7D Dried Mangoes

799 days ago

Wuhahaha, yet another dried fruit review. Seems that once I get hooked on something, I can’t stop myself. Anyway, not to worry, this snack isn’t that harmful as compared to other...

Wuhahaha, yet another dried fruit review. Seems that once I get hooked on something, I can’t stop myself. Anyway, not to worry, this snack isn’t that harmful as compared to other snacks I am hooked on. In fact, this one gives you a lot of fiber, which is getting more important since our diets tend  to be lacking in fiber. Of course, it is never good to overeat, so remember to limit yourself. I at most eat about one pack of dried fruits per day. Dried fruits have a high concentration of sugar in them and for most dried fruits, they add sugar as a sweetener and as a preservative. Furthermore, some of the dried fruits do contain preservatives. Not something which we would like to consume too much of.

As usual, I got this o offer. 2 packs some more. Man, I need to tell you this definitely taste heavenly. However, it is interesting that some people find the taste of mango disgusting. They tell me it taste like medicine. But to me, it smells aromatic and it taste great. Well, one man’s meat is another man’s poison I guess. If you are into mango, I would highly recommend dried mangoes as an alternative. Saves you time from cutting up the mango too. Don’t you just hate slicing mangoes? I know I do. And most people I know (Singaporeans) don’t know how to handle a knife.

The 7D dried mangoes. This brand is probably the king among dried mangoes manufacturers.

Check it out, they even won awards like this VIII International Europe Awardee For Quality Paris thingy. Cool.

200g of dried mango! That is a lot of fiber. Get ready for some bowel cleaning the next morning. And drink plenty of water to help it along. It is important to add more fiber to our diets because we need to clear waste efficiently from our bodies. Fiber helps our body do that. You don’t want all those unwanted waste to remain in your body, it can cause a lot of problems, especially in the long run.

Okay, the back of the pack.

They believe in superior product quality. It is no wonder 7D Dried Mangoes has become the Philippines’ favorite. It all begins with the selection of the choicest fresh mangoes ripened enough for you that rich mango flavour and excellent aroma. The fruits are naturally processed with the finest cane sugar for that appealing sweet-sour taste that makes 7D mango distinctive. And finally the fruits are dried just enough to attain the chewiness that you desire and the great mango flavor you savor bite after bite…

An exotic and nutritious treat for everyone. An ideal ready to eat snack. Can be used as attractive topping and filling to make dessert, pies, tarts and cakes, or made as garnish for platter foods and savories. That is so cool. For, I just eat them straight from the pack. Why not? It is really very tasty.

Some nutritional facts for you.

The ingredients are mangoes, sugar and sodium metabisulfite. Yes, that is preservatives. I have yet to find a dried mango brand which does not have any preservatives. Perhaps it is due to the way mangoes are proceed that they still need to add a certain amount of preservatives into the mango to maintain freshness? Well…..

Del Monte Premium Cranberries

801 days ago

Dried fruits – don’t you just love them? They are the most convenient way to eat fruits. One of the things I always hate about eating fruits is that it leaves...

Dried fruits – don’t you just love them? They are the most convenient way to eat fruits. One of the things I always hate about eating fruits is that it leaves a mess on your hands and your surroundings. That is why I would normally go for fruit juices instead of the fruit itself. All the work is done for you, all you have to do is drink the juice. And dried fruits are basically the same thing – all the work is done for you, all you have to do is to pop them into your mouth. The most popular dried fruits currently is dried cranberries. One of the most interesting about dried cranberries is that it is no longer that tart. If you have drank before unsweetened cranberry juice, you would know what I mean – sour to the max! Of course, there is still some residual sourness but that it about it. In fact, it is the slight sourness and sweetness that makes dried cranberries such a wonderful snack. It is just too bad that most of these dried cranberries have added sugar. I guess if they don’t add any sugar into the dried fruit, it would probably be too tart for most people.

Del Monte is famous for its tomato ketchup. Best ever compared to the other brands. It is still my favourite. But surprisingly, Del Monte has diversify into dried fruits. Well, smart move. You can no longer depend on just one or two products to survive. You will need to expand your product range. And I guess Del Monte is doing exactly that. Good for them. And also good for us consumers.

The Del Monte Premium cranberries. Check out those plump cranberries! I have never tried fresh cranberries before in my life and I often wonder what it really taste like.

Yes, no preservative and is cholesterol free. Again, good points. And because they are so thoughtful, they have provided you with a resealable zipper. If you can’t finish these cranberries in one shot, at least you can keep them in the original packaging.

The back of the Del Monte Premium Cranberries.

The cranberries that go into their Del Monte fruit snack are plump, juicy gems from the bogs of the New England villages of Cape Cod. Suitable for any occassion, enjoy them straight from the re-sealable pack or sprinkle them over cereal and fruit salad. Snacking has never been more nutritious and tasty than Del Monte Fruit Snacks. Well, true. Dried fruits is a way better than other most other highly processed snacks we have out there. The ingredients are just dried cranberries and sugar. This is a product of the USA. Remember not only to zip the pack after opening, you have to refrigerate them as well. Aiya, might as well finish the whole damn thing.

The nutritional table. Check out the dietary fibre in these snacks. This is definitely a good option to go when we are talking about a fibre rich diet. Just pop a few pieces every time after a meal and it would definitely help you move “unwanted things” out of your body. In fact, most dried fruits are good sources of fibre.

All the distributors in this region.

Guys I will have to tell you these are ones of the best tasting dried cranberries I have ever tried. One of the things about dried cranberries is that they  often taste, well…too dry and hard. Yes, I know, dried cranberries are supposed to be “dry” but I want the soft tender pulp as well. And Del Monte does it very well. I am very impressed. Most other brands of dried cranberries is probably a little too sweet, Del Monte cranberries are just right, not too sweet. Heavenly!

Joy Dried Mangoes

805 days ago

Ahhh…..now we are talking! Mangoes are my favourite fruit. I just love them. They are just like pineapples, you know, the sweet and sour taste that you will never forget? But...

Ahhh…..now we are talking! Mangoes are my favourite fruit. I just love them. They are just like pineapples, you know, the sweet and sour taste that you will never forget? But unlike pineapples, they are much easier to consume. The plump flesh of mangoes is quite heavenly. But of course, it can get a bit messy. Furthermore, I have no idea how to cut mangoes. I tried recently and all I got was a mess of things. The flesh was bruised and it took a hell long for me to cut out a decent amount of the mango. So I guess the next time, I either buy pre-cut mangoes from the stores or I go for dried mangoes! Dried mangoes like all dried fruits is probably the most convenient choice out there. If fresh fruit is unavailable, then go for dried ones. They might not give the full nutrients of the fresh kind, but at the very least, some of the nutrients should survive the drying process.

One thing is that is surprising to me is that mangoes is pretty expensive. You might think that in Singapore, the price of mango should be rather cheap, because you can see a lot of mango trees all over our tiny island. And since it is a tropical fruit, you might think that since we are surrounded by tropical countries growing mangoes, it is going to be cheap. It is not. In Singapore, nothing is ever cheap. The price of a average sized mango is about S$2. But don’t expect it of provide you with a lot of flesh though. Dried mangoes are also pretty expensive as well.

The Joy Dried Mangoes. Look at how good looking the mangoes are. 100g of dried mangoes for you to enjoy.

Product of the Philippines.

The ingredients are selected mangoes, sugar, natural flavour, sulphur dioxide and tartrazine colouring. Sad to see that they use preservatives for their dried fruits. But from my experience, it seems that most dried mangoes come with some sort of preservatives. Perhaps there is something there which makes the mango more prone to spoilage? Well, I prefer my foodstuff free from preservatives and I am sure that if more people were to realize that preservatives are bad for their health, they would too.

FairPrice Potong Red Bean Ice Cream

806 days ago

Yes, they are not healthy food. But sometimes we just need to relax and enjoy our food once in a while and this of course includes ice cream. Just remember not...

Yes, they are not healthy food. But sometimes we just need to relax and enjoy our food once in a while and this of course includes ice cream. Just remember not to eat too much because they do contain a lot of sugars. If you consume them in moderation, there should be not long term bad effects on your body. However, I just love ice cream. In a warm tropical country like Singapore, what is better than an ice-cream in the such warm weather. Thus, it is not surprising to see that ice-cream is one of the most popular snacks in Singapore. Thank the gods for ice-cream. Anyway, I usually don’t go for those high-sugar lolly pop style ice-cream – too sweet for my taste. I prefer ice cream with real fruits and a good portion of real frozen cream. And of course chocolate ice-cream. Now, if you can find someone in Singapore who hates chocolate ice-cream, please tell me. I would like very much to interview him or her.

Anyhow, I purchased this pack of ice-cream from NTUC. The brand name is FairPrice, so it is fairly obvious that it is related to NTUC supermarket. These people are very unimaginative, so when it comes to names, they probably don’t want to brain too much brain cells over. And of course, design of the wrapping is also not important. They are probably banking on the price and the FairPrice brand name to sell. And Singaporeans taste isn’t that good anyway, so I guess this could really sell. Just put them in every NTUC supermarket you can find and they will be off the shelves in no time.

The FairPrice Kool Potong Ice Cream – Red Bean! There are 6 sticks of ice cream in this pack. Each weights about 65g. Check out the picture on the pack, looks like the ice cream got smallpox.

Ahhh….produced in Malaysia. Even NTUC don’t manufacture their stuff in Singapore anymore. They are not supporting Singapore industries one bit.  Sad if you think about it – it is all about money these days.

The ingredients are water, red bean, coconut milk, sugar, milk solids, palm oil, stabiliser and emulsifier and permitted colouring. Not bad, at least it doesn’t come with a ingredients list of all sorts of unknown chemicals and what-not. Hmmm….it contains lactose? Should be from the milk solids. I wonder why they add milk solids into this coconut milk ice-cream? Probably we are so used to ice-cream made from cow’s milk that consumers might not appreciate the taste of ice-cream made from just coconut milk.

Ahhh…Styrofoam. Helps to keep the ice-cream cold during transportation. However, I find this really unnecessary. But from what I read, styrofoam is pretty cheap, so it should not impact on the final price, I hope.

6 sticks of ice-cream. Love it!

One stick of FairPrice Kool Potong Red Bean Ice Cream.

Trans Fat Free! This stick is about 65g! Good enough for enjoying during a warm afternoon.

Nature First Garden Glory

808 days ago

You might be a little confused as to what I am planning to blog about. Is it about gardening? Is it about some tree conservation project? Well, no. It is just...

You might be a little confused as to what I am planning to blog about. Is it about gardening? Is it about some tree conservation project? Well, no. It is just green salad. And what a name right? Who calls their packed salad (which can be found in the supermarkets) Garden Glory anyway? Thank god they didn’t call their salad crowning glory. That would really make my day.

As you guys know, I am all about health these days. But sometimes with my busy work schedule and my natural proneness to being lazy, I just can’t get myself to make salads. It is just too troublesome. You need to buy those vegetables, cut them and attempt to consume them as soon as possible because they go bad fast. And worst of all, none of my family members are interested in salads. They love their white rice and white bread. So, I went for the next best alternative – pre-packed salads. Nowadays they can be found easily in most supermarkets. It just happened that Nature First Garden Glory was having an offer. If I remember correctly, for 2 packs, the price is S$4.00. Pretty cheap considering how prices have risen these couple of months.

Here we have the Nature First Garden Glory. It is too bad that the salad isn’t really that tightly sealed. They just use a loose plastic wrapping (I believe it is heat wrapped) around the edge and some tape. Not sure whether that is enough to keep the freshness of the greens intact. Most likely not. Well, what can I say?

Crunchy Fresh? Wuhahahaha. This Garden Glory is a mix of garden herbs and greens. And it is ready to eat!

Ready to eat salad. Double washed – for you own safety. But looking at the label, it says triple washed! So which is correct? Anyway, if you are like me, just wash it again. No harm in washing them greens. This plastic pack contains 80g of greens.

The ingredients are red oakleaf, green oakleaf, green crisp, red coral, red cos, coriander, parsley, dill and baby chard. Very cool and very healthy stuff, that is if they are fresh. Do note that if they are not fresh, the vitamins and nutrients that are supposed to be in these vegetables might have dissipated away. I would recommend everyone to eat them fast.

All the vegetables and herbs in the “Garden Glory“. They actually look quite fresh. Of course, not as fresh as those you buy directly from the marketplace but still acceptable to me. Everything is a compromise in life. Though I try my best not to do anything which might compromise my health.

Another view.

One of the reasons why I encourage people to consume more vegetables is that it is very difficult to over-eat vegetables. I had to try very hard to finish this miserly 80g of vegetables and herbs. Although I won’t say it taste rather bad, but the bitterness of them greens and herbs is kind of off-putting. So if you are thinking of losing some weight and find that “diets” are not working, then try a “green” diet. You might be surprised at the results.

Busy Busy Busy

810 days ago

Sorry guys, I have been very busy the past few weeks. You would probably realize that I blog a lot less during the last few weeks. Well, that is because when...

Sorry guys, I have been very busy the past few weeks. You would probably realize that I blog a lot less during the last few weeks. Well, that is because when I return back home, I feel like just popping into bed. Man, it has been very very busy for me. Workload is increased but of course, in typical Singapore style, pay has not increased. Yes, blame the poor economic situation in Singapore. Oh come on, let’s be honest here. It is not the poor economic situation, it is just the poor attitude of Singaporean boss (which is not to say that the attitude of Singaporean workers are any better).

Anyway, I just came in to tell you guys that I will still be updating my blog as much as I can. But don’t expect the frequency like previously. Just a few weeks ago, I had a pretty decent work and leisure balance. Now, it seems that I am working like a slave without any gratitude from my boss. Don’t you just hate to be working like that? Ciao, and wish me all the best. I am going to need it to get over the tough weeks ahead.

Home Renovations Anyone?

812 days ago

With the housing market booming like nobody’s business these days, I am sure that couples getting their first flat from HDB or if they are buying from the private market  is...

With the housing market booming like nobody’s business these days, I am sure that couples getting their first flat from HDB or if they are buying from the private market  is all eager to start renovating their dream home. I mean, who wouldn’t? You have paid a lot of money for that new home and I am sure you want it to be the best. The problem nowadays is that there are a lot of contractors and renovators whom are there just to make a quick buck. They want to ride the housing boom and are not there to help you create your dream home. But luckily, in Singapore, we do have a lot of competition among contractors. However, you will have to make the extra effort to find them in the midst of so many contractors. I would recommend getting established renovators but avoid big ones as they might not give you the same concentration as they do for their bigger clients (unless of course if you are a major client).

And getting the right contractor can really save you a lot of headaches and heartaches down the road. I have read tons of horror stories from first timers who were tricked or hoodwinked by contractors. Poor quality materials, wrong type of materials, poor workmanship, late delivery, wrong colour of painting and worst, those contractors who overcharge their customers. In Singapore, you will not get any help from the authorities, so it is better for you to help yourself. First of all, get information from your friends or relatives who have done renovations before. Look for the pitfalls of getting contractors. See what your friends and relative recommend. Go visit showrooms and the contractors themselves, especially those flats or houses that they have done before. It gives you a good idea of what type of quality they provide. The next would be budget. Find quotes yourself. It is not difficult to do so. Most civil supply shops also sell to individuals. And now we have the Internet to help you along. Next, discuss things carefully with your contractor. Do not “assume”. Get everything down in writing and make sure the quotations they give you are in detail. Talk with their subcontractors as well.

Of course, using a interior designer would be more costly, but sometimes it can really help. I would recommend first timers to go for a professional interior designer but make sure you know what are all the processes and on-goings. As mentioned, interior designers are not mind readers, make sure you tell them exactly what you want and approve all designs yourself. It requires some effort on your part, but it is sure worth it. And finally, good quality products cost more. So be prepared to pay more if you want a higher quality workmanship and result.

If you are interested, please take a look at list of  Singapore Interior Designers and Contractors. At the same time, try out our listing of Singapore Furniture Retailers. You might be surprised to see what you could find.

SCS Pure Creamery Butter Unsalted

814 days ago

Remember this brand? Used to be the most popular brand of butter in Singapore. Every coffee shop you visit, there will always be a slab of this butter around to make...

Remember this brand? Used to be the most popular brand of butter in Singapore. Every coffee shop you visit, there will always be a slab of this butter around to make those Kaya toast or for dipping into coffee. That is how I spend most of my Sunday mornings when my parents would go to the coffee shop for breakfast. And seriously, life back then was just so simple. Not even a dollar and you can get a complete breakfast with coffee, eggs and toast. Now? If you are lucky, you will be able to get those at a price of S$2.30 at one of those chain coffee shops. And yes, the coffee they have there tastes like it had just came out of the toilet.

Anyway, I guess that is enough of my complaining. I should get back to the little review on this SCS butter, which I love so much. First of all, butter is healthy. Do not be conned by people telling you that butter is fattening and unhealthy. It is not, especially when you compared butter to margarine. Margarine is made from highly processed hydrogenated vegetable oil and it is full of trans-fat. We all know that trans-fat is bad for us. So just stick with plain old butter. Of course, quality of butter varies with the quality of cream used.

Since 1905???!!! I was not even born yet.  Anyway, I bought the unsalted variety. For Muslims, this is Halal certified, so it should be okay to consume. 227g of butter per stick. And oh, apparently it is still Number 1 in Singapore. I guess old habits are hard to break.

Imported by Auric Pacific Market. Never heard of this company.

The ingredients are pasteurised cream, water, lactic acid and starter culture. Hmmm…….something like yogurt? As compared to the salted variety, this comes with good bacteria (starter culture). In my opinion, if the starter culture is still alive, this is a better choice for those seeking to be healthy. Think of it as “probiotic”.

Mango + Jackfruit + Others Enzymes Drinks

816 days ago

Well, this began as just Mango & Jackfruit Enzymes Drinks but somehow I didn’t get enough of mango to fill the fermentation jar. The reason? Because I have no idea how...

Well, this began as just Mango & Jackfruit Enzymes Drinks but somehow I didn’t get enough of mango to fill the fermentation jar. The reason? Because I have no idea how to cut the mango into slices and it turned into mushy yellow pulp instead. Although I did managed to cut the second mango into small slices, I only managed to save probably a small portion of the mango. Next time, I will try and figure out how people cut mangoes. It looked simple from a distance but it is kind of tough for me when I actually went and cut it. Nothing beats doing the actual thing eh? Cut the top portion of the mango, then the bottom portion and we are left with the seed and some pulp at the sides. To remove the pulp from the seed, run the knife all the way moving along the seed. That’s it! But not surprisingly, I couldn’t do it. Hey, I am not alone. I know quite a lot of people who can’t handle a knife even if their lives depend on it.

Anyway, I added some extra apples and water apples I had in the fridge into the mix. Managed to get all of them into the fermentation jar. Wasn’t that difficult anyway since there was hardly any mango pieces. So this is Mango, Jackfruit, Apple and Water Apple Enzymes drink. Not too sure how it will turn out but I am guessing the Jackfruit will probably have the strongest flavour.

Here we have the Jackfruit, Mangoes and sugar. You might think that the mango is not yet ripe, but the truth is, it is ripe and super delicious! The flesh is yellow and sweet. I was amazed. Well, at least the Giant advertisement is not lying. So next time, don’t judge a book by its cover.

Jackfruit. I guess this is a bit old. The Jackfruit seems a bit dry and some of the seeds have already sprouted! And it is expensive – S$2.80! But at least the Jackfruit aroma is still quite strong.

The two mangoes. One of which was completely mushed into pulp when I attempted to cut it. Don’t blame me, blame my fear of knives.

Ahhh….the lump sugar. Great Wall Brand. 400g of sucrose (food) for the good bacteria to turn into something great.

Oh, it is made from refined sugar. Well, we are not consuming it directly, so it is quite alright. I know I know, sucrose is bad for your health. But we are fermenting the sugars into some other form and the result is no longer the mineral and nutrient absorbing sweetener but something tart and hopefully probiotic. We all know how important good bacteria is to our bodies, right? Furthermore, during the process, (digestive) enzymes will be created. Anyone knows what are the names of the good bacteria in the Enzymes drinks, please let me know. I would also like to know what does the bacteria convert the sucrose to?

There, as you can see, the bottom layer is the mango and jackfruit pieces. I discovered that there is still a lot of empty space, so I added the apples and the water apples into the jar. A combination of bad planning and poor skill in cutting is to be blamed. Or we can just blame the weather. I left the skin on for both the apples and the water apples.  Wonder how will this impact on the fermentation. But I did give them a thorough wash before I cut them.

I will ferment this for 2 weeks and give you guys an update.

Pineapple Honey Dew Enzymes Drinks Done!

817 days ago

Well, it has been 2 weeks and I decided to harvest my Pineapple and Honey Dew Enzymes Drinks. I was kind of surprised to see that there was still some rather...

Well, it has been 2 weeks and I decided to harvest my Pineapple and Honey Dew Enzymes Drinks. I was kind of surprised to see that there was still some rather active fermentation happening in the fermentation jar. There were a lot of bubbles being produced, so I guess that means that there is still some sugar remaining there. Which is good, since I would not want the Enzymes Drinks to turn out too tart. Most of my family members don’t enjoy consuming stuff which are too tart. Furthermore, if I were to wait till all the sugars have been completely fermented, it would probably take 3 months or so Remember, this is not yeast fermentation (I hope) but bacteria fermentation.

The process to make Enzymes Drinks is pretty easy. You need fruits (cut and preferably peeled), sugar and a fermentation jar. Layer the fruit pieces and sugar till you reach the top of the fermentation jar. Then add a thick layer of sugar and then store the jar in a cool place. Every few days, let the air escape from the jar. Also shake the jar once in a while to mix everything. You will want the sugar liquid to contact the fruit pieces for maximum effectiveness. You should see bubbles forming after a day or so. That means the good bacteria is doing its work, converting the sugar into some other form and producing enzymes along the way. After 2 weeks or so, you can harvest the Enzymes drink by straining the fruit pieces. The resulting liquid is what people call Enzymes Drinks.

I am straining the fruit pieces from Enzymes liquid. Pretty straight forward. You can use a sieve as well. Most kitchens have these.

Some would use a straining bag to squeeze as much liquid as possible from the fruits. For me, I simply straining and discard the fruit pieces. I doubt that there is much liquid left in the fruit pieces anyway.  And some would use the remaining fruit pieces as jam or make fruit salads or something. As mentioned, I discard them. If you have a garden, they do make good compost.

600ml of Enzymes Drinks! Cool! And look at the colour! Looks exactly like pineapple juice. This compared to my previous attempts using brown sugar, I guess my colleagues would not be scared of trying the Enzymes Drinks anymore. As for the taste, pretty okay. Maybe a little too sweet (I might have used too much sugar) and there is a very distinct alcohol aroma, which again might not be appealing to those looking for a “health” drink. You do get a pineapple aftertaste though. But as for the Honey Dew flavour, it is non-existent in this drink. Well it is expected, since the Honey Dew I bought is of poor quality.

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