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Cookyn Inc Experience

Last night, we were invited to an appreciation night held specially for my Dad in appreciation of his mentorship.

Basically, Cookyn Inc is an event venue cum cooking school. The organise and customise cooking events for the purpose of team building, celebration etc and aim to bring fun into cooking. It is a cosy shophouse located in Rangoon Road. Despite the "old-looking" surroundings, the interior is decorated with a simple yet clean and contemporary style.

After the various thank you speeches to my dad were delivered, the hosts got us to put on the cookyn inc aprons and chefs hats(paper ones) which we wrote our names on and got to take home. I shall not spoil it for people who are intending to go and would like to keep the element of surprise so I will just briefly talk about the experience.

They first guided one person from each group on basic sushi making and left the rest to us. We were also given a "mystery box" full of ingredients, using which we must make a dessert. Both dishes must bring out the given theme.

Overall, it was quite an interesting experience from which I learnt quite a few things from -- How to roll a simple maki roll, how to wet the knife to make cutting the maki roll more easily, how to deseed a cucumber etc.

The staff also played the role of judges and determined the team that won the cooking challenge. They also provided feedback to each team on their food.

The night ended with dinner service. Creamy pasta was served and we could also eat our own "creations".

Obolo Macarons! and other cool stuff

Anyone who knows me should know I have a soft spot for desserts.
Ting presented me with a nice box of 6 macarons and a box of Marks and Spencer Tea for my birthday. Ting says that I could feel like a Queen as I eat the macarons and drink the tea. And I did :3

The macarons were just right, not too sweet and light. The rose flavoured shell was fragrant -- one of my favs. I really like the salted caramel shells too.

And the fudge filling was the BOMB. Indulgent and the taste of happiness x)


The picture for the Marks and Spencer Tea isn't up yet cause Im currently having my study week and Im a little busy and the uploading process is quite tedious so I will upload it as soon as I can.

Anyways, it comes in an elegant blue box with 20 teabags in it. Yuting got me a calming infusion tea -- lavender, camomile and limeflower. It is kinda my first time drinking tea that is not the usual red, black, green, earl grey or oolong. It was aromatic and made me feel warm and fuzzy as I sipped the tea and nibbled on a macaron. I really did feel like a queen. Thanks Ting <3

Nay and jodes also got me gifts. Jodes and neat little ribbon thing that says "birthday girl" to pin on myself on that day xD and nay a sweet set of lollipop molds. I'll be putting up a picture of those soon too! And of course, Rmary was the mastermind behind the surprise celebration. Thanks Renee, Jodes and Rmary. And everyone who was there really contributed to giving me awesome memories, which are really, the best gift I can get.

On the 14th itself Alvin cooly and quite sweetly presented me with a fluffy fuzzy cute penguin plush :) Thanks Alvin. And Xinying also quite cooly passed me a LeeSSang cap disguised in a Body Shop bag xD and had linner with me. Aunt gave me an awesome new acrylic shaker since my old one kept leaking. Sis got me more popin cooking, which I will feature in a separate post. Mum bought me this funny but nice hello kitty head mini-cake. And of course, earlier this year dad got me some lego bricks after the build my world competition.

Overall, my special day this year was quite a memorable one. Truly blessed to have family and friends who helped make this day great for me.

Not Food but something better

 Yes I know this post is not about food but there are stuff nicer than food. Probably not the thing to say on a food blog x) Nevertheless, I think my fuzzy wuzzies deserve much more than just a feature on the food blog. These fuzzy wuzzies have also been very encouraging in my pursuit of my culinary dream <3

But anyway... a week before I turn 17 I was invited to Rmary's house to look at her new gadget miniature thingy. Though a little confused at the randomness(we have random movie, sleepover and lasagne dates anyway), I agreed and met rmary at the void deck. Rmary said she left her stuff on the skygarden so we headed on there first.
                                                                                                                                                       Once I stepped out of the lift, I was greeted by shouts and A LOT of streamers. Although I nearly died from the shock of it, I was really touched. :')

The railings had balloons on them and there was a tiramisu cake and much more other snacks. And most importantly, were the fuzzy wuzzies that were there <3
 So the evening was spend doing crazy things, taking crazy photos and playing around. I really was a night to remember.

                                                                                                   

 



 

 



Big Mama Korean Restuarant

It kind of a family thing that during each of our birthdays, the family goes out somewhere for a good meal or have a good meal home cooked for us. So since Im about to turn 17 in 5 days, my family took me out to have a meal at a restaurant of my choice. After considering our relatively small appetites and our budget, I settled for Big Mama Korean restaurant, a popular restaurant in Tiong Barhu that serves authentic Korean food. Once I entered the restaurant, there was different atmosphere that really did remind me of the restaurants I see in Korean dramas and variety shows. I did visit Korea before but I was 5 then so I can hardly remember anything at all.

 

The table is nicely set with authentic Korean cutlery. Even the gas stove is of Korean origins.

We ordered our food and it was served promptly.

The side dishes(Ban Chan) were great and were free flow. I liked the lotus root, stir fry glass noodles(japchae) and the anchovies. But the seasoned spinach(shigeumchi muchim)...not quite to my liking.

 

The dish that was served first was the suyuk, or steamed pork belly. The staff at Big Mama demonstrates the three different ways to eat the suyuk in a friendly manner.

 

The seafood pancake was the bomb. Usually, I don't quite like chives but the seafood pancake was absolutely delicious. It was crispy at the sides but not burnt and light in the middle, with a generous portion of prawn and squid. It had a nice, mildly sweet and savory flavour to it.

We also ordered the Dakgalbi(Spicy Grilled Chicken), the restaurant's recommendation. The chicken is tender and flavourful(definitely well marinated) and the vege is really appetizing. I loved the rice cakes in it too! Delicious when eaten with rice. Thinking about it now makes me hungry!

 

The jjambbong jeongol(spicy seafood soup)was a rather interesting dish. The soup was a little thick for me and the seafood flavour is a little too strong but definitely authentic. I find its a little of an acquired taste. However, I liked the mussels and the noodles in the soup. Again, mixing it in rice is a great way to eat it.

The staff also recommended the grilled pork collar slices with gal-bi seasoning (dwaeji moksal yangnyum gui). It was sweet, tasty and flavourful and not too "fatty".

Overall, it was a great and satisfying meal and experience and given the chance, I would definitely go back to try more dishes.

For more information, just head on over to bigmama.sg. Don't forget to book a reservation cause its really hard to get a seat without one.

Cake-in-a-jar: Grin Affair

A few days back mum brought home a treat -- A pretty and cute cake-in-a-jar. This one is the cookies and cream cake. The bottommost layer is made up of crushed Oreo and a layer of chocolate cake, followed by custard mousse and vanilla cake and crushed vanilla cookies.

The breakdown of the cake-in-a-jar varieties Grin affair offers can be found on their very cute and elegant website.

Overall it was really delicious. Creamy, not too sweet and everything just goes together very well with the combination of sweet and savoury flavours as well as crunchy and soft textures. I suppose the only issue would be that the oreo cookie layer tasted very slightly burnt. But doesn't affect the overall taste too much.

And it is presented so nicely in the jar that I really didn't bear to dig into it at first. It also comes with a nice little string handle which makes it easy to hold.

I would really like to try more flavours soon. However, they cost a bout $5.50 each and I think it is probably good for a rare treat or as a gift!                                                       

3/5 for taste and 4.5/5 for presentation!

Japanese Candy

Japanese Candy has been trending recently, especially among teenagers and young adults. I think that it is highly probable that the trend was started by a Japanese youtube group called "RRcherrypie".

Specifically, the craze involves DIY candy, most of which the consumer mixes a specific amount of water with different "candy powders" and voila! You just made your own candy! Its pretty hard to explain in words but you can easily find out what I mean by youtube searching "popin cookin" and "kracie", the two companies dominating the DIY candy market.







So the local retailer of Japanese candy, Candy Play Singapore, generously held a sale on their second anniversary and I managed to get a few kracie sets for a low price. I got the neruneru set and basically its just magic sticky candy.

I first added the powder labelled "1" and added a little water(A tiny piece of container was provided to measure out the water) and mixed it. First it was a dull purple. Then I added the powder labelled "2" and mixed it. The mixture slowly became stickier and stickier and the colour actually became a pastel pink! This was the strawberry flavoured sticky candy. I did the same for the next two packets of powder provided and got the yellow sticky candy.



But theres more! If you mix the two sticky candies, you get a whole new flavour. A pack of sprinkles were also provided to sprinkle on top of the sticky candy.

Time for the taste test! The pink candy was strawberry soda flavoured. Indeed, when you eat it, its sort of has tiny air pockets in it that gives a "fizzy" feel. Same with the yellow one, which is yes, lemon flavoured. They both have a really tangy taste to them. And.. the flavour derived from mixing both is...Cola! (last picture) Pretty cool right?

I apologize if this post has been a little confusing. Its quite hard to explain with words and its easier if you watch a video, or even experience it yourself! These don't come cheap usually though. Each pack can cost $6-$14 in Singapore due to the shipping fees.

However, (Im not paid to do this! Just an objective recommendation) it is good to get from Candy Play Singapore as I believe they are the most relevant and they do try to keep their prices reasonable. They are also really nice people! So google them and check out their website if you wish to get some Japanese Candy to try out.

OH WAIT. But if you do not live in Singapore, websites such as napa japan stocks them too!



I will leave you with a video that I did in the past with "Gummyland" a popin cookin set. And while you're at that, check out my channel!