Art

No doubt art is expensive but only if you're dead for a good couple of years or centuries.

RM 20K for this piece of art? No. No.

Vincent's shitty photography skills.

Jen's slightly better than Vincent's photography skills.

IWC Schaffhausen Regulateur

My birthday came early this year.

IWC Schaffhausen Regulateur.

Thank you daddy.

Proper Butter Bundt Cake

Remember the bundt cake that I tried making and the unbelievably difficult mold to find? Well, I finally got it and put it into use.

In goes the batter.

The mold was silicon and also very flimsy, so I was quite skeptical as to whether it would work. My biggest worry, the entire mold melting in the oven.

Beautiful brown.

The obvious was that the mold didn't melt. Silly me for worrying. And best of all, the cake out so well. Shocking.

Shocking outcome.

Now that's what I call a proper bundt cake.

Sri Lanka Crab

My buddy, Jeff brought in some Sri Lanka crabs for us to sample. Jeff runs a family owned seafood trading company and we, his friends have been lucky enough to sample some of the best seafood that Sri Lanka has to offer.

Sri Lanka Crab. Still alive and kicking (literally).

Ming Cuisine's table setting.

We had other dishes as well but the obvious was the crabs being the main highlight of the dinner. The only other dish that stood out from the crab was foie gras (goose liver), which was superbly fantastic. I didn't manage to take a picture of it though as I got too excited at the sight of the dish.

Sri Lanka Crabs steamed with Egg White.

As for the taste of the crabs, technically it would be wrong for me to comment as I did not try them. Truth is, I have never really been a fan of crabs. But judging from the expressions of the others that were the table. the crabs must have really been darn good cause the entire table was quiet for a good 10-15 minutes before someone shouted Quote "the crab is so good. it's so meaty, succulent and sweet!" Unquote. I think it was Jen.

A very happy Alex.

We had 3 large crabs which was divided into two (2) separate styles of cooking. One being the above, steamed with egg white and the second being the spicy sour sauce featured below.

Sri Lanka Crabs in Spicy Sour Sauce.

I did try the spicy sour sauce though cause I can never resist the temptation of fried buns (I'm a carbo freak.) to go along with the sauce. The sauce was unexpectedly better than I expected. Believe me, I have tried so many of these sauces that I am close to proclaiming that Ming Cuisine's is probably one of the best I have ever tasted.

Jeff sells the crabs in smaller bulks too. If you're interested, leave me a message and I'll let you in on the price and availability of the crabs.

Brussels Beer Cafe

Met up with the boys for drinks to pass them the muffins I promised.

From Left to Right:
Tres Leches, Oatmeal Raisin & Chocolate with Gooey Chocolate Muffins.

Secretly, I think I'm beginning to get addicted to Hoegaarden Draught.

Blissful me.

There were more than enough muffins to share and everyone got to savor a bite of everything. Greatness.

Helen with the Chocolate.

Chriss & Jen with the Tres Leches.

Ended up with 9 pints in total among 5 drinkers, within a span of 2 and a half hours. I dare say, bare minimal.

*burp*

Grandpa's Birthday Dinner

Had a birthday dinner celebration with grandpa at his favorite local restaurant. The dinner was kept simple & was definitely a small family affair (thank god for that!). Always preferred to have things kept small and minimal when it comes to family gatherings. Hate getting bitched about and thrown with awkward questions whenever there's too many ""family friends" around.

Grandpa. He's 86. Don't be deceived, he's still a feisty old man.

The dinner was just "dinner", therefore no pictures on the dishes served. Truth is, I've never really been a fan of this restaurant cause there's definitely no surprises when it comes to the choice of dishes. Occupied most of my time there snapping away. Grandpa was pleased (him being a celebrity and me, a pesky paparazzi).

Aiden, my youngest cousin, cute as a button but not when it come to food and the term 'sharing'.

Feisty and believe me, he really does not share.

Aiden is so spoilt that he gets practically anything and everything (a majority of it is food, he wants nothing else) from us, except from his mum. She's trying to instate some form of rule and structure, but it's not really working since there are tons of uncles and aunties that would willingly give in especially my parents.

"Crying" cause he got scolding for messing around with grandpa's cake. Classic.

Eat first. Cry later.

Happy 86th Birthday grandpa. May you be healthy and live longer to see us squabble and whine and have you nag our parents on behalf of us grandchildren cause you know you do it best. We love you very much.

Can't fit 86 candles you know.

Baking Spree

Clockwise from Top:
Tres Leches Muffins, Butter Bundt Cake & Chocolate Muffin with Gooey Chocolate

Pictures of what I baked in a span of 2 hrs. Mind you, I only have 1 oven, 1 mixer and 1 muffin tray. Call me Speed Baker!

Focus on the Muffins.

I will be posting up more pictures and my thoughts on each of the items separately. Keep reading!

Chocolate Muffin with White Chocolate Chips

Being adventurous by adding in the white chocolate chips.

The muffin turned out really well; being moist and chocolatey. However, the white chocolate chips addition were a big no no for the muffin. Definitely better off replacing them with nuts instead.

Moist & Chocolatey

Cherry Oatmeal Muffin

Muffins can be salty too right? LOLs.

I reduced the amount of sugar required by a bit too much (like half? oops.) and so, the muffins came out a little saltier than expected. Anyway, it was a good thing for my dad though since he's not too into this sweet tooth thingy ma jiggy.

Looking dry.

Surprisingly the cherries countered the taste of the salt, but only if you have it together and not the dough alone. Guess it's back to the tweaking board.

Not the inside though.

Oh well, will be doing another run on this muffin again soon. Like tonight? =))

Kitchen Books

Bought a couple of books over the weekend.


Pretty much done with "Harumi's Japanese Cooking by Harumi Kurihara" & "the Whimsical Bakehouse by both Kaye & Liv Hansen".

My 2 cents, both the books are great buys & would make great gifts for people who simply adore cooking and baking. Not only are the cooking instructions kept simple and straight forward; the ingredients used are common and can be found in most supermarkets, which is absolutely fantastic.

Was super excited and could not wait to try out some of the recipes from the whimsical bakehouse, but made some minor adjustments which for me, basically means deducting the amounts of sugar required/added. The final results came out very well and am super happy and excited. Will be posting the pictures soon.

Funny thing is, I love baking, but I barely eat cause I have never really had a penchant for sweet foods.

So stop reading, head to your nearest bookstore and knock yourself out.

Super Junior - Sorry Sorry MV (Dance Version)

Guys who can dance are smokin' hot. Period.

Japanese Shabu-Shabu

Nothing beats the gift of food when it comes to celebrations with my parents. And this year, I prepared Japanese Shabu-Shabu for mother's day.

Delicately chopped spring onions for the sauce.

Wide array of vegetables.

Beef Shabu-Shabu Slices.

Crab, anyone?

All set & ready.

Conclusion, a simple and satisfying hearty home cooked meal.