DimSumDolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

Phuket Snapshots

Zipped off to Phuket with a friend over the Deepavali weekend. The place wasn't as great as I thought, but I did enjoy the resort we stayed in. When we arrived at Indigo Pearl resort, they gave us a room with a double bed. And I was like "Do you expect us two girls to share a bed??? We had asked for twin beds when we booked!"

OK, actually the specifying for a twin bedder might not have been correct 'cos the booking was made by my friend's friend who works in Phuket and could get a discount for us at Indigo Pearl. But anyway, I was feeling rather agitated already and just said so anyway. To not further incur the wrath of this flaring client, the manager told the receptionist who was talking to me on the phone that they would give us a free upgrade to a twin bedder with a private garden. Hurray! Sometimes it pays to be a bitch. Haha.

Our plush and comfy beds

Loved the bathroom too! It's so nice to have your own sink.

Private garden complete with deckchairs – we didn't make use of it though. Too many mozzies outside, and moreover it was nicer to lie by the pool and the beach.

Part of the private garden with a nice sofa and some cool-looking fans above for a nice afternoon read

There was even an outdoor bathtub!

Enjoying pre-dinner drinks and some snacks at REBAR, the nice bar at Indigo Pearl. Great place to sit around for some conversation. The dips were an olive dip and a wasabi mayo dip. I liked the latter a lot!

Nice swing to sit on at REBAR!

There's a small library with nicely wrapped up books which you can borrow. There are books in English, Japanese, Chinese, German, French etc. You can also borrow DVDs which they will deliver to you!

I really like the resort as there is a lot of lush greenery around and there is so much attention to the detail in the interior design, right down to the cutlery that is used in the hotel. The theme of the resort is supposed to take inspiration from a tin mine; Phuket was known for being a tin mining island before the mines were exhausted and tourism took over. Much thought has gone into the landscaping to make it look like a tropical paradise and you can call for a buggy service if you're too lazy to walk around the huge resort. The service at Indigo Pearl is impeccable and I highly recommend it.

Lying on the deckchair on Nai Yang beach and looking out to the Andaman Sea. It's the stretch of beach where Indigo Pearl is located; Nai Yang beach is on the northwest of Phuket and is very near the airport. It's much quieter compared to Patong Beach which is teeming with bars, clubs and tourists. I much prefer Nai Yang even though it is far from everything else. If you're not into clubbing, drinking and shopping, Nai Yang is a great place to chill.

Sunset at Nai Yang beach

End of a Journey

Doing what you love is as important as ever, but if you're going to make a living at it, it helps to find a niche where money flows as a regular consequence of the success of your idea. Loving what you do is almost as important as doing what you love, especially if you need to make a living at it. Go find a job you can commit to, a career or a business you can fall in love with.

…

Maybe you can't make money doing what you love (at least what you love right now). But I bet you can figure out how to love what you do to make money (if you choose wisely).

Do your art. But don't wreck your art if it doesn't lend itself to paying the bills. That would be a tragedy.

(And the twist, because there is always a twist, is that as soon as you focus on your art and leave the money behind, you may just discover that this focus turns out to be the secret of actually breaking through and making money.)

~ Seth Godin

There’s never been a time when this blog post by Seth Godin, who identifies himself as ‘author, entrepreneur and agent of change’, has resonated more with me.

Last Thursday morning was another one of those major turning points in my life – I tendered my resignation at the bank I work at after being there for 3.5 months. Perhaps one could say I should have given it more time. But sometimes you just know things. I couldn’t picture myself doing what I was doing for long. I didn’t feel as much for it as I wanted to. I couldn’t - I don’t care what position the bank comes up in so-and-so poll or award by so-and-so financial magazine. I have no interest nor knowledge in what I write about – commodity derivatives, bonds, Asset Backed Securities, what do I know about them? Zilch.

When you don’t care for something, your brain doesn’t think. When your brain doesn’t think, you don’t do what you’re supposed to do well. Sometimes you need to do something to realise that it’s not for you. Life is often a trial-and-error thing, isn’t it? Lucky are the people who seem to know from the onset what it is they want to do with their lives. The rest of us stumble and feel our way around, hoping eventually to see the light.

As for me, I have some other plans which I'm hoping will let me do what I love with some monetary returns in sight. But I'll leave that for another post. Just wanted to say THANK YOU to all family and friends who have lent a listening ear and given encouragement during this difficult period! What would I do without all of you?

To read the entire blog post by Seth Godin, go here.

Carry On Writing

[DSD’s mobile rings and she picks it up]

Monoceros: I CAN’T WRITE ON MY BLOG ANYMORE!!!

DSD: What do you mean you can’t write anymore???? You can’t NOT write anymore.

While I will not go into why Monoceros says she can’t write anymore, my second sentence basically says what’s one of the major things that defines her – not writing anymore is akin to cutting off her air supply.

Writing and the love of the written word are her first loves amongst things like music, Argentinean tango and films. Monoceros isn’t Monoceros if she doesn’t write. The beauty of her writing is that she’s able to convey the thoughts and feelings of many others into simple, elegant prose that resonates and tugs at the hearts of her readers. It is this quality which keeps people coming back for more.

I hope she always remembers this and will one day fulfill her dream of being a best-selling novelist.

Mystery Shopper

Several months ago, I was bored and thought the idea of mystery shopping was quite fun and something to bring in some extra cash. So I googled 'Mystery shopper' and landed on a company website which said it recruited mystery shoppers. Looking at the application form, I figured it was alright to divulge information such as name and email address only, and so I signed up. After submitting the application on a wimp, I forgot about it and went on with my oh-so-unexciting life.

Then several weeks ago, I received an email informing me that I had been approved as a mystery shopper and asking me if I was interested in the next assignment which was to visit Häagen-Dazs outlets to evaluate the service staff and the maintenance of the outlet. I could choose whether to be a take-out or eat-in customer or both, and I was given a choice of the outlet(s) I wanted to patronise.

I chose to do only a take-out and opted for the outlet that was closest to home. If you thought being a mystery shopper was all that easy, think again. One has to take note of so many things during the few minutes standing at outlet - what was the name of the service staff, were the tables clean, was there a prominent display of promotions, was there music playing etc. Gosh, too many things to remember!

So while the first assignment was nothing very exciting, I got to eat an ice cream for free and will get paid USD5 for the effort. Pittance really, so don't have lofty ideas of being a full-time mystery shopper.

Hmm....wonder what other assignments there are...how about a night's stay at some posh hotel, spa or some holiday??? :p

The Screening Room

A few other bloggers and I were invited to a dinner tasting at The Screening Room located at Ann Siang Hill. The menu was specially crafted by Group Executive Chef Wayne Nish who hails from New York with one Michelin star tugged under his belt. We then buckled up for a night of eating.

First up were the starters also known as Crudo on their menu. From left to right:

Swordfish with olive oil, white soya sauce, sesame seeds and chives
Coriander-cured salmon with salmon roe with spring onions
Scallop carpaccio with ito kuzuri, nori and sesame oil chuka dressing
Botan ebi shrimp with uni, mentaiko, nori and calamansi
Shime saba mackerel with preserved lemon and grated ginger

Chef Nish very generously sent a bottle of white wine to complement the crudos and it was the perfect match - crisp, clear and light. Nothing too overwhelming for the delicious starters. I loved all except the shime saba mackerel which I thought was a little too salty.

Gastro bites platter

Chicken patties with poached chicken and vegetables in a flaky phyllo pastry – the pastry was light and crisp and the fillings were delicious!

Cold tofu with century egg, mentaiko and uni – I love uni (sea urchin), so anything with it, I like!

Roulade of raw beef carpaccio with harissa mayonnaise and herb salad
Torchon de foie gras de canard with mango coulis and papadums

Confit of chicken schnitzel with quail egg, lemon and anchovy – loved the cute little quail egg which looked so pretty sitting atop the mini chicken schnitzel.

Short loin also known as Kansas City strip steak with yuzukosho and shoyu - lovely marbling and cooked to the right degree and oh so tender

New York strip steak fully trimmed and sliced

Rack of New Zealand lamb with tamarind and coriander seed crust with spinach and shiitake mushrooms - very unique and interesting with the taste of tamarind

Vegetable ribbons - I loved these pretty snacks made up of deep fried wafer thin vegetables. So delightful to chomp on! My favourite was the lotus root.

Handmade raw milk cheeses from France - epoisses de bourgogne, reblochon, beaufort, Roquefort, tomme de belloc and selles sur cher

Buttery, fluffy naan to go with the cheeses - a must order

Fresh fruit with ginger syrup, honey and spiced salt - I liked this dessert best as it was so refreshing and light on the stomach. The different flavours dance on your tongue, giving an interesting twist to the normal fruit salad.

Salted nut kataifi tart with almond milk kulfi

Lime semifreddo with mango, lime and chilli - another refreshing and light dessert if you don't want anything too heavy

Sheep's milk mahalabia with pistachios, candied ginger and pomegranate molasses - never had this before and I thought it was so pretty with the red pomegranate seeds. It was nice but as I'm not a big fan of milk, I took only a bite.

Molten centre chocolate cake with valrhona bittersweet chocolate

Sticky date pudding with vanilla whipped cream and palm sugar

Overall, it was a fantastic dinner filled with good food and conversation. Chef Nish came across as extremely friendly and affable when he came to talk to us as each course was served. His explanation about the origin of the foods and where his inspiration came from brought across his passion for food. It's great when you hear people talking about something they are passionate about.

Many thanks to The Screening Room and Sixth Sense Communications for hosting us!