Sunday, July 11, 2021

Adora Natural castile soaps for your household.

Quite honestly, I don't do much sponsored reviews these days. 
However if I do, it's because I really love the products and would personally really use them for myself, my family, and would advocate using them :)

I'm a sucker for eco-friendly and natural products. Products that are safe to use and also kind to animals and to our environment. 
As such, I am constantly on the lookout for such products.

When I was first introduced to Adora Natural, I like that their castile soaps use coconut oil and essential oils in their ingredients and are free of sulphates. They also do not do product-testing on animals.





My dear Ashton trying out the peppermint bodywash while I use the lavender :)

Dish washing castile soap in lemongrass for Wina to use.


Did you also know that Adora Natural is a Singapore-grown product? 
Now that's one more reason for you to try this lovely product.
Because support local ya :D

You may purchase them from their various online platforms (Whatsapp +65 96581468, Carousell, Shopee, Lazada) and also through DMs on Instagram @adoranatural .


Thank you Berry from Adora Natural for your lovely castile soaps once again!
Love 'em! 💕





Friday, January 1, 2021

Food review: Belly Umami

 

2020 was a year of new discovery for the world.
For me, one of the discoveries was I found my Secondary school friend again, after some twenty years, through my group of girl friends, and that was when I found out he had started his own private Omakase dining!

I would like to introduce to you the man behind BELLY UMAMI whom, not to be mistaken as the one standing behind me in the following pic, you will see a couple of photos away. 


Also not these two... they only know how to eat.


Keep scrolling...


Yeap that's my friend right there - Bernard, the man behind Belly Umami!


The first dish was this cold tofu with salted egg crumbs and white sesame seeds with edible flowers as garnishing



Next was the herbal chicken with generous amounts of herbs and chrysanthemum flowers, which added a light floral aroma to the chicken.


This Asam fish head came next, a spicy welcome in the inclement weather.


And this crispy Pork Crackling with white wine sauce, garlic and thyme. 
Oh my ham, where do I even start? It's so crisp I could break the skin like a cracker.



The Nyonya zhap-chai was also very authentic. If my Peranakan husband and in-laws think it is as good as Grandma's, you have to take their word for it!



These juicy cockles in butter and garlic was one of my favourite. I love see hum!




And they saved the best for last - Bernard's signature Crab bee hoon.
The crab roe, together with the bee hoon laced with white wine, was simply orgasm in my mouth!







Thank you Bernard and team at Belly Umami for hosting my family tonight (as law-abiding citizens we kept to a group of 8).
We thoroughly enjoyed the dinner! I'm secretly hoping my helper will take inspiration from you and cook us the Asam fish head LOL.

Please head over to  BELLY UMAMI's Facebook page  for more menu items and information!

I really admire Bernard's grit and passion for cooking, and all his dishes are carefully curated and created by himself. 
I can guarantee, you will not be disappointed :)

Wishing you guys an abundant 2021 ahead! Cheers everyone! 




Friday, July 3, 2020

YOGA SEEDS - my First Yoga lesson!

Since the beginning of this new decade, I resigned from my long-time employment as a nurse in KK Hospital.
It would have been my ninth year there, it was a love-hate relationship I had with my work.
I used to enjoy what I did, until there came a point where I was constantly asking myself if that was what I would be doing for the rest of my life. My answer was No.
If I didn't need the money, would I still be working there? No.
In ten years, do I see myself still working there? No.

I decided to resign. With no plans.
I was scared, terrified. But I knew I had to do it for goodness' sake. LOL
I needed to take a break to find my feet again, to find my directions.


My farewell party on my last day:






Sad to leave my colleagues behind but there, I am finally free!



There were many things I always wanted to try but couldn't find the time when I was working full-time.
One of them is YOGA.
Even though I held an 8-to-5 job in KKH, evenings were a mad rush for me to rush home, make sure my kids have dinner, playground time, shower, finish up any pending homework which they need help in, prepare for the next day's school / CCA/ tuition if any etc etc, it was like learning how to fly a plane in 2 hours.
My day-to-day life was so mad hectic/ mundane/stressful/rushed and I absolutely RESENTED it.


SO NOW, I can finally start on learning something new - learning Yoga at YOGA SEEDS.

Yay to Phase 2 of Circuit Breaker~!


Located at Bishan Park, a north-central location, it was quite easy for us to get there.

ADDRESS
: 1384 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1, Singapore 569932.
Head to Bishan Park CARPARK A.
Once you are in the carpark, head left all the way past Aramsa Garden Spa and The Bund and you will find Yoga Seeds.


Welcome to the Shala :)
The class was live-streamed for members who wanted to practice in the comfort of their own homes.




Our cui faces after class :P


If you're new to yoga like me, here's a chart for easy reference on which types of Yoga is beginner-friendly.
Some house rules in Phase 2 of Circuit Breaker:





Our instructor for today's Hatha class, Melody, was very friendly and helpful in teaching us how to adjust our postures.
She also gave alternative poses if we could not achieve what the advanced yogis could.
It made newbies like hubby & me felt at ease and not at a loss of what to do like when I did Zumba for the first time - my hands-feet-eye-coordination was all over the place!

If you're unsure where / how to start with your Yoga journey, Yoga Seeds has a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for newcomers.
I highly recommend you to check out Yoga Seeds on their website!
Class schedules can be found here.

We will be back for more lessons for sure!
Thank you Melody, Wendy and Vic from Yoga Seeds for this wonderful opportunity :)
Namaste.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Made HK style Double Skin Milk :)

Made my highly-missed Hong Kong Australian Dairy Company's double skin milk today.
It's surprisingly easy peasy child's play!

To make for a family of 4, I used:
- 800ml full cream milk (200ml each bowl's capacity)
- 4 egg whites
- 4 teaspoons sugar

Boil the milk over low heat and stir occasionally. Turn off fire when bubbles start forming at the sides of the pot.

Next, whisk the egg whites and sugar until it forms a bubbling foamy texture.

Sift this egg white mixture into the pot of warm milk.

Pour into bowls and remove any air bubbles on top.

Cover with aluminium foil and steam for 15 minutes, turn off fire and leave it for another 5 minutes.
Remove and serve.

Silkie eggs vs Normal egg







Who else misses Hong Kong Cha can teng food like me?!


Saturday, May 2, 2020

How to make Kuih Talam.

My hubby is a Peranakan, so it is little wonder that he loves to eat and cook.
During this Covid-19 lockdown period I have decided to learn how to make some Nonya dishes :)

Here's a simple, no-bake recipe on how to make Kuih Talam.

GREEN LAYER:

- Pandan leaves 6-7 pieces
- Coconut milk 330ml
- Tapioca flour 50gm
- Rice flour 25gm
- Green bean flour 25gm (Not the same as green bean powder. Can be bought from Phoon Huat)
- Sugar 120gm
- Pandan essence 1 teaspoon.


WHITE LAYER:

- Tapioca flour 15gm
- Rice flour 15gm
- Green bean flour 15gm
- Sugar 1 tablespoon
- Salt 1 pinch
- Coconut milk 270ml
- Pandan leaves 5-6 pieces tied in a knot

METHOD FOR GREEN LAYER:

- Use a brush to oil your desired baking pan in which the Kuih Talam will take its final shape.
- Use a blender to blend pandan leaves and coconut milk.
- Pour the mixture through a sieve into a big mixing bowl
- Pour in all the flours and combine well until smooth and no lumps.
- Stir in a pan over super low heat for 2 minutes then pour into oiled baking pan
- Steam at high heat for 15 minutes.



METHOD FOR WHITE LAYER:

- When the green layer is steaming for 10 minutes, you can start combining and cooking all the white layer ingredients over extremely low heat, give a few stirs for 2 minutes then throw the pandan leaves away.

- By now the green layer would have been steamed for 15 minutes, lift the steamer cover and pour white layer over it.

- Cover back the steamer and steam BOTH LAYERS together for another 15 minutes.



Friday, May 1, 2020

[garden to table] EASY Quail egg tart recipe.

Hi all! Hope you guys are holding up well during this Covid period.

Too many productive quails but don't know what to do with their eggs?
You guys can try this simple recipe at home with your kids :)

Pastry Ingredients:
- Plain flour 145gm
- Chicken egg x 1 (you need 1 egg yolk and half portion egg white)
- Butter 75gm
- Icing sugar 1 teaspoon

Custard Filling  Ingredients:
- Sugar 70gm
- Warm water 130ml (to combine with sugar and stir well)
- Quail eggs x 9
- Fresh milk 125ml
- Vanilla essence x 1 teaspoon







Pastry method: 
- Mix 1 teaspoon Icing sugar into 75gm Butter, add 1 egg yolk + half portion Egg white and mix well using hand-whisk.
- Pour in 145gm plain flour and knead using fingers until pastry is formed.
- Wrap in ziplock bag or clingwrap and put in fridge for 15min while you prepare Custard fillings.


Custard method:
- Using handheld whisk, mix well the 9 quail eggs with the cup of Sugar warm water (70gm sugar stir well with 130ml Warm water)
- Add in Fresh milk 125ml and whisk evenly.
- Add Vanilla essence 1 teaspoon.
- Pour this mixture through a sieve to prevent any lumps in the eggs mixture.

Preheat oven 190deg for 10 Min while you work on the dough.
Mould the dough into your casings and use a fork to poke holes on the bottom of pastry.

Pour the custard fillings into your pastry moulds.

Bake in oven 190deg celcius for 25 minutes.
Then leave the egg tarts inside for another 10 minutes before removing.




Before Covid-19, I used to think that I didn't need to bother learning cooking or baking as in Singapore, whatever you want to buy or eat is readily available and easily store-bought.
Now it's a real wake-up call for us to start thinking about going back to basics (kampong days if you may) and start investing in self-grown/ self-raised/ self-taught/ self-made, and being more self-sufficient.

It is extremely rewarding to have food harvested from garden to table.
We spend a lot on quality feed for our pets and thus we know what goes into the food we eat from the garden.

Hope you guys enjoy making this delicious tea-time snack at home!