Cinnamon Rolls :)

Uni has been going okay, though, as you might've been able to tell through my lack of posting, it's been very busy.

And it's been putting my mind into a slightly nervous state.

I'm disliking the responsibility of having to find out and remember dates of quizzes and due dates for assignments- especially as there are so many to remember in addition all the other things I should be doing everyday. My travel strips off a huge chunk of my day, so midnight always arrives much too early, leaving me very agitated as I'm always worrying there's something important I should have done.

I'd like to think that I'm a very positive and carefree person, but I'm starting to see that subconsciously I'm quite a worry wart- as my mother often tells me. When I caught the bus to uni for the first time, I checked the same timetable (for the exact same bus) countless times, starting from a week before the trip right up until the morning of the trip. In the first week of uni, I found myself looking at my timetable, more than hourly, eventhough I'd actually memorised all the classes off by heart, as well as the location and the routes to each of the buildings. And often checking once more before entering the room- just incase I'd misread.



I know all this worrying and checking is stupid, pointless and unneccesary (and I could probably construct a pretty convincing argument as to why) but it happens and I'm sure it'll gradually decrease as I get used to uni- I don't check my bus or uni timetable anymore!

Anyways, here's something a lot more interesting than my life at the moment- cinnamon rolls! I've never actually had cinnamon rolls before- so I was very surprised at how good they tasted! The buns were extremely soft- probably one of the softest buns I've ever made (though this probably had something to do with the fact that I accidently added more water than I was supposed to) and so delicious I almost couldn't stop myself from eating it all in one go!

Oh. And if you were wondering, this was made with a recipe which I reread a billion times before and during the making of it! You know. Just incase I misread something very impmortant ;)

Cinnamon Rolls
recipe from Pioneer Woman via A Southern Grace

Dough:
2 cups milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
4 cups + 1/2 cup flour, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon (scant) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) baking powder

Filling:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Glaze:
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
pinch of salt

Make ahead: Combine milk, 1/2 cup sugar and oil in a large pot over medium heat. Heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, until just before boiling. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for about an hour or until lukewarm (between 105° – 115°F; use a thermometer to check). Sprinkle the yeast into the warm milk mixture and allow to sit for a few minutes. Add 4 cups of flour and stir together until a sticky dough forms. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise somewhere warm for about an hour. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/2 cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to dough and combine thoroughly to form an elastic dough. Spray the inside of a large bowl with cooking spray. Put dough in the bowl, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator overnight, or up to a day.

Assembly: Spray 3 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Generously flour a clean, dry surface. Place half the dough on the floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll out into a large rectangle. Gently spread 1/2 cup of softened butter over the dough with a butter knife. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1/2 cup of sugar over the buttered dough.

Starting on the longer side of the rectangle, roll dough in a tight spiral toward the other end and pinch the seam shut. Slide a strand of dental floss under the rolled dough 1-1½ inches from the end. Cross the ends of the floss over the top of the roll and pull in opposite directions, slicing off a section of dough. Repeat with the rest of the dough, placing buns in the prepared pan. You will have space between the buns.

Repeat with the second half of the dough. (If you only want to make one batch of buns, you can tightly wrap and freeze the other half at this point. In that case, use half the amount of the ingredients for the glaze.)

Set aside to rise for 30-45 minutes. Bake in 350°F oven for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.

Make glaze: Mix together all ingredients and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls.

Note: I didn't make the glaze...which is why my rolls look so bare at the top!

Chocolate Biscuit Pudding

I started uni on Monday!!! *gasp* ;)

Yup- after waking up terribly early at 6:30 (considering i usually wake up at around 10) and wondering whether the time on my clock was was actually the right time, then taking an hour and a half bus ride, which abruptly ended long before my stop, leading to much panic as I tried to find another bus, then arrived at the uni only to get confused as to where the lecture theatre actually was, I finally settled down into my first lecture (and met a really nice person too) :)

So a week on, what do I think of it?

Well- I'm not exactly thinking at the moment. I never realised how tiring 4 hours travelling everyday would so tiring, or how boring maths lectures could be. And I hate 8am maths lectures with a passion. Still- it's interesting, with all the meeting new people, bumping into high school friends, trying to find places and joining clubs (I'm still sad we don't have a food lovers club though *sigh* I guess the chocolate society will have to do). I sort of miss high school but in a way, I'm sort of happy to be in the next 'stage' of my life.



The other day we passed the suburb where we used to live when I was small which brought back many memories. It seems not too long ago that I was in preschool, madly screaming and banging on doors as my mother left me or when I started kindergarten, barely knowing english (I still don't remember how I quite communicated with others).

I actually feel a lot older now that I'm around all these 'big' people. A lot older than I'd like to feel, when inside, I know I'm still quite childish- I like to wear T shirts with huge cartoons on them, I like playing with cute stuffed toys, I like bright colourful things.....and I don't like coffee ;)

Which is all very well as this tiramisu looking dessert (as noted by grub) is actually chocolate biscuit pudding. No coffee whatsoever :) It's incredibly good, with deliciously rich chocolately mousse sandwiched between layers of milk soaked marie biscuits and scattered with cashews to give it some crunch. The crazily high amount of butter, chocolate, and whipped cream makes it terribly unhealthy but it's so good it's worth it!

I made this with my friends during the summer holidays and we had a very fun afternoon playing around with this recipe. We didn't quite have enough time to chill it until set (and wanted to eat it before we went home), which is why these photos are of a slice of melted and then rechilled pudding- but it's still so good!

Chocolate Biscuit Pudding
Recipe from here

8 oz chocolate chips
8 ozs butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
10 ozs Marie Biscuits (we used 1.5 packets)
3/4 cups sugar
1 cup whipped cream
1 cup milk
1 cup chopped cashew nuts
1 tbsp Rum (optional)
1 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of salt

1. Combine chocolate, rum, 1/4 cup water, and the vanilla in a heat-proof bowl. Set it over a pan of simmering water just until the chocolate melts. Cool completely to room temperature. Whisk butter until combined. Set aside.
2. Place egg whites, the salt, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a bowl. Beat on high speed until firm but not dry.
3. Place the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar in a bowl. Beat on high speed until pale yellow. With the mixer on low speed, add the chocolate mixture.
4. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then fold the rest in carefully with a rubber spatula.
5. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.
6. Soak the biscuits in milk slightly. Layer a bottom of a square pan with them. Next layer with chocolate mixture (about 1/2 inch high). Sprinkle with cashew nuts. Follow with another layer of soaked biscuits and then the chocolate mixture and cashew nuts. Continue layering until all of the chocolate mixture is over. Make sure that the top layer is chocolate mixture and cashew nuts.
Chill for at least 2 hours

Hong Kong 2010 :)

It's about time I documented what I did for a huge chunk of the holidays, which was, of course, going overseas -to a place I've been a billion times but I still LOVE- Hong Kong :) I know I'd never get around to writing about everything during my trip so here's a few of my more memorable meals, mostly for my future reference :)

Egawa Sushi (江川壽司)

Sashimi Rice $36 (~$5 AUD) with miso soup, seaweed and dessert (mochi)

One of our first meals out in Hong Kong was at Egawa Sushi, which we found after walking around the whole shopping centre just to find something to eat. It had an extensive illustrated menu but we stayed with the afternoon menu which was ridiculously cheap (by Australian standards anyway) and the food did not dissappoint either. We ordered a sashimi rice which was a deliciously colourful array of small sashimi cubes on a very big mound of rice, lightly flavoured with soy sauce and vinegar.

Pork Bone Ramen $34 (~$4AUD) with salmon nigiri and mochi

I ordered the pork bone ramen, thinking that the pork bone referred the broth - so I was surprised to find actually pieces of pork bones within the ramen! The soft bones tasted like hard tendons were really yummy along with tender and flavoursome pork meat.

Sam's Place (天然居海鮮酒家)

Corn and Fish Cakes

Who could go to Hong Kong without having Yum Cha? With breakfast/morning specials (here, $11.8 HKD per dish), yum cha is extremely afforable. At the bright hours 10 in the morning (I'm not usually awake at this time if I'm at home...), the restaurant is fairly quiet, mostly with small groups of old grannies and grandpas. The system of choosing food by ticking from a piece of paper makes sure that everything arrives very hot and cooked to order. Unfortunately, it makes ordering a lot more difficult for people who can't read chinese- thank goodness I have my mum :)

These corn and fish cakes arrive steaming hot. The golden brown fish cakes are essentially fritters of fish paste, dotted with kernels of corn. Both flavoursome and crispy, we have no problem gulping them down within seconds.

Steamed Thousand layer buns/cake

The layers on this are clearly countable and nowhere near a thousand but this is an addictive treat, with layers of steamed bun and yellow custard.


Fried Salad Rolls
One of my favourites are these rolls, deep fried with a thin crispy exterior, and a delicious salad like filling of prawns and various fruits in a pool of mayonnaise.

Tum Yum Thai

My uncle recommended this local thai restaurant to us which was popular with the locals due to the authentic and affordable food. We didn't find the food that great but it did however turn out to be one of my most unforgettable meals, thanks very much to this fish.



This is basically a big fish stuffed with herbs, marinated with lots of salt and grilled until pretty much half burnt. The fish itself was tender but tasted quite ordinary- the crispy skin looks very appetisting but is covered in a layer of salt and is probably not meant to be eaten.

Yeh lam Kok (椰林閣餐廳)

Vermicelli $24HKD (~ $3AUD) with hot drink
This small comfy restaurant is the perfect place for us to rest our sore feet after hours of shopping amongst the busy streets of Mong Kok. The vermicelli is fairly generous for its price and very flavoursome. Unforunately, the vermicelii is a little on the stiff side, leaving us wishing they'd cooked the whole dish a little longer. (We later ordered this again at another branch and it was much better)

Baked Coocnut Chicken Curry $25 HKD (~$3AUD) with drink
The coconut curry is a lot better, with its addictively delicious coconutty sauce and tender chicken pieces. We particularly like the edges, where the sauces has dried up and gone crunchy (if a little burnt).

A Shanghainese Restraurant with no english name :S

We stumbled across a Shanghainese restaurant whilst shopping at Diamond Hill. Not wanting to eat any thai, japanese or vietnamese (as we were buffeting at night) we chose something we didn't eat often. The meal itself was memorable, both because of the fact that we rarely eat shanghainese food in Hong Kong and because it was delicious.


The xiao long baos (from memory which came with my la mein meal) were easily the best xiao long baos I've ever had with a thin wrapping and insides filled with water which didn't burst too easily. We almost ordered anoter steamer of them!

Red Ant Restaurant

Noodles $40HKD(~ $5 AUD) with drink
I've always liked red ant restaurant, not for its food but more for it's very pretty interior design which makes me feel that I'm eating at a much more expensive restaurant. We stopped here for afternoon tea after shopping and shared 2 meals between the three of us as we were going to dinner shortly after. The portions were pretty big for afternoon tea and weren't dissappointing either!


Japanese Curry $40HKD (~ $5 AUD) with drink
This japenese curry tastes almost identical to the ones we make from the box sauces but it wasn't expensive and I loved it all the same :)

Metropark Hotel (Mong Kok)

We had lunch at metropark hotel which was rather cheap for a hotel but also slightly dissappointing as I'd always imagined hotels looking much prettier and have a better selection of food. Still, it was a far cry from the usual RSL buffets in Australia and I had a great time!


I loved that they had baked snails because I hadn't had them for AGES....but was dissappointed as they were not hot and the snails themselved were really chewy :(


The dessert selection was the highlight for me- I think I tried 90% of all the desserts. The cheesecake was delicious and it wasn't only me who thought so- they dissappeared so quickly that my mum missed out :( The chestnut tarts were also really good- they had a deliciously flaky tart shell with a sweet creamy chestnut cream filling :)

So, I'm not too good with long posts, so I'll stop there for now...there'll be more up soon!