Farewell Lunch at Mr Ho

Just got back from Singapore...my bag's still unpacked from the trip and now i have to do my big packing for my move to Penang this sat... arghh...

there are loads of outdated photos on my computer n camera so i just had to post some stuff before they all get forgotten...

Some of my colleagues gave me a farewell lunch at Mr Ho's fine dining on easter sunday...i think the place would be nice to take nice photos in natural lighting so i brought my dslr there on that day, which is quite a rare occurence for me :P

they are having set lunch menu with an entree,main dish and dessert for only RM15.90!

here comes the salad...

and we had extra orders of mussels...

this is the fried rice with roast pork and fried egg on top from menu 1

looks like your simple average joe dish but at the end it proved to be better than our oglio olio with roast pork from menu 2 :(

here it is...

i find it a little on the bland side...i would prefer their pesto spaghetti

we also ordered the small sampler plate which didnt prove to be small at all!

a combination of roast chicken, roast pork,sausages,pork ribs...

and of cos came the dessert at the end...love the bread pudding =)

made me search for bread pudding recipes on thet net :P

New Year Gathering

I had some sort of a potluck gathering with a few of my colleagues during the New Year hols...its a very interesting gathering where each person bring 2 dishes/baked products which MUST be homemade...

I made my sausage buns :)

This is the 3rd time im making em...and i must say this batch is the best among all 3...soft fluffy bread!!! yay...i m soooooo proud =)

made these with some left over dough...

but the whole tray went into the bin cos a whole colony of ants got to them before us :(

ta daaa...everyone's hardwork put together...

pretty impressive lunch spread from just 5 of us rite ;)

we had...

shepard's pie..

cinnamon rolls...

drunken prawns...

sinfully rich choco brownies =)

and some more which i do not have photos of...


it was fun...we should do bring-your-own-homemade-goodies gatherings more often!

Another Christmas Post...

Ok here's another Christmas post from me...

ta daa....

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008! =)

Gingerbread Man

I bought a gingerbread man cookie cutter last Saturday and so i proceeded on to practise baking some gingerbread. I have some plans for Christmas season :)

Just out of the oven...

Aiya...i think the cookie cutter abit not cun la...u see my gingerbread man doesn look rite :(

I decorated them with sprinkles ...

And another batch with sprinkles and choco chips as buttons :P

Actually i dont really like ginger bread but baking just for the sake of using my cookie cutter 'x' I wont bake another batch of ginger bread the nxt round...i think i will try some peanut butter cookies or something with my gingerbread man cookie cutter

I used this recipe from Agnes Chang's I Can Bake cookbook...i took a pic of the recipe with my handphone in the bookstore 'x'

But i really mean to buy the book....only not now....hahaha....honest!

and just in case you r interested .... my gingerbread man did not get up and run away when i baked them....hahaha "You can't catch me,I'm the gingerbread man"

Egg Tarts & Cream Puffs

I successfully made a batch of egg tarts 2 weeks ago! yay!! successfully as in EDIBLE and 'can see the light' egg tarts 'x'

It took me two times to get the the right egg tart with 3 recipes =_=

At the end, the egg tart recipe at kuali.com is what got me thru =)

and last week, i made cream puffs

initially wanted to make durian cream puffs but dono why sudnly cannot find durian by the roadside anymore....

so just made cream puffs loh...

not trying to blow my own trumpet or wat, but cream puffs are surprisingly, relatively easy to make

i made the puff twice on saturday and sunday and the 2nd time round, it only took me 1 hour to prepare the batter and pop it in the oven

ok nxt time can make this for housewarming party...lol

Here are the recipes if you are interested (obtained from Kuali.com)

Egg Tarts (http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=2578)

Ingredients

Pastry
210g plain flour
1 tsp milk powder
30g icing sugar
1/2 egg yolk
130g cold butter, cubed

Filling
120g castor sugar
250ml hot water
1¾ tbsp milk powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs

Method
Beat butter, icing sugar and egg yolk until creamy. Sift in flour and milk powder to mix into a pliable dough. Cover with a piece of tea towel and leave aside for 20–30 minutes.

Roll out pastry in between two sheets of plastic. Stamp out 9–10cm circles of pastry with a pastry cutter. Line egg tart patty tins with pastry circles (note: i have omitted this step, instead i mix the pastry with more flour so that it is firmer and then just press the pastry flat into the egg tart mould).

Trim off excess pastry dough and prick the base with a fork. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for 10–12 minutes. Remove and cool slightly.

To prepare filling, dissolve sugar in hot water and stir in milk powder and salt. Leave aside to cool, then add vanilla essence. Break eggs into a clean bowl. Stir lightly with a fork, but do not beat. Pour the cooled milk mixture into the eggs. Stir to mix, then strain into a measuring cup. Leave aside.Pour custard mixture till almost full into pre-baked pastry cases and bake at 180°C for about 15–20 minutes or until filling is set.

Cream Puffs

For the puff (http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=1265):

Ingredients
125ml water
60g butter
2 eggsCombine:
75g flour
Pinch of salt

Method

Line a baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper. Preheat oven to 200 ºC.Place water and butter in a deep saucepan. Heat gently until butter melts. (Butter must melt before the water boils.) When butter has melted, increase the heat and bring water to a boil.

Remove saucepan from heat and add all the flour and salt. Return to the heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a smooth, sticky mass.Remove from heat and leave to cool for about four to five minutes.

Mix in eggs one at a time and beat with a wooden spoon until dough is mooth. (Avoid overmixing, and stop mixing as soon as the pastry is smooth.)To make choux puffs, drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the baking parchment. To make eclairs, pipe mixture out in long shapes.Bake immediately in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180 ºC and continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off oven heat and leave choux puffs to dry in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes.

For the Cream:

Ingredients
250ml milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 egg yolks
50g sugar
25g corn flour

Method
Bring milk to a low boil in a deep, heavy saucepan. Add vanilla essence after it has boiled.

Combine egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly for three to four minutes. Add in corn flour and blend well.Pour hot milk gradually into the egg mixture and beat well with a hand whisk. Bring the mixture over a medium low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until it turns into a thick consistency.

Remove custard away from the heat and whisk for a few seconds until it is smooth. Leave aside to cool, then cover with cling film wrap and refrigerate.