The most traditional moon cakes are filled with lotus-bean paste and sometimes a cooked egg yolk in the centre. These days, everyone tries to out do each other by coming up with new and interesting fillings. The daily newspaper had a full-colour, eight-page special insert announcing all of the various up-scale moon cakes available from the major hotels this year. What ever the filling, it tends to be very thick and pasty, slightly sweet, dense and incredibly rich. Though one cake will fit comfortably in the palm of your hand, they are so rich that it's difficult to eat more than one at a sitting.
I started with the traditional baked moon cake, purchased from a tiny little bakery around the corner from my apartment that has been making them in the old-fashioned way for decades. This little assortment of 8 (an auspicious number for the Chinese) cost $13.80 and were all delicious, with the exeption of the coffee-flavoured one. Bleagh !
I also wanted to try Snowskin Moon Cakes from one of the big hotels. These are an unbaked cake and are wrapped in paste similar to marzipan, but mostly tasteless. I asked Justin, a Chinese friend and self-confessed moon cake junkie, which hotel he thought did the best snow skin cake. Without hesitation, he replied, "Raffles". Though Raffles did introduce a durian filled cake this year (shudder), I opted for the the champagne and white chocolate ganache.
A box of these pristine-white beauties costs $60, but OMG what a mouthful. Click the link below for a review from a local blogger who has had more moon cake experience than I....
http://sparklette.net/food/raffles-hotel-mooncake/
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I decided it was time to start taking advantage of the corner of the world I'm living in, so on a whim, I booked myself an overnight trip to Kuala Lumpur (or "KL" as it's referred to here) for my day off. A mere one-hour flight and something different from the beach on my beloved Bintan.
Why can't all airports be designed like Changi in Singapore?
The city centre of KL reminded me a lot of parts of New York City. Masses of people, traffic, noise, stink, blinding lights, hookers, tourists and a great, glorious chaos that first overwhelms then intoxicates you.
Through the Internet, I stumbled across a fantastic little boutique hotel on a quiet(ish) street just a few blocks from city center. Only 18 very lovely rooms surrounding a central courtyard, with an outdoor, rooftop breakfast/bar area. My stunning mini-suite with private balcony and hand-carved teak furniture cost 600 Malaysian Ringgit for the night. A fortune to the average Malaysian. Just under $200 Canadian.
Since my time was limited, I stayed away from the usual tourist sights and opted instead to just 'live' in the city. I walked, ....a lot. I ate, (delicious Nasi Lemak & Thai Laksa )shopped, had a massage, napped, and spent a huge amount of time people watching and drinking in the manic energy of the place.
Old KL
New KL
Inside a massive luxury shopping mall
Inside a massive luxury shopping mall
This place gives new meaning to the words
Cocktail Lounge
Bet'cha didn't know they made THIS flavour
(And, F.Y.I., they're disgusting)
(And, F.Y.I., they're disgusting)
Bet'cha didn't know they made THIS flavour either
I love breakfast in a tropical country
My cup of blast-off-Americano-style coffee automatically comes with
fresh fruits and a glass of fresh mango juice.
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My apartment in Singapore is very near The National Museum and The Singapore Art Museum. These two institutions have created an annual event called Voyage Night Festival during which they throw open their doors late into the night allowing free entry. The park on the well-manicured grounds of The Singapore Management University which separates the two institutions becomes the fairground and is filled with live music, food stalls and events large and small. One of the star attractions this year is a performance art piece, Corazon de Angeles in Paradise by a group from Belgium called Theater Tol. The piece involved actors, dancers, singers and musicians, lots of white helium balloons, mountains of glitter, songs in a myriad of languages and two gigantic cranes that lifted the performers high into the night sky. Though the story line was sometimes hard to follow, riffing on themes of cross-cultural marriage and love, the show was evocative and visually stunning and included some heart-rendingly beautiful music.
On an ordinary night, we wouldn't have been able to see the performance because we'd still be doing our own show, but a heavy rain pushed the show back by a few hours. The videos below will give you a small taste of the experience.
On an ordinary night, we wouldn't have been able to see the performance because we'd still be doing our own show, but a heavy rain pushed the show back by a few hours. The videos below will give you a small taste of the experience.
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LION KING SINGAPORE TURNS 200 !!
LION KING SINGAPORE TURNS 200 !!
1 comment:
Happy 200 my great friend. Many more milestones to come, I'm sure. xx
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