OOTD: Will You Be My Valentine?
Well a belated Valentines everyone! I strongly believe that Valetines is not only for couples. When I was in high school, singles would also celebrate it as Friendship day and give each other flowers so we are never really alone. It is nice! Last year this time, I was single and we celebrated by going out for a good meal. Any reason to eat at all is good!
Valentines is a Monday and I had to work and I don't relish the thought of overcrowded restaurants so I went out the day before. My friends asked me to go out for a Sunday morning breakfast and so I did. It was decadent! To be truthful, I ate my day away literally. Morning breakfast and afternoon tea were courtesy of the friends and dinner was with the Boy. I was very stuffed when the day came to an end!
We were at Jones the Grocer for breakfast.
My best friend whom I've known for 17 years now. Shocking! 
Her adorable son, so tiny and so naughty.
This little girl ran up to him and molested him all over because he was wearing a tshirt that says "I'm Rich!"
Milk Rocky Road, a combination of marshmallows, caramel and violet crumble and milk chocolate
Valentines, not without some heart-shaped objects. These macarons are made of rose, lychee and passionfruit.
Deep fried towered egg with sauce
Thai food is not without a bowl of sweet and sour spicy Tom Yam soup
Barbecued squid with sauce
Deep fried sweet and sour Garoupa with herbsAll these food and I didn't even showed you what I ate for breakfast! A special mention to my cherry earrings which I adore and spent a long time finding. They looked very real and I have people telling me from time to time how delicious they looked hanging from my earlobes!
Review on the ASOS CURVE Exclusive Vintage Inspired Playsuit:The moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it although there are a lot of things that I saw and knew that I had to have. First of all, may I say I love jumpsuits and playsuits? They are like dresses to me - easy to wear, no mix and match required and I am really a boy trapped in a girl's body. I tend to hop and sit cross-legged a lot and dresses are sometimes too inconvenient. This playsuit has the most beautiful plethora of colours. I love the flutter sleeves, the neckline of the playsuit, the slightly ruched bodice and to top the cake, there is a lovely cutout behind the playsuit. Now in our hot summer weather, I appreciate cutouts like these to be cool and in all sense of the word, this is a perfect playsuit! When it arrived, the material was thin but I didn't feel that it is inferior because the material is meant to be thin and cooling. The floral prints are absolutely gorgeous and the bottom flares outwards so I can fit into my usual size 22 with ease. The only thing that I did wish for was for it to be
a little longer. In its current length, I cannot bend down without exposing my rump for the world to see. But other than that, perfect perfect perfect! Very true to size and a well-loved piece to pass the hottest summer days with ease.
Bowdicts for the ASOS CURVE Exclusive Vintage Inspired Playsuit:
I still gave it a full 5 bows even though I wish it was slightly longer. I think I should have expected it to be short from the pictures on the website.
Fat Aus is also rocking hers
here!
Playsuit: ASOS Curve (here)
Green Clutch: ASOS
Elastic Slip-Ons: Charles & Keith
Ring: Topshop
Cherry Earrings: Fred FlareLabels: ASOS Curve, Bowdicts, Charles and Keith, Food, Gastronomy, Hearts, Love, OOTD, Outfits, Playsuits, Reviews, Topshop, Valentines
Kuala Lumpur Getaway, The Last of 2010
I disappeared into the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia over the weekend with the Boy and we ate. Yes we ate.
My favourite mall has to be
Pavilion because it is
vast, full of goodness (read: huge Forever21, Topshop/Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Warehouse) and has a lot of uppity boutiques that I am happy to just gaze through the looking glass.
Christmas came a mite early for Pavilion. They had elaborate decorations all over the mall and played Christmas songs even in the foodcourt.
Perfect time for me to get pictures of myself and my cute bag. I'm a tourist! Everyone was taking pictures so it's not awkward!
Rows of Krispy Kreme doughnuts!
The Sticky guys twisted the leftover candy into a lollipop and handed it out to the crowd.
Some blouse I tried at Forever21 with giant, puffy sleeves. I really like the bow over shoulder thing but that blouse looks horrid on me!
Petronas Twin Towers - especially spectacular in the night.
Labels: Food, Gastronomy, Holiday, Ice-Cream, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Petronas, Twin Towers, Vacation, Wanderlust
Reunion Dinner
I think at times when I have nothing to say, I'll let you enjoy some things I love and held close to my Heart. I am a very 'Heart' person.
Photograph taken in 2009.This is an example of a typical Chinese New Year reunion dinner my parents whips up every year.
From top left-right: peppery pork belly soup with button mushrooms, roasted chicken,
ngo hiang (五香). From bottom left-right: a plate of rice, stewed duck meat, mixed vegetables dish consisting of prawns, meat, cauliflower, green peas and cabbage.
Labels: 2009, Chinese New Year, Food, Gastronomy
Nine Doors, The Easier To Run Away
A coworker told us that we can find old Beijing food in a food street set in a traditional courtyard called "Jiu Men Xiao Chi" (九门小吃). Since our aim in Beijing is to eat, live, tour Beijing, we took note and paid a visit. I couldn't see how different old Beijing food can differ from the current anyway so with an empty stomach, we set forth.
Entrance of the "Jiu Men Xiao Chi" literally translated as "Nine Doors Small Eats"What an interesting name, I thought. I wondered if there were nine doors to the eatery. It was quite a small street consisting of no more than ten stalls. Business was sparse but I attributed it to the fact that we might have been too early.
"Da Lian Huo Shao" (褡裢火烧), a sort of beef meat pie wrapped by fried sesame crusts
Mung Bean Milk or "Dou Zhi" (豆汁), a favourite drink of the old Beijing folks
I have no idea what this is but for what's it's worth, it looks like the sesame crust coiled around by a fried doughstick atop of flaky pastries.
An array of dubious fried food and cardboard-like crusts. Like the eggs placer.
Year cake or "Nian Gao" (年糕). This one looks soft and chewy though.
Our first breakfast in Beijing. Well-anticipated but less than well-received. From top left: fish in soy sauce, shaved goat's head meat (yes you heard right), beef meat pie and goat's milk.Unfortunately I think whoever recommended this place to Eileen and I had it bad for us. It was a strange and awkward meal with many a deliberate chewing and occasional
hurummmms of uncertainty. Eileen watched a Taiwanese food show and excitedly ordered shaved goat's head meat on impulse (or so I would like to believe). The stall owner lifted a decapitated goat's head onto his chopping board and started shaving pieces of meat off its ears. Its very dead eyes were boring into mine.
I'll never touch it, I declared but all the same, I was
coerced into trying and I swear I'll never eat it again. It was cold, crunchy, salty and had a strong smell to it. In fact, all the food were cold and seemed like leftovers. The best of the lot had to be the meat pies since the sesame crusts were warm and vaguely gave a semblance of normality. We left most of our food untouched which was a real pity but we just could not stomach it.
Candied haw/fruits in sticks or "Bing Tang Hu Lu" (糖葫芦). I tried the candied peaches and the flavours and the juice were wonderfully retained, sending you into a sugary high.To conclude, old Beijing food has been around from the olden days and they are worth a try just because they gave us the idea what people used to eat and this is from my most diplomatic point of view.
"Nine Doors Small Eats" does need the nine doors ... for me to run away from in a hurry!
Labels: Beijing, China, Food, Gastronomy, Jiu Men Xiao Chi, Travel, Wanderlust
Quack Up A Storm!
北京前门全聚德烤鸭店The moment we touched down in Beijing, our first dinner thoughts reached out to Peking ducks. How could we not, when we flew this far to attest flattering reports of crispy duck skin and tender, juicy meat? A friendly chat with the local cab driver sent us to the Quan Ju De's (全聚德烤鸭店) multi-leveled outlet in He Ping Men (和平门) which he said is the most authentic and delicious of all outlets.
A welcoming sight of rows of ducks still in their birthday suits greeting usThe restaurant was run in absolute efficiency as they quickly ushered you through the levels by use of walkie-talkies to ensure that you have a seat. The ducks were roasted with non-smoky hardwood fuel such as peach and pear to give its subtle fruity flavour.
We were well rewarded for our six hours flight when we took an initial, crunchy bite. It tasted of heaven.The helpful waiters/waitresses also stopped by each and every table to explain the history of the very duck being violated and demonstrated with ease on how to make a roll with the use of just a pair of chopsticks but in the end, I gave up, the process was too time-consuming.
They were efficient with the chopsticks while I was still living in stone age where my hands are my chopsticks but what's the fuss? The duck is still well-appreciated!It was very gratifying to sink my teeth into such succulent meat after a flight of anticipation but I have to say that after your basic craving is satisfied and the need for duck goes away with every bite, my marginal utility level dipped. It was too oily to be consumed in great quantities. Nevertheless, visitors to Beijing should definitely put this on their agenda to try at least once. I would advise that no one gets too over zealous since almost every single dish on the menu has something to do with ducks. You end up getting duck rice, duck noodles, duck meat soup and vegetables fried with duck and it could be very disorienting.
The surgeon and the duck in which there was no hope of survival under the blade.地址/Address:
北京前门全聚德烤鸭店 Beijing Qian Men Quan Ju De Kao Ya Dian
北京市崇文区前门大街32号 Bejing Chong Wen Men Qu Qian Men Da Jie 32 Hao
电话：01067011379
老北京炸酱面大王One of our very last meals in Beijing, we decided to end it with a duck note. "
I come for duck, I leave with duck" was my skewed mentality at that time. After a full one day tour at the Great Wall, the
Ning tombs and the Temple of Heaven, the cab driver (we ingratiated well with cab drivers during our trip, they withhold a wealth of culinary information!) made a recommendation that we try out Lao Beijing Zha Jiang Mian (老北京炸酱面) which is translated to "Old Beijing Minced Meat Noodles".
Image taken from Fan TongYou are served with a plate of plain, unadorned noodles with an array of sides that you could choose to mix your noodles with to customize your favourite way of eating
Zhang Jiang Mian. The dark sauce ii the picture is yellow soybean paste which is very salty so please go sparing on it. The pink strips are ginger slices and the greens are chopped celery and cabbages and there are also different kinds of beans. In Singapore, you can also find
Zhang Jiang Mian in some of the handmade noodles stall in hawker centres or food courts and even Crystal Jade La Mian restaurants. However, mostly the local
Zhang Jiang Mian are only topped with minced meat and thinly sliced cucumber strips.
A deep-fried crispy duck with tender meat on the left. Preserved vegetables fried with glass noodles on the top and soft deep-fried milk desserts on the right.I apologize for the desecrated duck since we tucked into it way before recalling we needed a picture. The duck turned out ugly but had the most crispy skin and tender meat. Never judge a duck by its outlook. It was not oily at all, a little bit on the dry side but you could eat the whole duck without feeling inundated. The deep fried desserts were very soft, sinking your teeth right through the milky goodness. I imagine them to be very popular with toothless old folks.
I likened
Zha Jiang Mian to be a form of Chinese Bolognaise pasta (only in Beijing, there's no minced meat in the minced meat noodles). I didn't like mine as much as I like the Singaporean form. The yellow soybean paste was too salty for my liking but those who have an affinity to trying pasta worldwide should consider giving this a go.
地址/Address:
老北京炸酱面大王 Lao Bei Jing Zha Jiang Mian Da Wang
崇文区 崇文门外大街29号 Chong Wen Qu ChongWenMen WaiDaJie 29 Hao
Labels: Beijing, China, Duck, Food, Gastronomy, Lao Beijing Zha Jiang Mian, Peking, Quan Ju De, Travel, Wanderlust
