Rum & Raisin Smoothie

Happy mid-year, cham chamers! This year has really flown by for me. Forgive me for a little bit of a personal veering-off course.

Turning 28 has really been a strange happening. So much has changed and so much has also gone boomerang on me and returned me to my default setting. I’ve always liked trying and tinkering about with new things and/or subjects and only at 28 do I realise that maybe I should’ve spent a little more time concentrating on my strengths. I think that innate talents are what pushes a person from the ordinary to become someone a little bit EXTRA-ordinary, and that makes all the difference, don’t you think? If you’re gifted in this one field, and you feed that gift with practice and learning, that gift grows exponentially quicker than a non-gifted person even though the two of you may be doing the same thing. The gifted person’s upperhand stems from the intangible, that smug feeling of accomplishment which drives a person to greater and greater heights. I think that’s what everyone means when they talk about finding their ‘passion in life’.

Discovering an innate talent is not easy when it’s not an obvious talent. Some people are natural born actors, some are born teachers, and I think that these things can be seen even in childhood. My brother used to draw amazingly detailed buildings and futuristic cars when he was a wee little kid; he became an engineer. So what happens if you’re a natural born coordinator? You were likely a little hyper organised as a kid and got teased for it, and that innate talent will be buried with you never knowing that you could be amazing at keeping inventory or working with a shipping company. Anyway, I watched this TED Talk and can absolutely relate. Don’t waste away your 20s. Spend the time finding where you fit into the world and happiness will not be as evanescent as it is now.

OK! Back to the bar! Picking a rum & raisin recipe is as therapeutic as it gets.

The Rum & Raisin Smoothie is essentially like the rum & raisin ice cream. The rum flavour is prominent, adding a good bite to the old favourite. The addition of lemon is subtle and gives just a hint of a zesty note. This smoothie is quite possibly the perfect cure to a stressful day/week/month/year/life.

The Rum & Raisin Smoothie is a two-part cocktail. You need to first prepare the rum & raisin syrup, which will take about a week to cure, and then use the syrup as an ingredient in this smoothie. Let’s start with the syrup!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Kijang Golden Syrup; Bacardi Gold Rum; Ligo California Seedless Raisins

Rum & Raisin Syrup
The Recipe:
3 shots golden syrup
1 shot dark / gold rum
3 boxes Ligo black raisins
*standard shots are 40ml per measurement

Prepare an airtight container or jar to store the rum & raisin syrup in. Pour the raisins into the jar. Next, pour the measures of golden syrup over the raisins. Finish off with the shot of rum.

Raisins!                                           Golden syrup!                                         Gold rum!

Close the lid tightly and then shake the jar until all noticeable air bubbles contained in the crevasses between the raisins have been removed, or at least until all the raisins are no longer sticking to the jar. Chuck your container in the fridge to marinate for about one week.

Place this in the fridge for 1 week

And you’re done with the first part!

<1 week later>

Now to taste the fruits of your labour. What you’ll need for the Rum & Raisin Smoothie is light rum, vanilla ice cream, fresh lemon juice, rum & raisin syrup, and ice. You’ll also need an ice blender handy.

Philips Ice Blender; Rum & Raisin Syrup; Bacardi Original Premium Rum (white); Lemon; Tip Top Vanilla Ice Cream

Rum & Raisin Smoothie
The Recipe:
4 shots light rum
1 shot lemon juice
2 shot rum & raisin syrup
4 scoops vanilla ice cream
20 ice cubes
*Fills 2 highball glasses or 4 wine glasses

Alright, let’s begin. Prepare your ice blender. Pour in ALL of the ingredients listed above and ending with the ice cubes.

Rum!                           Lemon juice!                Rum & Raisin Syrup!           Vanilla ice cream!

Secure the lid on your blender and then set it to the ice blender setting. Blend until smooth and even.

Set to ice blender setting

Dispense into your glasses and enjoy!

Pour out and serve. Beautiful!

A Rum & Raisin Smoothie, ready for a certified ‘clink’ fest.

Cham Cham Guide to an MBPJ Dog License

So, 2-months into being the proud (and tired) owner of muffinthedog, I realised that a very integral part of my responsibilities also includes getting him a dog ownership license. I foresee him spending a lot of time outdoors so for my own peace of mind, the license is indeed essential.

Tiramisu Martini

For Mother’s Day this coming weekend, we at Cham Cham Guide decided to make a drink just for the moms. Now, the only mom we can speak for is the one that brought us up so, drawing from that inspiration, we made a list of things she likes and things that would go well in a drink. After ticking many pork related things off the checklist, it came down to coffee and cakes.

Now, put coffee and cake together and you have tiramisu. And who doesn’t just love tiramisu?

The absolute best tiramisu I have had to date was at this quaint little Italian restaurant in Plaza Damas called Sure Pizza. This little establishment was run by an all-the-way Italian chef, Paolo who would, on good days, serenade his patrons from beyond his open kitchen. Everything about that place was magical. His handmade tabasco sauce… His zuppa di pesce… His pate and crackers… And the tiramisu just absolutely soaking in coffee liqueur…

Tiramisu @ Sure Pizza

I will be eternally bummed that the place closed down. Sigh.

*wipes away tears*

Our Tiramisu Martini tastes like a thoroughly well soaked tiramisu. A good balance of coffee and sweetness while the Irish Cream gives a nice smoothness to the drink without the creaminess.

OK, to start with, what you’ll need to make a Tiramisu Martini is creme de cacao, coffee liqueur, vodka, Irish Cream, vanilla essence, and crushed ice.

The martini glass rim requires icing sugar, cocoa powder, and instant coffee.

Icing sugar; Milo; Nescafe; Baileys Irish Cream; Kahlua; Grey Goose Vodka; Star Brand Artificial Vanilla Flavouring; Mozart Chocolate Cream Gold

Spring Parade

This Sunday, unlike other sundays, is gonna be monumental. As a young Malaysian, this 13th general elections sets the bar for our futures. The months (years, really) of bickering between the parties will finally see fruition!

I’ve seen friends who used to scoff at the subject of politics suddenly flood their Facebook walls with all manner of elections related, campaign related, campaigners related content. Did you know that our 1st-time voters make up a whopping 30% of the 13million existing voters? That’s how much we, as a nation, and as owners of this beautiful country, love Malaysia. It’s also a reminder of how strong just one vote is. It is our duty as citizens and our responsibility as taxpayers to vote, not for our own selfish short-term needs, but for the future and for the generations to come.

I’ve sung Negaraku every Monday for 12 years in school and I know the Rukunegara by heart. All my family is in Malaysia and I do not have any affliations to China. I don’t even know how to read and write in Chinese and my Cantonese is atrocious. I only love one country. This country. And if it comes down to it, will only shed blood for one country. This country.

My dear friends, we are the same. It doesn’t matter what our ethnicity is. We are Malaysians. We went to the same school. We played the same games. We enjoy the same amount of public holidays. We have the same memories. Most importantly, we share the same home. Neither of us are more Malaysian than the other. Neither of us should be made to feel that way.

– Amelia Tan, GE13: To my dearest BN supporting friends

Today, our Spring Parade is a symbol of unity, of fairness, of integration, and of a greater Malaysia. (Malaysian Spring)

Orange Buck

Many things have occurred in the last few weeks. So many changes to adapt to; some daunting, some demanding, some enjoyable. The biggest one that involves all of the above would have to be a fuzzy little addition to my family. Cham Chamers, say “hello” to Muffin! He’s a five-month old Goldendoodle.

Regal as heck

Little Muffin here has been an unending source of comedy and frustration ever since I got him. After having him for one whole month, I have finally gotten him sort of potty trained, to understand ‘sit’, ‘no’ and ‘come here’, and also properly terrified of umbrellas. Can’t wait for him to grow up!

OK, enough about my puppy, let’s get on with the mixing! The Orange Buck is an amazingly well balanced drink. The ginger ale adds a lot of bite so you don’t need to top with too big of a splash. The Orange Buck is not too sweet, not too sour, not too gassy. It’s just perfect in every aspect. This drink gets 5 stars and 2 thumbs up. Highly recommended! Plus, it’s soooo easy to make. It’ll be great for a casual party or game’s night.

Chocolate Raspberry Dream

Easter’s rolling round the corner! Have you seen all the candy and chocolate bunnies in the supermarkets lately? So much fun! 😀 But first, let’s take some time to learn just a bit about Easter and what it really means.

So, of course chocolate eggs are a derivative of an age-old tradition, just like every other holiday we modern day folk celebrate. But even so, so what? I say it’s all in good fun. We could use more excuses to make a fuss over.By the way, have you people seen these series of videos called How It’s Made? Check out how chocolates are made.

OK, enough with the educational videos! Let’s mix some booze! In commemoration of Easter, I present to you the Chocolate Raspberry Dream.

The Chocolate Raspberry Dream looks great for an afternoon tea-party, though the taste can be a tad bit strong for the day. It’s not a very sweet cocktail as the only sweet ingredient is the crème de cacao. The raspberry taste is mild giving a hint of a sour note while the crème de cacao adds a fragrance.