CNY Hamper =)

hohoho...we received a CNY hamper..thanks to my dear dear (sinlong)..hee there's lots of goodies inside, including abalone, fish maw, bird's nest, and some other goodies. Since i'm going to be a home ec teacher soon, let's talk about the nutrition of these food products! =p

Abalone

Source: myfabulousfoods.blogspot.com

The good: very low in Saturated Fat, good source of Vitamin E, Thiamin, Vitamin B12, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Protein, Vitamin K, Pantothenic Acid and Selenium.

The bad: This food is high in Sodium (301mg/100g), and very high in Cholesterol (85mg/100g).

Source: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts


Bird's Nest

Source: biggestmenu.com

The main nutrition contents of bird's nest are carbohydrate (30%) and protein (5%) although its protein content can be compare to that of milk or eggs. Bird’s nest also contains plenty of calcium and phosphorus, as well as some iron and iodine.

The book (Evaluate Bird's Nest) written by a biochemist has also proven that protein contained in bird's nest have some bioactive elements which might have nourishing and replenishing effects on humans body.

The experts conclude that bird's nest has three main functions:

1.Enhances the rebirth of cells and tissues.
2.Improves the immune system functions of our body
3.Improves the body's tolerance toward the damage done by X-rays or other radioactive reagents.

Source: http://www.naturalnest.com/content/view/15/6/lang,en/

Talking about bird's nest, I'm going to drink some now! =)

Train Ads!

Source: sgforums.com

Source: politics.sgforums.com

For those of you who commute by the MRT, I'm sure you have seen these ads in the trains or on the train doors. Do you think this is an effective way of advertising?

I would think that this type of advertisement is effective as it introduces consumers to a new product (Ribena with strawberries) or reminds consumers of the product (100 plus).

In the case of the 100 plus ad, it is trying to bring across the message that everyone can drink 100 plus - the drink is not only for sportsmen. By using this advertisement strategy, it is trying to open up its market to more potential consumers.

A Popular Type of Advertisement - Product Placement

Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, the story line of television shows, or news programs.

Certain products are featured more than others. These products include automobiles, consumer electronics, computers and food and travel.

The video below is an example of product placements in the movie "Transformers".

As you can see, several products such as iPod, Hewlett Packard, Porsche, Burger King etc. have made their appearances in the movie. I think that this is an effective marketing strategy asd consumers are constantly reminded of the product. There is also a lifestyle appeal as consumers would think that they will become as stylist as those people in the movies if they use these products.

Product placement can be found easily in TV shows and movies, keep your eyes peeled when you are watching shows in future. You'll be surprised at the number of product placements that you can find!

Embroidery and Napkin Designs

Embroidery on towel

The embroidery was almost fully automated. I simply have to choose my design/key in the words i want in the sewing machine, adjust the size and orientation etc. Then press start and it'll create the design automatically. I just have to sit back and wait for it to be done. cool right?? haha the wonders of technology.

Napkin designs

The ladybird and plants are cut out from the napkin in the picture below and stuck onto the wooden piece. Its not completed yet, i still have to paint/write words on the piece and varnish it. This project is actually quite fun to do! =)

Napkin from which the designs were cut out

My RED Woven Bag

This bag is entirely hand-made, painstakingly woven together using strips of cloth and interfacing. The strips are glued together to form the outer structure of the bag, and an inner lining is machine-sewn. The outer and inner layers are then hand-sewn together. Phew..that was a lot of work. haha but its done! yay!

The LAST Microteaching

Mango Sponge Cake with Vanilla Cream

The sponge cake did not rise very well, hence it was a bit dense and hard. The vanilla cream was nice though! Found out later from my mum that the egg white and egg yolks should be beaten separately so that the cake can rise better. shall try that the next time! =)

Ang Ku Kueh

The ang ku kueh looks weird here as we did not use a mould to create the 'tortoise-shell' look =p the filling (mung bean paste) was nice, but a bit too crumbly hence making it a bit messy to eat. The skin was a bit too chewy for my liking.

Lontong

The lontong was excellent. No bad comments about it.haha wished Absa had bought more sambal chilli though!! =p

The Asian-theme table setting

I feel that the table cloth does not really match the rest of the colours. Could have included more colours too! =)

My Own Microteaching - Seafood Dishes =)

Students demonstrate to their groupmates on how to scale a fish properly

Dish 1 - Grilled fish in banana leaves

I love the spices used in this dish!

Dish 2 - Tempura prawns with wasabi mayonnaise

This was the dish which I taught the class to cook. Learnt from Ms Chin later on that we should not hold the prawns by the tail when dipping in batter. Instead, it is better to roll the entire prawn in batter so that the batter will not collect at one end of the prawns.

Dish 3 - Sweet and sour crabs

Yummilicious crabs!! prepared by Siti =)

Our table setting with ocean theme