I've posted so many unhappy post that I had better post something happy for a change. Today, I baked my first ever successful cranberry-almond biscotti which didn't crumble upon being sliced. I was quite alarmed at the stickiness of the dough and could hardly shape them into two logs. The dough was stickier than glue I reckon, and kept sticking onto my fingers such that everything was a big goey mess, so I just dumped it onto the pan and prayed that it would turn out alright. When it was done, and cooled for 10mins, I sliced the log into thinner slices to be baked again until dry, and the dough held up quite well, so my biscotti retained its shape..yayy. But it could also be because I chopped up the almonds instead of using them whole. Anyway 1 hour later, I had the whole kitchen smelling happenly. I was cleaning up the kitchen when my mother came back. I got a big scolding of course, whats new. She scolded me for wasting her electricity and water to bake for other people. Generous woman, my mother. But oh well, I love biscotti, especially when dunking them into hot coffee or milo.

I had a fantastic reunion dinner with my family yesterday. Everybody was gathered at my aunt's place, and she cooked up quite a feast. There was yu sheng, super huge jumbo prawns, mushrooms, sotong, fishcake, tau pok, fish etcera. But what was nicest was the company, everybody gathered around,chattering, kids running around the place. There was at 6 naughty kids and 2 babies there, they were a joy to watch, though they were also a handful. Makes you think twice about having your own kids next time, really. They were wrecking havoc in my cousins room, jumping on his bed, examining his stuff and banging on his keyboard. But it was a really good reunion, with all warmth and laugher spilling around.

Oh, and I simply must share about Da Paolo Gastronomia at Chip Bee Gardens. Its this gourmet shop selling many kinds of takeaway stuff: pizza, pasta, cakes, cookies, antipasti. For their cakes alone, there are so many different kinds that it is hard-pressed to make a choice. But I must simply recomment their flourless dark chocolate cake if you are a chocolate lover like me, it is so rich and sinful and fudgy and totally melt-in-the-mouth yummilicious. There is also the blackforest cheesecake that is very yummy without being overly rich. The tiramisu is also another dessert I would recommend, its is just simply divine. I want to try their Valronha chocolate cake soon.There is also the pizza which I have always wanted to try, but never got around to doing so. And when I did, it simply blew me away. At the price of $6, it is arguably steep for a slice of pizza. But..it is a huge slice, big enough for two not very hungry souls. I had the salmon and pesto pizza. The crust was crispy,neither too thick nor too thin to the point of floppiness and was firm enough for me to eat on the go without anything falling out. The proportion of the ingredients were all just right. The tanginess of the tomato base, the rich mozarella cheese, the basil and the salmon which lifted the flavour of the pizza. Oh man, this is one pizza that I would go back for more. Do go try it out if you are at Holland village and feeling hungry