Back in Brunei Darussalam... finally!

Back in March, we went for a fun filled trip to Brunei Darussalam.  I have always wanted to go back to Brunei.  I have so much wonderful memories there.  My late Dad was then working at RTB and I lived there from 1975 to 1982. 

There were actually so many places to see and even more friends to meet.  Some of these people have become more like family than friends.  I have known some of them since I was in primary school.  It was indeed lovely to be able to meet them after over 15 years!

We went to a few familiar places, but some of them were no longer there.  They have to make way for newer and better buildings.  My primary school was one of them.  I attended PGGMB at Jalan Telipok.  We were the first batch of students to take the primary school leaving certificate.  STPRI was the secondary school I went to.  I was there for 2 years only.  Made a few good friends from these schools.  I miss those days!

As it was the first visit to Brunei for my husband and daughters, there were so many things and places to show.  First stop was Pasar Tamu.  Bought some udang and ikan salai.  Yummy!!  There was the famous buah tarab.  No chance of buying it as it was not really in season.  We arrived there a little late so most of the stalls were already closing.

Brunei has changed so much over the years.  I do not recognise most of the road systems anymore.  Had to read the all the signs closely before going anywhere.  We were lucky to be given a vehicle to use to go around on our own.  We even managed to drive to Miri! 

There were so many houses to go to.  Therefore, we ended up eating a lot!  The food served was all good and yummy.  Ambuyat was also on the menu.  That is a must try for my family.  Had a chance to try belutak too.  I love it. 

Bruneians have beautiful homes...big and beautiful!  It was a joy to see these houses.  Awesome!!

It was the best 5 days I had in Brunei.  Am really looking forward to the next time I'll be able to visit again with my family.  There are still a lot of places to see, friends to visit and much more good food to savour.  Till the next time....

Aaatchoooo! Very dusty lah!

It sure has been a very long time since I last updated this blog.  So many reasons and excuses to give, but I'd rather not.  Hopefully this time I will be able to update frequently.

Here are 2 recipes that I tried some time back.  The first is the well-liked and ever famous Marble Chocolate Cheese Cake.  I got the recipe from a lady who was active in FP last time.  She is Roylazim.

It is a very moist and tasty cake.  The combination of dark cocoa and cream cheese is just wonderful.  I have made this many times before.  All at home love it.  The recipe is very simple too!

A) 180g butter, 20g cocoa powder, 150g castor sugar, 3 eggs, 120g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder.

B)  250g cream cheese, 60g castor sugar, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 egg.

Method:

-Sift SRF, baking powder and cocoa powder. Set aside.

-Cream butter and sugar.

-Add in eggs (A), one at a time.

-Add sifted ingredients and mix well.

-In anotther bowl, beat (B) till light.

-Prepare baking tin, line with greaseproof paper.  Pour in one part of (A) into the tin.  Spread evenly.  Then pour all of (B) and spread evenly.  Finally pour the balance of (A) to cover the whole area.

-Bake in a pre-heated oven at 160C for about an hour.

This is the other kuih that I tried.  There was no particular recipe that I followed.  I mixed and  match some of the recipes that I saw and this is the outcome.

My husband loves this Bingka Ubi.  He has asked me to bake it again, but next time he wants it to be a little thinner and the top to be a little darker and crunchy.  Hhmmmmm..ok lah.  Will try to make it according to your requirements...hahaha...

 

Coconut Sugar Loaf

Bread making is something I love.  It gives me a deep sense of satisfaction and happiness when I see a beautiful, warm and inviting loaf on the table.  Spreading butter on a slightly warm slice of bread and seeing the butter melt slowly into the bread is so yummy.  I can eat bread like this everyday.

I was watching a programme on tv that featured this Korean man kneading dough for a sweet bread.  After letting the dough rest for a while, he took out the dough and stretched it out.  Wow!  The texture was so elastic and fine.  He says that he is in love with each and every dough that he handles!  So much affection. 

This Roti Gula Melaka recipe I got from Yani of MyR.  It is a very simple recipe and I think she used a breadmaker.  Thanks Yani for sharing this lovely recipe.

Ingredients for a loaf of Coconut Sugar Loaf

• 140ml fresh milk
• 1 egg
• 250g bread flour
• 40g coconut sugar
• 10g butter
• 1 tsp instant yeast

Method:   Mix all the dry ingredients, bread flour, coconut sugar and instant yeast in a mixing bowl.  Add fresh milk and egg.  Mix until a dough is formed.  Last, add butter and knead until the dough is soft and elastic.  Leave it to rest for about an hour.  Shape accordingly and let it rest for another 30mins.  Finally, bake at 175C for 20-25mins.

Cowboy Cookies

The cookie jar at home is empty.  Nadyn  has been asking me to fill the jar up.  She actually asked me to make more Marmar cookies as she loves them, but I am too lazy to individually design the cookies.  They are yummy, pretty and time consuming too!  Other than Marmar cookies and Pineapple tarts, the rest of the cookies "move very slowly" in this house.  I do not really dare try anything new or be adventurous.  If it is nice, I'll be the one who has to finish it all up.  And if it is not so yummy, no tummy wants to have it, and after a while, down the chute it will go...sad...

Yeehaa...I was curious when I saw this Cowboy Cookies recipe.  It has all the basic ingredients required to make a chocolate chip cookie but this has sweetened coconut flakes in it.  I do not have that in store but there's dessicated coconut!  So, off I went on this 'wild wild west' adventure.

There's no looking back.  This cookie is delicious.  It is slightly soft in the middle and crispy on the edges...just the way I like it...  The taste would have been better if I had added the raisins.  But the girls do not like raisins in their cookies.  So, majority wins.  Next time I'll make a small batch all for myself with lots of raisins in it!!  Here's the recipe I got from Joy of Baking.com. 

Cowboy Cookies

80gm walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (I used chopped almond)

226gm unsalted butter, room temperature

140gm dark brown sugar (I used granulated coconut sugar)

100gm white granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

260gm all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

195gm rolled oats

35gm sweetened flaked coconut (I used dessicated coconut)

90gm semi sweet chocolate chips

50gm raisins - I didn't add as the girls don't like it :(

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars until creamy and smooth (about 2-3 minutes).  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla extract.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and rolled oats.  Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat just until incorporated.  Stir in the nuts, coconut, chocolate chips and raisins.

Form dough into balls, using 1/4 cup (55gm) for each cookie (I scooped out 1 tblsp full of dough for each cookie).  With moistened hands, gently flatten each ball of dough into a 2cm thick cookie.  Bake the cookies for about 14-16 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 175C.  Rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time.  The cookies are done when they are golden brown around the edges and just barely set in the centre.  Remove from oven and let cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Nurwin's colorful world!



The mood was bright and cheery when I made this cake, hence the bright colors of the cake...  It's called the Kek Marble Optima.  Saw this in Ayu's blog - Curlybabe's Satisfaction and the recipe is from Kak Fida @ myresipi.  This recipe is similar to some other marble cakes, except it uses Optima flour.  You can also use Super Sponge Cake mix, as indicated in Ayu's blog.

The good thing about marble cake is you can use any color or flavoring you fancy.  Just make sure the flavors match and taste good when you use more than one.  For this cake, I used a little vanilla and rose essence.  My late Nyai used to make her marble with rose(pink coloring) and cocoa(brown coloring).  Hmm...I can still remember the taste and smell of her cake.

Here's the recipe for Kek Marble Optima...

Ingredients:

250gm butter - melted

6 eggs (size A)

350gm Optima flour

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp cocoa powder (sifted)

Some food coloring

Method:

-Beat eggs and flour till thick and fluffy.

-Add melted butter and vanilla essence.  Mix well.

-Scoop out 1/3 of the mixture and add the cocoa powder.

-Scoop mixture into baking tin (10' x 7' or 9' x 9').  Bake at 160-170C for about 50-55mins.

It's a soft and spongy cake.  Nice to have with tea.