Legoland....-.-

oh yay...it's legoland.... -.- what's with that face you might think...well...such a disappointment...like totally...

Itacho Sushi @ PS

This is my first visit to Itacho Sushi. Will I visit again? When my sushi craving kicks in, YES I WILL!

It's Tea Time with Sophia Grace and Rosie

I happened to be surfing on YouTube and I found videos of Sophia Grace and Rosie which entertained me a lot. I <3 <3 <3 British accent and of course without a doubt I am so much in love with the way Sophia Grace speaks. Her expressions and her accent is just so entertaining. She is only 8 years old and is able to speak and read so well, her knowledge on the entertainment industry (referring to her knowing so many celebrities by their name and faces) is amazing (definitely much better than mine), not only does she has such a powerful voice when it comes to screaming, she can rap, sing and dance really well! She gets overly excited and talks a lot, kinda drama mama in a good way (where she screams her heart out - for a moment I thought OMG how is her heart gonna take it) She loves the attention and is not at all shy. Her cousin Rosie is the quieter one who act as her companion mainly. she is cute and sweet in her own way. I love how they both expresses genuinely to things around them and the questions that were pose to them.

anw check out one of the videos here and i am sure you will search fro more on your own to entertain yourself with her 'drama mama-ness'

Enjoy

xx,

Pam

Blog Maintenance...

Did you realize that postings on my bakings had been reduced over time? No, I had not stopped baking. Well, in fact, I haven't been baking much lately but that is not the reason for the diminishing baking posts. I actually created a new blog just to document my baking journey. Just for baking. Yes in the name of BAKING! =x

You see, I created a new blog because I thought I needed a new name for my blog...a name that shouts 'I AM A FOODBLOG' and I didn't want to change the name of this blog as it has been with me since 2010. Yes I tend to hold on to things. I like having memories. :) Hence, in order not to confuse myself on where my baking entries should be posted, I had added a link on the bar above that writes 'My Kitchen'. Click on it and you will be redirected to the blog that contains postings of my bakings. Btw I named my new blog TheBakingGrace. Well, it is all about baking with GRACE. (If only my name is Grace, wouldn't it be so cool?!!! =x) 

xx,
Pam

Bintan - Nirwana

It has been quite a quiet month. i didn't bake much. except for a Chocolate Mango Mousse cake.

What to do with the spare time? GO ON A HOLIDAY!!! haha..well it is just a weekend getaway but but it is the first trip with my dearest girlfriends since College and it was plan waaaaaaaaaaay before.

Since it was a long weekend, due to Hari Raya (a Malay New Year), the girls and I decided to head to Bintan for a relaxing time (Chilling, 'Nuaing', whatever you call it). We booked 2 rooms at Nirwana Resort which got 'upgraded' into a Suite (hmm not sure if it is the right choice to accept the offer in monetary terms but we accepted anyway). So we had a living room with 2 extra single beds prepared - there were 4 of us in total), bedroom with a King (or was it queen) size bed, a spacious bath area (with 2 sinks, a bath tub for soaking - no shower head, a shower area and a shitting toilet area) and a balcony. I think staying in a Suite like this is a much better idea than having 2 rooms as we are able to do everything together without having to move from room to room. It is so FUN!!!

I was responsible for the snacks and this is what I got based on the 'orders' 

Let me tell you...unless you are rich, please bring your own snacks. Seriously!!! SGD7 for a pack of fried fish balls, SGD4 for a pack of random brand potato chips?!!! 

Friend V was responsible for sandwiches to be consumed as lunch before we depart at noon! Nom Nom. Thank you V for the yummy and healthy sandwich! and also thank you V's Mom for the fruits to keep our digestive system working well during the trip :)

Let's check out the Suite shall we?

The brightly lit living room is what you see when you step into the Suite. Beautiful right?!!!

This is the other side of the living room.

Say hello to Mr Ele

Then we see the bedroom..romantic!

The changing area which i didnt mention earlier. And the big spacious shower area.

Check this out! Reversible FLAT LCD screen TV (random note: one of my friend CLL always check upon entering a hotel room. hahaha)

Balcony! that a cat passed by during the night which freaked me out! TT

Not forgetting Stich speaker to get us 'lancing' dancing through the night.

While exploring the resort, we found this!

FYI, we had instant noodles for lunch and went for Spa after that.

Dinner at pasar Oleh Oleh which ermmm I can say is food court standard but restaurant price.

This is some special drink that Friend C ordered which tasted not bad just a tinny bitsy sweet.

I was lucky to have ordered Olive rice n stirred fried chicken which tasted the best out of the dishes my girlfriends ordered. This cost SGD8 btw.

The next day, no picture of the breakfast because they aren't that great. :( We chilled out at the beach and pool before heading back into the room to nap. I love how clear the water in the beach is. So blue and pretty. I was so immersed with its beauty that ermmm oppsie...i didn't take any photos of it. =x I will try to get my hands on the photos at the beach from my gf and post it in the future post. We were lucky with the weather in the sense where when we were out, the sky shone brightly with Mr Sun smiling at us but when we headed indoor, the sky darkened and started to drizzle if not pour without warning. I guess we are blessed. ^^

After lazing around in the pool and beach, we cleaned up and had instant noodles for lunch again, then massage followed by dinner at Nirwana Kelong Restaurant. The best food we had eaten in Bintan. Please remember to make reservation beforehand as we almost couldn't get a table. The pricing is similar to SG. It cost us SGD96 for these 4 dishes including drinks and 2 bowls of rice. They have set dishes for 4 pax which cost SGD148++ but it seems too much for us to finish.

Then we had some fun with lips tattoo on our last night at Bintan!!!!

Then that is the end of the trip :( As usual fun time passes really quick. Before you knew it, it is over. sob sob...

The ferry ride back was quite bad, I felt slightly nauseous and had a bad headache. Probably due to hunger (i didnt had lunch) and ermmm me watching too much drama via my mobile on board. But I reckon the ferry ride contributed partly as well because a little girl was puking badly in the ferry. *green face T.T* So when I got home, I was super hungry. To the point of ermm fainting? hahaha.. I found no human in sight, not a single living thing (except the plants -.-). Hence, I whipped up pasta just to satisfy my growling stomach. Pasta with endame, onions, garlic, cheese and omelette.

Since it was Hari Raya the day before, as usual, I got invited to my one and only 'Malay' friend's (a friend for 12 years and counting. also a neighbour for more than 12 years) house for Hari Raya visiting. These are the yummy food prepared by her mom which I always look forward to. kekeke...The homecook ketupat! Yummy chilli sauce / gravy, etc...<3<3<3!!!

Selamat Hari Raya!

xx,

Pam

Having Problem with Colours?!!

I <3 looking at pretty colour combinations (-.- *rolls eyes* who doesnt). However, sad to say, I am not very good when it comes to matching them. I tend to play it safe by using colour in different tones. For instance I LOVE COLOURS You can never go wrong with that.

The calling of understanding and learning the usage of colours came during my superior module of Patisserie where we had to create sugar centre pieces, chocolate plates, etc. Hence, I knew that I had to stepped it up and work on my colour matching skill. I did research and read about colours. Warm colours, cool colours, complimentary colours, etc etc. Understanding colours is one thing, putting them together is another. Hence, I googled on 'colour palatte' and found this website rather useful and easy to use. It matches colours for you!!! haha how wonderful is that, you can now skipped the process of reading and understand about colours. The website is basically a colour tool where you click on the shade of colour that you will like to work on and it will assist you in matching it with other colours depending on how you want the combination to be (for example, mono tone, complement, triad, etc).

You can use colours in so many ways. Home furnishing, cake and cookie decoration, wedding theme, photography, painting, dressing and many many more. 

One day when I was surfing on food blogs and reading this reading that. I chance upon this 'colour' blog called Design Seeds. PRETTY!!!!! Great photos with colour combinations that made sense, as though they are singing beautifully in your ears (in my ears for sure but I am not sure if it does for you). 

Taking inspiration from this, I revamped the blog. However, something is still missing. I am not able to bring out the WOW factor of it :( Please be understanding, I am still trying to cultivate my creativity. 

Like I said earlier, understanding the colours is one thing and putting them to use is another. Though using the same colours, I am not able to bring out the OOMPH of this colour combination. I think what I am lacking is  texture. The colours look soothing to the eye but they are not 'singing'. I shall try to find out how I am able to convert my photos into colours like the above picture. Maybe by adding photos of the same shade might help :)

Hope this post is helpful enough for you to find the right colours :)

xx,

Pam

My Month!

Correct me if I am wrong, most people love numbers or months related to their birthdays. I am not the exceptional one. Hence, July is my Month! Like I said, nothing extraordinary or exceptional occurred this year this month, but I am still loving it just because ^^

It is July! *looking guilty* All right almost the end of July. It is almost a month since I last posted. Nothing unusual, special or interesting occurred. My days just pass by really quickly like most people I believed except the fact that instead of sitting in an office staring at my computer like many, I was busy baking in the kitchen. To be honest, I sometimes feel bad hogging the small little kitchen that was once owned by someone none other than my Mother. Now, we share this small little space which I realized I kinda bosses her around sometimes (maybe most of the time :P) on issues such as storage of ingredients, usage of table cloths, timing for using the kitchen, etc. I know I know, I am sentenced guilty for this hideous crime of stealing her kitchen and yet, I am still bossing her around in her own space. Evil Pam! Evil! :( All right all right, I will try to be nicer.

Just to forewarn you, you should stop reading this post now unless you are prepared to read my long and most probably yawn-inducing ramblings on why I am so crazy over baking. This post might also be a remedy to your insomnia. hehehe...

Since this is MY favourite month, I shall ramble on my craziness for baking it is kinda like renewing my vow where I remind myself of the passion and love I have for baking. ;)

I realize I cannot stop reading foodblogs, searching for inspirations, experimenting for new combinations, thinking of new design, new details, new something for the cakes and pastries to bake. However, with the many constrains (small kitchen space, equipment, $$) I will still try my best to make it work, thinking of alternatives, better usages of ingredients, adjustment of recipes, etc.

I love how baking enables me to put in my feelings, a personal touch to the creation. I love how the adrenaline rushes when I have the opportunity to create something new. The excitement, the imagination, the happiness...geez...I cannot find words to explain exactly how this is supposed to feel but hmmm it is the feeling of doing something that you love! hahaha I guess that is how it is :) I love how there are endless readings about baking which never, I repeat NEVER bores me. NEVER! There are so many categories (Breads, Biscuits, French pastry, Japanese Pastry, American Cakes, Decorations, Cookies, Chocolates, Sugar, etc) in baking that I do not know where to start, I want to try and studying everything!!! It isn't like accounting or some businessy books where the contents are logical, make sense and seem interesting at times with most of the time I felt sleepy reading them...I like Accounting, I really do but the level of love comparing to baking is slightly off far off. =x

Just to share, there are more understanding needed in Baking than expected. For instance, the logic of setting up mise en place, the science of the baking processes, the mathematical understanding of the recipe, the creativeness of ingredients combination, the understanding the palate for texture and percentage of the cake components, etc. Overwhelmed already? These are just a few that I can think of offhand. There are just so much and maybe too much to grasp for me being an amateur. However, I am constantly trying to gain every bit of baking knowledge I can. The knowledge gained inspires and pushes me further in my own world of baking. And I am not complaining!!!

Truthfully, there are times where I got lazy and maybe tired of baking where thoughts like 'gosh I have to bake the entire day?', 'can I not bake today?' However, I never once not bake when such awful thoughts tried to pollute my mind (unless I am not well). The moment I start, I will not stop. Is that considered to be a workaholic or was it my passion that drives me crazy?

Ever since the last leg of my Patisserie Diploma, I was already torn between going back to Accounting or continue Baking. There are pros and cons to both but it seems quite obvious where I belong since I gave up a proper and decent paying Accounting job for Baking which I am crazily in love. Having them co-exist in my life isn't that bad. However, being able to cope is another thing. I just need to be brave enough to make a decision.

Life is all about choices and decisions, whether the result is fated or destined I can't say. There are times where I would think that destiny lies in the hands of the beholder where it is your decisions that path your life. However, there are also times where things happened just the way it is, and I would think 'I guess that what we call fate.'. hmmm I have not decided as yet which I believe in but in anyway, a decision has to be reached and with no doubt, I am deeply in love with baking.

All righty, I shall spare you with my rambling.

Nighty

xx,


Pam