Pine Garden
The slices come in manageable portions, but the amount of cream in each cake is a little too frightening considering the weight I am trying to shed at this point. The lychee martini was indeed good. The cake was adequately flavoured with lychee and a hint, but decent amount of liquor.
The black forest was also pretty decent. Again the liquor was generous and easy to detect. The cherries were fresh and sweet and the cake was light and the cream not over indulgent.
Their first month assorted cake set included a slide called the Citrus Drop, so we got a slice to try as well. At first impressions, it looks just like any vanilla sponge cake decadently dressed in heavy cream. The kind of simple sliced cakes you find in the typically heartland bakeries. But one bite distincts it from it's usual counterparts, bursting with a mouthful of citrus flavours. Not my favourite, but at least it's different from what you would normally expect.
We also tried the tiramisu and bubor hitam cake. The latter was rather unique but the tiramisu was only just ok. It felt more like a chocolate cake with kahlua and cream. Nothing really special and we certainly had better.
All in all, I must say they are pretty heavy-handed on the cream. But for an average of $3 a slice I must say their unique signature creations are a relative steal and I'll definitely pay them another visit if only to see what other interesting and innovative creations they come up with next.
Pine Garden
Blk 529 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10#01-2369/2329 Singapore 560529
6457 6159
Day 4 & 5 - Sun Tanning!
Never thought I would say this about babies... but my little monkey is actually quite adorable. :p
He had his first sun tan yesterday and caught a little more today. Hopefully this means his jaundice level reading will be low for his first pediatrician visit on Friday! :)
His ending position. We have a flasher on our hands.
Day 5 - in his full glory. Totally in his element.
The Birth Story
And you think you know exactly what to expect, until you walk into the delivery ward with your overnighter and realise....you are scared shitless.
This is Grayden's mommy, and this is my story. Pointblank, zero sugar coating.
I was scheduled for an induced delivery so heading to the hospital was sans all the cliche drama and more like checking-in to board a midnight plane. We get into the delivery suite closer to one. As Hubby gets me admitted and registered, I am ushered into a delivery ward and told to pee on a stick and get changed into a robe.
Now is the moment, I actually start to feel nervous. You don't really know what to expect. Then the nurse comes in and tells me, she is going to administer "the bullet". For those none the wiser, it's something they give to you - from the rear - and before you can count to 5, you run to the toilet faster than a speeding bullet, to empty out your bowels. Horrid experience although bolstered slightly by the fact that you feel kind of bowel-empty-elation.
After that, the induction begins. This is not a pleasant experience. But it will be over quickly. Then we wait.
Monitor that charts the fetal heartbeat and the peaks (pains) and trough (rest periods) of the contractions
Finally, @ 545am, I feel contractions. They come hard and fast. The monitor clocks the size of each contraction to be 127 - the highest peak. As my Gynae always says, pain is over-rated, so at 630am, I suppose I experience enough to know what labour pains feel like and declared my need for epidural.
0701 - the wonder drug kick in. I must say the procedural administration of epidural is more fearful than the actual injection. Within 10 minutes, the back becomes absolutely pain free and I have not felt this comfortable in the last 9 months. I could finally sleep flat on my back and started my great nap till 1119am when it was time to start the second phase - pushing.
The epidural had finished just when my Gynae said it was time to start pushing. Thankfully it's not like a light switch, it managed to keep me numb from pain in my lower body for another good 4 hours, till I was lying in my hospital bed.
The pushing and getting Grayden out was the hardest part of the labour process. It is mega tiring. Pushing on an empty stomach for an hour really takes it's tow on the body and it's a rather nauseating and tiring experience. But with each contraction, and the cheering on from the nurse and mid-wife, hubby and gynae, I just gave my best, sucked in and pushed and prayed I wouldn't end in a C-section. And just when I was about to peng-san, I felt a suction and a sudden emptiness in the womb and out came a tiny grey blob.
Finally after an hour, at 12:49pm, with an assisted vacuum from the gynae, Grayden was delivered. Flashing the world and welcoming his parents with open arms.
The experienced nurses got him cleaned up in a jiffy and weighted him. 2.56kg my little runt.
Lazy Hamburger lunch
After the last few kitchen experiments, there's really truth in the saying that if you put your entire heart and mind into what you cook, don't try to cut any corners, it will come out a success and the people who eat it, can taste and feel your efforts.
Grind your own beef and add your seasoning. You can go with the basics and have salt, pepper, soya sauce, breadcrumbs and egg yolk. Or go with the works and throw in some thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, freshly chopped onions, cayenne pepper, black pepper, oregano, salt, etc.
I like my burger buns toasty warm. If you like them that way too, toss them into the oven for a quick 5 mins. Or if you are into cheese as well, for as long as till the cheese melts.Mould the patties to the preferred thickness and grill for 5 mins on a hot sizzling skillet.
Enjoy with a nice sunny-side up and bowl of french fries. :)
Dinner at Lin's with my Bubor Hitam
L kept her menu simple too, just experimenting with some new dishes to see what can be served at future dinner parties and what should be buried and never mentioned in the kitchen again.
She tried a pairing of foie gras with tofu. which tastes much better than it looks.
The joke of the evening? Well it's actually suppose to look like this...
Of course we had my bubor hitam for dessert. Served with à la mode with HD french vanilla. Yum!
Banna Walnut Bread with Lemon Icing
I had been recently craving a good slice of cake. But the shops just don't make them exactly the way you love them. I love my cakes exploding with chunky ingredients and with absolutely no dash or cream whatsoever. And apart from Cedele, you don't get cakes slathered with icing rather then buttercream or whipped cream. But even their orange cranberry loaves are eluding the shelves nowadays.
So over the weekend, I dug out my baking pan and got down to baking a banana walnut cake.
Within minutes of whisking, banana mashing, blending and folding, the kitchen is filled with the beautiful familiar smells of yummy cake-batter baking and rising in the oven. Top that with thick luscious lemony icing and I'm satisfied.
Paired with a cup of Nespresso, this was a perfect dessert for the Hubby too after many a dinners. :p The best part about banana cakes? They taste just as great, even after a few days.