A short and wonderful trip home

There was so much to celebrate the past weekend I spent in Singapore. It was dad's birthday on Friday and sis's University Graduation on Saturday.
I got back to Malaysia on Sunday; celebrated Grandpa's birthday on Monday and today; I'll be on a plane back to Sydney at 10pm.
I've made the most out of my short stay back home...and will be working hard on cakes the moment I step out of the plane @ 8 tomorrow morning.
I know I haven't been updating many cake orders the past week..and have been slacking on my sketches; but for those with cake orders due this Saturday and more to come next weekend; I promise you something spectacular :)
It's not that I've not been worried about the designs or have not been brainstorming; I just haven't had the time to put them all on paper yet. Bare with me; I'll get them to you by evening when I get back to Sydney.
I'll save Grandpa's birthday celebrations for a different post; The story today is about my Dad's birthday cake...and sis in an intelligent outfit.
I didn't get to be home this year for Father's day in June; but sis and I tried to make it up to Dad by making more of en effort for his birthday last Friday.I contributed with what I did best; and sis took care of the gifts, dinner reservations and finishing touches on the card I sketched.
Sculpting and decorating the cake in humid weather was a pain and a half. At the end of the 3 days stressful days; the cake wasn't even edible!
I had the air-cond running for most of the time ...but switched it off whenever I could to conserve electricity. The change in temperature made the strawberry and chocolate mousse filling I had in between layers of coffee cake go bad.
I knew I shouldn't have used cream! *sigh*




Oh well...at least my efforts didn't exactly go to waste. Mom was impressed at my cute little sculptures and Dad was thrilled to see his cake when they arrived in Singapore.
The cake was shaped to represent "Kledang" Hill; It is a steep mountain range which Dad often climbs 3-4 times a week.



I sometimes accompany dad on his morning walks when I gather enough will power to drag myself out of bed at 6 in the morning when I'm back home in Ipoh.
The route my dad takes with his friends is the "4-2" and I thought it'll be a cute idea to have a little "4-2" signboard on the cake top.

Despite the morning and evening traffic along its steep routes; the Kledang hill still maintains a fair amount of wildlife. Monkeys! I think they're adorable; but morning joggers beg to differ...they're seen as pests messing with vehicles and garbage at the foot of the hill. *shrug*
I guess they do look fairly fierce at times. They aren't the least bit scared of humans!

I purchased a pink bottle of champagne for sis to Pop at our family Graduation dinner party in the Airport on the way back from Sydney.



We had a spectacular FUsion CHinese dinner at The Cathay after her extravagant graduation ceremony @ Suntec City Convention Center on Saturday. The Singapore Management University had organized it very well. After taking a gazillion photographs of sis and the very smart looking hat; we sat down for a 5 course Chinese meal she had made preparations for.



I left the champagne in the fridge at home! *DAMMIT!* *laughs*...oh well; the dinner was perfect even without it. The Cathay restaurant serves incredibly impressive Chinese fusion dishes; done with so much flair and creativity. How often do you find deliciously done foie gras, mango + duck. The combination of flavours and textures made it a 5star meal.