MY DRINK! =D

May I please have an "Iced Grande No Syrup Soy Unshaken 8-Scoop Matcha Green Tea Latte?

sounds so snobby! HAHAHAHA! but it's the proper Starbucks way of order'n MY DRINK, per the cup-mark'n logistics that's stamp'd into every barista aka Starbucks customer service rep's head...or so that's what Starbucks expects...or what I'd expect since I work'd for Starbucks for 5 yrs & 11 months! i REALLY miss work'n there! i still dream about it!!! waking up during the wee hours to open the store. 6a-2:30p = my favorite shift! high school days - 3p-9:30p weekdays, 6:30a-3p weekends. college days - 6a-10a or later =D
in a less snobby way, i would instead order as an "Iced Grande Soy Green Tea Latte, unshaken, with no syrup & with extra matcha" it's basically just soymilk, ice & 8-scoops of matcha powder in a grande cup - SIMPLE! I most enjoy sip'n up the bitter chunks of matcha (& sugar).

but somehow it's always complicated...98% of the time, the cashier or barista would get it wrong :(

so...i stop'd order'n MY DRINK - my most enjoyable beverage that makes me smile with every sip...i now just order something else, anything else...*sad*
 My uber-delicious DIY Starbucks GRTL is made with real Tazo (Starbucks) Matcha powder that I buy off eBay (3rd bag!) & Silk Very Vanilla soymilk - SIMPLE & DELICIOUS~!!!!! I have no idea what's cheaper - buy'n it from Starbucks or making it myself since the Tazo Matcha costs up to $40/bag (S&H included), but I much prefer making it myself! 

 …Starbucks adds Classic Syrup (previously Melon) to the already sweet drink - the matcha powder is like 70% sugar! Plus the barista shakes the drink up so my precious matcha gets stuck to the sides of the shaker & the drink foams up giving you less for your $, and I don't get the sinking bitter chunks of surprise. it's just fabulous! add'd bonus: the cuppa ice from Au Bon Pain is FREE! LOL! but I do make a food purchase…=P

Happy Birthday Alicia!

my new friend Alicia's birthday falls on Christmas Day (every year!!!)! =D

hmmm...does she get one present or does she get two? idk...but she got 2 cakes :)

i made Alicia a red velvet cake (chocolate) with pink cream cheese buttercream roses. the roses were so easy to make & look'd so impressive!

i met Alicia less than a month ago, after Thanksgiving. my neighbors / new friends Eman & David invited me over for homemade sweet potato pie after work, the same day Alicia & i became friends on facebook. we each had a slice of warm fresh-outta-the-oven sweet potato custard pie along with a scoop of chocolate peppermint ice cream (Yay for Holiday flavors), then we split cos they were going to the mall & i home to tofu. a few weeks later, Eman, Alicia & i had a dinner date - we mesh'd so well! making friends = priceless! =D

on to the cake, first i crumb-coat'd it.

then with a large star tip, i just piped circles of buttercream all over the cake, then cover'd the cracks/gaps with small strokes & VOILA! DONE! what's better is that if i mess'd up, all i had to do was scrape off the buttercream & re-pipe =D

this cake was by far my nicest layer'd one EVER!!!!! looks like plain ol' chocolate, but IT'S NOT! IT'S RED VELVET!!! =P

Merry Christmas!!! =D

HO HO HO!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! it's Colinbaby's 1st Christmas! =D remember the Monkey Baby Shower for Baby Poon? this is Baby Colin Nicholas Poon! isn't he adorable? *cheek pinch!* =D

so happy that it's actually snow'n! it's a White Christmas afterall & here's my snow-cover'd Christmas Tree for 2011. =D

i made my first croquembouche ("crunch-in-the-mouth" tower of cream puffs held together w/ caramel) yesterday for an XMas Eve party. it was uber mini, but i was happy with how it turn'd out. 'twas my first @ craft'n w/ caramel & i only end'd up with one sesame-sized blister on my finger from the hot caramel. the base was 6" & the "tree" was about 10" high. the mini cream puffs were fill'd with ghirardelli chocolate custard. YUMMY!

the only thing i didn't like was the custard made with (cocoa and) Williams Sonoma "Crush" vanilla extract w/ seeds - it just tastes weird - too much liquer/liquor??? nobody noticed the odd taste, but Wilson & i both disliked it.

it was so fun & easy to make~! can't wait to make a grander one in the future for someone's special occasion =D

Homemade Christmas Goodies

i came in to work & saw this cute penguin ice-skating on my desk. Yippy! what could it have brought? :)

my co-worker Ryan sent the little penguin to me with lots of yummy Christmas treats made by his wife. They're SOOO SWEET (Ryan, his wife & of course all of the yummies!!!!! there's a pretzel stick, 3 cakepops, 2 fudge caramels & 2 chocolate-drench'd oreos. Lucky Me! =D

the cakepop was SOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!!! not overly sweet since the cake was actually baked as a ball, rather than crumb'd & mix'd with frosting to form the ball (gotta inquire about the baking pan for this =P).

to the oreo! OMG! even better: it's DOUBLE-STUF'd! =D

i wonder if the rest of the goodies will last me until lunch time. =D

spam buns anyone? =D

anyone who follows me on facebook gets freak'd out see'n how much luncheon meat aka "Spam" i eat. i can eat it 3 meals/day - with eggs & toast for breakfast, with macaroni for lunch, with spicy Korean stew for dinner, even with rice, or fried rice, or ramen. all that fat & sodium...terrible diet of mine! LOL! i don't think i'll ever get sick of it, still got lots of new ways to enjoy it like spam musubi - Hawaiian spam sushi! i just came across another new way: Luncheon Meat Buns! think i'll finally try my hand @ making bread, work'n with with yeast :)

don't these look yummy?

belated bday post

been too lazy to post pix of my Hello Kitty Birthday Bash. here are a few from my phone.

all the food - not much, ran outta time. clockwise: katsu sandwiches, salad with sesame ginger dressing, Japanese hamburg patties, my cake, vanilla cupcakes w/ strawberry swiss meringue buttercream made w/ powder'd dehydrated strawberries, tiramisu & giant sugar cookies of Hello Kitty's head, mini apple pies, miso soup with Hello Kitty shaped tofu, Korean curry with Hello Kitty die-cut carrots & potatoes, more katsu sandwiches, rare green tea yogurt cheesecake :)

my most interesting birthday cake ever!!! hehehe. Hello Kitty end'd up look'n funny & i almost gave up on her. LOL! good thing i didn't cos she sure was delicious - 3 layers of Ghirardelli chocolate cake sandwich'd with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, coat'd with made-by-me marshmallow fondant & decorated with CandyMelts. too bad i forgot to take a picture with her - we wore match'n dresses! :) and vanilla cupcakes with Hello Kitty rings

Japanese chicken katsu (fry'd cutlet) sandwiches with wasabi mayo & tonkatsu sauce (Japanese worchestershire sauce)

Rare Japanese matcha (powder'd green tea) yogurt cheesecake

Judy's mini apple pies - they have Hello Kitty imprint'd on them! :) and big BIG big naked sugar cookies, ran outta time to ice them & make them pretty :(

Phuong's uber-cute Hello Kitty macarons w/ raspberry jam

i gave Hello Kitty a bath! a Korean curry bath equip'd with potatoes & carrots cut-outs of herself.

the most amazing tiramisu i've ever made & ever eaten!!! i didn't use a recipe & pretty much wing'd it, but it's simple to make - egg yolks, mascarpone cheese, sugar, heavy cream, fresh-brew'd Starbucks espresso, fabulous melt-in-mouth French lady fingers from Trader Joe's & dust'd with Ghirardelli cocoa powder & powder'd sugar

everyone was full by the time i got around to cut'n the cake, so i end'd up taking 75% of the cake home - the head only. when i woke up the next morning, the day of my birthday, i lit a candle, made a wish & had yummy cake for breakfast. =D

alongside the cake, i had macarons too! lucky me!

breakfast for the birthday girl =D

after dessert, i had a Hello Kitty egg (& ketchup) sandwich

more pix to come!

and of course, more Hello Kitty parties!!! WOOT WOOT!!!