Safe Trip Home...

**That it comes and it goes, and I can't seem to hold
**and there's nothing i own, and it breaks me when it goes

Hee, I'm singing Dido's song (It comes and it goes) in her latest 3rd album - Safe Trip Home!! The Red music review even termed Dido as British soul-folk siren kills softly with songs and said that if you only listen to one thing this month..I'm so ecstatic to get her album this afternoon when i got to know that JBHifi already has the album stocked in. I'm been anticipating this album for so long after her previous records 5 years ago.


Dido's 3rd creation - Safe Trip Home


Deluxe Edition set - with enhanced cd (including 3 bonus tracks)

Dido's soft-pitch yet subtly seductive power voice really tying me closely to her songs, listen over and over again!! Being a die-hard fan for Dido, I've been followed her songs ever since her debut song with Eminem named "Stan", which is a theme song for 8 Mile movie starring Eminem. This album is aimed to continue in creating micracles after the successful results from its predecessors - 1st album (No Angel) and 2nd album (Life for Rent).


Inspiring songs...Nice!!

Head to iLike.com to hear all the tracks...ENJOY!!

Alright, now come back to my story here...Yeap, finally I've done with my final exam for MTIM course, will have to move on in my life...Work and earn some pennies? Stay or Go? PR application? I totally lost my direction...But one thing that I stand firm is that, I will never forget to EAT, because I'm da Food Monster...Muahaaa! Just like this...


Throat-burning curries@Curry Connection with (from left) YiXin, Darren, JJ!! YUMMY~

I will continue to get some guidance, advices, ideas from the people around me, including you! Yesh, its you! Hmm...will get back to you guys soon with some updates about our much long-waiting farewell steamboat dinner at my place tomorrow...Ok, till then, catch up with you guys soon...For the one who is still stressing with exams, GOOD LUCK! For those who is free-of-bound, just CHILL!! Take care, cheers...Summer is here~

Love,
Kev XOX

Kev's Wonder Recipe - Wonder Bread Pudding

Heyo folks, how's it going? Hope all of ya are doing well...don't be too stress with works or studies...!! I've been rushing my heavy-loaded assignments, aiming to finish them before the Swotvac break (Study break for uni students)~ Aikkss, don't have much time to do revision...ooh ooo :-O!! I'm really flattered that someone did try out my recipe...feel so honoured here!! Let me introduce the FUN-Sized girl -->Nicole!! Thanks for that oo~

Why not we take this opportunity and put away all your tasks (just temporary), and savour something YUMMY! This post features one of my all-time favourite desserts --> Bread Pudding. The hot and fluffy soft texture with sign of crispiness, I'm gonna die for this...

Kev's Wonder Recipe - Wonder Bread Pudding



Ingredients:
A: White Bread - 1 Loaf (approx. 750g)

B: Peanut Butter/Fruit conserved (any choice of your liking)

C: Fine White Sugar - 100g
Butter - 300g
Milk - 200mL

D: Egg yolk - 3 (discard the egg white)
Vanilla Essence - 2 teaspoons (optional)

E: Dry/Fresh fruits or nuts

Procedures:
1. Firstly, spread a slice of bread with the peanut butter, with another plain bread stacking on it, and spread with the peanut butter, again stack with a plain bread. It is then formed a 3 bread block.
2. Remove all 4 sides of the bread edges (as it will affect the pudding texture), and then cut them into tiny cute square blocks.
3. Arrange those tiny bread blocks onto a baking dish, scatter with some raisin on top of the breads.
4. Mix together fine white sugar, butter and milk and cook with low heat. At the same time, add in the egg yolks (one at a time) and vanilla essence for more fragrance. Constant stirring is needed.
5. Pour the above mixture to cover all the bread cubes, make sure each of them is well-soaked with the delicious mixture.
6. Place the baking dish on top of a roasting pan filling with water to reach halfway ip to the sides of the baking dish. Bake for 40-50 minutes with 170 Celsius until it turns golden brown.
7. Let it cold down on a baking rack and serve immediately when it is still HOT...

P/S: The sugar content can be adjusted according to personal preference...feel free to 'mix n match'!! I'll bet you'll get addicted for such delicacy...hehe! It is always fun to do some baking yourselves at home...hope you guys can try this out when you need something to MUNCH!!

Alright, have to continue working on my LAST assignment as I will be heading for the BBQ session with all my usual gang later@ SouthBank...Its gonna be hot out there...Applying Sunblock is definitely a MUST...Till then, take care mates!

Love,
Kev XOX

MidSem2 08' Getaway - Toowoomba (27th Sept 08')

Aikkss...I was being poked by JJ to update my procrastinating bloggie~ Yeap, I'm back here again to inform all of you about my status quo!! This post is specially written for the roadtrip we (WJ, PW, Alice, Michelle, JJ, little KC, Ernest and I) had to this well-known garden city - TOOWOOMBA!! The city has the flower festival every year in Spring season, only IF there isn't water restriction at the area~ For now, let's yumbayamba....haaa!


All the crew-members...ehh? No, WJ was the photographer, credits for him ;-P

Once we've got our private transport - Toyota Tarago, we began our long-haul journey straigh-away with me being the lone-driver...haa! Ernest was my man-made GPS despite having Jane (MK's favourite GPS device) to further help us in locating the exact landmarks and destination. It took us around 2 hours to reach the high-lanscape city...


See? Serious driver hay...must make sure the safety of all my passengers


Toowoomba i-centre - A must-stop place to get full information

Our first stop will be the biggest open-garden in the city - Queens Park Garden. I'll let those pictures speak on its own...


Queens Park Gardens - Time to fully utilise my dear Issie (IXUS-75)


Hot spring with delightful Brissy kids...


Flower carpets...

Below will be the vivid flower shots...Photos captured manually with Macro function and ISO-400 settings
















Purple Blush...


Surrounding with TULIPS...Little KC and I


Love this photo particularly...From left: Me, JJ, WJ, Ernest, Lil KC, Alice and Michelle...aiks, PW was the photographer this time, applause for her, folks...!!

Yeap, following will be the photos captured in the 2nd garden with asian theme - Japanese Garden. The garden is situated beside the University of Southern Queensland.


Nice and serenity environment...


The crew-members for Toowoomba's FlowerFest 08' (srry WJ, you have to be the photographer for us, thanks!)






Finally, the ultimate complete crew members shot...


Nobody is happier than I am now...Woohoo~


But, nobody wants to be like him...


Little cute 'Puppy' statue, visited you 3 years ago and here I'm again...take care there...stay cute until my next visit oo...


Fragrant Lavender...sweetest thing in my heart~


Alright folks, this is my most "flowery" post I've ever had before, hope you guys enjoy this short and quick walkthrough to the garden city...
For more detailed experience, please visit JJ's bloggie...

Till then, I need to rush for my assignments...Not to forget to say welcome to those honourable guests from Newcastle (Joelene and others), happy to see all of you enjoying your Brissy trip so far...Take care, buddies!

Love,
Kev XOX

Kev's Wonder Recipe - Versatile Cupcake Base

Hellooo...how's it going? Had about 6 hours of sleep but yet still feeling a bit lethargic, maybe I've had alcohol overdose? "Thanks" to my dear big sis - JJ for pouring nice wines into my "Magical Belly" yesterday! Of course, not to forget to thank Machi for her magnificent imported sake from Japan, YUMMY!! Having constant pressures from my fans (as if), I've decided to update my bloggie after a month's time...Yeap, welcome to my first ever Kev's Wonder Recipe post, have to thank JiaJi for suggesting this awesome bloggie idea!

As you can see from the title of this post, it is about my secret recipe that I really proud of...Haaa! I've even got the praise from the ever-experienced baker - Aunty Cindy when her trip to Brissy last month...I will churn out more brilliant and yummy recipe in the near future!! I have altered the baking ingredients needed by referencing to various basic butter cake recipes together with humble baking experiences, let's try it out:

Versatile Cupcake - Basic Recipe

Servings: 12 equal size cupcakes with standard baking tray

Ingredients:
Combo A:
150g butter
140g sugar
1 tsp of salt
270g self-raising flour

Combo B:
3 eggs
160mL milk
1 tsp of vanilla essence

Procedures:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 Celsius.
2. Melt the butter and put i n both sugar and salt, beat it until light and fluffy (where the butter mixture is sort of well-mixed).
3. Sift the flour with a sifter into the butter mixture and stir it well.
4. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat well (add the first egg then mix them well before adding the next one).
5. Add the milk simultaneously while folding the mixture at the same time.
6. Don't forget to scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure the batter is well-mixed.
7. Scoop the batter into muffin cups/tray until 70% of the column. Then bake at 170 Celsius for 45 minutes in the centre of oven until in turns golden colour. It is then ready if the skewer comes out clean from the middle of the cupcake.
8. Open the oven lid to half and leave the cupcakes sitting inside for 15 minutes before taking out to be served.
9. You can add any icing sugar or any of your favourite fruits as the topping. As for the locals here, they prefer to place a thick layer of sweet butter icing sugar with attractive decorations and colour...

Just like this...Birthday cupcakes for KhaiChin from Samantha's sis...SUPERB!!!

Hope all of ya try it out and feel free to give me some feedback, thanks...!! Aikss, its 15mins to 12noon, I need to catch up with my studies and presentation slides. Alright, that's all for today, will probably post up my latest creation - Fried Radish Cake's recipe as soon as I could, till then, take good care yoo!! Yea, anticipating John bro and Joelene to come over to Brissy, get yourselves some sunlight in this brilliant sunshine state!!

Love,
Kev XOX

Totally Carnivorous @ Handorf Inn Hotel - Adelaide (5th July 08')

Harloo everyone, how's it going? After a long long "rest", I'm back here again to lighten up your day! Thanks to Nicole for asking me to be hardworking, won't procrastinating again, gal~ This post is about the yummy German cuisine I had during my winter trip to Addie (Adelaide)!! Really thanks to all my friends in Adelaide for your sweet hospitality for bringing me around, hunting for good food and sight seeing~ **Sorry for those vegetarians, this is for the Meat-Lovers**

Handorf is a prestigious tourist spot that most people would love to be there for a taste of Mediterranean exhilaration. The German descendant village is full of history, heritage and hospitality nestled in the picturesque Adelaide Hills.


The German town in Winter season

The members of the epicure team were: Ivan, Khai Jue, Chi Hou and I (all Penangites). Both Ivan and Khai Jue are my high-schoolmates in JSHS and we haven't met each others for so long since we left high school. Our mission objective was to "conquer" the Handorf Inn Hotel and fully transforming to be the REAL Carnivore....muahaha!! Here we go...


Let's have a sip of hot mocha in such cold weather - simply the BEST


The famous Handorf Inn Hotel@Handorf, Adelaide


Hassle-bassle in the shop...

Once we have settled in for our dining table, the waiter handed us a well-pictured menu with superb choices of food to be ordered. Of course, we have ordered all the signature dishes that the restaurant has to offer...Since we are dining in a German restaurant, we definitely won't miss the throat-soothing beers that are complement to the delicious dishes!!


Hofbrauhaus Munchen beers on tap for you to experience - "The Original Brew of Bavarian Kings!"


The 1st dish - A Taste of Germany Platter

The meats were so succulent and tender, accompanied with the crispy skin...Oh man, that's HEAVEN!! German sausages had its own uniqueness as various types of herbs were added into the minced meats...thumbs up!


The 2nd dish - Giant juicy pickled pork hock (knuckle)

The pork knuckles is another limelight of the day as the meat was so juicy. This dish is different from what we used to have in Chinese or Thai restaurants which is deep-fried version to have the crunchy and crispy texture. The pork knuckle was lightly seasoned and scalded in hot simmer water to preserve its original juiciness of the meat. The complemented sauerkraut (sour cabbage) and Rhine potatoes with mustard seeds sauce were the best side dishes to add another different taste and flavour to the meats...YUMM!


The 3rd dish - Handorf Inn's Char-Grilled Pork Ribs (1kg)

Hoho...we won't be a great carnivore without having these gigantic pork ribs to satisfy our hungry stomach. The pork ribs were served with the home-made garlic sauce, the crunchiness of the meat was another flavour-adding point to make the dish to be so tasty! Big mouthful of meats then "flowing" down a with big mouthful of beers, nothing can beat this...!!


Khai Jue, me, Ivan and Chi Hou (delighted to meet up the Penangites in Addie)

Its such a great experience to have fun with all of ya, bro!! Really looking forward in seeing all of ya again...take care, come over to Brissy anytime!! **Kev is craving for food and saliva keep dripping, :-P**


The wonderful rainbow cutting across the sky was a great endpoint for this dreamy meal...

For more information about the restaurant, please visit http://www.hahndorfinn.com.au/


Golden shiny sky at dusk - scenery from my window

Alright folks, it is all for today's post. Finally I've successfully to write up this post after such long slack!! Will have lotsa readings and assignments to catch up, till then, all the best to all of ya...CHEERS!!

Love,
Kev XOX

Gundam 00 - Gundam Throne Zwei

Harlo everyone, I'm back from the ever-wonderful Adelaide city 2 days ago!! After being nagged for long by my friends to update my blog, so I'm here to write up new post reluctantly...Its probably have to blame on my tiredness! Guess what, I accompanied my tech-geek friend, JJ, to queue up for the long-waiting iPhone which had launched today!! Moreover, Australia and New Zealand are the first nations among other countries to enjoy the technological gadget, due to the differences in time zone! After a long, boring, full-of-shyness wait for around 4 hours, JJ has finally managed to sign up a 24-months iPhone 3G contract with only AUD$56 monthly charges and given an exclusive AUD$300 worth of credits!! She was jumping up high for joy...so excited huh, gal !! Well, for me, I am still appreciating my current Nokia 6270 and hope it can help me up for longer periods, thanks buddy! I guess everyone outthere is screaming out **softly** for the Adelaide photos? Err, I will post them up shortly, please be patience ya!!

Alright, from the topic of this post, you guys should know I'm writing up a special report for my newly arrival Gundam HG model - Gundam Throne Zwei!! The parcel has arrived at my place when I was still in Adelaide and gonna thanks to my neighbour, Dr. Fong, for keeping the parcel on my behalf ^^


The gundam model box - all the way from Japan!!


The pilot of the powerful machine - Micheal Trinity from the Trinity Family

The word Zwei means number 2 in German and there are total of three Gundam Throne (Eins, Zwei, Drei - 1, 2, 3). Hee...it just needed 1 and a half day to finish off the assembly process, I supposed it was less complicated than the Kyrios, let's have a look at the finished product...


The tough, versatile and close-combat ultimate machine


Gundam Throne Zwei with its purple GN-drive - Close view


Ready to rumble on the action base...

For more info about this masterpiece, please click on --->
Gundam Throne Zwei
I have two gundam model on my desk now: Zwei is on my left hand side while Kyrios is on my right side...YEA, there are such a great decor to light up my day...haaa!!

Yeap, that's all for today, I'm so tired now, woke up at 7am early morning. *YAWN* Will be right back as soon as possible for the Adelaide posts, no worries pals...take care!!

Love,
Kev XOX

Food Expedition in Adelaide...

Hallo folks, how's it going? Deeply apologize for my laziness and procrastination in writing posts, have been busy eating :-P!! The Sem 1, 2008 has finally came to an end, lots of my friends are graduating in this semester, huh, gonna miss all of them. Just realise I'm no longer that young, childish, nor stubborn like before as I need to be the person that is 23 years old. Well, I will continue to improve as a responsible student, as a good mummy's boy, as a friendly buddy for all my mates **Sniggering**

Yeap, I'm gladly that I'm proceeding to my last sem of my current study, hmm, its been a long long time ago ever since I stepped on this Aussie land!! It will be my 3rd year here to enjoy the 4 seasonal country with lots of Kangoroo hooping around...haa!

Oh yea, please have a look at all my birthday pictures that are taken during my 3-days long birthday feast...haa!! Err, Jess, I'm kinda lazy to describe the sumptuous dinner we had together but it is no doubt one of the greatest dining experience I ever had before...heee!! Really thanks and bow to all of ya for making my birthday to be so SPECIAL...let's chill~

Have a sneak peak on my birthday cakes:


Thanks JY, Penny, SL for the decoration efforts...cute little Butter-shortbread man!!


Thanks JJ, Clara, ZZ and Lena for the seducing Baci cheesecake from Shingle Inn...YUMM!

Catch all my other photos here in "My 23rd birthday celebration":
Part 1 ; Part 2



Dusk sky at Southbank...it is so vividly colourful, just simply the best!

Yeap, another half an hour to begin my food expedition being a truly epicurean in Adelaide...Just can't wait to savor the succulent meats, sweet & fluffy pastries, indulge myself in the world of FOOD...;oP !! Alright, I really need to get going as I haven't done packing my luggage, gonna catch a bus to city...take good care, pal ! I promise I will be back soon after I'm back from the wonderful food heaven...Till then, good luck and cheers!! ;-)

Love,
Kev XOX