zoo negara

salams..

we took our children to the zoo during the chinese new year holidays last week. the ticket price for adult is RM 20 and children above 3 yrs is RM 6. Harris was so excited when we arrived and told a list of animals that he want to see .." I want to see tiger, elephant, and PENGUIN!".

we were greeted by the phyton and a pony near the entrance and the zoo staff said that we can take photos with the animals.

Eddy carry the phyton on his shoulder and show off! yikes..i hate reptilias!
These are the photos taken during the visit:

hello all..

i tried this recipe of Popiah Basah today and would like to share it with you all..it came out quite well for a first timer like me..especially when making the "kulit popiah". Why i made it myself is because the ready made "kulit Popiah" is not suitable for popiah basah, but you can use it to make popiah goreng.

i have seen my mum making the kulit popiah, but never try to make it myself because i don't think i have the skill like her. But who knows, until you try it!..Okay lets get to the recipe:

Resepi Popiah Basah

Kulit popiah

2 cups of flour (tepung gandum)
3/4 cup of water
1 egg white
2 tbsp vinegar

Method
Add in all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add in more water to get a soft and elastic texture like you're making "cekodok". The tips here is vinegar that we put in is to get the elastic texture for making the thin sheets of kulit popiah. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it set for 30 minutes.

Method

Heat the pan on a very slow fire. recommended to use the non-stick pan. however you can use the normal wok, making sure its very clean and heated evenly.

Use a bigger spoon. Spoon the mixture, place it at the centre of the pan, and quickly using the back of the spoon to spread it into a thin layer, moving from centre to the side and make a round shape sheet. Quickly paste the holes with some more flour and let it set. you know its ready when the sheets dry out and came out to the surface. use a sharp utencils to take the sheets and place on a plate. repeat the steps until finish.

the sheets won't stick to one another. dont worry.

Filling (Inti popiah)

Cabbage - minched
1 carrot- minched
1 shallot (bwg besar)
3 garlic (bwg putih)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dried shrimp
salt
cooking oil

Method
Blend in shallot, garlic and dried shrimp. Heat the oil and mix in the blended ingredients. then put in the oyster sauce and salt. lastly add in cabbage and carrot and cook till its soft.

Sauce

5 -6 tbsp blended dried chilli
1 shallot
3 garlic
1 tbsp brown sugar ( gula perang)
2 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kicap manis)
salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tbsp oil

Method
Blend shallot and garlic. Heat oil ,mix the blended ingredients and blended chilli. Stir untill the chilli is cooked (garing). add in the brown sugar and soy sauce, salt and sugar.

Last of all, place the kulit popiah on a plate and spread the sauce on it. put the filling and fold the popiah. spread some more sauce on the popiah if you like. yess its ready to be served. making around 12 popiahs. SEDAPP..cubelah..

Hello again..
Its been a while since my first post, because i have been quite busy with my work life and family. Actually I have tried to bake some cup cakes and decorated it with royal icing last week..that was my first try, and it turn out quite well..hehehe. Before trying to bake the cake, i surf on the internet to find the recipes and tips to decorate cupcakes..it took me about a month before i am confident enough to try one. so, let me share with you the recipes to make royal icing:

Royal Icing Recipe
Resipi Royal Icing
1 egg white
3 cups of icing sugar (add more to harden the icing)
food colouring like blue, yellow, red or anything that you like- preferrable oil based

Method

Using the mixer, whisk the egg white until fluffy and light.
Mix in the icing sugar until the texture is smooth. Try to make any designs in the mixing bowl, to see if the texture is okay. if it is too soft, put in more icing sugar, and vice versa.
Divide the icing into 2 or 3 smaller bowls according to colours that you want. add in the colours, and now you are ready to pipe the icing on your cup cakes or cookies.

Tips for piping the Royal Icing.
Tip untuk "piping " Royal Icing

You can use the transparent food plastic bags ( the small sized usually to put cakes / kueh/ drinks). This is very helpful because we can throw away after the piping job is finished.
Fold down the upper part of the bag, and put in the coloured icing into one corner of the bag.
Make sure you push down all the icing into the corner, and cut a very tiny hole at the corner of the bag. Try to pipe a design in the bowl. Then, you can start to be CREATIVE and enjoy yourselves...

Dont forget to let icing set in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

Happy Trying!!!
Selamat Mencuba!!!

First Post on 3rd January 2010

Hi all,

Nuraini is the name given to me by my late grand father. I named this blog as "CahayaMataku" because Nuraini in Arabic means "the light of my eyes". This is my first attempt into blogging..this is due to current trend that everyone seems to have their own blog, i feel left out if i dont have one..besides it is a way to stay connected with others all around the globe..

I am a working mom , i have 2 beautiful children, Harris and Sarah. Harris is my boy, just turned 5 last Dec, and Sarah is 2. This year in April the 6th, i will turn into 30..gosh i cant believe i am getting older..and that time flies really fast. My soulmate Edy is a loving and understanding husband whom i married 5 years ++ ago.