About Daniel&Esther

daniel & esther

Daniel works in the consumer electronics industry but hopes to one day own a cafe. Like most Hainanese men, he can whip up a storm in the kitchen and is constantly invited to other people's house parties... to cook for them.

Esther works for a major airline by day, and bakes incessantly by night. Trained as a chemical engineer, she puts that knowledge to good use - by reading package labels to see if it's good for you.

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Chinese

Chili Crab for Valentine’s Day!

Saturday, February 16th, 2008

Aiyoh, Esther and I are already married.
There’s no real need to look all prim and proper to impress one another like on a first date, so Esther and I choose to eat chili crab - with our hands, no less - for Valentine’s Day. Which we, for practical reasons of course, celebrated on the 16th […]

Food Tasting at Grand Shanghai

Friday, November 2nd, 2007

We recently went for our food tasting session for our wedding banquet dinner with our families at Grand Shanghai Restaurant. Esther and I had picked the place for its superior ambience - which is spectacular at night - and the restaurant’s rather impressive Chinese food.
The menu we picked was seafood-heavy - 5 of 8 dishes - which was why we picked the wine […]

Chongqing Food Is Hot Stuff…

Sunday, September 2nd, 2007

 
Whenever Sichuan cuisine is mentioned, everybody immediately goes “ma la” - translated into English as “numbingly spicy”. On a recent business trip to Chongqing, China, I grabbed the opportunity to experience the cuisine’s well-deserved reputaton.

Salted Black Beans

Friday, March 9th, 2007

Salted black beans complement seafood very well and used in dishes such as steamed fresh fish with Chinese wine and ginger. These tiny but potent beans should be used sparingly due to its strong salty flavour
They must be chopped and soaked in hot water before use.

Rice Wine

Thursday, March 8th, 2007

Made from fermented glutinous rice or millet and aged for ten years or more, rice wine is a sweet and richly-flavoured liquid that has a relatively low alcoholic content. Rice wine is used for both drinking and cooking. A dry sherry can be used in place of rice wine if unavailable.

Five Spice Powder

Thursday, March 8th, 2007

Five-spice powder is made from a strong blend of star anise, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon and Szechuan pepper. It is used in both marinating and cooking, and should be used sparingly. It is sometimes sold whole, but more commonly ground into a powder.

Sesame Oil

Wednesday, March 7th, 2007

Open sesame! One of the most recognisable flavours in Chinese cuisine, a few drops of sesame oil impart a rich nutty taste to any dish. Sesame oil is made from cold pressing untoasted sesame seeds and is amber in colour.

Szechuan Pepper

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007

 
Szechuan pepper actually is not a pepper at all but the dried berries of the prickly ash tree native to Szechuan.  It is indispensible in Szechuan cooking - it has slightly lemony overtones that evokes a somewhat tingly numbness in the mouth.
The strong and fragrant Szechuan peppercorns should be dry-roasted in a wok until brown […]