Mee Siam

Hubby had been asking for some Singaporean mee siam,

so today, I decided to cook this for dinner:

I am so glad that Prima came up with all these fantastic pre-mixes, so I can continue to enjoy authentic tasting Singaporean dishes even when so far away from home :)

Brunch at Wendel's

For a long time, our friend had been wanting to find some company to

try this restaurant she'd read and heard so much about

- Wendel's.

As we had some time today, we arranged to meet for brunch here.

Apparently, this restaurant is managed by

a 3rd generation German restaurateur,

and they are famous for their bratwurst (sausage) and pork knuckle.

They even have their own bakery!

The Bakery

The restaurant

Mochaccino

Bread Basket Selection

Wendel's Signature Breakfast

Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes

German Pork Knuckle with bread and potato dumpling

Freshly Baked Bread at the Bakery

Assortment of Pastries

Marble Cake

Our goodies from the bakery :)

Onion n cheese foccacia,

banana cake,

chocolate swiss roll with cherries

Overall, Wendel's was a yummy experience!

Jamie Oliver's Amalfi Baked Lemons

For some reason, yellow lemons are hard to come by in Taipei.

So when I saw these at a local supermarket on offer,

I couldn't resist and bought a bag to make one of my favorite things:

Jamie Oliver's Amalfi Baked Lemons

First, I cut the lemons into these "wheels"

Then, I layer mozzarella, tomatoes, anchovies and mozzarella

in the lemon wheels

Then bake them!

In about 20 min, this is what they look like:

YUM!!!!

Scoop out the layers of mozzarella, tomatoes, anchovies and mozzarella,

then heap them on some slices of freshly baked baguette ...

HEAVENLY!!!!

Japanese "Tapas" or 居酒屋

Met a friend for dinner yesterday evening,

and she took me to this "Ju Jiu Wu" or what I like to term as

a Japanese Tapas place,

cos they are essentially drinking holes that

serve food in small/snack portions,

to complement the drinks.

I don't drink, but I love the concept of sampling many different dishes,

and the food at these places are generally pretty good.

Spinach with Bonito flakes and a sesame sauce

Yum!

Their No. 2 Bestselling dish

- Grilled Squid with spring onions

I'm not a huge fan of squid, but this was really good!

Fried chicken with onions, grated radish

and a sauce that sizzles when poured onto the hot plate

Japanese "pizza"

A Surprise! All the way from LA!!!!

Our very sweet (no pun intended ... hahaha) friends

who are currently living in Laguna Beach, California,

brought this all the way from their little excursion to LA!

SPRINKLES CUPCAKES!!!!!!

(Erm ... one was quickly devoured before this photo could be taken ...)

You know how you read about things that are so far away and unattainable that you know you'd never have the chance to see, let alone try/savour,

YET you keep wishing for it?

That's what I was thinking about these cupcakes!

These apparently are the cupcakes to the stars!

Oprah loves them

Katie Holmes loves them

Suri Cruise had them for her birthday

Need I say more?

And we got 6 of these cupcakes yesterday!!!!

Thanks to D & K!!!

(For enduring the long queues to buy them,

carrying them all the way fm LA

to Laguna Beach

to the airport,

and

hand carrying them on the loooong plane ride to Taipei!!!!)

Can you tell by the number of exclamation marks how excited I am?!?!?

:) :) :) :) :)

Fried Rice with XO Sauce, Salmon Miso Soup etc

Dinner yesterday night:

Salmon Miso Soup

Stir fried lettuce

Fried Rice in XO sauce

(I had a sudden craving for fried rice,

and wanted some spiciness,

so I added some XO sauce

and it was delish!)

Dinner at Bian Lian [變臉 新中經典風味菜], Xinyi Mitsukoshi A9

For dinner last Friday,

we decided to try this restaurant:

變臉 新中經典風味菜

It's basically Shanghainese cuisine.

As appetiser, we had this cold dish:

chicken in a mouth-numbingly-spicy sauce

Yum!

Tofu

Kung Pao Fish Fillet

Their Special Deep Fried Pork Ribs

Spring 2010 Fashion

These are some looks I'm loving for Spring 2010:

By Cynthia Steffe

The colours are lovely ... ultimate spring colours!

The top is beautiful, with nice drapey frills down the V-neck front.

Teamed with an equally beautifully pleated floral skirt.

Sigh .. what more can a girl want?

(long toned gams and a slim figure to go with the outfit perhaps? :) )

Another fabulous outfit by Cynthia Steffe in the same colour palette as above.

You can practically smell the wild flowers!

The shorts are so pretty with the little bow-ties at the sides,

while the pleated top looks so sunny and breezy

... perfect for a warm summer/spring day!

I want!

Yet another outfit by Cynthia Steffe.

I just adore the floral print, pastel spring colours,

and mostly the pleated layers on this dress.

Gorgeous!

This brings to mind Monet's "Irises"

It's such a simple outfit ...

Just pull it on, belt it,

and you're good to go.

Lovely!

By Doo Ri

I like how the draping is so flattering.

And the colour is gorgeous too!

Such a chic look!

Skirt By Diane Von Furstenburg

This skirt caught my eye firstly cos of the pleats and layers

I really like these on garments.

They just make an outfit so special.

The other thing that made this beautiful was the colours.

They reminded me of some exotic birds of paradise.

Lovely!

Another outfit by Cynthia Steffe

As firmly established by my choices of the best gowns at the Golden Globes and SAG, I'm loving sparkle and shimmer at the moment.

This silver confection is, in my mind, shimmer perfection.

If I had the right occasion, I'd so wear this!

[Pics from Elle and Net-a-porter]

2010 SAG Awards

More Red Carpet gowns!

This time, at the 2010 SAG Awards.

Personally, I preferred the gowns I saw at the SAG Awards to those at the Golden Globes.

Anna Kendrick in Alberta Ferretti

Wow!

I loved the jewel amethyst colour of this gown.

I loved the draping,

the pleating,

the fullness of the skirt

the fit of the bodice.

Gorgeous!

Christina Applegate in Roberto Cavalli

Christina Applegate is another person who I love to see

on the red carpet.

She looks beautiful and elegant in this lovely

ice-blue gown.

The draping is gorgeous and the flowy chiffon skirt

is stunning.

Diane Kruger in Jason Wu

The gown is lovely and Diane Kruger looks

so elegant and sophisticated in this gown

but I can't help wishing for a little more accessorising

... like perhaps a brooch at the waist ...

just to give it a little more glamour/bling.

Christina Hendricks in Caroline Herrera

The Mad Men star looks va-va-voom in this gown...

so reminds me of her character on Mad Men ...

totally voluptuous, and

brings to mind Marilyn Monroe.

I can't help but be glad that in an industry of super slim women,

she makes curvy look good...

but of course, she is curvy in all the right places ...

Marion Cotillard in Elie Saab

I love watching the European ladies (like Audrey Tautou, Diane Kruger) walk the red carpet.

Somehow, they just have so much style, they stand out in the crowd,

and in a good way!

Marion Cotillard, like Diane Kruger, is daring in her fashion choices.

This dress has sparkle, shimmer, feathers ...

all in one dress.

But to me, it works...

maybe cos I like sparkle, shimmer and feathers :)

And in this instance, short is good.

With so much going on, a long gown would be just too much.

2010 Golden Globes Award

I've always loved watching the red carpet arrivals for the award shows.

For the 2010 Golden Globes, I liked these gowns:

Diane Kruger in Christian Lacroix

When I first saw this, I thought it was rather over-the-top,

but as I looked at it, and compared it to the other gowns

gracing the red carpet that day,

it grew on me.

For one, the colour really stood out in contrast to the traditionally

safer colours others had chosen for their gowns.

For another, you just had to give Diane Kruger kudos

for being daring enough to try something so different,

AND for being able to carry it off with her gorgeous complexion,

hair and makeup, and accessories.

You can tell she truly enjoys fashion,

and experimenting with different looks,

regardless how far-out they may seem.

Looking at stars in their beautiful gowns is afterall

tantamount to watching dreams/fantasies come to life...

Emily Blunt in Dolce & Gabbana

I've always had a soft spot for floaty chiffony gowns.

They look so ethereal and flowy and girly.

The colour of the gown also was such a lovely soft pink.

Drew Barrymore in Versace

This gown had 2 elements which I've always liked:

crystals & a beautiful goldenish shimmery shade

I did wish however that the cluster of crystals at the hip

didn't stand up quite so much.

Fergie in Elie Saab

This shade of lilac really appeals to me,

as does the beading at the waist.

And all that beautiful flowing silk/chiffon on the skirt of the gown ...

Gorgeous!

Heidi Klum in Roberto Cavalli

This dress is actually white in colour...

but I certainly wouldn't mind if it were in the pretty light blue

this photo shows.

Again, this highlights my love for floaty chiffony confections :)

And I like all the shimmer that's going on at the bodice.

Sigh ....

Reese Witherspoon in Armani

She looks simply amazing in this shade of blue.

And look at how this gown fits!

I wish I could look that good ...

Ginnifer Goodwin in Vionnet

I've never heard of this designer before,

but after doing some googling,

here's what I found:

Vionnet is a Parisian Fashion House

started by Madeleine Vionnet, who passed away in 1975.

At the helm of this label is now Rodolfo Paglialunga

(formerly from Prada).

Vionnet was apparently the pioneer of the bias cut,

so it's not surprising that the modern day designs

are all about fluidly draping fabrics.

On Ginnifer Goodwin, this shade of blue is gorgeous.

The strategic draping on the dress

enhances her figure

(and I believe if it were I who were wearing this,

would disguise all my figure flaws :) )

Only, cos of its length, the dress comes across as slightly

less formal than the longer gowns

seen on the red carpet.