Dinner @ Excapade Sushi, Regent Square (29.04.2014)

Both Sister and I went for dinner at Excapade Sushi, Regent Square yesterday evening after work. We couldn’t decide what to eat so I asked her to choose which cuisine she wanted to try. She suggested Japanese or Korean cuisine. So, I myself decided with Japanese cuisine since it’s been more than a month since I last had sushi and sashimi.

I chose Excapade Sushi at Regent Square as I wanted to go Hua Ho, Kiulap to buy some ingredients for the baking of Durian Cheesecake tonight. I intended to try Non Bake Oreo Cheesecake but I later found out there are recipes of Durian Cheesecake on the Internet. Sister opted for Baked Durian Cheesecake over Non Bake Oreo Cheesecake in the end.

Anyways, let me show you what both Sister and I had at Excapade Sushi, Regent Square yesterday evening.

Dobinmushi | B$6.00

This was my first time trying Dobinmushi. What I knew of this dish before it was served was that it was soup in a teapot. But I never expected the teapot to be this small in size. LOL! We were being given limes for lime juices. Squeeze out some juice from the lime into the prepared dipping bowl, followed by pouring the soup into and take a sip. I squeezed out too much lime juice and my soup ended up extremely sour.

In the end, Sister suggested that we just drink the soup as it was. No need to squeeze any more lime juice as the soup itself tasted quite sweet. The soup came with a small portion of Japanese fish cake, chicken breast cube, crab stick and prawn. Everything came with one piece only apart from the Japanese fish cake. To be honest, there was nothing to rave about this. And B$6.00 for it was just freakin’ expensive!

Grilled Salmon Head (L) | B$5.50

Excapade Sushi offers Grilled Salmon Head in three sizes – S, M and L. I remembered asking for a medium sized Grilled Salmon Head but this was the size they gave me. It was still okay as I am quite a big fan of Grilled Salmon Head. Sister ate most of the salmon flesh while I had the sides. Hahaha … Those were the nutritious parts of a salmon! The salmon head was grilled perfectly but I think the Teriyaki Sauce was tad bit too salty for my liking.

Salmon Tataki | B$8.00

Instead of ordering Salmon Sashimi platter, I ordered this. To be honest, I preferred Salmon Tataki over Salmon Sashimi nowadays. The thickness of Salmon Sashimi seems to be inconsistent at different Excapade Sushi outlets. They are sometimes in thin slices or thick and juicy slices at other times.

Gyoza | B$5.00

Sister was fascinated by the idea of Cheese Gyoza in the first place. She asked me whether I had tried it. I did and the cream cheese portion was super generous and you ended up feeling sick if you had too much of it. So, I suggested that we try the savory kind of Gyoza instead. So, that was how we ended up with Chicken Gyoza.

Salmon Avocado Ebiko Temaki | B$3.80 & Salmon Seaweed Ebiko Temaki | B$3.80

The kitchen staff made a mistake with our orders. We ordered as above but the waitress served us with two pieces of Salmon Avocado Ebiko Temaki. Seaweed sheet was fresh and crispy but I personally believed that portion seems to be getting lesser and lesser. What do you think?

Excapade Sushi Regent Square
Unit 1 & 2, Ground Floor,
Regent Square, Kampung Kiulap,
Bandar Seri Begawan, BE1518,
Brunei Darussalam.
Tel: +673-2234011

Of Random Things #44

Baked Banana Chiffon Cake yesterday evening when I came home from work as per request from one of my colleagues. She been asking me to bake Banana Chiffon Cake but I never gotten round to do it. So, decided to bake it yesterday evening when my first intention was to bake on last Sunday evening. Something came up at work so I couldn’t bake it as planned.

Thankfully, the texture of was soft, moist and spongy. I was kinda afraid that the cake would be unsuccessful like my previous bake with Sweet Corn Cream Chiffon Cake. I am planning to try baking Sweet Corn Cream Chiffon Cake again some time soon but substitute self-raising flour with cake flour.

The cake rose beautifully when baked but it still ended up with two cracks. But it’s okay as the cracks wouldn’t be very visible when the cake shrink a little during inverting process. Left the cake inverting on dining table overnight as I am lazy to unmould it immediately after it cooled down.

Tadah!

Anyways, the presentation of my Banana Chiffon Cake may not look appealing for some of you. But rest assured that this is a soft, spongy, moist and low sugar level Banana Chiffon Cake. If you are interested, you can always refer to this link for the recipe or the original recipe from DessertzHouse.

Of Random Things #43

Baked Sweet Corn Cream Chiffon Cake yesterday evening when I came home from work. Used my newly purchased 18cm chiffon pan and it was a major regret as the batter was too much for the chiffon pan and it ended up rising above the chiffon pan about an inch or two.

Click here for the original recipe if you are interested.

To be honest, I could only blame myself for using such a small chiffon pan when the original recipe called for a 20cm chiffon pan. I used a 18cm instead. I wondered if the pan size has anything to do with the shrinkage. Majority of the cake recipes which I adapted recently called for all-purpose or self-raising flour instead of cake flour. Unmoulding process was a little bit hard compared to before.

The texture of the cake is spongy but both parents and I find the cake to be a little bit dense and wet. Something must had went wrong with my process of making the chiffon cake as the original recipe looked very moist and spongy rather than wet and dense of mine. But I don’t mind trying this another time with cake flour instead of self-raising flour and 21cm chiffon pan instead of 20cm.

Review: My Scheming Pearl Whitening Mask

Jia just Whatsapp-ed me asking me what is Cream Of Tartar and where she could get it in Brunei. She also asked if she could get it from the local Indian convenience stores. To be honest, I doubt the local Indian convenience stores have it as even the major supermarkets like Hua Ho and Supa Save do not have it. Well, I got mine from LeApple Bakery Mart few months ago when I got obsessed with baking.

She told me that she is planning to bake a cheesecake this evening as her in-laws are coming down to Bandar to meet her and the family. I asked her where she got her recipe from as I find the ingredients to be a little over the board for a normal cheesecake. Instead of a block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, she will be using two blocks and 10 eggs! Hopefully, her cake will turn out good since this is her first time with baking cheesecake. Speaking of baking, I am planning on baking Sweet Corn Cream Chiffon Cake with the new 18cm chiffon pan which I bought yesterday from Hua Ho, Delima.

Anyways, let’s not talk about baking anymore or else it will be never ending. LOL!

I will be doing a skincare product review on My Scheming Pearl Whitening Mask today. I bought it last December when I was in Miri for Elsey’s wedding dinner but it got postponed/cancelled approximately one week before the appointed date. No, there’s no runaway bride or groom, if that’s what you are wondering. The couple just decided that they will postpone the wedding dinner in Miri since they already had a wedding dinner in Penang in early December.

My Scheming Pearl Whitening Mask

To be honest, I think I had tested out majority sheet masks that My Scheming had manufactured so far. LOL! I like My Scheming sheet masks as much as I do for both SexyLook and My Beauty Diary. Sister is coming home for a week in a few days time and I decided not to have a purchase list for her apart from Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief from Shanghai Pudong Airport to replace my soon to finish Shiseido Pureness Matifying Moisturize Oil-Free.

I am always constantly on a lookout for sheet masks with whitening properties and effects. Hence, the reason why I bought this sheet mask in the first place. According to the packaging, My Scheming Pearl Whitening Mask is for “dry and limp skin, enhancing skin vitality, moisture and elasticity. Pearl protein can be absorbed efficiently by our skin and has superior effect on reserving moisture in your skin. Pearl protein can help in reserving the nutrients and moisture in the mask, and give you a smooth and silky skin.“

As usual, I would leave the sheet mask in the fridge before application. I left this in the fridge overnight compared to the usual 15 to 20 minutes. Upon removing the sheet mask from it’s packaging, the sheet mask was extremely wet with essence. The texture of the sheet mask was thin. It’s ability to lock the essence on the sheet mask without dripping during application was good. I had tried some other brands of sheet masks whereby the essence kept on dripping down to my neck during application.

The sheet mask came with a subtle hint of flowery scent. Some beauty bloggers mentioned that the sheet mask smelled like white jasmine or green tea but I personally think that it smelled a little bit rosy but subtle. Anyways, I left the sheet mask on my face for approximately 20 minutes while blow drying my hair. When removed the sheet mask from my face, my skin was noticeably brighter, smoother and softer. Unfortunately, the effects weren’t long lasting as they only lasted for a night.

So, here’s what I think of My Scheming Pearl Whitening Mask in a nutshell:

Pros:
1. Sheet mask came with generous amount of essence.
2. Came with subtle hint of flowery smell.
3. Ability to hold essence was good.
4. Skin was noticeably brighter, smoother and softer after application.
5. Doesn’t reek of alcohol.

Cons:
1. Effects weren’t long lasting, only for a night.

Overall Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Price: RM6.90

Repurchase? Yeah!

Review: Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Melanin Control Day Essence

I intended to do a blog entry on Pandan Chiffon Cake today but water supply at home was cut off since yesterday evening. Something went technically wrong with our water pump or pressure tank. So, I couldn’t do any baking yesterday evening after I came home from work. Water came back this morning after Dad went to check on them but water came out as dark as the color of a chocolate bar. Water pressure was low as well. Hence, showering time took longer than usual.

So, I decided to do review on one of the skincare products from my skincare products’ review list. What I am about to review today is Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Melanin Control Day Essence. That’s a mouthful for a product name, huh? LOL!

Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Melanin Control Day Essence

I bought this particular product from Elizabeth Arden, Hua Ho Yayasan when my previous bottle of Artistry Ideal Radiance Illuminating Essence ran low on supply. I was even contemplating if I should return to purchasing another bottle of the latter. But before I decided on purchasing Elizabeth Arden, I Google searched the mentioned product and check on the reviews. Most of the reviews which I checked on highly raved about this product apart from the downside on being a little bit too pricey.

Extracted from Elizabeth Arden Singapore:

This concentrated yet lightweight daytime serum instantly brightens skin, evens out skin tone and controls melanin production. Powerful melanin inhibitors help minimize the appearance of existing dark spots and help prevent future excess pigmentation. Supports natural collagen and elastin so skin reflects a smoother, more even-textured and luminous appearance.

The 30ml of essence was housed in a glass bottle and it came with a “squeeze” pump dispenser like in the above picture. I like the “squeeze” pump dispenser as it’s very hygienic and you do not have to worry about accidentally squirting too much of the essence. One squeeze will dispense a droplet of the essence which is more than enough for the entire face. When purchasing this product, Shet Fui reminded me that the tip of the dispenser must not get in contact with the skin for hygiene reason.

One of the ingredients of this product was Diamond Powder. Hence, it explained why the liquid looked gold in color and slightly glittery. Albeit the essence was gold in color, it doesn’t make your face looking all gold and glittery after application. The consistency of the liquid is slightly runny and it gets absorbed onto the skin very quickly. It felt soft and velvety to the touch. It smelled pleasant but I personally think that it smelled slightly different compared to some other Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening range of products.

I had been using this product religiously for about a month and I am quite impressed with the performance so far. My skin complexion had brightened up a lot and it looked radiant and smoother nowadays. But there are those days when my skin do not go cooperative with me and turns a little blotchy. If you are wondering if this essence can lighten up scar marks/dark spots, it could only help a little as this product focuses more on the complexion rather than scar marks/dark spots. If you are looking for a product to lighten up scar marks, I would suggest trying Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Anti-Melanin Spot Corrector.

The major downside of this product is of course the pricing. It’s half price more expensive compared to Artistry Ideal Radiance Illuminating Essence and Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence which I previously used. Another downside is that you need to buy Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Melanin Control Night Capsules to complete the set. Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Melanin Control Day Essence can only be used during the day while Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Melanin Control Night Capsules is to be used at night.

So, here’s what I think of Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Melanin Control Day Essence in a nutshell:

Pros:
1. Came with “squeeze” pump dispenser for hygiene reason.
2. Essence gets absorbed onto the skin quickly.
3. Leave a soft and velvety feeling to the touch.
4. Brightened and radiant skin complexion.
5. Smelled pleasant.

Cons:
1. Pricey!
2. Can only be used during the day. Another product for nighttime use.
3. Bottle is easily breakable when slipped.

Overall Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Price: B$130

Repurchase? Yes, but only during sales period.