sereine // blog

Hiver 2011/2012 #23

2012-01-29T21:47:00.000+01:00

Today.

Cold, grey, and gloomy.

The best place to go is nowhere, except under layers of blankets with a cup of hot tea by your side.

We're going below 0, to as much as -10degs this whole week. I hate this weather. I'll be blasting the heaters both in the office and at home.

Hiver 2011/2012 #22

2012-01-28T21:22:00.001+01:00

After a series of procrastination and laziness at work, I finally got these 2 to replace what were taken away from me due to an unfortunate event.

Ample space for all my cards and cash.

And, a cute, little coin purse made of lamb skin in the sales!!

Hiver 2011/2012 #21

2012-01-28T17:53:00.000+01:00

Doesn't the name brighten up your day already?

"Good Morning Sunshine" - one of my fav tea to start every working day =)

Hiver 2011/2012 #20

2012-01-28T17:41:00.000+01:00

A shop that has been awarded "One of the best artisans in France" at Odeon.

I was in a hurry to attend AS's birthday party that I didn't have more time to take a closer look inside the shop. Maybe next time.

All things chocolate.

Hiver 2011/2012 #19

2012-01-22T13:45:00.002+01:00

Pre-CNY dinner last night.

Recommended by R, selected as one of the best restaurants in Paris.

It was already 22H30 when we arrived in the restaurant, and being the glutton-me as usual, I've decided on what I wanted to eat when she sent me the link of the restaurant 2 days ago. So, it was just R contemplating on the choices last night. Haha!

Starters - Some tempura-alike dish & R chose goat cheese on bread, with a "fried lava-style egg".

Main dishes - Salmon in Teriyaki sauce with unpolished rice & some fish with spinach and pear.

Desserts - Crème brulée & Sorbets.

We were taking pics together when the waitress actually requested to join in!! So cute!!

A highly recommended place for its food & ambience!!

[ADDRESS]
La Petite Cour (Reservation needed)
8, rue Mabillon
75006 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 43 26 52 26
Nearest Metro Station: Mabillon (Line 10)
**close in the afternoon on Saturdays**

Hiver 2011/2012 #18

2012-01-22T12:08:00.001+01:00

AS's birthday party at Au Père Louis last night.

There were plentiful of laughter and joy, with a few moments of me feeling a little embarrassed or rather, bashful, especially when Rad arrived and all that talking to D. I am just not good at handling attention...

Hiver 2011/2012 #17

2012-01-21T15:12:00.003+01:00

New Year lunch 2012 with my colleagues went very Italian.

Italian breadsticks - typical of every Italian restaurants that I've been to.

Italian buns.

Italian beer.

This was my main dish - Seafood pasta. If I was alone at the restaurant or at home eating this, I would have licked my plate clean...

//Other main dishes from the plates of my colleagues//

Some pasta with grilled eggplants.

Grilled veggies with some grilled fish.

Asparagus with melting cheese.

Chicken cutlet with pasta.

//The desserts//

Café gourmand - Italian coffee with 3 little pieces of assorted desserts.

I had my fav dessert - Panna Cota.

I traded part of my Panna Cota with 2 other colleagues and I think I made the best choice!! Haha!!

Tiramisu with pistacho toppings.

Tiramisu with strawberry toppings.

It was quite nice but I don't really like alcohol in my food, unless the alcohol content has already evaporated from the process of cooking.

Chocolate bomb with a smiley face - Some chocolate dessert with chocolate ice cream embedded within.

3 hours lunch on a working day is worth more than a smile, no? =DD

I don't know the name of this white wine, but I like it a lot! Sweet with a fruity taste. Should have asked before we left the restaurant.

I would love to go back for their seafood pasta again. Here I am feeling very hungry looking at these pictures...

[ADDRESS]
Restaurant Convivium
3 boulevard Pershing
75017 Paris

Hiver 2011/2012 #16

2012-01-14T21:55:00.003+01:00

Chinese tea set as a birthday gift for one of my colleagues who will be celebrating her birthday next week.

There are a lot of January babies in the office. She will be the 3rd one this month. Do you know there are a lot of French born between the months of May - July? When I count back the months, their parents did something really romantic during summer. >>> "I know what you did last summer." (Total pun intended) LOL!! I haven't meet a French who is born in December like me. I still love December the most. =)

Since my idea won the support of everyone, I was assigned to get it. It is beautiful, isn't it? I feel like having a set myself too, but I was thinking when I will get to use it? Or, it is going to be another decorative item in the cupboard?

It comes in a beautiful box with beautiful lining inside.

From a fellow tea lover to another, I hope she will like what I've chosen for her, paid for by everyone in the office. =)

Hiver 2011/2012 #15

2012-01-14T21:39:00.007+01:00

Winter sales started since Wed this week and I felt almost like a saint without taking part in this frenzy.

I was taking in the scenes of how people queue up in the wee hours of the morning outside major shopping centres and getting flustered in those heaps of sales items inside the boutiques. It felt like a different world when I was looking at all these while I was on my way walking to the bus stop after work each evening at a leisurely pace because this is the part of the day that I take strolling as part of my de-stressing routine.

Sales don't excite me anymore. The internet solves almost everything nowadays.

After sleeping non-stop for 15 hours and waking up in the afternoon today, I made a trip to good, old, trusty Uniqlo hoping to get some basics that I need for winter. I was telling myself that if there is a mad crowd inside, I will just have lunch nearby and heed back for a lazy Saturday, but I guessed people usually go for fancy stuff during sales time and don't think basics are worth all the hassle, it was actually quite empty today, much to my delight!

A grand total of 50 Euros off my total purchase!! - 1 cashmere turtleneck sweater, 1 basic stripped T, 1 pair of dark blue heat-tech jeans (This thing really works!! It is really warm!!) & 2 undies (Uniqlo has got one of the best undergarments!!)

Turtle-neck sweaters may not work for everyone but I find black turtleneck sweaters very flattering on me!!

Heattech products rock during winter. I've got a lot of their heattech basics.
Paris has gone below 0 degrees since yesterday.

I got everything I needed from the Sales in one shop this year. =D

I h.a.t.e. crowded places. It stresses me up and this is the last thing I need after a week long of work.

Hiver 2011/2012 #14

2012-01-08T00:41:00.003+01:00

After "La galette des Rois" - A king's cake at home, we have another round in the office too (our office eats, non-stop... non-stop, really), it seems that we have valid reasons to celebrate with food 330 out of 365 days .

This must be a very French tradition because almost every office in France practise this.

With cider.

The crowns on the table.

This is my favourite crown! Made by my colleague's son in school. So sweet!!

La fève is found!! A pizza truck this time.

The "King" is crowned.

There was another "Galette des Rois" back home... I didn't eat it this time as I was really sick of it (pretty greasy food). I like the fève though, it is a bunny!!

The winds this week have been really strong. I couldn't even advance in my steps on my way to work one rainy morning and have to seek shelter for it to subside before making efforts going against it with my umbrella again. Praying for Spring to come quick!!

Hiver 2011/2012 #13

2012-01-08T00:18:00.000+01:00

I like dressing up the Androgyny style. Pants with men-styled leather shoes. I think I make quite a cool boy. =)

One of my brogues. Very comfy!!

Vintage leather bag from 1978 (feels kind of strange when it is older than me). I got another similar one from the late 1970s that I use regularly too!!

Very dim lighting in the corridor. Coupled with my incompetent phone's camera, this is not a clear pic.

Hiver 2011/2012 #12

2012-01-07T23:57:00.001+01:00

It was more than once (here & here for example) that I've mentioned one of my colleagues' bf is a Willy Wonka, I realised to maintain your weight (I don't even want to mention losing weight, if you are trying!!), you will need a lot of mental power and self-discipline because, there is a 1.5kg of assorted French chocolates waiting for us in the pantry area after our X'mas break!!

I like this chocolate I picked out randomly from the box (pic taken using my lousy mobile phone, so resolution is not even nice to begin with), random because there is no booklet or anything printed on the box to indicate which chocolate corresponds to which fillings, every one you pick out is a surprise until you eat it.

Raspberry flavoured with real raspberries and seeds inside!!

The pink colour cheers one up too, no? =D

Hiver 2011/2012 #11

2012-01-07T23:41:00.003+01:00

One of the toys I brought back from Singapore - a small wooden rolling pin that fits the size of my hands.

I use this primarily for making the skin of my gyozas or dumplings for now. This is an excellent purchase. It is so much easier for me now compared to the giant rolling pin I was using before that were meant for men or people who likes to roll out their dough while grabbing onto the rolling pin at both ends, it just exhaust me completely at the end. With this hand-held size, I totally feel like a Ding Tai Fung expert. LoL!!

The fillings that I'm very proud of - burst of meat juices the moment you bite into it.

Yes, you are right, I was wrapping my gyozas while watching streaming tv serials/varieties from my laptop. Haha! I do them in bulk (50 of them at the end usually), so that I don't have to go through the whole session of making the dough again for the next 2 - 3 sessions.

Pan-fried versions for W.

I like mine in soups. A very versatile dish that allows you to do it in the style you prefer.

Hiver 2011/2012 #10

2012-01-07T23:29:00.003+01:00

Traditional French dish - "Blanquette de Veau", usually eaten during the winter period.

To prepare blanquette de veau, one stews pieces of veal (such as shoulder or breast) and carrots, mushrooms, onions, etc, bolstering the broth with flour, butter, cream, and/or egg yolk. Of course, not forgetting the white wine and loads of fresh lemon juice at the end. I love the sour-y taste of this dish.

Pre-heated stage.

Simmering hot - Lunch hour in the office. =D

A very humble, homely dish but so oh-so-comforting in winter.

Never, forget the lemon juice. Never. The lemon juice makes the difference!!

Hiver 2011/2012 #9

2012-01-07T23:05:00.001+01:00

Remember the boulangerie I've mentioned in my neighbourhood where they were awarded the place to have the best chouquettes for 2010 here?

I decided to make it one of my long-term targets to try out the chouquettes & chocolate éclairs in Paris (I made it a point when W bought me chocolate éclairs that Sunday), especially those boulangeries that weren't mentioned in the media but are receiving constant support in the neighbourhood just because they are good in what they do.

During New Year Day's eve, I got chocolate éclairs from "Le Quartier Du Pain". =D

They are really using mostly chocolate, and not sugar from its taste. ♥ I like!♥

Since, I'm a self-confessed chouquette lover, I cannot walk out of this boulangerie that has the best chouquettes in Paris without any chouquettes, can I?

They taste as good, as always.

Hiver 2011/2012 #8

2012-01-07T22:37:00.002+01:00

Work has been really busy, but I'm really liking it! I come back, catch my breath, and it is bedtime soon after. Not a lot of time left for anything else besides the daily-routine or even time for myself like reading. I have quite a bit of back-logged pictures.

Some food pictures from X'mas.

Lobster VS Crab.

In France, they sell their seafood in this state. Not raw, but the state as you have seen in the pics. Some even lay them in a platter for you nicely with lemon slices nicely-sliced up.

Left - Lobster's pincer, Right - Crab's pincer

There are loads of orange-coloured cream embedded between the insides of the lobster's shell and its meat.

I love seafood so much that I wouldn't dismiss the idea of living by the sea some day just to have fresh seafood everyday. =D

Handbook for Life 2012

2012-01-02T02:22:00.002+01:00

For my first post in 2012, I would like to share an article from Prana.

HEALTH:

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.

5. Make time to meditate.

6. Breathe

7. Read more books than you did in 2011.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

PERSONALITY:

11. Comparing our lives to others is fruitless. We have no idea what their journey is about.

12. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones especially about things out of our control. Invest energy in the positive present moment.

13. Try not to over do. Understand limits.

14. Why take ourselves so seriously. No one else does.

15. Gossip drains precious energy.

16. Dream more while we are awake.

17. Envy is a waste of time. We already have all we need.

18. Forget issues of the past. Let go of our partners mistakes of the past. Focus on our present/future happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Make peace with our past so it won’t spoil the present.

21. No one is in charge of our happiness except us.

22. Realize that life is a school and we are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons we learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.

24. We don’t have to win arguments. It’s ok to agree to disagree.

SOCIETY:

25. Call your family often.

26. Each day give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything.

28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30. What other people think of you is insignificant compared to what you think of yourself.

31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends & family will. Stay in touch.

LIFE:

32. Do the right thing!

33. Keep only things that are useful, beautiful or joyful.

34. Higher powers heal everything.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

36. No matter how we feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

37. The best is yet to come.

38. When we awake alive in the morning, be thankful.

39. Our Inner most is always happy. Release your “Inner Happy” on the world every day!

Keep up the good work if you have done some of what were mentioned and start implementing those that you have missed or haven't been doing.

Hiver 2011/2012 #7

2011-12-31T00:12:00.005+01:00

"La galette des Rois" - A king's cake. It is a type of cake associated with the festival of Epiphany in the Christmas season in a number of countries, and in other places with the pre-Lenten celebrations of Mardi Gras / Carnival.

It is popular in the Christmas season in France, Belgium, Quebec and Switzerland, Portugal, Spain and Spanish America, Greece and Cyprus and Bulgari. Tradition holds that the cake is “to draw the kings” to the Epiphany.

We don't eat this for religious reasons. It is more like a seasonal food to us and it was there in the shop today, so we got it.

"La galette des Rois" heating up in our oven.

Made up of flaky puff pastry layers with a dense center of frangipane - filling made from or flavored like almonds.

A figurine, la fève, which can represent anything from a car to a cartoon character, is hidden in the cake (I got it this year, for once!! My first time!! And, it is a Chinese girl figurine!! How apt!!) and the person who finds the trinket in their slice becomes king for the day.

A paper crown is included with the cake to crown the "king" who finds the fève in their piece of cake.

To ensure a random distribution of the cake shares, it is traditional for the youngest person to place themselves under the table and name the recipient of the share which is indicated by the person in charge of the service.

Happy New Year!! May the new year bring more health and joy to everyone!!

Hiver 2011/2012 #6

2011-12-28T00:14:00.003+01:00

Post-X'mas in the office continues with X'mas-alike food spread......

This beautiful thing is called "Smörgåstårta" - Sandwich cake made by my Swedish colleague!!

This is a Scandinavian cuisine dish that is popular in Finland, Sweden and Estonia. This salty cake is compositionally similar to a sandwich, but it has such a large amount of filling that it more resembles a layered cream cake with garnished top. C told us that this "cake" is especially popular during parties and not limited to X'mas period, and basically you can fill it up with whatever you fancy. This one that he makes regularly are the ingredients that he prefers.

C, cutting up his masterpiece!! =D

The smörgåstårta is normally made up of several layers of white or light rye bread with creamy fillings in between. The fillings and toppings vary, but egg and mayonnaise are often the base, additional filling may vary greatly but often includes one or more of the following: liver paté, olives, shrimp, ham, various cold cuts, caviar, tomato, cucumber, cheese and smoked salmon.

Smörgåstårta is served cold and sliced like a dessert cake. The types of sandwich cakes vary from meat, fish, combinations of cheeses and meats to vegan. The smörrebröd top decor often reflects the ingredients used as a filling.

I'm sorry for the quality of the pics. I tried my best but my mobile phone totally failed in microscopic shots.

In France, one celebrates with macarons whether you have a good reason to do so or not, it doesn't really matter as long as they are good macarons, does it?

From L-R: Pistacho, Raspberry (my fav!!), Chocolate, Passion-fruit-chocolate, Praliné (my fav!!), Caramel, Blackcurrant & Vanilla.

Remember I mentioned here that we have a colleague whose bf is "Willy Wonka" in disguise, so macarons and French desserts are a common sight in our office. =DD

Every working day, I begin with a cup like this, another cup before, during and after lunch. In between, there might be some Nespresso shots if I need some energy to open my eyes.

I really appreciate my colleagues a lot!! They make a whole world of difference.

Hiver 2011/2012 #5

2011-12-26T02:25:00.003+01:00

My huge parcel from ♥home♥ finally arrived 1.5 weeks ago, just in time for X'mas.

Sauce packs, spices, dried seafood, etc.

Finally, I can eat my braised pork belly with beancurd skin and hard boiled eggs very soon!!

Dried scallops from mum & XO sauces!!

"Kentucky" chicken tenders tonight. It was sheer luck that I discovered (last year when I brought these 2 different types of spices to try) combining these 2 packs will render fantastic results.

Seasoned the sliced chicken breasts with "Seah's Fried Chicken Spices" for 30 mins before dipping them into whipped egg whites and "Kentucky" spice powder.

I think it is obligatory to have an electric whisker for the whipped egg whites because it took me 4-5 mins to get the right texture at the highest speed while pressing onto the "turbo" button. I don't know how long it would have taken if one is doing it manually... Also, maybe, I'm really weak, but my arm was kind of aching while holding onto the electric whisker.

The result was really crispy and light (due to the introduction of the egg whites) chicken tenders while retaining the moisture of the meat. I studied the ingredients of the packs and think it would be quite easy to replicate them myself. I will try it in future and add in more chilli powder because I don't find the "spicy powder" spicy at all.

Personally, I don't fancy fried food a lot because it always irritate my throat after that. Smelling the oily fumes while deep frying them didn't help either. However, it is worth the effort if you have someone in the family who likes it.

Hiver 2011/2012 #4

2011-12-26T02:05:00.000+01:00

Christmas sweets.

My fav - Praliné.

Industry produced.

This year X'mas eve + X'mas day food are like previous years - you see the traditional wine, foie gras (which I don't like), and seafood, as well as more seafood (which is the highlight for me)!! Other than that, it was a sleep and eat cycle in my pyjamas.

Hiver 2011/2012 #3

2011-12-25T03:08:00.003+01:00

Tell me I have positive Asian influence on my colleagues. =)

I was telling them about those Japanese photo booths we have back in Singapore since schooling days where one can be "trained" to take multiple shots within seconds, I think after all the finger posing they have done during our Amsterdam staff retreat, they are quite natural in front of my camera now. LoL.

We did a couple of "10 shots series within 10seconds" on Friday before the office closes for X'mas break!!

Those are 2 giant rubber gym balls in the pics. They are usually place in our department. Part of staff welfare too. We used them when we wanna "de-stress". Sit/Bounce around/Roll/Lie, etc on it whenever we want to.

J came running towards me excitedly with this 3D Hello Kitty model cos' she found a site with all the different characters we can make with paper. She is so cute!!

D saw her with that and exclaimed he got a similar one but he is from the "Simpsons". Hahaha!!

Merry X'mas, everyone!! Have a blessed one.

Hiver 2011/2012 #2

2011-12-25T02:55:00.002+01:00

Before our X'mas break, our beloved Swedish colleague baked us his signature gingerbread - "Pepparkakor" (I find it strange that they named it "bread", instead of cake...) again!!

That's me cutting the cake cos I love it so much, I want to be the first one eating it!! =D Haha.

Sweet & moist!! =D

I was having "Earl Grey Lime" from the Special T. machine by Nestlé. One of my favs.

I tried a few flavours so far. Menthe Intense ("Mint Tea" - Very fake, kind of disgusting), Blueberry Muffin (so-so, can do without), Genmaicha (one of my favs), Jasmine flower (so-so, can do without), Pai Mu Tan (so-so, can do without), Red Fruit Delight (one of my favs), Royal Yunnan (so-so, can do without), Sencha Shizuoka (one of my favs), Granité Citron ("Lemon" infusion - one of my favs).

Hiver 2011/2012 #1

2011-12-25T01:55:00.002+01:00

I found this packet of "bean sprouts" in the Korean supermarket that I frequent. It seems very popular with the local Korean community and looks different from the usual bean sprouts I'm used to. I bought a packet to try.

I cook it ala Korean style (like what I did previously here) with some soya sauce, Korean chilli powder, sesame oil and sesame seeds after giving them a quick dip in the boiling water. This dish is so simple that I don't even know whether it should be defined as "cooking". LoL. I like it very much though.

Anchovies. The Korean supermarket sell it frozen here.

This dish, from what I know, have the sweet & spicy version, as well as the sweet and salty version because honey or corn syrup are being used for both versions. This is the sweet and salty version. =)

Automne 2011 #49

2011-12-21T22:08:00.001+01:00

Neither a children's store nor a toy shop, this is one of the display windows I walked past to on my way to work or returning from work, a shop selling life-size mini coopers.

I wish I can bring home one of these bunnies.

Automne 2011 #48

2011-12-18T21:13:00.002+01:00

Our office had a secret secret Santa** lunch party last week (before everyone leaves for their X'mas break during X'mas week till New Year Day)!!

We placed our secret secret santa** presents under the "Xmas tree" (the décor changes every season, some contract with a local florist).

*Secret Santa - Where you know who you will buying for, but your identity remained a secret to the other party

**Secret Secret Santa - Where you don't know who you will be buying for and it will be decided by drawing out lots from everyone who is participating on the date itself.

This is my secret secret Santa gift(s) - A set of wooden chopsticks and incense for interiors. I took in the suggestions by my friends on Facebook. LoL. It was good advice. My colleague who got it loves them and said the chopsticks are beautiful =)

I prepared Mapo Tofu & Prawn dumplings soup as one of our colleagues who is going on maternity leave said she loves Szechuan delights.

For desserts, I had a slice of this mixed fruit tart...

... and a slice of this lemon tart too!!

Laughing at the kind of presents we were getting.

Set of 6 magnets (in very French context) - "Remember your bread", "Think of me", "It's your turn to walk the dog", "Remember to take out the rubbish, darling", etc.

One of my fav colleague, J who got a pair of ear muffs!! And, she is going back to her hometown where everyone skis there!! How timely!!

One of the funniest presents from Amsterdam!!

My secret secret Santa gift - traditional French sweets (texture is like cake, not chewy at all, they said it is practically "solidified" jam) in tropical fruits flavour.

Automne 2011 #47

2011-12-18T20:18:00.001+01:00

I came back sharing my first trip to Amsterdam excitedly with W (he went to most part of Europe since he was a kid and I think he was pretty amused by my excitement) and one of the many details I mentioned was how much I wanted to take the 3rd chocolate éclair mentioned here.

I found a giant chocolate éclair waiting for me (he got Saint Honoré au Chocolat for himself, which is pretty much the same thing but of a different presentation) in the fridge the next day in the early afternoon when I woke up. =D

This plate measures 25cm in diameter.

The fillings were really chocolate-ty!!

I think this makes a pretty good choice for desserts on X'mas night. A plate filled with chocolate éclairs!!

Automne 2011 #46

2011-12-18T19:58:00.002+01:00

Souvenirs from Amsterdam. Mostly food cos' I'm a glutton. =p

Stroopwafels.

Stroopwafels are waffles made from two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle.They were first made in Gouda in the Netherlands, in 1784. Large versions are sold in the streets as a snack.

Source: Wikipedia.

I don't usually like caramel, but the way they do it with the rest of the ingredients make it nice. However, one piece per day is more than enough, it is quite a heavy snack and more than one piece just gives you this sickening sweet aftertaste. I eat it with green tea, or tea without sugar. Maybe, I am just someone who prefer savoury food.

The stiff batter for the waffles is made from flour, butter, brown sugar, yeast, milk, and eggs. Medium sized balls of batter are put on the waffle iron. After the waffle has been baked, and while it's still warm, it's cut into halves. The warm filling, made from syrup, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon, is spread between the waffle halves, gluing them together.

2 kinds of Dutch cheese I brought back from the traditional market that I mentioned here.

I really like it when they wrap things up using paper. The way they fold it and such. Plastic bags are so blah... and environmental unfriendly.

The fabric I bought from the shop located on the same street where we had lunch on our first day in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam 2011 #16

2011-12-17T21:13:00.000+01:00

We should have shared a taxi to the Amsterdam Airport Schipol on our return trip. We thought using the train would be easy, but due to renovation works, we got to change 2 lines using the train and walked to an opposite building after we alighted from the 2nd train before reaching the airport. In between involved asking around and worrying whether we were on the right track or not.

Something terrible almost happened during our return trip too. It was exceptionally crowded at the platform and this little boy who was with his parents fell through the gap between the train and the platform!! Luckily for him, one of his parents caught hold of his arms before he drops completely underneath the train. One can imagine the shrieks of shock around when it happened.

Inside the cabin. I am impressed by how clean and spacious their trains are.

En-route to Gare du Nord. Finally!!

Amsterdam 2011 #15

2011-12-17T20:54:00.000+01:00

Netherlands's national identity is widely recognised as clogs, windmills and tulips and I learnt during this trip that the Dutch have been making cheese since 400 AD. Nowadays, they are the largest exporter of cheese in the world.

Gouda, Edam, Maasdammer, Boerenkaas, Goat's cheese, Smoked cheese, Dutch blue cheese, Herb Cheese, etc are just a few varieties of Dutch cheese.

We saw a traditional market going on after our lunch at the Pancake Bakery and happily strolled there because all of us wanted to get some Dutch cheese back as souvenirs.

The cheese located right under the hanging tray of cheese, with specks of stuff on it is the "Carrot cheese". Very strong. Too strong for me. My French colleagues love it.

This lady boss is very nice. She was very patient with the whole group of us, let us try what we pointed at generously and recommended us some very good Dutch cheese.

The very first thing I said to her was, "Hello, we are tourists and we want to get some original Dutch cheese." LOL. I wonder what was in my head then. My colleagues were laughing after I said that.

I got 2 kinds of cheese in the end. One is Edam, I don't know the other one, but I like it. LoL. Dutch cheese seems to be much saltier than French ones.

Amsterdam 2011 #14

2011-12-17T20:15:00.000+01:00

Night time in Amsterdam. Taken on different days.

Amsterdam 2011 #13

2011-12-17T20:05:00.000+01:00

It was 16H30. Evening skies of Amsterdam with the streets and bridges lighted up.

Shaky hands - I was slightly trembling due to the howling winter winds.

Amsterdam 2011 #12

2011-12-17T19:56:00.001+01:00

Some shops I like in Amsterdam.

A shop opposite the café where we had lunch, was stocked full of fabrics, ribbons, laces, buttons and anything you can associate with embroidery.

I got a metre of white polka dots on red fabric. Can you spot it in the pic? =D

My favourite genre of shop.

Macaron moulds for dummies.

I like this shop a lot. they sell well made leather bags, leather bound books, vintage typewriters, etc.

Amsterdam 2011 #11

2011-12-17T01:27:00.004+01:00

Highly recommended to us by our colleague. More than 75 different kinds of pancakes and omelets! We went there twice during our short trip and I love their sweet pancakes. Their savoury ones are just average.

This place is always packed, so if you are going with a group of more than 5, call to make a reservation first. Dutch speak perfect English. So, no worries.

Our boss bought 2 boxes of Poffertjes mixed in sugar and butter (I forgot to take some pics of this!! but they are baby mini plain pancakes soaked in butter & sugar syrup) for us during our business meeting at the hotel conference room to share, it was really good.

One whole pot of pure caramel.

I ordered the "Canadian" - Pancake with crispy bacon, onions, mushrooms, ham & cheese, shared 60% of it with D, who got the "Norwegian" - Pancake filled with salmon, sour cream, cream cheese and side salad.

They have huge servings.

Norwegian.

We read the Amsterdam guide book in French while waiting for our food - "Burning questions about the redlight district? The answers will be brought to you by current or formal prostitutes... "

Dessert shared among all, "English" - Pancake with William pears, chocolate, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.

Group pic!! with J's bf censored to protect his identity. =p

[ADDRESS]
The Pancake Bakery
Prinsengracht 191
1015 DS Amsterdam
Tel: +31 20 625 13 33

Amsterdam 2011 #10

2011-12-15T22:40:00.003+01:00

Canal cruise. One of the most enjoyable thing we did in Amsterdam. The view was fantastic, the boat went under the vast amount of bridges, crossing one dam after the other and it brought us to the outskirts of Amsterdam too.

For 4 adults.

From one boat to the other.

A little part of what we've seen from the cruise. =)

The outskirts of Amsterdam, much more modern looking.

This ship is a replica of the medieval times built by a group of unemployed.

I forgot the name of this building, some kind of a Marine museum but it is huge and they built everything in 9 months!!

I like this pic I took.

Amsterdam 2011 #9

2011-12-15T21:37:00.002+01:00

Souvenirs & symbols of Amsterdam.

There are a lot of souvenir shops in Amsterdam, at least one in every street we went and they sell more or less the same things.

Amsterdam 2011 #8

2011-12-15T02:04:00.005+01:00

Bloemenmarkt - The flower market.

Fresh tulip bulbs of different varieties (If it hasn't been labelled, I would have thought they were onions)!! I have never seen so many different kinds of tulips in my life. Cannabis are sold here too, legally.

The flower market is open from 9am to 6pm every day but Sundays.

It’s located on a full block along the Singel Canal, between Dam Square and Rembrandtplein, and an easy walk from most hotels in the city center.

[ADDRESS]
Kerkstraat 248
1017 HA Amsterdam

Amsterdam 2011 #7

2011-12-15T01:42:00.001+01:00

It was located along one of these streets and look like any one of these stores...

...but it turns out to be a public toilet - 2theloo!!

They sell all kinds of toiletries (including sanitary napkins) inside before you see the entrance to the actual toilets.

Only found in Netherlands and Belgium at present.

[ADDRESS]

Kalverstraat 126, 1012 PK Amsterdam

Amsterdam 2011 #6

2011-12-15T00:43:00.001+01:00

The company's X'mas party was held inside the hotel itself. It was a cocktail reception followed by dinner.

Dinner inside the ballroom.

One of our directors was actually a member of a band. He and his friends played amazingly well throughout the whole party!!

My colleagues are either totally addicted to Asian finger posing or they are really cynical people making fun of my Asian culture. =p

The food was good!! - It was as if everything was made good for me on my birthday. LOL!! I had lots of fish, smoked, fresh, raw, braised in creamy sauce. This was my first plate.

Desserts - I like the chocolate eclair, I went to take a second serving after this but I was too embarassed to take a third, even though I know I still have room for it.

Some of my fav people.

The horror story for this whole trip was I forgot my foundation altogether and the shops were closed while I was preparing for the party!! I was very conscious of myself and felt totally "naked" during the party when all I have for my makeup was some miserable concealer and mascara.

Amsterdam 2011 #5

2011-12-15T00:10:00.001+01:00

The famous redlight district. What remains a taboo in many societies unleashes itself in Netherlands. Sex is expressed and spoken aloud here.

Sex workers displaying themselves in front of every window lighted up in red.

If you are interested, the current market rate per session is 50€.

It was an eye-opener, we were laughing quite a lot, amused by what we saw and I discovered a lot of new gadgets that I have never seen or heard of before. How imaginative and innovative mankind can get!! LoL.

Amsterdam 2011 #4

2011-12-14T23:24:00.003+01:00

We stayed in the Mariott Renaissance Hotel.

Everyone of us felt truly pampered after we saw the price it costed the company per night. Each of us had our own room and though we know the company must have paid some kind of discounted corporate package, we still appreciated the quality of the stay that was offered to us because they could have scrimp and save down to the very last cent as it was a sponsored trip.

One of the rare occasions that everything - from the bed to the pillows are so comfortable that I overslept the next morning. =p

The business conference room that we used for our only regional meeting that lasted for only 3 hours before we explored Amsterdam!! Business-pleasure trip where pleasure > business, is always sweet.

Tea break was lavish. I forgot to take pics except for this one - instead of normal sugar cubes, they provided white/brown sugar crystal sticks like these for our beverages.

I like this painting they put up inside the my hotel room.

Ready to heed out!!

I lost its tail the moment before I checked into the hotel =( Took this pic while I was still in the train. If anyone knows where I could get a furry tail keychain similar to this, please let me know.

Back of my knitted top.

I really like this necklace and its colour.

Always wear comfortable shoes while travelling.

Winter, I'm ready.

Amsterdam 2011 #3

2011-12-14T22:58:00.002+01:00

Food found on the streets.

Do you know that the Miffy rabbit I like is Dutch? I only found out when I came here!! Am I the only one??!!

Miffy was created by Dutch artist, Dick Bruna. Miffy's original Dutch name is Nijntje, which stems from a toddler's pronunciation of the word "konijntje" meaning "little rabbit". I don't know how the exact pronounciation goes. Dutch is a totally alien language to me. I cannot make out a single word even when I'm hearing them on the streets.

Shops selling waffles, pizzas and doughnuts are located everywhere along the streets.

There are lots of stalls selling thickly-cut fries in a cone with different types of dressing that you can choose from too.

I don't know whether it is because the colour, orange is associated with Netherlands that carrots (because this is an orange vegetable??!!)-made products are in rampage. I see a lot of carrot cakes and even carrot cheese!!

Lunch at this randomly picked café where the person who decorated it appeared to be someone who cannot make up his or her mind, or they just want a bit of everything. A mix of Las Vegas blinking lights with colored tinsel that reminded me of the Malays (maybe I'm right cos Indonesia used to be a colony of the Dutch).

What I had - toast with curry ketchup (!!). The ketchup really does taste like curry and vice versa.

What my colleagues ordered - some omelette dish.

Hamburger.

I was telling them about how Asians pose in front of the cameras with their fingers from 1 to 10 - they were really amused and started posing with different numbers EVERYTIME we take a pic from then on... (-_-)"'

The costs of living in Amsterdam is lower than Paris. It was only 60++€ (including beer and drinks) for all the 8 of us.

Amsterdam 2011 #2

2011-12-14T22:14:00.001+01:00

Daytime, on the streets of Amsterdam.

I like the pace of life in Amsterdam. They are visibly much slower than Paris. Our hotel was strategically located right in the centre of town and Amsterdam itself, is a very small city, we did most of our travel on foot.

There are no underground trains at all, just electric buses running on railway-lookalike tracks, simply fantastic. I hate taking the metro.

High concentration of H&M outlets in the centre of town. Almost every street we turned to, I see a H&M store...

Quaint, pretty windows that I like.

Amsterdam has narrow houses and streets.

During the time period in which these houses were built, your house taxes depended on the frontage. Meaning your taxes were determined by the width of your house. Therefore the sneaky Dutch built their houses deep and narrow to avoid severe taxing. For this same reason the staircases are very narrow and low, making it impossible to take furniture up and down them. To solve this problem hooks were put at the top of every house to winch goods up and pass them through the windows on the needed floor.

Because of the heights of the buildings and the width of the streets barely any sunlight reaches the roads, this luckily is saved by the canals which give an illusion of space by reflecting the sky.

The height of their doors are very low, but the Dutch seems tall on the average, so I find this very strange. Maybe, people in the past were much smaller in size?

Amsterdam 2011 #1

2011-12-13T22:15:00.003+01:00

Staff retreat for the European offices in autumn/winter 2011 was set for Amsterdam!! It is my first time in Amsterdam, so you can pretty much imagine how much I was looking forward to the trip. Especially so when everything is paid for. Sweet.

Amsterdam is beautiful. Really beautiful. As beautiful as you can imagine.

My first impression - Canals everywhere, bridges everywhere, and bicycles everywhere in Amsterdam.

Automne 2011 #45

2011-12-13T22:10:00.032+01:00

Gare du Nord at barely 07H00 - the busiest railway station in Europe. The Gare du Nord handles trains to Northern France, as well as to various international destinations such as Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Destination: Amsterdam // Duration: 3 hours

Scenes of "Harry Potter" boarding the train at platform 9 3/4 struck me while I was walking on the platform. I don't know whether it is due to the similarity of all railway stations in Europe, or I have watched the Harry Potter series too many times...

I think taking the train is a much pleasant experience than taking the plane. With bigger and much more comfortable seats and occasional scenaries that zoom past your window.

Breakfast on board.

Coincidentally, it was my birthday and my colleagues surprised me with a birthday song sung loudly in the cabin *blushed* and a gift. =)

Birthday wishes in various languages. I really like my colleagues.

Automne 2011 #44

2011-12-08T22:13:00.003+01:00

It was A who demostrated to me the "conservation method" of fresh fruits. She explained to me how she eats them back in Lithunia. At the very least, it works for berries!!

A has a huge freezer at home, those industrial-box-type-size. She takes out a portion of frozen raspberries, smashed them up a little, and add a hint of sugar to it. There, I will be serve some fresh croissants with this mixture to dip with when I do a stay over at her place. A lives in the suburbs, a region near Paris named, Palaiseau, which I've mentioned here where there is a farm nearby that sells plentiful of fresh harvest at much lower prices compared to any markets or supermarkets you can find.

I became a converted fan and buy up different varieties of berries in bulk because they are seasonal and by freezing them, we can eat them all year round now. I store them in the freezer using ziplock bags, and take out the portions I want to consume only when I want it. I don't add sugar though, at most, some honey, but I like the way they taste originally.

With yoghurt & some drizzled honey.

With yoghurt and pear cubes.

The one I like best, just eat them the way they are. It looks almost like jam, isn't it? =D

Heavenly!!

Automne 2011 #43

2011-12-08T21:54:00.004+01:00

I'm quite a fan of Kinder Bueno, like the combination of chocolate wafer with hazelnut fillings, but not too much, else it is just too sugar-overwhelming. I'm trying the different varieties they have to offer almost every weekend when I visit the supermarket because X'mas is coming and this is a good excuse to eat chocolates, whether they are industrial or artisan-type.

Kinder country is a mix of milk, cereals and chocolate. I like it as much as Kinder Bueno.

Kinder chocolate is crappy. For kids who love sugar. Just sugar, and nothing else... =/ I won't buy it again.

Automne 2011 #42

2011-12-08T21:47:00.003+01:00

First time trying the "Saint Albray" cheese. The counter at the supermarket was laying out mini cut-up pieces for shoppers to try. I tried it and found them quite nice.

Saint Albray is a cheese which comes from the Aquitaine region of France.

Invented in 1976, the cheese is similar to Camembert cheese, it has the same attributes, but is not quite as strong. Made with pasteurized cow's milk, this popular cheese is ripened for 2 weeks and formed into a shape like the head of a flower with each "petal" forming a half pound of cheese. The "petals" are formed around a disk, when removed, it creates a hollow center giving the impression of the center of the flower. Saint Albray slices beautifully and when the whole wheel is displayed, this cheese makes an attractive centerpiece to a table. Saint Albray is mild and moist, but still retains its body despite its creamy nature.

Source: Wikipedia

Automne 2011 #41

2011-12-08T00:21:00.004+01:00

French have a love for mirrors. In every building I went and go to, there is/are mirror(s) along the corridors, beside or inside the elevator, in the lobby, etc.

When I have a little bit of time in the morning (cos I can press the snooze button on my mobile for as much as 8 times!! sleeping to the maximum is my priority on a working day, especially during winter) I'll take a couple of looks in the huge mirror outside the apartment before I report to work.

I wear dresses to work most of the time because I am really lousy in mix and match and I don't have time to think and/or re-choose another piece of clothing. So, dresses are my simplest, fastest solution. I do pants on Fridays due to my self-declaration of "TGIF-weekend-is here"!! I like wearing pants more than skirts actually. They are so convenient.

Everything is wool or wool-mixed in these pics.

Camel wool skort // One of the most frequently worn coat for 2011-2.

WL's mum gave this Swarovski necklace to me a few years back. It is still my favourite all these years. =)

Automne 2011 #40

2011-12-07T00:08:00.007+01:00

Besides the staff welfare mentioned here & here. The latest staff welfare added to the list is this:

Special T. says, "Discover all the richness of the best teas of the world."

My direct line manager who always try and give us the best. =D

"Blueberry muffin" was the most popular that day. It smells heavenly too.

Quite different when compared to the Nespresso capsules.

My cup! I chose"Perle de Pai Mu Tan".

There are 2 modes: "Tea Master" & "My Tea". "Tea Master" mode, where the machine chooses the temperature of the water and the "simmering period" to bring out the best flavour for you. "My Tea", of course are settings made by you, yourself.

Tea break at 17H with swedish biscuits named, "Pepparkakor".

I love it. It tasted like a mixture of ginger, cinnamon and cloves. My colleagues told me it is available at Ikea, but I have never seen them selling in the Ikea stores that I have visited in Singapore.

Let's see how long it takes me to try every flavour in the box. =)

Automne 2011 #39

2011-12-04T15:02:00.005+01:00

Desserts in the office last week.

One of my colleagues has a bf who is a chocolate artisan, L!! We always get to eat the desserts he makes in the office. This week, we had macarons!! One of my fav desserts in France.

When I first met L, the very first thing he asked was, "You love macarons, right? Cos I always see Asians in my shop going crazy over them." YES!!

I had 2 chocolate and 1 lemon-flavoured ones. =)

Protugese egg tarts from a protugal café in Paris for breakfast from a German-born-Protugese-colleague.
My colleagues are very cool people!!

The egg tarts were pretty different from the ones I tasted in Singapore and Hongkong. The crust, especially, and the egg custard never get burnt like this in the pic. I prefer the Asians' version, but it didn't taste bad.

Automne 2011 #38

2011-12-04T14:49:00.002+01:00

Sandwiches and salads are the norms when it comes to lunch hour overseas. As such, there are a lot of on-the-go lunch hours shops in big cities and they only operate during lunch hours. Cojean is one of them.

Unless you are picking up a hot toasted sandwich, else picking up whatever pleases you on the display shelves along the walls of the shop, pay and go at the counter.

Someday, I'm going to say I have tasted each and every single one of them here.

Muesli dessserts in strawberry, mango, and blackcurrant.

Lunch hour during winter times.

What I took - Some Thai chicken salad which I like and a wrapped up turkey sandwich.

My colleague's toasted sandwhich, kicking myself for not knowing its existence when I paid for my order. Next time!

The cakes they took - Pistacho chocolate chip & Chocolate with chocolate chips.

I quite like this eatery, I'm going to try their hot soups the next time too.

Automne 2011 #37

2011-12-04T00:51:00.001+01:00

How did the French know Dragon Year is coming??!!

As I looked further, I guessed they don't know. Lion Year is coming too. =p

Karl Lagerfeld collaborates with Galeries Lafayette for their X'mas window displays this year.

"Happy holidays".

Automne 2011 #36

2011-12-04T00:33:00.002+01:00

After dinner at close to 23H, we did what all tourists will do when they make a trip to Opéra - taking pics.

I took the opportunity to hit on almost all the functions of my amateur camera. There is a good thing about amateur cameras, they have everything preset, just choose and click.

Last night was really cold.

My 2 fav shots of R last night. Opéra should be the brightest building in the neighbourhood at night.

Automne 2011 #35

2011-12-04T00:11:00.002+01:00

Met R after work last evening for Happy hours to celebrate the start of our weekend. She wanted to eat Ramen at first but eventually we went to the Korean restaurant that I have already mentioned in my Paris guide located near the Opéra which she haven't try yet.

What's happier than being able to rattle non-stop in Singlish overseas?

One cannot go wrong with BBQ grilled pork belly, spicy calamri and beef soup in a Korean restaurant. R was enjoying the food so much that she ordered a 2nd bottle of beer later.

No oil was used on the grilling plate/stove, only some garlic pieces were used for added fragrance to the pork belly slices. All the excess oil generated by those pork belly pieces just flowed and dripped into the saucer. Oil...fats... are really comforting in winter. Haha!!

Happy R.

Must-order-spicy-calamari!!

The dishes I ate the most last night were the side dishes. I asked for 3 or 4 refills at least. Love the lotus roots and mini fishes. I just got a packet of frozen mini fishes from the Korean supermarket today - 10% off storewide!! Going to cook them tomorrow for this week bento side dish. =)

Their green tea ice cream always taste this good.

Automne 2011 #34

2011-11-30T23:47:00.002+01:00

Food during autumn & winter.

M got me this bento box and chopsticks in its box set when she went back to Taiwan last year.

I'm still bringing my bento most of the time and I'm alternating between 2 bento boxes.

One of the most common bento lunches I bring is a vegetable side dish (in this pic: Spinach ala Korean style as mentioned here) and sushi with avocado and salmon fillings.

I forgot that I got to take a pic before putting on the cling film food wrap (cos' I hate staining the covers of my food storage containers) and am too lazy to take the film off after that - Green beans (French named it "Haricots verts") and steamed codfish with julienne ginger, Shaoxing wine and soya sauce for seafood.

Carbonara - W's specialty. The one & only dish he knows how to cook, and made perfect after multiple attempts.

One of my fav food during cold weather conditions cos' comfort food comes in high carbos & high fats content.

In Singapore, one could see mobile stalls selling fry-on-the-spot-with-stones???-chestnuts in a giant wok. Here in Paris, you see people selling them too, but they are 99% foreigners who heat up these chestnuts using charcoal in a metal cylinder with tiny holes poked at the top of the container.

I always see them right outside the exits of metro stations. I will buy a pack or two once in a while when the cold shouts for a warm packet of roasted chestnuts in your hands. They packed them in rolled up magazine pages. Honestly, I don't think they bought the chestnuts themselves, but I would like to think that they pick them in some forests in the suburbs, trying to make ends meet by selling them at 2 Euros per packet.

Automne 2011 #33

2011-11-30T01:46:00.009+01:00

Besides free flow of Nespressos (I finished trying all the different flavours and am very impressed with the speed they replace the capsules when some flavours are finishing) and seasonal fresh fruits, my office does occasional food theme parties. The previous one was "Lebanese".

Today, we had a "cheese party".

7 different kinds of French cheese from Fromagerie Androuet (I was told that this shop was the cheese supplier to the "White House" in France) with 8 traditional French baguettes (not in pic).

I brought "backup lunch" (Thank god I did!!) cos' after trying 6 of them (the 7th one had such a nasty odour that I didn't even have the courage to try, none of us did in fact, except for one), I spitted out 2 out of the 6 the moment I tasted them. My trial size for French cheese is as big as a grain of rice. "Gaugry" is the very very very nasty one. French colleague #1 totally skipped it. Gungho French colleague #2 ate it and commented it was indeed very strong.

The only one I found manageable was the one located in the top right hand corner, in the shape of a semi-circle. I even ate it with a small piece of baguette.

X'mas mood is seeping into the office - some colleagues have their X'mas trees at home decorated already!

The potent one held by A's hand.

Very wicked.

Red wine. Yes, people drink wine during lunch hours in France... lol. =p

My plate.

Back home, the kind of cheese that I really like - this is one of them, "Port Salut".

The Swedish X'mas Market 2011 #4

2011-11-29T00:15:00.002+01:00

Swedish mothers & grandmothers in their traditional festive costumes.

Candles & candle stands.

I thought the one with several Santa Claus-es hanging in a merry-go-round kind of candle stand is pretty cute!!

Logically speaking, it means, Merry X'mas & Happy New Year?!!
Nu Är = New Year, yes?

Perfect match = Ikea shelves & Swedish food.

I believed these little men came from a little Swedish village...

... and they wanna wish everyone a blessed X'mas!!

The Swedish X'mas Market 2011 #3

2011-11-28T23:46:00.001+01:00

Swedish/Scandinavian-style fabrics.

Whatever that means. Of course, there was the Swedish community who came to this X'mas market fair, I tried hard to listen to what they were saying, but Swedish is nowhere near the Latin for sure, they sounded closer to German, which I don't understand a s.i.n.g.l.e. word I hear or decipher any word I see that makes any sense to me.

Christmas-y table cloths.

Stripes, I like stripes. Kitchen towels, I think.

This piece of house prints fabric is my favourte among all.

The Swedish X'mas Market 2011 #2

2011-11-28T23:29:00.002+01:00

Glögg - Mulled wine, warmed & mixed with spices.

Julmust - Swedish rootbeer sold only during X'mas period. My Swedish colleague said, "You almost cannot find this in the supermarkets or anywhere else unless X'mas is nearing."

Swedish (Red) VS French (Black) menus.

What I came for mainly - Swedish meatballs in Lingonberry jam and Swedish hotdog garnished with fried onion bits and sweet mustard (So, Swedish eat their hotdogs with fried onion bits!!).

The Swedish meatballs prepared by the Swedish mamas & grandmothers weren't a disappointment!! I bought another 5 sticks back home to share with W but that glutton finished them all at one go before I could lay my hands on them!!

Ost, or Ostkaka = Cheese =)

I tried one that has a walnut aftertaste. It was excellent, I regretted not buying a slice back!!

J, one of my fav colleague with her warm wine and hotdog in hand.

The bottle of Sweden Lingotberry jam I bought from the market. =)

The Swedish X'mas Market 2011 #1

2011-11-28T22:52:00.001+01:00

My Swedish colleague invited everyone in the office to visit the Swedish X'mas market held in his church during lunch time last Friday. I didn't know there is a Swedish church in Paris and I was really excited cos' he told us there would be Swedish meatballs (Köttbullar) better than Ikea's!! Mulled wine - warmed & mixed with spices (Glögg) and hotdogs!!

I realised it was within walking distance from where I live (and just a street away from the Embassy of Singapore) - You never notice what is usually right under your eyes most of the time, isn't it?

The Swedish flag flying in glory.

I'm not a church go-er but I like the place, gives off the cosy vibes.

Everyone loves a X'mas tree, right?

The Swedish mummies and grandmothers were selling fresh food in the exterior compounds of the church, while the Swedish or Scandinavian handicrafts, X'mas decorations, dried, canned, packed and frozen food, etc were being sold inside the church.

Automne 2011 #32

2011-11-18T23:20:00.004+01:00

Today, I went to get my vintage cheddar again (I finished them kind of fast and I feel like eating them again). There was a queue, perhaps, it is Friday and while waiting, I was taking a good look at the different kinds of cheese around me. Also, I got my camera in my bag!! =)

Cheese galore!! - From different regions in France.
How many have you tried? How many can you recognise? How many do you want to taste?

Automne 2011 #31

2011-11-18T23:06:00.004+01:00

With the spinach & watercress that I bought from the marché, I used 30 mins to prepare my one week supply of vegetable side dishes, because working = (1) no time (2) not much time (3) not in a mood for cooking.

I like preparing Korean-styled side dishes because they keep well.

And, I'm preparing watercress and spinach together because I'm using almost the same seasonings (less complicated when it comes to preparation and much faster when it comes to process), the only major difference would be one is spicy, the other isn't.

Coordination is the key here. I boil the vegetables in batches because of their quantity. If you boil them altogether, there will be some parts that are undercooked, and some overcooked cos you cannot turn them in time in the boiling water.

Also, get the tub of cold water right next to the stove, so that you can transfer them quickly to stop the cooking process.

After 10 mins of mixing the seasonings, store them in air-tight containers before putting them into the fridge.

Dinner - 2 servings of watercress & 1 serving of spinach, with pork slices in XO-sauce (spicy version).

I felt really full after this, it must be all that fibre.

Automne 2011 #30

2011-11-18T22:14:00.007+01:00

The marché - French open-air market, similar to our wet market concept in Singapore where things are cheaper and fresher compared to what we can find in supermarkets, but here, the floors aren't wet, or not as wet. Also, they are usually located along a street or on the pavement between 2 roads. Yes, that's right, between 2 roads with on-going traffic in opposite directions.

This is one nice aspect of France. Their agricultural products are often excellent in quality (unless the weather for that year is really bad).

This is the one near to where I live and there are a lot of local producers selling the same stuff, but I always patronise this one.

Different varieties of French potatoes - Galante, Chérie, Monalisa, nice names. LoL.

I don't like potatoes, so I usually skip this section, except for the onions (they come from Spain, as written on the board).

(From clockwise) Green chilli, Spinach & Beetroot.

I got their big green chilli (All asians know that the smaller the chilli, the spicier and more deadly it is), this chilli I got is for my Korean side dish later. Also, I got 2 huge bags of spinach to last me for the whole week. Spinach sold here are often washed and leaves nicely plucked for you. Not really sure why, but it saved me some work (I still rinsed them in running water a couple of times when I get back home because I am just plain anal when it comes to food hygiene).

(From clockwise) Radish, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, Paris mushrooms.

Different varieties of mushrooms.

The one in orange is named, "Girolle" - it is seasonal and is very nice when you stir fry it with just some minced garlic and salt. I like it.

Seasonal plants & flowers right next to the vegetable stall.

I find this especially unique.

♥♥ 4 big bags of vegetables. ♥♥

I got myself 2 bags of spinach, 2 bundles of watercress and 1 big green chilli for the week.

Automne 2011 #29

2011-11-18T21:40:00.001+01:00

Even the X'mas decoration for a random bookstore in a random shopping mall is beautiful.

Colours associated with X'mas - Red, Gold, Green, White.

The intricate details and cravings on the placemat.

I love wooden stuff in the house and this dining table caught my eye cos' it has all the details I wanted. Thick wooden legs with beautiful craved dining chairs.

Beautiful tableware too.

Cute X'mas doormat.

The perfect red dress for X'mas.

But, the most practical thing to own during X'mas is perhaps, a nice, soft, warm and cosy bed eating pralinés & chocolates.

Automne 2011 #28

2011-11-16T00:33:00.007+01:00

Today has been a cold day. My face was numbed even when the sun was still up while I did my run. The temperature board at some pharmacy read 6 degrees celcius at around 18H.

At the end of all my errands for the day, the idea of having a pipping hot baguette straight from the oven attracted me to walk into some random boulangerie that I always pass by in my neighbourhood, but never patronise. There are so many boulangeries here (sometimes a few along the same street!!), more often than not, you just go to the one nearest to your place when you need it whether they are really good or not.

The French shopkeepers twist their paperbags this way. I find it "primitively" cute!!

My primary motive was really just a baguette, but my eyes lit up 1000 mega watts when I caught one of the labels shouting, "Best Chouquettes of Paris (Figaroscope April 2010)".

A quick shot using my mobile phone as the shopkeeper was friendly at first but turned a little bit snappy later.

Figaroscope is a guide on Paris by Le Figaro, the oldest newspaper in France. It has been generally well respected in post-World War II France. Its editorial line is conservative. So, if something as traditional as Le Figaro has voted this traditional French pastry as the best, it is a MUST try. I love chouquettes!!

I got 5 to try. It was really good!!

W tried them and he said it was excellent too.

Their baguette was kinda disappointing to me though. I don't know why it tasted extra "sourish" to me. It could be the dough that they use or something.

"Le Quartier du Pain" ("The Neighbourhood of Breads" if translated literally) is the name of the shop. Frédéric Lalos, as written on its packaging claimed to be the best "ouvrier" in France (Generally speaking, "ouvrier" means labourer. In this context, I supposed it meant the person who is making the breads and pastries in the boulangerie). He utilises authentic and natural flour. He chose the wheat and rye from the best lands in association with the farmers from Auvergne, France.

I didn't know they have 4 outlets altogether in the region of Paris. I will make it a point to get their chouquettes the next time, just like I will get my macarons when I see La Durée or Pierre Herme.

Automne 2011 #27

2011-11-14T21:11:00.020+01:00

Random snacks & appetisers lately.

Kimchi.

I don't know whether Chongga is a reputable brand in Korea, but it is by far, the best tasting kimchi I found in the Asian supermarkets here. Some brands tasted very exotic, some very queer, and some were just plain nasty. I play safe by choosing products from this brand.

I wanted to make my own kimchi at home too, I just need the right moment. =p

Ochazuke.

A quick way to finish my leftover rice in the cooker just by adding some furikake, sesame seeds, wasabi, etc and green tea.

I got the above 3 packets (seaweed, salmon and plum flavored) to try over the last weekend cos' these are the 3 available ones on the shelf and I feel rather perplexed that the usual brands like S&B and Nagatanien 永谷園 are gone from the shelves in the Asian supermarkets that I frequent. At first, I thought it was just one of them, I went around them all, and this is happening to all of them??!! I think these are good brands, why are they gone now?

I added kimchi to my ochazuke a few days ago.

Kimchi and Ocazuke don't really go well with each other.

Vintage cheddar.

You don't see vintage cheddar here on the shelves of regular supermarkets, so you bet I was happy when I saw some counter selling it! Its label indicated that it came from England. Strange that Cheese-Kingdom-France don't produce this kind of cheddar themselves.

The person at the counter told me in French, "It will crumble when I cut this, ok?" when I said I would like 200grams of it. Why did she even ask me that? Of course I know it will crumble because this is the nature of vintage cheese. She must be thinking I don't know cheese well and I might be displease to find out that she gave me cheese crumbles instead of a well-cut piece. Half right. I don't know all the cheese well, but I know the cheese I like/love well. LOL.

I like the way they use the cheese knife to cut cheese with all their might (cos' the huge block of cheese really look kinda dense and hard) and wrap them up delicately with some old school paper.

The salad I prepared myself this evening was messy.
I snapped a corner of the vintage cheddar to go with it though. So, I was happy like a mouse.

Exact same salad as the one above a few days ago, but this is a much neater version.

It consists of mâche (Wikipedia says it is named "Corn salad" in English), beetroot and avocado with wine vinegar dressing (Wine vinegar here is excellent. I like it in my salad. The French never fail in wine-anything I guessed, just like Japanese does best in green-tea-anything. I haven't got over my green tea stuff, you are right).

I didn't like the taste of beetroot a few years back. It had this "earthy" taste to it, but I didn't give up and when I tried it again 2 years back; I actually like it. However, it is still messy to buy it in the market. You will usually see them lying all "bloody" in a wooden crate with a fork nearby for consumers to poke the one they want without dirtying their hands. You will still get your hands stained after that anyways if you are the one preparing it.

Beetroot juice has been shown to lower blood pressure and thus help prevent cardiovascular problems.

Research published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension showed drinking 500 ml of beetroot juice led to a reduction in blood pressure within one hour. The reduction was more pronounced after three to four hours, and was measurable up to 24 hours after drinking the juice.

The effect is attributed to the high nitrate content of the beetroot. The study correlated high nitrate concentrations in the blood following ingestion of the beetroot juice and the drop in blood pressure.

Dietary nitrate, such as that found in the beetroot, is thought to be a source for the biological messenger nitric oxide, which is used by the endothelium to signal smooth muscle, triggering it to relax. This induces vasodilation and increased blood flow.

Source: Wikipedia

Automne 2011 #26

2011-11-14T01:30:00.006+01:00

With my newly acquired toy - the Electric Milk Frother, I embarked onto another of my "kitchen experiments" in creating the unorthodox "Sado-style Green Tea" and the Green Tea Latte that I love at Starbucks.

I've got 2 types of green tea powder - I chose the one on the right this time.
No specific reasons, just feel like it.

I added 2 teaspoons of green tea powder, I'm a green tea lover, 2 teaspoons could be a little strong for some people. When I go Japan, I will practically choose green tea anything. This nation has completely optimised and utilised the properties and merits of green tea. They do the best green tea and green tea products.

Left: My electric milk frotter in action. Right: The traditional green tea you get during a Sado Tea Ceremony with a bamboo whisker (茶筅 chasen).

Truth be told, I think the milk frotter is one of the best equipment one could have in the kitchen if you are lazy like me (cos' the real thing using the bamboo whisker got my wrist aching and I still couldn't get the same foamy effect) but would want to enjoy a nice cup of foamy and light sado-style green tea every evening. As you can see from the pic on the left, I stopped right after a good 30-seconds of electric whisking. I'm not a tea expert, but the consistency and texture tasted identical to what I had during a sado ceremony.

Unorthodox "Modern" VS Traditional.

I was self-amusing by thinking what would happen if the host of a Sado ceremony takes out an electric milk frother instead of the usual bamboo whisker? LOL. That is such a hilarious, ironical sight that would never happen because Japanese are too much protocol-abiding to even think about this in the first place.

Subsequently, I did another glass with the previous steps repeated, but with another portion of milk added into it. I never knew Green Tea Latte is so simple with the electric milk frotter, and I felt a little bit cheated for paying Starbucks so much for such a simple cup of beverage. I made a second glass after my first DIY cup of Green Tea Latte.

Tips:

(1) A tall glass. If you can see from the pics, the foam generated can reach the top of the glass that I have, which is already not tall enough, but it is the tallest glass I have in the house. Less is more, go no more than half of the glass capacity.

(2) Water temperature is a critical factor in bringing out the best qualities of green tea. If the water temperature is too hot, the tea will be too bitter and much of its delicate aroma will be lost; if the water temperature is too cool, the full flavor contained in the leaves will not be extracted.

A number of substances in the leaf contribute to the flavor and aroma of green tea. The overall flavor and sweetness of green tea is determined by a variety of amino acids and natural sugars. Bitterness and astringency are contributed by polyphenols ("tannins"). Amino acids dissolve at 60 °C while tannins dissolve at 80°C. Therefore, brewing green tea at lower temperatures will ensure that its sweet and complex flavors will not be overpowered by the bitter-tasting flavors.

As a general guideline, green teas taste best when brewed at temperatures between 60 °C - 85°C. The grade of the tea and the time of its harvest will also influence the appropriate steeping temperature. Green teas picked earlier in the spring will benefit from lower temperature brewing due to their overall higher levels of amino acids.

Gyokuro (玉露), one of the highest grades, is best brewed at 50°C - 60°C. Spring-picked Sencha (煎茶) tastes best at 70°C - 80°C. Summer-harvested Bancha (番茶) and Genmaicha (玄米茶) will exhibit their best flavor with a short infusion at higher temperatures of 80°C - 90°C.

Automne 2011 #25

2011-11-13T16:16:00.002+01:00

I've been doing one-dish meal loads. It is easy and fast. "One dish meal" in my dictionary defines a dish that comprises of vegetables, meat and rice (or noodles, or anything carbohydrates).

麻婆豆腐 is nice especially during cold weather conditions.

麻婆豆腐, or Mapo Tofu, is a popular Chinese dish from the Sichuan (Szechuan) province. It is a combination of tofu (bean curd) set in a spicy chilli- and bean-based sauce.

People don't usually drizzle beaten eggs into their Mapo Tofu but I did it for mine cos I like them. =)

Mixed vegetables, minced beef (no more minced pork in the fridge), silken tofu (yums!!), beaten eggs in chilli bean-based sauce.

Every Asian needs his/her bowl of rice to feel right at some point of the day. LOL

The French living with me tasted this and told me it is very similar to chilli corn carne. Really?

Automne 2011 #24

2011-11-13T05:58:00.003+01:00

The usual grocery shopping day over the weekend but I discovered that Bodum has opened its flagship store (or, at least the shop looks like one) on the same street when I wanted to get one of their products for quite some time.

All the X'mas decorations are up in Paris. Temperature has been fluctuating so far - today is pretty "warm", the last 2 days were cold, and the 2 days before that were still manageable... Unpredictable.

Signature products of Bodum.

The huge video screen spanning across its 2 levels. I don't really understand why they chose a chimpanzee as their mascot.

Cashiers' counter with very stylish Macintosh monitors.

Chimpanzee from Bodum says "Christmas 2011".

I got the ♪♫ electric milk frother ♫♪ I wanted since I last mentioned here. I could make my own green tea latte and unorthodox "sado-style green tea" at home!!

Automne 2011 #23

2011-11-09T23:10:00.006+01:00

France is a "yoghurt paradise".
These are some of the yoghurts we have in the fridge.

You can get excellent yoghurt at low prices with a huge variety to choose from. I don't think I've yet to try every one of them from the supermarket shelves. I like those rustic, plain-flavoured ones that are being sold by "un agriculteur" in the weekly open-air markets. They are usually kept in a simple glass bottle, or a brown porcelain container topped with a piece of fabric, tied around with a thick, brown string.

The yoghurt prices in Singapore are actually very expensive. This is because yoghurt is still not considered as a staple in our Asian diet. Here, they eat yoghurt at a very tender age.

How I eat my yoghurt.

Plain yoghurt stays on the top of my list. I eat it with honey and fresh, seasonal fruits. Clementines (they are like very mini oranges, but way sweeter than Sunkist oranges) are in season now. They were bought in the marché (open-air markets set up by local producers), I was kinda delighted that the clementines came with stalks and leaves.

It reads, "Mountain Honey".

Try and eat food that don't come with an ingredient list. Get real honey, not those made with sugar.

Pears are in season too. The pears here are soft and very sweet!!

I like to eat half of the portion with yoghurt and the other half by themselves.

Snack time - A cheese called, "Mimolette".

Salad with avocados and a new bottle of Ajiso dressing that I bought to try.

When you are in a foreign country, you eat what is readily available. Yoghurt, fresh fruits and salad much make up part of my daily diet in France. They come in varieties and hence, you don't get bored eating them as the season changes. I love trying different kinds of salads especially. They give me ideas on how I could make mine the next time too.

Automne 2011 #22

2011-11-08T23:46:00.002+01:00

While getting Green Tea Latte (This is awesome!! I am going to try making this at home one day) with JY at Starbucks, I saw this shop that I was attracted to its interiors.

I don't like their chandeliers though.

Actually, I don't know the name of this shop till now, and I don't even know what exactly were they selling. Some fancy bath toiletries, I guessed.

I like white furnishings.

The kind of trolley I would like if I have a bolcony at home.

Green Tea Latte, topped with whipped cream. Evil. =D

A pity that they don't sell it here in Paris. Why?

Automne 2011 #21

2011-11-08T23:29:00.000+01:00

Back home in Singapore, after dinner with G, we adjourned for dessert & tea at the 24hour CoffeeClub located right next to 313@Somerset. Not that we have a lot of choices left because it was already close to 23H then.

Camomile Tea for her and Earl Grey for me.

We shared a "Raspberry Chocolate Symphony".

The chocolate shell drizzled with warm chocolate to reveal the chocolate mousse, raspberry granitas & streusel crumbs.

The crowd on a weekday evening, and it was not even Thursday or Friday. I don't remember the next day being a public holiday either.

I wish everyday is a Friday too.

Automne 2011 #20

2011-11-08T23:08:00.003+01:00

The evening when I met A & V for dinner at Boulogne. I brought my camera out cos' it has been a quite some time since I saw them, but I realised I forgot my memory card when I was already reaching the metro station. Not my first time. =(

Mobile quality pics are better than nothing.

While waiting for V, we went for some drinks.

Rhum for A and Mango juice for me. I'm a wimp.

Baroque furnished place.

V came shortly after and ordered champagne.

We went Korean that night.

This is one of the appetiser we had. It tasted like a combination of congee with corn. I'll be very interested to know how they implemented such strong corn taste inside the congee. Very simple, but nice.

The salad sauce was good.

Hand-made but just passable pork dumplings.
This is a typical dish made without "a soul". Yes, one can feel food made by people.

The Korean appetisers that I love!!

I ordered spicy calamari, that turned out not spicy at all, but it was passable. I suspected they used frozen calamari, instead of fresh ones.

Rice, topped with some vegetables.

It was really cold that night. Much colder than any other days, and it was humid.

One of the RER (trains that go to the suburbs, passing through Paris, but skipping stations along the main metro lines) stations.

Goodnight. Cold weather like this is best to stay in bed sleeping.

Antioxidant Hot-Bed Therapy

2011-11-08T22:39:00.003+01:00

Back in Singapore, I go to this place set up by the Japanese for some kind of antioxidant hot-bed therapy with my mother once every week. It was very simple, you just have to lie down on some tiles and sweat it out for the next 30-60 mins, depending on how long you could last inside the "sauna" room, on the heated tiles. Room temperature is around 45 degrees celcius.

I like it. It feels good after I am done with it every time.

Here you see me all wet with my own perspiration in the ladies' changing room -

the yukata I was wearing was soaked and stuck to my skin.

The tiled "beds".

Just close your eyes, relax and sweat it out.

The corridor.

Entrance to the changing room.

I miss going there with my mother and our after-therapy activities.

Automne 2011 #19

2011-11-07T02:07:00.004+01:00

It is still the harvest season for mussels here. We will have this dish almost every Saturday with the mussels bought fresh from the local marketplace. With the freshest ingredients, little is needed to make it even more delectable than it is.

Washed mussels in the pan.

Mixed parsley, shallots and garlic.

A dash of black pepper.

A full glass of white wine. =D

The final step, which is also my favourite step - adding scoops of sour cream to the pan of freshly cooked mussels!! Yummy!! I love sour cream!!

Bon Appétit!!

Automne 2011 #18

2011-11-07T01:48:00.002+01:00

I love peasant food. They are always so comforting. These were just some of what we had over the week.

W's supper - Scrambled eggs with melting butter toasts.

Chinese cabbage with shrimps, black fungus & Shiitake mushrooms.

Long beans & turkey breast with XO sauce - spicy version (This sauce is just MARVELLOUS!!).

Automne 2011 #17

2011-11-03T19:44:00.003+01:00

Completed my first run under autumn conditions today!
This was before the workout session.

It wasn't as chilly as I expected. I wore this hot pink dri-fit top you see in the pic with a thermal long sleeve jacket over my long dri-fit running pants. All my dri-fit workout gear aren't branded. Being a typical Singaporean, I go for the best functionality at the lowest price possible. LoL. This hot pink top costs me less than 6€.

The track that I took, which is located right next to where I am living now.

The autumn sky at 17H.

After jogging/running approximately the same distance that I did in Singapore, I was actually quite dry (see pic below, not much difference from pic above before I exercise).

I was drenched in sweat back home; here, I only perspired a little. It's alright! As long as I feel good after every workout! All the good endorphines filling up my bloodstream. Haha!!

Automne 2011 #16

2011-11-02T03:04:00.002+01:00

W loves Japanese curry with cripsy chicken/pork cutlet. So, this dish has been a weekly occurence (JY came to our place, ate it and named it "Curry Sunday" LOL). Recently, I decided to "upgrade" the cutlet to crispy CHEESY cutlet.

Tonight's - Crispy cheesy pork cutlet. See the cheddar oozing out?

W is trying to gain weight, this is his jumbo size version with omu rice.

This is mine, I prefer plain rice with curry.

The aftermath.

Top-Down: Paris

2011-11-02T02:08:00.001+01:00

Hello Paris (again).

Here you see the Eiffel Tower & the Arc de Triomphe. Click here if you cannot locate the latter.

Top-Down: Evening Sky

2011-11-02T01:51:00.000+01:00

Venue: The skies of Vienna to Munich (assuming that flight info updates were accurate at the time when these pics were taken).

It's hard to imagine that you will fall through with this kind of "cushioning".

In-Flight #2

2011-11-02T01:33:00.000+01:00

Diet Coke in Arabic. So cool!

There was an Arabic lady sitting right in front of me dressed in her typical black robes, I was attracted to the henna on her hands. She kept flashing them in front of me throughout the journey.

I reckon it was her bf or husband sitting beside her as he used his in-flight blanket to prevent other passengers from looking at this Arabic lady when she was tying her hair into a bun before she wrapped it up with her head scarf.

Butter chicken curry with some rice and vegetables. I thought they will go extremely easy on the spiciness since this is a flight bound for Europe, but no, it was quite spicy, even for Asian me.

Their yoghurt parfait was very nice!

Snack pack. The one I'm holding is like "croutons".

I watched a lot of movies on this flight:

[Mr Poppin's Penguins] Yes, the 2nd time cos I like it!

[Monte Carlo] It was crap.

[Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows 2] 1st time in the cinema, 2nd time here. Still as nice! =)

[Cars 2] Typical Disney movie.

[Zookeeper] Another so predictable movie.

Dubai's Newspapers

2011-11-02T00:57:00.003+01:00

This is the point when my camera's battery died on me and I had no choice but to turn to my lousy blackberry's camera.

Local newspapers speak volumes on the culture and lifestyle locally, the words they choose, the articles they published and the advertisements they have.
And, Dubai International Airport has always been very generous with its selection of newspapers at the waiting area.

Remember I mentioned Dubai looks like a rich city here? The papers in Singapore are always releasing the latest lauches on condominiums, in Dubai, they don't do condominums, nor terrace houses, they do beach villas. Wow. LOL. 一山还有一山高。

Dubai International Airport (DXB)

2011-11-02T00:47:00.001+01:00

Like Singapore, where you can find all the global branded products in its international airport, in Dubai, it goes as far as "branded bread", "Paul", the famous French chain boulangerie store.

Top-Down: Dubai, UAE

2011-11-02T00:16:00.002+01:00

Dubai looks rich.

A lagoon to protect coast erosion, but I was trying to catch the world's famous 7-star hotel, Burj Al Arab.

Top-Down: Karachi, Pakistan

2011-11-01T23:53:00.005+01:00

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. It is the most populous city in the country, one of the world's largest cities in terms of population and also the 10th largest urban agglomeration in the world.

Source: Wikipedia

After some reading up, I think this is the western region of Karachi - the hilly region, on the coast of the Arabian Sea.

The view was magnificent.

I don't know whether it is the clouds or the region is so sandy that we could practically "see" it in the air.

Love the transition of colours I took in this pic.

The Arabian Sea.

In-Flight #1

2011-11-01T23:36:00.001+01:00

The flight this time was very short because I slept after my meal and when I woke up, it was just 65 mins away from landing.

[Mr. Popper's Penguins] was so hilarious that I really laugh to myself while watching.

I think Arabic is really a very difficult language, especially writing it.

Savory biscuits that come in the form of mini baguettes.

I chose the "beef in onion sauce". It was good but I don't like the potatoes. They didn't indicate potatoes as the side when I read it or did I miss it?!!

Drink at least 1 bottle of wine to help sleeping during flight hours. =p

The appetiser was nice though.

How I eat cheese and bread, where cheese > bread. Always.

I don't know why coffee and tea always taste so bad in planes.
I only took a sip of it and a bite of the cake, which tasted equally bad.

Top-Down: Singapore

2011-11-01T22:07:00.001+01:00

I did my online check-in too late. All the aisle seats were taken and the computer system allocated me to a window seat which I decided to make full use of my "strategic position" during my flight.

Goodbye Singapore!! See you soon!!

Cloulds are amazing creations. I wish I can read them well. I can only remember "cirrus" and "cumilonimbus" from my lower secondary geography lessons. I should make a mental note to read them up one of these days.

Automne 2011 #15

2011-11-01T21:36:00.002+01:00

Typical Singaporean breakfast before taking my flight back to Paris.

♥♥With Mummy!!♥♥

♥♥With JY!!♥♥

Inside the waiting area after duty free shopping and feeling bored.

The national carrier, which I took only once in my life.

I take Emirates & Qatar the most. Emirates, when I know I need to bring back a lot of things cos they allow me to check in 30kg, and Qatar (only 23kg check in, but still better than SIA of 20kg), being the most economical for the commoner me.

Love note from ♪♫ JY ♫♪.

What we believe in.

Senki Japanese Restaurant - Best Sashimi Buffet in Town

2011-10-30T11:11:00.009+01:00

I first mentioned about Senki Japanese Restaurant here. Their fresh sashimi and a-la-carte buffet menu kept echoing in my mind and I just have to eat it one more time before I fly back to Paris.

Everything we ordered this time round was really nice after our previous experience.

Restaurants often display prices like $30.00++, which means that service charge (10%) and sales tax (7%) are NOT included and will be added to your bill. When you see NETT, it means it includes all taxes and service charges.

Ebi Furai - Fried Ebi (This is different from their prawn tempura that we've ordered the previous time, mentioned here, I prefer this version personally.)

Cheese embedded within Japanese Fishcake.

Bacon wrapped Enoki mushrooms.

Miso Soup. JY loves it, she drank 3 bowls all by herself!!

Gyuuniku Udon (Beef Udon Soup) - Excellent!!

Potato Salad.

Pork Cutlet Curry Rice.

!!Our plates of Sashimi!!

We devoured around 20 servings of Shake, Makajiki and Tako Sashimi this time. Also, we came up with a strategy for sashimi buffet. The trick is to eat alternate every sashimi platter with a non-sashimi side dish. In this way, you will not get sick of eating the sashimi easily and take breaks in between so that you won't stress up your digestive system all at once. We took an average of 2.5hours for both occasions when we were at Senki.

If you are a sashimi lover like JY & I, you wouldn't regret making a trip to Senki!!

Pearl Milk Tea ・ The Taiwanese Drink that took Asia by Storm

2011-10-30T10:15:00.007+01:00

Bubble tea is the name for pearl milk tea and other similar tea and juice beverages that originated in tea shops in Taichung city, Taiwan during the 1980s. Drink recipes may vary, but most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit (or fruit syrup) and/or milk. Ice-blended versions of the drinks, similar to slushies, are also available, usually in fruit flavors.

One of the famous categories of bubble teas is "pearl milk tea", which contains small chewy balls made of tapioca starch, called "Pearls" in Chinese.

Source: Wikipedia

The first wave of the the Pearl Milk Tea boom in Singapore was properly around Year 2001, Stands, stalls and shops selling this drink were sprouting everywhere from shopping malls right down to the corners of suburban residential districts. They even gave out "loyalty cards" where you are supposed to collect 10 stamps (1 stamp for every cup purchased, this number varied, but the usual was 10) in total to get a free cup of drink in return. And, the whole cycle repeats if you continue to patronise them.

Then, the craze died down, some shops even wind up their business.

2-3 years back, the second wave came to Singapore again, with "branded" Pearl Milk Tea shops like "Koi" and "Gong Cha" offering not only a huge variety of milk tea, tea flavours, coffee, fruit juice, etc., you can even choose the sugar level you want in your tea for the health conscious (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%) - 50% is just nice for me.

The Koi Café I frequent with my mother after our spa session every week when I'm back in Singapore.

You place your order at the cashier's, pay and get your ticket #.

Left: Grass Jelly Milk Tea (M-size), Right: Original (It is still the BEST Combination!!) Pearl Milk Tea (L-size)

I drink this once to twice every week when I come back. There is a stall located at Opéra in Paris owned by a Taïwanese called "Zen-Zoo", but they are selling it at 3 times the price I pay for in Singapore!!

Do you like milk tea like I do? It's heaven when you sip it with the chewy texture of the pearls.

Takoyaki at Tsukiji Gindaco 築地銀だこ

2011-10-30T01:00:00.002+02:00

Takoyaki (たこ焼き) (literally fried or grilled octopus) is a popular ball-shaped Japanese savory pancake made of batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan. It is typically filled with diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion.

It used to be at the basement of Takashimaya where I could get the Takoyaki I love. I still remember they were selling at 3 Tako-balls for SGD2.00, but there was/is the inflation, and the taste of it just went from Mmmm to Urghhhhh. The same goes to the Takoyaki stall situated at Plaza Singapura's basement.

I thought I have to go to Japan to taste this dish proper again, but Tsukiji Gindaco located at Ion's basement level 4 got them right.

Tsukiji Gindaco's Takoyaki stall.

We got their meal set that comes with 2 cups of chilled green tea.

I love Takoyaki!!

[ADDRESS]
Tsukiji Gindaco
2 Orchard Turn, #B4-64/65 ION Orchard, Singapore
Tel: 6509 9038
Nearest MRT Station: Orchard (NS22), North-South Line

Sakae Sushi ・ The Conveyor Belt Sushi Restaurant

2011-10-29T23:54:00.001+02:00

Actually, after writing about Sushi Tei, I don't know what to say about Sakae Sushi. I go there on and off with friends, it is not too bad, but it is not that good either. I'm at a loss of words to describe its real standards because the food there don't come cheap either, though it is relatively cheaper compared to Sushi Tei, but the quality offered is very different.

I do have some fond memories of Sakae Sushi because I always come here with my friends during schooling days when we crave for Japanese food.

If you are not a picky about Japanese food in general and you would like to have a first hand experience on conveyor belt dining, as well as ordering from your personal computer screen located next to your table, Sakae Sushi isn't a bad choice. At the very least, my French colleague who just dropped by a visit to Singapore in June is quite impressed with the computer menu. LOL!

In addition, no complains about the freshness of their sashimis.

The computer screen where you could order your food just by clicking on the mouse placed on your table and the conveyor belt where you can just take the food you like and the colour of the plates determine the different price range.

Sakae Sushi located in Wisma Atria has got one of the nicest furnishings for this restaurant.

With our Chawanmushi!!

Their Chawanmushi is good.

"Dragon Roll".

Fried Tofu.

Scallop Maki.

Fresh salmon & swordfish sashimi served on top of ice packs.

Tofu salad with fresh mangoes and sesame dressing.

Vegetable Tempura.

Do NOT order their desserts.

We ordered 2 different kinds of Green Tea ice-cream that evening but they both turned out horribly disgusting.

Us in the restaurant while waiting for food.

I was playing with her Samsung Galaxy phone. I realised my blackberry's camera function is really lousy. Samsung Galaxy has camera lens that allows you to take self-potraits. So cool!!

**To date, Sakae Sushi has 15 outlets located in the Central area of Singapore. Click here for full details. **

Sushi Tei ・ Haute Japanese Cuisine

2011-10-29T23:09:00.002+02:00

To date, I haven't got any disappointment from the dishes I've ordered from this restaurant. And, I've been going here since my college days. I love everything on their menu, including their desserts!!

Sushi Tei is a good choice if you want to know how quality Japanese food should taste and look like!

My secondary school classmate with her very adorable baby girl!!

I've mentioned this a lot of times, LOL! I always use Chawanmushi as a benchmark to determine how good a Japanese restaurant is.

Tiger Prawn Avocado Roll.

Unagi Roll.

Salmon California Roll.

Baby Melody is always a very happy baby!!

[ADDRESSES]

Paragon (Nearest MRT Station: Orchard, NS22), North-South Line

290 Orchard Road #05-04/05 Paragon

Singapore 238859

Tel: 6235 1771

Opening Hours

11.30am to 10.00pm daily

(last order 9.30pm)

Ngee Ann City (Nearest MRT Station: Orchard, NS22), North-South Line

391 Orchard Road #02-13

Ngee Ann City

Singapore 238873

Tel: 6737 8878

Opening Hours

11.30am to 10.00pm daily

(last order 9.30pm)

Raffles City Shopping Centre (Nearest MRT Station: City Hall, NS25/EW13), North-South Line & East-West Line

252 North Bridge Road #03-13/14

Raffles City Shopping Centre

Singapore 179103

Tel: 6334 7887

Opening Hours

11.30am to 10.00pm daily

(last order 9.30pm)

China Square Central (Nearest MRT Station: Chinatown, NE4/DT19), North-South Line & Downtown Line (under construction)

20 Cross Street

China Square Central

#01-28/30

Singapore 048422

Tel: 6223 0070

Opening Hours

11.30am to 10.00pm daily

(last order 9.30pm)

VivoCity (Nearest MRT Station: HarbourFront, NE1/CC29), North-East Line & Circle Line

1 Harbour Front Walk

#02-152/153 VivoCity

Singapore 098585

Tel: 6376 9591

Opening Hours

11.30am to 10.00pm daily

(last order 9.30pm)

For all other branches located in the sub-urban areas of Singapore, click here.

Yum cha ・飲茶

2011-10-29T22:33:00.002+02:00

"Yum cha" is a Chinese style morning or afternoon tea, which involves drinking Chinese tea and eating dim sum dishes. "Yum cha" in Cantonese literally means "drink tea".

In the US and UK, the phrase dim sum is often used in place of yum cha; in Cantonese, "dim sum" (點心) refers to the wide range of small dishes, whereas yum cha, or "drinking tea", refers to the entire meal.

In France, if you always like to order "Ha-Kow" or "Siu-Maï" from the Traiteur Chinois near your work place or home, you will realise you are really eating very lousy knock-offs versions of what the real thing should be!!

Anyways, to cut the long story short, if you are in Chinatown, Singapore, you will not regret if you turn up at the Yum Cha Restaurant from 15H - 17H for their Ala-carte buffet lunch - all you can eat dim sum dishes!! Even as a local, I find their dim sums excellent and they have a huge variety to choose from, the only regret I always have every time is I don't have a tummy big enough to eat everything I like.

W & his excited expression again when he sees his favourite Asian food.
I forgot to bring my camera that day, so I didn't take much or good pics to justify how good it was.

Har-Kows - Shrimp Dumplings.

Scallop Dumplings with pea shoots - my fav!!

Prawn rolls in beancurd skin.

Round #1 from our buffet lunch.

William lets out a sigh every now and then - A lot of French people don't know what they are missing. I agree!! =p

[ADDRESS]
Yum Cha Restaurant
20 Trengganu Street
Singapore 058479
Tel: 6372 1717

**High Tea Buffet Promotion (for Yum Cha Chinatown)**

$19.80 for adults and $15.80 for children below 12
3pm-6pm (Last order at 5.30pm).
Available on weekdays only, excluding public holidays.

Nearest MRT Station: Chinatown (NE4/DT19), North-East Line & Downtown Line (under construction) - Take Exit A

Siam Kitchen

2011-10-29T21:54:00.002+02:00

I mentioned this middle-range Thai restaurant earlier in my post, here. W likes to eat at this Thai restaurant too. Although we haven't find any to-die-for Thai restaurants yet, the dishes in this restaurant are good enough to satisfy some of our cravings.

Pineapple Rice.

Tom Yum Goong!! Very nice but the serving is too small!!

Green Curry with prawns.

Some prawn dish that is nice too.

Some chicken skewer dish that is disappointing.
Don't order this, it looks exactly the same on their menu.

He always feel sleepy after a full meal.

[ADDRESSES]

Parco Bugis Junction (Nearest MRT Station: Bugis, EW12/DT14), East-West Line & Downtown Line (under construction)

200 Victoria Street

#02-46, Parco Bugis Junction

Singapore 188021

Tel: 6337 3777

Opening Hrs:

11.30am-10pm daily

Suntec City Mall (Nearest MRT Staion: Esplanade, CC3), Circle Line

3 Temasek Boulevard

#B1-55, Suntec City Mall

Singapore 038983

Tel: 6837 1588

Opening Hrs:

Mon - Fri (11.30am-3pm lunch, 6pm-10pm dinner)

Sat & Sun ( 11.30am – 10pm)

City Square Mall (Nearest MRT Station: Farrer Park, NE8), North-East Line

180 Kitchener Road

#B2-53/54, City Square Mall

Singapore 208539

Tel: 6509 3822

Opening Hrs:

Mon-Thurs (11.30am-3pm lunch, 6pm-10pm dinner)

Fri–Sun ( 11.30am – 10pm)

Click here for all other branches located in the sub-urban areas.

Pig Offal ・ Kway Chup

2011-10-29T21:04:00.002+02:00

Kuay Chap / Kway Chap from my favourite Kovan stall.

This is a Teochew dish of flat, broad rice sheets in a soup made with dark soy sauce, served with pig offal, braised duck meat, various kinds of beancurd, preserved salted vegetables, and braised hard-boiled eggs.

I don't usually like to eat the internals of animals. But, this dish is an exception. The way they do it without exhibiting any of the weird smell of sorts just leave me thinking about it more often than not whenever I'm overseas. I always rush to eat this the first few days when I land in Singapore because there is no way I can cook this at home. The process of cleaning and cooking it EXTREMELY tedious.

Anyone who haven't tried this dish before, SERIOUSLY, just take a deep breath, close your eyes and let your taste buds tell you the truth after that. I assure you will not puke what you just put into your mouth!!

Oh, did I mention the part that I love eating most is pig skin? Yes, the skin of pigs with their hair removed of course. Natural supply of collagen to my skin and that's why I have big cheeks.

I always patronise the stall at Kovan hawker centre that serves awesome Kway Chup. It is so good that everything will be sold out by 2pm. Take note that there are 2 stalls selling the same dish in the same hawker centre, the one I love is NOT the one facing Heartland Mall, but the one located at the back.

Nearest MRT station: Kovan (NE13), North-East Line

Take the exit that indicates "Heartland Mall" and the hawker centre is located just right in front of its main entrance.

Nana Thai Restaurant

2011-10-29T20:53:00.001+02:00

JY introduced me to this Thai restaurant located at Far East Plaza.
They serve decent Thai & Chinese food if you happen to be hungry before/during/after shopping in town.

Claypot chicken in soy sauce.

We took out the chilli we could see because we forgot to indicate to go easy on the spiciness.
They got our tongues burning.

P/S: They have nice Thai milk tea. =)

Beautiful JY in Nana Thai Restaurant.

[ADDRESS]
Nana Thai Restaurant
14 Scotts Rd, Far East Plaza #04-22, Singapore 228213
Nearest MRT Station: Orchard (NS22), North-South Line

Chilli Crab & Pepper Crab - Singapore's Unofficial National Dish & Other Popular Tze Char Dishes

2011-10-29T19:52:00.010+02:00

NOTE: Please be aware that if you are eating crabs (it may include other seafood as well, ASK before you place an order!!), they are based on SEASONAL PRICES. They may change on a daily basis. So, check with the service staff beforehand.

Chilli Crab - Hard shell crabs cooked in a thick tomato and chilli-based gravy.

Black Pepper Crab - Hard-shell crabs, and cooked in a thick gravy made with black pepper.

Chilli crabs are commonly served with fried "mantou(s)" breads for mopping up the sauce.

Dou Miao - Pea sprouts. I love this.

We don't usually just order crabs in a meal setting. There are usually other vegetables and meat or fish dishes to go with the meal. One thing I miss about Singapore is nicely stir-fried leafy vegetables. Chinatown, Paris do sell some Asian leafy vegetables but most of the time, at much more expensive prices. And, me being a veggie lover just have to force myself to forget about the exchange rate and just get what I like.

Pomfret Steamboat. I love this too!! Pomfret is one of my fav fishes!!

Pomfret Steamboat at another seating.
In the background, you can see clearly that this is a coffeeshop located in residential area.

Above in the pic are KangKong in sambal chilli sauce (bottom), and KaiLan in oyster sauce. 2 of my top picks whenever I order vegetables.

I love Asian soups.

They named this "Potato Leaves".

Egg Tofu with seafood sizzling on a hot plate.

Egg noodles in thick gravy.

Assam Curry Fishhead!! Yummy Yums!!

The main ingredients (usually seafoods or freshwater fishes) were cooked in asam (tamarind) fruit juice with chilli and many other spices. The cooking process involves soaking the pulp of the fruit until it is soft and then squeezing out the juice for cooking the fish.

Oyster omelette.

There are a lot of popular places in Singapore that sell Chilli and Pepper crabs. Usually, you can find them selling at humble zi char stalls located in the sub-urban area – that ubiquitous coffeeshop eatery where home-style dishes are cooked to your order.

I love eating at such places because I am someone who live happily in old school T-shirts and I love peasant-commoner food!!

[POPULAR RESTAURANTS FOR CRABS]

No Signboard Seafood Restaurant

Click here to see the locations of all their branches but the ones located in town are:
VIVOCITY (Nearest MRT Station: HarbourFront, NE1/CC29), North-East Line & Circle Line

1 Harbourfront Walk, #03-02 VivoCity, Singapore
Tel: 6376 9959
11am - 11pm

Esplanade Mall (Nearest MRT Station: Esplanade, CC3) Circle Line
8 Raffles Avenue
Tel: 63369959

Watami ・和民・The Izakaya Restaurant

2011-10-29T18:30:00.003+02:00

Panpannie introduced me to Watami. It has been her regular hangout while she was in Japan pursuing her post-grad studies. An izakaya (居酒屋) is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. They are popular, casual places for after-work drinking.

Japanese Radish salad with Yuzu dressing!!

Beef Sukiyaki.

A raw egg is broken into a serving bowl, and the rule is, to dip the thinly sliced beef up and down for 3 times, then dip it into the raw egg mixture - Sukiyaki beef never taste as good as this!!

Cold noodles.

Sashimi platter.

Our table full of food, just for the both of us. =D

Panpannie was pretending to be full, when we are actually going to go for desserts after this. Haha!

I wouldn't put this under "Singapore - Must Try Food" because this is not really the best of the best, but a place where you can get a good experience on Japanese food fare with family and friends. It is still a very good restaurant, but I believe you can get the same quality elsewhere too, just you are not missing out anything, generally speaking.

[ADDRESSES]

ION Branch (Nearest MRT Station: ORCHARD, NS22), North-South Line
ION Orchard #B3-23
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801
Tel: 6509 9366
Operating hours: 11.30am to 10pm

Central Branch (Nearest MRT Station: CLARK QUAY, NE5), North-East Line
6 Eu Tong Sen Street, The Central,
#03-82/83/85/102/108/109
Singapore 059817
Tel: 6323 3398
Operating Hours 11.30am to 10pm

Raffles City Branch (Nearest MRT Station: CITY HALL, NS25/EW13), North-South Line & East-West Line
252 North Bridge Road, #B1-06/07,
Raffles City Shopping Centre,
Singapore 179103
Tel: 6336 2425
Operating hours: 11.30am to 11pm

Junction 8 Branch (Nearest MRT Station: Bishan, NS17/CC15), North-South Line & Circle Line
9 Bishan Place, #01-33,
Junction 8 Shopping Centre
Singapore 579837
Tel: 6258 3577
Operating Hours 11.30am to 11pm