New Year 2013 in Singapore... better late than never

Self whispered... please run away to Singapore for Christmas, but self felt guilty for not spending the most important day of the year with immediate family. So as soon as the most-important-day was over, self ran off to the magical land of South.

I had a good time in the South. I usually do. The ever-welcoming House of Orange Flowers to stay in, delicious food, excellent company and of course the shopping. Shopping. This was the end of the line for me. I couldn't fit into a Monsoon UK 12. I was devastated. I came home and made some changes in my life, but that's another story for another time.

For now, here are some photos from the Singapore trip.

Pretty, pretty hand-sewn dragonfly

Chicken Avocado Salad from the basement of Tanglin Mall

Roll of gorgeous cotton... who can say no to them?

The famous orange flowers from the House of Orange Flowers

More flowers from the garden of the House of Orange Flowers

Pretty tiles at the House of Orange Flowers

Majulah Singapura!

Yes, I was there during the Presidential Elections. Yes, I was happy to see a wave of change sweep through our neighbouring nation. Yes, it was a wonderful holiday filled with food and family. Yes, I had some lovely food i.e. homemade stringhoppers with curried chicken; homemade roti jala with kheema; perfectly marinated lamb cutlets; gorgeous roast chicken with bacon; melt-in-the-mouth curry puffs; a luscious lemon meringue tart; the largest profiterole I've ever seen; a sublime mixed berry and apple crumble; and last but not least the most outstanding ice-cream I've ever had - Waitrose's Carribean Rum & Raisin - which was boozy, moreish and simply magical.

Here are some photos of food from my holiday (only the ones I bothered to take photos of... hehehehehehe) and a recipe to try.

Profiterole from Food for Thought

Mixed Berry and Apple Crumble from Food for Thought



Coffee Cake and Rock Buns, which I baked



Curry Puff from a shop in the basement of Takashimaya

Coffee Cake

4 ounces self-raising flour

4 ounces castor sugar

4 ounces salted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

2 tablespoons of your favourite instant coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons of hot full cream milk

2 tablespoons full cream milk

1. Preheat oven at 120 degrees Celsius.Grease and line a smallish baking tin of your preference.
2. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
3. Add in eggs one by one mixing well after each addition.
4. Add in vanilla and coffee/milk mixture and beat until just combined.
5. Gently fold in the flour by hand.
6. Gently fold in the additional milk by hand until well combined into the cake batter.
7. Pour into baking tin.
8. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
9. Remove cake from the oven and let it stand in the tin for about 10 minutes.
10. Turn cake out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.

My First Macarons

It was a rainy day in Singapore. My brother S and I were trying to get back to my aunt's without getting wet. We stuck very close to the wall of a particular building, which turned out to be Shaw Centre.

I turned a corner, and guess what? I saw the most beautiful window display ever. It was full of luscious cakes, sugary designs and iced delights in gorgeous pastels. I simply had to go in. With poor S in tow, I searched for the entrance and almost banged my nose against the glass window in my excitement.

My excitement increased when we finally found the entrance and I was greeted by a stupendous display of rainbow-coloured confections. I was speechless! I had finally found them. I finally found French Macarons in Canele. After gazing at them longingly over the internet and in magazines, here they were sitting pretty, divided by flavour and colour.

A quick check at the price revealed an exorbitant figure. I looked away and into the eyes of the salesperson on the other side of the counter and said in a hurry "A dozen, please!".

We took them home to share and had them with black tea. Simply magical. Here they are all colourful and pretty in their box.