rest.n.relax

it's a freezing cold weekend. the temperature on saturday is just a little above freezing point, but the north east wind is blowing and it feels like -10c. you went out briefly to garden center.

 with the intention to get a few pack of soil but got carried away by the spring flowers

 they are lovely and colorful

 daffodils are blooming

 but it's really still insanely cold out there...  you look around, the entire garden center is almost deserted,  empty as if you're the only two customers browsing around....

you stopped by for coffee

 despite of the coldness out there, you actually feel quite relaxed in the cafe, right here at the garden center. it's cozy and still.

you had your portion of cappuccino and you actually think it's just lovely to spend time like this, no appointment with friends, no rushing here and there. no running of errands. just take time to relax.

==
you are back to london. you slept well and so you are able to embark for another busy week. you know your source of strength is from Jesus, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
==

fifteen.day.of.cny

today marks the end of the fifteen days of chinese new year.

 a plate of yee sang for lunch, it's the remaining portion of what you had a week ago

you whisk it up with almost the same ingredient from the kit, and addition of grapefruits and celery

ample of shredded carrot of course

it's refreshing and delish, you don't mind having this regularly as a salad.

you had a long day at church, you feel tired despite you skipped the zumba lesson today. it's just too many thing going on sunday afternoon leading to late evening.
you bid farewell to another couple in your church.  God is sending them to a faraway place to cultivate fish and to bless the people in the island. it's a special calling from God to them and you truly wish them the very best!

and happy chap goh mei for those who celebrate this festive occasion!

strawberry.day

you woke up by the smell of croissant. yeah, you slept in a bit and by the time you wake up the croissants are ready.

 you're thinking of something with strawberry for breakfast last night, since you got up the croissant is ready to serve, so you flow with it, only you still want to include your strawberries

 without making anything more, you decide to sandwich the croissants with strawberries, and drizzle with maple syrup and a quick dust of powder sugar

 it's yummy, although the strawberries didn't turn out the way you expect to use them, but still this is a decent use of strawberries

after all, you really want to make a point to take things easy today, so be it a simple strawberry day!

::slow.down::

you thought you will be a little relax when you're home on friday, but little you know this working from home has caused so much stress in you.

 you didn't have time for lunch, and thankfully you picked up some biscuit from london this week.

 these cookies came handy as rescue... with a cup of tea

the walnut pecan cookie from fortnum and mason, the ginger orange peel from dutchy last you to late evening...
you sense the early sign of burnout again since today, when you have to cook the dinner with the headset and doing the tele-conferencing you know something is not right.  either you're overloaded with work, or you have not priority accordingly. you wanted to accomplish so much, not just work, but also in the kitchen and at the same time trying to get your share of zumba workout.
today you come to realization that you need to learn to relax, there's only 24 hour in a day, your day will not be lengthen, so you have to make do with the hours you have in a day.
and it's not too late to take action now, even if it means you will not watch television till late night, or you have to stop the zumba lesson on sunday so that you are not stress to dance and rush to shower and go to church. perhaps if it means you are not going to be occupy the kitchen to cook and bake but take time to rest.
and you know your Lord will slow you down...

love.soup

arriving home past 9pm.
you're tired from travelling for sure.
just a bowl of <3 soup to keep you going in the night before you dive into your bed.

it's a little greasy but a little bit of fat won't harm on such a cold weather. it's ginseng soup made with love, straight from the heart <3. and in cantonese this soup is also called "sam tong", aka "heart soup" <3 soup.

blueberry.dream

signs of spring. haven't you said this lately ^^.

blueberries are back in store, well, these days they are almost available throughout the year only not at the reasonable price.

 strawberries, blueberries and tulips, evidently spring

 and haven't you said that enough that you <3 berries... you can have lots of them everyday...

you whisked up a small portion of pancakes, not normal pancake but amplify with chia seeds, oatmeal and multi-grains flour.

simply top the pancakes with the berries and a drizzle of butterscotch sauce

 another portion of blueberries you had it for your sunday power breakfast, slices of nectarine and blueberries

 with oatmeal porridge... may be a simple oatmeal breakfast, but when you feel extra special when you top it up with generous portion of fruits...

he has been yearning for old fashion pound cake, despite of your not so successful attempts on pound cake, this one raised up well, soft and fluffy.  it's an old fashion marble pound cake following a dutch recipe.

you just improvise by the adding the last portion of blueberries... nothing to shout about but you are super happy with the result.

the goodnews is you're now officially working 4 days in london, that leave you one day at home plus a weekend. it's not a lot of time but it makes you feel good.  good in the way, you feel more work and life balance and you could still enjoy your power zumba and have some time to be creative in the kitchen or garden.

you truly thanked God for that, what seems to be impossible turned out to be acceptable in the eyes of the management.  it's just a simple truth. put God first (james 4:13-15) and live according to God's word (ecclesiastes 10:10)

spring.london

it begins to feel a lot like spring today...

 this evening, all the pubs are filled with people, standing outside, a good sign that the temperature is at the pleasant side

 even you put on your spring dress to work today...
work wise you had a lot of frustrations today, not with people but with a very unstable and buggy product. by 6pm you have had enough, you can't think straight anymore, certainly not for your work...

 so you decided to take a stroll, to your favorite restaurant at old street, a good 30 min walk from where you stay but it's pleasant, you feel really refreshed

 and in time for a good plate of penang style char kway teow, fried rice stick. the best you have tasted so far in london. so if you want a plate of CKT, this restaurant is the place to be.

 you also had a malay style kerabu to go with your extra spicy plate of fried rice stick.  sweat and satisfied, that's the best to describe your feeling when you walk out of the restaurant. happy and ready for another day.

 and embark for another 30 min walk, the london stock exchange is extra charming tonight

 even the window display of paul a young

love the chocolate, perhaps you will drop by some day when the chocolate is calling you again...

sang.ha.ee.meen

you made this awhile ago when you're at home, didn't travel due to bad weather.

it's surprisingly easy to whisk up a plate like this

a sort of in between dry and wet noodles, not necessary soupy but enough gravy.
it's yummy and you're surprise this is quite easy to cook and wonder why it take you so long...

time.to.plant

days are getting longer, very soon you will be enjoying your outdoor life again.
you went out to run the errands and grabs lot of seeds.
gardening has becoming a hobby and now that your garden is revamped, you will spend more time out there for sure

 some herbs that you will be planting, this will last you the whole spring and summer if you planted them in time and if the weather will be kind in spring... can't wait to cultivate my own herbs.. you like the idea of going to your garden plug what you need for your cooking ^^.

some flower seeds for your flower plants. you're novice when come to gardening but you recon it's no harm to learn now.  let's hope it will add more fun, color and sunshine to your days in lowland.
back to your favorite scripture, there's time for every activities under the sun. now is the time to sow and then the time to harvest will come.

lou.sang.捞.生

a colorful salad? well, in a way, yee sang （鱼生）is considered as salad, no?

 you didn't make everything even though your friend shared a recipe with you. you just doing the short cut as you can buy the yee sang kit from london. so you bought one this week.  preparing is quite straight forward, but requires effort...

 you added carrots, coriander leaves, radish and salmon. and the list of things you can add is long but you recognized this is enough for the two of you

 and so you lou (捞). this is a chinese new year dish commonly available from where you come from.  simply because it's auspicious based on the saying as you mix the dish.  for you this is merely a salad, a special treat once in a year, though you could make this more common if you want to...

the mixed version, where different ingredients are now mixed, it's just like any salad isn't it?

you had this for lunch. it's delicious. your body is happy with the veg in take. you feel good too!  there's another portion available for another plate, which will have to be next week when you are back from london.

happy weekend.

shunkan.春.寒

your flight were on time despite there's flurries and wet snow in the lowland yesterday.  certainly a good start of the evening as  you have a dinner to go, a japanese kaiseki meal...

this is not your first time here, you can't consider yourselves as regular but you frequent here at least one or twice a year.

 the restaurant...

 you wanted to try other set menu, but finally decided on the recommended seasonal kaiseki menu because of the exquisite definition and the ingredient used in the meal...

 shunkan was it! in japanese kanji "spring" and "cold". very seasonal kaiseki menu and just the name itself already resembles the weather you are experiencing lately...

 the amuse bouche, the earthy lotus root and carrot simmer in japanese sauce and sprinkle with white sesame...

 a very spring vegetables with yuzu peel, very refreshing, very spring indeed

first course -  zensai, beautifully prepared and come in bite size

 tazuna sushi  of shrimp,  herring and cucumber
hirame kobujime -brill served with rape blossom
taramoko kobu-maki  - simmered cod roe with kelp
uzura jibu-ni - simmered quail with sweet soy sauce

 second course - kaki-shinjo, a clear fish soup with oyster cake. the photo didn't do the justice, the presentation of this soup is so clever that a thin layer of daikon is use to represent the snow with bamboo shoot that's evidently winter and a hint of spring flower and green leaf. the yuzu peel brings forth the taste of spring

third course - tsukuri. sashimi of sea bream, tuna and yellowtail. this dish came with two dipping sauce and you prefer ponzu souce with the spicy mustard than the ordinary soy sauce

fourth course - yuzumiso-yaki. grilled sea bass with yuzu miso, and two tiny slices of dried fig wash  your palate at the end

fifth course - futami-age - shrimp cake and brill cake. a tempura in your opinion only with some clever used of ingredients, in this case a tempura of shrimp and fish cake, the highlight really was the two slices of chips (or crisps). so crispy and burst of the taste of potato

 six course - sukinabe, the main course of mini sukiyaki, come in a mini size pot with veg already simmering. a plate of wagyu beef and the raw egg whisk

 really high quality wagyu beef,

this dish is a tad too sweet for you, and so is in general sukiyaki. you're a little skeptical about the egg whisk dipping sauce but at the end you're thankful as the raw egg white whisk actually masked out the sweetness from the beef and the veg...

seven course - tara-gohan. rice with cod, japanese pickles and miso soup. by now you're really full... even though most dishes are just bite size, your rice go to him in return you grab his pickles and wash down the miso soup.

eighth course -  mizukashi. the finale! and array of dessert, beautifully and elegantly prepared

 white sesame ice cream served with very thin crackers, you love the savory taste in the ice cream and the cracker is the perfect match ^^

 marshmallow in a shape of wagashi.  it has azuki bean paste wrapped. you didn't fancy the marshmallow at all, but the pearl-ish white chocolate is a delight

 the green tea mousse is bitter and you don't taste any sweetness in it but that's okay as there're heaps of sweetness in the dessert.

 yuzu macaron and white miso macaron, although you distaste yuzu macaron as it's way too sweet for you, but you couldn't hold on but finished the entire macaron because the citrus after taste from the yuzu macaron is such a pleasant ending node.  the white miso is not that sweet but you abandon it after a bite. it's indeed special but the white miso taste is very subtle and you gave in to yuzu.

the ikebana at the entrance.  you ate from 7 to 10.30pm, and was impressed by the menu. certainly a very clever use of the ingredient, although you would prefer a real shrimp tempura than shrimp cake, same to an oyster cake where you would prefer a whole oyster.

a very pleasant evening, set aside the fly back, you thoroughly enjoy the dinner. it makes valentine's day.