Results of Karen's Latest Affair with the Oven...

Saintly Carrot Walnut Cake... made Sinful with Cream Cheese Frosting Perfumed with Pure Vanilla...
Chocolate Moist Cake... Slathered with Rich Chocolate Ganache... Death by Chocolate...

Lunch at Majestic Restaurant, New Majestic Hotel, Singapore

Please do not let these poor quality pictures fool you (it's from my phone camera which I hardly use ever, so settings a bit kaput). I left my camera at home. Bummer! This restaurant is simply amazing. SIMPLY AMAZING! No frills yet superbly done! Highly recommended!

Checout this quaint and chic hotel and also its bar (try it if you are looking for something new than the usual Raffles Long Bar).

Its a stone's throw away from Outram Park MRT station. Taxis can be quite hard to get in this area.

Majestic Restaurant


Strawberries, mango, grapes and pink rose apple lent a fruity sweet and mildly tart bouquet to teh lovely duck - all crispy on the outside yet juicy-fleshed. There was a hint of plum and sesame in the dressing. Well-balanced in terms of flavours.
Marrow soup - I really don't know what goes into the soup to make it thicker than usual yet light in taste. Ahhh.... just perfect!
Our fish dish : perch with beancurd and gluten topped with sliced mushroom. Fish was fresh and sweet (am not a huge filleted fish fan but I loved this one). The beancurd was silky and gluten was soft... all soaking up the fragrant sauce....
Close-up of the perch/beancurd/gluten
Boston lobster noodles : The noodles were very fine and the lobster cooked just right (not overcooked which happens pretty often). Again, very fresh and sweet. The small amount of spring onions and sliced ginger really add another dimension to this dish.
Elaine chose crispy durian ice-cream (I took a spoonful and goodness! like eating good quality frozen durians!)
I chose "or nee" : yam paste with gingko nuts. Came piping hot, smooth and creamy. Best I have had in my whole lifetime thus far.

Every dish that was meant to be hot, arrived piping hot as they should. We were greedily downing our food. It didn't matter that they were hot.

My only complaint : The food is so good that the portions seemed small.... wished there was more of everything....

Bei Ping Restaurant, Shah Alam

My brother bought us lunch over the Eid holiday - his birthday was the occasion. All 22 of us family members were treated to a huge spread at Bei Ping Restaurant! He picked the RM388/table set menu with an addition of Beijing roast duck (which was later changed to roast duck/yam dish at my suggestion - I regretted a bit as I went late and did not find out that there were already yam dishes in the set).

Bei Ping does not serve pork which is great for my brother as he is pretty averse to pork."Three season" - appetisers of a yam basket, shrimp stuffed chicken fillet and vermicelli-wrapped shrimp balls topped with a dollop of mayo each. These were so good... good yam baskets are hard to come by and here at Bei Ping, it was beautifuly made - fluffy mashed fragrant yam with no oily after-taste despite being fried.
Sharksfin soup - light broth with loads of crabmeat (I got a whole de-shelled claw!) and crab roe. So comforting with a few drops of black vinegar.
On the side of the plate is Beijing roast duck and meat with plum sauce while the centre is yam topped roast duck. The family loved it though despite the many yam dishes they had to eat because of me.
Steamed red snapper - I actually prefer their assam fish using siakap (with okra and pineapples) but mom can't take spicy food so we had this instead. Fish here have been fresh every time we ordered. The owner, a Chinese national who is married to a Malaysian said that they bring in fresh supplies every day.

One of the favourites of the day - 2-style chicken wings. I didn't have any as the night before I made Lemon Pepper and Cajun wings over the BBQ. So, Barry and I were pretty "winged" out. More me than him though as he did try a few and gave the thumbs up.
Butter prawns - I find these just OK. Not very outstanding. Probably a little bit over-done.
One of my favourites : Vegetarian dish of broccoli, dried bean curd and mock abalone in superior stock. Refreshing after all the meat dishes.

This was followed by a small bowl of fried rice for every person. We were stuffed but still game for dessert.

Fresh fruits

Caramelised taro and sweet potatoes (we get to dip these into icy cold water and voila! crunchy caramel-coated hot yams!)

Also, I got for my bro a chocolate peppermint cake which was finished off despite our full belly.

Bei Ping has a lot of other choices in terms of food - I would go for their a la carte dishes - even their garlic baby bokchoy is delicious!

Restoran Bei Ping Sdn Bhd

No. 6, Jalan Utas, 15D 40000 Shah Alam

Tel: +603- 5519 9291, +6012 2016 116

Canele, Singapore

My boss who knows I like to buy macarons (what he doesn't know is that my hubby loves them!) egged me to visit Canele at Shaw Centre which is just a minute's walk from our regional office in Singapore. So, I did go after a scrumptious lunch at New Majestc hotel! (more of that later!)

The 6-piece macaron box (SGD2.30 a piece of macaron - comparable price to that of La Duree - so, macarons are an indulgence)
My selection for Barry (2 framboise - raspberry, 1 pistache - pistachio, 2 praline noisette - hazelnut praline and 1 milk chocolate feuillitine). Barry likes the framboise as he is a natural berry fan. I had one hazelnut praline which is hazelnut macaron sanwiching praline cream with roasted hazelnut. I find Canele macarons a little drier and airier though thicker (maybe more cream) than that of La Duree I bought last September. To me it is less sweet too, which is perfect for me. I could really taste the fresh fragrance of the hazelnuts.
I bought 2 caneles just to try (SGD1.50 per piece) - though I rarely have caneles, I can vouch that these from Canele (so, this is where the name came from) are very good stuff! See my other experience eating Canele here (incidentally the same Les Amis is the people behind Canele).

You can see from their website they offer a wide range of patisseries and chocolates. Sweets-lovers would love this place. As for me, I am happy that I do not have to queue to make my purchase!

Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie

11 Unity Street, Robertson Walk, #01-09 Tel. 6738 8145 Fax. 6738 8146

Email : canele@lesamis.com.sg

#01-01A Shaw Centre, 1 Scotts Road

#B1-25 Paragon, 290 Orchard Road

#B1-81/82 Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road

Happy Birthday to me!

Just came back from a weekend stay downtown (my birthday!) - away from home, away from 3rd wheel, our pup (missed her a lot though). We had been so busy from before the wedding and wanted a bit of quiet time.

Had Italian dinner last night - freshly shucked oysters with Veuve Clicquot, my fave creamy mushroom soup with a dash of truffle-infused oil, freshly-made tagliatelle with spicy huge shrimp sauce and rounded off with terrine of trio chocolate. Barry had his garden greens with a twist - crunchy walnuts, crusted mackerel and vanilla ice-cream parfait on layers of blueberries and strawberry jelly. All these food and no pictures... didn't want to kill the mood :o)

It started with a bouquet of a dozen red roses which arrived on Friday at work... totally surprised me. Anonymous but from the message, it had the style of the hubby stamped all over.

Today, we had dim sum breakfast at Ming Room, BSC before heading home. It's hard to catch breakfast by 10.30am at hotels when on a holiday... Just found out that Ming Room offers a 20% discount before 12pm.
That's the pearl stud earrings I got from Barry... Picture from Mikimoto site. Been wanting to get a new pair since I lost one side of my previous set down the bathtub some years back.
New vs Old
Silver white - Pink undertones
18KWG - 18KYG
6.5mm - 8mm

Realised that my taste has changed over the years (prefer white over pink and I like bigger pearls now). It must be age.....

It was a great weekend! I love birthdays!

P/S : Just loved the comfort of Crocs Rx Silver Fox that Barry got me... His clinic, Back In Motion Chiropractic Centre carries the Rx range. I got the tan one... It helps a lot to support the arch of my (flat) feet.

Taiwan and Japan - August 2008

Barely a month after our wedding, I had to go back to work traveling....

First stop Kaohsiung followed by Taipei before continuing my journey to Nara, Japan.




I was craving dishes from this lil place in Laohsiung which serves everything cow - head to tail. Too bad, I was ill the moment I arrived Taiwan until I left Japan (so, many restos' name elduded me). Imagine fever, gastroenteritis and colitis for a week! My fault..... I saw the doctor in Kaohsiung but I didn't start on the medication until I got home since I had to drink every night.



I do not mix medication with alcohol..... for fear of not ever waking up in some hotel somewhere. Of course, I got a nice dose from my Dr Barry when I got home for not putting my health first.


One of my lunches : pasta (very delicious though!) Food onboard JAL : Taipei to Kansai Airport
MAS : Kansai to KL (of course the usual chicken and beef satay were served first)
Main course..... and thereafter lil sushi were served just before landing.

I liked Tutto Bello in Taipei where I had :

a. Pumpkin and Truffle Cappuccino with Crispy Pumpkin Gnocchi (oh, what a comfort to my tummy!)

b. Challans Duck Fillet with Fine Herbs, Plum Juice and Aged Balsamic Vinegar (ok, a tad heavy for the tummy)

c. Warmed chocolate cake with almond ice-cream (I changed from tiramisu ice-cream)

Other nice places were the Club Floor of Splendor Hotel, Kaohsiung where we had teppanyaki and shabu-shabu at HSR station in Taipei.

No picture tho.....

Our wedding....

Our wedding ceremony : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=137135&l=af8bb&id=780090246

Our wedding portraits : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=137259&l=22de4&id=780090246

Third Floor, JW Marriott Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

I had a quiet dinner yesterday at Third Floor. Our table was the only one occupied when we arrived at 7pm. We were joined by a table of 8 person at Third Floor just as we were finishing dinner.

Amuse bouche - savoury tart
My pan seared foie gras with poached peach and balsamic (RM88)
Lobster with spicy tagliatelle (RM168)
I know this does not look too great here.. but it really is divine!! My wagyu beef cheek with Sarawak pepper and red wine shallot sauce served with mushrooms, mash and vegs. (RM88)

No matter how many times I told myself not to have beef cheeks after foie gras, I seem to forget that whenever I make my food selection. I love both foie gras and wagyu beef cheeks equally.... a lot!

My dinner partner also ordered poached peach served with sauternes jelly & vanilla ice cream. It was wiped clean. So, it must be pretty good.

downed with Taittinger champagne - thankfully I could still fit into my wedding dress after!

French Night at Elsa and Beth's

Elsa and Beth hosted "French Night" just last Sunday. Before, there had been a tapas night, Italian night and so on at their place.

This time, I chose the starter and soup, Elsa made the main course and Beth went for the dessert.

At Elsa's suggestion, I took up the challenge to make pissaladiere. After checking the recipes available, I decided to make 2 versions : one with thin crust pizza dough and the other, with pate brisee.... I didn't try the puff pastry version as it would take up too much time as I have not the confidence yet to tackle making puff pastry from scratch.

I topped them both with caramelised 1 kg of thinly sliced onions (which I added cassis liquer to perfume), nicoise olives and anchovy slices. I also added some sliced peppers just for the colour and taste.

Thin crust pizza dough version.

Pate brisee version

Verdict : Personally, I prefer that with pate brisee for that melt in the mouth feeling but it can be difficult to eat with all those crumbs.

My courgette soup - I am in love with courgettes.
Elsa made haricot verts with almond slivers to go with beef bourguignon
Elsa's beef bourguignon which consumed a whole bottl e of red wine, lots of shrooms and caramelised shallots.
And also mashed potatoes
Beth's crepe suzette with plenty of zest and grenadine and vanilla ice-cream!

We were all so stuffed at the end of dinner but it was so satisfying esp. with the wines that went with the meal.

YUMS!

Bachelorette Part II : La Bodega for Tapas and More....

We went out for tapas at La Bodega to continue our girls' night out. I have always loved tapas esp. at La Bodega. this night was even more special for the time and efforts that everyone has put in.


The Grub for hungry girls :

Eggplant in a mild spicy sauce
Button mushroom in a creamy garlic sauce
Grilled salmon
Sausages and potatoes in a sweet onion sauce
Bruschetta and omelette (I think)
Dian's fish, spinach and mash
Congratulatory cake pour moi.
Me putting the "magic" wand to good use.
The tiara goes up again.
Me in my garb for the night....
Asking for help with my "tasks" from Les Girls.
Thankfully, I met some supportive and helpful people.
Another helpful soul...
And another...
And another..... but with conditions....
......the drink must be a Flaming Lamborghini...

Was glad I stuffed myself silly with food prior.....

More next.... surprise, surprise!