Leonardo da Vinci's Earlier Mona Lisa at The Arts House at the Old Parliament Singapore

ABBEY: Two paintings or one? Labelling and exhibiting as 'Earlier version of Monalisa', the ownership is as mysterious as the woman in the canvass.

Singapore is the first leg of the exhibiton and we're glad that we got a chance for the tour of the lady. For 20sgd, each guest will be given a tablet along with headphones to have a guided tour. It explains the meticulous process the painting went to state its claim. From physical inspection, history, x-rays, symmetry up into the number of pixels, the two artworks have huge similarities.

Even experts and critics were baffled by it. 

For me it won't matter if there will be two paintings. It would just add  a number more for the iconic works of Master Leonardo.

WILL: Have a second painting of Mona Lisa?!

That question intrigued me and furiously requested Abbey to have a date with me at the The Old Parliament House. But because of tight schedule, we passed the idea week after week. Until we won tickets for the said Mona Lisa’s world tour. Leonardo da Vinci’s Earlier Mona Lisa started its worldwide journey here in Singapore. How lucky the Singapore right?

The exhibit answered intricately all the mind-boggling questions we have. Is it true? Does Leonardo painted it by himself? If yes, what are their proofs? What will be the look for the Earlier version of Mona Lisa? How did they find it? I admittedly amazed by the way of mathematical and painting techniques used by Leonardo. He is really a master of his art.

Room after room while listening to the tab lent to us, we arrived at the final room. The room where the younger Mona Lisa waits for us! This is a hair-raising experience! The room have dim lights and very cold surroundings. No spotlight for the painting as painting has its own lighting. Gosh! Face to face with Mona Lisa! Goosebumps!

This painting changed the history. Now I have this urge to see the Mona Lisa of Louvre.

Crunchy Korean Fried Chicken and Mushroom (Dakgangjeong: 닭강정)

Ingredients:
Chicken wings/boneless thigh/drumsticks
Shitake mushrooms (soaked in warm water then cut into quarters)
Potato starch
Dried chili peppers (seeds removed and cut into strips)
Sesame seed
Soy sauce
Vinegar
Sugar
Garlic (minced)
Ginger (minced)

1. Put the chicken and mushrooms in a bowl and mix with ginger, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Mix potato starch with water and let it settle in the bottom of the bowl and then discard the water. This will serve as your batter.
3. Coat the chicken and mushrooms with the starch and deep fry them. And then double fry. This will make the chicken and mushrooms very crunchy.
4. For the sauce, fry garlic and dried chili peppers. Then put 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 2 tablespoon sugar.
5. Once the mixture form bubbles, toss the chicken and mushroom and mix it until all of them are covered in sauce.
6. Top it with sesame seed and serve with hot rice.

VERDICT
WILL: I am big fan of Maangchi. Being the biggest fan of her youtube channel and even I am not the one cooking I always watch her videos. Then I stumbled upon this Korean style fried chicken... The Dakgangjeong. As usual, I asked Chef Abbey to do that for me. 

Lo and behold, Abbeys's Crunchy-Crunchy Spicy Chicken and Mushroom. Every bite is an explosion of spiciness in my mouth. 

Thanks Abbey for cooking! Love it a lot! 

Japchae 잡채 (Sweet Potato Starch Noodles)

Ingredients:
lean meat pork/beef (cut into strips)
shitake mushrooms (soaked in warm water then cut into thin strips)
3-4 cloves garlic (minced)
brown sugar
soy sauce
sesame oil
toasted sesame seed
1 large egg (yolk-beaten)
spinach (washed and drained)
dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles)
2-3 green onions (cut into 2-inch long pieces)
medium onion (sliced thinly)
1 medium carrot (cut into matchstick size)
1 medium red bell pepper (cut into strips)
ground black pepper

1. Marinate pork/beef and mushrooms with minced garlic, a teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper, 2 teaspoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of sesame oil.
2. Boil 4-5 cups water in a pot. Once done, put the spinach and let it be cooked for 1-2 minutes.
3. Put the spinach in a strainer and wash in running water to stop it from cooking.
4. Give it a chop or two and then put it in a big bowl. Drizzle with sesame oil, black pepper and pinch of salt.
5. On the same pot, put the sweet potato starch noodles and cook as per package instruction. Upon cooking, put it in the same bowl as the spinach. And then put sesame oil, sugar and soy sauce.
6. For the vegetables, cook them separately from light to dark color with a pinch of salt and put on the bowl once done:
   a. onion, green onion
   b. carrot, red bell pepper
7. Cook the beef and mushroom on the same skillet.
8. For jidan (garnish), on a non-stick pan put small amount of oil and have it cover the whole pan. Put in low heat. Remove the excess oil and turn off the heat. Put the yolk and tilt the pan so the yolk will be thin. Flip it over to cook the other side. Upon cooking, cut it into thin strips.
9. Mix all the ingredients in the bowl. Top it with jidan and sesame seed when serving.

VERDICT
WILL: My husband/chef is going Korean! He was well inspired my Maangchi. 

When we went to Chicken Up, my boss ordered glass noodles. Because I am a shy type of person (maybe not, haha) I only took a small portion of Japchae. So to serve my cravings, I asked my handsome chef to cook it for me once we have time. 

2nd Sunday of 2015 arrived and he want to satisfy my drooling. He cooked Japchae. 

The noodles are perfectly cooked. Sweetness and saltiness of the brown sugar and soy sauce is quite nice combination. The aroma of sesame oil and sautéed mushroom is at its finest. 

Thanks Abbey. What will be the next Korean dish will he make?