Monday, March 31, 2008

Singapore Adventure: Tinolang Manok

One of the first Pinoy recipes I experimented on upon landing in Singapore is Tinolang Manok. I've tried cooking it with the specific parts of the chicken only - all leg, all wings, chicken breast. I have to learn to chop up a whole dressed chicken first. And after learning how to remove fish guts, that's definitely next on the list! Hehehe...

Basics first, of course, we need chicken. Your choice of chicken parts, that's what I do, then enhance the chicken's taste with chicken broth cubes. Onions, ginger, patis, ground pepper, and a little oil for sautéing. I haven't found green papayas here, so chayotes should do. Water for the broth.

Okay, this is how I want my Tinolang Manok.

Heat up some oil. Sauté the onions, ginger, chicken parts with patis. Add ground pepper for some heat. Dissolve chicken broth cubes in water. When chicken gets slightly brown, pour the mixture in. Bring to a boil. Throw in your sliced chayotes. It might take a while to cook. Should be ready to serve by the time the veggies are cooked.

Goes perfectly with a steaming plate of boiled rice and patis with red chili. Hehehe... This is my kind of tinola.



I miss my Granma's tinola. I'll request for it when I come home! Nyam, nyam, nyam.

---

As I sliced the onions for this recipe, the tears just kept on flowing. Makes me wonder what really causes this cooking mystery. Fine, I googled it, and so I give you why.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Singapore Adventure: Bag Shopping (Again)




On our way to Lucky Plaza along Orchard Road, we passed through Tang's from the Orchard MRT station. The crossing to Lucky Plaza from Tang's will have you cut across the department store's bags section.





And there they were, pretty Kipling bags. Hehe... We ended up purchasing two bags - one for my Mom, and one for my Prince Cookie's little sister. ^_^

This pretty thing - the Mini Puck is a nice pack which converts from a shoulder/sling bag to a handbag to a back pack. This is my Cookie's pick for his sister.



And this one is for my Mama - the Mini Game. Handy. Pretty. Just right for an everyday-on-the-go bag.

Isn't the monkey totally adorable!!! ^_^

This color is called Pink Crush. The other color for this bag style is called Lemonade (pale yellow) which doesn't really work for us.

I showed my Mama a picture of what I got for her and what my Prince Cookie got for his sister. She likes the Mini Puck more. Sheesh!!! My Cookie is such a fast learner when it comes to style and fashion. :P

So, I am hostaging the Mini Puck for my Mama and I need to get Shobe Christine the exact Mini Puck my Cookie got for her. Hehe...


Saturday, March 29, 2008

Singapore Adventure: My Newest Toy


And I'll be getting my hands on them on 5th April. Yey!

It's Samsung latest mobile phone offering. The Samsung G800. The "come on" is definitely the 5.0 Megapixel Camera. And if you have seen the back of it, it absolutely looks more like a digital camera than a mobile phone. Sweet!

The only downside based on the specs is the absence of Wi-Fi capabilities. But it's not such a big deal as I don't think I 'll ever need it when outdoors. So... I am just so excited to pickup my newest gadget from the shop next weekend.



Full specs on the Samsung Singapore site.








Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Singapore Adventure: Rubik's Cube



My Cookie bought a Rubik's Cube during our trip to Toys R Us at Suntec City Mall last Friday. My Cookie has given me some tips on how to work it. And today I have managed to put the blue side of it together.





A little more practice and I am sure to get the hang of it and finish an entire cube.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Singapore Adventure: The Cookies @ Snow City

Singapore Adventure: Easter Sunday Brunch



I chanced upon this cooking show on local TV. The host of the show is a Chinese lady who is raised in (what seems like) London. She ventures on different Chinese cooking techniques. On the episode I saw, she prepares a "mixed rice" recipe of bacon, green peas and eggs. It's a fairly easy-to-follow recipe. And so for brunch on an Easter Sunday morning, I made my own version. ^_^







The recipe. Leftover rice, bacon (sliced thinly), frozen mixed veggies (carrot, green peas, corn kernel), eggs (beaten), light soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
The cooking procedure. Cook the beaten eggs first and set aside. This will be the last to go into the mixed rice. Throw in the bacon slices and cook until almost crispy. Add the frozen veggies. Stir until veggies are almost ready. Put in the left over rice. Mix them all up. Add the cooked eggs. Add some light soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
I put them in my pretty soup cups and they sure look appetizing. And as a matter of fact, it turned out quite tasty! ^_^

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Singapore Adventure: Lacoste Bag Shopping

After being tipped off by my college buds that there is an ongoing Lacoste bags end of season sale at the Lacoste outlet at the Suntec City Mall.

The bags at one section of the shop sells at 50% off the original price. I got one for my sister. I'll be coming home at the end of April and it would be a wonderful pasalubong.



I also bought a Crumpler bag for my brother. He'll be celebrating his birthday just in time for my homecoming. I'm still on the lookout for a nice bag for my mom. :)
Only a month to go and I am coming home.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Singapore Adventure: Family Visit

It has been a hectic week for the Cookies. On 17th March, my Cookie's Mum and Sis flew in from the Philippines for a visit. We took them around and their 3 day visit proved to be a very short time. But eventhough we were only able to bring them to a few places, we all had a blast! ^_^


I will post the pictures soon. In the meantime, here are some teaser photos. ;)



The group with Rosemary at The Cookie Museum, Esplanade.

The Cookies at the Merlion Park

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Singapore Adventure: For Baby Meg

Remember this?
Well, baby Meg is now four months old and she will soon be welcomed into the faith. :) And to celebrate the occasion, I made her a little something.

I intend to have this printed and framed. Hopefully, I still have time to run these errands as the party is happening on Sunday already.
I hope her mum and dad like it. :)


Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Singapore Adventure: One Big Sigh

My team at work's Project Manager resigned today. And it came as a big surprise.
His leaving has taken a toll on our team's morale as there are a lot of things going on in our team recently. Aside from this, it will again take some time to build rapport with whoever comes in to take over the team. It has been quite a while that we have all worked together and so closely in the team, and when a new PM comes a long, we may need to adjust to his managemet style.
We are still at a lost on what made him decide to leave. Hopefully our team can set a meetup so we can formally say "'til we meet again."
He will surely be missed. Sigh.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Singapore Adventure: Sunday Brunch

My Prince Cookie cooked us brunch today. It's another rainy weekend here in Singapore and so we decided to just stay home instead of the planned Sunday errands outside.



What did my Cookie prepare for us? Champorado! Hehehe...



We didn't know where to get sticky rice (malagkit na bigas), and so we just used ordinary Thai rice. Hershey's powdered cocoa. Sugar. And milk! :)



And this is the output.







I am so proud of my Cookie. ^_^








Saturday, March 1, 2008

Singapore Adventure: A Finished LO

Another finished LO. And this one is special because it is for my Kumare Iris' Mommy who celebrated her birthday last 25th February. I hope she likes it! ^_^

Happy Birthday, Mommy!








Acknowledgments:

Paper & Overlay(Freebies): Shabby Princess - Shabby Mommy Kit and Moody Blues Kit Embellishments(Freebies): Mary Ann Wise (Freebie), Digiscrap 4 All - Vir Brandi

Photos: Iris Israel



Singapore Adventure: Saturday Merienda

I've finally cooked my perfect tukneneng in Singapore. Hehehe... This is my second attempt, and this time I made sure I have the complete ingredients.


The first time, I didn't have baking powder and food coloring to get that distinct tukneneng feel. Now, I got them all! And so, presenting...



I put some garlic and onion in the batter to make the coating more tasty. Plus some vinegar dipping sauce. Hmm... I feel like I was back in Manila again, at 4pm along Pasay Road, Makati. ^_^

Singapore Adventure: The Singapore Airshow 2008

Finally, the photos are here! There are not so much nice shots as the sky was cloudy then, the place was crowded, and our camera isn't so good at taking long distance shots. I only picked the best ones and cropped the images.
Enjoy!