jumbled up post-mum's bday,moving in n food...

this is my LAST post before semester six starts, before i go over to seremban...
its not as dramatic as it sounds, but i'm sure going to miss home. my bedroom, popo's cooking, the bunnies, ah-woo-woo..
but i can come back to home sweet home every weekend (initially at first, but we'll see how it goes..)
yesterday was mummy dearest's birthday, had a very nice dinner at a chinese restaurant with yummy fresh water fish and yam basket. yummy~ dinner was on my sister :)
and for dessert, durian cake from la manilla, since it was on promotion (rm51 instead of rm65)

Happy birthday mummy dearest. love youuu

food from the birthday dinner. too lazy to do a food post, no sufficient details

coconut!!
la-la. very yummy, esp the soup with a hint of wine.
the special dish that they had- yummy yam basket. it tastes as good as it looks :)
an assortment of beans stir fried in belacan

breakfast: pan mee in taipan, USJ. miss this pan mee!

then after that we went over to seremban to shift in some stuff and also the stuff from my sister's house. had to make a few trips to carry the BED! table, stockers, clothes, TV and the other stuff that accumulated for a year! so tiring.

so that i won't starve there. plus all the ingredients to make pasta.oatmeal for busy days when i'm rushing for time.
since the room is still kinda messy, i won't put up all the photos yet. just a preview :P


ooo. the stuff from my sis's house. soo many stuff!! o.O
and having nothing to do at one time, i snapped a photo of my pink flip flop with a bright flower. its from Taiwan.

for dinner, our usual haunt. TAIPING LANG! i have already done a food review.

it was so packed so had to wait about 20 minutes plus

the ee-ee. tang yuen. yummy

so...this is it. no more post till the weekend cos there is no Internet connection in the new house. have to get it soon. i'll blog about my first week in seremban and my orientation, till then..good bye..

what i have been doing...

its already Friday, time certainly flies when you're having fun..
what i have been doing over the past few days...

1. shopping for stuff for seremban. mostly small stuff , more formal clothes and groceries, cos my sister has most of the other stuff and my room is furnished

2. reading, ALOT. went to the MPH warehouse sale on thursday (the very first day of the sales) and bought so may books. 6 all together and only for less than 80 ringgit. recently i have been addicted to books written by Jodi Picoult. the very first book (and is the BEST book so far!) i read was nineteen minutes. it was truly a fantastic book. that started off the addiction :p
and so far i have read My sister's keeper, Mercy and I'm currently working on The pact, which is turning out to be really good. but no matter how good a book is, i still need a break from reading. anyway back to the MPH warehouse sale..its still on until september 1st..click here for more details. i got a Jodi picoult book (the tenth circle) for only rm15!! (plus another 30% on the very first day and for being a MPH card member) and a Nicholas spark book (the choice) and two cecelia ahern (love, rosie and a place called here) for the same price. a very good haul!! hehe. so happy.don't miss out on this sales!!

3. lunches and movies with my best buddies from high school, Yiu Ti and Alicia.
went to pyramid yesterday for lunch at Ole-ole bali (brings back fond memories during valentines when i came here with James) and a movie, WALL.E which i so totally LOVED. omg, everything about it was good. right from the opening short animation from PIXAR called PRESTO..well, the main reason was that it featured an adorable white bunny...so don't be late for the movie! even the cockroach (wall.e's pet) was so cute. storyline was Ok too. definitely a must watch movie. I quote The Star's movie review "only a person with a cold, cold heart would remain uncharmed by the adorable antics of the robots in this 3D animated film" and a generous 5 star rating. so there you go!

4. and of course blogging (and also blog-hopping) which explains the sudden influx of entries :P)

that's all for now...until my next post...

Beeling's (26.08) & Kajen's (28.08) 21st birthday @ Kiku Zakura, Midvalley

wednesday was the perfect day to celebrate the birthdays of two very good friends of mine. Dejun did most of the planning (thank you so much :)) and i provided the cupcakes, hehe :P

i thought i was going to be late-with all the jam and the heavy downpour..but i was just about 20 minutes late ..

the place was Kiku-zakura, a very nice japanese restaurant in Mid valley, its at the top most floor (where the cinema is located) with traditional and very beautiful deco. when bill, jane and I walked in, they lead us to a sliding door and lo-behold!! our very own private room!! we even had to remove our shoes!! its sort of like dining japanese stlye except we don't have to sit crossed legged, there is actually space to dangle our feet.but i noticed it was rather difficult to move around and the waitresses had to bend down alot to serve us our food..the people there were really nice and friendly and very accomodating. they were also dressed up real nice that gives it a "authentic" atmosphere!! loved this place so much!!


the view from our private room..
our appetizer-tofu, which was soft and silky and delicious
bill's food, after contempelating for a long time. she claimed she got the both noodles and rice (from the sushi)
me with my chicken nanban. so typical of me to order something so ordinary...it was bite sizes of chicken, deep fried. well, at least it had a pretty cute name...it was good also

this is my food- chicken nanban set, with a serving of salad, potato salad, rice, miso soup (which i did not touch) watermelon and some weird condiments on the small plate (still don't know what they are >.<)
jane's choice. chicken with cheese. quite a specail dish. it had a fancier name, but i just can't remember it...
and the highlight of the day that got all of us girls swooning and fawning over-the pink doggy ice cream cake...sooo cute!!and tastes good too, sponge cake with lots of chocolate ice cream
until we sang the birthday song and when the candles were blown...it time to cut the cake. poor doggy.
this is not for the faint hearted...surgery gone bad :( look at the face, its practically dropping off
:(

and from me...21 cupcakes. hope the both of you liked it :) i really enjoyed baking it
the birthday boy..
and the birthday girl with a pink gummy bear
a group photo which did not turn out nice :(
HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY BEE LING AND KAJEN!!

welcome to the club. heheh

individual cheese-cup cakes

after a long absence of baking, i finally got a very good excuse to bake again...it was for beeling and kajen's 21st birthday. i decided on these cute lil cheese cupcakes, something like uhu-hu cheesecakes from the loaf cos i wanted something different from the traditional cream cake.
i recently discovered this superb website joy of baking and it has the widest range of mouth watering goodies, it will definitely be an inspiration!!
here is the recipe..its from the website(click here to view)

Crust:
1 cup (100 grams) graham wafer crumbs or crushed digestive cookies
1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
2 - 8 ounce (454 grams) packages of cream cheese, room temperature (use full fat, not reduced or fat free cream cheese)
2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Garnish: (Optional):
Strawberry Puree, blueberry pie filling, melted chocolate and/or fresh berries

Line 12 muffin cups with . Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

For Crust: In a small bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press about a tablespoon of crumbs on the bottoms of the 12 muffin cups lined with parchment paper. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For Filling: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese on low speed until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla extract and sour cream and beat until incorporated. Remove the crusts from the refrigerator and evenly divide the filling among the 12 muffin cups.
Bake for about 18 - 20 minutes or until firm but the centers of the cheesecakes still wobble a little. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Let cool and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (a few hours or even overnight).
Remove cheesecakes by first running a sharp knife around the inside edge of the muffin cups to loosen the cheesecakes. Then, taking hold of the two strips of parchment paper, carefully lift each cheesecake from the muffin cups. Gently peel off the parchment paper and place on your serving plate. Top with strawberry sauce and/or fresh berries.
Makes 12 individual cheesecakes.

the ingredients...
for the crust

press down the biscuit crumbs and refrigerate it
for the filling
i replaced sour cream with yogurt

spoon the topping into the prepared crusts
final product which i sampled :) i used blueberry topping . its just like a mini blueberry cheese cake. yumyum!!
a variety of toppings, i had so much fun decorating it!! can melt some cooking chocolate and spread it on top and sprinkle some hundred thousands..or use chocolate curls or fresh berries and a mint leave. i wanted to use strawberries but the ones i saw were so miserable..so nevermind-la
paper cut outs which i made. pink-bill's favourite colour and green-kajen's favourite colour. and purple cut out bunnies. my special touch :p
wanted to arrange it like this but the box was just to small..

and another variety..chocolate cupcakes. i used a recipe i tried before (click here) and used the remaining cheese filling to make a marble effect..my own concoction. it turn out quite ok. phew~

cupcakes rock!!!~

IMU convocation 23rd august 2008

so we had our convocation last saturday 23rd august 2008 in sheraton hotel subang jaya.
you can call in "pseudo-convo" or separuh jalan convocation because we aren't actually graduating yet. just for completion of our phase one in medical school. halfway a doctor...
nevertheless, it is an achievement, no matter how small. plus its so near my house, it will be a waste NOT to go. but many people did not turn up. it would have been nore fun if there were more M106ers.
I decided to wear my sister's black and white baju kebarung ^_^
had to be there at 7am (so EARLY!!) for rehearsal..
go up stage-bow-walk-bow-shake hand-take scroll-smile at the camera-walk-bow-go down stage...that is the sequence.
and we were the only batch with a plain black robe (so ugly) and no mortar board :(
have to wait 2 and a half more years before our REAL GRADUATION. provided i pass all exams....
took lots of photos as this is really our LAST time meeting together at a formal occasion. don't know when we will be seeing each other again..but we definitely will...
after the ceremony...it was the reception..
the food was slightly better than last years (at my sister's convo)
oh well..it was kinda boring at times but i'm quite glad i went for it.

Uni is starting soon...

this day, next week (1st september) I'll be in SEREMBAN. and the next day (2nd september) would be my very first day on PHASE 2, CLINICAL SCHOOL.time to put the theory we learnt for the past 2 1/2 years into practise. time to meet REAL patients....new lecturers, new schedule, new groupings, new environment. everything so new and so alien.sigh
I'm so scared. really don't know what to expect.
went over to seremban today to settle the payment for our house plus to let my other housemates bring their parents to view the house... will be going there again to shift in the rest of the stuff on sunday and staying there starting on monday.
UNI IS STARTING SO SOON.
goodbye holidays :( sobsob
i really had a good rest and enjoyed so much during the holidays. a good thing about uni starting is that my brain will not rot further. or get rustier.i hope i still can remember what i learnt cos i never did pick up any medical books or do any reading...so lets hope for the best and that everything will be okay...
i shall enjoy the rest of my holidays and start packing for seremban. and also mentally preparing myself....

dinner@Fullhouse lifestyle store & cafe at Ara Damansara

FULLHOUSE LIFESTYLE & CAFE

C-G-11,NUI ZE XUI@ARA DAMANSARA
PUSAT DAGANGAN NZX,
NO.2 JLN PJU 1A/41B
ARA JAYA PJU 1A
PJ
TEL NO:03-78850836

for the map click here

to view their blog, click here

and for another review of this place, check out Sarah Kate's post. click here

I've got so say a BIG thank you to SarahKate for introducing this place to me through her blog :) so i went with my parents for dinner just now (see, its such a nice place, i CAN'T wait to blog about it even though I'm supposed to be in bed cos I have to wake up EARLY tmr for my "separuh jalan convocation")

this place is kinda of in "the middle of no where" a relatively new place, its not even in my Dad's GPS. there were a quite a number of housing areas and condos but it was still quite quiet. took us awhile to find this place..
when we finally did, i went to search for the restaurant....and came across a two storey shop lot all nice and white with trimmed green hedges, looking so pretty and inviting.

a very very important note: please DO BRING ALONG A CAMERA!!! i didn't and that was such a shame. had to rely on dad's camera phone (better than nothing!!) the photos did not turn out very nice :( some were very blur. what a waste!!

a cute sign welcoming patrons :) they just opened about one month ago


even the menu is cute ^_^

we sat outside, in these little cute booths under the umbrella.

an attempt at taking an "artistic" shot

a grand view from upstairs

and they had this cuteee mini cooper outside, so i snapped a few photos

there is also an upper floor. look at the cute white sheeps!!hehe

there is a small boutique selling clothes, sunnies and accessories. in fact most stuff on display (except the furniture is on sale)

yes, that is a four poster bed..i likeeee

and the changing room. notice the shower head??? what an interesting idea!

cutesy stuff for sale. keychains and fancy pens and stuff.

i totally loved the concept of this cafe. its food and shopping and excellent ambiance all at once. you get everything under one roof!

now for the food.

the place already amazed me so much.good food will be a plus point...

the menu consists of western and asian food. from all types of pasta, fish and chips to nasi lemak, curry mee and johor mee. they also have a set meal, but sadly its only for lunch time (12-4pm) sad. they really should have a dinner set meal as well. nvm, my next visit will be for lunch. they have a wide range of drinks also, from ice blended to all sorts of tea and other cold/hot drinks. this is what we had..

honey lemon with aloe vera (rm5.90) it was nice and refreshing, not to sweet and has little chunks of aloe vera in it. i love the square glass jar they serve it in. its quite a big portion, better to share it with someone.
and this is my dish that i shared with mummy. apparently this is their signature dish. mixed seafood grill (rm26.90) when i ordered it, i was expecting something...well...larger. but at the very first bite...ahhh...size does not matter. it was THAT GOOD.no doubt its pricey but its all seafood. prawns, fish, squid, mussels. and grilled mushroom *tiny and a little shriveled but still good* and the yummiest, creamiest mashed potatoes i have ever tasted. the sauce was superb. not cheesy (mummy is happy!) but creamy and...hard to describe the taste. there were two slices of mandarin orange. weird but it went quite well with the dish. this dish is recommended to ALL SEAFOOD LOVERS. and also mashed potato lovers. the mashed potato has a slightly buttery taste.so smooth and delectable. mmmmmm.and the seafood is grilled, not deep fried so its healthier :)

*dear, i think you will love this dish. I'll try to bring you here next time, when you are back here...*

dad's nasi lemak (rm9.90) with rendang chicken. this was just OK. the portion of rice was a tad too little, the anchovies were much much too salty and the sambal and rendang was ok but can be wayyyy too spicy for some people.this dish did not fare so well...
and for deserts. we had tiramisu (rm7.90) this is quite nice although its kinda small.sponge cake layered with rich smooth creamy filling. it tastes good and the texture is nice too.

they also have brownies with ice-cream (rm7.90)

and this amazing selection on pastries...fruit tarts and mini cakes. so wanted to try but not enough stomach space and did not want to feel guilty later, so I'll leave that for the next visit. its rm2.50 for one piece and Rm13 for 6 pieces.

service was good too, did not have to wait too long for the food and the foreign worker, although the spoke funny...he was really nice and polite.

i had a good dining experience and will definitely be back again :)

ratings:

food&drinks: 7.5/10
price: 7/10
ambiance: 9.5/10

service:7.5/10
overall: 8/10