Tag: Food

Can dog eat strawberry?

Charlie the poodle eating strawberry. He likes licking the strawberry but actually only eats a little. Maybe Charlie finds it sour.

Back to the question of “Can dog eat strawberry”? The answer is: Yes! Dog can eat strawberry.

Source 1: AKC (American Kennel Club) Strawberries are a healthy, low-calorie, sweet treat for your dog, full of antioxidants, high in fiber and vitamin C. Here’s a bonus. By giving your dog strawberries, you are also helping him stay healthy in more ways than one. For example, over time, fresh fruit may help slow down the aging process, strengthen the immune system, and help with weight management. Strawberries can also help whiten your pup’s teeth. URL: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/feed-dog-strawberries/

Source 2: Purina Strawberries are good for dogs. But feed strawberries to your dog like you would any other snack. Keep the portion size small. “Treats you feed your dog should make up no more than 10% of his total calories for the day,” Purina Senior Nutritionist, Jan Dempsey says. Use this as a guide so the strawberries you feed your dog won’t cause him to gain extra pounds. URL: https://www.purina.com/articles/dog/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-strawberries

Warning: Dog absolutely cannot eat GRAPES!

Source: AKC No. Grapes and raisins are known to be highly toxic to dogs, though research has yet to pinpoint exactly which substance in the fruit causes this reaction. Because of that, peeled or seedless grapes should also be avoided. URL: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-grapes/

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Musang King (King of Kings) Durian 王中王榴莲

Premium Musang King (King of Kings) Durian unboxing video, as well as feeding some to Charlie the toy poodle dog!

The durian is “King of Kings” durian (王中王榴莲, Wang Zhong Wang), which is actually more expensive than the usual Musang King (猫山王榴莲 Mao Shan Wang). I read somewhere that it is the original Old Tree version of Musang King, other sources simply say it is a higher grade (AAA grade) of Mao Shan Wang. The major durian season is between June and September. There is a minor durian season during December to February.

Just feeding Charlie a little bit of durian, too much durian seems to be not good for dogs (due to it being too sweet). A little bit of durian is not harmful or poisonous to dogs though, dogs can eat it. Just be careful not to let the dog swallow the seed. Charlie once accidentally swallowed a small durian seed, fortunately he vomited it out.

Review: The taste is very creamy, thick, rich, and bittersweet. It is more sweet than bitter. I would rate it 4.5/5. The worst durians in my opinion are those that are either too watery or too dry and rubbery. This King of Kings durian is neither!

Bought at: The Durian Tree (https://www.facebook.com/theduriantree/)

I compile some sources on the Wang Zhong Wang (King of Kings) Durian:

  • DrChansKitchen (The stallholder recommended me 王中王 which he claimed to be the best of 猫山王.)
  • TimeOut (Looking for something even better than MSW? Then you have to try Wang Zhong Wang, which literally translates to the king of kings. The triple-A grade MSW durians are set apart from the pack for its well-balanced bitterness and velvety smooth)
  • AvenueOne (While Mao Shan Wang is arguably the most well-loved in Singapore, there is actually a type that is arguably even better – Wang Zhong Wang (translates literally to ‘King of Kings’). The smooth texture and fine balance of bitter flavours are definitely worth the higher price tag.)

Grab food vs Foodpanda Singapore

Do vote above whether you prefer GrabFood, Foodpanda, or Deliveroo (or others)!

Personally, I prefer Foodpanda for this one single reason:

  • You can order ahead of time (e.g. when the store is not opened yet, or order the lunch menu when it is still breakfast hours).

GrabFood seems to have this limitation that you can only order when the store is open. For example, if a restaurant opens at 11am, you can only start ordering at 11am. Also, during breakfast hours, you can only order the breakfast menu.

I have not tried Deliveroo yet. Do comment below if you find it better, or worse, than GrabFood and Foodpanda.

Grab food vs Foodpanda Price

Pricing wise, the price seems similar between GrabFood and Foodpanda. By the way, it is certainly not the case that GrabFood, Foodpanda only earns the delivery fee! It is well known that the prices are often “marked up” and the delivery companies will earn the difference in price as well. For example, if a plate of chicken rice costs $3 in the hawker center, in the app it can be listed as $5. Read more in this Mothership article.

Nevertheless, the amount of “mark up” seems similar or even exactly the same between GrabFood and Foodpanda, according to my experience.

Grab charges a 30% service fee to the merchants (the food sellers). This is charged on every order received through Grab, for both Delivery and Self Pick-Up orders. (Please note that this service fee is subject to prevailing GST rates.)

Hence, it is logical that most merchants (hawkers, restaurants) will pass on the cost to the customer, marking up the price by 30%.

 

Going Hungry In Singapore

Singapore is famous for its cheap hawker food, including the cheapest Michelin-starred meal in the world. Why does hunger, or food insecurity, still exist in this city?

Food insecurity refers to the lack of reliable access to nutritious food due to financial constraints. But we found that it doesn’t exist only among the lower-income or the elderly poor. In a two-part special, CNA Insider investigates the issue of hunger, and the efforts to address it in Singapore. We spent months talking to recipients of food aid, and groups like The Food Bank Singapore, Free Food From All, Food From The Heart, Keeping Hope Alive, Willing Hearts, Volunteer Switchboard and SG Food Rescue.

Read more: Why some are going hungry in a cheap food paradise https://cna.asia/hungersg1

How you can donate or volunteer:

Food From The Heart: https://www.foodfromtheheart.sg

Food Bank Singapore: https://www.giving.sg/the-food-bank-s…

Free Food For All: https://freefood.org.sg

Willing Hearts: http://www.willinghearts.org.sg

National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre: https://www.giving.sg/sgunited

TOUCH Community Services: To volunteer for Meals-On-Wheels delivery, call 68046565

Cheap Steamboat Cooker less than S$15!

PowerPac is a quite well-known and reliable local brand. It is very affordable, and buying online from their Qoo10 official store is even cheaper. It is only S$14.80 for this Steamboat Cooker. It is good enough for a small family gathering for Chinese New Year. There is also a Free BBQ plate for you to cook food like steak.

If you need a bigger pot, you can always purchase their bigger model (Model : 3.5L Steamboat and Multi Cooker (PPMC282)(+S$7.00)) which costs $21.80. There is another even bigger model (Model : 5L Multipurpose Steamboat pot and Cooker(PPMC718)(+S$19.00)) which costs S$33.80.

Qoo10 official store: PowerPac Official Store

Since it is a local company, it is perfectly suited for Singapore voltage, and is Safety Mark accredited. Good, safe, and value for money!

[S$14.80](▼79%)[PowerPac Promo]PowerPac Steamboat 1.1L Multi Cooker pot with Free BBQ Plate (PPMC182)

WWW.QOO10.SG

More Details:

PowerPac 1.1L Multi cooker Steamboat pot with Free BBQ Plate
/ Non-stick inner pot (PPMC182)

  • Multipurpose cooker for frying, steamboat,
  • BBQ and many more
  • 2 IN 1 come with a FREE BBQ plate
  • Variable heat settings
  • Tempered glass metastable Lid
  • Thermostat for temperature control
  • Cool touch for handle and base
  • Non-stick coating detachable inner pan
  • Power 800W
  • Voltage 220-240V, 50/60Hz
  • Package Dimensions 24 x 16 x 24CM
  • Safety Mark 180647-24

PowerPac 2.5L Electric Multi cooker noodle cooker Steamboat pot
with 304 Stainless steel inner pot (PPMC585)

  • Multi purpose cooker for steamboat, frying & many more
  • Variable heat settings
  • Tempered glass metastable Lid
  • Removable cord for convenience
  • 304 Food grade stainless steel pot
  • Cool touch for handle and base
  • Power 700W
  • Voltage 220-240V, 50/60Hz
  • Package Dimensions 25 x 13 x 25 CM
  • Safety Mark 181193-12

PowerPac 3.5L Steamboat & Multi Cooker (PPMC282)

  • Multi purpose cooker for frying, steamboat
  • Variable heat settings
  • Tempered glass metastable Lid
  • Thermostat for temperature control
  • Cool touch for handle and base
  • Non-stick coating detachable inner pan
  • Power Consumption : 1300 Watt
  • 220V-240V . 50Hz-60Hz
  • Safety Mark 190513-24
  • There are 2 compartments for you to have 2 types of soup, e.g. spicy and non-spicy.

PowerPac 5L Multipurpose Steamboat pot & Cooker with Non-stick inner pot (PPMC718)

  • Made from food grade alloy and coated with nano pottery technology to increase pan life
  • Suitable to steam, braised, stew, fried, bbq and all kind of cooking purpose
  • Metal alloy heating tube with protective cover for maximum safety and performance
  • 360 degree surrounding effect for evenly
  • heating the food
  • Double safety protection with automatic power off function upon unusual high temperature
  • 5 adjustable digital heating mode for control temperature to suits your cooking need
  • With healthy non sticky coating for better smoke resistant effect
  • Power 1500W
  • Voltage 220-240V, 50Hz
  • Package Dimensions 43.5 x 13.5 x 43.5CM
  • Safety Mark 180481-24

[S$14.80](▼79%)[PowerPac Promo]PowerPac Steamboat 1.1L Multi Cooker pot with Free BBQ Plate (PPMC182)

WWW.QOO10.SG

Yusheng Promotion: 8 pax at only S$18.90 (A-One Claypot House)

[S$18.90](▼35%)🎁[A-One Claypot House]Prosperity Abalone Yu Sheng Serving up to 8 pax.(U.P $28.90).

WWW.QOO10.SG

This is quite a good deal (top seller on Qoo10). A-One is a well-known Chinese restaurant famous for their claypot dishes. The list of ingredients is quite extensive as well (includes abalone).

Do read the 1859 mostly positive reviews before you make your final decision!

Oven Power Trip

Bosch Oven Power Trip

Apparently, it is quite common in Singapore (and other tropical countries like Malaysia, Indonesia) that the electric oven cause a power trip (or short circuit) due to the high humidity. Basically, the heating element tends to attract moisture, and if the moisture accumulates too much it will cause a power trip. Since the humidity in the tropics is very high, the chances of this happening is also quite high.

There are two kinds of oven power trips:

  1. Oven power trips after a certain time (e.g. 5 minutes) from turning it on
  2. Oven causes power trip immediately upon switching on power

Clearly, Case 2 is more serious than Case 1. There is a simple solution for Case 1 Oven Power Trips that you may try: first switch on the oven to low temperature (50 degrees Celsius) to dry out the moisture. Only after reaching that temperature, then slowly turn up the temperature. This may solve your problem to stop the oven power trips.

For Case 2 Oven Power Trips, it is more serious, most likely you will need to call a professional to replace the heating element. For my case, I called the Bosch service repair on Friday, and they were able to come on Monday to repair the oven. It took less than half an hour, and it was free since my oven was still within the two year warranty period.

How to Prevent Future Oven Power Trips

To prevent future power trips or short circuits from occurring in the future, the ideal case is to use the oven more frequently (in all modes!). By “in all modes” I mean that you should use all of the modes, including the upper heater, lower heating element, and/or fans. This was emphasized by the Bosch repair man. (Previously I was only using one single mode, the “fan” mode.)

At the very least, one should still use the oven at least once a month (even if it is empty inside), to dry out the moisture, for a period of 10 to 30 minutes (recommended by many online sources as well as the Bosch repair man).

 


Bosch HBL5451UC 500 30″ Stainless Steel Electric Single Wall Oven – Convection

Philips Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker

The keyword here is “stainless steel”, because if you look at many pressure cookers, the inner pot is made of aluminum alloy. The bad thing about aluminum is that it is linked to Alzheimer’s disease. For instance, this medical paper states that “Immediate steps should be taken to lessen human exposure to Al (aluminum), which may be the single most aggravating and avoidable factor related to AD (Alzheimer’s disease).”

Philips makes one of the best brands of pressure cookers, including the famous HD2137 model which is sold in Singapore. It can be bought almost anywhere, including the Philips Qoo10 official store:

[S$147.00](▼64%)[PHILIPS]PHILIPS HD2137/62 Viva Collection All-in-One Cooker | HD2139/62 Pressure Cooker

WWW.QOO10.SG

The default Philips pressure cooker, however, comes with aluminum inner pot, no matter which model. Fortunately, there is a solution, which is to buy the Stainless Steel Inner Pot from the official Philips website.

Highly recommended to upgrade to this stainless steel inner pot.

The stainless steel inner pot is suitable for the following models: HD2137, HD2237, HD2178, HD2145. It is quite pricey at $59 (Singapore dollars), but I think it is worth it considering that it should last for a lifetime or at least a long time.

Interestingly, Philips sells these pressure cooker models mainly to Asian market. I don’t find them in the American Amazon.com website. Perhaps the American diet (steak, burgers, fries) don’t really require the pressure cooker? I am not sure.

Do check out some of the amazing recipes possible using the Philips Pressure Cooker with Stainless Steel Inner pot:

Where to buy dumplings (饺子) in Singapore

新加坡哪里有卖饺子

Dumplings (饺子) is a staple food in Northern China. However it is rare to find it in Singapore. Often in NTUC Fairprice, or other supermarkets, Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings) or Korean dumplings can be found, but not Chinese dumplings. Making your own dumplings is possible, but very time consuming.

Recently I found out about “Yongle Kitchen”, which sells authentic Shandong style dumplings. Check out their video below, it looks very professional.

The recommended way to buy their dumplings is through Qoo10: Click here to enter their Qoo10 Official Shop!

Do check out their 10 different flavors!

You may also click on the banner below to enter their Official Shop:

[$12.00](▼34%)[YongLe Dumplings]42 Pcs Dumplings in 10 Different Flavours!

WWW.QOO10.SG

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day to all readers of Mathtuition88.com!

Check out our previous posts on Pi:

Did you know, Pi day is also Einstein’s Birthday?

How to get Pi on Calculator – Without pressing the Pi Button

The Mystery of e^Pi-Pi (Very Mysterious Number)

Euler’s proof of Pi^2/6 (Basel Problem)

Category Theory: How to Make Pi

Pi hiding in prime regularities

Also, check out our cooking blog for the following Pie recipes!

Beef Pie

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

Lemon Pie

Easy Banana Pie

Fudgy Fudge Pie

Oven-roasted Scampi with Butter & Garlic

If you are an avid cook or food lover, do check out this cooking blog. 100% free recipes with high definition photographs, featuring Chinese, Western and other cuisines like Thai, Malaysian, Indian etc.

All recipes are suitable for beginner, amateur chefs. Not much equipment required other than the usual kitchen appliances like stove, oven.

Free Newsletter Subscription: https://chewbaccascook.wordpress.com/subscribe/

Some exotic recipes:

  1. Ge Da Soup
  2. King Crab
  3. Green Curry Chicken
  4. Pork Chop with Roasted Apple
  5. Homemade Prawn Ribs Noodle Soup

Cooking For Fun

When my husband and I were in Bangkok, we had a very giant Prawn in a restaurant. And several days ago, we found such a giant Prawn in supermarket. So we bought two.

Preheat oven to 200 degree C.

1. Clean Prawns and cut them into halves. I didn’t cut them through just left a big cut on their belly.

2. Sprinkle salt and black pepper over Prawns.

3. In a small bowl, add in 10 g butter. Then use a garlic press to press 4 cloves garlic. Add in 1/2 tsp black pepper. Mix well.

4. Press butter garlic mixture into the cut on belly. Brush shell with a little honey.

5. Into the oven and roast for 15-20 mins.

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Cast Iron Pan Singapore Review

Recently bought a cast iron pan/skillet for home cooking. Cast iron is an ancient technology that has several benefits over the more modern non-stick technology. It is supposed to be cheap (just US$15 in America Lodge L8SK3 Cast Iron Skillet, Pre-Seasoned, 10.25-inch), but in Singapore it is quite expensive probably due to import fees.

I bought the mid-range USA brand Lodge 10.25-inch skillet (around $60 SGD). It can be found in Qoo10:

Where to buy Cast Iron Pan/Pot/Skillet Singapore

Lodge Pre-Seasoned 8-inch Cast Iron Skillet: http://www.qoo10.sg/su/412118339/Q100000595

Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet 10.25-inch: http://www.qoo10.sg/su/412118386/Q100000595

Lodge Cast Iron Skillet (Midrange, affordable)

The high-end brands include Le Creuset, Staub. These are very expensive (at least $100 SGD).

Le Creuset Skillet (High-end, Super Expensive)

Benefits of Cast Iron Cookware vs Non-stick:

  • Non-stick Teflon, even with extreme care, tends to flake off and end up in food. Also it is released as fumes during cooking. It has dubious, unknown effects on humans, but is scientifically proven to be toxic to birds and rats.
  • Adds iron supplementation to cooked food. Iron is essential for human health to make hemoglobin in blood.
  • Technically lasts forever, as it is very durable. Save cost in the long run, as you don’t have to keep replacing the pan.

Also, other benefits include:

  • Works with induction cookers. (Iron is magnetic.)
  • It is moderately non-stick, almost as non-stick as Teflon. If anything sticks, just boil with water. Also, the more you use and season it, the more non-stick it becomes.

Downsides include: Heavy weight, needs seasoning (wipe dry and coat with oil) after cooking otherwise it can rust.

The third popular alternative, Aluminum pans, are definitely not good as it may be linked to Alzheimer’s and dementia.