Pandan cake
Bak Kwa(!)
Cha Siew
Siu Yok
Views from our new home
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
See ya 2008...
Christmas has come and gone… sigh! We spent it in the mountain range of Snowdonia, North of Wales in a quaint little cottage which I later realised was about 400 years old (!) and was a grade II listed building (whatever that means) which made me feel like I was staying in somewhere of significance. Anyway, it was really different staying with a family of 5 (parents, Ruth, YL and I) as opposed to just YL and I that I'm so used to. Food seemed to finish up exponentially faster! Haha…
We had our splendid Turkey dinner on Christmas day – this was made magnificently by YL (who I feel has become quite a good cook in the kitchen!), the turkey meat was juicy and moist with a hint of orange and spice flavour. Needless to say, we walloped the whole bird in less than ½ hour. Mum ensured that we did not forget Singaporean fare and so prepared her usual suite of excellent yummies throughout the week, we had bua kuluat, chicken curry, pork chop, dumplings etc. Mahjong was the order for most days, sometimes extending into the wee hours of the morning. When we weren't playing Mahjong, it was cheesy movies, settlers of catan, billards, and just chatting. We were also very blessed with good weather, which is unusual for the time of the year so we made the most of it by roaming the countryside and putting my "fake" 4x4 to good use. Anyway, its all good and we arrived back in London without any hiccups (albeit all slightly heavier) after a week of fun and relaxation. Mum and Dad will be returning to Singapore in the next couple of weeks and Ruth will be going back in the end of the month.
Next up – more holidays have been planned, one ski trip in 3 weeks time followed by another with Adrian and Sharon in the 2nd week of March, a 2 week cruise to Turky, Egypt and Israel in early May, and hopefully (fingers crossed) our dear friends CW and LPs from Singapore will finally come up and meet us in London in March/April. So – an eventful 1st half of next year is planned and I can't wait. 2008 has gone so quickly but it will be etched in our memories as a splendid and eventful year living and working in London, wouldn't give it up for anything. See ya 2008…
We had our splendid Turkey dinner on Christmas day – this was made magnificently by YL (who I feel has become quite a good cook in the kitchen!), the turkey meat was juicy and moist with a hint of orange and spice flavour. Needless to say, we walloped the whole bird in less than ½ hour. Mum ensured that we did not forget Singaporean fare and so prepared her usual suite of excellent yummies throughout the week, we had bua kuluat, chicken curry, pork chop, dumplings etc. Mahjong was the order for most days, sometimes extending into the wee hours of the morning. When we weren't playing Mahjong, it was cheesy movies, settlers of catan, billards, and just chatting. We were also very blessed with good weather, which is unusual for the time of the year so we made the most of it by roaming the countryside and putting my "fake" 4x4 to good use. Anyway, its all good and we arrived back in London without any hiccups (albeit all slightly heavier) after a week of fun and relaxation. Mum and Dad will be returning to Singapore in the next couple of weeks and Ruth will be going back in the end of the month.
Next up – more holidays have been planned, one ski trip in 3 weeks time followed by another with Adrian and Sharon in the 2nd week of March, a 2 week cruise to Turky, Egypt and Israel in early May, and hopefully (fingers crossed) our dear friends CW and LPs from Singapore will finally come up and meet us in London in March/April. So – an eventful 1st half of next year is planned and I can't wait. 2008 has gone so quickly but it will be etched in our memories as a splendid and eventful year living and working in London, wouldn't give it up for anything. See ya 2008…
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Christmas is approaching...
So, much has happened since I last wrote, sad events really, especially the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the Bangkok protests. As the news unfolded, I really felt sad and sorry for the victims in Mumbai who lost their lives so innocently and tragically. I just hope that what's happened has brought more people together to treasure their loved ones and not take anything for granted...
Anyway on a different subject, Christmas is approaching (!) and everyone is in a Christmassy mood lately. Mum and dad are both coming over to London and I've booked a cottage in the countryside (together with a traditional fire place and all) so the whole family can all spend a quiet and peaceful Christmas week together, who knows Santa might actually visit (since for the first time in my life he has fireplace access on Christmas eve)... hahaha. YL is excited about roasting a nice turkey for Christmas lunch and mum is all ready to cook up a storm for those 7 days. I've got the monopoly board, mahjong and other board games ready, and ruth is tasked with researching the sights to visit while we're there.... The only thing between now and then is this transaction I'm currently on which is going full steam ahead...
Oh well, 1 step at a time, 1 day at a time, soon it'll be Christmas and the New Year, then I'll have my leave entitlement reset - and it'll be skiing, diving, cruising, etc. all over again! 4 months since the last holiday is 4 months too long :)
Anyway on a different subject, Christmas is approaching (!) and everyone is in a Christmassy mood lately. Mum and dad are both coming over to London and I've booked a cottage in the countryside (together with a traditional fire place and all) so the whole family can all spend a quiet and peaceful Christmas week together, who knows Santa might actually visit (since for the first time in my life he has fireplace access on Christmas eve)... hahaha. YL is excited about roasting a nice turkey for Christmas lunch and mum is all ready to cook up a storm for those 7 days. I've got the monopoly board, mahjong and other board games ready, and ruth is tasked with researching the sights to visit while we're there.... The only thing between now and then is this transaction I'm currently on which is going full steam ahead...
Oh well, 1 step at a time, 1 day at a time, soon it'll be Christmas and the New Year, then I'll have my leave entitlement reset - and it'll be skiing, diving, cruising, etc. all over again! 4 months since the last holiday is 4 months too long :)
Monday, 17 November 2008
Doctor doctor...
Man I hate being ill.
Had the flu today so I went to the doctor, and all he did (besides prodding and poking) was to tell me I would get better. Had a prescription which I'm not supposed to use unless I get worse in the next 72 hrs and thats it.
"You'll get better???" - thats it??? no nothing to alleviate my symptoms? I know I'll get better, but I really feel like crap now so can you either (1) make me better faster or (2) make me feel better while I get better... I had no energy to argue with him so I just grunted and left.
Had the flu today so I went to the doctor, and all he did (besides prodding and poking) was to tell me I would get better. Had a prescription which I'm not supposed to use unless I get worse in the next 72 hrs and thats it.
"You'll get better???" - thats it??? no nothing to alleviate my symptoms? I know I'll get better, but I really feel like crap now so can you either (1) make me better faster or (2) make me feel better while I get better... I had no energy to argue with him so I just grunted and left.
Monday, 3 November 2008
How about "Gordon"?
Last Friday, Yen Ling and I went to the live casting of Gordon Ramsay's latest show "Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong Live" :) http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/cookalong-live/ We managed to get tickets through a ballot system and were really looking forward to it. I must say, Ramsay was like a energizer battery, jumping up and down the whole time. But the highlight of the night was when he even spoke to me!! (well, it was speaking not in the sense of like having a conversation but rather, he said to me "Hope you enjoy the show") I was grinning from ear to ear and could only muster a nod with a "thanks!", nothing more... like a stupid starstruck teenager like that...
It was really so interesting watching how he cooked, explained and then served the meals. And when it was advertisement time, all the crew scurried to change the utensils, ingredients etc. James Caan and Peter Jones from 'Dragons Den' were also there... Johnny Vegas was the comedian that accompanied Ramsay while he was cooking. It was really quite a fun night. It was too bad though the energizer Ramsay disappeared too quickly after the show so we didn't manage to get any autographs.
If anyone wants to see the replay, I think its on Channel 4's website. It should be available with "4 on demand", YL and I were standing behind Gordon.
Anyway, apart from the exciting Friday evening, we had a very fun weekend as well, on Sat we had a cook-in with the Songs and Phee and on Sun we went to watch JB's Quantum of Solace and after that took a nice stroll along Canary Wharf after a meal at Slug and Lettuce again with the Songs and Phee...
It was really so interesting watching how he cooked, explained and then served the meals. And when it was advertisement time, all the crew scurried to change the utensils, ingredients etc. James Caan and Peter Jones from 'Dragons Den' were also there... Johnny Vegas was the comedian that accompanied Ramsay while he was cooking. It was really quite a fun night. It was too bad though the energizer Ramsay disappeared too quickly after the show so we didn't manage to get any autographs.
If anyone wants to see the replay, I think its on Channel 4's website. It should be available with "4 on demand", YL and I were standing behind Gordon.
Anyway, apart from the exciting Friday evening, we had a very fun weekend as well, on Sat we had a cook-in with the Songs and Phee and on Sun we went to watch JB's Quantum of Solace and after that took a nice stroll along Canary Wharf after a meal at Slug and Lettuce again with the Songs and Phee...
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Cha cha moon...
I think we might have found our first "food court" in London! With all the bad news in the financial market at the moment, it's no wonder that more and more people and going to cheap and cheerful no frills restaurants instead of the mouth-watering but wallet-busting types.
This Sunday, we did just that… we went to cheap and cheerful cha cha moon with Adrian, Sharon, Lynette and gang. Cha cha moon is Alan Yau's latest venture; Yau is the guy who opened Wagamama, Busaba, Hakkasan and Yauatcha. Hakkasan is the only (I think) Chinese restaurant in London with a michelin star. Anyway, cha cha moon is the Chinese cuisine equivalent of Wagamama. All food cost £3.50 flat, portions are fairly small but its ok – we just got two portions!! heh heh… The most important thing though is that the food was GOOD. The tyrant and I were so impressed that we went again yesterday and we shared a plate of hokkien mee, cha kway teow, wanton mee and spring onion pancake… And the bill came up to £15! One funny thing that happened though was when the order was taken, I had the misfortune of being "corrected" by the waitress when I asked for Wanton Mian. She (ang mo huh) repeated after one or two tries: oh you want the "One Ton Mee-And", ok… I was thinking to myself, "err… right… but trust me lor, its not pronounced like that", anyway whatever… the Mee-And came and we gobbled it up in minutes. Apart from the food court price, there was also the food court/hawker centre style service, waiting (we had to queue for like 20 minutes) and atmosphere (everyone was taking so loudly, sharing benches and food was prepared in an open concept kitchen). All in all, it was an excellent find… and it looks like we'll be back.
http://eatlikeagirl.com/2008/05/13/cha-cha-moon/ I found this site while googling for cha cha moon...
Apart from cha cha moon, our weekend was also spent eating… heh heh… we went to our favourite Cafe Japan on Saturday afternoon and spent Saturday evening at Sharon's place where we watched X Factor while we had a nice home cooked meal. It was a bit odd though the combination of the food: we had buah kuluat, kong bak pau, grilled peppers with aubergine, cheesecake, scones with clotted cream and cheese… very cha palang right? Quite like us really… chinese origin, but with with a bit of ang mo influence
This Sunday, we did just that… we went to cheap and cheerful cha cha moon with Adrian, Sharon, Lynette and gang. Cha cha moon is Alan Yau's latest venture; Yau is the guy who opened Wagamama, Busaba, Hakkasan and Yauatcha. Hakkasan is the only (I think) Chinese restaurant in London with a michelin star. Anyway, cha cha moon is the Chinese cuisine equivalent of Wagamama. All food cost £3.50 flat, portions are fairly small but its ok – we just got two portions!! heh heh… The most important thing though is that the food was GOOD. The tyrant and I were so impressed that we went again yesterday and we shared a plate of hokkien mee, cha kway teow, wanton mee and spring onion pancake… And the bill came up to £15! One funny thing that happened though was when the order was taken, I had the misfortune of being "corrected" by the waitress when I asked for Wanton Mian. She (ang mo huh) repeated after one or two tries: oh you want the "One Ton Mee-And", ok… I was thinking to myself, "err… right… but trust me lor, its not pronounced like that", anyway whatever… the Mee-And came and we gobbled it up in minutes. Apart from the food court price, there was also the food court/hawker centre style service, waiting (we had to queue for like 20 minutes) and atmosphere (everyone was taking so loudly, sharing benches and food was prepared in an open concept kitchen). All in all, it was an excellent find… and it looks like we'll be back.
http://eatlikeagirl.com/2008/05/13/cha-cha-moon/ I found this site while googling for cha cha moon...
Apart from cha cha moon, our weekend was also spent eating… heh heh… we went to our favourite Cafe Japan on Saturday afternoon and spent Saturday evening at Sharon's place where we watched X Factor while we had a nice home cooked meal. It was a bit odd though the combination of the food: we had buah kuluat, kong bak pau, grilled peppers with aubergine, cheesecake, scones with clotted cream and cheese… very cha palang right? Quite like us really… chinese origin, but with with a bit of ang mo influence
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