Yummy Mooncakes!

Mid-autumn festival is widely celebrated by Chinese all over the world. It is an occasion to gather with our loved ones and to enjoy mooncakes and chat over tea.  Every year, families and friends exchange mooncakes – both traditional and flavoured snow skin ones.  And it is one tradition that we really love and embrace.

From traditional mooncakes with golden-hued crusts to aromatic durian mooncakes,  there are just so many varieties to choose from, you will be spoiled for choice!  I personally will go for the snow skin ones, with the exception of the Walnut Moontart which I appended below. 

I have actually tried doing the snow skin mooncakes myself, the costs of which is merely a fraction of what you will actually have to pay at the shop.  But then it is so fun to shop around and see the interesting varieties available for your pick.  Moreover, it is only once a year affair!  Hehehe...excuses....

So let me show you some of my favourites:



Mini Walnut Moontart - this is essentially a hybrid of mooncake and tart – in a better way, of course – with white lotus paste and egg yolk within a crisp and fragrant walnut tart. I love it for the nutty bite, yummy!





Black Sesame with Melon Seeds Snow Skin Mooncakes from St Regis

Taking a naturally familiar taste and infusing it with their own unique spin, the chefs from Yan Ting have produced a mooncake that you simply must try.  The use of black sesame as the main filling allows for a smoother texture and a rather graceful experience without compromising its naturally toasted taste. Taking things a notch up, melon seeds are infused into the mooncake allowing for an extra crunch.  It costs S$70 for a box of eight.



Raffles Singapore celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival with its collection of exquisitely handcrafted mooncakes.  My favourites are their best-selling Snow-Skin Mooncake with Champagne Truffle & Ganache, Yummy!!!

So, hurry, go and try for yourself....well, I would recommend you to go to Takashimaya atrium where there will be rows and rows of mooncakes for your pick....Happy Chomping!!!!

Miss my Hokkaido

Yesterday, one parent gave us 3 boxes of Hokkaido cheese cakes.  They were a favourite of my children at school, mainly because it is cheese based.

Whilst eating the cheese cake, it actually brought back a lot of memories of my last visit to Hokkaido some years back.  I remembered it was July and it coincided with the lavender bloom.  The place was lovely - wherever there is lavender, you will see a field of purple.  Then there were also other flowers too - rows and rows of them - the colours were so vibrant, it almost looked like coming out of a postcard!  Something I would not have been able to see here in Singapore.

 

Furano - Tomita Farm

Beautiful Rows of Colourful Flora, So Captivating!

 

Overall, Japan has always been my favourite getaway.  It's clean and it's beautiful and nature abounds everywhere you go.  The food is superb and most of all, the country is rich in its heritage and offers us lots to see and learn.  You can choose to see the Lavender bloom, the Cherry Blossom or just to experience the snow......fantastic! Compared to my Europe trip, I still prefer Japan for the proximity and choices it offers.  I must plan another trip next year, after I finish my diploma course.  I have picked up a few more photos to show you....

Shirakawa-go Village, A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Cherry Blossom, so Beautiful!!

 

                                                                       A photo with a lovely Geisha

Unplug and Disconnect to Connect!

Hey, has anyone seen this - this unplug box?  I only learnt about it recently. Manhattan Fish Market actually rolled out this campaign in January to change the obsession that Singaporeans have with their smartphones and to encourage them to connect with their friends and family over meals. 

Well, I think it is timely.  How often do we see a table full of people sitting and looking at their mobile phones and tablets while waiting for their food.

I really applaud this initiative undertaken by the restaurant.  If you do not know, this is how it works: You are encouraged to place your electronic devices in the Unplug box throughout your meal, so as to talk and interact with your friends and family members over meal. If the box remains unopened at the end, all guests at your table will be rewarded with a The Manhattan FISH MARKET $5 return dining voucher 

 
I think this is a good start. At least it allows people to be aware that something is wrong, gets them to think about their eating habits, and gives them some tools to re-connect.  I hope the restaurant would consider re-running the campaign or better still have more eateries doing something of this sort ....we all need the personal touch and warmth, don't we?


Before I sign off, interestingly, ask yourself if you are an E-Addict - check it out.....




If you are, the next time you dine with your friends and family, can you try to make an attempt not to pick up your phone.  GOOD LUCK!!

Yummy and delightful meals for your kids

Hi, Selamat Hari Raya to my Muslim friends!  Hope everybody's having a good time....

I was surfing the internet when I came across some lovely bento meals created by a loving mum for her kid.  She posted some pictures which I would like to share with you:

 


Here you see a bento set with a garden theme using sweetcorn for the flowers with mushrooms and butterflies made from the ingredients.  Some stir-fry choy sum has been added in the middle - can you see?  And there are strawberries at the side, too.  Very wholesome and healthy meal!

 
The 2nd picture features a Cheesy French Toast with Cute Bunny and Granola suitable for tea break. Lovely!
 

 

 In this meal, she added some fish and star cutout carrots to her stir-fry broccoli with mushroom.  There are sausage octopus and baked cheesy salmon to complete the healthy meal. Wow....I am hungry already....
 
 What a thoughtful mummy!  She really takes the trouble to make each meal so palatable for her kid - such is a labour of love from a caring Mum. 

Keep it Up, Mummy..sure your son will grow up a chubby and healthy boy as each of your bento set is loaded with lots of love and yummy food!  Cheers!

Oh Goodness Me, Never Ending Bad News!

What's happening?  I can't believe it! Another airliner got into trouble last night...Contact with the Air Algerie flight was lost over the Sahara as it crossed Mali in bad weather and 116 people is feared dead.

However, the French military, which is leading the search operation in the desert, has not confirmed finding any remains of the plane.

Two UN helicopter crews who took part in the search also failed to locate wreckage before nightfall.

Let's pray and keep our fingers cross and hope for good news.....

NOT AGAIN! MORE HORRIFIC NEWS ON PLANE CRASHES!

Yet another piece of sad news! Heard another plane crash yesterday.  Less than a week after a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine, a domestic Taiwanese airliner crashed yesterday, killing at least 47 people on board.  This time it was a typhoon, not a missile, that caused the tragedy.

We are often told that flying by plane is much safer than driving a car, but the recent aviation nightmare may make you change your mind!  But how else can we get from one part of the world to another?  Well, air travel is really unavoidable...for me, I will put on hold any travelling plan until I can get over all this bad news......



Deadly TransAsia flight GE222 crash in Taiwan

MH17

I was very much saddened over the loss of some 298 precious lives on board the ill fated MH17 on 17 July, coming so close on the heels of the recent disappearance of yet another MH plane carrying 239 passengers which seems to have been mysteriously wiped out from the face of the earth on 8 March of this year.
 
The first natural reaction on hearing news of MH17's fate was "it can't be true".  But when reality sank in, feelings gave way to grief for those who perished and their families.  It is really an outrage that a commercial flight with almost 300 innocent souls on board should fall victim to a conflict none of them are a party to.  Those responsible must be brought to justice as quickly as possible.
 
It really is both unbelievable and unfortunate that 2 catastrophes of such magnitude could have happened to MAS planes within such a short time.  The mystery of MH370 is yet to be solved.  However, unlike the families of the MH17 victims, the fa­­milies of the MH370 victims did not have closure and would continue to be in the dark about what really happened to their loved ones.

I know what the bereaved families must be going through. There is no other pain that equals the suffering people go through when loved ones perish tra­gically, just like what I have gone through when my husband died in a tragic accident some 15 years ago.  I could only  pray for strength and courage for the families affected and also for the souls to rest in peace....