Pepper tongue

Coffee, Tea or Me ?

2011-03-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

Ok..that's one cheesy title for a blog post, but then..considering how greedy I am when it comes to food & drink, choosing between Coffee & Tea when I want a fix....is really a tough choice!

I love my coffee, having developed the addiction while I was working in Adelaide (awesome coffee...sigh..i miss it already), I'm also a fan of tea. I have been drinking tea since....well, i can't remember when, but my daily life in Malaysia will always have tea. My dad loves tea...he fell in love with tea, mainly because of its health benefits and before he knew it, he has the whole family hooked on tea. Everyday, we will have freshly brewed Chinese tea, readily available at home........

Now, with The Tea Republic, they have a wide selection of teas....more than 30 different type, the last time I've checked. The teas that they have are from all over the world - France, Japan, Sri Lanka, Australia and etc.....

And did I mention the delectable selection of desserts available at the shop ? Sinfully sweet macaroons....mille fuile with raspberries, Varlhona Chocolate Tarts, and selections of cakes, pies and pastries.

The Tea Republic

The Tea Republic (TTR) is a personal project of my school friend, Sumita. A interior designer by profession, her passion for tea has prompted this Tea Republic project.....and I supposed, its a secret mission to convert all Malaysian to shower their love on tea, rather than the sweet offerings that are readily available at the mamak (teh/milo/kopi tarik ?), and the Malaysian infatuation with Starbucks/Coffee Bean (ice blended frappucino anybody?)

What can you expect at The Tea Republic ? I would have say - go and see for yourself, but here's my brief :
A place where you can have a heathly drink, a place to find your inner peace, and a place for surprises...
Why surprises? well, TTR has a changing menu for food and they are updating their tea listing as they go....so for all you know, you might find new and different desserts and hot food every forthnight...

My personal favourite at TTR ?
1) The Orange Rooibos Cream Tea - fragrant with a very pleasing orange nose..a hit of sour at the back of the palate and is perfect for drinking on its own (that's how I like it), or ask for a sugar stick or honey...if you have a sweet tooth. Honestly, I think I'm hooked on this...but I'm determined to try different tea each time I visit TTR...

The Cream Orange Rooiboos Tea

2) Caramel Tea
Awesome tea - with a strong caramel nose, but without the sweetness....I find it very unique, personally!

3) New Lupicia Green Tea - Takachiho blend
The tea leaves are apparently roasted in some japanese iron-pot, hence when brewed, there's a nice toasty flavour to the green tea. I find it refreshing in a way....my current favourite!

4) Tropicalitea - your version of ice-blended drink with tea and fruit!
I personally will ask for watermelon tropicalitea...but i've heard that the honeydew tropicalitea is equally yummy! A must on a hot and humid day....definitely will quench the thirst!

5) Masala tea
If you love your Chai Latte, you will like this.....
Freshly pounded masala mix gives this tea the Oomph! required....i feel all nice, warm and toasty after my dose of hot Masala Tea....

5) Red velvet cake...

Red Velvet cake with cream cheese topping

The texture of the cake is rather creamy and dense (very much like a pound cake), but packed with chocolatey flavour and the cream cheese topping complement the cake nicely! They are currently selling the cupcake version....

6) Chicken mayo croissants
I just like it....cannot explain why....ask for a sprinkle of cracked pepper when served.....

The teas are priced from RM6.90 and up to RM25ish for a pot. Not exorbitant - considering the ambience and the location of the shop. Just take a walk around BSC, and you will notice that drinks in most of the eatery don't come cheap.....

I will hop down to TTR for a healthy dose of tea (i drink mine without sugar most of the time, and chose to enjoy the natural flavour of the tea)...

My to-try-list :
1) Cardamom tea
I think it sound quite exotic, and being the friend of the owner, I have the privilege of observing that all the spiced tea (Masala/Cardamom/Cinnamon) are made with freshly ground/pounded spices - yes...freshly ground with mortar and pestle. The idea is....to retain the maximum flavour and fragrance of the spices!
And Cardamom, according to the wisdom of Ayurveda, is a great herb to help improve the respiratory systems and is commonly used to help with curbing nausea...

2) There are a few more tea of the Lupicia and Damman Feres range that I've yet to try......

Oh..and I supply the TTR with my Earl Grey Pannacotta - read about this @ all about Pannacotta post

Earl Grey Pannacotta with Caramelised Pineapple toppings

Dancing Fish - Awesome Indonesian food...

2011-03-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like a horrible traffic jam and a rainy afternoon .......Why? You may ask...Mainly because...the frustration of being stuck in a traffic jam in central Kuala Lumpur city center and the rain itself, would have work up the mother of an appetite! And did I mentioned, I was stuck in the traffic for more than 1 hour, traveling from KLCC to Bangsar Shopping Center ("BSC")...? The trip would have taken less than 30 mins on normal traffic condition, but on a Friday afternoon, with rain and the typical Friday prayer traffic......you just have to rough it out !Any friends who know me for more than a year (or lesser) would have known that I always succumb to comfort eating....food always make me feel better, unless the whole food experience itself is awful to start with. When I'm finally parked at BSC, I was determined to have good food.....something packed with flavour..something to tantalise my taste buds (I've been on a very bland diet due to a month-long battle with flu/fever/sore throat and cough).Having heard recommendations from friends about this restaurant, and the place looks pretty nice on its own...I took the lift right up to Level 3 of BSC new wing, head straight to Dancing Fish and waited to be seated....tick tock tick tock tick tock...i must have waited for about 10 mins, with waiters/waitresses and at some point the restaurant manager walking past me, but chosed to ignore me.....I'm getting rather annoyed (mainly coz I'm hungry)...but its peak lunch hour...so, maybe they have their reasons to ignore me...or they think it is highly unlikely for 1 lady to want to dine alone! Anyhow, I finally manage to catch the attention of one of the restaurant manager (he's got this funky hairstyle), and asked if I need to be seated or I can just look for my own seat....and after another 5-10 mins, I'm given a table.
So...the culinary journey at Dancing Fish begins.... :After ordering, you can expect to be served a bowl of keropok (crackers), served with a generous dollop of sambal (shrimp chilli dipping sauce)....the sambal is awesome...the keropok...well, i don't really like this kind of keropok (there's a bitter aftertaste), i would have preferred some papadam, but then again, i supposed this kind of keropok is typically indonesian ?

Keropok and accompanying sambal (They call this Emping)

The problem about dining alone, is that I can only order limited dishes....as there's only that much of a tummy space available....

I've ordered, the individual set meal, which includes the Crispy Fried Chicken (fondly known as Bebek), and 2 servings of salads of the day. I was given an interesting serving of starfruit salad (a mix of fresh onion slices, crispy anchovies and star fruit slices). The starfruit slices was crispy and the crispy anchovies toppings , together with the sauce make this an interesting salad....definitely something that I was looking for - tantalising flavours and texture !

The set came with Nasi Kunyit...mainly long grain rice (its fluffy) cooked with turmeric....

And the other salad of the day, is the gulai pucuk paku - vegetable cooked in a coconut/turmeric base...something you'll be thankful to have, after having some of the spicy sambal, that comes with the set. And there's some tempeh and fried tofu pieces - you can dip this into the sambal for some extra Oomph! :D

The fried chicken, looks really dry on the outside, but was surprisingly succulent on the inside...so no complains there. It could have been packed with more flavour...as I like my food seasoned well...but nothing that a little sambal can't do! :D

A word of caution - this is a typical way of making fried chicken (On the main menu, they serve fried duck - indonesian style), if the wrong cut of poultry is used, you might end up with a dry piece of fried meat. I happen to be lucky enough to get somewhere around the chicken thigh region...so the meat is pretty succulent.

At RM23.90, I think its pretty reasonably priced, considering the serving size and the ambience..

Individual Set Meal with Fried Chicken (Goreng Ayam Set) - RM23.90

Being the greedy monster that I am, and not knowing how massive the set meal is (I have a notion that most restaurant in BSC serves really tiny portion of food...at least, they seems small to me or by Australian standard - check it out for yourself and try a meal at Chinoz at BSC), I have impulsively ordered a soup.
The waitress that was taking my order, says that the serving size is for 1 person....and I thought...yea..soup is not filling...its ok to order a soup!

Prawn Coconut Soup - spicy and sour soup base - RM17.90

I've expected something like a tomyum base soup, and true enough, the soup base is pretty close to tomyum...just lacking the depth when it comes to the spiciness and the sourness of the soup. Otherwise, the soup is packed with the fragrance of coconut and lemongrass......And you can really find generous servings of soft and flavourful coconut strips in the soup, together with a mussel, some oyster mushrooms, and prawns.

Overall, I think the soup will be good enough to be shared with another person.....

OH...and after reviewing my receipt, I realised I had also ordered the Keredok, an Indonesian Salad...no pics though. I'm sure it is pretty nice, but I was too full to really enjoy it properly, hence, I won't say much about this. The Keredok (the serving once again, is pretty good) = RM9.90.

Overall, a meal that was hardly shared - even though I manage to get my BFF from The Tea Republic to join me for lunch (she had had lunch earlier) , the bill came up to RM69.40......
A bit expensive if you were to spend that much everyday for lunch, but totally worthwhile as it kills all the frustration from the traffic jam and I totally enjoyed the food....

Where to find Dancing Fish Restaurant :
Lot T120, T121, T122
Bangsar Shopping Center
Tel : 03-2095 6663

Beanstro @ Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

2011-03-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

I have found a way to record my thoughts as and when, I have any...er thoughts...
Park a "Note" in my iPhone. It has the time and date recorded, and the only drawback is, I can't really attached relevant photos to those thoughts....else, it will be a "draft blog entry" which I was hoping to just copy and paste when I get my hand on a computer.

I've downloaded some Apps that allow blogging to be done on-the-go, but I just like to do it on a computer...and that's old-school for the younger generation eh? I can't imagine when it comes to a day, where a laptop is equate to..say a type-writer ?

Anyhow, I was down in Singapore a couple of weeks ago. It was a pretty good trip...met some friends that I haven't seen for a long time, especially my BFF, Suet! Its cool to catch up with her, on how life after marriage is! :D

Now, I have been complaining about the lack of good coffee around in Kuala Lumpur since my homecoming in Dec 2010...so I thought, I'll find some nice coffee joints in Singapore. While there are The Coffee Connoiseurs chain that I saw along Orchard Road, I believe that there are more less visible hidden gem somewhere, that I'll need to discover...

I didn't have much time in Singapore, but when I was heading to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to meet my Adelaide buddies, I was feeling light headed...coz I'm hungry....I only had some breakfast earlier and its almost 4.30/5.00 pm when I arrived at MBS.

The MBS is looking really grand and nice, and as I was walking..I saw this coffee place that says "Beanstro". I thought...that's pretty cute...and the place was packed..there's a line of people waiting to be seated! That should be a good sign, eh?

When I finally gotten my seat, and have a look at the menu, I have to say, I was rather disappointed that its just another fancy cafe by The Coffee Bean Company...with a more impressive food menu...

At this point, I'm ravenous......so, I've ordered a Molten Chocolate Cake and a Quiche Lorraine, both are priced around SGD17 and SGD8 respectively. Pretty decent, if you are not spending in RM.

~~~ The Molten Chocolate Cake~~~~
The menu says that the cake will be served with vanilla yoghurt on the side, but it turn out to be whipped cream. I actually took the time to ask for the menu again, to double check...and yea, it says vanilla yoghurt....well, I was just being a pain since I have yet to have any food at this point - mainly because they served the cake without any cutleries.... I have to ask for a spoon.

The texture of the cake is ok...could be more goo-ey and oozing with chocolate sauce, but no complaints on the serving size though..this can be easily shared with 2-3 person, if you are having tea/snacks.

~~~The Quiche Lorraine~~~
Once again, the quiche was served with no cutleries...I supposed, in Beanstro, the customers are to eat with their hands ? Not that I mind, really...if the food that I ordered are not piping hot, and came out fresh from the oven, unless I want to intentionally burn myself...

It was a nice touched, to get a nicely-heated quiche...from the texture of the pastry, its pretty obvious that the quiche is not freshly baked, its re-heated. Which is fine....really, no customer would want to wait for 30 mins for a little quiche to be freshly baked...

Loved the warm and nicely baked tomato on the side, which cuts through the cheesy taste of the quiche...and there's some turkey bacon in the quiche too.

I have to say, that they took the time to include nicely dressed salad on the side, while most cafe would have just chuck in a few lettuce leave and say that's it! Its a plus point, given that they are pretty busy then....

I had the brew of the day, which is pretty ok....nothing to complained about.

Just for the record, I wolfed down the quiche pretty quickly, before moving on to the Molten Chocolate Cake....and sad to say, I only managed to eat a few spoonful of the cake...as I have to leave some space in the tummy for dinner with my friends from Adelaide!

Overall, the whole experience is pretty ok.....but I would have tried something that's not from The Coffee Bean / Starbucks next time!

Chinese New Year 2011

2011-02-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

Its been 2 years since I've celebrated Chinese New Year in Kuala Lumpur with my family.
The past 2 years, my Chinese New Year were merely mediocre compared to the festivity and spirit in Malaysia, but thanks to some Malaysian friends, we make do with whatever we have to make Chinese New Year counts, even though we are all away from home, residing in small little Adelaide.

So..now I'm back home, with my family...and Chinese New Year is less than 24 hours away....the festive "feel" seems to be quite far far away...

Is it because of the family drama...grandma sick and all the accompanying dramas that come with it, or is it because I've grown up and couldn't see the "fun" in Chinese New Year anymore ?

Its so tiring....but hey, who knows...maybe tomorrow will be a better day, and the Chinese New Year bug will bite ?

One can only hope that the coming year, will be better than before!

Wired wrongly

2011-01-27T09:15:00.001-08:00

It's another night
And I still can't doze off
It seems like my body decided to wired itself in a topsy turvy body-clock
I slept the whole of this afternoon, never felt that tired since...since quite a while

Maybe that's why I can't sleep now

And my arm still hurt from the jab... Hepatitis vaccine... It kinda swelled up

And the night is so quiet.... Reminds me of the days when I was still studying. Late at night is when I can concentrate the best... I find my peace

But i supposed it's different when you've grown up...inner peace is hard to come by

New Year Resolutions - How to make it happen ?

2011-01-16T05:47:00.000-08:00

I've decided that instead of making a list, I'm going to state what I'm going to do, and do it within the month.

Given that Chinese New Year is on its way, less than 3 weeks now...I'll make my first resolution for 2011, to go to the gym for at least 3 days a week until Chinese New Year arrive. Its going to be quite tough, because :
1) I'll have to wake up before 10am, so I hit the gym first thing in the morning. Knowing me, I'll find all sorts of reasons not to exercise....
2) I'll have to fit in gym for at least 1 hour at minimum, and in between, I need to find time to go out with friends, do my CNY shopping, bake pineapple tarts (once I start, I'm not going out...coz I look like a mess after baking and its actually quite tiring)
3) It will take a lot for me to convince myself that gym is actually enjoyable!
4) If I manage to head to Kiara Walk (for the little uphill hike), that will count too!!!

There....
Start next week....
dead line : before 3 Feb 2011...

such a baby

2011-01-15T02:15:00.000-08:00

a burn "wound" from the dealings with the oven, while making pineapple tarts 2 days ago.

it was healing fine...when sub-conciously, I begin to scratch it and there...can you see the open wound ?

sigh..its not painful, but it looks painful...and i feel like screaming at myself for scratching myself (actually, the whole sentence sounds quite wrong!)...

ugh....

my favourite roast

2010-12-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

once upon a time, when i live my life in far-far-away, a place called adelaide
i was always disappointed with the roast
and for the record, I'm not refering to the typical english Sunday roast, not that, my dear

i'm referring to ...well..plain ol' chinese roast..be it pork, chicken or duck!

and my favourite roast, will be duck! and where do I find my favourite roast duck ?
Well, look no further..its all located in Taman Paramount, SS2 PJ. Most will be able to identify with Sunrise's Roast Duck and BBQ pork...but as the name of the restaurant suggest, they are not open for business, after the sunset....pun intended!

So where do I get my crispy skin, oh-so-succulent and tender roast duck from ? Its just a stone throw away from Sunrise - Loong Foong Restaurant! Honestly, its really evident that they dish out really good roast duck --> look at the line/crowd ! Some of the ladies are all up to get into a catfight just to get their hand on some of these babies....I'm not joking...Ask the boss, she will tell you ALL the catfights that she can remember.

I cannot describe the awesome-ness of the roast duck - I will not do it justice! You just have to fork out some $$ and go there to try it out for yourself! I think its about RM40-45 per duck at the moment...and please, do call them if you'll like to have a table for dinner, especially on the eve of public holidays and on weekends! My family have to pull some strings to get a table on Christmas day (yup..its perfectly normal for my family to have chinese food on Christmas..)

Other goodies @ Loong Foong Restaurant :
River Patin fish - steamed to perfection....

River Prawns with Baked Cheese topping - I believe, its inspired by cheese-baked lobsters ?

funny

2010-12-27T07:49:00.001-08:00

there's no lost, when you lose something that you don't own in the first place...
how cool is that?

Old

2010-12-15T04:24:00.001-08:00

What's the purpose of living a long life?

Conversations - 001

2010-12-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

A recently engaged girlfriend said to me "Its a wonderful feeling, knowing that there's always someone there to catch me when I fall", the someone, being her now fiance.

And with all good intentions, she followed through the statement with this :
"So, its been awhile since you are single.....it must be really difficult. Why not let me introduce you to someone? I'll like to see you happy and find that someone that will "catch" you...."

If I haven't known her for long and knowing that she's just too eager to share her happiness with me, I would have been very tempted to walk away....

I supposed, to those that are "attached", single people are lonely, sad and miserable...at least, in comparison to the likes of my friend, who is still deeply in love, giddy with all the happiness of the union with her soulmate...

But does that mean I have to be "attached" ? Sigh.....

Being single has not bothered me that much....I do agree that it is a really nice feeling knowing that there's the other half who will always watch out for you, or in my friend's words..."catch you when you fall"....but I supposed until I find that person, I'll just continue falling and picking myself up from the fall...there's no reason why I can't do that in the mean time.

When I told her that, she says - Well, you can surely pick yourself up again....but that will make you a harder person...and you won't have the trust to fall into anyone's arm...even though you really need to be catched ?

hmmm....oh well, i supposed, this is an argument that's similar to "Which comes first, the chicken or the egg ?"

anyway, the last thing I want to do, is to just fall into the arm's of the first person that comes along.....falling into the wrong one, can get you into more problems.....

i need to get away

2010-12-09T06:29:00.000-08:00

i need space...silence...quiet...and peace....
the body need to heal, the mind need to be refreshed...the heart needs to be rejuvenated....

sigh....where is my sanctuarty?

it feels like i ate a cow and it decide to stay in !

2010-11-08T05:07:00.000-08:00

waking up from a nasty migraine and feeling all hungry (ravenous...) is dangerous

having a large pizza...full of goodies (think : juicy prawns, salami's , olives and loads of cheese and etc).....shared with a friend, plus bread as starters....
that's heavy meal 1

dry noodle w roast duck......I ate every bit....how can I not...its so yummy
that's heavy meal 2

and now, I feel so full that its not funny at all....

Abandoned

2010-11-05T23:27:00.001-07:00

Being the only one left out is not fun
Being the only one that's left behind is not fun, and scary

but what makes one feels abandoned, I wonder? Especially, one is surrounded by people and things in general?

The equation to the feeling of abandonment =
1) you have to have this strong sense of attachment to something/someone. Doesn't have to be mutual. As long as one of the party is feeling the "attachment" - it's done!

2) the need to part/detached or lost of connection. That's the point where the sense and feeling of being abandoned come about.

do i have an imagination at all ?

2010-10-31T05:08:00.000-07:00

i do.
an overactive one...

and sometimes, its so active, that I'm afraid I've gone overboard with imagining things
its hard to define what's true and what's in playing in my mind

and start to choose not to believe what I feel.....
start to not trust my guts and insticnt....
in case, they are manipulated by my imagination

so, there are times, when I don't do something ....
when I don't say something....
when i don't make any move......
its not because I don't want to...or i don't intend to

I'm just not sure if I'm doing the right thing

but....

I'm supposed to live free..think free and do anything i feel like
and that's supposed to lead me to contentment and happiness....

and that, is definitely easier said than done.....

~ its not that i don't love you, i'm just afraid to fall in love with you --- by Unknown~

हल्लोवीन 2010

2010-10-31T03:42:00.000-07:00

So...did I celebrate Halloween ? NO....
Why would I? I've never did...unless its the occasional night out with the gang and we happened to have a couple of drinks at a place with decked out with Halloween deco.

But this is the first time in my life, where I get kids knocking on my apartment's door asking for trick and treats....lol...which is kinda cute. I've got a girl in captain hook costume (yea..a girl), and a lil boy with skeleton face paint. Oh well, I've only got packets of tim tams....and I'll let the parents worried about hyperactive kids that are on sugar high .....not my problem if the parents decide to let them do trick or treat at 8.30pm...

the apartment block next to mine, seems to be having like 2 parties running at the same time...and it was quite noisy. So...there comes in the wine, a bottle of Savvy (like the Aussie will call it), or Sauvignon Blanc from The Maker's Table....pretty crisp and with a nice blend of fruity note to it.

Wine, some leftover Haigh's truffles from laksa lunch (Jess brought those....), and loads of laundry to be ironed. Yup, half drunked - watching some movies on tv, with loud music blaring at the background......I manage to stay up until 1am, before i crawled into bed.

Woke up by a call from Steph at about 10.30am....and we are heading out to the Hills to a cellar door, selling wines from BK Wines and Mayhem & ---

Nice bits of sunshine, some wine (before breakfast and lunch....LoL) and...then a some down-to-earth platter at the Stirling Hotel to share.....its a good Sunday to hang out with the girls, or....wait..with mates. LoL...Alan can't make it as a girl, even if he wanted to try!

The drive down the scenic route is really beautiful. Having drove down that route before, I've seen it at different light....in the morning, at noon and at dusk.....its always beautiful! But its different when I can quietly sit in the car and enjoy the view and not worry about the curvy and winding roads........so..I'm glad that Alan is driving...LoL! At least I get to properly enjoy the beautiful view of Adelaide...before i head off....

A day of contentment.....nice!

The balance

2010-10-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

My current status update on Facebook reads :

i don'tneed anything more than I need, but i'm not settling for any less than what I want.....and its complicated that way!

Over conversation with friends after a magnificent laksa lunch (cooked by yours truly ....alright, its not quite that magnificent, but its good enough :P), we dwell into the topic being a "freestyle" individual. According to my non-asian sista, Missy L, "freestyle" refers to a person that likes her own individuality, the kind that would still want to exist as a person on her own within a relationship, and not to be know as someone's girlfriend.

I like the idea. The idea that I can still be my own, and have someone there for me (and me for my currenty non-existent other half), but without the restraint of having to go through things like "Oh, I can't join your girls for movie tonight, because the Boyfriend wants to have dinner together with his mates...." or "I'm not wearing pink , because the Boyfriend don't like pink...." or to bring this to another level "I'm having laser hair removal because he like smooth and hair free legs.........or whatever other part of his preference ...*wink*".....

What happened to what the "you" want ? Is that no longer important , because you don't exist as an individual anymore? What about mutual respect of each other's preference ? Will he change his support for a certain football team, if you don't like the official color of the football club ? and etc....

The ability to travel anywhere without one another...............well, i have to admit that'll be hard if you guys head out for a honeymoon....lol...but , yea...on a trip together, isn't it alright to head out to a winery on your own because you'll love to, and he go for a sporting event that he wanted to attend ?? And adjourned for the night for a nice quiet dinner together ?

I supposed, its easy to imagine how easy it'll be, but difficult to make it work in life.......

i needed the reassurance....and this came in handy

2010-10-03T03:41:00.003-07:00

Your Week Ahead: Are you being churlish and pedantic? Should you be grateful for small mercies and glad of the minor opportunities now arising? Or are you right to hold out for a more satisfactory solution, even if, so far, there is not much sign of it on the horizon? For the record, you are entitled to the best. If you settle for less, you may bring a drama to a conclusion more quickly but you could also end up living with an uncomfortable compromise for much longer than you really need to. It is appropriate to be picky. You're worth more than someone else seems to realise. Value yourself more and others will value you more too!

the emo songs that I listen to....

2010-10-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

Sweet memories, Olivia Ong.

Chorus :
Don't kiss me baby we can never be
So don't add more pain
Please don't hurt me again
I have spent so many nights
Thinking of you longing for your touch
I have once loved you so much

twisted

2010-09-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

knots
unable to determine how it will unravel
it might get more tangle than before
or it may decide to let you find the way ....

some knots are easier to unravel...
some are harder

some are knotted so tight, that it hurts to loosen it up
some are so loose...that one little tug, will do the trick.....

with many knots around........how do we know if we need to keep it together..
or to let it go?

or wait a minute........come to think of it, finding the right knot....is one big task itself...let alone trying to find your way through one.

back in action.....or not ?

2010-09-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

answer found. time to let go, to live and forget....

the hunt is on again....or maybe, i'll just let it be and see what happens

and this blog ? shall keep going........its nice to read some old entries and reminisce....

It's no big deal

2010-08-27T16:08:00.001-07:00

After a few glass or Shiraz/Cab

Just like me & you, but with more talent....

2010-08-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

You can literally walk past him as a normal passer-by

he will not have much problem, being recognised as him...if he dress as how everyone would have dressed on a normal day (well, maybe minus the entourage, if there's any..i wouldn't know really!)

so much depth, so much heart, so much talent.......and oh so beautiful ....

how can a night of Khalil's concert (well, its with Fiona Sit who did a rather impressive performance herself), not made me say "I feel wonderful tonight ?"

Blank

2010-07-21T12:44:00.001-07:00

One can lose it's interest , but not hope..
One day , the phrase " perhaps, this time it will be different?" may come true.

Thinking of you

2010-05-23T13:58:00.001-07:00

I think I'm in deep shit! It's either that or I'm just being emo for no reason.

Having a relationship (now very much defunct) which span over 5 years where it was maintained on long distance mode ... I or we learned how not to be to attach to each other. It's not a nice place to be despite how much I cherished the good times.

And now, I think I've a problem to build this "attachment" with anyone at all. I felt useless and I hate myself for having to like someone... The idea of starting something and then having to end it is too much to bear.....

I felt useless and that I will lose my individuality if I'm with someone. Once u are in are a relationship, every decision you make, you'll have to consider the other half . I'll hate to lose that individuality and independence, but in my moments of weakness.... I do like the idea that I have that one person to go to, that one person who can make thing feel alright by just being there.

I hate it when I have this person in my mind but my mind and soul say I should build this massive retaining wall to protect the singlehood where I have my freedom and space. This is one space that without the attachment, I know there won't be the pain of losing that someone. Not quite sure how many times one person can take that and still function as if nothing has happened.

I think I'm too guarded to go "heck care, I should just give it go and sees what happens!". I'm more comfortable to stay where I am, because right now, I can still do the damage control before any damage occurs..... Sigh! Don't I hate myself for thinking too much?

They sure never tell you that growing up and having to make a decision is so painfully difficult.

What should I really do?

Of space. , freedom and loneliness

2010-05-23T13:37:00.001-07:00

Until tragedy strikes, you dont't really want to think how many people u can call for help. Having my own time, career and space .... The freedom to be random and spontaneous can be a blessing and is the most enjoyable element of being single in foreign land.

Then when I are out at middle of no where, ok ... I think Sydney airport not exactly middle of no where... Anyway, on my trip home from Sydney to Adelaide, I was hit by this bout of dizziness and was getting quite nauseous. It's that bad that I have to hold on to a random person next to me just to steady myself.

The random uncle was nice enough to get me a cup of Sprite, as I told him I might have low blood sugar. He then notified the staff at the airport who took me to the qantas service desks so they can watch over me while I rest at the lounge.

At that point, I don't really care what others might think or how I'll look with my head lolling around, while I slump on a chair.

After bouts of senseless resting... I got up feeling that I'm vaguely myself again, I thanked the service desks staff and they direct me to the boarding gate. At this point, I utterly in self-pity mode and realized that there's really no one that I could call for help.

Emailed Pegs, as I think with her recent experience of being stranded in Rome she will understand... And amazingly she called me and that was really as good as a hug from her! Thanks babe!

Nevertheless, I arrived at adelaide airport and took a cab home, without a moment where I wasn't thinking that ... If I'm back in KL... I'll will have friends and family who will pick me up from the airport.

So annoying

2010-05-15T09:32:00.001-07:00

I hate to remember.

haih……if only you can choose to wipe out certain memory, and keep only those you want.

Procrastination is great……

2010-04-26T06:11:00.001-07:00

I have training material to familiarise with…..

I have a luggage bag to pack….

I have to prepare for a meeting with my coach….

But I watched MasterChef…got hungry, too lazy to get sushi…..cooked IndoMie …then chatted with Pegs, then iron clothes….check FB, chatted summore….watch Desperate Housewives, followed by Brother & Sisters (damn drama man……), then now NCIS (not that interesting….) and waiting for Bones to load on yahoo7.

And my luggage is still unpack, training material….I’m still running through Day 1’s material…..kekekekekek

And I think I’m ready for bed soon…….

Procrastination is the best way to chill and relax……………well, untill its too late..then you get double the stress!

Low on $$$ ? Its not surprising!

2010-04-25T04:40:00.001-07:00

Eating out is expensive. And that’s where most of my $$$ went to………which resulted in an almost non-existent bank balance (well…aside from food, there’s the occasional splurge on a new top, shoes, bags….etc etc).
Well, its about that time where the bank balance looks like its drying up…..and its a long weekend, where work is park at this place called Far Far Away, I’m craving from some nice stuff to eat. My plan to make my own brekky, which would have saved me about $15 - $20 ++ , but none of the grocery shops were open in the morning and I woke up with a ravenous appetite. Hence, from Foodland, I drove to Jones the Grocers in Hyde Park and had a lovely french toast with crispy bacon strips (I added fried egg too)…and a long black! There goes $25 for brekky! I think its worth every cents though.....

Then feeling absolutely ashamed of myself, on how easily I gave up on my plan to be a frugal chick……I vowed to cook dinner.

And so dinner it is. I have lamb mince, and a 3 days old bunch of mint. I’ve bought that after reading a blog, from Tastespotting.com. I don’t have everything….but I think I can improvise. Making breadcrumbs was easy …..and i have a pack of ground coriander somewhere. Took me awhile to find cinnamon….and I ended up finding a bottle of ground cinnamon and a few stick of cinnamon bark. Hmm…well, I’m good to go to make some Lamb Meatball with Mint

As I planned to skip lunch, I’m expecting that I would have work up a huge appetite by dinner time…hence, risotto it is, which is suggested by Kevin, from Closet Cooking blog. Works really well as the weather is rather chilly, it being the tail end of Autumn. While Kevin uses Farro, I only have arborio rice in my pantry, hence that’ll do. I bought a 1L pack of Chicken Stock from Foodland (which opened at 12 pm today, as its Anzac Day)….and I manage to dig out my stash of dry porcini. Bought this a long long time ago….from the Adelaide Central Market, when i first arrived in Adelaide. Bought it mainly because I’ve never been able to find any Porcini mushroom in M’sia…….and its the most “earthy” flavoured mushroom that I’ve ever had before…..and am glad I finally found an excuse to use it.

~~Soaking the dry porcini for about 20 mins~~

So, Dry Porcini Risotto it is……
The dry porcini is the only different element from Kevin’s recipe…..and the twist is that I added the water from the porcini soak to the chicken broth…

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Cooking the risotto……and I don’t have any parmesan cheese, just some bitey cheddar ….and am too lazy to grate it (i don’t think I can actually grate cheddar slices…kekeke…), hence I tear it to bits and sprinkle on the risotto…
Added the porcini to the risotto when its about 20-30 mins after I’ve cooked the rice. The colour of the risotto gets darker and darker….and the porcini, the freshly cracked pepper….the butter, cheese..and stock…just smelled so amazingly good. At that point, even if it taste like crap, I’ll probably want to still put it in my mouth….smells great.
Final product ????? Ta daa……….

I let the whole watery mixture reduced to the above consistency…and plate it with the Lamb meatballs.
Did I mention that it took a lot of will power not to gobble up the meatballs while waiting for the risotto to cook?
And stirring the risotto is quite a chore…and thank god I’m cooking just 1 cup of rice. Can’t imagine having to stir a whole lot of rice in a thickening stock………And Shane, I think you’ll love this…the rice is cooked perfectly…with that little bit of bite to it, what you’ll called al dente if you are cooking pasta. :D
I added a bit of lemon zests before digging in…..which really “brighten” what would have been a heavy meal.
Down the whole thing with a glass of Yalumba’s TGV…….nice!!!! And I have leftover to munch on tomorrow….not that I’m too hopeful as to how a reheated risotto will turn out….fingers crossed!
Happy!!!!!!! guinea pigs who want to try this, please sign up on FB….and book me 1 week in advance to cook this…kekekkekekekekeke….

Visit Kevin’s blog– Closet Cook for the recipe to the lamb meatball, and the basic recipe of a risotto , as I just improvised by adding the porcini (which btw, I did a bit of stirfry with garlic before adding it to the cooking risotto).

Am proud of the risotto, and I also love the meatballs :

In the name of beauty? Is really just skin deep?

2010-04-16T16:54:00.001-07:00

I’m a lazy person when it comes to make-up. I can’t be bother slapping on eyeshadows, curling my lashes, u know…the stuff where you are supposed to define your eyes, sweep blusher on your cheek, highlight your brow bones and cheek bones to make it standout….bla bla bla.

Its not difficult, but being consistent and keeping the “paint job” my face is one big problem for me.

I like to rub my eyes….touch my face when I’m thinking….and what may have look nice before I get out of the house, may turn into a scary face by the time I reach work. Hence, the max I put on is some tinted moisturiser to cover up the some acne scars and blemishes….which also provide sun protection at the same time (how efficient, eh?…..I’m not too sure about the effectiveness though!)

Plus…I’m the what you see is what you get girl….no surprise when you see me with/without make-up. It should be reasonably the same thing…..

So, I recently come across this thing…..called TEMPTU , as shown below :

Sounds like a wonderful invention ??? But I can help but relate it to the following :

Talk about Beauty Care rite……they literally uses the same technology…….spray painting/air brushing…whatever you call it.

And now imagine…….if you use TEMPTU consistently on each girl, then you can sort of customade a look for all girls….and you’ll get like a production of “girls that’s made to look the way i like it”…………just like how you get your car spraypainted the way you wanted it to be.

How quintessential! …..NOT!

Lets just say, technology allows us to seek perfection the way we perceive perfection to be…..

Maybe you airbrush your face with different shade of foundation, and TEMPTU do blusher too…..and you know paint the wrong thing on the wrong place, you may be a “unique” species afterall?

Have a thought about it……think along the line of paint by numbers….gosh, make up will be damn easy :

Use colour no. 1 and paint that on cheeks. Use colour no. 2 , and paint it on eyelid….then overlap colour no. 2 with brush no. 4 using colour 3 (shade 0.55a) on the tail end of your lids…bla bla bla…..

Amazing………

Maybe, they’ll soon have a customise face mask that is pre-painted with make-up and you just need to apply the mask and you’ll have a fresh leave-on make-up on your face….and there you are…good to go to face the big bad world !!!! Hurrah!

Down memory lane…

2010-04-04T18:12:00.001-07:00

After packing and unpacking, while moving apartments last year, I sort of forgotten about my external drive.

The idea was, to get a 1 TB monster as backup storage media (yup…not like SJP in Sex in the City, who had no idea what a Zip Drive ……) and oh baby! did i backup my stuff? Ya…without sorting them in proper folder, by date, by type or whatever you are supposed to do to “organise” your backup-ed data.

Anyway, it was kinda cool that I found my R&B folder dating from 2004 – 2008 ….my fav companion while working in the wee hours of the night. Gosh…those memories! You get a good earphone, blast the music……and its as if you are working in Poppies on R&B night…minus the hotties grinding to the music, and you get high from completing a “step” on the audit file instead on shots of drinks…..how sad!

Occasionally, your fellow team mate may just give a short rendition of Jacky Cheung’s latest hit……

Those were the days…….

I think I might have found my “energizer” to keep me going during busy period here in the Adelaide office….minus Bro Bra’s singing….minus a huge team of funny monkeys ……

Just to give you a glimpse on how “out” my playlist will be, if I’m to fallback on this music folder :

No Scrubs – by TLC (now a defunct band ?)

Hotel – by R.Kelly feat Cassidy (i think this is not too old…should be in the 2008/2009 circa.)

Lets’ get it started – Black Eyed Peas ….this is the best…get it started ha…then you type like a para of audit notes….then when the next chorus comes…you would have cross referenced your work, doc-linked your work…and on the final note, click complete ! Whoa!!!!!!!

crazy…………

demented..

At the Windy Point…………………..

2010-04-03T05:25:00.001-07:00

Its Elaine’s birthday and we are all up for a treat on this special day. Hence, the Windy Point Restaurant……

We are all ravenous……hence, we started off with some freshly baked sourdough…..which keep us sustained for a while, until the rest of the food came :

We’ve got ourself one serve of the organic sour dough loaf, accompanied with butter and olive oil, and another serve of Home made Olive Bread, served with goats curd. Both came as a comfort to a table of four hungry girls, and did I mention that the breads are warm when served……though the goats curd can be a tad less sourish (to my liking).

Entrees :

Beautifully presented above, is the grilled calamari strips served with a bed of salad. I couldn’t recall what exactly it’s called, but the herbs and lemon-grilled calamari with a bite of onion and grapes….tasted wonderful enough, to make me wonder what surprise will I get from the mains!

If memory served me right, this platter includes a tartare of salmon, roasted pork belly on a bed of celeriac, and the last bit…I have no idea what it is now. By now, you should know, that’s not what I’ve ordered…hence, the lack of “memory” of what’s served. Though I did get a bit of the melt-in-your-mouth pork belly.

Sue Ann’s grilled/pan fried haloumi on a bed of spinach…..and topped with a dollop of cranberry jam. Smells wonderful, if you like the smell of pan-fried cheese………

The mains :

A delightful palate cleanser – a scoop of raspberry and yuzu sorbet each! refreshing…. We all are rather partial to the yuzu sorbet……

My selection :

Roast Chateaubriand of Beef (g)
350g Clare Valley Gold prime grain fed beef fillet
served with three traditional sauces, steamed English spinach,
leek and hand cut potato crisps

What can I say about my main? Its worth every bit of AUD$$ spent!!!!! Served medium rare, the choice of sauces that comes with it are really good….and if you are not into having any sauces, the steak is good on its own! Juicy, tender and cooked just right!

What did the rest of the girls ordered :

Slow-cooked Free Range Duck Breast
chicken and duck pastry cigar, turmeric yoghurt, braised witlof and strawberry ginger jam

Spiced W.A. Sea Pen Barramundi (g)
with nashi pear puree, beetroot relish, crisp speck and potato galette

Slow Braised Black Angus Beef Sirloin (served Medium)
served with gorgonzola potato compression, Dijon mustard,
asparagus and baby beetroot

Dessert :

When we can’t decide…..a selection of dessert is the best choice

Chocolate Mélange for Two
Mocca panna cotta
Hazelnut chocolate palet
White chocolate cheesecake
Chocolate mousse cornetto
White chocolate and butterscotch crème brûlée
Glace cherry and chocolate parfait

The 4 of us left a tad bit heavier……our tummy evidently filled with loads of goodies…..though I have to say, our pockets are much lighter than we wanted it to be.

Lovely meal, nevertheless….and the view is absolutely amazing………….

Weird

2010-03-26T14:39:00.001-07:00

As I grow, I seems to have this problem of remembering what I’ve dreamed the night before. All I have, was a feeling when I woke up. I can wake up feeling like I can conquer the world, and I can wake up feeling lost and sad, sometimes I’m scared….well, the latter is rare, but it happens.

I woke up at 7.30am this morning. A Saturday morning, mainly because I’m crying and I don’t know why. There’s this immense sadness in my heart…that I can’t explain. I just need to get up from the bed and write this down, because the sadnesss is just too much. I don’t know if I can sleep it out….but I supposed I’ll feel better after I write it down, or tell someone about it. Its a bummer that I’m so faraway from the Musketeers, else…I could have easily call up one of them to talk about this, but its freaking 4am in Malaysia…..don’t think calling anyone of them will be a great idea.

Plus, I’m sure I’ll be alright after I have a nice breakfast.

I’m just puzzled. What makes this time different from the rest? Well, the weird thing is….when I woke up, there’s this tune that stays in my head. Seriously….I’m not joking. “A little kindness in the night….bla bla…oooh ..bla bl abla”

And I couldn’t quite put it down what’s the name of the song. Its some oldies….and that’s another reason why I get myself out of bed, and hop onto the computer. Nothing that Google can’t find, rite? While i have no idea how to search a “tune” using Google, its a good thing that I can put the tune to some lyrics…..and its Ocean Deep, by Cliff Richards. Gosh…at any time, I’ll say that this is so lame……..but the song makes me feels better.

Honestly, I think I’m this close to being crazy. What’s happening to me? Why can’t I just remember what I dreamed of? That should give me some idea what happened?? I honestly don’t think what happened during the day would have impacted me that much. As usual, I’m busy at work….i have 10 thousand people asking me to finish this and that,and on top of that, and I decide to take time out to make this nice little scrapbook for one of the partners that’s leaving the firm (which is something that I really enjoyed, and had a really good time working wiht Elaine and Emma). Then we have office drinks, have a reasonably authentic chinese dinner (another reason to be happy!), talked about sushi night, came back home, baked 7 ramekins full of creme brulee….and slept! The day wasn’t bad at all….at any rate. I had worse. Why? why? why?

Anyway, ~~Ocean Deep is a rather nice song….maybe I can get some sleep listening to it……~~

Wrong idea, its a nice song, but a sad one……..I should just wake up and clean the mess in the house.

Its a freaking Saturday…..I should be sleeping in and not waking up at 7.30am.

tied

2010-03-07T16:46:00.001-08:00

The stillness of things….can be easily mistaken for the eerie silence of a graveyard….where all that lies within, are not in this world anymore = DEAD.

Well, lucky for my friends and family, despite the eerie silence that haunted my blog for the past 1 month or so…I’m not quite dead. Very much alive, just that 80% of my life was “claimed” by my role at work and, well….been hanging out with Elaine a lot too.

Breaking the normal cycle of my routine, can be quite upsetting sometimes. Mainly because I worked really hard to make myself contented with my routine. It takes me a long time, before I’m happy with my current rountine. Suddenly, having someone extra within the routine, will throw me off-course and things will start to mess up for me.

Not that I don’t like company, but I find that there’s a very difficult line to draw between being polite/accomodating and doing what I want. For example, I’ll like to head straight home, have a super quick dinner, wrap up some work and dedicate the last few precious hours to TV/reading a book before I sleep. Or randomly, I might want to go for a jog/walk around the neighbourhood……then have a late dinner or whenever I feel hungry, or just setting up my ironing board right in front of the TV and attack the growing pile of clothes that needs to be iron. Having someone around me, means that I have an extra person to consider.

Is this a sign a living alone for too long, makes me unable to adapt to a live with someone else in the same living area?

Back home, when I was living with my family, we operate rather well together as a unit. The only obligations that we have to each other, is to keep our own private living area clean and to let Mom know if we will be back for dinner or if we are bringing friends home for dinner. And of course, during dinner time, we’ll discuss our plan for the rest of the week (are we having brekky on Sunday morning, are anyone of us going out on certain days of the week), and work around each other plan. The main thing is , there’s no gnawing feeling that you leaving someone out, when u decide to back out on one of the activities planned/not planned. Its understood…..but its different, when its not with a family I supposed.

Anyway…the experience of living with someone outside the family, give me more reason to appreciate my own space and freedom……

I’m enjoying the fact that I can laze here and write this stuff, and chill until my lazy bones are cracked and head out for a warm bowl of century egg congee

tata

Status update :

After the amount of effort putting into walking/climbing the stairs whenever I can, I would have expected at least 2 kg weight loss. And this is on top of the fact, that I’ve actually sacrified a real lunch opportunity to have salad instead (salad is not food, hence it don’t count as lunch in my dictionary).

Disappointingly, after 1 month, I have not lose any weight. Though I have to admit, I feel much better.

PS : Well, I did have a lot of cakes when I was in Melbourne, when Greco is just 11 floors away. And the wonderful meal on Elaine’s birthday, Vietnamese dinner at Vietnam, Bayu’s farewell dinner that ended up with a gelato binge….I supposed, I should be thankful I didn’t gain any extra weight.

My affair with Exercise

2010-01-30T15:56:00.001-08:00

Gods know I hate exercise (except for swimming)…

My family knows that, my BFFs know that….me? Of course I know I hate exercise. Not that I don’t know the benefits of exercising. In fact, I quite enjoy the benefits, as it takes out the sluggishness in my system, and it was supposed to burn some of the many calories that I had digested…

So, now begins my affair with exercise…..

I made my new year resolutions, one of them was to lose weight and stay healthy. I’m beginning to hate gym….not that the gym is bad or anything, I appreciate their effort to keep it interesting by installing TVs so that my jog on the cross trainer is more entertaining. But the after gym part that’s tiresome. Unpacking the dirty gym stuff and washing it……then repack for the next day. Ugh…so much inconvenience, for that 1-2 hours in gym….

So, I’ve begin to jog around the neighbourhood where I’m staying here. Started on Thursday, by forcing myself to walk from Parkside to Unley (according to Google Maps, the route I’ve taken is as far as 3km), to buy some roast chicken from Woolies. I supposed, working out to get dinner, make sense…I burn some calories, before i eat it!

Today, I dragged myself off the bed at 9.15am, get dressed and head out for a jog. Not that far, just a short jog around Parkside….as I don’t want to get out on the main road, where there’s lesser trees. I chose my route by picking the shadier streets….heheh…lasted for about 30-40 minutes, climbed 3 flight of stairs up to my apartment and ….

I’m all ready for breakfast……except, I don’t need to unpack my gym bag, I just need to shower and be ready to go!!!!

Status update :

Weight loss so far : Zero

Happiness level : Feel refreshed, not sluggish

Who’s difficult to understand?

2010-01-25T05:38:00.001-08:00

You read on magazines, and even the newspaper, where it is proclaimed that women are hard to understand.

But do you know why? Its all a misunderstanding. Women, had tried for ga-zillion years to understand the needs of man, and in turn, try to act or become what they thought to be the right kind of women. Along the way, women are confused, deluded, ….I don’t know…in serious cases, they became obsessed in getting it right.

Standing outside the box, looking at the situation as a third party, you’ll see women as someone who can’t make up their mind (as they battle within themselves to live as a women or to live as what they perceived as the women that man loves?). Its like an identity crisis…really.

SO…back to my point. If you look at it that way, its no wonder that man thinks that women are one complicated species.

But then…..if you flipped to the other side of the coin….do man actually pretend to be the kind of man, they think women like?

Its a complicated world out there……..

*MH musing over a friend who think the word “love” is utterly disgusting, and “relationship” is not exactly what he’ll describe his attachment to a girl, and that left me with no other word in my vocabulary to define such relationship. Being just an acquaintance, seems too distance……..well…I did say life is complicated, didn’t I?

Single file

2010-01-22T04:08:00.001-08:00

the thing about being single…we have very good plans to protect ourselves

or so I thought. I mean, it had worked fine…all these while

Lets look at the normal scenario when we plan a girls night out, we walked each other to our cars, make sure everyone gets to their car safely, and occasionally, if we are not too drunk, we’ll message each other to make sure everyone got home safely. Its like a network thing….we keep each other safe.

So…I’ve left my network in Kuala Lumpur. What do I do now? Lock myself up at home, watching Love Actually, browse the World Wide Web for what’s happening on a Friday night?

Not that I don’t want to hang out with the girls from work…..but, they are , well….lets just say I feel like the chaperon when I hang out with them. Its totally coming from me, its not like they are not friendly or something like that. I just feel…insecure outside my Musketeers’ company…

Anyway…browsing the Fringe Festival’s website…I’ve scouted like a bunch of gigs that I’ll love to go…

But…sigh, do I go alone? I’ve master the art of being a lone ranger at restaurants…but to gigs at bars/lounge?

hmmm…

I supposed there’s a first time for everything???

Current interest :

I don’t know…there’s so much to do, so little time and courage to hang out on my own!

We’ll see….

Shoju

2010-01-18T05:18:00.001-08:00

the tiny little bites on your tongue

the bits of spiciness that sparkle all over

hot and warm

and then?

SWEET!

talking crap …after the last quarter bottle of Korean Shoju. Nice lady drink… :P

Today is supposed to be special

2010-01-14T16:00:00.001-08:00

Horoscope reading for Cancerian in general :

Relationships are where the main game is now. You have a solar eclipse in your sector of relationships which means you have to focus on what's happening in this quarter of your life and what it means to you now. You also have Mercury, the planet of communications, going direct in this sector, so the heat is on around talking, making your point and listening to others. Today is a great day to make your wish list - write down what you want in a partner and those things you don't. The trick is to skip lightly over troubles in order to take the charge out of them. Dancing, listening to music, being as light as you can be works for you now, especially as the Sabian Symbol for the eclipse is Capricorn 26: A Nature Spirit Dancing in the Mist of a Waterfall. Just make sure you're not treating partnerships too superficially. There's a balance here between dismissing what's really going on and taking things too seriously. Concentrate on that silver lining! Yasmin Boland is on holidays. Your Stars today were written by Lynda Hill. Check out Lynda's Sabian Symbol offerings on www.sabiansymbols.com

So…

Relationships are the main game. Hmmm……what relationships? Aside from really supportive and treasured friendships, and really great family, the “love” relationship section had been rather barren for a long time. But this the one time, I’ve seen someone dare to give a horoscope reading that specific = “you have to focus on what’s happening in this quarter of our life and what it means to you now”.

Well, lets see….to focus on…

There’s no specific relationship that I can focus on at the moment, despite the fact of “every available guy is a potential” theory that the Musketeers are working on right now. OK, maybe there’s 2-3 that I’m considering to be potentials, but so far, they prove to be platonic……(please remember the love radar within me is not working properly).

Anyway, according to Yasmin Boland, today is the best day to make a wish list….due to the new moon eclipse, and the reading above mentioned that I’m not to treat partnerships too superficially…so, lets make a wish list now :

What do I want in a partner and things that I don’t :

Things I want :

Someone who love me as I am. This is not superficial rite? Totally logic, isn’t it? How in the world can a relationship blossom if we can’t accept each other , the good and bad stuff included as one package?
Preferably someone that can take care of me. I know, this may fall under the superficial side of things, but I’m honestly tired of taking care of myself and of other people. After over 25 years of being the eldest in the family and putting others first, I’ll like to have some time off to focus on me.
My basic requirements: Funny and love food/travel. Will be a plus if he loves dogs too.
A friend who can listen and share life experiences with.
I spend as I like…well of course, within limits. I do have bills to pay. Saving is not one of my main forte, so someone who can help manage my retirement plan without being too intrusive about how I spend money will be good.
Ok with hanging out with my family and close friends.
*private wish* – to be shared with Musketeers only

Things I don’t want :

Listing anything here, will contradict point 1 of what I wanted. But the following are the no-no’s that I can think of :

Looks is honestly not an important factor to me, but I’ll appreciate if the other-half maintain basic hygiene and grooming. At the very least, should be presentable and not filthy?
Not controlling. I’ll like to have the liberty to hang out with my own friends (guys/girls).
Bad temper, vulgar. rude – generally, bad behaviours.

Also, if this eclipse is all about relationship, my family’s well-being should be included, so I strongly wish that everyone in the family stays healthy and will have a good life for many years to come! This includes Rocky!

(Courtesy real time review by Elaine Chew, to judge if this is fair – Thanks, babe!)

Now, I just need to focus on the above list and make my wish…..at the right time today!

Friends, wish me luck!!

Man will always be man

2010-01-12T06:36:00.001-08:00

Went to Ikea with Elaine to get a few piece of furniture……

As much as I can survived with just a sofa and tv, I can’t live without a dining table, a bookcase …well, I’ll need a tallboy to put some of my stuff rite???

Dining table is important, otherwise how else can I cook and have my friends over for dinner? Its been ages since I’ve cooked and baked!

Bookcase…my precious books…..how can I let my books be homeless? And its 100% practical….with all the magazines that I buy, I need somewhere to put them so that my place look reasonably tidy rite?

Tallboy….well, the bedroom is utterly bare. Just my bed. Where else do I put my stuff ??? Odds and ends are lying on the floor in boxes………I can’t even vacumm the room properly! So…that falls under the category being “ pratical” ?

Anyway…all these 3 things, even though flatpacked…are really heavy. Now, this is the time that you don’t want to be independent and adopt the do-it-yourself attitude! Plus, I don’t think I can actually lift them myself…..

So we ask some of the Ikea staff to get them from the storage area. Quite cute actually…..but then cute guy left us stranded , and his colleague have to step up and do the job instead.

Now….Cute guy appear, and sheepishly tell his colleague sorry, that the job was passed on to him. And the “colleague”, who is rather cute too….gave us a wink, and say “ Its alright girls, I’m stronger than him!”"

“-_-

That’s totally unnecessary, but if it makes him feels happier…..well, he can be as strong as he wants! We need him to move the stuff anyway!!

It’s cool, but tiring!!!

2010-01-12T06:13:00.001-08:00

Its cool to be able to assemble my own furniture…

Its not much, just a tallboy and a bookcase…and there’s a dining table to go…..but its really great to see them all up and nicely done up!

After assembling the tallboy and bookcase, my back ache like mad. Sigh..sign of age catching up with me!!!

This whole plan of living alone and learning to grow up seems really exciting and adventurous…but the excitement…is starting to wear off after one year.

The feminist in me, am really proud…..I mean, look at the blardy bookcase..so big rite? Such an achievement…hehehe….

But…but….it will be great if these stuff get assembled by someone else…and everything else packed into the bookcase and tallboy nicely……

haih….sometimes I wonder, if being a feminist, independent results in :

having a horrible back ache
broken nail
having saw dust and shrapnel stuck on my fingers…ouch
and did i mention, unpacking the flatpacked stuff, require another round of cleaning up!!!!

Boo hoo hoo…..as much as I’m proud of myself, I’m feeling really depressed and “cham”….i.e self pity….

Did i mention, I look horrible after assembling everything??? Sigh…and have to wake up and head to work…on the nastiest client on my portfolio tomorrow!! God , please save me!!!!

The only good thing coming out of this….I probably burn quite a bit of calories setting them up!

Lunching at the Pressroom

2010-01-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

Hunger pangs set in at about noon today, when my sister and I was heading off to HELP University to do some pre-u course enquiries (for the sister). I'm itching for comfort food and what's more comforting than a nice warm plate of risotto?

After having a good dinner at the Pressroom with Shane and Sarah a couple of weeks ago, I have been itching to go back to the Pressroom. So, there we go....for our lunch.

Having tried the Lobster Risotto for dinner last time, I've selected the asparagus and mushroom ragu risotto and the Wagyu Cheek Risotto for our lunch.

- not exactly appetising looking at it, but the combination of flavours are perfect! Not to mention, the texture of the risotto...is close to perfection! I have Shane's approval to vouch for that! -

- Wagyu Cheek Risotto-

The meat is tender, the risotto ..once again cooked to perfection. However, the flavour can be improved...there's something lacking, but I can't exactly pinpoint what's wrong though. Point to note, I think its rather brilliant for the chef to sprinkle some thin curls of lemon rinds, which add a good bit of tanginess to the risotto...~

At this point, i'm really contented with the meal, and was absolutely happy to part with my $$$ for this rather expensive lunch (the risotto range from RM25 - RM52 per plate, depending what you've ordered)

Then we thought we'll treat ourselves to some dessert.

I've selected the apple strudels and lo and behold, they planted the following mutated apple strudels on our table :

[Picture above taken with my sister's Sony Ericsson Satio phone camera]

With all due respect to the dessert chef, or whoever they got the apple strudels from, its outright disappointing! Especially if they are charging me RM16 for it...I expect something better than that.

Look at the filling...nothing like the juicy slice of apples that should have been in any apple strudels. And the filling is a dry mixture of nuts, walnuts, apple and raisins....wrapped in something that's meant to be some sort of crepe. The crepe wrapping have a texture that's a cross between rubber band and card board ......

I'm no expert in Apple Strudels, but the strudels that I have in mind come in puff pastry and juicy apple fillings. Really disappointing. The only thing that's worth eating is the vanilla ice-cream.

The Chocolate Volcano, which effectively is a chocolate cake with molten chocolate fillings inside. Thank god they didn't screw this up......

Verdict ? I'll like to try their pizza, once they've sort out the problem with the gas supply. Apparently they've all the pizza oven installed, but couldn't get the gas supply connected as yet. Service is pretty good too. Price is way above average, but I personally think its worth it (with exception to the dessert).

They have a pretty nice selection of fine tea, and I haven't have a chance to check out their wine list. I did remember having a glass of really good Malbec the last time I had dinner there with the girls, so maybe they have a good selection of wine too...

Total damage for the lunch? $ 148.35

Pg 1

2010-01-01T07:54:00.000-08:00

It seems surreal, that we reached the millenium at year 2000...and its still surreal to welcome the arrival of 2010 yesterday night. 2010....well, I have definitely come a long way........

It feels really odd...a dash of insecurity of leaving 2009 behind, but am equally excited to welcome the arrival of 2010, wondering what's installed for me in 2010...

So , Pg 1 of 2010....is reserved for the resolutions for the new year :

1) To decide what's the next course of action in terms of my career by July 2010
2) Lose weight
3) Sleep earlier
4) Start to cook and bake more
5) Travel around Australia
6) Save up for my Europe trip
7) Save up for my business plan
8) hmm...well, I'll probably need to check if what the tarot card says is true by middle of 2010
9) Continue to stand up for myself and voice my thoughts..once I've started, it feels pretty empowering
10) : ) Attend at least 1 event organised by the SA Pugs Association!!!

I think that's about it! I would have put in Bungee jump...but don't think I'll have enough $$$ to travel around Australia, save for Europe and my business plan and fly to NZ to do the bungee jump.....that'll have to wait.

6kg and more to go

2009-12-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

Since July, I've somehow piled on 6kg.

Yes...freaking 6kg. The last time when I'm on my fattest (98kg - after 3 mths of immobility due to a fractured leg), it took me almost 2 years to slowly lose 23kg, which includes dieting, some slimming sessions, hitting the gym and lots of will power that I never thought I have. I'm happy with my 72 - 75 kg range...and size 12-14 clothes....and of course, the improved stamina is a plus point.

So...now, I have 6kg...and I expect the number to go up...since I'm back in KL and I vowed to eat my hearts out of all the lovely M'sian food......I'm begining to worried...how I'm going to manage the potentially (soon-to-be) 10 kg weight gain in total!!! Honestly, I feel ...well, not exactly proud of my "spare tyres", the super prominent chicken wings, and...well, all the extra weight in summary. Super sluggish....and I can't walk up 2 flights of stairs without feeling out of breath...like seriously panting like mad...

Sigh....but then, i can resist the food....

Mom's cooking
Seafood - my first time having lobster sashimi....which is really GOOD!!!
- crab fests
- braised fish maw, sea cucumber and abalone....you can't get this in Adelaide!!!
Street food in general, and all the chow mein (hokkien mee & wat tan hor- which I haven't had yet!)
Malay food - nasi lemak, keropok lekor, goreng pisang....ayam masak merah....
Mamak food - roti canai, nescafe special, nasi lemak bungkus...etc etc

I don't know...the list will go on and on......

Honestly don't think there's a solution to my problem here, except for :
1) Embrace the weight gains
2) Stay positive
3) Try to fit in some gym time
4) Start my dieting as soon as I'm back in Adelaide.....sigh!

What happened....? How did I get here?

2009-11-29T05:18:00.000-08:00

I guess, I have only myself to blame?
It will be about 1 month to Suet's wedding. I'm supposed to start to watch my weight since last month. I know I can't do much during the winter months...as the cold weather just make me feel hungry faster...plus the stress at work didn't help the situation.

Coupled with loads of visitors, hence holiday bingeing, i guess, I've accumulated more kilos than I have expected. I should have suspected when looser pants feels tighter, when the spare tyres starts to overflow to the side...there's all these warning signs...but I refuse to acknowledge them!!!

Ugh!!! And now....when I finally have the courage to weigh myself.....I'm 6kg heavier since June 2009!!

How in the world am I going to lose these 6kg? I'm not even counting the 3 kg I've gain from my trip back to KL in May.....

ugh...

i'll have to wake up early tomorrow, go for a jog.....no more lasagna for lunch....probably have to start grazing on "greens"......

haih...i hate dieting....why can't I have a super duper metabolism that zap up the fats as and when i eat? How am I supposed to enjoy eating when I have to worry about my size? I can accept myself being big, but not this big.......can't love the extra "wobbly" bits......ugh!!!

bad..bad.....bad!

its never easy, rite?

2009-10-19T01:52:00.000-07:00

Waking up today, feeling as if I didn't sleep much last night. I dragged myself to the Melbourne office, to start my first day as an instructor. Gosh...its rather terrifying and it didn't help, that my mind refuse to stick to the script. Sigh....I'm glad I didn't kill any of the poor kids from boredom/confusion.

Then...my period decided that its the right time to resurface. Ugh......backache, ripping pain in the abdomen and while all these happens at once, I have to stand up straight and look normal. Horrible!!! Can't even finish my sandwich during lunch........

When the whole thing ends, I head back to the hotel that the company booked. Lovely....big fluffy pillows....and seriously huge for me alone, if not too huge! Still feeling crap, I called Sum to whine and to catch up with her.......

Sadly head down to Crowns ....for my lonely dinner tonight. Wasn't up for any company anyway....too tired, too grumpy, aching all over.......feeling all sad and sorry for myself.

And then.....a darling of a waitress appears. Gosh...lovely service. I asked about serving size, she gave perfect advice......and when I told her I feel like having chocolate cake....and don't which one to order.....she suggested the Choc Mud Cake....and I say I'll like it warm. No problem she says...and off she goes bringing me a lovely Choc Mud Cake to takeaway...........

What makes it special, she gave me a knowing wink....i think she knows...its the period day...hence, a girl needs a little TLC and lots of chocolate............ah...............its good to have a little kindness at the end of the day!

its the same everywhere...

2009-10-05T04:57:00.000-07:00

when's my last entry?

I can't even remember. Should have been more than a month I supposed.

Lately, life had not been treating me good....its not critically bad, but its not smooth sailing either...its bump after bumps...

First, its the mother of all flu ...my first flu in Adelaide and its crap. And to top it all off, I've got a flu vaccine early March. That pretty much gets me down....blown out for 2 whole day, and on the 3rd day I find the energy to get up and go to work in a groggy state. Which is not exactly a good idea to go back to work, but then audit being audit, there's a deadline.

Then its the week at Melbourne...and a boss from the previous job who called and reminded that its my responsibility as the team leader , regardless of where I am located, to get the cashflow checked, financial statement out by next morning. It didn't help that she didn't bother listening and won't take NO for an answer. So much for the work-life balance. I wouldn't be as much as angry, if I don't hear from the Partners claiming that they are doing some planning to reduce overtime and to spread work evenly, and hence no overtime is required. Well, at that point in time, when my Senior Manager insist I work through the night to meet the deadline, regardless that I'm also working on another client in Melbourne....all I can think is...BS..really , so much of BS....

All this time, I'm still struggling with the remaining of the flu that refuse to go.....

ITs good that I have Sumita in Melbourne. Its good to have someone you can just walk into and tell, "Sum..I have the worst day ever, and i'm homesick and i seriously need company and some TLC"......and to top it all off, my period decide to come and wreck havoc with my hormones...

And the sisters arrived in Melbourne and that did cheer me up heaps.

Then back to work in Adelaide......busy week, on a superannuation audit. Rush and rush, half the time I don't know what I'm doing.......my boss is super busy ..not exactly accessible so its hard to get any coaching. It didn't help that client is on the presumption that they have superannuation experts on the audit team. Seriously, auditors should take some acting class.....that'll help them do their job better.....

and then the sisters arrived in Adelaide. Spend the weekend in Hahndorf and then Barossa valley over the weekend. And back to work while sisters take care of the house and do a bit of traveling.......rushing back home everyday to bring them out for dinners....they cooked me, Elaine, Shane and Sue Ann a dinner at home too...which is lovely. Its really tiring and busy for me......and viola, the flu came back...

Initially, I thought its just me being tired and probably a little bit of sore throat and of course, constantly in a groggy state......a cross between a headache and inability to focus. Went to see the doctor, hoping that he'll give me a medical certificate so I can rest at home for a day (officially - the bossess have no right to ask me to work when I'm sick here...its a big no no here). Well, ended up, I'm actually down with fever, a slightly infected throat and right ear and the doctor reckoned I have another viral infection (i think that's a flu...)

So....spend the long weekend recuperating.....a lot of sleep..and rests. NO work at all....since Thursday. And now, I'm dreading the mountain of work...accumulated from last Thursday till now.........

Well, it will be a great Tuesday.....it have to be great.......a big big day......

~mh is glad to get this off her chest....and pray hard that she will come back a human (not a zombie) tomorrow!~

Life is tough....because no one dare claim that its ever easy

2009-09-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

past few weeks had been tough

both at work and in the home front

haih...

sad...

tired....

disappointed...

sniffy flu

2009-09-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

I hate flu or any sort of cold. Whatever flu virus is made of....its out there to wreck you day..or for some, days.

Suddenly, you have no control of your mind, on your snot can't stop leaking from your nose....running nose is not even close.....and then, you get to sneeze like every 10-15 mins....till your neck and back hurts....

But I'm just glad that the doctor don't think that the flu is exactly the swine version of it....though he say any indication of going hot and cold (like to the extreme of cold and hot) then I'll have to start worrying.......

And meanwhile, I have snuggle up in my room...brain totally in Groggo-land .....and crash....

crashy crashy in groggy mode....with stick some tissue up my nose to stop any leakage.....but then i can't breathe....but hey, the stupid nose of mine is so clogged up that it doesn't matter....

*suddenly i miss my mama very much....thinking of pork ribs porridge, or just plain white porridge with salted duck egg..........* sniff sniff....*

A thought...or a memory ..

2009-08-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time.....

MH took a road trip down to Malacca....with 2 friends. Both originated from Malacca.......but one is obviously handicapped when it comes to roads and directions, and thank god we have the other one who serve as , I'll say..a rather satisfying guide...

ANyway...I just remembered a MH moment during that trip.

I was to be shown the "good stuff" ....when it comes to cendol. But it was a Monday and the cendol stall is not open. So we head off to another one, located at the Tan Kim Hock building.

I had durian chendol...which is rather good. But the MH moment during this chendol search.....is that the 2 malaccan got all excited that they see Mr Tan Kim Hock at the Tan Kim Hock building.

I'm like ....errr....what's so special about that leh? Tan Kim Hock face is plaster high up at the building........a huge poster of him!

An the Malaccan girl goes like " NO!!!!!!!!!!!! MH....not the poster....the real thing la. Tan Kim Hock just walked to his white mercedes and chaffeured off.....!"

I gave them the blank face and blurted this " But...i thought Tan Kim Hock is no longer here (aka deceased)? That's why they put his picture up at the building........"

Well, the 2 malaccan were laughing all the way when we got down from the parking lot and head off for our durian chendol.

*BLUSH*

~MH would like to apologise to Mr. Tan Kim Hock. No offence intended........!~

A week of a carnivorous woman's life....

2009-08-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning (late morning), had a light brekky at Melbourne St. ......a mushroom omelette and a good cuppa of cappucino.

Munch on some macadamias (I'm so hooked on nuts.......even though i suspect they are the reason for my expanding waistline, which has taken the shape of spare tyre..........) and slept.

Nothing left in the fridge, but some anchovies, a few stalk of celery, loads of carrots and potatoes. Well, the easiest thing to cook from all that is make some anchovy stock, dunk some pasta/macaroni and chuck all the vegs for a simple dinner.

Well, I had that for dinner, had the left over for lunch the next day, and by the end of the day....

I have this light and airy feeling......

I think my body is detoxing......

because for the past 24 hours......

I didn't have any meat...............

Seriously, people should know the importance of meat....

Without it, its hard to feel "human"..........

Driving home after work, I'm still wondering what's wrong with me....why do I have this empty feeling in my gut.......and I saw KFC along Anzac Highway. It struck me then that I have not eaten any meat and .......I guess you know the rest of the story. KFC to the rescue.....2 piece of fried chicken........

If there's a roadside bakuteh stall in Adelaide, I think I'll tahan and drive there for a meat fix!!!!

Anyway, I survived the rest of the week with crappy food from :

1) Had Domino's Pizza at Elaine's place. 4 large pizza for 4 adults.......

2) Tried Yum Sing Express from Glenelg. Fastfood Chinese Sytle ..........which, I personally thing, is more of ang moh food impersonating to be chinese food. Fried chicken pieces skewered with a sate stick is their version of sate chicken, spring roll...well its spring roll la. And butterish fried rice......together with one serve of salt & pepper squid.

All for less than $10. I can't complain...coz its considered dirt cheap for dinner. Its hard to have a meal outside that cost less than AUD10.

3) I'm late in meeting the girls for movies down at Palace Cinema, Rundle St. So late that I didn't have time to grab a burger or something from the likes of Hungry Jacks, McDonalds or KFC. Had a big pack of popcorn (yucky coz its salty) , coke and to end that with a Choc Top ice cream.

By then, I have this gnawing feeling that I'm not eating right........

And decided to do something about it :

Char Siew - the way Mom makes it :

Covered the marinated pork belly in foil, and chuck it in hot oven (200 degrees Celcius). After about 30-40 mins, the slab of fat meat look like that :

Sliced it into small pieces :

Put the remaining marinade on the pork slices, and chuck the plate of fatty char siew in the making into the oven - uncovered.

After...I think another 30 mins, the char siew turn out like that :

While waiting for the char siew to cook, I cooked the following :

I MISS STAYING AT HOME....................every night have good food from mommy....

I MISS Kuala Lumpur...where real food is just a stone throw away......................

I MISS all my friends in KL..........who are just a phone call away when I need to have a good makan.....................

I MISS rocky....who really rock my world....

But ...but......

But i don't miss the freaking long working hours........

I don't miss the traffic jams

I don't miss my RM/hr pay..................wahahaha...that's really crappy. I can't imagine for the 2.5 years with the Big 4, I have about 1 month overtime accumulated, that's on top of the 2 months leave I've utilised during 2008. You can do some maths.....assuming 8 std hours/working day, for 52 weeks (that's assuming there's no public holidays), plus 20 days (1 month worth of working days) multiply by 3 mths, i.e, I would have worked for 2560 days per annum (that's the average, ok....). That's more than 40 hr/week.......can someone out there tell me if that's legal???

Seriously, I think I'm worst than a confused teenager.......kekekekek

hell of a weekend

2009-08-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

I mean it literally. After the traumatic experience of being fined for traveling at 57km/hr, I'm literally spooked out whenever I'm driving in Adelaide. Coming from Malaysia, where 60km/hr is considered "slow-coach" speed, I still dealing with the fact that speed limit can be as low as 40km/hr.

Hence, I've been really careful. Until yesterday. Thought I'll make the most of the spring-ish weather with a whopping 27 degrees and great sunshine. Thought I'll take a drive up to Mount Lofty, get some exercise by taking a walk on trails.....but then, I had to get lost on my way there. Somehow, was stuck in some windy roads .......and I was trying really hard to keep to my lane and look out for a spot to turn back. And as I found a place to turn, a spot along the windy road......I thougth I'll stop and give the map another read, when a police patrol car pull over.

Well, for a second, I thought they have come up to check if I need help, but Mr. Police Officer started the conversation with "Lady, do you know what offence you've committed ?'"

*FACE BLANK* follow by bouts of head shaking left and right

I started to blurt things like I'm trying to get to Mount Lofty Summit and I'm lost....and Mr. Police Officer ask me the question again " Do you know what offence you've commited?"

Well, to cut the story short.......I got an expiation notice (what Malaysian call -traffic summons) for obstructing traffic and failing to give way to a motorcyclist.............

Honestly, I feel really really innocent here....but I really don't know how to argue out of this.
OH...and of course, Mr Police Officer thinks I"m drunk. So I have to do a breathe analyser test.....Great! Now I've finally experience how a breathe analyser test is done.........

that's how my Saturday ended. For the rest of the day, I'm in shock. I manage to drive home, feeling all giddy and worn out. Had a long long nap.....cooked myself some comforting soup with loads of pasta. And watch Madagascar on TV, followed by Batman Begins............thank god, for Christian Bale. Looks so deliciously good.......and not to mention all the cool stuff that Batman can do.........

Then comes today, which is Sunday. Woke up to a morning with super strong wind......the perks of staying at the top unit of an apartment..you get to see the tree tops swaying like mad.

Anyway, had brekkie with Elaine and Shane....at the Central Market Foodcourt. The Laksa was really great.....really close to the real thing. Its only 11.45am by the time we had brekky...and I can't stand another day holing up at home. Took a drive down to Norwood......looking left and right for like 5- 10 times before I dare turn, paying like 95% attention to speed limit and the remaining 5% on the road (not sure if that's a safer option), and head down to HOYTS. Thought I'll watch Coraline for some "entertainment" but I'm 15 mins late and the movie had started. The next movie is My Sisters' Keeper, based on a novel by Jodi Picoult. Not too keen as I'm 98% sure that I'll end up all depressed after watching it, even though I'm sure its a good movie. Watched it anyway........

2 hours later, I end up with swollen red, puffy eyes. I think I can pass as Gavin's or Huay Yin's sister....coz my eyes is really tiny................like REALLLY tiny ...coz the blardy eyelids are swollen from all the crying. Such a heart breaking story............... Its a good thing that almost everyone came out with swollen eyes like mine. I don't feel that awkward....in fact, the girls had a laugh when we look at each other in the toilet........and gave each other a knowing look.

And now....I'm back home. Refuse to sleep....but my head is throbbing from all the crying....and, I'm sitting here, wondering what I can do. 20 mins to 5pm....and when its 5pm............the whole city of Adelaide will be close for business.....save for restaurants, bars, pubs, and well, we still have the cinema open.

What do one do, on weekends here? No wonder they don't mind setting up a barbie and spending all the time preparing and cleaning afterward. Coz that's how they pass time here.
After 8 months here, I beginning to feel that its ok to walk in the parks (there's plenty of that over her) doing literally nothing. OK...maybe you can watched the swans and ducks waddling around, and if you are lucky, you'll spot some parakeets..............

Maybe I should really start taking up knitting..................
Or should I write a book on what to do on weekends?

Anyway guys, there's DOmestic Blitz on TV at 6.30pm. I should get ready and wait for it to start.....how exciting!!!!!!

Winter Market @ Goodwood Rd

2009-08-15T05:29:00.001-07:00

15 August 2009 : Goodwood Winter Market.

I'm literally out of things to do on weekends. Its a good thing that they have on and off markets like this to keep me entertained. Well, at least for about 30-40 mins on a Saturday.

Typically Australian, they can do a barbie anywhere..........The meat/butcher shop down at Goodwood Rd, took the opportunity to set up a barbie and cook up a storm. Caramelised brown onions with lots of sausages.....
More food at Goodwood Rd

Some bric-a-bracs on display

the fun part of the day, ends right here. GOt another speeding ticket when I try to drive up to Mount Lofty Summit. All because I'm lost......trying to find my way.

A trip down to the Barossa

2009-07-19T07:18:00.001-07:00

MH : Wow...it feels really great. Its quites nice to have all the mountains surrounding us here.....
Michael : Mei, there's a reason they call this the Barossa Valley, you know? Does the word "valley" ring any bell??

This is the moment where I have no guilt what so ever, wagging my middle finger at Michael M!

The land where Michael came from. Not exactly where Michael lives, but that's the view where we took a picture from our visit at the Bethany's Vineyard down at Bethany Rd. in the Barossa Valley.

Can you see the MAS logo??? We are browsing around the Cellar of St.Hallett down at St. Hallett Rd in Barossa, and come across this vial. Apparently MAS used to serve St.Hallett wine inflight.....hmmm....

THe St. Hallett's signature. You can see that on their wine bottle......I say they fit quite well as wall decor.........not bad eh?

The "bar" for cellar tasting at St. Hallett. They took an old vine and stick it on the otherside of th wall for decoration. Not a bad "recycling" idea.

More recycling effort by St.Hallett. The walls are lined with wood from old wine barrels.....and those magnum bottles on top of th shelves....

You'll probably end up like this carving, if you get yourself a few bottles of St.Hallett wines.......

The exterior of the cellar door..... Honestly, I think this will be a good spot for some horror movie scene. Put some eerie blue light shining on those vines on the the wall, in the dark....and imagine those vines creeping towards the damsel in distress...usually with blonde hair and super high heels. Damsel falls, and the vines twisted and wrap around her ankle and dragged her up the wall. The wall opens up and "ate" her.....wait, maybe she get "imprinted" on the wall...and become some sort of permanent "decor" on the wall. Hmmm...what weird thoughts......

Elaine and I were quitely approaching this flock of birds......but I guess we are not quiet enough...

Tasting notes from St.Hallett :

1) St. Hallett Old Block Shiraz

This is one of the more expensive one on the cellar tasting list. Really good stuff.....if you know what I mean. It have an interesting blend of taste, easy on the palate when you first take a sip. And when you let it glide down your throat, you can feel that slight tinge of spiciness, giving it a bit of an edge at the end. Rich...and smooth.

OK...fine, i don't know those fancy words you use to describe how the wine taste like, but its good stuff. Its either u trust me or you don't.

Some wine expert wrote on the tasting note "You'll sell your mother for the Old Block". That's how good it is.

I didn't taste much as the trip is mainly for Jean to find some nice wines for her brother's wedding. But the Old Block is one of the nicer Shiraz I've tasted so far.

Thank you God, as I'm blessed!

2009-07-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

My mom used to tell me not to flaunt my blessing
God will take it away.....and you'll need to earn you blessing all over again

A typical conversation will sound like that
"Ah Jie, you better stop being so action ar......next time you'll have a hard and difficult life!!!"

Well, try imagining that in Hakka or Mandarin...hehheeh....its quite funny, when you think of it.

We pray to the Goddess of Mercy, and a few other great deity...but my mom taught us the beliefs of Buddhism. So its kinda a mixture of Taoism and Buddhism. But like all religion, we are meant to be "good" and "thankful" to what we have.

I just have to explain the above because, I'm not exactly flaunting....I just want to show my gratitude.

The week had been crap. I have to say that. No..I'm not exactly bullied, its not like I get smacked or scolded, but it just feel crap when I look at the work that I have. To smile and genuinely feel happy, is a chore.

And on my birthday, I can't help but have all the worries about work swimming in my head.
I realise I have all these worries about work, how I'll perform and have I done enough sort of thoughts....is because I still care. I've vowed not to care.....but I guess, I can't do that.

But then, I have these bunch of merry people.....who cheer me up once and again
For that few moments of contact with these people, I'm able to bring myself to smile....and feel good

1) That crazy Skype call from the Musketeers
Thank you Sum, Suet, Shane and Sarah. I'm dead tired on Tuesday nite. My brain is literally fried. But I'm glad I woke up to have that Skype call even though I hardly can open my eyes. Hearing us bickering and making fun of each other, makes me feels like I'm sitting down with you girls at that lil' pub in Sri Hartamas long time ago, I think its called 1957....and have a blasts just talking crap and laughing our head off!

2) The hyped about Billy
The Musketeers say they are sending me "Billy" as a present. I have to stay calm and not run away from Billy when he arrive. I don't have to co-ordinate how Billy will find me, coz they have paid quite a hefty sum to get Billy to do all the hardwork of finding me.

Suet " Mei Har....don't hide you know, must be sporting when u see Billy...and get your worth out of it", or something along that line.

Sarah " Yea, we heard that Billy is pretty good...."

Shane " Must take a photo with Billy and show me ya"

Sum "Ema, dun fret about how he'll find you, he'll get there no matter what"

So, Wednesday nite I got back home, I scan around the the carpark of the apartment...no suspicious looking "Billy" around. I went in and go up to my apartment. I chatted with Shane on MSN " Eh, Billy did not arrived. Should I go look for him in some bushes...maybe he's hiding there?"

The I read Suet's email " Poor Billy, Mei har is going home late from work....he must be freezing waiting outside for her"

You girls are blardy "sampat" ok.....but this whole Billy thing really cracks me up!!!!!!

You've definitely got me!!! Reminds me of the time when we are down at Kings Cross in Sydney, celebrating my bday at that Jap restaurant (I think its called Jyu Jyu)....and Sarah wanted to show up where the "Porky" show is........kekekekekekek

3) A nice surprise in the mailbox
First surprise arrived in Gmail from the girls : A MP3 of them singing me a bday song......
I'll figure how I can get that as my SMs tone....kekekekek

Oooh...actually Michael called and started belting out "happy birthday"........he's such a sweet bugger. He then gallantly granted me visiting rights for Sumita's next visit...how generous!!! I'm just curious when he have been given full ownership of Sum....wait till he sees her parents for real, I'll see who is the one begging for visiting rights......wahahahahahaha!!!
~at this point, i somehow visualise Michael M showing me the middle finger! :P~

That night, Jean picked me up for dinner with Shane at Luna Russo. She was waving a package at me....and there, I knew...the "Billy" had arrived.

THanks you to the MUsketeers....Billy will come in handy with the "peak period" arriving at work. MUAKS!!!!! Its a spa voucher for me to wipe away all the crap in life and focus on all the good things!!!

4) That talk with Wei Lee and Peggy.
Its good to know, even though we are separated miles and miles away. I still have their support, love and care. For those of you monkeys who are still in KL, you have no idea how important your support are......it makes life worth fighting for

5) The most important people in my life
Dad called on Tuesday evening...wished me a pre-happy bday. Then the sisters called. Yadda yadda yadda....we yakked and yakked.....Called Mom ytd, and she complained that the No.3 forgot to pass on the bday wish she had for me. Its ok, MOm...I know you love me! :P

Daddy "We've this super nice Yam pau at this dim sum place...its amazing. When u come home in Dec, Daddy will bring you there"

Wah sai...suddenly feel so nice being daddy's girl leh!!! Kkekeekekekk

6) The chains of birthday wishes I've got through MSN, FB, emails, SMS...and even one from Kristy which she SMS-ed to my office phone. Kekekek..of course, that didn't get through la.....

7) I bought myself a watch...and wore it on my birthday. Its nothing fancy, just a nice lil' watch that I can wear everyday and don't need to worry too much about its wear and tear!! Can't afford to buy any "serious" watches just yet....but..a dress watch is good enough.

8) Had a nice movie with the girls from RCS. They are such a warm bunch, so nice to hang out with them. And Coco Avant Chanel feels really great..........zero work thoughts throughout the movie

9) Opened Sum's pressie that she passed to me a few months back. I kept my word and wait until the 8th to unwrap it. Lovely recipe books......perfect!! Shall try out some of the recipes when she's down in Adelaide

10) The best bday present of all, is knowing that I'm blessed to have people who love me!!!!!

:D

Staying strong is not easy, going through a rough patch is painful, but with all the support and love, its won't take long before I get to the end of the line, or wait, maybe , there'll be another challenge for me, in the next chapter of life????

dormant

2009-06-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

Its been ages since I've posted any entries. Its almost like a century in the blogging world, if you don't update your blog at least once a day. Hence, I won't be surprise if they might just considered my blog to be dead....if Blogger keep track of such thing.

Its hard to be my chirpy, bubbly self these days. Its easier to be foul and grumpy.
But that's not a pretty sight.....I hate feeling ugly..coz when u are mean and grumpy, you are plain ugly. Hey, waking up everyday and getting myself to work is becoming a chore.......
Sometimes, I feel like I might as well be a zombie and go to work, clock out and just don't give a damn about how I perform.

That's one thing that I need to learn. As much as I don't yearn to be a "superstar" at work, I also don't want to be "that" person that'll screw up every assignment. To make an assignment a success...I need to put in effort...which at this point in time...I can't find a reason why I want to do so.

In summary the situation look like this :
1) No overtime claim. Employees will be rewarded at the discreet of the Company.
2) General consensus around the firm, there'll be no increment, minimal promotion...and bonus will be minimal.

and by the way, I was told by my coach, I'm performing quite well, but since I'm with the firm less than 6 months, I'm fall under the "default" bellcurve rating.....in layman terms, I don't qualify for bonus la.

So...no prospect of moving up the career ladder, my pay is literally stagnant.....and no bonus. PLus, if i put in effort in my job, which will usually mean putting in extra hours.....I won't be compensated with overtime (it comes in the manner of replacement leave). I ended up having to "purchased" leave through salary packaging , which literally mean I pay the company to have extra leave....when I'm usually being compensated with extra leave for my effort.

Tell me....as a sane and practical person.....why do I lose sleep and stressed over work?

I seriously think I should consider "letting go" and just take it as a job, and not a career that I'm passionate about. Like some close friends says (they are close enuff to say the truth), what kind of losers enjoy being an auditor anyway? YOu get paid shits , you work with loads of bullshits that the client come up with, plus.....your boss pushes you to the brink, you client hates you and your subordinate probably had a voodoo doll with your hair stuck somewhere, poking it everytime you give he/she more work.

~MH is wondering what happened to her optimism.....the time of the month is coming soon, hence the dark clouds are approaching!! The next few days are going to be dark and foul....be smart and don't mess with me!!~

Coming to terms with NOW

2009-06-02T07:12:00.001-07:00

Was arguing with James about living life to the fullest everyday, or to take things one step at a time....because, technically we have our whole lifetime (or the remaining of it) to do things that we wanted to do

Its been awhile since such heated debate crops out from an innocent discussion, from him giving me a long lecture about meeting people in car park (its really a one-off thing...and I'll never do that if I don't feeel right about it....my 6th sense is usually right)....to this long debate on how we should live our life..

I'm torn between the 2 options. Part of me want to do everything at once.....want to experience everything because, I really don't know if I'll still exist tomorrow, next week or in a year time. This part of me was much more apparent after the that car crash and when Mom was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago. I feel like i have this need to do everything, regardless that I'm tired and worned out.....

And the other part of me regretted all the rush....to squeeze everything into every single day.
I'm grumpy, I'm tired all the time.....so much so, that I started to lisp while I talked. Mentally, I survived at work by focusing really hard......if they pay me, i'm giving them their money's worth........that's the very least I can do. I can't live the tag that I'm doing badly at work......its the competitiveness in me.
or maybe, its an ego thing...

When I reach home, I'm so tired that I don't think I can utter another word out of my mouth. The last thing I'll say, will be "Good nite, Rocky ...." ...and that too, because he won't answered back with a chain of questions that I have no energy to answer....It had come to a point, that I have no energy to have a decent conversation with people that I love.

All i want to do is to shower and conked out on the bed.

Those are the darkest days that I have. My mood are rarely good....even though I think I'm pretty chirpy each day. Its not anyone's fault that I'm not feeling good......there's no reason for them to feel the wrath of my bad mood.......

and this week, I've finally come to terms with NOW. I should live for the moment...which is NOW. IF it can be done now, I'll do it....if it can't be done...then I'll just have to accept that and see if there's another time. I feel much better...
I don't need to rush anything..........because I don't need to.
If I don't get to experience everything that I wanted to, I'll just have to accept that . Maybe I'm not meant to do everything.....maybe I'm supposed to live an ordinary life.......

well, its good to be at peace

Because, right now...I think I'm feeling at peace

Well, it might have something to do with buying 3 pairs of shoes at one go......and all the mushy romance in the Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse are having an effect.....coz I just feel mushy...kekekekek

its a lovely night...and I hope everyone else is having a lovely night........

OH, and its really sad that HY is off sick, GG is having a crazy week and Kaggom is still working at 8.30pm when all of us are supposed to meet up for a catch up session since we last met. I was really looking forward to see GG's inpersonation of Panda Po again.......kekekeke.....that funny squint that he does without realising it. But I guess, I did pick the worse day to have this .....when HY is sick, G is having a crazy day......don't think it'll be an enjoyable nite! So, its a good thing afterall, that the night out is cancelled!!

And I can go back to finish off the last bit of Eclipse......and start with the last book, Breaking Dawn......heheheh..

Finally....I'm back on Malaysian soil

2009-05-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Its good to be back!! Yes, even though I choked on the more dusty air.....i'll still say, nothing beats home!!!!

Sometimes, I can't help but be ashamed to claim that I'm a Malaysian..

2009-05-09T23:30:00.001-07:00

I just can't believe my ears and eyes when I read and hear about this news "About 300 stray dogs were rounded upby Pulau Ketam residents and deportedto an isolated island to fend for themselves"

WHat were these people thinking???? If the strays had become a nuisance to them, the "best" solution that they can think off is to park the dogs in a stranded island??? I wonder what they do to their children that's too naughty and cries all the time (that's more of a nuisance...in my point of view).....

What happened to humanity??? Is there none left in this world, on in this case, the Pulau Ketam community????? Its amazing that no one within the community seems to think that this is a "wrong" thing to do...and its utterly riduculous when the council man of Pulau Ketam says that its for the dogs own good to be parked at the stranded island, because local council will be more cruel when they send the dog pound to hunt for the strays. What rubbish...!!!

I wish that these people are left on the stranded island for 1week...and live like the strays dogs were made to live....see how they like it!!!!!!

So angry...so disappointed...I just don't have the words in me to describe how I'm feeling.....

Clearing out the fridge...

2009-05-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

Sometime over Easter, Michael and Sumita came for dinner...
Michael brought with him, some egg plants....that he had plucked from his garden...

Honestly, I've never had "fresh" vegetable before.....not like fresh from the garden...

But then, egg plant...is not something that I cook all the time...
so sad to say, these poor babies remain in my fridge for quite awhile....
2 weeks...or more...
And surprisingly, the egg plants still look firm and fresh....
Which is really "extraordinary", because from experience most vegetable will turn wrinkly and dry out in the fridge of this rented townhouse pretty fast..

Maybe its the magic of Michael's garden?? I wonder what sort of fertiliser he uses.....hehehehehe

Here's the dinner for the night, with eggplant :

Mixed vegetable stir fry + Egg plant and slices of pork.....

Kekekek...simple and tasty. Chicken chops marinated with soy sauce and lots of pepper.....I love this!

What's there to do...but eat?

2009-05-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm splitting up my blog...
This current one started out as a place for me to vent my frustration and grievances, to park away my happy and cherished moments in life, ended up being quite a "rojak" mix of entries.

I don't even know how to sort my "Categories" for each entry now.

So, all my food experience in Adelaide...will be now park at "My Foody Footprints - Adelaide"

simple

2009-04-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

I want to watch tv
but its cold in the living room
like my hand is freezing cold

i'm lazy to hold on to the warm cup of tea
and its not hot now

i can't snuggle up in my quilt cover
and i don't want to bring it downstairs..
if i go up and snuggle in bed, i'll missed the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya sisterhood

dilemmas, dilemmas...

i did mention i like simple things in life rite??
yea..these are the "simple" dilemma i faced everyday...

Its a wonder, I didn't die from stress when working with AH Kei

2009-04-21T06:21:00.000-07:00

No..its not the work load.

No..its not like Ah Kei tai chi work, in facts, most of the time, Ah Kei shouldered more than he should have

and Ah Kei, is a true Bro Bra who provide strong support to those that worked with him

but his lame jokes...and sarcasm.....are really testing and makes you want to say prayers like

"God, please grant me extraordinary patience and good grace"

Some friends I have...he sure sweep away all the blues, with his utterly testing and irritatingly funny jokes.....

Away from home : Brekkie with friends....

2009-04-19T01:26:00.000-07:00

Its after Easter, and its a Tuesday. All of us girls are not working, so we decided to head out to Citrus on Hutt Street for brekkie. This is one place, that's capable of being fully booked during breakfast/brunch on weekend, so we decided to head there to see what's so great about Citrus.

The menu:

Our selection for the morning :

~The end~

My view : The place is quite nicely decorated, and we are seated inside the restaurant, which is really nice and quiet. Service is good too, and I think that should be the case. Food...its quite alright. There's nothing spectacular..coz how spectacular can a brekkie be??? I'm still wondering how the restaurant can be fully booked.....for breakfast!!! There's probably a handful of cafes and restaurant that can whipped up the same thing, but why Citrus alone is fully booked???

Away from home : Nothing cheers a Malaysian up like comfort food - Part 2

2009-04-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

Its not everyday that we get to leave Shane out of the picture. Coz nice people like me and Elaine, don't have the heart to leave Shane alone....kakaakak...

But on days, where Shane has to work late, and both of us (me n Elaine) get to have dinner together, we'll head straight to Korean restaurants!! Coz Shane don't like sour and spicy food..!!

Dinner at Han Kuk Guan, Moonta St (Chinatown).

Korean Hot Pot. The soup is a bit bland for my liking, and I find it odd that they put sausages instead of pork slices in the hot pot. Dao Rae back in M'sia can do a better job, but I'm not complaining la....it stills a good hot pot.

Steaming hot on a windy and chilly night....

Elaine : There....we sapu everything~!

Away from home : Nothing cheers Malaysian up better than food......especially comfort food!

2009-04-19T00:47:00.000-07:00

Nothing is easy, so as usual, our life in Adelaide has its ups and downs. If I have to honestly say, its really not all fun.....there's a lot of things that we need to face, a lot of challenges...that we wouldn't have to deal with, if we are in Malaysia. But then, this is what I call an adventure!!! While I was really optimistic when I first step feet into Adelaide...its not really what I've imagined. Not easy, but if by the end of the 2 years...I've manage to overcome these challenges, I think that'll make me a better person.

Meanwhile, to beat the blues....on a fine Thursday morning, the day before Good Friday...me and Elaine went out for a nice brekkie!! Did I mentioned that we have a 6-day break for Easter??? Well, 2 of the 6 days is "compulsory leave" but then, I'm not complaining la...

We wanted to go to Melbourne Street, but somehow, my sense of direction sort of guide me to O'Connel Street instead. Well, one thing for sure, if you are in North Adelaide...there's always food....so it doesn't really matter which street you are on.

And so, we have decided on Pellegrini...

And that's what we had for brekkie.........french toast drenched in maple syrup, and topped with bacon. Perfect if you are a greedy pig like me, who want both sweet and savoury brekkie at the same time. Its not the best combo, but its definitely comfort food.....to wipe away negative thoughts from work and enjoy the rest of our Easter break....

Elaine giving her brekky the thumbs up!!!

Away from Home : I missed my Malaysian Sundays...

2009-04-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

Malaysian are just born to complain. Because...being a Malaysian, I know I can complain very very well.....

So now I'm complaining that I missed my Malaysian Sundays....

A typical Sunday will be start with a rude awakening by Mom/Dad. Usually Dad....where he'll know on our doors and shout that its brekky time. Every one will snooze a bit (coz its prolly blardy 9am)....until the next round of knocking came...

then everyone will climb up to Daddy's car and we'll drive all the way from Kepong to Imbi or Klang for Bakuteh.

That'll take away half the day. After brekky, its either shopping or we'll head off back home, where Mom n Dad will join Grandma and my aunts/uncles for mahjong. Me ? I'll take a drive in my beloved Civic....just to check out new cafes/dessert places.....catch a movie with my sister, or we'll join the crowds at one of the shopping malls, before the family adjourned for dinner.

Ah...the days of lazing in a cafe...sipping tea and coffee....nibbling of cakes/scones/biscuits/ waffles/ice cream and etc.....so nice!!!

Oooh..and it'll be even nicer if we manage to round up the Musketeers and head up to La Bodega for a lazy afternoon catch up, had a game of scrabbles....and yea, we need updates on gossips and all. Haih......those were the days.

~MH slowly counting the days that she'll be back where she belongs.....silently praying that Malaysia working culture will improves (i.e more $$$$ + less working hours), so she can earn a decent living and still have life, and can go back to her nice and lovely room back at home!!~ I miss my butter crab....Greenview Butter Crab (the dry variant), roti kaya , roti pisang, nescafe special........goreng pisang, keropok lekor.......damn!!! ~

What is your type?

2009-04-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

Was having lunch at Noodlelicious, at the Renaissance Arcade (between Rundle Mall n Pulteney St) with Crystal and Elaine sometime last week. Randomly, Crystal was asking me...what kind of guys am I looking for? And for awhile.....my mind was blank.

You know what. I think being in Audit just ruined everything. Lets see, my last relationship...I'll say the guy was a good match (come on, it almost lasted for 5 years). And it ended when I started working for the 2nd year. It didn't even hurt that much when it ended, because I'm just too busy to hurt. Sometimes, I don't even remember to breathe........so, hurting is not something I can really feel.

And I let it drag for about 2 years, and now...i don't know what kind of guy I'm looking for. And that's quite a big problem, ok. I mean, even if I decide to sign up at some dating agency, at the very least, I have to know what I want right??? I think I'm in big big trouble.....how can I not know???

So, if i'm to work out a list....:

- Guy have to be a guy in the first place. That's important

- Guy have to be funny, or at least have a sence of humour. That's more important than looks (i'm serious).

- Guy and I, on the same channel. That is, enjoy trying out new places to eat, random road trips,
don't mind hanging out with the Musketeers.

- Guy shall have no say in the no. of shoes, clothes, books and beauty products that I have. I
mean, if I'm not questioning bout his addiction to football/tennis/or watever sports or the no. of
hours he have to hang out with his gang...he shall not question bout my "personal" favs.

- Guy have to be a gentleman......not only for the first few weeks or months, I mean gentleman
for life. That's important.

- Guy have to love my cooking. Don't worry...its good. I won't say its superbly good, but its good
enuff.

- Guy need to love me. Preferably more than me- him.

Now, this is the tricky part. As much as I want Guy to love me...I can't stand sticky guys. Calling and checking on me every few hours, you'll probably see a very ugly side of me and get snapped at all the time. That's a big NO-NO. Guy shall be self sufficient, I mean....Guy have to have a life of his own to exist as a person and not tag on to me just because we are a couple.

And very important...GUY SHALL NOT HAVE OCD....if Guy is a neat freak....and nags me....I can't help but feel like I have a male-version of my Mom. Not very bf material, if you behave like my mom.

Optional stuff :

1.Preferably taller than me, and bigger than me....coz I'll don't want to feel like I'm a giant next to Guy.

2. Guy is well read/travelled, so he can show me stuff.........

3. Guy shall love dogs. Particulary wrinkly and amazingly adorable dogs....like Pugs. Oooh..retrievers, beagles, and labradors too.

4. Guy is self sufficient, not sticky and do not need 24 hr attention. Coz Girl need to have her own space. I think I mentioned this already.

5. If Guy is not driving, he shall not comment on Girl's driving skills. Else, Guy shall be default driver at all times...and not complain at all.

6. Guy shall be a guy and take care of all the guy stuff....like fixing electrical stuff, deal with all things to do with cars, oooh..very important, pest control (I'm no fan of cockroaches and lizards...). Preferably manages the finances too.....my job is to spend my own money (I don't mind helping spending his money too, if he has too much of it.......hahahaahah).

7. Guy is adventurous in terms of food and travel.

I shall not list anymore....the more I list, the more it seems that there's no such person.

Sigh.....that's sad!!! Remember the BJ's scene???

Watch this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D0zfB1l1x0

Steamed Barramundi Fillet

2009-03-25T03:06:00.001-07:00

I'm so disappointed with myself. I don't understand how I can let myself be so vulnerable....how can I succumb to homesickness?? I'm disgusted with the fact that I feel like breaking into tears at the mere mention of going home, the word "mom and dad", family...or if I see a pug, I might just burst into tears in the middle of the road.

The fact is, this experience makes me realise a lot of things :

1) I love my mom and dad a lot. My mom is the greatest mom....she take all the shits from me and still love me the same. My dad? He's the hero of the family. He pays for everything, he's the savior when I have car problem....but I have to admit, he have some problems with giving proper directions when I'm lost....

2) My Musketeers are my pillar of strength. They have been really supportive all these years, and the last few days are one of my lowest point in life todate, and they kept the email messages coming, giving me tips and advice on how to deal with it. I really don't know what I'll do without them.

3) Its normal to feel homesick, because I have feelings, I'm capable of loving my friends and family as much as they love me.

and last but not least ?

4) I need to keep myself focused.....I need focus on things.....

For example, I delayed the homesickness by mopping the floor (but not sure why there's still abit of stickiness).....and I can watch HOUSE now..and have my steamed barramundi :

I steamed it with supreme soy sauce, lemongrass (sliced and flattened with chopping knife) and generous slices of ginger.

Served with rice. Actually, that's left over rice from yesterday porkchop dinner with Elaine and Shane. Too sick of fried rice....so thought I'll make steam fish...

Last bit...crispy browned shallots in rice bran oil (apparently its healthier?), and pour the boiling hot oil together with the browned shallots on top of the fish......

Bugger...this homesick thing just won't go away..

2009-03-23T05:20:00.001-07:00

I realised, no matter how much I talk about it, how much i try to focus on work...
It still feels the same.....

This is kinda depressing.....

God, give me strength to do this......coz its crap to feel like this!!
so blardy crap.....

holy shit...i better dun mess around.

2009-03-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

I periodically, will check my horoscope reading...especially when I'm bored or lost...

Being as "blue" as I am earlier, I thought I'll give it a check before i go to bed and guess what does it says?

I should just shut my big mouth up and not complain....this is scary............................

Eh..what am I thinking??

2009-03-21T00:34:00.000-07:00

I should be drawing up a sketch
A grey wool coat, big buttons with colours.....and what kind of seams should the coat have?
Collar? THat's a statement in a coat.......

Or...I should be cooking, stirring, chopping......
serving foods that I've whipped up to waiting customers.....
Of course, I'll need this fella who can talk bout how the wine can pair up with the food......the alcohol brings in the money, you know......

Then I'll end the day....going home to my own place. My fav couch with my fav pillow...
A mug of hot cocao.....some nice peaceful music...
and there'll be Rocky, and maybe 2 more lil lazy pugs who'll just crawl up and claim their ownership over their master...

Seriously, can someone tell me....why am I here? Why am I working in a job where :
a) The client think its just a waste of time and money, the mere existence of the auditor are just a nuisance?
b) Work with bosses who have only demands, and of course, they are as clueless as to how that can be done....coz its your job to find out...damn it, I forgot...that's why they pay you?

~mh need to find the light at the end of the tunnel.....now that she knows what she wants......its just like bad sex, close your eyes and get it over it??? nah...I can do better than that......Mr Yue always say that you have take pride in your work....otherwise, you are just wasting your time!~

seriously...

2009-03-21T00:08:00.000-07:00

What does your birthday say about you? on Facebook

2009-03-18T03:08:00.000-07:00

What does your birthday say about you? on Facebook: "February

Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislike unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizing dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions."

Hmmm....I wonder how the answers that I've put into the quiz, ended up with the above.

~MH have to wash the dishes.....and iron clothes......argh...the world without "kakak"!~

2009-03-15T03:07:00.000-07:00

:P

so much to to tell, but too lazy to write
Or the combination of emotions are just too complex to put into words...
So much had happened within weeks, while what happened are not directly relating or affecting me, just watching it happened..."stunned" me.

Last weekened's was one of the most bizarre (in a good way) experience that I have. And it had brought on more "new experience" this week :

Dinner with new found friends :

I managed to hang out with 4 people that I hardly known, all Aussie...had dinner with them, watched a sketch called Hitlerhoff, and had round of drinks at 2 different bar in a night......

They are such a hilarious bunch, and Michael did warn me that they are a bit crazy. Well, i don't find them crazy, they just come across as a bunch of friends that are very comfortable in their own skin, hanging out with each other. That's really good...makes me feel comfortable hanging out with them too. The 2 gentlemen, Michael and Robert are perfect gentlemen....and its so funny seeing them teased each other.

While I'm lost half the time in the conversation, its still really fun...coz they are so funny. I was just happy observing them, watching them......

I have only a big grin at the end of the night....coz its so hard to come across company where interesting conversations just run endlessly throughout the night! It was 1.30am when we call it a night.....

luvly...luvly......and very different, from a typical night out in Malaysia.

Others :
1) Really enjoyed my Sunday afternoon, watching Confession of SHopaholic with Elaine. Its really hilarious......and there's so many pretty things featured in the movie...sigh!
2) HOt cross buns at Bakers' Delight are delicious....
3) Had interesting news from KL....am happy from some friends
4) Can't help but wonder what happened to friend who seems to have disappeared from the face of earth
5) Watching Confession of Shopaholic makes me missed shopping in KL, missed my Dad a lot.......and makes me feel like shopping (irresponsibly)...
6) Had really nice brekky with Shane and Elaine....at ETC on East Terrace...really good, though it'll be better if the place is not so packed
7) Had really nice brekky wiht Elaine in Melbourne Street....so nice and relaxing. Sipping tea and had really fattening and heart clogging Big Brekkie...
8) Feel really good from going to gym twice this week....I know I can do more, but am just taking it a bit at a time. I'll never be a gym junkie, but its good enuff for me to get my heart pumping....
9) I met all my neighbours from my row of townhouse...all within the weekend!!! INcredible feeling...coz they seems like nice people.

there...and I didn't bring my work laptop home. NO work this weekend, not even checking email...and that feels really good! Well, I pray it won't bring too much brought forward "backlog" on Monday morning.

To a Child Dancing in the Wind, by W. B. Yeats

2009-03-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

Poem? Yeats?

Aside from Jane Austen, and the odd Bronte sisters' work...I don't really do much literature. My memories of literature is ol' Mr James flipping through our literature text book in high school....and it was so "stupifying" that it sort of stuck in my brain ...the exact words for this poem called "The VIllage" ..which sort of start with " The Village, peace and quite.....bla bla bla"

But if I've realised and been exposed to beautiful poems from Yeats...I might be a sucker for poems :

To a Child Dancing in the Wind, by W. B. Yeats: "TO A CHILD DANCING IN THE WIND
by: W. B. Yeats (1865-1939)
ANCE there upon the shore;
What need have you to care
For wind or water's roar?
And tumble out your hair
That the salt drops have wet;
Being young you have not known
The fool's triumph, nor yet
Love lost as soon as won,
Nor the best labourer dead
And all the sheaves to bind.
What need have you to dread
The monstrous crying of wind?
'To a Child Dancing in the Wind' is reprinted from Responsibilities. W.B. Yeats. New York: Macmillan, 1916."

Away from home : I've been bad...

2009-03-13T04:18:00.000-07:00

For a foodie, I think I've really "sinned". Had totally no respect for food the past weeks....

I guess living alone and cooking for 1 person had taken a toll. The novelty of being the queen of my own kitchen had finally rub off....and without my "kakak" that do all the cleaning and tidying after cooking, I'm quite put off to cook.

For breakfast, I'll buy a bag of 4 croissants from the market, and chuck it into the oven for about 5 mins. Drizzle it with choc sauce....but I'm just too lazy to toast some almond flakes,...plus a squirt of whipped cream would have been perfect, but choc sauce from the bottle is the easiest.

Lunch is usually bought....sandwich, and recently discovered Penang Hawker along Rundle Mall..so had quite a bit of nasi lemak, char kuay teow, sar hor fun......

And dinner? If I cooked, it'll be either fried rice, fried noodle.....and that's about it. I did manage to avoid instant noodle quite well though....coz they are never in the "real food" category. Otherwise, I'll just do take away from the Thai Restaurant down the road (their fried rice is very good...I like it a lot), ala carte dishes at Kopitim down at Gouger St, recently discovered pretty decent claypot rice at Vietnamese Star City Restaurant down at Gouger St....And with take away, eating them are really "clinical" ....i just open them and start to gobble them and get it done.

What happened to having proper meal, where me and my family will have decent conversation, updating each other on their days. THat's a real meal!!!

Ugh..

I just don't see the logic of cooking for 1 person. I still clean equal amount no. of pots and pans.......maybe lesser in terms of plates..., and i still need to mopped the goddamned floor....regardless if I cook for 1 or 5

Sigh....comes the day, when I'm contented with cooking and eating from the pot....I'm really doomed!!! Coz that's the day, I've give up enjoying food....coz I'm eating not to enjoy food, I'm eating coz I'm hungry and that's it...just because I'm hungry!!! That'll be really really sad.........

~MH is sorry that she left the quarter of cabbage to rot in the fridge, chicken mince remain frozen in the freezer, and half of avocado turning brown, and I dunno....I'm just sorry that neglected the food and let it go to waste....MH is really bad!~

You see and you feel...

2009-03-11T04:54:00.000-07:00

"I see your true colours, that's why I love you" - True Colours by Cyndi Lauper

Its all about being comfortable in your own skin. As simple as it sounds, how many of us can say that honestly, that we are always comfortable being just ourself?

~thanks, K....will love myself more, and like you say, that'll help me "radiate"....~

Honestly, can u use another word other than "radiate" ar?? Makes me sound like some atom/neutron thingy....something more human? :P

Just joking...thanks for those pretty words!

I don't know how it'll go....but its as good as it is "NOW"

2009-03-10T05:09:00.000-07:00

Have you always stop yourself from doing something because you are worried how it'll go wrong??

Have you ever let yourself...to just go with the flow...and adopt a "heck care" attitude....and see what'll turn out from that???????

I've just learn, that being too cautious in life, might stop you from discovering life itself....and you will never know what you've been missing in life!

Well...I just want to dedicate this entry to my good friend Sum.....just because she's brave, courageous, spontaneous.....and always make sense!!!

All the best to Sum....and a big HUG to her!!! My best wishes to you......and may all goes well, from all the randomness in life....hook or unhooked.....if you believe it'll go well, it just might be much more better than just being "well".....

randomness is pretty cool

2009-03-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

Sum brought along her "random" vibe when she came for a visit in Adelaide...because, together with Sum.....i had the most random encounter tonight.....

A stranger had sort of ask aloud from the carpark , asking if we know the carpark will closed at a certain hours, and from there on, we walked to Rymill Park together.....once it was ascertained that we are all going to the Fringe's Garden of Unearthly Delights....the stranger who introduced himself as Michael, start to walk with us. And well.....the three of us ended spending the night hanging out at the Garden of Unearthly Delights.....watched a funny puppet show called "Goth" of Punch n Judy....

and yea....my first time hanging out with a stranger, talking about stuff that I'll only chat about wiht friends...to a stranger, and watching a puppet show..that's a first time too!

i dunno what i'm talking now......i'm tired ...coz its almost 1 am....had a wonderful day hanging out with Sum at Handorf...........i'm not even talking coherently......but this just to random, to not put it down in words on my blog.

nitey

Paying my dues...

2009-03-06T07:10:00.000-08:00

Bugger, here's the confession.......

I admit that when there's nothing.....I just have to accept it.
Stay away, keep the distant...as far as I can................that's how its done.

So, how long do i have to chant this???

Bugger....bugger...

u are one blardy bugger .....m.james...u better do ur part!!

Care for some creme?

2009-02-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed our creme brulee on Elaine's bday (picture : Facebook pics)...and yup, lets make more of these good stuff???

Ha ha ...well, aside from the really good cut of Angus beef, cook just right....luvly....

Well, i'll leave cooking steaks to the real chefs....i dun want to have a good piece of beef go to waste in my hands...

But making the the Creme Brulee?? I've been wanting to make it....like a long long time ago...but it always sound really difficult to make and i've no idea where to get a blow torch (actually, I don't trust myself with one....i might just torch everything).

Well, until now.....found another way to do it...just pop it into a broiler (i dunno what's that, I reckoned a really really hot oven is equally good)....

Well, of course , things don't go well all the time....a little accident when picking one of the ramekins and I sorta spilled it...

Rest assured, it did not go to waste.....I've volunteered to wiped it out with a spoon and savour every bit of the custard.....

The remaining 3 ramekins came out fine.....only the top is already caramelised.....nothing like what the recipe says....

Fresh from the oven....and now, need to let it chill for about 4 hours....and see what I can do with the "missing fourth" creme brulee....

I knew this will happened....so there's a "backup" ..........but in a bigger ramekin ....so, someone is going to have more creme tonight.......

If I remember to take a pic of the finishing touch ..i.e the caramelised topping.....I'll update this blog.

...it won't kill to try again...

2009-02-28T05:20:00.001-08:00

actually, beneath the hard and rocky surface...its not a bad bread...

well...maybe ...next try, it'll be better.........with a new, and illustrated recipe?

Away from home : Failure...

2009-02-28T04:18:00.000-08:00

I had a slice of banana bread, warmed.....

served with generous dollops of butter @ Gloria Jeans one morning

and I'm hooked....

How can something so simple.....be so comfortingly delicious?

And so...I decide to bake my own Banana Bread.....

found a recipe by browsing TasteSpotting, and found something that sounds really good...and I followed the recipe...and this is what the end product look like :

It didn't look that bad rite? Try knocking on the crust.......I can literally take the whole loaf and whack Shane Tan...and he might get a huge bump on his head.....

Sigh...I wouldn't call it a disaster...more of a disappointment!! I'm thought I'll have a warm and soft banana bread for brekkie tomorrow.......with a cuppa coffee....darn!!

Away from home : Better food is essential

2009-02-16T02:35:00.000-08:00

After the "failure" of my pasta bake........I think its about time I "attack" the chicken thigh that's sitting in the freezer. And there's the bottle of infused olive oil, called Storm from Matchett Production, when we were visiting McLaren Vale 2 weeks ago. Think I got it at Hugh Hamilton's Winery......and I was sold, when this lady says its absolutely delicious , and we are talking about dipping bread with the olive oil ...and Storm is the best tasting one among all! Kekekekek...yea, so sucker me here bought it!

Scoured the net for recipes on chicken fillet, and I found this from a site called "For the love of cooking" and it look good and simple enuff to try and here's what I ended with :

Well, I didn't really followed the recipe 100% and make a gravy......coz I intent to eat this tomorrow for lunch, and gravy can be disgusting after a round in the fridge. Guess it will be good served it with some carrots and brocolli......maybe to go with some toast for carbs? Sigh...sometimes I think I eat more than my colleague Dave, who's prolly a 6 footer well built man......I mean, they are into being healthy....and he's having protein shake and vegs for lunch, fruits for snacks.....while me? Carbs (think pasta, rice, tuna sandwiches, quiches....).....

!!0_0

Prolly I should share it with Dave......kakakaak...share the "fats" a bit.......

Away from home : Dinner for one

2009-02-15T04:31:00.001-08:00

After complaining about my Valentine's dinner at Caffe Paesano in O'Connell St. , I thought I'll make my own dinner tonight. Well, despite the good mood after coming home from Glenelg, the pasta that I've cook, is nothing like I've imagined.

1st, I think it can do with more parmesan cheese, and generous shreds of mozarella. But I'm not a fan of cheese, so I just sprinkled a bit. There's mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and luncheon meat cubes. And I used pasta shells, and when cooked, they tend to clump together .....i.e shells stacked together....and that sorta ruin the dish quite a bit for me.

Ended up adding a can of Ayam Brand sardine....and it tasted much more better........more flavourful......

I guess, i really should stock up on some basil and oregano, and that may help give the pasta some Oomph! .....

I wouldn't serve todays dinner to guests lor.......good enuff for simple dinner la. Reminds me of Susan Myer in Desperate Housewifes....somehow her pasta bake/macaroni and cheese always turn out to be a disaster.....but I wouldn't call mine a disaster though! kekekekekeke

nite nite peeps!

Away from home : I think i'm very close to achievement contentment today....

2009-02-15T02:47:00.000-08:00

First of all, unlike what most friends told me before I left for Adelaide, there is COCKROACH here. I know there's bug...because I had a battle with a huge bug (and Shane Loh, I dunno what kind of bug it is.....not an expert in this area...its this longish thin brown thingy, that crawl on the floor..no wings and its ugly).

And I caught this fella outside my living hall, at the balcony ....i think it got stuck on the carpet, and died from the summer heat. I cannot imagine it alive....coz I'll just freak out.....ugly icky creatures....

That aside, this week is really good. I wake up really early, like 5.45am (coz I need to snooze for 30 mins, before I feel like getting up), and reached my client's office by 7.45am.

Got my car on Friday, and I'm really game to do some travelling........and it feel good to drive again.....and I've decided to visit the beaches at Glenelg. Never been there since I've arrived in Adelaide and had heard lots of good things about it. So..here I am :

This kid really take "chilling out" to a whole new level...

They are so hot, aren't they??? What were you thinking? I'm talking bout the doggies la......

I'll like to do that, but i just hate to have darker shade of skintone....so no sunbathing for me... .....but it looks really relaxing to bake under the sun though.....

Even though its technically 15 of Feb, I'm still seeing "pairs" around.................

Overall, I really like Glenelg. There's a whole road (Jetty Rd) full of shops and cafes....and you can walk right to the end, and reach the town hall, and that's where the beach is. Walk further, and you are at the jetty............sigh, sea breeze is so calming......but just make sure not to wear skirts that prone to *ahem* being blown up ala Marilyn Monroe.....coz you'll be busy holding it down.

And there....there is my Sunday gone.....like that. Poof! And back to waking up early and work for another 5 days! But i don't have that "reluctant" feeling...coz i'm rested...and energised for another great week ahead! I'm optimistic, aren't I? kakakaka.....ok, lets hope its a great week ahead la.....

Single + Valentine Day.....is that a combo?

2009-02-14T03:35:00.000-08:00

Yea..its that time of the year again. It was always good....the Musketeers will always have something planned. We girls know how to enjoy ourselves, that's for sure!

So what do I do, now that I'm far from the Musketeers? Obviously, I have no date for the night....and am too proud to just ask any Tom, Dick and Harry out (the so-called brilliant solution for my single-hood, by Julian and Nicholas...)...Honestly guys, they might just lock me up at a facility if I start to go pick guys up on the road!

I have it all planned out. I'll go to McLaren Vale again....it will be really fun. I'll just find somewhere comfy, have a cuppa coffee/chocolate...and read my book. Out of my sight....will be couples, couples, couples? Hahhaa...nah, its just to cruel to wish for that!

As usual, its just a waste of time to plan anything....because, nothing ever goes according to plan. :)

Ended having a nice cuppa with Elaine, chatting about....well, life in general? kakakaka....while JJ plans the "surprise" for Elaine. Hmmm....

(we have some girl time, at Cibo in Norwood. Elaine's tiramisu, and I have a fattening heart clogging Apricot Cheesecake......)

Yea...so...what next? I'm still craving for carbs really...like pasta, lasagne...pizza....Can't find parking at fasta pasta (that's near Elaine's place), so I drive on....and on...and yea, why not O'Connell Street in North Adelaide? That's like 10 mins from my house. Joe did mention some gobsmacking butter chicken at an Indian eatery in North Adelaide.....

I parked...and yea, people all dressed up for the special night was everywhere!!! Well, long live singlehood!!! Its not wrong to be single rite???? Why are they staring at me??????

Don't care la...I'm hungry...i need food....and nice happy food!

So...i walked along O'connell lor......most of the restaurants are full. Well, I guessed people usually make reservation for the special day.....

There's this Indian restaurant, Ayla or something along the line. I remember it says fine Indian restaurant.....and sounds good, rite? Only its fully booked.....the next one along the street is Harvest of India, where the manager on the floor greeted me at the door..and he look as yummy as the menu, but sad to say, he has to turn me out...because they are full too!

Haih...is this some sort of discrimination against single diners??? I mean, why would you celebrate Valentine's Day with Indian cuisine? Well, that seems the case here ....

Walked across the road, and saw a cosy cafe....called Cafe Paesano. Well, they have Pasta and Pizza.......that's what I'm craving for rite? Yea...

I was initially seated on Table 15, then went and make my order.....only to find....my table gone. All joined up with other tables to accomodate a group of friends........

Honestly, they really don't like singles dining alone???? Arrrgh....

Well, the waiter apolegetically put me up with another table:

Kekekeke...well, no. 8 is lucky rite??? Well...better than no table, la........

My dinner.....sigh. QUite a dissappointment really. THe bed of vegetables (french bean, cauliflower, brocolli and carrots) are really fresh....and there's a generous of bits of avocado. THe cream sauce looks really appetising and the chicken fillet is juicy and fresh.........

But..the whole thing is tasteless.........absolutely tasteless.........even after quite a few dash of salt and pepper..it still taste bland to me! Sigh.....i really dunno, if there's some hidden agenda agaisnt people dining alone, because the tables next to me seem to enjoy their meal very much....

the pizzas look good from the table where 2 girlfriends are having their night out, the elderly couple on the right seems to love their pasta very much and finished the meal with scoops of gelato....

So, advice to singles (regardless if you are a guy/girl)...if you decide to celebrate your "single-ness" on Valentine's Day, here is what you might have to deal with :

1) Weird stare from people

2) No tables for singles (i honestly think that's really my fault for not making reservation, but then again, this "dinner" is ad hoc, guess people here don't cater for spontaneous diners like me)

3) Assigned table get stolen .....and need to be replaced subsequently

4) A good looking dish, with good "ingredient" ended up tasteless....for a single diner? (I'm not sure if that's intentional, maybe i'll go back to the restaurant and ask the cook....)

And last but not least, HAPPY VALENTINE's DAY!!!!! Live life, love life....and I'm gonna borrow this from Bro Bra and say "Like I fudging care!"......its just another day, to love yourself more!

Cheers......

(kekeeke...some bits left from CNY.....)

Disclaimer : Author wrote this while under influence of alcohol.......and shouldn't be taken seriously. It might be something she'll regret posting later.......

PS : I think this is a great funny article....really! No?

Am I dense?

2009-02-13T20:23:00.001-08:00

I've got my HTC Touch Diamond for like ages...since it was first introduced in the market. But up till yesterday, I've no idea how to get the GPS function to work.

Dan from the Investment Bank took the phone for a day, just to check it out and see how it function..and then he transfer some "knowledge" to me. Which is really good, coz I'm really too lazy to read the manual...and a phone, should be easy to use rite???? I mean, I can't imagine paying for a phone (the price tag is quite hefty, but Daddy insist that its a gift from him)....and I need to study the manual just to know how to use it? Its ridiculous, really!

So..I was reading about Kenny Sia using Google Maps on his HTC Diamond, and boy! I'm like...hey, how come it don't work on mine???? I actually send Kenny an email, and he replied...yea, just use Google Maps.

And u know what? Yours truly here...go to internet explorer, typed in maps.google.com and thought I'm "using" Google Maps, only that its darn slow for the map to load, and it doesn't detect my location and all....

And i thought....eeeeyer...its not canggih like in the movie la. Have to guess where I am and do search...and the 3G connection in M'sia is not that fast...nothing like what I have in Australia now.

NOw, you people who are using GoogleMaps must be laughing now, seeing the "dungu" that I am.

I've just found out, after like 4-5 months later, when people tell you that they are using GoogleMaps...it actually mean that you have to download the program into your phone, and then install it....and with that, it will function, just like a GPS will!!!!!!!!!

Yea....so I'm really thrill now, that my HTC Diamond is equiped with GoogleMaps and it seems to work fine. I just need to charge the phone in the car, on my lappie, and every night to keep the battery going!!! As much as I'm thrill, I just can't believe how dungu I am....can't help but feel a bit "dense".....

Pig out....while u are home!

2009-02-08T03:05:00.000-08:00

hehehe...one of my more satisfying binge when I was home for Christmas. Well, its with my family and its always great when the company is great, rite?

Welcome to Beihai Restaurant.....at Selayang. Exactly where, I have no idea. Selayang is pretty near to Kepong, and I do frequent there to visit my aunty quite a bit...but I hardly drive there on my own. Hence, I'm hopeless with directions to this place.......

Seafood anyone? Take your pick, pay for it and pass it to the kitchen....

Well, if you are short on cash.....there's always credit? Look at the line of machines they have.....

Well these babies are quite attractive.....you might just lose control and go crazy

And these are kinda nice.........geoduck.....

Which ended up in this pot of soup....with wantons......

The tofu is great......

Chow Fan ?? Fried rice with silver anchovies...or so they say....nice!

Dead fish dressed up with spring onions? kekekekeek........ Actually, the white eyeball thingy is kinda icky, rite?

Emperor chicken, i think that's what they call it. Pretty good......tasty and the chicky is juicy...:)

I like the bottom part....kekeke..the mince ginger with garlic stuff.......

Cholestrol?? Who's thinking bout that?? Eat first....think about that later......

These lovely prawns can't be ignore.... how can you??

Obviously, none of us were thinking of our cholestrol level at this point......

Now, did I tell you why I miss home again????? Honestly, how can eating alone (regardless how nice the food is) beat this???? Its ok.......its just 12 months more before I can do this again...well, maybe earlier?

Away from Home : Episode 3

2009-02-06T23:07:00.000-08:00

To me, its comfort to have food that's taste like home. As much as I complained about life in Kuala Lumpur, it still has a fond place close to heart.

On a hot summer morning, I was hit with a sudden craving for Pisang Goreng. Images of HY, Ah Boy, Din and myself indulging in the Pisang Goreng with Ice Cream at Madam Kwan kept flashing in my mind.......

To be honest, I felt like having Pisang Goreng since last week....but it was just too hot here to "fry" these banana fritters........until today. Mainly because the bananas that I've bought doesn't look like they can survive another week in the fridge......so I thought, why not?

I've bought barley and candied wintermelon , as back up...in case this dose of Pisang Goreng give me sore throat.....and just in case I'm lazy, there's a bottle of concentrated citron tea ...just to cool down the body a little!

Well...here you are........my virginal attempt at making Pisang Goreng!!!

I think it look not bad.....eh? In fact, it taste really not bad too..........comparable to the makcik's stall behind my house in KL. Too bad I don't know how to make lekor...otherwise, i'll have keropok lekor too.... (but no point having that without the chilli sauce).

I have quite a bit of left over batter......and thought I'll send the wrinkly eggplant in the fridge to an frying inferno......and they look like this after I'm done with them :

Tempura Eggplant???

Away from home : Pineapple Tarts

2009-01-31T04:47:00.000-08:00

Its ridiculous to have to make my own pineapple paste. Its so much trouble.....
First you'll have to blend them, then save the juice and cooked them into paste.......sound like very easy rite??? Can u imagine cooking this pot of pineapple juice...until it turn into paste ??

[The pineapple pulp from the blender...cooked together with a stick of cinnamon and 2 pieces of cloves, and of course, a cup of caster sugar).

[This is how the pulp looks like after an hour of cooking.....still very gooey.....)

After about close to 2 hours of cooking, it finally has a paste like consistency.....but still very much more gooey compared to those ready made paste that I'm used to.

Well, the cookies turn out alright......and I have to improvise, in shaping them....because I realise i have no cookie cutter or piping tube in Adelaide..........

Honestly, its a lot of hardwork......

What are my dreams for Malaysia?

2009-01-30T22:32:00.000-08:00

Once again, Peggy caught me. Its another of her "projects" ....that I've liken to her "Save the world" exercise......but reading her email once again, I'll say this is on a smaller scale....she's just interested in knowing what is our dream for our country.

Well, for this lil' project of hers, those who count themselves her friend will have to post a picture, and tell everyone what's in the picture, represents their dream for Malaysia.

If I'm given a wish, that I must dedicate it to my country.....I'll wish for my country to have great leaders that'll lead the nation to wealth, socio-economy growth, and most importantly repair any racial gaps and improved the unity among races.

Because I remember, back in primary school, I learn and lived amongst Indians, Chinese, and Malays...there's ever a Kadazan kid in school. And we are friends...and I liked that. We never minded that I've yellow skin, that Mohd Arif and Nazreen has a soft brown skin while Yasothini and Surenan Raj are dark as ever...........I never felt that it matters. And that is where I learned the true meaning of the idea of one race ==> MALAYSIAN.

A typical thing that you'll see if you study in a public school. The above picture is taken from Exif's Photostream (Flickr).

Away from Home : Episode 3 - Experiencing "liberation" in solitude?

2009-01-25T23:06:00.000-08:00

Alone in a foreign city, yea..I've said this like a 1000 times...with not much friends (honestly, I'm the demise to my own social status coz I kept highlighting that), a long weekend will mean that I have time to clear away back log of housework...and then....FREE TIME....what do I do with all the FREE TIME??

It was close to non-existent when I was with .."ahem" ..my ex-employer back in Kuala Lumpur. Making time for friends and family takes an effort, but guess what....I have to leave my country, so that I can learn to use "FREE TIME" ? And now that I have that on hand, I have.....lets see....*counting my fingers*...eerr...less than a handful of friends and family?

The irony of life....

Anyway, this entry is about the act of being free.....to do anything with no plans in mind......alone.

I find it liberating......and because I have a choice of staying at home and mope.....trust me, I can do that very well. All I need is a laptop and internet connection...i can stay at home all day. But then, if I did that, I won't have a life, won't I?? So, its better that I go out, enjoy the sun (before it get too hot next week)....

The ad of this exhibition in the SA Art Gallery has been taunting me, everytime I come across it on the newspapers. Its an exhibition of Hans Heysen painting, and with the "Hans", you'll know its a German artist...which I know nothing of....but I thought, there'll be no harm checking it out and looking at beautiful things rite?

I did allow myself an optional detour..because..I'm not too sure if I'm good at appreciating work of art, and in my attempt to understand them, I might insult/offend those who really know about these stuff..........coz all I want to do is to look at pretty things. So the Plan B was t0 find that cinema along Rundle Street....and I'll catch Revolutionary Road.......if I decided to chicken out from visiting the Art Gallery alone.

And then......Elaine called. Shane wants to visit the SA State Museum...coz they are having an exhibition of Dinasours.........yup, Dinasours Exhibition, suitable for kids aged 5 and above?? Kekekekeke......

I've about 2 hours to kill, can't fit in a movie + lunch exactly...but lunch and a stroll down to the Art Gallery.....which is just next to the Museum is perfectly fine. So ...that's what I do.

Food : Scoozi (another of G's intro to dining in Adelaide...which reminds me...he owes me a proper list).

I decided to be healthy, so I ordered a Grilled Calamari Salad.....

Pretty decent...for a bed of "grass" or cow food....ya..that's my pet name for salad - the dose of fiber and taste of greens....which I'll usually be caught dead eating. There, another liberating move .....a change....in diet??? Coz, I think I kinda like it......the sourish dressing (balsamic vinegar?)...makes it so appetizing. Well, one healthy dish, is complimented with a unhealthy beverage?? Its fair....rite?? Kekeke....Ice Mocha with a scoop of choc ice cream....yum yum!

After lunch, its the walk....past the University of Adelaide.....along some decorated halls and buildings. You know the saying...something along the line of smelling the flowers?? I actually took time to read the Information board outside each building (ok...i exaggerate...2 building tops).

Yup, this is the info board thingy they have outside some of the buildings...giving u details on the architecture and the history. Most of the buildings were built with gothic influence, where in the next picture, you can see 2 gargoyles perching on top of building's entrance. (HY : Gargoyles pic for you!!)

Well, the irony of all things, I didn't go to the Hays Heysen thing...coz I got distracted by the paintings in err...other sections, when u first entered into the main entrance of the Gallery, where they display European Art. It ranges from paintings and ornaments, and yea, there's a few pieces of furniture too. To be honest, I know nothing about paintings, but I think I enjoyed myself a lot! I can feel....that I don't feel like rushing...I didn't even check my time......and I'm amazed at myself!! I don't feel irritated for wasting time (yes, I would have classified this as wasting time when I was in KL). .....I'm actually glad I'm doing this.....mind empty, looking at pictures, noticing that this guys (in the Renaissance era) wearing pearls and laces.....and the dresses that the ladies are wearing were so ornated....lovely.

no pics ...its not allowed inside the Gallery..

And...next post....our trip to the Museum.....

And I ended my day with Shane and Elaine with a quote : This is the nerdiest weekend I ever had, but I enjoyed it......and I think, I have a smile on my face?

Liberation? I can do this , can't I?? Maybe something more exciting than visiting museums and art gallery next time...........like our tai lo, Adrian....he suggest going out and have drinks.....he says its ok to look like dungu, sitting there alone wor......hmmm.....we'll see.

Once upon a time..

2009-01-23T23:03:00.000-08:00

I like reflecting on the past....I like to think....

Grandma says that aside from the being Hakka, the reason for all the lines in my palm (its really a messy bunch of lines), is that I think a lot.....or so does the other palm readers (remember Mom bring us to one too many when we are kids, but somehow, that had kinda stopped).

Maybe what they say is true.....I think a lot. I like to think and reflect, and I can just do that sipping tea, some of Shane's sangria, sigh...I'm thinking of Long Island Tea from No Black Tie (they make a mean one), or...or.....a cool carafe of Lime Margarita at Laundry Bar....

Anyway, as I was sitting in my living room, I recalled a friend saying that he can never guess if I like the food/restaurant that he had brought me to. Because when I eat, or shall I say, when I taste the food.....I'll be looking around the place, checking out other people's dishes.......and have this confused and critical look on my face (that's what he says, coz I honestly can't see my own expression......maybe I should sit opposite a mirror sometime).

The thing is, if I say that the food is good...you guys will just have to take my word for it. Because, I was actually focusing on tasting the food........I'm sometimes quite good at guessing what they use in the ingredient....coz I focus ma!!!! Kakakaka....ya, lame joke....

For example, if you are drinking chinese tea (i suggest you try it with some good ones), try to swirl the tea into the side of your mouth....so that your tongue can taste the tea on both sides (right and left) , before swallowing.......you'll be able to taste the "tea" .....much better. I've never try this with any other people....so tell me if it works the same for you guys...or I have a different kind of taste spots on my tongue???? kekekeke....

yea...yea...still no Pineapple Tarts yet.....coz my pineapple paste don't look very much paste-like.....no idea what I'll do with them.....maybe shall try to be creative, and go ahead and make some anyway??

I'm feel so honoured!!!

2009-01-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

She's known as Lyrical Lemongrass
Her abode, aptly named = A Whiff of Lemongrass.....

The Round Table of Honourable Bloggers know her as the Queen of DSLRs
And you can see the beautiful pictures posted on her blogs...

She's spicy, she's gutsy, and most of all.....she have a wicked sense of humour....

And I'm just glad I did not shout out in the Audit Room amidst serious looking team members and say " OMG!.....Lyrical Lemongrass comment on my blog!!!!"

kakakakak....well my team mates won't know what I'm talking about anyway....they are Aussies...in Adelaide...not too sure if they will be familiar with the Malaysia blogging scene....

PS - Joe, dun be jealous ya......I mean you are a friend ma...so you fall into different category, ok??? LL is like a celebrity food blogger thats so hard to reach...while you are a phone call/email/FB message away......haha.......

Away from home : Ah....life is as such!

2009-01-23T17:08:00.000-08:00

Crazy weeks were gone (at least for now..), and i gave a sigh of release and a pat on my own back for finishing a half year review of 5 active companies, plus anothe 5 relatively dormant companies within Thursday and Friday! Yup, yesterday....while I was compiling the Balance Sheet and Income Statements for identification at 6.30pm....I was actually smiling.....

Both my manager and myself thought we'll be working over the weekend, and have a review on the 26th, which is Australia Day (public holiday!). But now, we both get to enjoy a long weekend, safely not having to worried about this reporting. Phew!! It may be nothing for my manager coz she's a Sri Lankan, but for me, I'm just reluctant to spend my Chinese New Year working! I mean, yes..I might not have as much CNY activities to do compared to back home, but...honestly, I have better things to do than work on a long weekend rite??? Here in Adelaide, I was given the time to get my priority right....kekeke...weekdays are for work (and it'll be best that no work after leaving the office, but in our line and during peak, its close to impossible), and weekend, its totally me time!!!!

Yeah..so I went back home yesterday, had a crap dinner of leftover lemongrass chicken breast (tasted ugly, not juicy and tasty like the one i made earlier...coz I used chicken thigh in the earlier one, which reinstate the theory "Healthy = Not Tasty").

And I went grocery shopping, thought I'll make some Pineapple tarts...so I get to feel a bit of CNY.......got home around 8.30pm, moped around.......and start cleaning the house a little (I really regret getting a townhouse, so much spaces to clean!!!) and kill off the first pile of clothes due for ironing in one of the sofa.....there's another pile in my extra room....sigh!!

And with that, I slept at 1.30am.......dead tired!!!

Woke up to a sunny morning, but with chilly breeze all around.....which is good!! You can feel the warmth of the sun, but you don't sweat as much...coz the air is cooling!!! Kakakakaak......NIce SATURDAY...and I FEEL GOOOOOOOOOD!! u know that song....I FEEEEELLLLLL GGGGGGGOOOOOOODDD........wheeeeEE!!!!!!!

YEa..so I cooked my own brekky.........and blogging about it now!!!

Got everything in my fridge since last Sat, but I was so busy that I didn't cook much........so, here's my BIG BREAKFAST.........prolly will cost me $15 if I eat out, but it's less than $10 bucks if you cook yourself!!

Gourmet Sausage - I think this is Pork Sausage with Pepper
A strip of streaky bacon
A whole portobello mushroom, grilled with salt, pepper and olive oil and garlic!
one tomato, sliced
Slices of oven baked bread (this is a bit expensive la, $1.50 of a small roll, i can buy a loaf of whole meal bread for $2.60......., but buy already, so must eat lor)
Poached egg

YUp!!! Lovely brekky......and I like the silence in the house.....so peaceful after a crazy week of adrenalin rush from work and stress..........

So, such is life......with its ups and downs.........coming next, my experiment of making my own pineapple jam for pineapple cookies......*fingers crossed*

Away from Hone : The Blues

2009-01-22T02:19:00.000-08:00

When you were in your teens, haven't your thought of living in your own apartment? Like no more nagging from mom, clean ur place as and when u want...literally do what you want. Have friends over for drinks, sleepover and etc???

You think it'll be really fun rite??

Well, its not that fun when you are miles away from home, and CNY is round the corner. This is worse than working in Seremban or in Penang.....coz one is just an hour drive back to KL and the other will take an hour flight back to KL......and I'll be at home, helping mom decorate our place with stuff, baking pineapple cookies, shopping for CNY clothes..and my fav, stocking up on food!!

Sigh....this is REAL bad......especially after talking to Mom on the phone for quite a bit just now. She was telling me bout the baking, where are they going to have reunion dinner, ......

I don't even want to start to think about Yee Sang......not sure if they have any in Adelaide. So far, I'm pretty disappointed with the ang-moh styled chinese food here....

~mh feeling the AWAY FROM HOME blues...BIG TIME!!~

Away from Home : Episode 2

2009-01-17T22:50:00.000-08:00

Do you wonder sometimes, which are the friends that are truly friends? Those who will be there, when u need them?

Sometimes, I don't know at all. You can be working, hanging out and even living with these people....but who is it that you can really trust?

Things has become quite mundane over here.....and with my handful (i mean less than 5) of friends in Adelaide...i pretty much hang out with the same people. After awhile, it became a habit to see each other...like it feels weird not to meet up for a week.....and one of us will call and ask one another out.

But today, I'm sorta touched, that a friend actually say this :

JJ : "Hey, don't you feel bored and lonely staying alone? How are you taking it?"
Me : Hmm..ok lar. I've gotta get used to it anyhow rite? When it gets too boring, then I sleep la...I've been losing sleep the past 5 years...
JJ (he give me that incredulous look...) : No..i mean don't you feel weird ? Staying alone...???
Me : like i say, i can't do much (*secretly, I'm thinking : Its not like i can magically conjure up a bunch of friend at my house).....and I'm fine with that.
JJ : Come over and bunk with us la....we've got the bed in the extra room....we can play Wii together.
Me : EYES WIDE !! Hahaha...sure sure...will do that sometime!

Thanks JJ, good to know you care...in your own way! Worth all the effort cooking potatoes for you everytime u pop over for dinner!! Will definitely stock up on more potatoes!!!

Away from home : Episode 2

2009-01-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

the art of procrastination...

when I write my resume, I almost always include "work well under pressure"....because I think I sometime choose not to work, when its not time yet...i.e....when its so close to the deadline, I'll start to be afraid...and buck up and work like mad! My most efficient hours are usually during such situation....something that I could have taken up to 2-3 days to do, might be finished within 8 hours? Hahaha..trust me...it works for me that way! Especially in my line of work..the later u leave it, the more information became available and I can see the picture better, and hence, exercise better judgement.....

In short, without pressure, I dont' feel the "need" to work.....hence, in conclusion, its perfectly fair to say in my resume that I work well under pressure!
Its just like when they advertised a vacancy, the employer says " Looking for committed candidate, working hours 9am-5.30pm" but what they mean is "Looking for people who are willing to work after the "official" working hours. The word "commited" is very useful..eh?

Are u guys seriously reading the above?? I'm just talking crap..that's just my excuse for not doing my stuff when I have time, and panic when I have not much time
left....aka....like now?

I really have LOADs of stuff to do....but instead, i choose to bake cookies!!! Kakakak..no regrets..the cookies turn out really good!!

I supposed I can offer my manager some cookies instead of the completed Year End Group Reporting package...if I still can't come up with anything tonight...

Visit this website for the recipe.....Chocolate Chip Cookies

My batch of cookies :

Good stuff....to eat with cold yoghurt and with milk , something to munch on while watchin TV, especially these cookies are crunchy!