Thursday, January 15, 2009
School is crap.
Business Policy makes no fucking sense. Spending 1.5 hours debating over how comparative advantages and profits are related is indeed bullocks.
"Confusion is alright. Embrace Confusion. Be Comfortable with it.."
That's what i took home from class today.
Seriously, i didnt sign up to become a more confused person.
Seriously, Seriously!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
First day back at school and i must say it went pretty well. Had my fave ma lai gao as usual and an orange mango juice which tasted sweeter than ever. Spotted one or two familiar faces, Mari's one of them, am pleasantly surprised that she's chosen to do another sem here instead of heading back home to Germany. Lovin' it in our sunny island, doesnt she? =)
Do bear with me dearies because what im going to show you below are overdued pictures pictures that are bound to get you salivating and your gastrict juices running. Don't say i didnt warn you~
With all the craze and hype surrounding the drama serial, The Little Nonya, how can one resist the urge to indulge in some peranakan food, or i shall i say, dessert? As me and dar had heavy dinner already, a bowl of chendol and durian pengyat was all we settled for from PeraMakan.
The durian pengyat is oh-so-goood! Durian flesh is prevalent and they sure don't stinge on the amount of durian used here. As for the Chendol, it was just alright for me. I'd prefer the ice come in smaller shaved pieces, not chunks. Still, nothing beats a bowl of authentic chendol from the true blue Malacca itself.
Miguel Forbes has a list of the Top 20 Forbes Most Expensive Celebrity Weddings, i, on the other hand, have a top 20 list of must-have snacks/desserts. One of them, being the humble Apple Strudel! A FRUIT-based snack/dessert, how sinful can that be?
For no rhyme or reason, dar and i thought we'd drop by Renaldo's for some strudel. We always have room for dessert you know. Hah.
I've had disappointing experiences with apple strudels over my past few visits but this one was really good! The pastry layers were crisp, the cream wasnt very overwhelming and the apples were sweet! Everything blended perfectly. 
I like my apple strudel not for its apples but for its crisp pastry. What about you?
Another snack which ranks on my top 20 list of must-have snacks/desserts would be the Kaya Toasts from Chin Mee Chin. Without a doubt, the best ever. Chin Mee Chin is housed along East Coast Road and unlike the other Kaya Toast joints in town, CMC chooses to retain its rustic old-school charm.
Served hot from the toaster, these buns are oh-so-goood with the melt in your mouth combination of butter and homemade kaya. 
They do serve them with the conventional white bread slices too. Did i mention how much i love BUTTER? Even the store owner was surprised at how a girl like me didnt shun away from butter.
Their luncheon meat buns are not to be missed either. 
A kaya toast best friend. Haha.
And how could i forget BROWNIES! Yes, Mind Cafe's Brownies are one of the better ones i've had. In fact, its the only one me and dar head to for our brownie fix.
Lastly, ICE-CREAM! Who doesnt love ice-cream? Me, dar and my family are loyal consumers of ice-cream from Tom's Palette but sometime back, we thought we'd give U.D.D.E.R.S a try. 
Not the best but they sure have very good liquer ice-cream!
A chalkboard full of recommended ice-cream flavors from the public. Just cast your votes with the chalk over there.
And finally, a non-food picture. 
Have you seen this girl ridding pillion on a 1098 on the streets during the christmas season? Think harder! Haha.
That's all i have for you today. We shall continue again when i'm done with my top 20 list of must-have desserts.
Peace Out!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
After weeks of procrastination, i've finally got down to blogging it. Heah.
DimJoy, a joyful dimsum experience indeed. 
Located along the shophouses of Neil Road, DimJoy is pretty accessible via foot and car. Do keep your eyes peeled for it as a small-sized signboard like this kinda makes it obscure from sight.
Arriving slightly before 12.30 in the afternoon, Dimjoy was surprisingly quiet with vacant tables and all. But do not be deterred as the office crowd started pouring in slightly after 1pm and according to one of the waitresses, they are usually at their busiest during weekends.
Very red, very chinese oriental. Dimsum selection over here aint very extensive. Items like my favourite Fried Prawn Dumplings (Har Kok), Yam Puffs (Wu Kok) and XLBs (Xiao Long Bao) were'nt found in the menu. And to kick-start our dimsum feast, here's a basket of Har Gao and Siew Mai, a common sight in all dimsum eateries.
To me, a good Har Gao must contain a fresh-juicy-big-crunchy-to-bite prawn encased within a thin smooth layer of skin. DimJoy's version was almost there, except the prawns weren't as BIG as how a KING prawn ought to be. Still, yummy. Haha.
Siew Mai's, what more can i say? I quite enjoyed this as it didn't reek of oil and pork and yes, the taste and smell of those black chinese mushrooms was absent. Just the way i like it.
Soft and Fluffy. A pity there was too little char siew filling. Else, it would have been a very enjoyable bao. 
Silky and smooth with a generous serving of chopped charsiew and some greens. The sauce compliments it very well. In fact, i quite like this. The cheong fun aint overly starchy and thats how i like it to be.
As described in the menu, this dimsum is entirely vegetarian. I couldnt exactly make out the ingredients inside but there is definitely no trace of pork/prawns. One thing's for sure, mushroom. The rolls were nicely fried with traces of tempura batter on the exterior. Coming rather strongly on the beancurd taste, i still prefer the non-vegetarian version of the fried beancurd rolls that come with prawn and sometimes, mango. Ummm.
If you like your carrot cake to be fried to a golden crisp, then you might not enjoy this. DimJoy's didnt come across as being overly starchy and oily. In fact, i could still make out the strips of turnip inside my mouth! 
These are not pineapple tarts, they just don't look like your typical triangular char siew sou's. But don't be deceived by its looks, these char siew sou's, though small in size, are very addictive. Honey'ed char siew, similar to the ones found in the char siew baos, are also used here. The ratio of char siew filling to pastry is proportional. What i love most about this is its very fragrant and buttery pastry skin. Its not drying and cloying and best of all, it leaves behind a very sensational buttery after taste!
They should pack these into a container and sell it off as chinese new year goodies. YUM~
You should know by now that i am no fan of custard. The only custard i eat is Beard Papa's and Tampopo's cream puffs. And the only reason why i order custard baos from dimsum eateries is because of my love for SALTED EGG YOLKS. Anything with salted egg yolk and you're bound to see it on my order list. The custard baos over here came steaming hot to the extent where the bao was oozing out molten custard. I couldnt detect the salted egg yolk, what a pity, really. But nevertheless, one of the better places for a custard bao. 
I was very hesistant to order this as i do not adore egg tarts from dimsum eateries. The reason being its small size and un-flakey crust. However, after reading a few positive reviews on DimJoy's eggtarts, we decided to give it a shot. We had to wait at least 15 minutes for these as they were still basking in the oven. Haha. Freshly baked egg-tarts, that's what we had. And the verdict? Acceptable but not to-die-for. The crust could have been flakier and it was obviously not buttery enough for my liking.
All in all, the dining experience here was pretty pleasant. Staff are attentive, prompt and approachable. A meal like ours costs appx $21/pax. The baskets of dimsum are affordably priced, ranging from $3-$4 a basket. Do not expect variety, expect simplicity. Dimsum items are not high in salt content, coming across as rather light and healthy. Another visit i will definitely make and this time, im going for their claypot dishes.
Till then, tata and have a happy MOO year!
