0 Every second matters now

Oh my, I hate seeing the calendar page flip from "Feb" to "Mar;" later at 12pm (1 hr to go), the church bells are going to chime in their mocking tone, chiding my procrastination and perfectionism which results in me doing things so slowly just for the sake of precision, which ultimately, nobody would really care (except me).

Farewell lunch turned out to be at Itacho Sushi, which was a life-changing event, really. The blow-torched soy sauce salmon sushi was orgasmic, the fatty omega-3 oils literally oozing from the skin and melting into fishy goodness on the tongue. Salmon nigiris topped with lobster salad, chawanmushis, crabmeat beancurd, tamago were all equally good, and not too expensive. This has sparked a new found craving for sushi and I'm so going to have to check out the "shiok sushi" from Koh's Grill and Sushi Bar at Wisma's Food Republic - in 3 months time? And to learn to make sushi. It's amazing, rekindling the passion and love of something that I'm never experienced since... the discovery of oatmeal (which of course I'm still passionate about)

Speaking about oatmeals, this morning's creation was rather novel - 1/2 portion BRM's oatmeal cooked in Pacific soy milk and Garden of Life RAW protein powder, with a Rude Health Spelt Oaty biscuit crumbled in, a slice of Larabar Cappuccino melted in, Sunbutter, topped with a sprinking of nuts & seeds. Superb mix of creaminess and crumblyness from the biscuit (which surprisingly didn't disintegrate in the heat). A Red Delicious that was so red it could be the Snow White poison apple on the side. Garden of Life RAW protein powder has that malty, slightly chalky taste similar to Sunwarrior, which may be disagreeable to some as I found initially. However, I've even grown to like it now! So far, Lifetime Basics has the most neutral of "neutral flavours" out there in the market; you relaly can't detect the powder taste at all when mixed into oats.

0 A much welcomed break

I had a mini respite from the 12-hour intensive lab work over the course of last week. We marked granny's 83rd birthday at Ming Kee seafood restaurant, which meant I had an excuse to complete my work earlier. The dishes were lip-smackingly good from start to finish: signature homemade beancurd with shitake and broccoli, bamboo (razor) clams, triple cooked crab bee hoon, soft and silky smooth steamed tiger grouper, sea cucumber with more shitake and broccoli, and chinese spinach in superior stock. Everything was flavorful without being too rich, salty, or having that MSG taste that so often plagues cze char eateries. The crab bee hoon was Shiok with a capital 'S' - thin rice vermicelli coated in its sweet & robust crab stock, with more crabtastic goodness from the chunks of fresh Sri Lanka crab pincers. The fish was also very good (flavoured in the classic soy sauce/spring onion way), albeit a tad pricey. I loved the plump shitake shrooms featured in the bean curd and sea cucumber dishes too. Unfortunately, I didn't take to the bamboo clams, and the broccoli and sea cucumber could have been more well-cooked as they were slightly hard to the bite.

Before that I had a jaunt at Marketplace@Tanglin Mall, where I stocked up my supplies. Exciting new buys included Mullers coconut greek yogurt, cappuccino Larabar and a tabbouleh salad mix (Fantasic Foods). Also bought Israeli couscous, Pacific soy and cage-free eggs (to test if there's a difference between that and normal eggs).

For lunch today I decided to have the egg yolk, instead of throwing it away. Lunch was tri-colored fusili pasta with purple sweet potatoes and the last of my soaked and roasted crunchy buckwheat groats, salmon, aforementioned egg done sunny-sideup, cucumber and lettuce, and pesto and goat's cheese. I thought the egg yolk would make a "sauce" for the pasta since I don't fancy Pappy's pasta sauce, which is the bottled creamed version. Although I couldn't really make out the taste of the yolk, I did have the thrill of poking into the yolk and seeing the golden liquid ooze out. I was eating in the dark (in confocal room), and sometimes I like it that way.

0 Wah[hhh] Lok

Despite my love for all things Mediterranean, I suppose one cannot ignore one's roots. Mum chose to mark her big 55 at Wah Lok, a Cantonese restaurant at Carlton Hotel. It was a good choice; a classic comforting Cantonese dinner that pleased with every dish. 'Cuse the pun in the post title ;)

Christmas deco at the lobby. Not quite sure of what to make of their weird-shaped bauble lighting

Apparently the restaurant has just been renovated, and the new decor and furnishings are really stunning. For example, walking through the entrance itself already makes for a dramatic experience, with the arched frames, dark wood glossy marble flooring and backlit lighting giving an ethereal feel.

Equally stunning were the dishes. As with the Cantonese tradition, we started off with a soul-comforting soup - abalone and chicken/pork and wolfberries. The abalone was slightly tough and chewy, but I nevertheless ate it knowing its price value. Luckily though, it didn't have any of that fishy taste. On the other hand, the soup itself was very moreish; a great way to whet the appetite.

Then came the Peking duck which I didn't have.

After a hideously long wait, the tofu, spinach, sea cucumber and chicken feet casserole finally arrived. The ingredients were coated in a brown sauce that didn't fall prey to being too starchy or gloopy, as with many places do. The tofu could have been slightly softer, and the sea cucumber, for some unknown reason, was mushy instead of springy like it was a vegetarian mock sea cucumber. After all these nitpicking though, the casserole overall was still rather enjoyable.

But of course, the highlight of the meal, and possibly in my gastronomic experience - a whooping humongous 2.4 kg Alaskan king crab, lightly steamed in a clear egg white broth. I'd never seen such huge pincers and legs before. The shell was soft and obediently yielded to force, unlike those crabs at zi char places. For example, I didn't even require tools to open the pincers! The meat came out in chunks and was sweet and succulent and so very umami. It was a highly memorable experience.

By this time we were all groaning with pleasure but we still had to tackle the last dish - vermicelli with bean sprouts and meat. The brown sauce nicely coated the strands of vermicelli and bean sprouts added a nice crunch.

Service was great; the recommendations by the waiter was spot on and personally, he came across rather comical and entertaining too. The only complaint is that the food came out rather slowly so there was lots of waiting time in between. But maybe that's what you need to trade for top-notch food. The bill was beyond our expectations, largely attributed to the king crab. I'm looking forward to try the more affordable dim sum range in the future.

1 What stole my weekend

It was a whirlwind of a weekend that ended much to quickly. In the name of saving time, I'll let the photos tell the bulk of the story.

1. The Amazing Spiderman! Although it boasted a typical storyline, it was nevertheless an enjoyable film with bits of humour and lots of swinging action. Andrew Garfield (who I prefer to Tobey Maguire as Spidey) and Emma Stone freshens up the blockbuster series with their younger personalities. James Horner is now added to my favorite list of composers, with his grandiose take on the main theme, filled with the fanfare of trumpets doling out a soulful tune. Just listen!
2. Crab bee hoon soup from Hong Kong Street Chun Tat Kee at Balestier Road. This cze char place is known to dish out a mean bowl of XO slice fish bee hoon and san lo hor fun. Wanting to venture out of our usual orders, we had the crab bee hoon this time round. This is my first time handling crabs in their fully shelled form and it was certainly an experience with the shelling and extraction of the meat. A very tedious and painful (literally) process but the reward was sweet, succulent and robust fresh crab meat. The stock was superbly flavorful with the crabby taste, with notes of hua diao rice wine dancing on the palate. It bordered on being excessively salty towards the end though. Our other orders were sambal kangkong and cereal prawns. After the tasty meal the bill came as shock though: $59 for two people!
3. Pizzeria Mozza.My sis and I had lunch here before the Harry Potter exhibition (see below). It's her first visit and my second, 10 months after celebrating my birthday here.
   

   Rucola, funghi and piave salad came as a mound of fresh rocket leaves with (raw) white button shrooms and shaven piave (an Italian cow's milk cheese similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano) layered in-between. The vinegary dressing did well to highlight the peppery tones of rocket, although it somewhat overwhelmed the less ostentatious shroom profile.

   

   Long-cooked broccoli, caviocavallo and chiles pizza. Another first for having broccoli on pizza. The long-cooked broccoli was tender and tasty on its own but I felt it didn't pair too well as a pizza topping. Caviocavallo is another type of cheese but I'm not an avid fan of cheese and especially when melted on pizzas, all the cheeses taste the same to me. On the whole this pizza okay, if not a tad salty.

   

   Of the Tomato, Sicilian oregano and extra virgin olive oil pizza and Broccoli pizza today, and the Margherita pizza the previous visit, the former is my favorite of the lot. If you're a tomato lover, you'll be most delighted. Intense tomato sauce topped with oregano, this upheld the adage of beauty in simplicity. You'll get your lycopene dose filled with this one!

4. Harry Potter exhibition.
   

   We breezed through the exhibition in 45 mins. It mainly featured the actual costumes and props used in the film. It was quite surreal to actually see the exact items used in the film right before your very eyes. The Marauder's Map and Potions book were some of the cooler items on display, filled with scribbles of wizardry language. I also enjoyed the display of the Yule Ball costumes; Hermione's lilac dress was so pretty! The souvenir shop of a cash-milking machine though. $50 for a wand?

5. Hacking open a young coconut. Yet another first this weekend. Much skills and strength is called for!

6. Church talk on Biomedical Ethics. An interesting and informative insight on biomedical ethics from a theological perspetive

There goes my weekend. It's past the 6-month mark of 2012. Scary how June whizzed past in a flash.Time to start relooking at monthly resolutions again.

3 Nature & nuture

What makes Sunday so special? It's always associated with a laid-back hippie vibe, coffee-on-the-patio and hearty brunches. Today encapsulated exactly the prototypical Sunday - good food, good mood and good company.

First off: breakfast in a mug! Or, more using the more popular term, smoothie-in-a-bowl (SIAB).

And it's not just any smoothie; it's a top-grade Mao Shan Wang oat/amaranth protein smoothie, with some strwabs and banana thrown in for goodm measure. Power-packed with nutrients!

Recipe

Flesh of 1 durian seed, best use mao shan wang

1/4 frozen banana, sliced

1 gigantic U.S. strawberry

1/4 cup Silk (vanilla) soymilk

1 ice cube

1/4 cup basic amaranth muesli, soaked overnight with 1/4 cup Silk (vanilla) soymilk and 1 scoop O+ protein powder

Toppings: 1 spoonful almond butter!

Directions
Mix & get those blender blades chuggin' and top with almond butter.

Outcome
Thick, creamy & hearty shake that could pass off as a pudding, strongly flavored with the potency of durian, with undertones of strawberry essence. The banana was barely detectable, although it probably served to give that creamy consistency.

It was back to church after a three week hiatus and today's topic was on repentance, befitting for the period of Lent. Using Mark 1:15 as the grounding scripture - "The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" - the pastor guided us on the hows of repentance: change of mind, change of heart, and change of life. It almost sounds like making new year's resolutions. After all, both boil down to the same thing - pausing to reflect, recognize mistakes, and take corrective changes. Things that are being increasingly rare in the fast-paced world.

Anyhow, since Daddy has gone back to Malaysia, Mum & I took the opportunity to explore far-flung nook-and-crannies of Singapore. We went to Marmalade Pantry at the Stables (Fairways Drive).

Despite - or maybe because of - being tucked amidst the lush greenery of Bukit Timah, Marmalade Pantry was as crowded (with tai-tais/expats) as it could get. Service fell a little short and I suspected they served our food to the wrong table, causing us to wait impatiently. Eventually, my Crabmeat Linguine ($24) and mum's Seared Scallops Linguine arrived.

Calling it crabmeat sauce would really be a misnomer; it was more like a crab ragout, thick and chunky from the generous portion of shredded crab meat and coated with a spicy tomato sauce. The linguine could do with a minute more of cooking; it was slightly too al dente. It was tasty, no doubt, and the pine nuts gave a nice touch to the flavours, which would otherwise border on being too one-dimensional. I suffered from the bitter pine nut aftertaste though.

After lunch, we wanted to explore the stables but it was restricted to club members only. However, we were lucky and got to spot one which was out exercising. It had an interesting spotty color and you can actually see its number branded on it's coat.

Having had a heavy lunch, dinner was a light affair, but no less delicious. A salad of massaged kale with grilled chicken!

The baby kale leaves were purchased from Cold Storage at a rather offensive price. But since kale is so difficult to find in Sg, I decided to buy it. Anyway, I'm not playing with words when I say massaged kale. Kale is tougher vegetable than the normal spinach or rocket, and so by massaging it with acid (lemon/lime juice and/or cider vinegar) and oil, it breaks down the leaves a little and also imparts flavor.

Basic massaged kale salad and possible mix-ins (for one)

Handful of baby kale leaves, chopped
Dressing

1 tsp lime juice (or lemon)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp raspberry balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp walnut oil

1/8 avocado, chopped
Mix-ins

Cherry tomatoes, chopped

More chopped avocado

Grilled chicken & capsicum satays

Sunflower seeds, roasted

Directions
Using cleaned hands, mix the leaves with the dressing ingredients for about 1-2 minutes until the leaves turn a brighter green and well-coated with a sheen of avocado and oil. Add the mix-ins and let stand for a little.

Outcome
The action of massaging the kale was quite therapeutic and during the process, you can actually feel the leaves becoming softer. The avocado, which will get slightly mashed from the massaging, will coat the leaves nicely. I liked how the raspberry vinaigrette balanced the zing of lime and vinegar with a touch of sweetness. And of course, the nuttiness of the toasted sunflower seeds and walnut oil! The chicken & capsicum satay was bought by Mum from Jasons supermarket and was pre-marinated. All I had to do was to grill it. I added that in for some protein. It produced a simple yet tasty salad!

Dinner is served, with a frozen & toasted ciabatta slice (Cedele) topped with smooshed avocado.

If only every day could be a Sunday... - but that would make Sundays lose it special meaning, wouldn't it?