DIY Mini Herb Garden

Have been thinking about having a tiny herb garden by the kitchen yard even though I don't seem to have any green fingers =<

Have killed 1 pot of lemon balm previously but the thought of having fresh herbs at my disposal is rather tempting. Not too sure if anyone has encountered the same situation where you only need a small amount of herbs but the quantity sold is always much more than what you need. No doubt you can freeze the herbs and save it for future usage but I find it a hassle especially with the limited fridge size.

HIS only concern is whether these plants will attract any insects. That is also one of my concern. I tend to run at the first sight of any crawly/flying creatures while screaming for enforcement (HIM). But the thought of having a tiny herb garden is just too tempting.

Source: http://www.home-dzine.co.za/garden/garden-herb-garden.htm

 I love the above idea which is made entirely from recycled material. Herbs are kept neatly with clear labels and the entire setup can be easily transported to other corners of the house as when required.

Bought some seeds from Horti Flora which is stocked at NTUC Fairprice. Decided to make full use of these toy capsules which have tiny holes at the bottom as part of my basic germination kit. Have also placed trimmed pieces of filter bags at the bottom of the toy capsules which will prevent soil from falling out. I am trying to germinate the seeds (consisting of wheat grass, lemon balm and sage) by spreading them on wet cotton wool. The wheat grass is meant for my hamsters which are really fond of vegetables.

Wish me luck!

Do share with me if you have any ideas for tiny herb garden in high rise apartments.

Restarting The Lemonade Diet

Have tried this diet previously before the BIG DAY and it was quite effective.

Was able to achieve a smaller waist line and felt more alert/energetic as a result.

As quoted in Stanley Burrough's book (inventor of the Lemonade Diet), the following ingredients are required: 

2 (tbs). of lemon or lime

2 (tbs). of genuine maple syrup

1/10 tsp cayenne pepper

10 oz. water (hot or cold as preferred)

More information can be found here.

Have lost the previous recipe copied off the net but basically the version I used was a diluted one in the sense that I added water to the mixture whenever I felt that it was too concentrated. My rationale was that since water is allowed to be consumed together with this mixture, it did not seem to matter how much water I have added to it.

Have been feeling sluggish/lazy/irritable using the past few weeks (must be from the numerous fast food deliveries and countless scrumptious roti prata from the 24 hours prata shop downstairs at Ang Mo Kio St 52)  and decided it is time to restart this diet.

Pure Maple Syrup, Cayenne Pepper, Lemons in NTUC style

Have bought the above items yesterday and will be starting the diet this afternoon. As per my previous attempt, I will cut out fried stuff from my diet during this period but I will be having my meals as per normal and will not be surviving solely on this diet. No doubt this will result in much slower results but I am happy with the results so far. 

One thing to note is that you will be needing the toilet quite frequently especially at the start of this diet so it is advised to start during a weekend.

Hope that I will be back to the energetic me soon with less headaches/body aches etc.

Tokebi Hand Blender - Review

There are actually quite a number of blenders available in the market, ranging from S$40+ to S$200+. 

Source: courts.com.sg

Being a noob cook, I was looking for a mid-range hand held blender cum mixer for my cooking experiments. Did research for months before deciding on Tokebi  Hand Blender listed on Qoo 10. Item was sent out from Korea and shipping took around one week. Total cost including shipping is less than S$100.

Tokebi Hand Blender V-5500

What I like about Tokebi Hand Blender V-5500:
1. The pretty detailing on the product (very important as I will be slaving away in the kitchen!)
2. Blender felt sturdy
3. Item came with a variety of accessories including a stand which is very useful
4. Only 1 button to select for operation (dummy proof especially for 1st time user like me)
5. Small selection of recipes (in English) available for download (recipe provided in package is all in Korean)
6. High number of revolutions per minute (22,000 - 24,000) compared to other brands
7. Low power consumption (170 W) compared to other brands
8. Blender can also act as a mixer (looking forward to my 1st baking experiment)!


What is not so great about Tokebi Hand Blender V-5500:
1. Blender feels quite heavy after awhile (How ironic, I know...)
2. 2 pin plug converter is required
3. Recipe book provided in package is in Korean =<

To be continued (with my various cooking experiments).... 

Updated: It seems like the above Korean hand blender is no longer being sold on Qoo10. Another item with similar functions can be found on Qoo10 as well. So far, reviews seem to be quite positive and much cheaper than my Tokebi which is still functioning well 1.5 years from the purchase.

Melamine Sponge - Review

This product is a godsend ever since we shifted in to Park Central.

I have been using it to clean the white kitchen tabletop, kitchen stove, kitchen sink, toilet basins, shower screens etc.

I like how effortless it makes cleaning become.

Soak it in water and use it to clean any stains or dirt.

Daiso melamine sponge

Accordingly to the packaging, it is suitable to be used on the following surfaces: glass, ceramic, tiles, uncoated mirror, stainless steel and non-glossy plastics. And it is not suitable for usage on the following surfaces: resin type products, coated mirror, printed surfaces, car exteriors, wood, uneven surfaces, absorbent surfaces, lacquer ware and glossy plastics.

Before and After using melamine sponge

It is rather effective in removing brownish stains/pencil stains/pen stains from the ceiling. All that remains are the holes that can only be 'repaired' by patching up using wall putty.

You might want to give it a try to remove stains. 

I would highly recommend getting this product from Daiso ($2 only) instead of neighbourhood stores ($3.90 at slightly bigger size).

Korean drama - 紳士的品格 A Gentleman's Dignity

This drama was aired a few months back on Channel U and it was our must watch drama every night (was rather surprised that HE likes the show, even much more than I do). We were rather happy at this good 'find' as there don't seem to be much TV programmes worth watching these days =<

It has been months since we last switched on our mio TV which is a super waste of money and we are just counting down to the end of the contractual period to terminate this plan.

Source: http://www.koreandrama.org/

This drama evolves around the daily life (work life / daily life etc) of these 4 friends and is rather entertaining. I like the humorous aspect of this drama serial which is a nice ending to my stressful daily life.

The 4 male characters complement each other perfectly and kind of reminded me of F4 (Taiwanese boy band which acted in Meteor Garden previously).

My favourite song from this drama - Illa Illa (with my favourite couple).

Highly recommended Korean drama for everyone's entertainment!

Items from Daiso - Highly recommended! *Part I*

These are some of the items that I would recommend from Daiso. Starting from the top row (left to right): magnetic plastic hooks, plastic kitchen organiser, kitchen tongs, glass container, soup ladle, silicone gloves, magnetic kitchen towel holder, Japanese soya sauce, salt and pepper mill/grinder, grain vinegar, melamine sponge, dry disposable floor wipe, wet disposable floor wipe, oxygen-based toilet bowl cleaner and washing machine drum cleaner.

Recommended items from Daiso

First item on the list is these magnetic plastic hooks (3 for S$2). I find them very useful in hanging up items (ladle/rubber bands/food cover etc) on magnetic surfaces ,eg: side of the fridge/washing machine.

Daiso magnetic plastic hooks 

 Second item on the list is this plastic 2-tier kitchen organiser. The top section is used to store the taller bottles of soya sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, Chinese cooking wine etc. While the base section is used to store random items like salt/pepper, garlic, onions etc. The size is just right for the limited counter top space and I like how the white colour complements the kitchen space which is also mostly in white. The entire setup is rather stable and is able to withstand the heavy load I have piled on it.

Daiso kitchen organiser

 The next few items are kitchen tongs, glass container, soup ladle and silicone gloves. I like the size of the kitchen tongs which is slightly shorter than the normal version and can be easily stored in the kitchen drawers.  The glass container is used to store salt and the air tight feature is rather useful. The various shades of blue is also comforting to look at. Have thought of getting the pink version as well but did not seem to find it at various Daiso outlets. As for the soup ladle, I bought it mainly due to the pretty shade of baby blue on the soup handle. The measurement markings on the soup ladle is also rather useful in my cooking experiments. The silicone gloves is another handy tool in the kitchen with my accident-prone tendencies. I like how well it protects my thumbs and forefingers from any hot elements. I also don't have to worry about dirtying the silicone gloves when handling the various food items due to its waterproof nature.

Daiso recommended items for kitchen use

To be continued....

Fanco ceiling fan review - Model FF9

We have been deliberating about installing a ceiling fan in the living room even before shifting in to Park Central. Shelved the plan after seeing that the living room is rather windy and prefer to make do with a small table fan if required.

Recently, the weather has been rather unpredictable. Hot and sunny for one moment and start pouring the next moment. Not to forget about the haze and burning smell we are experiencing now due to the hotspots in Sumatra region.

Haze in Singapore due to hotspots in Sumatra region

Decided to review our plan of installing a ceiling fan and these are some of the criteria we were considering:

- Wind speed of the ceiling fan (Does it really cool down the living room in the shortest possible time?)

- Matches the living room theme (Not that we have a beautifully designed living room but it has to at least match the Scanteak furniture lying around the area.)

- Silent (Does the fan has a quiet motor? We don't want to disturb the quiet sleeping environment for our hamsters =P)

- Comes with a light kit (As the connection that our future ceiling fan will be using is also our current light source, we would need a model that allows a light kit to be attached underneath.)

We were not considering air conditioning at all due to the higher costs involved (installation, operation and maintenance cost) and installation is going to be another nightmare. Prefer not to deal with any contractors after the long arduous with Park Central defect office. Entries are available here and here. Another reason of not considering air conditioning is due to our sensitive noses. Somehow we always end up sneezing after sleeping in an air-conditioned environment.

Currently, we are making do with a table fan (when necessary). There is just no space for a standing fan in our tiny 90-square-metres 4 room HDB flat at all.

Brands we have in mind are KDK (very good motors and wind speed but no light kits) and Fanco.

Decided to arrange for a free on-site consultation session with a seller which was sourced from an online forum and we actually placed our order in the same appointment!

 Spent a total of $380 for Fanco FF9 48" (in brown) and LED light kit (3 light bulbs) inclusive of installation. The above pricing was above the same as what was quoted by Everjoint 1.5 years back. 

After one week of heavy usage, I would say the money was well spent. The wind generated is rather strong even at speed 1 and the motor is super silent. Now I can spend my daytime in the living room without having to bear the midday heat. Best of all, the constant circulating air is 'diluting' the polluted air created by the irritating neighbour who keeps smoking at all hours of the day.

Desperate Housewives - Scene on coping with grief

Saw this interesting and meaningful scene whereby Eva Longoria (acting as Gabrielle Solis)  was 'guided' by a third party to release a balloon into the air as part of coping with the pain of her miscarriage. Just looking at the scene, I can feel myself letting go all the sad memories over the past 2 years and the peace settling down within...

Source: www.wellsphere.com

 Previously, Gabrielle's way of coping with the loss was shopping and more shopping which seems to be a rather appealing avenue as well. Imagine the wonderful feeling one gets when you found something which you were looking for... No doubt this feeling might not entirely 'cover' the sense of loss but I believe it does help one to gradually overcome this low point in life. I am sure guys won't really understand this view point though.

Math tuition - Primary & Secondary levels

Thinking of going back to my old job as a maths tutor.

Have previously taught both primary levels and secondary levels (including A maths and E maths).

Would anyone be interested to engage the services of an NUS graduate?

Preferred location: North (AMK area)

Tuition fee rates : S$25 - S$40 per hour

Please contact me at impixie@gmail.com for further enquiries.

Door to door durian sellers @ Park Central

Was kind of forced to buy these 2 Maoshan durians from 2 Malaysian sellers who claimed to be delivering durians to a fellow neighbour at Park Central.

Really regretted opening the door. A woman's 6th sense is always very accurate I guess.

Was quoted $13/kg for these Maoshan durians which I also don't know if that is a reasonable price. They opened a total of 3 durians in fast succession before I sensed something is not right.

Immediately asked for the price and was quoted $100+. Almost fainted...

One guy was even saying buy 3 get 1 free. Told them I really had not much cash and could see the change in their facial expression. Requested for the price of 2 durians instead which was close to $60. :0

Told them I really don't have so much cash and managed to 'escape' by paying $40 for 4.5kg of Maoshan durians.

Luckily HE didn't scold me... These durians better be good and we have sworn not to open the doors to any strangers.

The amount of door-to-door salesmen at Park Central is really astonishing. Hopefully this post will act as an alert to fellow residents and not to be as naive as I was.

Update: Sad to say, the durians are really not worth the price! Had better ones at much cheaper prices.

Pre packed Laksa sauce from NTUC

Various ingredients for yummy laksa

Took the lazy way out by buying pre packed sauce from NTUC and cooked this laksa dish a few weeks back. Although I have not noticed the brand before but it turned out quite well. However, the sauce was abit salty.

Bought Sakura laksa beehoon, fish cake, taupok, coconut milk and some eggs as well as part of the ingredients. Quite a yummy and easy-to-prepare meal on a lazy weekend.

Recent beauty loots from Taiwan - Part I

The above items are some of the loots I got from the most recent Taiwan trip: 自白肌 Super Moist Toner with Hyaluronic Acid, Olay Pro-X Clear Purify Hydrating Renewal Lotion, Hada Labo facial wash, Olay Pro-X Eye Restoration Complex, Hada Labo Hydrating Cream and Mentholatum Acnes Oil Control Film.

Quite pleased with these items and will progressively review these products.

So far, my combination skin is responding quite well to them.

Good skin == Happy me!

The Black Box

Source: http://www.blackbox.sg

Have just subscribed to The Black Box.

Looking forward to receiving the surprises in June 2013!

Will be doing a review of the items so stay tuned =>

* Do visit the website and sign up for a complimentary Black Box.

Mixed vegetables fish porridge

Decided to cook this broccoli, carrot, potato and Sutchi fillet porridge for breakfast.

Soak the rice with a tablespoon of black sesame oil.

Thereafter, add in cubed carrots, potatoes and broccoli before starting to cook using the rice cooker.

As for the Sutchi fillet, I soaked it in diluted white vinegar solution for 15 mins before slicing it up and rinsing under running tap water.

Marinated it with a tablespoon of Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce, a teaspoon of rice wine and a tablespoon of Taikoo ginger red sugar (new found treasure at AMK Hub NTUC Xtra).

When the porridge is halfway into its 1 hour cooking cycle, I added the fish slices in.

The porridge turned out to be quite nice n a twinge of sweetness without having to add in additional seasoning.

Best thing is that HE didn't complain that the porridge is bland which I took it as a major achievement as HE is always complaining that I don't add enough seasoning.

Whenever that happens, it just pisses me off haha.

Less salt is for the sake of YOUR health u know !!!

Pizza Hut 1-for-1 Weekday Deal

There is this 1-for-1 promotion for Standard Chartered Bank card holders.

Quite tempting especially on weekday dinners when I am lazy to cook.

Visit here for more information.

Sutchi fillet in Chinese style

Bought lots of Sutchi fillets (8 pieces to be exact) as it was on sale. Have to seek HIS consent before buying just to be on the safe side (if the picky eater don't want to eat this, I will die lo).

Read online that these Sutchi fillets tends to taste fishy so I always soak them with a super diluted solution of white vinegar before cooking. So far so good.

Have tried pan frying it, cooking it in fish and chips style and also in fish soup.

Today, I tried steaming it with HuaDiaoChiew (a type of Chinese wine), sea salt, pepper and also fermented black beans. Turned out to be very appetizing.

Review of Udon King @ AMK Hub

So happen to see this article on 我报 introducing the various fusion cuisine offered by Udon King. We were there last Fri for dinner.

One of the dishes we ordered was the right most item in the second row done in chicken style. The sauce was kinda sour (even for someone like me who take sour stuff quite well). Was not able to taste any tinges of butter at all. In addition, the chicken was abit tough.

HE tried this chicken cutlet thing with egg and it was quite salty.

The way they pack customers into confining spaces is also quite irritating. We got to keep shuffling the table whenever new customers are being shown to their seats or when any of our 'neighbors' are leaving their seats. Suggest that you visit the restaurant in larger groups to get those booth seats.

Service was quite bad too. Their service staff have no knowledge of the table numbers and kept delivering wrong items to various tables. Feels so uncomfortable due to the limited space and got to keep an eye on them as the wrong orders appear randomly in front of you and we got to keep correcting them.

Last straw came when the cashier lost HIS credit card after payment was made. She was not able to find it and was requested that we wait at 1 side while she serve the next customer. Was totally pissed off la... In the end, she found the card on the floor. Personally, I feel that the cashier is a very important person in the business context. The business owner should have put in some effort to train them up.

Hello Kitty promotion at Cosmed, Taiwan

Received these 2 Hello Kitties - the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood which comes as a set after spending a bomb at Cosmed, Taiwan.

Was super happy and lucky to get these 2 (out of a total of 6 selections) as they are packed in boxes and I wasn't able to pick and choose.

Even though I am not a Hello Kitty fan but this set somehow just appeal to me and is somehow symbolic of our relationship (HIM as Big Bad Wolf and me as Little Red Riding Hood).

There are 2 other sets available: the Frog Prince and Little Princess as well as the Peter Pan and Little Fairy.

SMRT operation management is really ...

Stuck on a slow moving packed train with a wailing baby is no joke...

Mild headache has evolved into a throbbing one...

With no service announcements, I can only guess that the rain has affected train service to such an extent that we are stopping for a few minutes at each station.

I just wish some brilliant scientist would improve the teleporting process to include human beings. The possibilities are endless!

Korean Ginseng Chicken

Bought prepacked Korean Ginseng Chicken from Jia Yen quite a while back as emergency supplies on days that we are feeling lazy to cook.

The portion is just nice for 2 of us with half a chicken and three glutinous rice balls.

Just empty the contents into the cooker (rice cooker with soup function/pot) and cook it for around 40 mins.

For me, I put the rice cooker to soup function for 1 hour so that the glutinous rice gets infused with the ginseng soup and turns into a nice gluey texture.

Selling at around 10 over bucks at NTUC or Cold Storage. Worth a try especially on cold rainy days!

Supper from Upper Thomson

Jio-ed HIM for supper and he agreed!

Bought mutton murtabak, egg prata, dim sum and teh tarik from the prata shop and dim sum stall at Upper Thomson for supper.

So hungry even though we just had Mayim a few hours ago!

Everything just taste so good!

Review of the Library - Bar @ Keong Saik Road

Went to this "hidden" bar a few hours back.

Very dim atmosphere which makes reading the menu a challenging chore.

It was quite crowded towards the end and I can't wait to get out of there.

Service was alright though it was verging on the rude side at some point in time...

Drinks was alright...

Don't think I will be back anything soon.

Wai San Chicken

First time cooking this dish based on the following newspaper cutting.

Chicken fillets was already marinated using italian herbs instead of what was recommended in the recipe. My tiny attempt at fusion cuisine.

Added mushrooms to the above recipe with the end product below.

This dish is supposed to be good for people with weak constitution or people who tends to "kill" alot of their braincells.

Remaining amount of Wai Shan aka Shan Yao will be used to cook this Wai Shan minced meat porridge for tomorrow's breakfast.

Chicken gone bad...

Having this family steamboat gathering later and was happily planning and buying the various ingredients the past few days.

Bought 2 sets of chicken bones from Jingshan wet market downstairs on Saturday and was happily boiling water to rinse the chicken bones to prepare the chicken soup base when I realized it has gone bad!

I whiff at the bowl of raw chicken bones so many times to be certain and even asked HIM to do a whiff test to be certain.

The raw sourish smell plus the roasted chicken rice we had just a few minutes ago was enough to make me feel nauseous :(

Got to depend on my trusty pork soup powder for the soup base later...

Felt so cheated sia...

Bought for less than 3 days and the chicken bones had gone bad? Keeping in mind that I washed the items and freeze them on the same day before defrosting them this morning.

Should have just bought the items from NTUC etc.

Daiso Washing Machine Drum Cleaner

Bought this oxygen based washing machine drum cleaner from Daiso to try for fun.

Chinese New Year is coming and it is time to spring clean the washing machine too!

According to the instructions, pour the entire contents of 1 sachet (2 sachets in a pack) into the washing machine drum and operate the machine for 2-3 minutes for the water to fill up and mix the cleaner uniformly.
Thereafter, switch off the machine and let the solution sit for 2-3 hours. Final step is to operate the washing machine as per normal for 1 cleaning cycle to enable the solution to wash out.

One thing to keep a lookout for as a gauge that cleaning has completed is when the sitting solution changes from light green to white.

Personally, I think it helps to remove the musty smell which might lingers around the washing drum if we didn't manage to 'air' the drum thoroughly after each wash.

Candlelight dinner for HIS birthday

My first attempt at candlelight dinner while enjoying the city view with HIM (but HE is still busy Diablo-ing and is totally unaware of this surprise!)

Hopefully he likes it :)

吴奇隆 - 祝你一路顺风

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TfMgg9-QiA8

It has been close to half a year since you have left us...

Although we have not been really close, listening to this song on YES 933.3 FM just brought back all the memories...

I am just glad that you have moved on to a better place...

RIP

Don't use your handphone if you are driving...

How to drive when you are holding your handphone in 1 hand while trying to steer with the other hand?

Did you realize you are taking up 2 out of 3 lanes in your attempt to multi-task during peak hour traffic...

City square, Johor Bahru

Went to JB earlier today with the parents and traffic was horrible. Clearance @ JB Checkpoint was a nightmare. Queues for all counters were snaking almost till the end of the arrival hall.

Renovations at City Square seems to be completed for the lower levels. Saw this famous Hong Kong dessert outlet Xu Liu Shan inside the mall. There is also this new xiaolongbao restaurant called "Long De Chuan Ren" in Chinese. Lots of people queuing at both restaurants.

Walked past this new bakery called "Lavender" and bought some stuff to try. Their tuna bun tasted average. It has this weird red powdery topping which tasted slightly pepper-ish. RM2.90 lo! Also bought their pandan cake (RM7) and kaya jam (RM5) to try. Personally, I feel that their prices are catered for Singaporeans.

City Square is rapidly turning into another Singaporean style mall. It would be better if there is a decent sized supermarket there. The auntie cells in me!

One word of caution though, please change currency in Singapore (RM248.50). Rates were super low in JB (RM244.20).

Picture that best depict the organization - Desert