Recipe: Sandwich

Yes, it’s not difficult to make yourself a nice sandwich!

Make-do with whatever that is available in your kitchen and create your own “sandwich”.

Luckily for me, I have the below in my fridge

Ingredients

1. Bread/lettuce/rice wrap – for the top and bottom layer
2. Cheese
3. Ham in slices
4. Tomato
5. Butter

Making - Here you go:

a. If you have bread, then spread a layer or butter onto one side it bread

b. Stack one piece of the bread (the side with butter facing on top) on the plate.

c. Stack up ingredients (2 to 4) in the sequence you like.

d. Ends with placing the remaining bread on at the top (the side with butter facing down)

Note: At times, I will replace:

i. ham with bacon (if you have time to fry it to crisps or if you have bacon bits)

ii. cheese with egg (fried/sliced hard boiled egg)

iii. butter with margarine or strawberry/blueberry jam

bak kwa sandwich

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum Review

Having seen the trailer, it looked like it's another great movie ahead. But when I was done with watching, it just felt.....

Spoilers Ahead...

Some thoughts on the movie:

Scare factor: 2.5 of out 5
At many scenes where we would typically get a scare of our lives with a suddenly shriek or a ghost projection, it was only to a minimal and when it felt like more than half of the movie was already gone then it really happened. Being a ghost movie fan, I am so sure there would be something happening at that point of time, or even more... but it didn't.

When the ghost possessed the human body, the only difference is a nonsensical mumble/speech with a enlarged black pupils which reminded me and my friend of her colored contact lenses with the enlarge the pupils' visual effect. It seemed better effect to leave the ghost outlook alone.. maybe like Sadako, covered her face with hair and leave it up to the audience's imagination for the fear factor.

Movie Overall: 3 out of 5
Having seen quite a lot of horror/ghost/exploration/gross movies, something felt lacking in this movie. Although the movie tried to give a totality in how the crew formed together during the beginning to giving an explanation to the rumored haunted room 402, it could have been better.

The bonding at the movie beginning could have been shorten since I was really in the "hm.. can bring up the pace to the exploration?" when they were still not in the asylum.

At the beginning when the team was formed, they were talking about the people who had venture to the asylum and there were a group of 3 ladies who were rescued but 2 committed suicide. It would add on to the ultimate mystery if the scriptwriter were to link that survivor lady with Ji-Hyun (the lady who is a nurse) or any of the exploration team ladies by portraying her as one being possessed during her previous exploration and this time round, she joined this team to ensure they will proceed to go to the Asylum. However, it wasn't.

Summary

At the end of the movie, it felt like the movie was trying to portray about the Room 402 as a gateway to another dimension world which would explain the disappearance of those who was last seen trying to enter the room. And the other dimension lives the ghosts of the asylum's patients and they are the one who haunt the asylum.

Conclusion: The characters played their part well in this movie.

Almond Florentine Recipe - Revisited (with Air Fryer)

CNY again, time for some baking... with my new electrical appliance in my kitchen... AIR FRYER!

My microwave oven has been quite cranky (the plate doesn't rotate 90% of the time) so I tried using air fryer and it worked just fine!

Air Fryer Setting
- temperature @ 160C
- timer set to 12 minutes

This time round, I changed the recipe to

Batch 1:
Ingredients
a. 70g almond
b. 20g pumpkin seeds
c. 10g sunflower seeds
d. 50g-70g florentine powder

Batch 2:
Ingredients
a. 70g butter almond
b. 20g pumpkin seeds
c. 10g sunflower seeds
d. 100g florentine powder

Instruction:
1. In a large bowl, simply mixed almond, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds (ingredient a-c) and stir in florentine powder a tablespoon at a time for easier mixing.
2. Spread onto the air fryer baking tray. (Note: to line the baking tray with baking paper)
3. Set air fryer temperature to 160C and timer set to 12 minutes
4. Keep tabs on the almond florentine, once turn brown, it's time to remove from air fryer.
5. Upon removed from air fryer, cut into desire shapes before it hardens.
6. Cool to room temperature and store as required.
- Sunflower seeds is a good combination

Results:

For Batch 1:

- Gaps in between
Saw online from other bakers they used a 2:1 (nuts:florentine powder), so for my recipe, the baked almond florentine has some gaps in between.

For Batch 2:
- Sweetness varies
The almond florentine looks good but my tester has commented it being a bit too sweet. I find this just nice.
- The butter almond further enhance the overall taste

Day 2 Bangkok > Ayutthaya > Bangkok

Day 2

Started the day around 9am+ looking for breakfast around nearby area.

 A lot to choose from and we couldn't decide!

Not sure what this is but it was nice! Crispy on the outside, chewy inside. Topped with sweet chilli sauce, reminds me of png kueh without fillings.

Wanton Mee from a stall along the roadside. 

So nice that we ordered another bowl to fill our stomach.

After breakfast, time to head for Ayutthaya. We had initially planned on taking the train to Ayutthaya. Based on various travelling sites, we planned to take the train from Bangkok Train Station to Ayutthaya (the second class seats is priced @ THB $245 ~325+  per person with fixed seats allocation or a third class seats with free standing at THB $15 ). The journey varies from 1 hr 30 mins to 2 hr 30mins and we factored in:
1. Rent a bicycle to tour around or hire a tuk tuk for short trips within Ayuthaya.
2. Recommended to head for the station for the train back to Bangkok by 3pm.

So....

We secured a driver for a round trip (to and fro) to Ayuttaya (the car can cater up to 4 person), costed less than THB $3,000 and it was a breeze from place to place.

Our driver suggested the following route which was good enough for us because my original route only covered 4 locations.

Bang Pa-In Royal Palace > Wat Yai Chai Mongkol > Wat Ratchaburana > Wat Maha That > Wat Phra Si Sanphet >  Wat Lokaya Sutha > Wat Chaiwatthanaram > Back to Bangkok

1. Bang Pa-In Royal Palace - A palace for the King during summer times.
(Admission fee is THB$100 for tourists (adults pricing))

2. Wat Yai Chai Mongkol 

Climbing up is tough as the steps are very high. Getting down was another difficult task because of the steps' height. Had to be careful not to fall down.

3. Malakor Cafe - Break time, went to have lunch @ Malakor Cafe.

The aircon area is cafe and the 2nd level (open air) is the dining area.

Spicy Minced Pork with Basil on Rice

Fried Rice with Chicken 

Tom Yum Goong

Royal Thai Milk Tea (*thumbs up!!)

4. Wat Ratchaburana - Across the street just minutes away from Malakor Cafe

5. Wat Maha That - By the time we get to Wat Maha That, we were exhausted. The heat got to us.

6. Kum Khun Phaan towards Wat Phra Si Sanphet. We didn't proceed into Wat Phra Si Sanphet and took a rest outside instead.

Kum Khun Phaan

The fishes in the pond

7. Wat Chaiwatthanaram - Our last location before we head back to Bangkok. Totally drained, we took a few shots on the outside.

As it was a weekday and happened to be the peak hour when we make our way back to Bangkok, it took us 2 hours + to return back to our hotel.

We started our journey around 10.30am and covered:

1. Bang Pa-In Royal Palace
2. Wat Yai Chai Mongkol
3. Wat Ratchaburana 
4. Wat Maha That
5. Wat Chaiwatthanaram 

and back to Bangkok around 7pm+.

We took a short break and head out to Central World for a luxurious dinner. (Wanted to go for After You as last order was 9+pm but our heavy dinner forbade us.)

Mixed Fruits beverage

The picture in menu showed cut fruits but it was served in a bottle. 

Lasagna which was nice but took a long time to come

Deep Fried Fish

(can't rem if it was sea bass)

Initially it was nice, but when it started to get cold, and only 3 of us eating, we can't finished it.

Fried Pork Belly                               Calamari Rice.

Our total bill amounted to approx. THB $2,000 (for 3!)

Although we didn't go for After You, we grabbed some dessert on the go!!

Japanese Water Cake @ THB $100/pc

(got a promo and got 20% off and it costed THB $80!!)

Mango with Sticky Glutinous Rice, THB $60/pack

On the way back hotel, couldn't resist this!! 

That's all for day 2.

Impromptu 4D3N Bangkok Day 1 - SG > BKK

Travel Period: 9th Feb 2017 - 12th Feb 2017 (Wrote this post many months ago then realized I never published.. OMG... old age?!)

Here it goes...

Boarded the plane @ 7am flight and arrived @ 8.20am (Thailand time) at Bangkok International Airport.

Day 1

Reached BKK, applied for data plan with AIS @ 7days unlimited data @ 4.5Gbps rate for THB $299
Went to find food and we ended up eating Subway. 

Took the train via city line to Ratchaprarop station @ THB $35 per person. 

It was fast getting to the city via Skyline BUT it was so packed when it were nearing the intersection station (MRT Makkasan). Still can't figure out how we were able to make it passed the crowd to exit the train.

Walking to Citin Pratunam can be tricky. If not for another group of travelers heading the same direction, we were bound to have problems getting to the hotel. The route to the hotel was via a train path which has a small exit and cannot be seen from far. We didn't had a heavy luggage so it wasn't a big issue walking on this train path.

The track towards Citin Pratunam

Along the path were individual basket cages of cocks. Was told that on every Sunday morning around 10am (Bangkok time) there will be cockfighting.

Caged Rooster/Cock

Citin Pratunam

After we dropped our luggage at the hotel, we started our journey towards BIG C. Despite seeing the shopping mall from far, walking seemed to take forever. Must have been the hot weather despite the journey only took approximate 15-20 mins time. 

Busy traffic on a weekday morning

At BIG C, we started our buy-buy-buy. Bought medication, bought snacks, and beverages and almost wanted everything there. 

Pharmacy @ Big C

After our endless buying, we were in need of a lunch/tea-time break. We went searching for After You with high recommendations from friends. Fortunately, there was No Queue on weekday around 2pm but the cafe was 90% filled with customers. Ordered the Milo Toast, Matcha Crepe (both had the must try sign at their menu), Royal Thai Milk Tea and Lavender Earl Grey Milk Tea.

After You desserts and beverages

- Milo Toast is heavenly nice but if you have a full stomach, don't go for that because it can be quite heavy
- Matcha Crepe didn't live up to my expectation. Cream was light and tea aroma is good but the overall bite texture is slightly harder than the ones from Najdes (Malacca) or Lady M (Singapore)
- Royal Thai Milk Tea is slightly too sweet
- Lavender Earl Grey Milk Tea is just nice for me

After our long break, we proceed to pray at Erawan Shrine. 

With our purchases at hand, we walked back to hotel but not before we ended up going in circles because we tried to take shortcuts via the several shopping malls. The crowds that filled up the 2 man lanes were making it more difficult for us to get around. 

Finally back at hotel, we took a long break before we met up with our friend and back to BIG C for dinner.

Note, dinner @ almost 9pm is not advisable if you are going to the shopping mall because most restaurants were almost at the last order. Settled for Japanese meal @ Yayoi

My dinner

We revisited Erawan Shrine at night and it was much better than in the afternoon time in terms of the weather but it was more crowded at night.

After praying, we headed back to the hotel but not before we shopped around the streets outside of Indra Regent.

The walking route for Day 1

Dawen 王大文 - 練習愛情 ft. Kimberley 陳芳語 "Let's Work It Out" (Official MV)

This song is so spot on.

No one is perfect and regardless of how perfect a couple is, they are bound face problems and/or differences.

It's not about how one have to give in to another, it's about how to overcome the problem together.

Trivial stuffs to major issues, when we overcome each steps, it's another milestone met.

And all in all, it's takes a lifetime to maintain the relationship.



Part of the lyrics which is really the key to everything:
脚步错了　拍子错了　再一遍
没有关系　我们有一辈子的时间

Loosely translated the above lyrics to English:
wrong step, wrong tempo, repeat again
it doesnt matter, we have a lifetime 

Some Thoughts

Never take someone for granted...

Even if the person is around always...

Especially if the person always around...

Because like the firework...
The time you have that person will only shortens
And once it ends, it's the end.

Review of The Buffet @ Level 2 M Hotel

Wasn't open till 12pm exact. A couple was earlier than us. Not sure how long they waited, but they were clearly upset that the restaurant had no staff at the counter minutes before 12pm.

At least the food was all ready when they opened the doors.

Compared to other hotel buffets, the dishes available is lesser than expected but my friend commented that it had more interesting dishes. (He is one who had been to many buffets.. well...compared to me)

The service is good though. The staffs were friendly and prompted in helping to clear the plates.

Complimentary cold/warm water and hot teh tarik were provided. 

Service: 4.5 out of 5. Despite they didn't have any staff waiting outside the counter before 12pm, once it was 12pm, service received was great.

Location: Walkable distance from Tanjong Pagar MRT but a bus ride and alight at the opposite of M Hotel is even close than the distance from MRT station.

Food: 4 out of 5. The buffet has a lot more desserts to choose from. Cake, ice creams, cut fruits and chocolate fondue.

Cost: $29.50++ per pax for weekday lunch (price per pax is after 50% discount using Eatigo App)