“Now or never”: a plated dish

This dish was meant to be more of a compliment to my signature chocolate cake, “Shines forever”, hence the rhyming names. For this dish, it is a seared ribeye(aka the only steak I really can confidently cook), with beef fat-wilted kale, crispy kale chip, red wine-mushroom-beef reduction, and a homemade phyllo-duxelle tart, garnished with shaved…

The Kitchen Garden: a plated dish

I still remember back in 2013, watching MasterChef UK, and being mystified by one particular dish. It was a rabbit salad dish prepared by a solicitor named Rukmini, who was known for her gorgeous plating and really delicious flavors. Back then, I really had no idea what it meant to make a plate look whimsical…

Bacon-wrapped rabbit roulade with mushroom pappardelle

Something that I have always wanted to try was cooking with rabbit. Now don’t get me wrong, I actually adore rabbits and bunnies, so a part of me is sad to be cooking with them. But at the same time, they actually can taste quite delicious if cooked under tender, or paired with the right…

Honey Flash: a plated dessert

I really wanted to do a dessert that used brown butter and honey, since it’s a delicious combination, but something I could elevate easily. For this dessert, it was originally going to be a flan, but I dun goof’d and used whole eggs instead of just yolks, causing the dessert to souffle. However, for this…

Spring pea agnolotti with squash, brown butter, and pomegranate

I love making pasta from scratch. There’s something so satisfying about getting this golden, stretchy dough super thin, and being able to take something so flat and paper-like and fold it into all sort of fun shapes. I guess that’s why I love origami so much. The transformation is exciting! For my pasta, I did…

YUMEKATARI: buckwheat soba with butterfly pea and mushroom broths

I have always wanted to make my own soba noodles, because it looks really cool and I just love being able to make my own pasta or dough from scratch. The trick behind buckwheat flour (besides the fact that I had to go to five different grocery stores to procure it, so thank you Wholefoods…

Nightmarket: a plated dish concept

The entire basis of this dish came from wanting to shove as many Chinese/Asian inspired dishes into one thing. So we have roasted duck leg, seared duck breast, green papaya salad, and a duck fat infused bun, served with a duck-blood orange-soy sauce. It’s a lot of food, but it’s guaranteed that you’ll find something…

Na’an-lamb kofta dumplings with fattoush salad

I really came up with this dish when I was watching My Kitchen Rules and saw a pair of Jordanians, Sonya and Hadil, prepare a gorgeous fattoush salad. Fattoush is a Middle Eastern salad prepared with a lot of vegetables and a flatbread-type of component. For my take on it, I wanted to take the flatbread…

Prickly pear-glazed salmon with shiitake egg noodles

This idea sounds like a weird one from the get-go. What business does the fruit from a cactus have with fish, mushrooms, and Italian-inspired pasta? Well, truth be told, almost nothing at all. I wanted to prepare a dish that takes my Californian upbringing, my Asian heritage, and my love of making fresh doughs and…

Mussels with Latin flavors

This dish was originally inspired by the Mediterranean, but forcibly took a detour into Mexico when I could not find the right kind of chorizo and just went with it from there. Going to school in Boston, you come to love shellfish and seafood. I love eating and cooking mussels, because they plump up in…

Strawberry-blood orange risotto

Just a heads up, this is not a dessert. If you thought that I was going to make some kind of sweet rice porridge and call it a risotto, then YOU’RE WRONG. This risotto, but all definition, is savory. Yes, I’m using fruit in my rice, but that’s besides the point. For all of you…

Coffee crusted ribeye with steakhouse sides

What? Just because I bake and I make spongecakes doesn’t mean I can’t make a delicious steak dish. This particular dish, I actually made two years ago, to celebrate finishing summer school. The entire dish was a coffee crusted ribeye with mushroom jus, kale chips, garlic rubbed bone marrow, and mac n’ cheese. And yes,…

Egg and cheese sandwich with apple salad: a brunch dish

Now I normally like to do dessert posts only, but fun fact about myself: I have more savory experiences professionally than sweet. When I used to intern in kitchens, that’s when I’d practice making bread the most, just because I could proof the dough while I was working, then bake it off when I got…