CHINESE NEW YEAR BAKING

20/1/2016
Wednesday

The race is getting closer.......race to finish the orders and race to get ready for the Chinese New Year.

Still got to do CNY spring cleaning and momentarily I was saddened with the thought, that this year there is no one to help me change the curtains, wash the ceiling fans, wash the air-con filters and to do some of the wet market purchasing for me, thing which he had been doing for me yearly!  I quickly banished all these thoughts as the saying goes "when the horse die, start walking". Well, when there is a will there is always a way.  

But first concentrate on the baking....

Thank God, I have the best "jam roller" (ie my sister) to help me over the weekend.

it's the size that matters... a small bit more or less of the jam would change the way the tarts have to be packed?

the patience and skill in applying the egg wash is also important to the finished product, 

thanks to my daughter Esther.

finally the task of packing them neatly in the container cannot be overlooked, 

thanks to my daughter Sarah. 

So there you are and hope all my customers will like them. 

these are mamakaries samples only .

Wishing everyone an early Happy Chinese New Year as I will not be posting anything until after the festive season. 

NEW YEAR BRUNCH 2016

1/1/2016
FRIDAY

When I saw the post by Small Kucing about this brunch buffet, I immediately booked for the New Year's day. Knowing that the girls will be having their new year countdown and be back in the wee hours, brunch would be a perfect time to celebrate the New Year's day.
The Venue: Oriental Banquet, Section 19
Meal: Buffet Brunch.
Time: 11.00 am to 2pm. and they really open punctually at 11am even though the crowds were already waiting outside!

The various appetizers.... these are actually their small plates of  their first course for banquet meals.

Instead of a combination, each item is served separately.....

instead of a combination plate, each item is served separately and it was delicious as usual as the first course always taste good when the banquet begins hours late!

the curry laksa section.....

some of the foodstuffs for the steamboat section...

Roasted ducks and char siew...

the char siew was awesome.... "melt in mouth" yet not oily 

the hot buffet choices... 

these are good except the dumplings which was rather bland and not juicy

fresh sashimi  

individual serve of braised sharkfin soup.... there are 2 choices, the common one at RM43.00 and superior at RM53.00.  Since there are so much food, we decided on the RM43.00 each and this actually is the price of the brunch buffet. 

the whole roasted pig makes it appearance.... no need to queue for this as each table is served with a portion.  By the time, we got ours, the pork belly has all gone but still the pork was lean yet juicy and of course the crackling was good as expected. 

Just when you think you are already full, they started to serve Peking Duck.....

Each mouthful of  a wisp of hot, crispy skin, crunchy cucumbers and transparent crepe together with the sweet sauce... and you forgotten that you are already full!

Not to mention the dessert table of  local kuehs and also the lightest fragrant tau foo fah (soyabean curd)

End of meal..... must have carbo and coffee...

This promotion is on till end January.

  

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY PARTY

28/12/2015

It's Party time.... 

Surprise! Surprise !

The surprise birthday party was organised by her daughters......

Grandma's talk ... 

while the "young ones" were busy with their cameras..

happy birthday, happy family 

a kiss from my brother KK

another family photo..

Yes, its a 60th birthday.... another "goat" of the family... 

wish you a healthy, happy and wonderful year ahead.

There are 2 more baby "goats" added to our family... my granddaughter, Alexa on 25/12/2015 and my grandniece, Audrey  on 29/12/2015 which is the same birth date as my youngest brother YB.  December will be a very busy month for us now. 

Strange,  I found that I forgot to take photos of the food/buffet that night @ Hotel Sentral, Pudu!  But we all did enjoyed ourselves tremenously.... good feelings with good food .

ESTHER'S BIRTHDAY

27/12/2015
SUNDAY

Toto was given to us during the Christmas season 

and hence we decided that both of them share the same birthday. 

Breakfast for the birthday girl- using the remaining packet of hash brown, flatten them  to fit into the muffin tray.  Add some fried bacon pieces. Next time will vary the fillings. 

Top with egg/milk mixture and top with extra cheese. 

Bake them at 180C for around 20 minutes or till golden brown. 

Served with some salad 

These are baked Egg Sponge cake- a recipe I found online.

The texture and taste is the same as those oval-shape egg sponge ("Ji dan goh") which my mother used to buy for prayers.   

My birthday cakes for her..

After lunch, went down to BB area to see the Swarovski Christmas tree at Pavilion

IT'S A EPIC CHRISTMAS 2015

25/12/2015
FRIDAY

Phow-Phow wishes everyone Blessed Christmas

It's 15th day of the 11th Lunar month, a full moon day which coincides with Christmas...can't be better than that.  So I prayed that my grandbaby girl born on this day will be blessed in life with God's grace.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, my first grandchild.....

born at 4.19 a.m. (Australian time)  25th December 2015 

Weighing at 2.752 gm at birth. 

It was a natural birth and both mother and baby are doing fine.    

A Christmas gift from the hospital...

Baby wrapped in a swaddle- God's perfect gift for us. 

Our impromptu Christmas Dinner... Pumpkin, Carrot and Corn soup 

It's a double celebration, so bring out the champagne... thank you, Kit (my nephew) for the Moet..

Bow tie pasta aglio e olio cooked by Esther.... except for a small blunder when she threw the pasta into my pumpkin soup to boil...hahaha. Luckily rescued just in time.  The pasta was flavourful and not too overpowering of garlic taste.

Devilled Eggs topped with cheese and crispy bacons bits cooked by Sarah....Delightful!  

Bought this piece of glazed ham when my sister called that she was coming for dinner- she love ham! Actually no need to do much, but I made a cranberry/orange sauce to serve with the ham as well to to glaze it.   

Roasted Chicken thighs with herbs and honey. 

Dessert- one of Sarah's pavlova.

What a sweet ending for a wondrous day! 

My guests for the impromtu Christmas dinner.. my sister and niece.. 

My hand-sewn baby blanket finished in time..