Battling the wind!
Photo © J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010
One of our favourite things to do, is to go out taking pictures when the weather turns really dramatic. There was no real storm today as there can sometimes be along the Swedish west coast, but it was certainly WINDY! Us picking the highest available viewpoint of course brought out some extra shows of temperament among the local pagan weather gods.
Continue reading “Windy!”
Apple banana crumble served with vanilla sauce.
Photo © J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010
With very hot weather in Sweden comes tropical rainstorms that makes headlines in the news, a raging wind and a pouring of warm luscious drops of water from the skies with which the Swedish westcoast borders on inability to cope. But that’s Sweden.
Being one of the few individuals now living here to have grown up in tropical rainstorms, I revel in such weather and thought this sticky, molten fruit dessert served with a thick vanilla cream sauce would put everyone at home back in their comfort zone again.
This apple and banana crumble or cobble, that had found its way both to Singapore and Sweden, has its roots in cottage country Britain, during WWII actually when pastry rations were restricted to make proper pies. Actually the word ‘cobble’ would be right at home in Sweden too in describing this dessert since it calls to mind the narrow cobblestoned pavements that once was carriageway for horses of both Gothenburg’s and Stockholm’s Gamlestan / Gamla Stan.
Apples and bananas, chopped, drizzled with dark syrup.
I started out making this dessert back in secondary school in my teens, with only flour and butter for the crumble on top, but these days, I make them with rolled oats in combination with flour and butter on top because the resulting texture of crisp, baked to a deep golden brown coupled with the smooth melt of warm caramelized fruit on the tongue eludes sensory description.
Continue reading “Apple banana crumble – a warm dessert for a cold day”
The facade of Ruínas de São Paulo or the Ruins of St. Paul’s, Macau’s historic landmark that attests their Portuguese heritage.
Photo © C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010
In today’s modern Macau, it is difficult to find any trace that Macau had set out its life as a western outpost in Asia, as a matter of fact together with Malacca as one of the oldest. Macau is also one of the most visible reminders of the fact that it was actually the Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Diaz who in 1488 discovered a sea route to China and that Great Britain, still so present in today’s Singapore, arrived centuries later in the Far East.
Today Macau has been given back to Chinese administration, however the remnants of Portuguese culture is deeply instilled in the food, culture and architecture of Macau. During my recent visit, one of my ‘most important places of interest’ was the Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral. To find my way there was a mixed experience.
The Ruins of St. Paul is constantly filled with people, so walking from Senate Square in the direction of the Macao Museum would be one of the most convenient means of getting there. Even when driving, we parked some 400m away and walked.
Parking meters is the system in Macau when parking along the streets.
Scooters, a common sight and mode of transport.
All the better to navigate these older, narrow streets.
Parking meters are the system in Macau, if you’re driving and you’ll also notice a fair bit of scooters and small motorcycles on the roads, which are excellent vehicles to navigate the narrower streets of the region.
The Ruins of St. Paul is today what is left of a Portuguese Jesuit cathedral that was accidentally destroyed by fire in the early 1800s. Dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle, it was in the 1600s, a collegiate church that the Jesuits used to house those of their society who were on their way to Japan, via Macau. These ruins are one of the region’s most historic landmarks and enlisted as part of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site in 2005.
Continue reading “The Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Macau”
Torre Panorâmica or Macau Sky Tower, one of the region’s landmarks with the world’s highest bungee jump point from its outer rim at 233 m. A thrill to all Evel Knievels out there, and certainly not for the faint hearted!
Photo © C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010
Driving along the highway, Macau’s Sky Tower looked akin to Seattle’s Space Needle, though at 338 meters, it stands considerably higher than Seattle’s landmark. Both structures halfway across the globe, have a revolving restaurant at the top and it was there, at 360 Café that we were headed to have lunch.
360 at 60.
Having never been to Macau or dined at such an altitude, I hardly knew what to expect. The enthusiastic discussions between well-meaning and highly adventurous relatives on bungee jumping after lunch made me think twice about having lunch at all, wondering which was worse, never having bungee jumped at all or contemplating bungee jumping after downing lunch.
My quiet reservations about eating at 360 Café lifted however, when on the 60th floor, I stepped out of the elevator and was greeted by the most delectable spread of cookies, cakes, jellies and fruits – the dessert table laid just where the elevator entrances were.
A view of Macau today with the towering Grand Lisboa as seen from Monte Forte.
Photo © C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010
When in Macau, what hits you first are the ostentatious buildings, mostly casinos to attract all sorts of tourists. And some people frequent Macau with what I find in slight irony for masochistic reasons, the gamblers for a purpose and the non-gamblers for the sheer delight to revel in what they are not.
But Macau, rich in its history and currently known for its distinctive blend of Portuguese-Chinese culture ingrained into the administrative and education system of the region, is also known for its food.
Highly reviewed and written about, though more difficult to locate for first timers in Macau.
In this post is a discovery of some of the most sumptuous Portuguese egg tarts in Macau, tucked away in a highly unlikely corner of the region in Gum Loi Building – Margaret’s Café e Nata.
I thought the café unlikely because of the manner in which I found it. Bundled in a car by relatives and driven to a nearby parking area that wasn’t exactly nearby after all, we walked through busy main streets, crossed several large junctions where the golden glint of the Grand Lisboa loomed large before us, not to be missed by anyone and as if out of nowhere, shuffled into a back alley that though sunny, looked the complete opposite of all that glittered in Macau.
Continue reading “Through the backstreets of Macau to Margaret’s Café e Nata”
Being a great fan of both the durian, the royal fruit of fruits or the stinky fruit (depending on how you view it) and ice-cream, what would be more natural than combining the two to make durian ice-cream?
Durian ice-cream made with gula Melaka and coconut milk, an old Nonya recipe from Singapore. Served in a Straits Chinese porcelain bowl from the 1920s. This bowl is decorated with peony flowers, a ‘feng’ bird (phoenix) and Buddhist emblems. All very traditional, the emblems also reflected in the textiles they produce.
Photo © J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010
Moving between countries as I do, I often reflect upon the differences and similarities between Singapore and Sweden where I find Sweden a solid structure that is not likely to change very much, ever, and where everyone is “pretty much ok” or lagom, while Singapore is a nation whose wealth has come more recently, where education really pays in terms of income, and the large proportion of citizens who are well off, are bathing in new money in a way we cannot imagine in Sweden. And I am perpetually convinced that both nations would have a lot to learn from each other, their histories afterall intertwined by the Swedish East-India trade from even before Singapore was officially founded by the British.
Continue reading “Reflections on durian ice-cream”
Home made elderberry sorbet topped with frozen raspberries.
Photo © J E Nilsson for CMC 2010
When summer finally arrives in Scandinavia and Northern Europe it hits all of us as a great event that somehow needs to be dealt with and celebrated. The dishes gets lighter, are often served cold and more efforts are put into deserts that might even develop into a full meal, and lets admit it, might end up as the meal itself since it turns out so delicious you start with it, and then you get too full to eat anything more.
I have many favourite ice cream parlors in Sweden as well as in Singapore but occasionally it is fun to see how far you can get on your own with all natural ingredients and a few minutes of efforts.
This is how to make the above sorbet with no special machinery or very complicated ingredients.
Continue reading “Trying your hands at homemade ice-cream sorbet”
Swedish crayfish for lunch. One more no cooking lunch suggestion for a sweltering hot summer’s day.
Photo © J E Nilsson for CMC 2010
I don’t know what it is with the Swedish summer heat that makes me, an absolute tropical person who should be able to deal with searing heat with a smile, completely lose all motivation when it comes to spending time over a hot stove, cooking something for lunch.
As luck would have – a large tub of ready cooked Swedish west coast crayfish for sale at a nearby island, presented itself as a saviour. Served with a freshly baked baguette, homemade mayonnaise and a glass of iced white wine.
Splendid.
And something sweet for dessert – fresh strawberries and cream.
No cooking whatsoever. All at home were delighted.
Nothing can bring out the flavours of sun warmed fully ripened strawberries, fresh from the field than sugar and full fat cream.
Photo © J E Nilsson for CMC 2010
Sometimes it occurs to me in these days of sophisticated cooking, when so often, food gets over the top complicated to make, to think back on how our grandmothers did it. They had all the responsibilities of running a large household while hordes of toddlers ran around their feet. Still they managed to cook and offer their families good meals, often delicious and in the process creating culinary traditions that would live for generations. In that spirit I’d like to remind you about the easiest of them all, a Scandinavian summer classic, offering culinary sensations of unsurpassed quality.
No gourmet chef could ever top this – fully ripened strawberries fresh from the field, drizzled with sugar and savoured with full fat cream.
With Ben Chung, part owner of Blic (Ben and Larry’s Ice-Cream) ice-cream parlour at Tampines, Singapore
Photo © Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010
Tucked away in the cozy heartland of Tampines in Singapore, not too far from Tampines SAFRA, I was surprised to find an ice-cream parlour with a sleek orange and cream interior called Blic. Following my instincts in finding good ice-cream, I went in. The place served up authentic homemade ice-cream and sorbets without preservatives, artificial flavours or fillers – a pure food philosophy that was right after my heart!
Ben Chung of Blic (Ben and Larry’s Ice Cream) is the creative force behind Blic and has created more than 40 ice-cream flavours of which some 20 flavours are rotatingly available at the counter at any one time.
That gorgeous melt! Seasalt Malt, Kahlua Cookies Caramel and Tiramisù.
Ben’s first original creation was Seasalt Malt, inspired by Japanese ice-cream parlours and a variation of a popular Japanese Seasalt Caramel he once tried.
Personally, I have to admit I’m not too adventurous when it comes to ice-cream flavours, preferring all my life to stick with dark chocolate, rum and raisin and coffee flavours. Then several years ago when sushi bars were becoming popular and established in Singapore, I tried Matcha or green tea ice-cream which I thought was radical! I’ve personally never tasted an ice-cream flavour that was sweet-salty as in this Seasalt Malt flavour, so this was a first! Another first was Kahlua Cookies and Caramel, where I’ve only ever tried the conservative Cookies and Cream flavour prior to my visit to Blic.
Continue reading “Ben and Larry’s in Singapore, thinking outside the ice-cream box”