Living out your dreams...
This morning I happened to chance upon a short little video on picture books about the life of Jane Goodall, a chimpanzee expert/ ardent conservationist. The illustrations are wonderful! Somehow I found it touching when she spoke about how women had some innate qualities like empathy and intuition we can bring to the field of science. I just never thought of it that way. I got somewhat upset when folks at Cambridge told her chimpanzees should only be given numbers and not names...!
Monday, May 09, 2011
These days I find myself running out of things to say. Perhaps I am growing more and more self-conscious and critical => so I self-censor more these days. The past weekend was a very exciting one... with WP making history by winning a GRC. Personally, the most touching part was witnessing the successful outcome of their tough bid/ fight... how these ppl can hold on to their ideals despite the difficulties faced and work really really hard to realise their lofty dreams.
One of the amusing "by-product" of election night was that Mr Yam Ah Mee, our dear Returning Officer, went from sheer obscurity to being one of the most well-liked faces in GE 2011 overnight. Given his very sudden and overwhelming popularity (with 38,427 likes and counting on his FB fan page), I think his rise to fame beats Miss NS, who prob became Sg's most popular politician on FB over a span of at least a week or two. It's somewhat 'heartwarming' too that though ppl poke fun at his 'robot voice' and photoshop his face onto logos of traditional chinese medicinal balms and all; most of the online chatter about him is in good jest. Mr Yam really looks like a pretty earnest and sincere kinda guy.
This evening my mum also got a really yummy choc cake from Chocolate Origin at Changi Village for my sis' birthday tomorrow. I have to say it is one of the yummiest and chocolatey cake I've ever had, and it certainly feels more like a choc cake than these Awfully Chocolate cakes. I think Awfully Choc cakes are actually awfully unchocolatey, because they never seem to leave a nice cocoa-ish aftertaste. While they taste alright, they remind me more of flavoured dense dark brown cream and not chocolate... but somehow the Awfully Choc stuff has a cult following. Sorry to say, but their cold poached choco cakes are one of the more hideous-looking cakes I've seen. (wah, why i suddenly so evil and foul-mouthed haha)
I will end on a sad note. My little plant at office is dying and looking jaundiced. Maybe it's finally manifesting the symptoms of printer toner-dust poisoning :(
One of the amusing "by-product" of election night was that Mr Yam Ah Mee, our dear Returning Officer, went from sheer obscurity to being one of the most well-liked faces in GE 2011 overnight. Given his very sudden and overwhelming popularity (with 38,427 likes and counting on his FB fan page), I think his rise to fame beats Miss NS, who prob became Sg's most popular politician on FB over a span of at least a week or two. It's somewhat 'heartwarming' too that though ppl poke fun at his 'robot voice' and photoshop his face onto logos of traditional chinese medicinal balms and all; most of the online chatter about him is in good jest. Mr Yam really looks like a pretty earnest and sincere kinda guy.
This evening my mum also got a really yummy choc cake from Chocolate Origin at Changi Village for my sis' birthday tomorrow. I have to say it is one of the yummiest and chocolatey cake I've ever had, and it certainly feels more like a choc cake than these Awfully Chocolate cakes. I think Awfully Choc cakes are actually awfully unchocolatey, because they never seem to leave a nice cocoa-ish aftertaste. While they taste alright, they remind me more of flavoured dense dark brown cream and not chocolate... but somehow the Awfully Choc stuff has a cult following. Sorry to say, but their cold poached choco cakes are one of the more hideous-looking cakes I've seen. (wah, why i suddenly so evil and foul-mouthed haha)
I will end on a sad note. My little plant at office is dying and looking jaundiced. Maybe it's finally manifesting the symptoms of printer toner-dust poisoning :(
Monday, May 02, 2011
Almost every weekend I resolve to devote some time to doing something "productive" - yet every time I mostly end up nuahing and self-indulge in stuff like checking out cafes/ watching movies/ shopping etc. Bleah. Ok lah, this weekend I also attended the WP's Aljunied GRC rally at Serangoon stadium and a SDA one at Pasir Ris park... What a world of difference though - both in terms of the turnout and quality of debate/ arguments put forth.
A song my sensei shared in Jap class some weeks back led me to look up 'Hana' (Flower) by Orange Range on Youtube... this in turn led me to discover the Japanese movie (今、会いにゆきます) with Hana as the theme song. This is the only Japanese rap song I know/ like and find poetic - and the lyrics became even more meaningful after I watched the movie over the weekend. Yuji's picture book from his mom was reminded me of drawings from The Little Prince... I guess I was meant to watch this movie :)
A song my sensei shared in Jap class some weeks back led me to look up 'Hana' (Flower) by Orange Range on Youtube... this in turn led me to discover the Japanese movie (今、会いにゆきます) with Hana as the theme song. This is the only Japanese rap song I know/ like and find poetic - and the lyrics became even more meaningful after I watched the movie over the weekend. Yuji's picture book from his mom was reminded me of drawings from The Little Prince... I guess I was meant to watch this movie :)
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Cute sights in Nagano City + Anime movie I just got!
We were supposed to make our way to Tokyo on the 12th, but due to the train disruptions and all, thought it wise not to return to Tokyo the day after the earthquake and wait till things have stabilised a little. So our day was spent leisurely in Nagano City instead. A certain famous ancient temple by the name of Zenkoji temple was the key attraction there; so we dutifully made that our tourist destination of the day heh. Along the way we decided to be adventurous and got a miso soft-serve. It tasted exactly like miso and I regretted it immediately after the first few bites... and we ended up dumping it for a normal strawberry soft-serve heh.
Aside from wandering about the temple grounds and various small shops along the way, we were pretty chill...
Self-service omikuji (fortunes)... these remind me of five stones :P
Two young Jap ladies unravelling their fortunes...
The prettily and neatly tied-up omikujis never fail to impress me...
Cute mirrors and hankies I spotted in a souvenir store!
Irasshaimase (Welcome)! Pls open the door and come in...
View of cute shopfronts from inside the cafe...
We were supposed to make our way to Tokyo on the 12th, but due to the train disruptions and all, thought it wise not to return to Tokyo the day after the earthquake and wait till things have stabilised a little. So our day was spent leisurely in Nagano City instead. A certain famous ancient temple by the name of Zenkoji temple was the key attraction there; so we dutifully made that our tourist destination of the day heh. Along the way we decided to be adventurous and got a miso soft-serve. It tasted exactly like miso and I regretted it immediately after the first few bites... and we ended up dumping it for a normal strawberry soft-serve heh.
Aside from wandering about the temple grounds and various small shops along the way, we were pretty chill...
Self-service omikuji (fortunes)... these remind me of five stones :P
Two young Jap ladies unravelling their fortunes...
The prettily and neatly tied-up omikujis never fail to impress me...
Cute mirrors and hankies I spotted in a souvenir store!
Irasshaimase (Welcome)! Pls open the door and come in...
View of cute shopfronts from inside the cafe...I just bought the DVD for 5 centimeters per second online! By another up & coming anime director Makoto Shinkai... The level of details depicted in his scenes (mirroring reality) is amazing and I felt compelled to get it. Somehow the japanese spoken in these kinda trailers just feel so poetic...
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Japan trip in bite-sizes
Our first 3 nights were spent in snowy Hakuba in Nagano prefecture, some 4.5 hrs car ride northwest of Tokyo... We were blessed with clear skies and lots of sunshine the first day; and cloudy skies but lotsa snow on the second. While it was nice to have clear skies and sunshine; it was certainly a lot more exhilarating/ fun skiing while snowing... There was so much fresh soft snow on 2nd day that our skis got stuck in piles of snow when making our way down the bunny slopes.. And I finally got the hang of skiing this time round! (after a whole morning/ afternoon of falls on the first day though)
Hakuba Yamano hotel - situated right beside a ski jump stadium
Peek of ski jump stadium from hotel balcony... cannot imagine how anyone can do the real thing. I will settle for the Wii version anytime heh.
Took our meals mostly at the hotel; cos we were too lazy and cold to go wander else :P Hearty breakfast to start the day! but the sunny-side ups didn't want to be eaten and made a face.
a healthy dinner of shabu shabu...
Our first 3 nights were spent in snowy Hakuba in Nagano prefecture, some 4.5 hrs car ride northwest of Tokyo... We were blessed with clear skies and lots of sunshine the first day; and cloudy skies but lotsa snow on the second. While it was nice to have clear skies and sunshine; it was certainly a lot more exhilarating/ fun skiing while snowing... There was so much fresh soft snow on 2nd day that our skis got stuck in piles of snow when making our way down the bunny slopes.. And I finally got the hang of skiing this time round! (after a whole morning/ afternoon of falls on the first day though)
Hakuba Yamano hotel - situated right beside a ski jump stadium
Peek of ski jump stadium from hotel balcony... cannot imagine how anyone can do the real thing. I will settle for the Wii version anytime heh.
Took our meals mostly at the hotel; cos we were too lazy and cold to go wander else :P Hearty breakfast to start the day! but the sunny-side ups didn't want to be eaten and made a face.
a healthy dinner of shabu shabu...Thursday, April 07, 2011
I think this is the 2nd time Subway staff at the White sands branch called me 'Mom' when asking me what I wanted... I thought only Filipino maids called their female employers 'Mom'... but both the Filipino young lad taking my sandwich order and the Filipino lady at the cashier addressed me as 'Mom'!!
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Terrible Tuesday
I felt 'weak' at work today :( On some days, my denseness and inability to express thoughts clearly show up very clearly. And with peers and bosses who are the exact opposite, you can't help but feel very small... Then recently I kept getting asked/ questioned on things that ppl assume I should know, but I don't (mostly because I haven't been motivated enough to go read up on all these extra stuff outside working hrs) - then I wonder if i should remain bochap or whether it's worthwhile to be more conscientious about it. So far I think I have been leaning towards the bochap side, but also end up getting rather stressed up when the same questions keep getting thrown to me by diff ppl on diff occasions. Bleah :( :(
Today I also got a little annoyed and petty at boss who spoke to me as if I should have known and put something into my submission all along when she never even asked to discuss the issue properly anyways. Hmph!
I felt 'weak' at work today :( On some days, my denseness and inability to express thoughts clearly show up very clearly. And with peers and bosses who are the exact opposite, you can't help but feel very small... Then recently I kept getting asked/ questioned on things that ppl assume I should know, but I don't (mostly because I haven't been motivated enough to go read up on all these extra stuff outside working hrs) - then I wonder if i should remain bochap or whether it's worthwhile to be more conscientious about it. So far I think I have been leaning towards the bochap side, but also end up getting rather stressed up when the same questions keep getting thrown to me by diff ppl on diff occasions. Bleah :( :(
Today I also got a little annoyed and petty at boss who spoke to me as if I should have known and put something into my submission all along when she never even asked to discuss the issue properly anyways. Hmph!
Saturday, April 02, 2011
It's been a long while since my last blog entry. I have been quite pre-occupied with something important the whole of this week... though I'm still not quite done with it and prob wun for a while - thought I'd write a quick post today :) I really want to blog a little about my Japan trip too, but I guess I'd have to keep that for later.
Today in Jap class our teacher taught us various ways to deal with food-related complaints in Japanese... like if the waiter got the wrong order; or if the food is taking too long, what do you say? Hmmm the responses were quite interesting, cos even the complaints had to be expressed somewhat politely and without appearing too rude! Sensei also asked what the difference was between a Japanese 'coffeeshop' and a Sg one... and the answer was that in Japan, usually more than 50% of the customers are alone whereas in Sg, we usually go to cafes with friends etc. I wonder why...
Thru the song for last week, I discovered another Jap anime master (Makoto Shinkai) who draws superbly realistic stuff - and I wanna buy his DVDs! Today's song was also quite cool - a jap version of "My Grandfather's Clock" by Ken Hirai... The Jap version is slightly diff from the Eng one though... Eg. instead of standing for ninety years in the Eng version, the clock in the Jap version stood for a hundred years heh.
Today in Jap class our teacher taught us various ways to deal with food-related complaints in Japanese... like if the waiter got the wrong order; or if the food is taking too long, what do you say? Hmmm the responses were quite interesting, cos even the complaints had to be expressed somewhat politely and without appearing too rude! Sensei also asked what the difference was between a Japanese 'coffeeshop' and a Sg one... and the answer was that in Japan, usually more than 50% of the customers are alone whereas in Sg, we usually go to cafes with friends etc. I wonder why...
Thru the song for last week, I discovered another Jap anime master (Makoto Shinkai) who draws superbly realistic stuff - and I wanna buy his DVDs! Today's song was also quite cool - a jap version of "My Grandfather's Clock" by Ken Hirai... The Jap version is slightly diff from the Eng one though... Eg. instead of standing for ninety years in the Eng version, the clock in the Jap version stood for a hundred years heh.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Red velvet cupcakes!
I fell in love with the red velvet cake after I had my first piece at Food For Thought opposite National Library... Sad to say I have never managed to relive my first yummy experience ever since... and the red velvet cakes I had the past few times were usually too dry and flaky for my liking. Not fresh and moist at all. So when I found a recipe from my Food & Travel mag earlier this year - I decided to make them on my own one day.
I made these last Wed but it was a little rushed cos I only had abt 2 hrs or so to make them in the morning before a dentist appt ard 1230pm... but the recipe was pretty good and the cake turned out surprisingly fluffy and decent! My color was actually a bit off - to be healthy I avoided dyeing them deep red... so I actually ended up with pretty pinkish/peachy sorta muffins... But for some reason they actually turned darker later at night - which was excellent cos then they looked more authentic when I topped them off with the cream cheese mixture! It was my first time trying to 'pipe' anything from a piping bag... and it was pretty fun once I got the hang of it.
My cupcakes looking all gooey and bubble-gummy before gg into the oven...
I fell in love with the red velvet cake after I had my first piece at Food For Thought opposite National Library... Sad to say I have never managed to relive my first yummy experience ever since... and the red velvet cakes I had the past few times were usually too dry and flaky for my liking. Not fresh and moist at all. So when I found a recipe from my Food & Travel mag earlier this year - I decided to make them on my own one day.I made these last Wed but it was a little rushed cos I only had abt 2 hrs or so to make them in the morning before a dentist appt ard 1230pm... but the recipe was pretty good and the cake turned out surprisingly fluffy and decent! My color was actually a bit off - to be healthy I avoided dyeing them deep red... so I actually ended up with pretty pinkish/peachy sorta muffins... But for some reason they actually turned darker later at night - which was excellent cos then they looked more authentic when I topped them off with the cream cheese mixture! It was my first time trying to 'pipe' anything from a piping bag... and it was pretty fun once I got the hang of it.
My cupcakes looking all gooey and bubble-gummy before gg into the oven...I think I would gladly make these again - and they will prob be redder and less healthy the next time round heh. Am also happy to share the recipe with anyone who's interested, so just let me know! :)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
She who eats's little fundraiser
She who eats (Chika) is a talented Japanese food blogger I follow regularly... She takes lovely pictures and whips up all sorts of lovely treats - mostly from fresh produce she finds in Japan... Now, Chika is doing a little fundraiser for the disaster relief efforts; and at the same time giving away some sakura goodie sets to 3 lucky donors at the same time! If you'd like to try your luck at winning one of these cool sakura sets while doing some good, do drop by her blog here. Funds raised will go to the International Relief Committee - whose strategy for the disaster relief is to "give direct support to Japanese organizations that have immediate access to the affected areas and that have the appropriate capacity and experience"...
Good luck!
She who eats (Chika) is a talented Japanese food blogger I follow regularly... She takes lovely pictures and whips up all sorts of lovely treats - mostly from fresh produce she finds in Japan... Now, Chika is doing a little fundraiser for the disaster relief efforts; and at the same time giving away some sakura goodie sets to 3 lucky donors at the same time! If you'd like to try your luck at winning one of these cool sakura sets while doing some good, do drop by her blog here. Funds raised will go to the International Relief Committee - whose strategy for the disaster relief is to "give direct support to Japanese organizations that have immediate access to the affected areas and that have the appropriate capacity and experience"...
Good luck!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
It was really unfortunate that such a catastrophic disaster hit Japan - so suddenly and so horribly. Monica-san (the Hakuba Yamano hotel co-owner) broke the earthquake news to us on our way back from Happo-one ski resort. That was about 3-something pm on 11 Mar; and we cldn't quite believe our ears until we stepped into the hotel lobby and there it was LIVE on TV - the terrifying tsunami fast advancing towards the coastal region at Miyagi prefecture, quickly sweeping away houses, cars - igniting fires and perpetuating fires as it engulfed anything and everything in its way. It felt all too surreal - until I saw the damage the tsunami had caused close-up later that day and repeatedly on tv over the next few days.
We were lucky not to have really felt it in Hakuba - except for like a cold draft that hit the slopes when skiing (which according to Monica-san was probably due to the earthquake). Another 6. something magnitute earthquake did hit close to where we were though (in the Niigata/northern Nagano region) ard 4am on 12 Mar - but thankfully nothing worse than the brief shaking of our hotel building was felt.
The rest of our trip became a lil 'out-of-whack- but it was really not that bad already. I consider it amazing how the JR service and Tokyo metro subway around our area resumed almost the day after... and most of the train lines were pretty much in operation ard Tokyo. Contrary to some somewhat misleading reporting on CNN, the 'wiped out' kombini stores sight was likely only limited to the Sendai area (At one pt, I got a little annoyed how CNN kept playing up the extent of damage and horror of the whole episode without giving viewers that much detail on the specific areas affected/ where the scenes/ photos were taken. But I suppose that's what catches ppl's attention/ glues them to the TV - rather than the mundane and un-newsworthy fact that ppl's lives in many parts of Japan also went on pretty much as usual).
In fact, much of Tokyo seemed so normal that I would scarcely have imagined that a huge earthquake had hit the country just a few hundred kilometres away... It's heartening though that ppl appear to all be chipping in to reduce energy usage. Some shops were closed/ dept stores had shortened opening hrs - and McDonalds at Narita airport even removed their electronic menu display and guests only had paper menus to refer to.
I hope that Japan recovers from the disaster soon. News of the nuclear crisis at Fukushima is rather disturbing - really hope that the worst is over. It's sick how some folks exploited the earthquake/ nuclear crisis to spread false rumours about radiation leakage:
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/577284/its_a_hoax_radiation_from_japan_nuclear_leak_spread.html
Some folks created a 'facemap' and placed it near the Meiji-Jingu bridge near Harajuku station in Tokyo for people to leave encouraging messages.
Maybe we can all do our part by giving a little to help the people in need in Japan:
Donate to the Sg Red Cross via Groupon: http://www.groupon.sg/deals/singapore/support-emergency-relief-efforts-in-japan-and-other-affected-areas-all-donations-will-be-given-to-the-red-cross/715829794
You can also give a little via global websites such as Global Giving: http://www.globalgiving.org/
ありがとう。
We were lucky not to have really felt it in Hakuba - except for like a cold draft that hit the slopes when skiing (which according to Monica-san was probably due to the earthquake). Another 6. something magnitute earthquake did hit close to where we were though (in the Niigata/northern Nagano region) ard 4am on 12 Mar - but thankfully nothing worse than the brief shaking of our hotel building was felt.
The rest of our trip became a lil 'out-of-whack- but it was really not that bad already. I consider it amazing how the JR service and Tokyo metro subway around our area resumed almost the day after... and most of the train lines were pretty much in operation ard Tokyo. Contrary to some somewhat misleading reporting on CNN, the 'wiped out' kombini stores sight was likely only limited to the Sendai area (At one pt, I got a little annoyed how CNN kept playing up the extent of damage and horror of the whole episode without giving viewers that much detail on the specific areas affected/ where the scenes/ photos were taken. But I suppose that's what catches ppl's attention/ glues them to the TV - rather than the mundane and un-newsworthy fact that ppl's lives in many parts of Japan also went on pretty much as usual).
In fact, much of Tokyo seemed so normal that I would scarcely have imagined that a huge earthquake had hit the country just a few hundred kilometres away... It's heartening though that ppl appear to all be chipping in to reduce energy usage. Some shops were closed/ dept stores had shortened opening hrs - and McDonalds at Narita airport even removed their electronic menu display and guests only had paper menus to refer to.
I hope that Japan recovers from the disaster soon. News of the nuclear crisis at Fukushima is rather disturbing - really hope that the worst is over. It's sick how some folks exploited the earthquake/ nuclear crisis to spread false rumours about radiation leakage:
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/577284/its_a_hoax_radiation_from_japan_nuclear_leak_spread.html
Some folks created a 'facemap' and placed it near the Meiji-Jingu bridge near Harajuku station in Tokyo for people to leave encouraging messages.Donate to the Sg Red Cross via Groupon: http://www.groupon.sg/deals/
You can also give a little via global websites such as Global Giving: http://www.globalgiving.org/
ありがとう。
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Friday, March 04, 2011
Otogicco
I have a recent fetish for this Japanese red riding hood called Otogicco... She is really cute! The mini love affair started when someone gave me a Otogicco-in-sitting-position clip (for holding pieces of paper upright)... Actually I have seen her previously in specialty stationery stores like Wood Would - but I have long gotten over my sec-sch-buy-cute-stationery phase. Plus - these stuff are always quite ex, so I have not made any rash irrational decision recently by spending say $10, $20 on a little notepad/ stickers and such... But maybe I shall hunt for some Otogicco paraphernalia when I go to Japan next week!!! :D
I have blatantly capitalised on Otogicco's cuteness for a mini office b-day celebration mailer heh. Yes, our COS is over!! (Not like I was part of the core group of long-suffering souls... but I think I will benefit from the less tense atmosphere in office from tmr onwards)
I have a recent fetish for this Japanese red riding hood called Otogicco... She is really cute! The mini love affair started when someone gave me a Otogicco-in-sitting-position clip (for holding pieces of paper upright)... Actually I have seen her previously in specialty stationery stores like Wood Would - but I have long gotten over my sec-sch-buy-cute-stationery phase. Plus - these stuff are always quite ex, so I have not made any rash irrational decision recently by spending say $10, $20 on a little notepad/ stickers and such... But maybe I shall hunt for some Otogicco paraphernalia when I go to Japan next week!!! :D
I have blatantly capitalised on Otogicco's cuteness for a mini office b-day celebration mailer heh. Yes, our COS is over!! (Not like I was part of the core group of long-suffering souls... but I think I will benefit from the less tense atmosphere in office from tmr onwards)
Monday, February 28, 2011
I turned 28 over the weekend... just 2 more years before the big '3'...! Was ill most of the week; but thankfully semi-recovered on Sat... Nice sis got me a relatively atas-looking little cake (which I chose) from a neighbourhood mall in Tampines on Fri night. It was a breakfast cake :)
Didn't end up doing anything particularly special; but sometimes being able to enjoy simple things in life is a blessing too... Only on my bday do my parents and sis crowd around a little piece of pastry to sing in unison FOR ME! And on this day you suddenly hear from and receive well wishes from many friends; but there are also some you hope to hear from but don't... heh.
I never really know beforehand what to wish for before blowing out my candle. This year it was the same. For now I still have the luxury of time to wish that I will figure out what to do with my life soon...
My summer lemmon mousse cake! I kinda liked how the lemon slices resembled bicycle wheels heh.
Tulips from someone special :)
Didn't end up doing anything particularly special; but sometimes being able to enjoy simple things in life is a blessing too... Only on my bday do my parents and sis crowd around a little piece of pastry to sing in unison FOR ME! And on this day you suddenly hear from and receive well wishes from many friends; but there are also some you hope to hear from but don't... heh.
I never really know beforehand what to wish for before blowing out my candle. This year it was the same. For now I still have the luxury of time to wish that I will figure out what to do with my life soon...
My summer lemmon mousse cake! I kinda liked how the lemon slices resembled bicycle wheels heh.
Tulips from someone special :)Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Woke up with a bad sore throat this morning and decided to take one-day MC... there's so much work to do but v little motivation to get to them... bleah :(
On a brighter note, I have been taking Illustrator online classes the past few weeks, and am discovering how powerful and fun this program is! Alas, it is extremely extremely expensive and have yet to figure out a way to get hold of the software after my trial version expires :(
A simple homework piece I did for this week! The jap characters just read "Pretty flowers!" haha. These few simple Japanese characters have made the whole picture look a lot more poetic-looking... isn't it? Maybe I am biased.
On a brighter note, I have been taking Illustrator online classes the past few weeks, and am discovering how powerful and fun this program is! Alas, it is extremely extremely expensive and have yet to figure out a way to get hold of the software after my trial version expires :(
A simple homework piece I did for this week! The jap characters just read "Pretty flowers!" haha. These few simple Japanese characters have made the whole picture look a lot more poetic-looking... isn't it? Maybe I am biased.Sunday, February 20, 2011
Cooking Class @ TOTT
I realised that chopping is an essential and important skill to acquire... Cos we had to chop up stuff for practically every dish, my hands got a little achey at the end after chopping lotsa spring onions, leeks, lemongrass, ginger etc.
Our tom-yum soup... actually it isn't that difficult to make this after all :)
Oyster fritters in batter form. I was terrible at deep frying these - and transferred my frying duties to D halfway after a blob of hot oil leapt out of the pot onto my right forehead!
Time to savour the rest of the dinner! (The greenish looking thing is actually our ginger-crusted salmon; while the bowl of brown liquid is raspberry choc sauce for our fruit spring rolls. The oyster fritters with pomegranate chilli jam were gobbled up during class :P)
There was quite a bit of washing up to do throughout the class... but luckily kitchen assistants helped to do the more mafan parts...
Pre-Valentine's, we took a cooking class together at Tools Of The Trade (TOTT) at Dunearn Rd. The class was called Cooking To Seduce: Kamasutra in the Kitchen, but obviously it was nowhere as suggestive. The only faint association with the title was the supposedly aphrodisiac nature of the dishes we were taught.
The class was pretty packed (we were typically given only up to 15/20 min for each dish) but quite fun. The cooking studio was really new and well-equipped with modern and chio kitchen utensils (which could be bought next door at their in-house store). The electric stove was also a bit too high-tech for me and I cldn't quite figure out how to operate it without assistance from the staff. Or maybe not that it's high-tech, but just that I seldom cook!
I realised that chopping is an essential and important skill to acquire... Cos we had to chop up stuff for practically every dish, my hands got a little achey at the end after chopping lotsa spring onions, leeks, lemongrass, ginger etc.
Our tom-yum soup... actually it isn't that difficult to make this after all :)
Oyster fritters in batter form. I was terrible at deep frying these - and transferred my frying duties to D halfway after a blob of hot oil leapt out of the pot onto my right forehead!
Time to savour the rest of the dinner! (The greenish looking thing is actually our ginger-crusted salmon; while the bowl of brown liquid is raspberry choc sauce for our fruit spring rolls. The oyster fritters with pomegranate chilli jam were gobbled up during class :P)
There was quite a bit of washing up to do throughout the class... but luckily kitchen assistants helped to do the more mafan parts...
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Year of the Rabbit
I received a bad piece of news on the last day of the Tiger year... my favourite colleague has decided to call it quits and she broke the news to me minutes before we knocked off on Wed afternoon. Her announcement came as a shock to me as I wasn't quite expecting it. Not that the thought of her quitting never crossed my mind (and in fact I've ever planted such an idea in her head...) but I suppose these events took place a couple of months ago so when 'disaster' finally struck, I found myself feeling rather upset. Hai... but hopefully, my fav colleague will move on to a more fulfilling job that makes her happier :)
That aside, the long CNY break was pretty good. Had a one-day staycation at HFC, during which I had a mini museum-cum-photo outing... Also exercised on Sat morning, followed by a nice (though brief) meetup with C & J, Jap classes and other self-enrichment activities. The thing that spoiled my weekend though was an urgent request for talking pts that came in yesterday night, which I had to get out by tonight... Boo!
Here's a pic I took secretly in the Singapore Art Musuem (SAM) shop... Of a rabbit coaster. More pics to come later - hopefully later this week...
I received a bad piece of news on the last day of the Tiger year... my favourite colleague has decided to call it quits and she broke the news to me minutes before we knocked off on Wed afternoon. Her announcement came as a shock to me as I wasn't quite expecting it. Not that the thought of her quitting never crossed my mind (and in fact I've ever planted such an idea in her head...) but I suppose these events took place a couple of months ago so when 'disaster' finally struck, I found myself feeling rather upset. Hai... but hopefully, my fav colleague will move on to a more fulfilling job that makes her happier :)
That aside, the long CNY break was pretty good. Had a one-day staycation at HFC, during which I had a mini museum-cum-photo outing... Also exercised on Sat morning, followed by a nice (though brief) meetup with C & J, Jap classes and other self-enrichment activities. The thing that spoiled my weekend though was an urgent request for talking pts that came in yesterday night, which I had to get out by tonight... Boo!
Here's a pic I took secretly in the Singapore Art Musuem (SAM) shop... Of a rabbit coaster. More pics to come later - hopefully later this week...
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