Portuguese Egg Tart in Singapore

Do I really need to say more?

Elevated Tea

 

Once in awhile, I like to create my own cherished moments where I can sit, indulge and enjoy my own company. Every person is different—what they love to indulge in—is it a surprise that mine is food?

My parents received this fine China set for their wedding more than 30 years ago and I never knew of its existence till my sister discovered it in old boxes about a year before they were divorced (about six years ago). We took it to the new house but my father never used it.

I grew to love the fine gold trim and petite delicate pink flowers with soft ridges.

I've been drinking this wonderful loose leaf Moroccan green tea infused with peppermint that I received at my friend Chantal's engagement party a few weeks ago. Then tonight, my sister gave me a lemon tart from Southbrook Farms. So I decided a perfect cap to the weekend, and start to a new week, would be to have both with the fine China.

I thought about reading or watching TV while drinking and eating, but realized quickly, sitting in the quiet peace of my house, and tasting every sip and bite carefully would be the most pleasurable. The tart had a perfectly tender, slightly crumbly crust, and the lemon filling was smooth and silky. It was a timeless 10 minutes.

It's so refreshing and soothing when you take the time to treat yourself.

The Cleanest Chinatown I Ever Saw

On the first Sunday I was in Singapore, my Uncle Edward let me loose to explore Chinatown on my own. It was a great sight to see, as the city was gearing up for Chinese New Year 2010.

It doesn't look like much at first, but when you walk a little farther down, the streets are suddenly lined with lots of stalls and shops selling all sorts of Chinese-y things.

Like teapots...

And chili ornaments (yum!) ...

And chopsticks...

And elegant paper fans...

And high-end chopstick sets...

And wooden abacuses and chess sets.

Plus food!

Kites...

Lanterns...

Fake flowers...

And knick-knacks and toys galore! For some reason, these fat little buddhas and Chinamen reminded me of my cousins in Florida even though they're the fittest little Tae-kwon-do black belt masters ever.

I thought this was a rather beautiful building in Chinatown.

Singapore has all these positive signs for random things.

I randomly found some pretty yummy cream puffs at a Chinese pastry shop for less than a CDN$1. (Canadian dollar to Singapore dollar is about 1 to 1.30.)

I was craving an egg tart too but this one was so disappointing. It tasted gross actually. Maybe the worst egg tart in recent memory.

Dried Chinese sausages and chicken right on the street!! Kind of gross, actually... considering the heat and humidity.

Asian candy. (I didn't try any. I don't have fond memories of Asian candy as a child.)

I saw these little dresses and thought of the New Baby my sister was going to have in a few months. Turned out to be a girl. :)

I visited this Buddhist temple. And decided afterward, the story of Buddha means nothing to me. (Though I still have faith in Buddhist principles and concepts of compassion.)

I still prayed for strength. (To whom, I wasn't sure...) And I love the smell of incense.

Inside where the monks were chanting and praying.

Riding the elevator to the upstairs museums. I had to cover myself with a shawl and sarong (lent out at the temple entrances for free) because I was wearing shorts, a sleeveless top and sandals.

There was a rooftop orchid garden but I didn't see the orchids that I'm used to.

The most memorable Chinatown experience to date.

Apple Tarts

I adore the new cookbook Earth to Table, written by Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann, head chef and head pastry chef at the Ancaster Old Mill, respectively.

Jeff and Bettina (I feel like I can call them by their first names because we're Twitter buddies; follow them @Earth_to_Table) are huge advocates of using local, seasonal produce. I love that the cookbook is divided into seasons -- after I finished the intro, I skipped right to fall.

The book is very beautiful and inspiring. The recipes are easy to follow and things like duck confit and fennel pork loin have never seemed so accessible before! But those heavy mains require more time and focus so I decided to start small with apple tarts this past Thanksgiving weekend.

The first batch on Monday didn't turn out like the cookbook's photo, and when I later tweeted about it, @Earth_to_Table told me to bake it longer till golden and crispy. So for my next batch today, I did exactly like that. And they were much better! Definitely crispy.

L: First batch of apple tarts; R: second batch

They still didn't look like the photo in the cookbook though. I think I'm piling the apples too high, and the apple slices may be too big. The butter doesn't drip on to the pastry to make it as golden as I think it should be.

Anyway, I give myself an A for effort, and maybe a B- for execution? It was fun and easy to make. I haven't baked anything in a long time and it's always fun trying something new, even if it's not exactly as gorgeous and tasty as it is in your head.

I'm sure Jeff and Bettina's apple tarts are much better than mine. :)