BIGGEST HAUL OVER THE WEEKEND

30/5/2015
SATURDAY

I am thankful that my daughter was free on a Saturday morning to accompany me to the BIG BAD WOLF BOX SALE....happening in The Mines and the 7th Read Fair Malaysia.   

After spending around 2 hours browsing the books, finally bought a big box at RM99.90 and how many books did it filled? 

Got the Lord of Rings series ...yes thought I might as well try to read it;  the 6 Wives of Henry VIII... this is going to be  a interesting read!

Was on the lookout for Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, but was not so  lucky except these 2 ....  

Total 39 

As she has an appointment for her facial, we skipped lunch and on the way was caught in a massive traffic jam in Cheras.  Bought this Hakka Lei Chai near my house and it's only RM6.00... plenty of fresh green veggies and loved the thick hot soup... I called it my weekly detox meal..

After detox, must nourish back the body.  So I made this rejuvenating  Double Boiled Dong Quai with White Fungus, red dates and egg for all the ladies in the house.

Actually got the idea from Nasi Lemak Lover blog. I added the white fungus and red dates. Yes the egg tasted delicious.  There is no measurement as I just put in any amount I fancied... prefer more Dong Quai as I like the aroma and the bitter-sweet flavour.  I think the best time to partake this sweet soup is at night because it really give you a good sound sleep (anyway for me it is!).        

The little "old man"  tired after running after me up and down the stairs twice!    

Time to curl up with a good read now for the night. 

 

BAK HWA AND CHEESE BREAD

24/5/2015
SUNDAY
My best therapy for the weekend... baking when home alone.... nobody to disturb and interrupt you with their questions and  the dogs are happily sleeping (oh yes, they can very demanding at times.... ie pee and barking for attention)   and  the only noise are the ones that comes from you mixer.  I can take my time ...
  

Recipe adapted from the recipe of Guai Shu Shu... 

instead of bacon, I used these

leftover from Chinese New Year.   These are homemade bak hwa from a friend. 

We loved this meat and almonds combination and I had kept a few back in the freezer...till I almost forgotten about them.     

Butter and cheese are added to the dough after 5 minutes. 

The dough is further kneaded for another 10 minutes.  

Remove dough from stand mixer onto floured tabletop.  Knead in the pieces of the pork jerky till combined. 

Place dough in  a greased bowl and let to proof for about 2 hours...

 

till double in size.   Remove from bowl and deflate and lightly roll out to about 1cm thick 

I rolled the dough into a long stick and cut out each disc about 1cm thick  

Bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes till golden brown. 

 When some of the ingredients in my fridge is going pass the expiry date soon, I will try to look for a recipe and use them up as soon as possible.
 

These are some of  the ingredients needed for the Coffee Pecan Cake ..condensed milk (only 50 gm required, that means still another half can to go... what next?), fresh milk, chopped pecan (only 100 gm) instant coffee 4 tablesp mixed with 1 tablesp warm water) 250gm butter, self raising flour and sugar.    

basic creaming method.. butter and brown sugar. 

I used 2 8-inch cake tin  and  bake at 180C  for 20 minutes 

I was thinking of making some Irish coffee buttercream to sandwich them but in end was too lazy to do so.

Steamed pork paus 

FAMILY TRIP TO KOREA - DAY 6 PART 1

1/4/2015
WEDNESDAY
The weather forecast must be joking- today was supposed to be sunny day but again the morning was overcast.

One thing that impress me most is the cleanliness of the city and no joke  even the toilets such that each time, you seem to enter a clean toilet at any time of the day!  Eunice told me about the efforts of recycling waste products. Not only do they recycle paper, tin, plastic but also food waste as well.   And they have to pay for any extra food waste!  The machines on the right are for weighing the waste/recycle items and those of the left are the bins for each separate items... how smart!.... and you find the Koreans  are truly law-abiding citizens.. see the place is so clean too!  

As  I was updating this post, there was a recent article in the Star on 21 May Thursday, ( I think so) about the recycling...reproduced here:

beautiful pine tree and cones.

early morning walk along the Hyodoncheon river, one of the two stream corridors of the Biosphere Reserve.  The Reserve consist of the Mt. Hallasan, two stream, Hyodoncheon and Yeongcheon  and 3 islets (small island Seopseom, Beomseom and Munseom) 

some river activities - kayak rafting

clearly the difference between sea 

and the calm green river and fresh clear air. 

early morning exercise.... ..

This park is the part of the Biosphere reserve... next on is the

the Harubang guarding the entrance- .

Harubang meaning "grandfather" are stone statues the most iconic symbolic of Jeju Island.

another prominent features are these black lava rock walls around the village 

the only Korean drama which I watched through and loved.

She was in the later part of the drama she was exiled from the Palace and this place is the exact film location 

these houses are built with the lava stones

and the thatched roofs are held down by ropes because of the strong winds 

not sure whether this is a temple or Court  ... it was closed.

another  hareubang ... so many different facial expressions 

the famous black hair pig from Jeju Island- 

meat suppose to more tender and nutritious  and no heavy porky smell.

On the way to Seongsan IIchubong..

aka Sunrise Peak... the time of sunrise are given here.. 

The aerial view is like one giant turtle.

It is an extinct volcanic crater, about 182 meters high and 600 meters in diameter. 

get ready to climb....it was still misty and cold as we slowly follow the pathway up  

certain parts of the stairways were steep and crowded with tourists like us...

unique rock statue along the way 

step by step and finally we made it to the summit...

by now, we were already perspiring... off comes the thick jacket

they have provided this platform/steps for viewing the sunrise but we can only feel the heat but not the sum 

this is the rim of the  crater but cannot see clearly as it was so misty

going down the other side is much easier and quicker.......

still managed to get some good views of the coast

another last look.... most people have already discarded their outer jackets after the hike up and also the sun was coming out already.

a long walk along the coast of 

Candy House along the coastal walk  

Stone balancing - a form of prayer offering. 

and then we came across enormous field of canola/rapeseed flowers with crater in the background...

caught them on camera....

smoke hound for relying messages on the island...

Squids hang for drying before being grilled.... yes grilled squids is a very popular street foods around the island.

but it already lunchtime and as we were looking forward to the next best meal, we did not buy any.