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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Hello!

I know it has been really long. and i don’t really know why i don’t blog when i’m in Singapore.

Anyways, I recently went to Marks & Spencer with Fish and we had a mini haul from there and some little things from Takashimaya.

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Before i go into that – my dad’s birthday was on 16th Dec and we bought him a cake. This is a pulut hitam cake we bought from Pine Garden’s Cakes. It was first introduced to us by my cousin and we love love it.

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I’ve recently been reading this book which i borrowed from the library. I know it can be very difficult, but i am trying to make a conscious effort to be more eco-friendly – like using my favourite Built NY market totes whenever i can instead of getting plastic bags. I’m very happy to say that back in Australia we hardly take any plastic bags when we go shopping.

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Something i’ve also learnt a little about is the term ‘fairtrade’.

From wiki - “Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards.”

I don’t mind the higher price on occassional products since they are also not that commonly found in Singapore.

This pack of biscuits – what really drew me in were brazil nuts – i love them freshly cracked!

This costs $9.90 at Marks & Spencer, not sure about the flavour yet – have not opened it yet.

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It has labels that tell me what materials are used in the packaging of this food item. Although i am quite sure that Singapore might not have the facilities to support this yet. 

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Some of the main ingredients are fairtrade such as the sugar and brazil nuts.

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I also bought a pack of delicious looking lasagne sheets. This was $6.50 and what drew me in was that these pasta sheets had free range eggs in them. and if you know me, you know i love my free range eggs.

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I tried eggy lasagne sheets before and i loved loved them. though i can’t seem to find them here in singapore. and so when i saw this – i literally grabbed it.

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I also got a nice bottle of carbonara sauce. It is actually a first for me. I never buy bottled cream sauces cause i don’t believe that they’re any good. but i’m a sucker for good packaging and the description reads amazingly plus the sauce actually looks yellow and thick. As compared to some cream sauces you get from the supermarkets that kinda look smooth, watery and have this weird greyish tinge to it.

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It was down to Takashimaya next and i remembered Chris (a guy from work) who said that the champagne chocolates were good. and so i bought 2 boxes – 1 champagne and 1 cherry liquor. Tried a little of the champagne and i have to say.. they are good. which reminds me.. i should go and have one now. :)

I’m eating them right now. they are good. i hope i dun finish the whole box…nah. i won’t. hehe

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I also bought a bag of black tea. which smells amazing. have not gotten a chance to try it yet. but i will. soon.

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Last and definitely not the least, fish bought this bottle of wine as a birthday present for daddy. I’ve read good things about this – so it will be drunk. soon as well. :)

well well.

that’s all i have at this moment.

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I made sausage bread a while back and i loved it. i will be making more in the near future.

cause.

i’m only working till 31st Dec. and that gives me a whole month.

to play

with our new Oven!!

It’s a Gaggenau BO220 single oven. I cannot wait. The reviews for this oven has been relatively fantastic. and i can’t wait for it to arrive so i may start having a proper oven to cook with!! :)

It’s coming in on Tuesday – my off day! Perfect.

Now.. all i have to do.. is think about what its maiden dish is gonna be.

Excited excited excited.

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Dad’s Beef Stew.

One of the best things that happened on my parents’ trip here was that my dad decided to use this piece of beef that i bought a million years ago – i had no idea what that piece of meat was. It was a beef brisket with bone.

He decided to make a stew and there was no definitive recipe for him to use – so he made up his own. We loved it so so much, we went to the Butcher’s the next day and got 1.5kg of ox/beef tail.

Using nearly half a bottle of Brown Brothers Tarrango.

Here’s the recipe i got off him. – not 100% accurate – just play around with ingredients. It’s not 100% western, nor is it 100% chinese.

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Ingredients

1.5kg Ox tail – get the butcher to chop it for you (or beef brisket w/ bone and fats – which is cheaper but has a lot more fats)
1/2 bottle of red wine (any quality is ok. there is a difference, but it’s ok. we used a $5 bottle the 2nd time)
Dark Soya Sauce
1-2 roughly chopped carrots (the carrots we had were really sweet)
Onions
Leeks
Celery
Spring Onions
Potato
*You can see what veggies you have and use accordingly – we didn’t use celery the first time and didn’t use leeks the second time. It was ok.

Directions

In a pot of boiling water, add the ox tail/beef and let it cook. This is to get rid of any gamey taste the beef might have. Let it cook for approx 10-15mins.

Discard the water and place the beef back into the pot. Add around 1/2 bottle of red wine. and the veggies. Add water enough to cover it generously. Cover and let it gently simmer for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The beef should be extremely tender and the soup flavoursome but.

It will be very sweet – because of the wine and the veggies.

my dad then came up with the idea of adding a little dark soya sauce which was a great idea – it added richness, colour and saltiness to the dish.

*Make sure it is dark soya sauce – which is much darker in colour and less salty than soya sauce itself.

The dish is now ready to be served. Perfect!

The stew is sticky – from the fats and the wine, the meat is tender and very flavourful.

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That day, we also took out of small little steamboat pot – instead, we ended up preferring to bbq our food instead. We bought salmon and thinly sliced those, there were vegetarian tofu, prawns and marinated pork slices.

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Fish even ran down to get a pack of VB to accompany the dinner. and to cook
some of our food in. See the aluminium foil in the bbq tray, we would place the slices of salmon, prawns and tofu there to cook – adding a good amount of VB and salt. Adds a great fragrance to the food.

A very very good dinner. and i hope it happens again soon. =)

Sunday, August 01, 2010

The joys of living in a high rise apartment. and etc.

The wind is wonderful today!

It is so cooling, so alluring.. it gets so cold, but yet when it leaves you want it back so badly.

It is such a great Sunday. I’ve even passed up on a sponsored shopping trip just to stay home, enjoy the breeze and relax.

Last year, we were still living in our rented landed house. and it was hell. it was hot hot hot. nothing but hot. it was one of the worst places i’ve ever lived in. but now moving to our new apartment on the 7th floor. the wind is delectable. and and.. just to distract from the wind. i get to watch the Food Network on SCV! The lousy landed house didn’t have cabling done and we didn’t have access to SCV for nearly 2 years!!

My new house is a condo called Braddell View in .. obviously.. Braddell. It is quite an old condo. It is a huge estate with loads of greenery – which my dad loves loves. all our houses always have greenery. as many of you would know, our previous condo was ‘Green Meadows’. the concept of the condos are similar and both were huge estates – but i think this one is bigger – or maybe just more high rise buildings.

Our lift actually says..’thank you for waiting’ haha. the first time we heard it i didn’t think that it was really the lift – i thought it was someone’s phone making noise. haha

7th floor is quite ok. though it’s the lowest we’ve ever stayed in – if i try very hard to erase the memory of the landed house. The first HDB we stayed in was on the 24th floor. that was awesome.

Then we moved to green meadows and that was on the 8th floor. and now Braddell View at the 7th floor.

a little higher could be better. but i’m happy. i don’t sweat when i sleep at night. and waking up in the morning is so comfy and it brings a smile to my face when i’m snug under the blanket with foggy. and my body feels cool and dry. instead of uncomfortable and sticky. the only thing left now is to get a better quality bedsheet.

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My mum bought this very cute bedsheet when she was at Brunei. and it really is cute. the only thing is. it was scratchy. when i first came back – it was uncomfortable. it was so scratchy.. but i got used to it. and it’s ok now. though not perfect. next quest: get a good bedsheet. oh and a good pillow.

and that’s foggy lying there. so very very cute!

Ooo. since we’re on the way.. below is my first meal eating out.

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Eaten at Square 2 i think. Not sure what the building name is – but it’s the one connected to Novena Square. It’s Ban Mian! Not the best but it was the first dish i ate since coming back. and i’ve eaten many more since then! hahaha

Bye for now. We’re going to have yu pian mi fen (鱼片米粉) tonight! I’l be sure to remember to bring me camera!

I’m going to read my book ‘The Book Thief” now. and watch Food Network HD (ch. 468) as well!

YUM YUM YUM!

Something Different…

Hello!

I know it has been some time since i last blogged. I realised that i don’t blog as much when i’m in Singapore. but i do want to record my memories, so i’ll try harder.

So. Just a quick update. (After typing this all.. it’s actually not a quick one. hehe)

I’ve started work at StarHub – in their call centre. and i’ve been through the first week of training. I’ve made great friends and i’ve so far – enjoyed myself.

One of my trainers – Luke – has a vegetarian food blog where he blogs about vegetarian eateries and his opinion on them. So it is quite cool since i’ve been to some of those places when i was a vegetarian a few years back!

On another note,

I’ve been listening to the same album for the last 2-3 weeks. i really do like it a lot.

The singer is Darius Rucker and he’s a black country singer. Awesome….

The album i’m listening to right now is ‘Learn to Live’ and i love love every single song on the album.

I listen to it every morning during my journey from home to work. and i think it puts me in a good mood. It’s upbeat and every song tells a story and some touches your heart. The lyrics are quite well written and he doesn’t sing about irrelevant issues. He sings of love, death… real issues that real people face. I like that. and i find it heartening to find such a singer in the current music industry.

I love all the songs – but there are some favourites..

1. History in the Making – Such a sweet song.. awfully fit for a wedding, anniversary.

“This could be one of those memories
We wanna hold on to
We wanna cling to 
The one we can’t forget

Baby this could be our last first kiss
The dawn to forever
What if this was that moment?
A chance worth taking”

2. Alright – telling yourself that everything is alright, all you need is to look at the little things around you. =)

“Cause i’ve got a roof over my head
the woman i love laying in my bed
And it’s alright, alright

I’ve got shoes under my feet
Forever in her eyes staring back at me
And it’s alright, alright

I’ve got all i need
And it’s alright by me”

3. It won’t be like this for long – this is a song that would touch a parent’s heart. A song that carries you through the tantrums and the frustration of a growing child.

“It won’t be like this for long
One day soon you’ll drop her off and she won’t even know you’re gone
This phrase is gonna fly by, if you can just hold on,
It won’t be like this for long.

He lays done there beside her
and just watching her it breaks his heart
cause he already knows,
It won’t be like this for long
One day soon that little girl is gonna be all grown up and gone
and this phrase is gonna fly by
so he’s trying to hold on
It won’t be like this for long…”

4. If I had wings – This has to be my favourite favourite song. The message is so strong.

”Why do we hate?
Why do we suffer?
Why do we make our mistakes and constantly blame one another?
Why is there war?
And why is there killing?
Have we forgotten some secret we knew back when we were just children?

If i had wings, i’d fly up to heaven
I’d look down from the clouds
On everything
Then i could find
All the things we’ve been missing
I would have all the answers
If i had wings”

5. While i still got the time – A song reminding you to cherish all you have in the short time we have.

“39 candles burnt out on a cake
Each representin’ a million mistakes
The last one still burns, there’s a wish I can make
This time I’m getting’ it right
So I close my eyes and I take a deep breath
And I promise myself in the time I have left

I’m gonna work like I don’t need the money
I’m gonna laugh like I’m not afraid to cry
I’m gonna dance like nobody’s watchin’
I’m gonna love while I still got the time”

I’ve named some of my favourites – i could list them all –  i really really do like them all. Enough for me to share the album with you guys!

I’ll be back with more pictures of food! Quiches and food that i’ve eaten since my return!

Oh. and along the lines of being random. I’ve just painted my nails a beautiful dark blue after wearing China Glaze’s Four Leaf Clover for 2 weeks. I just bought it for $3 @ The Face Shop and the colour’s beautiful but the formula is bad bad bad. hehe. just being random =)

Oooo.. and i bought a new book today. Heard 2 aunties talking about it and saying that it’s quite a good recipe book. So i got it since i want try making swiss rolls.

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It comes with 2 DVDs as well. So i hope to learn loads from it.

Since i’ve drifted to the topic of books. I’ve just bought 2 books from the bookdepositoryUK. One is ‘The book thief” and the other is “The Story of English”. Reading “The Book Thief”.

Oh. and Fish is going to back to Australia tml and i’ll be all alone till November. I’m so so sad. I’ll miss him loads and i sure can’t wait till we can be back in Australia together again!

Ok. i think this has gone on long enough. hehe.

See ya soon! =)

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Pepper Lunch!

When Pepper Lunch first opened in Singapore, i loved the whole idea of it. and since then, i’ve found my favourite and i’ve stuck to it. Beef Pepper Rice.

I’m not keen on the rest – although i do quite like the hamburger but i don’t like beansprouts.

So when i came to Sydney, i found a Pepper Lunch in the city – in a very convenient location.

I haven’t eaten it in a while, but a post by Weiliang in Facebook got me thinking about it again.

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I’m not sure if the menu is the same as that in Singapore though.

But i ordered what i always would and over here, you can add an egg and cheese for $1.50 extra – it used to just be a $1 but they increased the price.

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Yum yum yum. oh! and you can even upsize the rice for an extra $1.80 – i tried it once and boy it was a whole lot of food. haha. i would do it again if i were sharing it with hui.

and fish had their special – which is wagyu beef for $15.

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Didn’t manage to get a good picture.. just loads of beansprouts. hehe

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We also – rather, fish, likes their salad – which is quite cheap - $2 on some days. Today, fish decided to try the chicken salad. which i surprisingly good. The chicken was very tender and moist. I think we’ll definitely be ordering it with chicken again!

I like Pepper Lunch.

Homemade Curry Puffs coming up soon!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Eveleigh Farmers' Market

When my parents came, it was the first saturday of the month, so we could choose to go to the Eveleigh Markets at Redfern or the Pyrmont Growers’ Market. It had been raining every single day that week and so i decided to go to Eveleigh Market since it is sheltered.

We drove to Locomotive Street at the Australian Technology Park. and parked there. They offer a free shuttle bus service to the Market from there. and so we found the bus stop – not too difficult.

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The bus came relatively quickly. That morning, there was only one other lady at the bus stop.

and we’ve reached.

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We bought some stuffs – ate a light lunch there, drank hot chocolate.

These are some of the stuffs we bought:

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Zucchini and Almond Flats – these taste really good and don’t really any sauce to go with them since they are flavourful enough.

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These dips are incredible. I love love love them. Both have olives in them. The Kalamata olive dip is purplish in colour and has a good amount of chunks of roughly chopped olives in it. It also has a very strong flavour. The green olives with artichokes is much milder but very delicious as well. I first tried this at the stall and they are really generous with the sample portions. I fell in love and bought the green olives. then i went back and saw this purple thing on top of a piece of bread, tried it and loved it. My dad loved it too so i bought 2 tubs, one for me and one for him to bring back to Singapore.

These dips have cream cheese as a base, so they are tangy and savoury.

I can’t decide which one i like better. I like both. They go really great with bread or just plain biscuits. I could just keep eating these all day long.

They don’t have an ultra long shelf life though. I was there early June and i don’t remember which one had an expiry date of 22nd June and 5th July. So you have to consume it diligently.

They’re not too expensive – i think it was $3.50 per tub. I saw it at a grocer at Randwick for $4.20 a tub and their expiry dates were nearer.

We also bought chorizos and bacon which fish loves. I have blogged about their Chorizos before. One of the best.

and we bought Black Angus Sirloin Steak – still in the freezer – not quite sure what to do with them yet.

I quite like it here. there are loads of dogs – and surprisingly, i wasn’t afraid that day – i think i was too busy looking at the stalls.

Instead of driving, you could sit a train to Redfern and walk there – and the shuttle bus does go by there to pick passengers – i think that’s a great idea.

I’ll be going to another farmers’ market soon, but i think most likely it would be the one at EQ – the first one i’ve ever been to.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Grand Pacific Drive and Nan Tien Temple!

When my parents came a few weeks ago, they wanted to visit Nan Tien Temple which is at Wollongong. After some research, i found out that Sydney actually has a Grand Pacific Drive. It was increase our trip by 1/2hr – 45mins more to ard 2 hrs 30 mins, not including the stop over.

but i decided it was worth it since we don’t often get a chance, since a car is necessary.

After a long long drive and getting lost once or twice, passing the Royal Botanic Gardens. the road opened up and we found ourselves in a beautiful beautiful area.

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and that’s my dad there. This place is called the Royal National Park – Coast Walk.

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Tis when we discovered that there was a trekking route there as well. and off exploring we went.

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and don’t ask me why. but we decided to go right. unclad bathing?

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As we went in deeper.. the road got more and more treacherous. and my dad really wanted to keep going but we had to go to the temple and so we turned back.

and we finally reached the temple after getting lost again.

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This would be the main temple.

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and by then. we were obviously hungry. all vegetarian food here obviously.

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Dried Wanton Mee. for mummy

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and Laska for the 3 of us.

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Nuggets.

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These curry puffs were delicious! and it has inspired me to make my own – skin and all – which i already have and will be posting soon. not vegetarian but you could definitely tweak it to.

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That was that. our drive up to Nan Tien Temple with unexpected surprises along the way.

Beautiful scenery along the Grand Pacific Drive – loads more places to stop and take pictures but we didn’t have the time to.

Still, a wonderful trip. it also makes me so so glad we have a gps. i planned the going route using google maps but the gps guided us all the way home safely.

*Btw, i really like the outdoors pictures that i’ve taken and the Panasonic Lumix FZ35 is really good in capturing colours and the vibrancy of the sky. I merely tweaked the brightness and contrast.