you can choose your friends but not your family..

The snow is finally beginning to subside thankfully and the sun is out but unfortunately the weather just hasn't been warm enough to melt even an inch of ice. The trains have all been cancelled as well which is making more nervous with each passing day.

I am extremely excited to be going home not just because of Christmas and New Year but also because I can go home to be looked after. The days are getting more difficult to manage, thanks to the weather, and this experience has taught me that no man is an island. God has looked after me throughout this period but sometimes he needs to do it through other people.

I'm so thankful for the friends I have here, like Tara and Liusaidh, who have brightened my days with their visits.

They say 'you can choose your friends but not your family'.. I'm glad that's true cos I don't think I could have picked a better one!

Get ready everyone, Deebs is coming home!

indulgence!

I think I've been overdoing it on the good food this November, with at least one good meal every week. I recently went to Galvin at Windows at the Hilton on Park Lane and the food was so deelish. The scallops were lightly cooked and then served on a super hot plate so that they would be so light and tender. The pigeon I had was also really tender and didn't have that overpowering gamey sensation you get with some. Lastly, I had the souffle which was also really good but sorry to say, a tad too sweet even for my sweet tooth. Nice consistency. It was probably better than I'm making it out to be but it was a month back after all!

Then the week after, we went to the Peat Inn which wasn't quite so amazing as it was the first time. Food was a bit cold and the flavours just didn't blow me away as it did before.

But what has been lingering in my mind and on my palate is Andrew Fairlie's cooking. Every dish was such an experience and definitely deserves a post of its own...

This year is my year to collect Michelin stars and I'm now on my 4th.. I've been dying to try the Peat Inn after hearing the ravings about the place and with a 2 month waiting list to get a reservation, I've finally been to the place and it was amazing!

The starter was a feuillete of langoustines, scallops and smoked haddock in Hollandaise sauce. Ooh lovely and I don't even eat seafood. The haddock was so perfectly cooked and all so fresh!

The next on the list - we decided to be greedy and go for four courses instead - was the Anstruther crab with marinated cucumber. I have to say this was the best dish! The cucumber was sweet and crunchy, perfectly paired with the light taste of the shredded crab.. Yum.

It was hard to get better after this but I then had the roast rib eye which was lovely as well. Could have done with slightly rarer beef but to be honest, it was hard to fault such excellent cooking.

However, the piece de resistance was the strawberry souffle! I had the chocolate fondant which was so rich and gorgeous, but the souffle was absolutely a work of art! Most souffles taste like butter cakes but this souffle was like eating a cloud. A cloud. My taste buds were actually dancing when I tasted this heavenly dish.

What can I say? I've lost my appetite for normal food now and my taste buds are already craving another meal at the Peat Inn!

Ah bliss...

the irony of it all

I don't think I'm generally a funny person... think all the clown genes got passed to my little sis, which is why my posts seem to be scarcer on this blog.

So it seems almost final.. I'll be going home before the F2 year is out. But not for all the reasons that people have been giving me! To be fair, I did want to stay in Dundee because of my Jag but then my family think I'm nuts...

What were the top 10 reasons then... or not good enough ones...

1. Cold Rock

2. XLBs

3. Poppy (my sis thinks that if xlbs and ice cream are on the list, then my grandma better make the list!)

4. Moving back to Greenleaf

5. Jag/Porsche Cayenne/ highly flammable Maserati

6. Sushi (the dog but maybe the food too)

7. Joanne Ng

8. Joanne Ng

9. Joanne Ng

10. Joanne Ng

You can see why I wasn't that motivated to go home.. Anyway, that's that.

sweetness!

So after all my car rants, I've finally got a new one! It still hasn't quite set in that I've bought it until I actually look at the car but oh it's gorgeous and drives like a dream! Can't say anymore than that cos a picture is worth a thousand words!

But I've also to say bye to Vincent, my little fox. always reliable and fun to drive. An excellent first car and one I would have held on to if I could. He would have been 15 months old in 3 days' time! Goodbye my darling! It's a good thing I have my Jag to get me through this tough time.. :)

my new obsession

I've moved on from food recently because my stomach can't expand anymore and there aren't so many michelin star restaurants in abundance back here in Dundee.

So my new obsession is cars!! Goodness I think I'm driving everyone nuts with talk about cars.. I've been thinking about getting an SUV like the Tiguan because Volkswagen has always been reliable but scratched that idea after my family got one. What is the point of getting a car that we already have right? So back to the drawing board. Thought about the Golf R but they're not cheap.

I really like the BMW X1 but then it's diesel which means I wouldn't be able to take it back with me to Singapore.. I wish my Fox could come too but for the amount it costs to bring it in, it's not quite worth it. If I were as rich as Lionel Richie, I'd keep every car I'd ever owned as well.

So my sister recently introduced me to Top Gear and James May was test driving the Jaguar XF. Wow. No other words but wow. I think you would squeal with delight every time you turned the car on and you'd feel every penny was worth it!

Phoned up the garage to test drive it tomorrow but the petrol cars are in low stock so it might take a little while to come.. But anyway, I can't wait til tomorrow!!

thanks a lot

My sister says that I make really nice oyako don, so she was going to make spam msubis to go with the oyako don. Only later I found out what a high opinion she has of my food:

Jo: Can you make some oyako don for me to bring on the plane?
Me: Really? You like my oyako don so much?
Jo: Yeah I hate plane food. It tastes better than plane food.
Me: Thanks alot for the compliments. -__-

Sigh.