Beautiful Music

Found this beautiful piece of Aria Celestina Canon in D song and have to share with you!

Xmas at Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge

Spent Xmas with Teddy at Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge (within Takashimaya Shopping Centre) having a peaceful and delicious tea there. The queue became quite a wait as I noticed it built up after we got our seats. Lucky us ! We also manage to get a window view of the Orchard Road.

The decor at the lounge was elegant and lovely. At the entrance of the lounge were some beautiful flowers. I like it so much that I could not resist some pictures of it !

Walking inside the lounge, the place was cosy and surprisingly a little noisy with the diners all chatting away in different languages and accents. Japanese, English, Koreans and Chinese. Many different mixes of people there.

The side wall were lined with the fine pieces of the Royal Copenhagen dining ware. Hmmm, what a a beautiful sight! Each meal on every table was also served with the fine Royal Copenhagen dining ware and cutleries. Admiring the cutleries and dining ware was already well worth the time spent there ...

Teddy had his coffee served in a nice R.C Year 2002 coffee cup. We also ordered the Roasted Mushroom Soup and Salmon Platter to try. (** These were chef's recommendation on the menu) Found the Roasted Mushroom Soup a little too roasted and nutty for my taste. The ingredients added to the soup were interesting. Think it includes small tomato or carrot dices making the soup crunchy to slurp!

Somehow I like the Salmon Platter better. 3 salmon slices rolled with turnips and another 3 smoked salmon slices set on top of potato slices. Served with plenty of greens, herbs and garnishes. Tasting light and refreshing for a beautiful sunny afternoon! It was indeed a wonderful tea at a lovely place for a merry christmas day!

Merry Christmas !

Here's wishing all a merry christmas....

Joy to the world! The lord is come.

Let earth receive their King.

Let every heart prepare him room.

And heaven and nature sing.

And heaven and nature sing.

And heaven and heaven and nature sing!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Christmas Party

Christmas season is here again! Had an early small potluck party at my house over the weekends. Tried my hands on making the Italian bruschetta and whipping up the delicious, creamy Wild Mushroom Soup for my guests!

And of course, to meet the hungry needs of the guests, we also ordered the Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge's roasted chicken (approx 1.5 kg) and the Potato & Onion dish to spice up the festive atmosphere a little. Mom prepared seafood fried rice and a whole pot of healthy green garden peas with carrots enough for a big feast. Yum Yum. Bro & sis-in-law chipped in with Delifrance assorted tarts and cheese croissants. Teddy topped it all with honey baked ham and some fresh Japanese sushi (salmon belly, tuna..etc gunkan) from the supermarket. We also had free flow of nice Apple juice throughout the party! It was definitely a feast fit for the royal king and queen !



Here's the recipe for the delicious, healthy and creamy Wild Mushroom Soup:
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes, serves 4

Ingredients
20 wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 onions, chopped
3/4 tin Heinz chicken stock
200ml thick cream (Bulla)
Handful of chopped coriander
Salt & pepper to taste

Method
1. Melt butter in cooking pot and saute garlic and onions for 1 minute. Sir until it is well mixed with the butter.
2. Add wild mushrooms and saute for another 2 minutes.
3. Add chicken stock and thick cream. Bring to boil, then simmer for 10 minutes until soup turns light brown and thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Sprinkle with garnish, chopped coriander. Serve with herb bread.

I love this creamy, delicious and nutritious soup!

Birdies Ahoy! Jurong Bird Park

Its school holidays and being a nice sunny day, brought my nieces and nephews to Singapore Jurong Bird Park ... Havent visited the Bird Park since my school days, easily 10 years now! Gosh. There was a new African wilderness wetland which I have not seen before. Many birds I have not seen before like Birds of Paradise, Scarlet Ibises, Spoonbills ...

Realised the park did not changed much over all these years apart from new exhibits and some relocation of the bird exhibits. Is this good or bad? I dont know but I definitely enjoyed the familiarity of the tram ride, welcoming macaws photoshooting and the birdshows. There was still my favourite Penguin Showcase and the Owls World of Darkness - which I love best! Of course the bird shows are still as fantastic! If there's anything you wouldnt want to miss, its definitely all the live bird shows! Professionally done by the bird trainers and still as entertaining as ever! Sat through 2 bird shows at 11am and 4pm. The "Birds n Buddies" Show (show venue at: Pools Amphitheatre) and the "Kings of the Skies - Birds of Prey" (show venue at: Fuji Hawk Walk) but unfortunately missed the earlier "Fuji World of Hawks - Birds of Prey" show.. The kids definitely enjoyed themselves. Having got a chance to get close to nature and the birds! Definitely spent some good time there! Its good to learning about nature and birds all over again sometimes..

See a shot of my favourite birdshow here... can you spot the hawk?

Bliss Restaurant, Punggol Park

Celebrated Teddy's birthday at Bliss Restaurant located within Punggol Park. I would rate the food there great!! Definitely going back for more next time. Usually I would go for the Grilled Chicken Chop with mushroom sauce. This time, I tried the new dish - Grilled Pork Chop with mushroom sauce. The pork was tender and juicy! The best part about the dish is the mashed potatoes which is soft and tastes like milk. Yummy! Ted ordered the dory fish fillet which came served with rice but it tastes great too! We ordered the set and was given a free drink. For Ted, surprise!! for the birthday boy! He was served a nice brownie with ice-cream for his birthday. Huff puff, poof, happy birthday Teddy!!

Shenzhen (Jin Xiu Jiangnan) June Town Chinese Restaurant

Had dinner at this restaurant last Sunday in Shenzhen. Restaurant was a stone's throw away from the Oriental Ginza Grand Mercure Hotel (located at Futian District), the place where we stayed. (See blog written below)

It appears when we stood outside this restaurant, we saw its list of accolades - listed in the food directory as one of the few good places to eat for its Lobster and Hairy Crab dishes. There were a few plaques and awards lined on its wall too so we decided to try...

Of all the dishes we ordered, I liked the Shenjin tian-ya (goose meat) best. It tastes simply heavenly! Apart from the skin which was a little fat and oily, the dish was great. But I suppose its this skin that made this dish what it is!!! So no complaints about it. Also, noted that the goose meat had some strains of the goose hairy stubs on it. Not sure if its meant to be served as part of the fantaastic skin though... but overall, its still a GREAT goose dish!

We also ordered dim-sum and many other jiangnan flavoured dishes. The charsiew was great! It was so crispy done, it sizzles. There was a layer of fatty oil on it - which made its flavour stand out! Yummy. We also tried dishes such as kai-lan vegetables served on cold ice, bai-ling mushroom with caixin, grilled pork slices... etc It was good meal. We had to down it with chinese tea to wash away the oil and for all the sinful but delicious food we had there. Overall, the food served tantalised my tastebuds and the meal does not burn a hole in your pocket. With about 8-9 dishes we ordered, we only forked out a sum of about RMB 195 (approx S$65) for 4 person. Well worth a visit. June Town Restaurant is located at :
Futian District, Shennan Boulevard, Zhuzilin Qiushi Building 2, Level 3. Tel: +86 (0755) 33361888.

Shenzhen Oriental Ginza Grand Mercure Hotel

On work assignment to Shenzhen. Stayed at Oriental Ginza Grand Mercure Hotel. Business Hotel with facilities that would please the tired but fit conscious business traveller. The hotel boosts of a gym and an indoor swimming pool on Level 5.

Tried the hotel's restaurant, Wei Pin Xun Chinese Restaurant on Level 3 yesterday. Its a Cantonese and Teochew cuisine restaurant. We had dim-sum which was pretty good. The dishes we tried such as the Peking Duck was delicious and very reasonably priced (48 yuan appx S$10). The skin was crispy and the excess fats on the skin were removed, making it a healthy eat. The other dim-sum dishes we ordered such as hargow, siew mai were nice too.

In particular, we discovered that one of the specialty in Shenzhen where people like to eat is the Shu-bin (crispy cake). The crispy cakes typically has a crispy crust with fillings such as custard, charsiew, durian etc. The charsiew crispy cake we tried here was a little disappointing as the skin was just normal and not as crispy as the one we tasted in another place here in Shenzhen few days back ...

Overall, the restaurant is recommended for a reasonable and fulfilling meal. Worth a visit given that its located within a 5-star hotel and its convenience situated just beside the Zhuzilin Metro Station. For info, it is at Oriental Ginza Mercure Hotel, Shennan Boulevard West, Futian District, Guangdong Province, Shenzhen 51840 P.R. China Tel: +86 (0755) 83500888.

Tomatoes Time !

I am now trying my hands at planting tomatoes! See what I have:


This shot above was taken on 20 Oct 2007 about 1 week after we threw in the tomato seeds.


Now the shot above was taken on 29 Oct 2007 just 9 days after. Look how they have grown!

My wishful thinking is that it will give me some nice, juicy red and fat tomatoes-on-the-vine like what I had the other day... yum yum yum. Cant wait for them to grow. I may have to think of a way to set up some protective tent to prevent my tomatoes from being infested by any pests...

I am behind time - KPE expressway !

Oh dear! I am behind time in my journal - I participated in the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) Tunnel Walk on 21 October 2007 (Sunday). The 4km long KPE walk was organised, in advance of the opening of the first stretch of the KPE expressway on 26 October 2007 (Friday). Some 6,000 people participated in the KPE Tunnel Walk.

The event was graced by the Minister of State for Finance and Transport, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua. Adviser to Pasir Ris West Grassroots Organisation, Mr Teo Chee Hean, and Adviser to Kolam Ayer Grassroots Organisation, Associate Professor Yaacob Ibrahim also joined in the event.

The KPE boasts of being Southeast Asia's longest underground expressway. When completed, it will be 12km long, with 9km being underground. Check out more details at the KPE underground website at http://www.kpeunderground.sg/. While at the walk, I was also given a copy of the KPE underground music CD. The songs were unexpectedly pretty cool too! Some of my favourite underground music include: "Look at the Signs", "Turn On the Radio" and "Mind Your Distance" - all with a message to drive through to the motorist - check it out and enjoy!

Herbs for cooking !

Have an urge to show the potted herbal bouquet I got from the Cold Storage 2 weeks ago!! My lovely bouquet of herbs!! Consisting of Basil leaf, Dill, Chevril and Parsley. All can be used as garnishes if you cook. I had buying basil leaves whenever I make the Italian bruschetta dish (a dish I learnt from Chef Yong - see my "Cooking Inspiration" weblink at the right!) so I thought why not grow it myself. So alas! Here's my sweet smelling bouquet!



Have been faithfully watering this delicate bouquet for the past weeks. However, I suspect due to our humid and hot weather, 3 of the herbs have not been able to survive to date. The basil leaf is however, still going strong. The aroma of the plant simply makes you feeling happy everyday ... hmmm

Piao Ji Fish Porridge

Yum yum... Piao Ji Fish Soup / Porridge stall offers really tantalising and fresh fish and prawn soup! The best fish and prawn soup I have tasted so far!

The broth prepared is just nice and smooth to the taste. The ingredients used in the soup are fresh and overall, its a very generous serving. The dipping sauce / soy bean paste also goes very well with the seafood served and the taste of the fresh goodness and soup all blends every well with one another. See the image of the delicious soup I took above..! My stomach pangs can be heard once again at the sight of it.. yikes!

The stall is located on Level 2, Amoy Street Hawker Centre, #02-100. Piao Ji stall sure knows how to make its presence felt. They boost of 2 stalls at #02-100 and #02-103 - one stall to store/prepare the food, while the other serves the customers. The queue for their Fish and Prawn Soup is also infamously long. Typically my experience so far has been that the average waiting time during lunch hour is about half an hour before you get your order served. So if you wish to avoid the crowd, be prepared to step out of your office/home earlier to beat the queue and have your food served faster. The stall is open well early before lunch and closes in the afternoon.

Be prepared to fork at least $7 for a satisfying bowl of well simmered and refreshing clear broth with fresh ingredients - prawns and pomfret fish!! You wont regret your order!

Lau Pa Sat Festival Market

We popped by the "Lau Pa Sat Festival Market" for dinner this evening. The place has changed tremendously since my visit to town, probably a few years back. The market is now also divided out into areas for restaurants and shops. One could find a few Italian and Indian restaurants, shuffled between the corners of the market. The market is still kept very much alive by the satay and ze-char stalls at the end nearer the SGX Centre, if you know what I mean. One particular area inside the market was sliced out and managed by "Kopitiam" - and there are some good finds within the Kopitiam area! Char Kueh Tiow, Seafood noodles, Hokkien mee just to name a few. The Hong Kong food stall manages to attract my attention with some pretty good juicy and deliciously roasted char-siew, duck and steamed rice dishes. We settled for the stall and tried the "steamed rice with pork cooked with mushroom & water chestnut in bamboo", which was not too bad. Only complaint is that the cooked rice was a little too soft and the sauce was not enough for me. The mushroom pork was well steamed and complemented well with the crunchy water chestnut. I would rate it average but so much for hawker food !

Revamped Kopitiam in Hougang Mall

Just visited the revamped Kopitiam Foodcourt in Hougang Mall.. Refreshing interior deco with traditonal ambience.. and playing canto pops! Imagine having your lunch or dinner under such backdrop!

Each food stall also have a unique theme for the type of food they serve. I particularly like the dessert stall cos it serves my long desired BANANA SPLIT ! Yummy Yummy. . the stall also serve other desserts which were pretty enticing. Expect a short queue to get your dessert served. Never underestimate the revamped Kopitiams now ! Value for money @ good ambience !

Tong Shui Desserts

Visited the People's Park Centre yesterday with my hubby and happened to find a "Tong Shui" (a Chinese word meaning "Sweet Desserts") Cafe at Level 2. Under Singapore's hot and humid weather, it was a such a happy find to see a dessert shop after all that walking around in the complex!! The shop was almost packed to the brim when we were there at about 530pm and the waitess swiftly found us a small cosy table for 2 at the corner. Quickly surveying what the others around us were eating away, we found most of the crowd having sweet treats like the "Peanut Dumpling Soup", "Black Sesame Soup with Dumpling" or the "Älmond Soup". We finally decided to order the "Lychee Dessert" Drink for a quick quench and the "White Gingko Nut Barley Soup" Dessert to cool ourselves down under the hot weather. We noticed one interesting dessert which was the "Mango Ice-cream Fruit Dessert" which was a specialty from Hong Kong. It was an interesting and good quenching find on a Saturday afternoon!

For those who are interested, this shop (Tong Shui Desserts) is located at People's Park Centre #02-49. Let me know what you think if you happened to visit the shop.