Feb 20, 2018

LunaBar Cafe, Penang


When in Penang, I hardly go out but when I do, it has to be a good reason. A friend recommended that we check out LunaBar Cafe - a cafe which inspired by plants. Being plant enthusiasts, my brother and I went to check out the place recently. We weren't disappointed when we were greeted with all these tropical species at the entrance. 
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Feb 17, 2018

5 Honest Dating Advice You Can Use


Valentine's Day just swifted away last week. I'm not going to ask you how it was. If you've stumbled upon this post, chances are, you might be looking for "the one" somewhere out there.

I'm not a professional match-maker, but part and parcel of my job is to match make someone to the right boss. It is pretty much the same when you drill down to the essence of my day-to-day tasks. Here are 5 honest advise which I can give to you if you're feeling lost right now.


#1 - Don't mix up dating & relationship

The main goal of dating is to get to know the person a little bit more. Don't dive into the expectation of wanting to be in a relationship with the person. If you have the idea of wedding, buying a home with that person, babies and so-on, you have to kick the image out of your mind.

Treat a date as a job interview (you being the boss). Does the person fit in 60% of your criteria or more? Would you recruit him for the next level of interview (in this case, a second date)?

#2 - Settle for coffee date (if it's your first)

A dinner date is probably suitable for a second or third date. Reason being, a dinner involves too much of an affair if you're meeting the person for the very first time just the two of you. You have to consider if he/she would love your choice of restaurant, worry about getting broccoli stuck in between your teeth, who should pay, etc.

On the other hand, coffee date is more relaxed. And the time spent is shorter. It gives a better environment and boost a healthier mindset for both of you to know each other better.

#3 - Don't judge

This goes back to #1. A date suppose to be a get-to-know session. If he/she doesn't tick all the boxes, just move on and look for the next candidate. There is no point judging the person if you know he/she doesn't suit you.

#4 - Be involved in the conversation

The key to drive the conversation is to be involved (answer questions & ask questions). If you're a wee bit interested in the person, ask more questions. If you think the conversation can't go any further, just bail yourself out. This is why a coffee date would be a better option for a first date.

#5 - Keep an open possibility 

Let's say he/she can be a potential second date candidate - you have to keep a possibility of next meeting. If the person loves superhero movies, you can suggest going for a movie together. Or if you know he/she is a food lover, secure yourself a dinner date. The key point is to pay attention to the person's interest and move on from there.

I hope these simple dating rules work for you. And if you have any good advice, feel free to drop it in the comment, so that others can use the advice too. 
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Feb 12, 2018

Recipe: Cornflakes Cookies


Ingredients:


  • 100g butter
  • 75g castor sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 150g flour
  • 15g corn flour
  • (any amount) crushed cornflakes - separated into 2 bowls, I used up 1/3 of a mid-sized Kellog's cornflakes for one batch
  • 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla essence
  • 1/2 tablespoon of lemon essence (optional)
  • 1/4 tablespoon of salt

Steps:

  1. Mix butter and sugar into mixer. If you don't have a mixer, leave the butter to melt and beat with a whisk. 
  2. Add egg, vanilla essence and lemon essence. Continue mixing/beating.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, corn flour and salt.
  4. Combine the two mixture and continue beating until even. Add crushed cornflakes into the mixture depending on your taste.
  5. The mixture should feel like a paste. If it's too runny, add more flour.
  6. Shape the cookie and roll it on top of the remaining crushed cornflakes for the crust.
  7. (Optional) add cut cherries on top of the cookie to give it a pop of colour.
  8. Bake it for 25 minutes at 175 degrees Celcius. If your is too big, bake it at 35 minutes at 170 degrees Celcius.

Tips:

  • Use Anchor butter (unsalted) for better taste. I tried using normal Buttercup, there's a big difference in taste.
  • If you don't have lemon essence, you can use any lime. Since all you need is a small amount, there's no need to buy a new bottle of lemon essence.
  • To make it crunchier, add more crushed cornflakes into the mixture. 
  • You can skip Step #6 - rolling the crushed cornflakes - if you add lots of cornflakes into the mixture. 
  • One batch creates about 100 pieces of cookies (the size of mini fishball).
  • It takes about 15 minutes to prepare for 1 tray of baking. Total time spent to make that 100 pieces was 1 hour.

It's been awhile since I update on my blog. That is because I was so busy baking for Chinese New Year.

I've been searching up and down for cornflakes cookies in the mall, online and any bakeries. Unfortunately, there's no one making it. According to one of the baker, cornflakes is too expensive, so everyone focuses on nestum or oat cookies where they can find cheaper alternative ingredients. So, I decided to make my very own cornflakes cookies. 

The ingredients are not cheap, including the bottle and cookie lining, I spent about RM15. It's definitely not for sale, otherwise I have to charge really expensive. But I do give some to my friends and most of them give good comments, except some said it's too hard, and some said it's too soft. That depends on the content of the cornflakes inside the cookies.

Good luck on trying the cookies. If you do make it, please tag me in your IG @queenjerine. I would love to see your adaptation to the recipe.

'Til then... Happy Chinese New Year to all my Chinese readers! And happy holiday to all. 
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