a dash of nutmag!

In Dr Simon Chan’s course on worship, he always said this: "Maintain the paradox.." and he refers to the characteristics of God and the way we do church.. I.e., God is love, but He is also Holy; God is a ‘nice’ God, but there is such a thing as righteous anger!  Talking about paradoxes… I went to Cafe Pralet with Cgull and YL…

Three people (Cgull,YL,M) share three cakes… That’s the way it should be! If you like your cakes light, and not too sweet, you must come here… A little quaint cafe hiding in the middle of tiong bahru… In the middle of several blocks of low-rise flats, pretty quiet.. Nobody would think of finding this little ‘rose among thorns’! I mean, right opposite is a temple, and next door is this mega outdoor seafood czhe char stall! Weird… 

Cafe Pralet - A place full of paradoxes (I feel!)

 The location is one example. Next is the ambience.. Once you step in, you get this homey feel..  Yet, the layout and furniture says otherwise.. The cakes taste homemade (contributed by the mildness in terms of sweetness and flavour), yet, they are presented quite professionally.. Now, the toilet. It smells homey.. Yiling  describes it as having a ‘potpourri’ scent; not too strong, just pleasant.. BUT, the look of the toilet is very hotel/resort.. (The sink’s fully glass and it’s got pebbles around, and the tap is very atas.. haha..

When I got to the counter to see the cakes.. Boy, my eyes shifted to the breads! (Mom and I love eating bread..) Something caught my attention immediately.. This three-toned loaf.. Looked like those $1 Wall’s icecream bread, which I really can’t stand.. Well, this one had to be different! (haha.. it was $3.50 - it better be.) Called "Beetroot, Carrot, and Spinach". Wow.. all three swirled together in a loaf? For real? I hope I won’t have to put icecream in between the slices man! Anyway, I thought i’d buy back for my mum.. And I did! Before I move on, let me say, this bread is full of paradoxes too! :S hmmm.. haha but here goes:

Savoury | Sweet
The spinach gives that savoury kick, and the beetroot adds a tinge of sweetness. The carrot is a bit of both.. The nice thing about this is, the flavours of all three blend quite interestingly together… It’s not overwhelming, neither is it so mild, it’s just right. There’s no distinct aroma but when you bite into it, there’s just this nice aftertaste that disappears really quickly.. I wished it didn’t, though! :S But it doen’t matter.. I think I’m intrigued enough by the colour and the blend of flavours!

Light and fluffy | Chewy and ‘Solid’
Being soft, it just feels great biting into.. Plus, it’s so brightly-coloured! Seriously like candy floss, you know? ", It’s weird.. but… i can’t say it better! :S I LOVE chewy breads that is at the same time light and fluffy.. And this one just nailed it! So hard to find such combinations… In other shops,while their bread may be chewy, it is also doughy… yuck! Stick to your teeth..Like eating dough lah - after you put it into your mouth, your saliva will churn it back to pre-baking state of dough! haha.. Good. Try it.. No regrets.. $3.50 only.. Ask them to slice it THICK! Mmm… 

It’s so good, you must eat it on its own…

Toast it if you want, but generally, it’s good like that too.. BUT PLEASE don’t spread anything on it!! Not even butter! Cos you’re gonna miss that subtle, ‘unassuming’, flavour and aftertaste! This morning, my mum didn’t know… she ate it with peanut butter… she thought i’d buy her the ice-cream man’s bread!!!! ARGH…. what a waste! Haha.. How can you bear to spread peanut butter on this! No way…. 

Cafe Pralet
17 Eng Hoon St, Eng Hoon Mansion
Closes at 9.30pm

 Nice place for hi-tea.. chill alone. or with one or two good friends! ",
They’ve also got weekend breakfast specials, hi-tea sets, pastas and some local sel

Too good to be true?? Well, maybe! haha..! I try to present it just as I have experienced it BUT… i’m also practising writing ahhaha.. :S

Anyways… cya! I shall be drowning myself in John Piper Wisdom these few weeks! Just bought ‘Desiring God’! I was amazed at how THICK IT IS when I saw it at SKS… almost didn’t buy it.. thicker than my bible can?? haha.. but the words bigger lah… 

Aiyh… call me a slack at work, or i’m just making good use of my time while i do my deliveries ",

I delivered stuff to the accountant today, all the way at telok ayer st… heavy bag of documents.. and that’s not all… next week i must do a second round! .anyway… SINCE kathleen mentioned once about this bakery at Hong Lim Complex… i decided to find it.. not remembering exactly the name … or address… i only knew it was somewhere behind Chinatown Point my fav hangout haha.. so i quickly walked over!

After a while of walking about.. i knew i was getting near! i could smell bead!!! no kidding.. thank God i didn’t give up (though i was almost late)… i tried to follow the smell… hah it was funny.. i walked back and forth quite a bit… trying to listen to the leading of my nose..no time to waste! haha.. lo and behold! there it was!

Barcook Bakery! ahh.. that’s what it’s called! ahha.. there was nothing left! only one variety… ahh watever.. just BUY! oh man.. i think i finished it in record time considering i wasn’t hungry.. it was a big and super light and chewy bun… light.. so ligth.. not too sweet.. good stuff! perfect for bread lovers like myself… mmm… i’m not sure if i’ve found any neighbourhood bakeries like that… but.. thn again, i only ate one… maybe it’s not fair to judge.. but.. who cares man!! haha..

man.. worth the effort and rush.. and it was HOT! maybe that’s why it’s nice.. people were placing orders for other buns as they were being baked! goodness… too bad i coudln’t afford the time.. i must try their best seller one day… apparently the raisin cheese bun is topss… this woman who was queuing behind me, raised her voice over the counter "i want SIX!" … before i made my order.. haha singaporeans..

 oh man, i love the food hunting days… how i wish..

go here for a better review and some pics!

Barcook Bakery
Blk 531, Upper Cross Street
#01-54 Hong Lim Complex
Mon-Fri: 8am-6pm (or when bread is sold out)
Sat-Sun: 8am-4pm (or when bread is sold out)

tks kath!! ",

Hmm, as part of school work, I’m in the middle of preparing my CV. And I stumble, here and there… :S should I write this? But… it’s so… boastful… How about that? But, it’s a bit of exaggeration there… I need to beef up my worldliness on paper and present it to the world to judge my worth in the world… That’s totally insane! It’s so tempting!

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 2 Cor 11:30 

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Ps 127:1

Anyhow, I must still do it, and it’s due really soon.. Like that how?Someone, teach me how to do this CV in a pleasing manner? Could I say this here? Hey, you believers out there - ever thought what the most perfect CV would look like? I reckon this: -

Nothing…. actually.. but Christ in me, the hope of glory!

Then again, we are far from that! Hiyarh, welcome to Planet Earth! We are  the not of world, they all say, but still, we are in the world!

Anyway, CNY photos and some of the Fav Dishes that we’d prepare when the relatives come over to our place ", This year, I’d not take any credit! Excused myself cos of work haha… :S Sometimes I don’t realise how so blessed I am to be surrounded by good food, and good cooks at home!

Okay, this one, i must clarify, despite all the comments on FB, i didn’t mean to portray some kind of motherly scary image.. or whatever else :S

We just whipped out the camera that morning, then they all put on their suits for fun! So, i just followed! hah!

I’m rarely that proud of exhibiting family stuff! haha…. somehow… but this time… something’s different! Everybody looks so happy!

It’s time to think about the past year, have a good undisturbed day to sit by the window, go through every single moment with you and God. (: Wished we all could have such time and privilege when you have work, and the thought of school? Ministry? Festive gatherings? Guess it’s all about discipline!

Anyway, this morning… I had planned to wake up early take a random bus and sit at some random place the whole day until it’s time for Watchinight Rehearsal. BUT, mag woke up late and changed her plan! SInce there was a bagful of cranberries…

Cranberry, Ginger Spicy Preserve
So easy to make! Bring to boil loads of Cranberries, enough sugar to almost cover the berries, equal parts water, a handful ginger strips. Boil for about 10-15? minutes until berries burst and you get a satisfactory colour+smell (you can poke the berries too haha), add cinnamon and nutmeg towards the end. Leave to cool until thick! Smear on toast like this! (:

Tht was breakfast!

This was lunch… Aunty Angelina’s Pumpkin Cake… Mm..

Too much eating this season for everyone, BBQs and all. Okay, I need something healthy like SALAD now… Haha! Don’t you? 

What a popular interview question that must be! I don’t know why I was surprised by that question some months ago though! (At an interview with the JobsFactory on behalf of SGX- I emphasize factory) How does the JobsFactory know what an employer seeks in a propective employee? That puzzles me man!

What kind of answers do they expect? ‘Deadlines, challenges, excellence, rewards, personal growth’?? I reckon! 

How about ‘To learn.. Making a difference… being able to make some kind of impact on those around me, wherever I go’ for an answer? I guess that’s not what they wanted. Haha! But come to think of it, I think I was being kinda ‘emo’ and overly-idealistic. Hey, then again, what’s wrong! Must I conform.. tweak my answers to become like everyone else that they think would make an ideal scholar candidate?

‘This world is no factory… and God isn’t the horrible factory supervisor….’ Hah! Read this somewhere!

Primary Motivations include ideals, achievements, and self-expression.… Those motivated by ideals are guided by knowledge and principles…

- How VALS classifies consumers

Paulaner Brauhaus - YM Leader’s Appreciation Lunch…. Felt like Australia some months back!

Bread Pudding… obviously my first course! ",

Eddie’s Cheesecake (9007 3863)

G’day!