Earl Grey Tea Cake with Lemon Glaze

Posted in Everyday Life, Food and Drinks by

I rarely bake. I am not a good cook either. My first exposure to Earl Grey flavoured cake was from the Japanese Konbini (コンビニ) FamilyMart. What I had back then was a really good Earl Grey rolled cake.

I tried to find local bakers who could recreate the cake, but to no avail. Hence, I have been scrolling through Instagram, searching for easy-to-follow recipes for the cake. I found and saved a few reels. I managed to bake one today. The taste was OK. Perhaps I should find a recipe that infuses the tea flavour into the cake rather than just incorporating the tea leaves. It is because after the lemon glaze, it felt more like a lemon cake instead of a tea cake. Nevertheless, it was still delicious. I hope to send some to my MIL next week. She seems to like lemon-flavoured cake.

I am hoping to try making some cinnamon rolls or a chocolate cake in the many months to come. Maybe something in purple since BTS is coming to Kuala Lumpur in December. Baking is about precision. If you follow the steps to the dots, it is fail-proof. Sometimes, I lack patience. Which is why, for amateurs, it is best done when you have the time. It calms you down as you go through the recipe meticulously, and just let your thoughts sink into the process. As a bonus, if it turns out fine, you get to feed your family with delicious home-baked goods, which would probably cost me RM30 if I decide to buy them from a baker.

I did my baking just after I did my laundry and cleaning of one particular windowsill. The latter was on my to-do list since my last birthday. While waiting for another load to finish in the dryer, I decided to bake this cake. It took me at least a good 30 minutes for me to assemble the ingredients and go through the process. I was slightly frantic when the recipe asked for the oven to be preheated to 370. My oven only had numbers till 280. I then realised that it was in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius. Silly me.

The cake was finally done just after I had my lunch of rice with chicken curry.

Klana Resort Seremban – old but gold

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

I felt guilty that our kids did not go anywhere special during the 3-week school holidays. Healthcare professionals do not get leave easily. In any situation, it is always ‘perkhidmatan diutamakan’ in government service. I know the kids don’t really mind because they are spending time at their grandmother’s house anyway. And like all wonderful grandmothers around the world, the kids were fed and cared for with a lot of love. Even then, as a parent, I still felt like doing something nice for them.

So during the last weekend of the holidays, I made a booking at Klana Resort Seremban. My son preferred a place near his school because he wanted to be early for registration day. He wanted to get the bottom bunk of the bed in his dormitory.

I booked a Triple Family Room with a garden view. The total price was RM 464.70 for a 3D2N stay. The room has a 1 King bed and 1 single bed. Hence, the rooms are located near the pool, not facing the pool. Still, the pool is within walking distance. It took less than 1 minute walk. I like that the pool facilities are mom and kid-friendly. It’s like the Amverton Hotel in Melaka. There is no specific dress code. Thus, I could happily jump in with a comfortable T-shirt and leggings. There is no lifeguard, so do be mindful of your own family members. Clean towels and a place to change are available at the pool. Interestingly, they also serve pool snacks.

I did not include breakfast services because we wanted to buy them from the nearby stalls. We had roti canai on the first morning and nasi lemak with fried chicken on the second morning. The room was spacious and super clean. I loved the bathroom. Most importantly, it has a dryer and a balcony where we can hang our swimming attire to dry. There’s Netflix, and so we watched a few good movies on it.

The area does look a bit eerie at night, but since we spent most of the time indoors, it was not a bother. It felt a bit quiet and dark as we checked in earlier. It is because we arrived near 8PM. Putting that part aside, we had a really great stay. The kids loved the pool eventhough the trip was a short one. Alhamdulilah.

Our room is the one in the white building

Time flies. Asas 3.

Posted in Everyday Life, Parenting, Family and Relationships by

Ee is now in his 3rd year at KPPN. He is doing well in his studies and extra-curricular activities. Who would have known that this seemingly quiet young lad had his hands full last year? He is a very different person at school. He shines in charisma. At home, he sloths.

What surprised me most was that he volunteered (as in sent in an application) to become an Emcee for the annual dinner. He was selected. I mean, he doesn’t really talk much at home. Always on the phone playing his game, and suddenly, he WANTS to become an emcee.

No, wait.

Another surprising thing was that he provides ‘ironing services’. As in RM3 for a shirt, and if it is a full set, the combo is priced at RM5. On average, he is able to get RM15 per week. He said, that is ‘harga satu kemalasan’. He has his eyes on another side venture already. I am not going to tell you what it is yet. But I did say to him that he has got to be kidding. I can’t believe kids would actually pay for that.

Surprises like these are ok. I hope not to hear of horrible ones.

This year, apart from his studies, he is a member of the volleyball team. That is also new. He was into badminton before. I don’t really know what made him choose ‘botam’ instead. I am sure he has other goals in mind. How time flies.

15th Wedding Anniversary at Wagyu Melaka

Posted in Food and Drinks, Places to Eat by

Recently, we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. Usually, I would be able to arrange a short staycation somewhere, but for 2025, our date fell in the middle of the week. It was difficult to apply for leave as it was also the school holidays. So, the competition for annual leave is fierce.

The best I could come up with is a special dinner. With the kids.

I made a reservation at Wagyu Melaka, located at Kota Laksamana. We can redeem a wagyu stick for our special occasion. Since we were not big eaters, we ordered the RM150 family set meal and a kids’ meal for our daughter. The food was astonishingly good. The taste of the meat came through with minimal flavouring. Just the simple salt and pepper.

Since Mr Husband has already gifted me with an Umrah trip (he paid at least 90% of it), the least I could get him was this gadget I found online. It could translate a foreign language in real-time. I have no idea if it works, but surely it counts for something. Ha ha ha.

Syukran Mekah and Madinah

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel by

Having done Umrah makes me want to do Hajj. Or at least another Umrah when time, health and wealth permit. InsyaAllah.

After spending 4 nights in Madinah, it was time to say goodbye. Our Air Asia flight was at nearly midnight, but the hotel was very kind to keep our luggage in their storage after we checked out. Thus, we were able to spend our remaining hours until Maghrib at Masjid Nabawi, where we prayed, ate, and rested.

We arrived at the Madinah airport fairly early. Hence, we were rather calm at the check-in and security checkpoint. I felt sorry for a group of Malaysian jemaahs who had to cut the queue because their flight was on the verge of boarding. I could sense how pissed the other travellers are. To be honest, their travel agent could have done better by taking the responsibility to inform the security officer in charge. At least, an announcement could be made by the officers in order for these passengers to pass through first. I believe one of the reasons why Mr Husband hates going with travel agencies is because of accountability issues.

We brought back with us 3 bottles of Zamzam. They were priced at 12.5SR for 5 litres, limited to only 1 purchase per passport. In the flight, our family of 3 were sat with other families with smaller children. Of course, I had a non-restful flight. I really cannot sleep upright. I was ready to sprawl myself across the floor. I think I can fit. But I do not want to appear silly. Naturally, I had a headache once we landed.

Our in-flight meal was Nasi Lemak and coffee. Oh, how I missed Malaysian food so much. I do not think I can eat another biryani or shawarma for the next few months. I also missed our huge, roomy, accessible toilets and prayer rooms in Malaysia. Home sweet home.

By the time this post is up, it will have been nearly a month since I came back. The memory still lingers, and I long for those peaceful moments I experienced back then. I hope to hang on to the thought that all worldly problems are small. That they are solvable and Allah bestows upon us these problems because He loves us and wants us to become better human beings.