1. I should smile more lest I give people the wrong impression
2. I look fierce when I don’t smile
3. I always have the grumpy or deep-in-thought look
4. When I joined the company, I was very quiet (and appeared old)

On “I should smile more lest I give people the wrong impression”:

I burst out laughing when I heard it. It was a totally random comment, from someone unexpected, yet I had ironically seen it coming. Call it guilty conscience or what; I dozed off right under his nose during the meeting in the morning (aye old habits die hard) and I was sulking the entire time when meeting with him again later that day. Other than the fact that I was extremely annoyed by his ethnocentrism (as I usually am), I was in a particularly bad mood that day because one, I had a makeup blooper which made me look and feel (and look even more) grumpy, two, I was feeling constipated and fat (the digestion pill I took the night before was not working) and three, there was the post-Haji holiday blues to top it all. However, the way he said it in a concerned manner made it funny. I laughed it off and explained that I wasn’t sulking in defiance even though that’s how I may usually look. This brings me to the next point.

On “I look fierce when I don’t smile”:

It’s not the first time I’ve heard this, I know I look hostile when I don’t smile. Those were the days when I went to class looking grumpy (and I mean really grumpy) cos of insufficient sleep, mad morning traffic yada yada. I think I’ve become less grouchy since graduating from school but I still look like it, unintentionally, and there’s nothing much I can do about it (it’s unfortunate I have hard features, I could practise smiling to myself, like a fool, every now and then).

On “I always have the grumpy or deep-in-thought look”:

“Deep in thought” sounds intelligent, except I am hardly thinking about anything behind that facade. You know, the times when you simply zone out and let your mind wander to nowhere before you’re forced to come back to reality. I much rather give people the impression that I’m deep in thought than come across as someone unapproachable but like I said, there’s nothing much I can do about it.

On “When I joined the company, I was very quiet (and appeared old)”:

I’m not sure if anybody feels the same way, I usually feel compelled to make conversation with someone I just got to know even though I’d rather not be the one getting the conversation going. That said, I don’t usually try to initiate a conversation with a stranger. But once we’re acquainted, I feel the need to engage in conversation. However, I started work pretty guarded to the new environment and people. As someone new joining the company, it felt like I was intruding the familial relationships already forged. It didn’t help that I saw many people leaving soon after. It took me a while before I got to know the people and be comfortable with them. I suppose looking hostile and old (LOL) made it even harder. Everyone thought I looked older than my age cos I did my hair up in a ponytail then (thanks to pure laziness to blow dry the hair). It’s hilarious to hear about it after I changed my hairstyle, which was also about when we got comfortable enough to make such digs at one another.

Hmm I wonder what other first impressions I left on others?

- Jollibean Matcha Soy Ice Blend with Azuki Beans

- Koi Vanilla Milk Tea

- Gelare waffle with maple syrup

- Neigbourhood waffle with chunky peanut butter

- Xinwang Thick Toast

- MacDonalds Chocolate Sundae

As you can see, I’m a sweets person, anytime and I’m easy to please. But sadly, these are the foods which are totally inaccessible from my workplace :(

So here’s the plan:

23-25 Jan: Siem Reap

25-27 Jan: Phnom Penh

27-30 Jan: Bangkok

Hopefully this will be the start to my SE Asia conquest :)

This blog has been vacant for a while I thought of shutting it. Times I wanted to bitch about work but I realized those impulsive moments of frustration would probably sound silly in retrospect. There was always so much to be vented yet I was always speechless when I wanted to write. The longer I stop writing, the harder it gets to start. But life shouldn’t be all about work and the dread when you think about it. This blog shall serve as a reminder of the things I still love, regardless of work so expect more (frequent) posts to be up :)

A month since the last update and it’s still about the Oreo Cheesecake. Much has happened in between – the transitional phase from school to work, adapting to the corporate culture, reassessing expectations and the so-called “lofty aspirations”, I take comfort in the simple and joyful world of baking.

So I tried the Oreo Cheesecake recipe for the second time, except this time I endeavoured to bake a full-sized cake, or rather 3 small-sized ones for the family and a potluck gathering with the Just Lai. Feedback was great –  my mom complained it was too small while the friends said it was good (would try going lighter on the cheese and maybe a thicker oreo crust next time!)

So here’s a recipe tried and tested twice :)

Oreo Cheesecake

Preparation time: 1h 30 min. Makes 3 small cakes (15cm-diameter)

Ingredients:

• 3 sticks Philadelphia Cream Cheese (80z)
• 30 Oreo cookies, cream removed and ground to fine crumbs
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• 70g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1½ tsp vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 9 Oreo cookies, cream removed and coarsely chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven at 170°C.
2. Mix crushed Oreo cookies with some melted butter until the Oreo crumbs are well coated but not too wet. Pour the cookie crumbs into a baking tin and press it evenly to form the base crust, about 0.5cm thick.
3. Bake the oreo crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Keep the oven on.
4. Put the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla essence into a mixing bowl and beat till fluffy and creamy with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes.
5. Beat in the egg. Stop mixing once the egg is mixed into cheese mixture thoroughly.
6. Mix in the coarsely chopped Oreo cookies. Pour the batter into the baking tin.
7. Bake the tin over a bigger tray of boiling water (gentler baking to prevent the top layer from cracking) in the oven for 40 minutes.
8. Turn off the oven and leave the cake to continue baking in the warm oven.
9. Cool and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Bought a stick of Philadelphia cheese a while back then with the intention of making Japanese Cheesecake. Then work started getting busier, scarce weekends became almost entirely filled up meetups the next I knew, the cheese is nearing its expiry date. I decided to bake something fuss-free yesterday after a tiring afternoon of work (yes, on a Sunday) so instead of the originally planned Japanese Cheesecake, I opted for Oreo Cheesecake. The ingredients were really simple; while Japanese Cheesecake and New York Cheesecake recipes called for cream of tartar, superfine flour, sour cream, graham crackers etc, all of which would require me to make an additional trip to the supermarket, Oreo Cheesecake only had 4 main ingredients: Oreos (I have them perennially stocked up at home), cheese, sugar and butter. How simple does that sound? And true enough, the making process was just as easy I was genuinely surprised!

Instead of making an entire Oreo Cheesecake, I decided to experiment with the muffin tray I bought years back (but haven’t gotten the chance to use) and make Oreo Cheese(cup)cakes. The steps were easy, the hardest part was probably crushing the Oreo cookies into fine crumbs cos I did it without a blender. I had to wait till this morning to try the finished product and it tasted pretty awesome, if I may say so myself!

Oreo Cheese(cup)cake

Preparation time: 1h 15min. Makes 6 cupcakes or a small 6-inch cake.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick Philadelphia Cream Cheese (80z)
• 8 Oreo cookies, cream removed and crushed to fine crumbs
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• 20g unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 1 egg
• 3 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven at 170°C.
2. Mix crushed Oreo cookies with some melted butter until the Oreo crumbs are well coated but not too wet. Pour the cookie crumbs into a baking tin and press it evenly to form the base crust, about 0.5cm thick.
3. Bake the oreo crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Keep the oven on.
4. Put the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla essence into a mixing bowl and beat till fluffy and creamy with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes.
5. Beat in the egg. Stop mixing once the egg is mixed into cheese mixture thoroughly.
6. Mix in the coarsely chopped Oreo cookies. Pour the batter into the baking tin.
7. Bake the tin over a bigger tray of boiling water (gentler baking to prevent the top layer from cracking) in the oven for 40 minutes.
8. Remove the tray of boiling water and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
9. Cool and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Adapted from: http://forums.sgclub.com/singapore/recipe_oreo_cheesecake_37930.html

Omg dearest Qi Yuwu is featured on the cover of this week’s 8 Days, along with a 13-page writeup cum photo spread, sharing a different side of him as the journalist goes to his bachelor’s pad for an interview and food tasting session I’m totally jealous! A guy who cleans and cooks, what’s not to love about him? :):)

Go grab a copy of 8 Days for his awesome cover story and catch him in the upcoming legal drama after Unriddled!

The workshop turned out to be great fun! Held in the cosy setting of the TCC outlet at SMU with about 20 participants, we learnt to make two chocolate desserts – Tanzania Chocolate Tart and Verrines Chocolat, recipes I probably wouldn’t replicate at home because 1) some of the ingredients are not easily found in local supermarkets and 2) it’s simply too sinful to make for self-consumption! While we all know how indulgent chocolate desserts are, it was still woah seeing the generous amounts of cocoa, cream, sugar and whipped cream which go into the making of the tiny sweets we pop into our mouth ever so easily. The chef tried to dispel the myth that chocolate is the culprit behind sore throats – Europeans indulge in more chocolates than us - but it is hardly convincing cos lumps automatically form in my throat each time I see the thick ganache in front of me. Of course, that is not enough to keep me away from these decadent desserts so you see me downing cups of water thereafter.

Each pair of us had our own working space, complete with the utensils and ingredients, measured to the exact proportions we needed. There’s no fuss of trying to find the ingredients at supermarkets, measuring the right quantities and the most important part of it all, we didn’t have to clean up! A huge mess most of us created – chocolate ganache dripping all over, puree spills causing red stains on the table cloth – imagine the amount of cleaning up we would have to do if this was at home!

At the end of the workshop, we brought home our sinful creations. The staff even packed the leftover ganache for us, which is probably enough to make the frosting for a steamed chocolate cake, or should I attempt to make simplified chocolate tartlets instead?

I can’t remember much of primary school, except I was a mediocre student, who cried for fear of reprimand when she couldn’t solve her challenging maths problem sums , but who miraculously shone during the PSLE to rise up to the elitist education system. To the top girls institution I went, a huge leap out of my comfort zone, but one which allowed me to strive and learn in the competitive environment I can hardly imagine what would have become of me had I chose to go to the comrade school instead. JC came and having long decided I wasn’t cut out for science (I hated reflection and refraction), I took the Arts path, paving the way for what’s to come. ‘A’ Levels presented yet another crossroad, one which ultimately got me choosing Business (over Mass Comms) at SMU, a school which I had not given consideration to all along, but which I’m glad I made the choice to go, for an enriching experience I was given through the opportunities aplenty – ocip, exchange, internship so on. After 14 years of education are we finally ready to commence our journey in the real world, so they say.

Commencement didn’t have as much meaning for me as it did for my mother who got excited the moment I told her about it. I already saw myself as a school-leaver after the last exams in April and starting work a month ago reaffirmed that. More than anything, Commencement is a day for parents to witness their children (especially if you’re the first graduate in the family) donning the graduation gown and 四方帽, they like to call it, striding up the stage to receive the scroll (which my mom had laminated the day after) and proclaiming proudly to other parents, “That’s my daughter”. It is this day which sees their uncompleted dream fulfilled, their greatest hopes realized.

While I dedicated Gradnite to the friends I made during the four years in school, I dedicate Commencement to my parents, who painstakingly put me through 14 years of education, without whom I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Because of all the hard work and hopes you’ve vested in me, I’ll continue to work hard and make you proud :)