INTERNATIONL FASHIONZ

Prawn Sambal

If there is one dish that I can eat every day with just plain white rice, it’s probably sambal udang(prawn sambal)—a popular Malay or Nyonya prawn dish that is much-loved by many people. Made with a sambal paste and flavored with belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste), the gravy of sambal udang is best when drizzled on a serving of steaming hot rice…

There are many variations of sambal udang (prawn sambal), but the basic ingredients are more or less the same. This version is our family’s sambal udang recipe, passed down to us from my late mother. She would always add some thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves to perfume the dish with its aroma. Every bite is bursting with the briny flavor of the prawn, follows by the complex flavor of the fiery sambal, and ends with a citrusy note of the kaffir lime leaves.

Here is my sambal udang recipe, which I made when I was in Penang, Malaysia. Try it out and I am sure you will want it every day!

Egg Custard Tarts

11:26:00 AM in Cooking Recipes

My ex-manager, Joao, is Portuguese and from the day he came to know that I love baking, he's been asking me to bake some Portuguese egg tarts. It sounded daunting but to be fair, I didn't even do a search for Portuguese egg tarts before deciding that in my mind. As he continued telling me how delicious they are and couldn't be more different from the Chinese Egg Tarts, I said I would try baking the Portuguese version if he could bring some for me from Portugal. He agreed.

I had no more excuses to not bake some Portuguese egg tarts and the best opportunity came up when a bunch of were going to visit Joao and Ruth's baby, Luke.

Imagine baking Portuguese egg tarts for the first time for a Portuguese. Go ahead, imagine that. Jitterville!

I did it and I got a huge thumbs up from Joao. He even said a lot of people in Singapore would be willing to pay for these. Hmmm...

Portuguese Egg Custard Tarts
Adapted from Not Quite Nigella
Makes 12

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar (I would use slightly lesser than this next time)
2 tbsp cornflour
400ml full cream milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 block of puff pastry sheet

How I Made Them:

1. Grease a muffin tray and pre heat oven to 200C.

2. Place the egg yolks, sugar, and cornflour in a pan and whisk together until well combined. Slowly add in the milk and mix well with no lumps.

3. Place the pan over a medium heat and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Let it simmer for 2-3 mins, then remove from heat and add the vanilla extract.

4. Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover, and let it cool.

5. Thaw the puff pastry sheet and roll to about 1/2" thickness on a floured surface. Roll it from the width-side tightly and cut into small discs. Roll each disc (flouring the surface sufficiently) to the rough size of the muffin tray.

Fall Lip Colors

11:07:00 AM in Beauty Tips

Fall Lip Colors

If you read the magazines, you know that the trendy makeup looks change with the weather, and the clothes. In general, the color palette for autumn features colors of pumpkin and spice, with bronzes, browns, taupes and dark reds. Lipstick follows along, with darker tones, golden hues and brown touches.

Winter Lip Colors

Winter usually sees a return to clearer, more gemstone-type colors, including black and white. Lips for daytime are often seen in reds.

Spring Lip Colors

Spring comes in pastels and pale but bright tones, pinks, light green, lots of white and off-white, mimicking spring flowers. Lipsticks are usually paler too, in pinks and corals, often in translucent glosses.

Summer Lip Colors

In summer, you’ll usually see the brightest colors in clothing. Hawaiiana, vacation-type clothing and playclothes fit the season. Lips can be any number of colors–usually brighter and more translucent than fall and winter looks, but bolder than spring.

season Nail designs

11:04:00 AM in Beauty Tips

Put on your hot season look and pay special attention to the tiniest beauty fixes to polish your appearance. Start with your manicure and draw some inspiration from the sunny-season easy nail art ideas below.

Hair Styling Tips

10:42:00 AM in Hair Trends for Eid

Consider yourself one of the luckiest girls under the sky if you have those beautiful and lovely long strands. At least, you are not amongst those girls splurging out hefty notes to get the striking and wowing long locks falling on your back. Be thankful to God for gifting you natural long mane. But what use is a long mane if it is destined for a braided look or plain open one? Do you fear styling your hair, just because they tend to get entangled amongst themselves in a fraction of seconds? Not anymore though, as we guide you towards styling your hair differently, and mind it, without running the risk of getting them all entangled. For God’s sake, now that you are gifted with a hair length that’s uber-versatile, wear them the way you want! But this does not mean that you pick up the most fabulous hairstyle that you find while surfing a lifestyle magazine. Choose one that suits your personality and makes you look amazingly stylish. And if picking the perfect style is your concern, the solution is at your fingertips. Here they are. Take your pick!
Long Hair Styling Tips
Pony Hairstyles
Agreed that pony tails look good on short and medium hair length, but don’t stop yourself from flaunting this style on your long locks of hair as well. Instead of going for a simple pony tail, play with your hair for a different look every time you move outdoors. Poofy ponytails, side ponytails, low ponytails, high ponytails, the choice is yours! So whether your hair is straight, curly, or wavy, pick up a comb and hair elastic and gather your hair uniformly into a neat and trendy ponytail.
Braided Hairstyles
Tired of sporting the same old traditional braid, try this one. Make braids in different portions of your hair and incorporate them into a style that will give you an incredibly stylish look. Work your hair into a side braid or an elegant French braid. Or get a half French braid done and allow the rest of the locks fall on your shoulders. Braid up different sections of your hair and accumulate them into a centered high ponytail.
Updo HairstylesWhether it’s a casual event or a formal occasion, updos are the best hairstyles to opt for. There are a variety of updo hairstyles to choose from. Go for a ballerina bun for a classy look or reveal your elegance with a timeless lovely chignon. If that’s not all, a sleek straight updo or a soft, loose updo portraying a relaxing feel will do the job. And the best of all, these updos can be done on curly and wavy hair as well apart from just straight tresses. Simply gather all your hair on top of the head or center them at the back. Either way, you have your lovely locks to make men fall for you.Loose Curls
Craving for gorgeous and magnificent blonde locks of Pamela Anderson? Leave your hair loose if your hair is naturally curly or even wavy. Apply some hair lotion into your hair to set them. Or if you have straight hair, get them curled by your hair stylist and voila! You are ready to sport those lovely long tresses with oomph and style. Either way, try giving your hair different layers of curls at home using different hair styling tools.
Go Rapunzel! Now that you have learnt how to style long hair, it’s time to let your hair down and flaunt your long and dazzling locks with beauty and confidence!

Paris Fashion Week:

10:34:00 AM in Articles about Fashion

Thierry Mugler’s spring/summer 2012 collection is a display of sleek modernism and inspired creativity that Lady Gaga would be proud of. Perhaps it then doesn’t come as a surprise that creative director of Thierry Mugler, Nicola Formichetti is the co-mastermind behind Lady Gaga’s wardrobe…

The collection showed angular designs, creative layering – deconstructed springs to mind – and sexy cut-outs what walked down the runway at Gymnase Japy is a modern day Femme Fatale. If its wearable is questionable, but it is certainly watchable.

Fashion Week SS12: Dolce & Gabbana

10:06:00 AM in Articles about Fashion

In spite of the boot-shaped country’s bleak economic situation and the closure of the D&G range we want to shout La Bella Italia when seeing the spring/summer 2012 collection by Dolce & Gabbana. The designer duo were definitely showing patriotism on Sunday as they sent models down the catwalk wearing earrings in the shape of pasta and prints depicting tomatoes and peppers, but look at the beauty.

Reminiscent of the Carnivale, the runway was lit up by multicoloured fairy lights as the models cascaded down in gorgeous summer wear that brought your mind to the Riviera and Capri in the 50′s and Italian screen goddess Sophia Loren.

Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson – who has lent her famous silhouette for several D&G ads – happily posed for the cameras in a beautiful nude coloured dress prior to the show.