I don’t know if it’s the new de-stressing night shower gel that I’m using that’s triggering some whacky dreams in the middle of the night or my own mental incapacity for stable reality - either way, I’m dreaming really weird stuff (pause for greater emphasis). My dreams are always somewhat quirky, relaxing and enjoyable. They’re wonderfully fantastical dreams too, a la Spirited Away. I even have a breathtakingly white/blue-ish (uhuh, I dream in colour) companion dragon that allows me to merge bodies with it when the need arrives to protect myself from or attack evil relatives (don’t get me started…these dreams are insane).

I love Spirited Away. I felt that was a spectacular work of art - definitely a spark of genius - and something I wouldn’t ever forget. It’s craziness, seemingly off-balance reality coincided with my own and sort of made sense even though it really didn’t. One awesome film that still inspires me till today. Anyway, on this subject, if you’ve seen the film, you might recall the little Soot Sprites squealing excitedly for star-like candy during their lunch break. I was passing through Kyoto Foodie’s blog and whilst reading Wagashi: Daimonji Senbei and Kompeito 京都 大文字 送り火 せんべい こんぺいとう I came across pictures of konpeito (or kompeito) and kohaku sweets. This post is wonderfully informative with great pictures and I had such great fun staring at them. Thing was, I’d seen these sweets in the film and I really wanted to have them myself.

Konpeito are little star-like rock candy that look like they’re about to combust. They come in many different pastel-like colours and sometimes flavours (Hidemi does some like sakura and green tea so forth with a very traditional packaging and a more polished look than these guys); and are made by spraying sugar water or the flavoured sugar syrup in a giant spinning tub called a dora. A little search on the net shows that Japanese confection artisans, however, use small pieces of ground rice kernels in a spinning caldron and layer sugar syrup over the kernels daily. The sugar crystallizes and grows day by day, 1 mm in diameter a day, depending on atmospheric conditions. The artisans have to be watchful for nearly a week to ensure that these sweets grow perfectly!

It doesn’t seem very complex in terms of ingredients or flavours but these little candy are the works of a very patient process and are so adorable to look at. If you’re a fan of rock candy, they’re also tiny enough to bring with you in your handbag or place them on your desk at work for a quick sugar fix. Apparently, konpeito is also served at certain outdoor tea ceremonies - so why not substitute regular boring-looking sugar cubes for konpeito? The thought of it really tickles me and I’m overwhelmed with the cuteness of these sweets! Interestingly, konpeito isn’t Japanese per se as this was a candy brought into Edo by a Portuguese missionary. It’s really wonderful how in more ways than one, cuisines are so much defined and affected by cuisines from other parts of the world.

So how did I come about finding these adorable sugar stars? Funny thing was I really was headed to the convenience store for some mints, a couple of biscuits and maybe a drink just to keep me awake at the shop. But when I saw these guys, I couldn’t help giggling like a foolish child and running to the till to pay for them. I nearly tripped over my own two feet in my excitement. This really reminds me of jelly beans and how we would get so excited over the colours and flavours of the jelly beans as a kid, screaming at the top of our voices the flavours we were about to shotgun so no one else could have it. There’s something so simple and yet really fun and dreamy about them.

Pictured here are konpeito from Kasugai. Cute packaging and lightweight at 66gm - I had no trouble bringing it around with me in my handbag and then sneaking it out for a few shakes of konpeito on the train ride home, much to the envy of the not so candy-savvy commuters. Enveloped now in my candy happiness with thoughts only of purple bears and fluffy clouds, I reckon I’ll have a good night’s sleep or some other crazy but positively sweet dream.

The girls and I fancied getting a cuppa after a birthday lunch yesterday. Since we were at the Esplanade, The V Tea Room (a liqueur teacake boutique) would’ve been the perfect location to do that. It still looks as grand as when it first opened, the menu still as preciously designed and printed. The only difference I suppose would be the name of the boutique and the ease at which we can be seated as a walk-in customer without the hassle of booking a table days in advance. Now known as The Cookie Musuem, a wide selection of delicate handmade cookies are now offered (seasonal or no) - from the popular Berry Lite organic cookies, to rose or lavender flavoured cookies, to cookies that cater to more international tastebuds like Shizuoka green tea cookies and Fragola e Cioccolata which is carefully made with hand-delivered Japanese strawberries. Whether you’re a Singaporean food fanatic or curious visitor, The Cookie Musuem offers some scarily adventurous local flavours such as Heh Bee Hiam (spicy shrimp), Laksa and Nasi Lemak. In this savoury range, we managed to taste some parmesan flavoured cookies and an American Breakfast that was a flavour brought back by popular demand. Despite the daringness of such flavours, these gung-ho cookies aren’t too heavy on the palate and the tea ladies are more than delighted to recommend an appropriate tea to accompany your chosen cookies.

My personal favourites were the Rose flavoured cookie (I don’t recall it’s name - just its taste which was quite phenomenal) and the Shizuoka one. Watch out too for their Salmon Quiche which is beautiful with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a well-made pastry. Best thing about this tea room is that it offers customised cookie hampers, tea and cookie parties, cookie appreciation workshops and corporate orders. The beautiful royal-like design of the tea room also sets you at ease, making you feel very pampered and taken care of by the attentive tea ladies. Please note that other than that gorgeous pot of luxury tea, designer hot chocolate or specially crafted cup of coffee you’re sipping away, you can have a whole pushcart of cookie samples to taste-test with your friends; always with a cheerful tea lady to guide you in the flavours you may or may not like. If they’re too irresistable, you can pick a box up for friends and family at S$35, albeit a little pricey but so good it doesn’t seem too massive a sin to commit.

For interested parties, here are the details for this precious jewel of a tea room rated 6th amongst all the world’s tea rooms:

The Cookie Museum
The V Pte Ltd
Esplanade Mall
8 Raffles Avenue #01-02/04
Singapore 039802
Tel: 65 6333 1965
Email: comments@thecookiemuseum.

Inspired by this visit, my cookie bone within was starting to ache with the intense heat of the last summer months and the lack of baking in my life recently. The cookies at The Cookie Museum are handmade with as little sugar as possible, flavoured to the max with only natural ingredients and is egg-free. This reminded me of my Black Sesame Shortbread recipe which contains a small amount of powdered sugar and no egg - although beware of all that butter which comes up as the foundation of its flavour.

I thought to replicate one of my favourite cups of tea as a cookie - earl grey laced with the tiniest trace of lemon and cheekily sweetened with dried cranberries. Honestly, I had a little more trouble with the dough this time round as compared to the black sesame one. I believe this is due to the disparate climates. The end result was pretty enough (haha) and tasted fairly good. Why I say this is that I could smell the earl grey but it’s aroma wasn’t as strong as I thought it would be. I’d used a rather shrivelled up, old lemon and so the lemon’s flavour was rather weak as well. In the future, I would increase the amount of earl grey tea leaves used and possibly substitute the lemon juice for some sort of natural lemon essence of flavour whilst increasing the amount of zest used. The dried cranberries were a fantastic idea not only for aesthetic reasons (I like the red of cranberries) but reminded me very much of Bea’s White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies she used to make in junior college. Good times.

The cookies were a fantastic idea. It feels great to be back in the kitchen. After a tearjerker film that left my eyes swollen to the point that they suspiciously resembled pink radishes, savouring the cookies was a great pick-me-up and an after-bathing-the-dog relaxation method. My only complaint is the washing up. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t happy washing up (yes I’m quite the strange kitchen chick and have never had anything to say about washing up other than ‘I’ll do it, please!’).

This recipe yields 18 cookies and is actually a recipe I’ve halved due to insufficient butter. I recommend doubling the ingredients and splitting the dough into 2 before fridging for greater satisfaction and yes, greater yield.

Alright then. It’s hand cream, another cup of tea and an earl grey cookie for me now.

Lemon Earl Grey & Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients

1 cup flour
114g salted butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 - 3 tbs dried cranberries
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/3 tsp earl grey tea leaves
caster sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 170 d Celsius and grease cookie tray.

Place all dry ingredients,except lemon zest, in a large bowl and whisk together.
In a separate bowl, beat butter till its colour lightens and creamy. Add lemon juice and zest. Next add the dry ingredients and mix it carefully in cutting motions. Bring dough together with hands, banging it altogether to form a ball.
Flatten into a disc, wrap in clingwrap and fridge for 1 hour or till firm enough to handle with hands.

Roll out flat on floured surface to about 1.5cm thickness. Cut out cookies using a cookie cutter and place on greased tray. These cookies don’t spread much but leave at least 4cm space between cookies. Sprinkle generously with caster sugar.
Bake 15 minutes then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.

I don’t need drugs when I can shop. Even if I’m lying on a hospital bed, I’d rather get on a wheelchair and wheel my pathetic self into a shopping gallery than lie there like a vegetable being drip-fed morphine.

So… -twiddles thumbs in awkward silence-
You see, the thing here is, I’m a spendthrift. And I’m not just saying this as a joke. I’m typing this out as I would come clean at confession, or at an alcohol rehab group session. Indeed, this is serious shizzle.

I haven’t blogged very much or made very much in the kitchen lately because yes - the same ol boring reason - I’m busy working and yes, I’m busy spending all that hard-earned cash away. There’s just something about being in a tiny city that drains your cash away and mentally, I WANT to drain that money out of myself. It’s ridiculous. Material girl, you say? Totally! Kiwi bird? Not quite as I’m not really into bling but gosh, if it’s something in my style, I totally gotta have it. And I’ll spend days, hours (maybe even weeks if I’m unfortunate to wait that long) obsessing about it to no end.

It sorta goes like this (well, my spending philosophy) — money ain’t that pretty but what money can buy, is pretty damn pretty.

Adverts work on me. Flash me one, and it’ll work like banana bread (the way it tempts me, it’s like drawing Diva to real good freshly baked banana bread or getting my cocker spaniel Fifi to do a roll for a doggie treat - I will beg). Normally, the situation is one where I’m completely broke because I’ve splashed out to extremities on beauty products (blame my Gramma for my fascination with tiny pots of wonder potions), shoes and alcohol, oh yes and a lot of fruit.

This time round, far from the land of cheap booze, I splash out weekly in ridiculous amounts on cosmetics (I’ve trimmed back on beauty products as I’m just trying to use up everything I’ve got now — besides, too much of something is never good for you), still shoes no doubt about it and clothes. The heat mucks me about and the first thing I think of is, new clothes - I gotta have new stuff to put on me that don’t make me think I’m still in England waiting to welcome my favourite Autumn season. Why cosmetics? Well, everything is cheaper here so why not! And MAC keeps releasing these awesome collections week after week and of course, I patiently wait for a specific collection to be released here (takes about a few weeks after England), reserve the specific item, hop to the store (like I said, I work in town — it’s just next door, it’s bloody temptation I tell you!) and end up spending more than I bargained for because of these crazy sales, promotions and special packages. It’s gay!

Now we come to the next point of discussion - shoes. I gotta have ‘em. I can’t live without shoes. If I’m not in well-made or good-looking enough shoes, I’m plagued by odd withdrawal symptoms. Guys, you may or may not get this, but it’s all true. I find myself twiddling my thumbs and pulling at my fingers (a very strange habit) if I’m not in heels or if I’m not one up taller than the people around me. Maybe it’s a vertically challenged sorta thing but I ain’t short. I just take pride in dressing up what happens to lie South as well as what lies North, I suppose? It completes me…dammit it does. And there’s something about the way shoes look that strikes such a chord in my heart. Just this month, I’ve purchased 4 pairs of shoes and thrown out 2. Not cool.

Dee from ChoosandChews told me to go ahead and splash out on a pair of Choos. I have been planning to get my first pair at 21 and then work my way up my favourite designers with a time break of 2 years in between — it’s a recovery period because, like I said, I splash out almost every week on things I need, don’t need, want, think I kinda want, etc. It’s insane. I must be the most un-environmental friendly person even if I recycle and reuse just cause I consume (not just in terms of food) so ridiculously much. I haven’t exactly gotten a pair of Choos but I’ve just rewarded myself this morning with a new pair of shoes from 9West. A pair of black lace-up Oxford booties with a 4 inch heel. OH JOY! The world’s all spinning round right again and I see the light.

My sister’s sat at Marmalade Pantry with her gal pals right now, a few metres away from where I’m sat at in my candle shop and we’re both mulling over how we are so cash-strapped. Attempting to plan a much-needed holiday to somewhere close - Taiwan, is so very difficult when you’re like us. And we’re not spoilt rich kids or mathematically-disinclined airheads. Also, I do feel oppressive guilt from having to leech on my parents, especially my Dad. Right now, I gotta work my problem-solving and cash-saving skills as best as I can if we intend to get our arses out of the town for a 5D4N trip to consumer-land aka Taipei. But what am I to do when I’ve just spent on a pair of shoes, am currently saving up to purchase a Vivienne Westwood necklace (next up I’ll get the bloody Vivienne Westwood Ebury bag - this woman’s my true love I tell you) and have to have something to fund my mother’s birthday!!! Independence - you crave it and find it so hard to achieve financial independence.

With all this on my mind - I know it’s not a reason to stop me from foodifying my life - but it’s terribly distracting. So I hope I haven’t lost my fellow readers and by golly, I pray not with this awful rant. If you’re wondering what’s with the post picture, it’s work from photographer Paco Peregrin inspired by Aya Kato. Aya Kato is a genius. I recently bought a gelaskin for my Macbook with Kato’s illustration. Very swanky. And yes, I know, very much a part of consumerism. Gee. And also very much like me - just gotta have every damn thing around me: line, curves, colour, vintage, frills, goth, etc. A conglomoration of everything I adore.

Firstly, this is the only award I can remember as well as I can that I have yet to thank and blog about (and haha, I ain’t up there trying to win the Grammies but I will try to win the hearts of my adored fans, JOKES! — Ann, this is totally for you — I’m trying to be beguiling ;D ). I have short-term memory — honestly, I do and so anything that’s not been written down on my virtual Macbook post-its or on the real-life neon-coloured post-its, I will not remember. No one knows the reason for this odd occurrence that only happened after I stopped taking these crazy Efamol memory oil pill thingies in high school. It seems my wonderful memory just suddenly decided to crash down to nada thereafter. Maybe the exams caused the brain to take quite a big kick in the gut, resulting in some sort of partial meltdown.

A big thank you to Shari from Whisk: a food blog for my YUM-YUM blog award. Shari runs Whisk Wednesdays and I absolutely love to have a peek at her Tuesdays with Dorie posts. Shari really knows how to cook and she takes such great pictures, it’s illegal! So sweet to receive this award as even though this blog’s been around for some time now, it’s still pretty new in that it was never really read by the public. I’m awfully touched that the food blogosphere is such a comforting, friendly and encouraging virtual environment and am always inspired by the fellow foodies around me. I mean, seriously, it’s quite hard to find fellow wide-eyed-with-love-for-the-sake-of-food types in this country where everyone’s stick thin and fashion/weight-conscious.

I know I should be forwarding the award to another 5 blogs. This is such a toughie and don’t be mistaken, I’m not that much of a selfish cow but I honestly can’t decide. Ever since I started doing a more intensive foodbloggo-hopping, I’ve got to see more of the blogs around and about. Blimey, are there some amazing shit out there. And I’m so inspired by what these people create. Each blog is so unique and so sincere it’s hard to really categorize them into good, bad, yummy that sorta thing. There isn’t any clean way to put them into groups or discern good from bad because they’re all equally good and equally different!

All that aside, some of you may be wondering what exactly is happening with me (and if you aren’t, feel free to hop off to another blog. So much more to see, so little time!) and thanks for those of you who have been worrying about my milk issue. I honestly do not know what’s going down in the gastro-area. I reckon I’m just unused to the milk found in Singapore (Australian cow’s milk is what the family drinks and low-fat but unskimmed at that) and so I’m officially on So Good soymilk, though I find it terribly difficult to cut out snacks that have some sort of milk and cream ingredient in them. Someone who’s skilled in lactose-free snacking help me please! I’m desperate!!!

I’m officially out of the office although I will have 2 days of conferences in August and a meeting in September. Call me lucky for being able to be free from the chains of a cubicle but mind you, I’m not yet 21 thus my young bones need space to roam about like a free-range chicken. LOL. Currently, I’m working at a shop called Flaming Queen that sells luxury candles from the States, France, London and Germany. It’s located at Palais Renaissance that holds DKNY, Valentino, Mumbai Se and some other labels and specialty shops. So far, it’s been pretty interesting having to remember the scents of different candles and diffusers of different brands and makes and I am really quite enjoying working there. It’s something different, a little more relaxed and I like being around these gorgeous smells. My pet peeve is stink. I can do dirt but odours just make me cry/faint/breakdown/that sorta thing. And so yea, working in town still gives me yet another reason to totter about in heels without feeling overdressed. Thank goodness for fashion. Without these heels, I’m nothing!

However, of late, I’m merely a moving object in heels, summery but smart clothes, Raybans and an empty wallet. Did I mention my wallet’s slowly tearing apart from age (it’s lasted me 3 years) and the card pockets are all ripping at the sides too. I do have a lot of cards but I suppose I don’t have a lot of money. The irony. Indeed I’ve spent too much on all my new shoes and new clothes. Damn this consumerism!

So what do I think when I see all these businesswomen tottering about in front of me with their gorgeous heels but uber-obvious VPL/VThongL and clothes labels sticking out from the collars of their tops? I think: ‘move bitch, get outa the way. get outa the way, bitch! get outa the way!’ and I feel miles better. And what happens when these gorgeous bitches are lamp-post skinny and svelte? I imagine a huge tornado sweeping through the city and console myself that I won’t be swept away so easily.

God, am I bitter or what?