Macarons by Crumbs

I first heard about macarons more than a year ago. At that time, I was a sceptic….. no way could macarons be more popular than cupcakes!  But looks like I’m proven wrong! Macarons are taking the world by storm – with so many cookbooks written on the subject and more and more cafes are offering these delectable bites.

Macarons are basically confectionery made using 3 main ingredients: almond powder, sugar and egg whites. Macarons are not to be confused with macaroons which are cookies made from coconut, sugar and egg whites. Macarons come in a variety of fillings/flavours ranging from sweet to savory.

I’m now officially hooked on macarons after tasting one of them – yup – I am a convert just after eating ONE Madagascar Vanilla Salted Caramel Macaron. It’s a mouthful to pronounce but the taste and flavour is truly unforgettable. For the uninitiated, Madagascar produces the world’s finest vanilla beans, I repeat, the world’s BEST vanilla beans! By the way, I got my hands (and teeth) on ‘em MVSC macs from Crumbs during the recent Little Red Market bazaar. Crumbs is managed by Aleena (a mom of 3!) who loves to bake. What was first a hobby is now a biz. Absolute coolness. 

There are a myriad of flavours to choose from e.g. Cempedak (bestseller), Milo and Hazelnut. We are not talking about cheap dime store macarons here but premium quality macarons made from the best ingredients available which is something I like as I am also very fussy about ingredients used for my cakes.

The macarons come in lovely packaging perfect for gift-giving. They are also ideal as wedding favors – packed in pairs – and in the wedding theme color! Not to mention, perfect for baby showers, full moon celebration, wedding anniversary, birthday party packs and the list goes on! Cookies, chocolates and cupcakes are so so yesterday.  By the way, macarons also look good on cakes or stacked up in a tower! It will certainly make a statement for any function.

 

Crumbs gift box. Photo with permission from Crumbs

If that’s not enough to tempt you, Crumbs has also come up with designer macarons – and the latest design is Hello Kitty! Kawaiiness to the max! All fully hand-piped without using molds or any added sugar embellishments (cos that will be make the macaron too sweet).

With Marissa’s 4^th birthday coming up next month, I’ve decided to order Hello Kitty macaron pops from Crumbs to be given out to the little ballerinas at the ballet school. Probably I will bake a small cake as well.  

Hello Kitty and My Melody designer macarons – the first of its kind fully hand-piped with macaron batter. Photo with permission from Crumbs.

It’s official – I’m MAD about MACARONS! I can’t wait to see what other new designs and flavours that will be coming out soon! For enquiries, drop Aleena an email [crumbs.my@gmail.com] and LIKE their FB page! All orders are freshly baked in Aleena's home kitchen in PJ.

*update* 13 June 2012 : I'm now part of CRUMBS! I've joined forces with Aleena and now Crumbs is open for cake and cupcake orders too! 

IBU Family Bazaar : Young Chefs Academy

IBU's 10th Family Bazaar was held at 1Mont Kiara mall from 14-19 May 2012. 

Many activities were lined up throughout the entire week. We attended the Young Chefs Academy cooking class where the kids learned how to prepare a frittata.

I also set up my stall on the last day of the bazaar - and met with lots of mummies and daddies who bought lots of books! Sorry no pic cos was busy!

Kleenex Share the Softness

The household name Kleenex has long been synonymous with wondrously soft tissues. No prizes for guessing which is the best answer to complete the following statement :

As soft as _____________

A. Silk

B. Butter

C. Kleenex

D. Down

Kleenex is not only soft, but strong and absorbent too - being made from top quality 100% virgin pulp. 

Recently, Kleenex has launched its "Share the Softness" campaign. Basically, this campaign aims to spread the joy of caring and sharing through sending a gift of softness to our loved ones.

You can participate in this campaign by requesting a Kleenex tissue pack in limited edition floral designs for your friends & family here. Go ahead and share the softness to as many people as possible!

For those of you who prefer to gift the Kleenex tissue pack on your own, just go to any retail outlet and purchase a pack of Kleenex tissue aptly named the 'Share Bundle'. Each 'Share Bundle' comes with 5 boxes instead of the standard 4. If you scrutinise the pic below, you will notice the topmost tissue box has a different print i.e. ribbon and notecard, perfect for gifting!

Like most companies who endeavour for excellence in customer service, Kleenex has its own Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/Kleenex.Malaysia

Check out the page for updates on the Kleenex Moments Contest where participants stand a chance to win prizes worth RM14,500! What's more? For each entry in the contest, Kleenex has pledged to donate a Kleenex tissue pack to a non-profit organization.

A big thank you to Kleenex - I have experienced the gift of softness in the form of 2 tissue boxes... keeping one box for myself and another box gifted to someone else!
As for the bottle of hard candy - my son is eyeing it for himself! What a sharp contrast indeed to the soft tissues!

Double Celebration

Celebrated my birthday and Mother's Day yesterday! Awoke to a surprise birthday card and artwork done by my 2 kids. Had lunch at Publika's Eat (Chinese non-halal foodcourt) and then went to the Little Red Market. It's a bazaar showcasing handmade items. Hubby took the kids to MPH while I had my dose of retail therapy! Purchased a batik sling bag by Anakijo, les macarons by Crumbs, Apple logo cushion covers by Adrene Sews and a fluffy bath towel accented with owl fabric on it by Sugarfloss. Gosh *evil laugh* first time buying stuff ALL for MYSELF.

For dinner we went to TGIF, Gardens Mall. Kids eat free with each main course ordered. Received a Mother's Day gift from them as well, plus 2 desserts on the house on the occasion of my birthday. After dinner, went to Boost Juice to claim my free birthday drink! Have to show Boost card and IC as proof. Then went to L'Occitane to claim my RM20 birthday voucher which I used to purchase trial/travel size skincare trio set. Finally, went to Topshop to claim my 20% off entire purchase discount voucher. Unfortunately, nothing interesting to buy so have yet to spend on any apparel. 

As for my birthday cake, my CG members surprised me with an opera cake - flavoured with Earl Grey tea! We celebrated on a Friday (2 days earlier). I also received lots of text messages, phonecalls and FB messages from friends and family. Feel truly blessed!