Wheat Baumkuchen Pastry & Noodle Bar

I patronised this place twice, Wheat Baumkuchen Pastry & Noodle Bar, and will highly recommend it :) It's way too crowded at lunch but I'm sure they will need to expand soon, business is surely good. Besides doing noodle (in the form of salad), they also sell Baumkuchen, more information on Baumkuchen is here.

Its german name surely got my attention! So I began to do a little googling on it. So it originated from Germany, from what I read from their site. Wikipedia also has some information. Here's some excerpts I quoted from Wikipedia.

"Baumkuchen is a kind of layered cake. It is a traditional dessert in many countries throughout Europe and is also a popular snack and dessert in Japan. The characteristic rings that appear when sliced resemble tree rings, and give the cake its German name, Baumkuchen, which literally translates to "tree cake" or "log cake".

Baumkuchen is one of the most popular pastries in Japan, where it is called baumukūhen (バウムクーヘン?), or often erroneously, bāmukūhen (バームクーヘン?)[citation needed]. It is a popular return present in Japan for wedding guests because of its ring shape."

It resembles a lot like our Kueh Lapis in Singapore. Look here if you want a picture, actually that blog even gives you the recipe! Or get them from Bengawan Solo, they invented the prune version, see picture here. Kueh Lapis, like Baumkuchen has a complication background, they originated from somewhere and then got improvised and adapted in different places. Quoted this from the blog, "The cake which evolved from the Dutch Butter cake in Indonesia during the Dutch colonisation days."

You know what, I want to buy it as a birthday cake next time, perhaps for my mummy as she can't take the normal cakes which are too sweet.

I bought the Matcha (green tea flavour) one the day I went for lunch, it's mildly flavoured, not the bitter green tea I imagine. I could still taste the original Baumkuchen taste (I imagined!), and it's a lot like our Kueh Lapis!! It costs S$2.50 for one, and S$4.20 for a decorated one which resembles a mini cake! Of course, they also have the big version which will work as a birthday cake.

Anyway, I actually went to this place for the noodles. They have this interesting method of making noodle as salad, yes it's cold but its invigorated by the seasoning sauce they added to it. I tried the Lava set which comes with warm curry, also the Reindeer set with grey soba noodles. Both I totally enjoyed, very refreshing taste, very appetising, and very fulfilling. If your stomach can hold more, try the Ice Cube, which is a tender tofu sliced very neatly. The sets are currently S$7.80 with a drink, and I hope the prices will stay the same for as long as it can :)))

p.s: I'm not sure where it originated from, but with Baumkuchen, I would label it under german and japanese.

Wie schade!

I have been wanting to watch this film from 2006 - The Lives of Others or known as Das Leben der Anderen in German. Unfortunately, I am unable to find the DVD or borrow from anyone. It was on television but I always missed parts of it... Guess I have no fate with it :( One day, just one fine day, I will finish the whole movie!

The Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was on Ch5 earlier, and ended at 11pm. So I was just fiddling around with the remote at about 1130pm before I switched to Okto! Schade! I had a bad feeling that it was the movie I have been dying to watch after hearing the first few words in German. Immediately, I looked up the schedule and yes, The Lives of Others was on. Almost wanted to kill myself!!! Why did I not know this earlier, I would have skipped Harry Potter (which I have watched before). It was the last 40 minutes, and I recall the last time I caught it on telly, I only managed to watch the ending too. I remember the fatal accident and the very witty ending which he said, "No, it's for me." --> refering to the book written for him. I hope the next time, I will be able to watch the whole film!  

**heart-broken**

Brotzeit's empty promise

The Germans lost. YAY!

p.s: This is an out-dated post.

In fact, I was delighted when Serbia scored! I was rooting for them all the way since the start of the match because the German restaurant totally ruined my mood to support them.

Brotzeit is a big big big disappointment, in fact a HUGE disappointment. 2 days before the match, I specifically went down to check if I need to reserve a table in order to view the World Cup screening live at their restaurant. They sent ALL OF US on the mailing list a newsletter to say we could watch them at Raffles City and Somerset 313 branches. The staff told me the reservations are full, but there would be a huge screen placed on the ground level for viewing.

So Friday came, I happily settled my day at work and headed there... only to realize there was no screen on the ground level and the only live screening on level 2 is a private event, booked by Commerzbank. WTH, then why did you send out a stupid newsletter inviting us to come watch public screening?!?!

They are total crap. I was even willingly to pay for those overpriced salad and sausages... but now I am thinking twice. Maybe Paulaner would have been a better choice!

Also thanks to them, I did get to view the screening at my office recreational club, I could even bring guests in! We bought takeaways, and enjoyed a screen that is probably 5 times bigger than Brotzeit's plasma TV!

Miss the good German food?

When I think of the German restaurant Brotzeit - yummmmm....

Did I not see pork knuckle on the menu??? Even so, it doesn't make it any less German... Before this, the only German restaurant I dined at was at Paulaner (Millennia Walk), now I don't even think of going there after having a sumptuous and more fairly reasonably priced meal at Brotzeit. The food came in surprisingly HUGE portion, especially the salad. I have no idea that it was a main course and it came, enough for 2 persons (or even 4 if it's a starter!). What more, they serve Paulaner beer, so save that pricely meal at Millennia Walk and come over for a big portion of worthy sausages.


I had my favourite German drink, Apfelschorle, there is even alcohol-free Paulaner 'beer' (if we can still call it beer!). Ordered the Weisswurst, veal & pork sausages accompanied with roasted potatoes and sauerkraut and the Mozzarella Salat. All I can say is, my stomach is brimming with satisfaction right after and so am I!

Before Christmas

Here's my second German poem which wasn't up to my own standard, so it has been sent for editing by 2 German-speaking friends. First edit is done by an Austrian, and the second by a German friend who seems to understand it from my romantic point of view (luckily!). Thank you my helpful friends!! Danke schoen sehr!!

I'm not highlighting the changes that have been done like the first time though I'd really like to. It has changed quite a bit but it has been altered to better represent what I have wanted it to express! So anyway, a draft version (After 1st edit version) below will show the rough one which I have initially came up with.

It's named "Before Christmas" in English and it's something I definitely want to be up before X'mas:)


Vor Weihnachten

Weihnachten war zu Ende, als wir uns getroffen haben
Weihnachten ist wieder hier, aber du bist weg
ich musste an dich denken als der sommer vorrueber ging
Der Winter ließ mich fragen, ob du dich erinnerst, an die warme Umarmung die wir uns geteilt haben

Wie geht's mein Schatz
ich frage mich, wie es dir ergangen ist
ich denke an all das, was haette sein können
ich erinnere mich an jene Tage, als waere es gestern gewesen

Erinnerst du dich...?
ich glaube nicht...
aber insgesheim hofe ich dass du es tust
ich weiß, dass wir so glücklicher sind, aber es hätte besser sein können

Weihnachten kommt, Liebe ist überall
Kannst du sie fühlen...? Meine Liebe ist auch dabei
Kannst du sie sehen...? In meinen Zeilen?
ich vermisse dich, und will es dir sagen, bevor Weihnachten zu Ende ist


After 1st edit version (which remains 90% unchanged from my own German writing):

Weihnachten war zu Ende, als wir uns getroffen
Weihnachten ist wieder hier, aber du bist weg
Der Sommer ging mit dir in meinem Herz vorbei
Der Winter ließ mich mich fragen, ob du dich erinnerst, dass warme Umarmung wir uns geteilt

Wie geht's mein Schatz
ich frage mich, wie du gewesen bist
ich denke an all das, was haette sein können
ich erinnere mich an jene Tage, als waere es gestern gewesen

Erinnerst du dich
ich glaube nicht
ich hoffe heimlich so
ich weiß, dass nun wir glücklich sind, aber es hätte besser sein können

Weihnachten kommt, Liebe ist überall
Kannst du sie fühlen, weil meine auch dabei ist
Kannst du sie sehen, weil ich sie hier schreibe
Ich vermisse dich, und will es dir sagen, bevor Weihnachten zu Ende ist


Links to my previous poems:
Der Geliebte

An afternoon snack

What goes well with beer?

After reading Joy's comment, I feel very guilty. I have had more beer/alcohol in the recent time more than I probably had the previous year. LOL, that might be true. Then again, the only consolation is that I gave half of this bottle to my dad;) Erdinger, one of my favourite german beer. Okay, from now on, I've to cut down my alcohol intake. Pray for me;)

Understand women?

If only you can understand German, this would be a laugh :D

Die Sprache der Frauen -- written by a man
Ja = Nein
Nein = Ja
Vielleicht = Nein
Es tut mir leid = Das wird Dir leid tun
Wir brauchen = Ich will
Entscheide Du = Die richtige Entscheidung müßte offensichtlich sein
Mach wie Du willst = Dafür wirst Du noch zahlen
Wir müssen reden = Ich muß mich über etwas beschweren
Natürlich, mach es wenn Du willst = Ich möchte nicht, daß du es machst
Ich bin nicht sauer = Natürlich bin ich sauer, Du Arschloch!

Prost!

Have you heard of a microbrewery in Singapore besides Tiger (of course) and Brewerkz. Here's another one if you're not aware of - Paulaner. Yes, it's German. For your information, here's the Munich Paulaner (Germany), and here's the Singapore Paulaner. I'm very impressed with the germany's site, beautifully illustrated and animated ;) *thumbs up*

Last night, I was there for Stammtisch. In case you're wondering what's that, it's actually a monthly gathering for German speakers, don't get the wrong idea. You don't see a lot of germans, some... and in fact there are a lot of locals or foreigners (japanese, spanish, vietnamese) whom are fluent in the language - very impressed.

Inside Paulaner Bräuhaus (Singapore), you see painting/sketches of the Munich Paulaner... furnished with maple wood and dimly lit... It cultivates a very relaxed atmosphere for a drink or two. Not forgetting, they brew really good beer under "The german law of purity". Munich Lager and Munich Dark, I like both equally!

We were at the restaurant on level 2, food can be a bit pricey however the standard is there. I love their sauerkraut and mashed potato... simply wouldn't get sick of it! A few of us shared the sausage platter, Weisswurst and the infamous crispy pork knuckle, so it turned out fairly reasonable and portion was just right. I was with a group of locals whom have mastered german (already fluent), but we spoke in English throughout. I am very very surprised to know they are so similar people like me, whom have travelled a fair bit, love to travel, love the german language and so interested in their cultures... Thank you, I found you guys!!

I was mentally exhausted from work to be listening on the brewery tour, even though Alex (the brewmaster) was quite entertaining and his english isn't bad at all for a german. Here's some reading if you are curious about the process. And of course... pictures!

Das erste Gedicht

My first German poem, I think it'll have many grammatical mistakes... but heck it, poems are supposedly to be an expression, not perfect grammer skill. I call it... "Der Geliebte".

Der Geliebte

Ein Geliebter, du warst meiner
du bist hier, aber ich kann nicht dich sehen
in der Nähe von mich mir, aber ich darf nicht dich fühlen
es ist schwer, zusammenhalten wir können zusammen sein können wir nicht

Du bist ein Mann, ich weiss
ich bin nur eine Frau (Mädchen)
das wissen Sie weisst Du Doch!

Was denkst du, ich weiss noch nicht
was hast du auf dem Herzen?
ich kann es nicht lesen
vielleicht soll(te) ich nicht dich umtreiben

Du, meiner Liebhaber
das kann ich unmöglich tun
wenn ich muss dich zurücklassen verlassen
Komm zu mir, bitte nicht gehen geh nicht

p/s: In red or striked off is after correction from a german friend.

One more Xmas party to come...

My flu miraculously recovered last Friday when I was so ecstatic about the Xmas Party (German Dragon Singapore) that following night. Good mood does make things go easier!

A little about the party. Not too much, in case you doze off while reading... There were about 50 people, free flow of beer, nice buffet of sausages, sauerkraut, mashed potato, spicy wings, bread with cheese and meat selection, salad and soup... probably more if I missed out some. Lot of naughty snow-spraying which turned most of us into 'snowman' and 'snowwoman'. Luckily, I got myself a bottle too, so I could play revenge and be a little devil! Hehe. My nice red boots was hurting my feet, even though there wasn't any dancing but wearing it for hours... ouch... I felt my feet swollen when I got home and so Saturday was for resting.

I wanted to post up a collage of the party pictures but I have emailed majority along with the season greeting. So I'm going save some space here, since I'm not given a lot here. So enjoy the picture for those whom have gotten my message.

Something made me bright and chirpy today. A work email addressing me as Trixy XX-San (where XX is my surname, lol)... I found it quite amusing and cute. Sometimes I love the way the Japanese works - I mean language-wise. Other than that, it's slightly past mid December, I have spent far too much (about $500) for this month. I still have 3 more weeks before I get my paycheck.

2 movies - seen and loved

Film: Barfuss (In German)
My Rating: * * * * (4 out of 5) for the humour and romance

Barfuss means "barefooted" in English.

This is one of the funniest german films... despite quite a few serious ones I have seen in the past. Barfuss is about a mental patient whom followed the cleaner (Til Schweiger as "Nick") from the psychiatric hospital. Nick (yay, drools... he's so gorgeous!) is a hedonistic bachelor who has too much trouble himself (from being jobless, penniless, unruly and on a conflicting relationship with his brother and step-father). Leila, the barefooted girl, who has clung herself to him since escaping from the hospital, began a journey of adventure and love with Nick. He soon realised... Leila is someone he would want to take care of. How touching, absurd and crazy the way the story ends... But I guess I'm another foolish romantic at heart who constantly believe such fairytale exists.


Film: Quinceañera (In Spanish but based in USA)
My Rating: * * * ^{+ 1/2} (3.5 out of 5)

"The Quinceañera or Quince Años is, in some Spanish-speaking regions of the Americas, a young woman's celebration of her fifteenth birthday. This celebration marks the transition from the childhood to womanhood of a Quinceañera." -- quoted from Wikipedia.

Something about this film is very engaging... It must be that personal feel you can almost put yourself in those shoes. The kinship, love and hate, misunderstanding(s) in our everyday life can be so easily seen in the movie, it's very expressive - the characters. It also touches certain sensitive issues: immigrant culture, gay, sex, drug and teenage pregnacy. The story revolves around a 14-year-old girl who got pregnant, and how it stirred up problems in her love, family and school life; and living under the same roof with her gay cousin and great-grand uncle. A heart-warming film, I would say.

Cioccolato, don't you just love them

Life is not so perfect, so sometimes we need to do with less!

About my chocolate craving the previous day, I found a solution - Maltesers. They were my favourite but now I prefer dark chocolate and those without artifical flavouring or coloring. So far, Lindt is good but too expensive a taste for my frequent "mouth itch". For those whom are not very into chocolate, here's a picture of Maltesers. Oh I bought the milk and also the dark chocolate version (they have a white chocolate one as well).

On the inside, it's crunchy.

Anyway, I want to recommend you a (German) chocolate [pictured below] called the Reber Mozart Kugeln. I tried in Germany. And they do have my favourite MARZIPAN!!!! Oh, I found another brand exactly the same, Mirabell Mozart Kugeln from Salzburg, Austria! Which is the genuine one?? They look sooooooooooo.... identical. Whatever it is, let me show you this chocolate, and you decide whom you want to buy it from. LOL. Singapore has some speciality shops for chocolate, and they have it!

So let's take a look at what it's made of!! Each Mozart Kugeln has a heart of finest marzipan surrounded by dark and light praline cream with a coat of rich dark chocolate! Don't let me confuse you, Kugeln (which means "balls") is just one of the many choices they offer! Take your pick and drool~

His "Oma und Opa"

As Christmas is approaching... (lol, okay I know Halloween is still not over), I begin to miss his "Oma und Opa". Though I have a living grandma, but it is just so different from having both grandparents still around. (Funny, how come "parent" has a plural form with "s" but grandparent doesn't in the dictionary??) I love the handmade Vollmann's cakes - the sweet almond pastry, the cheesecake, the fruit tart, the creamy cake... I can't care less about gaining weight when I see them - I just have to eat!! The last two christmas, I remember well that I was always fatter than usual, thanks to all the goodies. I wish I can open a cake cafe with the oma's recipe!! Even though they can't utter much in english, but I always feel so welcome in their home, in their company. I look at their wrinkled face, gray hair and still could see so much love in them. I miss them :(((((( I wonder if they will still remember that little Singaporean trixy - me...


p/s: Surprisingly, I didn't get as much aching as I expected.. hoooray! And actually D is still using his old no., so I managed to send him his blessings. All is cool :))

Over 500ml and not wasted ;)

Seriously, my beer belly is growing, expanding, errr..protruding??... after this one night at the Oktoberfest. My normal limit of 1/2 a pint is long forgotten, I had a 500ml mug to myself, and yet I'm still sober (not even red). My god, it's Erdinger!! Later on, my ex-colleague bought on a new challenge, a huge 3L glass of Erdinger (err.. well its shared by numerous - several people sitting around us too... ewww... :S).

Oktoberfest in Singapore, no one is going to expect much but hey, it's way beyond expectation. I guess it's not only the food and beer, it is the CROWD. And really, tonight I have had the most fun out of so many months... Dancing on the bench, on the wet table, with strangers, forming a line running through the dining hall or group line dancing, taking pictures with those specially dressed... :)))) One problem, that is my legs are aching so much, I guess I haven't been dancing enough for quite a while, hahaa. Fortunately the recent haircut has took off some weight off me, I can jump and swing without feeling a load on my head. Plus, the german food is not bad (of course, the beer and food couldn't compare with Germany's but they were good enough!), portion is a little small, but it's 3-course and lot of drinking after that... so that explains it!

What more, despite the haze being back again on this lucky night, we have an indoor "tent" with air-con! Perfect!

Thank you SPH for giving me such spontaneous ex-colleagues... thank you guys too for such a crazy nightout (even though I don't think they have this URL nor read my blog :p)... Fabulous's the word. Even though I didn't even get a chance to practise some german or understand the live band's (such a strong accent, even when they count 1, 2, 3... Prost... I was thinking err... is that their dialect??!), but... I still loved it. Oktoberfest 2007 in Singapore or anywhere else in the world? Sure!!

Twinkle twinkle little star

I really really really really really really really x 1000000000000000... want to get my dream job ;)

Funkel, funkel, kleiner Stern,
Ach wie bist du mir so fern,
Wunderschön und unbekannt,
Wie ein strahlend Diamant,
Funkel, funkel, kleiner Stern,
Ach wie bist du mir so fern.

Funkel, funkel, kleiner Stern,
Ach was haben wir dich gern,
Strahlend schön am Himmelszelt,
Erleuchtest hell die ganze Welt,
Funkel, funkel, kleiner Stern
Ach was haben wir dich gern.

Know your German brands

Did you know that .... originated from Germany??? Oh, really???

Not long ago, I came across a book compiling all the famous German brands. To my surprise, there are quite a few that I didn't realize they are German. Okay, here is a list of the ones I can remember, have a tick on your "mental" checklist ;)

German Brands I know of:
1. Nivea
2. Mercedes-Benz
3. VW
4. Bosch
5. BrAun
6. Adidas
7. Milka
8. Haribo
9. Becks
10. DHL
11. Lufthansa

German Brands I just realized:
1. Triumph
2. Audi
3. Uhu
4. Maggi
5. Siemens
6. AGFA
7. Leica

Du meine Güte!

Ich habe zu viele Schokolade erhalten. Ich wirdewerde zu dick werden.

As I was saying in German, I have received a lot of chocolates... this is going to be a FAT christmas for me:(

Zertifikat

I received my certificate for the German Language Level A1. It says, "1.3" for the grade. I guess this is the overall grade inclusive of the oral examination then! I didn't expect I'd be so good... It was a lot of stress, a lot of fun and a nice experience to do it in Germany itself. Let's hope it comes to good use later on;)

Surprising results =)

I was grieving over my test the whole of yesterday, after counting and realizing a couple of stupid mistakes. Yet today, a miracle happened;)

WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

We had a oral test with our teachers in group (me and two other students together). Surprisingly, one student who just finished before us came forward and told me," Hey Trixy, die Prüfung, du hast eins komma sieben punkte!" I didn't understand initially how the grades work... I think it wasn't as bad as I thought. And when we entered the room for our oral test (think this will contribute to the final score), we had a short conversation to test how fluently we could speak. I made a few mistakes but I just had to, instead of staying mute. The teachers then revealed our results to us...

I scored 1.7, so did the other guy in my group. And the highest grade someone scored for this test is actually 1.7, but of course that person is not me. But I'm glad enough, in fact overwhelmed by my results. We have a total score of 70 for the paper, and I got 62.5. Ahh, so much better than I predicted. The girl who scored the highest actually got 73 out of 80 (but they are in the faster class so they had 10 questions more than us in the same test). So we can't really compare.

Fehler, fehler... fehler...

People always copy because they are in search of the right answers... however I am getting all the wrong ones :(((((

Fehler deutsch = Mistake english

Copying is also a Fehler!!! Sobs.... But it has to be my fault, can't blame the guy who has kindly offered me his answers... can I? He's so kind to share, yet he's giving me his mistakes as well. So now we can be wrong together. LOL. OK, in case you are lost somewhere. I am talking about the German test I had this morning. I just realized a lot of stupid mistakes... A few times I wrote EXACTLY the right answers and I choose to edit them. So now, more fehler!!! Stupid me :(((

For e.g. there's the feminine, masculine and neutral for the nouns... this particular word I had the correct gender but I was hesitating between the two (female or neutral). I decided to ask my neighbour ;) He shrugged but finally reluctantly chose the former. So I followed along... haizzzz. I need to bang my head on the wall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!