Robert Timms Cafe

My first time trying out this Aussie coffeehouse that boasts its own range of coffee beans and a true blue outback menu with lots of exotic game meat in addition to the usual steaks, seafoods, pastas and all day breakfasts.

I ordered a huge T-bone steak with peppercorn sauce. It came with little red peppercorns sprinkled all over and seasoned with aussie herbs, a little minty that may seem quite strange at first but is still palatable. The mutton would have been a better complement to the sauce.

More Precious Moments

Suddenly I am being snowed in with Precious Moments figurines. My snowflake musical water globe arrived just before Christmas and a website surprise - this bisque porcelain figurine of a little girl on a bike.

Williams-Sonoma

I love Williams-Sonoma, that lovely cooking/baking/homeware store. Everything WS carries is soo innovative and pretty. So when its international shipping rates dropped recently, I jumped at the chance to buy some stuff I have been eyeing. I didn't get everything I wanted though, still quite upset that there are no more pie crust cutters. Anyway, look at this load of goodies and international shipping costs just S$39! 

Nordicware cake pans are top of my list and the honeycomb is a WS exclusive. It costs something like S$36 each. Its difficult to make icing in Singapore because of the hot weather so novelty shape cake pans make cakes look festive straight out of the pan.

Emile Henry Artisan ruffled pie dish and pie bird, brings to mind that nursery rhyme " Sing a song of 6 pence, pocket full of rye, 4 and 20 blackbirds baked into a pie". Pie birds are heat vents, an ornate 40s innovation to bake a better, crispier pie. A lovely rustic piece that's quite difficult to find these days.

Sesame street pancake moulds are just too cute! And on sale too. Pie pocket moulds in various shapes. Good for making bite sized snacks or meat pockets for deep frying.

CIMB Christmas Giveaway Win

I won EpiCentre gift vouchers from CIMB's Christmas Giveaway. EpiCentre is actually the Apple store but they don't call it that. Coupled with Boxing Day sales, I was expecting to get some really good deals and ended up with the best gift for the guys in our life.

A backup battery, the latest tech accessory of late. Only this one charges up with either solar energy or an electrical source. I also got a wire wrap and neon earphone pads to use up the remaining credits. 

Chimichangas (deep fried burritos) for lunch, delivery by Food Panda. It's served with mole and salsa that was quite good. And I also ordered jalapeno cheese poppers with salad. Zingy, zippy lunch.

Eloise Suite by Betsy Johnson

Betsy Johnson the wickedly fashcentric designer was recruited to design the Eloise Suite at The Plaza hotel New York. That well known storybook character of Eloise the little girl who lived at The Plaza has been brought to life through this fabulous suite made up in pink and all things nice. 

Ravioli Maker

You can make ravioli the old-fashioned way with just a knife and water. But having tried it, I can safely share that it takes experience to do it properly. Hence, the many ravioli tools sold to home chefs to achieve the perfect stuffed pocket. The pan above is good and quite popular, but I prefer the presses below.

The rolling pin is rustic and not commonly found. It's fast but takes a bit of practice to line up the filling just right. 

 The easiest way to make ravioli is a pasta machine, preferably electric. I have one of these and you can whip up batches of ravioli real quick. Line up 2 pieces of pasta and plop the filling in the middle then crank that handle to churn out perfect parcels.

New Year's Day

Thanks to the good people at LifestyleAsia.com, I won this limited edition Moet Chandon Diamond Collection Golden Suit Champagne in their Christmas giveaway. I adore bubbly and this bottle of champagne  arrives just in time for New Year's Eve. Thanks!

My brother found time to celebrate his birthday last week with 5 star chicken rice and lots of Dom Perignon. And added 2 new frogs to his menagerie of pets, hope this pair adjust well enough to reproduce soon.