Little miracles.

There we were back at the same table. Mentors and juniors; past and present. It's been way too long, but the entire gang finally gathered last night over a hell lot of bubbly and laughter. Heartfelt speeches were made, tears were shed, and too many IKEA glasses were broken.

It didn't seem that long ago that we'd all come together to work towards the same goal, a group of seemingly different women united by our shared love for publishing. The hopes and dreams that brought us together may have since changed, but last night was an affirmation that the friendships and bonds are made to last.

I started out 17 months ago hoping just for decent colleagues, but I've come away with so much more. Isn't publishing amazing? :)

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.

It is impossible to watch a sunset and not dream.

07 Aug '11: Sunset on Raffles Place

One of my favourite things to do on a lazy weekend is to strap on my running shoes and... walk. While there is some form of sadistic euphoria that comes from pounding the pavement, walking brings with it a soul-soothing contentment, and a reminder that the simplest pleasures in life are often best savoured at your own pace.

I usually take to the hiking trail when I'm on my own, but I like having my walking buddy with me when it comes to taking the long route through the urban jungle. It's nice to be in good company and, because CH is a voice of reason, it gives me a chance to regurgitate the thinking I do during my walks of solitude. Sometimes, I get a plan of action out of our conversations, like I did today; at other times I get a big, fat reality check, like I did today, too.

Me: So, I've given myself till my 25th birthday before I start living more responsibly.
CH: -does a double take- I never expected to hear you say that so soon.
Me: Why not? It's about time. It's been seven years. After Adelaide. Okay, maybe India.
CH: -unconvinced- Yeah, yeah, and what's planned for next year after India? You're always flying somewhere.
Me: Hmm. But can you imagine how rich I'd be if I didn't travel? All these years?
CH: Well...... Haha, yes.

- lapse into comfortable silence -

Me: Then again, I'll be cash rich but poor in terms of life experiences!
CH: Really? How "poor" exactly will you be if you don't go to Adelaide?
Me: Shut up.

Old friends. Gotta love them to hate them.

Postcards from paradise.

My recent island trip was supposedly for work, but the bunch of uber colourful characters made burning my weekend so worth it!

Jungle dining

Breakfast for one, which I really enjoyed! :) I love my morning zen.

Sunsets

Sneak peek into a super luxe retreat

Trust me to find time to cop out for not one, but two foot massages! Right across the hotel.

Friendships forged over plenty of coma-inducing meals!

Searching for the sunset.

Post-shoot town trawling with C on a Friday night. What turned out to be complimentary desserts after I found a stone in my sticky date pudding, but yummy nonetheless, and extremely comforting after a long, trying week.

 Where rainbows end

Searching for the sunset

Level 3 spicy wings with the poly quartet - yummy but nowhere near the virgin level 6 I had with the CS babes.

Saturdays at the Khoos.

Saturday at the Khoos.

Food, friends, mahjong. Pics courtesy of AA.

Why friendships are priceless.

Why friendships are priceless.

picture from here

Cristina: [to Lexie] You can't have feelings for Alex Karev. Emotionally he's like Meredith, three years ago.
Meredith: I said that!

Cristina: [to Lexie]: You are not a no feelings type of girl. Your heart lives in your vagina.

Meredith: I said that too!

Reminds me of us, bitch!

Project Wine Session #1.

Project Wine Session #1.

The inaugural project wine session was quite the success! Good wine(s), good food (I hope!) and excellent company as always. Not only did I pick up several tips from resident wine expert K, I also had my second breakthrough by detecting the pear in the bouquet of our first wine. Some improvement here at least.

It was also the first in a long time that I've cooked for a dinner party, and successfully at that. I suppose I've internalized enough from all the culinary programmes I've been watching to semi-bury the memory of a very dismal pad thai that my guests had to smother in belachan several new year eves ago.

On the menu:

Inspired by an episode of Take Home Chef. This was served with Quartz Reef Pinot Gris 2008, a wine that on hindsight would have worked better with a spicy Asian salad.

Having to roast the garlic and tomatoes may be more cumbersome than a basic pesto recipe, but it is absolutely worth the effort. Recipe from here.

My proudest culinary achievement to date - perfecting the sabayon on my second try and accidentally-yummy vanilla custard on my first. Thank you Anna Olson, for making it look so easy on Fresh. Recipe from here. The dessert was served with Pegasus Bay FINALE Noble Chardonnay 2004, an extremely sweet wine with an extremely strong nose of brussel sprouts or as DX says, sauerkraut. How odd is that! It worked fine in the sabayon recipe though.

I'm gonna freeze some of that pesto the next time I get around to making it, and I think the sabayon's going to be my dessert of choice for entertaining at home. Quite a night huh? :)

Mixed tape medley.

Mixed tape medley.

 

Last Friday, a friend passed me a CD of songs with instructions to hole myself in my room and listen from track 1 to 20. I attempted to do just that on Sunday night, but distraction came in the form of writing and the music was soon relegated to become the haunting background for my idea generation. 

Yesterday, I finally settled into the couch to pay my full attention to the songs, some of which were already consistent favorites on my playlist. I listened, and I suppose on some subconscious level, I internalized for when Ingrid Michaelson's A Bird's Song snuck up unexpectedly on my own playlist in the late night, I bawled like a baby.

"When I would play my song
You used to sing along.
I always seem to forget
How fragile are the very strong.
 
I’m sorry I can’t steal you
I’m sorry I can’t stay
So I put band-aids on your knees
And watch you fly away.

I’m sending you away tonight
I’ll put you on a bird’s strong wing
I’m saving you the best way I know how
I hope again one day to hear you sing."


The song struck a chord when my brother first got hospitalized, but I had listened to it countless times since with nary a tear. Last night however, the lyrics took on a life of their own and twisted their lyrical limbs around my heart. The pain shot through the armor of indifference I've settled into and for the first time, I felt the loss.

To all my friends to have smiled and laughed with me in the past weeks, thank you for moving me along and for allowing me to forget. To wooka, thank you for knowing and understanding, even when I didn't, the need for emotional catharsis.

Snapshot Saturday.

Snapshot Saturday.

 

  

  

  

  

  

It was a Saturday well spent in good company, thigh smacking laughs and great food; and the first of several weekends I actually had time to enjoy a beautiful Saturday evening without having to worry about rushing off to some other place.

It was my first stand-up comedy experience (Seinfield aside) and Jonathan Atherton's localized humor was ideal for spending an afternoon over Brewerkz beer. Later on, I finally got around to checking out Wild Honey over at the Mandarin Gallery as well. The food was fresh and wholesome, and the restaurant had me indulging in one of my "Ahhh I'd love to own something like that" moments.

It was nice, this free and easy Saturday. The coming one spells lou hei and shabu shabu with the princess and the bear, and the long-awaited Sunday flea where I'm hoping to make some money out of my trash. One man's junk is another man's treasure. Heard that?