MY BIG FAT APOLOGY

10 Oct

I can’t believe I went AWOL for months now. It’s simply unacceptable. Taking this time to officially apologize for slacking. Sorry everyone! So many things happened since the last time I wrote. Traveling in Asia has been busy, especially towards the month of August because I had a LASEK surgery and was preparing to leave back to NYC.

So… while I was in Korea, I changed my mind to attend the Culinary Institute of America, instead of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. There were many reasons why, but mainly it’s because CIA had a more extensive program which I believed will benefit me in the long run. That brought me back to the city much faster than I had anticipated at the beginning of this summer. I can’t deny the fact that I am glad to be back in the city though. I guess you can take the girl out of the city, but never take the city out of the girl.

In order to be fully accepted to the CIA, one has to have at least 6 months of working in a commercial kitchen, which I think is a brilliant idea. 6 months will be enough to screen the serious ones and the not’s. So when I got back to the city, I started an internship at the famed Jean-Georges pastry kitchen under the executive pastry chef, Johnny Iuzzini. It’s been a month already, so I have 5 months left until I head up to Hyde Park to attend classes. It’s been physically and mentally demanding, interesting, fascinating, fun, amazing, all at the same time. Being in the kitchen makes the time go by so fast – that must mean that I’m doing something right.

Mixed nut brittle

Rocher Noir – chocolate covered corn flake bits

Strawberry tuxedos

So this weekend, I made some candies at home for fun. I made the mixed nut brittle (for the first time!), rocher noir which is just corn flake bits dipped in chocolate, and some strawberry tuxedos. I tried making the nut brittle for D, rocher noir for myself, and the strawberry tuxedos just to practice (I learned how to make these at the kitchen). They’re all ridiculously easy to make.

Mixed nut brittle requires roasted nuts (hazelnut, pecan, walnut, cashews, but you can add any kind you like), sugar, butter, baking soda, water, good quality sea salt, and a candy thermometer. All you have to do is to boil everything together except for the roasted nuts, baking soda and the salt, and reach 300F, which is a hard candy stage in cooking sugar. Once the syrup is caramelized and has reached the temperature, quickly mix in the baking soda and nuts, and pour onto the non stick parchment lined tray. It will be ready to break into pieces in about 30-40 mins when the tray cools down.

As far as the rocher noir and the strawberry tuxedos go, it’s all about tempering chocolate the right way. One of the ways to temper chocolate is by the “seeding” method. Chop the chocolate blocks or bars (not the chips, they’re made to retain their shape even at the high temperatures), and put about 2/3 in a glass bowl set up on a double boiler. When the chocolate is melted into a smooth goo, take it off the heat, and place the remaining chopped chocolate. The residual heat will melt the chunks. Once everything melts into a smooth paste, check the temperature to make sure it’s about 69F. It should be slightly warmer than the bottom lip. Once you have the tempered chocolate, pour into the corn flake bits and until it’s uniformly covered in chocolate. Then quickly scoop out little balls with a spoon onto a parchment. For the strawberries, dip them in the chocolate, and let it rest on the parchment lined tray. If the chocolate is tempered right, the chocolate should harden and show a good gloss on the surface.

I shared some of these with my friends – and seeing them being so happy is just priceless. That’s the moment when I know I’m doing the right thing, because nothing makes me happier than to see that my creations have made someone happy. Especially if they’re close friends who I care about. So I promise here that I will stop slacking and share the goodness with everyone. I hope you will forgive me for slacking this past 2 months.

Have a great long weekend, and I’ll have more kitchen stories next time. Pinky promise.

Welcome to Bali part II

15 Jul

BVLGARI key fob

The next day, I woke up at the crack of dawn due to the jet-lag. I came out to the outdoor patio and took some pictures. The scenery in the early morning was truly stunning. It was calm, open, and out of touch from the toxic world. Looking at the reflection of the frangipani tree on the calm waters of the pool was a therapy in itself. I soaked up the clean and calm feelings as much as I could. Like a dry sponge soaking up water.

The foyer

View from the outdoor patio early in the morning

Reflection on the pool

I’ll give you a short tour on our Villa. Once you enter the front gate of the villa, there is a foyer/mini garden that leads to the outdoor area, where there is a table, sun deck + sun chairs, and a mini pool. Then once you enter the door to the inside, a half is bedroom, and another half is bathroom. The bedroom is furnished with the clean white linen sheets, daily changing fresh fruits to munch, and the Bang & Olufsen TV and sound system along with their DVD collection (DVDs are not in the room, but you can take out 5 at a time at no charge). The bathroom is as big as any studio apartment in NYC. It has a large shower area, then a huge Kohler tub, and the outdoor shower area as well. In addition, all the complimentary toiletries are from the Bvlgari’s own Eau parfumée au thé vert (Green tea scented water) collection. I tried taking an early morning bath with the water steeped with tea bath salt – it was heavenly with the delicate smell of dried ginger, tea leaves, and dried flowers. To be honest, I think I was just overwhelmed by the sheer luxury of the place. I mean, I’ve been to nice places before, but this resort was on another level. So if I sound like I’m like a little kid at F.A.O., bear with me for a bit – I’m just simply overwhelmed myself.

Courtyard to the restaurant

Bvlgari has two restaurants: Il ristorante and Sankar. Il ristorante is an Italian cuisine, and Sankar is a traditional Balinese cuisine. Since the breakfast is served at Sankar for all guests, we called our butler for a buggy ride to Sankar. All the butlers there are super friendly and super polite. They have this friendly way of ending any sentence with ‘ya?’ For instance, when you get off a buggy to go to the breakfast, they will say “Have a nice day, ya?” or as they drop you off at the beach, they will ask “You are going to the beach, ya?” It’s not only the facilities but the people and their hospitality that really complete the experience at the Bali Bvlgari.

Breakfast pastry basket

All kinds of fresh tropical juices

Freshly brewed coffee with milk

When we got to the breakfast, the staff welcomed us and seated us in the corner outside where all we could see was the ocean. As we sat down, we were given a menu. The breakfast consists of two: the cold item and the hot item. Aside from the unlimited beverages and the breakfast pastries, you can have one of each from both hot and cold items. I got coffee with milk and yogurt to begin with. And after being informed that I can order as many freshly prepared juices as I want, I also ordered a glass of guava juice. The coffee was great. It was deep with medium body, but not bitter nor acidic. Just the way I like it. Oh, but the fresh juices were something else. I ended up having guava, mango, papaya (my favorite!!!!!), and passion fruit. I mean, I could eat them time after time. They were deliciously fantastic.

Passion fruit

Snake fruit

Snake fruit -bitten

Speaking of the local fruits, they had the usual suspects – papaya, mango, watermelon, passion fruit, etc. I didn’t even know what passion fruit really looked like until I had one in Bali. It looks like a dinosaur egg on the outside, but inside is the yummy sweet and sour jumble of encapsulated seeds. The seeds add a crunch to the jelly like texture. Unlike the passion fruit which I’ve heard of many times, there was a piece of fruit in mystery that I didn’t recognize, so called a snake fruit. Snake fruit is called Salak in the local language, but due to its scaly peel that resembles the snake skin, it got its nickname ‘snake fruit.’ It’s an indigenous Balinese fruit. It looks like a big clove of garlic on the outside, but tastes like a hard crunchy apple with a slight bit of nuttiness + acidity, and it has a big seed kernel inside. At first, I didn’t like the taste of it as much, but the more I ate it, the more I grew to like it. It’s rich in fiber and vitamins. If I had the same selection of the tropical fruits available to me, I would eat them all day and everyday. Oh how I love thee.

Bubur Ayam (Rice porridge with chicken)

Balinese cuisine is influenced by Indian/Pan Asian cuisine (like thai). At the first breakfast, I had Bubur Ayam. ‘Bubur’ is rice porridge, and ‘ayam’ is chicken. Rice porridge with chicken. It was accompanied by curry chicken, vegetable chips, and a sweet and spicy soy sauce that locals call as ketchup (in reality, it sounds a lot more like “keh-chiahp”). The soy sauce itself is quite sweet, but the tiny bird chilies they put in have some serious, serious kick to them. The otherwise bland porridge tasted actually tasty with the sauce.

Mie goreng (Fried noodles)

Sambal sauce

On the second day, I had mie goreng. ‘Mie’ is noodles and ‘goreng’ means fried. Chinese-like simple pan fried noodles. Unlike my initial expectation, the dish was not greasy at all. It was pan fried with spinach-like local greens, eggs, seafood, and chicken. It is such a hearty breakfast. I had it with the sambal sauce which added the right amount of kick to it. Sambal sauce is used a lot in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the countries alike in place of fresh chili peppers. It’s spicy but not overly spicy like those tiny bird chilies in the “ketchup.” Going back to the dish itself, I thought to myself how wonderful of a take-out it would make. It’s such a hearty, light, but filling and comforting food. Perfect for a lazy solo night in. I ended up licking the plate clean. It was that good.

Nasi goreng merah (Fried red rice)

For the third morning, I had nasi goreng merah which means fried red rice. ‘Nasi’ being rice, ‘goreng’ fried, and ‘merah’ red. It reminds me of the Korean bibimbop, or even Korean fried rice because of the perfectly cooked sunny side up placed on top of the rice. Now that I think of it, the Indonesian cuisine is also quite similar to east Asian cuisine, like Chinese or Korean. Fried rice was flavorful and light, just like the fried noodles. Purely speaking of a personal preference, I liked the fried noodles better. What got me was how light they tasted even though they’re fried.

Soto udang pesmol (Shrimp pesmol soup)

After eating so many yummy dishes at Sangkar, I started wondering how they’re made and who is behind it. Luckily, I was able to visit their kitchen where all the magic happens. It was a very last minute request, but the staff kindly prepared a quick mini demo class for us. The award-winning chef Wayan Wicaya, who holds an executive sous chef title and is a firstborn of the family, showed us how to make a light sweet and sour Javanese soup made with prawns and coconut milk called “soto udang pesmol.” ‘Soto’ means soup, ‘udang’ shrimp, and ‘pesmol’ a kind of seasoning.

Before I get into the recipes, I want to point out an interesting fact on naming in Bali. I learned this through Elizabeth Gilbert’s famed book “Eat, pray, love,” but it’s really true. Traditionally, parents name their kids between four names – Wayan (or Putu), Made, Nyoman, or Ketut. It means, first born, second born, third born, and fourth born in that order. In most cases, the Balinese first names will fall within these four, but of course there is an exception. So I asked myself what if there are more children than just four in the family? One of the butlers actually told me that in such cases, it goes back to the starting point. But instead of just naming the child Wayan, he or she will often be called Wayan Balik which means the first born again. Well, long story short, this is how I recognized right away that the chef Wicaya was a firstborn. Such a fascinating custom.

Ingredients for the soup

Going back to the recipes, there are two parts to the soup – the broth and the prawns. Both of them are based on the pesmol seasoning, which needs chili peppers, shallots, lime leaves, salam leaves, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, galangal, turmeric, and candlenuts. Prawns are peeled and skewered with the lemongrass stick, so it’s ready to be marinated.

Chopped finely

Saute-ing

Bumbu pesmol

All the ingredients need to be finely chopped. You need to saute shallots and garlic first, then put in the rest of the chopped up spices in vegetable oil, or olive oil. Then stir it until all the ingredients become soft. Pour in some chicken stock and let them simmer for 10 minutes. Once the liquid reduces down, pour the hot mixture into the blender and blend. Return the paste and saute it until it becomes a thick paste, which will now be called bumbu pesmol.

Marinated prawns

Prawns being grilled

Once the bumbu pesmol is prepared, take the skwered prawns and marinate it with the paste. Then return the rest of the paste to the soup pan, add some chicken stock, then bring it to a boil. After 10 minutes, reduce the heat, add coconut milk and simmer until it achieves the right consistency. Once the broth is done, take the marinated prawns and grill them just until they’re cooked through (but not too long so it doesn’t become too chewy).

Soup is almost ready

To assemble the soup, put in chopped haricot vert, bean sprouts, diced tomato, and corn kernels into a clean bowl. Place the grilled prawns, and pour in the broth over it. Once you garnish the top with julienned chili pepper, lime leaves, and fried shallot, the soup is done and ready. Unlike some Indian dishes that are prepared from a mixture of dried powdered spices,the soto udang pesmol is made with the fresh local spices. No wonder why it’s a simple yet plain satisfying. It’s creamy, light, spicy, and sweet, all in one bite. I finished the soup to the last drop, standing in one corner of the kitchen. It was truly an amazing experience for me where I got to see the magic happen before my eyes. I loved my mini demo class, and couldn’t thank enough the friendly and kind chef Wicaya.

Kudeta in Kuta celebrating 10 yrs

The hip dining room

That night, my sister and I took the blue bird taxi (blue bird taxi is your best bet amongst the many cabs in Bali) to get to Seminyak. Seminyak is a hip area in Kutu where many Aussie surfers hang out. There are many hip boutiques, stores, restaurants, and clubs, etc. Kudeta is been a solid establishment in Bali for 10 years now – it’s a total hot spot where you can have very decent food (albeit the small food portion and $$$$) to a club/lounge music and a great ambiance with the ocean front. It felt like I was dining in the meatpacking district in NYC, only with the palm trees and the ocean around it. The food we had was very good, but we were done with everything fairly quickly – we were starving at that point, and the portions weren’t so big. After we were done, I tried to catch a cab back to the hotel. But I almost got into a fight. As it turns out, at Kudeta, they offer a car service that goes by the fixed rate, which is about twice more what it’ll be going by the metered rate. The guys over there were trying to hustle us and negotiate with us, but I walked out of the place calmly and hailed a metered cab. I ended up paying a little less than the half of what I would have paid if I took the fixed rate taxi from Kudeta. I felt proud of myself for knowing what to expect, and knowing how to go about it. I guess they don’t say that knowledge is power for nothing.

Well, even though I wrote a lot on Bali, I still have some more interesting things to write in the next entry, “Welcome to Bali part III.” So don’t go anywhere and come back soon!

Welcome to Bali part I

12 Jul

Leaving for Bali at the Incheon airport

Last week, my sister and I headed to Bali for some much deserved R&R. Since she lives in Boston, and I live in New York (well, I shall say I used to live), we never got to spend any quality time together. So we thought, why not go on a mini vacation together when we can? And if so, because of our hectic daily lives, we wanted to go somewhere relaxing, somewhere warm. Then the genius whiz my mom is, she suggested that we travel to Bali, Indonesia. She also suggested staying at the BVLGARI resort there, since she heard many good things about it. Apparently the resort is well-known to Korean people because a famous Korean celebrity couple (a Korean version of Brangelina) stayed there recently for their honeymoon. Well, to make long story short, we packed our bags and got on the direct flight from Seoul/Incheon to Denpasar, Bali via Garuda Indonesia. It was long 6.5 hrs.

Visa on arrival at Ngurah Rai (Denpasar) International airport

In Bali, there were many Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Australian tourists. It’s unsurprising considering the distance – all of those countries are somewhat close to Bali. But regardless of where you come from, so long as you are a foreigner, you have to get a visa on arrival at the airport. That means having to pay $25/person, and to wait in an un-airconditioned room for roughly an hour. Once you get a visa, only 30 days are allowed for stay in Indonesia, no longer. Though in Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat Pray Love,” she talks about how she illegally extended her stay with a few hundred bucks handed off to an immigration officer (I haven’t experienced it personally so I wouldn’t recommend it!). Anyways, after we passed through the immigration process, we passed a line-up of money exchange agencies on our way out. I was turned off by their hustling so I didn’t exchange any of my money, but in retrospect it would have been a great idea to exchange U.S. dollars to the local Rupiah. In the city, you can exchange 1 dollar to 9,000 rupiah, but at the hotels or restaurants, the exchange rate is around 8500 rupiah per dollar. Since everywhere is priced in rupiah, you have a disadvantage paying with U.S. dollars. A good lesson learned for me, I’ll know what to do next time.

On the road

In Bali, there are many scooters. Most people ride them as they’re more affordable and faster to get around. In some cases, a whole family of four will travel on one scooter. I’ve even seen a woman carry eggs on an open tray as she rode her scooter. Because there are so many of them, all the street side groceries (bodegas, as we call them in NYC) sell benzene oil for the riders. In other words, bodegas can also be a gas station for the locals. They use a big Absolut vodka bottle (or a clear bottle that looks about the same) to store the oil, and stack them on the wooden shelves by the roadside. It looks like bottled tea water or something refreshing to drink, but it’s really not. So my advice would be don’t try drinking it. :)

Conrad resort

The first night, we stayed at the Conrad hotel (since we had a schedule conflict with the BVLGARI, we had to stay one extra night here). When we arrived at the lobby for check-in, we were given a small welcome drink, and a cold wet towel as a refreshment. It’s almost customary to welcome a guest this way at any given luxury hotels in Bali. The drink was sparkly, citrusy, and refreshing, and the cold wet towel was delicately perfumed with lime and coconut. It instantly reminded me that I am indeed in the paradise of the great nature.

Being hungry and tired, we headed to the restaurant to get some dinner before going to bed. Contrary to what I thought, everything was priced in Rupiah, not U.S. dollars. It is usually priced in thousands of Rupiah, meaning if something costs 200,000 Rupiah, it will be written as 200. It is equivalent to 23-25 dollars. Since I was not used to the conversion, I just ate thinking it won’t cost too much. I had to learn it the hard way when I got a bill equivalent to 70 dollars to my room the next morning at the check-out. I swear all I had was one small bottle of sparkling water, one salad, and one pasta. Unlike what I had imagined, the prices at the hotels and resorts were in fact not cheap at all. AT all.

Balinese funeral ceremony for cremation

The next day, my sister and I headed to the Ayung river for white water rafting. I’ve never gone on a rafting, so I thought I’d give it a shot here in Bali. We drove for about 2 hrs and a half into the island to the rafting house. On our way to the rafting house, we saw a funeral ceremony. Our driver told us that in Bali, rich people usually get cremated at death, and the rest of the public gets buried since cremation costs more. Also, the richer you are, the more elaborate the funeral ceremony is at any given day. As it is in numerous developing countries, there is a big gap between the social classes in Bali unsurprisingly.

The Ayung river

Balinese jungle

Balinese jungle

Once we got to the rafting house, we were given a life vest, a helmet, and a paddle. We walked down many, many stairs with our boat guide to get to the rafting boat dock. All my belongings were put into a plastic bag, then again put into the thick water-proof messenger bag our boat guide kept. I was excited but a little scared too.

Since it was my first time, I really didn’t know what to expect. Will it get rough and aggressive? Or is it a nice boat ride? Luckily, the water wasn’t too aggressive, but that is not to say that I didn’t get soaked in water. Since it was only me, my sister, and the boat guide on our rafting boat, I had to paddle like there was no tomorrow. In retrospect, I wonder it would have been better if we joined another group. I can confidently tell you that paddling is some work. Especially when you have to do it for hours without stopping.

Rock carvings in the middle of Ayung river

Beautifully carved rock

Beautifully mossed rock carving

Amazingly in harmony with the nature

In the middle of the river, there was a long stretch of beautifully carved rock wall. It is indeed based on the traditional Balinese religion,  hinduism, and it was originally carved there to ward off all evil spirits. Speaking of the traditional religion, Bali is the only island where people follow hinduism, unlike the rest of the Indonesia who are very muslim. But it is also not exactly like the Indian hinduism, even though that’s where it comes from. Instead of having many idols/gods like in India, the Balinese believe in one god called “widi” which means “the one” naturally. In fact, there are many more differences that I didn’t get to learn of.

In my opinion, the most impressive aspect of the carved rock wall was its perfect harmony with the jungle that surrounds it. It fits right in as if the jungle was formed that way. The carved wall was partially mossed in a very natural and chic way, and it was just plainly beautiful in the middle of a well-stretched jungle. I wish I could have studied it in further details, but I had to paddle away on schedule.

Beverage stand

Coconuts

On the middle of our route, we stopped for some refreshments at the small wooden stand on the side of the river. There were already a group of people (East Europeans, I suspect) who were taking a break. I wanted to drink coconut water, so I decided to share one with my sister at the cost of $3. Again, because I didn’t have the Indonesian Rupiah, I had to pay more in U.S. dollars. (In case you haven’t already noticed, I just can’t seem to stress it enough). The coconut water was indeed cool and thirst-quenching, but I can say that I’ve had better. It wasn’t nutty and sweet the way I like it. But it was big, and thirst-quenching, so I had no complaints drinking it. Also, interestingly while I was drinking the coconut juice on the corner, I managed to get hit on by a local Balinese guy. He told me in his broken English that he like girls like me, who are big and has white skin. I’m not sure what that exactly meant, but I decided to take it as a compliment. I’m telling you, certain Balinese guys are quite hustlers like the ones in NYC. I am pretty confident that they will fit right in, in that aspect, if they ever had to move to NYC. (Ha ha).

Actually, I remember hearing from someone else last time I visited Indonesia that Indonesian guys love girls who have light skin. Apparently, they’re worth a lot more cows than the one who have darker skin (Indonesian men have to gift cows to the parents of the girl he wants to marry as a dowry). I suppose it is the way it is based the theory of rarity. It is always something that’s rare that everyone wants even more of it.

Jimbaran beach

After being soaked in water for hours, we headed to one of the many spas in Bali for a well-deserved relaxation. We had a head-to-toe massage that undid all the paddling work we did earlier. It felt really relaxing – I was trying really hard not to doze off to sleep. I didn’t want to start snoring and make my Balinese masseuse laugh. I mean, I don’t snore normally, but I was once told that I do sometimes especially when I’m tired. So I didn’t want to take a chance. Luckily, I succeeded in not falling asleep while getting a delicious massage.

Then afterwards, we headed to the Jimbaran beach for some seafood barbecue before heading to Uluwatu where BVLGARI resort is located. We sat across from the ocean in the dusk, with a big basket of barbecued seafood. It was breezy, beautiful, and calming. Though I didn’t like the food at all, I managed to eat some rice and cooked vegetables. For some reason, I just didn’t like the barbecued seafood. I don’t think I would recommend it to friends, unless another restaurant could have done it much better.

The bathroom in our villa

After our quick disappointing dinner, we headed to check in at the BVLGARI, the real highlight of the trip to Bali. When we got to the gate, there was double security to make sure they don’t let in any terrorists or drug dealers into the resort. It was dark into the night, and all we could hear were the leaves dancing in the wind, and the night waves crashing into an ocean’s lullaby.

As we did at Conrad, we were given a cold, perfumed-wet towel and a refreshing welcome drink while we wait for our buggy ride. Since the resort is big, and all units are personal villas, a butler needs to accompany the guests wherever they may wish to go at any given point. I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of “butlers” at first, but I soon dropped all my questions in the beauty of the resort, and the hospitality of the Balinese there. The place was… how could I say… breathtaking.

After a check-in at our villa, our butler showed us around. The villa was a perfect combination of the traditional Balinese architecture, and the super modern and chic European architecture. It was a place where everything was built to the sheer perfection. I could see why there were so many newly weds in the resort. It was a piece of heaven on earth.

Well, more details are to follow in the next entry, “Welcome to Bali II,” since it’s late into my bed time. But stay tuned for more fun stories at the B. I will be right back!

Surviving my first week on the other side of the globe

21 Jun

Wall deco at W Walkerhill (Seoul)

It’s been almost a week since I arrived here in Korea. I’m getting used to the different environment here, slowly but surely. Now wherever I go, or wherever I look, there are only Asian people around – like me – with the black hair, black eyes and all. It’s not like NYC where all sorts of people coexist. I definitely miss it, but change of scene is a good thing, I tell myself. In any case, that’s what I had wanted originally. It finally hits me that I have begun the life I have imagined.

Korean Chicken Soup (Baek Sook)

By the time I finally arrived home the first day, I was so exhausted that I pretty much passed out as soon as I got in. Then the next morning when I woke up, my mom warmed me up a hot bowl of Korean chicken soup called “Baek Sook.” It’s made with an organic chick, stuffed with sticky rice, ginseng, and medicinal herbs. The result is a soup that is deep in its flavor without any unpleasant gamey flavors and/or smell. When I eat it, I take out the bones first then season the soup with sea salt and pepper. It’s so hearty and healthy, it’s totally soul-warming. When it’s made well, it’s truly a therapy in a bowl.

KFC (Korean Fried Chicken)

So after the great chicken soup breakfast, due to the 13 hour difference, I fell back asleep. I think I slept until about dinner time. Since we were going to watch the World Cup game (which Korea lost to Argentina in a surreal way), mom brought some fried chicken from the local place that has been around for at least 20 yrs or so. Korean fried chicken comes in two kinds usually – plain and spicy. This one was plain, but it came with the spicy sauce and the pickled radish (it’s called “moo”). The meat is tender, and the skin is crispy. But since skin contains a lot of fat, I can’t overindulge myself and eat all of it. Well but even then, so long as I have a glass of cold beer to wash it down with, all is good.

The Aftermath of skin and bones

Besides from the two forms of Korean chicken I had, nothing really exciting has happened as such. Probably because I spent most of my time just recovering from the jet lag and whatnot. Though this weekend, the family decided to stay at the W hotel Walkerhill, just to chill and relax. But by the time we got to the hotel, we were all so tired that I only got to take a few shots of the room before I fell asleep. The room was modern with bright red and white. I could see why young people would like staying here.

W Hotel Walkerhill in Seoul

The checker board red + white decorative pillow

The bathroom shelf

The reflection

Sweeeeeeet!

Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery so I couldn’t take more photos. I would say that the week has been pretty sweet. But hold your disappointments, I promise I will have more interesting things to write about in the coming weeks. As a matter of fact, I am leaving for Bali, Indonesia, tomorrow morning. So I will have some interesting things to say when I get back for sure.

Well, on that note, have a fabulous week. Until the Bali edition!

Temporarily out of New York

12 Jun

New York, New York

I can’t believe I’ve neglected my blog for nearly two months. That’s just so unacceptable… BUT I have an excuse or two (really!).

Well, (drum roll please), I finally decided to take some time off to travel and do the things I never got to do due to not having enough time. AND, (a bigger drum roll please and hold your breath), I also decided to attend Le Cordon Bleu in Paris next January for a pastry course!!! So consequentially I’ve been busy preparing for it (A.K.A. quitting my job, packing, etc.). I’m sad to be leaving NYC, but at the same time I’m glad I get to go on a journey for 1 1/2 yr. Speaking of going on a journey, I recently finished reading Eat, Pray, Love where the writer Elizabeth Gilbert leaves for Italy, India, and Indonesia for a year in total to find herself. I think my journey would be something similar of sort – it’ll be a time for me where I can explore, learn, and discover the new sides of me. I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but what do I care? I get to travel in Asia and Paris!!!!

Since I will surely miss the city and everything in it, I decided to dedicate this entry to recognize a few of them.

N.1 ♥ Being able to get good coffee on-the-go

I love getting latte/cappuccino/coffee from either FIKA or Joe the Art of Coffee. Being able to get the European style coffee on the go is just great. Asia has many coffee places that offer coffee drinks to-go, that taste not quite authentic. Then in Europe, the coffee tastes amazing, but not a lot of places offer it to-go. So the fact that I can pick up a great cup of coffee, on my way to work, on any lazy weekend, or just about any occasion is something I will dearly miss. (And how about all the yummy coffee snacks they sell with!)

N.2 ♥ Being able to go out to eat amazing Pakistani/Indian food at 3AM

When I used to live in Boston, I was never really exposed to good Indian or Pakistani food. I used to go eat Indian food around Harvard Square, but in retrospect, it was very very Americanized Indian food. Here in NYC, I can go out to eat great chicken biryani and the yummy Kulfi (Indian ice cream. The one I like tastes like condensed milk.) at 3AM after a night of dancing or a friendly bar hopping. Being able to eat decently authentic Indian/Pakistani food is one thing, but where else can you get this food at 3AM? The dish I am talking about is the ultimate comfort food that has just enough grease and the spices. Of course, Kulfi has just enough sweetness to balance out the spices. I will surely get a craving for this food in the near future. I wish they would deliver to Korea or Paris. Maybe in my dreams they will…

N.3 ♥ Being able to roam around the chic streets of Soho and the Village

I used to live on the corner of Mulberry and Prince before I moved to Gramercy. I used to love the fact that I could take a walk around the Soho neighborhood into the chic streets that had many boutiques and shops. I used to walk on those streets when I felt down and needed to feel “fabulous” again. Sometimes, I will be pleasantly surprised at finding a cute dress shop or a cute dessert cafe. It’s a walk therapy wrapped around in NYC chic. I will miss those feel-good strolls on the streets of Soho on a sunny weekend, and also the occasional fashion/food finds.

N.4 ♥ The Oysters and a glass of wine on a Saturday evening (even better with a date!)

Speaking of chic, there are few fancy things I like to indulge myself with. I absolutely love going out for fresh oysters with a glass of wine on a weekend evening. I like to mix the west coast and the east coast varieties, then pair with dry and crisp white wine (like Chablis, Pouilly-Fuissé or Sauvignon Blanc) or a well-chilled glass of dry champagne. This winning combo is truly a natural anti-depressant, it instantly gets me into a happy mode. So if anyone wants to bribe me, this would be it. Anyways, I will surely miss being able to go out with S on a Saturday evening for a chic pick-me-up.

N.5 ♥ U.S. Open Baby!!!!

Around late August and early September, U.S. Open Tennis takes place in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. I like watching tennis games live, because it’s like going to a baseball stadium but more civilized. Sometimes when you get lucky, they move a game to another stadium due to a schedule conflict then reassign the seats on a first come first serve basis. I got lucky and saw Jelena Jankovic up-close and personal last year. I just wished it was Federer (or even Djokovic!!), but I guess that would have to be for the next time…

N.6 ♥ The Chrysler

Looking up at the Chrysler building never fails to remind me that I live in the great and fabulous New York City. Not only it’s classy, sophisticated and beautiful to look at, but it’s just utterly so New York. I will miss being able to walk on the streets of New York, looking far at the brightly-lit building top of the Chrysler, feeling proud and fabulous.

N.7 ♥ The Central Park

I took this picture a few years back when I used to live by the Lincoln Center. I don’t realize how beautiful it is, but just looking again at this picture, I keep thinking how picturesque the park really is. I used to come to this pond area to walk or to ponder (no pun intended!). It always used to pick me right up and put a smile on my face. And of course, how will I not miss the sunbathing in the sheep meadow and jogging around the Jackie-O reservoir?

There are so many things I will miss from the city, and the list could go on. But I must say that what I would miss the most will be my dear friends whom I’ve gotten to know through various occasions. I’m sad to leave the beloveds, but I know I’ll be back in some time. So Au Revoir NYC, and be good until then!


Happy Birthday Mom!

21 Apr

Cupcake with strawberry mascarpone cream

I can’t believe how long it has been since I’ve written my last blog. I blame everything on my mom. Ever since she came over to my place, she has taken over my Macbook. Oh mother. Well, speaking of mom, I am dedicating this one to her. Because it’s her birthday today!!

Since I didn’t have much time on hand to prepare, I cheated a bit and used Giada’s cupcake recipe that calls for a cake mix. (But don’t tell my mom, shhhhhh). Luckily, I had a mini cupcake pan, mini cupcake liners, a pastry bag, and the tip on hand. I prepared the cake dough by mixing the cake mix with water, oil, and lemon zest. My dough was still pretty watery, so I used a mini ladle to pour the dough into the cupcake liners. I filled almost to the top of the liner, and put into the oven at 325F. It takes about 12-18 mins but you know it is done when it passes the toothpick test – when you poke the cake in the middle with the toothpick and if it comes out clean, the cake is done. Otherwise, it’ll come out wet if it’s underbaked. After they’re baked through, let them cool on a rack.

Fun frosting

Now on to the highlight of any cupcake: le frosting. I am not a huge fan of buttercream frostings. It’s literally a mix of butter sugar and cream, not that there is anything wrong with it because butter, sugar, and cream are wonderful standalone. Perhaps not all at the same time. Well anyways, it’s a personal preference thing. I prefer creamcheese frosting or something lighter than the buttercream. In this case, the recipe had called for mascarpone cheese. Mascarpone cheese is creamy triple cream cheese from Italy. It doesn’t taste like cheese at all, but slightly tangy and just really creamy. It’s used to make the wonderful tiramisu. I like it because it’s creamy without being overly processed. Well back to the frosting, I mixed the mascarpone, powdered sugar, chopped thawed and drained strawberries together and boom. Magically refreshing but decadent frosting in a quick second.

Mini strawberry layer cake

For the assembly, I filled the pastry bag with the frosting, stick the piping tip into the cupcakes to fill the inside, and frost on top to finish. It was very easy. With the sheet of cake I made earlier, I cut out small rounds to assemble a mini layer cake. You can put a jam filling in between the layers, or cream filling in between, or anything you want in between. After stacking the layers, I put the frosting all over, and placed a slice of strawberry on top for decoration. I think the beautiful color of the ripe strawberry pop against the cream and the background. A beautiful, simple spring dessert idea.

My mom had breathed in two cupcakes at one sitting. For her, that’s pretty incredible as she’s not a big fan of cupcakes. I think she had picked up on that hint of love I put somewhere along the way in making the batter. I know cupcakes are overdone and so yesterday, but it really is a good treat especially when it’s a bite size. If you haven’t tried it yet, I think you oughta give it a shot. It’s fun stuff. And yummy too of course.

Masala chai kasutera… anyone?

15 Mar

*If you want to listen to music while reading this, please click here. It will open on a different window/tab (The Bird and the Bees “Love letter to Japan”)

Masala chai kasutera

Kasutera is a sponge cake that is popular in Korea, which originated from Japan. The word kasutera, Castella really, comes from the word Pao de Castilla in Portuguese (it means the bread from Castilla region in Portugal). The bread from Castilla came from Portugal to Japan, and the Japanese started making them their way.

I remember eating them in Korea – they’re light, fluffy, soft, and moist. It was a perfect childhood snack with a glass of milk. Recently, I had a craving for an angelfood cake-like, that’s also moist, not dry, and the kasutera came to my mind. The long-lost childhood favorite of mine. The wonderfully light, fluffy, and moist cake that’s just tad sweet.

But this time around, I wanted to make it somewhat different. Commonly the Japanese bakeries offer them in vanilla, green tea, and chocolate flavors. I wanted to make something that’s not those flavors. Then I remembered the masala chai flavored chocolate I had from Le Pain Quotidien… why not masala chai? I adore drinking it. It would be interesting, it would be something new nonetheless.

So I went to pick up a dozen of fresh farm eggs, organic milk, green cardamom, cloves, and masala chai spice blend at the indian market in Murray Hill. I was excited to embark on this spicy experiment.

Kasutera and the gift bags

I operate in a poorman’s kitchen, so I often work without any gadgets, but in this case, I recommend using an electric mixer. In order to make the cake more light and fluffy, the egg whites and the egg yolks need to be beat to incorporate as much air as possible. So an electric mixer comes in uber-handy – unless you want to whip the eggs until your arms will fall off. Speaking of whipping the eggs, this is what I used to make the cake. 6 eggs separated, 3/4 cup of sifted flour, 2 tbsp of masala spices, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of warm cardamom and cloves steeped milk, 3 tbsp of honey, and a dash of vanilla extract. First, I took the egg whites in a cold working bowl, added in sugar, and started beating. It’s like making a meringue – I whipped it until semi hard peak formed. (Once the egg white is done, keep it in the fridge while you work on the egg yolks). I took another working bowl, and set up a double boiler to whip egg yolks. Contrary to the egg white, it whips and doubles in volume better when it’s warm. After the yolks turned light yellow in color, and doubled in volume, I put the warm milk mixture. Earlier I had steamed milk with some green cardamoms, cloves, a dash of vanilla, and some honey. After mixing them together, I put sifted mix of flour and the spice mixture little by little. I incorporated them lightly with a spatula. After mixing the dry ingredients half way through, I folded in a half of the egg white foam. It’s important to lightly incorporate the egg white, because otherwise it loses all the fluffiness. I did my best to mix all of the ingredients together with the minimum disturbance. The dough should still be runny and jiggly, not too thick.

I lined my square cake pan with the wax paper. This is important because the cake will stick to the pan. I poured the dough into the lined pan, and hit it against the counter to achieve an even layer on top. I put it in the oven at 350F for 10 minutes, then reduced the heat to 315F for about another 40 minutes or so. When a toothpick comes out clean, you will know that it’s done. After it was out of the oven, I made some slits on top of the cake, and poured in the masala chai syrup I made just so the cake will stay moist when it cools. Then it was time for the pan to rest over night in the fridge.

Individually wrapped

Yellow ribbon

The next morning, I went to check on the cake as soon as I opened my eyes. The cake was soft, spicy, moist, and tad sweet. I liked that the cake was moist even without using a lot of butter or oil. Since it is a bit sticky around the edges, I wrapped them in a wax paper (since I didn’t have clear cellophane wrapper). Traditionally they are wrapped in a clear cellophane wrapper. It was a tad too spicy on the palate for me, but it was good indeed. I liked that it was different. I took it with a cup of honey steamer (milk steamed with honey), and boy oh boy was it good. It was a perfect snack for the grown-ups. It had the soft texture of a childhood snack, yet the kick and the exotic breeze to it.

I gave some to my Indian friend to see what he thinks. He personally thinks these will sell like hotcakes at any Indian grocery store. Maybe I should set up a cart on the corner of 27th and Lex and see what happens. Who knows?

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