The Cake Bake and Sweets Show, Sydney 2015

Friends know that I have a sweet tooth and my favourite meal of the day is tea time on a weekend when there is actually time to indulge in cakes and pastries and a wonderful brew of tea made by my husband. He "tariks" my tea (pulls the tea) which creates a nice foam or bubbles at the top. A lovely gesture which I appreciate very much. Well, if only I could have my tea tarik to accompany the sweet treats that await my discovery. 

So glad I made it to Sydney ! I haven't had a holiday since May 2014 and I've become a very dull person indeed with no inspiration or time to blog. Needed some colour, change of environment and something sweet. It came in 2 ways - my sweet long time friend Cynthia who now calls Sydney home and of course the Cake Bake and Sweets Show happening at the Sydney Showground at the Olympic Park from the 12-14 June, 2015. 

The colours of the sweet treats were amazing and of course the artistry that goes into the making of these creations too. Macarons in rainbow colours, some even glittery and shimmering, fanciful and whimsical cake displays of Snow White and the evil Queen, Alice in Wonderland , dragons and more. If elegant and sophisticated cakes were more your cup of tea, the range of cakes by the finalists in Australia's Cake Decorating Competition was really the " tip of the icing". Plain fondant sold in tubs take on a different life of its own when it is moulded by skilful, talented hands. . Sometimes, less is more as shown by the winning entries. The devil is in the details such as the combination of colours, the details of the motifs and how it is presented. 

Cynthia and I went around sampling sweet treats but we did notice that amongst the sweetness, visitors were actually looking for something savory during lunch and the few stalls that did savouries like pies were doing a good business. We took a sweet break for some Moroccan lamb, beef burgundy, butter chicken and chicken leek with Swiss cheese pies. A cute set of 4 dainty little pies that cost just $8. Quite reasonable and most importantly, delicious ! 

There were lots to buy if you needed cake making utensils, equipment and of course ingredients. I bought some rose and orange blossom water to tinge my desserts in and a bright red happy spatula for my daughter who just took up baking recently to appease her sweet taste buds. Like the French and the British, the Australians do take their baking seriously and this has generated big business in baking. Came across quite a number of suppliers for all baking needs at the show. In Singapore, cake making supplies are dominated by Phoon Huat. I can't really think of anyone else.

It was just the first day of my Sydney Australia trip and boy was it SWEET ! Quite a change from the regular sight-seeing and I loved it ! 

Greek sweets - Baklava 

Time for a selfie at the Olympic park before the show

The winning cake decoration. Simple yet beautiful in its detailing and colour combination. 

Check out those eyes. The evil glare made from something sweet ! How nice ! 

Moroccan lamb pie, beef burgundy pie, butter chicken pie and chicken leek and Swiss cheese pies 

A Turkish flatbread with mutton minced in between. 

The Story of Ping

"My mother used to read stories to me when I was small. One of my favourite books was The Story about Ping – I read it at the launch of kidsREAD 10 years ago."

Lee Hsien Loong.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had a reading session with some kids at the Ang Mo Kio library. He was reading a book called "Go to Sleep Gecko" , a but mentioned about an old time favourite of his called "The Story about Ping" . Written way back in 1933, it was one of those old school classics that I remember fondly. Ducks are such cute creatures and the sight of them waddling in groups and yet looking so graceful in the water always puts a smile on my face. 

The Story about Ping is about a little duck who hid himself as he didn't want to be spanked ( the last duck coming in always gets a little spank ). In doing so, he almost landed up as someone's dinner ! Due to his luck, he was released and was truly glad to be reunited with his master and friends , even happily receiving his little spank because he knew he deserved it. 

Kki at SOTA

A friend of mine brought me to a cafe in SOTA ( School of Theatrical Arts) called Kki. It had a elegant wooden interior with beautiful Japanese artisan tea-ware and wooden spoons on display. I love the texture and feel of the wooden ware. They were beautiful and sensuous to the touch.

As I sipped on my Japanese plum tea , crumbled my chestnut puree Mount Blanc cake and appreciate the craft of Japanese ware, I made a note to myself to go out more often to beautiful places in Singapore.

Robbie Williams at the Singapore F1 weekend

Portugese singer Lura from Cape Verde entertains at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre 

Vintage cars on display during the F1 weekend 

Fabulous outdoor theatre Lady in the Moon performed at the Padang just before the race

Standing on equal ground with the audience  in the rain ! 

What a sport ! 

For these past few years , the Singapore night race has been described as a jewel in the crown of the F1 grand prix circuit . Unique because it is the only night race of its kind in the world and rousing because all kinds of festivities come together with the race as the main attraction.Before Hamilton, Rosberg, Alonso and the rest rev it up on the tracks, the Padang, the Esplanade and the surrounding areas host the performances of magicians, outdoor theatre and exotic sounds of world class performers. I was basking in the glorious night light that lit the grounds of the Marina Bay area, moving from the performance of Portuguese singer Lura at the Esplanade outdoor theatre to the fabulous outdoor performance of  Lady in the Moon at the Padang. It was breathtaking to take in the sights of red balloons in the air with a mascular performer doing his twirls in mid-air  above the crowd and in contrast, a lady doing likewise with grace and femininity.  

The highlight of the evening right after the race was Robbie Williams in concert . But just as he stepped onto the stage at 10.30, the skies let it go with torrential rain. The bright stage lights dramatized the impact of the rain which cooled the humid air all around. Feeling the raindrops come down on me and watching Robbie (who chose to perform in the rain) made it all so surreal. At this point, 2 beautiful English lasses pulled me up to the front of the crowd knowing how I was blocked by the much taller Europeans who were all around. I never had such an enjoyable time at a concert despite being soaked all he way ! Robbie let it go his way with his hits Come Undone, Let me Entertain you and even jazz classics ! By the time Robbie belted out Angel, the crowd was totally won over despite what the elements threw at them.