Dare to dream,Live the dream

Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies

Thursday, November 28, 2013 | 11:00 am | 0 comments

I cook when I'm stressed up, or when I'm feeling down.

Cooking releases some tension and you even get an edible end product at the end of it.

So after a very very long hiatus, I went back to baking.

I have so many brownie recipes that I can't quite remember if I've tried this recipe before.

But they were delightfully chocolatey and fluffy.

Swapped these brownies for some homemade chocolates by a good friend, and it was just greatttttt.

Have never done a food swap before but I'm starting to think it's an awesome idea.

Probably making some truffles next!

Wonder if I can swap them for anything else heh hehh..

Labels: Baked, Nov2013

Ah Cai Travel Diary: Taiwan

Wednesday, November 20, 2013 | 8:00 pm | 0 comments

The long-awaited sequel is here.

Took me a super longggggg time to get this done, mostly because I kept procrastinating.

Adventure on the HSR!

Listening in on the phonecall not to subtly. Tsk.

Posing like a boss.

Bag, checked. Tickets, checked.

Let's go!

Taking a walk in drizzly winter Taiwan and posing for a photo together.

Meanwhile.. back at the hotel...

Making prank calls hahahaha!

Then greedy Ah Cai decides to take a detour to 7-11 and grab a bowl of spicy oden!

But before she starts, she pushed Cool Ge into my shopping bag so she can have the entire bowl to herself!

On a day trip to Danshui, Ah Cai the bear-camwhore hogged the screens for close up shots.

While Cool Ge the greedy bear decided to attack the most awesome bubble tea shop.

Hanging out in the hotel room chilling..

Stealing my bowl of rice!

Someone's chilling out in the hood of my coat. Looks pretty comfortable to me huh!

Atop Cing Jing mountain, good friends taking a shot together!

You can't say you've been to Cing Jing if your didn't try their milk ice cream!

and so the greedy little things did.

And that concludes the travel diary to Taiwan.

More adventures coming up, hopefully!

***Disclaimer***

Photo edits overlays from #brenoverlays and #shii_overlays

Labels: Lifestyle, Nov2013

The Night Festival 2013

Thursday, November 14, 2013 | 8:00 pm | 0 comments

This year's Night Festival was a colossal disappointment.

I only had a few pictures because...

There was NOTHING to see.

This was the one and only exhibit called Everyday Aspirations.

365 one-word definitions were collected, laser cut into wood panels and then light was shone through to create the shadows on the walls. I thought it was a pretty cool concept, and it was definitely one of the more memorable pieces of the night.

Then there is the must-visit light show at SAM, and I have to say, last year's show was better.

While it was still spectacular, I couldn't really grasp the theme of this year's show.

But I did enjoy the intricate shapes and designs, the orange colour was exceptionally striking.

And...that's it.

I didn't see anything particularly interesting this year, and I felt like the exhibits this year was particularly lacking. Lacking in quantity, lacking in quality, lacking in variety, lacking in vibrancy.
I hope next year will be better than this year.

Labels: Lifestyle, Nov2013

Tim Ho Wan

Thursday, November 07, 2013 | 8:00 pm | 0 comments

Brunch is too mainstream.

So we had lunchner instead - lunch + dinner.

Met A for a long -awaited catch up session and we decided to brave the crazy queue at Tim Ho Wan.

Fortunately, the queue wasn't too insane. We got in after 20 minutes.

I can't say that Tim Ho Wan has a really extensive menu, but every item on it is pretty interesting.

Might I add, their portions are huge.

Yes, unlike other dim sum places that serve up dainty dim sum portions, they serve up hugeeee portions so take extra care while ordering if you don't want to end up all stuffed.

BBQ PORK BUN

This is their legendary baked buns.

Plenty of fillings and the bun was really soft. But I can't say I'm a fan of BBQ buns so while it's really good, it's not one of my favourite.

PRAWN DUMPLINGS / HAR KAU

This dish is always one of my must-order whenever we have dim sum.

I love that the skin is very thin and the prawns are huge and juicy.

PORK DUMPLINGS / SIEW MAI

This one is good, but not superb.

I've tasted better ones.

CARROT CAKE

Oh this one is awesome.

I've never had such fantastic carrot cake before. I love the strips of radish, and variety of chopped ingredients buried within the carrot cake. Salty, fragrant and melt-in-your-mouth soft.

The only gripe I have is that it's kinda oily.

PORK CONGEE

The porridge is awesomeeeeee.

The rice grains have all melted into this sticky mess of congee that captures my heart perfectly.

I love the taste of the congee, very flavourful and the variety of eggs just made it perfect.

CHICKEN FEET

I'm not a fan of chicken feet, but A forced me to try one.

I have to say, it's really quite alright, not as scary as I thought it would be.

No claws for me though.

PORK RIBS

Pork ribs are another must-order dish for me when having dim sum.

I like that the pork ribs here are very meaty and nicely marinated.

Definitely something that I will order again and again!

OSMANTHUS CAKE

We washed down all that yummy goodness with some refreshing herbal jelly!

This would be the one dish that will really entice me to go back again!

It's cold, chilling and very very refreshing. Definitely helps in clearing up the palate, and I really enjoyed the chrysanthemum and sweet wolfberries embedded within the jelly. It's really soft and crumbles upon touch, but it glides down your throat and provided instant relief.

Verdict: 4/5

While it's not fantastically awesome, it does have a couple of dishes that's worthy to mention.

Satisfying comfort food for the soul.