defknee's Xanga

Friday, November 09, 2007

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:10:17 GMT

Managed to catch an evening screening of Stardust last night and it made me so friggin' happy. For a good two hours at least. And after, it was back to reading (and answering) the 8 or so emails which popped up on my Blackberry and for the rest of the night. Crackberry? the only thing I feel like doing sometimes is just cracking the damn thing open.

Back to Stardust. I love how they made her all glowy. Hows that for good skin huh?

My idea of a Christmas project is not to make delicate powdered sugar biscuits or warm earthy gingerbread cookies. Not even a booze-doused fruit cake. No sirreeeee.

This Christmas, I really, seriously, would like to brine a turkey. I've heard (more like read) about how brined turkeys turn out wonderfully crisp on the outside, yet succulent and juicy on the inside. Most importantly, brining promises tasty and flavourful turkey meat. I must confess, with 23 years worth of Christmas turkey gobbling (hahahahha) at hand, I never quite met a turkey breast I didn't think was too dry, stringy and just.... tasteless.

Jon thinks I should start small, like, with chickens.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 05:22:38 GMT

"Chef Zak Pelaccio's Romli sliders are made in the Malaysian style and served four to an order."

- On a Roll by Jeffrey Steingarten

Written in his article (published in this month's Vogue) about making the perfect, resplendent burger, I was wondering what in the world was a Romli slider. Then it hit me.

Ramly burger. Ohmygosh the humble, Malaysian roadside hawker/ pasar malam staple Ramly burger has found its way to the Big Apple, with a fancy pants name change, no less. And served four to an order!! How decadent.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 18:57:52 GMT

Was just stuck reading yesterday's papers downstairs early this morning in attempt to avoid that lizard perched firmly by the staircase and boy does Sumiko Tan annoy me. No one really wants to hear about how she revels in being an undomestic goddess and a kitchen klutz. Do I really want to know that she believes men find her more attractive for being capable in the working world and a hapless damsel in distress in the kitchen? That chick really irks me. Somehow, I get the niggling feeling that shes still trying to channel the whole Carrie from Sex and the City.

On to L'Officiel Singapore-

Like Grace said, beautiful editorials, beautiful photospreads, very high-fashion and very astute. With a rather hefty 7.90 price tag it better be. The watercolour printed spread was quite divine; I can just imagine tearing out the pages and framing them up on my walls. A few bugbears though- the tiny white font on a black page made it extremely difficult to read, like eye-strainingly difficult. And I thought the polaroid shots featured were a bit too small. But its just tiny layout things that I'm being pedantic and nitpicky about, the aesthetic and vibe of the magazine is really quite impressive. Of course, one really doesn't expect being able to actually OWN any of its pieces, 'cept maybe for the makeup stuff.

Note to Gracie: I think the reason why we shouldn't subscribe is not only the exorbitant cost (for a local mag, that is), but I have a sneaky suspicion that the magazine might not pull through the year. Its just (still) too niche.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 04:02:58 GMT

Because my laptop was starting to overheat like an overworked car in the middle of the Sahara, I caved in and bought an elevated laptop cooling thing with dual fans from a bazaar at the forum. And get this, it's in clear perspex plastic (i like) with a totally ah-beng looking neon blue light which starts to illuminate the minute you plug it in! I feel half-ashamed about the entire thing, but at the same time, you must understand there wasn't much choice to begin with. And it was cheap.

On to the week's lemming-

This is the Sun Jar. Designed by Tobias Wong (I suppose the name might ring the right bell for design aficionados), the Sun Jar is quite possibly the coolest thing I've seen all week. In a nutshell, it captures sunlight. You leave it out in the sun during the day (a windowsill apparently, would suffice) and it starts glowing after sundown. I'm thinking this would be absolutely perfect as an eco-friendly night-light. Or to create one of those romantic "lets-pretend-we're-outdoors-camping" sort of atmospheres.

I'm crossing my fingers real hard that Ikea will come up with an el-cheapo version of this. Or maybe I can persuade my dad to undertake this DIY project. We'll see.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 08:21:39 GMT

I am purely and utterly suffused with love right now and I can't quite explain why. Must be the hormones. Or the aftermath of having deep conditioned my hair. Or the macarons. Yes, macarons have the uncanny ability of elevating one to the highest levels of joy. Quite simply, it really boils down to having a sugar high.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 02:27:21 GMT

Just read a pretty interesting article on The Guardian, and it quoted a Burmese/Myanamar-ese? man as saying that the military junta smuggled money through Singapore. Money laundering... makes me wonder what sort of backlash, if any, we are likely to see here in the aftermath of that statement.

Should be pretty interesting.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:38:26 GMT

You know the drill. Step out of the shower, hop on the bathroom mat and with the mat at your feet, kinda squiggle-wiggle your way over to the the sink. I must confess, I tend to get a teensy icky when my wet feet touch the floor (but thats just me being a primadonna).

These bathroom mats, to me, are friggin' amazing lah! Cute and oh so useful. I'm also quite certain that they would make for pretty hilarious mat-walking competitions.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:56:53 GMT

In between prepping for my first flea ever tomorrow (prices? check. hangars? check. clothes? check. clothing rack? check.) and watching too much really trashy food-related reality tv (Hell's Kitchen ups Top Chef on the trash factor hands down), I stumbled across what might be the most beautiful thing ever!!

This is heat-sensitive wallpaper, and thanks to some dual-cutting method (involving some very special paint i might add), the flowers only bloom when the radiator is switched on. How ingenious AND pretty isn't it?? I'm wondering if it will work in the tropics though. It might just start blooming when the damn air-conditioner is switched off, given how scorchin' the weather is these days.

Anyway, this wallpaper design inspired me so much, I ran downstairs to pour me a good measure of Baileys with ice, and the search for beautiful pretty things goes on!!!

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 05:24:09 GMT

You know that you're wearing too much blush when all you can see from the other side of the road are two luminous pink blotches. Kinda like this but worse.

Tea-se me

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 09:30:24 GMT

In the refined world of tea, you would classify me as an utter slob when it comes to brewing an average cup. While its possible to get an aromatic cup of java at the push of a Lavazza or Nespresso button, unfortunately, the world hasn't witnessed an equally amazing invention for a nice cup of tea. My usual tea-brewing routine involves tearing open a tea sachet, taking out the bag, dumping tea bag into a mug and filling it with hot water from the airpot. And of course, lashings of milk and sugar (depending on the type of tea) to taste.

Over the weekend, my tea-making skills received an epiphany. Having noted some tips from etiquette guru and tea expert, R, over at the previous Food & Culture series at the National Museum, I now know the Cardinal Rule of NOW NOW NOW applies when it comes to brewing a subliminal cup of angmoh tea. I shall attempt to illustrate the NOW NOW NOW rule as follows:

Draw your water. While this might have involved going to the well and literally drawing a fresh bucket of cool well water in older climes; in our contemporary times, turning on the tap (filtered or unfiltered) will have to suffice.
Boil the drawn water, NOW NOW NOW. Do not even dream of inspecting your nails or digging into the freezer for a decadent spoonful of ice-cream. Your water will rot (as in lose its maximum aeration) and you will be undone!!!
After the water boils (get a whistling kettle if you must leave the kitchen/kettle-residing area for that last five minutes of Grey's Anatomy/Prisonbreak/Heroes, or should the postman be ringing the doorbell with your latest eBay acquired purchase), pour into the teapot (which you would have industriously warmed whilst waiting for said kettle to boil) NOW NOW NOW. An 8-second rule applies with this one. Heaven forbid your water is left to overboil, or allowed to settle beyond the maximum 8 seconds. In which case, discard (or use to make Ya Kun-style soft boiled eggs) and reboil.
Steep tea leaves in freshly boiled water (one level teaspoon of leaves per person, plus an additional teaspoon to appease the pot) for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how strong you like your brew.
Pour tea, NOW NOW NOW, and delicately sniff the golden to caramel-hued elixir appreciatively. Collapse on couch with tea-brewing overexertion and slurp it all up.

Useful Hint: While tea purists may balk at the thought of using tea bags instead of loose leaves, if you need to/ or are using teabags, fish 'em out of the pot just before serving and continue to pour tea through a strainer, just like you would with loose leaves. Your company will be none the wiser .