It seems like almost everyone I know is incredibly interested in food, both in terms of preparing and consuming it. Of course, the majority of the people I know are Singaporeans or are based in Singapore, so that might have something to do with it. Nevertheless, it is a little daunting realising just how many of my friends can and do enjoy cooking. I haven't cooked all that often, if at all, since my arrival in London, with my dishes mainly confined to pasta and stir-fries. Still, I've stocked up on some more exotic ingredients in the hopes of one day finding enough time to try out recipes such as Chez Pim's Five Spice Braised Pork Belly (Parts I and II), her healthier alternative, Five Spice Braised Chicken with Egg Noodle, and spaghetti with meatballs. Maybe, one day when I'm brave enough to bake, I'll try out Flour Power City's Apple and Almond Tart recipe and perhaps even my beloved kueh bolu. And if I ever finish up the cereal and muesli I have in my flat, then perhaps this recipe for Swiss-style muesli as well, as my friend's been enthusing about Bircher muesli for the past two weeks.

Why, yes, I do love five spice. I really miss ngoh hiang. But more importantly, I purchased a sachet of five spice powder from See Woo, not quite realising that only a pinch of spice is required in any dish I might ever want to cook, so I'll have to cook quite a bit before it gets used up!

It's not likely that I'll be doing anything too difficult in the near future though. I've officially switched to 'no life' mode for the next two months as I'll be studying (hard, I hope) for an exam.

On top of that, in spite of London's poor reputation in terms of food available here, I've found there are actually quite a number of places which serve decent food here. It can't compare to Singapore, yes, but still, I feel it's been regarded rather unfairly. And naturally, that means I have to check out some of these great restaurants and post a review on them just so I can do my bit to disabuse people of that commonly-held belief, which means that if I'm eating out, I won't be doing much cooking, will I?