Monday 31 August 2009

Mr Dashing 2 - Daniel Henney

Oh... all these Mr Dashings... keeping me away from my oven. I initially thought that my entries will be more about my baking and diving. And now this temporary craze over cute Korean hunks has taken over most of my time in the last few days. I hope it doesnt last too long, hahhaha...

Well, seasonality or not, let's feast and enjoy on another God's beautiful creation... Mr. Daniel Henney, 188cm (ohh.... droool droooollllll droooolllllllll....). Born in 1979, more manly.. ;)~~~ ABK = American Born Korean. Mix of Caucasian and Korean descents. Model and actor as well.






Sunday 30 August 2009

Life is like Trekking

I went trekking to Cisadon, Sentul, yesterday with Frieda and Adri. And it reflected on me that the whole journey seems so much like life. I started very enthusiastically. Without much physical preparation, i just started walking up hill on the stoney path. Within 10mins, i started running out of breath. And i started feeling quite dizzy and uncomfortable. If it wasn't for my buddy, Adri, i would have given up. Her encouragement kept me going. She said, "a little more, we are almost there, one step at a time, the road ahead is rather flatter." Frieda was ahead of us. She made numerous stops for me to catch up. Occassionally she would call out for me, checking me out and waved to me. Just like life, when you are going uphill, you need the support and encouragement of your good friends. Thank you, Dri & Frieda! :)

And like life, rest if you must, but do not quit. Remember the friends who were there for you on the way up and down and the guides who show you to the correct paths. Share the beauty of Nature with them. When you walk, don't just focus on the road, lift your head up and see the beauty around you. See the big and small things that make up the nature as it is, from the big mountains to the little spiders, bugs, snails. And like life, the route on the trek has the same pattern too. The steep challenging road up; people who are there giving encouragement; some flatter plains and the easier tracks; people you meet along the way whom give colours in different ways by sharing their experiences or ways of living; then uphill again and continue on to our journey. It is not the destination that counts, it is the journey...



Adri & Frieda waiting for me


Itsy Bitsy Spider


Lunch break


Happiness is sharing oreo with your sis


Now, this is what i call Coffee Beans


Natural Beauty


Misty Layers


in front of Pak RT's house


LtoR: Edi (guide), Jusuf (little guide), me, Adri, Frieda
Total distance: 12 km in 5 hours

Mr Dashing - Lee Min Hoo

Lee Min Hoo, he plays as the lead actor in Boys Before Flowers (a Korean drama series). I have never been a goo-goo-gaga fan of any artistes, not even during the era of NKOTB or any of those boys band that many girls can't help but go crazy over them. But somehow, this one is different. At least he makes me go out and search for his pics on the net. Hahaha... quite embarassing for me, but i still think he is dashing. He is 185cm, such handsome height ;) And his lips... ohhh... sweeter than any chocolate ;)~~ I don't know if it is because of his character in the movie that makes him so irresistible, or maybe coz he reminds me of someone...

Here are the proofs...

Look at those curls...


Such irresistible smile...


Dashingly cute...


Don't faint, gals...


as a Levi's model


Mc Slurpy...

Saturday 29 August 2009

Korean Drama - Addictive and Exhausting

Sigh... what is the thing with Korean drama series? Each one made me cry, everytime. Well, not every episode, otherwise it will be so very exhausting. But it is emotionally stretchy watching them. I am not at that level of craziness towards Korean drama series, not one of those that actually goes out to look for the latest hits.

I havent watched Korean drama for years. But more than a month ago (or probably couple months ago), my bro's gf lent me 2 series. One is Boys Before Flowers, the other is East of Eden. I wasn't too keen to watch them. Forgetting how addictive they can be, I watched the first episode of Boys Before Flowers. I actually told Firda what a boring and cheezy show it was. It came to the point where I almost stopped watching. Out of curiousity, i pretty much hanged on watching the first two episodes. After that, i reached the point of return. I think I finish the 25 episodes series in 3 days and 2 sleepless nights. I slept at 6am and 4am, 6 to 8 hours of tv marathon.

Years ago, I watched Glass Shoes with my Mom (who also loves watching Korean drama). We cried within the first 15mins of the first episode. I remember that this series made me cry pretty much almost every episode. My mom and I cried so much that we actually prepared tissue box beside us before watching :)

The thing with Korean drama series is the songs and music co-ordination. It just brings your emotional being to a different level even though you may not understand the lyrics. Even when the story has a happy ending, I can't help not feeling melancholy. The struggle that the main characters has to go through before achieving their dreams. Some of the love stories are so sad. It makes me wonder lots about being in love. It is so beautiful and yet so scary too. You just never know when the person you love will leave you. In Korean drama, if someone dies, it is usually coz of Leukemia. I dun know why it is Leukemia most of the time.

So, a little warning, prepare yourself for the sleepless nights before you start watching. Good Luck! :)

Tuesday 18 August 2009

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

With the same batch of cookie mixture, you can bake this cookie either soft and chewy or crispy and crunchy. All you need to adjust is the baking time and how long you leave the cookies in the hot tray.

I notice that the Americans seem to like their chocolate chip cookies soft and chewy. While the Asians like them dry and crunchy. You don't actually need to follow the measurement in the recipe for the chocolate chips. Just add as much as you want :)

Baking with Jazz

I have diving logbooks, and now I have a baking logbook too :) Just like diving, baking is therapeutic for me. I usually have Frank Sinatra and the likes of him accompany me when I bake, sometimes through the wee hours of the night. Usually it is big band music during daytime baking and jazz during nighttime baking. And on Sundays, it is Oldies coz my Mom hangs out around the dining room. Of course I always have my faithful companions, the itchy bitchy mosquitoes. And what would I do without my baking best friend, Mr. Autan, a.k.a. mosquitoes repellent (of course I prefer a Mr to accompany me ;) ?

Here are a few of the stuffs I've baked. The pics aren't that good. Just like baking, I am still learning. It is usually lack of lighting. Too lazy to get a desk lamp and not a big fan of using flash in some instances. Maybe some of you can give me some tips :)


Kue Lapis Legit

This was my second attempt on baking a Kue Lapis Legit (Rich Layered Cake). I had always wanted to try to bake lapis legit. But just like most people, the number of egg yolks required to bake this kue just scared me away. Even if you half the recipe, you will still be looking at 20-30 egg yolks. I've heard someone using 80 egg yolks for a kue lapis legit! I don't know exactly how big the cake pan is, but am sure it is not too big. So you can imagine what a waste of eggs if the cake doesn't turn out well. That was what happened to my first try. I burnt 1/3 of the bottom of the cake :P It was a learning experience.

Now I know that lapis legit is mainly egg yolks and butter. Yup, mainly just those two ingredients. No wonder it is so legit (rich), and of course so yummy... :)~~





Brownies Ketan Hitam

I don't like this cake. The texture is coarse and rather sandy. Unlike regular flour, ketan hitam flour (Black Glutinous Rice flour) is a bit rough. And i can't taste the ketan hitam flavour. I dun know if people actually use flavourings/essence to get that flavour. Or perhaps they use actual ketan hitam.





Lemon Meringue Pie

My first encounter with Lemon Meringue Pie was when I was about 9 years old where I lived with a Singaporean family. My guardian occasionally baked this. After more than 20 years, i taste again the mixture of fresh tanginess of lemon, mix with the pillowy softness of the meringue, in contrast with the crunchy flakiness of pie crust.


Monday 3 August 2009

My reasons for blogging

I'm never a good writer or at least not good at expressing myself in words. So I thought blogging will give me that practice. Sometimes my mind can get so complicated that it feels like a tied knot. So again, i thought writing out my thoughts may help in unknotting the complicated thoughts.
I have friends who encourage me to blog and I also have friends that ask me whether I am sure that I want this blog to be available for viewing for everyone. But again, one of my main reasons for blogging is to open up and share more about myself, my passions (which are currently baking and diving), and some occasional random thoughts. So here I am, a newbie blogger. An opening up exercise for me.
I hope that as I filled this blog, you will find something useful, beautiful, or something that can bring a smile to you :)