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!

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.

Irodori

I sold my limegreen gameboy colour and wario 3 a couple of days ago to a pair of girls who arrived below my house in a cab for $60. The gameboy was my birthday present when I turned 12 and it had been with me for a decade and its still working! I'm such a good owner heh. I pondered for a while whether I should sell it but I have had no use for it and I believe it will be better off being cherished (I hope) by a new owner.


Farewell! Hope you get treated well.

`
Met up with Lloyd and xy as they wanted to "walk" in town. When I entered 313, it was crowded and guessed what I saw. Shaca carolling! The familiar faces I saw were only Kok yong and Li ke. We went to lan in the cafe where Tian is working at. I was sitting near this kid who was screaming at the top of his voice while playing counterstrike. Damn dulan sia. Anyway we decided to go check out Irodori Japanese Restaurant which was located in River view Hotel at Havelock Road. It was quite a long walk from Clarke Quay mrt station.


We finally reached the restaurant.


Appetizer.


Sashimi! There were salmon, tuna, maguro, yellow tail and octopus! They were all very fresh. I think this is one of the best sashimi on freeflow for a buffet.


Complimentary BBQ prawns. It tasted creamy.


Our 2nd plate of sashimi!


My small bowl of udon.


Xy's small curry don. Had to take it with my hand to show the relative difference in size.


Shishamo which tasted cold and dull. lol. I generally do not like eating food items as a whole, like baby octopus for example.


Our 3rd plate of sashimi which only consisted of salmon.


Our 4th plate of sashimi.

The nett cost of the buffet was $38.80 per person. I think it was quite worth it for me. Xy didn't really eat a lot of sashimi except salmon so I felt it wasn't that good of an experience for him. The restaurant could have done a little better on the desserts section. There weren't any desserts to choose from! >: (


When we were walking back to the mrt station, we came across a bunch of people flying motor controlled LED kite in the sky. Quite a peaceful sight.

`
Time really flies! Tomorrow is Judgement day. Hope I do well. :(

Feast time!

Heard about this superb sashimi place from an aquaintance on facebook. He posted his sashimi photos online and I kinda chanced upon it. The amazing place is Fish Mart Sakuraya! Being an ardent fan of sashimi, I hesitated no further and organized a trip down with lloyd and stef. There were some communication problems and we ended up at Holland village. Luckily lloyd was able to ask his mom to drive us to Parkway Parade where the fish mart is. It's tucked quietly at one corner at basement 1! Upon entering, I realised they sell japanese dried food products, fresh fish imported from Japan and Norway (the lady behind the counter told me so) and a wide range of sake! We were peering into the glass to pick out the fishes that we want. Omg we were drooling like mad.

The treasure trove of raw delicacies.

Fish platter!

The pale beige one is the swordfish, the pale pink is the maguro while the orange is none other than Norway salmon! The quality and freshness is really on par with the one I had had at the Sydney Fish market! :D Perhaps we are too accustomed with the salmon already, so the three of us actually thought salmon is the best.

Trout Salmon.

The salesperson told us that this fish is from Japan and it is sweeter and firmer than the salmon from Norway. After tasting it, we still preferred the Norway version! This was a tad too firm and not really much sweeter. Nonetheless, it was extremely fresh!

Expensive tuna.

This was definitely the freshest I've tasted in Singapore. Firm bite and nice cut!

What's a Japanese meal without sake? :) We picked this one and it was refreshingly sweet.

Look at our contented faces! I will definitely visit this place again! Ain't sure for them. Lloyd said it was not bad. :/ Seriously, any fresher, you will have to fly to the Sydney Fish market.

Anyway, we patronized a KOI shop and this was what I saw.

Job as a part time anyone? *Attractive pay* :)

Till then!