Serangoon Gardens Breakfast.

Well well sunday is usually a day when people would wake up at 9-10am and have their meals as so called brunch. But for me. it is a must to wake up at 7am to do some exercise and have breakfast. Today mum & dad decided to walk to serangoon gardens market for breakfast since there was nothing to do.

Tan Soon Mui Beancurd - $0.50

 Everytime before we start gobbling down other food, we definitely would get one of this. It tastes so soft and smooth, especially when its fresh out in the morning. At only 50cents, it is so much worth it than the rochor beancurd at certain places.

Sim's Delicatessen's You Char Kway and Butterfly Fritter - $0.70 each

To go along with the beancurd, we got these as there was only one stall selling YCK. The YCK was not crispy and kind of oily. The only thing that i found it quite ok was its not so thick even though its quite big. The butterfly fritter taste much better than. It was fried to the right crisp and not so sugary. hmm yummy.

Rolina Tradition Hainanese curry puff - $1.20 each

Lucky i queued up for this puffs early when they just opened their stall... The queue went freaking long after that. Although Rolina is famous for their tradition curry puffs, i still prefer their sardine puffs. With onions and chilli, the sardine tasted so heavenly. The crust was another lovely point as it was thin and crispy. Even though it's quite ex for the size, i find it quite better than Old Chang Kee's. So Shiok!!

black carrot cake - $3

 Dad went to order this famous black carrot cake from the serangoon gardens carrot cake and wanton noodle. Even though there are quite a few stalls at the serangoon gardens market centre, but this one still taste the best. Fried with chilli, the carrot cake was soft not mushy and together with the egg its simply amazing...we could even swallow it without chewing.

The only disappointment is that we were not able to get buns from the serangoon garden confectionery. It was raining quite heavily that time and the queue was way too long. Dad and mum had to rush back to catch the Kungfu panda 2 movie. Oh well we could just come and get anytime since we lived near there!! WAHAHAHAHA

First hands-on!!

Ah its been so busy these days. Have to complete all calling of IVR and plotting out their call flows by these few weeks. But still i managed to find some time to go down to Phoon Huat which is located at aljunied, and attend their baking work shop. It was my first time baking without my fantastic dad... haix.. The menu for that day was  Chocolate Cream Fudge Cake and Caramel Nut Banana Bread. Luckily the class was quite small and I've got a partner to help me!! First up is the bread.

All the ingredients except the butter and salt were mixed together first.

the dough is then put to rest for 30 minutes before dividing them again.

While waiting for the dough to rise, the chef demonstrated to us how to caramelized sugar to the perfect the taste. The nuts consists of roasted walnuts, roasted almond, roasted hazelnut and roasted pistachio. Well any nuts could be added into it as long as they add up to 400gm..... I guess cashew nuts would be better than pistachios.

Bananas were cut into cubes and added into the caramelized nuts

The dough were then flatten and the fillings were added into it. God i hate the wrapping part. Its like wrapping xiao long bao but i just can't master it. luckily my partner helped me covered up the holes. They were then left to proof before bushing with egg wash and bake. Finally tadah!!

My first ever bread!! haha they smelled so nice, freshly out from the oven and soft!! I mean really soft!!! (Y). Next we carried on with the chocolate cake. Unfortunately, chef baked the sponge chocolate cake for us. :( I wanted to do that!!

We had to cut the cake into 3 layers so as to put in the chocolate cream in between it. Hahaha u guess it, help was needed for this too.

The ingredients for the fudge filling

While waiting for water to boil, i was busy stuffing myself with the left over cakes and the dark couverture. Oh my super glutton. We added some rum into our sugar syrup as it would taste better than just chocolate. yeah just chocolate.The filling were then spread on the sponge before covering up the whole cake with chococalte flakes on the side and dust cocoa powder on top. TADAH!!

I didn't add much cream to it as my family are kinda like anti-too-much-cream cakes. Yeah the calories add up would be woah. It was fun experience for me and im gonna sign up for the next lesson which we'll be doing chocolate special cake (hazelnut, hazelnut nougat and bittersweet chocolate) plus black sesame wholemeal bread with dice cheese fillings. Much anticipation!!

Giant Ikea. Ikea Giant.

33 degrees!! Man it has been hot, i mean really super hot these days. Even my fishes in the tank need some ice to cool down. Today we went to IKEA in search of cushions for sofa. 50 x 50cm cushions. Hmm something nice and compatible to our old traditional chinese wooden sofa. Almost all singaporeans would know what IKEA is famous for. Not the furniture, not the tools but.... the MEATBALLS!! yeap the swedish meatball.

Swedish Meatball Kid's size - $2.90

Got myself a kid's size as i wasn't hungry during that time. These meatballs are not purely beef but consist a mixture of beef and pork. I thought it would be like some meatballs sold at pizza hut but surprisingly it taste good. Its has a abit crunch when you bite it and its not salty due to the seasoning. Totally perfect with the sauce!!. These meatballs come with a potato... I think it would be better if those potato were mashed as isn't better to mix it with the meatballs and sauce?!

Vegetarian organic pasta with tomato sauce - $3.80

Mum tried the vegetarian organic pasta with tomato sauce. I could say it totally look so different from the menu picture. There was only pasta, the sauce and cheese only. And it costs like $3.90?!! oh well mum has to bear with it as its not 12pm yet. Her break from vegetarian time.

Salad - $3.20

There was a mini salad bar too where we can DIY our own salad. Well theres nothing to complain about since there was only lettuce, tomatoes, peas, purple lettuce and canned peaches. There was also soup of the day which was mushroom soup but we didn't try that as it cost $3.20 for just a mini plate. Not worth!!

After touring IKEA, we went to Giant which is like 2 mins walk only. But since its approaching lunchtime, we decided to fill our stomach first at the kopitiam before it. There was quite a number of people at the Dim Sum stall which made me quite curious, wanting to try their food.

Yuan Yang ( chee cheong fun + yam cake) - $1.80

 The sauce taste powdery and sweet. It is like drinking not well-stirred bubble tea!! ... eww yucks. Both the chee cheong fun and yam cake taste ordinary like from some factory. The only thing i like was their chilli. It was spicy and well to my liking.

Siew Mai and Egg Tart

The siew mai was bigger than the usual normal ones and was good. There isn't any smell from the pork and the outer yellow skin is still soft, not so dry like some. The egg tart was ok. Dad found the egg tart not to his liking but to me, i find it ok.

Besides these, there were dumplings, buns and fried stuffs. I do not dare to touch the buns as they seemed dry and the bread is more than the filling. The fried ones looked sinful and full of msg as well. So nope thanks!

Dad couldn't resist himself from taking one container at of this at Giant and wanted tohide it in his cupboard. HAHA! why? Cause durian is his favourite fruit of all!!

 This container contains 75 packs of it. Don't think that they looks quite small so consuming a number of it is ok. According to it, 3 mini of it contains 150 calories and 60 of it comes from fats!!. Well well I do have to control myself while snacking on sometimes!

First ever high tea.

Today it was a lucky day as all my family members were at home. Dad's not having any functions nor sis not having some work to do. So we decided to go for a high-tea buffet at The Regent tea lounge which is considered as one of the best place to go. The buffet starts from 1.30pm to 5.30pm. So since the timing is quite near to lunchtime, I starved myself to have some more space for good food. Due to that, my sugar level went low and fell asleep at times when with our appointment with a car agent before the buffet. Mum bought me one papaya to bring up my sugar level, keeping me awake. 2.30pm and finally everything's done. Rushed down to The Regent, waited for 10 minutes as it was full of reservations. There were puffs, sushi, desserts, asian corner, salad and sandwich corner, cookies/scones corner and waffle corner!! The menu was somehow like these:

WEEKEND HIGH TEA

Adults $44++Children $22++

Time
Saturdays, Sundays andPublic Holidays

1:30pm to 5.30pm

With Free-Flow Serving of Freshly Brewed Coffee

Or

Taylor’s of Harrogate Fine English Tea Selection

Or

Hot/Cold Chocolate

Sandwiches

Roast Beef, Horse Radish and Stilton Cheese Open Face Dark Rye

McLelland Cheddar Cheese on Dark Rye

Oak Smoked Salmon and Lemon Cheese on Sunflower Bread

Organic Egg Mayonnaise and Red Mustard Frills on White Bread

Free Range Corn Fed Chicken with Tarragon Crème Fraiche on Brioche

Appetizers

Quinoa Salad with Grilled Vegetables, Raisin and Cashew Nuts

Seared Tuna with Scallops and Kabayaki Dressing

Vegetables Cruditee with Yogurt Dip

Salads

Assorted Leaves with Condiments and Dressing

Pate

Pork Pate

Duck Rilette

With Melba Toast

Smoked Salmon and Sushi Station

Scottish Smoked Salmon

Smoked Trout

Sushi Maki

Avruga Caviar

with Capers, Onion, Sour Cream, Horse Radish, Mustard Dill, Lemon Wedges and Bagel Toast

Carving Station

Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb – Confit of Salmon (Saturday)

English Roast Beef – Confit of Salmon (Sunday)

Vegetables – Mustard Selection and Natural Jus

Asian Corner

Spicy Chicken Wings with Mango Salsa

Chicken Satay

Singapore Wok Fried Noodles with Vegetables

Dim Sum (One Type)

Seafood in Chili Crab Sauce

Savoury Items

Smoked Salmon and Mushroom Quiche

Sausage Roll Cipollata

Pissaladiere (Tomato-Onion and Anchovy Puff)

Beef and Caramelized Pearl Onion Pot Pie

Mini Tuna Puff

Vegetarian Samosa

Chicken Pie

Cornish Pastie

Cheese Straw

Freshly Baked Pastries and Tea Cakes

Assorted Macaroon

Chocolate-Yuzu Tart with Pecan Nuts

Vanilla and Amarena Cherry Panna Cotta

Cheese Cake

Pavlovas Cup Cake with Blueberry

Lemon Curd Fingers

Assorted Pralines

Philip’s Truffles

Passion Fruit Crème Brulee

Mini Paris Brest

Cherry Trifle

Strawberry and Vanilla Macaron Trifle

Berry Salad and Kiwi Marinated in Yuzu

Chocolate Fudge Cake

English Fruit Cake

Apricot and Prunes Honey Madeleine

Blueberry Cobbler

Duo of Lamingtons “Raspberry and Chocolate”

Fruit Skewers with Chocolate Fondue

Gelato Station & Crepes Station

Daily Selection of Ice-Cream and Sorbet with Rainbow Bread

Original Belgian Waffle Station

Condiments and Coulis

Strawberry, Blueberry, Caramelized Banana, Nutella, Jam and Preserve, Devonshire Cream,

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Sauce, Whipped Cerium, Sliced Almonds, Butter-Scotch Sauce

Freshly Baked Scones

Blackcurrant, Plain or Apple Raisin scones

Served with Devonshire Clotted Cream, Organic Strawberry Preserve and Traditional Lemon Curd

Assorted Cookies and Jams

Somehow and for dunno what reason, I'VE FORGOTTEN TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE FOOD!! ALAMAK!!! I only remember after taking my last plate which is the dessert section.

The highlighted ones were the ones I tried only. There were just too much food which my small little stomach could not contain them all. DO remember one thing!! DO request to sit on normal dining tables and chairs, NOT sofas as you have to bend down to eat which your food could not go down to your stomach, leading you wanting to vomit at times.

To try :

• The Earl grey tea which is free flow.
• Scottish smoked salmon - adding it with lemon wedge made the salmon taste like heaven.
• Avruga Caviar - Caviar!! Must eat since you're paying so much for it. HAHA
• Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb - It was roasted until just right which its not so hard nor chao ta. I suggest dipping it into their special gravy and eat it together with their roasted potato. It will taste better
• Baked confit salmon - It was so tender, smooth and no fishy smell like some sushi stall would have for their salmon. NICE.
• Chilli crab sauce - It was a surprise for me as normally I thought that only cze char stalls would sell. The sauce was cooked just right, not so spicy. Mini crab meats could be found in the it. There were fried buns to go with it but do watch out for them as they were quite oily.
• Puffs - simply yummy.
• Scones -  They were indeed up to their name of being well-known for it. They were soft, not so flaky and sweet. Mixing it with the strawberry jam or lemon curd to have a better taste!!

Could skip:

The desserts. yes the desserts. They were either too sweet nor not up to the standard especially cheesecake. It was taste like some ordinary cake and hard which those cheesecake sold at NTUC actually taste better than that!! Dim Sum was some spinach dumpling which I went YUCK after having one mouth.

It costs us $250++ which is around $50 per pax. Overall I find it was worth while because of the carvings, sushi and puffs sections. After the buffet, we head down to The Central at clarke quay to get stickys for sis' colleagues. I went to get my healthy chips and some organic chips too.

1g of fats chips to stop my crave for chips. $3.45 

0.2g of fats rice crackers from organic shop. (Y) $8.90

Although these chips sold quite expensive but they are so much healthier, not sinful and taste quite well than those chips sold nowadays. The baked potato chips could be found in Big NTUC and the rice crackers could be found at the organic shop at The Central market. 

A new diary

A food diary for me. I remember writing diaries during primary school times which was our weekly homework. Mine would always be like " I woke up at 6am, brush teeth , breakfast and blah blah blah..." Sometimes drawings would appear in between words to describe words I do not know how to spell. Writing that is so boring , boring and boring. Haha but now I'm starting this blog to note down the feelings and thoughts of my favourite thing food. In Singapore, there is no way you could go on starving for hours or diet for days. Everywhere you can food. Every few steps, there will be MAMA shops, food centres, cafes, bakeries, NTUC, restaurants, shopping centres and stuffs. 

9 months ago, I went for a diet because of ..... I went from 52kg down to 43kg which now brought me minor depression. I went on water fasting, vegetables and fruits only, excessive exercising and staying away from having a proper meal, fast food and snacks. This lead me to binge eat at times which Bulimia will be a more proper word for it. In result, I would go on starving and exercise to force myself to cut off those fats. From a healthy, sporty athlete to a weak and fragile stick, physical and mental problems start appearing. All these went on and on until one day, I nearly fainted. We, humans live to enjoy food and not eat food to live. I should enjoy them. So now, Im gonna go on a food spree BUT still control my portion intake. 3 small meals a day and 2 fruits as snacks everyday.