又是忙碌的週末

昨天（星期六）早早陪母亲买菜，过后帮父亲跑银行。Jeremy刚搬进我的社区，下午跟他在不远的Creamier Handcrafted Ice Cream and Coffee 吃好吃的waffles and ice-cream.

过去的一年多就在一波又一波的忙碌中度过。今天突然多了一个空白的上午，把家里的储物室徹底收拾一遍，扔了好几箱十年都没碰过一次的杂物。发现几样莫名其妙的items: 一个不知几时搬进来我们家的黑色行李箱；还有一台来历不详的果汁机。是谁送的？ 记不起来了。下週搬到CASH CONVERTER 把它换了现金吧。

爱听藤田恵美（Emi Fujita）唱“In My Life”。母亲问：怎么一首歌播了一遍又一遍？ 我说：What to do? 就是百听不厌啊!

下午，Tryphena 把我, Lai Har 和 Rhys 招到Yahava KoffeeWorks 小聚。聊着，聊着，被告知原来Hazel 明年的三月将步上红地毯，而且会搬进我家对面的组屋! 好嘢！Rhys 似乎 也正在同个社区物色房子。希望我们不久后会become 邻居咯。

雨

今天气温下降
连续两天的下午都下一场大雨

雨季，似乎快来临了

APPRECIATION

Way overdue.  Cookies for all the wonderful neighbours who extended a helping hand to my family in one way or another when life presents its challenges.  I'm grateful for you.

Saying thanks.  My way.

I must've made David Lebovitz’s Salted Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies a zillion times. Over the years I’ve tweaked his recipe and made it mine. Everyone goes gaga over these cookies. Time and again my co-workers proclaimed them “lethal”.

Consider yourself warned.

SALTED BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 

Adapted from this recipe by David Lebovitz 

Makes 24

115 grams salted butter, at room temperature 

85 grams light brown sugar 

100 grams granulated sugar (or 70 grams caster sugar)

1 large egg, at room temperature 

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

180 grams all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (or whatever flaky sea salt you have in your pantry)

200 grams coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate 

1 cup toasted nuts, coarsely chopped 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar just until smooth and creamy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the beaten butter until combined, then mix in the chopped chocolate (including any chocolate dust) and the chopped nuts. 

Cover and chill the batter until firm. (I like to let it rest overnight.)

To bake the cookies, preheat your oven at 180 degrees C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Form the cookie dough into rounds about the size of a large unshelled walnut (about 30 - 32 grams). Place the mounds evenly spaced apart on the baking sheets, and press down the tops to flatten them so they are no longer domed and the dough is even. 

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies look about set, but are not browned. Remove from the oven and quickly tap the top of each with a spatula, then return to the oven for 2 to 5 more minutes, until the tops of the cookies are light golden brown. 

Leave the cookies in the baking sheets for about 2 minutes to firm up a bit, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

THE CARVER: A HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

Too funny not too share!  Happy Halloween, everyone.

想旅行！

希望明年能有机会出门。

50 SHADES OF GREY

The haze is back, and with a vengeance too.  I'm all teary eyed.

PSI: 260.  Will it breach 400 like it did back in 2013?

It's a holiday and I'm keen to have my parents to try out the still fairly new London Fat Duck.  This morning they took one look outside the window and needed no convincing to remain indoors.  So I strapped on my mask and dived into the smog.  

The restaurant opened at 11AM.  I waddled in at 11:05AM to find the place packed, and a gaggle waiting to be let it.  Despite the bustle, the service was pretty decent.  I managed to place my order for takeaway at 11:11, picked it up at 11:41 and arrived home at 12PM sharp.   Mission accomplished.

It was exceptionally tasty London Roast Duck Noodle (S$7.80) and crackling on the Pork Belly (S$13.80) was to die for.  Well worth the dive into the haze earlier on.

MIDDLE-EARTH COOKIES

Somebody from the office journeyed through “Middle-earth” last week and brought back Whittaker’s Artisan Chocolate bars in a variety of exciting flavours.  

Not everyone likes white chocolate. Someone definitely doesn’t so he gave his chocolate bar to me. I turned it into a cookie experiment. 

I've to say that the new flavour - Hawke’s Bay Braeburn Apple with Vanilla White Chocolate - is rather odd.  I used salted butter and flaky sea salt in the recipe and they balanced off the very sweet white chocolate quite suitably. 

WHITE CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY MACADAMIA COOKIES   

Makes 20

115 grams salted butter, at room temperature 

55 grams light brown sugar 

50 grams granulated sugar 

1 large egg, at room temperature, slightly beaten 

185 grams all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (or whatever flaky salt you like) 

55 grams Braeburn Apple with Vanilla White Chocolate, coarsely chopped

80 grams sliced dried cranberries 

60 grams toasted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped   

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.   

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy and smooth then add the sugars. Continue to beat until the mixture is very light in colour and texture.   

Beat in the egg a little at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir the flour mixture until combined, then mix in the chopped chocolate, dried cranberries, and chopped nuts.   

Cover and chill the batter until firm. (I like to let it rest overnight.)   

To bake the cookies, preheat your oven at 180 degrees C. Line two baking pans with parchment paper.   Form the cookie dough into rounds about the size of a large unshelled walnut. Place the mounds evenly spaced apart on the baking pans, and press down the tops to flatten them so they are no longer domed and the dough is even.   

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, rotating the baking pans midway during baking, until the cookies are slightly browned.

Leave the cookies in the pans for about 2 minutes to firm up a bit, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. 

Enjoy!

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关于筷子的典故

有沒有人发現在日本餐桌上 筷子都是横放在自己与食物的中间呢？

据说是因為日本人认为万物皆有神...

每个食物都有代表的神庇佑

橫放的筷子則象征了人与神的界线

用餐前先說句：itadakimasu（承领 ／I humbly receive）

先谢谢上天恩賜

才把界线拿走

用感恩的心享用眼前的餐点。

文和图取自 NATURAL KITCHEN

QUICK COOKIE

Made peanut butter cookies today.  I already have the ingredients -- flour, butter, brown sugar, caster sugar, peanut butter and eggs -- on hand so everything came together in a snap.

Baking time is only 10 minutes.  One recipe churns out a great many cookies.  The recipe says it'd yield 40 cookies but I got far more than that.  I didn't count but there are A LOT, ok?!

These peanut butter cookies are crisp on the outside and almost cakey on the inside.  

The combination of sweet and salty flavours is terribly hard to resist.

小确幸

如果没有小确幸，人生只不过像干巴巴的沙漠而已。

- 日本作家村上春树

“小确幸” (small but definite happiness) 一词的意思是微小而确实的幸福，取自日本作家村上春树的散文，每一个小确幸持续的时间3秒至一整天不等。

在村上春树的随笔集《兰格汉斯岛的午后》中有一篇名为 〈小确幸〉 的短篇散文。在文章中，村上说他自己选购内裤，把洗涤过的洁净内裤卷摺好然后整齐的放在抽屉中，就是一种微小而真确的幸福。   

今早看过牙医后，在熟食中心点了一碗花生粥。朴实的美味，再加上卖粥大哥的叮咛：小心烫蛤！对我而言这就是小确幸。

IMAGINATION

Wouldn't work be so much more fun if you imagine that your office is right in the middle of a rainforest?

TREATS FROM KEN: MACARONS & NOUGAT

Ken was in on vacation in Greece last week and stopped by in Paris to meet his mum. Look what he brought back! Macarons from Laduree, and nougats from the famed Nougat-Chabert et Guillot.  

雨夜

昨晚睡前闷得厉害，我把家里的窗户都打开，风就是不肯吹进来。心里咕嘟着：是时候装副冷气机吗？ 

不料，半夜里突然下起倾盆大雨。被哗啦啦的雨声吵醒，开床头灯，抬眼望向一边的时钟，是两点正。风正使劲地吹着，把窗帘吹得鼓鼓的，雨水也开始瓢进房间。迫不得已从温暖的被窝里爬了起来，穿过屋子把窗户一一关上。

天气一下子变凉了，抱着被子很快地再度进入梦乡。

週日色彩

可爱的小辣椒
像一颗颗缤纷的糖果
为平凡的生活填上色彩

MISO

Miso is the new flavour of the month in our household.  

Ever since Eugene opened Sushi Bar my mother has been his biggest fan.  She can no longer bring herself to eat sashimi from anywhere other than "Eugene's shop".

When Mum and I recently paid a visit to the brand new Sushi Bar Dining in Ngee Ann City, Eugene gifted us with several fresh salmon heads from the shop. We came home and made a very gratifying Salmon Head Miso Soup. Because I bought miso specially for the purpose I’m left with a fairly large quantity of Shiromiso (white miso) on my hands. 

Yesterday I was in the kitchen when the oven yelled, “Hey, remember me?”. I agree that it has been far too long. So I grilled some chicken wings. There's miso in the marinade, of course.

Dad normally detests eating with his fingers but this evening I found him doing just that with these chicken wings.  Miso might have silently crept its way into his heart.

GARLIC MISO CHICKEN WINGS

Adapted from this recipe from Just One Cookbook

6 whole chicken wings 

4 cloves garlic, minced 

3 levelled tablespoons white miso 

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

2 tablespoons mirin 

Rinse the chicken wings and pat it dry with paper towel. Prick the chicken wings with a fork and put them in a Ziploc bag. 

In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic and miso. Add the mixture into the Ziploc bag and massage it all over the chicken wings from outside the bag. Keep in the fridge overnight. 

About 3 hours before cooking, add soy sauce and mirin in the bag and mix well. Keep in the fridge until you are ready to cook. 

Line the bottom of broiler pan with foil (for easy clean up afterwards) and oil the broiler rack. You may want to remove excess marinate from the chicken wings because miso gets burnt easily.  Place the chicken wings on the broiler rack skin side down first. Turn the broiler on high (no need to preheat) and place the broiler rack 6 inch away from the top and broil for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Then flip the chicken wings (skin side up) and broil for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

日落

疲惫地下班后，听轻爵士乐，

看着美美的日落，
是一件快乐的事情。

关于猫

Zan养的猫星期日晚上玩出走，至今还没回家，把Zan给急坏了。自从Zan的女儿生了小宝宝后， 养了七年的猫就性情大变。家里添了新宠，猫猫承受不少压力吧？以前家里的成员下班回家必定会先跟猫玩，宝宝出现后大家进门的第一件事情当然是先逗婴儿；从前猫可以纵横家里的每一角，有了宝宝后猫不许踏进有婴儿在房间（因为宝宝的母亲不喜欢儿子身上粘到猫毛）; 以前Zan对我述说”Oh my darling boy!” 的事情就是有关猫的， 最近”Oh my darling boy!” 指的就是宝贝孙子啦！猫自觉失宠便闹情绪，在客厅里大小便，刻意抓破家具，时不时闹失踪，让Zan非常苦恼。

宠物也懂得吃醋、撒娇、争宠、求关注。Zan告诉我：猫还会对婴儿翻白眼哦!

UPDATE:
六月十四日（星期天）猫被好心人送回家了！

HOT

Woke up this morning to hazy skies.  It's hot these days!  3 changes of clothes a day hot. 3 litres of drinking water a day hot. I set my fan on high at bedtime but it helps little. On some nights I hear the occasional low rumbling of thunder but there is no rainfall.  Heading out to lunch has become a rather torturous affair.  Sun relentless.  Brain fried. Utterly beaten down by the heat. Way. Too. Hot.

Tammy and Cindy have made plans to visit from Hong Kong this July.  I wonder if they'll take well to this seemingly 40 degrees weather?  My co-worker, Zan, says we should all suck it up.  People in India a dropping dead by the thousands under the 50 degrees heat so we should be thankful that we don't suffer the same fate.  I know she's right but I can't help complaining!

HAPPY MOMENTS

Happy times in the month of May 2015.

May 5, 2015 (Tue)

Woke up to a spectacular sunrise.  Ten years ago on this date (05.05.05), we moved into our current apartment.   Life hasn't been a bed of roses but that makes me cherish the happy moments even more.

May 7, 2015

Tryphena's friend sent her a carton of mangoes from Myanmar.  She could've saved them all for her family.  Instead she was kind enough to travel all the way to my office to bring me two mangoes!  This lady is sweeter than those mangoes.

May 8, 2015

Spotted a yellow bird in the trees outside our office!

May 13, 2015 (Wed)
Shared a chilled slice of Durian Cappuccino Cake from Goodwood Park Hotel with Agnes.  We snuck to the rooftop to enjoy this.  Some day, after Agnes goes back to the US, I'll be glad we found time to share a slice of cake and a happy moment.

May 17, 2015 (Sun)

Wai Leng took me out for an early birthday celebration.  We went to My Dining Room at Suntec City Mall for an awesome dim sum lunch.  The roasted pork was to die for!  After that we hopped over to Cathay Photo at Marina Square, where I splurged on a new camera lens.  I was wondering if Leng was going chide me a little bit but she told me, "If this is what you want then go ahead and buy it."  No chiding, no questions asked.  She's my BFF.

May 22, 2015 (Fri)
Pain au Chocolat aux Amandes from PAUL. Thank you for spoiling me, Ken Hsu!

May 23, 2015 (Sat)
Late lunch with Lee Ling in Vivo City.  We sat down to eat at 2:30pm and hung out until almost 6pm!

May 24, 2015 (Sun)
Went to Sembawang for facial and bumped into Chew Ling!  What are the odds?

May 26 - 29, 2015
Time alone for reflecting and refuelling

May 30, 2015 (Sat)
Happy birthday to me.  Thanks, Mum, for the birthday ang pow.

Once you learn to cherish the little things around you, everyday is a happy day. 幸福, 其实 已存在我们平凡生活中。

Hello，小黄鸟!

最近不论在住家或办公室附近都发现小黄鸟的踪影。希望它们会爱上这个热带小岛，在这儿建造美好家园!

这是同事今天站在办公室的窗前拍的。鸟儿从一棵树飞到另一棵，来回飞了好几趟，似乎在 check out 看那一棵比较适合扎巢。

下面这两张是我上星期天在住家楼下用手机拍下。比翼双飞的，是新婚吧？

THE BEST WAY TO SAY IT 2015

Greeted by lots and lots of fresh flowers in the office today!  The bosses went all out to impress us.

Happy Administrative Professionals Week.

END OF THE WEEK

Went to Eugene's Sushi Bar at Far East Plaza yesterday for take-away.  It was a little before 12:30PM and there was a long queue of people waiting to get in.  Business is thriving and I'm so happy for him!

This afternoon, Eugene's parents came over to our place.  Mum was busy chatting with them, left me in charge of the kitchen.  I fried a fish.

Then I gave another go at roasting a chicken leg.

THE INCIDENT OF THE BISTRO SIGNBOARD

On the last day of the APAC Summit the boss asked me to take the support team out to lunch. The team that worked many late nights and arrived extra early in the mornings to ensure that every meeting runs like clockwork certainly deserved a reward. I opted for a cosy, unpretentious French bistro not far from our office that offers set menus at affordable prices.

I’m afraid I cannot reveal the name of the restaurant or show you any photos.

You see, this morning I informed my boss that we’re going to lunch. Where? he wanted to know. I mentioned its name. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “I think I might have broken their signboard this morning.”

Excusez moi, what was that again?

“This morning I was walking with my wife, we were talking and I clashed into a hanging signboard.  A piece fell off.”

“My head hurts now,” he complained.

“It wasn’t my fault,” continued the gentle giant, looking very depressed indeed. “Who hangs their signboard so low?”

And so I’m sure you’ll understand when I say that any photo that I show here will be condemning. Which is too bad, because the food was FABULOUS!

Did I take a photo of the chipped signboard?  Oui, bien sûr!

I have to add that my boss also hurt his little finger while he was packing up to go home this evening.

"This isn't my day today!" he sighed.