French Escapade

Last Monday, H & I went out for dinner to celebrate our special day, and it's somewhat like our annual date night (the last one was July 2007 :P)

I chose André Wine & Dine, a french restaurant. Reasons being I've been craving for french food since reading about a critic's world and a chef's real life stories...well a lot of those involved fine-dining french cuisines. And discovering this particular expensive mushroom.
Also, André's got good reviews from patrons, and the price would not burn a big hole in my pocket. Guess what?! I wasn't disappointed, the dishes we ordered were yummy and worth every penny! :D

For appetisers, H got the really delicious fried prawn, the sauce and green salad went really well with it! I almost wanted to swap that with my escargots, but too bad H couldn't fathom eating snails, too icky for him. Nonetheless he tried one after much persuasion. The escargots were fresh, a tad salty but still good!

Next up - Soups! My mushroom soup was nice - not too thick nor thin, with just the right amount of cream. And best of all, I get to taste the 3 little slices of truffles at last!! But to be honest, I have to say I'm a wee bit disappointed with the taste of the truffles, it tasted ... erm just like any other mushroom, lack of the strong aroma as I've read. H had the tasty french onion soup, I liked the caramelized onion and cheese in it.

Main course, I was delighted with the Confit de canard (duck confit), the tender meat and the crispy skin offered such contrasts and paired well with the balsamic shallot sauce. H ordered the beef tenderloin - well done, but I suggested he tried it medium well... couldn't believe he agreed. The meat came and H was put off by the bloody meat a wee bit. But to be honest, I tried a mouthful - it didn't have the pungent smell of blood and was actually delicious. Did that make me a vampire? Ha! :P

Done with the mains and we wondered if we're able to finish the dessert. But oh boy! my "Live for Chocolate" cake had the warm and gooey chocolate in the middle of the warm choc cake. Ate it with the strawberry and sorbet... Man! I was almost in heavens! The orange souffle was a tad not as flavourful but it's nonetheless light. At least H enjoyed it.

Here's my rating (out of 10):
Food - 8
Ambience - 6.5 (It's pretty cozy but the lighting was a bit too bright, and they should play jazz :P)
Service - 8 (attentive and non-intrusive)
Value - 8.5

I'd recommend you foodies and/or love birds out there to try it out.

29/6 Updates - Food photos are here


~ Bee has difficulty resisting good food.

Love is...

When you can keep looking for a long time
at someone while he's asleep
And think he's so cute and sweet
You feel fuzzy and warm
Those are contended moments
filled with happiness...

It's a...

Spork!!

Emo

So i wrote this Haiku:

Bitter bitter Bee
Forgive and forget you should
Better things will be

An Update

The little voice in my head has been nagging me to blog for a very long time, and I keep brushing her off giving her all kinds of excuses...like there's enough updating with facebooking, busy with life & kid, no inspirations, tons of photos to edit, and my writing sucks... blah blah blah... the list goes on.
At last she won me over, so here goes some updates & thoughts (ahem... in point forms :P)

1) Currently, my favorite book of all time (more like love at first read) is Ajahn Brahm's Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung. He's such a great teacher sharing his wisdom in life with his good sense of humour.

Before this, I was a buddhist in forms whereas I called myself a free thinker if someone asked about my religion. Because I really do not think one is a buddhist if he/she only goes to pray in the temple without studying and practicing buddhist teachings.

Now, I can finally call myself a buddhist as I've started to practice its teachings in life, and I want to keep learning about buddhism. Taking one step at a time.

2) My baby is now a 16 months toddler, going on 17. I'm amazed at the pace he learns stuff. He observes and mimics you. The other day, I was calling H with a poke on his side and guess what, my boy went to poke his dad too. Man... I have to constantly be aware of the bad habits I do unknowingly sometimes.

Parenting is the most challenging job, ever! It's hard work, sometimes daunting and can really test your patience. However, the returns you get while you mold your child and see him blossoms into another human being with his own individuality is all worth it. Love, happiness and bliss!!

On that note, for the coming 11th May, to all mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day! Especially to my mother, I love you, Mama!

3) While I'm getting fatter & fatter these days, a foodie will always be a foodie. Haven't been to restaurants for a while now (other than at a friend's birthday party & another friend's wedding dinner in April), and still haven't got the opportunity to hunt for the exotic mushroom.
But I've cooked twice this couple of weeks, which is rare because I think it's really not economical (in terms of money and time) cooking for two than buying cooked food from food courts or kopitiams. On the other hand, cooking can be fun and there's satisfaction while gulping down the wholesome food. Yum!

4) After the three points above, lately, I've noticed that the types of books I mostly read are about life, parenting and food-related. Gone were the days of romance, hero and/or heroines, mysteries fictions... I guess my interests and perspectives have changed. :D

~ Bee will now indulge in a strawberry milkshake...

Things I need to bitch about

• Smoking in a lift or when they’re walking. Please go kill yourself discreetly, do not drag others with you.
• Pretending they deserve the seat more than another who is old or disabled or pregnant.
• Crowding in front of the train door and dashing into the train before letting passengers alight first. Then stood rooted near the door. Geez!
• Hogging on the right side of the escalator at train stations. Can you please move it and stand on the left. Thank you very much.
• Banging continuously on the traffic-light button. Helloooo… no matter how many times you press on it, you’ll still have to wait for the timer!
• Putting a packet of tissue paper on the table DOES NOT reserve the table for you, idiot!

Okay, rant over :P

Mushrooms! Mushrooms!

Done reading Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl, she’s the New York Times restaurant critic from 1993-1999 and currently the Gourmet editor. The book filled my train journeys deliciously. I was in the gastronomic world of aromas and tastes. This is where I discovered truffles, and after that it pops everywhere ~ on photos, blogs… man I’m curious as a cat!

So my truffle quest begins, have researched online on these rare and expensive (may be overpriced) seasonal fungi. It’s supposed to be so awesome that one bite will send you floating to high heavens. White truffles (Tuber magnatum) are going to be in season soon, I’m sure it’ll be on its way to fine dining restaurants here.

I do hope it won’t squash my high expectation like foie gras did. Then I was the foolish little girl who thought a luxury dish with beautiful foreign words would be yummy. No idea whatsoever that it’s made of duck or goose’s liver, and was so excited when it’s served…. One bite… Yuck! It’s over to H to force it down his throat, as it’s too expensive to waste. “But it’s good!!” you’d say. I’m sorry… internal organs are not my thing.

Anyhoo, if you’ve had any good truffle dish in Singapore recently, or if you can get your hands on fresh truffles and know how to serve it… Please fill me in!! :D

~ Bee is in discovery mode.

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

On the Singapore's national day holiday weekend, we went on our first family holiday. It’s also baby’s first holiday and my first visit to East Malaysia. Read on for more firsts.

Day One:
After a late brunch of yummy & hot soupy pork noodles (no photos as I was busy gulping down the dish when it’s served), we visited a beach resort at Kampung Karambunai. The stretch of white sandy beach is pretty and many people (mostly Caucasians) were sunbathing at midday…for the sake of getting a tanned skin (is it considered fashionable?), it’s crazy considering it’s SO hot and you soak in the harmful UV rays. And no, sun-block lotion doesn’t block all the rays. Sorry.



We were hiding under shades enjoying the sea breezes, the scenery, people-watching and drank cooling coconut water, straight from the fruit.

The rest of the day was spent at H’s uncle’s home, catching up on stuff. Had durians, mangosteens and Tarap fruit for tea. It’s H & my first taste of Tarap, and we’ve never known its existence before. And have never seen one in West Malaysia or Singapore. It has strong smell (strong but unlike durian smell) where you can smell from a few meters away. The flesh is soft, chewy and sweet. Nice.


Tarap Fruit

Dinner time, it’s steamed fish head (the biggest fish head I’ve ever seen, and again I was too busy eating), sautéed vegetable with steamed rice. It’s all good. The price for 4 adults, RM45!!!! That’s what I call value for money.

Day Two:
Day trip to H’s uncle’s plantation in the outskirts. I was amazed that my almost 8 months old baby could withstand and fall asleep on the 2.5 hours of bumpy car ride (each way). Views of Mount Kinabalu, highest mountain in Malaysia and 3rd highest in South East Asia were breathtaking. I’d love to train and conquer it one day. But for now, it’s good enough admiring from afar.




Lunch consisted of more durians, mangosteens and tarap from the plantation. And my poor hubby fell sick after that. He threw up thrice on the way back. Cause was unclear as the rest of us were fine. Luckily, he’s back to his chatty self after a nap and downing 2 panadols.

Day Three:
In the morning, I visited my aunt (my mom’s sister) for the first time in my life. She’s moved here before I was born and she’s never been back. And hey she lives pretty near H’s uncle place (where we stayed on this trip). When she appeared from her front door, it’s unmistakably my relative. Her features are like mom’s, and her voice is pretty similar too. It’s funny how my mother’s sisters all look & sound pretty much the same.

What’s more surprising is that my aunty and her husband know H’s uncle and H’s cousins, who used to live across the street from her.
My aunt treated us to a yummy lunch. And this is the only meal I remembered taking food photos because I wanted to take a picture with my aunt for memories.



It’s KK city tour after we bid farewell. I imagined the city to be full of skyscrapers (I guess I live in Singapore…:P) but no, there are only a few tall buildings. I guess the tallest building in KK is Tun Mustapha Tower at the Likas bay area.

Tun Mustapha Tower. Also a Sabah icon.

Love the view of the City Mosque.


And this is the Sabah State Mosque.


Window-shopped at one of the shopping malls (couldn’t remember which) and had coffee at Starbucks. Ok I admit it’s such an un-touristy thing to do, mediocre but expensive coffee :P


At this Pasar Ikan Masin (Salted Fish Market), we bought a box full of dried shrimp, anchovies, fish crackers and dried cuttlefish. The seller will pack, seal and tied the box with rope and made a handle for you to carry. Cheap and good service!

Then we caught the lovely lovely sunset at a yatch club.


If you ever go to Kota Kinabalu, you should have at least one seafood meal (if not all, heh), the reason: cheap and very fresh seafood. H’s uncle & family brought us to the seafood restaurant where the locals go, and well, to be honest, the seafood was indeed fresh but the cooking was just ok (may be my expectation was too high).

Boiled prawn is sweet which is nice, fish is fresh but the buttered prawns were a tad too salty. The best dish of the night was actually a non-seafood, it’s the braised chicken with some kind of gravy which is so delicious. I’m sorry I cannot explain what’s in the gravy. It’s just… YUM!

It’s bye bye Kota Kinabalu the next morning.

~The travel bug’s itch is scratched, at least for now. :)