Nutella & Cheesecake

I cannot cook to save my life; unless its instant noodles all the way. I can fry eggs, simple vegetables, but ain’t too sure about the taste. 😛 However, when we shifted to this current place, I made my parents buy me an oven, promising that I will bake something. 

I did actually bake after going to a simple baking class. Yes, I know that one could just read off the internet for some recipe and explore, but I was lazy, and I wanted to be taught on how to do stuff. So I signed up to a home-based baking class. I guess that was 2 years ago. Went to it, and back from the class, I baked about 2-3 times and that was it. The oven sat there in one corner, lonely. 

Its probably reading too much blogs recently, especially from Miss TamChiak, I decided to start baking again. 

I started with the Nutella cupcakes. Nothing could go very wrong with Nutella right? I figure the Nutella will salvage it if everything everything else goes wrong. 

This was the end result: 

Not bad but ♥ said was not sweet enough. Boost my confidence a bit and I decided to invite a friend over to bake with me. YS came over with her bf and I decided to double the ingredients so that she could bring them back to enjoy.

photo by YS 🙂 who was excited throughout the whole process

Overall, the taste was alright, but I think we were too generous on each cup.

With some confidence, I decided to try a non-bake cheesecake. I love cheese, but my family doesn’t. I managed to convince my helper that we would be the only ones eating it; once she agreed, I started to research on the recipe. There were so many versions of the method of the Oreo Cheesecake available online that I begin to confuse myself. Finally I decided on the recipe from Celestial Delish, who also happened to be a friend of Miss TamChiak. I tweaked the recipe slightly, but overall I followed quite accordingly. 

The process…

my final product!

 I have to agree it doesn’t look as nice as I would have wanted it. I scoop out some mixture to mix in the Oreo bits and under-calculated the remaining for the top. I wanted the top to be smooth and clear without Oreo bits. 

Left the cake overnight in the fridge and only to let ♥ try a spoonful of it the next day. He said it was okay, so which means its a PASS! 

This will give me more confidence to try many other different recipes! Just need more testers, hmm, are you willing to volunteer? 😀

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Oreo Cheesecake Recipe
Credit to Celestial Delish 

I used a 6-inch Springfoam pan.

Ingredients: 
Base

• 16 Oreo cookies (depends on the type of Oreo you get from the supermarket, but it should be 120g, basically I would suggest up to 150g)
• 45g Butter (melted)

Filling

• 100g Cream cheese (I couldn’t find the Philadelphia ones from the supermarket so I got mine from Phoon Huat)
• 50g Sour cream (from Phoon Huat)
• 60g  Caster Sugar 
• Lemon juice from one lemon
• 3g Gelatin sheet (Gelatin Leaf from Phoon Huat which is 2g per leaf)
• A few drops of Kirsch (my helper is not so keen on alcohol and this is really optional; you can get it from Phoon Huat)
• 150ml Whipping cream (from Phoon Huat)
•  12 Oreo cookies (crushed; for the filling)

The method I used is the same as per Celestial Delish. Only difference is at No. 6, whereby I mixed the some of filling with the crushed Oreo cookies. I left the cake in the freezer without the balance batter for about 10 minutes, then I added them in. 

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Nutella Cupcake Recipe
Credit to the many sites that I gone through

Ingredients: 

• 70g Plain Flour
• 30g Self-raising Flour
• 70g Unsalted Butter
• 70g Caster Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• ¼ Teaspoon if Vanilla Essence
• ½ Teaspoon of Baking Powder
• Nutella Spread

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Add egg and beat till no traces of egg.
• Add in the vanilla essence and slowly stir in the flour mixture (plain & self-raising flour, baking powder, sugar), you can add in some chocolate chips if you want to. 
• Beat well.
• Fill each cup with ⅓ of the batter, add in a teaspoon (I added slightly more) of Nutella. Cover it with batter to ¾ of the cup.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 18-20 mins. Insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean, its all ready! 🙂

Good Food & Good Friend cures

Life isn’t too kind to me recently. The Lions club saga, the rubbish from work, major changes in life… blah blah blah.. the list goes on. I am not saying that I am the worst, bound to be people who are far more worst off than I am. I am just ranting. 我已经算是很幸福了。

The Lions Club Saga can be summarized in one sentence: I am not meant to be. For the first time in my life, I decided to be a bit more “mellow”, it turns back and bite me. The accusations of me being ruddy is way off. Funny thing is that, its people with tons of experiences in their life, “eat salt more than I eat rice” type that are doing such childish matters. Of coz, I will be lying if I tell you that I am not a wee bit bothered, but I am more affected that the people “harassed” my parents. 
I have stepped down officially as a member and also the “Chartered President” of that said Lions Club, this is in hope that the matter will come to a rest and no more distress to my family. Oh well, wishful thinking on my part as the gossiping still making their way around. 嘴巴是别人的，我们阻止不了。Nonetheless, it shall be for the rest of the people to judge. I have nothing to hide and I do not see the need to call the entire 1800++ Lion members to share the story.

Not being a Lion member doesn’t mean the volunteering stops. The needy will still need help. The elderly still look forward to happy outings. I just need to find other ways to help and to serve, without the vest and the official identity. 🙂 Its also a good time for me to take things slow. I have been pushing myself non-stop for the past 2-3 years. Lions work did sort of took a major part in my life. Friends said Lions seems more like my full time job rather than my employment part.  

And that there lots of rubbish from work.. trouble with workers and my failure to make new employers understand the new rulings from MOM… some people can be that stubborn. :X

Other happenings in life includes me changing car, sendingmy boy for sterilization, etc. 

But mainly, this post is dedicated to my “partner-in-crime”, Ms. @ixaviere. The one that was mention in this tweet: 

When I was growing up, the elders used to tell me, “朋友不需要很多，有一两个就好。事情发生的时候，你就会知道谁才是朋友。” This is so true. Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, what matters is who will walk with you when the limo breaks down. 

I am very fortunate. I have found 2 of such friends. Both, 10 years of friendship. Partner-in-crime: @ixaviere and my PTL: @mainec00n. Funny thing is we (all 3 of us) were once colleagues. No matter how much I dislike that company, it did gave me 2 very good friends which I will keep for life. 

I cannot share much about @mainec00n as I know she values her privacy and prefers to be “secretive” but I can share that she and I are really from the different ends of the world. Soft-spoken and really just the opposite of me. She keeps me sane each time I meet a crisis. Thanks babe, I am really thankful for you being around me and also forgiving towards my timings.

Back to the one who triggered this post – @ixaviere. The partner who will go with me wherever I want to, eat whatever I crave for and will listen to me rant no matter where she is (even when she is in the toilet). Her devotion and tolerance to me is 无人能比。

Today, she dated my mother and I, for lunch and it was there, at the very moment, I suddenly felt that I am the most fortunate person – sitting at a nice, cosy place, having lunch with the most important women in my life. All the things that have been bothering me for the past weeks seem to disappear for a while (i know this sounds cheesy or maybe even a line from the movies, but that was really what I felt), and I was really smiling like a siao char boh.

I just wanna end off this “i-dunno-if-it-makes-sense” post with this to @ixaviere:

San, Thank you. For all the times, good , bad, crazy. Every little bit in my life and SORRY, I do not think that you are ever gonna get rid of me. I am gonna stick with you till I breathe my last.  Love Ya!

We didn’t finish the food during lunch, over-ordered as usual, no, wait, I blame it on the huge portions. 

A good friend is a connection to life – a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world. ~ Lois Wyse

My Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is a lunar harvest festival celebrated by the Chinese. The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar, although it is not a declared public holiday in Singapore (it is a declared holiday in China and Taiwan), many Singaporeans (just like me) do celebrate it by feasting on mooncakes and pomelos. 
This year, I decided to have a few friends over to celebrate this festival (okay, I am just finding an excuse to eat). 

The prep work started days before the dinner when I happened to be at Market Place @ I12katong. Could not resist the temptation and started buying meat. When the day finally arrived, I have dragged two of my friends (@ixaviere and @tengxyz) to Parkway Parade to shop for the food. I bought tons of food and @tengxyz was so convinced that there were more than just 6 of us having the steamboat in the night.

Here’s a look at the food…. (there were much more in the fridge, but helper feel that we couldn’t finish so much… she so smart…)

No celebration is complete without the “playing of Lanterns”! Haha… I think I am just trying to find back the childhood memories and feel like a kid again. I am glad we used tea-candles instead of the normal stick candles.

And also the sparkles (I am not sure what you call them)…..

 We had mooncakes after that “my-stomach-gonna-burst” steamboat dinner and also 猪仔饼！

By traditional (or what I was told), we were supposed to drink tea along with all the mooncakes, but we are young people (I am forever-18 hor…), therefore we ended the night with a fanciful and cheapo drink from cold storage: 

It was indeed a wonderful mid-autumn celebration, the only problem is that I have to clear up all the lanterns on my own the next day…  Dear friends, next time help to clear before you leave okay? Haha….

Special thanks to @ixaviere, @tenxyz, YS, and CK 🙂

The DBS cheque saga

As some of you know, I have been ranting about a cheque deposit problem with DBS recently. This issue has been somewhat settled, but I am still unhappy.
Brief details of what happened as follows:

We have been enquiring about a UOB cheque, deposited via Quick Cheque Deposit Box at DBS Thomson Branch. The cheque was cleared as shown on the issuer’s bank statement however, it was not reflected in our Company’s account.

In our previous enquiries a few months back (at DBS Thomson Branch), we were told there there was no indication of this cheque being deposited and we could have lost the cheque and did not deposit via Quick Cheque Deposit Box. This being our first encounter, we received no help nor any helpful advise from the DBS staff. We were repeatedly told the the fault should lie with us and/or the issuers.

Finally, on the 13 July 2012, one of our Company’s authorized signatories, Mr. X went down to the Thomson Branch, with photocopies of 1) The cheque, 2) UOB Bank Statement from the issuer and 3) a colour enhanced copy of the cheque showing the bank account and name written on the back of the cheque.

When Mr. X asked about this cheque, he was told by their staff that there will be charges if they were to check for us and find that the fault lies with us (in this case, that staff meant the account details wrongly written behind the cheque). That DBS staff was insistent that the error was made by us until we produced the copies of cheque and statement. Mr. X was totally ignored when he asked if what actions or compensation will come from DBS should the investigations shows that the error was by DBS. His enquiry ended with their staff asking us to fill in the “Request for statement/documents” form.

Three working days later, Mr. X received a call from one of their staff admitting that the amount was wrongly credited in other bank account. No apology was given and he was told that only if the account holder agrees to return the money, then it will be credited back to our account.

I am puzzled. How can the cheque be wrongly credited in other bank accounts when it was payable to our Company’s name: “XXXXXXX Pte Ltd”. It was clearly the fault of DBS and why should we wait for the account holder to agree to return the money. Shouldn’t DBS bear this amount and return it back to us ?

There was no apology or compensation from DBS. Had we not discover this, we would have totally lost this amount as well as the interest that will generate from this amount although to them it may just be a mere $1600. Should we still believe that DBS a safe bank? How many people out there who do not check through their deposits may encounter this too? We are totally disappointed with the services of DBS.

We wrote a complain letter to DBS copying it to MAS. They replied 4 days later via a phone call, apologizing and offering a compensation of $50 NTUC voucher. Frankly, the company is not keen in the freebies. The instructions I got was to seek a detail written explanation regarding this whole case.

I spoke to many who told me that they do not actually keep track of the cheques deposited in their personal account and sometimes, the amount, e.g. $50 may not even be significant enough for them to notice when they look at the balance.

After this incident, I am checking on every transaction (especially cheques deposited) in my bank accounts. Perhaps I should be like those aunties, who queue up to updated their passbooks.


How many of you think that the $50 voucher was because the mail was copied to MAS? :X

Happy Call Pans

Disclaimer: I can’t cook to save my life. I can only manage fried eggs and instant noodles. Therefore I cannot tell you how to use this pan to make wonderful dishes. What I am posting here is based on my mother’s experience and what I have seen on the papers.

Happy Call Pan is a made in Korean double sided frying pan. The following details are taken from happycallpan.com. 

• Having Ceratinum Special Coating layer.

• Faster heat and the heat evenly, because it has a very high heat stress

• Dishes are oily and berkuah will not spill.

• With just one touch of the magnetic lock on the handle is very strong.

• Energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

• There are holes on the back of the heating circulation makes the cuisine more pervasive and widespread.

• Without the smoke and should not be afraid to burn.

• Equipped with oil reservoir and the steam in the dish, so that more healthy food.

• With Silicon Foils, Launched By U.S. FDA Permits

• Licensed Original, difficult to imitate Other Products

• Cooking fish smokeless & odorless

• Protection of rubber seals, no oil spill

• Food perfectly cooked and not damaged

• Quite a small fire, saves gas

• Size Bigger 2cm, diameter 24 cm

• Large size, Cook More

• Perfect mature in All Sections

• Hologram on Front Handle

• Note Names in the Upper Happycall

• Notice and authenticity Hologram Stickers

• Quick Ripe, Not Sticky & Easily Washed

• Only 1.7 kg, Portable & Held by Anyone

• 1 Line, Original & warranty

• Original = hologram

• Other product D = 22 cm, Double Pan D = 24 cm

• Quality Products Made in Korea

• Capacity More

• No oil spattered Go Everywhere

• Super Strong Magnet Lock, More Secure

• More Thick, Heat Storing Better

• Three Layer Ceramics, More Thick

• Cooking a whole chicken cooked perfectly

• Easy, Fast & Anti Sticky

So what is it with this pan? My mother bought this because she fell for the gimmick. Aunties fall easily for such stuff. I have tons of pots and pans at home. She was told that this pan cooks stuff fast, good, healthy, and not messy. *SOLD* 
Without doing much survey, she bought her Happy Call pan online. Everything went on well until the following article was published on Wan Bao: 

Dang! My mother got worried, our pan is a fake. She immediately instructed our helper to stop using the pan.

Then we went online and discover this website which clearly states the authentic and fake Happy Call Pan: http://fakehappycall.wordpress.com/

A few days later, Happy Call Co., Ltd. published the following notice on the papers. 

I promised my mother that I will buy the original one from the places listed in the above notice. 

As what one lady said, “Money is one thing, health? It can be poisonous you know?” 

Hope people can differentiate between the authentic and fake pan before purchasing. 

the BMXs

Over the week, ♥ was busy spraying and re-building the Haro bmx for me so that I could go cycling with him. He already have a Skyway bmx, and just waiting for me. I can’t cycle very well and definitely can’t do those flip here flip there stunts. Heard so much about him playing bmx in his younger days but never witness it before so I had my doubts.

Anyway, cut the story short, the bike was done on Saturday evening and we went cycling around the estate, to Sin Kee Herbal Chicken and back to Ocean park (Siglap Park Connector or something). After the cycling, I made ♥ bring me to Mustafa to get some stuff. Proof that I haven’t been exercising: I doze off the minute my head touch the pillow.

Then came Sunday. ♥ said to go cycling to East Coast Park so that he could go to the Extreme Skate park. It drizzled and I secretly cheer in my heart. However, he was determine to go. I had to no choice but to get ready for it. Left home at 3plus in the afternoon, only to reach back at 8pm.
It was fun. Quality time I supposed and also I had a good workout. Haha. For the first time, I saw him do those stunts, but no, he did not attempted them at the Skate Park; dun want people to laugh at this old uncle afterall. Haha.
While I enjoyed it, I dunno when I can do it again as I am still suffering from the muscle aches.

当我老了的时候, 你还会给我无限的爱吗？

The hawker centre near my office is closed for upgrading and I had no choice but to eat at the nearby coffee shops. While queuing up for duck rice yesterday, I saw this poster pasted on one of the pillars. Read it, felt that it was very meaningful and googled it and found that it was once published on a Malaysian Newspaper. 

Reminds me how my mother used to tell me to be patient with my godparents (who are both in their late-80s now) and also to be more patient with her. 

Read it if you have time… 🙂 

当我老了，不再是原来的我。请理解我，对我有一点耐心。


当我把菜汤洒到自己衣服上时，当我忘记怎样系鞋带时，请想一想当初我是如何手把手地教你。

当我一遍又一遍地重复你早已听腻的话语，请耐心地听我说，不要打断我。你小的时候，我不得不重复那个讲过千百遍的故事，直到你进入梦乡。

当我需要你帮我洗澡时，请不要责备我。还记得小时候我千方百计哄你洗澡的情形吗？

当我对新科技和新事物不知所措时，请不要嘲笑我。想一想当初我怎样耐心地回答你的每一个“为什么”。

当我由于双腿疲劳而无法行走时，请伸出你年轻有力的手搀扶我。就像你小时候学习走路时，我扶你那样。

当我忽然忘记我们谈话的主题，请给我一些时间让我回想。其实对我来说，谈论什么并不重要，只要你能在一旁听我说，我就很满足。

当你看着老去的我，请不要悲伤。理解我，支持我，就像你刚开始学习如何生活时我对你那样。当初我引导你走上人生路，如今请陪伴我走完最后的路。给我你的爱和耐心，我会报以感激的微笑，这微笑中凝结着我对你无限的爱。

The Law of the Garbage Truck

How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of your success is how quickly you can refocus on what’s important in your life.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. And I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, the car skidded, the tires squealed, and at the very last moment our car stopped just one inch from the other car’s back-end.

I couldn’t believe it. But then I couldn’t believe what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. How do I know? Ask any New Yorker, some words in New York come with a special face. And he even threw in a one finger salute! I couldn’t believe it!

But then here’s what really blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that!? This guy could have killed us!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™.” He said:
“Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you.

So when someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.”
So I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the street? It was then that I said, “I don’t want their garbage and I’m not going to spread it anymore.”

I began to see Garbage Trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the little boy said, “I see Dead People.” Well now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to dump it. And like my taxi driver, I don’t take it personally; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time was Walter Payton. Every day on the football field, after being tackled, he would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best. Over the years the best players from around the world in every sport have played this way: Muhammad Ali, Nadia Comaneci, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Michael Jordan, Jackie Robinson, and Pele are just some of those players. And the most inspiring leaders have lived this way: Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King.

See, Roy Baumeister, a psychology researcher from Florida State University, found in his extensive research that you remember bad things more often than good things in your life. You store the bad memories more easily, and you recall them more frequently.

So the odds are against you when a Garbage Truck comes your way. But when you follow The Law of the Garbage Truck™, you take back control of your life. You make room for the good by letting go of the bad.

The best leaders know that they have to be ready for their next meeting. The best sales people know that they have to be ready for their next client. And the best parents know that they have to be ready to greet their children with hugs and kisses, no matter how many garbage trucks they might have faced that day. All of us know that we have to be fully present, and at our best for the people we care about.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their lives.

What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?

Here’s my bet: You’ll be happier.

—DAVID J. POLLAY

Original story: http://davidjpollay.typepad.com/david_j_pollay/lawofthegarbagetruck.html