Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Have been awfully busy these past couple of days. Hence, the lack of entries and updates. My apologies!
Am also feeling extremely guilty from the over-consumption of cakes at The Patissier. But kinda made up for it with a 3 year California Fitness Platinum Membership. Did a Fat Analysis and they were very impressed with my Body Fat Mass BUT kept commenting about how skinny i was and that i needed to gain at least 8-10kg of muscles. Yes, i am very under-developed and underweight. BMI 17.2?! You gotta be kidding me right. 
Anyway, i baked an orange chiffon cake, as requested by dar's mom, just last Wednesday. Decorated the surface of the cake with rather thinly sliced oranges. Dar's dad found it too sweet while his mom felt it could be sweeter. Though i didnt get to sample the cake, I sincerely believe its on the sweeter side (tried the batter you see). Not because of the addition of too much white sugar, but prolly due to the natural sweetness exuded by those big orangey Australian Navel Oranges. Eitherway, i received positive feedback from them both. The entire cake was also consumed within the day itself! Dar didnt even get to try my creation. Haha!
See picture 3 and 4 above? That's a Cocoa Napolean (Light Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone Cheese and a crunchy Praline Base) and a Double Chocolate Praline (Hazelnut flavoured Chocolate mousse with Praline on a crunchy Chocolate Base) respectively. Also had their signature PassionFruit Meringue, Chocolate Fudge, Fruit Tart, Earl Grey Cheese and a Tiramisu! All these consumed within 2 days! The Meringue's extremely GOOOD! Am also considering getting the DCP for dad's birthday. Hmmm.
And come Saturday, the family and i travelled via BUS to Tiong Bahru for Lunch. I never liked and possibly never will like travelling via public transport. The crowd, the squeeze, the endless travelling time, the sometimes cold yet humid airconditioning, the long waits, the drivers who "crawl" on the roads and the list just goes on and on and on.....
Talking about Tiong Bahru, we had lunch at a very Ol'School coffeeshop. Its located directly opposite the Food Centre/Mkt and also housed within the same coffeeshop as the Curry Rice stall. Nope, we didnt come for curry rice today (i'm not a huge fan of it either), duck rice was what we came for. I particularly like the soup though. The duck slices were also very skillfully and thinly sliced, with very minimal duck fats on the side. Also purchased some side dishes, namely pork chops, braised sio bak and fish, from the curry rice stall.
Before that, Uncle also brought us to a very traditional bakery located along Tiong Bahru as well. If i'm not wrong, its called Galicier. We had their Sugar Donuts, Ondeh Ondeh, Coconut Rolls, Tapioca Cakes and some Pastries. Very traditional indeed. I especially like the Coconut Rolls. Instead of the usual brown coconut, here, they use fresh white coconut. Sugar Donut was pretty good too. Always loved them with loads of Castor Sugar. Heh~
And then, for tea-break, we all shared Macarons (Violet, Rose, Salted Caramel, Chocolate, Pistachio), Valrhona Chocolate Eclairs and a Grand Cru Royale Chocolate Cake from CentrePS. The Grand Cru Royale's one of their signature pieces but pricing wise is steeper than The Patissier. IMHO, i personally prefer The Patissier's, Dar reckons they both fare equally. -_-.
Caught The X-Files later in the evening. So Gorey!!! I was practically covering my eyes half the time! A little too much dialogue for my liking as well. The Dark Knight certainly is much much better.
Late dinner across the street. We all had Bak Kut Teh, Teochew style. Its pretty tasty! I havent tried Founders so i wouldnt be able to draw a comparision but according to dar and my aunt, they personally felt that tonight's version tasted pretty on par, if not better, than Founders! So why queue and torture your hungry tummies when you can simply head down the street to have some palatable Bak Kut Teh within minutes!
Alrightey, guess i better end my entry now lest you fall asleep. Shall keep you all updated on my cake consumption (still more to come) and also, my torturing but quite enjoyable sessions at California Fitness. Also, do pardon me for the poor quality pictures. These were taken with my lou ya pok HP camera. Cybershot is still enjoying its holiday in The States. Grrr..
Oh yes, Happy 22nd Monthsary Fatty! HeeHeeHee
Till then, Tata!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Cupcake Baking Class with Chef Puja (Paisley & Cream) at Palate Sensations.
Its located along Portsdown Road, Wessex Estate. Only 2 options to get there, cab or drive.
Class started promptly at 11am and ended shortly before 2pm. There were a total of 6, including me. Each of us went home with a box of 7-9 cupcakes. I brought home some cupcake decorations too! Pretty Little Things.
Kahlua and Rum & Raisin Cupcakes. I shall just let the pictures do the talking.
These pretty little things not only looked good, they tasted good too! I'd prefer the butter cream frosting to be a little sweeter though.
The family gave Kengy a belated B-day Cake surprise at Grandma's place as well. Cake order for The Patissier's Croquembouch was closed yesterday, hence, cld only make do with Sunday. But it sure made a better surprise. Haha.
Pictures of the Croquembouch are still inside my Cybershot, which is currently enjoying a 2 week holiday in the US of A, New York City! Hence, they will only be uploaded in abt 2-3 weeks time.
As for me, no worries, i'm still with you all in our very sunny yet wet island, Singapore. =)
Lots of L.O.V.E now and forever
pammiez~
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The family and i made a trip down to Ivy Singh's Farm for lunch today. Located deep inside Kranji, a highly inaccessible place it certainly is. It took us 45mins-1hr, via car, to get there. That's one long helluva ride.
A vibrantly lit place laid out with wooden tables and chairs to give one a country home-ly feel. The yellow green walls and colorful drapes on the ceiling sure is pleasing to the eyes.
Surprisingly, despite its inaccessible location, the eatery was still brimming with people! What then is so special about this place? Well, what you see on the farm is what you eat. Her crops (vegetables and fruits) are grown organically, with no addition of medicine, chemicals or whatsoever. Even the fertilizers are 100% organic!
The food items we ordered, down below, are all items from their weekend lunch menu. Do come early for lunch for food items once sold out will not be replenished. They will be simply striked off their chalkboard.
Aloe Vera + Lime drinks for one and all. Kengy, the b-day lady and GM had Fig Tea.
Its sweet and refreshing. I like it.
Everything's very tasty! It took them less than 10 minutes to serve us our rice and accompanying dishes. Service was no doubt prompt and efficient. Impressive.
A very simple and hearty affair. One cant help but feel extremely fat-free healthy.
Explored Ivy Singh's farm thereafter. It was pretty huge, but not very well-maintained. Could prolly be due to the lack of manpower and equipment. Did i mention that her house is extremely beautiful? Its situated in the farm itself and has a back porch that overlooks the lake. Aww, how i wished i lived in sucha house, but not in that area though. =P
Drove out to Eunos for a very very sinful and heaty feast.
DURIANS from FOUR SEASONS CAFE!
They even had an air-conditioned dining area which i tot had a pub feel. With all that air-conditioning, imagine how that place must SMELL!
To cut the long story short, we had the Mao Shan Wang and Golden Phoenix.
Creamy, Sweet and slightly bitter. Perfect for the sweet-toothed.
More bitter than sweet. The seeds are very small, hence, more flesh. A very good durian indeed. Durian lovers will appreciate this.
Tobie, my dog, LOVES durians. Dad gave him one piece of durian once and he polished it off in less than a min! Like owner like dog. Hahahah~
Trained down to meet dar for our movie session later in the evening. Dar got stuck in the lift! First time ever. LOL
Caught The Dark Knight, at The Grand Cathay, at 715pm. It was fully booked! Got tickets the day b4 hence managed to secure seats for the both of us. Munched on a large popcorn as we didnt have time for dinner.
The movie lasted 2 and a half hours. Its really entertaining, full of action and thrills. Certainly well-worth my $8. Haha. Next up, The Mummy! Gonna get tickets earlier this time around. And i hate it when the people beside you keep rocking their seats. How inconsiderate, BOO.
That kinda sums up my very lengthy post.
Tata for now!
With love, now and forever
pammiez
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
COOKIESCOOKIESCOOKIES!!!
Enough baking of cakes for the month, that's for sure.
Mom tells me to stop lest all my guinea pigs start growing sideways. Hur Hur
Today's attempt? Oatmeal Cookies!
Baked them with Alpen's Swiss Style Muesli (Wholewheat flakes and rolled oats with raisins and roasted sliced hazelnuts & almonds) and Dried Cherry Cranberries.
The first batch of cookies were burnt. But i had successful second and third batches!
Ahh, baking is so much fun. Washing up aint though. Especially when butter greases stubbornly refuse to come off your baking utensils/equipment. The trick? Soak them all in a huge bowl of boiling hot water. Viola~
Cupcake Baking Class this Sunday with Paisley & Cream's Executive Head Chef. OOO so much fun!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sundays, one of my favourites but not exactly the best day of the week. Especially during school term, when MONDAY BLUES hit you the hardest.
Lunch'ed with dar, after his bike practical, at Eighteen Chef's, East Point. One of the most inaccessible places ever. But what to do, yours truely was craving for baked rice. Hence, Eighteen Chefs it was.
The interior...
The restaurant's head chef, Benny Se Teo, who is the only Singaporean to have trained at Fifteen's London kitchen, has reworked favourites at the latter to offer pasta and baked rice dishes that are both wallet-friendly and suited to local tastebuds. The eatery is also commited to helping ex-offenders train as chefs.
One of their specialties is their CBR. No, not a bike model, but Cheese Baked Rice! Customers are spoilt for choice as they can create their own baked rice from a selection of 6 sauces and 13 ingredients. This means a total of 78 mouthwatering variations of Cheese Baked Rice! Interesting huh.
So a Cream Based Chicken Sausage + Minced Beef baked rice it was for me. Dar had Spicy Tomato Chicken Sausage baked rice.
I lurve the cheese! Didnt request for XTRA cheese this time around for fear that its creamy base (with too much cheese) would be too over-whelming for my liking. I like how the minced beef adds flavour, yet compliments the cheesy baked rice so well. Definitely a must-have ingredient for your baked rice. Also goes to show that minced beef not only goes well with tomato based baked rice, but also creamy based ones too!
Our student set meal came served with their home-made ice-lemon tea. Its really good. Dar ordered another glass. 
Shared a basket of garlic bread. Pretty good and garlicky. I only managed one, dar beat me to them all. In fact, dar even ordered a second basket of garlic bread after his meal! Too good for him to resist i believe. Heh.
Eighteen Chefs, affordable and fuss-free.
What are you waiting for?
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Its been YEARS since i last went to the ZOO. A&W was still here on my last visit, only to be replaced by KFC and Ben & Jerry's! Oh my gawd it truely has been YEARS.
If not for dad's company's Family Day event, a visit to the Zoo wouldnt by any chance make it onto our To-Do list at all. 4 free admission tickets plus some redeemable food, drinks and gift coupons were given. Got Uncle Kenny, Kengy and Dar Dar to tag along.
Below are some random animal shots, enjoy~
What a big phat bushy tail!
These otters are so cute! There's one that couldnt stop performing his back-stroke stunt. He'd dive from one end to the other, flip himself backwards, and the cycle repeats itself. Dive.Flip.Dive.Flip.Dive.Flip
Argh, Ultra Huge Ninja Turtles.
Gi-ra-ffes!
We paid to feed the Giraffes. $5 for 10 mini sticks of carrots, turnips and an experience never to be forgotten.
What LONG and FLEXIBLE tongues they have! They stretch longer than what you see in the picture! I think that's dar patting the giraffe's head. haha
Caught the sea-lions show but dint get to ride the elephants and ponies. But, we caught sight of a beautiful horse! The zoo now offers rides on these horse carriages. Interesting...
Yes, Dar's hand came out at the wrong time. Else, it would have been a very nice picture. Hahah!
Left the zoo abt 3-4 hours later. Oh, and before that, we had breakfast at Causuarina. Teh-tariks and crispy pratas, what else.
Uncle drove us down to town. Me and Dar shared Chippy's Calamari! My all time fave. Yum Yum. As for dinner, we had Teochew Cuisine from some restaurant located along Upper Serengoon Road. We had very yummy Top-Grade Kampong Herbal Chicken, whose pricing is almost on-par with that of Tampopo's Top-Grade Black Pig! But it was certainly worth after dollar and cent. in fact, its gravy makes one crave for more rice.
Just the thought of it makes me wana head back there again for more.
Ummm.
I hope all these pictures bring out the love for animals in you. Tata~
