some like it hot, some like it cold, some like it in the pot 9 days old

i love cooking porridge and love them thick and very hot with slices of yewcharkueh. it's healthy, easy, fast and yummy. one of the easier to prepare is the chicken porridge. just boil water with uncooked rice and once boil throw in chicken meat (breast meat the easiest to work with and healthy too... but i love using chicken thigh ... got those fats which will definitely made the porridge yummier...). once meat is cooked, take them out to cool while continue to stir the porridge until think and nice. sometimes i add an egg in low fire so you can get stringy eggs in the porridge which looks lovely. peel chicken into strips and throw them back into the porridge. you can leave some to garnish. voila! it's done.

one of the variations i came up with during in one of those wuliao days is using the chinese herbs - yewsamchew (american ginseng roots - smaller ones) and keiki (gooseberries). boil the yewsamchew separately and pour the stock/essense into the porridge as the roots cannot be eaten (doesnt taste nice but i guess its no harm if you wanna chew them in your porridge). for the keiki, cook them with the porridge. i add some during the end of the cooking as i love the cruchiness and the sweet raisin-like taste. this porridge helps to cool your body (yewsamchew) and good for your eyes too (keiki). hmm... each time i cook this porridge i have this daejanggeum song playing in my head...

now i feel like eating porridge ... maybe will cook some seafood porridge later....

someone stole my yakults!!!

when i openned the fridge... i was shocked!! someone took off with 5 bottles of my yakults which i left in the fridge's pantry over the weekend.(ok, so it's not body parts... still) to think that such reputable (erm) company to have such dishonest employees. worst - it's just yakults.

"free" treat(s)

yes! i managed to utilised the "free" bday treat from gsc by watching the much hyped about harry potter's latest movie. why "free"? bcos of this "free" treat.... i ended up spending $$, more than the ticket's worth....

one of my frens remarked that it is "kinda weird going to movie (cinema) alone... i'll never do it... i rather give the movie a miss if no kaki". erm. yes. it is quite intimidating going to movie alone. it feels like all the eyes boring into your back when u walk into the movies alone. you can almost hear the other not-so-alone movie-mates whispering "alone, ah?". another of my collegue's offered a cover up: when walking out of the cinema, pretend to make a call on your hp, talking louding to ensure the ppl around you hear what you are going to say - "eh?! where are you?? the ended and you are still not here?!" .. ha ha ha... cheesy...

it was a few years back when i watched my first movie in the cinema alone. although i didnt go there alone but i ended up watching it myself as the others decided to go for the movie that i have seen. i felt horrible walking in but as soon as i sat down next to a family, i didnt feel alone at all. thanks to the little boy who smiled adoringly up at me :) maybe it was dark and he thought i am some cute chubby character from some cartoon he had watched recently :) haha... so i enjoyed the movie pretending to be part of his family.

so this harry movie ... not hesistation to do it alone. anyway, i had a very packed schedule... i had to watch it .... rush back ... clean house a little ... spend time with vodka and get rest enough to drive back to mcca. so going alone was the best solution. also the "free" ticket will expire by end of this month... haahahha ... so i procrastinated a little ...
while in the motion of sitting down... the girl next seat bumped my butt, feeling a little embarrassed, instead of saying sorry she said "hi"... whatever she meant by that i gave her a pasty smile (i guess it was too dark to notice it though). so i guess it some kind of warm welcome....
it was quite boring - the movie that is. it was a let down at least for me. ok. so i didnt take my fren's advice "dont read the book of any movie that was made based on it until you have watched it". actually, i dont like buying movie tie-in books. i actually bought the order of phoenix more than a year ago when popular sold it for rm39.90. i read the lord of the rings like years ago before it was made into a movie. i didnt finished. it as i was so confused by all the character but enjoyed the back of the book part which explained the characters and how they were related, etc. i had the da vinci code and angels & demons when none of my frens heard about them (except carol whom recommended them to me). ok. the point is i kinda dislike the idea of movie tie-in releases especially when the book was written just because of the movie's famous... come to think of it.... the only author's work that i read and love that have movies made after them - pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility and emma... the movies had almost replicated the the book. i love jane austen. (so i love to deviate....) ok. although i only read like 1/4 of the phoenix book, i find the movie left out a lot of small details and loads of scenes chopped out. probably they have like 1.5 hours only.... but they "left-out" parts made the movie almost empty ... without subtance i.e. and pretty *yawn* dull movie. however, i did enjoyed the twins fireworks and dumblemore vs valdemort fighting scenes. so i guess for those who havent watched the movie.... it is worth to wait a few more months to be aired in astro (or whatever paid cable tv u have).

for the "free" ticket i ended up spending :
1. popcorn set, 6.50 - i mean who goes to the movie without popcorns?!!
2. kaya balls, 2.20 - it was lunch....
3. 3 hair bands, rm14.70 - i need them. fringe's getting longer and hair becoming unruly and cant steal mom's as she took it to sfo
4. durians, rm24 - its DURIANS... and its d24... erm and i dont know how to belah them ...
5. doggie dry food, rm27 - vodka's not on hunger strike, you know... and it came with a free black lease ... erm not that i need them as he already has like 3 of them... but its black and its free!
6. chew bones, rm7.90 - he has chew sticks (which he can now chewed down in 5 minutes) but not chew bones.... anwyay,fyi he loves them.

hmm... but its not that bad... i had free parking as i spent above rm10 in jusco... yeek.

"what you call a very hairy efren reyes ? - hairy potter"

(chunky) cheese brownies

i am so crazy over brownies! baked another batch of brownies with a cheesy twist... literally and figuratively. yipeedeeda! it turn out great but the cheese sandwich could be better ... maybe because it was in the freezer which "killed" some of the creamy cheese texture.... also it wasnt really chunky as most of the chocochips melted when baked... maybe it will harden when refrigerated.

he's camera shy

i noticed vodka's camera shy. it's so hard to take nice potrait of him. one of my fave angle is to take from top down which has nice effects.
just discovered that vodka is silver frosted goldendoodle! ha ha very glamourous, eh?

a lot of ppl whom seen him when he was younger always asked in confusion "eh, why grey now ar?!"
i always answered nonchalantly "old d mar.... hair turn grey lo...."

sick human poor dogs

really sick sick human. i nearly cried when i read this article. these dogs had to endure 40 mins of torture. one of the dogs suffered multiple injuries and broken teeth! how can they continously beat the dogs? maybe they were high in drugs? i believe the thieves will get their payback soon.

[ http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/12/nation/18280747&sec=nation ]

chewy chocolate brownies

thank god i am recovering from the much despised flu. my appetite wasnt so great which was good actually but this caused bloated tummy as i ate irregularly. i miss my mom and her cooking!! haiz.... she was planning to extent her stay ...ok, so i dont really have mood to eat but the sudden thought of chocolates perked me up and my digestive juices started flowing... then i remembered having a great slice of american chocolate brownies in secret recipe on my birthday... that what i called CHEWY!! i hardly find really chewy brownies here. i guess malaysians dont really like the chewy texture... moist yes but chewy maybe not. it's an aquired taste, i think. why? cos most of my friends dont really fancy chewing their cakes.... mom certainly doesnt but maybe it's her dentures :P so my quest to look for a chewy brownies recipe begun... and yipeedidee! found one which is simple and has some rave reviews... bake it with the tweakings as suggested and it turn out yummy! however, i think i will cut down the baking time to maybe 25 mins so it would be goo-eyer. maybe i will drizzle some sheridan (baileys would be better but i dont have it here...) on top..

* i tweaked those ingredients in []
2 BIG eggs [ 3 medium eggs ]
1/2 cups butter, melted[ 1/4 cups vegetable oil ]
2 cups sugar [1 1/4 cup]
1 cup flour1 cup cocoa powder (i used the cheapest local cocoa from "bake with yen". i reckon if you use those higher quality cocoa powder, your cake will taste better)
2 tsps vanilla essense
1/4 tsp salt [i omitted the salt]
[a small fist of choco chips]

1. melt the butter and mix the vege oil and sugar while the butter is warm. put aside to cool.
2. shift the flour and cocoa powder together into a bowl.
3. pre-heat the oven to 160C or 325F
4. beat the eggs lightly and fold it into the wet mixture.
5. fold in the wet mix to the dry mixture.
6. mix then together until combined but do not over mix else it will be cakey.
7. i swirl in the chips before pouring the batter into the pan. original recipe uses 8x8 square pan. i used a 8" round pan.
8. bake for 30 mins in 160C. but i think should reduce to around 25mins.
9. to check for doneness - which really depends on how u like your brownies, insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean IT'S TOO DONE!!! for me i think it should have crumbs sticking to the toothpick but not too wet.

5sc.1 class of 93

this photo certainly make my mind racing back to those times where we pulled cheeky pranks on teachers and friends, exams, teeny bopper mags, exams, silly crushes and miami vice. did i mention exams?

note : actually i lost all my secondary school photos. i accidentally thrown the photo albums while shifting houses. so i would be really great if someone can sent me somemore pictures...

mini bbq @ bridget's

the food all working hard ... but one drinking

all eating ... butt one still drinking

eat the po-tay-to eric & swee style

after a satisfying meal...

reunion of the gals

it was a great nite with great gals! had superb meal with best companies after such long time. the pictures tells it all!

beauty time : let's hydrate!

love facial masks. they actually do help. believe me as some yielded the results as promised. today i tried the bbe algae soft mask from it's herbal soft mask range. it is actually in powder form and you have to mix with water into a paste of you prefered consistency before applying. didnt noticed any scents but perhaps my nose is not sensitive enough to pick the scent. it's pretty easy to mix the paste as it disolved easily. i used my fingers to mix it and applied onto my cleansed face. application was easy too but i think i have used too much powder. i think it's quite economical too as i've only used 1/4 of the pack and i had some more paste even after covering my face. and i do have quite a large face :)
after 5 mins after application, i can feel my face getting cooler. i had some tingling sensations after around 10 mins. i felt my face tightening a little and a little itchy after about 13-15 mins. after about 25 mins, i lost my patience and decided to peel the mask off.
removing the mask especially those feel off ones is my fave part. but it didnt went that well. removal of the mask was a really messy affair. the mask was flaking at the corner of the mask while the middle was smooth. i didnt managed to "remove the whole mould" as per instructed (which got me excited when i read it). it cracked, tore or stuck all over. perhaps the paste was too thick? i can actually see my pores' marks on the bigger pieces which i think if good as it cleaned them. luckily i managed to remove the mask residues after rinsing my face with water and using a small towel to lightly scrub the more stubborn pieces.
the after effect was pretty nice. my skin felt supple and smooth. i think my pores looked less defined and face more radiant and fair. maybe the deep oil cleansing before the mask application helped to achieve this too but this algae soft mask did hydrate my skin after all.

don't strike shogun out yet...

i've been getting feedbacks from friends, blogs, etc that shogun standard has decreased in terms of food, service, cleanliness, etc. and rightly so as it gave me that impression when I had my b-day bash there which was nearly a year ago. *hint *hint

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however, my craving for japanese food and plans to bring mom for a good makan compelled me to give shogun another try. and hee-hoo! how i enjoyed the lunch! their waiters were very attentive : taking away the empty plates promptly (most did ask us b4 taking them away) and making sure our ocha cups are always filled to the brim). food was good as well. it was so much better compared to my previous dinners there. i love the melt-in-the-mouth grilled salmon, aromatic garlicky cheese-baked escargot and crunchy baby crabs best. they had great choices of thirst-quenching drinks too. however... they should improve vastly on the dessert section especially the cakes...

happy 3-1 fong!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FONG!

fong and myself had a great dinner @ hanwoori in taipan. we had a enjoyable time chatting and filling our stomachs. ah. i managed to order the rice cake dish (ddukboki) i love so much but had to fore go the fried squid as it is pretty expensive and i guess we can't finish it too. the soju was ok but it taste a little like kerosene ... ahha not that i tasted kerosene before... the bbq meat was lovely and i like the smoke "sucker" so you wont smell like on walking piece of smoked meat. the side dishes were quite appetising. we were also given each a bowl of bean paste soup. they also serve free dessert which i found very amusing as they just offered like 2 thin pieces of watermelon. i guess there were only 2 of us but i mean they should make it 4 pieces to look good, rite? however, the refreshing ice cold barley with red date drink served in a bowl was good and a nice way to cap the dinner.
their service were good and prompt. periodically they would come up to ask whether we want to top up the side dish or soup and ask whether we need anything else. (probably we were practically the only customers there). i like their attentiveness as the previous korean restaurants i went, they were quite stingy in replenishing the side dishes. we had to order them to do so. 4 stars out of five. i would have given 5 stars but i had to top up my tea myself.

taiwan round island trails.....

yay! i have drafted out my highlevel itineraries for taiwan trip. although it is very very very early plan but i love planning early

Day1 : Taipei
Day2 : hualien- taroko
Day 3 : Taitung
Day 4 : Green Island
Day 5 : Kenting
Day 6 : Tainan
Day 7,8 : ChingJing Farm
Day 9 : SunMoonLake
Day 10-14 : Taipei

basically it covers from north to south and a little middle. where's alisan?! well, basically ppl go there because of the forest train and sunrise. hmm... not so interested. besides i think i prefer to spend more time in chingjing farm. IT IS SO LOVELY!! go google it....

so now have to think of :
- budget
- best time to go

** i love planning, half the joy of travelling is planning it and making it work :)

guess who looks like moi!

this tool is cool. go try it at : http://www.myheritage.com/ and have some laughs!hey ah-girl, ah-yang, remember the remark your neighbour's kid made few years back during my cny visit on the lady in the winter sonata poster?? ha ha ha. kids tell the truth.
actually i did try a few more photos and guess who keep popping up in my match? miss winter sonata.... guess we have a lot in common - facially.... ha ha ha.

taiwan or korea

ok. so i just came back from oz. $$ low but spirit high to plan for next travel. haha. especially i am quite free today (which i think for today only). i did plan for a 19-20 day trip to kr but the language barrier and the costs kind of put the idea off. i've actually put off kr trip for 2 years d! well first it made way for ph (free flight...) and then oz (i oso dunno y i go... missed yinna kua. yea i know. at first mom wanna visit for 1 mth then it didnt happen. but i already put my heart to visit so it happened for me ... ). since tw cheaper and i can understand a little mandarin so kr have to be in backseat.the problem now is, i totally have no idea how to start in tw. maybe should get the lonely planet book...so will it be visit tw 2008? hmm....

it's so spicy...

had a very bad gastric pain last night. i woke up from at around 1900 and decided to join mom for dinner. ok. totally my fault. being a glutton i wallop the sambal prawn (spicy level ****) and some cili padi with the yummy pai kuat wong. bad move. felt so warm in my tummy and i tot heck, it's the chili kicking in. after dinner, whoa i started to have unbearable tummy ache. it's like my normal indigestion discomfort x100. so i tot, lie down would be better... nooOOooo it became worse. i was contemplating popping some gastric pills i have but those was around for long long time... so decided to pay the dr. a visit. went to my usual klinik segara but the usual doctors were not around. but this doctor which looked and sounded like a middle eastern doctor did a thorough check poking my tummy all over. said my upper abdomen was tender and loads of air. i was baffled when he asked me whether i had malaria before?!! he later explained my spleen is swollen or bigger 2 fingers compared to normal size. erm. bad news? he said nothing to worry about. some blood tests and ultrasound scan can diagnose the issue. so advise me to go back a few days later. should i? i mean nothing to worry about right?after taking my med from the counter, mom was outside buying some cakes from a van. i went over and bought 2 yummy cakes as well. hehehe. i felt a bit better after the dr. poking my tummy - i let out some air (burped... or i think they were burps la... and of course farted too). felt even better after taking the medicines. but in the middle of night or morning rather, the gastric attack came again. had to take the medicine but they didn't acted as fast as the first time so had really difficult time sleeping. but luckily i did managed to lulled into deep sleep. aaa.read up on enlarged/swollen spleen. erm. maybe it's just FAT spleen.symptoms of splenomegaly include:
Inability to eat a large meal - erm. not true as i can eat a lot.
Pain on the upper left side of the abdomen - erm. yes quite frequently
Pain may spread to the left shoulder - erm. yes... but i thought it is my long hours in front of lappie in wrong posture.
Hiccups - sometimes....
although nothing to worry but i guess i better go for follow up checks with doctor.

mother's day @ carousel cafe, palace of golden horses

time to honor mom for all she had done for us. we brought her to carousel cafe @ palace of golden horses brunch buffet. mom dine for free :)they were having the thai promotion but no sticky rice or mango was available. however they had quite some selection of food. i especially like the smoked salmon (a little too oily though) and the tiny spinach quiche.they had a singing group with a guy playing guitar going around and presented mom some goodies and carnations. erm. i was given a stalk of carnation too.

sophie's guide to enjoying yummy scones

just loved observing yinna enjoying her scones. she was more excited than me when we ordered the scones in the "pie in the sky" shop. but the scones were really great with the yummy fresh strawberry jam and of course creammmy whipped cream.

oz mini updates pt. 3

a day out @ great ocean road. it was an enjoyable journey to the past and present. have not felt so near to nature since my cliffhanger trip to scotland.

oz mini updates pt. 2

had a greek lunch and spent the rest of the day in melbourne museum. was one of the last to be ushered out and yet didnt finish analysing all the stuff...

oz mini updates pt. 1

so far what i have done (in no particular order) :

• met man lok. quiet ok kinda chap.
• ate loads of malaysian and asian food.
• did wine and cheese tasting at yarra and bought some
• ate pie in the "pie in the sky" place @ olinda which a yin raved about so much. it was ok.
• had cones of ice creams which made me sick later. i'm not so lactose tolerant. u know gas and all. ha ha ha.
• had fresh oysters with yin @ lake entrance
• see some lakes at gippsland
• sat like a hundredth time on the free tram circle. ideal way to bum around mel
• saw the penguins @ philip island
• fed the wallabies and kangaroos
• walked the 90 mile beach
• seen the tassie devils, platypus, wombats, etc.
• bought and ate easter eggs chocs
• braved the fairy caves in buchan. gotten meself a small souvenier - a scratch on my palm but no fairy sighting, haiz...
• visited the victoria market, ate the best brownies ever!, bought some vinegars and more wines
• caught captain cook in his cottage
• walked the treasury gardens and the fitzroy gardens.
• caught some swans (in the camera) in albert park
• saw some "unique" animals and an escape artist in healesville
• amazed myself with the tall trees in dandenong and black spurs drive
• bought a nice wool sweater
• met his brother and family yesterday