tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22418883081195745472009-11-15T18:09:58.428+08:00thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-53807172067098290472007-12-02T18:31:00.001+08:002008-03-07T19:33:49.658+08:00

Hey all,Thanks for dropping by! :) As of today, Eat and Be Happy has moved here.See you there :)With much love,Laureen

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-56449911297280234882007-11-26T13:29:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:26.030+08:00

I have to admit, as you can probably tell from the assam laksa and noodles with dumplings, i'm partial to meals that consist of only a single dish. Despite coming from an Asian family where our meals are typically made out of a serving of soup, vegetables and at least two different meat or seafood dishes with rice, there's just something so damned alluring about piping hot bowls of soup, ladened

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-12279586708545565382007-11-23T21:33:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:26.712+08:00

Ah, coffee. Where do i begin describing my love affair with this beverage. There's quite nothing in my world a cup of strong, aromatic liquid gold can't fix; it jump starts a sluggish morning, make long hard days seem to go by a little quicker and even makes an excellent day even better.My long standing affair with this caffeine-loaded beans has certainly taken its fair share of turns. It first

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-27190739101614431522007-11-21T20:57:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:28.557+08:00

The first time i had Penang Assam Laksa, i was in love. It was in a crammed little Asian shop in Melbourne that had barely ten tables. Business there is incredibly good so there's always a queue regardless of the time. It was rowdy with people talking on top of the noise, kids screaming to be heard and really warm for lack of air circulation but when i tasted my first spoonful of assam laksa,

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-4404608893541288052007-11-19T14:59:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:29.161+08:00

So i'm finally back on our sunny little shores, my side of the world where you can get a whole bag of lemongrass for forty five cents, as opposed to the two bucks i pay per stalk in Melbourne, food and we're talking about some of the best dishes in the world is available twenty four hours a day, every meal is an agonizing decision between the whole spectrum of choices from Indian, Chinese, Malay,

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-48148531094242875632007-11-13T12:12:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:30.151+08:00

A couple of weeks ago, my little sister attended a 'Durian Party', hosted at one of the universities. It wasn't really much of a party like the name suggests, but more of a marketing strategy smartly implemented by a company that imports and sells fresh prepacked durian. And no, it wasn't free flow like i had initially and wishfully thought, they charged by the half kilograms.So she came back

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-88827584705897486132007-11-10T13:44:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:30.762+08:00

You know summer is close at hand, just waiting for its moment to descend when the second you step out of the comforts of your apartment, you get mobbed by flies that persistently fly into your face. Well, in addition to the sweltering heat that has you wishing, barely two seconds out the door, that you had chosen to stay indoors instead or that you were an Ice Queen, literally of course if just

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-58528342424851083572007-11-06T16:10:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:31.600+08:00

Three days before my first exam paper this semester and all i have to show for are these scones. You would think that having spent the first couple days of Swot Vac moving all our stuff into my little sister's new apartment, i would have spend the precious remaining days i had left studying. But nooo, in typical me fashion, studying was the last thing my brain wanted to do it seems. So my days

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-74668666692731029222007-11-02T15:04:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:32.739+08:00

If i could have any one dessert for the rest of my life, dare i say it, this might just possibly be it. Yes, much as i love my ice creams and dark chocolate, there's something quite irresistible about a light, smooth, creamy dessert. Especially one that's as aesthetically pleasing as the creme caramel.I have to admit that i never quite knew the difference between the creme caramel and creme

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-21715830910882515872007-10-25T19:15:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:33.617+08:00

It is yet another dready day here in Melbourne. (Guess what song started playing in my head? Lemon Tree. "I'm sitting here in a boring room. It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon..". I know, i feel like gagging myself as well) With ominous clouds overcasting the sky, and nary a glimpse of the sun, the city seems to have been lulled into a slumber. It's just as well the weekend's almost here

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-25048035585870983212007-10-22T16:47:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:34.706+08:00

The date October the 22nd was marked in my little organizer right at the start of this year. Circled twice, highlighted and written in big bold loud colours were the words 'Thesis due". For all the hours i spent working on my thesis, all the times i wanted to tear my hair out when the results from my model didn't make much sense, i pushed on, for i knew that magical day, that day when the sun

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-82779380524888337912007-10-19T18:15:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:35.687+08:00

Ahh, look at that. I don't know what that picture does for you but it sure as hell makes my mouth water.Every time my family and i, or GT and i for that matter, eat at a Chinese restaurant, this will definitely be on my table and polished off quickly than you could ask another glorious piece. Yes, we sure love our crispy roast pork.I live a stone's throw from Chinatown, easily a two minutes' walk

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-45778572978908531692007-10-16T20:09:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:36.247+08:00

Yeast has sadly never been a friend of mine. Much as i've tried to play nice and make its acquaintance in making garlic foccacia, the friendship has somehow never been sealed. Since that flop, i've never quite given yeast a second shot, despite dying to make cinnamon scrolls and bagels. So a couple of weeks, i decided it was time to head back to basics before i started messing with yeast in the

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-54334666821286150752007-10-13T20:19:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:36.645+08:00

Last weekend, we went a little crazy with strawberries. Can you blame us really? Endless trays of ruby red strawberries were a common sight at every stall, with their sweet scent wafting in the air. When i say we went crazy with strawberries, i mean we went crazy with strawberries, which saw us lugging home ten punnets of plump juicy strawberries.There was only so much strawberry jam and

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-51925428298005323892007-10-10T16:40:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:36.929+08:00

Chocolate is probably the most loved food universally- if it can be even considered a type of food. In fact, it is so well loved that just about everything it seems has been combined with chocolate, resulting in a whole new chocolatey world of flavours.Let's see.. there's chocolate peanut butter, chocolate strawberry (i can't get enough of the Tim Tam ones they've launched this month in support

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-58301126900143013742007-10-06T20:09:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:37.804+08:00

I've come to realize that there are really only two types of cuisine i can never say no to. With all other cuisines, i usually have to stop for a moment and decide if i really wanna have it. But ask me out for a Japanese or Indian meal, i'll be there in a heartbeat.With much shame, i have to admit that for all the love i have for Japanese and Indian food, i still have much work when it comes to

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-71217996138069352442007-10-01T19:09:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:39.950+08:00

I've been back from Sydney for about three days now and it still feels like it's the holidays. With days spent exploring the city, soaking up the vibrant atmosphere and sun rays and nights spent vegging out in front of the TV (God bless Foxtel!) while battling it out on Mario Kart and Bomberman on our handheld games sets, it really was one hell of a holiday where our only concern was what to have

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-89987623658577686802007-09-19T10:49:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:41.139+08:00

Growing up, save for that tablespoonful of cod liver oil my mum religiously made us take, getting my fill of omega 3 was always a problem with me. Getting me to choke down that spoonful of menacing looking orange cod liver oil was bad enough. I would hold my breath just as my mum would hold the spoon, filled right to the brim with that stuff no less, and gulp it down as quickly as i could. By the

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-56804023162752953852007-09-15T20:09:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:42.074+08:00

So how did i spend first morning of my two glorious weeks of holiday, you ask?Well it was spent in one of the most therapeutic ways possible, if you ask me. There's just something about recipes with multiple steps requiring the cook to be fairly involved in the dish, as opposed to just chop all ingredients and stir fry, that i thoroughly enjoy. And this was no different.The preparation of the

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-47377881172021706432007-09-13T17:02:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:43.172+08:00

At long last, my two weeks of hell are thankfully over. From churning out my thesis draft in the span of two weekends, delivering a presentation on it the day after that was due to the usual endless stream of assignments all due within the week, in addition to the week prior to that spent trying to frantically chip away at the pile of work, the weeks seemed to stretch on into eternity. But that's

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-11805571557870271092007-09-06T16:55:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:43.660+08:00

First up, my apologies, really, for not posting as often as i would like to be doing these last couple of weeks. My life has been devoid of any form of sanity or normality in trying to churn out ten thousand words for my thesis. My blood literally ran cold when i realized on Monday, a grand total of a week from when the draft was due, my results didn't work. Thank goodness that's all sorted out

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-67948722505227220942007-08-31T16:06:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:44.217+08:00

A couple of weeks ago, GT and i decided to take our tastebuds on a ride and try a Sichuan restaurant i had read about on Tummy Rumbles. We had to hunt around for a bit before we actually located the place but despite being located in one of the many nondescript, dark, little alleys in the sleazier side of Chinatown, this modest restaurant was packed with a real mixture of crowd ranging from

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-76240845406789194592007-08-24T21:22:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:45.464+08:00

I suppose now's as good a time as any to come clean- I've never caught on the whole Jamie Oliver craze, as much respect i have for the man for his talent and passion. Sure i flipped through his books on occasions, even borrowed a couple from the city library and jotted a few enticing recipes down, seen (and enjoyed) episodes from his shows on tv but i just somehow have yet to be blown away by him

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-18278837133414297202007-08-20T21:41:00.000+08:002008-12-13T13:30:46.649+08:00

Lately i've been thinking a lot about italian food, largely due to the episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond that have me keeping me awake till the wee hours of the morning. Food plays a large role in this dysfunctional Italian family- be it whether they're sitting down for a good albeit rowdy meal or having a food fight, it no doubt brings and keeps this family together. Marie, Ray's mum, who is

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2241888308119574547.post-74735265614369069172007-08-17T06:43:00.001+08:002008-12-13T13:30:47.510+08:00

I hardly ever watch tv but one of my favourite advertisements that used to be aired several years ago in Australia was the one on Big M. It starts off innocently enough with a guy just strolling down the street drinking from a carton of Big M. So he's walking down the street, just minding his own business when he notices a guy struggling to load a grand piano on his truck. And of course as luck

thecoffeesnobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13900703673263008986noreply@blogger.com4