Of Birds and Tom Yum

Not too long ago I discovered a good Thai restaurant at Alexandra Village. It's one of the shophouses facing Queensway Shopping Centre. Despite its humble appearance the food there is worth going back for. Better for small groups or family as the portion can be large, plus you will tend to order a variety.

I'd love to order every item on the menu. Of those we had, the Kang Kong is surprisingly fragrant; the stuffed Chicken Wings were impressive and with every bite you taste the minced chicken, water chestnut and corn (imagine the labour behind each boneless wing). We also had the seafood Tom Yum Goong which is a generous portion though I think it's been adjusted to suit Singaporeans... certainly not as spicy and sour as those I had in Thailand but it's good nonetheless. The fried fish looks better than it taste - not bad, but I'll try the steam fish next time.

Joe's Kitchen is at Blk 123 Bukit Merah Lane, #01-182, Singapore 150125. Yes, Joe is the Thai owner.

On the way to the restaurant from the carpark I took this photo:

I Like Fat Fruits

There has been avocado in my diet, daily - for about a week now. Those California handrolls and sandwiches I had in Sydney were packed with avocados. During my usual grocery shopping there, I see them... soft and ripe, irresistable.



So I've been having salads and breads with avocados. Very yummy. And then I remember the fat content of an avocado in the midst of devouring it, I looked it up on the internet:

1) Avocados have a high fat content - about 20 times the average for other fruits. A typical avocado contains 30 grams of fat, but 20 of these fat grams are health-promoting monounsaturated fats, especially oleic acid.

2) Oleic acid helps lower cholesterol. Tests have shown that subjects consuming avocados for a week (that's me!) had significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, along with an 11% increase in health promoting HDL cholesterol. Oleic acid has also been shown to offer significant protection against breast cancer, prostate cancer as well as oral cancer.

3) Avocados are a good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate and copper. Avocados also contain more potassium than bananas, and Potassium helps regulate blood pressure and reduces risk of stroke.

4) Anti-oxidants addicts alert: avocados are also a very concentrated dietary source of the carotenoid lutein; it also contains carotenoids such as zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, plus significant quantities of tocopherols (vitamin E). We all know this is good for skin, nails, hair, eyes...

There, enough reasons to go grab those green goodies now. But if you have a latex allergy, you may very likely be allergic to avocados!

Web Layout for Print?

I've been seeing this Qatar ad on Today paper and I can't help but relate it to a webpage. A screen capture. Is it the layout? The little watermark patterns on the side?

Is there a need to design differently for print?

Mini Muffins

I just felt like making muffins. Plain ol' muffins. They were minis because I only have mini cupcakes baking tray and paper liners. Then I browsed the internet and got inspired/distracted so things got a bit more complicated:

First there was the apple cinnamon variety, then came the idea of putting buttery crumbs on top so it's like apple crumble muffins. 'Pink Lady' apples peeled and chopped, and Wendy (who's also my taster) let me use some of her freshly grounded cinnamon powder.



The second lot, I made chocolate almond version. Many almonds, not enough chocolates. Damn those Hersheys chips that went way past its expiry, I had to manually smash and break half a bar to get chocolate chunks but still not enough!

In a desperate attempt to make the third variety more chocolatey, I added extra cocoa powder to the remaining mixture and used them as toppings. They were dark so I sprinkled some instant oats to make them look cute.

These were made with 100% organic wholemeal flour for a healthier option and they should fill you up better. I'm a fan of wholemeal so the taste was fine for me. But I think they don't rise as well? Will try a mix to find out. Also, minis are tricky so I'll make large ones next time. The apple cinnamon lot turned out to be most popular.

Hungry? Sleepy?

You know the feeling when you are tired and meant to be sleeping, but just keep thinking about food? Then you suspect you're really hungry. Even channel surfing cannot distract the mind from items listed in the menu. After hours of futile resistence, I ordered room service - a Cajun Chicken Burger topped with what seemed like a WHOLE avocado, served with piping hot potato wedges.

It's bad because:

1) I had a Quarter-Pounder from McDonald's the same day;

2) It was 3am;

3) I'm AUD$28 poorer;

4) I fell asleep an hour later.

Saffi and Friend

Sometimes when she good mood, friend can sit on top.

Rain Outside, Relax Inside

Look, an IKEA doll bed she's lounging in ('lounging' is a nice word, isn't it). She doesn't use it very often, mostly to act cute in and during play. She'd let her mousy toy-friends sleep there, too.

That's because she much prefers my bed. Oops I mean, HER bed.