Lava Queen

Being a typical city gal, I've never been particularly fond of forests and mountains (I've never even been on a camping trip -_-) , not to mention these places are full of creepy crawlies n biting insects that scare the crap out of me... One day, my hubby suggested a short forest getaway - as an escape from our usual busy city life. After much persuasion, I agreed to give it a try since this would be a 'new' experience for me. We searched online and decided on Seremban coz it's not too far away, ideal for a weekend retreat.  There are 3 different resorts with such concept within the same area: The Shorea, The Dusun and Awanmulan. Speaking of which, the first 2 are in the 28 Best Places To Stay At In Malaysia's Most Loved Holiday Destinations .  I looked through and chose The Shorea as the architecture of the resort and the pool appealed to me the most. The journey to this secluded resort took about 30 minutes from the Seremban city. Finding it was a bit of a c...

My hubby is a fan of Gordon Ramsay; watching Gordon's videos, buying Gordon's cookbooks, trying out some of the recipes and he is even talking about growing his own herbs. I must admit I enjoy watching his videos too because he makes cooking look easy, his food looks absolutely scrumptious .  When my parents said they were coming over for dinner on Christmas day, this stuffed roast chicken recipe popped up in my head almost immediately, simply because: Firstly, I've never cooked a turkey before, plus it's just too big for the 4 of us (didn't include my LO coz she can't eat it  yet), and secondly, we already have most of the ingredients at home, just needed to get the chicken, thyme sprigs, chorizo and cannelini beans. So, here's the original Gordon Ramsay recipe: Ingredients: (Serves 4-6) 1 free-range chicken, about 2kg 1 lemon Olive oil, for drizzling 1 heaped tsp paprika (sweet or smoked, as preferred) 400ml white wine For the chori...

Few days ago my Bestie and I had arranged for a short catch up/gossiping session today, just before the long break til New Year. Since it's Christmas eve and she was gonna come pick me up (I've been bugging her to let me sit in her new car...Hehe),  we didn't wanna go somewhere too far or crowded and then get stuck in a traffic jam. So, I  suggested Fluffed , a newly opened cafe (slightly over a month, I believe) in my neighborhood.   I came across this cafe on Eat Drink KL's post on 18 New Restaurants & Cafes to Visit in KL & Selangor - December 2015 . Being dessert and coffee lovers, we thought we should check this place out. We were greeted by some friendly baristas the moment we walked into the cafe. The interior isn't really something which is easy on the eye, but it was cosy - minimalistic design, white walls, plenty of natural lighting, wooden tables and chairs. It was pretty empty when we arrived but people started flocking in not long after that. ...

I introduced baby pastas to my LO when she was 8 months old. It's versatile, easy to cook and loaded with carbohydrate, which is essential for energy and growth. But instead of serving it with ready made sauces from supermarkets, I prefer homemade ones - healthier with no added sugar/salt, and definitely without preservatives/coloring. Here are 3 that my LO enjoys eating: 1. Butternut squash + Tomato Pasta Sauce 100g butternut squash, peeled and chopped Unsalted butter, for frying 2 medium sized tomatoes, skinned & quartered Some cheddar cheese, grated Some onion, chopped Steam butternut squash until tender. Melt the butter in saucepan, saute onion and tomatoes until mushy. Add butternut squash. May add a little bit of water. Cover with lid and simmer until all ingredients become soft and mixed well. Stir in cheese until melted, then blend it. Baby pasta with pork, cauliflower and butternut squash + tomato pasta sauce 2. Creamy oat  1/...

There is always a debate on who is better, Stay At Home Mum (SAHM) or Full Time Working Mum (FTWM). Some FTWMs say SAHMs get to stay at home, spend valuable time with their kids, don't need to deal with job deadlines or office politics, whereas SAHMs will argue and say unlike the FTWMs, they don't get annual leaves, can't call in sick and have to deal with their whining/screaming kids all day etc. All mums want the best for their kids, so there is no such thing as who is better than who. Each role has its own struggles and challenges.  Not everyone is cut out to be a SAHM, and vice versa.  It's just a choice you have to make, based on what you think works best for you.  Everything has its pros and cons. Among my friends, there are SAHMs and FTWMs. Some FTWMs were determined they will not give up their job, not because they don't love spending time with their kids, but because they couldn't bear the fact of facing their kid 24/7, losing the independence to earn...

Almost everyday  on Facebook  I see members from a cooking group posting pictures of their homemade luncheon meat, and I just HAD to follow the trend! Out of the different recipes posted, I picked a simpler one (as usual, haha) and gave it a try. The texture was somewhat similar to those canned ones but the taste was slightly different. Anyhow, this is definitely much healthier without preservatives and artificial coloring/flavoring, and most importantly, you know exactly what is in it. Ingredients: 350g minced pork 60g egg white (About 2 eggs) 20g cornstarch 10g all purpose flour 1tbsp water Seasoning: 1 tbsp light soya sauce 1 tsp caster sugar  1 tsp five spice powder 1 tbsp ginger juice 2 tsp sesame oil some ground white pepper Combine the seasonings with minced meat and mix well. Add in the egg white, cornstarch and all purpose flour, stir til it's evenly combined. Lastly, add in the 1 tbsp water, stir until well combined and doesn't sti...

This is a light and refreshing soup that is excellent for hot summer days, especially in countries like Malaysia where it's hot all year round. It is also good for relieving coughs, moisturizes the lungs and mildly relieves heatiness. The best thing is, it is extremely easy to cook, using very simple ingredients. Using just a few simple ingredients :D  Ingredients: 1 snow pears, remove stem and core 2 small apples, peeled, remove stems and cores 3 dried figs Approx. 250-300g of pork bones 400 ml water Blanch the pork bones in boiling water for 5 minutes and rinse. Add all ingredients into my electric double boiler and boil for 3 hours. Serve! It's naturally sweet in taste and my LO loves it very much! Easy peasy, isn't it? Apple  -       neutral in nature, moisturizes the lungs, moisturizes the body, lubricates the                     intestines and improves the functions of the s...

Our lil' princess' first overseas trip! We are planning to bring her to Japan next spring, so we thought we needed to do a 'test run' first, by bringing her to somewhere not too far (about 2 hours' flight), somewhere we've never been, somewhere not too hectic, somewhere we don't have to travel far to get from one place to another.... well... We were ambivalent about this as it was gonna be our first time bringing a toddler to another country, so, we decided on Ho Chi Minh city after some consideration. No itinerary planned (for the first time too), we were just gonna go with the flow - how she behaves/reacts when we get there. Worst case would be spending most of the time in the hotel room. Lol. Before the trip, I started reading articles on how to travel with a baby/toddler, what to expect, what can I bring or what should I bring, airline regulations on food items etc.  Traffic in Ho Chi Minh is pretty congested with lots of motorbikes on streets, so we d...