uncanny feeling
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The week held on with more than just a rough draught for me. To those who have noticed or perhaps misunderstood my absence in many occasions. I apologise for my disappearing act. Just need to get some things together. Meanwhile, I've been busy with a few projects of mine. Lovely little baking orders. Standing perched against the counter top peering into the oven, the searing heat casting an after glow on my face.
Even more so, I find it hard to concentrate on other things apart from my clustered baking world. As tiny and miniscule as it is, it keeps me afloat. And who doesn't need a little help from a floatation device sometimes?
Teachers' Day orders were particularly fun... took a bit of extra effort to personalise the boxes. To leave an ink mark for advertising sake since i figured out that since the individual cakes were going off to totally different pple. It would definitely help in publicity. The sweetest thing was hearing the awfully nice comments from a little boy whom it was ordered for. That set a smile on my face the entire day.
Other things include my latest craze about mooncakes including a huge splurge on mooncake ingredients in order to embark on my bout of mooncake making. i was thinking orange poppy seeds snowskin with white lotus fillings. What say you?
Last of all, a special mention to the ADM design team for creating such an awesome site for the annual dinner and dance to be held at butter factory. I'm mentioned by the way as I will be catering for this lovely event. Thank you guys for the opportunity!I can forsee its gonna be a hell of a September for me...
bakesale at NUS science foyer
Bakesale!!!
Estelle's Disneyland Party
And as I mentioned in a previous post, I came to attend a friend's party and even gathered the honor of being able to bake her 21st Birthday cake. *woots*. Plus there were the honorory mentions at the end. hehe. But still, given the birthday girl's large exposure to good food and excellent dining experiences (fyi. she writes for the nanyang chronicles), she was indeed one tough nut to crack. Having several expectations and need for the surprise element when it came to cake flavor and design. Well, just another day at work for me then...
So voila.. before I launch into a full episode about the whereabouts of the party.. here's the Cake I baked. Ivoire Lavender as i call it, it comprises of a 4 layered, 2 tiered cake made of lavender white chocolate whisper cake layers sandwiching the most delicate lemon swiss meringue buttercream and christened with a shadow of white ganache. Topped by a few sprigs of iced butterfly cookies (due to the bdae's girls fondness of butterflies) and line after line of colored white ganache.. a sweet delectable eye-candy of a cake popped out. And for once, I was satisfied with my creation...
the party was held in the function room of her condo. It was a little strange given that the room was stashed away on the second floor of the clubhouse rather than the ground floor. But still, the air of excitement and not to mention.. youth was floating throughout. From the vibrant rose petals gracing the steps as we made out entrance to the colorful banners that stretched across the ceiling. Every detail in this party was well thought about and executed. It left the few guests feeling warm and welcomed.
Food was catered in and named special names according to tales from Disneyland such as the Lady and the Tramp Spaghetti and Meatballs, etc.. And to make matters more interesting. Guests were dressed up to the nines in their disneyland themed costumes. Such as the likes of Jasmine, Aladdin, Abu the monkey, Stitch, Princess Fiona in Shrek, Snow White, Belle, Pinochio... It was terrible fun seeing everyone parading in the room with their custumes and assumed personas. But not so fun when you're seriously undressed and slightly scruffy from the baking class you attended just awhile ago... argh.. if only i had known.. i would have erm.. probably throw on a fresh blouse or something... hehe.
Lollipop Cookies that i baked as door gifts for the guests...
Next up, the games preceeded with it being led by a lady in a blue suit.. wait a minute.. *rubbing eyes*.. isn't that stitch?! yesh.. apparently the games commentator was Estelle's friend.. a very amiable girl dressed in a uber thick Stitch suit.. i reckon she must have sweated off a bucket just clambering into the bodysuit. But then again, that is besides the point! Kudos to the team behind the games, thanks for bringing the crowd some entertainment! and i apologise for my very shallow knowledge regarding disney facts..
and then finally.. the cake cutting ceremony begins.. of course headed by an unslew of thank you speeches and award presentations to the party's best dressed. Most furry character anyone?!
so with a darkening of the lights overhead and the lighting of dazzling candles on the cake... it was like magic. the procedure that would otherwise seem so mundane.. enhanced by the presence of so many beautiful people.. supportive in spirit.
When the cake was finally sawed thru with gusto by the fair maiden... i gawked.
'ooo...it has purple layers!', I said.
Now if you think clearly.. that is a rather silly remark coming from the baker of the cake. In fact.. it invited an amountable number of stares from people nearby.. *woops*.. Like what?! I'm just amazed that's all. To me, the cake spelt success.. with a smooth layering and a slight lilac tint to the floral scented cake; it was just bewildering. Apparently the hostess thought it was tad sweet but then again she commented that it was lovely to look at. A consolation for me despite feeling a bit sore. The ingredients and frostings were chosen on the basis that they would and should survive the sweltering heat.. and they did! *yipee*
okay.. so enough about cake talk. Here's a group photo of Estelle and her beloved friends.. Just adore all the costumes featured.
I would like to thank the dear birthday girl for inviting me to the party and even more so for allowing me to bake her 21st Birthday Cake... one of the rare occasions i get invited to a party for which i baked for.. Kinda reminds me of how I got to know Evangeline last time.. But that's a whole different story...We'll leave that to next time.
Now its time to catch some sleep... *yawnz*
This cake is also my entry to Layers of Cake organised by Laurie of Quirky Cupcake. Layered cakes rule!!! Please refer to her site if you wanna take part in this awesome event!
Gravity
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Woke up to a banged up head this morning. Followed by cold stiff feet and puffy eyes. I swore I had never encountered such a strong gravitional force towards my pillow ever.
Thanks dear for bringing over a tub of my favourite Butterscotch Pecan icecream just to please me.
Meanwhile, I have decidingly changed my baking website to a new one! Sugar Fairy has shifted to her new home! So do please drop by for a visit sometime... Cheers!
Absolute Haven
Labels:
birthdays,
food,
restaurants
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Round two.. FIGHT! Oops.. lets not bring the taekwondo sparring i've been looking at onto the table alright?
Moving on to the second food review of the week. Again, visited on occasion of my the twins birthdays. The destination, Absolute Haven along princep street. Frankly, this isn't my first visit to the eatery having had lunch there before whilst serving my 6 months Industrial attachment along Orchard. The food as I recalled it was undeniably good, with reasonable prices and not too meagre portions. So when my mum asked me to make a reservation (for the second time) to spring a surprise on my unsuspecting auntie; it was my first choice.
Upon arriving at the resturant on a saturday night. I was surprised to find the entire resturant filled to the brim with customers; apart from our booked table of course. The customers range from mostly the early 20s to early 30s; a considerably younger crowd than what we had observed over the last dinner. I attribute it to the price range of the menu and the more accessible location. But between the two, it was a tough fight with both emerging tops in different categories.
The courses were served up quickly. And to not bog down the whole event of describing the food, i shall jump to the star attractions. For starters, it was the Soft Shell Crab with Beetroot puree sauce that shone thru.. But still it was nothing in comparison to the excellent appetisers we had at Brown Sugar. As for mains, the stars were the pork and the fish dishes. I loved my oven roasted seabass topped with poached egg. The fish, both succulent and flavorful was indeed a delight on the palette. It's a MUST try if you ever visit the eatery.
The finale to the meal was sadly a disappointment. With the Tiramisu being slightly mediocre, passing off as just a normal tiramisu glamed up in a long stemmed glass. The victorian creme brulee was oh wel.. just creme brulee. I'm biased i guess. never did like the dessert to begin with. Then again, the flavor of rose extract was no where to be found!!! The crepe suzette on the other hand, I had a bad experience with the last time hence I avoided it like a plague. At least the fire lighting ritual was mastered this time around.
In the end, the final verdict... BROWN SUGAR wins hands down!!!
*claps*.. So if you guys looking to bringing that special someone to impress without the expense of bursting your wallet.. do give brown sugar a try.
brown sugar cafe and bistro
Labels:
birthdays,
food,
restaurants
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hearing the name of the eatery resonating in your throat already sends a tinge of delightful shivers down my spine. There is something about brown sugar.. its simplicity and yet richness of flavor that intrigues me. And so does this eatery situated in a lovely little corner of stardus clubhouse along river valley road bear a vague resemblence to the contradictory complexity of its name.With two birthdays on hand, both falling on the same day ( f.y.i. my mum and auntie are identical twins); we had the privilege of trying out two resturants which I was given the honor of selecting. I decided to go ahead with Brown Sugar cafe and bistro. Number one, because I have yet to try it, number two, I WANTED to try it. So ...*tink*.. there goes the green light for me!
Reservations were made way way way ahead to prevent any disappointments and not to mention a whole lot of scolding if I had failed my task (which was to make the bookings of course).
And so that weekend, with a lot of baking orders on hand, my family and I together with my auntie and Trevor came together to Brown Sugar and Bistro with nothing but a whole lot of expectations...
The food was served at comfortable pace.. each course displaying a multitude of flavors and creative pairing of ingredients. Plating was superbly done as well; each dish being layout in a most appetising way. For starters, the soft shell crab with caesar salad was a sure winner; the generous portion of crisp soft shell crab giving texture to the whole dish. Home-made croutons.. i couldn't say no to that as well. I on the other hand had the resturant's famous deconstructed green apple salad with brie, toasted walnuts, argula and balsamic vinegar dressing (if i remember correctly). It was awesome.. with the brie obviously stealing the show. My aunt evidently enjoyed her warm goat cheese tart with salad on the side; with the potent melted goat cheese flowing out of the filo pastry shell, it was no wonder that she would take an instant liking to it.
left: Soft Shell Crab Ceasar Salad; Right: Wagyu Beef Burger with Foie Gras
Main courses were soon served. With a good spread of dishes ordered by the family including Oven roasted lamb rack, Wagyu Beef burger with Foie Gras, Organic Mushroom Linguine in cream Sauce and Parma Ham, Slow Roasted Pork Belly and Tenderloin Steak. If you ask me, the real winners were the Slow roasted Pork Belly and the Oven roasted lamb; despite Brown Sugar's claim to fame for their wagyu beef burger and mushroom linguine. But then again, its coming from a bias source. Someone who doesn't like beef? BAH.. don't count on it.
The night's culinary affair bumped on. With every course building up the pleasure senses to the max and reaching a crescendo at desserts. If you guys must have your sweet stuff. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do come to Brown Sugar for their desserts. soooo GOOD! We shared the Sticky Date Pudding soaked in caramel sauce served with a sprinkling of walnuts and a good scoop of gourmet vanilla bean icecream on top, Tarte tartin of pears that is paired off with a generous scoop of honey and fig ice-cream, and finally a molten chocolate cake also served with a scoop of vanilla icecream. These were excellent! with the front two hogging the limelight. The ice-cream on its alone is able to stand up in battle against Goliath! I'm definitely going back for more next time. And to tell you a secret.. the set lunch menu comprising of 3 courses is only $27 a set!!! now that's a steal!
Brown Sugar Cafe Bistro
Address: 277 River Valley Road
#01-04 Stardus Clubhouse
Tel: 6333 6612
Website: Brown Sugar
spread your wings and fly butterfly
subsequently, everything worked out fine. And nibbling on the scraps of cake while leveling.. i must say that i absolutely love the cake. Moist and awfully aromatic! Guess this will be my entry to Layers of Cake by Laurie of Quirky Cupcake. But I'll have to wait till i get a cross sectional shot of a slice of cake before the posting! *toodles*
TWD: Blueberry Sour Cream ice-cream
I know this hardly looks like a TWD entry. Especially with the fan of words and no interrupting pictures glorifying the end product. A rather sad story since I don't have my hands on any camera as of now. Apparently my camera is faring much better than me, enjoying a fun-filled trip under the sun in Bali with my parents!!! ARGH.. Hence the missing photos. Pardon me but I guess all the talk will have to suffice. *praying hard that I'll get my hands on a camera the next day before all the ice-cream is wiped out*
(guess you guys are wondering what i'm rambling on about? oh well.. the camera is back from Bali! took some snapshots of the ice beauty.. things got a little hard around here since it had been a week since I had made the leap. But nonetheless, they still tasted darn good! Well... at least the cammy came back with some goodies! a whole packet of wild vanilla beans!!! Woots!)
This week's selection was done by Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiousity. She chose the Blueberry Sour Cream Icecream! Finally the first cold treat TWD entry! I so so so have to try this!
I loved that the recipe called for the use of fresh blueberries that I had fervently stocked up in my freezer the past few months whilst they were in season. Cooking them over the stove, i reduced the recommended sugar as the berries were sweet enough. The Fruit puree alone was gorgeous.. a deep set purple in color. I was already falling in love. A few quick blitzes in the processor with the added sour cream and cream and "HEY PRESTO!" the wonderful custard mixture was ready.
After the required cooling period (and more.. sorry.. i inherited lazy bones over the wkends), i proceeded to try out the David Lebovitz method of making ice-cream without a machine. The method though a little time consuming and little straining on the arm trying to manage the crazy handmixer whirling out of control in the stiff frozen custard each time paid off just fine. And in the end, I yielded a creamy icecream in a gorgeous purple hue. Flavorwise, it was spot on.. with the tanginess of the sourcream shining thru the bursting glory of the blueberries.
I'm telling you.. this is GOOD STUFF! in fact a thousand times better than last week's Black and White Banana Loaf. so please do go over to Dolores's site at Chronicles in Culinary Curiousity for the full recipe. and please do check out the other gorgeous attempts thru the Tuesday with Dorie blogroll! SElf control guys *practising yoga*.. thats all we need to resist all the lovely treats...
ARGH...
Where do I go from here?
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just a mental note to myself,
since I rarely have an occasion where I have much thoughts to narrate. fyi, i'm not a empty vessel full of cake notions and nothing but saccharine output..I do have times where thoughts overwhelm me. Yet some of do still surround the reality that I am. One that i live in oblivion and negligance, a wanting to shove away.
Recently, I have been caught up with a bunch of business. Mostly concerning the oven of course. Baking for orders, birthdays and gatherings. Tried out a few new recipes.. tiramisu au vert (green tea) topped with Rich chocolate mousse; and a mango lime cake (light vanilla genoise laced with coconut rum, heavenly lime meringue buttercream and lucious mango curd). The second met with a minor mishap along the way for the party though and i ended up not dishing it up. It wasn't a pretty sight after that bumpy car ride. Trust me...
But still the prospects of upcoming business deals looms ahead. I look forward to them.. Dinner and dance events (catering to 100+ pple seems a little daunting), tea receptions and a few birthdays All the orders, and the expectations that follow closely behind can sometimes throw me off my tracks a little. Have to constantly remind myself that still interest and passion should be my drive. Been harboring many thoughts about my future lately.. they seem a little blurred.
on the hindsight, school has resumed. The first week of school was a tad nostalgic. Still not used to the notion of sitting in lectures after a half year plus of being absent from school. But still the reality of the situation stays the same, what awaits me is my final year of university life. All hands on deck! Dark, threatening clouds are gathering up ahead. Perhaps its time to pray for a little clear skies...
I'm gonna need all the help that I can get.
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