Panda Bread

Couple of days ago, my niece (in UK) “dared” her mother (my sister-in-law) on Facebook to make this

Somehow, I took up this “dare” and came up with this today.

My Pandas are not as white as I used unbleached Bread flour. I always prefer unbleached flour as I do not like the extra chemical processing to make the bread white.
 
I used my Hokkaido Milk Bread recipe to make this bread as I have the dough ready in my freezer. All I did was, when the dough is thawed, I divided it into 3 parts and added green tea powder in one and cocoa powder in the other. Then, wait for them to proof before I shape them according to the recipe.
 

My Panda’s eyes are not aligned!!!

Anyway, it’s still very cute and my girl loves them.
Thanks, Carol for the “dare”….(how would you rate this???)

1st Craft Market for 2011

 

I have been real busy the past couple of months.

Have been on a crafting frenzy ……

(you will know what I mean if you have been reading my crafting blog).

This year I have a number of art & craft fair/market that I will be participating… as a vendor!

The numero uno will be this Sunday (23rd Jan 2011).

A group of us (indie crafters) from Team Etsy Malaysia will be setting up booth selling our creations during this event.

This is a “must attend” event as the KLPac Open Day 2011 promises something for everyone, from performances to classes, bands and singers, art and exhibitions and much more. And best of all, you don’t have to pay a cent.

The line up for the day includes :

Theatre & Dance:

• Green & White by Nyoba Kan
• Jom Dance by Lex Lakshman Balakrishnan
• Balinese Dance by Max Roswell
• Through the Looking Glass by Balletbase (Bilqis Hijjas + Ng Bee Bee)
• Jaz Dance Medley + “Smile” by ACTS of Performing Arts
• The Flashmob aka Lindy Bomb by KL Swing
• Flamenco Dance by Kayla
• Projek Disko Baldi & Galah Panjang by Playground Productions
• Mime by The Qum Actors
• Standup Comedy by YCOM
• Standup Comedy in Chinese by Joker Duo
• Saudara Baru Preview by Serious Comedy Studio
• Improv Comedy by AI:IA
• Script Reading by EMP
• Waiter, there’s gut in my soup Theatre Experience by Chris Ling & Jit Yang
• Seven Floors (Dino Buzatti) by Chris Ling
• INDICINELIVE! Sketch Comedy (contain mature content) by Kelvin Wong
• Gao Xing Jian’s The Other Shore by Kimmy Kiew & Chung Hwa High School
• Human Sculpture by Hearts Towards the Sun Theatre
• Improv by the Lake by David Lim &Aidira Khaidir

Indie Film screenings

HerStory Film & Forum:

• Spirited Crystal Woo & A.A.Lee
• Happy Message by Mien.Ly & Ruby
• Still by Mislina Mustaffa & Julya Oui
• Creatures by Bernice Chauly & Nadira Ilana
• Sangkar by Sharifah Amani & Susan Bansin

Malaysian Shorts:

• Lucky Shots by Khairil M. Bahar
• 2 Guys, 2 Girls & A Beat Up Car by Mien.Ly
• Baby The Rain Will Fall by Adrian Loh
• Invigilatator by Manesh Nesaratnam
• Unsecured Loan 1 & 2 by Juliane Block
• Teddy & I by Zahir Omar
• Moving On by Michael Chen
• The Aquarium by Michael Chen
• 7 Squared by Law Gwo Yunn
• Wolf by Anrie Too

Full length film:

• Gedebe by Rumah Anak Teater

Others

• Drum jamming by Drumclix, Afro Sahara & Drum Simfoni
• Arts and Crafts Market (I will be here!!!!)
• Live Painting by Marta
• Treasure Hunt (recommended for 12 years old and above)
• Kelab Shashin Costume Photography
• Journey Through the Years: Performing arts T-shirt display
• klpac’s Job Portrait Exhibition
• Switch On Sound Installation by Annabelle Ng & Goh Lee KWang
• State of the Art Forum by Melissa Teoh, Ayam Fared & U-EN Ng
• Moderated by: Redza Minhat

If you are in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, do drop in to have some fun.

Off to Camp…….

 

Today my second offspring left the nest for 3 months to attend the National Service Training Programme. In Malaysia. teenagers of 18 years can be called to participate in this Camp. Unlike some countries like Singapore and Taiwan, where the male citizens are required to undergo National Service for a year or 2… in Malaysia, this 3 months stint is more of a “summer” camp than a military training.

Not all the 18 year olds are required to undergo this camp as only those selected (random selection) will need to participate. This year a total of 140,000 trainees were picked out of more than 500,000 Malaysian teenagers born in 1993. The first batch of 40,308 trainees will leave their homes and head to 79 NS camps nationwide for three-months training today.

 

 

Waiting for registration (with siblings)

 

  

Reporting at pick up point (Shah Alam Stadium) to board the bus to his camp in Perak.

Hope he will have a safe, positive and good experience at the National Service Camp!!!

Caramel Popcorns for New Year

 

Happy New Year !!!!

May the Year 2011 brings great health, happiness and world peace.

Today is the 1st day of year 2011.

We do not celebrate New Year’s day at home as to us it is just another day. The only difference is, today is a public holiday and we would normally take this opportunity to spend quality time together.

We did watch “Prince of Persia” on DVD at home. Just before we sat down to watch the movie, my daughter commented that it would be great if we could have popcorns like in the cinema. 

I remembered reading about popping corns over the stove/burner in Happy Home Baking sometime back. Thanks to Happy Home Baking, we have a a tub of perfectly homemade popped corns. The family loved it and it transformed our dvd viewing experience into a cinema experience.

 

The popcorns in the wok freshly popped

It is so easy… I will never buy those microwave popcorn packs again.

 

The popcorns in the wok coated with caramelized sugar.

 

Here is how it is done…………….

Caramel Pop Corns (by Happy Home Baking)

Ingredients

4 tbsp popcorn kernels .
3 tbsp cooking oil (I use canola oil)
4 tbsp sugar (use 6 tbsp for a sweeter taste)
2 tbsp coarsely grounded peanuts (I omitted as I do not have them)
1 tbsp sesame seeds (I forgot to add in this time)

Method:
Heat up a wok (use a heavy-base wok to prevent the popcorn kernels from burning) over high heat. When the wok is very hot, add in the oil. Turn heat to medium-high and add in popcorn kernels. Stir with a wok spatula until the popcorn kernels are evenly coated with oil. Keep stirring until the first kernel pops (takes only a few seconds). Cover the wok immediately with a lid. The popcorn kernels will start to pop all at once. As the popping continues, gently swirl the wok back and forth over the burner. Do this once or twice in between the popping. Wait for the popping to slow to a few seconds between pops. Turn off the heat, remove lid and transfer popcorn into a wide bowl. (Note, the inside of the lid will be covered with the cooking oil.)
Return wok to burner and turn heat to medium-low. Place sugar in the wok and let it melt. Do not stir, it will take a few minutes for the sugar to melt/caramelise. Turn off the heat when the sugar has completely melted. Return the popcorn into the wok and sprinkle over the grounded peanuts and sesame seeds. Toss with spatula to combine.

The next time, I will add in those peanuts and sesame seeds!!!!