Swedish summer cooling with denim shorts and strawberry wine, July 2008

Posted on by cheryl

Cool blue in the summer.

I find denim shorts a long time staple when it comes to hot weather. Whether in Southeast-Asia or Scandinavia, denim shorts seem to appear in various cuts and lengths when sweltering temperatures set in. This season, I’m once again grateful I have these to don.

With the insisting sultry temperatures in Sweden, a perfect accompaniment in mind is lemon sorbet in frozen strawberry wine, topped with champagne before serving.

Sorbet with sparkling wine at ChikaLicious in New York. Photo by ChikaLicious.

The idea is very much like the sorbet with sparkling wine at ChikaLicious for St. Valentine’s Day 2008, but with a slight twist of champagne.

Lemon sorbet in frozen strawberry wine and champagne

What you’ll need:

  • Lemon sorbet
  • Your favourite strawberry wine
  • Your favourite champagne

    • Place the strawberry wine into the freezer. Let stand for at least 2 hours. Fill half the dessert glass with frozen strawberry wine. Add a scoop of lemon sorbet to the wine. Fill up the remainder of the glass with your favourite champagne and serve.

    Starbucks at Trump Tower, New York

    Posted on by cheryl

    Nibbling the Big Apple IX

    At one of many visits to Starbucks when in New York.

    Starbucks has been a staple in Singapore since 1996 at Liat Towers, smack in the middle of Orchard Road. Singapore being it’s third international country of expansion, I never quite understood the hype. The coffee they served at Starbucks Singapore wasn’t too fantastic and I thought the kopi-o, kopi-si, kopi-siu dai at most local coffeeshops, at half the price of Starbucks, lent some serious competition.

    So I wasn’t planning on making Starbucks a staple stop for coffee when in New York. But that was difficult to accomplish since Starbucks was literally, everywhere. Just walk a couple of hundred meters and you’ll find a brewing outlet.

    The first Starbucks outlet visited was the one on the 2nd floor of the Trump Tower. I don’t quite know why it is – better staff, better coffee blends, better roasts? But I think the coffee served at that particular outlet beat most other Starbucks outlets in terms of taste.

    Picture taken at Starbucks, Trump Tower. The logo that shocks and offends some.

    I was also very taken with their split-tailed mermaid (technically, a siren) logo. I absolutely loved it. Though not everyone is smitten with it, as the BBC News reports.

    As someone who has tried Starbucks coffee in New York, I would say that their coffee is good. I think the Singapore Starbucks need to bump it up in terms of coffee brewing because the impression given from a Singapore Starbucks doesn’t give much credit to the parent organization in the USA.

    And I hope they sort out their current downswing and that they survive the steep competition.

    Dessert heaven Serendipity 3: Eccentric Artistry at Upper East Side, New York

    Posted on by cheryl

    Nibbling the Big Apple I

    The menu at Serendipity 3, New York City.

    What struck me most about Serendipity 3 was the eccentric artistry of the place. From the many Tiffany lamps adorning the ceiling to the wonderfully drawn, creatively fonted menu that came in the size of a daily broadsheet newspaper. It looked 1920s, though born in the 1950s. Continue reading “Dessert heaven Serendipity 3: Eccentric Artistry at Upper East Side, New York” →

    Happy Birthday Stephen Bruce at Serendipity 3, Upper East Side, New York

    Posted on by cheryl

    Stephen Bruce and myself, Serendipity 3, New York.

    Yesterday I took the opportunity to visit Serendipity 3 and meet with Stephen Bruce, the owner and one of the three founding Princes of New York’s legendary dessert restaurant and boutique. Continue reading “Happy Birthday Stephen Bruce at Serendipity 3, Upper East Side, New York” →

    Dinner onboard the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg III

    Posted on by cheryl

    “You’ll be dinin’ with the captain.” – Pintel to Elizabeth in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) But unlike that scenario, I wasn’t disinclined to acquiesce to the Captain’s request.

    Just noticed in DN that Gotheborg III was now visiting Stockholm. The reconstructed 18th century Swedish sailing Ship Götheborg III has made its trip to Canton in China, and back. It was time now to hold a final Board of Directors meeting to close the books on the entire adventure of building the replica ship and its sail to China and back. On the agenda was also the ship’s future adventures. Her upcoming Baltic Sea Tour 2008 looks to be enough of a challenge to keep even the most hard core sailing enthusiasts happy, but even so, it sounds a breeze and a walk in the park compared to the high sea sailing to China.

    After the meeting, it was dinner onboard the East Indiaman Götheborg III. Continue reading “Dinner onboard the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg III” →

    A cheese and wine dining

    Posted on by cheryl

    Cheese and wine brunch setting

    A selection of wine and cheese with bread

    I think Asians generally have a different socialization towards diary products than Europeans – we just don’t consume diary products all that much. My idea of cheese when growing up in Singapore was hard Cheddar or pre-packed sliced cheese, the kind you toast on bread and little cubed cheese in various flavours, which I liked very much.

    I also think my encounters with milk and cheese would be more numerous than my classmates’ experiences since most of their lunches as I recall consisted of spam and bread, hard boiled eggs and baked beans and Bovril sandwiches as the most mainstream. Continue reading “A cheese and wine dining” →

    Fat common sense

    Posted on by cheryl

    In today’s Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet Dr. Annika Dahlqvist, who has her own blog on eating healthy argues in an open letter that children are stumped in their growth and intelligence development by a lack of natural fats in their diet. The Swedish public food authority Livsmedelsverket, retaliates on her standpoint, saying that Dahlqvist has no scientific grounds making such claims. Dahlqvist naturally retaliates right back and will do so on national live television later today.

    The general standpoint that natural fats are good for the body and in fact help maintain weight, is a continuation of a more and more pronounced public opinion in Sweden, that questions the goodness of low fat products and a low fat diet.
    Continue reading “Fat common sense” →

    Edible miniature works of art

    Posted on by cheryl

    thaidessert1.jpg

    Made from yellow bean paste, these miniature ‘fruits’ make delightful eye-candy

    One of my favourite Thai desserts to look out for when in Thailand are these mini works of art known as Kao Noom Look Choup. Shaped from grounded yellow beans, these miniature sculptures are then hand painted with food dyes to render the likeness of fruits and vegetables.
    Continue reading “Edible miniature works of art” →

    Culinary couples: Singapore and Sweden

    Posted on by cheryl

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    Appetizer at Buko Nero, a blend of rucola and pomelo

    Buko Nero, Singapore

    Type in the words Buko Nero in a google search and you’ll find a long list of reviews, mostly enthusiastic and positive, on this small and personalized restaurant in Singapore, located along Tanjong Pagar Road.

    The restaurant with a seating capacity of not more than approximately 25 persons or 6 tables, looks literally as its name suggests, a ‘hole in the wall’. It’s an easy location to miss, being situated amongst the larger bridal boutiques and pubs that line the stretch of shophouses along Tanjong Pagar.

    What makes this place special is the fusion of Italian and Asian flavours that lace most dishes they serve. The fusion of flavours perhaps being a reflection of the background of the Italian husband and Singaporean wife team, Tracy and Oscar Pasinato. Continue reading “Culinary couples: Singapore and Sweden” →

    Love Letters

    Posted on by cheryl

    Loveletter

    Homemade Love Letters

    The Chinese New Year is upcoming and Singapore, having more than 70% of its population as Chinese, is gearing up.

    This year will be the year of the Rat. The Rat in Chinese mythology is not an unhealthy pest but the symbol of perseverance and wealth. Known to be resourceful creatures, if one sees rats, it means that food is aplenty and nearby.

    In the Chinese zodiac the Rat is actually also the name of the first year in the cycle with the Ox coming next. In a Chinese fable this is explained by at the time the Yellow Emperor was settling how to name the years in the calendar he was uncertain about in which order the animals would come so he suggested the animals to settle the matter themselves by swimming over a river.

    The Rat being the smallest animal, approached the largest animal which was the Ox and asked to ride on its head, over the river, so it wouldn’t drown. The Ox said okay and the Rat took a seat between the Ox’s horns. On approaching the other side of the river the Rat simply jumped off from the head of the Ox onto land, thereby winning the race. The Rat’s clever cunning has thus been well known since. All characteristic traits signified by the Rat in the Chinese Zodiac is also thought to rub off on those who are born in the year of the Rat, which are 1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996 and 2008.

    The Wikipedia has it like this:

    Being the first sign of the Chinese zodiac, rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the twelve signs. Intelligent and cunning at the same time, rats are highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agendas, which often include money and power. They are energetic and versatile and can usually find their way around obstacles, and adapt to various environments easily. A rat’s natural charm and sharp demeanor make it an appealing friend for almost anyone, but rats are usually highly exclusive and selective when choosing friends and so often have only a few very close friends whom they trust.

    One of the traditions I have with my parents is to bake traditional cakes – whether Christmas or Chinese New Year – mostly to give away as gifts to friends and relatives. I spent this day baking hundreds of these small, light and hopelessly brittle pancakes, rolled and folded them into small envelopes – Love Letters. If you are not familiar with Love Letters, they taste similar to Chinese fortune cookies, perhaps sweeter. The secret ingredient is rice flour, but don’t tell anyone.

    Cheryl