living up to my astrological sign: the pig

i think i may have an eating disorder. an excessive-eating disorder. i am going to eat my future husband dry. and i do not mean that in a kinky way, whatsoever. okay, maybe a little of that too.

sunday went something along the lines of this:

12.00pm: yoghurt

01.30pm: chicken rice

04:00pm: chilli bratwurst with sauerkraut

06:30pm: 8-course degustation

i basically stuffed myself silly in a span of about six hours. the reason why i ate so much prior to dinner was because i did not realise we were doing a degustation. to welcome mili back, we went to Cutler & Co. two thumbs up for the casual atmosphere and excellent food. my three favourite dishes were the king fish, duck leg and wagyu beef. the desserts were pretty delectable too.

anchovy pastry wrapped in i-can't-remember-what-cured-meat

salmon with roe & capers

cured king fish, avocado, octopus and pickled cucumber

baby beetroot salad, goat's curd, apple & walnut

'mandarin duck' crisp leg, smoked fillet, foie gras parfait and lentils

wood-grilled sher wagyu, smoked corn, mushroom, onion and young garlic

sheep's milk yoghurt, granola and rhubarb granita

violet ice-cream, chocolate ganache and sour cherry

ally, mili & i

vum, mili, bryan & danny

all photos stolen from ally's camera. thanks to bryan and ally for the early birthday present! you popped my degustation cherry.

portobello mushroom burger

seeing as the weather has been fairly warm, i thought it'd be nice to have burgers. sure, it's been tropical thunderstorms, but hell, when i crave for food, i've damn well got to have it.

thus, the inspiration for this delectable burger, if i dare say so myself.


portobello mushroom beef burger with bacon & blue cheese sauce

blue cheese sauce
80gm blue cheese
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1/4 cup of sour cream
squeeze of lemon juice
1 clove of finely chopped garlic

cut the blue cheese into small cubes. add in the mayo, sour cream, lemon juice and garlic. mash the cheese and stir everything well until it becomes a creamy texture. easy peasy!

the burger
burger buns halved
burger patties
streaky bacon
large portobello mushrooms
2 sliced onions
finely chopped garlic (3-4 cloves)
olive oil
cayenne pepper
salt
black pepper
oregano or italian herbs
thin slices of cheese (swiss cheese or mozarella is best)
worcestershire sauce

first, the mushrooms. preheat the oven to about 180 degrees. meanwhile, line an oven tray with foil to put your mushrooms on. gently break off the stem by wiggling it. rub a generous dose of olive oil all over the portobello mushrooms. they tend to soak up the oil. then sprinkle some salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, herbs and garlic all over. marinate them for about 15-20 minutes.

once the oven is heated, pop in the portobellos and let them cook for 10 mins before turning them over, and let it cook for another 5 mins. when that's done, put your cheese slices over the mushrooms (facing upwards like a bowl). pop it back into the oven to melt the cheese.

meanwhile, sautee your onions til they start to turn transparent. add in a few dashes of worcestershire sauce and some black pepper.

fry the bacon til crisp. fry the burger patties. butter your burger buns. put your burger patty on, some blue cheese sauce on top, the portobello mushroom and lastly the onions on top. cover with the other bun half. you can opt to put your salad in the burger as well, but i found the burger to be barely manageable as it was. hence, the salad on the side.

enjoy!

my favourite month

i love december. i mean, what's not to love?

there's my birthday. scattered public holidays. christmas. new year's eve. it's basically the most happening month of the year.

i hope you're not expecting an entertaining post here, because it's not going to be one. i'm too tired to think about anything witty to write.

it's been an eventful birthday. a rather fattening one, too.

alvin and i had dinner at el cerdo on friday. we were really looking forward to the awesome spare ribs only to find it was not available. something about their shipment of black spanish pig being held up in thailand.

grilled short ribs

marinated pork shoulder

after dinner, we headed over to Mist in Bangsar. the music was pretty awesome and the company was fantastic. i have no friends, so i have to rely on the Lim clan and my one incestuous cousin to celebrate with me. after several glasses of whisky and a few shots of Sex on the Beach, came the Flaming. i swear they didn't put any baileys in. it was pure Sambuca.

DISGUSTING.

i sucked. i stood. i shoved. i ran. i puked. and puked. and puked.

not the weak blek blek kind of vomit. it was projectile stuff. then i ran back to down more whisky.

he feeds me well

i foresee my downfall in the very-near future

jian, mili, cam & i

the lims & songs - aaron, cam, lisha & helmi

it looks like i'm trying to stick it up mili's nose

alcohol makes you do strange things...

aaron feeding brian essential vitamins

aaron is the devil's advocate

clockwise: mili, yvonne, brian, aaron, helmi, lisha & alvin

saturday was lunch with my godmother P at C. Club. personally, i wouldn't rush back there anytime soon. the foie gras was good. the forest mushroom soup was good. the duck confit was a winner. the sirloin looked like boarding school food. the lobster pasta just tasted like capsicum and pepper. the shellfish bisque left a bitter aftertaste. for the prices they charge, a 50% hit rate is just not good enough.

i was further spoilt with some shopping courtesy of godmother P. yay!

saturday night, was dinner at tony roma's followed by Transporter 3. my second time watching it. i love hollywood trash.

this afternoon, i had lunch with alvin, bass, jen, mili & cam at Rakuzen. another disappointing meal.

perhaps i've just been plain spoilt. here i am complaining about lobster pasta while children in Africa would be thrilled to even have a loaf of bread. just shoot me with guilt and perspective, and everything is fine again.

a big thank you to everyone who has made my birthday this year a whole lot of fun. much love!

thank you baby, for the mighty mouse. and the drinks. and the food. =)