Tuesday, December 23, 2014

My baking experience at19 Culinary, Jalan Dungun.


When it comes to baking, its always the outcome is exciting. Have you ever felt like baking something, but too afraid of it might not turn out how you want it to be? Well, this post will tell you all about guidance and well, the existence of at19 Culinary in Malaysia.

*Drum rolls*


Presenting to you, at19 Culinary in Jalan Dungun. Whether you choose to attend cooking classes as a hobby or spend your free time differently with friends, or  improving your cooking skills, this is the place to go! At19 Culinary, they provide a chef instructor to guide you along the way during classes, and they're always ready with the right information, even when it not about the dish you're preparing at19. The moment i arrived at19, the first thing i got was a friendly 'good morning' greeting by one of the managers at19. Customer service is superb!

What will you learn at19? They have different dishes prepared during different seasons, so there is always a variety of choices that you can always go for with at19 Culinary. In a more general term, they will definitely teach you how to cook new dishes, make new friends and take home new recipes to prepare for the people you love or simply to show off to your friends when you throw a party where you can gladly say that "yeah, i prepared the food here."  haha. They will also give you tips where you can take your cooking skills to a whole new level!


With fully equipped kitchen.
So i was given the opportunity to experience the whole class myself, thanks to At19 Culinary for giving me the opportunity and also Tammy for picking me to be a part of the blogging experience. YAY! So, what was on the list? well, due to the season of Christmas, the menu for the day was to make gingerbread cookies.

It was very convenient as all we needed to bring was our own tupperware to bring back our cookies, otherwise you can always purchase one from them for disposable tupperware's for 80 cents. Convenient and considerate, love the service! Not to forget that they will provide ingredients for you on the table right before you arrive, just to have a feel of the ingredients before you start. At19 Culinary, we were guided by one of their chef, to make sure we were on the right track.

Suraya as our personal chef helper. Super nice too!
Since we were making ginger bread, here's the recipe that makes 12.

Ingredients to Ginger bread.
1. Unsalted Butter, 155g Chilled and diced
2. Brown Sugar, 175g
3. Eggs, 1 nos Grade A
4. Black Treacle, 2 tbsp
5. Plain Flour, 350g
6. Ground Ginger , 1 tbsp
7. Bicarbonate Soda, 1 tbsp
8. Vanilla essence, 1 tbsp

Royal Icing Ingredients.
Icing Sugar, 250g
Egg White, 1/2 nos
Lemon Juice, 1/2 nos
Glycerin, 1/2 nos

And for the decorations, you call always use gummies, silver drags or simply any candy you want, or chocolate buttons! Now that the ingredients are pretty clear, lets get started! First of all, before start mixing everything into a bowl, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. And also don't forget to grease three baking sheets.



Now the real baking begins!  Mix the flour, bicarbonate soda, ginger and diced butter first until it resemble fine breadcrumbs. Once it has resembled looking like breadcrumbs, add sugar, egg, black treacle and form a dough.

Mixing the flour and diced unsalted butter
Once everything is being mixed, it should look like bread crumbs
After adding sugar, egg and black treacle, breadcrumbs should be formed into a dough looking like this.
Next, flour the surface of dough, and knead until smooth. Shape into a ball, wrap in clear film and chill for 10 minutes. When 10 minutes is over, roll out the dough thinly and cut out using shaped cutters.

Roll over the dough.

Leaving a 1cm thick flat dough.

And of course, the best part! shaping the dough with cutters.
Photo source: At19 Culinary's Facebook.
My four ginger bread cuttings: ginger bread man, christmas tree, snowman and a Christmas sock.
Once that is done, bake the cooking for about 12 to 15 minutes or till its pale golden.

Freshly out of the oven!
So here is how it looks like after its out of the oven, aint it preets?! Almost done! and of course, before decorating it, we need to wait or it to cool off so that the icing doesn't melt and ruin your whole design. For a better cookie texture, remove from pan and place on wire rack to cool properly, not forgetting the bottom part of the cookie.

While waiting for it to cool properly, its the best time to make the icing!
In the above photo, you can spot colourful packs of icing. To make royal icing, beat egg whites with lemon juice and glycerin. Next, gently add in icing sugar, batch by batch till you get a soft thick paste.

Before decorating it.
After decorations.  i didn't want to make it too sugary, so i tried my best to minimise on the icing on my cookies.
 Everyone of us did an amazing job, and i loved the colours of our final outcome! I managed to take a selfie with the chef, Suraya, and to also personally thank her for all her guidance into making the perfect ginger bread man!

With Suraya on my right.
The whole team of bloggers who attended the class. Loving everyones spirit!

From left: Me, Colney, Arpita and Janice
As everyone had to work in a group of 4, here are my team members. Glad to have managed to made new friends. And guys, if you're reading this, i think we make a great team of baking! :D Well, i hope i see you guys in other events as well. Don't forget to say hi!

I would really suggest you guys to go there to spend your weekend differently with friends or family, as its a fun experience to be cooking together, and also, to leave all the cleaning hassle if you're doing it at your own house ;) The class was held for around 3 hours or less in this baking class, just in case any of you are wondering.


Some features of At19 Culinary 

Well, thank you for reading. If you have any further enquiry, do check out their Facebook, or their official website. It was absolutely a fun experience to be meeting new people and also to have someone guiding you to bake! :)  Do check them out. xx

At19 Culinary Studio
No.19, Jalan Dungun,
Damansara Heights,
50490 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
016-3778236


Thursday, December 18, 2014

Calvin Klein Perfectly Fit Lingerie Workshop Review



So,3 weeks ago, I attended a Calvin Klein Perfectly Fit Lingerie Workshop in collaboration with FEMALE magazine, so thank you FEMALE Magazine for inviting me to the event. Just thought of sharing my thoughts in my blog and i hope you have fun reading my post :)


The registration area
It was held on the 29th of November 2014, at 10am at Parkson, Pavilion KL where people who attended had to pay a fee of RM20 per person or RM30 per pair. But the fee was definitely worth it for the stuff you get in your goodie bag.

Display models of the new collection of Calvin Klein



The whole point of the event was to be aware of their new Calvin Klein Underwear range, the Perfectly Fit. So we were the first few to understand the important features of the underwear, which was exceptionally soft wrap in knit fabric that offers superior stretch and a luxurious feel. And when I say luxurious, im not even kidding!



We had an ambassador to tell us more about Calvin Klein, but it was pretty funny when he started to explain about lingerie to all the girls in the room, as we all know that he’s a man talking about girly needs. Haha. But all in all, he was very informative and he did try his best to make it sound less awkward.


Andrea Kee, FEMALE's Deputy Fashion Editor giving us some tips on picking the right bra.
A mirror selfie with my date, Syafiera.

The session was very informative on the needs of a woman around the chest area, where comfort is concerned when wearing the right bra. There were a few types that were shown to us, which was the push-up bra, the triangle bra, the bare underwire bra, the modern shirt bra and the wire free t-shirt style bra. The ultimate would be that the pads are made out of memory foam to ensure superb comfort for a woman.

Group Photo with Calvin Kleins representative and also Andrea Kee from Female Mag.

The highlight of the day would be absolutely the new range of Calvin Klein, and also, having Andrea Kee, FEMALE’s Deputy Fashion Editor to discover with us the importance of a perfectly fit bra and score tips on how you can determine the Perfect Fit for you body shape.

Some stuff that we received in our goodie bags

Gift Vouchers to bring back home and redeem some goods!

Before the session ended, we had a small quiz session with of course, cash vouchers to be given out by Calvin Klein’s ambassador. I was lucky enough to know the answers to one of the questions, and won myself an amount of RM300 cash voucher which also means I will be getting myself new undies from Calvin Klein. YAY ME!

#ootd moment

If you also haven’t heard, Calvin Klein has recently launched their first independent store in Malaysia, for shopper’s convenience on purchasing their own Calvin Klein Lingerie with the best expertise to advice you on your needs. It’s located at The Gardens, so do drop by when you happen to be there. The texture of the bra is to die for!

For more information on Calvin Klein Lingerie, do visit their Official Page, and also for updates on events and promotions, do check out Female Magazine’s Official Page or Facebook page to keep yourself updated.

Till then,

xx

Thursday, December 11, 2014

1 Utama’s Rustic Woodland Christmas Launch 2014



Ho-ho-ho...

Its that time of year where its filled with joy and laughter among beloved family members and friends. And when its during the holiday season, what most people would look forward to, would be the amazing themed decorations! 1 Utama never fails to provide the best for their customers when it comes to their Holiday decorations.



Being one of the top 5 largest malls in Malaysia, with Christmas just coming in a few more weeks, 1 Utama welcomes the wonderful celebration once again! And let me tell you a secret, its filled with furry creatures and bigger than average Malaysians, and don’t worry, they wont bite  ;)

Source: One Utama Facebook Page
This year, 1 Utama has decided to have a Rustic woodland Christmas that allows their customers to enjoy a cozy scene in the woodlands filled with adorable woodland critters and tons of Christmas trees for people to enjoy the festive season. By bringing the outdoors in, shoppers get to escape to a whimsical woodland forest where they will meet chubby polar bears, squinty-eyed foxes, squirrels, owls, raccoons, penguins and many other adorable animals for photo opportunities.

Not to forget the wonderful Venessa Chong as the emcee of the day! Managed to get a shot with her and i must say that she did an amazing job during the event. *applause sound here*

And that’s not all, just like Santa, 1 Utama has prepared many wonderful rewards for 1 Utama shoppers, such as ONECARD cash vouchers, Body Shop gift set, trolley bag, 1 Utama desk calendar and many more complementary items up for redemption. Not to forget the many Christmas sales offering crazy discounts centre-wide.

1 Utama Christmas Rewards

(i) Receive a 1 Utama Desk Calendar 2015 for free with purchases amounting to RM150, single or max combination of 2 receipts. ONECARD members are entitled to two calendars a day and one calendar for non-members.

ii) Head over to the concierge and pick up a Christmas redemption card and collect as many stickers as you can to redeem exclusive Christmas gifts at the Ground Floor Highstreet opposite the Customer Service Centre.

For every RM150 purchased (2 receipts max) = 1 sticker

Receive 1 sticker and 1 magnet for a tiered-redemption whilst stock last. These gifts include RM10 ONECARD cash vouchers, kids hooded towel, cup set, lunch box, trolley bag with head rest and a bean bag.



There will also be a ONECARD Gift Card promotion as well. Purchase an RM200 ONECARD gift card, and you will be entitled to receive a ‘The Body Shop’ gift set. (limited to 3 sets per day)  while the first 200 shoppers purchasing the gift cards from the ONECARD Concierge on the 3rd Floor Highstreet will also receive an additional shower gel which is limited to 1 a day.

THAT’S NOT EVET ALL YET!

1 Utama’s exclusive Christmas Partner, Maybank will also be giving away some presents this year. With a minimum purchase of RM300, shoppers will be getting a Christmas theme canvas tote, and if you spend a minimum of RM600, shoppers will be getting a gorgeous festive tin container set.

Important: Purchases must be made with Maybank MasterCard, Visa or American Express excluding Maybank Debit Card. To redeem, simply drop by the Maybank Booth on the Lower Ground Floor Highstreet.



Above here would be some activities for the little kids with tons of Christmas treats in store along with workshops to express their Christmas spirit. And some enables them to express their creativity which they can take it home and show their adorable skills to friends and family. 






I was privileged to be apart of the joyful launch at 1 Utama, where they had fun performances for media and customers of 1 Utama to enjoy. They also prepares some treats for us by Betjeman & Barton, with an amazing variety of sugary and yummy samplings during the launch. The macaroons were superb, no doubt that 1 is enough. And not to forget their tea, where it taste just amazing, and it compliments the macaroons too. Would definitely be craving for it again anytime soon.



For more information on 1 Utama's Christmas events and promotions, do head over to their Official Website or visit their Facebook Page for the updates. 

Do enjoy the Jolly season, and Merry Christmas! 

love,
Sara xx