Going Korean on my birthday

When I moved here on the island, I was back to living on my own after four years. The feeling of not having someone to talk to everyday is surreal. I started immersing myself in my surrounding, making friends and guess what? Watching Korean drama.  I  got hooked on Korean drama once again after a  long hiatus. I watch one after another. It's my way to relax and take my thoughts off of work.

One thing I like about Korean drama is showing how the food plays an important role in Korean culture. Whether fine dining, eating at home or  in food tents, or just grabbing a ramyun (instant noodles) in a convenient store, eating is always portrayed in their dramas. The scenes make me drool. And for so long, my palate had been craving for Korean food. So, on my birthday, I thought it was just right to treat myself to Korean food indulgence. I took two friends in tow. We went to Arirang Restaurant located in Chong Mon.

Daily Turndown Desserts

Two weeks after I started with my new job, a new duty was assigned to me. Make turndown desserts daily for the resort's guests. I'm  new in the hospitality industry. When I joined the resort, I had no concept of what kind of services the resorts/hotels offer guests. I had seen staff make small desserts in glass a couple weeks back. All I heard from them was they were making turndown for guests but I  failed to inquire more.I was in my adjustment period at the time so I didn't bother much. My focus was more on getting my bread and pastries right because it was during the taste test period.. When the task was handed to me, I  did some research. It was then when I fully understood the idea of turndown service.

What is turndown service? In the hospitality industry, turndown service refers to the practice of staff entering a guest's room and re-arranging the bed linen of the bed in the room to the state it was before the guest slept in it. An item of confectionery such as a chocolate^[1] or a mint^[2] is typically left on top of a pillow in the bed that has been "turned down".

Some hotels have more elaborate turndown services, such as bed-time stories for children and cocktails served to young couples.^[3]  Source: WIKI

That's it. I like the idea of someone preparing my bed for me before I crash :).  Getting a confectionery is not a big deal for me. Anyway, here's some of my miniature desserts.

Mai Tai Restaurant

Gai Pad med mamuang (Chicken with cashew nut)

There is a restaurant I frequent on weekends. It's called Mai Tai, located just opposite Samui's IT Center in Lamai. Eating on a resort island can be costly but the food at MT is affordable. The owner is a good cook and she does most of the cooking (as far as I know).  She has an assistant who takes over when she's not around. I became friends with the ladies after two visits. The restaurant is  meters away from where I live but I chose to walk and even brave the weather just to have that delicious Thai meal.

Macaron Wedding Cake - A Labor Of Love

The dreadful days had come! Macaron making made me restless for a few days. I had an early start to give myself plenty of time to correct things that might  go wrong. I made about 500 macarons in a period of three days. Not all cookie turned out good but I managed to come up with the required amount of colorful, decent looking macarons for the cake.

I learned the process at the French culinary school. As required I made them a few times. I thought it was my last encounter with the famous French cookie. Never had I imagined rekindling my relationship with it three years later. To play it safe, I did the macarons per color. The whole process tensed me up. I said my prayers each time. I am not an artisan macaron maker so you can imagine how much effort I made and patience I gave into each procedure.

Oh So Delicious Macarons!

There is a wedding coming up. The bride had requested macaron cake. I was  asked if I could make them. Having no confidence with my macaron skills, I refused. I learned about macaron procedure at the culinary school but that was ages ago. I had not done it since then.  Working with macarons need a lot of patience and precision. I was afraid of failing to live  up to the bride's expectations so I told the manager to outsource it. A couple of days had passed, the manager approached me again and asked if I could do a trial run of macarons. Apparently, macaron is expensive here. It is sold by piece so it would cost the resort a fortune if they order from a supplier.

So here's what I made. Pink macarons with vanilla and chocolate filling. After two failures, I had finally got the right texture, size and color. I was so ecstatic because I didn't know I could pull it off. I will be making multi colored macarons for the wedding. Let's hope and pray I can do it without a lot of hassle.