NDP 2015 Exhibition and Marina Square Shopping Mall

Singapore is celebrating its 50th year since independence this year. There are various activities for our community to take part to mark Singapore's Golden Jubilee. One of them is the NDP 2015 exhibition held at Marina Square Central Atrium, from 5 June to 14 June 2015. 

Last weekend, we brought our two kids to the NDP 2015 Exhibition. The Exhibition showcased the eight chapters of our NDP 2015. We were given a "Progress Card" upon entering the exhibition area.  It was not necessary to visit each booth in sequence. As long as we visited all the booths, we could get a goodie bag from the Majulah Singapura booth and take part in a lucky draw to win NDP tickets and other attractive prizes.

The designers of the NDP Totebag and the totebags

Sera posed in an SAF no. 1 Uniform

Photo taken with Captain Green

As we went during the weekends, there were some live performance in the evening.

After getting our souvenirs, we lingered around Marina Square Shopping Mall. We found this big retro TV and took some fun photographs.

Can you spot the little red dot inside the TV? This little red dot was something we bought at the NDP 2015 exhibition and was supposed to be put outside the car. The sales proceeds would go to 4 charity organizations. 

Was that a flying penguin on the right?

Egg Tarts Recipe

It had been a long time since I last made egg tarts so I decided to make some egg tarts on the last Saturday of the school holidays in March. 

I liked to keep things simple so I used a recipe that did not require many ingredients. We did not like our egg tarts to be too sweet so the amount of sugar and icing sugar used were less than that stated in the original recipe. So if you like sweeter egg tarts, you can add more sugar. I also increased the amount of flour used for the butter pastry.

The ingredients I used for the butter pastry were:

280 g salted butter
450 plain flour
1 egg
80 g icing sugar

The ingredients I used for the egg tart filling were:
300 ml water
100 g sugar
4 eggs
80 ml full cream evaporated milk

Steps to prepare the dough:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

2. Mix butter, flour and icing sugar together in a bowl.

3. Add an egg.

4. Knead it into a dough. Refrigerate the dough for 20 min or until it is in a workable state.

Butter pastry dough

While waiting for the dough to be ready, we can work on the egg tart filling. 

Steps to prepare the egg tart filling:

1. Pour 100 g of sugar into 300 ml of water. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

2. Add milk and eggs to the mixture above. Beat and mix well.

3. Sieve the mixture two times to get a smooth egg filling.

Egg filling after sieving

Steps to prepare the egg tarts:

1. When the dough is ready to be used, take it out from the refrigerator. Knead it again. 

2. Take a small ball of the dough and press it into an pastry mould gently using your two thumbs. Repeat the process until all the dough is used.

3. Pour the egg filling into the pastry mould with the dough in it.

4. Bake the egg tarts in the oven at 200 degree Celsius for 15 to 20 minutes. The egg filling should still be wobbly when done. The egg tarts are ready if a toothpick can stand upright when poked into the filling.

Sera volunteered to help me make the egg tarts and she really enjoyed kneading the dough and putting it into the pastry mould. Towards the end, she also helped to pour the egg filling into the pastry mould.

Unbaked egg tarts in pastry mould on a tray

Baked egg tarts

We made a total of 30 egg tarts with diameters of about 8 cm each.

Eczema Balm

Sera had eczema on her left inner elbow. She didn't like the smell of the eczema cream I bought from a retail store so she refused to use it after applying 2 to 3 times. Normal moisturizer only helped to relieve the itch temporarily and was not able to clear the eczema rashes.

I happened to see this Theo10® Skin balm sold online and read many positive reviews about it. It could also help with minor cuts, burns, insect bites and nasal congestion. Since it could also be used for other purposes (in case Sera refused to use it), Ardon and I decided to give it a try. It was not expensive and was manufactured in Singapore. 

After about 3 applications, we saw an improvement on her inner elbow. Rashes started to clear and her skin felt smoother. According to Sera, the balm did help to soothe or numb the itchiness.

1st day after application

3rd day after application

The downside was this balm had a very strong peppermint smell. However, it was the premium peppermint essence that helped to numb the area to stop the itch. Fortunately Sera didn't mind the smell and was willing to use it. Her only concern was that Lynn could not stand the smell. So considerate!

• Qoo10 - ♣ All-Natural Eczema balm ♣ Moisturizing first-aid-balm♣ Help blocked... : Sports Equipment