Life happened

Life has taught me so much. I'm in a good place today thanks to a hard lesson of yesteryear.

Some things have changed and I'm no longer the silly girl I used to be. Some things are meant to happen, like love. Everybody knows it hurt, at least get hurt trying.

A very good buddy of mine recently pointed out I'm in a happy place mentally and emotionally, and I shouldn't forget that. I wanted to hug him because he was right, I just hadn't realised it.

I have so much to look forward to. No matter what happens in future, I had once loved with all my heart and soul.

Love and peace.

Grinning recipe

It's one of those things that cure Monday gloom. May I present to you Grin Affair's desserts.

I bought two lil jars of happiness today and thought I'd share it with my friends.

Two flavours: Honey Lavender with blueberries (top) and Lychee Mousse with Passionfruit baked in sea salt and sprinkled with pistachio (bottom).

Just hearing how the name sounds thrill me.

Both are equally good with a slightly greedy nod towards the latter because I'm a huge lychee fan. Any lychee byproducts, must be good stuff.

I'm gonna try and get my paws on the dark chocolate one next.

Grin Affair is located at 3 Everton Park, #01-77, Tel: 82827375

JKT and Kitchenette's Crepes

Was in Jakarta with Manda, Thomas and Nick sometime back. Missed the crepes. Wish I can go back for seconds.

Le Bistrot post Disney On Ice

Sometime ago pre Taiwan, I was given two complimentary tics by my boss to Disney on Ice at the indoor stadium. Nick was game enough to come along. The show was rather whimsical for adults but what was I expecting anyway.

My highlight of the evening was the food. We decided to try out Le Bistrot again after my last birthday dinner surprise two years ago. We didn't reserve in advance but managed to secure a table in less time than we thought.

Our appetizer of grilled Hokkaido scallops came served in a salt baked onion, with corn veloute and roasted pine nuts. We polished it off in no time.

After our delicious appetizer, we couldn't wait for the main dish to arrive.

We were knackered and famish, a lethal combo. But we didn't get on each other's nerves which was probably a good thing. We started goofing and capturing our grumpy hungry faces.

Our steak frites came accompanied with mesclun salad. We decided to share the main, a 400g grain fed Australian black angus striploin. It was slightly marbled but full on taste and juicily tender.

We almost hyperventilated over dessert as we tucked into their signature molten dark chocolate (comes with steamed milk in the porcelain teapot) with rum (shot glass smack in the middle), creamy chocolate ice cream profiterole and chocolate and macha macarons. A grand dame of a Grand Chocolat Chaud du Bistrot is what makes the dessert such a fine finisher.

A happy tummy is a happy bunny.

Le Bistrot is located at 2 Stadium Walk, Kallang Indoor Stadium. Tel 6447 0018

My Birthday: The Coastal Settlement with besties

The girls surprised me by suggesting to go to TCS for my birthday. It was on my to-go list and when the girls said they're bringing me to a place in Changi but couldn't reveal until we were there, I almost immediately guessed out loud, "Is it Costal Settlement?"

I got pretty accessories for the girls from my Taiwan trip. Scroll to see the last two pictures.

Alright! Shall let the pictures delight and tantalise you :)

Taiwan in 8 Days

The first thing to describe Taiwan is probably the food. I don't think I ever had a single bad meal when I was there. Of course, it helped that I did a lot of research before we went on this trip.

Day 1: Shilin Night Market

I met up with my sis and Ronald and having been there before, they showed us around. It was nice to have someone who's familiar with the place to bring you around because the crowd can get pretty overwhelming at first sight.

I really like A Zong Mian Xian despite the many negative reviews I heard before I set off for Taiwan. In fact, I craved for it now and then after I got back. A Zong Mian Xian uses pork bits but I smelt no hint of porkiness to be honest. It's fairly chewy and really delicious with lots of garlic and vinegar which you can help yourself to on the side. Oh and they actually have a proper sitting area now :)

My first BBQ chicken parson's nose on a stick! It's yummy! 

Day 2: YangMingShan, Beitou Hotspring, Lover's Bridge and Danshui Old Street (Lao Jie)

We went to YangMingShan in late April and it was supposed to be the Flower Festival but we saw squat. I think people who went there should know of the vendor peddling hot potatoes. Go for the yellow one! It's sweeter and firmer than the purple one. It's not cheap though. Thinking back I think paid SGD5 for 2 potatoes. But weather was super chilly and it was nice to have something hot to hold in your hands and warm your tum tum.

On our way to Beitou, we saw a queue forming at one of the pancake shop. We knew we had to queue up for it. I gotta say I love their milk custard with anything. It's awesome. Later on, we realised that this pancake is quite available at some of the night markets. It's called Qing Guang Hong Dou Bing.

After the hotspring, we were really sleepy and fought to keep our eyes open. It does that to you. So be prepared to have a chill itinerary if you plan to go for hotspring. We kinda went overboard and thought we could pack in the Fisherman's Wharf aka Lover's Bridge and Danshui.

Crossing the bridge was exciting save for the fact we didn't had the chance to stop by and take photos. Why? The storm was on us! OMG! Our brolly was really small and we were half running and laughing because it was really quite a joke how anyone could call it romantic if you had been in that storm. We were fully drenched to our skin. It was the stormiest night we encountered.

Smelly tofu at Danshui Old Street! I love it! I can't tell you how the stench was so overpowering yet salivating. It is a weird combination indeed.

The famous Ah Gek fish ball. I love it. Also, I realised that most people don't find it that amazing but seriously, if NO ONE had ever said to try it and you did by the way kinda thing, it is savoury and almost felt like homecook food to be fair.

Day 3: Miaoli and Xinzhu

Our Taiwanese friend, Vic, planned our day three itinerary. I enjoyed it the most! Miaoli and Xinzhu are two hours away by car from Taipei where we stayed.

Vic was so kind and considerate to us throughout. He brought us to a defunct railway up in the mountains at Miaoli which is purported to be the highest railway in Taiwan.

We navigated in the small alleyway where quaint houses amaze me to no end. They are really low houses with small openings. Very characteristic.

Though we didn't get to see the Taiwanese red cherry blossom, we did however caught sight of the lovely white Tung blossom where they grow over the mountains making it look like it's snow capped.

Vic and Nick designed a heart for me in the rain. I didn't get off the car because of the rain and they brought  back a stalk for me. It has an extremely sweet floral scent, almost like nothing I've smelt before.

We passed by lots of betel nut girls in their sexy uniform and I got Nick to patronize a stall to grab one pack for me. We tried. Didn't like it. Tasted bitter and minty. It's an acquired taste, quipped Vic. Apparently, drivers in Taiwan chew it to perk themselves for the long drives.

We drove an hour from Miaoli to Xinzhu. They are both culturally rich and of Hakka origins. To my surprise, they've even more characteristic houses which I adore. Also, we found a quaint cafe off the beaten track call "Ai Shang Ka Fei" literally translated as falling in love with coffee.

Did you know that thunder tea rice is deeply rooted in the Hakka culture? It happens to be one of Nick's favourite and Vic, being the ever nice friend, brought us to a tea house where we had to grind our own tea (which are made of beans and such) into powder form. We really had to work for our food!

Dinner was at a very ambientic and zen vegetarian restaurant which was formerly a temple in India (if I remember correctly). The temple was then bought and shipped wholesale to Taiwan. The food was seven or eight course and worth every calorie. More pictures will be posted up in Facebook.

Day 4: Jiufen and Keelung Night Market

Our breakfast was Yi Du Zhan bowl noodles from 7-11. It was highly raved by my best friend Katharine after her return from Taiwan so I knew I had to try it. I later bought a box of 12 to bring back to Singapore cos it was so good. I gave out to friends as souvenir as well.

The famous Grandma Lai taro balls. I wish they've this in Singapore too.

Mixed fishball soup that's graced by famous celebs like Jacky Wu. Look at how large the meat ball is in comparison to the regular fish ball. They call it the shark ball due to the engorged size.

We departed for Keelung night market and it has since become my favourite night market! Their bing hu lu aka candied fruits are my everyday cravings and must-have. Keelung is also famous for their seafood. It's not as cheap as you think neither is it bank breaking but since you're there, why not give it a try?

One of their specialty at Keelung is this submarine bun sandwich. It's deep fried bun with fillings. Ironically, it's also called Ying Yang San Wen Zhi aka nutritious sandwich.

We wandered into a basement shop and bought plenty of clothes and shoes for myself. The guys in the shop that Nick chatted with also shared places where we could go for clubbing. We are really blessed to meet with many nice Taiwanese in our trip and some went the extra mile to deliver services for us that we felt we didn't deserve.

Day 5: Qsquare Shopping Mall (Taipei Main Station), Wu Fen Pu and Raohe Night Market

It was supposed to be the craziest day with lots of shopping and food. And indeed, it was!

I developed a liking for the well advertised caffeinated bottled beverage and was hoping to be able to find these in Singapore but no luck. The dark bottle variety I've never heard of but so good; Mandheling coffee. So, whoever's going to Taiwan please bring a couple back for me :P

Shoes were strewn all over the place! Tired feet needed kneading every single night from all that walking.

The hotel we stayed in was Cosmos and 3 minutes away from the Taipei Main Railway Station. It was an awesome introduction by a friend of ours. Glad we heeded his advice. The room we got was pretty spacious and well stocked. The weather was really good and we didn't had to have the air con on when we sleep.

The famous Hu Xu Zhang lu rou fan aka Formosa Zhang minced pork rice just across the road from us!

Finally, the huge carryall bag that I borrowed from Katharine came into use! Two things I still crave from Raohe night market are the black pepper minced pork bun and deep fried squid.

We bought four pairs of sneakers from this shop at Raohe night market called Halin Sports Shop (哈林體育用品). Seeing that we've huge baggage, the guy offered to safekeep our shopping. People here are really overwhelmingly nice by nature.

Day 6: Zhong Xiao Dong Lu and Shilin Night Market (Round 2)

It has been raining for the past few days and we decided to bring slippers out to change into when necessary. Also, we found a shop nearby our hotel selling very good minced pork rice (lu rou fan). We also had our very first Koi! They call it 50 Lan over there though.

The shaved peanut ice cream wrapped in popiah skin is easily available at every night market. I caved and bought one to try. Didn't regret one bit. I also craved for their deep fried milk cubes (zha xian nai).

Day 7: Ximending, Robin's Steak House @ Regent Hotel and EZ 5 @ An He Road

On the eve of my birthday, we wanted to take it easy. We headed to Ximending mainly to locate PlayBoy and Porter. Stopped over for lunch at a nondescript shop selling rice and noodles. Ended up not finishing them. However, the appetizer of cold silken tofu with molten century egg took my breath away.

What really made me happy everytime I needed to go was the water/heat control fixed on the toilet seat. I'd love to have this installed in my future home! It's the ultimate luxury one can get at home. At least for me. :P

Surprisingly, we found a very good bakery just outside our hotel called Shun Chen Bakery with award winning pineapple tarts. We ended up buying the Tai Yang Bing from here instead of ordering from the service chit in the hotel by Vigor Kobo. We later found out from Vic that the pastries from the latter are manufactured in Taiwan for the Mainlanders. We also doggy-bagged some snacks back to the hotel. The fen yuan dessert and blueberry bagel were delish.

Gearing up for the night ahead.

Nick booked us in for dinner at Robin's Steak House, a 1-Michelin star restaurant, to celebrate my birthday. I was impressed with their steak. Non marble and so tender. We got to choose our knife cutlery from an exquisite set.

Proceeded to EZ 5 for live music. We were charged a cover of SGD35 per person but given coupons to exchange for drinks so it ain't bad. I went overboard and ordered absinthe 79% and jagermeister shots for both of us an hour in. That made us very happy for the rest of the night.

Happy birthday to me! Nick cleverly surprised me with a cake at midnight as I was scrambling to hide my butt naked bodice when the doorbell buzzed. I squealed and jumped into his embrace because I wasn't expecting it.

Day 8: Home sweet home

More photos over at Facebook.