I stayed the night at Marissa's and in the morning, she made pancakes for our breakfast. I haven't had pancakes for quite some time and was especially delighted to have them since we'd been talking about them at work only the other day.
Marissa did a fantastic job frothing the milk for our cappuccinos. She also sprinkled some grated Lindt chocolate over them.
We had our breakfast outside in the fresh air.
Marissa's pancake with cream and fresh strawberries.
I smothered my pancakes with strawberry jam and cream.After chatting in the beautiful weather for a few hours, I finally made my way home.
Mum was out in the garden but I noticed she had been cooking. Upon seeing the bowls of different coloured mixtures, I knew what she was up to. She had been making Chinese
Gow Chung Go - which translates to 'Nine Layer Cake'.
She pours a layer of each colour and steams it.
She then pours another layer of a different colour and steams it.She repeats this until she has nine layers and all the layers are steamed and set. I used to love eating it when I was young. I remember instead of biting into it, I would gently peel each layer off and eat it separately. The cake uses the flavour of pandan and should be firm, yet soft to eat. Jocelyn absolutely loves it and Mum had made it for her to take to a birthday party.
Mum likes to make her Nine Layer Cake with different colours, rather than the traditional pink and white.In the Chinese culture, the time a baby spends in the mother's womb is counted towards the baby's age. So a month from the time the baby is born, the Chinese mark this occasion, usually by sending out chicken eggs that have been boiled and dyed with red food colouring. The thought that all these Chinese traditions are becoming less practiced in this day and age saddens me. I really should do some research and try to better understand the reasons behind the things we do. For example, I do not know what the red egg symbolises.
Food for though...literally.
My second cousin's newborn daughter has just had her first month 'birthday' and we were given some red eggs and a roast chicken. Red eggs always takes me back in time to when I was younger growing up in Goldsworthy. Mum taught me how to boil the eggs and then place them in the red food colouring to stain them red. I remember how on the morning of each of our birthdays, Mum would have a bowl of freshly boiled red eggs and the birthday girl would be the first to crack, peel and eat hers before everyone else. Mum made sure each one of us had one - we weren't allowed to go without first eating one to mark the occasion. I remember how the shells always stained my fingers red for the rest of the day.
Carvers buffet at Burswood
Burswood Entertainment ComplexThis is an 18+ restaurant on the gaming floor. On a Saturday night it's $29.95 per person but if you're a Club Burswood Club member it's only $23.50 - and it's all you can eat!
They have a range of cold and hot dishes and a carvery. There was roast beef and roast pork available tonight. We all opted for the roast pork because the roast beef looked a bit dry.
Round One
cous cous salad
potato salad
roasted potatoes
steamed vegetables
roast pork
pork crackle - all smothered in gravyThe food was rather good - I won't say it was super because it was really just your typical carvery buffet.
Round Two
creamy mushroom soup
Round Three
roasted potatoes
steamed vegetables
roast pork
pork crackle - more delicious gravyYes, I went back for seconds. I would have gone for thirds, but we were running out of time as our show started at 8pm. There were also desserts available but I wasn't interested in them tonight - I didn't even look to see what was there!
We went to see the
Divine Divas show. It's basically a group of mens who do female diva impersonations - a cabaret drag show. It was really entertaining! I had a fantastic time singing, clapping and bopping along to all the songs and we had a really good laugh. The legs on some of those guys - they put us girls to shame! Some of the cast were available in the lobby after the show for us to meet them and to take photos. I got a photo with 'Britney Speares' but unfortunately the flash was off.
Oops, I did it again...I squealed when I saw 'Cher' arrive and ran up to get a photo with her! (Or rather, him).
If I could turn back time!We spent a few hours at the roulette table after the show and I was extremely happy to break even with the $50 I put down. Back at home, I was hungry so decided to cook the instant ramen that Meng gave me to try.
It's the same brand as one of the ramen that I buy in a cup to take to work. These ramen noodles you cook in boiling water over the stove.
Verdict: Fantastic!I am going to have to go out and buy a box of these methinks.
She asked the butcher to get a liver for her. She usually uses cow's liver but the butcher got a pig's liver for her. She was really happy with it and when I had a look at it, I could see why. It did look rather healthy and I was looking forward to the soup!
I think the main ingredients are sliced fresh ginger, ginger wine, the pig's liver sliced up, an egg, fresh coriander and spring onions.
