Thai Tom Kha Soup with Noodle - a quick weeknight meal

I have been thinking of sharing with you some Thai food recipes but it was difficult to make my mind up of which dish to go first. A perfect reason to keep postponing, isn't it? 

Just until recently I was asked by a lady whether I mind sharing with her some Thai food recipe. Of course not. I'm more than happy to share a few. So now the time has come to select one, here we go. Thai food is neither easy nor difficult to make. Some are easier to make than other yet equally tasty. Here, I will start with not just any dish, but my all time favorite Thai soup called Tom Kha.

Caffeinated Pleasure - Fancy a Catpooccino?

How extreme could one goes when it comes to being an adventurous eater? At this very second, I could think of one gentleman who hosts my all time favorite TV show, Bizzare Foods on Travel channel, Andrew Zimmern. You might be nodding along with me right now, oh yes, he pushes it to an extreme. He travels the world in search for regional cuisines some of which considered to be strange, exotic or, most of time, disgusting to some people. Lizard sake in Japan, deep fried fertilized duck egg in the Philippines, cow's heart in Morocco, Mopane warms in Namibia, you name a few, without hesitation, Andrew eats them. He, in a way, is my idol when it comes to traveling and having courage to try new and or unusual cuisines. I consider myself adventurous but just an amateur comparing to Andrew. I have ( made myself ) tried a few, Tarantula spiders, red ants along with their larvas and some fried bugs on the trip to Cambodia, occasionally  some unusual meat, some stinky cheese and tofu etc. For sure I wouldn't start my day with those exotic items. I will be so content with just some eggs and a good cup of Joe. Speaking of which, an opportunity came knocking last month for me to taste and try what I  heard about, for the first time, many years back in New York City, Kopi Luwak.

Caffeinated Pleasure - Order it like a pro

Don't recall since when I started to develop a love for coffee. It could possibly be when I was trying or should I say - suffering pulling an all nighter, with a great hope to finish assignments when I studied in Architecture school. That was probably it. I'll say it close to 20 years since then. Wow, time flies!
Of course at first I started off with those instant coffee, readily available in our family kitchen counter back then. The main purpose, I'm afraid, was not to enjoy it but aimed for the keeping me awake effects which sometimes worked, another not. I will spare you stories of chaotic, tragic moments when I  woke up at a drafting table at 3 am and found out that there were another 5 hours worth of work to be done but I only had another 3 hours left before I needed to wrap up and head to school ( looking like a panda ) My oh my, what a life.

Treats in scoops @ Tom's Palette

Here we go again, coming down like there is no tomorrow. It was a new discovery to me that in Singapore, the rainy season started around September, well may be October if we are lucky and goes on until January next year. I should rephrase it, here in Singapore has quite a uniform temperature ( hot!! ), with no distinctive seasons. I think the best way to define the differences of climates through out the year is to do it in comparative form. So, that would be - Hot - Hotter and Hottest months and Wet - Wetter and Wettest months. Voila!

One of many great things of living in a hot climate city is that it gives me a perfect excuse to indulge myself in my favorite food - ice cream. Is ice cream considered food?  I'll vote Yes! It is frozen dairy deliciousness :) To have ice cream only in hot days, now, that might not always true for me actually, while living in New York and Shanghai, even on cold winter days I had no problem stepping into an Ice cream parlor ( all suited up in winter gears ) for a scoop or two as if it was not cold enough outside. Still remember wonderful trip with girl friends 15 years ++ back in Italy, everyday we had gelato while watching those bello(s) walked by.

In Singapore, We have tried many Ice cream brands, intentionally skipped those international franchises and focus on local ones. My favorites so far are Gelateria Italia, Scoopz, Seven Heaven, Udders and our latest find, Tom's Palette.

Let's get it Straits - Casa Bom Vento

Not realizing that it would take us couple of hours to finish our "Monkey business" at Forrest Adventure, Bedok reservoir, it was already almost 3 pm and the two monkeys were exhausted but happy and very hungry. There is a restaurant/cafe , Wawawa, located within the park which serves a Cafe/ Bistro style cuisine. We felt like having something hearty and a bit more comfort so decided to venture out elsewhere.
Headed toward the East, soon enough we reached Joo Chiat road, another upcoming food street in Singapore. On Joo Chiat road lies rows of shophouses for stores, restaurants, bars and even some "special" hotels. There you could find a local bicycle shop, money exchange, food center with a French name - Le Petit Paradis, a cafe with a Japanese name - Mooshi ( Mooshi ) and chocolate specialty shop within , a cupcakes shop and more. It took us just a few minutes to spot restaurant with a Portuguese name, Casa Bom Vento - the House of Good Winds , where we settled there for lunch. At Casa Bom Vento, their specialties are fine Eurasian and Peranakan cuisines.