it. I personally think this would be a perfect dish if they fried the fillet part of the fish instead of the bony parts.



We started with a bowl of warmth, we also ended the meal with a bowl of warmth.



Dish #10: Pumpkin soup with sea coconut (complimentary dessert)

Dessert was on the house with dinner, and the typical meal-ending bowl of soup that I NEVER look forward to was always red bean soup. Some restaurants have great red bean soup, others not so much. I was dreading the all-too-familiar red bean soup when the huge bowl of yellow soup arrived and surprised me. I asked the waiter what it was and he said it's pumpkin soup with sea coconut.

I was apprehensive at first, but the smooth, creamy soup gave me a pleasant surprise. The chewy sea coconut tasted like the longan fruit. I may have had some terrible experiences with sea coconut but I actually liked this one. The soup tasted nothing like pumpkin and more of sweet coconut milk, which I did not mind. Maybe it was better that I could not taste the pumpkin!

***

The food was delicious, the amount of meat was equivalent to what I would have consumed in one week, I was not too bloated even though I had 10 different courses of food. It was a good dinner. But remember how I said it was a harrowing experience?

I found that the speed of Chinese dining greatly exceeded that of Western dining. Waiters would come by every five minutes or after a course was served, bringing fresh clean plates with a loud clatter. I was trying hard to savour every dish carefully but almost had my food taken away by mistake because I was so slow! Efficient waiters, you might say, but it was not what I was looking for in a dining experience. The timing of all the courses were also rushed because all of them came in humongous plates, which mean the table could only fit so many plates at one time. They constantly hurry us to finish up the remaining one piece of the meat or transfer the last few pieces onto smaller plates, thereby creating more bustle and stress to the meal.

Yes, I felt the meal was stressful. The speed that I had to eat at to keep up with everyone else was not the pace I am used to eating. That is also partially the reason why the photos in this post were not too great. Everyone at the table was hungry and ready to dive into the food, while the photographers at the table (three of us, including me) all had to take our shots before everyone dug in. I would prefer a more relaxed and calm setting where I was free to eat and take pictures as I like.

But this is the Chinese culture, more particularly, I think it is the Hong Kong culture that is so fast-paced, just like how people walk in the bustling city of Hong Kong. I may have been born in Hong Kong but the culture shock is just too much for me to absorb. I have grown to enjoy the slower pace of life in this Western country, taking in everything around me, one breath at a time.

Note to self: Do not host a stressful 10-course meal for my guests at my event of a lifetime!

The Jade Restaurant is located at 8511 Alexandra Road (between No. 3 Road and Garden City Road), Richmond, B.C.

♥ Nikki

The Oakwood on 4th Ave/Macdonald St

Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to visit The Oakwood Canadian Bistro for our office's Christmas party. You must be thinking, Christmas is NOT in January! Well, it seemed like nobody got around to planning the event until just before Christmas so it ended up in January.



The Oakwood is a small little restaurant on West 4th Ave. and Macdonald Street. It appears to be a relatively new place since Google's street view did not show the updated sign yet. The exterior was dark and very easy to miss.



The interior was dark but quite spacious if you look closely. An assortment of booths and tables with high bar stools. We had a little reservation confusion for a moment but quickly sat down at the row of sofa seats at the left side of the restaurant.



Our party organizer knew the owner of the place and the owner had very kindly prepared a prix fixe menu just for us. We had a party of about 10 people and people trickled in slowly over 40 minutes. After almost everyone arrived, we were still waiting for one more person. By this time, the waitress was getting impatient and asked us multiple times if we were ready to order. Finally the last person arrived and we placed our orders for all three courses.



We were also given three drink tickets each, and I got a beer and gave my other two tickets away. Their drinks menu did not have any eye-catching cocktails that appealed to me and they did not have Granville Island Honey Lager on tap so I just went with Molson Canadian.

***

Our food arrived after about 10 minutes, not a very long wait at all. Here are the assortment of appetizers our table ordered.



Appetizer #1: Green salad with balsamic pickled shallot and poppyseed vinaigrette. Karen had this and she found the dressing too sweet and she could not finish it. I tried a little and it was indeed sweet and tasted like raspberry. I'm not such a big fan of salads so I don't have any opinions about it.



Appetizer #2: Beet salad with roast beets and goat cheese. A couple people had this and I did not taste it because they were sitting too far away and I'm not such a big fan of beets either. It turned out fancier looking than I had expected.



Appetizer #3: Maple pork belly with apple puree, pork crackling and jicama salad. Erika had this and I tried a bite. The pork belly was moist and tender, the pork crackling was sinfully crunchy with the taste of lard (if you are a fan of meat). I did not get to try any of the salad. Personally, I found it strange to serve such a large slab of meat as an appetizer.



Appetizer #4: All-Canadian poutine with house brisket, cheese curds and gravy. A couple of us (including myself) had this because, who doesn't like fries? This was a generous helping of fries topped with an equally generous mountain of shaved beef brisket. I took five bites and saved the rest so I could have room for the rest of the meal.

I loved how they served it in a mini skillet even though the serving is about the size of fries that you would get with a main course. It was a pity that the gravy was concentrated at the bottom of the dish, otherwise the brisket would have been more moist and flavourful. The cheese curds were stringy and the whole fries/cheese/gravy combination was amazing. My only complaint was the gravy was too salty. Vanessa did not think so; she liked her salt.

I guess their appetizers are meant for sharing and that could be fun if you're going with a couple of friends.



Too bad the lighting of the restaurant was too dark for me to see what I was eating. At some point later in the evening, someone turned up the lights a little so it was much better.

***

Now, let's move on to the main courses!



Main course #1: Mussels in white wine garlic broth with grilled crostini and frites. Vanessa had this and there were about 30 to 40 mussels which came in an enormous bowl! I had a taste of the mussels and they tasted quite fresh and mild; the broth was not overpowering. The crostini had a strange herb taste to it which did not roll off my tongue very well. The frites were, well, just FRIES. When she served our food, the waitress said she forgot to mention this main course came with fries, since Vanessa already had the poutine as an appetizer.



Of course, I just LOVE how they served the fries in the miniature fryer basket. A little too much fries if you ask me, but I was SO tempted to take that cute little basket home!



Main course #2: Striploin steak with dijon hollandaise sauce and hash. Karen and a few others got this, and I was privileged to have a bite. When the dish arrived, I was absolutely taken aback by the size and the presentation. Beautifully sliced pieces of medium-rare steak laid on a bed of potatoes topped with bright hollandaise sauce. 10 points for the presentation!

The medium-rare steak was tender and juicy and the sauce had some sort of salty miso taste to it. I could not tell what it was. The hash was just a cubed up version of the fries we had earlier with the poutine. Karen was very satisfied with her steak, except it was so huge she had trouble finishing it.



Main course #3: Burger with a beef patty, fried onion, smoked cheddar and sprouts on a sesame bun. This was one of the more popular main courses and about half our table had that. So much to say about this amazing burger!

Firstly, you could tell them how you like your beef patty just as if you were having a steak. I had mine medium-well since I do not like any pink in my meat. The bottom of the bun had sweet relish, the fried onion and perhaps some mozzarella. At the top of the beef patty was a perfectly melted slice of cheddar and topped with alfalfa sprouts. I used to always be afraid of those little stringy sprouts but I have now gotten over my fear! They tasted really creamy with the heat of the meat and cheese.

The sesame bun was very fresh and had a homemade, rustic taste that was hearty and warm. That was my favourite part of the whole burger. Chewy and soft bread mmm... I had a little less than half of the burger -- there must have been about half a pound of beef in there.

They served a homemade "ketchup" which had the taste of raspeberries and apples and the consistency of apple sauce. It was a bright red colour and honestly, when I tasted it, I was confused if it was supposed to be a fruit puree or ketchup. Vanessa did not like it but Dianne loved it. Oh well, to each his (her?) own!

***

At this point, we were all just REALLY stuffed to the brim, but who can pass on dessert?



Dessert #1: Beet and carrot cake with blue cheese cream and candied walnuts. Dave was brave to try this beet cake while most of us scrunched up our faces at the words "beet" and "cake" placed next to each other. It looked better than I expected and Dave liked it. I love how all their dishes are so intricately presented.



Dessert #2: Nanaimo bar custard -- vanilla custard with chocolate ganache, coconut and pecans. I had this because I LOVE chocolate. However, I did not anticipate this to appear in a jar like baby food. I was thinking of more like an actual Nanaimo bar but this surprised me. The chilled chocolate was smooth but had little chunks of coconut and pecans which gave it a nice crunch. The vanilla custard took me by surprise. I don't really like custard by itself but this one won me over. It was not overly rich but velvety enough that it kept me digging my spoon in for more.



Dessert #3: Baked apple dumpling with vanilla ice cream in a shot glass. What can I say? This has got to be the winner of the night. Apple pie done up in a different way:  apple filling wrapped up in crust like a little parcel, baked to perfection and topped with cinnamon sugar. Can it get any better? And we all know stone-cold vanilla ice cream is the perfect companion to fresh, warm apple pie.

I was jealous of those who got this for dessert and almost sent back my Nanaimo bar custard in exchange for this apple pie goodness. Thankfully, Karen and Vanessa were stuffed and kindly offered me some of their pies. The flaky crust was buttery and crisp, the apple filling was not too sweet and it was all just a wonderful medley in my mouth.

***

It was a great dinner with fellow colleagues over drinks and good food. The food portions were generous, but the service fell a little short. I felt rushed the whole time whenever we had food on the table.

The waitress came by every 10 minutes and asked if we were done with our food. In a setting like this, I thought she could have been more considerate and let us savour and enjoy our food while chatting. I believe we would have been able to finish more of the food if she had let us take our time. Sadly, a lot of food was wasted that night simply due to the large portions and lack of time.

I would definitely come back again to The Oakwood for their poutine and apple dumpling! Definitely my top two favourites for the night!

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro is located at 2741 West 4th Ave., Vancouver, B.C.

♥ Nikki