Baking Journey: Chewy brownie cookie

Was on 2 days MC last week because of intense and persistent headache. Felt slightly better on the second day of the MC and was craving for something chocolatey, and hence decided to do some baking. 

This recipe was relatively easy; easy to prepare and easy to clean up. And most importantly it was so delicious I couldn't stop myself from going into the kitchen to take another cookie!

I've always been a chewy-cookie lover rather than a crispy-cookie lover. I prefer my Mrs Fields to Famous Amos, but too bad all Mrs Fields outlet in Singapore has closed down. Major sigh. 

So, this recipe was the perfect recipe for me because it was chewy, and it was more brownie-ish than cookie-ish! Look at the crinkly part on the top of the cookies. 

Trust me, you can't stop at just one!

Ingredients

1. 175g of 70% dark chocolate 

2. 50g of unsalted butter

3. 2 eggs

4.180g of caster sugar 

5. 1 tsp of vanilla extract

6.50g of plain flour 

7. 1/4 tsp of baking powder

8.A pinch of salt

Method

Place the dark chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Double boil the dark chocolate and butter.  Let the chocolate and butter melt, stirring the mixture occasionally. Once the chocolate and butter has melted, remove the bowl and let it cool to lukewarm. Take note that the melted chocolate-butter mixture should not be too hot, otherwise it may cook the egg mixture.

Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Beat the egg-sugar mixture on low speed for 1 minute, then increase the speed to high and continue beating for another 4 minutes, until the mixture is thick and pale in colour.

Lower the speed to low and add in the melted chocolate-butter mixture and mix.

Sift in the flour, baking powder and pinch of salt directly into the batter and fold in gently. The batter will be watery. Place the bowl of cookie batter aside in a cool place for 10 to 15 minutes. The batter will thicken slightly.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line baking sheets with baking paper.

Scoop a tablespoonful of the batter and drop it gently on the baking sheet. 

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until the top of the cookies are wrinkly. 

Pregnancy Journey: Week 25

Oh man! Backlogged already. Am already at my 27th week as I am typing this!

Am also looking at #caibaobao's movements as I am typing. Just drank a mouthful of cold water, think he's being stimulated!

Week 25 was kinda exciting because it was also my appointment with the gynae! Shall talk about that later!

So at Week 25, I was still full of energy and has been obsessed about baking. Every waking moment, I think about baking macarons! Haha.

Week 25 was also the week where my husband started to say that I resemble a hippopotamus. I think my waist is getting thicker, even though I don't look like I've gained a lot of weight from my physical appearance. Have gained about 10kgs now! Yes, it's pretty scary but I really can't control my food intake!

Kicks have been getting very intense as well. No longer just kicks, but can totally feel the movements of caibaobao. At times, can feel his bony parts jutting out, but I still can't tell which is which body parts though. Caibaobao is especially active at nights and sometimes I would be woken up by his movements in the middle of the night. 

At Week 25, my bump has started to get more obvious and people have been volunteering their seats for me in trains and buses, which is good because sometimes I really really need those seats!

There was once during peak hour, nobody gave up their seats for me and all pretended to look at their phones. This kind woman actually came up to me and asked me if I needed a seat, and then proceeded to ask another woman who was sitting at the priority seat to give up her seat for me. 

Such a kind woman exist! Totally grateful towards her!

Hehe, okay here comes the exciting part!

We scheduled our gynae appointment on 16 September which was also the 25th Week.

While doing the routine scan, Dr mentioned that if we wanted to do the 3D scan to see baby's face, we could do it today as the baby was in a good position, facing him!

Of course, the anxious parents jumped on this opportunity and told him that we wanted to do it, though it was an additional $60!

And we finally managed to see our son!!!!! Exciting much!

So here's the first picture of our son!

I really think he looked like me, though some friends said that he looked more like the husband!

My baby is such a cutie pieee!! Love love him to bits! I know I'm saying this in every post, but we really can't wait to see him in Dec!

And here's the bump shot at 25 weeks! :) 

My belly looks really round like ball here!

GROW GROW GROW caibaobao!!

Cooking Adventures: Chicken mushroom Baked Rice & Fried Enoki Mushroom

Since my nose become less sensitive as the months go by, I regained my passion for cooking & baking. 

The husband had craving for baked rice one weekend evening and I decided to cook it for him, since it seemed relatively easy from the recipe I've found through Noob Cook .

If the print screen that I've included in this post is too small, please head over to the author's blog to find the recipe!

This meal was so easy to make, and so delish that the husband said that it was the best baked rice he has ever eaten!

That same night, I was also craving for Fried Enoki Mushroom after seeing my friend had it in one of her instagram post. I wanted to go to the cafe to have it too, but I felt that $7 was too expensive for enoki mushrooms. So I planned to cook it myself. 

However, that day was the day that I had spent so many hours in the kitchen (macarons making) since I got pregnant, and my back and legs were really giving up on me. I couldn't continue to make the mushroom, so the Husband had kindly volunteered to cook it for me!

And this was the end result. Very nice I say! Craving totally satisfied :) 

But our lesson learnt was that we shouldn't attempt to cook the entire pack of enoki mushroom just for the 2 of us. Too much, and we ended up throwing some away. 

Here's the recipe for the Fried Enoki Mushroom, taken from Happy Recipe.

It was a super satisfying dinner. And that's why they say, homecooked meals are the best!

So much WIN!

Pardon me, but I really think I'm a genius for being able to successfully bake these macarons within my 2nd try! Haha!

But honestly, these are really not easy to bake. Just to bake 2 batches of these, I spent a total of 4 hours plus in the kitchen. My back and feet were breaking at the end of the baking session. However, the pain was worth it when I saw these beauty rising in the oven. 

Also thankfully, I chose the right recipe. Credits to Foodie Baker. Definitely my go-to blog when I need to find other recipes to bake or cook in the future!

I think there were 2 learning points from baking macarons this time and I think they are the main reasons why my macarons succeeded. 

1. Patience. Loads of it. I can't emphasize how important this is!

After piping, you will need to let the macarons rest, until the top of the shell is no longer shiny. It should be matte before you popped it in the oven. Another indicator that the shell is ready is to slightly touch the top of the shell and if the batter does not stick to your hand, then you're ready to bake it!

2. Temperature. I think you really need to trial and error and see what temperature is best to bake your macarons. I tried the first one at 180 deg but the shells cracked, though it had beautiful feet. For the second batch, I baked it at 150 deg and the results were perfect! But my oven's 150 deg may be different from yours and the author's of the recipe, so you really need to play with your own oven!

Okay, here's the print screen of the recipe from Foodie Baker! Sorry it's a little untidy. Otherwise you can google foodiebaker's recipe! 

Good luck and enjoy the 4 hours! :) 

Pregnancy Journey - Week 23

Have I mentioned before Friday is my favourite day of the week! Because it means the weekends are approaching, and also because every friday means caibaobao is a week older! FriYAYs are so apt!

So here's the bump update. I think I can feel the stomach stretching a little because it's starting to itch around the sides, but it still look small doesn't it? Can't wait for my week 25 doctors appointment so that we can find out if caibaobao is growing healthily! 

This is roughly how caibaobao looks like now and look at the size of his hand. So small and cute! 

Caibaobao's major organs have completed their development and now its just piling on the fats which will make him a chubby and cute baby when he arrives in Dec 2016!!

This week I felt great, and there wasn't much pregnancy symptom that I was feeling. 

However, this week onwards, there had been an outbreak of the zika virus which have caused so much anxiety and frantic in Singaporeans, especially pregnant women! 

I was lucky that I managed to secure a few bottles of mosquito repellent before the entire nation wiped out every single repellent that exist in any pharmacies. 

I've been spraying myself generously with the repellent and hoping that I will not get bitten by any mosquitoes. My colleagues have said that I am a walking-campsite! So far, nobody has given me any weird stares because of the way I smell, but I'm sure they are thinking that I might be overdoing it when they smell my "perfume". But all for caibaobao!

This week also saw me meeting up with my girlie friends from secondary school. 16 years of friendship, oh my! We're getting old! Love this group of friends because they have been so accommodating towards me since they got to know that I was pregnant, always trying to satisfy my cravings and also meeting somewhere near Punggol so that it would easier for me to go back home!

And that's us, celebrating Zhen's 29th at DTF. 

As I'm typing this entry, I'm currently wearing the exact same dress that I wore that day. Woes of being pregnant. You can't find many clothes that you still can fit into!

It's her birthday, but I'm the one receiving presents! Okay, not me exactly, but my son. 

She went to US recently for holiday and she thought of caibaobao and bought so many clothes for him! 

What was more touching was, she was already on her way to meet us when she realized that she had forgotten to bring out the bag of clothes, so she went back to her office to take them again. Awww, my caibaobao is so loved. 

Totally grateful for these little gestures!

Pregnancy Journey - Week 22

Was  at Week 22 as of 26 August 2016. 

The little one is not so little anymore and he is about 20cm. Totally can feel his little limbs karate-ing me. 

This week, the husband has managed to feel Caibaobao kicks. He was so happy, I wanted to tear when I saw how his face lit up with delight when he felt it. Having a child is really a blessing. 

This week, I also confirmed that Caibaobao hates Nutella. I thought all kids love it! Why Caibaobao?? Why???

Had already vomited twice after I took Nutella, And the second time I vomited, it was almost instantaneously after I finished my toast with Nutella. I hope Caibaobao grows to like it in the future because then I will have an easy time settling his breakfast when he's older. Hehe. 

People have also started giving up seats for me in the trains. I think my bump is getting slightly more obvious, though some people may still look confused and would look me up and down trying to confirm whether I was just fat or pregnant. Quite amusing to see their confused looks. 

And this is my bump at 22 weeks! My cute little baby is growing inside! :) 

This week also marked the final time that I could step foot overseas before Caibaobao's arrival because my passport was expiring!

So off to JB we went, since we were on a budget and it was so last minute! I didn't thought that the husband would agree so spontaneously when I had casually mentioned it. 

So yes, my last passport stamp. 

Though it was a short short trip, it was a very fufilling one. We spent the day eating, shopping, and KTVing. Love shopping at JB because everything was so much cheaper than in SG, but the husband had restricted me as we had only changed 100sgd. Bringing the husband out for shopping is such a burden! Sigh.

This marquee totally described me. I am not going to quit shopping, I am just gonna put it on hold until we're more financially stable! And that's my little-and-not-so-obvious bump under my clothing!

And our best best buys!

An Arsenal onesie. The 3 of us would be wearing the same arsenal "jersey", and a cute onesie from H&M. 

I think these 2 are the first clothings we bought for Caibaobao!

Prengancy Journey - Week 21

I shall do a week by week post from week 21 onwards (although this is already a backdated post, since I'm at my 22nd week today).

I share on the pregnancy symptoms that I am still feeling thus far. 

This week marks the halfway mark of my pregnancy journey! Hooray.

Can't believe that we are already halfway to meeting our little boy!

This is my 21 weeks bump shot! And some people have commented on how "compact" it looks, which I do agree it's a little small. Need to remind myself to ask my gynae if this is normal on my next appointment with him!

I am still vomitting on average once a week. I've since gotten used to vomiting since the first trimester though I still hate that feeling. 

Am still abstaining from pork cos that's the number 1 thing that induces my puke. 

Still feeling giddiness occasionally but as long as I lie down and take some bedrest, I would be fine later on.

I think one of the best highlight of the week was to be able feel the kicks and rolls my little boy!
Not sure how to describe these kicks and rolls, but it's a weird feeling especially the rolls.. but it's an amazing feeling.
The kicks and rolls were also useful to help me reassure myself that the baby is fine and growing well in my tum tum!

Alright thats it for my 21 weeks update! 

Family of 3!

It has been a few months away from blogging! I sure do miss documenting important moments of my life, so even though it has been about 4 months from the last post, I still want to come back to this space to write about my life so I can look back in the future and laugh at what I have written!

So..... what have I been up to these 4 months?

I have been upgraded! From a married woman to a mum-to-be!

We are both extremely overjoyed by the impending arrival of our little one and blessed beyond words to be given the opportunity to experience parenthood!

Just the other day during our grocery shopping, I reflected to the husband on how lucky we are to be given the chance to be parents. It is definitely not easy to conceive ("just have sex and you will be pregnant!" is a big FAT LIE!), and definitely not easy to sustain the pregnancy. Now I am praying everyday to ask the Big Man above to keep my little one healthy and growing till his EDD!

Anyway, let me share the story of how I found out about our little one. 

We have been TTC-ing (Trying To Conceive) for about 7 months already. I was charting my BBT (Basal Body Temperature) and using OPK (Ovulation Predictor Kit). But months after months, we kept getting disappointed. I always knew that we have failed that month days before my period came, because my BBT would drop and that signified that Aunt Flo was going to pay me a visit soon. 

However on 20 April, on my CD 10 (Cycle Day 10), I realised that my BBT was still fluctuating above its normal level and did not seem like it was going to decrease, but of course I did not pinned any high hopes on it since I had a few false alarms previously. 

On CD10 morning while I was preparing to work, I decided to test my urine on a pregnancy test. Do note that I was still not expecting anything at this point of time, because I knew CD10 was still too early to detect anything. But not sure why I still wanted to test. Probably because I was having these slightest hope that I might be finally pregnant, and besides I had also a few cheap pregnancy tests lying around. 

So I tested and went to bathe. The time frame to check the pregnancy test was about 10 minutes, but my usual shower took about 20 minutes. 

 I came out from my shower, dried myself and took a look at the test strip (noting that it might not be accurate because it was already over the time frame). 

I took a look and was in shock! My heart raced and looked at the test strip even harder. 

"Was that a second line?" I thought to myself. 

I stared hard and long at it and yes, it was a second line even though it was very faint. But I had read on forums before that no matter how faint the second line was, it was still a positive test, because the pregnancy hormones may not be strong enough yet. 

I immediately called out to the husband and asked him to take a look at the strip. I asked him how many lines he could see and he nonchalantly said that there was 2, but 1 faint line. My heart skipped a beat, as I realised that my eyes were not playing a trick on me, and there were indeed 2 lines. 

2 LINES. Oh my, I've been pinning for you since Sep 2015! 

This was my first test strip! The test strip that brought me so much joy. 

However, even after this first test strip, I was still not 100% confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. 

At this point of time, the husband still did not believe that I was pregnant, and just thought that maybe it was wishful thinking on my part! (haha!)

So as the days past, I tested with more reliable pregnancy test kits. I was also hoping that lines would get stronger, because that would mean that the embryo was developing, hence more hormones. I think I bought 3 boxes of Watsons pregnancy test kit and a Clearblue digital test kit. 

And yes, my watsons pregnancy test kit gave 2 lines too, and as the days passed the lines became darker and stronger. What a relief!

About 2 weeks later, I decided to test on the Clearblue digital test kit, as the digital test kit needed more hormones to be able to show if I am pregnant. As soon as the digital kit showed "Pregnant 2-3 weeks", I rushed to the bedroom to wake the husband up and showed him the kit. It was then, that he was fully convinced that we were expecting a baby!! And from then on, the husband was extremely careful in handling me for fear of hurting me and the baby. 

I was also not very convinced that I was pregnant because I did not show any signs of pregnancy symptom except being constantly hungry. Like I needed to eat something at every hour. And it was not hunger pangs that I would feel, it was like I was going through extreme hunger and needed to eat there and then! However, I did not think much of this pregnancy symptom as I just thought I was being a glutton.

Me taking a selfie with my test kit!

Waking the husband up to take a #wefie!

We made an appointment with my gynae, Dr Fong Chuan Wee to confirm the pregnancy at the 6th week. 

He took a bit of time during the ultrasound scan but he did manage to find our bundle of joy!

The embryo was too small to be seen, he was then the size of a poppy seed only and Dr Fong managed to capture the pregnancy sac which would house the baby!

Being able to see the pregnancy sac really took a huge load off my shoulder, at least for a little while, until I started worrying if the embryo would form, whether it would have a heartbeat etc. Never-ending worries, and that's only the beginning of the journey of raising a child. 

Till today, I am still feeling blessed each and every single day, and beyond honored that I was given this privilege of being a mother. I may not be the best mother in the world, but I will try my best to give my all for my child!

Bring it on, Parenthood!

Our love is 4!

It seems that as we grow older, celebrations becomes less important and less fancy. Not sure is it because we are growing old, or because we are on a tight budget this year. 

We celebrated our 4th Dating Anniversary on 28th Feb 2016. Nothing fancy. 

Has it really been 4 years already?! As cliched as it might sounds, time really flies. 

Can't believe that the simple "Hello" on an app has brought us so far today! :) 

Anyways back to the celebration. We didn't have anything planned out for that special day because we had just arrived in Singapore the day before. Also, the phuket trip was also to celebrate these anniversaries. 

So we just went shopping and ended the day with a nice dinner at one of our favourite Italian resturant, Bel Mondo at Millenia Walk. 

The husband got me a present from Collate. We have been going to the shop twice already, and he thought that I really liked the dress. So he decided to buy it for me using his DBS points. Otherwise it would have cost us $179 in cash!

I'm definitely not willing to part with my $179 on a piece of clothing!

I am happy with my $20-$30 blogshop clothes.

But yes, was really appreciative of his gesture, given that I did not prepare any presents for him. 

This was our dinner at Bel Mondo. I've been there a couple of times, and I've always ordered the same thing! 

Calzone!

Besides this dish, I guess I've never ever tried the other main courses from the restaurant before. 

Yes, I am not an adventurous eater and am very resistant change, as my friend always says about me.

Looking at this picture makes me want to sink my teeth again into the crispy puff.  

The husband's. He really surprised me by ordering this dish because he is not a seafood eater. I guess he has been craving it for a long time since we saw a picture of the lobster spaghetti in Phuket. 

Craving satisfied!

I did try the lobster spaghetti too and I really really liked it!

It was so yums. 

If it's still on the menu next time, will definitely order this!

And also the only dessert we have eaten in Bel Mondo. Tiramisu. 

I used to like their Tiramisu a lot, but I think the standard has dropped. 

We've always felt that they were one of the best Tiramisu we've tasted. 

Something about the Tiramisu was not quite right. Husband said that he couldn't taste the alcohol while I felt that it was little on the dry side.

And this is us, celebrating 4 years of being in love with each other! :) 

Phuket Trip 24-27th Feb 2016

So many months ago last year, there was a promotion on Jetstar. The wanderlust in me prompted me to book a pair of tickets to Phuket because it was so cheap at $275 for a pair of tickets. This was also supposed to be our last trip before we were supposed to get our flat in 3rd quarter of 2016. 

But *jeng jeng jeng* little did we know that this HDB decided to give us a New Years present by giving us our flat early. 

Initially we didn't want to go for the trip because all our money were supposed to be for the renovation, but after calculation, we realised that we had enough to afford us a budget Phuket trip. Also, the husband needed a little retreat from work, and so off we went for our anniversary trip in Phuket!

*Disclaimer: if you're trying to find out more about Phuket, this is the wrong blog to read as we spent most of our times "nua-ing" in the hotel and did not explore much of Phuket. Not even the beach.

Because it was supposed to be a budget trip, I was not allowed to book a villa. I tried to look on some decent accomodations offered by Groupon, but realized that those hotels that they offered were really quite inaccessible, or not near eateries.

Eventually the husband managed to find this hotel and I splurged a little by getting the room with pool access.

The Palmery Resort and Spa 

It's a resort, but not a spa, because they did not have any spas facility. It was all closed. 

Our room was quite big. I loved the open concept toilet. Something which I had always wanted for my our house, but not possible because of the layout of our masterbed room. 

The bed was huge, but it was 2 single bed merged into one. It was pretty comfortable though so I can let it pass. 

The best thing of the room was probably the pool access. It was not a private pool. Had to share it with I think 4-5 neighbours. Lucky for us was, we had only 1 neighbour, and they were more interested in drinking than dipping in the pool. So we got to enjoy the pool mostly by ourselves. 

Overall, the hotel was reasonably good. Just expect unfriendly staffs. and not-so-nice breakfast. 

We headed for our first meal before we checked it as we were too early. 

The coconut in Thailand is really very different than those in Singapore. 

Waaaayyyy sweeter and the flesh is waaaaayyyy softer. 

Yums. 

His first phad thai and my first Tom Yum soup.

We have concluded that the eateries in Phuket is mainly catered to Caucasian's taste buds.

And how can we forget my #ootd and #wiwt.

My husband is a #rockmysocks photographer. 

My body was being extremely cooperative. I was due for my first day of period, but it only came the day I left for Phuket. How lucky. I managed to swim and enjoy the pool for 3 days! 

I think the room and the pool was where we spent most of our times on. 

After our swim and a much needed nap, it was time to feed our hungry growling stomach again. 

Don't ask me which restaurant this is, because we did not take note of it. 

Just walked in to whichever that appealed to us.

Thailand coconuts for the win. 

His Hawaiian pizza and my crab meat fried rice. 

When in Asian country, better eat Asian food. 

Haha

And of course, we started our Day 2 with more swimming.

Chillax trip to the max. 

Oh ya, besides the room and swimming pool, another of our highlight of the trip was Darin Massage & Spa. 

We went for massages, every. single. day. 

Massage has become a NEED in Thailand, no longer a luxury. Because they were so cheap.

Like 300B-400B. 

Thats like 10 over SGD dollars!

Our shiok faces. 

Then we went for another round of chilling at an Italian coffee cafe. (can't remember the name as well). Attempted some #ootd shots as well, but failed quite miserably.

Back to hotel for some #ootd and #wiwt and some lame shots. 

Dinner was at a restaurant beside Old Siam Restaurant (please don't go there, not nice at all!).

Dinner was at least better than lunch, but still meh. 

Was hoping to get some authentic thai food but was food we had tasted so far were quite disappointing. 

And another 300g worth of prawns, because the greedy me was still not full yet.

It was finger-lickin' good!

This is a road-side stall that we had to pass by every single day when we walked to Kata beach area. And they serve reallllllly cheap and delicious BBQ seafood. 

These 300g of prawns had only cost 165Baht. 

Like S$6?!

Sorry I can't provide the address because I really don't know whats the address. 

Day 3 was spent exploring Phuket Old Town.

Man, it was really far and cost us 1000 Baht to travel to and fro. 

But it was well worth it, because we took many nice pictures. 

I now know where to buy cheap Peranankan clothings. 

At Phuket Old Town! 

I know where we had lunch!

It was Kopitiam by Wilai.

And it was the most authentic and delicious thai food I had eaten throughout the trip!

Must order the Passion Fruit Juice. Must.

It was so nice that I ordered 2, partly because the Tom Yum was too spicy.

Dessert was at Eleven Two & Co.

I ordered this mango crepe and the husband ordered Banana French Toast with Nutella.

And it was also good!

Conclusion is : Phuket Old Town has cool cafes and nice food.

Please please go there!

Some lame shots of me by the husband.

Quite cute, me thinks!

And of course, other really nice #ootd #wiwt shots!

The weather was so hot! We were literally burning from the heat. 

So no prizes for guessing where we went after Phuket Old Town.

Yes!! Swimming and more swimming!

My lovely husband was amazing. He bought me a donut float so that I can stay in the pool longer. 

And here is the story of the donut float.......

It was a really scorching day in Phuket. The husband and I decided to return back to our hotel for our swim. The cab driver had dropped us at our hotel and we then decided to go to a not-so-nearby stall to buy my donut float as the husband had promised. 

So we walked (excitedly, me at least) to the stall to buy it. After the purchase, we walked under hot sun back to the hotel room. When we reached the hotel room, I realized a wheezing sound from the float and damn, there was a hole in float. 

The husband wanted to convince me to just use the float before it deflate, but I didn't want to. 

So I went to the front desk to borrow scotch tape, in the hopes that I can just seal the hole to prevent it from deflating. But that didn't work. 

Hence I told the husband I wanted to make a trip down again to change it, and we did. 

So we walked to-and fro under the super hot sun for 4 times. 

In my head I was just cursing and swearing because I.JUST.WANT.TO.SWIM!

ok, abrupt end to my donut float story. Yeah, at least the donut has some significance to it. 

I am honestly so happy with the float! :) its like the best thing I bought during the trip!

This was our dinner again. 300g of BBQ prawn, salt grilled fish x 2 (we ordered another one after we finished this) and a flower crab!

Total bill came up to only S$27!! Our cheapest dinner for the trip.

The husband who has mild allergy to prawns, developed rashes later on in the night. HAHA greedy somemore lah. 

And this was our last lunch in Phuket, at Red Duck that was near our hotel. 

Apparently its trip-advisor endorsed. Though a little on a pricey side, but we both thought it was well worth it because the food was quite delicious. 

Okay, so thats the end of my really lengthy Phuket trip travelogue (with little information about Phuket haha).