Born in the vibrant city of Singapore with a unique Eurasian blend of Portuguese and Chinese heritage, my journey has taken me from the bustling streets of Singapore to the serene and open landscapes of Sweden. My educational pursuits in Singapore culminated at tertiary level with two separate Master degrees, after which I embarked on a new adventure in 2002, moving to Sweden. In Sweden, I pursued with deep interest, the knowledge field of applied linguistics, particularly corpus linguistics research methods, earning a doctoral degree from one of northern Europe’s largest universities, the University of Gothenburg. I currently work as Project Manager, focusing on EU and international projects, at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, at the Division of Bioeconomy and Health, Department of Agriculture and Food. My office is located in Mölndal municipality. Mölndal, known also as the Valley of Mills, is located about ten minutes by bus ride from the city center of Gothenburg to the south. If you’re ever traveling south from Gothenburg to Malmö, whether by train or car, you will likely come by Mölndal municipality. In these pages at cmariec.com, you’ll find my lifestyle musings on culinary and travel adventures from Singapore to Sweden, and from when I lived and worked the Arctic City of Tromsø (2018 to mid-2022). SINGAPORE | SWEDEN | NORTHERN NORWAY Life in Singapore Pursued all academic interests in Singapore, of which the post-graduate years were founded in two separate disciplines. In 2000, graduated with two separate Masters Degrees: (i) Master of Science in Information Studies at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore (ii) Master of Arts in the English Language at the National University of Singapore (NUS). In 1999, represented the Republic of Singapore at the Miss Universe Pageant in Trinidad and Tobago. With this came a variety of film, educational TV, media, and ambassadorial work for the Singapore Tourism Board. Life in Sweden In 2002, moved from Singapore to Sweden in order to pursue a PhD in Gothenburg, where a number of international corporate head offices were located that all had a substantial business presence in Singapore and also Asia in general. In 2009, graduated with a PhD in applied critical linguistics from the faculty of humanities at the University of Gothenburg, with a cross-disciplinary thesis entitled, Swedish management in Singapore: a discourse analysis study, looking particularly into the concepts of assimilation, integration and hierarchy, at top management levels of Swedish-Asian corporations in Singapore. 2013, as research fellow at the Centre for International Business Studies (CIBS), School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, researching the future implications of increasing Asian-Swedish cooperation within the field of international business. The project is entitled Gothenburg in Asia, Asia in Gothenburg, funded by the Anna Ahrenberg Foundation. The project is aligned with the 400 years anniversary of the city of Gothenburg in 2021, and falls under the broad category of Kunskap Göteborg 2021 initiated by city representatives of Gothenburg, Göteborg & Co, University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. 2015, was granted the Flexit post-doctoral scholarship by Bank of Sweden Tercentennary Foundation (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, RJ) for a three year project together with the Swedish-Swiss multinational enterprise ABB. From 2015-17, the research will take place at ABB Corporate Research Sweden HQ in Västerås, and at CIBS during 2017-18. The research focus of the project is how new technologies are perceived and accepted by users and customers, using linguistic methods of data analysis. More information can be found at RJ’s website, at Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) Felxit 2015. Life in Northern Norway (2018-2022) 2018, late summer. I acquired new work as Market Scientist at Nofima. Having moved to the county of Troms in August, I’m currently enjoying myself, exploring the island city of Tromsø. From the 1900s, this city became known as Paris of the North due to how the people of Tromsø were exceptionally stylish and sophisticated in contrast to the fishing village preconception that many might have of a city located in the Arctic Circle. In my years in Sweden, I have known Sweden to be called the land of the midnight sun. During the long summer mights, it was beautiful to sit and watch the sun’s languid pendulation between east and west, touching the horizon out at sea before going up again. Northern Norway takes this languid pendulation of the sun to the extreme. It is not only known as the land of the midnight sun, but it is also the land of polar nights and the northern lights. This is my new adventure. And in these lifestyle blog pages, you’ll find my personal thoughts, insights and musings. Cheryl Marie Cordeiro | PhD MSc MA ACADEMIC REFLECTIONS | CV LIFESTYLE BLOG

A Valentine’s Day cake!

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In celebration of Love – a no fuss sponge cake filled with our favourite fruits!

We thought that one of the best ways to celebrate and enjoy an uncluttered St. Valentine’s Day without the all too commercialized menus at restaurants, was to sit back and enjoy this wonderfully soft and romantic cake that’s just bursting with all our favourite fruits.

This is one of my favourite cakes to put together that uses sponge cake layers bought off the shelf at the grocery stores in Sweden. A tried and tested version that actually won a school competition for ‘best tasting cake’ in a cake-making competition is raspberry jam and fresh mashed bananas between the sponge cake layers. The competition cake was topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries for decoration. Continue reading “A Valentine’s Day cake!” →

Red scarf on Valentine’s Day

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I witnessed the post Christmas and New Year’s fire sales around the city come and go without finding anything worthwhile to purchase. I was actually looking for a gift to a friend when I came across, quite unexpectedly, this red scarf on the last days of the H&M post Christmas and New Year’s fire sale.

And what luck! This red scarf was a bargain at one H&M outlet and about 600 m away at another H&M outlet, the same scarf was not for sale and thus, twice the price. As my girl friend once said, it pays to look around when shopping. It was the scarf’s two toned reds set adjacent to each other and the fringed detail that attracted me to this piece of accessory. Continue reading “Red scarf on Valentine’s Day” →

By Raphael Thexeira

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A birthday card, from Raphael Thexeira.

This card was sent by artist Raphael Thexeira, for my birthday which falls on Valentine’s Day.

I’ve been receiving the warmest and coziest birthday and Valentine’s Day greetings and well-wishes over Facebook and I’m thoroughly overwhelmed sitting out here in sub-zero temperatures in the west coast archipelago of Sweden. A light blanket of frost has covered the entire landscape overnight – what a sight to wake up to and what a feeling of warmth!

Thank you all, for birthday greetings and well-wishes!

I’m wishing all readers a wonderfully romantic celebration of love on St. Valentine’s Day ahead!

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

You tiao in Penang, Malaysia

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From a street-side hawker in Penang, these deep fried ham jing peng, which are deep fried buns with a sweet red bean paste as filling, are ready to go!

Deep fried bread sticks or youtiao and its variations such as the ham jimg pengs in the above picture are a simple treat in Southeast-Asia. They’re usually eaten at breakfast with a good cup of thick kopi-O (black coffee), but they can be enjoyed throughout the day as a finger food as well.

Fried bread sticks and fried buns with various fillings can most conveniently be found at hawker centers in Singapore and at street-side hawkers in Malaysia. They’re also found in other Asian countries such China, Philippines, Laos and Vietnam.

The lady with her street-side stall. Just behind her is the backstreet lane of several shophouses in Penang, Malaysia.

During my trip to Penang, Malaysia, late last year, I found some youtiao at a street-side hawker near the Pulau Tikus market. I stood and watched as the lady in a sky blue apron, expertly kneaded the dough into shape and dropped them gently one by one, into a wok filled with hot oil. She seemed to do this without effort, something of a testament perhaps, to the number of years she’s already been doing this. Continue reading “You tiao in Penang, Malaysia” →

February snow in Sweden 2009

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Me, in a vintage fur hat, found in a second hand store in Sweden.

It snowed some through the night in what I belive was the heaviest snowfall of this winter in the Swedish west-coast archipelago. Temperatures are around -1 deg C to +1 deg C so the snow melts away pretty fast.

I love it when the snow covers the ground, turning all grey asphalt to pristine white! Unfortunately, the current temperature doesn’t allow the snow to pile up too thick and soft. No skiing, no snowman building, no snowball fights! Continue reading “February snow in Sweden 2009” →

A diamond and sapphire feather brooch / pendant

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A diamond and natural sapphire brooch and pendant.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro 2009

A diamond and sapphire brooch and pendant, set in 18k white gold in the form of two touching feathers for that scarf in place or against a single toned sheath dress. The natural blue 4.05 cts sapphire is individually selected for optimum color, clarity and cut for its size and to be worn indoors where even in minimal light. The brooch/pendant is created with a total of 1.4 cts pavé set brilliant cut diamonds.

Width (at widest point): ca. 2.5 cm

All pictures are taken in natural daylight against a linen backdrop.

Swedish white cabbage meat wrap or Kåldolmar

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Cabbage wrapped meat packages frying on a 19th century wood stove.

This traditional Swedish dish has its origins in the Middle East where the Swedish King Charles XII and his army took shelter for a while during a war with Russia. The dolma, which is the Turkish name of a common cabbage wrapped meat dish is thought to have been imported name and all into Sweden by the early 18th century. Today kåldolmar is an old fashioned traditional staple food in Sweden that sadly, fewer and fewer can find time to cook.

Making these cabbage wrapped meat packages takes quite some time. You can expect to set aside an entire day or the best part of the afternoon to do this. A great weekend activity if your weekend allows for it. On the upside is that they deep freez well and you can make a large batch of them in one go. It is also not very expensive. What goes into them is mostly time.

The kåldolmar or cabbage “dolms” are served warm with boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam. Continue reading “Swedish white cabbage meat wrap or Kåldolmar” →

The restaurant Zum Dachs in Munich, Germany

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Standing near the entrance of Zum Dachs, with the owners of the restaurant, the Grbesas.

It was already early in the evening when we decided to stop in Munich for dinner. We had driven by car over the Alps, through the Bremer pass, all the way from Venice. We turned off the engine of the car in Austria and basically freewheeled down into Bavaria.

I eventually understood that it was time to take a break since my travel mates had gradually fallen more and more silent, and were by now answering my chirpy comments on nature and architecture with grunts. The only thing that appeared to catch their interest were occasional bovines grassing in the fields along the road, as if they were already fried and in-between two hamburger buns.

It was definitely time to stop for a meal.
 
Venice had left a distinct impression on me of ridiculous prices and bad food. The memory of the food experience in Venice lingers in my mind as something close to having been robbed in broad daylight and without really grasping what had happened, you realize that your wallet’s gone and you’re still hungry. Alright, perhaps that’s an exaggeration but to eat well in Venice you need personal recommendations guiding you to the few restaurants that haven’t as yet got tired of tourists. Continue reading “The restaurant Zum Dachs in Munich, Germany” →

Hot in the Singapore fashion scene now! ~ by Jeanette Mok

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This article was written by Jeanette Mok, a student from the LaSalle College of the Arts, Singapore

The fashion scene in Singapore is ever changing. What was once hot such as the gladiator sandals are now a thing of the past. Walking down the streets today, you’ll notice that cardigans, bomber jackets, layered tank tops and printed tights make up the staples in the younger crowd’s wardrobe.

However, the ultimate hot item right now are blazers!

The blazer is a quintessential item in every girl’s outfit. Tailored or off-the-rack and RTW, girls can depend on a blazer for any occasion be it formal or informal.

Blazers are also the perfect garment for constructing a layered look. Use the blazer over a slim cut dress, and finish that look with a pair of stilettos for a sexy party night out. The overall look is not only tantilizing but warm for the cooler tropical nights. What’s better than a functional and chic blazer for every occasion?
Continue reading “Hot in the Singapore fashion scene now! ~ by Jeanette Mok” →

Animal prints in spring 2009

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A leopard print skirt by Karen Millen and a black stretch top by Wolford.

I remember animal print designs – mostly tiger and leopard – to be popular even during the youthful days of my grandmother during the 1940s (see Dorothea’s Closet for a fine example of a leopard print item).

I’m not one for too many animal prints in my wardrobe, but I find them generally irresistable in accessories such as bags, purses, scarfs and even shoes from the likes of Giuseppe Zanotti’s leopard print wedges and Christian Louboutin’s range of leopard print heels including the coveted knee-high Alta Ariella Talon Leopard boots. Continue reading “Animal prints in spring 2009” →