Children are a gift from God!

Today, I spent time with 2 really awesome besties. People that God gave to me to see me through the years. People whom I really love. I knew Esther through work many years back and Sandra after I joined Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church. They have been my family ever since then. 

As we grew and Billy and I grew deeper in our relationship, I moved to City Harvest. It was a painful move leaving people that have watched me grow for a couple of years but it was for a good reason. God gave me the signs I asked for. It was the move I decided. I've not looked back since. I love City Harvest and it's my second home now (: 

Even though I'm no longer in Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church, I still meet the people that I love from time to time. In fact, Esther is my maid of honour! (: 

Sandra has just welcomed the arrival of baby II and it sure was my honour to spend time with the two women dear to my heart and the two little girls! (: 

We head lunch at Marche so that older S could play at the play area! (: 

I love Rostis and Crepes from Marche!

They had this lunch promotion of $8.90+ for selected mains and a homemade drink! It was a really good deal! And it ends at 3pm so it's great for late lunches too! 

I had the roasted chicken Crepes along with a homemade drink. 

We also had Rostis. I love Rostis. Do you know that the Happy Call Pan cooks Rostis in mere minutes? Check out that recipe in the blog! One of my personal favourites! (: 

We also had fried calamari which were so good! And to top it off, we had a jug of Coke to share! I'm such a coke addict XD 

Pardon the washroom shot but here's my OOTD. I abhor the heat in Singapore so I'm often donned in short dresses and sleeveless tops! Today's outfit compromises of a cotton on top and a jumper style skirt I got from a Taiwan website several years back (: 

We did a good amount of shopping in Takashimaya (: I got to carry Little S and boy is she a charmer! Children are indeed a gift from God. It's amazing how God made the woman strong enough to carry a child for 9 months of pregnancy and make the mummy loving and caring enough to provide for the baby! 

Billy and the two other men joined us for dinner and we headed to Ichiban (: 

My favourite dish from Ichiban's the business wazen. It has all the goodies that I like.

I had a really awesome day today and I'm truly thankful for the wonderful friends God planted in my life. The many wonderful things that He has blessed me with is truly much more that I can give Him praise for (: 

It's Friday already and my holiday is coming to an end real soon. I feel as though as I haven't had enough fun! XD but I suppose that's just really normal (: 

Thankful for the break and looking forward to a new school term next week! (: 

Rainbow Cupcakes II (Revisited)

This is one of those overdue recipes I have in my hard disk! Following the first attempt of Rainbow Cupcakes, I worked out another recipe that's a delight to make! I prefer the texture of this Rainbow Cupcake II better. And of course, this time round, it's paired with pretty cream cheese frosting! 

This recipe is simple enough to do without a machine whisk. It just needs a little arm strength that is! The recipe will take around 2 hours in all to complete and I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5. 

Cynthia's Easy Secret Recipe Chocolate Banana Cake

Chocolate Banana Cakes.. Where do I start? Rich... Luscious... Fluffy... Chocolatey! This combination is by far one of my favourite when it comes to chocolate cakes. This recipe that I have here is really close to what Secret Recipe serves... and I don't even eat this at Secret Recipe when I have this craving anymore.. unless I'm in Malaysia whereby these cakes are much cheaper! 

I have this other recipe for Chocolate Banana Cake but it's kind of a hassle to prepare with the multiple components and steps. I've been having this insane craving for some of this Chocolate Banana Cake of late so I decided to simplify the recipe without compromising on the taste! If you do a comparison between these 2 recipes, this one is far easier! (: 

Like I've said a couple of posts back, if you do use my recipes. I'd appreciate if you'd credit me for it. Don't go around acting like you didn't use my recipe or didn't draw inspiration from me. I know it. Of course, I'd be more than happy if you were to share a picture of your completed product with me! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! 

Anyway, this recipe is very similar to that from Secret Recipe and it's one of my favourite cakes. Given it's difficulty, I'd rate it a 3 out of 5 stars. It will take about 3 hours in all to complete this bake. 

Billy & Cynthia POST 10: Dinner with the families

In mummy's car heading off for dinner! (: 

This dinner has been dragged on for eons as time and health weren't on our side. Tonight, both Billy and my family had dinner at Crystal Jade Tampines Mall to discuss the wedding details. After all, the wedding is merely 3+ months away! That is really quite soon.. And it's scaring me! I still have a lot I haven't done! (I think!) 

Anyway, we had a set dinner at Crystal Jade Tampines Mall. It was a promotion of 298++ for 10 pax, 9 courses. Even though there were only 7 of us, we took it as it was more value for money as opposed to the other set we were intending to order. Boy were we stuffed! The food was really good! 

We had Peking duck wrapped in crepe. The remaining duck was fried with bitter gourd for us. Shark's fin soup (though I'm against shark's fin and will be replacing it with something better for the banquet). Broccoli with sliced fish. Spinach Conpoy. Fried Ee-fu mee (my fav!). Tofu with fish clay pot style. Something else that I can't remember... 

And of course, my favourite Cereal Prawns! Gosh it was so good. 

This promotion is definitely a good deal for families who'd love to enjoy a good meal. 

Food aside, I'm really glad that we had details like the Guo Da Li (I want that roasted pig!), Tables for the wedding banquet, Dowry and Xi Bing settled. That's one big "burden" checked off the list of to-dos... 

Next up... Our wedding invites! We're finalising it soon and heading to JB to have them printed! (: 

Lazy Holiday

I've just downloaded the Blogger app on my smartphone. This is my first attempt at casual blogging on top of blogging recipes (: let's just hope that I can sustain it. But of course, if you'd love to read more of such entries, drop me a comment to let me know! (: 

Anyway, it has been a lazy Tuesday as I enjoy my September holidays. Being a teacher really is tough. The number of hours put in can really be long. Hence, I'm really appreciative of my vacation! It sure is bliss to have time to myself. I'm pretty proud of myself having baked two dozen traditional mooncakes, the Mrs Ng SK butter cake and a chocolate banana cake (yet complete though!) yesterday. It really makes me wonder of the things I can do if I weren't working. Then again, I love my job! 

Anyway, it has dawned on me of late that health is really wealth. One can have all the money in the world but without health, money really is nothing. Even though of course, money is essential in getting stuff that we want. Treasure those you have around you. Do not hesitate to love those around you. Do not fear to forgive, it won't cost you anything. 

On the other hand, it's kinda bothering me that some people do draw inspiration from my bakes and stuff but do not give necessary credit. Yes, my blog content is open for all. But if its so obvious that you've drawn inspiration from my bakes or used my recipe (even if I took it elsewhere and made my modifications), it won't hurt you to give me the credit. It's not like I care for your "crediting" but it's just basic courtesy isn't it? 

On a lighter note, I'm toying with the idea of more video tutorials now that I've gotten a new and better computer (as opposed to the net book I've been working on) that can allow me to do video editing! But of course, we'd have to wait till our first home is ready next year for such plans to take place as my current place is just messy! 

How would you like some video tutorials? (: what are some of the recipes you'd like to see a video tutorial of? Leave a comment! (: 

Mrs Ng SK Butter Cake

Daddy hardly requests for stuff but he asked for a butter cake this afternoon! Even though I've baked traditional mooncakes and another cake today, I gladly baked this famous Mrs Ng SK Butter Cake made famous by Wendy of Table for 2... or More. I've baked a similar Zebra Butter Cake sometime ago for my colleagues and they loved it. Previous attempt to bake this yielded an awesome cake too. So here's the really soft, fluffy and fragrant butter cake. I reduced the sugar for this recipe but it turned out as good as the Zebra one (: 

I have a soft spot for smooth flat cakes.. and like the sponge cake I like to bake, I like this cake when it's smooth and blemish free! (: This recipe took me about 1 hour 15 minutes in all to prepare and bake. I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5. 

Traditional Mooncakes (Lotus paste with melon seeds)

This is my first attempt at traditional mooncakes and it's been a year since I've been planning to bake them! As it's the September school holidays and that I have some spare time on my hands, I got down to baking them. The recipe and tips were taken from several sources. I'm waiting for a couple more days for them to 出油 to get shiny and beautiful! I will update again when it happens! (: 

The mooncakes are so much shinier and evenly coloured after 3 days of rest! (:

This recipe takes about 4 hours in all (excluding dough resting time) to prepare. Given it's difficulty, I will rate it a difficulty level 4 out of 5. 

Snowskin Mooncake Video Tutorial

It has truly been nothing short of amazing when I got my third feature, this time round on NTUC's E-magazine. Enjoy the video! Recipe link here: http://thebakingbiatch.blogspot.com/2012/09/snowskin-mooncake-1-passionfruit-paste.html (Just replace the liquid and paste accordingly) (:

Here's a video tutorial I did for the making of snowskin mooncakes! (: Alternatively, you can find the video here: 

Post by Cynthia Lim.

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: