Attachments for KitchenAid Mixer

I really like my KitchenAid mixer, for the fact that it mixes my cakes batter really well and for its aesthetic value.  To top it, I like that there are many attachments available that make the mixer versatile for many other uses : pasta making, food grinding and shredding, sausage making, juicing, etc, etc.  The only drawback is that, while these attachments are nice and useful, they are very costly in Malaysia.

 

People have been saying left and right that KitchenAid products are very cheap in the USA and naturally, I planned to purchase the attachments that I need (want) during my work visit there two weeks ago.   However, I was also cautioned against the compatibility of the attachments purchased in USA with the European model mixers, which is exactly what I own.

 

The main difference between the USA and European model is the voltage.  KA mixers for used in USA are of 110V while the European models are 220V.  The difference in voltage will either cause the mixer to not work properly or even in some cases, burnt the motor.  Information that I obtained online said that using a USA model in countries with 220V is still possible with the right power transformer.

 

The second difference between the two models is the presence of a small circular metal piece located just below the motor head and right above the area where we attach the dough hook and balloon whisk and the paddle/beater.  This circular metal piece can be found in the European models but not the USA.  I was told that the ice cream maker attachment that is meant for USA models will not fit the European models.  So question is, will other attachments fit?

I have been searching online for information about this.  What I found seemed to be contradicting and so did the word by mouth from people around me.  Nevertheless, I went ahead with the purchase of some of the attachments when my KA vendor said they will fit.  I was thinking, at least there will be someone responsible if they are not usable.

So, I purchased the pasta roller and cutter set, food grinder and the flex edge beater. Upon coming home, I tested them right away and was delighted to see that they fit like a glove and work without any problem at all. 

Food grinder

Pasta roller

Flex edge beater

Very pleased for getting all these attachments at a fraction of their prices in MY.  These will surely make it into my shopping list the next time I go to the USA again.

Halloween Party aka Playgroup

This is the first time my kids attended a Halloween party or also known as playgroup.  I would say I was more excited than them to attend this party.  

The kids were dressed as characters from Flintstones : Fred Flintstone, Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble.   The three of them looked so cute and pretty in their costumes.

Kids as Flintstones' Characters

Upon arrival at the party, we could see that the host took great trouble to decorate the house to the occasion.  There were mummy, spider webs and balloons in the shade of black and orange.  Even the food were of Halloween theme.  Since it was a potluck party, others brought food in accordance to the theme too.

 

 

 

 

Halloween themed food :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After helping ourselves with the delicious food, there was a craft session, contributed by myself.  Each kid made a Halloween basket to be filled with sweets and goodies later.   Needless to say, the kids stuffed themselves with all the chocolates, sweets, etc.

 

 

 

It was games next where kids went around the garden to search for hidden spiders, scorpions, etc.

We had so much fun at the party.  Many thanks to the host for organising.

Flinstones for Halloween

Halloween comes and go.  This is the first time my kids attended a Halloween party though it was unclear whether mummy or the kids were the one more excited. 

 

The kids were dressed in costumes from the characters of Flintstones :  Fred Flintstone, Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble.  It all started when I sewn the Fred's costume just for fun.  Then, someone requested to have the costumes of Pebbles and Bamm Bamm sewn for her twins.  This gave me an idea : it would be nice to have the complete costumes of the show. 

Fred Flintstone


 

Wilma Flintstone



Pebbles Flintstone



Bamm Bamm Rubble

 

 

Betty Rubble

It  would not be fair to have favourites, but I would say my little boy looked very cute as Fred Flintstone  :)


 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Cameron Highlands Revisited - Day Three

Our last day in Cameron Highlands began by loading the car with all our luggages and things that we bought so far as we will be checking out and travel back to KL soon after.  Breakfast was at Tanah Rata.  We had roti canai and waffles in Nasi Kandar Mamu Ismail, a 24 hours restaurant.  The waffle here is surprisingly very good, very crispy as opposed to those dense and soggy ones. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waffle for breakfast

 

 

 

 

After breakfast, we headed to the Boh estate tea plantation in Habu, which is on the way to Ringlet.   The scenery was great although not as magnificient as the tea plantation in Sg. Palas.  We visited the tea factory to show the kids on how tea are processed, from the start of the leaves picking to the final product.  Unfortunately, it was a public holiday then and the plantation workers were off then.  Thus we had to contented with showing the kids pictures of how the tea leaves were plucked.  The factory, however was running and we get to see how the tea leaves were processed, yielding different grades of tea leaves.

 

 

 

View of the Habu Boh Tea Plantation

 

 

 

 

Different grades of tea

 

 

 

There is a souvenir and tea shop in front of the factory where different types of tea bags and tea leaves were sold.   This is the first time I see Boh Teh O Ais in cans.

 

 

Tea Products in the Tea and Souvenir Shop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were many vegetable farms along the way to and fro the tea plantation.  While those farms in Kg. Raja and Kuala Terla are of advanced farming, the farms in Ringlet are more towards conventional types.   There are many small and average farmers in Ringlet.  Many watercress farms are seen here too.

Vegetable farms along the way to Tea Plantation

 

On the way to Ringlet, at the Sultan Abu Bakar dam, there were some fresh produce stalls and it is the last place where one can purchase local produce if taking the way down to lowlands through Tapah.  The place is recognisable through a hotel, the Lake House Hotel, that is situated at the top of a small hill, overlooking the dam.  The sellers at the stalls were people I used to grow up with and needless to say, we get special price for the things we bought, plus some gifts too for the kids.  We bought quite some vegetables, sweet potatoes, strawberry jams and tomatoes.    After the 'marketing', we made our way back to KL.

The Lake House Hotel

 

 

We made a final stop at Bt. 14, where the Lata Iskandar waterfall is.  The kids enjoyed the sight of the waterfall and we even let them play with the cold water for a while.  It is advisable to travel via the Tapah in the morning and avoid noon or early afternoon as many lorries will be on the way to the lowlands to sell their goods then.  Driving with so many lorries could be a challenge to those who are not used to the narrow, winding road.  We did not make any stop thereafter and reached home after about 2.5 hours.  

Lata Iskandar Waterfall

 

 

By travelling up to Cameron through the Simpang Pulai route and coming back through Tapah, we covered both ends of Cameron.  While we have skipped many of the tourist places in Cameron such as the Rose Garden, Cactus Valley, Butterfly Farm, etc, I feel that it is worth to not pack the schedule and visit too much.  It is also good to just stop, relax, breathe in the fresh air and smell the roses, away from the hustle bustle of the city.  Anyway, Cameron is a place that we will visit again for sure and these places can be left for future visits.

 

 

Go to Day One

 

Go to Day Two

 

 

 

 

Cameron Highlands Revisited - Day Two

Day Two of our Cameron Highlands trip started with breakfast at Brinchang.  Brinchang town was already busy as early as 7am.  Locals started the day early to do marketing before heading towards their workplace.  As most of the populations are farmers, the town was full of land rovers, a popular transport among farmers, in the morning.   After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel as it was still too early to visit any of the touristy places.  The kids enjoyed themselves at the playground in the resort and I enjoyed myself taking pictures of them.

 

We travelled to the Lavendar Farm in Tringkap soon after.  It took about 15 - 20 mins to reach the farm in usual traffic condition.  The Lavendar Farm is not that large.  But once again, it is not the size that matters.   The purple lavender was a pretty sight.  Besides lavender, there were other flowers available, petunia, chrysanthemum, gerbera, roses, etc.  The gerbera was available for self picking at RM2 per stalk.  There was a strawberry farm too and one could pick the strawberries oneself for a fee.  However, we decided to leave the strawberry picking to the later of the day.  

 

 

Lavendar in Lavendar Farm

Gerbera at Lavendar Farm

Gerbera at Lavendar Farm

 

 

After visiting the lavender farm, we headed to my former school mate's flower farm in Kuala Terla, a small town about 5 mins away.  My friend brought us around to see the flowers that he planted : lilies, chrysanthemum, gerbera, roses, peacock, etc.  He planted the lavender too.  After that, we watched how the flowers were plucked and packed, before being collected by the lorries for export.  My friend generously gave us some lilies and vegetables to bring home with us.

 

 

Peacock at my friend's farm

 

We had lunch at Kg. Raja, at a restaurant near a Chinese temple, as recommended by my friend.  It was then that we decided to buy more of the organic pearl corn that we had the day before and as we are already in Kg. Raja, we made the journey to the KC Kwang's farm again.    

 

Thereafter, we travelled back to Brinchang, stopping once in a while to soak in the beautiful sceneries around us.  My friend also recommended that we stop for a cup of tea at Cameron Tea Valley in Kuala Terla but we decided against it as we were still full from lunch and we planned to have tea at the Bala's Holiday Chalet anyway.  We also skipped the Sg Palas tea plantation that is famous for the spectacular view as there were elderly among us and it is not safe for them to climb up and down the steep and slippery walkway.

 

There were many strawberry farms along the way back to Brinchang and we stopped at one of them for some strawberry picking.  The kids have been looking forward for that all day long.  The self picked strawberries cost RM35 per kg, with a minimum weight of 500g (RM20).  For this price, two adults + one kid are allowed to enter the farm for the picking.  The price is pretty standard in all strawberry farms in Cameron.  The kids had a wonderful time picking their own strawberries.  Even my mother in law and her aunt enjoyed themselves too.  After picking, we handed the baskets to the staff and they sorted and discarded those not so good ones.  Only those good and nice strawberries were weighed and ours weighted to 2.2kg!  The strawberries were then packed in boxes and we had some on the spot!

 

 

 

 

Picking strawberries


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Showing off the self picked strawberries

 

 

 

Enjoying the self picked strawberries

 

 

The owner of the strawberry farm also let us tasted different types of wild honey.  The honey tasted very good and we ended up buying a bottle which cost RM100.  We would have bought more but were cautious as there are many non authentic wild honey out in the market.  After checking with the locals, we get to know that the wild honey is indeed authentic.

 

Bala's Holiday Chalet is a small colonial style hotel near Tanah Rata, just before the junction to Taman Sedia.  It boasts of beautiful scenery and also their freshly baked scones, served with homemade strawberry jam and cream are to die for.  We had the tea at the garden.  The weather was perfect.  The kids enjoyed themselves with the swing while we adults enjoyed the tea and scones.  Kids ran to the table to get a bite or two of the scones now and then.   It was as if we were transported back in time where elegant English ladies in hats and parasols enjoyed their afternoon tea with their kids and nanny in tow.  It was a peaceful and happy afternoon.

 

 

Colonial style Bala;s Holiday Chalets



 

Freshly baked scones at Bala's Holiday Chalets

 

 

Homemade strawberry jam and cream served with scones

 

 

 

We went back to the hotel for some rest after having tea as the kids needed their nap.  We had dinner at Tanah Rata that night as we still have not visited that town yet.  I was all nostalgic when we passed by my former school.   I did my primary school in the Convent, Tanah Rata.  It is a beautiful building that can be seen from the main street of Tanah Rata.  Though it is a convent, the school is actually a co ed school, not only for girls.  My secondary school was the Sek. Men. Sultan Ahmad Shah (SMSAS).  As the years passed, the school has expanded and it is now a Sek. Men. Keb.  It is situated at the far opposite of the hospital in Tanah Rata, overlooking a field and a playground.  During my time, the school had classes up to Form 5 only.  6th formers will need to go to Bentong.  Now, the school caters for Form 6 as well, both science and arts stream.





Convent Tanah Rata

 

We called it a day after dinner and went back to the hotel as everyone was tired and a bit dizzy from all the travelling.  The night was cold and it was heart warming to see the kids tucked their 'babies' to bed as well.  Thus, this ended our second day in Cameron

 

 

 

 

My kids' 'babies' tucked to bed



 

Go to Day One

 

Continue to Day Three