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Archive for April, 2008

Marmalade Pantry [2]

Marmalade Pantry‘s cupcakes are really irresistible. After knowing from many people that Marmalade Pantry’s cupcakes are nice, I finally have the chance to taste all flavour of cupcakes at the farewell party for Annabel and the kids. There are a total of 5 different cupcakes – Nutella cupcake, Cloud Nine cupcake, Elvis cupcake, Limonata cupcake and Chocolate Deluxe cupcake.

Limonata cupcake (center) – Lemon glazed cupcake
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)
Cloud Nine cupcake(bottom-left) – White coconut cake with cream cheese
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)
Chocolate Deluxe cupcake(bottom-right) – This cupcake certainly lives up to its tag of “The Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake”.
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)

Photo credit: http://beverly.livejournal.com
Cloud Nine Cupcake
White coconut cake with cream cheese
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)

Elvis Cupcake
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)
Chocolate banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting.
This cupcake is named after Elvis Presley’s favourite flavours – banana and peanut butter. So precisely, this is a chocolate and banana cupcake topped with a peanut butter frosting.

Nutella cupcake
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)
The frosting tastes exactly like pure Nutella.
Delicious, Chocolatey!
But …  this is so sinful..
Yummie cupcakes you cant resist.

MIAKE Concert – In Harmony

Yesterday was a BLAST! I really enjoyed myself a lot and thanks for everyone who was there to weave this perfect memories together. In the evening, met Claris and Mel for dinner before heading to school for the concert.

When we reached school, we were welcomed by familiar faces and everyone came hugging with us (or I was the one hugging with everyone I saw – Hendra, Yong Sheng, James, Yin Whee, Sera, Hafirah etc).

‘In Harmony‘ is a fund-raising concert in support of the MIAKE’s participation in the Southern Cross World Music Festival this june in Brisbane. Southern Cross Internation Music Festival is an annual event held in the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.

Let me run through the whole repertoire for you here (extracted from the concert brochure):

1. Singapore Town – is a light-hearted and upbeat song about the sights and sceneries of Singapore. It was composed specially for many of Singapore’s national events, and with it’s catchy tune, it is no surprise that this song remains popular amongst the various generations of Singaporeans.
2. Chan Mali Chan – is a malay folk song and also termed as “community songs” by the National Arts Council. The song holds a special meaning to Singaporeans. It is also a patriotic song which inspires feelings of pride in one’s country.
3. One moment in time – is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea in conjunction with NBC Sports’ coverage of the Seoul Games. It peaked at number five in the U.S., while reaching number one in the UK and Germany.
4. Spirited Away - is composed by Mamoru Fujisawa known progessionally as Joe Hisaishi a composer and director responsible for over 100 soundtracks and conventional albums dating back to 1981. He is best known for his work with animator Hayao Miyazaki, including the soundtracks to Spirited Away (2001). Spirited Away is an Academy Award wining 2001 film by the Japanese anime studio Studio Ghibli, written and directed by animator Hayao Miyazaki.
5. Japanese Mononoke – is another song composed by Joe Hisaishi. It was from a Japanese animated film – Princess Mononoke also by Hayao Miyazaki which was released in Japan on July 1007.
6. Simple Serenade – is written by Gordan Jacob, an English composer in 1977. He is known for his wind instrument composition and his instructional writings.
7. Somewhere out there – is a song written by James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. It appears in the 1986 animated film An American Tail. It was sung by Linda Ronstadt. The single won two Grammy Awards in 1988, for Song of the Year and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.
8. Selamat Hari Raya – This song is a familiar tunes among the Muslims in Singapore and Malaysia as it is often played during their festive season.
9. Canon in D – also known as Pachelbel’s Canon is the most famour piece of music by Johann Pachelbel. It was written in or around 1680 as a piece of chamber music for three violins and basso continuo, but has since been arranged for a wide variety of ensembles.
10. Suri Ram – one of the most famours malay folk songs in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. In olden days, mothers would sing Suri Ran to their children before bedtime because of its soothing and slow melody.
11. Kulintang Fantasy – is a song composed by De Silva Alicia Joyce which is dedicated to all Anklung and Kulintang members. Be mesmerized by the mysterious tune in the composition.

After the whole concert, we started to cam-whore with everyone there. You can view it in my facebook. I miss the times we spend together and perform. As the music plays, I could imagine myself playing the instruments I was allocated to. AH~  get my mallets back! I want to play my Glockenspiel and Marimba.

Happy Birthday Cake 3 – Chocolate Walnut Cake

 If you have been a fan of my blog, you will know that I love baking. If you dont know, it’s time to discover. I’ve baked birthday cakes before for my daddy and brother. Now, it’s time to get my hands dirty and to start another baking session.

This time round, I baked Chocolate Walnut Cake for my besty friend, Calyn. (I baked the same cake for my brother before) I insisted to make the cake myself without the help from my mum. In the end, I think I screwed up. My mum keep stressing me by saying things like “once you hit the egg white, you must immediately mix it with the other ingredients if not they will become watery”.

Hump…This is not really very helpful of her. I’ve encountered difficulties like when I need to multi-task – stirring the mixture and pouring flour down to the mixture at the same time. Up till now, I have not receive any complains about the cake.

The cake pictured above is the Chocolate Walnut Cake, based on the recipe from Fen Ying Recipe. When making the cake, remember to grease the pan well to avoid the cake to stick to your pan. I doubled the ingredient so that it will be enough for the party. Preheat the oven at 180°C.

Ingredients A
250g of butter, cut into small pieces
50g of sugar

Ingredients B (mix well)
135g of egg yolk
¼ tsp of Vanilla Oil

Ingredients C (sift)
150g Plain flour
5g Baking powder

Ingredients D
200 g of Egg white
150g of sugar

Ingredients E
85g walnut ─ cut into chunky
50g chocolate chip

1. Blend Ingredients A evenly in the mixing bowl A at medium speed
2. Pour in Ingredients B gradually, beat till fluffy
3. Add Ingredients C, blend well at low speed and leave aside for later use
4. Place egg white (Ingredients D) into mixing bowl B, whisk till large bubbles at medium speed
5. Add sugar gradually, whisk till stiff at high speed
6. Stir egg white into batter (mixing bolw A) over 3 times
7. Stir in Ingredients E
8. Pour cake mixture into 22 cm greased and lined baking tin
9. Bake for 40 – 45 mins

So on friday, I bought the 2+kg cake to work, intending to bring it to her surprise party. But in the end, it was cancelled as Calyn went back home despite people were trying to stall her time. So in the end, I got to bring the cake back home – squeezing with the working class in the train.  

Taiwanese Restaurant @ Tanjong Pagar Xchange

On friday, went to have “better” food for our lunch. So, my colleagues and I went to Tanjong Pagar Xchange. We went to a Taiwanese Restaurant for our meals.Luckily there were not many people at the time and we managed to get our seats. There was one time, I couldnt find a seat at Tanjong Pagar Xchange when it was only 1230pm.

Dried Shrimp Noodles and Winter melon, dried scallop soup
I ordered this Dried Shrimp Noodles and it comes together with the winter melon and dried scallop soup. I didnt know that the noodle is spicy (cause it wasnt stated in the menu).
Ratings: (out of 5 stars) 
Ah Po’s Pancake
Jassy: “This is really nice! This delicacy is made of bean spout, carrot, spring onion. The chilli accompanied with this taste like the one you have for Fried Oyster Omelette. It tastes as nice without the chilli.”
Ratings: (out of 5 stars) 
Fried Rice
Emily: “Not much comment. I’m satisfied with the serving and the taste.”
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)

Braised Meat Rice
Phyllis: “The meat were a bit fatty. It was sliced into very small pieces and it’s impossible to take the fatty meat out. “
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)

Braised Meat Rice
Jia Yi: “The portion is quite small and the rice wasnt served hot.”
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)

Vegetarian Hor Fun
Lynn: “It is filling but not really satisfying. A higher rating is give due to its nice presentation.”
Ratings: (out of 5 stars)

Zhou’s Kitchen

Wednesday(26 April 2008) after work, went down to China Square with Emily and my cousin. Emily’s sister has a push cart there and we went down to support her. After that, we were walking around China Square, trying to find some nice food places that is cheap and nice. We chanced upon Zhou’s Kitchen and decided to give it a try.

Photo credit: http://goodfood-goodmood.blogspot.com
This casual Chinese restaurant is owned by Tung Lok owner Andrew Zhou. This is why the restaurant is named after his surname. The price there is acceptable, not too overly priced and not that cheap too. In a table, a basket of keropok was served as “appetizer” while waiting for our food to be ready.

Photo credit: http://badlammy.spaces.live.com
The menu provides variety of dishes. You can get those one-dish kind such as fried rice, congee, noodles, to something like zi cha. They have dessert like red bean paste pancake (I like the one at Maxwell- Qun Zhong Eating House), mango roll etc.

Braised E Fu noodles with shredded duck meat – S$8.00
The proportion is big so I shared it with my cousin.
Ratings:
Century Egg Porridge
The porridge was watery and definitely not enough for a person.
Ratings:

 
I didnt eat this, so I’m not able to give the rating

Penny Black @ Boat Quay

Monday after work, went Penny Black (English bar) for a drink with my colleagues.

A history about Penny Black (extracted from pennyblack.com.sg)
The name “Penny Black” is derived from the World’s first ever self-adhesive postage stamp which was printed black in colour and sold for one penny and was first issued on the 6th May 1840. Click here for a brief history of the Penny Black postage stamp.

Designed and built in England and shipped and installed in its entirety to its present location at 26 & 27 Boat Quay, The Penny Black is a highly authentic representation of a traditional Victorian London pub.

Situated at the start of Boat Quay, this is a place where you can find different locals, expatriates and travellers mixing and partying together. You could also see working executives would go after their work since it is near the central business district.

If you prefer a cosy place, then you should go to the 2nd level. There, it offers nice English home feeling especially when the wooden architecture fills the room. If you are planning to organise a small party, it would be cool to book the whole level yourself. There’s also a comfy 3 seater sofa.

Or if you enjoy the breeze gently caressing you, you can choose to sit along the Singapore river and enjoy the breeze.

A few of us ordered some bar food and drinks to go along during our chat.

I ordered Cosmopolitan, which is made up of cranberry juice, vodka and lime juice. Of all the drinks I had till now, i prefer this than Governor’s Smile and Shirley Temple.
 

Then, we ordered Combo Basket, Vegetarian Quesadillas and some more. 

Combo Basket
a delightful combination of chicken drumlets, onion rings, chili crab dip, pork sausages, dory fish fillet
Ratings:

After that, took taxi back with Joyce and Sheryl.

I’m feeling super unwell. Serious flu and cough since sunday

It’s partly because of that two doughnuts.

When I got up on Saturday, I was down with sore throat. (The two doughnuts I had on friday were responsible for my sore throat. ) Finally, after missing 2/3 service, I managed to sneak out home to attend service. Sometimes, I’m really sick and tired of talking with my mum to allow me go service. Everytime, she will forbid me from going when it wasnt my fault at all.

After service, had our fellowship at Cafe Cartel. I ordered Seafood Combo and my bro ordered St Louis Pork Rib.

Mixed Seafood ComboS$ 16.50Ratings:
St. Louis Pork RibS$ 15.20Ratings:
Happily, we shared the food together, forgetting that I was having flu and cough. In the end, “thanks” to me, my brother got infected by my flu.My health deteriorates day by day but I still continue to work and today was the worst. In the morning, I was really feeling not great. And after lunch, it was even worst – felt giddy. This week is a happening week. Many great events coming up and I’m not going to give it a miss. Doing some self-medication. If by tomorrow I’m still not okay, I will need to see a doc. 

TGIF!

Did I mention in my MSN nick that I’ve a date last friday? Yesh! Today I had a date again, with the same person. TGIF, can keep work aside and really enjoy myself.

Last friday, we went Bugis and had QQ rice for dinner. I chose Oriental Roll – Sausage, Tuna, Chicken Floss. We walked around Bugis Village. Tell you what, there’re so many people crowding in Bugis Village. I was looking for a nice and trendy bag that I can use it at work or outside. Of all the bags I saw, I found the bag that I prefer. Yet, I didnt buy it, perhaps because of the price. It costs $35. Bought 2 tops and i really love it. One costs $10, another $20. Then, bought eyelash glue. It’s time to get pretty =) We spent the whole night shopping there and the feeling was really great! How I wish I can have all the money and spend on the things I like.

Oh ya. Talking about the bag, I got a cheaper one – Hysteria Patent Tote. I’ve been doing E-shopping nowadays and buy things online. Though items selling in the Internet are cheap, we must also take the risk that the actual thing will not look exactly like the photo in the net.

I’m super obsessed with shopping. E-shopping, window shopping.. AH~Yesterday during lunch time, bought 2 doughnuts. One is not enough. I will always crave for another one. Yummie doughnuts perks my life!   Then in the evening, we went back to Bugis again. And had QQ rice again for dinner. I tried Mango Fish, but it wasnt as nice as Oriental Roll or Cheezy Roll.

Changes

People come and go. People meet and people part.
C’EST LA VIE

This week is quite a busy week. Many things happened within these few days. People come and go. We cherish the nice memories we have with them and life still has to move on. I’m really glad knowing all of them and will definitely miss them.

How sweet is the meeting of kinship,
How tender the ties that thus bind,
When years have flown fast since we parted,
When the past is again brought to mind.

How we love to tell over the stories
Of happenings-long in the past,
And drift once again back to childhood
But the parting must come at the last.

Goodbye! Can we say it at parting?
How it brings the sad tears to our eyes,
How we try to choke down our emotions,
How the thoughts from our bosoms arise,
And we fain would steal off without trying
But write the fond words we would say,
For the tenderest ties of a lifetime
Are once again broken today.
-Ed Blair

A few of us had farewell lunch with the two colleagues(who are leaving) at Dae Jang Keun D’Hote Korean Charcoal BBQ Restaurant.

It was really nice to sit together in the private tatami room, talking and laughing. I will definitely miss the wonderful times we spent together. I ordered their Seafood Fried Rice.

Seafood Fried RiceQuite a large proportion. Nice presentation of food. But a little bit oily.
Ratings:

Ken Lee tulibu dibu douchoo

LMAO..ROFL..

I couldnt stop laughing about the rendition of Ken Lee by Valentina Hasan.

This song, “Ken Lee” (a garbled interpretation of the words “Can’t live”) is an interpretation of the popular song “Without You,” performed by Valentina Hasan, a contestant auditioning for the Bulgarian show Music Idol in February 2008.

Before the performance, Hasan informed the judges she was going to be performing “the Mariah Carey song ‘Ken Lee,’” and when she was corrected that the song was called “Without You,” Hasan insisted that the song was named “Ken Lee.” Although she did not continue to the next round of the competition, a video of her performance was soon posted on the web where it became popular both in Bulgaria and abroad. Hasan’s extremely broken English (upon finishing the song, she insisted the garbled lyrics she sang were English words), coupled with her yet undeveloped singing abilities, combined to great comic effect, and garnered the video over four million viewings in its first month on the video sharing website YouTube.

Do you like Mariah Carey’s I Cant Live? or do you prefer Valentina Hasan’s Ken Lee?