My Bakes: Banana Bread Pudding

I had a bunch of bananas (which is a common sight at home) that were sitting on my dining table waiting to be eaten. And I had on hand a recipe for Cinnamon Banana Bread Pudding which I had just gotten from Liren @ Kitchen Confidante which I was dying to try out.

I followed the recipe closely but I could not find my cinnamon so I ommited it. I also did not have ramekins and my initial idea of putting them into muffin cups was trashed as the procedure required the ramekins to be half submerged in water.

Dad liked it alot but it was a bit too sweet for my taste. I will try this recipe again if I have stale bread available and replace 1/3 of the condensed milk with skimmed milk instead. I will also use whole slices of bread instead of cutting them so small. The top of the pudding was also charred in some places but that can be easily remedied by baking them foil covered for 40 mins and then without the foil for 20 mins instead of what the procedure called for 30 mins each. Alternatively, I could put it on the lower rack instead.

I only remembered to take a photo after we have dug into the pudding. It might not look appetizing but I assure you that it tastes better than it looks.

The recipe can be found here.

Mask-ed

When I was doing my trial sometime back in January, my MUA commented that the skin around my eyes were pretty dry and my t zone although oily, was flaking.

I know! Oily and Flaking do not go together but then again my skin condition has always been pretty weird. Coupled with my skin being deprived from its usual facial treatments, the condition has gotten worse.

SO .. to ensure that I will be a pretty bride on my wedding day, I have gone out and stocked up on face mask and eye masks. From whitening to firming to hydrating masks. These masks will only be able to last me for less than a month as I intend to be very disciplined in putting on my masks before bed. Gonna stock up on more masks soon..

My Bakes: Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 weeks back I was food blog hopping as usual when I realised that almost all the blogs featured something using Nutella in their recipes. Then I realised that Nutella Day was on 5th Feb. Which explains many nutella recipes. Decided to try out one of the recipes since I still had a jar of Nutella at home. 

The recipe called for Frangelico to be used but I did not have it at home and so I substituted it with vanilla essence instead. Other than that, I followed the recipe which yielded close to 100 cookies. The cookies were crispy and chewy just after baking but after letting it sit for 2 hours, it lost its crispiness and went soft. The granulated sugar gave the cookie its crunchiness and if you dun like ur cookies crunchy, substitute the granulated sugar with castor sugar instead. I felt that the recipe could do with more Nutella though as I could not really taste it. I would cut down on the amount of sugar used too as it was a bit too sweet for my taste. Note that the cookies spread quite alot so make sure that you leave adequte space between each cookies. Alternately, you could stick the batter in the freezer for 10 mins before baking it.

All in all, it was pretty well received when I brought it into the office this morning to share the calories. My colleagues kept coming back for second, third, fourth pieces. 

If you love Nutella, Chocolate chips and Cookies, this recipe is for you.

Recipe from Erin's Food Files.  Please pardon my amateur food photography skills.

Gifts for my 姐妹s

I was thinking of what to get as gifts for my 姐妹s when I chanced upon these on Gmarket. They were pretty cheap but I did not like the original beads that came with it. When I showed my mum, she also commented that the beads looked small. So I decided to do a bit of DIY and bought some beads of the sizes that I wanted, a reel of fishing line and Voila! My own semi-DIY-ed gifts for my 姐妹s. I also bought one for myself and rebead-ed it with grey pearls instead. Rather then run of the mill corsages, they will be wearing these pretty babies instead!

Super love these bracelets. I hope my girls like it too!

12 weeks till our wedding

Things off my To-Do List

• Chosen the design of our invites.
• Rekke-ed the bakery for the cakes to be sent for 过大礼.
• Arranged the date for food tasting - 19 March

Good progress so far. Every week do a little and very soon it will be our big day ..

元宵节

And today marks the end of the celebrations of the lunar new year. Don't know why, but I am feeling pretty down that the celebrations are coming to an end. Maybe because there is no more public holidays until April 22 which is more than 2 months away and there is no motivation at work. Maybe it because the end of the CNY celebrations means that I have to start intensively preparing for my wedding in May. Maybe because this year is the last year I will be having reunion dinner at my parents place on the eve of CNY.. Maybe its a combination of all this factors and more? I'll stop my nonsensical whining here before you guys, whoever you are, starts boycotting my blog because of my incessant whining and complaints.

I was googling Yuan Xiao Jie online and found out that 元宵节 is also known as Lantern Festival. In all my 20+ years, I have always thought that Lantern festival is the Mid Autumn Festival where we eat mooncakes, drink chinese tea, light lanterns and play with candles. Apparently, during 元宵节 children also carry paper lanterns and try to solve riddles on the lanterns. Instead of eating mooncakes, on this day, glutinous rice balls (元宵 or more commonly known as 汤圆)are eaten. Families also gather together on this day and enjoy a family reunion. One thing I got right all these years is that 元宵节 is also known as the chinese valentines day.

For more information on 元宵节, read here.

Of Love & Chocolates

 A very overdued post. On New Years Eve, after celebrating my sis and Wendy's birthday, J brought me down to Mohd Sultan in search of some place where we could just sit and chill out. We were pleasantly surprised when we chanced upon a bar that was vastly different from those that dot the clubbing belt. This bar was family friendly and not overly noisy. I was nursing a mild headache which was fast threatening to turn our date into a disaster so I suggested that we try out the Laurent Cafe & Chocolate Bar.

Pardon me for the poor quality iPhone pics.

I ordered their signature Gran Cova hot chocolate while J ordered his usual Earl Grey Tea. The hot cocolate was wonderful. Not overly sweet but the portion was quite little for the price I paid. We wanted to try their souffle which seemed like a hot favourite amoung the patrons. Almost every table ordered one. But we were too full from the dinner so we gave it a miss. We did go back on the second day of CNY to try it though. The sourness of the raspberry sorbet was perfectly married with the bitterness of the chocolate. It would be too Jelat for 1 person though. You could tell how that it was good when a non-dessert person like J polished off 1/2 of the souffle.

Laurent Cafe & Chocolate Bar can be found at

#01-11, 80 Mohamad Sultan Road S(239013),

The Pier @ Robertson, Robertson Quay

Tel: 6235 9007

Freshness Burger

Was at Nex with hubby on Sat and we decided to settle for Freshness Burger after hearing much raves about this new eatery. I find the concept similar to that of Mos burger. Between the 2 of us, we ordered a Fish burger, Chicken nuggets and a Teriyaki Chicken burger set which came with a small coke and cut potatoes.

This was my first visit there and it would be my last one too. The meal left much to be desired and I would personally stick to Mos Burger. To summarise, the coke was flat and not cold. The bun was dry and slightly hard. The meat was small. Their only saving grace was that they had a variety of condiments and fresh flowers on all the tables.

Our Valentine's Dinner

J picked me up from work and we had a simple dinner of Tom Yum Soup, Sambal Kangkong, Spring Rolls, Deep Fried pork with Garlic and my all time favourite Thai Iced Tea for dinner. Though simple, it was wonderful just spending quality time with the one I love.

Happy Valentine's Day

This will be the 3rd Valentine's Day that we will be celebrating together. The first year his 3rd sis sold us at a cheaper price a nights stay at Grand Park City Hall which she won during her company's D&D. The second year it happened to be the 1st day of CNY and we celebrated with our relatives. This year, we celebrated it 2 days earlier and he treated me to buffet at Oscars @ Conrad. He wanted to do it today but when I heard the price that they will be charging, I told him to cancel his booking and made another booking for Sat. No point giving our money to retailers who jack up their prices just because it was Valentine's day right?

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It was deleted from the Roman calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, but its religious observance is still permitted. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day

My outfit for the day: Flowery toga top from Pluspink.sg and black leggings.

My smile looks forced here cause J made me take this photo and alot of ppl were looking my way. So embarassing.

J's outfit for the day: White shirt with black details and grey double layered vest. Both from Domanchi. Levis Jeans not shown in picture.

Seafood Galore!! My favourite!!

 I have no idea what these little lobster look alike crustaceans are but the are simply delish!! Much better than the crayfish.

 Thay also had a yusheng section and I made a mini one and tossed it myself. J was simply sick and tired of them but I love Yusheng!

Their dessert corner was wonderful too. They had freshly made waffles too! Coupled with ice cream, they were to die for.

They also had handmade chocolates and meringue. Different from other buffets. I like!

Something different was they had orange souffle. Made to order.

And what I love most? At the end of the meal, the tea they served was from TWG! Woot! This would have cost $10.50 at TWG but it was included in the meal. So worth it.

I shall end abruptly here cause I am feeling nauseous from facing the com the whole day. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

A season of feasting and "Lou Hei-ing"

The Lunar new year is only into its 9th day and I have been feasting for 5 out of those 9 days. OMG!! And I have already "Lou Hei-ed" 5 times!! There'll be another session tonight and on Sunday night. This year sure "Huat" ah!!

Every CNY, the Yusheng is one of the dish that I always look forward to. If prepared correctly, the shredded vegetables will be very crunchy and with the addition of the sun dried oranges, red pickled ginger and jelly fish amoung other ingredients laced with the plum sauce, the resultant cold, crunchy, slightly sweet slightly sour mix of ingredients is delightfully refreshing and makes for a wonderful appetizer.

Yusheng , yee sang or yuu sahng (simplified Chinese: 鱼生; pinyin: yúshēng), or Prosperity Toss, also known as lo hei (Cantonese for 撈起 or 捞起) is a Teochew-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish (most commonly salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish (鱼)" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance (余)", Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.

While versions of it is thought to have existed in China, the contemporary version is created and popularised in Singapore in the 1960s amongst the ethnic Chinese community and its consumption has been associated with Chinese New Year festivities in Singapore as well as in neighbouring Malaysia. In Singapore, government, community and business leaders often take the lead in serving the dish as part of official functions during the festive period or in private celebrity dinners. Some have even suggested that it be named a national dish.

Yusheng is often served as part of a multi-dish dinner, usually as the appetizer due to its symbolism of "good luck" for the new year. Some would consume it on Renri, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, although in practice it may be eaten on any convenient day during Chinese New Year (1st to 15th Day).

The base ingredients are first served. The leader amongst the diners or the restaurant server proceeds to add ingredients such as the fish, the crackers and the sauces while saying "auspicious wishes" (吉祥话 or Jíxiáng Huà) as each ingredient is added, typically related to the specific ingredient being added. For example, phrases such as Nian Nian You Yu (年年有余) are uttered as the fish is added, as the word Yu (余), which means "surplus" or "abundance", sounds the same as the Chinese word for fish (yu, 鱼).

All diners at the table then stand up and on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying various "auspicious wishes" out loud, or simply "撈起, 撈起". It is believed that the height of the toss reflects the height of the diner's growth in fortunes, thus diners are expected to toss enthusiastically.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusheng    

Happy Birthday Everyone!!

I hope you are all enjoying your CNY celebrations as much as I am. In fact, I am enjoying it so much that I have succumbed to the flu bug yet again! Too many late nights and feasting and too little water does that to you.

Today is 正月初七 which happens to be 人日。According to chinese customs, 人日 is the common birthday of all human beings.

Legend has it that the goddess 女媧 who created the world, created different animals on different days and humans were created on the 7th day. So remember to wish your fellow chinese compatriots 生日快乐！ 

Double Digit Countdown ...

... Starts Now!!

99 more days to my wedding day..

Some of the stuffs which I have settled since my last update:

• My new wardrobe have been bought and delivered to his place - Not the one from Ikea that we were initially thinking of getting but one from the neighbourhood furniture shops. Cheap, about the same quality as tt from Ikea and has free delivery. So good enough in my opinion.
• 80% of 兄弟s and 姐妹s confirmed.
• Bought the gold ties from the push cart at Bugis Junction.
• Bought cloth in the same colour as the ties from shop in Chinatown complex - Have to sew it into sashes for the 姐妹s.
• Shoes and pants for J .
• Trial makeup for AD - Did the trial on 30th Jan. Had a good discussion with Angela on my preferences and some of my concerns which she tried to address during the trial. Liked what I see during my trial so I trust that I will be in good hands on my big day.
• Bought my shoes to match my white gown - I'm thinking of selling the pair that I bought from Anna Nucci. Read here. There's no occasion that I can wear it and its just taking up a space and collecting dust in the storeroom.

Pretty happy with how things have been coming along. My To-Do list is slowly but surely getting shorter. I've been learning to take things easy and not be a bridezilla. Some things which are not in my control I try not to let it bother me. I'm thankful that I have J beside me along the way. Though he usually prefers to take a backseat in these nitty gritty stuffs. I know that I still can count on him to make the big decisions and be there for me when I need his opinions or support.

2 more days to CNY and Some updates ..

Pardon me for the long hiatus. Works been mad busy preparing for the re-cert audit which finally ended on Thursday. I can now look forward to the CNY hols without that big load on my shoulders..

Met up with Joyce on Wed evening for dinner. It has been more than a yr since we last met up. Jos as usual was a no show. Wedding bells will be ringing soon for Jos at the end of this year and in the next 2 years for Joyce. Lots of weddings to attend these few years. But I love attending weddings so its a good thing. And it makes me happy to see all my girls settling down and starting their own families.

With my buddy of 10 years..

With CNY 2 days just away, I went and got my nails done. Tried out the gel polish for the first time as it was still quite a few days before CNY when I went for my mani and I wanted it to last. A bit pricy but it was worth it. The photos don't do it justice but my nails looks like there are millions and billions of crystals shining on it under the light. <3 them to the max. No regrets.

Pretty glad that I managed to finish my CNY shopping early this year. Clothes were mainly bought online throughout the year and haven't got the chance to wear them yet and shoes were bought early this month. It was good cos with the audit, I would not have been able to find the time to do my shopping. So YAY for online blogshops. =)

Pretty nails in preparation for the new year..