Yeah I know I didn’t post 2020 Christmas cooking, but it was kinda boring lol. This is far more interesting!
Cube time!! I wasn’t planning on using this on Saturday, but I’d found a cheap fish and figured it was the perfect practice object. I already had the coal and firelighters for a situation just like this, so here we go!
(more…)Most of the restaurants I go to leave a big impression on me. Each restaurant generally has one or two dishes that leave a huge impression on me. And then there’s a dish that changes the way you think about something forever. Those come by only every few restaurants, and one of them is the Firedoor steak.
It was the thought of that steak that made me book Firedoor again, even though this time I would be dining alone and wouldn’t actually be able to order the steak. But I also think this place made headlines after I visited because they had a goldfish to accompany solo diners at one point? I could be wrong on that. Either way, I was eager to come back.
Yes! Chaco Bar! I’d only been once before for ramen, but this time I really wanted to check our their yakitori for dinner. When I ate here, Chaco Bar and Chaco Ramen were still the same place and ramen was a lunch time only thing, but since then they’ve been super successful and split into two different venues!
Quay was the second fine dining restaurant I visited back in 2011. I really enjoyed the first experience, from the view, to the decor, to the food, especially the pork jowl dish! And everything else. To this day, some of the dishes I had then are are still prominent in my memory and a lot of other restaurants trigger the memories of that visit, notably the marron with grapefruit, the congee, and the pork jowl.
Recently they renovated, and started featuring crumpets on their menu instead of the usual bread options. There’d been a crumpet craze, and I joined in that craze when Saint Peter did uni on crumpets (which are SOOOO good!). So, I decided, now’s the time to revisit!
(more…)Dear diary,
Today I attended a coffee cupping for the first time in many years. I didn’t even know it was on until the barista told me while I was having breakfast there. I used to try really hard to learn what coffees from different regions tasted like, but it all got too much and everything started tasting the same, so I took a step back and just enjoyed coffee for what it is instead of trying so hard.
Today, I realised that my tastesbuds, while being unable to describe exact tasting notes (same as always), are at least quite accurate at tasting out “good” coffees and matched some of the other baristas/roasters that attended the cupping.
The natural processed one was obviously naturally processed, full of winey fermenty goodness, while my favourite was considered an expensive coffee. I didn’t pick out the geisha varietal though it did smell very, very good in its dry form and it kept lingering in the back of my mind. I also managed to match the host’s assessment of the two least impressive coffees.
I should probably just be more confident in what I do because it seems that I still have the right kind of palate after all these years!
To more coffee,
Reine
It’s been a few years since I last stumbled across the barista championships. Since one of my baristas was competing this year, I figured I should try and visit!
When it rains, it pours. I thought I had my one hospital visit, when something much smaller but really annoying decided to happen. I had some sort of pimple-like thing right under my right eyebrow, and I didn’t think too much of it at the time, until after a day or two it made my whole eyelid red. I still figured it’d just heal, so I didn’t do anything until a week later it didn’t get any better and instead, started to swell.
After a visit the doctor, I wasn’t any closure to knowing how long it would take for the lump to go away. All the doc figured was that it was probably some sort of cyst, and I was prescribed antibiotics.
A few days passed, and the condition got worse, and I wasn’t able to open my eye properly, especially in the mornings. Eventually everyone at work became super concerned too, and after a doctor friend took a look, she recommended that I go straight to the hospital. (more…)
