2012

Time flies. New Year 2012 came and went. Chinese New Year is now also officially over. Yesterday was the 15th day of Chinese New Year. We are now fully into the Year of the Dragon. A lot happened during the month of December 2011. I got to see the true nature of some people. It was like waking up from a dream. It has also prompted me to look at myself and take stock. I am still trying to come to terms with what has happened and I am still unsure as to how to move forward. I don't think I can turn to my friends for advice on this as it's really about me coming to terms with myself. Most would just say chop and move on with life. I wish I was that strong. I have never felt more alone in my life.

Someday, I will write about it in full. And like any drama, there are sub plots and totally unrelated tangents as well. Sometimes, I think the people who write trashy soap opera really do take a leaf from real life situations. HAHA.

I guess I am making this post as a means of self relieve. Maybe the main theme for me this year should be to focus more on myself and my own well being. Sometimes, I hate myself for not being stronger. To disregard everyone and just care for myself. Also, to stop putting myself in a position where people can hurt me.

I guess we all learn and we all grow. I would like to wish everyone a great Year of the Dragon ahead. 

Pancakes Part 2

This is a follow up to the post I did last week on pancakes. Practice makes perfect. After 3 batches of pancakes over the course of the week, I think I have gotten the recipe to work more or less to my liking.
As we are approaching the year end and Christmas (my favorite time of the year), I decided to add a bit of a Christmas twist to the recipe. So here goes:

1 Cup of self raising flour
3/4 cup of milk
1 egg
1/2 tea spoon of salt
2 table spoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence (optional)

I also cooked a batch of cinnamon apples to go as a topping for the pancakes. These are easy to do and can be prepared a day in advance and heated up in the microwave before serving.

2 Green apples (GrannySmith is a good choice)
3 to 4 tablespoon of sugar
25g of butter
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder

The smell of cinnamon evokes a sense of Christmas. I just love the smell of cinnamon as it fills the kitchen.

Directions:
Mix the flour, salt and sugar together. Add in the egg and pour in the milk slowly while beating the mixture.  Using a food processor would be alot easier but if not, you can whisk it by hand which makes for a good workout for  your forearm. As you add the milk while whisking, you should get a thick batter. When you get it to some consistency, add in the cinnamon powder and vanilla essence. Give it a good final whisk and let the mixture sit.
This recipe will make about 5 to 6 medium size pancakes.
Fry up the batter in a non-stick frying pan over low to medium heat. Do use high heat or you will risk burning the pancake.

As for the cinnamon apples, core, skin and slice up the apples. In a pot, add the butter, apples and sugar and cook over a medium/low flame. Stir the apples to make sure all the ingredients coat the apples. When the apples begin to soften, add in the cinnamon powder. Give it a good stir and cover the lid over the pot and let it simmer for 5 to 10 mins. It should be a nice light brown color. 

This is possibly one of the easiest dish to make. It makes a great late night snack or breakfast. Serve the pancakes and cinnamon with some maple syrup. I added a scoop of strawberry sorbet for color. Enjoy :)

Pancakes!

Its been a while since I tried cooking something new. As I have been staying at my apartment over the weekends, I decided to cook breakfast. I found this recipe for pancakes online but I think it still needs a bit of fine tuning.

1 cup of self raising flour
1 egg
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 tea spoon of salt
1 table spoon of sugar
1/2 tea spoon of vanilla essences

The results are ok but I think it can be fine tuned. The pancakes turned out less fluffy. I think I added a bit more then 1/2 a cup of milk.

I will write an update on the batch I intend to make next weekend. Maybe I will try cooking some cinnimon apples to go along with the pancakes. Yum!

Visaandeschelde

I have done a posting on Visaandeschelde previously. Its located opposite the RAI in Amsterdam. This restaurant has become a must visit for me whenever I am in Amsterdam. The menu I usually go for is the chef's surprise.

My last visit was two weeks ago in early April. As usual, I was not disappointed. Attached are pictures of dishes I had. Enjoy.

Shrimp with sweet corn mousse

and Thai Green Curry Soup

Tuna tarta, King Crab Mousse,

Mousse of Cucumber and Wasabi

Lobster Tail Salad with

Duck Liver

Orange Shrimp Soup,

Deep Fried Smelt with Red pepper myo

Pan Fried Halibut, Baby Razor Clam

on a bed of risotto

2011

Wishing everyone a Very Happy New Year!

2010

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. I finally took down the Christmas tree and decorations. For me, this also marks the start of the new year. Christmas 2009 was also my first Christmas in Belvedere. It was a rather quiet event. New Year was a lot more fun. I had a whole bunch of friends over and did the count down and saw the fireworks from my balcony.
I guess the next thing on my To Do list would be to post up some of those pictures. Do look out for them.

Another Year Older

Another birthday party, another year older. I had a great weekend with my close friends in Sentosa. I should try to post some pics up. The colonial manor at the Capella was fantastic. The unfortunate part was that Capella did not live up to its "more that 5 Star" reputation. Great product but lousy software. I had to wait 40 mins to check in when they had a 24hour check in,check out policy. I did not even arrive early. I arrived at 2pm in the afternoon and was made to wait cause their housekeeping did not communicate with their catering division. This was just one of the many mistakes they made during my stay. Anyway, I had loads of fun with my close friends and that made up for it.