Spices of Life

Heavenly Carrot Cake

2012-02-03T06:15:00.001-08:00

Assalamualaikum my dear readers

This is my first entry for 2012 and my apology for not updating this page for awhile. Its better late than never, here's wishing everyone a wonderful 2012 and may this Dragon year brings great joy and happiness for all.

I would like to share with you another recipe for Carrot Cake made by my lovely friend Ana aka Chief of Crumbs. It was my other half's birthday last December but due to some health reasons, I wasnt able to bake a cake for him. Not wanting to not having a cake for his birthday, I S.O.S my friend and ask her to make one for us. Kesian dia, dalam kelam kabut and just got back from her travel, berpeluh2 dia siap kan kek yang cantik ni for me. For your info, I have also tried baking this cake recently and brought it to a friend's house to celebrate Chinese New Year. Trust me, you will definitely enjoy this heavenly carrot cake. After one bite, you will surely want more!! To my lovely Ana...thanks again and God Bless You Always, Amin.

Here's the recipe

Ingredients
(A)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder - optional (the original recipe from my friend doesnt have this, but I like it in my cake so I put them in)
340 gm shredded carrot

(B)
4 eggs
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cup corn oil
1 1/2 cups can pineapple - coarsely mince the fruit and drain
1/2 cup syrup from the can pineapple
3/4 cups walnut - roasted and chopped (optional)
1/2 cup raisins - (optional)
1/4 tsp salt

Method:-
1. Grease and line 2, 8″ round or square baking pans.
2. Heat oven to 180C.
3. Mix ingredients (A) in a bowl and set aside.
4. Whisk together both sugar and eggs till just combined.
5. Add in the rest of the ingredients (B).
6. Add the mix ingredients (A) and mix everything till well incorporated.
7. Pour the mixture into prepared baking pans by dividing equally.
8. Bake for 40 minutes or till done.
9. Cool the cake completely and spread cream cheese icing on the cake and sandwich them. Cover the cake with the rest of the cream cheese icing and voila you DID it!!

For Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
250 gm philadelphia cream cheese (at room temperature)
100 gm butter (at room temperature)
1 1/3 cup icing sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat till creamy and smooth.

Butter Cake

2011-12-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

I had this recipe for a while courtesy from one of the Chefs who happens to be one of the instructor during one of my Cake Deco course, 2 years ago. Recently, I had to bake for my friend son's birthday and she has always loved vanilla and butter cakes. I decided to use this recipe which I have adjusted some of the ingredients. I do not like a cake too sweet and can you imagine a sweet cake with buttercream frosting, it will make my sugar level sky rocketing....LOL!!
Anyway the full recipe is good for a 10 inch cake pan but when I bake this cake, I actually use a 6 inch round cake pan and 8 inch square pan.

Well, I like plain butter cake to go with my tea, a wonderful treat for a perfect afternoon. Happy Baking all and here's the recipe:-

Ingredients:-
400 gm butter
350 gm caster sugar
7 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
400 gm self raising flour
200 gm fresh milk

Method:-
1. Grease and line with baking paper a 10 inch baking pan.
1. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
2. Add egg one at a time and beat till fully incorporated.
3. Add essence vanilla and mix well.
4. Fold in the sifted flour and milk alternately.
5. Pour batter in a cake pan and bake in a preheated oven 180C for 50 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.

Note: to make Self Raising Flour, simply combine 1kg of plain flour and tbsp baking powder - sieved.

Macadamian Cheese Cake

2011-12-02T03:53:00.001-08:00

I am privileged to share this wonderful recipe to my readers. Thanks to my Sifu Datin Permaisuri whom as always, so willingly sharing her good recipes with everyone. God bless you always my fren, Insyaallah.

Trust me its not hard to make this delicious cake for you to serve the family or as a gift to bring to your friend's house when you are invited. When you read the recipe you might think there's just too many steps but its not difficult. Give it a go and you will enjoy another scrumptious treat.

Ingredients:-

(For the batter)
600 gm cream cheese (at room temperature)
100 gm caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs (lightly beaten)

(For the base)
160 gm digestive biscuits
40 gm butter (melted)

(For Nut brittle)
150 gm macadamia nuts
90 gm caster sugar

(For Caramel Sauce)
65gm butter
160 gm caster sugar
100 ml whipping cream

Method:-

For the nut brittle
1. Scatter the macadamia nuts over a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. (You can skip this process by buying the readily roasted macadamian nuts like I did)
★ Line a baking tray with parchment paper (this is to put the nut brittle in to cool it down later)
2. Place the sugar in a large saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar melts. Do not stir until the sugar browns. Add the roasted nut and carefully mix with a wooden spoon until most of the nuts are coated with caramelised sugar. Pour them onto baking tray and leave to cool until the brittle hardened. Chop very roughly and set aside.

For Caramel Sauce
1. Put sugar, butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan and stir constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon until it becomes dark brown caramel. Be careful not to burn. Add the cream and stir vigorously until all mixes well. Let it cool.

For the cake
1. Pre-heat oven to 140C - 285F, grease a 20 cm loose base cake tin (springform).
2. Whiz the bisucits in a food processor (or put in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin until it becomes like bread crumb). Add the melted butter and mix to a wet, sandy consistency, Put the mixture in the tin and flatten with a spoon. Set aside.
3. Beat sugar and cream cheese till smooth. Add the beaten egg and continue to beat until fully incorporated. Add the vanila extract and mix well.
4. Pour the batter over the biscuit base and place in the oven for about 60-70 minutes (or until the wooden skewer comes out clean). Let the cake cool completely. You can remove the cake more easily when it is completely cool and set or chill if for couple of hours.

To finish the cake, dust with icing sugar. Spoon the sauce in the middle of the cake, allow it to spill over. Scatter the nut brittle on top. the cake will keep in the fridge for 3 days.

Recipe courtesy of Ana.

Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes

2011-11-08T03:18:00.000-08:00

A friend recently asked me to bake for her Halloween Party and her son's birthday too. She wanted a mix of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. In making chocolate cupcakes, I do not have a problem at all as the recipe I usually use is reliable but when it comes to Vanilla cupcakes.........sigh sometimes ok and most of the time K O. Have been searching for a reliable recipe for ages until I found one from glorioustreats.blogspot.com. Thank you Gloria.

Here's the recipe

Ingredients:-
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk

Method:-
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Sieve together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Beat eggs for 10-20 seconds and add sugar. Continue to beat till well incorporated.
4. Add vanilla essence and oil and continute to beat.
5. Add flour and buttermilk alternately.
6. Fill liners 2/3 full. (But I only fill my liners 1/2 full)
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on the size of your liner.

Cool completely before frosting them with buttercream icing.

Indeed, we all had a good time at the Halloween Party and the kids was a bit reluctant to leave when its time to say bye-bye. Trick or Treat!!

Chocolate Cake

2011-10-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we were invited to a friend's place to celebrate their son's new achievement. At a tender age of 9, he has completed reading the Holy Quran. Of course dont compare if you are in Malaysia or any other Muslim country, I know there are even younger children who has become Tahfiz (Tahfiz means a person who memorise the Holy Quran) at an even younger age. But being abroad and not living in a Muslim environment with scarce source of ustaz/ustazah, I am very impressed and putting me to shame as none of my children has done it. Alhamdulillah, I have got a new mission to achieve this time to ensure that my kids will be able to complete the Holy Quran and Insyaallah, to have Majlis Khatam Quran for them one day. It was a simple do with him reciting to us Surah Al-Fatihah and some Ayat from the Separa and finish off with a Doa. It sure did touch my heart and it was so rejuvenating.

My other half requested that I made chocolate cake for us to bring along. Here's the recipe I got from my PIC quite a while ago.

Ingredients:-

250gm butter
1 3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/3 cup hot water
3 tbsp milk powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:-
1. Combine cocoa powder and hot water, mix well and set aside.
2. Sieve together plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and milk powder.
3. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs one at a time and beat till fully incorporated.
5. Add vanilla essence.
6. Add 1/3 flour mixture and 1/3 cocoa mixture alternately. Repeat till finish.
7. Bake in a preheated oven 160C for 50 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely before spreading with butter cream or chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

250 ml cream
250 gm dark chocolate or milk chocolate (up to your liking)
30 gm butter
a pinch of salt
1tbsp of caster sugar (optional)

Method:
1. Heat the cream until it begins to boil. Remove from heat.
2. Add the chopped chocolate, sugar and salt. Stir.
3. Add the butter and still till become smooth.
4. Chill the chocolate mixture for a while before spreading in onto the cake.

Putu Mayam or Iddiappam or String Hoppers

2011-10-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

Its still not too late to wish all my Indian friends Happy Deepavali. Diwali or Deepavali popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-November for different reasons. For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. In Malaysia, Deepavali is another important celebration. Growing up in a country of multi-races, I have fond memories of Deepavali too. I remember when I was small, we went to our neighbours house for Deepavali and was served Putu Mayam with Chicken Curry and was surprised coz the only way I know of eating it, is with brown sugar and freshly grated coconut. Lol..how pathetic. But today, Putu Mayam and chicken curry is no longer a rare sight on our dining table.
Being away from home, not that we celebrate Deepavali but just to add some cheerful mood for the day or to make it sound grandeur in the kitchen, I made Putu Mayam and chicken curry for dinner.

Putu Mayam or most commonly known as idiyappam or string hoppers is a dish from Southern India. Being married to one, I was taught by MIL to make them. It is made of rice flour, salt and water. It is generally served as the main course at breakfast or dinner together with curry (potato, egg, fish or meat curry) and coconut chutney. It is not usually served at lunch.

Here's how to make it:-
Ingredients:-

500 gm rice flour
1tsp salt
600ml boiling water

Method:
1. Mix flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Add the boiling water and by using a wooden spatula combine all ingredients to make a soft dough.
3. Put the dough into the pressing mould and press the dough into a round shape on a bamboo rack and steam for7-10 minutes depending on the size. Repeat till finish.

Serve with your favorite curry or like me, I simply enjoy eating them with fresly grated coconut and brown sugar.

I'm back with ............Marvelous Marble Cake

2011-10-24T02:24:00.001-07:00

Assalamualaikum and Greetings to all my fellow readers
Yes, it's been more than a year since my last entry. Lol.......no explanation on my part or shall I say I was hybernating. Well, since I owe family members and friends a lot of recipe and becoming forgetful of late. I better start putting my entries again for my loved ones future reference.
Otherwise, Alhamdulillah, I am all fine and healthy and so busy with my role as the Manager of Home Affairs.

Anyway, long story short, I went home last week and was so lucky to have a friend baked me her marble cake or shall I say marbleous cake. It was really the taste I was expecting when I ate them. Yes, I love to bake but usually doesnt eat them and there's only a few cake that I like. Was so happy that I got to share her marbleous cake with my family and she did bake another one for me to bring back to HK so that I could share it with my PA and my other half, unfortunately didnt have time to pick it up at her house.......sigh.......takde rezki la tu. But I told her to keep the cake in the freezer for me till I return next...lol!!

Left KL very early morning and got home around 3 in the afternoon and didnt sleep at all the nite before. Feeling so exhausted as I reached home but somehow couldnt go to sleep and feeling restless. Hb wasnt home when I arrived and thought of making something sweet for tea. Jump off from the sofa and head straight to the kitchen. Yes, it was the marble cake I made using half of the ingredients from my friend's original recipe.
Unfortunately, I didnt have few ingredients i.e. ovalette and choc. emulco but that doesnt dampen my spirit to bake. A quick call to my baking sifu friend and voilla................done!! Thanks again Ana for sharing your recipe. God bless you my fren.
The cake turned out allright and tasted good but it wasnt light and fluffy as Ana made coz I did not have the ovalette. Went to few supermarkets here yesterday and looking for ovalette but couldnt find any on the shelf. Perhaps, I have to go to the special bakery store to find them here or otherwise wait for my PIC who will be coming soon from KL and bring me some.

Trust me it is so easy to make this cake and I simply luv it!! The tip here is to use good quality butter. Here's the recipe

Ingredients:
250gm butter (I use Lurpark unsalted butter) at room temperature
150 gm caster sugar
3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp essence vanilla
1 tsp ovalette (I didnt use at all)
2 tbsp condensed milk
175gm plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp chocolate emulco (optional, I didnt use either as I dont have any)

Method:-
1. Sieve together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a mixer, combine butter, sugar, eggs, ovalette, condensed milk and essence vanilla. Beat until well mix for 10 minutes.
3. Add in the flour mixture and mix until fully incorporated.
4. Divide batter into 2 portion. Add chocolate emulco and cocoa powder into half of the batter.
5. Grease and flour pan or line with baking paper. I use 9 x 4 inch rectangular mould.
6. Scoop the batter alternating between plain and cocoa mixture. Repeat till finish.
7. Bake in a preheated oven 150C for 1 hour 10 minutes.

On the same day, half gone and when my other half complimented saying the cake was nice.........mak ai...akak senyum sampai ke telinga you!! Selamat mencuba.

Green Tea Brulee

2010-07-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Fresh Cream 250 ml
Fresh Milk 60 ml
Egg yolk 3
Sugar 35 gm
Honey 5 gm (1 teaspoon)
Green Tea Powder 3 gm (1 tablespoon)
Hot water 1 tablespoon

Method

1. Mix green tea powder with hot water and make a paste.
2. Put fresh cream and milk in a pan and warm it to 50 degrees C. Do not bring to boil.
3. In a bowl, put egg yolk, sugar, honey and green tea paste and mix well.
4. Add the egg mixture into the cream and milk pan and mix well.
5. Strain the mixture into souffle cups and bake (using bath bake method) for 15 minutes in oven temperature 150 degrees.
6. Cool in a refrigerator and leave to set.

Macarons

2010-06-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

I never grew up knowing macarons. Mother never made or buy them. Its only after I have started working and could enjoy high tea with friends at the hotel, I knew of the existence of macarons and always love them especially if it comes on the cakes.
I was so happy and fortunate that I got to learn to make this myself plus the kids like it too. Its quite expensive to buy it from the store if I want to buy a lot for a party, it leaves a dent on my pocket...hahahahaha.

Macarons

Ingredients

For meringue
90 gm egg white
90 gm granulated sugar
90 gm icing sugar
105 gm almond powder (almond meal)
Few drops of red colouring

For Filling

60gm fresh cream
150gm white chocolate
1 1/2 teaspoon strawberry powder or 1/3 teaspoon strawberry essence

Method:

1. Sieve icing sugar and almond powder in a bowl. Do this twice.
2. Beat egg white till foamy and add half sugar and beat till soft peaks form.
3. Add the balance of sugar and continue to beat until stiff.
4. Fold in the sieved sugar and almond powder to the egg mixture and mix well.
5. Add the red colouring and fold the mixture gently until combine.
6. Put dough in a piping bag with a 2 cm plain tube. Pipe a 4 cm round and 2cm apart onto a baking tray that have been lined with greased paper.
7. Tap the tray gently so that the mixture spread nicely and leave it to stand for 20 minutes or longer until it becomes dry and when you touch them it will dirty your finger.
8. Bake in a preheated oven 140C for 15-20 minutes. Let it cool on the baking tray.

For filling:-

1. In a saucepan heat the fresh cream until boil and remove from heat. Add the chopped white chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add the strawberry flavouring.
2. Keep the mixture in the refrigerator until cool or until mixture is spreadable.
3. Put mixture in a piping bag and pipe it onto the macarons and sandwich them.

Note: you can divide the meringue mixture into 3 parts and add colouring as you like. Do the same for the filling and just add other flavouring i.e. mango, lemon, coffee or simply plain. You will definitely enjoy the arrays of coloured macarons on the table as I did.
You can also sprinkle cocoa powder, instant coffee, chopped chocolate on the meringue mixture after piping them to give your meringue a more appealing look or just leave it plain.

Chocolate Cupcake

2010-05-22T05:36:00.001-07:00

It was a day off from school for the kids last Thursday. My initial plan was to take them to Disneyland but weather forecast doesnt look good showing sign of scattered thunderstorm and it was raining the morning bit. Felt sorry for the kids as later part it turn out to be such a beautiful day and it would have been lovely to spend the day outdoor. Since there was a changed in plan, I called one of their friends to invite her over but sad she has got lessons to attend. Sigh........what next?? Kids were getting restless and bored and to make it worst, I decided to cook Malay Dish for lunch that day.......hahahahaha once in a while they have to follow my taste bud as well. Of course, when I mentioned its going to be Asam Pedas Ikan (Fish in Spicy Sour Soup) they gave me that boring look...but I'm determined this time, they have to eat whats on the table... (do I sound like a step mother...hahahaha) At the end was so happy to see them enjoying the dish and they said "hmmm will have this dish again". Yes, mission accomplished...lols!!

To keep my princesses entertained, I agreed to make cupcakes for them as a treat that day for tea time and thus we got invitation to have dinner at a friend's later. It would be nice to bring something too. There we go....baking time again and all of us had fun baking together and messing up the kitchen.

Here's the recipe:-

150 gm butter
300 gm castor sugar
3 eggs
350 gm plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
340 gm cooking chocolate or chocolate chips
350 ml water
2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

1. Sieve flour, bicarbonate soda and salt together into a bowl and set aside.
2. Using double boil method, melt butter and cooking chocolate until chocolate completely melted. (you can also put in the microwave).
3. Pour the melted mixture and add sugar. Beat until well blended.
4. Add egg one at a time.
5. Add the vanilla essence.
6. Take 1/3 of the sieved flour and fold into mixture. Repeat until finish.
7. Add 1/3 of the water into flour mixture and mix until smooth. Repeat until finish.
8. Pour mixture into cup cakes mould and bake in a preheated oven 170C for 20 minutes or until cake tester inserted comes out clean.
9. Let cool and spread with Chocolate Butter Cream Icing.

Chocolate Butter Cream Icing

Ingredients

200 gm butter
3 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 tablespoon milk

Method:

1. Cream butter till smooth.
2. Add icing sugar and beat well.
3. Add vanilla essence, milk and mix.
4. Add cocoa powder and beat until well blended.
5. Put in a piping bag and pipe it onto the cake or spread it with spatula and add sprinkles.

I used Valrhona Cocoa Powder this time and it does give that smooth chocolaty taste....luv it!!

Happy Baking!!

Sugee Cake

2010-05-18T01:08:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite cake. I was very lucky as my ex boss's wife used to make them for me as she knows I really love them. I used to order this cake from a lady in KL or buy them from a cake shop in Bangsar. Never once I tried baking them. I dont know where this recipe came from but I believe it must be from my ex boss's wife as it was written on a piece of paper and I had them for years.

Since I have to bake a cake for my finale lesson at Wilton, i thot of giving this one a try. The original recipe makes a bigger cake and since I dont have a big mould, I have to make a smaller one and halved off all the ingredients.

Ingredients:-

(A)
125 gm butter
130 gm suji (semolina)

(B)
125 gm butter
160 gm sugar

6 egg yolks
4 egg whites
40 gm castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
100 gm plain flour }
1 gm baking powder } sieve together
65 gm ground almonds }

Method:

1. Line a 8 inch round cake tin with greased baking paper.
2. Beat butter (A) till light and fluffy. Add the semolina and mix well. Leave the mixture to stand for 30 minutes or longer.
3. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
4. Add yolk one at a time and mix well.
5. Add the essence vanilla and add the suji mixture and mix until everything combines.
6. Beat egg whites till foamy and add sugar. Beat till stiff.
7. Fold the egg white mixture to suji mixture.
8. Add the sieved flour, baking powder and ground almonds to the suji mixture. Fold gently until combine.
9. Bake in a preheated oven 170C and bake for 55 minutes.

The verdict from a friend and my better half..........lovely!! Happy trying and leave a comment.

Raisins/Orange Peel Cake

2010-05-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

I recently signed up to do a Fondant and Gum Paste course here. I finished my Course 1, 2 and 3 in the Land of the Rising Sun. Since this is the final course offered by Wilton, I thought I might as well do it and be done since I love spending time baking and also to perfect my decorating skills. Didnt realise that the arrangements and things provided by the school differs from each country. In Nippon we were provided with the real cakes or the dummy cakes but here we have to bring our own.
With a very short notice to prepare for my 2nd lesson which falls on the next day, I didnt want to let my disappointment dampened my learning spirits. Wanted to try making sugee cake but sad that I dont have the ingredients in my kitchen and it was too late to rush to the supermarket. Wanted to make dark chocolate cake...didnt have cocoa powder at home....sigh.
What I found in stock was some raisins and orange peel. I actually bought the dried orange peel to make my orange bread. What am I to make.....aaarghhhhhhhh. Lucky, mother taught me how to make steam mix fruit cake before. I used the same method accept no mix fruits and orange sunquick this time.

Woke up early that day and manage to make a cake. What shall I call this ..... Steam Raisins/Orange Peel Cake?? Thank God, it turned out okay considering it was made in a haste and with whatever little ingredients I had at home. Brought my cake and was only taught to lay the fondant on it and I just topped it with the 2 carnations I made the day before during my 1st lesson. Blind me...........cant tell how disappointed I was that day!! Was expecting to be able to deco the cake better but no appropriate tools was provided. But anyway.....on the bright side, yes another cake for the family and my other half just love it.

My Raisin Cake, the original look before the covering fondant, dont know why I cant rotate this picture...

Here's the recipe

Ingredients:-
300 gm caster sugar
300 gm plain flour
3 large eggs
180 gm butter
250 gm mixed dried fruits ( i used raisins and orange peel)
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup water

Method

1. Heat pan and add 150 gram sugar and let it caramelised. Once sugar turn brown add water and let it boil until the caramelised sugar become syrup. Remove from pan and let cool.
2. In a bowl, sieve flour and add the dried fruits. Put aside.
3. Beat egg white and bicarbonate soda until foamy. Add the balance of 150 gm sugar and beat till stiff. Add yolk one at a time. Mix well.
4. In another bowl, cream butter till light and add the egg mixture mixing well.
5. Add the vanilla essence.
6. Add the flour mixture and using cutting motion mix ingredients well.
7. Last, add the sugar syrup and fold in the mixture.
8. Pour in a round 8 inch mould that has already been lined with baking paper. Cover with foil and steam for 2 hours in a preheated steamer.

Red Velvet Cuppies

2010-04-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

I always see red velvet cupcakes sold in stores but never really feel like trying them. Its always the usual pick of vanilla or chocolate cupcakes....how boring yeah. Its a friend's request that trigger me to try and make this cuppies and at the same time wondering...what is the real taste of this red velvet as the name sounds very luxurious to me.

I actually tried baking them using the recipe that my friend forwarded but the result was a disaster and the trash bin was happy to gulp them all. Sigh........... Not wanting to give up, I tried again using a recipe I found from someone's blog. It taste not too bad but the ingredients list was just too long and it wasn't simple to make, too many steps. Still not very happy about this and since I was down town yesterday, I decided to buy the red velvet cupcakes from a reputable store here to taste theirs and to compare with my produce. You cant go wrong isn't it buying from a famous bakery to find out how the real taste should be.

Finally today, after my 3rd attempt, I was very pleased with the outcome. My little testers at home said to me that it tasted better than the ones I bought yesterday........Kids are innocent alright so I am sure their comments are true...hahahahahaha

Got this recipe from Wilton

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons Red (no-taste) Icing Color
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with baking cups. In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, icing color and vanilla extract; mix well until icing color is well incorporated (scraping down sides of bowl when necessary). Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture; add water and mix well. In small bowl, combine white vinegar and baking soda; gently stir into cupcake mixture. Spoon into baking cups. Bake 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan on cooling rack for 5-8 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely

For the Cream Cheese Topping, here's what I used:-

Cream Cheese Topping

250 gram Philadelphia cream cheese
100 gram unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Instructions:

Beat cream cheese and butter till light and fluffy. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.
Add the icing sugar and beat well. Spread on your cake.

Humidity in Hong Kong

2010-04-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

Ever since I arrived this vibrant city with 7 million population, the most notable differences here is the humidity. Nothing ever gets dry when they’re hung on a line. Even though it’s 22°C outside, it feels more like 15°C because it’s so damp. Humidity is something that Hong Kong is known for as it is surrounded by water and filled with tall buildings. It makes me wonder how people deal with mold in their houses. Its wet everywhere. Been home most of the time and yet feel so sticky...cant imagine if I were to be out on a hot day. Not even 3 months staying here the wall in my bedroom is already moldy.....??? Of course, the solution is to get a dehumidifier to help absorb the water and thus help guard your precious things in the house...otherwise not only the books will get wrinkly...my skin will need a lot of La Mer cream to prevent from wrinkling too....lols!! The weather is so bad so much so dehumidifier is currently out of stock. The shop assistant ask me to come back at the end of this month when their new stock arrive.

This is really classic and just cant help but to share this with you guys. One day somebody almost slipped at the corridor of my house as the floor was really wet and slippery, to me it doesnt show a good sign. Having children it just creeps me out to see those bloody wet floor. Everyday I pray that everyone will be alright and had to exercise my vocal reminding the kids to be careful when walking. Since the wall is moldy too, I decided to call the maintenance guys for them to come have a look and at the same time hoping that they will rectify the problem. Ding Dong.......

Mr H : Good morning Madam, I come to see the wall and to check about your complaint of the wet floor.....
Me: Oh thank you for coming Mr H, (took him to the room and showed him the wall - he took some pictures of the wall)
Mr H : Oh okay madam, I will show this picture to my office and we will get the contractor to come and clean the wall for you.
Me: Em Koi...let me know when you want to come and fix the wall and another thing Mr H. Can you see... the floor is very wet and it is so slippery. Maybe you all should put a dehumidifer here too. It is very dangerous la I think.
Mr H: Oh Okay Madam, I will report to my office and we will fix the problem. You dont worry la.
Me: haiya, haiya and thank you so much Mr H.

DENG...DENG....DENG........ few days later...........this is what I saw on the wall................just cant help but to laugh.
I saw the warning sign hanged up. I believe this will help make the floor dry...........

this is what I mean...the floor is really wet.

the next day, even the warning sign slipped off from the wall.........hahahahahahaha

Onion Cheese Quiche

2010-04-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

Its depressing when the cakes you bake or the sweets you always prepare for the children doesnt appeal to them anymore. I guess they must be bored with the same stuff mummy makes. Enough of sweet desserts I believe, so I decided to make savoury tart for tea one afternoon. It was worth the effort and it was really nice to see them eat and fighting for more. Just finished baking onion cheese quiche again so they could bring to school for their lunch tomorrow. Safe me the hassle of preparing their lunch box in the morning.

Here's the recipe:-

Ingredients:

(For filling)
25gm butter
1 large bombay onion
3 large eggs
50ml cream
150ml milk
70 gm turkey bacon or beef salami (cut into small pieces)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
100 gm grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped parsley

(For Pastry)
200 gm plain flour
100gm butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon cold water

Method:

To make pastry

1. Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until it becomes breadcrumbs. Add water and mix to a firm dough. Add more water if required. Knead until it become a smooth dough.
2. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
3. Roll dough on lightly floured surface and use a 23 cm pie tin (loose based pan).
4. Press the pastry firmly to the sides and base of tin. Use a fork to prick the pastry all over. Use a rolling pin to trim the excess pastry.
5. Cover with aluminium foil and put in the freezer for 15 mins.
6. Preheat oven to 200c and blind bake the tart for 15 minutes. Remove the blind beans and foil and continue to bake for another 5 minutes.
7. Remove the tart from the oven and reduce the temperature to 180C.
8. Spread the onion mixture, sprinkle with shredded cheese and pour the milk mixture and bake for 35 minutes or until the filling set.
9. Let cool before removing from the pie tin. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

To make the filling:-

1. Heat butter in a pan and saute the onion until the onion become soft, add the turkey bacon and saute for a couple minutes more. Remove from fire and let cool.
2. Beat the eggs, cream and milk in a bowl. Add the nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Note: You can omit the turkey bacon or beef salami to make a vegetarian quiche. I have tried putting cod fish into the mixture and it taste equally good too. Its up to your own creativity and personal taste....happy trying!!

It's been awhile............

2010-04-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hello my readers

It has been awhile since my last posting. Not for anything but too occupied with home front. I believe moving always take its toll on anyone. Well, glad that I am back to my normal routine and things are falling nicely into its places. I do miss my life in Nippon (thats history for me) but at the same time I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to discover a new place. It will be a good experience for the family and me especially the children. Thanks to my other half whom has been working so hard for the family thus enabling us to experience new place, people, culture and language.

Slightly over 3 months now and I am very much settle and at my best state in this new environment. The kids are happy with their new school, I have made some new friends and a handful for now to keep my social life abuzz, started my baking business again by chance (special thanks to a friend..you know who you are), I know my whereabouts a little and of course I hope to be able to explore every inch of this Island that I call home for the timebeing.

Its quite easy to live here and there is influx of supply for anything that crosses your mind as long as you have enough lollies in your purse ~ no worries mate. Plenty of choices to suit your budget. Though a person may not speak Cantonese but one can easily get around and adapt to living in this vibrant city called Hong Kong.

At the beach, Park Island for the first time

A view from The Peak during one of the walks

experiencing Yamcha, a must for anyone

Happy Birthday Mother

2010-02-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

Today mark Mak's 67th Birthday. Safe...my grandma gave birth to her on the 28th of February not 29th..lols! Regret that I couldnt be home to celebrate this special day of hers. It has been many years since I last celebrated her birthday. Sad, could only afford a phone call to wish her. Having a family of my own robbed me from being with her. Insyaallah, if God permits, I want to celebrate your next birthday together.
Mak, I wish you a very happy birthday and many more to come. May Allah continue to shower you with his utmost blessings. Amin. I know I have not been a daughter you wanted me to be and we always differ in thinking and in a lot of ways. One thing for sure, I take my hats off you for you are such a strong woman that I have ever met in this world and I envy your sense of determination. Nothing can stop you Mak. I hope I do inherit those trade mark of yours.
I miss you Mak and I hope you had a wonderful day today. I love you Mother.

Luv Always
Your daughter.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

2010-01-05T05:55:00.000-08:00

Its 5 days into 2010 and next I know it will be another countdown to welcome another new year. I had a very quite new year as we had just arrived a couple of days before we say farewell to 2009. This year marks another important chapter in our lives as there's great changes for the family. Moving to a new country and adjusting to new place and environment is a challenged I must say and especially after staying in one place for a period of 6 years. I would be lying if I say I dont miss my old place but the truth is the people I found there, that makes my life and my stay so comfortable and so much fun. I must thank god for my lucky star to have a life so blessed and to have met a bunch of wonderful friends.

Alhamdulillah, the kids are happy and seems to be adjusting very well at our new place considering we have been here only for 9 days. They started their first day at school yesterday and have already been busy making new friends and were so excited about their new school. That' a good sign!! Kids are happy.

upon arrival at the airport.

Yes, 2010 come what may....I am all set for you!!

ABC Cooking Studio

2009-10-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

Off late, I'm never home as time is running short for me, in between my daily routine and whatever spare time, I'll be rushing to school. At the end of the day of course I'm tired but satisfied. Trying to learn as much as I could whilst still here. Sorry friends, I've been out of the social circle for a while, I guess my social obligations can be put on hold for the time being. Once I'm done, insyaallah will try to catch up with all my friends here before I finally say sayonara...sob..sob..sob..........

This is where you can find me day and nite......gambatte ne!!

Its still Shawal.......

2009-10-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

Although far away from home land but alhamdulillah....terasa juga kemeriahan beraya and had a wonderful time experiencing raya abroad. Dapat juga anak-anak merasa kemeriahan berhari raya. With invitation to friends raya open house...rasa macam kat KL pulak.....to those that we couldnt make it to your home...thousand apology insyaallah next time.

Rendang Daging Sempoi

2009-10-04T17:57:00.001-07:00

Its still raya month and for us who didnt get to spend it with family back home.... any opportunity comes.....so eager to create the continuation of raya mood. Impromptu, had some friends over to share our raya specialties together. Had nasi impit (rice cake), with kuah kacang (peanut sauce), chicken satay, beef rendang, instant lemang (glutinous rice cake) and serunding (beef floss). As usual another wonderful morning with full of laughter and food.

My quick beef rendang recipe:-

Ingredients:-

1 kg boneless beef
20 dry chili
20 bird chili (optional - if you like it spicy)
1 1/2 big onion
2 garlic
5 cm ginger
3 stalk lemon grass
5 cm galangal
3 tablespoon kerisik (coconut paste)
400 ml coconut milk
2-3 kafir lime leaves
salt and sugar to taste (i use a little bit of palm sugar)

Method:-

1. Cut beef into cubes, wash and drain.
2. Put chili, onion, garlic, ginger, lemon grass and galangal into a blender and grind until smooth.
3. Put beef into wok and add the blended ingredients, coconut milk, sugar, salt and mix well.
4. Cook under medium flame until the juice dry out. Add water if meat is still not tender.
5. When the meat is almost tender, add the coconut paste and kafir lime leaves and adjust the gravy. Add water if you like it with more gravy and continue to cook. Adjust the taste.

Still Raya.............................

2009-09-26T16:34:00.001-07:00

Another wonderful day. With my normal routine to start the day followed by Hari Raya Open Houses Invitation in the evening and golf session. Felt so happy that managed to achieve a lot of things by the end of the day. By the time we got home everyone was tired.

At Dato Razali, Datin Faridah's Hari Raya Open House

At Puan Yuslinawati's Hari Raya Open House

Since we were already in Seta Area and the kids havent got the chance to hit the balls for a long time plus to burn away the calories after all the yummy food..we hit the driving range. I personally like this place coz its clean, quite, calm, tranquil surroundings, free parking and cheaper fees as opposed to other driving range around Tokyo that I've been.

At Seta Modern Golf. This place offers Golf Lesson and we got Yamamoto Sensei who speaks English last year to teach us.

Green Tea Tiramisu

2009-09-25T16:59:00.001-07:00

Green Tea Sponge Cake

Ingredients:-
4 eggs
120 gm sugar
120 gm flour
6 gm green tea powder
40 cc unsweetened soya milk/low fat milk

Method:
1. Sift the flour and green tea powder together.
2. Warm the milk a little bit.
3. Beat egg and sugar until tripled the volume and whip at a low speed for another minute to make a smooth batter.
4. Fold the flour into the egg mixture in a cutting motion.
5. Add warm milk and mix in a cutting motion until batter becomes glossy.
6. Line with paper a 9 x 13 inch tray and spread the mixture. Spread toward four corners and level the surface.
7. Remove air bubbles and bake for 15-17 minutes in a preheated oven 190C.
8. After baking, place the cake on the cake cooler and cover with plastic wrap.

Green Tea Syrup:-
100gm sugar
200 cc water
3gm green tea powder

Method:
Put sugar, green tea powder and water in a pan. Mix well and boil. Let cool.

Mascarpone Cream
30 gm custard powder
120 cc unsweetened soya milk/low fat milk
120 gm mascarpone cheese
90 gm fresh cream

Method:
1. Mix the custard powder in a medium bowl and mix with milk.
2. Add mascarpone cheese and mix well.
3. Add fresh cream and whip them until it soft peaks form.

Azuki Beans Cream (Red Bean Cream)
50 gm sweet bean paste
100 gm fresh cream

Method:
1. Mix sweet bean paste and fresh cream in a bowl and whip them until soft peaks form.

Assembling Cakes

1. Cut the cake into 2 pieces (round or square according to your dish) and brush the sponge cake with green tea syrup on top.
2. Put one cake into a square dish and spread the azuki beans cream on top.
3. Add another layer of cake and brush it with green tea syrup and spread the mascarpone cream and level the surface.
4. Sift the green tea powder on the cake.
5. Decorate with the balance of mascarpone cream, sweet black beans, gold leaf and chervil on top of the cake.

SALAM AIDIL FITRI 2009

2009-09-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

Salam to all and here's wishing you and your family Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir dan Batin dari kami sekeluarga. For the first time this year, I did not make it home but Alhamdulillah we had a wonderful raya with our fellow countrymen and friends. The anticipation for raya was exhilarating for me as so many things to prepare for the big day, trying my best to make it feel like we are at home. Managed to prepare mix menu of Malay & Indian specialities for Eid.

We had Putu Mayam and Lamb Curry for breakfast followed by Nasi Impit, Rendang, Kuah Kacang, Sayur Lodeh, Nasi Tomato, Ayam Masak Merah, Jelatah Nenas/Timun, Acar Buah, Lemang, Ketupat Palas and Serunding Daging for the guests later.

After Eid Prayers at the Embassy, we had our breakfast and had a family photo session. At 12.00 pm my first guest show up at the door and it was celebration then on. Indeed, we had a nice Raya although being away from our beloved family at home.

To all that came...thank you for coming to our house and you guys make our raya here so meriah. Domo arigato gozaimashita!!

Pineapple Tarts

2009-09-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

I first make pineapple tarts when I was small...helping out Mak in the kitchen each year for Hari Raya until I could do it myself when I was 12. Since then, it has been my chore to prepare cookies for Raya. I still remember those days, kena parut nenas tu dan masak jem atas dapur minyak tanah and berjam-jam lamanya....mana nak jaga api lagi....aduh mak. Really, at that time it was really hard to make cookies unlike nowadays. Those days we dont have electric oven not even gas oven. We only used a small oven using kerosene stove. The tray that could go into the oven perhaps could only bake 10-12 pieces of cookies....can you imagine how long it will take to finish baking a kilo of dough....

When I was 16, my anties started asking me to make tarts for them, by this time my mom already bought a gas oven for our home...and at that time hmmm....got money coming in for duit raya and before I started my own family that's part of my ritual during fasting months...to prepare raya cookies for my family members.

ni tart yang kawan-kawan kat sini order for raya this year.

Here's the recipe:-

Pastry

1kg flour
550 gm butter
3 egg yolk
1 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
1 teaspoon caster sugar (optional)
cold water

Method:-

1. Sieve flour, salt and sugar together.
2. Using a butter knife, cut the butter into the flour, then rub the butter until it becomes bread crumb using your fingers.
3. Add egg yolk and mix well.
4. Add cold water bit by bit and make a dough.
5. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling and cutting.

Pineapple Jam

3 bowls grated pineapple
1 bowl sugar (as you like - adjust to your taste)
a pinch of salt
4-5 clover (optional)
1-2 drops of yellow colouring (optional)

Method:

1. In a wok, put everything together under medium flame.
2. Stir every few minutes until it becomes thicken and all the water evaporates.
Note: Of course you may add more sugar if you like your jam to be sweet and in case the pineapple is not so ripe and sour.

Ramadhan oh Ramadhan

2009-09-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Masyaallah......4 more days to go before Eid shows again, perhaps. How time flies...its just happening too fast. Alhamdulillah, we get to welcome Ramadhan again and now that its almost coming to an end.....I'm a bit saddened, it has been a smooth Ramadhan for the family including the kids and the terawih we did at the mosque almost every nite, the getting up in the morning for sahur and the simple breakfast we had everyday. Insyaallah god's willing till I see you next Ramadhan. I pray, when time permits with god's permission, one day the family will be able to perform our Ramadhan at the Holy Land Mecca. Insyaallah.

the scene on the 1st day of sahur

the happy faces during breakfast on the 1st day of Ramadhan

terawih at the mosque

Ramadhan Mubarak

2009-08-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

Salam to all.......

Wishing all of you a very blessed Ramadhan. Somebody very dear to me forwarded these two articles on how to derive the full benefits of Ramadhan.

May Allah showers His blessings on all of us..........Insyaallah.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

THE PROPHET'S SERMON ABOUT RAMADHAN

Compiled By Susan Nachawati for IslamiCity

The Sermon Given By The Prophet (s) On The Last Friday Of Sha'ban On The
Reception Of The Month of Ramadan.

"O People ! Indeed ahead of you is the blessed month of Allah. A month of
blessing, mercy and forgiveness. A month which with Allah is the best of
months. Its days, the best of days, its nights, the best of nights, and its
hours, the best of hours. It is the month which invites you to be the
guests of Allah and invites you to be one of those near to Him. Each breath
you take glorifies him; your sleep is worship, your deeds are accepted and
your supplications are answered. So, ask Allah, your Lord; to give you a
sound body and an enlightened heart so you may be able to fast and recite
his book, for only he is unhappy who is devoid of Allah's forgiveness
during this great month. Remember the hunger and thirst of the day of
Qiyamah (Judgment) with your hunger and thirst; give alms to the needy and
poor, honor your old, show kindness to the young ones, maintain relations
with your blood relations; guard your tongues, close your eyes to that
which is not permissible for your sight, close your ears to that which is
forbidden to hear, show compassion to the orphans of people so compassion
may be shown to your orphans. Repent to Allah for your sins and raise your
hands in dua during these times, for they are the best of times and Allah
looks towards his creatures with kindness, replying to them during the
hours and granting their needs if he is asked ...

"O People! Indeed your souls are dependant on your deeds, free it with
Istighfar (repentance) lighten its loads by long prostrations; and know
that Allah swears by his might: That there is no punishment for the one who
prays and prostrates and he shall have no fear of the fire on the day when
man stands before the Lord of the worlds.

"O People! One who gives Iftaar to a fasting person during this month will
be like one who has freed someone and his past sins will be forgiven. Some
of the people who were there then asked the Prophet (s): "Not all of us are
able to invite those who are fasting?"

The Prophet (s) replied: "Allah gives this reward even if the Iftaar (meal)
is a drink of water." "One who has good morals (Akhlaq) during this month
will be able to pass the 'Siraat' ... on the day that feet will slip ...
"One who covers the faults of others will benefit in that Allah will curb
His anger on the day of Judgment ...

"As for one who honors an orphan; Allah will honor him on the day of
judgment, "And for the one who spreads his kindness, Allah will spread His
mercy over him on the day of Judgment. "As for the one who cuts the ties of
relation; Allah will cut His mercy from him ... "Who so ever performs a
recommended prayer in this month Allah will keep the fire of Hell away from
him ... "Whoever performs an obligator prayer Allah will reward him with
seventy prayers [worth] in this month. "And who so ever prays a lot during
this month will have his load lightened on the day of measure. "He who
recites one verse of the Holy Quran will be given the rewards of reciting
the whole Quran during other months. "O People! Indeed during this month
the doors of heaven are open, therefore ask Allah not to close them for
you; The doors of hell are closed, so ask Allah to keep them closed for
you. During this month Shaytan (Satan) is imprisoned so ask your Lord not
to let him have power over you."

---------------------------------------------

INNER DIMENSIONS OF FASTING
IMAM ABU HAMID AL-GHAZALI
Translated from the Ihya' Ulom ud Din by Muhtar Holland

Three Grades Of Fasting

It should be known that there are three grades of Fasting: ordinary,special and extra-special.

Ordinary Fasting means abstaining from food, drink and sexual satisfaction.

Special Fasting means keeping one's ears, eyes, tongue,hands and feet and all other organs free from sin.

Extra-special Fasting means fasting of the heart from unworthy concerns and
worldly thoughts, in total disregard of everything but God,Great and Glorious is He. This kind of Fast is broken by thinking of worldly matters, except for those conducive to religious ends, since these constitute provision for the Hereafter and are not of this lower world. Those versed in the spiritual life of the heart have even said that a sin is recorded against one who concerns himself all day with arrangements for breaking his Fast. Such anxiety stems from lack of trust in the bounty of God, Great and Glorious is He, and from lack of certain faith in His promised sustenance.

To this third degree belong the Prophets, the true awliya and the intimates
of God. It does not lend itself to detailed examination in words, as its
true nature is better revealed in action. It consists in utmost dedication
to God, Great and Glorious is He, to the neglect of everything other than
God, Exalted is He. It is bound up with the significance of His words:
'Say: "Allah (sent it down)":then leave them to play in their vain discussions.' [al-An'am,6:91]

Inward Requirements

As for Special Fasting, this is the kind practiced by the righteous. It means keeping all one's organs free from sin and six things are required
for its accomplishment:

1. SEE NOT WHAT DISPLEASES GOD

A chaste regard, restrained from viewing anything that is blameworthy or
reprehensible, or that distracts the heart and diverts it from the remembrance of God, Great and Glorious is He. Said the Prophet, on him be peace: 'The furtive glance is one of the poisoned arrows of Satan, on him be God's curse. Whoever forsakes it for fear of God will receive from Him, Great and Glorious is He, a faith the sweetness of which he will find within his heart.'

Jabir relates from Anas that God's Messenger, on him be peace, said: 'Five
things break a man's Fast: lying, backbiting, gossiping, perjury and a lustful gaze.'

2. SPEAK NOT...

Guarding one's tongue from idle chatter,lying, gossiping, obscenity, rudeness, arguing and controversy; making it observe silence and occupying it with remembrance of God, Great and Glorious is He, and with recitation of Quran. This is the fasting of the tongue. Said Sufyan: 'Backbiting annuls the Fast.'Layth quotes Mujahid as saying: 'Two habits annul Fasting: backbiting and telling lies.'

The Prophet,on him be peace, said: 'Fasting is a shield; so when one of you is Fasting he should not use foul or foolish talk. If someone attacks him or insults him, let him say: "I am Fasting, I am Fasting!"'

According to Tradition: 'Two women were Fasting during the time of God's
Messenger, on him be peace. They were so fatigued towards the end of the
day, from hunger and thirst, that they were on the verge of collapsing. They therefore sent a message to God's Messenger,on him be peace, requesting permission to break their Fast. In response, the Prophet, on him be peace, sent them a bowl and said: "Tell them to vomit into it what they have eaten." One of them vomited and half filled the bowl with fresh blood and tender meat, while the other brought up the same so that they filled it between them. The onlookers were astonished. Then the Prophet, on him be peace,said: "These two women have been Fasting from what God made lawful to them, and have broken their Fast on what God, Exalted is He, made
unlawful to them. They sat together and indulged in backbiting, and here is
the flesh of the people they maligned!"'

3. HEAR NOT...

Closing one's ears to everything reprehensible; for everything unlawful to utter is likewise unlawful to listen to. That is why God, Great and Glorious is He, equated the eavesdropper with the profiteer, in His words,Exalted is He: 'Listeners to falsehood,consumers of illicit gain.'
[al-Ma'idah, 5:42]

God, Great and Glorious is He, also said: 'Why do their rabbis and priests
not forbid them to utter sin and consume unlawful profit?' [al-Ma'idah,
5:63]

Silence in the face of backbiting is therefore unlawful. God, Exalted is
He,said: 'You are then just like them.' [al-Nisa, 4:140] That is why the
Prophet,on him be peace, said: 'The backbiter and his listener are copartners in sin.'

4. DO NOT...

Keeping all other limbs and organs away from sin: the hands and feet from
reprehensible deeds, and the stomach from questionable food at the time for
breaking Fast. It is meaningless to Fast -- to abstain from lawful food –
only to break one's Fast on what is unlawful. A man who Fast like this may
be compared to one who builds a castle but demolishes a city. Lawful food
injurious in quantity not in quality, so Fasting is to reduce the former. A
person might well give up excessive use of medicine, from fear of ill effects, but he would be a fool to switch to taking poison. The unlawful is
a poison deadly to religion, while the lawful is a medicine, beneficial in
small doses but harmful in excess. The object of Fasting is to induce
moderation. Said the Prophet, on him be peace: 'How many of those who Fast
get nothing from it but hunger and thirst!' This has been taken to mean
those who break their Fast on unlawful food. Some say it refers to those
who abstain from lawful food, but break their Fast on human flesh through
backbiting, which is unlawful. Others consider it an allusion to those who
do not guard their organs from sin.

5. AVOID OVEREATING

Not to over-indulge in lawful food at the time of breaking Fast, to the
point of stuffing one's belly. There is no receptacle more odious to God,
Great and Glorious is He, than a belly stuffed full with lawful food. Of
what use is the Fast as a means of conquering God's enemy and abating
appetite, if at the time of breaking it one not only makes up for all one
has missed during the daytime, but perhaps also indulges in a variety of
extra foods? It has even become the custom to stock up for Ramadan with all
kinds of foodstuffs, so that more is consumed during that time than in the
course of several other months put together. It is well known that the
object of Fasting is to experience hunger and to check desire, in order to
reinforce the soulin piety. If the stomach is starved from early morning
till evening, so that its appetite is aroused and its craving intensified,
and it is then offered delicacies and allowed to eat its fill, its taste
for pleasure is increased and its force exaggerated; passions are activated which would have lain dormant under normal conditions.

The spirit and secret nature of Fasting is to weaken the forces which are
Satan's means of leading us back to evil. It is therefore essential to cut
down one's intake to what one would consume on a normal night, when not
Fasting. No benefit is derived from the Fast if one consumes as much as one
would usually take during the day and night combined. Moreover, one of the
properties consists in taking little sleep during the daytime, so that one
feels the hunger and thirst and becomes conscious of the weakening of one's
powers, with the consequent purification of the heart.

One should let a certain degree of weakness carry over into the night,
making it easier to perform the night Prayers (tahajjud) and to recite the
praises (awrad). It may then be that Satan will not hover around one's
heart, and that one will behold the Kingdom of Heaven. The Night of Destiny
represents the night on which something of this Kingdom is revealed. This
is what is meant by the words of God, Exalted is He:

'We surely revealed it on the Night of Power.' [al-Qadr, 97:1]

Anyone who puts a bag of food between his heart and his breast becomes
blind to this revelation. Nor is keeping the stomach empty sufficient to
remove the veil, unless one also empties the mind of everything but God,
Great and Glorious is He. That is the entire matter, and the starting point
of it all is cutting down on food.

6. LOOK TO GOD WITH FEAR AND HOPE

After the Fast has been broken, the heart should swing like a pendulum
between fear and hope. For one does not know if one's Fast will be accepted, so that one will find favor with God, or whether it will be rejected,leaving one among those He abhors. This is how one should be at the end of any act of worship one performs.

It is related of al-Hasan ibn Abil Hasan al-Basri that he once passed by a
group of people who were laughing merrily. He said: 'God, Great and Glorious is He, has made the month of Ramadan a racecourse, on which His creatures compete in His worship. Some have come in first and won, while others have lagged behind and lost. It is absolutely amazing to find anybody laughing and playing about on the day when success attends the victors, and failure the wasters. By God, if the veil were lifted off, the doer of good would surely be preoccupied with his good works and the evildoer with his evil deeds.' In too full of joy to indulge in idle sport,
while for one who has suffered rejection laughter will be precluded by remorse.

Of al-Ahnaf ibn Qays it is reported that he was once told: 'You are an aged
elder; Fasting would enfeeble you.' But he replied: 'By this I am making
ready for a long journey, Obedience to God, Glorified is He, is easier to
endure than His punishment.'

Such are the inwardly significant meanings of Fasting.

Source: Al-Ghazali, Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship
Edited 12/99
http://www.jannah.org/ramadan/innerfasting.html

I'm Home

2009-08-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

It has been 5 days since I've been back but this time the kick start to getting back to my routine is rather slow......We were welcome back with the thyphoon and earthquake. I was all drenched going to the store, actually drove to the supermarket behind my house yet all wet. Alhamdulillah still alive and kicking and everything is under control. After droping off my other half at work, I spent the first couple of days catching up with my beauty sleep. Sleep....sleep.....sleep...and sleep......duh!! After the third day slowly but surely my momentum is comingggggggggggggggg.....had a fun time with the kids doing homework with them and teaching them my bahasa ibunda.....it was really funny after I made them wrote about themselves, they have to stand and read it aloud to me....boy that was hillarious......got their action recorded for future viewing.

Havent really visited the kitchen but enjoying every moment with the kids while they are still holidaying. Swim, play, laugh and watch tv together. Already had my tea and lunch appointment with some frens yesterday and that's a sure sign of my coming back. That's what it has been this week. Till next entry...tata.

What Say You.........

2009-07-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you have something you take things for granted. Only when you know you loosing your something....you start to panic and usually by then its just too late.

To have something you never had you have to do something you never did. When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you but merely opening your hands to receive something better. The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.

Somethings merely happen for a reason be it good or bad.

Ajisai

2009-07-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

In Japan it is said that every season has its flower. Ajisai in nihongo or hydrangea in English. In Japan it flourishes in June and that's when I will be all smiley to see the Ajisai out again. It is one of my favorite flower. Insyaallah in my next tole painting lesson, I want to paint this flower so far has not done so.

Ajisai comes in many colours, many shades of pink, purple, maroon, blue, lilac, white and cream. The leaves around the flower are not petals but actually calyxes. The core of the flower is the small bud in the center.

Ajisai is the true Japanese flower of rainy season. Hopefully I get to plant this flower when I'm back home. It needs a lot of water and has to live in a wet soil.

Friday, 10 July 2009

2009-07-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

Dont know why but cant sleep since last nite. Sekejap pasang aircond, sekejap tutup aircond, sekejap on kipas pastu tutup kipas and yet tetap tak boleh tido. Dari tutup lampu pastu bukak lampu ei..stress akak. Line internet dah la slow giler jadi tak dapat la nak download gambar. Habis dah bilik tu I kemas sampai tak tahu nak buat apa lagi nasib baik juga sempat terlelap about 1 hour. Kul 2.30 pagi terjaga balik sampai le la ni. Pagi-pagi memang sunyi kan....sampai neighbour punya alarm clock pun I dengar...dalam hati i kata eh..cepat jugak dorang ni nak bangun....kul 5 pagi gitu alarm clock jiran dah berbunyi. Bila orang start mengaji je kat surau depan tu sunny boy pun terus bangun. Bagus budak itu...bila balik rumah atok mak dia je tak pernah miss sembahyang 5 waktu kat surau tu. Pepagi haban dia dah ke surau for subuh.
Ni si baby dah bangun...punya la dia excited sebab si Mai nak balik....kul 6 dia dah bangun pastu terus tanya "mummy, kak mai coming back today?". Hmmmm bapak dia pun dia tak miss macam si ah mai tu.

Semalam lepas masak kan kari ikan ngan sayur peria goreng untuk mak sempat jugak pergi KLCC seround bawak budak-budak tengok wayang cerita IceAge3. Lepas tengok wayang kita pun lunch kat Food Court makan Wantan Mee pastu pusing-pusing keluar masuk kedai and terus ke Ampang Point sebab my sista mintak tolong belikan kasut untuk dia. Tak puas hati minah tu...nak juga kasut macam kakak dia. So I pun pergi la Ampang Point, belum sempat beli kasut minah tu..eh... ..eh...Datin Permaisuri talipon...tak puas hati tu ajak gi minuh teh kat Kopitiam kat GE Mall. Sib baik dekat je...so cepat-cepat beli kasut my sista and terus ke GE. Tapi masa beli kasut tu hangin la jugak sebab I baru beli untuk I ari jumaat lepas takde discount pun pastu bila i beli untuk dia semalam eh..eh... ada 50% diskaun....ee mana aci ek......aa tu la rezki namanya kan.
Masa kat GE Mall tu sempat lagi singgah Aussino ada sale gitu...suke akak....apa lagi terjebak la kat situ...tapi takpe itu barang untuk rumah and dah memang patut beli pun untuk gantikan yang lama....yang ada kat umah tu pun dah uzur benar. Lepas tu I ada beli suji cake and some cookies (yang macam biskut raya tu)kat stall depan Cold Storage tu...gembira akak...sedap kuih-kuih dia, kira nya boleh beli lagi la next time. Suji cake dia cun...harus korang cuba. Sampai rumah cukup time maghrib so sempat la berjemaah kat surau for maghrib and isya' ngan budak-budak ni.

Ha tu je la cerita hari ni. Sorry tak kuasa nak download gambar sebab makan tahun nak download satu.

Out of Action

2009-07-05T01:27:00.000-07:00

Assamualaikum to all,

I will be out of action for a couple of weeks. At the moment enjoying our Summer Vacation with family, friends and relatives.
Till I return, take care and enjoy.

Salam
Arashiela

Ayah in Memories ( 28JUN2009)

2009-06-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

If my Ayah is still alive, he would be 65 today. God knows how much I miss my father. Although he left us almost 6 years ago on Monday August 4th 2003 but the memories are still fresh in my mind and it seems only yesterday. Ayah, you are such a great father and I will always love you. I always tell him that I want to marry someone like him. He is a go getter, never takes no for an answer, very confident of himself, very sincere, ever so helpful, never cheat or take advantage of people, a caring father and loves his children with all his heart. I am truly blessed to have him as my father. Whatever I wish for, ayah you sure will get it for me.

On the day he died, I really wanted to see him as I have not seen him for almost 5 months but with my condition that time I was really hoping that he will turn up at my cousin's wedding. When I saw my step mother and ayah wasnt there my heart sank. Cik Kiah said ayah kirimsalam and he wasnt feeling very well that's why he couldnt come to the wedding. Menggelitik hati ni nak pergi tengok ayah masa tu tapi apakan daya....dalam hati I kata insyaallah soon. One more month to go je...pastu nak pergi tengok ayah coz my due date will be 1st week of September . During that time it was only the sms that keep us in touch.
Ayah hantar message suruh balik and bawak kan dia epal hijau on his birthday but what can I do...cuma hantar sms je kata tak boleh nak travel and insyaallah I will see him the moment I can do so.
Sebulan sebelum ayah meninggal, ayah ada talipon and he wanted to come and stay with me. Ayah teringin nak berubat kat Ulu Kelang and dia kata dia kena pergi berurut hari-hari at least 6 hari seminggu and since we all 6 beradik dia suruh kita ambil turn bawak dia pergi hari-hari. I call my other siblings tanya macammana nak buat ngan request ayah ni tapi semua orang kata payah la. Masa tu rasa macam nak meraung I sebabnya true I was on leave but yet not able to take him for his treatment. So I told ayah that he can come and stay with me and I can arrange for taxi to take him to Ulu Kelang everyday but my stepmother has to come and stay with me too. Yelah ayah dah paralyse so kena ada someone to carry him in and out of the car. If not for my pregnancy at that time..I dont have to depend on anybody but circumstances doesnt permit. Tak tau la pulak rupanya masa tu ayah tengah tak bercakap dengan Cik Kiah jadi after my suggestion tu dia terus merajuk. I pun serba salah but we continue to sms each other still. Tu yang I look forward to seeing him at the wedding.
Lepas kenduri kahwin tu semua orang dah kepenatan almaklumlah masak sendiri so everyone was so lepak. Bila Ucu talipon dari kampung kata suruh balik and bawak ayah pergi hospital, my heart says "oh no....please wait for me ayah". My sister was with me then and I cakap kat dia...tak kira malam ni I nak balik jugak apa nak jadi pun jadi lah tapi dia kata dia mengantuk and dah letih sangat so I called my brother suruh dia bawak we all ni balik. Biasalah budak-budak muda ni kan....dari pukul 10.30 malam I call pukul 12.15 pagi baru dia sampai....masa tu hati I dah gelabah. I talipon mak I....mak kata takpelah besok je la balik tak payah nak pergi malam-malam ni....tapi I cakap ngan my brother and sister...tak kira nak balik skarang jugak...kalu mak tak nak balik dulu takpe dia boleh balik besok. We received another call saying ayah dah masuk ICU. Sampai je kat hospital and tak lama lepas tu doktor pun keluar and said that ayah dah takde lagi. Berlari I masuk bilik ICU tu dan cium ayah dan peluk ayah and masa tu masih panas lagi badan ayah. Ya Allah ayah dah takde...tak sempat kali ni ayah nak tengok cucu yang masih lagi dalam perut I ni. Ayah belum sempat lagi saya nak membalas jasa-jasa ayah...dan tak puas lagi bersama ayah. How I wish you are still around.

Ayah...I am so grateful to you for what I am today. I am a very independent person and capable just because you have trained me to do so. God I never get to tell you before you go how much I love you and how much you mean to me. I keep on saying to myself that I wanted to write you to thank you for bringing me up and to tell you that I love you so much but I procrastinate and this is what happens...REGRET. I remember you always say "DONT PROCRASTINATE, SUCCESS WILL NEVER BE YOURS" and yes I failed my dear father.

Some of Ayah's favourite saying:-

1. Dont assume as it makes an ass out of you and me.
2. Jangan berkhayal
3. It's all in the mind
4. If you think you can, you can
5. If means I failed
6. Time waits for no man

Semenjak ayah pergi belum pernah sekali pun saya lupa untuk menghadiahkan Al-fatihah untuk ayah setiap malam sebelum saya melelapkan mata. Ayah semoga roh ayah dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan di kalangan orang-orang yang mukmin disisi Allah. Amin

Today, all of us gathered and had lunch at Kuldip's place. The legacy of my late father his 17 grandchildren from his 6 children.

Gotemba & Atsugi, Monday June 22nd 2009

2009-06-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

My sista and me

Since I planned to take them to Gotemba and Atsugi, I woke up very early today as I wanted to make kuih sri muka for my sista before we leave...smalam dia suruh buat and both of them terkejut bila diorang bangun je kuih tu udah terhidang atas meja. Eh..eh...cik abang mintak tolong hantar pergi ofis pulak as he's late for office. Delayed a bit coz dah terkona kat tempat lain di pagi hari. Could only leave at 10.30 instead of 8.30 in the morning.
terjebak dah depa-depa ni kat sini..
tak nampak Mt. Fuji pun ari ni..it was so foggy...

We reached Gotemba, Premium Factory Outlet almost noon. Its about 100 kms away or slightly more from my house and its about 1 hour 30 minutes drive. Too bad they were not able to see Mt. Fuji as it was another rainy day. Told these ladies that they only have 3 hours max for shopping as we have another place to go after that. Left Gotemba at 3.30pm and took them to Noritake Square at Atsugi (another 1 hour drive from Gotemba to Atsugi) coz nak pergi beli pinggan Datin Permaisuri and they all pun teringin la jugak nak tengok pinggan2 noritake kat situ. Of course the price is way much cheaper compared to KL. Akhirnya terjebak jugak my sista....hahahahahaha tapi I masih terselamat lagi. Insyaallah kalau ada rezeki sebelum meninggalkan bumi jepun ni nak la jugak beli satu set for myself to mark our stay in Nippon.
ni la pinggan si mosha...
i ngan maksu cuma tumpang bergambar dan berseronok belek-belek pinggan je....

On the way home, jalan jam sampai rumah dah malam and keletihan pun....jadi dah tak berdaya nak keluar kemana-mana lagi....tunggu besok ari pulak la kan....kesian budak-budak seharian kena tinggal ngan mummy.

Sunday, June 21st 2009

2009-06-22T17:23:00.001-07:00

hari hujan so view pun tak nampak best sangat..

Kesian maksu ngan mosha....hujan dari malam tadi tak berhenti lagi...putus harapan dorang nak ke Harajuku to see the Sunday freaks. Kita tukar plan...bawak le dorang ke Lala Port kat Toyosu. Pusing-pusing kat Lala Port, keluar masuk kedai and after our late lunch (dah petang pun) we all pun balik. Sampai kat rumah pun masih hujan lagi tapi kesian jugak diorang ni kan...so I told my better half that I'm going to take them to Harajuku coz diorang ni dah tak sabar nak pergi 100 yen shop yang 4 tingkat tu. Sampai jugak kat kedai 100 tu walaupun kena meredah hujan. We all kat situ sampai kedai tu tutup amboi berbakul-bakul diorang ni membeli belah. Tu la penangan kedai 100 boleh jadi sasau bila kat situ. Pergi sekali tak cukup asyik nak pergi je..walhalnya hari pertama tu dah bawak dah pergi kedai 100 yang kat belakang rumah tu tapi kena pergi kedai yang besar pulak la kan. Nasib baik kedai dah tutup kalu idak mau tak balik 2 orang pompuan ni.
lunch kat food court Lala Port

Ketibaan Mosha dan Maksu (Sabtu, 20 Jun 2009)

2009-06-20T00:12:00.001-07:00

Hari ini, pagi-pagi lagi dah bangun...teruja sampai tak lena tidur. Jam 7.30 pagi I ngan sunny boy keluar menuju ke Narita Airport untuk menjemput mosha dan maksu yang datang dari KL. Selalunya saya tak pernah pun pergi menjemput any guest yang tiba dari KL...masa mak datang pun mak naik bas je dari airport tapi tak tau la ngape...rindu gamaknya dengan mosha...sanggup saya drive jauh-jauh ke Narita tu. Setiba di Narita, dia orang dah menunggu di pintu ketibaan. Alhamdulillah, terus bawak diorang balik rumah.

Sampai di rumah, maksu dan mosha jadi santa claus mengagih-agihkan barangan dan hadiah yang dibawa. Ada rendang kerang kiriman dari ucu, kuih bahulu kemboja dari cik kiah, kusyen yang dibelikan datin permaisuri dan macam-macam lagi makanan yang dibawa maksu dan mosha. Terimakasih su...kesian maksu kena turun naik teksi dan jalan kaki nak pergi beli barang-barang yang I pesan. Ha kau...sebeban maksu beli cili merah ngan cili padi. Suka PA kita bila tengok stok cili tu....terus buat ngam choy (sambal ketuk ikan bilis). Agaknya keletihan, maksu dan mosha terus tidur sampai ke petang.

Petang itu, I cuma dapat bawa diorang jalan-jalan dekat ngan rumah je, of course 100 Yen tu semestinya maggi la kan. Sebelah malam pulak bawa diorang pusing-pusing naik kereta sebab hujan pastu sempat lagi singgah Hard Rock Cafe sebab diorang nak beli souvenir kat situ. Kesian diorang tak dapat posing kat Hard Rock sebab ari hujan. Tiba di rumah dah hampir jam 2 pagi. Okay nanti kita sambung cerita besok hari pulak ye.
ni kat kedai 100 yen yang kat belakang rumah kita

Friday, 19 June 2009

2009-06-19T02:31:00.001-07:00

I woke up early today to cook for later meal as I want to accompany my other half for his appointment and we left 10 minutes before 7 and managed to catch the 6.57 am bus to Keio University Hospital at Shinanomachi. We got there early and while waiting we sat at Starbucks to have our breakfast. There were 2 stray cats and were so happy when I started feeding them with my sandwiches and my other half was busy throwing his muffin crumbs to the birds. How I wish I could bring the cats home and give them shelter.
This time it was quick and got home at 11.00. We had early lunch and my other half left for office and I left for my meeting with Adinda and Ratu.

Adinda came to pick me up and we headed to Ratu's office in Kamiyacho and had lunch at a nearby Italian Restaurant. Ratu will be leaving Tokyo soon and that is why we had the farewell lunch. From there we adjourned to a nearby cafe for a cup of coffee and gosh we actually sat there for hours and only bid farewell at 5.00pm and that is only because I have another dinner appointment at 6.00 and Ratu and Adinda has to go home too.
at Ratu's office and see Tokyo Tower at the background
We all had pasta here

Went home, pick up the kids and went together with my friend to TGIF in Roponggi. My friend from Shanghai will be leaving the next day and she wanted to buy us dinner.
My other half couldnt join us as he was still at the office. The kids really had a wonderful time with their beloved Anty Sam and after having her for 10 days they were so sad that she has to leave tomorrow. We left just before 9.00 coz with the kids around its not a good idea to be hanging around Roponggi at that hour. Roponggi is one of the entertainment district with a lot of pubs, discos, karaoke lounges, gentlemen clubs etc. etc. Hard Rock Cafe is also located in Roponggi.
we were stuffed with food

KidZania Tokyo - Thursday June 18, 2009

2009-06-18T19:33:00.001-07:00

After visiting Madam Sampermans (as my childen really wants to see her baby) we make a trip to Kidzania. Thanks Madam for sending me there and introducing the Viva Home. My kids have been bugging me for a long time not that they have not been but they really enjoyed Kidzania and they havent got the chance to experience everything that Kidzania has to offer. I believe we were the lucky bunch as the time we when in it wasnt crowded at all. It was a week day and not the japanese school holiday yet and we took the 2nd shift. When we first arrived at Lala Port, it was crazy to see the long line and told the kids that we are not going in and told them perhaps next time. They understand and we roamed around the Mall window shopping and just before we decided to go home, Sunny boy wanted to eat the Curry Rice which is just next to Kidzania. We went up to the 3rd Floor again and was surprised to see the que was so short for Kidzania...changed plan...we join the ticket line for the 2nd shift and phew....we were there from 4.00 pm till it closes at 9.00 pm. Alhamdulillah and were so happy for my children and they managed to do a lot more this time.

What is KidZania???
KidZania is Kids World. A Kids city complete with Bank, Theater, Television Station, Pizza Shop, Cooking School, Beauty Salon, Boutique, Hospital, Fire Station, Bakery, Kindergarten, Animal Clinic, Gas Station etc. etc. Those to name some of the attractions and all the facilities are designed to be just the right size for children.

Its learning while having fun. Here the kids can choose what they would like to be and after learning about a job they have chosen and being given a specific task, the children will change into a real uniform and start working. They will get paid in Kidzos. Kidzos is the official currency of Kidzania and are used to buy products and services. The more you work, the more you earn.

After the children earn their Kidzos, they can deposit their Kidzos into their bank account. Its interesting to see the children opening account at the Bank and were given a real ATM card to be used at the ATM machine. Later they can deposit their Kidzos into their account for use during next visit or they can spent their Kidzos.

baby working as a nurse at the hospital nursery
sunny boy and princess working at the pizza shop
baby at the cooking school
baby was a mechanic too

Hours and Admission: Daily All Year
1st shift: 9.00 am - 3.00 pm 2nd shift: 4.00 pm - 9.00 pm

Wednesday , 17th June 09

2009-06-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

My social obligations started as early as 8.30 am. I have a visiting friend from Shanghai and we received a common friend over for a cup of coffee but unfortunately cant be with them for long as I have to leave for another appointment. Already made arrangements to meet up with Puan Seri at Roponggi Station to visit Madam Superman at Tsukishima.

Thank you Madam for inviting us over to your place. Indeed I had a wonderful time and it was nice to have met few new friends. Jovial bunch and the food was great. Thanks eh Minah...lain kali buat lagi ok. Madam Superman just got a new bundle of joy and she's just so adorable... how I wish Madam Superman can give her to me...hehehehehe dream on baby!!!!
the fabulous spread waiting for the gluttons
the baby is cute right...
the divas

We left Tsukishima when the stomach refused more food intake.....just kidding but we had other commitments. Puan Seri got to pick up her daughters from school and I have got my children waiting at home and of course I need to cook for dinner too.

Later in the evening, I sent my kids for their faith lesson (kelas agama + mengaji) at Aoyama. While waiting for them to finish, my Shanghai friend and me had a nice stroll at Aoyama and its sure fun to do some window shopping. Its summer now so I bought two hats...ni kira dah terjebak la ni...but its cool.

From Aoyama, I sent my friend to Higashi Azabu as she has to meet another friend there. Since I dropped her off at Nissin (another international supermarket), I went in to buy some groceries. Havent been to Nissin for awhile and glad to see more arrays of halal meat. This store has a great selection of food such as herbs, spices, sauces, meat, liquor etc.etc. Delivery is possible and parking is available too. For us Malaysians and love to have our food...no more excuses not to prepare local food as you can get almost everything from this store.

Nissin World Delicatessen
2-34-2 Higashi Azabu
Tokyo, 106-0044 Japan
03-3583 4586
Hours 9.30am - 8pm Daily
http://www.nissinham.co.jp/nwd/

Cooking Session, Tuesday 16JUN09

2009-06-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

After postponing a few times I had 4 ladies over, 2 from Germany, 1 from Hong Kong and 1 Japanese to come for a cooking session with me. They pick up Menu A for today's lesson which is Nasi Lemak, Kari Ayam, Sambal Tumis Udang and Kuih Seri Muka. We started at 10.00 am and finished at noon. I had a good time with the ladies showing them how to cook our Malaysian food and sharing some tips on cooking. Glad that everyone had a good time and enjoyed the food. I hope one day our local food will be well known like our neighbour (Thailand) too. Mention Thai food everyone knows but of course long way to go for Malaysia but Insyaallah.

It's eating time after the serious cooking session

the ladies busy preparing the ingredients
Mika trying her hand using the pestle and mortar
cikgu tengah demo...hehehehehe

Summer Party (Saturday, 13JUN09)

2009-06-16T03:15:00.001-07:00

Just before we break for Summer, my other half invited his staff over for lunch and this year the turn out was overwhelming.

Part of my other half's team at the office
the ladies had a surprise birthday
the buffet line
Menu for the party:- Tomato Rice, Beef Curry, Dry Lamb, Chicken in chili paste (ayam masak merah le), Fried Chicken and Cucumber and Pineapple Salad.
gambar beef curry dah termiss pulak

Chicken Satay, Rice cubes, Peanut Sauce, Onion and Cucumber

Fried Mee Hoon, Curry puffs

Cheese Mushroom Dip and Slice Bread

Cup Cakes, Caramel Pudding (resipi anty ana), Chocolate cake (a surprise cake for his staff)and Fruits

My hubby, you better love me more as a lot of planning and hard work has been put in. I slept at 1.30 am on Friday and got up as early as 4.30 on Saturday morning to continue with the cooking. Orang dah nak tido baru dia cakap nak celebrate some staff punya birthday...duh!!

Dont ask me how I managed but somehow I did. After everyone left, cepat-cepat I kemas rumah sebab rumah pun dah takde rupa rumah, kalau tunggu nanti jadi malas pulak. Went to sleep early, so penat sampai tak lalu makan dah. Finally the big event for me this month is over. Alhamdulillah dan lega. Next???

Princess - Class Year End Party (Thursday, 11JUN09)

2009-06-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Princess with her classmates and her teacher

Before the school breaks for the Summer Vacation, the year end party will be the main highlight before everyone leaves. Thank God that her class had their party on Thursday and it was the last school party for me. Can you imagine if it clashes with the dates of my other two kids....pengsan mak dia..alangkan date lain-lain pun maknya dah semput.

baby pun join parti kelas princess

the volunteer moms with princess's class teacher

the cuppies for princess

Princess is the most demanding one out of the three. I was really tired after a cooking marathon for 3 days in a row and in between running around like a mad dog to farewell parties, chauffeuring the kids and hubby around, I just got no more energy. But what choice do I have...go to give them equal attention so Wednesday nite, I bake some cupcakes for her class party. Abis untuk kelas abang buat, kelas baby buat...tak kan tak buat untuk kelas dia kan. Nasib baik anty aida gave some idea a while ago so it was kinda easy. Thank you Da for telling me where to order the sugar image and the cup cake casing that you bought for me. Tuhan je yang balas budi baik you.

Rushed home when the party's over, had lunch with the other two (as they all already started their holidays) and went for another tea appointment. Ni kira last kopek la mengeteh dengan isteri Duta Besar ke Malaysia di Tokyo as they all will be leaving for good on Saturday. Sayonara Datin and all the best.

tea with Datin and the Embassy ladies

Kari Ikan

2009-06-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Bahan-bahan

Ikan 500 gram (basuh bersih dan perap sekejap dalam air asam jawa + garam)
7 ulas bawang merah atau 1 biji bawang besar
1 ulas bawang putih
1/4 inci halia
1 biji tomato
1-2 biji terung
2 biji cili hijau
10 biji kacang bendi
1/2 sudu teh halba campur
2 tangkai daun kari
3 sudu besar serbuk kari ikan babas
1/2 sudu teh serbuk cili
air asam jawa (secukup rasa)
garam
minyak untuk menumis

Cara-cara

1. Hiris bawang merah, bawang putih dan halia.
2. Serbuk kari dan serbuk cili, campur tambah air dan bancuh jadikan pes.
3. Panaskan minyak dalam periuk dan tumis bawang merah, halba campur dan daun kari.
4. Bila dah naik bau, masukkan bawang putih dan halia.
5. Bila bawang dah kekuningan, masukkan pes rempah kari dan tumis lagi sehingga pecah minyak.
6. Tambahkan sedikit air dan biar rempah masak betul.
7. Masukkan air asam jawa + garam dan air. Biarkan mendidih pada api sederhana.
8. Bila kuah sudah mendidih masukkan terung.
9. Bila terung dah separuk masak, masukkan ikan, cili hijau, buah tomato dan kacang bendi dan tutup periuk. Biarkan masak dalam 7 minit.
10. Rasa asam dan garam, tutup api.

Baby's Graduation Day, Wednesday - 10JUN09

2009-06-11T23:18:00.001-07:00

It feels like only yesterday when I first sent baby to kindergarten but how time flies, she has actually completed 3 solid years of kinder. It was tough in the beginning for her and for me. Being the youngest and has always have her mama all the time to herself and was never exposed to any play school whatsoever the anxiety was double dose. She was not even 3 when she started and took almost 2 months to settle in. I don't have any problem about getting her to school because she really wants to go to school. Every morning she will wake up diligently and look forward to going but only when I have to leave her, she starts to cry and will tell me..."please wait mummy".

Everyday without failed she will bring home her dirty uniform as she will cry in school until she vomits. It was heart wrenching for me when I dropped her off every morning and to hear her cry and screaming "Mummy.......mummy". One day it really took a toll on me (she cried, I cried too) when after dropping the kids in school and I got into the car, I just lost my mind and didnt know where to go. Terngiang-ngiang suara baby panggil mummy dan setelah berastaghfar banyak-banyak...baru cam tersedar balik...eh..eh...kena balik rumah la kan sebab budak-budak semua dah dekat sekolah.

She was the smallest in class then age and size wise. Very timid and shy too but that was then. She has bloomed to be a confident child, very quick, smart and a well balanced kid. Soon no more kinder for you but welcome to the Elementary School. No matter what and how old you have become, forever you will still be my baby and like you always said..I love you too much!! We will remember that on your Graduation Day, you wanted to be an Artist. Mummy will always pray for you and hope that one day you will be equal to VanGogh, Hokusai, Claude Monet, Leonardo DaVinci etc.etc. Those are some big names she mentioned. She have learned them during her Art class. When I was at her age...I never knew those names.

Baby, you have to be grateful to your daddy for it left a big hole on daddy's pocket. It was a privilege for you to be exposed to the international world at a very young age as daddy wants all his children to experience the same. I know some fathers are not willing to do so...might as well hantar to japanese yochien aje. Sanggup daddy tak pergi holiday or spent on luxury things for himself but yet doesnt mind spending when it comes to education and the well being of his kids. He always said that his priority are the children and insyaallah there will be time when he will finally be able to enjoy all the luxury in life. Dulu Princess now Baby pulak.

Baby, Congratulations and Well Done!

Just after the Graduation ceremony...baby looked so happy
Bluebell Graduates with their teachers
Graduates from Bluebell Class cutting their Graduation Cake in their classroom

Baby and the proud parents

My Mom by Sunny Boy

2009-06-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

When I first read this poem, I was so touched and cant thank god enough to be blessed with a wonderful son. Isnt he so sweet... When he wrote this, he said "Mom, I hope I will get into Mind's I this year" and I told him that I was very confident that his writing will be chosen. Mind's I is the annual school magazine where the boys' articles and art work will be published. And for sunny boy including this year, it has been 4 years in a row that he has been featured in the Mind's I. Congratulations and well done my Son. I am so proud of you and mummy loves you very very much and you dont know how much joy you have brought into our lives.

My Mom
By: Ashraf Shaik 4-L

My mom, she is the sun that warms my heart
She is the water I swim in
She is the air I breathe in
She is the one with a warm welcome when I get up
My mom takes care and loves my family
She is always there for me
Good times and bad times
She is very joyful and full of cheer
She enjoys playing with me
She always makes me happy
Wants the very best for me
My mom advices me and the family
I love my mom very much
Mom I am glad that you are my mom!

Saturday, June 6th 2009

2009-06-08T03:05:00.000-07:00

Today, early morning I already cooked for the house. Too many errands to run later might as well I prepare food earlier so tak kelam kabut nanti. First, to send sunny boy for his aikido and this is his last class before the 3 months break. He was all smiley when he collected the Perfect Attendance Award. Ye lah dia senyum...mak bapaknya jugak yang tiap2 minggu kena hantar pergi balik sampai we cant plan anything for saturday due to his aikido.
From there, I was at few places driving my other half for his appointment. Got home at noon, had lunch. Sempat lagi buat coffee loaf masa ni for tea later. We had rice with crab curry, fried french beans and omelette. Sorry no picture as everyone was hungry. After lunch, took Princess to get a present for her friend. She has sayonara party later. Went back home to get my baby and off to send Princess to her friend's place. Usually this time of year, there will be a lot of family leaving and there'll be series of sayonara parties.
Princess at her friend's place
While waiting for Princess to finish, I went to Ratu Kg.'s house in the pretext of finishing up the photo album but by the time I got there...hmmm tak jadilah....suruh mak-mak lain tu buat sendiri je....hehehehehe anyway, had a nice time with Ratu, Budak itu and the Angels. I had fried mee hoon at Ratu's house...can you imagine its already 6pm and its almost my dinner time tapi takpe...kita bedal dulu lagi pun orang dah hidang kan...tak baik tak makan. Anyway Ratu kita ni pun pandai masak...sedap gitu mee dia sampai bertambah2 akak makan. Thanks ye Ratu. lain kali buat lagi tau. From Ratu's place I went to pick up Princess and rushed home as we had dinner invitation at 7.30pm. Macam Ferari driver akak masa ni....keluar la the acquired skill from Malaysia...cilok mencilok ni....hehehehehe

Got home, quickly showered and went off.
Tengok tu penuh semeja lauk yang dihidangkan..and all were delicious!!!

Thanks to the gracious host for inviting us over. The food was superlicious, the place was tranquil, nice music and the company was fabulous...what more can I say. Indeed I had a nice Saturday evening with yummy spread and lots of laughter. We were there at 8.00 pm and gosh cant believe it we were there until wee hours. Got home at 3.00 am. Gosh I was so tired and sleepy.

Friday, June 5th 2009

2009-06-08T02:23:00.000-07:00

Today, I had sunny boy at home coz no more school for him. Good to have him as he comes in handy for my running around. We went to Immigration office Shinagawa in the morning as we got the approval for PA's visa. Have to get her passport stamped and to apply for the multiple re-entry permit. Sunny boy waited in the car...this is what I mean handy to have him around coz I dont have to worry about the car or to receive the Green Man issuing the fine ticket. Here is not like in Malaysia where you can bargain with them if you are at fault..... After spending almost 2 hours there, everything was done.
From there we went to pick up sunny boy's friend at Moto Azabu as later they both are going for a friend's sayonara party. Got home, quickly cook for dinner, did my chapati dough and off I went to send the boys and on the way there, pick up another friend of sunny boy at Kakinokizaka.

While waiting for sunny boy to finish, I went to my regular salon at Futako Tamagawa. This is where I usually go as the price is very much cheaper compared to if I were to do it somewhere near my house. And I have been seeing this hairdresser since 4 years ago after a friend introduced me to Excel and have always been very happy with her. I decided to go for a hair cut as my hair needs to be trimmed badly. I never had fringe for a long time so this time for a change I decided to have it....and sob..sob..sob...it was atrocious. When Hosono san wants to cut my fringe I closed my eyes as I didnt want the hair to get into my eyes but when I opened my eyes.....hua..hua..hua....apa dah jadi...pilu akak but what to do, already cut cant mend it anymore....and you know what will happen after that right....of course me bad mood ma...
To add salt to my injury, when my other half came home...he said "eh what happen to you, you look like antie from the 60's era....and started laughing....lagi la angin akak kan..
Okay let me tell you....the quote I got from my other half (ni buat lagi angin ni)
1. Never wear cheap perfume as you will end up smelling like a prostitute...if u cant afford nice perfume might as well use a simple cologne or just dont wear any.
2. Never go for a cheap hair cut and this is what will happen....aaaargggghhhhhhh

Friday nite and from my meal timetable it will be indian meal.
chapati, dhall with potato and carrot, beef keema and fried okra

Coffee Loaf

2009-06-08T02:07:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon instant coffee (nescafe)
3/4 cup boiling water
2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
150 gram butter
85 gram brown sugar
2 large eggs (lightly beaten)
1/3 cup finely chopped pecan nuts

Method:
1. Mix instant coffee with hot water, set aside and leave to cool.
2. Melt butter and sugar in a pan under low heat and keep stirring until sugar dissolve. Remove from heat.
3. Sieve self raising flour and baking powder and put in a bowl.
4. Add the chopped pecan nuts.
5. Mix the beaten egg into the coffee mixture .
6. Add melted butter mixture and egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir until combine and do not over beat.
7. Line pan loaf with grease paper.
8. Pour the batter into pan and bake in a preheated oven temp 375F for 40 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean.
9. Remove from oven and let the cake cool completely before spreading the topping

Topping:

1 cup icing sugar
15 gram butter
1 teaspoon instant coffee mix with 2 tablespoon hot water.

Method:
Put everything in a pan and using double boil method, heat and stir until icing is smooth and glossy. Spread on the cake.

KGB Year End Carnival & 4L Year End Party

2009-06-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

This will be the last event in the Kindergarten's Calendar. What a relief and the finale will be next week which is The Graduation Day. As for now, my job as a Room Mom is very close to drawing the curtain down....hooray!!! One more week and it will be over. The children were just so adorable and they sure did had a fun time at all the games booth.
the kids lining up for their turn
the volunteer moms

Allright one down, from baby's school I went straight to Costco to print down more pictures for the album. The printing took so long and I was late to arrive at my Sunny boy's class. It's their year end party and the last day of school. Lucky my partner was so cool and she did all the preparation herself. The boys surprised the parents with their short performance which I missed unfortunately and only got to see one boy playing the piano. The boys were presented with Awards of Achievement from their homeroom teacher. It was very thoughtful of the teacher to present the Room Moms with a bouquet of flowers and Certificate of Appreciation from the school. It's a nice gesture. To Sunny Boy, Well Done and Happy Holidays!! Happy that you got to go to the next grade next year.

Came home, rest a little and went to fetch sunny boy who got a playdate at his friend's. After dinner I continue with the photos again. Insyaallah should be done by this weekend. Gambatte ne!!!
Grill Cod, Spagheti Bolognese, Lettuce with Sesame Dressing
Boss had Basil Pesto Pasta, Cod Fish and Lettuce with Sesame Dressing

Wednesday, June 3rd

2009-06-04T03:14:00.000-07:00

When I got the house to myself this morning, I started sorting out the photos which I printed at Costco yesterday. I tell you...rasa cam nak muntah masa susun gambar tu. I am in the midst of making albums for baby's class. It will be given to them as a present on their graduation day. Initially I thought of making a nice scrap book but somehow time doesnt allow me to do so. I bought this cute little album and I hope they all will like it. I think this is the first time ever for the kinder gardeners to get an album and a cap as their parting gift. I believe this is more personal and am sure that everyone will keep them as fond memories of their kindergarten era. I ordered the cap with their name embossed on the front and the class's name at the back. Alhamdulillah all done just in time for my next appointment. (But I still need to print more pictures....looks like another trip to Kawasaki Costco)

At 11.00 my guest starts to arrive and after every one's here we head off to a nearby restaurant for lunch, where else my favorite Kedai Mamak.... Its again another farewell party. Sayonara to Datin Liza, Alida, Kak Normah, Linda and Mala. I dont have much time might as well organise just one lunch and bid farewell to all. This is not killing two birds with one stone...but 5 birds with one stone....hehehehehehe

In the evening, I did some cupcakes for Sunny boy's class party tomorrow but it was a flopped and my garbage bin was so happy to get them all. Agghrrrhhh very frustrating anyway lost my mood to bake already and suddenly I felt my body aching..(disaster effect...hahahaha). Quick solving..bought ready made ones from the supermarket and felt better again.

Dinner for the kids tonite, yakiniku beef with japanese rice and fried broccoli. My other half had beef steak with black pepper sauce, broccoli and mushroom soup. Turned in early in preparation for another long day tomorrow.

Nippon Maru Memorial Park & Maritime Museum, Yokohama

2009-06-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

Early morning, I was already in school. I became Princess chaperon for her field trip to Yokohama. This will be her last field trip before the school end. Weather was fine and it was so hot today, I even feel like fainting while waiting for the lunch break. I really cant stand being under the hot sun partly that was also the reason why my parents werent very supportive for me to do any sports during my younger days...abis asyik pengsan je bila sports day....hahahahahaha. Come to think of it...dont know why but when I was younger I always fainted. Nevertheless, it was a nice trip, enjoyed the Air Show and glad that Princess had a good time and leaving me feeling like a dead dog!!!

NIPPON MARU
A bit about Nippon Maru, it was built in 1930 and previously known as the "Swan on the Pacific". It was used for training ship personnel and preserved in its original form. The captain's cabin and officers' salon are open to visitors. You can experience aspects of seafaring life such as deck washing and sail display onboard the ship and in the attached marine classroom. What else yeah..haiya cant remember already. Please enjoy the photos.
The Captain's Cabin
the broom and the coconut husk used for cleaning the woodenbdeck

where we had our lunch picnic
the girls waiting for the Air Show
Finale of the Air Show

When I got back to school, baby's teacher passed me the Photo CD that I requested earlier. Okay now time is running short, I have to complete this project before next week Wednesday. From school, I went straight to Costco at Kawasaki and only got home at 6.30pm. Have to do it today as my diary is full till next week. Managed to do what I am supposed to do at Costco but didnt manage to get everything I wanted. I have to make another trip to buy stuffs for our next party..dont want to think about the next party yet lah...one thing at a time right!!!

satu trolley tu dah penuh...dah le nanti hujung minggu pergi lagi la ek...

Pity the children, they have to wait for dinner but the good thing is they finished their food quickly without having me to tell them to hurry up. Hahahaha padan muka lapar semua.
roast chicken, salad, couscous and clam chowder soup

Monday, June 1st

2009-06-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

Today, Smoochie had a small housewarming party at her new place. Early morning Nance came to pick me up hmmmm nice, I enjoyed the ride to Musashi Kosogi in her new car, the new Audi SUV. Awesome, she drove like a racer, skillful anyway she used to race before she got her children. Envy her! As usual, we were so loud. I had fun. Again food, food and more food and I keep complaining that I cant lose weight...hahahahaha. Smoochie made Apple Raisin cake and its so yummy, dont worry I already got the recipe. Will paste it soon after I bake it. Sabar ye!

sempat lagi tu sesi buat rambut...kalau dah pompuan tu pompuan jugak lah kan..

I went to pick up the girls today as my PA took sunny boy for a movie. He wasnt happy that he couldnt come with us the other day, since he got a day off from school he insisted that he has to watch Angels and Demons....tak kan maknya nak tengok lagi kan.

Well, I do enjoy being with the girls, its really nice to listen to their stories and what they did in school today. Sunny boy came home happy and brought back pop corns for the sisters...I must say he is really a sweet boy always so thoughtful. Abang, you are to look after your sisters when we are no longer around and I know you will be a wonderful brother to your siblings. Insyaallah.

Dinner for tonite, grill fish with tomato curry toppings with mashed potato, purple cauliflower saute in olive oil and tomato soup

Slept quite late today as I was finishing up some things for the upcoming event.

The Kids Spring Piano Recital - Sunday May 31st

2009-05-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

For the past few months my children have been practising hard for their piano recital. Each of them will have to play 2 songs during the show. The event was held at Cremonia Studio, Ogikubo somewhere further up from Shinjuku which is about 13kms from where we are. This would be their 2nd Piano Recital as last year they did take part in the Summer Piano Recital. Out of the 3, Princess was the most confident one as she played without her scores and did very well. As for baby, she has always been very shy but she's equally good. Haiyoyoyoyo my sunny boy, he is the most nervous one, his hands were so cold and were all sweating while performing. Nevertheless, well done children and mummy & daddy are so proud of you guys. Its not cheap for you all to be in there but I do hope it will boost up your confidence level in facing the world later.

We got home at 6.00 pm and poor kids they were all so hungry. We had early lunch as we have to be at the studio by 1.00 pm. Quick fix...pizza delivery man came to the house. Phew...alhamdulillah selamat mak dia but I just dont feel like having pizza and furthermore my other half feels like having some noodles, siap boleh cakap lagi tu macam yang kita makan kat kedai somewhere kat Kajang gitu.....aduh mak....hmmmm.

We had mee bandung tonite and thanks to Alida for giving me the mee bandung paste. Tak payah pergi Muar..kat Tokyo pun dapat makan mee bandung Muar tau....hehehehe thanks da. Lain kali belikan lagi eh.

lapar giler tau masa ni coz lunch tadi i tak sempat makan.....
my other half actually finish up the whole bowl....tapi jangan tertipu dalam gambar bowl tu nampak besar tapi kecik je....hehehehehehe memang portion untuk satu orang pun.

Perwakilan Luncheon cum Datin Liza's Farewell

2009-05-31T03:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, Perwakilan Tokyo organised a luncheon at Manhattan Lounge, ANA Intercontinental Hotel for the ladies. The luncheon was in appreciation for the member's dedication and support given to all Perwakilan activities. Since Datin is leaving soon it was also a surprise Farewell for her. We had a nice time. I helped arranged with the venue and food and was happy to note that all the ladies enjoyed the food served. Alhamdulillah and to Pam thanks for assisting me. Definitely I will have more parties at your place.

My other half came to pick me up from the hotel and we took sunny boy for his hair cut at Factory Cut in Ebisu. This salon offers a quick cut for Yen1000. Later went to see mak buncit to pick up my cake mix at Azabu Juban. Beb...tuhan je balas budi kau tu for bringing back my flour. Amin.

We had tosei for dinner...3 types of tosei... plain tosei for princess and baby, egg tosei for sunny boy and masala tosei for my other half. I was exhausted somehow, ye la dari pagi kan..dengan aikido pagi tadi, malam tadi tido lewat, pastu berpeleseran pulak dengan the ladies ateh canne.. and didnt bother to make any dhall or chutney so everyone had tosei with fish head curry and fried cabbage.

Later we went to watch Angels and Demons, tak kan nak bilang aku dah tak larat kan...pergi jugak la....skang dating ngan abang pulak.

queueing up to buy popcorn and coke
muka pun dah naik basi dah...hahahahaha ateh udah tengah malam

Aikido Parents Watching Day, Saturday May 30th

2009-05-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba. Aikido is an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.

Aikido is performed by blending with the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force of the attack rather than opposing it head-on. This requires very little physical energy and the techniques are completed with various throws or joint locks.

Finally, its the Parents Watching Day and that marks the end of the term. Yahoo.....the sign of holiday is slowly showing....hoorayyyyyyy. Class will resume again in Autumn as sunny boy doesnt take lesson during Summer. Aduh lega boleh lepak-lepak no on a Saturday morning.

Well done sunny boy. Congratulations!!

Sayonara Dato' and Datin

2009-05-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

Friday May 29th.

It was still raining when we left home (it didnt stop since yesterday). I kept on asking sunny boy he's sure there'll be soccer eventhough its pouring, he said 100% yes as they will be playing at the gym if it rains. But my instinct is always right and true enough as the girls were having breakfast in the car, he rang asking me to pick him up from his school. Teacher no show.... wonder what happened?? Luckily both their school are very close by, so went to get him and we had a nice time enjoying the rain in the car. Pity the rest of the boys that were stucked in school.

From school, dropped by at a friend's place, she lend me her Kitchen Aid....hehehehe tq Tanggachi. Then, I went to the Embassy to get things that needed to be used for later's event. Traffic was horrendous...it took me 1 hour 10 minutes for a mere 5 km, usually its just 15-20 minutes drive. Obvious my timing went topsy-turvy...and got home almost noon. I thought I'm going to die standing coz time is running late...some kuih-kuih will have to come out from my kitchen for tonite's party. Alhamdulillah, with the help from my PA, we managed to do it.

Ta..da..left home at 5.15 pm with my goodies for Imperial Hotel. Told my other half that I will meet him at the hotel as he will join me from office. On the dot 6.30 pm, they announced the arrival of H E accompanied by his wife where's my partner...how come he's not here yet?? Anyway, he arrived 15 minutes later..ha tau malu pun sampai lambat.....

Back to H E, after 2 years and 9 months here, it is time to say goodbye. In total they have been in Japan for more than 7 years as this is their 2nd stint in Tokyo. A true diplomat for Malaysia, charming, sharp, warm and genuine both of them did an excellent job. Distinguish yet simple couple. I personally have learn a lot of things from Datin, a very simple and humble lady and doesnt mind parting with her knowledge and experiences. I'm sure to miss them. All the best to Dato and Datin in their next chapter of life.

We got home at 11.00 and feeling hungry. It was a buffet dinner yet there were not enough food. This is not the first time I'm experiencing food shortage in Imperial Hotel's buffet line. There were 2 other occassions too leaving me with hunger. I'm just wondering how does the hotel ration their food. Can you imagine you actually paid for your dinner and yet you dont have enough food to eat and I have to add this, service was poor too. The moment I realise that there's no more food coming out, I called my PA asking her to make some fried rice for us. Pity my other half only to eat so late and I just couldnt be bothered anymore.....lucky I had heavy lunch today. Dalam pada kelam kabut tu...boleh lagi lunch ngan kawan-kawan. N and S came and thanks for your tomyam and ikan goreng my fren. We had sambal udang, telur goreng kicap and sliced cucumber. Campur lauk kawan terus penuh meja akak...

Sekian, terimakasih.

Rainy Season is Back

2009-05-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of summer usually most parts of Japan will encounter rainy days. Its Tsuyu in Japanese for rainy season. Basically it rains and rains and rains. Today in Kanto area it was forecasted only 20C high. Well, Tokyo register their rainy season in June but before May ends...it started already. It has been raining since last nite and havent stop since. But that doesnt refrain me to be home all day.

After breakfast (hari ni makan mee goreng okay) at 10.00 am accompanied by my beloved umbrella and a friend (I bought this umbrella 12 years ago at Jusco, Taman Maluri ada sentimental value gitu), I went to DonqueiJote (I hope I got the spelling correct), a store near Roponggi. This 6 storey shop opens 24 hours and offers everything you need from household, toiletries, electrical items, supermarket, name brands, souvenirs and practically everything. My nephews wants a skateboard so went there to check it out. Allright found it but need to get more details of exactly what they wanted. It's a bit chilly today and lucky I've got my jacket on. Happy...hehehehehe got something for myself too. Once in a while nice to give myself a treat....hahahaha am I trying to justify??? Well..I deserved it....habis duit buat karipap.

From Donquei, I walked in to the 100 yen store nearby and managed to pick up few more things and my last stop was the drug store to get my other half's hair tonic but sorry they ran out of stock.

Got home at 1.00 pm...can you imagine how long we ronda-ronda....hmmm but its definite fun okay...browsing thru shelves freely without hubby and kids oh..its heaven..hehehehehehe. Managed to get few more things to bring back to KL for my beloved people there. Azlinza...tapi tak jumpa lagi la beg ponjot kau...nanti aku cari kat lain pulak.

After lunch and nothing better to do we decided to rearrange the furniture at the living room (need to burn some calories ma..) but forgot to snap a picture before, only after we finish arranging we took a picture after. With limited space that I have, no complaints I'm happy, its cozy to my innocent eyes. Thanks Che Wa.

Today, baby brought 2 of her friends home. Its her turn for a playdate and I only prepare fried rice, chips and chicken nuggets for them. What else...its easy and usually the kids will make no fuss to eat them. For 3 hours the house was filled with their laughter and their running inside out, I like.. the girls were so happy playing together. Had a nice time with their mummies too when they came to pick up their girls. Thanks M K and M U for the goodies you all brought.

Tonite's dinner, bake chumicurry fish with mashed avocado, grill white asparagus and leftover yesterday's corn soup.

Despite weather sulks, it had been a nice day with a lot of good news coming around from every corner. Well I'm happy for everyone. My other half came home so cheerful with good news too...it must have been the positive vibes going around. To my other half, WELL DONE and I'm so proud of you.

I'm turning in early as my day will start very early tomorrow. Sweet dreams and nite nite all.

Nyonya Bingka Ubi

2009-05-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

3 cups grated tapioca
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
a pinch of salt
2 cup coconut milk
2 eggs (beaten)
2 tablespoon condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
a bit of yellow colouring

Method:-

1. Put everything in a bowl and mix well. Add yellow colouring.
2. Grease mould with oil and bake in a preheated oven 380F for 1 hour 15 minutes.
3. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting.

Fried Chicken Ala Maryland

2009-05-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:-

3 chicken thigh (de boned and skinned off)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
salt and white pepper to taste

For coating

1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper
oil for frying

Method:-

1. Clean and de boned chicken, remove all fat. Pat dry. Marinate chicken with lemon juice, honey, salt and white pepper for at least 1 hour or longer. Overnight marinating would give a better taste.
2. Mix the bread crumbs, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Put on a plate.
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg and mix with milk. Add salt and pepper. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture and coat with the bread crumb mixture.
4. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chicken.
5. Serve with chili sauce or tomato sauce or you can dribble lemon sauce on the chicken.

Wednesday, May 27th

2009-05-27T05:06:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was so happy for my sunny boy. When he asked permission from the father to go over to his friend's place, it was a flat no from daddy and when he cried, I cant help but to cry too. He is my son right and definitely I know how he is feeling inside....kesian anak mummy. He knows the father's ruling but it really mean something to him. Managed to get my other half to let him go for a sleep over at his friend's house next week. I know the ruling in this house..there's no such thing as sleep over but I guess that's why the word exception came. Perhaps if we are back home, it would be easier to observe the rule. His good friend and their family is leaving for Singapore next week and that boy's mother is organising a farewell sleep over at their house...kira last kopek la dapat jumpa and nak main-main, budak ni pun kaki bola macam abang jugak. I know how he feels and I'm sure he would want to spend some last moment with his buddy. He already lost 3 good buddies ever since we got here and my sunny boy is quite a sentimental boy...cam sape tu...hehehehehe but of course, daddy's word - this is the last time for sunny boy and he is not allowed to ever ask again. Period!!!

I was all smiley when I sent them off to the bus stop this morning and sunny boy was thanking me profusely that he get to go next week. Poor boy.

It was a beautiful day and decided to enjoy the warm morning and went for a short walk and after that came home and I bake Nyonya Bingka Ubi...still in the mood to make sweet kuih.

Furthermore, some ladies are coming over for lunch later....unplanned it was spur of the moment.

Thanks to M, P and S for coming..sad that Ms L couldnt join us....but anyhow loads of laughter for the afternoon. Thanks again to M for the cookies and snacks, S for bringing the Cumi-cumi squid, P for bringing the cheesecake. I really had a good time.

Too much laughter and probably ate too much for lunch I guess that makes me lost my memory today somehow ...is it a sign of Alzheimer??? but men, I'm only 25 ..hahahaha in the evening I went to a nearby supermarket to buy something. I wanted to get White Pepper and Bread Crumb but somehow when I get to the store...I only remembered White Pepper, got it and went home. Just before I entered the house I remembered that I actually need to get the Bread Crumb apalagi 180 degrees u-turn beb... Went to the shop again and got the bread crumb....hah lega, ni nak buat masak malam ni kang.

Dinner for tonite, Corn Soup, French Beans Saute in Olive Oil and how shall I named it...Fried Chicken Ala Arashiela Main Bedal...anyway comment from my PA, she said it taste good and similar to the one she had at TGIF....aduh kembang akak....okay will paste the recipe soon.

Well tonite, I'm going to finish off the book I'm reading..The Dreams of My Father by Obama....I find the book very interesting and perhaps next time I will write my own journey too...but who's gonna buy yeah??? hehehehehehe berangan tak habis aku ni...macam-macam nak buat. Okay people...till the next entry...nite...nite

Tuesday, May 26th

2009-05-27T02:25:00.000-07:00

Today, I had my baby home, she got a day off as it was the High School Graduation for SIS. There's less than 2 weeks before school ends but still she got a day off. Makes me wonder at times??? Bayar sekolah mahal-mahal pastu cuti memanjang je... But of course, I always enjoy having her around... brightens up my day. As the school year is coming to an end very soon, my diary seems to be occupied everyday. Well...this is the busiest time for me....and today I organised the Mom's from Sunny boy's class to have a get together before the Summer Vacation.

From the lunch place we adjourned back to my house for tea as we still have some things to discuss about the year end party for sunny boy's class. Hmm we still got some money to spend for the boys....now got to crack my head to think of what to get for the boys...the budget is about 750 yen per person.

After the kids routine and quick dinner, I have to drive Princess to school as she got an invitation to attend the Graduation Party from 7.00pm - 9.30 pm...tak cukup mak berparty...anak pun kena party jugak....

I have to wait until she finishes so while she partied, baby and I went to Futako Tamagawa, there's Takashimaya there. Managed to buy a small gift for a friend's baby and of course sakit lagi mata ni....but we had a nice time going in and out of the name brand boutiques. From Chanel to Chaumet to Dior to Loewe to LV to Bvlgari to Fendi to Ferragamo to Celine to Georg Jensen to Gucci to Pucci mak atok nice feast for my eyes and didnt have enough time to go to the rest.

On the way to the car park, I saw this bicycle rank and have to take a picture. Everything has to be in order here and isnt that neat....

Got home in time as my other half was about to have dinner, chat a little and went to finish up my things for the school. Later we both had a nice time watching video clips on Youtube, one after another...it was really funny.

Dinner for the nite, Yakiniku bowl for the kids and beef steak, mushroom soup and steam brocolli for us.

Monday, May 25th

2009-05-25T00:11:00.000-07:00

Felt so relief today as I managed to settle my PA's application for her visa extension. Phew...10.30 am I was already done at the Immigration Office.

On the way to the Immigration Office this morning I just cant resist to take a shot of this guy sweeping the road. Another dedication of the Japanese people. I'm sure he is one of the staff for a shop nearby, but you see, they not only clean up in front of their premise but the public area too. Wonder when will the Malaysians be like them.

From there I went to the Embassy to pass my adinda her kuih bingka (dah simpan dalam fridge her portion), since it is so close to Shibuya, I decided to go marketing gi beli ikan la (azlinza...aku gi pasar saman tu lah). Dapat ikan pari lagi hari ni...boleh masak asam pedas kebetulan daun kesum pun gemuk-gemuk kat dalam pot kat balkoni tu. Today my freezer is back to becoming aquarium again and I dont have to worry for the next one week.

Space is scarce in Tokyo so for this building amazing their parking is at the Roof Top. I felt claustrophobic initially but now kinda used to it.

The lift I have to take to the Roof Top.
Inside the lift

Got home almost noon and with no breakfast to go for the day, my stomach was crying for food.

My lunch for today, spicy fried bitter gourd with tofu and ikan masak taucu...hmmm kan ke senang kalu satu rumah ni makan macam mak dia....I guess they dont know what they are missing...ke tekak aku yang macam kampung...hahahahahahaha but I'm the only one in this house that eats super duper spicy...the rest are all gone case.

While waiting for the kids to come home, I managed to finish up half of the group photos for baby's class. That will be their year end gift before school ends, well this is part of Room Mom's responsibility if you become one. Taubat dah lepas ni akak retire. I'm still waiting for a package that havent arrive. It's the gift for the Pre-first Grader who will be graduating soon including my baby.

Dinner for tonite. Grilled salmon with thyme, spagheti carbonara (resipi anty ana) and celery soup. Alhamdulillah, no left over.

Sunday, May 24th

2009-05-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

Today, everyone woke up early accept Boss. Budak-budak ni pun satu...tak tau ke hari ni hari Ahad...eh tetap jugak bangun pukul 6. I guess they are used to getting up early.

Ni dia muka-muka yang pepagi haban dah bangun tu. Hari ni breakfast nasi goreng dengan jemput-jemput sayur. Banyak pulak baby makan hari ni, selalunya dia lah yang paling sakit nak makan.

I thought of going to Bic Camera at Hibiya as I need to go and look for a camera, for siapa lagi kalau tak si patma tu....kang kalu tak cari tak boleh landing pulak kapalterbang tu kat KLIA. But too bad, weather sulks...hujan beb so I cancelled my plan. But somehow, I dont know what happened to me, I guess my body is telling me to let her rest, masuk dreamworld from noon sampai ke petang. It has been a long time since I last did this. Pity my other half, he didnt eat lunch today. Woke up in the evening and princess was bugging me for Mountain Pasta....macam-macam kan depa ni....dah nak mountain pasta pulak...mak makan style kampung, bapak makan style india...anak-anak gamaknya atok nenek dorang ongputih kot.....hahahahahahaha. Anyway, I have been sleeping all day and I need to go for a walk. Took the girls out and stopped by at Meidiya to get Swiss Cheese for her pasta.

One thing here....name it you get it. Array of cheese (ni baru satu section je tau)

Finally for dinner, the kids got their mountain pasta and daddy ate what's cooked for lunch, rice with fish curry, sambal telur and terung goreng berlada.

Bingka Ubi

2009-05-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

Bahan-bahan

3 cawan ubi parut (dari 1 kilo ubi)
1 cawan gula merah
1 1/2 cawan gula pasir
1/2 sudu teh garam
1 cawan air
2 cawan santan pekat (400 ml)
2 biji telur
1 sudu teh esen vanila

Cara-cara

1. Masak gula merah + gula putih bersama 1 cawan air. Bila gula hancur, tutup api dan biar sejuk.
2. Parut ubi. Masukkan 1 mangkuk air kedalam ubi parut dan biar seketika. Masukkan dalam muslin cloth dan perah air nya keluar dan simpan air ubi tadi.
3. Masukkan ubi parut kedalam mangkuk dan campurkan air gula, garam dan kacau rata.
4. Masukkan telur yang telah dipukul, santan pekat dan esen vanila. Kacau rata.
5. Buangkan air ubi tadi tapi ambil sagunya. Masukkan sagu ke dalam adunan dan kacau rata.
6. Lenserkan minyak dalam loyang dan tuang adunan kedalamnya. Bakar dalam oven selama 1 jam atau sampai masak pada api 380F.

Saturday May 23rd

2009-05-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Today the morning bit was rather chaotic because sunny boy has aikido at Shibuya, then he has a playdate at Azabu Juban and from there I have to sent my other half for his appointment at Yotsuya and the timing is lalalalalalalala....
I thought Parents watching day for sunny boy's aikido is next week but he insisted that it was yesterday and everyone has to leave at the same time due to the timing. His aikido 9.00-10.00, 10.30 playdate, 11.00 boss's appointment. True enough when we got to BST, no watching day ...went home and later my other half went to pick him up. After his aikido we send him to his friend's place by then it was already 10.27 and should be able to make it for the 11.00 appointment. Seriously, I dont know the exact location of my other half's appointment and I wanted to ask my friend's help so that the address could be keyed in to the Navigation System (sorry the system are all in japanese that left me handicapped to deal with the GPS) but my other half said no need, we can just try using the telephone no.....deng..deng..deng...it just doesnt work, not all phone no. works for the GPS, best way to get to a place is by keying in the actual address. Apa lagi dok circling and circling tak jumpa-jumpa jugak tempat nya and of course dalam kereta tu dok pot pet pot pet la....hi geram......am I to be blame for him not being able to make it for his appointment or he is to be blamed for not wanting to listen. I kept on asking him to stop along the way so that someone could help us key in the address...tak nak jugak tu and kept on saying that GPS doesnt work in that area..... and eventually it was way pass his appointment time, he made a call to reschedule it to a later time. Okay got new time at 4.30 pm.

Got home at 12.00 and still feeling geram, I went straight to the kitchen to prepare lunch and my other half went to sleep. Oh..oh....I still have my ubi kayu (tapioca) that I bought last Sunday and I better do my bingka today. Mak datuk resipi takde so kita bedal je la ye, main ingat-ingat je camne makteh yati ajar dulu. Glad that it turn out well.

baby tolong parut ubi

Woke my other half, he had lunch and took him for his appointment. You see...when you key in the address...so easy in 15 minutes we were already there. Boss done at 5.30 and we had to rush home as I need to change, collect the gift voucher for the teachers and I had to meet the Moms at Ebisu Station at 6.00 pm. My other half dropped me off and I was 3 minutes late ah lega coz there were few others that were later than me.

This dinner is a tradition for Bluebell Class, before the school year end, the Room Mom will organise a get together with other Moms and will buy dinner for the teacher and will present her with a Gift Voucher. My only regret last nite was the restaurant, they did not provide enough for the vegetarian MOMs. Kesian diorang..they didnt have much to eat. The restaurant is called Momotaro ,its a yakitori place, located very near Ebisu Station. If you want to drink and doesnt mind the food, than I recommend this place coz its value for money. On top of your meal and pay Y2,500 extra, you can drink all you want pastu mabuk la korang semua tapi makanan nya kureng....Azlinza.....sedap lagi the yakitori yang laki aku bawak kau dulu kat bawah train track tu...

Lepas dinner tu sambung pulak mengopi kat Starbucks and some of them tu sambung pulak pergi Roponggi tapi I balik rumah terus sebab dah mengantuk sangat.

Friday, May 22nd

2009-05-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

When there's a need to get up early somehow I overslept and sunny boy came and woke me up just before 6 and boy didnt I jump from the bed. Gosh...I was running late and somehow felt sleepy still. Sorry no time to shower and left home at 6.20am. Dropped sunny boy off and went straight to the girls school. We were already in school even before the school guards....hahahahaha. The girls had their breakfast in the car and I told the girls that mummy really need to catch a cat nap but somehow couldnt .... how to when the girls continuously fighting, laughing, talking and giggling. I felt terrible that morning, so tired. Princess had Sports Day starting 9.00 am, Sunny Boy had Spring Sing at 1.45 pm and meanwhile what do I do....wait as usual and read to kill my time??? Lucky thing Princess hit the write word....hehehehehehe "its okay mummy you dont have to be there".....pucuk di cita ulam mendatang la kaedah nya....wallalalalalala thank you darling....apa lagi terus balik rumah. But I believe, I have done my fair share when it comes to their school activities. Mind you 3 kids, 3 classrooms and 2 schools....and for the past 4 years I have been doing this Room Parent for both schools and I think its time to call it quit. So children, dont you all dare bug me anymore to become your Room Mom again for next year. I want to enjoy my last bit here doing things that I like and finish off all my on hold classes.

Got home, tried to sleep but to no avail so just lepak a bit and went for lunch with my neighbour. Quick fix for me where else Priya Restaurant, my favorite joint. For those of you interested:- Priya The Indian Restaurant, 3F Hongoku Building, 5-2-25 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku Tokyo 150-0012
Tel No. 03-5941-6996
http://priyajapan.tripod.com

Look at the Naan....its humongous cant finish one myself, so full and no dinner for me. I pack some food for dinner since I wasnt in the mood to cook so that later just heat it up. I fried some cauliflower for vege and did some fried chicken to add to the naan and lamb curry that I have bought earlier.

In the evening, the kids had mengaji and while waiting for them, I had a nice stroll at Aoyama and found these little-little nice shops at the back alley.....hmmmmm sakit mata nampak macam-macam......

I guess everyone's tired today even baby felt asleep during mengaji so we all turn in quite early for the nite.

Green Tea Roll Cake

2009-05-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:-

For Sponge Cake
3 eggs
70 gm sugar
30 gm flour
10 gm green tea powder
25 gm butter (melted)

For cream
200 ml heavy cream
20 gm sugar
40 gm sweet bean (i use from the can)

For syrup
50 ml water
25 gm sugar
few drops of orange essence

Method:-

For Syrup
1. Mix water and sugar and bring to boil. Add the orange essence and leave to cool.

For Cake
1. Sieve flour and green tea together, sieve twice.
2. Beat egg whites until soft peak forms and add sugar a little at a time and continue to beat until stiff.
3. Add egg yolk in the egg white mixture and mix.
4. Fold in the flour and add in the melted butter and mix well.
5. Line pan with greaseproof paper and bake in a preheated oven 375F for 8-10 minutes.
6. Remove cake from oven and let it cool.

For Cream
1. Add sugar in the heavy cream and beat to make whipping cream.

Making the roll cake
1. Brush the syrup on the sponge cake.
2. Spread cream and sprinkle sweet bean.
3. Roll them and keep in a refrigerator for a while.
4. Cut and serve.

An Afternoon with the Tuns

2009-05-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning... and as usual these eyes of mine has been waking up early gosh i need to sleep more but just cant. Once everybody left for the day, a war at my kitchen started and by 11.30 alhamdullillah everything settled. Of course with the help of my PA, who makes it easier for me. Thank you so much PA. Got myself ready and by 12.30 pm I was already at the Embassy Residence.

I had a very nice afternoon with the Tuns and the ladies. A brief moment with Tun Mahathir and had the whole afternoon with Tun Hasmah only to be mesmerised by her words and piano recital. Indeed, it was a privilege for me to be there and to hear her sharing her experiences. Something that I learn from Tun Siti Hasmah today is S.I.S.S. Sedar, Insaf, Syukur dan Sabar. Those were her words to have a very meaningful life. In order to being healthy is to eat well, exercise, good rest and get your brains working all the time. Well, I have always looked up to our beloved ex Prime Minister and the wife. For me I believe that he was the best PM Malaysia have ever had. Of course no one is perfect, he definitely had some flaws during his tenure of service and could have done better but no one could ever deny the things he did to bring Malaysia 's name in the limelight on the world's map and I was proud to be called Malaysian under his leadership. I am proud to be a Malaysian and love my country. My hope is that one day Malaysia will have another competent leader to head the country and bring Malaysia to a greater height. Insyaallah Amin.

I got home at 6.15pm, changed and have to leave for another dinner appointment. One of our ex-colleague from Malaysia is in town visiting. The last time I saw him was before I left KL to come here. We had dinner at a Malaysian Restaurant in Ginza tapi indah khabar dari rupa ye.....sedih gitu tengok restoran orang sendiri....macamana la nak bertahan lama...ni la dia kalu orang melayu buat business and with the help of government's money....I'm sorry but I have to say its a matter of time before they close down unless they get their butt down to change. Food was lousy, very poor service and its definite I will not be going there again. Bukan tak nak tolong orang melayu but I would rather take my guests to the other Malaysian restaurant headed by a chinese man. By the time we bid the nite off and got home it was almost midnite.

The kids were all sleeping and when I checked on them just cant help the feeling of missing all my babies.....sorry kids, mummy were with you all for short time today.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

2009-05-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:-

Cake
200 gm cooking chocolate (melted)
225 gm butter
150 gm caster sugar
3 large eggs (beaten)
175 gm self raising flour
50 gm rice flour
2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Topping
200 gm cooking chocolate
50 gm icing sugar
50 gm butter

Method:-

1. Grease and line 9 inch round cake tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Melt the cooking chocolate (use double boil method). Once melt, let cool.
3. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg a little at a time and continue to beat.
4. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.
5. Fold in the sifted flour (self raising flour + rice flour).
6. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix well.
7. Pour into the mould and bake for 60 minutes in a preheated oven temp. 350F.
8. Remove from oven and let it cool.

For topping:-

Put everything in a pot and use double boil method. Stir well until everything combines. Spread the chocolate mixture on cake.

p/s Sha...kalu anak sedara kau boleh buat tak kan anty nya fail pulak kan....harus kau try.

Tuesday, May 19th

2009-05-19T00:45:00.000-07:00

Hari ni pagi-pagi lagi dah keluar dengan PA kita, bawak dia pergi Ward Office (ni kira cam Majlis Daerah or Majlis Perbandaran la) to settle her tax papers. Jangan main-main kat sini Domestic Helper pun kena bayar tax tau. Selesai kat situ terus anta PA balik rumah dan kita pun terus ke sekolah. Hari ni ada Spring Luncheon (annual affair for the school) and princess performing too. This year the theme was Mexico....aduhduhduh....Swine Flu gitu kan....hahahahahaha so we had Mexican Food. Food was catered by Fuji Mamas Restaurant at Omotesando, another of my favorite place to go eat with family and friends but at the same time, I heard they are going to close down their premise there but would still keep their catering business. Ada 2 chef melayu kat situ, satu tu bujang lagi and satu lagi dah kawin ngan pompuan jepun. Kalu i pergi makan kat situ sure I gi cari either one of them and usually they will prepare something special for me.

Masa lunch tu tiba-tiba ada phone call from Madam, aduh emergency lagi...apa?? untuk 70 orang.....ada perjumpaan Perwakilan besok tengahari and they need some food. Sebab dah dapat berita tu terus dari sekolah pergi kedai beli barang-barang yang perlu untuk esok dan singgah Kedutaan untuk ambil perkakas2 yang kena guna. Kuang..kuang..kuang... keje melompat-lompat je lah 2-3 hari ni. Nasib baik lah ada PA yang cergas so taklah kelam kabut sangat. Menu untuk besok karipap, kuih sri muka, mee hoon goreng, kopi dan teh tarik. Kuih-kuih lain the other ladies will bring pot luck.

Oleh kerana, madam akan bersilat di dapur untuk persediaan esok, dinner malam ni sempoi je...roast beef, spageti bolognese and bean salad with feta cheese untuk budak-budak. Bapak budak mak nya kasi beef steak with french beans and vegetable soup.

Monday, May 18th

2009-05-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

It was nice to have the house back to myself after the weekend. Still in the mood of cleaning up and after everyone left, I started cleaning up the store room.

some of the garbage waiting to be collected by the janitor.
the bag I got when I bought the durian.....patma I will collect as many okay and send it to your orchard, to make it easier for you to send your durians to all your gediks kakak.

Now, the store room looks neater. Next project, will be the storage room downstairs.

In the midst of cleaning, the phone rang and guess who it was....my adinda, report duty kak kakak dia coz dah sampai so apa lagi cepat je buat date untuk berpeleseran. Shortly after, she's right on my door step. Ceria mia when I heard my dinda's voice.

Lunch tergempar for adinda, nasi goreng cina, ikan bilis goreng, tahu goreng, keropok goreng....semuanya goreng macam adinda ku yang kaki goreng tu...hehehehehe jangan marah no dinda... Macam mana ribut masa dia datang, macam kilat pulak la we all makan pastu macam halilintar pulak la nak kena hantar dia balik opis. Nasib baik opis dinda ni cuma 10 minutes drive je from my house so its okay for me to send her off.

Weather was really nice and when I got home, I decided to ronda-ronda a bit. Walk into Sisley coz my other half mentioned that they are having Sale. Tried this and that but couldnt find anything I like. Walk around a bit to enjoy the sunny day and came home with a bunch of peonies (seasonal bunga ni and I like the smell and of course I love to have some fresh flowers around the house).

While I was chatting online with friends, sunny boy called asking whether he could have a friend over and of course I said yes coz he will have company to play soccer, kalu idak kang menyalak seme orang suruh turun main ngan dia. That's when I decided to make a cake for their snack later.

Green Tea Roll Cake with Red Bean

Took the girls for a walk since sunny boy has a playmate at home. Nice to walk and yack with my girls.

The kids dinner for the nite, chinese fried rice, scrambled eggs, bake fish and grill tiger prawn

Didnt get to take picture of my other half's dinner as he was already waiting at the table for his food...nanti takde pasal cari pasal pulak....hahahahha. I made seafood combo for him. Grill tiger prawn, bake fish with tomato curry sauce and stir fry french beans. Tapi rasa cam regret gitu coz tak dapat ambik gambar...coz cam cun la pulak akak nya presentation tu...hmmmm

My Weekend

2009-05-18T03:14:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY

Morning as usual,routine to send sunny boy for his aikido and with his hand wrapped up (thank god, he doesnt need the sling anymore) he went for his 5th kyu test. Usually I will just dropped him off but this time, I went in to see the instructor to explain about his hand and phewwwwwwww....they said its alrite, he can still do the test and yezzaaaaaaaaa our friend made it. He was so happy to tell me that he passed his test. Tak sia-sia mummy hantar every week. It has been 5 years since sunny boy started taking proper aikido lesson.

Later took my other half for his appointment around the corner and got home by noon. He wanted to check out a flea market but since he didnt know exactly where, too bad I just drove home.

I cooked tomato rice for lunch today, a treat for my boy who passed his aikido test. He likes it with fried chicken and lamb curry. Believe it...he had that for lunch, dinner and breakfast the next day. Sape-sape yang nak masuk meminang si bujang tu...make sure pandai masak nasi tomato ye...lol!!

Bubur chacha for baby's afternoon tea.

Since weather was a bit gloomy, wasnt in the mood to go anywhere and stayed home the whole evening.

Dinner for the nite. Pasta for the kids, and grill fish, stir fry asparagus and vegetable soup for my other half. Sorry no picture coz my camera ran out of battery.
Turn in quite early, immediately after AI finished showing.

*******************************************************************************

SUNDAY

I thought of sleeping in coz its a Sunday but I guess....(alamak dah meningkat tua gamaknya aku ni- tiba-tiba teringat the old folks saying that as you grow older usually you cant sleep for long....hua..hua..hua..)...automatic just before 5.00 am without alarm my eyes were wide open. Since I cant go back to sleep, I decided to start cleaning up my pantry (it has been a long overdue assignment), princess got up at 6 and she helped me clean up too. Well....anyone wants to do inspection...please feel free to drop by......hmmm so happy one job done. To my adinda here...my supermarket is now open...hahahaha. Of course after cleaning you will discover this and that and yes...found some paste to make mee rebus. Jangan main-main in Nippon Land we had mee rebus for breakfast.

We had late lunch at 4.30 only (panggil apa tu..lunchtea ke sebab kalu breakfast lambat panggil brunch kan) kita makan nasi berlaukkan sambal udang/sotong, ikan goreng dengan sup sayur kobis cina campur lobak merah letak suun.

Then, we went to Shin-Okubo as I need to get my supplies of rice and halal meat. Not that I cant get it around my house but if I take the trouble of travelling to this place which is not far actually, its about 6.6 km from where I live and it takes about 30-40 minutes ride (depending on traffic, honestly taking train is faster than driving but I need to buy a lot so must take car) the price does make a difference. For eg. a bag of 5kg basmati rice will cost Y4500 and the same bag of rice will only cost Y3500 at kedai Pak Haji Yusof, whereas 3 whole chicken will cost Y1100 at Pak Haji's shop and it will cost between Y600-700 one chicken at my place.

You see, one durian only cost Y2250 here and it cost Y4000 at my house.

This little town is also known as Korean Town and its less than a km north from the bustling Shinjuku Station. Shin-Okubo is always lively be it weekdays or weekend. A lot of foreign faces you'll see here and there are a number of halal store in this place. Name what you want...or from whatever country....almost certain you will be able to get it here. Not forgetting a number of language school available and this is where I took my first Japanese lesson. The Indonesian shop sells tempe and bakso too.

Suka Pak Haji tu agaknya sebab kita banyak beli barang hari ni sampai dia bagi baby free satu botol mango juice (yang from mekah tu tau) hmm sedap. Yelah dah sekali ke situ..beli la segala beras, ayam, daging, kambing, sosej, kicap, oyster sauce, cili padi, maggi indon for my PA, phone card....and beranika lain lagi lah. And deng..deng.... hari ni akak beli ubi kayu....bukan frozen punya tau....fresh lagi...tunggu ye...esok lusa membingkang ubi la saya...hehehehehe dah lama tak makan bingka ubi.

The nite before, Princess said she wants to bake on Sunday and she wanted to make a cake. Of course must give her encouragement and of course the baby will menyibuk too. She picked up Chocholate Fudge Cake from my recipe book.

Tengok baby tengah ayak tepung tu.....princess tengah grease the mould

Cake prepared by the girls

And for dinner, the kids had the leftover mee rebus from breakfast and my other half opted not to have any. Member diet..no lah...he was still full from the late lunch and he had been snacking too. Abih kena makan la kan kek yang puteri2 tu buat. To Toksu and Anty Makngah, Princess kata bila dia balik nanti dia buatkan untuk you all pulak okay.

Friday, May 15th

2009-05-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

It was a sunny day but a bit windy and chilly. Yesterday took me to Tokyo Midtown the early morning part. I have an appointment to meet some friends at Roponggi Station around 10.45am. Left home at 10.30 with another friend to meet them. Since everyone's okay for lunch, we head home to have something local. Thank you PA for preparing superb lunch within short notice. We had asam pedas salmon n terung (to my fren who is now allergic to brinjal...i hope you r feeling better today), lauk favorite gue...tahu goreng kicap berlada, mix vege and ikan goreng. Seronok makan ramai-ramai.

Later in the afternoon, I went to a nearby supermarket and guess what...saw durian there...hehehehehehe

Anyway for dinner we had idli, lamb dry curry, dhall and mint chutney. But somehow my idli was a bit slack as my PA soaked the wrong rice instead of basmati sudah accident jadi thai rice....well it still taste good but a bit sticky, that's all. Someone got upset but sorry...cant be helped!!! Dah tersalah kan nak buat camane.....kena sabar kan. But I guess, yesterday was just not the day, as my Potato Fruit bread doesnt come out nice too. Bantat gitu.....hahahahahahahha tapi tak puas hati, i am sure i will have to give it another try, nak buat jugak sampai jadi.

Corn Bread

2009-05-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:-

115 gm flour
50 gm caster sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
170 gm cornmeal
350 ml milk
2 eggs
200 gm butter or margarine (melted)

Method:-

1. Sift the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a bowl.
2. Add the cornmeal and mix well. Make a well in the centre.
3. Whisk together milk, eggs and melted butter.
4. Pour the mixture into the well and stir until just blended. Do not overmix.
5. Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper and grease.
6. Bake in a preheated oven 375F for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean.

Traditional Scones

2009-05-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:-

170 gm flour
55 gm butter
2 tablespoon caster sugar
3 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
110 ml milk

Method:-

1. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
2. Cut in the butter and rub in until the mixture becomes coarse crumbs.
3. Pour in the milk bit by bit and mix to form a dough.
4. Roll out the dough about 1/2 cm thick and cut the dough using round cutter.
5. Place on baking sheet and bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown in a preheated oven 375F.
6. Serve warm with butter and jam.

Note: if you like some raisins, add some to the coarse crumbs.

Thursday, May 14th

2009-05-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

At 9.00 am left home to drive my other half for his appointment at Shiba Koen. From there sent him to Nihonbashi and came back home but only to leave again half an hour later to hit for school at Yoga to give moral support to my Princess. She has a presentation on her project. She was all smiley when she saw me as earlier on I told her that I will not be able to make it coz I have a Farewell Lunch to attend at 12.00. Tapi tak sampai hati, pergi jugak sekolah to see her so I was all over the place yesterday.

From Yoga, drove back to Hiroo and my assistant wanted to go to Jiyugaoka, so on the way dropped her off and obviously I was late for my appointment. Anyway all the best to Madam T on your new posting. Sad to see another friend leaving. I'm sure our path will cross again someday. Food was fabulous and had a nice time with the ladies.

Made some scones and corn bread for the kids snack coz usually they come home hungry after a long day at school.

Dinner for the nite, garlicky scallop, prawns and squid, sweet pea saute in olive oil, fish & broccoli stew

Wednesday, May 13th

2009-05-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

Early morning after everyone left, I head off to the Immigration Office in Shinagawa to sort out my assistant's visa. Time flies so fast that here I am again to get her visa renewed and of course I have to go again next week to submit the other papers. From Shinagawa, I went straight to Mushoshi Kosogi about 12km from where I live to pick up somethings from my friend. Alamak after all the way there, she wasnt home coz she got an emergency call to go to school, and since I was already there, went to the Foodium Mall, there's Daiei Supermarket (anty norly's favourite store) bought groceries and got home almost 12.00.

This is what I have for lunch today, sempoi but laju je makan coz its super duper spicy. Spicy tofu in soy sauce with fried bitter gourd with egg. A lot of people doesnt like bitter gourd due to the bitter taste but it has got a lot of medicinal benefit that includes stimulating digestion and treating diabetes.

While waiting for the kids to come back home, the school nurse rang to say that sunny boy was injured while playing soccer at school. Well, he sounded okay when I talked to him and he said its only his thumb but being a mum of course, a lil' worry so I quickly made appointment to see the doctor later.

Soon as he got off from the bus, took him to our regular clinic but the doctor send us to the Orthopedic Clinic instead.
While waiting to see doctor at National Clinic

at Yoshida Orthopedic Clinic

Lucky...no broken bone but he has to use the sling for the next one week. His eyes was almost teary when doctor said that there 's no soccer for him for the next 2 weeks and he cant sit for his aikido test this Saturday too. He's suppose to sit for his 5th kyu aikido test this Saturday. Kesian anak mummy.....

Monday and Tuesday

2009-05-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

The kids got another day off from school on Monday. Wonder why....school is almost over but they still got a day off here and there.
That morning, together with baby I went to deliver the cake and had coffee with some ladies at the Embassy, I took the kids out for lunch. Initially wanted to take them for bowling but since they all ni meleceh tak habis, sorry ya time was running out.

We had a nice afternoon at TGIF and roamed around the Roponggi area after. Got home and later take them to the park and met another lady there, while the kids were busy playing mummy had a nice time chatting with a friend.

Tuesday morning, I had to go to school to hand in the project that I have completed. After finishing my task there, I went to a friend's place to help her unpacked. She has just moved to a new place. I find this place very neat and it reminds me a little of Singapore or Hong Kong when I'm there. Alhamdulillah managed to help my friend quite a bit.

Baby's Quick Pasta

2009-05-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from baby, who learned to make this during her baking lesson in school.

Ingredients:-

250 grams penne (boil till el dente)
2 garlics (crushed)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 cube chicken stock or vegetable or soup or beef
olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:-

1. Boil the pasta till el dente.
2. Heat pan with olive oil and fry the garlic till fragrant.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and the chicken cube. Stir well.
4. Add the chopped basil and simmer.
5. Put in the pasta and add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve immediately and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Victoria Sandwich Cake

2009-05-11T03:50:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:-

175 gm butter or margarine (softened)
150 gm caster sugar
3 eggs (large size)
175 gm self-raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
4 tablespoon strawberry or raspberry jam
icing sugar, for dusting

Method:-

1. Grease and base-line two 18 cm round baking pan.
2. Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well.
4. Add vanilla essence and mix well.
5. Fold in the flour, a little at a time.
6. Divide the mixture into two and bake for 20 minutes in a preheated oven temp. 375F.
7. When the cakes are cool, spread the jam and sandwich them together and sprinkle the icing sugar.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

I was so touched by the childrens' gesture......sunny boy, princess, baby...my darling angels...you make me feel so complete and its worth taking this path of mother nature. Mak, ibu, mummy, mama, bonda, amma, aiti, okasan, ummi whatever the name for a mother is God's abundance of love. It takes a great woman to bear the responsibility of being a Mum. Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there.

Princess got up early and prepared lempeng for mummy. She did ask on how to make it the night before and actually wrote every word that I said. Voilla.....she did it and I'm a proud mother....alhamdullillah and good for her family life later, she is already showing the interest to be in the kitchen. Tengok la tu, bangun tido je terus buat lempeng. Of course, first attempt tu ada la lempeng yang koyak, tertebal, nipis...whatever pun well done my princess.

We all had our first Abacus lesson today. Thanks to the sensei for coming to teach at our home.

Our lunch together with the sensei and we had BBQ chicken, fried mee hoon, salad with sesame dressing, cherries and victoria sandwich cake for desert.

Cards made by the children

Flowers, cards and a baking tray gift for mummy...thank you children for making it wonderful!!

The cakes I made today, Carrot Cake for someone's order and Victoria Sandwich cake for home.

We had rice, chicken soup, omelette, fried brocoli and sambal daging for dinner.

A truly wonderful day for me. Alhamdulillah, semoga anak-anak mummy membesar sebagai insan mulia dan beriman. Insyaallah.

Saturday, May 9th

2009-05-08T23:58:00.000-07:00

Last nite we got home almost 11.30pm from Kak Sharifah's house. The men were so engrossed with each other, almaklumlah bila orang utara dah berjumpak...amboi sembang sampai tak ingat nak balik. Thank you Kak Sharifah for inviting us over for dinner. It was nice to have met her parents and auntie and she introduced me to her cousin who just got transferred here last November. The food was wonderful and Kak Sharifah's mother made chapati too. I tell you....I have to go and learn from her...the chapati was just awesome...lembut gitu...so different from the one I made. To Tuan Syed and family..once again..domo arigato gozaimashita. Next round it has to be a gathering at my place.

With the gracious host

Anyway, only last nite I realise that I have to bring something to the Perwakilan's AGM. Alamak too late to prepare something when I got home, so this morning, I delegate my duty to send sunny boy for his aikido to my other half and that left me with sometime to come up with something.

What else...cuppy cakes are the easiest. Princess giving me a helping hand.

Well...left home at 10.15 am and got to Kamimeguro (Embassy Compound - Staff Residence) in time for the Perwakilan AGM..10.30 am. Phew....lega...but how come there's no one and its all so dark...holy crap..
Asked the guard but of course...wakaranai yo (tak tau dia kata), finally after few calls...oh the meeting is actually at the Embassy Official Residence in Daikanyama..ayoyoyoyo what's happening to me...its obvious right...I never read my emails....hahahahahahaha.....thank god its only 10 minutes drive to get there from Kamimeguro. Dengan muka yang tak malu ni....tersengih-sengih je la buat grand entrance....

orange poppy seed cuppies for the AGM and for our tea this afternoon

Since I have to cook for the Embassy yesterday, I cooked extra for home and kept my portion in the fridge. I knew I will only be back home around 2.00pm after the AGM today, am sure by then everyone will be hungry. For lunch today, everyone had tomato rice...clever me kan...selamat tak payah masak for lunch.

For dinner tonite, baby wanted pasta. She had baking day 2 weeks ago in school and have been bugging me to cook the pasta as per what she'd learned. Finally, tonite baby got what she wanted. Baby's pasta taste good, not bad actually for a kinder girl and is so easy to make. Of course, my kids just love pasta, bapak deme italian gamaknya kot...hahahahahahaha indian ngan italian tu kan bunyi nya dekat nak sama kan....
Menu:- Grill Salmon, Asparagus and Mushroom saute in Olive oil and Penne in tomato sauce.

Bukan main laju abang makan ari ni...

Friday, May 8th

2009-05-08T00:26:00.000-07:00

The week went by so quickly ..its already Friday. Alhamdulillah, today sunny boy doesnt have his early morning soccer, what a great relief...no rushing in the morning and after everyone left...again, there's war in the kitchen. Suddenly, the Embassy rang to say that they're coming at 11.00 to pick up the food, original time was 11.30...hey 1/2 an hour makes a lot of difference yeah! But of course, god's willing semua siap.....and on the dot at 11.00 am the door bell rang....japanese are just so on time.

Never have I imagined that I will be doing this in Japan. I do have passion for cooking but never thought of doing it commercially. It does give me satisfaction when people continue to request for more.

Nasi Tomato, Ayam Madu, Daging Kerisik, Jelatah, Kuih Lapis & Kek Jagung

Nasib baik kuih lapis dah buat malam tadi. Yang lain-lain tu pagi ni je baru nak kelam kabut.

Later tonite, Kak Sharifah Azian invited us over for dinner at her place. I made tartlets to bring over, takkan nak pergi tangan kosong je kan...

Kuih Lapis

2009-05-08T00:12:00.000-07:00

Bahan-bahan:-

2 cawan tepung beras
2 sudu besar tepung jagung (kalau tak letak pun takpe)
2 cawan gula
5 cawan santan
secubit garam
1 1/2 sudu teh esen ros
Pewarna merah

Cara-cara:-

1. Bancuh semua bahan sampai rata. Bahagi kepada 2 bahagian.
2. Letak pewarna merah dalam satu bahagian .
3. Kukus selapis-selapis sampai masak. Tuang selapis putih dan kukus selama 7 minit dan tuang lapis merah, buat berselang seli sehingga habis.

Straw Hats

2009-05-07T21:24:00.001-07:00

This is the little project that I have to complete for baby's class. These straw hats are for their year end carnival. Did this the whole morning after everyone's left and mid day had to stop as I have to meet another mom at Daikanyama. Another interesting place to go. We had lunch at Eataly and the pizza taste really like the one in Italy. Even the linguini with white fish is tasty. Here, you can eat and buy anything to do with Italian cooking including the fresh ravioli (ravioli is a traditional Italian pasta dish made by stuffing rounds or squares of pasta dough with a filling). Next to the eatery, there's a store selling the raw ingredients and on the upper floor is the italian wine and cooking school. Hmmm.... next school for me I guess..

After lunch at Daikanyama, went straight to Sangenjaya to get my supplies of bento box at the Package Plaza, coz this someone called again yesterday for more food for her visitors on Friday. Alamak bento box tu dah habis so kena pergi beli lagi la. Sambil menyelam minum air...dapat pulak a new pair of shoes for me. It was on sale and so comfy...hehehehehehe so happy...sure boleh jalan berbatu-batu and lagi laju with this new pair.

siapa nak cepat cakap...akak gi belikan.. besides black and white ada kaler grey/ pink, and grey/light green

Dinner for the nite, sebab tadi siang I had something italian kan...so kita kasi a little tinge of italian lah ye..

Grill sole with gremolata (gremolata is a traditional Italian garnish usually made of finely chopped fresh parsley, lemon rind and garlic), tofu and crab cake (ah ni bukan italian eh), sweet pea saute in olive oil and mix vege&pasta in tomato soup.

The busy day.......

2009-05-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

Got a call from someone on Tuesday afternoon while I was at the 100 yen store near the kids school in search of the things that I needed for my project, she needs local food for her guests the next day. My other half was still on leave then, berhati mulia dia...to chauffeur me around to go get my ingredients.

The lunch box and some kuih-kuih for their tea.

Wednesday morning after the kids went off to school..there's war in the kitchen but alhamdullilah managed to get everything ready in time. Delivered the food to Embassy, came home and after lunch hubby dragged me to Ginza as he wants to check out a shop called Lemon Net selling everything relating to cameras. Of course, anyone who has interest in photography will like this place...its a galore of new and used items relating to cameras. Rushed home to be in time to pick up the kids as baby wants daddy to carry her home after she gets off from the bus. Kena dera daddy but anyway he doesnt get the chance to pick them up often, only when he's off.

Weather was awful and the rain hasnt stop since the nite before but I still needed to get more stuff for my project and I have to go to Harajuku again...hahahahaha baik hati lagi cik abang kita ni....sanggup meredah hujan tu bawak bini...hehehehehe but what a relief, I got what I wanted.

ha ni la benda-benda yang i wanted...ribbons and little ornaments

aida...these are some of the things displayed that you can get from the 100 yen store...tapi ni sikit je la...ada macam-macam benda lagi...

scones for tea

Dinner for the nite

Steak with honey mustard sauce, saute vegetables, onion soup and bruschetta bread (sori picture dua lagi tu tak ambik)

Harajuku

2009-05-06T18:07:00.001-07:00

Sorry it has been few days without new entry. Have been so occupied with things and especially when boss is on leave...must spent quality time ma.... Last Monday, due to some projects that I had to finish, I needed to go to a bigger 100 Yen Store coz there'll be a lot more things on display. Harajuku has this 4 storey 100 Yen shop. A must visit to all visitors. Since the kids got a day off too, everyone decided to join me to go Harajuku. I thought its a Monday so there'll be less crowd but forgotten that its still a public holiday. To my surprise, the moment we stepped out of the train...masyaallah ocean of people. Kena que nak keluar from the station.

Ni dia berpusu-pusu nak keluar from the station.

Opposite Harajuku Station, a narrow street known as Takeshita Dori or Takeshita Shopping Street packed with young fashionable people and lined with fashion boutiques and cafes. This is definitely the place to be seen if you are young Tokyoite, but well worth visiting as a tourist.

And as we come out and when I saw the crowd at the shopping street, we decided not to go to my destination and started walking towards Meiji Shrine...

Fulala..... the harajuku girls were on action.

street performance

a shot with the Pussy Cat Dolls wannabe

Well for the young and fashionable teenager, spending time in Harajuku on the weekends is practically a necessity. Even older folks will want to visit the area to see the Meiji Jingu shrine and Yoyogi Park.

The munchies negotiating with daddy which snack they could have..., si baby ni boleh nampak je kedai yang jual tidbits..

Prawn Curry

2009-05-03T18:46:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:-
15 medium size prawn ( cut and clean)
7-10 shallots or 1 big red onion
3 garlic
2 cm ginger
1 tomato (chopped)
3 cardamon
3 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
sprig of curry leave
3 green chili (slid into half)
a stalk of coriander leave (chopped) for garnishing
oil
salt to taste

Method:-

1. Pound garlic, ginger and onions.
2. Mix 3 tablespoon of curry powder and turmeric powder with water and make a paste. If you like it spicy, you may add some chili powder.
3. Heat oil, fry the cardamon, sprig of curry leaves and the pounded onion. Fry till golden brown and fragrant.
4. Put the chopped tomatoes and continue to fry.
5. Add the curry paste and a little water and fry till oil oozes out.
6. Put 2 1/2 cups water, cover pot and simmer under medium heat.
7. Once boil, add in the prawns, green chili and coriander.
8. Add salt and adjust the taste.

Note: In my daily cooking for curry, I seldom use coconut milk but if you like your curry to be creamy, you may add coconut milk to your liking. If you dont have a pestle and mortar for pounding, you can just sliced the onions thinly and minced the garlic and ginger.

Pancake

2009-05-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 eggs separated
1 1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
a pinch of salt

1. Mix sugar, salt, vanilla essence, milk and egg yolk. Stir well until combine.
2. Pour the mixture into the flour and using a whisk, mix till combine.
3. Beat egg white till stiff peaks form and add into the flour mixture and mix well.
4. Heat pan under medium flame. Grease pan with butter lightly and put 2 tablespoons of the mixture, cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown or puffed.
5. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Monday, May 4th

2009-05-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

Kids are off from school today and boss still on leave till wednesday. Nice...no rushing in the morning. As I was updating my blog ....hmmmmm this little voice came and said "mummy can I have pancake for breakfast"....i was just thinking of serving toast this morning...but of course.... selagi mummy terdaya...anything for you baby...

ni lah suara halus yang mintak pancake ni....

Kuih Bakar

2009-05-03T16:54:00.001-07:00

1 cawan tepung gandum
1 cawan gula pasir
3 cawan santan
4 biji telur
1 1/2 sudu teh pandan emulco

Cara-cara

Pukul telur dan gula sampai kembang. Masukkan tepung dan santan sedikit demi sedikit berselang seli. Kacau rata dan tapis jika berbintil.

Panaskan oven 350F. Sapukan butter kedalam loyang dan panaskan loyang sebentar. Keluarkan loyang dari oven dan tabur bijan ke seluruh loyang. Tuangkan doh dan bakar selama 1 jam atau sehingga masak.

Note:- When I make this, I just use the blender. Blend the eggs + sugar, add 1/2 santan portion, pandan emulco. Then add the flour blend again and add remaining santan. Dah senang je...tak payah kacau tak payah tapis. cubalah ye!!

Shibuya

2009-05-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

After lunch yesterday, we went to Shibuya to get princess her new shoes. Masyaallah mabuk menengok lautan manusia.

Well, Shibuya is another landmark of Tokyo and one of the most crowded place. It's the absolute capital of Japan's youth. With trendy and eccentric shopping, a lot of schools,recreation centres, this is also the place I went for my Wilton lesson, it is the ideal place for thousands of young Japanese to meet and spend the day. Shibuya is also famous for its "love hotel hill", adult shops and bars in Dogenzaka.

My meeting point with friends in Shibuya will be Hachiko's statue. Hachiko's Statue is one of the famous meeting place. Hachiko is the name of this perfectly loyal dog, owned by Professor Ueno, who waited for his master many months after he had died. The statue is just in front of the Tokyu Department Store and Shibuya station and has an exit named after it.

the kids at tokyu hands store trying out some decorating challenge

Shibuya has a few regular department stores, like Tokyu and Seibu, miscellaneous goods department stores such as Tokyu Hands and Loft where you can buy anything from home accessories and cosmetics to halloween costumes, Labi for electrical items, Harley Davidson store (siapa yang suka motor tu sure juling-juling mata tengok motor kat sini and I really like HD's sweater..really nice but gosh bloody expensive..hua..hua...takde siapa nak belanja ke?). There are also plenty recycle shops selling branded items and jewelry too. Dah tu je cerita pasal shibuya ni...basically atok ngan nenek je takde kat tempat ni.

Meal of the day

chicken korma, masala beef with potato/carrot, fried cabbage with egg, prawn curry
kuih bakar for tea

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2009-05-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Ohaiyo Gozaimasu, its now 10.30 am in Tokyo and 9.30 am in Malaysia. Everyone had breakfast, baby has gone down to play with Mai, princess as usual glued in front tv, sunny boy reading his book, boss still in dreamland and me...hahahahaha updating my blog. Shortly planning to go out to take princess to get her new shoes...that girl is really growing up fast...every now and then have to buy her new stuff and poor baby always settled for the hands me down. Tapi tak pe ye baby...berkat tu.

seme orang bangun tido je kena paksa ngan mummy makan sarapan...hahahahaha

lempeng, sambal sadin, sadin goreng dengan bawang & cili padi
siapa-siapa yang belum makan sarapan tu kalau nak makan lempeng jemputlah ye.

Cream Puff

2009-05-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

For Puff

Ingredients:-

Water 140 cc
Unsalted butter 70 gm
Salt 1 gm (a pinch)
Flour 80 gm
Eggs 4 (m size)

Method:-

1. Mix water, butter and salt in a pan. Boil under medium flame.
2. When mixture starts to boil, turn off fire. Add in flour and stir quickly.
3. Beat egg one at a time into the mixture and whisk quickly.
4. Put mixture in piping bag and pipe into puff shape onto tray.
5. Bake in a preheated oven 200 C for 15 minutes or till golden brown.

For Custard:-

Ingredients

Milk 500 ml
Sugar 100 gm
Egg yolk 4
Flour 40 gm
Butter 20 gm
Vanilla essence 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh cream 100 gm
Sugar 10 gm

Method:-

1. Mix milk with 50 gm sugar.
2. Beat egg yolk with 50 gm sugar.
3. Stir in flour into the beaten egg.
4. Warm milk until sugar dissolved and add the egg yolk mixture. Mix well, sieve into a pot and stir under medium flame until thickens.
5. Remove from pan, cover and let cool.
6. In another bowl, beat fresh cream and sugar till soft peaks form.
7. Add the custard mixture and mix well.
8. Cut the puff and fill it up with custard and dust powder sugar on top. If you like, add some cut strawberries.