A Wedding Do-over

When I first read this article "I Got Married 18 Years Ago, And Now I Want A Hipster Wedding Do-Over," I almost jumped out of my seat in agreement. I totally identify with Christine Burke's longing of a wedding do-over. I probably wouldn't want mason jars and burlap buntings, but I would love to have a wedding that truly reflects our taste and style. The venue, the decorations ... and oh the dress! The things I would do-over in a heartbeat.

Thankfully, the groom isn't one of them. 

Till this day, I have MAJOR hang-ups about my wedding dress. It was a pretty dress but it wasn't my dress. I got it because KW liked it most out of all the dresses I had tried on and it was important to me that he liked the dress. Ladies, take my advice, go with your gut - otherwise your poor husband will be on the receiving of self-pity regret for the upcoming years (and guys, stay out of this decision).

Gosh, I was such a people-pleaser. In the end, we had your average "gate-crashing in the morning, followed by tea ceremonies, and ended of with a 600+ pax wedding bonanza at Shangri-La Hotel where we didn't know 60% of the attendees." Our parents were happy. Drama-free. Yay.

While we might plan our wedding a lot more differently today, I appreciate how life has turned out for us each and every single day. Our wedding was a chapter in our lives, an old chapter. One that took us on a shared journey of growth, appreciation and of course, love. Our wedding was in the past and we have a future together.

But would I want a wedding do-over? Abso - freakin - lutely.

5th anniversary lunch at Spago by Wolfgang Puck

OMG, 5 years! Where did all that time go?

We had good memories of Spago from Epicurean Market last year but it wasn't the food the drew us there for our wedding anniversary meal. Instead, it was the allure of somewhere relaxing and far away from the crowds that made us cast the vote. That said, I thought our meal was really good - every dish was flavourful, perfectly executed and seasoned. On top of that (almost cracked a joke about being 57 floors up), service was personable and earnest, polished without the pomp.

As you can tell, the interior is elegant, beautiful and best of all, spacious. Sorry, it's my anniversary meal, I don't exactly desire to elbow-rub with someone other than my boo. 

With an inkling of portions to come, I wolfed down a couple of breads, not before slathering them with copious amounts of creamy butter - the butter glided effortlessly onto the warm and crusty breads and clung with adornment. Till death do us part, indeed. I got to say, after meeting KW (who looooves butter), I have eaten more butter in our time together than my entire life. That is also why, I like to refer KW to as 'my butter half.'

Big Eye Tuna Tartare Cones

Chili Aioli, Soy, Wasabi, Shaved Bonito, Scallions, Masago 

I'm really glad we had the tuna tartare cones as our amuse bouche. I loved these at Epicurean Market and was tempted to get a separate order for this. Chunks of seasoned raw tuna encase within lovely brittle sesame-studded lace cones, these were sublime. I am glad there was only 2, splitting the third would have tested our marriage.

Burrata with Caramelized Mission Figs 

 Prosciutto Di Parma, Marinated Artichokes, Arugula, Aged Balsamic, Candied Almonds

We went for the 4-course lunch menu (Pre Fixe Menu $95++ per person), and the starter was the only course we both had the same of. Sorry Roasted Baby Beet Salad, I'm sure you would have been nice, but it's hard to resist the allure of burrata. Though the portion as admittedly smaller than expected, every element was moreishly good.

Pasta with Veal Ragout 

House Made Ricotta, Porcini Mushrooms, Prosciutto Di Parma, Parsley, Parmigiano 

For the second course, I chose the pasta with veal ragout, which is totally uncharacteristic as I loathe tomato-based pasta. However, this dish turned me around. With its deep, rich and complex flavours, I could hear Lucas in my head going, "More... More... More!" In fact, I googled ragout recipes on the ride back home in a bid to capture these flavours. The portion was perfect this time round.

Sweet Corn Agnolotti
Caramelized Corn, Mascarpone, Parmesan

KW had the angolatti, which were sweet little bundles studded with pumpkin purée. If you are into sweet-savoury stuff, you would love this. These babies might not look like much, but they expaaaand in your gut.

Roasted Quail 

Maitake Mushrooms, Toasted Farro, Burnt Leeks, Fennel Puree, Natural Jus 

 My main course - roasted quail - was the epitome of autumn. Every ingredient played its role and shined, and that sauce... Lets just say if my skin were thicker, I would have ordered another round of bread. I can't find any fault, other than, Why quail, are thou so small? 

Grilled Iberico Pork Chop 

 Asparagus Purée, Caramelized Garlic, Rosemary, Natural Jus

I had a bout of food envy when I saw the portion of KW's pork chop. Thankfully, he was kind enough to share a couple of pieces with me. Again, a really good wholesome dish, and those flossy-looking things were the lightest deep-fried pork rinds I have ever had in my life. Fairy light, my friend.

Chocolate - Coffee Semifreddo

Banana Ice Cream, Coffee Cremeux, Praline Snow 

Our meal cumulated with this dessert of chocolate, coffee and banana. Normally, I would raise an eyebrow over this flavour combination but whoever concocted this dessert deserves a pay raise. This dessert is stick-to-your-gut intense, if you are looking for light and refreshing, order a glass of juice instead. Oh, and those caramelised banana balls were the best bananas I have ever tasted.

Well played, Spago

I am quite sure we will look back 5 years from now 

and reminisced how young we look!

Thank you for the memories, Spago! You were lovely. 

4th at Corner House, Singapore Botanic Gardens

For our 4th wedding anniversary, KW and I managed to settle the kids before sneaking off to have lunch at the Corner House. Located within Singapore Botanic Gardens. I have long wished to visit Corner House, led by Chef Jason Tan, who is a Robuchon alum. Funny enough, the Robuchons (as in Joël Robuchon Restaurant and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon) are on my list but I decided on Corner House in the end. #SupportLocal 

The restaurant occupies the former premises of the now-defunct Au Jardin, within the former home of botanist E.J.H. Corner. We scored ourselves seats on the balcony overlooking the lush greenery of Botanic Gardens and were more thankful to be almost done with our meal when a couple of loudmouth expats exuberant guests were seated beside us.

There are 3 lunch options -3-course, 4-course and the 5-course Lunch Discovery Menuwhich was what we went for. Well, KW decided on that, and we both had to go for it. Times like these remind me of our first date when KW opted the 10-course meal at also-now-defunct Shibaken - clearly someone was won over by his go-big-or-go-home mindset.

After we placed our orders, it wasn't long before a waiter presented us with a couple of slices of bread and unsalted butter. The bread was warm and toasty, though nothing fancy or extraordinary; I was a tad disappointed with the predictability of the bread but placated by the fresh comforting nature of warm carbs.

While I appreciated the creamy but mild flavour of the unsalted butter, KW took liberties with the rock above. He was a happy man. 

 House-made fish cracker 

Served with creme fraiche and tobiko

We had one amuse bouche. Yeah, one. Servings skins - fish or chicken - as amuse bouche isn't novel and I could tell that this amuse bouche didn't knocks our socks of as we continued with our conversation without doing a double take. It was pleasant and perhaps just a a step up from our usual salmon-skin-and-kewpie-mayo repertoire at Sushi Tei. 

Can I pause to just say, that though the bread and amuse bouche played it safe, I was still in a really good mood. I am sure the ambience and not having to fuss over two kids had a huge part to play. 

Hokkaido scallop

Miso, ikura roes, burnt orange, yuzu, rice cracker

Savoury pops adorning the blithely light and refreshing scallop capriccio. A very good start to our meal. I love the burnt orange and was already to shop for a blowtorch after our meal. 

Iberico pork jowl

Riso, trombetta zucchini, bottarga

Mind blown by the riso pasta. You could expect a creamy risotto-like base but in reality, the pasta grains are toothsome and knobbly. Almost playing second fiddle, the pork jowl was blissfully tender.

New Zealand blue cod “Crispy scales“

Crab croquette, organic pumpkin velouté, harissa

This dish was awesome, despite the cod being slightly underseasoned. I love what they did with the scales, especially since I am usually hell-bent on getting rid of them when preparing fish at home. The organic pumpkin velouté was ridiculously smooth and sweet without being too coying.

M4 Australian Wagyu beef

Broccoli mousseline, eryngii, Indonesian long pepper jus

The only dish that fell short of expectations was the beef dish. Ever since we started making our own MB4 steaks at home, it has been hard to settle for anything less than mind-blowing. The Wagyu beef here was pleasant but plain; I was more taken with the vegetables on the plate.

My interpretation of kaya toast

Pandan, coconut, gula melaka, muscovado sablé and yuzu

It was a stretch to draw some semblance to our local kaya toast but a thoroughly enjoyable desert nonetheless. From sorbet to foam, every component was a delight, and I especially love the sable that reminded me of a love child between a shortbread and Lotus biscuit.

Corner House is definitely worth a visit, especially if you are celebrating a special occasion.

2011 - an amazing year

If you have been following this blog, you would know that 2011 has been an absolute blast.

We moved into our new place. New home. New couch. New chapter of our lives. But a house is only a shell unless there are memories attached to it. What I want is for our home is to be a place people associate with love, stability and laughter.

From birthdays to the requisite sin-driven hen party lunch that was filled with dreamy Italians (well, more like food coma after an Italian buffet lunch) right down to the many weddings we attended this year (including ours, HAR HAR), it was a year filled with much celebration.

沾仔记 Tsim Chai Kee, Hong Kong

Caprice at Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong

I was lucky enough to visit Hong Kong with my mum and mother-in-law, as well as spend a week in New York City for a honeymoon that filled with much epic fooding.

Eleven Madison Park, New York City

Peter Luger, New York City

It would be hard to top this year but 2012 stands a pretty good chance as we are expecting someone special next July. 

Happy days ahead, folks =)

The WIW edition

WIW stands for 'What I wore' and not a typo error for World War I.

It's Christmas eve and you are still talking about your wedding?

Ooookay, trust me, I am quite tired of talking/ blogging about it too but I had received a few emails and comments asking me where I got my dresses from so I summoned all the energy I have on a drizzly Friday afternoon to blog about this. I mean, I would rather look at pictures of char siew on this blog, don't you agree? After this, I will stop talking/ blogging about my wedding - for the next 10 months at least.

I wore 7 dresses over two days.

1. My wedding gown from Le Grand Wedding
I had contemplated dresses from Dang Bridal and Silhouette The Atelier but eventually settled for this as it was structually beautiful, not too bride-ly in a cliche way and I could move around in it fairly easily.

2. A white cheongsam also from Le Grand Wedding
After the tea ceremony at my in-laws place, I changed into a white cheongsam which was also from Le Grand Wedding. It was a knee-length dress, with pretty scalloped cap sleeves and French lace at the bottom. It was also - takes a deep breath - very very snug, hence the candid shots we took in kw's room.

3. Sretsis dress for tea ceremony at my parents place
My tea ceremony dress is from a Thai label called Sretsis and this dress was from Lula Rock. I loooved this dress so much - probably even more than my wedding gown.

4. Sue Wong dress for solemnization ceremony
I wore a Sue Wong piece from Avana for my solemnization ceremony. I remember being 'just ok' with this dress but my mum insisted she got it for me. When I slipped into it on the actual day, I was surprised by how much I grew to love it as the evening went on.

5. Sretsis dress for after-party.
I changed into a shorter Sretsis number for the after-party. Mesh, sequinns and frilly in a disco-rama way. Also from Lula Rock.

6. Sue Wong dress for second march-in
At Shangri La, I wore my wedding gown gown and for my first change, another Sue Wong piece from Avana that my mum insisted on getting for me... Heehee.

7. Vintage lace gown from Ann Teoh
My favouritest dress of the entire affair was the custom-made beige vintage lace dress made by Ann Teoh. I loved the asymmetrical tulle that was light as cotton candy, the intrictae vintage shimmery lace and the tulle wrap. This dress was beautiful, comfortable and definitely an heirloom contender.