A weekend in Johor Bahru

So we were in JB this weekend to settle our invites for the Holy Matrimony. I will share more details on the price for printing in the shop that we chose. 

One thing I love about Malaysia is that due to the exchange rate, things are cheaper for us. This is especially so for food. It's just such a delight to dine in JB!

We took the opportunity to do a short getaway in Grand Bluewave Hotel, a hotel I used to visit as a kid. My family and I visited it so very often for short getaways. It's my first visit after 14 years. Things are still the same as much as things have changed. The old stuff we used to be so familiar with have gone with time. It did revoke a lot of memories, some too painful to bear. 

In any case, the buffet from the hotel that we had intended to have was mediocre that we decided to head out to eat instead. We headed to KSL City to have our dinner. 

We love dining at Seasons, Malaysia's version of Swenson's. The exchange rate once again makes it very favourable for us to dine. The baked fish rice was divine. I shall attempt to recreate a similar dish! Oh yes, we paid merely SGD$24 for all these dishes as well as a drink. 

I managed to get another 2 books for myself and one for my mum. I bought a total of 4 books! I could have gotten them at a cheaper price should I have brought my Popular Card! But it's alright, I shall remember to bring it in two week's time when we head back to collect our wedding invites (: 

The breakfast in hotels is one of the favourite things I love. However, the one served in the hotel this morning was blah. Well, at least it has inspired me to do up a good recipe for Omelettes! 

We checked out and headed for City Square for more food and shopping. 

Lunch was at Canton-i and it was good. I loved almost everything we had. This meal only set us back RM70+. We even applied for their membership card and can earn points in their participating outlets. 

Billy then went to have a massage at our favourite massage place while I went for some pampering at the new branch of my favourite nail place. My fingers and feet are finally free from dead skin and junk! I just love having my cuticles trimmed. I paid only sgd$34 for both classic mani and pedi with express quickdry for my manicure. Loving the new OPI colour range by the way! 

We then had Baskin Robbins and Delifrance's fruit tart for tea! I know, we eat a lot! That's only the case when we travel. Speaking of which, I wonder if its possible to whip up some home-made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice-cream.. I simply love this flavour! Anyway, I'm such a fan of fruit tarts that I think I should just whip some up real soon! 

We did more shopping and I purchased two tops and a dress for a really cheap price. 

There was this shop that was closing down and all their stuff was One for One! I paid $13+ each for these beauties! 

We then had dinner at Dragon-i. It was decent, just that my noodle was way too spicy for me. I just realised that my tolerance for spicy food is really bad since Billy is allergic to chilli and we don't usually have it in our diet. But it was generally good. 

We were caught in the bad congestion on our way back (what's new!). The queue was packed for the customs but we managed to speed through it in 5 minutes. However, the way for the bus was gruelling and it took us a total of 1.5 hours to get out of it. Nevertheless, it was a good trip. 

Now, it's back to work tomorrow. It's the Mother Tongue PSLE paper and I'm invigilating. It's a pretty odd feeling judging the fact that 13 years ago, I took my PSLE. Nevertheless, it's a good experience being an invigilator. 

Do you like going to JB too? What are some of your favourite haunts? Do share them with me! (: 

Off to Johor Bahru

Here I am in the hotel room while Billy is getting some sleep. Poor boy has been unwell since last night but we stuck to our plans to head into JB to get our wedding invites for the Holy Matrimony printed. 

I'm pretty relieved that the wedding invites have been settled and they'll be ready for collection in 2 weeks' time. That's one more item off the list. Next week, we're gonna get our Banquet Invites settled too. 

I quite fancy coming into JB reason being that our exchange rates make it very favourable for Singaporeans to spend money here. The food here is cheap. The shopping here is marginally cheaper. And so are the cookbooks. I've just added two more cookbooks to my extensive collection. They're some what cheaper than what we'd pay in Singapore. They'd actually be cheaper if I brought my Popular Card! However, being the lazy me, I really hate carrying tons of cards that I hardly use most of the time. After all, in Singapore Popular Stores, I can simply use my IC for verification purposes. Nevertheless, new cookbooks on top of the other two that Billy got me from Hong Kong earlier this week makes me a really happy girl! 

In fact, he's even gotten snacks for my family, Kinder Surprise (one of my absolute favourite!), toner and even a bottle of Baileys for me! I'm truly blessed.

I shall go grab some rest before we head out for dinner later tonight. So here's a picture of us before we took bus 950 into JB! 

Ombre Stacks

Inspired by little pretty cakes I found online, I decided to do these pretty Ombre Stacks. They're similar to the Rainbow Cakes II that I did, just that the assembly is different. 

The recipe will take around 2 hours in all to complete and I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5. 

We are 2 + loss of voice

We are 2! It's been an amazing 2 years. It has never occurred to me that blogging for fun as promoted by bestie Adam would get me this far. I really have all of you, my lovely readers for your constant support. 

I'd love to thank Billy and our families too for their support. Without which, I wouldn't have gotten this far. 

To celebrate our 2nd anniversary cum birthday, I have purchased the domain name www.thebakingbiatch.com! No need for typing the old long address (www.thebakingbiatch.blogspot.com) (: 

I've been wanting to do a cake giveaway but I haven't been in the best of health. Also, a lot of sad stuff has been happening of late. I guess my body just gave way and fell sick. 

I lost my voice completely and it sure is kinda amusing how my thunderous voice is now meek and soft! I'm on medication now as instructed by the doc and I'm rather drugged. I just hope that I'll be well enough by tomorrow to return to work. 

Will update once again when I'm better.. Then maybe I'll do a belated cake giveaway! (:

Weekend of whirlwind emotions

This weekend has really been one of whirlwind emotions. That kinda explains why I look really pale this weekend. In fact, the entire week has been a whole mess for me. 2 deaths and the hospitalisation of a loved one. I'm drained. It has really gotten me thinking... ): Not a good thing since I have a rather fertile imagination and the tendency for it to go wild is pretty high. 

I have since learnt this weekend that family is more important than anything. 

Despite all the sad stuff, I got to see my wedding band on Friday. We picked a nice band of diamonds to complement my engagement ring (: 

I cooked dinner on Saturday night as I was too tired to head out. I just needed time to do things that I liked to get things off my head. I prepared Mango Salsa, Baked Tuna Pasta and Mushroom Soup. 

I also baked some Ombre Stacks on Sunday morning after a failed attempt to get out of bed. I guess I just need rest. Loads and loads of rest.

Mummy and I then headed out for late lunch/early dinner and we had Claypot Rice in this coffeeshop at Serangoon Avenue 2. Most hawkers do not bother cooking Claypot Rice from scratch but this owner does. The 15 minutes we spent waiting was well worth the time waiting. 

We then headed to Nex whereby there was a Gundam Expo. The fav boy would love it.. it's a pity he's in Hong Kong and will only be back on Tuesday. There's a typhoon that's happening in Hong Kong right now.. If you're reading, please help me pray for Billy and his parents as they're in Hong Kong right now. I really can't express how much is going through my mind worrying when it's been running faster than it's usual speed this week. I'm hoping too that there will not be any delays to their flight on Tuesday and that they will have a safe journey. If you're praying for us/with us, THANK YOU. 

Amyway, Billy's such a fan of Gundams and it's made me love them too. I love those with wings, the more 'separated' they are, the more I like them. 

It's time to head back to school tomorrow. I feel like I have yet to recharge but I can only look forward to next Saturday when Billy and I head to JB to have our wedding invites printed. PSLE English and Mathematics paper on Thursday and Friday... less teaching periods. That makes me fear that I cannot get my syllabus completed in time! Gosh... just 9 more weeks to the end of semester with more interruptions coming up! Oh dear!

Tuna Baked Pasta

Inspired by dearest Diana, I decided to bake some Tuna Paste and added some twist to mine. It's been a really rough week with the passing of 2 people around me and the hospitalisation of a loved one. It has been a very painful week. It doesn't help that I feel like my family doesn't matter. Because truth is, they do. More than anything else, my family is important to me. Anyway, after all the hooha, I felt like I just needed to cook. I just had to cook. 

So to feed my mummy, and the few others at home, I cooked some Tuna Baked Pasta alongside some Mango Salsa and Mushroom Soup. This is a really simple dish and I hope you'll like it like we did. (:

This takes about an hour in all to bake and cook and I'd rate it a difficulty level 2 out of 5. 

Mango Salsa

I had something similar to this Mango Salsa during my PSLE Listening Comprehension Duty yesterday. Wanting to prepare dinner today, I tried to recreate this today. This is really simple to prepare BUT it takes a long time to dice all the ingredients! Nevertheless, it's awesome chilled! 

I had mine after 2 hours of chilling but it doesn't feel soft enough.. perhaps you can refrigerate yours overnight. I will eat the leftovers I have tomorrow and I'll let you know if it's softer and more flavourful. 

Being super easy, I'd rate this a difficulty level 1 out of 5 and it takes about 30 minutes in all. 

Cynthia's Berries Cheesecake

After the success of the Strawberry Cheesecake I made earlier this week, it's been on my mind to do a more layered version. After the buzz yesterday, I decided to take a break as there's a lot on my mind.

Life and death. It's just painful how loved ones leave earlier than we wish they would. Then again, it is just something that is beyond our control. ): 

Anyway, on a brighter note, I'd rate this recipe a difficult level 3 out of 5 and it takes about 3 hours all in all to prepare. 

Cynthia's Strawberry Cheesecake

I feel like I'm on a baking frenzy. I've been baking on Sunday, Monday and today too! (: It sure is a luxury to be able to bake. Somehow, even though I'm tired, I always find some source of mysterious strength when it comes to baking!

So despite the few hours of sleep last night, the long and frenzy day I had today preparing for the Parent Teacher Conference tomorrow night, the trip to ICA to collect my passport, the impromptu tea I enjoyed with Catherine and her hubby, the trip down to the banquet venue to choose our banquet invites and to do a survey of the venue, I still garnered energy to play in the kitchen.

It's always a blessing to bless others with food so I made a No bake Strawberry Cheesecake for my colleagues to enjoy tomorrow. After all, it's a really long day we're all gonna have tomorrow.

It's also my first ever Parent Teacher Conference! (:

In any case, I'd rate this recipe a difficult level 3 out of 5 and it takes about 3 hours all in all to prepare. 

Luncheon Meat Buns

Luncheon Meat Buns. I used to love the smell and taste of these whenever I am early enough at the neighbourhood bakery in secondary school days before Girls' Brigade on Saturdays. The smell is something I can hardly forget. I bought this bread machine with the intention to bake loads of these luncheon meat buns but as you know me... I'm really good at procrastinating! XD I've also baked a lot of other stuff with the bread machine so this bun sort of got 'forgotten'. As my hands were itchy despite a really long first day back at school for the new school term, I decided to bake these Luncheon Meat Buns.

I had just the right amount of milk for the bread dough but I ran out of milk for the 'wash'! Hence, I tried using some soya bean milk to wash the bread... while keeping my fingers cross. Well, it worked! (: Now we've got another option for our bread 'wash'. 

I'd rate this a difficulty level 2 out of 5 and it takes about 2h 30 mins in all to complete.

Last day of my September Holidays

It's the last day of my September vacation and truth be told, I was getting quite comfy not having to work for a week! I was thrown into a little confusion over the change of schedule this weekend. It made me realise how I'm one who needs to know what I'm gonna do even though I do I have my impromptu moments. 

Anyway, I purchased this Groupon voucher for lunch at Chicken Hotpot some time ago and the voucher was expiring today! So I had mummy head to Nex for lunch with me. This Groupon is like a bonus for me cos I love the food from Chicken Hotpot even without the Groupon. It's one of those food my BFFs love! We used to have lunch here together rather often! 

I love the Sze Chaun veg from the restaurant. I don't usually like these veg but theirs is just so refreshing and good. 

This is the famed classic dish that most people order. It's their classic chicken hotpot with three choices of spiciness. It has a good thick gravy that is rich and flavourful. When it reduces, we usually add chicken stock to it and eat it steamboat style! 

Here's the special Prawn hotpot that's spicy (there's 2 options of heat) with fries! Yes you got me right, there's fries in this hotpot! It may sound really weird but it's just really good. 

Their prices can be a little steep ($18 bucks or so for a small hotpot) but its good as a treat! It made mummy and I very happy and filled! (: 

Mummy and I then headed to my Aunty's place as it's my Grandpa's death anniversary. It has been 25 years. He passed on a month before I was born. Mummy went through a lot during her pregnancy with me. Dengue, chickenpox, my grandpa's passing on. My mum's just a really amazing woman. 

I also got to meet my cousin who's already more than a year old for the very first time. His mummy's Thai and daddy's local and he is beautiful! (: 

I love the rainy day we had in Seranangoon today. I had another attempt at Egg Custard Buns. It was my 4th attempt. I have finally managed to get it right! Recipe's up on the blog (: 

Bread making can be really fun but yet I don't like the waiting. Maybe it's just me. I'm just rather impatient. 

Therefore, I'm just really thankful that I have managed to succeed in working out a great recipe for these Egg Custard Buns! (: 

To wrap up the night, I headed out to Phoon Huat with Sharron! She came to pick up some buns (sharing is caring!) and whisked me off to shop. Many people complain that Phoon Huat's staff are really rude but I beg to differ. I always feel that if you're nice to them (and not bombard them with countless brainless questions), they are really nice people! 

Well, it never hurts to be nice isn't it? Treat others the way you want to be treated first before you complain about the way that they treat you (; 

I should head to bed soon as I've to be up at 430am for school. Excited to be back to school this week even though I'm having my first Meet-the-parents session this Wednesday! XD 

Egg Custard Bun

This is my 4th attempt at baking this bread. Previous attempts weren't as successful as the bun was either over baked or that the custard was too little. With some persistence, this Egg Custard Bun has been perfected! (: Do credit my blog if you were to bake this bread with this recipe. After all, I did the trial and error to perfect it and no one else has blogged this recipe as yet. I used the bread recipe from my mixed herb buns and they were really soft and fluffy. A little too soft and fluffy for this recipe. So today, I used the Panda Bread recipe. It worked out much better as it wasn't as soft but the bread was still fluffy and good. 

I'd rate this a difficulty level 3 out of 5 and it takes about 2h 30 mins in all to complete.

I like pretty fabric

Today, I thought I had the luxury of staying at home and playing in the kitchen. I have a couple of stuff that I wanted to bake before I go back to school on Monday. However, I did a mix-up in Billy's work schedule and he's off work today instead of tomorrow so we headed off for service today. 

I headed to Spotlight first while waiting for him despite having been there yesterday. I got myself 4 pieces of fabric! I just love pretty fabric so much! (: I was rather hesitant in getting the teapot fabric as it was 7.99 bucks per metre. However, as I've become such nice friends with one of the staff, she allowed me to only but 1/2 a metre of fabric! (: The perks of being nice to someone! 

Service today was special as it is the graduation for the students of the School of Theology. One of our cell group member graduated today too! Maybe some day when time and finances permit, Billy can join the SOT like he's always wanted.

It's the last day of my September holidays and I'm still in my holiday mood! I'm hoping that I can bake a few more items before returning to school this Monday. When school starts on Monday, it'd be my second term as a beginning teacher! It'll be time to push my kids for SA2! (: It's stressful but yet fulfilling at the same time (: Update soon!