黑糖姜汁番薯芋圆糖水 (Sweet Potato Balls Ginger dessert)

I love chewy dessert and one of my favorite is Snowflakes' best seller, which consists of super chewy taro balls and sweet potato balls. I have done some research and customize the easiest way to make the hot version of sweet potato balls ginger dessert.

Ingredients:

- 180g Sweet potatoes

- 2 black sugar ginger cubes 

- 2 teaspoon of brown sugar

- 60g tapioca starch

- 30ml water

- Chinese wolfberry

- Red dates

- Ice

10 Steps Guide:

1. Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes.

2. Steam it for 20 - 30 minutes until its soft.

3. After that mash the sweet potatoes with a fork. Add-on two teaspoons of brown sugar while its hot so that it will melt. You may reduce the sugar based on your preference. Then, weigh the sweet potatoes.

4. Mix it with tapioca starch. The proportion should be 3 (sweet potato):1 (tapioca starch). In my case, my sweet potatoes are 180g so I mix it with 60g of tapioca starch. Excellent tip shared by my kawan.

5. Mix it with water bits by bit while you knead the dough. I added on 20ml of water, kneaded the dough and add-on another 10ml of water as I knead. The dough is ready when it does not stick to your hand.

Note: Adding too much water will result in non-chewy sweet potato balls!

6. Then, roll the dough into one long row and cut it into small square size. Round the edges to make it pretty. 

7. Put in the sweet potatoes balls in the boiling water. Once all the sweet potato balls start floating up, they are ready!

8. Drain the sweet potato balls and run it through water. Then put it in cold/ice water. 

7. Wash and slice the red dates, ginger and chinese wolfberry. 

8. Boil a pot of water with two black sugar ginger cubes.

9. Add-on the sliced red dates, ginger and chinese wolfberry.

10. Add-on the sweet potato balls 5-10 minutes before you want to serve. 

Try it out! It's a lot easier than it sounds. :D

Sekeping Serendah - 3 days 2 nights - Timber Shed 1

The kawans planned for a bonding session and weekend getaway at Sekeping Serendah, which is a private retreat near Rawang. It is around one hour drive from Kuala Lumpur. If you are in for a comfortable, air-conditioned, insects-less holiday, this is definitely not a place for you. If you are looking for a hideaway where you can enjoy the nature and escape the busy-ness of the city life, go ahead and experience Sekeping Serendah.

Local map

Warning: 
Remember to save the local map in your phone. Waze will lose signal before you could reach Sekeping Serendah. FYI, Sekeping Serendah has no wifi provided. Phone signal and mobile data are also very, very limited. 

We managed to get there without getting lost. Our accommodation for three days two nights is the awesome Timber Shed 1.

View from Timber Shed 1

Chalet selection tips:
1. Timber Shed 1 is actually nicer than Timber Shed 2 and it is very near to the entrance. 
2. According to some bloggers, Mud Shed is not that nice. 
3. Warehouse can accommodate up to 14 pax. 
4. You can view the chalet photos and details at their official website.

Kitchen

Prior the trip, below are some of the necessities/items that you are recommended to bring:-

1. Extension cords (the switch is too far away from kitchen top)
2. Tupperware (there is limited kitchenware)
3. Sharp knife (the knife provided is blunt)
4. Hotpot (for steamboat, unless you want to BBQ all the way)
5. Bowls (if you cook noodles, they only have plates)
6. Aluminium foils (for barbeque)
7. Oil/Pastry brush (for barbeque)
8. Insect repellent (you are practically living in a forest, so gear up!)
9. Sun block (can be quite hot if you want to head out)
10. Towel, shower gel, and toiletries (its not provided)
11. Candles (in case of electricity failure)
12. Ice box (if you need to store a lot of food/drink)
13. Wireless speaker (for entertainment)
14. Satay stick
15. Lighter
16. Clothes hangers
17. Hair dryer

The two small fridge provided in Timber Shed 1

Bedroom 1

There are one double bed and one single bed in each bedroom. Timber Shed can accommodate up to 6 pax. Since there were only three of us, we slept in Bedroom 1 for the first night and Bedroom 2 for the second night. 

It is not recommended to bring any precious or expensive belongings as the chalet is an open concept and people can actually just walk in to your chalet.  

Bedroom 2

Mosquito nets are provided for each bed. Once you check in, it's best for you to hang the net as soon as you can. Else, be prepared to swipe off lots of tiny little bugs before you sleep. Bedroom 2's floor has this creaking sound when you step on the wooden floor. For light sleepers, best for you to take Bedroom 1 in case anyone goes to the toilet at night and wake you up.

Bear in mind that you are practically living at a kampung (village) area. So if you need to sleep on a clean bed, suggest for you to bring your own bed sheet and pillow cover.

Barbeque area

We survived through the three days with butter, salt, garlic, lots of mineral water, bread, chicken wings, chicken drummets, chicken slice, pork, corns, brinjal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage, capsicum, mushrooms, eggs, instant korean noodles, fish balls, and watermelon.

It sounded like a feast but we didn't buy enough portion of meat. We also forgot to bring our sausages and bacon so it was such a letdown. Luckily we brought instant noodles and bread so we survived!

 The hidden sink. It is behind the door beside the mop and broom. Detergent and sponge are provided.

Sekeping Serendah layout map

There are two swimming pools as shown in the map. Pool 2 is definitely nicer than Pool 1. It seemed like a huge place so we geared up to go for jungle trekking through the dragon walk. It only took us around 10-15 minutes to tour the entire compound. So much for jungle "trekking".

Monopoly Deal

  

We were lazy to head out so we spent our time pretty much on monopoly deal, talking, cooking, eating and sleeping. Definitely a must to bring card games. Else, you can opt to visit the nearby Orang Asli villages or waterfall. 

It had been so long since we had a trip together so I really enjoyed the bonding session <3 

If you would like to experience Sekeping Serendah, go ahead and make reservation through their official website - https://www.sekeping.com/ > Click on Sekeping Serendah. You can also explore other areas with Sekeping concept as well. Have fun!

Blending

Do you know that celery is very good for health? Among some of the benefits of celery are:

- helps to lower high cholesterol

- reduces/prevent high blood pressure

- lowers inflammation

- boosts immune system

- prevents cancer

- increases the chance to double your "salary" (just joking! :)

So I have been experimenting blending fruits with celery. 

Sharing with you the outcome:-

Orange, apple, celery, honey, and a half cup of water.

Orange, apple, celery, carrot, honey, a pinch of ginger and milk. 

The combination is actually same as the above, just that I put in more carrots and celery. Mom said it is best to add-on ginger so that it is not so "cold". Ginger has a lot of health benefits so its good to add-on in your drink.

Orange, celery, honey, a pinch of ginger, and half cup of water.

You can actually swap between adding on milk or water to have a variety of taste. 

Apple, celery, carrot, banana, honey, a pinch of ginger and milk. 

I consider this as a blending mistake. I was being too adventurous and put in too much ingredients. The drink came out very thick and dark in colour :| It looks quite yucky although the taste was alright.

Apple, celery, banana, mango and milk.

Some takeaways:

1. Try to minimize the amount of fruits you put in. 2 to 3 fruits at the max. 
2. Wash your fruits with salt to wash away the wax or any chemicals on the fruits. I would actually soak them in salt water for half an hour before cutting it. 
3. Put in a bit of ginger and honey as these are good ingredients.
4. Drink your smoothies straightaway after blending.

Happy Blending!

Homemade Mint Sauce

I was craving for lamb chop with mint sauce yesterday and decided to google how to make mint sauce. It is really easy to make and I would suggest you to try it out too!

Ingredients:
- Mint Leaves
- 3 tablespoons of vinegar
- 3 tablespoons of boiling water
- a pinch of salt

3 Steps Guide:

1. First, wash your mint leaves with cold water. Rinse it. Then, finely chop your mint leaves.

2. Then, add-on 3 tablespoons of white vinegar (I actually used apple vinegar), 3 tablespoons of boiling water, and a pinch of salt. 

3. Let it to cool for about half an hour to an hour before using it to pan-fry your lamb chop. 

Onomnomnom. It's super yummy!

Try it out and let me know how's it :)

National Library

Have you ever been to the National Library? I have been wanting to go for a visit for ages and finally went last week with a friend.

Our husbands found it funny and thought we were joking -_- But we were seriously serious. 

As we reach, we were first impressed by the machines to return books that you have borrowed. 

We toured around Anjung Bestari. 

Ground Floor - Children library which we didn't go in. It looked nice from the outside. 

Level 1 - SAMSUNG SMART Library where there are tablets accessible for you to use.

Level 2 - You may use the computers here free of charge. All you need to do is to register for membership at Level 1, which is a fast process and also free of charge. 

Level 3 - The perfect place to do your assignment and study. There are a lot of reference books available as well.

Level 4 - United Nations collections.

The security guards told us that we had to go to the other building, Wisma Sejarah, if we want to borrow books. Isn't it funny that we can't borrow books at National Library? Although Wisma Sejarah is just beside National Library, I still think it is not acceptable.

There are only two levels which you can borrow books. Level 3 & 4. You will need to enter through Level 3 as they block the entrance for Level 4. As we wandered around Level 3, we were excited to see a lot of recipe books. 

Having high hopes for Level 4 but it was such a disappointment. There wasn't much travel books and they actually mixed English and Malay books, which makes it really messy.

Is there a new term that I am not aware of kawans? If not, it would be such an embarrassment to have spelling mistake at National Library. :|

If you are keen to go for a visit, here is the opening hour. Registered member can borrow up to 6 books for four weeks. 

By the way, I actually parked my car at Anjung Bestari, which is free of charge. It seemed to be parking reserved for the employee but I can't seem to find the visitor parking after turning few round the car park. If you park at Wisma Sejarah it is RM5 per entry.

For more details, you can check out the official website: http://www.pnm.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/264