My first ever island vacation – Tioman Island

Oh yes, the title is so true. Hmm…wait a minute. Ok, not 100% true. I went to Pulau Pinang & Pulau Pangkor when I was a little kid with my beloved family. But, it doesn’t really count because I never got to do all those island trip thingy as such snorkeling, island hopping. Ok, fair enough.

We went to Tioman somewhere in June. This time around is not just the 3 ‘angry bird’ trip. We went with my big family (parents & siblings). Tioman is indeed a peaceful island with beautiful beaches. I don’t want to write much but just want to share the beautiful memories with pictures. (I do actually want to write more but a few emails from work make me sick and hence the sudden change of mood :-(..)   

The 6 excited people getting ready for island hopping. Lil Rara opts for another trip with my parents..hehehe

We are here! The happy faces :-)

We went to a few islands but I can’t remember the exact names for each of the island. Hmm...Taman Laut, Renggis Island and etc. We were charged RM100 per person for the trip (quite expensive, rite? Hmm...) For a first timer, we do enjoy our day! Even though it’s quite scary to let myself into the water when only 1 from the 6 of us can swim and the rest is just flapping our way around the water in a ridiculous motion..hahaha. We had a great time laughing to each other :-P

Rara favorite place: the pool

We stayed in Berjaya Condo. It’s not that far from Berjaya Tioman Resort but it’s a hilly ride though. So, it’s not advisable to walk (at least for us). However, they do provide a bus every hour to go up and down from the condo to the resort.



And the last picture..Rara’s Tioman style

P/S: Salam Aidilfitri to all my readers! Mucho gracias...:-)

The Oven Project: Chocolate Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake by Joy the Baker

This is my 2^nd favorite recipe after the super easy Choc Chip Muffin recipe which I posted a while ago. The cake turned up moist and irresistible. Once you tried it you’ll crave for more! Please try it & you’ll never regret (ecececeh…dah macam iklan la pulak).

Chocolate Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake – my version

Recipe from Joy the Baker

Chocolate Orange Pound Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons orange zest

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup dark chocolate pieces

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.  Grease a 9×5-inch baking pan and dust with flour.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

On a clean cutting board or counter, place the granulated sugar.  Add the orange zest.  With a bench scraper or the back of the spoon, work the zest into the granulated sugar, creating a fragrant and orange flavored sugar.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together softened butter and cream cheese.  Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape down the bowl and make sure that the butter and cream cheese are evenly mixed.  Add the citrus zest to the butter and cream cheese mixture, and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.

Stop the mixer.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  On medium speed, beat in one egg at a time, beating for one minute after each addition.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Beat in vanilla extract.

Add dry ingredients all at once.  Beat on low speed until dry ingredients are completely incorporated.  Fold in the chocolate pieces.

Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, rotating once or twice during baking.  Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, or with just a few crumbs.

This is how the batter looks like – creamy and gooey...yumm2

My loaf pan can’t fit it the entire batter, hence the cupcake version

Not so Wordless Wednesday [10]: Upin & Ipin love Green

Upin dan Ipin versi Hijau
(Rara and her cousin)