Cupcakes Night!

Here's a recommended weekend activity for families with kids:

Note: These were decorated by my sis and niece.

BAKE YOUR OWN CUPCAKES!

My 3-year old niece enjoyed it. It's almost like playing Cooking Mama on Wii or the iPhone!
Instructions were very simple from a children's cookbook. (I'll add the recipe next time)

*imagine the missing cupcakes recipe*

Ta-da! Yummy cupcakes, but a little plain eh? Here comes the fun part of decorating your cupcakes!
The cookbook featured really cute ideas using marshmallows to turn your cupcakes into sheeps and pigs. We skipped that part because it would only make my niece even more hyper than she usually is. Lets make our own icing first. :)

*icing recipe in the works*

Add a bit of coloring! We had pink and green.

A DIY icing bag!

Look at all the cupcakes I decorated!
And the adults (me, sis and mom) decided to have a cupcakes deco competition. Each of us submitted 2 cupcake designs. Judges were my 2nd sis and bro-in-law.

I was proud of my Doraemon idea. But nobody picked it! T_T
My other design (face with spectacles) was more successful, nominated twice. No one knows about this but guess what? It's a face of wx's.

:)

"Chiong Arh!" - The MRT Crowd

bonus update:
Found this video on YouTube: Hitler complains about the ERP and MRT. LOL

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Since young, from when I hopped on my first MRT train in Singapore, I have been taught to "Stand BEHIND the YELLOW line." And SMRT is very conscious and idiot-friendly with this issue, that they constantly broadcast the same safety messages (Please stand behind the yellow line.) in 4 different languages regularly.

You would think that this is the common sense, at least a common practice for one's own personal safety. But on my way home from Jurong to AMK yesterday, I realized that that wasn't actually so. In fact, quite commonly MISinterpreted as I witnessed people stepping FORWARD (pass the yellow line) right when they saw the train arriving. And even though the train was slowing down already, it was still moving at quite a high speed. And you know the Jurong East train station is those open kind, ie. no glass doors separating the tracks and the platform like the ones in most downtown (underground) areas. I was shocked and worried at the same time for those people whose face/body were almost literally against the moving train.

The "yellow line" is there for an obvious reason: it's to keep a safe distance between you and the tracks, in case you lose your grounds and fall off the platform etc. WARNING: It does not mean the line of pawning others in getting a seat first.

Chiong ah! is the spirit of the MRT ninjas. Very simple, MRT ninjas just don't like to lose out. They like to be the first of everything, such as
1) Getting into the MRT station 1st: they want to scan their ezlink card first
2) Boarding the train 1st: they don't mind standing until the train comes as long as they get to stand right in front of where the train doors will be - who cares about those yellow arrows on the floor, they even want to beat the people alighting from the train!
3) Getting a seat 1st: provided that the train wasn't too packed already and achieving #2 greatly increases their chances of achieving #3 as well
4) Alighting the train 1st: don't be afraid to scream "excuse me!" and experience a little pushing, or you might not make it through to the door!
5) Arrive at the next boarding platform 1st: interchanges are usually the biggest challenges of all for MRT ninjas as they need to overcome the boarding crowd plus the escalator crowd before they can reach the opposite platform for transit (#4 becomes extremely impt here)
6) Exiting the station 1st: again, whoever scans their ezlink card first wins!

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Tip for MRT ninjas:
Do you know that in basketball there is a technique to getting the best rebounding position? Well it is actually a very important skill for the MRT ninjas during transits. Often times, due to the time your current train arrives at the station, there might have been a small crowd gathered along the opposite platform. But don't worry! Keep yourself calm, as soon as you get to the other side, don't panic, just stop slightly before and next to the 1st in line...

Now You're 1st!! :D

BK Spicy Chicken vs. McSpicy!?

Spicy Tendercrisp Rating: ★★
McSpicy Rating: ★★★★★


So I was making my way to McDonalds last Thursday to check out the Happy Meal toy-of-the-day (qiqi was missing #7 of the Cinnamoroll series), I passed by Burger King and saw the ad: "Spicy meets Crispy." I thought, how can I not give it a try? It's like a BK version of McSpicy!! :D

Being a McSpicy Lover, I was eager to see if BK's new Spicy Tendercrisp was anywhere comparable to McD's McSpicy. Well, turned out that it wasn't. Not at all.

McSpicy's spicy chicken is just much spicier, crispier, more tender, and juicier. And bit simpler too: just the chicken, some lettuce and tartar. BK's Spicy Tendercrisp added in tomatoes. Bad pick IMO: tomato juice spoiled the taste of the chicken for me.


P.S. This was the Cinnamoroll series from McD's Happy Meal. Qiqi simply loves the "milo" color ones.

Good ideas, Part I

I meant to write about this 9 months ago. :p

I attended a friend's (of my sister) wedding brunch in the States. Like any other wedding receptions, they give out souvenirs or gifts as memoirs of the couple's union. Sometimes a small wedding photo, sometimes a mini box of chocolates/candy. In Singapore, the Chinese usually give out gift cards/vouchers for wedding cakes/biscuits. Check out this one instead. It's unique!

A Chinese fan.

I know I know, these fans are all over Asia. But in the United States, particularly when you have lots of American friends, this is the h-a-w-t gift. (And very practical in summer from a summer wedding reception!)

Beautiful little pink flowers (Are these 梅花 - plum - or 桃花 - peach - blossoms? :p) growing out from the left as you open up the fan, and the word "爱" (aka. Love) mimicking the style of Chinese seals, gave this Chinese "painting" a finishing touch.

But that's not it! Look closer and you can find the couple's names imprinted (on a sticker) on the surface of the outer bone.

Praises to the couple - Very creative thoughts on your wedding gift! It really made your wedding a special one for the guests, and it showed how much sincerity and appreciation you hold for the friends and family who were there to witness your happiest moment.

And thank you for the coolest idea, I have just decided what my wedding gift would be. :D

A pair of chopsticks. The last character of our Chinese names carved, one on each. Together, tied by a piece of red string.

Think of it as the best and only opportunity to market yourselves as a couple (much like a signature or a name card) to your friends and family. (I mean, how often are you able to gather everyone you know in one place? Just this once.) Make it memorable. Make it valuable. Make it long-lasting.

So what will your wedding gift be? How will you like your friends and family to remember you and your loved one?
Drop me a comment or tweet @chibiryan to share your thoughts!


P.S. This post is simply to help you generate some ideas if you are looking to have a more unique and creative wedding. If you genuinely thought of the same idea, that's great! But please do not copy every single detail from what is posted here. (Or at least give credits to the people who thought of the idea first. If you think you're the first, feel free to voice it out here.) Every wedding is meant to be unique. So be yourself. :)