Spare Me Your Taste Buds

If you are here because of the SMS or WA message I sent you, read on.

I am in need. I would like to borrow your taste buds. I'm officially forming meal tasting sessions on a regular basis and you are invited to be part of it. Occasionally, I will invite some established cooks to guide me along and when that happens, you know you are in for a marvellous treat!

The catch? I promise you there would be times when you would secretly ask yourself why on earth did you stupidly agree to waste your taste buds on (and lend them to me for)  the sub-standard food I create. I promise you there would be times you would have to endure hunger waiting for the meals to be served. But I also promise you I would do my best in whipping up the fabu-licious-wannabe.

One commandment that I hope you would observe though, or at least try to comply, is ‘Thou shalt leave no leftovers’ :)

I have included pics of some of what I did last month when I turned serious about cooking, thanks to the inspiration and encouragement of a close colleague. Hopefully the pics would be good selling points.

Gratin Dauphinois

Baked Salmon Fishcakes

Baked Salmon Fishcakes

Starters

Lemon and Ginger Souffles

Lemon and Ginger Souffles

Salmon Wellington

One point of assurance is I have already figured out why some of the dishes were slightly burnt on top, if that was what you were concerned about.

So, do something good in 2012. Be part of the 'Spare Me Your Taste Buds' group. Beep me if you are in!

End of Overseas Stint

Four years of overseas posting came to an end in July this year.

It had been a good and happy experience overall. What I love most about working overseas is the freedom I enjoyed - the freedom to do what and go where I wanted after work. Living alone with little of life's commitment was just great. I have to admit, though, it sometimes got tough when I felt lonely and bored. Thankfully, I am one who is able to get over boredom rather quickly.

I thank my blessing stars that I was healthy and had rarelly fallen ill in the last four years. To be down alone in a foreign country would not be something I would have loved to experience.

I thank my staff for making my overseas stay enjoyable. Some of them are now my good friends. I had learned a lot from them. Their fight for equal treatment, their cheerfulness and optimism in outlook and their fight for their loved ones had broadened my views on life.

The four years of experience, though short, is something that cannot be bought with money. I am glad I took this path.

My 1st Serious Cooking

My first serious cooking today turned out ok. I had wanted wanted to fry the carrots and mushrooms but because the smoke and oil were getting out of hand, I steamed them instead. The green veg that I fried turned a bit brown and oily but were still edible. The sasuage was a bit charred. The rest was ok. Cleaning up was a nightmare. The oil stains on the walls and oven were stubborn. The kitchen and part of my hall reeked of intolerable smoke and oil. Check out the pics.

3G Abundance in T2

A friend in Surabaya was praying very hard that his boss would allow him to take the morning SilkAir flight to Singapore instead of the evening one, which would mean he would only have a short time to enjoy Singapore. His prayer was finally answered.

Prior to his arrival in Singapore, he asked for my recommendation on what to do and where to eat in Singapore. I gave him my views but I was shocked to hear that not only did he not visit the restaurant I recommended, he spent hours in T2 playing online games on his iPhone because of the free Internet access.

Hokkaido, Tokyo

Been years since I last visited Japan. Going again with my family end Nov. Getting excited all over again. Really looking forward to it. Definitely the highlight of the year. Thanks to my brother for the organising and booking. Wouldn't have been able to make it on my own.

Time to move on?

A parent disappoints a child in the house this moment and asks the child to entertain the family guests the next. If you are the child, will you be able to entertain the guests well? I have no answer to the question until tomorrow when I will have lunch with a group of agent bosses. I believe the professional part will get the better of me. Deep inside, I yearn to get out of this once and for all. The support, the encouragement, the trust. They have all gone missing these days. Or are they always absent, just that I have never noticed? I am really tired of this. Is it time to move on?

My 1st Serious Cooking

My first serious cooking. I had wanted to fry the carrots and mushrooms but because of the heavy smoke and oil, I decided to steam them instead. They turned out fine. The fried veg was a bit brown and oily but ok. Likewise, the sausage was a bit charred but tasty. The cleaning up was a disastrous. The thick oil on the walls and tables was stubborn. The kitchen and part of the hall reeked of the intolerable smoke. It took me 30 mins just to clean up. The effort was satisfying so I think I would try again next time. Not sure when though :)