wings of flight.
today my heart bleeds for marketing.
i finally bought the required textbook after procrastinating for 11 weeks (there are 15 weeks in a term by the way). as my upcoming test is an open book one, i decidedly to drop the cheap-act OH HOW IT HURTS! and gamely handed over $39. 70 for a new textbook.
after doing so, i could not bear to part with another $32 dollars for my technology, world and change textbook which costs a flippingfishfingers $32.. despite the fact that my exam is closed book which means i have to memorize every morsel of information- i see with my little signs of facism in my italian professor. ONLY JOKING. i realised the internal security department could be on their way over now.
once and for all- my italian professor is as nice as meatballs out of a can ok?
Sunday, October 30
Banana Leaf Apollo
fire in the belly.
watching saturday night live now. oh lindsay lohan is on! someone's looking good.. scarily blond.. but anyone who can poke fun at herself is pretty sexy. don't you think so? haha..
banana leaf apollo at race course road.
in celebration of his birthday, jimmy treated family to lunch at this highly-acclaimed south indian resturant(just ask makansutra!).. what great timing since i have been meaning to do a south indian food aricle!
my obsession with trans-fat created futile resistence to these fluffy-fans of papadums
an unfamiliar fact to no one, south indian food is HOTSTUFF. haha.. be sure to watch your treshold for spice..
dad took to the hulking fish head with instant delight, nipping digging his way through the intricate network of fish bones. i myself too lazy to do so found comfort within the chicken masala. chicken-lovers listen up, the well-spiced chicken masala is a must-have and for the extra kick, use the masala as a dip for your papadum!
fish cutlet with its slightly charred aroma and crisp outer skin.
after all that spice, you eventually wash it alll down with a cold glass of lime juice. -pats tummy
ok if you are worried about the nutrition of indian food, apparently tumeric (a yellow spice which is used in just about every south indian dish) is can-cer-pre-ven-tive! floppingfingfingers, is that so!?! yar... -keeps a straight face.
ok, moving on before i can panned for being medically incorrect .. at banana leaf, the service was impeccable if i say so myself. the clad-in-pink-and-black waiters were personal and attentive.. while we were there, it felt like being a citizen of the world as apart from the locals, there were japanese, thais, caucasians and even africans customers- all bonded by our fondness and fascination with south indian food.
they say when you have fire in your belly, you are ready to fight with energy and determination for what you believe is right. well, in my case, the fire in my belly only caused a weak churning feeling in my tummy allllll day.
banana leaf apollo- visit only if your constitution does not fail you.
watching saturday night live now. oh lindsay lohan is on! someone's looking good.. scarily blond.. but anyone who can poke fun at herself is pretty sexy. don't you think so? haha..
banana leaf apollo at race course road. in celebration of his birthday, jimmy treated family to lunch at this highly-acclaimed south indian resturant(just ask makansutra!).. what great timing since i have been meaning to do a south indian food aricle!
my obsession with trans-fat created futile resistence to these fluffy-fans of papadums
an unfamiliar fact to no one, south indian food is HOTSTUFF. haha.. be sure to watch your treshold for spice..
dad took to the hulking fish head with instant delight, nipping digging his way through the intricate network of fish bones. i myself too lazy to do so found comfort within the chicken masala. chicken-lovers listen up, the well-spiced chicken masala is a must-have and for the extra kick, use the masala as a dip for your papadum!
fish cutlet with its slightly charred aroma and crisp outer skin.
after all that spice, you eventually wash it alll down with a cold glass of lime juice. -pats tummy
ok if you are worried about the nutrition of indian food, apparently tumeric (a yellow spice which is used in just about every south indian dish) is can-cer-pre-ven-tive! floppingfingfingers, is that so!?! yar... -keeps a straight face.
ok, moving on before i can panned for being medically incorrect .. at banana leaf, the service was impeccable if i say so myself. the clad-in-pink-and-black waiters were personal and attentive.. while we were there, it felt like being a citizen of the world as apart from the locals, there were japanese, thais, caucasians and even africans customers- all bonded by our fondness and fascination with south indian food.
they say when you have fire in your belly, you are ready to fight with energy and determination for what you believe is right. well, in my case, the fire in my belly only caused a weak churning feeling in my tummy allllll day.
banana leaf apollo- visit only if your constitution does not fail you.
Saturday, October 29
Hong Yuen / Sushi Tei
nominally so.
oh dear, i am SO SICK of blogging about DIM SUMMMMM... aren't you guys tired of looking at the same pictures as well? i mean, just look at my timeline of dimsum-blogging.
Monday, October 17 heart sum more- cantonese dim sum at tung lok's teahouse
Saturday, October 08 have a break- shanghainese at hu cui
Wednesday, September 28 my date with the paddington- tung lok's noble house
Saturday, August 27 week 1- dim sum from 'pick and bite' at smu
Friday, June 03 dimsumming with my dollies- tung lok's lao bejing
anyway today felt like dining at the house of 'commons' as we had lunch at hong yuen's and dinner at sushi tei- i guess here at gardenia road, we do win 'least adventurous diners' afterall.. haha..
alright, the dim sum has been around for donkeymoniker years and they haven't changed much in terms of appearance so i will only feature only the 'notables' today. baked- flaky mini egg tarts (dan TAT!), pretty-sweet-lovely steamed turnip cake, trotters in black vinegar sauce and charsiewbao.
you may ask why feature the ubiqutious char siew bao?
well remember how i mentioned in DIMSUM101 the charsiewbao serves as a benchmark... blah blah blah.. at hong yuen's, though the charsiewbao didn't resemble my ideal 'blossoming lotus-flower', i was impressed by the filling as you can see, the meat is visually-chewable and not minced up like what some dineries do to save on costs.
another new dish tried at sushi tei- yakitori don which is stir fried chicken drenched in teriyaki sauce and onions. considering my lack of fondness for yakitori sticks, this dish of a don was saucily- good, delectable to the last grain of rice.
salmon skin! i love it especially when it is still warm and crunchy... hmm, i wonder why japanese manufacturers haven't gone around creating fried salmon skin as rival to the american potato chips? i mean, i would buy it...
oh dear, i am SO SICK of blogging about DIM SUMMMMM... aren't you guys tired of looking at the same pictures as well? i mean, just look at my timeline of dimsum-blogging.
Monday, October 17 heart sum more- cantonese dim sum at tung lok's teahouse
Saturday, October 08 have a break- shanghainese at hu cui
Wednesday, September 28 my date with the paddington- tung lok's noble house
Saturday, August 27 week 1- dim sum from 'pick and bite' at smu
Friday, June 03 dimsumming with my dollies- tung lok's lao bejing
anyway today felt like dining at the house of 'commons' as we had lunch at hong yuen's and dinner at sushi tei- i guess here at gardenia road, we do win 'least adventurous diners' afterall.. haha..alright, the dim sum has been around for donkeymoniker years and they haven't changed much in terms of appearance so i will only feature only the 'notables' today. baked- flaky mini egg tarts (dan TAT!), pretty-sweet-lovely steamed turnip cake, trotters in black vinegar sauce and charsiewbao.
you may ask why feature the ubiqutious char siew bao?
well remember how i mentioned in DIMSUM101 the charsiewbao serves as a benchmark... blah blah blah.. at hong yuen's, though the charsiewbao didn't resemble my ideal 'blossoming lotus-flower', i was impressed by the filling as you can see, the meat is visually-chewable and not minced up like what some dineries do to save on costs.
another new dish tried at sushi tei- yakitori don which is stir fried chicken drenched in teriyaki sauce and onions. considering my lack of fondness for yakitori sticks, this dish of a don was saucily- good, delectable to the last grain of rice.
salmon skin! i love it especially when it is still warm and crunchy... hmm, i wonder why japanese manufacturers haven't gone around creating fried salmon skin as rival to the american potato chips? i mean, i would buy it...
SICC cheesecake
happy birthday jimmy!
jimmy celebrated his good quarter of a century yesterday. however, because of their complusory edu-dine law dinner, we could not have dinner together.. thus we could only make do with a bluebery cheesecake from the club. when they only returned past ten thirty, it was a mix of relief and solace as mum was already finding it difficult to stay awake and i badly needed a break from finance homework.
a akwardly-harmonized birthday song, orchestrated by the irregular cheers from the golf masters that dad was watching eventually sealed the deal and cake was served!
i like my cheesecake firm, not soft with either a digestive base for new york cheesecake or oreo base for the oreo-version. i guess i finally realised my preferences when i had more birthday cake then the birthday boy himself.
jimmy celebrated his good quarter of a century yesterday. however, because of their complusory edu-dine law dinner, we could not have dinner together.. thus we could only make do with a bluebery cheesecake from the club. when they only returned past ten thirty, it was a mix of relief and solace as mum was already finding it difficult to stay awake and i badly needed a break from finance homework.
a akwardly-harmonized birthday song, orchestrated by the irregular cheers from the golf masters that dad was watching eventually sealed the deal and cake was served!
i like my cheesecake firm, not soft with either a digestive base for new york cheesecake or oreo base for the oreo-version. i guess i finally realised my preferences when i had more birthday cake then the birthday boy himself.
the lovely thing about cheesecake is how it is still invitingly- tempting even as overnight cake. chilled and firm, i love having a ready supply of cheesecake in the fridge. makes for great breakfast treat, teatime snack and after-dinner dessert.
Friday, October 28
Ikea
meat the swede.
didn't make it for my 8:30am class.
going to have another bowl of tau huay, courtesy of darrelle.
hey dearie, hope your papadums are still edible.
oh yea i totally forgot to THANK DARRELLE for helping me out with the pictures.. could not have photographed without a shaky hand if not for her her slicing, twisting, flipping and posing with the food.
i met mum at ikea this afternoon for their kitchen planning services. of course, after reading aromacookery's experience at ikea there was an excuse to have lunch there as well.. -grin
upon arrival, i was greeted by a 3-m long queue like whoa! but the queue moved along pretty quickly under the supervison of the ikea employees and their coordinated hand signals.. kind of reminded me of those intense wall street scenes where market traders point just about in every direction, with swirls and flips to heighten the atmosphere. haha..
mum had the swedish meatballs.. tenderly juicy, the winning formula is a result of swedish beef and danish pork served with cream sauce, some-berry jam, and steamed potatoes while two medium-rare slices of roast beef topped with mushroom sauce and served with fries and broccoli became my lunch.
one thing we did not but SHOULD HAVE had were the chicken wings, looking around our table was probably the only one free of those finger-lickin' delight .. but after last night's fiasco, it took a herculean effort to lay off the wings... but well, our apple pie dessert (choked full of apples and walnuts) kind of made up for it.
we got lunch and our kitchen proposal! and if all goes well, we will have a new kitchen in 2 weeks... darr! you could make your riccotta pancakes at my place.. hahah...
didn't make it for my 8:30am class.
going to have another bowl of tau huay, courtesy of darrelle.
hey dearie, hope your papadums are still edible.
oh yea i totally forgot to THANK DARRELLE for helping me out with the pictures.. could not have photographed without a shaky hand if not for her her slicing, twisting, flipping and posing with the food.
i met mum at ikea this afternoon for their kitchen planning services. of course, after reading aromacookery's experience at ikea there was an excuse to have lunch there as well.. -grin
upon arrival, i was greeted by a 3-m long queue like whoa! but the queue moved along pretty quickly under the supervison of the ikea employees and their coordinated hand signals.. kind of reminded me of those intense wall street scenes where market traders point just about in every direction, with swirls and flips to heighten the atmosphere. haha..
mum had the swedish meatballs.. tenderly juicy, the winning formula is a result of swedish beef and danish pork served with cream sauce, some-berry jam, and steamed potatoes while two medium-rare slices of roast beef topped with mushroom sauce and served with fries and broccoli became my lunch.
one thing we did not but SHOULD HAVE had were the chicken wings, looking around our table was probably the only one free of those finger-lickin' delight .. but after last night's fiasco, it took a herculean effort to lay off the wings... but well, our apple pie dessert (choked full of apples and walnuts) kind of made up for it.
we got lunch and our kitchen proposal! and if all goes well, we will have a new kitchen in 2 weeks... darr! you could make your riccotta pancakes at my place.. hahah...
Supper
supper night.
its past one and darr has just driven home.
darr picked me up from school over to upper thomson for supper and tonight really sums up your typical singaporean supper of minced meat noodles (bak chor mee), prata and tau huay.
darr took on the real deal featured here- minced pork mee pok while i opted for a mee sua soup version- comfort on a chilly evening.
after that, we hopped two doors down towards for the famous crispy prata house (still along upper thomson road).. funny how this is the first time i am having prata in months even though the prata house is like a stone's away from my place. i think having prata in singapore is a social event and be it breakfast, lunch or dinner cum supper, roti prata fills in just nicely...
best crispy prata in town!
google 'roti prata' and "indian pizza", "singapore's version of the french croissant", "a lighter denser version of the crepe" appears. though amusing, believe me you guys, got it all wrong. haha! prata da bomb- which darr has been craving for all week!
just dip me in curry and call me pleasure!
at the prata house, we were charmed by the savoury and the sweet- cheese and mushroom prata and prata bomb (prata filled with butter and some sweetener). tonight though the cheese and mushroom prata just did not float my boat.. for some very obscure reason.. perhaps because i was craving for something sweet after the noodles.
but my first encounter with a prata bomb was amazing! the spicy curry complimented the sweet slightly crisp flatbread. YUMYUMooo, and it goes without saying that i had my drug- teh halia (ginger milk tea) while darr had her ice teh tarik to soothe the curry-oomph.
oh i think the thomson beancurd is pretty good too.. they use brown sugar syrup instead of the usual damnsweet sugar syrup which would have overkilled. smooth and subtly sweet, we took some back to my place where darr hung out while waiting for the thunderlightening storm to subside.
my face aspires to be as smooth as the tau huay and not as round as the tang yuan.
see you in a week, darr! gives me just about enough time to detox.
its past one and darr has just driven home.
darr picked me up from school over to upper thomson for supper and tonight really sums up your typical singaporean supper of minced meat noodles (bak chor mee), prata and tau huay.
darr took on the real deal featured here- minced pork mee pok while i opted for a mee sua soup version- comfort on a chilly evening.
after that, we hopped two doors down towards for the famous crispy prata house (still along upper thomson road).. funny how this is the first time i am having prata in months even though the prata house is like a stone's away from my place. i think having prata in singapore is a social event and be it breakfast, lunch or dinner cum supper, roti prata fills in just nicely...
best crispy prata in town!
google 'roti prata' and "indian pizza", "singapore's version of the french croissant", "a lighter denser version of the crepe" appears. though amusing, believe me you guys, got it all wrong. haha! prata da bomb- which darr has been craving for all week!
just dip me in curry and call me pleasure!
at the prata house, we were charmed by the savoury and the sweet- cheese and mushroom prata and prata bomb (prata filled with butter and some sweetener). tonight though the cheese and mushroom prata just did not float my boat.. for some very obscure reason.. perhaps because i was craving for something sweet after the noodles.
but my first encounter with a prata bomb was amazing! the spicy curry complimented the sweet slightly crisp flatbread. YUMYUMooo, and it goes without saying that i had my drug- teh halia (ginger milk tea) while darr had her ice teh tarik to soothe the curry-oomph.
oh i think the thomson beancurd is pretty good too.. they use brown sugar syrup instead of the usual damnsweet sugar syrup which would have overkilled. smooth and subtly sweet, we took some back to my place where darr hung out while waiting for the thunderlightening storm to subside.
my face aspires to be as smooth as the tau huay and not as round as the tang yuan.
see you in a week, darr! gives me just about enough time to detox.
Wednesday, October 26
rent starring karen mok.
on the bright side, mum got tickets for rent this december.
hmm, karen mok is supposedly the main draw but this news is regarded with 'erms,' rather than 'whees.' on the other hand, i would not mind being proven wrong...
RENT KICKS OFF ITS 10TH SEASON OF LOVE WITH WORLD TOUR
STARRING ASIAN SUPERSTAR KAREN MOK!
The 10th Anniversary World Tour of “The Musical of the Decade”
to premiere in Kallang Theatre, Singapore on 22 November 2005
Sweeping all major theatre awards, including 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical as well as the Pulitzer Prize, RENT captures the heart and spirit of a generation. Inspired by Puccini’s La Boheme, RENT is a joyous, breathtaking and often heartbreaking musical that celebrates a community of young artists as they struggle with the soaring hopes and tough realities of today’s world. Book tickets to the Direct from New York 10th Anniversary World Tour of RENT starring Karen Mok at SISTIC today! Opens 22 November at Kallang Theatre for a strictly limited season.
on the bright side, mum got tickets for rent this december.
hmm, karen mok is supposedly the main draw but this news is regarded with 'erms,' rather than 'whees.' on the other hand, i would not mind being proven wrong...
RENT KICKS OFF ITS 10TH SEASON OF LOVE WITH WORLD TOUR
STARRING ASIAN SUPERSTAR KAREN MOK!
The 10th Anniversary World Tour of “The Musical of the Decade”
to premiere in Kallang Theatre, Singapore on 22 November 2005
Sweeping all major theatre awards, including 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical as well as the Pulitzer Prize, RENT captures the heart and spirit of a generation. Inspired by Puccini’s La Boheme, RENT is a joyous, breathtaking and often heartbreaking musical that celebrates a community of young artists as they struggle with the soaring hopes and tough realities of today’s world. Book tickets to the Direct from New York 10th Anniversary World Tour of RENT starring Karen Mok at SISTIC today! Opens 22 November at Kallang Theatre for a strictly limited season.
nothing exciting.
here is a does-nothing-for-your-gpa bit of trivia for you: do YOU know that prince albert of monaco's official title is "His Serene Highness"?! =)
deadlines and more deadlines- sums up my life is smu. sigh.
a slightly effiminate brad pitt in his good luck smuggy troy armour prompted me to unwrap the november scv guide. flipping through the newest scv telescope to check out upcoming hightlights features an irony since i always flip to the last page for check out the highlights in the NEXT-of-the-upcoming month.
wow, action, sex and horror all coming in december!
i robot holds the clout for action.. haven't caught it before but trailers reveal that even the robots have stunt doubles.. hmm should check it out.. in december.
ooo,for all you naughty nooky folks who covet paris hilton's homemade videos: 'wild sex' on national geographic.. which features "naughty, nooky ANIMALS who put humans to shame".. don't worry guys, at least paris now knows what a soup kitchen is or does..
hmm, there's horror on hbo too! mean girls- the iconic hitchcock-psycho movie of our generation. look how horror had progressed- instead of knife-wielding perverse folks who sneak up behind shower curtains, the villains of our generation are blond american girls who are just about every guy's behind-the-shower-curtain fantasy. horror- airbrushed i must say.
ok, back to november which is supposedly an all-guy issue. the movies featuring these so called hotties consist of sky captain (jude law), cellular (chris evans), GOING DOWN THE SCALE AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL, waterboy (adam sandler), die hard (bruce willis) ... which only proves one thing. hotties do not make wise movie choices and erm, scv obviously has a different idea of who today's hotties are.
ok, to be fair there's troy and brad pitt the real you-know-who who launched a thousand ships. ooo eric bennett's in it as well, but he.. kinda.. dies... so i am going to save myself the heartbreak and of course our dear mediteranean-version of legolas who did himself a favour by getting a perm and tan- how hollywould!
i guess at the end of the day you could always rely on discovery travel and adventure and i meant THAT! there's a new jamie where-got-naked?! oliver's series 'jamie's school dinners' where he attempts to re-vamp school food in britain.. another new kid on the block 'come dine with me' which is a reality program based on becoming the best dinner party host and a new season of 'made to order'
chris, is it the end of october already?!
here is a does-nothing-for-your-gpa bit of trivia for you: do YOU know that prince albert of monaco's official title is "His Serene Highness"?! =)
deadlines and more deadlines- sums up my life is smu. sigh.
a slightly effiminate brad pitt in his good luck smuggy troy armour prompted me to unwrap the november scv guide. flipping through the newest scv telescope to check out upcoming hightlights features an irony since i always flip to the last page for check out the highlights in the NEXT-of-the-upcoming month.
wow, action, sex and horror all coming in december!
i robot holds the clout for action.. haven't caught it before but trailers reveal that even the robots have stunt doubles.. hmm should check it out.. in december.
ooo,for all you naughty nooky folks who covet paris hilton's homemade videos: 'wild sex' on national geographic.. which features "naughty, nooky ANIMALS who put humans to shame".. don't worry guys, at least paris now knows what a soup kitchen is or does..
hmm, there's horror on hbo too! mean girls- the iconic hitchcock-psycho movie of our generation. look how horror had progressed- instead of knife-wielding perverse folks who sneak up behind shower curtains, the villains of our generation are blond american girls who are just about every guy's behind-the-shower-curtain fantasy. horror- airbrushed i must say.
ok, back to november which is supposedly an all-guy issue. the movies featuring these so called hotties consist of sky captain (jude law), cellular (chris evans), GOING DOWN THE SCALE AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL, waterboy (adam sandler), die hard (bruce willis) ... which only proves one thing. hotties do not make wise movie choices and erm, scv obviously has a different idea of who today's hotties are.
ok, to be fair there's troy and brad pitt the real you-know-who who launched a thousand ships. ooo eric bennett's in it as well, but he.. kinda.. dies... so i am going to save myself the heartbreak and of course our dear mediteranean-version of legolas who did himself a favour by getting a perm and tan- how hollywould!
i guess at the end of the day you could always rely on discovery travel and adventure and i meant THAT! there's a new jamie where-got-naked?! oliver's series 'jamie's school dinners' where he attempts to re-vamp school food in britain.. another new kid on the block 'come dine with me' which is a reality program based on becoming the best dinner party host and a new season of 'made to order'
chris, is it the end of october already?!
Tuesday, October 25
Sunday, October 23
Marmalade Pantry Sunday Brunch
We were riding in a cab yesterday when my mum told me my dad's golf appointment was in the morning. though there was a momentary understood silence between us, the knobs in our minds were ticking away, in a sycronized motion like kids who were up to no good.
I decided to make a reservation at somewhere my dad would not have approved of- marmalde pantry. Too frivolous and unnecessarily expensive.. he would have commented. Ok fine, granted this is not exactly church food but since the sunday brunch at Marmalde is so well- regarded, I should have a go to see what the fuss is all about.
On the menu:
Foie Gras burger with sundried tomato relish.
The thick sesame bun was pedastrian but the use of a more complex bread would have complicted the taste. This was my virgin attempt with foie gras. It would be sheer understatement to describe the patty as 'rich'. The oil oozesout with every bite and I was practically craving for green tea after mouthfuls. Nonetheless, it was a very enlightening experience.
Apart from the visual aspect of this dish, the layout was well thought out. The potato wedges were neatly stacked in a circular bowl and the tomato relish lay on the other side to prevent a soggy mess. The cup of peppery wedges, with its crisp slightly-burnt skin , was polished off in no time.
Ribeye steak sandwich with grilled onions, avocado & wasabi mayonnaise
We welcomed the tender ribeye with arms wide open and with the presence of wasabi mayonnaise, this sandwich was more outstanding than the Ultimate Beef Burger .
I wonder what kind of chips were used? They reminded me of flower petals but tasted somewhat like light tapioca chips. I wonder if it was a coincidence that I had wedges, Mum had thick ol' french fries and Jimmy had petal-like chips. hmmm... If it weren't so, i would give marmalade credit for providing us with different types of sides.
Banana pancakes with blueberries and creme fraiche.
Marmalde Pantry is one of those incredibly pretentious places that tries to downplay its "Royal Chi-chiness" behaviour by dressing their waiters in tatty t-shirts. But it ain't funny. In fact, it looks disrespectful. The next time round I want to be served by a guy who looks like he just rolled out of bed, I will go to a surbuban coffee shop and have a ridiculously cheap breakfast.
I decided to make a reservation at somewhere my dad would not have approved of- marmalde pantry. Too frivolous and unnecessarily expensive.. he would have commented. Ok fine, granted this is not exactly church food but since the sunday brunch at Marmalde is so well- regarded, I should have a go to see what the fuss is all about.On the menu:
Foie Gras burger with sundried tomato relish.
The thick sesame bun was pedastrian but the use of a more complex bread would have complicted the taste. This was my virgin attempt with foie gras. It would be sheer understatement to describe the patty as 'rich'. The oil oozesout with every bite and I was practically craving for green tea after mouthfuls. Nonetheless, it was a very enlightening experience.
Apart from the visual aspect of this dish, the layout was well thought out. The potato wedges were neatly stacked in a circular bowl and the tomato relish lay on the other side to prevent a soggy mess. The cup of peppery wedges, with its crisp slightly-burnt skin , was polished off in no time.
The foie dissected and peppery wedges.
The Ultimate Beef Burger.
Ribeye steak sandwich with grilled onions, avocado & wasabi mayonnaise
I wonder what kind of chips were used? They reminded me of flower petals but tasted somewhat like light tapioca chips. I wonder if it was a coincidence that I had wedges, Mum had thick ol' french fries and Jimmy had petal-like chips. hmmm... If it weren't so, i would give marmalade credit for providing us with different types of sides.
The only 'sweet' dish on our table, thus proviing quite the relief from the greasy slabs of meat and buttered bread. Otherwise, it was pretty much average, just a spruced up version of McDonald's hotcakes.
a little bit of this and a little bit of that-
the beauty of sharing amongst family.
somehow, i just cannot imagine how those chichi socialites mantain their cool demeanor when tucking into a mean beef burger.
Marmalde Pantry is one of those incredibly pretentious places that tries to downplay its "Royal Chi-chiness" behaviour by dressing their waiters in tatty t-shirts. But it ain't funny. In fact, it looks disrespectful. The next time round I want to be served by a guy who looks like he just rolled out of bed, I will go to a surbuban coffee shop and have a ridiculously cheap breakfast.
i am typing this in front of the tv while watching with national geographic's 'inside 911'.
i think that admist the world trade center and camp david chaos, many have either forgotten or even never knew about united airlines flight no. 93. do you?
well, this plane was heading for the capitol in washington but a struggle put up by the passengers themselves distracted the hijackers and caused them to plunge 20 0000 feet to new baltimore. perhaps this hit me harder than the world trade centers as we have unceremoniously forgotten about flight no. 93 just bacause no us government building was struck.
when you listen out for the last words of those who were planning to revolt- hear of how their last words were filled with so much love, despite the malice that was unfolding right in front of them- you cannot help but feel a lump in your throat.
as you watch tbe crumbling of world trade centers meticulously documented minute by minute, the search for 'missing perons' pasted all over post boxes and lamp posts and the struggle of those who refused to let the hijackers take over them, it is so easy to brush off those still images when you hear politicians in their iron-pressed suits talk the nation of out debri and real responsibility.
i know too little to say if the us government has been doing the right thing. but with enough lives lost during 911 alone, do we really need more wars?
i think that admist the world trade center and camp david chaos, many have either forgotten or even never knew about united airlines flight no. 93. do you?
well, this plane was heading for the capitol in washington but a struggle put up by the passengers themselves distracted the hijackers and caused them to plunge 20 0000 feet to new baltimore. perhaps this hit me harder than the world trade centers as we have unceremoniously forgotten about flight no. 93 just bacause no us government building was struck.
when you listen out for the last words of those who were planning to revolt- hear of how their last words were filled with so much love, despite the malice that was unfolding right in front of them- you cannot help but feel a lump in your throat.
as you watch tbe crumbling of world trade centers meticulously documented minute by minute, the search for 'missing perons' pasted all over post boxes and lamp posts and the struggle of those who refused to let the hijackers take over them, it is so easy to brush off those still images when you hear politicians in their iron-pressed suits talk the nation of out debri and real responsibility.
i know too little to say if the us government has been doing the right thing. but with enough lives lost during 911 alone, do we really need more wars?
some people really just miss the point... you dont go to somebody's house and say "you have got too much antiques.. too many liu kang paintings.. what a showw off!"
i am lucky because i can travel and i don't need to hide my excitement! why can't i be excited about travelling despite the fact that i have been to many places? he who travels and yet gets bored with exploring new places should indeed be pitied! much as i am tempted to fling my passport at you, i shan't ... (well, partly because it is still with ica renewing and i need it to renew my visa at the DANISH embassy)
perhaps i sound like a deprived kid but that's because i myself cannot get enough of travelling.. i apologis- wait i don't! because i see no reason to accomodate YOU when you are VISITNG MY BLOG.
i am lucky because i can travel and i don't need to hide my excitement! why can't i be excited about travelling despite the fact that i have been to many places? he who travels and yet gets bored with exploring new places should indeed be pitied! much as i am tempted to fling my passport at you, i shan't ... (well, partly because it is still with ica renewing and i need it to renew my visa at the DANISH embassy)
perhaps i sound like a deprived kid but that's because i myself cannot get enough of travelling.. i apologis- wait i don't! because i see no reason to accomodate YOU when you are VISITNG MY BLOG.
Saturday, October 22
Dino Cafe
wedding bells.
i attended my first wedding lunch today- as in 8-COURSE CHINESE WEDDING lunch.. ???- exactly! anyway it was my mum's yoga teacher and i will bet you are wondering why lunch? well, considering how my parents have a wedding lunch and 2 wedding dinners to attend this weekend along, i say- it must be one of those helluva-AUSPICIOUS weekends to get married. go check the almanac... but for you lovebirds, it's probably too late anyway...
this lunch was a mighty three hour long affair.. though cocktail started at 12 noon and we were allowed into the banquet hall at 12:30.. the food only made its grand entrance (to sting's desert rose yaya-tune) at one.. which goes to show that be it wedding lunch or dinner- it always starts LATE! beware. so it was basically a lot of waiting waiting and more waiting, no longer able to conceal my hunger, i actually asked the waitress to bring in the cocktail snacks (tapioca chips and cheese rings!) from the hall outside- which she did.
oh come on! drop your shock-and-awe look, i bet some of you must have been tempted to do so on at least one wedding occasion.. well now that i have done it, you could always say, "i know somebody esle who did it"
since dinner was a small affair of just jie, jimmy and i, we decided to visit the newly- renovated dino cafe along upper thomson road!
not-store-bought kerokeroPOK which angie deep-fried. a whiff of it delivers some serious kick. i had a craving for pandan cake ever since i walked passed bengawan solo days ago.. green with envy and irresistably eggy- breakfast for tomorrow.. 
things i will miss when in denmark.
i attended my first wedding lunch today- as in 8-COURSE CHINESE WEDDING lunch.. ???- exactly! anyway it was my mum's yoga teacher and i will bet you are wondering why lunch? well, considering how my parents have a wedding lunch and 2 wedding dinners to attend this weekend along, i say- it must be one of those helluva-AUSPICIOUS weekends to get married. go check the almanac... but for you lovebirds, it's probably too late anyway...
this lunch was a mighty three hour long affair.. though cocktail started at 12 noon and we were allowed into the banquet hall at 12:30.. the food only made its grand entrance (to sting's desert rose yaya-tune) at one.. which goes to show that be it wedding lunch or dinner- it always starts LATE! beware. so it was basically a lot of waiting waiting and more waiting, no longer able to conceal my hunger, i actually asked the waitress to bring in the cocktail snacks (tapioca chips and cheese rings!) from the hall outside- which she did.
oh come on! drop your shock-and-awe look, i bet some of you must have been tempted to do so on at least one wedding occasion.. well now that i have done it, you could always say, "i know somebody esle who did it"
since dinner was a small affair of just jie, jimmy and i, we decided to visit the newly- renovated dino cafe along upper thomson road!
laksa, fried bee hoon and lontong- simply tasty filled with home-made goodness. jimmy had custard puffs with sambal chili- only kididng! the chili was from jie's laksa. whats a trip to dino without a engliSh scone?
my point exactly so 'scone' ended up as my dessert
not-store-bought kerokeroPOK which angie deep-fried. a whiff of it delivers some serious kick. i had a craving for pandan cake ever since i walked passed bengawan solo days ago.. green with envy and irresistably eggy- breakfast for tomorrow.. things i will miss when in denmark.
ready jet-set go.
with so much going on, i really feel the need to map out my travel plans
tentatively-
jan 16th - 23rd: uk- durham/ edinburgh/ london
jan 30th - june 30th: studying in denmark! possibly doing weekend or shorts travels to prague/ vienna/ barcelona/ italy
after june 30th: france- provence and riveria
i will confirm with you guys (yang, wai and sheryl) soon=) meanwhile feel free to drop me notes on where you will be when.
with so much going on, i really feel the need to map out my travel plans
tentatively-
jan 16th - 23rd: uk- durham/ edinburgh/ london
jan 30th - june 30th: studying in denmark! possibly doing weekend or shorts travels to prague/ vienna/ barcelona/ italy
after june 30th: france- provence and riveria
i will confirm with you guys (yang, wai and sheryl) soon=) meanwhile feel free to drop me notes on where you will be when.
go smug yourself.
i bet all of us all have met classmate tell-me! in at least one of our classes- be it primary, secondary, junior college, poly and even university.
the one who peers over to your side uninvitingly to check out your exam score. the one who asks you casually how you have done for the previous test, though his eyeballs are practically widening as you slowly drop the bomb. actually the first person whom you expect will ask about your grades despite the fact that your last sub-intelligent conversation was about the lack of water-coolers in school.
today this classmate surfaced yet again (imagine marvel comic's swampthing from black lagoon and throw in alfred hitcock's psycho tune) to ask how i fared for my qm paper. i could not resist but rebute the question in his direction and he replied, "for you to ask, you must have done well... surely better than me.. " erm heloooo? you asked me first???
desparate to get out of the word-play, i just told him my results and he told me his. i nodded and walked away
feeling smugsmugsmug.
i bet all of us all have met classmate tell-me! in at least one of our classes- be it primary, secondary, junior college, poly and even university.
the one who peers over to your side uninvitingly to check out your exam score. the one who asks you casually how you have done for the previous test, though his eyeballs are practically widening as you slowly drop the bomb. actually the first person whom you expect will ask about your grades despite the fact that your last sub-intelligent conversation was about the lack of water-coolers in school.
today this classmate surfaced yet again (imagine marvel comic's swampthing from black lagoon and throw in alfred hitcock's psycho tune) to ask how i fared for my qm paper. i could not resist but rebute the question in his direction and he replied, "for you to ask, you must have done well... surely better than me.. " erm heloooo? you asked me first???
desparate to get out of the word-play, i just told him my results and he told me his. i nodded and walked away
feeling smugsmugsmug.
Thursday, October 20
tired.
my mum is seriously thinking of renovating the kitchen!
we measured the dimensions of the kitchen, picked up the new ikea 2006 catalogue,visited a couple of interior design stores and went through their portfolio.
oh.. please let it be completed before i leave for denmark!
i brunched with diana today- basically caught up with her tales in already-chilly-at-8degrees toronto and talked about what most people my age should be thinking about- our career. to cut the long sto-, she is thinking of working for a couple of years to save up for a degree from le cordon bleu (pronounced lay cor dom BLUR).
I FELT SO ENVIOUS FOR HER. like she has a rough itinery of where and how she wants to steer her life, instead of letting life take her by the nose. me? i still have no idea. i want to be r-a-s (rich and successful) of course, but i don't have the foggiest feasible idea of what i am going to do. sigh.
anyway, back to the present- yang, i am thinking of flying with you to durham on the 12th,vacation there and maybe in london then proceed to copenhagen from there... update me on your plans =)
my mum is seriously thinking of renovating the kitchen!
we measured the dimensions of the kitchen, picked up the new ikea 2006 catalogue,visited a couple of interior design stores and went through their portfolio.
oh.. please let it be completed before i leave for denmark!
i brunched with diana today- basically caught up with her tales in already-chilly-at-8degrees toronto and talked about what most people my age should be thinking about- our career. to cut the long sto-, she is thinking of working for a couple of years to save up for a degree from le cordon bleu (pronounced lay cor dom BLUR).
I FELT SO ENVIOUS FOR HER. like she has a rough itinery of where and how she wants to steer her life, instead of letting life take her by the nose. me? i still have no idea. i want to be r-a-s (rich and successful) of course, but i don't have the foggiest feasible idea of what i am going to do. sigh.
anyway, back to the present- yang, i am thinking of flying with you to durham on the 12th,vacation there and maybe in london then proceed to copenhagen from there... update me on your plans =)
Tuesday, October 18
too many wrongs.
my cousin's wife recently suffered a a rather severe stroke that caused the left side of her body to gradually paralyse. last weekend when my parents and i went to the intensive unit care at nuh to visit her as she had just undergone a major open-heart surgery to remove a pontential fatal growth. she is only 29.
before you draw out any sympathy- don't because she does not deserve it. perhaps i sound undeservingly harsh but believe me when you hear of how awful she has been, you will be seething like my dad right now.
let's call her C. C has a very strong personality (unlike my cousin who is inclined towards being ineffectual) as a result, C has always been the dominant one in the relationship and the inbalance of roles continued even after marrisge. i come from an extremely warm extended family yet she has never bothered to acknowledge our presence or gotten to know us better, preferring to stay out of family gatherings. ok fine, no strings attched whatsoever. apparently we even received news that things were not well between the married couple.
yet after her stroke, we thought C knew better. my parents initially were unsure of whether to visit her at the hospital as we had not been close and apparently, she was extremely displeased when my other cousins went to visit her as she accused them of 'going FOR SHOW'. yes, this happened when she was LYING in the hospital, her body slowly failing on her, you would think her personality would have suffered a beating. TAHHH- WRONG!
yet my aunt (another aunt, not her mother-in-law) who had been visiting her EVERYDAY, convinced my mum to visit her saying that C realised that we cared for her. so we made the trip.
BIG MISTAKE. when my parents and i entered the icu ward, i stood in front of her and received such a frosty stare, for a split second, i was taken aback by her hostility. she took a left glance at my dad and turned away wordlessly without any sign of respect or acknowldgement. my dad gave her the benefit of doubt that she was still weak from her heart surgery and decided not to pursue the matter.
however, later we heard that even though she could not talk, she was able to write and demand for a drink on a mini easelboard. "demand" because 1. she had written exclaimation marks all over and boxed up the word "NOW" when requesting for a drink and 2. get this- she wanted ICE LEMON TEA!?! all this from a sick patient who had only returned from the brink of death that very morning.
i should not be washing dirty linen in public but i really have to say this (if you are not already feeling anger)- my cousin (her husband) came across her smses (while in the hospital) and realised that she had actually been planning to go to japan this sunday with her -boyfriend-. i guess my cousin already had an inkling seeing how he was not invited since she claimed before "it was a collegues only."
i am trying too hard not to use the R-word on her but mark my words, it is all about karma.
my cousin's wife recently suffered a a rather severe stroke that caused the left side of her body to gradually paralyse. last weekend when my parents and i went to the intensive unit care at nuh to visit her as she had just undergone a major open-heart surgery to remove a pontential fatal growth. she is only 29.
before you draw out any sympathy- don't because she does not deserve it. perhaps i sound undeservingly harsh but believe me when you hear of how awful she has been, you will be seething like my dad right now.
let's call her C. C has a very strong personality (unlike my cousin who is inclined towards being ineffectual) as a result, C has always been the dominant one in the relationship and the inbalance of roles continued even after marrisge. i come from an extremely warm extended family yet she has never bothered to acknowledge our presence or gotten to know us better, preferring to stay out of family gatherings. ok fine, no strings attched whatsoever. apparently we even received news that things were not well between the married couple.
yet after her stroke, we thought C knew better. my parents initially were unsure of whether to visit her at the hospital as we had not been close and apparently, she was extremely displeased when my other cousins went to visit her as she accused them of 'going FOR SHOW'. yes, this happened when she was LYING in the hospital, her body slowly failing on her, you would think her personality would have suffered a beating. TAHHH- WRONG!
yet my aunt (another aunt, not her mother-in-law) who had been visiting her EVERYDAY, convinced my mum to visit her saying that C realised that we cared for her. so we made the trip.
BIG MISTAKE. when my parents and i entered the icu ward, i stood in front of her and received such a frosty stare, for a split second, i was taken aback by her hostility. she took a left glance at my dad and turned away wordlessly without any sign of respect or acknowldgement. my dad gave her the benefit of doubt that she was still weak from her heart surgery and decided not to pursue the matter.
however, later we heard that even though she could not talk, she was able to write and demand for a drink on a mini easelboard. "demand" because 1. she had written exclaimation marks all over and boxed up the word "NOW" when requesting for a drink and 2. get this- she wanted ICE LEMON TEA!?! all this from a sick patient who had only returned from the brink of death that very morning.
i should not be washing dirty linen in public but i really have to say this (if you are not already feeling anger)- my cousin (her husband) came across her smses (while in the hospital) and realised that she had actually been planning to go to japan this sunday with her -boyfriend-. i guess my cousin already had an inkling seeing how he was not invited since she claimed before "it was a collegues only."
i am trying too hard not to use the R-word on her but mark my words, it is all about karma.
Monday, October 17
Teahouse Tung Lok
heart sum more.
put 5 ravenous girls and a hot-looking guy in a steamy environment.
what would you get?
a dim sum feast! *whacks forehead hello?! this isn't some craig david song, for crying out loud. and kevin was looking "hot" as in hot and red like a semi-scorched lobster as he had just returned from vacation krabi, pipi islands.
so for like the fourth time in two weeks, i had dim sum last saturday. it was yet another "amaze-our-danish-friend-kevin-with-singapores-culinary-fineries" trip that took us to teahouse at china square.
unlike our last trip to hu cui, teahouse serves primarily CANTONESE (not shanghainese, peking nor teochew) dim sum, which after so many dimming adventures made me realise that i really do prefer thi style dim sum after all.
on the menu:
Siew Mai. not a fan since kiddy years- no idea why though.
Steamed Barbecued Pork Buns & Baked Flaky Pastry with Barbecued Pork- i got to got to got to have them at ANY dim sum meal otherwise it would just feel glaringly incomplete and unsatisfying, and i love how the char siew bao resembles a blossoming lotus flower.. see, i am getting all poetic here.
Braised Chicken Claws. with a texture better left to imagination, , i think this was a fear-factor cruncher for kevin who obviously was at lost over whether to eat the skin or just knaw on the bones since there was minimal meat. after this chicken feet dish and a previous durian, i think he might just be beginning to doubt the strength of our friendship.
Steamed Turnip Cake with Minced Chinese Sausages- a healthier version of the pan-fried turnip cake. least threatening dish to our waistlines.. but we say, "bring on the oil!"
Steamed Prawn Dumplings aka ha gao: shrimp wrapped within a thin layer of flour. crunchy and obviously fresh, i think i might have just discovered vanessa's weakness *evil grin.
Sichuan Hot and Sour dumplings. not hot, quite sour. real meaty. a dish worthy of a 6-words description.
Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce. with ade at the table, no meal is complete without this hulk of fatty pork ribs.
i guess you really could not ignore the appeal of shanghainese xiao long bao. i did not try this as basically it does not rank high my my shiok- indicator.. is that actually possible? well erm yes... however, from the other tester's mouth though, apparently teahouse's xiao long bao taste-wise is not as groan-inducing as say crystal jade's.
though we would have liked kevin to try OR NEE- a yam paste dessert which promises to sky-rocket your cholestrol level, it was unfortunately only served during lunch time only, so hightea/ orneeloving-goers: take note. & like any foreigner, kevin kept asking for "spring rolls" despite our initial reluctance.. maybe we should give him credit for not ordering sweet and sour pork. haha
overall, a pleasant experience that was unharried. though the food took its time to arrive, great company more than made up for it.
put 5 ravenous girls and a hot-looking guy in a steamy environment.
what would you get?
a dim sum feast! *whacks forehead hello?! this isn't some craig david song, for crying out loud. and kevin was looking "hot" as in hot and red like a semi-scorched lobster as he had just returned from vacation krabi, pipi islands.
so for like the fourth time in two weeks, i had dim sum last saturday. it was yet another "amaze-our-danish-friend-kevin-with-singapores-culinary-fineries" trip that took us to teahouse at china square.
unlike our last trip to hu cui, teahouse serves primarily CANTONESE (not shanghainese, peking nor teochew) dim sum, which after so many dimming adventures made me realise that i really do prefer thi style dim sum after all.
on the menu:
Siew Mai. not a fan since kiddy years- no idea why though.
Steamed Barbecued Pork Buns & Baked Flaky Pastry with Barbecued Pork- i got to got to got to have them at ANY dim sum meal otherwise it would just feel glaringly incomplete and unsatisfying, and i love how the char siew bao resembles a blossoming lotus flower.. see, i am getting all poetic here.
Braised Chicken Claws. with a texture better left to imagination, , i think this was a fear-factor cruncher for kevin who obviously was at lost over whether to eat the skin or just knaw on the bones since there was minimal meat. after this chicken feet dish and a previous durian, i think he might just be beginning to doubt the strength of our friendship.
Steamed Turnip Cake with Minced Chinese Sausages- a healthier version of the pan-fried turnip cake. least threatening dish to our waistlines.. but we say, "bring on the oil!"
Steamed Prawn Dumplings aka ha gao: shrimp wrapped within a thin layer of flour. crunchy and obviously fresh, i think i might have just discovered vanessa's weakness *evil grin.
Sichuan Hot and Sour dumplings. not hot, quite sour. real meaty. a dish worthy of a 6-words description.
Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce. with ade at the table, no meal is complete without this hulk of fatty pork ribs.
i guess you really could not ignore the appeal of shanghainese xiao long bao. i did not try this as basically it does not rank high my my shiok- indicator.. is that actually possible? well erm yes... however, from the other tester's mouth though, apparently teahouse's xiao long bao taste-wise is not as groan-inducing as say crystal jade's.
though we would have liked kevin to try OR NEE- a yam paste dessert which promises to sky-rocket your cholestrol level, it was unfortunately only served during lunch time only, so hightea/ orneeloving-goers: take note. & like any foreigner, kevin kept asking for "spring rolls" despite our initial reluctance.. maybe we should give him credit for not ordering sweet and sour pork. haha
overall, a pleasant experience that was unharried. though the food took its time to arrive, great company more than made up for it.
Bak chor Mee
oodles.
in our singapore hawker fare-ry (pun intended) tale, the char kway teow would be the henpecked opium-smoking king, laksa his beloved but extremely power-hungry second wife (after his first missus mysteriously disappeared...) .. the chicken rice, our trusty right-hand man, the hokkien mee our prodigal princess and the minced pork noodle, our behind-the-scenes hunchback of notre dame.
why the hunchback? that is because the minced meat noodle is probably one of the most ignored and underrated local fare we have.. everyone raves about laksa and chicken rice but what you really wish for in the cold wet streets of deary london is a satisfying bowl of lardy minced pork noodle!
in our singapore hawker fare-ry (pun intended) tale, the char kway teow would be the henpecked opium-smoking king, laksa his beloved but extremely power-hungry second wife (after his first missus mysteriously disappeared...) .. the chicken rice, our trusty right-hand man, the hokkien mee our prodigal princess and the minced pork noodle, our behind-the-scenes hunchback of notre dame.
why the hunchback? that is because the minced meat noodle is probably one of the most ignored and underrated local fare we have.. everyone raves about laksa and chicken rice but what you really wish for in the cold wet streets of deary london is a satisfying bowl of lardy minced pork noodle!
i had this for breakfast after my maid bought it back from 'tp' (a hopeless attempt at making thomson plaza sound cooler) & i wonder how she bought it since her local lingo is pretty much limited..she probably asked the uncle for the most popular item on the menu.. haha
Sunday, October 16
Hong Yuen SICC / Red Bean Bun
after scratching out a list of possible dinneries, mum "gamely" suggested the newly- renovated restaurant hong yuen at island club's 19th hole and i emphasize on the word 'gamely' as my tough-as-barnacles-to-please dad has never had a good impression of club food, so our first experience was a make-or-break scenario for the club, do-or-die situation for the rest of us.
(from left-right; top-to-bottom)
duck's tongue; diced beef with sliced garlic- japanese style; scallop and steamed beancurd; fried seafood noodle; crispy chicken in prawn paste; pipa duck; hong yuen at island country club; red bean paste pancake; r.b.p.p- up close and peronal
taste-wise, we were impressed. our appetizer the braised duck's tongue was chewy and tasty; the diced beef reminded us of a well-executed steak. savoury on the outside with a hint of reddness within, thus maintaining a pleasant moist touch
scallop and steamed beancurd was a real surprise since i has expected it to be nondescript like steam bland tofu with a few careless strewns of orangy pseudo-scallops but when the decorative dish arrived, it tasted every bit as good as it looked. i zipped and i ate.
the fried seafood noodle received nods for not just its dandy flavour but with its generous chunks of ingredients. the freshCRUNNNCHHYY prawns! the wide slabs of squids! the scallops! the not-dory-fish-but-red-garoupa (noted dad) slices!
crispy chicken in prawn paste tasted like what most har cheong kai tasted like and was a natural winner in the taste department; pipa duck was extremely tasty too. evidently, the layer of fat that conjoins the meat and skin is what keeps the cardiologists' cash registers ringing and rining.. and for you my dear -sigh- readers, i begrudingly swallowed many duck skins just to deliver more honest review. the job hazards i face..
red bean paste pancake- what esle does 'it' better for a red bean fiend like me? and if you look closely there is actually more than one outer layer- the crisp oily one and another which wraps the paste- how artifully executed.
overall, hong yuen was good- even dad said so! so yang, next time you return, you will probably be eating here on the weekends.. apart from sushi tei.. haha
again AGAIN!
i make yixiao go weak in the knees! even brad pitt does not do that
i just have to introduce you guys to my favourite treat at the club. RED BEAN BUN! yesyes, how anti-climax but seriously this bun is scarily good.. just note the symbolically- symmetrical roundess.. ofmy face the bun!
my acquired way of eating this would be to first split the bun (as shown on the right) then for maximium pleasure, make your way through the generous sweetish inside with a fictiously-small bite. you are suppose to look geisha-coy when eating a red bean bun. and once the intense beany sweetness hits you, take another small bite of the carbo-bit to calm your adrenaline level.
- repeat above steps with the rest of the bun. sigh, i have not met anyone who appreciates a good red bean bun the way i do.
school re-commences tomorrow.
can't hardly wait.
as if.
(from left-right; top-to-bottom)
duck's tongue; diced beef with sliced garlic- japanese style; scallop and steamed beancurd; fried seafood noodle; crispy chicken in prawn paste; pipa duck; hong yuen at island country club; red bean paste pancake; r.b.p.p- up close and peronal
taste-wise, we were impressed. our appetizer the braised duck's tongue was chewy and tasty; the diced beef reminded us of a well-executed steak. savoury on the outside with a hint of reddness within, thus maintaining a pleasant moist touch
scallop and steamed beancurd was a real surprise since i has expected it to be nondescript like steam bland tofu with a few careless strewns of orangy pseudo-scallops but when the decorative dish arrived, it tasted every bit as good as it looked. i zipped and i ate.
the fried seafood noodle received nods for not just its dandy flavour but with its generous chunks of ingredients. the freshCRUNNNCHHYY prawns! the wide slabs of squids! the scallops! the not-dory-fish-but-red-garoupa (noted dad) slices!
crispy chicken in prawn paste tasted like what most har cheong kai tasted like and was a natural winner in the taste department; pipa duck was extremely tasty too. evidently, the layer of fat that conjoins the meat and skin is what keeps the cardiologists' cash registers ringing and rining.. and for you my dear -sigh- readers, i begrudingly swallowed many duck skins just to deliver more honest review. the job hazards i face..
red bean paste pancake- what esle does 'it' better for a red bean fiend like me? and if you look closely there is actually more than one outer layer- the crisp oily one and another which wraps the paste- how artifully executed.
overall, hong yuen was good- even dad said so! so yang, next time you return, you will probably be eating here on the weekends.. apart from sushi tei.. haha
again AGAIN!
i make yixiao go weak in the knees! even brad pitt does not do that
i just have to introduce you guys to my favourite treat at the club. RED BEAN BUN! yesyes, how anti-climax but seriously this bun is scarily good.. just note the symbolically- symmetrical roundess.. of
my acquired way of eating this would be to first split the bun (as shown on the right) then for maximium pleasure, make your way through the generous sweetish inside with a fictiously-small bite. you are suppose to look geisha-coy when eating a red bean bun. and once the intense beany sweetness hits you, take another small bite of the carbo-bit to calm your adrenaline level.
- repeat above steps with the rest of the bun. sigh, i have not met anyone who appreciates a good red bean bun the way i do.
school re-commences tomorrow.
can't hardly wait.
as if.
europe is going to be fun.
why?
one reason of course being that a handful of smu's intelligent life will be spreaded over france, barcelona and milan. yes, that includes tarn, shuyi, sharon and vanessa..... oh my dear, tea at the beaches of normandy sounds delightful! how about we visist sagrada familia in barcelona after lunch tomorrow? i am hallucinating already. *reaches for medication.
two because wai might be in copenhagen then and we are trying to work out plans to travel and explore the city. perhaps in denmark, you could show me a thing or two on how to work these orient charms of yours.. haha.. danishguys+wai: resistence is futile. haha
three as yang and durham are just an hour'fs flight away and apparently durham is beautifully picturesque.. and awafully small too right? ahah.. so i suggest you come to copenhagen after that!
i am a citizen of the world
world peace, let's make poverty history and say 'no' to fur.
come fly with me
let's fly, let''s fly away
why?
one reason of course being that a handful of smu's intelligent life will be spreaded over france, barcelona and milan. yes, that includes tarn, shuyi, sharon and vanessa..... oh my dear, tea at the beaches of normandy sounds delightful! how about we visist sagrada familia in barcelona after lunch tomorrow? i am hallucinating already. *reaches for medication.
two because wai might be in copenhagen then and we are trying to work out plans to travel and explore the city. perhaps in denmark, you could show me a thing or two on how to work these orient charms of yours.. haha.. danishguys+wai: resistence is futile. haha
three as yang and durham are just an hour'fs flight away and apparently durham is beautifully picturesque.. and awafully small too right? ahah.. so i suggest you come to copenhagen after that!
i am a citizen of the world
world peace, let's make poverty history and say 'no' to fur.
come fly with me
let's fly, let''s fly away
Friday, October 14
copenhagen, here i muck.
you know how you meet someone and gradually get introduced to others
and this ritual just goes on and on?
presently, i feel like i am on this life-ride where i constantly meet new incredibly-interesting people. like people that i have seen around but never got a chance to speak too.
and i'm lovin' it!
finance is finally over.. and i can concentrate on re-living a surhedonist lifestyle.
i decided further my understanding of denmark.. well, more precisely the bakeries and confectioneries.. haha and i came across a real bonus!
tivoli. little mermaid statue
'la glace' one of copenhagen's oldest confectioners owned by mr and mrs bagger whose resume would have included "former butchers" before "chocolatiers".. amazing!
more here!
chocolatiers in denmark ooolala, aren't you guys just excited for me?!
a couple of days back, i read xiaxue's blog for the first time. -as usual, i had jumped onto the bandwagon a little later than most- anyway, i felt that reading her VERYVERYPINK blog was like reading one giant singaporean-edition of america's star or enquirer. guilty pleasure. like you feel like you should not be enjoying her somewhat irrational rants and thick-skinned philosophy but most of the time, she is so scarily honest. you feel envious that someone actually has the guts to spill what she really believes in over the internet.
the truth is despite her crude form of humour, you find yourself going "yar.. how true" for many issues such as inconsiderate mrt commuters, blind faith in religion and mother of all things- sinfully-moronic friendster messages from presumptous guys who only "want to make FWENS with you and hope you don't mind".
no wonder she has managed to stir up such controversy.. oh apparently, she is singapore's most famous blogger. is that so? she has even got her blog hacked and deleted too.. AND just to sum up what a bumpkin i have been, i didn't even know her REAL name isn't "xiaxue".. oh like YOU knew.. haha.. INTRIGUING STUFF
you know how you meet someone and gradually get introduced to others
and this ritual just goes on and on?
presently, i feel like i am on this life-ride where i constantly meet new incredibly-interesting people. like people that i have seen around but never got a chance to speak too.
and i'm lovin' it!
finance is finally over.. and i can concentrate on re-living a surhedonist lifestyle.
i decided further my understanding of denmark.. well, more precisely the bakeries and confectioneries.. haha and i came across a real bonus!
tivoli. little mermaid statue
'la glace' one of copenhagen's oldest confectioners owned by mr and mrs bagger whose resume would have included "former butchers" before "chocolatiers".. amazing!
more here!
chocolatiers in denmark ooolala, aren't you guys just excited for me?!
a couple of days back, i read xiaxue's blog for the first time. -as usual, i had jumped onto the bandwagon a little later than most- anyway, i felt that reading her VERYVERYPINK blog was like reading one giant singaporean-edition of america's star or enquirer. guilty pleasure. like you feel like you should not be enjoying her somewhat irrational rants and thick-skinned philosophy but most of the time, she is so scarily honest. you feel envious that someone actually has the guts to spill what she really believes in over the internet.
the truth is despite her crude form of humour, you find yourself going "yar.. how true" for many issues such as inconsiderate mrt commuters, blind faith in religion and mother of all things- sinfully-moronic friendster messages from presumptous guys who only "want to make FWENS with you and hope you don't mind".
no wonder she has managed to stir up such controversy.. oh apparently, she is singapore's most famous blogger. is that so? she has even got her blog hacked and deleted too.. AND just to sum up what a bumpkin i have been, i didn't even know her REAL name isn't "xiaxue".. oh like YOU knew.. haha.. INTRIGUING STUFF
Thursday, October 13
not in the world.
the end of mid-term signals the arrival of my mid-term finance exams. i know.. there are just so many things wrong with the previous statement.. since when did exams and break co-exist within the same sentence without the word 'before' conjoining them.
but my philosophy is that if you are rushing through preparations one day before the actual paper... good luck to you, buddy. so.. i joined my mum and her friends for lunch at pariss buffet at marina square. you know, after so many epicurious adventures, i should know better than to attend one of these mass- appeal mass-produced buffet lunches.. perhaps it was a bad sign when they paid us pay up at the door, the last eatery i visited which did that was seoul garden.. and DON'T WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT PLACE IS LIKE..
proudly proclaiming itself to be an international buffet, there was supposedly a wide variety of dishes.. ok.. the sashimi was there.. the teppanyaki station present.. but if you have ONE ubiqutious seafood pasta to represent the italian bit, ONE baked mexican fish to ole-along and a FEW steamed what-looked-like-wantons to the show for the far east.. i guess you could call yourself "international.. whattt"
but seriously guys, don't waste your time or money.
to top it off, the service was -------pause-------- questionable .. alright not all the service staff were grubsworth but when i reached over to my empty left neighbouring table to grab a piece of serviette, this one greasy haired manic (see where i am heading) immediately unquestionably pushed the EMPTY table's cutlery to the other far end so that we at our present table could not reach it.
reader, do bear in mind lunch hour was almost over and the resturant was far from being crowded.
like WHATTTT THEEEE DEEEPPP-SOOOUUUUTHHHH-ENDDD.. though shocked, my mum and her friend asked him if he did so to prevent us from using the available cutlery and he said Y-E-S and then walked away smug, without bothering to quell our increasing dissatisfaction. *insert gasp* he was so horrificaly rude and assuming, my mum got really riled up.
p.s. unlike me, where you only need to snap your fingers.. it takes a lot to piss my mum off.
when the complaint was made and the manager summoned, that $*%(%@ (who should really give his hair gel a vacation) slip-shotly apologised then walked away before rolling his eyes. "gasp... did he really do that?" asked the wide-eyed reader.
YES YES YES!!! believe me, if the manager himslf had not been mad apologising my mum's friend would have whacked his sorry ass with newly- purchsed chloe silverado (yup the same lady who carries the paddington.. but that was erm last week)
though i do feel bad for the manager who looked for than sorry at his inability to control his staff.. dear reader, do not try pariss as NOTHING offsets ANYTHING.. meaning that both service and food cannot make up for each other.. ok, that's a finance risk-return theory.
*breathes
the end of mid-term signals the arrival of my mid-term finance exams. i know.. there are just so many things wrong with the previous statement.. since when did exams and break co-exist within the same sentence without the word 'before' conjoining them.
but my philosophy is that if you are rushing through preparations one day before the actual paper... good luck to you, buddy. so.. i joined my mum and her friends for lunch at pariss buffet at marina square. you know, after so many epicurious adventures, i should know better than to attend one of these mass- appeal mass-produced buffet lunches.. perhaps it was a bad sign when they paid us pay up at the door, the last eatery i visited which did that was seoul garden.. and DON'T WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT PLACE IS LIKE..
proudly proclaiming itself to be an international buffet, there was supposedly a wide variety of dishes.. ok.. the sashimi was there.. the teppanyaki station present.. but if you have ONE ubiqutious seafood pasta to represent the italian bit, ONE baked mexican fish to ole-along and a FEW steamed what-looked-like-wantons to the show for the far east.. i guess you could call yourself "international.. whattt"
but seriously guys, don't waste your time or money.
to top it off, the service was -------pause-------- questionable .. alright not all the service staff were grubsworth but when i reached over to my empty left neighbouring table to grab a piece of serviette, this one greasy haired manic (see where i am heading) immediately unquestionably pushed the EMPTY table's cutlery to the other far end so that we at our present table could not reach it.
reader, do bear in mind lunch hour was almost over and the resturant was far from being crowded.
like WHATTTT THEEEE DEEEPPP-SOOOUUUUTHHHH-ENDDD.. though shocked, my mum and her friend asked him if he did so to prevent us from using the available cutlery and he said Y-E-S and then walked away smug, without bothering to quell our increasing dissatisfaction. *insert gasp* he was so horrificaly rude and assuming, my mum got really riled up.
p.s. unlike me, where you only need to snap your fingers.. it takes a lot to piss my mum off.
when the complaint was made and the manager summoned, that $*%(%@ (who should really give his hair gel a vacation) slip-shotly apologised then walked away before rolling his eyes. "gasp... did he really do that?" asked the wide-eyed reader.
YES YES YES!!! believe me, if the manager himslf had not been mad apologising my mum's friend would have whacked his sorry ass with newly- purchsed chloe silverado (yup the same lady who carries the paddington.. but that was erm last week)
though i do feel bad for the manager who looked for than sorry at his inability to control his staff.. dear reader, do not try pariss as NOTHING offsets ANYTHING.. meaning that both service and food cannot make up for each other.. ok, that's a finance risk-return theory.
*breathes
Tuesday, October 11
sweet nothings.
mango icecream on mango pudding generously dollaped with real mangoes. what a real kick from crystal jade.
don't be fooled by the picture, it is a serving meant for MORE THAN ONE..
not too sure if they have this in singapore yet but if not, it would only be a matter of time. mum brought operetta from marks and spencer uk- which is milk chocolate hazelnut wafer covered chocolate.. tastes ferrero-roche-rish, only with a more spphisticated twang to its name.
then again, who's complaining?
mango icecream on mango pudding generously dollaped with real mangoes. what a real kick from crystal jade.
don't be fooled by the picture, it is a serving meant for MORE THAN ONE..
not too sure if they have this in singapore yet but if not, it would only be a matter of time. mum brought operetta from marks and spencer uk- which is milk chocolate hazelnut wafer covered chocolate.. tastes ferrero-roche-rish, only with a more spphisticated twang to its name.then again, who's complaining?
i haute you.
is this the ultimate compliment?
that i have my very own assemble of anti-yixiao-let's-call-her-fat-followers who cannot help but visit my blog every now and then, despite their obvious dislike for me?
perhaps they feel better about themselves after coming to my blog.. seeing how someone esle is stuffing her face, relishing the good life.. and they think, "phew, 1 less person to worry about being thin"
i am not going to get all ghandi over you or tell you "no.. no.. you should not do this" but perhaps you should ask yourself what you are trying to achieve by telling me that i am fat.
perhaps you really do derive satisfaction from telling someone they are aesthically challenged.. or at least i hope you do, otherwise why do you bother making yourself unhappy by frequenting my blog?
'seven times the size'? gaw, i am so imagining this big momma ass.. haha...
talk about weapon of mass destruction.
is this the ultimate compliment?
that i have my very own assemble of anti-yixiao-let's-call-her-fat-followers who cannot help but visit my blog every now and then, despite their obvious dislike for me?
perhaps they feel better about themselves after coming to my blog.. seeing how someone esle is stuffing her face, relishing the good life.. and they think, "phew, 1 less person to worry about being thin"
i am not going to get all ghandi over you or tell you "no.. no.. you should not do this" but perhaps you should ask yourself what you are trying to achieve by telling me that i am fat.
perhaps you really do derive satisfaction from telling someone they are aesthically challenged.. or at least i hope you do, otherwise why do you bother making yourself unhappy by frequenting my blog?
'seven times the size'? gaw, i am so imagining this big momma ass.. haha...
talk about weapon of mass destruction.
Monday, October 10
cope du jour.
with my trusty cup of green tea, i am sitting in front of the window, facing my other nieghbour, typing and mousing furiously on my laptop doing danish research. yes, i still have a finance paperwork but my copenhagen application is due tomorrow..
i SHOULD look very miss bradshaw-rish .. only problem is that my left leg is cocked up in a very trishaw-man manner, i am not in manolo's and i am pers-pir-ring. oh! guess what, i think my sweat glands would probably cease to function in denmark. along with my tastebuds... herring buffet anyone?
you know what, preparing for demnark is not for the namby- pamby poopoo peps. registration forms, renewing of passport, visa declaration, accomodation etcetcetc.. somehow, this process of going there feels like a test of my commitment. rest assure however that my desire to leave outweighs the crazy loads of paperwork involved.
i have been so used to mum preparing for all our vacations i am like "what i have to settle accomodation myself?!" and i better get started or the bronze little mermaid statue would find herself an unbefitting companion for six months.
it still feels remarkably surreal- how less than 80 days later, i will be away for 6 months.
with my trusty cup of green tea, i am sitting in front of the window, facing my other nieghbour, typing and mousing furiously on my laptop doing danish research. yes, i still have a finance paperwork but my copenhagen application is due tomorrow..
i SHOULD look very miss bradshaw-rish .. only problem is that my left leg is cocked up in a very trishaw-man manner, i am not in manolo's and i am pers-pir-ring. oh! guess what, i think my sweat glands would probably cease to function in denmark. along with my tastebuds... herring buffet anyone?
you know what, preparing for demnark is not for the namby- pamby poopoo peps. registration forms, renewing of passport, visa declaration, accomodation etcetcetc.. somehow, this process of going there feels like a test of my commitment. rest assure however that my desire to leave outweighs the crazy loads of paperwork involved.
i have been so used to mum preparing for all our vacations i am like "what i have to settle accomodation myself?!" and i better get started or the bronze little mermaid statue would find herself an unbefitting companion for six months.
it still feels remarkably surreal- how less than 80 days later, i will be away for 6 months.
Saturday, October 8
Hu Cui / Borders Bistro
have a break.
sharon and i took kevin to hu cui yesterday for shanghai dim sum. but the lady and our dane were soooo late, i was through with the first plate of roasted peanuts and halfway through my second one when they arrived. but no damages done!
well, hu cui never fails to deliver and we had xiao long bao, radish and ham pastry, stir-fried beef with bell peppers, scallion pastry .. all of which were thoroughly enjoyed.
this was pre-attica- hence the sobering images.
then the three of us proceeded to indochine which looked and reeked of teenage youth.. sigh life at 20.. we decided to head over to europa for cheap drinks where we met tarn and shuyi.. and had quite a blast talking about duh AC! its great talking to your seniors who have 'been there done that' despite only being a year older then you. and i feel that being in smu has given me a lot in terms of the far and few interesting people such as my seniors and close confidantes. oh how i miss talking to intelligent life.
attica came into the picture after midnight where i am embaressed to say i was pretty wasted due to the free flow of of alcohol in the *cough vip section.. HAAHAH... wait yang, this does not give you any reason to drink!! i was feeling so wooozzyyy that for a while i had my heels off, legs cocked up and was about to fall asleep on the couch despite the thumping tribal soundng music. not forgetting the considerable effort it took to just stand or walk straight. not my finest momment and i am not proud of it.
before i forget-
happy birthday dear ol' wai!
today i was in town all afternoon window shopping and snacking when the crowd really got to me. pram-wheeling parents, courting teenagers, masses of bahasa-speaking tourists.. of course this is my folly and i could not expect anything less in orchard road on a weekend. though determined to stay away from the crowd, i was reluctant to waste 5 bucks on coffee just so that i could read my new book. suddenly, an ingenious idea came up and i spent the next hour and half at the sia customer service at paragon! great cushy seats with.. moments of peace with the weekend crowd far-enough away, it is amazing how i have not gotten around to publishing my bestseller "cheapskate guide to sub-hedonist living"
sweet shots of dessert when i met a family friend mz for dinner and dessert.
death by chocolate- mud brownie at borders bistro could this be why i don't resemble a pre-pregnancy heidi klum?
a rather soft apple cumble which mz enjoyed. i think this could explain why too.
but i like my life. thankyouverymuch.
sharon and i took kevin to hu cui yesterday for shanghai dim sum. but the lady and our dane were soooo late, i was through with the first plate of roasted peanuts and halfway through my second one when they arrived. but no damages done!
well, hu cui never fails to deliver and we had xiao long bao, radish and ham pastry, stir-fried beef with bell peppers, scallion pastry .. all of which were thoroughly enjoyed.
this was pre-attica- hence the sobering images.
then the three of us proceeded to indochine which looked and reeked of teenage youth.. sigh life at 20.. we decided to head over to europa for cheap drinks where we met tarn and shuyi.. and had quite a blast talking about duh AC! its great talking to your seniors who have 'been there done that' despite only being a year older then you. and i feel that being in smu has given me a lot in terms of the far and few interesting people such as my seniors and close confidantes. oh how i miss talking to intelligent life.
attica came into the picture after midnight where i am embaressed to say i was pretty wasted due to the free flow of of alcohol in the *cough vip section.. HAAHAH... wait yang, this does not give you any reason to drink!! i was feeling so wooozzyyy that for a while i had my heels off, legs cocked up and was about to fall asleep on the couch despite the thumping tribal soundng music. not forgetting the considerable effort it took to just stand or walk straight. not my finest momment and i am not proud of it.
before i forget-
happy birthday dear ol' wai!
today i was in town all afternoon window shopping and snacking when the crowd really got to me. pram-wheeling parents, courting teenagers, masses of bahasa-speaking tourists.. of course this is my folly and i could not expect anything less in orchard road on a weekend. though determined to stay away from the crowd, i was reluctant to waste 5 bucks on coffee just so that i could read my new book. suddenly, an ingenious idea came up and i spent the next hour and half at the sia customer service at paragon! great cushy seats with.. moments of peace with the weekend crowd far-enough away, it is amazing how i have not gotten around to publishing my bestseller "cheapskate guide to sub-hedonist living"
sweet shots of dessert when i met a family friend mz for dinner and dessert.
death by chocolate- mud brownie at borders bistro could this be why i don't resemble a pre-pregnancy heidi klum?
a rather soft apple cumble which mz enjoyed. i think this could explain why too. but i like my life. thankyouverymuch.
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