Monday 31 December 2007

potato wedges

a new recipe...
Spicy Parmesan and herb potato wedges

ingredients..
750g large potatoes
30 g melted butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 clove garlics, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
(i use dried herbs. it still tastes good. cold storage has fresh herbs..)
dried chilli powder, to taste
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

method..
1. wash and peel potatoes. cut each potato into 6-8 wedges
2. melt butter in a large pan, remove fro heat, stir in oil, garlic, oregano, rosemary, chilli and some ground black pepper
3. add the potatoe wedges and toss gently to completely coat with the mixture
4. place potatoes on an oven tray in a single layer and bake at 200 degrees Celcius for 30 minutes.
5. turn wedges on their sides and sprinkle with parmesan and bake for another 10-15 minutes. serve at once while still hot


*step 2*

*step 3*

*step 4*

enjoy!

eye of malaysia

ok, as promised... a post about our trip to the EYE!
ooo..today is probably the LAST day to get a ride on it!

we went on christmas eve, after a movie (Heartbreak Kid) and lunch and some shopping at KLCC


the cute flower sequins and teddy ribbon i bought from Kinokuniya. so irresistible!
new deco stuff for my scrapbooks! =)

it was slightly drizzling went we Left KLCC but we just tried our luck..
we got there (lucky!) and was relieved to see that it was open and there were not many people.
so we bought tickets (from a lady who sold her "complimentary tickets" at rm5 cheaper and went for the ride...

at first it was rather scary..and the fact that it hangs over a lake!
i'm a little bit scared of heights!eeee
but then later..it was just..normal..
the view was good except that it was still drizzling....

here are the photos =)





i was so fascinated with this "plant medley" different multi coloured flowers in a few layers





reflections....


then we took a walk around the lake and had dinner in the car! (spaghetti aglio oilio and peperoni pizza from KLCC food court!)

i have to admit that i was so eager to go on the ride is cos its only going to be here for one year! and so..im proud to say i've been on the eye of malaysia! LOL!
but it was a nice experience ^.^

Tuesday 25 December 2007

seafood in Telok Gong, Port klang

my family and i decided to take a drive on the newly opened highway from bukit jalil to KLIA/PUTRAJAY&CYBERJAYA. just to try out the way and cos its toll free for a month! haha
the new highway..its really really high. passes IMU. almost reaching the 3rd floor!
quite scary!!
but its really convenient, esp those in bkt jalil.sri petaling to get to KLIA. nice, straight road!!

on the right..is Arena Green!

Then we took a detour to telok gong in port klang for lunch/dinner.
the GPS made my dad take the super long kampung road where the road gets smaller and smaller. and it was raining sooo heavily. and i was super hungry...

so relieved when we reached our destination..

RESTORAN MAKANAN LAUT TELOK GONG
NO 705 JALAN UDANG GALAH,
TELOK GONG
42000 PORT KLANG, SELANGOR
TEL: 03 31341918

Its a really nice place. kinda reminds me of the beach, lots of coconut trees and their place is different..don't know how to describe but its special =)



and the food! since its our first time here, we didn't know what to order. so we just went with their specialties (the first two dishes)

this is tom yam prawn in coconut water. really yummy.spicy and sour and absolutely tasty! one of the best tom yam I've ever tasted! (aside from secret recipe's tom yam goong!)
with huge prawns and even slices of coconut flesh.
this is only part of the portion, cos they can't stuff all in the coconut. there is another bowl.

this is fried glass noodles "toong fun" with lala. nice also, but can;t really taste the lala cos its in teeny weeny pieces!

nice fresh steam fish. its fresh...delicious!then like food critics we talked about fish and the method of steaming the fish will really tell if the fish is fresh or not! cheh-wah, like experts. hahaha

this is the "hou chein" oysters, i think. when my grandma said they added wine in it...well, i decide not to try it cos i don't fancy the taste of wine. call me unadventurous...but thats the way i am. super picky with my food =p

and the last one.our vege dish. broccoli with canned "abalone" and mushroom. not bad. but had nasty thin slices of GINGER! argh~

the bill came to about 160 ringgit (with 4 bowls of rice, and two drinks)
not bad! overall rating for me..i would say 8.
many customers ordered the crab, we decided to pass cos we just had crabs last weekend. too much of a good thing..can be bad!
there's sure going to be next time!

stuff....bits & pieces

time to continue my blogging marathon.
some random stuff since my last post last monday...
had a really fun and meaningful christmas celebration in IMU on 13th december. great performances and free lunch =p
the christmas committee did a fantastic job organizing it!!
and of course a gift exchange within our batch.
my "secret santa" was Rochana, she gave me this cute plush teddy bear, with a santa hat a christmas scarf. how sweet ^.^


hmmm...and lets see, ever since selective started, i've been having lots of free time, something very rare! hahah! aside from the poster, which we took half a day to complete and a assessment next year...that's pretty much it.
i've been reading and reading loads of books. after going to book warehouse sale..i have plenty of books to keep myself occupied..

and for my christmas gift from james, he gave me....
books!
one from Nicholas Sparks, Dear John..which i finished this afternoon..and stardust, which i will work on it soon =)
thanks so much dear!

books and more books ^^

gifts from james..

and i also bought a book for james as a xmas gift (great minds think alike, don't you think??)
for one more day by mitch albom. which i took great care in wrapping it!


and just to be a busy body..here are the "new addition" to the soft toy collection.
both are xmas gifts from my sister's bf (to her of course.lol)
and i had the honour of naming the pups =)


this is 25 spots, weird name i know.its because..well, it has 25 spots!

and this is bulat! self-explanatory =p

this morning, my mom decided to cook pancakes for our "christmas breakfast"
and i attempted to copy PHOP's pancake. the topping and all i mean. this is what it looked like...lol

the ingredients...pancakes, maple syrup, chocolate sauce (Hershey's) slice roasted almonds (mummy's favorite) strawberries and ice cream!

the result..taaa-dahhh. a far cry from PHOP'S creation...

and i did get to visit the "eye of Malaysia" on christmas eve!
more updates later, when i get the photos!
and a proper food review next!

doughnut craze!!!

ok, i might be a little bit "delayed" in getting caught up in the doughnut frenzy but its never too late, right? LOL
ever since BIG APPLE & J CO doughnuts and coffee started mushrooming in malaysia..well, seeing a long snaking line in these outlets is already a norm.
both shops look tempting and inviting. they guarantee fresh doughnuts..you can actually see them make the doughnuts: rolling the dough, squirting the filling in, dipping it..so nice!
...but i had a bad experience with JCO doughnuts in Pavilion. the line was super long and the service was not up to par! and by the time it reached out turn, the flavours that we already decided on was all gone! sob sob. my Coco Loco!!!argh.
anyway i tasted almost like big apple...
so, I'm now a fan of big apple! LOL. besides there will be a new outlet in Subang parade soon. faster faster!!

and their packaging is soooo nice. the box and the plastic bag. almost like a doughnut boutique! hahah

a dozen doughnuts for RM 17!

...presenting the thorny durian! Its really sharp you know! and the filling inside is really "durian-ish" soft and creamy! yummy! except it made my car smell! lol

ohhh..this is really good! Alien vs. predator special. filled with sinfully rich chocolate, coated with chocolate, topped with grated chocolate. mmmmmm. sure to satisfy any chocoholic!

looks like doughnuts are here to stay =)

merry christmas =)

its christmas day..merry christmas to everyone!

haven't been blogging much, so i'll compensate now.
all shopping malls have outdone themselves with nice, impressive christmas deco..i just can't help snapping photos every mall i go to..

at the curve..there was a cozy house with a "fire place" and all. and there was even a so-called skating ring for kids. and every night at 730 and 830pm, it will "snow"
its actually bubbles from a machine. quite entertaining though. hahah





and at pavillion, there was this huge white christmas tree, that changes colour every few seconds. and it's actually called a singing tree cos at certain times, 40 carrolers will stand on the tree, literally, and start singing christmas carrols. i mean, how cretive is that! although, i wasn't lucky enough to watch a performance...


in KLCC, like every year, there is this huge christmas tree, decked in colourful ornaments and sparkly lights! wonderful! =)




and eventhough it might be a tad bit commercialized, its still nice to see, admire and marvel and the beautiful decorations, hum along to christmas tunes so, everone...be merry and happy and enjoy the holidays but don't forget the true meaning of christmas.

Monday 17 December 2007

taiping lang

here is the website for this restaurant in puchong that I've been raving about!
http://taipinglang.com/home/Welcome.html
I recommend this place for yummy affordable traditional home-cooked chinese/nyona dishes.
do check their website out!

faerie

During the weekend, totally devoid of places to go, my parents and i decided to go all the way to klang!
we went to a newly opened jusco mall in bukit tinggi klang.
that mall was HUGE!
and quite a "successful" shopping trip i must say =p
i bought this absolutely beautiful, delicate....
faerie!!!
I've always been intrigued by these mystical creatures.



look at her..isn't she just beautiful?

Friday 14 December 2007

thoughts for the day...

this is a very old newspaper clipping from the STAR that my mum saved cos its so meaningful.
let me share it with you. it will definitely brighten up your day

think about these one at a time & you will feel good at the end of each thought....

1. falling in love
2. laughing so hard till your face hurts
3. a hot shower
4. no queues at the supermarket
5. taking a drive along a pretty road
8. hearing your favorite song on the radio
9. lying in bed listening to the rain outside
10. finding the dress that you want is on sale at half price
11. chocolate milkshake (or strawberry/vanilla)
12. a long distance phone call
13. giggling
14. a good conversation
15. the beach!!
16. finding a rm50 note in your coat from last year
17. midnight phone calls that lasts for hours
18. having someone tell you you're beautiful :)
19. friends
20. overhearing someone saying something nice about you
21. waking up and realizing you still have a few more hours to sleep
22. your first kiss
23. making new friends or spending time with old ones
24. playing with a new puppy (or a bunny rabbit!!)
25. having someone play with your hair
26. sweet dreams
27. hot chocolate
28. road trips with friends
29. swinging on swings
30. wrapping presents for someone special
31. winning a really competitive game
32. baking something
33. seeing smiles and hearing laughter from your friends
34. holding hands with someone you care about
35. running into an old friend and realizing some things (good or bad!) never change
36. riding the best roller coaster over and over again
37. watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you
38. watching the sun rise
39. laughing at an inside joke
40. getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day...

so, which one made you smile? =)

Wednesday 12 December 2007

gingerbread man

spend one whole evening/night making gingerbread men as Xmas gifts for my friends
I'm so tired now and my back is aching =(
but its worth it...seeing the happy colourful smiley gingerbread men
(that will soon be eaten and digested by digestive juices..muahahha)
here is the recipe (got it from my cousin)

ingredients
125 gram butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon sodium bicarbonate
3 teaspoon ground ginger
2 1/2 tablespoon golden syrup

for the royal icing
1 1/2 cups pure icing sugar
i egg white
4 drops lemon juice
food colouring

(no need to make so much royal icing, half the portion is more than enough)

method:
1. cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add egg yolk and beat well
2. gradually add the sifted ingredients (flour, sodium bicarbonate and ginger powder) and golden syrup. mix well
3. knead the dough lightly and divide it into six portion
4.roll each portion on a piece of grease proof paper and use a cookie cutter to cut. be very very careful, gingerbread men are very fragile thingys =p then using a spatula, transfer the cookie on a baking pan.
5. bake the cookies in a preheated oven (at 180 Celsius) for 10 minutes.
6. for the royal icing: sift icing sugar, beat egg white lightly in a small bowl. add icing sugar one tablespoon at a time until it reaches piping consistency. beat in lemon juice and desired food colouring.
7. Decorate gingy!!! the most fun (and tiring) part!

*can use chocolate chips as the buttons.use the icing sugar as a "glue", the icing sugar will eventually harden. you can get silver balls, fancy colourful shapes in ingredient shops and even supermarkets! be creative!!*

this recipe makes about 15-20 gingy, depending on the size of the cookie cutter.
speaking of which...i nearly couldn't make gingerbread men this year cos i didn't have the cutter as my cousin wanted to use it. so today when i was wandering in cold storage in subang parade with my dad while waiting for mummy to finish her "jamuan"
i saw this cute lil' crispy chocolate gingerbread boy. then i look closely and saw 4 magic words...
"REAL COOKIE CUTTER INCLUDED"
i was so happy!!!hahahah
a green plastic cutter! hooray!

this thing saves the day!!! :)

so i went back to make!
from 5pm till 7pm...
then 8pm till 10pm.
PHEW~
hard work~
i made two batches...30 plus gingies all together and a few stars...
i don't even like ginger. LOL.

decorating tools

the dough

my precious cookie cutter!

be extra careful while handling gingy!
the cookie will expand slightly, so don't put too near each other

the royal icing. separate it before adding different food colouring (obviously....)


gingerbread man

and gingerbread stars!!

happy baking
and merry Christmas!

Tuesday 11 December 2007

christmas food fair in IMU

had to do mass production of spagetthi for the food fair to raise funds for IMU Ball 2008 and M106 covocation magazine...

i cooked spaghetti bolognaise and aglio olio with the help of mummy & daddy (thank goodness for that!)

50 packets all together!
jane cooked another 50..
had to wake up at 7am...i slept at almost 2 after coming home real late...hehe
i was afraid to cook so much aglio olio cos after cannot finish selling. but it did sell quite well and hopefully people liked it..the recipe is in this blog (november 2007)





so MUCH of everything!!!!


jane, lily and i sold the spagetthi and we finished the first! who hoo~ and we made a profit of 300 plus! yay, im so happy!!!