Love is...

Came across 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 in the first page of the menu in Saveur, a French restaurant. Quite appropriate. Because when you think of France, you think of Paris where love is in the air! :) For those of you who do not know, there is now a branch at Far East Plaza besides Purvis Street. Quality of food is reasonable for its price.

 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 

Love the splashes of colors that contrast with the dim lights in the restaurant! And of course, the iconic dark of Saveur :)



Families, friends, colleagues spotted in restaurant. Love transcends.



Starter 1 - Foie Gras. Pan-fried and served with lentils and onions. A bit tiny to savour. I miss Paris...

 



Starter 2 - Saveur's Pasta. Angel hair pasta with sakura shrimp and minced pork. Simple and nice.



Main course 1 - Chicken thigh stuffed with foie gras. Basmati rice tasted like risotto. Gets a bit creamy at the end. 

 

Main Course 2 - Duck leg confit. Served with mashed potato, mushroom, orange. Well flavoured and I like the crispy skin. My sister said she has tasted better ones though but admitted that it is good for its price :)

It has been a week of feasts for me. May you have a feast this weekend too! :)

 

 

Marched!

March marched past in interview rooms and cafes. It kind of happened this way because I try to encourage myself with a treat after an interview session :) Was also a good opportunity to explore my backyard and visited so many places in Singapore for the first time!

Sunny day at Jalan Kayu! My first time there on my way to Seletar. It was 1 March, I remember. Gosh - this must have been the beginning of sunny spring in Singapore.

Létoile. Read about the cafe online and decided to check it out on my way back from Seletar since it is on the Northeast Line at Farrer Park. Quiet place to chill.  

Ice Latte (my angel on such a scorching day!) and salmon bagel (yummy - and reminded me of the bagel I had in Copenhagen!).

Explored Tiong Bahru, my neighbourhood which I shared in wordpress here.



And visited Drips Café (click the link for more!)...This is what I call domestic travel :P

Lunch of flat white and almond croissant at Tiong Bahru Bakery at Raffles City in-between interviews. Phew!

 

Lee's Taiwanese (click the link for more) for dinner...

Followed by ice-cream at The Daily Scoop (click the link for more)!

 

Highlander - funny how I took so long to visit this café just a bus stop or two away from where I stay. Nice coffee and carrot cake at reasonable prices! Will try to blog about it later.

At Johor Bahru, City Square again. This time with my mum! She got these local cake (kueh) the moment she arrived at the City Square. Will try to blog about it later too. Opps!

Went to Ikea and Anchor Point which was featured recently for its outlets. Will try to blog about it later too. Sorry.

Met KW and GT for brunch at Food For Thought at Botanic Gardens. Not a great choice because of the hot weather. Good to meet KW and his baby son AW though :) Will try to blog about it later too. Sorry. Sorry.

Cycled from East Coast Park to Changi Beach Park. Awesome exercise! Read all about it here!

And this sort of marked the end of March 2013. How times fly! The first quarter of the year is over just like that. Really glad that April is here and looking forward to the Sydney trip and taking on new challenges soon :) Thanks for marching with me!

单身的幸福晚餐

Yesterday I read an article in LianHeZaoBao (联合早报周利zbW) about eating alone. Sometimes, I do think it is a bliss to eat alone - at times when I need the space to think (e.g. lunch time when I need to get away from anything related to the office), at times when I am out alone (e.g. meals after running an errand).

The subhead struck a cord and I wanted to blog about it before it slipped my mind for some reasons. It went like this '无论早餐，午餐或晚餐，唯有懂得享受孤独的人，才会知道：一个人的餐饭里，有最大的自由和最深的寂寞'. Whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, only those who know how to enjoy solitude can understand that eating alone gives the most freedom and the deepest loneliness.

The first part is very true for me. I really felt this way when I was travelling alone in Scandinavia last year. It was carefree to eat alone because I could eat whatever I felt like, at any time, at any place without having to discuss with anyone. As for the second part, it can get lonely because you have only yourself for company, especially with couples or friends or families around you, which made me wonder if they find me a weirdo :P

At times, having meals alone in a foreign land can be the most beautiful moments too. For one, you can focus on the food and think about how delicious (or not), observe the people around you, appreciate the scenery if you are lucky to get a good seat... Well, the article reminded me that I captured some of these moments with my smart phone in Scandinavia and I wanted to share them with you. Enjoy :)

Breakfast on board cruise to Helsinki, Finland. Lovely view of the waking day :) A day cannot start more beautiful than this!

I love Karelian rice pastry found at breakfast in Helsinki. It is stuffed with rice with egg butter spread on top. Very special. One of  my favourite memories of Helsinki!

Lamb pasta in a restaurant I passed by in a shopping mall near the hotel I stayed. Glad lamb was the meat of the season. I really enjoyed my meals in Helsinki (although I was alone). Thanks to so much good food!  

Enjoying breakfast in hotel in Helsinki. Long glass window that revealed a lovely view. How to be lonely with so many beings and beauty surrounding me? :)

Love how the Scandinavians have their yogurt mixed with cranberry, nuts, cereals and whatever you can find on the table! What a healthy start to a day in Helsinki. I enjoyed every spoon of it!

 

An exotic dinner in Helsinki - top is reindeer wrap and bottom is a type of fish with risotto. The first time I had reindeer - tasted like tuna, I thought. Interesting!

Had brunch in the oldest café in Helsinki. Café Ekberg has a lovely European décor.

And the loveliest cake! My combination of cappuccino and napoleon cake was delicious.

Another yummy pastry I discovered in Helsinki. At the Old Market Hall near the South Harbour where one can find so much food!

Took a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia. Lunch from top clockwise: Estonia soft drink (tasted like fizzy herbal tea); Pork knuckle (there is a German past in the country's history); meat loaf (lovely bread with meat mince in it).
 

 

Cannot recall the name of the lunch I had in Stockholm. Top is rice + salad + shrimp. Great window seat where I watched the world go by...

Brunch of Quiche and hot mocha in Cafe Soderberg at Jacobs Square. The chicken quiche + salad with vinegar dressing was so good! A quiet and quaint café.

Chai latte and brownie at the café next to the Uppsala Cathedral. I recall: Quiet. Whispers. Shy smiles. :) I think I fell in love with Chai latte here...

At a cosy café in Gamla Stan, old town in Stockholm...glad I could find a seat at this popular café...

...and had a most delicious hot chocolate in winter...

High tea in Copenhagen... nicely done-up café hidden in an alley along Stroget...

Danish pastries for breakfast in Copenhagen at Andersen's Denmark next to Tivoli.

Window seat lunch at Denmark’s National Art Museum (Statens Museum for Kunst). It was like having lunch in front of an impressionist painting! Blessed I am.

My first ice cream in winter! :P while strolling down the shopping street of Stroget :)

Last Fika (means coffee break) in Stockholm. I am glad to have picked up the art of Fika in Stockholm :) It has inspired me to visit so many cafes after I returned to Singapore... And we do have so many nice Fika places at home now!

There were many more lunch-alone experiences I did not take down with my phone, hence could not share them with you. If you want to read more about my Scandinavia trip, you can visit my wordpress blog ilovelongvacation :)