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andrea

Andrea.
And her cast of imaginary friends
Twitter @spacemalao

Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Proposal(s)

A musical wedding proposal in Disneyland -
The happiest place on earth...

A crazy wedding proposal in Glendale, CA
that was part of Howie Mandel's Mobbed TV series.


If I was surprised like this..
I wouldn't know if I would pee in my pants or go into a hysterical fit.
Sorry guys, I just had to show this to your girls
... these are just too heard to beat!

Know & Be Still


I have always wanted a tattoo,
But just never knew exactly what to get... and where to have it...
Here's a design I did for a friend's friend.
And to see she actually went ahead to do it....
Is just an amazing feeling.

Friday, June 24, 2011
Basil + Cheese

Since getting my fragrant basil plants.....
Besides making green pesto sauce....
Here are my other culinary kitchen experiments-


Grilled Cheese
Port Salut with tomato slices & fresh basil leaves
toasted on buttered whole meal bread slices

Mac + 3Cheese +++ Casserole
Macaroni and spicy pork sausage casserole
with basil-tomato puree,
mozzarella, white cheddar & parmesan

Here is Patches waiting next to the oven!


Thursday, June 23, 2011
MAE PANG



One of the most talented, hardworking and giving person I am privileged to know...
Congrats Aimei!


Pancakes


Melbourne, Australia

Who doesn't love pancakes for brunch?
Here's what Philene, my pups and I had on our last trip to Melbourne...


Traditional Bacon & Eggs
2 buttermilk pancakes,
whole rashers of bacon and 2 scrambled free range eggs,
served with whipped butter and maple syrup!


Cheese & Potato Pancake
A potato pancake with a crust of golden cheese,
topped with whipped butter and fresh mushroom sauce
& side salad


Cheese Kransky
2 cheese kransky sausages,
served with 2 fried free range eggs,
2 buttermilk pancakes,
whipped butter & maply syrup

Thursday, June 2, 2011
Hanoi Cooking Centre

Hanoi
Vietnam
14-17 May 2011
______

On one of the days of our trip to Hanoi,
my Dad and I decided to go for a
Vietnamese cooking class at the

The lesson started with a very exciting visit to a neighbourhood market,
just steps away from the school's shophouse location.
Our instructor for the day was a young local and chef who showed us the ins and outs of the local Vietnamese market,
and explained to us how certain ingredients are normally used in Vietnamese cooking.

_______

At The Market

Bee Larvae
Yes.. no kidding...
We got ourselves one serving!
These small crabs were ground into a paste for soups...
I am not sure if these are the same variety of horn snails
(Potamididae or chut-chut) we have in Singapore...
But I would imagine they would similarly go well with a chili & lime dipping sauce!!!




______

Back At The Kitchen

Daddy prepping in his apron before we start making our Spring Rolls!

"Bitter Leaves"
(I am not sure if they are Artemisia Annua)
But the Vietnamese swear by its medicinal properties...
claiming it is the magical cure for E V E R Y T H I N G
from fevers, food poisoning and hangovers!
Chef pounded the leaves with a mortar and pestle and made us drink the dark green liquid.
Yup... the name explains it all...
Frying our spring rolls!!!
Err.. ZERO FAT

This is a classic dipping sauce for many dishes in Vietnamese cooking...
3 tablespoons fish sauce
5 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
6 tablespoons sugar
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 red chili (chopped)
*mix altogether till sugar is fully dissolved

Pan fried bee larvae...
They tasted like beans....
but with a texture of shrimp shells on the outside....

Chef used the bitter leaves to create this lovely omelette!!
After cooking, the leaves weren't as bitter...
Cha Gio
(fried spring rolls with wood ear mushrooms, pork & cellophane noodles)
Goi Cuon
(sweet potato, pickled prawns, vermicelli & pork wraps)

We made all these food!!!

Since we could my Dad and I knew we would not be able to finish everything,
we invited these 2 travelers from Amsterdam, whom we met at a bookshop behind the cooking school, to join us!
______

Really enjoyed the time I spent with my Dad...
But with my non-existant kitchen skills...
It is obvious that no Vietnamese mother-in-law
would allow her son to marry me...

=(