Pale Scones

I've tried making scones but they didn't turn out good. In fact, they was hard and lousy. It took me quite some time to want to try making them again.

Today was a lazy Sunday afternoon. I was in Rach's house but I wanted to bake something. Using one of the recipes online, I asked Rach if she has all the necessary ingredients... and she did. :)

We were frantically looking for a mould to cut the dough. Rach found a plastic cup and the size was just nice for the scones.

She didn't have any eggs in the house, so we didn't get to brush egg yolks on top of the scones. They looked so pale.

The scones rose in the oven. I was so worried that they would be flat. They tasted good compared to my previous ones. I don't know when will I make scones again. Hopefully soon. :)

Aspirers 28th Anniversary- Masterchef Competition 2011

I have never heard of Masterchef until the Aspirers decided to have a little cooking competition for their 28th Anniversary.

It seems that when the idea was first brought forward by one of the committee members (and supported by others), Anne, the youth leader was not really all for it. She was concerned about the lack of interest and non-participation of the youths since, well, youths these days don't cook. Not only that, Anne was not in town most of the time and she didn't think she had time to organise and look into all those minute details.

I guessed the committee members managed to convince her that it will work and she should learn how to let go and leave everything in their very capable hands. :)

So, with the approval from Anne, the committee had about 5 weeks to plan. During the 1st meeting, Jian, one of the committee members said he was still quite relax and calm. He was expecting only about 5 teams to participate. "Controllable," he must have thought. Well, he should aim for a higher number because it's always best to expect the unexpected. :)

By the end of the registration period, 13 teams registered. By then the committees were frantically looking for portable stoves and gas tanks. It was kinda difficult to get these from people who has them coz duhhh, they use them everyday. :)

Okay, during the registration period, each team were given a group registration form with guidelines attached to it.

The guidelines were :

1. We will be preparing the following for you:

a. Oil, salt and pepper

b. 2 eggs

c. Onion and garlic

d. Potatoes and carrots utensils

e. Stove and gas and a shared oven.

2. You are required to bring your own necessary utensils (i.e. pot, pan, knives,chopping board, bowls, fork, etc)

3. You will have a full hour to prepare one appetizer and one main dish (Note: plan with your team ahead of time so that you know what ingredients and utensils you need to bring)

4. A secret ingredient will be revealed on that day which you MUST add into every dish.

5. We will be giving out awards for the "Best Food", Best Team" and "Most Creative Dish".

6. Please be in Agape by 4.30pm on the 3rd of July 2011 in order to set up your stations.

So, at 5pm....

Joel Jaya and Jian were the emcees for the day.

Introducing the three judges - Aunt Chris, Uncle Dick and Pastor Ben.

Okay, everyone, DO NOT START FIRST, we are about to reveal the secret ingredient," says Jian. " I want one of you from each team to come here and get the ingredient".

13 team members came forward to grab a packet of........

err..... mushrooms????

Becky's wondering how to incorporate these enokitake (long thin white mushrooms) with her Chef's salad (appetizer) and Carbonara (main dish).

Group name : Royal Smallies

Group Leader : Sarah Tang

Members : Rebecca, Kennysha, Faith, Brian Lourds

Food prepared by the Royal Smallies. Pasta & Garlic bread? not sure.

Group name : Noobcooker

Group Leader : Becky

Members : Justin, Pei Wen, Shaphan, Arnold

Food prepared by the Noobcookers. Carbonara and Chef's salad.

Group name : Salt and Pepper

Group Leader : Reuben

Members : William, Chee Hoe, Jing Jing, Melissa

Food prepared by Salt & Pepper.

Group name : Mushi Bear

Group Leader : Arthur

Members : Asher, Aiden, Juen Kiet, Jin Han

Food prepared by the Mushi Bear.

Group name : Diz Paulians

Group Leader : Joel J

Members : Karlson, Dhivvian, Thiviyan

Food prepared by Diz Paulians.

Group name : Lim Kok Wang

Group Leader : Matthew

Members : Tian Lee, Michelle, Elaine, Kimberly

Food prepared by Lim Kok Wang.

Group name : The Form 1's, Chris & Az

Group Leader : Jared

Members : Martin, Shane, Chris, Azriel (Absent).

Food prepared by the Form 1's, Chris & Az.

Group name : The Spirit of Chef

Group Leader : Jeah Hueey

Members : Jeah En, Daarsyanita, Ze Lin, Ze Ting

Food prepared by the Spirit of Chef.

Group name : Super Chris-py Loh-Tee

Group Leader : Debra

Members : Grace, Chrissie, Pei Rinn, Yi Qing

Food prepared by the Super Chris-py Loh-Tee

Group name : Royal Angels

Group Leader : Shem

Members : Amos, David, Rehgoel

Food prepared by the Royal Angels. Fried rice and carrot juice.

Group name : Jokers

Group Leader : Priyanka

Members : Rozelle, Rita, Prissie

Food prepared by the Jokers. Pizza & mushroom soup.

Group name : Krazy Kookers

Group Leader : Becca

Members : Stephanie, Shawn, Larissa, Joel C

Food prepared by the Krazy Kookers. Boom-ba-da-boom & THE BED.

Group name : Sushi

Group Leader : Akane

Members : Megumi, Alisa, Samantha, Joel L

Food prepared by Sushi.

Here you are, the 13 teams displaying their hidden talents.

The judges had a tough time deciding.

Each team had to describe the food they prepared and the ingredients they used in their dishes.

A little sarong dance from the emcees. They were supposed to prepare a surprise dish but there wasn't enough time.

Those who weren't participating, had a good time roasting their marshmallows.

It was an exciting evening. I do not know the name of most dishes and some were made up by the team members. I will try to add a video here some time soon.

I didn't stay when the judges gave the verdict but I received an sms later from a reliable source that the awards went to the following group : -

Best Food - Lim Kok Wang

Best Team - Super Chris-py Loh-Tee

Most Creative Dish - Krazy Kookers

The event finished at 8.30pm, 1.5 hours later than planned.

Tubes

Okay, it seems that we are quite serious about going to the beach again. 2 days after our last trip to PD, Rach and I were at Tesco and we thought we'd better get at least 2 floating tubes for the kids.

We got the green and orange ones first. I went home and inflate the orange one to check the size and to see how sturdy it was. Looks good. :)

Then two days ago, we found ourselves at Tesco again. We thought "ahhh must as well get the blue one and a beach ball".

You know, this is the 2nd set of tubes and ball we bought. Two years ago, we bought 2 tubes and a ball. We used them for at least 2 times. Then they went missing. Hmmmm. :)

Granny turns 92

Wow! Talk about long life. My grandmother celebrates her 92nd birthday this year.

Okay, I admit, I had to count the candles. :) We weren't sure what was her actual age because not only she was born pre-war, she also follows her Chinese birthdate which is always 1 year extra.

My grandmother bore 15 children. Amazing!! :)

Climbing Apek Hill for the 1st Time

It's been quite some time since I last went for a hike. Early this month I went for a get-together dinner in the La Bodega, Pavallion with my hiking friends. One of the topics discussed was climbing Apek Hill in Cheras. We had a show of hands to see whether to set the date on the 25th June or the 2nd July. Most of us were free on the 25th June, so we blocked of the date mentally. Oh, I'm certain that ALL of us did not set it in our appointment books or electronic devices because ALL the KL friends had some form of excuse not to climb when the day drew nearer.

We made Kang Bee to leader that time because she has been to Apek Hill before but a few days before the 25t h, she emailed to say that she sprained her leg. After that another KL friend said he couldn't make it and then slowly one by one everyone gave their excuses.

Now Danny, a friend from my hometown, was a bit anxious. After the email from Kang Bee, he asked if the trip would be cancelled. I told him that it was still on because I've asked Johnny, another friend who has been there before to lead us. And it was a plus that Johnny stayed very near Apek Hill.

So, I set my alarm at 5AM. We were supposed to meet at the Lobak food court at 5.30AM. Based on previous climbs to Nuang, I remembered eating noodles at 4.45AM there. But this time, non of the stalls were opened. We saw 2 stalls cleaning up though. We ordered our drinks and our only option for food was bread and eggs. Danny said it was a poor choice of place for breakfast. Right, next time I will ask him to suggest!!.

We left the food court at about 6AM and reached Johnny's place at about 7.10AM. It was like a 5 minute drive to the foothill.

7.21AM - We parked at the playground and took about 4 minutes walk to the foothill. There were 5 of us - Johnny, Danny, Minch, Rach & I.

7.25AM - The foothill and one of the many entrances in this hill.

It was an easy hike I would say. :)

Johnny passed his responsibility as a point man to this lady called June because he wanted to accompany her husband who was walking much slower.
So June was telling us that this tree has got some medical value and people are slowly breaking off the roots from this tree.

7.42AM - Soon we reached Station 1. A tent from the Pasar Malam KL. Now if only they relocate the Cheras Pasar Malam to this spot. :P

Crossing a little stream at Station 1.

We didn't have to use the ropes because the ground was dry.

7.53AM - At Station 2, you can either go left or right. June usually use the left trail. If I'm not mistaken, she said that the left trail goes to Apek hill and the right, to Saga hill.

Oh, there's a clock here at Station 2, with a message written on it, "Don't take away please".

8.04AM - We reached station 3. Obviously this is a popular spot for small chats and gossips because many of them stopped here for a longer break. June said she would not go any further than this point because she had a dinner to attend in another state that night.

We waited for Johnny here for about 10 minutes at the Golden Station (That's what the Chinese words on the trees says). There was a little bench in between 2 trees and a boy was sitting there for quite some time. We noticed that this boy was sort of waiting for us because after a while everyone either went up or down the hill except this boy.

When we made signs of wanting to continue our hike, this boy went ahead of us but soon, we lost track of him.

Oh, there's a left trail at this Station which says "to station 4 & 5" if I'm not mistaken.

Apparently, this trail goes straight up to Station 6. It wasn't a strenuous hike and we reached Station 6 in no time and was greeted with.......................

" Come! Come! Have some watermelons," said one of the hikers who was there first.

Oh, at first we didn't know that they were inviting us to have some, but they repeated again. So without being shy, each of us took a piece. It was really juicy.

We reached station 6 at 8.35AM. There were some interesting stuff hanging just below the tent- the 2 Chinese jugs, a cup and 2 hula hoops. Also, someone was kind enough to donate a 4 or 5 liter water container for hikers to refill their water bottles.

It was at this point where we were deciding whether to go to the waterfalls or turn back. Actually, all of us wanted to go to the waterfall but none of us knew the way.

We made up our minds in less than a minute. :) All of us were gamed for it. We weren't sure when will be our next trip here.

8.47AM - We headed off to the unknown.. :)

8.55AM - The 7th station. Only 8 minutes from Station 6. I supposed we could have been faster than this.

At this point, we could see a trail after the tent and another one on the right. We recalled one of the hikers asking us to go ahead. They didn't mention a turning to the right so we decided to ignore that turning.

After walking for like ages (less than 15 minutes actually), we thought we took the wrong path.

We backtracked for less than 1 minute before we saw a group of hikers and asked if they knew where the waterfall was. It seems we were on the right track. We decided to follow them.

The trail to the waterfall was very steep. There were ropes along the way to help and guide us.

Even those with long legs were very cautious.

By now we could hear the waterfall..

First impression.... "WHATTTTT.. we hiked all the way here for this??"

It was a mini waterfall. We now knew why the regular hikers weren't keen at all to lead us here.

Anyway, since we were here... must as well spend some time admiring the waterfall right? :)

We were here for a grand total of 9 minutes. :)

Some people just don't know how to read. -.-

I kept my camera in my backpack when we were climbing up the steep trail and only took it out when my hands were free. :D

10.24AM - Station 7

10.32AM - Station 6.

We didn't stop at Station 7 and only rested for 1/2 a minute at Station 6.

Going down was a breeze. :)

11.02AM - Back at Station 1 again.

Rubber trees at the lower part of the hill.

Ahhh, a bit steep here.

11.19AM - Oh,, and we are out. :)

I was so hungry when I reached the foothill and was glad to see people selling food. Everything looked yummy but I had to restrain myself because we planned to have a good lunch after we have showered. I bought some curry puffs to keep my hunger at bay.

We went back to Johnny's place to shower and had a light meal before going out to have dim sum at Taman Connaught.

All in all, I enjoyed this short trip very much. It was not too strenuous and the company was good. :)