Unlayered Cake

Lots of people would be baking now, in preparation for CNY which was just around the corner. I do not bake ... but joined in my colleagues to "learn" the other day. Lol.

We were supposed to learn to make a layered cake. We were supposed to pair up and bake our own cake, after we watched the demonstration by the teacher. Here's the recipe :
1) Whisk 400g butter with 75g of condensed milk till they appear white and creamy. Set aside.
2) Whisk 14 Grade A egg yolks with 6 whole eggs, 200g of Hong Kong flour, 200g of icing sugar, 1 tbsp of Ovalette and 60g of powdered milk.
3) Then mix 1 and 2 together.
4) Separate mixture into 3 portions and add different colours to them
5) Line the cake pan.
6) Preheat oven. Bake each layer at 250 degrees for 2 minutes.

The end product was supposed to turn out to be something like this ...

But then, the task proved to daunting and time consuming .... so instead of pairing up, the 4 of us grouped together to bake, not a layered cake, but an unlayered one. Lol.

My group members and I followed the exact steps, but then we cut down the amount of sugar we used, and we decided not do use colouring. Instead, we added in a sachet of instant coffee into a portion of the batter. Of course we had decided earlier on not to layer the cake. So we merely then poured it into a lined baking tin.

In another portion, we swirled some pandan essence into the batter and baked it ....

The cakes, cut and served 

Well, we quite liked the texture of the cake which was fluffy and soft, and very fragrant of eggs. My friends and I divided the cakes into 4 portions and brought them home.

That evening, I let AT try some. "You did not put sugar," he said.

Lol. Of course I did. It was just being reduced. But he said it was not bad.

My friends also feedback that their families and children loved the cakes .... so see, it was not necessary to put layers on the cake ... hehe

Keropok Amplang

For some reason I was starving the whole day. Lunch was just a portion scrambled eggs. Of course, I had wanted to eat more ... but there was not much of things to eat.

Scrambled eggs with string beans and carrots, and chilli sauce

Therefore, when I saw some fish crackers on the table, I squealed in delight. Yayy! Food!! So I opened the container and started popping the puffed up rounded balls into my mouth.

 Amplang

"Where from?" I asked my colleague. Eat first. Then ask. Lol.

"P bought it from Sabah," came the reply. P, my colleage went to Sabah one weekend.

"What are these called?" I asked again.

"Amplang," I was told. 

"What is this made of?" I asked.

"Don't know," my colleague said.

Well ... a search online revealed that Amplang was a popular snack in Tawau, Sabah. Its ingredients include Spanish mackerel, tapioca flour with spices. The dough is formed into little balls and then deep-fried. These ones I ate were flavoured I think .... tasted to me like cuttlefish, with sesame seeds giving them a nuttier flavour.

Munch ... munch ... munch .... we sat around and chatted ... and soon, no more Amplang left. :P

Big Vegetable Bao

I was hovering at the section selling local cakes at Krokop 10 Market. I never knew what I wanted to buy as I browsed the various types of local cakes on the tables. It was because I had bought a few types over the years ... and yet I had never found them to be extraordinarily yummy.

At one corner, there was this stall selling steamed buns or baos. Well, I had never bought the baos here before. But that morning, it caught my attention that a few people were buying the Big Vegetable Bao or 大菜包. I was wondering why. Was it really delicious? Or was it mere coincidence. I was not tempted to buy somehow.

Till my friend H disclosed to me that she would buy half a dozen on the baos at one go. H also told me that the baos would sell out by 9.00 a.m. That got me excited to try them, in particular the Big Vegetable Bao.

However, I was working on weekdays and could not go to the market .... and as soon as Saturday arrived, I hurried to there, just to buy the baos.

Big Vegetable Bao, RM2.00

I had some shaomai from Kuching to accompany my bao.  The shaomais were brought all the way from Kuching by my friend R. So they were absolutely yum. But how about the bao? 

 Cross section of the bao ..

Well, let's start with the pastry. The pastry had a very fragrant aroma of good quality wheat flour. It smelled mouth-watering in fact. The pastry was also light, fluffy and spongy.  Quite pleasant to chew on. I just thought it was too thick at the top. I guess it had to be in order for it to expand to its size. No offense, but I did not like it. The filling was mostly shredded jicama .... a bit sweet and savoury in taste. Not too sure, but perhaps there was just a teeny bit of minced pork inside too. There was a wedge of hard-boiled egg in the centre.

This bao was rather alright, but not really to-die-for. It was not something I would go back to buy in the near future. Perhaps till when I have a craving for it. :P

Marudi Bread

I have often heard people talk about the infamous bread from Marudi. But I had no chance of eating it. I had not been to Marudi before.

The other day, AT and I were talking about him going to Marudi ... and I involuntarily asked him to buy me a loaf. He agreed without hesitation. That was quite a few weeks ago ... and I did not actually think he would remember. But today, surprisingly, he sent the bread right all the way to my doorstep. Thanks so much.

What a beautiful loaf of bread .... 

Well, first of all, this loaf of bread is really long, and had been baked to a perfect shade of brown. It retained its shape, even though it had travelled that far by air ... 

The texture was also good - light and soft but not cottony, dense but not hard. And there was this very fragrant aroma of wheat that permeates this freshly baked bread.

I bit into a slice and enjoyed its the chewy texture and its delightful taste. The more you chewed, the tastier it became. Bring that cup of black coffee .... and enjoy it with the bread. :) 

Cucumber Stirfry

I'm one who loves to cook and eat cucumber stir-fries. The other day, I bought a Japanese cucumber from the market. These were dark green in colour, crunchier and sweeter than the local varieties. They were however much pricier. Just one piece cost RM2.00. When in abundance, a kilogramme of the local cucumbers would only sell for RM2.00 or less.

Back home, I sliced them up thinly and stirfried them with just garlic and a bit of salt.

Cucumber Stirfry

The result was quite yum, in fact. The cucumbers were rather refreshing and pleasant to eat with rice. This is a dish I would definitely repeat.

Mini Buns

What attracted me to Seed's at first were the mini buns. There were so many flavours to pick and choose from, and the best thing was that one could mix and match. My favourite ones were always bbq chicken, chicken sausage buns and the mexico buns. 3 pieces still sold for RM2.00.

Freshly baked and delicious ...

Seeds is located at Boulevard Commercial Centre. They are also pretty famous for their Korean QQ mochi buns. 

KR1M

With the rising cost of food prices, more and more people are searching to buy cheaper brands. And my colleague was promoting the 1Malaysia brand of products which he bought from Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M).

Indeed, I had never tried these products till he let us sample a few items. I actually liked the Special Cream Cracker. So I went to buy a packet the other day. While at KR1M, I bought a packet of 1Malaysia Muruku and a small bottle of 1Malaysia soy sauce.

Muruku RM3.20, Special Cream Cracker RM2.95 and Kicap Manis 60ml bottle RM1.00

Opened up to serve .... 

I liked the cream cracker because it was thin, flaky and crispy. The muruku, too, was flavourful of spices though I found it slightly hard. It could be  quite addictive, though. The only item I did not like was the soy sauce, which I found to be too diluted. I also did not quite like the taste of the soy sauce.

I paid RM7.15 for those 3 items ... bargain or not? Hmn ....