Recipe for pineapple tarts (customized)

Pastry:

• 250g butter
• 75g icing sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 tsp salt

Sift together:

• 350g plain flour
• 50g cornflour

Filling:

• 500g ready-made pineapple jam

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Grease baking trays with melted butter.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light.
4. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time.
5. Add salt and beat until fluffy.
6. Fold in sifted ingredients and mix into a firm dough.
7. Put dough into nastar mould and press out into a strip of about 6-7cm length.
8. Place a pineapple jam roll on one end and roll up pastry, as in a Swiss roll, to enclose the jam.
9. Cut off excess pastry.
10. Put the rolls on prepared trays.
11. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
12. Move to wire racks to cool.

Result:

Step 10

View from the top

Journey to Borneo

Aite, after several days of rest, here's the awaited account of my SPECTACULAR trip to Sabah, with the unexpected twist to Brunei.

It's so tiresome to rewrite the entire week of adventure, thus the brief description.

Day 1:

After dropping off our bags in Cheng Yah's house, we went to the malls in Kota Kinabalu. Strangely enough, there're lots of shopping complexes around the city itself. Although not as big as Sunway or 1U (nonetheless comparable to Subang Parade), but they're everywhere, and some even next to each other, literally =.=" And do watch Tiger Woohoo! My perception of Malaysian movies has turned 180 degrees ever since.

Day 2:

Went to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, which was somewhat boring. Probably 'cos I've been to many zoos or parks in Aussie before, so yea. Went on a mini train to go around the park though, which was quite fun. After that, due to my amazing attentiveness towards the "Monsopiad Cultural Village" signboard, we went to the village, which turned the whole day around for the better. Later in the evening, strolled along Tanjung Aru beach, and managed to capture the beauty of sunset. Was so marvelled at its glorious appearance that I actually use the sunset picture with a diagonal perspective as my blog header background ^^

Day 3:

Supposed to stay overnight in Labuan, but mana tau we ended up staying in Brunei instead, with Labuan as our transit. Extra chops in my passport! (chops as in, official stamps) And really, I didn't regret changing our plans at the very last minute, at all. Learnt a lot there, like how we should not trust strangers, and how we should depend on each other in a foreign country. Anyway, BM is their official language, so it's not that big of a deal. And gosh, the Brunei peoople (are they called Bruneians, Brunese or Brunites? whatever man.) are so blessed! As if not enough with super cheap oil prices and ZERO income taxes, the Sultan even gives those pensioners monthly income and provides land for those who need them. How cool is that?

Nasi Katok: Brunei's unique dish

Day 4:

Came back from Brunei, and what a trip it was. Truthfully, the trip to Menumbok from Labuan is a 15-minute trip to remember lol. Reached KK late evening, and went out with Cheng Yah's family for dinner at some Bakut Teh restaurant. After that, went to 1Malaysia market. This day was pretty much spent on a vehicle of some sort. Not much exploration. Perhaps due to exhaustion.

Day 5:

Went to Poring Hot Spring and Kinabalu park, with Cheng Yah's brother as our so-called driver/guide. Can't really go around the park though, 'cos it was raining, or drizzling I would say. And that night, her parents took us out again, this time to a seafood restaurant. And goodness gracious me, I ate escargots! They were not too bad though lol. Ask Drew and lum la, I'm not lying. And guess what, there's a Cathay in KK too haha. Not bad at all huh? Watched Tooth Fairy. ^^

Day 6:

Went to Gaya Street Sunday market. Bought some souvenirs for loved ones. Then, headed to Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. Snorkeled in Pulau Manukan, sunbathed in Pulau Sapi. Ended up with a fish bite and different skin tones, if you get what I mean.

The place to scream: I'm the king of the world!! (or of the island lol)

Day 7:

Helped to wash Cheng Yah's car after it has faithfully served us throughout the week. And hence, back to KL! And keng lor her grandma, drove us back to the terminal.

Now, everyone can fly!

And honestly, I'm a spendthrift. Having spent a big chunk of my money on flight tickets and travel expenses, and I still have the guts to shop? Undoubtedly, the heart is deceitful above all things. But come to think of it again, FILA in Malaysia? With a 50% discount? How could I resist?

Some of the stuff I bought in KK. Ooh la la~

And now I'm left with a tinier bank balance, and a magnificent memory to live with.

p/s: Drew, please upload your pictures SOON. My future fb profile pic is with you.

Splendid Sabah

There are a few things that I really hope for this week.

Good health.
Fine weather.
Journey mercy.

And most of all, a fantastic time together! (with Drew, Lum and Cheng Yah)

Can't wait for tomorrow!

p/s: Lord, take control over my life. For me to live is Christ.

In the name of God

The news about the bombing of three churches in the Klang Valley is truly tormenting.
No doubt, fear reigns upon Malaysian Christians, also people from all religions.

Even my church college cell for this week had to be relocated,
and the youth service cancelled.
No, I'm not blaming my senior pastor at all for this.
Imagine if your flock is in danger, with their lives at stake in such a time as this.

Are we postitioning ourselves to be on par with what's happening in Iraq?

Surprisingly, not many of us actually chose to blog about this, in one way or the other.
But maybe it's not as surprising, since ISA might just come into the picture again.

Nonetheless, my sincerest salutation to Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir,
for being a confident Muslim in the midst of this barbaric episode.
Just to read her blog posts gives me the assurance that civil minded scholars
who are willing to be a VOICE instead of an ECHO still exist.

And from the bottom of my heart, I pray that the national leaders will be
wise, fair and genuine in what they're doing.
For this concerns the future of 1Malaysia.
As well as the future of our Constitution.

p/s: I really hope that my church Sunday service will not be cancelled too.

The tranquility of music

Just had a heated argument with the person whose opinion I take into account dearly.
I've had enough criticisms already, let alone words of what I call intimidation from those lips.

Tell me, why must people try to discourage me from doing what I like?
From writing songs between me and God?
About my dream of sharing these melodies to the world?

"...Let them know I am strong, and even though I'm weak, You've made me strong
Let them know when there's nothing else that's left for me, You're still with me..."

But really, God-inspired music soothed my soul.
And I get it this time.

Forgive me Lord, as I choose to forgive those who sinned against me.

p/s:

With a speck of God's creativity, I've composed a new song.
Hint: Check my latest Facebook status.
Will post it up soon, since sharing IS caring *a reiteration*

A revolutionary resolution

I'm sick and tired of being labelled as an OCBC, ABC, or even a banana.

fyi
OCBC = Orang Cina Bukan Cina
ABC = American Born Chinese
banana = Go google yourself lar.

Hence, my first 2010 resolution.
In order to flee from this degrading and cheapening status of mine, I've resolved to:

TAKE CHINESE STUDIES AS MY ELECTIVES FOR THIS YEAR!

And yeap, I've enrolled myself in CHNS1101 and CHNS1102 for the next two sems.

But I'll have to walk the talk right? So here's my 1st step!

Bought these from JUSCO Bukit Raja. And guess who's gonna be my teacher for the time being?

MY DAD! *woots woots*

And you, stop laughing and start supporting! =pp

Wake me up when December ends

What a plain stupid title for the final blog post of the year.

Anyway... *updates updates*

Let's see, what have I done since I came back from Sydney?

LOTS.
Or LOADS.
As if it matters.

And how else to stop beating around the bush, unless I use numbers?
(so lazy to upload pictures, that I leave imagination to play its part)

1. Went for shopping lar of course. Bought a bunch of stuff, which later I discovered I don't really need. The conspicuous effect of converting currencies, and having foolish thoughts of "How cheap Malaysian stuffs are!"

2. Met up with some Malaysian OCFers: Abigail, Kuan Lin and Kel Gene. Had quite a great time together watching Astro Boy in Mid Valley and chilling out in Chili's.

3. Gluttony reigned as I went for my maternal grandma's birthday hi-tea in Cititel, together with the rest of my family, and catching up with long-time-no-see cousins.

4. Attended the 3-day Asian Pacific Youth Alive Conference 2009 in Glad Tidings, Petaling Jaya with my church friends. Awesomeness prevailed! God is definitely BIGGER than the Boggie Man ^^

5. Went to Teluk Gong with some of the ex-J7 peeps and had fun with seafood!
*Sze Mei and Yuvha, just upload the pictures laa*
The next morning, after staying overnight in Lum's house with Matthew (and while having sore throat after karaoke-ing endlessly), went JUSCO Bukit Tinggi with Lum to watch Mulan. Seriously, not bad wei the movie, but those teary scenes were super lengthy. Stop crying and move on lar, Zhao Wei! =p

6. Helped around for the Once Lost, Now Found Christmas play by HPA's youth group. Despite the fact that I contributed very little in terms of the props, am glad that the play turned out fantastic! Jesus is absolutely the REASON for this SEASON. Bravo GRYPers =)

7. Had our annual Christmas party in Carmen's house.
Theme: Hollywood Glamorous
Food: Barbecue Grill
Seriously contradicting lor ><" But am lurving it.

8. Returned to my hometown in Labis, Johor for my cousin's wedding. Guess what? I celebrated my Christmas there too, flying kites lol. Drove on all those highways, endured all those long hours and traffic jams and heavy rains. But got to catch up with my dear cousins, so it was worth it :)

9. The person who sparked my interest and taught me to play the piano, Teh Ju-Ping is married! *notice her changed facebook status* Went for her wedding dinner the night I came back from my hometown, although super tired.

10. Look who's in KL? LOOK WEY YEW! *what a lame joke* Thought of watching Avatar with him at first, mana tau in the end I was late, and we watched The Storm Warriors. Honestly speaking, it exceeded my expectations. Thumbs up!

11. To redeem the lost chance of watching Avatar, went again for the 3D, with Look and Drew, this time with fingers crossed. And we got the final three tickets! Woohoo!For the movie itself, standing ovation y'all.

12. Next day, went to Pusat Sains Negara with them too 'cos we had the buy 1 free 1 privilege for the Leonardo da Vinci's exhibition, featuring the secrets of Mona Lisa, direct from Paris! It wasn't too bad though.

13. And today, went to the Extreme Skytrex in Bukit Cahaya with my sis! The 40 bucks was substantially paid off =) Regardless of the aftermath: blisters and exhaustion.

Adoi, why must it end at 13? Can't think of anything else for now.

Btw, tomorrow's the final day for 2009.
Still uncertain of whether to go for Watchnight service, or to countdown in the Curve =.="

Wake me up then =p

p/s: Guat Eng, tu me manques. Prends soin de toi in Paris!