Gifts of Food from the Heart

The friends decided to feed me. They knew I was having it rough these few weeks, and while it's not as rough as what some other people are going through, I'm grateful for their kindness and friendship. 

They didn't exactly ask me if it's convenient to deliver food — they knew I would be home worrying about Choya and not going anywhere. Hurhurhur. When friends are being 'presumptuous', I don't view it as over-stepping boundaries. I see their concern and their lovely hearts, and I'm soooo thankful. My dearest friends are truly angels. 

I got cakes! Two cakes and a tub of rice! There's a cake as a dessert, and a savory one for meals. Ahhh... these friends know. I'm not too opposed to cakes, but many cakes are simply too sweet and not worth the calories or me bouncing off the walls. I only eat cakes that friends bake, and even better if they go low on the sugar.  

Asian Turnip Cake and Glutinous Rice

J realized that it's super hard to find Asian turnip cake (蒸蘿蔔糕) and glutinous rice (糯米飯) to deliver to friends outside of the lunar new year festive period. Teheheheheh. She cleverly found these items at Pine Garden and sent it over.

These were delicious! They were honestly better than Crystal Jade's versions. The sizes were just nice too. There was nothing to portion for the freezer. The portions went to the fridge and we ate everything in 2.5 days. Even the husband didn't mind these carbs at lunch — he was blown away by how delicious they were.

I was very extra, of course, and added lupcheong and yuncheong plus braised baby abalones to the mix. I had plenty of XO sauce and chilli at home to sort out a delicious few meals. Absolutely satisfying and filled my tummy. 

Chocolate, Banana and Walnut Cake

Dear D baked a cake and sent it over still piping hot. It had to sit on my counter to cool. Woah. This cake came loaded with rum-soaked raisins. I can't even... ... Her bakes are the best. She went low on sugar and was generous with the ingredients. It's a dense and magnificent cake that we ain't getting at the commercial bakeries. 

This is one dessert I'm not throwing out and eating up all the crumbs. We froze half the cake. Sowly ate the other half over the next three days. Even the husband decided to inhale 40g and 150 calories once a day. Hahahaha. 

No regrets. I still have a frozen portion to savor for the next week. Wheeeeeee. 

Chinese Razor Clams for Protein at Lunch

We go to Geneo at Science Park 1 because there're three restaurants which takes Choya at their comfortable outdoor seats — Nan Yang Dao, Putien, Din Tai Fung. They're sited in an atrium with a high ceiling, well-ventilated and cooled with giant fans. It's a perfect lunch spot. We rarely go there for dinner since it's a long drive up to the west and the crazy traffic jams on AYE don't make sense. 

Today, we popped by for lunch at Putien. It was raining like mad, and this was an ideal venue. The dog would be fine too. She managed to make a pee before the rains hit this side of town. Then she was happy hiding in a corner to watch the world. Luckily there wasn't thunder during lunch. 

Given the husband's low-carb/high-protein diet, he still found things within the menu that are suitable for him. Putien has its Chinese razor clams this month — duotou clams (多头蛏), so he was very happy.  The husband went all out. A 100g serving of Chinese razor clams would have about 7-14g of protein, low in fat and calories.  

He had clam soup, a whole plate of clams with minced garlic, cabbage rice (of which we had to tapau), and a sweet and sour lychee pork that was mainly for me. Clams kill me. So I dare not have more than two pieces. Pork and a bit of cabbage rice would do nicely for me. 

A Breakfast Meet

It was a lovely morning meeting E and S for breakfast at home. I've missed them! I'm glad that we managed to plan and stick to this date. I'm not great for the evenings nowadays. Lunches are tough since that's my gym timings. Mornings right now work better for all of us. 

E ordered shio pan and coffee from Olsen Bakehouse. Black cold brew always work. I took the original and the simplest shio pan. Not keen on coffee or garlic or the sorts. My stomach was happy! 

I enjoyed hearing their tales of travel. I'm not traveling much at all, so it was nice to take a tour through the cities from their perspectives. I've missed traveling, and while I'm not resentful about it, it's always nice to read about people's experiences during their trips out of Singapore. 

I would like to do more of these meets, but I simply can't squeeze out the time. This morning was so precious. It was a good long chat that lasted till noon. Then we had to split to resume our daily schedules. These few hours spent in a safe space and sane company had been absolutely soul-nourishing.