I was chatting to a friend the other day and we were talking about relationships. She told me that another friend, X, had been cheated on by her boyfriend. The boyfriend had apparently gone on a holiday with that other girl, on the pretext of wanting sometime alone( that bastard). X, of course, was devastated and did not eat or drink or do anything for quite some time, but closed herself out from everybody else who tried to help her.

I was quite shocked when she told me about it as firstly, the boyfriend is not that much of a looker. There goes the stereotyope that only good looking guys can be unfaithful. And secondly, I feel very strongly about infidelity. In a relationship, the most important thing is to stay true to each other. If you like someone else, break off the relationship before embarking on a new one cos its not fair to both parties. X, though her heart was broken, still cares for him and has forgiven him. I think it is really magnanimous of her. I think if the same thing happened to me, I won't ever ever forgive the person,so strongly do I feel about this. I would be too hurt, too betrayed, and if it can happen once, it can happen again. I won't hate the person,it takes too much energy to hate, but I won't have anything more to do with him, ever again.

But maybe I am being too simplistic. Maybe it would be different in a marriage. After all, how often have you heard of wives forgiving their hisband after they stray. If you truly love your husband, your would fight for him and the marriage. But would it be the same,or would there always be this unspoken thing hanging in the air, this gap that forever cannot be closed.

Poor X, I hope she moves on soon, and get that B*** out of her head and find someone more worthy of her. No man is worth shedding so much tears for, especially one that broke her heart, right? Again, I am speaking from my head and not my heart. Matters of the heart is actually more complicated than that, you can control what you think, but you can't control what you feel

Today was such a long and eventful day. I feel so tired now and don't feel like doing anything. Unfortunately, I have a whole lot of work lined up, don't know which to tackle first...arghh..it would be like that all the way to next week.

I had to go to school early for my proj meeting which was at 11am, but I reached science at around 9.30 am to ask ppl to help me do surveys for the proj.. wait, before that, smth happened on the way to sch. As I was walking past the block of flats at Dover crescent, I got the shock of my life when a long pole crashed down in front on me(the type used for hanging out clothes to dry). Another pole soon followed and when I glared up angrily, it was actually somebody throwing it down from at least 10 storeys high. I hurriedly ducked undercover and when the throwing stopped, I looked up again. The culprit was actually sticking out his head from above. I was so pissed that I did the unthinkable, I actually dialed triple nine. It was a spur of the moment thing as I was so freaking angry. What if the pole had hit me, or somebody else for that matter. That bloody thing could have killed, or at least seriously had the potential to injure. There was this uproar over 'killer litter' quite a while back. And while I was on the phone, the culprit, I think, came up to me and tried to say something, but I just ignored him and quickly walked towards school. The officer just asked me a few questions and said she would send some men down, but I doubt if anything would happen, and anyway he would have been long gone by then. Oh well, at least I did my duty as a 'lawful' singaporean..though I kinda regret it now...

I realize that science canteen is the worst place to do a survey. I only approached those people who were not eating and were not studying, and even then I was turned down, didnt even manage to get a completed survey there. A group of girls who were chatting gave me a killer glare as I approached and made the excuses that they were studying, and no one else seemed interested, making me feel so demoralized. I went to the engine canteen after that, and over there, it was a diff story altogether. All the people I approached helped me, but then they were all predominantly male, so when I approached with a wide smile, they could hardly turn me away, could they? In fact, I actually got hit on by some of them, one of whom actually left his phone number on the survey form, and another guy said smth along the lines of me being quite chio, so he didnt mind doing the survey.. how ermmm...I just mustered a grimace cum smile at that...hahah.though come to think of it, it was somewhat flattering, I seldom get this kind of comments after all..

After the proj meeting, I had lesson tutorial from 2-4. Went library to collate the survey results. And I realized that it is not as easy as I thought it would be. It was so tedious to go through all the survey forms and counting the various responses, and then trying to make links. Sigh, the project is due next tues it seems like everything is in a mess. We don't have a clear idea of the theme of our proj and very little time on our hands...sigh

Had dinner at engine canteen (again) with cindy and yumin. I was so super starving and needed something yummy to reward myself after such a long day. So I ordered from a Indonesian stall a roast chicken set, which was super delicious. Lovely roasted chicken thigh with rice drenched generously with a thick and fragrant curry plus sambal chilli. I ate everything, right up to the last grain of rice(which is quite rare), except for the skin and the bones. I even found the space for a oreo mcflurry after dinner, a rare treat which never tasted so good before.

When I got home, mum had actually invited some friends for a bbq and offered me some food. Though I felt pretty full from dinner, the lovely succulent chicken wings which was roasted to such a nice golden colour looked too good to resist. The chicken wings found in bbqs(done by amateur cooks) are tough and normally an unappetising shade of either too black or too pale, but the meat of this one was so tender and the skin so crispy that I once again polished down everything, skin and all.

Pheww.. I am feeling so stuffed now..time to get down to work...

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTENT MIGHT INDUCE NAUSEA IN A PERSON, PLEASE CLICK ON THE BUTTON ON THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE PAGE TO EXIT

MB is gone again, this time just a short 6 days(as compared to the previous 6 weeks to Seoul), for a wedding shoot in Perth for a friend. Though he just flew off this morning, I am missing him already. And I would only see him again next Tues. I guess it never gets easier, having to say goodbye, no matter how short the separation is. I know without a doubt that I can never have a long distance relationship, the pain of separation is too tough, and I really salute those who can hang on for so long. It really is not easy at all.

Before he left, we had a good long talk yesterday when he sent me home. I had dinner at his house where his mum cooked a yummy dish of Gado Gado(I think), which is some sort like a rojak, indonesian style, with various vegetables, taupok and ketupat rice cubes with a delicious peanut based sauce which was both sweet and spicy.

Next month would mark our 6th month together, relatively short to some people, but it seems to me that we have come such a long way. From just being aquaintance, to friend, then being thrown together last sem by 3 common modules that we were taking,liking each other but keeping it inside, finally me being brave enough to admit to him. I sort of made the first 'move'..hahah..I have always believed in being upfront about my feelings, if you like somebody, tell him. If he likes you, then good for you. If he doesnt, then move on. No point being wishy washy and dragging everything on and being miserable. Fight for your happines, I say. I was all prepared to move on if he said no, but luckily, he was smart enough to recognize the treasure before him(heheh...bhb, i know;-)). And so we happily got attached, much to the surprise of many friends who were of course happy for us. Happily ever after? Not so...

Maybe in the first flush of love, you would feel like nothing can go wrong. But a relationship is so much more than that. For it to work, both parties must learn how to give and take, and it also takes lots of patience and effort to develop mutual understanding and to work out differences. To love despite shortcomings and other what nots and in good times and bad.

Guess I got lucky this time round, to have found someone who can take my blur-ness, my snits,someone who can cheer me up when I am upset, pamper me with chocolates,understand me better than anyone else, push me when I get lazy...and so much more. Though we might have very different interest, like he likes photography and planes, and I like food and other frivolous stuff. He likes reading Newsweek, economist etc and I like reading Cleo. He likes visitng museums while I find museums a bore, we have learnt to compromise. After all, when you love someone, you like to see that person happy, right?

6 days would be gone in a flash. And besides, I have so many things to do that I don't know which one to start first. Everything's been piling up again. And i just feel so so tired that I don't feel like doing anything..At least one thing to look foward to is some chocolate therapy on Fri...wheeee

In the blink of the eye, its the end of the week again, the start of school again after the 'non' break. In fact, I feel that since this semester started, every week seems to be passing at a dizzying pace, no chance to catch my breadth at all. Just as I predicted, the break seems to have passed without me doing anything constructive. And next month is the deadline for many projects and assignments. I am starting to feel pretty stressed already.

And I have recently taken on a student for tuition in A and E maths, and acsI secondary 4 student who is taking his exam in 2 weeks time. What have I gotten myself into. Before the first session of the tuition, I was busy studying my Amaths textbook, realizing that I had forgotten many things about it, it has been 3 years after all. And for this coming session on Sunday, I am starting to feel jittery as well, and I have to read up on stuff like logarithms, integration, binomial theorem and all so that if he has any questions to ask me, I can be prepared for it. Now I am starting to wonder why was math my favourite subject back in secondary school days, its so foreign to me now..

I feel so drained now, today was a pretty long day. The highlight of the day was HP treating me and mum to dinner at Mezza9 at Grand Hyatt. I didnt know what was the occasion, but I wasnt about to complain, was I? It was really a fine dining experience, more about the ambience than the food, the place of the rich,beautiful and famous. Seriously, I was pretty awed by everything and a lil out of place cos everybody there was like dressed to the nines and all. I would probably talk about it in more detail in my foodblog..hahah.. Though I ended dinner with a cup of cafe latte(which was delicious and aromatic), I still feel like I am going to keel over any second. I really need a break, where I can just forget about everything, tuition, schoolwork and all... But I cant, at least not until next month...

If you have been wondering why I havent been blogging about food for so long, wonder no more. How can a foodlover like me stop blogging about food rite? I have just set up a new blog,totally devoted to food at http://www.tressalovesbaking.blogspot.com. It'd be filled with food reviews, recipes, food talks and many lovely pictures.. So do visit k... =) and I'd love to hear your views on it as well..

Ipod nano-the what is and what nots

I have been enoying the use of my ipod nano, the superior sound quality and also the undeniable 'cool' factor that it brings to its users. The joy of holding it in my hands has not yet diminished. I have been the envy of many friends because of this little gadget. Now, what is it about the ipod that can capture the heart of so many people? In terms of functions, my previous Creative mp3 player had an inbuilt Fm radio and voice recorder,which the ipod lacks. I used to defend Creative quite staunchly,saying that its functional and cheap and looks quite good as well. Alas, I have now defected, how not to? I still have yet to figure out what is it about the Ipod that makes people tick. Ever since Apple's 2001 foray into the digital world, it has taken the world by storm, and competitors have not quite managed to catch up with it. Its so popular that it has become an iconic status.

Lets talk about the nano. I am completely amazed that such a tiny gadget can hold up to 1000songs(via dazzlingly tiny memory chips). It can also store and display photographs on its sharp colour screen. There are also other functions like alarm clock, games,calendar,stop watchand notes. I love the clickwheel and simply love to run my finger over the wheel slowly and hear its clicking sound.

However, I do have a few minor gripes. The chrome back of the nano can be scratched very very easily. On the very first night I bought it, though I treated it with the utmost care, I noticed a few hairline scratches on it,barely noticeable, but still...There arent any nano accessories available in stores yet. I wanted to get the skin, no matter how tacky it looks to protect it against scratches. But it would only be available 2 months later and it costs at least 50 bucks??? It's madness and I still think it looks better au naturale. I had to settle for the protection sticker which costs $10, and it's only 2 transparent stickers, the type that can be found on the LCD screen of new handphones. Daylight robbery? Who ever said that apple stuff comes cheap.

Buying an apple gadget means opening the door to a host of other apple products. You can get the lanyard headphones which allows the nano to be worn around the neck for convenience. And I am drooling over the Altec Lansing speakers and the super kickass Bosse sounddock digital music system, all of which do not come cheap. Oh, did I mention that the ipod nano does not come with a travel adaptor, meaning that it can only be charged via usb cable from a computer? Pretty inconvenient, especially when travelling overseas.

Seems like Apple knows how to milk the most out of consumers,creating in them endless wants and a niche market for followers. Pleasseee take pity on our pockets I say

This is the new ipod nano. Seeing is believing. You wouldnt believe how small it really is until you hold it in your hands.

Cool, isnt it? It holds up to three days’ worth of music. It plays for up to 14 hours between battery charges. It has colour display. It carries your photos, podcasts and audiobooks. Its is super small and featherlight. And guess what, I am now the proud owner of one...hahah..

Yeah, I couldnt believe it at first also. I didnt even ask for it. In fact, I did put up a feeble protest against buying it. It was a birthday present from HP,really generous of him. We went to Funan to get some softwares and when we went to take a look at it, I was immediately smitten. It is such a thing of beauty. I didnt dare to hold much hope of getting it. But when he asked me if I wanted the 2 GB or 4 GB one, my heart was skipping with joy inside..and when we walked out from Challenger with the ipod nano in my hands, I couldnt stop smiling inwardly and outwardly....

Wheee...cant wait to play with my new toy. Am I one lucky girl? YESSS, definitely...hahah

three hot babes ;) 

Phew, its the end of a long and trying week..and its finally term break...hahah..not that I would be very free during the break though, there seems to be so many things on the agenda. With 3 group projects to complete, 2 individual projects, readings and tests, it can hardly be classified as a break at all. At least I had fun today, let down my hair and stopped worrying about things I have to do for a change.

After out lecture ended at 12pm and after lunch in school. Me and steph headed down to Queensway shopping centre for a spot of shopping where he managed to get a pair of running shoes. It was my very first trip there, as far as I remember, I have not stepped foot in there before. I found the place rather fascinating, filled with an eclectic mix of shops, but mostly selling sports apparels. Next up was Ikea, where we headed straight to the cafe, for their yummy swedish meatballs and a chocolate almond pie which was delicious. After slacking their for quite some time, we headed back to school for a dance performance held in UCC where cindy was taking part in, so we decided to go support her, together with yumin. Dinner at Munchie monkey was rather forgettable, with watery mushroom soup, caesar salad which looked unappetizing and lacked flavour, pizza(from other tables) which looked dry and with meagre toppings and cheese. The only redeeming factor is the desserts which is highly recommended. Try the italian chocolate cake which is warm, intensely chocolatey,fudgy and comes with vanilla icecream..mm..I do so love fudgy cakes..

The performance, which is called Dance Reflections was a combination of dances by the various dance societies, chinese dance,malay,indian, dance blast, dance synergy, dance ensemble and so on... I am not a cultural dance person, so I only perked up when dance blast came on(thats the one cindy was in) and oh man, it was really sizzling hot. I cant dance well, and I really admire people who can dance. Cindy's dance was pretty short, but I think it raised the temperature of every guy in the house...hahah..so proud of her. After the performance, I don't know what got into me and yumin, I think both of us were so zonked out that we just got onto the bus to clementi before realizing that we had forgotten one very important thing, which was to congratulate cindy and to take pic with her. Both of us felt so horrible and bummed out, and immediately took a cab back to school again...gave her a huge hug, posed for pic with her, before she had to go off to change.

The night went downhill from there. I was really tired and the thought of the hour long journey home alone at night was not appealing at all. After dithering for a while, I decided to walk up to YIH from UCC to take 95. After waiting for a while, the bus came and maybe I was too insignificant or what, but it ignored me and drove straight on despite me hammering on the door.. I was so freaking pissed(cos it meant the next 95 would come at least 20mins later) and really felt like crying. Which to my shame, I did, though I think they were angry tears more than anything else. I took the next 96 that came along, and thankfully met steph at clementi where he gave me a much needed warm hug.The journey home was thankfully pretty fast, and thankfully reached home before my 'curfew'. Mum was asleep anyway, so it was much ado about nothing...sigh

So thats all for the night. I need my bed....hahah

I went for a wake today. It was the wake of my mum's friend's husband. I went not because my mum told me to, but because I wanted to as this friend of hers was practically like a Godmother to me(last time). I was very shocked when I heard about his death. It seemed so unbelievable, a doting husband, a good father. Died because of an accident, of all places, in a toilet. He slipped and fell and hit his head, and I think had an internal hemorrhage. He was only 59, still had many more years to go, a happy marriage, a successful career, a good man. Sometimes you wonder why such things happen. But they do, of course.

Everything seemed so surreal. I only started tearing after we paid our respects and I saw his widow. She looked like she has aged alot suddenly, because of the grief. I didnt know what to say, I always never know what is appropriate to say. How are you seems too stupid a question to ask in such a context. I just hugged her and told her to be strong. And when she thanked me for coming, the tears just came, without warning.

How hard it is to lose a loved one.Though if you are a christian and knows that he is just being called upon to go back to the Lord. It doesnt make the pain any lesser. And I shudder to think I have to go through that pain one day. Its inevitable... How fragile life is. What's important is that you treasure each and every moment of it and live each day to the fullest. And always show your loved ones you care..

I realize that the things I have been blogging about lately have been pretty superficial, about what I eat, about where I go. Rarely do I blog about my personal thoughts anymore. I am too acutely aware of the many pairs of unknown eyes reading it, so most things are 'censored'. Reading through my recent entries, they sound so happy and carefree. But lately, I feel like I am a different person altogether, troubled and melancholic. So different from the person I want to be, and used to be and still hope I have it in me somewhere.. Happy, optimistic, outgoing, chatty and so on. I am so antisocial lately, since my lessons are mostly in the morning, I don't make an effort to call friends for lunch or just to hang out and sometimes I do feel like I am missing out.

I feel like the mr hyde in me is surfacing again, and the person who probably gets the brunt of it is steph. When things don't go my way,I realize I don't voice my unhappiness, I show it. In other words, to put it bluntly, I sulk, though I think most of the time I do it unconsciously. By sulking, I don't achieve anything but make myself more unhappy and others even more unhappy. I think that I am too prideful too, which is not good because there is the saying pride goes before a fall. If I want the relationship to work, we have to be totally honest about our feelings, and not be like me, an escapist...

Had a good time today. Met up with old sec sch buddies samuel and dawa at Kenny Rogers. They both looked exactly the same as last time, and we talked and laughed as before. I havent seen them in almost a year, guess its my fault. Like I said, I am antisocial..hahah. Went for church service after that, and thought today's message was very apt for me. It was about putting out heart and soul into what we have, what God has given us, instead of always looking at other people and envying them for what they have and we do not. Good grades, special talents...etc. Its apt because I have been feeling inadequate about many things lately and maybe thats one of the reasons why I have been so down. Looking at the people around me, seeing their achievments, their capability, I just feel so...yeah, inadequate. But I guess we shouldnt devalue what God has given us and just thank him for what He has blessed me with...

Dinner was at Out of the Pan with Kaetnians, celebrating 3 birthdays, but it felt more like a gathering more than a celebration, which is good, cos i havent seen most of them in ages. And we did have fun hanging out, I laughed more today than I have for the past few weeks and did I mention that I love the crepes there? After that, we were game enough to go Ah Teng's bakery for teh tarik and kopi tarik...all in all, I had a good time.

Back at home, I just suddenly got all teary and emotional. Guess the past week has been pretty trying, plus my highly sensitized emotions... Just hope that my happy self would be up and bouncin in no time..

foodie galore 

nature walk 

muffins and cookies 

Top secret military place with high security. Wonder whats inside. Nuclear weapons maybe? Heh, just kidding 

Yeah, we climbed to the top of that. I almost died. Haha, but up there, it was a different feel altogether. 

Breathtaking view 

Are you afraid of heights? 

The long suspension bridge 

Woww..look at that 

the initial trail...looks deceptively easy..wait till you get inside 

And today is a very special day, its the 5th month anniv of me and steph. Oh man, its been pretty long, hahah..guess time really flies. And to 'commemorate' this special day, he gave me a surprise and was so secretive about it..hah..And the destination was- tree top walk at upper pierce,where we went on a nature trail, yet again. Second time for this week. And it was a 10km walk, uphill and downhill, through dirt trails and rocky grounds, mind you. Thus I am too tired to blog properly today. Shall just post lots of pictures..hahah.. But just to describe a little. The experience was surreal. Hey, I didnt even know Singapore has such a nice nature reserve, such nice greeneries, its way better than Bukit timah hill. And when we reached the top, we got to walk through on this suspension bridge,25m from the ground and the scenery was simply breadthtaking. I just love breathing in the fresh air..

After the 10km walk, we felt very justified in treating our tummies to a hearty meal and went to The Roti Prata house at upper thomson road, which is recommended by the New paper, and proclaimed to have the best crispy prata. I must admit, it was really really good. I ordered a paper prata and a cheese and mushroom prata(as usual). The paper prata came first and I forgot all about taking pictures..hahah..luckily I had a photographer with me =) It was one of the best prata I have ever eaten. Extremely thin and crispy, fried to a nice shade of golden brown and drizzled generously with honey. See the dent..hahah..I was already attacking it. And the puddle of honey..mmm...yummy
Next up was cheese prata. The dough was thicker than what I was used to. And like the paper prata, it was fried to a golden crisp, something that I have yet to see in other pratas, even good ones that I have tried before. The soft melted cheese and the generous serving of mushrooms made it even nicer. It was really bliss to eat it and not care about the amount of calories it contains,which we should because the reason why it is so crispy is because of the sheer amount of ghee(i think) that they use, certainly not recommended for people on diet. Steph orderd the chicken nasi briyani which I cant describe much cos I wasnt the one eating it. But the meat was pretty tough according to him, but the rice and curry was good though.

One thing that I didnt like was the teh tarik, which wasnt frothy to begin with and didnt have much of a kick. But on the hold, it was a very pleasant dining experience and we took a lot of pictures, even one of the person flipping the dough,which was a request by the owner of the shop,probably hoping to gain some publicity...hah
Yup, so I had the pleasure of seeing him make the prata, and also see how much oil it contains. Oh well, life is for enjoying and not worrying. Hahh, my motto, live to eat and not eat to live. =)

And for people interested in trying out some recipes, here goes:

Chocolate chip walnut muffin:

4tbsp butter
2cups flour
1/2 sugar
2tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 cup walnut
1/2 cup chocolate chip(or more)

Preheat oven to 400°F. And line twelve muffin cups with paper liners.

Into a bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine.

Melt butter and in a small bowl whisk together with buttermilk, yoghurt, egg, and vanilla.

Make a well in centre of flour mixture and pour wet ingredients in until just combined. Do not overmix(impt* overmixing will result in tough muffins)

Divide batter among muffin cups and bake in middle of oven until golden and a skewer inserted into centre of muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly in pan, then remove.

Chocolate chip and pecan oatmeal cookie:

And this is my favourite recipe which has never failed me, highest compliment it got was that it tasted like Famous Amos cookies. This recipe is really a treasure and can yield many cookies to give out. The troublesome part is that the oats must be ground into powder in a food processor.

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups quick cooking oats
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup salted butter, room temp
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cups chopped nuts(optional: pecan, walnut…etc)
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chip

Adjust 2 racks to divide oven into thirds. Preheat to 375F(190celsius)
In food processor, process oats until they are ground into fine powder.
Combine oats, flour, baking powder and soda in large bowl.
Beat butter, sugars on medium high speed until light and creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well-blended(do not overbeat at this stage). Add flour mixture at low speed until blended. Stir in nuts and chocolate chip until well distributed. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, 1 inch apart.
Bake 15-20 mins until golden brown. Reverse sheets during baking to ensure even browning. Immediately transfer to wire racks to cool.

Today was baking day. And for the first time, I decided to bake muffins. Its not too surprisingly after all, since I am not that big a fan of muffin, its just cake in a cup, and I am not that fond of sponge cakes. But today, I just wanted to try something new. And after searching through all the recipes online and looking at all the delectable pictures, I was all ready to get cracking. Its unbelievable how many different recipes there are just for a simple muffin and so many different variations. One can use sour cream, cream, milk, veg oil, buttermilk to make it. And since I wanted to make a relatively healthy but tasty muffin, I opted for buttermilk and plain yoghurt.

The process was quite a breeze and because I just bought a new measuring cup, I didnt have to use scales, which was far for convenient. The batter was nice and deliciously creamy, and those who know me know I have a history of eating batters before they are even done..hahah.. I divided the batter into half and made walnut raisin for one, and chocolate chip raisin for the other. I was so excited thoughout the baking process, waiting anxiously for them to become done.
And while it was still in the oven..

25mins later...Nice and golden and relatively dome shaped muffin was ready. The aroma was enough to make me faint with joy. I ate it while it was still warm, with milk, of course. On the whole, I was pretty satisfied with it, for a first time. The muffin was moist and soft inside, which is the most important thing. But the top wasnt as crispy I would have liked them to be, as I was afraid it would be burnt if I left it in the oven for too long. And while it tasted good, it wasnt memorable, just a normal chocolate chip walnut muffin. Oh well, It would be better after a few more tries, after I play around with it..which i definitely will..

While I was waiting for the muffin to bake, i whipped up a batch of oatmeal cookies, using a new recipe yet again, which I got from a nestle cookbook from the library a long time ago, and copied it into my little recipe book. I halfed the recipe as I didnt want to make so much as I wasnt sure how it would turn out. It was a basic oatmeal recipe to which I halved the batter again, and added a pinch of cinnamon powder and raisins to one,making cinnamon and raisin cookies, and walnuts and chocolate chips to the other batter. The cookie turned out really different from my previous tries, and I was pretty disappointed with it. Firstly, it lacked the crunch and 'oomp' and it was crumbly and hollow and spreaded too much. I don't know if its the addition of milk or what. Hmm, I guess its what you can when you try a new recipe, the uncertainty, which is why I have always stuck to my old trusty recipe. But I actually rather liked the cinnamon raisin cookie, certainly a departure from the chocolate chip that I have always favoured, and the aroma wafting out from the oven was very tantalizing and had a homely feel to it.

And since I have quite a bit of buttermilk left, I am thinking of making more muffins soon, or pancakes for breakfast..Now,thats a thought..hah

The puddings turned out really really good. Though they didnt quite have the springy texture of puddings sold in restaurants, I don't know how to describe, but somehow its not quite right. The taste is awesome though. They were rich and flavourful and very very delicious. I couldnt help but tuck into the durian one before it had even soldified, but the texture of it was like durian custard...pure ecstasy.

I brought 2 small cups to school to let steph try. It was bliss for him when he caught the first whiff of the durian. When he took his first bite, he looked like he had died and gone to heaven. It was almost comical to watch him enjoy it so much, truly a kodak moment..hahah..guess I look like that sometimes when I bite into a chocolate cake which oozes out warm chocolate. Think Max Brenner's souffle and Beard Papa's chocolate fondant.

Thinking of baking soon...perhaps over the weekends,something new which I havent done before...right now, time to study for my test tmr..

yummmy egg tarts  

Mango puddings are delicious, arent they? More so for durian puddings. All rich and sinful stuff. I am a lucky girl, cos mum made them today, albeit for her cell group, but nontheless, I get to help out too, to make and also to eat. But did you know that puddings actually consist of milk,cream and ice-cream? Gosh, the fat content of all 3 is anough to kill. I never knew that it was THAT rich..oh maybe somewhere inside me, I did know, but I chose to ignore it,selective knowledge, I call it. It is super easy to make too,though I mostly pinched her durian puree and ate her amazingly sweet and juicy and somewhat overipe thai mangoes(if I am not mistaken). I am not complaining though...I think she got that recipe from a waitress in Tunglok restaurant,whom she knew quite well, cos we used to eat there regularly..

And just to digress, Hang Hueng is now at great world city,for a limited time,till 19th sept, I think. And meanwhile, I have been eating a lot of their egg tarts. The taste is really awesome. Flaky and tender and light pastry crust with a with a thick layer of egg custard. The egg custard is great too, I liked that its so soft and wobbly. You know how some egg tarts are overbaked and so the custard layer is kind of hard, and the crust is too thick as well. Well, this egg tart sure ranks high up there in my dictionary, together with Crystal jade's one. And its warm when you buy it, which is the optimum temperature for consumption..yummm

It is the mugging period again. For all you people who need a break from studying and a hearty laugh, go check out this website,

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0508/video/george_bush_spindoctor.mov

It features the many faux pas in the speech of America's 'beloved' president George W Bush. It was shown in one of my lectures during the break and had all of us cracking up. Enjoy!

Greeneries galore 

3 cute monkeys. Look closely, the one in the middle is carrying a baby...so sweeet 

Me looking kind of dazed...high from the fresh air?  

Steph and me...perspiring profusely 

Yummmy sesame and almond paste...Wish I can have more of it 

the blogging session.From left, mr brown, cory, xia xue and mr myagi 

Had a great climb up the Bukit Timah nature reserve. I was feeling kind of dubious about it intially as the weather was super hot, and both steph and I were already perspiring profusely even before we embarked on the climb. We took the easiest route...hahah...and it was a pretty gruelling climb as the slopes were pretty steep, but became gentler as we neared the summit, which we reached in less than half and hour and thought with disbelief, thats it? Yeah, apparently so. After taking some pics, we proceeded downhill, this time via another route,something like a jungle trail. I actually found the downhill climb harder than the uphill climb. All in all, I enjoyed out little fieldtrip, love the smell of nature and fresh air and the 'mountain' climbing was a good start out of our pretty sedentary lifestyle.

After that was makan, of course, at Beauty world centre, a rather secluded place which brings forth nostalgic memories with those mama-shops and all. After a cursory look around the hawker centre, we decided on this little stall right at the corner, which is noticeable only to the most discerning of eyes. We ordered a bowl of sesame and almond paste each and I have got to say, its the best I have ever eaten, no contest. I had the almond paste, which was the thickest, smoothest and yummiest among all the other almost paste I have ever eaten(restaurants included), and best of all, it was not too sweet as well. I was so amazed at how viscous it was and the taste was so rich with all the goodness of almonds. It sure beats the other runny and sweet almond paste that I have had. And the lady who sold it with her ready smile and apple cheeks reminded me greatly of my grandmother. For people who wants to try, its at 144 upper bukit timah road, #04-25, beauty world centre. They also have other stuff like freshly baked cream puff,agar agar and jellies and other assorted pastries.

Went home for dinner,nothing like a mountain climb to work up an appetite eh? There was a sumptuous spread of food today. With soup, stewed pigs trotters, fried chicken wings, fried fish and bean sprouts. Why? Cost she invited 2 of her friends over for dinner, which she does with increasing frequency these days. Even going to the trouble of cooking the food and bringing over to their house. Well, I am not complaining, at least I get to eat good food. But well, I know I am not in a position to, but I am not really comfortable with them around. Somehow, I feel that mum is going all out to gain their approval, especially cooking food that they like, and doing all sort of things for them. And for what? Is that what friendship is all about. And she is so accommodating with them, and she has got to be the least accomomodating person I know. She isnt even so nice to her own sisters, much less her daughter. Even my maid commented that she treats them better than she treats me. And I told her that I noticed too, but was not too bothered by it. I suppose they are perfectly nice people, it might be just biasness on my part, but I always feel that there is a sort of unsoken disapproval, just because I am from New creation church and they are not? So I fee like I always have to be on my 'best behaviour' when they are around. Everything is just so contrived.And I betcha mum tells tham all her woes about me..how rude I am, how I always go out, how I rather spend time with my boyfriend than her...blah blah..and all half-truths. Ok, I shall stop it already...

back to studying..

Lunch was just a simple affair of ham and cheese sandwich made by myself. Simple though it may be,it was no less delicious, and I have always been a sandwich and bread person. It is also super easy to make. I used a long abandoned sandwich press that I found in the cupboard. Buttered two slices of gardenia milk bread, with honey-baked ham and a slice of cheese, and putting the buttered side facing the heat source. Voila! It was done in 5mins, no frills, but plain yummy, especially with the cheese oozing out from the sides and the nicely browned and flattened bread. I wolfed it down in less than 5mins too...hahah..sorry, no pics..the aroma of the sandwich was simply to irresistable. Pity they don't taste as nice when its cold, if not I would love to bring it to school to eat.....

Alas, Miss clarity cafe outing has been postponed to next week. Never mind, I shall practise healthy living this week to indulge without guilt next week.Going to climb hills later...only bukit timah hill, but nontheless still a hill...hah

bustling business 

tucking in happily...