the "sweetest" weekend

Literally, as we made over 700 Truflles in two days!!!!

Sat the 28th, will be the third and last(LOLs!), wedding banquet for Lyn & Shaun... this is for their friends in Taipei who were not able to attend either the Nantou or Kaohsiung receptions... still over 100 of them! GEEZ!!! Anyway, as a favour and gift to the the newlyweds -- we volunteered to make the truffles as parting gifts to the attendees... each person will get a box of 4 truffles...
Now, we have never made truffles before -- we have eaten lots of them -- of course --so we thought it would be a nice challenge.. and a great present, a more meaningful gift to the newlyweds... Besides, how BAD could it be right... after all I will be working with chocs.. MY FAVE!!! Challenge was the least of it... it was also time consuming, meticulous and messy...
-Time consuming as each batch of 100 took us about 3 hrs to finish up - scooping into balls, dipping in melted chocolates and rolling in the various topping...
-Meticulous as we want everything to taste great and look good... no out of shape ones - those were either packed to give to our friends and family - or eaten right away... lols...
-Messy as between the three of us, we had a whole load of laundry the two days we made the truffles.
Still, it was all worth the troubles as we were quite relieved that we finished them in a timely matter and they actually turned out, not only PRETTY but TASTY as well... now for the real test, getting the people to try them and hearing what they have to say...

CLICK HERE for more photos of our TRUFFLE MAKING adventure...

a new "Discovery"... well....

Dining out comes too far and few in between, so when we do, we do like to try new places we hear about or have seen in passing at one time or another... One such place is Discovery: Vietnamese restaurant inside the Mitsukoshi A4 Building, in the Waner Village area... The place was is nicely done... decor not too much, subtle but still evokes the Vietnamese feel to it... the presentation was quite good too as each dish came served in ornate plates... the service is just as nice as well -- attentive and kind staff...

buit then there's the food... they left a lot to be desired... forget the fact that each dish was too little - they were not anything special at all... nothing that will keep us coming back... even the street food in the streets of Hanoi were much more tastier....
You can see more PHOTOS HERE.

Little Asia - Greenhills, Philippines

Friday, Feb 12th: Little Asia Restaurant to Celebrate my nephew and niece's Feb. Birthdays... Asian Fusion type resto - loved it....
Location: Greenhills...

Loved everything about the place.... yummy food... cool interiors... beautiful mural... service is par excellence... my only complain is the table setting... paper place setting does not suit this place at all.... they could have done better... but that is a minor misstep, as they excel in everything else....

Took my nephew and niece for their BDays.... Just the 3 of Us!!!

Something Sweet & Retro...

...from Krispy Kreme...
I guess, a visit to Manila is not complete without stopping by Krispy Kreme for a donut or two... or a box full!!! Since it is not here in Taiwan, I do enjoy the stopover there during my trips... it helps that they have one of their biggest branches in the Greenhills Shopping Center are - one of my FAVE haunts when in Manila... and it is also nice that they seem to be coming up with new things to entice and treat their donut-a-holic followers, such as me...

With Valentine's Day looming, they are pushing their "Share The Love" campaign... Chocolate covers, heart shaped donuts... with a variety of filling and topping... each and everyone of them - delicious!!! This time around they are also offering a cute little tin with a really cute retro print... fell in love with it's sweetness right of the bat...Yummy Chocolate Covered Heart-Shaped Treats!!!

and this is why am FAT!!!

Yummy homemade Brazo de Mercedes -- must have eaten it all in two days!!!
was just wondering tonite why I gained weight and a bit of a tummy this Holiday Season -- though I ate not more than I usually do -- I even did a lot of running around for the wedding this past weekend and did not ge to eat much of the feasts....

I believe I finally figured it out... it is all the sweet treats... home made cakes by David & Ace... cakes from Red Ribbon, Goldilocks & Max's... kakanins from just about everywhere.... and now, SEE's Chocolates all the way from America that my friend sent to me after seeing my XMAS wish list -- boy, how I have missed See's candies (Thanks Keeennnnniiiieeeee!!!! For Making Another Wish Come True!!!)...

Lasagna ala Marketchow

Friday nite, while I was coloring Shaun's hair, David was doing what he does BEST -- making something of what ingredients we do have in the refrigerator... after taking out a few things, he realized we happen to have enough for a SPINACH LASAGNA... Freestyle that is, as he was making do of what's available...
The Challenge: Spinach Lasagna ala Freestyle
Available Ingredients: Tri color Pepper, Onions, Garlic, Bayleaf, Carrots, Spinach Pasta & Sauce.Layers of Spinach Pasta filled with the sauteed veggies and sauce.
The Tasty Result, complete with slices of Baguette.

surprise! surprise!

YOWZA!!! I never even knew there was such a thing as Open Faced Pancakes!!!

When David told me he was making pancakess for breakfast one morning; then I was served these flat croissants; I thought for sure he had messed up somewhere.... and that he was just making it up when he kept calling them Open Faced... so I had to google it later on, and Lo and Behold, they do EXISTS!!!
and I can honestly say, I like this version sooooo much more... it was tasty and endless possibilities as to what to eat them with....

so keep the surprises coming, Marketchow!!!