Braised chicken with carrots and mushrooms

This is the first time I used rock sugar in my cooking. Not sure if it was because of the rock sugar but the sauce seemed to decrease rapidly after I added about 4 small pieces, and in the end, there was not much sauce left to go together with the plain rice. But taste wise, it was good. :)

Braised chicken with carrots and mushrooms (recipe from here)Serves 2

Ingredients :
- 500g chicken thigh, chopped to smaller pieces (you can also use half chicken)
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut to bite-sized chunks
- 1 stalk of negi (Japanese scallion) or 2 stalks of spring onions, sliced
- 200g fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
- 150ml water (adjust accordingly to how much gravy you want)
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce 
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce 
- 1/2 tsp 5-spice powder 
- 2 to 4 small rock sugar cubes
- 3 ginger slices
- 5 garlic cloves, bruised

Directions :
1. Heat sesame oil in wok, then add chicken pieces. Stir fry until the chicken is no longer pink.

2. Add water, carrots, mushrooms, scallions, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, 5 spice powder, ginger and garlic. Stir well. Cover with lid and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

3. Using kitchen tongs or spatula, flip the chicken pieces over so that they can absorb the braising liquid. Add rock sugar for sweetness and a beautiful glazed finish. Simmer with lid closed for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

Bangkok (17 - 20 Mar)

It's been almost 7 years since the husband and I went to Bangkok... and that was also how long we had been married. :) So, when one of our friend suggested for the four of us, together with her husband, to go for a short trip, we also took it as an opportunity to have a short getaway break.

It was really a relaxing trip... nothing much to do, just walk around, eat, and hang out with one another in the evenings. 

 Crab with vermicelli *yums*

 Walking through Chinatown area

At the weekend Chatuchak market

(the husband and I found that it wasn't as exciting compared to when we first came in year 2005. There wasn't much things to buy)

 The view from our 35th-floor hotel room

We didn't know there was a zoo, Safari World, in Bangkok until our friends recommended it. We realised it was a place more for animal shows rather than walking around to look at animals. There were about 7 - 8 shows from around 11am all the way to 4:30pm, after which the zoo would close for the day.

We only caught the orang-utan show, elephant show and dolphin show. The rest of the time were spent wondering around the almost people-free zoo, which was actually a good thing coz we could take photos of animals, and look at them closer without people jostling around.

The "empty" zoo. We suspected everyone was there just for the animal shows.

 The orang-utan show

 The elephant show

 The most number of giraffes I've ever seen

In the car, driving through the safari park

The most fun part of this trip was the drive through the open safari park. Of course we had to stay in the vehicle for the whole time, but it was really an experience and great fun. (the driver must be thinking we had never seen tigers, lions or rhinos before.. haha) However, the weather was too hot and most animals were just lazing in the shade rather than walking around so we didn't get many photos taken. But it was a really fun and memorable day. :)