Cavalock and The Moist Diane Hook-Up

I really love the almost never-ending array of cool stuff I encounter at Meidi-Ya supermarket. Even after almost a month away, I know I can always count on finding some uncommon groceries on sale. No idea how them beers taste like but I don't think you can go wrong with names like Proper Job and Old Peculier. And if there are any women out there who are willing to try Moist Diane haircare products, let me know exactly how 'moist' she is. ;)

Yah, I know I snapped a pix of the Rude Health products before but this display looked too good to pass up. Besides who knew they also had chips by Nando's as well as bottles of a new Dry version of Calpis Soda.

One more thing that I needed to catch up on since coming back home was the new releases of my favourite fake Lego minifigures ... opps, I mean customised Lego minifgures. From the entire cast of DC Comics TV series Young Justice to Marvel characters like Bullseye and the Punisher, these wonderful Chinese companies have managed to come with some of the more impressive Lego minifigures that the official brand has not or doesn't want to do.

Apparently the Chinese are also aware of what a cash cow the Iron Man franchise is. Look at what they just came up with and as far as I know, there are no official Lego versions of these figures (yet). Wonderful attention to details, way cheaper than any real deal and lookit that, they even did a fake Iron Man Mark I figure recently, five years after the first movie! Plus while the big red Hulkbuster armor below is rumoured to be in the upcoming Avengers movie Age of Ultron, the Chinese came up with a giant-sized one first that's based on the popular comic book design. How's that for ingenuity?

Another delightful and memorable experience I had with the fake Lego minifigures was during my time in Gen Con 2014. I brought more than a dozen figures with me and gave them to strangers I met. I handed them out to stunned cosplayers, kids and fellow gamers that, well, look like they could do with nice surprise. Friendly cosplayers who posed for us got one, like when I handed a Jack Nicholson (or was it a Heath Ledger?) Joker minifigure to a Poison Ivy cosplayer or when I gave a young couple wearing matching Red Lantern t-shirts an Atrocitus minifigure. On my last day there, I saw a little kid playing with some Lego minifigures and I gave his dad a Winter Soldier figure. These were all figures that aren't available as official Lego ones and to see all the recipients' faces light up (especially the Red Lantern couple) was priceless!

Cavalock and The Home-Baked Edition

As always, there was a flurry of activity in our tiny apartment kitchen over the last few weeks. From iced cookies to our first attempt at baking a Japanese cheesecake, our overworked Kitchen Aid mixer hardly had time to take a breather.

So someone we knew was having an under-the-sea themed kids party and the baker in the house came up with this selection of hand-painted mermaid butter cookies and vanilla cupcakes. We heard that everyone at the party absolutely loved them ...

... alright, so maybe Aquaman wasn't all that pleased.

So what you are looking at below is our second attempt (a day after the first attempt) at baking a Japanese cheesecake. Now a Japanese cheesecake is not as heavy or cheesy as a typical American cheesecake. In fact, it's rather fluffy and almost like a soufflé. Was good but definitely with room for improvement.

It ain't Christmas yet but we started the festivities early for one reason and one reason only. Yup, we emptied seven full bottles of Barcardi Gold rum (only the good stuff!) for our annual Christmas fruitcake bake. Hope everyone likes them!

And just as I was about to finish this post, look what came in the mail today! Fingers crossed that there'll be at least a couple of Star Wars cookie requests next year when Episode Seven hits the big screen.

Cavalock and The Lost Library of Lloyd Manor

Just when I thought I had bade the travel bug farewell, there I found myself in neighboring Johor Bahru (JB) on a weekday morning, a week after I returned from the US. Now the last time I was shopping for groceries in Tijuana JB was about a year ago and it was a rather enjoyable experience. Ever since then I have been thinking bout heading back for a quick day trip and I finally got to do just that but this time by bus. It was pretty easy, just hop on a Singapore-JB Express bus and you'll be at Woodlands in about a half hour. If it's your first time (like us), just follow the crowd and you'll soon find yourself through the checkpoint, then board the same bus that will now take you to the Mexican Malaysian border. Tag along with the rest of the passengers again and you'll soon find yourself in JB!

The nearest mall is City Square which is directly and conveniently connected to the checkpoint so all you gotta do is cross the bridge to get there. Kinda like any other mall here except that almost everything is much cheaper. Anyway, there's a bus terminal located just below the mall with regular buses plying to just about every main shopping and tourist attraction in JB. So we took one to KSL shopping mall to get our groceries from Tesco supermarket. One of the highlights of the day was this fresh coconut stand at KSL. Right in the middle of the mall floor was a stall selling fresh coconuts. Was a one-man stall with just a guy hacking away at coconuts. He would cut it open, pour the juice into a little plastic tub, then scoop the fleshy meat out in a single whole piece for you. All that for just five Ringgit! And when I ordered mine, the man was nice enough to give me a fresh full tub that he just filled instead of the ones that were sitting on the counter. Absolutely refreshing and value for money.

One of the more interesting snacks I found on sale at Tesco supermarket in JB. Doubt if I can find it here and I can't imagine how it tastes like. Wonder if it refers to the spicy flavor or are there actual little fish bits in it?

Now that I'm done travelling, I got a lot of catching up to do in the cleaning-of-the-old-family-home department. I knew my aunts and uncles (mom's side of cos) were fervent readers all my life. Growing up, we were surrounded by books 24/7 and my late uncle had Time, Newsweek and Nat Geo magazines subscriptions too. But never did I expect to find this "scholarly" haul in one of the bedrooms.

"The long decades had silently blanketed the brown boxes in the corner with a thick layer of dust. I peered nervously into each carton before cautiously lifting out the first of many bundled stacks of books. Like ancient Eldritch tomes fished out from the deepest depths of the ocean, one could only imagine the stories and knowledge that each volume possesses. Grinning and muttering to myself, my gibberish behaviour that day was a testament to the dark legacy that the decrepit building conceals."

What you see here is just a fraction of what I uncovered. If you are my Facebook friend, you would probably have seen most of them already. Browsing through the books I really wish I had time to read all of them. I'm looking at books from the 1940s to the 1970s and we got noir, pulp fiction, classics and the trashiest novels I have ever seen in my life! I just can't imagine my late aunts or uncles reading any of them. But what's also amazing to me is the excellent quality of the books as most were still in rather good reading condition. 

While I still have the novels with me, the old cookbooks and interior design hardbacks below were all snapped up the moment I posted them on Facebook. Gave them all away for free. I bet it would be cool to see how the recipes have changed over the years. Like the different kinds of ingredients used yesteryear, cooking techniques or there might even be some lost recipes in there.

Cavalock and The Black Forest Stopover

Oh wow, looks like I managed to churn out 12 posts bout my odyssey to Gen Con Indianapolis and New York without even knowing it. For anyone who actually read them, I sure do appreciate it. All three of you. :)

Well, I guess this is technically still a post bout my US trip but it went down during my SQ stopover at Frankfurt Airport. Only had 20 euros in my pocket and there were a couple of delis in the airport that sold some really lecker-looking German hams, cheeses and sausages. Managed to purchase the above slices of black forest ham and chunk of black forest shoulder ham for exactly the amount of euros with me.

Finished the strips in a matter of days and they were really delicious. Thinly sliced like prosciutto but not too savoury or dry. As for the big guy, we decided to stuff it with cloves, brushed it with pure pineapple juice and then sent it right back into the oven for a short while. Sliced it up and had them for several breakfasts accompanied by some Japanese apple jam from Meidi-Ya. Excellent start to the day. So the next time you are having a stopover at Frankfurt airport, don't forget to grab some really cool German meats that you probably can't find back home.

I suppose that's it for my trip for now at least. Just wanna say I'm really glad I took it despite being worried like crazy just days and hours before boarding my flight. Everything turned out great, people I met were really pleasant although the NYC folks were bit more sullen than the Indy ones, and the only negative experience was when the wheel fell my big-ass Samsonite luggage right after I arrived in Indy. Coming up next, all local stuff and thanks again for dropping by! <^;^>

Cavalock and The Shake Shack Shakedown

This was a no-brainer. Almost everyone I spoke to before our New York trip has insisted, recommended or ordered that I head to Shake Shack and grab one of their famous burgers. Well, we knew there were several Shake Shacks all across the city but we also knew that since we were gonna be flying out of JFK Airport's Terminal 4, there's not one but two outlets at the departure hall.

But we also found time to just drop by their outlet at Madison Square Park. The weather was fantastic that afternoon, sunny and with hardly any clouds in the sky. What I found fascinating was seeing people of all ages sitting outdoors, having picnics or just enjoying a book. I mean, this was like a working weekday but this garden scene was something I would only imagine happening on a weekend cos everyone looked so relaxed and picture-perfect. Really.

Looking at everyone lying on the grass, we began to wonder "what about the ants and bugs, don't they get them here?". Cos if you try doing that back in Singapore, you'll be playing host to half a dozen mosquitos and an ant farm climbing up your leg pants. I guess it's also cos there are no food courts or coffee shops like we are familiar with, where working folks can gather for a cheap good lunch. I reckon in NY, it's a quick eat-and-run routine where you basically grab a burger or salad and head back to your office. So this picturesque park is kinda like an oasis in an urban desert where one can really unwind with friends and just enjoy a lazy afternoon. 

Alright back to Shake Shack, super long line at Madison Square Park. This is like iPhone 6 and Hello Kitty put-together-level kinda queue. Took a panoramic shot and I know the picture ain't big but it starts from one end and ends at the other. Trust me, it's loooong and I'm surprised people were ready to stand in line outdoors in the afternoon sun. I guess them burgers are really that good.

So on our last day, we finally made it to (one of) the Shake Shacks at the JFK Airport Terminal 4. Ordered the Smokeshack, which is a "cheeseburger topped with all-natural applewood smoked bacon, chopped cherry pepper and ShackSauce". I really liked it but I have to admit, I can't remember exactly why! I mean, its been almost a month and I can't remember all the specific reasons except that it tasted really good. Another reason why I can never be a food blogger! I could pretend and come up with a buncha synonyms for 'delicious' but I figured it's better to just be honest. However I do remember how the buns are not completely cut through so it nicely captures all the sauce, and none of it drips outta the burger. Now why can't other burger joints do the same with their buns?!?

Had me the Fly Me To The Shack custard ice cream for dessert. It's "chocolate custard, fudge sauce, chocolate cookie dough and Mast Brothers Shake Shack dark chocolate chunks, topped with chocolate sprinkles". A bit too chocolatey for me but may be great for some chocolate lovers out there.

The Fifty/Fifty drink is simply half lemonade and half organic iced tea which tasted just like very strong lemonade to me.