First Pavlova Experience

Food and I, we have that love-hate relationship that never seemed to cease.

Most of the time, I'd freak out just because of one packet of undersized Apollo swiss roll but when cravings take over, I will stop at nothing. Let me repeat that, nothing. Period.

So, after having a so-so wraps that tasted like rubber for lunch, my tummy still begged for something satisfiable.

 A pie. 

I have been crazy about pies lately and one of my favorite ones is Starbucks' shepherd's pie. Much to my dismay, they were out of stock but still, I had to get it somehow.

 Even if it means that I have to go to Sunway Pyramid and it'll cost me extra 20 bucks for transport. 

Just for a stupid, fattening pie.

So, I decided to have an early dinner at Delicious, one of my favorite restaurants and ordered their lamb shank pie. I remembered reading a good review of the dish by a food blogger.

I was shocked because the serving portion was gigantic. I'm pretty sure that the waitress gave me a questioning look as if she was trying to say "You sure you can finish 'em?"

The uppermost part is a super thick layer of mashed potatoes and underneath it was juicy, tender, delicious lamb and gravy.

What's a meal without a scrumptious dessert? Since I've been curious about Delicious' pavlova, I decided to order one. 

Berrilicious Chocolate Pavlova, as the name suggested, it's a chocolate flavoured pavlova with a  meringue-like texture topped with strawberries, shaved chocolate and fresh whipped cream at the center. It's crumbly, delicate and melts in your mouth. Purrr-fect! The pavlova isn't as sweet as I imagined it to be, which is good! 

On top of that,  it tasted the best when eaten together with the cream, shaved chocolate and fresh strawberries in one big bite. Dreamy! *drools*

That was, by far, the best dinner I've had for weeks. I highly recommend the pavlova!

The only part of my outing that I liked the least was the bill that nearly made me cry.

Review: The Best Laid Plans

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"

Indeed.

Although in a modern world as of today, this quote reminds me of the memes:
"A jealous woman does better research than the FBI" XD

This quote somehow reflects the basis of another Sidney Sheldon novel that I just read earlier today. Yes, my friend. I just simply can't put it down! There was a bazaar on campus today and I luckily spotted a book stall that sold secondhand book. To be honest, I was so delighted that I unconsciously squealed like a baby chipmunk. As all Sheldon's novels were bestsellers, they were sold for RM12 each but you can buy other novels for as cheap as RM6! I was ecstatic, I bought 3 books right away and got a special deal of RM30 for 3! For your information, that's the price of ONE new Sheldon novel!

After I bought my new lovely babies, I started reading straight away and finished one in a day.

This time, Sheldon's character is Leslie Stewart, another brilliant and gorgeous young lady who's working as a public relations. One day, a hottie named Oliver Russell, who was a congressman working his way to become the governor, came to her and asked for her help to organize his campaign for the upcoming elections. Although Oliver is notorious and infamous for being a womanizer, they soon fell in love and decided to get married. A week before their marriage, Oliver, suddenly married his ex-girlfriend, Jan, a daughter of a powerful Senator for political reasons instead, leaving Leslie broken hearted. And so begin the story of Leslie's plan in attempt to destroy Oliver Russell.

Oh yes, I smell revenge! :3

This time, Sheldon's novel is more into the political world and the dealings that occurred beneath its smooth surface. Leslie attempted to destroy Oliver, who's elected to be the President Of The United States later in the book, by expanding her media/press empire. However, although she managed to harm his reputation, Leslie somehow failed to make him taste a glimpse of hell. Not only politics, this book also revolves around crimes and several homicide cases! I swear, at the beginning at the book any readers would suspect that Oliver had been the one who's behind all of the murders. This time, my intuition in guessing who's the bad guy didn't work. I was utterly tricked by Sheldon and his awesome writing skills. Every chapter has its own little surprises that'd keep you guessing.

I did enjoy the book but not the ending. Again, the ending disappointed me because the heroine didn't 'win' this time. There was no happy ending for her! Another unfinished puzzle that will always keep me wondering 'what's going to happen next?':(

Review: Bloodline

Finished reading another book by Sidney Sheldon! Well, I had been reading it sometime back but I stopped temporarily on page 200-something. Earlier today, I started reading again from that page and finished up to the 460th page. To be honest, I just couldn't put it down!

This time is about another smart, beautiful and powerful woman called Elizabeth Roffe (I noticed that most of Sheldon's female characters experience an outstanding metamorphosis. You know, the ugly-duckling-turned-swan kinda plot) who's the heiress of one of the world's largest pharmaceutical company. After the quizzical death of her father who fell into a crevasse during a hike, Elizabeth took over his place as the CEO of the pharmaceutical giant with Rhys Williams, the man that she loves, as her right-hand. 

She was extremely pressurised by other family members to sell the extremely lucrative company stocks and urge the company to go public (since the firm is a private limited company, the stocks are only available for the Roffe family members and are not allowed to be sold). As the story flows, Elizabeth soon found out that her father was actually murdered and the company is on the verge of collapsing. It turned out that someone among her family members is the mastermind behind her father's murder and the company's problem. After finding out this bitter truth, Elizabeth' life is at stake. She's targeted to be the next victim! This story revolves around her attempts in finding out the criminal before it's too late. 

If the book 'The Stars Shine Down' was a full of business-games and blackmails, this novel is more towards the thriller side. There are more gruesome and repulsive scenes in this one and less romance between the heroine and the supporting male character. On top of that, this book constantly surprised me with its brilliant and wicked twists! Yes, they'll keep you at the edge of your seat until the very last page! However, I did manage to predict the killer a.k.a bad guy before he was revealed, blame my intuition that can be overly sharp at times! Teehee :p

The ending, however, was a bit disappointing for me. It's more like a cliffhanger! The ending only stated how the antagonist died and that's it. Urgh, I would like to find out how would Elizabeth save the Roffe empire. There should be more explanation about Helene's behaviour and her thirst for power. On top of that, what will happen when Ivo's mistress decided to confront his wife? What will happen to Anna who's concealed in a sanatorium?

Overall, it's a great book, as expected from the master storyteller. However, although the story has ended, Bloodline feels like an incomplete puzzle with missing pieces for me. There are just too many questions left unanswered. 

Review: The Stars Shine Down

 I just finished reading another epic tale by the master storyteller, Sidney Sheldon. Indeed, he is my favorite author so far. Reading this book was an incredible journey through the life of an intelligent and drop-dead gorgeous self-made billionaire, Lara Cameron. The plot was just simply fantastic, it flowed really smoothly throughout the novel. It carried me back to Lara's past and before I knew it, it was gradually bringing me back to the present again. I have always loved Sheldon's writing style. When describing gruesome and disturbing scenes that'd give you goosebumps, Sheldon always successfully described it in the most callous, remorseless way. Just the way I like it.

And again, what I like the most about this book are the characters. For your information, I've always loved books that revolved around revenge, blackmailing and the extravagant lifestyle of billionaires that climbed their way to the top. The Stars Shine Down has clearly given me a good dose of those. Lara's quick and sharp mind really impressed me and the business-game, blackmailing and revenge described in the book were such a thrill, just like a roller-coaster ride!

However, I was expecting more of a plot twist in this book. Although it was quite shocking to learn that Keller, Lara's trusted right-hand, was actually sacrificing himself to 'protect' her, I don't know if it's just me but I did find the twists very much predictable. On top of that, there wasn't enough character development, I was hoping to see the workaholic and stern Lara to settle down and outgrow her coldhearted demeanor. In addition, I also think that the ending was a little rushed;

 I would love to get a sneak peek of Lara's and Phillip's future and find out what's going to happen to

Keller after his arrest, although it might be unpleasant since I admired his loyalty.

Nonetheless, Sidney Sheldon has given me another sensational reading experience. The Stars Shine Down was truly a page-turner, one of Sheldon's greatest piece of work that would leave you captivated. 

Disappearing Trade: Clay Potter

Hello there! It has been ages since the last time I posted something in this blog of mine.

So, my friends and I were supposed to do this English project in which we have to interview someone whose occupation is 'disappearing' meaning that there aren't many people doing that particular job anymore. After considering several options, we decided to interview a clay potter who lives in Kuala Selangor. 

Two of my girls picked me up and our journey for the first time to Kuala Selangor started! 

The sun was high, it was sizzling outside. The moment we stepped out of the car, I started to sweat and smudged my eyeliner, remind me not to experiment on any 'make-up'  during a field work next time.

We met this Indian clay potter who's willing to be interviewed by us. His son, who seemed to have a crush on one of my girls, showed us around the factory and explained the process of making claypots. 

We saw how the professional potter did their daily routine. Imagine, a potter can make up to 3000 of those small plates that you see in this picture! Isn't that amazing? I couldn't even make one!

We were given a chance to try out how to make basic clay pot. To tell you the truth, it was EXTREMELY HARD. Even Bavithra, who claimed that she has gotten the innate pottery skills as she's Indian, only managed to make a doughnut out of it. I also did try making something out of the rotating clay but unfortunately, I'm not a hands-on person. Therefore, I failed miserably and I looked waaay too messy in the photos so I shall not upload it here :)

And then we did an interview with Mr. Aru, one of the potter and the owner of the enterprise. See those chickens and elephants behind us? Those are animal-shaped penny bank that he gave to each of us as souvenirs! Isn't he nice? I got an ayam :D

Yes, it was extremely tiring! After a day of fun under the hot sun, we were invited for lunch at Bavithra's place. Her mom made us Biryani rice with fried fish and other types of Indian condiments. It was so good, by far the best Indian food I've ever had! 

After such a filling lunch, my friends suddenly craved for IKEA meatballs. THE IKEA meatballs.Well, as an Indonesian girl who has lived in Malaysia for 2 years, I'm such a failure for not trying those meatballs years ago. 

The first time I heard about IKEA meatballs, which are served with a freakin' jam, I was petrified. 

Let me repeat that. JAM.

At first I thought this meatball should be featured on Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Food-.-

Honestly, I was so shocked that those IKEA meatballs tasted so. freaking. good.

Although I felt really guilty for eating them, these babies are worth spending calories on :')

I had so much fun today and it's all thanks to my lovely girls :D

Macaroni Au Gratin

What an unproductive day! Well, not really. I went out with mom earlier today to buy some materials for my dress and to a tailor to get my measurements done. Yes, I'm tailoring a dress for my dearest friend, Ocha's birthday! Then my day became unproductive. 

Suddenly, my mom asked me to try cooking macaroni and cheese for buka puasa. For your information, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE macaroni and cheese. Kraft's dinner mac n cheese has been a bestie of mine since childhood! But now, it's time for me to cook a homemade one from scratch. Challenge accepted! 

The main ingredients for today: elbow macaroni, flour, cooking cream, grated cheddar cheese (the stronger the better!), butter, salt and pepper

This is how I did it: 

1) Melt the butter in a saucepan

2) Whisk in flour

3) Gradually add the milk and stir continuously until it thickens

4) Add grated cheese, salt and pepper

5) Add boiled elbow macaroni

6) Mix thoroughly

Then what I did next was to pour the creamy macaroni and cheese into a casserole dish! 

Add generous amount of mozzarella cheese between each layer and top it with more mozzarella cheese and cheddar. I like 'em really cheesy. Then, bake in a preheated oven just until the cheese on the top layer is all runny and gooey.

Ta-daa! My homemade macaroni au gratin/macaroni and cheese is ready to be served!

Bon appetit!

Chocolate Cupcakes!

Mom said she's craving for some cupcakes and told me to bake some yesterday for buka puasa. Initially, she wanted peanut butter-chocolate cupcakes but we ran out of peanut butter! Therefore, I decided to change the frosting into chocolate frosting. To be honest, I have never tried to make chocolate frosted cupcakes so it was really like a gamble for me. On top of that, I was fasting yesterday so I couldn't taste the frosting's sweetness, consistency and adjust it to my liking!

My all-time favorite baking website is Joy Of Baking. They have dozens of simple dessert recipes worth trying!

So here's how I baked the chocolate cupcakes yesterday:

The basic cake ingredients: butter/margarine, white sugar, eggs and flour (sifted with salt and baking powder). If you mix these ingredients together, you'll be able to make a basic butter cake!

Another key ingredient for a chocolate cake is of course cocoa powder. Normally, I'd use the pure 100% cocoa powder

When you have all of the ingredients ready, you can start mixing them all together. But remember to preheat the oven first and there's an order/sequence that must be followed when mixing these ingredients:

1st. Butter and sugar together

2nd. Eggs 

3rd. Flour and liquid 

(in this case it's the dissolved cocoa powder) in turn, ending with the flour

After the batter has been mixed thoroughly, pour them into paper lined muffin tins and bake them in the pre-heated oven for approximately 15-20 minutes. When you're cake is ready, cool them down before frosting them! If your cake is still hot, the frosting will melt into butter!

And for the frosting, I followed Joy of Baking's recipe, which is basically just a mixture of butter, icing sugar and molten chocolate.

Chop the chocolate compound into small pieces and melt them. Be extra careful if you're melting them in a microwave instead of a saucepan because your chocolate might get a disturbing burnt taste! Furthermore, make sure that you're using a heat-proof bowl!

Grate some chocolate using a cheese grater above your frosted cake as a finishing touch and for an extra chocolatey goodness!

:)

Boarding School Memories

I spent 2 years living in a boarding school and several terms living in the same room. When I first came to KTJ, I was flabbergasted. The room didn't live up to my expectations. To be honest, it looked so horrible to me  at first and I couldn't imagine living in that room 24/7! but as I gradually added more things into it, the room then became okay. 

I spent my last term in the same room as when I first arrived in KTJ but with different roommates. I shared the room with 3 other amazing girls. Here's a quick tour around my room:

The LR 10 used to be Lee Liwoon's, Aileen Loo's, Jesvin Kaur Cheema's and Siti Soraya's castle :D

Guess which one is my bed? It's the one with a brown pillow on top!

Every morning, the house tutor would ring the bell to wake us up. Then we would walk to the dining hall to have breakfast in our uniforms before going to class. 

I have bad memories with this staircase that'd lead us to the school's old block. Well, I fell on it once and twisted my ankle when I was running in attempt to avoid a monitor lizard (an iguana, perhaps?) that was passing through it. Ouch. I couldn't walk the next day and slept through the night in agony. Damn you, monitor lizard.

The school's old block! KTJ was waaay bigger than this picture. This picture just represent a tiny bit of KTJ.

I would be missing the times I've spent in this school, the people I've met there and the wonderful teachers :)