Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf
Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup plain whole-milk Greek yoghurt (or sour cream or mascarpone)
• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 3-4 large ripe bananas, mashed (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup chopped chocolate (or choc chips) (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°. Lightly coat loaf pan with nonstick spray.
2. Sift flour, add baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, whisked.
3. In mixing bowl on medium-high speed, beat brown sugar, yoghurt, and butter until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition.
4. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture bits at time, mix until just combined. 
5. Add bananas and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate if using. 
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth top.
7. Bake bread for 45 minutes, put aluminium foil on top if it is already brown enough, then bake for another 15 minutes, until centre is no longer gooey. 
8. Let bread cool and then eat. 

Comments: This banana bread tasted pretty good but it was a bit spongey so a bit hard to slice. But the top is nice and crisp. 

Recipe from https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/banana-bread

Beef and Veggies Stir Fry

Serves 4
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 450g beef flank, cut into strips
• 1 tbsp plain flour (or cornstarch)
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1/2 red capsicum, sliced
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 carrot, julienned
• 1.5 bok choy, quartered
• cooked rice/noodle for serving

Sauce:

• 1/3 cup light soy sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (or honey)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp plain flour (or cornstarch)

Methods

1. In a bowl, combine flour, water, and cooking wine until smooth. Add the beef and mix until fully coated. Set aside while chopping the vegetables.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add beef and stir fry for 3-5 minutes, or until its mostly not pink. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, stir fry the vegetables, from the ones that takes longest to soften first. Add more oil if needed. Fry for 3-5 minutes. Return beef to pan.
4. In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the sauce and pour into the edges of the pan. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until everything is fully combined and the mixture is simmered.
5. Serve with rice or noodles. 

I used leftover Japanese rice and it went incredibly well with this. Will try it with flat rice noodle next time so I'll update and see how that goes. 

update: Tried it with flat rice noodle, boiled the noodle until almost al dente, poured the water out and added the left overs and put back on low hit, combine the noodle and sauce, take it out when the beef and veggies are warm. It was just as good as with the Japanese rice. going to save half as leftovers to let the sauce soak in the noodles, see if it tastes better! :) 

Recipe from https://gimmedelicious.com/quick-15-minute-beef-and-broccoli-tiryaki-stir-fry/

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

serves 6

time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp (15g) butter (or olive oil)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 4 cups (1L) reduced salt chicken broth/stock (or veggie stock)
• 1.5 cups (325ml) water
• 700 g broccoli florets (around 2 broccolis), peel and dice stem
• 2 potatoes, peeled & diced
• salt & pepper
• 1.5 cups (150g) cheddar, shredded (or other cheeses)
• 3/4 cup (165ml) cream or milk

Method

1. Melt butter in large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 2 minutes until onion is softened.
2. Add broth & water, broccoli, potato, salt and pepper. Bring to simmer, then place the lid on, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 20 minutes or until the broccoli is soft.
3. Turn the stove off (but leave on stove). Puree using a stick blender until smooth.
4. Stir in cream, then add cheese a handful at a time, stirring in between to melt.
5. Taste and add more salt if needed.
6. Serve with drizzle of cream.

Recipe from https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-broccoli-cheese-soup/

Exploring Hanoi: Part 2

Ha Long Bay - it means descending dragon!

Experience
adj. an event or occurrence which leaves an impression on someone



Following up from my last post Here is the second and last part of my trip to Hanoi :(

First Stop - the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum when we went it was late in the afternoon so we didn't get to go inside the memorial but the outside was pretty cool, kinda calm and the garden outside is very neat! There's also a Ho Chi Minh Museum nearby as well as a Science museum. Be sure to check the opening hours on all these because they don't open every day and I think the Mausoleum only opens from 9am-11am!

Next stop - The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, its something we didn't expect to see in Hanoi but its there and its cool. Reserve at least 2 hours for it because its quite big and definitely don't go an hour before it closes (like we did) because you'll be quite rushed and won't get to see everything which is a big shame :( But everything was so nicely made and preserved it's totally worth a visit. It's also walking distance from the Mausoleum if my memory's correct.

 Then quite a long distance away, theres the West Lake where Tay Ho Pagoda is. This place did not have many visitors, it was mainly locals going to the temple. But there is a water park nearby as well as many hotels like Intercontinental. The lake itself if huuuuge. It would look spectacular on a clear day! It's quite a nice walk around the lake and its incredibly peaceful and quiet which is rare for the busy streets of Hanoi!

Temple next to West Lake

And last but not least, we went to Ha long Bay. It took a 3 hour car ride to get to the harbour and once you get your ticket you board onto a junk and the tour guide will take you around the bay and the caves depending on their schedule. So make sure to find an agency that packs lots of sights and activities for you to do. If you want to explore more of the bay definitely stay overnight! You also get to canoe around the little caves depending on which agency you go with :) Ha Long Bay is a magnificent place. It would look even more fabulous on a clear day because the water... oh my the water would look so so good!

And I doubt the agency won't take you around to the Heavenly Palace as well. This cave rock formation is humongous! It's also kinda scary because the rocks hangs down like icicles ono top of you but it's definitely worth the little climb of steps to get in!

And that wraps up my Vietnam trip! It was honestly an unforgettable time, and I can't wait to explore more next time! If you ever get the chance, do go, but plan well. It will definitely be worth your time. I've also heard people getting bad stomach aches which leads to number 2s in the toilet, I didn't encounter that problem thankfully so a word of advice, stick to restaurants, unless you know what you're ordering and if it looks like its frequented my tourists! other than that, you can also just join a food tour, I know I definitely would've joined if I had an extra day :P

Where have you been recently?

See you next time//

Elle

Exploring Hanoi

Foreigner
n. a person born in or coming from a country other than one's own

Um wow. I am so sorry! Its been what, 7 months? These 7 months has has its ups and downs but I'm here, I've gotten more clothes, I've gotten more experiences, I've got my High School Certificate and I have definitely got a lot more weight!

During my 3 months long holiday back in Hong Kong, I decided that I just needed to get out of the country even if its just for 5 days. So after much persuasion and many change of plans, on the 14th of February, the lovely valentines day, I headed off to Vietnam with my... father. Yup, no lovers or anything just my lovely father.

I've had a few choices for my holiday destination. I wanted Korea in the beginning but it was 'too cold' for my dad, there was also the option of Japan since we haven't been back for so long but you know, I wanted to go somewhere I've never been - or in my father's word, I just wanted to say that I've been to somewhere - the somewhere which happens to be Hanoi, Vietnam. And I definitely do not regret going to this incredible city.

      

First stop was the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. This show was recommended in almost every 'what to do in Hanoi' posts I've read so naturally we had to go. It was entertaining, something you shouldn't miss out on, also gives you a chance to just sit and appreciate their culture after a long day of walking and sight seeing. Because we got there around 5 minutes after the show started, we were in quite a bit of a rush to just get in and sit, so we got whatever ticket was available, which just happened to be the first row seats - also the more expensive ticket but it was only 100,000 VND (only 6 AUD!) totally worth paying that extra 40,000 VND. It also does get crowded many nights, so if you do want to ensure a seat on a particular timing, buy your ticket hours before the show or travel tours will snatch them up!

Second stop was actually the next day. You don't need to go to Europe to see big old churches. There's one right here in Hanoi! This is the Saint Joseph's Cathedral, incredibly impressive, tucked away into the neighbourhoods. I'm not quite sure if you could actually go inside or not but when we went the from was barricaded.

Third stop, Hoan Kiem Lake which translates to the Lake of the Returned Sword. The centre of Hanoi tourism. You can definitely see western influence in here and its aim to please foreigners, everything from KFC to Papaya to shopping like West Nine is all here. Which reminds me, I can readily say that Hanoi is not the most advanced city, but you should definitely not expect dirt roads and shops with absolutely no english in it. Just outside my hotel, there was Longchamp and Prada. A few blocks away, there was a whole centre dedicated to Chanel, Dior and all that stuff. I mean yes it is near tourist district but it's definitely not behind. Anyways pictured here is the turtle tower!

On one side of the lake is this gorgeous red 'Huc Bridge' which leads to the Temple of Jade Mountain (which is the very first picture of this post) which you have to pay to get in. But that is alright, the view from the bridge is already enough. I'm not sure how much tickets are as we didn't go in because the line was crazy long and we didn't feel like waiting (more like we thought we were in a line but we were actually only in the not going in the temple so don't need ticket line)

Well that is all for today, there are many more pictures to see, many more places we visited, so we'll just have to leave it for next time :)

So tell me, where did you go the past holiday? I would love to get some ideas on where to go next!

See you next time//
Elle