Pavlova

Could not resist baking a Pavlova that day when I had 6 egg whites sitting in my fridge. Perhaps the strawberries, perfect toppings for pavlova, and half a jar of cream further motivated me this is the right time, despite the fact that I've never made one before. I'd often seen ready made pavlova bases being sold in boxes in the supermarket and know that it is a popular Australian dessert but I"ve only tasted it once. What made me take the plunge was my sister and brother-in-law's presence. It's a good chance to introduce them a local favourite dessert and they like desserts!

Again I turned to my favourite cookbook, the internet, for advice and decided on a recipe from Donna Hay, a popular Australian based cookbook author. Pavlova is basically a meringue with fruit fillings. It originated in the 1920s either in New Zealand or Australia and was created in honour of the Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova, during or after her tours to the countries.

After whipping the egg whites and sugar until they are thick and glossy, scoop them out onto a baking tray, arrange them into a circular shape and bake at a low heat for 1 to 1 hour 15 mins. Viola, the pavlova base is done! Doesn't sound too difficult right?

To fill it, whip up some cream, spoon it on top of the base and arrange sliced fruits to decorate. I don't think there's a fixed standard on what fruits to use, basically just use whatever is in season or whatver you desire. It entirely up to personal taste, but strawberries, kiwis are common. I go for the safest since it was my first time.

The visual appeal of this dish is fantastic and so pretty! There's something inviting about white fluffy looking meringues and the colours of the fruits just enhances it. Of course, I'm looking at it from the eyes of a dessert lover. My husband saw only sugar and fats and I had to tell my sons they're marshmallows or they won't touch it. Even then, only KK accepted it, XX just wanted the fruits neat. My sis and bro-in-law loved it though. The crispy and sweet cottony inside of the meringue melts in your mouth and the cream kind of cushions the tangy taste of the fruits. So you taste sweetness balanced with the critrus of the fruits......mmmm..:p

Though it was a successful maiden Pavlova, I won't be repeating it as our family dessert anytime soon. Nonetheless for parties, this one will impress.

The Search is On

We have been very hardworking these last 2 weekends, dilligently attending house inspections. For those staying in Melbourne, you'll understand what that is. In S'pore this is probably called "open house" or something. We have decided that if we are ready to purchase a property, then we should start doing our homework or research of the property market now. Signs have been promising that house prices might began to fall or flatten. So it might be the right time for us to find our dream home soon.

In Melbourne, the property industry works a little differently than from S'pore. Firstly, you search online for properties that are listed for sale in the suburb that you like. The search can be very advanced, narrowing to the land size, no. of rooms and toilets you want. Then you see the pictures and read the descriptions about the property. There are usually at least 8 to 15 pictures accompanying each property, showcasing the interiors and the exterior. Nowadays, many property agents use professional photographers to take the pictures so many of them actually look picture perfect, some looked like those straight out of home and lifestyle magazines! The price range is often stated, though some agents would prefer you to call them to find out. Finally, there're the inspection dates. These are dates and time slots, usually on the weekends, lasting 30 mins, where interested buyers can go and view the property. During this time, the owners (sellers) absent themselves after tidying their home and there's only the agent to show off the property and answer queries. This point about tidying their homes, they really go all out to impress, including hanging matching towels in the toilet, laying pretty bedsheets, keeping all the clutter on the kitchen countertop and putting aromatherapy!

I personally like this style of buying/selling property. The online listings makes the information accessible to everyone. As buyers, we don't just depend on the agent to find us the right property, everything on the market is there for everyone to see. As sellers, this ensures a wider coverage of potential customers. The prices, as a result of the transparency, are rather consistent with market trends. The fixed inspection schedule makes lives more predictable and is efficient. The sellers don't get interrupted so often by potential customers popping over to see the house. The agents move from one property viewing to another, all in one weekend of work. And the buyers, we can plan to see many properties all in a day or two.

Of course, with the internet, this can make the agent a little redundant as their main responsibilities are now reduced to opening doors and taking down contact information. And some of them literally do just that. Some won't even walk into the house or highlight to you what are some of the strengths of the property. I certainly won't choose them as my agents if I want to sell my house next time!

After 2 consecutive weekends and about 20 or so properties, we are suffering from what I call "house hunting fatigue". I have some difficulty recalling some of the houses we'd seen earlier when the agent called me later in the evening. Some of the properties are really fantastic but prices are not at that level where I think there's value. There were a few that caught our eyes but nothing that we think is ideal enough to put in an offer. However, I do find that the more houses we compare, the more we get a feel of the market. If we see something that really meet our needs and at a great value, we will be able to know it. But before that, I think next week we should take a break.

Yiyi's Visit

After 2 years, I finally welcome my dear sister and brother-in-law to our home in Melbourne. It was a sweet reunion, considering the last time we met was about 6 months ago. No one is more enthusiastic about her visit than my 2 boys. Since knowing his 'Yiyi' is coming by plane, XX who has no inclination about dates, has been asking on and off why she's not here yet and why the plane is taking so long. KK forked out his own pocket money to get Yiyi her favourite white chocolates as a belated birthday present.









You can imagine the two weeks that they were here, the kids had a ball of a time. More specifically, they went crazy over the games in her i-phone and with the new Wii, compliments of my family in S'pore. They even requested for her to sleep together and in the mornings, will go over to her room to wake her up.









As the weather was really cold and wet, unfortunately they couldn't manage to do much outdoors. But we had lots of time at home, watching World Cup matches and eating. In the wintertime, hot soups like "Ma la" hotpot and herbal chicken soups warms the body. They also made short trips to the city and Victoria Market and I brought them to our favourite food haunts for lunches.









When it was time for Yiyi to go back to S'pore, KK was extremely sad, though he adjusted back pretty fast. XX till now still thinks Yiyi is going to return. Apparantly he thinks she's just gone shopping.





Hope to see you back in Melbourne soon, Yiyi and Uncle James!!