Hoshino Coffee

今天請了半天假，突然空出了一些時間。於是決定到一直想去的Hoshino Coffee吃午餐。已做好心裡準備加入人龍，到達時咖啡座裡仍有座位，所以無須排隊。太幸運了！

仔細研究餐盤後，決定點那看起來好好吃的Souffle Doria.

後來侍應生告知Souffle Doria含牛肉成份，我只好把主食改成甜點－－鬆餅。

等了20分鐘，鬆餅終於烘焙完畢，送到我面前。

 搭配手作咖啡。味道不錯，但我比較喜歡台北的那家。好想念台北⋯⋯

離開前不忘把入口處的食物樣板拍下。

In the Name of De-Stressing

For friends who know me well, I am not really a chocolate lover. I don't mind eating chocolates but I am not an ardent fan. Given a choice, I normally would not choose a piece of chocolate cake or a scoop of chocolate ice-cream. I am also not one who can finish an entire chocolate bar on my own - at least not in recent years.

But there is something chocolatety that I have difficulty resisting...... For the last one month, I had to buy something every time I walked past the ION outlet. You know, it's the craving for chocolates when you feel down and how buying (note: it's about buying, not eating) them can make one happy.

I conclude that it's all because of stress that I ended up with all these limited editions! (Yes, "limited edition" is another word that I have low immunity against). Now, I've got to finish them soon before the "best consume before" date.

See, stress (due to work) is very bad. I should stay at home.


Top row from left: Darjeeling tea, fruit bar; Bottom row from left: Pear, Rum & Grape (my favourite!!!)

Lunch

We are not very adventurous when it comes to food but for some unknown reason, we decided to try out Nonya food.

So on a sunny Saturday afternoon, i.e. yesterday, we made our way to this Nonya restaurant along Tanjong Pagar Road.

The ambience was cosy and very comfortable. We could see the sun shinning brightly from the glass panel on the door. We were thankful for the air-con. It is indeed one of the best inventions to date.


We ordered 2 starters and 4 mains. Of course, not forgetting dessert.

Otak Otak & Kueh Pie Tee

Chap Chye Masak Titek

Ayam Buah Keluak

Udang Masak Assam Gulai

Steamed Seabass Nonya Style

Durian Chendol, Chendol & Gula Melaka

I must say that the service was quite good. The restaurant forgot to charge us for our desserts and when I informed them, they said it's ok as it was their mistake. Wow!

A Gem in the Heart of Orchard Road

We had tea at this lovely cafe, tucked behind or rather, inside a furniture shop.



I love the setting! The bright and cheery colours of the chair made the small little place very cosy.



The ambience more than made up for the lack of wide selection of tea and snacks. The tea selection can be broadly classified into 2 - floral or fruit tea. We ordered a medium coffee, french rose tea and crispy salmon wrap.






This is indeed a good way to spend a weekend afternoon!

Coincidentally, there was a write-up on the cafe in yesterday's Today Weekend. I hope as more people find out about the cafe, it will still preserve its tranquility.

詞窮

這一次徹底詞窮。

美食評論家還真是有一兩手，要找這麼多不同的形容詞來形容食物的味道真是不容易。

除了“好吃”，我這個笨蛋實在不知道還能如何形容。吃下第一口，幸福的感覺滿得快溢出來！




原來早在兩年前，我們就曾經過京都嵐山的本店。可惜當時沒買來吃⋯⋯


下回到嵐山，一定要吃！

Hokkaido Food Fair

I went to the Hokkaido Food Fair at Takashimaya a few days ago and bought a roll of cream cake.

Finally had the time to eat it yesterday. The Japanese are really obsessed with azuki (red bean)!


I love the packaging! The Japs are really good at this!


A sinful teabreak after the run...:)

永康街的永康階

攝氏34度的臺北熱得叫人抓狂。

書上說，從忠孝新生走十分鐘就能來到永康街。十分鐘？那是以巨人步伐計算的吧！還不到五分鐘，已經覺得我要人間蒸發了。

這一次到臺北，我想也該認認真真發掘一些不太一樣的角落，體驗一下臺北人的生活。一般旅客來到永康街，都只會到路口的鼎泰豐吧。其實這條短短的街，別具風味，頗有異國情調。書上說永康街有點像東京的自由之丘。感覺是還有點像，但在格調上硬要相提並論的話，就稍嫌牽強。

繞了一會兒，才找到永康階。外頭的綠蔭讓人以為是住宅，稍不留意還真容易走宝。



落地窗其實是一道牆，據說可以“打開”，讓風吹進來。我想，如此炎熱的夏天，大家還是比較喜歡吹冷氣吧。


那個風水寶座被兩位婦女佔據了，所以只好退而求其次，選了另一個靠窗的位子。


餐盤被我翻了又翻，最終決定點個糕點套餐。


陽明山櫻花茶配上起司蛋糕，真是絕配！茶帶有梅子的味道，蠻甘甜的。起司蛋糕底層是巧克力，還有用酒釀過的葡萄，口感極佳，真的真的好好吃！吃下第一口時，可以感覺眼睛裡有星星在閃爍，就像漫畫書中常畫的那樣。哈哈！


可惜我只有一個胃！

一堆麵粉

傍晚經過Ion的Provence時，忍不住買了一堆麵包回來。

原來，一堆麵粉比正餐還要貴！

Unexpected Long Weekend

The doctor gave me 2 days medical leave to rest. Guess with the H1N1 virus around, the doctors will rather be on the safe side.

Woke up feeling a lot better today but was lazy to go out and buy lunch. I also wanted to play my part as a socially responsible adult so I will practise social distancing for these 2 days.

Nothing much left in the fridge. Managed to cook some fishball & egg porridge (sounds weird) to fill up my stomach.


The porridge was too watery and a little undercooked. Had to put it back into the pot to cook a little longer.

Blue Sunday

Feeling a little unhappy today so I decided to do 2 things:

1. Retail Therapy

Bought 2 trench coats and a cardigan from Mango. Hmmm, I have no idea when I will have the chance to wear the trench coats. Maybe when I go for holidays in Dec? Haha. Retail therapy is never rational.

2. Cooking

Besides fried rice, I cooked some papaya fish soup for dinner. This time, the colour of the papaya looked more "normal".


After shopping, cooking and drinking, the unhappiness still lingers... Is it due to the rain?...

Lunch & Dinner

I hope we will soon not be discouraged to lunch together. Here's my lunch for today (finally learnt to use the microwave).


Decided to have something "simple" though not very healthy for dinner...

A Not So Healthy Meal

I was craving for instant noodles last night, just before I went to sleep.

So tonight, I decided to satisfy my taste bud. The cool weather also made me feel like eating something steaming hot.

Upon reaching home, I quickly searched the fridge for ingredients that can be addded to the instant noodles. I managed to find some minced pork, spring onion, eggs and 奶白. Cooked the noodles using my favourite Japanese soup base. Yum yum!


I think I am quite a good cook. Hahaha!

Following the email to discourage staff from the same department from lunching together, I think I should seriously consider bringing lunch to the office. Maybe I should cook more at night or wake up earlier to prepare food. Let's see how things go. :)

香港行之舊式茶樓

我喜欢现代化，所以对旧的东西向来没什么感觉。我不否认，我的喜新厌旧或许是一种偏执。

不过，我却对香港的旧式茶楼颇感兴趣。这一趟到香江，我们尽量找些老旧的餐室用餐，感染一下怀旧的气息。在港的第一餐，我们就到位于饭店不远的美都餐室吃午餐。我们绕了好一会儿才找到地方。


二楼正在装修，所以我们得到三楼去。找了位子，餐室的老板和伙计不太理会我们。无所谓，我们继续研究密密麻麻的食物名称。决定好后，女侍应生走过来把我们点的食物记下。九年后的香港，普通话真是普及多了。这对不会讲广东话的我来说，实在是一种便利。

餐室的怀旧气氛浓厚，感觉非常香港！从窗外望出去，星期六的街道并没有想象中拥挤。

这一刻，时间仿佛静止，停格在六零年代。


玻璃瓶装的可乐，好令人怀念！喝起来格外解渴。


这是餐室的招牌菜——排骨炬饭。四十年来地位屹立不到，的确有它的原因！


忍不住还是点了餐蛋通心粉。平淡无奇，却非常地道。


第二天早上，我们又到一家旧式茶楼喝早茶。


感觉有点像红星，点心都是推出来的。这一次，广东话不及格的我只好闭嘴。YQ 的广东话也不太灵光，最后我们只点了铁三角——虾饺、烧卖、叉烧包，还有叉烧肠粉。


我们坐在茶楼里边看《苹果日报》，边享受这种时光倒流三十年的感觉！

来到香港这样一个现代都市，却又希望感染怀旧气息，这的确有些吊诡。

Time to Detox!

After countless meals of 大魚大肉, I decided to have some home-cooked food for lunch today.

Cooking is therapeutic, cooking a new dish is even more so! I felt great after lunch. It's the most detoxifying meal we have had for a long long time!

Papaya Fish Soup

Now, it's time to continue with my challenge for the weekend - detox my wardrobe! Perhaps time to start planning for dinner too? :p