I met up with Alessio and Hilda at William Curley a while back. When I first moved to London, William Curley was one of the first few cafes/chocolatiers/patisseries I heard about but somehow never found time to head that way for a little look-see. It’s a bit out of the way considering I lived in the East but when I stopped by, I was enchanted. It’s a charming area speckled with beautiful furniture and chandelier light shops. I would’ve stopped to take some photographs of these shops but it was raining a little too persistently for me to fuss around in my bag for the camera. The rain, the grey and the puddles; maybe it was because I was leaving but talk about sympathetic background!

Bursting into William Curley a little late and windswept, shaking off the rain and putting the brolly away, the humble shop draws you into its comforting embrace. Warm yellow lights, a welcoming interior, ice cream and little sweet treats to delight. Not to mention Hilda’s little papoose. I seriously think she might be the cutest toddler I’ve ever met!

A chocolate ‘statue’. What an artwork! It was intense. Made all of chocolate, gold-painted and garnished with gold foil. I stuck my nose in real close to have a good look because I’m curious like a cat. This might have made the lady behind the counter terribly nervous. She warned me it was all chocolate and to be careful for it was very fragile (which I knew of course). But pardon moi, the hungry crazy eager look in my eyes must have triggered a few warning bells in her head.

Cheese Soufflé Tart • チイズ　スフレ　タルト

Tropical Entremet

Matcha & Kinako ice cream

I love eating ice cream in the summer. But love it especially when it rains, or snows. Strangely, the inclination to have ice cream when the weather is a little colder becomes so much more of an itch I just must scratch, or die. May have been a wee bit of a shameful affair to say that my first order at Curley was ice cream when there were so many exquisite little gâteaux available. I wasn’t let down anyhow. Kinako is gorgeous. I didn’t quite realize that kinako in ice cream would be quite so velvety and luscious.

William Curley was just about the last café stop in London which was a neat way to round it all up. But big love also to Hurwundeki which stole a few bits of my heart and robbed me a little bit of my soul.

•••

In Cambridge Heath, under the railway arches, hides not a nightmare or a monstrous troll…

The chugging of trains past and used vintage furniture shivers with the routine passing of people with places to go, people to meet. “Train terminates at this stop. All change please.”

And so I move in back with the parents. Home sweet home.

(**last 2 shots were taken on 120mm film on my Diana F+)

There’s a street in London called Pudding Lane. That always tickles my funny bone. The word pudding. It makes me grin, it makes me laugh, it sends excited shivers down my spine, gives my sweet tooth a massive itch and also, activates my drool reflexes. And just a bit of trivia: did you know that there’s a breed of hamsters known as ‘Pudding’? That’s slightly weird but suppose that’s kinda cute. My kid sister’s got one of those. Quite adorable, if a little fat, lazy and greedy.

But…the thing the word originally refers to is much more fun, so much more decadent, truly inspiring, and gloriously delicious. I’m sure you’ll agree. No? Who loves pudding, hands up. If you don’t, I’m sorry I think you’re crazy.

SNOG froyo

As you might know, I’m guiltily taking a holiday. My kid sister is here for a short visit and so we’re visiting places in London/England she’s not seen before and eating the city over. Or sorta, as much as my wallet can afford. How ironic that after my wallet was stolen a few months ago, it hasn’t yet been replaced and my credit cards, ID cards, notes and change are all messily plopped together in an ugly pewter-coloured snake-scaled decorated freebie cosmetic pouch from Lancome. Oh dear.

Alright then, enough dallying about. Let me leave you with some pictures of sweet yummies and pudding. It’s nearly 11am, the sister is still concussed in bed like a sleeping dragon, the weather’s so horrid I simply can’t be bothered but things need to be done, and the day needs to go on! Keep safe in this gross weather and let’s hope for more sun this weekend. Until then….. eat pudding.

Hampton Court Palace Foodies Festival

LOVE Red Velvet in a Whoopie Pie

Angel Food Bakery in Brighton

Might get your daily dose of dopamine here in cupcake heaven

Greenwich

Down in the Greenwich Market

Melt-in-your-mouth apple pie in Biscuit Ceramic Café

Ottolenghi – A Necessary Pleasure

In addition to my fav Lemon Polenta Cake, we tried this Chocolate & Rum Fondant bad boy

Afternoon Tea at Sketch with Pam
The Parlour tearoom at Sketch is a wonderfully eclectic and stylish place for tea. To find out more, check out my first post on it here.

Bloody Praline

A Pink Paradise – delicate flavours of raspberry and lime

Olde Sweet Shoppe in Cambridge
Not sure if this counts as pudding, but it’s sugary. So I’m throwing this into the mix too!

More sweet secrets to come. We descend further into pudding underworld.

Was just chatting to my flatmate today about photographs, food, cameras and the tricky issue of the sodding thing putting (imaginary, I hope) pounds on us in every picture. When we started discussing my food pictures, what completely stumped us was how the food gets away with these very curious extra pounds. I don’t think my cakes look any more rotund or pneumatic. If I took a picture of a fairly large orange, it doesn’t look any fatter or rounder in the photograph. Why then do us, regular (as Gok Wan would say, REAL) women, after a quick but torturous snap, by some mysterious unfortunate force of technology look about 2 stone heavier, 10 inches rounder and just generally resembling an enormous juicy peach?

Very strange huh. But I suppose food just gets away with looking good. The damn thing simply looks even better on camera sometimes. They’re a natural. And so I warn you, this post is picture-heavy – for the reason that the sweets I eat look a helluva lot better than I do on camera. I totally took advantage of that.

2009 Winter – 2010 Spring Collection in the display window

I’m a big moaner. I moan about a lot of things. Apparently, my complaining is real hilarious too. Which is good, and sure, a bit of humour makes life so much more fun. Earlier this week I moaned about the lack of sugary things to eat in my house. And then when I went out to buy some from Minamoto Kitchoan, I moaned about the horror it presented to my thighs. On the way back home, some idiot kicked my bag of sweet treats and then of course, in the safety of my own head, I moaned about that as well. But, whilst I was eating it (after snapping like a gazillion shots), my generally grumpy alter ego went away. I was on cloud 9. Sweet treats surely brighten up anyone’s day but wagashi is just a little bit more special, in my opinion. In terms of eating it, it calls for a wholly different approach and definitely a mentally/emotionally/spiritually cleansed me devoid of any unhappy, grumpy thoughts!

Wagashi is traditional Japanese confectionary, beautifully crafted such that it has evolved into an artform of sorts, especially in Kyoto. I have always been fascinated with such confectionary. At first sight, they seem like some sort of posh nosh for imperial beings – they’re so wonderfully crafted it’s almost a travesty to think about eating it! But wagashi aren’t just eye-candy. They’re not the bimbos of sweet treats. They’re the Lady Diana of it all – gorgeous, elegant with real substance. And substance that’s all natural, non-toxic and made from plant-based ingredients such as adzuki, chestnuts and grains, seldom incorporating ingredients alien to Japanese cuisine. Typically served with tea, wagashi reminds me of the very Chinese art of consuming small light sweets with tea after a meal to improve digestion, nutrition and blood circulation; what also comes to mind is the tradition of eating mooncakes with tea during the Mid-Autumn Festival often whilst admiring the moon and the harmony of natural beauty about us.

Both calls one to indulge in all 5 senses to fully appreciate it through taste, sight, sound, touch and smell. You can savour to the fullest the flavours of the wagashi’s natural ingredients without complicating or corrupting alien flavours; the designs of wagashi are inspired by the aesthetics of nature such as the seasons or traditional Japanese art and literature and this often means you get an enormous variety of wagashi in different shapes, colours and even patterns. Also, the packaging is phenomenal. Every single wagashi is given utmost attention to detail, individually wrapped and then wrapped in boxes. Every bit is a beautiful bit of love, care and gentle sweetness; one of wagashi’s really unique appeal is the names – most of them associated with a seasonal object or phenomenon like haiku poems or alluding to a famous poetic phrase or literature; wagashi is eaten using the hands as touch is important in fully appreciating the soft, crisp or smooth textures which invite a whole new experience once you put it in your mouth; the scents of wagashi is very delicate. Although subtle, if you are patient you can quite easily identify what’s in it since only natural ingredients are used. Not overpowering and paired with equally delicate teas, (wagashi has been developed together with Japanese tea ceremony) the whole process of appreciating and consuming wagashi is the most calming experience I’ve had. I sometimes feel like I should feel a little more enlightened after – at least that’s what my Dad used to hint at after we sat about eating sweets, drinking tea, looking at the moon and our koi fishes.

Baumkuchen or 雅麗樹 Gareijyu – sugar glazed sponge cake with almond powder and rum (the former name itself suggests the influence of the West on this cake which deviates from the traditional wagashi)

キビ餅 Kibimochi – smooth red bean paste wrapped in soft textured rice cake coated with kinako

うさぎ Usagi – rabbit-shaped baked manjyu

白桃ぜりい Hakuto Jelly – jelly using white peaches and mineral-rich spring water

At the very least, wagashi is certainly a celebration and enjoyment of simple and natural beauty at its purest. And like the gentle lapping of soft evening waves on the shore, the warm caress of a summer breeze upon your cheek, the art of wagashi is harmonious, beautiful, sublime, inspiring and almost hauntingly so.

There are 3 categories of wagashi based on moisture levels: 1) namagashi (wet confectionary) having moisture level of 30% or more; 2) han namagashi (half wet confectionary) where moisture level is 10-30% and 3) higashi (dry confectionary) with moisture level of 10% or less. I wasn’t too sure exactly which wagashi fit into which category but I tried to get a range that spread itself out over the categories.

I admit I haven’t tried all the different types of wagashi available. But within my eating repertoire, personal traditional favourites of mine have got to be daifuku, odango (small mochi balls skewered on a stick) and warabimochi (mochi traditionally made from fiddleheads [warabi] covered in kinako [soybean powder], sometimes in matcha or cocoa powder), oshiruko (hot liquid anko, rather soup-like, with small balls of mochi) and yokan (bean jelly solidified with agar). It’s always hard to really say which one I like best as they’re all so lovely in their own ways. Because there’s such a big range of wagashi, there’s always one to suit your mood too.

Note: Wagashi has almost NO ANIMAL FAT. Natural unrefined sugar is used. In terms of nutrition, wagashi is pure carbohydrates and plant protein. Awesome.

It was very difficult to choose what to get at Minamoto Kitchoan and even harder to keep myself within my budget. But here’s what I bought (I’ll let the pictures do the talking from here) :

Miyabiguruma 雅車 (Red Bean Cake with Chestnut Filling) – I’m not too familiar with this one but I think the name refers to gosho-guruma, the wheel of an imperial wheelcart of the Heian period which is a popular design on kimono as well. Hence, the pressed design onto the cake. Of a very lovely, fairy-dust crumbly texture, the sweetness is so subtle such that it doesn’t outshine the chestnut filling. It’s strange to think this cake holds up so well as a shaped wheel when it melts on your tongue almost immediately. This is a type of higashi, or dry confectionary, as it has a moisture level of 10% or less. Made of rakugan – rice flour and sugar (wasanbon being the finest Japanese premium sugar) – the texture is very light and powdery.

Kurimanjyu 栗鏝頭 (Candied Chestnut & Bean Cake) – manju are steamed cakes filled with sweet bean paste surrounded by a flour mixture, available in many shapes such as peaches, rabbits, and matsutake mushrooms. Steamed manju is influenced by the steamed Chinese mantou. Kuri manju, however, is baked rather than steamed. Chinese mooncakes will most resemble this I reckon as the doughy outer texture is soft and cake-like which has browned in the oven. Why it’s called kuri manjyu I believe is due to its aesthetic resemblance to the chestnut or ‘kuri’ and this is actually filled with chestnut paste or ‘kuri an’ rather that sweet adzuki bean paste.

Mamedaifuku 豆大福 (Mixed Bean Mochi with Anko Filling) – mochi with whole red or black beans surrounding a sweet adzuki bean filling and coated with potato starch. This is definitely my favourite out of my haul. I love anything sticky and chewy so mochi (and all its related types like dango) is my best loved type of sweet. Absolutely love the light sweetness of the outer mochi which is very stretchy and soft, indicative of the quality. I found the anko filling a little too sweet but that didn’t really bother me. Would have loved to have more whole beans in the mochi itself like I’ve seen from other mamedaifukus which are quite bumpy from the beans.

Ofukuimo お馥芋 (Sweet Potato Paste Cake) – a very dense cake made of sweet potatoes. This is commonly described as a sponge cake with a sweet potato paste filling which threw me a little because this was completely different. I could definitely taste the sweet potato in this but it was so dense, I would hardly call this a sponge cake. I loved seeing bits of sweet potato in cake which was very paste-like. Despite how dense and compact this was (into a little pink cup), it didn’t leave me feeling full-up or sick. I loved how pressing it between my tongue and roof of my mouth turned the cake almost cream-like. I know I’m not describing this well but gosh it was good, guys.

•••

Have the pictures said it all? I hope so because recalling the exquisite tastes of these refined sweets have rendered me at a loss for words.

Minamoto Kitchoan
44 Piccadilly
London
W1J 0DS
Tel: 020 7437 3135
Web: http://www.kitchoan.com

Opening Times: 10:00-19:00 (Sun-Fri); 10:00-20:00 (Sat)

It’s time – time for making new year’s resolutions. I haven’t made any lists or any resolutions (officially) for a while now. If I had, they were just kinda a rough ideas formed -sorta- in my head, or a mish-mash of old and new resolutions, easily forgotten, easily dismembered into something else completely. Not much substance, not much thought given to it, not much of an effort really.

Now someone tell me that’s so lazy?

2009 was one of the best years. The middle of it marked the end of my (and a fairly successful one at that) undergrad life, witnessed the most amazing graduation and grad ball, a little romance, crazy Spain holiday, sophisticated Parisian trip, lots of sun and the best tan I’ve ever in my entire 22 years achieved, a little heartache, lots of eating and birthday fun, etc. So much happened, and oh blimey! Lady Gaga was born; so much was learnt I can barely attempt to describe what I got out of the year, the crazy antics that occurred, the jokes that were told, the food that was cooked.

Everyone’s a little more mature, or more mad, more enthusiastic, a little more on their way to achieving their goals. Although it’s sad to turn around and look at your past selves, the ghosts of you, I can safely say I regret none of the things that I’ve experienced or done. The years and the selves that make you YOU are all bits of you. 2010 may mean I shall look back to see a younger Diva fussing and fiddling about to find her way; and sometimes the past self is just a little bit unrecognizable or embarrassing to acknowledge. Nonetheless, I am accepting all the ghosts of me and taking them with me in the back of my mind and heart to welcome 2010.

And with that, here are just some things I noted down as reminder to myself ~ 9 resolutions. A bit much? Nah. They ain’t too tedious so they’re all a bit of fun anyway. What about you, any resolutions for the coming new year? I’m sure you’ve got some. Now don’t be lazy and whip out your list!

2010 Resolutions
1. Learn to start brushing my hair. Beach frizz, bedhead, volumatic poofs are great but surely it wouldn’t hurt me to have a little sleekness next year?

2. Make more of an effort -the motto for all things: with keeping in touch with old friends, with cooking, with work, with my writing, etc.

3. As much as the big city sometimes upsets me, attempt to get to know London a lot better. I’ll start by eating through this city of smoke (and also shopping through its great vintage finds). And oh yea, don’t forget to take my camera out with me even if it’s for a little stroll. It’s the new fashion statement, hung around your neck or held between two icy cold bare hands.

4. Look after my health and fight off dehydration. Water’s your best friend and your only friend sometimes.

5. Promote optimism – I’m not mad and even if I am, it’s a good mad – it’s creativity. She says.

6. This is totally cringe-worthy and virtually everyone I know, when asked to write a list of new year’s resolutions, bangs this one out. Time management. You just gotta say it. Every year I’m fighting against time as I take on more things to do, as I refine my goals and dreams, this bugger’s gonna be stuck to me and to my list for years to come.

7. Visit more food markets; actually, no. VISIT FOOD MARKETS. I haven’t done any of that ever since I moved to London. Too busy for fresh food shopping, too tired to cook anything fresh. It’s a horrid lifestyle. Totally gotta change that.

8. Shop smart for train tickets. Book in advance (way in advance if I can) or use megatrain to get regular Virgin train tickets for embarrassingly cheap tickets.

9. Get more involved in recyclable fashion and chuck less stuff out. I’m getting used to scoring at vintage shops, Oxfam and ripping and re-tying old things for a new look. It’s fun and stops my brain going belly-up from too much academia.

•••

Serious stuff done, let me share some food eye candy with you.

Napolean Tea & Caramel macaron, Moroccan Mint Tea macaron; Sakura Sakura! Tea, Jade Blossom Tea at TWG Salon, ION @ Singapore

The Christmas holiday was well spent and our Christmas roast (prepared, executed and served by moi with some help from the sisters; grocery shopping was team effort with Mum; turkey carving was left to Daddee) a true 2009 success, topping all our other roasts from previous years. I think when Mum’s eyes lit up from the moistness of the turkey, I achieved my first shining Mama-chelin star. So chuffed.

Unfortunately, not many photographs were taken this time round. My camera battery was low and wallybrain me had decided to leave it in my flat – who does that?! But it was glorious and there couldn’t have been a better way to spend Christmas family time. At TWG Tea Salon, we didn’t take much either as we were literally quivering with fear as we’d heard rumours about a no-photography policy. When we did gather our courage to whip out the cameras, no one stopped us. The waiting staff were pretty helpful, offering to take photos of us too which was great! Shame we didn’t get to document our tiers of cakes, patisseries, macarons and finger sandwiches. They were as beautiful as they tasted.

I admit that I was a bit of a hermit, staying in and working furiously like Silas Marner at my essays. I’ve yet to complete the last one which has been a pain in the ass for a real long time but I’m pressing on. Nonetheless, having work to do over the holiday (a real bummer) has taken up loads of my time to meet up with old friends for coffee/catch-ups. A shame I know but I did manage to squeeze a little tea session with the best girl at TWG Tea Salon, movie with the sisters and a lovely lunch with the family.

Mitsu Bay Scallops, Lotus, Chicken, Grated Radish, Shiso Leaves and an Ume Sauce at Ootoya

The weather’s been pretty mild here. I was a little worried about getting totally roasted to death but somehow, the weather’s been so good – cool, not as humid as expected, with a little sun and wind. Not that the weather makes any difference on my sugar/sweet/desserts cravings! And there’s evidence that these cravings were satisfied…

Going out without my camera felt a little odd but knowing that my sister had her Canon D-SLR with her was thoroughly exhilarating. For the first time, I properly held on in my hands and fiddled about with the manual settings and focus. I ain’t good at it (I hope I can say ‘yet’). But it felt amazing. There was like a charge in the atmosphere when I picked it up – not that my own little Powershot G10 isn’t loved but having my eye up to the camera, as though it was some mad extension of my dessert-hungry face, was pretty cool.

Maybe now I’m one of those cool kids with the d-slr and who traipse about knowing they’re all cool and shit with their cameras? Damn ‘em. I’m envious. Oh well, Powershot G10, you’re stuck with me for a long while now. And you’ve never let me down so I’m not unhappy about that. It was just wicked to feel a d-slr in my hands. Kinda like being taken up in a helicopter over a big city by some fancy rich guy ~ something I dream about but don’t really need at the end of the day.

Beautiful Matcha Mousse, Shirotama, Adzuki and Vanilla Ice Cream

I was whipped. The mousse was so matcha-ey with enough bitterness to send me flying. This is one dessert I’ll come back for.

Matcha Parfait – what a classic! – concoction of brown sugar syrup, custard, sponge cake, whipped cream, adzuki, matcha ice cream, what else? mmmm…all good.

The parfait was delicious! I loved the brown sugar syrup at the bottom of the glass. Not a tall glass, so not much to consume but just enough to make you wish you wanted more although you’re totally full up.

My time at home included loads more desserts like kakigori, homemade carrot cake, cookies, biscuits, chocolates, etc. It was a sweet Christmas. And a lovely way to end 2009.

Now, hello 2010. I’m confident that there’s more good sweet things to come. And the next time you hear from me, I’ll be back in London with twice the cravings and hopefully zero jet lag.

I promised a big red velvet feature after a previous Cupcake von Tease post. And I had meant for this feature to be quite a big one but the week’s kinda got a little busier, a little more hectic with deadlines and other exciting posts that clamoured to the top and pushed this red velvet feature down to the bottom.

And when a friend and I finally made it to the bakery – we trekked all across London just for these babies, it was a horribly dreary, wet, windy day and our cupcakes and cakes nearly got squished and ruined on the journey back. We would’ve liked to sit in and enjoy these, savour the glorious moment but the Portobello shop isn’t as big as the one in Kensington. Expect to be trampled upon by other cupcake fanatics and tourists visiting the area. It ain’t very pleasant but I’m not complaining now that I have red velvet in the fridge, good for a few days of sugar cravings and cream cheese daydreams.

The red velvet once again didn’t let me down. It’s still pretty much one of the best I’ve tasted – the frosting is great but I particularly love the cake bit as it’s hard to get this taste right!

•••

So what’s this about Diva Talks?

Some of you may have noticed that my blog’s gradually changing and I’m talking a little more about myself. I’ve tried to give the blog more of a personality. It’s less about just putting up recipes that I’ve experimented with or tried. And as I now have no oven to work with, I’m venturing more into the cooking arena and will be, I hope with much diligence, attempting sweets and chocolates those sorta things that have no need for a convection oven. I’m more of a baker than a cook – I think being a little OCD means using the right measurements down to 1/4 tsp gives me a great sense of security and achievement at the same time unlike the free-and-easy ways of general cooking. But that means I get to have more fun this year. So bear with me, those who know that my blog prefers to experiment more with the sweet rather than savoury – hence the name: The Sugar Bar.

Nevertheless, that’s not really what I’ve been wanting to share. The past summer went by quite painfully for me. I’m not one to really talk about personal issues publicly (nor with anyone else really except with my very close girlfriends) but I went through a heartbreak that totally caught me by surprise. I mean boy, it was tough. Like the boys I meet, they can never bring themselves to spit out what exactly they’re thinking so I took hold of the reigns, grabbed him by his balls and said it like it was. They always say that women are stronger but I find sometimes that’s a real contentious thought. I think we’re just cleverer and to-the-point when needs be. So I broke it off. But somehow it felt worse that I’d done it because that wasn’t what I wanted. It was something he couldn’t deal with because he was afraid and wanted to crawl back into his shell and find comfort in his own little hole. Fair enough. I liked him enough, adored him to pieces in fact, to let him go. Said ‘goodbye and go’. Cried myself to sleep. Woke up the next day and continued to pretend like it hadn’t affected me at all.

We parted ways. And the friendship now is pretty shaky I believe. Give it time and I know things will be alright. But a couple of months before now, and when I first returned to England to settle down in my new pad in London, you can imagine how dead I was inside. Everything about London screamed at me : you were meant to be here with him, enjoying your favourite season of the year, watching spring turn to fall and anticipating an amazing Christmas together. Obviously, that was me being sulky and I had a hard time trying to enjoy myself here. Although I did in time to come. And believe me, I really do now! I didn’t really let it out of me proper. Even when I met up with him to get my stuff back, I couldn’t sob about it like I wanted to and that’s just me I know.

At the bus station, we said goodbye with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. But the whole 30 minutes that I saw him, I knew every second was just a second I wanted to disappear. Although disappearing wouldn’t have made anything better, or made any difference to the status quo, it was just that – it wouldn’t matter, as he was treating me like our relationship had never existed. Non-acknowledgement of my existence in his life. And that was the most cruel stab I could endure I believe. No one has ever done that to me before. Even the term ‘friendship’ suddenly became a joke to me. Our friendship, our great banter, the laughs and cheeky grins in that 30 minutes reminded me of the real stuff we used to have before the shit hit the ceiling and now it was all quite ridiculous. Like a charade, like something we had to perform.

It’s taken a while and a good, a real good, let-it-all-out cry at my bestfriend’s for me to realize I hadn’t really let go, or gotten over it as I’d kid myself into believing. And now, even though I’m still hurting, I feel like I can dust off my bum, smudge some rouge on my cheeks and offer a fresh face to the world. I can brave it out there again.

And why this has anything at all to do with my foodblog and hence, gain a right to be on this page at all, is because I was finding it hard to write like I normally did. I used to sing (pretend) I was a rockstar in my bedroom. I did it regularly for a laugh and because I really enjoyed it. I used to write all the time, because I found a great pleasure in giving birth to my little literary works. But the summer killed me a little and I found no inspiration for anything. It was like someone pulled the carpet from beneath me and put the stops to everything. Nothing came from me, I offered nothing to the world. Part of me felt like I had to completely deny myself of the normal outlets of release, of anything I took joy in. And it seemed part of me wanted to deny myself food which was a truly bad way of attempting to take control of one’s life. I went shopping, I indulged and milked my heartbreak for whatever it was worth. Even fashion and the usual quirky photography I took so much joy in couldn’t fire me up. Couldn’t feel satisfied, however much I tried. But I remembered my blog and it gave me a breather, a different avenue to unleash.

The girls on Twitter who I met and started to communicate with on a daily basis made it a lot easier as well. And getting to know fellow so Spiffy, whom I adore for her courage and ballsy attitude, told me to pull my socks up, get a grip and snap out of this dream-state that was slowly eating me away and robbing me of my usual creativity and vivaciousness. The girls, whom I call the Twitter Breakfast Club, were chirpy and lively every morning. They chatted about anything and everything – from food, to shoes, to love handles, to children, to being happy. And before I knew it, I started to realize I was looking forward to getting up in the mornings. My wake-up alarm got shifted from a disgusting 10.30am to an 8am just so I could get a quick chat in with the girls. They’re mothers (and fathers, don’t worry I haven’t forgotten you boys!)and a little older than me, but wiser and still as cool and quick as a whiplash. How could I not enjoy the wicked banter and intellectual conversations I have with them? I’ll be meeting some of them at the first ever UK Food Blogger Connect conference and I’m so excited about it! We’ll be sure to have such fun.

The close few girls I keep in touch with, if anything, have un-deadified me. They inspire me and always make me feel like I had so much to offer. A lot of love shared on Twitter.

And so yes, I have taken a step out of my coffin and found my mojo back.

These girls are amazing and so Spiffy is like my light at the end of the tunnel. My bestfriends from uni have also been real troopers listening to me rant, offering me a shoulder to cry on and giving me time to deal with things. I don’t like talking about it but now that I’ve changed my phone to leave the past in the old, I now find that this post must be something I have to do to wash it all away. I don’t need to start again as I love everything of my past and everything that has happen. God plans it all according to his greater plan and I do not regret nor hold grudges against anyone for anything. I am just thankful that I have now opened my eyes and said goodbye to some unhappiness at least.

I have always been thought of as the strongest girl out of the lot. The half-girl half-boy for being so nonchalant and a little cold, if you dare. But I know I’m not. If anything I’m the fieriest of the lot because I have passion that’s brimming (a little too hot to handle, LOL) and I have to hold that back a little so I don’t go mental. And I can now feel that passion in me again. I’ve started writing and I’ve definitely found it in me to start singing and screeching like a mad git in my own bedroom to AC/DC, Lady Gaga, System of a Down, Stereophonics, etc. Booyah. I’m back.

And I intend to make sure everyone knows it. Even if he can’t see me, that’s fine. We got to take charge of our own lives and get up when we fall down. Blame no one for your mistakes, for your upsetting times, and definitely not for your broken hearts. Grab the reigns of your life, look the bull in the eye, get ballsy and face the music. Get mending.

Oh yea.

Cupcakes healed me too.

So I’m simply blobbing in my bedroom, with the telly on mute, sat in a black hoodie (with the hood up? Yea..what a chav)and my pyjamas working on this not-so-mammoth-but-very-tedious essay of mine, wondering why the heck I’m having latenight cravings yet again. I’m worrying about tomorrow’s Lady Gaga/Mad Hatter outfit and fitting into my dress without having everyone wonder why the hell I even bothered if I was going to show off that amazing bloated belly of mine. Wow, what a circus freak, they’ll say. And then I’ve got this mug next to me steaming hot. But it’s not even hot chocolate or something mildly comforting like a cuppa tea. It’s Lemsip Max in lemon. It smells like washing up liquid and tastes rancid. So generally my evening’s been going great. I’m distracted by Twitter, constantly checking for emails on my Blackberry, attempting to tame my cravings and generally being a real unsatisfied poo.

What happens next?

An angel of a friend comes knocking at my door offering me 2 red velvets from Lola’s Cupcakes. I mean, hello, someone up there was definitely listening to my hunger pangs and I’m so lucky! The latenight calories can totally shove it because I definitely wasn’t having any of the post-cupcake guilt and just ate one of the glorious red chocolatey deliciousness anyway. The cupcakes were a little banged up and some of the cream cheese icing had smeared down the sides of the box but I wasn’t complaining. I was close to tears when darling Sya brought it to my door. That girl’s a legend. If she didn’t already have a boyfriend, I’d lock her up in my (oh crap, I don’t have a basement or a cellar in this apartment) in my toilet? Or somewhere and keep her all to myself. She could be my cupcake slave for the rest of my life. And also partner in crime since we both lust for red velvets every other day.

Cupcake consumed – I literally breathed it down me in like 30 seconds flat…yea, was that ravenous – I am feeling a lot chipper now. How is that a tiny thing can make one so happy and send one through the roof? I am literally not even the tiniest bit frustrated or irritated. Fab isn’t it? If laughter can’t cure, cupcakes sure do! At least for me (and really, not medically yea?).

Many of you might remember that Cupcake von Tease red velvet teaser I posted couple of weeks ago and apologies for not having done the main Hummingbird Bakery feature yet. This week’s been manic with work and falling ill hasn’t been a good thing. This weekend, we’re having a night of mayhem in Reading since it’s the bestie’s birthday/halloween party so I couldn’t seem to fit the Hummingbird feature into my schedule either but have no fear. It’ll be up soon by hook or by crook! But I’m very pleased this nice surprise courtesy of Sya has led me to yet another post about red velvs. And if you don’t mind it at all, I shall now proceed to review these lovely cupcakes that melted my heart and washed away all my previous bitchiness and general annoyance with myself and with the rest of the world. And boy, I thought I’d left all that teenage angst behind.

These cupcakes come with a little warning on the box. FRAGILE it says and yes you better take Lola’s word for it. Lola’s is notorious for their fluffy, just-out-of-the-oven type cupcake texture. And boy, they do have it down to a tee. But be careful as they’ve made it so fluffy that these cupcakes are terribly fragile, and will crumble and fall apart in your hands. If you break it apart with your fingers or try to pinch a little bit away, it’s like pulling away a bouncy bit of cotton candy. A weird analogy but you’ll know what I mean when you try it. There’s a bounce to its fluffiness which makes it such a delight to eat. But it’s also quite a mess to eat so there’s no pretty way about it. The cream cheese frosting is divine. There’s not a lot of it but it’s not too sweet so I found it a great balance between a generous cupcake portion and icing. Somehow, I thought Lola’s icing was a lot better than Hummingbird’s which was loads sweeter even though they were more generous with the icing. Lola’s cupcakes come with little coloured rings to distinguish between the flavours. And yes, the red velvet’s ring is a red one. Who would’ve guessed?! The cupcake itself was rather huge but it’s so airy and light you don’t feel like you just ate a cow after. And part of the reason for that, I guess would be the smaller portion of icing as well which is a clever bit on Lola’s part. However, I did find the cupcake to be less ‘wow’-ing than Hummingbird’s as it didn’t have that much of a strong flavour or chocolateyness. It’s a lot milder and delicate. I’m not saying it’s not as good. I think both cupcakes are equally good and have their strong points but if you prefer cupcakes that are light on the palate and leave you just perfectly satisfied, Lola’s red velv is it! On another day when I prefer a power-packed Power Ranger type of red velv, I’ll most likely be hitting Hummingbird for it as they’re tiny babies sure pack a punch. Just note that the Hummingbird is also a lot more voluptuous in that it’s quite moist and  holds together well. Lola’s red velv is so light, crumbly it may seem a little dry.

Lola’s definitely got the balance of things just spot on. And being a Libra and all, I find that balance positively brilliant. It’s half past 11 here which means 30 mins to midnight and to Halloween. Oooooh. I’m all excited to get spooked tomorrow evening. So whilst you guys ogle and drool over these surprise cupcakes I was so blessed with, I’m going to bed fat and happy in anticipation of an amazing day tomorrow.

Sending you lot my love…happy halloween!

The greedy pigs needed a cake fix Take II, badly. S had watched me lust after the cakes in the display for weeks so it was time for Diva’s self-indulgent maiden voyage in this well-furnished patisserie but not one without her equally sugar-crazy sidekick S. Told mum I was meeting S for lunch and mum politely asked of us and our choice of restaurant for lunch. Whoops. Cake for lunch it is! Oh bless S and her gorgeous lunch ideas. After our trip to 1 Caramel Patisserie, we were about to learn from our mistakes. If you’d followed that post, you’d know that S and I only ordered a cake or tart each and horror of horrors, neither of us thought to share. I mean there’s greedy and selfish. And then there is this – greedy and selfish.

The problem with sugar fanatics is, sometimes, there just ain’t no middle ground. We swing from one extreme to the other. It’s cake or no cake. It’s dessert or forget the main course. And although we were definitely not taking the piss, we decided to share and why not go for 3 cakes? Surely we could handle only 3 perfectly small and well-formed petit gâteaux? So taking the cake we did. But not with the after-effects of sweet bloatedness, cloud 9 dizziness and general inability to walk. And mind you, I suffer from sugar highs so spouts of giggly laughter and slurring are inevitable. Embarrassing.

There are quite a number of Canelé patisseries in Singapore and I quite fancied heading to the one located at Shaw Centre as they’ve got these lovely white garden furniture. Eating cake al fresco in the sun sounded lovely but then again, the weather just wasn’t cooperating. It was scorching and hot enough to cook eggs on my forehead alone. The patisserie in Paragon instead was air-conditioned and located in the basement. Very lush ambience and decor but somehow lacking in good lighting – which explains the horrific lighting of these pictures. Being in the basement sorta made me feel a bit like a blind mole rat which I didn’t particularly fancy. I gather that lack of sunlight too caused a general bout of slowness and delayed reaction in the waiting stuff.

Nevertheless, the cakes were dreamy and one was tempted to sneak a few (or chocolates, or their range of cookies) home for some midnight snacking. And should you decide to do so, the packaging and the little paper carriers are just as sweet and lovely as their cakes. 

Knowing how obsessed I am with matcha, S knew the Matcha (S$7.00/petit cake) was a definite on the list of to-try. She didn’t need to ask. A delicate green tea mousse and chestnut cremeux layered with green tea biscuit and almond crumble. It was lovely and so melty, my heart melted a little with it. Very creamy and so delicate, it literally turned into liquid gold on my tongue. Considering I have a great taste for bitterness though, the cake could’ve been more matcha-y but I could fault it for nothing else. 

Second on the list was the Raspberry Cheesecake (S$7.50/petit cake).

A chocolate fudge cake, velvety smooth vanilla cheesecake glazed with raspberry jelly and rosemary-infused creme chantilly. I couldn’t really taste the rosemary but the raspberry jelly was lush and pretty much cut through all that lovely creaminess, courtesy of the creme chantilly which was very light on the palette. Kinda like a bit of a fluffy cloud of cream. The flavours worked together really well and wasn’t too heavy on the stomach which I usually find is my problem with cheesecakes. I can never stomach the whole slice as it naturally leaves me with an unsightly digestive problem. 

Although we only tasted 3 cakes, the final one was highly recommended by quite a few I know – the Black Forest (S$8.00/petit cake). S and I agreed that it was the best out of the ones we tasted and easily the most visually appealing out of all of Canelé’s cakes on display. A chocolate genoise with kirsch, layered with 66% dark chocolate mousse, chocolate crumble, kirsch chantilly and dark cherry. Sounds like a piece of heaven? It certainly was. Very moist and chocolatey, very rich and creamy but still fairly light with a generous helping of lovely boozed up dark cherries inside. If I’m not wrong, the little cake is garnished with a booze-infused and gold-blinged red currant which I managed to call dibs on. Fantastic addition to the cake although a tad bit lacking since a red currant is such a tiny little berry. I would’ve fancied something more like liquor-filled chocolate truffle on top but I suppose that’s just cause I get the booze itch and it ain’t exactly classy enough for such a lovely little petit gateaux, now is it?

Although some may find Canelé’s selection of cakes nothing fancy, I’d beg to differ and say this is tops for affordable luxury and little light, moist clouds of sweet heaven. The service was a little frustrating and the location a little odd which took away from the general ambience. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my first visit with S and am sure it won’t be my last. Just yesterday, I made another trip down and packed away a little meringue for an after-dinner nibble. Like the cakes that are so well-formed and romantically designed, the packaging is beautifully done which is perfect for those wanting to purchase some cakes as a gift or as a little treat to share with a loved one. It’s an indulgence worth the calories and a feast for both the tastebuds and eyes.

Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie
290 Orchard Road
#B1-25 Paragon
Singapore 238859

Tel.: 65 6733 8893
Website: www.canele.com.sg

Being surrounded by amazingly intellectual and witty characters, the conversation can veer towards subjects dangerously complex (sometimes, unfortunately crude, stupid or superficial as well; don’t mean to shock you either but the mundane is included in our list of worthy conversation topics such as Hollyoaks and the weather). And of course the witty ones are always the victorious few left standing in the bloody massacre of English banter. So I must admit, I like sounding a teeny bit clever. Sounding, and not ‘being’, clever comes in handy now and again and I unabashedly adopt the use of jargon and my own eclectic mix of jazzbangmatastic (this word an example in itself) self-coined vocabulary to stun, bedazzle and confuse. Think I’m cheating? Doesn’t matter. It gets the job done.

But I won’t attempt to do that here. Instead, I will say it as simply as I can – that one undeniable truth:

I heart cakes. And most importantly, I heart beautiful cakes (which are more often that not, not made by me) and so where else better than to go to the professionals who do it best? Also, beautiful cakes mean there is no need for silly banter to fill the silence at the table at all because they are beautiful to look at and to taste and shall therefore, need your 100% full attention.

What do we do, then? We shut up and eat. Human nature. 

An old friend of mine, S, and I decided to meet up after about a year or so of not seeing each other. She’d just gotten back from LA and we really wanted to do something that required little effort, involved air-conditioning, something pretty and a friendly laidback ambience. Every time we meet up, we do a bit of a gift exchange to make up for missing each other’s birthdays, etc. So a fairly nice place was preferable. I did a little bit of research over at Ladyironchef (thank you Brad!) and found out about 1 Caramel Patisserie, where the cakes looked so lush I was almost moved to tears.

The research paid off. Away from the noisy traffic of the main road, tucked into the snazzy embrace of The Luxe, this little patisserie • café • atelier was a gem of a find. Modernly furnished with an almost zen-like feel from the dark wooden tables, bar stools and mustard yellow seats, it provided the perfect relief from the outside heat and humidity. It sure made my day to see handmade cakes of Singapore’s landscape (it was Singapore’s National Day the day before we visited) and waterfront set up at the bar next to a couple of jars of cookies and a tray of fondant cupcakes. It was something like a cross of posh bachelor’s pad, a bar and a traditional sweet shop. Enchanting, welcoming, delightful and real joy to be in. The friendly and attentive staff were a great bonus too.

S and I took some time ordering. 1) We’d not seen each other for a very long period of time so there was quite a lot of gossip, bitching and just general animated observation and chatter to get through before we could mull over the menu, 2) the cake list was very comprehensive. We were spoilt for choice and it was frustrating to have to decide on only 1 to spare our hips the morning-after guilt, 3) I was determined to taste one of the offered teas on the menu and so, harsh as it was to my cake calling, I went for a cake and a pot of tea instead of 2 cakes! *Can I just comment on the service at this point as well? The waiting staff were very patient with us. We bounced back and forth the menu, hmmed and hummmed loads before making the final decision but they were all smiley and friendly. Amazing!

I (after much deliberation) ordered the Fraise Pistachio Tart (S$8.90/slice). Ok, don’t get your panties in a twistie just cause I didn’t order real cake. I wanted the Opera Cake and the Lemon Roulade. But I’m a girl and I really didn’t want to put S through the whole ‘oh my god, I’m so going on a diet tomorrow because 3 plates of cake will induce immediate thunder thighs and chubby cheeks!’ scenario. Besides, I love tart. And I was well in the mood for tart. To me, this was very aesthetically pleasing because of the green and pistachios is way up there on my fav list. The strawberries were to-die-for. I mean, these buggers were fat, sweet and juicy. Yes, they were glazed with those sweet gelatin concoctions but they weren’t fluffy on the inside or 98% sour like some of those horrible stuff you find out there. It was bright red, it was fresh, well-shaped and beautiful. The pistachio frangipane was gorgeous and moist. I wasn’t too sure about the colour of the mixed berries cremeaux. From certain angles, it just looked kind of brownish purple to me but taste-wise, it was spot on and worked very well with the pistachio. Tart still had bite in it despite the general moistness of the tart. One thing I would improve upon would be the crunch and flavour of the roasted pistachios. They were just a tad wet and chewy and hardly seemed like the roasting had done it any good.

Ok, so here’s the real shocker: we did not share our cakes. Each to their own, ya know? S had the Hazelnut Pear Torta (S$6.90/slice) and from where I sat, it looked very moist and oh so good! It was glistening golden, beckoning me over. What a tease, that damn cake. I could see hazelnut pieces in the tart layer and the top layer was made up of caramelized pear slices. I didn’t taste it but S said it was delicious. And I take her word for it. S doesn’t lie when it comes to food and she knows her food. I sort of wished we had ordered more cakes to taste or that Caramel did a platter for 2 of littler versions of their cakes. Never mind that as S and I are deciding on a date to make a second trip down for the real deal – the cakey, chocolatey kind. Opera Cake, fear not, I will be back! Red velvet, stay where you are. And if you can, switch the dark chocolate you’re paired with to a cream cheese frosting?

The cakes polished off, our drinks sucked dry, we continued our catch-up in a dreamy sugar-induced state. And it was lovely. It was fine as. The tarts may not have looked very impressive but they held up well. These simple delights certainly made our reunion a whole lot sweeter, even if we did do very naughty things like gossip and bitch. 

Conclusion? We heart 1 Caramel. Such a laidback chilled out spot in a swish setting, how could we not like it? Am already eagerly waiting for our next trip down.

If you fancy it, check it out at the address below. While you do that, eat cake and have fun. S and I are headed to the beach for some sun and ice cold beers.

1 Caramel Patisserie
6 Handy Road
#01-01 The Luxe
Singapore 229234
Tel.: 6 338 3282
E: info@1-caramel.com