My New Somewhat Hobby

I used to love baking before this.. not that i've tried baking many things, mostly just cupcakes or muffins and only have tried baking moist chocolate cake n chocolate cheesecake.. but i remember loving that.. getting ready the ingredients and measuring it all up.. watching the batter gets bigger and puffier in the oven.. but cleaning up after was like hell (as i mentioned before, i hate cleaning up after)... but somehow, as time goes by, i've noticed that i'm more leaning towards cooking as oppose to baking.. i don't feel like baking whenever the thought occurs.. but when i get the chance to cook, i'm somewhat more eager about it...

i guess i do enjoy cooking before this, like during the time my parents went for haji, i took down some recipes from mama for me to cook..those time i just made simple dishes to eat with rice.. but lately, i tend to experience more with pasta (konon mcm byk kali try je =b )... jue ckp kite ni masak western je, padahal time masak pasta je lah mengada2 nk send pics.. bler kite masak sup bayam or masak lemak kobis xtersend pics pon hahahahah so ever since i tried the Shaytard's Alpine Mushroom Pasta, i wanted to perfect it...

as mentioned, the 1st time i tried to make this, papa had to eat it with ketchup sbb tawar huhuhuh...

the 2nd time i made this, i remembered to taste 1st before eating it.. it was all vegan this time cuz i had no chicken so i only used mushroom n asparagus.. looks better right...

the 3rd time was a failure.. i used angel hair spaghetti instead, and i used wild mushrooms rather than canned button mushroom, plus i remembered to buy cheese boo hoo... 

i made this during my recent day off.. semangat nk cuti n masak, decided to make lamb chop cuz xpuas mkn kt rumah tok cik hari tu... there were 3 main factors that made me fail, 1st is using angel hair spaghetti.. sgt x sesuai with this kinda pasta and maybe i over-boiled it... 2nd was the wild mushroom.. i didn't realised i didn't use wild mushrooms before this until i started cooking.. air die kluar and at first i thought "ok, i don't need to add more water now" wrong!! the pasta tasted funny cuz of that mushroom water oozing out huhuhuhuh and 3rd was the cheese.. finally when i remembered to use cheese, i overdose the pasta with it huhuhuhuh it didn't give that nice texture that i wanted... so yeah, practice makes perfect only when u try to do the same thing over again, not when u experiment the "same" recipe with different ingredients huhuhuh

owh well, i'll perfect that recipe soon.. anyway, another round of lamb chop this coming new year yeah!!! planned to have lamb chop, garlic bread, mushroom soup, cheesy wedges and perhaps burgers.. different side dishes from what i made that day... that day i only did lamb chop, pasta and some mixed vegie... look it!!

the ingredients...

tadaa!!!! (don't be deceived by the look of it huhuhuh)

this is what i made awhile back, time cuti gk... roast chicken, mixed vegie, garlic bread and cheesy wedges... i know ulang2 je menu kn hahaha but this was in October so agak back-dated  =b 

ok, enough bragging about my 'cooking skills'... browsing for other draft that i can finish writing to post.. post genting still not done yet cuz pics are all in my tab.. hope everyone has a good weekend and new year ahead..

Year in Review: 2012

ok it's been awhile i know.. xde mood n sgt2 malas.. and i figure i'll still be lazy this week, so i thought of doing this a little bit early and brief (my version of brief, anyway).. so how has the year been treating me? it's been good, considering.. so just as i did last year, i'm just gonna do bits and pieces of random things and highlights of this year here... also, just as last year, the first shout out and "one of the most awesomest memories" goes to the wedding of my best friend, shikin!! i've blogged about it and can still recall the great moments we had.. i'm too lazy to link so just browse about if u wanna read it.. it should be somewhere in july, right? owh well, it was a fun experience just hanging out with my friends and just being together.. funny we only see each other once a year, boo hoo... in no particular order (except for the 1st place) these were among the great memories and experience i had this year...

of course, how can i go on and not mention about Avenged Sevenfold's concert.. Awesome!!! among the top 3 best concert i've been to, that's for sure.. i don't think my excitedness is properly express here, so just imagine me jumping up and down while typing this out  =b

our 5 in 1 dinner this year.. although we didn't take a lot of pics, n mama wasn't feeling good, it was still fun.. i didn't make a post about it yet, but we had dinner at the Traders Hotel KL... and they had dim sum!! yeayyy for that hehehehe

we had more family moments this year, more dinners together, and finally had our short family trip in Cherating!! although the hotel was a bummer, but we had fun together just hanging out.. even when we didn't know what to do, as we realised there was nothing there, we did manage to have a good time.. and i discovered my love for satar.. maybe love is an understatement.. it was more of an obsession.. for the past 2 days there, i think i ate more than 50 satar.. yumminess hehehehe

this year also, i realised that i love cooking.. this wasn't a one of thing.. just something i noticed.. and what i've been trying for a couple of times now is making pasta.. i've succeeded, i've failed.. owh well, practice makes perfect and although i have a strong feeling that i won't be opening my very own restaurant, i would really love to cook for my family + opah n all one day...

i managed to do more work out this year compared to last year.. does that count? not that i'm really keeping count, but that's just how it feels and i will consider that to be a big accomplishment for me.. even tho 'shaytember' didn't succeed pffttt...

i'm still obsessed with the Shaytards  =b  i even got their 2013 calendar, which sadly wasn't signed by them.. i was keeping my fingers crossed for that one.. and it'll be more value for money if it was signed cuz total of the calendar plus shipment? about rm105++.. not cheap for a calendar.. owh well...

i bought myself a Galaxy Tab hehehe not really a huge highlight but, it's among the things i bought with my own money that cost quite a bit (for my standard at least) 

work-wise? plenty of ups and downs but i hope this will be the year... please?

i went for my first treasure hunt this year, which had me started to like treasure hunts.. only did them twice, but i love the 1st one better.. cuz it was with my family!!!

errr i took a picture with Siti Nurhaliza? hahahaha boleh la...

paid off my car for another year wee hoo.. i now have only 1 year to go before i fully own a car.. and  a somewhat increment for not having to pay my monthly loan.. 

and last but not least, how things are going on with my family.. couldn't ask for anything better =D

well that's all i could think about now... there some lows this year but not worth mentioning.. the year ain't over yet, and we still have another family dinner planned, i.e. our parents anniversary tomorrow.. i think it's their 30th anniversary.. haven't gotten them anything just yet.. not quite sure what to get them.. we're planning to go for Japanese food tomorrow night yeayy...

as for the year  ahead, i'm still keeping my stand with having no new year resolution.. so no pressure.. i'll just do the usual of trying to better myself, in mostly all aspect.. so, although it's a tee wee bit early, Happy New Year and let's welcome 2013 with open arms.. 

Meat Point @ TTDI

This is so back dated, i can't really recall when it was.. My family decided to have a family dinner (weehoo).. there was no lunch so i guess naturally, papa was hungry.. he asked what's for dinner and suggested to eat at Jasema (mamak je? heheheh) but then as usual, once we get in the car, we were still putting out ideas where to eat.. so izad suggested to eat at Meat Point at TTDI.. the thing with us is that restaurants kt TTDI mmg xkhatam lg.. we usually just eat at the same place.. Santai and lately Homst.. so since it was a good idea, we decided to try it out.. 

Meat Point @ TTDI.. it's easy to find, just the same row with Standard Chartered..

we ordered one dish each, although initially i thought of just sharing.. here's what we had...

We ordered some mushroom soup and garlic bread for starters... the soup was nice, same goes to the bread..

Yaya and I had carbonara.. at first i didn't order anything, thought of just sharing.. but then i felt hungry, so i decided to have this instead.. taste good, not great.. 

this is a little tough.. since the meat all looks the same.. but i'm pretty sure it's the beef.. basically u choose ur meat from the freezer, then they'll gice u 2 side dishes.. choose between the saute or grilled vegie, and also between fries n mashed potatoes... the taste are normal.. they should have more vegies.. so mama n papa had the same dish...

izad had the lamb.. initially, i planned to share with her.. but upon the arrival of the food, nmpk mcm xcukup jer huhuhuh

so that's what we had.. the total damage was RM200++ (can't remember exact amoount) plus drinks la.. my honest opinion? u could get better western food at Tony Roma's, Chillis or TGIF at about almost the same price but with more side dishes.. but if u're around Taman Tun and thinking of going having some western food, u could give it a try.. it ain't bad, just that there are better places to eat  =b

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drafted this post dh lamer gler.. clearing my blog and just checking on anything yet to be publish.. so be prepared for random stuff..

Annapolis + The Guardian

I watched the movie Annapolis last night featuring James Franco.. then suddenly i felt like writing a break up story inspired by that movie plus The Guardian, featuring Ashton Kutcher.. i'm liking the way it's turning out so hopefully this could be a nice shortie.. i wrote Another Daydream once but it didn't work out for me (as with any other thing i try to write).. start small, that's my aim.. 

that is all  =b

Time To Party?? Not!!

ok, citer dah basi.. but since i've been doing it 2 years in a row, i thought i'll just do a quickie, plus i had some pics..

So we had our department dinner on 5th Oct (papa's birthday).. for some reason (other than the president of the staff committee) it didn't feel exciting as the previous ones i attended.. click here for last year's dinner and here for 2009 dinner where we newbies performed.. those nights seemed more exciting and fun.. so this year's dinner was held at Furama Hotel.. i guess it's new cuz the interior seems like it.. but the surrounding area looks kinda scary to me.. maybe cuz it's known somewhat as the red light district hahahaha anyway, we got there earlier than last year, siap2 n lepak2 kt surau hotel tu dlu... went up to the ballroom (i think) where the event was held.. unfortunately our table was the front one and the speaker was near us so it wasn't really a strategic table to sit at.. plus there was a tiang in the middle of the room that blocked our view..

they played a few games, it was ok.. not too fun though... and of course, in the hype of time, they did the gangnam.. won't comment on the dancing cuz i don't know how to comment without sounding rude (ok kejam huhuh)  oklah malas nk tulis.. here's a few pics i got .. there's other pics actually but i didn't get it from my friends.. couldn't bothered by it..

I don't know why i do the peace sign in almost all pics.. mcm xde pose laen je huhuhuh  annoying plak tgk.. thanx to ashraff n huda for the pics... this year xde ady n hani so a switch in company that night.. ok sgt malas.. this week sgt best sbb selang seli cuti n keje wee hoo... bye

2 Down, 1 More To Go

Yes, I’ve paid 2 year off of my car loan and now left with a year to go.. woot woot.. I’m so excited to call that car mine, plus be about rm800 richer each month muahahahaha my plan (as I may have mentioned before) is to do my best to pay everything off by July.. then I have the remaining of next year to enjoy / save that extra money.. then in 2014 (I’m being optimistic here) I’m going house hunting.. seeing that I’m super picky with the house I want, finding my so called ‘dream house’ might not be easy..

I want a home that’s not so far from ttdi, or kl cuz I don’t want to commute a lot for work.. even a 1 hour drive to work (without traffic) is consider super far.. if possible I want somewhere that takes me about 30mins drive without traffic.. I though of having a semi d cuz I want it to be more spacious but then that’ll cost a lot, so I could just settle with owning a terrace corner lot.. that way I have a garden, and I can go through the back door from inside my house.. I’m also a little picky about the square feet of my house.. my parent’s house in ttdi is I think 24” x 70”(or 75”, xsure).. n I see most houses are about 20” or 22” and they seem a bit small.. I don’t want my house to feel sempit so I’m thinking of a 24” house too..

And then there’s the price.. I don’t make a lot so almost all houses with the specs above cost a lot, more than I could afford.. the houses I could afford, however, are far away like maybe Nilai or something and that’s like living in another country.. xnk laa (gedik).. so now I’ll have to save up some ka-ching for my future home.. unless Prince Harry does decide to marry me, then money is not a issue  =b  ok dh hbs merapu, bye

Happy Belated Birthday Papa!!

ok so i'm 10 days late in writing a post about this.. but what matters most is that i wasn't late in wishing my dad =b  so last last friday was my dad's 61st Birthday... he's old hehehe but alhamdulillah still healthy.. what sucks that day was i didn't even meet him.. i drove to work cuz we had our department dinner that night.. our cars did pass one another so i just raised a hand and saw him briefly.. then i had the dinner and came back about 11pm++ almost twelve and off course, papa had slept.. we left a card for him just to wish him, and i text him to wish happy birthday.. owh well, as they say, it's the thought that counts hehehe so happy birthday papa.. i wish u all the happiness in the world, panjang umur, and murah rezeki.. if only u knew how happy we were (at least izad & i) about u last saturday.. i wish that remains forever..

Memory Lane

As u might know, mama went to london for the past 10 days or so.. i know it's kinda cheesy to post pics of vacation that doesn't belong to u or the ones u didn't go to, but i'm gonna make an exception here cuz mama send some pics that were among the earliest memory i had in life.. and this is even before labuan, even before i met my best friends jue n shikin.. i remember back then, my so called 'bff' were emma and aminah.. i remember going to their house after school, playing dressed up and make up.. i was so young then.. i wasn't even 6 years old... i was excited when i saw the pics, so i could only imagine how mama felt, when she was there again...

 the back of our house.. our house is the one on the left.. i remember going down this stairs to the backyard, which is a big garden.. and there are a bunch of christmas like trees at the back.. i also remember walking by that little path there on the left side... 

this is our school in london.. Holy Trinity Primary School.. i have a picture of myself in the school uniform (which i doubt i will post it here) so much memories at this school.. i remember participating in our school play.. i was the dancer for Grease Lightning.. i was also the purple teddy bear, one of the toys from Santa's workshop for the christmas play.. then i was supposed to be one of the orphans in Oliver Twist, but then we had to move back to malaysia..

This is the road we had to walk on the way to school.. maybe because we were smaller back then, but i remember this downhill road seems much more wider... the school's gate that we enter daily is about halfway down the hill (if i remember correctly).. 

this must have been funny and weird at the same time.. my mum taking pictures from outside the school hehehehe

so yeah, just a few pictures to share.. thought i'd have it in my blog, just in case.. so tell me, what were among the earliest memories u had in ur life?

Shaytard's Alpine Mushroom Pasta

Another recipe from the Shaytard Household that we tried.. we tweaked it a bit to suit our tasting... instead of meatless, we added some chicken fillet.. it's simple n tasty, just the way i like it..  so the recipe here is what we used (although we forgot about the cheese), so u can add whatever suits u...

Ingredients:-

1/2 packet of Fettuccine

Olive Oil

Onions

Garlic

1/2 can of Button Mushroom 

Cherry Tomatoes

Chicken Fillet

Asparagus

Vege Broth/ Chicken Stock

Mozzarella Cheese (i forgot this boohoo)

*****

So basically this all goes down to how much u like stuff, i.e tomatoes, asparagus etc.. if u like them, add more of them, otherwise, put less.. First off, diced all the ingredients such as onions, garlic  asparagus, tomatoes, mushroom and chicken.. i used 1/2 of the onion that was as big as my fist, but u could use more.. then i used about 4 garlic.. we cut the cherry tomatoes in half, sliced the mushroom to small slices, the asparagus was cut smaller but i would suggest about 1cm long.. the chicken was cut bigger then i hoped it'll be, so note to self, cut the chicken smaller.. 

this recipe is just mixing it all together, one item at a time.. first, the usual, will be the onions and garlic.. then add the chicken and mushroom.. remember, this is all done while the pasta is cooking, so make sure u check the pasta every once in a while just to make sure they're cook right and not soggy.. next add about 1/2 can of vege broth.. i didn't have this so what i did was used some hot water n mixed some chicken stock in it... then i added some flour to make it thicken a bit... when the chicken is cooked, add in the vege broth/chicken stock.. simmer it a bit and add in the asparagus and tomatoes.. 

have a taste if this to make sure it's ok.. i kinda missed this part huhuhuh i put a little too much chicken stock (at least i thought i did), and didn't add more salt and pepper cuz i thought it'll be salty.. big mistake.. so remember to taste n put some salt if it needs to be added.. once that's done, u're pasta should be cooked as well... drain the water out of the pasta, and leave about 1/4 of a cup of the water ( i didn't do this though cuz i already had a lot of water mixed with the chicken stock).. add in the pasta with the other ingredients... sprinkle some mozzarella cheese and mixed them well (i totally overlook this part huhuhu)

the end result??  Walla...

it looks good right? and i like the way it taste too, although more salt could be better (or maybe chicken stock) i guess it's good cuz izad can eat it (although xtambah) but also the downside, papa had to eat it with some ketchup huhuhuh but overall, trial and error.. will cook this for mama when she gets back.. she's coming home today weehooo

Shaytards' Quinoa Salad

So, as obvious as it is, for some reason, watching the Shaycarl can be very influential.. i've been watching the shaytards vlog for perhaps two years now, and almost everything they say or do, i seem to want too.. for example, the food they eat.. especially now since they moved to LA, they've been eating salads a lot.. and once they showed how they made Quinoa salad which looks yummy.. plus the kids ate it so maybe the taste is 'tolerable'? heheheh so anyway, here's the recipe for the salad.. not exactly how they made them, we tweak it here and there.. not that anyone will try this out anyway  =b just for my future reference hehehe

Ingredients:-

1/2 cup of Quinoa (it's a type of grain/wheat, so look in that section)

2 Tomatoes

1 Onions

a few Cilantro

1/2 can of Corns

1/2 can of Red Beans

1/2 can of Chick Peas (kacang kuda)

1 Green pepper (capsicum)

1 Jalapeno (cili hijau hahahaha name nk class aje)

For dressing:-

2 Lime

4 tbspn Olive Oil

1/4 tspn Cumin powder (optional)

This is easy to do.. since it's a salad, it's just mostly dicing the ingredients and mixing them all up.. the above is a suggested amount n also for future reference.. we used about double of everything so it was a huge portion, seeing that only the two of us ate it.. so next time if i plan on making some more, i'll just use 1/2 a can of everything, or maybe use a smaller can if they have one..

so basically, diced everything up into smaller sizes (except for the dressing ingredients).. we didn't cut the corn n beans so that was the same size.. mix it all together n put it to a side.. take the quinoa and heat it with a cup of water... let it simmer till all the water are absorb and evaporates (make sure it's not too dry)... add the quinoa with the other ingredients and mix it.. this is the salad..

for the dressing, take the olive oil and mixed it with lime juice.. add a bit of cumin (i don't know what it taste like so u can just skip this), and salt n pepper for taste.. mix it well.. pour the dressing to the salad and mix well... wala, u got ur quinoa salad.. it doesn't really looks yummy, but i love the taste.. eat it with some tortilla chips and it's yummy.. i could survive a meal with just eating this hehehe

a thing that i'll change the next time i make them again (besides the portion) is to add more dressing n more lime, n lessen the onions n cilantro.. add more tomatoes.. yummyy... 

the end result...

lets eat more greens heheheh