Egg boiling techniques

I have always wondered how to make perfect boiled eggs. I came accross this useful information from just bento blog and it's worth sharing.

How to boil and prepare the eggs
Boil the eggs by putting them in cold water and bringing slowly up to a boil. Once the water is boiling, take off the heat, put on a lid and leave for 8 to 10 minutes.

It is pretty important to ensure that the egg yolk ends up in the middle of the egg, rather than leaning to one side. In order to achieve this you should roll the eggs around while the water is coming to a boil. (Note that this hands-on requirement is one reason why I rarely do this in practice for everyday bentos!)

To peel the eggs cleanly, dunk them in cold water, crack the shell over, and peel carefully. Very fresh eggs are hard to peel cleanly, but you rarely get very fresh eggs at regular supermarkets.

Fragrant Sauce Prawns

My much loved seafood would be Prawns. I was browsing through Kuali Malaysia and this dish catches my eye and I’m drooling already.

Recipe by Amy Beh

Ingredients
400g fresh water prawns
½ cup tapioca flour
50g shredded ginger
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp salted black beans, crushed
3 bird’s eye chillies, chopped
1 red chilli, sliced
1 tbsp chopped spring onion
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oil

Seasoning (combined)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tsp sugar
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau wine

Method
Trim the prawns and rinse well. Pat dry with kitchen paper towels. Toss in tapioca flour and set aside.

Heat enough oil in a wok and fry shredded ginger until light golden and fragrant. Remove, drain on absorbent paper. In remaining hot oil, deep-fry the prawns, in batches, until their colour changes. Dish out and drain from oil.

Heat a clean wok with 1 tbsp oil and sesame oil, and fry garlic, salted black beans and bird’s eye chillies until fragrant. Add seasoning.

Return prawns to the wok and add red chilli and spring onion to mix. Stir-fry briskly over high heat until well combined. Dish out and serve.

Photos: www.thestar.com.my/kuali

So so busy

I have to admit, i'm so so so busy thesedays juggling between work, cake projects and also the surprise thingy i was telling. Yeah, I take this opportunity to announce, I've set up a cake business 'Lovesome Cakes' from home.

love·some [luhv-suhm]
–adjective
1. inspiring love; lovely; lovable.
2. amorous; loving.

www.lovesomecakes.com.my

I know you just want to click right away, but the website is not up yet. We are working out on the website and i promise it will be up anytime by next week. Since both me & my fiance are in the design line, it makes life so much easier.

I pray this passion of mine will one day bring me above the sky.

Before I end this post, take a look at some of the cakes I had bake in the past weeks... Here is a cake I baked for Manchester United facebook fans malaysia during their game MU vs Liverpool on 21st March 2010. I was so so so glad for MU's victory on that day. I love you Park. You made my cake a blast!

The Amount of time i spent to craft that logo....Hmmm....Exciting....

I'm very happy with the end result so does the MU fans.

Here is another cake i baked for a lovely couple for their engagement...

More posting coming in the week. Till then i bit a farewell and enjoy your week folks.

What's so special?

Although it's not healthy eating fast foods, Richard & I love Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. The tender and juicy chicken... Oh My...I just feel of eating it now. And not to forget their signature side dish, the cajun fries, it's heavenly.

What's so special with this chicken hah?

Can't wait for another session in Popeyes!

All time favourite...

I cant deny the fact that I'm crazy over sizzling Japanese toufu and fried kangkong belacan whenever we are at the Chinese restaurant (Tiga Bersatu, Puchong). I used to cook alots of kangkong belacan when I was still studying in Melbourne. I tell ya, my housemates will go crazy over it too. Yeap, it's that finger licking good!

Here, I would like to share the recipe for both scrumptious menu.

Japanese Sizzling Toufu recipe:

Ingredients
1 packet Japanese tofu, cut into 1.5cm pieces
Tapioca flour for coating
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp sesame oil
100g chicken meat, steamed and shredded
100g small prawns, shelled
2 pieces Chinese black mushrooms, soaked and sliced thinly
25g frozen green peas
25g carrots, diced

Seasoning (combine in a small bowl):
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau wine (optional)
1 tsp chicken stock granules

Thickening (combine):
1 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp water

Method
Coat sliced tofu pieces in tapioca flour. Deep fry in hot oil until golden. Dish out and drain on absorbent kitchen paper towels.Heat oil and sesame oil in a wok; saute ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add prawns, black mushrooms and carrots. Stir-fry well. Add seasoning, green peas and chicken meat. Blend in thickening.Heat hotplate over fire. When it is really hot, remove and place on a wooden platter. Add tofu pieces and pour sauce over. Serve immediately.

Fried Kangkong belacan recipe:

Ingredients
300g sweet potato leaves
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp dried prawns, soaked, drained and pounded.

Pounded:
3 shallots
2 cloves garlic
4 red chillies, seeded
1 1/2 tsp Maggi belacan granules

Seasoning:
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp sugar or to taste
1/2 tsp chicken stock granules

Method
Pluck the sweet potato leaves from the stalks. Cut the stalks into 7cm lengths, discarding the tough parts. Wash and drain well.Heat wok over high heat until hot, then add in oil. Fry the pounded dried prawns until aromatic. Add the rest of the pounded ingredients and stir-fry well.Put in sweet potato leaves and stalks and stir-fry briskly for one to two minutes. Add seasoning to mix. Dish out and serve immediately.

Both recipes are adapted from Amy Beh.

What's up with me?

I have been neglecting my blog for about a week now. I'm just too busy at work. At the same time, I just can't wait to reveal something really special for the people out there. Something I wanted to do all the while and very close to my heart.

Till then stay tuned!

Workshop: Gum Paste Flowers

Hey folks, Degreef, the president and director of the Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry is in town! Degreef will be conducting two workshops on gum paste flowers — one for beginners and the other, intermediate — in Kuala Lumpur on March 13 and 14, as well as March 20 and 21.
The workshops will be held at 211, Jalan Tun Razak, 1st Floor, Dua Residency Annexe (adjacent to the US embassy) from 10am to 5pm on each day. The course fee is RM1,200 per workshop, inclusive of RM300 worth of cutters (tools to cut the dough), lunch and tea.

Places for the workshops are limited. For reservations or enquiries, call Honey Khoo or Chui Peng at 03-7784 9002 (office hours) or Catherine at 012-231 8910. Participants are advised to bring paper, pen and apron to the workshop.

Photo credits: http://cakes.anniesartbook.com

Setting the table

Whether your dinner is very formal or not so formal, there are a few basic guidelines to setting a table.

Tips:
The key here is to be practical. Don't seat two people who notoriously get into vicious arguments next to each other just to fit a boy-girl, boy-girl seating arrangement.

Steps:
1. Figure out how many guests will be attending. If several children will be in attendance, consider having a children's table. If you would like the children at the main table, consider booster chairs if the children are small.

2. Determine where everyone should sit. For convenience, the cook may want to sit near the kitchen door. Parents should sit next to their children. If there is a male guest, he is traditionally seated on the hostess's right. A female guest is traditionally seated on the host's right. For large parties, determine who would interact best with each other. Some people like to alternate between men and women, but this isn't necessary. You may want to use name cards to avoid everyone rushing for a seat at the last minute.

3. Decide if you will use a tablecloth. If the tablecloth is white damask, you will need a pad under it to prevent it from slipping. Also, the middle crease should be arranged so that it runs in a straight and unwavering line down the center of the table from head to foot. When the tablecloth is on, it should hang down about a foot and a half if it is a seated dinner. If it is a buffet dinner, it should hang down to the floor.

4. Set the table once you've adjusted the tablecloth. Begin by folding napkins and placing them in the center of each diner's place.

5. Place the large dinner fork to the left of the napkin and the smaller salad fork to the left of the dinner fork.

6. Place a salad plate to the left of the forks. The dinner plate should not be on the table when guests sit down.

7. Place a knife to the right of the napkin, with the cutting edge toward the plate. For chicken or a game bird, you might want to use a steak knife.

8. Put out two spoons if you're serving both soup and dessert. The small dessert spoon should be placed to the right of the knife. Place the soup spoon to the right of the dessert spoon. (You can also wait and bring the dessert spoons out just before dessert.)

9. Place a bread plate with a butter knife (if you have them) about 2 inches above the forks.

10. Place a water goblet about 2 inches above the knife. To the right of the goblet and slightly closer to the dinner guest, place a wine glass.

11. Place a cup and saucer, if you're serving coffee or tea, to the right of the setting, with a coffee spoon on the right side of the saucer.

Hot oil splashed...

Yeah, on my right arm while i deep fried the chicken wing. I reached out to Franch oil immediately and i personally thinks it is a life saver. I told Richard the incident through YM, and he so slumberly said to me, "Use a roman shield next time okay". Honestly i didn't know what it means. When i ask him what's that? He showed me this:

Insane or not my man?

Photo credits: http://www.wildfiregames.com/0ad/pages/pictures/legionarymain3.jpg

Beer Batter

I'm basically done with my work in the office. While waiting for Richard to finish training with his new designer, I went ahead searching for any good appetizer recipe for a weekend treat. Found this piece of shrimp real temptation but doubt I would give a try, I don’t fancy beer. Anyways, I guess it is worth trying folk. Give it a try and do give me some comments.

Ingredients
3 large prawns, shelled leaving tails intact
5 slices sweet potato
2 pieces king oyster mushrooms
50g plain flour
Oil for deep-frying

Batter
160g self-raising flour
15g cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
200ml beer or just enough to make a thick yet runny consistency

Method
Wash the prawns well. Drain, then pat-dry completely. Cut off caps and ends of king oyster mushrooms and tear into thick strips.

Combine batter ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix gently and quickly into a smooth batter. Let it stand in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.

Heat enough oil in a wok until just hot over medium heat. Dust prawns with plain flour and coat with the batter, then deep-fry until lightly golden. Dust sweet potato slices and mushroom strips with plain flour and coat with batter. Deep-fry over medium heat until crispy and golden in colour.

Serve the fritters hot.



Extracted the recipe from kuali
Recipe by Amy Beh
Photo Credits: www.kuali.com/recipes

Cooking and baking classes

School holidays are just around the corner, wouldn't it be great for the kids & teenagers to attend some baking course. Here are some places you can send your kids to learn how to bake or cook during the coming holidays. The school holidays begin March 13-21.

Hands-on Baking Course for Teenagers and Adults
Dates: March 13
Time: 9.30am-3.30pm
Contact: Grace Home Cakes Sdn Bhd
16-1, Jalan Medan Putra 4,
Medan Putra Business Center,
Bandar Menjalara,
52200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-6277-1977,
HP: 017-8892-244

Kids Class Series 2 (6-14 yrs)
Date: March 13
Time: 4.30pm-6.30pm
Contact: Bakerstation25,
Jalan Bukit (11/2)
46200 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7954-4122 (Umai)

Junior Cupcake Class (8-12 yrs)
Date: March 17
Time: 2.00pm-4.00pm
Contact: Cake Connection Sdn Bhd
D11-1 Block D Jaya One
72A Jalan Universiti
46200 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7956-4450

Holiday Cooking Camp (March 15-17)
Holiday Cooking Camp (March 18,19)
Time: 9.30am-1.30pm
Contact: The Cooking House
20-1, Jalan 31/70A,
Desa Sr Hartamas,
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2300-1070

Extracted from: www.thestar.com.my

Curry Noodles in the house

I wanted to make Curry Noodles few weeks back. But, I had to cancel the plan due to my cake order. Now that I’m free, I decided to make them for dinner. I started by looking for a good curry noodle recipe with the hope that it won’t turn me down.

First, I prepared the dry curry chicken. Yes! I did a separate chicken curry dish. Here are the pictures

The ingredients

Chicken Wing (My all time favourite)

Half way through in the wok

Dry Curry Chicken ready!

I’m sharing the curry noodle recipe here. Give it a try and I bet you it is very delicious.
(Altered the original recipe for my liking)

Ingredients:
300g Yellow noodles, wash and drained well
300g Koay Teow, wash and drained well
150g Bean sprouts, blanched
8 Pieces of bean curd, sliced
5 Pieces of fish cake, sliced

For the curry:
thick milk from 2 coconuts
4 cm Fresh turmeric
4 cm Fresh ginger, sliced
4 cm Galangal, sliced
6 Lemon grass (white part), sliced
6 Candlenuts
15 Dried chilies, blanched (mine was superp spicy)
10 Shallots, peeled
1 cm Shrimp paste
4 cloves Garlic, peeled
4 cups Water or stock
2 tablespoons Cooking oil
1 teasspoon salt

Method:
1. Use a food processor to grind the turmeric, ginger, galangal, lemon grass, candlenuts, dried chilies, shallots, shrimp paste and garlic into a fine paste
2. Heat the oil in a pot.
3. Fry the curry paste until fragrant.
4. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add water or stock and bring to boil.
6. Add bean curd, fish cake, coconut milk and salt.
7. Simmer the curry over low heat. Keep warm

To serve
1. Put some bean sprouts, noodles and ladle the hot gravy in.
2. Add in chicken pieces.

Here are some of the pictures:

The ingredients (to blend)

Heating the oil

Frying the blended ingredients

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The end result (i was just too busy to capture the in between procedures)

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By the way, i did two versions of curry. Non vege & Vegtarian. Here is the Vegetarian Version for Mom.

Non Vege Version for all of us:

My family enjoyed the dinner despite complaining it being spicy. Hahah!

Finally it is fixed!

I finally got my camera fixed yesterday. I thought my camera had some serious problem and brought it over to Sony Service Centre in North point, Mid Valley. Surprisingly, the girl at the counter told us it could be because we have used up the battery for very long period. Thus, she suggested purchasing a new battery at Sony Centre in Mid Valley. We purchased the battery for RM39 and Richard was smiling ear to ear as he initially though fixing the camera would burn a hole in his pocket. My days have been really difficult without a camera. Now that I have fixed them, I do not have any reason not to blog.

Happy weekend everyone!

The bill

I'm scared!

I was surfing the net and felt hungry. I went downstairs to make myself an oat drink. When I came up, I saw this little creature (lizard) that I’m afraid the most. How did this fella entered my room. I sitting here wide awake figuring out how to chase him away. I can't see him anymore. He’s hiding behind my air cond. Now I'll never fall asleep. I hope he finds his way outside soon. Each time I see a lizard in a room, I do not dare to sleep in my room. I’ll pack my pillow & blanket & sleep in the living room. I’ll be doing that now. Sigh

Can anyone tell me how to prevent it from entering the house?

Cable Car

When I was still studying in college, Richard and I only meet up every 2 or 3 months as he’s from Ipoh and I’m from KL. I come from a very conservative family. My parents didn’t know about our relationship till I was in the final year, final semester. So, whenever Richard came down from Ipoh to meet me (his lovely girl), we will find a place where not many people are there just to escape from being caught by my parent’s friends/relatives & etc. I’m just too scared ok. At that point of time, our favorite place to hang out was Sunway Pyramid. We go to Cable Car Restaurant almost every time we meet and I think they serve the best fried Rice in town. The fragrance, Mouth-watering.

Our favorite dessert.

Unfortunately, the restaurant is not there anymore. I’m just keen to see one in town soon. I missed their dishes so much.

Departure Lounge

Last night, I had a sudden crave for western breakfast. I went on to the net and found this cafe call ‘Departure Lounge’ in Solaris Mont Kiara. By looking at the pictures, it makes me drool already. (Oh yeah! I failed to follow the diet plan, I have to start soon)

Departure Lounge in Solaris, Mont Kiara



It’s our first visit there. Departure Lounge is a nice place to grab a bite. We flipped the menu for a good 5 minutes & found there’s something more interesting than this. There's this thing call Do-It-My-Way Breakfast Set specially tailored to your preferences. You basically pick up a card and tick the item you wish to have in your plate, 3, 5 or 7.

Both Richard & I went for 5. I picked turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, chicken sausages, hash brown, baked beans. Richard’s one was slightly different as he had pancake & fish fingers.

The cosy ambience of Departure Lounge and the affordable pricing makes a good chill-out.The bill came up RM28.80

Departure Lounge
No. 10, Jalan Solaris 4,
Solaris Mont’ Kiara,
50480, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel:03-6203 0362
Business Hours:
8am – 7pm (Monday-Saturday)
10am-5pm (Sunday and public holidays).

I did not get the opportunity to snap a single shot there as my camera's charger is missing.
Photo courtesy of http://blog.shirleeeen.net

Don't judge a book by it's cover

This photo was taken during my visit to Bali in 2008. We reached this so called sea-side restaurant in the evening for a scrumptious dinner. At that moment, I felt I really missed my fiancé simply because the place was so romantic. Everything was so good but the food was a real turn down. So, do not judge by its look ok…

A Surprise for you!

Remember me telling about the surprise birthday cake ordered by my aunt’s friend from UK for her bro-in-law. Yeah…It’s done and now I shall blog about it.

I received a call from Amutha (UK) on last Wednesday requesting me to bake a cake for her bro in-law’s 50th Birthday on Sunday. Despite the tight deadline and also many designing task at work, I agreed to bake. We then had a tele-conversation and msn chat. I asked if she has any idea on the theme, colour, etc , etc, and all she told me was, “I NEED SOMETHING GRAND”. I leave the rest to you.

I took 2 consecutive days to purchase the ingredients. I source out for the best quality ingredients only. It was a long & tiring day for me because the whole of Saturday was busy for me as I had to purchase the ingredients and attended my cousin’s wedding reception. I started the cake project on Saturday after the wedding reception, at 10.30 pm. While I was getting the ingredients ready in the kitchen, I found something which made me go nuts. The milk I was suppose to use for the butter cake was spoilt. Where the hell I should get that can of milk at this hour where all the shops had closed. 7- Eleven strike my mind. Oh yeahh I should give it a try. Off I went to 7-Eleven at 11pm with my cousin. I told her, if we don’t get the milk here, we shall drive down to TESCO. GOD was good enough to leave one last can of milk on the 7-Eleven’s shelve. Then I came back with the big smile on my face.

Since everything was ready, what’s next? Bake the cake larrrrrr!!! I bake 2 butter cakes. One big and one small. While the first cake was nicely sitting in the oven, I made the sugar icing and then prepared the ingredients for the second cake. After the long hours of standing by in the kitchen, I then finally finished baking at 3am. The overall process took 4 ½ hours. What’s next? I took a quick shower & went into my dream land (sleep) at around 3.30am. Of course I make sure I put alarm on at 8.45am.

So, did I wake at 8.45? The answer was NO. I overslept for 15 minutes. I woke at 9am and quickly got my self shower, pray, and kick start my decorating work. I did not even dare to spare a few minutes for my breakfast as I’m worried I can't finish decorating on time. There I worked with an empty stomach.

And the end result... >>>>>
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tadaaaaaaa!!!!
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> Here you go....Presenting one of my masterpiece.





I finished the entire design at 5.45pm and by the time I finished the cameras were all around snapping the good nice shot. After getting some shots, I then changed into another t-shirt and off we went for delivery.

Phewwwww!!!!!...Im finally done with it after 12 1/2 hours of hardwork. Now it's time delivery...

My aunt volunteered to drive the car >>>>>

Me at the back seat with that lovely baby sitting on my lap >>>>>

Posing before climbing up the stairs >>>>>

At the entrace of his house...shuuuuuuu!!!!!!

We enterered the house and my aunt shouted, "surprise for you from UK". The birthday boy (sorry men) was missing in action. He was not around in the house when we arrived. We then left the cake to his beloved angel.

His angel >>>>>

Peeping at the cake >>>>>

She was overall very surprised & happy for the cake. She made everyone a cup of nescafe & we chit chat a while.

When we arrive her house, she was busy doing some pearl necklaces. OH God, she's a superb talented lady. She does the most beautiful necklaces. Take a look at some of her works.


It's lovely isn't it? I think i'm going to get one for myself soon...(Richard if you read this please note)

What's next? We headed back home and reached home at 8pm. Clean & tidy up the kitchen, take shower, eat dinner, uploaded some photos for Amutha (she just can't wait to see the end result)

That's all for my update on the cake. I really hope Mr.Nathan & his family enjoyed the cake. I also would like to thank Ms.Amutha for the lovely opportunity.

Busy weekend..

It’s going to a busy weekend again for me. My cousin got married this morning and I got to attend her wedding reception tomorrow evening at PJ Civic Centre. I wish her lucks in her marriage & here’s to the new husband, and here's to the new wife, may they remain lovers, for all of life.

I expect an extremely busy Sunday as I’m commissioned for a cake project again. This time, it is going to be a surprised birthday cake by my aunt’s friend from UK to her beloved brother in law who will be celebrating his 50th birthday on this Sunday. I will post up the pictures soon. Till then stay tune.

What’s your weekend plan?

Stir, stir and stir

The title tells it all. Yes! Two weeks ago I made caramel kaya. It is my first attempt though. I had this sudden crave for homemade kaya after seeing shireen’s mom & dad doing it over and over again for their lovely daughter. I tell you, making the kaya is one hassle & tough job. It tested my patience level to maximum. Anyways, the double boil method worked well and after an hour of constant stirring, homemade caramel kaya done! Once the kaya has cooled, I stored them in two separate containers. One for me and another bottle for Richard. Everyone in the family loves the taste. I even had my cousin sister telling me that it taste way better than those on shelves.

Here’s the recipe I obtain from the internet:
Fresh coconut milk from 2 coconuts
400g of sugar
10 fresh eggs
3 pandan leaves, knotted

Methods:
1. Use an electric beater to beat the eggs at medium speed.
2. At once add in sugar slowly and beat mixture at full speed.
3. Add in coconut milk slowly and continue beating.
4. Pour the mixture into a steel pot and cook it over at a very low flame. Make sure the mixture is being constantly stirred to prevent any burns on the kaya as burns will spoil the taste of the kaya. The kaya mixture will change its colour from creamy white to brown, as caramels are formed from the heating of sugar. It is essential for one to stir the mixture continuously as the mixture will soon thicken. Once all the kaya has turned into a brownish colour mixture, cut the flame and leave aside to cool.

There is another method which will prevent the mixture from burning is to double-boil. Pour water into a bigger pot and set it to boil. Meanwhile the kaya will be inside a smaller pot immersed in the boiling water. This prevents the kaya from direct contact with the flame, which eliminates kaya burns. Put some oil in the water to prevent boiling water from splashing into the kaya. Note that constant stirring is still necessary.

For caramel kaya, scoop up about 2 tablespoons of sugar from the 1/2 bowl of sugar and cook it till the sugar becomes brown (caramel). Then pour the caramel into the pot of kaya when it’s almost ready. (last paragrapgh courtesy of health freak mommy)

Give it a try. It’s real good! (totally forgot to take a picture)

Kids these days...

I had a good laugh reading this one in a mommy blogger’s blog. I thought it will be great sharing with you guys. Kids these days…hmmm :)

How do you decide who to marry (written by kids)

"No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you are stuck with." - - Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
"Twenty-three is the best age, because you know the person forever by then." - - Camille, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
"You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids." - - Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
"Both don't want any more kids." -- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
"Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough." - - Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure?)

WHEN IT IS OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
"When they are rich." - - Pam, age 7

"The rules go like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do." - -Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
"It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them." - - Anita, age 9

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
"There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?"--Kelvin, age 8

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
"Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck!" - - Name not readable.

Birthday Cake

I was commissioned to bake a cake for my little cousin. The extremely hyperactive and spoiled brat turned two last Saturday. I started gathering the concept and sketched few designs. Having the theme in mind, I drop by ‘Bake with Yen’ located in Bandar Puteri Puchong on Friday afternoon to purchase the ingredients. It was dead crowd in Bake with Yen due to the coming Chinese New Year. My Favorite butter ran out of stock, therefore I had to purchase it in Tesco. Well, I stored the ingredient in fridge & container respectively and waited patiently for the sun to rise on Saturday.

Saturday morning, I woke up, took bath, prayed, had breakfast and kick started the baking project at approximately 9am. Baking the butter cake takes around 1 hour 40minutes (Including preparation & baking). It was the decoration that took me hours and hours to complete. Nearly five and half hours. I was just truly happy as the moment I completed at around 5.30pm. Everyone in the family was like hoo haa on the design. I was little proud of my achievement.

Here is the cake folks:

I hope you drool over the pictures.

Little Red Devil

My man had a delicious breakfast this morning. He ate Chinese mixed rice which consists of honey chicken in the black sauce, fried potato and some veggies.

I had to sit like a zombie and watch him eating despite him teasing me many times to share his meal. He said things which really make my eyes to drool; e.g. the chicken skin is damnnn crispy larr, it taste damn good today larr & such… Well, this are all temptations, I have to be strict in my plan.

After his breakfast session, I headed to KK Mart and grab a packet of McVitie’s Digestives biscuit. I had 3 pieces digestives and a cup of plain water. Looking forward in getting chapati for lunch. Don’t know what this devil of mine will eat right in front of me. Guess I better ditch him in the office before I go out for lunch.

New Year’s Resolution

Though I have many New Year’s resolution this year, I have taken serious consideration on my diet plan. I know I’ve been fooling around and not sticking to my plan many times earlier. This time around, I have a concrete reason for doing it. Yes! Our wedding talk is ON. Who doesn’t want to look great on their big day, eh? …I better shed at least 15kg’s by October this year.

I got this diet plan from http://fitnessmalaysiablog.blogspot.com and found it really helpful as it’s very much a Malaysianish.

Breakfast
1) Sandwich using whole meal bread. Load up on the veggie’s that go on sandwiches such as tomatoes, onions and salad. Cut back on condiments especially margarine & mayonnaise and avoid fried fillings and of course, stay away from cheese if you can. Examples of good sandwich fillings – ham, tuna, egg, de-boned tandoori chicken (left over from dinner the previous day)
2) Cereal – The more grains it has, the better. One of the worst cereal to eat is corn flakes and those other kid cereals like Koko Crunch, Fruit Loops and Honey Star.
3) Half boiled eggs – just add a dash of kicap and pepper for taste.

Lunch
1) Mixed rice – whether it is Malay, Chinese or Indian mixed rice, your rice portion should only be as big as your clenched fist. Load up on vege as much as you can. Avoid deep fried dishes
2) Chapati with curry of your choice
3) Subway Sandwich
4) Roasted meats – Eg, Ayamas Roaster, Kenny Rogers
5) Thosai (some places have thosai telur and thosai sardin. These are fine too)
6) Grilled Fish / Chicken or Steaks
7) Chicken Rice – The trick here is to eat less of the rice and more of the chicken. Remember, the rice portion should be the size of your clenched fist.
8) Simple rule – Avoid all goreng-goreng foods. From poori to fried chicken to fried rice to french fires. If it’s fried, you should avoid it.

Dinner
1) Salad – you can either make your own, or if you go out, order a salad for dinner. If you are eating out, always always get them to serve the dressing separately.
2) Fruits – Cut up some of you favourite fruits and fill up on these healthy food. Avoid Durian and watermelons. You can even make a fruit rojak if you like. Just buy the sauce, but use it sparingly.
3) Thosai
4) Tandoori Chicken
5) Sandwiches – same as the breakfast menu
6) Home Made Pasta – I will feature a recipe for you to try soon
7) Home Made burgers
8) Home made Roast meat
9) Taufu Bakar

Wish me Good Luck people!