How to make a good pizza!

I went to learn to make pizza last Sunday at the Cooking House. When I told some of my 'be-lo-ved' friends out there that I was going to pay to learn to make pizza, this was followed by laughter and mockery and more laughter!

'Why can't you just buy a cookbook?' Haha, maybe it's because I simply have too much money and don't know where to spend it? ...Just kidding. I'll tell u why soon enough!

The class is taught by Chef Enzo Dente who owns an Italian restaurant in SS2 by the name of Buonasera. I have yet to try it but it is a 'must-do' on my list now afters he boasts of having the best Tiramisu in Malaysia! In case anyone wants to try traditional Italian food, I was told it is beside Hoppy Duck in SS2. (03 - 78778586 , call for directions)

Anyway back to the class....a 3 1/2 hour hands on class is definitely well spent. The class of 20 people was slightly disorientated but we managed to get thru it learning the art of making dough, the sauce and a few different types of pizza.

I am going to include the recipe for making a good dough for a class of 20 (adjust accordingly)

The Dough

1.25kg Blue Key Flour (Plain Flour)
1.25kg Diamond Flour (Plain Flour)
1.25l Cold Water
30ml Olive Oil
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Salt
130g Yeast

1. Dissolve yeast, oil, salt and sugar into cold water.
2. Combine flour and knead until dough is smooth (10 minutes)
3. Cover dough with a damp cloth of with cling wrap and leave in warm place. Proof for 30 - 45 minutes. (In between, I was told to 'punch' the dough a couple of times to let the air out)
4. Scale dough to 120g (looks like a woman's fist :P). Coat with flour and roll ut using a rolling pin.
5. Flatten on a oiled pizza tray.
6. Spread pizza based with pizza sauce starting from the centre spreading outwards, lay on toppings. (Make sure pizza base is pressed out to even thickness)
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 300F for about 6-8 minutes.

** Note: If you put too much flour on tray, pizza will shrink
140g of dough for 9 inch tray
265g of dough for 12 inch tray

The sauce
1 tin Pelled Italian Tomato's, blended
Handful Fresh Basil, sliced (sweet basil)
Handful Italian Parsley, chopped (no other types)
To taste Salt & Pepper
3 tbsp Garlic crushed (or to your liking)
1 tbsp oregano (preferably dry)

1. Mix all the above together and blend in blender

Ta -dah the finished base with the sauce and mozarella cheese sprinkled on top (getting ready to make the Margarita Pizza)....

And finally the recipe for a good Margarita Pizza

125 ml Italian Pizza Sauce
100g Mozzarella Cheese
150g Tomato, cubed
20g Fresh Basil, sliced
2 tbsp oilve oil
1 tbsp Garlic, crushed
To taste Salt and Pepper

1. Make the base as shown above.
2. Mix tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Once the crust has come out thin and crispy after 6 minutes or until done.
4. Top with tomato mixture and sprinle more freshly sliced basil on top before serving.

...and here you go!!!


Once I get my pizza tray..I guess my parents would be the first guinea pig....

Amongst the other types of stuff we learnt

Old style Olive and Rosemary Pizza
Calzone with Roast Chicken and Pineapple (my favourite)..but I would have preferred the normal pizza instead of a calzone..

Calzone with Spinach and Ricotta Cheese ..yum yum

And the ready calzones!

My cousin the chef!

My cousin, WF, deserves a Michelin star for whipping up this feast for us last night!

Pictures tell a thousand words.............4 hours of preparation, my mom as the 'supervisor', me as the salad leaves 'decorator' (which they later complained it was awful presentation and re-did it)

Cousin hard at work seasoning the asparagus..


Rock melon salad with prawns..... simply mouthwatering!



Apple Wasabi Salad with some dried cranberry on top..

Ta-dah.....the main course.....as uncle Paul who has just returned from Australia puts it...the best beef he's ever tried in Malaysia..

Aged since 2008....roasted to perfection!

Finally...our grilled prawns before dessert....

This is why even going to the gym 3 times a week ain't gonna help!!!

This is also proof you don't need to spend RM500 for fine dining!

Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines service must really suck. It has been more than 7 months since I last moved my blog from wordpress to iamsiaoyue.blogpsot.com.

Until today, I am getting people leaving negative and nasty comments on our national carrier on my few bitchy posts from the past.

Post 1
Post 2

Mr Prime Minister, rather than waste you time squabbling over stupid politics, please try to up the image of our country by doing something more value added....hmmm

Sunset Grill and Pub

For supper, Kelvin took me to this really far out place for chicken wings - here's obviously someone who loves chicken wings as much. We had to drive for >20 minutes into some really secluded area for his much raved about wings. The road into the restaurant was pitch dark and for a moment I thought he was gonna 'sell' me off.

As can be seen from the address below, the restuarant is situated in an airbase next to the runway.

So what's that great about this restaurant. Apparently they have deep fried and BBQ wings. We took 1/2 a dozen 3 wings each. The BBQ wings have 10 levels of spicyness and I was told most people stop at level 3 - after level 10 it automatically jumps to a level 30 and if u successfully eat the wings your name is permanently plastered on their boards and you get a certificate for it. He originally ordered Level 3 but me trying to be the hero told him to go for the 5 immediately. I think I slightly regretted my decision. Every level higher you opt for, you add an additional SGD 1.

With the horrid weather lately, I would have expected to be drenched in sweat and attacked by mozzies since we were seated under a big tree, but it was surprisingly cooling with no mozzies!

We both settled for a beer each - I strongly recommended Kelvin to try the Little Creatures Pale Ale which is my all time favourite while I just had a Tiger draft and minutes later, we were served with our wings.

The normal fried chicken wings were so-so. Nothing to 'waaahh' and 'oooh' about.

And this is our Level 5 chicken wings. ...the minute I sunk my teeth into the wings....nah..not much feeling. After about 30 seconds the sensation kicks in and you can't stop drinking water. It literally burns your lips - and considering I am a chilli padi person...I cannot imagine the brave souls who attempt level 30

This is me after 2 bites.... looking so sexy with my pouty lips!

We also ordered a basket of fried mushrooms which were pretty 'yummy'.

And when I saw this board, I suddenly felt ashamed of only attempting Level 5 chicken wings.

Total bill came up to about SGD65 for 3 plates of 1/2 dozen wings and 2 glasses of beer.

Overall it was a pretty enjoyable experience and I wouldn't mind coming back again to try a higher level, but Kelvin isn't so game....hmmmmmmmmm.

On the way, I can't help being a sua-koo and made Kelvin stop his car to let me take picture of this plane.

Shopppiinnnnggg

I am a shopaholic. Although the great singapore sales I was told starts next month, I still can't resist buying.

I don't have the luxury to go to Harrods in the UK - so I guess I'll have to buy from Harrods in Takashimaya. I have a new obsession after I saw Virginia's and Vivian's cute 'bear' bag - so I decided to get my very own at SGD45, which I think is a a lot cheaper than buying it from KL International Airport.

I need this bag, in case you're wondering - for GYM!! I had actually asked Jennifer to go get the bags for me when she was in UK a couple of weeks back (but then later on decided to get them myself) and she ended up buying them as souvenirs and just ONE for herself for YOGA. So here's mine for the GYM loh!

And loooookk, my two pairs of Charles and Keith at 30% and 50% off. Whoaaaa...so only SGD42.30 for 2 pairs!! Such a sucker for sales!!

Now I can't wait to contribute to the Singapore economy during the Great Singapore Sales next month!! hahaaa...talk about financial crisis and saving for rainy days!

My spanking new badminton racquet!

When I tell people I play or at least try to play badminton regularly (on a weekly basis) now, what I get from them are...

"Pathetic la..she don't join us for abalone dinner to play badminton"

"You sure you play ah? Don't bluff"

"Go watch movie la, play what play..."

Do I really look like such a wimp who can't even afford a once a week 9-11pm badminton session! Whoa!

Anyway, last night I finally got my very own banana colour racquet with a good ole' grip!! And here's proof!!!!! Fuiyoh!

Nonsense Friends

Last week I had a friend call me up for lunch tomorrow - after what seems like endless 'aeroplanes', empty promises, my busy schedule, his nonsensical entertaining client nights!

Then I realized I'm auditing in another town, so I sent him an sms to cancel lunch unless he could make it to the other side of the highway. Instead of going towards Kepong on the LDP, take a detour and go towards Puchong. No....he called me give me some shit about the one being stood up! Then he confessed, maybe he could not have made it for lunch either!

Then came the main purpose of the call - I am bored -lah!. To which i replied, 'Let's go yum cha!', to which he said 'can't la'

He suggested - let's go for a movie sometime!...I suggested Sniper, K-20..etc. no..toooo action packed. I gave so many other suggestions and some of the really lame excuses I got were - 'crap movie - I will end up bugging you throughout the movie wor'. Then came his brilliant suggestion , 'I want a movie as good as Titanic! Finally he suggested some sob romantic Chinese love story (to accomodate my tastes..uhuh) on a Wednesday which I told him ' NO IT's BADMINTON NIGHT!'. But nooo..he insisted he's busy the rest of the week - only wednesdays! (And told me not to lie to him that i actually play badminton..duhhhhhhh) To which I retorted,'YA OK SO WEDNESDAY I GO PRE-PAY THE MOVIE TICKETS NOW!!!' And guess what!! My nonsense fren just laughed sheepishly over the phone, 'Umm..he he he confirm later ah!!!!'

All of a sudden..it's call u back later...buh byeeeeeeeeeee

I REALLY HAVE NONSENSICAL, SILLY FRENS!!!!! TSK TSK

Blardeee tired....

I haven't been blogging as much as I should have simply because I am lazy. And not been travelling. So there's nothing much to say in my mundane, routine day to day life.

I'm also a bit disappointed. I have been going tot he gym more religiously but it seems like my body fat is not going down. DAMN!! A target 18% has been set for me and before I left for HK it was a mere 25% meaning 7% of fats to burn - wtf. Now, one month later, it's been steadily increasing to a whopping 28%.

No more MCDonalds. No more BEER. Now I'm warning some peeps out there. I swear if u tempt me for beer this week - you will become my new sworn enemy!!!

This weekend has been reallllllllyyy tiring....lack of sleep. Friday night saw me in MIST in Bangsar clubbing till 2 am, gym mext day, BHP Orange Run (1/4 marathon - so says the cert) today,......whoaaa...it's gonna be an early night folks.

Oh yeah, and also went to look for Sooj and Jack at their Soya Bean stall in the Mont Kiara flea market. Really gooooood and affordable soya. If you're ever Mont Kiara, Thursdays/ Sundays, do drop by their soya store. They're very easily reconizable - one looks like sloth and one slightly resembles a horse...neiiiggghhhhhhhh

A Damn Good Motto!!!!

Look what wall deco I found today after gym - just RM15.90 at Folio.....I just had to buy it! Pretty self explanatory - I am going to live by this motto!

And when you're feeling not that great- and a very kind colleague buys you your favourite miracle blackhead removers - from the SaSa vouchers she won from a recent contest, you become less dejected! Thank you mimi! B-Liv Off With Those Heads pro sebum gel. This is my second bottle and I swear this gel does wonders to your complexion and reduces your visits to the beautician!!

Costs Rm189 and is one of SaSa's Best Seller so far.

And how else better to focus on other things by buying all the vampire series from Stephanie Meyer. I won't get pictures of the handsome Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen) from the movie Twilight, but at least I'll be engrossed in the books and waiting for the sequel to Twilight movie. Damn I love that show.

And if you think that falling out of love is bad, think again. I've just bought the book written by Yvonne Foong, a Malaysian patient diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis. Be thankful we're blessed with a normal life, surrounded by great friends and family and have the basic necessities in life.

Good night folks. It has been a rough week for me. XoXo.

Thank you

Thank you for being there for me,
When he should have been wasn't.
Thank you for being my pillar of strength,
When he left me hanging.
Thank you for showing me the light at the end of the tunnel.
When he threw me in the dark.
Thank you for listening to my whimpering,
When he argued that all my reasoning was crap,
Thank you for pulling me out of the dumps
When he made me comparable to rubbish.
Thank you for showing me what love really means,
When he denied me of the love that we should have had.
Thank you for making me feel worthwhile,
When he said I was deperate for his attention,
Thank you for understanding,
Thank you for telling me how much I mean to you,
Thank you for making me feel priceless.
Thank you for just being there,
Thank you for being my listener.
Thank you for just being you.

Don't piss your girlfriend off!!

Otherwise this may just very well be your fate!

This is Silvia and some chorizo she brought back from Sheffield ...

A trip to the fortune teller..

Feeling bored this morning I decided to take a trip to the fortune teller. Over the years, I've seen many clairvoyants, fortune tellers etc. but nothing can beat the surprise I was in for today.

This lady is SPOT ON - as in 99%. Klang gangster girl, Sean recommended me to visit her and until now I've finally got the chance.

Just as I sat down and gave her some details - she started by saying that I was born with a good life - career and money wise. No worries!

However, the only thing that I will 4eva or at least for a majority of my life have 'weak' luck is in relationship with my significant half- be it man, woman or even animal or maybe even Bert. Well, I'm not going to bore you in depth about what she said. She even told me something that I totally had zero, nada, nil clue and was confident enough to tell me - you can choose not to believe me but it's all written all over your lifeline - of course which I will never find out unless I choose to ask the person involved (it NEVER occured to be that I would be BETRAYED in this manner). I swear my eyes must have bulged to double its size when she told me that. She also mentioned that recently 'someone' came into my life who could have given me the happiness I wanted, but at a price to pay - and her description of him - even I could not believe my ears on her preciseness!

I am not hard selling this lady - but she has indeed woken me up from my fairy tale and given me answers to a lot of things, about my character, my past and my present.

If you are really interested to look her up - it's Amy. 03 7727 0450. Her shop is somewhere opposite the Atria shopping centre parking lot. The signboard outside her little shoplot reads 'Amy Hairlines Unisex Saloon'.(yeah apparently you can also get your hair done after a fortune telling session!)

A bite or ???

I was at Silvia's (one of my bestest buddies since Primary 6 - currently working in Sheffied, who has a bf very knowledgeable on illegal massage services) house last night and got bitten by something - which I thought was nothing more than a harmless mozzie. Imagine my horror when I saw what the bites had turned into when I woke up this morning. One on my left leg and one on the right. Imagine mom's horror when she saw my leg also!

I told Silvia there are poisonous shit running abt her house and she's gonna caution her parents! HAHAH....In case I get my legs amputated cause of this, she'll bear all my medical costs. But what if i don't get it treated and die from an insect bite?!?

Hospitalization.....

.......