Have declared the next two weeks to be cake-free weeks - not because I am off cake...I am NEVER off-cake. The waistline demands I be off-cake although honestly, it has simply driven me potentially into the arms of Goreng Pisang.
Anyway, as a result I have been thinking a lot about cake. And how hard it is to get good cake. When I used to make an annual pilgrimage to H.K to visit sibling and friends, finding good cake was also a bit of a challenge. I found myself ending up in the Peak Cafe, MidLevels on a regular basis because as much as I got through their cake menu in a week of being in H.K, it was good cake. I never made it to this shop called Antique, highly recommended by a friend (next time maybe). The problem of finding good cake isn't just a uniquely Malaysian challenge it would seem.
Here in good old Kay-El, I have abandoned my old favourite, Bakerzin (more on this in a bit) And it seems as though the old faithful, the ever-reliable when it comes to cake, is that doyen coffee-house, Alexis. Thankfully, they have expanded the number of outlets, thus enabling me to obtain my cake-fix without too much difficulty (all the worst for your waistline, grandma, whines my diet conscience). The Bangsar Telawi outlet is finally getting a long-overdue facelift, and it seems frantic renovation is going forth to ensure that the Telawi outlet opens in time for the Bangsar Shopping Center outlet to shut pending BSC's massive renovation of the East Wing of BSC.
My favs at Alexis remains the staples: Tiramisu Cake (emphasis on the CAKE), Bittersweet Chocolate (fabulous on a very, very good day when they get the sticky, gooey chocolate top perfect, excellent even on an off-day) and the Black and White, which tends to only make sporadic appearances and even then, has to be eaten only if absolutely fresh (read, don't eat the last two slices). I do also like the Strawberry Mascapone Cheesecake and the Chocolate Mousse, and if the baker is having a good day, the Chocolate Moist is also a good bet. They do have cakes I won't eat. The cheesecake is claggy, and way too dense, and frankly, it the kind of thing which anyone on a diet who only is allowed to eat cake once a week will order and immediately regret the calorie wastage. This is one cake they haven't got right. I tried the White Forest Cake a week ago and it excites me not. I have an occasional weakness for the Pear and Ginger Upside Down Pudding, but most of the time, I just go between the Tiramisu and Bittersweet Chocolate because they just are so good and so satisfying.
As a second string option during the day if there is a cake emergency would be the YogiTree at the Gardens, MidValley. Personal favs there include the flourless chocolate cake (you wouldn't KNOW it has no flour), the Oreo Chocolate Cheesecake and the Cheesecake with Berry Compote. Consistency-wise, the flourless chocolate cake is usually a very very safe bet. The cheesecakes can fluctuate if the temperature of the refrigerator is too low and the cheesecakes get a bit dense. A new feature on the menu is a Pineapple Upside Down Cake - a nice choice if you're looking for something sweet but not too calorific.
But strictly speaking, it is only if the day is going very badly that one can justify breaking the cake emergency alarm and having cake after lunch. There is no real reason to eat cake at lunch if one actually wishes to remain un-fat. (that's diet conscience talking again....shoo!)
Now, admittedly it sounds like no where else does decent cake. I suppose my standards are high, on the theory that if I am going to expend calories eating something sinful and bad for my waistline, I want nothing less than an excellent top-notch cake-dessert. Which is why for the longest time, I practically had a seat with my name on it at Bakerzin. And which is also why contrary to popular viewpoint, I do not think that highly of the cakes at Delicious. And it is also why I will not just eat cake anywhere either unless it is vouched for. Those extra calories are too precious (and the amount of time spent sweating it off far too torturous) to justify 'average' cake.
For those who are wondering, Bakerzin has been put on on my Titanic Watch - meaning, it's headed for the iceberg of the Condemn List. Reasons being that the management has recently decided that they want to start making the cakes in-house rather than bringing in some of the ready-made sponges and ingredients from Singapore, where the Bakerzin franchise originates. As a result, you basically go to Bakerzin nowadays and your choices are all of about six cakes. From a selection of over 20 cakes, it's now down to about 6. Not only does that suck, but it also means that the cakes get sold out quickly. So late night coffee and kuchen raids are out as far as Bakerzin goes.
And of course, my major motivation previously for eating cake at Bakerzin was the coffee. Perfect cake, with perfect coffee? A reason to be fat really. Although both Alexis and Bakerzin (and Delicious) use Illy coffee, Bakerzin made a mean latte and great Americano and for reasons I still haven't figured out, Alexis still can't get their coffee to taste better than a few notches beyond air longkang (it has improved of late but still not doing justice to Illy). Delicious does a decent job though but because I don't like their cakes, I won't go there just for the coffee. Now, Bakerzin has switched to Lavazza coffee, which during my brief visit to Italy, I seem to recall as coming in 3rd after Segefreddo and Illy coffee. So I don't drink Lavazza and I certainly won't pay top dollar for a cup of Lavazza coffee. Nor do I want to ruin my cake with a yuk coffee.
But anyway, that's why Bakerzin is no longer on my great cake list, which now seems to just consist of one place, and that's Alexis.
So why do Malaysians rave about cakes that are generally just average? Cost probably plays a part. Two cakes and two coffees at Alexis can set you back about RM40 - expensive in a time of inflation, and especially the case now that the prices of key baking ingredients like flour, butter, dairy products and especially cream cheese are going up through the roof. Ditto cake at Bakerzin averages about RM7 a slice. And because at Bakerzin, they're dainty portions, the Malaysian ringgit psyche deems it to be not 'value for money'.
Secondly, I am going to go out on a limb and say most Malaysians don't know what good cake should taste like (and hell, good food) because most of them don't actually cook or bake and thus don't actually KNOW what is good or what is bad. They simply know what they like and thus equate that with what is good. What you LIKE, will taste good to you.But it may not be good on an objective assessment level. Being able to evaluate food on an objective level means to be able to determine if it is good or not, based on the benchmark of the product FIRST, and then by your personal preferences second. Most of the time, when Malaysians say something is good, they mean, by their tastebuds, it tastes good. (Ratatouille rat mode off).
For example, the lemon tart is a rarity in cake shops because not only is it hard to get right, but it's not the sort of dessert that most Malaysian taste buds are attuned towards eating. Yet, a good lemon tart is an absolutely sublime experience and is something I'd consider ordering if I was sure I'd get a good lemon tart (so far, I'm still looking and no one has topped the one at Bakerzin).
Similarly, the perception of the dainty portions of cake like Amer and Jivara at Bakerzin being not value for money reflects ignorance rather than intelligent wallet management. To the average Malaysian, RM7 on a small piece of cake that they could probably scarf all by themselves, and RM7 on a gigantic slice they can share - duh, obvious choice right? But hang on - if I'm getting Valrhona chocolate in one, and Van Housten or worse, Cap X cooking chocolate in the other, I'm paying my RM7 to the Valrhona thank you. But really, if you didn't know your Valrhona from your Michel Cuizel, and your Hersheys from your Van Houston, you'd think RM7 for a dainty slice of cake is a total rip-off.
And at the absolute bottom of the triangle are those who eat cake just to have some sugar or something sweet to go with their coffee. There is no eating in the pleasure, just a sort of sugar or cheese craving that is being satisfied.
Beyond a cake being dry (which most people would instinctively AND correctly associate with bad cake), you don't get a lot of discrimination in what Malaysians are willing to give the thumbs-up to as good cake for the above reasons. And so, we will continue to have establishments that make just average cake (because hey, no one can tell the difference right?)
and get away with it, and I will just have to keep going to Alexis.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Temporary Irreverance II - KeAdilan Rally in Bangsar
On the final lap, after deciding not to go for the DAP rally in SS2 (which apparently caused a major traffic jam), I rushed to Bangsar to catch Nurul Izzah Anwar speaking in Bangsar, in front of CIMB Bank near TMC.
Pictures uploaded first. Account to follow tomorrow AM soonest, after voting.
Highlight of the evening: met Raja Petra Kamaruddin! Unfortunately, felt too shy to ask to have my picture taken with him despite the formidable photography power of my new Blackberry 8300, which was on hand to take these pictures.
Interestingly, parking to Bangsar Village I was sealed off, forcing us to go to Jolly Green to park. Is the Ng family subtly showing an allegiance one way?
Pictures uploaded first. Account to follow tomorrow AM soonest, after voting.
Highlight of the evening: met Raja Petra Kamaruddin! Unfortunately, felt too shy to ask to have my picture taken with him despite the formidable photography power of my new Blackberry 8300, which was on hand to take these pictures.
Interestingly, parking to Bangsar Village I was sealed off, forcing us to go to Jolly Green to park. Is the Ng family subtly showing an allegiance one way?
Friday, March 07, 2008
Temporary Irreverance - BN Rally at Bangsar
As they say, one has to know how the other half lives, or rather, campaigns. Pictures taken from last night's BN Rally 'Malam Mesra' in Bangsar. I'm putting this on the web because it will be easier for everyone rather than send massive files of the pictures (and also it will collate the images from all the various sources)
The turnout was abysmal with most of the observers preferring to camp out at the VIP Corner of Nirwana Restaurant for teh tarik and milo ice, and steadfastly refusing to actually enter the tent set up. The entire lane sandwiching Bangsar Village II and the row of shops where Nirwana is located was cordoned off, with the lane running in front of BSV II cordoned off for the VIP cars. (of which included a Mercedes S class, a BMW 5 series, a BMW 4 wheel drive - wonder who those cars belonged to and why they were getting a police escort). Bangsar has never felt safer with half a dozen cops on every nook, cranny, corner and back lane. Pity it's not like that EVERY night of the year.
At 9.15pm the stated time for Najib to appear, there was nary a sight of the DPM (which is strictly speaking incorrect since Parliament has been dissolved and he is NOT the DPM any more at present time). The tent was still only about 1/4 full with the organisers having shoved the first few rows of chairs closer together to give the impression of a packed tent. But it was empty all the way.
Here at the pictures taken at around 9.15pm.
Here is a video of the start of the rally showing the empty seats, from KeAdilan's website.
Alas, the pulling power of Erra Fazira and uber-celebrity Siti Nurhaliza (who sang in Malay AND Chinese - waitaminute, who the hell in Bangsar speaks Mandarin?) was not enough to bring out the crowds from where they were at Lembah Pantai. There was also somewhat misguidedly a Bhangra band, which as one of the observers sharing our VIP perch at Nirwana pointed out, is a bit silly considering Bangsar doesn't actually have a large Punjabi population.
Erra performs to the no-crowd
From our perch at Nirwana, we noisily made rude comments throughout Najib's rally - he is an appallingly nervous speaker, having to constantly wipe spittle from his mouth during his rally and he spoke in a ponderous fashion more appropriate to a kampung crowd than the sophisticated intellectuals that haunt Bangsar. It was shocking how he made remarks about Islamic states when he himself has been quoted as saying Malaysia is an Islamic state. Needless to say, I don't have much confidence in this 'Dopey' being the next PM. Or should that be Drool-Boy.
There were no loud cheers whenever he tried to get the crowd to respond and react to him and except for the BN chorus that cheered 'Hidup BN' on cue during select pauses in his speech, it was a tame crowd.
Shahrizat speaks but preaches mainly to the BN converted. View from Nirwana
Haris Ibrahim's Blog carries an account of the two Lembah Pantai ceramahs.
Another account from a blog, with comparison pix of the two ceramahs here
The turnout was abysmal with most of the observers preferring to camp out at the VIP Corner of Nirwana Restaurant for teh tarik and milo ice, and steadfastly refusing to actually enter the tent set up. The entire lane sandwiching Bangsar Village II and the row of shops where Nirwana is located was cordoned off, with the lane running in front of BSV II cordoned off for the VIP cars. (of which included a Mercedes S class, a BMW 5 series, a BMW 4 wheel drive - wonder who those cars belonged to and why they were getting a police escort). Bangsar has never felt safer with half a dozen cops on every nook, cranny, corner and back lane. Pity it's not like that EVERY night of the year.
At 9.15pm the stated time for Najib to appear, there was nary a sight of the DPM (which is strictly speaking incorrect since Parliament has been dissolved and he is NOT the DPM any more at present time). The tent was still only about 1/4 full with the organisers having shoved the first few rows of chairs closer together to give the impression of a packed tent. But it was empty all the way.
Here at the pictures taken at around 9.15pm.
The Lion Dance Troup kills time...pity they got washed out by the rain
Here is a video of the start of the rally showing the empty seats, from KeAdilan's website.
Alas, the pulling power of Erra Fazira and uber-celebrity Siti Nurhaliza (who sang in Malay AND Chinese - waitaminute, who the hell in Bangsar speaks Mandarin?) was not enough to bring out the crowds from where they were at Lembah Pantai. There was also somewhat misguidedly a Bhangra band, which as one of the observers sharing our VIP perch at Nirwana pointed out, is a bit silly considering Bangsar doesn't actually have a large Punjabi population.
Erra performs to the no-crowdFrom our perch at Nirwana, we noisily made rude comments throughout Najib's rally - he is an appallingly nervous speaker, having to constantly wipe spittle from his mouth during his rally and he spoke in a ponderous fashion more appropriate to a kampung crowd than the sophisticated intellectuals that haunt Bangsar. It was shocking how he made remarks about Islamic states when he himself has been quoted as saying Malaysia is an Islamic state. Needless to say, I don't have much confidence in this 'Dopey' being the next PM. Or should that be Drool-Boy.
There were no loud cheers whenever he tried to get the crowd to respond and react to him and except for the BN chorus that cheered 'Hidup BN' on cue during select pauses in his speech, it was a tame crowd.
Shahrizat speaks but preaches mainly to the BN converted. View from Nirwana
Shot towards the end of the rally
There were a couple of BN cap wearing heavies on the next table who obviously didn't take too kindly to our sarcastic remarks about 'commissions' and 'altantuya' which periodically punctuated our conversation. And then it bucketed in the midst of Shahrizat's rally and we wondered if it was the PAS bomohs at work (but since it also rained in Lembah Pantai at the KeAdilan Rally, perhaps it was the result of both sides bomohs cancelling each other out!Here's what the NST published this morning - obviously the rally was not a success, hence it didn't make the front page:
The Star buried the story in 2 paragraphs, with ZERO mention of the pathetically small turn out, which could not have numbered more than 100. Full points to Najib and Shahrizat though for keeping up the face and smiling all the way through despite the appalling turn out. I would have given a million bucks to have mind-reading powers at that point and know exactly what was on their minds.
In a disgraceful moment of manipulation, the national anthem was played, in an attempt to get everyone present to stand up (and thus show I suppose our respect for these politicians). Some people stood up, but a number of people (yours truly included) refused to stand, for obvious reasons of declining to be a part the propaganda. I shan't say anything about the inclusion of a prayer for the BN candidates by some ulama wearing a BN shirt.
Shahrizat promised Bangsar a police station of their own should she be returned with a heftier majority. It kind of conjures up images of majority comparison contests in the backrooms of the BN doesn't it? Except I guess they play who's majority is bigger, as opposed to whose appendage is bigger and pisses further.
The Star buried the story in 2 paragraphs, with ZERO mention of the pathetically small turn out, which could not have numbered more than 100. Full points to Najib and Shahrizat though for keeping up the face and smiling all the way through despite the appalling turn out. I would have given a million bucks to have mind-reading powers at that point and know exactly what was on their minds.
In a disgraceful moment of manipulation, the national anthem was played, in an attempt to get everyone present to stand up (and thus show I suppose our respect for these politicians). Some people stood up, but a number of people (yours truly included) refused to stand, for obvious reasons of declining to be a part the propaganda. I shan't say anything about the inclusion of a prayer for the BN candidates by some ulama wearing a BN shirt.
Shahrizat promised Bangsar a police station of their own should she be returned with a heftier majority. It kind of conjures up images of majority comparison contests in the backrooms of the BN doesn't it? Except I guess they play who's majority is bigger, as opposed to whose appendage is bigger and pisses further.
Haris Ibrahim's Blog carries an account of the two Lembah Pantai ceramahs.
Another account from a blog, with comparison pix of the two ceramahs here
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Doughnut Discourse - Much Ado about Doh?
Prologue
This lengthy diatribe on doughnuts is finally ready to be published...some people argue taste is subjective (you say potato, I say po-tato and all that), but really taste is not. It is objective. At least, I'm trying to suggest it here.
This has been lying in the edit folder for at least a month and keeps getting longer each time. Although I haven't had a chance to revisit JCo doughnuts (and being back on diet, that's not happening for a while), I have revisited the Big Apple ones. And I affirm my verdict still.
Doughnuts away...
The Great Doughnut Dissertation
Okay, so Malaysians (and it seems Singaporeans) have gone crazy over doughnuts. The queue at Big Apple at The Curve is long and big enough to convince the owners that they must now be also in MidValley, and Pavillion and One Utama.
For the uninitiated, they are taking a leaf out of the Rotiboy book and positioning the store right in front of the elevator - lazy Malaysians are more likely to spot something next to an elevator than the stairs. Indeed, the outlet in MidValley is positioned on the lower ground floor, in the bypass to the new Gardens @ MidValley - the lowest possible level so that non-stair-climbing Malaysians do not have to go far for the dougnut fix.
Doughnuts it seems, are the new must-eats, judging by the number of Malaysian bloggers who have raved about the Big Apple Doughnuts and the queue at JCo in Pavillion.
Being a discriminating doughnut person, I decided to investigate (at cost to my waistline) - the Doughnut. And herein I present my Doughnut Dissertation.
First, terms of the experiment. I have had the opportunity to eat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts during my visits to HK (for those are are KKK - Krispy Kreme Krazy - it is only available in SEA in either Hong Kong or Indonesia, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Jakarta). I have also eaten JCo Doughnuts and Big Apple Doughnuts. Secondly, basis of comparison. The comparison will be glazed vs glazed, in the interests of fairness, naturally. Of course, the ultimate ultimate comparison would be a blind test, but my waistline won't have it so the experiment is somewhat limited in that the doughnuts were not all tasted at the same time. However, as I have eaten Big Apple and Krispy Kreme doughnuts quite a few times, I believe it is possible to compare the taste of the two, and against that of J Co.
Meet the Contenders.
In the Blue Corner, the local boy, Big Apple.
And in the Red Corner, the American Giant, Krispy Kreme:
In the Yellow Corner, the Indonesian Juggernaut, JCo:
I have deliberately left off Dunkin Doughnuts from the equation because honestly, I don't think Dunkin Doughnuts qualify as doughnuts. A piece of grandma's shoe sole maybe. But doughnut, I don't think so. But, in the interests of a complete discourse on the doughnut, I'll probably have to buy a Dunkin Doughnut at some point, to add it to the mix. However, as Dunkin Doughnut does not actually have a 'glazed' doughnut and only powdered sugar ones, the comparison of how DD lines up against KK and the other Contenders, will have to be saved for a discourse on my other favourite type of doughnut: the jelly.
I doughnut wish to digress...so let's move to the analysis.
a) Colour
KK doughnuts, as can be seen by the photo comparison below, are clearly, fried (yes, doughnuts have to be fried so let's not delude ourselves that they're somehow NOT fattening) more consistently, to produce a consistent golden tan to the doughnuts. By contrast, Big Apple doughnuts are frequently paler than the Krispy Kreme version and oft-lack the caramelised flavour that comes with a properly fried doughnut.
The reason for this could be either the fryer is not timed properly so the doughnuts from Big Apple are coming off a little bit earlier than they should, or the oil is not as hot as it should, thereby cooking the doughnut but not giving it the right golden tan, or it is related to the dough mixture. I'm more inclined to lean towards the first two, although the dough mixture is probably a contributing factor - flour and sugar proportion, as well as sugar quality likely play a part in determining how 'golden' the doughnuts come out.
J Co on the other hand, seems to be not quite in the same league as KK, but looking less pale definitely.
b) Texture
Texture-wise, the KK doughnut has a more cakey texture, and holds up better after one day, maintaining its cakey softness. By contrast, the Big Apple doughnut, whilst still tasting pretty okay a day later, tends to be doughy on first bite, and lacks that cakey fluffiness that Krispy Kreme has. JCo doughnuts seemed to have the right mix, slightly cakier than the Big Apple doughnuts, but also just enough fluff to them.
Big Apple doughnuts seem doughey in general, and have a stick-to-the-top-of-your-mouth dougheyness that one tends to associate with local Chinese pastries rather than a proper cakey-flour texture.
I have also noticed, whenever I step off the elevator at 1Utama, where the Big Apple store is, that the scent of trans-fats (that sort of semi-rancid oil/grease smell) is particularly strong from Big Apple, compared to J Co (you get a bit of it from a KK doughnut but you really have to hold it up to your nose). The flavour of the trans-fats can be quite obvious when the doughnut is a day old but as I have only experienced this with KK doughnuts (and post-diet, sensitivity to trans-fats smell is high) - however, the smell factor is something which again, I take into account as a measure of quality and standard. All doughnuts have to be made to a degree with trans-fats but typically the smell only permeates if the frying oil is an issue. I am of course no expert...but I trust my nose...
C) Glaze and Toppings
The glaze from Krispy Kreme is of course infinitely superior - smooth like marble, and it doesn't have a sugary texture (which is usually an indication in my humble opinion, of either a poorly mixed glaze, or just inferior quality sugar). This smoothness is evident also in the JCo doughnut, although not to the same standard. Whilst the glaze on the Big Apple doughnut is okay, it is clearly not of Krispy Kreme standards, and lacks the marble smoothness of a quality glaze.
In order of appearance: JCo, KK, Big Apple - the superior glaze is obvious IMHO. KK doughnuts photographed in the day, JCo at night with Flash, Big Apple in the day.Both Big Apple and J Co doughnuts were photographed fresh whilst KK doughnuts photographed one day later, and after a 3 hour plane journey.
Toppings are another issue (and fillings as well).
A good indication also of the quality of chocolate being used on Big Apple doughnuts is the amount of shine visible on the doughnut under the lights in the display. When chocolate has a lot of shine, it is first usually in my mind an indication that it is not of particularly good quality chocolate and secondly, that it has been kept or reheated often, thus nearly separating the fats from the cocoa butter. That's why if you buy cooking chocolate, good quality cooking chocolate is glossy without an oily appearance, whilst poor quality cooking chocolate derives an unnatural amount of gloss from the addition of other fats into the chocolate. In short, the less high quality the chocolate, the shinier it appears under the light.
Taste also will give an indication of the quality of the chocolate being used. (and anyone can use Belgian chocolate in their toppping - the question is HOW MUCH is being used, along with other things).
My photography skills (and these shots are not photoshopped) aren't the greatest but tastebuds and eyes don't lie, even if photos don't always do justice to what is being said.
Your eyes of course do not lie...and nor do tastebuds (especially when it comes to sussing out cheap peanut butter vs better quality peanut butter - don't believe me, do a blind test between Skippy and Steffi peanut butter...).
Why is doughnuts have suddenly become so popular? Deprivation is probably the answer, with faddishness or novelty coming in next. For most people, Dunkin Doughnuts was the only doughnut in Malaysia for the longest time. And frankly most people know it's not a particularly good doughnut but what choice do you have if you want a jelly doughnut? Compared to the doughnuts in conventional bakeries (which are usually pale, covered with knobbly sugar, and potentially a mouthful of clumpy dough), Dunkin's Doughnuts were vastly superior.
Compared to the doughnuts in Big Apple, the stodginess of Dunkin's loses out to the lighter and fluffier texture of Big Apple.
But compared to Krispy Kreme, Big Apple is a whole doughnut short of the Krispy Kreme standard.
Coming in the middle is the JCo doughnut. I haven't dared brave the queues that have been piling up since it opened in Pavillion but I have eaten them, early when the Pavillion store first opened. And I resoundly am of the view that they trounce Big Apple doughnuts, hands down. (assuming standards have not declined since then - queues have a habit of wrecking quality control I find).
My increased reservation of putting Big Apple doughnuts in the same league as JCo (forget KK) comes from the fact that I have concluded that Big Apple seems to be engaging in obvious and clear imitation of JCo doughnuts. From the box design, to the types of doughnuts on offer (the Green Tea and Tiramisu ones are a dead giveaway) to the fact that the doughnuts at Big Apple appear to look a lot like the ones in JCo (and really the difference between a 'Glazzy' doughnut and a 'Glacier' doughnut is?), there's more than a hint of suggestion that Big Apple is in fact, knock-off of JCo.
Its almost like the owner went to JCo, studied their selection, and then prodigiously implemented it, with slightly different names, but the same look and feel of the doughnuts,and even the same flavour concepts.
Clearly between JCo and Big Apple, JCo has a greater legitimate claim to being the Grade A fake, if Krispy Kreme is the doughnut being copied. But my view is that we can't put JCo in the category of mere imitator (that would be Big Apple, albeit not so good mere imitator.)
JCo is in itself, a very good purveyor of doughnuts in their own right.Extra points to them for NOT copying KK wholesale and actually coming up with their own concept doughnuts with their own unique take on the doughnut (in fact, someone told me that Indonesians are actually known for making really amazing rustic doughnuts). I plan to brave the queue again one day at Pavillion to see if they have maintained their standards...I hope they have.
But back to the original topic of this blog which was to decide which doughnut takes the cake so to speak. My personal verdict is Krispy Kreme still rules the doughnut roost, but JCo a very close second (not just as an imitator, but in its own right, a good doughnut shop) and Big Apple, well, distant, distant third place, for the reason that it is not only nowhere near being a KK substitute, but it deserves points being knocked off for...well, knocking off other people's stuff. Alas, though, right now, in the absence of KK being in KL, it is only a toss up between JCo and Big Apple realistically (although rumours of the KK Franchise coming to Malaysia no doubt will regularly be doing the milkrounds). I'd prefer to save my calories for JCo, even if Big Apple is more conveniently located, and less insanely crowded.
Postscript:
Aliens vs Predator is a nice doughnut, but my stomach squelches at the though of how much of that chocolate is really 'the good stuff'.) The smell of the trans-fats from the Big Apple doughnuts cooking oil has started to get to me and I've heard also a few remarks from people who have bought doughnuts from Big Apple of the same 'scent' of trans-fats. Granted you get it from KK doughnuts too but you have to have a really sensitive nose to suss that out. So strike one more blow against the Big Apple doughnuts...
I still don't understand the crazy queue at JCo, but I guess when you are the only one, the Keynesian rules of supply and demand apply. Just call it doughnut economics I guess.
This lengthy diatribe on doughnuts is finally ready to be published...some people argue taste is subjective (you say potato, I say po-tato and all that), but really taste is not. It is objective. At least, I'm trying to suggest it here.
This has been lying in the edit folder for at least a month and keeps getting longer each time. Although I haven't had a chance to revisit JCo doughnuts (and being back on diet, that's not happening for a while), I have revisited the Big Apple ones. And I affirm my verdict still.
Doughnuts away...
The Great Doughnut Dissertation
Okay, so Malaysians (and it seems Singaporeans) have gone crazy over doughnuts. The queue at Big Apple at The Curve is long and big enough to convince the owners that they must now be also in MidValley, and Pavillion and One Utama.
For the uninitiated, they are taking a leaf out of the Rotiboy book and positioning the store right in front of the elevator - lazy Malaysians are more likely to spot something next to an elevator than the stairs. Indeed, the outlet in MidValley is positioned on the lower ground floor, in the bypass to the new Gardens @ MidValley - the lowest possible level so that non-stair-climbing Malaysians do not have to go far for the dougnut fix.
Doughnuts it seems, are the new must-eats, judging by the number of Malaysian bloggers who have raved about the Big Apple Doughnuts and the queue at JCo in Pavillion.
Being a discriminating doughnut person, I decided to investigate (at cost to my waistline) - the Doughnut. And herein I present my Doughnut Dissertation.
First, terms of the experiment. I have had the opportunity to eat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts during my visits to HK (for those are are KKK - Krispy Kreme Krazy - it is only available in SEA in either Hong Kong or Indonesia, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Jakarta). I have also eaten JCo Doughnuts and Big Apple Doughnuts. Secondly, basis of comparison. The comparison will be glazed vs glazed, in the interests of fairness, naturally. Of course, the ultimate ultimate comparison would be a blind test, but my waistline won't have it so the experiment is somewhat limited in that the doughnuts were not all tasted at the same time. However, as I have eaten Big Apple and Krispy Kreme doughnuts quite a few times, I believe it is possible to compare the taste of the two, and against that of J Co.
Meet the Contenders.
In the Blue Corner, the local boy, Big Apple.
And in the Red Corner, the American Giant, Krispy Kreme:
In the Yellow Corner, the Indonesian Juggernaut, JCo:
I have deliberately left off Dunkin Doughnuts from the equation because honestly, I don't think Dunkin Doughnuts qualify as doughnuts. A piece of grandma's shoe sole maybe. But doughnut, I don't think so. But, in the interests of a complete discourse on the doughnut, I'll probably have to buy a Dunkin Doughnut at some point, to add it to the mix. However, as Dunkin Doughnut does not actually have a 'glazed' doughnut and only powdered sugar ones, the comparison of how DD lines up against KK and the other Contenders, will have to be saved for a discourse on my other favourite type of doughnut: the jelly.
I doughnut wish to digress...so let's move to the analysis.
a) Colour
KK doughnuts, as can be seen by the photo comparison below, are clearly, fried (yes, doughnuts have to be fried so let's not delude ourselves that they're somehow NOT fattening) more consistently, to produce a consistent golden tan to the doughnuts. By contrast, Big Apple doughnuts are frequently paler than the Krispy Kreme version and oft-lack the caramelised flavour that comes with a properly fried doughnut.
The reason for this could be either the fryer is not timed properly so the doughnuts from Big Apple are coming off a little bit earlier than they should, or the oil is not as hot as it should, thereby cooking the doughnut but not giving it the right golden tan, or it is related to the dough mixture. I'm more inclined to lean towards the first two, although the dough mixture is probably a contributing factor - flour and sugar proportion, as well as sugar quality likely play a part in determining how 'golden' the doughnuts come out.
J Co on the other hand, seems to be not quite in the same league as KK, but looking less pale definitely.
b) Texture
Texture-wise, the KK doughnut has a more cakey texture, and holds up better after one day, maintaining its cakey softness. By contrast, the Big Apple doughnut, whilst still tasting pretty okay a day later, tends to be doughy on first bite, and lacks that cakey fluffiness that Krispy Kreme has. JCo doughnuts seemed to have the right mix, slightly cakier than the Big Apple doughnuts, but also just enough fluff to them.
Big Apple doughnuts seem doughey in general, and have a stick-to-the-top-of-your-mouth dougheyness that one tends to associate with local Chinese pastries rather than a proper cakey-flour texture.
I have also noticed, whenever I step off the elevator at 1Utama, where the Big Apple store is, that the scent of trans-fats (that sort of semi-rancid oil/grease smell) is particularly strong from Big Apple, compared to J Co (you get a bit of it from a KK doughnut but you really have to hold it up to your nose). The flavour of the trans-fats can be quite obvious when the doughnut is a day old but as I have only experienced this with KK doughnuts (and post-diet, sensitivity to trans-fats smell is high) - however, the smell factor is something which again, I take into account as a measure of quality and standard. All doughnuts have to be made to a degree with trans-fats but typically the smell only permeates if the frying oil is an issue. I am of course no expert...but I trust my nose...
C) Glaze and Toppings
The glaze from Krispy Kreme is of course infinitely superior - smooth like marble, and it doesn't have a sugary texture (which is usually an indication in my humble opinion, of either a poorly mixed glaze, or just inferior quality sugar). This smoothness is evident also in the JCo doughnut, although not to the same standard. Whilst the glaze on the Big Apple doughnut is okay, it is clearly not of Krispy Kreme standards, and lacks the marble smoothness of a quality glaze.
In order of appearance: JCo, KK, Big Apple - the superior glaze is obvious IMHO. KK doughnuts photographed in the day, JCo at night with Flash, Big Apple in the day.Both Big Apple and J Co doughnuts were photographed fresh whilst KK doughnuts photographed one day later, and after a 3 hour plane journey.
Toppings are another issue (and fillings as well).
A good indication also of the quality of chocolate being used on Big Apple doughnuts is the amount of shine visible on the doughnut under the lights in the display. When chocolate has a lot of shine, it is first usually in my mind an indication that it is not of particularly good quality chocolate and secondly, that it has been kept or reheated often, thus nearly separating the fats from the cocoa butter. That's why if you buy cooking chocolate, good quality cooking chocolate is glossy without an oily appearance, whilst poor quality cooking chocolate derives an unnatural amount of gloss from the addition of other fats into the chocolate. In short, the less high quality the chocolate, the shinier it appears under the light.
Taste also will give an indication of the quality of the chocolate being used. (and anyone can use Belgian chocolate in their toppping - the question is HOW MUCH is being used, along with other things).
My photography skills (and these shots are not photoshopped) aren't the greatest but tastebuds and eyes don't lie, even if photos don't always do justice to what is being said.
Your eyes of course do not lie...and nor do tastebuds (especially when it comes to sussing out cheap peanut butter vs better quality peanut butter - don't believe me, do a blind test between Skippy and Steffi peanut butter...).
Why is doughnuts have suddenly become so popular? Deprivation is probably the answer, with faddishness or novelty coming in next. For most people, Dunkin Doughnuts was the only doughnut in Malaysia for the longest time. And frankly most people know it's not a particularly good doughnut but what choice do you have if you want a jelly doughnut? Compared to the doughnuts in conventional bakeries (which are usually pale, covered with knobbly sugar, and potentially a mouthful of clumpy dough), Dunkin's Doughnuts were vastly superior.
Compared to the doughnuts in Big Apple, the stodginess of Dunkin's loses out to the lighter and fluffier texture of Big Apple.
But compared to Krispy Kreme, Big Apple is a whole doughnut short of the Krispy Kreme standard.
Coming in the middle is the JCo doughnut. I haven't dared brave the queues that have been piling up since it opened in Pavillion but I have eaten them, early when the Pavillion store first opened. And I resoundly am of the view that they trounce Big Apple doughnuts, hands down. (assuming standards have not declined since then - queues have a habit of wrecking quality control I find).
My increased reservation of putting Big Apple doughnuts in the same league as JCo (forget KK) comes from the fact that I have concluded that Big Apple seems to be engaging in obvious and clear imitation of JCo doughnuts. From the box design, to the types of doughnuts on offer (the Green Tea and Tiramisu ones are a dead giveaway) to the fact that the doughnuts at Big Apple appear to look a lot like the ones in JCo (and really the difference between a 'Glazzy' doughnut and a 'Glacier' doughnut is?), there's more than a hint of suggestion that Big Apple is in fact, knock-off of JCo.
Its almost like the owner went to JCo, studied their selection, and then prodigiously implemented it, with slightly different names, but the same look and feel of the doughnuts,and even the same flavour concepts.
Clearly between JCo and Big Apple, JCo has a greater legitimate claim to being the Grade A fake, if Krispy Kreme is the doughnut being copied. But my view is that we can't put JCo in the category of mere imitator (that would be Big Apple, albeit not so good mere imitator.)
JCo is in itself, a very good purveyor of doughnuts in their own right.Extra points to them for NOT copying KK wholesale and actually coming up with their own concept doughnuts with their own unique take on the doughnut (in fact, someone told me that Indonesians are actually known for making really amazing rustic doughnuts). I plan to brave the queue again one day at Pavillion to see if they have maintained their standards...I hope they have.
But back to the original topic of this blog which was to decide which doughnut takes the cake so to speak. My personal verdict is Krispy Kreme still rules the doughnut roost, but JCo a very close second (not just as an imitator, but in its own right, a good doughnut shop) and Big Apple, well, distant, distant third place, for the reason that it is not only nowhere near being a KK substitute, but it deserves points being knocked off for...well, knocking off other people's stuff. Alas, though, right now, in the absence of KK being in KL, it is only a toss up between JCo and Big Apple realistically (although rumours of the KK Franchise coming to Malaysia no doubt will regularly be doing the milkrounds). I'd prefer to save my calories for JCo, even if Big Apple is more conveniently located, and less insanely crowded.
Postscript:
Aliens vs Predator is a nice doughnut, but my stomach squelches at the though of how much of that chocolate is really 'the good stuff'.) The smell of the trans-fats from the Big Apple doughnuts cooking oil has started to get to me and I've heard also a few remarks from people who have bought doughnuts from Big Apple of the same 'scent' of trans-fats. Granted you get it from KK doughnuts too but you have to have a really sensitive nose to suss that out. So strike one more blow against the Big Apple doughnuts...
I still don't understand the crazy queue at JCo, but I guess when you are the only one, the Keynesian rules of supply and demand apply. Just call it doughnut economics I guess.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Evil is...
Taking low-carb options off the menu at Coffee Bean!
What gives?Are the people in Coffee Bean determined to make their customers fat? And I even tried to get them to make the sandwich for me WITHOUT the bread, just so temptation wouldn't be in my way.
And they refused. You can pay more to add smoked salmon, you can pay more to have more chicken, but you can't pay less to not have bread, and you can't even pay the SAME PRICE, and have them not give you the bread.
ARE THE PEOPLE IN COFFEE BEAN ON A WARPATH TO MAKE US ALL CARBOHOLICS?
I now will have to pay the standard price for a sandwich at coffee bean, and then take the bread home for my dog. Which works about as well as putting me in front of chocolate cake and telling me to just take one BITE!
Waistline will not be pleased with this.
What gives?Are the people in Coffee Bean determined to make their customers fat? And I even tried to get them to make the sandwich for me WITHOUT the bread, just so temptation wouldn't be in my way.
And they refused. You can pay more to add smoked salmon, you can pay more to have more chicken, but you can't pay less to not have bread, and you can't even pay the SAME PRICE, and have them not give you the bread.
ARE THE PEOPLE IN COFFEE BEAN ON A WARPATH TO MAKE US ALL CARBOHOLICS?
I now will have to pay the standard price for a sandwich at coffee bean, and then take the bread home for my dog. Which works about as well as putting me in front of chocolate cake and telling me to just take one BITE!
Waistline will not be pleased with this.
Friday, February 01, 2008
So much food, so little time...
Been to many new places this last month since the last post and despite my best efforts to actually write up my thoughts on these new places, I really just haven't been able to find the time. Even my long-gestating Doughnut Dissertation post hasn't been published because I've just not been able to find the time to edit it.
Lest we we take the subject of writing about doughnuts likely, it is after all, the paramount issue of taste here. (and a recent re-tasting of Big Apple doughnuts confirms my conclusion - nowhere near JCo, and absolutely far below Krispy Kreme).
This week, the one place I have been to rather consistently has been a new restaurant at the Gardens @ MidValley, called The YogiTree.
A friend mentioned the place and I happened to chance upon them whilst they were promoting their food in the basement at a little stand in the Gardens. The Orange and Carrot Cake seemed quite good and being a sucker for all things cake, I ventured there to try it out for lunch.
And I've had lunch there about 5 times already this week.
Conceptually speaking, it is innovative for the Malaysian food scene, although the ideas they are promoting are strictly speaking, not all that new. The idea of eating slow cooked food (meaning food prepared ala minute, rather than with a great deal of prep and simply then reheated), and favouring organic and thereby seasonal produce, over commercially grown produce is not *new* per se. But it is quite revolutionary in Malaysia as far as a mid-range cafe goes.
YogiTree is not a pure organic cafe but it operates on the idea of striving to be as organic as possible, without having you essentially eat cardboard. I have lost count of the number of friends who look like I'm about to force wheatgrass down their throats when I suggest eating at an organic place.
Admittedly, most organic food shops don't have a reputation for making particularly tasty food (I have not eaten at Country Farm Organic Cafe so I can't compare the food but it's hardly the place where everyone scrambles to have lunch so...).
People seem to feel that healthy almost always necessitates a compromise when it comes to taste. Marmalade Cafe, which I frequent quite often, has positioned itself as a healthier alternative with 'healthy' foods but frankly there are some serious bombs on the menu, which no matter how 'healthy' they are, simply will be impossible to persuade someone to eat on the basis that it is 'nice'.
Personally, I maintain a limited selection of items I will eat at Marmalade because I believe health does not require a compromise with taste.
When I first encountered the YogiTree, I was a bit skeptical about the whole organic = health argument. This is a seriously *misguided* theory that people have, equating organic with health. This was especially the case after I had a squiff at the menu of the YogiTree - cheesecakes, fry ups and nasi lemak, even with brown rice, are not by any stretch of the word, 'healthy'.
But having eaten there 5 times this week, I've gotten a better understanding of the positioning, which is 'Real Food Cafe', and understand the concept behind it better.
The food is not healthy in the sense that it is not all whole-grains (they do serve white bread) and they do not compromise on their cakes in the cream, eggs and butter departments. You will not find a egg white omelette on their menu, or whole grain pancakes, although they do have muesli. The notion of healthy food at YogiTree is food that is free of the usual gunk you get in commercial kitchens (think MSG, artificial flavours and nuking food), and that with good quality ingredients, there's the need to do less with the food (less sauces to disguise bad flavour for example) in order to achieve more.
Like I said, it's quite an old hat idea, but new here in Malaysia.
The YogiTree does have some compromise items for the people who want to eat something that is unhealthy but which is done in a healthier incarnation, read, not the full-fat, artery-clogging, cholesterol raising form. Nasi Lemak is the classic epitome of an unhealthy dish that defies being made healthy, without some form of unacceptable compromise. But I guess it depends on the kind of person you are. If you think of eating nasi lemak as an indulgence, but would rather not go the whole hog, then this is the place for a 'health-conscious' nasi lemak.
Personally I reckon that if you are going to eat Nasi lemak, might as well just eat the artery-clogging variety. As Delia Smith said, roast chicken with butter once a week, rather than roast chicken without butter 3 times a week. Moderation is the key, but not all of us can quite figure out how to use it.
But in any case, I have found the food to be quite exceptional and of a higher quality and standard than Marmalade and Delicious (caveat: I revile the place...and so my viewpoint on the food in Delicious should be taken with a bag of salt). And it's not that its new-fangled or exotic although there are some interesting ideas on the menu (the Organic Grilled Chicken Salad with peanut sauce is an interesting fusion of Malaysian and Japanese flavours). But there are lots of easy choices - a chicken sandwich, jazzed up simply by a good mayonaise, a simple steak sandwich, quiche and a solid cheeseburger. The cakes are also exceptionally good, although the shortcrust pastry is a little on the dense and hard side.
And because my loathing of Delicious stems from an incident relating to their lemon meringue pie, I have to say, the lemon tart at YogiTree is above par. Not quite touching the sublime version at Bakerzin, but there. A buttery thick curd, with just the right mix of tart and sweet, with a slightly burnt sugar crust. A splash of cream on the side completes the dish quite well.
I don't usually wax lyrical about a place but right now, the YogiTree is getting my vote. It helps that the owners used to run The Social and the Ivy. Teething problems are still being ironed out - one of the problems they face is the challenge of getting all the food out all at once (improving the last time I went) but initial visitors might not want to chose to visit during a SHORT lunch hour, just in case.
Again, it harks back to the concept of slow food and not gobbling down your lunch/dinner/meal but alas, the reality of Malaysian life is that most of us are impatient with food and expect it to turn up at the table within 15 minutes of putting in the order. Which is a tall order for a place trying to do ala minute food, and minimise pre-prep of food, to keep it as fresh as possible.
It certainly is going to take some time for them to educate the public, a somewhat uphill battle in a land where many people think that they know what is good, simply because they know what tastes good, and where people have come to expect their food to appear at hawker-food speeds.
Read their menu here.
Meanwhile, I've worked my way through the menu and have found some favourites - despite the banning of bread on my diet, the hummus and moutabbel (aka Baba Ganoush) is excellent with both white and brown bread (ask for brown to feel less guilt). I also love the Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables Superfoods Salad (still trying to perfect it in my own kitchen - damn!). The cakes are also solid performers - simple ideas well executed. I've had the Chocolate Cheese Cake, Mixed Berry Compote Cheesecake and Carrot Cake, all which were well-made, which is really what it comes down to when it comes to a good cake.
The Segafreddo coffee is sorta growing on me.
The Grilled Organic Chicken Salad is also a winner. For sides, the coleslaw is excellent and the mash very tasty, whilst offering the sensation of healthiness (I'm sure there's butter in it but I didn't taste that much of it). I also like it that the mash is a textured mash (more crushed/smashed than mashed), which is a nice change. At least you know for sure it didn't come out of a box.
Although I haven't tried them out, there are also Daily Blackboard specials. Was nearly tempted by the baked organic potato with baked beans and coleslaw harking back to uni cafeteria days.
The YogiTree
F-237B, 1st Floor, (Isetan Side)
Gardens Mid Valley, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Lest we we take the subject of writing about doughnuts likely, it is after all, the paramount issue of taste here. (and a recent re-tasting of Big Apple doughnuts confirms my conclusion - nowhere near JCo, and absolutely far below Krispy Kreme).
This week, the one place I have been to rather consistently has been a new restaurant at the Gardens @ MidValley, called The YogiTree.
A friend mentioned the place and I happened to chance upon them whilst they were promoting their food in the basement at a little stand in the Gardens. The Orange and Carrot Cake seemed quite good and being a sucker for all things cake, I ventured there to try it out for lunch.
And I've had lunch there about 5 times already this week.
Conceptually speaking, it is innovative for the Malaysian food scene, although the ideas they are promoting are strictly speaking, not all that new. The idea of eating slow cooked food (meaning food prepared ala minute, rather than with a great deal of prep and simply then reheated), and favouring organic and thereby seasonal produce, over commercially grown produce is not *new* per se. But it is quite revolutionary in Malaysia as far as a mid-range cafe goes.
YogiTree is not a pure organic cafe but it operates on the idea of striving to be as organic as possible, without having you essentially eat cardboard. I have lost count of the number of friends who look like I'm about to force wheatgrass down their throats when I suggest eating at an organic place.
Admittedly, most organic food shops don't have a reputation for making particularly tasty food (I have not eaten at Country Farm Organic Cafe so I can't compare the food but it's hardly the place where everyone scrambles to have lunch so...).
People seem to feel that healthy almost always necessitates a compromise when it comes to taste. Marmalade Cafe, which I frequent quite often, has positioned itself as a healthier alternative with 'healthy' foods but frankly there are some serious bombs on the menu, which no matter how 'healthy' they are, simply will be impossible to persuade someone to eat on the basis that it is 'nice'.
Personally, I maintain a limited selection of items I will eat at Marmalade because I believe health does not require a compromise with taste.
When I first encountered the YogiTree, I was a bit skeptical about the whole organic = health argument. This is a seriously *misguided* theory that people have, equating organic with health. This was especially the case after I had a squiff at the menu of the YogiTree - cheesecakes, fry ups and nasi lemak, even with brown rice, are not by any stretch of the word, 'healthy'.
But having eaten there 5 times this week, I've gotten a better understanding of the positioning, which is 'Real Food Cafe', and understand the concept behind it better.
The food is not healthy in the sense that it is not all whole-grains (they do serve white bread) and they do not compromise on their cakes in the cream, eggs and butter departments. You will not find a egg white omelette on their menu, or whole grain pancakes, although they do have muesli. The notion of healthy food at YogiTree is food that is free of the usual gunk you get in commercial kitchens (think MSG, artificial flavours and nuking food), and that with good quality ingredients, there's the need to do less with the food (less sauces to disguise bad flavour for example) in order to achieve more.
Like I said, it's quite an old hat idea, but new here in Malaysia.
The YogiTree does have some compromise items for the people who want to eat something that is unhealthy but which is done in a healthier incarnation, read, not the full-fat, artery-clogging, cholesterol raising form. Nasi Lemak is the classic epitome of an unhealthy dish that defies being made healthy, without some form of unacceptable compromise. But I guess it depends on the kind of person you are. If you think of eating nasi lemak as an indulgence, but would rather not go the whole hog, then this is the place for a 'health-conscious' nasi lemak.
Personally I reckon that if you are going to eat Nasi lemak, might as well just eat the artery-clogging variety. As Delia Smith said, roast chicken with butter once a week, rather than roast chicken without butter 3 times a week. Moderation is the key, but not all of us can quite figure out how to use it.
But in any case, I have found the food to be quite exceptional and of a higher quality and standard than Marmalade and Delicious (caveat: I revile the place...and so my viewpoint on the food in Delicious should be taken with a bag of salt). And it's not that its new-fangled or exotic although there are some interesting ideas on the menu (the Organic Grilled Chicken Salad with peanut sauce is an interesting fusion of Malaysian and Japanese flavours). But there are lots of easy choices - a chicken sandwich, jazzed up simply by a good mayonaise, a simple steak sandwich, quiche and a solid cheeseburger. The cakes are also exceptionally good, although the shortcrust pastry is a little on the dense and hard side.
And because my loathing of Delicious stems from an incident relating to their lemon meringue pie, I have to say, the lemon tart at YogiTree is above par. Not quite touching the sublime version at Bakerzin, but there. A buttery thick curd, with just the right mix of tart and sweet, with a slightly burnt sugar crust. A splash of cream on the side completes the dish quite well.
I don't usually wax lyrical about a place but right now, the YogiTree is getting my vote. It helps that the owners used to run The Social and the Ivy. Teething problems are still being ironed out - one of the problems they face is the challenge of getting all the food out all at once (improving the last time I went) but initial visitors might not want to chose to visit during a SHORT lunch hour, just in case.
Again, it harks back to the concept of slow food and not gobbling down your lunch/dinner/meal but alas, the reality of Malaysian life is that most of us are impatient with food and expect it to turn up at the table within 15 minutes of putting in the order. Which is a tall order for a place trying to do ala minute food, and minimise pre-prep of food, to keep it as fresh as possible.
It certainly is going to take some time for them to educate the public, a somewhat uphill battle in a land where many people think that they know what is good, simply because they know what tastes good, and where people have come to expect their food to appear at hawker-food speeds.
Read their menu here.
Meanwhile, I've worked my way through the menu and have found some favourites - despite the banning of bread on my diet, the hummus and moutabbel (aka Baba Ganoush) is excellent with both white and brown bread (ask for brown to feel less guilt). I also love the Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables Superfoods Salad (still trying to perfect it in my own kitchen - damn!). The cakes are also solid performers - simple ideas well executed. I've had the Chocolate Cheese Cake, Mixed Berry Compote Cheesecake and Carrot Cake, all which were well-made, which is really what it comes down to when it comes to a good cake.
The Segafreddo coffee is sorta growing on me.
The Grilled Organic Chicken Salad is also a winner. For sides, the coleslaw is excellent and the mash very tasty, whilst offering the sensation of healthiness (I'm sure there's butter in it but I didn't taste that much of it). I also like it that the mash is a textured mash (more crushed/smashed than mashed), which is a nice change. At least you know for sure it didn't come out of a box.
Although I haven't tried them out, there are also Daily Blackboard specials. Was nearly tempted by the baked organic potato with baked beans and coleslaw harking back to uni cafeteria days.
The YogiTree
F-237B, 1st Floor, (Isetan Side)
Gardens Mid Valley, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Invasion of the Aussies
Aussie seems to be the theme dominating the tone of F&B outlets. I recently went to The Daily Grind in Bangsar Shopping Village and was told that the outlet was inspired by a place the owners frequented and really liked in Australia. Delicious is inspired by Aussie eateries and delis that the owner liked to frequent. It apparently is also the reason for the 'rustic' style of the food in the restaurant (I prefer to just think of the food at Delicious as 'rough' rather than 'rustic' but that's me grinding my axe).
But back to my original point about this whole fascination with going Aussie. From my experience a few years back at the KL Hilton's Senses (Aussie Fusion) to my lunch at the Daily Grind (i have a few other bones to grind there but...let's stick to the topic - more on the Daily Grind later), it's hard to have good things to say about Aussie-inspired cuisine.
Yet we have the famous 'Bills' restaurant in Sydney. His Sydney Food cookbook is incredible - amazing photography, yummy ideas especially for breakfast. It all goes great until you get to the Asian-oriental creations. That's when I have to roll my eyes. The decidedly Aussie OTT tone about 'beautiful' and 'fresh' produce feels a bit dated because that's what all chefs will tell you. Honestly, I have yet to meet a chef that advocated using 'old' produce or 'rotting' produce but there you go.
Those who want to take a peek at Sydney Food and do the Malaysian thing(read:copy the recipes) Alexis@The Gardens has a copy - a great distraction whilst you await your coffee and cake.
Then there's Tetsuya, that 'must visit' for any self-respecting gourmet. But then juxtapose that with the mixed culinary bag called Kylie Kwong, and the fondness Curtis Stone (he of Discovery Channels Take Home Chef) displays for making Asian food or Asian flavours, despite um, obviously being better at making the European stuff, and you really have to wonder: WHAT IS SO AMAZING ABOUT AUSSIE CUISINE?
Caveat: I have never been to Australia, but have eaten at some Australian delis in Hong Kong, and the ones known to be inspired by Aust in KL.
Why isn't anyone setting out to open a proper French bistro serving good quality European food with a decent plat du jour and prix fixe menu for LUNCH? Or a nice little Italian trattoria with nice anti-pasti and modest portions of rustic pasta? Heck, I would hanker for a decent spot of pub grub any time - a proper roast beef, or a nice pie, or a simple fish and chips, done well. Of course, all this is available if you are brave enough to venture to KL, but the fact is that most of the eateries coming up are 'daily' eateries (places you can eat at say, for lunch most days) rather than places you would go to for a night out with friends. And they are mostly opening up in places in PJ or bordering PJ, rather than KL.
I don't fault the quality of produce that comes from Australia (great lamb, and beef, as well as good dairy products). And yes, there are lots of talented Aussie chefs cooking in restaurants in London and we seem to see a lot of them on television. And yes, Aussie cuisine in itself has tremendous breadth and range. And I've eaten at one or two Australian-inspired delis in Hong Kong that were quite good (Percy's in Kennedy Town comes to mind).
BUT, something seems to be lost in the translation here in KL. What I've eaten doesn't feel like its Aussie by any stretch of the word when it comes to the quality of the food, or the kind of zing in flavours that one would expect. What you get is Aussie Outside - the look, the concept, and the menu - but none of the execution inside. (the breakfast menu at Delicious, and their ricotta hotcakes being a good example).
It's Lamingtons for the sake of Lamingtons, if you like.
As for the whole 'rustic' look and style being marketed as something different or 'homey', frankly rustic is hardly uniquely Aussie - it's a common thread that runs through all classical cooking. Think Ratatouille. Think La Cucina. Think good-old fashioned English food. Think Swiss food.
And if rustic is supposed to translate to better flavours (as opposed to the conventional Malaysian thinking of 'portions like mom makes it'), then we're not getting rustic either in my view.
Frankly, the Daily Grind and Delicious (and arguably Senses in KL Hilton) are in my view, not a measure of how good Aussie cuisine is, and can be, from what I have eaten, and what I see on TV on 'Surfing the Menu'. Eateries here are but pastiches or homage to a place, or a notion of food, that countless Malaysians, educated in Australia, have of what Australian food is.
I don't care in a sense what the inspiration for the food is, as long as its good and decently priced. but why it is that there always has to be a toss up between indecent quality and decent pricing and indecent pricing and decent quality?
But back to my original point about this whole fascination with going Aussie. From my experience a few years back at the KL Hilton's Senses (Aussie Fusion) to my lunch at the Daily Grind (i have a few other bones to grind there but...let's stick to the topic - more on the Daily Grind later), it's hard to have good things to say about Aussie-inspired cuisine.
Yet we have the famous 'Bills' restaurant in Sydney. His Sydney Food cookbook is incredible - amazing photography, yummy ideas especially for breakfast. It all goes great until you get to the Asian-oriental creations. That's when I have to roll my eyes. The decidedly Aussie OTT tone about 'beautiful' and 'fresh' produce feels a bit dated because that's what all chefs will tell you. Honestly, I have yet to meet a chef that advocated using 'old' produce or 'rotting' produce but there you go.
Those who want to take a peek at Sydney Food and do the Malaysian thing(read:copy the recipes) Alexis@The Gardens has a copy - a great distraction whilst you await your coffee and cake.
Then there's Tetsuya, that 'must visit' for any self-respecting gourmet. But then juxtapose that with the mixed culinary bag called Kylie Kwong, and the fondness Curtis Stone (he of Discovery Channels Take Home Chef) displays for making Asian food or Asian flavours, despite um, obviously being better at making the European stuff, and you really have to wonder: WHAT IS SO AMAZING ABOUT AUSSIE CUISINE?
Caveat: I have never been to Australia, but have eaten at some Australian delis in Hong Kong, and the ones known to be inspired by Aust in KL.
Why isn't anyone setting out to open a proper French bistro serving good quality European food with a decent plat du jour and prix fixe menu for LUNCH? Or a nice little Italian trattoria with nice anti-pasti and modest portions of rustic pasta? Heck, I would hanker for a decent spot of pub grub any time - a proper roast beef, or a nice pie, or a simple fish and chips, done well. Of course, all this is available if you are brave enough to venture to KL, but the fact is that most of the eateries coming up are 'daily' eateries (places you can eat at say, for lunch most days) rather than places you would go to for a night out with friends. And they are mostly opening up in places in PJ or bordering PJ, rather than KL.
I don't fault the quality of produce that comes from Australia (great lamb, and beef, as well as good dairy products). And yes, there are lots of talented Aussie chefs cooking in restaurants in London and we seem to see a lot of them on television. And yes, Aussie cuisine in itself has tremendous breadth and range. And I've eaten at one or two Australian-inspired delis in Hong Kong that were quite good (Percy's in Kennedy Town comes to mind).
BUT, something seems to be lost in the translation here in KL. What I've eaten doesn't feel like its Aussie by any stretch of the word when it comes to the quality of the food, or the kind of zing in flavours that one would expect. What you get is Aussie Outside - the look, the concept, and the menu - but none of the execution inside. (the breakfast menu at Delicious, and their ricotta hotcakes being a good example).
It's Lamingtons for the sake of Lamingtons, if you like.
As for the whole 'rustic' look and style being marketed as something different or 'homey', frankly rustic is hardly uniquely Aussie - it's a common thread that runs through all classical cooking. Think Ratatouille. Think La Cucina. Think good-old fashioned English food. Think Swiss food.
And if rustic is supposed to translate to better flavours (as opposed to the conventional Malaysian thinking of 'portions like mom makes it'), then we're not getting rustic either in my view.
Frankly, the Daily Grind and Delicious (and arguably Senses in KL Hilton) are in my view, not a measure of how good Aussie cuisine is, and can be, from what I have eaten, and what I see on TV on 'Surfing the Menu'. Eateries here are but pastiches or homage to a place, or a notion of food, that countless Malaysians, educated in Australia, have of what Australian food is.
I don't care in a sense what the inspiration for the food is, as long as its good and decently priced. but why it is that there always has to be a toss up between indecent quality and decent pricing and indecent pricing and decent quality?
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Kedai Roti Tun M @ Pavillion
I must confess to being quite partial to Tun's Bread, even if the prices are in my view, somewhat undemocratic.
My last venture there racked up a bill of RM21 for 1 Escargot, (Cranberry Roll) 1 Magazine (Pain au Chocolat), 1 Pepite Coconut (Coconut Cream Pastry) and 1 Moon (Brioche). Owch.
The problem we have in this country when it comes to deciding if something is expensive and worth paying for, or just plain expensive, is that often we're making the decision in a sort of gastronomic vacuum. Tun's Bread is expensive when compared to say, DeliFrance or even any of your standard mall bread shops like Breadtalk or King's.
But obviously, we are not comparing Rotiboy with Rotiboy here.
The Loaf's Magazine (effectively, their Pain Au Chocolat) is miles above in pastry quality, chocolate quality and taste, compared to what you would eat at DeliFrance (if one even contemplates eating Delifrance pastries except out of desperation). So really, I suppose, it's unfair to expect Rotiboy prices, for a non-Rotiboy standard product.
Magazine aka Pain Au Chocolat - chocolatey, buttery, flaky AND with bite! Not quite your typical Pain Au Chocolat in that sense, but certainly, a unique take on the pastry basic.
But still one can't help but flinch at the price. RM21 for 4 pieces of bread is a lot of moolah to lay out. But I realised that you really can't eat that much of the bread, perhaps because it really is so rich and dense, that you're satisfied with say, two pieces rather than the four air-breads you'd be able to throw back from a routine bakery.
Moon aka Brioche - the hint of orange peel takes it to a new level, like marmalade in your bread, without the squidgyness.
I have been asked what is the difference between Tun's Bread and what's on sale in the standard bakery. Certainly the workmanship and skill that goes into making these breads provides some measure of justification to the heftier price tag. And the high price is also probably justified by the fact that you're eating an obviously richer dough (eggier, more buttery, soft without feeling like its full of air, like many of the local breads, meaning better quality flour is used) and hopefully no improver tossed in. It is very good bread. I suppose Malaysian simply balk at the idea of paying so much for bread, in the way perhaps we'd just not be able to justify RM15 char kuay teow.
One of my favourites is the Pepite Coconut (RM3.80) and I also like the An Pan Cream (also in the region of RM3.80). The Moon Brioche (RM3.80) is also quite good. Alas, the coffee is a serious let down (clearly, we not yet ready for Kedai Kopi Tun M), which makes a case for opting to go take-away and grabbing your caffeine from the Illy next door or popping to La Bodega for your coffee and pastry. Shame because the ambiance at The Loaf is just the place for a pre shopping tete-a-tete or just a break in between marathon retail therapy.
And if you have trouble finding it (as the map at Pavillion is somewhat, useless) - just look for Coach and follow your nose...
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Happiness is...a Milkshake
Move over warm puppy...Happiness is a hand-dipped made on the spot chocolate milkshake from Triple O. Another one of those things I'm soooo going to miss...
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The Perfect Sunday Morning Breakfast
Last Sunday, I found myself making my way to Pacific Coffee in Hollywood Road, HK for a nice morning cuppa. For some strange reason, here in HK, sleeping on a fold out bed in a tiny room the size of my bathroom at home, I wake up at 830am every morning. Must be vakay.
Anyway, I will update on my food adventures soonest I find the time from all the shopping and eating distractions, and the modest quantities of work that require my attention!
And yes, this was my first doughnut in 5 days. What you don't see is the Vanilla Cake and Powdered Strawberry Filled one in the bag underneath...
The newspaper, a nice cup of coffee (this one had Cream in it, rather than milk natch!) and a doughnut - BLISS!
Anyway, I will update on my food adventures soonest I find the time from all the shopping and eating distractions, and the modest quantities of work that require my attention!
And yes, this was my first doughnut in 5 days. What you don't see is the Vanilla Cake and Powdered Strawberry Filled one in the bag underneath...
The newspaper, a nice cup of coffee (this one had Cream in it, rather than milk natch!) and a doughnut - BLISS!
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
The Great Doughnut Debate - The Beginning
After much experimenting and a trip to Pavillion, KL, I've finally managed to gather enough 'data' to conduct my great doughnut experiment. Now all that remains is to finish writing-up the dissertation on the subject ('DOH').
Naturally, all that carb has been rotten for the diet, which means I have to double up my efforts to get back onto the wagon. Which has been hard....Temptation is everywhere and most of the time, it is round, with a hole in it....
Naturally, all that carb has been rotten for the diet, which means I have to double up my efforts to get back onto the wagon. Which has been hard....Temptation is everywhere and most of the time, it is round, with a hole in it....
Monday, August 27, 2007
Day 43: Seeking the Middle Ground
42 days have gone by since I embarked on the crazy healthful ways of fitness guru David Kirsch (aka, The Guru). I've since converted a few people to the diet although I am sure, news that I am going back to eating bread and the odd carb will no doubt make them think I have gone back to joining the rest of the non-Kitsching Plebs. (you know who you are - sugar, white flour, bread and rice and corn and carrot eating people!)
It's going in mini-steps. First bread with kaya and butter (Butter, what is life without thee?). Then oatmeal and cereal. Who knows - I might even boldly venture to the territory of my favourite Kashi Blueberry Flakes cereal!
The truth is, life must go on. Bread must come back into my life and my stomach must be allowed to eat bad white flour, hideously evil sugar, and indisputably nefarious Trans Fats. (the contents of a doughnut what else). Corn, carrots, rice, ice cream, Char Kuay Teow - you can't ban it from your life forever.
And it's really boring to have a blog that says you're going to write about Food and Irreverence but most of the blog is about food that can't be eaten and irreverence that centers around trying to avoid thinking about food!
Moderation of course, is not the message of the Guru but certainly is the message of many of his successful Ultimate New York Body Plan graduates (moi included!). Doughnuts will always be evil, but once in a while, we all have to cross to the dark side.
I am sure I will still be living with the Diet Demon in the many years to come and living in paranoia of my brand new 3 sizes smaller jeans growing tight. But those darned 'you look thinner' compliments have not stopped coming and I suppose, are going to my head!
So while I perhaps will no longer be living with the Diet Demon, searching for that middle ground will definitely be a challenge. But since woman cannot live on protein shakes and steamed vegetables with turkey breasts alone, the Middle Ground I must find.
I have a sneaky feeling its name is 'Exercise'.
It's going in mini-steps. First bread with kaya and butter (Butter, what is life without thee?). Then oatmeal and cereal. Who knows - I might even boldly venture to the territory of my favourite Kashi Blueberry Flakes cereal!
The truth is, life must go on. Bread must come back into my life and my stomach must be allowed to eat bad white flour, hideously evil sugar, and indisputably nefarious Trans Fats. (the contents of a doughnut what else). Corn, carrots, rice, ice cream, Char Kuay Teow - you can't ban it from your life forever.
And it's really boring to have a blog that says you're going to write about Food and Irreverence but most of the blog is about food that can't be eaten and irreverence that centers around trying to avoid thinking about food!
Moderation of course, is not the message of the Guru but certainly is the message of many of his successful Ultimate New York Body Plan graduates (moi included!). Doughnuts will always be evil, but once in a while, we all have to cross to the dark side.
I am sure I will still be living with the Diet Demon in the many years to come and living in paranoia of my brand new 3 sizes smaller jeans growing tight. But those darned 'you look thinner' compliments have not stopped coming and I suppose, are going to my head!
So while I perhaps will no longer be living with the Diet Demon, searching for that middle ground will definitely be a challenge. But since woman cannot live on protein shakes and steamed vegetables with turkey breasts alone, the Middle Ground I must find.
I have a sneaky feeling its name is 'Exercise'.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Day 38: Feeling the pressure
According to my trusty Microsoft Excel sheet, I have done 38 days on Mr Kirsch's NaZi diet AKA Phase 1. Okay, there were 5 days that conveniently disappeared down the Diet Wormhole (they were doughnut and other bad carb days that are best...not discussed at this point).
Today, will be Day 9, of Round 3. 5 more days to go.
And a bit like my experience in Round 1 (which seems like eons ago), I'm starting to feel the irritation creep in. My mind is playing the same numbers trick on me: why not just go for 10 days and be done with it?
Making the transition to Phase 2 (when 1 carb meal a day is permitted, out of 5 meals you're supposed to eat) has been a mixed bag. When I did transition, I did it with banned food (doughnuts yeah!) and sometimes, I over-did the transition (more than 1 carb meal!). I'm already thinking of cutting back on the length of Phase 2 (mandated 2 weeks) and Phase 3 (Mandated 4 weeks) - in short, I would just rather get back on with life, new jeans not withstanding.
Rigorous planning and religious obsession seems to be the way forward. That's how I survived the first 14 days - obsessing over my microsoft excel sheets with my diet details and shopping requirements scrupulously documented. I got lazy after a while and stopped keeping stats of my budget and planning my meals as religiously. Life, I suppose, got in the way.
Depending on how gung-ho/fired up I feel, I might stick it out to 14. But somehow, I think when 10 beckons, I'll be on Phase 2 and drinking blueberry and banana smoothies, and eating sandwiches...BREAD glorious bread!
Today, will be Day 9, of Round 3. 5 more days to go.
And a bit like my experience in Round 1 (which seems like eons ago), I'm starting to feel the irritation creep in. My mind is playing the same numbers trick on me: why not just go for 10 days and be done with it?
Making the transition to Phase 2 (when 1 carb meal a day is permitted, out of 5 meals you're supposed to eat) has been a mixed bag. When I did transition, I did it with banned food (doughnuts yeah!) and sometimes, I over-did the transition (more than 1 carb meal!). I'm already thinking of cutting back on the length of Phase 2 (mandated 2 weeks) and Phase 3 (Mandated 4 weeks) - in short, I would just rather get back on with life, new jeans not withstanding.
Rigorous planning and religious obsession seems to be the way forward. That's how I survived the first 14 days - obsessing over my microsoft excel sheets with my diet details and shopping requirements scrupulously documented. I got lazy after a while and stopped keeping stats of my budget and planning my meals as religiously. Life, I suppose, got in the way.
Depending on how gung-ho/fired up I feel, I might stick it out to 14. But somehow, I think when 10 beckons, I'll be on Phase 2 and drinking blueberry and banana smoothies, and eating sandwiches...BREAD glorious bread!
Monday, August 20, 2007
DAY...OH I DON'T KNOW WHAT - Curse the Diet Demon
This whole exercise of getting to my target weight has been a semi-misogynistic exercise methinks.
On the one hand, it is nice to be complimented - relatives have noticed that I look less plump...and it is nice to be able to wear those uni jeans all over again.
But most of the time, I have rather mixed feelings. (yeah yeah, is starting to sound like the 'Good Diet Cop, Bad Diet Cop' conversation).
So on the one hand, is positive news to know cannot wear current wardrobe items as all too lose. On the other hand, bad news - must spend money to buy NEW items.
On the one hand, happy to be getting to target weight. On the other hand, concerned about how to go back to NORMAL eating life and really starting to feel annoyed with this diet.
Oh well, it's another 7 Days more to go with the Diet Demon. And I'll just have to keep looking in the mirror and psyching myself up. I thought that putting Krispy Kreme doughnuts on my computer screensaver would just be fun but nope - it just made me hungry. So I'm going to put them on my blog instead...at least I won't be looking at them every day!
On the one hand, it is nice to be complimented - relatives have noticed that I look less plump...and it is nice to be able to wear those uni jeans all over again.
But most of the time, I have rather mixed feelings. (yeah yeah, is starting to sound like the 'Good Diet Cop, Bad Diet Cop' conversation).
So on the one hand, is positive news to know cannot wear current wardrobe items as all too lose. On the other hand, bad news - must spend money to buy NEW items.
On the one hand, happy to be getting to target weight. On the other hand, concerned about how to go back to NORMAL eating life and really starting to feel annoyed with this diet.
Oh well, it's another 7 Days more to go with the Diet Demon. And I'll just have to keep looking in the mirror and psyching myself up. I thought that putting Krispy Kreme doughnuts on my computer screensaver would just be fun but nope - it just made me hungry. So I'm going to put them on my blog instead...at least I won't be looking at them every day!
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Day 25: almost there...
Tomorrow, my Krispy Kreme order, flown in from HK, will be delivered. Which has gotten me into thinking: this means, that really, I can't be 'off' the diet per-se. Got to sort of stick to it and be good.
They say the 2nd time around is a charm. Doing round two of Phase 1 has definitely not been as hard as doing it the first time (no crazy 2 hour exercise every other day for starters). I am a bit nervous about moving to the next phase, especially with my KK order arriving courtesy of Bro...but well, I guess I have to move on at some point. I certainly don't want to be drinking protein shakes and eating egg whites all my life! (I'm sure that's the point of the Guru's wellness philosophy but sometimes, a little too much wellness is...just too much).
Anyway, we'll see how it goes. Meanwhile, I think I have taken to this blogging thing quite seriously. Have got another blog on Food Sense (I think I'll reserve this one for the good things I have to say about food). Check it out.
In the meantime, I am sure the countdown to the end of the strict phase of my diet will not be as...taxing as the last time wherein I couldn't sleep and literally dreamt of food the whole night. And I'm allowing myself to drink coffee again so...
They say the 2nd time around is a charm. Doing round two of Phase 1 has definitely not been as hard as doing it the first time (no crazy 2 hour exercise every other day for starters). I am a bit nervous about moving to the next phase, especially with my KK order arriving courtesy of Bro...but well, I guess I have to move on at some point. I certainly don't want to be drinking protein shakes and eating egg whites all my life! (I'm sure that's the point of the Guru's wellness philosophy but sometimes, a little too much wellness is...just too much).
Anyway, we'll see how it goes. Meanwhile, I think I have taken to this blogging thing quite seriously. Have got another blog on Food Sense (I think I'll reserve this one for the good things I have to say about food). Check it out.
In the meantime, I am sure the countdown to the end of the strict phase of my diet will not be as...taxing as the last time wherein I couldn't sleep and literally dreamt of food the whole night. And I'm allowing myself to drink coffee again so...
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Day 24: Sloggin on...
Day 24 means...Day 24. I've been on a modified version of the original insane 14 day diet by David Kirsch, fitness guru to the Stars (the man makes Victoria Secret's models look good - they wear nothing...he must be...good). No killer 2 hours of exercise every other day and 1 hour of exercise daily for me. But I'm trying to keep it up with the gym.
Some interesting observations since completing the diet. I pooh-poohed a lot of the motivational stuff in the book (the Ultimate New York Body Plan) in the sense that I didn't buy into the 'life transformation' aspect of it. And I certainly wasn't sure if I would feel as ecstatic as he said you would after finishing it.
I must admit, I have been proven wrong on a couple of counts. A few things surprised me including the sense of achievement at having done the diet successfully (albeit, not as perfectly as I would have liked to, but without any cheats except for 1 shot glass of 100 plus a day at the gym). It does provide amazing empowerment. It does make you feel like you can do anything. And it has turned me into an advocate of his diet/food concept for many people I know who have health issues or want to lose weight. And it has made me change my viewpoint on 'crash diet' - although I don't think this was a crash diet.
It does make me a little wistful though - I do not like living as a person who has a Good Diet Cop, Bad Diet Cop perched on opposite sides of my shoulders. Lately, I have been hearing these voices in my head:
Bad Diet Cop: DOUGHNUTS!
Good Diet Cop: Calories!
Bad Diet Cop: CHEEZELS!
Good Diet Cop: 220 calories! That's 30 minutes on the elliptical just for 5 minutes of cheezy gratification.
Bad Diet Cop: Chocolate!
Good Diet Cop: It will all go to your hips! The ones that can now fit into those university jeans!
Bad Diet Cop: I can eat like...3 oreos and that's just 160 calories.
Good Diet Cop: Yes but you know you really want to eat 3 oreos every day...for the whole week...and then what happens?
This conversation will never stop. And certainly I felt rather depressed at the sight of myself trawling supermarket aisles (I am donating a lot of parking money to Bangsar Village and Bangsar Shopping Center these days in parking fees) just looking at the junkfood aisles, reading labels, counting calories, computing how many twisties I can eat without incurring sabotage and...then just feeling very sad.
This is not the transformation I am sure I want. Now, Mr Kirsch says the longer we go without 'bad foods' (and by that he means cookies, junkfood and anything that basically is not steamed without skin and contains nothing but olive oil) the less we will crave them. That has certainly NOT been the conclusion I have arrived at. If anything, I want to eat them even more. If only it weren't for Good Diet Cop...who would probably be a lousy cop because Good Diet Cop does not do coffee and doughnuts. Protein shakes for life does not also seem to be a prescription for a good way to leave the planet. That much Splenda cannot be good for a person.
One does wonder: is life worth living without these bad but so good and yummy things in life? Personally I don't think Mr Kirsch is suggesting that (I think he's being excessively strict because he knows being less than strict means people...slack) but at the same time, it's hard to imagine living my life in Gastronomic Dictatorship, defined by the waistline and the fit of one's jeans.
Arguably, life is too short to not eat well (and well doesn't mean 'well' in the context of pure protein and more vegetables blah blah). Although I suppose more days on the planet does mean more opportunities to experience more gastronomic delight. Perhaps his moderation message would do with some...moderating!
In short...paraphrasing the Duke of Wellington: Eat..and Be Damned
Some interesting observations since completing the diet. I pooh-poohed a lot of the motivational stuff in the book (the Ultimate New York Body Plan) in the sense that I didn't buy into the 'life transformation' aspect of it. And I certainly wasn't sure if I would feel as ecstatic as he said you would after finishing it.
I must admit, I have been proven wrong on a couple of counts. A few things surprised me including the sense of achievement at having done the diet successfully (albeit, not as perfectly as I would have liked to, but without any cheats except for 1 shot glass of 100 plus a day at the gym). It does provide amazing empowerment. It does make you feel like you can do anything. And it has turned me into an advocate of his diet/food concept for many people I know who have health issues or want to lose weight. And it has made me change my viewpoint on 'crash diet' - although I don't think this was a crash diet.
It does make me a little wistful though - I do not like living as a person who has a Good Diet Cop, Bad Diet Cop perched on opposite sides of my shoulders. Lately, I have been hearing these voices in my head:
Bad Diet Cop: DOUGHNUTS!
Good Diet Cop: Calories!
Bad Diet Cop: CHEEZELS!
Good Diet Cop: 220 calories! That's 30 minutes on the elliptical just for 5 minutes of cheezy gratification.
Bad Diet Cop: Chocolate!
Good Diet Cop: It will all go to your hips! The ones that can now fit into those university jeans!
Bad Diet Cop: I can eat like...3 oreos and that's just 160 calories.
Good Diet Cop: Yes but you know you really want to eat 3 oreos every day...for the whole week...and then what happens?
This conversation will never stop. And certainly I felt rather depressed at the sight of myself trawling supermarket aisles (I am donating a lot of parking money to Bangsar Village and Bangsar Shopping Center these days in parking fees) just looking at the junkfood aisles, reading labels, counting calories, computing how many twisties I can eat without incurring sabotage and...then just feeling very sad.
This is not the transformation I am sure I want. Now, Mr Kirsch says the longer we go without 'bad foods' (and by that he means cookies, junkfood and anything that basically is not steamed without skin and contains nothing but olive oil) the less we will crave them. That has certainly NOT been the conclusion I have arrived at. If anything, I want to eat them even more. If only it weren't for Good Diet Cop...who would probably be a lousy cop because Good Diet Cop does not do coffee and doughnuts. Protein shakes for life does not also seem to be a prescription for a good way to leave the planet. That much Splenda cannot be good for a person.
One does wonder: is life worth living without these bad but so good and yummy things in life? Personally I don't think Mr Kirsch is suggesting that (I think he's being excessively strict because he knows being less than strict means people...slack) but at the same time, it's hard to imagine living my life in Gastronomic Dictatorship, defined by the waistline and the fit of one's jeans.
Arguably, life is too short to not eat well (and well doesn't mean 'well' in the context of pure protein and more vegetables blah blah). Although I suppose more days on the planet does mean more opportunities to experience more gastronomic delight. Perhaps his moderation message would do with some...moderating!
In short...paraphrasing the Duke of Wellington: Eat..and Be Damned
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Day 20: A look back at Freedom Day
Tuesday the 24th of July 2007 was Freedom Day...Pig Out Day...Pork Out Day...
It was the day when Carbs were finally allowed to be a part of my life again, albeit for all of 24 hours only.
I faithfully took photographs of all the items I ate up until lunchtime, where it then started to get boring (and to my horror, I actually stopped thinking about food). And the carbs obviously made me blank out because my photos, except for one, didn't get saved onto my phone!
The minute the clock hit 12.01 on Tuesday the 24th of July, I was ready to go crazy. Had a hard time sleeping because I was busy thinking about FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!
But in order to ensure that the measurements were not botched up, I had to not eat until I'd done all my stats. (dieting makes ya obsessive that way I think).
I did find a mood improvement - of course, I was never super cranky but people who worked with me would have found the fuse somewhat short although again, it's not possible to tell if this was just job stress or actual carb-deficiency syndrome working.
I was all ready to poo-poo a lot of Mr Kirsch's findings - that I would not be interested in the calorific, carb-laden, white-flour and sugar overload loves of my life, before I went on his plan. I was definitely ready to poo-poo any suggestion that I would not find coffee had the same effect on me. I mean come on - we're talking COFFEE!
Java, latte, mocha, americano...joe...no way hose...
So I was shocked to discover, that Green Tea had won. Coffee (which was the first thing I had on Freedom Day) did not come with the accompanyment of Hallelujah in the background, like some invisible Starbucks Siren Chorus. In fact, I felt nothing. Neither great deep pleasure at my first cup of coffee in 14 days, or that perk me up that I always felt coffee gave me.
So, could have been a lousy cup of coffee right?
Probably. Thank god I didn't feel the same way about the doughnut...or the 3/4 boiled eggs (YOLK!!!)...or the kaya on toast...or the strawberry doughnut from Starbucks...or the Chocochino doughnut from Big Apple (a surprising winner. But then again, I was a formerly condemned prisoner so...)
Friends were excited about what I had eaten for breakfast with everyone taking a guess at what was the First Freedom Meal (the strawberry snow doughnut and Americano at Starbucks!)
I was however in for more surprises.
Lunch was a fun affair but I was starting to feel this strange feeling that perhaps I only really needed to have ONE freedom meal...as in...I would have been quite happy to eat my diet food at lunch.
BANISH SUCH THOUGHTS. I reminded myself that I was going to go back on the diet again the next day (Maintainence I tell you - it's what REALLY KILLS YOU) and I should eat while I still could. I suppose a sort of 'make hay while the sun shines' sort of mentality.
So, La Manila's Char Kuay Teow and Curry Mee beckoned. I had a lunch buddy so that helped even things out. I even managed to avoid eating cake. Big achievement although perhaps rather self-serving since I knew the birthday dinner I would be attending the next night would feature cake.
Chased the Curry Mee with a latte at Dome. Again, Coffee Emptiness. I was beginning to be really worried. Had I been kidnapped by the Nazi Aliens of Health Food and replaced by some clone that even I did not recognise?
I ended my evening with junk-food extravaganza worthy of 14 days of no saturated fats, no carbs, no alchohol, no sugar...no chips, no corn and no batter...with a greasy meal at Chillis.
CHICKEN CRISPERS.
Sloshed down with a Presidante Margarita to toast my great achievement of 14 days on that insane diet with the crazy amount of exercise. I was almost sad to see the day end - I was too full to eat anything more but dreading the fact that I had promised myself I could get back into the saddle again and do Phase 1 again (without the crazy exercise) but declining all the A,B,C,D,E and F that Mr Kirsch has banned as EVIL.
This post is finally being finished, some 8 days after the fact - and I've finally gotten around to tallying up my calorie count from that faithful day.
Breakfast: 1/2 plate nasi lemak, 2 eggs with yolk, 2 slices of bread with kaya toast, 1/2 strawberry jam doughnut and 1/4 cup American
Estimated calories damage: 400 + 168 + 400 + 200 +10 = 1178 calories
Lunch: 1/2 bowl curry mee, 1/2 plate of Char Kuay Teow
Estimated calorie damage: 400 + 400 = 800 calories
Afternoon tea: Latte
Estimated Calorie Damage: 220 calories (yes, Lattes are that evil!)
Dinner: Chicken Crispers, with fries, and corn on the cob side, with honey mustard dressing, and Presidante Margarita
Precise Calorie Damage: (computed using Chilli's nutrition data) - 2780 calories
TOTAL DAMAGE for 1 Day: 4758 calories
Amount of Exercise required to get rid of all that...(yeah, I'm getting hard core with this guilt trip I can see)
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) = approximately 1300 calories.
10 minutes on the Elliptical = 80 calories OR 8 calories per minute
To get rid of 3458 calories would require 7.2 hours of exercise at a heart rate of 140-150 beats per minute.
In short, a totally unwise idea to fall off the wagon this dramatically! As a result...this 24 hour eating spree led to a instant weight gain of 1.5 kgs! How, I have no idea. But getting rid of it took me another 6 days on the diet (without the strict exercise).
Moral of the Story: Celebrate with just ONE cheat meal.
It was the day when Carbs were finally allowed to be a part of my life again, albeit for all of 24 hours only.
I faithfully took photographs of all the items I ate up until lunchtime, where it then started to get boring (and to my horror, I actually stopped thinking about food). And the carbs obviously made me blank out because my photos, except for one, didn't get saved onto my phone!
The minute the clock hit 12.01 on Tuesday the 24th of July, I was ready to go crazy. Had a hard time sleeping because I was busy thinking about FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!
But in order to ensure that the measurements were not botched up, I had to not eat until I'd done all my stats. (dieting makes ya obsessive that way I think).
I did find a mood improvement - of course, I was never super cranky but people who worked with me would have found the fuse somewhat short although again, it's not possible to tell if this was just job stress or actual carb-deficiency syndrome working.
I was all ready to poo-poo a lot of Mr Kirsch's findings - that I would not be interested in the calorific, carb-laden, white-flour and sugar overload loves of my life, before I went on his plan. I was definitely ready to poo-poo any suggestion that I would not find coffee had the same effect on me. I mean come on - we're talking COFFEE!
Java, latte, mocha, americano...joe...no way hose...
So I was shocked to discover, that Green Tea had won. Coffee (which was the first thing I had on Freedom Day) did not come with the accompanyment of Hallelujah in the background, like some invisible Starbucks Siren Chorus. In fact, I felt nothing. Neither great deep pleasure at my first cup of coffee in 14 days, or that perk me up that I always felt coffee gave me.
So, could have been a lousy cup of coffee right?
Probably. Thank god I didn't feel the same way about the doughnut...or the 3/4 boiled eggs (YOLK!!!)...or the kaya on toast...or the strawberry doughnut from Starbucks...or the Chocochino doughnut from Big Apple (a surprising winner. But then again, I was a formerly condemned prisoner so...)
Friends were excited about what I had eaten for breakfast with everyone taking a guess at what was the First Freedom Meal (the strawberry snow doughnut and Americano at Starbucks!)
I was however in for more surprises.
Lunch was a fun affair but I was starting to feel this strange feeling that perhaps I only really needed to have ONE freedom meal...as in...I would have been quite happy to eat my diet food at lunch.
BANISH SUCH THOUGHTS. I reminded myself that I was going to go back on the diet again the next day (Maintainence I tell you - it's what REALLY KILLS YOU) and I should eat while I still could. I suppose a sort of 'make hay while the sun shines' sort of mentality.
So, La Manila's Char Kuay Teow and Curry Mee beckoned. I had a lunch buddy so that helped even things out. I even managed to avoid eating cake. Big achievement although perhaps rather self-serving since I knew the birthday dinner I would be attending the next night would feature cake.
Chased the Curry Mee with a latte at Dome. Again, Coffee Emptiness. I was beginning to be really worried. Had I been kidnapped by the Nazi Aliens of Health Food and replaced by some clone that even I did not recognise?
I ended my evening with junk-food extravaganza worthy of 14 days of no saturated fats, no carbs, no alchohol, no sugar...no chips, no corn and no batter...with a greasy meal at Chillis.
CHICKEN CRISPERS.
Sloshed down with a Presidante Margarita to toast my great achievement of 14 days on that insane diet with the crazy amount of exercise. I was almost sad to see the day end - I was too full to eat anything more but dreading the fact that I had promised myself I could get back into the saddle again and do Phase 1 again (without the crazy exercise) but declining all the A,B,C,D,E and F that Mr Kirsch has banned as EVIL.
This post is finally being finished, some 8 days after the fact - and I've finally gotten around to tallying up my calorie count from that faithful day.
Breakfast: 1/2 plate nasi lemak, 2 eggs with yolk, 2 slices of bread with kaya toast, 1/2 strawberry jam doughnut and 1/4 cup American
Estimated calories damage: 400 + 168 + 400 + 200 +10 = 1178 calories
Lunch: 1/2 bowl curry mee, 1/2 plate of Char Kuay Teow
Estimated calorie damage: 400 + 400 = 800 calories
Afternoon tea: Latte
Estimated Calorie Damage: 220 calories (yes, Lattes are that evil!)
Dinner: Chicken Crispers, with fries, and corn on the cob side, with honey mustard dressing, and Presidante Margarita
Precise Calorie Damage: (computed using Chilli's nutrition data) - 2780 calories
TOTAL DAMAGE for 1 Day: 4758 calories
Amount of Exercise required to get rid of all that...(yeah, I'm getting hard core with this guilt trip I can see)
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) = approximately 1300 calories.
10 minutes on the Elliptical = 80 calories OR 8 calories per minute
To get rid of 3458 calories would require 7.2 hours of exercise at a heart rate of 140-150 beats per minute.
In short, a totally unwise idea to fall off the wagon this dramatically! As a result...this 24 hour eating spree led to a instant weight gain of 1.5 kgs! How, I have no idea. But getting rid of it took me another 6 days on the diet (without the strict exercise).
Moral of the Story: Celebrate with just ONE cheat meal.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Day 13: 24 hours to go!
I have been dreaming of...
BAGEL....
....CURRY MEE...
Chicken Crispers at Chillis...
24 hours to go - one 2 hour workout, 5 more boring meals...and then FREEDOM.
The bad news is, Freedom is only going to last all of 24 hours and I'm feeling torn between stuffing my gills stupid and wondering if my stomach is actually able to take all that food...(especially since I've got so much I want to eat).
But I figure, freedom day is essential to maintain my sanity. You know what they say: everything comes with a string these days. And so it seems Mr Kirsch's diet comes with SUCCESS tied in tandem with MAINTAINANCE.
Although strictly speaking I can do the Maintainance phase, which is only marginally less NaZi than the actual Diet Phase or Phase 1 as they call it, due to my pig out session scheduled on Tuesday and mom's b'day dinner, I shall duly return to Phase 1 (NaZi phase) for a few days. The necessity of it is firstly, Pig Out Day is accompanied by one pig out dinner on Wednesday. Secondly, I hate to admit it but I have become paranoid about the idea of putting it back on. So I figure, after one freedom day, I would have sufficient motivation to keep going for another 2 more weeks for the first Maintainance Phase and then on to the next 4 weeks which are a lot less rigid. And the goal is to create some 'buffer' around the weight loss...in short, lose more, just in case, some of it returns with a vengeance.
(Mr Kirsch reminds us that some deeply unlucky people cannot cheat without seeing the results land on their hips - since I believe myself to be one of those people who gains weight just standing next to a can of whipped cream, I shall not tempt fate.)
Today has felt a bit like the kid waiting for Christmas. I have lots of food waiting for my return to normal life (all 24 hours of it) and I fear that I might send myself into a sugar frenzy. Logically of course there is no rationale reason to think I will never be eating any 'naughty' food again (such as bread and butter pudding, and kueh kodok and Jaffa cakes - all waiting in the fridge for TUESDAY) but someone it feels like that. It feels like...I'm coming out of gastronomic solitary confinement...and I'm going to go stupid for that one day!
I have such a long list of things I want to eat:
Curry puff
Doughnut (from Big Apple in the Curve)
Bread!!! (dammit, no matter what Mr Kirsch says, I can't give up bread...or carbs...they may be bad for us...but life is too short!)
Cake! - I am one of those people cursed with a sweet tooth and a love for all things cream, cheese and butter...preferably all in one place. But then I'll probably not eat cake this time around because there will be cake at my Wednesday Dinner.
Pancakes (white flour!!! - Alexis ones are dreamy)
Nasi Lemak (that I have given up for aeons but probably have put on the list because...well...I'm thinking of food...)
Some horrible greasy fry up...
A strawberry jam doughnut
Coffee! Maybe Mocha Latte...or hell, I would be happy to just drink Americano...any caffeine!
Apple Pie
French fries...the fatter the better!
Quarter Pounder from McDonalds...
A burger from La Bodega with fried egg...onions and CHEESE!
Junk food! (cheezels!!!!)
Nasi Kandar! (okay, not a super priority but...nice too)
Indian rice at Nirwana...(probably a bad idea since I'm really just keen on the salty papadams)
Most of the time, I don't think of my life as deprived of these things. I also do not think I will NEVER be eating this food again. But I find myself now living in this horrible duality of being frightened to eat and yet, wanting to eat. In short, the Good Diet Cop and the Bad Diet Cop are perched on opposite shoulders.
In a way, losing weight is horrible because it puts you in fear state. I don't care about all those people in Mr Kirsch's glowing testimonials who declared they no longer were interested in candy, M&Ms and coffee...
LIFE IS TOO SHORT.
And plus, it really is TOO SHORT to do this crazy diet again. It is too hard, and too not fun (especially the killer exercise sessions).
I am still wondering if I am going to bust my diet at 12.01am Tuesday or wait till brekkie time. I'm leaning on being totally good till Tuesday morning. After all, I have 24 hours...
BAGEL....
....CURRY MEE...
Chicken Crispers at Chillis...
24 hours to go - one 2 hour workout, 5 more boring meals...and then FREEDOM.
The bad news is, Freedom is only going to last all of 24 hours and I'm feeling torn between stuffing my gills stupid and wondering if my stomach is actually able to take all that food...(especially since I've got so much I want to eat).
But I figure, freedom day is essential to maintain my sanity. You know what they say: everything comes with a string these days. And so it seems Mr Kirsch's diet comes with SUCCESS tied in tandem with MAINTAINANCE.
Although strictly speaking I can do the Maintainance phase, which is only marginally less NaZi than the actual Diet Phase or Phase 1 as they call it, due to my pig out session scheduled on Tuesday and mom's b'day dinner, I shall duly return to Phase 1 (NaZi phase) for a few days. The necessity of it is firstly, Pig Out Day is accompanied by one pig out dinner on Wednesday. Secondly, I hate to admit it but I have become paranoid about the idea of putting it back on. So I figure, after one freedom day, I would have sufficient motivation to keep going for another 2 more weeks for the first Maintainance Phase and then on to the next 4 weeks which are a lot less rigid. And the goal is to create some 'buffer' around the weight loss...in short, lose more, just in case, some of it returns with a vengeance.
(Mr Kirsch reminds us that some deeply unlucky people cannot cheat without seeing the results land on their hips - since I believe myself to be one of those people who gains weight just standing next to a can of whipped cream, I shall not tempt fate.)
Today has felt a bit like the kid waiting for Christmas. I have lots of food waiting for my return to normal life (all 24 hours of it) and I fear that I might send myself into a sugar frenzy. Logically of course there is no rationale reason to think I will never be eating any 'naughty' food again (such as bread and butter pudding, and kueh kodok and Jaffa cakes - all waiting in the fridge for TUESDAY) but someone it feels like that. It feels like...I'm coming out of gastronomic solitary confinement...and I'm going to go stupid for that one day!
I have such a long list of things I want to eat:
Curry puff
Doughnut (from Big Apple in the Curve)
Bread!!! (dammit, no matter what Mr Kirsch says, I can't give up bread...or carbs...they may be bad for us...but life is too short!)
Cake! - I am one of those people cursed with a sweet tooth and a love for all things cream, cheese and butter...preferably all in one place. But then I'll probably not eat cake this time around because there will be cake at my Wednesday Dinner.
Pancakes (white flour!!! - Alexis ones are dreamy)
Nasi Lemak (that I have given up for aeons but probably have put on the list because...well...I'm thinking of food...)
Some horrible greasy fry up...
A strawberry jam doughnut
Coffee! Maybe Mocha Latte...or hell, I would be happy to just drink Americano...any caffeine!
Apple Pie
French fries...the fatter the better!
Quarter Pounder from McDonalds...
A burger from La Bodega with fried egg...onions and CHEESE!
Junk food! (cheezels!!!!)
Nasi Kandar! (okay, not a super priority but...nice too)
Indian rice at Nirwana...(probably a bad idea since I'm really just keen on the salty papadams)
Most of the time, I don't think of my life as deprived of these things. I also do not think I will NEVER be eating this food again. But I find myself now living in this horrible duality of being frightened to eat and yet, wanting to eat. In short, the Good Diet Cop and the Bad Diet Cop are perched on opposite shoulders.
In a way, losing weight is horrible because it puts you in fear state. I don't care about all those people in Mr Kirsch's glowing testimonials who declared they no longer were interested in candy, M&Ms and coffee...
LIFE IS TOO SHORT.
And plus, it really is TOO SHORT to do this crazy diet again. It is too hard, and too not fun (especially the killer exercise sessions).
I am still wondering if I am going to bust my diet at 12.01am Tuesday or wait till brekkie time. I'm leaning on being totally good till Tuesday morning. After all, I have 24 hours...
Friday, July 20, 2007
Day 10: Dem Double Digits
THE LIGHT...IS COMING...
Okay, so my mother made bread and butter pudding today. Not tempted. (she's got some in the freezer for me come TUESDAY!)
So there's tons of leftover fish curry and curried brinjals from last night's little function at the house. Not quite tempted.
I see the light. And I am not budging till I get there.
At least, that's what I keep telling myself.
The exercise hill is another thing altogether. Today was supposed to be a 2 hour day but I simply could not face it. Tu Lan Syndrome was coming back to haunt me. So I decided to give myself the day off. I could hear Mr Kirsch tsk-tsking but the old body simply was not willing to trudge to the gym.
I ended up logging in my time in the evening with zero guilt.
I'm logging in the appointments for Tuesday - it's going to be a veritable day of no work, and mostly eating and no gyming...
I am feeling some trepidations at getting to the end. After buying Mr Kirsch's next book, the Ultimate New York Diet, I am convinced that putting the weight back on is going to be so easy unless I keep up the diet (which I intend to - the modified Phase 2 of it) and the exercise keeps up. And honestly, after 14 days of gastronomic solitary confinement...I just hope I don't eat it all back on Tuesday!...
Day 11...here we come...
Okay, so my mother made bread and butter pudding today. Not tempted. (she's got some in the freezer for me come TUESDAY!)
So there's tons of leftover fish curry and curried brinjals from last night's little function at the house. Not quite tempted.
I see the light. And I am not budging till I get there.
At least, that's what I keep telling myself.
The exercise hill is another thing altogether. Today was supposed to be a 2 hour day but I simply could not face it. Tu Lan Syndrome was coming back to haunt me. So I decided to give myself the day off. I could hear Mr Kirsch tsk-tsking but the old body simply was not willing to trudge to the gym.
I ended up logging in my time in the evening with zero guilt.
I'm logging in the appointments for Tuesday - it's going to be a veritable day of no work, and mostly eating and no gyming...
I am feeling some trepidations at getting to the end. After buying Mr Kirsch's next book, the Ultimate New York Diet, I am convinced that putting the weight back on is going to be so easy unless I keep up the diet (which I intend to - the modified Phase 2 of it) and the exercise keeps up. And honestly, after 14 days of gastronomic solitary confinement...I just hope I don't eat it all back on Tuesday!...
Day 11...here we come...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Day 9: Not feeling so tough...
I see it....
THE LIGHT....THE LIGHT...
Okay, so Day 9 went by pretty uneventfully except for the niggling feeling that perhaps the exercise was becoming too much in the morning.
My usual 8am tennis session was exhausting and felt like I was trying out for the Marines. It was a really good workout but I was puzzled by why I was feeling quite so winded easily (the rallies were getting longer but...) and my legs felt like lead.
This was making me feel increasingly like perhaps taking a break from the exercise regime (Day 10 would have been another killer 2 hour session) might be the key.
To make things worse, I decided to torment myself by looking at the website of Cold Stone Creameries. I have heard of this company before but I have never tasted their stuff because it's a uniquely American franchise. I looked it up because obviously, a) I am a sadist b) food-sessing (as my friend calls it when I talk about food) has been helpful in getting through these last 2-3 'hill days' c) Mr Kirsch mentioned it in the same breath as one of the loves of my life: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - it must be tasty in some way!
Boy, does their ice cream look so goood....
Thursday is starting to feel more and more like a sleep-in day.
THE LIGHT....THE LIGHT...
Okay, so Day 9 went by pretty uneventfully except for the niggling feeling that perhaps the exercise was becoming too much in the morning.
My usual 8am tennis session was exhausting and felt like I was trying out for the Marines. It was a really good workout but I was puzzled by why I was feeling quite so winded easily (the rallies were getting longer but...) and my legs felt like lead.
This was making me feel increasingly like perhaps taking a break from the exercise regime (Day 10 would have been another killer 2 hour session) might be the key.
To make things worse, I decided to torment myself by looking at the website of Cold Stone Creameries. I have heard of this company before but I have never tasted their stuff because it's a uniquely American franchise. I looked it up because obviously, a) I am a sadist b) food-sessing (as my friend calls it when I talk about food) has been helpful in getting through these last 2-3 'hill days' c) Mr Kirsch mentioned it in the same breath as one of the loves of my life: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - it must be tasty in some way!
Boy, does their ice cream look so goood....
Thursday is starting to feel more and more like a sleep-in day.
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