Sun Tanned or Sun Burned?

Tajuk entri mcm biasa ala2 kontroversi. Heheeheheh :)

What are you guys doing over the holidays? I bet most of you balik kampung. As for me & Encik Hubs, we both tak balik because afraid of the jammed road. Last year dah kena 20 jam derr... Terbaik! So this year to be safe, duduk KL je ler... enjoying the clear roads. hehehe :)

Btw, yesterday (Sunday) we went to Bukit Gambang Waterpark, Pahang together with Kakak's family. The place was super aweeesome and huge crowd too! 

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We spent 2 hours waiting in line just to buy tickets! can u believe that??? We arrived lebih kurang pukul 10.00am camtu then terkezut tgk queue yang maha panjang. Perghh! Kul 12.00pm br lah boleh masuk. Entrance fee for adult is RM21.90, kids RM14.90. They are having cashless payment inside the theme park so they are using e-value where you purchase some value inside your tag. This is used to rent tubes (single / double) and also to buy food bile kelaparan melanda.

The water park memang best especially it's Coco Beach (the largest wave pool in Malaysia)! Wave dia plak double super awesome! Feeling macam kat tgh2 laut lah. Serious best! Bukit Merah's wave is not as challenging as this one. I almost drowned a few times jugaklah sambil2 tertelan air! errrkk! 

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The kids punya pool pon best. On top of the playland tu ade giant 'fish pool'. When the water is full, it will burst and splash onto everyone below. It was soo much fun. Ade skali tu I fell off sebab the water pressure is soo kuat so it can push you down. My sister can't stop laughing when she saw me fell off. Pfft!

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Main punya main tu tak sedar yang the weather was soo hot and sunny. Ye la kan, duduk berendam dalam air mana nak rasa panas terik. Alih2 terasa muka & tangan perit semacam. We spent lama jgk kat dalam tu. Pukul 5.30pm gitu baru keluar from pool. Masuk2 changing room pon kena beratur bai! Menguji iman betul!

We all bertolak balik to KL lebih kurang 6.30pm macam tu and reached home almost 10.00pm. The overall experience was TERBAIK! Will definitely visit again. Btw, smp rumah tu terkejut tgk muka dah macam udang bakar. Not only face, my hands also terbakar. Ni bukan sun tanned lagi dah tapi memang terbakaq habis! Huhuhu... :(

See the 2-toned skin color?

It hurts so much!

Btw, for those who are interested to go, the operation hours are as follow:

Good nite peeps!! 

Bread Butter Pudding WIth Vanilla Sauce

Hi lovelies...

First of all, I would like to wish Happy Chinese New Year to all my Chinese friends. May this year brings prosper, joy & happiness.

Today's ad hoc & unplanned baking project is Bread Butter Pudding with Vanilla Sauce. Nak dijadikan citer, while browsing through my FB, I saw a friend bake this dessert. Tetiba jer mata trus tgk kat roti Gardenia yang dah berzaman ada atas meja makan. Ting! Kepala keluar lampu. Ala2 keluar idea bernas gitewww..hehehe. So, apa lagi. Pergi dapur amik segala ingredients and tun tang tun tang...siaplah Bread Butter Pudding yang dimaksudkan. Sangat easy peasy schmeezy okay! Even you guys also can try. As a first timer tu rasa macam satu accomplishment because the Bread Butter Pudding kita jadik... Lagi kembang kuncup lobang hidung yang tak berapa mancung ni bile Encik Hubs cakap sedap gilsss... Asyik punggah jer sambil main PS3... *bliss*

So here goes the recipe :

Bread Custard

10 pieces of Gardenia White Bread (nak lagi sedap pakai Butterscotch flavour bread)

4 eggs

1 cup castor sugar

2 cups milk

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter (melted)

vanilla extract

Raisins (I used dried apricot instead sbb Raisin xde)

Vanilla Sauce

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 egg

Vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 175 degrees Celcius.

2. Cut the bread (in cubes or just carik-carik) together with raisins (or any other fruits) and place in a baking dish.

3. In an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs and sugar on high speed until thick and lemon colored (about 4-5 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. Then beat in the melted and cooled butter, milk and whipping cream.

4. Carefully pour (or ladle) the prepared custard mix over the bread cubes until completely covered. Press down the bread cubes so they are covered with the custard.

5. Bake for about 45 minutes.

6. For the vanilla sauce, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Whisk on a medium heat until it is thickened. 

Voila!!! A fabulous treat for the stomach :) Happy baking!

Till the next post...Toodles!!

Pavlova With Home-Made Strawberry Sauce

Today's entry is basically to share the recipe for the famous PAVLOVA. It was originated from New Zealand and kiranya ni makanan tradisional diorang lah. I once read an article about the debate between Australia and New Zealand to claim as the origin country of this delectable dessert. Sungguh tak paham betul lah, pasal kuih pon boleh bergaduh sakan. Whatever! 

Actually the first pavlova I've tasted was at Delicious and for me they made the best pavlova because the meringue is not soft but crunchy. When eat with fresh whipped cream, fresh strawberries & chocolate curls it feels like heave on earth. Alexis also made one of the best pavlova and  preferred it more than Serai. Wahhh..feeling ala2 food reviewer gitewww!khelessss ko mek jeepa!

I've made the first attempt before. Picture as below. Tak sempat nak snap the whole pavlova tu mak dah siap potong & ngap nyah! Ko mampu??? Sudahnya..gambar dalam magkuk je ler yg haderrr..layan kan aje lerrr..hehehehe

The first ever pavlova with fresh cream & strawberries

So yesterday while 'processing' my fridge, I saw the unused whipped cream which I bought earlier. Then I thought why not I give it a second try. Prior to this I've already buat the strawberry sauce siap2 sebab lebihan strawberry haritu dah mcm nak kecut & kesimpulannya tak fresh. Since dah takde fresh fruits, ingat nak try jer pakai srawberry sauce tu. Kita try kaedah cuba jaya ye adik kakak... Voila! tak sangka it turned out great! Kembang kuncup hedung ni bila Encik Husband cakap syyeeedaaappp! Lagi la tinggi motivasi mak nak masuk Masterchef Season 2.Ko hade??hahahaha :)

I took the recipe from Joy Of Baking... Tiru bulat2 resipi dia ok except the sauce cos I twisted the recipe a bit. Memang sedap. Here's the recipe:

Meringue Base

4 large (120 grams) egg whites

1 cup (200 grams) superfine (castor)sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (corn flour)

Topping

1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) granulated whitesugar(or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Fresh fruit - kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, passion fruit, peaches, pineapple, or other fruit of your choice

If you opt to use strawberry sauce, you may not want to add sugar to the whipping cream as the sauce & meringue base are already sweet. (Jangan nanti dapat kencing manis tetiba sudahlah)

Strawberry Sauce

1 cup of castor sugar

1 cup water

Fresh strawberries / other fruits (preferrably berries)

Lemon juice

Method :

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (130 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch (18 cm) circle on the paper. Turn the parchment paper over so the circle is on the reverse side.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until they hold soft peaks. Start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat, on high speed, until the meringue holds very stiff and shiny peaks. (Test to see if the sugar is fully dissolved by rubbing a little of the meringue between your thumb and index finger. The meringue should feel smooth, not gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers). 

Beat in the vanilla extract. Sprinkle the vinegar and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and, with a rubber spatula, gently fold in. Spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges, making sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center. (You want a slight well in the center of the meringue to place the whipped cream and fruit.)

Bake for 60 to75 minutes or until the outside is dry and is a very pale cream color. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the meringue cool completely in the oven. (The outside of the meringue will feel firm to the touch, if gently pressed, but as it cools you will get a little cracking and you will see that the inside is soft and marshmallowy.) 

The cooled meringue can be made and stored in a cool dry place, in an airtight container, for a few days. 

Just before serving gently place the meringue onto a serving plate. Whip the cream in your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, until soft peaks form. Sweeten with the sugar and vanilla and then mound the softly whipped cream into the center of the meringue. Arrange the fruit randomly, or in a decorative pattern, on top of the cream. Serve immediately as this dessert does not hold for more than a few hours.

Finally, the end result...Tadaaaaa!!!

Happy baking loveliessss!!! It won't upset u... believe me :)

Toodles!

Mazuki & Zarina's Reception

Hello earthlings!

Malam ni rajin plak menghapdate entry kat belog kesayangan hamba ni yer...

Btw, do you remember an entry about Zarina & Mazuki's Reception previously? Well, this time I would like to share some of the pictures which Encik Husband took during Mazuki's side reception at Marriot Hotel Putrajaya on the Christmas eve, 24 December 2011.

This time around, the lovebirds didn't bersanding, just makan beradab sahaja. However, they do have beautiful prop decorated for cake cutting ceremony. The overall event was lovely and the newlyweds are exceptionally stunning especially the bride, Zar.

Both Encik Husband & I were seated together with our office mates yang memang terserlah lah ke"hu ha"an nya. You can see the pictures after this to support my words. On that night also, we met Nur Fathia! Say who??? Ala... yang berlakon citer Hani & latest Stanza Cinta tu lahhh...Takkan lah tak kenal?? OK, nevermind. The important thing is I am her No. 1 Fan pleaseeee!!! I know it's lame but seriously ade haku kesah??? She is sooo darn pretty and very nice lady too! Beliau layankan sajalah bile bebudak ni ajak bergambar. Memang sporting habis!

OK, so I don't want to keep on blabbering now, let's jom layan the pictures... Credit to Encik Husband for such pretty pictures (kalau bini tak puji sape lagi nak puji???) hehe :)