Home sweet home..

At last, after 12 days away I'm home to my stinky bolster!! No holiday or shopping can trade for the feeling i have when i come home to my bed!!

Los Angeles was fun. Did the usual stuff.. Shopping, Eating, shopping, Disneyland, Universal Studio, Factory Outlet and again more shopping.. haha.. I must say for this trip, i did eat a lot. I think I've put on bout 4 kg for this trip(Dare not go on the weighing machine) but i figure it out cause i noticed the extra skin(fats) when i wear my pants that is too tight! haha...

You'll understand when you see what has been happening the last few days.....

The day i arrived in Los Angeles i was put up in Hotel Menage. This used to be a Holiday Inn. They renovated the whole place(more of the interior) and i must say they did a pretty good job. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there.



















I had a super yummy meal in K'ya restaurant in Hotel Menage. Started off with Lobster & Grilled Portabello Mushroom and ended up with Seared Sea Scallops in a bed of mashed potatoes, mushrooms and onions.

Day 2

I had to check out from Hotel Menage and check into Crowne Plaza Anaheim because this is the day i meet up with my colleagues. They only arrive bout 6pm so I had about 5 hours to kill. I went across from Crowne Plaza and went into a nice cozy diner call Coco's and i had a long lunch there. I had Steak and prawn pasta combo.





Day 3, day 4 and day 5 came and went quickly. Nothing much...we went to Disneyland, Universal studio and Desert Hill Outlet. Everyone left Desert Hill Outlet with a branded bag, except for me.. haha... i only manage to buy a spatula and silpat(If you bake you know what it is!!) for myself!! sob sob!!

Day 6 is my happiest! After 3 days of Crappy American food.. At last I went to McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant in Beverly Hills and had a sumptous meal!! Everything was good here!! Most importantly.. the service was also TWO THUMBS UP!!!!!







After lunch we headed to Santa Monica and i found something that completed my trip with a sweet note!!

Where's my Cowboy!!??

Time really flies! I didn't realise i actually stayed in Dallas for 4 days. I ate so so so much!!! I had no choice but to do a little bit of shopping because it's good to walk after a full meal. hehe...(hope Jon's reading this:)

Anyway, here's a summary of what i did and ate in Dallas:


DAY 1



Eggs, Potatoes and bacon. Typical dallas breakfast..





Omelete covered with white yummy gravy and hashbrowns



Mei Sim and I cooked up a delicious MEAL!!!! CURRY LAKSA!!



Yes!! We cooked laksa at home for dinner. (Don't think we're such professionals) LOL.. Yup, we cheated. We didn’t make the laksa from scratch. Why should we when there is prima taste’s ready-to-cook meal kit for laksa?

It's really easy and the best thing is, IT IS YUMMY!!!

Day 2

We went to Fort Worth Stock Yards





For the south Texas drovers herding cattle up the trail to the railheads in Kansas, Fort Worth was the last major stop for rest and supplies. Beyond Fort Worth they would have to deal with crossing the Red River into Indiana Territory. Between 1866 and 1890 more than four million head of cattle were trailed through Fort Worth, earning it the nickname "Cowtown."
















We met up with ashley and brandon for dinner at Babes chicken dinner house..Look at the people waiting for a table!! You'll understand how good it is..
















They only serve 2 things..
1. Fried Chicken
2. Chicken Fried Steak(It's actually beef steak fried crispy like chicken) er... make sense??

Day 3













Silly me:( I went to cheesecake factory and i didn't eat cheesecake.. sigh.. Doesn't make sense right?? sigh..

Day 4











I love IHOP!! I knew all about it thru the show "I AM SAM". I just love the show. No matter how many times i watch it, I'll cry. Won't you??

Hardest thing to do is to say goodbye to Boey(hehe.. Alex and Mei Sim too)







http://www.ultimatedallas.com/multimedia/dallasmix2.WAV

I survived!!

I survived my flight from Singapore to Dallas. All in all 25 hrs!!! Lesson I learnt today, PATIENCE!! Er....Singapore airport was a bit of a rush though.. haha cause Bandi and Karrien was kind enuf to send me away. So nice of them hor?? (hugz and kisses) Or is it.. goodbye you crazy woman. some peace and quiet for 2 weeks. hee.. I know you guys love me.




With Karrien and Bandi... (i don't need to tell you who's Karrien and who's Bandi right??) hehe..







For those of you who do not know.. I took EVA air. Yes! EVA!! (YUCKS right??!!) That came to my mind when i first found out but after today I can say, Please go for it. If you don't look at the stewaredess or hear them speak(MY GOD!! especially the announcement), you'll think you're on SQ!! Overall i enjoyed my flight very much.


I bought some kind of preserved egg and bbq cuttlefish from Taipei airport and I dare not eat it them on board because i'm sure all the "kwai loh's" will come kill me. I was smart enough to tear a small portion of the packaging and boy!!! It does smell!! Especially the cuttlefish!! hehe... (I waited till I got to Mei Sim's house.)



My flight from Los angeles to Dallas was short and simple. It was a 3 hours flight and they only offered a drink and a biscuit. Headphones are not provided for this flight but if you want to watch(whatever outdated show they were showing), you have to purchase the headphones at $2 each and they are yours to keep. Luckily I had my ever loyal (part time) boyfriend that never fails to keep me company when i travel(Even to work when i take the bus...;)



Half way to the flight, I fell asleep but this woke me up.....





P/S: Decided to bring my computer along.

Before i fly off....

Today i'm off again and I told myself i better bake before i lose interest.. If i do lose interest, I will hear Jon's music again!!( I Hate it when he nags).. He always say i'm Jack of all trades, Master of none. I complained about this to my dear old cousin in law, Alex and he told me not to listen to him. It's better to be jack of all trades rather than Jack of NO trades. Hee..I thought bout it and i think what Alex say is very true!! Thanks Alex!!!(Big hugz...) Anyway, this should be my last entry for this month because i'm flying off to Dallas and Los Angeles on friday(20 Jul). I'll only be back on the 31st Jul. (Friends and families: If you would like anything from the States, DON"T ask me!! hehe)

Oki.. back to baking. I'm going to share with you the easiest chocolate cup cake recipe ever!! Not even a mixer is needed!!



Valrhona Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
200 gm caster sugar
130 gm plain flour
35 gm Dutch processed Cocoa, preferably Valrhona
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 large egg
125 gm fresh whole milk
50 gm vegetable oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
125 gm hot water

1. Preheat oven to 350F(180C) on fan assisted mode.
2. Sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl or jug, whisk together the egg, milk, oil and vanilla extract.
4. Add this liquid gradually to the dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl while blending continuously with a large whisk.
5. Once the mixure is homogenous, gradually add the hot water, stirring with the whisk until well blended - the batter consistency will be quite thin!
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20mins.

Easy right???


I was feeling a little adventurous and i tried something new. I hid a truffle choc in the middle of the cupcake. So when you eat it, the choc will ooze out...:)


Lazy me frosted the cupcakes with heaps of nutella. Then i decorated half with kit kat and maltesers and the other half with pine nuts meringue.



Jon came back from work and we went for dinner at this nice italian deli across my place. It is called Galbiati.

The Rail Mall
400 Upper Bukit Timah Road (S)678050
Opening Hours : Daily: 10.00am-10.00pm
Telephone : 64620926





I had Penne crabmeat cream vodka










Jon had Greens with sundried tomatoes, walnut and goat cheese and.....









Lamb shank!!!






We love the food there. Desserts there are also very very yummy but we didn't order any cause we were way too full. Overall, good food, good atmosphere and price wise is quite reasonable. Two thumbs up!! Wink*

Till I return and update my blog, good bye.

Happy Birthday Angeline!!!

We celebrated Angie's birthday in this little Italian deli called Ricciotti Italian Deli and Pastry. OH.... the desserts there are HEAAVVEEENNNNNNNN!!!!! You must must must go there and try. It is located on the basement level of Riverwalk facing the river-front. Food there is not so bad. I didn't really enjoy the squid ink pasta i had but i had a bite of Jon's Crab meat pasta and i find it very yummy. Lots of people ordered the Lamb shank. It looks really yummy but I really can;t comment if it tastes good or not. Anyway, I will try to upload some pictures when Angie comes back from Seremban. I don't have any in my camera because the battery was FLAT!! (So angry with myself)


This is the only picture i have taken by my camera phone..:(

Whats wrong with me??!!

I'm just so moody today. I really don't understand why.. Probably it's because i don't have the time to bake.. or is it because of the terrible heat.. sigh... I think i'm just upset i'm not able to bake a cake for Angeline. She's celebrating her birthday on Sat. We will be meeting up for dinner. I really wish i could bake something for her but i have no time!! I'm going to watch dim sum dollies tomorrow and sat i got to work!!! argh!!! i wish there is 40hrs in a day!! i can do much more things.

Anyway, here is a picture of some chocolate cupcakes i made last week...

Valrhona Chocolate cuppy with Nutella and Giotto or Hanuta

CONGRATS TO JAN AND ANTHONY!!!

Today is a very special day.. 070707. July 7th year 2007. It is also a very very special day for JAN AND ANTHONY.. They just got married.("jump with joy!!""") It also brings back memories of my own wedding ceremony. I wish i can do it all over again yet i don't wish to go thru all the planning and organizing!! Gives me a big headache... yikes!

Anyway, I've gained some confidence from my past few baking and i challenged myself to bake a cake for the newlyweds... I wanted to make something really special for them but i didn't really have the time to do so cause i started baking at 11pm the previous night, and Jon was already nagging. I had to settle for a single tier butter cake.



Before i show you photos of the beautiful bride and groom, let me tell you bout this yummy place I had lunch at yesterday. Probably all of you had heard of this place.. haha..... It's called Sun with Moon. It serves one of the yummiest SUKIYAKI in town. if you dun like your beef too well cooked, remember to ask them to seperate it. I always do that.








While wating for our desserts.. I tried to ACT Cute??? (Huh?? scratch head) See the pics and you know what i mean! ahah..






Now you understand what i mean?? haha... (blushing!!) I feel like those young girls taking neo print photos trying to act like those japanese J pop! haa!














OK... Enough of those before i spoil your appetite and not read my blog anymore... hee... As what i've promised you earlier...






Last but not least.. The handsome groom and the beautiful bride and of course the gorgeous cake!! haha...wink wink!













Oh yeah.. Lastly, the beautiful bride and the stunning Baker....(Blush blush))):)