In House cooking: Ginger infused Salmon with Couscous

Apart from the tiredness and the stupid nausea that this pregnancy caused me,
I think it does bring something good out of me as well, which is my hidden talent for cooking!

I have a good family background when it comes to cooking, my grandma is a super Chef and most of my aunties talented in cooking as well. Now, I think I do too.
Previously, I know I can cook well, but I always couldn't get the " Aha! " thingy in the taste. It does taste good but not good enough for my Mr. keep asking me to cook for him.

I am thankful for my pregnancy that gives me that missing clue in getting the " Just nice " taste in my cooking. It's really something weird and blissful about being pregnant, my taste bud works wonder and i even know what are the ingredients used in the food, - something that previously, when my grandma said " not enough cloves ", I was like " how can someone taste "cloves " in food? But now I get what she meant. Like totally.

Anyway..I want to share the super easy recipe that my. Mr found in the internet.

This is the Ginger Infused Salmon with Couscous.
It is yummy, healthy and easy to make.

You will need:

Fresh Salmon
Ginger - grated
Olive Oil
1/2 Lemon
Pinch of salt
Pack of Couscous

Additional:
Dried apricot

Marinate all the above main ingredients to the salmon and leave it for 30 min or so.
Practically you can put as much ginger and Olive oil as you like, go a little more if you like a strong ginger taste or cut it down for just a little taste of it.

Then pan fried each side of the salmon for 2-3 Min.

Meanwhile, lets prepare the couscous.
I love Waitrose Aromatic & Fragrant in garlic and coriander.

Thrown in the whole pack of couscous with 200ml water and cook it until it's dry.


Get your Salmon from the pan and serve it with couscous, dried apricot, and a sprinkle of chilli powder.

it's yum! 

happy trying.

Dine Out: Xiao La Jiao Sichuan Cuisine

Something that I can't live without in my food diary is chilli!
Yes, it means everything spicy is my cup of tea.

~*~

And it's so thoughtful of my babe, Mag from Modgam.com taking me for Xiao La Jiao Sichuan Cuisine to indulge the extra craving of spicy food during my early pregnancy stage.
And it's totally satisfy every single craving buds on me.
 - Thanks a lot babe -

Located at :

112 East Coast Road #03-05 112 Katong Mall

Singapore 428802

Tel: 6636 3736

Serving the authentic and yet acceptable for Singaporean taste of spiciness, 

Xiao La Jiao is the place to dine out with your family and friends. A different kind of food to try out for the weekend dine out ritual. Especially if you love spicy food like me. 

This is perfect.

And oh, one thing you must not forget to order when you get there, is the sour plum drink and the honey lemon. I know, you might think you already know the taste of the two, but hey..I don't think so, until you tried this one. 

My favourite is the sour plum drink.

It has the sweet, sour and salty taste in it.

We started with the appetisers:

Husband & Wife Beef Offal with Spicy Sauce

I feel like having a party on my mouth when I eat this, and it is actually the intention of Sichuan food to open up our taste buds before proceeding to the next menu.

Served cold, with a tangy and spicy taste.

Pig’s Ear Slices with Spicy Sauce

For the non spicy lover, this might be the most suitable appetiser for you.

Crunchy texture, mild taste - with a spicy sauce as an option -

Served Cold: crunchy and mild taste.

Sichuan Wontons with Spicy Sauce

 Moist dumpling in a spicy soup with a little vinegar taste in it.

Camphor & Tea Smoked Duck

Not a typical smoked duck. 

You will found this dishes is different from a normal duck dish in a chinese restaurant where the crispy skin is the main focus of the dish. For this Camphor & Tea smoked duck, they waste none of the duck meat, and actually the meat itself is the part that I love the most of this dish. It's fragrantly smokey and tender.

A MUST TRY dish.

Rainbow Dumplings

Generous filling! 

No matter what are the taste you tried, you will find a full chunk of filling inside it.

Sichuan Guo Tie

Super yummy! 

I can take the whole plate down by myself :) 

No kidding.

I love the combination of the pan fried in the outside, and an unexpected broth inside it.

 Pork Strips in Sweet Bean Sauce

Although I prefer a spicy food, I think having a sweeter and milder dish among the fiery one can be very interesting. Especially, if it something as tender, sweet saltish and moist pork strip like this.

Sichuan Fish Slices with Pickled Greens

I LOVE THIS! I am a fans of fish fillet, and anything with fish fillet, I will open my mouth in a big AAAA.

Too bad I can't show the big AAAA on my mouth when I am enjoying this sourish fish soup from Xiao La Jiao. But I do ignore everybody while enjoying this soup, it's simply tasty and far from the fishy smell, if you are worried about it.

 Cabbage with Rich Broth

Simple dish with a vegetable sweet kind of broth.

I'm ok with it, but not really a fan for this one.

But, indeed I am a big fan of 

 Sichuan Ma Po Tofu

Feed me this and I will be the happiest girl during lunch/dinner time!

Add on to this!

..and I am the happiest girl with spoonful Ma Po Tofu on white steam rice. Perfect.

Ge Le Shan ‘La Zi’ Chicken

Super delicious, addictive and makes you numb.

try it yourself and you will know what I mean.

Sichuan Waxed Pork Soup

Not my kind of soup, but I quite like the clear feeling after all the spicefull food.

Dessert time!

 Sichuan Pumpkin Pancake

If you are a fans of sesame, this might be your choice.

Part from the sweetness of the pumpkin inside, you will taste a rich sesame on the skin.

Mixed Sugar Guo Kui

I will definitely come back for this!

Love the sweetness and the texture.

And of course, we have to close the night with a group shots, right?

This is us, hosted by a very friendly Isaac from The Creative Eateries group.

Thanks a lot Isaac, we are looking forward to meet you again!

And if you have OCBC credit card, 

you can enjoy the 50% Camphor & Tea Smoked Duck with $50 min spend.

Promotion valid until 30 April 2013.

credit: Modgam.com

We love the food at Xiao La Jiao!

Credit: A Winsome Life

'Till the next dine out at Pinkbuble In Da House

Vanity Trove - April Spring Update

On this April Trove, I received mostly on Elizabeth Arden whitening series in sample size and Dr. Ci: Labo collection in sample size as well. I found many people complaint on the sample size they received in their Trove, which I don't understand why. I still think this sample size come really handy for travelling, and let me tell you that since Vanity Trove become a part of my monthly indulgence, I never run out of items to go for travelling. From Tropical to winter holiday, there are always things from VT that tag along with me for the trip.

..and psst psst..

VanityTrove re-shapes beauty discovery with a

collaborative trove together with SuperBerry.me, bringing to you a new stash

of beauty labels to the limelight!

Usually, this superberry me trove can only be purchased from Superberry me, but Vanity Trove are running a special campaign where my readers can quote My name and score a superberry.me trove worth over $100 when you guys take on a 6 or 12 months with VanityTrove (,applicable for new 6 or 12 months subscribers only)

Superberry brings only the finest grooming products from around the world to

cater to the needs of women in Singapore. Superberry has products that can

groom a woman from head to toe. Be it hair products, moisturizers, fragrances

or nail polish.

Here’s what you may find in your Superberry.me exclusive edition

VanityTrove:

• Storyderm Mask: In stem cell, red ginseng, collagen, E.G.F. Coenzyme

10, vitamin C or Caviar

• Margherita Ghel foam cleanser• Femme Science product: In 2 different types; body polish (200) and

face cleanser (100)

• Sassi topcoat

• Sassi nailfile

• Denman mini brush

• Ghassan hair mask sachet

Also, if you have not known about this already.. 

the VANITY magazine inside the trove is getting better on each issue, 

I love the way they put the article in a compact format, full of information, and many discount coupons!! 

Yay-ness! Not to forget, many useful tips and tricks from fellow bloggers friend and also my take on certain beauty regime. Keep reading yeah!

This month, the lovely duo from The Cambelles share up their tricks.

Get your own trove and find out what are the things they are sharing :)

'Till next month.

Beauty review: Blistex Deep Renewal Protectant

Sponsored review

I wanna share the new Anti Aging treatment for the Lips!
We do have anti aging skincare for face, anti aging food, but I never heard about the anti aging treatment for lips..until I tried this BLISTEX Deep Renewal.

So what is this Blistex Deep Renewal Protectant, you ask?


" Deep Renewal is the anti-aging lip treatment that’s
clinically proven to reduce visible signs of aging,
deliver superb moisturization, and promote lasting
lip health and vitality with consistent use."

Blistex Deep Renewal utilizes best-in-class ingredients for
beautifully cared-for-lips. It contains:

Coenzyme Q-10 - the gold standard for moisturization and overall revitalization.
Hyaluronic Filling Spheres - help give lips a fuller appearance.
Vitamin - Collagen Anti-oxidant Complex - promotes lasting lip health.
Light - refractors - contribute to improving lips’ luster and youthfulness.
Sun protection - SPF 15 helps protect against sun damage that can
 accelerate the aging process.

And you know what? apart from all of it, this lip treatment smells really good!

Do you wanna try it?
and get to know the feel of nice glow on your lips meanwhile your lippy is getting the treatment?
Write down your name and why do you need this lipbalm?

And I am going to give my lucky 2 readers and friends a full size Blistex each to join me in getting a healthy kissable lips. So drop me your name, NOW!

Maybelline Color Tatoo 24hr

Sponsored review

I know I was too late to share about this collection of Maybelline :)

But hey, it's better too late than never, right?

I actually already get the photo ready like ages ago, but lately..I really don't feel like doing any make up review and.. Don't ask me, I don't know why -> blame it to pregnancy maybe?

Anyway,

I received " painted purple " and " fierce and tangy " to try on!

I would say..

I love this products because..they have many colours to choose from, affordable and OMG! it does last for 24 hours. But too bad, the colours that I received can't be used for daily make up..so I use this for my editorial photo shoot and some party make up. And apart from that, I found the nice texture easily dried up so I need to blend it quickly before it stays.

I used this product for a water photo shoot with German model sometimes ago.

The colour is simply beautiful under the lighting and camera captured it well.

Make up by Me

Photo by Nino Yap

In House cooking: Nasi Gila

I finally made my homemade " Nasi Gila " today!

Back in Jakarta, I love to had this as my late dinner by the street vendor near my house. 

- ..and I think I never had this one for a looooong time!

- dah lama aje jek -

~*~

Basically, this dish is a very simple dish with a combination of:

- Beef meatball

- Beef sausage

- Eggs

- Shreded chicken breast ( I didn't use this one tho )

Served on a steam rice.

This dish is really easy to make, and it could be a substitute of Indonesian fried rice for breakfast too.

Start with heating up your pan;

  add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil

2 cloves of garlic

2 chilli padi (this is completely optional)

Get your meatball and sausages ready.

Put in your sausages and meatball while adding:

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

2 Tbsp chilli sauce

1 Tbsp sweet soya sauce

Salt and pepper to taste.

before mixing eggs to the pan.

..And you are done!

Easy and yummy.

Happy trying.

My Journey with Kose Infinity - part 3

I hope you guys are still with me for my journey with Kose Infinity:)

Since I started a campaign for a brightener and clearer skin with Kose Infinity like almost a month ago, I feel a tremendous improvement of my skin tone. I used to think that I don't need a brightener series of skin care because I am already have a fair skin, so why would I need more? But after using Kose Infinity for almost a month, I can see my pigmentation start to appear lighter and even with a little make up..it is close to flawless skin. - I know, it's too good to be true, right?

Although I must say that this series is a bit dry for my skin. 

Therefore, if you have a dry skin like mine - please apply a generous Kose Infinity serum on your face, just like I did and shared on My journey with Kose Infinity part 2 post.

As long as you are doing this, you'll be fine.

Apart from the lighter pigmentation, I found Kose Infinity helps to even out my skin tone.

Look at my photo before using Kose Infinity:

I tend to have a reddish and uneven tone between my face and my neck..

and I guess it's pretty obvious in below photo.

After almost one month, tadaaaaaa...

Take a look at my almost even skin tone between my face and neck!

I am really happy to see the result and I think you should try too.

Grab it while you can still enjoy the discount until 30 April 2013.

INFINITY KOSÉ New Launch Promotion 

Enjoy exclusive 10% Introductory Discount:

• Deep Protection UV at $49 (retail: $54)

• Realizing White Lotion XX at $99 (retail: $110)

• Realizing White Serum XX at $99 (retail: $110)

I hope, this will works on you as it is to me.

Happy trying.