Hiver 2011/2012 #6

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 #2

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).

Automne 2011 #40

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. =)