Cooking

"YY cooks!" B exclaimed... yesyes... times have really changed...

Today I decided to blog about a short history or shall I say triumph of my own cooking.

Growing up in a family where the mum is a fantastic cook may not be the best motivation for one to learn cooking. There is simply no need when good comfort food is readily available, I need just to wait and eat.

30 plus years and I never feel inspired to start cooking. I guess the first person(s) whom I should give credit to for making me take the mental leap that cooking is not rocket science is Fiona and Matt when I was in Toronto. She is a sous chef and he an ex-cook turned gardener. In the mornings, Fiona and me will spend time in the kitchen talking about food before she disappears for the day. In the evenings, Matt will invite me to share dinner and we will discuss vegetables while the chicken grills... For the first time, I feel that cooking need not be perfect. "Use my kitchen" they say, "anyone can cook"

Nice... Tempted. Not enough for action.

It was only because of his birthday some years back did I physically cook. Full credit must be given to my good mate, Peter Kelly. Knowing that I cannot even boil potatoes to save my life, Peter's recipe for steak with red wine reduction on a bed of mashed potatos and greens on the side is the most through and idiot proof recipe the world has witnessed.

It took him a full 2 hrs to explain to me every minute process and detail (literally down to what I can do with my idle left hand and the 2 min interval while the steak cooks). I kept the stacks of paper where Peter drew sections, diagrams, actual 1 to 1 ratio of the diced potato... true blue technical service director style! KUDOs...

He even brought me to the butcher to buy the meat!!! He would have insisted to get the greens and butter at cold storage together if not for the fact that my pride does not allow me to admit I have no clue on such simple tasks.

This first cooking trial must be so historic that even my big boss, JMB, gave me a half day to get ready. I started preparations at 3ish and finished cooking 2 steaks by 8.30pm. Peter Kelly cannot for hell's sake understand why his student need 5 hrs to cook but hey!!! not everyone is a natural ok! Important thing is the final product - Ken finished everything, loving every bite. I was too hot and exhausted to honestly enjoy. That night, arm muscles which I did not know I even had, ached. Had to wake Ken up to massage me! Think I had cramps.

Look at the photos!!! aint it great? Quite Pro huh....

Then that was it... for the longest time, steak with red wine reduction is the only dish I know how to make. Fine, I cooked it ONCE... Early this year, we finally got our own place. Newly married, suddenly I see the importance of cooking! Picked up a few simple dishes from mimi and for a while it was good. But various upsetting setbacks  eventually make cooking very discouraging and exhausting.

Recently, a friend got me all inspired again. Introducing Florence, our office receptionist! A young little gal but what a good cook she is! Sharing recipes and doing grocery shopping became our favorite past time!

Chicken and potato stew. Dont look too good but wow... the goddess of comfort food and one of Gunnar's fav (out of the 3 dishes i cooked for him anyway)Sweet and sour pork. Effort dish, should have used green capcium for better colors... 7/10! I am almost there! reaching perfection...

Black Bean Fish. My pride and joy... this is fantastic, I am really good at cooking these days!!

Lemon Garlic Chicken Wings. Such a simple dish but be prepared to chop garlic till ur wrist breaks. Good recommendation Florence!Fried Rice. Tried many versions but this one is truly the best! I like the bit of salted egg york flavor...

Saturaday morning breakfast. Meat patty, honey apple ham, tomato, poached egg and cheese in warm ciabatta loaf plus tray of honey kiwi and prunes at the side -

Ok, some days are a Boo Boo. Saw a photo of a porkchop w potato in Bakerzin's menu and tried to replicate it. It says "succulent pork loin pan grilled with garlic, parsley, butter and olive oil with a side serving of sauteed potatoes and Dijon mustard- $19.90".

Tried to top up with a light mushroom spagehetti and greens. ok plus 2 slices of mushroom pizza... Just in case the food dun taste good..Mince meat in spagehetti? Yah just in case not enought meat for him. Egg? yah, just in case meat not nice... always another option... In the end. its a combo plate of everything because I cannot make up my mind!!! URGH!!!! (Plus I need to work on my colors!)

But.. But... taste is not bad... getting there.. getting there...Mince Meat Grilled Brinjal. Florence's reciple calls for steamed long brinjal. My mum says "no way brinjals should be steamed! Either fry or grill!! Go for Japanese round brinjals.. Better" I tried all ways/ kinds and it still taste strange... Damn... This is my fourth brinjal attempts and it is still.... bad. Florence, I tell u lah, the problem is your recipe.

Egg Omelete. There should be a sense of happiness when one eats egg omelete... Mine is tasteless. Was told it is a result of my damn tiny drop of oil and stingy usage of salt (a pinch is not a few grains) on a non stick pan. Ok! Healthy is not tasty...

Will keep you guys posted on more YY's cooking success and failures! Cheers..

Plants Chapter II

Realised that I have missed out on some of my plants. They told me so and they are feeling a bit sore about the entire affair.

My Java Palm -

honestly one of our very first immigrant and so far the tallest. It is forever the backdrop for the rest and boring to photograph so it never occur to me to introduce this loyal green. Er... its soil is now overgrown with mushrooms! Not so nice. Plus we saw a evil looking grasshopper amongst the leaves this weekend... no... not nice at all... Palm, can you please do some tidying up after yourself?

Lantana -

new kid on the block. My hot favorite - great body shape, colourful and smells great... of coz Xianger says its poisonous!!! First photo is whow it looked when we first bought it... last week, Ken fed it sum goat dung and suddenly we have n explosion of colors!!! The plant is "pu zua" (heaty)

Look Look... amazing colors! Different shades of pink (gee I really dont like pink). The orange blossoms are truly heaty outbreaks. Yellow! My fav! And the black flowers are not wilted versions of the whites.. they are actually BLACK... coolllll

Anthurium - just realised that my perfect white is not Calic lily but anthurium... geee. Oh check out my christmas fern at the bottom!!! it is flowering!!! Previously we tot it was half dead!

Erba Cipollina - This Dolly Lau appeared at my desk and gave me this sachet to grow. Told me its spice seeds that came free with the pan she bought. Yah, I can tell its spice but what spice is that? Wooo... one website says it means marijuana grass... nice.. Chey, google says is chives. Boring...

Green Fingers (trying) to be)

Our living room has a strip of planter latch and we have finally gotten to filling them up with greens... My oldest friend, Xianger advised us to start growing everything from seeds... do not buy from nursery because plants there contain a lot of fertiliser and pesticides... "Aiyah, caring for plants is just like caring for human beings. The more attention you give them, water and feed them, the happier they are and the healthier they will grow...". Since that fateful day, we have tried numerous seeds... bell pepers, chillies, tomatos, flowering plants, morning glory(that would be nice!!) etc.... We followed the instructions on the back of the seed packets diligently. Every weekend, planting and transplanting, going to various nurseries, talking to friendly uncles on how to fertilise, what pots to use... Sitting and getting our hands full of soil by the window became our favorite pastime. It is really insightful to see how plants grow from tiny seeds. We spent every free hour investigating and observing how the roots break the seed coat, secure themselves in the soil and carry their food sac proudly in the air with their newly "strengthened" stem... Most of our little seeds did burst into seedlings. Seeds taken care by me prosper... initially... But they never really grow into adulthood. My understanding with my plants is that we coexist, each minding our own business.... It was good, for a while... then non survived beyond sprouting 2 big leaves... They are simply too weak against the sourching sun (in all fairness, the sun killed my plants!!!) Seeds cared by him... well... slow start but they began life strong and well ... Let's say someone's extensive and prematured transplanting of the tender ones killed them all... ok, our first few tries did not really work out. We rightfully concluded that the problem lies with inferior quality seeds! HA! So he bought a pack of duber expensive "golden chili seeds" (literally golden seeds). Not only did the gold standards seedlings make a smooth transit beyond the 5 leave treshold - a historial feat (see above!), they are still going stronger by the day as we speak!!!! The power of life must be inspiring. The neighbouring mint seedling is now more than 10 leave strong as well! NOW WE ARE TALKING. It will take us years to green our little strip if we really start from seeds. Hence the shortcut - Bought a pot of White/green Calla and it has since gave us a 3rd perfect white flower... We one day came home to find a new contribution by Mimi - a marcotting of a "I dunno pink or blue flowering plant which I pluck from the CC" firmly secured in a spare pot of soil. It was all willowly leaves for weeks till suddenly we see a bud. A week later, it is certainly a white (pink? blue?) bud... one morning before work. WALA... a fragile but beautiful PINK blossom!!! By the time we came back from work, the flower has wilted and dropped off. This series of photos were taken on the second blossom. How short is this moment of glory... I only have this chance to photograph it before i leave for work. By nightfall, its gone... Our spiky fern is not looking so well, like Xianger said...Pandang leaves and our very first pots of "dunno wat" greens remains happy and healthy... Time to groom and add some pandang to dessert soup. Last but not least... the most gay of them all - I think it is called "yellow malay flower plant"... it is certainly growing beyong well... it is fantastic...

27 weeks

Ken bought me an iPhone 4. Finally, I am on par with the high tech cool dudes... WEE WEE!!! That does not however automatically make me e-savy. Feel-good emotions plunged immediately after I first tried to use the phone to call  Cannot find the green CALL button!!! PANIC. Oh anyway, this blog is about the pregancy... hahahah. My iPhone "I'm expecting" Apps tells me that I am currently 27 weeks. And it is dead acurrate in informing me that I may/should/will be suffering from fatigue, backaches and difficulties in sleeping. Food cravings never really started for me but since I will be forgiven for munching... I might as well not give up on the chance to taste the chocolate peanut butter stack cake from Starbucks! HEAVENLY SINFUL!!!!!! Photo taken by my new gadget of coz. We finally got down to planning for the arrival of Megan this week. Listing the hand-me-down items, what to purchase, how to decorate the baby room (aka duty officer room). Finally signed up for our prenatal course. KK's extremely comprehensive 11 sessions prenat course is fully booked so we went for Thomson Medical's 6 session course. 2 slots left!!! Very excited...

Megan Loh Rui Bin

Let me formally introduce my daughter - Megan, Loh Rui Bin. We are sumwat obsessed with a name that begins with an "M" and ends with an "N". If our baby is a boy, he will most likely to be called Morgan, Mortan, Martin etc... Her expected due date is 24 Nov 2010... During the last scan, doctor says she is fat, has quite a big head, and chinese legs (aka short)... For some reason, Megan is really excited these days because I can feel her kicking and turning in my tummy. Everytime she does that, I cannot help but savour such moments and smile. My little bundle of joy has been giving me serious backaches and swollen legs! Walking can be quite painful on some days... Haiz!! But other than these minor aches and pains, she is as cool as her mum. Tsk Tsk... She is going to grow up embracing what this world can provide -the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly... She is going to bask in the love and warmth of all who love her... she is going to one day fall but take in stride hardships and challenges life throws at her. She is going to learn that the world is not perfect but wonderful nevertheless. She will grow up as mummy's little pearl and in future, a fine young lady with a passion and spirit to inspire and influence... Cringe, my friends without children... your buddy here is turning into those mushy mothers who shows all the signs of "my baby is the cutteest!!!"... Rui Bin, we are so happy to have you... mummy love u. Cant wait for your arrival...

Bali Research Trip

Hotel research trips are always a blast... Not only do you stay in nice places but you get to try interesting food concepts and savour what the market has to offer... This time, Andre and me ended up in Bali to sniff out St Regis, Alila Suites and Bulgari...

St Regis

Very very interesting, the driveway entry into St Regis. You actually enter the compound without realising it. After a short ride, it will suddenly dawn on you that "hey I like this lush landscape, where is this?". My dear, you are already in St Regis... WelcomeThen you encounter a monstrous ancient looking structure. Feels like a readaptation of cambodian ruins. Nevertheless, I like it. Impressive, imposing, a gd stage for unfolding drama. Lobby is typically St Regis in design and detailing. Aka, over-detail but grand and comfy. Ate with Victoria, Allan and Andre at the pool side restaurant facing the beach. Nice cosy place with whitewashed interiors and decorated with pale colored wayang kulit.. nice indigeous touch. Oh btw, food is disappointing. My room is a cool 92msq of space that is very thoughtfully considered. I did find it quite frustating to spend 10 mins walking round trying to find a empty countertop space to place my watch and accessories. Housekeeper does like to clutter up every table space with plates of fruits/ cards/ handwritten welcome notes/ menos etc... Bathroom is perfect. LLLLLLove it..Relaxed ambience totally destroyed by trying to sort out a "simple yet can turn disasterous" shanghai/ wenzhou flight arrangements with incompetent staff back home. Replying to emails burned my afternoon.

Pampered myself to a spa session after a totally stuffed breakfast. (Ken would love this breakfast) St Regis spa concept is butterfly inspired- backlit and floating butterflies are everywhere. I was very well looked after by very professional therapist... memoriable...

VERDICT: At US$450 a nite, not bad a deal... of the 3 resorts, this is the best.

Alila Suites Utuwatu

Heard that Ally and Lx wanna come here... opps sorry my backpacking buddies... so paisei

Designed by Woha, the entrance is totally duh and understated. You definitely get the feeling of "u mean this is it??!!"

But once you step into the compound, you immediately feel refreshed. Lobby reminds me of Amansara but better. Waiting lounge looks right out to a pool and the sea beyond. The set up and color scheme is so chilled out that I agree with Victoria 100% that this is the perfect home. Ken, our next house will look like this ok. Living room opens out to our pool. ok with you or not?

Love the table. Ken, I think we need a table like this by our pool. Good for BBQ parties in the evenings.. kids can mess it up all they want.You can really tell Woha's signature from the villa architecture. Slide and hide walls everywhere. Rooms can be fully opened like a pavillion or enclosed in the comforts of AC. pretty pretty ammenity boxes.. BlissfulVERDICT: At US$650 a nite, it is not worth it. First day - totally excited. Second day - there is nothing to do, no beach, no activity. Resort too comtemplative and zen but honest, I have nothing to comtemplate no matter how deep I look inside myself... Bored and stressed w emptiness.

Bulgari

VERDICT: Din bother about photos, all black interiors and exteriors... US$850 a nite, for people with money chasing the fashionable. Rooms - bad. Restaurant - bad. Spa - bad. People in the pool - bored faces with no smiles.