Mini Sweet Potato Casserole Topped with shredded cheese 起司地瓜燒

Regular sweet potato or the fancy Japanese purple sweet potato (murasaki imo), I was literally standing in front of these two options at the supermarket for a minute. Both can yield a sweet and smooth casserole for my little afternoon treat. What persuaded me in the end is that there was this one chunky sweet potato, just the right size, and that means I only need to peel this one single sweet potato only instead of many smaller purple variety.

Mini sweet potato casserole topped with shredded cheese - 

Ingredients (for 2 big or 4 small servings)?

• 560 grams sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 to 4 teaspoons heavy whipping cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 100 grams shredded cheese (mozzarella and Cheddar preferred)

How?

Peel and slice the sweet potato into chunks.

Steam the sweet potato till fork tender. Mine took about 30 minutes.

Once ready, use a fork to mash the steamed sweet potato, just like what you'd do with mashed potato.

After this first round of mashing, add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, 2 teaspoon of sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Also start with 2 teaspoons of heavy whipping cream and mash till evenly blended with the sweet potato. 

Check the consistency, if seemed too thick, blend in more heavy whipping cream, up to 4 teaspoons total. Also do a quick taste test and see if more sugar is needed for your preference. Once all set, mash again through a wire sieve if not too troublesome. This will give you an even smoother texture in the end.

Spread the sweet potato paste to ramekins, filled up to 80% full then top the remaining space with shredded cheese.

Into the oven and switch to high heat. Bake till the cheese has been melted and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and serve right away.

So on top of my initial hesitation between the regular sweet potato and the fancy Japanese purple sweet potato, I also had a hard time picking shredded cheese. My best choice would be mozzarella and Cheddar blend. However, I also have to look closer to the label and trying to get the most natural product as possible.

That left me with only one option, shredded mozzarella. Even though milky and satisfying, but I definitely think with additional salty Cheddar, the sweetness from the sweet potato will become more pronounced. So it's up to you, I would still choose whatever healthier product as possible. Just keep in mind that if you can find great mozzarella and Cheddar blend, that's the way to go.

Savory way to enjoy sweet potato:

• Sweet potato congee 地瓜粥

Napa Cabbage and Meatballs in Jinhua Ham Chicken Thick Soup

Not quite an actual soup recipe, but more so something with slightly thickened chicken stock flavored with Jinhua ham. So instead of enjoying it along like a soup, I personally prefer to add a few ladles on top of steamed rice, making it a full on heart-warming meal.

Napa cabbage and meatballs in Jinhua ham chicken thick soup - 

Ingredients?

• 320 grams coarse and slightly fatty ground pork
• 320 grams lean ground pork
• 4 Chinese water chestnut 荸薺
• 2 medium pieces fried bean curd skin 炸豆腐皮
• 1/2 medium napa cabbage
• 6 shiitake mushroom
• 1 piece bone-in Jinhua ham 
• 1 stalk scallion
• 1 small chunk ginger
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 6 cups water
• Some salt
• Some corn starch water mixture (optional)

How?

Trim-off the end of napa cabbage, section the remaining to medium size pieces. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and cook the napa cabbage for few minutes. You'll know when the naba cabbage is about semi-softened. Drain and set aside for later use.

Destem and chop the scallion. Save a small amount of chopped scallion greens for garnish in the end, transfer others to a big bowl. Scrape and grate the ginger, add about 1 teaspoon of grated ginger to the bowl too.

Peel and chop the Chinese water chestnuts. Add the water chestnut along with both ground pork to the bowl. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix the pork and the ingredients in the bowl till evenly blended.

Use the pork mixture and form into medium sized meatballs. I also toss the meatballs back and forth between my palms to help drawing out some air trapped within. It'll help firming up the meatballs too. My recipe will yield about 8 medium sized meatballs.

Rinse the Jinhua ham under hot water and use the back of the knife to scrape the meat. You might get some grayish bits, so it's like pre-cleaning the ham before using it. Mine was quite clean and nothing came out.

Bring out a big pot and pour in 4 cups of chicken stock and 6 cups of water. Toss in the prepped ham too. Bring to a boil then adjust the heat to keep it at a gentle bubbling stage. Continue to cook this way for 30 minutes in order to draw out more flavor from the ham.

Rinse the fried tofu skin under hot water, which will help drawing out excess oil. Once done, slice the fried tofu skin to medium size pieces. Destem the shiitake mushrooms, halve or quarter the cap if the mushrooms are too big.

Meanwhile, after 30 minutes cooking the Jinhua ham in stock, add in prepped napa cabbage and continue to cook for 15 more minutes. Then add in the meatballs, prepped fried tofu skin, and shiitake mushrooms. Continue to cook 20 minutes.

After quite some time, remove the ham and give the stock a taste. Season with more salt if needed. However, Jinhua ham should make the stock a bit salty already, so the amount of additional salt needed depends. In fact, I didn't add any for my pot here.

Switch to low heat and wait till the stock cool-down a little. Have some corn starch and drinkable water mixture ready. Mix that into the pot while stirring the stock at the same time. This will help thickening the stock. Use more if thicker consistency is preferred.

Once the consistency and flavor have been checked. Garnish with some saved chopped scallion greens and serve.

See how I simply scooped the thick soup to brown rice? Such combo can be so comforting. The flavor is light but yet packed with umami thanks to the chicken stock and Jinhua ham.

About Jinhua ham, if you can find quality pieces and sealed nicely, go ahead buy some and store them in the freezer. I always have one or two pieces of Jinhua ham in the fridge, it's a bit like saving Parmigiano Reggiano rinds too, which can be great when added to western sauce and soup.

Other recipes using Jinhua Ham:

• Savoury Chinese congee using Jinhua ham and vegetables 金華火腿鹹味臘八粥
• Braised Chinese cabbage with Jinhua ham 金華火腿煨白菜

Braised Chicken with Abalone 鮑魚悶雞

The price range for canned abalone can differ dramatically. As low as less than $10 USD or $100 or more can be possible. Well, we're not trying to bankrupt ourselves, and this recipe requires some braising time with chicken. 

So there is no need to get big and chunky supreme abalones. Just use the cheaper one, ideally with each individual abalone size no bigger than a small chicken egg. That way you can braise the abalone as a whole without making a dent in the wallet.

Braised chicken with abalone 鮑魚悶雞 - 

Ingredients?

• 1 canned abalone (425 grams total but 200 grams solid)
• 700 grams bone-in skin-on dark chicken meat (about 10 drumettes)
• 1 stalk scallion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 slices 2mm-thick ginger 
• 1 teaspoon crystal sugar
• 1 tablespoons preferred cooking oil

Marinade:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon aged Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

How?

Marinate the small chicken drumsticks, or drumettes with all the ingredients listed under the "marinade" section. Massage the sauce into the meat then let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes.

Peel the garlic cloves. Scrape-off the ginger skin then slice to 2mm thick pieces. Destem the scallion then section the white part, diagonal cut the green part for garnish in the end.

Use a clay pot, drizzle 2 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil and switch to medium heat. I used olive oil, which is my basic oil for cooking.

Once the temperate rises, add in garlic, white section of the scallion, and ginger slices. Sear till aromatic and the garlics turn slightly browned.

Add in the chicken but not the marinade juice. Sear till slightly browned. Flip once the bottom part has been colored and continue to sear other sides.

Then it's time to pour in all the remaining marinade. Also 1/3 cup of the canned abalone juice, it'll highly enhance the flavor of the dish. Bring the whole thing to a boil then lower the heat to keep it as a light bubbling stage.

Add 1 teaspoon of crystal sugar and cook till the sugar has been fully dissolved into the sauce. Continue to cook 10 minutes.

Time to add the abalones, but no more juice from the can. Continue to cook for 10 more minutes or till reduced a bit.

Top with scallion greens and serve the braised chicken with abalone in the same clay pot used in cooking. It'll hold up the residual heat quite well, so you get to enjoy a hot or very warm dish all the way.

Don't discard the remaining abalone juice. You can utilize that in any other soupy Asian dishes, especially the kind that needs a umami boost. 

If you really don't have any use of canned abalone juice at the moment, go ahead and freeze them into ice cubes or in a seal-tight container. Some people do that with homemade stock too. There will always be a time calling for a flavor-boost.

Extended reading:

• Garlic butter abalone 大蒜奶油鮑魚片

Chocolate and Sea Salt Popcorn - Do You Know That the Corn Used for Popcorn Can Actually Germinate?

Do you know? I only recently found out that the corn kernels used for popcorn can actually germinate and grow into corn plant. Before that, I always thought corn kernels packaged for making popcorn is at the end of the journey for these tiny yellow bits. How fun?

However, as for my pack of corn kernels, this indeed might be the end of their journey. Well, perhaps a couple steps further of turning into sweet and savory afternoon snack.

Chocolate and sea salt popcorn - 

Ingredients?

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 100 grams 70% dark chocolate
• 2 small pinches sea salt flakes
• 3 tablespoons oil (I used avocado oil)

How?

Add 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan or a deep pot, it needs to come with a lid too. Add in 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels and mix a little with the oil.

Don't get skeptical regarding the small amount of popcorn kernels here. They'll start to pop and your big pot might not even be able to hold all of them.

Turn to medium heat and cover with lid. Wait till you start to hear popping noises. Keep waiting and do not remove the lid. However, you can swirl the pot to ensure even popping. Once the popping noise dies down, the popcorn should be ready.

Remove the lid. Pour out the popcorn onto a baking sheet. Aim for one single layer for these popcorn.

Prepare a double broiler or something works like a double broiler. Break the chocolate to smaller pieces and melt till velvety. 

Drizzle melted chocolate all over the popcorn.

Sprinkle with sea salt flakes here and there. Wait till the chocolate has been cooled off then you can break the popcorn to smaller pieces and store in a container.

The 70% dark chocolate used here will give you a not so sweet result popcorn. So if you're looking for that sugary satisfaction, use 50% chocolate or even milk chocolate instead.

Other popcorn recipes:

• Caramel popcorn with pecans
• Lightly sweetened popcorn sprinkled with salt flakes

La Maison 1888 - With All the Wonderful Local Food Around, Is It Worth a Visit to The Only Michelin Starred Restaurant in Da Nang, Vietnam?

Only if you're staying at the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort. That's my straight answer, simple and clear. 

Why dining at a French restaurant in Vietnam when there're so many wonderful local food around, and perhaps with 1/100 of the price? Well, a little history background here. Vietnam was actually ruled by France from 1887 to 1954 as part of French Indochina. Put the politics aside, some culinary traces have also been left on this coastal country.

That's why trying out French cuisine in Vietnam shouldn't be a completely out of the blue option. Take bánh mì for instance, a local sandwich made with baguette can be found from the northern tip of the country all the way down south.

And that leads to our dining destination, the only One Michelin starred restaurant, also happened to be a French restaurant in Da Nang. Da Nang is city known for its beautiful beaches and vacation getaway spot in central Vietnam. The vibrant scene draws in many renowned hotels and resorts in the city. In which, might be the most luxurious and secluded InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort perched on Son Tra Peninsula, and there you'll find the restaurant La Maison 1888.

Beautiful setting, in fact, La Maison 1888 was one of the top 10 most beautiful restaurants in the world from Architectural Digest. The staffs were all so wonderful and super friendly. Then why I only recommend considering paying this place a visit if you happen to stay at the same resort? 

The food was a bit lacking I think, but don't take me wrong. The quality and presentation are still great, just perhaps not as refined and executed to perfection as I would expect to see at a Michelin starred restaurant. After a bit of research, I suspect something has to do with the chef change and the subsequent supervision wasn't tightly held in place.

You know that La Maison 1888 got its Michelin star when Pierre Gagnaire, some people think of him as the French godfather was the head chef there. However, the restaurant was handed to another famous French chef Christian Le Squer soon after the Michelin award announcement back in September 2024. 

I don't know what's going on there with the chef change, but I sure do like both chefs and believe that either one of them can bring great things to La Maison 1888. However, I'm guessing the new chef couldn't possibly be on site for an extended period of time, and definitely not there the time I visited. So I'm assuming some misses from the food-side was due to insufficient training, supervision, and possibly some crunch time during the transition. 

And that basically concludes my feedback on this recent visit in early 2025 in regards to La Maison 1888. However, it is still a lovely restaurant to dine at especially if you only need to hop on a resort buggy to the restaurant front. Maybe not really necessary if coming from the city with 20 minutes Grab ride one way though.

We started our meal with a bottle of fancy imported water - 

Waffle and Parmesan - 

Airy and almost pillowy waffle paired with savory Parmesan. A light starter for the night. 

On a side note, the tempo of the food served was rather "speedy" in the beginning. I felt a bit rushed, but eventually quite down and able to really feel relaxed once moved onto the actual first course.

Les délicates bouchées - 

Start with the foamy one with main ingredients of Campari jelly and pomelo, then moved onto the smoked salmon tart filled with sour cream and caviar. Lastly, ended with the strongest of all, duck liver with jelly on top flavored with coffee and passion fruit.

We ordered glasses of champagne on top of the Michelin wine pairing - 

Some bread to go along with our course, starting from the left are French baguette, Italian bread, and cereal bread. Apparently I've already taking one Italian bread before taking this picture - 

Understanding the English accent from few staffs can be a challenge at times, but oh well, I'll just put whatever food they brought to my mouth, no need to be so crystal clear during a relaxing meal.

All these breads can be refilled any time throughout the course. Sometimes they might even recommend you to have the bread on the side to enjoy with the sauces left from certain dishes.

Caviar "La Maison" eau forte de crustacés / blue lobster bisque and caviar -

The jelly-like thing is made with blue lobster and langoustine. Premium caviar on top, I think with pistachio sorbet in the center. It's a chilled dish and we were given cold spoons to dig in.

2018 Albert Bichot premier cru chardonnay - 

For the wine pairing, only Mister went for the "gourmand" wine pairing. In which the "epicurean" wine pairing comes with a total of seven selections, and the gourmand option with lesser amount of five. 

Langoustine de nos côtes / Dublin Bay langoustine with warm mayonnaise and buckwheat pancake -  

The red thing in the center of the grilled langoustine is dried tomatoes. The dotted greens on the plate were seaweed gelée. The triangular thing in the end is buckwheat galette. The shape reminds me of Vietnam's traditional headwear called nón lá. By the way, if you stay at the resort here, you'll also find nón lá being provided in the closet, so that guests can wear it as a shield from sun and rain by the beach. 

2022 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - 

Saint-Jacques bretonnes / Silky mousseline scallops, cauliflower cream, and caviar -

I was happy to finally found out what's the tiny asparagus-looking thing there. It has a grassy and almost sourish taste, a rare ingredient in Taiwan. I asked for the vegetable's info to the server at Oncore by Clare Smyth in Sydney's fine restaurant once but didn't get an answer. This time around, I was told it's like a sea asparagus then I successfully Googled it. Let it be sea asparagus or glasswort, I got it now.

Foie gras en galets / Foie gras like a pebble, poached in iodized vinegar broth - 

I think it's one of the new chef Christian Le Squer's signature dishes. However, I'm quite certain the version here can be very different from the one with chef supervised on site. 

The texture of that grey coating was off, so it's also like a unpleasant coating to the foe gras. In fact, my pebble was "cracking" on the other side, which I purposely turned the plate around so it won't show on the picture. 

2014 Bouchard Pere & Fils Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles Premier Cru -

Even though the wine pairing at La Maison 1888 is very pricey, but at least these were all good wines, and I'm glad the sommelier put these selections together so we can enjoyed them all at once. 

Poularde et truffe noire des landes / chicken and black truffle old fashion cooking, crispy smoked rice - 

A delicate contrast between the melt in your mouth chicken and crispy smoked rice. Served with sauce made with butter, foie gras, and truffle. 

Mignardises - 

Givré laitier / iced diary, yeast flavor - 

This one was also one of the signature desserts at Le Cinq, Chef Christian Le Squer's three Michelin star restaurant in Four Seasons Hotel in Paris. The presentation was almost fairy-like though, so does its mild milky and yeasty flavor.

I also got some hot tea since I know there're always tons of sweets toward the end of a fancy French meal. Mister got hot coffee instead. In which thumbs up to the hospitality here, both the tea and coffee were not charged to our bill, a complimentary gesture from the restaurant manager that night.

Last wine pairing of the night, 2018 Mas Amiel Vintage Charles Dupuy - 

Chocolat noir au lait de caramel / dark chocolate with caramelized milk and peanuts - 

A comforting dessert to end the night.

As we walked out the restaurant passing the view of La Maison 1888's open kitchen - 

There's also a pretty bar up front, I noticed some guests actually went in there for a few drinks before starting dinner. 

By the time we had dinner at La Maison 1888 the sky was already dark. So the next few days at the resort, I grabbed the chance of taking some pictures of the exterior of this beautiful restaurant during daylight -

If budget is not your biggest concern, I would highly recommend staying at InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort when visiting Da Nang in Vietnam. On top of La Maison 1888, there's also a new teppanyaki and sushi restaurant at the resort, equally expensive I would say. 

In fact, I was going to try the Japanese restaurant instead of La Maison 1888, but it wasn't open on Monday so we sticked with French in the end.

And some additional insights, if you are planning to visit Da Nang, I think the Marble Mountains would be a fun place to go. A little hike involved but if you're moderately fit, Some steep stairs shouldn't be a problem.

We bundled our Marble Mountains trip together with Hoi An ancient town. So a bit exercise during the day then a nice stroll, seeing the sunset and lantern on the river at night.

And if you do visit Hoi An, there's this banh mi place that Anthony Bourdain visited once named Bánh Mì Phượng. I'm no expert on banh mi, but where Anthony Bourdain went, I follow. 

If you happen to see "Cộng Cà phê" during your visit in Vietnam, go give it a try. It's like the Starbucks of Vietnam. My favorite was their coconut milk coffee. The pictures shown here were from the branch in Da Nang city with address showing 23 Lý Tự Trọng -

Some tourists also visit Sun World Ba Na Hills, the place with Instagram-popular Golden Bridge - 

Well, I'm not really a big fan of Sun World Ba Na Hills, too touristy and artificial in a sense. However, if you travel with family, especially kids, they might enjoy some amusement park rides and little shows here and there. If you don't have that many days in Da Nang, I would suggest skipping this spot but definitely a must for Hoi An.

La Maison 1888 currently holds one Michelin star status. 

La Maison 1888

InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort

Tho Quang Ward, Son Tra District, 

Da Nang, 55000, Vietnam

+84 236 393 8888

Restaurant/resort website: La Maison 1888

Online reservation: La Maison 1888 booking

Opening hours:

Daily 6:30 p.m. ~ 9:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. last order)