Cordy Cafe 2024 - Memorable Meals

 

I have an instagram account that mainly just record meals I've made, or ate. It's kinda like a food diary. I started it during covid time, and for some reason, have kept it going till now. I love seeing what nice food I've ate or made, love the accompanying photos behind it, books I've read accompanying the meals, as well as the soundtrack of my life :P  So I thought I'll just do a few post on memorable meals I made in 2024. To start off, this post is on main meals, and I just wanted to show off my Japanese branded porcelain plate I got for like 5rm from Jalan-Jalan Japan! I love branded porcelain plates, but now I only buy them from 2nd hand shops, cause they are cheaper, and there are just so many of them, that I want to give these plates a 2nd chance in their porcelain life.... lol.

To start off our memorable meals, above is my Chinese New Year 2024 meal at home. I'm super in love with this tanggui roast duck from a shop in Tampines, and my husband has been ordering that for our Chinese New Year feast yearly. I think I cooked some kua-chai roast pork soup to go with it, and a huge plate of green vegetables. I am a vegetable lover, so there is usually a large plate of vegetable in my every meal. Beautiful flowers for CNY, and a CNY card! How old school is that! Our one and only CNY card from Trish and Tom since they were visiting Singapore on their way back to UK. Meal was had my Singapore home, on top my lovely kopitiam marble table which I bought for only 550SGD long long time ago :P

The great 2024 Penang water disruption, which saw my 3rd aunt coming to stay over with us a few days. I cooked everyday for me, her and my husband. Above was her favourite meal of her stay, mainly because of the thai dried curry dish on the top right. This was also my favourite thai paste to buy from Thailand. It is super spicy, and goes well with an egg yolk after your meal! I cooked it with bean curd and minced meat, and add french bean as the vegetable. My husband made koji chicken too. Lovely meal.

Solo meal when I am living alone, above is vegetarian fried beehoon. I hate frying beehoon last time because there is this awful residue smell of the beehoon after you cooked it. But now, I am so much wiser and just wash the shit out of the smell. But the star of the dish is actually the sweet soya bean stick and shallots which I air fry and add as condiment to the dish. Usually I also accompany this dish with a pork soup, just to bring back memories of Tainan, which reminded me again about soya bean stick that I've long forgotten. 

Oh, here's my branded plate again :P Air fried steak, cooked just a total of 8minutes. Accompanied this round by cucumber and garlic, and a side of mash potatoes. I also add InariSteak sauce, which is my all time favourite steak sauce that I am currently running out off.....Anyway, most of my meals are cooked from scratch using raw ingredients as I am fussy about my food. And I also have issue with eating a meal that is lacking in colours..... In other words, I don't compromise on my food, and eat quite well even on a budget!

Sometimes, one of the ways I pamper myself is by making a luxury breakfast. I think above is from Christmas Day 2024. I splurge on bacon and sausages (cause sausages was free if you buy a pack of bacon!). Added colourful vegetables to it, and a Paris Baguette salted bun for the carbo. Washed down with my favourite drip coffee, black of course.

Above, another colourful meal. This time, splurging on salmon! 15rm a piece! I think this is christmas eve meal. Full on Japanese style, with mixed grain rice, and miso soup, and lots and lots of vegetable, and some Pu-Er tea. Just looking at the colours make me so happy!

On my recent trip to Korea, I also fell in love with mandu soup. And I am also in love with these super convenient seafood stock and dried seaweed. I make my own mandu/dumplings at home, and could hardly stomach most of those sold outside. It is so much cheaper and more delicious to just make it on your own! I lost could of how many times I cook this dish. Sometimes adding rice cake with it, sometimes with noodles, or just eating it with just the mandu itself. 

Here is what the end product looks like. It's simple and comforting, and super hydrating. And the seaweed helps in adding iron into your body! for my dumpling fillings, I only use minced pork, shitake mushrooms, and chives. I wrapped them with gyoza skin from the supermarket. And when bored, I can also fry them up as gyoza to eat with my black vinegar. Super love having these!