Fine Palate

“(Wikipedia) ‘An Expatriate (often shortened to Expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of their citizenship. The word comes from the Latin terms ex (“out of”) and patria (“country, fatherland”).

This blog aims to discover people who are adventurers like me, venturing out in a new place to call home and creating memories. I have previously lived with my parents and siblings in the Saudi Arabia when I was in high school. I have enjoyed and cherished my memories in the beautiful Sandbox I once called my home. Now, I am in a new adventure with my husband and sons here in Singapore.

I am featuring Expats in different countries every two weeks to share their experiences and adventures with you and me.

I met this featured expat in one of the Blog Meet Sg. Heather was the one who catered for the event. She is a delightful character with winning smile. Get to know her and her business, Fine Palate.

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1.Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are originally from?

I am from Melbourne and my family background is Armenian

Source: Fine Palate

2. What made you move to Singapore? How long have you been here?

I have lived in Singapore for 27years, we came for a two year assignment (my husband and one year old son) with Citibank where my husband was in Global Treasury Department.

3. What do you miss about your home country?

Great outdoors mainly beaches and natural way of life.

4.What are the wonderful discoveries and things you like about in Singapore?

Proximity to other regions and convenience of getting around on a tiny island.

5. What are the 3 tips you can give to fellow expats in Singapore or those you planning to move here?

Make the most of it and get a good network of like-minded friends to ease into life here, in fact it is easier to make friends in Singapore then moving within states as everyone needs to recreate what they left behind, and travel as often as possible to avoid Island fever.

6. The LITTLE MISS HONEY community gets inspired through travel, food and books. Can you tell us your current FAVORITE TRAVEL SPOT, current FAVORITE FOOD/RESTAURANT DISCOVERIES & current FAVORITE BOOK?

My favorite travel spot is Berlin and will always remain so as it is a complete contrast to my work life in Singapore.

My favorite restaurants are Neon Pigeon, Fat Prince, Dingdong.

7. Where do you get your inspirations? Who or what inspires you?

I am a very practical cook and always focus on quality ingredients and apply healthier components into the dish without compromising on taste, i.e., sweet potato as a filler to home made sausages, no palm oil, no packaged sauces, absolutely no life extenders or chemicals of any sort. I am a purist and don’t get over exited about trends or fads

8. Can tell us about your Fine Palate? How did it come about?

Out of pure necessity back in 1990 there were very few options in Singapore for home catering either super low quality local food or 5 star hotels neither suited my style, so started doing my own food, styling and décor for each event, for my husbands work or social occasions for myself and friends, as I realized this is something that really tapped into my creativity, love of cooking and making guests happy, I guess the main thing is I am a ‘compliment junkie’ and love seeing people well taken care of.

8. Can you share with us some of favorite dishes in your catering business?

Too many to mention I love making my gourmet buffet’s where I use mostly seasonal vegetables, fish and meat and serve it at ambient temperature, meaning: cooked very close to event timing and served on platters, I don’t like using chafing dishes, which is so common in Singapore, as it does make it very easy for caterers to cook and send food out hours before the event and be done with it, which does not result in a tasty or hot meal by the time the guests eat it.

Food whoever makes it must be looked in the right way until the last bite is consumed.

9. Give us tips some entertaining tips for home parties.

This will be in a book I have been working on ‘watch this space’ 😉

However here is the most important;

The best tip I can give is to entertain with generosity, make your guests

Feel they are welcome and important and spend as much time as possible with them, once they arrive stop fretting over details and just focus they will forget all else expect how they felt at the party and how much fun they had.

10.Lastly, can you share with what is your inspirational mantra in life?

I choose quality over quantity in every aspect of my life.

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Thank you Heather for gracing us with an interview. I love your entertaining tips and can’t wait to try more of the wonderful gourmet dishes of Fine Palate.

For those interested in catering services from Fine Palate, visit the Fine Palate website.

If you are an expat or know any expats who are interested to be featured, drop me a line at littlemisshoneyblog@gmail.com.”

I am always excited when there is another #BlogMeetSg. Every #BlogMeetSg is always different. I may meet some familiar faces which I am delighted to see again but there will always be new acquaintances in every #blogmeetsg I go to. Let me tell you more about #BlogMeetSg.

BlogMeetSg was started by Lucy of Lulabelle Lifestyle to give opportunities for bloggers in Singapore and local brands to network and create a harmonious relationship in and out of the blogosphere. This latest #BlogMeetSg channels my wanderlust and my innate desire for travel. I am excited to be invited to the #BlogMeetSg: Travel Edition. The venue was at the hip Haji Lane in the showroom of August Society, one of the brand sponsors for gathering.

We were greeted by colorful healthy juices of Daily Juice to quench our thirst. The juice shots were refreshing and it was great that it is preservative free.

We were also served with a beautiful and yummy canapes from Fine Palate. Fine Palate is a leading gourmet catering company in Singapore. They have been impressing their clients with their high standard and one-of-a-kind menu list. I am stopping myself from grabbing a few more of their tidbits so others can try them also. I love every canapes that I tasted. I was happy to chat with the owner of Fine Palate who told me that she makes sure that their food are perfectly-made with high quality ingredients. They do catering for big and small parties. I love that they come in brown pretty boxes. It is a good gift to take to a party and the host would be so grateful for such a wonderful treat. No need for catering plates, the box is perfect for serving the canapés already.

I entered the main hallway of August Society’s showroom. On my left, I saw colorful bathing suits hanging. August Society offers swimwear for every women using high-end fabrics and functional designs with great attention to details. Singapore has been having quite a hot weather lately that I am imagining myself in one of these pretty maillots near the pool, maybe with a Daily Juice drink on left hand and a Fine Palate canape on right hand. There are bikinis, maillots, one pieces and tankinis. There is a bathing suits for everyones’ own preference. August Society was founded by Toni Chan who is also the creative director of the brand. She is also gorgeously pregnant. I wish I could look like her when I am pregnant. Sigh! Since I just gave birth two months ago, I was searching for a swimwear that will hide my ‘still-protruding” belly and my vertical caesarean scar. I am happy that Toni showed me some pretty maillots and one pieces for me. The great thing about August Society is that $5 SGD from every swimsuit sold are donated to help clean waters in communities in need.

On a table near the door, there are the display of lovely stuff from one of my favorite brands, Typo. I am not surprised that Typo has joined the travel edition of BlogMeetSg because they have great stuff for travel. As a matter of fact, my travel wallet where I placed our family’s passports, tickets and travelling documents is from Typo. They got eye masks for airplane rides, luggage tags, travel journals and different travel pouches. I love that their stuff are unique, fun and quirky. And I enjoyed meeting the people behind Typo who are equally fun and quirky too. Typo is my go-to place when I want to buy greeting cards (FYI: their cards are so funny!) and gifts.

On the ride side of the room, I found a pile of Lost Guides Bali books that was nicely arranged in a shell tray. I love the cover of the book. I love green color! Lost Guides is a different type of travel guide because it offers you options of places you don’t often see in other travel guides. It is written by the delightful Anna Chittenden. I can’t wait to check out Lost Guides Bali in my next trip there and I would happily recommend it to my sister who will be spending her birthday this September in Bali.

Photo Credit: Lulabelle Lifestyle

On the same table, I saw a display of espadrilles from Cote & Badt. Code & Badt was started by two Spanish bellas, Sandra and Samira. The shoes are handmade with high quality materials all the way from Spain. I love espadrilles particularly the high wedges. It is easy to dress up or dress down your outfit with a pair of espadrilles. The sparkly flats were just as lovely. They are light and comfy, great for travels.

On the far end of the room was set up for bloggers to do a flat-lay contests with all the products on sponsors plus some props, a lights and a small bench. I am not sure if my flat lay skills are at par with the other bloggers but I think mine needs A LOT of improvement still. However, we all had a lovely time honing our flat-lay techniques.

One of the sponsors is the L Hotels & Resorts. L stands for Live Life which provides their guest a wonderful luxurious personal experience in their hotels & resorts. I haven’t been to one of their hotels but I am hoping that I can get to review the hotel one of these days.

Another sponsor for that night was House of Sheens, a luxury lifetsyle brand for stylish women. They can be found in Amoy Street. I have seen their colorful elegant collection of bags, clutches and accessories in their website and I am in love! Their stuff are just perfect for a working mom like me. I cant wait to check out their showroom next week.

We went home with a goody bag from products and vouchers from the sponsors. Check out what is in our goody bags below. It was another successful BlogMeetSg. Thank you Lucy for this amazing get-together with brands and fellow bloggers. It fueled my love for travel even more and I am looking forward for my next get-away with my family.

EXPAT DIARIES: HEATHER, CEO OF FINE PALATE

#BLOGMEETSG: TRAVEL EDITION