The Smell of Sea

I know it's been ages since the last blog entry.

To make up for it let us just imagine the smell of sea and the peaceful rhythm of waves...

And of course the scrumptious Indonesian food during my short vacation somewhere in April before the end of my easter break...









Fresh coconuts to quench the thirst by the swimming pool...






That's all for now folks. Have fun while this blog hibernates for the time being and I'll see you guys again in June!

Provided I survive the exams that is...

Take care!

Giselle in the Park

Set against the beautiful backdrop of Fort Canning Garden, Giselle in the Park is a production by the Singapore Dance Society after the successful Ballet under the Stars. This dance performance unfolds the love story of Giselle, a village girl, from her falling in love with a duke to the spiritual world of her ghost after she dies from heartache.

Pinic party usually starts 2 hours before the event and it's amazing having a prepared dinner while the sky turns a gorgeous orange come dusk and into a canopy of stars a few moments before the performance begins.

For the pinic, I was initially deciding between preparing a smoked salmon baguette and a seafood butter rice but due to time constraint, I've cooked a simple bento of grilled salmon and prawn instead. If you are going straight from work, there are pinic baskets for sale as well so it's really hassle free.



For those interested, the next upcoming similar event (Ballet under the Stars) will be in July.

The Penny Black - Boat Quay

Met up with a friend for a catching up session last night and knowing that I have a thing for snakebite, he brought me to The Penny Black along Boat Quay...an important discovery(snakebite in Singapore that is) I say!

The Penny Black
26/27 Boat Quay
Singapore 049817
Tel: 6538 2300

My Baking Disaster...

Pandan Chiffon Muffin

My sister and GQ were both having a good laugh when these muffins couldn't stop expanding while in the oven and then the muffin tops got so bloated that they were pushing each other down while fighting for space. The outcome was a complete flop with the top sinking in once out of the oven and the middle portion all filled with air.

Lesson learnt:

Do not add baking powder indiscriminately.




Apple Muffins

I was initially prepapring myself for a luscious treat...looks pretty good ya?



But if you take a look at the 'before' photos now, it is obvious that the top portion of the paper cupcake liners were totally burnt and because the liners were not non-stick surface, the muffins ended up mostly inedible.

Lesson learnt:

Do not buy fanciful pretty-to-look-at cupcake cases and then ending up with poor end product.




Peanut Soft Buns

As the name suggests, this was supposed to be soft and fluffy...

Not a cousin of Popeye's biscuit...





Sis: Hey I think you should leave some by the main gate!

Me: ????

Sis: Hard enough to use as a weapon against any intruder!

Me: !!!!!!



I used the leftover dough from the previous bun flop for this hot dog roll...of course expecting another flop.

Lesson learnt:

Invest in a good electric mixer for kneading novice.

Treasure Resort Sentosa

Just returned from a lovely retreat at Treasure Resort Sentosa enjoying the sun and carefree weekend.

And because this is 'her food journal', here's an obligatory photo of ermm....food...



I am starting to have a feeling that this holiday will be a tad too short...

Top of the M

Been feeling rather under the weather...so here's a pictures' entry for lunch @ Top of the M...

Top of the 'M'
Meritus Mandarin Hotel
333 Orchard Road
Level 39
Singapore 238869
Tel: 68316258

Pricing: <$60 per pax

Ma Maison - Bugis

Tucked in a corner of Bugis Junction, Ma Maison has been around for a long time and the appeal of this French inspiried Japanese restaurant is in its cosy cottage style setup, complete with tiffany lamp, wooden beams, floral curtains and the works.

Japanese style deep fried seafood with prawn, scallop and fish



Cuttlefish Ink Spaghetti with mushrooms, onion and squid.

Initially I was a little apprehensive about ordering this particular dish as I wasn't too sure how exactly does squid ink taste like(yeah curiosity got the better of me again). Despite the black outlook, the pasta came al denta with this edge to the flavour which I couldn't quite make out the details other than a subtle hint of garlic and onion with slightly inky aftertaste.

Just a gentle reminder to not order this dish on a hot date because the ink will stain your lips, teeth, tongue and even gum making the dining experience a dating disaster.

After wiping my lips for countless times, my teeth was still stained so you can imagine... ... ...

Lastly a warm brownie with ice cream.



***Both of us girls thought that the waiters were quite eye-candy material :P

Ma Maison Restaurant
200 Victoria Street #02-51
Parco Bugis Junction
Singapore 188021
Tel: 6338 4819

Pricing: <$30 per pax

Bubor Pulot Hitam

I've tried searching for a recipe for Bubor Pulot Hitam online (a black glutinous rice dessert with coconut milk) but most seems complicated so I gave my Mum a call and asked her for the easiest way to prepare...which other than the 3 hours cooking time, there's almost not much effort needed.

I like the luxurious contrast of the smooth dark purple mixture against the white creamy coconut milk.



Here goes:

Ingredients:

- Black glutinous rice (200g)
- Pandan leaves (Screwpine leaves)
- Brown/rock sugar
- Water (10 bowls)
- Coconut cream



Instructions:

- Give the rice a thorough rinse
- Add pandan leaves and boil together with 5 bowls of water for 45 min (on medium heat)
- Add 1 bowl of water every 20 min subsequently or till the mixture is mushy (on low heat)
- Stir constantly to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pot
- Add sugar to taste
- Lastly garnish with some coconut cream (I mixed 25ml of coconut cream with 25ml of water)

Lei Garden - Chijmes

(I almost completed my entry when I foolishly clicked on the exit button before saving the post so I guess with it being almost 6 in the morning and me not having a single wink as yet this shall be a short entry of my dim sum lunch at Lei Garden.)

Steamed prawn dumpling (Har Kau) has always been a staple during dim sum and with the crystalline outer layer of nicely done skin wrapped with fresh marinated prawn, this is easily the best dish of the meal.



Xiao Long Bao.



The deep fried shrimp roll with beancurd skin and avocado with prawn wrap were however not too impressive especially with oil still dripping onto my plate when served.





The lobster porridge was light and smooth with robust stock and bite size pieces of lobster.



The alaska crab claw was a recommendation by the captain which was coated with flour and deep fried, served drenched with thai sweet chilli over a piece of carrot cake and asparagus. Notice the word 'drenched'? Sadly, the thai sweet chilli was a tad too sweet for my personal liking and with the crab meat already fried and served with the sauce, there was no natural sweetness of the meat since the sauce overpowered any remaining flavour it should have.



Lastly, there's egg tarts baked with soft fluffy crust with the not too sweet custard served warm and durian pudding, both of which I find very delicious.





Generally, the immaculate service is a big pulling point. Tea was constantly being refilled, chair was pulled and napkin positioned on the lap, at the end of the meal a waiting staff walked us to the main door and a call was made to us 2 hours before the reservation asking if we wanted to pre-order any dishes in the event they sell out early. I will just make a mental note to avoid the deep fried dim sum...


Lei Garden Restaurant (Chijmes)
#01-24 Chijmes
40 Victoria Street
Singapore 187996
Tel: 6339 3822

Flauta (La) Bar & Restaurant - Barcelona

Finally this shall be the last of my Barcelona series. There are a lot more fantastic restaurants that we've tried during the trip since we basically had 4 meals a day including supper but both of us agree that this is the only one we will visit again if we ever return to Barcelona.

Flauta is recommended by Lonelyplanet and a few other travel websites as an often packed restaurant being one of the best place to try a variety of tapas in the Catalunya area. We arrived slightly early to avoid the 9pm dinner crowd which is the Spanish's usual dinner time with the restaurant being more than half empty (this caused slight panick as I thought my nagivation skills went wrong and we were stuck in a wrong restaurant).

Service was prompt and we were served by a waiting staff from Philippines who asked if we were from Sout East Asia moments after we requested for an English Menu (it's easy to spot a Singaporean trust me!) Went on to have a nice chat with the lad and he recommended me to go to the bar where all the fresh seafood and cold tapas were displayed and take my pick from there since the English menu was not too extensive on the selection available. It was fun to order via the pointing method and most of the food came way better than expectations.

A bottle of sparkling wine to mark the last night of our trip.



The razor clams (also known as bamboo clams), with a nice touch of mere olive oil and parsley, was a nice change from the usually garlic loaded ones we get from Singapore. Cooked just tender enough without being over rubbery, this is my favourite dish so far!



There's grilled salmon with white raisin sauce and grilled cod fish with prawn.





Fried cheese coated with nuts and topped with cranberry sauce which remsembles deep fried camberet without the layer of nuts.



Deep fried anchovies



Deep fried squid (calamari)



More clams



For greens we ordered asparagus which was overcooked and way too limpy as can be seen from the picture.



And lastly...a slice of chocolate mousse cake with whipped cream for a sweet finish...



The bill came up to a little under 100 euros for 2 pax which I find reasonable given the overall standard of the place but it certainly showed not much mercy towards my student's pocket. Service was great, attentive and all, althought GQ felt they were all directed at the fairer sex but I bet he enjoyed himself just as much.

Flauta (La) Bar & Restaurant
Aribau 23,
Barcelona, CT 08011

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When choosing the hotel for this trip, we made a mental note to avoid international chains and landed ourselves in Hotel Montecarlo.

As quoted from their website: "The Hotel Montecarlo, an old nineteenth-century palace which used to be the home of the Royal Artistic Circle of Barcelona, opened its doors on one of the world's most famous avenues, Las Ramblas, next to Plaça Catalunya, in the centre of Barcelona, in 1945."

I have but only raves for this hotel...strategic location, personalised service, huge in-room jacuzzi with Champange's campange, automated bed with remote control to adjust the inclining level, balcony facing Las Ramblas (ours is the balcony on the third level towards the left from the picture) and chocolates were given thoughtfully everyday after room service.









All in all, this has been a great trip (discounting the pickpocket experience of course) and if given a chance someday, I'll definitely do a stopover just for its tapas!

*Finally touched down in Singapore last night and am up now with barely 3 hours of sleep...jet lag...jet lag...*