Of one Meringue or another

Now this is a tough one, you pronounce it as “Meh-rang-ghee” or “Me(h)-rang”? Well, doesn’t really matter to me, as long as it is not too sweet, it is superb! The actual pronunciation should be “Me(h)-rang”. It is a sweet topping especially for pies made of beaten egg whites (no yolk) and sugar. Note that this differs from soufflé, which is a light fluffy dish of egg yolks and stiffly beaten egg whites mixed with e.g. cheese or fish or fruit.

Had lunch on Friday at “Alexis Bistro” near my office, and was almost salivating just looking at the “Pavlova” and “Chocolate Nutty Meringue”. To be truthful, the main reason I would go to this Bistro is to eat the meringue. Yes, both were on display, but when I actually ordered both the Pavlova (2 slices!) and Chocolate Nutty Meringue (another 2 slices!), - WHAT! Not for me alone, but to be shared amongst 7 people – was then told a few minutes after the order was taken that the Pavlova was unintentionally* placed (there’s a story at work relating to the usage of the word “unintentionally” – later, later…) at the display unit! So, yes, I missed out on the Pavlova but had the Chocolate Nutty Meringue instead. Shucks…. missed out on it! I actually prefer the Pavlova to the Chocolate Nutty Meringue, but still good anyway. Enjoyable.

*side track – was at a meeting last Thursday, and just before the meeting started, I realized that I forgot to attach the 3 appendices to one of the agenda which I was to present! DIE!! How to politely say to the management committee that I forgot without it being so damaging, and was having a mental block already, almost panicking – and I nudged my colleague sitting next to me, quietly asking for alternative words, and she said, “huh?”, “left out?”, “unintentionally?” ….pheeww…. so I used those words instead as I started to present, and owned up to the mistake by saying that I had unintentionally left out the three appendices. Luckily, no fuss was made, but glad that it had sounded better and less damaging than saying “Oh, I forgot to attach the appendices”. My colleagues and I were joking about it over lunch, and then on the Friday itself, when I had to present for another meeting, I purposely said “Oh, I unintentionally left out updating on the follow ups from the roadshow last week”, and I could hear some of my colleagues trying to politely cover their amusement, with the other non team members looking at us in puzzlement. I quickly smiled and said “opps.. private joke” and left it as that. Hahahaaa …. definitely a good word to use!

OK, back to the topic at hand, Meringue. Don’t know why I like it, but I just do. Perhaps it is the light texture and hence I can wallop more of it. You know those little lemon meringue tarts served in the Lemon Garden Coffee House in Shangs? Those are simply divine! The most I had ever whacked in one sitting (after the main buffet of course), was eight of the little buggers. Thank goodness they are quite small, and one is just right for a mouthful. After that incident, I exercised better self control and limited myself to ONLY THREE whenever I go there to eat. Control… control…

And on Saturday? Met up with some from The Wicked Pitches for banana leaf rice in PJ, and later adjourned to this outlet called “Marmalade” in Kiara. Guess what I saw? Lemon meringue pie! Looked promising and of course I ordered it to try. One of the girls who frequent this place told me that it wasn’t very good, and recommended the Tiramisu instead, but stubbornly, I die die also want to try the lemon meringue pie. When it was served, was kind of disappointed by the softness of the meringue – it wasn’t compact enough and the meringue bit sort of “fell apart” a bit. The individual slice presentation was a let down. And the taste? Well, I definitely had better. There wasn’t enough lemonish zing to the pie. Must learn to listen to people next time, still, what better way to learn than by own experience. Yes, also had a taste of the tiramisu… quite good… and was privately comparing my own home made tiramisu with this. Mine tends to be a bit “oversoaked” and mushy, but theirs was still compact. Hmm, can’t decide which I like better.

Had a moccachino for a drink, and when it came, was pleasantly surprised at the presentation. Always good when an outlet go that one extra step and improve on the presentation itself. And the taste? Can do’lah…. Quite strong blend of coffee and chocolate taste, but I like it that way. Was glancing around at the other tables, and some go there for food. The few which I sneaked a peak at looked quite tasty, and I reckon from the menu, the prices looked reasonable for such an outlet. Not cheap, but not overpriced either. Perhaps will go there again one day to sample the food (but not the lemon meringue pie). Sigh… nothing beats the Pavlova at Alexis Bistro.