I’m sure you don’t even need a recipe for this, but here it is just in case :P. All you need are:

Three egg whites, one yolk and a whole bunch of (cleaned and rinsed) baby spinach! and of course, salt and pepper to taste and extra virgin olive oil for the cooking itself.

How much spinach you want to use is up to you but remember spinach shrinks a lot after cooking. the yolk is optional and i usually go without or just half but I accidentally dropped one in this morning and it broke before i could fish it out. i put the eggs first, then drop all the spinach on top and fold the eggs over it. i like the eggs to be slightly runny so i only cook it for 5 minutes or so.

And that’s all you have to do for a quick healthy and yummy brekkie! For extra yumminess you can add things like cheese, onions, tomatoes or more veggies… but i woke up late and didn’t have time to prep more ingredients. I had mine with sriracha on the side as I do with nearly everything I eat at home :P

I find that the groceries I buy during the weekend really dictates whatever I eat during the week, so this weekend I tried to be more creative with my shopping list. I still use chicken breast as my meat but started experimenting with veggies other than the usual baby spinach and chickpeas.

The highlight of this week’s buy is quinoa seeds. I’ve only been introduced to this awesome protein-packed pseudograin over the past year, when I started frequenting The Rotisserie (my favorite lunch spot) and they would have it as one of the salads.

Quinoa can be easily found at your local grocery store. In my case I got them from the organic section of Fairprice nearby my place. Cooking them is super easy too! Just boil 2:1 ratio of water to quinoa with salt and pepper to taste. I’m not sure how long I boiled them for, but I stirred once awhile and check to see if they’re done. When they turn a bit translucent and have grown about twice their original size, I strained them and let them sit in the sink so the excess water would have some time to evaporate. A cup of dry quinoa can easily feed you for two meals once cooked.

This is what I made for lunch this afternoon:

I boiled 3/4 cup of dry quinoa, then (separately) stir-fried some chicken breast (seasoned with cajun seasoning), red and yellow bell peppers, portobello mushrooms and some lime for the extra kick, using 1tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.

It was an awesome meal and super healthy! More importantly, it kept me full for HOURS which is not an easy feat since I’ve been known to be a bit of a glutton :P

To be clear I hadn’t seen or kept in touch with the couple since I left the states three years ago. They were, though, at one point two of the people who frequented my life. I had seen them once a week and spent some important family holidays with them for two consecutive years.

I didn’t quite know how to deal with this. I still don’t. I think it was difficult to understand for most people as well, seeing how those whom I’ve shared this with were just left speechless. Maybe I was just overreacting and there really was nothing to deal with as they were no longer part of my life. Nevertheless I couldn’t help but dig deep into my past and scrape at what little memories I had left of the two of them.

I have to admit that, though deeply shocked, for awhile I was merely curious. I suspect it’s just in my self destructive nature to be oddly attracted to something this morbid. I particularly had a close relationship with the family of the male counterpart. His mom fought back tears and hugged me when I left the states for good, and his dad told me that he was sure he would see me again. It was then, when I realized how it must have shattered their heart, that I started sobbing uncontrollably.

Two years ago I sent a Christmas card to his parents. This past year, I neglected sending cards and made silly excuses about being too busy to send any.

The tragedy happened only five days later, after Christmas.

anyway… new year, new place. I’m moving to river valley tomorrow. after a rigorous two weeks of apartment searching, we found a nice place just 8 minutes walk from orchard rd.

This is my new room. i’m loving it so far. the lower part of the window is actually a board painted white, not sure why it’s even there… i think i’ll have it removed. i like big windows!

the apartment is unfurnished so i’ll need to buy furnitures… thank god for IKEA.

Hummerstons is located at Fraser Place on 11 Unity St, tucked in the corner on the second floor. I had a hard time finding it at first because for some reason I thought it was inside UE square… but if you follow google maps correctly you would have no trouble getting there (turn right after you go up the escalator!)

The place has a great, airy ambiance. Perfect for a lazy sunday brunch / meal. There were quite a few patrons when we came in at 1:30pm, but not to the point where we had to wait for a table.

I loved Poutine so we got the classic Poutine to share. I was a bit disappointed though, since it was $13 and came in this teeny tiny portion. Plus the cheese wasn’t cheese curds!

I was STARVING since I had been out since 10AM, so I just had to go for the Hummerstons Brunch Burger (S$26). It was essentially a burger patty (served medium for me), lettuce, tomato, bacon, mushroom, cheese and sunny side up eggs. It was terrific and they got the “medium” part right which makes me a happy camper. The burger also came with this orangey sauce which I can’t recall the name, but it was so good I had to dip everything in it.

My friend Will got the Hummerstons breakfast. I forgot what’s in it, but the portion was huge!

Hummerstons Restaurant
11 Unity Street
#02-14 Robertson Walk
Tel: +65 6737 8863
Tue to Fri: 12pm – 4pm (Lunch)
Tue to Sun: 6pm – 12am (Dinner)
Sat, Sun & PH: 10am – 4pm (Brunch)

Snapped this pic while walking to Beer Market. HUUUGE 3D Heineken sign!

A snap of the beer market exchange ticker. Watch out as the price go high and low, I’ve seen beers go as high as $37.40 per bottle! But fret not as the market restarts after 30 mins. Click here for more info!

The place also sells a large variety of bar foods although I didn’t get any pic of it since I was hungry. I’m a huge fan of their cajun fries!! Ask them for cheese sauce on the side for extra yumminess!

Anyway for my birthday a bunch of work friend and I decided to check out Fika, a small Swedish cafe around Arab st. Really it was just an excuse to eat ;)

Loooove the ambiance of this place. There is also a second story which we didn’t get to check out (I heard it’s cozy and they even have couches!) as well as al fresco option outside along arab st.

Everyone that was present that day, plus 3 people who couldn’t fit into the picture. Thank you for coming!

Chilled traditional meatball open face sandwich – S$16.50

My coworker ordered this. I think it’s the creamy mushroom pasta + leek with smoked salmon.

Baked Cheesy Potato wedges - S$7.90 We got two of these to share across the table. I’m a huuuuuge fan of potatoes so I totally loved this. You can’t really go wrong with cheese and potatoes.

Swedish meatballs – S$17.50 – Also got two of these to share! although I think I ate most of it… at least I know I ate nearly ALL the potatoes!

Swedish Hash –  S$18.90 – my main dish! Yeah it was a total carbo overload for me that night… which was great because we went for drinks after at BluJazz and I would have definitely face planted on the bar if I didn’t eat beforehand.

So in addition to a great meal with great companion, I’ve also mastered the art of drinking without suffering from hangover the next day. I guess you do become wiser as you turn older ;)

Fika Swedish Cafe & Bistro
No.257 Beach Road / Arab Street, Singapore
(on the corner of Beach Road and Arab Street)
www.fikacafe.com 

That day, one of my closest work friend couldn’t make it to the dinner. I didn’t think much of it since we had plans for lunch later on anyway and I’m not that crazy about birthday celebrations, but the next day (on my actual birthday) I found out why – She was slaving away and baked me an ENTIRE cake that night! It was a total surprise as she brought out the cake in the office~

THANK YOU TULIKA!!! :) :)

The place was really small and unassuming. That seems to be the trend with all the great eateries in Europe isn’t it?

The place gives off a homely ambience. Waiters were also quick and very welcoming.

We both settled for Noix d’entrecote (I also had a glass of red), which is rib eye steak and totally affordable at €11.90. It came simply with pomme puree (mashed potatoes) which were superb!

We had to share our table with strangers, which we didn’t mind. A middle aged couple came by to sit with us and struck up a conversation, which was really nice! The wife shared with us a bit of insight to France since they both had been here multiple times before. She told us Parisian used to be rude back in the 80s, but now they had gotten a lot better.

So there you go, French people are not rude and I was satisfied with the meal ;)

Au Pied de Fouet
3, rue Saint Benoit
75006 Paris
www.aupieddefouet.com

58 Tour Eiffel is located at the first floor of Eiffel tower, which means you have to take the lift up. So, prior to going up to the restaurant, we had to line up to get our lift tickets. Makes it a bit hard if you’re planning to take a date up for a romantic dinner doesn’t it? Also, I find it ridiculous that you have to pay extra for the lift ticket, even though it was only €4.60, which I think should have been included in the dinner price. Given that we had to make reservation and there are only two time slots available (6:30pm and 9:00pm), they should have been able to anticipate how many people are coming at which time, and gave us our ticket in advance.

But I digress.

The restaurant itself was decent sized, but obviously you are paying for the view and the location of the restaurant. The tables are so packed close together that you can almost bump your elbows with the next table.

We reserved the Prix fixe opera menu for €67. we got a seat that was pretty close to the window and the service was excellent throughout the night, so I’m not going to complain futher :P

For the appetizer, I chose Smoked Salmon, Apple and Celery Remoulade. It was decent.

Braised veal, seasonal vegetables, stew sauce. I’m aware of the moral implication with consuming veal, but I figured I should give it a try once in my life.

It was tasty and the sauce goes well with the meat, but I don’t think I need to have veal again after this. Veal has this soft texture and delicate sweet taste. I think i much prefer the regular savory taste of beef.

This is serena’s main dish: Roasted chicken breast, salsifis and mushrooms, Albufera sauce

The 58′s Mont-Blanc. The dessert literally takes the cake here (heh). That swirly chocolate cream on the left? more like swirly chocolate heaven. The french knows how to do dessert, I’ll give it to them. Even three weeks later I still remember the taste…

That day it was mostly cloudy and very foggy, to the point that we couldn’t even see the top of Eiffel tower when we were walking on the ground floor. So we were pleasantly surprised when we walked out of dinner and saw that the fog has cleared up!

Gave us a chance to say good bye to the tower :)

First up, Ladurée. We went to their small bakery at Champ-Elysees. We got there around 7pm on a weekday, so the line wasn’t too bad (only about10 people ahead of us). I walked past it on a weekend later and the line snaked out of the bakery itself o_o

The bakery is pink and pastel green themed. So cute!

Each macaron was €1.85, and the price per boxes are listed above. Obviously you save more by buying it by the box.

For my first macaron in Paris, I chose Raspberry and Black Forest

Thin, egg shell-like cookies with creamy (but not overly sweet) filling. I pretty much fell in love on the first bite!! I knew that from then on, I couldn’t have macarons anywhere else other than Paris.

Next is Pierre Herme. We walked past one of their branch at 72 rue de bonaparte, just a few blocks north of Jardin du Luxembourg.

The street was filled with high end boutique stores and I almost walked past the Pierre Herme store because they blended right in with those stores! Except for the line that went out the door, I would have never guessed this store sells baked goods!

Rows and rows of fine chocolate

This picture was the only one I managed to take before they told me to put away my camera (oops). I almost drooled all over the counter. The cakes were all so pretty and so delicately made!

The price for each macaron was €1.95, making it just a tad more expensive than Laduree.

Truffle Blanche & Noisette – White truffle and hazelnut macaron. This was probably my favorite one out of them all. Not only do you get a strong taste of the white truffle, but the macaron also sparkles. how pretty is that??

Rose macaron – light and not overly sweet.

I happened to walk past Pierre Herme again while shopping at Galeria Lafayette, so I got two more:

Caraquillo – Chocolate and Coffee. Another one of the macarons that just sparkles

Cassis Berry – the jam filling was tangy and yummy

So in the end, which one do I prefer? It’s a tough call really. With Pierre Herme there is a sense of class, and obviously a lot of effort has been put into making and designing their macarons. The taste was also special. With each macaron, you wouldn’t say it was too sweet or too bland. It was just perfect. Laduree was a bit more playful and vibrant with their color and flavors.

In the end I opted to take back the 24 boxes home from Laduree for €36.30. I still can remember the sweet smell of these macarons when I opened the box… it was heavenly.

Just a note for those planning to take back macarons for friends and family back home: I had to hand carry these as the macarons are super delicate and definitely would not survive the trip home if I chucked the box into my luggage. I brought them on a 17 hour flight, then put them into the fridge right when I got home and they managed to maintain the freshness till the next day.