Sorry larr haven't been posting anything lately...busy working...OT-ing everyday...
Anyways, here's something good and delicious that I have to share...
Left to right: Almond Wafer, Slice and Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies
Very, very nice! Guaranteed to be addictive. A jar containing no less than 40 cookies disappeared within the same day! xD
For the recipes, click here and here.
Laters! Back to work for now...
I miss Starbucks and longing for a nice hot mug of coffee right now. Come to think of it, when did I start getting addicted to caffeine? In fact, when did I even start drinking coffee? Its a little funny cuz my dad used to discourage us kids from drinking coffee. Kononnya it kills our brain cells or something (haha, is it true?). He still does discourage us, so I must have picked up the habit from school :)
Anyways, was dying for that mug of coffee, but lazy (and a little broke) to go out, so I came out with this:
Coffee Cupcakes with Fudge Icing
I sooooo lurve the fudge icing because its soooo rich with coffee :) And the cake was super moist... Yummy...
Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) Malaysia
Lot LG-207, Lower Ground Floor,
The Gardens, Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra,
59200, Kuala Lumpur.
+603-2283-2362/2292
www.dintaifung.com.tw
I'm a little ashamed, but, (who cares-lah!) I guess I'll just admit it. I'm a person who believes in living to eat (and avidly practicing it!). In fact, the majority (especially KL city folks!) do practice it, but most do not realize or simply refuse to admit. Why? Some are health conscious. Others are just too ashamed to admit. Well, admit it or not, most of us city folks DO live to eat, consciously or unconsciously. And for me, its because I think that life is short! So why not just enjoy it to the fullest?
Anyways, with exams out of the way for both me and my sis, me and my family decided to go jalan-jalan at Mid Valley cuz we haven't (window) shopped there for a long time. So we walk and walk and then it was lunch time. And then as usual we couldn't decide what to eat. So we keep walking. And we happened to pass by and saw a group of chefs making chinese dumplings, mom said we should try it since the restaurant was pretty crowded (USUALLY a sign of good food), plus we all miss savoring authentic Xiao Long Bao (picture and description below) since our vacation to Shanghai 3 years ago. This was what first caught my attention when we stepped into the restaurant:
Here's what we tried:
Appetizer
Steamed Pork Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao - Signature Dish! Highly Recommended!)
Braised Beef La Mien (Noodle Soup) - Another good dish to try! The stock was marvelous...
Steamed Crab Meat and Pork Dumpling
Shrimp and Pork Wonton La Mien
Front row: Steamed shrimp and pork dumpling, Back row: Xiao Long Bao
A bit pricey (the noodles cost an average of rm 12 - 16 a bowl and the dumplings rm 12 - 15 for a basket of 6) but definitely worth it! Must come back for more...
Step 1: Peel, core and cube 4 - 5 juicy, golden delicious apples!
Step 2: Caramelize apples with butter and sugar.
Step 3: Perfectly caramelized apples!
Step 4: Prepare a buttery, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth Shortcrust Pastry (I love Jamie Oliver's Old Fashioned Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, flavored with a hint of cinnamon!)
Step 5: Line tartlet tins with pastry, and fill with a generous amount of filling.
Step 6: Bake in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes (during which I advice you to exit the kitchen! These tarts will fill the kitchen with a wonderful aroma...)
And finally...savour the freshly baked tarts with a nice dollop of thick cream, ice cream or freshly prepared Crème Patissiere! (unfortunately, I ran out of extra eggs to prepare the pastry cream...)
And as promised...
These babies are so buttery and wonderfully luscious, I had to share the recipe! Plus, its ridiculously easy to make! (Warning: These cookies are highly addictive. I highly recommend baking 2 batches if having guests over at your place.)
Viennese Shortbread Biscuits (Adapted from 'The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits' by The Australian Women's Weekly)
Have ready:
250g butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 -1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoons vanillaThen...
Beat butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla essence and beat until combined. Fold in flour, spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tube and pipe 4 cm lengths onto greased oven trays. Bake for 15 minutes in a moderate oven until lightly golden.
Enjoy!
I'm a little busy now, but here's a sneak peak at what's gonna be in my next post:
And more delicious temptations! Updates soon!
Vivo American Pizza & Panini
Lot 154, Level 1, Western Courtyard,
The Curve,
Mutiara Damansara,
47800 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
+603-77292299
www.vivopizza.com
Well, since its my 3-months semester break now, and coincidently also Raya holidays, I took the opportunity to meet up with friends. Met up with my very very good friend of mine from secondary school today and lunched at Vivo Pizza. This place isn't new; I've read a number of reviews about this place and most reviewed this place as a "so-so" dining area. And I've passed by so many times but somehow never came to try it. Passed by again today and we both couldn't really decide what to have for lunch, so I thought, why not?
What I really liked about when I first stepped in was the spacious feeling. Since it was my first time here and I was in the mood for pasta I thought I'd try their recommendation, the Chicken Ham and Mushroom Pasta Bake with Creamy Tomato Sauce, while my friend settled for their Shitake Mushroom Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce. Some pics: (half eaten again! Cause I always forget to take the pics before we start eating! :) Plus it was already 2pm that time way past lunch and the food took awhile to arrive [around 1/2 hour to 40 minutes] since it was Raya hols and they were short of staff. The half eaten pasta does look kinda...)
From top: Shitake Mushroom Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce, Chicken Ham and Mushroom Pasta Bake with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Food was considerably good! There were tons of mushroom and ham in the pasta, and the creamy tomato sauce was of the correct consistency and richness. Plus the spaghetti was cooked just al dente with a nice bite "to the tooth". Pretty much worth the price (both the dishes above cost RM 10.80 each, tax excluded); something that's somewhat satisfying if you're a first timer here and if you really can't decide what to eat the next time, its a place that you might consider returning to. I would definitely dine here again (for the pizza maybe?), and highly recommend it to those who haven't tried it out. Hopefully the service is better the next time!
Hong Kong Kim Gary Restaurant (Non-Halal)
Lot G(E)005, Ground Floor (Boulevard),
Mid Valley Megamall,
Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra,
59200 Kuala Lumpur.
+603-2287 2778
Met up with three of my friends from Foundation in Science today at Mid Valley since it was the most convenient place for everyone. After (window) shopping for about an hour, we decided to head off for lunch. Settled for Kim Gary since the other 3 haven't dined there before, and plus from my past experiences (from dining at other Kim Gary outlets), that place (apparently) wasn't too bad.
You might be wondering why I'm writing about Kim Gary, which is some place that's pretty common (to most KL city folks at least). Well, I'm writing a post about this place not because the food was good, but merely because the food was highly unpalatable. Really. And yet there was a long long line of customers waiting outside during lunch hours. Did these people just lose their taste buds or something? Or izzit just me...Anyways, here's a picture of what we had:
Looks well...not bad right? But the noodle dish (in the soup, whatever that dish is called) consisted of 70% bean sprouts, 30% noodles; the beef in the cheese baked rice was tough...plus the sauce was both tasteless and too starchy; combined with the cheese on top, the entire dish was an ultimately messy, gluey disaster. For the price paid, the meal was an outright disappointment. And therefore, I highly recommend you NEVER to visit that place (if you're a first timer looking for some nice place to eat). If you think it's time you revisit that place, you might want to reconsider trying something else...
Thank god for the Caramel Frap I had after that. Made up for the horrible lunch. Starbucks Rocks! (As always...)
I HEART Starbucks :)
Its been ages since I've got the chance to mess around with flour and butter...and coming up with a nice sweet treat...ever since last semester started. Well, exams are over now! So I decided to start off with these:
Yummy layers of goodness! Long time since I've had a slice of Indonesian Layer Cake. Well, time to visit slumberland now...more pictures in the next post!
Its like...week 13 now of my second semester and we've finished the syllabus for most of our subjects...our final Animal Tissue Culture tutorial ended pretty early today, so I was just in time to be invited for lunch with Mom and my aunts.
Anyways, had lunch at The Ming Room, Bangsar Shopping Center. The place was packed as it was lunch hour and we were all starving, but thankfully there was a free table left so we settled down and placed our orders. We were served an unusual (and really tasty) tofu tid-bit to 'alas perut' while waiting for the main course. Didn't take much pictures cuz we were all starving and were busy eating when the food arrived, but here's one excellent dish:
King Prawn Hor Fun (Haha...half eaten cuz we were all starving already!!!)
Sounds plain? Well...wait till you taste the soup! The prawn stock is AMAZING...very rich and full of flavour! And the prawn was gigantic...
We also had the chance to taste their authentic Hong Kong Dim Sum...most of which were really good. A little pricy though...the whole meal came up to about MYR 160++...but definitely worth it. Can't wait to try the rest of the dishes! Definitely worth the indulgence...
P/S: If you're interested to give it a try, The Ming Room is located at 3rd Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Bukit Bandaraya, KL
Well, I admit...its long since my last post in this blog. And I feel bad about it. Haha.
And since I'm BORED (and absolutely sick of studying), I decided to spend some time updating my blog...well, at least with the latest 'happenings'...
Here's a little insight on what happens when UTAR biotech students turn into UTAR MAD future scientists...(attributed to by hectic non-stop tests and endless lab reports)
Muahaha...the crazy things we do...
Yes! Yesterday and Wednesday was summer movie marathon for me! After being stuck in the house for nearly 2 weeks packing and cleaning (after the renovation), I finally found an excuse to escape out to watch two of the hottest movies this summer. Muahaha...
Anyways, Wednesday was Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian at GSC Pavilion KL (Since I haven't watched any movies there before). The show was not bad overall, animation was good, but as my friend had mentioned earlier, it was one movie a little too violent for kids, and comes as no surprise that it was rated PG-13. I found some of the battle scenes really gruesome and violent myself. And the movie was a pretty long one too, lasting 2 hours and 24 mins. By the time I stepped out of the cinema, I had a reasonably sore butt and backache, not to mention I nearly lost my balance when walking down the steps to exit the cinema...
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull premiered on Thursday, and, being lucky to get tickets on the first day (probably because it was a perfect weekday), I headed off to GSC Pavilion KL (again) with an old school friend to watch it. The movie, the latest installment of the Indiana Jones series after nearly 20 years (the 3rd film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, was made in 1989) starred the good old Harrison Ford as in all the previous Indiana Jones movies (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and its sequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, created in the years 1981 and 1984 respectively). With actors like Cate Blanchette, Kate Allen, and Director Steven Spielberg, the movie was really entertaining and two hours of the movie left me with an aching jaw from many of the hilariously funny scenes. I must say that this is certainly a very enjoyable summer movie that should not be missed!
Holidays are nearly over...how time flies! And my mom is bugging me to make her a last batch of cupcakes before I return for the new semester. Hopefully there's a chance this weekend...
What's my favorite citrus fruit? Refreshing Lemon, of course!
Combine it with the rich flavors of milky good-quality butter, sugar, flour, a good pinch of salt...pop them in the oven for barely 10 minutes and what do you get?...This!
These babies, packed with mouth watering lemon zest, are adapted from the original Sablés au Citron recipe (Check out 'Paris Sweets' by Dorie Greenspan) are oh-so-tender and will virtually melt in your mouth! Sinfully luscious!
You want one?
So, I've finally gotten enough sleep and (I think so) recovered from exam stress. Or maybe not. Consider the occasional 'laughing non-stop about something that's not really at all that funny' syndrome.
Anyways, a little recap about my after-exam shopping trip (food shopping???). Didn't do anything much, really. Had lunch at Manhattan KLCC with a friend, and the meal cost me like 35 bucks (ouch, my bank account!). But enjoyed it a lot though, especially the tender calamari rings and oh-so-juicy fried mushrooms. Then headed off to Kino and spent about an hour there.
And here's the best part...I visited J. Co's again! Yes, I know I'm bragging about them again...but I can't help it...and for a few good reasons too:
I've been dying to visit J. Co's after I first tasted them about a month ago (and regretted big time for not buying a dozen home) so traveled all the way to Pavillion and bought half a dozen (only) home. And regretting it again cause there wasn't enough! The Glazzys were, as usual, awesome:
Glazzy...
Judging by how plain and simple they look (FYI, Glazzys are just sugar and honey glazed plain doughnuts), my mom actually doubted that it'll taste THIS good. So I said: "Okay, we share one." And then she took a bite. I never got it back! I'm going crazy over them. Yes, I'm going crazy over the plainest piece of donut. Not the chocolate ones, and not the Al Capone (though I did pretty much enjoy them; refer to my previous post for the pic). I LOVE the good old Glazzy cause I can taste the nice, fragrant dough just the way it is. Which gives me another reason NOT to like Big Apple doughnuts (the dough there is way to dense!).
[Comment added 10th May 2008: Re-tasted Big Apple donuts and still think they are lousy. Or did they get worse since the last time I tasted them? No offense to fans of Big Apple doughnuts, this is just MPOV...]
Anyway, there wasn't much of a queue at J. Co(since it was perfect weekday), so lined up for only about 15 minutes for the donuts this time. Then headed off to Starbucks and tried the all new Dulce de Leche Frapp. Had a good bit of milk caramel in it (which made it better than their usual caramel frapp) but was hoping to taste more coffee. Maybe I'll customize it to have a double shot the next time.
So, you see, I think I spent about...more than 50 bucks on, erm, food alone in just ONE afternoon after exams. Muahaha. Never imagined I could do such things. Enjoyed myself alot, though. Biotech must really be driving me up the wall...
Okay...gotta go bake a batch of biscotti now. Mom is pestering me to make them since its hols now. Looking forward to how fragrant the kitchen will be soon! (Hopefully I'll be able to save some for Steph this time...I know she misses them alot...)
Till next time!
Was drafting my resume for the upcoming Industrial Training application today and noticed the drastic drop in my CGPA...
One word says it all:
REGRET.
If only I had put in more effort.
If only I had listened in lectures. (But really, who would ever want to listen to Dr. Ramani's lectures???)
If only I hadn't procrastinated so much for assignments and reports.
If only...
Too late.
Sank my teeth into one of those...and what else can I say?
J. Co Donuts are Therapeutic!!!
Signing off now! My bed misses me...
