Bridal Shower Game - Design the bridal gown !!

Everybody has different opinions on what bride should wear. So, this is the chance to show her your ideas.

How:
Divide everybody up into pairs or teams. Give each team 5-6 pieces of newspapers and clothes pegs. Start the game, and give a time limit.

Extra points:
If they manage to make accessories like bangles, necklaces etc... (announce this if possible)

Bridal Shower 2- Pamper the bride party

Brides do go through quite a stressful time planning and organizing everything. This bridal shower party will help her have a wonderful, stress free time!!





Centerpiece:


A bowl of potpourri and candles all around.. or vice versa..
(pic credits: hgtv.com)



Food:


The emphasis is on PAMPER... so, try to make a list of food that the bride likes, and get everyone else to bring it. Have a variety of cakes, candy, chocolates and sandwiches.


Have a supply of tea and coffee too.


Gift suggestions:


Emphasis on PAMPER again..


Gift vouchers, wine, manicure, spa vouchers etc....

Bridal Shower Games- Classic spice game!

In line with the TRIED AND TRUE RECIPES BRIDAL SHOWER THEME, games relating to recipes and cooking are very appropriate. Hence, the Classic Spice Game!

In order for the bride to cook well, she has to know the spices well. So, let's see how she fares with the rest of the gal pals.

Preparation:
Find 5 different spices (or more) that you can find in the kitchen. Put some of it in different containers/ bottle. Number each bottle. Write down the answers in a separate piece of paper along with the bottle numbers. Some spices that you can use :
Easy: cinnamon, pepper, ginger, paprika, saffron
Hard: cumin, coriander, dill, turmeric, nutmeg etc

How:
Put the bottles in front of all the guests. Ask them to pick up the bottles one by one and guess the spice. After everyone has written down the answers, announce the answers. The winner is one who gets the most correct.

Bridal Shower- Tried and True Recipes party

Why:
Every bride needs to have a collection of recipes for everyday use. So, guests at this party will give her a head start.


Centerpiece idea:
This card holder can display pictures and a few recipes of the food served on that day.
Candles can be put around the holder.



How :
Ask the guests to bring their best dish, along with the recipe written on cards provided by the host. The host also has to have to provide a recipe holder to keep all the recipe cards.

The event starts with the guests introducing their dish, and the reason they chose to bring it. And then the feast begins...

pics credit: thecontainerstore.com

pics credits: simplysmartliving.com

Simple Entertaining-Bridal Shower

This year is probably the marriage boom year....I have a few friends who had their weddings and a few more coming up. Bridal showers have become more common now, and it's a nice break for the bride to be from the hectic schedule.

Traditionally, the bridesmaid organizes it. But, there's no hard and fast rule.
There are many themes that can be used, the kitchen theme is quite popular.
However, it would be nice to personalised the bridal shower according to the bride to be needs.

So, let the fun begin!!

Office Bento Party- Ideas and Pictures

Simple Centerpiece:

Use fruits as the centerpiece, as it'll last for a long time..

(pic credits: celebratebeautifully)

For the bentos:

To encourage working people to bring their own bentos, it has to be really simple and quick.

Some suggestions are:

*Omurice:

Use leftover rice, bit of meat, mixed vegetables and tomato sauce!!
(pic credits:lifestyleasia)

*Onigiri:

Simple Entertaining-Office Bento party!

My colleagues always eat out and then complain that they are getting tired of the food selection out there. So, I thought: "Wouldn't it be good and healthier if they brought their own lunch box/ or bentos. " And what better way to encourage everybody to bring their own boxes by having an introduction party- an office bento party!!

How:
Encourage everybody to cook up something in less than 15 mins the night before, and put it in their lunch boxes.
During lunch time, everybody can show off their lunch boxes, and maybe everybody gets to do a bit of tasting.
Automatically, all the bentos will become the topic for conversation.
The organizer however has to provide drinks for this occasion.

Simple Cupcake Recipe

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup milk

Directions:

Cream sugar and butter, beat in eggs, and stir in vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients, and add to the above mixture.

Finally stir in the milk till batter is smooth.

Spoon into the muffin cups

Bake 20 to 30 mins in preheated oven.

Makes 12-16

Credits: allrecipes.com

Cupcake Party- ooh how creative!!

Have the kids gather around and explain to them that they can do whatever they want to the cupcakes after they bake it, on the terms that they are to exchange a few and also give a few to people they want to thank.

After that, bake the cakes together, and while it's cooking in the oven, they can start compiling a list of people they want to give and make small thank you notes for them.

After the cupcakes are cooled, then the decorating starts!!

(P.S the cupcakes above are the ones my kids made!! Beautiful!! )

Simple entertaining- Cupcake Party

Oh great!! It's the school holidays again...

Kids have been asking for fun activities, and i thought maybe getting together to make cupcakes should be fun and easy. However, from experience, there are a few things to do before the kids gather to make a mess.. :)

First, is to make the icing to store, and to get a variety of decorative items.

There are so many choices at the cake supplies shops now, that's it's quite mind boggling. But, to keep it simple, this will do:

M & Ms and colourful sprinkles or chocolate rice:

And also a variety of fruits....

Next, is the work area, to limit mess... Spread out baking paper, and make sure every kid has a piece of baking paper for them to work on. There should be enough working tools for everyone too.. at least a spatula and a spoon...

Sago and Gula Melaka Dessert Recipe

This is very well known in malaysia, and it's very delicious too.

Ingredients:
200g sago
5 cups Water
Pandan leaves
pinch of salt
100 g gula melaka/ Palm sugar
3 tbs hot boiling water
Santan/coconut cream

1) Soak pearl sago in water for 5 minutes.
2.) Boil 5 cups of water, and add pearl sago gradually and stir so that it does not clump.
Keep stirring till sago turns transparent. (about 10mins)
3) Pour into a strainer, and rinse with cold water till cool. Chill in fridge.
4)In a small saucepan, stir together the palm sugar and water. Add the pandan leaves. Bring to boil and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Remove pandan leaves. Set aside to cool.
5)Add a little salt to the santan and let it chill in fridge
6) When serving, spoon the palm sugar syrup and coconut milk over the chilled sago.

Simple Entertaining-Asian Finger Food Party

Simple Decor:

Use Asian fans (be it japanese, chinese or any asian ones) to decorate the buffet table.

Menu:

Pandan Chicken

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Satay

Chicken Wings

Sushi

Dessert:

Sago and Gula Melaka

Party Favors Ideas- Edible favors

I love party favors, it makes a party more memorable for everybody. I've noticed though that party favors do cost a lot, so i researched and found some good ideas on in the internet, which can be do also DIY projects.

1) Cookies!!
Marthastewart.com used cookies as favors. The picture aboveshows favors for weddings, using the bride and groom's initial. But, it can be easily adapted for different occasions: Farewells, Children Parties

2) Personalised sweets (pics credit: beau-corp.com)

This is such a good idea!! Just print out labels to wrap around the lifesavers, or tubes of chocolates, or sweets. Can be used for wedding, farewell, anniversary....

Fashion Show Party Games-Fashion Trivia

There are many trivias around, but, here are some questions you can use for the trivia session.
(provide multiple choices)

1) From what country did nail polish originate?
China

2) Who were the first ones to use perfume?
Ancient Egyptians

3) What is another name for bowler hat?
Derby hat

4) What is the purpose of a concealer?
Mask pimples dark circles and other small blemishes visible on the skin

5) Who made it mandatory for all females over the age of 7 to wear a hat on Sundays and holidays?
Elizabeth I

6) One ingredient frequently used in manufacturing lipsticks is:
Fish scales

7)How long have women been dyeing their hair?
For over four thousand years. (dating back to 2177 BC)


(some questions are based on associated content article)

Simple Entertaining-Girls Night In: Fashion Show Party!!

Girls love makeover and dressing up, that's a well known fact!! And the way to have fun with friends, is to plan a fashion show where guests will be able to show off their fashion sense!!

(pics credit: about.com)

Planning:

As the host, you can decide on a theme, for example, 70s fashion, or evening dress or freestyle. Get your friends to bring another outfit, and then they will get to parade their stuff twice, once with the outfit they wear to the party, and the other one they brought.

Now, for the venue. Choose a venue with lots of space, at least a runway long enough for the models to walk it. (Or push everything into another room!! :0) Arrange chairs on both side of the runway, so that guests can sit and enjoy the view. Remember you need music for the fashion show, so choose music in advance!!

Once you have your final guests list, divide all of them into two groups. Each group gets a side of the runway, and each group will take turns going on the walkway. You'll also needto appoint someone to entertain a crowd during waiting times.

So, the program is as follows:

Guest arrives. Invite them to have some food and chat with others.

Emcee announces that the fashion will start in 15 minutes, and the first group is asked to get changed, while the second group take their places. Emcee urges everyone to clap for each one!!

Emcee gets the waiting group to take part in a fashion trivia (more in the next post)

After that, the fashion show starts!!

Then, the second group gets their chance...

And in the end, everybody votes for the best dressed one!!

Farewell Party-Movie Premiere (cont)

This requires quite a lot of preparation. But, major effort goes into producing a movie for this party. You can either produce a slide show with all the memorable pictures, or produce a video with your personal message.

(Tip:Use movie maker to make a simple video. Line up all the pictures, and put in a farewell song. )

Decor:

Have a long red carpet runner leading to your party area.

(partyrama.com- 7pounds)

The Party Area will have a food section and a movie viewing section (where your TV is!)

Have ceiling decorations, with film and stars hanging down.

Food:
Have a cocktail party with:

1) hors d'oeuvres/Finger Food
Suggestions:
Buffalo Wings
Mini Pizzas
Samosas


2) Alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks
Alcoholic: Cocktails, red, white wine
Non-alcoholic: Mocktails, punch, sparkling grape juice

Pictures credit:

debenhams.com- wine glasses

partyrama.co.uk-redcarpet, ceiling decor

Farewell Party Ideas- Movie Premiere

Theme: Movie Premiere

This is quite a cool and fun idea. All the guests are invited for a movie premiere. But, the person/people who are going away will be the VIP for the night. So, invite the guests half an hour earlier, and the VIP will come when everybody has arrived.

Once the VIP arrives, they are welcomed by a sight of a red carpet leading to the party area with all the guests already in it. They walked in with camera flashing, (a few designated cameramen), and once they reach the party area, the party officially starts!!

Now, on how to execute it....next

Farewell Party Ideas- Fly Away and Goodbye!!

This is a basically a very simple theme-balloons!!

However, it's important to get the ones filled with helium.

The idea is to get bright colour balloons, and either:

1) First, write in big bold letters: GOODBYE!! and then get all the guests at the farewell party to write their names on the balloons. (for eg: 10 small names on a balloon)

OR

2) Write goodbye in every language you can find on different colour balloons.

Eg:
Goodbye - English
Sayonara-Japanese

Salam - Arabic

Ciao - Italian
AufWiedersehen - German
Au Revoir - French

Hejdå - Swedish
Aloha - Hawaiian
Sampai Jumpa - Indonesian
Adios - Spanish
Paalam - Filipino
Zai Jian - Chinese, Mandarin

Tie each one with a knot and attach ribbons to make it more attractive.

Let it float up to the ceiling, if you have many.

Or you can decorate it at certain corners of the room.

Or you can even use it as centerpiece for your buffet table.

At the end of the party, gather everybody to the porch. Give them except the VIPs a balloon.

At the count of three, let go the balloons into the air, to signify the final farewell!!

(Note: The balloons will go up and finally pop and burst into small pieces!! It's quite a sight!!

Remember to detach the ribbons before you hand the balloons to the guests to let go. This is to reduce litter when the balloons bursts)

pics credit: partywarehouse.co.nz

Simple Entertaining- Farewell Party 2

I'm doing yet another farewell party this year, don't know why this year is so full of farewell tears and goodbyes. I don't want it to be the same old same old potluck, so, i have to come out with a theme!! I thought of two quite cool ones, and don't know which i'll use.. Anyway, i'll post both, and think about it...I really appreciate comments if you think it's good too.. .

Movie Night Party-The Incredibles Menu

Theme: Bright Orange (Incredibles)

Menu:

Pizza

Popcorn

Orange Skittles, M&Ms

Orange Gummies

I-shaped cookies

Orange fizzy drink

Movie Night Party 2- The Incredibles

"The Incredibles" is such a good movie, it's jam packed with action and at the same time leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling. We chose this movie for the weekend, and also for the kids so that that can enjoy themselves.

The theme of the party follows the movie dominant colour: BRIGHT ORANGE!!

Instead of the usual pizza party, just to make it a little special:

Everybody gets a mask just like what the incredibles family have. (You can see from the picture above that there are a few shapes.)

Thick Beef Stew Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound beef stew meat
4 tbs flour
2 beef cubes
2 tbs teriyaki sauce
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 potatoes, cubed
1 carrot, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/2 pound mushrooms,sliced
1 tbs paprika
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
3 cups of water

Place meat into the slow cooker. Mix in flour, stirring to coat. Add in the others, and mix well.
Cover, cook on low 6 hours.

Note: If it doesn't thicken, transfer to pot on low heat and use cornflour mixture to thicken.

Credits: Adapted from allrecipes

Simple Entertaining- Entertaining in a jiffty

It's nice to have guests, but it's nicer if we can entertain with minimum time and effort. One clever way to do so is to make good use of the crockpot or slow cooker.

Once we get the main dish done in the slow cooker, the rest is really easy.

• Cook pasta or rice

• prepare a side dish (eg: roasted potatoes)


• put a salad together


• get ready a bottle of wine,


• set the table (eg: candles with different heights as middle piece, see pic above)

and (drum roll), we are done!!

You can actually do a lot of dishes in the slow pot and beef stew is a very popular choice. There are many recipes out there, but I'll post one in the next post..

pic credits: potterybarn.com

Wet! Wet! Wet!! Have fun with the Sprinkler!

Since the party venue is outdoor, and kids normally love water games, they can have fun with the sprinkler out in the lawn. Here's two games to start the ball rolling:

1) Get the ball!
Divide all into two teams. Place a ball near the sprinkler. At the sound of "ready, set, go! ", a designated person from each group will run towards the ball, at that time, turn on the sprinkler so that it'll prevent them from easily getting the ball. The first one who gets the ball back to their team gets a point.

2) Freeze!
Instruct players to move around the sprinkler area, and they can do anything they want, pose, make funny faces at each other..etc... When the sprinkler is turned on, kids must freeze in position without moving until the sprinkler is turned off again.

Last Day of School Party-Sundae Party

To celebrate the last day of school, have a sundae party for the kids.

Here's how we do it:

Set up a table with bowls of fruits, candies like m&ms, nuts and chocolate chips. Don't forget chocolate sauce or caramel sauce too.

Get the kids to make their own sundae, by putting anything that they like.

To make it extra special, get each kid to pose with their creation, and take a picture of them. You have to be fast though, kids just cant wait to dig in!!

Present the kids their own picture at the end of the party.

(pic credit:martha stewart)

"Last Day of School" Party-Sundae Party

It's the school holidays again. Some kids i know are having a two week break, while others have long summer holidays. To celebrate the last day of school and the beginning of holidays, let's have a simple party for the kids!!

Decor Idea:

I think most kids love to be outdoors when they are not in school. So, an outdoor party will be ideal. To have simple decorations, and set the mood of the party, colourful paper garlands can be used. Just tie it between trees or near the eating area, and it brightens the whole party area!!

(pic above from pearlriver)

What to serve:
Sundaes!! The kids will be so happy that they will be jumping up and down non-stop.

(more in next post)

Hotpot Party/ Steamboat Party Menu and Recipe

Soup base:

We normally have 2 types of soup, one is chicken stock and the other is tom yum soup.

(If you need the recipes, please look through my previous posts)

Ingredients:

Any ingredients will do, but this are the basic ones, and easy to get.

Meat/seafood:

Thinly sliced meat (chicken, pork, beef)

Sliced fish

Prawns

Fishballs

Meatballs

Cuttlefish

Vegetables:

Bean sprouts

Cabbage (very important)

Tofu

Fuchok (made out of tofu)

Bok Choy

Mushrooms (esp. enoki)

Dipping sauce:

Hoisin sauce

Chilli Sauce

Soya Sauce

Noodles:

Meehoon/Vermicelli

Yee Mee/ Egg Noodles

Drink:

Cold Chinese Tea

Utencils:

For each guest, you'll need a soup bowl, paired with chopsticks and a soup spoon.

You'll also need a few ladles so that everyone can scoop out from the pot.

Hotpot Party/Steamboat Party

Hotpot or steamboat (local term) is a very good party idea. It's lots of fun, and the best part is that it's simple to prepare. Hotpot is basically a simmering metal pot of stock placed at the center of the dining table. Then, ingredients are placed into the pot, and thereafter covered, so that it will be boiled and cooked. Ingredients such as meat, seafood, vegetables are cooked first, and at the end, noodles are added. By that time, the soup is sweet and full of goodness, and goes well with the noodles.

The advantage of entertaining with the hotpot is that there's very little cooking time. You'll just have to prepare the stock ahead of time, and cut up all the ingredients. That's all. Just leave the rest to the guests, as they'll have a fun time putting the ingredients into the pot.

Picture this: Friends and family sitting around the table, taking part in the cooking, then while waiting, they sip tea and chat with the others, and 10-15 mins later, food is ready!!

Strawberry Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 tbs sugar

1 cup frozen strawberries

2 tbs oats

1tsp vanilla

BLEND IT!!

Mango Banana Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

1 mango

1 banana

1 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup ice

BLEND IT!!

Credits: yoplait.com.au

Simple Entertaining-Smoothie Party!!

Smoothies are oh so wonderful on a hot day or after a hard day's work. With a group of friends, it's even better as you can make many different kinds and then share it out. Smoothies are normally yoghurt based, but there are some that are juice based.

A good party idea is to invite your friends over and get them to make their own smoothies. And everybody can get a sip or two and vote for the best smoothie and the nastiest smoothie..

Basic ingredients that you need:
Yoghurt
Fruits-mango, strawberries, blueberries, bananas.
Orange juice, sugar and Ice

I'll post some tested recipes to give a headstart...

Vietnamese Noodles recipe

5 cloves garlic

1 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 red chilli

3 tbs sugar

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

3tbs fish sauce

1 pkt dried rice noodles

2 carrots-shredded/chopped

1 cucumber-shredded/chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

4 leaves lettuce-shredded/chopped

unsalted peanuts

4 sprigs fresh mint

1. Boil a large pot of water, and then, when it's boiling, add the rice noodles. When it's cooked, drain. Let it cool.

2. Add the minced garlic, cilantro, chilli, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice altogether. That's the sauce.

3. Serve noodles, with the carrots, cucumber, mint and lettuce on top. Pour a little sauce on top and toss well. Sprinkle with peanuts, and mint.

(Recipe credit: allrecipes)

Vietnamese Party Menu

Main:
Vietnamese Noodles
Fresh Spring Rolls

Drink:
Cold Tea

Dessert:
Fruits

Simple Entertaining-Vietnamese Party!!

I enjoy vietnamese food a lot, and know many do too.. The nearest vietnamese restaurant is about an hour away, it's just too far away.. So, i think to have a vietnamese party would be cool.

To make it extra special, and to set the mood, lanterns can be hung around the dining area and a little warm lighting will make it guets comfy.

The table setting can be just like the picture above.

Pics credit: socialcouture.typepad.com

Card Game- Who are you?

This is a simple and hillarious game, it has so many versions, so i'll write down the basic version.

Divide the cards equally among the players (use 2 packs if many). Each pile must be face down, and on the table. Now, everybody selects a name from the group, meaning at the end, each player must have a name that's not theirs.

Ok, it starts with the first person opening their card in front of their pile, and everybody takes their turn opening, one by one. Anyone with the same card, shouts the other person new name.
The first one who shouts the correct answer, hands over the pile of open cards in front of him to the loser.

haha..it gets a little confusing after a while, but lots of fun. The winner is the one who finishes his pile first.

Mango, Honeydew Shake Recipes

Basic Shake Recipe is as follow:

3 big scoops of ice cream
3/4 cup milk
few ice cubes

Fruits: Choose any of the below
1 big banana
sides of 1 mango
3/4 cup of honey dew

Creamy Crab Salad

2 1/2 cups cooked pasta
1 small green bell pepper
1 small red bell pepper
10 imitation crabsticks
1 diced onion
shredded carrots
1 stalk celery

B:
1 1/2 cup mayonaise
2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs sugar
minced garlic
Mixed herbs

1) Chop up crabsticks, bell peppers, onion, carrots, and celery.
2) Mix together B, and adjust to suit your taste.
3) Combine everything.
4) Refrigerate at least a few hours before serving, for taste to blend.

Shall we play cards? Menu

Mains:
Tuna Salad
Crab Salad

Drinks:
Mango Shake
Banana Shake
Honey Dew Shake

Dessert:
Cheesecake

Simple Entertaining- Shall We Play Cards?

My friends and I love to play cards, and we decided to come together and play the night away. Since everyone don't have time for dinner, and will get a little engrossed with the cards, it's good to have something that fills the stomach fast, at the same time not messy.

As for me, the host, i want to participate in the card games, so, I was thinking.. if everything can be done earlier, it would be PERFECT!!

So, i came out with this menu....

Mango Sago Dessert recipe

Mango Sago Dessert

Ingredients
600gm mango
400ml mango juice 1
25ml evaporated milk
80g sago pearls
250ml water
2~3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornflour+3 tbsp water
extra 100ml water

Prepare beforehand:
Soak sago in water for about an hour, boil it with water till it turns translucent.
Drain water and pour some water to let it cool down.

Instructions:
1. Boil 250ml water and sugar till sugar dissolves.
2. Mix cornflour mixture in and stir, make sure there's no lumps. Remove from heat. Cool.
3. Cube mango. Scrap the rest, and add to blender. Add in 100 ml of water, mango juice, sugar syrup. Blend it.
4. Stir in evaporated milk and sago pearls.
5 Taste and add more juice or sugar. Chill.

Mango Lassi Recipe

(taken from allrecipe)

Ingredients:
2 mangos, peeled, seeded, diced
2 cups plain yogurt
1/4 sugar
1 cup ice

In a blender, combine all. Blend till smooth and serve.

Simple Entertaining-Mango Party!!

It's the time of the year, when we get mangoes everywhere!! We get it cheaply, a mere RM10 for 3 kgs!! There are different kinds of mangoes, but the easiest to find are the thai mangoes..
So, it's an opportunity to go mango crazy!! There are so many dishes to serve at a mango party,
there's thai mango salad, mango pancakes, mango chicken etc..
I'll be posting a few mango dessert recipes i tried. It's a bit more asian based, so stay tune..

pics credits:www.pe.com

Chinese Whisper Game

Get everybody to sit in a circle or form a line.
The first person chooses a phrase or sentence. This first person then whispers it to the next, no-one else should hear it. The next person whispers what they think they heard to the next person, and so the phrase passes down the line. The last person to get the whisper announces it to the group and then compares it to the original.

The original sentences should be a little more complicated, so that the effect will be better.
For example:

Susie skips to school except on Saturdays
Send three and four pence, we're going to a dance
Goofy Grinning Gophers gobbled gigantic grapes while juggling
(taken from answers.yahoo.com)

Variation: Act out a scene without the rest seeing to the first person, and then the first person to the second one, and thereafter, the last one guess what action it is.

example: blowing bubbles and popping it

Fried Prawns/ Prawn Fritters

Ingredients:

About 30 pieces of prawns

1 egg

4 tbsp flour

150ml water

1/2 tsp salt

Batter:

Mix flour, egg and water, make sure its not watery. Add salt, and mix well.

Cooking:

Dip prawns in batter and deep fry. Dish up and serve.

Stir Fried French Beans Recipe

Ingredients:

300gm French Beans

3 tbsp dried prawns

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp shallots

oil

pepper

1)Cut french beans into 3 cm length.

2) Put some oil in wok, saute dried prawns, garlic and shallots till fragrant.

3) Add french beans, then pepper.

4) Fry till cooked. (Crunchy but a little soft)

Steamed Fish in 15 minutes

This is the easiest steamed fish recipe, it's very versatile, and uses the whole fish.

Ingredients:

1 whole fish, cleaned

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

few pieces of carrot

sesame oil

salt

bit of oyster sauce (optional)

Method:

Combine all the ingredients, and place on fish. Steam fish for 10-12 minutes, or till cooked.

Chinese Dinner For 10 Menu

Menu is as follows:

Main:

Rice

Fried Prawns

Pork Ribs

Steamed Fish

Stir fry Spinach

Stir fry French Beans

Bittergourd Omelette

Drinks:

Chinese Tea (example in pic above)

Dessert:

Fruits

(Pic above credits to culturalink.gov.cn)

Simple Entertaining-Chinese Dinner for 10

Friends were going away, and we invited them over and to give them dinner. We thought of having a few seafood dishes which are quick and easy, at the same time can feed 10.
Will post the menu and also the recipes in the later posts..

Mocha Cake Recipe

I was in charge of the desserts, the rest of the desserts recipes had been posted before, so will post the mocha cake one...

90g dark chocolate
90g butter
1 cup castor sugar

2 eggs
1/2 cup plain flour

1/4 cup self raising flour

1/2 cup milk

Filling:

300ml cream

2 tsp coffee powder

1 tbs brandy

1 tbs castor sugar

(credits to woman's weekly)

Instructions:

Melt chocolate, cool to room temperature. Cream Butter and chocolate with sugar, add eggs, and beat well. Beat in sifted flours and milk. Pour in a 20cm cake tin, bake in oven 1 hour.

Split Cake, full with cream mixture.

Filling: Dissolve coffee in brandy, add to cream with sugar and beat until firm peaks.

Farewell Party Menu

For 50 people, we definitely have to have lots of food. so, we asked our guests to bring differnt variety, and then we have a lovely range and variety of food to enjoy. To ensure enough food, we have to have at least 5 types of what we call filling food (mainly carbos), and then the rest can be side dishes.

What we had in the end:

Asian Menu:

Filling food:

1) Fried Noodles (20 servings)

2) Butter Rice with Cashews (15 servings)

3) Plain Rice (10 servings)

Side Dishes:

Curry Chicken

Rendang Beef

Satay Chicken

Ginger Chicken

Butter Prawn

Mixed Vegetables

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

Caramelized Potatoes

Western Menu:

Filling Food:

1)Taco Pie (10 servings)

2) Pasta (10 servings)

Side Dishes:

Potatoes Patties

Beef Stew

Fried Chicken

Green Salad

Bean Salad

Desserts:

Fruits

Apple Crumble

Mocha Cake

Trifle with Icecream

Simple Entertaining-Farewell Party for 50

The farewell party was very successful, due to the fact that there was a lot of help and also everybody cooperated. In the end, the organizing commitee decided that we would have a coffee shop theme. The couple we were sending off are very fond of coffee, so we incorporated that into our theme.

Theme: Coffee Shop

Decor:

We sealed off a portion of space where the "coffee shop" is, and then, put a sign in front saying: "Welcome to ___bucks" Then, there's the opening ceremony ribbon, for the couple to cut it, before leading everybody to the table.

Buffet Table:

Centerpiece: Candles and Floating Flowers, surrounded by coffee beans/coffee sweets. (Pic Above)

Drink Counter:

Above drink counter, are pics hung on top for the guests to relive memories.

Farewell Party Ideas- Postcard Party

This is a good way to get everybody involved in the party. Postcards can be used for the decorations and at the end of the day, it can be presented to the couple.

Theme:Postcards

Get all the guests to write a goodbye message on different postcard.

Decor:

Banner with "Farewell"- use blank postcard write "farewell" and string it together

Buffet table:

Tie strings from one end (left) to the other. (right), above the table, and use pegs to peg the postcards on the string. You'll have cards hanging above the table for the people who are waiting for their turn at the buffet table.

(Couldn't find a pic exactly what i described above, but the idea would be similar to the picture right above, replace the lanterns with postcards and lower it a little)

Pic from: realsimple.com

Farewell Party Ideas-Bon Voyage Theme

This is by far the most common theme for farewell parties. There's quite a lot of ideas out there, but these are the ones that are quite simple and fast.

Theme: Bon Voyage Theme

Decor:
Have a banner-Bon Voyage
Nautical Wheel













Buffet table:
Cover the table with blue tablecloth, representing the sea.
Scatter sand and seashells on the table.
Or middle center piece can be like picture above.
(from martha stewart)

Ideas for Farewell Party for 50

I thought that i'll depart from my usual and share my thoughts on my next project-farewell party. I'll be hosting a party for two of my friends who are moving away. The final count for the guests is 50, and it'll be held in the evening.

The organizing committee consists of me and 3 of my other friends, and we are still fishing around for ideas.. We decided to brainstorm on a few themes, centerpieces, and decor...Sharing the ideas next..

Cinnamon Cake Recipe

250g butter

2 cups sugar

4tsp vanilla

4 eggs

4 cups self raising flour

3 1/3 cup milk

5tsp cinnamon

Directions: (this makes 2 trays of the above picture)

Cream Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla until light and creamy. Stir in sifted flour, milk, beat lightly till smooth. Pour into cake pan, bake 20 mins.

Cut into pieces and place in muffin cups.

Serve plain, or with icing sugar on top.

Tea Break for 20 Menu

Sweets:
Cinammon Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Savouries:
Garlic Bread-see recipe in collection

Fruits:
1 Watermelon- cut into slices
2 Papayas- Cut into cubes, served with toothpicks.

Drinks:
8 Bottles of Soft Drinks
2 Bottles of Water
1 Packet of Ice Cubes

Simple Entertaining-Tea Break for 20

My friends gathered to do some cleaning work together, and i planned to join them. I wanted also to bring some FOOD as a reward..:0) Coming soon...menu and recipes..

Ice Cream Cookie recipe

This is simple and refreshing!! And the kids absolutely love it! ( I used ginger biscuits for the photos)

1 packet of chocolate biscuits (or any biscuits)
Vanilla icecream

1) Place 2 biscuits (I used TESCO milk chocolate digestive biscuits) on cling wrap.
2)Scoop icecream on 1 cookie base, and sandwich with the other cookie.
(Do not press too hard)
3)Wrap it with cookie wrap and freeze at least an hour.

Konnyaku Jelly recipe

You'll need:

1 packet of konnyaku jelly powder (see pic below)

200gm castor sugar

95oml water

1 can peaches (or any canned fruit), cut into wedges

Directions:

Boil the 950ml water in a pot.

In a bowl, mix the konnyaku jelly powder and sugar together.

Then slowly pour the mixture into the pot, stirring continuously.
Once it's dissolved, remove from heat. (Do not let it cool too much)

Put fruits in mold, jelly cups or even muffins cups will do.

Pour jelly in.

Put in into the fridge till it's set and cold.
Serve chill. Wonderful on a hot day!!

+ kids have to watch out as the jelly mixture is hot..

+If you use another type of konnyaku jelly powder, just follow the instructions behind!!

<-----this is the one i used.

Cut Out Cookies/20mins cookie recipe

Ingredients:

175g butter

200g sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla essence

375g sifted plain flour

Have kids stand around the counter and get them to get the ingredients ready. Once all the ingredients are ready, let's start the actual work. (well, if you don't have kids, but still would like the cookies, just follow the numbers..haha)

1) Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl. Add the sifted flour, egg, egg yolk, until it comes together as a dough. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate it till firm.

Now, divide the dough and lprepare each kids work station. It consists of a floured board, rolling pin and cookie cutter and then the kids will handle it from here.

2) Put the dough on a floured work surface, and place bigger sheet of cling wrap over it. Roll out dough to about 6mm thick.

3) Then, cut out dough with cookie cutters!

4) Once done, place cookies on sheets, and bake for 10 mins. Watch it closely as it gets burnt easily.

Variation:

Chocolate ones: add bit of milo

Shapes: Alphabets