Monday, January 31, 2011

Clean and Green Singapore 2011 theme song - Heaven on Earth (90sec)

Hi everyone, =)

I must share this inspiring video about caring and protecting Mother nature. The melody, lyrics and production are simply great. Great shots too!

This is the Clean & Green Singapore 2011 Theme Song - "Heaven on Earth".



Let's all do our parts in saving the Earth!

P.S. Some green tips that I am using myself:
- Switch on the fan instead of the aircon
- If you need the aircon, adjust the temperature to 25 Degree Celsius or above
- Don't ask for plastic bags if you can put the stuff you bought into your handbag

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Lunch at Heaven's Loft (Orchard Central)

Hi, =)

I had a great lunch with my friends at Heaven's Loft last Saturday. It was an advanced celebration for two of my good friends' birthdays! When my friend suggested the venue, I was really excited. I always wanted to patronise the store. I was captivated by the exterior and interior designs of Heaven's Loft. I love the "gates" as well as how spacious the store is. I also love the hints of creativity throughout the store. There is this giant drawing at the back end. There are in-store television screens that promote their food and ambience. There are even screens on the ceiling! Not sure if they serve their purposes. (My friends didn't even notice them until I pointed it out.)

A little background on Heaven's Loft. It claims to serve American and French cuisines.

These are the main courses we ordered:
1) Fish & Chips
2) Grilled Sausages
3) Seafood Angel Hair

I will make a review on my choice - Seafood Angel Hair. I had this sore throat so I was not in a mood to eat any fried or grilled food.

Seafood Angel Hair comprises of Tempura prawns, Mussels and Scallop(s) in Marinara sauce. Angel Hair is a type of pasta. It is also known as Capelli d'angelo. The pasta is well-cooked. Not too sticky. I personally feel that the marinara sauce here was made a little too thick for the Angel Hair. But generally, I still like the taste.

The prawns are fried so I handed them to my companions. I absolutely love to eat scallops. I vaguely remember having only one scallop in my dish. There is nothing extraordinary about the mussels and scallop, except that they are fresh enough. There is a crunching sound when I bit on the scallop. A little disappointed. It is critical to wash scallops carefully because of the sand.

Overall, I shall give this dish a rating of 3.5/5.0.

There are some useful knowledge about the right mix of pasta and sauce. You may like to refer to this website: http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/pastas/matching-pasta-and-sauce.asp

And for those who are interested in Heaven's Loft, this is the website: http://www.heavensloft.com/
The food menu with prices is available online. Click on "Dining" at the top.








Friday, January 21, 2011

Simple Home-cooked Dishes!

Hi all, =)

I personally cooked 2 dishes to go with porridge for lunch. This is adequate for 2 - 3 person. I do not often cook. Only cook once a month or less.

These are the photos:




These are the ingredients I bought:
1) Steamed Minced Pork

I bought minced pork ("Air Pork") from Shop N Save near my Home. It cost me about $2. Then I bought 2 tomatoes. I wanted to buy salted fish but I could not find it in Shop N Save. It is good to add some flavour to the steamed minced pork. Trust me. Even some sliced onions will do just nice. I did some seasonings to the minced pork before steaming. Some oyster sauce, sesame oil and a bit of sugar. I left the seasoned minced pork in the fridge for about 3 hours (I think 1 hour should do the trick too). Before steaming the minced pork, I added some water to the pork. Then, I placed the tomatoes onto the pork. Steaming the dish for 10 - 15 minutes should be enough.

2) Egg White with Broccoli-Ham-Crabmeat

My creation. I decide it will taste nice! This is also my first time adding milk to a dish.

You will need 2-3 eggs, some fresh milk, ham, crabmeat and a broccoli. I bought Marigold fresh milk but any fresh milk should do.

This dish is really simple and healthy. I washed and cut the broccoli. Then I boiled it. After boiling, lay the broccoli onto the plate. To make scrambled egg white, I put the egg white in a bowl, added some milk (I added only 3 tablespoons, you can add more) and some cornflour. Mix it around a little. Then heat some olive oil on the cooking pan. Pour in the egg white to cook. Serve it on the plate with broccoli. The ham that I bought from Shop N Save can be eaten without cooking, so I just teared them into pieces and placed it onto the egg white. To save time, I placed the crabmeat on top of the minced pork previously. All I have to do now is to tear the crabmeat and decorate it on top of the ham. Easy.

I usually prefer to eat the entire egg (egg white and egg yolk), but I decide to remove the egg yolks for this dish. Been having too much eggs in a week. Egg yolk has much much more nutrients than egg white. But I heard egg white is cholesterol free.

I hope you like the dishes. Please feel free to leave your comments or suggestions. =)

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Lunch at Tsuru Tsuru Tei

Hi everyone,

I had lunch at a Japanese restaurant at Clarke Quay, The Central about 3 weeks ago.

The name of the Jap restaurant is Tsuru Tsuru Tei. It is located at level 3.

This restaurant serves meat from the black pig. Apparently, the price for black pig meat is premium. I heard it is due to the heavenly-balanced tenderness, juiciness and flavour of the meat.

I tried the following dishes:

1. Ramen Shabu Shabu
Although the meat is from black pig, it tastes average. The ramen is also average. Nothing really special about this. Except having fun cooking my own food and dipping in the 3 sauces - sesame sauce, sweet sauce (sort of), spicy sauce. And the soup (original pork soup) was above average, not too oily.

2. Tonkatsu Ramen
The meat is from black pig. But this time, it is fried. I must say the meat tastes much better than the Shabu Shabu one. It is really tender, juicy and flavourful. It has a slight sour taste. Perhaps the way it is cooked (fried) or cut (thicker than shabu shabu) makes a difference. (Or it might be from a different part of the black pig. I must ask the service crew if I visit there again.)

3. Milk Pudding
It makes me feel like I am in heaven. The liquid caramel floating on top of the milk pudding is an ultimate boost to the taste. If you love desserts, you got to try this!

Overall, I rate this place 4.0/5.0.

Here are some pictures I took.





Sunday, January 9, 2011

Wish Everyone a happy 2011!! =)

Hi all, =)

I feel really apologetic for not blogging the past few weeks.

I was sick.. coughing, fever, sore throat.. Not a good way to start a new year~

Anyway, things have gotten better.

So I am here to wish everyone a WONDERFUL year ahead.

May all your dreams come true.

p.s. Make sure to complement your food with lots of water in the coming Chinese New Year 2011! Chinese New Year 2011 starts on 3 Feb. Fyi this year is rabbit year. My year.