What I Ate Wednesday: Homemade mushroom soup

Back in December 2011, a group of five of us from Singapore decided to make a trip up to Kuala Lumpur to visit our friend Emily. On the last evening of our trip, she had invited us to her beautiful home for dinner. For the life of me, I couldn't remember what we ate... because it was a SPREAD... But the two most memorable ones were her homemade mushroom soup and the yummy, yummy chocolate cake (Was it with cheese? Pardon my bad memory.) 

I loved it so much, I asked Emily for the recipe. 

It's really simple to do, combining mushrooms, onions, garlic and some water or chicken broth in a stock pot. Once sufficiently boiled and all the beautiful flavours have been released, place the mixture into a blender and then.... blend (what else can a blender do, huh) them all into a puree. After it's all pureed up, transfer it back into the pot and thicken the soup with some cream or milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Yum.

Penny University : A gem in the east

I love hanging out at cafes. Not just Starbucks or Coffee Bean, more of the independently owned 'hidden' cafes that were more centrally located at Tiong Bahru - Tanjong Pagar- Outram Park areas, now spreading to residential areas in other parts of Singapore. I wished they were more common a few years back while I was still in school and desperately seeking a place to study... and yummy coffee.

I read about Penny University on blogs, and my Facebook newsfeed. I only found out that it's a Muslim-owned cafe through my family while my aunts were discussing about cupcakes. 'twas an interesting conversation. Honestly, even though there are a bunch of excellent cafes, like Group Therapy, 40 Hands, Wimbly Lu, Riders' Cafe... just to name a few, none of these are halal-certified. Which kinda sucks because, we'd love some eggs benedict and (turkey or chicken) bacon sammich too y'know.

It's located along East Coast Road, a stone throw away from Siglap (the classy area in the East) and quite accessible if you know which buses to take. For more information on how to get there..... continue reading.

The cafe serves your good ol' espressos and I have yet to try the pies, cakes and cupcakes.... But I definitely LOVE the muddy espresso. It's smooth, yummy and refreshing. Some people put sugar in their coffee, but I'd rather have it as it is. Plus, it's served in a jar. You have to try it.

I love that it's so close to home, hence I'll be heading there every chance I get. Great coffee, awesome music and friendly staff, Penny University is now my new favourite place.

Look! It's so close to my Primary school.

Penny University

402 East Coast Road, Singapore 428997

Tue - Thu: 0830 - 1800Fri: 0830 - 2130Sat - Sun: 0830 - 2230

How to get there:

From Eunos MRT (Sims Avenue bus stop) - Take 155 and get off at Ocean Apartments, six stops later.  Facing the road, turn right and walk down till you see a cross junction. Pretty straight forward.

From Eunos MRT (Jalan Eunos bus stop) - Cross over, and take 15. Get off at East Coast Apartments, six stops later. Cross the road at the traffic light, and you're there.

Parking's gonna be quite a bitch, but there's a tiny space right next to the cafe.

Tempeh Taco: East meets West!

Who would have thought of making Tacos with Tempeh fillings? I never thought such recipes exist until I stumbled upon Laicie's vegan recipe for Tempeh Tacos.

Tempeh is essentially a traditional soy product that originates from Indonesia. The soy beans goes through a fermentation process that binds the beans together to form a cake. Unlike Natto, a fermented soybean snack more commonly found in Japan, it doesn't stink. For us living in Southeast Asia, tempeh is cheap readily available at markets and are found in many Malay dishes such as Laksa, Sambal Goreng and Lauk Lodeh. In fact, you can simply cut them into thin strips then coat them with some salt and flour and egg and toss them into the deep fryer to make a yummy snack.

The idea of using tempeh for a Mexican-based food is ingenious! It's not only yummy, but healthy and vegan-friendly too! You can find the recipe here.

I will definitely try to make this one day. The tempeh is baked not fried, hence I am curious to how it'll taste! Yum.