Best Char Siew in Singapore

星期三的中午，艳阳高照，懒得出外吃午餐。（其实新加坡每天都艳阳高照lah。haha)。多亏Mr J Jio我一块吃午餐，让我吃到了新加坡最好吃的叉烧！！再热的天，也愿意去品尝这好味道！

不见天叉烧

Tiong Bahru 熟食中心可说是卧虎藏龙，超多美食的。而在二楼，远远地就看到了这排长龙的云吞面。

忠于原味云吞面

于是，身为新加坡人的我们，当然也要加入这队伍，一起排排看查查看！

而他们的必点必吃，不吃后悔的就是这不见天叉烧！！所谓的不见天叉烧是猪只前臂腋下的两片肉，也是老板认为最珍贵的两片肉。因为前臂永远晒不到太阳，而取名不见天。除了在肉的挑选就如此讲究之外，这叉烧还是用炭火烧烤的！不怕麻烦，挑选好食材，用心碳烤5小时，真的做到了老板对食物的原则，忠于原味。

在烧烤的过程中，在叉烧上淋上麦芽糖，让麦芽糖的香甜渗入肉中，和肉汁融为一体。叉烧有嚼劲，而又不硬，肉汁香甜，带有一些麦芽的甜味。外皮没有因为炭火烧烤而容易烧焦，烤得匀称。老板的叉烧也不吝啬的肥嫩，厚实。真的太好吃了！！这盘叉烧$8,真的相当值得。老板的用心真的让花钱吃的顾客都心甘情愿。价钱真的相当公道！

云吞面呢则有$3/$4的选择。这样的用心，价钱超合理划算的吧！我是一个不太吃黄面的人。可以说能不吃就不吃，因为黄面有一个碱味(dietary alkali),所以不爱吃。但这摊的面却意外的没有碱味，面条也Q弹。重点是配上他们的叉烧，我也愿意给这黄面一试。

Tiong Bahru的朋友真的超幸福的。哈哈。吃货的我，美食=幸福。说好的减肥就再说了。:P

午餐吃这个，一定会让你好心情，把工作的疲劳都吃走吧！

忠于原味云吞面

Tiong Bahru Market #02-30
 

ABC Cooking Studio - Ham Mayonnaise Bread & Cinnamon Roll

/hihi Finally, the trial lesson with ABC cooking studio is here! /wahaha I have been looking forward to learn at this cooking studio as they are really big in Japan with 134 studios running and 14 studios in Asia. Really love how meticulous and professional the Japanese are in food making, hence I signed up the lesson without much hesitation. In fact, the trial class is only $35!! So I thought why not? For Trial Class, there are 3 choices of bread, chocolate ganache cake or hamburger steak with rice. I chose bread because Mr J likes savoury food more (compared to chocolate cake) and the hamburger steak is advisable to be consumed right after the lesson (no tabao).

ABC studio

There is a locker to put our stuffs, so that the studio remains clean and neat for baking. The class size is rather small, usually 3 or 4 students to 1 trainer. At times, if you are the only one that signed up for that particular time slot, you may even be taught one to one by the trainer. Our trainer for the day is Thina! He is very encouraging and is not pushy in selling us their baking & cooking packages.

Ingredients

All the ingredients are weighed and place nicely on the table before we start hands on. It is a thoughtful move so that we can spend more time on the baking rather than weighing and looking for ingredients. It is also more organized and easier for newbie to start on their baking experience :)

The recipe has picture illustration and is very clear and easy to follow. First step is of cause, mixing the bread flour, sugar and yeast and proofing the dough in a bowl. As the yeast needs heat to 'grow', warm water is used. We were also taught to sieve the egg before use. It is said to help smoothen the texture of the dough. I had fun kneading the dough. Its kindda therapeutic and stress relieving for me. Haha. The dough is then placed in a bread proofer for 30 minutes and Tadah! It becomes like a Big Bao.

长大中

We then rolled out the dough and placed ham, cinnamon sugar, almond flakes, parsley, raisins soaked in rum or whatever ingredients you wished.

Ham and Cinnamon Roll

Put it in the oven at 200 degree celsius.

成功！

 And its done!!!!!! :D

Verdict: Well.. I guess....any bread that just come out from the oven is nice!!!! lolss~/wahaha And I actually love the idea of putting parsley on top of the ham bread. I guess sprinkling some grated parmensan cheese will be great too! However, the bread actually harden later in the night and it gets really Teng Kok Kok (hard) the next day. According to the trainer, most commercial bread seller actually put bread softener to help retain the fluffiness of the bread. I goggled on this bread softener and found out that it usually contains ammonium chloride, which decreases the acidity of urine and should be avoided by people with liver or kidney problems. It usually contain Amylase enzymes to help fasten the bread making process, making it more practical for commercial use. However, they increased the risk of occupational asthma and over consumption is of cause less healthy compared to bread without all these additives. Hence, when your bread or cake stays soft for days, you may want to be aware that many chemicals may be added to preserve your bread or cake this long. This also explain why the seemingly same cake is sold at very different pricing in cafes, bakery, and supermarkets.

Overall, the experience is good because the class size is small and we can just keep shooting questions at the trainer. The clean and spacious environment makes it really relaxing to work at (compared to cramping myself up in my home kitchen). In case you are wondering like I did, the ingredients are not from Japan!!! :( I am hoping they sell Japanese ingredients here too. Somehow, the bread/cake from Japan just taste different. And I believe their ingredients really play a part. Most of the trainers are not from Japan too. They have different baking backgrounds like being pastry chefs in different cafes before. They are however trained and certified before they could teach. It does not really matters to me as long as they are well trained to help. :)

I took up a 6 cake baking courses with them at $450, and thus make me a ABC member. I have to complete the 6 lessons in 8months which I can make it a monthly 2 hours affair to relieve myself from work and doing something I enjoyed :) Thina told us there will be trial lessons on and off every months and if referred by a ABC member (like me), the trial lesson will be $28 instead! If you sign up a package like me, both the member (me), and the referral gets a free lesson too. If you do not have friends who are member, and would like to try out their trial class, do feel free to quote my membership number, 6500001383. :)

You could visit them at ABC cooking studio, Takashimaya, #03-12/12A.

Have Fun! :)

TOTT - Sponges and Swiss Rolls

/hihi Yup! I have registered for yet another class, and this time its at ToTT! I also gotten myself a free apron. When the teacher told us we could keep the apron, I was like "Really??" with a big wide smile. Gosh, I am getting aunty-ish. Can't help smiling whenever something is free /blush

My Free Apron

I have signed up for this Sponge and Swiss Rolls class as they promised to provide recipe for:
1) Chocolate Fudge Cake
2) Pandan Cream Cheese Roll
3) Strawberry Hokkaido Milky Roll
4) Bonus Recipe, Kaya Chiffon Cake

The words, "Pandan", "Hokkaido", "Kaya", "Fudge", caught my attention and so I clicked and signed up. Lols. I am in a Pandan craze recently and who can reject the word, "Hokkaido"! And so I really was excited for the class.

Course Outline and Recipes

The teacher is Chef Julie Yee and she has even published a cookbook, 'Peranankan Snacks & Desserts", available in bookstores now. She was very confident when she speaks and was very organized. It was a 3 hours class so she needs to be very clear of all the procedures in order to teach fast and make sure everyone finished at least 3 recipes on time. Honestly, I feel she was more experienced as a teacher compared to the previous one for my liu sha bao class.

Actually,I bought recipe books, read online and tried different recipes at home. But I feel there is still a need to learn from all these experienced chefs for useful tips as well as how to improve your cake. There are many things which recipe books will not state and there are difficulties faced during the baking process which there is no FAQ from the books. Hence, going for a few lessons while you learn your own will definitely help to improve your baking knowledge and skills. (Lol, I speak like I am pro already thou I am not. /blush But I do learn some useful tips through all these lessons and I am happy to make new friends too :) )

And so, I shall share some baking tips that Chef Julie taught:

Chocolate Fudge Cake

1) We started off making chocolate fudge cake. Its easier for the oil to blend into the mixture if its warm. So do warm up your oil or butter for your cake mixture.
2) Also, corn syrup helps to make the cake more moist, and could be replaced with honey or glucose + water.
3) Cream of tartar is usually added to your egg white meringue to stabilize the meringue and the acidity could be replaced with a more natural ingredient, lemon juice.
4) When the recipe says put cake in the middle of the oven, it means that when the cake rise up, the top of the cake should be at the middle of the oven. Hence, its advisable to put your cake at the lower rack to bake and not at the middle rack.
5) If the baking temperature is 180 Degree Celsius, its best to preheat the oven slightly higher (200 Degree Celsius)
6) For the fudge, it requires gelatin. Always measure your water first, before putting in the gelatin powder, so that the gelatin can dissolves (rather than the other way round, putting gelatin first and add water to it)
7) For melting of chocolate couverture, be careful not to overcook the chocolate as chocolate will dissolves at just 45 Degree Celsius.

The Chocolate Sponge Cake w/o the fudge

Due to time constraint, we did not manage to do the fudge ourselves. And the teacher did a demo instead. We were then given some fudge to place on our cakes. However, as the cakes need to be cooled down, we were left with little time. So we just put a little and everyone rushed off. I feel that the teacher was very efficient already to finished 3 items with us. But I guessed its probably too packed and some were rather disappointed that the cake could not be decorated nicely before they head home. The teacher said that the class is to provide a basic teaching of sponge cakes. But I guess it will be good to place some attention on the decoration too. Even simple ones but at least the cake looks presentable for all to present (Haolian) to their loved ones :D haha

Verdict: The sponge cake is indeed more moist and fluffy due to the corn syrup as well as the warm oil. I tried making sponge cake at home a few times without corn syrup nor heating up the oil, and there is indeed differences in the texture. Of cause, other factors may play a part too. Like getting a better oven! Oven really play a big big part in baking. Personally, I thought the sponge is rather yummy, just that it needs some deco. :)

Swiss Rolls

For Swiss Rolls, the tips is rather similar, placing emphasis on the heating up of oil and making sure the whisk is super clean for beating the egg whites. I tend to bang my baking trays a few times against the table before sending them to the oven. The teacher says its not advisable to do so. Simply use the chop sticks to stir through to rid off the air bubbles instead of banging them against the table several times.

Pandan Swiss Roll before Rolled

Strawberry Swiss Roll before Rolled

The fillings of the Pandan Swiss Roll, cream cheese, tasted so-so, as the class emphasized more on the cake sponges instead of the fillings. Personally, I prefer the Strawberry Swiss Roll better. Although its not as good as the ones you would have in Japan, the texture is fluffy enough to woah your guests :) They used strawberry syrup for the Swiss Rolls, which Japan probably used the real fruits for it or jam, hence the difference. Hokkaido milk also taste creamier and more fragrant. So choice of ingredients play a big part too. Of cause, for class teaching, few will be so generous to provide you with these expensive ingredients. Speak about Japan strawberries, I saw white strawberries airflown from Japan selling $128 at Isetan now!!! /omg Omg! I do not have the luxury to try it though. I am soooo curious how it taste to be priced at $128! Really 好奇。。。。 /hmm Anyone tried before???

My Swiss Roll Rolled. lols

Cost:
I paid $106 for DBS cardholder. For Non member, its $118. For club21 member, there is 15% if minimum 2 signed up for the class. I heard from my partner that her class was free because her daughter bought stuffs from ToTT, and above a certain limit, they would provide free classes too. Oh ya, my partner looks like she is in her 40s, with no wrinkles, but she was actually in her 50s and her daughter is already 28 years old! I like going to different class as I get to talk to many ladies from different background having the same passion as me :) I am inspired to be a wrinkle free, natural looking still lady in my 50s too!

Anyway, am really upset that there is no time for Pandan Kaya Chiffon Cake. Will try it out at home instead and update my 成果 here.

Recently, I am in love with Cedele Gula Melaka Pandan Kaya Cake!!!

Its fluffy, with a hint of Gula Melaka, and fragrance from the coconut milk and flakes. I am so gonna eat it soon. If only I could bake this!!!

Anyway, I will be attending a lesson at a new baking studio next week, taught by a Japanese teacher!!

Excited /XD Stay tuned for the update!

Lastly, just wanna haolian my beautiful nails done by Glamourous Factory, at Plaza Singapura, #04-38.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow Nails

Happy Girl Lady Signed off,
XX

/bye

Kin Kin Chilli Ban Mian

There has been a lot of raves about this Kin Kin Pan Mee from KL previously. But the queue has die down! 新加坡人的一贯作风。haha. 一下子排pan mee, 一下子nam nam, 一下子llao llao, 一下子dazzling, 就看谁的queue可以最持久，锁住我们难满足的胃。But no queue does not mean no good, we came by food which we queued for hours but wonder why do we even started q-ing. Hence, I am glad I can eat this ban mian without the long queue!:D

辣椒是他们的signature! Especially for people who cannot take too spicy food like me, their Chilli is not chocking or unbearable, but fragrant. You could of cause add more if you want it to be more spicy :) I like the idea of the half boiled egg. The egg yolk oozes out, making each mouthful more smooth and flavorful. (蛋黄包袱着面条，让面条更滑顺，也更有滋味。) :p

Fishball and Bean sheet/with meatballs soup

As for the fishball soup, it does not taste fantastic. In fact, I find the fishball abit Chao Chou /dignose (fishy 鱼腥味). 

Menu

Above is the menu! The ban mian I usually order is no1. Fairly priced at $5. The place is air conditioned so I thought $5 is rather reasonable! The soup is $4. Would love to try the authentic ones at KL if there is chance but meanwhile, I will make do with this Ban Mian at:

534 Macpherson Road 

Singapore 368220

#Random I realized emoticons can only be viewed on Ipad or laptop. wonder how to get it fixed on the phone too /sweat

The Baking Loft - Liu Sha Bao

I love eating Liu Sha Bao (who doesn't right) and so, I did not hesitant to sign up for this Liu Sha Bao hands on lesson by The Baking Loft.

It was my first time to The Baking Loft and I thought its located at The Central. Do note that they are actually located at this building besides The Central, and besides Swissotel too.

The Baking Loft Classroom

The Baking Loft Classroom

I love the concept of this 'classroom'. It looks more like a cosy, one room apartment. Students can sit at the sofa of the living area while waiting for the class to commence.

The Baking Loft seems like a new start up as the person in charge (or probably the owner) and the teacher looks abit lost, preparing the class past 1pm (the supposedly start time). By 1pm, they were still asking where were ingredients placed and busy preparing for the class. The class started around 15 mins late, and yup, Liu Sha Bao baking time START!

Egg yolks

I believe it is not nice to reveal their recipe due to copyright issue, especially people is starting up a business (and we know it isn't easy). Also, I paid for the recipe so its like lending your classmates to copy your homework for submission. Hope people don't find me gei gao. /please But for own recipe (after I am really good at mastering and coming up with my own), I may share :) Don't know when will that day comes /wahaha but it will surely come if I keep practicing I believe. So, I will share the tips that the teacher said rather than the recipe. haha. And the purpose of this blog is actually to keep a record for myself as well as to share the 'classroom' experiences with different baking studios.

Anyway, for egg yolks, its best to use the red salted egg yolks. (Can be found at market)

Frozen Egg yolks

Freeze the salted egg yolks after it is mixed with other ingredients such as condensed milk, vanilla extract, butter, corn flour, coconut milk, icing sugar and yellow colouring for that nice orangey look. Take out the frozen egg yolks mixture, scoop it into small little balls and place the fillings into your bao dough and seal the fillings. When the Bao is cooked and cut into half, your salted egg yolk will then ooze out like this:

Liu Sha Bao

The teacher of cause taught us the bao making procedure too and it was rather tedious. >< As it involves yeast, it is best to prepare the dough one day in advance if you are thinking of serving your guests the next day.

During the lesson, students are worried because there is no stick pad to label our work throughout. Many times, we have to monitor where is our own bao placed, where is our own salted eggs and dough placed. It was quite messy as some try to identify their work and some are of cause worried their work is mistakenly taken by others. I am sure everyone wants to bring their own work and present it to their own loved ones. Hence, the labeling of work by each individual is really important. However, they seemed new and lost in identifying our work for us.

I baked this

The owner, Samantha (I guessed) gave out boxes and stickers that wrote (I baked this!) for us to take picture and to take home our work. Its an extra effort I would say! She looked touched when the class ended and sincerely asked us for our feedback. She looked really sincere and determined in improving the class, so despite all the hiccups, I believed their next lessons (with different teachers) will be better. The teacher, Pauline, seems a bit unorganized in her presentation but according to her own blog, she was apparently a very experienced baker. It could be she is new to the baking studio and I guess teaching and baking are still two very different professions.

Verdict of the Bao : 

The Bao dough is rather dense and hard, but the salted egg yolk taste fine :) I believe there is better Liu Sha Bao recipe out there, so ya, will definitely go for more lessons and try out myself in search for my ideal liu sha bao. 

Anyway, I saw this drawing at the studio, and I totally love it!

Nice drawing!

Its really an impressive drawing when you see it for yourself. It is very detailed. The artist painted the fur stroke by stroke, and the pig looks so fluffy to touch!! I cannot resist taking picture of it. The owner, Samantha told me she bid this drawing on Ebay for around 3K. It is a work by an Indonesian artist. I hope someone could tell me whats the name of this artist!! I will be very interested to know! She told me she bought Coplu painting few years ago at around 3K too. And Coplu painting could easily cost more than 10k now. Seems like a good investment! haha :D If only I have a big living room to put this painting! (not even asking for Mr J approval :P because he will be convinced /wahaha)

The Baking Loft

www.thebakingloft.com

/bye

幸福是。。。

Baros (Maldives) 的最后一天，我们乘船到一个Private sandbank吃晚餐！

(PS: This dinner cost about USD1000 /sweat . For that once in a lifetime experience。 How often do you eat at a private 沙洲 ya. #tryingtoanweiourselves )

Private sand bank

我们即将在这小小的沙洲共进晚餐！这样的景色，这样的安排感觉就像是偶像剧的桥段。我整个人一边兴奋，一边后悔着那吃太饱的午餐。

Menu

美丽的天色

但是，很快的，天空乌云密布并刮起阵阵大风。我好怕这顿晚餐因而泡汤，钱也跟着泡汤。/no

幸亏，阵阵的大风将乌云赶走，像是听到我默默的许愿声，乌云渐渐离我们而去。由于风实在太大了，我披着服务生给我的毛巾，在这样浪漫的场景，却看似狼狈的吃着晚餐。Mr J变得好静。我想应该也是被风刮得不想说话之类的。突然，他说想给我一个惊喜，从服务生那拿出了一束玫瑰花。我人生还是第一次收到那么大束的花。因为觉得花会枯萎，有些浪费，所以从来没有要求男生送花。虽然如此，第一次收到那么一大束花，还是露出了少女惊喜感激的神情。“怎么会买花呢”，但嘴角却上扬着。

他：你快乐吗
我：快乐啊
他：你幸福吗
我：幸福啊
他：我也觉得和你在一起很幸福

我心里突然像掀起了波浪，有种说不出的感动。

原来。。。

幸福，是当别人因为自己的存在而感到幸福

A Promise

希望我们可以记得这一刻，幸福的，感动的一刻。这两年的相处，有90%都是欢笑声，另外10%是因为太在乎的闹变扭。希望我们可以继续给彼此欢乐，幸福也会随之而来。

但愿我们可以携手共度每一天的日出。。日落。。雨天。。晴天。。

幸福是，

你和我。

MALDIVES, BAROS

是的！！（尖叫）没有错，我终于来到了梦寐以求的马尔迪夫(Maldives)。不知道从电视节目，杂志，看过多少次看似photoshop到不行的美景。这一次，终于可以亲身体验了。当然所有想快点到这个梦幻岛屿的人都会说‘再不去，以后可能就没机会了’这样的话，而我也不例外。不知道它是不是真的会消失，但我知道我真的很想看看它。

一出机场，本来还有点害怕，可是当地的人都非常友善。尤其司机一看到我们，就问我们是不是新加坡人，还称赞新加坡很干净，很漂亮。顿时，民族自豪感油然而生，为我们这么一个弹丸小国能立足世界舞台，并留下美好的印象感到骄傲。:)

搭船到Baros, 途中还提供饮料，帮忙照相。

一到Baros就有服务人员迎接我们，并安排了一个私人服务员帮我们安排行程，以及照顾我们的需要。

住宿：

建议想要到马尔迪夫（Maldives）的朋友选择Water Villa住宿。每天起来面对辽阔的大海真的让人心情愉悦！这样的景色绝对不会想和任何人闹情绪，只有闹情趣的可能 /blush

Beautiful Balcony!

舒服~

海 水十分清澈，原本不会游泳的我还很担心可以参与什么样的活动，以及会不会无法顺利浮潜(Snorkelling)。结果，我竟然在自己的Villa外就可以安稳的踩到地，并且还看到Nemo 鱼在我眼前。所以，不会游泳的朋友无需担心！一样可以看到美景。而且这里的浮潜有专人紧紧可随，让你安心。只是过于胆小的我站在海里看到鱼就已经觉得 Been There, Done That, 满足了！

到这种海岛国家，Yoga Pose是必拍的！难得来，就让我Act一个吧！(这时，竟然有小鲨鱼和Stingray在我们眼前游过。如果我还在水中，就能和它们近距离接触了！）

所 以，虽然Water Villa的住宿费比普通的Villa高，但我认为Maldives也不是一个时常有机会前往的地方，不如给自己留下一个特别的回忆，入住Water Villa,享受难得的海上体验。一只脚在30的我，渐渐懂得用钱买回忆，经验，远比买一个高级包包快乐。（如果有足够的能力拥有两者当然更快乐啦! Muahaha :D)

食：

Breakfast!早餐！

 早餐是Buffet的形式。很开心竟然还有Smoked Salmon Egg Benedict ！水果的选择也很多，其中最爱的还是火龙果和芒果 （也是最贵的:P)。我发现一个外国人拿了很多西瓜和蜜瓜。我告诉她火龙果很好吃，但她却觉得样子太怪异所以不敢尝试。

Chicken Piri Piri for Lunch

Dinner Buffet

Zest For Life

Not long ago, my Chairman shared with us this quote from our beloved late MM Lee. He mentioned about the importance of having the zest for life, making sure each day counts, and looking forward to the next day with joy and energy. And so, I decided to start blogging, to make sure I have learnt something everyday, to make sure I have something to look forward to, to make sure I wake up with the zest for life.

我很幸运小时候妈妈便要求我把中文学好，甚至在家庭并不富裕的情况下，让我参加中文语音培训以及表演课程，让我从小就对这个语言尤其感兴趣。哥哥也在这样的教育下当了中文老师，我也受哥哥影响，报读了南洋理工大学的中文系。毕业N年的我，发现在非中文的工作环境，能够说中文，写中文的机会少之又少。渐渐地，惭愧的，我的中文程度也大不如前，有时甚至忘了写一些简单的词。于是，我决定练习。不忘根，不忘本地继续练习中文。（就像现在这样。哈哈 :D）

Looking forward to share and keep a record of all my travel experiences, baking experiences as well as the different lessons I have signed up for!! :)

                                                                          Signing Off，
                                                                                 XX