Big Apple

I used to travel to NY twice annually for fashion week and have always prefer to stay in different hotels for every trip. I had stayed in Thirty-thirty Hotel, Mansfield Hotel, Shoreham Hotel, Marcel hotel, Hudson Hotel, Amsterdam Hotel, L.ecole Oakwood Apartment, and others which I don't remember...My favorites: Mansfield and Shoreham for their location and rooms.

Since I haven't been back to NYC for 2 years since pregnant with Baby J, I was quite excited to travel although it was the first time I leave Baby J for more than 1 night. As usual, I planned out schedule for shopping and work but this around, I failed to input some addresses as I thought me and Lina (my friend, partner, traveling buddy) was familiar with the city. Not.

Day 1 - Lost
We exit the hotel without even checking into our rooms, for 1. the room was not ready and 2. we worried that we wouldn't get out of the hotel if we succumbed to the temptation to rest in the room. So off we went to the Grand Station instead of Bus terminal. After 1 hour of walking around and arguing about the direction, we finally arrived the bus station at 3pm. At 7.30pm was the promised time as we wanted to go back early, I was lost in the huge outlet! I ran around, sweating and blistering my feet, while my friend waited for me. The bus left when I reached the bus stop. We took the 8.30pm bus which delayed for 1/2 hour. We checked in back to hotel at 10+, since we hadn't had our dinner, we walked around to find decent supper. At midnight, I was restless and my feet hurt so I walked out to pharmacy.

Stay Hotel- nice, clean, good Times Square located boutique hotel.

We just have to stop by Magnolia Bakery before going to the bus terminal to go to Woodsbury Outlet.

Back to the city. 11pm and hungry...we just walked in the bar next to the hotel

Day 2 - Jet-Lagged and again Lost

We started our day okay aside from waking up hungry and ate hotel breakfast. We went around Hyde park by foot as my friend 'remembered' the Apple Store at. After walking around the park, we were too tired and too proud to ask for directions, so we took a cab with hopes of the driver knowing where it is.
Here's my friends description - a park, glass building, a huge toy store, and Louis Vuitton. I merely gaped. Geez, if I had to ask her to describe to me early on, I would have known we went to the wrong park. So off we went to Central Park. After getting to the Apple store, which is 24/7, I got myself Itouch and we had to go back to hotel to change to the Fashion show in Hyde Park.
As much as I anticipate to attend fashion shows, I detest the nervousness of getting in the show and preening too much. Fashion can be tough, the business and the people...After the show, both of us, went around the park and took off our Louboutins and back to our Crocs. We went back to Central Park and window-shopped around FAO and the stores nearby.
Then we went for dinner and drinks, which then led to more drinks.

From Fifth Ave to Soho. You gotta visit Kiki De Montparnasse and buy a little posh item *wink.

Day 3 - Jet-lagged and Hangover

Ugh! I don't when was the last time I indulge myself with alcohol...since 2007, last shot of vodka at my own wedding. Oh the vodka mix and wine in our last Seoul trip 2 months ago doesn't count...On the impulse of meeting my fun friend, Francesca and combination of Lina, and plus feeling for the first time of mommy-day-off, we got point-blanked drunk. Thank goodness of my instinct to know when to have my last drink, me and Lina, manage to get back to hotel to sleep away.
Forcing ourselves to wake up for our business meeting at 10am was not an easy task. We were late and we tried to be sober. After the meeting, thank goodness it was a small presentation of shoes, we were both pale from hungover and maybe still a little drunk since we still want to continue to do our errands in the city. From 5th Ave to Soho, I had to drop by Kiki de M store. From Soho, I went to Ground Zero to pray for a dear friend, which I then found out, the memorial ground is no longer there. Dinner again was late at 9.30pm...

Day 4 - Tired and Dumb
Both of us should have known after days of not having a normal day, we should be more aware. Again, another mistake to top off our entire trip - we missed our flight. I assumed our flight of being close to midnight after years of flying that flight, did not make me check my itinerary record, which I had already receive the check-in SMS.
OMG...Lina assuming I know the time, fail to heed her female instincts to check her paper records. So while we both were waiting for the private car I called after finishing our buying meeting, outside with our luggages, Lina flipped open her paper records to check. Hold and behold... our Singapore Airline flight to Singapore was at 9.20pm instead of the 11+ I thought it was to be. It was 6.40pm and I called the car to come at 7.15pm.
So aghast we were, we chased around the street at Ganservoort, which by means, frequency of any yellow car that passes by is minimum and even less for a taxi van, since we had 3big luggages. Our car came after we manage to haul up the luggages into a van...we wasted another good 5minutes to move the luggages again into the the private car.
Another dumb mistake we made in this trip was the fact that both of us didn't bother to buy local number, which we both usually do. So we asked for the driver to lend us his phone while Lina called to the airport.
Even a lot of "pleases", we were told that if we don't get into the airport 1hour before departure, we are not able to fly. We then called other airline to book for other flight availability that fly out the same night. Both of us cannot afford to miss that night's flight. Lina had to go back to her 2 children as her caretaker was to leave; I had to connect flight from Singapore to Beijing and I don't get to my connection Beijing flight, I would screw up my itinerary for 2 cities and I couldn't imagine my husband flying semi-long haul flight alone with Baby J.
So after running around the booths, we decided on China Airline. My initial round trip ticket was economy but I couldn't envision myself to sit more than 30hours in econ, so I spend freaking $3000+ on my business one-way tix to Singapore. Call me spoiled but NY-Anchorage-Taipei-Hong Kong- Singapore-Beijing??? Business seat will keep me sane.

Pop Burger is a fast food, self service dining. Good decor, not fast food friendly price, so-so burgers.

FAO is a haven! For kids and young at hearts adults. On the first floor is kingdom of furry animal toys, going up the escalator, I was greeted with a scene of dragon made impressively with Lego.
2nd floor- children books, Lego land, dolls, toy houses, Barbie corner with Barbie catwalk runway, VTech, Alex Toys, The Big Piano (you can tap dance on the piano floor), and a room for private parties
3rd floor - infant land

Macaroon Step-by-step

My first French Macaroon baking experience. Not as difficult as I though it would be. Recipe found here.

Chocolate Macaroons

INGREDIENTS:
Macaroon Batter
1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds (about 2 ounces , 50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
3 tablespoons (25 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 egg whites
5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

Prune Filling
15 medium prunes (pitted), about 5 ounces (150 gr) prunes
2½ ounces (70 gr) milk chocolate, finely chopped - I used whatever chocolate found in the fridge
2 tablespoons Armagnac - I used vodka+ I added some whipped cream into this recipe for a thicker and chewy taste.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready. I used silicone to replace the paper and spoon for the tipped pastry pastry bag.
Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone).
Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.
Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the countertop to flatten the macaroons, then bake them for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

To make the prune filling:
Cut the prunes into quarters and pour boiling water over them. Cover and let stand until the prunes are soft. Drain.
Squeeze most of the excess water from prunes and pass through a food mill or food processor.

Melt the milk chocolate, (added whipped cream on my own) and the Armagnac (While thinking 'What-The' is Armagnac, I figured all alcohol taste the same so I substituted using my hubby's Chivas') in a double boiler or microwave, stirring until smooth. Stir into the prune puree.
Cool completely to room temperature (it will thicken when cool.)

Assembly
Spread a bit of batter on the inside of the macaroons then sandwich them together. (You can pipe the filling it, but I prefer to spread it by hand; it's more fun, I think.)
I also tend to overfill them so you may or may not use all the filling.
Let them stand at least one day before serving, to meld the flavors.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze. If you freeze them, defrost them in the unopened container, to avoid condensation which will make the macaroons soggy.

Notes: My second batch of macaroons were so much more petite and cuter. So getting the pastry bag with tips! Love the taste of chocolate and prunes, although I did cut on sugar, it was still a little too sweet.

Singapore Trip

For the 10 years I grew up in Singapore, this small wonderful country, there's so many places and activities that I didn't visit and experience. Sure I visited Clarke Quay but I never bother to watch the G-Max the Ultimate Bungy.

My husband and our friend, Mr. L, bought tickets and I chickened out. I did bungee and rode on the one of the most highest roller coasters (Superman in US and the wooden roller coaster in Seoul), so its basically been-there-done-that-and-not-going-to-do-it-again. So off the two brave men sprung high into the air and bounced a few times before landing back to sanity.

After the crazy jump, we strolled down the street to visit my husband's fave jazz bar on Southbridge, which was again - my first jazz bar experience in Singapore.

Another friend suggested Valentino restaurant, I almost thought its related to the fashion house but thank goodness, its a very down-to-earth restaurant. Cozy and family-run Valentino serves some homey food and the prices are not daunting either. Here's the address and make sure you reserve ahead!
Ristorante Da Valentino
11 Jalan Bingka
Singapore, 588908, Singapore

Travel Seoul

I lived in Seoul for 9 months as a housewife and I didn't really enjoy my time there due to lost in translation and homesickness. However, re-visiting Seoul with Baby J and friends turned out to very enjoyable. Here's what we did...
We strolled Baby J in the park. There are various parks by the rivers and many people jog, walk, play tennis, reading book, and many other activities. We saw the ducks by the river and it was first time for Baby J to see ducks up close.

Shopping!! Upscale shopping Corso Como on Apgujeong vs affordable shopping in Dongdaemun. Fantastic Korean beef, I'm not a big beef eater but I can taste quality! The Koreans carve good meet for the grill... I went into shopping craze for 3 different visitations to children's section! Its all about shopping, eating, hanging out and walking around till the wee hours. There are many 24hr restaurants, mini marts and super-late-night shopping.

For many local Koreans, or just these few Korean chaps we were with, they haven't visit the Namsan tower. Its a tourist thing and it was quite fun when you are with funny and easygoing group. We went on weekend, so there weren't any partking and there was a long queue to get on to the airconless cable car for an awful 5 minutes ride due to heat, so I highly suggest to visit any tourist place during weekdays.

Chaining locks of well wishes and loves on the gate. I had seen this display of love chains in Yellow Mountain, China, and well, that beats anything else...

Other worthwhile places to go in Seoul for the well-travelled visitors:

1. Everland Theme Park - this is fantastic for both adults and children. Ride the Express roller coaster which is touted as the Asian tallest roller coaster! Don't forget to purchase the picture outside the ride for a funny remembrance on how your face and hair look like.
2. Apgujeong Rodeo - Sit by any cafes and pay about $5 for coffee to people see. If you are lucky, you may chance upon local celebrities.
3. Nami Island - many dramas are filmed here, so walk down the memory if you are a Korean drama fan.
4. Eden Club - ever wonder where the beautiful and hip people spend their Saturday night? Eden. Wow! Back in my prime time, where I used to club, and let's just stick to Jkt, S'pore and HK, Eden Club in Ritz Carlton hotel has the most good people under one roof and on the same night. I haven't step into nightlife since I got married and due accompanying friends, that I got to sample Eden, and I was overwhelmed by the scene! Me and husband left at 1.30am and our friends told us when they left at 3.30am, there were still many people getting into the club.

Trying to Whip the Icing

I received Kitchen Aid from a dear friend, Lenny, which I appreciate it very much. However, its imported from US thus the power voltage differs from the one in Jakarta and I managed to use it twice before it went kaput on me.

Thus the whipping of the icing of the cupcake was done the traditional way - manually. Oh my goodness! Its a chore!!! I had to switched arms to whisk, beat and whisk, and thanks to my sis and brother-in-law, it finally reached the firm icing topping.

Can anyone let me know where I can fix my Kitchen Aid in Jakarta?

Drool then -> Hunger Pangs

I just found this blog, Kuidoare, and was very excited to know its based in Singapore and the blog author teaches!

I'm actually more tempted to lick and munch on the pictures she put on her blog! Yes I admit I drool on most cupcake pictures I see very often online and this blog does not help my diet at all. Especially not at 10.30pm when I have to think and convince myself to not step out of the room and run to the kitchen and do some crazy rampage on the fridge.

image from Kuidoare

Cute Cakepans

I just thought these cake bundt pans from Williams Sonoma are so cute! I think these can be for children party cakes or even sent as gifts. The two halves of the bigger pans can be combined with icing. Now I wonder where to get the bees candies to adorn the beehive cake. I think the little bee candies can be cute on cupcakes.

Bee Hive Pan $32
Train Pan $34

Turkey Pan $35

All images from William Sonoma

Cupcake Carrier

I came about Cupcake Courier while reading a blog (I've forgotten whom. If I remember I will def credit her.)
I had almost ordered from the site but I couldn't purchase as I had already ceased my Paypal account years ago during my heydays of ebaying.
I was glad to google and found other cupcake carrier from Amazon and Target. Cupcake Courier sells at $32.95 and the others found is cheaper.
The downside? Less 6 cupcakes to be stored and the colors not as pretty.

Butter Finger Pancakes

As quoted (found on the table)
"Butter Finger Pancakes are made with top quality ingredients, making sure every last bite is comparable to no other pancakes you have tasted... ... And we won't stop stop until everyone is smiling!"












It was Chusok and no restaurants or stores are open, other than international franchises. We thought that Butter Finger was a franchise but turns out its a local brand.
Menu serves brunch items, food was good, not disappointing.

Trail of Chestnuts

I like chestnuts but ignorant me dont know how the tree looks like or how their shells look like. There are many chestnut trees around the mountain we climbed and my husband indulgently taught me a little about it.



Lesson 1: You use something other than your bare hand to shook the chestnuts from the tree
Lesson 2: Again, you dont use your bare fingers to open the the chestnuts. Instead you can use your shoes to wedge the chestnut open and take them out.

These prickly little things have something inside I like... You can steam them or heat them up in hot wok.

Wildly Expensive Mushroom

These mushrooms for approximately 20pcs of them cost around US$240. It supposedly to be much more expensive in the city.

Since my father-in-law purchased them from countryside from his 'long-lost friend of 30yrs), we got the fair rate.
These mushroom has a mountain-fragrance (picked fresh), and are very rare. They sure taste great after you grill or pan-fry them.

These Korean mushrooms are said to be better quality than the ones found in China (same goes with the better quality of Korean ginseng). Aye aye. Talks of nationalism or truth, I don't know...

Drooling At Cupcakes

Lovely 3-tier stands $99 from Horchow

If you need more stands for a bigger party, stack the cake stand high. I think the chocolate pot with daisy is cute!
Via Hostess blog

Cupcake Bakeshop has some of the most awesome recipes. Were I to have a oven in my Seoul's apartment, I will be trying out some recipes... her Asian inspired chocolate cupcake stuffed with ginger caramel, frosted with mango ganache, and topped with a mango-Ginger wonton, seems daunting to make with so many steps (even the name is long) but it looks soo good. For this, I would prefer to eat than to bake it.

I thought this is pretty to display as its own.
$18 from The Gardener





Cupcakes with details of intricate piped icing sugar and miniature birds (honestly, I dont know if its a toy or made with real sugar) from Cakes and Co
The bird cupcakes were found featured in Bazaar Wedding Indonesia.
Not only they make a very pretty decoration on the cake table, they taste really good too.
I remembered when I first received my Cakes and Co cupcakes, I was so ecstatic!

Yummy Indonesian Food

Oh, I'm already missing Indonesian food. We went to Bali for our friend's wedding and stayed in Conrad for the night.
We had a late lunch prior attending the reception and we ate some mouth-watering food in this restaurant (I forgot the name) near Conrad. We ordered in the usual Indonesian food - nasi goreng (fried rice), Satay and Chicken in coconut gravy.