Banana Cupcakes - Changin' it up!

Well, well if it isn't our old favourite cake - Banana Cake - again...

Same recipe but the difference? I put them in individual cups and put a slice of banana on top of it! 

 

My assembly line of yummy yummy banana cuppy cakes!

*Wink* *Wink* *Wink*

Homecooking Updates!

As usual I meant to take pictures of food I prepared and then upload it here. Unfortunately, this habit prevails not. I was scanning through my pictures and found out that there are some pictures sitting there, totally unrepresented. It is, however, high time to fix that. 

I made this some months before. It was unplanned and I just used whatever we have in the refrigerator. So I whipped up a medley of vegetables sauteed in butter and a fried fish fillet. The fish fillet I had coated with a layer of corn flour and pan-fried it in a thin layer of oil. It was very crispy and still the meat was not dry. I enjoyed it because I had a healthy, quick meal the way I like it.

 

Next up, this was created in one of those days when I have a mega craving for sausages. I had dragged Soenke to the supermarket with me to hunt for sausages. In doing so, I also convinced him to have dinner, instead of his usual unhealthy option of skipping dinner to help lose weight. (IT DOESN'T WORK!) So, what do we have here? Arugula with balsamic vinegar, a dollop of instant mash potato (which I bought out of curiosity's sake. Have you had frozen mash potatoes before? I have!) and fresh spicy Italian sausages. 

They are rather unprocessed compared to the usual ones where the meat is all blended to one color and can sit in the fridge for ages. They have a very short expiry date. The meat is chunky and juicy. These guys were a total enjoyment. 

Baby portobello mushrooms overwhelmed by giant tomato chunks! I had made this previously and at that time I had made it very well. I got this from watching one of Jamie Oliver's cooking episodes. He calls it Mushroom Sarnie. Oh, and he used sun-dried tomatoes which are not my thing.

This time around I was too lazy to cut the tomatoes into small cubes. I also wanted to do a low fat version so I didn't coat the tomatoes with generous amounts of butter. Instead I dropped slices of butter on top and gave it a slosh of olive oil. I also missed out on using the Dijon mustard and thick bread slices. Yes, it was very different. However, I still enjoyed my meal simply because they are still a great combination!

Hey Soenke, do you still remember our debate on English mustard and Dijon mustard? Heh, need I remind you that I won that debate.. :)

Something Worth Waking up Early on Sunday morning for

It has been ages since I had dim sum! Dim sum is a cantonese term which literally translates to "dot the heart". I am not sure if it is because of its small portions per serving or because the origins of dim sum started off as a snack therefore it is something to lightly touch your spirits with.

Nonetheless, dim sum remains to be a challenge to make due to the small sizes and also the intricate balance of flavors in everyone of them. It is also not easy to find good dim sum. 

Me and Rui Chin decided earlier this week to try out Swee Choon's, after discussing about our love for dim sum and checking out the website. We chose Sunday and made it as breakfast since it is a custom that we grew up in. 

At around 9 something this morning, I found us a booth at Swee Choon. Tea is served in the traditional way of teapot and chinese tea cups. I chose for us "Tie Guan Yin". It means in English "Iron Goddess of Mercy". It is oolong tea that is semi-fermented, explaining why it has a slight twist of acidity in it. (My guess only). 

Starting off I ordered the portuguese egg tarts, while waiting for the rest to arrive. 

Delectable egg tart, moist, not too sweet, caramelized top and very fluffy, flaky pastry. Accompanied with a cup of tea. 

As the rest of the dim sum gang arrived, we gave our orders to the waiter. Everything looked so nice and worth a try!

 Check out the spread! We have deep fried carrot cake, BBQ pork puff, siew mai(pork dumplings), har gao(prawn dumplings), lo mai kai(chicken glutinous rice), egg tart, deep fried rice noodle cake, chee cheong fun(rice noodles with sauce)

 Si Chuan Oil Chilli Wanton

Xiao Long Bao(steamed bun) - It is not like bread/bun, although called so. Meat and gravy is wrapped inside and eaten with ginger vinegar. When you bite into them, you will need to drink the hearty gravy first. 

We dug into our meal, tasting different morsels of food. The carrot cake was nicely crunchy on the outside and flavorful. I really liked it a lot. The rest of the food is pretty good. The BBQ pork bun was shaped differently. And somehow it didn't have an edge to it. There were no cilantro inside. Something else was missing too. As for the xiao long bao, it was fair. Enough to satisfy cravings but not as good as some other places. 

At $38.00 for 4 persons with infinite refilling of tea, it is undeniable that we had a great breakfast. 

My Hair, My Terms!

A couple of weeks ago, I had come stomping home with a very bizarre expression on my face. Soenke even thought I had a mini accident or something along that line.

Frankly, I would say it was an accident. My hair of late had reached shoulder length. It doesn't take a superstar hairstylist to tell you that at this length, your hair is beyond control no matter what you do. It just curls or sticks out in odd direction on your shoulder. 

In this frustrating condition I was highly convinced that a trim would do me good. By the weekend, I was so desperate for a haircut. And also one that doesn't cost me a bomb for a quick trim. (The usual place that we go to was full and I had to make an appointment, which makes me feel more dejected.) So, I had the idea of popping by a hair saloon near our house. I was there once for a quick trim on the fringe and was quite okay with them. 

So I went there. As I sat down, the hair stylist started to tell me how bad my locks are and he can "help" me by applying some treatment on my hair. Like it's a favor and it doesn't cost me a dime. Well, wrong. Upon his insisting pushing of this product, I asked him how much it costs. $90 was the answer. Well, well, no wonder he was so insistent upon it. Not only that, he started to sell me their membership card. Oh boy, I was feeling very uncomfortable and unhappy. 

WHAT HORRIFYING LIES! Crap hair huh.. I have never had anyone tell me that I have bad/damaged hair. True, they were a bit limp due to lack of care but damaged it is not. That explains the reason why I stomped home. I was very, very annoyed. 

This experience somehow led me to want to prove that he is a big fat liar. I switched hair products. 

New shampoo and conditioner and hair mask! I became rather self conscious about my hair and consciously found myself at Mustafa's shampoo section, staring and wondering for a while.

I am very determined that I will not be pressured into wasting my money by horrible, pushy people who target poor helpless women who have been brainwashed to want to look good. To prove it to myself, I spent around $40 only for these 3 items. Plus factor: I can use it many, many times! My hair is now more voluminous, thanks to the new shampoo and conditioner. 

I have yet to try the hair mask. Since it is from Schwarzkopf I have no doubt it will work well, especially when I am also a Schwarzkopf :) Look out people, I will have shiny hair! So shiny you may need shades. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Roar to blind consumerism!!  

Dining Cheque Book

Talk about luck! Once again I chanced upon Women's Weekly's (Singapore) annual dining cheque book! It comes with the purchase of the magazine. All vouchers in the listed restaurants allow you for 1-for-1 dining. 

What a great deal! I spent $3.90 on the magazine, get to read the magazine and get 50% off my food! As we all know, restaurants these days, will cost you more than $3.90.. Heee!

I have already kicked off the celebrations by having dinner with Hui Ying at Ginza Bairin. We both had the Special Fillet Katsudon. And we walked out full and happy with just paying $15.90. ;) More ka-ching for dessert!

 

The Best Music You've Never Heard (1)

I found a book in the library yesterday which I find very interesting. It is entitled "The best music you've never heard". The book is a Rough Guide. Well, never say never. 

So today's first artist to discover is David Ackles. The recommended playlist is as follows:
Down River
The Road to Cairo
His Name is Andrew
Be My Friend
The Grave of God
Candy Man
Another Friday Night
One Night Stand
Waiting for the Moving Van
Montana Song

He has a very deep voice. Perhaps melodious to some. After a quick review of Montana Song, Down River and The Road to Cairo, I find his songs rather melancholic. Definitely will give the rest of the songs a shot. 

A Day Out (without Soenke)

Today is the second day for me without Soenke by my side. I could proudly say I am doing okay as I did not get emotionally unstable, which happened before. 

Definitely great to have the support of my friends as they swooped in to check on me and to accompany me a bit. I sure hope they enjoy my company as much as I do theirs! Hahaha..

The day started in the late afternoon as I spent the morning in bed reading "The invisible gorilla" which was due yesterday. (That said, I paid $0.45 for the 3 books which I returned 1 day late) And after Hui Ying confirmed with the doctor that she is fine despite having strange insect bites, we decided to meet up. 

The initial plan was to watch Julia Roberts' Eat, Pray, Love but we canceled it since she had to stop by the doc's and we wouldn't be able to make it for the 3:45pm slot. We met at Esplanade as I had to return my overdue books. I borrowed 3 more books. Since its the Esplanade library, I could only get books related to arts and music. Let's see if I could expand my very limited knowledge in that field. Or at least attempt to. 

We combed through the new link way between Esplanade, Raffles City and Suntec. There we had a little break. I bought caramel milk tea with mini bubbles at Eskimo. Yummy. Honestly these days any milk tea shop can beat the hell out of Sweet Talk! This usage of better tea changes everything in the taste. I could drink endless cups of 'em!

We mistook our way and went around in a circle to finally end up at Suntec City. There we rummaged through shops while chatting and stopped by ARTSingapore 2010. Very artsy. Haha who doesn't love to look at pretty and colorful things? But there are some pieces that simply makes u wonder "what is that?". That's art for you! All items there (or most of them) are by galleries and are for sale. A guy said he will let us have 10%. What a joke. (Without sarcasm,  since we simply do not have such money).

After surveying the shops I have decided what I want for my autumn/winter jacket for Beijing this coming November! It is fairly easy. I have noticed many Parisians wearing it last winter and liked it a lot. Since its a classic design (or updated classic design) I would like to have one too!

I find this jacket very nice. On the shop's site they called it a military jacket. I don't know much about jackets but I find it nice. And I can change the buttons if I want to too!

After Rui Chin arrived at Suntec, we went to Food Republic for dinner. I had thunder tea rice! After a long time of not having it, it was really good! In my opinion, Food Republic food courts are the best! As for dessert, we headed to Haagen Dazs. Nice people we are, we decided to vote for the guy we harassed during our buying of ice cream as the Champion server (or whatever it was called).

 

 We all love taking pictures! 

The night did not end until we hit Charles & Keith for a perusal of boots. Unfortunately the boots which I tried on did not fit me or that I could even wear it entirely due to the calf area. What can I say but blame the design of the boots. I mean I think I have nice legs most days. :) 

 

The Way to Our House

Hi all,

Here is the map that tells you how to get to our house!

We live on top of shops. Not the typical HDBs. So please do not be surprised! :)

Macau, the Original Asian Casino Island

Admittedly, I am rather poor at updating my blog. In my defence, I blog longer blog entries than a lot of folks. Namely, Soenke. (Heh!)

In our previous trip to Macau middle of this year, we arrived midnight. Entering into Macau City, neon lights flashed us blind even though it was in the middle of the night. The street where our hotel is at is brightly lit and there were still a number of people walking around. Checking in to the hotel, we got our first shock. Chinese people smoke a lot and smoke everywhere. There are really no strict rules about that and we got a room at a smoking floor (there was no other rooms left).Yuck! Please remember to request for a non-smoking room if you do not want your nose and lungs to suffer!  

 

Check out the sexy bathroom. This is the view from the bed. I guess whoever designed the rooms for this hotel plans to come back to stay very often.  

Hungry me went hunting for food a few minutes after dumping our bags into the room. I was sure there will be food considering there are a lot of shops (selling glittery watches and jewelery) still opened. Around the corner, I found an eating shop, where I had my first supposedly real Cantonese style wanton noodles. 

 My first HK/Macau style wanton noodles

Let me recall how my wanton noodles tasted like. The noodles were thinner and more crunchy than what I am used to. The wantons were rather porky tasting, which was a taste that I do not favor. The soup was near tasteless and it was served with some carrots and peas (we don't really use that here at home). It was a disappointment for me.

The next morning we wondered around hunting for breakfast. Somehow the hotel rates did not include breakfast. Walking into a shopping mall called Yaohan, we found a nice bakery. There I bought a char siew bao (barbecued pork buns). I could not resist myself as they sold the biggest baos I have ever seen. 

My char siew bao. Partially eaten to expose the contents. It was sold in a black paper bag. The size of the bao is as big as my hand wide opened, fingers all stretched out. It was also one of the nicest bao I have had for a while.

Over the next days, we wondered around the city as well as to Soenke's must do item, the Macau Tower. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. 

 Colorful, eye catching buildings of casinos. All for the gambler's picking.

 Wynn and MGM. Spectacular buildings. It's really shiny and in the morning sun the colors were really a sight.

The Grand Lisboa in the shape of a pineapple. In chinese, a pineapple is called as "huang li". And if you twist the tone slightly and with a bit imagination, you get "wang lai", which means money or prosperity come. In that sense, the pineapple is a symbol of welcoming prosperity. I wonder, whose prosperity they built it to welcome? 

 The view from Macau Tower. As you can see the reflections of the glass. To take this picture, I had to suffer through a case of shaky legs. It did not help that certain areas of the floor is of thick glass so that you can look down from the Macau Tower.

Macau Tower from ground level

We walked under a bridge and this is the view from there. There were a number of people fishing there in the afternoon.

Taken at the Ah Ma Temple. Ah Ma is the seafarer's goddess. And this temple is a world heritage site, although I don't understand why.

Quaint streets of Macao. This is the non-casino area so you see more normalcy and less neon signs. 

This looks like to me the houses of Macanese people. It would make sense to live in buildings full of people as Macau's land area is fairly limited. 

One of the must try items in Macau. Double boiled milk. It was really strange to eat jelly like milk that is warm. I had 2 mouthfuls and never more.

 Soenke ordered pineapple ice cream which turned out to be milky ice cream with canned pineapple chunks. It was kind of nice.

Senado Square. Very charming but a lot of fellow tourists.

Finally this is my souvenir from Macau. Local milk sold in little dairy glass bottles that I have never seen before. I drank the milk and brought the bottle back. Such a cute bottle. Who knew Hong Kong has their own dairy farm..

This is the Macau I saw. I still have a number of pictures missing. Like St Paul's Cathedral, the Venetian etc. But those are with Soenke and I guess they have to be posted another day then.

Fifty Seven Ninety

Yesterday we went out for milk. This house cannot have a shortage in its milk supply. Back to topic, we headed for 7-11 to make it quick and also we were a bunch of lazy asses after a day at work. 

At 7-11 I found myself mesmerized by the magazine stand and noticed that they have a bridal magazine (a very thick volume in this case) and it was packaged very nicely in a lavender colored box. Seeing that I might find it useful to plan a wedding with or to reference from, I told Soenke that I would like to have that magazine. Following is our conversation:

B: Look! Bridal magazine! I want! (Takes it down from the shelf)

S: Heh, Ok. How much is it?

B: $7.90. The price is here half hidden under the box. (Pulls the corner of the box to let Soenke have a look)

S: (Takes magazine over and peers into the box) It is $57.90!!!

B: No! It's $7.90!

S: No! It's $57.90 for a magazine! Put it back!

B: Let's ask the cashier.

S: How much is this?

Cashier: (Points at the price tag at the side of the box) $7.90.

That said, we went home with milk and a bridal magazine. The end.

Singapore Crocodile Farm

As mentioned in A Place Called Home, we stumbled upon a crocodile farm about 1 km from our house today. We weren't sure if we could enter at first because they had a big sign that says "Welcome" and another that says "Do not enter!". A lady came out and said we can look around and be careful to not stick out our hands. I was very curious to find a crocodile farm in the middle of a residential area and asked the lady the purpose of this farm. She told me it was for educational purposes. Noting that, this farm is also a leather factory that processes crocodile skins. Hmm, so much for educational purposes. 

The reptiles in the cages are just darn big that it scares me. And the best thing is, just next door, separated by just one regular wall is a big bungalow! People living next to a crocodile farm! I would think it is totally crazy if anyone asks me. The thing is the safety measures in this old farm is not so secure. Hence, this conclusion.

Nonetheless, it is definitely a Wow thing to know about your residential area. Their souvenir shop sells crocodile teeth and leather goods. Strangely, I noticed a newspaper clipping that said buying crocodile leather goods help support the survival of the crocodile species. Apparently, with increase demand for crocodile leather, people began farming crocodiles and this increase in their numbers took them off the endangered species list! Knowing that, buy crocodile leather goods conscience free everyone!

Please click here to check out the crocodile farm!

A Place Called Home

After one week, we have successfully settled down in our new home at Kovan-Hougang! Endlich! Finally! 终于！ Woohoo! 

It took a week for the both of us to arrange and get everything to be livable to our standards. I must say, I definitely won't be able to manage that without Soenke!  

Now that the fridge is fully stocked, the laundry for the past 3-4 weeks are done, the house looks super, our books in the new fake-antique bookshelves, plants growing, both had a first use of the induction cooker... I can finally announce that we are all settled in!

Here is the plan of our unit. It is big compared to the standard 3 room units. Based on what we were told, it is because of (A) it is a corner unit (B) it is an old unit. Don't care, it is rockin'!

Love, love, love! 

As for the location of our house, it is around 5mins walk to the MRT station. It faces directly opposite a foodcourt, a 7-11 and McDonalds around the corner, a very famous Thai restaurant around the block, followed by a 24 hours foodcourt. Next to the MRT station is Heartland Mall, which has a Cold Storage for groceries. 

Today, we explored the surroundings by foot and stumbled across a beer garden, a crocodile farm (which has huuuuugeee reptiles) and another 24 hours eating place. Oh, and a lot of churches, not that we plan to go to any..

To sum it up, we love our new place!

 

 

Engagement Night Part 1

On my birthday, Soenke had booked a room at the Swiss'otel Stamford for a birthday treat. The idea is great. A very nice room in a very different setting and waking up to a wonderful buffet breakfast. 

Some days before turning 25, Soenke said he wanted to bring me to dinner at the Equinox, a restaurant at the Swiss'otel on its 70th floor. I was elated! 

Looking forward to a great night, we checked into the hotel after work. Our room has a balcony with a great view over the city. And guess what, while being mesmerized by the night lights, Soenke grabbed my attention and went on bended knee, proceeded to bring out my engagement ring and proposed to me. Teeheeheehee.. I guess we all know what my answer was. 

This is our room on the 38th floor. That is me heading towards the balcony. It is not very often to get a hotel room with a balcony with a view, at least for me. 

 Photo courtesy of Soenke. This was the view from the balcony. Breathtaking, I would say.

 This is me plus engagement ring. Was asked to pose like this. Not my idea. =)

Part 2 about our wonderful evening at Equinox coming up soon. Even though this is major, I am flooded with a lot of things screaming for my attention or that I require superior time management skills.

27.07.2010 - We are engaged!

Our engagement on 27.07.2010 has been announced on Soenke's blog as well as on Facebook. I have yet the chance to put up an official announcement on my blog here as the days flew past me like a crazy train off track. It also means I am not a true blue blogger that has the urge to blog immediately. Hence, this post six days post-engagement. Nonetheless, it still is my utmost pleasure to share our happy news with everyone.

Now, back to topic, I turned 25 years old on 27.07.2010 and at the same time changed my social status to be engaged. So yes, WE ARE ENGAGED!!

To commemorate our engagement, we discussed about creating something special to mark the announcement. Soenke has posted the .pdf file on his site but here is the presentation in picture format:   

Here is our love to all our friends and family. Thank you for sharing this special moment with us. It is definitely still surreal!

An Evening with 10000 Angels

There is an outlet next to Spotlight at Plaza Singapura that is known as Tea Cosy / Ten Thousand Angels. I am not aware how many of us will pass by that area and missed it out because I did so several times. However, one day while wondering dreamily out of Spotlight it came to my bird's eye view. It is a charming little place. Step inside the shop and in a way you are swept off to another place on Earth. I find it very sweet to have so many angel figures, statues and pictures around me. The rest of the decor is very warm as well. 

We thought at first it was just a place for tea. Thanks to the menu outside, they serve dinner so we happily marched in and settled ourselves down at a corner. (I love their chic mismatched furniture, comfy and somehow stylish) It was unfortunate that I had a small meal of cheesy sausage and mash potatoes from Chippy's British Takeaway (another one of my favorite food stalls) so I opted for just tea and soup. Yes, it is true that when I am hungry I feel like murder and fainting. A useless combination as a fainting person won't have strength to commit murder. But whatever, bottom line is must get food and feed self. Let's look at some pictures:

The place itself from where I was sitting. Charming isn't it? It feels like you can sit there all day reading a book, eating scones and drinking tea.

 The view from my right. Yes, the wallpaper is a donkey and its owner. Nice furniture. I adore!

A row of angels behind me. Their presence blessing my dining experience :)

My tea served in a very dainty tea set and Soenke's salad....

r

My tomato crab soup.. Quite an interesting combination. It's nice and can taste the bits of crab meat. I love crab such a lot lot lot lot!

Well, that's it. Soenke's main dish, a serving of sweet and sour kafir lime kebabs, is not shown here as I took the picture with his camera and not mine. Well maybe another day..  :)