live.laugh.love.eat: Mouth restaurant & pandan coconut swiss roll

I've been seeing alot of pics of these custard buns which've caught my attention. How can a custard bun lover not want t try out these custard buns which are different from the rest?! So, we decided t head down last thurs since we woke up late and couldnt make it for brunch anm, i suggested t have dimsum instead!

We headed down t the outlet at plaza singapura, its beside itacho sushi (: We even asked before entering t ensure tt they still have the custard buns cos i've read tt they do get sold out, and thankfully they still have it! (i always ask before entering any restaurants t make sure tt they still have custard buns, lol) YAY!

The staff was very considerate and efficient, she asked if we wanna order the custard buns first while we look at the menu, since they'll take awhile before being served.

And, tadah! These custard buns remind me of the popular baked char siew bun we had at tim ho wan (HK). They do look alike dont they? Before tearing them apart. Haha

Baked cream of salted egg yolk bun ($5)

The popular baked char siew bun from tim ho wan

Maybe i should do a guide on hk. But looking at the pics make me really wanna go there again, to eat. I guess the only thing tt attracts me in hk is food. Lol. For those who're heading t HK, you cant miss this! But be prepared t queue and wait for quite awhile. We rmb the wrong opening time and went there bout an hour before they open and we were the first ones t reach, but soon you'll see people joining in the queue and before you even notice, the line is all the way t the back alrd. Hahaha. Yes, tt's how bad the queue is.

Okay, back t the custard buns.

Omg look at the custard! Looking at this now makes me hungry and wanting t go back for more. Prob not a good idea t blog at night =/

This is definitely different from the usual steamed custard buns, in terms of both looks and taste. It's crispy on the outside and the custard still remained liquid and 'flowy' on the inside. I really wonder how they do that. But i have t say, its a lil oily cos its baked. And since the buns are bigger the the usual steamed ones, the custard do not fill the whole bun unlike the steamed ones. I really dont mind though, cos most of the times you'll get half bun and half custard. This gives you a thin crust and just enough custard t satisfy.

We also ordered spring roll. When bf asked if i want spring rolls i thought he meant the normal dim sum kind like fried popiah. But when this came, i was pretty surprised cos it looked alot thinner and longer then the usual ones.

Spring rolls w wasabi mayo

Instead of the usual vege type, this came w prawns in it. The green sauce is actually wasabi mayo. When it was served the first thought i had was bkk's kaya, cos their kaya is exactly tt colour, unlike ours which is of darker green. The spring rolls tasted really well w the wasabi mayo, which reminds me of the wasabi prawns from paradise inn. And the wasabi wasnt too 腔 for me either. (: I can snack on this all day and not get sick of it! Hehe

Bf ordered his fav chicken claws, as well as our usual orders when we eat dimsum, siew mai, glutinous rice and century egg porridge . I cant give any verdict for this, cos i dont fancy this dish so i didnt try, but since he finished them all by himself, i guess it must be pretty good? Haha. I nvr understood why my mum and bf likes t eat food w lotsa bones. I like t eat eg. chicken and duck MEAT ONLY without the bones, but they love it esp when there's bones. They say the bones add more flavour, really meh?

Chicken claws

Siewmai

Glutinous rice

Century egg porridge

Im sure siewmai doesnt need much intro since they hardly go wrong. Haha. Theirs were topped w a full prawn and there were also prawns in the siewmais, which added more crunch t them. As for the glutinous rice, its slightly diff from the rest cos its less sticky, which i actually prefer. They're also quite generous w the ingredients used.

The porridge was really smooth, it was almost like those almond paste cos you could hardly feel the rice bits. I love my porridge w lots of dough fritters and they really gave alot! Its like you're getting quantity and quality at the same time!

The total bill added up t about $36 for 2, which i think is really worth it and about the same range as imperial treasure/canton paradise. This has got t be my new fav dimsum hangout! They also have another outlet at china square.

China Square Central Branch

22 Cross Street #01-61

China Square Central
South Bridge Court Shop House
Singapore 048421
Tel: 6438 5798

Plaza Singapura Branch
68 Orchard Road
Plaza Singapura
Singapore 238839
Tel: 6337 7446

www.mouth.com.sg

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I've finally decided t try baking pandan cake ytd! I've always been a fan of pandan chiffon cake and mum loves swiss rolls, so when i came across this recipe i had an urge t bake it!

Recipe adapted from: http://thepleasuremonger.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/look-ma-no-cracks/

For the roll:

1 egg

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (i used vanilla extract, but i think there's a slight diff)

35g unsalted butter

50g plain flour

10g corn flour

60g coconut milk (i used those packet ones you see in the fridge section tgt w tofu and stuff, do not use packet ones like kara! )

3 egg whites

85g caster sugar (i reduced it t about 75g)

1 teaspoon pandan extract (i used pandan paste)

1 tablespoon pandan juice (6-7 pandan leaves, washed, finely chopped and pounded with 1 tablespoon water, squeeze juice out and pass through sieve to remove any debris)

1/2 teaspoon green liquid colouring (you can choose t omit this if you're using pandan paste cos it alrd has green colouring)

Ingredients needed

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line 12 inch by 9 inch cake pan with baking parchment, making sure the edges high enough to peek out from the tray as you’ll be using these to handle the sponge later.

2. Combine 1 egg, 3 egg yolks, vanilla, pandan extract, pandan juice, green colouring in a small bowl and lightly beat to incorporate. Set this mixture aside.

Step 2

3. Sift flours together twice, and set aside.

4. Heat butter in a small saucepan over low heat until butter is melted. Add sifted flour to melted butter and cook till you get a dough that comes away from the sides of the pan. Remove this dough to a bowl, and add the egg mixture from Step 2 in small amounts. Gradually mix the dough and egg mixture into a smooth batter with each addition. Add coconut milk to the batter and combine well. Strain the batter through a sieve and set the batter aside.

Dough

After mixing and straining the batter

5. In a clean bowl, whip up egg whites till foamy. Add half of the sugar and beat for a few minutes, then add the remaining sugar and beat till stiff and glossy peaks are formed.

When egg whites are beat t stiff

6. Gently fold one-third of this meringue mixture from Step 5 to the batter from Step 4 till roughly incorporated. Fold in the remaining meringue until just incorporated. Pour this batter into the cake pan and smooth the surface out with a scraper. Bake the sponge for 18 minutes, then remove the tray from the oven, loosely cover the cake with a piece of aluminium foil and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely. Remember to keep the foil on, so the moisture won’t be lost from the cake. This will prevent the sponge from cracking when you try to roll it.

After batter is incorporated w meringue (colour turns slightly lighter after meringue is added)

For the sponge filling:

200g whipping cream, cold

2 tablespoons caster sugar

25g dessicated coconut

5g unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

1. Melt unsalted butter in a shallow pan, add a pinch of salt and lightly toast the dessicated coconut in it. The coconut flakes should turn golden brown.

2. Beat whipping cream and sugar till just about stiff. Do not overbeat this as the cream will split. Gently mix in the toasted coconut, and set aside. (you will wanna keep an eye on it while its beating to monitor and prevent from over-beating the cream)

After whipping the cream and before mixing the toasted coconut

3. Peel the baking parchment off the sponge, and carefully turn the sponge over such that brown skin is in contact with the peeled parchment (or use a new parchment if it’s easier to lay that out). Lift the cooled sponge (using edges of the baking parchment) onto a clean tea towel. Gently roll the sponge up using the tea towel as a guide and hold it loosely for a minute or two. Unroll the sponge again, remove the baking parchment, and leave the sponge on the tea towel. Spread the cream evenly across the green surface of the sponge (I like to have the browned skin outside the roll) with a spatula. Using the tea towel as guide, roll the sponge up again, carefully re-positioning the towel as the cake comes into contact with the cream. You don’t want the cream to get on the towel! Cut the edges of the roll to make it pretty and neat, and there you have it, your very own Swiss stud!

Mine looks kinda diff from the original recipe, dunno why got bubbles & wrinkles ): I blame it on my oven. Lol (i always blame my oven for ugly looking cakes, cos i think there really is a diff between normal oven and microwave oven, tested and proven! haha) ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A NEW OVEN, SANTA PRETTY PLEASE?