Birthday Treat #3


The hubby surprises me with my present at midnight.
I have been wanting to get a pair of diamond earrings for the longest of time!!
I hadn't wanted him to spend so much on my birthday, I was incredibly touched.
Really sweet as I was going to head off to bed tired after a long day. *hugs*
The Saturday started out lazy just as I wanted, didn't want to do anything special.
G wanted to cook dinner for me, so he asked me what I felt like eating.
Clueless to his intentions, Japanese curry became the agenda on the menu because I was craving some tonkatsu. I've made Japanese curry before, but I had always made it with beef stewing in the curry because I was way too lazy to make the pork/chicken cutlets.
So when G said he would make the Japanese curry with the full works or pickles, beef and pork / chicken cutlet, I was elated and touched.


The poor man slaved in the kitchen for a good two hours while I enjoyed the time off reading / watching my videos. Its a birthday treat in itself when a meal is painstakingly prepared and the cooking and washing-up all done by someone else! =P



Finally my dinner was served.



The chicken / pork cutlets were really yummy. The pork was fried golden brown, the chicken was so tender! I had like four pieces (that's alot, if you know me)!! Throughout the meal G worried incessantly, but most unnecessarily that I wouldn't like my dinner. I loved it! It was just like the curry I was craving for, thick and flavorsome but not too salty. I would even boldly say it tasted better then two of the Jap joints I recently had Japanese curry at.

Thank you for the lovely dinner G, and making my birthday and weekend restful and loved.

Birthday Treat #2

From the left: Mango Moouse cake, Hazelnut Praline Chocolate cake,

Homemade Carrot cake with Cream cheese Filling, and Chocolate Royal with biscuit crust

My birthday cake(s) for the year.
Thanks B & L!

Club Chinois - Chinese New Year Dinner

We went to Club Chinois for our company Chinese New Year dinner this year. This was my first time there and was really looking forward to being treated to something different since Fusion is their forte that they command to the plate.

Our special menu comprised of:
Bountiful Harvest Hamachi, Japanese Clam and Salmon Yusheng
Club Chinois Crispy Roast Whole Suckling Pig
Braised Superior Shark's Fin with crabmeat and Conpoy in Noble Tanfu Sauce
Steamed "live" Red Garoupa in Chef's Special Mushroom Jus
Braised Sliced Australian Fresh Abalone with Golden Oysters and Shititake Mushroom
Oven-baked Half Tail Lobster with Golden Pumpkin Mayo Sauce
Braised Egg Noodles with Fresh Scallops in X.O. Sauce
Walnut cream with Glutinous Rice Dumplings

The Yusheng was an unusual experience with a Honey Mustard sause twist rather then the usual plum or sweet sauce. The salmon and clam was fresh, but I found this variation a tad too dry and left disappointed without my yu-sheng fix, and craving more so the traditional version.

Any dissatisfaction after the first course quickly dissipated when the suckling pig arrived. This has got to be one to best suckling pigs I have ever had. Very few restaurants are able to achieve such roasting to a perfection. The crispy light roasted skin left an enjoyable crackling sound, and the soft juicy and slightly fatty meat was yummy without any greasy feeling after. Quirky eaters out there will know what I mean when I say that some roast pigs tend to have a "porky" after-taste. This one, had zero after-taste and that alone got me reaching for my third and fourth piece.

While the rest of my co-diners tucked into their shark-fin (cruelty needs zero comments), I took the chance to snap a photo of one of my diner's vegetarian course - tomato soup.



The rest of dinner passed in a blur as we kept being fed with the usual suspects on a CNY menu.
Till the lobster was plated.

This was done in a pumpkin may sauce which tasted very much like cheese. This brought back fond memories of the time my folks used to take us to a seafood place in Penang called "End of the World" where we always had to order the Baked Cheese, Ham and Onion lobster. The flesh was so sweet and the sauce was so creamy and tasty. I would have had a second tail if I wasn't already bursting.

All in all, bravo chefs all around who come up with ingenious concepts and ideas for food pairings!

Club Chinois

#02-18 Orchard Parade Hotel,

1 Tanglin Road, Tel: 6834-0660

Garibaldi - Birthday treat #1



Its my birthday over the weekend!! =p
Yes yes, not suppose to make a big deal out of it. Just a normal day.
But Q offered to take me out somewhere special so of course that's cause for celebration always. With either Italian or Japanese on the agenda, I had a sudden craving for angel hair pasta, so I thought it would be perfect to revisit Garibaldi and bring Q there as well.

As usual, we decided to share a soup and split two mains and two desserts.
For the zuppe we chose the Brodetto Aragosta (Lobster broth with Tomato and Tarragon). Although the wait staff took the initiative to apportioned the soup for us so we didn't have to eat out of the same bowl, the rest of the service wasn't fabulous. We waited quite a while for our mains and our finished soup bowls stayed on our tables for a good 20 minutes before one of the wait staff figured we were done (though we were clearly greedy for the next course).

Finally when our mains arrived, we were officially starving. We ordered the Cappellini Di Aragosta (Angel Hair Pasta with Lobster, Sweet Peas and Tomato sauce) and the Tritico Di Agnello (Three Style Tasting of Lamb).



The lamb came as a crumbed lamb cutlet, small portion of roast lamb and lamb done with a pumpkin puree. The puree was a palette cleanser and refreshing. Each of the lambs were done to medium rare, leaving it tender and juicy within, even for the cutlet.

After our plates were cleared and toilets revisited, we were still waiting for our water to be refilled and our dessert to arrive. Knowing that I fidgety, Q decided to make good use of the time and whips out my present! Its my coveted Kate Spade planner!!!

Was super happy because I couldn't get this size in the local stores and KS in New York doesn't ship internationally. Considering that it was coming to the 3rd month of the year, I thought I'll have to be content with an alternative. That wonderful girl managed to get it flown over by a family friend and just in time to give me such a surprise, bless her kind and thoughtful heart! =)

And with great timing, the wait staff arrives with our desserts: Fondente Al Cioccolato (Molten Lava Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut Gelato and Raspberry Coulis) and Tiramisu.

Dessert was up to expectation. Good and sinful. =0p Icing on my 27th birthday cake.

Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar

36 Purvis Street #01-02 Singapore 188613

Tel: (65) 6837 1468

Email: info@garibaldi.com.sg

Mini Fish / Pork Floss Springrolls


Every year for Chinese New Year, Kong Kong always made special pork/fish floss springrolls for me and the cousins. We didn't fancy the usual "Hei-bi" ones sold off the shelf so he and Nei-Nei always made a whole bottle of springrolls for the reunion dinner.

This year Nei Nei didn't want us to be without the tradition. So she initiated making these little springrolls with Mum. Being around, meant being an extra pair of helping hands, so I got down to trying my hand at these little babies.

Man! Are they hard work!!!

It took like a good 11/2 hours to rolls out that 1 plate of springrolls! And this is about as much as we got:


Not too shabby for a first attempt at making 'Homemade!' Chinese New Year goodies. But it really made me appreciate all those years my grandparents painstakingly took to roll out all these springrolls. And they were only two pairs of hands. Thats really unconditional love in action.

Borgo - A birthday treat

February marks the start of many many birthdays.
A close friend turned 28 on the 11th of Feb and his only request was to be fed.
So I had to do him some justice. Painstakingly I tried to source for some decent nosh to feed the hungry. Ok, maybe its not the best place for a birthday celebration. But it was a nice, quaint little italian hole in the hip and trendy Bukit Timah stretch, so I figured to give it a go.

After turning up like an hour after our reservation time, I must say the staff treated us pretty decently. He showed us to our table and offered us the menus.
We were pretty starved by that time, so most of the attention was focused on the "Chef's specials".
G and I sampled the Crayfish with Broccoli Sauce, the Ossobuco Della Chef (veal shank cooked in red wine brown sauce and served with creamy cheese risotto rice) and the homemade Gnocchi with Pumpkin Sauce. The crayfish blew me away. Not one for the veggies, this tomato cream sauce appetiser was really yummy, no sign or taste of broccoli at all and the crayfish was springy and most importantly, fresh.
I'm always a sucker for Gnocchi. Introduced to this homemade comfort food during my stint in Melbourne, I always had to order this whenever I see it in an Italian menu. "Home-made" and "Gnocchi", these two words together always hits the soft spot for the evil carbs.
This dish was really delightful. Unlike most places, the chef made the potato dumplings so small that they become bite-size and they melt in the mouth. I normally feel incredibly sick after a whole platter but I was nicely full-up with this one.
The Ossobuco was passable. But unless u like your risotto rice slightly chewy, you might want to sample some of the other chef specials.
My dinner companions ordered the Rib Eye steak and the cheese ravioli.
The rib eye was disappointing. The total of five raviolis stuffed with a cheese and truffle was good according to my cheese-loving friend. I'm not a big fan of cheese and truffles, so a mouthful of truffles was not too pleasant for me. Although the cheese did add a yummy flavour.


We were terribly stuffed after the main courses, but we still had to go for the sweet endings.

Since G's not too fond of chocolate, he went for the safe but traditional tiramisu. I had to try the Caprese 'Almond Cake and C went for the Lava cake.

OK OK, I am sorry, I will attempt to take better complete photos with the next blog. =)

The almond cake was a tad dry and the lava cake a little too rich for my liking. The tiramisu was decent, but I guess I have to be honest in that I have had many much better.

All in all, it was a yummy dinner, shared with great company and of course you can give dessert a skip if you are not a big fan of the dry and overly rich... after all, Venezia's just round the corner in Guthrie Building... =p

Borgo

789 Bukit Timah Road (S) 269763 Tel: 6466 7762 (reservations are recommended) Closed on Tuesdays

William Golding was right - There is a need for civilization

William Golding's Lord of the Flies was a very thought-provoking and powerful literature classic that really stuck with me after my JC days.

The plot and storyline revolves around a band of young children who make a striking transition from civilized to barbaric. They arrive on an island, without rules, without inhibitions and they start to formulate their own set of rules and conditions, ideals and values to perpetuate their own sense of basic right and wrong.

The main theme underlying the novel was:
Man v.s. Society - The need for Civilization

A commentary available under google books stated:
"The most obvious of the themes is man's need for civilization. Contrary to the belief that man is innocent and society is evil, the story shows that laws and rules, policemen and schools are necessary to keep the darker side of human nature in line. When these institutions and concepts slip away or are ignored, human beings revert to a more primitive part of nature."


So before I start rambling on about themes and symbolism... the whole purpose of being up Sir Golding was because I witnessed something truly comical the other day.


The hubs and I decided to take a nice stroll out for dinner.
On our way back, we saw this phenomenon at the MRT bus-stop:




I soooo had to stop and take a photo. It truly amazes me the extent people need to have order and rules in their lives. Without the existence of a taxi-stand, people were actually forming a queue, right at the bus-stop to stop taxi-cabs! Even more amazing was how people were so obediently following the make-shift rule to wait for their turn to get a cab.

Ironically, the authentic taxi-stand was just about 100m down the road and there was nobody actually waiting there for a taxi!!

When we have rules imposed, we feel restricted and we complain and gribe. When we lacking such governance, we feel the irresistible urge to form our own rules and conditions to which to abide by. Truly great is the fear of the uncertainty and dis-order.







A Sweetiepie



My niece, the little bundle of joy.

Now you see me
Now you don't








Dinner at B & L s'

It was going to be lazy evening with the standard ta-paos..
Then L msn-ed and said she was on leave and cooking!
She invited us for dinner and since this is one of those blue-moon occasions* we of course said "Yes!"

*she was actually on leave - the girl once said she everytime she takes leave, something bad happens

*the girl was actually cooking!


We got there at about near 8. And dinner was looking yums and of course overwhelming in amounts!



The bbq pork ribs were slow-roasting in the toaster oven and they were looking superbly juicy.



Next up was a pasta salad. This was something interesting.
The lime and salmon sashimi i bought was put into this dish and tossed with soba noodles and lettuce greens, corn and tomatoes.. Its a fusion salad which I must say was rather refreshing because of the sesame oil dressing.

Lastly, when we arrived, L started her fry-ups. She already had sliced bread, a fried egg and some salad greens on a plate, finished off with a side of mash potatoes served up ready to plate the yummy steaks courtesy of M.




My camera does this no justice, but suffice to say we are a family that needs plenty of variety and plenty of meat!!!

Dinner was absolutely great.
Of course it was icing on the cake that B so kindly did the washing up so we just sat there and couch potato-ed.

Thanks B & L. =p

Happy Birthday Mr G



HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBS!!!

We decided to go against convention and try the latest 'in' thing: cupcakes!
We got this batch from Cake Avenue.
There were two birthdays so I decided on two different types (always one for variety).

They were soo pretty, but sadly, a tad too dry and flaky within.
Oh well, so much for novelty sake. Back to tradition.

We went to Covo for dinner.
Ambience not too bad, food was average except for the interesting tapas platter and the complimentary dessert platter... yummies! =)
They also had one yummy chesse and herb biscuit-bread thingy they served in the middle of our courses.

Thank you B & L for the thoughtful treat. It was a great way to end the day.. a pint or two.




Back then to life.

Award-Winning Friday

Today Weekend: First among Equals

Award winner #1

STORY OF THE YEAR

CNA: GET REA! 50 DOLLAR MEN

Award winner #2

FEATURE OF THE YEAR

CNA: INDONESIA - ON THE RING OF FIRE





We are all so proud of you S!
Your efforts are finally being recognized and paid off.

The Black House with the Red Dog

Our very first house and home!
We moved in on the 17th of Dec last year, right after our church wedding.
It was soo exciting, amidst the frustration and blood vomitting caused by our ID.
Enough said, on to the virtual tour!










We don't like the usual run-off-the-mills wood, white, and popular zen look.
So we opted for our favourite colours, black and red.

This is the foyer, the space when you walk through the front door.
The colored squares are our hidden shoe cabinet cum bookshelf.
Most of our furniture and added ornaments were brought in from Bangkok. Yes! G and I and 4 other wonderful friends tireless "kang" the load back for us.. plates, clocks, red dog and all . =P












This is the next immediate view from the door way.
Our living room with a 'glass wall' separating the kitchen from the living room.
G of course wanted a bar corner, so he got an entire shelf.
I wanted red florescent lights because yellow and blue were soo over-used. It turned out a lovely hue of pink, which turned out fine for the decor anyway.

Our red odd-length sofa was custom made at a remote shop called Sanctuary dian located in the small off-road factory warehouse at Balestier. Love it to bits and it serves me well as a daybed. So who cares about the tall.















Our living room from the kitchen. We opted for a 90-inch screen and a Sanyo projector.
Before the time of govt grants, home loans, I never knew people had the option of having a projector rather then plasmas or LCDs. To me, this was the best buy we had.














Thats our kitchen and dinning room. We customized the kitchen sink to look like a design we saw with another ID. It takes up the entire table top at the far end corner and the tap was an ingenious idea by my ID to have it hanging from the ceiling to give it a seamless finish without it coming out from our kitchen top. The long island is actually inspired by my mother.

Those nights of pineapple jam rolling and cookie-cutter imprinting finally rubbed off onto me that one must have a decent long spacious counter to work on in the kitchen.

At least if I am intending to start baking finally, I will be prepared!


Finally, thats our bedroom. We knocked down the last bedroom to form the ultra long dinning concept, so we made this little area our own. Of course we need the TV, so thats as you can see, the bare essentials.

We did away with a toilet door and created another glass, open concept.

Was initially 'yeeks' by the idea, but grew accustomed to the idea. Our wardobe and study area is concealed behind the rotatable door.

Its already been a year since G and I called this place our home.

Of course it looks nothing like the pictures now.

(P.S Thank you Light-box for the photos and the feature.)

Beginnings