Oishi

My sister and I had been talking about visiting the Shabushi Japanese Buffet Restaurant for weeks. Yesterday after work, we went . Two friends tagged along. The highlight of the restaurant is the steamboat buffet or more commonly known as hot pot.

Hot pot is a metal pot set in the center of the table and placed over a hotplate. At Shabushi, there are 3 choices of soup and we picked the normal one. There are wide range of dish selections such as seafood, meat and vegetables. You pick what you like, dump it in the simmering soup and cook it yourself .

There is also a section of sushi and other hot foods. A variety of drinks are also available. The price is 29o Baht per person.

The pot divided into 2 is a great concept. Our friends eat pork and seafood. We don't. We ordered the same soup. We both had the freedom to cook what we like to eat without asking each other.

Children's Potluck

It was only half past nine when we arrived at church and the kids were all gathered at the gazebo impatiently waiting for us. We could tell they were ecstatic just by how excited they became when our car pulled over. Every one raced to hug and greet us. Even the older ones, not aware of what the commotion was all about , joined in.

After our endearing moments, each kid bragged about the food their parents prepared for the occasion.

Then came lunch. We went to the house of the head of the Children's Ministry Department, unpacked our lunches and said grace before consuming all the food served at the table.

Below are some photos I took during the 3-hour long potluck.

Saying cheese/ jeez first before praying.

Fudgy Brownies

The Children's Ministry Department at church will be having a potluck after the service on Saturday. My sister , one of the few Sabbath School teachers, is bringing carbonara and as one of the Primary kids' "sponsor" I made this fudgy brownies especially for them. I know kids love chocolate and this is the closest I can do to show them my support.

My First Wedding Cake

For a novice baker like me, making wedding cake is a huge undertaking. Never had I thought making it shortly after I began my journey down the baking trail. When I visited Aunty Myrna in April, she told me about a wedding in June. She's one of the principal sponsors and she wanted to give a wedding cake as a present. She told me her preference. For weeks I couldn't stop envisioning the cake. It would be my first time and I was just too excited. I browsed the web, read wedding cake cookbooks and asked a friend who is a more experienced pastry chef for suggestions and ideas. With these as a guide, I came up with a nice design and flavor. I chose Devil's Food cake for the base. I settled for cookies and cream filling. I was told it would be a garden reception so I chose to make buttercream with half amount of butter and half shortening. I was confident the cake would survive this heat.