Refreshing Water Chestnut Drink To Curb The Summer Heat

Posted on 21 May, 2013 by cllism

Water Chestnut Drink 2

Water Chestnut Drink 3

The summer heat is just a convenient excuse to explain why I decided to concoct this drink. The truth is that I bought water chestnuts instead of chestnuts to make the rice dumplings in my previous recipe… So now I know – chestnuts, which are real nuts, grow from branches which belong to the beech and oak genus; water chestnuts, on the other hand, are aquatic vegetables that grow beneath the ground.

No regrets though, because it’s one of the most cooling and refreshing drinks to gulp down after a busy work day.

Read more

Posted in Chinese, Drink | Tagged | Leave a comment

Teochew Nonya Rice Dumpling To Unwrap The Dragon Boat Festival

Posted on 13 May, 2013 by cllism

Teochew Nonya Rice Dumpling 3

Teochew Nonya Rice Dumpling 2

Eating rice dumpling during the Rice Dumpling Festival a.k.a. Duan Wu Jie（端午节) a.k.a. Dragon Boat Festival is a Chinese tradition that has been going on since time immemorial. The festival takes place every year on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese calendar, which is also when the sun is the strongest during the summer solstice. The racing of dragon boats on this occasion is therefore symbolic since dragons, like the sun, represent masculine energy. The eating of rice dumpling, on the other hand, is based on the legend of Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet during the Chu Dynasty who committed suicide on the 5th day of the 5th month after he was wrongly banished from the state for the crime of treason. In order to protect the body of Qu Yuan, the local people started throwing rice dumplings into the Miluo River where he perished in order to feed the fish. Such interesting stories make for a perfect excuse to give this traditional dish a whip and a try, especially since it is a dish embraced by the Chinese population in all parts of the world.

Read more

Posted in Chinese, Rice | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Easy And Healthy Oven Roasted Vegetables

Posted on 11 May, 2013 by cllism

Oven Roasted Vegetables 2

Oven Roasted Vegetables 3

The last time I ate a smacking good meal of grilled vegetables was back in February, at the Heroes Premium Burgers in Frankfurt, Germany. Everyone ordered the famously huge burgers except for myself; I chose a plate of grilled vegetables (gegrilltes Gemüse) at just 3.90€ to go with my bottle of Steini Beer. Till today, the mild sweetness and oven-grilled fragrance is still lingering in my mind.

Read more

Posted in Vegetables | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Ich War Hitlers Letztes Aufgebot: Meine Erlebnisse Als SS-Kindersoldat

Posted on 3 May, 2013 by cllism

Gunter Lucks

By Günter Lucks, with Harald Stutte as co-author

The content of this book is saddening and heart-wrenching, yet at times whimsical and amorous. The story unfolds itself right in the midst of World War II, in the year 1945, when the author, Günter, was only 12 years of age. He revealed how growing up in a socialist-oriented family had, ironically, strengthened his belief in communism, and how he trooped to the front line at the age of 16 with nothing but a patriotic divination to champion the rule of the proletariat. The five-year long journey as a child soldier and mostly as a war prisoner took him to places faraway from his fatherland – Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Russia (the Soviet Union back then) and Poland – before he was granted permission to return to Germany in 1950. It was this first-hand experience of war and the subsequent defeat of the communist rule that gradually got him critiquing his own convictions for communism.

Read more

Posted in History | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ladurée Macarons Buzzing In Town

Posted on 2 May, 2013 by cllism

Macarons 1

Macarons 3

I made a spontaneous decision today to visit the all-hyped up store in town – the Ladurée boutique that just opened shop at Takashimaya in Singapore. These macarons are probably the most expensive I’ve ever tasted in my life, and they are justifiably expensive for several reasons: (1) They are imported from Europe to Singapore rather than produced here in Singapore; (2) The reputation and fame of the Ladurée store is supposed to be unbeatable, what with the Ladurée story starting back in the 1860s. That was when the Ladurée family began selling food items like pastry, chocolates and tea to the Parisian high society; (3) Given the fact that the Ladurée store is located in Champs-Elysées (among other places) in Paris, one should therefore expect the macarons sold here to be competitively priced as well.

Read more

Posted in French, Pastry | Tagged , | Leave a comment