Review: Tampopo Restaurant @ Liang Court - Japanese Ramen with a Beefy Twist!

I apologise for not posting this entry sooner. That's because everytime I visited Tampopo since the start of this month where they have the Beef Soup Stock Ramen/ Udon promotion, I have been too anxiously slurping up my noodles to remember to take photos!

By now you'd know that I'm addicted to Ramen. Tampopo has always been well known for their Black Pig Shabu Shabu Ramen, but from now till 7 Nov 2010 (not much time left!!) they have launched a series of ramen and udon that has a beef bone soup base instead of the conventional Tonkotsu (pork-bone soup) ones.

Being spoilt for choice with ramen joints sprouting everywhere in Singapore, this has been a welcomed (and very pleasantly surprising) change. I have gone to Tampopo for their Rich Beef Udon (below) 3 times this month, and also got Kays to order their Original Beef Ramen so that I could steal some of that too!

Rich Beef Nabe-udon

On arrival, the lovely rich aroma of the beef stock filled the air, somewhat like an oxtail stew. The sheen of the soup came from the glorious beef collagen (good for skin!) and because it's all scalding hot, I quickly spooned over the soup onto the raw egg so that the top portion gets semi-cooked too. The thinly sliced beef is nothing short of expectations, with marbled fats lining the edges and perfectly cooked. You are forced to slurp the soup ever so gently because of the heat, but that's how you would best savour it anyway! It's been a while since I tasted something that made my eyes open wide with glee, and in Kays' words - made me want to 跑沙滩 (translated: run along the beach in slow motion)... Not sure what I mean? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHBMl7KSmc0 

Original Beef Ramen - Shio flavour

Kays' Original Beef Ramen uses a similar soup base, but unlike my claypot version which boils and thickens the soup, it is lighter but just as tasty. This one comes with a couple of slices of pan-fried steak, which is succulent and sweet, and sticks of chewy Konnyaku that we're familiar with in Oden. The ramen series also feature Miso, Kimuchi and Wasabi flavours which I have yet to try. If anyone has any feedback on these, do let me know please! 

Remember, it's till 7 Nov so there's not much time left! Not sure if their other outlets under the Tampopo family (such as Tarafuku @ 313 Somerset) has the same promotion, but I'm sure the Liang Court and Takashimaya branches definitely has it, so hurry! Hopefully enough people love this as much as I do and Tampopo makes this a permanent menu item! *fingers crossed*

9 out of 10

Tampopo Restaurant

177 River Valley Road

#01-23/24 Liang Court Shopping Centre

Tel: +65 6338-3186

Opening Hours: 

Daily 11:30am - 10:30pm

391 Orchard Road

#B2-33 Takashimaya Shopping Centre 

Tel: +65 6235 2318

Opening Hours: 

Daily 11:00am - 10:00pm

Review: Ippudo Tao @ UE Square

This post has been long overdue, but nonetheless... here goes~

Ippudo Tao (the new branch of Ippudo @ Mandarin Gallery) has now been opened for about 2 months at UE Square along Mohammed Sultan, River Valley. I was really excited when they were still renovating a few months before that because we'd no longer have to fight the long queues at their flagship store in Orchard, and still get to taste their gorgeous ramen. I can now officially say that Singapore's best ramen are all within 1km radius of my workplace! Yeah!!

More about Ippudo Tao. This branch is so named because of their tie up with the Japanese Drum performance group Tao. The group doesn't actually perform here, but their live shows are screened at the restaurant.

Menu-wise, while Ippudo @ Mandarin Gallery has only 2 main flavours - Shiro (white) and Aka (Red), Ippudo Tao's range is slightly different. Here, "Shiro" is still on its menu as the main offering - basically the original Hakata-styled milky pork bone soup base (Tonkotsu) paired with white skinny noodles, cooked to the desired firmness.

In addition to the above there is also a new "Aka" which is different from the one at the original branch (see pic below). This Aka consists of a Tonkotsu base with Miso paste, stir-fried minced pork as its toppings, plus it is paired with CURLY, skinny noodles (kinda like instant noodles appearance-wise).

Finally, my personal favourite is the new "Kuro" (black), which like Nantsuttei, is Shiro with Oomph - topped with the Aromatic garlic Mayu (black garlic oil) and is served with yellow thick noodles. After trying all 3 types, I now regularly order the Kuro BUT substitute with the Shiro skinny noodles. The staff usually gets a bit confused and tells me it can't be customised, but they will always do it for you once they get confirmation from the manager. Just my personal preference! :)  

 Aka Tamago Ramen $17 ($15 for just ramen without the half-boiled egg)

Gyoza with "skin"!

Like their first outlet, consistency (especially the tamago done-ness) is still sometimes an issue, but they usually get it right. Also for a few extra dollars, you can turn it into a set lunch that includes a salad, gyoza and a soft drink!

From the time that they've opened, the menu has vastly expanded to include a whole host of izakaya items such as yakitori and kushiage. I'd strongly recommend their fried lotus root chips - a surprisingly light but yummy accompaniment to a happy hour beer (or Coke in my case!).

Business has been brisk, supported by many of my colleagues and the place is also filled in the evenings. Roadside parking is now a challenge again along Mohd Sultan Road, so be warned!

Of course it's in Ah Mak's Ramen Must Try List! *SLURP*

9 out of 10

Ippudo TAO

207 River Valley Road

#01-55/56
UE Square
Singapore 238275

Tel: +65 6887-5315

Opening Hours:

Mondays to Thursdays
11am-3pm
5pm to midnight
(Last order at 10pm)
Fridays to Saturdays
11am to 3pm
5pm to 2am
Sundays
11am to 11pm
(Last order 10pm)

I'm the Bakezilla!

It's been a long time since I last blogged - mainly because almost all weekends over the past couple of months had been fully occupied with baking and cake decorating.

Aside from fulfilling orders for a few friends, Cor & I have also recently completed the PME Professional Diploma - Sugar Paste Module @ Bake-it-Yourself, which helped to improve our sugar crafting skills given that I've really been self-taught so far, and saved lots of time and heartache spent to trial and error on my own. The course itself was rather intense, because it takes up a significant amount of time for each class, but we all took away some valuable knowledge, and made a few great friends!

So here are some of my creations during the course:

Fruit/ Picnic Basket Cake

This cake was decorated with Frannie in mind as I brought this to her farewell party that evening. The theme was ER (Emergency Room) so I thought the "Fruit basket" may be apt. She is originally from the Philippines, and hence the smiley mango!

In this class we learnet more about patchwork cutters, embossers as well as how to create a fabric effect. Had some time to spare so decided to play with lustre dusts and butterflies

For our final project we were asked to create a tiered wedding cake. My theme was a little more Art Deco but didn't have enough time to finish up (because I encountered problems on the baking stage which took up way too much time!) 

I'm not totally happy with the outcome but I've definitely learnt lots from this project!

So after taking a week off at the end of the course, it was back to baking for friends again! First up was Cupcakes for Tiff's boys as Teacher's Day gifts:

Vanilla Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

And my most challenging project to date was for little Ian's 3rd Birthday - a 3D Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Cake! It took lots of planning especially around the architectural setup, some physics as well as making sure that from a design angle it actually resembled the MM Clubhouse!

This is what the real toy looks like:

And my finished product (Mickey, Pluto and Goofy figurines were provided by the birthday boy's parents):

Ah Mak's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Cake

I was so glad that things turned out alright in the end, because there was some major cake drama in the morning where the weight of the head and hand couldn't hold due to the overnight humidity change! I had to redo some parts on the spot under lots of time pressure.

It felt amazing though, to see little Ian playing with the cake thinking that it's the real clubhouse! hehe...

I can feel that with each project, I'm "levelling up" like in RPG games (sorry the geek in me is speaking)! More coming up this month, so watch this space!

Review: Imperial Treasure Windows of Hong Kong @ TripleOne Somerset

Newly opened at TripleOne Somerset (formerly the Singapore Power Building) is another bunch of Imperial Treasure outlets. This latest threesome consists of Imperial Treasure Bakery, Steamboat Restaurant as well as Windows of Hong Kong (let's call it WHK for short). I've been back at WHK twice now and been raving to friends and family since - its 4 treasures rice set (四寶飯) has been my favourite thing in the past couple of weeks. 


This dish is extra special to me because of the memories I have back in HK when I was probably around 7 or 8 years old - whenever my grandfather used to work late and couldn't make it home for dinner in time, he would always buy food back and Jack & I would get all excited because that meant supper time for us! We'd grab our kiddy personalised bowls + chopsticks and he'd always share his food with us, despite having not that much in the first place. I still vividly remembered the wonderful texture and fragrance of bits of salted egg yolk mixed with steamed rice. Those were the days where life's simplest things makes you happy..


At $7.00, I found this set extremely good value-for-money given its location - the rice was topped with a chicken wing, slices of succulent, juicy Char Siew, marinated octopus slices, and of course half a salted egg and drizzled with seasoned soy sauce. As a set the rice is accompanied by a choice of either a hot coffee/tea or soup of the day. For the soup, one can choose between a chinese or "western" style, I'd usually go for their chinese double boiled soup. As a Cantonese, I really miss having soup since I've been busy with work there's hardly time to prepare your own, so this is a great way to satisfy my cravings for flavourful, nourishing soup!

Four Treasures Rice Set with Fuzzy Melon & Octopus soup (四寶飯＋節瓜章魚湯) - ok the name may not sound enticing, but think of it as winter melon soup with oomph!

Jack insists that the Baked Pork Chop Rice was also worth a re-visit and XQ loved it as well:

XQ's Baked Pork Chop Rice Set 焗豬排飯＋節瓜章魚湯 ($8.50)

While this is still slightly inferior compared to the likes of Maxim's and Cafe de Coral in HK, it's one of the most authentic eateries here in terms of HK style fast food, and at those prices, I'm definitely going back regularly! And I'm dying to try their steamboat branch - will plan for it this week~!

8.5 out of 10
Imperial Treasure Windows of Hong Kong
111 Somerset
#01-K1/24/25
TripleOne Somerset

Review: Good, hearty Breakfast @ Restoran Win Heng Seng - Jalan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur

Kays & I were back in his hometown KL over the weekend for brother-in-law Yew & ST's wedding celebration. It was an extremely short trip so we've not been able to cover much grounds on the food front. I still have on my list Soo Kee KL Hokkien Mee & Beef Hor Fun, Klang Bak Kut Teh, SS2 Mi Goreng special!! Unfortunately these are all located very far from one another so I will probably take a few trips to fulfill them all.

One of the Woo-boys' comfort food is the Pork Ball Noodle Soup, and Yew brought us specially to Win Heng Seng coffeeshop @ Jalan Imbi which is one of the better known stalls in KL.

If you're staying in the KL city area, this place is just a short walk/ cab ride around the corner from Jalan Bukit Bintang. This coffee shop is located prominently at the corner of Jalan Imbi, next to an open air carpark in the day (that magically transforms to even more food stalls by night) so it's hard to miss.

Pork Ball Noodle Soup

The rice noodles (kway teow) was cooked al dente, topped with fresh chopped scallions, marinated minced pork, pork balls that somehow were never round. What made the most lasting impression were interestingly their dark, flavourful sausages. 

While their soup base didn't have as much oomph as our regular stall in Petaling Jaya, this is no doubt a favourite breakfast haunt for many locals.

It's usually packed so be prepared to wait a while for a table

this is the stall we bought from - just look out for this uncle and the stack of sausages at the side!

Do also try the Sio Bao and egg tarts at the little pastry stall around the corner, which seems to be another crowd puller in the morning.

Next trip in December, so I will attempt at fulfilling my list again!

7 out of 10
Restoran Win Heng Seng 永興成茶餐室
Jalan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur

Hiatus...

I have not been posting much lately... But here's kinda why - a sneak preview of what I've been up to!

More to come when I'm done this weekend!

Review: Brunch @ Cafe Hacienda - Dempsey

Under XQ & Jack's recommendation we checked out Cafe Hacienda @ Dempsey for brunch a couple of weeks back. I'd been to Hacienda (the bar side) several years ago and they've since expanded to include a cafe/bistro arm at a separate "barrack" which used to belong to Wine Network. These are the same guys behind the now defunct Brown Sugar, located at StarDus along River Valley road, Prive @ Keppel Marina and Superfamous @ Chulia St.

The decor is rather rustic, with basic furnishings and checkered table cloths. We were seated near their book shelves and were happy to see our favourite childhood Roald Dahl books on display! 

Mental note to return for my favourite Brown Sugar Hand-chopped Wagyu burger (there used to be a + foie gras version as well!), but since it was still a little too early for that sort of decadence, we opted for more "breakfasty" food instead.   

XQ's pretty Banana + Chocolate milk shake

The lattes - flower pattern for me, some wavy one for Jack!

All Day Breakfast menu - this is their Ultimate Breakfast with perfectly done sunny-side up eggs. Our Yeh Yeh would love this!

Fluffy Strawberries + Banana Pancake stack wth thick gooey maple syrup and whipped double cream

Eggs Royale with Smoked Salmon & Arugula - Even though the symmetry of this dish seemed a little disturbing, it was one of the best poached eggs + hollandaise sauce I've ever tasted! Lightly scorched on top and with a hint of tanginess, not too over-powering!

The star of the day was definitely the straight cut truffle fries for us! (we succumbed to the temptation afterall, with some urging on from one another) Ah Mak says: MUST ORDER THIS!!

Yet another lovely place for a relaxing weekend brunch. In fact, we're planning to go again this weekend so Kays gets to try too!

8.5 out of 10
Cafe Hacienda
13/13A Dempsey Road
Tel: +65 6476 2922

Review: Creperie des Arts @ Princep Street - Some of the Best French Crepes in Singapore!

After watching Iron Man 2 with Jack and XQ, we went hunting for food around the Cathay/ Selegie vicinity and decided on Creperie des Arts, which Jack & I spotted a couple of nights ago while having dinner at the neighbouring Sumomo, which warrants a separate post because the food there was good too!

I digress. Creperie des Arts is located at the shophouse row right opposite POMO, near the 24-hour Mr Bean cafe along Princep Street. It's got a nice terrace up front which is great for alfresco dining on a cool breezy evening. We however got ourselves seated indoors because it was full outside. It's a quaint little joint with wooden interiors and warm fuzzy lighting, decorated with fishing nets and fake crabs (!) to emulate the Brittany coastal feel.

The owners/staff were really friendly, and we felt totally at ease. On their menu there were several interesting looking starters such as Duck Rillette and Pate, and a huge variety of crepes in both sweet and savory (galettes) forms! The restaurant also served grilled meats but we decided to focus on what they're named after!

Both of the Galettes we ordered were heavenly - crepes were paper thin, buttery and nicely crisp! Reminds me a little of the tissue/paper pratas at the mamak stalls hehe..

The "Catherine" Galette

The "Catherine" came with Spinach, Bacon and Gruyere. We loved the way the crepe was crispy at first bite, then you reach the soft centre of mashed up cheese/spinach and finally comes the flavourful, smoky bacon!  

The "Saint Caradee" Galette

The "Saint Caradee" came filled with a creamy leek fondue, topped with pan seared scallops (1 each for us!). The leek fondue was aromatic with a hint of sweetness, but the highlight for the night was really the scallops! They were cooked to perfection - fresh, succulent on the inside, crispy and lightly charred on the outside. *bliss*  

The classic Crepe Suzette

Last but not least, we ended the meal with the all-time classic Crepe Suzette. Just as I wondered aloud whether they would prepare it in front of you (as do most french restaurants) because they have a rather low ceiling and I didn't want them to burn the shop down, the waiter came and poured lit Cointreau over the crepe at our table! The citrusy sorbet and orange sauce were sweet yet tangy and the crepe was nicely soaked through, but it was a little too alcoholic for our liking. Perhaps a little less of the liquor would be better.

Overall, Creperie des Arts is a fabulous place to just chill out with dear friends, and if you like, pick up a few simple french words from the lady boss!

8 out of 10
Creperie des Arts
44 Prinsep Street
#01-02/02 Prinsep Place
Tel: +65 6333 5330

Review: Four Fingers Bonchon Crispy Chicken @ ION Orchard #2

Since the last post a few months back where my experience at ION's 4 Fingers Bonchon Crispy Chicken was rather disappointing, I've decided to give this place a second try.

Upon entering - the store was noticeably tidier, and the store manager was around to supervise the staff, who were also a lot friendlier. Seems like they have taken the initial feedback seriously indeed! We ordered the Soy & Garlic chicken wings as well as the Shrimp & Calamari combos and the waiting time is much shorter this round. I nosily peeked into the kitchen and also realised that it's also much cleaner! Kudos to the owners for working hard to fine tune their operations!

Food-wise I really liked my Shrimp & Calamari combo, which came with seasoned fries. I'd chosen the Soy & Garlic seasoning for the mains and I liked the fact that it was salty yet mildly sweet. The chicken wings were also much juicier beneath the batter so I'd realised that this is actually how it was supposed to taste! The last time I tried, the wings tasted like they were double/triple-deep fried to the extend that all the moisture was lost and they were closer to chicken wing chips!

So the verdict is that I'm glad I gave this place another shot, and I would definitely visit again - I'm now a convert! Hope that the owners will continue to perfect their products and operations - well done guys!

Soy & Garlic Chicken Wings

Shrimp & Calamari Combo

7 out of 10
4 Fingers Bonchon Crispy Chicken
2 Orchard Turn
#B4-06A ION Orchard

Review: Galbiati Gourmet Deli @ The Rail Mall

I've been wanting to post this for sometime now but never found the time. This is a real gem nestled amongst the row of shops at The Rail Mall. If you're looking for a nice quiet place to chill out on a weekend, this is perfect for brunch/lunch!

Galbiati's menu looks compact at first, but they do have a strong variety of antipasti, pastas, pizzas and mains! And always check the board for specials because they usually have great seasonal stuff. This time Kays and I ordered their oysters which were extremely fresh and FAT!

For pasta I'd highly recommend their squid ink pasta. If you're comfortable enough with your date/ companion to have black teeth or goth lips, then go all out with the squid ink pasta + squid ink sauce! It is very delicious, really, but Kays and I were going out after lunch so we went for the Al Granchio (crabmeat, basil, in tomato and cream sauce) instead. The thing I love about their homemade squid ink pasta (think black fettucine) is that it seems to have more bite and smoother than regular pastas, and on top of that it has a hint of "squidish" flavour.

As for Pizza, I'd recommend the Parma Ham with Arugula! Pictured here is the salami pizza which was a nice simple cheesy treat, with crispy thin crust.

This place reminds me very much of Da Paolo back in the early days, before they expanded rapidly and I feel it's kinda lost that authentic Italian homemade touch... (coincidentally as I'm writing this and did some research, I realised that Chef Roberto Galbiati was formerly the Executive Chef in Da Paolo!)

They have recently opened a second outlet along Upper Bukit Timah for takeaways and delivery, so check their website for more details!

Salami Pizza

Lovely squid ink pasta with al Granchio sauce

Oysters that were oh-so-fresh and succulent!

7.5 out of 10

Galbiati Gourmet Deli
400 Upper Bukit Timah Road,
The Rail Mall 678050
Tel: +65 6462 0926
Mon-Fri 11am-10pm
Sat/Sun/P.Hol 10am-10pm
Closed on Tuesdays except Public Holidays

Review: Itacho Sushi - Ah Mak's MUST ORDER list

Hailing from my hometown, this Hong Kong sushi chain is usually a must-do stop when ever I'm back home, although there's almost always a long queue and no less than half an hour's wait!

So imagine my delight when owner Ricky decided to open a branch in ION Orchard! Business has been off to a good start and while its sushi are generally good value, I say... focus on the good stuff!! we'd always order the same stuff over and over - like clockwork we'd sit down, take one of each colourful order sheet and tick our "usuals". These items may not be cheap per se, but compared to other pricier sushi joints, these "premium" items are excellent value in our eyes! So here goes:

1. Fatty Tuna (Otoro) sushi - I like mine with less tendon

2. Negitoro Handroll (Minced fatty tuna with scallions)

3. Cod Liver with Scallop sushi

4. Ikura (Salmon Roe) Chawamushi

5. Foie Gras sushi - pan seared and caramelised with sugar

6. And I always save this for last - Wagyu aburi sushi 

(grilled wagyu beef topped with minced garlic)

The bill works out to be about $30 per pax - where in other fine dining Japanese restaurants would be the price of just 2 pieces of Otoro sushi! However, I noticed that they've raised prices a couple of months ago...

And then a perfect ending to the sushi feast - head down to B4 ION Food Hall's Mei Heong Yuen (味香园) for a nice big bowl of Taiwanese "Snow Ice". It's light, fluffy and milky, just like the ones I love in Taiwan's shilin market! Only thing about this place is that it's TINY and always full! So pray that you'd get a table!

Mango Snow Ice ($5)

8 out of 10
Itacho Sushi


#B2-18 ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn

8 out of 10
Mei Heong Yuen

#B4-34 ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn

Review: Nantsuttei Ramen @ Parco Millenia Walk

I've been wanting to check out the latest batch of Japanese eateries that have recently opened at Parco Millenia Walk since the start of April, but just never got down to it. Finally, I dragged the family down for yet another Ramen meal today - this time at Nantsuttei which also specialises in Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen. 

We went for a late lunch because we were still a little stuffed from the cookies earlier in the morning. Once we stepped in, we noticed the very homely feel Nantsuttei had, which is a nice change compared to all the other more "posh-looking" ramen joints. At 3pm - this place was still full of customers!

 Mous posing

The other thing I'd noticed was that the guy at the counter (plus a couple of the other kitchen staff) all looked like the cartoon mascot for the shop (sans the over-sized nostrils)!! Hilarious~

 I liked that they have a good sense of humour

We each ordered a different variety of their signature Tonkotsu ramen - Mous chose the Dragon Ramen ($15) (i.e. Ramen with spicy minced pork), I had the Charshu-men ($16) + Ajitsuke Tamago/ Seasoned Egg ($1) and Kays had the "standard" Ramen ($12).

Charshu-men (left), Ramen (right) and Dragon Ramen (top)

The soup may not make a very good visual impression on the get go, because of the layer of black oil that's formed on top, which is really one of the selling points of their ramen - it's a special garlic oil that adds a lovely caramelised aroma to the soup. To that, ask the staff for fresh garlic + garlic press, and you'll further intensify the flavours! Quite heavenly really, just don't do this right before an important meeting or date!... Or convince the others to join you!

Noodles are surreptitiously hidden!

Noodles are straight but not like the "floury" sort at other Hakata Ramen outlets I've been to, and more "Q" which I'm fine with (+). The Charshu is melt-in-your-mouth (+) and the soup is full of oomph (+). However, I'm not a fan of beansprouts so I passed most of it to Kays (-) and the Ajitsuke Tamago came overcooked (-). Given that they've only been open for less than a month, I would give them some time to iron out their operations and will definitely visit again regardless!


Now, the most important part: how good was their ramen relative to the competition? Well, I'm pleased to say, Nantsuttei has officially entered Ah Mak's Must Try List as #3, right after Ippudo, and taking over Ichiban Tei which still has a special place in my heart for many years!

8.5 out of 10

Nantsuttei Ramen
No.P3-06, #03-02 Millenia Walk
9 Raffles Boulevard, Singapore 039596
Tel: +65 6337 7166 

Recipe: Best Ever Soft-Baked Choc Chip Cookies??

I'm still very much a beginner at baking stuff, because it requires some sort of precision and technical understanding. I'd much rather cook day-to-day dishes because it allows me to improvise based on whatever I could get my hands on in the fridge!

Of late, I've been researching on the net on Soft-baked Chocolate Chip cookie recipes - because Kays absolutely LOVES them, but always has a hard time looking for good soft-baked cookies. So far, his choices have been limited to Subway & Pepperidge Farm (sold at supermarkets), and we always wished that Marks & Spencer would stock something like this, but with no such luck. So this weekend I decided to give him a little treat:

 Ah Mak's Soft-baked Chocolate Chip & Macadamia Nut Cookies

After going through various recipes, I'd realised that the common ingredient amongst all of them was Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix! THAT is the secret to the soft & chewy centre, while the outer crust is nice and crispy.

Another tip when trying out recipes from the net. If you're not experienced or not sure whether you'd like it, reduce the portions stated in the recipes PROPORTIONATELY so that you don't end up with a huge batch of food which you don't like. Since this is the first time ever I've tried out cookies, and I'm always worried that they'd turn out too sweet or too many, I halved the original recipe and and luckily so because it still yielded almost 25-30 cookies!

This recipe is so amazingly simple, and best of all, minimal washing required! The family was happily chowing them down and Kays has requested for white chocolate chips + cranberries next, and Mous suggested sultanas/ raisins~. The dough is standard, so knock yourselves out coming up with new combinations!

Yields 25-30 Cookies (depending on size)
Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups All Purpose/ Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup Butter (approx 230g) - softened at room temperature and cubed
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Caster Sugar
1 pack (1.5oz) Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup chopped Macadamia nuts (I was too lazy to chop them up and decided they'd have giant chunks instead!)

All ingredients are easily accessible 

(instant vanilla pudding mix can be found at Cold Storage/ Marketplace outlets)

Directions:
1. Preheat Oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
2. Sift together Flour & Baking Soda, set aside.
3. In a mixer with paddle attachment (or if you want to tone up those arms - do it by hand!), cream Butter, Brown & Caster Sugar until smooth & shiny. Add Instant Pudding Mix and blend till well-incorporated.

My Red Kenwood Patissier Mixer - BFF since I discovered baking!

4. Stir in Eggs & Vanilla Essence (at this point the mixture looks a bit gross, like pulpy oatmeal coated in clear jello... but it's normal!)
5. Gradually add in flour and mix till it becomes a nice smooth pasty dough.
6. Remove from mixer and add in Chocolate Chips & Macadamia nuts.
7. Wrap bowl with cling wrap and place in fridge to chill dough for 20 mins.
8. Line baking tray with ungreased baking sheet and spoon dough mixture onto tray. As a rule of thumb each optimal size for me was about half an ice-cream scoop. Allow around 2 inches of space between cookies so that they have room to "grow" in the oven... I was too greedy - scooped too much placed them too close together!! (ref: pics below)
9. Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Let cool on rack and store chilled in an air-tight container.

See how crowded and fat my cookies became! :(

But thankfully they still turned out alright! 

I had to gently cut them apart when they're done.

I'm happy to report that this recipe is perfect! Not too sweet, just crumbly & crispy enough outside and cake-like soft centre on the inside!

Eat Up!