First Attempt in Baking

Cupcakes without the icing ... an innovation ^_^

It was hubby's birthday (i'm catching up on my posts so his birthday was long time past in Aug) and i wanted to give him a memorable gift. What can be more unforgettable than torturing him with my self-baked cupcakes? woahaha ~~

I seeked tips from the domestic goddess Cass and asked for a fool proof recipe, and here it is - cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing. I woke up early and sneaked to the supermart to get all the ingredients. I even bought the mixer on the same day! But alas, there was no icing sugar (and i bet you didn't know there are 100 kinds of sugar out there for different kind of baking needs!). Checked with Cass if i can make do with something else and the answer is NO :( Icing MUST use icing sugar woh ...

Ok, no icing. But still the cupcakes go on. Just to make it look a little better, i sprinkled some chocolate chip, but still the flat top looks weird, like "something's missing somewhere" woahaha.

Indeed hubby was pleasantly surprised when i presented him the cakes after our bible study session. We had a good time nibbling at the cakes with our church youths and HEY someone did say it's nice and wants a second helping!

Oki, first attempt didn't turn out too badly. I'm motivated to try more fool proof recipes!

Super Big Steamer

I can open dim sum stall with this super BIG steamer

YAY! Fits all the dishes in comfortably

Lunch ready in a jiffy!

That day hubby came home with a special gift for me - a super BIG steamer. I gawked when i saw it and laughingly teased him "are you asking me to open a dim sum stall??" It really does look like the kind you see in Chinese restaurants. And over here in the picture you don't see it but it actually comes in two steaming tiers (i had kept the upper layer)!!

Well i truly appreciated hubby's effort as he knew i liked my food steamed and healthy, but i seriously doubted how i could manage such a big gadget?! Anyway, the next day i can't wait to lay my hands on the new toy and TADA!! It did work out REAL WELL ^_^

The super steamer was able to fit in all the dishes for a lunch and all i needed was 15 mins and i was ready to devour! So, apart from my wedding ring, this must be the best gift ever from my hubby ... woahaha ~~

Dim sum anyone?

A Place Call Home

YAY! I'm back!! Have been overwhelmed at work for the past weeks and thank God i'm alive and kicking! :)

We finally settled nicely into our new home, though there are still many unpacked boxes lying in the store ... hehe ... maybe i can junk those things if i can live without them for the next three months woahaha ~~~

Seng Kang is a wonderful town. Quiet, serene surrounding without the hustle bustle of the CBD. Thought the city girl in me would find this place boring but i was all wrong. I have grown to like this place very much and am so thankful we finally have a place call HOME! ^_^

We are also very near to Ikea Tampines so it's a breeze to eat meatballs (and there's free parking too!) Quick drive to workplace, direct MRT from church and mom's home. All too convenient that works perfect for our lifestyle!

Haven't been taking many photos but here's a glimpse of our home http://picasaweb.google.com/erkuan/SKHome?authkey=PJ_lGGCB5Ks Enjoy! ~

I'm Alive

Just a quick post to say "I'm Alive" ^_^

It's been a long time since i last blogged because:

a. We just moved to our new home on Monday 4Aug - Thank God!! Busy cleaning up the place and unpacking the hundreds of boxes, thousand pieces of clothes and million pairs of shoes;

b. Assigned to a new project at work with an extremely tight timeline. Been having night meetings nearly every evening and working through the day to catch up on the tasks;

c. Starting up the toddler's ministry in church and preparing materials for the 17Aug kickoff

Many things going on right now; forgive me for not being in touch!
i'll update details soon!

Cause for Celebration

The experts did these!! (i made THREE ^_^)

Can't wait to eat ... YUMMY!! ~~

Last Sunday, we had a warm gathering at Stephen & Hwee Hsia's place. Thanks to their hospitality, we had a great evening catching up (and making fun as usual) of one another.

There were many causes for celebration - both em and us got a new flat; em and stephen got a new job; sean and my bday; karen's speedy recovery; ronald & janice's coming wedding, and lastly my little baby!! We don't really need reasons to party but indeed we have quite a lot to give thanks for!

Needless to say, we gorched ourselves with so much food ^_^ And we were happy to have some sisters from ShanDong to help us make dumplings!! If you look carefully, you might find the THREE dumpling i made (hint: the ugly looking ones ... haha)

Thank God for the warm fellowship in His love :)

Liquid Cafe

Hearty portion of seafood marinara

Cheezy baked rice ... very tasty!! Definitely will order this the next time round ^_^

Linguine Carbonara ... slightly bland for my taste

The desserts saved the day!! New Yoke Cheese cake! Not too sweet and not gelat!

Tiramisu is soft and creamy .. melts in the mouth ... mmmm

Of course, my queen of cakes ... chocolate fudge served warm!! i ate 60% i think ... hehe

We have lots of July babies in our workplace. Our manager Mok is so nice to give us a treat at Liquid Cafe along Sembawang Road. I've never been there before so i'm looking forward to treat my taste buds! Be warned though this place is so far away, near to the Mandai Zoo, and beside the Thai Shark's Fin restaurant.

Mok highly recommends the baked rice, which really tasted great with lots of cheeeeze (my fav)!! i had the carbonara which i think is so so. The rest of the team also commented that the food is "ok la". The upside is we had the whole restaurant to ourselves (we thought Mok booked the entire place in our honor ^_^). The downside is it's got an open kitchen so i smelt like bad fish at the end of the 2 hour lunch :(

Gladly, the desserts were good. We ordered three cakes to share and all were so yummy. Texture was good and not too sweet. i would recommend coming to this place for desserts but bring your own bathing cap to protect your lovely locks!!

Thank you Mok and friends for the wonderful company!

1/2 of a Milestone

Baby bump!

Yoohoo! ~ I'm into my 5th month today :) It's amazing to know baby grows by the day and i'm already at the halfway mark! According to books, the arms and legs of the baby have grown to be proportionate to the body and most of the organs and features are already properly formed. For the remaining months, baby just grows bigger!

Before that, mama grows bigger first of course ^_^ Tummy now measures 35" and i can't really locate my waist ... woahahaha .... People have told me the baby bump is beginning to show :)

Some days at night lying on the bed my mind would wander and wonder how delivery would be like. Time flies and before i know it another 5 months would have past!! ARGH >>> would i really be ok through the pain?!?

Oki, i'm paranoid, ignore me, but please pray for me :)