Eve Notebook - Fancy Salad

A not so pretty attempt of my fancy salad...didn't get the feta cheese I wanted so the leaves didn't sit as nicely as I would like..

Grand Chef My Food

Haha I cooked at a friend's place the other day and she took some pictures. Made Kimchi Chigae (Kimchi Stew), Pa Jeon (Pancake), Scrambled Eggs with Prawn and Tofu.

Eve Notebook - The Kite Runner

I am truly blessed this year to have received wonderful gifts of great books from friends this year. The latest gift I received, The Kite Runner, had been on my mind and fate would have it to bring this book to me from a friend who didn't know.

The author, Khaled Hosseini, was born in Afghanistan thus you can trust that a lot of the things you read about in this story is probably as raw and true as it can get.

This overview was taken off Bloomsbury's website:

"Unfolding against Afghanistan’s destructive history, from the fall of the monarchy to the oppression of the Northern Alliance and the advent of the Taliban, The Kite Runner is a story of fathers and sons, friendship and betrayal, and the casualties of fate.

At the heart is Amir, whose childhood betrayal of his closest friend alters the course of his life until he discovers that ‘there is a way to be good again’. "

Frankly, I think this description does the story no justice. You have to read it for yourself to see how richly the author has told this story. It is a story about family, kinship, brotherhood, friendship, honor, righteousness, forgiveness and perhaps above all, redemption. It is amazing how the author brings you through all these themes without imposing them on you.

I love how the author introduces elements which allow the reader to peek into what a peaceful Afghanistan might have been. I love how those seemingly irrelevant and unimportant details tell so much about each of the characters and eventually bring you into the whirlpool of the story. The story starts so simply, brings you through an unsuspecting ride to finally finish off with an ending that makes you come all round and say "wow". I felt shivers of joy at the ending.

This story will move, provoke and shake you.

Now I can't wait for the film!

About The Kite Runner at Bloomsbury site:
http://www.bloomsbury.com/Authors/microsite.asp?id=480&section=1&aid=1763

The Author's website:
http://www.khaledhosseini.com/

Movie Trailer:
http://www.bloomsbury.com/flashvideos/video.asp?vid_id=kiterunner.flv&vid_sz=5

Eve Notebook - Bangkok Dec 2007

I just went to Bangkok last weekend for five absolutely hot guys.

No, not a dirty weekend. Sorry to disappoint you.

They are...

Dong Bang Shin Ki, The Rising Gods of The East

Ok I shall not try to digress from the objective of this post which is to talk about Bangkok.

Bangkok traffic is still bad as ever. A bad jam can drag out what may be an hour trip to two. I stayed at Dusit Thani hotel which was situated just outside Silom train station. It's proximity to the Sala Daeng BTS station also made it convenient to get around.

Being a major hotel, Dusit Thani came with the full works: pool (a tad too small), gym (which was very impressive by the way), restaurants and spa. The rooms were nicely furnished though there wasn't much of a view frankly. The service was pretty helpful though I really would have expected their frontline staff to have a stronger command of English.

I didn't get to shop much or walk around much this time but I did find a very nice little joint a few minutes away from the hotel.

Unfortunately, I was down with possible infection of the intestines just before the trip. Thus, I had to avoid overly strong food during the trip. Thus, you can imagine my joy when I found Wai Thai.

Using a modern open kitchen concept along with cool jazz music in the air, Wai Thai was cool and clean. Claiming to serve healthy Thai food made with fresh ingredients and no oil, no salt, no sugar and no MSG added, I must say I was curious. Is it even possible?

Apparently it is.

My mushroom noodle soup came looking very decent. So it looks good, but does it taste good?

I must say I was suitably impressed with the taste. The dark soup was sweet with a tinge of mushroom. The vegetables were fresh and the mushrooms were succulent. The noodle was cooked to yummy softness. If they had managed to achieve such a taste without adding all that, I must say I have to be impressed. Even my drink of Carrot with Ginger was refreshing with just enough of ginger to not kill the drink.

I liked it so much that I went back for a second visit with my friend and she also found favor in the joint for its cool and cosy interiors along with healthy Thai food. The only thing I thought strange was that Paad Thai is cooked differently in Bangkok compared to here. The Paad Thai is actually sweet there compared to the salty ones here.

In terms of shopping, I went to MBK and nearby where I found a lot of cool t-shirts going for less than $10. Yes no prizes for guessing what I bought. Of course you do get people trying to get you into one of the sleazy joints where the ladies (maybe men too) with heavenlly bodies in bikinis will make you regret your sumptuous dinner, but hey it's all part of the charm.

I sure hope to see more of Bangkok next time :)

Eve Notebook - Pret A Manger

I found this place call Pret A Manger along busy Shenton Way by accident and may I say it was a wondrous discovery indeed.

All too often we have frozen food, MSG, too much salt or additives in our food when we eat out but the food served at Pret are made fresh daily with good health in mind. This is not to say they compromise in taste. Indeed, the light and tasty fare at Pret is a refreshing breeze compared to the much heavier food found in its neighbours.

The menu ranges from soup to salads, wraps and sandwiches. The ingredients are always fresh and the combinations are lovely. The price is a little higher than hawker fare but honestly I don't mind it for the freshness and how light it is on the waistline.

What keeps me going back again and again is one particular item that has caught my heart and stomach. It comes in a little pot like this:


THE Raspberry Granola Pret Pot

Hidden in this little pot is a little serving of light yoghurt (little because I really can possibly eat two of it) along with raspberry and granola. Do get the ones with granola in them. It just makes the taste so much richer. The light sour of yoghurt sweetened by fresh raspberry compote and natural granola....ahhhh what can I say....absolutely heavenly~~

The best part is they have inhouse wireless internet and and lovely music played all day. You can sit there and read or do work because it is not too noisy for most of the day except lunchtime. Cool ambience, healthy and nice food and friendly service...honestly what more can one ask for in busy Shenton Way?

The Eve Notebook - Bella Figura

As we are working on something more contemp recently, I started to appreciate contemporary dance more. A friend introduced this to me...it's such an amazingly beautiful piece of work. You don't notice the nudity at all...so amazing

The Eve Notebook - Fireworks Festival 2007

I went to take the pics for a project and had to wait 2 hours before. But it was worth it :)

The Eve Notebook - Sunrise 20.07.2007

There could be many other more beautiful sunrises but there could only be one birthday in this life that reads 20.07.2007.

What better way to start the day with some beautiful sunshine?

The Taiwan Afterthoughts

Eve always felt that a good trip was one that made helped one grow one's horizons and learn more about the world.

Though there were many logistical issues that marred the Taiwan trip, Eve felt it was a good trip as Eve met interesting people and felt a good dose of inspiration.

Eve met a very sexy KOREAN dance instructor *laughs* Yes he's Korean. Dancing with him was the best dance experience Eve had in a looooong time. Eve later learnt that he left Korea for Brazil even though he was already held in high regard in Korea. In brazil, he was humbled with new dances and people who could dance even better. The trip changed his life and cleaned out his ego along with it. He is currently studying in Taiwan and can speak Chinese and English fluently.

Eve truly admires the free spirit in him for having the courage to give up his comfort zone for greater heights in dance and broadening his horizons.

Eve also met another guy who was so warm and happy. He operates a mobile food stall from a lime green cheerful van. He says with this, he hopes to travel the entire Taiwan selling his food. His warm and generous personality moved Eve and Eve can see he was very welcomed from his thick stack of autographs left by happy customers.

Eve also met a well known Taiwanese choreographer who has worked with the likes of Jay Chou. His passion for hip hop has led him to learn not only the dance but the history as well. He is currently learning salsa in the hop of combining with hip hop to create even more extraordinary choreography.

In our society where material pursuit and success is held more highly, we have been conditioned to often cast aside our passions for the easier road. Eve is truly inspired by their courage and seeks to find more room in her heart for her loves.

May Eve have another good trip again :)

Eve Notebook - Neko Goes To Taiwan

Eve was in Taiwan or more specifically, Taipei and Tai Chung, recently and didn’t get much time to look around enough. Nonetheless, it was a great trip! Few things I noticed about Taiwan:

The weather is great…not too humid so it’s nice and cool (In May at least)

Taiwan shows great Japanese influence in their food and layout.

The Taiwanese tend to go for a sweet look in fashion.

There are not too many swimming pools in Taiwan.

The guys are way cuter than in Singapore….or at least more fashionable.


Shopping

One must talk about the night markets when one talks about shopping in Taiwan. At night, the streets come alive as peddlers set up small stalls selling everything from sausages to jeans and caps along the streets in certain parts of the cities.

The most famous night market in Taipei is of course Shi Lin Night Market (Shi Lin Ye Shi). The fastest way to get there is by train to Jian Tan and take a 5 minute walk to Shi Lin. The streets are lined with shops selling all kinds of fashion, food and knick knacks. Stall owners even set up stalls right in the middle of the street. It was an interesting sight to see how stall owners can pack up their stalls all within 1 minute the moment the got wind of police coming.

I personally found shopping was not very much more cheaper than Singapore and Shi Lin was relatively more expensive than Tai Chung. That brings me to Feng Jia Night Market (Feng Jia Ye Shi) in Tai Chung, located near Feng Jia University.

Locals tell Eve that Feng Jia Ye Shi is arguably the largest night market in Taiwan as it comprises not only of one street but an entire network of streets bustling with activity. Eve personally liked Feng Jia better as she felt there were not only more things to buy, but the stuff were also nicer and cheaper. Eve didn’t get to buy much this time and makes a mental note to go back again.

Food

Food! Food is glorious in Taiwan. Taiwan is famous for their snacks (xiao chi) and this is seen clearly in the proliferation of small stores selling all varieties of food that threaten to burst your belt. I was quite surprised to see a lot of Japanese influence in the food, cutlery and even restaurant layout. One thing I did enjoy was that there didn’t seem to be much use MSG in food. Thus most of the flavours came from real foods and seasonings.

While I did enjoy the restaurants, it was going around to try the xiao chi that was fun. Some common food you find being sold include bubble tea, lu wei and sausages. Eve remembers some of the food that made her go wow:

Ah Zhong Mian Xian

Located in the well known Xi Men Ding in Taipei, Ah Zhong Mian Xian has been around for a long time. When you approach the store, you will see people standing outside the store holding bowls of piping hot mee sua. Yes, there are no tables or chairs for people to sit down and eat but the store still sees queues of people at any time of the day. Hot mee sua in cold weather…..ahhhhhh

Shaved Ice ( Cua Bing )

Eve was directed to this corner stall by friends. It is found in the food centre located opposite Shi Lin Night Market. Eve has absolutely no idea how they manage to make shaved ice this good. It looks and feels like snow! Eve suspects they added milk to the water before freezing it to produce the ice.

Imagine tucking your spoon into a big plate of snowy ice and the spoon cuts through it easily….as you put it into your mouth, it melts tenderly, delivering a milky taste along with fruits. Ahhhhh it was so heavenly that Eve ordered a second one after she finished the first big plate of mango shaved ice.

Noodles

Noodles are common fare in Taiwan. The noodles feel more like handmade noodles than the yellow noodles we have here.

One must try the famous Beef Noodles. Beef noodles are considered a form of Taiwanese xiao chi as well. The soup is often a little sweet and the servings are generous.

Eve found the taste for Ramen a little strong for her but it appears to be more authentic. The Seafood Ramen was a lot nicer though.

Eve thoroughly enjoyed the Charcoal Cold Noodles though. The sauce was sweet and less salty compared to what we find in Singapore.

The Dan Dan Noodles over at Lao Zhang in Taipei Xian was really fantastic. The thick sauce was bursting with peanut flavor and clung to the smooth noodles as you scoop it up…ahhh fantastic.

Meat Sauce Noodles ( Zha Jiang Mian ) is one of Taiwan’s famous dishes as well. Eve really enjoyed these noodles over at Feng Jiao Market.

Lao Zhang Dan Dan Mian

On top of the delicious dan dan noodles mentioned above, there were other dishes at Lao Zhang that was really special.

Of special mention is also this dish found at the same restaurant. Silky Toufu squares are fried to a sunny yellow with an outer crumb layer. Dip it into the sweet and slightly spicy sauce and you’d be amazed at how toufu can be fried to such a beautiful colour with such great taste.

We couldn’t quite figure out how this dish was done. It really looked like drumstick and yet when you bite into it, there was no trace of bone at well. All there was was tender chicken meat. Apparently, it might have been so deeply marinated that the bones turned soft!

This bowl of clear thick soup with floating green mush is not an algae soup. It is actually vegetable soup! The vegetables have been made to mush and fried before cooking in soup to produce a cute round shape that looks like sponge.


Party

Eve was in Taiwan for a salsa congress thus Eve did not get much chance to party. She did have great fun over at Lobby in Tai Chung. The club was filled with fashionable young people and the hip hop music was great, good enough to keep Eve dancing all night. The drinks were free flow though Eve felt the alcohol was almost non-existent. Nonetheless, the music itself was good enough

Overall, Eve felt she didn’t get enough time to see enough of Taiwan. It was still good enough a trip to make her want to go back again for another visit. Now, it’s time to diet…:P

The Eve Notebook - Barfly @ Cannery

Eve realises she has not been able to write the notebook for a while so she would like to make a few contributions here.

Eve recently got into the beat of being happening (finally) and paid a visit to the Cannery at Clarke Quay which is bustling with life and very nice F&B outlets now. Out of the many places there, Eve and friends chose Barfly for the night.

The design was dark, sexy and chic with hanging chandeliers, deep red and blue backlights. The whole setting spelled Manhattan in the air and was a place to see and be seen. Eve makes a mental note to dress more atas-ly (stylishly for the uninitiated) the next time she goes there. Eve’s buddies agree on that too.

The whole joint consists of a long bar with many tables for dining as well. The menu was a mixture of Asian, Western and Japanese cuisine at surprisingly affordable prices. We were totally bowled over with the Chocolate martini as it was 1-for-1 martini promo on Saturday night.

Eve ordered Tamago sushi of all things but loved it! Dessert frankly remains unnamed to my memory as of now but it was lovely nonetheless.

Eve would definitely be back there again…albeit in nice clothes.

Oh did I mention, they had really good looking people there too? :P

The Eve Notebook - Seoul Special

Well given that Eve is so into Korean everything now, food is not an exception of course.

*hears whispers Eve should just migrate there*

Yeah, yeah.

Eve has never been a person for spicy food. Thus, the prospect of eating vegetables soaked in chilli was mortifying. Thanks to the frequent trips to Korean food joints and many doses of Kimchi later, Eve can eat an impressive amount of Kimchi and spicy food without the aid of water. Enough to make Eve’s mum very proud of her at least.

It seems the Koreans like most of their food spicy. Maybe it’s due to the cold weather there. Eve’s favourite dish would be Bi Bim Bap, a dish consisting of the 5 main food groups. It’s quite a healthy and hearty meal consisting of rice, numerous varieties of vegetables, meat and topped with a raw/sunny egg. Throw in gochujang (spicy bean paste) and Eve is a happy woman.

Recently, Eve also found new interest in Kimchi Chigae or Kimchi Soup. The spicy soup never quite found its place into Eve’s stomach until her increased tolerance for spice. The spicy and sour soup with meat, toufu, vegetables and kimchi can warm the stomach tremendously. Warm is probably an understatement.

Put Bi Bim Bap and Kimchi Chigae together and Eve is left with a very satisfying meal. Eve loves discovering what side dishes each place offers every time she goes. It is as good a discovery as the meal itself.

Places to Go

Eve has tried a couple of places and together with reviews from her friends, these are the few places we liked.

Manna, the restaurant now famous for hosting Rain and ShinHwa during their visit here, has a mean dish of fried spicy squid. This is one of their most famous dishes and it certainly deserves its fame. Eve has not found another place with an equally nice serving of this dish. Rain loved the dish while he was here. The BBQ meat is yummy too. Located at a corner in Telok Ayer, this is one of the more well known Korean restaurants in town.

Eve loved the Kimchi Chigae at the Korean restaurant at Furama near People’s Park. Eve can’t remember the name but the spicy and sour soup certainly left an impression. The place had nice Kimchi too. They played host to Eric, while he was filming a drama in Singapore recently.

The best Seafood Pancake so far can be found at Crystal Jade Korean BBQ and Ginseng Chicken Restaurant in Centrepoint. The crispy pancake is heavenly and no other place does it quite like them. Bi Won near Duxton comes close but the best is still found there.

For cheaper alternatives, the Bi Bim Bap at Food Republic Wisma Atria and Century Square Food Junction is pretty good. The Kimchi Chigae and Kimchi is pretty delicious as well. Do try the beef at Food Republic.

Go ahead and try! Eve is a big fan of it now, no assistance required from any drama or superstar :)

The Eve Notebook - Ferran Adria

Time has nominated him to be one of the most innovative people in culinary arts in the next wave here.

Meet Ferran Adria, "The Wizard Chef of El Bulli in Rosas, Spain".

Here's a sample of his style of food: molecular gastronomy, a combination of food and science.

Word is, his disciple opened a restaurant called Aurum in Clarke Quay. I want to try!

Word is the bill will come up to $130 per person *gasp* looks like this culinary adventure will have to wait a little bit more...

Eve Notebook - High Society

Eve remembers she once told someone she could do without a TV at home, but not without a Hi-Fi system. In fact, she would like to have a Nakamichi or B&O or Bose thank you.

Yes Eve is an audiophile in the making and probably would have grown much more if given the budget. Eve thinks it’s linked to her dancing. In fact, it is probably because of the innate natural response she has to music that expressed itself in dancing.

Eve has come to the conclusion that she has a strange affinity with That CD Shop at Pacific Plaza. Call it fate but that shop seems to have the uncanny ability to play the songs she’s looking for. Eve remembers the first time she was looking for a tango song where she had no idea what the title was or where to find it. Just as she was troubled about it, she stepped out of a cab at Pacific Plaza to find That CD Shop playing it. She went in to buy it at once of course. This was not the only time.

Eve has been listening to Bond’s version as well as Grace Jone’s version of Libertango pretty often recently due to the need to perform it for a couple of shows. Today as she walked towards Pacific Plaza, they were playing Bond’s Libertango. When she left the building about an hour later, they were playing Grace Jone’s version. Eve could not help but notice the coincidence *chuckles*

Talking about That CD Shop brings Eve to the title of this entry: High Society.

Eve is not talking about the privileged group of people who have loads of money to thrash around in or the music that is only for the privileged. In fact, you can buy it at That CD Shop.

High Society is a music collection conceptualized and released exclusively by That CD Shop. Herry, the boss of That CD Shop, certainly has good taste. Some true audiophiles may or may not agree with me, but I certainly love this collection of music. Each CD comes with its own little satin bag and is kept safely in a pretty and smooth box adorned by stylish pictures as album covers. The entire collection could sit as a display item on your CD shelf. Open that smooth box and you will find even smoother music.

What Herry has done is to take a collection of well known and not-so-well-known songs spanning across different genres including jazz, pop, disco, classical in different languages such as English , Mandarin, French and Spanish, give it a stylish modern remix twist and serve it in high quality HDCD recording. The result is luxurious and certainly deserves a good Hi-Fi system to go with it.

One of my many indulgent dreams would be to own the entire collection of High Society CDs. It would set me back a pretty neat sum given that there are 40 titles in the main collection now. That’s not even including the sub-collections. Best part is, they are constantly adding more titles to the collection.

I sure would love to own the whole collection one day. If you ever ask me to choose between a highly coveted LV bag and the entire High Society CD collection, the choice would be easy for me.

I would take the High Society CD collection please, thank you. :)

Eve Notebook - Belated Looks of Hong Kong 2006

OK OK I am FINALLY posting the HK pics..

HK has a lot of tall, big, glossy looking glassy buildings...

...But it is common to find old buildings alongside the tall modern looking ones...

....Superstition exists in modernism too...

HK is a very slopey country..Roads are often steep and winding...

....But gems of INSPIRATION can be found at every corner! Talk about inspiration...

...This WARM, yellow little fella was absolutely INSPIRATIONAL *notice how big I put this pic here*

I have not found a tau hway in Singapore as inspiring as this one...*again notice how big this pic is*

...We had to get an entire TABLE worth of inspiration...

...Delicacies in all forms...the solid ones, semi-liquid ones...

...And of course, the liquid ones...*I love this pic :P*

The night lights we do not have...

...And the night lights we could do with more of...

No I did not go to the peak...I did another Forbidden City episode again arggghhh..but that's why I will be going back to HK again yay!