The Durian Bakery [Sponsored]

Noticing that Singapore lacked a bakery that specialises in baking delicious, rich durian goods, The Durian Bakery was born in 2020, guided by a passion for durian and a passion for greatness. And their response so far? 

Phenomenal.

Rated as one of the 17 best durian cakes in Singapore by bestinsingapore.com, The Durian Bakery is definitely one of the bakeries you ought to check out if you're an avid fan of durian baked goods.

From Durian Black Forest Cakes, to Durian-Oreo Ice Cream Cakes, all of The Durian Bakery innovations are coupled with their very own signature puree, SilkyGold™, which will introduce you to a world of new and rich durian flavours. 

And it's a good thing that they sent over these bundles of goodies during my birthday, so the calories shouldn't count, right? 

Black Forest Dark Cherry with MSW Core 6" - $78

Black Forest Cake made from the freshest finest black cherries and dark chocolate, infused with Mao Shan Wang puree. Made with our signature MSW SilkyGold™ Durian Puree – the creamiest, most delicious durian filling you’ve ever tasted, made of 100% Grade A MSW, blended through a special process to make it extra creamy, and just as tasty as the Durian itself!

Made with moist cherry chocolate chiffon sponge cake, layered with black cherry jam and 100% pure MSW puree, then frosted with dark chocolate charcoal butter cream and topped with Holland black cherries that are dusted with edible 24k gold dust. 

Talk about a luxurious birthday cake! 

While the chocolate base flavour of the cake complements the durian flavour pretty well, the tangy black cherry jam helps to further boost the durian taste of the MSW puree. A definite must try if you're not just a fan of durian and chocolate, but also appreciate tangy fruits. 

Other than the whole cake, there was also a Signature Pastries Taster Bundle ($51.90) that comes with the following yummies.

Dark Choco Musang King Mousse - $16

Savory dark chocolate mousse with fresh Musang king durian pureed and whipped into a thick creamy texture. With every mouth, you could taste the natural bitter-sweetness of our signature SilkyGold™ Durian Puree – the creamiest, most delicious durian filling you’ve ever tasted – topped with the sinfully rich dark chocolate.

With a hazelnut palette feuilletine base, filled with creamy MSW mousse and a 100% molten MSW core (picture taken while it was pretty chilled, hence not very molten) and covered with 100% dark chocolate and dusted with 24k gold dust, this is definitely the durian dessert you'd serve to impress. 

While it has been established that durian and chocolate makes a good taste-team, the addition of the feuilletine base added a nice crunch to the overall soft and creamy texture of the mousse cake, hence boosting up the overall mouthfeel of the dessert.

Snowy D24 Durian Cream Puff (12 pcs) - $25

Light airy choux puff pastry filled with a luscious and decadent durian filling thats made using our D24!

Extremely light, soft and airy choux puff pastry that is filled to the brim with creamy D24 durian cream; what's not to love about this? 

Snowy D24 Durian Mochi (6 pcs) - $15

“Poink-poink!” Our signature mochi with a soft core filled with purely just D24 Durians!

And last, but not least, everybody say MOCHI-MOCHI~~

These cute little chewy bite-sized balls of mochi are filled generously with a soft centre of D24 durian, a definitely must try for all you mochi lovers! 

For more durian baked goods, check out The Durian Bakery HERE

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Media Tasting: A La Carte Buffet Dinner at Ellenborough Market Cafe (Swissotel Merchant Court)

Alright, this is quite a belated update as I've visited the restaurant before we backslid into HA. Well, if you've been following me on IG you should know, and hopefully has treated yourself to a takeout feast with the 15% discount promotion code too? 

Anyway, here's a much overdue review of my ala carte buffet dinner at Ellenborough Market Cafe, located at Swissotel Merchant Court. 

A small dampening aspect of the situation now, due to covid measures, is that the buffet line is no longer open. So the excitement of browsing through the buffet line to find out 'what's up for grabs' and also to decide for ourselves on how much or how little of each food to take, is wholly removed from the dining experience. Instead, you'll be given a few sheets of the ala carte order chit and be overwhelmed by row and rows of dish names. 

But that teeny weeny disappointment was quickly dissolved by the wow factor of the seafood bucket that was served to our table. It was literally a bucket, filled with Boston lobster, rock lobster, clam, whelk, prawns, black mussels, king grab, sausages, root vegetables and mushrooms. 

Definitely a treat for seafood lovers, YUMS! 

The dishes available for the ala carte dinner buffet are of a Peranakan fusion theme, so you can expect lovely dishes like laksa, nonya, rojak, kueh pie tee, babi pongteh, nasi lemak rice (dyed a beautiful blue with the butterfly pea flower) and ngoh hiang et cetera. 

And at the same time, you can also find more western dishes like sirloin steak, pasta, roasted potatoes and mushroom soup, and chinese dishes like kung bao lotus root and wok-fried asian greens on the menu to help satiate your hunger. 

While the HB was totally in love with the Rock Lobster in Singapore Chili Crab Sauce (because lobster, DUH!), the dish that left the most lasting impression on me for the night was the pasta with pork ragout and sous vide egg. The super IG-worthy #eggporn moment of breaking the yolk of the sous vide egg aside, the pork ragout was really flavourful, and together with the sous vide egg, gave the paste a lovely creamy, savoury taste. 

Being a ant-person (someone with an extreme sweet-tooth), the dessert menu of 14 dishes wasn't all that impressive. A huge part of it was also because I'm not much of a fan of local/nonya desserts (nonya kueh, chendol, bubur cha cha, durian), and so my choices of dessert was immediately reduced by half. 

Anyway, the HB quite enjoyed the durian fritter, and also felt that it was better than the durian penyet. Well, I guess you just can't go wrong with dipping food in batter and deep-frying them, yes? 

And out of all the cakes and patisserie that I've tried (black forest trifle, new york cheesecake, raspberry lychee mousse, honey pecan walnut tart), I have the say that the raspberry lychee mousse stood out the most. Love the tanginess of the raspberry, coupled with the sweetness of the lychee that is enveloped in the fluffy near-nothingness of the airy mousse. The NY cheesecake was pretty good as well, rich and creamy, but both the HB and I did not understand why they had to add the icing pearl sprinkles on top. It was so hard crunchy that it nearly chipped my filling. =,="

Do check out the HB's full video review of our dinner feast for the night.

For more information on Ellenborough Market Cafe current opening hours and their dining offers, visit their website HERE

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Basically Jo: Centella Cica Skincare for Acne & Sensitive Skin [Sponsored]

BasicallyJo was founded by Jolene, who suffers from acne and contact dermatitis (a form of eczema). Her persistent research and experiment with products led to many of her friends in the same situation coming to her for advice on skincare products and she was then inspired to launch BasicallyJo to share her knowledge on natural beauty remedies and products, and help those in the same shoes to regain their skin confidence. 

Promising to be a vegan, clean, cruelty-free and sustainable skincare line, BasicallyJo now carries two brands of Korean skincare - Pureforet Centella Cica and T'else Kombucha Teatox. Both brands contains natural ingredients and are free from harmful chemicals, which allows the skin to 'breathe freely' and hence reduce the possibility of potential acne breakouts and other skin allergy outbreaks. 

Pureforet Centella Cica Multi Cream - $52.90

Do you know that exposure to blue light from screens causes our skin to age rapidly, leading to development of wrinkles and fine lines? In order to repair our skin barrier and combat the premature skin aging, we require ultra-intense hydration and collagen. However, rich moisturisers are typically not very well tolerated by those with sensitive (easily clogged up) skin (like yours truly), and many of us tend to lose out on the benefit of having a well hydrated skin. 

Pureforet Centella Cica Multi Cream is specially formulated after 12 years of research with the Korean Skin Centre for sensitive skin. With a triple combination of shea butter, aroma oil blends and centella asiatica, this multi cream hydrates the deeper layers of the skin, while antioxidants from centella cica stimulates collagen production within the skin, hence minimising the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. This simply means that this cream is not only good for acne-prone or eczema skins, but also comes with anti-aging benefits! Talk about win-win! 

Coming in a handy-dandy 50ml tub, a little goes a long way when using this multi cream. With a slightly gel-like creamy consistency, this multi cream spreads easily and gets absorbed into the skin quickly, leaving no feeling of oiliness behind. Using this cream as part of my night routine has allowed me to wake up to a soft and supple skin, with no oily sheen on my face. The quick absorption of this cream also makes it a good day cream, as I need not wait too long for the cream to "set" before layering on my sunscreen and/or makeup.

Being a rich moisturiser (shea butter is no joke for oily-skin ladies like me, really!), I do get a slight sticky feeling on my skin should I dab on a little too much of the cream. But after nearly two weeks of using the cream, I'm glad to say that the richness of this multi cream is definitely all good and no harm to my extremely oily and yet dehydrated skin. 

And do you know that BasicallyJo is actively looking for testers for their products? Check out their FAQ to find out how you can apply to be their product testers! 

For more information on BasicallyJo and their range of skincare products, visit their website or IG

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Jolly Up Your Day with Up and Away Balloons [sponsored]

With the current pandemic situation, I think a good advice to all will definitely be, 

to focus on the good. 

So glad to receive a bundle of joy (literally!) from Up and Away Balloons the other day, when I was feeling at my absolute worst from a truckload of stress at work. 

A full service balloon delivery service, Up & Away offers customizable arrangements for any special event or occasion. We strive to offer the best balloon products and quality of service on the market. Let up & Away be the string to your balloon so you can sit back and enjoy your celebration with a peace of mind knowing that everything is taken care of, from the designing and creation of your customised messages, to the delivery of the balloons at your doorstep.

Get carried up & away because the sky’s the limit when it comes to our customised balloons! Our team can create and deliver any type of balloon decor and will cater to your every request to the best of our ability. Add a personal touch and get a customised balloon for anyone in your life with our extensive selection of unique and magnificent balloons. 

-credits to up and away-

I'm not joking or exaggerating when I say you'll literally be swept "up & away" by the plethora of balloon types and designs available for you to choose from. Regardless of what occasion, you'll definitely find THE balloon(s) you need, be it for a gift, part of the gift, or for an elaborated decor setup. Up and Away is no doubt your best choice for customised balloon Singapore.

I obviously need a pick-me-up, so what's better than a lovely box of chocolates along with some pretty balloons?

Happy Chocolate Hamper - $55 to $65

Pretty helium balloons (with a customised message) with a box of lovely chocolates (snickers, kit kat, tim tam, godiva and cadbury!), how can this not bring a smile onto anybody's face? 

I'll highly recommend this chocolate hamper if you're thinking of sending some love to your loved ones to brighten up their day with some sweet treats (along with some words of encouragement on some pretty balloons). So do check out Up and Away Balloons HERE!

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Mia Bakes: Healthy Date Muffins

 Hey lovely readers, it has been a while since my last post! Been bogged down by work and also overseeing renovation works of my new BTO. Hopefully there will be more baking (& cooking?!) recipes up here once I've settled down into my new house!

Anyway, here's a super quick and easy recipe for a healthy, dates muffin! Well, initially I wanted to make some sticky date pudding because there's 3 boxes of deglet noor dates in the house. But after preparing the "cake" portion, I got lazy to follow up with the caramel sauce and so.... a healthy date muffin it shall be! 

So let's get over with the ingredients, so we can get started!

To get 12 muffins, you'll need:

250g pitted dates

1 tsp baking soda

250ml boiling water

40g unsalted butter

40g unsweeten applesauce

185g plain flour

30g brown sugar

30g white sugar (I used stevia)

2 eggs

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

60g pumpkin seeds + roughly chopped walnuts

(or whatever seeds/nuts you fancy)

*60g of sugar makes a rather mild-tasting (not sweet AT ALL) muffin, do add more sugar if a sweeter tasting muffin is desired

In a clean bowl, add in your pitted (and roughly chopped) dates, baking soda and boiling water. Leave to soak for 20 to 30 minutes, until it has cooled down. 

In another bowl, add your butter, sugar and applesauce. Whisk until well combined. Crack in the eggs, one at a time, whisking until each egg is well combined before adding the next. Then, fold in the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder) with a spatula until there's only a few stray pockets of flour left before folding in the dates mixture. Fold until nearly combined before folding in the pumpkin seeds until just combined; do not overmix! 

Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups and bake in the oven that's pre-heated to 180 degrees Celsius for around 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

As mentioned earlier, these muffins are not-sweet-at-all (in spite of all those dates) with a bouncy, chewy texture, and make quite a decent (healthy) breakfast muffin! 

I've actually eaten mine with some peanut butter for breakfast, YUMS!

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Mia Bakes: Cream Scones (Butterless & Eggless)

 I've previously baked a version of a cream scone, but that contains the addition of butter (and egg), which then actually made it not nearly as creamy as it should have been. 

So now, let's try out a true blue CREAM (only) scone, shall we? 

For 8 scones, you'll need:

120g all purpose flour

20g sugar 

(or equivalent amount of sugar replacement, I used a mixture of stevia and low GI brown sugar)

100 - 115g of heavy cream

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

a heaping 1/4 tsp salt (perhaps around 1/3 tsp)

your choice of filling (I used mixed fruits, and chocolate chips)

more heavy cream (about 1 tbsp) for brushing on scones

This is also pretty much a one-bowl, quick and easy recipe! So in a clean, large bowl, add in all your dry ingredients (including your fillings!) and give everything a quick whisk to combine. 

Then, pour in your heavy cream (start with 100g first) and mix (best using your clean hands instead of a spatula) until everything comes together to form a dough ball. 

If the mixture is too dry (depending on different hydration level of flour), add in more heavy cream, bit by bit, until the mixture is just hydrated enough to form a soft pliable dough ball that will still kind of stick to your hands, but firm enough to holds its shape. 

Wrap the dough in clingwrap and set it in the fridge to rest for at least 2 to 4 hours, or best overnight. I highly suggest that you roll the dough out (or simply press it out with your hands) into the disc (if you want scone wedges) /rectangular shape (if you want scone squares) of about 1.5 inch thickness at this stage before chilling, so that everything will be easier to manage before baking. 

It'll be easier to go for square scones; simply fold the clingwrap around the heap of dough in a rectangle, and roll the dough out with a rolling pin (or simply just press the dough around with your hands) such that it filled up the clingwrap. Super easy, and no mess! You need not even wash your rolling pin after using it! HAHA! 

When the dough has rested, simply cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (squares or wedges), and set them (close together but not fully touching one another, about 1" or so) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Brush the top evenly with some more heavy whipping cream, and you may sprinkle some coarse sugar on top as well, if you fancy. 

Bake the scones at an oven that's pre-heated to 210 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes (high temperature first for them to rise) before turning the temperature down to 190 degree Celsius and bake for another 10 minutes or so, or until the scones are evenly browned. 

My mixed fruit (sultanas, yellow raisins and chopped red cherries) cream scones.

And chocolate chip cream scones, YUM!

In comparison to butter scones, the cream scones are definitely lacking the buttery fragrance, which is nothing a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract can't help with. The scones also tend to have a more tender, finer  crumb texture as compared to their butter cousins. 

In any case, when in doubt (of flavour), just go big with all your fillings. You won't miss the butter then. HAHA!

Till then,

Mia Foo

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My #IDSTransformMe Journey: Pico-Laser Treatment after IDS Skincare [Sponsored]

There, there.... Finally, we've come to the end of my 4 months journey with IDS. 

To wrap up my 4 months treatment journey withhem, IDS decided to give me a laser treatment session, to lighten my acne scarring pigmentations, and also for some skin tightening effects. 

There's many kind of laser therapy available in the market right now, offering a variety of benefits such as pigment & scarring removal, skin tightening, hair removal, and vascular lasers. Some of them are ablative (vaporise the outer layer of our skin) while some are non-ablative (leave the outer layer of our skin intact), resulting in different length of downtime. All in all, always consult a board-certified healthcare practitioner or medical doctor in a proper clinic (such as IDS) on which works best for you. 

And for my case, IDS suggested that I try the Pico-Laser, a newer type of laser used in the IDS Clinics for pigmentation (and tattoo) removal. The 'pico' in Pico-Laser refers to picosecond, which is one trillionth of a second. This simply means that Pico-Lasers are approximately ten times faster than the traditional nanosecond Q-switched lasers, hence theoretically working more efficiently in targeting the specific tissues with less surrounding tissue damages. Pico-Lasers have also been found to be effective in treating skin texture problems such as acne scars and wrinkles, due to its ability to stimulate collagen at deeper layers of the skin, which is the result of stimulating the body's natural healing process. Most important of all, the main reason why IDS suggested that I try out this laser treatment is because it has NO DOWNTIME, which is perfect for me, as I have to be under the unforgiving hot sun from time to time in the course of my work. 

So, after a brief follow up with IDS on my skin improvement, I was whisked away to one of their treatment rooms at IDS aesthetics for a quick facial cleansing and application of the numbing cream. 

After which, I was left to wait at their "mini-lounge" in their disposable shower cap and facial mask, looking very unglam indeed. HAHA!

After about 20 minutes (and the numbing cream has taken effect), I was brought over to another treatment room to carry out the procedure. Due to the numbing cream, there was absolutely no pain during the procedure, just a slight discomfort (like having IPL shots??) and a faint burning smell. Dr. Ben was also quick and precise, and the whole treatment took about only about 5 to 10 minutes, and I was done!

(ignore the days 1 - 6 here)

Left 1-3: 0 day after Pico-Laser treatment

Right 1-3: 5 days after Pico-Laser treatment

As Pico-Laser is meant to be a milder form of laser treatment (no downtime), there may be visible improvement after one treatment session, but most patients will require several treatments to achieve the end results. 

But I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with the improvement in my skin (lightening of acne pigmentation and the V-lift effect) after just one treatment! 

For more information on IDS and their range of treatments and services, visit their website HERE

Till then,

Mia Foo

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Getting My Personal Fragrance with Maison 21G [Sponsored]

Hey lovelies, I know it's been a while since last post. Would love to be more engaging here, but you know, #adultinglife sucks. Well, if you'll love to keep closer "contact" with me, do follow me on my IG (lifestyle & random snippets or my baking life) 

Now, back to the important stuff. :)

I was super honoured and elated when Maison 21G offered to send me a fragrance of my own, a customised perfume for me, by me!

If you're not familiar with Maison 21G, they're a bespoke French perfumery offering custom perfume Singapore, founded by Johanna Monange, armed with a wealth of knowledge in the field from her 20 years of experience in the industry. And why Maison 21G, you may ask. Well, maison is actually a French word for home, and 21G is due to the fact that a study conducted by a physician, Duncan MacDougall, found out that our soul weighs exactly 21 grams. Inspired by this, Maison 21G promises to encapsulate the scent of our soul in a 21 grams bottle. 

Inspiring, right? 

Not only that, all of Maison 21G's eau de parfum contains 21% of perfume concentrate, which is the highest in the industry. The high level of natural oils in their perfume also offer health benefits for our body and soul. Not only that, they only use biodegradable and sustainably-sourced natural ingredients, and reusable packaging with no plastic. Good for both the humans and Mother Earth! 

And to create your own customised scent with Maison 21G can be both fun and easy! There's three ways to personalise your own perfume:

1. Based on your personality (take a short quiz on their website) 

2. Get their recommendation based on your current favourite perfume

3. Create a blend by choosing the ingredients/scents (2 choices) you like

And of course, I chose to "surprise" myself by taking their short personality quiz! 

Love the scent that the quiz created for me. While the strength of the scent is strong (I could smell it just by holding the package!), probably due to the high amount of perfume concentrate, the fragrance is "mildly" floral and really comfortable on my senses. 

I guess their quiz is pretty on point, huh! 

At Maison 21G, you can not only customise your fragrance, but also customise the bottle art of your personalised scent and give it your special name. 

Perfect gifting idea too, yes?

Unfortunately, there was a technical glitch when I sent in my order, so my bottle customisation wasn't captured and I got a bare bottle instead. T.T

But well, other than being slightly less IG-worthy, there's nothing not to love about this personalised fragrance of mine! Even my dad got hooked on the strong scent and kept asking, "Is this only meant for women?" 

HAHA, guess my Father's Day gift is now cast in concrete.

For those who are first looking for your perfect Mother's Day gift first, you can also check them out and use my promo code mollymia upon checkout to enjoy 15% discount off your purchase! 

For more information on Maison 21G and the range of fragrances and gifting choices they offer, visit their website HERE

Till then,

Mia Foo

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