Sweet Indulgences - D'lish @ MidValley

Well , this trip to KL , we mostly spend our time eating , eating and more eating. I have never felt so relaxed before. Eating has become our first job..haha..just kidding. Every one hour we will ask each other “ So what are we going to eat for lunch/dinner? ”

Maybe becoz we were surrounded by food outlets everywhere in the mall. We can even smell the aroma of laksa and the three of us would say at the same time “ Penang Laksa ” and aromatic smell of different food filled the air-con mall. How not to think of food? : )

We stumbled upon this fantastic place called D’lish ….and Piggy gal was so thrilled becoz she hearts anything chocolatey. We walked in and to our surprised they have many cupcakes with different flavors and interesting toppings …..needless to say Piggy gal and momsie can’t help choosing a few cupcakes with different flavors and toppings. Each cupcake costs RM 6.50. Wow…that was expensive, so we bought only three. BUT to our surprised they charged us only 50% of what we were supposed to pay and that was RM9.75. Haha…Piggy gal’s eyes were twinkling as we walked out. Piggy gal then remembered reading pinkpau's blog that after 9pm , the cupcakes will be at 50%. So if you are around the area at that time, do drop by . The cupcakes tasted fantabulous.

Piggy gal went back and bought 2 more. Hahaha…it was so good that she went back for more!!!!

D'lish @ MidValley

Ground Floor, Mid Valley (opposite Starbucks)

I heart this take-away paper bag...nice

Cheese & Raspberry Brownie Cupcake with Chocolate Curls

Chocolate Banana Cupcake with Chocolate Frosting

Double Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Ganache & Marshmallows

Baked Banana Cheese Cupcake with White Chocolate Curls

Banana Cupcake with Butterscotch Frosting

Quote for the day

"Happiness is being able to eat what you like most and not having to worry about putting on weight"

Hearty Lunch at Nando's @MidValley

This trip to KL was a half holiday and half business thingy. Piggies are both having their semester break so I took leave and tagged along with daddy ,whilst he does his business, we did our own window shopping. We met up for lunch once he finished his business. We stayed at Cititel, MidValley, so it was very convenient for all of us. We chose to stay there becoz we knew we won’t get bored. Food and Entertainment and IT center… all in one place….haha smart of piggies to suggest that we stayed there this trip. ;) I know piggy boy wanted to see the phone he has in mind to purchase….hmmm it has been eating him up the last few weeks before we made this trip. Surfing non-stop and gathering info on this particular phone Nokia E series. Yo…..young man, be wise in spending money even though you earned it yourself!

We managed to meet up for lunch on one occasion. It was Nando's again! Daddy loves Nando's Peri Chicken but piggy gal and Momsie are not enthusiasts BUT I do love the chilli sauce that goes with the BBQ chicken. The Nando's has three types of chilli sauce…one being the Extra Hot Peri-Peri, one with Garlic Peri-Peri ( very fragrant ) and the other is Hot Peri-Peri. Haizz… And I forgot to purchase a bottle back. : ( It costs about RM9.90 each.

See how daddy attacked the BBQ chicken? He ate every morsels of it!

Can you wipe that smile off your face? 
You don't have to tempt me..I know it is yummilicious!
(",)

Oink oink.... this piggy loves dessert...a real chocolatey gal

(".)

Momsie and Piggy Gal..while waiting for their dessert
(",)

Finally the dessert arrived. Chocolate Mudcake with Vanilla Ice Cream Topping.
One word .. heavenly !
~~00~~

Korean Cuisine - To Our Delights!

Daddy and piggy boy wanted to eat at Nando's for dinner but piggy gal and myself don't want to eat Nando so we decided to split up for dinner. Daddy and piggy boy will eat at Nando's while Piggy gal and myself will go for Korean food. As both of us haven't eaten korean food before ,we were both game for it. Thus ,we ended up in this korean restaurant on the highest floor in Mid Valley.

Haha..as we entered the restaurant, one of the waiter greeted us " annyeonghaseyo " meaning "Good evening " ... well, we do feel awkward...but we were both in the mood to try something different. So be it. Piggy gal and I did enjoyed ourselves very much. Arr...a nite we can call our " girlie nite" ..without the guys tagging along. (",)

Restaurant Korea Kyung Joo

This is yours truly - Momsie

I ordered this rice set " Doo Boo jjikeh " a seafood soup with glass noodles, tofu, straw mushrooms, enoki, cucumber, prawns, crab meat cooked in hot spicy bean paste and comes with side vegetables like kim chi, big bean sprouts, fish cakes, spinach and shredded melon and a bowl of rice
RM18

Piggy gal ordered this " Kim chi jjikeh " a mixture of glass noodles, oyster mushrooms, enoki, slices of pork, carrots, cabbage cooked with kim chi....sourish taste.
RM16

Piggy gal can't wait to try this side dishes ;)

Piggy gal can't wait to savour it.....heehee

Mmmmm.....becareful..it's hot

We ordered this Strawberry Red Tea...a must try ! It has a very fragrant taste...sip it slowly,you get to taste the strawberry flavor after every sip. It is very special indeed.

RM4.90

Lastly for dessert, we ordered a wasabi ice cream

It really gives you the kick.

Rating- Very good

RM3.80

Piggy gal and I had a wonderful and satisfying dinner. We promised ourselves that we will definitely come again to this cozy little Korean restaurant. We will try other dishes from the menu.. as we eat, we spy on other patrons what they ordered for their dinner. Haha ...so that we know what to order the next time when we come again.

We left the restaurant and this time the waiter knew that we are not his native, he just greeted us " thank you " . The waiters and waitresses are koreans. I guess it must be a family business. Haha...who cares as long as their food is nice. Yummilicious!!!

Unveiled - Face-lift of the Ipoh Railway Station

Ipoh Railway Station

25th February,2008

at 10.30am

Entrance to Platform 1

The new escalator

the new double tracks for the electric train

Platform 1



The train arriving on time for once :)

This is not the electric train..it is still the old coaches... :)
The new electric train will start sometime in April 2008

The Ipoh railway station has undergone a face-lift . New steel structure roofs and double tracks and high tension electric cable for the electric train which will most probably start running in April this year. Whooppee.... good news for piggy gals.

For now it look kinda deserted coz the station is not operating fully yet. We decided to take a train ride to Kuala Lumpur for a short break, thus for our presence there at the station. We have not been on a train for the last few years since it was closed for renovation. It was fun for us....for the journey brought back memories of yester years where we travelled frequently to KL and Penang by train. My piggies still enjoyed the beautiful scenery of old disused mining pools and the cows and goats gazing the grass on the villages fields. To the city people, these are rare sights to behold.

Today we were given the chance to see these sights again...and now my piggies are grown up and still enjoy watching out from the train window and grinning to themselves whenever they see goats and farm fowls ... so care free in the open space. Villages children running and playing so happily with no worries on them.

Well I pray that the electric train will start running in April this year. I understand that it will have 5 trips daily to Kuala Lumpur and each trip will take about one and three quarters hours to reach KL Central. Good news indeed to us piggies!

May No Gift Be Too Small To Give......

This book has been sitting in the book shelf since 2002. Piggy Gal and I were sorting out the books from the book shelf in her room and found this book. I guessed it must have been lying idle for 6 years in that corner of the shelf . I wiped it clean and to my surprised it still looks new. This book, was a birthday present from us , for her 14th birthday. Cool, I wonder whether she read it or not, since it still looks new. . She really knows how to take care of her things...haizz a world of difference between she and the Piggy Boy. Anyway , girls are better at taking care of things than boys... do you agree?

10,001 of the world's worst jokes.....hmm I guess it will take me at least one month to finish reading all the 10,001 jokes. It should be fun , I think, even though they may be the worst jokes ever.

Quote taken from ' Words To Warm A Mother's Heart '

May no gift be too small to give, nor too simple to receive, which is wrapped in thoughtfulness and tied with love. - anon

Stir-Fry Pumpkin Slices With Prawns

Dinner , at times can be simple enough. Came home late , have to think of something simple and easy. Something not time consuming. Everyone's tummy is growling so have to quickly prepare something real SIMPLE.

Stir-Fry Pumpkin Slices with Prawns and ‘ Soup of the Day’ was packet meatballs cooked in mint leaves soup . Mint leaves are from the garden. And I fried some eggs. Simple enough? When I follows a drama series on the idiot box…dinner can be just ‘ take-away chicken rice ’ from the outside coffee shop :) Good thing for them, that I am not following any series at the moment. :)

Stir-Fry Pumpkin Slices with Prawns

Ingredients:
¼ pumpkin –removed the skin and sliced thinly
10 prawns – shelled and deveined
2 pips of garlic – chopped
1 tblspoon of cooking oil
1/2 tsp of sea salt

Thickening
½ tsp Corn starch
5 tablespoon water

Method:
Heat wok , add in 1 tblspoon cooking oil , add in the garlic and sautee the garlic till fragrant. Add in the prawns and continue to stir fry till half cooked. Add in the pumpkin slices and fry till cooked. Add in a bit of water and simmer longer if you want the pumpkin to be real soft. Add in sea salt and thickening. Dish up and serve hot.

Meatballs with Mint Leaves Soup

Ingredients:

10 meatballs
1 pip garlic – crushed
a handful of mint leaves – washed clean
sea salt to taste
1 egg
½ tsp of oil
2 bowls of water/stock

Method:

Lightly fry the crushed garlic in a pan with a ½ tsp of cooking oil. When fragrant add in
2 bowls of water/stock in a pan and heat up in medium fire. When the water/stock boils, add in the meatballs. When the meatballs are cooked , add in the mint leaves, salt and add in the egg and off the fire. Lightly stir the egg in the soup with a fork so that it will be streaky. Serve hot.

***********

Thoughts For The Day:
" Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort" - Franklin Roosevelt

' Lincoln ' - Ice Wine

This bottle of ' Lincoln ' ice wine was given to us as a gift last Christmas by someone special who might be going to be a part of our family if God’s willing 0_____0 in the near future.

We haven’t had a chance to taste it yet so I am not able to tell you whether it is good or not. Haha…I have tried many types of red wine but ice wine will be my first . So sweet of this someone special coz it came all the way from New Zealand. I heart the bottle shape, slim and tall...so sexy and I think it gonna taste good. :)

Red wine is good for the heart especially for the women. I prefer red wine to white wine. Wine or any form of liquor is expensive in my country so normally my family can only have wine on festive seasons or birthdays. The government taxes us heavily for it O_o . I sometimes wish I have a vineyard...haha...I have to pinch myself to stop dreaming.

If you have a desire to know more about wine like me, you can click the link I have provided below for further knowledge.

Wine site

Chat Wine Blog

Red Wine (antioxidant)

I like this blogger , David Crowley ,who blogs mostly on wine. His blogging has helped enlightened my knowledge on wine and many other things. Thanks David, you are a gem.

' Every Picture Tells A Story ' by Rod Stewart

This picture has been hanging on the wall of our dining room since 1994. Drawn by Piggy Gal when she was age six . It was her first complete art piece and , naturally, as proud parents we had this piece of priceless art framed. Looking at it today , indeed , this picture tells a story . A happy child thanking God for His Creation. o_____o.

This picture revealed to me that she has God in her heart at a tender age of 6 ( picture of the church with the big cross ) , the ducks flying happily in the sky showed her naivety. I was too proud then , to take note that the birds in the sky were infact ducks…haha…but no matter what, this picture tells a story.

This picture will be part of Piggy Gal's childhood...each time she looks at it, it brings back sweet memories. She gets to draw ducks flying in the sky and gets away with it. Size of the butterflies bigger than the flowers, rainbow painted different colors and the flowers taller than the door.....Haha...not only that but this piece of art got framed up and was hung on the wall since.

Her famous art piece. 'God Makes Everything Beautiful'

Quote taken from " Words To Warm A Mother's Heart "

A mother’s happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories. – Honore Of Balzac

A Trip To The Nearest Farmers' Market

I never had so much fun before….hubby took piggy gal , the maid and me to the Farmers’ Market near the Stadium last Saturday. It had been quite awhile since we last made a trip there. The maid wanted to buy some clothes for her daughter , so the only place that sells cheaper clothes are from the stalls at the Farmers’ Market. I really enjoyed myself there. There were so many things to see and ogled over and there were so many types of local cakes and food stuff on sale there.

Besides stalls selling vegetables and fruits, there were also stalls selling handicrafts, shoes, clothes and many other interesting food stuff. Haha… there were stalls selling potted plants and among them are orchids in full bloom. Beautiful but quite pricey though. But I can’t resist the bird’s eye chilli plant so I bought a pot back. It costs me RM5. Kind of pricey but since it is in full bloom I don’t mind paying for it. Here are some pictures I took when I was there.

( I bought this bird's eye chilli plant for RM5 )

Orchids are in full bloom and they looked gorgeous but I am not an orchid enthusiast so didn't buy any. Can't resist stealing shots on them...haha...

They even sell salted fish of various varieties there. I couldn’t resist stealing a shot of the stall with the big salted fish being hung up as sample . Haha..

Such a big one....I forgot to ask how much this one costs....do you notice that there are no flies around? Strange right? Do you think that they might have sprayed some chemical on the salted fish?

All types of crispies ….a whole range of them…selling RM5 for 3 pkts. Bought some back coz piggies love to munch on them while facing the idiot box.


A stall selling woven reed and rattan baskets and handicrafts....interesting stuff

I have never seen this type of melon before. Have you ? The inside is like honey dew. The sellers claimed that they are very sweet but since no one bought any..... I didn't buy any either . Just stole a shot though. Hahaha...

( D.I.Y advertising )

There were lotz of stalls selling interesting items, but hubby's stomach was growling, I had to rushed through my marketing list. After the maid had her shopping done, we went for our breakfast. Haizz...wouldn't mind going there again.

I HEART ITALIANO PASTA - TORCHIETTI

Torchietti

Shaped like “little torches,” these short, bell-shaped pasta go well with plain tomato sauces. It is from the Campania region of Italy. Torchietti is pronounced as (tor-kee-EH-tee). Must never overboiled them least they become too soft. Pasta should be cooked till 'al dente '. It means " to the teeth" in Italian . It is considered cooked to an ideal degree of doneness where it is firm and not soft. It must be chewy and firm to the teeth.

I so heart these cuties....haha.. haven’t tried it before, so bought a packet home. I was really bewitched by it.

Piggy gal was thrilled by the shape too and asked to have pasta for dinner. I chose bolognaise-like sauce but added more cheese to it. I added extra cheddar and morzeralla cheese to the sauce ( that’s all the cheese I have in the fridge..left over from the last pizza making ) The cheesy flavour blends well with it . It tasted fantastic. Haha….my two piggies simply loved it. Hubby doesn’t like pasta..any form of pasta. So he will have to cook his own meal whenever we have pasta for dinner. Heehee..this is the only time I can bully him to do his own dinner. *wink*

One thing about my piggies, they love to eat, anything from noodles to pizza . So it is easy for me to prepare dinner for them. I don’t cook lunch coz I am a working momsie except on weekends , that also very seldom. Normally after church, we eat out. This is how I cooked the torchietti (tor-kee-EH-tee ).

Italiano Torchietti With Bolognaise Sauce

Ingredients used to prepare the bolognaise-like sauce :)

Pasta has more than a 100 types. Comes in different shapes and sizes and flavors. I can go gaga over them. And many types of sauces to go with it. Pasta is nutritious but can be fattening too becoz of the cream and cheese that goes with it. But one can prepare the sauce with olive oil instead of butter and cut down on the cheese and uses tomato sauce instead of cream. It is so yummy delicious that my piggy gal doesn't mind having them often. She is a cheese gal just like the dad. She loves anything cheesy :) and she insisted that more italian herbs to be added to the sauce too....so italiano! I so love pasta that I bought a recipe book just on pasta. Published by "The Australian Woman's Weekly" . Of course seafood pasta is the best and my favourite too. Heehee ....I know , I know , it is damn fattening...haizz.... :(

Note: If you have red wine at home, add in ½ cup of red wine into the sauce. It tastes even better.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to you three guys who have given me a life full of surprises...buckets of tears to buckets of joy. No matter what , I will be there for you guys always!

AND

Happy Valentine's Day To All Bloggers & Friends Too

Have a Wonderful Day with your Family and Loved Ones.

This is a wonderful testimony of what love is all about. Wanna read? click here awesome love

Chinese Tradition of 'Loe Sung' In My Home

Underneath that colored radish are those shredded veg.

Couldn't take a pic of the tossed ingredients coz it vamoose before I can take a pic of it.

Today, according to the chinese calendar, is everyone’s birthday. The Cantonese named this day “ Yan Yat ” A big day for everyone . Needless to say, ‘ loe sung ’ is a must for the chinese…haha… I took the opportunity to loe sung together since my piggies are back together with us. A delicacy we never miss. We are to mix all the raw ingredients together which comprises of shredded carrots, radish , cucumber, fatt choy , coriander leaves , those crispy fritters like thingy, roasted sesame, some roasted chopped peanuts, raw fish slices ( pickle with lime juice or brandy for those who do not eat raw fish slices ), pickle leeks and pomelo pulps. Toss together with the prepared sweet sauce ( no idea what it is made of ) , ¼ teaspoon of five spice powder and a tablespoon of cooking oil.

The best part of this is , using the chopsticks and in unison , lifted the tossed ingredients as high as possible and screaming at the top of our voices at the same time “ Loe Hei , Loe Hei ’.The more the merrier. To us, Chinese , the higher we lift the loe sung the higher we gain better achievement in our careers or studies. For those in businesses , they believe they will be more prosperous the year ahead . A chinese tradition ,in which other races do partake when they are invited to the Chinese home. They find it interesting and amusing , and not wanting to miss the good luck and blessings that the Chinese are going to get in the year of the golden rat. Good things must be shared…right? *wink* .

Years back when I was younger, I remembered that the chinese have it only on the 7th day of Chinese New Year . But today, they have it on the eve till the 15th day of the CNY. Haha… I guess chinese restaurateur are smart. They promote it from the eve to the 15th day so they make more money out of people who really believes that the more loe sung they have, they more prosperous they become. Who will become more prosperous? The restaurateur, of course! Piggy like me becomes fatter…haha… loves those crispy fritters..hmmmm yummy delicious and a fantabulous dish! We will have another round on the 15th day coz piggy gal is still around. A month sem break….gosh , she gonna be a well fed rounded piggy when she goes back to her hostel. (“,)

Note: Bought this dish of ' loe sung ' from a restaurant near my housing estate. It costs RM36 a box. The queue was long. But worth the queuing... (",)