The Hungry Bunny

이 홈베이커는 친한 친구의 발견과 페이스북 추천이었어요. 나는 항상 그친구의 음식에 대한 리뷰에 동의하지 않지만 그녀의 부모님은 이 홈베이커의 마카롱을 좋아한다고 말했기 때문에 확신했어요. 그녀의 부모님은 음식에 대해 너무 높은 기준을 가지고 있어서 나는 음식에 대한 그들의 리뷰에 귀를 기울일 것인데.    우와  이 홈베이커 마카롱이 너무 너무 맛있다!!! 😋😋😍 조금 비싸지 만 그만한 격표의 가치가 있어요. 새해에도 뚱뚱해질 것 같아요 😰   ==============   The local F&B landscape is, under the best of ordinary circumstances, already harsh, but Covid-19 lockdowns and the ensuing recession seriously pummeled the restaurant industry. Like I told friends, 2020 was one kind of formidable battering ram. To nobody's surprise but everyone's shock, many notable restaurants were put out of business this year. To be perfectly frank, I wasn't particularly upset at many of the closures (survival is for the fittest after-all), save for Antoinette. I'd loved their pastries and it was my go-to whenever I felt like macarons, La Durée having exited Singapore after a short foray in our city state and Pierre Hermé not looking like it was ever setting u...

정말 놀라웠어요. 남편은 아직 공부도하지 않고 한국어 시험에 합격했어요. 인생은 정말 불공평해요. 😩😩😩  하지만 나에게서 멀리 떨어져 있어야해서 나에게서 복사 할 수 없었기 때문에 점수는 이전 테스트보다 나빴어요. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ   =====================================   There seems a proliferation of home-businesses, the majority of which popped up during the Circuit Breaker. Drawing from anecdotal evidence, many of these businesses (mainly foodstuffs) started out as care packages during the Circuit Breaker, to feed friends because that's how us Asians show love, and because their foods were so well-received, these home chefs and bakers were inspired (or encouraged as the case may be) to retail their wares online to the general public. In addition, many of these home businesses were a way to stave off the inexorable boredom of confinement, or in some unfortunate cases, a crucial (and/or supplemental) source of income for those adversely affected by the covid-19 pandemic-caused recession. Whatever the case, I am wholeheartedly in support of such endeavours #Lov...

Pardonnez-moi pour le silence prolongé, ma vie a été mise en pause, à cause de "la saison des tests". Comme d'habitude, pendant les semaines qui les ont précédés, j'abandonne tous mes loisirs (et mes amis aussi), m'isole, et courbe l'échine pour étudier. Même si j'adore apprendre une nouvelle langue (ou deux, en même temps 😵😵😵), j'ai toujours des regrets à chaque fois que je révise pour un test. Bien sûr, j'oublie "la douleur d'étudier" dès que j'ai réussi un test. C'est pourquoi j'ai continué à apprendre les langues française et coréenne ces 3 dernières années: c'est "une perte de mémoire sélective"😅. Cela étant dit, et mis à part le facteur de stress inévitable, l'étude d'une nouvelle langue ouvre un tout nouveau monde de compréhension et d'appréciation culturelle. Je crois que la façon dont un peuple développe sa langue reflète sa culture. La langue est, après tout, la façon dont nous n...

We love Hai Di Lao , but the perpetual, unabating queues put us off. We used to dine at the most inopportune times to get around the long waiting times, BUT, now that Hai Di Lao caters for home delivery, we've taken to dining in the comfort of our own home. A big bonus: we lushes can also imbibe to our hearts' content, without worrying about driving home thereafter. The set up is idiot-proof. You: 1) Order online from this link: http://haidilao.oddle.me 2) Opt to make payment by way of cash-on-delivery, or pre-pay the bill by credit card. 3) Wait for them to arrive! You don't have to prep anything, not even cutlery or crockery, as bowls and chopsticks are provided. All you need is a table, an electrical source, water, and that's it. Easy peasy. All the steamboat ingredients are individually packed, and the soup bases are concocted on-site by the delivery staff, using a pre-mixed stock blended with some water sourced from your home. It's completely f...

The year-end festivities have begun!!!!!! I was reminded of the commencement of my favourite time of the year when a friend brought over a bunch of Twelve Cupcakes' Halloween edition cupcakes; left to right from top row: a bandaged rainbow-vanilla-ed Yellow Mummy; a red velvety Ghosty emoji; a minty chocolate Green Monster aka Oscar the Grouch's cousin; and bottom row right: a pumpkinned chocolate Mr Scary Face. Almost too cute to eat! Twelve Cupcakes B1-01 Orchard Gateway 277 Orchard Road Tel: 6509 1255 Open daily from 10am to 10pm Website: www.twelvecupcakes.com

Artisanal chocolate cake specialists these days are a dime and a dozen, and while I can't quite differentiate one from the other, I'm more than happy with the mind-boggling choices. Matt's the Chocolate Shop at Amoy Street is one of two in the CBD, where chocolate is apparently the antithesis to the stress of the daily grind. The Whole Dark Chocolate Fudge ($50 for 8.5" 1kg cake for >10pax) is a mass of gloriously dark chocolate fudge layered with dense chocolate sponge, and draped with a luscious chocolate ganache. Heavenly stuff! Matt's the Chocolate Shop 44 Amoy Street Tel: 6557 2274 Open Mondays to Fridays from 11am to 6pm Website: www.matts.com.sg

Cat & the Fiddle should really start a loyalty program. My colleagues and I have bought 5 cakes from them in just 8 months. That's 1 cake every 1-2 months! We're taking every opportunity to buy their awesome value-for-money cheesecakes and going through their entire range. For a birthday girl who loves her sour gummies, the zesty Maneki Neko ($33.90 for 1.1kg), with its tangy and refreshing notes of yuzu, mandarin orange, lemon zest and shredded lime leaves, is a sure-win. Its tart and invigorating overtones were perfectly in sync with the rich creamy cheesecake base. Cat & the Fiddle Website: www.catandthefiddle.com

I was recently invited to the media launch of Ethan's Gourmet , a boutique grocer of fine foods and produce. Just think of it as an amalgamation of Meidi-Ya and Jones the Grocer, but waaaaaaaay cheaper and notably exclusively curated. I love this place already! Its spartan brick-and-mortar shop couldn't be any more ulu-fied, but the good news is that they're about to launch an online site (by 15 April, I hear) on which to buy its wares.  Set up by a trio of enterprising retailers, who've close personal networks with Japanese suppliers, Ethan's Gourmet is thus able to pass on substantive savings to us as the end consumer. Here, Elaine and one of her partners are introducing Ethan's Gourmet to us food bloggers at the media launch. A personal nugget: she'd apparently named the store after her beloved son! Aww... Only kobe, kagoshima and tajima wagyu beef are sold here, and I note that the meats about 20% cheaper than at Meidi-Ya. Being one of the ve...

My colleagues and I are going slowly but surely through the entire gamut of cheesecake options from Cat & the Fiddle . We love their cheesecakes, they're all delicious, and amazingly, they're just about the most value-for-money buys ever.  The Emperor's Romance ($33.90) is the confectionery blend of the lychee martini cocktail, incredibly gossamery and delicate. It was so wonderfully balanced and light, you won't be able to stop at just one slice. We loved that the pillowy-soft meringue was torched lightly for a caramelised finish. Cat & the Fiddle Website: www.catandthefiddle.com

There's been a spate of birthdays in the office, which translates to repeated orders of the wonderful cheesecakes from online retailer Cat & the Fiddle . I love their cheesecakes. They're creamy and rich, but nuanced and balanced, and kept refreshing by a varied selection of flavours. Do note that candles are upwards of $1.20, and stencil sets are priced at $5.50. Delivery is also chargeable at a very manageable $9.63 throughout the mainland, so really, a whole cake costs barely $30. A most value-for-money cake if there ever was one. This time, we got the Sweet & Smoky Taffy ($21.90) for the birthday girl who loves salted caramel. With a crumbly oreo cookie base and burnt toffee juxtaposed against fleur de sel, this 1.1kg delight was a perfect marriage of the sweet and salty. The whimsical box with its namesake cat playing the fiddle. Cat & the Fiddle Website: www.catandthefiddle.com

It's been 4 whole years since ToTT was launched (and forever changed the lives of all domestic goddess wannabes), and to celebrate this milestone, the kitchen wonderland has unveiled a newly minted cookbook. Featuring a dazzling lineup of 'It Chefs' like Esquina's Andrew Walsh and Masterchef Australia's Audra Morrice, the thematic recipes inject a good dose of fun when whipping up homecooked meals for friends and family. I was invited to a showcase of 2 dishes in the cookbook by a couple of their featured chefs, a luscious kong bak in their local favourites 'Welcoming the Out-of-Towners' section, and hearty Beef Burgers in the children-friendly 'Father-Son Indoor Camp' content. Kong Bak (Chinese Braised Pork) Serves 6-8 Prep time 25 mins + 10 hours sous vide Cook time 20 minutes 100 gm shallots, peeled and chopped (I prefer to pound it in a mortar instead) 1 stick cassia bark 2 star anise 5 cloves 60 ml light soy 30 ml dark soy ...