Here's me cooking up a storm in the kitchen again. Well, not exactly cooking up a storm I would say but kinda just felt like cooking, cooking just simple dishes :P Eggs with tomatoes, nothing new, just wanted to make good use of those tomatoes in the refrigerator. Bought thin asparagus, tau kwa and lean meat. Pan-fried the strips of tau kwa and stir fried them with the lean meat and asparagus, thought a little of the black bean sauce might add an interesting flavour to it :P But didn't put too much of that coz my parents may not like it too salty, Mummy did warn me about the amount of black bean sauce to add in :P Hmm, I thought this dish goes well with brown rice that Mummy cooked but I thought it was a little too dry, should have had a little bit more gravy. Mummy also made pumpkin soup. My usual way of eating...mash the real soft pumpkin, mix it with my brown rice and eat it like a kinda of puree :P
Once in a while, I think we need to spend some time away from the crowd and just to enjoy some peace and quiet. Well, I did today. Craving for the sea bass and shrimp salad at Cedele so decided to head down to Great World City for a late lunch. I have always enjoyed the taste of the salad dressing, light and tangy. The seafood was fresh too :P Ordered a pot of Egyptian mint tea to enjoy the quiet afternoon.
It was Nana's wedding yesterday...I remember how a group of us cousins played together when we were still children. We had fun playing at our grandmother's house during the weekends. Nana was a real chubby girl then, I was also kinda like her elder sister, looking out for her. Oh mine, how time really flies, she is a grown up now...She's a beautiful bride too, especially in her traditional Peranankan costume during the wedding dinner yesterday. Hmm, I guess life is sometimes like walking up a flight of stairs, every step is a stage of life. Heh, maybe the kinda shoes you wear would then be kinda like the choices you make along the way. Some fit and some dun really fit. Some breeze through the various steps like a feather and some would probably take each step with much caution. Well, no matter which step or what stage each one of us is at, there are probably three words to sum up life...it goes on.
I guess it's about leftovers on Sundays. Leftovers from preparing packed lunch last Thursday...maccaroni. Leftovers from the crab feast with Kat, Rene, Miss Tan and Jakki last Friday...chilli crab from Mellben Seafood. Well, you combine the two and you will get chilli crab maccaroni :P It was a Sunday lunch for Mummy and me yesterday. Although Mummy was rushing to get her hair done, I knew she couldn't resist the chilli crabs :P
Look at those eyes...ain't they lovely? I could feel his excitement as I was getting him ready for a walk. He couldn't wait for the door to open, he couldn't wait to climb up those steps that led to the pathway in the garden, he couldn't wait to sniff the grass which he was not allowed to walk on, he couldn't wait to start barking at any stranger that he saw...he just couldn't wait. You know what, I think he couldn't wait to see his good friend, Lovely Labrador. He wanted to walk on that walkway that led to the unit that Lovely Labrador was in. Unfortunately, Lovely Labrador was inside the house and the glass door was shut. Sunny baby seemed disappointed, he barked (which he usually didn't). Lovely Labrador was looking eagerly out of the glass door and wagging its tail. I dunno but I thought that was really a sweet moment...I wish they got to sniff each other's nose that day...they have not met for a long time, I guess. Gave Sunny baby a little cuddle after that...we will visit Lovely Labrador again :)
I was having afternoon tea with Angeline and Mark yesterday. It was a balcony that I probably have seen quite a number of times but I think I have not tried to notice the details in every part of it. I was sitting on a newly bought chair :P and as I looked down, loved what I saw...
"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." ~ Albert Camus
XF sent me this pic...It's finally autumn. I remember asking XF if it's already autumn in Basel... I wanna see autumn...I wanna smell autumn...I wanna feel autumn...I wanna tread on the path that's filled with fallen leaves. If I close my eyes, would I be able to see, smell and feel autumn? ...Ha, anyway, who cares what this silly, crazy gal wants :P You know, the existence of seasons is the reason for the numerous beautiful happenings in this world. Have you ever realised that?...I have just asked XF for more pictures of autumn...
My parents were out shopping when I woke up near noon today, my head was swirling, not sure due to lack of sleep or have slept too much for the day :P Settled my own lunch. Opened the refrigerator to see what I have got or what's available to work with, gathered a few of my favourite stuff and started cooking. Green pepper, mushrooms, baby corn, carrots and wolfberries, stir-fried with garlic and oyster sauce. There you go, my lunch, just those :P Finished the whole bowl of veggie and made myself some peppermint tea. Hmmm, life is good :)
XF sent me a pic of the snow mountain she visited, the one that we wanted to conquer in summer but were not able to do so :P It's Jungfrau. Lucky for her, weather was great and she saw snowy snowy white all over...
Well, well, well, who's seven days older?? :P Rene asked a friend to bake cupcakes but you know wat Rene, I still miss your cupcakes :)
I thought the pineapple rice was not much different from other Thai restaurants but the prawns were pretty fresh though. The same goes for the mango salad, pretty ordinary.
Even though the red snapper was being fried, one could still taste the freshness of the fish.
A real huge chunk of chicken wrapped in pandan leaves, yummy!
I always like the eggplant in green curry. I thought this green curry was a little salty.
This satay saved me...ordered this while waiting for the rest, was so hungry :P Chicken was really well done, nice and tender.
A product of Speck ...A piece of artwork..."Waves" by Eve Duhamel 
Picture sent by XF. Love this pic lots! It's Sidney and Monkie :P Notice the similarities? But one is in Basel and the other at home...
Picture sent by XF :P It's Purple and Pinky! ...We peer with our little eyes. What do we see?
Snoop dearie, it's really a pleasant and lovely surprise! You have certainly brought a smile on my face, thank you :) You are really sweet too!
We were out for dinner when they were delivered. Ha, in the end, it was left at our neighbour's house. Got them the next day. It was a bouquet of flowers and a flat piggy :P Gave the piggy a squeeze, so huggable! What a lazy-looking piggy :P ...Sis dearie, thank you! Hugs and kisses too :)
My lovely loved ones :)
He ate lots :P
Kway tiao with chai poh, the Teochew way!
Ha, I think the tau kwa beneath interests me more than the goose meat :P
Teochew steamed promfet...I like the soup
The wu xiang was good but seriously did not know how to appreciate that jelly-like appetizer :P
Slacker Part II :P 
Avoided phototaking coz no make-up and puffy eyes after a night of mahjong but ha, managed to take one while she's on the phone, oops! :P
Didi bought durians home just now and wanted me to join him for a durian feast. He always loves to buy and eat durians whenever he's back home in Singapore. Goodness, I feel I need to be on some detox programme for the next couple of weeks (I think I am pretty serious about this :P). Well, ate one seed of that durian, it was good. But nope, did not reach for the second one :P
Derrick was in the mood to cook so was invited over to have some homecooked food Sunday evening. Melon soup, vegetables, steamed fish and kimchi, with brown rice...the joy of simple fare. Dessert was cakes, bought from a traditional confectionary, interesting! With the great variety of pastries and cakes available in the market nowadays, how many of us actually still enjoy cakes from those traditional confectionaries that probably have a long history behind them. Mark made some hot lemongrass drink with mint leaves plucked from the garden, reminded me of Thailand and even spa...refreshing, great drink after a meal or after spa :P You know, I seemed to be on holiday for the past few days, but I knew I really enjoyed those few days of holiday. Could there be more? :P
Experimenting what's the best angle to capture Sunny baby with Mark's help. I would say this is my favourite shot, I really love it! ...Hmm, sometimes, we just need to get away from the crowd for a while and enjoy that personal space that we need. I see space, I see peacefulness and silence in that picture. It is probably in that space, peacefulness and silence that one finds meaning in life.
The lovely company :)
Special donuts (that's what I would call them) bought by Adeline!
Cheesy bacon & mushroom gratin with toasted thick slices of bread...An enticing way to kick off the 7-course meal :P 
Top shell with Japanese cold noodles...Next time, I am gonna try having my top shell salad on top of some Japansese cold noodles, great appetizer :P
Room for mushroom? ...juicy, wonder what they put in that sauce 
Cream of mushroom...whooo, lotsa mushroom, wholesome!
Snapper...fresh and really love the sauce on it, finger-licking good!
Green tea ice cream...a little more bitterness in it would be just great for me
Rose apple tea...refreshing but was focusing more on the aesthetical aspect of it, haha!
I am gonna call him Rainee. Rain or shine, I know lovely Rainee will always be there by my side. Thank you Kat :)
I was totally puzzled when I opened the envelope and saw this 'ticket' cum birthday card. Well, it obviously did not look like a real ticket to the play :P Haha, had a real good laugh when I looked at the seat number. Very clever and creative, gals :P 
At the back of the 'ticket'...Well, the date is on!
The creators of the 'ticket'...look at that grin on their faces :P
Goodness, it must be the biggest Tiramisu cake I have ever had :P
There were quite a selection of beautiful and delightful cakes and pastries at the high tea buffet at Goodwood Park but I was really kinda too full to eat. Nevertheless, decided to take a few of those pretty little cakes and take a picture of them. Well, with the help of Rene and Edmond, hee, managed to finish those little cakes and pastries on that plate. Always glad to share calories :P ...It was really a nice and sweet little treat from Rene, Joyce, Julia and Edmond for the three October babies! Thank you! :)
Well, it was kinda a high tea buffet at Goodwood Park Hotel on a Thursday afternoon. It was almost 4pm when I met the rest, real famished by then as I did not manage to find time to get a proper lunch that day. The selection of sandwiches was good, was pretty curious about what were sandwiched in between those slices of bread. Tried the scones and they had that kinda cream (introduced by Cassy when I was in London) for scones. The scones, nice and warm, were delicious when eaten with the cream and jam! What a nice and relaxing afternoon tea time...
