M3rNi3

Rainbow Cupcakes

2012-02-13T05:30:00.000+08:00

I have seen way too many people putting up pictures of rainbow cakes that they make or sell online. The cakes look so pretty and how not to love the bold colours!

One of those nights when I couldn't sleep, I actually watched videos after videos on how to make this cake. It looks rather tedious to make but somehow I kept hearing these Rainbow Cupcakes calling out my name. I had to do it! I just had to do it!

While bold colours make the cakes look fun and vibrant, pastel makes the cupcakes look cute and pretty! Now, won't you agree?

Ingredients

1 box White cake mix
1 1/4 cup water
3 egg whites
1/3 cup vegetable oil
liquid food colorings

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Lay 12 paper liners in muffin tin.
In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, egg whites and vegetable oil till well combined (or as directed on box).
Divide batter into 6 small bowls.
Add about a drop or two food coloring to each bowl to make red, green, purple, pink, yellow and blue. Ensure that you stir well.
Starting with the red batter, add a level tablespoon to each of the 12 paper liners.
Repeat with all the remaining colours - green, purple, pink, yellow and blue.
Do not spread the layers of colour as it will cause the colours to combine.
Just let it spread out on their own.
Bake the cake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Video: Tiramisu

2012-02-09T09:00:00.000+08:00

Watch my video for pictorial instructions to make Tiramisu!

Carrot Muffins

2012-02-06T11:30:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago, I had late night coffee with my sister and her friends at The House of Robert Timms. We ordered a few desserts to go along with our coffee and one of them was Carrot Cake.

A four-layer cake with thick cream cheese icing in between. The carrot cake was heavenly and sinful. Besides the specks of carrot and walnuts, I spotted bits of pineapples in the cake!

I knew I had to bake some myself after having the carrot cake at the House of Robert Timms. I think by now, you ought to know my love for easy-no-mixer-required recipes. I was glad I found this recipe from Joyofbaking.com. The recipe calls for grated apple and coconut which I omitted. Instead, I added crushed pineapples. Carrots and crushed pineapples helped in keeping the muffins moist.

These Carrot Muffins tasted so good on its own. It would be perfect when topped with some cream cheese frosting! Next time I make these, I will definitely smear some cream cheese frosting. But first, let me find a good and simple cream cheese frosting recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup walnut, roasted and chopped
2 cups grated raw carrots
2 cups self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
3/4 cup canola oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup crushed pineapples
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Lay 15 paper cups in a baking tray.
A - In a large bowl, whisk together, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon powder and walnut.
B - In another bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, crushed pineapples and vanilla extract.
Using a spatula, fold B into A together with grated raw carrots till just moistened.
Spoon mixture into the paper cups and then bake for about 25 - 30 mins or until a pick/skewer inserted comes out clean.
Stand muffins for about 5 mins before turning out to cool on a wire tray.

Tiramisu

2012-02-02T09:00:00.000+08:00

The last I made Tiramisu was in 2006 and had not tried making them ever since.
Remember my first post of 2012 when I said I wanted to try making David Rocco's Tiramisu and that I had bought the ingredients? It was over the Chinese New Year holidays last week, that I decided to make them. I really wanted to try David Rocco's recipe but the thought of using raw eggs sort of puts me off.

So I browsed my blog for the Easy Peasy Tiramisu recipe that I used in 2006 and made slight adjustments to it. These are the ingredients that you need.

I was happy with the results of the Tiramisu that I made with the adjustments! Note that you definitely need to chill the dessert for at least 4 hours or overnight. I couldn't wait and took it out after 2 hours and the slice (pictured below) looks rather sloppy but still tasted good. I had another slice the next day and boy did the tiramisu come together in perfect harmony. The flavours just meld together and the texture was oh so right!

Here's the new adjusted recipe for my Tiramisu - the twisted version minus the eggs and a virgin one because it does not contain alcohol.

Ingredients

18 - 20 pcs savoiardi (ladyfingers)
2 tbsp nescafe coffee powder
1 cup boiling water
2 tbsp sugar
250g mascarpone cheese
170g cream
3 tbsp thickened cream
1/4 cup caster sugar
cocoa powder

Method

Dissolve coffee powder and 2 tbsp sugar in boiling water.
Let it cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile beat cream and sugar till soft peaks form with a hand whisk.
Then add in the mascarpone cheese and beat for a further half a minute.
Lightly dip ladyfingers in cooled coffee and lay them on a dish.
Spread evenly half of the mascarpone cream mixture over the ladyfingers.
Repeat the step with a second layer of ladyfingers and then the rest of the cream mixture
Cover dish with foil and refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight.
Dust tiramisu with cocoa powder when set.
Cut and serve cold.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000+08:00

Have you ever found yourself strapped for time and need to prepare dinner in a hurry?
I made this Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry a few nights ago and I thought this is perfect for those nights when you need to feed yourself or even your family in a jiffy.
This recipe is great because you have both your meat and vegetable proteins in one dish.
You may of course add red capsicums for added colour and nutrients and thicken the sauce with cornstarch, but I didn't.

Serve it with plain steamed rice.

Ingredients

250gm store bought pre-cut stir fry beef

2 tbsp soy sauce, divided

2 tbsp fish sauce, divided

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce, divided

2 tbsp oyster sauce, divided

4 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 big onion, sliced

2 pips garlic, finely chopped

1 cm ginger, finely sliced

oil

water

Method

Marinate beef with a tablespoon each of soy , fish, worcestershire and oyster sauce.

Heat some oil in a wok and over medium heat, stir fry beef till it is cooked and no longer pink.

Remove and keep warm.

Heat some oil again and saute the onion, garlic and ginger.

Add in the broccoli and stir fry briefly.

Then add some water and the remaining sauces to the broccoli and cook till broccoli is tender but crisp.

Lastly add the beef to the broccoli, remove from heat and serve with warm steamed rice.

Macaroni Soup

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000+08:00

I love soup. It soothes. Don't you agree?
It's been raining quite a fair bit these past few days and flash floods were reported in many parts of Singapore.
It was raining heavily last Sunday and what better way to spend a cold Sunday with a bowl of soothing Macaroni Soup.
I bet everyone loves such comforting soup on a cold or even crappy day so why don't you give this simple recipe a go!

Ingredients

170 gm macaroni

2 onions

4 cloves garlic
2 red chilli
1 cube chicken stock
2 tbsp oyster sauce
fishballs
crabsticks, sliced
some olive oil to fry
2 litre water

salt and pepper to taste
chopped cilantro to garnish
fried shallots to garnish

Method

Cook macaroni in a pot of salted boiling water till al dente.

Drain and wash under running water.

Pound the onions, garlic and chilli and saute in some olive oil.
Once fragrant, add water.
Then add in the chicken stock as well as oyster sauce and stir well.
Bring it to a boil then add in the fishballs and crabsticks and let it cook for a few minutes.
Season with salt pepper.
Serve soup over macaroni and garnish with chopped cilantro and fried shallots.

Ham and Cheese French Toast

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000+08:00

Tired of your typical french toast?
Why not stuff them with ham and cheese?
These two ingredients just belong to each other, you'll never go wrong with them.
It's definitely ideal for breakfast or even a quick weeknight dinner.

This Ham and Cheese French Toast tasted fabulous on its own!
I bet it'll taste great too, if I were to stuff some mustard and pickles for that sour tang.
Oh, how about sweet alternative to savoury stuffings?
Nutella and sliced bananas french toast with powdered sugar dusting for dessert!
Possibilities are endless. Yah, perhaps next time!

Ingredients

4 slices white or wholemeal bread, whichever you prefer
2 pcs honey baked ham
2 slices cheese
2 medium eggs
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper
some butter

Method

Lay out the bread slices. Fill with cheese and ham and top with the other bread slices.
Whisk eggs and milk in a shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add just a little butter.
Dip bread into egg mixture and turn to coat.
Cook in the pan for about 3 minutes each side or until golden brown.
Slice the ham and cheese french toast and serve.

Buttermilk Blueberry with White Chocolate Muffins

2012-01-22T12:15:00.002+08:00

I have just received two new cookbooks on Friday and while browsing the books, Blueberry Muffins recipe caught my attention. I love making muffins just because they are really easy and quick to make. You do not need a mixer to make them. All that's required are just two bowls - one for dry and another for wet ingredients. Mix them both together, and your batter will be ready.

I made some Buttermilk Blueberry with White Chocolate Muffins yesterday and am totally happy with the results. The recipe that I saw used plain yogurt but I used buttermilk instead and that surely helped to make the muffins moist and tender. The crust was wonderfully crisp and the muffins were just bursting with blueberries. I had also added some white chocolate since I had a couple of bars in my pantry.

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
a pinch of salt
125 gm blueberries
70 grams white chocolate, chopped (use more if you have)
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Lay 12 paper liners in muffin tin.
A - In a large bowl, mix together, flour, salt, sugar, blueberries and chocolates.
B - In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil and egg.
Incorporate B into A and using a spatula, fold in the flour till just moistened.
Spoon mixture into the muffin tins and then bake for about 25 - 30 mins or until a pick/skewer inserted comes out clean.
Stand muffins for about 5 mins before turning out to cool on a wire tray.

Note: Muffin crust is crisp once it is out of the oven and will soften once stored BUT rest assured that they taste just as good!

Sausage and Cheese Muffins

2012-01-18T09:30:00.000+08:00

I am sort of on a roll .. another blog post!!
On a roll or otherwise, Tihani, my 9 year old, needs breakfast.
I havent been a great mum, let alone a good mum.
At times or most times rather, Tihani goes to school WITHOUT breakfast.
This year, she specifically says that she wants breakfast before heading to school just so she can get her brain to work.
Alright, this girl needs breakfast to jumpstart her day!

Cereal, bread with cheese, oats, bread with nutella, cereal, bread with cheese ....
HELP!! I am in need of more tasty and easy breakfast ideas!!
I guess I need to break from feeding her the norms and have a change of menu and thought this would make a nice breakfast for my daughters - Sausage and Cheese Muffins - and so I baked some last night.

There you have it .. savoury breakfast for today!

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3 sausages, boiled and finely chopped (or more if you like)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (i used canola)
1 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Lay paper cases in muffin tins.
A - In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, cheese and chopped sausages.
B - Combine egg, oil and milk.
Incorporate B into A and using a metal fork, fold in the flour till just moistened.
Spoon mixture into the muffin tins and then bake for about 25 - 30 mins or until a pick/skewer inserted comes out clean.
Stand muffins for about 5 mins before turning out to cool on a wire tray.

Banana Nutella Croissant Pudding

2012-01-17T18:30:00.000+08:00

Just 8 measly posts for year 2011 :(
I have been procrastinating alot and have not been productive in the kitchen.
Yep, I totally didnt find any mojo to update my blog for 2011 and that's really a shame.

I do hope to find more time to try new recipes and update my blog this year. Lets see how it goes.
I have already some recipes in mind that I want to try, like David Rocco's Tiramisu and Joy of Baking's Cranberry Upside Down Muffins and had in fact stocked up my pantry and fridge with the required ingredients.

But for now let me share with you this sweet, rich and satisfying dessert to kick off 2012 - Nutella Banana Croissant Pudding.

By the way, World Nutella Day is happening on 5 Feb 2012 and I am also going to share this recipe at nutelladay.com

Croissant cut lengthwise and slather with nutella and topped with chopped bananas.

Croissant soaking up all the custard goodness.

Banana Nutella Croissant Pudding ready to be served.

Ingredients

6 - 8 croissants
nutella, just enough to spread on croissant
2 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 small bananas, chopped

powdered sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Slice each croissant in half lengthwise then slather each side with Nutella.
Put the halves back together to make sandwiches and cut into 4 pieces.
Add croissant and bananas pieces to a baking dish.
To make the custard, add eggs, cream, vanilla extract, salt and sugar to a medium bowl and whisk until combined.
Pour the custard over the croissant pieces.
Leave the croissant to absorb the custard for a few minutes.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes then remove the foil and continue to bake uncovered for about 10 minutes until the bread pudding is golden brown.
Ensure that the liquid has been completely absorbed.
Let cool and then sprinkle on powdered sugar to finish.
Best served warm or with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

Vegetable Shell Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce

2011-04-11T21:42:00.002+08:00

I am on leave this whole week. It is exam week. A week I dread the most.
Thank god, there are only two papers to clear this semester as the third subject is project based.

I love the fact that I am able to plan what to cook for my girls for dinner when I am at home.

It is quick simple dinner today - Vegetable Shell Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce.

I bought the vegetable shell pasta some time back at some fair that was held in school.

The rest of the ingredients are what I can find in the fridge - pasta sauce which is expiring soon, leftover frozen chicken franks and fresh mushroom which I bought a week ago to actually make mushroom soup but never did.

I prepared the ingredients about 45 minutes before the girls got home and by the time they got home and showered, the pasta is ready for my famished girls.

Ingredients

170 gm vegetable shell pasta

2 onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (i used white and brown button mushroom)

4 pcs chicken franks, sliced diagonally
2 cups ready made pasta sauce

170 gm cream

some olive oil to fry

salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Cook shell pasta in a pot of salted boiling water till al dente.

Drain and wash under running water.

Saute the chopped onions and garlic in some olive oil.
Then put in the chicken franks and mushroom and fry for a little while.
Add in pasta sauce and cream.
Season with salt and coarsely ground pepper.
Put in the drained shell pasta and mix well.
Serve immediately.

Beef Pastrami and Brie Panini

2011-04-06T17:57:00.012+08:00

It's Wednesday and it's a school day for me today.
There's only consultation and revision session and so school ended pretty early.
I left school and went to the nearest supermarket, NTUC at Tampines Mall.

I was in the mood to make my own sandwich and headed to the halal meat and deli section.
As usual I asked for turkey ham and chicken poloni and somehow the kind lady over the counter recommended beef pastrami. I've never bought pastrami before and thought why not?
So I ended buying turkey ham and some beef pastrami, my current favourite cheese, Brie, along with some other stuff.

Never tried a pastrami and brie combo?
You've got to trust me. It was heavenly.
I swore I actually devoured the sandwich with my eyes closed.
Let me exaggerate further. It was really really good.

Ingredients

Country loaf - panini
Pastrami
Sliced red onion
Pickles
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Balsamic olive oil

Method

Slice the panini into half.
Brush some balsamic oil onto the panini.
Place the pastrami on the panini.
Then stack on some sliced brie.
Next, place the panini on a pan and grill until its heated through.
(Alternatively, you can grill them in the oven)
Then stack the slices of onions and pickles.
Slather some mustard and mayonnaise on the other half of the panini.
Flip this half of the panini to the other to form a complete sandwich.
Cut it into half and enjoy!

Corn Pudding

2011-04-03T23:40:00.036+08:00

Today, when I woke up, I reminisced the times when mum would whip up easy desserts for us to enjoy. Now that I am a mother, I always think of something to make for my two daughters to enjoy.

It is Sunday today. Lazy Sunday to be precise. I went to the nearest minimart to get some ingredients for Corn Pudding. I remembered how my mum loved to make this dessert when I was a little kid and I remembered how easy it was to make them.

Remember the last time I made baked corn pudding? Well, this is the non baked version. Super easy to make and best served chilled.

Ingredients

1 cup custard powder
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 can creamed corn
3 cups water
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup fresh milk
a pinch of salt

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a pot.
Cook it over a stove.
Stir continuously as you do not want the custard to settle at the bottom of pot.
Stir till mixture thickens, bubbles and turns shiny.
Turn off heat and pour into little containers or one big one.
Allow to cool before putting it into the refrigerator to chill.
Once chilled, you may slice and serve.

Kuih Bakar Pandan

2011-03-04T13:12:00.057+08:00

Kuih Bakar Pandan is one of my favourite traditional Malay kuih.
I love this sweet, soft and rich kuih which is laced with pandan flavour.

Traditionally, this cake is baked in a brass mould.
I didn't own any so I baked this kuih in a non stick pan instead.

It still tasted good to me with the slightly browned and crusty top.

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
2 small packs of coconut milk (200 ml a pack)
3 eggs
1 cup of pandan juice (i used about 3 tbsp of pandan paste + water to make a cup)
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp canola oil

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Grease a pan with 2 tbsp of canola oil and place the pan in the oven.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, coconut milk, egg and salt.
Take the pan out of the oven and pour mixture in the pan.
Bake in preheated oven for about 90 mins or until a toothpick inserted into centre of kuih comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Applesauce Squares

2011-02-11T23:09:00.002+08:00

I was out grocery shopping with my little sister at Mustafa Centre the other day and saw applesauce at the sauces section. I have seen recipes using applesauce before and I bought a jar just so I can experiment with it.

Feeling the itch to bake today, I googled for a recipe using applesauce and found this but tweaked some of the ingredients. Here is my version of my Applesauce Squares.

Ingredients
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tbsp milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup applesauce

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
A - In a large bowl, mix flour and cinnamon powder.
B - Combine sugar, oil, milk, egg and applesauce.
Incorporate B into A and using a metal fork, fold in the flour and mix well.
Pour mixture into a greased cake tin and bake for about an hour or until a pick/skewer inserted comes out clean.
Cool on a wire tray.
Cut into squares and serve.

Baked Corn Pudding

2011-02-08T22:40:00.002+08:00

So what is a gathering without desserts.
I made this Baked Corn Pudding for the gathering at mum's.
Since I have creamed corn in my kitchen, I decided to make this.

Well, just a word of caution!
You have to ensure that the pudding is cooled completely before cutting.
I cut the pud while it was hot, so pudding was soft.
Of course, I panicked, wondering what went wrong with the baked pudding.
Only realised later that pudding sets as it cools.

Ingredients

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup evaporated milk

1 can creamed corn

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk until all ingredients are well combined.

Pour mixture into a prepared tin.
Bake in preheated oven for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.

Allow the baked corn pudding to cool completely before cutting.

7-Layer Dip

2011-02-07T21:12:00.025+08:00

I love gatherings and preparing food for guests.
Besides the Cheese Platter which I pepared for appetiser for the mini family gathering, I also made a 7-Layer Dip.

As promised yesterday, I will share with you a step-by-step process of how to make a 7-Layer Dip.

Step 1 - Heat 2 cans of refried beans spread it over the bottom of a serving dish.

Step 2 - Immediately sprinkle cheese over the beans.

Step 3 - Then you spread about a cup of guacamole.

Step 4 - Next salsa .. And I don't mean dance.

Step 5 - Next spread over some fattening sour cream .. you can use light sour cream if u like.

Step 6 - Then you layer on chopped onions.
Step 7 - Next layer on chopped tomatoes.

Garnish with lime and there you have it - 7-Layer Dip.
Enjoy it with nacho/tortilla.

Cheese Platter

2011-02-06T23:51:00.003+08:00

I know I have not been updating my blog.
Well that does not mean I have not been productive in the kitchen.
It's just that with work and school and projects, I have not been able to update this blog.
Well to think of it, I have gotten my baking mojo back but have yet to find the mojo to update my blog.

Here's something I'd like to share - Cheese Platter - which I made at mum's for a mini gathering with my siblings.

You can choose any cheese of your choice but for this platter, my little sister had requested for Blue and I chose Brie just because I love soft cheese.

Ingredients

Blue Cheese
Brie
Mixed Nuts
Grapes
Crackers

Method

Plate all the ingredients nicely on a nice plate and enjoy!

And dear readers, do check back tomorrow for I shall share with you a recipe for 7-layer dip :)

Instant Creme Caramel

2010-10-23T11:23:00.003+08:00

Some time back a colleague came to work one day with packs of Instant Creme Caramel to give away. I am most glad to receive them. I didnt get to try them only after recently.

Super simple seriously - Just add milk to the mixture and heat up for a few minutes.

Ingredients

1 pack instant creme caramel mix
500ml fresh milk

Method

Divide the caramel in 4 ramekins.
Whisk the creme caramel mix with milk in a small pot.
Heat it for about 5 minutes.
Divide the mixture into the 4 ramekins and cool.

Minced Meat Baked Pasta

2010-10-17T22:48:00.001+08:00

I love weekends because that's like the only time I can prepare food for the family. Today I decided to have pasta! I have already bought the ingredients for Tuna Baked Pasta the day before but mind is thinking of Minced Meat Baked Pasta.

It's really a toss between the two. Tuna Bake or Mince Meat Bake Pasta. I chose the latter. I actually do not have any mince in the freezer and made use of burger patties instead.

Today is special because I let Tihani help me in the kitchen. She loved her time in the kitchen, although all that she did was to help me fry or stir.

Ingredients

250g minced beef, pre cooked with a pinch of salt n pepper (i used 3 burger patties, chopped)
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, diced
a tablespoon of oil for frying
340g ragu sauce (bought off the supermarket shelves)
salt to taste
150g twist pasta
a pot of salted boiling water

Cheese Sauce
a tablespoon of butter
a tablespoon of flour
3/4 cup of milk
100g of cheddar cheese + a handful to sprinkle

Method

Boil the pasta till el dente and drain.
Heat oven to 180C.
To make the ragu sauce, heat oil in a pan.
Add the onion and garlic until softened.
Add in the mince.
Stir in the spaghetti sauce and let it simmer.
Tip in the drained pasta and mix well.
Ensure that pasta is saucy.
Pour pasta in a baking tray.

To make the cheese sauce, melt butter and stir in the flour.
Cook for a minute and then gradually stir in milk.
Lastly stir in the cheese.
Once cheese has melted, pour evenly over the pasta.
Top the handful of cheese on top.

Bake until the cheese on top is golden and starting to brown.

Mince Meat Pasta
Topped with Cheese Sauce

Mince Meat Baked Pasta
I must say the baked pasta was a hit. Tihani had second helpings and Auni gave me a thumbs up when I asked if it was yummy!

Longan Grass Jelly

2010-10-17T18:39:00.002+08:00

It's exceptionally hot and humid here in Singapore the past few weeks. Airconditioning has been our best friend. I would definitely like to thank whoever had invented aircon .. like seriously!

And this was what the kids and I had the whole weekend just to beat the heat - Longan Grass Jelly.

Ingredients

Grass Jelly, chopped
Canned Longan
Water
Ice

Method

Pour the chopped grass jelly and canned longan together with the syrup in a big bowl.
Pour in enough water to dilute the sugar syrup.
Throw in some ice and enjoy!

Alternatively, if you've crushed ice, you can place some crushed ice in a small bowl. Top it with chopped grass jelly, some longan then pour some sugar syrup over!

Lychee Konnyaku Jelly

2010-09-06T23:12:00.002+08:00

It's been a super long time since I last participated in a blog event. I was blog hopping and chanced upon some events and thought, hey, why not participate in one?

One of them is Sugar High Fridays (SHF). It was first started by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess. This month, SHF is hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and the theme is Bite Sized Desserts.

I havent been too productive in the kitchen of late and so I thought I'd use one from my archives (yes! SHF allows archived posts). For this submission I have to ensure it's vegatarian as Aparna writes a vegetarian blog.

So here's my submission .. Lychee Konnyaku Jelly.

Ingredients

10 gm Konnyaku Jelly Powder
210 gm sugar
950 ml water
12 pcs canned lycees, halved

Method

Put half a lychee in each konnyaku jelly mould.
In a pot, mix the jelly powder and sugar together.
Pour in 950 ml water.
Switch on the flame, stir until the water starts to boil.
Switch off the flame and keep on stirring for about 5 min.
Pour the Konnyaku mixture into the jelly moulds.
Chill to set for about 3 hours.

Click here if you want to read more about konnyaku.

Chicken Quesadilla

2010-08-05T12:52:00.005+08:00

I've always loved quesadilla and I didn't know how easy to make them. Just throw in anything you like, cheese, chicken, beef, tomatoes, whatever!

Enjoy it with a side sour creme and salsa!

Here's my super simple version.

Ingredients

Large flour tortilla
Shredded roasted chicken
Grated cheddar/mazzorella

Accompaniment

Sour creme
Salsa

Method

Preheat anon stick pan.
Place a tortilla on the pan.
Take a handful of grated cheese, sprinkle over the top of the tortilla.
Then take a handful of chicken and do likewise.
Fold the tortilla into half.
Ensure cheese has melted and tortilla gets browned.
Remove from pan and cut into wedges.

Sofra Turkish Cafe & Restaurant

2010-05-09T13:33:00.011+08:00

My friends and I were in the mood for something middle eastern. Someone suggested Sofra Turkish Cafe and Restaurant and so we went. This wasnt the first time that I came here but the last I came was years back. One thing I like about this place is definitely its ambience.

We had hummus for starters. This mildly spiced mixed cream mixture of chickpeas and tahini with lemon juice is definitely a winner. We also ordered turkish bread to go with it.

Not only do Italians have pizza, Turkish has their own version of pizza called Pide. We had beef pide for main course.

We also tried their Chef Plate. If you're into meat, this is one dish you should try. It consists of doner kebab, izgara kofte (flat meatballs) and a skewer of shish kebab.

Sofra also serves desserts. There's Baklava which we're all very familiar with. We didnt order that though. We ordered 3 other desserts - Turkish Chocolate Pudding, Turkish Rice Pudding and Asure.

I will definitely come back and try the other turkish dishes that Sofra serves. Sofra, I'll be back!

Chocolate Banana Cake

2010-04-16T01:51:00.001+08:00

I really cant remember when was the last I baked and I totally miss baking so much.

I NEED to get my baking mojo back!!

Here's my first bake for Year 2010 - Chocolate Banana Cake. I was supposed to bake this on Monday but I was hit by the lazy bug. Then I was hit by the flu bug yesterday. Yikes! Today, I forced myself to bake the damn chocolate banana cake which I had been meaning to bake since the start of the week.

So with the assistance of my ever so helpful little helper, Tihani, we started to bake. Tihani helped mashed the ripe bananas and mixed the dry and wet ingredients. This was rather easy to put together, just like any other foolproof recipes I ever tried.

Well, this was the result - a rich, moist, chocolatey cake with tender crumbed top and subtle hint of banana.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup self raising flour
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Preheat oven to 175C. Grease a loaf tin.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa and salt.
In another bowl, combine eggs, mashed bananasm water, milk, oil and vanilla essence.
Pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk well till everything is combined. Note that batter will be thin.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 - 50 mins or until a toothpick inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool.

I actually baked half of the mixture in a loaf tin and half in 6 standard sized paper cups.

Tihani is asleep now and she hasnt tried them. Will put some in her lunch box so she can eat them during recess. Will also bring some for colleagues and see what they have to say about my cake :-)

J's Wok & Grill

2010-04-13T22:22:00.000+08:00

I decided to take half day today to fetch Tihani from school. I then brought her to lunch at J's Wok & Grill for lunch.

J's Wok & Grill is actually the defunct Jeewa Restaurant at Joo Chiat (if anyone can remember). It is managed by Jeewa Ltd and in cooperation with Jamiyah Singapore.

The cafe is really nicely decorated with a little touch of class if i might add. They serve both Oriental and Western cuisine. Just outside the cafe, we saw a recession lunch special banner. There're only three items to choose from though - Char Bee Hoon, Kampong Fried Rice and Fish & Chips. The place was quite packed when we arrived.

We chose Prawn Fritters (S$6.90) for our appetiser. It was a generous portion. The prawns were de-shelled, fried with batter to perfection and served with Thai chilli sauce. Oh, by the way, what you see in the picture below is not the real portion. Could not resist eating them before I could even take pictures.

For mains, we ordered from the recession menu. We had the Classic Fish and Chips(S$3.50), which was served with fries, coleslaw and a wedge of lemon.

We also tried the Kampong Fried Rice (S$1.95). I thought that they might skimp on the portion but I was wrong. Portion is standard. Wow!

The fried rice was really nice - spicy and served with fried anchovies, slices of cucumber, tomatoes and sambal belacan. I took the first spoonful and I discovered that this wasn't any plain ordinary kampong fried rice. It has ingredients such as fishcakes, squids and even small chunks of chicken in them. Amazing!

So where else can we expect normal portion food at really dirt cheap price?

The lunch special is served on Mon - Sun from 12 - 3 pm. Only for dine-in and subjected to the prevailing GST and NO service charge.

J's Wok & Grill - Blk 527 Bedok North St 3 #01-514 Singapore 460527

Blic Ice Cream Cafe

2010-04-08T21:13:00.005+08:00

It's exam week! Just as I was getting ready to leave home for my exams on Monday, I found myself texting my buddy for ice cream. I just felt a sudden urge for sugar rush and I knew that could possibly be because of a wee bit of stress + anxiety. Urgh .. I totally hate that feeling.

So after my papers, I found my way to this new ice cream cafe at Tampines that my buddy and I chanced upon when we drove past a couple of weeks back.

Blic Ice Cream Cafe - a simple, clean ice cream parlour with orange and white decor and yummy flavoured ice cream to boot!

I swear I could smell that distinct smell of the king of fruit as I entered the cafe. Some may find it repulsive but I totally find that inviting. My buddy and I sampled a few flavours before we settled for our ice cream. Blic serves unique flavours like lychee mint, chunky peanutella and seasalt malt. Classic or premium. You're just spoilt for choice.

I was there for my sugar rush fix and hence I settled for double scoops. Yeah, call me greedy! I chose Double Chocolate and Durian "Mao Shan Wang". I swear by the durian ice cream for it is rich, creamy and oh-so-yummy!

By the way, that's my buddy who had double scoops too - a scoop of Seasalt Malt and Ferraro.

I am sure I will be back for more!

Blic Ice Cream Cafe - Blk 802 Tampines Ave 4 #01-23 Singapore 520802.

====================================

Did I say I will be back for more??

Yesterday, just two days after our first visit to Blic, Has and I went back for more. This time with another friend, Win. As usual, we did our samplings before deciding.

Actually I had already decided what I wanted before I even stepped into Blic :-)

I got myself a single scoop of Seasalt Malt. This is my other favourite. I just do not know how to explain its taste, seriously. That horlick-ey saltish flavour is just way too awesome! Well, at least for me :-)

Has had the Chunky Peanutella. I bet anyone who has a major obsession for peanut butter would be perfectly contented with this.

and Win chose the premium Durian flavour.

Win's verdict "This is even better than Scoopz" and I couldnt agree with him more.

With an ice cream parlour just near home and school, I bet I would be making regular visits whenever I have a sweet tooth craving.

Zac's Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Cuisine

2010-04-07T23:46:00.008+08:00

Today, two colleagues and I decided to give our other colleagues a treat. The treat was the for long service awards that my two colleagues received and also for my promotion :-)

So we decided to go to Zac's Cafe for some middle eastern and mediterranean fare. I had been here quite a number of times and had never been disappointed.

Reservations and confirmation of menu for 8 of us were made a week before. For appetisers, we had Mixed Salad with Feta Cheese.

Hummus

with Arabic Bread

The other starter that we had was Foul Madames. This was also served with bread.

For mains, I ordered Arabic Rice.

Rice was fluffy and light and it went well with the thick and rich Lamb Bamiya.

And for desserts, we had Cream Caramel.

And what better way to complement our middle eastern and mediterranean cuisine with Iced Mint Tea. Simply refreshing!

Zac's Cafe - No 17 Jalan Pinang Singapore 199149

M3rNi3 is Still Aliv3

2010-04-07T11:36:00.006+08:00

Dear readers

I truly apologise for being on a hiatus.
After almost two years of not blogging, I decided to be back again.

I kept looking at my blog and wondered why'd I stopped.
I swear I miss blogging.

Today on, amidst work and school and life, I will try to blog.
And yeah, nothing's gonna change.
m3rni3 is still gonna be about food, food and more food!

So look out for updates alright!

Yours truly
m3rni3

Mr Prata ... yet again

2008-06-14T01:15:00.006+08:00

One weekday afternoon, I decided to bring the kids to play @ Go-Go Bambini again. But it was lunch before play and Tihani chose Mr Prata. Good that she chose that place since it is close to Dempsey.

This time around, Tihani had Cheese and Mushroom Prata

I chose Nasi Beriyani

with Chicken Curry

And Auni had Fried Rice with Crispy Ikan Bilis!

I know what to order the next time I ever step foot there, i.e. the fried rice - simple a dish but it was just soooooooooo delicious!

Spize @ Simpang Bedok

2008-06-02T00:23:00.006+08:00

On eat with your family day, last two Fridays, I had the chance to eat at the Spize @ Simpang Bedok. Well, I didnt go with my family though but with Mila's. She has been patronising this place alot and I was quite excited I had the chance to eat here at long last.

Once you're seated, you'd be give two menus. One is asian and the other is mediteranean. The menu was extensive. I was just spoilt for choice - almost had a headache trying to choose what I want to eat.

I settled for a simple meal of Seafood Aglio Olio and boy, was I happy with my choice which only cost $9.90. They were really generous with their seafood - fish, squid, mussels and prawns.

We also ordered Bangers and Mash

Egg Prata

Lasagna - which I also liked

Chicken Fajitas

Mutton Chop

Chicken Roti John

All in all, I truly enjoyed having a meal at this place. On days when I do not know what I am up for, I will definitely think of D Spize!

Charco's @ Ang Mo Kio

2008-06-01T23:50:00.002+08:00

My thousand apologies for not updating. Not that I am on a hiatus but I just can't seem to find the mood to update.

Two months has past, I thought it is unfair for visitors to come only to see the blog not being updated.

So here I am, doing a food review on Charco's. Charco's is located at a neighbourhood place and it specialises in Chicken and Ribs.

These were what we had ..

Auni had Nuggets and Chips with gravy

I had Ribs and 3 different kinds of salad

Tihani and the man had Portuguese Chicken with Chips. Wait staff was very attentive and accomodating. I requested for no breast meat and the staff gave two portions of thigh meat instead .. ;-)

I love the fact that Charco's has trays of salads that patrons can choose from.

BBM - Little Things

2008-03-30T22:42:00.004+08:00

First and foremost, I would like to apologise to Melody of Trap Door for not putting this up any earlier.

My younger girl dropped my precious Exilim hence had to wait for my man who was out of town to come back with our old Canon to take pix of the package.

I sure am glad to receive the package!!! Who wouldnt? I swear I love everything that was put in the package.

It was two Fridays ago when I got home and saw the package on my dining table. I knew that was my BBM package.

I ripped the box off and nice scent enveloped the WHOLE BOX!! YES, it came from something that I longed for. Will talk abt it later in this post.

Here was what Mel had included in the package:-

- a very nice frame, love the picture
- a scrap book with recipes
- and a cute lil card. cute init?

Next, Mel included:-

- a couple of spatulas
- a huge basket cookie cutter
- coasters
- a nice lil table cloth

My specifications mentioned about me being a sucker for dark choc and Mel had taken note of that and sent me:-

- dagoba organic chocs. one was dark choc chilies and nibs and the other was dark choc lavender essence and wild blueberries.
- guittard cappucino chips. i so cant wait to start baking cookies or muffins using these chips.
- lindt bugs and bees chocolates for my daughters. ooh how thoughtful.

That is not all. Remember the scent I got when I opened the box. It came from these ..

YESSSSSS .. vanilla beans .. can MEL read my mind or what?!?! I longed to purchase them but seriously I do not know where I can them from and even if I can get it will definitely cost a bomb! This is my current most prized possession!!! I am just so thrilled to receive this .. really!!

Thank you Mel for the package. I sure love them all - from your favourite ingredient - vanilla - which happened to be mine too and to my other treats!!

Thanks to Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness too for hosting yet another BBM!

To view what others who signed up received, click here.

Mr Prata @ 26, Evans Road

2008-03-21T16:10:00.004+08:00

It is Good Friday today. The man had left for Cameron Highlands yesterday and I am left with the kids at home. Made plans with my brother to bring the kids out.

Brother drove us to Mr Prata to fill our tummies first. I went WHOA when I looked at the menu. Over 30 varieties of prata alone.

We sat alfresco, ordered our food and drinks.

Sis in law had Tissue Prata

The kids had Egg Prata

Sis had Butter Prata and

the adventurous yours truly had Maggi Prata. Maggi noodle with chopped onions and eggs, encased in cripsy and light prata.

We headed to to Go-Go Bambini after breakfast and the kids had a whale of a good time!

Oh yah, and the mummies had their share of fun too. We had our toenails done!

Breakfast @ Swensen's

2008-02-03T17:49:00.001+08:00

Last night while updating my blog, I thought and decided to break our weekly Sunday breakfast ritual today by going out for breakfast instead.

Swensen's weekend breakfast came to mind and so we went the Parkway Parade outlet to eat.

I had checked out the website the last night and when I looked at the kid's menu, somehow, I knew what my kids would order.

There are three sets that the kids can choose from. True enough they pointed to what I had thought they would order!

They ordered the Eggs and Sausages Set - which consisted of two sunny side up eggs, 2 cheese sausages, crispy potato bites, fruit salad and juice.

My kids love eggs, scrambled, hardboiled, sunny side up, so long they are eggs.

I had made up my mind last nite what I wanted to order. I settled for the Hearty American Breakfast Set - which consisted of scrambled eggs, thick slices of french toasts, ham, herbed sausage, hash brown, creamy mushroom and grilled tomato. And this was served with a cup of juice and hot coffee.

The man had Creamy Scrambled Eggs Set (not pictured) which was almost similar to mine minus the ham and his was cheese sausage instead of herbed ones.

Today also marked the man's 39th birthday. Yes, one year short of the big 40. Swensen's do offer birthday promotions and so the man was presented with his FREE ice cream courtesy of Swensen's. The kids sang a birthday song for their Papa and we dug in.

Hmm .. I have never remembered us eating ice cream in the morning. Well, let's just say that TODAY is just exceptional.

To the man - Many Happy Returns to you and enjoy being 39!

U.D.D.E.R.S Ice Cream

2008-02-02T21:25:00.001+08:00

I chanced upon U.D.D.E.R.S Ice Cream today while walking from United Square to Novena Square. Udders is located at the shophouse across a lane to the left of United Square.

An ice cream outlet which could seat a reasonable number of people, it serves a whole variety of home made yum.

I tried about 5 flavours - Cempedak, Vanilla Almond, Pistachio, D24 Durian, Chocolate Marshmallow before I settled for a double scoop of Vanilla Almond and D24 Durian.

You can find specks of vanilla from real vanilla bean and a whole lot of chopped almonds in the Vanilla Almond flavour. I love almond by the way. D24 Durian was equally good, you could smell durian just when you stand over their counter.

My kids being kids opted for Chocolate Marshmallow. Bitter chocolate with a generous amount of marsh, I would say it was good as well - ok maybe it is the fact that I love bitter chocolate too .. ;-)

Here's the price board for the classic ice cream.

Premium ones are charged at different rate.

Ya Kun Kaya Toast

2008-02-01T23:58:00.001+08:00

I remembered when I was pregnant with my older child, I always want to eat Half Boiled Eggs and Kaya Toast. It was 5 years back that I was introduced to Ya Kun Kaya Toast.

Now, every now and then, I never fail to go to Ya Kun Kaya Toast to get my fix when I feel like having it.

I would normally order the normal set of two hard boiled eggs,

kaya toast and

a cup of coffee. I have always loved coffee made by the Chinese.

There were only a couple of times when I ordered French Toast with Kaya, which for me was good, as they arent soggy and oily.

Click here for a list of Ya Kun outlets.

Kids and the Kissy Kiss

2008-01-29T22:20:00.001+08:00

Kids nowadays .. hmm ..

I'd just like to share some pix of my baby and her cousin doing the kissy kiss!

"are we sure about this?"

"let me kiss you"

"no .. let me kiss you"

"hokay, let's just kiss okie"

Don't they look adoreable in those pictures?? Gosh, look at how the male cousin kissed my baby - with eyes closed .. hmmm ..

One thing for sure, I really hope these kids dont start young! If you get my drift that is!

Robin's Portuguese Egg Tarts

2008-01-27T22:09:00.001+08:00

I was in Johor Bahru (JB) yesterday together with my siblings, in search of TexMex Food (will do a post separately) and Portuguese Egg Tarts.

I had seen this foodshop - Robin's Portuguese Chicken - on the 2nd level of City Square before but had never tried eating there before.

This foodshop also sells Portuguese Egg Tarts. I've tried my hands at making portuguese egg tarts before but with little success with the charred tops. So this time around I thought I might just buy them there.

When I reached the place, the staff were replenishing the egg tarts on their display counter.

I bought 10 pieces to go but didnt leave right away. We sat down and ate a piece each. They were piping hot, custard was sweet and goes well with the puff pastry.

My siblings who were initially not that interested in them tarts, must have liked it alot when they tasted one, that they decided to join the queue to buy some home .. ;-)

PS. Personally, I think the tarts taste way much better at room temperature!

One Chilly Afternoon

2007-12-25T23:52:00.001+08:00

lazy xmas afternoon. rain.
hot chocolate. marshmallows. light cheesecake.
comfy sofa. sappy movie. cry buckets.

Eatzi Steakhouse and Bistro

2007-12-24T21:02:00.001+08:00

I was at my best friend, Mila's home two Sundays ago to celebrate her 4th child's first birthday. Mila showed me an ad in the papers of a restaurant which serves turkey as one of their Christmas promo menu. Mila has been hankering for turkey since last Christmas. So we decided that we go to that restaurant for lunch on Christmas Eve.

It is 24th Dec today. Mila and I met as planned for our Christmas Lunch at Eatzi Steakhouse and Bistro @ EastPoint Mall.

We did not need much time to decide what to eat as we had already decided which meal we wanted two weeks ago.

First course was Light Cream of Seafood Soup served with Garlic Bread.

Mila had Roast Turkey and Chicken Ham served with Chestnut Stuffing and Gravy.

I had Fillet of Fish topped with Prawn and served with Ginger Coriander Sauce.

After meal dessert was Mango Pudding with Strawberry and Coffee.

Not enough of the Mango Pudding, I decided to order more desserts. I wanted Creme Brulee but they do not have that today so we ordered a slice of Chocolate Mousse Cake and

a slice of Tiramisu

Told ya, I am such a sucker for desserts!

Today's lunch was great because we really took our time, like almost 2 hours, just sitting, chatting and enjoying our lunch without having to rush through it.

Nando's

2007-12-23T23:56:00.001+08:00

From Kuala Lumpur (KL) to Malacca .. at long last I got to eat IT in Johore Bahru (JB). And what am I talking about?!?! IT refers to Nando's.

I was in KL last month but did not get to try it. I was in Malacca two weeks ago and still did not get to try it. I was in JB earlier today and you should all see my excitement when I saw a banner on Nando's just outside Plaza Pelangi, when the man drove past the mall, on the way to AEON Tebrau City.

We spent the whole afternoon at Tebrau City - we lunched and shopped and after almost 6 hours of exploring the 3-level mall, we called it quits.

We decided to go to Plaza Pelangi for dinner at Nando's. The very reason why I heart my bro and sis in law. They are so accomodating. They knew I wanted to eat Nando's badly and got the man to drive all of us there.

Nando's is famous for its Peri Peri sauces and its Afro-Portuguese Flame Grilled Peri Peri Chicken.

We ordered their promotional menu for 4 which consisted of a whole Lemon & Herb chicken,

two different kind of rice (pictured only one),

Peri corn and

a bowl of potato salad.

Sprite with Lemon and a hint of vanilla and a pot of tea to finish our meal.

All of us enjoyed our meal at Nando's. I agree with my sis in law, Adriana, when she said "We should have Nando's in Singapore."

Feeling all satisfied after my Nando's meal, I slept in the car, all the way from JB to Singapore. Hmm .. I wonder whether I slept with a smile on my face .. ;-)

PS. Thanks brother for the the lunch and dinner treat today!

Donut Factory

2007-12-22T23:46:00.001+08:00

Many many months ago, Donut Factory was the talk of the town when it opened its first outlet at Raffles City Shopping Centre. People would queue for hours just to get their fix. Donut Factory has opened 2 more outlets ever since.

After lunch and shopping today, I checked out Donut Factory. There WAS a queue but it was moving rather quickly so I decided to join the queue.

I bought two half a dozen of them donuts - a box for sis in law and the other for me. We tried the Glazed ones, Spicy Cheese, Double Choc, Raspberry Dark Chocolate, Chocolate Lemon Cream Heart, Coffee Roasted Almond and Hazelnut Milk Chocolate.

I really indulged. The lightness of Donut Factory donuts are comparable to those of J.Cos but I found those at Donut Factory a little messy though.

Oh, I just have to add this - NONE of them serving was smiling! I kid not. Look again at the pictures above. They were unlike all those trays of sweet donuts displayed over their counters!

Siam Kitchen

2007-12-22T23:02:00.000+08:00

Sis in law, Adriana Pinto, was, I guess in the festive mood of giving. With a really GOOD bonus and a generous heart, she decided to give the family a lunch treat. She made reservations for Siam Kitchen @ Suntec City and boy, were we all in for a great treat.

Siam Kitchen serves ala carte buffet with free flow of ice lemon tea. We did not bother to choose from the buffet menu but asked the waitress to bring in all the dishes to our table instead.

OK, time for me to introduce to you the dishes we had.

We started off our meals with Prawn Crackers>.

The dishes were then served, a few at a time. Thai Spicy Squid Salad

Spicy Green Mango Salad. This is simply my favourite.

A small bowl of Tom Yum Seafood Soup each

Lemongrass Chicken Wing and Thai Fishcake

Prawn Balls with Mayonnaise

Chicken Satay

Minced Chicken with Chilli and Basil

Fish Fillet in Yellow Curry which I enjoyed very much too.

Green Curry Chicken

Sweet and Sour Prawn, which was good that we ordered a second helping.

Beef Masaman in Dry Curry

We also had two different kind of vegetable dishes. One was Kailan with Garlic and Mushroom and the other was Kangkong with Chilli and Shrimp Paste

The last dish which was served was Crispy Tofu with Oyster Sauce, which I had not taken a picture of.

All those dishes were eaten with a choice of Pineapple Fried Rice or Fluffy Jasmine Rice.

That's the whole gang, all 13 of us, enjoying our lunch.

While the rest had surrendered after the sumptuous meal, I, on the other hand still had space for dessert. Just in case you fellas think I am such a glutton, please make known that I DID NOT try all the dishes, hence the belly space for desserts!

Me being a dessert person will definitely want to try their desserts, aye. So I placed orders for Mango Slices with Sticky Rice,

Thai Chendol and

Coconut Ice Cream.

Wait! I did not eat all those alone but shared with mum, baby sis and my second brother.

I love this place. Food was great and tasty! Service was prompt. Siam Kitchen would definitely be on my eat out lunch/dinner list!

PS. Thank you Adriana for the lunch treat and hope you like the birthday present which you had chosen from GAP!

Banquet @ Lion City Hotel

2007-12-17T20:02:00.001+08:00

After lunch with Mila today, I met my cousin, Inah, at Tanjong Katong Complex (TKC). I had asked my cousin to accompany me to an employment agency to do some enquiries as I am planning to get a helper.

After that was done, cousin decided that I accompany her to eat. So we went to Banquet @ Lion City Hotel to eat.

We braved through the heavy rain from TKC to Lion City Hotel. Cousin ordered Kuey Teow Cockles for herself and

You Tiao Rojak for us to munch so that I do not have to just watch her eat.

Nothing beats a cold rainy day than a hot cup of coffee .. mmmmmmm ...

Gee .. I have been eating out alot and that was the reason why I ballooned. Well, no complains .. hehehe.

PS. I learnt today that new employers are to go to through a course through Singapore Polytechnic and get a certificate of attendance before they can employ a maid.

Ramen Ten

2007-12-17T18:29:00.001+08:00

I am on half a day leave today. Mila too was on leave so we decided to meet up for Japanese. Since Mila brought her 3 older children too for lunch and there is a new Ramen Ten outlet at Century Square which was close to Mila's home, we settled for that.

Let us take a look at what we ordered. We had and assortment of sushis and

handrolls

For main, the children ate Breaded Oysters with Fries.

Mila had Teriyaki Chicken Noodle and

I had Chicken Miso Noodle.

For drinks, the kids had Chocolate Smoothie, Mila had Mango drink with Ice Cream and I had Hot Green Tea.

I actually ordered Hana Maki too but the order did not arrive even though we were almost done with out mains. Thinking that they might have forgotten about the order, I asked one of the many wait staff about it and he said he would check. I waited. And after we were done with our food, I was still not served with it. Sigh. We paid for our food but ensured that we were not charged for the Hana Maki and left.

Overall, I would say, the food there is just OK and service could have been better with the many wait staff who were working that day.

E-Donuts

2007-12-15T00:01:00.001+08:00

I was at IMM on 2nd Dec and was walking around while, the man went to Akira to get a portable DVD, when I chanced upon yet another donut store called E-Donuts.

I just walked past but decided to walk back to give it a shot (since there were no queue).

The packaging ..

Guess the colours might have attracted me to buy half a dozen ..

They were just OK .. J.Co still rocks my world!

Oh did I mention, that a queue formed right after I got mine?

House of Sundanese

2007-12-12T03:18:00.001+08:00

It was dad's birthday last Friday. His children, in laws and grandchildren decided to bring him out for dinner on Sunday.

We only confirmed the venue less than 2 hours before the time we're supposed to meet. From Mak's Place the Hawkerant to Lagun Sari to Kintamani and in the end we settled for House of Sundanese. That was how difficult for us to decide.

Once venue was confirmed. First sis in law made reservations. Very prompt and efficient ey!

The man and I left after Maghrib, then fetched my parents, sis and daughters and went straight to Suntec City where the restaurant was.

When all were seated, we placed our orders. We chose 2 set meals enough to feed 13 of us.

We were then served Emping and some hot dip. Twas really hot. I couldnt handle that.

These were some of the dishes that we had.

We had Grilled Seabass,

Large Prawn, (aint sure how it was cooked. sauteed with some stuff, i guess)

Tahu Telur,

Chicken Satay, which I thought was extremely good,

Grilled Cumi Cumi and

Grilled Chicken Sunda Style.

In the midst of me trying to fill my tummy, I had forgotten to snap pictures of some of the other dishes that we had, like Fried Kangkong, Sayur Lodeh, Mutton Soup in a claypot, Chicken Curry and .. ermm .. have I left anything out?! Maybe not.

If you're wondering why were there loads of grilled stuff, well, apparently, that is the most popular method of preparing food in Sunda.

We finished the meal with fresh lime juice.

Oh .. that was not the end. We helped ourselves to the dessert buffet after food. Despite the bad cough, I just had to go for the Mango Ice Cream and Fried Bananas!

A full belly later, we left the restaurant, cam whored and bade goodbyes!

PS. Happy Birthday Abah! Semoga dipanjangkan umur, dimurahkan rezeki dan diberi kesihatan yang baik. Amin.

Komala's Fast Food Restaurant

2007-12-08T22:53:00.001+08:00

Pardon me for I know this is an ultra overdue post.

A few days before Deepavali, I visited Serangoon Road to see the light ups there and also to check out the bazaar. They have two different bazaars there. One just opposite Tekka market and one on the big open field just opposite Mustafa Centre. I went to the one near the Tekka market.

Each and every shop were filled with colours. So colourful! So vibrant! I just enjoyed myself milling through the crowded bazaar and just soaking in the atmosphere.

Makeshifts henna tattoo shops were aplenty. I was tempted to have my hands drawn with the henna tattoo but then changed my mind coz I had one more thing on my agenda, that was, to go eat at Komala's Restaurant.

After walking through the bazaar, my cousin, Inah, sis and I made our way to Upper Dickson Road and walked right in and ordered our food.

We had plain sweet lassi, mango lassi and lemondade for drinks.

Sis had Bhattura which came with fries.

Cuz Inah had Rawa Masala set, which came with a poori and vadai.

I had Onion Dosai. It was really overloaded with soft, sweet, sauteed onions which I liked very much.

We also shared amongst us some Pappadams.

After the tummies were filled, we left the fast food restaurant. As I was about to turn for the exit, I chanced upon this signage which I thought was rather cute.

What do you think?

PS. More overdue posts coming up. Keep a lookout aite!

unkl347

2007-12-01T23:37:00.001+08:00

A friend had invited me to his brother store's opening today. As part of the Singapore Design Festival, they also did a short worshop and exhibition as well.

unkl347, located at golden landmark, unit 01/22, is an apparel and bag store for the trendy, the young or even the young at heart. Their Ts are comfortable and designs are for me unique. The man and I own some of their apparels already and my angels own their hoodies too.

I went early right after work and they were still preparing. Due to some prior engagements I had to leave early. Here are some pix I managed to snap when I went.

Before I left, I gave them cupcakes which I had baked the nite before. I hope the guys enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed baking and icing them.

PS - unkl347, congrats on the store's opening and I hope business blooms too.

PPS - readers, do check out the unkl347 store and give them your support. gracias!

Mini Escapade

2007-11-22T22:31:00.000+08:00

i am taking a much needed break ..

am off to KL tomorrow .. (yes, i know it IS just kl, but heck)

let my hair down ... paint the town red ..

eat my heart out .. check out a club or two..

hang loose .. indulge .. chill .. enjoy ..

the travel buddies gotta be good ..

all i want is to have some fun ..

jus me,
yours truly

Makan Kakis - BBQ Cookout

2007-11-20T00:46:00.001+08:00

We had our Makan Kakis BBQ Cookout last Saturday over at Shaz's place @ Elias Green Condo. She had booked the bbq pit which was just by the pool! Nice!

With the man and kids in tow, we reached Shaz's place only after 7pm. The bbq had already started by the time we arrived. I said hi to all, made myself comfortable, looked what was in store for my tummy and made small chats with the group.

So what was really in store for us all you may ask? A couple of days before the bbq, Shaz sent us an email and these are excerpts from it:-

"2 dozen live oysters which we will serve with lemon on a bed of ice."

"a selection of seafood like salmon, prawns and squid, lamb and beef burgers, lamb and beef kebabs, chicken wings and breast,hotdogs, potato/green apple salad, some cooked dishes"

"a 3-tier chocolate fountain with marshmallows, strawberries, banana and pineapple!"

"the key is in the little details like the BBQ hot sauces e.g. smokey brown sauce, honey mustard and Nando's EXTRA HOT peri-peri chili, marinades e.g. sambal belado, garnishes and fresh vegetables e.g. white onions, parsley, lemon, portobello mushrooms, asparagus and, yes, fruits for grilling over the BBQ pit."

"a refreshing lemonade made from Bickford's lemon cordial, fresh lemon juice, sugar water and iced water!"

Oh yes, I was already salivating when I read the email she sent us. As promised, I also brought along a tray of fried mee hoon and assorted flavoured milk jellies.

Ok let's just look at some pix now taken at the bbq ..

the array of food layed on two tables ..

Hakim slicing the salmon .. which I then took over ..
that's Nassy with Tihani .. caught in the act ..
the lamb burger which I had .. yes .. it WAS YUMMY .. best homemade patty Ive tasted ..
the kids lounging around, enjoying a good chat and food ..

the different sauces to go with the different food ..

that's yours truly and my new friend, Sraelynn . I read her blog alot and at long last I got to meet her in person .. beautiful in person and YES she writes beautifully too ..

that's Hakim and Tihani ..

Liza, Sraelynn and her mystery friend, Shad ..
Hana and her brother, Farhan .. look at their gorgeous smiles ..

Auni with the choc jelly I made ..
Aidil hard at work .. trying to feed the people ..
some of the bbq-ed stuff ..
stingray anyone?!
some of the nice bunch of people who went ..
oh yes, Eja also bought a nice, rich chocolate cake for Aidil's belated bday .. how thoughtful ..
wondering what were these kids looking at?? YES .. Aidil got dunked in the pool .. woots!
With the great company and food and laughter aplenty .. we thoroughly enjoyed ouselves! My thanks to Shaz, Aidil, Hana and Zak for making this happen!

The next Makan Kaki event will be a trip to KL next month. We talked about it at the bbq and just confirmed there and then. We are spontaneous like that, can?
*pardon the pix as most were taken by my 3-year old Auni*

Late Lunch @ Tong Seng Coffeeshop

2007-11-19T23:52:00.001+08:00

My mum's eye op went smoothly. Alhamdulillah

The afternoon off today was spent with my sis and cousin, Inah.

We went to Tong Seng Coffeeshop to have our late lunch. I have been meaning to go there for the longest time. The last I went there was eons ago.

It was drizzling when we reached there. What's ideal for me would be a bowl of Sliced Fish Soup Noodle. Their soup was the milky version which I liked very much.

Sis had Fishball Noodle Dry .. flat noodle topped with minced meat, fishballs and slices of fiscakes, cilantro and lettuce. It also came with a bowl of clear soup. I had a taste of it and it was good.

Inah had Prawn Noodle - yellow mee topped with fishcakes, blanched prawns, cilantro and lettuce with a bowl of prawn broth. Yum yum .. I will definitely want to eat this one the next time I go there.

We also ordered some sides - Fried Wanton and Siewmai.

That's sis and cousin, tucking in.

And that's the ever so smiley me.

I then made them walk with me to Raffles Shopping Centre to shop, then made them walk again to Shaw Tower to have ice cream at Tom's Palette, another ice cream place which was on my list of ice cream parlours to try.

The counter lady was so nice. She let me try almost all the flavours.

My cousin and I settled for the same flavours - Salted Caramel Cheescake and Chocolate. Salted caramel cheescake was for me so darn good .. it was something different at least for me coz it was my first time eating salted ice cream. I think I am game enough to try more exotic flavours, which perhaps has flowers or even chillis in them. Can I find any of those here?

Sis had Horlicks and Chocolate.

Actually I wanted to try their Granny's Favourite - Granny's Cookie Dough but they ran out of it. What a shame!

After ice cream, we walked back to Bugis Junction to shop for some Ts and then we sat at MacDonald's, used the lappy, discussed and chatted over a Nugget Meal which we shared.

We left Bugis and went straight home feeling all stuffed with the noodles, ice cream, nuggets, fries and drinks.

Eye Op Today!

2007-11-19T05:40:00.000+08:00

Nope .. not me .. mum's going for her eye op today .. like, real soon actually.

I pray that her pre op checks are going to be A-OK.
I pray that her heartbeat beats at a normal rate and not go bonkers to the extent that a cardiologist needs to be called in.
I pray that her bp rate is neither low nor high so she could just go through the op .. like get it over and done with.
I pray that the op is going to go on smoothly .. no complications whatsoever .. considering that she's diabetic.
I pray that she's given the strength to go through this (i know she's uber scared).

Mum .. I know you want me to be there for you and to be there with you .. I will.

OK .. got to run now .. her appointment is at 6.45 am. Shites that IS early.

Bye.

PS. Dear readers, please pray for mum too aite. Thanks heaps.

Eidl Fitr (Day 8 & 9) - Raya Outing with My Family

2007-10-21T23:47:00.000+08:00

After 2 days rest at home on Thursday and Friday, nursing a slight fever, it was time for the whole of my family to go visiting again.

It was also my day off yesterday. Good timing eh! I would not want to waste the opportunity. And since all my siblings were having their day off too, we decided to convoy and go visiting together.

We visited out paternal aunts and uncles and had a good time, meeting and catching up with the aunts, uncles, cousins and their children minus some incident when Tihani spilled drinks and broke a cousin's coffee table .. YES .. she damaged it!! Oh baby .. please dont drop mama's water face again please ... please BEHAVE when we go out please??

Today, I woke up early to prepare jello that a friend ordered - 60 cups altogether. I then fried Mi Hoon coz I was expecting guests - Effendi and Niar, a couple I met at work and who eventually became my friends. Niar, a Malaysian, is now expecting their first child. It is gonna be a boy! Congratulations guys! And double congrats to Niar too for obtaining her PR status!

I managed a short nap after they left. Then woke up and got ready to go to Alyaa's 1st birthday party. Alyaa is our 6th floor neighbour's daughter. The kids had so much fun .. even more happier when they received their party hats and goodie bags. Thanks to Alam Shah and Neneng, for the birthday invitation!

We then went to my bro Andy's open house but I was just too full to eat. I helped them in the kitchen though, ever so often topping up food for the guests!

View the slide show below for some pix that we took over the two days' outings!

So how was your weekend?
I have to admit mine was a tiring but FUN one!

Eidl Fitr (Day 3) - Visit by My Darul Ihsan Kids

2007-10-18T23:47:00.000+08:00

I did not go to work today. I met a friend for lunch before I head back home. I had guests who came over to my place. The special guests were none other than the kids from Darul Ihsan. They were on home leave for Hari Raya and being the nice girls, who still keep in touch with me, they came over for a visit. They had actually wanted to come on Day 2 but I was out with the family.

From left are Nafisah, Roslina and Nazhirah. They came with Roslina's 3 other siblings. My heart kind of sank when I saw Roslina with her siblings. My thoughts then strayed and the person I thought of was her mum. It must be hard on her being the sole breadwinner looking after her children all on her own. The hardship she face must have left her with no choice but to place Roslina in the home.

All the time, I put a happy face talking and teasing the kids. But deep down inside my heart, I was feeling sad and the mind were filled with endless thoughts.

I served them pizza which I ordered. It is so unlike me to not serve guests home cooked food but the lazy bug got the better of me and I had to resort to ordering pizza instead.

Well, but I got to serve them the cookies I made though. They love my cornflakes crunchies. Hehe .. look at Roslina with the cookie and the little cookie jar in her hand! The rest seated there are her siblings, aged 5, 7 and 9.

That's Roslina again carefully taking a bite of them morsels.

They were not the only ones who enjoyed my crunchies. Some other guests also enjoyed my crunchies that I often had to replenish the little cookie jar and yeah my cornflakes crunchies stock has depleted.

The kids left at about 11 plus and headed home right after. They must be darn tired because they were out since afternoon. But that's the only opportunity these girls had and so they would not want to waste it!

Girls, if you're reading this, I just want you to know that I love you girls and thanks for coming by my house.

PS. Roslina - do remember our plan to plan something with Najwa on your girls' next home leave yah!

Eidl Fitr (Day 2)

2007-10-18T21:02:00.000+08:00

We made two pits stops, before we started visiting on the 2nd day. First, we accompanied sis-in-law to her workplace because she needed to send out an urgent email which she had totally forgotten to send before went on leave.

While waiting for sil, being hungry and all, 5 little ladies and I found our way to McDonald's to grab some munchies to go.

Look at the adorable babes .. Adriana in baby blue, Aida in lilac, Nicky in pink floral dress, standing in between my angels in red.

We then went to sis-in-law mum's place at Lorong Melayu to drop Nicky off. Looking at the kids, I foresee them growing up to be best cousins, hopefully. There they are again, playing the swing before we bade Nicky goodbye and off we started our raya visitings.

Remember my outing with the Darul Ihsan kids? Remember the girl named Nurun Najwa, my younger charge? I was totally shocked when I saw her at the man aunt's place. She looked at me and shockingly went "Eh!" .. I was shocked too! I knelt down and started to touch and hug her. I miss her terribly .. really. The world is indeed small. I didnt know I was even related to her, not like really closely related but yeah related somehow.

That's me and Nurun Najwa ..

Not much to share about my second day. Meeting Najwa at Aunt's was the highlight of my 2nd day of raya. I miss her already .. ;-(

Eid Mubarak to all Muslims!

2007-10-18T13:11:00.001+08:00

Oh gosh .. I've been neglecting this blog-o-mine!

Today since I am resting at home, I shall make it a point to update my blog.

To those who had left msgs on my shoutout box, I have replied to all of them .. my thousand apologies for taking a wee bit longer time to reply yah.

I was feeling under the weather the last week of Ramadhan hence I didnt managed to make lotsa cookies for Eid this year .. only 3 different kinds .. these are pix of 2 of them .. my colourful sugi cookies and cornflakes crunchies!

First day of Raya was good .. as usual, it is a time for us to go visiting and seek forgiveness!

First house that my family went to was none other than my parents! Check out the pic .. my parents, my 2 older brothers, younger sister, 2 sister in laws .. not out laws aye .. the niece, nephew, my angels and the man!

Below is a pic of my cousins, whose mum, Aunt Yayah, had passed on earlier this year .. they too live with my grandma .. who also passed on 2 weeks before Aunt Yayah!

I know I dont really show when it comes to love .. but YES! I do love them to bits!

We then went to Uncle Rahim's place .. now I miss my another Aunt, who had passed on while performing Haj in Mekah years ago!

Oh yah .. isnt this a day to remember our loved ones who had gone to be with the One?? I know some peeps who are just not in the mood of celebrating Eid becoz they miss their loved ones! I really do understand how they feel .. I really do!

Dats Auni cheekily being nice to my sil, Adriana aka Marie Pinto, becoz she wanted to eat the Tumpi.

My sis, my angels and Hashri. Just look at Hash! I just wanna slap his face manja-ly .. so gerammmm ..

After 3 houses, I was back at home to receive guests coz parents in law are living with me, which means, we receive lots of guests over at our abode on the first day of raya too.

Enough for now. I will do another entry later with more pix of my 2nd day of Raya outing!

For now, the man, the angels and I would like to wish all Muslims SELAMAT HARI RAYA, MAAF ZAHIR BATIN

To be continued ...

PS: Paiz lets plan an outing together soon aite!

I Am In Love ..

2007-09-30T04:01:00.001+08:00

with this song that is .. Akon - Sorry, Put the Blame on Me!

Oh how cool is that?? Taking the blame for anything and everything!

I was thinking of myself and how I would at times take the blame for something that I did not do when I am angry and to apease things. I know I am so prone to doing that.

The song made me ponder about my current situation and also reminisce the past ..

Have I been a good mother to my children?
Have I been spending good, quality time with them??

Of times when I used to quarrel with my mum because of conflicting ideas.
Of times when I used to rebel.
Of times when my mum's heart was hurt for all the stupid things I did.

Mak .. for all the things that I have done wrong I would like to apologise. I know you dont read this but still I want the whole world to know that I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEARTand THANKS FOR BRINGING ME INTO THIS WORLD, THIS DAY, 31 YEARS AGO.

Anyways, I sooooooooo could relate to this song! Love this song! Akon rawks!

Geylang Ramadhan Bazaar

2007-09-29T23:32:00.001+08:00

Last Sunday, we went to Geylang Ramadhan Bazaar to check out the scene as well as hunt for food at this once a year Food Mecca!

First stop is the Putu Piring stall @ Banquet, Haig Road. You would always see customers forming a long queue just to get putu piring from this stall. When one really wants to eat it, am sure one is game enough to join in the queue. Small cakes of rice flour dough with gula melaka (palm sugar) topped with coconut .. it is putu piring-licious!

The stall also has a few awards to boot and all were proudly hung on its wall.

Next purchase was Ayam Percik - grilled chicken with spicy sauce. The taste of slightly charred chicken wings plus the sauce was truely just good!

I went to this stall called Boy. Rather cute boys selling these chicken wings and they look Malaysian too .. cute boys .. nice chicken .. always a bonus .. hahah

Otak-otak - fish paste wrapped in banana leaves.

This is another must buy for me. Slightly springy and spicy. Just the way I like it.

Keropok lekor, a long and chewy savoury cake, is a specialty of the state of Terengganu. Made up of fish, flour and seasonings, these are nice eaten hot. Sliced and fried just before serving,it is normally eaten with sauce. This is just one of the snacks that is rather addictive. My kids love them!

A food shopping frenzy indeed!

Colourful drinks

Kebab

Barbequed wings

You tiao

and many many more. Go on a food hunt there. Lots of food to choose from. You'll be spoilt for choice. But only buy what you think you would eat. Afterall we want the food to end up in our tummies and not the bins right?

Sis Is 23 Today!

2007-09-20T02:24:00.001+08:00

Ok .. so what did I do earlier? 10 pm and off I went to fetch my cousin, Inah and sis, Rose for supper.

We were indecisive .. couldnt make up our minds where to eat. Newton? Siglap? Changi Road?

In the end, we settled for Siglap and had supper at Mas Ayu! Cuzzie had hot and spicy Tom Yam Noodle and sis ate Kuey Teow Pattaya .. oh yes, we also ordered Chicken Wings which I happily indulged in. Sorry I didnt manage to take pix of the food.

After supper, we walked to the car park, diagonally opposite Mas Ayu, and chatted over ice cream which we bought from the Shell station next to the carpark. Ok .. chillax at the carpark .. how unglam .. but how often do I get to do that? Heck with the place! The thing is how often do I get to chill with cuzzie and sis together!

We had a great time catching up and planning a trip to somewhere nearby towards the end of the year. I am gonna kill them if they back out again this time after cancelling both our planned trips to Krabi and Batam. I am dead serious gerls!!

Today is also lil sis birthday, so at the stroke of midnite, we wished her a happy birthday and I passed her the presents which I had bought on Monday. DVDs to add to her DVD collection.

A picture before saying bye bye to lil sis. Then off I went to send cuzzie back home! Lucky for me we all live close by to each other .. sis at upper boon keng, cuzzie at pipit road and me at bedok .. so it is like on the way and not out of the way!

So once again, on this blog of mine, I wish my lovable, cute, sweet, chubby, gorgeous but ever so temperamental lil baby sister, Rose, a HAPPY 23rd BIRTHDAY!! Have your cake and eat it too .. Muackssssssss!!

Supper @ Al Ameen

2007-09-10T23:54:00.001+08:00

I had sis and her bestie, Aliza, waiting for me at my workplace today. Sis wanted to chill over at my place while her bestie went to work.

Once Aliza was done with her shift, she came back to my place and we watched Indonesian sinetron, Hikmah. Sis suggested we go for supper, which I wasnt keen at all and she kept persuading me. Hmm .. thanks to her good persuasion skills, I relented.

Just before we left for supper, we took pictures a plenty of us .. heheh

We left home a quarter past ten and drove ourselves to Al-Ameen along Changi Road .

I went throught the menu and just when I thought only Milo Dinosaur exist, there're drinks like Milo KingKong and Milo Godzilla too .. heheh

I ordered Teh Cino for myself, Aliza ordered Milo Dino and sis ordered Milo Godzilla. The difference between KingKong and Godzilla is that the latter is served with double scoops of ice cream .. :-)

We then ordered Murtabak Pizza .. which was just OK .. nothing fantastic

and also two servings of Garlic Naan

Ate one with Keema and

ate the other with Chicken Tikka.

I didnt regret leaving home late to eat supper. We enjoyed the food and drinks, and yeah enjoyed the company of many Indians over there too .. hehe

I looked to my front,

turned to my left and

turned to my right

and all I saw were groups of Indian man and woman. For once I thought I was in India .. ;-)

In a nutshell, Al-Ameen is a good chill place for late night supper. It not only serves Indian food but seafood and Thai as well.

PS. Sis and Aliza - Hey kids, we'll go supper again next time okie?

Makan Kakis Trip to Batam

2007-09-09T12:58:00.001+08:00

What do you do when you're off from work on a Saturday?? In the spirit of good fun, I joined the Makan Kakis, to Batam, in search for good food. Yeah all the way to Batam! This group of people are young, hip, cool and happening! I definitely didnt feel out of place hanging out with them.

The group met at #02-29 Harbourfront as early as 9.00 am.

I was greeted by some familiar faces I met during the Darul Ihsan outing, and some of the not familiar ones. So being the people person (uhuk ..) I introduced myself to those whom I havent met.

After getting our boarding passes, checking in and 45 min ferry ride later, we arrived in Batam.

Upon arrival, we were met by our tour guide, Ibu Wati. By then hunger pangs had struck most of us as we had skipped breakfast so we wasted no time and hit out first stop.

All of us boarded the chartered minibus and and headed to Stamina Ocu. Name kinda corny eh - I was like thinking - we go to Stamina Ocu to build/get stamina to last us the whole trip. The tour guide suggested 30 mins there but we wanted more time to savour our Padang Food.

We were served a whole selection of Padang Food with warm white rice! We thoroughly enjoyed the food - different dishes of fish, meat, chicken and vegetable. The grilled food was for me the nicest. The grilled aroma really lifted one's appetite! They were simply yum!

That's us tucking in ..

That's Hana still enjoying her fish when most have given up!

I especially love the fried fermented soya and soya beancurd (tahu tempe) and polished off the whole plate which were kinda left untouched (this kids dont know how to enjoy the goodness of tahu tempe lah .. LOL)

Believe it or not, being famished, we managed to finish eating in less than half an hour .. so much for asking more time to eat at Stamina Ocu .. haha!

After the tummies filled, we made our way to the Barelang Bridge. Wikepedia mentioned that "the bridge is an icon of the local area and is a popular tourism site."

The view from this bridge was simply breathtaking.

There's nothing like having the wind blowing on your face and messing up the hair too.

Some of us enjoying the scenery.

Some of the babes.

Me and the girl who has been secretly admiring me, Hana.

That's the man enjoying the view.

We could haved stay on that bridge longer if not for a fight which broke between two food pedlers. Our safety comes first eh so we boarded the minibus and headed for our next stop.

We spent about an hour at BCS Mall where I bought some cookbooks (what else!) for myself and a top and dress for my angels.

Next was to the Polo shop.

I wasnt really into it. What I was more interested in was the chips and preserved fruits which were being sold outside the Polo shop.

After we were done sightseeing and shopping, we headed for our next makan stop, Golden Prawn 555 for our Seafood Lunch.

We had Gong-gong .. having to use a pick and digging out the treasure out of the shells was a whole lotta fun ..

Sweet and Sour Fish

Chilli Crab .. I will definitely enjoy this more if my dad was there coz he's such an expert at peeling the crabmeat out of its shell .. hehe

Cereal Prawn .. they were not big prawns and I even commented to Hak who was seated next to me that we could literally eat the whole thing .. which I did .. really crunchy stuff ..

Fried Calamari .. I am a calamari fan .. so I enjoyed this one very much ..

Sambal Kangkong

And yah, I have been longing to drink Alpukat so I asked the waitress to bring me one ..

Yum yum .. could have been yummier if it was more concentrated but still I was satisfied coz at long last I got to drink this!

Being full doesnt stop us from taking our jump shots .. It is a MUST shot at all the Makan Kakis outing. It was crazy, we couldnt get a good shot, we laughed most of the time and I almost puke from having to jump and jump.

Last stop for the day was Megamall .. J.Co Donuts and Coffee Here The Makan Kakis Come!!

We had pre-ordered 60 boxes of J.Co Donuts which equates to 720 pieces altogether .. yeah a grand total of 60 BOXES. While the rest of the group, had their drinks and glazzies at J.Co (we had tables reserved for us eh), I went to meet sis and mum who went there separately at A&W. Then I rushed to the supermarket to do a little shopping then back to J.Co to meet the guys again.

I only had a minute with the J.Co crew and boy were they ultra friendly (never fail to smile) and helpful .. really!! First impression definitely counts! Well, packing 60 dozens of donuts was by no mean easy. But the guys at J.Co were awesome!! How not to love them .. you tell me! .. hehe

At 6.30 Batam time, we left Batam for Singapore, each of us carrying bags of J.Co. It was definitely a sight .. people looked at us, but who cares, we got what we went there for .. IT was in the agenda!

While at the Singapore immigration, I had this Japanese fella who asked "What is that?", "Is it nice?", "Where can I get them?". If I had carried my own boxes of J.Co, I would have offered him some .. seriously.

All in all, I had a GREAT time being in the company of the Makan Kakis - Shaz, Aidil, Eja, Faddy, Haq, Hana, her mummy dearest, Aqi, her hubby, NH, Tuty, Liza and Rikka. All of us just clicked even though it was the first makan outing for some of us!

We will be having the next one in November, after Ramadhan and Eid. So watch out the Event space on the right column for more details on that!

To Kak Lily, Izz and Mila - Hope you guys enjoyed the donuts I got you!
To Zoul and wifey - It was nice meeting you guys! Im sure you guys enjoyed them a great deal!

Oh ya .. to those who wish to try J.Co but havent got the chance yet .. no worries aite coz J.Co Donuts and Coffee is J.Coing soon to Singapore!

Rockin' Girl Blogger

2007-09-05T23:12:00.000+08:00

I was given the Rockin' Girl Blogger award by a fellow food blogger, Lydia of My Kitchen from Down Under. Woohoo .. totally honoured to receive this. Definitely the first award for me but hope it aint gonna be the last.

I wonder who started the award and how it came about. So a search on google brought me to a link. It was started by Roberta Ferguson of Blogging Made Devilishly Simple! Mouse over and click on her name if you're interested to read up!

Lydia, thank you soooo very much aite. I so didnt expect this! .. ehehe

Island Creamery

2007-09-04T03:19:00.002+08:00

After the fruitful outing with the kids of Darul Ihsan the other day, I brought my angels for ice cream at The Island Creamery.

I read and heard alot of rave reviews about this ice cream place so definitely had to check it out.

I neednt think hard of what flavours to choose coz I had at the back of my mind what I wanted.

Tihani chose Nutella flavour in a cone.

And Auni and I shared a double scoop of Teh Tarik and ReversO. I enjoyed both very very much. The Teh Tarik is to die for .. really .. kidding am not! Aint that sweet .. just nice! I love it to bits that I almost bought a tub but I managed to control. Will go get them when there's occasion .. definitely!

If you think that I was done with that?? You are absolutely wrong! In no time, I found myself back at the counter.

I almost got myself the same flavours as before but I had to give the other flavours a chance and so I chose Chendol and Pulut Hitam .. also very nice but I must say nothing beats Teh Tarik and Reverso!

This parlor is kid friendly too .. see the low table and chair where kids can read and doodle .. fun fun fun ..

And yah .. check out their walls .. pictures and pictures of patrons adorn the Island Creamery walls ..

So if you're thinking of checking this parlor out, it is open daily from 11 am to 10 pm. Price per scoop is S$2.50, double scoop is S$4.00 and a 500ml tub is S$8.00.

So another ice cream parlor checked and 5 more to go ..

- The ice cream gallery @ Eastwood Centre, checked
- The Island Creamery @ Serene Centre - checked
- The Daily Scoop @ Clementi Arcade
- The Raffles Creamery @ Raffles Hotel,
- Tom's Palatte @ Shaw Leisure Gallery
- Icekimo @ Sin Ming Centre and
- Coldrock @ Holland Village

I Finally Went Out with the Kids!

2007-09-02T23:24:00.001+08:00

Yes, I finally went out with the kids of Darul Ihsan this morning.

I reached Darul Ihsan at 9.30 am and was greeted by the faces of eager beavers aka volunteers. I shook hands with those who were there and introduced myself.

We were then ushered to the canteen where we met and had an introductory session with the kids. We then chose and took charge of 2 kids each.

Mine was a 9 year old girl, Nurun Najwa and a 16 year old teenager, Roslina.

As I walked towards them .. my heart skipped a beat .. I was excited .. like really really excited for I do not know what to expect of these two girls.

And yah, I least expected the worse, my teenage charge wasnt responsive. She refused to look at me or even acknowledge me. Her mum and grandma were there and that might have triggered some sadness in her. I realised she was crying when I tried to talk to her. Once I saw that teared-up face, I lost it and soon I was tearing too. Najwa on the other hand owns an ultra bubbly personality. We clicked rather easily.

We then set out in a chartered bus and headed down to Shaw Prince to watch Ratatouille.

I was sitting alone on the bus while Najwa and Roslina sat together. At this point, I still do not know what Roslina was like. All I get when I tried asking question was a stoned face or head shake which literally means NO.

OK, I tried and I was still giving her and myself time. I was optimist that she'll open up.

So I spent my time talking to Najwa, trying to bond with her. (Oh yah, we had to walk abit coz there was a traffic jam becauce of some triathlon competition going on.) Najwa is a rather chatty girl, loves to talk and asks lots of questions.

At the movie, I sat next to my older charge, Roslina and she started talking to me "Kak nak tak?" as she offered me the popcorn she was holding. Oh my god!! .. only god knows how I felt at that time .. I was like "hey, she's started talking lah"

After movies, we walked to Arab Street (pic above taken by Najwa)

and we had lunch at Cafe Le Caire.

And I walked hand in hand with Najwa, answering her many many questions, letting her play with my camera and snapping pix of her fellow friend.

I was happy to see her happy! She saw the DHL balloon and mentioned her interest to ride on it. I havent been on one myself and so I thought to myself that one fine day I'll bring her together with my kids to take a ride on the DHL balloon.

While there at the restaurant, Najwa, being the chatty and friendly one, had other volunteers attending to her and so I sat next to Roslina instead. This point on the soft spoken lass started to make small conversations with me. (I was happy nak mampos ok). She asked questions like "Kak umur berapa", "Kak dah watch Love is Cinta", 'Kak kerja apa" "Kak you have friendster" "Kak you have MSN" and we had the most beautiful conversation even though questions or answers were abrupt or short or straight to the point! The fact here is Roslina had finally opened up to me! That was a big improvement from when we first met!

Lunch was definitely good. We were served salad, pita with hummus, rice, roast chicken and keema.

Free flow of soft drinks and dessert.

We also had mini cupcakes .. really pretty mini cupcakes which an anonymous contributed.

After lunch, we had a sharing session facilitated by one of the volunteers, Izati. The kids were given papers to share their details. What we actually wanted to know was their aspirations and their interests so that we can plan activities in the near future based on information that we've collected.

Then I took pictures of the kids ..

Shamim, 13 years old, Najwa's brother, a rather playful boy but very outspoken and articulate .. his ambition is to be a lawyer. I soooooooo love this picture very very much .. just look at them .. I could see sooo much love between them in this picture alone!

Roslina and another kid, 17 years of age (oops I cant remember her name)

Nazhirah in blue, only 13 and attending Katong Special School

Roslina, Najwa and me ..

We left the restaurant past 3 pm and headed back to Darul Ihsan. And this time around, on the bus, I didnt sit alone, Roslina wanted me to sit with her and Najwa and so the three of us shared two seats among us. We talked and talked all the way back to Darul Ihsan.

We then gathered at the canteen once again and gave out the goodie bags and more pictures were taken ..

Najwa feeling chef gitu ..

Last pic of me and Najwa taken by Roslina .. oh yah .. Roslina used to be in the photography club in school before!

Before we said our goodbyes, we took a tour around the home. Oh boy, it was difficult at least for me to part with them. I thought, just as I wanted to get to know my charges, esp Roslina, we had to say goodbye. You think it's easy? Go figure! Me being the crybaby, of course was teary eyed!

Oh well, mummy's insticts are in me I suppose .. suddenly I felt like they were like my own daughters .. :-)

For now, I will definitely remember Najwa's wish to go on the DHL balloon ride and Roslina's birthday and her wish for me to go visit her again.

PS: Roslina, good luck for your N level exams! Do well, and make all of us proud aite!

TRIVIA: Think Nurun Najwa and think this year's Anugerah. Does she resemble anyone?

Movie and Lunch Date with the Kids of Darul Ihsan

2007-09-01T03:32:00.001+08:00

I am all excited now! Sunday comes in 2 days time .. hmm .. 1 day to be precise (the clock shows 3.12 am now)!! Some 20 volunteers, mostly blogmates whom I met online and have never met face to face before are going to bring 45 kids from Darul Ihsan to watch a movie and have lunch!

We are going to watch Ratatouille at Shaw Prince Cinema before heading down to Arab Street to lunch at Cafe le Caire. But before lunch we will go to the nearby Sultan Mosque for prayers.

I am amazed what blogger can do - I got to meet the most beautiful people .. these really big hearted people - their support, their efforts, their contributions .. whoa .. i am just speechless.

We have generous people who gave cash donations, a restaurant which charges S$6 per pax for lunch and also received full sponsorship of S$800 from a law firm - good job Shaz and Aidil!

We are also doing a personalised goodie bag for the kids too. My instant reaction when I heard about the goodie bags was to contribute something .. and I did what I do best - bake cookies! In fact, I am just done with baking and packing all of the cookies .. hehehe

I may not bake the most delicious and yummilicious cookies but I do hope that the kids appreciate and enjoy it nonetheless!

These cookies will go to Eja aka the goodie bag girl later today!

For now, I shall wait patiently for Sunday to come, to have a terrific time with the kids .. to bond and to get to know them better!

PS - Thanks lil sis for coming by to help me pack the cookies. Your assistance is very much appreciated! What?!?!? Ice cream treat?!?!?! Okay!

Cupcakes Order - 5

2007-08-30T23:56:00.001+08:00

It is Teacher's Day on 1st September and the school term ends tomorrow. What better prezzie to present the teachers than with a cuppies or two!

I received an order for individually packed cuppies. Chocolate base, white cream, hundreds and thousands and sugar flowers were all that was requested for!

This is a picture of the individual packed cuppies.

I like the fact that it looked simple yet sweet!

Updated on 31/8/2007 - Feedback via sms - Yr cupcake is v v nice .. tks sis!

Satay Kajang

2007-08-27T23:26:00.001+08:00

So an afternoon off from work today was spent with my older angel, mum and lil sis. They accompanied me to get my passport renewed before we headed down to Arab Street (shoots .. lucky i realised the validity else I wont be able to go Batam next Sat with the Makan Kakis)

Mum has always wanted to eat Satay Kajang, and the only place we know that serves this (besides Malaysia that is), is at this little cafe on Bussorah Street called Hjh Esah Cafe.

The shop sells quite a fair variety of food .. from nasi campur to noodles to rojak, snacks like banana and cempedak fritters and of course Satay Kajang.

We ordered banana fritters (goreng pisang panas beb),

gado-gado and

hokkien mee.

We also got what we were here for, Satay Kajang, of course.

I tried my first stick of that mutton satay kajang and boy did i fall in love with it .. the marinated skewered meat was just "power to the max"! Anyways, I lurveeeeeeeeee mutton, give me mutton chop, mutton soup, mutton satay .. anything mutton and I can wallop them up like a hungry carnivore .. heh ..

Satay Kajang is special in the sense that no oil is used in the grilling process which equates to a little healthier choice of satay! The satay is a little longer than normal satay and each costs S$0.55 and they do cater for functions too. (i foresee mum ordering satay from this place coz she was the one who asked if they cater for functions .. *crosses fingers*)

So if you wish to try some Satay Kajang, scoot down to Hjh Esah Cafe on Bussorah Street.

Isabelle's 3rd Birthday

2007-08-25T23:27:00.001+08:00

It was Isabelle's 3rd birthday last Friday but the celebration was only held earlier today, 5pm at the multi purpose hall over at their residence.

Her dad had text me a couple of days ago to order some cupcakes. But I thought, the cupcakes would be an ideal birthday prezzie from Tita Murnie to Isabelle.

So I made her some chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. Iced it with pastel pink and blue cream. Topped it off with coloured sprinkles and also insect wrapped chocolates.

When I reached the party venue, I placed the cupcakes on a disposable 3 tier cake stand. And there the cuppies were .. they stood pretty amidst the array of food that the host had to offer.

Some of the mummies there asked if I take orders and if I had a namecard. Well, yes I do take orders but no I aint got no namecard! Is it time for me to make a namecard?!

Anyways, here are some pictures I took at the birthday party ..

Auni looking bored coz the it rained hence she couldnt swim .. poor baby ..

A girl enjoying the cake till the last bit .. oh yah her pretty face was smeared with the cream too .. hehehe

One for remembrance girls .. before ripping the prezzies open .. Peace .. oh yah, the little bags the girls were carrying on their backs were the goodie bags they received from the birthday girl!

Helium balloons up on the ceiling ..

That's the birthday girl's mummy, Mylene, taking a bite at the cupcake .. gotcha!

Ok enough pictures already ..

So Isabelle, before Tita ends this post, Tita would like to once again wish you a Happy 3rd Birthday

and may your days ahead be as colourful as the icing on the cakes and the balloons above.

Cupcakes Order - 4

2007-08-24T23:54:00.001+08:00

Lynd, my lil sister's friend, had a few weeks back ordered cupcakes for her cousin's birthday and engagement party which will be held later tomorrow.

She had specifically requested for white cream, heart shaped quins, rainbow non-pareils and also colored pearls. And so this is what I came up with ..

The cuppies all packed in a box and ready to be delivered ..

And this is it .. view from the top ..

PS. Lynd .. I heard the cuppies toppled! I hope the topple didnt cause alot of damage to the cuppies though! Am wondering if you liked them cuppies?! Feedback yah.

Cupcakes Order - 3

2007-08-22T02:17:00.001+08:00

Lyssa happened to chance upon my friendster profile and then checked out my blog!

Learning that I took orders for cupcakes, she text me sometime last week, to order cupcakes specially for her boyfriend's 24th birthday. Awww .. sweet isnt she?

The order was for today, and these were what I came up with. I hope she's fine with the cupcakes. I did a blue and red theme cuppies for her boyfriend.

Oh boy, I guess I have to work harder and learn and experiment more on how to decorate cakes for the male species!

I am so inclined to sweet looking, girly girly cupcakes .. duh!

Updated on 24/8/2007 - Feedback via Friendster - I in luv wit yr sweet treats!!! they were satisfying from the lips to da hips! thanx so much!!

The ice cream gallery

2007-08-20T23:54:00.001+08:00

I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For Ice Cream!

Not that I've ever heard the song before, but the lyrics in itself, is way too cool.

Suddenly I heard or read about a whole new line ups of local parlors, like, The Island Creamery, The ice cream gallery, The Daily Scoop, The Raffles Creamery and Tom's Palette .. WOW .. a whole list of ice cream parlors for me to check out .. cool eh ..

I was grocery shopping at Parkway Parade when I had a sugar rush! The word Ice Cream was screaming at me and yeah, I needed my sugar rush fixed right there and then. The watch showed half past 8. I ran to the cashier counter, paid for my groceries and told DH to go to The ice cream gallery at Eastwood Centre. Believe it or not, we reached there just before the shop closes .. phew!

There were alot of flavours to choose from, but I was rather disappointed when the ones that I wanted, - Teh Halia and Lychee, were unavailable. I settled for D24 Durian (been wanting to eat the king of fruit) and Avocado Gula Melaka (been wanting to drink Alpukat, a drink which is always served in Indo restaurants). They were both very nice and creamy.

I particularly love the Avocado Gula Melaka, maybe because of its "lemakness". Everytime, I go to an Indo restaurant/stall, even though the Alpukat drink is on the menu, it is ALWAYS not available. So the Avocado Gula Melaka kind of made up for my crave for Alpukat.

Oh yah, a scoop costs S$2.80 and a double costs S$4.20 .. easy on the pocket, I might add!

So after ice cream, as we were walking to the car parked at Bedok Corner carpark, lil sis asked if I had extra cash with me. She wanted to eat at Bedok Corner. Being the nice sis, we went. Lil sis ate Mee Soto .. it was yummy and not oily ..

and I ordered Satay for all to share.

After chomping food at Bedok Corner, I drove DH and Auni home first (coz it was way past Auni's bedtime) and then I drove lil sis home.

Windows wound down and music blasted, I drove myself home, feeling all happy for there is no better treat than a frozen one .. ahh .. sweetness!!

And happily, I have all the time, to check out all the ice cream parlours that's listed below. Even if I dont have the time, I'll try to make time.

For now,
The ice cream gallery, checked!
One parlour down and more to go ..
- The Island Creamery @ Serene Centre
- The Daily Scoop @ Clementi Arcade
- The Raffles Creamery @ Raffles Hotel,
- Tom's Palatte @ Shaw Leisure Gallery
- Icekimo @ Sin Ming Centre and
- Coldrock @ Holland Village

So tell me what's cooler than Ice Cream? *winks*

Breakfast at Jalan Kayu

2007-08-18T23:40:00.001+08:00

Both DH and I are on our Saturday off today. The plan today was to bring the kids out for breakie (mama also needs a break from preparing breakie on weekends hokay!) at Jalan Kayu and then visit the Animal Farm!

I had long wanted to do this but it never happened (coz DH would rather wake up late .. typical of men in general init??). But today he acceded to my request. So we got up early and drove ourselves to Jalan Kayu. We ate at Thohirah Restaurant. I ordered Nasi Lemak while the kids and DH had Prata - egg, plain and egg with onion. We also ordered our morning coffee and milo for the angels!

That was the Nasi Lemak I had .. look appetising?? Actually, it was not to my liking AT ALL. Simply worded "Tak power!". So I traded my Nasi Lemak for DH's prata .. hehehe ..

That's Auni with her cup of milo waiting for her Prata.

It started to rain while we were having breakie. I was like "Dang, there goes my plan." .. For so very long (a few years already hokay), I had wanted to visit the Animal Farm. I think I was more excited than the kids .. erm .. actually the kids didnt even know that I was going to bring them to the farm anyway!

After breakie, despite the rain, DH still drove us, past the farm. This was the road leading to the farm. At least I know now where the farm is exactly.

Then we decided to check out Seletar Airport.

See the dark clouds .. I was gloomy as those clouds up there (didnt get to go to the farm and feed the animals what!).

And I took pictures of an aeroplane

and another

and that's Air Asia .. I wonder where it was heading to!

I sooo wish I was on that flight! You see, I was supposed to be in Krabi NOW. I had it all planned BUT those dearies who were supposed to go with me cancelled the trip .. waaaaaa .. ;-(

PS: Ohh .. how I hate my cousin and sis, NOW for cancelling the trip! Grrrr ..

Cakes from The Royals

2007-08-17T23:35:00.001+08:00

As I was driving on ECP on the way home from work today, I felt a sudden urge to have cakes from The Royals Cakes and Pies. Nah .. I wasnt craving for their pies but rather their cakes .. ermm .. their Dark Chocolate Truffle to be precise!!

So instead of taking the Bedok exit, I took the Siglap exit, to of course,get my cake at The Royals branch along East Coast Road.

So I looked at their cake display and went confused. I was spoilt for choice .. there were trays and trays of yummylicious looking cakes, eg. Mango Delight, Strawberry Cake, Carrot Cake and many many more. Just when I told the sales lady that I wanted a bar of Dark Choc Truffle, I changed my mind. What fickle mind I have?! .. hehe

In the end, I settled for their sliced cakes instead .. Dark Choc Truffle, Choc Banana and Black Forest .. one piece each! Did you realise that the cakes I bought all had chocolate in them .. see I am one chocolate freak!

After Maghrib, I drove to mum's place to catch the fireworks display. Just as the fireworks display started, I plonked myself on the shoe cabinet on mum's corridor. The pleasure of eating those cakes, albeit, its high fat contents and watching fireworks at the same time .. perfecto!

Oh yah, did I mention that I ate 93% of the cakes all by myself. Dont ask me how I derived at 93% .. hehe .. Oh, how I love to indulge!

Family International Buffet

2007-08-14T23:43:00.001+08:00

So what do you do when you have a dinner date? You starve yourself from not eating lunch coz you thought you want to stuff yourself at dinner! Hehe .. and that was what I did!

Sis in law mentioned last Sunday that she wanted to give DH and I a treat! Hmm .. forgot to ask for what reason really .. :-)

Anyways, the dinner date was today. Dinner was at Family International Buffet on the 3rd level of Tampines Mall. It was a double date - sil and her husband and me and DH .. gosh, how long before had I gone on a date?!?!

It has quite a good spread .. better than Sakura International .. my personal thought yah .. and the place is also much better .. more organised and cleaner too.

So I started my meal as usual with a cup of soup .. sharksfin soup to be exact ..

Then I had a plate of tuna and salmon sashimi .. oohh how i love raw salmon .. yummy .. sushi, seaweed and oyster .. oohlala ..each and everything on this plate .. I loikeeeeee!!

Then we stopped for some cam whoring .. that's Kak Lily and me

We then continued eating, and this time, I had a plate of Dim Sum .. some buns, siew mai and lor mai kai ..

Then I had beef steak but dang the meat was overly rare so I couldnt stomach that .. give me raw salmon or oyster ANYTIME but not rare steak .. I just cant .. I didnt bother to take picture of that dish!

Next I chowed down black pepper crab, garlic scallop and steamed fish ..

There were an array of other food which I skipped. I totally skipped the salad section, the fried food section and more ..

See .. the thing about me is I look fat or rather I AM FAT but the tummy could only take that much! So I was done with the food and settled for fruits ..

and a little mousse cake ..

and what better way to finish a hearty meal with a cup of mocha ..

Oh .. how divine .. I was full to the brim .. if I were a balloon, I would have burst! .. hehe

Thank you Kak Lily for the treat. Thanks for bringing us to this buffet place with a sumptuous spread :-P

OH DAMN!! .. I didnt even take the ice cream .. how could I have missed that?!?!?!

Yummy Donuts and Belated Bday Presents

2007-08-12T20:26:00.001+08:00

My head was spinning the whole of today. I felt weak. I had bought bananas yesterday to make some muffins for my guests (they love my muffins) who were supposed to come but the head spin was just weighing me down.

I had to wake up nonetheless. I showered and just after I got ready, they came.

My guests were none other than my fave sis in law, Kak Lily and family. As usual, they didnt come to my place empty handed.

They brought Tihani's belated birthday presents and

Donuts for me!

There is a newly opened donut store called Yummy at Whitesands and sis in law bought some for me knowing my craze over donuts. Thanks sis!

Look, just a few minutes after I opened the box, I am left with this .. hehe .. They were yummy, soft and light. I like the one with the custard filling and topping.

Tihani got herself a Princess Doll and a Magenetic 3-fold Princess Toy! My baby is soooo into princess! Tihani with Auni and her two favourite cousins, Adriana and Aida!

The guests were then served early dinner of murtabak and nasi lemak. After dinner, Kak Lily and I made ourselves busy by making banana muffins! Kak Lily was happy that the muffins turned out how they were supposed to be! Her attempts at her own home have not been that successful. I just love her attitude, she kept trying and will be trying again to perfect it! I think we should have more baking sessions together!

Thanks peeps for coming by and thanks for the donuts and prezzie.

PS. Sis Lily, hope you are happy to receive the measuring cups and spoons and dont forget our date this Tuesday yah!

Cupcakes Order - 1 & 2

2007-08-11T02:13:00.001+08:00

It was Singapore's birthday last Thursday. While getting ready to go to mum's place to watch fireworks, I received a text msg from an unfamiliar number.

The correspondences went somthing like this:
She: Murnie, do you take orders for cuppies? By the way, do you know me?
Me: Erm .. who is that?
She: It is me Rohani from Woodsville. So do you take orders?
Me: How did you know about the cuppies?
She: I read your blog .. you gave me your blog addy the last time remember?!

Hmm .. and so I tried to reflect when was the last I got in touch with her .. it must have been some time early last year and wow, my schoolmate still reads my blog! Thanks Rohani!

That evening, after much a thinking, I replied to her msg and said YES to her order! I told the lovelies in my life about the order and after much encouragement from them, I agreed to it! They knew that this was what I had wanted to do badly .. they knew my love for baking big time!

Rohani, my secondary schoolmate, will be collecting the cupcakes later today and I hope she will be happy with the end result. Rohani left the number of cuppies and creativity to me. So, I made her 16 pcs of chocolate cupcakes with plain white icing and toppers, then put it in a transparent box trimmed with silver ribbons. OH ya, the pink shredded stuff that are placed in between the cupcakes are edible too!

Rohani had placed orders for the cupcakes especially for her friend's engagement .. aww .. sweet isn't she??

I really hope the recipient too will be elated to receive the cupcakes later!

The other time, I also showed pictures of cupcakes that I made for Tihani's birthday to the security officer at work, and then he went "If you are gonna make them cuppies, could you make some for me."

I said "Oh sure, I'll make some for you and you go surprise your fiancee with it". He liked the idea.

These are what I made for the security officer specially for his fiancee. Chocolate cake with lavendar coloured icing and toppers! I hope the fiancee is smitten by his sweetness and his little surprise!

Thank you Rohani and Azhar and Thanks Allah for giving me this opportunity! Is this a start to a mini business that I have always dreamt of?? I really hope it is!

White Chocolate Biscuits

2007-08-01T23:41:00.001+08:00

My angel, Tihani has Phonics on Wednesdays. And since last week, Wednesday, she has been requesting me to whip her something. She requested for pasta last Wed and I made pasta for her. And this week she had asked me to bake her cookies.

I just bought myself yet another cookbook called Everyday Chocolate. And so I flipped through the pages, trying to look for the most easiest cookie recipe of them all and found White Chocolate Biscuits. Really easy coz it only needed 7 ingredients and I have all of the ingredients that were called for except for Brazil nuts .. was I supposed to go Brazil to get them nuts?? Really NUTS!! .. ehehe

So here is the recipe adapted from the book Everyday Chocolate :-

Ingredients

125 gm butter, softened
125 gm soft brown sugar, firmly packed (I used about 100gm caster sugar)
1 egg, lightly beaten
200 gm self raising flour
pinch of salt
125 gm white chocolate, roughly chopped (I used white choc chips)
50 gm Brazil nuts, chopped (I opted this out)

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.
Beat butter and sugar till creamy.
Gradually add eggs, beating thoroughly after each addition.
Fold in sifted self raising flour.
Then fold in chopped milk chocolate.
Place teaspoonsfuls of mixture on a non stick pan. Ensure room for spreading.
Bake for 15 mins until golden brown.
Leave in pan for a couple of minutes then turn out into a wire rack to cool.

Simple enough a recipe?? Why dont you go try bake some .. ;-)

J.CO Donuts

2007-07-28T23:51:00.001+08:00

So the last I had Krispy Kreme was a few months back .. I had done a post on that. My friend, eat, saw the post and he mentioned that I should try J.Co Donuts. J.Co Donuts hails from Indonesia and owned by a Johnny Andrean who also owns salons all across Indonesia .. I always go to Johnny Andrean when I go to Batam for creambath by the way.

He was raving about J.Co and how they tasted soooo much better than Krispy Kreme .. well at least those were his thoughts on J.Co.

So last Saturday, knowing that eat was going to come back to Singapore from Jakarta, I had him buy some for me! When eat called me before he caught his flight back home, the first question I asked was whether he bought me the donuts. He said "yeah .. half a dozen" .. hmm .. nvm half a dozen, still I get to taste them, or so I thought.

So I fetched him at the airport with my sister in tow and this uber nice friend not only bought me half a dozen but a dozen ..

erm .. no no no .. not a dozen actually .. he got me 2 dozens .. woohoo .. I was smiling from ear to ear!

and here were the assorted donuts eat got me ..

yummehhhhhhhh .. so which one do I love best .. it has got to be Al Capone and and Mango Blitz .. why Al Capone?? coz I love almonds, that's why .. and why Mango Blitz?? .. sticking my finger into the mango creme and licking it off was just pure bliss!

Here's a lil something on Al Capone ..

The last sentence reads "Addiction is at you own risk!" .. and boy was I addicted to it .. yeah addicted big time!

Al Capone .. I need you baby .. come in to me .. come in to me (reads my mouth) .. hehe

Blogging by Mail: My Package Has Arrived!

2007-07-27T20:20:00.001+08:00

I participated in yet another Blogging by Mail event! Woohoo .. It is hosted by none other than Steph of Dispensing Happiness. You basically submit your details to Steph and at the end of the sign ups, she would match up participants with a partner. The theme to the BBM package this time around is A Few of My Favourite Things!

The package arrived while I was away at work! My hubby was at home to receive them! He didnt call me to inform but only told me in the car while on the way home from work. Gosh you should know how eager I was to get home!

The moment I reached home, I took my camera out and started snapping pix of my "baby". Yay .. the package was from a beautiful lass named Brooke of Bear Necessities. The things she had included in the package were all just soooo awesome.

Take a look at what she gave ..

Brooke had included in the package a Food and Travel magazinefrom the UK which features alot of travel places and recipes too.

A book entitled Three Cups of Tea on a man's mission to promote peace .. lotsa rave reviews on this book. I just cant wait to start reading this once I am done with the book I am currently reading!

Brooke had also baked some very nice heart shaped hibiscus shortbread for me! Gosh, I couldnt help but dived in on this one when I saw that it was made of hibiscus tea .. they were reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaalllyyyyyyyyyy delicious! Oh ya, she had also kindly included a recipe card on how to make the hibiscus shortbread plus a box of hibiscus tea .. I will definitely try making some myself soon!

Knowing that I love to bake cookies for my girls, she gave me a cookie book, which she had kindly taken from her collection .. I hope it was not a hard decision to make, ie. to part with a book from your own collection and then giving it to me .. I'll definitely treasure them! Hell yeah .. another book to add to my collection .. really lucky me!

And yah, she also gave me coloured sugar and dino shaped sprinkles too!

Brooke really did her homework, she must have read the whole blog of mine. She had noticed that I had difficulties some caramel chips here and had kindly bought me some butterscotch flavoured chips .. oh yeah Brooke, thats definitely an adequate sub!

Next, Milk Duds, Brooke's favourite choc which she always get when she goes to the movies. I have tasted these and boy were they really nice, sweet and caramelly .. really my kinda stuff! And more chocs, freckles and sea shells .. too pretty to eat .. heheh .. Brooke said the sea shells tastes like M&Ms.

Oh gosh .. a jar of Pesto .. who can resist Pesto .. I cant wait to have this with some penne .. slurp .. and slather some pesto too on perhaps some grilled chicken and then sprinkle some toasted pine nute .. yummeh

She also noticed I mentioned about Sea Salt in my specs and she got me a pack.

And the last thing she included was a jar of Cranberry Orange Marmalade .. never mind the debate Brooke, I am most happy to receive them anyway .. ;-)) .. I'll definitely share this one with my mum coz she loves marmalade too!

So thank you thank you thank you Brooke from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and generosity .. I lurrrrrvvvvvveeeeeeee each and everything that you've included in the package! You just soooooooooo knew what I like!

My package is now travelling to some place which I'd love to visit sometime! Cant wait for my partner to receive them.

Till the next BBM, ciao!

Black Pepper Seafood Pasta

2007-07-24T22:32:00.002+08:00

I was talking to a friend over the pasta I made the other day and he mentioned that I should try making black pepper pasta. Suddenly I started to hanker for black pepper pasta! I love black pepper dishes of any sort - black pepper beef, tamarind fish with black pepper, etc etc .. I loikeeeeeeeeee .. *drool*

Right after work earlier, I went to the supermarket to buy lacking ingredients to make Black Pepper Seafood Pasta. Got home, rested and about 7.45pm, I started cooking my pasta.

Ingredients

a handful of linguine
1 small red onion, chopped
2 pips garlic, chopped
60 gm fresh button mushroom, sliced
10 prawns, peeled, deveined and leave the tails intact
5 pcs crabstick, sliced diagonally
4 tbsp black pepper sauce
2 tbsp water
coarsely ground black pepper
salt
coriander leaves, chopped

Method

Cook linguine in a large pot of salted boiling water till al dente.
Drain then wash under running water.

In a pot, saute some onions and garlic.
Then put in the prawns, crabsticks and mushroom.
Add in black pepper sauce and water.
Then lastly put in the pasta and mix well.
Season with salt and more coarsely ground pepper.
Serve immediately, garnished with coriander leaves.

The next time I make this, I may want to try adding some oyster sauce. It might taste good or not better!

I was burning inside after a plate of that pasta I made but somehow I love that burning sensation though!

Plain Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping

2007-07-23T16:50:00.001+08:00

I made mini cheesecake yet again. This time around, I made Plain Mini Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping.

Ingredients

Base Crust

75 gm digestive biscuites, crushed
45 gm butter, melted

Cheesecake Mixture

250 gm cream cheese, softened to room temperature
40 gm sugar (original recipe called for 30 gms sugar)
1 egg (Grade A)
1 tsp vanilla essence

Topping

blueberry pie filling

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.

Line 9 of a 12 holes muffin tins with paper cases.
Mix butter and crushed digestives and divide among the prepared wells. Press evenly into the bottom of the wells. Bake for about 5 mins (recipe called for the crust to be refrigerated till ready to use). Put aside to cool.

Lower oven temperature to 150C.

In a bowl, whisk cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
Then add egg and vanilla essence and mix well.

Spoon filling into the crusts, dividing evenly and then bake for about 15 mins.
Transfer to wire rack to cool and refrigerate.

Just before serving the plain mini cheesecake, spoon some blueberry pie filling on top.

Paiz and Hafiz, cousins o mine, got to try them and they loved it ..

Awesome .. ;-)

Creamy Linguine with Smoked Salmon

2007-07-22T21:28:00.001+08:00

I have always loved creamy pasta. As you can see, I seldom cook but bake rather alot. While looking at other food blog, I came across this recipe here and was rather amazed to find out that creamy pasta is reaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllyyyyy eaaaaaaasssssssyyyyyyy to whip up.

When I saw that recipe, I kmew I had to make some for myself. So for dinner today, I made Creamy Linguine with Smoked Salmon. You could prepare, cook and finish eating this in less than an hour! Am not kidding! Really a breeze!

Eating this pasta warm on a cold rainy day .. what more could I ask for!

I tweaked the recipe with what I have. I am sure it tasted as good as the recipe that I saw.

Ingredients

250 gm linguine
1 small red onion, chopped
200 gm cream (add uht milk if not enough creaminess)
75 gm smoked salmon, chopped (more if you have .. i only had that much)
60 gm fresh button mushroom, sliced
a handful of fresh basil, chopped
salt and crushed red pepper

Method

Cook linguine in a large pot of boiling water till al dente.
Drain then wash under running water.

In the same pot, put in cream, onion, mushroom, basil leaves and smoked salmon.
Put in the pasta and mix till the pasta is coated with the creamy sauce.
Season with salt and crushed red pepper.
Serve immediately with sprinkles of more crushed pepper for an added kick.

The kids also had this creamy pasta for dinner. Theirs was a more simpler version of just cream, chopped sausages, button mushroom and then seasoned with salt.

So there you go .. another recipe which could be prepared in a jiffy!

Here's a meme TRIVIA:
Did you know that I am a sucker for easy recipes??
I guess now you know .. ;-)

Chicken Mayonnaise

2007-07-22T15:56:00.001+08:00

So what was for breaky today?? I made Chicken Mayonnaise yesterday night and chilled them in the fridge for breakfast today.

We had our Chicken Mayo with loads of lettuce and filled them in Pita pockets and served with chopped chicky pops on the side.

Yummmmy ... even Tihani and Auni enjoyed them.

When Tihani saw me eating lettuce, she went "i want to eat vege too" .. so I gave her some and then she commented that I did not cook the veg .. and I said that they were meant to be eaten raw .. and she just finished eating them and didnt dare ask for more .. hehehe

Auni is definitely not choosy .. even after finishing her pita .. she still asked me for more lettuce and ate it just like that .. such a darling baby!

Here comes the recipe ..

Ingredients

400 gm chicken breast
salt and peper, to taste
enough mayonnaise
lettuce, torn
pita bread

Method

Boil the chicken breast with a little bit of salt.
Once cooked, drain them then shred.
Combine shredded chicken, salt, pepper and mayonnaise.
Fill pocket of pita, with chix mayo and lettuce.

So bloglings, yet another easy to whip breakfast idea just for you!