Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Pork Loin in Terrapin Ridge Farms' Moroccan Date Sauce

I am not one for impulse buys, but the other day while I was waiting in line at Union Market (A nice but pricey Brooklyn grocery store chain), I saw this bottle which had a label boasting "Moroccan Date Sauce". I was intrigued so I bought it along with whatever else I was getting. I thought that since we have all this nicely butchered pork, this could possibly be a way to break the routine of our usual blend of spices.

Since I had a lot of work my husband marinated a nice pork loin in the sauce adding some salt and pepper, as well as some whole, pitted dates to further enhance the flavor of the sauce. He covered it and baked it in the oven for about 30 minutes. The result was fantastic, because the sauce gave the pork loin a taste that was simultaneously sweet and savory and bursting with flavor.

This has led me to look up the ingredients for the sauce (Oh by the way the sauce is made by Terrapin Ridge Farms). According to the label It is made with dates, brown sugar, honey and Moroccan spices. Intrigued (again) by what spices could be included in a Moroccan spice blend I did a little research and found a recipe in About.com for a spice blend, which sounds absolutely wonderful. Here is the recipe for the spice blend:

Ras El Hanout - Spice Blend (from About.com)

2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cardamon
2 tsp ground mace
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground anise seeds
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Blend all of the spices in a bowl. Transfer to a glass jar, and store in a dry, dark place.

According to the website this blend will keep for several months. I am planning on getting all the ingredients together to try this blend out against the ready made sauce to compare the results. I shall keep those of you who grace my blog with your readership in the loop on the results.

The Terrapin Ridge Farms sauce is available on-line and it seems like they will ship internationally but you are better off contacting them to make sure.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Arepas de Anis - Fenel Corn cakes

I would like to apologize for not posting much this past week, but I have a really good reason for my lapse. My mother is visiting this week and I have been a little busy showing her around our new neighborhood and around Brooklyn in general because she had not had a chance to do it before. However, this visit of hers will benefit anyone who reads my blog and has been waiting to hear about Colombian food, and arepas in particular.

We made these about two days ago because she remembered that I loved them when I was a child (and because I got the ingredients together before she got here and begged her to show me how to make them). Without further delay here is the recipe:

Arepas de Anis
1 Cup Yellow Corn flour
1 TBSP Sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp Fenel Seeds (Crushed in a mortar, Fennel powder will not give you the same effect as the fennel will loose its flavor over time)
1 Cup Warm Milk
1 Cup Warm Water
1 1/2 Cup of Safflower Oil (for frying - you can use another vegetable oil that can handle high temperatures) 

Put your corn flour, sugar and fennel  in a bowl and and mix until well incorporated.

Mix your milk and water in a measuring cup and add this mixture slowly to the corn flour mixture until you have a smooth dough (almost like a short bread dough). You will know when the dough is at the right consistency because it will not be sticky.


Take your dough and form into balls about 2 inch in diameter.


Place these balls into either a layer of saran wrap or a plastic bag on a firm surface and flatten with a cutting board or other hard surface, making disks about 1/4 inch thick. Make a hole at the center of the disk and get ready to fry.



Heat your oil in a deep medium size pot over medium high heat. Test by adding a small piece of dough into the oil. Once the oil is at the right temperature you will see it start to bubble fast around the piece of dough.

Place your corn flour disk into the oil and cook on one side about 5 minutes or until golden and turn over to the other side allowing it to cook for another 5 minutes or until golden. The disks will fluff up a bit which is absolutely perfect. Remove from the oil allowing for a little draining over the pot.


When you remove your disks from the oil place them on a dish lined with paper towels to allow any excess oil to be drawn out.

Allow them to cool and enjoy with either a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate.


Thursday, March 22, 2012

Red Hook Does it Again - Baked = Bakers' Heaven

I don't know if it seems obvious yet, but I love a well made baked good. Today I would like to give some love to a place I have been infatuated with for almost a month. That place is Baked in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn. I first became aware of them through Cooking Channel's show Unique Sweets because everyone on the show was talking about their sweet treats, but in particular they were talking about the Brooksters (what you get when you marry one of Baked's brownies and one of their chocolate chip cookies). I thought this place needed to be checked out, so I decided to enlist my husband on the quest to keep an eye out for it since we are already going there to go shopping at the Fairway in Red Hook anyway.

Finding them was super easy, and so was falling in love with the wonderful food that they make. While it is mostly sweet treats that you will find here, there are some savory tidbits to be had and they are beautifully executed. I have tried the Brooksters and they are indeed good, but I think that my weak spot is for their PB Krispy Bar, because it is chocolatey, peanut buttery crispy goodness. Their brownies are what every brownie should seek to be, gooey chocolatey perfection, particularly the salted ones. Their coffee is also great so it is a winner in every sense. I recommend you try them if ever in NYC and, it does not matter what you have to do to get there, YOU MUST GO IF YOU LOVE BAKED GOODS. They will not let you down (unless you go when they are closed).

Baked storefront on Van Brunt Street

 A great array of sweets and drinks

 Salted brownie with a marshmallow on top

The PB Krispy Bar

Monday, March 19, 2012

Pork Chops with Apple, Plum and Date Vinegar Reduction

As you may have read in my previous post, my husband and I have learned a little bit about  how to properly butcher meat. One of the perks of taking the class was that you got to take home the meat that you butchered, so our freezer is now full of some great pork cuts, which we need to get through. To help us get started on this task I concocted this recipe using some of the fruits that did not get used from last week's grocery purchases, just an apple and some plums. Here is the recipe.

For the Pork Chops:
4 Large Bone-in Pork Chops
1-2 TBSP Olive Oil
3 Cloves of Garlic (minced or crushed to a paste)

In a large bowl combine the olive oil with the garlic. Place your pork in the bowl and coat it with the olive oil and garlic mixture.Allow the pork to sit in this mixture for at least 10 minutes.

Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot place your pork chops in it and sear about 5 minutes on each side. Lower the heat cover the pan and allow to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes to allow the meat to fully cook through.

Remove the pork chops from the pan and let them rest. 

In the meantime use the fat and juices left in the pan for the reduction. Here is what you will need:

For the reduction:
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
1 Large Apple (Cored and sliced into thin wedges. Gala preferable because of its sweetness)
2 Plums (Pitted and sliced into thin wedges)
1 1/2 tsp Date Balsamic Vinegar (if not available you can use fig balsamic)

As mentioned above you will use the juices left by the pork chops in your frying pan. Start by de-glazing your pan with the chicken stock over medium heat. 

Add in the apple and plums, cooking until they are soft and tender.

Add in the date balsamic and raise the heat slightly to allow the mixture to simmer. Allow it to reduce by 25 to 40 percent. When it coats the back of a spoon you are good to go.

To serve, simply put the fruit and a little bit of the reduction liquid on the plate. Place your pork chops on the fruit and drizzle the remaining reduction liquid on the pork chops. Accompany it with rice and a steamed vegetable and you are set.

Enjoy.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Nothing Says I Love You More Than The Gift of Butchery

****WARNING: This post contains pictures showing animal carcases. If you are a vegetarian or consider this to be of a sensitive nature it is my suggestion that you do not read further.

A while back during Christmas time my husband came across a Groupon offer that could not be passed up. It was for a beginner level butcher class. Since I have been wanting to learn more about preparing food I could not resist and neither could he, so we bought it for each other as a Christmas present (you know, because nothing says I love you more than giving each other the gift of learning how to butcher meat together). Some of our other friends liked the idea too, so this past Saturday we headed to Hunts Point in the Bronx to the Mosner Family Brands Warehouse to get initiated in the craft of butchery with three of our close friends.

I will not tell you too much about the class just in case this post inspires some of you to go check the class out. I will say this though, if you are looking to start off on this path this place is certainly one you should look into because the family that runs this company truly cares about what they do and how they do it. Not only do they care about the way the livestock they use is raised, but they care about their patrons and really enjoy teaching people about the traits of each animal and how to use it to its full potential. Every single one of us in our group enjoyed the experience and are contemplating going back to gain more skills in some of their more advanced classes. We got a bargain with the Groupon deal, but even without it I would still consider the price worth while. Now here are those pictures you were all forewarned of.

Some of the members of the Mosner family

 
 Seth and Chris teaching us about the anatomy of veal

Getting ready to butcher.
Boning knife and steel ready to go.

Our friend Christine focusing on the perfect cut

My husband frenching some chops

The members of the class


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Oven Roasted Chicken with Grape and Thyme Cream Sauce

I found this recipe in one of my Spinney's magazines and thought is sounded delicious so I made it. Here is the recipe:

For the Oven Roasted Chicken
3 or 4 Chicken legs (separated or whole depending on what size portion you would like)
4 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Honey
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees celcius)

Place the chicken legs on a roasting pan, brush them with 2 TBSP of the oil and roast in the oven for about 35 minutes.

In a bowl mix 2 TBSP of the oil with the curry powder, honey, salt and pepper.

Once the chicken has cooked for the 35 minutes remove it from the oven and brush it with the oil, honey and curry mixture and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

For the Grape and Thyme Cream Sauce
2 Shallots (finely diced)
1-2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 Cup Chicken Stock
1 1/4 Cup Cream
2 Fresh Sprigs of Thyme (If you don't have fresh Thyme sub in 1 tsp Dried Thyme leaves)
3/4 Cup Seedless Grapes (halved)

While your chicken is roasting in the oven you can make the sauce.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan oven medium high heat. Saute the shallots in the oil until translucent.

Add the chicken stock and allow it to cook and reduce by half.

 Add the cream and the Thyme and allow it to simmer until the mixture thickens.

Add in the grapes and season the sauce with salt and pepper to your taste. Remove from the heat and reserve until the chicken is ready.


Once your chicken is ready serve it on a plate with a good amount of sauce on top. You can either serve it with some rice or you can do what I did and just make a nice mixed salad with halved seedless grapes and blueberries.

Enjoy.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Lamb and Grape Turnovers

As promised here is a recipe for some delicious lamb turnovers, that will make for an easy and healthy meal. This will really only take about 30 minutes for you to make and it will be very much worth it. Here is the recipe:

Lamb and Grape Turnovers

2-3 TBSP Olive Oil
2 Shallots (thinly sliced)
4 Garlic Cloves (finely minced)
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 TBSP Dried Cilantro/Coriander leaves
1 Lb Ground Lamb
1 1/4 Cup Seedless Grapes (Quartered)
2 Packs of ready made turnover Pastry disks (I recommend Goya for those of you who live in the US, but any other brand will do)
1 Egg (beaten for egg wash)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius)

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large frying pan. Add in the shallots and garlic and saute until the shallots start to look translucent.

Reduce the heat to medium and add in your cumin, cinnamon and cilantro, stirring well to incorporate  into the shallots and garlic. If this starts to get dried out add a tablespoon of water.

Add the lamb and raise the heat to a medium high again to brown the meat. Once the meat has browned add the grapes adding a little water if necessary. Cover the pan and cook for about five minutes then remove from heat.

For the how to on getting your turnovers together you can refer to my post on Empanadas.

Place your assembled turnovers on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and give them a nice egg wash with a silicone brush.

Place your trays one at a time in the oven, and bake for about 20-25 minutes until the crust has turned a nice golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

You can serve this with a nice simple mixed greens salad and some grapes, drizzled with a nice balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Blue Smoke - Smoking Good BBQ

 Today was a great day. The weather was awesome and I went to get together for lunch with some of my favorite girls with my little devil in tow. We agreed to meet at Blue Smoke because my friend Christine mentioned them a while back as a good place to eat that happens to be child friendly.

As soon as you walk in you are enveloped by the most delicious smoky aroma that is the trademark of any great barbecue establishment. If you are a barbecue fan the menu in this place will make you salivate instantly with classics like smoked brisket and pulled pork not to mention their applewood chicken. Their children's menu is pretty decent too since there is not a hot dog in sight of it.

We decided that since all of us have had particularly trying weeks lately we needed a little alcoholic pick me up to get us through the day so we went with my friend Heather's choice, a wonderful drink called The Porch Swing. It is composed of Hendrick's Gin, Pimm's Cup No. 1, lemonade and cucumber, and it was just what we all needed. Thank you very much to Heather for that suggestion.


As far as food I can only show you a picture of mine because we were all so hungry, we just dug right in. I had to go with their Pulled Pork Sandwich with Sesame Slaw and Pickles. It was a huge portion as you can see. The pulled Pork was well seasoned as the flavor did not overwhelm me as is usual when the meat is drenched to death in seasoning when it is done improperly. The slaw and the pickles were likewise tasty yet not over spiced. I loved it although I had to have over half of it wrapped up to take with me because it was just too much goodness to handle in one sitting. I will definitely be back, although it will probably have to wait for a few weeks while I recover from the overdose of awesome that this place hit me with.


I will be back tomorrow with the recipe for some fantastic lamb turnovers I made that have to wait until I can get my camera battery charged so I can show them to you.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Pork Chops with Strawberry Chutney

Tonight was leftovers night and I wanted to make something to enhance some pork chops I had made earlier in the week. I was a little ambitious last week and got two parcels of strawberries because my daughter loves them, but by today these darlings had not been completely eaten and they were starting to look like they needed to be used. I thought I would give a try at a chutney using them. I had not seen any recipes for chutney using strawberries so I made one up and here it is.

Strawberry Chutney

1 1/2 Pounds of Strawberries (finely diced)
Ginger Root (a 1/2 inch piece, pealed and finely sliced)
3 Medium Shallots (finely sliced)
3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 TBSP Sherry Cooking Wine
Salt to taste
2 tsp Red Pepper Paste
1 TBSP Yellow Curry Powder
1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Heat the oil in a pan at medium high heat and add your shallots and ginger root. Saute until the shallots become translucent.

Add in your strawberries and allow them to cook briefly.

Add in the brown sugar making sure to allow it to dissolve and incorporate it evenly into the strawberry and shallot mixture.

Add in the sherry, salt, red pepper paste and curry powder mixing in until well incorporated. Make sure to taste it at this point to make sure you like the amount of seasoning.

Add in the vinegar, lower the heat to medium low and let it simmer, making sure to stir frequently until the texture is soft and thick. Do a check on your seasoning again to ensure you like it. then remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. When ready place on top of the pork chops.

This makes enough to fill a 13oz jar so you can save it and use it on crackers with some nice cheese for a great snack.

Enjoy. 

Friday, March 9, 2012

The GoogaMooga Festival


I just got an announcement of this event via facebook. After reading what the event is all about and that Baohaus is going to be one of the food vendors at it, I am definitely going to be making my way to it. Not that I have to go very far for it.

If you are living in Brooklyn or planning to visit New York around May 19 & 20, I would recommend you try to go to it. Pre-registration is required. Here is a link to the GoogaMooga festival website so you can learn more about what it is and who will be participating.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Gnocchi Alfredo with Pancetta and caramelized Shallots


This one is actually a recipe I made a while back, but I had misplaced the picture (which I luckily found today). You can say it is long overdue, especially because I need to give credit to my very wonderful friend Josh for the tremendous curing job on the pancetta. He has become some sort of renaissance man who not only knows how to lead in the business world of theater but who can make mozzarella, ricotta and other smoked and cured meats. In our group of friends we have agreed that if the apocalypse ever does take place we want him on our side to ensure our survival. He is pretty darn awesome.

I digress, so let's get back to the point. I cheated a bit because I did not make the gnocchi, but I did make a simple Alfredo sauce and  a great pancetta topping. This is a nice and easy dish that will literally take you at most 20 minutes to put together (Ronnie I hope you are still reading because this one will make it easy for you to get a meal together during your busy week).


Gnocchi Alfredo with Pancetta and Caramelized Shallots

1 Pack of store bought gnocchi (1pound recommended)

For the Alfredo Sauce:
1 Pint Heavy Cream
2 TBSP Butter
3-4 Cloves of Garlic (crushed or finely diced)
1 1/2 Cups Grated Parmesan
Pepper to taste

For the Pancetta and Caramelized Shallot Topping:
1/4 Pound Pancetta (cut up into small cubes)
2 Shallots (finely sliced)

Start by getting 6 cups of water in pot with some salt and a small amount of olive oil and bringing this to a boil. Add your gnocchi and cook for about 5-6 minutes or until tender (but please make sure not to over cook it because it will not be good eats if you do).

In a sauce pan melt your butter and add in the garlic, and saute until the garlic starts to brown. Add in your heavy cream and stir. Add in the Parmesan a little bit at a time while simultaneously stirring it into the heavy cream mixture quickly with a whisk (what you want is to incorporate the cheese into the cream slowly to allow it to become a part of it without creating clumps). Add your pepper and remove the sauce from the burner.

The gnocchi and the sauce should be cooking simultaneously because they will take about the same amount of time to cook and because you want to make sure that your sauce is ready as soon as you drain your gnocchi so that you can immediately coat it with the sauce.

In a frying pan, preheated over medium high heat start cooking your Pancetta the goal is to heat it through and sear it just a bit, and to let it render some fat. once you see the Pancetta start to brown (about 5 minutes) remove it onto a plate with a paper towel to drain any extra oil. Use the fat rendered onto your pan to caramelize your shallots. Once this is done return the Pancetta to the pan, incorporate it into the shallots and remove the pan from the burner. Add on top of your gnocchi alfredo with a little fresh grated Parmesan and enjoy.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Bobotie Adaptation

 One of the many reasons I am grateful for having lived outside the US is how much that has helped to broaden my horizons when it comes to food. I am particularly grateful for the time my family and I spent in Dubai, because were it not for it I would have missed out on a lot of cuisine from Africa that I might not have otherwise experienced. One of my favorite food finds during that time was Bobotie. For my US peeps Bobotie is a dish typical of South Africa, and the best way I can describe it is to say that it is like meatloaf but sooooo much better because of all the great flavors that go into it. I have made my version of it adapted from three different recipes, one which I saw in Spinney's Magazine while I was living in Dubai and the other two I found on the internet recently. I took ingredients that the recipes had in common and kept those while omitting stuff like raisins that my husband is not very keen on. Anyway here is my recipe:

Bobotie - An Adapted Version

1 Lb Ground/Minced Beef
1 Lb Ground/Minced Lamb
1 Large Carrot (Grated)
2-3 TBSP Olive Oil
3-4 Shallots (thinly sliced)
4 Garlic cloves (minced)
2 TBSP Curry Powder
2 tsp Tumeric Powder
3 tsp All Spice
2 tsp Ginger Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/4 Cup Water
2 Slices of Bread (Crumbled - I used Arnold's Whole Grains Oatnut Bread)
1/4 Cup Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
4-5 Bay leaves


Preheat oven to 365 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a dutch oven adding the shallots and garlic. Saute until the shallots have become translucent.

Add in the spices adding water if necessary in order to prevent the mixture from becoming dry and clumpy.

Take the pot off the stove and add in your ground beef and lamb making sure to incorporate the shallot, garlic and spice mixture evenly throughout the meat.

Add in the grated carrot and incorporate evenly into the mixture.

In a separate bowl mix the bread with the milk allowing the bread to absorb the milk. Add this to the meat mixture making sure to incorporate it as evenly as possible.

Insert the bay leaves at even intervals, and now you are ready to place your pot in the oven. Make sure to cover and bake for about 1 hour.

** I want to note that you do not need to have a dutch oven to make this. You can just as easily prepare everything in a large pan and then transfer everything into a baking dish. Just make sure that the baking dish is deep enough to fit the meat mixture as well as the topping that is added onto it.

As you get close to the end of the baking time (5 minutes or so) you can start making the topping. Here is what you need to make it:

Bobotie Topping

1 Cup of milk
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp Tumeric
1/2 tsp Salt

Mix all the ingredients together until well incorporated and set aside briefly.

Once your baking time is done remove the baking dish/dutch oven from the oven and remove the foil/lid.

Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Pour the topping over the meat and place your dutch oven/baking dish back in the oven (uncovered) and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the topping starts to turn a golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. It is recommended that this dish be served over yellow rice, but Jasmine rice works well too.

Enjoy.  



Here are the links to some of the recipes I drew inspiration from
Bobotie Recipe at Epicurious
Cleopatras' Bobotie - with secret sauce

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Hanco's Bubble Tea & Vietnamese Sandwich - Great Brooklyn Eats

I have been wanting to try Vietnamese sandwiches for a while, since I keep passing  them by whenever I go to Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights. According to one of my husband's cousins they are pretty darn awesome and are among his favorite foods. Coming from him this is a pretty good signal that this was something I needed to try. I already loved bubble tea from when my husband and I lived in Fort Lee so I was already sold on that part of the deal.

Today we took advantage that our little one had passed out in her stroller during our walk to try a cuisine she would be less than likely to try. We both agreed that it was about time we found out what was so great about Vietnamese sandwiches so we went to Hanco's on the corner of 7th Avenue and 10th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn (their website sucks so here is a link to their menu from Menu Pages, just note that the sandwiches are $6.50 not $5.75). My husband ordered the Classic Sandwich, made up of roasted ground pork, Vietnamese ham, pate, mayo, butter, cucumber, picked carrots & daikon radish and cilantro on a toasted french baguette.

I ordered the Pork Sandwich, containing grilled pork chop, mayo, butter, cucumber, picked carrots & daikon radish and cilantro on a toasted french baguette. I accompanied mine with their Taro bubble tea and my husband chose their black tea version. I really loved the flavors I got in this sandwich. The grilled pork was moist and tender and combined perfectly with the flavor of the pickled daikon radish and the cilantro. The sauce on it had just enough heat and the fact that the bread was crunchy on the outside but spongy enough to absorb the juices on the inside made this a sandwich that is pretty hard to beat.

We have both agreed that this place is definitely one that we will be going back to because the flavors were tremendous and the portions satisfying (and even better, the prices are great). Perhaps the only gripe I have about the place is that is was a bit dirty. We sat at the back on the sofa and the seat covers looked a little grimy as did the floor, but I am chucking it up to the fact that there are a lot of us who come in with children and this entails that messes will happen, so I am not going to write them off based on this. If you have not tried Vietnamese sadwiches yet I definitely recommend that you do because they are beautiful, flavorful things.

 Taro Bubble Tea

The Pork Sandwich

Friday, March 2, 2012

Zesty Lemon Bars - Martha Stewart Recipe Tried and Tested

While this one is not an original recipe of mine, I wanted to make these because they just sounded amazing. I also love eating citrus flavored anything during winter because it is such a simple and effective way of lifting your spirits when the weather is bringing you down. I got the recipe for these Zesty Lemon Bars for the Martha Stewart website, and my verdict is that they are delicious and very much worth every second you spend making them. The crust provides a delectable, buttery, flavorful vessel for the lemon topping which is sweet and tart at the same time. These will go well at tea time or ...... oh who am I kidding, they are a good any time treat. Check out the recipe and enjoy them if you decide to make them.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Why BAOHAUS Rules

I finally took the time to go to this wonderful bastion of goodness. I have been wanting to check it out for a while. I figured that anyone who is good enough to earn the respect of the ever surly but sincere Anthony Bourdain deserves to be given recognition, and oh my is the recognition deserved. My daughter wanted dumplings (which we had later), but I tried to convince her (for my sake) that Baohaus was a much better choice.

This place definitely does not disappoint. I had the Chairman Bao and the Birdhaus Bao. Although I liked the Birdhaus Bao the Chairman Bao is so delicious, delectable, delicate and flavorful that I can sincerely declare I am addicted to it. I will probably have dreams about it tonight. I also have to mention how awesome the staff that was on duty when we went there was to us. They were so happy to see how much we enjoyed our food and even gave us a sample of their sweet Bao Fries with black sesame and pandan condensed milk glazes. I am in love with this place and will probably start having an indecent affair with it, sneaking away to it so I can have more of the love only the Chairman Bao can give. Here are some more pictures for your perusal.

 The lovely BAOHAUS crew

 The Chairman Bao - My new found guilty pleasure

 My husband and daughter in a state of food induced bliss

My daughter scarfing down Swee Bao Fries