Figure figure figurine me!

It's interesting to meet artsy folks. The friend's sister is a ceramic artist and curated a figurine display at the Goodman Art Centre. We went to support.

Albeit the small scale and no art background whatsoever, I actually had an enjoyable time looking at each piece, reading the short description to understand the inspiration. Made by amateurs mostly, it is also heartening to learn that art, in the form of ceramic, could be a form of expression for anyone!

Recipe: Traditional Butter Cake with a twist

It was a rather quiet weekend for me. Caught up with my friend who had left our little shores a few years ago. But our conversation picked up like she never left. Suppose that is a sign of a good friendship. If you must know, I brought her to Hinoki for yet another great meal.  Pike mackerel or san ma is in season right now and I'm soo proud she tried a bit of the guts.  In season, the guts taste just a little bit bitter, very flavourful with an earthy tone.    HUGE difference from the cheap frozen sanma available year round.

Then I had a mini baking storm. Whipped up two chocolate loaf cakes courtesy of Nigella's recipe AND a traditional butter pound cake inspired by the childhood meme going around.   But I added a twist ;P

This is a really simple recipe.  It yields a rather fine crumb, sort of like velvet. The trick is to bake at a lower heat and a longer time.

Ingredients:
250 g block of butter, salted
1.75 cups of self-raising flour
1 cup granulated sugar (fine or superfine)
5 large eggs

Optional:
2 tbsp orange liquor
Zest of an orange

Baking tin:
8" (for a taller cake) or
9" rounds or

9" x 5" loaf pan (may yield an extra cupcake or two)

Whichever you use, just butter and line with parchment paper.

Preheat oven 170C.

Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar together until light colored and fluffy. Takes about 10 mins.
2. Add eggs. One at a time and cream well with each addition.
3. Add optional items here if you wish. If not, replace with 1 tsp vanilla extract.
4. Add flour in three additions. Mix well with each.
5. Pour into prepared baking tin. Bake in the middle rack for 30mins. Then lower heat to 160C and bake another 15-20mins depending on your oven. Use the toothpick test to check for doneness.

Yields about 15 x 0.75" slices (I am precise like that.  Engineering trained :P)

Cool before cutting and serving.

* If you wish to get the "Sara Lee" effect, place a slice of cake in freezer for about 1/2 hour prior to eating.

Hope you had a good weekend too!

Obsession with Whiteness

....for me, goes beyond the skin. I never was about white skin anyway.

Ok enough with the suspense. I finally did laser tooth whitening (as oppose to gel-in-tray) because one of my ex-colleague actually said to me, "Eh, your teeth is quite yellow". Yes, we are pretty close and she is brutally honest like this.

But to be fair, undergoing some sort of whitening procedure has been at the back of my mind but her comment just accelerated my action.












Ta-dah! I did the old school laser whitening. It is supposed to be more effective (within a shorter period of time) than the gel-in-tray. Correspondingly, it is more expensive too.

The procedure involves applying some gel on the teeth followed by intense light beam (the laser) for 15 mins. Repeat this two more times.

With each cycle the teeth becomes more sensitive. If you have receding gumlines (I do, at some areas), good luck to you.

So, I actually was able to endure the first cycle fairly ok. Not much discomfort. The second cycle was pretty bad but I endured. The third cycle, let's just say, I wished it ended before it started.

The irony is, after the actually laser process was over, the remaining gel had to be removed and it was at this stage when the teeth was soooo sensitive, every touch (even from my own saliva) caused discomfort. I actually started squirming and when I couldn't endure anymore, I screamed :/ and followed quickly by tears. To clarify, there was no blood involved at any stage.

Apparently the sensitivity is normal (but at what level is up to individual) and will go away in a couple of days. I was given painkillers too, if the pain got too much. No dark colored food and beverage for at least 4 days (dentist recommends 7 days instead).

I'm pleased with the results but would I go through it again?

Absolutely not. I'm a wuss like that.

Review: Jimmy Monkey Cafe

Now the one-north area can boast of a decent coffee joint.  The Jimmy Monkey Cafe has adopted a cute name and a casual industrial look and feel.  The piccolo latte was robust and full-bodied.  Not sure what sort of beans they use, but it leans toward a slight sourish note, which you probably cannot detect if you are not a serious or particular coffee drinker.  

I like that this Monkey cafe offers a fair selection of bites.  The food was not anything to die for, but decent.  Just that some items were just priced a little high side.  For example, our breakfast sandwich that was pre-made but toasted just before serving, was $12.   

The air was a bit still inside the cafe, so if you don't like to have a lingering stank, take-out or sit-out.  Other than that, I think it's a lovely addition to the indie joe joints that are now sprouting over the island.

Weekend #32

Ah, almost the end of yet another weekend.  What did I remember of it?

First up: I attended my first formal cooking class at Cookyn with Mervyn school.  Recipes were simple party tapas and the fun was meeting new people. Someone at the class said to me that it takes practice to be able to meet new people and start and maintain a decent conversation. How true. I felt so rusty myself because at the end of the session, I actually felt drained >.<

Oooh, I also managed to catch up with a girlfriend right before that, over a simple lunch of sandwiches and awesome piccolo lattes at Jimmy Monkey Cafe (more on that in future).  But too bad, I could not make it to the Public Garden flea market as a result.  Hope the next one will be coming up soon.

Finally, on this Sunday, I am proud to have participated in a FB event known as the  "Cook and Share a Pot of Curry".  If you are a Singaporean, you probably would have heard about incident reported in TODAY papers, that inspired the event.   While I don't agree with the outcome of the incident, I do want to support harmony and understanding between natives and newly arrived immigrants. 


So early in the morning, I went to my neighbourhood wet market and bought a fresh and meaty red grouper head.  To add to the curry, I also went a bit crazy with the vegetables (japanese eggplant, okra, long beans, tomato).  And just because my family loves fried tau pok, I bought a pack to add into my curry.  This is going to sound shameless but I felt like a virtuous woman. 


To make the curry, I bought a pack of "A1" instant seafood curry paste which is very fragrant and spicy.  If I had been a little more hardworking, I could have added more depth by frying up more fresh shallots, lemongrass and laksa leaves but it was not really necessary because even without, it was pretty awesome.  What I really want to say is, don't underestimate shortcuts.

The event seemed to have caught on.  Look at all the curry photos on FB!  That made me think...who needs football to build camaraderie within our little nation?  We just need curry!

Review: Shunjuu Izakaya

The Riverwalk area has always been a vibrant location for F&B.  Shunjuu Izakaya has been one of the few original outlets that has held up through the years and I could see why.  What's not to like about a casual izakaya, plenty of drinks and tasty, salty skewers of food to fill the tummy?  Even though the restaurant has been around for a while, it was only until this weekend both the Imp and I got around to giving it a try.

The menu is small, not as varied as Kazu (which is also one of my favorite sumiyaki-ya) but what we had was done quite well.  We had almost all the vegetable selection - Japanese leek (the pungency is muted after grilling, but not dry), Japanese eggplant with miso and ginger sauce (tender and soaked in the sauces; really good), gingko (a bit dry; will pass next time), shiitake (juicy) and onigiri (decent).  For the protein, I chose to have a grilled fishhead and here, Shunjuu offered a selection of different fishes - salmon, yellowtail and one other type.  We got the yellowtail.  A bit small, but totally delicious.

Out of the grilled section, we tried the cold tofu in lieu of the momotaro (not available).  Good call by the Imp because the sauce was a thick soy & sesame sauce (wonderful combination that would be oh-so-good with steamed rice) and the interesting thing was that in addition to the usual bonito topping, fried ebi (baby shrimp) was added on, lending a crispy texture and a salty umami addition. Understanding our limited stomach capacity, I noted the Imp's approving nod when I ordered only one onigiri-yaki. 

We were absolutely satisfied after this meal, even though the greedy me wished another fish head could magically appear.Heehee. 

Despite being packed on the Friday night but service was still prompt.  Definitely an easy place to hangout for a relaxing dinner with drinks.

Review: Green Room Cafe

The moment I saw that the event was featuring Raw Cuisine, I knew I wanted to attend because I am always interested to learn about food and nutrition.  The wine pairing was secondary.

Organised by The Local Nose, I got to try a four-course Italian-inspired dinner featuring raw cooking.  (You can google to learn more).  Basically it is believed to be more healthy for you.


Green Room Cafe was recently taken over by Chef Diana von Cranach who is a strong advocate of healthy eating.  She freely shares tidbits of health information, some quite scary (like how restaurants actually sell their used frying oils to hawkers but I don't know how true that is).

The dinner started late and I was famished.  I walloped the first course of appetizers in two seconds!  Perhaps because I have been exposed to raw cuisine before, and understand the principles and that most of the preparation relies on fresh herbs and different sorts of nuts to achieve the body and richness of regular food, I thought the appetisers were ho-hum.

The next dish, I really didn't like.  It was a soup, lukewarm because of the raw cuisine principle of not cooking above a certain temperature, but was rather awful because the herbs tasted quite 'green' and with all the fiber, I thought I was eating green sawdust.  The 'living' bruchetta that accompanied the soup was a different story though.  Made from dehydrated nuts and seeds and vegetables, it tasted like very dense nut bread.  I really liked it.  Chef Diana intends to start selling these and I would buy them.

The main course was my favorite dish.  A zucchini 'pasta' that had been cooked with almond milk, nuts and mushrooms, it was a light tasting yet full of subtle flavors.  The portion was also quite filling. 

Dessert was a tiramisu.  But it was really more like a dense cheesecake made of cashew butter.  It was not bad, but not something I would order.


I guess I would return with the right company, adventurous to try new things yet the focus being really the company.  I am very glad I armed myself with the right girlfriends whom I know would be game for anything.  We all enjoyed the raw experience and ended with an evening a little high from the Italian wines (which were great with the raw food I must say, especially the dessert rose wine!), filled with laughter and good conversation. 



Aperitif
Babo Prosecco NV

Antipasti Miste - five special Antipasto served with Tomato & Basil 'living' crackers
Fontana Soave 2009

Zuppa di Verdure Miste Bruschetta con Spinaci & Bagna Cauda
- a traditional fresh vegetable soup from Umbria served with 'living' bruschetta topped with spinach & hazelnuts
C' D' C' Sicilia Rosso 2009

Spaghettini Zucchini con Noce e Funghi
- fine zucchini ribbons, mixed with a creamy almond and herb sauce, marinated mushrooms, black pickled garlic and a hint of summer truffles.
Sant'Emiliano Barbera D'Asti Superiore 2006

Tiramisu
- a living version of Italy's most famous dessert
Banfi Rosa Regale 2006

Weekend #31

This weekend saw a couple of "first"s.

(I) For the first time I attended an event organised by a cultural exchange group on FB. I am not quite sure how I ended up in the group but it was yonks ago. I never really paid attention to events on FB but I suppose it was by sheer fate I noticed the last one which was a foreign movie screening event. Volver is an award-winning Spanish movie, starring Penelope Cruz if you must know. Unlike Hollywood movies that are mostly silly, action packed or thrillers (which I could also appreciate when in the right mood), I love European movies because they are mostly about well, life. It talks about different generation of females, going through similar events and how they individually deal with them. Thought-provoking as I try to imagine myself in similar shoes and decisions I would make. *Shudders*

Anyway, I enjoyed the event mostly because the group was friendly and the movie was good. I pat myself on the back because I overcame my initial reservations about attending it alone. (Interestingly, I met a fellow Singaporean lady who practiced art therapy and in our conversation, I could feel my interest in oil painting stirring again.)

(II) I went for my first hot-flow yoga class. I can't believe in my two years of membership, I had never once thought of attending a class other than Bikram-style yoga. Anyway, I found myself bored out of my mind and decided at the last minute to attend the class, which was absolutely a K.I.L.L.E.R (mainly because I was unfamiliar with the moves and the pace was fast)! I'm sticking to my regular classes.

(III) I picked up a copy of TODAY Sunday (yes, the free newspaper), because I noticed it had a collaboration with NYT. Ok, at least it had a few pages of NYT articles that are international news and made the paper worth a read.

(IV) My sister actually stepped into the kitchen and attempted to make dessert (!). Yes, she-who-only-cooks-instant-noodles-and-toast-frozen-pizzas, made tiramisu, and the results were good for a first attempt. I *am* proud of her.

Other notables:

• I officially declare I don't like sashimi cut too thick. Thick slices of fish accentuate the fishy notes and they become too much work to eat.
• I became acutely aware and conscious of my "single" status when I spied two Indian men on the MRT holding hands affectionately. Bleh.

Til #32 folks! Have a good week ahead.

Happy 46th Birthday Singapore!

Despite all the complains and grouses, I still love you Singapore.  Justice, Equality, Happiness, Prosperity and Progress forever!

Review: No.3 Crab Delicacy

This period of time saw the annual return of my ex-colleagues based overseas. They had to attend a "party" at Zouk just before our dinner date so we decided on local food at No.3 Crab. Wow the last time I was there was ages ago but I could remember loving the famous curry crab that you either love or hate.


Glad to report it was still good. The crabs were huge but juicy and fresh. The sauce was lemak like laksa but was done fish-head curry style, stewed with vegetables like eggplant, tomato and ladysfinger. We ordered a side of bee hoon and fried mantou to dip into the sauce. On hindsight, just mantous would have sufficed.




We also got a fried tang hoon with crab. It was mediocre. Tang hoon tasted more of the gravy it was cooked in, than of the essence of crab melded into it.

At the last minute, we added a crab bee hoon soup as well. I didn't really like that either. The crab came to our table in record time (10mins?) and I thought the crab was a little fishy.

The rest of the dishes were also quite mediocre. The most awful though, was the kangkong with cuttlefish. It was starchy and tasted more of ketchup than sambal. I seldom bash people's food but that really sucked.

Would I go back again? I really doubt it's worth going back just for the curry crab alone.

Weekend #30

Last Friday was an unusually busy day at the Loop. I was pretty glad I had no plans so I could take a breather for myself and get ready for the party that would start on Saturday instead.

I woke up at 6:30am the next day (I suspect it was a case of nerves as I was expecting a part time helper for the first time that morning. I'm funny like that :/). Needless to say, I was feeling tired right about lunchtime and had to drag myself out to catch up with the girls. It had been too long!

As usual, it was three orders of mazechirashi without tako and ika, from the lunch menu at Aoki. Yummers.

Stumbled back home to take a nap, which was unusual of me, as I was really quite knackered by 3pm. Add to that, I was given a heads-up for a rather long night with J, a colleague that became a friend, who had been based in Germany for the past three years.

I loved how we got all dressed up; it somewhat made the occasion a little more special (:

We started at Bar Stories; pretty good cocktails again, then we popped by Ann Siang and decided to make a pitstop at The Screening Room. On that note, it was totally overcrowded and the cocktails weren't particularly good. Stick with beer.

It was almost 1am when we went over to Duxton Hill. Boo! Most of the decent bars were closed/closing. Sigh, on hindsight we should have started from there. So we were left "dry" (pun intended :)) at Duxton.

Lost for an alternative venue, we decided to visit the New Asia Bar for old times' sake. It wasn't too crowded and we scored free entries purely by luck. Cheap thrill.

By then, I was hungry again and luckily the bartender obliged our multiple requests for refills of their very addictive spiced tapioca chips. A couple of wines later, I was totally ready to fall asleep and there ended our girlie night of catch up and bar hopping.

Sunday was kept deliberately simple, preferring to spend some time with the family, alone and church.

On the "alone" note, the shiro taiyaki is available again at Isetan. If you like mochi and carbs, this is totally the bomb. Yet it looks deceivingly healthy and light. Ah, the wonders of Japanese food associations.

Hope your weekend was good too!

On Crack

Yes, I try to eat healthy most of the time but just so you know I'm human too, I have been secretly eating a lot of processed food via : 

Meiji Plain Crackers with Oat

I am telling you, these are crack-ers!  Even though they are 'plain' flavored, there is a mild buttery taste.   The plus? It's not as fatty as cream crackers (although those are soo good too!).

Each sachet contains 7 square biscuits and I could easily go through three packs at night while surfing the net and being random.  This is going to sound very aunty but do you know that biscuits are "heaty"?  It's true! I developed a couple of ulcers a few times when I was at the three-packs-a-day peak.  Having learned my lesson, I usually stop at two now like a good citizen.   

My only gripe is the lack of QC. Sometimes, the crackers are not as baked (i.e. lighter in color and less of a  toasty flavor).  And sometimes if I am lucky, I buy a box that has been slightly overbaked (more golden and crispier) then I get soo happy. Heehee, little joys of life.

Do you have a secret indulgence too?  Share! :)