HAPPY DEEPAVALI

1/11/2013

This early morning there was no traffic jam and I was already at  my office around 6.45 am. So decided to go and get my favourite breakfast of idli and dhal.  The shop was already open but the staff were too busy with the Deepavali preparation and breakfast was not ready yet!  

 "Little India" around Masjid Jamek LRT station- all lit up minus the hustle and bustle.

All quiet now but come lunchtime, I am sure the atmosphere will be different!

Festival or no festival, work still carry on!

Galore of kachang (nuts) and muruku

 The only stall open at this early hour....or is it a 24 hours stall?

The vendor getting his forty winks before the shoppers arrive!

Traditional Indian sweets ....must have despite  the cut of sugar subsidy! 

Each box cost RM15.00.

Have a Blessed Deepavali and happy weekend.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN SOAP

26/10/2013

New twist of Halloween... not carved pumpkin but hand-made soap.

Whenever my sister come back to KL,  we always try our best to make it a memorable holiday for her. So on a lazy Saturday afternoon, it was a "girls" affair as  the aunties and nieces made their way to the Sweet Home Soap in SS2 for a session of soap making as well as giving to charity. As I had blogged about this shop before, the proceeds of sale goes towards the home for disabled.       

 Getting the final products out of the moulds.

All our pretty and creative efforts!

The session lasted around 2 hours and Ms Ting, the instructor also gave us some facts about the presence of chemicals in the hair and skin products and how it endangers to our health.   She recommended the benefits of using natural soap.

After the soap making, we adjourned to Happy Mansion in Section 17 for our dinner. 

Burger with fries and salad

Chicken cordon bleu- juicy chicken breast envelop the ham and cheese within. 

May with her bandaged wrist... the normally docile Chu-chu (my dog) turned ugly and bit her when she tried to blow dry him after his bath. 

Have a Happy Halloween... 

BILL'S AND YZ'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

13/10/2013

This post share the birthday party of my brother-in-law and little YZ in Melbourne over the weekend, so that my family in Malaysia know what is going on over there. 

My youngest sister Vicky- having her favourite Malaysian food at PapaRich in Melbourne.
She is the chef and organiser for the party.

The two birthday "boys"

Little YZ enjoying his birthday party (again!) in Melbourne. 

The rest of  my family member who reside  in Melbourne.. 

Vicky and her hubby  took great pains to organised a lovely birthday party and  everything went perfectly and everyone enjoyed themselves and had a great day.

First of all, let me show you ...

the cake which she baked the birthday party.  She is creative with the decoration!

Drawing the blueprint of the cake- I think I need to be more organise like her. 

She planned ahead and got all the necessary ingredients needed... 

laying out the cakes tin - body of the cake......

starting work on the cake... It was a chocolate cake. 

Wide happy smile and love showing forth.

While we were still sleeping soundly over here in Malaysia, she was already up at 6.30 am to decorate the cake!  It was coated with the chocolate ganache and then rice krispies were carefully placed on top. More details - eyes and mouth were added and not forgetting the cheerful red bow tie and the "buttons". Finally the YZ were formed with liquorice!  

Days before the party, she had started to get the house and deck ready ...

the fig tree - hopefully it will bear fruits when I come for my next visit!

the cutleries for BBQ were laid out. 

 Their speciality- souvlaki marinated with oregano, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and black pepper....

ready for the BBQ - so neat and tempting    

Greek mezza platter- sausages, chorizo, pickled onions, dills, 

and dolmades-rice in vine leaves-yum! 

Another Greek platter- feta cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes, carrot and celery

Hubby's hometown Greek country salad. 

 

Various dips 

BBQ chicken wings - marinated with honey and soy

She had a great time catching up with her university friends.

Well I heard they had a great time, thanks to your thoughful preparation and hubby's cooking.

She also baked some of these goodies when our relatives from China visited them in Melbourne.

Cupcakes for tea 

Dinner with relatives from Guangzhou in Melbourne

Greek biscuits for our Ku Cheh in Guangzhou

THE COUNTDOWN

10/10/2013
Yesterday it rained and rained.   Soon there were flash floods over parts of the city.  Traffic were bought to an almost stand still. Tempers were flared at the long queue at the traffic lights.  Stomachs were soon rumbling with hunger.  

You looked at the car next to you and she looked back.... and both smiled sympathetically at each other.
She held up a can drink with a questioning look and you nodded.
She got out of the Red Bull Car and walked towards us and handed us  icy cold cans of Red Bull! What a beautiful surprise-- and I meant,  both the girl and the drink :D! Thanks for the drinks!

We were caught in a traffic jam for more than 2 hours.  We had made an appointment with the restuarant to test-taste the food for the coming wedding dinner  and to get the invitation cards printed.  As both Jeremy and his bride Eunice are still in Sydney, I am making most of the arrangement (of course with their approval) on their behalf. I want to make this a memorable wedding dinner for both of them.

We finally arrived at the Dynasty Restuarant in SS Mall past 8 o'clock and we were really hungry and thankfully we were served immediately.  Here I will give you a peek review as I am sure I will be too busy to take photos on the day of dinner itself.

The Four Platter combination - good combo of  cold and hot, spicy and non spicy, crisp and soft

Cold Jellyfish and sea whelks in Thai chilli dressing; Crispy fried fish ball with almonds coating; fresh prawns with sweet peas and another fish/prawn paste with mayo dressing.  

 Jeremy has opted for Doubled Boiled soup instead of sharkfins soup.  The clear chicken broth with bamboo piths, mushroom and more sea whelks is sweet and delicious and heart-warming. The only complaint I have is this soup was being served from a big bowl at the table rather then in individual servings. But the captain was quick to assure us that serving the soup this way is faster and hence the soup will definitely be hot and besides inform us that there will be extra charges for individual servings ie each individual bowl will be bigger than this soup bowl.  

Meat platter - half suckling pig and chicken. 

Good crackling of the pig and crispy skin of the chicken 

Steamed Garoupa with Vietnamese preserved vegetables.  

The Vietnamese preserved vegetables is soft and not salty.  The sauce has a hint of the "tong kwai" herbs.  The star of the dish is the fish - fresh and succulent. However the captain also informed us for the dinner the fish could not be steamed individually but rather will be poach and I hope they will do a good job otherwise we will end up with tough and overcooked fish.

My favourite - parcel of rice with waxed meat steamed in lotus leaf.

We also tasted the dessert- Doubled boil white fungus, aloe vera and sea coconut served with the twins pastry -fried lotus paste pancake and cold mochi.

There will also be a Baked Prawns with herbs and also variety of mushrooms with vegetables.   

 Finally Jeremy decided to choose this wedding invitation card- very traditional.

Having settled everything, it was a long way back home .... the traffic jam has not eased yet!

Update: you can also view Jeremy photography at www.facebook.com/jeremykid.photographer.