tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77347742012-02-12T13:48:14.095+08:00Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.comBlogger3861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-19990689463268729352012-02-09T15:51:00.000+08:002012-02-09T17:30:26.281+08:00

I was in Vietnam last month for a short (okay, maybe not that short, but you know how holidays always seem short once they are over...) vacation with a girlfriend. Our itinerary consisted of the three Hs - Hanoi, Halong Bay and Ho Chi Minh City. First night in Hanoi Our flight to Hanoi was delayed (I mean, that's what one would expect when you fly budget, and with Tiger Airways no less) due

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-72048133542958591192012-02-05T00:23:00.000+08:002012-02-06T22:26:37.249+08:00

We kept postponing due to conflicting schedules, but Evan managed to finally drop by my new place for a long overdue baking session. We had planned to have brunch and make crème brulée together (something that we've not much experience at making so far).  Earl grey crème brulée I've only previously attempted to make crème brulée once a coupla years ago and it failed terribly. I probably

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-90814518474297552962012-02-02T18:20:00.000+08:002012-02-02T18:20:29.441+08:00

I had a craving for chicken salad sandwiches. Even though I've never actually had any chicken salad sandwich ever before. Yeah, weird, I know. But oh well, I set about to making some  and had it for lunch two work days in a row. :)  Chicken salad sandwiches It's a really easy dish to pull together - just a few ingredients and it doesn't require a long prep time either. I found a recipe

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-48027145060192983422012-01-28T11:42:00.000+08:002012-01-28T11:42:33.681+08:00

I had a potluck gathering with some good friends last week. We discussed menu ideas through Whatsapp (isn't technology awesome?) and I decided to bring some appetizers and a dessert. We've been through this quite a few times already, and since it was a small party of five, we've (learnt through past experience) to keep the portions small so that we wouldn't end up with too much leftovers.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-11208176150275862522012-01-22T23:45:00.000+08:002012-01-23T00:22:29.234+08:00

I made two chocolate tarts a few weeks back. I decided to experiment by making two "recipes" using the same base chocolate tart pastry and two different fillings. A flavoured chocolate ganache tart and a tweaked version of the ARIA chocolate tart.  Chocolate rum truffle tart  ARIA praline chocolate tartelettes I was torn among a few choices regarding the alcohol for the chocolate

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-14078808598447250152012-01-20T22:05:00.000+08:002012-01-20T22:05:45.338+08:00

I've a girlfriend who's studied overseas at Melbourne before. We meet often to chat about our lives (during and post-Aussie) over brunch or shopping sessions sometimes, and we've always been meaning to set up a coffee date of some sort since she's sort of a coffee fanatic (what with the diverse cafe scene that Melbourne has...). We finally managed to arrange for a coffee session at one of the

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-79631270281667002442012-01-16T23:14:00.000+08:002012-01-16T23:14:00.661+08:00

I'm back from my vacation in Vietnam. And that's just sad, cos I had barely half a day to rest, and I'm back to work again. Sigh. Thankfully, the first day back wasn't that busy. Well, I coped. I've a lot of photos to share about my trip, but it'll probably take me some time to look through, process and upload. It's okay, I have a handful of backlogs to clear - first up being these tomato basil

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-85475948056918386792012-01-10T22:18:00.000+08:002012-01-10T23:17:46.858+08:00

Hi from Hanoi! I'm currently on a vacation in Vietnam (Hanoi/Halong Bay/Ho Chih Min City) and blogging from the computer that the hotel room has! Just had a really good cuppa Vietnamese filter milk coffee in the afternoon, and now, I'll be blogging about yet another coffee place I checked out in Singapore a few weeks back... I'm drinking more and more coffee these days. I hope I don't turn into a

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-80388598029953519052012-01-01T16:39:00.000+08:002012-01-16T23:18:20.904+08:00

Happy 2012! 새해복많이받으세요! I borrowed a couple of bread baking books from my work place's library. Yes. We actually have a library at my work place - one that loans books from the National Library Board. My office is cool like that. Homemade ciabatta The rebel chick - Yeast. The books had been lying around in my room for AGES. I'm guilty of loaning them for like ever. In fact, they

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-7784207214559051602011-12-30T07:45:00.000+08:002011-12-30T07:45:00.365+08:00

I've a couple of blueberry recipes for you guys today! It was blueberry season a while back as you might recall me saying earlier on where I posted about the blueberry orange scones here. I made quite a few blueberry items using fresh blueberries and I've compiled all of them into one blueberry post. Homemade blueberry goodies: preserves, crème brûlée tart and gelato Blueberry are were in

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-756648310850836162011-12-28T09:01:00.000+08:002011-12-28T09:18:10.025+08:00

I made this salad for a potluck Christmas picnic gathering two weeks back with my girlfriends. Salads are healthy. Salads are good. Salads are yummy. I shall try repeating that to myself to get myself to eat more salads. Picnic salad Black swans at the pond at the Botanical Gardens Here's to 10 years' of friendship and more! Bacon, corn and peppers salad with maple bacon

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-54053573776184494542011-12-24T18:34:00.000+08:002011-12-24T18:37:01.101+08:00

I got my new iPhone 4S recently! And may I just say that I love it! One primary reason being that I get to play with all the photography apps - especially Instagram and 美图秀秀. Oh, and it keeps me entertained too as I can check my mail, Facebook, tweet and play games. Let's just hope my iPhone 4S and I will have a happy ending, unlike my previous iPhone 3... Anyway, it's Christmas (soon anyway)

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-11656700334291963202011-12-21T23:42:00.000+08:002011-12-21T23:46:26.149+08:00

November is a busy month for me as I have several friends and family (including my Dad, my Mom and my Sis!) whose birthdays fall during that month. For my Sister's 28th birthday this year, she chose ilLido for one of our family's regular dining sessions. ilLido   Appetizers The top shot was a complimentary mushroom appetizer, and the taste was quite forgettable. We ordered the Sea

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-73526440436079658112011-12-17T16:23:00.000+08:002011-12-17T16:24:53.749+08:00

As a continuation to my determination to cook more, I decided to make chicken tikka masala and garlic butter naan. An ambitious feat as I rarely eat Indian food, and when I do, it's always when I'm dining out, I've never actually attempted to cook any sort of Indian food before. Ingredients for making masala Chicken skewers; Chicken tikka masala; Spices There was a lot of spices

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-30433346009461042812011-12-16T11:02:00.000+08:002011-12-16T11:07:08.678+08:00

The girlfriends scheduled a belatd birthday dinner for me some time back. We planned to eat Italian (I'm forever trying out new Italian places with that bunch of girlfriends...ha!) and one of them booked a table of four for Oso Ristorante. Pardon for the really bad photos below...the lighting in the restaurant was dim, and I still haven't figure out how to properly shoot food photos in a night

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-81076048840944750222011-12-10T16:15:00.000+08:002011-12-10T18:28:29.452+08:00

I was thinking of cutting back on baking, not because my love for sweets has diminished, but I think my waistline will thank me for this (in the long run!). The kitchen's still my favourite place to be, so what can I do about it? I guess I should turn to cooking instead than. As my Sis aptly pointed out, "You still gotta eat your three meals, don't you?"  Mushroom risotto topped with

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-9624402430254393532011-12-08T23:11:00.000+08:002011-12-08T23:12:00.966+08:00

For my birthday dinner, I checked out a new Korean restaurant with my Sis, her boyfriend and my cousin. Thank gosh for the Internet, which led me to this gem of a restaurant that was tucked away in the Chinatown area. Togi The food was really quite good by Singapore's standards. Besides my favourite frequently visited Woori Nara (which I've yet to do it justice by doing a post on it...),

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-27271092030113905102011-12-06T21:38:00.000+08:002011-12-06T21:39:44.723+08:00

Remember when I spoke of the orange jewels previously? I made some candied kumquats as I knew I could keep them longer in the fridge before actually deciding what I should do with them. Candied kumquats lemon tart Sliced kumquats to make vanilla bean candied kumquats Talk about alluring. These lil' sunshine slices candied perfectly, and with the addition of vanilla bean, my oh my, it

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-44109489695874887532011-12-03T14:41:00.000+08:002011-12-03T14:41:44.883+08:00

I was craving for brownies mid-week last week. I almost never bake during a weekday since I love to snap photos of my bakes, and I always tend to use my weekends to do so to capture my bakes in natural lighting. I blame it on pms. Chocolate cravings are a constant part of it, and I just had to have brownies. Okay, indulge my whim I shall. Chocolatey cocoa nib brownies I used my

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-30571750220293685722011-12-02T11:25:00.000+08:002011-12-03T15:02:54.003+08:00

I met a favourite girlfriend for brunch (my birthday brunch - thanks for the treat, girlfriend!) to discuss about our planned vacation next year three weekends ago. There were a few new coffee cafes I wanted to check out, so I chose the one that was closest to home (since I'll be lugging travel books and my laptop) in west Singapore - at the One North (Buona Vista) area. Jimmy Monkey 

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-18639402364319518472011-11-28T11:03:00.000+08:002011-11-28T11:12:22.715+08:00

Imagine my pleasure when I saw punnets of kumquats in the supermart. There they were, small little bright orange jewels, packed in little plastic containers, sitting innocently on the racks. They were cheap too, and without even knowing what I was going to use them for, I happily grabbed two punnets, just because they're a fruit I've yet to work with before. I know. I'm such a sucker like that.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-67026155067875245002011-11-26T23:48:00.000+08:002011-11-27T13:01:50.534+08:00

A few weeks back, one of my girlfriends introduced me to a new Korean restaurant. Nolboo Hangari Galbi There are two Nolboo outlets in Singapore, one at Orchard Central and one at Takashimaya. We went to the latter outlet and it was relatively empty on a Friday night.It's lucky that this gem is not overcrowded on a week(end, well sorta weekend - it's Friday!) night and we didn't have to

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-49704299536260143842011-11-23T16:37:00.000+08:002011-11-23T17:02:38.209+08:00

My stash of muffins in the freezer were running a little short. I had to bake a new batch to replace the space so that I'll always have ready-to-go muffins for the just in case moments. Brown butter blueberry lemon muffins Blueberries and lemon zest I decided to bake some blueberry muffins. It's been a while since I've had a berry muffin, and one that is topped with streusel no less.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-56364187492014128422011-11-21T10:42:00.000+08:002011-11-21T10:43:00.785+08:00

When our Swiss friend came over for a holiday a few months back, we brought her to an Italian place that some of my girlfriends heartily recommended. Pietrasanta Gazpacho; Bread basket They served a tomato shot, which I think is gazpacho, which tasted quite good when dipped with the bread. My girlfriend absolutely loves the bread there, whereas I think it's just alright, it was a tad

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-65030497961085838332011-11-18T20:33:00.000+08:002011-11-18T20:34:51.552+08:00

I decided yet again to make a strawberry cake for Dad's birthday. That's three times in three consecutive years already. Matcha strawberry shortcake Strawberries To be honest? I preferred last year's version the best. The cake recipe I used for this year's one was just too dry. I even amended the recipe method to create a softer texture cake, but my attempt at a softer texture still

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-75656092480541201032011-11-12T16:55:00.000+08:002011-12-01T23:12:47.401+08:00

It's my birthday today!  I guess I shouldn't sound too excited as that means it is yet another year gained, and we all know what it means to a woman as we age yet another year... Sigh. But on such a lovely day, I reckon I should write about something really delicious that I made about two weeks back. I've been meaning to bake this tart for at least a year now, and after finally getting around to

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-27826458398830426922011-11-10T23:57:00.000+08:002011-11-10T23:57:56.024+08:00

I took leave one day last month just to rest. I had a really great day out - essentially, I spent my free day shopping and running errands with the Sister in town. I've forgotten how much I miss shopping on a weekday morning. We started the day at 10am, beginning from F21, which we spent a good one hour there as there really wasn't any one else when we first started browsing! Although

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-89932238818219518502011-11-07T21:06:00.000+08:002011-11-07T21:09:57.375+08:00

The Orange Thimble is located at Tiong Bahru. On the morning we drove there for brunch, I noticed two interesting things. The Orange Thimble One, it seems to be a mature estate (it's seriously an elderly estate, no joke about it). There were tons of people around in the well, mid-morning and finding a parking lot at the place was really no laughing matter. Which brings me to point number..

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-38748111514784094182011-11-03T23:16:00.000+08:002011-11-04T00:39:42.223+08:00

I made quiches. And they were yummy. Bacon, caramelised onions and spinach quiches Onions But first, I had to actually spend time to make these quiches. The caramelised onions were certainly a bit*h. It took me an hour to prepare them. I have to add that I was ambitious and caramelised four onions. Yes. You read that right. FOUR. In fact, I over prepared for the bacon caramelised

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-8304177047455550562011-10-29T12:08:00.000+08:002011-10-29T23:27:33.661+08:00

I'm forever trying to use up leftover cream. It's not my fault I swear. I was making the apple milk tea entremet and the only whipping cream in the house was the 1L package. Sigh. Okay, it's my fault then, for not making sure that we had some of the smaller 200ml packages in stock. I seriously want a feedback form to "provide my most sincere suggestion" to cream manufacturers to produce 500ml

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-8676222162254616602011-10-26T13:55:00.000+08:002011-10-26T13:55:34.452+08:00

I've always wondered what are graham crackers. Some say that a good substitute for it is digestive biscuits, which we can get readily over here in Singapore. I've yet to see graham crackers in the grocery stores so I've always been curious to how it taste like. I've bookmarked a few graham cracker recipes for ages now and decided to just try it out one weekend as I was craving for a

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-22236260172875809862011-10-22T23:10:00.000+08:002011-10-22T23:15:45.901+08:00

I've been staying at my new place for about three months or so, and I've yet to invite any of my friends over. So one weekend (of course, that's thanks to advanced planning on our part as it's always hard to schedule a meeting with all of them present), I got a bunch of them over for a homecooked brunch session. All of us chipped in a little dish (or two) and contributed to our feast for the day.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-28882257199998505632011-10-19T08:49:00.000+08:002011-10-19T08:49:14.166+08:00

More macarons again. I'm certainly practicing making macarons very frequently nowadays. Macarons for my nephew's birthday Uniform piped macaron shells After baking so many batches of macarons, I think I've gotten the piping part of the shells down to a pat. My macarons used to range from the teeny ones to large ones, all in the same batch's work. After switching over to the Italian

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-9231488890639773642011-10-15T09:54:00.000+08:002011-10-15T21:53:11.140+08:00

I've not made any entremets for some time now and my hands were just itching to have a go at it. I think perhaps I was just a little too ambitious cos my project turned out to be a nine-components (!) entremet that wrecked havoc in my now tiny kitchen...  Apple milk tea entremet  Baked apple liquor I bought a bottle of baked apple liquor last year and have been saving it for special

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-84583580758402449612011-10-11T23:09:00.000+08:002011-10-12T00:44:14.040+08:00

It was a last minute, scrambling about to find somewhere for brunch kinda day. In the end, we settled at Dempsey's Pamplemousse Bistro & Bar. When we arrived, the restaurant had yet to open and we were starving.  There was a brunch place next door that looked quite good and was relatively empty, but when we walked over, the hostress said that it was all reserved and they didn't have a spare table

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-37638251989345555222011-10-08T21:45:00.000+08:002011-10-08T21:53:30.660+08:00

It was one of the usual weekday nights. I got off work, and headed home for dinner. I was lounging on the bed, surfing the net and chatting with the Sister about random things while waiting for dinner to be ready. I forgot what we were talking about, but the subject of sticky date puddings arose. Then the Sister asked if I could make sticky date puddings cos she was craving for it suddenly. What

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-58438709156587762972011-10-06T23:00:00.000+08:002011-10-06T23:00:22.405+08:00

I've been to Himawari previously once, with my family some years ago, and I remember vividly how I liked the food so much cos everything was just so fresh (albeit with a hefty tag to it). Recently, Dad was again, asking where we should eat for our weekly family meal, so I suggested the Japanese restaurant again cos I was craving Japanese food. I made a call, but was somehow rejected as the place

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-39449996741822340632011-10-02T23:40:00.000+08:002011-10-03T09:39:23.455+08:00

This is gonna be the parting post to my awesome trip to Seoul last month. Hopefully, I'll return to Seoul soon enough to create gorgeous memories again. ;) Egg & Spoon Race Cafe at Ewha University Street Seoul is a very cafe oriented city. Or rather, I should elaborate. There are basically two kinds of cafes that are aplenty in Seoul - the coffee ones (which then is further split into big

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-47477826494037757722011-09-27T23:26:00.000+08:002011-09-27T23:31:37.439+08:00

I've been on a macaron trend the past month, almost baking macarons every weekend for some occasion or another. These were requested by my coffee loving cousin when we had a barbeque session the other day. Espresso macarons with espresso buttercream and salted caramel I had some leftover salted caramel buttercream from the recent batch of macarons I made the previous week. Salted

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-998500325441230942011-09-24T23:52:00.000+08:002011-09-25T21:11:12.958+08:00

This is a long overdue continuation post on the third part of photos for my Seoul trip last month. I've actually uploaded the pictures a week ago, but haven't had the time to think of the words to go with, cos I was busy at work, and also, I'd been feeling a 'lil under the weather. My two favourite cuisines are Japanese, and the other, Korean. I can eat Japanese or Korean food anytime and

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-56645547950648593742011-09-15T07:16:00.000+08:002011-09-15T07:16:00.654+08:00

Ever since I saw this, it had never left the top of my macaron flavours to-make list. I mean, salted buttered popcorn and salted caramel? Hello? Do I really need to even attempt to persuade you? ;) I even bought a bag of popcorn kernels a few months back, thinking that I should always be "ready" in case the urge hits to whip up those popcorn macarons and I wouldn't want to be hindered by the

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-75704414006210290362011-09-12T23:59:00.000+08:002011-09-13T00:19:40.054+08:00

Shopping in Seoul is quite awesome if I might say so. I bought like quite a lot of clothes and shoes. A pity I didn't get any cute bags, but hey, I think my wallet thank me for that already. And, shopping in Korea will be better still if you're like a size 6, cos the Korean girls are quite petite! Not to say I didn't get to shop, but I'm just sayin'... Hair salon in Ewha Women's University

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-50747889248806902682011-09-07T21:23:00.000+08:002011-09-07T21:23:17.239+08:00

Seoul pictures! I took over 900 plus photos on my 9-days vacation before reducing it to 738 (and that's not counting photos from my Sister's camera...). In reality, I think I took more, but cos my card memory ran outta space, I had to keep deleting photos in my last two days there and ration precious memory space. There was just so much to photograph. I'm sorting the photo into categories

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-9645560952714747232011-09-04T18:19:00.000+08:002011-09-05T01:25:13.478+08:00

Loco moco. What's that? I've never heard of this dish before until I was researching on how to cook minced beef. Loco moco is a dish native to Hawaiian cuisine. The essential loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. Just imagine. Gravy, a beef patty, and a sunny side fried egg? You've so got me hooked, lined and sinkered.  Loco moco

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-43219413438441178422011-09-01T04:58:00.000+08:002011-09-01T19:59:14.057+08:00

I'm back from my trip to Seoul! Lots to talk about and lots to share, I just need time to settle back into the usual routine (aka work, big sigh.). Anyway, before I left for Seoul, I had some purple sweet potatoes in the house that needed using up. I decided to make something with them before I left for my vacation, thus, the purple sweet potato chiffon cake.  Purple sweet potato chiffon

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-22926928325882033542011-08-28T12:18:00.001+08:002011-08-28T12:18:00.774+08:00

I'm currently holiday-ing and (hopefully) enjoying myself while I take my vacation... I took an extra day of leave the day before I was due to fly off to S. Korea. The reason being I had tons to plan and pack and since my flight was at 1am in the morning on Tuesday, I thought heck, I need an extra day off to reward myself for staring at the computer for two days straight planning my holiday 

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-3142000200671497472011-08-22T10:08:00.002+08:002011-08-22T10:27:31.858+08:00

Since I started baking, I buy lesser cookies since I like to bake them myself at home. Not to say I don't buy them at all, there's still stuff that I crave occasionally - think Oreos, Pepperidge Farm cookies, Lotus Caramelised Biscuit... I'm constantly craving a good chocolate chip cookie. I recently tried a new brand of cookies - Fox's Chunkie Dark Chocolate Cookies and I really liked them. I

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-56229950419235187512011-08-19T09:55:00.002+08:002011-08-19T10:04:47.525+08:00

I've made applesauce a few times already. Baked applesauce to be exact. The flavour of it was really delicious and I find myself gravitating towards this recipe always, whenever I require the use of applesauce. I realise I've never actually posted the recipe prior, so I decided to make it again recently. Baked applesauce The flavour is really amazing, and the recipe only requires a few simple

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-81854508328749403102011-08-16T09:19:00.000+08:002011-08-16T09:19:19.344+08:00

I made the cherry preserves with something else in mind. These below were exactly what was on my mind. ;) Cherry chocolate cognac teacakes Cherry pitting without a cherry pitter is a tough job Cherries are on sale again. I went for lunch yesterday and saw that the supermart was selling them at $12.99/kg again. Thus, I got myself a modest 0.85kg worth of cherries. Since I was going to be on

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-86996351996284780672011-08-13T21:04:00.003+08:002011-08-13T21:08:08.323+08:00

It's been so long since I last made macarons. This is the first batch of macarons I've made since moving house. And thank gosh they turned out okay.  Vanilla bean macarons Anyway, I've come to trust the Italian way of making macarons cos no matter what sort of unintended errors I make, the macaron shells still turn out fine. I doubt I'll be turning back to the French method anymore cos I'm

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-67687157686822967632011-08-10T08:44:00.001+08:002011-08-10T08:44:53.320+08:00

Cherries were in season, and I had plans to make good use of them. Weekend breakfast I made sweet cherry preserves! It's really easy to make this, since there's no need for pectin for the spread to come together. I've never made any jam/spread of any sort since there was always the need for pectin and I just couldn't be bothered to get an item that will not be frequently used in my kitchen.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-51047313883631392282011-08-06T13:58:00.001+08:002011-08-07T09:56:00.377+08:00

This is the recipe I think I'll head to in future when I want a really really chocolate-y homemade cookie. No contest here. I first made it a couple of years back in my uni days and promptly forgot about them ever since. Recently, Sis and I were at home, both craving for something chocolate-y.I flipped through my well-worn copy of sweet treats that I've baked throughout the years, my eyes

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-51410081980345550192011-08-04T08:56:00.001+08:002011-08-04T09:00:17.662+08:00

It's cherry season! At least it was until about a week ago.  Cherry season I first knew about cherries being in season when my Sis told me that cherries were going for a really cheap price at the supermarket. That very weekend, I got to work by picking up about 1.6 kilos worth of cherries.  Nom nom nom. Cherries are delish aren't they? And a few days later, I popped by the supermarkets twice

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-74984640457284673132011-08-01T07:04:00.002+08:002011-08-01T07:04:00.737+08:00

Raspberries are a rare sight in my kitchen. Among all the berries, I reckon my fave's actually raspberries, but a punnet of them comes with a hefty price tag, so I snack on its cheaper cousins, the blueberries and blackberries more often than not. I bought a punnet of these bright red jewels two weeks back as they were going for just slightly cheaper than its usual price tag. I knew I wanted to

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-27637277316142623422011-07-29T23:04:00.001+08:002011-07-29T23:05:47.613+08:00

Minimalising usage of the oven is really quite easy on hot and humid summer days. Slurping cold (that's actually stating the obvious cos since when is it hot anyway?) ice cream and taking cold showers, both of which are little pleasures of life. Instead of gorging on creamy ice cream, I thought that refreshing popsicles should do the trick. I was keen to play more with the popsicle mold that I

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-6342374811572647682011-07-26T09:48:00.002+08:002011-07-29T21:55:46.709+08:00

Here's the last part of using up leftover cream. The first two ideas can be found here and here. Jasmine tea honey panna cotta with mint poached lychees I used my favourite tea of the moment - Gryphon's Pearl of the Orient (which has a really lovely tea aroma) for the panna cottas. I didn't have my measuring teaspoons with me, so I estimated the amount of gelatin used - erring on the lesser

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-48198772165264432182011-07-22T08:13:00.002+08:002011-07-22T08:13:00.158+08:00

I'm a breakfast kinda girl. I *must* eat my breakfast every day (the only exceptions being when I wake up late or if I'm heading out for brunch). I've been known to wake up, brush my teeth, and the first thought that pops into my yet-to-awaken brain is, "Where's food? I'm hungry." Oatmeal cinnamon pancakes with blackberry sauce Blackberry sauce; Pancakes stack  Breakfast lately has been mostly

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-35877686709332480452011-07-20T10:28:00.001+08:002011-07-20T10:31:37.002+08:00

I've been mostly meeting up with friends at quieter spots I enjoy chilling out at - namely Dempsey or Rochester. Revisited Graze again for brunch with some pals some time back and got to enjoy a chill out session with the ever awesome atmosphere and great company. Graze again for brunch As usual, we shared about four mains among three girls. I swear everytime I hang out with that group of girls I

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-73727421313165064922011-07-15T09:03:00.001+08:002011-07-15T23:44:26.768+08:00

Remember earlier on I was talking about using up cream? Here's idea number two (that doesn't require any special equipment and oven usage too!) for using up cream - chocolate truffles. Chocolate whisky truffles, to be exact. Chocolate whisky truffles It's really easy to make truffles. Just two simple ingredients if you're making just a simple chocolate truffles - chocolate and cream. Additions

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-58698134064437258252011-07-12T07:42:00.001+08:002011-07-12T09:05:10.801+08:00

The weather's been pretty mad hot lately isn't it? I've already moved into my new place officially (though there are still boxes and bags of stuff still unpacked and lying around generally being a huge eyesore...), and since the oven is not yet set up, the first thing I've made here during the past weekend is some chilly treats to beat the annoying heat. Berry yogurt popsicles Nothing beats

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-58610786740616688312011-07-10T01:27:00.000+08:002011-07-10T01:28:07.926+08:00

I bought a litre of cream before the big move. Should I say it was a big mistake on my part? I should have known that there was no oven facilities at the temporary rented place, and my ice cream maker was packed away in some box that was moved to the new place. So, how in the world was I going to use cream that was due to expire within one week? I've come up with some ideas on how to use up

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-65760295330421555772011-07-08T07:23:00.008+08:002011-07-08T07:23:00.107+08:00

I find that wraps make a really good healthy lunch (on-the-go too, if the need arises). In fact, now that I'm trying to lose weight, I find myself gravitating towards lower carbs choices when it comes to planning my meals. Wraps are quite a good choice (I feel) for my current diet plan. Grilled mushrooms I've been experimenting with different fillings, while keeping to the same wholemeal wrap

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-73985803593158297392011-07-03T08:12:00.000+08:002011-07-03T08:12:00.603+08:00

Clearing out the fridge can yield so many desserts. I'm frankly amazed at how many stuff I've made in the past month before the move using stuff that I've already had stocked in the pantry on "one of my various groceries trips". And I'm sure I'm not alone in this whole my-pantry-is-already-jammed-packed with this little bag of this and that little can of that and whatnots AND yet when I spot

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-26429162954219419812011-06-29T09:38:00.007+08:002011-06-29T15:06:49.784+08:00

I'm still currently stuck in limbo between houses. I've just received news from the Dad that our new house renovations are going to be completed soon and hopefully we'll get to move in soon. (next week perhaps?) I really miss pottering about in the kitchen. Cos there's just so many things that I really want to make. One of them being a really chocolate-y chocolate cake to celebrate a new chapter

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-39806234257380853262011-06-25T23:06:00.002+08:002011-06-26T13:15:07.475+08:00

Sometimes all we really want to cook is just a simple lunch. A no-frills, fast and tasty meal. Pasta is a good choice. I like it done aglio olio style, not much ingredients are required and you don't even have to spend extra time whipping up a sauce to pair with the pasta. How simple can it get? Tomato aglio olio This is such a simple dish that I'm sure many of us have done so at home before.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-85450244392827578382011-06-22T09:48:00.002+08:002011-06-22T09:48:00.482+08:00

After the previous attempt at making steamed milk with egg whites, I was really keen to try out different versions of the really simple yet delicious treat. Steamed chocolate milk with egg whites I tried a chocolate version of 炖奶 in Hong Kong and found it quite good, thus I decided to make a chocolate version at home. I decided that since the dessert calls for only a few basic ingredients, the

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-47912203137307030082011-06-19T16:53:00.001+08:002011-06-19T16:56:26.841+08:00

Whoops, the half written post got posted last night before I could actually finish with it. I was going to finish it up yesterday night and post it accordingly. As it was so, I spent the whole day out yesterday. I woke up and we were all ready to head out furniture shopping  at Ikea for the new house. After an awesome lunch of Ikea meatballs, fried chicken and Diam cake, we continued walking

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-17903693249220272262011-06-12T17:06:00.000+08:002011-06-12T17:06:00.945+08:00

After my last post regarding the use of purple sweet potatoes, I immediately went to get more of it the next week I was near the market. In fact, I got two bags of it. Can't blame me - they were really sweet! Sweet potatoes -  a mix of yellow and purple fleshed Purple canvas of mashed sweet potatoes I normally enjoy eating sweet potatoes just as it is. In my opinion, the best way of eating sweet

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-66745592680877257292011-06-11T19:04:00.000+08:002011-06-11T19:10:56.444+08:00

I've been to Au Petit Salut once a few years back for their affordable lunch sets, and then to their sister branch, Bistro Petit Salut at Chip Bee Gardens a coupla times since. The food at both restaurants were quite good, so recently, I found myself revisiting Au Petit Salut again for lunch while I was around the Dempsey area. Au Petit Salut The lush surroundings were really nice, but at the

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-10321248489727179612011-06-04T23:56:00.003+08:002011-06-05T11:57:03.832+08:00

Before I do my little prelude into my baking post, I must say that I'm currently in a major phase of my life. I'm gonna be moving. And that's from the place that I've stayed for as long as I can remember (say, perhaps a good 17, 18 years?). There are certain reasons for the move, but all I can say is, while on one hand I'm excited about planning a new room, on the other hand, I'm a bit sad cos

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-10761218553371175402011-06-01T20:44:00.000+08:002011-06-01T20:44:23.478+08:00

A few weeks ago on a Friday, I met up with my girlfriends for dinner at a quiet spot. On a weekend night, the place was relatively free of crowds (ah, the bliss!). Where am I talking about? Shhhh. Don't tell, but it's actually Rochester Park.  Da Paolo Bistro Bar I really like hanging out at places whereby the crowds doesn't hang out too. And that's really quite hard to achieve as Singapore is

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-71519793125385113592011-05-28T23:49:00.000+08:002011-05-28T23:49:23.597+08:00

I mentioned in my last post that I made lime curd macarons for my girlfriend, I forgot to mention that I also made some chocolate macarons at the same time. Yeah, I like variety and I couldn't imagine just packing a box filled with macarons of the same flavour (don't mind me please, it's just me and one of my weird quirks). Chocolate hazelnut feuilletine macarons I decided on chocolate - it was

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-77927842920109335362011-05-25T23:24:00.001+08:002011-05-26T08:16:11.625+08:00

I got to know a new buddy, who is a sour lover (cheers!) and her birthday falls in the month of May. I decided to make her some macarons for her birthday, and the flavours I then decided to make were quite obvious, isn't it? Something sour. Lime curd macarons I made a basic (Italian method) macaron base recipe, and added some finely grated lime zest and green colouring (but cos I used liquid, I

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-68242427916313188932011-05-23T22:46:00.000+08:002011-05-23T22:46:04.667+08:00

It's been a long time since I last posted a new dining place on the blog. I'm still happily eating out as usual, just that I've gotten lazy at editing the pictures. Or I'm just busy re-visiting the same old places (cue *coughs House *coughs*). ^^ Anyway, the last time I had dim sum, I visited a Chinese dining establishment that I've never been to before - Li Bai. Li Bai Crispy roasted pork The

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-46710760698301793882011-05-22T21:28:00.000+08:002011-05-22T21:34:11.024+08:00

I happened to find purple sweet potatoes at the wet market a few weeks back. To say that I was happy was kinda an understatement. I'm a carbs lover (sigh, unfortunately), thus, needless to say, I love sweet potatoes. Steamed milk with egg whites and purple sweet potato I wanted to do something special with them, and quickly, my first thought went to something that I had saw previously -

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-49135988504190605912011-05-18T14:09:00.003+08:002011-05-18T14:30:51.015+08:00

I'm happy now that I've found a couple of pals who loves sour goodies like I do. It means that I get to experiment more with some of my favourite mouth puckering fruits like lemons, limes and passion fruit and knowing that there'll certainly be willing "guinea pigs" for me. Heh. We recently celebrated one of the sour fruit lover pal's birthday, and I decided to make some passion fruit bars for

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-90273354565857041452011-05-14T22:14:00.002+08:002011-05-15T00:59:39.799+08:00

I first saw it on the ultimate pastry website, Paris Patisseries, here. And when I happened to see it again later, on yet another website (recipe included), I knew that it was fate. I used to love hanging around (almost stalker-ish) the Paris Patisserie website cos of all the delectable goodies that the lucky Adam got to savour. I would look at the screen, gawking and drooling at the same time,

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-52064411197686068392011-05-12T21:44:00.000+08:002011-05-14T04:40:52.953+08:00

My latest addiction. Been listening to it on replay the whole day. Yeps, I'm one of those sort that wears out the track I'm currently addicted to for the next few days till I get sick of it. ^^A really lovely track by a local band, really love the vocals of the lead singer Sara and this song makes me wanna cry (and I'm not even in an emo mood).

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-56806733217226834252011-05-11T09:28:00.002+08:002011-05-11T09:28:25.041+08:00

As I mentioned in my last granola post, I like having granola for breakfast. I mean, it's oats, and oats are supposedly good for the body isn't it? What I have here today, is admittedly, not a healthy granola, but heck, we should all ease up a little bit, enjoy a little treat now and then (okay, almost all the time...) and just hit the gym more often to make up for the sinful stuff we consume...

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-4104469644918529732011-05-08T03:13:00.001+08:002011-05-08T03:17:22.376+08:00

It was one of those cold and rainy days. Shivering and longing for something hot to warm my insides. I ended up craving for churros. Piping hot churros, rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture and dipped in a rich chocolate dip. Aaaaah. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted some physically in my hands, and not mentally in my mind. The churros making process Deep frying the churros dough I've

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-6186460121482912472011-05-05T10:16:00.001+08:002011-05-05T10:39:27.042+08:00

I love having granola for breakfast. Since my uni days, I've enjoyed pairing yogurt and granola, and sometimes, with a dollop of fresh berries or passion fruit. I've been making my own granola for quite some time, experimenting with different recipes. I was testing to see whether homemade granola can compare to store bought granola. While I've yet to achieve the exact texture of the store bought

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-64561266363716506682011-05-02T10:45:00.001+08:002011-05-02T10:46:49.325+08:00

The Sister was making ice cream and she had some leftover sour cream. I hate waste, so I told her I'll use it up for her. Words said, I then had to go hunt for recipes that uses sour cream. After a quick search, I thought that muffins and quick breads for breakfast are the most likely items to use sour cream, and I chanced upon this recipe, which encompasses one of my favourite combo as a

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-88738243663572914762011-04-28T20:18:00.001+08:002011-04-28T22:48:14.415+08:00

For the picnic that I mentioned in my previous post, besides making a scrumptious apple crisp, I also made some citrus tea cakes. As I had a pack of dried kumquats that I have no idea what to do with, I decided to try making something I saw some time back from Tartelette's website. Kumquat citrus blackberry tea cakes Since I didn't have fresh kumquats on hand, I decided to replace the fresh

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-46114066708101411282011-04-23T12:09:00.004+08:002011-04-23T12:25:49.044+08:00

I went for a picnic a couple weeks back with some of my girlfriends. They requested that I make the dessert, and I was okay since you know, I love to bake. And the girl pals are not a big fan of sweet, so they requested something fruity, preferably a fruit crumble. So, I decided to make an apple crumble. And add in frozen cranberries(which are tart) that I had frozen when they were in season  to

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-1664640727381591022011-04-20T09:29:00.002+08:002011-04-20T09:30:08.190+08:00

Bananas spot easily. Their brown spots grow at an alarming exponential rate. Way faster than how a normal spot grows on the human face. I'm glad I'm not a banana. To use up some spotty bananas, I decided that I was not going to go my usual route of making this uber scrumptious banana bread, but to go for something with a chill - ice cream, instead. What do you get when you combine bananas,

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-38821137702464769182011-04-17T00:35:00.007+08:002011-04-18T18:29:53.872+08:00

I had a whole big box of frozen blueberries in the freezer that I had painstakingly prep and froze the last time blueberries were in season. I needed to clear the freezer, so I decided that I shall save them for using in an entremet. I researched for recipes, and finally found one from my scanned copy of "頂級法式時尚甜點" - Jennifer aux Myrtilles - a blueberry vanilla chocolate entremet. The only thing

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-83506253903163680022011-04-15T14:48:00.001+08:002011-04-15T14:51:16.195+08:00

Just checked out another new dining place recently that I've always wanted to visit - Food For Thought. Food For Thought at 8 Queen Street They don't do reservations and to our dismay when we reached, there was a sign outside the restaurant saying that the place is full and there's going to be quite a wait... In all, we waited for an hour or so for a table for four to be available. We were all

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-38035037969585747912011-04-11T10:07:00.001+08:002011-04-11T10:10:28.498+08:00

I've been craving Vietnamese food for the longest time ever. Especially Bún Thịt Nướng, Phở and Bánh mì . In that order. But since I've yet to master the art of cooking Vietnamese cuisine (since I'm more of a baker anyways), I decided to make my usual whenever I'm craving Vietnamese - Vietnamese rice paper rolls instead. Ingredients; Vietnamese rice paper rolls  I like making rice paper rolls

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-49623392761544535622011-04-08T20:14:00.001+08:002011-04-08T20:14:25.914+08:00

A little while ago, before I started work, I went for a short weekend getaway with a couple of my girlfriends whom I've known since secondary school. The bunch of us have always been quite good friends, but we've never actually gone on a trip together before. As it was hard to work things out due to our schedules, we decided to start small and go for a 2D1N Batam trip. And hopefully, we will get

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-66973949066347675182011-04-04T08:12:00.001+08:002011-04-04T08:12:00.388+08:00

I had leftover chestnut puree that I had froze when I made the chestnut mont blanc. As I don't like to hoard things in the freezer for too long, I was thinking hard on how to use the chestnut puree... Matcha macarons with chestnut buttercream I thought, maybe I could do a chestnut macaron! Concurrently, there were also egg whites in the fridge, so I aged them for a couple more days, and I

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-33955776474797460502011-04-02T23:30:00.030+08:002011-04-02T23:44:25.018+08:00

Fruits such as apples, pears and oranges might seem ordinary at first glance. After all, they are available almost any time of the year, and are readily available in most countries. However, if you dive into the world of fruits into details, there are actually quite a wide range of varieties for every single fruit. Take the humble pear for instance. Before I developed my passion for baking, I

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-31663098866969487832011-03-31T23:47:00.050+08:002011-03-31T23:47:00.771+08:00

Was browsing some of my old favourite sites that I've not visited in a while. And I saw some of these lovely pieces. Simply dreamy and stunning. Bead bib collar image credited here. Saw it here. DIY doiley bowls credited here. Saw it here.Love the bright red lipstick on the model! Image credited here. Saw it here. I like such dreamy lighting. Image credited here. Saw it here.Fairy-like petal

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-18194172971180012492011-03-28T09:25:00.002+08:002011-03-28T09:25:32.033+08:00

Right after my last passion fruit post, I was craving for more passion fruit straight away. In fact, when I was making those passion fruit tarts, I was already planning for the next passion fruit dessert - passion fruit ice cream. I was planning to find fresh passion fruit from the supermart so that I get the lovely passion fruit seeds in my ice cream too. Alas, whenever you're specifically

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-49986020066886804332011-03-24T17:01:00.000+08:002011-03-24T17:03:14.460+08:00

Manufacturers of cream should totally reconsider re-evaluating their packaging. Currently, the sizes available for packets of cream are for 200ml or 1L. Like hello? 200ml is just too little as most of the times, I require 250ml, and 1L, it is way too much that everytime I open a 1L pack, I would have to plan ahead (yes, I mean calculations on actual paper) on how to use up the full amount! Why

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-18257207254845508392011-03-20T23:51:00.000+08:002011-03-20T23:51:25.768+08:00

There's quite a bit of pictures again for this post about Hong Kong. Mostly because, like I mentioned earlier, there's just too much good food to be consumed. Weekend dim sum And day three of our trip commenced with dim sum. What better to start a day's meal with than these baskets of small delights? Sis's ex-colleague is currently working in Hong Kong, so he brought us to this dim sum place at

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-65994921748677984852011-03-18T10:27:00.006+08:002011-03-18T11:19:40.900+08:00

Evan and I had a date to bake. After our last meeting, where we made the Mont Blanc, we made plans to make an entremet together using a recipe from Hidemi Sugino's book, Le Goût Authentique Retrouvé. Evan had bought the book even though it's entirely in Japanese (minimal French for the ingredients list). Bravos to her as she had attempted a few recipes prior to this without any translated steps

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-20073146991549094212011-03-15T22:53:00.000+08:002011-03-15T22:53:24.342+08:00

A side note about Japan - it was a shock to hear about the disasters that Japan is currently facing now, what with the earthquake, the tsunami and the nuclear plant explosions. It's bad enough to experience one calamity, but to be hit with a myriad of calamities all at once, man, I can't imagine how it is to be in Japan right now. I just hope that Japan can pull strong and recover from all these,

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-18695310776874338432011-03-14T15:43:00.002+08:002011-03-16T11:06:33.478+08:00

Following my last post on dinner at P.S Cafe (Palais), I recently had a brunch date with my girlfriend at P.S Cafe (Dempsey). It was my second visit to the Dempsey outlet, my very first visit to a P.S Cafe was a few years back at P.S Cafe (Dempsey). P.S Cafe (Dempsey) No reservations were allowed for brunch at the Dempsey outlet, and so we arrived there around 11ish, hoping to get a seat soon.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-66564659251354517292011-03-11T08:16:00.075+08:002011-03-11T16:34:37.937+08:00

I'm trying to clear out some of the freezer goodies and there's still a huge 1L tub of passion fruit puree in there. I've only used it in the coconut mango passion fruit macarons here and mango passion fruit verrines here. I thought that I should do something that let the passion fruit flavour shine on its own. So here's my take on the Bourke Street Bakery's Passion Fruit Meringue Tarts. Bourke

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7734774.post-56924616094480109682011-03-10T10:10:00.002+08:002011-03-10T10:10:00.224+08:00

Around a month ago, we had a farewell dinner for one of my helpers who was in charge of looking after my granny. A few weeks after my granny passed on, her mother in law passed on too, and her husband wanted her to go back to Indonesia, so we arranged for her to go back in mid Feb. Before that, we asked her what she would like to have before heading back. And she requested for Korean food! Haha.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03510922565884178891noreply@blogger.com4