beloved bel

Macarons. I've always thought the best ones can be found here in Laduree at Harrods. They all look so delicate and pretty and French (and expensive too) in the display that it's hard to make up your mind which flavours to choose. One day Alicia and QKL started raving about having tasted the "best macarons in the world" being found in Zurich, Switzerland. And on a separate occasion, Marketa, who goes to Switzerland often for business trips, also told me the same thing and that got me all curious. Last week -such a sweetie M was- she actually brought back a box for me! From Confiserie Sprungli in Zurich, no less! Aww so sweet of her! They are much smaller than those in Laduree, not bigger than a quail egg. With the delicate crusts covering the soft mousse in the centre, they are also affectionately known as "mousse kisses". Heavenly.

I've been dreaming of a plate of hokkien mee for ages... and was happy to savour a plate tonight. Not the best, but pretty much the best I can find here.

Sarah, Kine and Gabby came over for a baking night last Thursday. Our target was to bake about 120 choc chip cookies for a Sisterhood event the following night. We only took these few photos above.. it was a fun but very tiring night. As the newly conferred "subject-matter-of-expert", yours truly was fully in charge. And I was secretly fretting, hoping they would turn out edible since I've never tried this recipe before. We finished baking everything close to midnight and poor Kine volunteered to stay behind to wait for the last tray to be done and literally ran out of my house to catch the last DLR home. So.. that means no photos of the end product. Everyone was in a hurry to rush home. Thank God they were well received and all the girls at the event loved it.. whew!! Nestle Choc Chip Cookies 180grams butter(@ room temperature) 1/3 cup caster sugar 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 & 1/2 cups self-raising flour 250grams dark choc bits(broken up choc or choc c...

15deg with sunshine is amazing. You can't help but feel happy. Everyone rejoice!

Did you know that Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is made up of both Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River? I didn't know that before going. Actually I didn't know what to expect from my first eastern Europe city break. I soon found out too, that this is the homeland of Franz Liszt and Béla Bartók . My piano teacher would be so excited I imagine. This country used to be part of the grand Ottoman empire (today's Turkey), and then it came under communism rule till 1989. Budapest also boasts of having 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Ok enough of history and facts... It was a short 2 day trip (I have to admit I cannot do weekend trips like this anymore. It is so rushing, and the travelling to and fro from the airport is too tiring. I was so zombiefied back at work on Monday.) We decided to splurge on our hotel stay since it's just one night, and QKL said Hilton on Buda side of the river is next to a famous church (shares the same courtyard) and in the Fi...

The other night I saw fresh scallops at the supermarket and decided to get one box. Figuring out what I could cook with it and ended up having... 1) Scallops with broccoli (like how they have it in Chinese restaurants) 2) Scallops and mushroom pasta (inspired by what I had in Budapest last weekend) Love scallops!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR AH MA!

Was deeply encouraged by a very dear friend back home today :) ~~~~~ Genesis 26 - Isaac and Abimelech 2 Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Kat brought in her Hummingbird Recipe book the other day and I was flipping thru it when I saw one of the easiest recipes ever- chocolate fridge cake bars. By the looks of it, I knew that it would definitely turn out yummy. I mean, you can never go wrong with chocolate. And I love digestive biscuits. ~~~~~ 400g unsalted butter 200ml golden syrup 100g cocoa powder 800g digestives biscuits, broken into small chunks 200g raisins a 33 x 23 x 5 cm baking tray lined with greaseproof paper (I actually halved the recipe since I didn't want to make too much. 800g of digestive biscuits sounds a bit scary to me. And the guilty side of me opted for Digestive Lights.. hehe) In 3 simple steps. 1) Put the butter, golden syrup and cocoa powder into a large saucepan over medium heat and heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. 2) Put the biscuit chunks and raisins in a large bowl and pour in the chocolate mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until everything is wel...

Everyone around me is suddenly into photography and I suddenly find myself being a "model" for Ali & Jos to test out different shots, angles, focus, etc... above photo courtesy of LKH, our photography teacher over the weekend.