food glorious food
i've always loved my mum's popiah, in fact, when i was younger, i'll always help up in shredding the radish and carrots. there's alot of work involved in preparing this dish, you first have to shred all the ingredients - other than radish and carrots, there's still mushrooms, string beans, beancurd (have to deep-fry this too), then stir-fry them with garlic and prawns. then there's still the extra toppings such as peanuts and boiled eggs to prepare. since my mum makes this only once in a long long while, i usually gobble up 3-4 at one go. :P the picture shows both our wrapped popiahs, haha.
we made spagghetti last monday, usually we would just make do with minced meat or even luncheon meat (well, i'm trying to stop the eating of this unhealthy fattening and high in salt content meat these days), but somehow the bf decided we go supermarket shopping first. so in the end, we bought fresh button mushrooms; canned ones don't go hand-in-hand with pasta, my dear. :P
i baked oatmeal scotchies yesterday. okay, shall rant about the nestle butterscotch morsels - i bought this at vivocity marketplace, think it's one of those gourmet marts operated by cold storage; i hardly see nestle baking goodies, and i thought it would be a good change from the usual hershey's chocolate chips, and you know what, i saw this again few days later at ntuc going at half the price! curse those cheaters! although they don't look as appetising and cute as chocolate chip m&m cookies, i feel they're healther, taste just as good, and they're apparently very popular at home too, with only 1/3 of the cookies left! the cookies are crispy around the edges, and chewy inside and it's probably the only way to get the bf to take oats! ;)
scribbled at 7:15 am
.::.
i've always loved my mum's popiah, in fact, when i was younger, i'll always help up in shredding the radish and carrots. there's alot of work involved in preparing this dish, you first have to shred all the ingredients - other than radish and carrots, there's still mushrooms, string beans, beancurd (have to deep-fry this too), then stir-fry them with garlic and prawns. then there's still the extra toppings such as peanuts and boiled eggs to prepare. since my mum makes this only once in a long long while, i usually gobble up 3-4 at one go. :P the picture shows both our wrapped popiahs, haha.
we made spagghetti last monday, usually we would just make do with minced meat or even luncheon meat (well, i'm trying to stop the eating of this unhealthy fattening and high in salt content meat these days), but somehow the bf decided we go supermarket shopping first. so in the end, we bought fresh button mushrooms; canned ones don't go hand-in-hand with pasta, my dear. :P
i baked oatmeal scotchies yesterday. okay, shall rant about the nestle butterscotch morsels - i bought this at vivocity marketplace, think it's one of those gourmet marts operated by cold storage; i hardly see nestle baking goodies, and i thought it would be a good change from the usual hershey's chocolate chips, and you know what, i saw this again few days later at ntuc going at half the price! curse those cheaters! although they don't look as appetising and cute as chocolate chip m&m cookies, i feel they're healther, taste just as good, and they're apparently very popular at home too, with only 1/3 of the cookies left! the cookies are crispy around the edges, and chewy inside and it's probably the only way to get the bf to take oats! ;)
please vote!
OR ?
scribbled at 12:27 am
.::.
OR ?
Sunday, October 29, 2006
weekend shopping
as the title of this post states, i spent more than usual on shopping this weekend. in fact, i hardly do shopping nowadays - the bf does not like shopping, except at royal sporting house or adidas - that's why. i actually made a boo boo on friday, i have always had the impression that novena square has undergone some major renovation works and expansion, and has became a more happening area for shopping and so, i suggested going there for dinner. what turned out was that this velocity @ novena square concept which is supposed to project a sporty youthful image will only be ready in november this year. oh please, judging by the state of renovation, i'm sure they'll slip in their schedule. we suspected the food court was also closed, so we settled for delifrance (not that i'm complaining since i'm a big fan anyway). we went to the adidas sale shop, i won't consider it a warehouse sale, the apparels are from the previous season and are all pretty decent, and everything was at a minimum of 30% discount. i ended with a pink sleeveless steffi graf tennis top, and argentina world cup halter top, and he chose a sleeveless tee - another 5% off for 3 pieces!
saturday we went down to bugis village - oh my, that place's really a heaven for young punksters, and i felt abit out of place. the only reason why i would allow myself to squeeze in through that bugis street alley was that we were visiting a friend's shop on level 2. okay, at least level 2 was decent - brightly-lit and well-ventilated, and the range of clothing and accessories they've got was crazy! manicure/pedicure can be done at cheap rates, but don't expect comfortable armchairs or soothing background music, you'll probably be served by a china lady and our friend insisted that the workmanship is probably not excellent. anyway, this friend and his wife-to-be set up a small stall selling mostly fashion apparels. of course we've got to be supportive of his four-month old business - i bought a brown victorian-inpsired top with some lace and ribbon, the other white spaghetti top was out-of-stock, argh! for exclusivity, they only bring in 2 pieces per size, damn! we then went off to bugis junction and suntec city... whereby i added to my wardrobe yet another gg<5 work pants. now i've got to spend another $5 to get the length altered, how i wish i'm one-inch taller, or that they start providing free altering services.
anyway, i just made some oatmeal scotchies, using nestle butterscotch morsels, shall blog about this later tonight.
scribbled at 5:25 pm
.::.
as the title of this post states, i spent more than usual on shopping this weekend. in fact, i hardly do shopping nowadays - the bf does not like shopping, except at royal sporting house or adidas - that's why. i actually made a boo boo on friday, i have always had the impression that novena square has undergone some major renovation works and expansion, and has became a more happening area for shopping and so, i suggested going there for dinner. what turned out was that this velocity @ novena square concept which is supposed to project a sporty youthful image will only be ready in november this year. oh please, judging by the state of renovation, i'm sure they'll slip in their schedule. we suspected the food court was also closed, so we settled for delifrance (not that i'm complaining since i'm a big fan anyway). we went to the adidas sale shop, i won't consider it a warehouse sale, the apparels are from the previous season and are all pretty decent, and everything was at a minimum of 30% discount. i ended with a pink sleeveless steffi graf tennis top, and argentina world cup halter top, and he chose a sleeveless tee - another 5% off for 3 pieces!
saturday we went down to bugis village - oh my, that place's really a heaven for young punksters, and i felt abit out of place. the only reason why i would allow myself to squeeze in through that bugis street alley was that we were visiting a friend's shop on level 2. okay, at least level 2 was decent - brightly-lit and well-ventilated, and the range of clothing and accessories they've got was crazy! manicure/pedicure can be done at cheap rates, but don't expect comfortable armchairs or soothing background music, you'll probably be served by a china lady and our friend insisted that the workmanship is probably not excellent. anyway, this friend and his wife-to-be set up a small stall selling mostly fashion apparels. of course we've got to be supportive of his four-month old business - i bought a brown victorian-inpsired top with some lace and ribbon, the other white spaghetti top was out-of-stock, argh! for exclusivity, they only bring in 2 pieces per size, damn! we then went off to bugis junction and suntec city... whereby i added to my wardrobe yet another gg<5 work pants. now i've got to spend another $5 to get the length altered, how i wish i'm one-inch taller, or that they start providing free altering services.
anyway, i just made some oatmeal scotchies, using nestle butterscotch morsels, shall blog about this later tonight.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
celebrating daniel's 25th birthday @ jack's place (the resturant)
scribbled at 4:21 pm
.::.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
guess what's this?
thank you, baby! ;)
(ETA: it's a EAR CLEANER!)
scribbled at 1:10 pm
.::.
thank you, baby! ;)
(ETA: it's a EAR CLEANER!)
Thursday, October 19, 2006
sweet 16!
thank you, my love! such a sweet thing you are. ;)
i can't remember all the songs though... "i wanna grow old with you", "i'll stand by you", "the way you look at me", "lady in red", "nothing can stop us now", "through the rain", "no promises",...
scribbled at 7:12 am
.::.
thank you, my love! such a sweet thing you are. ;)
i can't remember all the songs though... "i wanna grow old with you", "i'll stand by you", "the way you look at me", "lady in red", "nothing can stop us now", "through the rain", "no promises",...
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
kelong trip updates
decide to spend some time blogging about the kelong trip since both xp and the bf were not able to make it last weekend. anyway, as you can see in the pictures, the three of us actually tagged along with jack's aunty and her bunch of friends, 10 of us in total - it gives you the feeling that you're a child once again, and you're being well-taken care of by all the adults around you. well, that's really the case, since they are all very familiar with malaysia, and the kelong, and in fact, a couple of them have been for over 10 times! such a chirpy happening group of aunties/uncles, they remind me so much of my parents - so crazily into chinese karaoke, and they even sing the exact same songs!
we left singapore about 7am, and it took us about an hour's drive after clearing the customs to reach kota tinggi (a small town in johor) for breakfast. the roti prata is dirt-cheap! at only sixty-cents ringgit, you can buy three of these for the price of one in singapore. we also shared wanton noodles and nasi lemak - this was the start of a unhealthy fat-laden diet for that weekend. we continued our drive to mersing (i think this is another town in johor, basically we never left johor) and after shopping for fishing supplies along the way, we reached the kelong at about lunch time, where it's time to indulge again. oh yes, the whole weekend diet was basically seafood, seafood, and more seafood (read: chlorestrol-rich) - LOTS of fish (all types, different cooking styles), some crab, crayfish, sotong, shell fish.
i can hardly remember the last time i did fishing. i think it was during a tioman island trip with my parents - i was really young then, it was on a sampan, and vaguely remembered it was a pathetic catch, and my dad even vomitted on the boat. anyway, we did some fishing this time round and the three of us caught approximately 15 fishes altogether? anyway, the collage has got the picture of me posing with the largest one, not too bad huh, considering it was caught with plastic fishing reels, not even proper rods. and look at the plate of steamed fishes, boy, it was fresh! straight from the sea, they didn't even got to live for more than an hour after being caught!
xp - i didn't cut my hair, remember i told you the last time i went to the hair stylist was before the wedding? it's just super messy... basically we left our hair to dry in the sun after swimming in the sea, it was all entangled in clumps, eeks. anyway, i did try out the snorkelling gear, although the water was too murky and there weren't many live corals or fishes. xp/lion/jack, let's go to a proper snorkelling place together next, k!
anyway, it's a great experience to stay a night out in the sea, do try it, especially if you enjoy eating fish (and seafood), you'll get tonnes of those, but do note: living conditions aren't exactly fantastic, it was my first time bathing with a bucket, so don't try if you're the clean freak sort. ;)
scribbled at 8:39 pm
.::.
decide to spend some time blogging about the kelong trip since both xp and the bf were not able to make it last weekend. anyway, as you can see in the pictures, the three of us actually tagged along with jack's aunty and her bunch of friends, 10 of us in total - it gives you the feeling that you're a child once again, and you're being well-taken care of by all the adults around you. well, that's really the case, since they are all very familiar with malaysia, and the kelong, and in fact, a couple of them have been for over 10 times! such a chirpy happening group of aunties/uncles, they remind me so much of my parents - so crazily into chinese karaoke, and they even sing the exact same songs!
we left singapore about 7am, and it took us about an hour's drive after clearing the customs to reach kota tinggi (a small town in johor) for breakfast. the roti prata is dirt-cheap! at only sixty-cents ringgit, you can buy three of these for the price of one in singapore. we also shared wanton noodles and nasi lemak - this was the start of a unhealthy fat-laden diet for that weekend. we continued our drive to mersing (i think this is another town in johor, basically we never left johor) and after shopping for fishing supplies along the way, we reached the kelong at about lunch time, where it's time to indulge again. oh yes, the whole weekend diet was basically seafood, seafood, and more seafood (read: chlorestrol-rich) - LOTS of fish (all types, different cooking styles), some crab, crayfish, sotong, shell fish.
i can hardly remember the last time i did fishing. i think it was during a tioman island trip with my parents - i was really young then, it was on a sampan, and vaguely remembered it was a pathetic catch, and my dad even vomitted on the boat. anyway, we did some fishing this time round and the three of us caught approximately 15 fishes altogether? anyway, the collage has got the picture of me posing with the largest one, not too bad huh, considering it was caught with plastic fishing reels, not even proper rods. and look at the plate of steamed fishes, boy, it was fresh! straight from the sea, they didn't even got to live for more than an hour after being caught!
xp - i didn't cut my hair, remember i told you the last time i went to the hair stylist was before the wedding? it's just super messy... basically we left our hair to dry in the sun after swimming in the sea, it was all entangled in clumps, eeks. anyway, i did try out the snorkelling gear, although the water was too murky and there weren't many live corals or fishes. xp/lion/jack, let's go to a proper snorkelling place together next, k!
anyway, it's a great experience to stay a night out in the sea, do try it, especially if you enjoy eating fish (and seafood), you'll get tonnes of those, but do note: living conditions aren't exactly fantastic, it was my first time bathing with a bucket, so don't try if you're the clean freak sort. ;)
Monday, October 16, 2006
kelong trip!
scribbled at 7:10 pm
.::.
Friday, October 13, 2006
my house is back to its usual peace again! think i didn't mentioned before that we hosted a family of four relatives for the past two weeks; their main purpose here was to witness the wedding, and for most of them, it's their first time out of china. for my aunt, the last time she visited us, i was only FOUR. i've never been very comfortable around children, but this six-year old niece of mine is really a lively adorable kid (okay, more than just that, she's really hyperactive). when i first met her, she was climbing the grills of the metal gate and swinging herself, though still super shy. (anyway, the first thought that came to my mind was that she's a boy 'cos of her hair cut. and i think my mother is trying to change that by getting her everything in PINK.) but the next moment you see her, she started chatting non-stop in her profound hainanese and manyatimes, i find it difficult to convey my message. can't be helped, the last time i spoke hainanese to my late grandfather was more than ten years back, and even back then, my dialect was atrocious. anyway, i think i managed to pick up all the broken pieces (whatever that's left) and i think her mandarin improved tremendously as well. this little girl can go beyond control at times, and she can drive you nuts, but somehow she has this charm in her that will melt your heart in the end.
they left for the airport early this morning. i baked each of them a small bottle of chocolate chip cookies as farewell gifts and my aunt commented that i inherited my love for baking from my grandfather, who had insisted she brought home a whole butter pound cake 21 years ago. my grandfather, like most hainanese, had worked as a home chef for the British during the colonial era; he made the most delicious chicken cutlet and many other singapore hybridised western dishes. and i really really miss the apple pie and chicken pie he used to bake, the rose and leaves he would carve out of remaining plain pie dough to decorate the pies. really, apple pie recipes shouldn't be named after grandmothers - maybe i should go dig out that traditional recipe my mum kept somewhere and try it.
now i'm just thinking when i should visit china again - maybe next year?
oh yes, i'm off to a kelong trip with lion & her beau this weekend! some sea breeze will probably do me some good, although i miss my bed.
scribbled at 7:00 pm
.::.
they left for the airport early this morning. i baked each of them a small bottle of chocolate chip cookies as farewell gifts and my aunt commented that i inherited my love for baking from my grandfather, who had insisted she brought home a whole butter pound cake 21 years ago. my grandfather, like most hainanese, had worked as a home chef for the British during the colonial era; he made the most delicious chicken cutlet and many other singapore hybridised western dishes. and i really really miss the apple pie and chicken pie he used to bake, the rose and leaves he would carve out of remaining plain pie dough to decorate the pies. really, apple pie recipes shouldn't be named after grandmothers - maybe i should go dig out that traditional recipe my mum kept somewhere and try it.
now i'm just thinking when i should visit china again - maybe next year?
oh yes, i'm off to a kelong trip with lion & her beau this weekend! some sea breeze will probably do me some good, although i miss my bed.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
wonder if this is true
scribbled at 6:33 pm
.::.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
wedding dinner at swissotel stamford ballroom
[1] THE certificate of marriage and this sweet little pillow with their names and wedding date stitched on. must be the bride's idea.
[2] photo montage - if you look carefully, that's me during my younger and more playful days.
[3] the chirpy justice of peace livens up the atmosphere during the solemisation.
[4] black + red's the theme for the night.
[5] military march-in, as usual. the sabo came at the second last pair of swordbearers where the groom has to finish a glass of red wine with the last sip for his wife.
[6] the couple, finally at the table to eat a little.
[7] havnen't met this family for the longest time! the kids used to come over on sundays supposedly to study.
[8] another cupcake tower in the bridal suite.
[9] the ang pow collectors.
[10] six-year old niece learning to use the camera.
[11] yups, that's my niece in the pink halter dress i bought her.
[12] with smiley parents.
scribbled at 8:14 am
.::.
[1] THE certificate of marriage and this sweet little pillow with their names and wedding date stitched on. must be the bride's idea.
[2] photo montage - if you look carefully, that's me during my younger and more playful days.
[3] the chirpy justice of peace livens up the atmosphere during the solemisation.
[4] black + red's the theme for the night.
[5] military march-in, as usual. the sabo came at the second last pair of swordbearers where the groom has to finish a glass of red wine with the last sip for his wife.
[6] the couple, finally at the table to eat a little.
[7] havnen't met this family for the longest time! the kids used to come over on sundays supposedly to study.
[8] another cupcake tower in the bridal suite.
[9] the ang pow collectors.
[10] six-year old niece learning to use the camera.
[11] yups, that's my niece in the pink halter dress i bought her.
[12] with smiley parents.
Monday, October 09, 2006
wedding bells go ring ring ring!
morning photos for now.
scribbled at 11:05 pm
.::.
morning photos for now.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
my doraemon & my doraemon lantern
too tired to blog properly, just pictures for now. anyway, readers, please don't be misled into thinking that chinese garden has beautiful lanterns on display, it's actually a far cry from last year's safari theme. very disappointing in fact, so please do spend eight bucks on a movie ticket instead.
scribbled at 11:24 pm
.::.
too tired to blog properly, just pictures for now. anyway, readers, please don't be misled into thinking that chinese garden has beautiful lanterns on display, it's actually a far cry from last year's safari theme. very disappointing in fact, so please do spend eight bucks on a movie ticket instead.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
guo da li
Double Happiness: Each half of the symbol is the standard character for happiness, written "hsi" or "xi," and pronounced something like "she" in Mandarin (high level tone –; the first tone). Therefore, two "hsi" graphs together represents the wish for the two young newlyweds to have happiness together. The double happiness graph (pronounced "shuang-hsi" in Mandarin) is a special Chinese character used for marital happiness. It’s not used in regular Chinese writing or printing.
from left:
[1] with baby jia ying. my dad's cousin married an englishman, which explains the blonde hair. a pretty doe-eyed baby girl who loves her broccoli.
[2] a snap shot of the wedding bears currently sitting in their display cabinet. oh they also appeared in the wedding photo shoot.
[3] chicken rice balls! i don't think you see rice balls anymore these days, according to my relatives, chicken rice is still eaten this way back in hainan.
[4] airflown chicken and goose! they were brought fresh from hainan, and mother actually bothered to cook for the occasion although there was already so much catered food. traditional hainanese chicken rice is actually made using older and plumper birds, as compared to the more tender versions we have now in singapore - which is why i have some trouble eating them... too tough, but yes, more flavourful.
[5] the groom with our six-year old niece from hainan. backdrop is actually the buffet lunch catered (for 50 people!), and yups, we had those for dinner too.
[6] see me disturbing another baby cousin xihan who's trying to hide his face. what a shy boy...and another doe-eyed fellow.
[7] i didn't know shampoo and toothbrushes part of the betrothal gifts.
[8] naughty niece with the chocolate cupcakes... she likes to pinch off the pink icing flower!
[9] so typical of me, i displayed all the gifts for photo-taking. there's tea set, lamps, candles, hard liquor, f&n orange drinks, mandarin oranges, etc etc. according to my bro, this is already the simplified version.
[10] bride and groom with their close friends.
[11-12] relatives - you'll notice the men and women automatically split into two groups when they meet.
[13] grandparents (who gave a huge ang pow). haha.
what a tiring sunday.
scribbled at 2:30 pm
.::.
Double Happiness: Each half of the symbol is the standard character for happiness, written "hsi" or "xi," and pronounced something like "she" in Mandarin (high level tone –; the first tone). Therefore, two "hsi" graphs together represents the wish for the two young newlyweds to have happiness together. The double happiness graph (pronounced "shuang-hsi" in Mandarin) is a special Chinese character used for marital happiness. It’s not used in regular Chinese writing or printing.
from left:
[1] with baby jia ying. my dad's cousin married an englishman, which explains the blonde hair. a pretty doe-eyed baby girl who loves her broccoli.
[2] a snap shot of the wedding bears currently sitting in their display cabinet. oh they also appeared in the wedding photo shoot.
[3] chicken rice balls! i don't think you see rice balls anymore these days, according to my relatives, chicken rice is still eaten this way back in hainan.
[4] airflown chicken and goose! they were brought fresh from hainan, and mother actually bothered to cook for the occasion although there was already so much catered food. traditional hainanese chicken rice is actually made using older and plumper birds, as compared to the more tender versions we have now in singapore - which is why i have some trouble eating them... too tough, but yes, more flavourful.
[5] the groom with our six-year old niece from hainan. backdrop is actually the buffet lunch catered (for 50 people!), and yups, we had those for dinner too.
[6] see me disturbing another baby cousin xihan who's trying to hide his face. what a shy boy...and another doe-eyed fellow.
[7] i didn't know shampoo and toothbrushes part of the betrothal gifts.
[8] naughty niece with the chocolate cupcakes... she likes to pinch off the pink icing flower!
[9] so typical of me, i displayed all the gifts for photo-taking. there's tea set, lamps, candles, hard liquor, f&n orange drinks, mandarin oranges, etc etc. according to my bro, this is already the simplified version.
[10] bride and groom with their close friends.
[11-12] relatives - you'll notice the men and women automatically split into two groups when they meet.
[13] grandparents (who gave a huge ang pow). haha.
what a tiring sunday.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
virgin attempt at frosting cupcakes
my first time making chocolate cupcakes! in fact, this is the first time i'm making cupcakes, the previous attempts were all muffins.
so what's the difference between muffins and cupcakes? some differences i found over the internet: (1) a muffin is technically bread (though it is often cake-like) and a cupcake is technically cake. with the addition of more fat/eggs, the muffin becomes a cupcake. (2) a cupcake is any plain (vanilla, chocolate, etc) cake sometimes with the addition of frosting thats usually eaten as a dessert whereas a muffin (non-English) can be a sweet or savory cakelike thing with additions (fruit, chocolate chips, etc) that is more versatile and more likely to be eaten at anytime of day. eh, whatever.
anyway, i baked the cupcakes the day before, so that i could just concentrate on mixing the frosting and decorating those cupcakes the next morning. not exactly the prettiest, but quite cute and sweet i would say - probably passable for the first attempt. i really can't comment on the taste, because i didn't even get to taste one! was too stuffed from everything else... but guess the guests enjoyed them as much as i enjoyed baking them. ;)
scribbled at 7:52 am
.::.
my first time making chocolate cupcakes! in fact, this is the first time i'm making cupcakes, the previous attempts were all muffins.
so what's the difference between muffins and cupcakes? some differences i found over the internet: (1) a muffin is technically bread (though it is often cake-like) and a cupcake is technically cake. with the addition of more fat/eggs, the muffin becomes a cupcake. (2) a cupcake is any plain (vanilla, chocolate, etc) cake sometimes with the addition of frosting thats usually eaten as a dessert whereas a muffin (non-English) can be a sweet or savory cakelike thing with additions (fruit, chocolate chips, etc) that is more versatile and more likely to be eaten at anytime of day. eh, whatever.
anyway, i baked the cupcakes the day before, so that i could just concentrate on mixing the frosting and decorating those cupcakes the next morning. not exactly the prettiest, but quite cute and sweet i would say - probably passable for the first attempt. i really can't comment on the taste, because i didn't even get to taste one! was too stuffed from everything else... but guess the guests enjoyed them as much as i enjoyed baking them. ;)