Old HK Commercials

It's interesting to look at old HK commercials.  Actors looked different now and then...

Andy Lau - THEN
劉德華 - 1983年 - 永安旅行社



Andy Lau - NOW
劉德華 2011 - 道地玄米茶廣告




Bosco Wong - THEN 
張柏芝,黃宗澤 - Hi-C陽光檸檬茶 1998



Bosco Wong - NOW 
黃宗澤 - UNIQLO 廣告 2011





Tony Leung - THEN 
梁朝偉 - 妙蓮2號眼藥水 1987



Tony Leung - NOW
梁朝偉 - 香港影視娛樂博覽 (第七屆,2011) 廣告

蒸水蛋 Steamed Eggs

Read an article today from Yahoo News about steamed eggs.... a very traditional Chinese dish... 

It's another example of No Pain No Gain!!  ^o^


The amount of time spent on whisking the eggs is very important. 
If you want to have smooth steamed eggs, you need to whisk the eggs for 20 mins.   (No pain no gain!!!  I guess my hand will be sore after the whisking. :P   )
Also, you need to slowly add water while whisking.  On average, for each egg, you need to add water that's 3 times the amount of an egg.
After whisking is done, let it sit for 5 mins and then use a spoon to scoop away the surface bubbles.
The plate holding the egg mixture should be less than 1 inch in dept and let it steam for 8-10 mins.

I wonder how long I need to whisk the eggs if I use a electrical mixer... ;-)



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蒸水蛋

星島日報 – 2012年3月5日

 (綜合報道)(星島日報報道)在中菜入面，有很多簡單的菜式，但這些被人認為是家常小菜的菜式，其實都是易做難精，其中有一個菜式我們經常都會食到，就是蒸水蛋，但好多人都覺得在家中吃到的蒸水蛋不夠滑、不夠香，而在食肆食到的，總是又滑又香的，當中是否有甚麼秘訣是大家不知道的？

 　　說明白一點，蒸水蛋其實沒有甚麼秘訣，有的只是技巧。在很多飲食節目中，節目主持人都教大家如何做一個好的蒸水蛋，大部分都是教大家用保鮮紙將水蛋封好再蒸，這個方法只可以令到蒸出來的水蛋沒有倒汗水，對水蛋的香與滑根本沒有影響。

 　　要做一個最香最滑的水蛋，技巧在於耐性。我記得在我初入行的時候，曾經向酒家負責蒸菜的師傳請教，如何做好一個蒸水蛋，他第一句說話就問我，一般打發蛋的時間要多少？我說三至五分鐘，他便告訴我，這就是做不出好的蒸水蛋問題所在。要做一個又香又滑的蒸水蛋，一般打發蛋的時間是二十分鐘，而在打發的時候，要慢慢加水，要加多少水，就要視乎你想做的水蛋要淡味一點，還是濃味一點，一般我們行內的標準是一隻蛋加三隻蛋分量的水。打發好了的水蛋在拿去蒸之前，要先放平，靜止五分鐘，在入爐前，把浮在蛋漿面層的小氣泡挑走。至於蒸的時間要多久，就要視乎你用來蒸水蛋的容器深度，最好是不超過一吋深，因為太深的容器會導致水蛋面層過熟而入面未熟的問題，而太淺的容器就是太難控制火候，一般用一吋深的容器，大概蒸八至十分鐘即可。 　　（男煮角 黃永幟）

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Banana and Kiwi Muffins

Made a batch of banana & kiwi muffins today...  :)

The muffin tasted really good. 
It was moist and not too sweet.  The slightly sour taste of the kiwi added a twist to the banana muffin.

My only complain is the look.  The muffins looked very good in the oven... nice and puffy...  But they shrinked after getting out of the oven, so the muffin tops had wrinkles. 

=======================
Banana and Kiwi Muffins
(original recipe from Food.com)

Ingredients:

    1/2 cup sugar
    2 cups flour
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
    6 tablespoons milk
    3 tablespoons oil
    1 egg
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 large ripe bananas , mashed
    3 ripe kiwi , chopped into small cubes

Directions:

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients (DRY) in a large mixing bowl; set aside.
2. Mix yogurt, milk, oil, egg, vanilla and mashed bananas together in a smaller bowl until well-combined (WET).
3. Add WET mixture to the DRY mixture, mix until just combined (DO NOT OVERMIX) - lumps are ok.
4. Now stir in chopped kiwi gently.
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375°F or 180°C for 25-30mins (mini muffins take about 20mins).
6. Cool in pan for 10mins, then remove and cool thoroughly on wire rack.

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唂咕

During Christmas holidays, my Dad told me that he missed a drink called "唂咕" (音: 谷古) in HK.  He used to drink it when he was small, but he couldn't find it anymore. 
Out of curiosity, I did some googling....

唂咕 is cocoa... hahaha...  I guessed correctly.  ;) 

Hong Kong Style Tea Cafe (港式茶餐廳) used to sell this drink many years ago.   Some tea cafes called it "荷蘭唂咕".  I guess it's because those tea cafes used Dutch-processed cocoa powder.  However, 唂咕 was not as popular as hot chocolate due to its bitter taste.  So, most tea cafe in HK don't sell this drink anymore.  Only some very old tea cafes still sell 唂咕.  In Canada, I haven't seen any tea cafe selling this drink.


How to make 唂咕?

• Add cocoa powder into hot water and then add sugar.
• Some people add condensed milk as well.

What's the difference between 唂咕 and hot chocolate?
唂咕 has a higher cocoa content.
唂咕 uses cocoa powder, which has 70% cocoa.
Hot chocolate also contains cocoa powder, but it only has 20% cocoa.


Nowadays, people use cocoa powder mainly for baking.

Natrel Dark Chocolate 1% Milk

I like dark chocolates, so when I saw this dark chocolate milk at grocery store, I had to buy and try. ;)

I normally don't like chocolate milk, because they are usually too sweet.  This dark chocolate milk, on the other hand, is not as sweet as regular chocolate milk and I like the slightly bitter dark chocolate taste.  :D

However, after checking on the label, this dark chocolate milk actually has more sugar than regular chocolate milk.  I guess it needed more sugar due to the bitter dark chocolate taste.  This milk also has more calories per cup than regular chocolate milk.  I guess I would only drink this once in a long, long while.

Second thought... This milk would be good for chocolate muffins/cookies or other chocolate desserts. ;)

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol iPad Wallpaper

Yes... I've turned my iPad into MI4 iPad as well... :D
As mentioned in my previous post, I'll post the iPad 2 Wallpapers that I've created.

I used Dropbox to save the wallpapers in my iPad.
iTunes or other software can also be used to copy to iPad.
To get the wallpaper, just right click on the photo and select "Save Image As".
(Please don't repost them without linking back to this post!)


MI4 Wallpaper #1:

MI4 Wallpaper #2:

MI4 Wallpaper #3:

 
MI4 Wallpaper #4:

MI4 Wallpaper #5:

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol

I've watched the MI4 movie yesterday.  I really like it.  Part of the reasons could be Tom Cruise.... hahahaha...
I would give the movie 5/5.  ;)

Inside the movie, Tom Cruise was driving the BMW i8 concept car in Mumbai.
The car is really cool.  In the real world version, I don't think it'll have the wind shield touch screen feature.
According to 3D-Car-Shows, this car will be in the Detroit Car Show next year. :)

MI4 used a lot of Apple technologies too.
Check out this article:
How Much Does Mission Impossible 4′s Director Love Apple? Let Us Count The Ways


I've created 2 MI4 wallpaper for my iPhone 4.  I am using 1 for my main screen and 1 for my lock screen.

MI4 Wallpaper #1:

MI4 Wallpaper #2:

I used Dropbox to save the wallpapers in my iPhone.
iTunes or other software can also be used to copy to iPhone.
To get the wallpaper, just right click on the photo and select "Save Image As".
(Please don't repost them without linking back to this post!)

I have also created some MI4 wallpapers for iPad as well.... will post them later.


The MI4 ringtone can be downloaded from Zedge.
http://www.zedge.net/ringtone/1359706/

I am planning to turn my iPhone into a complete MI4 iPhone.... hahaha  :D


Here is the official trailer: