Korkor's food hero.

Late last year, I stalked bookshops in anticipation of the release of Cooking for the President, intended to be a birthday cum Christmas gift for my aunt. For those who know her, my aunt (or korkor as she's fondly known) is neither a woman of demands nor one of an extensive range of emotions, but she was near rabid as the day of the book's release drew nearer. "Girl, did the bookshops call you? You mean they didn't send a copy to your office?"
I don't know what it was about the book that drew her so; all I knew was that she really wanted it.

My cousin ended up gifting her with the book while I was away in Japan, but I'm having the last laugh as the official taster of the dishes korkor tries out. It's been nine months since and not a week goes by without korkor brandishing a new dish while declaring that the recipe worked perfectly. That's a tall order, for she never trusts recipes ("aiyah, chefs will never tell you everything), but the flawless instructions in the book has made the author Ms. Wee Eng Hwa a rock star (or "food hero", as we say in the magazine) in korkor's eyes.

Well guess what – last night, I met the rock star and tasted her cooking, at a birthday dinner Ms. Wee hosted for my ex-colleague turned very dear friend, Jo. No amount of egging would nudge korkor out of her shell to attend the party with me, but she did wait up to hear my blow-by-blow account of the food.

Cooking for the President is a tome filled with over 200 recipes compiled by the daughter of our former president Wee Kim Wee. Someone compared it to the Larousse Gastronomique equivalent for Nonya cooking, and I couldn't agree more.

Menu of the night

Jo and Ms. Wee

Pong towhu (Beancurd, prawn & pork meatball soup)

Sok Hiong's bungah pekkak tow eu kway (Star anise soya sauce chicken)

Chap chye (Nonya stewed vegetables)

Sambal udang (Prawns in chilli paste)

Itek sioh (Coriander braised duck)

Nonya noodles – a must for birthdays!

Curry chicken – we were hyperventilating by then

Pulot hitam (Sweet black glutinous rice porridge)

Final course! Pulot seri kaya (Egg coconut milk custard on glutinous rice cake)

And a snap for posterity.

WHAT A SATURDAY NIGHT! I'm humbled and truly honoured. :)

For more information or to purchase a copy of the book visit www.cookingforthepresident.com.

Laidback tripping aka Why Adelaide is not for 'Type A' types

Great weather, good food, good wine, lazy swims and soaks in hot tubs and golly, eight hours of sleep every night! These all sound like the perfect ingredients for a great holiday, but as much as I enjoyed the getaway, it wasn't too long before super laidback Adelaide got a teeny bit too ardous for me.

I was looking forward to immersing myself in the heartbeat of a colourful city, but all I found was a faint bleep on the cardiac monitor. Surprise, surprise! Adelaide resembles a sleepy retirement village (complete with plan your funeral commercials playing on the telly), even when the weekday CBD folks came out to play. Taking it slow may be just what the doctor prescribed for us high-strung types, but unfortunately, prolonged periods of lazy time don't quite sit well with me. Me and my pitiful Type A personality.

It was 5pm on a Thursday and there we were in the heart of the Barossa Valley, sipping cocktails and watching the sun set over vineyards while waiting to be seated for dinner at the the ultra swanky Appellation. Picture perfect and something others would kill for, but right there and then, nothing appealed more than the thought of hammering at the keyboard on my messy office desk. No siree, I don't think I do lazy very well at all.

But that said, it was still a good holiday and if anything, the break's made me look forward to Monday morning more than I have in awhile. Helloooo deadlines, oh how I've missed you. In the meantime, here are my favourite snaps from my week of kicking it back in South Australia.

Breakfast for junkies. In transit at Melbourne airport, and the only time I felt real hunger for the rest of the week.

Fresh produce at Adelaide Central Market. Oh the colours!

It's always nice to have a street with your name on it, even if it wasn't named after you.

Hotel room picnic with market buys: Cheap but yummy Moscato, crackers, salami and the tastiest chilli speckled pecorino.

Sunday brunch to share at Cafe Crema in Glenelg: Chorizo & beans hotpot and vanilla chai lattes.

One of my favourite buys. Rings that actually mean something!

Foodie stop: Good Life Modern Organic Pizza.

Love their philosophy...

And their sea salt speckled garlic bread.

Pity about the pizza!

Mucking around in the candy shop.

Tram ticket wisdom. I like new beginnings!

Braving the dark, quiet streets to dinner at Sparrow Kitchen & Bar.

The wine-fuelled walk back was not scary at all. I wonder why?

Italian breakfast at Rigoni's on Leigh (MY) Street.

Breakfast for champions: 2D muscle men and a cappuccino.

All set to conquer Harbour Town.

Harbour Town sunset.

Sunset in the CBD.

The yummiest fritto misto at Andre's Cucina & Polenta Bar.

Perfect spring weather at the Pennington Gardens.

Breakfast at the uber quaint The Store on Melbourne Street.

Fluffy pancakes BURSTING with blueberries.

Need versus want, simplified.

Love their clean-smelling organic skincare.

Impromptu fancy dinner getup with my storebought blazer and beaded blouse. All for just under AUD50. ;) India's trained the bargain hound in me very well indeed.

Zucchini blossoms at Auge. Oh how I love thee!

Checking in to our gorgeous room (Room #1) The Stirling Hotel in the Adelaide Hills.

On to a late lunch at The Locavore. Brililant concept (and a very charming boss).

The setting's pretty awesome too, though I had to squint to read the wall of wines when we returned for dinner on our last night.

Happy as a clam to finally sit down to our first meal at 3pm.

With the obligatory glass of wine! And wishing I'd piled on more than two layers as it was getting rather chilly outside.

Nursing our post-dinner food coma with a chick flick. You've Got Mail hits the spot every single time.

Delicious pan-fried gnocchi at 1918 Bistro & Grill in the Barossa. I don't think I've ever eaten so much gnocchi and eggs Ben in a week!

Chef's tasting menu at Appellation. I was wishing so bad I would be hungry...

But I entered the dinner hall full, and left stuffed and a tad too mellow from the wines.

Cappuccino well done at The Stirling Bistro. They give us a AUD50 voucher for breakfast every morning, how generous!

If there's one thing the South Aussies do well, it's got to be poached eggs. I didn't have a single bad one, and trust me, I had ALOT of breakfast eggs on the trip.

Strolling through Hahndorf, a German town in the Adelaide Hills.

The town was a bit touristy, but gorgeous nonetheless. It made us feel like it was Christmas morning!

Look what I found while poking through the curio shops. Now that's just how I like to cook!

Sipping hot chocolate in the sunshine.

And posing for a picture, of course!

Back to The Locavore for some last night hurrah. Our waiter Ben, who's lived in Asia and is super fluent in Singlish, took wine tasting VERY seriously. We finally decided on our choice of red after five bottles. Or was it six?

So after a coma-inducing meal, and after we had, against all odds, polished off a 'meal on its own' sticky fig pudding to applause, Ben presented us with complimentary petits fours (or threes?) with a flourish. "This is just because I want to kill you."

His ploy failed, though we did roll out of the restaurant three hours later a little worse for wear. See you if you get here to Singapore lah, Ben. ;)