Friday, November 30, 2007

TOW 10 most expensive desserts in the world

This is interesting.. A friend sent me this email and it's quite fun.. I don;t know how true these are.. but it surely fun to share with all on the 10 most expensive desserts in the world.
Number 10. What: Warm Golden Plum Soufflé
Where: The Waterside Inn; Bray, England
Price: US$48
** Small, yellow mirabelles, grown mainly in Alsace and considered a delicacy, are used in this 35-year-old signature recipe by the Michelin three-star chef and owner Michel Roux and his son Alain. “It’s served á la minute so the baking is crucial,” said the younger Roux. “If it’s even one minute off, the taste and texture are altered.”

Number 9.What: Valrhona Chocolate Sphere
Where: Al Mahara, Burj Al Arab Hotel;, Dubai
Price: US$48
** Warm chocolate sauce is poured over a very thin chocolate shell, causing the sphere to implode, which reveals luscious raspberries and layers of chocolate inside.

Number 8. What: King-size Imperial Torte
Where: Hotel Imperial; Vienna
Price: US$57
** Legend has it that this chocolate-glazed cake was first created in honor of Emperor Franz Josef I to coincide with the hotel’s opening in 1873. Comprised of almond, marzipan and cocoa crème under a milk-chocolate glaze, this handmade cake (which comes in a sugar-free version, too) is presented in a fanciful wooden box and shipped to Ottoman lovers all over the world.

Number 7. What: “Entre”
Where: Pierre Hermé Patisserie; Paris
Price: US$176 each
** In an exercise of haute patisserie, world-renowned pastry chef Pierre Hermé challenges traditional pastry-making codes in order to “push the search for good tastes to the limit.”,; he said. Take Révélation, a puff pastry with tomato, mascarpone cream, olive oil, bits of black olives and a tomato-strawberry compote. Or Infini, which introduces a 20-ingredient gastronomic interpretation of ambergris, a scent traditionally used in perfume. A new series of four “emotions to share,” each dessert (which feeds six to eight people) is available on a made-to-order basis, and only from Monsieur Herme’s two patisseries in Paris.

Number 6. What: The Madeleine Truffle
Where: Knipschildt Chocolatier; Norwalk, Conn.
Price: US$250 per truffle, or US$6,000 per pound
** Classic ganache—comprised of 70 percent Valrhona chocolate mixed with fresh cream and infused for 24 hours with vanilla pods and pure truffle oil—is shaped around a Perigord truffle, then dipped in Valrhona and rolled in cocoa powder. “The ganache must be whipped repeatedly to make it as soft and silky as possible, then it must be chilled so it’s easier to work with,” said a company spokesperson. The product of a long and painstaking process, these truffles are not available over the counter, but made to order and presented in a silver box with a personal note from chocolate maker Fritz Knipschildt.

Number 5. What: The Dome’s Truffle Ice
Where: Mezzaluna; Bangkok
Price: US$200
** In February, The Lebua Hotel at State Tower hosted the most expensive commercial dinner ever organized, at which 40 guests paid 1 million baht—or $30,000—each for a 10-course meal prepared by six Michelin-starred chefs from around the world. Mezzaluna carries on the pricey tradition with the Dome’s Truffle Ice: Perigord truffle ice cream layered with gelée and Manjaree chocolate and suffused in gold leaves, berry compote and a rare cognac—Moyet Tres Vieille Grande Champagne No. 7 (of which there are only 1,300 bottles in existence). The restaurant sells up to 10 every week.

Number 4. What: The Sultan’s Golden Cake
Where: Ciragan Palace Kempinski; Istanbul
Price: US$1,000
** It takes 72 hours to make this edible brick of gold, available by special request for, say, weddings, parties or a Sultan’s snack. Spiked with apricots, pears, quince and figs that have been marinating in Jamaican rum for two years, and flavored with shaved caramelized black truffles, this 24-carat gold leaf-covered cake is presented in a sterling silver handcrafted cake box with a golden seal.

Number 3. What: Golden Opulence Sundae
Where: Serendipity 3; New York City
Price: US$1,000
** This dessert is the holder of the Guinness World Record for the most expensive sundae. Scoops of Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with smoky Madagascar vanilla are coated in 23-carat edible gold leaf, which “leaves a ring of gold dust around people’s mouths,” said Serendipity spokesman Joe Calderone. Suffused with bittersweet chocolate and rare chocolate chunks, gold-plated dragets and truffles, the sundae is eaten with an 18k gold spoon and a mother-of-pearl spoon is reserved for the mini-bowl of sweetened, de-salted caviar on top. The utensils stay at the restaurant, but the Baccarat crystal goblet is yours for the taking.

Number 2. What: Brownie Extraordinaire with Saint Louis
Where: Brûlée: The Dessert Experience; Atlantic City, New Jersey
Price: US$1,000
** The priciest selection off the restaurant’s three-part Crystal Menu (each of which begins with an amuse sucrée, followed by the featured dessert and ending with petit fours), the Brownie Extraordinaire comes with a Saint Louis crystal atomizer, a $750 keepsake filled with a shot of rare 1996 Quinta do Noval Nacional port wine to be sprayed into the mouth between each bite of hazelnut-coated brownie.

FINALLY, THE MOST EXPENSIVE DESSERT IN THE WORLD

Number 1. What: The Fortress Aquamarine
Where: Wine3 at The Fortress; Galle, Sri Lanka
Price: US$14,500x
** This dessert, which debuted in March, was inspired by the success of the restaurant’s other gem-studded treat, the Bombay Sapphire Martini. The star of the show is an 80-carat aquamarine gem that rests on a sliver of chocolate shaped to resemble the traditional stilt fisherman that’s part of the resort’s logo. Handmade glass utensils (not included in the price) complete the presentation. And yes, diners can pocket the gemstone after polishing off the dessert. None have yet been sold.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

TOW Movie @ Enchanted

I'm kinda interested to watch the newly released movie, Enchanted, which is now showing in cinemas. I'm not usually a fan of cartoon movies, but this time I kinda sense that this is gonna be a nice movie to watch, so I go ahead and bought a ticket for the show.
Synopsis:
An animated fairy tale meets modern, live-action comedy. The beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid - even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home - she has to wonder: Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?
Source: http://www.imdb.com*** True enough, this is an entertaining movie.. Right from the start, it's all smooth flowing and the blend of cartoon and live actions are mixed perfectly so everybody can watch it.. so to all, just bring the kids or even yourself to watch the movie. Two thumbs up!!

Monday, November 26, 2007

TOW Cellphones of the Future

I received an email with a really cool output on the phone of the future. Really absolutley marvelous and awesomely gorgeous.. I bet these models won't be avaiable in Malaysia for at least the next 2-3 years.. or never!! Nevertheless... Check it out!!
Nokia 888 Communicator Nokia definitely has the most interesting concept phones. Nokia 888 Communicator is a striking futuristic concept phone. The phone, which uses liquid batteries, speech recognition, flexible touchscreen and touch-sensitive body cover,is designed by Tamer Nakisci and won the Nokia Design Award
Nokia Aeon Nokia Aeon was presented by Nokia on their website in the Research & Development section. What is so great about this phone is that it looks like it will actually go into production next February. Of course, its just a rumor, but still, makes us hope to actually see it someday in the GSM shop. All we know about it for now is that its a touchscreen phone and it looks fantastic.
Sky "Sleak n Slim"
"Sleek & Slim" from SKY is another concept based on touchscreen technology. The phone has a discretely glowing touchpad, hideaway keys and generally utterly-fashionable minimalist design.
Benq-Siemes "Snaked"
Benq designers thought of women too and presented Snaked. This is a "reptile" looking phone, creepy somehow, but still is very cool. The Snaked is a fashion phone for sport loving women, because it also has body monitoring sensors to help the ladies keep those fine shapes.
What You See is What You Get Concept
One thing is for sure about this concept phone…they could've named it shorter. Designed by Pei-Hua Hang, the phone's name comes from the fact that this concept no longer uses an LCD as viewfinder for the digital camera, instead it uses a transparent frame. And of course, interaction is made through a touchscreen
Retroxis By Dark Label
If most phones presented here will never be sold in store for sure, the Retroxis concept phone from Dark Label looks kinda human, and makes us hope we'll be able to get one of these one day. Designed by Lim Sze Tat the phone is encased in high polished polycarbonate renowned for its lightweight and toughness and has an invisible OLED display that silently hides away when inactive.
Benq-Siemens "The Blackbox"
Black Box designed by Benq-Siemens uses a touch screen as its keypad and, depending on the functions you are using, the touch screen changes the control layout immediately.
NEC Tag
Somehow similar to the Snaked concept, the NEC Tag is a flexible phone concept that can be , for example, hung from a belt or wrapped around the user's arm. Interesting is that the phone has shape-memorizing material and sensors that allows the phone to change its shape according to the mode.
TripleWatch
Though the idea of a cellphone watch is not so new, the TripleWatch designed by Manon Maneenawa has an interesting triple flip technique that allows the user to transform the watch into a normal cellphone. When used as a wrist watch, the phone has a speaker button that allows the user to answer the phone and hang up while driving.
Asus Aura

Saturday, November 24, 2007

TOW Another Aquarium setting

I'm thinking of setting up another small aquarium at my kitchen. The kitchen is so empty that it's good to have another aquarium in addition to the present one in the living room. I'm still thinking of how the aquarium will look like.. and when I passed thru this one aquarium shop in Old Klang Road, I'm amazed with what I saw. A very beautiful setting yet simple aquarium placing small fishes.I'm getting my self a few guppy fish... and let them produce the infants/ fry naturally.. What is Guppy Fish?
Poecilia Libestes Reticulata, a fish commonly known as the Guppy, is a very popular aquarium fish. It is particularly suitable for novice aquarists since it is easy to keep and non-aggressive. The Guppy belongs to the Livebearer group and will give birth to free swimming fry instead of laying eggs.
You can choose between numerous Guppy fish variations, differencing in the shape of the body as well as the colour of the fish. The most common colours are red, green and blue. Guppies are often kept in community aquariums since they are so peaceful. They do however prefer to be kept in species aquariums, since other fish occasionally assault them by nipping their long fins. When several Guppies are kept together they will form a beautiful school.
Source: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com Wait till I get it done, definitely will look similar to how this aquarium looks like.. Hahahahah!!

TOW Movies Again!

Last Wednesday was another movie day for me. Well, I intend to cover back all the weeks I lost and get to watch movies as many as possible.. Heheh!! This week I can manage to watch only one movie, The Bee Movie. Synopsis:
Barry B. Benson is a graduate bee fresh out of college who is disillusioned at his lone career choice: making honey. On a rare trip outside the hive, Barry's life is saved by Vanessa, a florist in New York City. As their relationship blossoms, he discovers humans are mass consumers of honey and decides to sue the human race for stealing bees' honey.
Source: http://movies.yahoo.com

*** Overall, quite entertaining.. but not that satisfied enough as the plot is not that strong and it doesn't really build the character of the main cast. Personally I would prefer Ratatouille better than Bee Movie if I can compare those two.

TOW Disturbed Mind and Restless Soul

Lately, I just feel restless and very unorganized.. probably because of my long sick leave that really makes me uneffective, thus I feel very empty and stupid and disturbed sometimes. When this kind of feelings reached the peak, I can easily get tensed and tend to get angry easily and scold people unnecessarily. Now that's bad.. and I really hate those. As me and my friend drove the army camp in Sg Besi, I can't stop thinking of the reason why.. I think this is because I'm so bored staying at home, can't do things on my own, can't drive around, can't do my usual stuff, i.e. lepak2 at mamak or jogging in the evening, or going to the gym, or even go to the waterfall or any other recreational places. What I don't like most is I have to depend on my friends to drive me around when I need to go somewhere, or buy something.. and that's a big No No for me to burden people with my problems. Even I refused when my parents asked me to stay at their home for them to take care of me, and I would rather be like this as long as I don't make their life difficult. But i guess, the will to be alone is so high that I dont find peace in myself though. Nothing like the relaxing environment of the army camp in Sg Besi while we were driving around. U can still see children at large playing at the playground, children in bicycle cycling in a gang.. and adults gather around for lepak2 together. Nice feelings!I hafta start working this coming monday. Though I'm not that strong yet to start working back, but the office needed me so much that I hafta sacrifice these, as long as it won't hurt me in the end. Hope those feelings will dissapear soon enough.. Hope I'm gonna be fine...