my hotel sister and her estaminet

Monday, December 22, 2008

Do cows produce milk even when they are not pregnant, as opposed to humans? If that is the case, how do the wild cows release the milk in them? Because if it stays too long the milk will curdle or clot (i forgot), creating this immense pain. And there are no cowkeepers to milk them, or any calves.

Just curious.

5:13 PM

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Long long time since i was here.

Lost touch with friends who are either busy working or studying.
Lost in the future where i am still in a dilemma, work and life wise.
Lost in the present where thoughts always seem to push their way back in.
Lost in the budget which is shrinking day by day.
Lost by myself where everyone is doing their own thing everywhere.

11:36 PM

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Taiwan Trip - Day 1

View from the seat in JetStar.

Seat Companion for the whole trip.

Cloud Squishies! At every level of ascend we make, different form of clouds appear reminding me of what i learnt in Primary 4 - Columbus Clouds etc.. (But still does not aid in life i guess.)

I once dreamt the plane wing caught fire and fell off.

His mind: Sports sports soccer soccer.

The lady basically was shouting, "HOTELS HOTELS. COME QUICK BUS IS LEAVING NOW. Rather impatiently, she gestured us over and answered our questions adequately but service was not there. (Not a complain queen, but hey i'm Singaporean AND a hospitality graduate. Hee.)

I found it cute that they issued baggage tags for us. Like a mini plane service!

So, began our one hour ride to the hotel. Which to our lack of knowledge, was split into two. Upon stopping, the bus attendant was sort of asking us to get down, but as it was in front of the Freego counter and in the middle of nowhere only a number followed him. Later on he kept on coming back and spoke exasperatedly, "Why is no one getting down? You understand Mandarin right? Go down!!" I felt sorry for the Japanese tourists who were mistaken for Chinese.

I realised that i did not take a photo of the hotel we were staying at - Rainbow Hotel. =/ Upon checking in, we stopped by one of the many eateries along the hotel at Xi Men Ding. Cute Fried Rice shaped in a bowl.

Famous Oyster Omelette, chewy to no end with the sauce not overly sweet or tangy.

Some noodle dish that we ordered randomly on the food list. Just soup and noodles.

Hordes of these in Taiwan! We tried playing in one shop on one of the days, and though about 95% of the time the metal hook managed to grab onto something, the upward jerk motion always caused the object to drop back down. =( And the items were pretty cool too.

Donuts from Dunkin' Donuts! About SGD1.35.

Chewy, nice, no oil taste, =).

More more more!

Another famous street stall turned clean outlet. Ah Zhong Mian Xian. Delicious! The mian xian was so cooked that you could not really feel the definition of it, which contributed to the smooth texture. They added dried Bonito flakes which enhanced the flavour. Do nod your head when they ask if you want vinegar and chilli, YUM.

Pig's organs. Chewy to even more no end ha.

He's eating up everything. =( Anyway we went to try some in Singapore and we always could taste the various mian xian strands.

Everyone standing around slurping. If this happened in Singapore, i bet someone or another would be complaining something.

Doggy looking on! There were quite a number of large dogs in Taiwan, rather than cats. All were really tame.

Here ya go. End of the first day. We reached the hotel at about 8pm? There were about 120+ TV channels in the hotel. WHOO.

10:57 PM

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

GONG XI FA CAI

Grandfather Xi Gives Finance/Money to youuu~

CNYCNYCNY. Just had a flashback of back when mIRC was still popular, and i was in my school's channel. Wanting to be cool and desiring to obtain the '+' sign indicating some operator or something, i changed my nick to XXX^cNy. An addition of those three alphabets pushed me up the ranks! Teenagers. =/

Just finished my final thesis. 'The Continuation of Travel Agencies - Why and How' A question to myself: Why did you choose this topic even though you work in a hotel???
Hope i graduate!

Anyway, had the option of working back in the kitchen or the hotel. Hmm i hope i made the right decision. Really miss the hectic times when orders just come pouring in... Hence i made my way to find some reviews and tada! Photographs taken by guests. If you were ever curious as to what i do in the kitchen, here's an insight.

Apple Puff Pastry with Vanilla Ice Cream

3. Apple puff pastry with vanilla ice cream - this was really really good. The pastry was crispy and warm and the apply filling very very nice and not too sweet. The ice cream was also good stuff 10/10. All of us loved this!!

Ha i still remember how this dish came about. We were pondering on what dessert to serve for the set lunch that week, and I was desperate for something new instead of the usual. I suggested something that was of course not that feasible, but the sous chef managed to relate it to this!

And he went off to lunch and i had to do it by myself.
Cinnamon powder
Vanilla beans
Whole vanilla pod
Calvados
Brown sugar
Walnuts
Egg yolk
Butter
And of course, torch it.

When i first tasted it, i felt like i was in heaven! The taste was so familiar yet far away. The closest i could put it was some caramel thing from Häagen-Dazs. Hmm thinking back now, i think the taste matches that of a Blondie sauce.

Choux Buns filled with Vanilla Ice Cream, Topped with Baked Almond Flakes, Drizzled with Chocolate Sauce

Do not be fooled by what 7-11 sells! Their version of choux buns have vanilla custard as fillings instead and some other weird stuff.

The bun is made from choux dough, where it poofs up while baking in the oven. If the door is opened too often or the buns are taken out too early, they simply sink back down as do a failed soufflé. I tell you, the process of cooking the dough is tiring. Have to stir, mix, whip, blah while it is placed directly above a stove. If it is too hot or anything, the dough breaks and yay you have to start a new dough all over again.

Mmmm.. 70% Valrhona chocolate.

3:02 AM

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Reality.

All of your experiences that determine how something appears to you.

Then why is it so easy to mix it up with something else?

And when will I ever learn to trust? Shows, gibberish. I mean, do they actually happen? I guess that’s why they’re made into a show to get into our hearts. Then what about reality shows and true stories?

Anyone who understands all these, please give me a call because you’re definitely far away.

2:06 AM

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Please please please let me go to Hong Kong, or somewhere.

4:47 PM

Monday, December 03, 2007

baby don't you cry i will give you very bit of love that's in my heart
i will bake it up into a simple little pie
baby don't you cry
gonna make a pie
gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
baby don't be blue
gonna make a pie with the heart in the middle
gonna make for you
gonna be a pie from heaven above
gonna be filled with strawberry love
and hold you forever in the middle of my heart
baby here's the sun
baby here's the sky
i'm your light and i'm your shelter
baby you were mine
keep you in my kitchen with me forever

Time's getting better.. But I dare not allow myself to think that it's getting better, as what goes up can only go down right? There's a peak to everything.

Being trusting is good i guess but at this age we're all still ignorant about so many things. May not go for other people. How do we know if we're supposed to be suspicious or what? =/ Perhaps the decision comes with experience, with age. =)

The heartfelt things
How i hope someone geels
Smiles
Understands
On the same plate as you
On the other side of the world?
The silly things
Maybe
Perhaps
The possibility
Only the heartfelt
Heartfelt..

I hope everyone's good. Always half full. Always half full.

12:09 AM

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

1:00 AM

Saturday, November 17, 2007

dancing bears
painted wings
things i long to remember
once a song
someone sings
once upon a december

someone holds me safe and warm
horses prancing the silver storm
figures dancing gracefully
along my memory

far away
long ago...

3:13 AM

Monday, November 12, 2007

PHOTOS GALORE, DIMSUM, POPOVER & SCONE TRYOUT

Seeing as how i have a good camera on hand now, yesterday marked the start of my snapping frenzy. Began the day, or rather closed the previous night by mumbling to my father about Victor's Kitchen, this really raved-about dimsum place in Sunshine Plaza. Yesterday morning, he refused to bring us there to eat as he wanted to go and drive his taxi for more bucks. My mum then thought about this new dimsum place just inside Prime Mart area and proposed that to him. Surprisingly he accepted seeing how bummed out i was. (cuz of my off day!) While on the road, he mentioned about the one opposite Tampines Soka Association and as it was the one he always bought home six years back we decided to go there.

Pork Buns.

Some Fried Yam thingy with Pork Cubes inside. Delish!

The all-too-familiar Siew Mai.

The usual HK style chicken.

Chicken Feet.

Prawn Dumplings.

Prawn Cheong Fun. Too bad they did not have Zha Leong (aka Chee Cheong Fun wrapped around Fried Dough Fritters).

Fried Carrot Cake.

My Hong Kong born daddy enjoying his porridge.

It was a long awaited dimsum meal, a family meal to be had. Thanks once again!

Then my mum, sister and I went to stroll through the neighbourhood shops and look what i found! I thought stumbled unto Bangkok or something. Shows that i've been cooped up in the hotel right ha.

Broccoli.

Clams. Heard that the opened ones are dead but my mum said the exact otherwise. Perhaps they were struggling for air (in their case, water), and the closed ones simply indicated the ones that gave up.

Fishes!

Produce.

Tangy Pineapples.

Alas. My dream was brought to a halt when i saw this sign.

And this view.

And this shop together with these consumers.

Singapore Singapore. Full of hidden surprises. That night i walked along Chinatown with Lu-anne, and felt totally like a tourist in my whole country.

Anyway, made Popovers!

Flour and salt.

Eggs.

Whisking eggs and milk.

Consistency.

Supposed to be filled higher. Heat the oven to 450F/240 degree Celsius, put the tray for five minutes and brush it with melted butter.

It's called a Popover because when heat is passed through the dough, methane is produced hence giving an inaudible (to me) 'popping' sound and causing a dent-like structure. But it should rise as shown.

Switch the temperature to 375F or 190 degree Celsius after fifteen minutes or so.

Tip: DO NOT open the oven door for the first twenty mintues or so of baking, lest the steam escapes and your Popovers go Sunkenunders instead.

After baking it, use a knife to slit open, or something to prick it so that air can escape and the shape can hold.

When my Popovers weren't that successful, i got grumpy! Since it's my off day i wanted to make something nice. So Scones came into the picture.

Sift flour and baking powder.

Rub butter and sugar into the flour. It's supposed to sort of crumble, and make a well, adding milk and whatnots (currants).

Knead gently, if not the dough will be useless. Sticky!

Baking in process. Brush atop with honey/egg yolk. 12-15 minutes in 400F or 200 degrees Celsius.

Ta-dah. I know it looks so much like some Chinese cookie or Lao Po Bing, but i didn't have sour cream to make the normal scones.

NOTE: All temperatures given are for the normal ovens. Unfortunately if you're like me and possess a griller-oven instead, you just have to trial and error and estimate the timing as well.

5:34 PM