Apr 29, 2015

‘RUN FOR YOUR LIVES MALAYSIA’ TO BE HELD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PENANG – IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRIPDA


Run For Your Lives Malaysia, a Zombie infested obstacles run will be organised in Penang for the first time at the Penang Botanic Gardens on 16th May 2015. This event is organised in partnership with Tripda, an online carpooling platform that connects car drivers and passengers heading the same way.

What’s interesting about this race is that participants can choose to either run for their lives and dodge the Zombies or be a Zombie themselves and hunt for the runners. It’s an exciting 5km route that participants will be racing on from 9am to 3pm with obstacles to complete apart from dodging the Zombies.


According to Delon Leong, the founder of Dusty Monkeys (the organiser of Run For Your Lives Malaysia), this is the second Run For Your Life event that is being held in Malaysia. The first one was held at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang in Selangor with 10,000 participants. “The event last year in Kuala Lumpur was a great success and we hope to repeat that success in Penang,” said Leong.  “It will be a very interesting event at the Penang Botanic Gardens where one will be one with nature while completing the obstacle race,” added Leong. 


The organiser of the event is expecting 4,000 participants to sign up for the Penang event. Registration for this event is still ongoing with various price levels for different registration categories and dates i.e Loyal Members (RM79) from 6th March to 10th March, Early Birds (RM89) from 11th March to 15th March, Normal registration (RM99) from 16th March to 29th March, Latecomers (RM109) from 10th March to 26th April and Last Chance registration (RM129) from 27th April to 10th May. Participants can log on to http://runforyourlives.asia/my-penang for more information about the race and to register.



 In view of the limited parking space and the expected overwhelming response for this event, Tripda is urging participants to carpool. An online landing page to match participants as well as volunteers heading to the event has been created for the convenience of carpoolers.

To promote carpooling among participants, the organiser and Tripda are offering some perks to carpoolers. Among them are, RM30 Starbucks or RM50 Petronas Cash Card and priority parking space located nearest to the entrance of the Penang Botanic Gardens for participants who offer rides. To enjoy these perks, participants must register online prior to the event at http://rfyl.partners-tripda.com.my/

“Tripda is a fun way to carpool. Participants of this event can foster new friendships by carpooling apart from helping to reduce traffic congestion and parking problems,” said Victor Ang, Managing Director of Tripda Malaysia. “Tripda is also a convenient and safe way to carpool. We hope more commuters will appreciate carpooling more after they have tried it,” added Ang.

Currently, Tripda is free for all to use. It is safe, fuss-free and an economical way to get from one destination to another. Tripda can be accessed through its website, www.tripda.com.my or downloaded as a mobile app via the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Raya Taste Better with Golden Churn Butter


So yours truly woke up early yesterday, truly excited because well, I was invited to the media workshop with Golden Churn Pure Creamery Butter and also the very debonair celebrity Chef Dato Fazley Yaakob. It was held at the Cooking House which was previously in Desa Seri Hartamas but they have relocated to a lovely house in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar.


I am sure you all have heard of Golden Churn Butter before. If you haven't errr... oh em gee... where did you come from??? Anyway, Golden Churn Butter is a famous butter in South East Asia as well as of course, Australia and New Zealand, but even Chefs from the Institute of Cordon Bleu in Paris know about this great butter!!

It is famed for its excellent baking and cooking properties and has been that famous for over 70 years now!!!


Golden Churn is unique in being a canned butter that is found in the baking aisle instead of in the chiller section, but naturally, it is now also available as the commonly seen wrapped butter and in the white plastic tub as well.


Canned Golden Churn butter is a product from Australia and New Zealand, made from the fresh milk of grass fed cattle. It has a very long shelf life and is free from artificial flavoring and coloring!!!

And for Muslim consumers, rest your minds in peace, it is certified Halal!!

It has been certified by both the New Zealand Islamic Development Trust and Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria P/L and both Halal bodies are recognized by JAKIM.


In Malaysia, Golden Churn butter is synonymous with the traditional favorite kek lapis, or the layer cake which is a technically challenging and time intensive cake that requires the highest quality for the best results. Golden Churn butter is one of these key ingredients!!!


As you can see in these few pictures here (above) the cupcakes, cakes, and cookies are all made using Golden Churn butter and the icing as well.. You can also use the butter to make flavored butter (as seen in the picture below) where the chefs at the Cooking House made three different flavored Golden Churn butter for us to try. Clockwise from centre top - Golden Churn butter with Paprika, Golden Churn butter with English Parsley and Golden Churn butter with Garlic.... it is scrumptious eating this butter with a slice of bread or buns...



Anyway, ahead of Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, ( yeah... I know.. when I posted up some of these pictures in my Instagram I had friends asking if I wasn't getting ahead of time and making my Raya cookies already)...  Golden Churn has collaborated with celebrity Chef Dato Fazley , of MasterChef Malaysia fame as I have mentioned earlier, on two unique recipes that will definitely delight family and friends on any occasion, not just Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.


The two recipes are Golden Churn Marble Cake that incorporates the exotic taste of cinnamon and nutmeg for a more sophisticated  take on the familiar favorite, and the Golden Churn Puff that deconstructs the kaya puffs of childhood into a fine dining dessert.

The key ingredient here is naturally the Golden Churn butter that lends the perfect amount of richness, lightness, delicate texture and gorgeous aroma that is guaranteed to enhance the taste.


Butter which has just been acknowledged for its excellent taste and texture is now also gaining status in amazing new findings in studies. Apparently, butter is a healthy addition to a balanced diet as it is rich in fat soluble vitamins, particularly Vitamin K2 that helps out bodies absorb calcium. Calcium is important for bone health  and in preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis.

Butter contains saturated fat that raise 'good cholesterol' in our blood, also known as HDL. Butter keeps you feeling fuller and more satisfied die to the short and medium chain fats, and surprisingly, they help you burn fat better!!!

Butter is a great source of butyrate, a fatty acid that is important for digestion. It is also rich in CLA which has a powerful effect on metabolism. CLA has been shown to have anti-cancer properties as well as lowering body fat percentage in humans. Butter is associated with a lower risk of obesity despite the higher calorie content of butter, eating high fat dairy products is NOT associated with obesity.


Mr Mohan Alagappar, General Manager for GBA Corporation (the distributor of Golden Churn butter in Malaysia) says that the health linked benefits of grass fed butter , namely Golden Churn makes it a welcome addition to the Raya must have ingredient wish list.

Butter is a healthy addition to a balanced diet as it is a less processed food and Golden Churn does not contain any chemical additives. Golden Churn butter is the preferred choice of professional bakers such as Chef Dato' Fazley and of experienced home cooks for its great texture, taste and aroma.


Chef Dato Fazley said that Golden Churn butter is always he and his family's preferred choice for its excellent quality and results dating back to his grandmother.


Chef Dato Fazley developed and created two recipes especially for Hari Raya using Golden Churn Butter for the best results.

"Raya is a time for guests, but it is also a very special time when far flung families come back together. It is this time when you can shower your loved ones with the most delectable treats and give them the best quality. My inspiration for these recipes was to combine the traditional with the modern, the old and the new for something totally unexpected in terms of taste and how it looks."


Chef Dato Fazley showed us his favorite style of creaming the butter which is to cut it into cubes first.

Ok, I will share the recipe below.... you should try it out... it definitely is delicious!!!


Recipe: Spiced Marbled Moist Butter Cake

Ingredients:-
220gm Golden Churn Butter
4 eggs
45 gm Caster Sugar
145gm Caster Sugar
190gm Plain Flour
10gm Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Baking Powder
65ml Milk
1tsp Vanilla Essence
1/2 tsp Nutmeg Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Powder


Method:-
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius

2. Separate the eggs and place the egg whites in a mixer and the egg yolks aside.


3. Beat the egg whites, gradually adding the 45gm caster sugar and continue to beat until stiff peak.


Your 'meringue' or the egg white should look like this... (see above and below picture)


4. Then in a separate bowl, cream together the butter and 145 gm of caster sugar, then stir in the vanilla essence.

5. Add the egg yolks one at a time and beat until all the yolks are well mixed.

6. Mix the baking powder and the flour together, then pour half of the flour mixture into the batter and add in the milk. Then beat until the mixture is smooth before adding the remaining flour.

7. Add in half of the egg white mixture/meringue and mix well.


8. Next, fold in the other half of the meringue and gently mix to combine.

9.Once the batter is ready, separate 1/4 of the batter into a separate bowl and fold in the cocoa powder, nutmeg and cinnamon powder. Mix well.


10. Pour the remaining 3/4 batter into the cake tin, alternating with the 1/4 portion of spiced batter . Then use  knife to gently cut the desired pattern on the surface .


11. Bake for about 50 minutes.


And taaa daaa..... your cake is ready and should look something like that (see picture above)

************

And as for the second recipe.....

Recipe: Kaya and Coconut Cream Puff

Ingredients:-
250gm water
5gm Sugar
100gm Golden Churn butter
150gm plain flour
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
230gm Whipping Cream
100gm Kaya
1/2 cup Desiccated coconut
3 tbsp Golden Churn butter , melted


Method:-
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius

2. Place water, sugar and butter in a pot and bring to boil.

3. Remove from the heat and add in the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined


4. Return to the heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the side of the pot and form a smooth ball.

5. Transfer the dough into a mixture and beat with the paddle attachment to release steam for about 3 minutes.


6. Once the dough is lukewarm, add the 4 eggs gradually and beat until a smooth and thick paste is formed.


7. Pipe the paste on a baking skeet and brush the top with a lightly beaten egg yolk using a pastry brush.

8. Bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees Celcius then bring it down to 170 degrees Celcius for a further 30 minutes.


Method- Filling

1. Whip cream until stiff peak and pipe a doughnut shape inside the cooled cream puff.

(the insides should be hollow like a honey comb)


2. Pipe the kaya in the middle of the whipped cream



3. Brush some melted butter on top of the cream puff and sprinkle some of the desiccated coconut over it. 


And taaa daaa.... ready to eat.... You can also use the the same dough for the cream puff here to make churros or any other puffs you desire. Make more dough and keep it in the refrigerator for whenever you need some...


Golden Churn is available at all leading retail hypermarket and supermarket. For more info, do visit; http://goldenchurn.com.au or http://www.gbaglobal.com


And ah well, we had a mini cupcake decoration contest as well this pic is of me and Cik Lily Putih...

Our sad looking icing batter....so messy.. hehehe

Photo opportunity with Chef Dato Fazley and Mr Mohan Alagappar

Ayu Rafikah, our team mate and blogger friend busy putting the icing on her cup cakes with another media friend looking on

Our humble presentation



Chef Dato Fazley, Mr Mohan trying to decide which team made the better looking cupcakes...

A picture of all the brightly coloured cuppies.....



Last but not least, I could not resist a picture of this chocolate cake on the buffet table...