UK Trip : Oxford Street and Marble Arch

 We arrived in London at around 7.30am local time. Upon checking in at Premier's Inn,where we stayed for 3 nights, we immediately started our discover London 'adventure' *wink*. We stayed near the King Cross St. Pancras train station (about 5 min walk from our hotel).

Our first destination was Oxford Street. Oxford Street is home to major department stores and numerous brands' flagship stores, as well as hundreds of smaller shops. It is the major shopping street in central London, though not the most expensive or fashionable, and part of a larger shopping district with Regent Street, Bond Street and other smaller nearby streets.

Kids were excited as they experienced their first Tube ride there (well it was the first time for me, hubby and my sisters too). My sisters were in awe as we reached there. All fimiliar brands back home are here. With a long list in their hands (form friends and colleagues) they shop from door to door.

What did I buy? Well...I bought some souvenirs from a souvenir stall there. Yup! 1st day there and I was buying souvenirs already hahaha. It was at a good price too. Bought some quality key chains, fridge magnets...hmm..the typical souvenirs :). They were sold at 5pounds for 5 or 1.25p for 1. I was glad I bought them there because after that, I could not find any other shop in London or outside of London that sells key chains that cheap. They were all sold at 10pound for 5 or 4 pcs at other places.

We went back to the hotel at around 4pm. It was still bright. Sun sets at 9pm in Summer. however most shops closes at 6pm. But there were a few that closes at 9pm. Kids were flat by the time we got back. We ate kebabs we bought for lunch and soon after that, all were asleep. Woke them up at 12am for some snacks and dinner then force them to go to bed again so they can be fresh and fully recharge the next morning.It was kind of hard at first. Though it was 12am in London, in Malaysia it was 8am, LOL. Alhamdulillah, kids adjusted to the time difference fast.

On the second day, we took a tour around London City on the Big Bus Tour. We started our tour at Marble Arch. We experienced some showers during the tour. Made a few stops along the tour at a few London's famous landmarks and tourist spots..such as the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and went to Sealife as well.

Next entry : Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Sealife, London.

UK Trip : The journey to

After a long hiatus, I'm finally back :). Will be writting on our recent holiday spent in the UK :). At least, there will be something to read back on when all sweet memories in my head are being clouded with other stuffs ;).

Alhamdulillah..for the rezeki given by Him..we all get to set foot to the land of Great Britain.It was long planned by my mom. Cancelled once, three years back. Finally, last May, it was finally realised. We spent about a week there. Along with my family for the trip were my mom, and my two sisters.

We went with Etihad Airlines. The journey from KL to London took us 7 hours from KLIA to Abu Dhabi and another 7 hours from Abu Dhabi to London. With 3 hours of transit time at Abu Dhabi International Airport in between.

While on transit : Abu Dhabi International Airport

Waiting for boarding, the horizon at sunrise, upon arriving at Heathrow Airport London.

Stay tune for my next post. More pictures to come too :)

Baking day @ mum's place

It was a fine Monday..was a holiday monday..sempena Maal Hijrah. Me, my mom and my two sisters decided to bake on that day. I was assigned to make sardine roll. My sisters were 'ordered' to make chicken& mushroom quiche while my mom will then turun padang to make her famous (long..long time ago) cream puff.

My sardine turn out great..all 36 pieces of them :). Sistas's quiche... first attempt at baking..it was lembik.. tak cukup telur. So..before the second pan goes into the oven, manage to 'repair' so..it turned out like how it should. Cuma a little thick on the crust and inti tak cukup tebal. Rasa..Yummy.

Getting to the cream puff part... it took us 3 attempts making this delicious treat.
1st attempt : it was watery after we add in the eggs. We assumed it could be bcoz the we added the eggs while the dough was still hot

2nd attempt: The dough were ok but it didn't rise during baking. So the outcome was flat as a pancake LOL

3rd attempt: We tried a different recipe (the first two were made using Amy Beh's) and wallahh.. it was scrumptiously heaven..

The custard

Experimenting with cupcakes

Initially, i wanted my sister Nadira who had just finished her study in Culinary Arts to be the one to bake the cupcakes. I told her i'll be doing the marketing. But, she told me she wanted to enjoy her holiday first. And then she was offered to work part time at upm two weeks. So..i told my husband, instead of waste precious time waiting for her..why don't i try baking the cuppies myself. He was supportive about it so..i tried la.


On my first attempt i tried the most basic recipe which was the Yellow Cupcake Recipe. The cuppies came out ok..but it was a little chewy. My sister told me that i must have over beat the batter huhu.. :D

The next day, i tried baking again. Same recipe but i was experimenting with the temperature. 180 degrees for 16 minutes...cakes were overbaked. 180 degrees for 12 minutes..cakes were slightly overbaked. Finally 180 degrees for 10 minutes..the cakes came out perfect :).

Next..preparing the icing. I started with butter cream icing. It was easy rupanya.. All this while i thought it is a tedious job. When my sister came home from work, she taught me how to mix in the colour & how to use the piping bag. Piece a cake! Haha..

The decorating part was the most waited part of all...These are some of the designs we made that day..

After 2 attempts, baking cupcakes is now my new found love. Can't wait for my next session. This time i planned to make banana walnut cuppies & chocolate cuppies and cheese cream icing :).

Manjaku Babystore

When it was first open in Bangi about a year ago, it was baby stuff heaven for me. Every week i would make a trip over there either to buy milk, diapers, cereals, baby clothes dan macam-macam lagi. They offer many variety of baby stuff so i was like..rambang mata whenever i go there.

But the main reason i kept going there was because harga susu & diapers kat sana way less expensive compared to other shops including hypermarkets. Some were like RM5 cheaper than other places. Especially at one point dulu harga susu naik..nasib baik ada Manjaku di Bangi.

I think, Manjaku can sell stuffs a lot cheaper than other shops bcoz they ordered in bulks kan? Plus they are a local company unlike hypermarket yg walaupun ambil in bulks juga tapi ada nama so tak jual murah pun. ..Anyone else adore Manjaku like I do? Or maybe there are other shop which sells kids' stuff cheaper than Manjaku that you know of? Please do share with us..

One of the things I love...Kek lapis Sarawak

I was first introduced to Kek Lapis Sarawak in 1998 when i was studying in college. My dear roomate, kak Liza was from Kuching, Sarawak. When she came back from her raya holiday, she brought along varieties of tasty and colourful layer cakes. Friends who knew about this delicious cakes would 'serbu' our room just to get a taste a them. Kak Liza would cut the cake into thin slices, as a small piece is rich enough to give you the taste of the whole cake. I fell in love with Kek Lapis Sarawak since then.


I had once travelled to Kuching in 2002 on a work trip. However, the time spent there was limited so I didn't get to go to any shop that sells Kek Lapis Sarawak. I was told that it can be found in a town called Satok. But i managed to brought home a few slices of Kek Lapis Sarawak that i bought from Hilton Hotel,Kuching where i was staying. Each slice was sold at RM5.
As time passed by, Kek Lapis Sarawak has made its way known to the people of Peninsular Malaysia. I have bought and tried many but they hardly tasted like the real Kek Lapis Sarawak that I have tasted before. Some where dry but most lacked in the originality...which to me is very important.

One fine day, i met this lovely lady at an exhibition held in KL not so long ago. She has her own Kek Lapis Sarawak business..and guess where? In the heart of Satok town. She has been making Kek Lapis Sarawak for as long as she can remember. And today she is well known for her delicious and mouth-watering cakes. I tasted her cakes and love them! And so does my dear hubby and our sons. We started from one variety, then another and another and another. We couldn't stop because all tasted so good. They were all rich in taste, perfectly moist and it became a sin not to eat them ;).

Then i thought..why don't i share this indulgence with others? There are still Malaysian out there who doesn't know about Kek Lapis Sarawak. So guys, I'm just doing my bit by introducing Kek Lapis Sarawak to you. These cakes can be made available to you whether you are in the Peninsular or in other parts of the world. Now, you don't have to go to Kuching or seek high and low for Kek Lapis Sarawak anymore.

Just click www.butternbatter.blogspot.com to view the cakes.

Let's indulge and enjoy....