The warm weather continues. Everyone on the street looks happy and smiley. A lot are out and about after working hours and weekends to take the sun!

I can’t believe that time has flies and we are in July now, I hope you do try out the summer recipes that I have posted so far. Today, we are making Tuna Vegetable Couscous Salad. Sounds good? If you remember, I previously made Bulgur Wheat Salad, which is pretty similar to this one. However, couscous and bulgur are slightly different in texture and size. I like both of them!

Couscous is a coarsely ground semolina wheat. It is very widely used in Middle Eastern countries. Traditional couscous requires considerable preparation time and is usually steamed. Nowadays, you can get quick-cook couscous at the supermarkets. Couscous is most often served with meat, mostly chicken, lamb or mutton, and vegetables.

The quick-cook couscous can be prepared in minutes! To prepare this type of dried couscous, pour boiling water or broth over and then seal the bowl with plastic wrap. After a few minutes, the grain swells and can be fluffed with a fork. When correctly prepared, it has a tender, moist taste and a light, fluffy texture. For me, I still like to stick to the traditional way of steaming, even though it takes slightly longer to prepare.

The ingredients that I have chosen to make my couscous salad are really simple ones. They are canned tuna (I like Tuna in brine), cherry tomatoes, sweet corns, cucumber, black olives, parsley, mint, and feta cheese. And of course, good squeeze of lemon juice! Lemon juice plays a very important role in this dish! It makes it really refreshing and summery like!

Now, totally not related to food. I just want to tell you how much I love Peony. I think Peony is one of my favourite flowers. See how pretty they are!! What is your favourite flower(s)?

Summer Recipe: Tuna Vegetable Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

Couscous, 200g

Water, 1 litre

Cherry tomatoes, 200-250g

Parsley (finely chopped), handful

Mint (finely chopped), handful

Sweet corns, 1 small can

Tuna in brine, 1 can

Cucumber, half

Lemon, 1 or 1.5

Black Olives (chopped and some keep whole), 50g

Feta cheese, 70 – 80g

Extra Virgin Olive oil, 4 tbsp (or more if needed)

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Boil 1 litre of water in a saucepan and put in couscous and cook it according to the instruction on the packet. Once cook, strain and let it cool.

2. Chop parsley, mint, black olives. Halves cherry tomatoes. Cut cucumber and feta cheese into cubes.

3. In a large bowl, put in the cooked couscous. Mix in cherry tomatoes, black olives, parsley, mint, feta cheese, sweet corns, tuna, and cucumber.

4. Squeeze juice of 1 (or 1.5) lemon and mix with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.

6. Then, drizzle in about 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Give it a good mix.

7. Season with salt and black pepper.

8. Garnish with a few black olives.

Yes, it’s boiling! Temperature above 3o°C can be said as boiling! A heatwave warning has been issued for England, with temperatures in some areas potentially rising as high as 32C (90F) in the coming days. It’s unusual to see this kind of headline in the newspaper, but, hey, sounds good to me! Hopefully, this summer will be much much better than last, which I don’t remember I saw the summer sun for more than 1 week?

During warm and humid days, I love cold drinks. Chilled smoothies are great! Since there are plenty of berries at this time of the year, I grab the opportunity to buy all the berries that I like and blend them to make into a glass of goodness! There are no rules to make smoothie. You use whatever fruits you like and blend them into the best drink ever! Ah, full of vitamins, of course! If you are on detox diet plan, smoothie is a must in your menu.  What kind of fruits would you use to make your smoothie?

Summer is colourful, warm and lively. Make this smoothie today!

Recipe: Berries Summer Berry Smoothie

Ingredients:

Strawberries, 75g
Raspberries, 75g
Blackberries, 75g
Apple juice, 150ml
Crushed ice, some
Raspberries and blackberries to garnish, some

Method:

Place all of the fruits and juice in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass over ice and garnish with raspberries and blackberries.

I picked up the phone and was overjoyed when the DHL guy told me that there was a package for me. I had arranged the item to be delivered the next day. Firstly, it was because I wanted claim a few free items before the closing date. Secondly, I had finally made up my mind to purchase it as a gift to myself. (Oh, I love presents!!)

Anyway, it seems to me that my little Braun chopper needs to be replaced! It is not that efficient anymore. I need something solid that will last for a long time. Magimix seems to be the best option for me. I go for Compact 3200, which I think is the model that I need!

So far, I have used it to grind the spices paste for the Satay Chicken Wings. The result is fab! The paste is so smooth. I have also used my Magimix to mix all the ingredients for banana and walnut cake. Oh.. I used it the other day to liquidise soup and the list goes on! I haven’t used it to slice and chop yet, which I will try very soon. Personally, I think it is by far the best kitchen helper I have and it speeds up my job in the kitchen!

Today, I am going to share another great summer recipe with you guys. It’s Asian Chicken Burger! Again, every time when I see something yummy in a cookbook or magazine, I always like to share it!! Well, if you are plan to do BBQ, this is another great recipe! I have use my Magimix to mince the chicken breast. But, you can buy chicken mince if you want. I just thought that I want to use my new kitchen toy, you see. You can also substitute chicken mince with pork mince. I believe the result is as good.

This recipe is a mix of western and eastern idea and I really find it very interesting. Of course, it is delicious! The choice of using Ciabbata rolls is also a great idea! I love the texture. It makes a change from using normal burger buns or bread rolls. I guess, it adds a bit of rustic feel.

By looking and talking about this Asian chicken burger, it makes me really hungry!! As I haven’t had my dinner while I am writing this. Well, I have added some fish sauce, which I think makes it even more delicious – a little hint of fish sauce makes my Asian chicken burger feels and tastes even more Asian!

Ok, let’s see if this Asian chicken burger will tempt your appetite?

Recipe: Asian Chicken Burger (Adapted from Delicious Magazine)

Makes 10 medium burgers

Ingredients:

Good quality chicken or pork mince, 1kg

Toasted peanuts (finely chopped), 50g

Spring onions (finely chopped), a bunch

Fresh ginger (finely grated), 2.5cm

Grated lemon zest, 1 lemon

Light soya sauce, 2 tbsp

Maple syrup, 1 tbsp

Dried chili flakes, pinch

Coriander (finely chopped), a small bunch

To serve:

Maple syrup, 1 tbsp

Light soya sauce, 1 tbsp

Olive oil, 1 tbsp

Ciabatta rolls, 10

Sweet chili sauce

Soured cream

Shredded lettuce, sliced radishes and cress

Method:

1. Place all the burger ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Season with a little salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

2. Using wet hands, shape the mixture into 10 burgers. Place flat between sheets of baking paper in a rigid freezerproof container. Freeze up to 3 months.

3. Defrost the burgers completely in the fridge; this will take 3-4 hours. Mix the maple syrup, soya sauce, and oil. Brush over the burgers. Heat a griddle pan or barbecue to hot and cook the burgers for 3-4 minutes each side or until well-browned and cooked.

4. Toast the rolls. Top with chili sauce, soured cream, lettuce, radish and cress. Add the burgers, more salad and the top of the rolls.

Note: You can grill the burger straight without freezing. The rest can be kept frozen for later use.

I know that I am no master in baking but I have been hoping to bake more when I got more time. When comes to pastries, I only started to make savoury ones in recent years. I made quiches/tarts a while ago, like Spinach & Blue Cheese Tart and Cheese & Onion Quiche. They both were really nice and I like to make tarts for lunch from time to time as they are pretty simple and quick to prepare.

Last weekend, I tried for the first time to make pâte feuilletée (puff pastry). Pâte feuilletée (puff pastry)  is a light, flaky, unleavened pastry containing several layers of fat which is in solid state. It sounded pretty scary for me at first as I have never made pastry from scratch before. Worse still when I always tell myself that I am still a very beginner in baking.

I took a recipe off the internet and followed every step in making puff pastry. It worked !! But quite time consuming.  I want to perfect it so I hope to try making it again next time and show you guys every step in making pâte feuilletée if you are interested! I know that you can easily buy puff pastry from any major supermarkets but the idea of making things on my own does appeal to me very much!

So, what did I do with my puff pastry? To continue with the sumer recipes series, oh, I used it to make cherry tomato and zucchini tart, topped with buffalo mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala). Cherry tomatoes are abundant now. I bought lots of them to just eat raw or cook. They are the sweet little gems that I really adore.

Just a few weeks ago, I saw this really nice and easy recipe in one of the food magazines. They have used only cherry tomatoes. But, I thought, I could add zucchini too, to make it more Mediterranean. Also, that also makes it really colourful. Oh, I love my food to be colourful!

Cherry tomato and zucchini tart is suitable to be served as lunch or dinner. I guess while the weather is warm and nice like now, light lunch like this sounds like a good idea to me. If you want, you can make this into mini tartlets too. Mini tartlets like these are suitable to be served as pre-entree.

Give this cherry tomato and zucchini tart a try. I think it will be a fantastic idea to serve this easy but yummy recipe for lunch!

Recipe: Tomato and Zucchini Tart (Adapted from Delicious Magazine)

Ingredients:

Plain flour, for dusting

All-butter puff pastry, 500g

Finely chopped, 1 onion,

Fresh thyme leaves, 4 tsp

Olive oil, 4 tbsp

Vine-ripened cherry tomatoes (halved), 600g (about 48)

Baby mozzarella balls, 250g (about 20)

Black olives (pitted and halved), 16

Handful fresh basil leaves

Extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Lightly flour a work surface. Cut the puff pastry into 4, then roll out to 4 x 18cm squares that are 3mm thick (about the thickness of a pound coin). Place on a lightly floured tray and chill for 5 minutes. Remove and cut out 4 x 16cm circles, then, with a sharp knife, score an indent all around each one, about 1cm in from the edge, to make a border, and chill on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.

2. Preheat the oven to 230°C/210°C. In a frying pan over a low heat, soften the onion with the thyme in half the oil for 8 minutes without browning the onion, season, then leave to cool.

3. Take the puff pastries out of the fridge. Spread the onion mixture onto the pastry inside the scored line and top with the halved tomatoes, packed together.

4. Brush the tomatoes and the edges of the pastries with the rest of the olive oil and season. Cook in the oven for 12 minutes.

5. When cooked, remove the tarts from the oven and arrange the mozzarella and olives over the tomatoes. Return to the oven for 2-3 minutes until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

6. Garnish with basil and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil to serve.

The weather over the weekend has been glorious! Even though I have been a bit unwell – got flu and cough, I am glad to have my deserved weekend and enjoy warm and dry weather! This time last week, I got some problems with my blog. But, I am glad this week everything seems OK! *Keeps my fingers crossed*

When the weather is good , it’s time to bring out the BBQ!! Barbecuing can be as simple as throwing a few sausages or burgers onto the hot grill. There are many endless options to created exciting BBQ meals. I like to give some  thoughts on what I want to put onto the hot grill. I usually like to opt for seafood.

I think BBQ is fun as it means eating outdoor!! I remember when I was at high school, my mates and I liked to do BBQ party once in a while. Each of us would plan of what to put on the grill. It was fun! Until now, I think BBQ is a great idea when you have to organise a get together with your friends.

Today, I continue with my summer recipe series. It’s the 3rd recipe! We had Lemon and Chili Prawns Linguine and Blueberry Pistachio Tiramisu. Who doesn’t like chicken wings? Now, we are going to have something Malaysian!

I remember I have a very cute photo of myself as a kid, enjoying my chicken wings! It makes me laughs when I have flashback of my childhood! As I used a total of 4 fingers (the thumbs and the index fingers) when I eat chicken wings… until now, I still do! It may sound like a funny question, but, how many fingers do you use, I wonder??

Anyway, I think chicken wings are popular when comes to BBQ. There are so many ways to marinate chicken. I like to marinate meat when I cook to give it lovely and wonderful flavours! I decided to use my favourite marinate — exactly the same kind that you can use to make satay chicken!  Satay chicken is such so popular that almost everyone that I know loves it!

Instead of cutting the chicken breast or chicken thighs into pieces/strips and put on the skewers, I have used whole chicken wing on the skewer. You can do it without the skewer if you like. The reason I put chicken wings on the skewers is to make it easier and quicker to cook through on the grill.

If you have not got your BBQ grill out, you should do so and try this recipe!

Recipe: Satay Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

Chicken wings (about 12 wings), 1.5kg

Shallots, 6-8

Garlic, 3-4 cloves

Red chilies, 2-3

Dry chilies (soaked), 1-2

Lemongrass (white part), 1

Ginger/Galangal, 3cm

Coriander powder, 1tsp

Cumin powder, 1 tsp

Aniseed powder, 1 tsp

Turmeric, 2 tsp

White pepper, a dash

Salt, to taste

Sugar, 1-2 tsp

Vegetable oil, 2 tbsp

Quick peanut sauce to brush on the chicken: (optional)

Spice paste (as reserved from the marinate), 3-4 tbsp

Water, some

Vegetable oil, 1 tbsp

Tamarind juice, 2 tbsp

Roasted peanuts (ground and keep slightly chunky), 2-3 tbsp

Salt and sugar, to taste

Method:

1. In a food processor, blend shallots, garlic cloves, red chilies, dry chilies, lemongrass, and ginger/galangal until they become a paste.

2. Clean the chicken wings and dry them with kitchen towels.

3. In a big mixing bowl, put in the spice paste. Mix with coriander powder, cumin powder, aniseed powder, turmeric, white pepper, salt, oil and sugar. Keep some marinate aside in a small bowl, about 3-4 tbsp.

4. Put in all chicken wings in the big bowl and mix well. Make sure the chicken wings are well coated with the paste. Cover with cling film and marinate overnight.

5. To prepare a quick peanut sauce, heat a pan with oil. Put in the spice paste. Cook on low heat until fragrant and the oil starts to seep out. Add in tamarind juice and stir. Add in sugar and salt. Adjust the seasoning accordingly.

6. Add in some water to dilute the paste as it gets thicken. Then, add in the toasted ground peanuts and mix well. If the sauce gets too thick, thin it down with some water and adjust the seasoning if needed.

7. Heat up the grill and cook the marinated chicken wings for about 10-15 minutes on each side.

8. Brush the peanut sauce on top before serving.

This post should have posted on Sunday. But, something really weird happened! I couldn’t access to my Wordpress admin page and my website! I was worried for a few hours! I tried it from my Blackberry and it worked! I got a few friends of mine to check if they could access to my blog – most in London seemed to have problem getting onto my blog and after a while it said time out! One in Paris said it was ok!

However, between the downtime that I faced, some of my readers were able to leave comments on my blog, which confirmed that it was fine from everywhere else?! But, for some reasons, I couldn’t access! Those in London couldn’t?! How weird? Well, it wasn’t only my blog though, there were certain websites and blogs that took ages to load and finally timed out!  Was it my ISP? Did any of you have similar problem, I wonder?

Anyway, I am glad that this is now back to normal! (What a relief!) I make sure that I have a backup copy of EVERYTHING on My Cooking Hut if anything goes wrong!! You’ll never know! My advice to all the food bloggers: “Don’t take any chances, do make sure you have the most up to date of your blog content in your hard disk. You don’t want to be distraught one day if something goes wrong!”

Well, that incident aside. Back to my summer recipe series!

We had a main course last week, didn’t we? The summery Lemon and Chili Prawns Linguine! I don’t know if any of you have tried it, if not, please put it on your to-do/to-try. I, myself, will make it again this week cos it’s so good that I have bought 2 packets of good quality linguine!!

So, today, I am going to share a dessert with you guys. I don’t know if you have heard of Verrines. I think it’s the most trendy idea! In English, term like ‘Delights in a glass’ is used. Basically, Verrines, derived from the word verre, means glass. It’s a way of serving food, and usually layered dishes in small transparent glasses. The recipes for Verrines are not only limited to desserts, they could be for main or starter too. However, the rule is that it has to remain visibly and beautifully presented in the glass. 

The Verrines concept has all started when those chefs decided to create a new trendy wave in the world of culinary by serving up dishes in glasses. If you have been to some trendy or modern french restaurants, you would probably come across the amuse-bouche being served this way! This trend is then spread to the home cooks like us who are keen to create and prepare this at home for dinner parties or special occasions. To be honest, I personally love the Verrines idea and I think it makes the world of culinary very exciting! There are many possible ideas that you can create based on Verrines!

If Verrines is new to you, why not give it a try. Even if you have already discovered Verrines, this recipe is really easy and delicious to make. It does look very elegant and presentable – something that will impress your guests if you are planning a dinner party at home.

The original recipe uses raspberries, I have substituted raspberries with blueberries, they are just as good!

Summer Recipe: Blueberry & Pistachio Tiramisu (Tiramisu aux Myrtilles et aux Pistaches)

Adapted from: José Maréchal - Verrines toutes fraîches!

Makes 6 – 8 Verrines

Ingredients:

Eggs, 3

Mascarpone, 250g

Icing sugar, 80g

Lady fingers biscuits, 18 – 24

Fresh Blueberry (or Raspberry), 125g and extra for garnish

Pistachio, 60g

Chocolate biscuits, 4

Amaretto liquer, 1 small glass

Method:

1. Slightly mash the raspberries/blueberries in a bowl with 30g of sugar.

2. Use the food processor to finely crush lady fingers biscuits. Divide and layer it at the bottom of the glass. Repeat this to the rest of the glasses. Pour in amaretto in each glass and press the biscuits slightly using the tips of your fingers. Then, put a layer of mashed raspberries/blueberries on top of the biscuits. Put them into the fridge to chill.

3. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites into 2 separate bowls. Whisk the egg yolks with 25g of sugar until the colour turns almost white. After that, add in mascarpone and beat at high speed until it’s firm and well mixed.

4. Beat the egg whites until creamy and white. Then, add in 25g of sugar and continue to beat until they hold a stiff peak. Add in the beaten egg yolk and mascarpone mixture. Stir and mix well.

5. Pour in the mascarpone creme into each glass that has been layered with biscuits and mashed blueberries/raspberries. Put in the fridge for another 2 hours to set and chill.

6. Just before serving, crush the chocolate biscuits and pistachios and sprinkle them on top of the creme and garnish with a few blueberries/raspberries.

London has been brighten up by scorching sun for the past few days! “It was boiling!” I heard this many times during the days! Well, deep down inside, I still miss Maldives and I check the temperature in Maldives almost everyday and I say to myself “It’s warmer in Maldives, no doub about it!” I know now that my memory in Maldives will remain in my life forever. It’s just too difficult not to have flash back from time to time! Anyway, I need to live in the present and look forward.

Well, back to the weather in London. Yeah, the summer is almost here. Not quite there yet when the temperature drops below 20°C like today! I really hope that we are going to enjoy a bit more sunshine this year than last, which it decided to skip the summer! 

As summer is drawing closer,  I am really happy to announce that a series of summer recipes will be featured on my blog over the next few weeks!! (I am very excited about this!!) I thought this would be a great way to share no fuss and delicious summer recipe ideas with all of you! I have designed the badge to signify the launch of the ‘Summer Recipes’ on My Cooking Hut! I hope you’ll like this! I will put up this badge in each future post to indicate that it’s part of the series.

For the first recipe, I have decided to make Lemon & Chili Prawns Linguine. Linguine is a type of pasta in long, slender, flat strips. Linguine looks like fettuccine, but narrow like spaghetti. More often than not, linguine is served with seafood. To spice up our summer days, I thought prawns/shrimps and chili are good combination! Of course, lemon is not left out!

When I think of seafood and summer, I think of citrus!! Zesty, spicy, and light! It’s a great lunch/dinner for the summer! I garnish my lemon & chili prawns linguine with some finely chopped pitted black olives and some watercress. Just imagine having this plate of goodness with a glass of good Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling , Pinot Blanc.. etc in the garden under the sun, what more you want to ask for?

Recipe: Lemon and Chili Prawns Linguine

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Dried linguine, 400g

Olive oil, 5 – 6 tbsp

Garlic (chopped), 3

Red chilies (chopped), 2-3

Cherry tomatoes (quartered), 150g

Lemon zest, 2 tsp

Lemon juice, 125ml

King prawns (large), 16

Salt and pepper, to taste

Optional for garnishing:

Black olives (chopped), 5-6 

Watercress, a handful

Method:

1. Remove the heads and shells from the prawns, leaving the tails on. Slice them down the back – without cutting right through, then open them out and remove the vein. Season the prawns with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the linguine and cook according to the instructions or until they are al dente. Rinse under water and then pat dry. 

3. Cook the prawns until  they turn pink/orange and slightly golden remove and keep warm.

4. Put oil in a big pan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant but not brown. Add chopped chilies and fry for 1 minute until fragrant.

5. Then, add the tomatoes and fry for a further minute. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and season well. Cook for another 2 minutes. 

5. Drain the linguine and add to the pan and toss together well. Divide between 4 warmed pasta bowls. Garnish with chopped dark olives and watercress.

It wasn’t too long ago I found her. From her blog, I can already tell that she is another talented cook! Not only that, her photos are stunning too! Even though Vanille from At Down Under is living on the other side of the world, internet and blogsphere have made it possible for me to get to know her food through her blog! Vanille is going to share with us a fantastic recipe today. When I was looking at the photos that she sent to me, I was drooling instantly! So, you probably need a bib before carry on reading Open your eyes wide and enjoy! 

When Leemei asked me to be a guest blogger in her “Cooking Hut” and share a French recipe, I was very happy and nervous! Happy to be showcased in her delicious and beautiful blog and nervous to fulfill her expectations… After a collaborative discussion, we finally agreed to present a classic but, oh, so delicious dessert: Profiteroles!

As you may know, Profiteroles are made from “pâte à choux”, a precooked dough made of flour, water, butter and eggs; then filled with ice cream or pastry cream and topped with chocolate sauce.

Back in the 16th century, Italian chef Popelini, invents the “pâte à choux” and prepares what is called at this time, “poupelins”, choux filled with fruit jelly.

It’s only in 19th century, that French chef, Antonin Carême gave them a twist: New shape (éclair), new fillings (pastry cream and whipped cream) and new toppings (caramel, chocolate sauce). Croquembouche, éclair and profiteroles were born !
And how thankful can we be for that!

So stop to stare at the screen and give it a go ! Profiteroles are fairly easy to make and delectable! Thank you, Leemei for this invitation !

Recipe: Profiteroles

Ingredients:

Dough (pâte à choux)

Water, 250ml

Eggs, 4

Flour, 200g

Butter, 100g

Salt, 1 pinch

Semifreddo Vanilla & Hazelnut

Eggs, 3

Egg yolks, 2

Vanilla pod (split and seeded), 1

Caster sugar, 200g

Pouring cream, 500ml

Hazelnuts (chopped), 50g

Chocolate Sauce

Dark chocolate (chopped), 125g

Unsalted butter (chopped), 25g

Method:

1. In a pan bring to the boil butter, water and salt.

2. Remove from fire and add all the flour in one time. Mix thoroughly to get a smooth dough without any lump.

3. Replace over the fire and dry the dough mixing non-stop until the dough doesn’t stick the pan side.

4. Remove from fire and go on mixing until the dough cool a bit.

5. Add egg one by one and mixing well after each addition. 

6. Preheat oven to 180°C.

7. Fill a piping bag with the dough and draw disks (diameter 4 cm) on a oven tray covered with baking paper. Keep distance between each disk, they will puff while cooking.

8. Bake for 10 minutes. Then, let ajar the oven door with a wooden spatula and bake for 10 minutes more.

9. Remove from oven and with a wood pick, prick the side of each piece (to let the steam escape). Let them cool completely on a cooling rack. 

For the semifreddo:

1. Place eggs, extra yolks, vanilla seeds and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of simmering water and using a hand-held electric (or not) mixer beat for 6-8 minutes or until thick and pale.

2. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold through the egg mixture until well combined. Add chopped hazelnuts.

4. Pour in a 2 litres capacity container and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.

For the chocolate sauce:

1. In a sauce pan, over low fire, slowly melt chocolate with butter.

2. Finally, slice each choux horizontally and fill it with a scoop of semifreddo, then pour chocolate sauce on the top.

Please be patient with the loading as this post contains lots of photos.

I don’t know where to start…. But, I had just returned from a wonderful holiday – 10 fabulous days in the stunning paradise – Maldives! Yes, I feel refreshed and (tanned). No, I’m not glad to be back! I really wish that I could extend my holiday! I was hoping to win lottery so that I can have the greatest excuse to continue the next destination of our holiday, perhaps? Oh well, that dream of becoming millionaire overnight didn’t happen!

As you could probably imagine, I am still jet-lagged. Tuesday isn’t the easiest for me! I feel like I’m floating in the air when I sit in front of the computer screen! I tend to move my clock forward (GMT +5) to Maldivian time! My mind tends to wander off. I tend to think of what I would be doing if I were still in Maldives. A few times a day, this happens and it’s just not good as it means that my heart is still in Maldives, let alone my mind!

I remember we landed at Malé airport before dawn. So, we missed the majestic view from high above! We were met by a representative from the hotel. It was quite a big boat for just the two of us, we felt privileged! The temperature must have been 30 over degrees Celsius, it was the kind of temperature that I am familiar with. Kind of humid but that didn’t bother me at all. Instead, I feel really at home, just like the kind of atmosphere back home in Malaysia!

After about 25 minutes of boat ride, we finally reached! Velassaru is the hotel that we had decided to spend our 10 days in Maldives. It is located on the South of Malé. Velassaru was previously known as Laguna Resort. SLH recently bought it over and gave it a face lift. In fact, Velassaru had just opened slightly more than 2 months! At first, we were worried that there might be some hiccups during the early days of operation. We filled ourselves with lots of information through Tripadvisor. In fact, there were many people who had booked this newly refurbished hotel were more anxious than us!

We were led to our Beach villa. As soon as we entered, I was really impressed with the space, design and ambience! It’s just like one of those that I have been dreaming of staying! The view from the king-size bed is the white sandy beach, blue sky and turquoise water. The door behind the bed leads to a very spacious bathroom: 1 indoor shower, toilet, 1 bath tub just right opposite of the 2 washing basins, and an outdoor shower! Oh my god!! I couldn’t be more excited than jumping up and down! I wanted to take my shower right away! I don’t mind to take the longest shower in my life!

I personally think that all the details for the Beach Villa have been well thought. I can’t really find fault to say that I didn’t like any bit of it. I enjoyed the space and the veranda. I miss the ceiling fan that you can’t live without in the tropical countries. So, it looks like I’ve missed all these – the warmth, the environment, all the bits and pieces in the tropical! I said to myself that I would cherish every second I have in Maldives!

Here it comes not too good stuff that I am going to share. But, I do believe criticisms help improvements. As a foodie, I have to say that the food served at Velassaru was not amazing and really disappointing! This is probably one of the areas that they have to seriously look into.

We were on half board; we had our buffet breakfasts and dinners at one of the five restaurants. Lack of choices is where the problem lies. I am not fussy, but I think the chef could do better. Buffet could be great if the menu is well thought through. I have tried really great buffet breakfast and dinner at Westin and Intercontinental. But, Velassaru hasn’t performed up to its proclaimed 5-star standard. Another issue is that, food wasn’t kept warm enough. They could have identified this problem easily, I wonder why they didn’t. Perhaps, no one has complaint so far?

I was hoping that they would serve some Maldivian food. Again, that wasn’t on their list. They had some Asian stir-fry dishes and surprisingly Beef Rendang! We did try dinner at another restaurant called Sand. They serve mainly seafood. The food wasn’t too bad, not great as nothing could go wrong with grilled seafood! Apart from prawns and squids, we had a big Garoupa, nicely grilled but lacked of character. I would probably have done it with a bit of spices and wrap the fish in banana leave to give it a bit of a Maldivian flair!

From food and restaurants perspective, I think Velassaru have tried too hard to be Westernized. Etesian serves Mediterranean food with great selections of wines. You could do a wine tasting session after your meal at the restaurant. It’s not this whole marketing stuff that puts me off a little, but, why would you want to do wine tasting in Maldives? Better off to get the real experience in France? And why Mediterranean food instead of Maldivian? Again, this is my personal view. I guess, serious thoughts and strategies needed in the F&B area.

Having said all the not too nice stuff, I have to admit that it didn’t spoil my entire holiday, though of the slight disappointment. I guess, from the aspect of food, I was pretty relaxed about it! It wasn’t a culinary kind of vacation so to speak! I was pretty happy with ok enough food like some Asian stir-fry, curry like Rendang, Lasagne, salad, and Pasta. Having said that, the pizza was pretty good! Choices are not great but the surrounding takes over!

Fen bar is a great place to chill before and after dinner. It’s just right opposite of the pool area. We didn’t spend a lot of time near the pool side. When you have the crystal clear water, you don’t really need the pool, do you?

If you were to ask me about my routine in Maldives, it was so simple! 1) Woke up pretty early at 8-ish every morning. 2) Took a stroll by the beach to the restaurant for breakfast. 3) Another long strolled back to the Beach Villa. 4) Put on some sunscreen. 5) Swimming, sun-bathing, reading, chilling… 6) Walked around on the island at least 3 times a day. 7) Tick tock, tick tock, time for dinner. Occasionally we played ping pong and tennis. 9) Took shower then dinner. 10) Chilled then went to bed (pretty early every night). As you could tell, it was as laid-back as we could!!

Well, one of the highlights in Maldives was this evening fishing trip that we went. It was a 3-hour fishing trip. Quite a number of people had joined this. I was truly excited with my first ever experience of Maldivian fishing with the hope to catch something and get the Chef to cook it! My patience ran out quickly during the first hour or so (proven that I am not  good at fishing!) I didn’t catch anything and I was almost given up! Then, we changed our location in the last 1 hour. So, I thought, my luck would change. It almost did, I think! At one point, I could tell that something big caught on my bait. It was a strong battle between me the the ‘mysterious’ stuff. With 3 persons’ energy, we failed to fight! And it has and will remain a mystery what was caught on my bait. Stuck on massive Corals? Big Tuna? Barracuda? Garoupa?

Anything special that I have experienced/seen in Maldives? Well, I would say that it was the first time that I laid my eyes on triggerfish. We were told that it was the nesting season for them. So, we should leave their territory to avoid their bite! Other than that, I saw baby sharks and sting rays!! We didn’t have to dive or snorkel to see them, they were pretty near to the shore!

Other than this, we saw a couple tying the knot in Maldivian style. And they appeared to be our ‘neighbour’, les nouveaux maries (the newly weds), congrats!

It rained probably 2-3 days when we were there. Well, it was heavy pour that lasted for 20 minutes or so. Of course, rain would be the last I wanted but without the rain, I wouldn’t have seen the most amazing rainbow! It looks too good to be true? But, you better believe it.. it’s real!

….. my mind felt fuzzy… my droppy eyes do not help me to concentrate.. I think I should stop to fill this post with too many words.. I would let the pictures speak for themselves! (Going through the photos and picking them is not an easy task. However, I hope I have chosen the best!) PS: I did see Maldives from high above when we left for London… what can I say, a lot of little islands sparkle like jewels!