I was a happy girl this weekend. Despite last week having more than its fair share of stress, and this week shaping up to be just as hectic (with a big important meeting coming up!), and C being away (to watch FC Barca play in Hong Kong), the weekend was a wonderful interlude from everything.
Friday night was spent with my favorite girl, my icon, my mom. Yes, I am one of those girls who has lived her life in wonder, fear, and abject adoration of mother. This is a state that can never be outgrown…nor would I want to. We had a fabulous dinner at our favorite French restaurant, splitting a bottle of white wine and lots of gossip between us. Then we went back to my old home where we had a mini-slumber party with Moe, her poodle :)
I spent Saturday and Sunday with a very good friend (known as Christine, but Nena to me). We spent most of the day at the Pink Kitchen – a terrific food festival organized by I Can Serve (a breast cancer advocacy group) to raise breast cancer awareness. Many popular local chefs gathered under one roof, whipping up old and new favorites, all for a good cause! It was fun and we were stuffed silly, staying on for hours chatting and sampling all the delicious treats on offer. We liked it so much we returned the next day for more!
Nena also introduced me to Genmaicha – green tea combined with roasted brown rice. I already love the taste of green tea…and the nutty flavor of the roasted rice adds a deep and earthy dimension to it, even if it was originally used only as a filler (way back when) to reduce the price of the tea. After she saw how much I liked it she kindly offered to get a box for me when she passed by the Japanese grocery.
And speaking of green tea, C arrived back home on Sunday bearing the matcha (green tea powder) I have been wanting! Yay! Now I can finally make all those lovely looking matcha sweets and desserts I have been seeing everywhere! Hmmm…I wonder where I should start…Any suggestions? :)
C also brought back a canister of Café Siam Thai herb tea. It’s a favorite among all my aunts and uncles who have lived in Hong Kong. It’s the café’s own blend of such goodies as lemongrass, bael fruit, lemon leaf, galangal, orange peel, and cha-em. The scent is out of this world. And the infusion it makes is absolutely magical.
Thank you C and Nens! Now I have a good stock of tea to fortify me this week :)