Salad, Sand and Sea

Whether you’re hitting the park or the beach, keep things super fresh with this handy salad container set. Westmark’s Salad Butler has a practical carrying handle, along with 4 clip locks and integrated transport container for the safe and clean carrying of your greens topped with your favourite dressing. With Salad Butler, take your salad from kitchen to coast with no fuss at all.

1. Kueh Dadar

A Sink your teeth in a local Peranakan delicacy made from pandan flavoured crepes with shredded Gula Melaka coconut filling.This sweet coconut stuffed pancake roll is usually served as a snack at tea time that goes wonderfully well with coffee or tea!

Recommended equipment: Nordic Ware Traditional French Steel Crepe Pan

Pack It and Bag It

Pack light with Lexngo’s Silicone Collapsible Lunch Box. Made of food-safe silicone, this lunch box is perfect for transporting healthy meals or for food storage. It has two compartments which allow for separate food management of fruits, salads, and your main course. The unique 3-in-1 spork utensil conveniently stores inside the airtight cover. For space-saving storage simply collapse the flexible silicone container to 1/2 the size.

Super Sandwiches 

Ditch your usual plastic sandwich bags for a greener and healthier option. These Paper Snack and Sandwich Bags by If You Care are made in Sweden from the unbleached pulp of Scandinavian spruce trees – a natural, renewable resource. If You Care Snack and Sandwich Bags are also greaseproof, and provide a natural barrier which prevents grease or fat from penetrating.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

Finally, wash down your scrumptious picnic spread with ice-cold lemonade in these Toot Sweet Blue Party Cups by Meri Meri. Each packet contains a dozen 266ml hot or cold cups. The blue striped pattern is perfect for parties and picnics, so grab a stack for your picnic basket today! Also available in pink.

A barbecue party is a convenient and fun way of hosting a gathering. To ensure things go smoothly, it’s always good to be prepared! Specialised grilling tools that can withstand constant close contact to high heat should definitely be on your checklist. Ideally, these tools have long handles so you can avoid a situation of overheated food or risked getting burnt.

Here is a rundown of must-haves for your ultimate barbeque cook-out:

1) Tongs
A good pair of tongs ensures you have good grip on your food.  It should also be easy to squeeze and bounce back quickly. Have at least two tongs — one for moving charcoal or adjusting the hot grill grates and another for handling food items. Tongs with scalloped edges and non-slip rubber handles are ideal.

2) Spatula
A good spatula for grilling should have a deep offset handle that allows you to slip food under easily and keeps delicate food like fish from being damaged in the process. Silicone and metal spatulas are recommended for this purpose as they are heat-resistant and sturdy enough to lift heavier food items. Get one with a large blade so that fish fillets can fit comfortably and be flipped over easily.

3) Skewer
Skewers comes in either metal or bamboo versions. If you opt for metal skewers, choose a flat blade design as it will not spin when you flip the skewer. Make sure your skewers come with heat-resistant handles if you do not intend to get mittens or hot pads for picking the skewers up.  For the best convenience, buy disposable bamboo skewers with various lengths packed in 50s or 100s.

4) Brushes
Brushes are handy for oiling the grill surface or flavouring grilled meats. It is good to use a specific one for a single purpose.  Using the same brush will dilute the intended flavour of the marinades. A typical brush is made from boar or plastic bristles which can potentially trap bacteria as they cannot be cleaned in the dishwasher and manual washing might not be thorough enough. Newer and more modern brushes today are made from dishwasher-safe silicone and are more importantly, heat-resistant.

5) Mittens/Gloves
For better heat protection, wear a glove or mitten. Not all kitchen gloves are suitable for a hot grill. Mittens made of cloth or suede has to be thick and heat-resistant certified. Fire-retardant fabrics make better choices since there would be actual contact with fire. Silicone gloves are ideal as they are dishwasher safe and will not catch fire.

6) Instant-read thermometer
The difference between a perfectly cooked piece of meat and a stomach-ache can be a mere few degrees. Cook beef and lamb to at least 62 °C; pork at least 72 °C and poultry at least 75 °C. With an instant-read thermometer, every piece of meat leaving your grill can be of perfect doneness. Insert your thermometer into the thickest part of the meat for accuracy. Check your meat near the end of the recommended cooking time to avoid overcooking. Always remove your meat from the grill before it reaches the desired doneness as the meat will continue to cook after it is removed from the flame.

Silit works on the fusion of innovations, function, exceptional design and uncompromising commitment to excellent workmanship, reliability and durability like no other manufacturer.

Molecular gastronomy has been gaining popularity in recent years , with celebrity chefs such as Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal rising in prominence.  The intriguing fusion of food science and culinary art presents exotic flavours, among them vegetable-spaghettis, salads with balsamic vinegar pearl dressing and the like. Bored with the traditional recipes? Give molecular gastronomy a go and the refreshing results could be worth it!

1) What exactly is molecular gastronomy?
Molecular gastronomy is not a new concept. Its roots can be traced back to second century BC where an anonymous author of a papyrus kept in London used a balance to determine whether fermented meat was lighter than fresh meat. Since then, many scientists have been interested in food and cooking, especially food preparation. The main objective of molecular gastronomy is to understand how food is affected by the various preparation factors and cooking methods by examining it at the molecular level. Infusing scientific knowledge into cooking helps with clearing up myths and old wives’ tales.

2) It is safe to use the ingredients in the latest gastronomy kits?
The latest molecular gastronomy cuisines might sometimes look more like science projects than edible food. While additives with names such as ‘sodium alginate’, ‘calcium salts’ and ‘xanthan gum’ might turn away purists insisting on using only ‘authentic’ ingredients; most of them are, in fact, of biological origin. While there is a purification process involved, the raw materials are usually drawn from marine, plant, animal or microbial. For example, sodium alginate is a salt extracted from the viscous liquid from the cell wall of brown algae. These additives are also used in scant amounts and strictly adhere to EU standards.

3) How can I kick start my molecular gastronomy journey?
Thankfully, there are convenient DIY kits which cost a mere fraction of the professional equipment seen in cooking shows.

One example is the gastronomy kit from Molecular-R, which is simple yet sufficient enough to create dozens of magical dishes. Its Cuisine R-evolution kit includes five types of food additives, pipettes, test tubes, a food-grade syringe and 50 simple recipes in a DVD. For those who want to dazzle their guests with extraordinary cocktails, the Molecular Mixology kit will fit the bill. You can deconstruct your favourite margarita, try layering a martini or serve your drinks in a large bubble and have it burst in your mouth for a different experience.

4) Methods used in molecular gastronomy

Cosmopolitan R-Evolution Kit (32 g)

Impress your friends with three recipes that push the boundaries of modern mixology! Add a molecular twist to your traditional cosmo sure to awe your guests! Serve a cosmopolitan bubble on a spoon that will pop in your mouth, top off your cocktail with a light fluffy cranberry foam or suspend citrus caviar in your drink.