As I age, I start to become wiser and learn the importance of incorporating whole grains into my diet. While I find it rather easy to add whole grains in my daily meals (brown rice, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal), I rarely use them in my baking. Continue Reading →
A couple of months ago, I made my maiden voyage to Oslo, Norway. It is always exciting to be exploring somewhere new. And of course, it helps when my good friend, E lives in Oslo and was my tour guide throughout the trip. Continue Reading →
Every afternoon, between 4-5pm, I put my feet up for ten minutes to savour a slice of something sweet with my cuppa. This slot is pretty much etched in my schedule. It allows me to catch my breath and re-charge before I get on with what I call “evening mayhem”; the dinner-bath-bed routine for my two kids. On the really crazy busy days when I’m deprived of my afternoon snack, I turn into something rather scary. Continue Reading →
The cupcake boom was alive and well when I was first in Chicago four years ago. There was Sprinkles, Swirlz, Sugar Bliss…and of course, there was Molly’s. I especially love Molly’s. I truly love Molly’s. Molly’s was a five minute walk away from my apartment when I lived in Chicago and I definitely had a love hate relationship with it. I loved it for the little pick-me-ups whenever I needed (or wanted) one, but of course hated that my then expanding waistline was in no small part attributable to my love of the delectable concoctions at Molly’s Cupcakes.
Putting vegetables in baked treats is not uncommon as they add moisture to the bake. We have shredded carrots in carrot cake and sliced zucchini in muffin – but beetroot in a chocolate cake? As I was watching Nigel Slater (in Simple Suppers) make a beetroot cake, I was going “what the hell was he thinking?”. Continue Reading →
Or as it is known in my family – ¨Postre de Boris¨ (Boris’ dessert)
Boris was once the boyfriend of my fantastic cousin Ximena, who has always been a trailblazer and is a fixture on my list of girls to follow. Not only is she an expert bamboo taxonomist, a flower connoisseur and the head of a newly converted organic coffee farm but she is also a student of life and a beautiful strong soul. Continue Reading →
When my toddler, T, had his first taste of this roll cake his wee face broke into a wide smile that lit up his eyes and entire face. Like him, I can’t seem to get enough of this light-as-a-feather roll cake. Asian incarnations of the Swiss roll are decidedly lighter than their European forebear. The Japanese, in particular, have catapulted the roll cake (ロールケーキ or ro-ru keiki) into another stratosphere. Their roll cakes tend to be lightly, rather than assertively sweetened. And they have a soft, delicate texture and moist, fine crumb I absolutely love. I was heartbroken when the Arinco stall in the basement of Ion where I had indulged in many a salted caramel roll cake air-flown from Japan closed down. Continue Reading →
A few weeks back, I updated my page in which I list my favourite tools. The list pretty much covers my camera gear (plus the Olympus OM-D I don’t own yet but dream of daily), my favourite knives and knifemakers, and the equipment I use for sous vide cooking. While I previously championed the SousVide Supreme, these days, my wife S and I are lucky enough to be using the coolest, smallest (and comparatively affordable) chamber vacuum packer on the market, the Vacmaster VP112EU, and the Addelice swid, a beautifully designed (and also comparatively affordable) immersion circulator. Continue Reading →
Every morning, I try to squeeze in as much sleep as possible. To do that, I often sacrifice breakfast. So when it comes to meals, breakfast receives the least attention, and is at times even forgotten. I dash out of the house with a poorly slapped together sandwich or simply drown myself with some instant hot drink. Even if I get the rare chance to savour it, it would be hawker fare like mee siam, chwee kueh and so on. Don’t get me wrong, I love my hawker food – but to eat them every day – I am not sure if my arteries would approve. Continue Reading →
Nothing beats a shaved ice dessert on a hot day. The gorgeous dessert pictured here is from a cool cafe in Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan. My wife S and I are presently in Japan – taking a week’s break from Singapore. Continue Reading →
Since a colleague introduced me to Kooka Café earlier this year, I’ve made the place my unofficial hideout, going at least once a week to clear my mind, unwind, and have a thoroughly pleasurable lunch. It isn’t a ‘sexy’ cafe by most definitions: the décor is simple, the menu is small, and the dishes are honest, unassuming even. What it does have is the one intangible ingredient that I think matters the most in any food establishment, the one thing that makes you want to return again and again – love. Continue Reading →