Simple Nail Designs

I was feeling grey but at the same time there was this bit of colour that was gagging to be put on the nail. An all round grey nail would drive me insane. Something simple that looks fun. Depending on how you choose to mix your colours, you can evoke many different moods and themes. I don't really like to invest too much time on designs especially when my nails are in transition from gel nails to my natural nails.

You Will Need:

Nail polish colour of choice

2 different Acrylic paint colours (you may also use nail polish but these tend to dry really fast)

Dotting tool

Top Coat

Instructions:

1. After applying base coat, apply two coats of your preferred nail polish colour

2. Put some drops of the paint colour that you will use for dotting on a piece of foil

3. Using a dotting tool, start to dot the first colour while leaving a space in between

4. Fill in the spaces with the second colour of choice

5. Wait for it to dry a little and cap it with a Quick Dry Topcoat (Seche Vite is still my favourite)

Voila! 

Fun looking nails in minutes.

Pidgin @ Dempsey

Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking an old friend out for a belated birthday dinner at Pidgin located on Dempsey Road. Although it was a little bit difficult to locate at first with me literally pacing up and down in front of Block 8 & 9, Jones the Grocer area, I finally located it a little further down where Block 7 was! It was the old Pamplemousse with the owners reinventing the space and turning it into a restaurant that focused more on local fare with a twist. Pidgin, meaning a simplified language with influences from different languages used for communication between people not sharing a common language, is a name that definitely fit a restaurant featuring dishes that to me were somewhat "Singlish".

The inconspicuous front...

As I walked in to the restaurant, who should greet me but an old friend who had recently just started working there! Having said that, we definitely had a lot of good recommendation of dishes which resulted in us ordering more than we should have for a party of 3 but walking out thoroughly satisfied with our taste buds tingling! I have to mention that a party of 3, odd number as it is, is the perfect number of people to go for dinner there as most the appetizers were served in 3's. Perfect for everyone to taste and try nearly everything. The menu is a simple one page menu (Check out: http://www.pidgin.sg/food.pdf) but with everything described so well, you really can go overboard with the orders!

Top: (L) Crab Otah Croquette, (R) Chicken Rice Arancini
Bottom: (L) Sambal Escargot, (R) Spicy Tuna Tartare

Foie Gras with Rojak Sauce

We started with all of the above! The Crab Otah Croquette was nicely done- very flavourful with a nice crabby feel to it. I kept scooping up the sauce with my Otah because the sauce was delectable. We all agreed that while the Chicken Rice Balls sounded interesting at first, its nothing to shout about. It lacked the chicken-y flavour I was hoping to taste but I guess that it would be hard to beat the original Chicken Rice that one can get at hawkers center's all around Singapore. The Sambal Escargot was featured on the specials menu and I loved the twist on the traditional garlic butter Escargots. I do wish that the Sambal had a bit more bite to it but then I love my spicy food so again this is very subjective. The tuna tartare was introduced as a "I kid you not, you HAVE to order it" dish and honestly, no regrets! There was a perfect balance of flavour and the tuna was extremely fresh. Its something I would definitely go back for! The Foie Gras, oh what can I say...I finished the whole dish by myself? For any fans of foie gras, this is a MUST have- creamy, fatty, balanced with the sweet tangy rojak sauce...SINFUL!!!

Top: (L) Uni Tagliolini, (R) Duck Confit
Bottom: Lamb Rack

We were extremely pleased with our mains! I tried Uni for the first time, again by recommendation. No Regrets! I shared that dish and it was perfect for two to have about 2 forkfuls each. I couldn't get enough of the sauce and this dish is better finished while hot! If I could, I would have licked the plate clean to save them some washing! The Duck Confit was fall of the bones, melt in your mouth, super duper good! Served with a side of potatoes cooked in duck fat which was perfectly crispy on the outside and well done on the inside. You could taste the lychee in the duck sauce but it only served to bring out the flavour of the meat. My friend who is a lamb fanatic, enjoyed her order of Lamb Rack. It was served on a bed of eggplant something which made the dishe even more appealing as she is the type who loves a lamb anything and an eggplant anything. Having said that, the portion of lamb was huge! Unlike the measly portions you get at some restaurants, this was like lamb rack on steroids! I later found out that most of the ingredients are imported fresh from the respective countries (duck/foie gras- France, tuna/uni- Japan, you get the gist) and that is probably why the food taste just so damn good!!!

(L) Milo Dinosaur, (R) Pear Terrine with Red Wine Sorbet

Ok I have to admit I was pretty stuffed by the time dessert came around but that didn't stop me from enjoying the Milo Dinosaur which they had nicely adorned with birthday wishes for the happy girl. It is a nice finishing touch if you enjoy chocolate! We got 2 cute old school tumblers, MINI tumblers of single scoop Lychee sorbet which cleansed the palate nicely after such a huge meal with so many contrasting and bold flavours. Especially nice was the pear terrine which was complimented with the red wine sorbet. The sorbet was nicely done and wasn't too sweet at all, this is also another "Special of the Week" dish.

Overall, I would definitely come back with friends who enjoy good food. Short of being rolled out of the restaurant, I had a lot of fun with all the dishes because I never know what to expect from some of them. With wine (by the glass), its about an average of $100/person which is quite good considering the amount of food we ordered!

Pidgin Kitchen & Bar

7 Dempsey Road, 01-04

Tel: 6478 0080

Illamasqua comes to Singapore!

Wow...in line with my current and on going obsession with make up and colours and finding the perfect bright lipstick for myself, it was just unfortunate that I had to walk past the Illamasqua Roadshow that they are having at the center atrium of Wisma Atria!

I actually dismissed it when I first walked past thinking it was just another makeup brand and I had enough makeup considering the haul that I just purchased from Inglot, Malaysia. I have no idea what made me turn back to look and when I saw that it was Illamasqua- that's it, I knew I was in trouble!

My Haul...

I had read/heard/seen reviews about the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation and had been gagging to try it for the longest time. Well, here was my chance. I manage to get one of the makeup artist named Selina to help me out with choosing a colour that was best suited for my skin tone. The foundation is actually inspired by the Asian BB creams however it is reputed to go on even more flawlessly and effortlessly then other creams on the market. Great! I hate gunky products. True to the promise, the foundation went on very smoothly and all that was require was a tiny amount. One can choose to built up should they require more coverage. I settled for No. 8.5 ($59.50)

Before applying the foundation, she applied something on my skin that made it all tingly and fresh feeling- of course I asked what it was and it turned out to be the Hydra Veil ($58). It is supposed to be a primer which gives you a lifting effect and sets your makeup so you can do away with stuff like makeup setting spray. Hmm, this is something I shall have to try on a full day of work or night out. SO, I got one of these too. One thing I noticed was that the foundation and hydra veil were both made in Thailand, when asked, explanation given was that, when the best foundation manufacturers were sourced, Thailand was it. 

Anyways, having spent more than $80 allowed me to purchase the "Perfect Pout" set for only $80 (worth $152) this comprised of 6 lipsticks, all matte (which I love) and all brights (which I doubly love), so far trying it on my hand, it went on smoothly and was very creamy. I look forward to actually using the colours. I also bought a lipliner to go with my nude lippies. 

These are the colours in the "Perfect Pout" set including a limited edition Isis colour

Anyways, damage done. I walked away with more than I bargained for including a makeup/toiletries kit which they are giving away to people who spent too much. I'll probably add on reviews on the products as I test them out over the weeks. 

Wedding Planning...and then some!

So again I have disappeared off the grid for a bit but I'm glad I'm actually taking the time to sit here and log in some blogging hours.

Despite being left alone here while the HTB (Husband To Be) is out of town, you'd expect that i'd be left with a lot of time on my hands. Unfortunately, with constant reminders that my upcoming nuptial is around the corner (this is subjective) I decided I'd better knuckle down and get some stuff confirmed before anything that I wanted got snapped up. Of course, one of the benefits of having the wedding on a Thursday and during the Hungry Ghost festival (obviously not superstitious) is that I kind of have the pick of the lot. Having said that, no special prices for anything and in the past week I have slowly watched our joint account go from nice numbers to less than satisfactory numbers (again, this is subjective). 

In the end, I feel like I have gotten more done in the last week than I ever have since getting hitched. Its been a week of taking care of all the finer details, getting vendors for the actually reception and stuff that has made me both excited to be attending my own wedding and scared because it is my own wedding. Making some of the decisions with minor supervision is also quite daunting because I have a tendency to only want the best and will pay the price for it.

When the HTB and I decided to pay for our own wedding, we did so with the clear mind of setting a budget and sticking to it. While I am blessed that I am able to afford such an event with a fairly lenient budget (meaning I couldn't ask for more), its ridiculous how some vendors which cater for non wedding events have a different pricing when it comes to weddings! Why is that so??? Its not like you are going to work any harder or less during a wedding. Just because most people only marry once in their life so maybe you should get what you can now? It just did my head in! Its no wonder that couples end up going into debt just from the wedding.

In the end, while I was one of those brides that wanted her wedding to be most unique and the best and the grandest and...you get what I mean! Who am I trying to impress? After choosing the most overused theme of 2014, the year after my favourite college novel was turned into a movie and on the heels of Boardwalk Empire, the 1920's is making a huge comeback- there is no way that my wedding will be any of the above. But you know what? I DON'T CARE! It means all of the above to me and the HTB. And that's all that matters.

I'm cutting it crazy close to the budget but as long as everyone walks away feeling like they had fun- I would be happy. I can understand why the bride gets really loony before the wedding. Hence the reason why I am trying so hard to learn the art of letting go and live and let live! 

Yummy Carrot Cake Recipe!

TGIF! As a prelude to the weekend, I've decided to post my recipe for carrot cake (ang moh style-not Chinese Chay Tow Kuay). I made this twice last week- once because I just discovered that Carrot Cake is the boyfriends' favourite and the second time because he requested for it (again). I am killing his diet at his request. Since its the weekend, anyone with an oven can try and feedback would be amazing. I think its pretty fool proof and feedback so far has been great.

Recipe makes: 1-9x13inch cake/2-8inch round cake

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 and 1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar

Sift together:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp ground cinnamon

3 cups grated carrots (use the bigger grater-using the fine one will result in a big yucky mess)
1 cup chopped pecans

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
250g tub of Philly cream cheese
2 cups icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Lemon rind (+/-2tbsp)
Chopped Pecans as topping (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease and flour baking tins. I used butter the first time and vegetable oil the second time- I think its best to use butter on the base and oil the sides with vegetable oil. Make sure you flour the entire tin! Especially the sides, to help the cake rise nicely.

2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Mix in the dry ingredients slowly. Stir in the carrots. Fold in Pecans.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean. Once done, leave to cool on a wire rack.

To Make Frosting:

Combine butter, cream cheese and sugar along with vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy, add lemon rind to taste. Reserve some lemon rind as topping. Frost the cooled cake. 

Bon Appetite! 

** I will definitely want to try do this again with raisins someday soon. But if I did so, I may reduced the amount of icing sugar in the frosting. Updates will be posted.

** Reduced the icing sugar in the frosting on 9th May 2014, original was still too sweet! Recipe has been edited accordingly. 

White Chocolate Rice Krispies Treat

Courtesy of Michelle <3

This is a special treat for anyone from the age of 5 and onwards. I used to love buying these prepacked and sold in individually wrapped bars from the United States. Sadly enough, you can't get these in Asia. But if there is one thing better than prepackaged food, is doing it yourself and making it exactly the way you want to! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients: 

11/2 Small box of Rice Krispies 

2 bags of mini marshmallows 

(alternatively you can use 1 250g bag of the Large Marshmallows, but these are harder to melt)

1 12oz bag of white chocolate chips

1 stick of butter (approximately 1 224g block of butter, quartered lengthwise)

Sprinkles (Optional)

Instructions:

1. Grease a 9"x13" Pyrex baking dish with butter

2. Melt the balance butter over low-medium heat in a non stick pot

3. Throw in the marshmallows and stir with a heavy duty spatula

4. Once half melted, add 2/3bags of the white chocolate chips- continue stirring

5. After all the ingredients are about 80% melted, turn off the heat and throw in the rice Krispies. Start to mix the rice Krispies in the pot until all the cereal is covered in marshmallow

6. Pour into the baking dish. You may grease your hands and start to press down to get an even layer in the dish but i prefer to use a stainless steel metal spoon to smooth the rice Krispies down (I didn't want to get messy)

Topping:

8. While waiting, melt the remaining white chocolate in the microwave (approximately 30secs or less)

9. Pack the melted white chocolate in the edge of a Ziploc bag or a piping bag

10. Snip of a bit of the tip and start to go over the rice Krispies treat in a pattern of your choice

Optional: You may add sprinkles for a splash of colour.

Refrigerate for 30minutes to help cool before cutting.

Preparation time: +/- 20minutes

Measure of Happiness: Through the roof!

You could easily make this anytime of the week- fuss free, no baking, cleaning is a breeze but the amount of smiles you will receive is immeasurable.

Good Luck!!!

Tsukune Ichigo, River Valley Road

After a long and tiring day, I cheated...on my diet. But it was all worth it. A little bit of sake goes a long way. 

We've been meaning to try Tsukune Ichigo for the longest time. Every time the taxi stops at the traffic lights in front of the restaurant, we always comment "We need to try this one day". Well one day finally came. It's an added bonus that it's walking distance from home. 

Those daunting doors loom before you and I used to envision pulling them open or using the big knocker and being led to a magical area. Ok, no such drama. On the contrary, when we pulled the doors open, there was only one other family there and the place was pretty much empty. Granted, it was Tuesday and we were early. The rest of the patrons (mostly Japanese) started to arrive at about 7.45pm onwards. When we left the place was 80% full. For a Tuesday night and a small restaurant with about 50pax capacity, I would say that they are indeed doing fairly well.

To start with we had the Torikawa Kyuri (chicken skin and cucumber with mustard sauce), I like the way the skin was nicely boiled and didn't feel like skin. The cucumber gave it a nice fresh crunch and the mustard sauce lightly coated the dish without being overwhelming. We also had some of the Yakitori which was normal and nothing to rave about.

Top: Torikawa Yuri, Bottom L: Momo with Mentai Mayo, Bottom R: Momo with Original Sauce

They are most popular for the Tsukune (Japanese chicken meatball, cooked yakitori style) so I ordered a set which gave us a variety of 5 different sorts of Tsukune: Okonomi Yaki, Cheese, Original Sauce, Black Pepper and Avocado Mayo. My bf and I couldn't decide which one was better. He said to start in the above direction because one tastes better than the next. I beg to differ, I thought they all tasted different and therefore deserved their own merit. I order two more Tsukune after: Ume Shiso and Shiso Mentai. Again, both were just as good and worth a try. All Tsukune dishes cost from $5-$8.

Left: Tsukune Set, Top Right: Ume Shiso, Bottom Right: Shiso Mentai

We also ordered the Soboro Don which was recommended but I wasn't overly impressed. Quick tip- let the rice stick to the pot a little after its been mixed if you like that crunch and texture in your rice. The one thing I WILL RAVE about is the Saba Aburi (lightly grilled vinegar mackerel). I love that fishy mackerel taste and this was done to perfection. Not too vinegar-y and so fresh! The slices were nice and thick...Oh the thought and I am drooling here. 

Top: Soboro Don, Bottom: Saba Aburi

In the end, we paid about $112 for two persons which included 2 orders of the Hot sake ($11each). I thought it was reasonable and I'm already deciding what to order for my next visit there. Ordering there is also much simpler because you have a menu that has a nice selection of food but you are not spoilt for choice. Point to note- when I first opened the menu, I nearly broke out in cold sweat because everything was in Japanese...fortunately, either the page beside or the following page has a description in English! Phew! Saves me from being an annoying patron.

Tsukune Ichigo
399 River Valley Road (beside Tony's Pizza)
Tel: 6736 1340