Preview of South Africa

It has been incredibly surreal, these last 10 days. My dearest husband decided that he would plan our best vacation ever a.k.a. the honeymoon. South Africa is truly, as one of our friends put it, 'beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...' Sitting at the balcony of the Birkenhead House, with a dreamily misty view of the waves crashing against the cliff, seagulls flying above, and the gentle warmth of the afternoon sun enrobing my calves, I (and I assume Ed too) simply could not ask for more.

But of course, South Africa has more than 'just' that to offer. We've travelled from Johannesburg to Pretoria, to Cape Town, Stellenbosch and now Hermanus. While it may sound tiring for what has only been ten days, I assure you it was not. During our stay in Stellenbosch alone, Ed and I have discovered salads that rank among our top five salads ever, a cup of hot chocolate with hazelnut that really deserves to be a dessert in itself, how awesome freshly (and well) shucked live oysters are, and our new favorite snack of dried beef/game called biltong. I fully intend to put together the top five (or ten) must eat/live places in South Africa just based on this short trip that I hope will not be our last. In the meantime, here's a little collage to whet your appetites.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year gatherings are always more bearable with cousins, and especially with cousins willing to cooperate.

In line with the new year - new beginnings vibe, I changed the header and cleaned up all links! It is oddly incredible how good this feels.

Hope the Lunar New Year brings love, happiness and contentment for all!


Love,
Daffy

Good Days, Bad Days

I have been feeling totally out of sorts.

Have you ever felt like every little thing you try to do right, is just turning out wrong? No matter how much you resolve to do things better the next time, when next time comes, somehow you still screw up? Work sometimes seems senseless and when the meaningless of it all hits the bone, it just feels crap. Somewhere inside, you know it shouldn't affect you so much but it just does. It consumes you, your every breath.

You've always tried to take things easy, to be positive and cheerful regardless of things happening around you. But when the tiny raindrops beat relentlessly, for what seems like forever, even the toughest of exteriors would finally break down. You let the raindrops fall deep inside you. You let them get the better of you.

Yet even this awareness can't help you get out of your funk. Talking to friends about it usually helps, but it hasn't this time round. Instead, they get increasingly concerned at your attitude and you fear the more you talk to them, you might somehow even screw up your relationships. One by one.

Have you ever felt this way? Anyone?

I think about better days, when spotting and eventually consuming a gigantic Anadara Cockle ( I think that's what they call it) at a small, discreet Japanese restaurant made me grin with glee for the rest of the day.

But today, I just feel like running to the end of the world and screaming my lungs out then collapsing in a heap.

And this video is giving me some ideas. If not the end of the world, then somewhere high, high up would do too.

The Whirlwind of Insanity

Claypot Fishhead at Bukit Timah Market

This picture sort of says it all. A little crazy and a ton of damn good food, is how I would describe the last 2 weeks when Stella visited. My roomie in my third year of Uni and the one who shared much of my joy, and brought me so much comfort when I was down. When she decided to visit 2 months ago, I was over the moon!

I had been busy in the weeks leading up to her arrival but took the spare minutes in bus rides on the way to work or on the way home, to plan for places I had to bring her to. Over lunches and dinners with friends or colleagues, I would also consult them and seek their suggestions to make sure I would not leave out any part of Singapore.

From the touristy - Duck Tour, Hippo Tour, Esplanade, Geylang, Chinatown, to the less popular - Bukit Timah Market, Haji Lane, we walked and walked and walked. It helped keep the spare pounds at bay, but also meant that at the end of each day, Stella and I were thoroughly worn out.

Unfortunately, we still didn't get to visit some places. The National Museum, Dempsey Road, St. James, and most unfortunately, the DHL balloon. By the time I got my hands on the tickets, it rained every other day! Perhaps it was a blessing since she did have a height phobia ( you should have seen her clinging to my arm going up escalators in big shopping malls like Central Mall and Wisma Atria).

Thankfully though, she enjoyed her time here. As long as there was a constant supply of Ice Kacang, she was happy. After the countless orders of Ice Kacang at various places, we're convinced that one of the best servings of Ice Kacang can be gotten from one of the most unlikely places - Bukit Panjang Plaza. They're generous with their ingredients and do not add anything fancy or unnecessary, unlike the equivalents of Ice Kacang that we had in KL that oddly included peanuts. Plus, we both love red bean and the extra dollop of red bean on top was a big bonus.

Everynight, we'd shower immediately after reaching home and turn on our laptops to upload photos, relive the day, and laugh about things happening in Facebook. We'd turn in late, wake up relatively early and plan the rest of the day according to the weather. Very unsurprisingly, I planned our menu first, then let that dictate where we would end up.

I also arranged for old friends from Warwick to meet her as well, and a regular during these gatherings was Fel of course. She was the perennial fellow potluck-er at Warwick and a bundle of joy.

During one felicitous night, my brother joined us for dinner at Brewerkz over ribs and salad (the Soba Noodle Salad is tremendously yummy and you haven't lived till you tried it). I loved how things worked out that night, and the chemistry that flowed around the table. My brother, being his usual comic self, was entertaining. Having three people I adore and love so much sharing a meal together was a mind-blowing experience. It felt surreal and I couldn't have asked for more.

Now Stella has left and gone home. The send off at the airport was, fortunately, not a tearful one. As usual, Fel was there with her laughter and jokes to lighten the mood and make her departure a happy one. But I cannot help missing her oodles.

Her smell still lingers in my room, and I've pinned down the smell to the moisturizer she slathers onto her skin generously. She also left that moisturizer behind, among other things, to make space in her luggage. Yes, she bought THAT much.

She also left behind many thoughtful gifts for my family and I. I wish I could have taken the sight of my bed the first night she arrived and unpacked her luggage, half of which was of gifts which I unwrapped on my bed. A beautiful handsewn tablecloth with matching napkins, a cookbook from Mauritius (Thank You Aunty!), a container full of tiny green chillis, and my favourite, 4 packs of tapioca biscuits in Milk, Custard and Coconut flavours.

She brought these biscuits from Mauritius back to Warwick after one summer holiday and I fell in love. They were incredibly dry, like Weetabix, and just the way I like it. I was touched that she never forgot that and brought me not one, nor two, but four packs of that lovely stuff. I resolved to ration this stash, to last me for at least a couple of months. But tough luck. She has been gone for less than a week and half of it is gone! Ah, what determination or lack thereof.

The many days of leave I took to spend with her was worth it down to the minute. It was such a good break and now I'm reeling from the many emails that greeted me when I returned to work. Already, I cannot wait to visit her in Mauritius. I also cannot wait to try the recipes in the cookbook her mum got for me! Stella! Wait for me! I will be there one day!

A Hiatus Haiku

She's in Singapore,

And I've taken a week's leave!

Need I explain more?

Online Green Grocers

Some time back, Chubby Hubby had posted a shout-out calling for people who wanted to be the first to try new things in the food scene. I didn't even have time to think before I found myself composing an email to him voluntering myself for it.

Then last month, I received a very exciting email followed by 3 $50 vouchers to spend at Greengrocer. Within minutes of opening my mail, I went online to browse through the online grocery store. And within seconds, I was sending the link to a couple of my closer friends who would understand that I get easily excited by good quality tinned crabmeat (think of all the effort and time saved), fresh oysters, frozen scallops (I know, I know, but where else for the good stuff with roe?), veal bones, lamb shoulder...... you get the drift.


As there was a $30 delivery charge for purchases below $150, I had to use up all the credits at once. So I planned for a big, indulgent dinner and what better day than my dad's birthday? Being a big fan of seafood and red meat, choosing what to buy for my dad should have been pretty easy but it wasn't as there was too much variety!

One of the easier choices though was the oyster. I went straight for the largest - 105mm, which was really huge. I forgot that I had greedily ordered 2 dozen, so when the package arrived with ice-packs and all, I had to struggle for a while, making space in the fridge and making sure every single one of them fit into the chiller.

I bought an oyster knife from pantry magic just for the occasion, did my fair bit of research on the best way to shuck an oyster, then passed on the knowledge AND the oyster knife to my brother to work through all 24 oysters. So that part was easy.

Initially, he took a fair amount of time shucking just one oyster but slowly got the hang of it and managed the rest with little mess. He got increasingly excited the quicker he pried open each oyster, declaring that we had to have an oyster party just for the cousins whom we could picture enjoying every minute shucking the oysters to unveil each glorious jewel.

I had planned for the oysters to be done 4 ways. One was served neat, with nothing but its own creamy juices and the taste of the sea. Two were served with lime granita, that was time consuming but incredibly easy to make and yielded amazing results. I got this idea from Anderson Ho's Menu Degustation and it has officially become my favourite way of eating fresh oysters.

The ultimate for me used to be a Virgin Mary Oyster Shooter (pictured above in foreground) - a combination of tomato juice, tabasco sauce, worcesterchire sauce, lemon juice and salt. But the Kalamansi lime granita was sweet, tangy and tres refreshing. When paired with the plump, creamy oyster, it was a wonderful harmony of flavours and textures.

I decided to have deep-fried oysters as well, even though I'm usually averse to deep-frying, not just because it makes my entire kitchen slippery as hell, but also because it wastes a ton of oil. But I decided I need more diversity and smoking my own oysters would have to be a whole new project for another time. Flipping through The Cook's Book, I spotted a Japanese Beer Batter from Hisayuki Takeuchui, that looked perfect for the job. The recipe was for prawn tempura, but it looked like it could be easily used for oysters too. The batter was simple enough and just needed a Japanese beer, such as Asahi, an egg and a little sifted flour.

My brother, not a big fan of raw oysters, understandably enjoyed this the most. I sprinkled a little of Tetsuya's Truffle Salt that I got from Culina after comtemplating using matcha salt instead. The oysters were cooked just long enough to still be soft under the light and crisp batter. I didn't need to time the deep-frying as once the batter started to brown, the oysters were just about done. It did not shrivel down into miniscule pieces of overcooked oysters encased in a crisp brown shell, and instead remained succulent beneath the fried batter where there was a perceptible presence of fermentation and yeast.

Although you think I would have learnt my lesson by now, after the many dinners I've hosted, I still have plenty of room for improvement when it comes to planning for them. For example, I had not decided what the exact menu would be on the day of the dinner itself. I just knew my fridge was well stocked with exciting ingredients for me to play around with.

One of which was the tinned crabmeat. Okay, I can already hear some of you muttering words of disagreement. How could I even stoop so low as to resort to canned crabmeat? That'd be like saying that canned salmon is as good as the real stuff. But have you ever tried killing your own crab, steaming it and extracting the flesh? It takes too much time, effort and needs more than a pair of hands. Plus, I NEEDED to spend that $150 at GreenGrocer anyway.

When the crab cakes were put together in a flash and left to sit in the fridge until it was ready to be deep-fried and served, I couldn't stop patting myself on the back for the decision well made. The crabmeat may not have been the freshest, but these were decent looking chunks of crab claw meat that were sufficient for the crabcakes.

I referred to Chubby Hubby's recent post on crab cakes, for the recipe by Teage Ezard in Lotus. It was a sound recipe, except I made extra-large ones for each of us and dipped them in flour, egg and panko crumbs before deep-frying for that extra crunch. He was right when he said that they compact and firm like Thai Fishcakes. I would actually prefer something more fluffy and may tweak the recipe a little in future. Still, served with an avocado sauce made from avocado puree, yogurt and lemon juice, the huge crab cakes were very satisfying.

I served the crab cakes with a pair of scallops. One was simply wrapped in bacon before being pan-fried, while the other was seared and placed on a spoonful of homemade onion jam. Scallops are probably the simplest dishes to prepare, easy to perfect with just some careful watching over. Now if only we could get some proper, fresh scallops. A colleague shared with me how she tried fresh scallops at a discreet Japanese eatery at one of the coasts along Australia (Melbourne?) and never looked back.

The last exciting item of the day was the wagyu beef, cubed. When I saw the beautiful marbling I was enthralled and couldn't stop thinking of what to do with it. The fastest way, of course, to find for a recipe involving any random ingredient you have, is to search for it on the internet. For this, I always consult Epicurious not just because it is easy to navigate but also because they have priceless reviews from other users who have tried the recipe before. I can then gauge how much risk I would be taking by using the recipe.


I thought I would take advantage of their cube-shape to make baby kebabs. So the Grilled Steak Kebabs with Orange and Hoisin Glaze from Epicurious really came in handy. I simply replaced the sliced oranges with halved kumquats, and replaced the frozen orange concentrate with some simmered orange juice. The ridiculously simple marinade complemented the deliciously fatty beef cubes and the wonderful meaty smell hung in the air long after dinner. Reminiscing about that smell, I think it's something I actually wouldn't mind having in my home all the time.


My family still talks about THOSE oysters. They were tremendously good and unbelievably reasonable, so much so that we're thinking of getting another batch to share with our relatives for Christmas. And for that, I doubt $150 worth of oysters would be sufficient. My cousins will definitely have a ball of a time shucking their own oysters. The only problem is that they don't deliver on weekends, so if our Christmas gathering falls on a weekend I'm going to have to figure out how to stuff 100 oysters into my tiny fridge and keep them alive for 2 whole days!

Lime Granita

Adapted from Anderson Ho's Menu Degustation

Ingredients

150ml water

75g sugar

150ml Kalamansi Lime Juice

Method

Add sugar to boiling water and stir until sugar dissolves then leave to cool to room temperature.

Add 150ml of sugar syrup to lime juice, stir and pour into a shallow dish (I used a shallow Pyrex glass dish).

Place in freezer, scraping the surface every hour until a homogeneously fluffy consistency is achieved. (Allow at least 3 rounds of fluffing for best results)

Nothing like Granny's food

I just came back from Muar, having met up with a couple of old University friends from Malaysia. One of them, a Kuala Lumpur-ian, made a comment that stuck with me - that home-cooked food tastes the best.

Okay it was something to a similar extent. I think. Or maybe it was something I conjured up in my memory because I too, crave for home-cooked food when I've been deprived of it for too long.

Thankfully while studying overseas, I had one of the best room-buddies one could ever wish for. She was a neat freak, and most importantly as insane about eating, cooking and baking as I was. But while we cooked almost every meal we had there, we both still missed home-cooking because it cannot be defined by anything other than from the only home we know - hers in Mauritius and mine in Singapore.

Every summer vacation back home would be jam-packed with plenty of home-cooked food. I always looked forward to being stuffed to the tip of my head with food lovingly cooked by my mum and my grandma, the two pinnacles of home-cooking in my books. However, and perhaps rather oddly, there is another home whose cooking also makes my mouth water, with a fair amount of envy as well.

Back at the age when I just started picking up tennis, and of course also started taking on darker shades of chocolate, when I never had to worry about my waistline, a girlfriend welcomed me into her home for some exam revision (ah those were the days) and some simple grub.

It was really simple grub. A big pot of thick chicken curry and another even bigger pot of ultra-fine fried beehoon. It was really gorgeous watching the beehoon simply collapse under the delicious weight of the curry, and finally slurping down the tender, moistened noodles. The initially dry and stringy noodles was evidently never meant for any other purpose than to soak up the curry.

The liquid gold was thick, aromatic and truly yummy with just the right balance of curry spices with fresh coconut. I am somewhat averse to coconut milk, especially that which comes out of the packet. The flavour is too overwhelming for me. The curry however was thickened only slightly, and only at the end of the entire cooking process, by the first press of fresh coconut. That, the grandma said, was the secret to thickening the curry without overpowering the dish with coconut.

Her grandma is very old school and, like many other grannies, could not give me an precise recipe for the chicken curry. But something along the lines of 2 whole chickens, 2 bags of fresh coconut flesh, 1 small packet of marigold milk, some chicken curry spice bought from the wet market, a couple of potatoes, and some homemade chilli paste made from fresh chillies, dried chillies, shallots and garlic.

Not surprisingly, my attempt at it was not up to par. Thankfully, I have an open invitation to her place as long as I give some prior warning. Her granny often asks, "When is your 'dark friend' coming over for curry chicken and beehoon?" I don't think any amount of Olay will save me.

Just a couple of months ago, I had to drop all my work responsibilities to attend a two and a half month long (but I say short) course. Since I started work but less than 8 weeks before that, I did not have very much to handover. In fact, the person I was supposed to replace had not even left!

Through the course, I met 60 other new faces I struggled to remember, chinese names I fumbled over, and personalities which kept me constantly amused. By circumstance, providence or confluence of passion, I gravitated towards an endearing handful who gained my respect and love by the end of the course.

Ever since it ended, we have not had much time to meet up again but I was determined to keep in touch with them. And so, I resorted to my usual tactic, and called for a potluck (surprise, surprise). Although I was a little worried that they would end up bringing chips or Mac's nuggets, thankfully I managed to charm (read:coerce) most of them into hands-on work.



SS had been reluctant right from the beginning, giving me countless warnings of food poisoning should she bring anything home-cooked. And so she opted for something that would require little cooking, volunteering to bring a salad. For some reason, I had images of leafy greens, or more specifically peppery rocket and frisee, tossed in a light vinaigrette, floating around in my head.

So you can imagine my delightful surprise when she upped that and instead brought empty shells of avocado skins, with a container full of soft and creamy chopped avocado, perfectly fresh peeled prawns, mixed with chopped mango and little sacs of grapefruit. To serve, she simply scooped generous portions of her personal concoction of avocado 'salsa' into the avocado shells, and placed a few folds of smoked salmon with dill on the side.

It was simple, but she let the ingredients speak for themselves. And speak they did, or more like sing. No drizzle of anything, no touch of what-nots, just pure flavours and a combination of textures. It was lovely, and absolutely touching. Her dish, like her, had both form and content.

To cater to the guys in the group, I made sure someone brought meat. YC initially suggested preparing his 'Lazy Man's Chicken', but while I fully appreciated that he did not cop out by buying roast chicken from a nearby hawker centre for the potluck, I was concerned that the chinese-style cooking would not meld with the rest of the dishes. And although I would like to believe that I managed to exercise my irresistable charm to change his mind, we all know that guys are a little more thick-headed and would need something less like a nudge and more like a shove.

In fact, I had to provide him with another recipe, buy the other ingredients, and instruct him to 'just buy chicken and come over early'. The end result was Chicken with Black-Pepper Maple Sauce that was served in a teapot for self-service. It may not have been termed Lazy Man's Chicken, but I thought it was surely lazy enough. And although there were a few kinks here and there, things worked out with a little improvisation (I henceforth love butter and emulsification) and the sauce was delicious - smooth, sweet and savoury. I helped to prepare some roasted baby potatoes to go with the chicken, but unfortunately roasted them too far in advance. Instead of biting into crisp, brown skins perfumed by sage, we ended up with potatoes a little too tough for anyone's liking.

I still remember one of my first few encounters with D. He was one of the first few who I discovered also shared my joy in entertaining, and eagerness to learn more about food. Always humble and sincere, he even shared his choice of recipe with me and his friend before proceeding with it. The recipe came from Epicurious.com, with a rating of 4 forks no less, and I could not wait to taste it!


He requested for heavy 'supervision', but actually needed little. And at the end of the night, with some help from the rest, the capellini was really worth every ounce of effort in it. Most of the effort went into measuring and chopping though, and is definitely not tedious. It is however, not something you could prepare on a whim though, unless perhaps you have a secret stash of vodka that you keep replenished, a packet of cream you keep for days you crave for hot chocolate (not the wimpy kind of course), and a herb garden with an everlasting supply of dill.


While some would have preferred thicker pastas like linguine or spaghetti, I enjoyed the dainty strands of angelhair. Something about its fragility, making it a challenge to prepare, and all the more precious.





For dessert, PL had planned to whip up his signature dish- cheesecake. He is a Korean Food Junkie, but in his path towards greater wisdom in the USA, he also mastered cheesecake. Of course, what impresses me most is the fact that he once made his own Kim Chi before, and that shall be a story for another day.

But the photo above gives away the fact that this story ends with him being unable to find time to prepare the said cheesecake, opting to bring ice cream instead. The redeeming factor is that he brought most of us our first taste of Daily Scoop ice cream (can't blame us since they are really situated in ulu-ulu-land). Lychee Martini and Durian-Durian were rich with little chunky surprises of lychee and durian respectively.

And of course, I would not organise a potluck without contributing anything myself. I spent a fair amount of time thinking of what else I could contribute to complement the rest of the dishes, and finally decided upon clams. It was light, fun to eat and very importantly as well, able to be prepared on demand easily. A slight touch of luxury was from saffron, of which only a pinch sufficed for an entire 2kg worth of clams.

I discovered however, that washing clams takes alot more than a few rinses under the water. Soaking in salt water is supposed to help, and I'll be keeping that in mind next time I prepare these again. How could I not, after watching my parents slurp up all the clams and saffron-tomato broth that I served them for supper?

My last guest, P, brought a bottle of red wine. But she also brought along her vivacious laughter and stories that kept everyone else entertained through the night. When the night came to a close, I was knackered but in a good way. Is there any better way to re-establish relationships than over food? I think not!

Home-cooked food

Before I started working, I certainly wondered if I would have the time and energy after work to cook an entire dinner for my family. I had some serious doubts, as previous internship experiences left me rather drained even though I was able to leave on the dot at 6pm. Now, I'm starting to think that it's not really that difficult to do.

While I am willing to eat pretty much anything when I'm alone (and some of the really odd things that I've conjured up for myself is pretty ghastly), I try not to put family to that same kind of treatment. I thought this would mean cooking big, yummy dishes. Putting together fresh ingredients to produce yummy food is a given, but these home-cooked-after-work sort of meals aren't necessarily big-big. It could be a one-bowl meal like porridge or fried noodles with all your leftovers. But with a grocery store or bakery along the way home, all the better since I can get some fresh ingredients as well.

Just the other day, I had some time to pop by Cold Storage and decided to grab some chicken drumsticks and lettuce. I then stopped by Da Paolo's Gastronomia for a loaf of soft country bread before heading home. It was just my dad and I and the meal was put together in a flash. After I quickly marinated the chicken in a cumin-and-tumeric-heavy spice blend, I browned them over medium heat and threw them all into the oven to roast. I washed the salad, prepared the dressing, sliced the bread and before I knew it, the chicken was ready.

The meal wasn't big, and I didn't spend too much time on it. The bread was bought and I didn't really slave over the chicken. I don't know about others out there, but I usually have the problem of determining if the chicken is cooked all the way through, or if it is still a little bloody inside. I personally don't have an issue with a little blood, but I know some people cringe at that sight. But all that was resolved when I finally invested in a meat thermometer. It's one of those things you can poke into the thickest part of the meat to check the internal temperature. I then followed a meat-doneness guide rather like this, and waited for the chicken to reach the appropriate temperature.

Everything wasn't fancy, unless you count using a very cute artist's palette-shaped platter. And it certainly felt good, sitting beside my dad savouring every morsel of food. The bread was super soft and tasty by itself. With some olive oil and vinegar, I was transported to beautiful pink fluffy clouds of cotton candy - which is just my way of saying it was damn good.

I think I could do this more often, cooking at home that is. Cooking really doesn't have to be complicated at all.

Over and done under 10 Minutes

In ten minutes, what I took many months thinking about, was over and done with. Up to now, I still walk around thinking I still have a full head of hair, until I catch my odd and unfamiliar reflection in the mirror or habitually raise my hand to stroke my ponytail.

The night before:
I thought I would be too excited/nervous/horrified/regretful to sleep, but I was too worn out from a great dinner party at my place that I just collapsed into deep, deep slumber.

The morning:
I woke up at 9, remembering that I was to meet Fel for 'The Last Brunch'. We headed to Marmalade Pantry to catch some Mushroom and Spinach Tart. I still felt like this was any other Sunday. I stopped by the Thai Festival at the Thai Embassy, bought a dress and was on my way. I didn't want to be late, but I certainly wasn't rushing to shave my head.

At Novena:
The gravity of the deed dawned on me and hit me hard.

I saw many clean shaven heads walking around me, with a few women among them too. Phew, I wasn't alone. Oh dear, that's how little hair they're leaving behind?

I queue up, register, change into my 'Hair For Hope' T-shirt. Shucks, I should have taken the 'S', but I'm almost always an M or an L. Let me fold up my sleeves, at least I'll look better.

I walk out and see Fel there, waiting for me with a camera in hand. "Last photo before you shave!" Oh dear, so it is.

I start queueing to shave and realise my friends and family aren't here yet. I stand around and wait, meanwhile I try to look down, pretending to look for something in my bag as I tear a little. Why are there tears?

My grandma comes and excitedly gives me a hug, introduces me to a friend of hers and wishes me good luck. Soon, everyone is here and there's no other reason for me to delay. I walk up the stage and my heart suddenly quickens double speed. Badaboom, badaboom, badaboombadaboombadaboom.

I sit down, feel the shaver contact my scalp and immediately, tears stream down my face as I sheepishly smile and wipe them away. I try not to think about it, close my eyes and think about how the little ones must feel. How this is kind of loss is nowhere near what they have to go through.

I finally stop crying and realise how many cameras are on the shavees. A couple of strangers were even taking a video of my entire process and I wonder if I could collect some royalty fees for that if they post it up online. My hair'stylist' gives me a rub on my head and tells me I'm done. But I know my ponytail is still left. I give a nervous laughter and tell him he's 'siao'.

When it is finally done, the tears have dried up and my friends shower me with words of encouragement. Photo after photo was taken and I got a shock when I saw my photo on the camera viewer.

It definitely takes a little getting used to, and I still feel as if my hair is still there. But it definitely feels a little cooler, my hair dries super quick, very little shampoo is needed (or should I be using shower gel?) and I can't wait for it to grow out so that I can try funky hairstyles.

Of course, more crucially, I managed to raise about $4000 (at last count) in total. And I hope the little ones feel the support everyone is giving them.

In Oscar Awards Ceremony style, I'd like to thank everyone for being so generous with their donations and encouragement. For those who would still like to donate, the online donation website is still up. Just search for Daphne Yuan and donate via your credit card. OR, contact me at amoebamoron@gmail.com to arrange to donate through other means. I'll be keeping my pledge card till 14 July 2007!

This is for you, Duckie

We visited my great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, great-grandfather, grandpa and Uncle Fred today. It was certainly an adventure and I find it amazing how my grandmother (at 81 years of age) remembers each block and unit number so clearly. Incidentally (or not), it was my grandfather's birthday as well. He was born exactly 83 years ago today.


Uncle Fred, passed on 22 years ago on the 13th August. 2 days before my favourite cousin - Freda - was born. This would of course, explain her name. His full name was Fred Yuen Yew Wai, and she is Freda Yuin Yu Wei. I love how her name is steeped deep in family history (my own name is very much less glamourous), and how fate had blessed our family with her birth so shortly after an unfortunate incident.


Freda, whom I affectionately call my little own Duckie, is now in Korea living out her dreams. Her journey there has been miraculous, though not without its obstacles. I can't help beaming with pride everytime I talk about her to my friends. I have a little photo of the both of us that I carry around with me everyday. I miss you, and I'll see you at Christmas!


Love,
Your Cousin

Post-CNY

Chinese New Year is long over, but my CNY decorations are still up. I've had little time to do any proper cleaning up and tidying. The past week was tough to get through as I was down with a mean bug but still had to trudge to work. It wasn't even because I had downright evil bosses. On the contrary, they were extremely sympathetic. But I had a report to submit and a responsibility that I should not shirk from.

Thankfully though, I have a grandma who is merely a S$2.80 cab ride away from work, who would wrap me up in her many quilts and blankets, and have a bowl of warm unsweetened oats ready for me after my short nap. Ah, bliss. Bliss is also being able to rest through the entire weekend to rest and fully recuperate.

To celebrate my recovery, and break my weeklong diet of soft foods, I decided to pull out a precious stash of potstickers from the freezer. This was something that I made during one of the CNY dinners for a couple of my dad's longtime friends, alongside a couple of other Chinese dishes. As I had planned to make a ton of these, just making the potstickers alone took up a good couple of hours even using my pasta maker to trim some preparation time off.

You could say I've come very far when it comes to potstickers. The first time I tried making potstickers, I was in UK and sorely missing chinese food. I then made it again for 'Operation Stella', but with little (or no) improvement because when in UK, any kind of dumpling is better than none at all. Plus, I knew that my dear friends PJ, Fel and Stella weren't going to regurgitate the potstickers and denounce our friendship even if I had really made some really inedible ones.

But when back home, and when satiating a potsticker craving is as easy as taking a trip into Chinatown, it isn't enough to make them from scratch and have them look 'a little like' potstickers and taste 'something like' potstickers. They damn well better please the eye and the palate as the real thing. And who else to seek advice from than from one of the masters of perfection herself, J. She doesn't always post up recipes, but when she does, one can rest assured that every single step is accounted for. My experience when following her advice for making macarons is surely proof in itself.

While putting my absolute trust in her recipes and advice, I still had to put the first few potstickers I folded to the test. Most importantly, for my parents to give the go ahead. Thankfully I did so as the potstickers benefitted from a finer, more delicate skin as they would thicken slightly upon cooking.

And I just couldn't resist creating a variation of a potsticker using some crinkle cookie-cutters. Placing a mound of filling in the middle of the cut-out dough, I folded the skin into half, encasing the filling and pressed the edges together, making sure that the crinkles matched. I then pulled the two tips of the semi-circle together and pressed them together to make a dumpling that resembles a baby's bonnet. Cooking method and timing do not differ.

Nouvelle Lo Hei

Lo Hei has evolved over the years since the first time I was allowed to hold a pair of chopsticks and join in the vertical aerobics over a big dish of raw vegetables and fish. Now, the fish used may be raw salmon, or even smoked salmon. Lo Hei condiments are now also sold in a variety of packaging, even bringing in Thai influences that smelt heavily of fish sauce. And the icing on the cake for me this year was how we did our Lo Hei on the marble table top instead.

My father suggested it, then proceeded to scrub, rinse and wipe the table top so that it'd be impeccably clean to eat from. While initial responses included shock, horror and disgust, everyone started to embrace the idea and have fun arranging the ingredients on the table once it was declared sane to eat from.

And for prosperity, happiness, and pure superstition, we shaped it all into a figure of eight.

Then the aerobic exercise commenced alongside random, well-wishes for the new year ahead.

Why it is better to have a daughter and not a son.

The day before the Chinese Lunar New Year, my family usually has a gathering for all the sons (and their families) of the Yuen family to reunite for a simple dinner. This year, it was decided that it would be at our home, and that it would be a potluck (phew!). Everyone was really obedient and brought at least a dish each. Of course, it was still my grandma who prepared the most to bring over.

However, even though work was considerably lessened for my family since it was a potluck, there was still a ton of work to be done. My mother was the first to wake up to begin the day's preparation, followed by me. So while we cut, chopped, marinated, washed, heated, sliced, roasted, stir-fried, cleaned up, organised, re-arranged, soaped, rinsed, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (seriously, there has to be alot of etceteras here to justify the work)......, The Son and The Father slept.

And at 1pm, the son finally opened his golden eyelids. After waffling around the home for a little, walking past things that were lying around and waiting to be put back into its rightful place, he decided to direct his golden eyes on the computer monitor and lay his jade fingers onto the keyboard.

Soon after, he used his majestic voicebox to ask the imperial question, 'Is there anything to eat?'

Within a matter of minutes, The Banquet was set up and His Majesty aka The Father, was gently nudged awake. He then moved to the table, sloth-like, and ceremoniously plonked himself down at the head of the table, waiting for his humble servants to bring his bowl of grub. The Crown Prince aka The Son again used his golden voice box to ask 'No meat ah?' Of course, his humble servants pointed out that there was some ham in the omelette and that he may help himself to all of it if he so wishes.


I guess His Majesty must have felt a little guilty, because later on he decided to help his servants clean up the palace for the rest of the day. But of course, The Son resumed fighting armies of demons and monsters on his computer until the guests arrived.


What happened during the Reunion Dinner shouldn't be too hard to guess, but that shall be a story for another day.

Tres Simple Chicken

Ever since my graduation from Warwick, I've been in and out of jobs, that is until last Monday. It was the first day of the rest of my life (or at least the next 6 years), and while a little nerve-wrecking, it turns out that I had absolutely nothing to worry about. I haven't done much so far, but I can just sense that it is going to be really fulfilling. There's so much I want to be involved in and so much I want to help change, that I'm actually really excited to get down to work proper.

Anyway, the great thing about this job, compared to all the previous jobs, is that I have normal fixed working hours. While working in the service industry, my working hours had been totally social life unfriendly, and had screwed up my body clock. Now, back to the 9-to-5 (or rather 830-to-6) work-day, I've had plenty of work-life balance and time to meet up with friends after work.

Determined to do even better than that, I planned a small little teeny weeny gathering for my Warwick friends, that I planned to host at my place together with Fel. The menu was simple. Just four courses, of which the dessert was to be prepared the day before.

But who would have known that I would forget to bring my key that day, have to wait for my brother to reach home after work, leaving us only an hour to prepare the other three courses?

What really saved the day was the fact that I had chosen one of Jamie Oliver's recipes for the main course. Anyone who has cooked from Jamie's Cookbook would know that his recipes are mostly fuss-free. Just toss together and bake. Or just saute all ingredients in a pan and serve.

His Roasted Chicken Breast with Cherry Tomatoes and Asparagus was precisely one of these recipes that was just toss-and-bake. I switched the breasts for thighs and drumsticks and added some thyme to the dish as well. And while Jamie's proportions or timings might be a little off at times, I'm proud to announce that his timing for the dish worked. As the chicken was roasted on top of the bed of tomatoes and asparagus, the flavours of the vegetables were able to permeate the juicy chicken. It had an understated simplicity that everyone cleaned off their plates.

Jamie saved my day by leaving Fel and I plenty of time to cook the other two courses, so keep this recipe in case you find yourself in a similarly sticky situation one day. Meanwhile, I'm going to keep an extra housekey in my wallet from now on!

Roasted Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes and Asparagus

Serves 6 as a main course.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Cook with Jamie

Ingredients

12 pieces of chicken drumsticks and thighs

24 trimmed sticks (cut into any length you desire) of asparagus

36 halved cherry tomatoes

Leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme

2 tsps dried rosemary

2 tsps sea salt

2 tsps freshly ground black pepper

Drizzle of olive oil

Balsamic vinegar (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.

Toss everything together in a bowl.

Put the vegetables onto a tray lined with aluminium foil and place the chicken on top.

Season well and cook in the middle of the oven for 25-35 minutes.

Serve drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Dinner for seven

I still amaze my mum with what else I can lug home from the Takashimaya (I should really get a Taka Loyalty Card soon) Department Store, and declare absolutely necessary for the dining table/kitchen. My most recent purchase, among many others, is a blow torch. I can FINALLY make Creme Brulees, and erm... well, I'm sure there are many more uses for it. Look here for one excellent example that I'm definitely going to try one day. Moka will just have to share some of his food with the rest of us.

But the reason I took so long to get a blow torch of my own, other than the fact that these things cost quite a bit, is that I could not think of another use for it besides Creme Brulee. But when I spotted a recipe in 'Asian Tapas: Small Bites, Big Flavours' for some Spicy Tuna Tataki Rolls, that clinched it and off to Takashimaya I went.

These rolls are so simple to make, as long as you can get someone to help you cut a 1x3x5 inch slab of tuna and slice into 1/8 inch thick pieces. Thank heavens for the kind staff at the Takashimaya Cold Storage sashimi section, or I would really have to put my slicers and skills to the test in an already stressful situation. The rest just takes some blending, spreading, rolling and for the most fun part, torching. Unfortunately I didn't manage to do the torching myself, and left it to a cousin to do while I busied myself with some other stuff. This was for a dinner for five of my relatives and my parents, which my brother and I initiated, and for which we 'recruited' our two hunky cousins who both have some interest in cooking as well.

Apart from the dessert, everything was taken from that cookbook. I took a leap of faith (after my previous bad experience) and bought the cookbook with the intention of cooking the entire dinner from it because of its Asian inspired theme. My aunts and grandma are relatively conservative Chinese with a rather reserved palate, and I realised that I had almost no 'new age' Asian cookbook that would be able to help me create the meal that I envisioned. Thankfully, my faith was not misplaced as the recipes did work.

We had prepared a few nibblers for them before the actual meal started. Arranged on a few long ceramic chopstick holders were Quails Eggs dipped in Nori Flakes, Purple Seaweed or Sancho pepper, and Garlic Macadamias and Cashews. Then to start the meal on a sweet note, we did Honey Glazed Baby Squid on Deep-fried Mantous, Honey Glazed Stuffed Chicken Wings and Honey Glazed Pumpkin Wedges. These were served with a Fresh Pomelo Salad that had bits of dried shrimp, fish sauce and lime juice as a refreshing contrast to the sweet bites.

If you think tiny baby squid are small, wait till you deep fry them and see them almost shrink into nothingness. I'll definitely try these with baby octopus instead in future. Those chubby tentacles might hold better to deep frying. One thing I appreciate about the cookbook is the step-by-step photos given for some of the more challenging recipes, like the Stuffed Chicken (Mid)Wings. Deboning those little things takes quite a fair bit of work and was really challenging for people who have never done it before. Thankfully my brother and cousin were on hand to do all the work for me. All the deboning, stuffing, wrapping, blanching and stir-frying resulted in deliciously shiny, plump morsels of heaven. If I could only purchase deboned chicken wings somewhere, I would make this all the time.

Next up, we served two rolls. A Beef Salad Roll with black sesame sauce, and the Spicy Tuna Tataki Rolls that I wrote about above. Julienned carrots and zucchinis, beansprouts and alfafa sprouts were wrapped up in slices of blanched sukiyaki beef and served with a side of tangy and nutty black sesame sauce spiked with rice wine. While I was afraid that one or two of my relatives might be put off by the raw tuna only very briefly torched on the outside, they all cleaned their plates. I would only tone down the heat in the coriander spice paste that was used in the tuna rolls in future.

The last savoury dish of Umami, Umami, Umami, brought to the table Baked Miso Threadfin, flanked by Seared Scallop and X.O. Sauce, as well as Steamed Scallop with Black Bean and Garlic Dressing. Being the easiest course to prepare, it was also the best crowd pleaser. Good quality, fresh, fat scallops did all the work for us.

Finally, I served a scoop of Mango Gelato with Coconut Macaroons to end off the meal. The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book that I borrowed from a friend has been supplying me with many reliable ice-cream recipes (this Mango Gelato being one of them), that I keep referring to it despite the lack of food porn. Food porn is usually what keeps me looking through a cookbook, making me think 'Wao, if I could just follow this recipe, I can create something so beautiful!'. Of course, cookbook writers, food stylists and food photographers know that and exploit this nugget of knowledge to no end while people like me get constantly sucked into illusions of hope. Anyway, I do intend to get the Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book for myself soon.

After the whole dinner, my cousins and brother were utterly spent. They spent the whole afternoon and evening, right through the dinner, frying, mixing, chopping, blending, peeling, simmering, slicing, torching and serving. But they were all extremely good sports and complaining only a little. Fortunately I had prepared more food than was necessary, in order to feed the three hungry chefs in the kitchen to keep them alive till the next course they had to serve. That saved me the trouble of making a quick pasta dish just for them.

Perhaps the most eventful part of the whole experience was when I left them to their own devices after I told them to deep fry the baby squid. Check out the manly oven gloves as well.

The Ultimate Meat Platter

I remember a time not so very long ago, when I abstained from meat in my obsession to lose a little weight. Sure, I might not be in ideal shape now, but I'm never going back to avoiding meat ever again. How could I resist something as divine as a simple piece of grilled steak?

Last night, after dinner plans with a friend were cancelled at the eleventh hour, I decided to head home straight from town and cook a proper meal for my family. Somehow, we seldom dine together because of their irregular working hours and much less dine together at home unless I make the effort to get everyone together. By some stroke of luck, every single one of them (I make it sound like I have an army of a family when there are actually only four of us) was at home.

I needed something quick since I was expecting to arrive home a little tardy, but it had to be greatly satisfying. And I badly wanted to break in my cast-iron grillpan with a foldable handle (poke me and I can even give you the reference number of the item). I knew that if I created a dinner of meat, meat and more meat, I would not only make my father and brother happy (not to say that my mum doesn't have her carnivorous side as well), I would also be able to get my brother in on the action without a problem. I saw how his face lit up when I showed him the grillpan and remember how he talked endlessly about creating the perfect piece of grilled steak.

So a huge Meat Platter it was. Four pieces of Pork Loin (marinated in homemade barbeque sauce and grilled), 2 pieces of Beef Striploin (grilled neat, just salt and pepper), 4 Chicken Drumsticks (marinated with island spice, honey and olive oil, seared and roasted) and 2 thick 'Chorizo Sausages' (just sizzled on a pan and sliced up into chunks). Our dinner was huge, especially if you count the cold egg tofu with red lumpfish caviar, and baked mini portobello mushrooms with black truffles, that my brother and I prepared as appetisers. Plus, the slices of multi-grain bread with tomato chilli jam, and my mum's yearly (leftover) Turkey Vegetable Soup.

But the night's gorging was all worth it. The barbeque sauce with cocoa, made using a recipe that I had gotten from one of my long forgotten cookbooks, was well received. As a marinade or as a dip, it is intense and assaults every single one of your tastebuds mercilessly, and is (yet again) amazingly easy to put together. The whole chunks of garlic that were crushed and added to the sauce were delicious straight out of the sauce, and even more so after a little caramelising on a pan until it has attained an almost crispy exterior that gives way to tender flesh.

My brother was in charge of the grilling of the beef and pork loins, naturally. And he treated his meats with utmost gravity. The striploins were dutifully rotated forty five degrees at a quarter of the cooking time, flipped at half-time and rotated again just over 1 minute before they were done (total cooking time was 5 minutes for medium rare, the way my entire family likes it). The pork loins required a slightly longer cooking time and were done to perfection, even though it was his first time. With just a slight blush of pink on the inside, the loins were still moist - better than what I've tried at some restaurants.

Needless to say, my brother was a picture of pride at the dinner table as he sliced into the beef and revealed the textbook example of what medium rare beef should look like. And to my horror, we finished every last piece of meat there was to have on the platters. But to hear my father, the picky eater of the family, sing nothing but praises of the meal, now that was rare. Alas, the way to a man's heart is actually through the Ultimate Meat Platter.

Barbeque Sauce with Cocoa

Enough for 2 kg of meat

Ingredients

4 tbsp cocoa powder, 200ml red wine vinegar, 200 g tomato puree, 8 tbspn honey, 2 tbspn olive oil, 10 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed, chilli powder to taste, 1 tbspn dried oregano, 2 tbspn soy sauce, salt and sugar to taste

Method

Dissolve the cocoa in the vinegar and place in a pan with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring, for 20 minutes.

Use it to marinate (marinating time = 2- 24 hours), as a baste for barbecueing or simply as a dipping sauce for barbecued meat or vegetables.

Cinnamon and Orange Mini Pavlovas with (Straw)berries

I recently invited a few of my old Junior College friends ( has it been that long ago already?) over to my place for a potluck, with a red-and-white theme (our school colours) and a restriction that all contributions should start with either 'N', 'J' or 'C'.

Although very few of them brought home-cooked food (only 2), the gathering was still a blast. We had Noodles (home-cooked!), Chocolate truffles (home-made!), Nuggets, Cold drinks (that's pushing it a little too far, but what the heck), Chicken, Japanese food, Curry puffs and Chicken pies. Most importantly, we had many hilarious conversations about desperate men, overseas life, kobe beef and god-knows-what-but-it-was-damn-funny.

My little contribution at the end of the meal were these mini pavlovas that just called out to be eaten. They were extremely delicate and it was very comical watching the guys trying to be gentle with them. I had picked this recipe out from one of the Murdoch range of cookbooks - Sweet Food, a gift from a dear friend who knew I would need a quick dessert recipe sooner or later. These were ultra easy, to the point of my kitchen helpers asking me, 'That's it?'

Even without blueberries or raspberries, they tasted great. Melt-in-your mouth pavlovas with a little sweetened whipped cream and a few cubes of tart strawberry make great (and most importantly easy to make) finger food. As you can see from the above photo, this is a dessert even dummies can put together ;p Only the baking can be a little time consuming, and whipped cream doesn't stay whipped for long in humid weather, so don't let your desserts sit for too long and dress them only just before serving.

Cinnamon Orange Mini Pavlovas with Berries

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 egg whites

125g (1/2 cup) caster sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp finely grated orange zest

3 tsp cornflour

1 tsp white vinegar

125 ml whipping cream

fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)

Method

Beat egg whites with electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition.

Beat for 4-5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved and meringue is thick and glossy.

Gently fold in cinnamon, orange zest, cornflour and vinegar.

Place 2 tbspns (or tsps, depending on the size you want, they don't puff up much after baking) of mixture onto a baking paper lined baking tray and hollow out each centre to make nest shapes.

Bake for 10 minutes in a 140 degrees celcius preheated oven, turn tray around and bake for another 30-35 minutes or until the pavlovas are pale and crisp.

Turn oven off and leave to cool completely with door slightly ajar (pavlovas may crack slightly)

Whip the cream (add a little sugar to this as well) and spoon a little into each pavlova.

Top with berries and serve immediately.

Parlez Vous Francais?

When I found out that Germaine, a good friend from Warwick, had just returned from UK, I was overjoyed. We had not seen each other in ages and she is one of the purest girls I know with the sincerest of hearts. She has truly been a blessing to know and to be with. So I eagerly invited her for a simple wholesome lunch.

The only problem was that I had not had the time to look for the recipes until the morning itself. That's when I panicked, faced with a whole bookshelf of cookbooks to pick from and no clue where to start. I looked to Neil Perry for inspiration but had no time to read through his recipes without help from some eye-stopping food porn. I browsed through a whole slew of other cooks before finally spotting Raymond Blanc's book called Foolproof French Cookery.

With just 3 hours left till Germaine was due to arrive, and little fresh ingredients at hand, it was perfect for my menu planning. The recipes (each with an accompanying photo) looked simple to prepare, chic yet not over done, and even had very helpful preparation time estimates. All that gave me time to to my spot of grocery shopping at the wet market and head back to do all the cooking, in time for her arrival.

In the end, I served us some fuss-free and seriously foolproof french onion soup (above), poached asparagus with homemade mayonnaise, followed by salmon, prawn and sweet potato with a fresh cherry sauce. Duck breasts were recommended but were replaced with the seafood since I could not get any duck breasts in time. Pan-fried exactly like how the duck was meant to be prepared, I felt they made a good substitute. This cherry sauce was a cinch to make and uber satisfying, and I can't wait to try them with duck next time.

Cherry Sauce

Adapted from Raymond Blanc's Foolproof French Cookery

For 4 servings

Ingredients

300g fresh cherries, stoned

100ml chicken stock

1 tbspn sugar

2 pinches of ground cinnamon

3/4 to 1 tbspn all purpose flour

sea salt and black pepper

Method

Boil cherries in chicken stock.

Add sugar and cinnamon, and then simmer until cherries soften.

Remove from heat, remove cherries and whisk 3/4 tbspn flour into cherry sauce.

Return to heat and whisk vigorously until thickened (add more flour if necessary).

Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper (or sugar).

Return cherries to sauce and spoon over salmon or duck breasts.