Thursday, June 30, 2011

Mysuperkids iPad Contest : Grouping & Challenge

to those of you who did not even know about this contest, there’s no time to explain. for those who did participate in this contest a few months back, i’m asking you whether you knew about being grouped together with 9-10 other contestants in A – J groupings to complete a challenge?

i didn’t know until one of my teammates lissa left a comment in my latest posting. thanks girl! *high 5*

it seems that :

  1. i’m in group A – you can check out which group you’re in by clicking this link ‘semak nama anda
  2. there are 10 juries assigned for each team – my team, group A’s jury is alyrds a.k.a ally ardee simin. to check the jury for your team, click here.
  3. the first challenge is titled, ‘kelahiran’ which is a very fluid word – not just confined to giving birth, or being born. creativity is key. for information and rules on the challenge, click here.
  4. i’m guessing this would be the first of many, many challenges since there are so many contestants; and ms lina wanna pick a winner ala survivor or AF – where contestants are voted out in a team, in pairs, or individually.
  5. also, you may need to inform and remind your teammates of this challenge since there is a possibility that if one teammate didn’t submit an entry, the whole team might be eliminated!
  6. leave your permalink here for jury ‘inspection’!
  7. your entries are due 8th july!

i really didn’t know about all this, and ms. lina concurs when she wrote this posting to wonder why out of hundreds of participants, only four have sent in their entries? well, we had no idea!

anyways, i’m just doing my part as a fellow blogger in this big ol world wide web to inform participants of this first challenge, because i wished someone had told me sooner! i’m weaving words in my head already.

kelahiran.

hmm.

good luck to you people!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Red Velvet Mini Cheese Cake @ Magnolia Bakery

i’ve eaten cheese cakes. and i’ve eaten red velvet cakes. but this is the first time i ate ‘red velvet cheese cake’. absolutely divine.

 

 

for his birthday, i got mr. khairul two little cupcakes from dean & deluca. so for my birthday, he got me two mini cakes from ‘magnolia bakery’. this is said to be THE place to get cakes in dubai.

originally from new york, magnolia bakery first hit stardom when it was mentioned/featured in one of the episodes of ‘sex and the city’. this branch in dubai is the only branch outside of new york, as its other three branches are all in manhattan. that’s why when it’s first opened in dubai, the line was far out the door!

 

 

this branch of magnolia bakery is at dubai mall’s lower ground, and it is actually a part of bloomingdale’s ‘home’. it’s right at the entrance. look for bloomingdale’s home, and you’re there.

the bakery itself is absolutely adorable – squeaky clean beige cabinets with lines of cake stands and cookie jars on top. lovely kitchen-style. on the side, few staff are preparing cupcakes, squeezing on cream cheese or arranging them on trays.

it’s really a quaint little place.

 

 

mr. khairul really didn’t know what to order. he knows i wanted anything cheesy but there were so many choices! finally he asked what are the top choices of patrons? the staff listed three – one of them was the red velvet mini cheesecake.

it’s 12aed for each cupcake, but you pay a whopping 25aed for these mini cakes. hey, gimme a break ok. 1) it’s dubai. and 2) it’s my birthday! it’s not like every week i go and get these little expensive bad boys!

 

 

so mr. khairul got me that, and the classic baked cheese cake. at one glance they looked so plain and as basic a cake as you can get. crunched nuts on top. a plop of cream with grated chocolate. round. small. could these little mini cakes really live up to the hype of magnolia bakery new york?

 

 

i don’t like the lemony taste that some bakery put in their baked cheesecake. and this one doesn’t have that disturbing lemony taste. it’s – how should i put it – perfect. the taste of the cheese was just enough to drive a cheese-freak on a feeding frenzy. the texture was soft and compact; doesn’t crumble.

oh, it’s just that i’m not into too much peanuts on my cheesecake, so i gave the part with the huge chunks to mr. khairul.

other than that – well, let’s just say that i didn’t want the cheese cake to finish!

 

 

the red velvet mini cheese cake is definitely a numero uno with the customers. when i googled images of the magnolia bakery, i don’t think anyone went back without this delicious little devil in the magnolia bakery box.

it’s not baked; rather it’s chilled cheese cake i think, from the texture. topped with a generous blob of cream cheese with grated chocolate. the base is unmistakably crushed oreo biscuits. and in the middle – the star of the show – the red velvet cheese.

the vision itself beckons you. a color combination of cream, red and black. beautiful. the taste is indescribable. i’m lost for words. if you liked cheese, and you liked red velvet cakes, and you liked a thin strip of oreo – why haven’t you tried this mini delight from magnolia bakery?

go get one – dubai mall, lower ground, inside bloomingdale’s!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Syigim’s Bday @ Outback Steakhouse, Dubai Mall

i wanted lamb chops for my birthday dinner. big, fat, juicy lamb chops. i LOVE lamb chops, but the only place in dubai where you can get delicious lamb chops is at these steakhouses. kalau kat malaysia, gerai-gerai tepi jalan tu pun bole dapat lamb chop sedap kan. bestnye.

so after much deliberation, (and hours of googling) mr. khairul suggested ‘outback steakhouse’ in dubai mall.


birthday girl enjoying her lamb chops


* * *



‘outback steakhouse’ is an australian steakhouse restaurant. i guess even from the pictures you can see how ‘aussie’ this steakhouse is. the wind musical instrument, ‘didgeridoo’, a wooden replica of the aussie map on the wall, a picture of sydney opera house, chairs with boomerang design on the backrest; and of course – it can’t be aussie if it didn’t have kangaroos on the wall…



everything is so brown and earthy and yes – spells ‘outback’. outback in australia means those vast, remote area away from towns.


from top left – kahfi with the musical instrument ‘didgeridoo’, khaleef & the wall kangaroos, and khaleef on the boomerang chairs


* * *



there were mainly steaks and chicken on its menu, but there were also burgers, pasta and seafood too. think TGIF, or chillis with more steaks and chops in its menu. a little less mexican, and a little bit american. or in this case, a little more australian.

we begin my birthday dinner with this awesome starter :


the bloomin onion


i first saw this pretty dish during one of the assignments on donald trump’s ‘the apprentice’. the contestants were required to run outback steakhouse stalls at a college ball game. as ‘homework’, one of the teams ate at outback steakhouse, and had THIS!

i was already, “wah, ape tu!” and now i had the chance to try it out! it’s called – the bloomin onion. yeap. it’s NOT potato wedges. it’s not chicken fingers. it’s onion. deep-fried till golden brown. with a spicy dip in the middle.

the ‘bloomin' onion’ is a signature outback item. it is a one pound onion cut to 'bloom' open, breaded, deep-fried and served with mayonnaise-horseradish sauce.



i’m not a fan of onion rings, but the batter used to fry the onions taste really good. the texture? fantastic – crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside. and the dipping sauce has a hint of spiciness that just brings up the flavor of the fried onions. hello calories!

if you like onion rings, this is like – the lamborghini of onion rings!



we ordered pasta & cheese for kahfi and kazim; and fish and chips for khaleef. pasta & cheese was well, what else but yummy. pretty straightforward dishes.

mr. khairul had the ‘slow-roasted prime rib’ – a very manly dish i would say! haha. big, bold, thick piece of meat ready to be devoured by a hungry primate!



…and the birthday girl got her lamb chops!

i took the ‘outback rack o’ lamb’, and was more than happy when my plate came. 5 racks of lamb upon one another in a beautiful intertwining of bones and sweet meat. gorgeous. they looked so deliciously juicy, with glistening fat calling out to me!

thank you outback steakhouse! (yes, you too honey! many, many thanks!)



both mr. khairul’s dish and mine were serve together with a bunch of cut-up veggies that should’ve included broccoli and baby corn! there were cucumber, carrots, and capsicum. i love that the vegetables were made to taste a bit sweet, and i will tell you why -

the brown sauce for my lamb rack was VERY SALTY! TOO SALTY! it was so salty that i can’t hardly have it with my lamb rack! oh man, what a turn off. what a spoiler. such a gorgeous dish spoiled by the very salty brown sauce.

the lamb was so delicious; tender and juicy but i just can’t enjoy it with the brown sauce…

another complain from me is – the fries. with our dishes, we can choose two side-dishes. we both chose the veggies for one of the side-dishes; but while mr. khairul made the WISE choice picking the mashed potato for the second side dish, i went for the fries. BAD choice.

the fries were over-fried that they became too oily and too crunchy with more than desired chalky bits, with too much salt. what’s with outback steakhouse and salt??!

guys, go for the mashed potato, or baked potato. NEVER the fries.


my sweet surprise


while we were enjoying our steaks and chops, i saw one of the waiters holding a plate of brownie-ice-cream thingy and lighting up a small little candle on top.

the first thing i thought to myself was, “hey, they do the ‘birthday thing’ too here?” because i thought only TGIF does this staff-singing-birthday-song-to-customer thing. also, i was thinking, “patut bagitau diorang it’s my birthday too..”

suddenly the singing troupe came to OUR table! haha. bila you bagitau diorang, honey? i was really genuinely surprised, because i didn’t know outback steakhouse would do the birthday thing too. it was such a sweet surprise. hihi. *blushing*



…however, in the end siapa yang habiskan the dessert? these two finished up my birthday treat in no time! it’s okay la boys – mak got my lamb chops! thank you honey cookiedough!

so, as the phrase goes in its official website – ‘let go of the worries of today, and go outback!’


Saturday, June 25, 2011

FB Bday Wishes : a Celebrity for a Day!

don’t you agree? birthdays on facebook will make that one special person a celebrity for a day. more than 100 notifications that tells you about all the wall posts you’ve gotten from all your ‘friends’ on facebook. jenuh nak mereply komen.

tu yang rasa macam selebriti kan!

funny thing is, some of them NEVER even left comments on your pictures or statuses; but on YOUR birthday, they would suddenly pop out to wish you a ‘happy birthday’. hihi.

nways, i appreciate EVERY single birthday wish i had gotten on facebook, and usual in this blog, i record them here for my own reading pleasure. when i’m 82. insyaAllah!

 

* * *

 

summersale

bdaylate

31 in dubai

31 in dubaiii

 

1  2

34

 56

7 8

9 10 11 12

13 14

15 1718 19

20 21

22 23 25 27 26 28 29 30 

 

* * *

 

thank you! thank you! thank you!

check out these postings too!

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