Wow!

After 8 months of MIA, Younha is finally back to Korea from Japan with her latest masterpiece and a new image. A very good album, I reckon. Ok, so I don't understand the lyrics but the tunes are catchy. Plus there's a nice English song in the album :)

My Babies.

Tools of trade I received from SHTCA. Just like what I hoped for, we got 5 J.A Henckels knifes. Yaaaayy! So yeah, some people get excited over clothes, cars and other luxuries but I get excited over kitchen tools.

Oh, and some people put stick or baseball bat in the car to prevent road bullies, car-jackers, robber etc. but I think I'll leave my kit in the car for that purpose. If the knife doesn't hurt them, maybe the wooden spoon could... whack whack

Pastry 1.

Looks pretty 'fine dining' isn't it?

It was my first proper attempt at food presentation. At class yesterday we were required to prepare the sauces, the frying batters, the fruits and obviously, deep fry and present it in exchange for assessment points. Although not quite a best presented plate, I was one of the few who received a positive feedback from the pastry chef.

We're only at week 2 but I can't help thinking, WHY THE HELL DID I DO MARKETING?! I enjoyed Marketing but I should have enrolled into culinary arts instead. Oh well. To late to dwell on it...

Larder Prod.

First class commenced today at 11am. It was interesting yet boring at the same time. Interesting because there are names about various cuts to be remembered and boring because I am doing things I've been doing all this while. As we have yet to receive our knife sets, we are all forced to use KDU's blunt knifes. J.A Henckels, baby! I wonder if that's what we are getting...

With the recommendation from our Academic Advisor, I purchased a very cool book about ingredients. Text are minimal. This book are all about ingredients, illustrated with photos. I don't know about you, but the last time I purchased a text book-ish was 2 years ago and I remember it costing me a bomb (maybe it's just those business books). This was only RM80+ for 384 pages. I think is a good buy considering that its one of the 'chef's bible'. Trust me, once you look at it you might consider buying too.

KDU Field Trip.

I don't remember when was the last time I actually went for a school-related field trip. As part of SHTCA (School of Hotel, Tourism & Culinary Arts) orientation program, we were brought to a couple of places related to our culinary course.

First stop was Taman Tun Market. I think out of 40 students, I was the only one who've been there. It feels different to be there jotting notes instead of buying groceries. Felt bad for obstructing the stalls there though. I was certain that some of the owners were bitch-glaring at us. The short 1 hour trip has definitely expanded my knowledge about local ingredients!

Stop number 2 was Beryl's chocolate factory in Seri Kembangan. Aside from the chocolate air I had to inhale, I don't find anything else interesting there. We finished the tour in less than 30 minutes, and that it inclusive of souvenir shopping. Cheapskate Beryl's didn't even give us freebies! Beryl's should check out CadburyWorld in Dunedin NZ. That, my friends, is what I call a factory tour. I will never ever forget the massive (and I mean massive) chocolate waterfall. Not fountain. Waterfall. Imagine getting splattered with liquidized Cadbury chocolates.... yumm

Last stop was Silver Bird / High 5 bread factory. I was actually impressed with the bread museum. Informative but if we were given time to explore it ourselves, it would have been more interesting. The tour ended with free breads and cakes for us to take home. Now, that's what I call marketing.

With the fun over, it's back to kitchen class on Monday. First class starts at 7am (!!) for everyone except for me as I won't be taking the Butchery 1 paper. Will be taking only 2 papers this semester (Larder and Pastry 1). I like the names of the subjects. Not the same 'ol business-ey names I've been exposed to. I am excited to start class!

080808.

An auspicious day, I was told. To make the most of it, Beijing 2008 Olympic opens exactly on 08/08/08, 8:08pm.

A delivery man actually made me jot down the date on the D.O just because its Olympic opening day. Well, I've gotta be nice to 'em unless I want them to screw up my orders in the future....

By the way, check this out;

departure lounge, outlet 2 at solaris mont' kiara!

Olympic Fever!

The moment for all Chinese to be proud of, the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008 begins tomorrow! Can't believe its already four years since Athens 2004. Hope Malaysia wins at least a gold medal this time!

My Olympic must-watch event is men's artistic gymnastics. Somehow women's artistic gymnastics doesn't look as interesting and challenging. No, I do not watch it simply to look at guys in leotards. Sheesh. For more details about the sport, click here.