catch-up session

Last night, my accounts class friends and I finally made it to visit our accounts tutor, Madam Chan since the day we received our results. My tutor is a pretty talkative and loud person, and I suppose she's quite forgetful too? Because she loves to repeat the same story again and again, which always makes us burst into laughter. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about her, she is a nice lady, of course. So all of us sat in the exact same room, nothing had changed, the only thing that we did differently from the past was that we did not study yesterday, instead, we were just sitting around the table, having our supper and reminiscing our good old days studying together. I could still remember vividly the first day of class which was two years ago, also the first time for me meeting these unfamiliar faces. We were all really shy and awkward. The whole class was completely pin-drop silent. And who could have imagined us now, sitting around the table, joking around and laughing at each other's funny stories and encounters in life...... I really treasure our friendship and the bond that we share among ourselves. I am truly blessed to have known them as the saying goes,

'Friends are like stars, not always seen but always there'

I hope that we will still keep in touch no matter what and that all of us will be blessed with happiness and joy in the future. All the best, guys. Let's work hard together to achieve our dreams!

banana cake

Speaking of anything 'yellow', the first thing that pops up in my mind, will definitely be BANANA. Curvy, long, sometimes spotty and of course, YELLOW banana is undoubtedly my favourite fruit. I cannot live a day without my banana, not really exaggerating, but a day without banana could be pretty unbearable to me. Okay, leaving my addiction aside, imagine this: waking up in the morning to something that you really like or enjoy, how awesome could that be. That was exactly how I started off my Sunday morning. I woke up dreamily, eyes still half-opened to a plate of beauty: banana cake freshly baked by mum. My mum and I were really impressed with how the cake turned out and decided to have a mini photography session with the cake.

Banana cake is a really simple cake recipe which doesn't require much skills. You just need a bunch of overriped bananas and other typical basic ingredients for a cake. This recipe is also healthy, as sugar is only required in a small amount because bananas provide most of the sweetness to the cake.

Now back to the main ingredient of the cake-banana fruit, here are some interesting facts that might blown you away. Dan Koeppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World, traces the banana back to the Garden of Eden, where he believes it was the banana, instead of apple, that was the 'forbidden fruit' that Eve offered Adam. Today, bananas are grown in at least 107 countries and ranked fourth among the world's food crops in monkery value. Also, banana plant is not a tree, it is the largest herb in the world. It can grow up to 20-25 feet high. Bananas are also available in different colours, ranging from green to yellow to red.

I live in a tropical country,  Malaysia and there are many different types of bananas grown here, which includes:-

1. Pisang Berangan.

This type of banana has thick skin and can be eaten even when it is not very ripe. It has a sweet taste, however rather dry.

2. Pisang Mas (my least favourite banana)

It is also known as the lady finger banana in other countries. This type of banana is usually very much shorter compared to the other bananas and are sweet in taste.

3. Pisang Cavendish

4. Pisang Rastali ( my favourite banana)

This type of banana gives a tangy and sweet taste, and also slightly creamy.

5. Pisang Tanduk

This type of banana is widely used to prepare a famous Malaysian street food, pisang goreng. It is usually coated in a flour batter, and deep fried.

6. Pisang Raja

7. Pisang Nangka

8. Pisang Lawak

9. Pisang Nipah

*pisang= banana

The reason why I love banana is because it can be easily eaten by just peeling off the skin and also a healthy to-go snack which you can just grab and bring it along with you. One tip to share with when packing a banana is to wrap it loosely with a kitchen towel instead of wrapping it in a plastic or packing in a container because that will cause the banana to brown rapidly. Besides being a fast and healthy snack, bananas can be used to make creamy and tasty ice cream too! Due to the creaminess and sweetness of bananas, they are also widely used to create simple and healthy ice cream. I will make a post on the banana ice cream with the recipe for it soon.

All in all, I feel really blessed and thankful for my mum, for baking us banana cakes early in the morning. It is a pleasure to enjoy homemade banana cakes which helps us start off a whole new week with a boost. Just a simple banana cake could bring my mother and I so much closer to each other especially during our mini photography session. I suggest that you should try this once in a while during the weekends as you will not only get to spend your time wisely, bond with family members and also enjoy the delicious banana cake, just like the idiom: To kill two birds with one stone, but in this case, THREE BIRDS, I suppose?

i've got a sweet tooth

Yesterday was the Open Day for the college which I will be studying at, later in July. I was more than fortunate to have my high school friend to be my tour guide for half a day. The highlight of yesterday was that I have finally had pancakes which I have been craving for ages at a very aesthetic and vintage-looking cafe, walking distance from the college. After one whole morning of hustle and bustle, my friend and I agreed to have our lunch at the cafe that I've been tempted to visit, Garage 51.

The moment a foot was set in the cafe, there was no turning back. Besides being greeted by the friendly staffs, the first view that welcomed us was the fancy dessert display showcase. The flamboyant cakes and pastries displayed in the showcase immediately drew my attention over to have a further look on the mouth-watering looking desserts. The ambience of the cafe was pretty calm and relaxing, which really soothes my mind after a busy morning. The menus of the cafe also matched the theme of the cafe, which was really chic, on the other hand, food offered looked and sounded appetising, especially the desserts. I couldn't stop myself from having a nutella pancake dessert from the breakfast menus and a cup of cappuccino to tone down the sweetness from the pancake. I am 101% a breakfast girl and in my opinion, breakfast should be served not only in the morning but throughout the day because they totally deserved it.

I was wowed by the presentation of my pancake dessert which was a stack of pancakes topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cool syringe filled with chocolate sauce. Caramel popcorns were also added as a garnish to complete the picture post-card perfect dish. Once I took my first bite on all the elements present on the plate, I was in lost of words. The dish satisfied my five sensory cravings blissfully; especially taste and sight.

 'My Cousin' dessert which was ordered by my friend 

 vegetarian meal which looked really appealing despite the fact that there was only VEGETABLES in the dish

Due to my addiction for pancakes, I got inquisitive and was driven to find out more about the origins of pancakes. Pancakes were made by the Romans in the first century AD, which was known as Alita Dolcia (=another sweet), made from milk, flour, eggs and spices and eaten as either sweet or savoury. In the 15th Century, pancakes were created in the Europe in different forms, by adding wheat, flour, buckwheat or corn meal to the ancient ingredients. Later, an early recipe for Dutch pancakes, specifically, appeared in De Verstandige Cock (=the sensible cook) cookery book. Recipes for pancakes from the most common pancake to the best pancake includes sugar, cloves, cinnamon, mace and nutmeg. In the 18th Century, traditional wedding breakfast in Friesland, Netherlands serves pancakes with milk and honey, whilst in rural areas, pancakes are eaten to celebrate Christmas Eve and the new harvest.

In a nutshell, Garage 51 is a great place to chill at, due to the cosy and relaxing environment which tends to give you a good head start for the day, feeling extremely pumped up and positive. I really enjoyed the food served there and thought that everyone should give it a try although the pricing for this cafe is at the edge towards the more expensive side. Photography lovers and especially girls who are very aesthetic and enjoy taking creative and nice photographs of foods should drop by as Garage 51 will definitely meet up to their expectations. 

back in action and my first banana leaf experience

I'm back from a two-years break (totally did not expect that heh). There's so much changes in my life from being a fifteen high-school girl to a young intern office girl now. Certainly, I did not expect this three years ago. I've already completed my Sijil Peperiksaan Malaysia (SPM) which was a major exam before graduating from high school, unfortunately, my results was not up to my expectation, but there's no point dwelling on the past anymore. I am truly blessed and grateful that I could at least get scholarship for my college course which will be starting in July. Honestly speaking, I realised that I have changed so much in three years' time. My style, my writing, my way of thinking...... It was in a positive way so I am pretty glad for that. I just hope that my blog will spread the positivity and happiness to all my readers, and that everyone will stick around. So, I guess this is the end of my quick update on life. 

Today, my boss from my internship company treated my colleagues and I one of the Malaysian's favourite dishes, Banana Leaf Rice. I've never had it before but was excited to try it because I've watched from a TV Programme 'Food Wars Asia'.

 here's a picture of my incomplete Banana Leaf Rice (missing the Rasam, Tairu, Papadam dan Dried Chilli, which was served to me after I took this picture)

The traditional banana leaf rice is served on a piece of banana leaf with a few different components. The restaurant which I had mine at, sadly, served our meal on an artificial piece of banana leaf liked 'paper'. Firstly, a few waitress came and served us the main components of the dish which includes, raw cucumber and onion salad, curry potato, assorted vegetables and a piece of fried chicken. Then, they will proceed to serving us rice and papadam, a fried keropok for some crunch. There are three types of freshly cooked warm curry on the table, where you add all three different types of curries to your white rice for flavour. Later, the waitress served us Rasam, a sourish soup as an appetiser (also to aid digestion after this heavy meal) which you could pour some into your rice together with the curries. Lastly, Tairu, also known as fresh yoghurt is added to the curries to tone down the spiciness of the whole dish, not forgetting a fried dried chilli to elevate the spiciness of the dish and provide crunch. After everything is completely served, time  to get your HANDS ON and devour that mouth-watering LEAF of rice. 

the complete Banana Leaf Rice picture which I took from the Internet

1. Banana leaf  2. Curry  3. Assorted Vegetables  4. Side Dishes  5. Rasam  6. Tairu  7. Dried Chilis  8. Papadam

After we're done eating the Banana Leaf Rice, we are supposed to fold the leaf over to signify that we're done eating. The right way to fold over the banana leaf is the direction towards ourselves as a sign of gratitude to the host or to show our appreciation for the meal.

also taken from the Internet as I did not manage to take a picture of my folded banana leaf

Some tips on what you should NOT do when having Banana Leaf Rice:-

1. Rice should never be served on an empty leaf. This is because it is something served during a death ceremony or any funerary rite associated with the dead.

2. Never eat with your left hand. Do not use left hand because it's associated with going to the bathroom and disrespect.

3. Never fold your banana leaf outwards after you're done with your meal. This is because it is only done during funerals. 

Overall, I am really grateful to be born in Malaysia, also well known as a food heaven and am able to try out delicious foods from different races. Banana Leaf rice is an exquisitely prepared dish by the Indians, which is complete in the sense that there is great aroma provided by the banana leaf that imparts a subtle sweet flavour and aroma to the dish (especially when eaten with Rasam), flavour from the different types of curries and lastly taste from the crisp of the papadam and dried chills. I truly recommend everyone to give Banana Leaf Rice a try, preferably the traditional style.