The catastrophe drifted away at Din Tai Fung, Jurong Point.

A pretty lavish gift, it seems, since it's been a very long time after my last meal at this type of restaurant. Such lavish experience was especially exaggerated because I just sat for my exam two days in a row = 6 hours spent in Singapore. It was a treat by a friend of my mom who also enjoys eating.

Note to self: excessive format writing may program you into a facts-loaded robotic writer.

We hopped down from the bus ride (was that 907?) into Jurong Point and she led us to Din Tai Fung right away. I knew I've heard it before but was never a big fan of it yet my recent Google results showed me some reviews on Din Tai Fung franchise in the US. Besides, the diligent and fully occupied staff (mostly foreigners from Mainland) deciphered the first impression that it would not be a let down.

It was during lunch hour anyway and we didn't need to wait long for our seats to become available. The reception lady would ask you to order before entering (I don't know if that works the same in Malaysia or in other countries) for a speedy service. It was about 5 minutes after that when they found a table for us.

My steadily amplifying hunger just couldn't hold any longer to taste the Xiao Long Bao auntie had greatly recommended.

But because we asked to serve the desserts together, they came first.

Having tasted this Almond Pudding with Red Beans Served on Crushed Ice ($3.80) will totally push all your past experiences with similar almond pudding dishes down the drain.

Though I couldn't recall myself eating any red beans (lol) I remember there was something I liked underneath the pudding - longan, perhaps?

It was certainly fresher and undoubtedly smoother than all of the ones I've tried before and the hint of almond scent was superb and strong. But of course this would also discourage the Chinese almond haters from taking the next bite. Teehee.

Double Boiled Papaya and Snow Fungus with Rock Sugar ($5.80).

That's a pretty weird combination to me. I do remember it being... A little too sweet...

Time for the hot shot!

Picture taken right after its arrival! They used cloth (I assumed was cheesecloth? Clarification needed.) to line the steamer.

It was hard to get the internal shot...

Steamed Pork Dumpling ($10.80 for 10!) was a good deal. They also came in five.

If I were eating with Ricky they would have all been gone within 10 minutes, but ladies being more polite eaters - we left them there 'til the end of our meals to see who were going to finish the last few. By that time the skin was already dried up and the bottoms (forgive me) stuck to the cloth, I accidentally broke one of the dumplings there and some of the soup trailed out. *Guilty*

The dumplings were decent. I'd rate them above Dragon-i (sorry wickeee!). Tiny but enough to stuff a lady's mouth full. Served steaming hot, you could picture the illogical agony on my face when I bit my first dumpling open without extreme care. I loved the broth and how fresh the pork tasted. Two thumbs up for this dish!

Here's another favourite of ours - Steamed Chicken Soup ($8.80). I wouldn't favour its presentation at all (chicken skin with hair still adhered, seriously?) but the soup was fabulous! It tasted very little like herbal chicken soup (you know we Chinese dump in quite some of the herbs into our soup) and we were all fond of its taste.

And then we also had these darling dumplings to fulfill our appetite.

Shrimp and Pork Wanton Served in Superior Chicken Broth ($6.80).

It was chewy and fresh - enough said. Broth was plain and unimpressive we left it unfinished.

Steam Glutinous Rice in Red Dates ($4.00).

It's something new and worth trying for only $4.00, no kidding. Though we realized there were too many of them as the dates were amply filled with... Glutinous. I'd say 3 would be more than enough per person...

By the way, Din Tai Fung rented more than two units, a normal lot and an adjacent space which was placed directly in front of Toast Box.

The two days were disastrous enough even with good food around me all the time, you can therefore imagine how these dishes looked like they just got garnished with gold dust at Heaven and delivered right onto our table.

My trusty chocolate brownie recipe.

 

Some things appear in our lives and immediately became what make us proud of.  There could never be regrets and what hold us to these little things in life are the great memories where they played their role.

Including this recipe of brownie from the book mentioned here.

I would be reluctant to describe the story of returning the book, but it was never under my possession.  Back then I was a little baker who gets fascinated easily by magnificent photographs (and I cursed as I tasted the first awful steak in my life, placing all the blame on a Japanese TV drama I once caught up with); with that humongous love for Victoria cakes the book got my attention for days.

Mommy was unwilling to buy that book of recipes for me; she said she's spent a large sum of cash on my baking experiments.

So who did the buying?  Of course the closest person in my life.  Back then.

When the break up took place and regrets flooded me with stinging, bitter flashbacks, my mom asked me encouraging to ditch away everything that can connect me to the past; including the books.  This book was the one I clung onto the most, apart from every plushie which once had their very own spot on my bed.

The relation I had with its brownie recipe was absolutely deep.

There was this birthday of three Choral Speaking members, and I actually prepared a cake for them as we bonded really tightly over the past few months.  This was the recipe I had chosen, and the cake was unsightly; furthermore I didn't have the appropriate box to fill it in, so I brought over a huge utensil to cover it up.

But after everyone had their first bite, their praises immediately turned genuine.  Or at least I thought so.  (Anyways, if anyone baked me a cake I would have said it's lovely - and that's true from the bottom of my heart.)

I guess it's the key ingredient that matters...

Chocolate, baking chocolate. You get a big chunk of it at a reasonable price.  To tell you the truth, the taste did not differ if you tried using the local made and the foreign brand, I usually go for the cheapest available.

That's not it.  This recipe calls for one big bar of chocolate.  Maybe a little extra.

For the recipe, I've edited the thing a lil' to fit into little pieces of paper for distribution among the members years ago.  I captured a photo of it just in case it'd be gone missing.

Adapted from Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell.

Don't bother with the words in the background.

Mac 'n' cheese.

Nothing gets you instant access to temporary haven like a good big plate o' hot cheesy nourishment.

Think a dollop of warm strawberry sauce on a lump of ricotta cheese cake with double cream.

Fresh grated mozzarella, now molten, farmhouse scented, on top of a serving of bolognese lasagna.

A cup of hot chocolate (literally, hot, chocolate, click on this '.') beside a cheese plate.

After a seemingly endless struggle with life, the only upside of the day would have been settling down on a big fat couch next to a coffee table with a night-long strife supplement.

Then you'd imagine yourself, fearless, with the sharp edge of a sword pointed at your nose tip. "Try me, I'm as hard as concrete," you roared.

And where did I get the recipe again? I don't want to recall.

The next dish shall be an improvement.

Jamie Oliver or Alton Brown?

Cheese Baked Rice.

So I came across this post when I was searching for a recipe I wanted to cook for him. The admin made it looked so simple I decided to give it a go.

We were out of sausages so we used stir-fried pork instead.

The dish turned out to be okay, except that the canned mushroom soup wasn't enough and the pork tasted awful.