Wet Market, Driveways & Jan Ellis

Yesterday was a cloudy and "cooler" day so I decided to do some further neighborhood exploration and visit the local Bishan Wet Market (North Shopping Mall). It is not a mall in the traditional sense, although it is a collection of shops in one area. Wet Markets as far as I understood is for local produce and cheap shopping. Obviously, not air conditioned and shops are small with no glass windows. The first thing that is noticeably is the change of pace. The market is in an open plan building surrounded by gardens and the atmosphere is calm and serene. I was there during lunch hour and not so busy as the proper shopping malls that turn into chaos during lunch. There is also a big food stall with loads of vendors and a variety of food choices.

Lots of variety from a shopping perspective and after doing some price comparisons on certain products definitely cheaper. Basically you can buy anything including the proverbial "Dead Policeman" with  lots of fresh produce stalls including fruits, bakery, fresh fish, clothing, and too many more to mention. My friend Gatoe loves Flea Markets back home and he will really enjoy all the little shops and funny goods for sale. Next visit will be the Serangoon wet market via MRT. My lunchtime treats when I go and explore have all been local over the past few weeks and not one disappointment to date. Yesterday while shopping at Junxion8, I decided to do the MC Donalds thing and what a let down. I am already spoiled with all the freshly prepared food on offer.

I mentioned the driveways before, but now I have experienced them first hand and here is the verdict. It looks great, white tiles all round the house and the driveway, but wait till it rains and they get wet. Slippery as hell and I have nearly seen my you know what several times. Another challenge is keeping it clean. You need buckets of tile cleaner, so bring back the old fashion paving. Does provide me with lots of laughs watching the dogs try and stop when charging the gate, even when dry and making the same mistake I make in the wet. Diesel came charging back in the house and the wet tiles on the front patio took his feet clean out under him. Very funny. Like seeing someone fall of a bicycle, I just can not hold back the laughter.

On to the promised Jan Ellis pudding. For the non rugby fans, Jan Ellis was a famous Springbok Rugby star and his wife made him this pudding because he liked it so much. The original recipe name was Vossie, a lady from Stellenbosch who passed it on to another lady who gave it to Jan's wife. When it was published in an article about Jan's favourite pudding it became known as Jan Ellis. And no, it is not the same as Malva pudding. Malva pudding have similar but different ingredients and is dark brown, almost black on top and Jan Ellis is golden brown and has a very sweet rich taste. You can have it hot, cold and keeps very well for days in a fridge to be enjoyed again and again.

Here goes:

Pudding

5 ml Bicarbonate of Soda (Koeksoda)
125 ml Milk
200g (375 ml) Self Raising flour
100g (125 ml) White Sugar
2 eggs
30 ml Smooth Apricot jam
20g soft butter (Not Margerine)
1 ml Salt

Sauce

200ml Water
250 ml Fresh Cream
230g Butter
5 ml Vanilla Essence

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Spray or oil a 2 liter oven proof pan. Dissolve the Bicarbonate of Soda into the milk. Mix all the remaining pudding ingredients, then add the milk mixture and mix well. DO NOT USE A SMALLER PAN. Pour into prepared pan/bowl and bake for 25-30 minutes depending on your oven. Must be golden brown on top and a knife must come out clean when testing.

Prepare the sauce while baking the pudding. Slowly heat all the ingredients in a pot until boiling point. Stir while heating. Pour over pudding when it comes out of the oven and serve with Custard or Ice Cream. I halve the butter for the sauce to reduce the richness. The sauce always looks too much, so pour until pudding is covered, wait a bit and then pour the rest on.

Enjoy.

Lesson in Life. Never give a monkey a loaded gun. Watch video

PS. Potato Salad Recipe posted tomorrow.