beloved bel

This crystal cross is actually a present, handmade by (you'll never guess it) - my uncle! What a pleasant surprise when my aunt passed it to me a few weeks ago. Apparently he had to run a few trips to the beads shop to get the wire thingy and burnt a few midnight oil to come up with a sturdy and perfect looking cross. Effort don't you think?! Thanks again Uncle Jim! Love it :)

One of the common cakes over here is the lemon drizzle cake and my first taste of it was from the sandwich chain store Pret-a-Manger. I grew to like it and would give myself a lunch time treat once in a while whenever I have a craving for cakes. Recently Jos who is also into baking, have mastered making this simple but refreshing lemon cake. See those small black dots? They are actually poppy seeds. Somehow lemon cakes and poppy seeds go together. These seeds doesn't have much taste but it gives the cake a somewhat-crunchy texture to it if you get what I mean. Right, so Jos was really happy and started uploading photos of her end-product on FB, declaring to everyone she would bake this for them when she goes home. (Of course she should because they taste really good.) And then guess what? She found out that poppy seeds are banned in Singapore!! They are considered drugs hahaha so now she is disappointed she can't showcase her work back home. Well, I consider myse...

Borough Market is likely to be one of the best fresh foods market here in London. The good thing is that it's only 2 Tube stops away from where I live. Coming here on a Thursday is a stark contrast to coming on a Saturday because there are no crowds and you can walk at your own leisurely pace. The stuff sold here never fails to fascinate me each time I come. Fresh flowers, vegetables (everyone from home always go "wahh" over the carrots with the green leaves, see pic below), to the best coffee in London (Monmouth Coffee), to olives, to cheese, to sacks of chocolates... everything basically. Beautifully cut kiwi and melon Serious? The name of this plant is Mind Your Own Business? The fascinating carrots I love peppers. Tomatoes on the vine Paella rice- I am inspired to get a small paella pan since I love paella so much. The happy aunts looking at the veg. ~~~~~~~ On a separate note, we baked some muffins for breakfast the other day. Spring flowers are out so I got a b...

Everyone's talking about it now. The huge ash cloud from the erupting Eyjafjallajoekull (try pronouncing that... they say it's every newscaster's nightmare) volcano in Iceland. All flights to and from the UK have been cancelled for the 5th day now. And we just read that there is yet another new ash cloud spreading towards the UK..! Geez, this unprecedented situation doesn't seem to be clearing anytime soon. Luckily we have got back to London from our Amsterdam/ Bruges trip. Two days later and we would have been stranded. Now the aunts are still in my place with no flights back to Singapore. The SQ flight was supposed to be this morning but now no one knows what's gonna happen. Thankfully they can continue staying at mine.. imagine those people who are stranded... how much hotel bills they would chalk up? Or worse still, no hotel rooms available? p/s In case you are still wondering, one pronunciation tip I came across from an Icelandic lady for the name of t...

After Netherlands, we took the train from Amsterdam to Bruges (Belgium) via Antwerp. Because there were delays on the normal speed train which would take us 5h to reach Bruges, we opted for the high speed train which would take us only 2h. And of course, at double the price :( it's inversely proportional. Our mini stopover at Antwerp train station. Apparently, Antwerp train station has been voted the 4th most beautiful train station in the world. Finally, we've reach Bruges! City Hall Main market square This is my second trip here, after my unforgettable weekend here more than a year ago where Cyn and I indulged non-stop on handmade belgian chocolates. This is a beautifully preserved medieval town where the buildings and bridges have been kept like they were. Horse drawn carriages run down the cobbled streets, altho they are now catered for tourists. People here speak either Flemish (Dutch) or French. Bruges is the town famous not only for chocs but la...

My second trip to Amsterdam to see tulips with the aunts. Bloom tulips bloom We were excited to see a yellow tulip field on our little boat trip. A stunning red and yellow tulip field. And I fell in love with this quaint little windmill town... The traditional dutch way of life... Picturesque view... love it. I wondered how can such a beautiful little town exist and function for real? Five windmills they have that are still working today.