GLAZED DUCK

Here's the roasted duck recipe as requested by dear cuz Alin (her link is provided here in this blog under my favourites alongside my other talented cousins). She herself despite being a full time career woman lovingly creates wonderful pies and pasta bakes as well as scrumptious cakes and festive cookies. Her gingersnaps especially are out of this world, absolutely unputdownable! Yang terbaru is her sticky date and prune cake which although I haven't had the opportunity to sample, I bet it's as good as her other offerings. Dengar nama jer dah boleh imagine mesti moist and delectable. Linnnnn....nak recipe can ahhhhhh.....tak sabor nak tunggu balik Malaysia baru nak rasa.

GLAZED DUCK (recipe from Mami of mamakandmami.blogspot.com)

1 duck, cleaned and dried
salt and pepper
1 orange
50 gm ginger
1 bundle of coriander
3 tbs chili sauce
70 gm runny honey (I used normal table honey)
2 tbs Lebkuchengewurz (I used Chinese mixed spice or alternatively mixture of serbuk ketumbar, jintan, nutmeg, buah pelaga, bunga lawang)

Method

Season duck with salt and pepper. Preheat oven at 200 degrees (hot air oven at 180 degrees).

Dice 30gm ginger, slice the orange and chop 3/4 of the coriander. Stuff them into the cavity of the duck and close with toothpicks. (I also prick all over duck skin with toothpick to aid draining of fat).

Put the duck in the middle rack of the oven. Place a shallow baking tray filled with 1.2 litre hot water under it. (A lot of duck fat will flow into the baking tray while roasting).

Making the glaze :

Chop balance ginger and coriander finely.

Mix 3 tablespoons chili sauce, honey, 2 tsp mixed seasoning and add the chopped ginger and coriander.

Baking time is 2 hours. Start glazing the duck 45 minutes before baking time ends.

Glaze duck every 15 minutes until the 2-hour baking time ends.

Serve and enjoy.

Birthday bash and U2 360

Syirah's birthday fell on a working day. Since that day jugak la U2 held its concert in Hannover and Mama and Abah just had to go sebab entah bila pulak la U2 nak perform kat Malaysia, Syirah's birthday makan-makan had to be postponed to the following weekend. Concert was good, Bono was superb, the huge crowd was mesmerized but somehow Mama and Abah enjoyed the Scorpions concert few months back much more walaupun it was on a smaller scale.

Hundreds of fans heading towards the different entrance to the stadium

Hard core fan

The stage was located underneath the spaceship. That was the theme of the day.

Bono walking round the stage while performing-360 degrees

SATURDAY BIRTHDAY MAKAN-MAKAN BUKA PUASA

Nasi ayam

Roast duck

The part is the best, tender and juicy without being too fleshy like chicken

Syirah wanted creme caramel instead of a birthday cake. Lagi senang kerja Mama.

SUNDAY SIMPLE BUKA PUASA

Char Kuey Teow

Pizza

Family holiday and Auf Wiedersehen....

Travelling in a group of 14 was tiring but fun. Feels like rumah bergerak with loads of barang dapur moving with us to enable us to cook in the apartments that we rented. For a big group like us, this is the cheaper option as compared to staying in hotels and eating out. It was exciting exploring new places together and when the time came for us to part at the end of 3 wonderful weeks, their absence is sorely felt. We miss Nashwan's constant ramblings of Thomas, bla..bla..bla.., his impersonation of a waiter taking our food order but the food never came . He plucked most of the yet-to-ripen apples from the apple tree in the garden so when we look at the few remaining ones which hopefully will survive until September we'll definitely think of him. We also miss Safi's cute repetitive question of "What'chu doin?. All in all, we had a swell time.

SCHLOSS MARIENBERG

BERLIN

Remnants of the old Berlin Wall

Brandenburger Tor

PRAGUE

In front of astronomical clock. Built in to one side of the Old Town Hall Tower, it dates from the 15th century. On the hour, every hour, one can observe the procession of the Twelve Apostles. Below the Astronomical Clock are 12 medallions with the signs of the zodiac, added by Josef Manes in 1865.

Dekat Old Town Square in front of the Old Town Hall Tower. It's a journey back in time, 600 or 700 years. With its ancient buildings and magnificent churches, this is one of the most beautiful historical sights in Europe. Dating back to the late 12th century, the Old Town Square started life as the central marketplace for Prague.

Sweeden's and Slovenian's (below) Folk Dancers
The time we were in Prague there was an International Meeting of Folklore Ensembles so ada groups of people from European countries presenting their traditional songs and dance

Duduk melepak atas lantai while watching them perform and got caught up with them when they came down the stage to get the audience to dance (Russian's Folk Dancers) and be merry with them. Good fun!

Melepak minum kopi after penat berjalan. Just the moms and dads sebab the kids don't appreciate the historic sights

Another angle of the Old Town Square

With the guard at the entrance of the castle complex
Atas Charles Bridge

Just before boarding the boat for the river cruise

River cruise with Charles Bridge as the background
Old Town Square, Charles Bridge and Prague Castle by night

Men's loo at the Palladium Shopping Plaza in Prague with interesting facial expression of ladies posted on the wall

Houses in The Czech all multi-coloured. Berselang-seli, hijau, kuning, merah...macam-macam colour ada...

VIENNA
The girls (plus Hakeem who was trying to escape from the heat by staying in the shop) with Mozart

Enjoying gelato at one of the street cafe along Mariahelfer Strasse

Vienna Town Hall. We were there at night when a charity function was held. The compound of the Town Hall was brightly lit, full of people enjoying food and drinks from booths with a variety of International flavours while listening to classical music being played.

National Library by night

Stephansdom, one of Vienna’s most famous sights. St. Stephen's Cathedral defines the city centre and has been the heart of Vienna for centuries and was built in 1147 AD. For a long time it was uncontested as highest building in Europe measuring almost 137 m.

Museumsquartier, one of the ten largest cultural complexes in the world, where baroque buildings, new architecture, cultural institutions and various disciplines of art are united.

At the end of Mariahilfer Strasse, Vienna's longest shopping street
The water cooler was a much welcomed sight on a very hot day along Mariahilfer Strasse

Parliament building

At the Doner having our fill of kebab, chicken schnitzel and roast chicken, halal of course, after walking in Vienna

BRATISLAVA

FRUIT PICKING

Our loot...plums and cherries, tak cukup kotak, jacket pun jadi

AU REVOIR

Sambil menyelam minum air....we stopped by the Outlet Village near Frankfurt after sending Atok, Opah and Mak Teh's family off at the airport. It's located in Wertheim, one of Germany's wine producing region hence the existence of vineyards in the area. Look at the luscious grapes below. Gerammm...