Hub's 27th Birthday

Hubby turned 27 last Friday. We didn't have a big party nor a family dinner due to his family's busy schedule. First, dinner on Saturday was on the agenda but then, one was tied up so, Sunday Lunch came to mind but again it got canceled because he or she had plans at the last minute. I guess everyone has their own modes of plan nowadays but a postpone date might come up later. We'll never know till the last minute :p.

Well, never mind bout that. Today, mom cooked some stuff up to celebrate Hub's birthday at home. It was simple and nice which equals to a hearty meal.

Roast Lamb... so juicy so yummy!



Spaghetti Sauce minus the spaghetti... Joe's favorite



Mushroom, onions, potatoes and carrots garnished with dill



Bake/Roast pumpkin, Hub's favorite!!!



Garlic bread... Judith's and Javier's favorite



Mango Avocado Prawn Salad



We've got a real big Sparkling Juice too courtesy of Sis!



To which Hub's great strength proved to be too much for the glass bottle! It popped and the top came off with some parts of the bottle. Haha.. luckily it was save to drink. Don't worry, sis used a sieve to double make sure there's no other particles except liquid in the drink.



Strawberry Cheesecake courtesy of Sis friend, Miss Adeline.



Here we are singing the Birthday Song for Hub with Javier gyrating left to right.



May the Good Lord Bless Jake!



What are you wishing for, Hubby? Wish that your wife to be more SANE? Lol!


Mom is rationing!



Joe couldn't wait for the cake anymore.. he's helping himself to a slice



This strawberry cheesecake was quite delicious actually. It finished off our dinner nicely.

What a nice Birthday Dinner we had for Hubby today . He was very happy that my family, especially my MOM took the initiative to have a tiny celebration for him. He was thankful but lastly, he couldn't have ask for any better than this. Love you Hubs. Happy 27th Birthday. And THANKS MOM!

Happy Tang Yuen Day

Happy 'Tang Yuen' Day, guys. Did you feel the cool air today? It was quite a gloomy day hence, during the past, folks believe that it is the arrival of winter, 'Dong Zhi'. Since granny isn't in KL this time around, mom made 'tang yuen' for us to eat in the morning! We had the yummy balls before we went to work which was great for breakfast. Something different! ALAS!

'Tang yuen' comes in different sizes and colors but the most common ones are white + pink.
How do you normally have your 'tang yuen' eaten?

Does your 'tang yuen' comes with chopped peanuts and sugar?

At 'The Kwok's Residence', we skinny dip our glutinous rice balls into the yummylicious peanut mixture. Hmmmmmm YUM! After that, we gulped the remaining 'tong sui' @ sugar water.

And... Hubby never goes to work without filling himself up with eggs. 3 soft boil eggs to be exact.



There you go.. a simple 'Tang Yuen' day for us. Chinese beliefs that today is also the day we grow a year older. Oooo....

Mom's Latest Makings'

Mom has been baking recipes, trying out new flavors lately. Since I've started working, there were many cake moments which I failed to document. Below is a cake made by mom, ordered by my colleague for her daughter's birthday. It's a Doraemon themed chocolate cake.

Super Chocolaty!

Mummy's Almond Sugee Cakes

SUGEE CAKE is a distinctly Eurasian dish in Malaysia and Singapore. It is also known as the 'typical Eurasian wedding cake'. Sugee/soogee/suji/sooji is in fact semolina which is made from durum wheat (psst~ what Italian pasta is made of).

Mom have been baking almond sugee cakes for past couple of weeks as she is mastering the art of baking a perfect one including rolling and decorating the cake top with fondant and gum paste. SUGAR!

Blue Cake with white piping... Mom made this for a friend from church. This was her first almond sugee cake attempt.

This was the latest one she made.. just yesterday for a 50 year old birthday boy, NATHAN. The shape is of a Top Hat.

All of mom's cakes were very delicious. Got most of the verdict from well-eaters. I, too couldn't take my fingers off her almond sugee cake. One slice is never enough.. CALORIES counting!!!

Stay tune for more colorful cakes to come!!!

Mom's Mooncake

Mom made Snow Skin (Ping Pei) Mooncakes today.. she's trying out something different other than western bakes. Something Asian..oooo. Ping Pei Mooncakes are easier to make though it takes quite a bit of time to mix, knead, wrap and mould them. Since they require no baking, they're best serve chilled.

This is the Ping Pei dough



Mom mixing kuaci (sunflower seeds) into the lotus paste



Mom have to weigh the lotus seed paste to get the exact amount for each mooncake



Kneading the dough



Adding lotus seed paste to the dough and mould it into shape



There's Dad being a buzzing bee whilst trying to annoy mom and making silly statements for eg.
*where's lunch? where's lunch? when it's only 12.30pm
*no need to make so nice after all it goes in and out
*can eat already?
*am i having mooncake for lunch?



A few done and powdered



One perfect Ping Pei Mooncake with gold fish design



Ready to be chilled.... or eat or....



....boxed!!!

psst** tomorrow mom is attempting to make the traditional crust mooncake.. so stay tuned!!!

Rina's Recipe

My mom went for Fondant & Gum Paste classes last weekend. She brought home a box of her colorful creations which we were reluctant to eat because they were so beautifully crafted.

Pink Top

White Feather

Peace & Joy

White Violet Daisy

Baby Blue Patt

more to come soon...............

Let's Go to Taman Burung KL

  

To the KL Bird Park we go!!!! Mom decided to visit the bird park on her birthday. Only Javier went because the other two monkees went for Q-dees’s field trip to Petrosains KLCC. Javier didn’t go because I don’t think he understands the stuff there and they’re visiting DinoTrek which Javier should be terrified of. So, Joe took his place as an ex-Q-dees. He regularly attended Q-dees’ field trips even when he left to pursue his primary studies.

Before we left to KL, we had breakfast first. Mom and I were hoping for it not to shower. Then, it did but for only awhile which was great to cool the weather. We arrived at KL Bird Park at around 10.30am.

on our way… Javier is waiting for his surprise destination

“YAY” shouts the happy boy

showing off his big entrance into the park

yup he was the camera man!

that’s Mom getting busy with her new video camera

Come here birdie, birdie…

the lovely ostrich couple

emus’ with not much or a feather

poser

oh look! an owl with pink eyeshadows

stork at large

red ibis… no I did not color it RED

  new breed of hens?

pearl hen

the famous hornbill

i call this the skinny bird

this parrot is so not talking

Birds’ Buffet Line…

KL Bird Park Stomperz….

  I’m feeding Lories

and their grasp hurts; no worries

playing Peekaboo with Dad wasn't that bad

   

the peacock; walk and walk just wouldn’t stop

our tour guide kept us upright

one of the flightless birds that burps

my dad stood the straightest he could upon hearing ‘NegaraKu’ input

sweat like a piggy but he’s happy

heavenly stop but prices were over the top

stopped for an ice-cream, a moment to dream

the joy of coconut cost RM8

dad’s portion which he gladly ate

birds of prey; what a display

amazed by the serenity

mesmerize by its beauty

follow the leader,

up the ladder,

slide all the way,

bounce away

sunnies are on, 

   and a star is born! 

And that was when and where the camera battery died. After the bird show with tummies grumbling, we went for lunch at the Hornbill Restaurant. Dad said that was mom’s ‘Birthday Lunch’. Haha! That she got a ‘Birthday Drink’ (coconut) too.