Cuisine.

it's no secret that i like cooking, in fact i love it. the method to transform simple foodstuff into a mouthwatering platter of temptation is in fact, fun and rewarding. my interest in it started way back when i was still young, spending many hours inside the humble kitchen of 208 taman bumiko watching and learning from others. sometimes, i can still remember the sweet aroma of spices, the enticing smells and the vivid, bursting colours of the food, especially just before a special occasion. and with all the different styles out in the world, one can only continue to learn.

there are four things that i i believe are important in making a dish, which first and foremost is simplicity, followed by smell, sight and taste. i always believe in making a dish, it should be easily recreated and everyone can enjoy it. also, when cooking, one must always keep in mind of the people whom one is cooking for. is someone allergic to seafood? can they take spicy food? catering to minor details about a person's taste is worth it as they eat is very rewarding when you see their empty plates and smiles at the end.

the first thing anyone will notice when entering the kitchen is the smell, so care must be taken to remove the odour from strong smelling ingredients such as fish and lamb. this is where spices are your best friend. a small handful of rosemary or plums can mask the smells or one could just soak them in milk beforehand. the presentation must also be attractive. contrasting colours and garnishing such as mint and goji berries *i'm a sucker for them :3* helps make certain dishes more colourful. more often than not if i probably see a horrible looking dish, i would think to myself as quoted from martin pixel, "jesus, joseph and doggy style mary. that looks like a pile of dogshit" and will tactfully pass on the dish. i'm such a hypocrite i know. *rolls eyes* last of all is the taste. everyone's taste differs so one must always try to find an ideal balance of taste for whom they are cooking for. i always tell my siblings this, before serving anything to anyone, always always make sure you give it a taste first. if you find the taste terrible, its highly probably everyone else finds it horrible as well. i can still remember the time when i was around 7(?) when i made a bowl of fried rice, and while adding salt the top came off and spilt into the rice. of course, being the naive chef i was then, i just removed the salt that i could see then continued cooking. needless to say, when it was served, the fried rice made salted fish taste like chocolate covered strawberries.

lately i've been playing around with photoshop and vegas, and readers may have noticed the new banner i made, a product of my boredom. i'm still working on that picture video that we talked about jason, but unfortunately im still awaiting some more pictures from you and the others before i can start. i have already got a rough idea in mind of what to do, thanks to advice from jared and frank, though i'll probably tweak a few more stuff here and there. in the meantime, here's a small sample of the video i made from the pictures during the december '07 singapore trip. for some reason, theres heaps of pictures of vinc and zw in it, i should had checked before using the pictures though but its still okay. i recommend downloading the higher meg version which can be found here as the video and sound quality is a lot better. anyways, here's the youtube version for those that can't be bothered. enjoy!