Simply Italian

Being a fan of Italian food, I'm all eager to sign up for Simple Italian class with Chef Khai. You must be wondering why the classes I attend, if not all, are conducted by the same chef. I don't have a personal preference for this chef but he usually organises class featuring recipes from the world. The price is quite reasonable in my context & the school is not too far from my house.

In this class, we were taught to prepare 3 recipes - tomato tartine (appetiser), chicken ragout with roesti potatoes (main) & tiramisu brownies (dessert). Tomato tartine is basically tomatoes on tart-size puff pastry. Tartine is not restricted to tomato filling & opens up to many possibilities of variations in fillings used. For us newbies, tomatoes are relatively easier to handle.

First, tomatoes were cut into cubes. Meanwhile, the pan is heated while adding in butter, sugar (to taste) & a little water, allowing the content to caramelised. Tomatoes were poured into the pan for a quick saute, to be seasoned with fresh herbs & black pepper to taste. While the cooked tomatoes were left aside to cool, we rolled the store-bought puff pastry to the desired size before cutting the dough with a cookie cutter. Instead of following the recipe's method, we were told to scoop the tomatoes on each cut puff pastry piece. Egg wash was applied on all the puff pastry, then popped into the oven to bake at 180°C for 10-20 mins or until golden brown. Here are our masterpieces. =D

Next dish is chicken ragout with roesti potatoes, a dish which involves more steps. To start off, we saute the garlic, carrot, & mushroom until half cooked. We then put in the chicken fillet which were sliced earlier & continued stirring. Cream, parmesan cheese & salt were added taste. The sauce & vegetables were left to simmer until thicken. Alternatively, egg yolk can be added to do the trick. For the roesti, we grated the potatoes & set aside in salt water to prevent oxidation. Meanwhile, we began sauteing some garlic & onion with some fresh herb & parsley, releasing the aroma. The grated potatoes were added in, forming a patty-like shape & let it cooked until brown on each side.

Once the roesti is cooked properly, it is ready to be served next to the ragout.

The last dish for the day is tiramisu brownies - a twist from the classic tiramisu which has a tiramisu topping over brownies. Due to limited time, we only managed to bake the brownies. Firstly, dark chocolate & butter is melted over a double boiler & set aside to cool. Using a stand mixer, whip the eggs & sugar until double the volume.

The melted chocolate-butter is then added to the eggs mixture. Next, yoghurt & flour were added & mix well until combine. Lastly, chopped macadamia is folded into the brownies mixture. The brownies is baked at 180°C. Just look at how well the brownies turned out!

It was a waste that time was running out. Otherwise, it would've been better to do the topping on the spot & get tips from the chef. In my opinion, the appetiser & main dish tasted the best. Yums~

Iron Man 3

Oh my. Little did all of us expect that the highly successful Iron Man franchise is finally reaching its third & final instalment. Before I share my review, I'd must say that I'll miss this character dearly as it is unlikely we get to see Robert Downey Jr donning the armor suit in the self titled movie anytime soon apart from appearing in the next Avengers sequel.

This time, we get to see Tony Stark aka Iron Man back to basics by stripping bare of his usual suits & goes undercover ala James Bond to track down the villain. Struggling to deal with the post-trauma of the alien invasion in New York, Stark became obsessed with his Iron Man suit & built several dozen suits as he believed it will keep him & Pepper Potts safe from potential enemies.

Meanwhile, a series of bombings by a terrorist group known as the Mandarin left authorities puzzled because no forensic evidence were found. When Stark Industries security chief, Happy Hogan was injured in one of the bombings, Stark boldly announced a threat against the Mandarin on a televised news. With that, the Mandarin responded with an attack at his residence. His home was destroyed & was forced to flee in his suit elsewhere. Thankfully, Potts survived the attack but seeing Stark not returning for days, he was assumed dead.

I shall stop elaborating any further on the plot as it would be a total spoiler. The other aspect of the film which I find heartwarming is the friendship between Stark & his new found buddy, who is a kid. Sans the gadgets & impressive CGs, it's great to see a change in the pace of the film with Downey's raw performance focusing on fighting his inner demons & learning to let go of his ego in order to gain trust & help from a child.

Surely, there were flaws here & there especially when you ponder hard after watching the movie. Some scenes didn't make much logical sense but honestly I didn't even bother pinpointing any of them reason being the movie was entertaining. As expected, this is one superhero character that is able to stand out on its own with much glamour & style without being overtly nonsensical. After all, Tony Stark is still human & someone we can relate to. The only difference is he's a genius, billionaire, playboy & philanthropist. And we all love how the actor portrayed him as if Robert Downey Jr = Tony Stark.

Pic courtesy of MoviePosterDB.com

A day as a polling agent

The final showdown of the much anticipated election finally ended yesterday after months of speculation. I was not registered therefore deemed ineligible to cast my vote. Nevertheless, I involuntarily volunteered myself to become a polling agent. So ironic, that's the first word that probably came into your mind. Say whatever you want to say. In your eyes, I didn't do my part as a citizen by exercising my voting rights. Makes you wonder why I became so noble to contribute my hours as a polling agent, moreover for the longest ruling party in the country.

I did this for my Mum, not for anyone else because I pitied her for not able to get enough manpower to help out. Speaking of voting, I had my own compelling reasons for choosing not to do so. As a matter of fact, I have experienced first hand administration from either parties & both have emerged as a huge disappointment. Change is good if only whichever ruling party delivers what was promised. Unfortunately, the Opposition party who took over my neighbourhood also failed to keep its promise. As a result, voting for either party was out of the question for me.

Being a polling agent was an easy-peasy job. Each polling agent represents the party that are contesting & all they need to do is to observe the process during election to ensure that there are no frauds. That morning, I was assigned to Saluran 1 or Room 1 which consists of voters age 60 & above. It was an interesting watch because never in my mind I would've expected that some old folks age almost 90 years old actually turned up to cast their votes. Even though they came with walking sticks or on a wheelchair, their disabilities did not dampen their spirits. The crowd grew large at about 10.30am as everyone scrambled to mark the ballots & dropped them in the ballot box.

After lunch, the crowd lessen fearing a heavy downpour as informed by the weather forecast. Soon enough, it was raining cats & dogs but some who have yet to vote still turned up at their respective rooms. My shift ended at 4pm but the electoral session officially ends at 5pm. Later that night, I was very eager to sit through the live telecast in order to find out about the results. However, I gave up watching the announcement because the results were biased. Well, who am I kidding? Change is a painful journey & it doesn't happen overnight.

Photos & videos flooded on social media that ballot boxes were brought into the election centre via the back door during the counting session. Earlier on, certain areas also received a bus load of foreigners who miraculously was granted ICs in a short period, were allowed to enter the building to cast their votes. The people who witnessed this tried to stop but to no avail because these foreigners were being escorted to safety by armed forces.

I felt disappointed with by how the election process turned out. Democracy no longer exist for real. I do not expect politics to ever come clean but seriously, the winning party doesn't have to be play up their dirty tricks so blatantly obvious. It goes to show how desperate they are in winning it. I still love this country. Please don't stir up racial slurs anymore. The rakyat has certainly come a long way since 56 years ago - living harmoniously & respecting one another. We are not that dumb & petty...

Olympus Has Fallen

While we wait eagerly for the summer blockbusters to arrive, there are not many movies shown in the cinema beginning of the year that will appease to our needs for entertainment. Nevertheless, WL & I still wanted to spend our time catching a movie rather than window shopping aimlessly. So we picked Olympus Has Fallen, starring Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart & Rick Yuen.

The movie opened with the scene of Gerard Butler as Mike Banning, a member of the Secret Service accompanying the President & his family with other agents to charity gala. Luck was not on their side & a freak accident happened, causing Banning to make a quick decision to rescue the President instead of the First Lady.

Eighteen months later, Banning is seen taking up a desk job at the President's administrative office in order to avoid reminding the President about the First Lady's death. Apart from dealing with his personal guilt from the incident, he was also trying to salvage his marriage with his wife. Fast forward to the President's office, the government was expecting a diplomatic visit from South Korea's president. Little did the US government expect that a such meeting would lead to an invasion on the White House.

The rest of the movie became rather predictable with one-man show from Banning, fighting through to rescue the President. And a ridiculously silly one too. Because a hijacked US Air Force plane was even allowed to fly in close proximity of the White House. I'm pretty sure the plane would've got shot down when the pilots do not respond when being signaled. Nevertheless, it was still entertaining if you don't take the movie too seriously & ignore its absurdity. After all, it's just an appetiser to whole lot more exciting summer blockbusters in the coming months.

Pic courtesy of MoviePosterDB.com

Simple Japanese

Chef Khai organised a class today, focusing on the theme Simple Japanese. What constitutes simple Japanese food staples? You've guessed it right & that would be sushi, teriyaki chicken & tempura prawn.

We started preparing the rice first as it requires longer cooking time. The rice used for sushi is shorter & fatter in grain size compared to the local rice or Thai rice. It is starchier but not as sticky as glutinuous rice, which makes it ideal for forming sushi with bare hands. For this session, we used Japanese rice though Calrose rice is possible. The rice only needs to be washed once, then add water & cover it with kombu in the rice cooker. The ratio is 1 cup rice: 2 cups water. Once the rice is cooked, mix it with vinegar, sugar & salt, then set aside.

There is no fixed rules on what needs to be in the sushi. Just to name a few common ingredients used are Japanese cucumber, crabstick, pickles, fish roe & unagi. For our creation, we included mango slices to add some tangy flavour to the sushi. The secret to beautiful & neat looking sushi rolls is putting sufficient rice (not too much), rolling & tugging the ingredients in between nori sheet to ensure that the contents remain intact. Of course, the work of a skilled pair of hands makes all the difference.

My sushi rolls, on the contrary, obviously didn't look appetising enough to be savoured. Just look at the mess which points to signs of inexperience. Honestly, I wasn't enticed to pop one into my mouth but luckily the rolls tasted better than expected & more than compensate for the awful presentation. I seriously need more practice.

One of the tips to perfectly cut sushi rolls is to use a sharp knife. This would prevent the rice grains from falling off the nori sheet. Next on the list is teriyaki chicken. This dish calls for a sauce to marinade the chicken prior to grilling on a hot pan. Sauce preparation is quite simple as it's essentially a reduction of soy sauce (Japanese soy sauce, Kikkoman is highly recommended) & water. Ginger, sugar, garlic, spring onion & chicken bones (optional) are added for richness in aroma & taste. The sauce is boiled in a pot until the liquid is reduced by half. Then, we moved on to marinade the chicken with the ready sauce. Before that, the chicken fillet should be scored first to allow ingredients to be absorbed well. We added in garlic & ginger blend into the chicken together with the sauce, mixing it well; finally leaving it to marinade for 30 mins. Piece by piece, we grilled the fillet to perfection. Oh, the aroma is lovely! Juicy & flavourful too~ (sorry forgot to snap pictures because we were salivating already XD).

Lastly, it's the scrumptious prawn tempura we've been waiting for. Medium size shrimps were used in this recipe with the heads & shells removed, then deveined. We beaten an egg in a bowl, added in ice water & finally pouring in the tempura flour; mixing well until combined. Meanwhile, the oil is heated up before frying. Each shrimp is lightly floured & dipped into the tempura batter, then deep-fried until crisp & turns golden brown. Voila!

This is why I love attending cooking lessons on Sunday morning. Aside from the therapeutic experience, it gets me psyched up to cook as quickly as possible so that I can dig in my free lunch to ease my stomach growl. For the love of food, anything is possible... =)

Last day of CNY without him

Today is the 15th day of CNY, also known as Chap Goh Mei, marks the end of the CNY celebration. When Grandpa was still alive, we made it a point to organise a family reunion dinner. Although my relatives residing in JB usually did not make a trip up to KL, those of us living nearby gathered for a feast. Our last Chap Goh Mei with Grandpa last year, just like in the old days; did not missed out the usual roasted pork, fish, Grandma's signature vegetarian dish & chicken.

This year is very much simplified - we went out to eat at a seafood restaurant instead. The dishes we ordered were simple just like a normal dinner with vegetables, fish & tofu. While we basked in the loud chatter & merriment from patrons at other tables, we looked at each other & smiled silently. We tried to strike a simple conversation in order to distract ourselves from wondering that something was amiss. Who wouldn't think of Grandpa when each table will have at least one elderly folk among the sea of younger family members?

The hour passed by & though it seemed like an ordinary dinner, it never was & will never be the same for any of our family dinner from now on. Dear Grandpa, we may no longer have the opportunity to share these moments together, here's hoping that things are equally great at where ever you are. Meanwhile, we ask for your blessings for a smooth year ahead - good fortune & great health.

British Food Fare

The British Food Fare class by At 19 Culinary Studio was postponed indefinitely a couple of months ago due to many last minute cancellations & I was the only student left. When the class was enlisted again, I immediately signed up for it. In this class, we learnt simple recipes which are classic staples served in British households - scotch egg, shepherd's pie & bread and butter pudding.

Chef Khai started the class with the first recipe, shepherd's pie. Those of you who have heard of this pie but wonders what goes into it, it's usually filled with minced beef or lamb. Of course, you can always substitute the filling with chicken if you are not fond of red meat. Firstly, we prepared the filling by sauteing the vegetables; adding in tomato coulis & brown stock, then combining the minced lamb into the pan to let it simmer until cooked & sauce thickened. The filling is left to cool aside.

Meanwhile, we boiled the potatoes which will be used to pipe onto the shepherd's pie. Once the potatoes have softened, we seasoned it with salt & pepper then sprinkle some nutmeg powder before mashing it. After the filling is cooled, we arranged a few aluminum foil tart tins on the baking tray & started scooping the filling into it. Then, we piped the mashed potato on top & bake it for 15 mins at 200°C.

While the pies gets cooked in the oven, we moved on to the next recipe - scotch egg. First, we blended the minced chicken with 1 tbsp of whipping cream & egg. Next, we added in coarse black pepper, cajun & salt to taste & kept aside. As for the eggs, we boiled them in a pot of boiling water sprinkled with some salt until they turned hard. When the eggs cooled, the shells were peeled off then wrapped with the prepared minced chicken individually to form a ball. Then, we dipped the eggs into a whisked egg in separate bowl before rolling into flour & bread crumbs. Each piece is then deep-fried until golden brown.

The last recipe was the bread & butter pudding, the easiest recipe out of the 3 dishes. First, we had to mix the milk, cream, eggs, vanilla essence & sugar together before adding in melted butter. Then, we needed to prepare caramel which will be the base of the pudding. The caramel consists of water & sugar boiled together in a pot with the ratio of 1:1. The caramel is ready once the water & sugar are combined. After that, we soaked slices of bread (leftover/slightly stale bread) into the milk & cream mixture prepared earlier for 10-15 mins. While waiting, the caramel is poured into a tin mould to cover the base. The soaked bread slices were then transferred to the tin mould. Finally, the pudding is sent to the oven to bake for 10 mins at 140°C.

Ta-da! There you have it, 3 simple less complicated dishes which are popular favourites in the UK. Yum~

Based on the given recipe, I find the bread & pudding a tad to sweet to my liking. It didn't taste as fantastic as the better ones I have tried. Nevertheless, it still tasted good & I wouldn't have done it any better than this prior to this class. More practice needed! Now I just need to get the oven installed & fire up.

CNY without him

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year. Come tomorrow, it will be the Year of the Water Snake. But this time there would not be any celebration for us as we are still going through a mourning period based on Chinese Taoist customs. We didn't do much spring cleaning like we always did & any form of CNY decoration is not allowed.

We still had a reunion dinner among ourselves; but the dishes are only less elaborate. For the past 3 years, Grandpa was not fit to join us at the table during dinner but nevertheless, he was still aware & happily looked from afar seated at his favourite sofa. This year felt different without him around. Somehow, the dinner became a solemn event & a quiet one. I'd be lying that deep down, all of us didn't miss him a lot.

I supposed this is how it feels having to lose someone dear to you. More so when it's close to CNY when everything should be cheerful & prosperous has now become silent & lonely. Grandpa, though we're no longer celebrating with you, we hoped that you're also having a hearty meal "elsewhere". Don't worry about us. We'll continue taking care of Grandma as promised.

The last farewell

Grandpa left us on Sunday at 5 minutes before noon. The whole experience seems so strange & unreal as I stood there staring at Grandpa lying on the hospital bed motionless without any response. I soon realised that he was gone & I was one of the few who didn't have the chance to say goodbye to him. If I hadn't gone back home with Grandma & the rest, we'd be able to be by his side until he drew his last breath. But it's too late to cry over spilled milk.

The next thing was a whirlwind of events as we prepared for the wake which lasted for 2 days. It was an exhausting process - praying & chanting at intervals of 20 minutes or so. Apart from that, we were required to fold paper money which is to be burnt for Grandpa. All these rituals kept us occupied & focused on completing what was necessary instead of sitting at a corner weeping uncontrollably.

Little did we expect that time passed by so quickly. Along came the 3rd day; the last day for us to see his body before we sent him off to the cemetery for burial. Each of us took turns to bid him farewell. As I approached his casket, I could no longer hold back my tears. All I could utter silently that I'll be forever grateful for whatever he did for me all these years & wishing him a safe "journey" to where ever he is heading to. I touched his forehead gently & held there for a few seconds, then left for the next person in line to do his/her deed.

At 10am, we departed to the cemetery with the hearse leading 2 vehicles & a bus I was in with my sister, cousins, close friend & relatives. The burial plot where Grandpa lay to rest overlooks a small hill & the scenery is a picturesque view of a quiet town with peace & tranquility. Hopefully Grandpa loves his new home as this is the best we can provide to show our filial piety & respect.

Dear Grandpa, where ever you are, don't worry as we'll take good care of Grandma. Thanks for being such a great person in our lives. Have a safe "journey" & rest in peace. We'll miss you dearly...

The harsh reality

It has been 2 weeks already that Grandpa was being transferred to ICU. His condition became worse after New Year & had to be on a life support machine due to difficulty in breathing. Miraculously, he seemed to be showing signs of improvement 3 days ago as he was able to breathe on his own with minimal assistance from the machine.

The doctor has explained that he will have to remove the machine in order to confirm whether Grandpa is able to breathe independently without any assistance. He would then explain the necessary next steps depending on the situation. If the machine is still required, he will need to perform a surgery by opening a hole near the throat to allow better respiration.

Even though we were doubtful of Grandpa's recovery rate, we saw a glimmer of hope. He was able to breathe on his own without the machine! Unfortunately, he suffered breathing difficulty 2 hours later & the doctor had no choice but to re-attach the life support machine on him. It's a harsh reality, knowing that Grandpa may not survive any longer. What we can only do is hope... =(

The Nutcracker

It was a pretty last minute decision for me & my sis to purchase tickets for Ballet Festival at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas. The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) has planned for another ballet inspired performance but this time with a little surprise - a live ballet performance by the Stars of the Moscow Ballet. Prior to the show, I was very intrigued by how the entire dance troupe would be able to perform on stage, with very limited space in the hall. We decided to go for The Nutcracker as we are more well versed with its music.

When we entered the hall, we were surprised that the organiser was able to fit in a backdrop on the stage. The entire orchestra was moved to beneath the stage in order to accommodate the troupe. The performance was divided into 2 parts - Act I & II with an internal of 20 minutes in between. The programme began on time & as soon as the orchestra struck the first few notes, the long forgotten music became all too familiar. It was heartfelt to be able to experience these beautiful melodies I grew up with come to life.

The dancers performed incredibly well even though the size of the stage was indeed a challenge for them to execute their leaps & jumps flawlessly. At one point, the Nutcracker prince nearly fell onto his knees when he was in the midst of his high leaps. The stage was way too small for him, what's more he is a tall man. He covered his mistakes very well which clearly shows a true professional dancer. The protagonist, Marie seemed wobbly at pointe in certain scenes. It could be due to exhaustion from the 2-nights gala performance or just being nervous. She still nailed her performance so we personally had no claims at all.

It was an enlightening experience to able to witness a live ballet performance, what's more from Russian ballet dancers. These performances don't come by often in Malaysia & though pricey, it was worth spending on the tickets. I hope that MPO will consider bringing similar performances to Malaysian shores as more locals are starting to appreciate these art forms. I couldn't help sneaking out my iPhone & managed to snap a  shot of the backdrop in DFP during the interval. Not long after that, I was being warned by a flash of green laser light so I had to keep my phone before it risked being confiscated. Well, one shot is better than nothing... XD

Pic courtesy of Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) Facebook

Welcome 2013!

Happy New Year! That's the first word I can think of while typing this post. I have survived the end of the world...duh! Do you even believe the world is coming to an end? I, for once, never believed in that prediction from the beginning. 21 Dec was just another last weekday before the much anticipated long Christmas weekend.

So, has 2012 been kind to you? It wasn't for my case. I was left with no choice but to leave a job I enjoyed due to political unrest within the organisation. Then, I was in between jobs for 2 months & experienced slight depression because I was getting weary of not securing one soonest while seeing my savings slowly deplete day by day. Just a week ago, I was feeling devastated hearing news that Grandpa will not survived any longer & was being put on a life support machine in ICU. Can you imagine so many things happening as I blog now?

Now that I've found a stable job that pays decent, I thought I would be a much happier person as the last 6 months had been one hell of a ride. After my last year's resolution was only a simple one - to stay happy & try to be positive. Seems like I failed miserably because I got irritated with everything & everyone around me; the fact that many things didn't turn out the way I expected it to be.

Grandpa has passed the critical stage & he's being moved to HDU, breathing well on his own. He's alert & energetic which I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd must admit he's a great fighter. He has taught me a good lesson - never give up & keep on fighting. Then, you will reap the benefits for all the effort you've contributed. Hence, I've giving myself another chance to fulfill my new year resolutions.

1. Be optimistic even when times are extremely tough
2. Spare time to pursue my passions - blogging, culinary & photography
3. Get WL to slim down by 10kg - difficult but possible XD

Last but not least, cherish your loved ones - be it families or friends. This won't be merely in my 2013 resolution, it's something I'll be doing in years to come so as long as my loved ones are around; alive & healthy. Happy New Year!

The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey

Peter Jackson brought to life J.R.R. Tolkien's epic tale, The Lord of The Rings 11 years ago with breathtaking CGI & wowed us with the spectacular plot, not to mentioned stellar casting for all the important characters in the books' trilogy.

 

A decade later, the director is bringing back the magic to screen with The Hobbit which is a prequel to the incidences in The Lord of The Rings. Feeling the pressure to stay loyal to the book, Jackson decides to stretch the story into a 3-part film. I was ecstatic when it was announced that the first movie, The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey will be released in December 2012 after a long wait.

Barely a month before the movie release, I pored through the books; turning one page after another as I was pressured to complete the book in time. Otherwise, it would seem strange that I read the book half way & expect the movie to fill in the remaining gaps. I guess I regretted a little reading it before stepping into the cinema because everything about the movie was exact enactment of the book. So it was a total spoiler. -.-"

Still, nothing beats having the opening sentence of the book narrated out loud in the film. Listening to Ian Holm's voice as the old Bilbo Baggins began with the phrase, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit..." sent a rush of excitement, marking the start of an epic adventure. Those of you unfamiliar to Tolkien's work will find the first 30 mins a pain to watch because of the slow, lengthy pace at Bilbo's hobbit hole & the introduction of every dwarf (who looks & sounds alike) which is bound to leave you in a confused state of mind.

Skip all those & the movie becomes more exciting as Bilbo began his journey with the group of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield & accompanied by Gandalf to the Lonely Mountain. There you have it, Jackson's showcase of Middle Earth using state-of-the-art CGI that will take your breath away. If you have an eye for detail, I would recommend to watch the 3D version filmed in high frame rate which claims to have the highest definition for 3D movie. I'm not a fan of 3D movies & wouldn't bother putting on a pair of 3D glasses to witness orcs running towards my direction. It is already a headache trying to deal with wearing extra glasses on top of my own spectacles.

Overall, the movie looks great & I'd have to applaud the work for its grandeur & cinematic appeal. Somehow it struck me as a more serious film for adults rather than the innocent nature of a children's tale on hobbits. Honestly, the book seems to have some sort of identity crisis because the writing style is pretty dense (though not as heavy as The Lord of The Rings) but it's definitely not the childlike kind where you find in the Harry Potter series, yet Tolkien himself wrote it for children. If this is true, I'm very impressed with the literacy level of children those days.

Also, the book only has one volume whereas Jackson took it a little too far by stretching into a trilogy. This movie already feels maxed out to its limit just to meet the 2 1/2 hour length. Nevertheless, The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey is still an enjoyable piece to be cherished & rejoiced for the casts' brilliant acting skills. Given the choice to pick my favourite scene, mine would be Riddles in the Dark - the scene where Bilbo & Gollum first met & exchanged riddles. Best scene ever. Just like in the book...

Now I need to wait patiently for the 2nd instalment next year as the anticipation builds up in unveiling the creature living in the mountains that breathes fire. I wonder which actor will play Bard the Bowman, a significant one in the next film. Can't wait!!

Pic courtesy of MovieposterDB.com

The reversing car

It was raining while I was driving home from work at about 8pm. There was a slight jam at the traffic light interchange near Batu Tiga toll, which is a usual during a downpour. As I approached the traffic light, I stopped behind a yellow Ford Intercooler Turbo & waited patiently until the light turns green. For some odd reason, the yellow Ford started sliding backwards & moving frontwards as if the driver was struggling to balance the clutch.

As soon as I realised his car was getting a little too close, I pressed on the honk just to give him a wake up call. However, he didn't seemed to notice his car had started rolling backwards. I honked loudly & continuously, praying hard that he would just pulled the hand brakes to put a stop to his reversing car. Unfortunately, my prayers was not answered & his car hit on my front car, leaving a long scratch just below the grill. On the other hand, his car was unfazed with the kangaroo bars attached to the back.

I was really pissed to the roof but even more so because I couldn't get down from the car to confront the culprit as it was still raining heavily. We were stuck at the traffic light in the middle of the road so there was no way to park aside in order to do the talking. I whipped out my phone to snap a picture of the car with the number as a backup if I plan to make a police report. He moved few inches to the front knowing that he was at fault. This cunning man took the opportunity to escape by sneaking through the heavy traffic & sped off. Such a coward!

Upon arriving home, I complained to Dad about the situation & expressed my need to make a police report immediately. Sadly, Dad said to forget about the idea because the whole incident was not in my favour. Why?! Because I was hit on the front by the back of the culprit's car. Our police will still fire at me, accusing that I tailgated & stopping too close to the front car. Malaysian police recognises the back car will always be guilty, irregardless of the back car actually hit or was being hit by the front car. In their eyes, each driver must be focused on looking at what is ahead of you.

With that, I left the incident aside & didn't not file any report against the culprit. But this incident left me fuming mad for weeks about how unjust our judicial system is. Made me realised the importance of getting registered to vote & fight for a change. It will have to be the next elections.

Cooking Swedish

Two months ago, I signed up for Cooking British class which is to be held in October. Unfortunately, I received a call from At 19 Culinary Studio team while I was away for business trip explaining that the aforementioned class had to be cancelled due to low participation. Apparently, there were many participants who made cancellations & I was the only one left to attend the class. As stated in their rules, a minimum of 3 participants are required for class commencement as scheduled.

Due to this, I was offered to select another class of equivalent value or get a full refund if there isn't any class of to my liking. In the end, I picked Cooking Swedish which is a favourite class among most members. When the day arrived, I totally forgot that I had actually signed up for it & was rudely awakened by my alarm clock at 9am (not early but I'm not a morning person). Already running late, I scrambled to wash up & drove as fast as I could to the culinary studio. Upon arrival, I cooked up a white lie that my car had some problems just so that it didn't look too embarrassing that I arrived fashionably late. Nevertheless, the class didn't receive overwhelming response as I thought it should be because there were only 3 students who turned up (including me).

Chef Khai was the one who conducted the special Swedish cooking class for Ikea's contest winners. Due to overwhelming response, Chef Khai decided to organise a similar class for At 19's students. We started off with Jansson's Temptations, a fancy name for potato pudding. In essence, the potato pudding is made by cutting slices of potatoes & arranging it layer by layer together with anchovy fillet or bacon in a baking tin. Next, cream is poured into the baking tin to cover up the layers & then it's popped into the oven to bake to perfection. Garnish with some English parsley & voila! You have a new dish ready.

The second dish is a main course called Lindstromare with pickles cabbage & onion sauce. Lindstromare refers to beef patty in Swedish language for those of you wondering what it means. If you can't consume beef, mutton can be used as an alternative. First, the meat patty of your choice is marinated with egg, beetroot, onion cube & chopped parsley then seasoned to taste. The patty is then pan-fried until golden brown. Next, the cabbage is sauteed with butter & balsamic vinegar, season to taste. To prepare the sauce, we sauteed the onion until brown followed by black pepper. Demi glace is added & simmered until thick while adding seasoning to taste. No idea what a demi glace is? It's actually double cream. Finally, the patty is plated with pickles cabbage & onion sauce. Yum!

A meal is never complete without a wonderful dessert. In traditional Swedish style, Chef Khai demonstrated how to prepare a simple dark chocolate kladdkaka which is known as chocolate cake to the Swedes. Kladdkaka is a fairly simple cake to bake. All we needed was eggs, sugar, butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, self-raising flour, water, salt & vanilla paste. The eggs & sugar are whipped until smooth; then flour, salt, vanilla paste & water is added & mixed until well combined. Next, we put a few knobs of melted butter & cocoa powder into the egg batter, whisking it until glossy before finally adding in a teaspoon of vanilla paste. The batter is poured into a lightly greased 9 inch tart dish & baked in the oven preheated at 150 degrees Celcius for 35 minutes. Once ready, set aside the cake to cool slightly & finally dust a layer of icing sugar to serve. Just look at how beautiful the cake turns out...

Each of us took back our own creations to savour at home. The class ended at the perfect time at noon, when it was time for lunch & had plenty of appetite to gobble up all the dishes. Even then, I was struggling to finish my creations because the meal was wholesome. Now I just need to find time to practise & replicate this dish to perfection. XD

Cheesecake Galore Part 1

Two months ago, I attended a workshop organised by At 19 Culinary Studio in conjunction with their series of Open Day demos to attract new students to sign up for the various classes available. Being eager to improve my baking skills, I registered for Cheesecake Galore Part 1 which was conducted by Sandy who is a cake decorator. The class focused on 2 recipes - Baked Japanese Cheesecake & Chilled Blueberry Cheesecake.

There were 6 of us in the class, naturally we were divided into 2 groups of 3 each. We started of learning how to prepare the Japanese version of the baked cheesecake. This cake is known for its soft, fluffy texture & less cheesy compared to other cheesecakes. It is technically challenging to bake this cake because every step is crucial to achieve the softness & fluffiness of the cake. One mistake made will spoil the texture & the mouth feel becomes less satisfactory. According to Sandy, we will not have problems with making other cheesecakes or baking other cakes if we're able to master the techniques required.

True as it is, one of my group members made a mistake by pouring the melted butter into the sponge cake mix before combining it in a mixer. The right step would be to pour the melted butter partially while mixing the sponge cake mix in the mixer. With that mistake, as a result, the sponge cake layer was tougher than it should be & less spongy than we hoped for. A lesson well learnt as it allows us to understand better each & every step & to differentiate what's the right or wrong cake texture.

After baking the sponge cake layer which serves as the base, the cream cheese mixture was poured over the sponge cake layer in a cake tin foil. We put the cake tin into the oven to bake for about 30 mins at 160 Celsius. The cake was baking beautifully inside the oven while we moved on to the next recipe.

The Chilled Blueberry Cheesecake, like all other chilled cheesecakes, is a fairly simple recipe for amateurs like us to master. There is no need to bake the cake & it's all about making sure the ingredients are combined well or risk having lumpy texture. All cheesecakes require a biscuit base in order to hold the cream cheese layer in place & this one is no exception. As soon as the ingredients were combined, we poured it into the prepared cake tin foil. Then we spread blueberry jam evenly over the cream cheese layer & immediately store the cakes in the chiller. Meanwhile, our Japanese cheesecakes were ready & left to cool on the rack.

Due to time constraint, we had to remove the blueberry cheesecakes from the chiller only after half an hour. By practice, chilled cheesecake needs to chilled overnight to allow the cake to set in before serving. It still can be consumed, the only thing is it will taste more like a cream dessert rather than a proper cheesecake. Each of us get to bring home our masterpiece. =D

Although my Japanese cheesecake turned out to be stiff & heavy, it still tasted good in the mouth. Yesh! Whereas the blueberry one tasted heavenly...more than enough to satisfy my midnight craving. XD

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy

The most anticipated event of the year (among fans) is none other than Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy. For the first time, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) has decided to perform selected soundtracks from our all-time favourite video game saga - Final Fantasy.

WL wanted to purchase the CD but too bad it was sold out quicker than expected. The only thing I managed to grab is a copy of the performance set list. No words can describe how we felt (me, my sis & WL) the minute we entered the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) to see young men & women in their late 20-30s. This is indeed a gathering of fans who once grew up playing the Final Fantasy series, be it on the earlier Nintendo platform to the most advanced PS3 or Xbox platforms.

Among all the MPO performances I attended previously, this show was different because it contained visual display projected on a large screen. I think this is a plus point - not only preventing boredom among first timers watching orchestral performances (I bet 60%-70% of them in the hall are "orchestra virgins") but also doing us a fan service to remind us of all those classic moments in each series.

The show lasted for almost 2 hours with a 20 mins interval break. Good for the audiences to stretch their legs while the musicians take a breather before preparing for the next performance. Towards the end, we were treated with a surprise encore performance as a token of gratitude for our never ending support. What was the most unforgettable performance yesterday? I'd have to admit there were more than one song, actually. My favourites are definitely the ones listed below:

1. Memoro de la Stono by Stephanie Van Driesen & Dithyrambic Singers
2. Opera: Maria and Darco by Ho Chi Mei, James Long Cai Hunt & Mak Chi Hoe
3. Suteki Dane by Stephanie Van Driesen - encore performance
4. Fallen Angel - encore performance

Kudos to the conductor, Arnie Roth for being so passionate & enthusiastic in bringing the sounds of Final Fantasy come to life. For your info, Arnie Roth has worked with the legendary Nobuo Uematsu & Square Enix as Music Director & Conductor for many Final Fantasy related orchestral performances. I couldn't help but shed tears of joy for such a heartwarming experience. It was definitely an afternoon to remember...


Pic courtesy of Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) Facebook

Dumb & dumber

Ever since I took up a new job at this company, I've realised that a lot of work processes are not in place. Not only getting a certain task done can be a rocket science, seems like I have to downgrade my English proficiency just so people would not misunderstand me another word.

Most of the time, the culture is like this - people do not "listen", they "hear". In other words, they do not take your words seriously. Most of them take things for granted too & assumed that they will not be held responsible if things go awry. That's just because nobody reprimands them anyway.

And then there's the GM whom behaves like your father who gets too worked up & personal over work matters. The non-stop nagging will follow suit which could last until an hour or so. The next thing you'll know is that you'll never get a piece of advice out of it. His words are a mumbo-jumbo of words from none other than a typical old man venting his frustration.

I supposed that I can tolerate as you can never choose your boss unless you work for yourself. But to actually downgrade my working style to get accustomed to most people here (who are barely qualified for their job role) is totally unacceptable. *sighs* I wonder how long I go on like this without getting a heart attack. =(

The Secretary

It's interesting & even more frustrating to know that the secretary cum personal assistant of the GM is bossier than you can ever imagine. And what's worse than being the receiving end of her confrontation over a small matter just because I mentioned that the attendance list for a press conference was approved by the GM. She conveniently marched over to my desk & gave a nasty lecture (equivalent to scolding) for lying about what I said earlier, then warned me against using the GM's name to show authority.

Which part of the story that proved my lies? All I genuinely did was sending out email invitations to the respective HODs,  hoping for their presence to support the event. The secretary doesn't seem to understand the basic idea of invitation - that it doesn't expect a compulsory attendance from the intended party being invited. It's certainly not wrong to send invitations to anyone without prior knowledge that each individual has other appointments.

I was fuming mad that this lady is here to stay; being a bitch & making a huge deal on almost anything under the sun. The ugly truth is the GM is siding & will always side her, unreasonably. The world is so unfair. *sighs*

Ted

The moment WL saw the movie trailer of Ted, he had immediately tagged it as the must-watch movie in 2012. I was eager to watch too because it does look like a hilarious show.

The movie premiered much later in Malaysia & it must be going through serious censorship for its explicit scenes & profanities. We bought a copy of the DVD at a dirt cheap price while vacationing in Bali during mid July but the quality turned out to be appalling. Shouldn't have expected any better than that because the movie only premiered not long in the US.

When Ted finally came to our cinemas, we bought the tickets without hesitation. The movie was hilarious as expected but it kinda left much to be desired. Part of the reason could be due to our strict censorship rules leading to an entire scene laden with sexual jokes to be snipped off. Sometimes I wonder if such move is even necessary. I mean, why bother rating 18SX when the explicit scenes will be censored anyway?

For a start, strict rules should be enforced to prevent underage viewers to purchase the 18SX rated movies, what more allowing them entry to the cinema halls. Whatever the Censorship Board is practising is definitely not doing us a favour, instead ruining an entertainment & still not solving the root cause of social problems nowadays. Back to the movie, the movie was entertaining & do not raise hopes on the plot being fantastic. It stayed simple without trying too hard. Also, the teddy bear is indeed adorable & huggable but honestly, I wouldn't wish for a talking bear for Christmas because it sure is freaky.


Pic courtesy of MoviePosterDB.com