Clover Stonetta

Organic is a huge thing in Napa Valley and at the CIA, almost everything used is organic :)


And in school, Clover Stonetta's milk, butter and eggs are the basic ingredients used daily in the kitchen.

I'm not a fan of milk but Clover's milk tastes so good and more so, its yogurt. But being lactose intolerant, I can only consume a little of Mother Nature's goodness.

Still, I'm charmed by Clover Stonetta's brand image - cute, quirky and wholesome :)

Their trucks won me over :)

Visit:
http://cloverstornetta.com/

Moroccan Purim Bread

For my team's Celebration yeasted bread, our research drew us to the Moroccan Purim Bread. Intrigued by Jewish food culture and traditions, I successfully persuaded Brian (my partner) to make this as part of our assignment. He terms them the "UFOs" :)

This Jewish bread of Moroccan origin is traditionally made to celebrate Purim, Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance from Haman's plot to annihilate all the Jews of the Persian Empire, who had survived the Babylonian captivity. This is recorded in the biblical book of Esther.

Purim is celebrated annually on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar, the day following the victory of the Jews, which was on the 13 day of Adar. (In cities that were protected by a wall in the time of Joshua, including Susa and Jerusalem, Purim is celebrated on the 15th of the month, known as Shushan Purim). As with all Jewish holidays, Purim begins at sundown on the previous secular day.


This recipe is adapted from Maggie Glezer's award-winning "A Blessing of Bread" and is absolutely divine!

The dough is flavoured with anise, ground almonds, sesame and raisins, resulting in a harmonious spicy sweet taste that is exotic and “Oriental”.


The large bread “Hamsa” is made with 5 eggs. Hamsa means “five” in Arabic and is usually in the shape of a hand, like a talisman to ward off the evil eye.


The second, smaller bread uses 2 eggs to represent Haman’s eyes.

The individual breads are an adaptation for smaller portions. Made with small rounds with one egg each, it is traditionally served for breakfast, with the egg peeled and mashed with the back of a fork, then mixed with a garlicky-lemony cucumber and tomato salad.

Individual Serving, perfect for me :)

While this bread was traditionally made to celebrate God's providence and deliverance for the Jews, I'm glad that I can make it anytime for a delicious treat. For the word of the Lord is my daily bread and Jesus is my reason to live!

My Genoise

As mentioned earlier, 2 items made me a very happy baker. One was my rich bread pudding and the other was my GENOISE (pronounced as "G_nu_us")!

Before you relate the Genoise to the French (like all delicious pastries), let you tell you more.

Before coming to the CIA, my biasness towards all things French made me an ardent admirer of pastries and cakes. In Marketing terms, this is the "Country of Origin" effect and for me, only French pastries will fit the bill. None of the American crap, the Italian copies or Spanish influences, though sometimes I can accept a little Japanese adaptation of classic French techniques.

So when I first read of the Genoise sponge cake in Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible, I was instantly glued. Firstly, "Genoise" sounds French and secondly, it's an entirely new form of sponge for me as I was only exposed to chiffon.


As I continue my research, I came to realise how fundamental and crucial the Genoise is in most forms of cakes. It can be used in bases for mousse cakes, cake layers of fruits and paired with other layers of ganache for delicious desserts.

As much as I hope that it is French, the Genoise is of Italian origin named after Genoa. Unlike most sponge cakes, it does not contain any leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. Instead, it relies on the air suspended in the batter during mixing to give volume to the cake.


Cooling the Genoise - Check out the Volume!
Taste-wise, it bears resemblances to the Asian "kueh buloh". Its intended dry and crumbly texture allows the pastry chef to brush on simple syrups to flavour the cake. This is the fun part:

If you are an alcoholic, you can brush at least 5 layers of alcohol-spiked simple syrup on the cake. The Genoise will soak it up like a sponge! And if you leave it for several days, you can continue to brush it daily to achieve the maximum moisture level and ultimate flavour desired. The alcohol and high sugar content of the cake helps to preserve it.

Well, I didn't know about all these information until I had my Pastry Techniques class. After failing several Genoise cakes in Singapore, I had a phobia of making them. My last Genoise was pretty bad because it was so flat and dry that no amount of soaking syrup would revive it. But my sweet ex-colleagues from SMU were so kind to have it and in their grace and mercy, said it was delicious :) I knew it could be better.


My Raspberry Fruit Cake - Light Genoise layered with Fresh Whipped Cream and Raspberries. Yes, I assembled the entire cake! Phew!

So, when Chef Brown announced that the Genoise is one of the 3 items tested in the practical exam, I almost failed. It's finally time to meet my destiny - the Genoise. It can either turn out delicious, light and fluffy or be like it's Singapore counterpart (dry and flat).

Praise God that in my first try in USA, I made 2 great Genoise! Each was so light, fluffy and full of volume! They won praises from Chef Brown and my partner, Brian even said that they were perfect! :)


Fancy a slice?

Now, I can finally smile and make Genoise confidently :)

Importantly, I made great Genoise that scored 59/60 during the pratical exam!

An almost perfect Genoise

:) Whether it's French or Italian, I have finally conquered my Singapore nemesis. Fluffy Genoise, here I come!

Gingered Pear Bread Pudding topped with Crisp Cinnamon Sugar

Given my perfectionist attitude towards baking and pastry, it's not every day that I'll make an item that pleases me. Sometimes, baking became so frustrating that I had sleepless nights trying to comprehend the reasons behind collapsed cakes, stone-hard macarons, gooey brownies and flat cookies.


My handsome Charlie Brown makes me happy :)

YH knows intimately if my baking day turned out well or bad, just from the tone of my voice :) He always had to cheer me up when the macarons turned out in a mess.

One glorious day came in mid December 2006 as I was trying to master macarons, to be in time for my sister's return from UK (she's my macaron kaki and critic). After days of unsuccessful batches and trying to explain "feet" to YH, my macarons finally had "feet"! When they appeared during the baking process, I was simply jumping up and down in the kitchen, screaming with joy and calling YH in that very instant!


Macaron's feet refers to the jagged bottom of each macaron shell. It's vital!!! and completes the entire beauty.

Geesh, you really need to be a crazy baker like me to understand that exhilarating moment, which beats having the latest handbag :)

So last week during Pastry Techniques - Desserts Station, I was extremely pleased with 2 items! One is this bread pudding and the other is my Genoise (next post). My macarons still give me the highest satisfaction but this bread pudding is really delicious too!

So, here's my recipe adapted from a 1999 copy of Cook's Illustrated. It's simple to make (without the need for mixing machines) and ingredients can be substituted easily. So, Enjoy!


Decadent Brioche Pudding, laced with Bourbon Pears and Candied Ginger. Layered with Vanilla-infused Custard and lightly topped with crisp Cinnamon Sugar. Served warm with Coconut Creme Anglais, it is pure pleasure for late nights.

Served in a 4 quart souffle dish

Ingredients

Eggs - 4 each
Egg Yolk - 1 each
Sugar - 5 oz
Milk - 20 oz
Heavy Cream - 20 oz
Bourbon - 3 Tbsp
Vanilla - 1 Tbsp
Ground Nutmeg - 1 Tsp
Salt - 1/4 Tsp
Brioche (2 days old, diced) - 18 oz
Unsalted butter, melted - 1 oz
Diced Dried Pears (re-hydrated in Bourbon) - 8 oz
Fresh Ginger, grated - 2 pieces
Candied Ginger - 1/2 cup
Ground Cinnamon - 1/2 Tbsp
Sugar - 4 Tbsp



1. To make cinnamon sugar, combine 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon and 4 Tbsp sugar together. Set aside.
2. Re-hydrate diced dried pears in 3 Tbsp of Bourbon and top with warm water. Leave uncovered for 1 hour. Strain and set aside.
3. Infuse the milk with fresh ginger slices by gently simmering the ginger in milk (low heat). Let it sit for 30 minutes. Remove ginger slices and cool the milk.
4. Whisk egg yolk, eggs and sugar in a large bowl to combine.
5. Whisk in milk, cream, bourbon, vanilla, ground nutmeg and salt.
6. Stir in 15 oz of diced, stale Brioche into the mixture.
7. Mix thoroughly to moisten and let the entire bread and cream mixture stand for 20 minutes.
8. Scoop the soaked brioche pieces and start layering them in the buttered souffle dish or casserole.
9. Layer the dish with brioche, the pears and candied ginger.Repeat layers.
10. Pour the remaining liquid (from the mixture) into a buttered souffle dish or casserole.
11. Scatter the remaining 3 oz of brioche on top. Push the bread down gently to partially submerge the brioche pieces.
12. Brush the exposed bread with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
13. Bake in a convection oven at 325 F (163 C) for 40 - 50 minutes.
14. The pudding should be set, of deep golden brown and jiggles very slightly in the centre. (Pudding should be removed before it starts rising in the oven).
15. Let the pudding cool for 30 minutes to set. Dust lightly with powdered sugar and Serve with ice cream.


Cinnamon Sugar Topping

Tips:
Brioche is an enriched French bread that is high in butter and milk content. You can get plain or flavoured brioches from Cedele or Simply Bread, and let them go stale for 2 days. Stale bread absorbs more moisture and leads to a firmer bread pudding; puddings made from fresh bread are soggy.

If you can't find brioche, you can use other butter loaves or breads that are high in fat and milk. Crystal Jade and Sun Moulin sells butter breads too. Similarly, let them go stale for 2 days. You can also use stale plain croissants in replacement of bread. If low fat white bread or baguettes is your choice, then don't even try this recipe! It will fail!!!!

The dried pears can be easily substituted with your favourite dried fruit like apple, apricot, cherries etc. You can even replace it with 58% cocoa content baking chocolate. Candied ginger is found in specialty food stores like Culina, and you can omit it if you like.


Chocolate Cherry Croissant Pudding

Basically, the versatility of this recipe allows you to recreate new bread puddings using the above ratios. Let me know your new creations!

My Petite Vert Pot - Buttercup

If you enjoy cooking or reading food blogs, you might recall the prized cast iron pots produced by the French company, Le Creuset. Even if you are not familiar with the name, you probably will have seen colourful pots displayed at a remote corner of Tangs B1 as you proceed to the carpark lifts (I know I do whenever I parked there).

The pots and cookwares in shades of deep blue, fiery red and bright orange stand proudly on their sparkling clean shelves; they almost look snobbish like the French. Always, I wanted to walk nearer to have a glance but usually deterred by the formidable sales ladies.

Haha, I almost thought that they speak better French than I do. Alas, I never got to really appreciate Le Creuset while I was in Singapore. Even with CK Tangs' 20% sale, their price tags turned me off.

So the only Le Creuset items that my family owns are 2 silicon pot holders. During our 2005 USA trip, my dad's great foresight made him buy these 2 precious items from the CIA at Greystone (surprise! It's my school!). Essentially, everyone was buying something so my dad thought he should join in, heehee.


Red Silicon Pot Holder

Nope, he doesn't cook but my dad loves to buy handy stuff for the house. When he showed my mum, sister and I the 2 silicon pot holders, we were not so keen. Who has heard of silicon pot holders in 2004? Who uses it? Still, my dad insisted because he loves the beautiful bright colours - green and red, and that the hot pots will not burn our tabletops.

Trust me, those 2 pot holders were the most useful stuff from our CIA shopping bag (my sister and I bought CIA badges ... for what?). We use them daily, I use them all the time and I just love the added colour to our kitchen. Gone were the days when we relied on pot holders made from cork.

At US$9.75 each, they aren't cheap but they last a long time. Le Creuset's pot holders are a permanently feature in my home and you should have seen them when you came over for meals. I love them!

Here at the CIA, my curiosity in Le Creuset started to grow. It began with the attractive silicon spatulas that I bought in February. The whole reason why I bought them is the colour - sparkling pink and sparkling lime green! Who can resist them? Certainly, not me :)


Pink and Green! My sparkling weapons! I'm just short of a blue one to complete my Powerpuff Spatula Collection

As classes started, the exposure to Le Creuset increased. I remember having a delicious Japanese root vegetable stew, cooked in a huge White Le Creuset; each simple sweet potato was bursting with natural miso flavour!

Le Creuset pots are also seen during special events in school. The chef will carefully carry each pot like precious gold. Each pot seems to hold a secret and I am certainly intrigued.

With a great excuse of needing a pot to cook my herbal chicken soup, I order 1. Yes, just 1 since there's only me and it's super expensive. Thankfully, my school had a special introduction offer for Le Creuset ignorants like me so I ordered a 9 inch oval French oven in Kiwi.


Meet Buttercup :) haha

Ordering it was easy, waiting patiently for its arrival was tough! Because Kiwi is such a popular and limited colour, it is constantly out of stock and I had to wait for almost 1 month!

My impatience almost made me give up - the fiery red was just as attractive, but I waited. I think it will be hilarious to even include this in my prayer request :)

Finally, the call came on Good Friday - my Kiwi has arrived! Yuppies!!! I can cook now! So in preparation for the pot, I had my mise en place done. I bought vegetables, tomatoes and stock to cook a stew (Le Creusets are excellent for stews).

At 9.30 pm last night, I started my little cooking project :) with my new magic pot - Buttercup! Yes, I named it after the Powerpuff Girls :P

Chop, chop, chop ... I was getting more impatient to get all the ingredients in. I forgot to get pancetta so I didn't get the caramelisation that I wanted, but the onions did a pretty good job. Low heat and slow cooking, I allowed the stew to simmer for 1.5 hours while I stood in the kitchen reading my notes.


Simmering Stew

Le Creuset is all about slow cooking and last night, I really developed perseverance and patience. As the stew bubbles, I was tempted to try but I knew that I have to wait overnight for the juices to really infuse the vegetables :) I can only look and smell.



Oh, how wonderful the smell of fresh tomatoes and herbs is! The sweet aroma permeate throughout the hallway and my room is filled with it! I certainly had sweet dreams.

This morning, I woke up early in anticipation to uncover the precious pot. Buttercup definitely did not disappoint :) the vegetables were tender but not soggy. Without adding cornstarch, the soup is naturally thickened by the vegetables and sweetened with carrots. Truly, each mouthful was wholesome and warm :) how I miss home.


Uncovering Buttercup

This pot will last me a week! and because Le Creuset is able to seal the natural juices of the ingredients, the stew keeps well and gets better daily :)

Now, I can't wait to try out other recipes with Buttercup! Southern France is big with stews and as I try out recipes from Paula Wolfert's book, I'll keep you updated on my Buttercup projects :)



Buttercup is my first lifelong Le Creuset investment :) and haha, I'm envisioning filling my kitchen with more colourful pots! The colours available in each country is dependent on the importers and I did sport beautiful turquoise ones in San Francisco.

Still, I'm hoping to get Le Creusets in pink and purple. Yes! Purple! But they are only available in France ... so if you are going to Paris, let me know please :)

No doubt, Purple and Pink Le Creusets will make my Day!


Checkout ttp://www.lecreusetexport.com/

Via Dolorosa

As many of you have known, I've been attending the United Methodist Church in Saint Helena. A small community church with about 30 regular attendees weekly, I've grown to love worshipping the LORD with them, through traditional hymns.

Worship is usually led by an excellent leader called Lisa Wicker. She has the sharpest elegant nose that I love to look at (in comparison to my flat short one) and always so warm, asking me how I am and about my grandma's health.

Lisa and her husband serves faithfully through worship and PA; her voice is such a delight to the ears and smooths every heart.

For the weeks leading up to Good Friday, she has sang this special song twice. When I heard it for the first time, I couldn't make out the words as the song has a mix of English and I believe Spanish.

On Good Friday, Lisa sang "Via Dolorosa" again and the song comforted me greatly of the love that Jesus has given to me through His sacrifice. When all things fall apart, Jesus and His word stands forever.

According to Wikipedia, Via Dolorosa (Latin for "Way of Grief") is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem. Traditionally, it is held to be the path that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion. It is marked by nine of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The last five stations are inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

It is a focus of pilgrimage

Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem

I'll like to share this song with you - "Via Dolorosa" by Sandi Patty.
To listen on YouTube, click the second video on the top right hand corner of my blog to be directly linked to the song sang by Sandi Patty.

The song is beautiful but what is more beautiful is the Grace of God.


Down the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day
The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street
But the crowd pressed in to see
The Man condemned to die on Calvary

He was bleeding from a beating, there were stripes upon His back
And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head
And He bore with every step
The scorn of those who cried out for His death

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King,
But He chose to walk that road out of
His love for you and me.
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

Por la Via Dolorosa, triste dia en Jerusalem
Los saldados le abrian paso a Jesus
Mas la gente se acercaba
Para ver al que llevaba aquella cruz

Por la Via Dolorosa, que es la via del dolor
Como oveja vino Cristo, Rey, Senor
Y fue El quien quiso ir por su amor por ti y por mi
Por la Via Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir

The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men
Made its way through the heart of Jerusalem.

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.



"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Psalm 19:1 - 4

Because Christ is Risen, we are now living in Victory and Freedom in Christ!
Do you know the great love of God through Jesus Christ?

Every Knee will Bow & Every Tongue will Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

It's really lovely to know from my dear friends, how enjoyable my postings have been with all the mouth-watering baked goodies that I have been doing daily. Yet, for today, I thought I'll share more about what has been in my heart and mind the past few days - The Restoration of an Ankara Armenian Church by the Turkish authorities.

Sometimes, I wonder why a Singaporean girl like me will be keen on the historical background and happenings of the Middle East, Israel and Jews. A closet historian wannabe, I have always been fascinated by the Orthodox churches and the Jewish culture (both past and present) as I try to reconcile our relationships as fellow worshipers of the only true and living God, and Jesus Christ, our only Redeemer and Saviour.

So as I read my daily BBC News (I'm don't want to be upset by the fact that the Straits Times is charging for online editions and the daily doings of our materialistic government), a report caught my eye on 29 March.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6505927.stm

Titled as "Ankara restores Armenia church"

Ankara, the capital of Turkey (Islamic), has seen the US$1.5 million renovation of 1,100 year old Armenian church and this move has been viewed by political analysts as a gesture towards improving ties with Armenia.


If you wonder why this gesture is significant, you need to understand the historical battles between the Turks and the Armenians.

Armenia is one of the world's earliest Christian civilisation with its first churches founded in the 4th century. Despite being under centuries of Turkic and Persian control, Armenia's main religion is Christianity.

During WW1, 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks either through systematic massacres or prolonged starvation. More than a dozen countries, various international bodies and many Western historians agree that it was genocide. Yet, Turkey says there was no genocide. This has led to decades of tensions between both parties.

With this first restoration, Turkey hopes it will help to heal the rift with Armenia and I suspect, a move to gain European trust as Turkey seeks entrance into the European Union.

To others, this will probably spell as political news or simply brushed off as "none of my business".

Yet somehow, this report struck a core in my heart on the awesome and continuing works of our faithful Jehovah. That He is still seeking to reconcile all people back to Him through Jesus Christ.

The restoration of this Armenian church and the expected subsequent ones is greatly significant as we, Christians, await the return of the King of Judah. As the gospel is moving back to Jerusalem, the Holy City of God, the day of His second coming is nearer and nearer. While this church will be operating only as a museum in Turkey, I pray that God will use His people mightily in Turkey to share the good news of Jesus with the Muslim Turks. The people in the Middle East also needs the gospel!

As I read the article, one verse came promptly into my mind - "Every Knee will bow and every Tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"

As we celebrate the death of Jesus on the cross and His Resurrection this week, I'm reminded that my faith is in the true and living God, who is at work daily. It's important to look back to know how Jesus has saved me and forgiven my sins through His sacrifice. It is also vital to rejoice and prayerfully await His second coming.

For Christ has died, Christ has Risen and Christ is Coming again!

Isaiah 45:18 - 25

For this is what the LORD says - he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited - he says: "I am the LORD and there is no other. I have spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.

"Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. Declare what is to be, present it - let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none but me.

"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked:

Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.'" All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the LORD all descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult."


Ripened for Harvest - are you harvesting for Jesus? OR are you ready to be harvested by Jesus?

Exult means "to leap for joy" and indeed, all children of God are leaping for joy today because of what Jesus has done on the cross! For no one goes to the Father except through Jesus Christ and the only step you need to do is to believe in Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour!

Oh how my heart yearns for the day when I'll meet my bridegroom, Jesus Christ. And how I yearn and await in hope for the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess His name!

How wonderful it will be to rejoice and worship my Saviour with all peoples of the world as the LORD is winning back His people in Africa, Asia, Europe, USA, all nations and especially the Middle East, Israel and the Jews.

In today's world of pain and strife, let there be the God's peace, healing and freedom as we pray for fields of harvest among God's people. For the LORD is faithful and righteous and He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Isaiah 45:15 - 17

"Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Saviour of Israel. All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together. But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting."

Psalm 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Jesus is my everlasting salvation and He will be yours too. You only need to believe. God bless you!

An Extra Long Weekend

Unexpectedly, I was given an extra long weekend with a span of 4 days. Not that I've been overindulging on Californian wines, but rather given the boot by my chef. I came down with fever and flu and was barred from the kitchen due to my contagious status.

It was pretty sad because I was going to bake rosemary buns, cheddar onion bars and tomato buns that afternoon. Still, I spent the day sleeping in, trying to recuperate before George's 50th birthday celebration on Saturday.


We had a lovely afternoon, munching down burgers at Taylor's Refresher (an iconic St Helena upscale diner). I also met up with long-time friends, Linda Tennant and Utta Jansen :) both ladies whom I've known 5 years back!


Linda, wife of Nik Tennant from Austria, is ever vivacious and lively! She's always a joy to be with and fun! You should have seen her stopping the traffic in downtown Saint Helena with both her legs and arms, so that Gretchen could drive through!


Utta and Gebhard Jansen (Linda's parents). Gebhard is my sister's idol and she thinks that he is the most gorgeous man alive!

Charming Utta, who is Linda's mother (a dear German friend who stayed in Singapore last year), and her sister-in-law Heika also came. As I was missing home, seeing Utta reminded me of my mum :) I love her company always, with her sweet, quiet nature.


Joachim and Heika Jansen (Joachim is Gebhard's brother)

During the day, we went wine tasting but my most memorable part was not the crisp white wine but rather, BONNY and BONNE :)


2 beautiful vintage Pontiacs owned by George and taken out for a spin in the Valley. The 2 cars certainly drew more attention than the several pretty ladies inside :) Linda didn't need to do much to stop the traffic because the cars themselves were the highlight on the tiny streets of Saint Helena.


With our colourful scarves bundled over our heads, we did look like 60s American girls giggling our way through the wine country as depicted in vintage Cadillac posters.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to sit in one of these! Like Utta said, my brother will be so jealous!



The dinner party was at the Merryvale Cellar Room where we had a simple, yet enjoyable time. No big "Yum-seng" elaborations but rather, the elegance of intimate conversations coupled with delicious spread of Italian food. Something that I truly like, rather than typical boring Chinese wedding dinners.


Nik, Gebhard and Joachim gave a toast to George and presented a birthday present on behalf of the Dream team, which also includes my dad and my uncle. The Dream Team was formed 5 years ago in Germany, where Gebhard and Joachim's tyre company will hold a biannual international golf tournament for their business associates. Naturally, my dad has to join in, given his fanaticism for Golf.


Nik also give a hilarious short speech of a typical conservation held by the Dream Team whenever they meet to golf in Singapore, USA or Europe. I couldn't stop laughing when Nik mentioned a characteristic trait of my dad during the speech :) "$100 per stroke also don't care. Just play!"

From Singapore, I was the sole representative of my family as my dear sister couldn't make it in time for the party.


The Dream Team - with their respective ages :) I sure 10 years down the road, they will still be lugging their golf bags across the course, though my dad will be on the buggy (he's totally attached to it, which spells his expanding waistline).


Being in a winery, dinner was also accompanied by 5 different wines, though my natural favourite is the Antigua dessert wine (I really can taste the nutty flavour!)


With a budding pastry chef at the table, dessert was definitely the most scrutinized. However, I didn't really expect anything nice from Tra Vigne (Italian desserts ? ... hmmm....). The Devil's Chocolate Cake had an extremely thick and unpalatable butter frosting and couldn't be saved by the scoop of plain Vanilla ice cream.


Birthday boy, George, and Gretchen

Still, I had a wonderful night out (after being cooped in my room for days) and meeting Utta and the rest, was like meeting my family :)

I miss home and now, praying that I'll recover in time for class tomorrow. Fever's not subsiding but I'm just enjoying a good read in bed :)


Utta and Me