Nothing seems to go right for me

Lots of stuff happened recently. But then nothing seems to go right for me. Wanted to move to a new environment - sold my flat but didn't get a good price. Thought i could make do with a smaller flat but then the asking cash over valuation is too high and i'm like always fighting like in the stock market - the highest bid got it. Finally settle for a not so fantastic (because low level and not near MRT) same size flat because the cash over value is within my reach. Thought nevermind, at least i'm pepared with a new environment and how big is the country only, it may be a little inconvenient but at least i can have the serene of the surroundings. Thought problem solved - but then next come the housing loan problem. As i'm no longer eligible for the subsidised loan rate, i have to approach the commercial institute instead. Thought with my callibre, it shouldn't be a problem a get a loan, but then to my surprise, even though i'm going to be the sole finance of the property for all the future instalment, but because the house is under 2 names, so whichever party that has a bad credit record, it does affect the application. All the hussle is still going on. I always joke that maybe i have to move under the bridge one of these day - and now it does seems like it's going to be true. Can someone please tell me where's the widest/broadest bridge? But then i really need a permanent proper address inorder to receive someone back. Sigh! so living under the bridge is also beyond my means. And this someone, can you please "jia you"? Can you please be good so as to be able to reunite with me again? Every looking forward have always ended with disappointment. WHY DOESN'T THINGS GO THE WAY I WANT IT TO BE?

Have been pondering

Have been pondering:

Is the road really brighter at the end of the tunnel?

Does hard work really always pays off?

Is it true that if you did not harm anyone and you would be safe from harm?

Does GOD/SKY really have eyes?

I think i would not be able to know the answer unless i have really reach the end of life. Sigh!

Sharing here some pictures of the recent solar eclipse which i got thru' email. It was taken by some astrophile all over the world about the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century pitched a swath of Asia into near-darkness after dawn, as millions gathered to watch the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon today.

I manage to convert it into a slide show, but i especially like this picture:

And here's the slide show that i do with the available pictures:

As i step into.......

Gosh! As i step nearer to half a decade, look back and it seems like i have not achieve anything. Except lots of regrets..........

No birthday bash, lunch at koufu foodcourt, dinner at a nearby coffee shop. Played bejewelled blitz on facebook the whole day thru'.

But i do appreciate some great friends for making my day less boring thou. Got lots of smses of birthday wishes, birthday wishes from baking/cooking group, birthday wishes from some commercial advertisement and that's about all except great appreciation to STsn for her surprise birthday gift via post. Buddy! you really make my day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MYSELF

Thursday eveing - went to sifu house to pick up this.

From the box, you could clearly tell that it's a cake inside, but what type of cake is it?



It's actually dark chocolate mousse cake. This is specially hand made by sifu for my birthday.
The top layer is super yummy creme brulee, with a outer layer of super soft sponge cake, the base is also sponge cake. The center is dark chocolate mousse. Look at how well made this cake is - from outside, you could see that there's 3 layers, yellow -creme brulee, center dark brown color - dark chocolate mousse, and the lighter brown color is the sponge cake outer layer.

The interior.

Although i'm not much a fan of mousse, but this cake is super yummy.

After assembling the candle,

5.....4.....3......2......1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MYSELF

New Family member

Yesterday, my other nephew arrived. Weighing 3.2 kg and 49 cm in length. Yipee! Another new member is added to the family line. Visited my sister today at noon. She looks good and well. So happy. With my brother-in-law support, a domestic helper and a confinement lady, i'm sure she would recuperate well.

I nearly forgot

What did i nearly forgot? Haha.....i nearly forgot my log-in name and password for this blog. When you don't have much interesting things to update, you tend not to blog. Or should i say the lazy bug is in me and so i didn't bother to blog. Plus, when you have so many passwords to remember - from bank accounts password, personal email password, company's email password, company's server's password, etc, etc.......... the list can go on and on. Probably some would suggest using the same password - which i did formerly - i realise that i began to forget where am i logging into. Oh dear, that just me. Mmm.......... am i suffering from early Alzheimer?
My friend did crack a joke saying that and that's why i'm recording what have i done thru' blogging. Am i or am i not?

Now, back to my event recording again. Kekeke..........


Make this yesterday - FRENCH BROWNIES. Super yummy - even hubby couldn't help but requested that i make it again some other day.

Pretty, isn't it?

This is sarawak kek lapis . A lot of work is involve in making this. A lazy bum like me would probably not attempt to do this unless if i really have so much time to spare. This was given to me by one of my friend's relative from Indonesia. Another super yummy delicacies.

What is this?

Have i gone to the beach?

Under this super hot and humid weather?

Definitely not unless if i want to get some skin problem.

So what is this actually?

Well, this is one of the very old and traditional hokkien dessert call MEE TAY

It's make from flour, shallot and pork lard.

Nowaday it's hard to come by outside, and i believe not many people have heard or eaten this before. Infact, some hokkien dialect group have not heard of this before too. It i'm not wrong, this was originated from China - Xiamen Hokkien. When i was a little child, i remember my mum used to make this for my brother. I heard that it works like a tonic that build up the inner strength of the body.

Since it's so hard to come by, of course i'm not able to purchase it. This was specially make by my sifu 2 weeks ago when i visit her. She have given me 2 container full which i pass one to my brother. I believe my brother must be enjoying it since this was once his "tonic food".






This is how it looks like after mixing with hot water.

I prefer mine this way. If you add more water, it would be more dilute and you could actually drink it like a beverage.

After a long break

It had been a long time since my last posting. Some times i'm in that sort of mood whereby i don't feel like doing anything at all. I just laze around, blog hopping around, browsing aimlessly on the internet and doing nothing fruitful at all. Or if some (or is there any) may have noticed, i changed my blog layout.

Well, i play silly games on facebook too. Well, i don't understand myself too, why do i still play when i find it silly. Recently, i have been hooked on this bejewelled blitz (i can't even remember the spelling correctly, i think that's how it's spelled), i guessed that's why i call it silly.

It would had been really quite a disjudgement to myself if i had stop baking/cooking altogether since this have been my greatest hobby. Thanks to childhood friend STgt for giving me a reason to pick up from where i left out. My recent meeting up with her for our usual feast (oh, it's seoul garden korean BBQ buffet again. I hope we could be more "innovative" the next time we meet up again and hopefully not too long) had given me a reason to bake my signature chocolate chips cookies again. It has been quite some time since i last bake these cookies. These cookies are well liked by my colleagues and friends. Since i don't meet up with STgt very often, usually i try to make some thing for her. Since the arrangement to meet was a very last minute thing, i couldn't find time to do anything more except this as it's the easiest to make and keeps well too, so there's no worry that it would turn bad. But for i believed, this must have been "wallop up" in no time. **wink wink**




Making these cookies also given me an opportunity to revamp my recipe picture. This is one of the oldest recipe that i have put up for sharing. The last picture was badly taken, you could hardly see the chips and nuts in the cookies. Well, i wouldn't say this is well taken (given very little time to snap my pictures before packing my cookies for STgt), but at least you could see the chips and nuts.

Yesterday, i pull myself together to give my cooking hobby another boost. I think the lazy bug is still in me and i'm fighting hard with it.

TRADITIONAL GLUTINUOUS RICE

This is a little different from my recipe in my bon appetite blog. For this, i use every thing fresh - from chinese sausage, i switched to fresh pork strips, from chinese dried mushroom, i switched to fresh shiitake mushroom. The only thing that remained unchanged is the dried shrimp. i also added braised peanuts, spring onion and chillies as garnish and it just add more flavour to the glutinuous rice. For such yummy food, preparing just a little will not be enough for my weekly gathering at my brother's place.

As such, this is what i had make - a full 22cm tray.

Of course, this is not the only thing that i have make, i also make a all time favourite of my family - steamed pumpkin kueh. Whenever i make the above glutinuous rice, i always would make this pumpkin kueh because the ingredients that goes into the kueh is almost the same as that of glutinuous rice and it's easy for me to prepare them all at one go. My mum use to prepare the best pumpkin kueh which neighbours loves so much that they would place their order with her for their family occassions. I'm glad that i'm able to produce just equally good pumpkin kueh (my brothers and sisters said so).

Yep, it's another 20cm tray.




The "interior" of the kueh.