Weekend #38

It was a great one that wasn't filled with F1. In its place:

- The family celebrated the mother and brother's birthdays over a delicious meal of Indian food at Yantra.

- I completed my beginner's bookbinding classes. I have withdrawal syndromes already and hope new classes will be available real soon.

- Went to church this Sunday and experienced a rather interesting form of worship, through artistic expressions. I am not saying it's right or wrong but it added new knowledge.

- Went for a nice evening walk at the Henderson Waves and enjoyed the night breeze and conversation.

- On a whim, I went to Tangs and walked out with two pairs of new shoes.  One of which, I put into good use right the next day.  The other, a gorgeous pair of maroon heels from Pura Lopez, I have no idea when I will get to wear them.

Isn't this what life is about - being there for yourself and people you care about?

Weekend #37

Fantastic Italian movie screened by SIFF called "The first beautiful thing" / a good conversation with KY over a piccolo latte at Smitten (and I forgot to ask for Sumatra blend as advised by the Imp *sigh*) / a long-due lunch date with PY, this time at Real Food Grocer (food is really delicious by the way, especially the homemade dumplings, they were sooo good) / catch up with Mr. Wee over a gelato waffle at Haato (standards have dropped somewhat) / sighting of a row of whimsical chair-stools at Strip Raffles City (super cute!) / bookmaking lesson #2 that saw me making two books using the pamphlet and Japanese stitch methods (and inspired me to make handcrafted notebooks as gifts)

Weekend #36

In the sequence of actual events, here are some memorable bits that happened this weekend that just flew past!

/ Spotted a beautiful blue kingfisher on my way to ECP / First bookbinding class with a passionate teacher behind the beautiful site known as notabilia ; so pleased with my first book! / Attended a BBQ that I initially declined but turned out to be really not that awful / Got educated that the HUMP is a part of the cow / Supersalty broth from Menya Shinchan (on a related note, I found it extremely amusing that the "Kids Ramen" dish was loaded with vegetables.  Tell me, are Japanese kids so different they actually like their veggies? :P )

I am still suffering from the after-weekend effects.  *yawns* 

HK in two days

Making the best use out of a work trip.

Warm double skin steamed milk pudding.  aww, perfect comfort food for supper.

Easy, convenient take-out sandwiches with more gourmet fillings like rocket and crayfish

Grilled salmon kama (amongst other things) at June Japanese restaurant with the Dimsumdolly

super retro Japanese wagashi shop after dinner

mini watermelon dessert with kanten and watermelon balls

Mid-autumn festival light-up at Victoria Park

Last meal of congee and steamed rice rolls at the HK Int'l Airport.  The latter was awful though :(

Tea at Ritz Carlton Kowloon

Weekend #35

It was kind of a melancholic weekend as I spent a great afternoon catching up with the girlfriend. We met under a most unusual circumstance - our moms went to school together and belonged to the choir. We were introduced during one of their alumni choir performances and really started talking when we discovered our common love for food.

We enjoy checking out new places when we meet and this time at Keystone Restaurant.  The conclusion was a unanimous "food sounded really much more interesting on paper".  Well, the intentions behind each creation were clear to me, but the execution fell short in most instances.  For example, the lobster ravioli tasted more of cheese than crustacean.  The consomme was overly salty and had an oily note; I could not bring myself to finish it.  The main course was a sous vide salmon.  While the portion was really generous, the fillet was less than fresh and the fishiness was negatively enhanced by the sweet miso.  Dessert was the best course because the fondant cake, a dessert done to death already, had a lava middle.  The lime sorbet was light and delicious.  Raspberry puree encapsulated in a jelly was a welcome tart dimension, though having two jellies side by side didn't quite make sense to me.

Just some frivolous notes:  I think that the customised serving ware is pretty neat; each of the plates had a grey slate / "stone".  The presentation was modern and looked appetizing to the eyes. 
 Service was excellent.  Well perhaps because we were the only forlorn souls on a Saturday afternoon?

We left soon after lunch prepared to try the coffee at Smitten.  It would be our first time and again, we left disappointed.  Slightly too acidic for our preference, we were glad we had a great time talking about things that matter more to us than food anyway.