That Padwan Cake

Mama Min had delivered again. We first found out about her almost 10 years ago while celebrating Idlan's first birthday. She prepared a barnyard cake through our party planner and since then she had been our go to person for birthday party.

Her creation had been constantly amazing, not just to look at. They tasted great too - it was Oreo chocolate this time. Over the years, we had a "Little Einstein Cake" for Irfan and "R2-D2" for Idlan.

This time around, Irfan wanted a Star Wars-themed event for his classmate party. And Mama Min came out with the best one yet. The cake was topped with Irfan in a Padwan suit, complete with his blue-framed glasses. And it looked so much like him!

Idlan had already been planning for his 12th birthday in May. It would be just before Ramadan, and best to start panning nning from now. It looked like Mama Kim's service might be called for again! Best to finalise the theme first.

Idlan is Eight

It was Idlan's birthday on my on call day, but we. Have yet to celebrate properly. Today would be his class party, and he woke up this morning all excited about the day. The theme would be LEGO, and we got all the tit bits, and party packs ready. The cake was nice too, courtesy of our favorite came magician, none other than Mama Min.

Trainee photographer Irfan

After sorting out things and getting ready to ship the stuff to class this morning, we realised that the MPV was playing up. I thing the remote battery was drained. E were not able to open the door or stat the engine. Mini disaster. That would need fixing later, but for me, I had to start getting to work. I wished I could just get a couple of hours off, but being post-call, it was just impossible.

Tomorrow would be a dinner for both Idlan and his grandmother. Her birthday is around the corner as well. That would be followed with school concert on Sunday morning, and possibly dinner with my parents. Or that any be postponed to next week at the rate we were going.

Cake courtesy of Mama Min. It was filled with Oreo!!!And the goodie bag, of courseThe boys also has Monday off after the concert. So, we would be staying at our apartment during the weekend. Things tended to be less hectic round there ..... Pics from the party would be following suit.

The R2D2 cake - Idlan's Sixth Part II

Idlan has always been a big fan of Star Wars and when asked what does he want for the cake, he answered “R2D2”. We can only think of one person who can conjure such cake - Mama Min. It was quite late when we finally made the order, but luckily she agreed. Hurrah!

Mama Min on hand to fix it!It was all right againWe went over to Damansara at pick up the cake the evening before the party. And since the cake towered over the base, it was kinda flimsy and may topple over. The journey from Damansara back home was also precarious at times. We felt that we hit all the bumps along MMR2 to reach home. Unfortunately, we got hone, we realised that one of R2D2’s leg broke and it was slanting at an angle. A quick tweet and Mama Min arrived just prior to the party at KL Bird Park to save the day!

Time for the slaughterMaking a wishThe boys plotting the downfall of R2D2. Trust the force!The cake was certainly a hit. Many people thought it was just not possible to make such a cake, and let alone, it tasted really yummy as well. By the time it was time to pack up and go, only the R2D2 robot was left - it was set aside for Daddy! All the guests remarked that not only the cake looked awesome, they were surprised that it tasted nice. Often we were disappointed that the cake only looked aesthetically pleasing but as for the taste, it left something to be desired.

Oh no! It's gone!Julia's cupcakesMy sister, Julia also brought some cupcakes she specially ordered. That was also finished in double quick time. Since it was raining, we ended up cutting the cake earlier than planned. The original plan was to take a tour of the park before lunch, topping it off with the bird show, then coming back for the cake cutting thingy. Next entry …… bird show!

Slideshow of the party was uploaded here.

More of Mama Min's amazing creations can be found here.

Gearing Up

Strolling at The CurveHad to head out to The Curve area yesterday evening to do some last minute shopping. Idlan’s birthday party will be later this afternoon, and for the last few days, I had to go out taking Puan Anita around doing her chores. Everything seemed to be falling into place nicely and InsyaAllah we will have a grand party! 

Irfan said: "I think this is what we should do"First stop was at Mama Min’s swanky new apartment at Armanee Terrace. Very nice duplex units there! Jealous! The cake were delivered but very delicate. On the way back I will have to avoid all the speed bumps and drive at 50 km/h maximum. Ear plugs would be necessary with the honks I will hear from the more impatient drivers behind me later.

There was always time for a quick dodgem. Move!Next, The Curve, for a bit of shopping, then dinner, and more shopping. Puan Anita felt that the goody bags and party packs were pretty light weight still. So, she got some more stuffs to cram in.Diner at Marche, as requested by the birthday boy. Then a stroll. The Curve and the open air area sure looked nice in the evening, although it was still muggy and warm. Sure wish that we live around there but the trouble will be that we will spent too much money shopping. It was already difficult as it was now! 

Irfan still giving his opinionFinally we got everything sorted out. Back home, more wrappings and last minute decorating needed to be done. The party will be from 11, so better get everything sorted out  quick so that there will be no drama in the morning!

The Apartment

It has been a long couple of days with the exams and after work this afternoon , I had to run some errands for Anita, preparing for Idlan’s birthday party next weekend. We headed initially to Damansara Perdana, to a newly renovated shopping complex called Perdana Shopping Centre - previously called the Tropics. We wanted to order the birthday cake, but unfortunately the shop was closed. Mama Min - the owner - was out for a couple of hours and we just missed her, which was a shame.

Next stop, the Curve for some afternoon tea and more shopping. I actually missed lunch and was therefore rather hungry. A few weeks ago, we wanted to try the Apartment restaurant there, but Idlan wanted to go to Marche instead. Since it was just me and Puan Anita this time, we thought why not.

The Apartment was best described as cozy. It was nearly empty when we arrived. We took our seat on the back room, on a sofa. There were three other tables taken up in the restaurant at the time, so we got our privacy and was attended by a Pilipino gentleman as our waiter. The menu was more extensive than I thought, and items containing alcohol were clearly marked. Therefore, the famous mussels they served there was out of the question.

I ordered three items - buffalo mozzarella salad as starter, seared salmon for main and for drinks, I ordered the tangerine cooler. Anita ordered prawn skewer from the tapas menu, shepherd’s pie and tea. The prawn skewer was really nice. We ordered a small tapas portion, and got ourselves only 4 succulently-baked tiger prawn, in a pineapple, peppery, nutty sauce, with hints of oregano. Difficult for me to describe the exact ingredients, but definitely something we will order again in the future. I was quite disappointed with my salad. The portion of cheese was small compared to the potatoes and shallot which made up the rest of the serving. The cheese was also too mild to contrast with the sour taste of the tomatoes, and the dressing did not do much to add to the flavour. I ended up leaving most of the tomatoes, and munch on Anita’s prawns instead.

My buffalo mozzarella salad Anita's prawnThe seared salmonThe seared salmon however saved the day. It was served with baby potatoes and puree sauce. Simple but nice. The salmon was very well poached, although I wished that the portion was bigger. Anita’s shepherd’s pie was not much to write about I was afraid. It was baked well, but was too dry in the end. I definitely prefer the chicken pie from Smokehouse over this.

My tangerine coolerI must say that the specialty of the Apartment was definitely the drinks. My tangerine cooler was definitely ……. cooling. It was lemonade with a hint of citrus, topped up with mint. Definitely will order that again should I drop by here in the future. Hit the spot in the hot sun. Shame that they don’t to drinks to take out …..

Will I come here again? Definitely with friends for a chat, but not for serious dining. I doubt that my parents would have appreciated the food. It was certainly more fusion than traditional - my parents were a bit more conservative when it comes to food. Cost? Medium, comparable to Marche and the likes. In short - grab a nice corner sofa, order the cooler and some tapas, and sit back. Didn’t check if they do free wifi here but I did see a few of the customers opening their laptops. For those on the rush, there was also an express lunch menu - very reasonably priced, but I was not sure if that was a regular fixture.

Lot 72, 73 & 74, 152, Ground and First Floor (next to TGI Fridays), Western Courtyard, The Curve Shopping Centre, Mutiara Damansara. Check out their neat website here.