KFC egg tarts [in Thailand]

Rating: 5 / 5 stars!!!

Love at first BITE! I really love the egg tarts from KFC. It's a little bit sweeter than the egg tarts from the ones that I tried before back in New York City's dim sum restaurants / Chinese bakeries. The egg tart crust isn't dry either. These egg tarts costs 19 Baht each (63 cents USD). I think the price is reasonable. I forgot how much egg tarts costs back in America; probably less than $1 USD each. Sadly, these egg tarts are only available in Thailand and maybe neighboring Asian countries as well. Gotta try these at least once! :)

Hanaya Japanese Restaurant

Hanaya Japanese Restaurant
683 Siphraya Rd.
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel: 0-2233-3080, 0-2234-8095
Fax: 0-2266-5384

Rating: 3.75 / 5 stars

My cousin finally treated me to my birthday dinner...2 months later here at Hanaya. It's my first time here and this place is secretly hidden in an alleyway. The place was a bit crowded and my relatives and I got here at around 7pm on a Saturday night. We ordered appetizers along with our entrees. The California rolls were great. We had about 1 piece each since there were 6 of us total and 6-8 pieces of California rolls. I got the tempura set and it came with miso soup, rice, tempura (shrimp, fish, and vegetables), and assorted vegetables. The only problem with this meal set or any other meal set is that they served Thai jasmine rice and not Japanese sushi rice. I mean we are eating in a Japanese Restaurant, they should have served Japanese rice. My cousin also ordered more side dishes (i.e. tofu side dish and okonomiyaki). The okonomiyaki was delicious and I had about 3 pieces since I was so full from my tempura set meal. 

The service could have been better. Since we were in a more of a private room area, the staff wasn't around as much. We actually went to get the teapot to fill up our tea cups. Overall, food was good and I would return to try other dishes and the okonomiyaki again.

Homemade oatmeal raisin cookies [Food Network recipe]

YES! Another successful attempt in baking a batch of cookies from scratch. This time I baked oatmeal raisin cookies since my aunt requested me to try and bake these cookies. I downloaded the recipe from Food Network's website and searched for "oatmeal raisin cookies." I chose the recipe that wasn't complicated and/or had little ingredients to work with. The recipe called for 2 table spoons of molasses, but I didn't have this ingredient so I used 2 tablespoons of maple syrup instead. I baked more than 20 cookies total even though the recipe said it would yield 1 dozen cookies. Of course, the cookies tasted great and my aunt really liked the cookies. Her comment was to put less raisins. Here is the recipe below:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies-recipe2/index.html


Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies [Recipe courtesy of Food Network Magazine]

• Total Time: 40 min [Prep time: 20 min, Cook time: 15 min]
• Skill Level: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins

Directions:

Combine the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Beat the butter, sugar and molasses in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth, about 2 more minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the raisins by hand. For the best flavor and texture, cover the dough and chill at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Form the dough into 12 balls, about 2 tablespoonfuls each, and arrange 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten with the back of a fork. Bake until the cookies are golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.