Birthday celebration at Imperial Treasure Steamboat...in October

All these are must-haves at Imperial Treasure Steamboat. I consider them wonderful starters! Some like them crispy, some prefer them soaked in the thick rich soup.

Freshness of the ingredient should never be compromised in a steamboat and I think it seems somewhat guaranteed over here :) 

Of all the seafood and meat, I think fish's still my favourite!

Look who's chatting...and look who's bored

You cannot imagine how lovely and delicious this homebaked crepe cake is! Kat always takes great effort to bake for Miss Tan and myself for our birthday celebration, how blessed! Not to mention, the birthday cake always comes with lovely accessories, like knife and plate, all nicely prepared :P We love the cake, we really do and it was really yummy, not too sweet and just moist enough for our liking. Thank you, Kat!

Taking a photo with that gal who is always one week younger :)

Coincidentally, most in black, haha! 

It was not difficult for Constance to coordinate dinner for the October babies' birthday celebration. Both Miss Tan and I knew and agreed way ahead of the date that we wanted to have dinner at Imperial Treasure Steamboat, ha, a place that we visited quite a number of times but never seem to get tired of. Well, or maybe both of us are just simply too lazy to think much :P It was a Sunday evening and there was still quite a crowd in the restaurant. Had a good long meal and we were really full after the meal but we definitely could not resist the cake that Kat has baked for our birthdays. Kat, if you are reading this, I think I kinda miss that crepe cake...But to be able to taste it on that day was simply a bliss! To all the dearies who have celebrated my birthday and Miss Tan who is also an October baby, thank you for remembering and your friendship, love ya lots! :)

Birthday celebration at Liang Ji...in October

Sambal crayfish

Teochew steamed promfret...something that I want to learn to cook, looks simple but I think it requires skills  :P

Lovely wrapping, right?! ...More charmed by and excited with the wrapping than the content when I  received this lovely birthday gift from Mark

Rich rich chocolate cake!

My birthday celebration with Adeline, Gean, Derrick, Mark and Martin... Liang Ji is located to where I kind of spent my childhood. Just before dinner that day, went to take a look at the playground where I used to spend my evenings as a little girl. Sat there for a while and recalled how my late grandfather would always bring us to the playground every evening. The playground has changed its facet and no longer would you see those sand or metal bars...However, memories of us playing as little children have not faded. Dinner that day was simple Teochew fare at Liang Ji. As a Teochew, I feel that Teochew cuisine has a long history and will never fail to remind you of home. However, I thought it lacks variety. Maybe it's just a personal opinion or maybe it's really not about the variety but more of the authenticity that matters from this long history. 

A date with my very good friend...in October

It was kind of considered late lunch when we reached The Coastal Settlement near Changi Village. There weren't many people at the cafe, such a bliss every time I know that I am going to get some peace and quiet in a cafe. Well, I guess the last thing I ever want to do is to shout and raise my voice in a cafe. Love the surrounding although I thought some parts of the cafe was too cluttered with stuff of the 70s and 80s, old school I guess. Well, personally, I thought food was nothing to shout about. My burger was decent and well, I guess I was really hungry then too to notice much about what went into the burger. Snapped a pic of it and started 'working on it' hungrily :P My very good friend did not quite like her pasta as it was a little too dry and I thought I kinda agreed with that. Hmm, if there is one reason I would go back to this cafe, it would be for the peace and quiet in the afternoon as well as for the surrounding. Ha, when I stepped out of my friend's car, I thought I have entered into a nature reserve...the sounds, the smell, the crisp dry leaves that I stepped on. Thanks for the lunch date and for dinner that day too, my very good friend! 

On an outing with XF

What a grin...

Constance's birthday...in July

This sure looks like one big happy family!

I thought this is quite an interesting frame...four different people with four different expressions.

My duck confit...wonder why I am always so curious to try duck confit if they do serve in the various restaurants. Hmm, as for this, I guess nothing much to rave about :P

Creme brulee

Now, what was it that we had eaten?...I just remember we tried quite a few desserts.

Happy Birthday to Constance!...Sorry Cons, trying hard to recall the name of the restaurant that we went to. Hope to get some help from Rene. Disgusting me!

Sunny B's birthday...in July

I guess to Baby, every single day is considered his birthday as he continues to find little joys and happiness around him, especially in the presence of people close and familiar to him...Well, even for people who are not that close or unfamiliar to him, he will still treat them with much affection, lovely Baby...A great pleasure and joy to be able to celebrate your birthday with you every year, Baby :)

Esquina

Both PY and I had the whole restaurant to ourselves, a narrow bar with an open kitchen. Maybe at that point in time in June, many people were  trying to avoid the haze.

Well, not the most comfortable seats around but sure unique design for a stool by the bar.

Grilled romaine, truffle honey manchego, black olives...It's really amazing how chefs can combine the unique taste of each ingredient and form an amazing dish, one where the uniqueness in each ingredient is not lost.

Fried quail egg, bacon & mushroom ketchup with charred asparagus & toast

Oops, I think I have no record of this main...think it's pork and I think I do remember the tenderness of it :)

Snapper, sauteed gambas, chorizo & squid paella

Chocolate tea ice cream, sponge sacher, pickled cherries, hazelnut praline...a dessert that certainly did not disappoint, every bit of it is so delicate that you could feel how much thought has been put in to create this dessert.  

Ugly Darling

My goodness, what is this ugly thing? What on earth is that? Is that an owl? ...Those were the responses that I have got when others saw this little hand sewn plush toy. Well, I believe this is not the usual kind of plush toy that you would see in a toys section of a departmental store. But the interesting thing is that I knew what it was at the first sight! There was no need to ponder or wonder at all, not even for a second. I just knew who and what it was when I received it as a gift for my trip to Osaka in June :) ...I love smelling its nose occasionally or giving it a squeeze at times before bedtime. I remember how we read the story about the ugly duckling when we were still kids. And I have decided to call him Sunny Baby aka Ugly Darling...one and only Ugly Darling in this world, you know. Remember my blog post about ugliness is a form of beauty? Ha, the story continues...

Shhh...

Shhh...Sometimes, simply love being in my own dreamland, my own little world and happiness is being alone with my own thoughts...Actually, many times, I feel that only the "me" within myself can understand me :) Please don't let moments like these pass by too fast...please.

Well done, Rika!

Rika was kinda fiddling with my camera and I believe she took these. And guess what, I kinda like them! Ain't you curious why? You can ask me why :) Well, not very sure of the professional terms associated with photography but I would feel that it would take a sensitive someone to notice the fine little things around us, things which could easily go unnoticed but would speak much through a photograph. A few random shots which we may think nothing of but if we take time to appreciate them, they are more than just random. They could be moments that we know can only come once... 

Best meal in Osaka

Never mind about the name of the place, never mind about the direction to that lovely house up in the mountains (Ya, I know it's silly me again)... What matters more is how my heart speaks. I would say that was my nicest meal during my trip to Osaka in June. Such simple ingredients but a real satisfied and heartwarming one I would say. There was this oba-chan who came to our cosy little house up in the mountains to cook for us. And everything seemed so effortless for her! I think the freshness of the ingredients had also made quite a difference. Wholesome freshness in every mouthful, ha, even the rice was simply cooked to perfection... We travelled on the road quite a bit before reaching this lovely house and in my mind then, I was asking myself if I would stay in this place for a few months...Would you know the answer?   

Love is like the wind

"Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it." ~ Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

Pierre Herme

PY, I was thinking of you when I was eating these in June in Osaka this year and I am still thinking of you when I am blogging about this now. Ha, I can never forget how we bought different kinds of lovely pastries that afternoon, sat at that bench in the supermarket in Shinjuku, took photographs of those colourful and artistic macarons, eclairs and cakes as if we are into food photography. Thank goodness nobody knew us there and people must be wondering why these two ladies kept clicking away instead of savouring those pastries. We could have invited stares but I guess we did not care then or were probably oblivious to what's going on around us. Well, I guess we know each other too well when it comes to taking photographs of what goes into our mouths, don't we? Thank you for the wonderful memories :)

Lazing and still lazing in a cafe

Don't you ever feel that a picture tells much? Don't you ever believe in the power of an image and a photograph? Well, I do, I really do and sometimes you just have got to let the photographs 'do the talking'...  I think it's O-Bash Cafe. 

Beyond lovely on a rainy day

Whenever something or some place gets my attention, I know I will be busy snapping pictures. It was a rainy day and Rika brought us to this nice cafe that served tasty healthy food. Well, you know how sometimes people often comment that healthy food is usually bland but I thought it was not so in this cafe. Everything looked so pretty and lovely in that cafe that I thought I had thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Ha, was it the food or was it how the food was presented? Simple steamed food but I believe much effort was put in to prepare and present the food. The thought of it simply warmed my heart...you know, I thought I could simply just spend my whole afternoon in that cafe and feeling lovely on a rainy day...