and the journey is coming to an end...

yup it's all ending soon..with a beginning, there must be an ending. things end so that you will miss it and know how much you love it.

it has been a wonderful experience that i will never forget unless i have had dementia or something close enough.

had exam today. the most stressful and exhausting one i would say. worst than 'O's, 'A's, etc.. 6 whole hours! geez..and since i am always the slowest in class, i managed to finish just on time while others have time to rest and relax before plating. i know, i need to reflect. like i said before or did i not say it, baking isn't my talent but i am working on it.

every segment didnt go well for me. i should be glad if i am able to pass the exam. Brioche didnt prove as well as it did during practices, Sable...doesnt look like its normal self, Choc truffle was not shiny because i 'cleverly' used my fingers instead of brush -.-, Sugar display was not presented complete as the aero spray ran out (i sprayed on the paper without knowing it ran out) hence my sugar didnt bubble, Plated dessert was almost there except my tangerine coulis turned into jam due to cooling in the fridge (which i didnt have time to rewarm) and i poured cointreau in to my anglaise without measuring...oh well what is done is done...all i can do is wait for the result which wouldnt be too high of an expectation or i should say hope would it? this is the 2nd academic place where i have never managed to score at anything. kinda feels similar to JC days where failing had always been the norm for me. however, not regretful. the many friends, the exposure, the independence, everything....

i shall show you some pictures of my portfolio where my exam pieces were supposed to look like them

ok my actual exam pieces were like 10 times ok trillion times worst than those above..considering those above arent that perfect either...

ohh and guess what i have got for myself...i cant express how much i love amazon.uk...it's seriously amazing..packaging is awesome, service is awesome, delivery is awesome, amazon.uk is just AWESOME!!!

it's 28.91pounds!!! it was 45pounds!!! see the diff?!!! gosh...if only SG has such wonderful deals and variety of things...

i will soooo miss London.. but at the same time i miss SG soooo much... it's a love hate relationship..not hate to that extend but...oh well you know what i mean.. i will be back London ;)

embracing each moment..

being in London makes me feel so blessed and it made me realized how beautiful and wonderful my life was, is and will be. :)

waking up in the morning to the cold weather, walking and smiling to myself most of the time..looking at the trees with leaves turning from green to yellow, brown or red..looking at the leaves on the walkway..looking at the beautifully constructed houses (not referring to the modern ones)...they just make me so happy! and make my day most of the time.

the best part of being here is to be able to intern at Melt which is absolutely fabulous and i cant describe how fortunate i am. learning new things every time, being exposed not only to new techniques but also new ingredients  and knowledge :)

Superior had started like a month ago and everything seems particularly quick. i guess when in superior you are expected to know everything. but i must say every lessons feel more comfortable and happy. everyone in class jokes around while preparing what we had to do for the lesson.

last week we had our Restaurant Plated Dessert Module and chef C was with us <3 <3 <3
1st we did our Mise en place which literally means putting in place where we organize / arrange / make stuff that we will need for the plated dessert and thereafter, putting them together. Hence, in the 1st lesson, we did the jelly, tempered chocolate deco, tuiles, etc followed by putting them together in the next lesson.

below are the many restaurant plated desserts prepared by Chef C during demo...pretty right?!!!!

there were

Delice au Chocolat Amer et Romarin et Creme a l'Amaretto
Bavatios de Ricotta avec une Compote aux Frambioses
Souffle Creme au Citro et Sauce Caramel
Mille-Feuille au Chocolat
Tarte aux Mirabelles Bourdaloue avec Creme Chibouste Mirabelle

as for lesson, we only made 3 out of the 5 that were demonstrated to us :)

Clockwise (from left):
Bavatios de Ricotta avec une Compote aux Frambioses
Tarte aux Mirabelles Bourdaloue avec Creme Chibouste Mirabelle
Delice au Chocolat Amer et Romarin et Creme a l'Amaretto

and some random phto of the deco that Chef C done during demo that i quite like...

and ending off with some random happiness to share...it's autumn!!! i <3 AUTUMN!!!!! :):):):):)

and another random happiness...i received some positive feedback for my exam plated dessert! ASA! hwaiting! ganbatte!!! ;)

Preparation for Afternoon Tea Party

the day didnt turn out well at all..started off with 8am lesson where we have to pair up and produce 2 specific recipes that were allocated to us.

in my opinion, these recipes given were one of the simplest. and yet it took me and my partner super long to make. i seriously wonder where went wrong :( very upset...like up to the max, to the top to the highest point that it can be :(((((((((

tmr we will be continuing with the afternoon tea preparations by assembling what we had prepared today.

oh what a horrible day it is...i am so disappointed with myself..i am currently at Superior course and yet i am still so far away from being able to bake a proper cake in a designated time. Organization and time is still a huge issue for me..wth is wrong with me TT

looking at how well others are doing...i am pretty sure i have no baking talent and also i m not practising enough... :(

and i fell sick...

being in Superior, the stress is on. however, i quite like it. i feel that i am back in my uni days with reports and projects to hand up. i likeeeee.......i know i m a mugger and a nerd... -.-

since the start of superior, the chefs are preparing us for the final exam.

13 Oct 2011 - Tuiles

we had Chef G today where he demonstrates the various designs and flavours that we can create with Tuiles. we had learnt how to make a Tuiles since Basic and made some for plated desserts in Intermediate. Tuiles is one thing that we have to present on our plated dessert for exam. so it is one important component.

15, 17 & 18 Oct 2011 - DIY portfolio

my very 1st lesson that is on a Saturday. its a theory lesson where Chef G and C guide us on our new assignment. we had to pair up to create a cake of our choice. during lesson we did research and get some opinions from chefs. this is a new segment added in our superior lesson as the past superior batches feedback to the school that there were too many sugar work and chocolate work classes. hence the chefs decided to change the curriculum and added this segment which prepares us for the portfolio that we have to hand up for our final exam. so it's kinda like a trial run.

after the theory lesson on Saturday, we had 3 more practical lessons to build, prepare deco and finish our cake with the deco.

My team mate and i had decided on some exotic fruit cake...white chocolate mousse infused with lemongrass, exotic fruit jelly, biscuit joconde with lime malibu syrup and white chocolate glaze. it's quite a simple cake with very few components as compared to what my other classmates had made. everyone did a good job in class and all of the cakes tasted good.

had fun during class. everyone is busy filling up the portfolio and trying each others cake and chatting etc. superior class is just so 'shiok' (shiok = feels so good)

and back to the title of this post...i fell really ill during the 2nd practical where we had to prepare the deco such as the glaze, tempered chocolate deco, etc. i was totally fine in the morning when we were making the cake. but after break the cramp kicked in like really bad. my entire face went pale and i had to sit in the corridor to rest. the culinary chefs that were in the kitchens were very kind and concerned. they asked if i was all right and one of them asked me if i needed water, blanket, pillow, etc..even though i was in such great pain i managed to laugh a little. my hands were as cold as ice and i felt nausea. finally i had the energy to move, i went to basement to get a cup of warm water which i manage to puke profusely like a Merlion -.- and felt so much better after that. however, lesson had ended by then where everyone is packing up :( hope i wont be penalized too much for not attending lesson. oh well...at least the entire cake turned out well and i am glad that many of my classmates like our cake the best...keke.. thanks you ppls... ;)

and then i am left with superior course....

3 Oct 2011 - Day 1 of superior class while Mummy is relaxing on her flight back home... (which she said it wasn't as relaxing)

Superior started off with Sugar work..i never thought i will like it that much. it is actually quite fun like REALLY fun! i hope i will be able to do it when i am back in SG. To pull sugar (which i will show you what products can be made out of this technique) we have gotta have a table with a lamp producing high heat to keep your sugar hot enough to pull which is freaking hot lah!!! so hot that it feels like u kena had sunburn lor. since i am not rich enough, i guess i gotta DIY a table and a lamp to work my sugar (as Chef G had done back then. i like how he always teaches us how to save $. be it ingredients or equipment. also telling us stories of his experiences) instead of buying those pro lamp cum table thingy..

so Lesson 1: Pulled Sugar (a technique where you boil sugar and water followed by adding glucose to it. At 137 degrees, add 5 drops of tartaric acid. cook sugar till 162 degrees and pour it over Silpat and add drops of alcohol colouring. let the sugar cool slightly and form a big ball of sugar on the Silpat. pressing down one end of the sugar with your palm and pulling the other end of the sugar with your fingers. repeat this process till the sugar is shiny and colour is consistent through out. and APLA! you are officially pulling sugar~) NB: don't say that i didn't warn you. the sugar is so hot that you get blisters on your fingers even after wearing 4 pairs of latex gloves. that happened to most of my friends. not me though. i guess my skin is just too 'thick' :x

Also, to add more knowledge to your brain or to impress others if you wish, glucose is added to reduce crystalization and tartaric acid is added to create elasticity so that the sugar is easily pliable.

Chef G showed us how to do a rose which is really pretty! i find the assembling of the petals quite tough as i cant really feel what i am holding. maybe due to the 4 pairs of gloves that i am wearing or maybe they were sore from the heat...the sugar when cooled are very fragile and brittle. as petals are thinly pulled, they cool down really fast and with the numbness of my fingers, it isn't as easy to fit the petals as when you are working on marzipan.

i find that my petals are too round. not very satisfied but overall it still looks like a rose right? keke.. Chef G was very encouraging as he goes around telling everyone that their roses are beautiful and that being a first timer to work on sugar, we are fantastic :)

see the 'sunburnt' that i had while working the sugar under the torch...

Lesson 2: Poured sugar (we are to do a sugar plaque, one of the item that we have to present for our final exam. basically the method of making is similar to pulled sugar, just that we do not add tartaric acid)

Chef G's

Chef N

hmmm so these (refering to chef's work) are what we are supposed to do for the exam and this is what i created..some hideous sugar plague plaque...

and believe me it got worst... -.- T.T

4 Oct 2011 - 2nd practice on poured sugar and pulled sugar

we learned to make ribbons which i like a lot. the technique is like how Sticky (Handmade customized candies) makes their candies :)

Chef G's ribbon

and mine..i cooked my sugar to 161 degrees, just 1 degree less and there are bubbles seen on my ribbons :( if cooked to the right temperature (162) the ribbon will be smooth and pretty...

and my poured sugar....like i said, the sugar plaque is still as hideous looking but i had changed the design where Chef G taught us how we can do stacking to create a different type of sugar plaque. ok i admit that my colour combination is all over the place.. but i am trying out the colours!!! which seems just an excuse...

i like how the orange twirly thing turns out. however, after 3 more tries to date, i am still not able to replicate the exact same twirl that i had done during this particular practice... hmmm i like how the design is all simple and plain..not sure if it looks boring and nothing unique...

and guess where all these sugar goes right after we were done with class......

6 Oct 2011: Technical lesson

for our very 1st tech lesson, we are already being pressured with the final exam. Chef J went through what are they expecting of us with the portfolio and the exam pieces that we will be making during our 6 hours exam marathon...she said you can bring snacks or drink or even your picnic basket..i am however quite sure that at the end of the exam, the food remain untouched. she said a girl once brought energy food and drinks. at the end of exam she asked the girl if she had any and the girl said: 'i don't even have time to pee!!!!' lol

just a breakdown of what has to be done for exam, just so you know i am not leading an all stress free life...

1. Two identical free interpretation plated dessert (there are criteria on what is to be included such as mousse, sponge, jelly, tuile, chocolate deco and sauces)

2. A petit-four stand (the sugar plaque) made from poured sugar with at least 5 techniques

3. Brioche a Tete

4. Six identical 2-flavoured Sable Hollandias

5. Six identical moulded chocolate truffles incorporating two colours of tempered chocolate

6. a portfolio (like a project report) of the exam piece (we have to write out the recipe, methods, description, design, cross sections, etc)

interesting and exciting right???  i know i always complain about projects, essays and reports when i was in school back then but actually i am secretly in love them to bits and pieces <3 <3 <3

9 Oct 2011: a day before 3rd lesson of poured sugar (a typical kiasu SGrean is preparing...)

the planned colour theme of the plaque was purple and gold... but it turned out.... (please see 10 Oct 2011)

and it's either i had double dose of caffeine (entire day of green tea, which i normally drinks and is still able to sleep, and a cup of black coffee) or i am just to excited for the next day's lesson as i cant wait to see how the purple and gold turns out as i was pretty sure it will look stunning...but i guess i am wrong :(

10 Oct 2011: 3rd practice on Poured sugar and 1st lesson on blown sugar

i didnt manage to get the purple that i wanted and the gold didnt turn out gold... look at the base! i added a few drops of violet colouring and it looks like black as seen on a thrash bag. fml -.- then i got the purple from the red and blue colouring as seen on my twirly sugar. however, it looks kinda dull. tried to marble it with the gold sugar which is epic fail to the max...as it seems like i didnt had enough purple to fill my mould and i used the gold sugar to top up -.- fml again...

next lesson on blown sugar didnt turn out well either..we are supposed to produce an apple and a pear which i only manage to produce a pear which surprisingly, Chef N said it was beautiful and elegant...kekeke happy to the max!!! :) like i said i only manage to produce a pear, the story goes like this no matter how matter times i tried, the apple keeps popping when i blow my sugar using a pump..when chef asked me if i had done any, i replied him sadly that i only have a pear and he say that's fine just present it. so i hurried to assemble my pear with the stalk and the leaves...hence only a pear was done :)

because i did badly for the poured sugar and the next day was my last practice, i was so nervous and afraid that i was not able to perfect what i wanted and also have no pictures for my portfolio...sooooo i had another sleepless night (not really sleepless. woke up at 1.30 am after sleeping for 2 hours and stayed up till 3.30 am still i had to wake up at 6.30am)

11 Oct 2011: last and final practice on Poured sugar and blown sugar

so i had decided on my design of my plaque as for the colour, i will be going with blue and orange..however....my blue turns out to be green!!! fml again and again..so...playing by ear, i guess orange should be fine just like the colour pencils that i had when i was young with one side being green and theother being orange..

much better right?!!! even my friend N look and said to me today's sugar is so much nicer :) thank you N!!!
also got a tip from Chef N, 'keep things simple'

we did a underwater sugar lesson...where all of us made dolphins using blown sugar technique. lesson was fun as it was very relaxing and everyone is joking around..talking about fins, beaks, sharks, whale, dolphin farms, etc...

and my 'ermmm are you sure this is a dolphin'?

haha i know the beak of the dolphin is funny looking and the shape is not quite like a dolphin either.. anyway, i made the top fin of the dolphin like a hook on purpose and chef commented that i put it on when it was too hot that's why it bended. then i look at him and said..ermm i did it on purpose =x and he stared at me and said ohhh on purpose?!!! haha i am sorry. lol well u know like free willy..this way i my dolphin is different from others..keke...

after 2 days of 'sleepless' nights, i better head to bed..have to work tomorrow..hope it will be a good day :)

nighty..

xx

Intermediate Exam is over~~~

i was physically not nervous but mentally, yes i am nervous =x i didnt sleep well at all even though i went to bed at 2230. when i woke up my eyes were still red from the lack of sleep :(

anyhow, i got to school and i wasn't feeling at all nervous and hoping to get what cake etc..i just wanna get it over and done with. I am so glad my class was the first to have the exam instead of having to wait as long as next tuesday for the exam.

As usual when we were in the kitchen we had to pick a number and i got Fraisier (which in everyone's opinion is the easiest to bake). I wasnt expecting myself to get that. i had been practising hard on Opera and Sabrina. Oh well, thank you Lord for the blessings :) It all went smoothly. All my classmates were awesome as all of us finished on time. During the exam, people are stress and rushing here and there. As for me, because i have got Fraisier (the less time consuming cake) i just did it in a calm and steady manner. =x I wasnt very satisfied with my cake as it is nowhere near perfection.

Why do I think the cake is nowhere near perfection:
#1 Slicing of sponge was not straight.
#2 I not not have enough sponge for the centre of my cake (hmm does it mean that my sponge did not rise? but my batter didn't collapse and the air bubbles in the sponge were perfect)
#3 I forgot to chill my cake with the cream filled before placing the top sponge.
#4 I placed my top sponge upside down -.-
#5 My royal icing was watery when i piped on the marzipan (it was perfect texture on the parchment paper when i tested it. I swear it was!!!)

Anyway, we shall see what chef says during the debriefing on the 8 Sep. i will update the result then :) Chances of failing will be low. But chances of getting good grade will be low as well. I will think my Practical result will be 65/100 maximum :( oh well at least it's a pass.

tmr is THE day...

exam tomorrow and everyone is so tired today. why? because..we had 12noon demonstration class on sugar work (which we will be doing for Superior exam). This is like a sneak preview which i think is redundant at this stage. the lesson was so long that ended at 2.30pm which i was freaking hungry but i have a practical lesson right after at 3pm...shag! -.- and we had to make souffles for this pract...there were so much whisking to do!!!! it's like double recipe as we did in pairs...geez how can they give use such lousy schedule!!! i didnt practice since saturday as i am afraid my arms will hurt from all the whisking and internship on Sunday. seems like i cannot escape doing too much whisking just before exam. :(

oh well currently i am totally blank out on what to do for exam. i just hope everything will go on smoothly and that my hands will just whip things up automatically like how, back in University, i will memorize all the statistic formulas, FRS, etc and just puke them all out during exam which i score with flying colours :)

shall relax a little and watch my Running Man while waiting for my dinner to be cooked :)

as usual, ending with pictures of my souffle fresh from the oven....

Mid Term Review

Geez how time really flies! it's mid term already??!!! felt as though i had just started on Intermediate.

this time round, Chef M is my mentor. Since Basic, he was quite concerned about my speed in class which i was extremely concerned as well. so he asked me how i was coping and i felt it was all good except that i am still one of the slowest in class. However, i am still able to make it on time most of the time =x hmm ok i am not sure now (recalling that i was actually told by Chef C today that my Biscuit Joconde should be in the oven at that time) 

Haizz Pam Pam Pam, u need to buck up. how to pass the exam if you are so slow. (the audit syndrome of talking to myself is back)

the 3 exam pieces for Intermediate are Friasier (which is the simplest, i can do it quite all right), Opera (the most technical piece. we did the Opera today and i layered it horribly. in my opinion it's not a piece that will pass. however, Chef C said it's a 60-70ish% score if presented for exam) and lastly Sabrina (one of the busiest cake with the many little details. hence, a very time consuming cake to make).

tell me how can i do it if i am so slow...seriously.. but that's not what i should be worrying about. all i should do is to work on my speed. hurry hurry hurry..stop pondering, be organized and plan well. hmmm but actually i did. just that...hmm i do not know why :( please let me be quick from next lesson onwards. i do not like this horrible feeling creeping back on me. get lost u evil thingy (flicking it off *ping*)

oh btw i didnt score very well for this review. the result is kinda upsetting. i mean i do not expect much from it since everyone in this class are on the higher end when it comes to their skills. Chef M told me that i should not think of it negatively as i am doing Intermediate now and that getting such result is considered good enough. Oh well, thank you chef for the encouragement but i am still kinda upset about it. :( since basic i have been telling myself to buck up but i am still one of the last few in class (just like i keep saying i need to lose weight and perfect my Japanese like eons years ago). Guess my talent is not in patisserie. All my life i have been working hard to attain the things that i want. i guess this is no exception. and my aim is to be one of the BEST. yes you heard me. i know this aim seems to be a little too big to attain when i am so tiny at the moment. but i am determined. I know action speaks louder than words, so i will start practising as much as i can and go broke. ingredients are really expensive here. if only i am able to sell my what i had made :( hahaa 

time for bed. going for ice skating tomorrow with the friends :) nighty night...

xx

Demo/Prac 3 & 4 - Viennoiserie I & II

let me back date my entires on the every lessons that had been swiftly past by during the month of July 2011. i had posted about this demo before but didnt talk much about it hence this entry for additional info.

the word 'Viennoiserie' as extracted from Wiki if directly translated, it means 'things of Vienna'. In the bakery world, it refers to 'baked goods made from a yeast-leavened dough in a manner similar to bread, or from puff pastry, but with added ingredients (particularly eggs, butter, milk, cream and sugar) giving them a richer, sweeter character, approaching that of pastry. The dough is often laminated. Viennoiseries are typically eaten at breakfast or as snacks.'

Since during basic, we had learnt to make puff pastry, hence the making of laminated dough isn't much of a challenge to us except that having yeast in the dough makes it a tad harder to roll. your dough just feel so loose. but i guess that's how it is supposed to be. because my dearest friend P kept pestering Chef by telling him that her dough seems funny and ask him to look and make sure he get his hand on the dough to feel the texture of it. it was a super early 8am lesson and Chef seems a little grumpy and frustrated with most of us that morning =x

so for Practical 3, we are supposed to prepare Pâte Levée Feuilletée (Laminated yeast dough), Pâte à Brioche (Brioche dough), Hot Cross Buns and Devonshire Splits. A bit chim hor. haizz french pastry what do you expect...i know nuts about them. but well the zero knowledge on French pastry is building up that is why i am here in school :)

we were told that Brioche (pronounced as Bree-yosh, something like that) is one of the exam pieces to be presented in Superior. we will have to make the super large size kind. geez.. also the dough is best used after chilling overnight and it needs to proof for very long and bake in the oven for super long as well (fyi 45mins baking time in total).

Devonshire Splits is the one with Chantilly Cream (Whipped cream with icing sugar) between the bun which is made with ermm the 'bun' dough (the usual flour, yeast, butter, sugar, milk, egg and salt are used). The hot cross bun using the same dough with the addition of mixed peel and currents.


Demo / Practical 4 - Croissants, Pains au Chocolat, Danois et Brioche
Using the laminated yeast dough and the brioche dough that we had made in the previous practical, we will be making Croissants, Pains au Chocolat and Danois et Brioche. 

Having 2 practical lessons a day, i brought home a whole box of pastry which became breakfast and tea breaks for my flatmate and i. they lasted us for the entire 1 week.

 

Moving on from basic to intermediate, there are so much more to make during lesson. however, i am still coping ok. i realized that i am less panicky as well as i stopped feeling lost (okay i admit i am still slow but at least my techniques are improving and chef did realize that i am progressing as well)

that's it for now. i will con't over the weekend to catch up on my back dated postings.

xx

a new place, a new term, a new beginning...

A New Place

i have shifted and the house is lovely. what do you expect? i am living in London~ haha not that houses in london are all pretty and up to standard. i have visited countless of houses and they are, in my opinion, UNinhabitable (there is such word right?).

Till now, i love my current room and the location that i am staying. i will never be hungry as there are shops just below my flat. within walking distance (i can take the bus if i want), there is a huge Sainsbury's Market, many cafes, restaurants, 'wet' markets (selling fruits, veg, fish, cakes, etc). absolutely awesome!!! :)

this is my room with the sunrise and the sunset.. beautiful :)

and to save $$$. haha i......

decided to 'design' my room in this manner during laundry days. Singing: ~this is the way i hang my clothes, i hang my clothes, i hang my clothes~~~

A New Term

My schedule for this new term isn't as good as the one that i had during my basic term. oh well, i shall not complain as it is considered to be better than others who will be having their practical lesson at 6pm -.- 

my practical lessons are all in one day and it is really tiring as we start from 8am to 3pm with lessons back to back (3 lessons a day). so you know, learning patisserie is not all that easy. in this industry, you have to wake up at the crack of dawn to prepare and bake all the cakes, breads, etc so that your customers get to buy them in the morning. i guess this is part of the training for me. the early hour as well as the long hours. Ganbatte~!

Demo / Prac 1 - Pate Feuilletee 1 (St Honore)

it is the 1st lesson and we have to prepare Pate Feuilletee (Puff pastry - one of the tedious pastry to make). my muscles ached after all the rolling of layers during the making of puff pastry. This will be used in Practical 2.

Then we moved on to making St Honore which is made up of puff pastry base and Pate a Choux at the side and Creme Chiboust in the middle.

the photo in the centre is my St Honore which is not good as i added the wrong proportion of milk for my creme. and my St Honore is not round.

Demo / Prac 2 - Pate Feuilletee 2 (Pithivier & Mille-Feuille aux Fraises)

just by the practicals that we had done so far, it feels like we are now working on perfecting what we had learnt in basic (making of Pate Feuilletee, creme patissiere, pate a choux, etc) and assemble a whole new type of cake out of all these basic recipes that we had learnt. and i am just so disappointed in myself for not remembering all the recipes that i had 'digested' in my brain when i was revising for my basic exam.

these are done my Chef M

and these are done by me which is not good as well =x

Pithivier (Puff Pastry with Almond Cream)

 Mille-Feuille (Pronounce as Mill-Foil)

A New Beginning

Since i had shifted, there are many things (toiletries, sauces, containers, etc) that i need to purchase. so i am kinda poor now. not that i was rich. hmm maybe considered rich enough in SG but super poor in London? lol but it (not referring to being poor but referring to marketing) was fun. i love shopping at supermarket. i love to dream of the many things that i wanna cook / bake and buy those ingredients that i need in order to make those dreams come true :)

As i was really busy during the past few days in school (because the day that i moved in, is the day that my intermediate course started) these are the meals that i had been preparing for myself mainly pasta. I had made Curry Chicken for dinner today (Yay! it can be strike off the list of dishes to be done) :) 

they are all so yummy i tell you. but they are just edible home cooked meals which obviously cannot be compared with restaurants.

tomorrow will be busy. the planned schedule goes like this:

1. Church

2. Chinatown in search for Macha powder, Glutinous Rice Flour

3. John Lewis or any departmental store to buy cranked palette knife, containers for salted eggs

4. Primark to purchase Laundry Bin 

5. Kilburn Poundland to buy Honey, Rolling Pin and Silicon moulds 

6.Tesco to purchase Cocoa Powder, Milk

7. Provision Shop to purchase Eggs!

Aim of the week: 

- to bake a loaf of Panda Bread with the leftovers to be made into Creme Brulee Panda Toast.

- Salted eggs.

- maybe Lime tart.

most important thing is to bring back my digital scale....should have gotten another one when there was a sale. 

anw time for bed. oyasumi.:)

xx

Congratulations to ME!!!

I passed my Basic Patisserie!!! hehe though not up to the initial expectation (like really initial, before school starts - as those who knows me, usually i set high standard for myself)

Anyway, how lucky was I to chose Pate a Choux for my exam. oh how lucky. lol.

Of course, the exam wasn't smooth sailing. Though I thought that I had improved quite a lot in class, being so calm and collected for the past lessons, I just turned into the clumsy monkey that I once was during exam. So clumsy and panicky -.- i was praying throughout asking dear God to give me strength to complete my exam even with the many hiccups to calm myself down.

Hiccup #1 - the wet ingredients over boiled and spilled all over the stove (hence clean up, re-weigh and re-boil. i could have cooled down the mixture but i didn't know if it will work. high risk because if the making of 'Penade' is wrong, your entire Pate a Choux is gone. I couldn't risk that could I?)

Hiccup #2 - time to check swan neck which we left in the oven and at that point in time i was making my creme patissiere which just added egg mixture into my warmed milk! =( yes the egg cooked like scrambled egg.

Hiccup #3 - the porter jerked as i was about to pour my egg wash into the bin and i clumsily spilled the egg wash on the floor -.-

Hiccup #4 - i redid my creme patissiere which turns out to be scrambled again even though my stove is on #3.  the stove at the corner is just way too hot!!!

yup i guess that's about it. and i think i was super messy and disorganized. However, at the debriefing this is some of the points that Chef N said:
#1 - creme patissiere overcooked (yup i know that very well)
#2 - swans are too big and not uniform (ok agreed)
#3 - eclairs are the right length but the width is uneven. (hmm ok..not sure how i can perfect it)
#4 - fondant a little too light (didnt put enough coffee extract) and slightly thick.
#5 - some eclairs were not piped fully with creme pat (keke that's cause it turned into scrambled egg and i didnt have enough creme pat left =x)
#6 - creme chantilly was perfect (ahem* i know. keke)
#7 - piping on eclairs were good (thank you)
 #8 - rosette and shell piping were excellent (really?!!! hahaha)
#9 - taste of my product, 20/40 (whahaha thanks to my creme pat)
#10 - overall, very good job well done =)

Thank you chef ;)

the long awaited post!

so sorry for not updating lately. this month had been a busy month. friends coming over from SG to visit, school and exam. finally i get to catch my breath :)

to cut long story short, i shall just post all the demos and practicals that i had gone through so far..hmm very very far as i had already ended my basic patisserie course. very fast right?!!!! i know! :( and the debriefing (result will be out this friday! 好可怕啊!

wahh my last post about sch is since wine tasting session... pai sei pai sei...

ok here goes. after wine tasting we learnt about bread making which was absolute fun! i enjoyed kneading the bread and doing designs out of them. This is practical 10! halfway through my basic course already (and yes i m only posting now)!

pretty right?!!! keke cant wait to make more of them at home :)

Next up Demo 11 -  Basic Cakes - Light Fruit Cake, Lemon Cake, Traditional Almond and Pistachio Cake, Madeleines

I love the lemon cake with lots of lemon drizzle..hmmm lemony crumbly cake..


Demo 12 - Patisserie Cake 1 - Gateau Alhambra (Moist chocolate and hazelnut sponge layered with chocolate ganache and enrobed in chocolate glaze)


our very 1st cake demo. This is obviously by chef with the pretty rose marzipan.

and my cabbage look a like 'rose' marzipan and wobbly 'alhambra' writing....

and i shouldn't have left the cake in the fridge. the chocolate glacage as well as ganache hardens hence the cake doesnt taste as nice in my opinion. Slightly too rich for my liking as well :)


Another cake lesson like the next day! haha all of us were so sick of cakes already (not making them but eating them) haha..


Demo 13 (Patisserie Cake 2) - Genoise a la Confiture de framboises (Genoise sponge layered with raspberry jam) Genoise a la Roulade (Genoise sponge roll)

my presentation was ermm horrible but the cake taste good. really like it much better than Alhambra. however just as fattening (coz it's buttercream!)

followed by a happening week with friends coming from SG consecutively..it was fun but super busy with meeting up friends followed by school and friends again...which i will post later..


ok now  Demo 14 (Patisserie Cakes III) Gateau chantilly aux fraises (Fresh strawberry and chantilly cream gateau) Gateau foret noire (Black forest gateau)


yes i know cakes AGAIN!

as mine is super ugly like SUPER so no pictures to save myself from embarrassment. 


Demo 15 (Bavarians & Mousses I) - Passion fruit Bavrian cream encased in light vanilla biscuit sponge


I do not really like mousse cakes but they are pretty i wouldnt deny.

here is mine which i left it outside instead of the fridge and it spoiled (too many cakes in the fridge) chef said i did well with the chocolate fan :)

 Demo 16 Charlotte aux Cassis / aux Fraises

and proudly presenting mine :)

Demo 17 Petit Fours - Meringue a l'amande: Batons de Marechal, Eponges et Miroirs, Sables Hollandais, Tuiles a l'Orange

and mine 

Demo 18 - another round of petit fours with my favourite MACARONS!

that was chef's work and below is mine :) muahaha so proud of my pink macarons

Demo 19 - souffles

 and the last lesson demo 20 - truffle

and that is the end of my basic patisserie.


i know the post is long but i have a lot more post to update with the places and restaurants that i had visited with friends. so long~


cant wait for my laksa steamboat tonight with Pat and friends. my awesome friend Pat had invited us over to her house to chill out :) so nice right?!!! :)


xoxo