Cha ice cream from The Daily Scoop

Bought my Cha - Earl Grey ice cream from The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Cafe. Yay!

Been there a few times and the flavour was not available over the counter... finally decided to buy a 400g tub for takeaway.

Absolutely love the taste of Earl Grey with a tinge of milk. Very light, almost like sherbet. Treating myself to a daily scoop :)
I also tried the coconut flavour. Taste of coconut is strong but not overwhelming. There are even bits of coconut fruit. Not bad at all.

A new pineapple tart flavour is introduced recently, tasted just like pineapple tart, except difference in texture. LOL. But I would prefer the original thing.

Still waiting for the SoBerry Chez... hope it will be available soon.

The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Cafe

I have fallen in love! With The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Cafe!

Recently, good friends JW & JH introduced us to The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Cafe at Sunset Way. To think that we have stayed in the west for so long and not know about this quaint little gem tucked deeped in this place known as Clementi Arcade. To me, Sunset Way seems to be a small little forgotten neighbourhood. But surprisely the estate is quite big, with mostly private terrace houses, bungalows and condominiums. I was even more surprised there is a mid-size Cold Storage at Clementi Arcade.

Shop space is quite small, just enough for around 6-10 tables. Furnishings are simple, with colourful murals.

What important is the flavours of the ice-cream. Apparently, they offer 36 flavours of ice-cream, all hand-churned and freshly made in-store. But not all flavours are available daily. Unfortunately they ran out of Earl Grey which according to JH, is delectable. :( The SoBerry Cheez - strawberry, raspberry, cranberry cheesecake ice cream is also sold out!!!

We settled for Durian-Durian, Butterscotch Pecan and Tangerine Surprise (new flavour). We were blown away by the Durian-Durian, it is rich in flavour, yet quite light. Hubby totally loves it! He is quite picky in flavours and seldom gives his stamp of approval for desserts (even for those I bake!)

I love the old fashion and nostalgia taste of butterscotch, and once again the ice cream is flavourful but very soft and light. The pecans are also fresh and add crunch to the ice-cream.

The Tangerine Surprise is slightly zesty, with bits of fruit like frozen tangerine and strawberry. A refreshing flavour for a hot afternoon, I think.

Besides the 'Cha' (Earl Grey), and SoBerry Cheez, there are still dozens of exotic flavours which I want to try, like Chendol, Coconut, lychee martini, Cempedak, Avocado... and I have yet to try the waffle, brownie, floats!

I think I'm gonna drop by The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Cafe so very often now :d~

The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Cafe
41 Sunset Way
#01-04 Clementi Arcade
Singapore 597071
Tel: (+65) 6463 3365
Email: icecream@thedailyscoop.com.sg
Website: http://www.thedailyscoop.com.sg/
Operating hours:

Mon-Thu 11am - 9pm

Fri & Sat 11am - 10pm

Sun 2pm - 9pm

Closed on selected public holidays

CNY Special: Old & New Favourites Workshop

Woah, I have been so busy with work lately that I haven't had the time nor energy to clean the house, cook for hubby or bake for Chinese New Year :( Guess I can only take a breather after CNY where one of my big project ends. Really wish I could have time to bake pineapple tarts and goodies which I fondly named as my Lunar New Year Four Treasures last year.

So glad that I don't have to work this weekend and finally find some 'me-time'! Attended my first baking workshop for 2009 - CNY Special: Old & New Favourites by Guest Pastry Chef Daniel Tay, CEO Bakerzin, at Shermay's Cooking School.

The 5 demo recipes are:

• Kaya
• Pineapple Tarts
• Zesty Lemon Pound Cake (from Daniel Tay's recipe book 'just desserts') - Good friend WH loves this and I baked it for him last year based on the recipe. I think he'll be glad that this time I learnt it from the master himself.
• Cream Cheese Cupcakes
• Pistachio Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients for home-made kaya are fairly simple and easy to prepare. The catch is stirring the kaya CONTINUOUSLY for 45 mins to an hour over low induction heat or slow cooker, otherwise the kaya burns very easily.
The texture of home-made kaya is slightly rough, and looks humble but wholesome. I love the richness and fragrance of the coconut milk with touch of pandan juice. Smells heavenly, I think I can get a high on sniffing this one. LOL.

The pineapple tarts I made last year were taken from Chef Chris Tan's recipe book "Shiok!". I think those who tried the tarts liked them. But I am definitely keen to learn new techniques and recipes.

Chef Daniel Tay uses commercial pineapple filling which I find a tad too sweet and minced for my liking. I guess I still prefer the home-made pineapple filling, which took 2hrs to cook, tedious process unfortunately.

But I LOVE his pastry! The tart literally melts in the mouth and quite light in taste. Probably I could combine the techniques of both recipes.

Pistachio & Dried Cranberry Cookies. This cookie has bits of green and red, apt for Chinese New Year and very easy to make. Love the crunch and doesn't taste too sweet.

Everybody lurves Cream Cheese Cake and this one's better with Oreo biscuits as base (and fold in if wish to) and cream cheese mousse :d~~~

Best served chilled, and let the creamy cake melt in the mouth. I think adding some zesty preserved strawberry or berry is a nice twist.

The zesty lemon pound cake with cream cheese glaze is GOOD! Contrary to usual pound cakes, this one is light and not too dense. The lemony taste is not too heavy on the palate either. Chef Daniel Tay used to sell this in his Bakerzin cafes but not anymore. Gonna bake this for WH one of these days.

Our take-home box of goodies - cream cheese cupcake, lemon pound cake, pistachio & cranberry cookies and freshly made kaya (not in picture).

I miss baking! So many recipes, which one shall I start with? Really in a dilemma whether to rest or bake...

Veggie Sticks & Dips

One of my favourite party food is veggie sticks and dips, a refreshing snack to cleanse the palate after indulging in heavy weights like meats and deep-fried stuff.

The usual veggie plate I would prepare consists carrot, celery and cucumber sticks and cherry tomatoes. Munching on veggie sticks itself is a little boring, so I would accompany with 1 or 2 types of dips.

Recently, good friend WH introduced me to this Seafood Sauce which he found at Cold Storage. At $7+ for 190g bottle, it is certainly not cheap. A closer look at the label - ingredients include sunflower oil, water, sugar, tomato puree, white wine vinegar, fried whole pasteurised egg, dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, dill, salt and some thickening agent, preservative.

I love the tangy taste, a little like thousand island sauce but much more flavourful. It is really convenient if I don't have time to enhance the flavour, it is good as it is.
Another favourite sauce is home-made garlic mayo. Plain store-bought mayo tastes too flat and I usually add more flavouring.

The recipe is also first shared by WH.


Ingredients

• 1 small can of mayonnaise
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped (add 1-2 cloves for more fiery taste)
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 to 3 wedges of lemon, up to half.
• Mixed herbs, sparingly (I use Masterfood. Italian herbs, salad herbs should work fine too)
• Sugar, 2 to 3 tsp
• Pepper
• Dash of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

Simply add everything together, mix well, chill and ready to serve. All ingredients can be adjusted to taste.
Can't say which sauce I prefer. I love both.

It's 2009 and Happy Birthday to Dreamersloft

Happy New Year! And Dreamersloft is now 2 years old!

Looking back at 2008 brought lots of mixed feelings. It's somewhat a turbulent year for me, with lots of highs and equal lows as well. Quite an emotional ride.

I guess the most significant low being the ectopic pregnancy and having to go through laparoscopy surgery. The recovery process was rather unpleasant, really disliked the side effects of all the medicine. Although I wasn't very much affected emotionally then, sometimes, I do think back and feel a tinge of sadness. Otherwise, I would have been 7 months pregnant by now. Well, things happen for a reason and I just have to accept this fact. And meanwhile, will continue project B, but nevertheless letting nature takes its own course - both hubby and my philosophy right from the start.

Other lows being my cornea health less than good. Hence forbidden from contact lens for a long while. Latest advice from Optometrist - to let the eyes recuperate for 6 more months.

And unhappiness at work. It's been frustrating these few months! Feeling all stressed up, sense of helplessness... have put in lots of effort, but is it all worth it? Maybe I should just take it more easy.

I guess all these just add up, everything negative coming together and hit me hard in the face. Ouch.

Well, nuff said of all the unhappy episodes.

Now onward to all the things in life that perk me up :D

Baking

Baking continues to be a therapeutic hobby. Attended more workshops, attempted more recipes and started bake sales on a small scale. And I have upgraded to a more heavy duty electric mixer (unfortunately it's Kenwood and not KitchenAid) as well as a 58L oven!

Diving

Unfortunately I only managed to go for 1 dive trip in 2008 :( Could have gone for more trips but well. Nevertheless this Sipadan Dive Trip was such a wonderful experience.

• Sipadan Dive Trip (Jan 08)

Travels

Yes, the wanderlust in us, we are still travelling a lot. Most notably, 3 trips to Japan :p I love Japan! LOL. Otherwise, quite a few road trips to Malaysia, be it durian hunting, seafood feasting, shopping or gambling (Genting Highlands now have Texas Hold'em Poker!).

• Macau
• Melaka
• Tokyo (April) Part I, Part II, Part III
• Tokyo (May) Day 1, Day 2, Day 3
• Bangkok
• Kansai - yet to blog

Blogging

Seems like I didn't blog as much as I wanted to, and still ended up with backlogs. But I'm really blessed to make friends (some from as far as USA) through blogging. It's great to receive emails and comments from people from all over the globe and share experiences.

In conclusion, I truly hope 2009 will turn better for me - success in project B, my cornea health improves and perhaps I can go for lasik treatment, work more smooth sailing, more bake sales, more travels, more diving trips... looking forward.