Itchy Sole Sweet Tooth

Northern Lights/ Aurora Borealis in Porjus and Jokkmokk, Sweden

2011-12-25T22:30:00.000+08:00

Introducing Sweden....

Haven't blogged about Sweden-Denmark trip in proper since I returned close to 2 months ago. The highlight of my Sweden Denmark trip has definitely got to be traveling north into the Arctic Circle to view the Aurora Borealis. To some viewing the Aurora Borealis is a dream. But I made my dream come true and I promise myself that one fine day, I will attempt to catch another glimpse of the elusive Northern Lights. This time in proper snow covered grounds.

I spent more than 2 weeks touring Sweden and Denmark in late Oct and early Nov 2011, with close to a week spent traveling to this tiny town called Porjus, 60km north of the Arctic Circle. To get there, we took a overnight sleeper train from Stockholm C to Gallivare and a bus from Gallivare to Porjus. It was the first time I had actually taken an overnight sleeper train, it was an adventure! (discounting the trouble it took to handle the luggages and keys to the cabin.) We met a super sweet Swedish lady on our way there and she taught us everything about sleeper trains.

Narrow corridors of the sleeper train

Our even narrower bunk. Spot the muffins on the bed? That's breakfast!

We stayed at Arctic Colors. 4 lovely cabins which looked like they were abandoned railway station. The hosts were lovely, hospitable and super friendly too. What is great about this place is that the cabin faces a lovely huge lake and when night falls, it is possible to view the Northern Lights right at outside your cabin. (Bonus, because, when the cold gets to you, just scramble back into your cabin for warmth, hot chocolate and TV!)

Arctic Colors

This is the lovely sight right outside the cabin. I love the colors from within the Arctic Circle. So rich, colorful and unique. I love the coldness of the Arctic Circle too! So fresh. Feels like freshly melted ice!

Morning colors- Scenic and lovely

During one of the days, we spent at a nearby town called Jokkmokk (30-45 mins from Porjus). Small town, larger than Porjus of course! The bus driver who ferried us was a lovely fatherly guy who was super sweet. He dropped us off at the bus station and offered us directions on how and where to spend time in Jokkmokk and reminded us to return in time for the only bus ride back to Porjus. Love small towns for everyone is so sweet and kind!

Jokkmokk Bus Station

We spent our morning at the Sami Museum and settled for a Reindeer Lunch! Lapland Speciality! This was on my "things to do when in Lapland" checklist. My friend could not stomach the gamey taste of the reindeer meat but I and my exotic tastebuds didn't find it a problem.

Reindeer Meat- Lunch!

Walking around Jokkmokk and here's a frozen lake. No snow on the ground. I was disappointed.

Frozen Lake in Jokkmokk

Rocks on lake- verified. Lake is definitely frozen

On the other day that we were in Porjus, we spent some time hiking in the woods. The ground was super icy, which made walking a chore! I spent most of my time trying to fall over! I was really relieved to return back to the comforts of the cabin.

Here are some photos taken on the day of the hike:

At the crossroads

Railway track outside our cabin

I love lakes. I love reflections. I love the little red cabin by the placid lake.

Love this photo, this is the last of daylight in Porjus. Everyone was eagerly (anxiously) waiting for the sun to set and darkness to engulf us, for that would represent an opportunity to view the Northern Lights.

Last of the daylight. And the anxious wait for the Aurora Borealis begins

And finally the moment everyone has been waiting for- our dear elusive Aurora Borealis has finally made her appearance!

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

Of course it wasn't the grandest and most magnificent of all Aurora Borealis. At least I didn't leave Porjus with sore disappointment of not even being able to view it at all. That is why I vowed to return one day to within the Arctic circle for a second chance to view it. And I want the ground to be snow-capped and the weather to be snowy!

So long Lapland! Goodbye Porjus, Jokkmokk and Gallivare. It was an adventure and an experience of a lifetime. Thank you!

Gallivare Train Station

Click here for more info on viewing the Northern Lights in Porjus, Sweden. Highly recommended to view the Northern Lights during your lifetime.

IKEA meatballs

2011-12-04T23:23:00.001+08:00

Verystressed out by work and looming exams. Cooking relieve some of my stress.

I hadbrought home 2 packets of leftover instant brown sauce from my recent Swedentrip. Inspired by Sweden and its taste, I decided to prepare a typical Swedishmeatball meal for my family.

These areIKEA frozen meatballs and they are super easy to prepare. It turned out to be apretty satisfying meal of salad, meatballs, pasta, fruits and Ben & Jerry’sChocolate ice cream.

I can’twait for next Sunday. I will finally be able to relax! I will be returning tobaking again, after months!! I’m thinking of baking something Christmassy (but not a fruitcake).Something more complicated and time-consuming than my usual fruitcake. Ideas, please?

11/11/11

2011-11-11T23:11:00.000+08:00

I feel the need to blog, despite still slightly jetlagged and having to drag myself to MBA classes bright and earlier tomorrow on a saturday morning.

But since today is 11/11/11, I should make it a point to blog such that I have a blog post right on this special day.

I am just going to post a couple of photos of my Sweden/ Denmark trip. Feels rather surreal that I went and return from Sweden and Denmark. But it's back to reality for me. I really should make a promise to myself to complete posting as many pictures of my trips a possible.

Stockholm - Near Gamla Stan

Autumn

Dim Sum- Paradise Pavilion (Marina Bay Link Mall)

2011-10-20T22:40:00.000+08:00

Just a quick post before I jet off to Sweden and Denmark!! Here are some photos of my recent treat for my Mum at Paradise Pavillion. Conclusion, the dim sum is good and decent, above average. The dim sum menu was extensive enough. Many choices with unique options. Would return to have dim sum but need to figure out configuration of the carpark so that we don't have to walk thru a maze to get the the restaurant.

Carrot Cake with XO sauce. Taste like high class hawker food- fried carrot cake. But it's a nice blend of fat chucks of carrot cakes and beansprouts.

Liu Sha Pao. Molten and oozing. Pass!

We rarely order Siew Mai. But it's decent.

Egg tarts had a nice crust.

Peking duck is supposedly their highlight.

Nice. I could say that it's worth its pricetag of S$88. The duck really does remind me of the Quan Ju De duck I had in Beijing. Can't recall when was the last time I had Peking Duck!

An example of a unique dim sum dish! Unique. I like.

Good crust! I like.

Crust is very buttery and crumbly!

Water buffalos that will greet you at the lift lobby on the ground floor leading the the restaurant!

Singapore Raffles Hotel Snow-Skin Mooncake with Champagne Truffle

2011-09-04T00:21:00.000+08:00

Strangely, this year I don't seem to care much about mooncakes. Maybe age is catching up or maybe its my body screaming out to me that it needs to detox and can no longer tolerate oily lotus paste.

So I became fussier over the years, getting increasingly choosy over my food. Thus far, I had eaten 2 Malaysian brand traditional baked mooncake (1 very lousy and 1 surprisingly okay), Hua Ting Mooncakes (Traditional baked is nice but snow skin is bad) and Raffles Hotel (baked traditional mooncakes-on the dry side ). Saving the best for last.. The best mooncakes I have eaten this year and for the past has got to be the Snow-Skin Mooncake with Champagne Truffle with Ganache from the Original Raffles Hotel.

Let me explain. The skin is snow-soft, the sweetness is just right. The lotus paste is not oily. Overall, the thin layer of snow skin contains the harmonious unification of creamy lotus paste with a unique champagne truffle. The combination is miles better than the pairing of lotus paste and salted egg yolk.

Whoever invented this blend of taste is a genius who deserves the nobel food prize!

Where to go for Inspiration- Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

2011-08-13T13:01:00.001+08:00

It is has been a turbulent week with stock markets moving with great volatility. I needed much inspiration. Then I thought about Sagrada Familia. The church overly flowing with creativity and awe. And is still under construction.

The interiors- a very accurate depiction of a concrete jungle.

The light from above- something I need now.

Intricacy on the exterior/ back of the church. It tells a good story!

Artist impression of what the finished church will look like.

Jules Cafe Bar- Brunch Singapore

2011-07-30T21:01:00.001+08:00

Last week, I ate merely for sustenance because I started my MBA program and I had a lot going on for me at work and a group presentation on the last day of my first MBA module. But anyway, these are some backdated pictures of my brunch at Jules Cafe Bar maybe about 1 month back. And it's such a nice, comfy cafe. It feels like eating at home. =) I wish it was located closer to my home, i.e. in the western part of Singapore. So I could possibly camp there on the weekends to work or write my assignments!

Big Brekky.

Egg Remy

Pancakes with Banana & Maple Syrup

Shoestring Fries

Valencia- Seafood Paella and Centre for Art & Science

2011-06-27T21:25:00.008+08:00

Valencia, Spain has been in the spotlight with the recently concluded F1 races. It never occur to me that Valencia was one of the legs in the F1 season. Not even when I was in touring a large part of Spain during the earlier part of the year. Maybe the tour guide did mention about it but it didn't register. I was suffering one of my worst nose infection there and then.

I recalled that during my Valencia leg, I decided to finally give up on whatever meds I brought along in my first aid kit and made a trip to the pharmacy, next to the Hotel we stayed at. And thankfully, she understood me and handed me some very expensive decogestant and nose drops. Valencia was one of the bigger modern cities after we spent several days in the winter 'ghost-towns' of Costa Del Sol and more rural areas like Granada.

Apart from my trip to the Spanish Pharmacy, I recalled vividly Valencia's City of Arts and Science. They are a collection of very pretty modern structures. Just look at the sysmetry against the blue skies.

What I like about the whole place was that there were really cute exhibits and structures scattered around. See the running structure. I wonder if they are just a temporary exhibition or a permananent fixture.

The Dino moves!

With the newly bought Spanish meds, I could taste and enjoy my Spanish meal slightly better. This was one of the nice and rather fancy Spanish dinner we had during our trip.

Medditerean Salad

Seafood Paella- Famous in Valencia!

Unknown Spanish Dessert

Laurent Bernard Chocolatier

2011-06-04T22:42:00.006+08:00

A slice of rich goodness

A couple of weekends ago, I attended a baking workshop at Laurent Bernard Chocolatier !!
The order of the day was to learnt to bake a Black Forest Cake... which turned out to be far more difficult than what I had envisioned, aka, it's probably worth every single cent of the retail price.

At Laurent Bernard, they value good quality and respect every ingredient. The ingredients used for baking are all good stuff. You can really taste the richness in each bite of the Black Forest Cake. Am truly craving for a slice now. It's safely the best Black Forest Cake I have tasted yet.

Prior to the class, I thought that Black Forest Cake is uncomplicated and straightforward. Sponge cake with cream and cherries. Well, think again. There's more than meets the eye. There's even almond paste in the cake and the baking chocolate has to be of a certain percentage to ensure that the ganache is of the right consistency!

I really do have a great deal of respect for Mr Black Forest Cake.

Would really love to hang out at their cafe sometime.

Singapore Travel: Singapore Food Trail, Singapore Local Food, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer

2011-05-15T13:23:00.003+08:00

BBC Travel & Lonely Planet list Singapore Chili Crab on its “Must- Eat foodie Checklist”. Pretty major accomplishment for a crab, putting it on par with Peking Duck. While the Singapore Chili crab is a superstar, I usually crave for the local cheaper Singapore local hawker food when deprived of local food.

Where to enjoy local food for both tourists and locals:

Singapore Food Trail located just under the Singapore Flyer:

Fried Hokkien Prawn Noddles.

Satays with peanut sauce. Local version of barbeque meat on stick.

Popiah- Unfried springroll or vegetable crepe.

Fried Oyster Omelette. Orh Luak. One of my top few favorite local hawker food. This stall at the Singapore Food Trail is supposedly famous!

Enjoy the partial view of the Singapore Flyer:

Singapore Flyer.

It's crowded so come early to avoid the mealtime crowds.

Walk off the calories and snap a picture of the striking Marina Bay Sands and Helix Bridge, 10-15 mins away:

Marina Bay Sands and the clear blue skies.

Singapore Marina Bay Sands in dusk.

When nightfalls upon Singapore ...

Hot Chocolate, Squid Ink Paella & Pasta in Puerta del Sol, Madrid.

2011-04-24T22:07:00.033+08:00

I have been seriously missing in action. While missing in action for 3 whole months, I turned a year older, visited many cathedrals and castles in Spain & Portugal, caught a very very bad cold along the way, lost a sum of money and almost lost it when I had to deal with some ^$&(*&^*^ work matters.

Anyway, things may not have totally been resolved. I just sometimes can't calm myself down enough fast enough, which could be my utmost downfall. Plus I think too much and internalise too much. But things managed to slow down a notch since my last blog post, so here's to restarting and hopefully sustaining my blog.

Read a recent article from Lonely Planet on the World's Top Chocolate Location and I was instantly reminded of my Spanish severely viscous hot Chocolate experience. The first encounter with a cup of Spanish Hot Chocolate is pretty unforgettable.

My encounter happened somewhere in a cafe in busy Puerta del Sol (aka Gate of Sun) in Madrid.

We just had one hour for lunch then. It was also probably ~3 to 4 days since I landed in Spain and I was dying to try some famed Spanish Delights like- THE Hot Chocolate drink. We ordered Paella and waffles to go along with it.

Tucking in to Hot chocolate, chocolate waffles and cafe latte in the heart of Milan.

I later learnt that the Spanish Hot Chocolate is made up of starch to produce that level of viscosity.

Starch or not. It's so viscous that it needs to be shared with someone.

Here's non- Hot Chocolate photos of the remainder of our lunch in Puerta del Sol.

Squid ink Paella

Some creamy pasta.

Entertainers adding vibrancy of Puerta del Sol

Best of 2010: Istanbul Turkey

2011-01-29T21:12:00.001+08:00

Istanbul, a city where hip and vibrant coexists with some real serious history. It's a city that sits on both Europe and Asia. A city that made it to Lonely Planet's numerous top 10 list for various categories. Needless to say, it made it to MY very own Best of 2010 Travel.

It has one of the world's top 10 market

Grand Bazaar is largest and oldest covered market. Very possible to lost your way in the confusing arrays of shops. And it sells so many dazzlingly colorful items.

It has one of the most scenic boat rides. Scenic not because of natural wonders. But pretty because of the unlimited amount of manmade historical architecture to view.

Bosphorus Bridge

And at the end of the boat ride along the Bosphorous river be treated to a warm chocolate giant waffle!

Who can forget Blue Mosque and Aye Sofya? The icons of Istanbul

And Topkapı Palace for the rich and royal interior design.

And having Turkish lunch at the medieval Galata Tower?

While marvelling the aboveground structures, don't forget to explore what's beneath you- Underground Water Cistern. This underground system is capable of holding up to 80,000 cubic metre of water and was built in the 6th century! These are the real forefathers of engineering!

With attractions like these, it's easy to see why Istanbul is top of my 2010 Travel list and why it's really worth returning to Istanbul to experience it all over again!

Best of 2010 Travel: Hokkaido Cherry Blossoms / Sakuras

2011-01-19T02:02:00.002+08:00

I am suffering from insomnia! So I am up blogging amount my "Best of 2010 Travel Project"...

Best of 2010 Travel: Part 2 of 10 goes to experiencing Cherry Blossoms in Hokkaido!

Timing is everything for viewing Cherry Blossoms or Sakuras in Hokkaido. The 2010 winter in Hokkaido happened to be longer and colder than usual, hence when we were there in the early/ mid part of May last year, our timing exactly coincide with the blooming of the Cherry Blossoms! (usually in late April)

Cherry Blossoms in Hakodate:

The weather was grey and gloomy. It doesn't bring out the pinkness of the Cherry Blossoms.

I never knew cherry blossoms had different varieties till I viewed them first hand! In photos, they all looked pink and pretty.

This is a white variety:

This is a pink- willowing type:

Photographing Cherry blossoms in macro mode is no easy task for amateur photographer! I had one hand trying to stablise the swaying branches , another hand trying to snap the picture and yet trying to shield the camera from the constant drizzle!

Cherry Blossoms also spotted in Sapporo when we travel there a few days later...

Best of 2010 Travel: Hokkaido Ryokans and Onsens- only in Japan

2011-01-12T22:56:00.004+08:00

Have been wanting to do this "project" for the longest time. It's day 12th into the "New Year " and I am finally able to kick off.

In no order of preference, here's the 1 of 10 favorite travel moments in 2010:

1) Ryokans & Onsens!
With the "wintery" weather Singapore is currently experiencing, I constantly daydream about my Onsen experience back in Hokkaido. So calming, relaxing and heavenly to unwind in a hot spring. I love the outdoor hot springs best. The water temperature maybe about 38-40 deg C and ambient air is at <10 deg C. Very refreshing . Honestly, one of the best-est ways to end the day. The tatami mats are comfy to snuggle into too. (Of course, Japanese hot springs also means the very strange and still in existence public bathes. That itself is an experience no less, which I rather not explained in any more further details. =P)

Comfy and warm Tatamis.

The insides of a Ryokan. These tables and chairs make way for the tatami as night falls.

A very pretty Ryokan overlooking a scenic and calm Lake Mashu. What a view to wake up to!

Din Tai Fung 鼎泰丰 Jurong Point, Singapore

2011-01-09T22:41:00.002+08:00

Have been so ultra lazy and laid back since Xmas.
Have tons of photos but no willpower to concentrate on getting anything done at all.

Here's my first Sunday 2011 Dinner at the very very crowded Jurong Point.

Must eat- Xiao Long Pau:

Mushroom La Mian:

Thousand Layer Cake:

And my favourite of them all, Black Sesame Bun!

There's another Xiao Long Bao parlor in Centrepoint Basement which I like and frequent. I kind of prefer that place over Din Tai Fung because there's no queue and I don't ever feel hurried eating there at all! I need to post some pictures of that place one fine day!

Turkey: Ankara- Ataturk Mausoleum

2010-12-26T17:04:00.002+08:00

From the unique landscape of Cappadocia to the capital of Turkey- Ankara,

First up, photos a typical lunch meals we had during our trip.

Turkish Bread. Though served cold, I always have a soft spot for fresh bread. And Turkey has nice bread.

Turkish Salad- light and refreshing and guilt-free (unlike all the christmassy guilty meals now.)

Beef Stew. I don't know the exact turkish name to the dishes but to me it's a tomatoey beef stew.

The Chicken version of the tomatoey stew.

Turkish Rice or pilav. Cooked in real butter. Loose and fragrant and unique unlike how we chinese cook our rice.

Ataturk Mausoleum- the memorial tomb of modern Turkey's founding father - Mustafa Kermal Ataurk. We were lucky to arrive in time to watch the changing of guards.

Lady statues at Ataturk Mausoleum.
What strike me, Mustafa Kermal Ataurk brought equality to women, giving women equality in areas such as access to education. Hence, the photo of the lady statues. The middle lady is weeping at his passing.

Of course, his achievements for Turkey are more than just women rights. He basically built modern day Turkey. The Turks love him. The Ataturk Mausoleum was peaceful despite the crowds. Despite the large grounds, you can't help but communicate in whispers in respect. Pretty amazing experience and it made the trip a wholistic learning experience.

Turkey: Cappadocia, Hot Air Balloon, Gereme Open Air Museum, Underground City of Kaymakli

2010-12-17T23:11:00.000+08:00

Day 7 & 8: Cappadocia.

Cappadocia = Grand Canyon of Turkey.
The landscape- unexplanably unique and predominently dorminated by fairy chimneys and underground cities. Above is an accurate depiction of what Cappadocia looks like. Fairy Chimneys, fairy chimneys and more fairy chimneys all clustered together and scattered over a massive land mass.

There are several different attractions in Cappadocia. One of the popular attraction in Cappadocia is the Goreme Open Air Museum. This valley holds a collection of thousand-years old cave-churches, with beautiful frescoes of the Bible (wall paintings) painted by medieval orthodox Christian monks in the 1000-1200 AD. It's really quite amazing that many of the paintings are still so well-preserved.

Another is Underground City of Kaymakli. Early Christians build and lived in the underground city to escape from the Romans. The underground city was has 8 storeys below ground but only 4 are open to tourists. Despite being built >1500years ago, these cities were well planned and far from primitive. They were neatly organised with stables for domestic animals on the first floor, living rooms, cemetary and church on the second levels. The lower levels consist of wineriers and cellars and a communal kitchen area!

Cappadocia on a gloomy day- our first morning of arrival.

Cappadocia on a sunny afternoon, after the clouds have dispersed.

Who can miss Cappadocia and its Hot Air Balloons?

My first ever Hot Air Balloon Ride!

I can't decide which is prettier.. the hot air balloons floating aimlessly in the crisp morning skies or the mysterious fairy chimneys.

More amazing views from the Hot Air Balloon:

Fasten your seat belts, we're landing on the "runway" aka the back of a truck

Celebrating the successful hot air balloon ride with Champagne! What a high!

Turkey: Side- the resort town, Konya, Sultanhani Caravanserai

2010-11-30T21:27:00.000+08:00

Bright and early visit to the seaside town called Side. It was too early. And the shops weren't open yet. I read over the internet that Side sunset is breathtaking. (But crowded too). We, unfortunately, are on a tour package and had a strict itinerary to follow.... But nonetheless, Side was lovely and serene in the morning. No crowds! Great for photo taking!

The Mediterranean Sea. Very calm and blue and picturesque.

At the end of the main street of Side lies a surprising hidden gem- Temple of Apollo and Athena

A very photogenic and impressive especially with the blue Mediterranean side as the backdrop. Very very impressionable and pretty.

Intricate carvings.

On the road. Travelling inland and changing scenery in one single day.

From the warmer Mediterranean coast to cooler Konya.

From rolling green hills to

Snow capped mountains!

Amazing scenery all in one day! I even got to "play"with snow at one of the rest stop!

Lunching on skinny pizzas inside a dark ancient building- which I forgot the name! But I know recalled the building had some history to it.

I found out thru wiki that this "pizza" is actually known as yufka. It is described as a filo pastry topped with cheese and/or meat. It was prepared in a huge open flame and tasted light and delicious!

After long hours on the warm bus, we arrived in the setting sun and cold at an ancient hotel..

Marble entrance of the13th century Sultanhani Caravanserai, aka, ancient hotel for traders and travellers to rest. This region was an important stopover for for travellers venturing along the Silk Road. Inside, it houses a mosque and stables for horses and of accommodation for travellers. I am guessing that at the 13th century, this was probably equivalent to a 5 star accommodation??

Finally arriving at Cappadocia after a really long day in the bus...

Dinner Buffet at the hotel. Cappadocia-landscape inspired dessert! Cute!

Turkey: Duden Falls, Old Antalya, Aspendos

2010-11-20T16:51:00.002+08:00

The morning started with a short tour fof Kaleici aka Old Antalya. Today it houses some old Ottaman houses along steep cobblered streets and the marina- which was where we took a short boat ride.

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Old Antalya

Setting sail off the Turquoise Coast where the sea is truly turquoise! Pretty! (And there were a number of handsome looking sailboats too.)

And here comes Duden Falls.

After the boat ride, we traveled to Aspendos to visit a very well preserved theatre.

This Roman theatre was built in 155AD, which means it's close to 1900 years old! That's mighty old and it's mighty well preserved. Theatre is still in use.

And we met a Gladiator at Aspendos too.

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Gladitor and victorious sign. I wonder who he defeated?

Returning to Antalya for the night, we spot a road side bazzar not too far from our hotel.

I heart random local markets. Ok, actually I heart shopping la!

We managed to purchase Turkish Delights and dried fruits and nuts at a lower price than compared the shops which the tour guide has brought us to. Look at the fresh vege! I love Turkish egg plants! They taste juicy when cooked and look, they are shiny and fresh in the picture below!

Enjoying the sunset along the beach.

Sunset along the Mediterranean Coast.

Great Atlantis Seafood- Punggol Marina Country Club Singapore

2010-11-06T16:59:00.037+08:00

Tucked somewhere in an tiny tiny corner of already tiny Singapore, is a place call Punggol. Tucked within this tiny-Punggol is a seafood place called Great Atlantis Seafood.

I have been to Punggol Marina for wakeboarding. It almost feels like Malaysia. While I was there for wakeboarding, Atlantis Seafood had not exisited. Why travel all the way to Punggol Marina for seafood? If you run out of places to eat or maybe just looking for decent and different for a change:

The settings of the "restaurant" are seriously bare. And there wasn't much patrons during a sunday lunch time! Worried! Did we travel so far for nothing? But life is full of surprises, food IMO was decently good.

Gong Gong

Expensive 35kg Garouper

The dish that Great Atlantis is famous for. Many parts of the giant garouper to choose from. We chose the fleshy portion which had chewy, high in collagen ligaments- which I didn't mind. (I am someone who eats fish eyeballs so any weird ligaments don't bother me.) Otherwise flesh was decent for a fish of the weight of a primary school kid.

Veg fried egg

Wooh, I like this dish. This is the first time I tried this dish. Interesting combi.

Fish and Chips

The xth fish and chips I eaten recently. For some weird reason, I seem to have a lot of fate with fish and chips recently. This fish and chips isn't too bad. The fish taste almost like chicken though.

Wash everything down with some Kopi-Si- coffee with evaporated milk.

Kopi Si

Free dessert:

FOC Preserved Guava

I like!

Read more about Great Atlantis here.

Day 4: Pammukale, Cotton Castles, Kursunlu Waterfall, Antalya, Turkey

2010-10-27T21:38:00.019+08:00

Pammukale or Cotton Castles were the order of day. White rock formation known are formed when spring waters cools and leave harden calcium carbonate on the rocks. All nature.

Pammukale

These springs have supposedly superpower healing nature. Tourists waddled barefoot in the shallow but slippery pools. Prior to my arrival at the actual site, I viewed pictures of Pammukale. My impression of cotton castle was that they were white as clouds. But I suppose that the grey skies didn't compliment or bring out the whiteness and purity of the Cotton Castles. Either that or there has been some serious degradation from tourism.

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More Pammukale Pictures

Nonetheless, the Cotton Castles are still snow white. From a distance, it is easy to mistake the cotton castles are snow covered mountains. Take a look at the picture on the left.

View of Pammukale from the Hotel we stayed at

Stopped for a typical Turkish lunch of Kebabs.

As we make our way from Pammukale to Antalya, we stopped by Kursunlu Waterfalls. I adore waterfalls. One of my favourite waterfall experience was at Yosemite. That was the mother of all waterfalls I been to. (Of course, if I ever had the chance I would love to take a trip to Victoria Falls.)

Kursunlu Waterfalls on the other hand was a surprising waterfall. I say surprising because I never expected a waterfall out of no where! We were trekking only for a rather short distance and then there it was, hidden behind some vegetation- not mighty tall but a wide waterfall!

Kursunlu Waterfalls

It was a beauty. Refreshing and surprising change from all the archaeological tourists side that we visited.

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Swans on Kursunlu Waterfalls

And there were white swans gliding gracefully across the waterfall.

See what was served at the buffet dinner table in our resort hotel in Antalya-

Heart shaped cheese!! With Grass? Mooo

Dim Sum Lunch @ Man Fu Yuan 满福苑- Intercontinental Singapore

2010-10-13T22:52:00.060+08:00

Dim Sum is the typical get-together meal for me. It isn't the healthiest choice but being Cantonese, it's typical for us to celebrate occasions/ events over Dim Sum on Sunday. Last Sunday was my first at Man Fu Yuan. It's has been a quite while since I tried out a new Dim Sum place. The other Dim Sum Places which we frequent are Raffles Town Club and Cathay and occasionally Crystal Jade. I did tried the Dim Sum at Victoria Peak not too long ago and have nice but outdated pictures of the food. I like Cathay for the Custurd Bun and Crystal Jade for the biggest egg tarts in the Dim Sum circuit. As for Man Fu Yuan, I can't decide which was the best right now. But as I blog about the food, I will keep it at the back of my mind.

Typical Dim Sum delights of of Siew Mai, Wu Kok, Char Siew Pau, Cheong Funn

Dim Sum meal would not be complete without Egg Tarts!

Flaky Egg Tarts

Not too bad! Flaky and the egg fillings was smooth!
Remember I was having a hard time deciding which was the best dim sum dish I tasted during the meal? I think I made my decision. It had to be Lau Sa Pau aka custurd buns

Lau Sa Pau literally translate to "Flowing Filling Bun". Which means "watch out! the custard filling is liquidy and flows when bun is pricked open." And it really does stay true to it's name. There's even tiny specks of salted egg yolks in the lava-like custurd fillings!

Watch out eruption of custurd on the way!

We had to wait for quite a while but it was worth the wait! The pau skin is a little thicker. Also like a cross between usual pau and the fatt kor kind of texture. It isn't as smooth and thin as the Cathay's pau skin but they are far more generous in the custurd fillings which is really heavenly!

Lau Sa Pau. Look at the generous lava-like custurd fillings! Yum!

For dessert, we (my mum, actually) opted for a less conventional dessert which to me turned out to be like a Dim Sum Dish itself. Very unique and not over the top sweet jap sweet potato pastry. But something that I won't order if I was given the choice. I am not too great a sweet potato fan!

Jap Sweet Potato Pastry for Dessert

Day 3- Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary, Aegean Coast, Turkey

2010-10-07T21:44:00.002+08:00

Day 3- one of my favorite and the highlight of the Turkey tour simply because I feel greatly honoured to have visited Ephesus.

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House of Virgin Mary

Ephesus is one of the best preseved Roman archeological site in exisitence in the whole wide WORLD. (Of course, I have not visited every single site in the world, but if lonely planet says so, and I had such a jaw-dropping/refreshing experience there, then my claims must hold some water. )

We started off the chilly morning by paying a visit to the House Of Virgin Mary-the last home of Virgin Mary. It pales in comparison with Ephesus which we visited later on in the afternoon. I can still clearly recall that it was an especially cold morning.

We then made a quick stop at the Temple of Artemision- known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Today what remains is the ruins of the foundation.

Having a quick lunch first before visiting Ephesus.

Kebabs with rice. Salad and Dessert!

Arriving at Ephesus:

Ephesus was a Greek city which later became a Roman city and was the second largest city in the world, housing 250,000 people in 1 B.C. It is really a huge collection of Roman ruins that highlight the richness and splendour of a bustrling city that existed many many years ago.

I love this photo collage!

Library of Celsus- the most photographed attraction of Ephesus. Library of Celsus was built as a monumental tomb for Julius Cesus Polemaeanus. Four statues stand in the niches of the facade- Sophia (wisdom), Episteme (knowledge), Ennoia (intelligence) and Arete (valor)- symbolising the virtues of Celsus. If I ever have a daughter and I name her Sophia, you should know why....

The Great Theatre of Ephesus- another major magnificent structure of Ephesus. It seats 250,000 people and is the largest in Anatolia!

Well, that pretty much sums up my Day 3 in Turkey. And it was a fulfilling day and eye opening one too. (I was loving every bit of the sun and clear blue skies! Esp after the wet wet day before. We had to dry our shoes over the heater!)

Btw, for the city dwellers/ urbanites out there (like me), this is how a fig tree looks like--in winter of course!

KFC Egg Tarts

2010-10-02T16:46:00.005+08:00

Are Portuguese Egg Tarts really Portuguese? According to Wiki, Portuguese Egg Tarts evolved from a similar Creme Brulee containing pastry first created in Lisbon! This pastry is called Pastel de nata. (I can't wait to try the real one out!) Well for the meanwhile, KFC serves decent Portuguese Egg Tarts. They taste good even when having it as a takeaway item or delivered to your doorsteps! The crust is a lil oily but thin and crispy- which is an important criteria and the egg filling is actually smooth and not too sweet! It is now my official favourite item on the KFC menu. But I wonder how much calories it contains... hmmm..

Day 2- Turkey: Ruins of Troy, Acropolis of Pergamon, Turkey

2010-09-28T22:08:00.001+08:00

Day 2 started off with a good breakfast and the discovery that Turks has nice bread (much to the bread-loving me delight!)

Warm and nice Turkish Bread. Bread all around the world taste dfferent. Turkish bread taste turkish!

After breakfast, visited the ruins of Troy. Troy is about 4000years old! The first city of Troy was built sometime in 3rd millenium B.C.

And of the course the lengendary and very famous Trojan Horse of Troy. Spot me.

Before leaving the ground of Troy, I spotted a fat turkish cat. It is just so pretty! It must have been freezing out in the cold winter morning.

Arriving at Acropolis in the ancient city of Pergamon, hike a little up the slopes to reach the Temple of Trajan-

The standing structure is the Temple of Trajan. It is a marble structure and is the most prominent and also the most photographed.

Check out the intricate details that remain. Just amazing.

What I discovered for Turkey is that even though the structures that lie above ground looks breathtaking, the supporting structures beneath it is even more fundamentally amazing.

Supporting structures that also serves as passageways. Walking on the grounds of Acropolis make me feel as though I am on an exploration trip with the Famous Five or Secret Seven.

Another amazing engineering feat-

A Hellenistic theatre perched on steep slopes. We were warned not to attempt to venture too far down the steep slopes- that's how steep the slopes are. Hellenistic theater are designed to offer a scenic view in the event that the performance is plain boring!

And the view of the modern city from Acropolis

Green Tea Swirl Quick Bread

2010-09-18T23:08:00.019+08:00

Finally, after weeks, I have managed a noteworthy bake!
A very successful and fragrant Green Tea Swirl Quick Loaf! From the looks of it, the greenness of the swirl made it seem like it is made up of mashed brocolli! But no, it's actually very sweet-smelling green tea powder. Most recipes call for the green tea powder to be mixed directly into the batter just like how cocoa powder is treated. But I was decided to make a greenish swirl just like the effects of a typical cinnamon swirl bread. And yes the outcome was very satisfying.

Not only is the loaf sweet and fragrant, it is also absolutely soft and tender. It's a great recipe! Must Try!

Is one slice enough?

Recipe was modified from here. Use green tea powder instead of cinnamon. The rest of the ingredients status quo.

Kimly Live Seafood- Tradehub 21 (Boon Lay)

2010-09-16T22:07:00.001+08:00

I actually have a lot of foodie pictures to share! But I just can't seem to decide which event to post first.
I have photos about Victoria Peak, Raffles Hotel Mooncakes and my Turkey trip all waiting for me to post.

Anyway, I had dinner at Kimly Seafood at Tradehub21 quite a few sundays ago. Anyway here are the photos of the zi char food we had.

Beancurd.

Eggplants in Claypot.

The following dish is really the highlight.

Fried Crayfish topped with fried yam and salted eggs.

It is really a unique combination of flavors and crunch. The fried yam is neutral tasting but adds crunch. The fried salted eggs is really the best part of the dish and I topped my peeled crayfish with loads fried salted eggs for extra flavor at each mouthful. Definitely rate this as a sinful dish. But really quite special and worth the calories for at least more tha once in a lifetime.

I am hungry again after just blogging about the experience of yam+salted eggs+ crayfish.

Fish & Chips @ Char Grill Bar, Bukit Panjang

2010-09-10T22:56:00.002+08:00

You have no idea how happy i am to get be able to work productively on my brand new laptop!

I can now edit photos on picnik without waiting for ages for the website to load or to have the entire IE freeze on me! Yippie!

Fish and Chips @ Char Grill Bar in Bt Panjang which was surprisingly good. Or maybe I grew too accustom to the (soggy) fish and (dried) chips from my office's canteen.

Istanbul to Canakkale- Drive across Daranelle

2010-09-09T20:59:00.002+08:00

I have decided to continue on my Turkey Trip Photoblogging Project. (Esp since I am not going anywhere soon. Might as well lose myself in good ol' holiday memories.)

Day 1:

Spent a lot of time in the rain trying to cover various historica landmarks in Istanbul immediately after touch down. Extremely wet and cold. Photos were not dee best given that I spent a lot of time trying to shield it from the incessant rain. However, we did managed to get a few snapshots of the important landmarks on the last couple of days back in Istanbul. So those photos will come later on. ...

We drove from Istanbul to Canakkale and across the Dardanelles.

Dardanelle is a strip of water body that separates Europe from Asia. There's a whole of history I found on this topic on Wiki. But anyway, our entire bus drove all the way up to the ferry to get across the waterway.

See picture below:

Dardanelles in the setting sun and approaching rain!

Generating windpower in a distance- all thanks to my super super power zoom. (It's the same reddish orange portion in the 2nd picture).

You probably can't tell from the picture but it is serious windy and cold. And of course, it started to rain!

Definitely had to escape from the bitting cold to have one of the classic Turkish tea in old fasioned Turkish teacup.

Finally arrived at the hotel in Canakkale. And the first thing I realized is that the hotel has free wifi!

Soup! Warm and comforting.

Salad! Healthy huh.

Turkish Spring Roll?

Looking back at this picture, I feel so hungry and greedy already! I miss Turkish food!

Typical Dessert- takes a while to acquire the Turkish Dessert, if you ask me.

Wing Wah Hong Kong Mooncake

2010-08-27T22:34:00.002+08:00

This is my first official mooncake for the year. And it came all the way from Hong Kong.

The famous Wing Wah Pastry Shop in Hong Kong.

Delightful Double egg yolk white lotus paste mooncake.

Mooncakes are hard to capture on cameras. There's just not that many angles or positions to try out. I spent a great deal of time trying to decide which picture was best and then editing it.

7th Month Prayers- Singapore

2010-08-23T21:37:00.001+08:00

I am not religious but I did participate in a recent 7th Month Prayers. To me, being religious and traditional is a hazy line. Anyway, it is a colorful affair. Only that I didn't bring my fav Lumix FZ35 along. Photos would have been more vibrant!

Introducing Ms Piggy. Cruel? Yes kind of....

A huge Fa Kao along with a lot of joss-sticks.

Offerings.

Get lucky and strike lottery maybe?

How can I resist not posting any picture of Ms Piggy?

Yoshimaru Ramen Bar @ Holland Village Singapore

2010-08-08T21:52:00.001+08:00

Tried a new ramen place this afternoon and I endorsed! My judging criteria for decent bowl of ramen is simple. As long as the egg yolk remains half-boiled while the egg white is hardboiled and the texture of ramen is relatively QQ, I am happy.

Shabu Shabu Beef Ramen

I had this ultra thick broth once at a real Sapporo Ramen Store @ Sapporo Ramen Alley. Nothing can compare to that.

Spicy Cold Ramen. I like. Especially when the weather is warm and tropical.

This relatively new ramen place is called Yoshimaru Ramen Bar located at Holland Village. I like Holland Village.

Dim Sum at Fortunate (Xin Fu Yum Cha) 幸福饮茶 (Orchard)

2010-07-27T22:19:00.002+08:00

Last weekend, I tunched at Fortunate (Xin Fu Yum Cha) 幸福饮茶. The dim sum was rather normal. I like dim sum that are delicate and dainty. But there's no harm in eating some mediocre and cheaper dim sum. (Okay, I am being too harsh. The dim sum is actually decent.) But I am posting all the photos I have taken simply because I am awed by the fact that iphone + camera+ app is able to produce very yummilious photos.

I will start off with a rather unexpectional photo of the dim sum- Char Siew Pau, Black Sesame Bun, Chicken Glutinious Rice.

Of all the dim sum we ordered, I love the Black Sesame Bun best.

The only other place I know that serves Black Sesame Bun is Bao Today.

Fortunate egg tarts.

Not the exactly fantastic. Maybe 3 out of 5 stars. My ideal 5 out of 5 stars egg tarts is when the pastry is thin yet flaky and melt-in-the-mouth, while the egg crater portion is smooth and generous. Oh no, I am turning into an egg tart snob! But you know what, I really like this photo.

Chinese Dumplings.

The dumplings look greater in photos than the real thing- all thanks to camera+ app.

Our dessert- Durian Fritters-A little too oily for my liking though!

Wendy's Twisted Frosty & Frosty Shake

2010-07-11T22:44:00.002+08:00

The last Wendy's meal I had was probably more than 4 year ago! While I was in USA. I loved their variety of salads. (But I learnt recently that some of their salads aren't as healthy as what salad should be.)

Anyway, with Wendy's arrival in Singapore, we decided to try out the ice cream and shakes.

The left one is a Strawberry Frosty Shake while the right one is a M&M Twisted Frosty. I must say that most Fast Food Restaurant's Milkshakes and Ice Cream do taste quite similiar yeah? But I feel that it does taste a little bit better than Mac's milkshake.

Once is probably enough. I won't be crazy for them anytime in the near future. But it's a sweet ending for a weekend.

Singapore Kaya Toast & Half Boiled Eggs- Kou Fu

2010-07-09T21:35:00.003+08:00

I just saw that Sunday Times will be running and article of Kaya Toast tmw. I am one step ahead! Anyway, to me this is comfort food.

Green Tea Sponge Cake

2010-07-04T12:59:00.001+08:00

Last weekend I had an urging to bake something green... As green as the soccer fields. It's World Cup Mania afterall.

So I set my heart on baking a Green Tea Sponge Cake. I even attempted to trace out the lines on a soccer field with chocolate chips! But the batter was so light in density that all the chocolate chips sank to the bottom of the cake after baking! If you look really closely at the first picture, you'll be able to see what I mean.
(Click here for: Basic Sponge Cake Recipe )

Recently, my Sponge Cakes are turning out better than my muffins. This recipe promises a really soft sponge cake. Try it.

Hokkaido Rare Chocolate Cake- Isetan Hokkaido Fair

2010-06-20T22:02:00.001+08:00

Wild Honey- Belgium: Waffles with Grilled Mango

2010-06-20T00:14:00.001+08:00

My brunch set called Belgium. Light and fluffy waffles with grilled mango. Grilled mango is unique and reat. Waffles wise, I actually like the local neighbourhood bakery type. That is what I call comfort food.

Had a chillax brunch with loads of girlfriends' chatter @ Wild Honey this morning. Ambience is good, food is alright. It's just nice to unwind with long time girlfriends with what I would deem as just-decent food over the weekend.

Wild Honey's Website: Click Here

Black Sesame Sponge Cake

2010-06-13T12:39:00.003+08:00

I have always stuck to quick breads and muffins till recently when I went for one session of baking class. Yes just one session which I learnt how to bake pumpkin buns, chocolate cookies and swiss roll!

Making use of the newly acquired knowledge, I was extremely pleased with the outcome of my Black Sesame Sponge Cake. Feather soft and light. Only minor 'regret' was that I should have added more black sesame powder! The eggy-ness of the sponge cake kinda overpowered the black sesame flavor.

What makes a weekend almost perfect? A weekend of a successful bake and Twilight! (But I must say that Breaking Dawn is kinda over the top and ridiculous in some sense- I probably need to wait another year or so to be convinced by the sizzling chemistry from that movie, rather than the storyline.)

Nutella Swiss Roll

2010-05-30T12:34:00.003+08:00

Nutella Swiss Roll

My first attempt at swiss roll making! Not too bad for my first attempt. The cake was feather soft, which is a good thing but that made it even harder to remove from the tin/ rack and even harder to spread the nutella and roll!

Experiencing Cherry Blossoms @ Hokkaido.

2010-05-23T22:28:00.004+08:00

It's 4 Deg C when we visited Hokkaido, Japan last week! 4 Deg in the middle of May. But because of the prolong winter, we managed to catch Cherry Blossoms in full bloom. Lovely.

I personally find it tough to capture Cherry Blossoms. The branches are dancing in the cold wind. I had one hand holding onto the branch, and the other hand steadying my semi-dslr to capture a decent shot. I haven't mentioned that it was raining too.

More pictures soon.

Low Fat Banana Brownie!

2010-04-25T12:20:00.004+08:00

I like to bake low fat recipes because if I really wanted to a full version of it, I can always drop by Starbucks/ Coffee Bean or some other dessert places. What's even better is when the low fat recipe turns out to not taste like a low fat recipe!

Hence, try the this Banana Brownie Low Fat recipe.

I added like a dessert spoon of oil. Just in case. I never tried a recipe that calls for NO added fat. And I used yogurt instead. It turned out fine! Great for a low fat recipe! Cocoa overpowered the banana. But that was fine for me. If I wanted to taste banana, I would bake a banana bread but I wanted my chocolate fix and this worked out fine.

Other than the successful brownie recipe that I would like to recommend Udders Strawberry Fields Ice Cream! Really made out of real strawberries not syrup! Or essence! I would safely say that this is one of the best strawberry ice cream I had tasted? I attribute my declaration to the fact that I usually go straight for chocolaty flavors.

Brownie vs Brownie. In reality, my stuffed dog is called brownie too.

Btw, the brownie tasted better the morning after.

Jurong Hilltop Teppanyaki/ How to deshell prawns

2010-04-10T22:30:00.003+08:00

A Teppanyaki meal is basically a live cooking show where by the chef cooks the food on a iron hot plate infront of his audience/ hungry customers. To me it's interesting. I got to see what is added to the food and how the food is being prepared. And lo and behold, I was shocked ( if you will), on the copious amount of MSG they added to each food item they cooked! Seriously! Seeing the amount of MSG they added to each food item that was about to go down my throat and into my system is pretty much a nightmare. I without a doubt suffered the after-effects shortly after the meal.

The saving grace of this Teppanyaki place is how the chef managed to skillful deshelled the prawns. If only I could deshell my prawns as fast and skillful as him.

By the way the exhaust system of this teppanyaki place is really quite bad too. My clothes turned nauseatingly stinky after the meal.

This is why I occasionally cannot appreciate chinese food. It's laden with MSG and it makes my clothes stink! I rather have a burger or sandwich!

ABC Market Mango Milk Dessert

2010-03-28T22:31:00.002+08:00

Mango Milk Ice Dessert from a Dessert stall at ABC Market. (I think the stall is called Jin Jin.)

Had it this afternoon but it was a bit too sweet for even for me this time around. The first time I tried it, it was nicer.

Chendol- Singapore Chinatown

2010-03-21T21:29:00.002+08:00

I am officially trying out the quality of the photos taken using my iPhone. Gula Melaka used in this Chendol is seriously viscous!

Introducing Turkish Food- What a delight!

2010-03-08T22:06:00.003+08:00

One thing I learnt about myself after my recent Turkey trip is that I adore Mediterranean food. I didn't get to taste all varieties of Turkish food. My meals consist of bread, soup, salad, some appetisers, kebab or stew with rice and then ends off with fruits or dessert.

The food is relatively simple but tasty and void of my most detested ingredient of all- MSG.

Of cos, I don't like every single Turkish dish I tasted but generally I like it and I can live with it.

And as usual, after spending 12 days in Turkey, I grew so accustom to Turkish food that I am again having a hard time adjusting back to the local food. Same problem as when I got back from US.

Anyway, local Singapore food is really quite hard to stomach. Firstly, the MSG kills my tongue. In extreme but frequent occasion, I develop a massive headache after consuming food laden with much MSG! Secondly, I really don't like the aftertaste of chinese food- Oyster Sauce is one of my enemy. It taste good at the point of consumption but 2 hours after consuming, I will still get reminded of the taste of my dinner when I burped! Eeks!

Anyway, introducing Turkish food:
Refreshing Salad:

Turkish tomatoes are really juicy, red and tomatoey!

Typical main course of Kebab and Rice:

Rice is cooked with Olive Oil or butter, so it's very fragrant. And the grains are fat and juicy. Not like Thai rice which is skinny and dry!

Bread:

Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.
Very very fresh. I heart bread. Bread is more of a staple to me than rice. (Yes I know I am super-not-chinese.) I crave for bread but seldom for rice. And btw, I don't eat Sunshine or Gardenia bread unless absolutely forced to.

Yes, while I blog, I feel like I need to drink another gallon of water and another litre of ice cream to quench my thirst- due to terrible MSG-laden zi char dinner.

I wonder whens the next time I get to consume Turkish food in Singapore? If anyone knows of any good places, let me know soonest.

Black Sesame Muffin Recipe

2010-01-03T22:01:00.004+08:00

Year 2010 got off to a rather good start. I am now a proud owner of FZ35 and I managed to successfully modify/ make up a muffin recipe and produced a delicious and tender Black Sesame Muffin on the first Sat of the Year 2010. Pretty awesome start I would say.

Photos were taken using a Fuji Camera (I think it's model is F11 or something). It's not the usual camera that I use My usual camera Sony Cybershot decides to "dance" aka vibrate after extensive use under the hot Cambodian sun.

I think having a different camera brings different perspective.

Anyway back to discussing about the Black Sesame Muffin, the texture is just soft and tender even after being 1 day old. When I was mixing the wet ingredients to the dry ones, I already knew that it would be a success.

Click here for Black Sesame Recipe.

Day 6- New Zealand South Island- Milford Sound- Lone Star

2009-11-28T22:59:00.008+08:00

Today I finally managed to back up my NZ pictures. Yes 10 months after my trip. Looking through the photos I really missed my NZ trip. But most of I really really really am looking forward to the next similar trip. I am so excited about it that I fear it may not come true! Yes I am such a worrier!

So I am continuing to blog about NZ to relive my beautiful memories of a pretty pretty trip. This is Day 6 of my NZ trip-which is could most probably be one of the most memorable days in 2009.

Day 6- NZ- South Island- Milford Sound:

If my memory hasn't failed me the journey from Queenstown to Milford Sound took 8 hours in all. The journey was however extremely scenic throughout the entire journey. Like the saying goes it's the journey that matters not the destination.

First scenic stop: Te Anau- Largest Lake in South Island

Spells peace and calm. I recall buying a chocolate muffin here. It's the last stop to refuel before hitting back onto the Milford Road.

There are many many pitstops for picture perfect and take-my-breath-away moments along the Milford Road. But maybe because there were just so many that one's senses have become numbed!

One of them is Mirror Lake:

This mirror lake was pretty but wasn't as massive and "reflective" as what I recalled Yosemite's Mirror Lake to be. Maybe it was the weather too. I have a fetish for blue cloudless skies and US has many of those days.

Finally arriving at Milford Sound.

Milford Sound is just so weepy! It really depends on pure luck what weather you get when you visit Milford Sound and I suspect weather played a huge role in creating the atmosphere and my impression of of Milford Sound. Afterall first impressions are the deepest.

The waterfalls were pretty but it just kept raining! I just could not fully appreciate the waterfalls in the rain and mist and cold!

I must say that if a deeply depressed person was to visit Milford Sound on that day, he would surely be even more depressed! The weather that particular day was super gloomy and the rain and cold didn't improved the atmosphere. But then again, I think Milford Sound would be so pretty when the skies are blue- just as how the postcards capture them. I would have prefer Milford Sound that way.

The cruise brought us really really close to the waterfall-

Reminded me of the Niagara falls boat ride. The only difference was that the Niagara Falls boat ride provided us with good solid raincoats. Thank goodness I brought along my disposable raincoats that really came in handy (though not 100% waterfall-proof). I was damped and cold after the boat ride.

After the less than an hour's boat ride, we journeyed back to Queenstown. Me being quite sad because the highly anticipated highlight of Southern Island has just been completed until me discovered Hokey Pokey Ice Cream:

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream is 100% NZ. And I miss it much. Have not had it for 10months.

En route back to Queenstown- Almost reaching Queenstown:

This is one of the most picturesque photo of my entire NZ trip. I recalled saying to myself that even from the coach I could have a 360 degree view of raw Earth's beauty. It was truly a wonderful journey.

I really won't forget this extraordinary journey through around mountains and plains and sheep and birds and flora and fiona.

Pretty and weird flowers- never have I seen these before!

Another reason why Day 6 was such a highlight of my NZ trip was because of this extremely delicious and satisfying dinner- which was turned out to be my pre-birthday dinner.

Dinner @ Lone Star- The best meal I had in NZ!

Lone Star Loaf with Garlic & Herb Butter!

I love bread more than rice and other carbo. And this loaf of bread was fresh and warm, so comforting in the cool evening.

Seafood Chowder with another slice of toast herb loaf

The Magnificent Salmon- pan fried and served according to the mood and swings of the season!

It was a rather cold summer. And the mood of the season happened to be Thai Sauce.
My mom started cooking this combination after the trip.

Slow Braised Lamb Shoulder with butter spinach, carrots, mashed potatoes and red wine sauce.

I wasn't too keen in consuming lamb after seeing so many cute/gentle/ meek sheep throughout the trip. Am still trying to stay away from lamb as much as possible.

Okay, I don't have a perfect memory. But I managed to find the Lone Star menu online and correctly matched the picture to the item in the menu! Hence, after 10 months of consuming this meal, I can still mix and match correctly. This signifies one thing- the meal was extremely memorable.

Jelly Beans after you have foot the bill

Very happy and satisfied and stuffed Me outside Lone Star.

Day 6 was truly an exceptional and really memorable day.

Dim Sum @ Crystal Jade- IMM

2009-11-24T21:36:00.003+08:00

I love Dim Sum if you haven't realise the number of posts and photos on Dim Sum. I am Cantonese afterall.

And among all the Dim Sum dishes, my love for egg tarts runs deep and wild.

Crystal Jade Egg Tarts are huge! It's almost twice the size of a normal egg tart! And it's filled to the brim with pillow-soft egg that isn't overcooked and the crust is how I like it- buttery and flaky. So heavenly!

Char Siew Soh.

One of my other all-time favorite Dim Sum dishes.

Char Siew Soh from Crystal Jade looks so stuffed! It's as huge as it's friend-the egg tart. It's so filled with Char Siew fillings that it's worth every single cent. Mr Char Siew Soh and Ms Egg Tart may not be delicate and petite but rather it's looks like a healthy and happy sized dim sum. Looking at them makes me happy.

I like the Carrot Cake in XO sauce too.

It's different from the usual Dim-Sum carrot cake that is either steamed or pan-fried. It taste more tasty and less eggy than the usual hawker stall Fried Carrot Cake.

Seafood Sheng Mien

Decent with wok hei. Not too bad.

Water chestnut cake.

It's a bit too starchy for my liking but it does taste nice initially.

And finally the most unique dim sum dish- Chrysanthemum & Ginger Jelly

The slight hint of chrysanthmum and jelly makes it very interesting. Never had this combination before. It's rather refreshing and tasted better and is lighter than the water chestnut cake.

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Still dreaming of my egg tarts and char siew soh =)

I miss NZ!

2009-11-07T22:27:00.003+08:00

I miss New Zealand from the bottom of my heart....

I was watching the latest episode of the Amazing Race where the teams went to Netherlands and it reminded me a lot of NZ! It brought back so much sweet memories of my trip earlier this year.

Free roaming sheeps in South Island.

Queenstown. One of the most pretty places on planet earth.

Looking at the pictures makes me feel so peaceful.

Baileys Muffins

2009-10-10T21:41:00.007+08:00

Don't be fooled by my teddy bear deco on these muffins. These ain't kiddy muffins. They are Baileys Muffins

What I like about these muffins are that they smell and taste like the Baileys drink! I got the recipe off receipzaar and I would recommend all muffin lovers to try it! The receipe is really easy. I increased the amount of Bailey's to half cup while decreasing the volume of milk correspondingly. And the result... the muffin rose really well, tasted and smelt exactly like Baileys. It's such a unique taste that you will never find it in the stores.

The muffins remained moist and feather soft after being kept overnight. Look at how lovely the interiors of the muffins are. It's really not easy to produce muffins of this texture .

Day 3 Langkawi- Breakfast, High Tea, Middle-eastern dinner at Sheraton

2009-09-25T22:14:00.007+08:00

Day 3.

Started the day with another round of great breakfast.

I liked the item on the top left hand corner. I think it's called roti jala. Interesting and something that I have never tried before. And guess what, they served bread pudding for breakfast. I suspect it's all the leftover croissants that go into the bread pudding. Anyway, I am not complaining. I like bread pudding anyway.

Took a long walk along the beach and explored the resort to burn some of the calories consumed during breakfast.

Came to realise that the foundation of the resort is built on wooden stilts!

And then a storm began to brewing!

Definitely no outdoor activities for Day 3!

So it was indoor activities like sauna and Jacuzzi for the day. And not to mention lots of CNN! Which I really like watching CNN cos it makes me feel like I am on holiday! (Just like having orange juice on flights.)

The package I booked came with a free high tea. It was a perfect time to do so since it was still pouring.

I never had this type of 3 tier high tea set. The quality isn't great but the idea of spending sunday afternoon munching away of high tea with no worries in mind is a one of the best feelings in the world.

I love scones. This scones was the best snack among the 3 tier.

The nicest scone I have tasted is at Shangrila Hotel- Rose Cafe's high tea. But this scone with raspberry jam is satisfying enough!

Egg Tart

Creme Burlee

These three items were decent in taste and looked so pretty in the photo.

Dinner time:

I found this dinner delicious! Maybe because I haven't tried Middle Eastern food before. The tandoori salmon was great. Tasty and crispy on the outside. If I had a choice, I would choose to eat my salmon tandoori-styled. And the eggplant with cheese and lamb reminded me of lasgne. The naan was fresh and yummy too. I think it was the best meal of the trip.

The view from the Middle Eastern restaurant.

Setting sun...

Sheraton Langkawi- Feast Buffet, Cables Car, Seven Wells Waterfall, Mangrove Tour

2009-09-12T21:34:00.002+08:00

Sometime about 2 weeks ago....

Day 1- Flight from Singapore to Langkawi. A 2 hour flight that turned into a 6-7 hours flight! Thunderstorms in Langkawi forced the flight to detour to KL for refuel after circling the air for 30 mins. What a ride. And being on a budget airline, it's pay for your food and drinks at exorbitant prices! By the end of the 6-7 hours, I was really starving and camel-thirsty!

Driven by hunger and rain and tiredness, we decided to have the international buffet at the resort's cafe-Feast for dinner. (It was still pouring when we landed. And the surrounding area was flooded!

Salad spread:

The buffet spread was really quite crazy. It included on the spot bbq/ grilled seafood. They served nice prawns but they were not as tempting as the dessert spread. So colorful and pretty and a really wide spread!

Fondue condiments.

Would really like to try all the desserts but it was just too many! I like the on-the-spot crepe and mocha ice-cream best. They served nice cookies too.

Best of all, they had this wonderful spread of condiments for the crepe! Peanut butter, butterscotch, maple syrup!

Peanut butter with mocha ice cream! Yum!

The ultra long flight and the over-eating really allowed for a good night sleep!

Day 2
Woke up to yet another buffet! Breakfast buffet! I adore breakfast and its eggs, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, milk and all. And boy was I happy to discover that the breakfast spread is as good as last night's dinner buffet.

My fav section of the breakfast buffet is this:

Love the waffles!

I love the fresh watermelon and honeydew juices too!

Worried that it might rain cats and dogs like the day before, we decided to explore Langkawi island in full force since the weather looked much better than the day before!
Starting with the Cable Cars:

It's a steep ascent and descent too! I wonder what happens if it breakdown.

View from the cable car while ascenting the mountain...

Guidebooks will sure showcase he nicest view from the lookout point but one that particular day, the visibility was so poor due to low cloud cover that this is what the view is actually like. (Something the guidebook will publish.)

Next stop- Seven Wells Waterfall

I love waterfalls and this waterfall was so full. Must be from the crazy downpour the day before. We only managed to trek half way up the trail as the trail was blocked by fallen trees (most likely due to the heavy rainfall and strong winds the day before too.)

We made a picture stop at one of the beaches in the north of the Langkawi. I can't recall it's name but it's really a quiet beach :

Next stop. Mangrove tour. I kinda like this tour. It was great to explore the interiors of this island that's known for it's beaches. Plus I like taking boat rides.

I like this picture. The sky is blue and I can almost feel the wind in my hair right now.

This is where the mangrove swamp meets the Anadaman sea. Reminded me of New Zealand's Milford Sound.

Eagle feeding.

Never saw so many eagles in my life before. (Actually never seen an eagle before.) Lang (in Langkawi) stands for eagles. And it's really approriate to name the island after this brown bird. Anyway, the boatman threw some chicken skin into the water and within seconds the area was swamped with eagles swooping in from all direction.

Our tour ended at Eagle Square. Not too long after we disembarked from the car, a storm was brewing.

The storm was over as soon as it started. And I managed to capture the all important shot that proved to all that I visited Langkawi!

We made our way to Langkawi Fair- the most famous shopping center in Langkawi. But trust the urbanite, it's a huge disappointment. The malls in Johor Bahru are better. Disppointed, we made our way from Langkawi Fair to this Pasar Malam (Night Market). My dad actually convinced us to hike from the shopping center to the market. It took 20mins or so, walking along the main roads.

But we made it! Colourful kuehs, curries, snacks and drinks.

We liked this peanut pancake with corn. It's actually available in Singapore's pasar malam too. Like the combi- peanut and corn.

This custurd/ kaya mini pancake was rather good too.

We headed back to the resort for some cocktails and that pretty much round up Day 1 and 2. Thank goodness the weather held up fine!

Langkawi, Malaysia

2009-08-31T22:34:00.000+08:00

And now I am all ready to plan for the next holiday. . .

More pictures to come . . .

OSIM Triathalon Singapore 2009 - 21.04mins

2009-08-01T23:41:00.003+08:00

A large group of people who love to "torture" themselves with endurance activities congregated along East Coast Park, Singapore today (and tomorrow too).

And now I know why people jus keep coming back for more and more every year. Endorphins are just too addictive.

Swim Flag Off

Swim

The transition area

So now I know if I have to swim 750m to survive after say, being shipwreaked. I can do it and in 21.04mins. It was truly a great experience!

Donut Factory

2009-07-19T22:10:00.003+08:00

Had some of these mouth-watering donuts during a recent birthday party. And now I am craving for more of these sugary eye-catching delights! Thinking of having more tomorrow.

Donut Factory's donuts aren't too bad. I didn't manage to try every single flavour but among those that I tried, I like the Double Chocolate flavor. It has chocolate filling with white chocolate covering. (It's the white donut without the hole in the middle. )

Durian Snow Ice: Hong Kong Dessert- Chinatown (Mei Hong Yuen)

2009-07-05T21:43:00.003+08:00

Durian Snow Ice!

I never thought that I would taste such soft snow ice dessert in Singapore! I always thought that I needed to travel far and wide to places like Taipei- mother of all snow ice desserts cafe to enjoy snow ice dessert. This snow ice dessert is as soft as ice cream and full of durian flavor that doesn't taste too much like durian essence. Imagine having such a huge mountain of durian ice cream eating in front of you! Yummy! Really made my weekend so memorable!

Yam paste aka orh nee

This yam paste comes in a "semi-solid" pudding form and is without coconut milk. It's such a pretty colorful dessert. It's a lil dry we ended up adding the melted durian snow ice to it. And guess what? It was a winning combination. Yam + Durian. I should patent this combination asap.

But then again Durian goes well with almost everything!

Segamat Durian Feast- King of Fruits Feast

2009-07-02T22:05:00.008+08:00

June is a fantastic month to feast on seasonal tropical fruits. Especially this year! The hot spell means bumper harvest for Durians- the King of all fruits come once a year. It's delicious especially the bitter-sweet ones. Like the other fruits, durians come in various varieties. The most "fashionable" ones are the "Cat Mountain" variety.

Recently, we rode up to neighbouring Malaysia for a Kampong Durian Feast in the town Segamat. Yes that's how into durians we are! Travel 3 hours to feast on these king of fruits.

Fruit stall at one of the rest stop:

Check out the giant size jack-fruit!

After a 3 hours ride... we have finally arrived in Segamat to eat kampong durians that have freshly fallen from the tree over the night.

Baskets full of fresh durians of various varieties!

Opening the durian...

I have no experience in prying open durians. I do specialise in licking off those meaty yellow durian flesh though.

Ta-da..

A nice meaty yellow durian sitting alone in its compartment.

Most of the durians from the farm were so meaty! I could not even feel the seed when I pick up the durian from its compartment. And btw, I like my durian to taste bitter-sweet. I have no inclination towards sweet durians!.

Saying good bye to the durian farm after stuffing our faces with the fiberous fruit.

Malaysia's really full of kampongs or villages. So vastly different from urban Singapore.

Visiting Mount Ophir's waterfall:

Check out the number of weekenders enjoying a dip in the waterfall. I was pretty surprised by the kampong lifestyle that they led. Coming from an ultra-urban and city set-up, I could not imagine actually spending my sunday like those in the photo. Shopping or surfing the net is some of the more familiar sunday activities that I am used to. But definitely not soaking myself (fully clothed too) in the shallows waters of a brownish waterfall.

I need to mention that climbing to the top of Mount Ophir waterfall without taking any rest breaks is a fantastic workout. Great way to digest all the durians.

Another great day trip. Tasting fresh durians was something that is really worth the >3 hours ride.

Dim Sum at Raffles Town Club

2009-06-20T22:09:00.006+08:00

For no rhyme or reason, I really like taking pictures of food. And judging by the number of posts I have on Dim Sum. I enjoy dim sum and definitely enjoy taking pictures of them. Dim sum are just so photogenic! It's colorful and make the pictures just look oh-so-vibrant!

Char Siew Soh that shaped like a curry puff! Usually Char Siew Soh comes in pillow shape.

Egg Tarts. My all time favorite dim sum dish! The egg tarts' pastry look different from the earlier egg tart pictures that I took.

An overall feel of the dim sum dishes.

Teochew Dumplings. It was okay. Not over the top fantastic though.

Char Siew Pau. I like this picture. Too the untrained eye, seems to me to have the right composition.

A non-dim sum dish. This is fried silver fish and jellyfish and bean sprout. This dish was too salty for me.

Dim Sum is one of my favourites. It's the pride of all Cantonese around the world!

Singapore's 1st Shabu Shabu Steamboat Buffet- Sakae West Coast Plaza

2009-06-10T21:25:00.003+08:00

Over at West Coast Plaza's Sakae Outlet, there's Singapore's 1st Shabu Shabu Steamboat Buffet. The Shabu Shabu beef was tender and sweet and the ala carte buffet also includes a medium size selection of non-steamboat items like sushi and tempura.

Btw, I like the cute lil dumplings at the bottom left-hand. It's filled with some glutinous rice mochi like filling. Very interesting.

Seafood Platter for the steam boat. Comes with skinny crabs and embroyic-size clams.

Vege Platter for the steamboat.

Tempura! Piping hot tempura straight out of the pan! This dish on its own probably cost half the cost of each individual's buffet price.

Maki... Sushi comes straight from the kitchen. So I am thinking it's prepared fresh!

More sushi...

Fried Salmon Skin in sweet and sour sauce. Again, very interesting!

I particularly like this buffet. And it felt healthy! Yes oxymoron. A healthy buffet. Yes it exists!
Too bad there isn't any dessert items! Else it would be an almost perfect buffet.

(All photos taken with Sony Ericsson k850i. The pictures turned out unexpectedly good after editing with Photoscape.)

Polar Pufffs & Cakes- Fruit Tarts

2009-06-01T23:05:00.005+08:00

I like fruit tarts. But I feel disappointed when I sink my teeth into one that has excessive cream in between its fruit and pastry shell. Then I discover Polar's fruit tarts! (Yes Polar! The "bakery" found in heartland malls!) They have a cakey base in between the fruits and the shell. Yummy! Makes the fruit tart so complete.

Shame to those excessive cream fruit tarts; Cakey base is the way to go.

Orange Muffins/ Orange Nutella Muffins

2009-05-18T22:29:00.004+08:00

The 3rd work week of the month is usually the best time of the month. It's usually the time I actually have time to breathe and play catch up with recreational activities without worrying too much.

Made these orange muffins during the Mothers' Day weekend! Yes that's like quite some time back but I still can clearly recall the texture and flavor of these muffins. These muffins are soft and cupcake like and strangely taste better after being left overnight. Definitely one of the better muffins I made. Yum!

Orange Muffins can be achieved by simply swooping milk for orange juice and adding orange peel to the plain muffin mix.

Check out the orange peel and the light texture. All has risen! It's probably the easiest flavor variation to try out when you have grown sick of plain or chocolate muffins.

Orange Nutella Muffin. Nothing can go wrong with Nutella! Works well with the orangy flavor too! Add a single teaspoon of nutella into half filled muffins cups and top up with the rest of the batter.

Day 5: Christchurch to Queenstown

2009-04-30T21:31:00.004+08:00

Continuing on my NZ trip early this year. Yes finally! After so many other distractions- like blogging about food and my day trip to Malaysia.

Day 5 was a pretty long travelling day as we made our way across the South Island- from Christchurch to Queestown. Enjoyed the pretty sights of the South Island but could not have enough time to soak in the peacefulness and feel totally immersed in the landscape.

First stop of the day was a stop at a Souvenir Store. And behind this souvenir store had interesting animal!

Unfortunately, I can't recall what the name of this animal is! But I must say that NZ has a range of interesting animals that is really unique to its country. Just like the Kiwi Bird. And this mysterious animal is one of the few that I have met during this trip.

Continuing to Lake Tekapo.

This is really one of the most peaceful places on planet Earth. The surroundings were so silent and serene and so ideal for a stressed out person from the city that needs a lil me-time.

We had lunch at a cafe that sits besides Lake Tekapo.

My heart- shaped decaf cappuccino. I heart decaf.

The view made it was one of the better lunches I had in NZ. I really wished that we had more time to sit and enjoy our meal and the view. But we had a long distances to cover that particular day.

This was taken during my me-time walk after lunch. Beautiful....

Also overseeing Lake Tekapo is the Church of the Good Shepherd.

It's a tiny church but with a picture-perfect view.

The next must-see tourist location in the South Island- Mt Cook.

We only managed to view Mt Cook from afar. What I really wished to do was to do a small hike through an easy route of Mt Cook National Park but no, the tour package that I was on did not include so. What a real pity!

As we continue our journey towards Queenstown, we made a stop at Mrs Jones in Cromwell

We got ourself some very sweet and juicy peaches, apriots and nectarines. Yummy. We don't get such good quality non-tropical fruits in Singapore. The avocados were great too!

Also, stealing a quick ice cream treat at the fruit stall.

This wasn't one of the best ice cream I ate during my stay in NZ, although it was freshly prepared with fresh fruits. I chose some berry flavors so the ice cream ended having lots of tiny seeds that get easily caught in my teeth!

New Zealand is definetly the adventure capital of the world. Here's some crazy-adventurous people jumping off a cliff.

And finally we have arrived in Queenstown!

Queenstown reminds me slightly of San Diego. It must be the broadwalk and the presence of the waterbody (but without the mountains). It's really a tourist hive. But I like it! It's one of the most bustling places in NZ. And it has a pretty view of Lake Wakatipu.

Yes, I think if I was given a choice of which town/state to settle in in NZ, I would choose to live in Queenstown! I feel in love with the town almost as soon as I got there. And I didn't mentioned that the houses there in Queenstown are pretty too!

Day Trip to Johor Bahru (JB), Malaysia

2009-04-21T21:28:00.007+08:00

Last Saturday was really quite an eventful! I managed a Day Trip to Johor Bahru, Malaysia- Singapore's closest neighbouring country.

Despite being Singaporean and being physically close to Malaysia, I can't recall when was the last time I explored Johor Bahru. Most trips to JB are focused on getting safely to shopping malls and most of the time the highlight is grocery shopping (Groceries are cheaper than in Singapore) Hence, I am really glad I went for this day trip, it took me to the kampongs (villages) of JB which I am quite amazed actually still exist in JB!

Our first stop after breakfast was a Organic Fruit Farm in Ayer Hitam.

Did you know that this is how Dragon Fruit Plant looks like? Well... I didn't!

A close up snap shot of a budding dragonfruit.

Well, overall the organic dragonfruit farm was a far cry from the Kiwi360 farm that I visited in NZ!

Large Ruby Red Dragonfruits sold in the store.

Next stop, seafood lunch at Kukup- a fishing village that is well-known for its seafood.

The golden deep fried "fishballs" are really great! I used inverted commas because I am not sure if it's actually made of fish meat. It could be sotong, prawn, cuttlefish, or a mixture. I still suspect that it's fish meat.

Well more about Kukup. Kukup actually is situated south of Pontian a small town at the southwest corner of Johor. Most houses along the coast are built on stilts over the sea. The seafood restaurant is built on stilts too. And has its on jetty, for boat to take tourists out into the sea.

It's peaceful out in the sea and looking back at the houses on stilts dotting the shoreline.

Fishermen sorting out their catch of the day.

Visiting a kelong...

Kelong is a Malay term for an offshore platform built out over the seas for fishing purposes, by trapping seafood in their nets. First time I've been on a kelong!

After our scorching hot boat ride, we stumbled through the 50m or so town center and got ourself this unique looking desserts!

It's actually jelly with various fillings made into the shape of "Ang Ku Kueh". For eg, the yellow jelly has peanut filling! Who would have told of adding filling into jelly or agar agar?? The purple one has yam filling, pink one has red bean filling while the dark yellow one has sweet corn filling.

I wish we had bought home some. But the weather was just too warm to allow for these delicate dessert to be left out of the fridge for long period of time.

We then headed to Jusco at Bukit Indah for some hard core shopping! As usual, due to time constraint and going starry eyes in the face of sales and bargains, no pictures were taken! But I made up by taking more pictures during dinner.

Dinner was interesting. It was a restaurant operated within a home. One of the highlight of dinner was herbal chicken cooked in mud/ clay. The chicken is prepared in this room filled with hot mud/clay (top left hand corner). Then covered with a layer of mud, it was wheeled out in a wheelbarrow! The layer of mud had then to be cracked open by some hammer. Well of cos, the chicken is not in direct contact with the mud. It has a few layers of foil and plastic wrappers protecting it from the mud.

Finally, here's the chicken on the dinner table.

The other speciality was boneless fish! It's actually fishball shaped in a fish- complete with fish skin!

I also like the winter melon soup. I rarely consume chinese soup other than those prepared by my mom, simply because most commercial soups are full of MSG and usually too salty. But this chinese clear soup is one of the best I drank. And the bonus- I didn't feel any of the Chinese Wok Syndrome later on.

Yup, the day trip was something I really needed. Something to keep my mind off work and troubles for one entire day. And surprisingly I enjoyed the day trip very much.. Itchysoles just need to spend a different currency to be happy- even if it's just for one day!

Frozen Tiramisu

2009-04-10T22:38:00.005+08:00

I worked throughout the entire Good Friday churning out my monthly report that does not have a very high readership. But that's part and parcel of the rat race yeah? It's all these paper chase and email pushing that keeps me employable and make me look forward to have the weekends and travel and holidays.

So to reward myself for the "hard work" or rather extra hours spent on working throughout the entire public holiday, I decided that that tiramisu in the freezer is going to be my reward.

I don't usually crave for tiramisu. But this tiramisu is good! It's frozen btw. And hence isn't as mushy and messy as the usual ones. BUT! It managed to maintained that moisture derived from pouring strong liquer coffee onto the sponge cake base of the tiramisu! Amazing.

It taste fabulous too. For something that's actually frozen, I could taste the fullness of the alcoholc coffee.

So today, not only did i churn out my monthly report, I learnt that frozen tiramisu taste and has a better "texture" . In a way, it's not as creamy and overwhelming.

Chocolate Yogurt Cake

2009-04-05T21:56:00.003+08:00

Black Beauty...

My past 2 attempts with 2 separate muffin recipes have not exactly been overly successful. It was edible but did not leave me over the top. This chocolate yogurt cake turned out to be quite a success. It taste somewhat like a chewier version of a full fat pound cake. (Typical of yogurt cum low fat recipes).

Recipe for this Chocolate Yogurt Cake is from Baking Bites. I am pretty sure it was the same yogurt pound cake recipe that has been modified many many times by many floggers. I.e. it's pretty versatile and foolproof. I added chocolate chips to the recipe and wished that I added more to give a more fudgy feel.

2009-03-31T21:42:00.001+08:00

A seriously interesting website! This is why you're fat

Day 4- Auckland to Christchurch (Cathedral Square, Cashmere Hills, Viaduct)

2009-03-30T22:10:00.002+08:00

On Day 4, it was Good Bye to the North Island and say hello to the South Island.

Took a morning Air New Zealand Flight from Auckland to Christchurch. (Btw, Air New Zealand only served a cookie during their flight.) Goodbye Auckland, Goodbye North Island!

Hello South Island! Hello Christchurch!

We hopped off our domestic flight and drove straight into the city center of Christchurch with the first stop being the Cathedral Square.

Cathedral Square was bustling with people. We were right in time for an amazing performance! It's pretty cool to watch this exciting performance right in front of a pretty cathedral.

I don't usually go around snapping pictures of others' kids or go about exclaiming how cute or adorable kids are but I thought that the 2 boys who stood beside us munching away on their hotdog buns while enjoying the performance pretty much sum up how carefree life should be.

Anyway the entire city center was bursting with festivities since it was the Buskers Festival! There were performances, carnivals and food stalls. Just like a huge funfair! Reminded me somewhat of Christmas Village at town center of Bath, UK. And the only difference being the season.

And there's also punting on the Avon River in the middle of the city center Christchurch!

Isn't it so Cambridge, UK? Christchurch is known as the most English city outside of England. I can't deny the resemblance but there's that "quaint-ness" of UK that cannot be replicated anywhere else.

Check out the view of Christchurch from Cashmere Hills.

Admiring beautiful flowers at Mona Vale.

Mona Vale is a large garden set along the Avon River. It's a pretty stroll with many blooming flowers to appreciate along the way. And there were many nice houses within Mona Vale. I can't imagine living in such a garden and being surrounded by flowers all the time. So surreal!

Finally, we settled in for a dinner at Viaduct right in the heart of Christchurch. Viaduct is a pretty popular restaurant in Christchurch. The ambience is great. Food is not too bad either. (Not as hearty and memorable as Lonestar though!)

I can't exactly remember what we ate that evening but I recall that the seafood chowder was thick and not too bad. I recall that we had duck liver too! Must have been the champagne. It must had erased my memory that night!

This is a picture of the Avon River, right outside Viaduct.

What is most amazing is that this picture was taken right after dinner, i.e. 9pm! It's so bright still! Makes me feel though I am not ready for bed yet!

Raffles Town Club- Dim Sum Lunch

2009-03-25T22:33:00.005+08:00

I interrupt the usual broadcast of my NZ trip by "showcasing" my Dim Sum Pictures (I think it's because I am craving for some supper!).

Of all 包 or steam chinese bun, I like the custurd filling best.

There are actually 2 different types of Steamed Custurd Buns, one that has a runny egg yolky filling, another with the more "solid" custard filling. Personally, I prefer the runny custurd filling but the more viscuous one suits me fine too.

Another one of my personal Dim Sum Fave: Egg Tarts!

These egg tarts were piping hot when they were served. Again, there are 2 different egg tart crust: The flaky pastry or the biscuit-like pastry.

Black Gluntinous Rice with Vanilla Ice Cream Dessert:

This is dessert is so photogenic simply because it has a nice color contrast!

Day 3- Rotorua to Auckland (Waitomo Caves, Mt Eden, Auckland Harbor Bridge, SkyCity)

2009-03-15T20:40:00.005+08:00

Our last day in North Island! We travelled from Rotorua to Auckland, visiting the attractions along the way....

Waitomo Caves:

Photography is not allowed inside the caves. Flash would put off the glow worms. I wasn't particularly impressed by this attraction which felt overly touristy! But then again, why am I complaining when it's the first time I saw glow worms first hand!

Shearing of Angora Rabbits:
Fat fat angora rabbits before shearing:

And after...

It's not the same rabbit by the way... But this is the way they are sheared! Cruel? Apparently, if they are not sheared in 3/4 months they would die... Their fur is expensive and highly sought after.

That poor little rabbit being helded down to be sheared.

It was shivering, in fear rather than cold I suppose! It looks so pretty despite having half of its fur gone.

Lunch was up next at the BIG APPLE Cafe.

I love those stops at those tea housess. I could spend much of my time here eating my lunch and sipping my decaf coffee all day by the window and look out into the green pastures.

Another bathroom stop which turned into an ice cream break- as usual

This is rum and raisin Tip Top ice cream. I never really crave for rum and raisin flavored ice cream. I usually go for chocolate... but my dad chose this... it's not too bad actually. A tad too sweet probably.

Finally, we're in Auckland:

And here's the famous Auckland Harbor Bridge. Definitely not as magnificent as Golden Gate or London Bridge, but I still think it's significent. Plus I am pretty fond of bridges over water bodies.

Mount Eden:

I suspect that this was one of the pit stops for Season X of the Amazing Race. But no one could confirm it with me. (including the kiwis.)

I wish that it was less gloomy and cloudy! I love blue cloudless skies.

Ended Day 3 aka the last day in North Island =( with a buffet at the Skycity (It's another casino cum hotel establishment.)

The spread was large and food was decent! I like their mussels, oysters and hot chocolate! (I didn't have hot chocolate for 3 mornings in a row so you could imagine how happy I was when i saw they had a machine that served hot chocolate!) I also recalled that their deep-fried mussel was good.

Day 2- Part 2 Town of Rotorua, Maori Feast and Performance

2009-03-08T22:05:00.001+08:00

After our whirlwind visit to the attractions in the Bay of Plenty, we spent the afternoon in the heart of town Rotorua.

Rotorua is so so so quiet and sleepy for a city girl like me. There's hardly any cars whizzing around or people walking on the streets. The shops close very early too. (They do have great work life balance huh?) So withou much to shop (except boring souvenirs stores), we ended up snacking on gelato ice cream from one of the very few shops opened at that hour- which was like 5pm?

It's blood orange and chocolate flavor! (That's 2 ice cream snacks in a day!)

After our not extremely exciting tour of the town of Rotorus, we made our way back to our hotel which sits next to Lake Rotorua:

Lake Rotorua reeks of H2S. Where's my H2S detector when I needed it? I seriously wonder if inhaling this much of H2S everyday has any harm to human health. Anyway, there were many birds along the banks of Lake Rotorua and they were really territorial. This bird kept chasing us away!

Sulphur must be good for the plants. The flowers are so pretty!

Ended off the day with a Maorian cultural show and Maorian food.

I can't named all the food that was served that evening. But I recall that the "bread pudding"- see bottom right corner was unique and delicious.

Traditional Marorian song and dance:

Quite an eye-opener. Would have enjoyed it more if the day wasn't so tiring and long and I had gotten over the jet lag and time difference!

Day 2- Part 1, Rotorua- Champange Breakfast, Luge, Agrodome, Kiwi 360

2009-03-06T21:22:00.001+08:00

Day 2 started off with a trip up Mount Ngongotaha for champange breakfast at the Skyline! How cool is that?

Alcohol first thing in the morning and with a view to go with that too!

Breakfast served here was decent. They served pancakes, salmon, sunny side up, all of which I like and were not found in other hotels. I sure like to do this again. But at a more luxurious and leisurely pace of course.

Rushed off to take a luge ride down the mountains. Pretty cool experience too. Except I wished that we went faster. Like how I would ride my bike down a slope. But safety comes first right? Especially in a foreign land. ( I can't help it, I work in a oil and gas industry.)

We visited a couple of other touristy spots that morning- like Rainbow Springs which did not particularly fascinated me and I am not exactly a fan of the rainbow trout. Just so you know, here's how a rainbow trout should look like:

Next stop: Agrodome!

I really like the entire experience at Agrodome. In my past 20+ years of life, I have not been in such close contact with so many sheeps! So much for my urban lifestyle. The sheep show was really entertaining too!

The sheeps were such gentle and meek animals. It makes me wonder whether their meat should be for human consumption or not! I will never look at lamb or mutton in the same light again! Plus I somehow felt this unexplainable sense of empathy to the only black sheep of the flock. It's must be the Baa Baa Black sheep nursery song.

Kiwi 360 at the Bay of Plenty

We stopped for lunch at Kiwi360 cafe. I remember this lunch most for their Kiwi Ice Cream, Kiwi juice and their fresh kiwis:

Very very very rich and creamy vanilla ice cream with specks of kiwi. Very yummy and worth every single calorie.

Visiting the vast Kiwi Orchards in cute little kiwikarts!

The kiwi orchards were huge and so well-kept! I was so impressed! If I was still a student, I would get a summer job in the kiwi plantation to help out during the harvest period and enjoy my kiwi ice cream and kiwi juice!

Day 2 Part 2- To be continued... I have nice pictures of the Maorian feast we had for Day 2 dinner. So look out!

Day 1- New Zealand, Rotorua

2009-02-19T22:52:00.006+08:00

I feel that I didn't do justice my whirl-wind NZ trip with my brief random posts.

So here's Day 1 of my NZ trip.

Day 1 started off with an evening 10 hour Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Auckland.

The supper served on the SQ flight was forgettable but the breakfast served was great!

I had poached eggs. The serving was huge- muffins, yogurts, 2 poached eggs, thick sauages, hash brown, orange juice, bun and fruits! I think it's enough to feed my non-travel-rush-to-work-appetite for 3 separate mornings!

But what I really like is the runniness of the egg yolks!

I am pretty amazed that eggs prepared more than 6 hours ahead and served in a different pressure zone can achieve such perfect texture. I was expecting them to be rubbery not runny!

So after we arrive in Auckland, we hop onto the tour bus and set off to Rotorua to see some geyser and mud pools at Te Puia. Felt pretty short-changed when we had travelled 10 hours on a flight and 2 more hours on the road to visit jus one attraction. But we did visit the local supermarket- Pak and Save after dinner- which I really enjoyed.

I love visiting foreign supermarkets! It makes me feel like buying every single thing.

One first thing I noticed and feel quite queer about is that Kiwis walk around barefooted! To everywhere- on the streets, shops and supermarkets! Eeeek....

Anyway, one of the coolest thing I like about Pak and Save is that they have a cooler room that's filled with walls and walls of cheese, milk, yogurt, ham, bacon.....

Endless selection of yogurt in various flavor....

Cheesy cheese stacked from ceiling to floor!

Bacon, ham...

And of course, I could not resist having a wicked chocolate milk to end of my first day in NZ.

Mud Pool & Geyser

2009-02-08T21:46:00.005+08:00

Today's random pictures:

Thermal Mud Pool which is one of the must see in Rotorua. It's bubbling hot and reeks of Hydrogen Sulphide. And guess what, I bought this thermal mud mask pack from the Airport and I had it on a few minutes ago. The after effects of the muddy facial mask are great.

And while visiting the thermal mud pool, we visited the geyser too. (It's in this same place known as Te Puia)

Pohutu and Prince of Wales Feather Geyser. Lucky for us, the geysers erupted while we were there. I just wished we had more time to wander around...

Hokey Pokey

2009-02-07T22:40:00.002+08:00

Oh goodness. I think I am too lazy to post day to day accounts of my New Zealand trip.
Random picture #1:

I discovered Hokey Pokey ice cream and I loved it as much as the Kiwis did. I had like an ice cream a day during the 10 days. Those long bus rides were made good with the stops at random tea-houses for rich ice cream made undoubtedly from the abundant cows' milk.

And I was trying to find just one picture to represent New Zealand. And I just could not. There jus wasn't a picture that managed to capture the rolling hills and endless greenery in NZ. We're jus have to make do with this picture taken on route to Milford Sound in Queenstown:

This is post #100 anyway!

Say Baa...

2009-02-04T23:03:00.004+08:00

More Pictures in the days to come....

Easy Lower Fat Fruitcake

2008-12-25T22:23:00.006+08:00

Baking my dad's wish for his favourite cake- Fruitcake!

This recipe claims to be lower in fat than other fruitcake recipes. Just give it a try it since it's foolproof! I added dried ginger to the dried fruit mix for an extra kick.

Click here for Easy fruitcake recipe!

Day 8- Last day of Taiwan-HK trip

2008-12-16T21:34:00.004+08:00

It's Day 8, the very last day of our Taiwan-HK trip.
While checking out, we noticed another typhoon warning sign at the lobby. Typhoon has really been trailing us throughout this trip.

We left our luggage at one of the lockers the HK international airport and caught a train to HK Island for some last min shopping.

The train ride was clean, fast and efficient. Got us to town at like 30mins. But it's kinda pricey.

Breakfast Dim Sum at a local eatery:

It's really really a traditional dim sum eatery, serving very traditional Cantonese fare pushed around it metallic carts. The atmosphere was really rowdy and noisy and guests are to share the same table with other guests. Food was "exotic" and unlike the usual dim sum fare of har gao and siew mai. It was a great experience and I actually felt a sense of affliation to my Cantonese roots.

Off to mad-cap last minute shopping! H&M and some random street-side stalls that we see along the way. I hate to say this, but I actually enjoy last min shopping! Great fun and adredaline!

Our last shopping stop was at a factory outlet that's really close by the HK airport. Really convenient to get last min gifts and do shopping.

Finally, we've decided to take a break from our mad-cap spreeing and decided to savour our last chance to have some HK dessert. I had a mango mochi which was interesting and nice. Too bad, I was too much in a hurry to woof my food down to take a decent picture of it. There were also some black sesame jelly on sale.

And finally it's time to go home =(

Cathy Pacific Airline meal:

A nice rich chocolaty ice cream to put a sweet end to the trip:

Taiwan- Hong Kong Day 7- To Macau!

2008-12-06T21:28:00.003+08:00

On Day 7, we went to Macau!

Macau is just a boat ride away. Just like getting to Bintan Island from Singapore.

Well, Macau is really about the Almond Cookie. There were many many stores selling the famed almond cookies through the streets of Macau. I bought 2 boxes only which I sort of regretted once I got back to Hong Kong. (should have gotten more!) Plus the rest of the pastries are cheaper in Macau- like Wife's biscuit, Husband biscuit, egg rolls...

And I will remember Macau for the very good steamed milk. Its texture is so smooth. It has an outlet in Hong Kong too but it was sold out when we went hunting for it on the first day of our Hong Kong trip.

The typical Hong Kong Cafe food- Instant noodles with eggs and luncheon meat. It's so oddly comforting.

The Ruins of St Paul's. Definitely the icon of Macau.

And Macau is just so unbelievably crowded. Tourists from Hong Kong, China and all around the world. Plus the sun was scorching when we were "tracked" our way to St Paul's.

Next stop- The Venetian

Being a pretty new Integrated Resort- reads casino-it's really the next icon of Macau. I was really glad that I went in especially since I had set my eyes on it in 2006 when I first saw the exteriors in Las Vegas.

The Venice-inspired interiors of Venetian. And as with other parts of Macau, the Venetian is also really crowded. I think the experience would so different if I was Venetian- Las Vegas. Oh well...

The arts performer in Venetian who wasn't suppose to move but won't help my wink at us and our antics.

Singapore Flyer

2008-11-26T21:30:00.004+08:00

Have been and still am under the weather. =(

Taiwan-Hong Kong Day 6

2008-11-19T20:41:00.004+08:00

Day 6 of our trip and the second day in HK.

We spent the morning on a free half day tour which brought us to Hong Kong Island.
Started off the tour with Dim Sum (which was not free.) But nonetheless, it was one of the two times we actually ate dim sum in HK.

I was hungry! As far as I remember, it tasted great!

First stop: Repluse Bay

Honestly, I didn't know that HK had beaches. I wonder if it's as man-made as Singapore's Sentosa. It's nice from the hectic city crowds back in Kowloon.

Some touristy attractions along Repluse Bay

View of HK island:

Look at the haze! Must be China's pollution.

Avenue of Stars

Tea time treats:

Left: Mango Beancurd with fruits- not exactly too fond about it but it's decent.
Right: Rice roll with you tiao. Yum!

Esprit Outlet!

Crazy crowds in the Esprit Outlet:

It's crowded all day! And the sales are on every day! I wonder where all the customers come from.

Fireworks display at Tsim Sha Tsui

It happened to be the National Day for China and hence all the celebrations and crowds.

Supper snack:

Dark chocolate low fat milk! Nice chocolaty and not too sweet! I threw caution out of the window by drinking this in the height of all the China milk scandal.

Getel Cheesecake.

2008-11-13T21:56:00.003+08:00

Chloes' 9th Birthday.

Cheesecake from Getel. I googled and found out that what I ate was actually called Irony Rasberry.

Getel cheesecakes are rather pricey. I believe for the same price, you could get a cheesecake from one of the coffee joints that's actually twice the size.

Tastewise, I love the richness of those cheesecakes from hotels and coffee joints. For this I have to google to find out that it was actually raspberry flavor!

Triple Chocolate Muffin

2008-11-10T22:37:00.004+08:00

I am calling this 'Triple Chocolate Muffin" because I used Chocolate Milk, Cocoa Powder and Chocolate Chips. The taste of the muffin was very full and it smelt exactly like a Sara Lee Pound Cake.

It's a pity that I didn't manage to fold the ingredients as lightly as I wanted to. Nonetheless, the muffin rose (though not as perfectly as I was hoping it to be) . Most importantly, I really love the fullness of the taste of the muffin.

Day 5 From Taipei to Hong Kong

2008-11-07T22:06:00.007+08:00

Day 5 From Taipei to Hong Kong/
So it's finally good bye typhoon and hello sunshine! Boy, was I happy to escape from the dreary weather in Taipei. . Never have I been so happy to see sunlight!

Onboard our morning Cathay Pacific flight from Taipei to Hong Kong

Food wasn't fantastic! Was rather salty if I didn't recall wrongly. (Btw, the international airport of Taipei was quite a disappointment. I was expecting something similiar to Changi or Hong Kong's CLK.)

Our Hotel in New Territory- Harbour Plaza Resort City. It's really far off from the city but the rooms were nice, roomy and clean. 5 stars standard. We didn't exactly choose to stay in this hotel, it was actually bundled together with our tour package, so we didn't have to pay a single cent for 2 nights worth of accomodation. Not to mention, we had free room upgrade!

Our room came with a nice view too. But we were out most of the day and had no chance of enjoying it.

Roaming the streets of Hong Kong in blissful sunlight:

H&M! A wide array of reasonably priced high-street fashion.

Headed off to the Toilet Bowl Cafe (which ironically orginated from Taiwan- but was closed due to the typhoon) for tea.

Everything within the cafe was related to stuff one could find in a bathroom. From seats made from toilet bowls to utensils that were miniturised versions of toilet bowls, bath tubs, wash basins and urinals- really quite an experience.

I like the toilet bowl design best. Super cute. I probably won't visit the Modern Toilet Cafe in Hong Kong again. After the first visit, the novelty wears off. I am still hoping to visit its main branch in Taipei one fine day.

One of the many night markets in HK.

I believe this is Ladies Market.

Colorful and busy night scene in HK.

Obama!

2008-11-04T23:09:00.002+08:00

I am pro-enviroment but McCain's energy policy will in some way or another benefit my pocket.

Day 4- Taipei

2008-10-30T22:19:00.004+08:00

The day after the typhoon.

There wasn't much to do on Day 4- the day of the typhoon hit. The weatherman predicted more heavy rain and strong winds (though it turned out to be not the case). Definitely impossible to visit hotsprings and go hiking. We thus spent our last day shopping and eating, which was a better option than being holed up in the hotel room.)

鼎泰丰 (Din Tai Fung)- The famed Taiwa-originated "dumpling" restaurant that has numerous outlets across the globe. Crazily crowded. We waited for an entire hour for our table.

小笼包 (Xiao Long Bao). A must have at Din Tai Fung. However, our xiao long bao wasn't as good as what we expected. The tip of the dumpling was slightly uncooked.

Our other dishes. Noodles, fried rice and dumplings. These dishes weren't top-notch but decent and tasty (which me-the excellent MSG detector attributed it to extensive use of MSG.)

Yam Xiao Long Bao which my friends luv. I didn't really fancy the stickiness of it.

My fave dish of all is the Black Sesame Bao:

Look at the interior. Fragrant black sesame paste in the thinniest possible bao skin. Really delicious!

Apart from the black sesame bun, I think the rest of the food is also available in Singapore's Din Tai Fung and at a similiar if not better quality.

The aftermath of the typhoon.

Well actually, many taiwanese took advantage of the closure of schools and work stoppage to do their shopping. Reporter trying to film the scene.

Did some shopping before retiring to the hotel:

Us having our last bubble tea at the hotel's lobby. Btw, the chocolate and banana flavored crepe was very good. (Crepes are also an in-thing in Bangkok. I had 2 crepes in the span of like a few days while I was in July.)

Taipei Day 3

2008-10-24T21:30:00.004+08:00

Day 3- The day when the typhoon hit Taiwan and when only a quarter of the city was opened for business.

Buffet Breakfast provided by the hotel:

Breakfast was decent (though it did taste like it was laced with MSG.) In picture, piping hot bowl of noodles, orange-colored siew mai (and its cousin siew mai which is minced meat wrapped in glutinous rice instead of the usual wanton skin), omelete and yakult drink!

Heavy heavy rain and strong winds. The typhoon has arrived!

In the rain and strong winds, we made our way to Ximending in hopes that shops will still be opened and to look for the "Toilet Bowl Cafe".

More gloomy views of Ximending and the typhoon. More rain and strong winds.

Cold, wet and upset that the Toilet Bowl cafe wasn't opened for business in this weather, we settled for Japanese Curry Rice:

Which I must say turned out to be delicious, warm and comforting!

Man at work- preparing shaved mango ice dessert:

It turned out to be more of a shredded ice dessert. Quite interesting texture, though i prefer the dessert on the first day.

Typhoon had seriously hampered our plans. Retired back to the hotel in the late afternoon and caught the Singapore F1 race on TV.

Taipei Day 2

2008-10-18T21:42:00.004+08:00

Taipei 101, wholesale market, Fisherman's Wharf and Shilin Night Market.

We started off the day with bad news- weather forecast warned about the impending typhoon that was due to arrive the next day. It spolit our grand plans and forced us to rush all over Taipei just to cram all our "I-really-must-visit" places into this single day (just in case we can't leave the hotel the next day.)

Taipei 101. High class shopping centre. Nothing fantastic.

Wu Fen Pu "wholesale" market. Clothes were cheap! Definitely not as mind-boogling as the one that I went to in Beijing. Would have definitely spend more if I was there longer and not rushing off to beat the Typhoon.

老街 in 淡水 (Fisherman's wharf.) It was wet, wet, wet! Rain and wind. Typhoon almost here.

Nonetheless, it was still a very colorful street, with many things to see and taste.

This is supposedly to be quite famous. Didn't really fancy it though.

Sped off to Shilin Night Market.

Visiting Taipei would be incomplete if there wasn't a stop at one of it's night market and I just had to visit it. It was great that we managed to squeeze in this stop at the Night Market just before the Typhoon!
(Bottom RHS is the famous stall for the Fried Chicken Chop. It tasted great and non-greasy! Move over KFC and Popeye's!)

The famous Oyster Omelete. I prefer the local Singaporean style!

Of all the food that we tried in the Shilin Night Market, I like the 棺材板 and the 大饼包小饼 best!

棺材板 or coffin bread is a thick toast that has been sliced open and stuffed with different ingredients. I believe we tried the ham and cheese version. It's innovative and I like the 'sauce' that fills the bread.

大饼包小饼 on the other hand is a crepe-like. It is made from a soft rice crepe that wraps around a crispy fried cracker.

Here's the guy frying the cracker/ interior of the crepe.

And here's a snapshot of the different flavors of the interior:

I really like the 大饼包小饼 best. I wish it was sold in Singapore! Btw, 大饼包小饼 means Big Biscuit wrap Small Biscuit.

Taipei-HK Day 1

2008-10-11T21:17:00.004+08:00

After touching down, we made our way to Ximending in Taipei. Ximending is a "hip" place for Taiwanese youngsters to hang out. Similar to what Bugis is for Singapore.

Off to eat the famous Mee Suan!

Business is brisk here.

There are no seats for their customers. Everyone jus stands around eating their piping hot bowl of mee suan (rice noodle). The mee suan is cooked in some pork innards. I was okay with a several spoonfuls of it but will definitely have problems finishing the entire bowl.

Then next food stop:

Smelly tofu! U will either love it or hate it. It's like durian. Either you love the smell or hate it.

Dessert time!

Beancurd tofu with pearls.

And my favourite dessert of the entire Taipei trip....

Mango, strawberry ice. The ice is so fine that it has the texture of ice-cream. Smooth and yummy. Love it!

Cathay Pacific Meals

2008-10-07T22:29:00.004+08:00

Am determined to post my photos from my recent trip. Have not been diligent enough to update my blog on 2 of my earlier trips this year.

Oh well, My Taiwan-Hong Kong 8 days holiday began with a flight to Taipei via HK. On board the first flight to HK, this was what we were served for lunch:

Pasta with Chicken!

The pasta was actually quite decent. Better than the one I had during my Thai airways flight to Bangkok.

The bun was actually slightly warm too!

Very interesting. They served LEE KUM KEE oyster sauce for every meal. I suppose it's like tomato sauce to the Hong Kongers.

And the highlight of the flight is:

Haagen Dazs Ice Cream! I chose the strawbery flavor over the vanilla one when the air stewardess came around.

I must say that Cathay Pacific has quite decent airline meals. They are definitely more appetising than my canteen lunches. And food was better than Thai Airways. Although in terms of service and entertainment, I would still support our local carrier- Singapore Airlines.

Stay tune for more updates on Taipei and Hong Kong.

2008-10-04T16:52:00.003+08:00

I am back from my trip to Taiwan/ HK. Was caught in Typhoon Jangmi while in Taipei. Disappointed that I didn't get to sight-see and do other touristy stuff in Taipei except to eat and shop. Lesson learnt, never visit Taiwan between July to Oct. Autumns are notorious for typhoons. There was a also catergory 1 typhoon that was brewing when we left Hong Kong for home last night.

Love Hong Kong. The bustle, shopping and food. Will be back. Am considering a bi/tri-annual HK retreat.

StarsBites Cheesy Extreme!

2008-09-25T23:05:00.005+08:00

Leaving in 12 hours! Will be back with an overwhelming amount of photos of my Taipei-Hong Kong trip. Hope the weather will be fine while we're there. While I am gone, try Pizza Hut's Triple Chicken StarsBites Cheesy Extreme Pizza. Taste good even when having it delivered. Currently my fave pizza from Pizza Hut.

Picture was taken while having lunch meeting. Oops!

Go Nihon Mura for Ice Cream!

2008-09-18T22:40:00.005+08:00

Very encouraged by the fact that my blog actually has visitors! I am happy. Hope that my random blog readers will continue to visit me. Do drop me a note.

Strawberry Oreo Ice Cream.

I found a place for cheap and good "cold-stone-creamery-inspired" ice-cream. 2 giant scopes of ice-cream with oreo, strawberry and Julie's love letters for only $3.50 (before tax).

The "ice-cream-chef" creating my strawberry-oreo ice cream. YUM! (I am using one of those fancy effects from PhotoScape btw.)

Go to Nihon Mura for their 99Cents Sushi and great Ice-cream. I had mine at Revenue House

Lunch @ La Noce

2008-09-12T22:33:00.005+08:00

Pasta with stuffed pear in 4 cheese sauce. Love the sweetness of the stuffed pear. 4 cheese sauce was rich and creamy. Yum! There were actually only 10 pieces. And it cost probably more than $20 bucks.

Pizza with anchovies. (I discovered that the "american" pizza- Hawaiian and all still appeals to me rather than anchovies.

Lamb was tender but way too salty. So was the mash potato which it sits on.

Overall, like the pizza and pasta. Wish they were less generous on the salt. Here's their website. They didn't inform us about their set lunch promotions when we dine there last sunday. Maybe it's only valid on weekdays. But who knows? The set lunch promotion is really much cheaper.

Next place I would like to try is GoneFishing!

Steam Custard Bun

2008-09-01T00:09:00.005+08:00

One of the Best Custard Bun.
-From The Cathay Restaurant

2 Handy Road, The Cathay

Swenson's Loco Moco Ice Cream Cake

2008-07-14T22:12:00.004+08:00

Swenson's Loco Moco Ice Cream Cake

Old Fashion Vanilla Flavor Ice Cream Cake. (Better than Island Cremery, I feel la)

Struggling to cut the cake...