20 Croissant Taiyaki, Pavilion KL

Right, I had envisioned a quiet December to reflect on the year but it turned out to be my busiest month, not that I'm complaining since I'm having a lot of fun!

My cousin flew in from East Malaysia days ago. I alerted the rest of the relatives in KL and we decided to all meet for lunch at Pavilion, a mall just opposite the hotel she was staying in.

That's how I came to know about this cute looking croissant. I was checking out for places to eat!

Croissant Taiyaki, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

Taiyaki Pan

Croissant Taiyaki

We ordered green tea custard and ham with cheese. One sweet and one savoury. Both were really delicious.

A little googling told me that Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped pancake. This was made with a little twist and hence the name - Croissant Taiyaki.

Croissant Taiyaki

Cheese and Ham (Top)
Green Tea Custard (Bottom)

It costs around RM7 per piece.

Croissant Taiyaki
Level 1 (Pavilion Elite), Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

16 Hands-On Cooking Workshop With Alce Nero

When Alce Nero Malaysia offered me a spot on The Malaysian Women's Weekly Hands-On Cooking Workshop, I was quick to respond with an affirmative.

Five minutes later, I was kicking myself and cursing over this quote by Richard Branson that had me signing up for things on the spot without thinking things through or asking for the details before I do : If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!

Whilst I was excited about going, I had a small case of the jitters because it was my first time at a hands-on workshop and I hadn't done any stove cooking in years. Years! I whip my meals up in a simple no fuss multi-purpose electric cooking pot. So I went to the workshop with my fingers crossed that I wouldn't be defeated by how-do-I-start-these-things and the fiery flames that would follow.

No such thing happened, of course. The Cooking House (where the workshop is being run) uses induction heating cooktops and blunt knives. I believe the knives were intentionally left unsharpened for safety purposes.

Hands-On Cooking Workshop With Alce Nero

The first thing we did was to register our attendance.

Registration In Progress

This is what the cooktop looks like. We were gathered in teams of five.

Cooktop

These were the dishes Chef Pei Ling taught us to prepare. Baked prawns topped with cheese, salted egg pasta and jam-filled hot cakes with poached pears. Our food presentation was amateurish but this in no way affected the taste of the food - pretty delicious! I'm going attempt cooking these at home soon. If you're on instagram, follow me at 'snoringsheep' for my food adventures.

Salted Egg Pasta, Baked Prawns and Jam-filled Hot Cakes

By the time I walked out of the workshop, I had gained new friends and a confidence that said, "I can do this stuff ..haha!" I had also totally forgotten that I was down with the cough. My itchy throat behaved during the 3 hours I was focused on the workshop.

Finally, a group picture taken by the organisers of the event. We left the cooking house with an Alce Nero goodie bag in hand.

Photo credit: Women's Weekly Facebook

16 My New APTITLIG Chopping Board

I am elated with my new purchase. It's a large chopping board from IKEA!

IKEA - APTITLIG Butcher's Block (Front)

Made from bamboo and pretty heavy. It is, I would say, solid stuff.

IKEA - APTITLIG Butcher's Block (Back)

My regular-sized wooden board, although good, receives less appreciation from me when having to deal with long stemmed vegetables and raw food in larger quantity or size. This new chopping board allows me enough space to do all I need. Imagine not having meat and vegetables spill over the sides ..and being able to chop with abandon.

Just so you know, I only went to get this chopping board after the old one gave way from daily abuse. I didn't rush to replace it. I took my time since my mind was set on a larger board and I didn't want to get something for the sake of it.

I did some surveying at my regular shopping haunts but couldn't find anything that really called out to me. I finally turned to the internet and was intrigued by this APTITLIG piece that was being sold by a third party. It was going for about RM100 after a discount of almost 50%. This didn't include shipping charges. The huge price reduction excited me but I have a thing about seeing the items I'm about to buy firsthand, so I held off my purchase and went direct to IKEA Damansara to check it out for myself.

RM100? No way!

Fortunately I did, because the exact model was priced at just RM59 in the store itself. I picked out what I believed was the best piece.  In total, I forked out only RM37 for this chopping board after using up a couple of IKEA gift cards I'd won from earlier giveaways. I call that a bargain!

The care instructions are easy-peasy! It had to be treated with food-safe oil for a day before use.

APTITLIG Care Instructions

This is my chopping board - freshly greased with sunflower cooking oil.

IKEA - APTITLIG Butcher's Block Getting The Oil Treatment

I've been using it for a week now with a satisfied smile and a happy feeling.