I HAVE MOVED.

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Making Tiramisu - Life can be simple at times.

Met David to hang out in town but he had to accompany me to NUS to submit my  SEP documents. On our way to town, the bus past by the Thai Embassy and was having a bazaar so we alighted in order to visit it.



Mango Sticky Rice ($5) and Soya Bean Drink ($1 each)

Contrary to my belief that mangoes sold in public are often sour, this mango is actually sweet. It is almost the same as what you can get in Thailand, I mean, how can get you go wrong with fresh mangoes on glutinous rice?

I must say the staff working at Topman in Orchard ION is very friendly.



Olive vine, which was highly recommended by VB.

Actually we had tried this restaurant already but I did not do a review then.



Cheese Fries ($5.50)


Olive vine's Cheese Fries is much better than what you can get in KFC, as the fries are firmer and crunchier than the latter. Thanks for the fries, VB.



Deep Fried Fish Alfredo ($9.90)


I added pasta ($1.00) because I was hungry but I could not finish it. I gave it to David  as the pasta that he had was too fiery for his stomach. Being too creamy, I would not recommend it to people who do not like dairy products. For me, I feel it is a good combination. The fish, though common, was good (as are all fried food isn't it?).



Fried Pork with rice, egg and curry. ($9.90)



VB and David.



Marvin and I.


The dinner was rather briefly organized at the last minute and only Tian shuo (with mabel) unable to make it while Jia jia had to work OT.


I had decided to bake Tiramisu! 

The ingredients.



No, that wasn't my hand but my sister's.


I am glad I heeded VB's advice not to buy the coffee alcohol because I found a substitute cognac in the kitchen. My sister was helping out because she is keen to bake. Technically, making a tiramisu does not constitute baking because only mixing is required.



The 1st layer of ladyfingers - Not the vegetable that you're thinking of.


On hindsight, we could have dipped the ladyfingers  slightly longer time for a more moist and coffee taste.



Covering the ladyfingers with a layer of mascarpone cheese mix.


Doesn't that remind you of brick laying? Ladyfingers = Bricks and Mascarpone cheese mix = concrete.

2nd layer of ladyfingers!


I sprinkled some cocoa powder which was optional. Kudos to VB for insisting I buy the cheaper cocoa instead of going for the more expensive one since I'm making tiramisu for the first time. The cheaper cocoa (made in malaysia) tasted good.



Final layering.



Viola!

The surface was rather uneven but well, as long as it tastes good, I'm satisfied.

Place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours before consumption!


Woke up this morning and tried it. Both my sister and I felt it was really good! Success! Below is the recipe:

1. 250grams of Mascarpone Cheese
2. 3 eggs
3. 1 packet of Ladyfingers (not sure if Fairprice has them but I bought this in Carrefour)
4. 2 Tablespoons of sugar
5. 2 shot of Cognac
6. 1 thick coffee (We made it from nescafe coffee)
7. Some cocoa powder
8. Muscles for mixing the ingredients (Optional: Electric Mixer)

Steps (My apologies if I sound like I am performing a chemistry experiment):

1. Make a cup of thick coffee and allow it to cool to room temperature. Pour it into a plate to achieve a higher rate of cooling effect. Add 1 shot of cognac and some cocoa powder into the coffee.
2. Separate egg whites and yolks.
3. Beat egg yolks and sugar until it turns creamy yellow.
4. Add marscarpone cheese, 1 shot of cognac and mix till well blended. Leave it aside.
5. In a separate bowl, beat egg white until super fluffy.
6. Fold beaten egg whites into the marscapone mixture. Ensure minimal mixing so that it is only sufficiently well-blended.
7. Dip the ladyfingers sugar side up and place it into the dish sugar side down. Layer with 1/2 the amount of marscapone mix, leaving the rest for the next layer.

So what should my next creation be? I should try as much as I can before my internship starts next week and before school starts. Anyway, I signed up for Standard Chartered Marathon with Lloyd ($75/pax). Freaking expensive but I've heard good reviews from it so far, with Sundown Adidas being the worst. Hopefully I am able to finish it at a decent time. If only I can have Chee Kong's timing, that will be perfect!

Condensed - It's been a while.

It's been about 2 months since my last exam (CM2142 Analytical Chemistry) ended. I have not had sufficient rest yet my internship at Fajar sec is about to commence soon. May be it is because I took CM3291 Advanced Experiments in Organic and Inorganic Chemistry during the special semester. The module was Bah. I certainly hope it will be an eye-opener (the internship) for me. Looking at module codes reminded me about my deproved CAP again. LSM1103  Biodiversity is the bane of my existence cause I got a C+ for it. This is the first module in my university days that I got such a low grade. Really low grade indeed. I swear never to take any life science modules 'cept for the one I am going to take at Technical University of Denmark (DTU) on my exchange.

Speaking of which, I was doing research on the places that I can go while in Denmark during Year 3 Semester 2. It seems like Denmark is situated roughly in the centre of Europe and allows me to travel around! Currently, the only country that I desperately want to visit is Switzerland because of its awesome natural landscapes. I feel it is on par, if not better, than the South Island of New Zealand. SCI SEP has sent us a list of the contacts of students who are going to DTU. Should I email them all for a lunch/dinner gathering cause we are gonna depend on each other in Denmark? 所谓在家靠家人在外靠朋友. Will it be weird? Anyway I guess I will be flying on a different plane with them (unless by coincidence) because MOE has decreed (a rather imposing word) that I need to book a plane ticket via its approved vendor. What is anal about going exchange is the amount of administrative work to be done. It's omgwtfbbq. Till date I have not received the scholarship endorsement letter from MOE. Hope I'll receive it by today so I can time my visit to NUS tomorrow to submit all documents after meeting Dr Leonard to get my recommendation letter.

On an entirely different note, I have decided to take CM3211 Organic Synthesis and Spectroscopy and a UROPS module. If I am unable to secure a UROPS module, I will take CM4211 Advanced Coordination Chemistry to replace a level 3000 core module because the year 3 core modules are does not sound the least bit interesting to me or maybe it is because I did not do well in some of the foundation core modules to warrant me taking up those advanced courses. Kinda excited about the new school term because I can finally choose the modules I want to read (the irony) and to work in the spanking new Radiopulze studio! :D

Sorry for the abrupt change of thoughts but I must thank Lloyd, Stef and Jerel for the present!

At least this saved me from the hassle of choosing a new pair of shoes.

Unimportant aliens unite!

We caught Green Lantern on that day. It was not a bad film but we expected more action from the Green Lantern Corp. There should be more coverage of Blake Lively because she is the female lead! Someone so goddamn chio like her should be featured in the poster itself. I was disappointed she was not in any and was replaced by some fish/insect/alien/rock hybrid.

In The Green Lantern, I felt that they had cast the female lead in a different light - A strong counterpart and not some damsel in distress which is a fresh idea. In the movie, Carrol (Blake Lively) helped Hal to shoot rockets at the monster blob, which temporarily gave her sufficient time to throw him the ring which Hal obtained from the dying purple alien (I like this phrase). Carrol is also Hal's boss and she helped him avoid a dismissal due to unrequited feelings for him. I am a big fan of superhero movies and so far, only Iron Man and Spiderman 2 left me wanting for more. The movie Thor has humour but not enough action as well while X-Men: First Class managed to pull off a satisfactory performance. Lets hope Captain America will be good. Catch the trailer here.

On a side note, Yue Ling gave me some Capitaland Vouchers and I really appreciate it. Oh the reason for the title of the blog is because I have not been blogging and this pretty summarizes everything for the past 2 months. Heh.

Ag

We cleaned out our frog porridge!


David was satisfied with the frog porridge.


A photo of us eating a couple of weeks back.


Donated blood last week. Thanks mao mao for accompanying me. He got extra freebies. Lol.


My bag of blood. Taken by mao mao.

Damn sian, I got silver for my ippt. Ironically, it was the 2.4km that was my achilles heel. I had stitches right from the start and there were hordes of people taking the left lane that made overtaking extremely tough. I thought I stood a chance at gold especially when I got 234cm for my standing broad jump on my 4th try! :(

*$200 dollars added*

Crossroad

OMGWTFBBQ. I just spent 6hours mapping modules for my SEP. I hope I'll be chosen to go. :( But it comes with a price! I have to forgo my EURIP, if I get chosen that is. Anyway I still have 2 lab reports to complete so when I wake up tomorrow, the first thing comes into my mind is physical chemistry! D: Hopefully I'll complete it by Sunday late noon so that I'll have time to myself. I wanted to say that it will be the time for me to revise, but playing dota will make me more sane and less of a nerd. What am I blabbering about, I have no idea. Perhaps it time to hit the sack.

Ironically, the title of the passage has got something to do with my english name, if I did not interpret it wrongly that is. I'm supposed to be good at making decisions. I did. Now its time to press on.

Ah! Ippt later! I hope I get gold. Thanks kong for helping me train for my 2.4km run. If I get gold, I'll treat you to foooooooood. Your chicken rice is still on, david. Haha.

Nite all.

Allanbakes!

It was supposed to be a quest for marine food (Hooked!, which was located at railmall), but it was not open for business! Damn. I think heaven decided to make it up to us with delicious cheesecakes from Allanbakes! I first heard about it in New Zealand from Kong's friend, Kelvin, who gave a super good review about it. We so happen to pass by Bukit Timah Plaza yesterday (while on our quest) and I had this urge in me to go find that bakery. So off we went! Initially, we couldn't locate the shop but guess who I saw! The owner of the bakery was hastily wiping his hands on his apron (I think he visited the loo) while walking towards the NTUC finest! We followed him and he led us to the right place! :D


Finally found the place!


An array of choices.


Lloyd's strawberry cheesecake with crunchy bottom! ($5.50)


My blackberry cheesecake w/o crunchy bottom! ($7.50)


Stef's chocolate fudge cake! ($4.20)


Roy's chicken pie!

Conclusion: The cheesecakes were really nice! Smooth and velvety. Why is blackberry the same colour as blueberry when they are baked?


Lloyd was about to buy eclair but Mr Allan (the owner of the bakery) refused payment and treated us! O_O Freakin' nice guy.

Just as we were about to leave, Mr Allan rushed out with his tray with hot piping cookies for us to try! :D


It was buttery in flavour and very crispy! Being a baker myself, I know its super heaty to eat freshly baked stuffs. But nonetheless, it was really tasty! :D~

Mr Allan was quite humourous when he told us to blog about it! Free advert! I know he won't know the existence of this blog, but here it is! For the friendly baker!

After the cheesecakes, we proceeded to Hooked! to find that it was closed. So after our pathetic dinner (Ah Mei cafe and 24Eat), we decided to treat ourselves to drinks at Harry's.


My Harry's Berllini. Peaches and a cherry inside.


Roy's Jungle Juice, which has a unique aftertaste.


Stef's Dirty Harry.


Lloyd's drink, which I had forgotten the name. :X

All the drinks cost 15 dollars nett!

Till then! Time for dinner.

Old Brown Shoe

Had my first life science practical involving wildlife on friday! It was quite an experience as I found that the teaching assistants of the life science labs are generally friendly and amicable! This is in contrast to the angsty chemistry people. The practical required us to look at the different species of leaves and to find out their identities. Unfortunately, after the sorting of leaves, we were unable to walk the Kent Ridge trail as it was pouring meows and woofs.


Lelong lelong! Veggies on sale!


Acacia. It doesn't have true leaves in adult form! The leaves are flattened stalks. O_O

 The practical was fun and relaxing, poles apart from what I'd experienced in chemistry labs so far.

`
Went to Old Brown Shoe with Kiat and Kong. Heard the fish and chips is legendary! After much detour , we finally reached the place.


My Strongbow which is a cider! It had a subtle taste of apple. Very refreshing! They didn't order beer! D:


Some german sausage! The portion was rather small.


Guess what is this! Our meal!


Fish and chips! It tasted fresh but it was quite oily! I was bloated even till I was about to turn in for the night.

Fright nite was live band nite for Old Brown Shoe. We listened while the band belted out really retro songs and I could only identify the song,"Satisfaction". Next up was island creamery, which we had difficulty locating (not again!).


Teh Tarik (chosen by me), Pulut Hitam (chosen by kong) and Ping Pong Milo (chosen by kiat).

Saw Joy there! What a surprise.

Till then!