2 weeks ago, i tried to pan-fry the frozen prata and got myself the "chilli-tuna-prata something". today, my mum bought some BBQ-pork from the char-siew-rice stall and we had leftovers, so i figured it's time to finish up my last 3 pieces of frozen prata in the freezer.
this time, i decided to give my toaster oven a try. i diced the char siew (BBQ-pork) and spooned them onto the frozen prata, half-folded the pastry and then put the oven to work. i guess the reason a toaster oven is called a toaster oven, is simply because it's meant for t-o-a-s-t-s, not so ideal for prata, pastries, puffs or cakes. the crust just ends up either too white or too black (burnt), hard to get anything in between.. :P
nonetheless, i find today's "BBQ-pork-filled-prata something" much more successful (and less oily) than my earlier chilli-tuna pan-fried version. certainly still nowhere close to sherie's beautifully golden-glazed bakery-standard tuna-puffs... but i guess this is the best me (and my toaster oven) can achieve for now ;)
looks aside, i do like how this thing tastes... :9 my mum and brother liked it too.
oh, and i did try a rolled version (3rd image), kinda cute.
if you love the fuss-free navigation of your emails with MS outlook or outlook express, then the new yahoo! mail beta version will surely score points with you.
packed with new features such as drag & drop mail-navigation, reading pane, enhanced security protection, keyboard shortcuts, rss feeds etc., i like what yahoo! has done to up their competitiveness against other web-based email providers.
as this is the "beta" version, i guess it's still in testing and not rolled-out to every account yet, but as long as you have a yahoo! email account, you can log on with this URL anytime - go ahead, try it out! :)
small complaint: there is just no way to close the "tips" help section on the right-hand navigation column... kinda distracting and takes up too much screen space, only thing that annoys me for now. perhaps it'll be taken away once the beta version is officially launched.
this entry is dedicated to those of you who are crazy over gadgets esp. mp3 players ;) the well-known korean brand, samsung, has yet again set their mark higher by introducing this new mp3 player that comes with a slideable speaker (first of its kind).
not quite as sleek in comparison to apple's ipod nano but in my opinion, samsung k5 belongs to quite a different league of its own anyway. comes only in black at the moment, this cool-looking mp3 player features touch-pad control buttons, photo slideshow, FM radio, alarm clock and a 30-hour battery life - pretty impressive! oh, and check out these hair-dryer-like earphones... looks interesting :)
this baby will be available in singapore from late october 2006 onwards.
going for S$338 (2gb) and S$438 (4gb) respectively.
check out the k5's singapore-interactive site, pretty cool.
reviews & more details can be found on: hardwarezone
just when i thought i'd received all my birthday gifts for this year, i got MORE... yesterday at lunch and when i met up with cozycot ladies for dinner at cafe iguana @ riverside point :) nice cozy dinner, 7 of us just lounging, chit-chatting the night away.
davis's birthday falls on the exact same day as mine *smile*, just one year before me, such a coincidence! thanks to all of you who took time off to share the lovely night together, and thanks to carolyn, tanny & davis who picked out the chocolate cake - that was heavenly!! mmmm :9 and of course, thanks to to irene, agnes & davis for the thoughtful gifts *meowww* lol. thank you, ladies!
ps: i went for my first-ever digital perm on thursday... so now i've got a new hairdo. new year ahead, new look. hope i'll grow to like this more than my usual rebonded hair ;) but my stylist said digital perms are not as lasting as rebonded hair, typically holds for 3 - 4 months only....
today is 9th october 2006, my birthday. specially lined up my blog entries in a way that my 109th entry on this blog falls exactly on this day too :) time flies, it's been 10 months 9 days since i posted my first words on here - who would have thought i could last this long. so many things have happened in this course of 10 months - not a long time, yet not too short either, just quite a few unexpected big changes in life....
birthdays are really nothing of a big deal, perhaps just adds pressure on your friends who feel they have to give you a treat or buy you something. actually, i think we're all so caught up with our own life and work, daily chores.... a birthday gives long-lost friends, close buddies, loved ones and even people you didn't expect to remember - a chance to drop a note, say "hi, you are in my thoughts", to celebrate, to show that you matter. i have received many SMS greetings today from friends, ex-tuition kids' family, ex-schoolmates, former colleagues, cozycotters etc. thanks to all of you - i am having a joyful day today :) i've got a special japanese dinner treat at CHIJMES tonight too, thank you! of course, not forgetting the all-girls-get-together come friday evening too :) really appreciate all your kind gestures - don't wanna sound mushy, but THANKS LOTS!
another year has passed... before i get too old to admit my own age, i can still make this announcement - i am officially 27 years old this year :) not exactly that old yet.... but certainly not too young to start achieving something in life.
in the new year ahead, i just want to:
- be good to myself
- be happy
- be loved
- be healthy
- be adequately successful
- be wiser
- visit some new places
- learn new things
- stay in touch with good ol' buddies
- catch up with old friends
- spend quality time with family & loved ones
(ps: doesn't harm to lose some flab, be more sexy too *lol*)
animated graphic courtesy of: cutecolors.com
little pre-birthday surprises from friends & loved ones...
i) my first birthday celebration this year:
- dinner with my parents & brother @ 鼎泰丰 DinTaiFung - paragon last weekend.
ii) my first birthday card this year (you know who you are):
- a really funny e-greeting from hallmark.com -hoops & yoyo (really made me laugh).
iii) my first birthday cake this year (from my brother, totally unexpected!):
- lemon cream-chiffon fruit cake from bengawan solo.
iv) my first birthday present this year:
- a pair of french kitty earrings i'd been searching around for.
*BIG SMILE*.... there're still 4 more mins. to go before my birthday itself, and i've already received these kind gestures from people who take time to show they care. i'm not trying to show off, just wanna say THANK YOU, truly :)
vivo city opened it's doors to eager shoppers yesterday, 8 october 2006. though still 2 months away from it's official launch (1 dec), major ad. campaigns, media coverage and much hype have already been going on for the past few months.my parents couldn't wait to check out this "singapore's largest multi-dimensional retail & lifestyle destination", they asked me along but i'm too sleepy to go out today :P some other day...meanwhile, for those of you who have not hopped onto the vivo city wagon, check out this short multimedia clip to find out more.
"Highlights include:
- Singapore's largest multiplex cinema- A brand new concept hypermarket- Department store- Flagship lifestyle concept stores- Over 1 million sq. ft. of retail, F&B and entertainment concepts- Rooftop play pool, the area of 4 Olympic swimming pools- 300m waterfront promenade- Open-air amphitheatre- Open-air courtyard on Level 2 featuring engaging and interactive water features- Event spaces" (extract from vivocity.com.sg)pretty impressive erh? btw, GAP will be opening it's first SE-asian store (managed by FJ benjamin) within vivo city too - cool! just hope that the prices will not be too insane (as with many import-from-US mega brands) *tsk tsk*. ooh... and i just noticed there's a kim gary hk cafe too *yay* - i've so missed kim gary's food since my first visit to it's KL outlet last year. yumm yumm.
hope this mega-multi-dimensional complex survives and thrives.
check out tenants listing here.
after reading sherie's blog entry on her tuna puff, i suddenly felt like having home-made prata. i remember one of my ex-colleagues once told us how he could prepare the DIY prata-sausage-wrap and eat that consecutively for an entire week!
anyway, i went grocery shopping at ntuc fairprice today and grabbed a 5-piece plain roti prata pack from the frozen-food section. the brand is "spring home" - S$2.20 for 5-piece pack, S$5.95 for the more economical family pack of 20's.
i wasn't in the mood to make my own fillings, so for a quick fix, i bought a can of ready-made chilli tuna flakes for my prata wrap. there are 2 ways to prepare the prata - (i) pan-fry, (ii) oven-bake. not sure whether my toaster oven would work, so i went for the pan-fry option. this is how it looks like (see pic. below). i won't call this a wrap, can't even call it a puff or pastry.... well, i guess it's just my chilli-tuna-filled-prata something ;)
p-l-e-a-s-e do not compare my prata with sherie's professionally-done baked tuna puff. hers is a fluffy, creamy, perfectly baked pastry (anything she bakes always look so professional anyway). mine's pan-fried, remember? so naturally it looks.... like the regular roti prata! *lol*. next time i'll try using my toaster oven to see if i can bake something out of the frozen prata. i still have 4 slices of prata + another can of curry-tuna-flakes in the kitchen cabinet ;)
2 weeks ago, i tried to pan-fry the frozen prata and got myself the "chilli-tuna-prata something". today, my mum bought some BBQ-pork from the char-siew-rice stall and we had leftovers, so i figured it's time to finish up my last 3 pieces of frozen prata in the freezer.
