Happy Birthday Hui Xieng!

Hui Xieng; intelligent, dainty, demure, creative, thoughtful and officially "21" today. We've been friends for almost 4 years now...and I still feel I've not gotten to know you enough.*laughs* A dear friend and a cherished memory...but a friendship long neglected. I hope the days ahead brings us closer together in more ways than random hi's and bye's at Uni. It's funny how despite the short birth-day gap, starsigns and virgo traits we both share; we're so different....almost total opposites. *laughs*
From academics to personality, physical features and talents, I've often wished to be like you in so many ways....
Xieng; You still are my role model ;) *hug*
We (all-of-us...which would also include most of Hx-s buddies who I've not been introduced to) had a birthday surprise for her at a classy Chinese restaurant in Bondi Junction. Unfortunately....the 'surprise' was leaked....she knew we were there waiting for her *sigh*...."surprise-parties" are so difficult to organize! Haha.
Most of us shared a large gift consisting of the full set of 10 "Ugly-Dolls" which happens to be something she's always wanted. I personally feel they're extremely ugly. I think they resemble cushy pillows shaped like splotches of paint with ugly eyes and features glue-d on them. *laughs* she loves them...so I guess it was all that mattered. We also included in the pressie; a cake I baked for her and everyone pitched in to help subsidize the expensive amount of Lindt chocolate being used. I remember her telling me about how she would love a triple tier all-chocolate cake which had pretty pink and brown decor..with lots and lots of chocolate. Xieng; I didn't forget...*smile*
I baked exactly what she wanted in 2 layers of milk chocolate cake covered in white chocolate cream and fondant for the smallest "pot" of chocolate on top and the base was a white chocolate Irish cream mud cake covered in dark chocolate ganache. I made a little fondant figurine of her swimming in a bowl of chocolate with her new "Ugly-doll"-OX.I personally wasn't too happy with how her cake turned out. From the baking...the recipe..and the piping work on the icing. I felt the middle layer of milk chocolate cake was too dry (from the 2 days of sitting exposed on my kitchen table top as I didn't have an air-tight container big enough). The cakes were too dense in my opinion...but I was a little worried about making sponge cakes as they might sink/droop from the long periods of pressure from the figurines/top layers of cake. *sigh* I definitely need to work out a "fail proof" recipe for chocolate cakes...maybe in my next couple of attempts. The piping work on the cake was "messy"....it wasn't exactly the 'look' I was trying to go for...but I guess I kinda 'conveniently' went with the flow after it started turning out that way. Despite my many complaints...quite a number of us at dinner gave the cake a thumbs-up! A really nice friend of hers even asked if I participated in cake competitions! *blush* I was really surprised...as I was almost about to cry from embarrassment. It's a good thing I talk/think about crying quite often but it never actually happens...LOL, It might be that I'm just too hard on myself sometimes. *shrug*