Savour 2012

Andrew: Yes, we know we have been neglecting our blog a lot recently because there have just been too many transitions this year – new job, new house etc. We’ve still been exploring interesting food places, though not to the same extent as before and I do hope that we revive this blog again, because it has always served as a place for us to store great memories.

One of the more interesting food adventures we went for recently was for Savour 2012. Savour is an annual event where world-class chefs are invited to set up a booth for a 3-day food fair at the Gourmet Village at the F1 Paddock and Pit building.  

Jasmine: I’m so grateful to my resourceful husband for always being on the lookout for interesting new concepts and places that we can experience. Despite the midday heat, our afternoon at Savour ranks as one of my favourite culinary experiences of 2012 so far.

Andrew: How it works is that you pay a certain amount to enter the Gourmet village – it’s much cheaper for lunch than dinner, but of course, if you go for lunch, you have to contend with the scorching heat! It was really quite funny seeing all these gourmet chefs from all over the world sweating profusely while trying to sell their dishes. After you enter, you purchase ‘Savour dollars’ which you can then use to buy the various food items.

We had the most fascinating gastronomic journey for about half the price we would normally pay if we visited these Michelin restaurants. Here are the amazing offers we enjoyed that day, categorized according to chef:

Chef Alvin Leung, Bo Innovation (Hong Kong)

Andrew: I had heard about Alvin Leung before, especially his approach to ‘deconstructing’ dim-sum, so I was quite keen on checking out his booth. His most well-known dish is:

Molecular Xiao Long Bao

This little ‘egg-yolk’ just bursts with all the flavours of Xiao Long Bao when you slide it into your mouth. There is no meat inside, but the flavours are nicely captured and because the skin is so thin, you don’t have the ‘floury’ taste of the xiao long bao skin that flattens the flavours. A good start definitely!

Jasmine: Yes, the xialongbao was such a surprise, with an explosion of warm, soupy broth on one’s tongue.

Egg waffles with black truffle and vanilla ice cream

Andrew: Yes, our 2nd course was ice-cream because the weather was just so unbearably hot! This was a winner as well – the waffles were crisp and the black truffles brought a hint of saviourness to the dessert. A good take on a traditional HK street food.

Jasmine: Another really enjoyable, luxe interpretation of a ubiquitous HK dessert. A perfectly crispy waffle, enhanced by aromatic black truffle. Many people seem to love truffle oil but that is a cheap and overpriced substitute for the real thing. Be not fooled!

Har Mei Lo Mein, with har mei oil and powder

Andrew: Unfortunately, these noodles didn’t do it for me. I think the main problem was that the dish wasn’t hot enough, hence the fragrance of the har mei didn’t come out at all and the whole dish had an overall weak flavour.

Jasmine: Yes, agree with Drew that this was the weakest of the three. I thought I could have cooked better spaghetti, and I’m not exactly the best of cooks (as the husband will readily attest to).

Chef Hans Valimaki, Chez Dominique Finland

Cod 2.0 for all your senses
Cod brandade flavoured with ‘dashi’ stock and served with cod-skin crackers

Potato and Malt
Sea buckthorn potato icecream with malt

Andrew: I liked the potato and malt dish much more than the cod, though both were good. The cod was very fresh and cooked to a good, firm texture. The barley layer below was interesting too. The potato and malt had a really unique taste. The combination of textures was great too.

Jasmine: When we were browsing the menus online,we were both intrigued by the sea buckthorn potato ice cream. It did not let us down: the crunchiness of the malt added more textural dimension to an unusual, earthy dish.

Chef Douglas Tay, Osia Singapore

Polenta Crumbed Foie Gras

Andrew: Ironically enough, this dish made locally was my favourite savoury dish of the day. Dearie and I just couldn’t stop going ‘mmm…’ as we savoured each bite of this delicately prepared foie gras. The polenta enhanced the flavour of the foie gras by providing a light crunchy outer layer that absorbed and helped spread out the flavours.

Jasmine: We often have the impression that expensive delicacies should be served in its ‘purest’ form, but this polenta-crumbed foie gras proves otherwise. The polenta crumbs, far from obscuring the taste, served as a layer of insulation during the cooking process, helping to preserve the juicy fattiness of the foie gras. And once again, the contrast of the crispy polenta and smooth, creamy foie gras was a match made in gastronomical heaven.There were two standout dishes at Savour. This was one of them, and the second is just below.

Chef Alain Pasard, L’Arpege France

Chaud Froid of Egg, with maple syrup and xeres vinegar

Andrew: This was another dish that both Dearie and I loved lots. An amazing combination of sweet, sour and egg yolk – this would be a great appetizer.

Jasmine: Still, still dreaming of this perfect example of nouvelle French cuisine from three Michelin-starred Chef Alain. Perfectly poached till runny, and the mixture of silky egg white swirled with rich warm egg yolk demonstrated how brilliant simple (in concept that is, not in execution or skill) dishes can be when executed flawlessly.

Chef Tatiana Szeles, Boa Bistro Brazil

Coxinha – Brazilian Chicken Croquettes, with pepper jelly

Andrew: The croquettes had a firm and chewy texture and the pepper jelly went very well with it.

Picanha – Brazilian-style top sirloin cap, with farofa and vinaigrette 

Andrew: This dish was alright. I was having a meat craving at this point – as you notice, the dishes we’d tried so far had been rather light, so this steak was a nice change. The chillis you see at the bottom were rather potent though – more powerful than our chilli padi. 

Chocolate Brigadeiro, truffle candy, with cupuacu 

Andrew: Cupuacu is supposed to be a kind of tree bark, so we thought it’d be fun to try it. This dessert was a nice mix of textures, but not that unique in terms of flavour.

Jasmine: The cupuacu had a firm, jelly-like consistency to it and was mildly sweet, so it went well with the molten chocolate and nuts.

Chef Virgilio Martinez, Central Restaurante (Peru)

Cacao, Corn and Chilli 
Cacao Peru 64% and corn with rocoto pepper oil 

Andrew: The cacao was rich, with strong flavours but the dish as a whole didn’t quite work for me as it just seemed rather normal. The pepper oil, I felt, should have been spicier to give the dish a greater kick – like the amazing spiced hot chocolate we tried at Chelsea Market in NY.

Chef Sasha Kutuzova, Buyan Russian Haute Cuisine and Caviar Bar

Beef stroganoff
Beef strips with creamy mushroom sauce, served with mashed potatoes

Andrew: A nice meaty dish to end off our time at Savour!

Jasmine: Not a fan of the plating (which was not to do with the fact that the plates were plastic, because we’d seen other dishes that still managed to look classy sitting on disposable tableware): it made a supposedly rich and hearty Russion favourite look no better than the “mystery meat” served in a school tuckshop. It looked like canteen food and tasted only slightly better.

Satisfied after an afternoon of fascinating cuisine!

Andrew: After finishing our dinner, we went upstairs to the supermarket (to get some aircon) and had such a great time sampling different kinds of cheeses, caviar, French cookies, wagyu beef, fresh organic fruits.

Am looking forward to Savour 2013, though we will consider coming for dinner the next time.

Jasmine: Actually, the supermarket alone is worth blogging about, because of all the exotic foods on display and available for sampling. I got to try Iberico ham carved on the spot, apple pork sausages, purple carrots and my favourite- smoked salmon! And the array of cheeses has sparked off another food-related sub-interest: cheese platters!

Preparing for Kids of Our Own?

Jasmine: As part of our Marriage Preparation journey, we had to serve 10 weeks at our church nursery. 10 weeks may seem long, but we’ve served for 4 weeks and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Andrew: I think I can proudly say that our church has one of the best Marriage Preparation courses out there. It’s rigorous, but it really helps to prepare the couple for the marriage, and not just the wedding.

Jasmine: I could not agree more. I strongly recommend MPC for any couple seriously considering marriage. It is one of the best investments you can make in your relationship, as you grow so much and learn so much about your partner and yourself during the process. That is alot more valuable over the long-haul than snapping up a flat or securing a popular hotel as your banquet venue.

Andrew: Nursery duty has indeed been thoroughly enjoyable so far! Serving young kids is so refreshing and rewarding

Jasmine: Here’s a pic with one of my favourite little girls, 4-year-old Karen:

Every Sunday, we get to dance with the little children, pray for them and work on crafts! Below, Karen is showing off her craft for the week, on Jonah on his way to Nineveh (yes, it looks more like Noah’s Ark but never mind that).

Andrew: Karen really loves Dearie! She keeps running to Dearie every time she arrives and is so ‘clingy’ to her. It’s really sweet seeing them playing together!

Jasmine: Speaking of playing, I love seeing the ‘big kid’ play with the little ones. Sometimes they don’t seem that far apart in age at all. Haha.

Jasmine: Andrew is especially talented with the toy construction set, with miniature drills and all. He is great at coming up with games to entertain the little boys! Believe it, y’all!

Andrew: Yes, I do enjoy playing ‘construction worker’ with the boys and also playing with little toy cars. Of course, boys being boys, they derive a lot of joy from ‘deconstructing’ and destroying cars too. Just today, another one of the construction toys was destroyed by an over-zealous boy.

Andrew: This is one of my favourite boys – Matthias! He’s very quiet, but has little bursts of joy occasionally throughout the service. He really enjoys ‘hi-fiving’ and gets very enthusiastic when I lay my hands out before him. He always claps (and slaps) them non-stop. Heh.

Of course, nursery duty is not just about playing with kids. We also learn how to engage kids through music/worship, to pray for kids and minister to them, how to discipline them and even how to help them in the toilet. Trust me – there is a lot to learn there. Just two weeks ago, I had to learn how to console a boy who had accidentally wet his pants. It was not easy.

Jasmine: Thankfully, the girls are alot easier to manage. My first week serving, I lined all seven little girls up on a ledge in the toilet and made them hold hands after I had helped them wash their hands. I was rather impressed with myself, if I do say so. (Disclaimer: Hannah and Weilin were doing the difficult stuff, like actually helping the girls in the bathroom.)

Andrew: Nursery is structured around key Bible stories. We are currently in the Jonah season and it’s been very fun! We really try to bring the story alive for the kids with a huge cloth ‘whale’ that ‘eats’ up the kids (Jasmine: I drew the whale and gave him a heart tattoo on his tail!). We create a make-believe storm by turning off and on the light (to simulate lighting) and making thunder noises! As props, we also have ikan billis, fish and soap to simulate the smelliness and sliminess of being in a whale! Really engaging all 5 senses In addition to the story-telling, the kids get to do Jonah-related crafts each week.

Jasmine: Yes, today, all the kids got to make fish hats for themselves! Or rather, the leaders made them and the kids wore them. Here are a couple of fishy ‘styles’:

Andrew: Another one of my favourite kids – Matthew! He even knows my name and kept calling me Uncle Andrew throughout. Yes, I do not really like being called Uncle, but I forgive the kids because they are so cute!

Jasmine: Today, I hung out mostly with Karen and Charlotte (below).

Jasmine: Nursery is tiring, especially when one has to wake up at 7am on a Sunday morning, but it’s a great deal of fun. The kids have begun to recognise us and it’s nice to have little ones run over and hold our hands. And of course, I love serving with my girls, Hannah and Weilin, and my beloved husband, who faithfully reads all the instructional emails and tells me what I’m supposed to do each week. Oops!

Andrew: Nursery has been a really meaningful journey for Dearie and I so far. It just fills me with so much joy to see all these kids and see Dearie play with little girls. It’s really great just playing with these kids without having to handle all the other more stressful and tiring portions of parenthood. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to us having our own.

(Jasmine: Not so soooon… Andrew: We’ll see! *cheekily*)

V-Day 2012

Andrew: This blog has been neglected for too long! Not because we have nothing to write, but because there’s been so much to write about that we have no idea where to start. We had ambitious plans to write lengthy entries on food recommendations in the US, but just never got round to it! Figured that V-day gives us the perfect opportunity to resurrect our blog again

This V-day was different from other V-days because we not only got to spend dinner together, but lunch as well! Moving to HQ has given us the same lunch hours and of course, we are also nearer to each other. Having lunch and dinner together does make it seem like we spent the whole V-day together

Lunch: Hosted at the Patio (911B Alexandra Road)

Andrew: We were initially intending to just go to Anchorpoint to have a simple meal and some quality time together, but a quick search on Hungrygowhere showed up this highly rated restaurant just 5 minutes drive from Dearie’s workplace!

Because we made a reservation, we got these special seats at a nice, quiet nook of the restaurant:

Andrew: I loved the decor of this place – light, spacious and relaxed. It has a very nice, lush backyard feel to it.

Jasmine: Yes, my dear husband has become really good at picking out restaurants that I will like. I liked the decor of our lunch venue and the food philosophy behind our dinner venue!

Birdcage lights – Reminded me of our wedding 

Jasmine: Yes, we’ll write more about the decor later. The open concept, apple-green hue and nature-themed accents, like the branch mural, and the birdcage lamps (idea for recycling our wedding birdcage props??), really made this a lovely spot for a working lunch or casual date.

Enjoying a quiet moment together

Our food:

Smoked duck linguine

Andrew: The smoked duck linguine came highly recommended. It was pretty good – relatively generous portions with a good mix of textures. The smoked duck was nice and succulent and the asparagus was crisp and fresh. However, I felt that the sauce was a little too strong, which made the whole dish only have ‘one’ taste where as it could have benefitted from allowing the tastes of the duck and asparagus to stand out more.

Penna Vodka – Penne served with vodka flamed rose sauce topped with Parmesan shavings

Andrew: This was okay – it just tasted like regular penne with a more rich, tomato base.  

Jasmine: Yes, I ordered this out of sheer curiosity about the vodka flamed rose sauce. Unfortch I tasted neither vodka nor rose, only sauce. The sauce was sufficiently creamy but nothing to write home about.

Green tea creme brulee with almond biscotti

Andrew: The creme brulee came with a nice assembly of summer fruits at the side. This was for me the stand out dish from Hosted. I usually hate anything that has green tea, but this was wonderfully balanced and smooth. Thumbs up!

Jasmine: I prefer creme brulees that have a lighter, ‘whipped’ texture, whereas the consistency of this one resembled custard more than souffle. The green tea infusion was a refreshing take on the traditional creme brulee though.

Our first ever V-day lunch together!

Oh – and as we are currently into a ‘planning for our new home’ season, we are always on the lookout for design inspiration! The white colour scheme is something we’re quite keen on having – these chairs below (leaf-themed) were also rather cool:

There were even these leaves imprinted into the pavement outside of the restaurant:

A lovely sofa for drinks in the evenings:

 
It was wonderful just spending some quality time with Dearie. Escaping from work to do something we love – exploring restaurants – and chatting about what we like, it really didn’t feel like a workday at all.

Dinner: Bistro Soori @ 2 Teck Lim Road

Andrew: For dinner, we headed to Bistro Soori – completely different feel and type of cuisine (contemporary modern cuisine) from Hosted at the Patio. We didn’t take any pictures of the decor, but I quite liked the marble table-top. You can see it at the picture here.

Many other couples must have heard of this place too as the only clientele for that night was couples celebrating V-day – and the most interesting thing – was that every couple was seated in the same way – the woman inside on the cushioned seat and the man outside. 

Andrew: We quite liked the bread and asked for second servings, but they took a long time to get us a second serving and said that the chef had been informed. Minus points for service!  You mean, they only prepared enough just for 2 slices per table? 

Jasmine: The other point deduction was for not having our reservation. Apparently the concierge did not see Andrew’s email reply confirming our reservation, and therefore did not prepare a place for us initially. Tsk!

Happy V-day (again) Dearie!

Starter

Slow Roasted Pork Belly, Pumpkin, Frisse, Pumpkin Seed,
Yuzu Gastrique

Andrew: What makes the food in Bistro Soori stand out is its combination of ingredients from all around the world to subtly alter the flavours, but not be too over-the-top fusion. This can almost compete with Jaan’s pork belly, though I thought Jaan’s was more delicately prepared. The sourness of the yuzu sauce did enhance the saltiness of the pork belly well, but I wasn’t quite sure how the other ingredients worked to enhance the pork belly’s flavour. The belly was well-prepared though with nice, juicy texture.

Jasmine: There was yuzu ah?? As I’ve mentioned before, pork belly is often underrated in the cuisine world, with many regarding it as a poor man’s alternative to its richer cousins like beef cheek. The slow roast method really sealed in the juices well but Jaan’s pork belly is still far superior, in my opinion, with its perfect layers of fatty, tender meat, topped off with a cracklingly crispy skin.                                                                                                      

Rack of Lamb, Plum Tomato, Black Olive, Green Olive,
White Anchovy

Andrew: The rack of lamb was fantastic – succulent and robust flavours. The plum tomatoes were great – and I usually hate tomatoes – very fresh and juicy. Perhaps its a bit of the eccentric style of this place – the anchovy, I thought, was rather out of place. Another minor complaint is that the serving was too small. I chowed down my rack of lamb in no time. Plus points for using cool serving plates that really bring up the colours of the food!

Jasmine: Yes, would the restaurant sell us a few for personal use…

Umi, scallop, prawn, risotto, yuzu, thai basil 

 
Andrew: The risotto was well-prepared and the seafood was so fresh. What more could you ask for!

Jasmine: The risotto was buttery but it was the scallops that were standouts, in my opinion- succulent and mildly sweet. In fact, I had read many, many rave reviews about the scallops (although in different combinations, like with pistachio pesto, or in vinegar gelee), and therefore picked the mains that featured scallops.

Pandan Souffle with Strawberry compote

Andrew: Once again, the desserts stole the show! This was so well done. Light and airy texture, with the familiar, Asian flavour of Pandan. Visually stunning too!

Jasmine: Another dish that had gotten great feedback from patrons. I’m not one for heavy desserts so this unusual pandan souffle hit the nail on the head for taste and originality.

Andrew: Of course, what’s V-day without the V-day gifts!

V-day Gifts

For her: Shopping Spree at Kikki.K

Andrew: Dearie needed some new stationery for her new workplace and she’s always going into kikki.k when we walk past, so I decided to give her a stationery shopping spree there.

Jasmine: I really needed an organiser to store all my bits and bobs, and I liked that the Kikki.K one had a cool graphic lining. I’m a sucker for design details like that. Thank you dear!

 
And of course, what’s a V-day celebration without flowers Admittedly though, these flowers came in almost a week late.

Jasmine: That’s okay, I’m blessed to even have flowers! I even got to pick out the colour too- fuchsia roses, which lasted nearly a week.

For him: Chambray shirt from River Island

Jasmine: Our V-day tradition is that our gifts should not exceed $100 each. We came in well under budget this year (maybe to offset the fact that we had two celebratory meals instead of one?). Andrew tried on a couple items at River Island, and although it wasn’t love at first sight for Andrew, I thought this shirt fit very well. Plus, I liked the material- a refined, pale denim that would be just right for dress-down Fridays.

And Andrew did indeed wear it to work last Friday:

Andrew: Thanks Dear for a great V-day and a wonderful 3 months of married life. I’m so blessed to have such a great wife!

Redecorating on a budget

Jasmine: We are very thankful that we have been able to find a place to settle in temporarily at short notice. However, as it is not our own place, we did not want to repaint or redecorate massively, so we’ve had to be creative in putting personal touches on the space!

So here’s what we did:

Our living room

Before

After

Jasmine: We hung up a painting that Andrew’s mother had made for us, and opted for neutral soft furnishings (a throw and some cushions) so that they wouldn’t compete with the painting for attention. The added benefit of selecting items in this colour scheme is that it will be easier to incorporate into our new home. The velvety throw (the thing covering our sofa, in laymen’s terms, heh), for example, would make a nice blanket for a guest sleeping over, or could be re-purposed as a bed runner.

Tip: a neutral colour scheme can come across quite boring, so liven it up by mixing different textures for added richness.

The tiny cushion is actually our wedding ring pillow, which we had customised with an embroidered C for Chong!

Andrew: My mum actually did up the painting above specially for the both of us and she was so pleased when put it up. Can you believe she’s only been painting for less than a year?

The sofa is much cosier now that we added the throw because of the lovely, soft texture and I now lie on it very often to watch TV or do my reading.  Such a simple decor item which makes such significant change to the living room! The throw and the cushions (with the exception of our ring pillow) were all bought from King & King Wong, our current favourite furniture place.

Our master bedroom

Jasmine: Once again, we chose not to change the paint or curtains, so we had to select bedroom furniture and linens that would match the existing decor but were still stylish and versatile enough to be re-used when we next move house.

I love modern French baroque, so we opted for all white furniture- the bed is from Ikea and the dressing table and bedside table were on sale at King & King Wong. The wrought iron chair belongs to my mum and has sentimental value, having been used by her for the past 18 years.

I’d originally planned to buy a plexiglass table for Andrew’s side of the bed, but my dear husband gave me feedback that he much preferred something with drawers so that he could stash his beloved watches and other personal items, and  I’m proud to announce that this bedside table was chosen by him!

Jasmine: I just need to source a suitable bedside lamp for Andrew and my life will be complete. Heh.

Andrew: Jasmine actually went down to King and King Wong a week earlier and took photos of several bedside tables which she felt would fit our deco and yet be suitably masculine. There were many nice ones. However, they were either too big, too tall or out of budget. We actually stumbled on this bedside table while we were shopping for sofa furnishings and it fit all our criteria. We decided within less than 15 minutes to get it!

Jasmine: My personal philosophy is that if I could only choose one piece of furniture for my house, I would buy a quality mattress and some excellent fitted sheets. My uncle helped us get this King Koil mattress with his staff discount (thank you Kow Fu!) and we indulged in these 600-threadcount sheets and duvet cover from Akemi.

And the finishing touch is Flatbear! He was meant to be a sofa cushion but was upgraded to  bedside pillow when we realised how well he matched our bedlinens.

We’ve also put our wedding decor to good use! Our photo frames, “here comes the bride” and “I’m not the bride” banner have all been redeployed, and we’ll hopefully retrieve our birdcages from my mum’s place at some point. (Andrew: Errm, where will the birdcages go?)

Thanks to my dear husband for being so flexible, easygoing and trusting me totally on all matters decor!

Andrew: And thanks to my wife for being ever so creative, innovative and resourceful in finding decor that suits both our needs!

A Good Foundation

Andrew: One of our wedding gifts was the book 14 Secrets to a Better Marriage by Dave Earley.

Dearie and I decided to spend some of our devotional time reflecting and discussing some of the chapters of the book together so that we could start off our relationship by building a firm foundation. The first chapter of the book is, as you might have already expected, ‘Build on a Solid Foundation’, where the author identifies and elaborates on 12 foundation stones for building a good relationship. We will be sharing those that spoke particularly to us:

Andrew: The lesson that spoke to me the most was the point on complement each other. Earley writes that if we analyse the original language of the Bible, Adam’s words when he first saw Eve were a ‘joyous declaration’, because he saw in her someone that was his complement. Husbands and wives were designed to be ‘close friends and to positively complement one another as they work together side by side as equal partners and close companions’.

As I reflect on our relationship, I truly realize that Jasmine and I do complement each other in many aspects (e.g. I’m very rational, she’s more spontaneous/ I’m more logical, she’s more creative.) and in that sense – we ‘complete’ each other.

What this reminded me too is that we need to positively complement each other and not try to take over or prevent the other from doing what he/she wants to do. A simple example was for cooking this week. Being someone who likes to be in control, I kept entering the kitchen to check that all was going well, but in doing so, I was disturbing Dearie and getting in the way of her doing what she wanted to do. This was us clashing rather than complementing then. I’ve since learnt to just relax and let her do the cooking when she wants to. An important lesson indeed!

Jasmine: Another lesson that we both liked was that we cannot control draining events, but we can initiate filling events. The author suggested that every person has a love tank which can be filled by positive acts of love and kindness or drained by negative interactions. (The love tank metaphor is cheesy but the concept is quite succinct and powerful.) Andrew and I have been through many draining events in the past couple of years, such as serious illness on both sides of the family, job transitions and moving house, but to his credit, Andrew has always tried to neutralise that and keep the romance alive in our courtship by researching new cafes or exhibitions that we can go to and bringing me on lovely dates.

Another idea that the author puts forth is that men and women require different kinds of love. A man’s primary love need is respect, whilst a woman’s primary love need is affection. Even more importantly, the love that we shower our spouse with is unconditional, meaning that it is not contingent on whether our spouse gives us the time and attention that we seek. Yet interestingly enough, when I see Andrew rise up and take the leadership in our home, whether it’s taking care of our expenses, arranging flat viewings or simply suggesting that we detour to Udders for an ice-cream supper or stroll down Bedok Jetty because he "wants to spend time with [me]", it becomes easier for me to give him the respect and admiration that he needs.

We’ve discussed the different kinds of love needs in greater detail  here (http://andrewlovesjazzy.wordpress.com/2011/07/10/venus-tells-all-about-mars-the-womans-perspective/). I think that this idea of no-strings-attached love is something that runs contrary to the norms of our self-seeking, self-absorbed culture, but it is key to building and sustaining a happy and lasting marriage: esteem the needs of your mate to be higher and more important than your own.

Andrew: Reading this book and reflecting on the points together have indeed started off our marriage on a good note. We do recommend this book to all married couples – many points in the book might be obvious, but they are really good reminders. Even though the book is a Christian book, the principles drawn out contain a lot of common sense and wisdom, plus there are a lot of real life examples. Earley shares very honestly and humbly the struggles he faced with his wife, which shows that marriage is certainly not a bed of roses but with wisdom and work, it can be one of the most beautiful things in the world.

Jazzy and I have had more than our fair share of issues to work through, but it’s been a wonderful month of wedding bliss. Thank you Dear for being a wonderful wife and I’m looking forward to a lifetime of joy and love with you! 

Simple Homecooked Meals

Andrew: Knowing that one of my greatest joys in life is eating, Dearie has been creatively whipping up many meals for me since we moved into our new home. There is greater joy now in dining because we not only get to eat together, but also shop for our food and cook together. These meals have been rather simple to prepare too!

Jasmine: Yes, and not to mention that all these homecooked meals must meet three criteria in order to satisfy Andrew:

• healthy
• filling
• must have meat

We faced teething problems when I first started cooking because when I served healthy salads (see first criterion), Andrew would say they were not filling, but when I switched to pasta and rice dishes, he would say they were not healthy. Hmph!

Andrew: Here are the highlights of our home-cooked meals over the past week:

1. Caesar’s Salad with Rock Deli Chips

Andrew: We were still rather ill-equipped to cook at this point, so we cheated on this one and bought a pre-packed Caesar’s salad mix from the supermarket. Boiled an egg and some pasta and this was our first fuss-free, healthy lunch

Chips compliments of my department retreat – what would a meal with Jazzy be without potato chips? Heh.

Jasmine: I managed to hardboil an egg without burning the house down! (Refer to our wedding montage for the inside joke)

2. Smoked Duck Salad with Dragonfruit

Andrew: This meal was cooked after Jasmine went for a long grocery shopping trip with her mum, which significantly stocked up our fridge.

She bought salad dressings – goma sauce and citrus yuzu sauce and got the smoked duck at a good deal – just 1.95 for a portion that was sufficient to serve 2! I haven’t really tried goma sauce before, but it went really really well with the smoked duck!

Jasmine: The Japanese goma dressing was recommended to Mum and I by my cousin Adeline! The smoked duck was super cheap too… It was a pity we didn’t have coarse black pepper then, else I would have crusted the duck skin with black pepper for more flavour and crunch. The dragonfruit we found in the fridge and decided to use it!

3. Lemon Pepper Grilled Fish with Mango Salad

Jasmine: This was the first meat that I actually cooked. I marinated the cream snapper with lemon pepper overnight and baked it in the oven. I chose lighter accents for the salad, such as citrus yuzu sauce, so that it wouldn’t overwhelm the delicate taste and texture of the fish.

In addition, this was a dish made possible by my mum, who donated the sweet mango and lemon pepper (hard to get hold of in Singapore).

Andrew: This dish was quite a success. The mango and fish went together extremely well. To be more accurate, the fish wasn’t grilled but microwaved.

4. Apple Salad served with Cheese Baked Rice

Andrew: As you can see, we became increasingly more equipped – we cooked this after we were blessed with a rice cooker and a small oven from my mum. Also, at this point, I gave Dearie some ‘constructive feedback’ that I needed more filling meals. Heh. Marriage’s all about adjustment, isn’t it!

Baked rice was simple enough – Boil rice with garlic butter, stir-fry some mushrooms. Put the rice and mushrooms in a bowl, top it with cheese and place it in the oven until the cheese melts nicely.

The salad on the side was an apple salad with citrus yuzu sauce. It was light, refreshing and crunchy – a lovely complement to the heavier main of baked rice.

Jasmine: Yes, and on the side we have Collagen Yakult- our splurge for the week!

I’m quite glad that we invested in the goma and yuzu citrus dressings. From our experimenting, they’re both different in consistency and pair well with different meats- the yuzu citrus is lighter and zestier and goes well with fish and fruit, while the goma has a heady taste of sesame and imparts a smoky flavour to red meats.

5. Sausage Carbonara and Garlic Bread

Andrew: This was dinner on the same night that we prepared the previous dish in. Dearie prepared this based on her mum’s fool-proof recipe – pour the sauce in the pot and stir. Being amateur cooks, we tried adding in milk and water into the sauce, which created varying consistencies that we had to endlessly adjust.

We used Leggo’s Carbonara sauce (recommended by Jasmine’s mum too) and threw in some mushrooms and sausages. The sausages were also bought on offer from NTUC and were pretty good!

Dearie then put a generous sprinkling of various herbs on top of the pasta. She also toasted some garlic bread on the side, but as we were still figuring out how to operate our oven, we charred the bottom of the bread. Heh. Yes, you do notice that the meals are being more carbohydrate heavy.

Jasmine: Yes, meat is so expensive that we usually just end up buying whatever’s on offer at the rotisserie, like the smoked duck and these chicken frankfurters, which were juicy and meaty!

6. ‘Shroom Garlic Butter Rice

Andrew: Butter rice – simply boil the rice with garlic butter and milk, then add in raisins. Boil some mushrooms and toss a simple salad with goma sauce and you have another healthy yet filling meal.

Jasmine: As you can see, I’ve customised both plates to our liking. The plate in the foreground was prepared for Andrew. To meet his requests for healthy yet satisfying meals, I served up rocket with goma sauce on the side and heaped on top a ton of mushrooms that I had sauteed with garlic butter.

The plate in the background is for me: It has a smaller portion size but is far unhealthier- I’ve thrown in two chicken sausages and a hardboiled egg for good measure.

And on weekends we tend to indulge ourselves! Behold our Saturday brunch:

7. Waffle Stack, Served with Acacia Honey, Bananas and Blueberries

Jasmine: This supposed indulgence was actually the invention of necessity. The acacia honey and blueberries were donated by Andrew’s mother, whilst our bananas were fast turning mouldy, hence I decided to make use of them in a nice chunky stack of waffles. (The height does look quite impressive, if I do say so myself- we had to pump up the volume with lots of bananas!)

We however scrimped on blueberries and placed them on the top layer only!

Andrew: This was extremely yummy! After we took the photo, I added in much more acacia honey such that the waffles were drowning in them, then I mopped up the remaining honey with the last bits of waffle. We’ll try ice-cream next time!

And today’s Sunday lunch:

8. Pesto, Herb and Chicken Ham Pasta

Jasmine: Pesto is one of my favourite ingredients (if it can even be called that) because it hardly requires any preparation. Our store-bought pesto tasted a little bland, so I decided to spice it up with freshly-chopped lettuce, freshly-squeezed lemon juice, basil, oregano and ground black pepper. Oh, and I made my very first lemon vinaigrette and drizzled it over the pasta for added zing! (The leftover lemon vinaigrette was mixed into the orange salad, and blended well with the goma sauce.)

Andrew: This simple meal was perfect to balance out the very meat-heavy dinner we’ll be having later. I actually really liked the salad with orange – great blend of sweetness from the raisins, sour, juiciness of the orange and crunchiness of the lettuce. The goma sauce scores once again with its winning blend of sweet and savouriness.

These are our groceries for the week ahead.

Our luxury item for the week – bacon bits!

Am looking forward to next week’s menu – club sandwich and cod!

Thanks Dearie for preparing all the wonderful meals over the past week! I couldn’t have asked for a better wife.

Pre-Wedding Pictures

Jasmine: As today is the eve of our wedding, we have a special surprise for you- we would like to share with you some of our favourite pictures from our pre-wedding photoshoot! (Yes, this time, these are the ones that did make it into the album.)

Photo 1

Jasmine: I’d say about 85% of our shots were candid, and this was one of them. Taking our pre-wedding pictures at Botanic Gardens held special meaning for me, as this was where my parents took theirs, some 27 years ago.

Andrew: While Jasmine says that this shot was ‘candid’, it did require a lot of work from the photographers too. They had to throw up the veil and then run out of the shot while it was falling down so as to create that feel of the veil billowing in the wind. Oops – have I spoilt the magic of that picture? Heh. What I love about this picture is how prominent we are against the backdrop and how natural (as in our pose) looks.

Jasmine: “Throw up the veil”- great image evoked there

Photo 2

Jasmine: Actually, this is Andrew’s favourite picture. While I like the aerial composition, I’m not so fond of my somewhat awkward posture. Andrew, interestingly enough, looks more relaxed than me! In order to achieve the high angle shot, our photographers “illegally” borrowed a bench and carried it all the way up the hill! You can also see all the props we put together for our photo shoot, ranging from pop-up books to cake stands to a bird cage.

Andrew: Yes, this is my favourite shot because of how casual and relaxed we look in it, both in terms of dressing and pose. I had much difficulty ‘posing’ during the process of the photo-shoot, but this was one shot where I felt I didn’t have to pose and could just be myself. It was a memorable shot indeed. Jasmine’s cocktail dress also really pops in this shot – in fact, you could say that it’s really the star of the show.

Photo 3

Jasmine: I love the composition of this shot and the post-processing really helped to enhance that dreamy, whimsical feel. Shot on location at one of our all-time favourite haunts, the National Museum, I liked how the photographer seems to have caught us off-guard having a “moment”.  When we first arrived, I was skeptical about the red balloon installation, but it seems to work beautifully here, providing a vibrant burst of colour in a museum that tends to look rather muted in photos (photos of other people’s wedding shoots that we unearthed during our research phase) due to the abundance of grey and white walls.

Andrew: I’ll be honest with you – this shot didn’t quite do it for me initially. I am more ‘conventional’ in my interest and prefer shots where you can actually see the couples’ face and expressions. My view was changed though when I saw the photo in our photobook and also on the montage. When rendered in clear definition and on a big screen, it is really quite a well-composed shot and you can see our expressions. Heh.

This is just a sneak preview! We really do love our wedding album very much as it really represents who we are Looking forward to meeting everyone at the wedding this weekend!