Maui - Day 1

H found on the Internet a flight deal too good to pass on, and thus ensued our short trip to Maui, Hawaii. To make the journey more fun, we asked our neighboring friends to join, and indeed, they could not resist the temptation.

Boarding an early flight out of SFO on Sunday, we arrive in Maui around noon. After picking up our rental cars, our first destination is, funny enough, Costco. Because we rented a vacation house with a kitchen, we want to get some basic necessities like water and snacks for the duration of our stay. And while we were at it, we also pick up some local edible souvenirs.



Before checking in to our rental home, we had no high expectations. Sure, we had seen pictures of it on the web but it was nothing extraordinary. But as we see the real thing, we are happily surprised and satisfied; it is clean, spacious and fully equipped. At $99/night, it is a great deal!



As we are all pretty hungry by then, we head out to find lunch in the area. We opt for Vietnamese food at the Vietnamese Cuisine, and this is our first meal on the island. Nothing much to say, except that portions are small, food is oily, and prices aren't cheap... but I never had high culinary expectations coming to Maui anyways.



Walking around here and there to check out the Kihei area where we are staying, and it was time to go to a nearby beach to catch a glimpse of the sunset. Unfortunately, the weather does not cooperate with us for the length of our stay and even when the sky is not clouded, clouds keep on masking every day's sunset.



For our first night's dinner, we decide to cook our own meal of spaghetti and steak. It is then time to take an early rest because we have to get up at 3AM the next day to go see the sunrise on Mt. Haleakala.



(to be continued...)

Photos of Yosemite

Photo trip in Yosemite

When: Nov 5-8

Where: Yosemite National Park (Yosemite Valley), CA

Who: H & I, H Bear Bear & Olaf

What: I had heard many praises of the beauty of Yosemite, but never seen it for myself. When my photographer friend told me about a workshop she took there and how amazing it is, it got me really excited. It was the perfect 'excuse' to force H to go there with me and have a look.

The scenery along the 4.5 hours drive was already quite pretty!



Once we entered the park, we still had to find the location of our stay: The Yosemite Lodge.



Because it gets dark at 5, we had to make good use of the time and go around to check out the scene.



This is The Ahwahnee, a 4 star hotel inside the park.





My very first purely photographic trip and it was a great learning experience. However, putting the theories into practice is an enormous task, and photography is just such a complex art... I need to take my time!



Will share with you some of my creations later!

I'm ugly but I taste good

A couple of months ago, I was lacking inspiration so posted a status update on Facebook that went something like this: "What to bake next? Leave me a request and I shall try to make it. If you're too far away to taste it, I will at least post up the picture for you to taste with your eyes".

Eventually, ONE friend replied (I thought more people would have taken up my challenge!) and asked for Cannelés. These little sweets come from the Bordeaux region of France and I read one chef call them "crème brulée in a bite" because they are supposed to be crunchy (crusty) on the outside and custardy on the inside.

My first try at them wasn't a success... as you can see from the picture. The crust is meant to be dark brown but mine was obviously overly dark! And the little bump on the top has me scratching my head in wonder. Probably because I used a mould for mini cannelés, I overcooked the cakes and the center was not creamy and was nowhere close to a custard texture. But even with all these missteps, the little cakes tasted unexpectedly good (and no burnt taste!), and I believe it is because of the vanilla pod I used for the batter.... the rum might have helped too!

Definitely will give these another try. One day!

Halloween gathering

After last year's success, we decided to do it again this year, and organize a Halloween party at home! A party is really just a gathering with a theme, and obviously, we had to dress up for the occasion!

Even the kids took part in it, in their "mummy" and "prisoner" looks. H was disguised as one of his fav characters, Bert. And I was simply playing that day's role: Little Chef! hahaha



There weren't many guests for this year's celebration so I decided on a simple table setting for a sit-down dinner. After all the picture taking and laughing, it was time for the food!

On the menu:

Portobello Mushroom Puffs
Duck Foie Gras with Baguette

Beef Stew
Mussels à la Provençale
BBQ Ribs
Mashed potatoes & pumpkin
Spinach and tomato salad

Pumpkin Tart
Chocolate Caramel sandwich cookies



Thanks everyone for coming and participating!